Transcripts For WRC Today 20110210

but the soda industry says that study falls flat today, thursday, february 10th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. this story involving christopher lee posed without a shirt for a woman he met on craigslist. the 46-year-old married father from new york was just sworn in for his second term on capitol hill. the woman who received that photo claims that lee told her he was a divorced 39-year-old lobbyist. we'll get the latest from washington straight ahead. also ahead we'll tell you about a hidden danger at indoor ice skating rinks. we're talking about toxic fumes that can make you very sick. coming up, the results of a startling "today" show investigation. plus, the lunch that has britain buzzing. kate middleton steps out with her future stepmother-in-law. and speaking of royalty, sir elton john will be here for a live interview. we'll talk to him about his new movie and also about what it's like to be a father for the first time at the age of 63. we'll begin with that photo scandal that led to the resignation of chris lee. kelly o'donnell has the details. kelly, good morning to you. >> good morning. sudden is the word. what's so stunning about this is how fast it all unfolded. from the time of the revelation of the scandal to resignation was just a few hours. the former congressman is a former businessman, considered an up and coming conservative. he said that he wanted to leave office so that his actions would not be a distraction. this is the image, shirtless and flexing, that tanked the political career of chris lee, a conservative republican congressman from western new york. >> we're here to get something done and that's what it's about. >> reporter: his stunning message was read by a clerk on the house floor. >> i hereby give notice of my resignation from the united states house of representatives, effective 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time wednesday february 9th, 2011. >> reporter: a lightning-fast fall for the married father just sworn in for a second term last month. >> mr. lee is recognized. >> reporter: lee took part in a house hearing just hours before quitting congress. >> why i think congress gets such a bad name is we don't listen to the american people. hello, i'm chris lee. i have the great privilege of representing new york's 26th congressional district. >> reporter: he was even given the job of delivering the republican address last spring. >> i've been in congress now 16 months, but it doesn't take that long to figure out that washington does more talking than listening. >> reporter: congressman lee was exposed wednesday by the gossip website gawker.com. their story claimed lee had been seeking women through craigslist. >> he told her he was divorced and dating. he said he'd gone on dates with a woman from craigslist before. >> reporter: the site also published e-mails that lee wrote to a woman. i'm a fit, fun, classy guy. live in capitol hill area. the 46-year-old congressman described himself as a 39-year-old lobbyist, adding i promise not to disappoint. the woman told gawker after she and lee exchanged dozens of e-mails she googled his name and then discovered lee was a married member of congress, not a divorced lobbyist. >> she was outraged that he lied to her. when she realized he'd lie about several elements of who he was, how old he was, that he was married, that's when she cut off contact. >> reporter: lee released a written apology saying he had made profound mistakes. i regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. i deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. and in that written apology, just two paragraphs, he didn't address any of the specifics of the photo or those alleged contacts with women. he simply got out. ironically, one of the pieces of legislation he was working on while here was dealing with how to help students be careful in how they perceive and deal with things on the internet to protect them from perhaps putting themselves in a difficult situation. meredith? >> thank you very much. it is 7:05. here's matt. now the latest chapter in the remarkable recovery of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. just a month after she was shot in the head, giffords has recovered enough to speak. nbc's janet shanle has details on this story. >> it was a simple request, just not word, actually. but when gabrielle giffords said the word "toast" during breakfast this week, it spoke volumes, answering a question that was uncertain, whether or not the congresswoman would ever be able to speak. it was a single word, but it signified an immeasurable step forward. it happened monday morning as friends were visiting with giffords in houston, where she's receiving therapy for her injuries. >> she was having outmeal and yogurt and she asked me for toast. she sounded great. i said, absolutely. >> reporter: although not her first word, it confirms what was previously uncertain. giffords can speak. >> she's doing speech therapy every day. she's really getting better every day. >> reporter: there's more news. her husband writing on giffords' facebook page "gabby's appetite is back and even though it's hospital food, she's enjoying three meals a day." when she was shot in tucson a month ago, a bullet pierced the left side of her brain, the side that controls speech, so there were questions about her ability to speak. her doctors say she continues to improve. >> patience is really needed. she's doing really well. we have a long way to go. >> even though she's in a hospital recovering from a very serious injury, she sill is offering the strength and support that she offered us before this happened. >> reporter: mark kelly, who has resumed his training for the space shuttle "endeavour" mission, is inspired by his wife's progress. he wrote on facebook "the doctors say she is recovering at lightning speed, but they aren't kidding when they say this is a marathon process." on wednesday, the congresswoman's office released a new photo of the congresswoman and federal judge john roll, who was killed in that january attack. they were friends. she also had some good news, the congresswoman's spokesperson, about gabby giffords, saying they are hoping that the congresswoman may be able to attend her husband's shuttle launch of the space shuttle "endeavou "endeavour", which is scheduled for april. matt, back to you. >> janet, great news. thank you very much. now let's get a check of the morning's top stories from ann curry. hey, ann. good morning. we begin with deja vu all over again. dangerous cold, even where you don't expect it. frigid temperatures below zero have seized the south after the second snowstorm since last week slammed the region with snow and rain. the blizzard plowed through the country's midsection wednesday, hitting oklahoma the hardest and giving tulsa the snowiest winter on record. the storm is deadly. two people died in weather-related car accidents in arkansas and missouri during the storm. a natural gas explosion rocked allentown, pennsylvania, overnight, leveling eight homes and forcing hundreds of residents on two city blocks to evacuate. at least six people have been reported missing in the aftermath of the massive fire there. a 12-year-old suicide bomber in a school uniform deadinatona this morning, killing 31 cudade and wounding scores of other. the terrorist threat to this country may be at it highest point since the attacks on 9/11. that's according to janet napolitano. today james clapper will testify in congress that al qaeda remains the number one threat to the united states. now to wall street and erin burr net. good morning. >> good morning. the big talk today is that the new york stock exchange may not be american anymore. the german dutch company is going to acquire the new york stock exchange. that's a big story getting a lot of talk here. also ben bernanke said yesterday he thinks inflation is not a problem and saying this sobering thing, ann. he thinks it could take up to ten years to get employment down to 5% to 6% -- or unemployment. and nerd alert, ann. the report about what caused the financial crisis, the financial crisis inquiry commission, there's a book. it's debuting at number ten on the "new york times" best-seller list. maybe as popular as justin bieber? maybe not. >> but definitely as important. thank you, erin. >> all right. and finally now, guitar hero has left the building. ac activision is pulling the plug on the cash cow because of declining popularity. and with guitar hero axed, they'll also be laying off some 500 employees. that's a related note to what erin was talking about. it's now ten minutes past the hour. we send it back to you guys. >> thank you very much. >> all right, ann. you know, she's not just a great journalist. she's also a beautiful woman, ann curry. yes. last night she was at the red dress fashion show. look at that. >> wow. >> it's a beautiful dress. >> who it designed that for you? carmen mark valvo specifically for ann. this fashion show is to raise awareness for heart disease in women. >> did you see that shoulder work there? >> all i was thinking about, they were telling us to do that move. people would be saying, is that all you got? is that your sexy move? >> that's some attitude there. >> you've walked the catwalk before, baby. >> it is all the perp walks she's done. >> oh, thanks. >> she looks good even being thrown under a bus. >> mr. roker, what's going on? >> you know, we're talking about this bitterly cold and all the snow. arkansas getting hit pretty hard. there were hard hits. folks sliding all over the roads. there were a lot of fender-benders, people trying to get through. this is bentonville, arkansas. they picked up almost 20 inches of snow. i me good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. light snow overnight left anywhere from a dusting to as much as an inch of snow around the region, and it's now long gone. the sky's beginning to clear out. it's cold. temperatures are in the low and mid-20s, upper teens farther west and north. and later today, briefly above freezing by mid-afternoon, lots of sun and a blustery northwest wind. teens tomorrow morning, near 40 friday afternoon. saturday afternoon mid-40s and sunday into the low 50s. hi >> and that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. the annual conservative political action conference better known as cpac gets under way in washington today, and it features a who's-who of presidential contenders, including governor tim pawlenty. good morning. >> good morning to you, meredith. >> you have made it clear that you're seriously considering running. you've said you'll make up your mind between now and maybe march, april. but at this point, what would keep you from running? >> my wife. >> she has an interest. is she saying don't do it? >> i'm just teasing. it comes down to what are the needs of the country and what do i bring to that? secondly, it is a deeply personal decision. my wife is fully supportive. i love her very much. it is a burden on a family. >> what would keep you from running? if she supports you and you know what you need to do -- >> we're just making sure we've got everything in line, get the ducks in a row. that's not an easy thing to do. there's a lot of work there. we've been working for conservative candidates and we'll finalize the decision in the last month or so. >> okay. here's the wrap of t. paw, as you friends call you. how are you going to emerge from behind those headline-grabbers? >> a number of things. people are probably tired of the hype and the big speeches filled with false promises. i've got a record of delivering the product and the goods. >> you think those three are making false promises? >> no, i'm just -- we elected a president who had soaring rhetoric and a lot of great speeches. a lot of people are disappointed in his performance. if you look at my record as governor, when you look at reforming schools, market-based health care and the rest, i've actually done all of that. >> again, how do youo yo you emm behind the people with star quality? >> i think as people get to know me, i get support. i got elected and reelected in the most liberal state in the country as a republican. so as frank sinatra would say, if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere. >> you're a fiscal conservative. you criticize the president after his state of the union address. you called him a chicken. that's the word you used, for failing to address real fiscal issues in this country. your successor in minnesota, governor mark dayton, has criticized you for leaving a $6.2 billion deficit. last night in his state of the state address, he said that he was left with a horrendous fiscal mess and state agencies poorly managed. so what makes you better-equipped to run the nation's economy, if you left your own house in such disarray? >> well, 49 of the 50 states have a budget deficit. so if the disqualifier is any governor with a budget deficit, no governor could run. it's the worst economic collapse since world war ii. as to governor dayton, and any other governor facing those challenges, that assumes, by the way, the deficit in minnesota, a 27% increase in spending. that's the forecasted increase in spending. that's preposterous. i could take care of that deficit as i did for my eight years as fgovernor and he shoul, too. outside groups have looked at all of this. i'm one of four governors in the gree that got an "a" fwrad for the best fiscal discipline and management. >> finally, tea party supporters in washington put a lot of pressure on their republican leadership to make even more severe budget cuts in the leadership. they may be trying to run the agenda in washington. you are emerging as a republican leader. how would you reconcile those two sides of the party? >> first, reducing government spending and dealing with the deficit and the debt is now mainstream. so the fact that the tea party and others are pushing for more cuts, deeper