Transcripts For WBAL Today 20100204

(announcer) perdue. extra inspections. extraordinary chicken. good morning. breaking news. a new problem for toyota. the company admits there are brake problems with some of their popular prius hybrids. they say they have fixed the problem on brand new models, but what about the ones already on the road? shark attack. a kite boarder killed after being swarmed by sharks off the southern coast of florida. this morning, information on the area's first fatal attack in years. and the $104 million man. that is the astonishing record price this sculpture just fetched at auction. and the race is on to identify the anonymous bidder today, thursday, february 4th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. think you're having a bad month? try working at toyota. they've got another design problem even as that company is already trying to deal with these accelerator issues, on some 2 million vehicles in the united states. >> the automaker admitted overnight in there are issues on the antilock brake system on the 2010 prius that went on sale last year. they say they corrected the problem on models sold since late january, but what about the cars sold before then, and why is the public only finding out about this issue now? we'll have much more, straight ahead. also ahead, a jailhouse video tied to last february's mysterious disappearance of 5-year-old haleigh cummings. misty cross lynn, the last person to see misty alive, is under arrest on unrelated charges. misty's parents just visited with her in jail and implored her to reveal the truth of what happened to haleigh. it was all caught on tape. that's coming up. plus, matt, more of your exclusive interview with michelle obama. >> we're going to talk to the first lady about how the presidency over these last 12 months has affected the obamas' marriage, how she handles the critiques of her wardrobe and more. first, the black eye for toyota, an admitted design problem for brakes on the latest generation of prius hybrids. cnbc's phil lebeau covers the auto industry. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the problems are clearly growing for toyota after recalling more than 7 million vehicles worldwide, the company now admits that it does have problems with one of its most popular cars, the prius. there are new questions this morning about the brakes on the toyota prius, an energy-saving hybrid car popular with hollywood celebrities. after more than 100 prius complaints here in the u.s., toyota has admitted for the first time that there were indeed design problems with the prius' antilock brakes, but toyota says the problem has been fixed for all models sold since late january. now the u.s. and japanese governments are investigating the situation and a recall could be considered. >> i'm concerned because i don't know if my car's going to be next. >> reporter: and then there are the accelerator issues, where toyota's troubles may have gone from bad to worse, with transportation secretary ray lahood briefly urging the owners of the cars to stop driving them. >> my advice is, if anyone owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the toyota dealer, because they believe they have the fix for it. >> reporter: but soon after his appearance before a house subcommittee, lahood put on the brakes, saying he misspoke and instead told owners to drive immediately to a dealer. >> if you have one of these vehicles, if you're in doubt, take it to the dealership today. >> reporter: those toyota dealers are now frustrated. they have customers afraid to drive their cars. >> we've got people fearful, you know, but in the end, i believe toyota did the right thing. >> reporter: toyota's problems are growing. it's recalled more than 7 million vehicles worldwide in the past four months due to unintended acceleration blamed on floor mats and sticking gas pedals, but federal investigators are still focusing on whether the dangerous accelerations are actually caused by the electronics in toyota vehicles. >> we've also had complaints about the electronics. we will be investigating the electronic components that are in these cars. >> reporter: toyota denies the electronics in its accelerators are faulty, saying, "we have found no evidence of a problem with our electronic throttle control system." toyota is not detailing the exact problem when it comes to the brakes in the prius. there are reports out of japan that the prius brakes may not work for perhaps a second when the foot is first applied to the brake pedal, but the company has not said exactly what the problem is, nor has it indicated if there will be a recall. matt? >> phil, i think a lot of people are sitting watching this right now, saying wait a second, if toyota says they fixed this in cars, in priuses sold since january, why are we just hearing about this now? >> reporter: two things, first because of the accelerator pedal problem around the world, more people are coming out of the woodwork, you're hearing more complaints. also, federal investigators are coming at toyota to come clean. if there are issues, don't just study them, tell people, hey, there may be a design flaw. so those two things in tandem. >> phil lebeau, thanks for your report. it is now five minutes after the hour. here's meredith. >> matt, thanks. david champion is the director of automobile testing for "consumer reports." david, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's start with this latest news about the prius and its antilock brakes. toyota, as mentioned by phil, admitted there's a design problem, they've rectified it in the models being sold since late january. do you understand at all what this defect is about? do you know the nature of the problem? >> from what i've read, it seems to be when you put your foot on the brakes to slow the vehicle down, there's a momentary sort of lapse and there's nothing there. and then after about a second, you put your foot down and the brakes work fine. >> so, what about all these people that have the cars that were not repaired? the priuses that have this issue? are you anticipating yet another recall? >> i'm not sure whether it's going to be a recall or some sort of customer satisfaction program that will go out. the brakes don't actually fail. it's just this momentary, when you don't think they're going to work and then they do work. from that point of view, i don't see it as a big safety feature, but a bit scary. >> but you talk about customer satisfaction, already there's faltering confidence in toyota. this is not going to help. >> no. toyota's come under a lot of pressure recently with the floor mats, the throttle pedals, and this is mounting on to their troubles. >> let's talk about the throttle pedals, because that involves eight toyota models. there are so much confusion out there. what do you do if you have one of those models? what advice would you give to drivers who have one of those models? >> on these cars, the sticking throttle issue is very rare that it actually will sort of, you know, make the car accelerate. >> but if it happens, it will kill you. >> well, it can be very dangerous. if you look at the throttle pedals, they haven't been related to any injuries or fatalities. that's the throttle pedals. the more serious issue is the floor mats, and in 2007 and in 2009 they did offer a recall to take the floor mats out. if you have one of these vehicles with the floor mats issue in, please take those floor mats out. >> but if you have a vehicle with the sticking accelerator issue, these consumers are getting mixed signals. the department of transportation said yesterday, the head of the department of transportation said at one point, don't drive the car, take it to the dealer. next person said, no, no, i meant drive it to the dealership. so, do you drive it? do you leave it in the driveway until you get the call? do you take it immediately? what are you supposed to do? >> most of these 2.3 million vehicles will not have a problem. if you look at the accelerator pedal, it may feel a bit gritty. it may be slow to return to begin with. so, there are warning signs that it may stick. for most of the people, they're never going to see the issue, but just be aware that if the pedal starts to feel gritty or it's a bit slow to return, then take it to the dealer. >> toyota says they have the fix for that, involves putting a little metal rod into the brake itself -- i mean, the accelerator itself. do you think that will do the trick? >> look at what they've done. they've looked at the fix and given the blessing in the legal way to the fix. so, from all the recalls that we've seen that nitsu has looked at, we've got to assume they've looked at it, they've examined the issue and they think this will fix it. >> meanwhile, our own government is saying this may not be the pedal at all. this may have something to do with the electronics system of the car. >> when we look at all the complaints out there for unintended acceleration, it's still very rare on these vehicles, but once we get rid of the throttle pedal issue, the floor mat issue, then put those to one side, then look to see if there's something else in there, but the federal government has done a lot of tests in terms of putting big emf, big cell phones, magnets around it. they couldn't find anything. toyota's been working to see if they can find if there's any other electrical issue in there. it's trying to find a needle in a haystack in some ways. >> but you know, at same token, "consumer reports" did pull its recommended label from all these toyota models. why would you do that, then? >> well, it was a bit strange to have us recommending you go out and buy one of these vehicles when toyota had actually pulled them off sale. >> so, finally, david, just quickly, your opinion and the opinion of "consumer reports" in terms of safety and toyota, still a safe buy? >> they're still a safe buy. once they've fixed all these problems, i would not have a hesitation in recommending a toyota. >> all right, david champion, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and now let's check on the rest of the morning's top stories. with ann on assignment, natalie morales standing by at the news desk. good morning, nat. >> good morning, meredith. good morning, everyone. today, republican scott brown will be sworn in as the senator from massachusetts, officially ending