cuts, faster reform, that's a good thing, meredith. i don't discount that. i applaud it. >> okay, governor pawlenty. thanks so much. do you want to make an announcement while we get you here? get it over with? >> absolutely. just kidding. >> you're not going to squirm out of this one. here's matt. >> careful, governor. now to the uprising in egypt and the ancient artifacts damaged there. richard engel just took a tour of the egyptian museum. he joins us now from cairo. richard, good morning. >> good morning, matt. the egyptian museum here in cairo has the world's largest collection of ancient artifacts. during the chaos here, it was broken into. today we got a tour of the museum and saw what happened. cairo's museum has been at the center of the chaos here. in the middle of tahrir square. it nearly burned when protesters set fire to president mubarak's political party headquarters nearby. but the museum itself has never been a target of the demonstrators' anger. in fact, they've protected it, forming a human shield in front of the main fwaet. but two weeks ago friday, amid some of the worst violence, looters did manage to break in. today, egypt's minister of antiquities showed us the restoration work under way on 70 objects moved or damaged in the robbery. >> they damaged things dated back to 4,000 years ago. this is dated to the middle kingdom. you can see it's broken. >> reporter: for the first time, we were also able to retrace the steps of perhaps the greatest attempted antiquities heist in egypt's modern history. the thieves first stormed into the museum's gift shop. they wanted cash and gold jewelry. probably only one thief actually entered the museum. he came in through that broken window and lowered himself down on very thin cables. but he fell off, then smashed through this case, which has been repaired, badly injuring himself. you can still see the blood. he was looking for gold and a magical elixir called red mercury, believed to be hidden in the necks of mummies and to have the power to control the spirit world. >> criminals are like traitors of the lost arc, looking for gold and for the mercury. >> reporter: anything else was thrown aside. >> this is not real gold. they throw it on the ground. >> reporter: the thief was in the museum for at least an hour, but was arrested by soldiers right in front of a goddess carved to protect the pharaohs and apparently still on guard after thousands of years. obviously when people think about this, they worry about the great treasures. >> they opened the showcase in front of the gold room of king tut that contained the beautiful golden mask. it was sealed. thank god. the golden mask is priceless. it's a masterpiece. >> museum officials tell us there were probably four thieves involved in this attempted robbery. the break-in. three stayed on the roof and then that one inside man was lowered on these electrical cables inside until he was arrested by the door by egyptian soldiers. matt? >> richard engel for us in cairo, thank you very much. just ahead, kate middleton has lunch with camilla. we're live with details on that. first, this is "today" on nbc. coming up, the judge's stern warning to lindsay lohan and the controversy over the dress that she wore to court. plus, the hidden hazard at your local skating rink that's making children sick. 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[ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try new snickers peanut butter squared. with the most customized piece of furniture you will ever own. get that one piece right, and the rest of the room will just fall into place. don't miss the february sale, going on now at ethan allen. imagine a day when we can eat what we want and sleep soundly through the night. prevacid®24hr prevents the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day, all night. good morning. i'm joe krebs. it's 7:26 on this thursday, the 10th day of february. we have some breaking news on the roads right now in virginia. here's jerry edwards and the news 4 traffic network. jerry. >> joe, police on the scene of a multicar crash. you're looking at live pictures. this is in virginia, i-95 northbound between route 1 woodbridge interchange at lordon road. right now as it stands, only the far left side of the roadway is getting by as police remain on the scene. 95 northbound, the backup will begin solidly at dale city, and that backup continues to grow to the accident scene. route 1 right now is going to be a better alternate. bill? >> looks like a mess. thanks, jerry. light snow overnight caught some people off guard. stafford county schools are closed for the day. there's a lot of delays as well. we'll take a look at good morning. we're clearing out after last night's snow, and temperatures will just barely get above freezing by later this afternoon. right now mid-20s and a bit of a blustery wind, but we'll have lots of sun, mostly sunny, warmer tomorrow. mid-40s for highs saturday, maybe even low 50s on sunday. joe? >> thanks, tom. another update in 25 minutes. join us tomorrow morning beginning at ♪ [ male announcer ] not all steel is created equal. not all manufacturing processes are created equal. not all engineering standards are created equal. which is why not all luxury vehicles are created equal. the hard way means never taking short cuts. the hard way is how lexus inspires absolute confidence. this is the pursuit of perfection. see what it takes at lexus.com/thehardway. 7:30 now on thursday morning. i always enjoy seeing happy faces on the plaza. we have a bunch of them this morning, even though it's chilly out there. temperature in the upper 20s. moderating by the weekend. we like hearing that. spring is 38 days away. feels like forever. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. just ahead, a hidden danger at indoor skating rinks. >> that is right. it can make children who skate or play hockey sick. coming up, the alarming results of a "today" investigation. also ahead, an icon in the house, elton john stops by for a live interview. we'll talk to him about a variety of topics, including what it's like to be a dad and his new animated film called "gnomeo and juliet." and then coming up tomorrow on "today," another music legend. we'll talk to janet jackson. she opens up in a very personal and revealing conversation about her struggles with body image and self-esteem growing up in the jackson family and losing her beloved brother, michael. that's our exclusive interview with janet jackson tomorrow on "today." and we begin this half hour with lindsay lohan, free on bond after pleading not guilty to a felony grand left charge on wednesday. kristen welker is outside the courthouse with the latest. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. lindsay lohan arrived early for court with no family members by her side. she seemed relaxed, even chatty before the proceedings began. then the judge arrived and made it clear one more slip and he won't hesitate to put her back in jail. >> miss lohan -- >> reporter: harsh words for lindsay lohan. >> i'm trying to put this as polite as possible. you're in a different situation now that a felony has been filed against you. >> reporter: wednesday, lohan was charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing this $2,500 necklace, which she was photographed wearing a few weeks ago. lohan pleaded not guilty and posted bail, but judge keith schwartz warned her. >> if you violate the law, i will remand you and set no bail. so what i'm telling you is you need to follow the laws just like everybody else. do you understand what i'm telling you? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: the actress didn't say much more, but she did seem to react when the prosecution made a request that the judge agreed to, that lohan stay away from the jewelry store where the alleged theft occurred. >> the store received some flowers, which caused the victim in this case to be somewhat alarmed. so i would ask the court that she stay away from the victims at this point in time. >> reporter: like past court appearances, lohan was flanked by media as she arrived, but this time she donned sunglasses and a striking white dress that had people wondering if her outfit was appropriate. >> the cut might have been a little much. but it didn't have any effect. i tend to counsel my clients, dress for court like you do for church. >> reporter: mark garagos defended winona ryder in 2002. ryder gauze probation and community service. lohan's case carries a possible three-year prison sentence, but garagos says that's unlikely. >> my guess would be they'll come to a plea deal. i to not see state prison. >> reporter: but the actress has other problems. prosecutors in riverside county are still investigating after lohan allegedly assaulted an employee at the betty ford clinic where she was a patient. lohan denies the claim. >> it could be impulse control issues for her. it could be a lot of things driving those behaviors. >> reporter: dr. charles sophy says even though the actress has spent time in rehab, she is not getting the kind of counseling she needs. >> there are going to be slips and there's go to be mistakes, but nonetheless, that whole treatment plan needs to be looked at. >> reporter: for now, treatment is coming from a stern reality check administered by a superior court judge. >> look around this room. everyone in this room has to follow the law. you're no different than anyone else. so please don't push your luck. >> now, the judge also revoked lohan's probation, which stems back to a 2007 dui arrest. he set bail at $40,000 and her next court date will be in two weeks. matt? >> all right, kristen welker, thank you. we're joined now by mark garag garagos. mark, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> so you counsel your clients when they're going to court, they should dress like they're going to church. i'm guessing neither of us has seen a dress like that in church or temple. would you have stopped her? >> well, i don't know what i could have done to stop it. i generally don't ride with them from their house. but luckily for her, she's in a courtroom with a judge, judge schwartz, who is not going to hold that against her. and, you know, unfortunately or -- maybe it's my own problem, but 80% of the people who come to court generally are dressed inappropriately anyway. so it's certainly not something new. >> but you mentioned this judge and the fact that he won't hold this against her. in effect, justice is supposed to be blind to that anyway, correct? >> that's correct. and while that is the case in this courtroom, i can tell you that in the decades that i've been practicing, in the courts i've been practicing, that's not always the case. >> mark, it's funny. i've heard people on both sides of the coin saying on the one hand, they think lindsay lohan is being treated better because of who she is and other people saying they think she's being treated more harshly because of who she. do you see a different level of treatment? >> i would say in the past, i think she's been treated more harshly. yesterday what happened, the setting of the bail, the amount of the bail, which was the bail schedule, getting a lecture from judge schwartz, she was treated exactly like anybody else in her position would have been. >> reasonable doubt, that is what the defense needs here to get her off these charges. if this misunderstanding can be brought into the courtroom, if, for example, a stylist walks in and says, yeah, i thought i was borrowing that on behalf of lindsay lohan, is she in the clear? >> yeah, this is the problem she has. for the new case, the grand theft, it's reasonable doubt. so that's a tough standard for somebody to get a conviction on on her. the problem she's got is this probation violation because that is not. it's not the same standard. it's a lower burden of proof. you don't get a jury. it's the judge's decision. that's what's going to drive this and that's why i suspect there's going to be a plea deal here because she could win the new case and still lose the probation violation. >> something in kristen welker's report caught my attention, this idea that the judge told her to stay away from the jewelry store where this necklace came from because according to reports, that jewelry store received some flowers, perhaps on behalf of lindsay lohan. we don't know that for sure. is that simply inappropriate or is that illegal? >> well, sending the flowers, if she had done it, is not illegal unless she did it now after the protective order was issued. but issuing the protective order is certainly not something unusual. prosecutors ask for that every day in millions of cases. >> the flowers arrived at about the same time the police investigation was beginning. so i guess some people might try to draw conclusions based on the timing. >> well, i -- you know, in some ways, sending them flowers or writing them a check, there's not much difference. if you've got a situation where somebody is accused of a theft, a lot of times -- and you think it's a misunderstanding, there are mechanisms by which you can try to satisfy that civilly, not criminally. you can't do it where there's a felony charge, but if there's a misdemeanor charge, you can do a civil compromise. so if you want to send flowers or say, hey, this was a misunderstanding, there's no harm in that. >> mark garagos, always interesting to hear from you, mark. thanks for your time this good morning here. we had the light snow occur overnight. now it's gone. we're getting some sunshine back, but did leave a dusting to as much as an inch across our region, and temperatures are cold. we're still below freezing, down into the low to mid-20s throughout much of the area. later today, briefly above freezing by mid-afternoon, lots of sun, blustery northwest wind. down into the teens by dawn tomorrow, and tomorrow afternoon up near 40 and a warmer weekend to follow. into next week, monday, tuesday, wednesday, high near 50. >> and this just in. it's cold. but if you don't have this gentleman, you might want to go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> all right, al. thank you. coming up, kate middleton's lunch date with her future stepmother-in-law. up next, is there a hidden hazard at your local skating rink making your kids sick? to weigh 'em all. if those boxes are under 70 lbs. you don't have to weigh 'em. with these priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service, if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. no weigh? nope. no way. yeah. no weigh? sure. no way! uh-uh. no way. yes way, no weigh. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. 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[ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. ♪ so, you got a chevy malibu. nice. a consumers digest best buy three years in a row. and an epa - estimated 33 miles per gallon highway. and what does your neighbor have? a bad case of car envy. back at 7:43. this morning on "today investigates," a hidden danger at indoor ice rinks. good morning to you, jeff. >> good morning, meredith. this is timely, right in the middle of winter. this affects hundreds of thousands of kid whose play ice hockey and, of course, the rest of us who skate for fun. the danger is in the air at these rinks. toxic fumes you can't see, smell or taste. and it's literally making children sick. >> get back! got to get back! get back! >> reporter: at first it was a mystery. what was powerful enough to send this 14-year-old boy to the hospital? and this former star into retirement? on a respirator. >> i thought i was going to die. >> i was really scared. >> reporter: for kyler fisher, it happened at a recent game in minnesota. with every breath, he was being poisoned by carbon monoxide in the rink. >> it got pretty bad, to where i felt like i was going to pass out in the locker room. i was laying down. i couldn't get up. >> reporter: kyler's parents rushed him to the emergency room. you're sitting in the hospital, your son is getting oxygen. what are you thinking to yourself? >> it was very scary. i just didn't know the long-term effects of it and what was going on. you think your kids are safe in a rink and he wasn't. >> reporter: turns out kyler's entire team was sick and this was no isolateddenver, a carbon monoxide leak sent 61 people to the hospital. more than 250 people have been poisoned at indoor ice rinks in the last two years. the culprit? those smoke-belching resurfacing machines, run over and over again to clean the ice. their exhaust fumes contain poisons like carbon monoxide and ultra-fine particles. fumes that can become trapped inside the rink. >> they're very, very tight structures. there's no heating systems. there's very little ventilation. whatever toxic materials are in the ice rinks stay there. >> reporter: think of it this way. you'd never stand in your garage at home with the car turned on and the door closed. but experts say at your local ice rink, the air could be just as dangerous. so nbc news set up a scientific experiment to find out how dangerous ice rinks can be. we hired certified industrial hygienists to test the air at the revolution ice center in pennsylvania. your typical neighborhood rink. for our test, we used their fuel-powered resurfacer, the kind used at most rinks nationwide. we had them run it for a single sweep around the ice. along with this machine, the ice edger, also commonly used at skating rinks. >> let's put the meters at a child's breathing zone. >> reporter: meters were set up over the ice and they walked around with hand-held monitors, testing for those toxic pollutants. studies show over time, they can cause permanent heart, lung, even drain damage. just five minutes into our test, our air quality alarms went off. the carbon monoxide, already over the safe limit according to state guidelines. >> the levels of 20 parts per million. you can see we're up to about 60 right now. >> reporter: and when we measured for ultra-fine particles, even our expert was surprised. >> we start seeing adverse health effects at 100,000 particles. right now we're at 209,000 particles. >> reporter: we turned the machines off. incredibly, an hour later t was still so dangerous, our expert had to pull the drug. >> jeff, we'll have to call off the test and go outside and ventilate. >> the levels are too high. >> the levels are too high right now. we've hit the evacuation level. >> reporter: believe it or not, there are no laws requiring carbon monoxide detectors in rinks, so kids can be inhaling these fumes and not even know about it. >> think about the amount of time we're on the ice practicing. we're here three, four nights a week. >> reporter: it's the damage you can't see that can ruin your child's life later. >> it started small and then it progressed into completely debilitating me. >> reporter: linda davis has been skating since she was 6, a former ice capades star. recently, her body began to fall apart, diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. today this beautiful athlete needs a respirator. >> i have problems with my lungs. i have problems with my memory still. i have problems with nur lod neurological issues. >> reporter: there are parents say, i've never had a problem. why should i be worried? >> because you don't know. you don't know what your child has been exposed to. >> reporter: right now only three states regulate air quality in ice rinks. minnesota, massachusetts, and rhode island. leaving most of the country unprotected. while the epa has an alert about this on its website, the federal government still hasn't created a law requiring clean air in rinks. >> in our homes we have to have carbon monoxide detectors but not in a rink where our children are. >> reporter: does that make any sense? >> no. makes no sense at all. >> reporter: we wanted to question the epa, but the agency declined to go on camera. so we called these four members of congress, all at the helm of clean air committees. once again, we were turned down, all of them told us they're unavailable for interviews. >> are they waiting for something very tragic to happen? because as far as i'm concerned, my kids going to the hospital is already tragic enough. >> there is an easy solution here. electric ice resurfacers, no exhaust at all. some rinks like revolution ice center in pennsylvania, use them exclusively. the problem is they cost twice as much as the fuel-powered resurfacers. the epa and the rink association told us they're educating rink owners and hope new rules for ice machines will cut emissions in half, but many say that's just not enough, meredith. in most states to this day, no one is following up on that. no one is testing the air. that's the real problem. >> yeah. from the guys who test it, you have to leave because the levels get so high. what to parents and kids do who hit the ice rinks today? >> that probably scared a lot of people. what you should do is go to the rink, ask the rink owner what kind of resurfacer do you use? electric or fuel-powered? if they use fuel-powered, they say you should ask do you have carbon monoxide detectors here. if they don't, then if your child is feeling dizzy or lazy, don't just blow it off. that could be carbon monoxide poisoning, especially when they're at the rink or the hours following. >> thank you, jeff. coming up, the serious health risks linked to drinking dietsoda every day. we'll have the surprising new study. with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patients had their plaque psoriasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, or have had cancer. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses, it's stelara®. if you skip this latte and opt for the smaller low-fat one, you'll cut about 12 grams of fat. then take alli with it to help boost your weight loss. so for every 2 pounds you work to lose, alli can help you lose 1 more. alli. how healthy works. ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it ♪ express yourself ♪ hey [ female announcer ] coffee is like life. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate, from nestle. "you're an amazing, beautiful woman." "i love you." - that's not on there. - no, it's in here. - savings on select diamond fashion: one more reason kay is the number one jewelry store in america. 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[ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. well, you may be surprised to wake up and see some snow on your car this morning. winter weather moved through the area overnight. a number of local school systems are either delayed or closed today. in fact, that list is running at the bottom of your screen and on nbcwashington.com. good morning. i'm joe krebs at 7:56 on this thursday, the 10th of february. today, metro board members will review a new report that details problems with metro escalator maintenance. the report shows that the system's 588 escalators break down about once every seven days. it also shows that some of the newest escalators are breaking down at a faster rate than the older escalators. we'll take a break now, come back and look at good morning. we're clearing out now in the wake of the little light snow we had overnight, anywhere from a dusting to about an inch around the region, and now clearing out. it's cold, though. we're just in the low and mid-20s. 24 now at reagan national. winds are beginning to increase a bit out of the north and west, gusting today around 25 miles an hour and windchills in the teens and 20s. highs reach the low 30s, lots of sun. mostly sunny tomorrow, a bit warmer. even warmer for the weekend. how's traffic now, jerry? >> tom-an earlier accident, i-95 northbound near lorton road. still delays coming up the parkway. along interstate 66, a little sunshine slowing you down making the trip in. heading for downtown, suitland parkway, south capitol street, all very slow. top side of the beltway crawling college park around silver spring on the outer lube. inner loop, watch out for sunshine delays. joe? >> jerry, thanks. another update in 25 minutes. join us tomorrow morning join us tomorrow morning beginning at 4:30 f [music playing] america's beverage companies are working together to put more information right up front... adding new calorie labels to every single can, bottle, and pack they produce... so you can make the choice that's right for you. 8:00 now on this thursday morning. the 10th of february, 2011. elton john classic "crocodile rock." are we hearing it? >> yes, in the background. >> oh, okay. sir elton is stopping by in this half hour. >> that's right. and we are really looking forward to this. this is a guy who is dynamic to say the least. he's the driving force behind the brand new animated movie called "gnomeo and juliet." basically "romeo and juliet" with garden gnomes. and he's a brand new father. 63 years old. he and david now have a baby. we'll talk to him coming up. also ahead, the dangers of diet soda. a lot of us drink diet soda. now a new study reveals that comes with serious health risks, but the soda industry is taking issue with those findings. we'll get into the details behind that coming up. >> we don't know what they had at lunch, but kate middleson has lunch with her future stepmother-in-law. we're live at buckingham palace with the details. first, a check of the morning's top stories with ann curry. >> hey, good morning. in the news this morning, there appears to be little doubt that wounded arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords will regain the ability to speak. just a month after she was attacked and shot in the head, we spoke with her friend debbie wasser m sermann wassermann-schultz who witnessed the breakthrough on monday. >> at breakfast, you know, we were just sitting in her room, you know, while she was eating. i was just talking to her and her chief of staff was talking to her. and, you know, she was kind of dawdling with hospital oatmeal. and as you might imagine, she wasn't too thrilled about eating it. and she just looked at the tray and looked at the bread on the tray and looked up and just said "toast." >> giffords' request for toast is significant boss it may signal a higher level of cognitive function. she did get that toast, by the way. public transportation workers have joined a growing wave of strikes across egypt. organizers are calling for another huge rally tomorrow as they press for the resignation of president hosni mubarak. chris lee resigned suddenly on wednesday after a website posted a shirtless photo he sent to a woman he met on craigslist. lee is married with a young son. a new study shows that an experimental surgery to prevent a serious birth defect may offer expectant mothers new hope. nbc's robert bazell has this story. >> reporter: after heather and brian learned their now-3-year-old son, thomas, had the worst kind of spina bifida, they found out about a clinical trial where doctors operate on the fetus in the wound. >> i said, all right, baby. we're going to get you this surgery and help you walk as well as you can. >> reporter: the complex surgery involving a huge team at the university of california san francisco took hours. >> at 22 weeks, 23 weeks, some of the tissues are so soft that if you just even handle them carefully for more than a few minutes, they start to fall apart. one thing we have to do is learn to operate. >> reporter: the results were so good that the group that monitors the trial decided it needed to end six months to a year sooner than planned. as for thomas, he does not need a shunt for cerebral spinal fluid and he's free of mental problems. what's this? >> it's an emergency helicopter! >> reporter: two common complications of the disorder. >> it looks like it rubs right up against the uterine wall. >> reporter: the doctors believe this trial is just the beginning. >> the goal of the fetal treatment center is that we could cure all disease before birth. >> reporter: an ambishing goal many years off, but this latest trial is a major start. for "today," robert bazell, nbc news, san francisco. and finally, a book known as the wicked bible is on display today for the first time at cambridge university. it's a rare 380-year-old book. it contains a notorious typo that instructs readers, quote, thou shalt commit adultery. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather with al. good morning. in the wake of the light snow we had last night, the sky beginning to clear now and temperatures are still below freezing. we're in the 20s throughout the entire region. later today, it will climb into the low 30s. probably to our west and north, it's in just the teens right now. winds gusting to around 25 miles an hour throughout the day with the sunshine. we'll climb to low 30s later this afternoon, then teens tomorrow morning, near 40 tomorrow afternoon and partly cloudy. and mostly sunny saturday, mid-40s. low 50s sunday afternoon. >> and just so you don't think i'm crazy, we actually have tape. there he is. he was up there. really. and then he went into the window. >> he's waving to you right now. he's there again. >> hey, hey! good to see you! >> just trying to make you look crazy. >> he's gone again! all right. when we come back, we'll talk about new research that links drinking diet soda to an increased risk of heart attack is or stroke. and we'll also sit down with sir elton john. talk about his new movie and life as a dad at 63. all of this after these messages. no matter what we're buying. i'll take it. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang. fire! 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"you're an amazing, beautiful woman." "i love you." - that's not on there. - no, it's in here. - the new charmed memories collection: one more reason kay is the number one jewelry store in america. a fiber that dissolves completely, is clearly different. benefiber. it's the easy way to get more fiber everyday. that's the beauty of benefiber. was just voted product of the year? in a national consumer survey on production innovation thousands of americans voted. aquafresh iso-active was the clear winner! we guarantee it will be your favorite, too, or your money back. try aquafresh iso-active. amazing. this morning on "today's health" a warning to diet soda drinkers. you may tring diet soda if you're watching you weight, but that could be hazardous to your overall health. >> is that a great new diet pepsi can or what? >> dietsoda has been portrayed as sexy, glamorous and guilt-free. but a new medical study is questioning the safety of diet soda, suggesting diet soda may be linked to serious health risks. >> this study really shows us some new information to help sort of fill out the -- the question of whether diet sodas are healthy and what we see is that they're not. >> reporter: for nine years researchers at the university of miami and columbia university followed 2,500 new yorkers who drank diet soda every day. the study found that daily diet soda drinkers had a 61% higher risk of so-called vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, than those who did not drink any diet soda. the study did not look at specific diet sodas, nor the amount of the diet soda people in the study drank each day. hanna gardner is the lead author of this study. >> i can't tell you it's safe or unsafe. all i can say is what we found was that there was an increased risk of vascular disease among those who drank diet soda daily. >> reporter: the american beverage association disputes the study saying there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that diet soda uniquely causes increased risk of vascular events or stroke. nutrition experts say the study doesn't answer the question why there may be a link between daily diet soda and vascular events. >> we don't really understand the full mechanism of how these non-cal non-caloric sweeteners are being used in the body. >> reporter: so should you ditch diet soda? nutrition experts say that would be going too far. >> occasionally that's just fine, once or twice a week. but the reality is there are many people out there getting three and four diet sodas a day. those are the people i'm particularly worried about. >> dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. >> hey, meredith. >> the official study has not been released. this is a press release. >> it's abstract. it is an abstract and it was presented at the stroke meeting. there's some science behind this. >> without being able to pinpoint the link, how much diet soda is too much? >> what they've found and reported was that for people who drink soda every day there was a 61% increased risk of a vascular event like a stroke. the real question, why the beverage industry has taken a stand and the scientists are saying we stand by our data, we don't know where the it is. what might be the link? we have to dial back our social patterns a little bit to the days of julia child where she would say, hey, what's wrong with a teaspoon of sugar? it's 16 calories. it's not going to make you fat or kill you. but we have fallen in love with dietary sweeteners. what we've all found is they've made us like things sweeter. there's no some science that it may rejigger the brain that it makes you crave other things. there's a link here somewhere. we just don't know quite what it is. there's no doubt that we like things sweeter and when we want things sweeter, we want more of them. >> when it comes to the link, the american beverage association is taking a hard stand against this study. they say one of the problems is weight gain and family history were not controlled in this study. >> the scientists controlled things beyond that. there will always be a genetic component. and weight gain per se, i'm not so sure, is important. the beverage industry does have a point, that we don't really -- there's no reason to think that this is -- there's a villain in diet beverages. i drink them. but i think you have to remember it isn't water. it isn't -- there's nothing nutritional in it. it's a treat. so if you find yourself thinking, oh, well, i'm going to get skinny because i'm drinking this every day, think otherwise. have a couple of week, but once you have one every day or so, you have to pay attention to the science and what the scientists are calling for now is for more research. and there will be more. but this battle, the lines are just being drawn. >> exactly. >> this battle is heating up. >> thank you so much. >> you bet. now here's matt. thank you very much. e elton john, one of the most recognized names in music. now he's lending his talents to the movie "gnomeo and juliet." providing the music and serving as one of the film's executive producers. they've even turned elton into a gnome. take a look. ♪ it's a little bit runny this pesticide ♪ >> my dad can really pick them. >> this is painful. >> oh, sweet torture. ♪ don't have much money but, boy, if i did ♪ ♪ i'd buy a big house where we both could live ♪ >> sir elton, good morning. welcome back. >> thank you very much. good morning. >> you make a cool gnome. >> i'm pretty good. i didn't see that until the film was finished and they showed it to me. i couldn't stop laughing. >> the glam gnome. >> i finally made it. >> you called yourself this. you called yourself the gnomosexual of the film. i'm glad you said it before i did. this took 11 years to make. why so long? >> the idea was green lit by disney years ago, and then there were various changes. and then it -- a couple of the studio people didn't really understand the idea of gnomes. it flatlined a few times. as my roll of executive producer, i have to phone up the studio and say, come on. this is a great idea. finally when dick cook became chairman of disney, he said go away, make the movie. we don't understand it. this is a very english movie. it's got -- it's set in stratford on avon. we did it with disney and it really great. >> it's romeo and juliet using garden gnomes. i'm looking more forward to the music. the soundtrack has got to be amazing. >> originally we had five new songs, of which two actually made the cut. but dick cook, one of the conditions that dick said, listen, go away and make it on your own, he said i'd like to hear more elton john stuff. i really never thought of this as being an elton john soundtrack, to be honest with you. but it worked out well. some of the songs we used that are popular really helped the songs -- the film visually with the music. and the arrangements were all done by james newton-howard, who is one of the stop scorers for film in the world. he used to be in my band. >> everything comes full circle. one thing you said besides the gnome comment, you said if you're british it's important to take the piss out of yourself. what does that mean? >> it means to make sure you have a good sense of humor about yourself. nothing is sacred. it's -- we have a very ironic sense of humor in britain. it's kind of cruel kind of humor. in a way. it's kind of -- >> just sarcasm or -- >> it's sarcasm, it's setting yourself up. it's not holding yourself in too high of esteem. >> i was reading your resume last night, knowing you were coming by here today. you look at all you've done in your career from rock and roll and pop and soul and blues and movies and broadway and animation, did you ever in the earlier days of your career, elton, imagine that you would have a chance to take advantage of so many creative outlets? >> no, i've been very fortunate. fate plays a huge hand in your career. you have to have the instinct to follow it. i had a phone call about "the lion king." i said, tim, you're one of my best friends. of course i'll do it. i've never done anything like this. that opened a huge door for me. it opened the door for broadway, for making our own animation, it opened the door for me scoring movies. you know, it just -- at that time, matt, i was just making records, touring, doing videos. and so in '93 with "the lion king" my career completely took off. thank god it did. it was so boring just to do the former three all the time. so i -- you know, as a musician who loves all sorts of music, it's given me the scope to -- i've done four broadway shows, three animation movies, produced a broadway show, made this film. it's -- there's no end to what you can do really if you're lucky enough to be able to be offered the chance. >> in terms of professional and personal wish lists, you're checking things off at a pretty fast rate. you and david have just welcomed a little baby, zachary. >> we had zachary on christmas day, which was really wonderful. you should go on jeopardy. i'll take elton john for 1,000. >> how is he doing? >> he's great. i'm going to go see him shortly. we had to go to england to promote the film last week. david was only there two days. he's -- he's always got one parent there, if we can help it. i can't wait to see him today. >> you waited a long time. you're 63. >> i'm 63. people say i waited too long. that may be the case. i can't answer that question. but from my point of view, we tried to adopt a little boy in the ukraine, which was quite heavily publicized. it became too hard to do that. too hard on the child. too hard on us. we would never have been able to do it. when that cause kind of negated, we wanted -- we pledged to look after the boy in the ukraine and make sure he was out of the orphanage, which he shortly will be. but we thought, you know what, maybe we should go the other route. and i said, you know what, why not? this is the only thing in my life that i haven't had the challenge -- it's the most challenging thing you can do, to bring up a child. i thought, you know what, i'm going to try it. i'm sure as much as i can give him, he's going to give me a thousand fold back. already in seven weeks he's done that. >> i can see it in your face. you're glowing, as they say. i want to ask you about something else, elton, when you said in an interview with qua "rolling stone." you talked about billy joel and a lot of the canceled dates because of his drinking, quite frankly. you said this. he's going to hate me for this, but every time they've gone to rehab, they've been rehab light. i love you, billy, and this is tough love. billy, you have your demons and you're not going to get rid of them at relab light. >> he hates me at the moment, and i understand why. >> have you spoken privately about this? >> no. he sent me a message and he's not happy. i understand that. i really love the guy. i think he's an american treasure. he's up there with all of them. and from the new york point of view. i'm just concerned. >> so this comes from a place of -- >> yeah. he's going to hate me and he's not going to talk to me, but it comes from a place of love. i said it's tough love. you don't take your dog to rehab, okay? you just go in there and you -- you try and listen. and i'm sorry i had to say it, but i'm saying it because i really want billy -- you know, to -- to lib a long life and be very happy. that's all it came from. and i understand why he's mad at me. and i can take that on the chin. i mean, years ago when i was using, people tried to tell me -- i didn't talk to them for years. how dare you talk to me like that? i look back and they were only trying to help. i'm only trying to help. maybe i should have done it privately, but i've been so frustrated over the years. i love the guy. i love everyone around him. his band, everyone. it was a great fun to -- it's the greatest fun i ever had. >> you seem like you're having a lot of fun. >> i am. but i do love him. i want to stress that. and, you know, he may want to punch my face in at the molt, but it's okay. >> i also want to ask you about something else. when you talked about your days, you know, of using in the '70s, maybe -- >> '70s and '80s. >> when you look back at that time, elton, is there anything you would like to relive from that period of your career? >> i would like to change all of that time. >> why? so many great things happened. >> it got me to a certain place where i -- in 1990 i became soeber and clean, blah, blah, blah. it's been 20 years. if i get to that place through taking drugs and alcohol abuse, so be it. but i heard a lot of people, i wasn't there for an aids crisis. i wasn't conscious. i thought i was, but i wasn't. you know, self-obsessed. irresponsible. and it took the aids finally to -- to bring me to my senses and to meet his family and to realize how out of whack i was. you know, you can't have regrets because you -- i'm so happy now. but, you know, if i had that time again, would i do the same thing? absolutely not. absolutely no way. >> that's knowledge that comes with age and maturity, i guess. >> yeah. >> elton, congratulations on the movie, the baby, everything. really, it's nice to see you. >> always nice to be here. it's 24 after the hour. we're coming back with why we're obsessed with gossip. 