the democrats' supermajority in the senate. brown's presence is already having an impact. nbc's white house correspondent savannah guthrie joins us now from washington. good morning, savannah. >> reporter: hi, natalie. you're right, things have changed in the senate. the president met with senate democrats on wednesday and told them that's no excuse not to get things done. on friendly turf -- >> thank you, guys, thank you. >> reporter: but before an audience of fellow democrats worried about their own political fortunes, the president urged senators to shake off the massachusetts senate upset and step up. >> i would just suggest to this caucus, if anybody's searching for a lesson from massachusetts, i promise you, the answer is not to do nothing. >> reporter: the president told democrats they must find a way to get health care passed, but to the frustration of some, didn't lay out how it could be done. >> what are we going to do differently? >> reporter: taking questions from the audience as he did with house republicans last week. >> i've got to admit, i had a little fun at that caucus. >> reporter: the president seemed to bend over backwards. >> the senator from arkansas, blanche lincoln. >> reporter: to praise senators in re-election battles. >> blanche is exactly right. >> reporter: and a chance to mend fences with one such democrat, majority leader harry reid, fighting for his political life in nevada, reid slammed the president for comments at a new hampshire town hall on tuesday, when he used las vegas yet again as an example of reckless spending. >> don't blow a bunch of cash on vegas when you're trying to save for college. >> reporter: the president was quick to fire off a letter of apology, writing, "i hope you know that during my town hall, i wasn't saying anything negative about las vegas. i was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun." well, today the president will have senator reid and the other democratic leaders over here at the white house to hash out a legislative strategy with one fewer vote in the senate, natalie. >> all right, savannah guthrie at the white house for us this morning. thank you, savannah. the military is trying to find out what caused the crash of a u.s. black hawk helicopter during the night in southwestern germany. three crew members were killed. tragedy wednesday off of stewart, florida, where a 38-year-old kite boarder was killed in an attack by sharks. the man was about a quarter mile offshore. a lifeguard paddled out and saw he was encircled by sharks and carried him back to shore. he died a short time later. and a small toy landed a new york city boy in big trouble at school. the 9-year-old brought a 2-inch toy gun made by lego to school and was playing with it in the cafeteria when he was taken to the principal's office and nearly suspended. his mother says she may sue over what she calls a lack of common sense. it is now 7:12. let's turn it back over to matt, redith and al. apparently, the boy's father is a retired police officer, so he loved his lego action figures so much, he brought the thing to school and didn't think anything of it. >> it's different than taking a toy gun to school. this is a toy gun for a toy. >> toy, right. >> exactly. >> this is two inches big. >> good morning, everyone. the weather is nice and quiet. mostly sunny skies as we head to the afternoon. a few high, thin clouds late in the day. high tem and that's your latest weather. meredith? no, matt. >> i'll take it, al. thanks very much. white house chief of staff rahm emanuel offered a new apology on wednesday, days after comments surfaced in which he used the word retarded to describe a proposal made by a group of liberal democrats. nbc's andrea mitchell has the latest on this story. andrea, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the white house chief of staff has apologized to advocates for special needs children for using the "r" word, but now sarah palin has reignited the controversy by demanding more than an apology. from rahm emanuel, a white house apology to tim schreiber, head of the special olympics, and other advocates for the intellectually disabled. it all started with a remark made last august during intense health care negotiations, but only recently reported. the famously blunt chief of staff called liberal democrats xletit "retarded,". describing it as rahm being rahm. >> this is a tough day for rahm emanuel because he's not used to saying the word day after mother. >> reporter: but sarah palin, mother of a down syndrome child, objected to emanuel's use of the word retarded, now widely viewed as derogatory. she called for emanuel to be fired, writing on facebook, "rahm's slur on all god's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities and the people who love them is unacceptable and it's heartbreaking." the white house apologized. >> derogatory comments that make fun of one group or pit one against the other don't do anything to further our political discourse, and for that, rahm apologized and we're looking to move forward. >> reporter: it was the second time in a year that the obama white house apologized to schreiber. last march it was after the president joked on "the tonight show with jay leno." >> i bowled a 129. >> that's great. >> it was like special olympics or something. >> reporter: this time, schreiber and other advocates who want to move the word retarded from everyday speech issued a statement saying "the r-word is polluting our language. this is a word that is incredibly damaging, not only to the 7 million people with intellectual disabilities, but also their friends, family and to all of us." analysts say the apology should be enough. >> it was said in a private meeting. it is a crude phrase. i think he apologizes for it, and rightly so. >> well, i think rahm himself would say it's unacceptable. he expresses himself in ways that people object to, and i think correctly so in this case. he's apologized, and that was the right thing for him to do, and now i think it's time to move on. >> reporter: now one of palin's -- sarah palin's usual allies, rush limbaugh, apparently used the "r" word on his radio show wednesday repeatedly. so far, no comment from palin about that. >> all right, andrea mitchell in washington. andrea, thank you very much for your report. it's now 17 minutes after the hour. once again, here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. motivational speaker james arthur ray is being held on $5 million bond this morning after being charged with manslaughter in connection with three deaths during a sweat lodge ceremony he led last october. nbc's miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: james arthur ray surrendered to authorities wednesday. detectives led ray to jail after he was charged in connection with the deaths of three people. it's a sudden turn-about in fortune for the self-help superstar. >> do you treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you? >> reporter: ray parlayed his reputation as a motivational speaker into a multimillion dollar empire. speaking engagements, books, dvds, all designed to help others reach their full financial and spiritual potential. one of his most expensive and exclusive events was at a gathering known as the spiritual warrior retreat in sedona, arizona. last october, the retreat took a deadly turn for three of ray's followers. >> 911, what's the problem? >> two people aren't breathing, two with no pulse. >> two aren't breathing? >> yes. >> okay, is this the result of a shooting or something? >> no, it was a sweat lodge. >> a sweat lodge? >> yes. >> okay. >> reporter: the final phase of the spiritual retreat involved a sweat lodge ceremony, a native american ritual where participants gathered in a specially designed tent filled with steam coming off of heated rocks. it's an intense exercise of mental and physical toughness intended to foster a spiritual journey. one of the sweat lodge survivors talked about her experience on "today." >> i was just -- i was having difficulty breathing. i couldn't keep up with the chants, and there were several people leaving at that time or trying to leave. it was very, very uncomfortable at that time for me. >> reporter: witnesses say ray's followers were gasping for air, passing out and vomiting. kirby brown and james shore passed out inside the sweat lodge and died that night at a local hospital. liz newman died a week later. in his only interview since october, ray told "new york" magazine, "i did not know anything was different until it became apparent that there had been a terrible accident when it was completed." his attorneys call the charges unjust and predict ray will be cleared in court. he's been charged with three counts of manslaughter and faces as much as 37 years in prison. >> the charge of manslaughter was almost a no-brainer. it's simply you didn't intend to kill somebody, but you were reckless or negligent. sounds a lot like the facts here. >> reporter: now, a man who made a living teaching others to overcome their greatest obstacles is facing the biggest legal battle of his own life. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news. and still ahead, has the obamas' first year in the white house been tougher on their marriage than they expected? we're going to have much more of matt's exclusive interview with first lady michelle obama. but first, this is "today" on nbc. how much would you pay for a bronze sculpture of a tall, skinny man walking? >> you? >> no. in london, someone paid $104 million to buy that sculpture. that is a new record. >> the artist himself died in 1966, and the money, apparently, is going to fund philanthropic endeavors, which is a nice thing, but no one knows who the bidder was. >> some think a russian collector, a middle eastern collection. by the way, the same collection, a landscape made $45 million. >> why did i see a hood ornament? >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time to get a check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> we were doing great until just a few minutes ago with word of an accident. howard county approaching 216, you can see the delays is developing. no word on what lanes are closed, but it does seem to be backing traffic at this time did take 295 as your alternate. at the pretty, you can see that we have plenty of delays here. -- at liberty, you can say that we have plenty of dis year. -- delays here. we want to check out what else is going on. j.f.x. is in great shape. no problems on the harrisburg expressway. heavy from owings mills down to the beltway. and eastbound eye-to 7 from jarrettsville towards 29. -- eastbound i-1/7 from marriottsville towards 29. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> things are pretty quiet in the weather department today ahead of the big storm expected this weekend. mostly clear skies right now. upper 20s and low 30's on average bridge 26 the airport, and you will see a couple of clouds drift in late in the afternoon, but generally a sundny day. over the weekend, things will change to dry tonight and early friday morning. light snow or sleet is year during the afternoon hours. it will last all the way into saturday night. significant accumulation likely to this will be a long, drawn- out event for us in the afternoon on friday. quiet on sunday and monday. another chance for snow tuesday night and wednesday. >> be sure to check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update at 7:55. 7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 4th day of february 2010. right around freezing out on the plaza right now, checking out the nice people who gathered, bundled up, but in a good mood. we'll see them in a couple of minutes. meanwhile, as you look through that window, that's the bald spot on the back of my head. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. you didn't have to look. coming up in this half hour, much more of our exclusive conversation with first lady michelle obama. she took us on a stroll around the white house and she talked about the impact her husband's job has had on their marriage, how they managed to find quality time to spend with each other and their daughters and some other subjects like fashion. we're going to talk to her in just a little while. also ahead, another first lady with a lot to say. i'm talking about jenny sanford, the wife of south carolina governor mark sanford has filed for divorce after her husband admitted to an affair with a mistress from argentina. now she's written an explosive new memoir about their troubled marriage, and in it, she says mark sanford made her remove the pledge to remain faithful from their wedding vows. just ahead, what more she has to say. plus, martha stewart and donald trump have built their own brand images, and if you're looking for work, you might want to think about taking a page from their playbooks. we'll explain that in a little while. but we're going to begin with new developments in the disappearance of haleigh cummings. natalie is here with the very latest. nat? >> good morning to you, meredith. well, a bounty hunter has now come forward to say he knows what to do to find haleigh cummings, this as police have released new jailhouse tapes of a phone call between misty croslin, who's the last person to see haleigh alive, and that conversation with her parents. >> i want out of here. >> reporter: misty croslin cried during a jailhouse phone call with her parents. the 18-year-old used to be married to haleigh cummings' father, ronald. now they're both in jail on drug trafficking charges. police say ronald cummings was working last february when his daughter, haleigh, vanished. misty croslin was babysitting haleigh and her little brother. she told police she tucked the two kids in for bed and went to sleep in the same room. when she woke up, she claims the back door was open and haleigh was gone. there were no signs of forced entry and haleigh hasn't been seen since. >> i hope i don't have to be here forever. >> reporter: last week during a jailhouse visit, misty's father begged her to reveal the truth about haleigh. >> i don't understand why you didn't come forward before. the haleigh stuff has got to come to an end. it's got to, misty. whatever the truth is, it's got to come out. >> reporter: in an odd twist, police say misty's reply to her father's question about haleigh was not recorded by faulty jailhouse cameras. meanwhile, a los angeles bounty hunter says he knows how to find haleigh. leonard padilla wants to post bail for misty croslin. he believes if he gets her out, she will give him information about how to find haleigh. >> given the situation, she might be forthcoming with some information that maybe she hasn't disclosed. i think she's got some stuff that, either she's given it to law enforcement and they haven't given it up or she has information that would lead to the child's return. >> reporter: padilla isn't the only person who thinks misty can help find haleigh. haleigh's grandmother spoke out last week on "today." >> i believe that whether or not she realizes it, misty is holding something that could possibly help haleigh's case. >> reporter: on wednesday, misty and ronald were slapped with even more new drug charges. her bond is now $1.3 million. padilla says he is willing to pay. >> somebody knows where the child is, and the obvious person that would be able to start the ball rolling is misty. >> and leonard padilla says he wants to work as an investigator for misty croslin's lawyers. we should mention, both misty croslin and ronald cummings have passed polygraph tests related to haleigh's disappearance. meredith? >> natalie, thank you. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. thanks a lot, guys. we've got another big storm coming into the west. it just doesn't seem to stop. this is typical el nino season. you're seeing rain from portland down into eventually san francisco. some of this rain's going to be heavy at times, especially right around between eureka and san francisco, anywhere from two to three inches of rain. rest of the country, sunny skies along the eastern seaboard, but that big gulf coast storm is going to be causing problems, heavy rain. we've got flood watches down for parts of the southeast, r >> of the weather should be nice and quiet on this thursday in advance of the storm over the weekend. there could be a few high, thin clouds during the day, but we would generally call it that's your latest weather. and if you want to keep track of your weather all day long, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? al, thank you very much. now to the state of the union, not the speech, but the marriage between barack and michelle obama. this week, the first lady took me on a walk through the white house and spoke candidly about the impact life in the executive mansion has on a relationship. >> you know, surprisingly, here we have more time together than we've had in years, because the pace of the campaign is just ridiculous. so, you know, he comes home -- he's home at 6:30 and he may stop and do a little work. we have dinner as a family. the thing that we don't get to do as much is go out and do our date nights as much, because it just causes more commotion. >> could you have imagined the commotion? when you came to new york, and i happen to remember that -- i saw the helicopters, coast guard cutters. how do you -- if every time you go out on a date, it's front-page news, how have you adapted? >> this is a nice spot. the chef is great. you know, you can do all kinds of things. and we weren't really going out kind of people. i mean, we're the kind of folks who go to the kids' games and we have friends over and we watch movies, and you know, our lives are very conducive to this because we just are sort of boring anyway. so, we have movie night where barack and i will go down and watch a movie. so, we find our way. >> you said nobody's going to cry for me because i'm living in the white house. and i'm not asking you to tell me a sob story, but in general terms, is the presidency, in your opinion, tough on a marriage? >> it can be, but you have so much support. i mean, we were talking about this. you have, first of all, my mother lives with me. >> yeah. is she going to stay, by the way? she was supposed to be for transition. >> she's happy. shh, don't jinx it. she's doing good. no, she's well. i'm hopeful, because it does come in handy when you're doing an interview and kids are doing homework and somebody can still do multiplication while we're, you know. so, having another adult helps. but we haven't found this to be stressful on our family. we're not doing laundry. we're not, you know, worrying about who's going to cook the meal. i mean, there are the stresses of everyday life that they just pound on families, and a lot of that stuff is gone. now, there are broader international, national crises that are pressures, but that's outside, you know. internally, we feel pretty blessed. >> if i leave here today and i don't ask you some question about fashion -- >> oh, yeah. >> -- i will get kicked to the curb back in the office. >> all right, all right. fire away. >> could you have ever prepared yourself, mrs. obama, for the attention -- >> no. >> -- paid to everything you wear? do you get up in the morning now, stand in front of the mirror and say what am i going to wear and what are they going to write about it? >> sometimes i do. sometimes i do. you know, this is another one of those efficiency things, you know, because i can't spend a lot of time thinking day to day. so you know, sometimes -- >> does someone do it for you? does someone pick out an outfit for you? >> i do it with people, you know. you have help. you have folks who are going to get your clothes ready, and you know, i'll figure out what i'm going to wear over the course of a week or two even, so i don't have to think about. i can say tomorrow i've got this, so this is on the rack. i'm putting it on and calling it a day. so, i don't think that much about the response to it. i've learned wear what i like, wear what's comfortable, and that really depends on the occasion. >> anything you've read about, you know, a comment about an outfit? it must feel good. it's only human that it would feel good when people write nice things. anything people have written or said that you thought that's not fair, i like that dress! >> you know, i really turn off -- you know, and i do that with my husband and me. you know, i don't take in a lot of feedback in that regard because you don't want comments like that to influence who you are. you can't feed on any negative. i just sort of find a way to keep that out. and if there's any criticism that's helpful, i take it in and try to -- >> learn from