8:26 is your time now, 25 degrees. you may wake up to find some snow outside your door. several local schools are closed or delayed this morning after light snow fell overnight. you can see the complete list at the bottom of your screen. good morning. i'm eun yang. in the news today, we should learn what's causing a suspicious odor that's wafting through the stafford area. the smell is so bad that some families have moved out. hazmat crews are now testing the soil. power in the area has also been turned off as a precaution. we're going to take a quick break. we're back with your weather and traffic. stay with us. good morning. we're clearing out now in the wake of a light snow from last night. still in the 20s. later in the day, low 30s with a blustery northwest wind, lots of sun. sunny tomorrow but a bit warmer and even warmer through the weekend. jerry, how's traffic now? >> still tough along 95. an earlier accident's been cleared. 395 loaded up to and across the 14th street bridge. the lanes are open. earlier beltway crash, inner loop at 66, out of the roadway. eun? >> jerry, thanks so much. another news update for you in 25 minutes. and be sure to join us tomorrow morning for "news 4 8:30 now on this thursday morning, february 10th, 2011. our intrepid crowd braving the cold this morning. it's around 25 degrees on the plaza. feels more like 12. matt lauer has departed the building. he had something to go to an assignment. that's the other way to put it. he's gone. he's taking a flight. he's going somewhere. >> you could have just stopped right there. >> i thought you said he had to go. >> that's right. well, maybe both. this is -- this is not what we're talking about. we're talking about gossip. people in america seem to love to gossip. but what topics should be off limits? is there ever a time when gossip is actually good for you? we'll get into that. good morning. sunshine now in the wake of the storm last night that came through with some light snow, left a dusting, anywhere from a dusting to about an inch around the region, and now we've got the sunshine back and still cold. we're in the low to mid-20s throughout most of the area, teens out of the mountains and western maryland. later today, briefly getting above freezing mid-afternoon. we'll have lots of sun and that wind out of the northwest gusting to 25 miles an hour. teens tomorrow morning, near 40 in the afternoon, and partly to mostly sunny. mostly sunny saturday, highs mid-40s. highs low 50s sunday. >> you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online coming up next, we'll talk about gossip and whether or not it's actually a good thing. but first, this is "today" on nbc. back now at 8:35, wrapping up our special on obsession. why are we so obsessed with gossip? we've just been doing it. everybody does it, chat about celebrities, politicians, co-workers, even close buddies. but why is spreading news about other people so irresistible? >> she's my best friend. >> dump her. >> what? >> you have to dump her. she knows too much thanks to your gossip. yes, that's right. you're a gossip. ♪ >> reporter: gossip. everyone loves to do it, even though they may not admit to it. >> what do you call what you were doing on the phone? >> i prefer to think of it as a mutual exchange of vital information. >> reporter: what exactly does it mean to spread vital information? the dictionary defines it as -- >> gossip, a person who reveals personal or sensational facts about others. >> who would have thought that? poor old sam. here's the way i got the story. >> gossip, a rumor or report of intimate nature. >> kim kardashian has a new man. the beauty has been out on the town with terrence howard. >> gossip. also known as chatty talk. >> reporter: whatever you call it, experts say gossip is addictive. >> when you're gossiping with somebody, any number of brain systems can be stimulated to make you feel calm and relaxed or energetic and optimistic. >> reporter: so is the gift of g gab harmful? >> people can bond by talking about other's lives. as long as it's harmless -- but once you overdo it, it becomes negative. >> reporter: at the empire hotel where the tv show "gossip girl" is filmed, we asked people to give us the scoop on why gossip is good. >> it's fun to gossip because you can get a perspective on how somebody else would feel, how your girlfriends would think about a situation that is happening. >> it's an escape for me. >> personally if i know somebody is a gossip, i wouldn't tell them my own personal business, but i wouldn't mean hearing what they have to share. ♪ >> exactly. tanika ray and rob schuder and lola are here with us. good morning to everybody. >> good morning. >> we really were gossiping. >> absolutely. >> everybody seems to love to do it. robert, you say that you don't trust people who don't gossip. >> no, i wouldn't talk to somebody that doesn't gossip. >> why? >> because they're dead. >> they're soulless. >> everybody gossips. i think you can do it in a naughty but nice way. gossip is fun, exciting. it's got a bad, negative tone to it, but that's not true. you can have lots of fun. >> when somebody says you're a gossip, that's the worst thing in the world. >> i don't know about that. i agree with you. if somebody says they don't gossip, they have other problems. they're also liars. exactly. because we all do it. >> being able to gossip does have a negative connotation. it implies that you're inherently untrustworthy and you spend your time just digging into other people's businesses. >> where is that line? >> where do you all draw the line? >> you don't have a line. >> he doesn't have a line. >> there are things that i don't report. i don't report about people's health crises, i don't report about people's children. what i think about, if i can't say this to your face, then i don't say it. i'm a nice -- it's a nice -- it's fun. you might not like it. but if i'm not brave enough to say it to you, then i wouldn't do it. >> and they've done studies to determine that gossiping can be good for you if you do positive gossiping. >> and it's a big self-esteem boost because you're the center of attention, the person at the water cooler dispensing the juicy nuggets. you're the star of the office or the newsroom. >> but even naughty gossip can be helpful. it gets it off your chest. look at these people that have come out of the closet. >> what about the people who have been forced to come out of the closet because of gossip? >> they didn't like it at the time, but if you ask them later, they said i admitted the truth. i lived -- the lies are gone. gossip makes you -- >> you shouldn't be dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet. that's something they should do on their own. >> absolutely. >> it's a bonding experience. you and your mom really bonded over gossip when you were little. >> we did. i keep admitting so many things. my mom is going to kill me. we watch entertainment magazine shows, we watch the miss america pageants and we gossip about who was the prettiest, the most amazing dress. that's where we connected. when it comes down to it, yes, prostitution is the oldest profession, but gossip is the oldest hobby. >> you looked at me when you said that. my goodness! we don't want anybody gossiping about us. we can dish it out, but we can't take it. >> hypocritical. >> some people do like people gossip. ing about them. as long as you're talking about -- >> kim kardashian has made a career out of this. we just talk -- i don't really know what she does. i've said that to her. but i know who she is. i did say it to her face. she laughed. she's got a great sense of humor. >> she loves it. >> she's laughling the way to the bank. >> exactly. >> it's one of the oldest professions. i read somewhere that the oldest piece of gossip is over 3,500 years old and it was about a mayor having an affair with a married woman. >> when you start a sentence with "i heard," gossip is coming. stand by. >> when anybody starts a sentence with "i shouldn't tell you this," i always jump in and say don't. if you feel guilty about telling me this, then i'm not going to like it because it's not fun. it's not interesting. >> what if it's exclusive? >> it's good, but tell me when you can tell me. >> that's the starter of a conversation with me. >> right? >> do you think he's lying. >> i do. he's a publicist in a former life. >> come on. >> he's trying to protect his old friends. >> i think -- it's not just about the information you get. it's the timing of it. >> do men and women gossip differently? >> no, they just gossip in different places. >> straight men don't gossip. >> yes, they do. >> you said straight men? >> no. they talk about football. >> have you been in a barber shop before? that's all they do. >> at the super bowl, all the men did was gossip about every player, about how hot cameron diaz looked. >> why do we gossip about the celebrities? >> they're our new best friends. >> but they really aren't. >> but we think they are. like on twitter, we don't know these people. all these people that follow us, we think we're friendly with them. we're social beings. we love interaction. >> it's a way to establish an instant connection with somebody. everyone can talk about how christina aguilera flubbed "the star-spangled banner". >> and there's no consequences. it all starts back at the playground. the kids with the most information have the most power. they're the ones at the corner of the playground saying, did you hear about so-and-so? they ruled the playground. we never grew out of that. >> you knew when you walked away from that kid, you were getting the dodge ball thrown at your back. >> i want to get dirt on something during the commercial break. thank you, guys. up next, do-it-yourself arrangements for valentine's arrangements for valentine's forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. back now at 8:45. this morning, flowers for less. you don't have to spend a lot of money to shower your loved one this year with creativity and time. you can create amazing arrangements all by yourself. it's easy according to florist kim foreign. she's the owner of geranium lake flowers in oregon, in portland, oregon. good morning and welcome. >> good morning. happy valentine's day. >> thanks. we have to think about this. a lot of us just buy the $100 red roses every year. it doesn't seem that inventive. you don't have to do that. >> no, not at all. i brought ideas that i wanted to think outside of the box. a little more creative. >> let's walk over here. let's go over to -- now, you also say we should buy flowers maybe in terms of saving money that are grown in the areas where we live. so from the south, you have come up with this. >> this is like, you know, you buy flowers and they don't last that long. this is an idea to have plants. so i just clustered a couple of budding plants in a super-cute little rustic box. lily of the valley, always adorable. it's something that lasts, you know, a lot longer than five days. >> and you bought some, what is this, fern? >> this is irish moss. >> pretty, pretty. >> this fabulous thing is something that i couldn't find blooming branches, so i went ahead and found magnolia branches and attached little silk blossoms. >> so you just got this from your backyard and then decorated it with little blossoms and made signs here. >> it's so realistic and adorable. >> just for the right person, that would be great. let's move over this way. you're using a lot of succulents here. >> there's a lot of floral available. i used a clustering technique. i put bouquets of all of the same color. all orange, all lime green, all yellow. then put them all in one vase. if you want to have a dinner party, put them in their individual vase. >> right, right. >> then that way you can at the end of the party you can say, oh, my god, here you go . >> that's a great way to give something to your valentine. let's move over to the northeast. or the east koesh. this is is kind of an area where there are a lot of expensive flowers. >> this is fabulous. i went and visited my recycling bin, if you can believe that, a found a vintage lemonade bottle, wine bottles, beer bottles. cleaned off the labels, clustered them together on a tray, bound them with ribbon. this one i bound with wire. just put three or four blooms. it is so creative, so simple. and so inexpensive. >> you've got the red underneath with a little red flower. and it daffodils. >> that's right. and if you have to have that red rose, we just put one in there just because. >> right. okay. now let's move to the midwest. this is an area that you can buy a lot of flowers. >> right. >> they've also been hit with a lot of snow. this is a wave to save money and that's using vegetables and fruit. >> if you have a foodie that's one of your valentine's and you want to be more innovative, i took bell peppers. >> and you have here "you're too hot." that's very creative. that's cute. >> and we clustered kind of -- i just gave a simple cut, filled it with water. if you didn't want it to leak, then you can put a little liner, like a little plastic in there. >> you