it. >> -- learn from it, right. >> last question. is this fun? is fun even a word that can be used to describe what you're living through right now? >> i am having a ball. >> really? >> i really am. i mean, i love people, first of all, and i think it would be hard to be in this position if you fundamentally didn't love people. so, i come to this with a certain level of just joy in g hugging. i'm a hugger. >> i know. >> you know. >> it took me back a little bit, but it's okay. >> so, my life is filled with these wonderful interactions with americans all over the country. that's what i do every day. my staff is terrific, my kids are healthy, my husband's fine. he's got a hard job, but he can handle it, you know? i'm having a ball, and hopefully, i'm doing some good in the process. so, you know, check back with me in a year, but right now i'm doing all right. >> to quote another first lady, it takes a village and your mother to have a normal life in the white house. >> she likes the fact that mrs. robinson is there helping out with the kids. >> oh, yeah. >> and we want to thank mr. obama for her hospitality it was fun. up next, how to build your own personal brand to stand out from the crowd in what is a very difficult job market. what you need to be doing, right after this. back at 7:43, and this morning we're beginning a special two-day series "build your brand today: how to stand out in a crowd." if you are looking for a job in today's rough economy, developing a personal brand could be the key to making yourself more marketable. no one is more brand-conscious than celebrities. just like corporate brands, celebrities are leveraging themselves and their names. >> let's get down to business. >> reporter: donald trump is an expert. the real estate mogul put his name on everything he builds and stars in his own reality show. >> how have you done? >> reporter: the result, he's world famous. domestic diva martha stewart has built her brand in publishing, broadcasting and even merchandising. and shaean "diddy" combs is defining a new generation as he goes from the stage to the screen to businessman, launching fashion and music ventures bearing his name. >> i am king. >> reporter: all three have created a signature brand that is recognizable, uniquely theirs and very profitable. so, if you are not donald, martha or diddy, how do you establish your personal brand? martin lindstrom is a brand and marketing xerlt and author of the newly updated and revised books "buy-ology" and "brand sense." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> before we talk about establishing a brand, i want to talk about the toyota brand. after the recalls and now the recent problems with the prius brakes, what is that going to do for their brand short term and long term? >> it is a disaster for the brand. it's only going to get worse. the bad news is toyota knew about this years ago and forgot to tell the consumer. so now the consumer is basically saying can i trust that brand? and that's the worst thing that can happen. so, will the brand recover? absolutely. it's not the first time a recall is happening, but it would take two to three years, leaving the number one spot available for the competitors to grab. >> so, even after the repairs, there will be a lingering doubt in the mind of consumers? >> absolutely. it will take a long time before they get their trust back. >> let's talk about people establishing their own personal brand. why is that so important? >> brands have been around forever and they have managed to create trust and they have managed to create a personal relationship, and that's really what you want to do. you want to systemically control the signals you send to the world. >> and your opinion is that everybody can do this, not just celebrities. you say start by defining who you are and who you aren't. >> well, that's right. we have to be aware of the signals we're sending to the world. are you well known for always being on time? are you well known for always delivering on a promise or being fun or cool like obama, always ace on the screen? you need to know what your signals are and consistently work towards that goal. >> but you also say become well known for one thing, not a lot of things. >> this is really interesting, because at the end of the day, if you are making sure you're standing for one thing, you're controlling every signal you send, and that means people will remember you for it, rather than you sending out a flurry of different information, which really is confusing people. >> talking about confusing, on the one hand, you say be clear and direct on who you are. on the other hand, you say it's important to create an air of mystery. >> well, that's right. what i find fascinating here is that mystery at the end of the day is attracting a lot of attention. think about, you know, the harry potter book, released one minute past midnight or the ipad, released, you know, with a lot of mystery around it. >> how does that apply to an individual? >> well, you have to make sure that you tell the great stories about you, but don't tell the full story. let people be attracted to the mystery around you. that means they're going to talk about you. >> so they can create something greater than reality, actually. >> absolutely. >> you also say it's important to have a signature look, which you obviously do. you're always in the black. >> always in the black. i've been there for ten years, and it really makes you stand out. people remember you for it. and if you think about, you know, for example, these suspenders. >> i think of larry king when i think about suspenders. >> me too. i think about michael jackson when i think about the socks or the white glove. or this one here, you're thinking about elizabeth taylor. so, those signature looks are really sensual, because people lock you into a certain look and recognize you immediately. >> and leave a personal mark behind. what does that mean? >> well, it basically means that we're giving business cards out every minute and really it's a waste of time and money. so, what i would do is to create a mark which really stands out. >> such as? >> well, you know, here's an example. this is my business card. and what's interesting about the business card is that it has a folded corner. now, the reason why it has that is because when people came up to me and they wanted me to sign my books, speeches and stuff, you know, people had all the corn years folded in my books, and i realized, hey, that's my brand. so, i started to fold the corner on my business cards and on my letterheads. and guess what? people never forget it. >> but a lot of people wouldn't have a need for a business card, so what would they use? >> well, in reality, what they're trying to do is to find a mark they can leave behind, perhaps some advice, perhaps something which people always recognize them for. at the end of the day, what is the one thing people should remember you for as you leave them? >> and martin, has your research shown this really leads to people getting jobs? >> well, at the end of the day, there's so much competition out there. if you make sure that they remember you just 1% more than the average, guess what? you have a much bigger chance of getting that job. >> martin lindstrom, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> pleasure to have you here. tomorrow we're going to test martin's theory that anyone can create a personal brand by showing you what happened when in just two hours, he transformed one of our producers into an instant celebrity. but just ahead this morning, jenny sanford opens up about her troubled marriage to south carolina governor mark sanford, including how he sought her advice about his romance with a mistress. just ahead, help if you're tired of coping with all the everyday aches and pains that can drag you down. plus, the tragedy that helped shape this u.s. olympian into the person she is today. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. let's get a check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> heavy delays on southbound i- 95. at least it is starting to filter out in howard county. this is due to an earlier accident on southbound 95 approaching 216. live view a traffic, you can see it starting to filter down to 32. we are starting to see these delays still in place there. west side of the outer loop of liberty, a heavy gold at around 705 down through edmondson. other problem spots, 32, a fire department activity there. a truck on fire. at river and middle river, middle river vicinity, accident there. on the northeast outer loop, belair towards dulaney valley, and milford mill, accident location of their breed west side delays backing up traffic on southbound 95 at owings mills. route 1 at 136, and accident coming in at harford county. that is it for traffic pulse 11. q. what is going on as far as the forecast. sounds like we have more snow. >> we have snow in the forecast for the weekend, but not to date. we have clear skies right now. upper 20s and low 30's. 21 in frederick. the forecast for today is mostly sunny. a few clouds late in the afternoon. should stay quiet tonight. all the fun begins on friday. the friday morning commute should go off without a hitch. a combination of snow and sleet developing and will continue into the weekend. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and screen for updated news and traffic 8:00 now on this thursday morning, february 4th, 2010. we have a great crowd waving to loved ones back home on a great morning here in the heart of midtown manhattan. i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker. let me ask you guys a question. if your spouse said to you, you know, a few days before the wedding, let's cut out that part about being faithful in the vows, would you still go along with the marriage? >> only if you get the best part and worst part out -- >> you know who did decide that was okay with her, jenny sanford, the wife of the governor of south carolina. her husband said he wanted that out of the vows and she agreed. we'll talk to one of jenny sanford's friends who was in the wedding. as we know, that marriage is now over. she left him after the revelations about him cheating on her repeatedly. also ahead, the olympic games eight days away. >> oh, my gosh. >> opening ceremony a week from tonight. this morning we'll introduce you to a member of the u.s. ski team who says she owes her dream to her dad. their touching story is just ahead. plus, is a cleanse diet for you? the popular nutrition programs are not without controversy, because you have to go without a lot of things that most people eat every day. just ahead, i'm going to tell you about one i tried and explore all the concerns that go along with it. okay, but first, a check of the morning's top stories from natalie morales, who is filling in for ann at the news desk. hey, natalie. >> good morning, again, matt, meredith and al. and good morning to you. toyota's troubles expanded this morning to include its flagship hybrid car, the prius. toyota admitted it discovered design problems with antilock brakes on the 2010 prius, which went on sale last fall. it said the flaw was corrected on its newest model sold since late january but acknowledged customers who bought the car earlier had not been informed. motivational speaker james arthur ray faces a court hearing today after his arrest wednesday on manslaughter charges. three people attending his spiritual warrior camp in arizona died last fall during a sweat lodge ceremony. a rare group shark attack off south florida wednesday claimed the life of a 38-year-old kite surfer. police in stuart, florida, say a lifeguard spotted the man surrounded by sharks about 500 yards from shore. massachusetts republican scott brown will be sworn in today to fill the senate seat held by almost 47 years by democrat ted kennedy. his election gives republicans enough votes to block bills they oppose. and now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." >> natalie, thanks. coming up tonight, he's an up-and-coming, unique politician, and he's out to save what he calls his city, newark, new jersey. their dynamic mayor, cory booker, one of the grio list of 100. we'll show you around the city. he'll show us. we'll have that and more for you tonight on "nightly news." natalie, for now, back to you. >> thank you, brian. it is now two minutes past the hour. let's go back outside once again to matt and meredith. >> all right, natalie, thanks very much. >> it's cold. >> it's chilly. >> it's cold. >> yes, it is. >> 28 degrees. >> yes, it is. >> cold. >> okay, we're done! no, only kidding. got some saints fans here. yeah. who dat? and then we've also got some canada fans here. >> yay! >> are you guys from canada or just like the wear? >> yeah, vancouver. >> are you going to be in vancouver for the olympics? >> yeah. >> all right, way to go. let's check your weather, see what's going on. bring the saints there to vancouver. nbc, the bay area, nbc. steady rain, 58 degrees in san francisco today. afternoon temperatures a little on the chilly side in new england, teens and 20s. 20s through the plains. as you look into the southwest, 70s and 60s, 70s down in southern florida. we're looking at rain working its way through the gulf coast, some heavy rain in the lower mississippi river valley. rain moves into the pacific northwest as well. sunny skies up and down the eastern seaboard, but that big gulf coast storm works its way into the northeast and we are looking at a possible nor'easter with up to a foot of snow from southern new >> it looks like a quiet thursday on top for us. we will sue a few clouds, especially at the end of the day. high temperatures in the lower end of the 40's. and our director joe michaels wanted to know, what do you call canadian bacon in canada? >> canadian bacon. >> all right, there you go! what do you call french toast in -- never mind. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. when we come back, south carolina's first lady opens up. why did jenny sanford say that her soon-to-be ex-husband, governor mark sanford, insist on removing the vow of being faithful from their wedding vows? ♪ my baby sparkle and shine ♪ and everyone... 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"you know, your valentine is who you want to sit by," "who you get in trouble with, who you tell your secrets to," "who you play with at recess." i said, "well, that's daddy, too." this valentine's day, wouldn't your valentine... like to know how you feel? give them a refreshingly real card from hallmark. back now at 8:07 with new details on the troubled marriage between south carolina governor mark sanford and his wife jenny. she has filed for divorce after he admitted to having an affair with a mistress from argentina. we're going to talk to one of jenny sanford's longtime friends in just a moment. but first, here's nbc's norah o'donnell. >> reporter: jenny sanford says she felt ugly, unwanted and dirty after learning of her husband's cheating. >> i've been unfaithful to my wife. >> reporter: and now, for the first time, she reveals there were questions about her husband's fidelity from the very beginning of their marriage, writing in her new book, "staying true," jenny sanford reveals her husband insisted the word "faithful" be removed from their wedding vows. she writes, "he was worried in some odd, nagging way that he might not be able to remain true to that vow. in retrospect, i suppose i might have seen this as a sign." still, the sanfords were married for 20 years and had four children. among the revelations in the book, jenny sanford says her husband once gave her a diamond necklace for her birthday and then returned it just days later. she says when she sat her four boys down to tell them their father was having an affair, her 12-year-old son, bolton, said, "oh, my gosh, this is going to be worse than eliot spitzer!" former governor eliot spitzer admitted to paying for sex with prostitutes, but unlike spitzer's wife, jenny sanford did not stand by her man while he confessed publicly in an extraordinary, tear-filled press conference. >> oddly enough, i spent the last five days of my life crying in argentina. i hurt her, i hurt you all, i hurt my wife, i hurt my boys. >> reporter: in painful detail, jenny says her husband even turned to her for advice about his romance and how to deal with the media. after that bizarre press conference, he called immediately and asked, "how'd i do?" now, jenny sanford has filed for divorce and written a book she hopes is inspirational. it's about never giving up on her faith, her family and morals, but some want to know, is she giving up on politics or will she run as a candidate herself? >> it wouldn't be at all surprising to see her interest in a political career based on the way she's acting. >> reporter: jenny sanford tells nbc news she's done with politics for now, but some wonder if "staying true" may lead to a career in politics for this clearly different kind of political spouse. for "today," norah o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >> denise is a longtime friend of jenny sanford, with us along with psychologist judith sills. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> denise, if i can start with you. after all the public embarrassment that jenny and her family have gone through, why did she decide to write this book now? >> well, i think that, number one, it was very cathartic for her to to do, but secondly, during the summer she was going through it, the media put a lot of attention on her, and particularly the way she handled herself through such a public and embarrassing ordeal. and i think people wanted to know more about jenny, what made her her and how she managed herself through the whole ordeal. >> you encouraged her to write the book. >> i did. i did. i did. i said, jenny, you know what, i think this is a really great story that a lot of people will be able to take something away from. you're showing a tremendous amount of courage in what you did and you're continuing to show courage in moving forward alone with your children. >> you know, in the book, jenny describes their marriage as solid, not overly romantic, but certainly strong, is the word she uses. what was your impression of that 20-year relationship? >> my impression was, you know, they made a terrific team, a terrific partnership. she was very instrumental in his political career. he relied on her tremendously for advice. she's a brilliant person, a brilliant business person, a great strategist. and you know, i was stunned when i found out what was going on. >> and yet, there were the red flags. she points out the wedding day, him not wanting that word faithful used in the vows, and she went along with that. you were in the wedding party. did she ever bring that up to you? >> i didn't know that until i read the manuscript. and when i talked to her about it, she said, you know, i was concerned, so i addressed it with mark. mark and i sat down, we had a long discussion about it, and at the end of the day, we both agreed that marriage vows implies fidelity. >> what did it say to you, the fact that he would want that word removed? >> it says that he was in conflict from day one and the conflict leaked. he was making a companionate friendship marriage, which can be very strong, tremendous support. in the back of his mind, he's going, am i going to go with that passion for the rest of my life? i don't think so. then he tried to tell her, then he tried to take it back. >> and fast forward 20 years into the marriage, jenny discovers these e-mails between him and his mistress from argentina. she confronts him, he admits to the affair, and then he says i want to go see her one last time, and she agrees to that. why would she do that, denise? >> to know mark, you'd have to know mark. mark is -- he's relentless. and when he wants something, he's not going to stop asking for it. and he can wear you down. and so, jenny was worn down. she finally said, fine, if this is the only way that you can end it, go, but you're going with a chaperone. >> but she believed somehow it would all work out? >> yes, yeah. >> because she was -- you're locked in a role for 20 years. she was his brilliant support person. what you want and need i will help you make happen. now he comes and says what i want and need is this other thing. and in his story, he's actually thinking to himself she'll understand. she understood everything else. she's a wonderful woman and i love her. and he goes to her and he says help me with this. >> and then in june, when it is exposed to the public, he turns to her again for her advice on how to deal with the media, and after the press conference says "how did i do?" >> right. he