actually put water inside the pepper. >> right, right. >> it's just a little bouquet that's clustered in there with water. there are other things you can use. cabbage, you can use -- let's see. what else have we used? i'm totally forgetting. >> that's all right. and, in fact, you're using lemons and oranges inside the vase here. >> this one is kind of, you know, you don't always have to do red, pink, or, you know, light pink. you can also do yellow and springy colors. so we used citrus, oranges, lemons. you could use limes. it's really easy to make it look kind of creative and outside of the box. so we just filled it with citrus and put the flowers in and viola. >> jim, thakim, thank you. happy valentine's day. coming up next, the real story behind the movie "the king's speech." drink in the rich, bold taste... of premium roast coffee -- 100% arabica beans. it's so rich, but so just a dollar. on the dollar menu at breakfast. and that's what we'rma of. ♪ ba da ba ba ba my sistersundays are just tofor watching football. believe that? [ thinking ] relax. you ordered off mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. everything's so good and just a buck. so go. he's a jerk. [ thinking ] the simple joy of being smart. ♪ "the king's speech" is a critical and commercial success nominated for 12 academy awards. it's the story of king george vi and his battle to overcome stuttering. well, now there's a book about that relationship. "the king's speech: how one man saved the british monarchy." >> i can answer that in two ways really. i mean, a, he did literally teach the king to overcome his stammer. he taught him to, you know, address the nation and, you know, rally his people in the time of crisis, you know, during the war. but also it's also a question, really. it's like, you know, what if he hadn't found lowe? what if the king hadn't done this? what then? who would he be replaced with? would he be able to rally his people? and would he be able to address the nation? essentially that was his role. he had to speak. he had to talk. that was his -- his ceremonial role. >> and your grandfather kept very detailed diaries. i know you brought that with you. they went to your uncle valentine when your grandfather died and then to your dad. you got them in 2001. you didn't even look at this stuff until 2007. you didn't know what you were holding on to. >> yeah. we do these things, don't we? we never ask the questions when our fathers or grandfatherers are alive. it's a regret of mine, but thank god he kept such a brilliant diary. it took six years for me to get to grips with it and start reading it. his writing was pretty bad. it took a while to read. >> tell us about what you brought. >> well, here we have -- this is the king's speech. this is -- this is the actual speech the king read from. and here you've got -- this is the actual one that the king read from because here we've got pencil annotations of where my grandfather would be telling the king to pause -- >> can you put it towards the camera. right that way. >> to pause. hear you see there's line breaks here where there's asking the king to take a breath. you know, if you feel the urge to hesitate, just pause and then say the next word. he has underlined words where he's telling him to slide two words together. he's replacing words. he's going to find that difficult. they've rehearsed this. he was handed this speech, you know, a few hours before he was expected to broadcast it. they've rehearsed it over and over again. they've done it together. they've gone, well, let's change that word. that's going to cause you trouble. >> you know, david sidler, who is the screen writer, former stutterer himself. he knew about these papers. he went to your uncle, asked if he could see them, and your uncle came back and said, no, he can't. what happened? >> well, actually, he said, yes, go ahead, but you need to get royal approval. and so he referred the -- the inquiry to clearance house where the queen mother lived. the queen mother replied and refused access to the letters. >> queen mother being the king's wife at the time. >> right. our current queen's mother. she found the memories too painful. and would rather the film wasn't made in her lifetime. so sidler waited and waited and waited. it was 25 years before eventually the queen passed away and he resumed the project in 2005. >> when they saw a lot of what your grandfather had written, they adapted lines in the movie to reflect him more accurately. your reaction to the movie and all of this now? >> well, i'm just blown away. the reception it's had, you know, i was f 8:55 is your time now, 26 degrees. some blue skies out there after a little bit of snow overnight made for some slick conditions this morning. your weather and traffic after the news. good morning. i'm eun yang. metro board members will review a new report detailing its escalator problems today. the report shows that the system's 588 escalators break down about once every seven days. it also shows that some of the newest escalators are breaking down faster than the old ones. and verizon customers can now officially buy the iphone. this is a look at the line that was outside the verizon store in rockville this morning. before today, the iphone was only available for at&t customers. we'll take a quick break now. tom and jerry after the break. to♪ come and cuddle by the fire in the evening ♪ ♪ we'll forget about the snow and rain ♪ ♪ while the skies are storming ♪ your arms will warm me ♪ it's winter again ♪ it's so thrilling when it's chilly in the winter ♪ ♪ and the frost is on the window pane ♪ ♪ hear the sleigh bells ringing ♪ ♪ my heart is singing ♪ it's winter again ♪ the wind may blow ♪ who cares? just let it blow ♪ i'll write to you ♪ love letters in the snow ♪ then we'll cuddle by the fire in the evening ♪ ♪ we'll forget about the snow and rain ♪ ♪ while the skies are storming ♪ your arms will warm me ♪ it's winter again [ female announcer ] don't you just love february? why not get away on a cruise from baltimore? book today at royalcaribbean.com. it is sunny and cold now. still below freezing throughout the region, in the mid and upper 20s later today, briefly touching mid-30s by mid-afternoon. sun, windchills down into the teens and 20s. warmer into the weekend. how's traffic, jerry? tom, accident westbound i-66 near route 28 in centreville. you can see a lot of fire rescue crews are on the scene. traffic gets by right up the middle. extra time there. still loaded up on 395 and a wreck on the beltway at connecticut avenue. >> jerry, thanks so much. another update in just we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning. chilly morning here in new york city. at least it's not snowing. i'm al rok along with ann curry and natalie morales. last night, ann was baring a little shoulder. >> it's all for a great cause. my father had heart disease. a lot of people do. we were trying to draw attention to heart disease, especially for women and men as well. it's the number-one killer. that's the designer of the dress that i wore. he designed it for me. they made it in three days. >> it is gorgeous. >> it was really fun. i would much rather be in cargo pants in a war zone than walking down the runway. >> in heels. >> yeah. and with -- and ps, i thought there were going to be like 40 people there. there were 1,000 people there. i mean -- >> that's quite a dress for 40 people. >> i thought it was this little thing. >> you looked spectacular. can we show the -- can we show the shoulder turn she makes? that's what makes it. >> we'll see the whole tape in a little bit. >> here's what happens when they did that. they told us that we had to have this sexy look when we -- so i was trying to do that sexy look. as i was doing it, all i could think was people were going to be saying, is that all you've got? really? is that it? >> a lot of sass. a lot of sass. >> enough about that. >> she's got spunk. there's more to talk about. >> also ahead, we've been talking about lindsay lohan posted $40,000 bail after being charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing that $2,500 necklace. what she was wearing got just as much attention as her alleged crime. we'll tell you what happened in a live report coming up. >> i think she looked beautiful. >> that might have been part of the problem. >> i don't know if you can read that headline. yeah. that could say it all. >> classy. and they could have chosen a private place, but kate middleton and camilla parker-bowles decided to go to lunch. a little marriage advice. we'll tell you all about that. ann, you've got to top stories. >> i do. good morning. we'll talk about the news. a revolutionary uprising in egypt is entering a new phase. on wednesday, 20,000 factory workers wernt on strike. today, some 5,000 doctors and medical students are expected to do the same in an effort to increase pressure on the government. new york representative chris lee resigned suddenly on wednesday after a website posted a shirtless photo he allegedly sent to a woman he met on craigslist. lee is married and has a young son an explosion rocked allentown, pennsylvania, leveling eight homes and forcing hundreds of residents on two city blocks to evacuate. at least one person has died and five are still missing in the aftermath of the massive fire. officials say a natural gas explosion may have triggered the blast. frigid temperatures well below zero have seized the south with the -- after the second snowstorm since last week slammed the region with snow and rain. i know, very dangerous conditions. the blizzard plowed through the country's midsection on wednesday, hitting oklahoma the hardest and giving tulsa the snowiest winter on record. the storm is also deadly. two people died in weather-related car accidents in arkansas and missouri during the storm. the number of homes entering foreclosure in january was the lowest monthly total in more than three years, but the slowdown was partly due to paperwork problems and also because banks with the backload of bad loans are letting delinquent borrowers stay in their homes longer. it's time to cut support for mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac, which have received $150 billion in federal aid. another reason to drink water, a new research is suggesting that daily diet soda drinkers are at a higher risk for stroke and heart attacks than those who drink no soda at all. and good morning. sunshine and we have a wind coming in out of the northwest, gusting to around 25 miles an hour. temperatures still stuck in the mid-20s and the windchills are in the teens. and later today, briefly getting above freezing mid-afternoon. we'll have a lot of sun, but the winds die down tonight and temperatures go down again. teens tomorrow morning, but should be a bit warmer tomorrow. then over the weekend, a warming trend, mid-40s for highs saturday, low 50s highs on sunday. monday, tuesday, wednesday next week, high near 50 each day. >> and that's your latest weather. natalie? al, thank you. lindsay lohan is out on bail for her latest run-in with the law. she appeared in court wednesday facing her most serious charges yet and got a stern warning from the judge. nbc's kristen welker is in los angeles with more. kristen, good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie. lindsay lohan arrived early for court and without family members by her side. but she seemed relaxed, even chatty before the proceedings began. but then the judge arrived and made it very clear one more slip and he wouldn't hesitate to put her back in jail. >> miss lohan -- >> reporter: harsh words for actress lindsay lohan. >> i'm trying to put this as polite as possible. you're in a different situation now than a felony has been filed against you. >> reporter: wednesday, lohan was charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing this necklace which she was photographed wearing a new weeks ago. lohan pleaded not guilty and posted bail, but judge keith schwartz warned her. >> if you violate the law, i will remand you and set no bail. so what i'm telling you is you need to follow the laws just like everybody else. do you understand what i'm telling you? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: the actress didn't say much more, but she did seem to react when the prosecution made a request that the judge agreed to that lohan stay away from the jewelry store where the alleged theft occurred. >> the store received some flowers, which caused the victim in this case to be somewhat alarmed. so i would ask the court that she stay away from the victims at this point in time. >> reporter: like past court appearances, lohan was flanked by media as she arrived, but this time she donned sunglasses and a striking white dress that had people wondering if her outfit was appropriate. >> the cut might have been a little much, but it didn't have any effect. i tend to counsel my clients, go to court or dress for court like you're going to church or temple. >> reporter: mark garagos defended winona ryder when she was convicted of shoplifting in 2002. ryder got probation and community service. lohan's case carries a possible three-year prison sentence, but garagos says that's unlikely. >> my guess would be they'll come to a plea deal. i do not see state prison. >> reporter: but the actress has other problems. prosecutors in riverside county are still investigating after lohan allegedly assaulted an employee at the betty ford clinic where she was a patient. lohan denies the claim. >> it could be impulse control issues for her. it could be a lot of things driving those behaviors. >> reporter: dr. charles sophie who has not treated lohan says even though the actress has spent time in rehab, it seems she is not getting the kind of counseling she needs. >> there are going to be slips and there's going to be mistakes and that kind of stuff, but nonetheless, that whole treatment plan needs to be looked at. >> reporter: for now, treatment is coming from a stern reality check administered by a superior court judge. >> look around this room. everyone in this room has to follow the law. you're no different than anyone else so please don't push your luck. >> now, the judge also revoked lohan's probation, which stems back to a 2007 dui arrest. he set bail at $40,000. her next court date will be in two weeks. natalie? >> kristen welker, thank you. robin sax is a former prosecutor and courtney haslet is our entertainment reporter. a lot of people were talking with the outfit. was that improper for -- for such a serious charge, courtney? >> i think everybody was shocked when they saw her get out of the car. most of what you saw were legs first and then, you know, this white dress. white is supposed to be angelic and connote innocence, but, lindsay, this is very serious. people are watching. why wouldn't you just dress conservatively? >> and the color is great. white and purity and innocence all go together, but the issue is that everybody watching are potential jurors. jurors are very judgmental people. you want to go most conservative. it's like going to a party. you don't want to be the most underdressed. you always go to something that's not going to make a huge statement. >> a suit perhaps would have gone a lot further. >> yes. >> does it really matter? at the end of the day, judge schwartz was very tough on her. s he said you're like everyone else. you're not above the law here. he warned her not to push her luck. >> that's exactly true. i know judge schwartz. that lecture you saw is a keith schwartz standard lecture. he loves to tell people what to do. also the das in that building who run that building over there are fair, straight-shooters. anybody who thinks she's being treated differently, she's not. she's acting like any other criminal and she's being treated like any other criminal. >> the charge she's facing for stealing that $2,500 necklace, very serious charge. what's the likelihood, robin, that she ends up going to jail for this? >> most people on a first-time felony offense will not find themselves in state prison. they will not see a three-year sentence. people who are thinking that she's going to do three years are mistaken. she's likely to do some sort of time because you can't just keep going to rehab and the prosecutors are going to be in a position to up the ante based on her prior behavior. we're talking six months, maybe. maybe a year. that kind of thing. >> we know how well she did last time she served some time. she had a nervous breakdown, was crying. what's the chance that she di slides to plea bargain? >> the pickle is that for lindsay lohan, one day in county jail is like a year to anybody else. so they need to try to find some sort of sentence that's going to be able to reduce the chances of a long sentence but yet be something that she can actually find palatable. that's going to be the challenge right now. >> the prosecutor is tough here, too. >> i think they'll consider an employee bargain. they'll think about judicial economy. jury trials are a gamble. you never know what a jury is going to do. everybody wants to resolve it. it's just are they going to be able to find the resolution? >> what about the reports that according to the police report, she was seen four days beforehand in that same jewelry store trying on a pair of diamond earrings. apparently she left one of the diamond earrings and started to walk out of the store. the clerk called her back and said, oh, you still have one of our earrings. she left her more expensive jewelry on the counter. could that be used in her defense? it could be argued that -- the forgetfulness. >> i don't think it can be used in her defense. her line has been, i thought that was loaned to me, this necklace in question. not, oh, i was trying on so many things, i'm so deeply sorry, here it is, my apologies. he said, i thought it was loaned to me. you and i know that there's no mistaking it when something is loaned to you. you sign papers about the insurance. usually the vendor actually makes arrangements to pick it up from you. they make it as easy as possible and as clear as day that this is something that doesn't belong to you and they're going to get it back. so for her to say it was loaned to me, that sounds so entitled at this point and like a big excuse. >> and what about those battery charges, too, at the betty ford clinic? she allegedly assaulted a worker there. could that come -- become combined in this situation as well? >> it's not going to be combined. riverside county is a very different county. one doesn't really have anything to do with the other. what does have something to do is the fact that this is a felony charge that has to do with moral turpitude. everything is about lindsay's word. if we don't believe what lindsay is saying in the grand left, how can we believe what she said about the battery? >> thank you, ladies. >> he just has to behave for a little while. everybody is watching. everybody is watching what jewelry you touch and who you touch. >> great to have you both on. >> thank you sglchblts still to come this morning, just a few months before marrying prince william, kate middleton is getting advice from camilla over lunch. up next, curry hits the catwalk and struts her stuff all for a good cause and looking amazing. that's right after this. ♪ that's when all the conditions are right for a good time ♪ [ male announcer ] advanced technology that helps provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and helps make all of us more energy efficient is something the whole world can get in step with. 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["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! so we took her to our olive garden. just us girls. we kept the fun going all through dinner. introducing olive garden's new artisanal raviolis. try our creamy asiago cheese ravioli topped with pan-seared chicken. or try our pear and gorgonzola ravioli topped with sauteed shrimp. starting at just $10.95. with unlimited salad and breadsticks. it was really cool just hanging out -- the three of us. olive garden. when you're here, you're family. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek, the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek [ speaking spanish ] ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso stand 'n stuff taco shells. old el paso. feed your fiesta. covergirl trublend has skin twin technology. other makeup can sit on the surface of your skin, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. you get skin twin coverage that's perfectly true. and you're more perfectly you. [ female announcer ] plus, with trublend, you always get a perfect match. if you're a shade 1 here, you're a 1 here... and here. how easy breezy beautiful is that? trublend...from covergirl. our lady in red, ann curry, helped kick off fashion week last night here in new york. >> it was all for the heart truth red dress show to raise awareness for heart disease. >> i was one of two dozen public figures to walk the catwalk. i did get much-needed advice from the professionals. we're all going to wear red dresses. >> it's all about red. >> who doesn't look good in a red dress? >> everyone looks good in red. >> let's look at what you got. ♪ this is beautiful. i would look like a sex pot in it. i like the flimsiness of this. i'm going to go into it very relaxed. what's the worst that could happen? >> you could trip. >> i love the feel of it, the flow of it. all right. let's go check this out. what do you think? >> it's cute. end of the runway, do a little swirl. >> that's nice. >> oh, that's gorgeous. ♪ >> i feel like a princess. >> oh, you look like a princess. >> so your tips on walking are -- >> head high, don't look at your feet. >> get to the end of the runway. smile. >> smile. then i do a little pivot and then i come back. >> good luck. we'll see you there. >> rehearsal. >> my father had heart disease. so i'm thinking about that. i wasn't thinking about 1,000 people. in this case, matthew mcconaughey is in the audience. i've got to do a rehearsal walk now. this is our opportunity to understand how to walk the runway. if somebody is going to fall, it will be me. >> come with me. ♪ >> i can't do that. oh, wow. oh, my god. this is my virgin voyage. so exactly -- >> i got myself a virgin. yay! >> i walk, i walk, and i stop. >> center, center. ♪ it's a beautiful day >> it's going to be like that. >> but in your head -- have fun. >> thank you. ♪ >> i don't know what i'm doing or where i'm going. ♪ i had no idea that there are models walking. >> yeah. >> they're professionals that are walking. >> yeah. >> send me to a war zone, i'm happy. th this, crazy. >> this is the fashion war zone. >> fashion war zone. >> first time i did a fashion show, i fell off the runway and i've never done one since. >> oh, that's great. that's really -- that's confidence-boosting. thanks. >> channel beyonce. >> what? channel beyonce? ♪ >> here we go. i love your dress, ann. >> thank you. >> i love it. >> let's see the back. i love the one shoulder. >> if you fall, i will not walk over you like roadkill. >> just step over me. just walk over me. >> you want me to walk over here? >> no, you have to pick her up. >> she wants me to walk over her like roadkill. ♪ ♪ it's a beautiful day don't let it get away ♪ ♪ it's a beautiful day ♪ >> i think i probably walked too fast. but i didn't fall. ♪ >> great group of women. they all wanted to make the point that women should take care of our hearts so we can live a long life. >> and you're a natural-born model. >> no. that was the first and last time i will ever do that. anyway, it was a lot of fun. people were really into it, and we were excited when it was over. >> we'll be back after these messages. sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. ♪ [ female announcer ] picking tights isn't always easy. ♪ picking a free detergent is. switch to tide free & gentle in the white and blue bottle. no other free detergent is milder on skin. and unlike the leading free detergent, it removes more residue from dirt, food, and stains. so nothing spoils this tights enthusiast's enthusiasm. tide free & gentle. style is an option. clean is not. also look for tide stain release free. that's why there's lubriderm® daily moisture. it contains the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it better and it lasts for 24 hours. later gator. lubriderm. your moisture matched. still to come, crab carb nara. [ male announcer ] those with frequent heartburn imagine a day free of worry, a day when we can eat what we want, drink what we want, and sleep soundly through the night. finally that day has arrived with prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn-free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day, all night. now we are free. happy. with prevacid®24hr, happiness is a day without heartburn. 9:26 is your time now, 27 degrees. if we can wait a couple more days, we're going to have a warmer weekend. tom will have the latest right after the news. good morning. i'm eun yang. in the news for today, we should learn what is causing a suspicious odor that's wafting through the stafford area. the smell is so bad that some families who live near wood stream boulevard and short branch lane have moved out. hazmat crews are now testing the soil. power in the area has also been turned off as a precaution. take a quick break now. your weather and traffic after the break. stay with us good morning. around our region we've got the sunshine back, but it is still cold. only in the mid-20s. 26 now at reagan national. that wind has been gusting over 20 miles an hour. look at the windchills. they're down to just near 10 degrees in many locations, so quite a cold morning under way in the wake of the light snow we had last night. and high today just briefly getting above freezing with those blustery winds, but lots of sunshine. clear, cold tonight, teens tomorrow morning, and then sunny friday afternoon with a high near 40. thankfully, warming up for the weekend. 40s saturday, low 50s sunday. jerry, how's traffic? tom, the accident remains westbound along i-66 near route 28 in centreville. this is westbound headed on out from centreville toward manas s manassas. right half of the roadway still blocked. had an accident outer loop of the beltway at connecticut avenue over to the shoulder, and 395 still heavy from the 14th street bridge. eun? >> thanks so much, jerry. another news update for you in 25 minutes. be sure to join us tomorrow morning for "news 4 today" st head up against the wall and i would cry because i -- i didn't feel attractive. there was a lot of pain in my life. >> janet jackson, the beautiful, talented, five-time grammy winner opening up about the demons she's battled. she's revealing a new book and an exclusive interview with meredith about her struggles with self-esteem and coping with the loss of her brother, michael. that's tomorrow right here exclusively on "today." >> all right. meantime, coming up in this half hour, the lunch that has britain buzzing and us, too. we're talking about kate middleton. she stepped out with her future stepmother-in-law. where did they go? and what did they talk about? i'm not sure we know, but we'll get details live from buckingham palace. >> to be a fly on the wall. well, they wouldn't have flies in that restaurant. >> i doubt that. >> we could get a report from a small rat. >> to be a fork on that table. i don't know. you spend all your hard-earned money on your wardrobe and you want to get your money's worth. we're going to share secrets to keeping your fashion fresh and in good shape. and seafood spin on a classic pasta dish. we're making crab carbonara. it makes just minutes to make. first, a we have the sunshine back in the wake of the light snow we had overnight, but it is still cold. temperatures just in the low and mid-20s and the windchills are in the teens. we've got the winds coming in out of the north and west, gusting to around 20 to 25 miles an hour, and they'll settle down later tonight. but before then, just briefly getting above freezing, then the teens tomorrow morning. mostly sunny tomorrow, up near 40. and then saturday, a bit warmer, quite a bit warmer sunday. into next week, highs near 50 monday, tuesday and wednesday. >> and that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to florida and say hello to willard scott. >> sweet springtime. it's on its way. that groundhog knew his stuff. happy birthday to smuckers, the pride of orville, ohio, where all the sun shines on your groundhog daily. take a look at fanni delia of new jersey city, new jersey. the secret to longevity is eating whatever she wants at any time of day or night. now, that is my kind of woman. i love her. ann left, clearwater, florida, right up the road. 100 years old, served as a lifeguard during world war ii. been a swimmer all of her life. that's good. keeps your figure right, too. bill shivley of bringfield, ohio, is 100 years old today and lives independently. works at the church. he loves to help feed the homeless. good man. keep working, doing good deeds. anna vacek of hutchinson, minnesota. 