relied on her tremendously for just for all advice. i mean, she was his go-to person for everything. >> but there's the other piece, the utter self-absorption. this is all about me, my pain, my suffering. i cried for five days. help me. it's all about being in that bubble. >> right. >> so, what was her breaking point? because after that press conference, they did go into counseling, she says in the book, and finally, she realizes this is not going to work. what was it that finally said to her i have to end this? >> i believe her breaking point was, as they were going through the counseling, he wasn't showing the appropriate amount of remorse and emotions for what he had done to jenny and to the boys, and i think that she felt as though, you know, she gave it a shot. he wasn't going to come, you know, bring that emotion to the marriage, and felt as though he wasn't committed to it. >> what we know about jenny in the public was that she wasn't standing by her man when he made this public apology, admitted that he had had not just one affair, but actually, subsequently said many of them. does that show strength, judith, the fact that she -- because as opposed to like eliot spitzer's wife, who did stand by her man, different strokes for different folks. >> strong is not whether you stay in the marriage or not. strong is a woman who, despite tremendous emotional pain, can make a realistic assessment, what's really happening here, do i have a shot at this marriage, what is good for my family, what is my financial, legal, professional situation. i can think even though i am suffering. it appears that jenny could think things through, according to her values, but maybe eliot spitzer's wife was strong in exactly the same way and came to a different conclusion. >> all right. just very quickly, we have to go, but i wonder how the boys are doing, the four boys? >> oh, they're doing great. those children are so well mannered, grounded. they're surrounded by lots of family. they're doing great. >> and they have a great mother. >> and she has a great friend in denise. >> thank you. >> judith sills, always a pleasure. thank you so much. and up next, how the u.s. olympian became the daring athlete she is today. her touching story, right after this. ♪ whoa-oh ♪ ♪ ♪ one tribe, y'all, we one tribe, y'all ♪ ♪ we one tribe, y'all ♪ we are one people ♪ let's catch amnesia ♪ let's catch amnesia ♪ forget about all of that evil ♪ [ male announcer ] what do you care about? introducing the pepsi refresh project. we're giving away millions for ideas that move the world forward. every pepsi refreshes the world. if toyota gets credit for being the most fuel efficient car company in america, well, then how do you explain all this? chevy malibu, cobalt, silverado, and the all-new equinox. compare them to anyone. may the best car win. i thought we couldn't afford it, but then i went to walmart and i found the new home trends collection. i started off with rugs and pillows... and i got those for a steal. [ son ] mooom. steal as in a good price, honey. and then, it was on to my bare walls... i even got all the little extras, guilt free. tables, lamps, pillows, candles... and just like that, voila! a room i want to show off. get the new home trends collection at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. >> announcer: "today's countdown to vancouver" is brought to you by walmart. save money. live better. walmart. d this morning on "today's countdown to vancouver," eight days to go. it takes years of sacrifice, dedication and discipline for an athlete to make it to the olympics. and by the way, that goes for their parents, as well. natalie's back with one freestyle skier's story. this is a heartwarming story. >> it is a great story. emily cook's bond with her father, don, has allowed her to chase her dreams in spite of some extraordinary challenges. don cook has been through it all with emily, and he'll soon watch her compete in her second olympics in vancouver. ♪ >> i stood up at the top for a little while with a little bit of encouragement. >> reporter: at the tender age of 12, her first jump. this was the moment that made emily cook who she is to the. >> i remember just laughing like crazy when i hit the water. >> reporter: she never looked back or needed much prodding thereafter. >> she made a public declaration when she was 13 years old. not i want to go to the olympics, but i am going to be a member of the 2002 olympic team. >> reporter: what did you say? >> i've always been one who held the position that anything is a possibility, and all you have to do is open the door, create the opportunity and move forward. >> reporter: don cook has lived his whole life since helping his then little girl with olympic dreams reach them. a father-daughter team with an inseparable bond that grew stronger following a tragedy. emily's mother, anita cook, was hit head on by a drunk driver, left in an irreversible coma for two years before she died. emily was just 15 months old. >> sometimes i describe that period of time after the accident as the best of times and the worst of times. it just, it wasn't easy. the best of times were she was my support and she really didn't even know it sometimes. when i'd see her after a day, and if it happened to be a hard day, she was all smiles and happy, and she was just my absolute love and joy. >> reporter: she propped you up. >> she propped me up, each and every day. >> i have no memory of her, but i have memories of all the stories that i've been told, which is great. and there was a lot of people that came together when my mom passed away and made sure that i had absolutely the best possible life. and i'm really thankful for that. >> reporter: really an olympic effort, too. >> yeah, really, really. and i'm going to have a huge, a huge fan club of my family going into the olympics. >> reporter: this is emily's second olympics, though it really should be her third. in 2002 at the age of 22, she had been named to the olympic team when, again, her life would take another heartbreaking turn. just weeks before the games, she broke both her feet during a training event. >> initially, it shattered her physically and emotionally. both feet were absolutely shattered. >> reporter: multiple foot surgeries and three years of excruciating physical therapy would follow, but still, in those weeks right after, she would not let her team down. in salt lake city, during both the opening ceremony and aerials competition, emily sat in the stands in a wheelchair with her dad by her side, cheering on team usa. >> when the u.s. team walked out, i was almost afraid to glance over at her, and when i did, tears were just rolling down her cheeks, and it was tough. it was a tough moment. but other than those brief moments, she had a smile on, the most perpetual smile. >> reporter: you propped her up. >> we propped each other up. >> reporter: somehow, all this strengthened emily's resolve to compete in the next olympics. >> i always pictured just walking into those opening ceremonies in torino. and i knew that absolutely nothing within my power was going to stop me from getting there. >> reporter: before she could ski again, she had to learn to walk again. she did both, and with only one year to train, still qualified for the olympics. >> very nice jump. >> reporter: but a 19th-place finish left her hungry to do better. >> i'm going into this olympics to perform my best, you know, not just to be there. so, that's kind of the difference on this one. >> reporter: and count on don cook to be there with his camera lens always on his daughter and the rest of the team as their unofficial photographer. what is the picture that you want most right now? >> pictures i love of her are with a smile ear to ear. >> my dad, he was my teacher. he's the person who taught me how to overcome obstacles and how to be, you know, powerful and happy in any circumstance. he's a huge part of everything that i do and i love my dad. >> she's a remarkable young lady. you can see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, though. her father truly is an inspirational man as well, has made all the difference in allowing her the opportunity to be in the olympics. and emily's going to be joining us live on the set from vancouver. counting down already. >> getting misty-eyed. >> i know. >> what are you looking forward to most? >> it's my first winter olympics, so everything. everything about it is exciting to me. i've always loved skating, so my heart is there. >> it's so great when the athletes come on the set and they have their medals and they're just so excited. it's really contagious. >> i know you're most excited about the 1:00 a.m. wake-up call, though. >> hey, fresh donuts. >> spandex is what we're most excited about. >> i don't. the spandex years might be well behind us. speaking of behind us. >> talking about burlap. >> exactly. but it's going to be fun. opening ceremony a week from now and we kick it off that monday from a local ski resort, which should be great. by the way, you know who knows a lot about vancouver? mr. pierce brosnan, who's across the studio from us. shot a recent film there. we'll talk to him about that, the percy jackson movie in just a couple of minutes. he's one of my favorite actors. >> that's great. >> we'll talk to him in a second. >> all righty then. >> very excited about this movie. >> "percy jackson"? >> yeah. >> back with a clean-shaven look, though. >> didn't like the other? >> a little too hairy. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara are. let's get a final check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> a couple of accidents and several delays around the area. at this spot on the northeast outer loop and the west side, beginning at park heights. if you are traveling anywhere else, like harford county, perhaps, we have an accident to point out. we're also dealing with one at route 1 and 136. everything looking good of the tydings memorial bridge, but we have problems but as far as delays. 25 minutes is the drive time on the outer loop northeast side. if you are heading out on the west side, 25 minutes there as well. we are giving you a live view of a couple of spots. delays on the west side. that is what it looks like at the but, the pace of things heading towards edmondson. live view in the area of park heights, delays in both directions, not only on the outer but on the inner loop towards the j.f.x. 20 as a check on the forecast. -- tony has a check on the forecast. >> we of sunshine right now and it should stay nice all through the afternoon. upper 20s and low 30's. sunshine is our forecast for today. a couple of clouds late in the afternoon. high temperatures around 42 degrees. all the troubles are going to begin for us tomorrow. but probably not until the option and. -- probably not until the afternoon. in the afternoon, we will see a combination of snow and sleet developing. high temperatures in the low-to- mid-thirties. >> we will have another update at 8:55. get selsun blue for itchy dry scalp. strong itch-fighters target scalp itch while 5 moisturizers leave hair healthy. selsun blue. got a clue? get the blue. 8:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 4th day of february 2010. beautiful, sunny, not too bad temperaturewise here in the northeast today, but al tells us by tomorrow night we could be seeing some snow here in the northeast, depending on where you are. could be a lot or a little. >> that's right. >> we're waiting to see. >> here in new york, maybe one to three inches, but south of here, katy, bar the door. i shouldn't say katy -- >> meredith, bar the door. >> no, i don't want to bar the door. katy can bar the door. >> out on the plaza, matt lauer along with meredith vieira, al roker and natalie morales. what's coming up? >> well, we've got pierce brosnan, we should say, as you've never seen him before. he's here for that new movie based on the best-selling "percy jackson" book, and mr. brosnan's here to tell us about that and what else he's been working on in just a bit. >> okay. also ahead, settle or not? a lot of singles spend years looking for mister or mrs. right. one woman came to the conclusion that it's all right to marry mr. or mrs. good enough. >> and mr. roker, you're talking us through the cleansing process. >> these detox diets are popular, but a lot of people have questions about their effectiveness and safety. i'll tell you about a plan i tried and we'll address those concerns. >> and you look very, very, very good. so it worked for you, right? >> i mean, you literally on a daily basis, you walk in and sometimes i have to do a double take to make sure it's really you. seriously. >> big man. >> you transformed your body. >> thank you. >> incredibly. >> let's get a check of the weather. >> your body -- >> oh, i'm not the one who didn't know where we were going, okay? let's blame me! anyway, let's take a look, show you what's going on as far as your weather is concerned. for saturday, we're looking at sunshine and frigid conditions in new england. got a lot of wet weather along the west coast on saturday. sunny and cool through the gulf coast. then sunday, sunday, we're going to take a look and show you we're looking at sunny skies along the eastern >> of the weather should be nice and quiet on this thursday in advance of the storm over the weekend. there could be a few high, thin clouds during the day, but we would generally call it that's your latest -- are you okay now? aww. everybody say aww, meredith. all right, that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to ft. myers and say hi to willard scott. willie? >> aww. i wish you were here. it's a beautiful day. this is the prettiest day in a long time. i can see you now in your thong -- >> oh! >> -- on the beach -- >> i think we'll be leaving now. >> yeah. you're not supposed to bring that up, willard. >> happy birthday to our thousands of friends out there from smucker's, the pride of orville, ohio. take a look as the jam jar spins around. and we have hosea peeples, chicago, illinois. attributes longevity to being sharp at 110, and he loves to spend time with his family and friends. that's terrific. good health. roland robillard, ormond beach, florida. played saxophone in the '40s and '50s for musicals such as "oklahoma" and has a secret crush on hoda and kathie lee. well, you leave them alone because they belong to me. avanell ruth. we rehearsed it 12 times. claymont, delaware, 100 years old. helped organize her 70th class reunion, volunteers as a bookkeeper and did that until she was in her late 80s. all kinds of organization, avanell. and we have manya milman of brighton, mass, 100 years old. holocaust survivor. how about that? performed musicals and with people in the hall, the synagogue, and she is very well known in the neighborhood for her talents. happy birthday to manya. david goldberg, boca raton, florida, just across the road here. 100 years old. avid dancer. claims he would have knocked them dead on "dancing with the stars." call us after the show, the producer. you can have a 100-year-old dancer on your show for free. russell and louise win tle of los gatos, california. he is 103, she is 100. they've been married for, what is it, 83 years. and doing everything together, volunteering together. that's their secret. that's all. that's it for right now. and now back to the big apple and meredith, i think. >> yes, it is, willard. thank you very much. up next, pierce brosnan. we love him, don't we? >> yes. >> horses around in we're back at 8:37. when you think of actor pierce brosnan, you may think of the dashing agent 007, james bond, or perhaps singing alongside meryl streep in "mamma mia!" but you have never seen him quite like you'll see him in the "percy jackson" movie, "percy jackson & the olympians: the lightning thief." take a look. >> the children of these unions were half god, half human. >> percy. >> this was the first -- >> yes? >> we need to talk. >> so, did i do something wrong? >> where is it? >> whoa, whoa! how did you get up there? whoa! did that really just happen? >> they found him. >> pierce brosnan, good morning. welcome back. >> good morning, matt. >> the last time you were here was "mamma mia!" and i would say at that time we probably said we'd never seen you in a role like that before, and now you're in something that we'll explore in a second and tell people why i'm saying this, but we've never seen you do anything like this before. are you making these conscious decisions that you just want to have some fun at this time? >> i would say yes. i mean, i said to my agent after the bond kind of went away, i said look, i'm a working actor, i've always been a working actor, so find me the rich characters. and i grew up and i was trained as an actor to believe that i could play anything and everything. so, i'm at a time in my life now where i can just go out and have fun, and this i did for my boys, dylan and paris. i mean, they read the books. my son is a ferocious reader. and my agents were over at the house one day having lunch and they mentioned percy jackson and my 13-year-old said you've got to do it, dad. i've read all these books. >> and he knew pretty much what character you would have a shot at. the character you play here is the professor. we see him in a wheelchair, and the reason is because you're hiding something. we're not going to show this here. >> you can't give away. >> no, we won't, but we can talk about it. in this movie, you are half man and half hours. >> i play professor bruna and then when percy goes into the mythological world, i show up as chiron, who was a centaur, king, really, a philosopher and a teacher. chris columbus i had worked with years ago on "mrs. doubtfire," and he sent me the script and i liked it enormously, and he was also very clever, because he sent me a beautiful rendition of myself as a centaur, so i looked buff and beefy and i thought this was great. >> no doubts in the beginning which half would be the horse and which half would be the man? you cleared that up right off the bat? >> we cleared that up right off the bat. but i said this is great, i'm in, but then to actually physically play the role, you know, they had to cgi in my rear end. >> so, they do that -- so, you're dressed normally from the waist up, but you wear these kind of skin-tight blue tights from the waist down. >> yeah. it's not a good look, especially when you're out there trying to look butch -- >> let's put a shot of that up. >> no, don't go there. you're never going to see that. but yeah, i mean, to create a horse's ass, i had to get into the tights and i had to get on these stilts, these painter stilts. so, you know, you go out on the set and you're looking really butch, but you're on the set with 200 young guys who think they're the next brad pitt and you're in blue tights. >> the good thing about this is there's a series of books, so there's a potential for a line of work here. are you ready for a series of movies? >> well, i signed up for three and we'll see where the wind takes us. i think it has the potential and the legs to really take off. i mean, the books are really loved and chris columbus and the young people in this film are brilliant. logan and alessandra and brandon are so good. so sincere and play well. >> you're busy these days. you've got a movie coming up called "remember me" with robert pattinson of "twilight" fame. he is in the middle of the white-hotspot light here. he was here, the place went crazy. >> it's fierce. >> do you offer any advice for a young actor like that? >> um, grace under pressure. somebody told me that little adage a long time ago. you just really have to keep your head about you, and robert, he equips himself so well in the film. he's worked really hard. he's executive producer on it. so, he's steering himself in a good direction and looking down the road as an actor, as you have to do, because you just can't sit around and wait for the phone to ring. you have to find the material, you have to go after the material, and he's done that with this film, "remember me." >> treating it less as a star and more as a business. >> yeah. >> he's got a good head on his shoulders. pierce, it's good to see you. thanks for stopping by. "percy jackson & the olympians: the lightning thief" opens in theaters nationwide on february 12th, same day as the olympic opening ceremony, by the way. up next, the pros and cons of detox diets. al shares his own experience. ♪ take it off, everybody take it off ♪ this morning on "take it off today," using the cleanse to lose weight. opinions vary over the safety and effectiveness of so-called detox diets. well, last july, i decided to start a cleansing detoxification program with the help of registered addition melissa bohman lee. for me, it was a great way to get healthy and lose weight. based in chicago, registered dietician melissa bohman-lee opened her program a year ago. lee couples nutrition counseling with a proprietary strength training program called physioslow to motivate clients to lose weight while obtaining optimal wellbeing. >> nice. >> is it a cleanse, a diet, a detox? >> it's not a diet by any means. we are inundated with toxins through our environment, through our food we eat, the water we drink. and once that builds up in our bodies, you know, we get toxic overload. so, my program, you remove the toxins before you actually start in the detoxification program, i do a gentle cleanse to prep you. >> now, what's the main objective to this? >> for everybody it's different, but it could benefit anybody. people definitely want to increase energy, decrease weight, decrease cravings or hunger and just increase overall wellbeing. >> after the five-day cleanse, the 28-day detoxification program includes drinking two meal replacement shakes and a glass of greens per day plus one clean, lean protein meal. the idea is, when people hear this, they go, i can't do this, because you eliminate all alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten and caffeine. when you say i've got to give this all up at once, are you nuts? >> i sometimes do get that reaction, but in reality, it's not so bad, because when you do give up what i call is the big five, you are actually really, really eating, allowed to eat wholesome foods, such as organic fruits and vegetables, free-range organic poultry, coldwater fish, as long as it's wild cod, nuts, seeds, legumes. so, there's a lot of different choices. >> some folks may actually be skeptical about this. they say, you know, you're getting out all these food groups, you're cutting them all out. what happens to your body while you're doing this? >> you're really actually eating probably healthier than you've ever eaten in your life. >> so, you do this, you know, for 28 days, and then it comes to an end. you end up putting these things back into your diet or eliminating them forever some. >> you know, it really depends on the client. most people take what they learned during the detoxification, the 28 days, and they continue to, you know, eat the way they learned to eat during the detox. some people might try to add back. you know, this is not a diet. it's just a way of life and a way of eating. >> now, we should mention that melissa bohman lee's program starts at $399 and can go up to as much as $1,000, depending on the plan you choose. "today's" diet and nutrition editor madelyn fernstrom is with us now. madelyn, good morning. >> good morning, al. >> so, what are your concerns of a program like this? >> the concerns of a program like this -- and detox and cleansing means different things to different people. first of all, there are four pillars of dedetoxing, the lung liver, kidneys and skin. so, this provides built-in defense. now, if you want to beef that up, that can be okay, but extremes in anything, whether cutting out food groups or having digestive detox, is fraught with problems, only because extremes can lead to extreme behaviors. with the eating, part of the problem is you're cutting out so much, it takes a lot of work to make all your nutrients -- all your nutrient needs. now, you have the personality and temperament and the wherewithal -- >> i like being told what to do. >> you like being told what to eat, what you can't eat. cutting out sugar, salt, these kinds of things. >> alcohol, not bad. >> alcohol, right, not bad. >> but what about certain fibers? certain food groups, you lose the fiber. >> cutting out gluten is good because you're cutting out the cookies, but then you cut out the fiber. so that's one big negative. one big problem is when people cut out dairy. when we take a look over here and see, you know, a glass of milk or a cup of yogurt. do you need to have concentrated dairy? not really. you can make up for it with dark green vegetables, but you have to eat a lot of them, more than two cups of broccoli, cups and cups of spinach. now, you probably can do that in a day, but most people don't get enough calcium, and that's a big issue. so, if you pay attention, you can compensate for that, but you don't want to cut out food groups and then not make up for it later on. even as melissa is saying in the taped piece, you have to work hard at healthy eating. there's a lot to eat, but you have to be careful. >> and you also want to make sure you avoid laxatives, things like that. >> well, here's the thing, the body has a sensitive salt and water balance and you also have a lot of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract. when you disturb that with laxatives, you may have a mental feeling of lightness and i feel better, but you really need to talk to your doctor, because this can actually make you sick if done too often or not properly. so, there's no reason to do it, but talk to your doctor. >> madelyn fernstrom, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. coming up next, why one woman says it's okay for a woman to settle for mr. good enough. this morning on "today's relationships," should you settle? at some point, all single women ask, do i settle for mr. right now or keep waiting for mr. right? laurie gottlieb is the author of "marry him: the case for settling for mr. good enough." lori, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you were here a couple years ago when you wrote an article about this for "the atlanta cause." but you write in your book this doesn't mean lowering your standards. you say "what matters is finding the perfect partner, not the perfect person. it's not about lowering your standards, it's about maturing and having reasonable expectations." is that what you mean by mr. good enough? are we all sort of mr. or mrs. good enough? >> you know, i think we are. and you know, this book is really about looking at what really matters in love. so, it's about finding true love but looking for what's important in terms of long-term romantic happiness and letting go of the stuff that doesn't matter. >> well, to research this book, you got the advice of a lot of dating experts and then you followed it. you talked to a match-maker, a dating coach. you even went to a rabbi for help. what did you learn from these people that you didn't know? >> you know, i learned a lot, but mostly, the takeaway really was that i was too picky about the things that don't matter but i wasn't picky enough about the things that would matter. and so, i really started to look for the qualities that were going to matter and that were going to make me happy in the long term. >> you mention the word picky, because you find in your book that women tend to be pickier than men. research shows that that is the case. where were you picky where you shouldn't have been? >> well, you know, i was picky about kind of things like, i had a very specific idea of what my type was. and if a person didn't meet that idea that i had, then i wouldn't even give him a chance. and there's a survey in the book ere women and men were asked, you know, what would be a deal-breaker for going on a second date with someone? men named three things. women named 300 things. >> well, you talk about not going out with somebody because his name was sheldon. and you thought, well, sheldon, he's got to be a nerd. and yet, a couple years later, i guess it was? >> it was a few months later. >> a few months later you meet another guy named sheldon and this time you went for it. what had happened in that period of time? >> i was working with a dating coach, and he said to me, look, lori, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. and when i passed up the first sheldon, i realized after the fact that what was i thinking? this guy would have been such a great guy to go out with, and i never even gave him a chance. and so, the second time i did give him a chance and i ended up actually with that guy. >> so, what do you hope the people take away from this book? >> i, you know, i think that they should take away that really being realistic and looking for what's important is not about giving something up but about getting so much more by finding the right mr. right. >> but again, you haven't specified, what should you be looking for, if it's not things like the name of the person or their height or whatever it is? what are the specifics you should look for? >> you have to have passion and chemistry and attraction and all of those things, but the character issues. is the person kind? do you have the same values? do you want the same things out of life? that's so much more important than whether you both like roller blading or read the same books. >> a lot of people will go, wait a minute, she's talking about mr. good enough. she's not married. >> well, you know what? i'm so much closer to finding the right guy for me. mr. good enough is mr. right and i think that's what people have to remember. >> but how come you haven't found him yet? what do you think is the reason? >> i'm close. >> oh, you are? >> i hope i'm close. i'm a lot closer than i ever was. >> is he in your life, mr. good enough? >> i'll let people read the book to find out. >> there's something to sell the book. lori gottlieb, thank you. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a political era comes to an end today as baltimore mayor sheila dixon steps down, transferring power to stephanie rawlings- blake. dixon was found guilty of a misdemeanor embezzlement charge and faces sentencing later today. in january, should set it up the deal on a separate perjury charge requiring her to resign without a criminal record. this afternoon, rawlings-blake will take the oath of office and get to work as baltimore's 49th mayor. we have continuing coverage on our website, wbaltv.com. we will also broadcast the swearing-chinese ceremony live on 11 news at noon. >> now let's take a look at the forecast with tony pann. >> things quiet ahead of the storm. a few clouds will draft -- turf in, but it should be nice. dry eye in the morning on friday. the morning commute will get off without a hitch but in the afternoon we will see snow developing and mixing in with a little bit of sleep. all the fun will last into saturday. saturday.

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