101 years old today. lives on her own until she was 94 and loves visits from her grandkids. we all like that. and little kids visiting nursing homes, that's a great thing. here is marie tennyson of baltimore, maryland, 102. knitted since she was 12 years old and made a scarf for soldiers during world war ii. that was a big thing, people did that. and ted otte of atchison, kansas. 103. third try to get on the show. i'm glad we did it. secret to longevity is gardening. more people do that. that's good. now back to new york. >> all right. >> thank you, willard. always good to see him. coming up next, kate middleton getting some marriage advice while hitting the town with camilla, right after this. that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. 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[ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. ♪ make your voice their valentine. with royal watchers hoping to get any new details of the royal wedding, this is giving them something to chew on. kate middleton stepped out with camilla for a public lunch in london. stephanie gosk has more on this. hey, stephanie. good morning. >> good morning, ann. we know there are plenty of private places where camilla and kate could have had lunch, but they chose a very public restaurant in a fancy london hotel where they knew they'd be seen and maybe even overheard. the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can be, in a word, complicated. but wednesday, it was all smiles. according to witnesses, wedding talk and some advice. >> when they arrived, the whole restaurant was abuzz with everybody looking towards the table. they knew it, everybody knew it. >> reporter: the two were joined by kate's younger sister and laura, camilla's daughter from her first marriage. the daily mail quotes a fellow diner who sat a couple of tables away. i heard camilla saying, if i can give you one bit of advice. there was one moment which was clearly meant to be amusing when kate said, what happens if william doesn't show up? the future princess has a lot of concerns right now. that's probably not one of them. but the duchess of cornwall also has a few things to worry about on top of the wedding of the century. earlier this week while visiting a children's center, an 8-year-old asked camilla if she'd one day be queen. her reply, you never know. she should know. titles are a very sensitive issue here. when camilla married prince charles, the couple said the duchs would be known as princess concert when her husband became king. at the time, the idea of camilla becoming queen made many britons uncomfortable. but during a dateline interview last year, the prince of whales made it seem as if the issue was not resolved. >> does the duchess of cornwall become queen of england? >> reporter: the heir to the thrown hesitated and then said this. >> we'll see, won't we? that could be. >> reporter: one possible reason for the shift could be the public's new-found affection for camilla. her approval ratings have been on the rise and the princes william and harry often talk about how close they are to her. if wednesday's lunch is any indication, a soon-to-be member of the royal family is as well. the conversation at lunch eventually turned to the menu at the wedding. mini pizzas, sausages on a stick and small hotdogs. now, i like small hotdogs as much as the next person. kind of think they might have been joking. ann? >> stephanie gosk, thank you so much. and a reminder if you want to be in lunondon during the wedding festivities, we want to send you and a guest for an all-expense-paid trip. go to todayshow.com and we'll choose one of you and take you there. it will be a lot of fun. coming up next, getting a lot of wear out of your wardr e wardrobe. we've got good ideas after this. 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[ male announcer ] wanchai ferry. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek, the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek everybody's talking about honey bunches of oats. whoa...with cinnamon! it's got warm, freshly baked cinnamon in one delicious heart healthy cereal. mmmm. can't you just taste it? try honey bunches of oats with cinnamon. heck, try 'em all. this morning on "bobby's style buzz," protecting your wardrobe. today's style editor bobby thomas is here to show you us to do it. good morning. >> good morning. >> we invest a lot of money in our wardrobe. you don't want it to get all stretched out or get holes. >> right. you want to get bang for your buck. a little tlc for what you already have. >> our first category right now is wrinkle-free. >> yes. >> so we're talking about ways to keep those pesky wrinkles from really setting into your clothing. >> i love the name of this. it's called swash. you can swash it out. this is ten minutes in the drier on tumble dry, about five pieces. you've got a fresh, new garment, wrinkles are gone and it's ready to wear before you go to the dry cleaner. this can cut back on your dry cleaning bill. these are great. have you ever been at the office all day? you get up and you're a wrinkle mess. these wrinkle releasers, you sprits them on and smooth them out and you're good to go. speaking of an iron, i'm telling you, please, ladies, if you don't own a steamer, this is going to change your life. you can get a hand-held one. you don't need the big professional one. or a little one like this. this one folds up to travel in your bag, as small as a sock. >> and it works really well? sometimes the travel steamers don't work. >> these work great. i promise. they'll change your life. >> next we have stay in shape. i was going through my closeting to this. protecting the shape of things like boots. my boots keep flopping over. >> this boot looked totally different before i let it flop over. you can reuse a wine bottle. >> now we're talking. >> just slip the wine bottle right in there. or you can buy a boot shaper. >> these are great. >> cardboard will work as well. cardboard is also great for handbags. you don't want these to crease in the closet. you can get purse forms to keep your bags in good shape. this will last you years to come. >> okay. what about sweaters? all of us have sweaters that end up like three sizes bigger. they stretch out. >> even on yours, it got a little hole from the anger. >> yeah. >> these are great precision hangers to keep the natural shape. a great investment. >> very good. okay. over here, let's talk about cleanse and refresh. >> yes. we'll have to make sure the guys are listening to this one, too. >> yes. >> when we're bundled up right now in our sweaters, in a few months we'll pack them away and you want to absorb the moisture so they don't smell musty when you take them out. you don't have to dry clean again. all of these products are great. >> no moth-balls here, though, right? >> no. this is about absorbing the moisture. this is so great. they have a great selection of stuff that will care for your wool and cashmere, which can be really expensive to take care of. >> just spray this? >> yes. and the spray would work on this that you don't want to continually take to the dry cleaner. >> and then back here, this is what the dry cleaners use. the professional line. the spot treatment. >> exactly. spot treatments. this is something i have scene work miracles. the janey dry spot leaner stick. it's a chalk bar. you put it on the spot. you let it dry. it will absorb and then flake off. i have been amazed at what this can get out. that's a good secret. >> does it get out red wine? >> well, that's actually a good one for this. madam paulette takes care of couture dresses for many designers. this is a science experiment. it will tell you what your stain is and then follow the formula to get it out. >> this is for the -- >> this will break up the discoloration. >> and antiaging, simal ways to preserve our favorite outfits. all of us have a favorite sweater. >> you have pills going on. she's got pills on the back of her shoulder. this is called a sweater brick. keep it going in one direction and you can really relive the life of any of your sweaters. so many girlfriends are complaining about expensive sweaters. >> the cashmere, speelespeciall really pills up right away. >> you've got a lot more of the sweater to go. >> we'll get that brand new for you. >> thank you. >> there's a bunch of stuff on the article online, everything from catching your blacks that are fading to look new again and even color catchers in the wash. >> we've all had that moment where our entire wash turns pink. >> take care of your clothes. they'll last longer. >> there's wine in here. i'm just saying. >> a party in a boot. we love it. >> nice. >> giving new meaning to bootleg. >> yum! >> thank you. coming up next, classic carbonara with a seafood twist. curtis: welcome back to geico radio, it's savings, on the radio. gecko: caller steve, go right ahead. steve: yeah, um, i just got a free rate quote on geico.com, saved a ton, and it only took me 5 minutes and 12 seconds! steve: i was wondering, is that some sort of record? gecko: that's a good question. let's have aoo curtis: mmmm, not quite. someone's got you beat by 8 seconds. gecko: still, i mean, that's... that's quite fast! steve: well, what if i told you i only used one hand? anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. this morning, what's for dinner? crab carbonara. we're classing up the classic italian dish with eric lee from sonoma, california. chef, good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> now, you think this is a good valentine's dish. why? >> it's so incredibly easy. >> we like that. >> we're dialling up something that is a rustic italian dish. >> and leaves time for romance. >> oh, yeah. >> we're going to get started. first of all, you grill -- you use the -- you put in sliced garlic, but you don't cook with it. >> well, the flavor of the nuttiness of the garlic infuses into the olive oil. >> okay. >> i'm using the olive oil to cook my pancetta. i just want the flavor, not big, big pieces of garlic. it's valentine's day. not too strong. >> right. >> we've got our pancetta cooking here. if you can't find pancetta, you can use slab bacon. >> so once you cook that down, then what? >> then we are going to graze this with our chardonnay. we'll get a nice, little crispiness on there. add some wine to it. and i am going to turn this off. >> let that just kind of simmer. >> low simmer. some of the alcohol is going to cook off of that. and then i'm going to take our crab meat. >> nice. >> fresh crab meat is going to add this wonderful sweetness and savoriness to the dish that's going to balance the saltiness of the pancetta and the acidity of the wine and the creaminess of the cheese. >> once we get that in there, what's next? >> okay. so i'm going to season with just a pinch of salt. >> uh-huh. >> and we have our bowl. i mean, this seriously is how easy this is. >> this is pretty simple. >> so we take our egg, crack it into the bowl. do you want to whisk that around for me? >> sure. >> we're going to add our parmesan. our parsley. freshly cracked black pemmer. that's key. and a little pinch of salt. >> all right. >> that's it. now, we have our thicker spaghetti in here. >> hello, ladies. >> i'm just taking in the aroma. it's beautiful. >> let's drain that off just a little bit more. >> okay. >> great. let's go ahead and throw that in there. >> oh, yeah. >> now, i am going to start stirring this around. what happens is the hot pasta is cooking the egg that's in this dish. it's going to be melting the cheese. and let's add this. all of the wonderful flavor. >> that is a lot of flavor. >> did you see how long that took? >> boom! >> no time. just about three minutes. >> it would have taken longer to crack the crab. >> yeah. if you can't find fresh crab meat, you can do bay shrimp, cooked scalps, even salmon. >> thank you so much. we have some light snow overnight, but it seems to be warming up outside right now. tom will have the forecast in just a few minutes. good morning. it's 9:56. i'm barbara harrison. metro board members will review a new report detailing its escalator problems today. the report shows that the system's 588 escalators break down about once every seven days. it also shows that some of the newest escalators are breaking down faster than the old ones. verizon customers can now officially buy the iphone. this is a look at the line that was outside the verizon store in rockville this morning. before today, the iphone was only for at&t customers. tom's here now with a look at the forecast. some snow, a lot of snow, actually, some areas, huh? >> not a lot. >> around here. >> enough for school to delay and even close this morning to our south. and here we got just a little bit of a dusting. and now it's still below freezing. it's only in the mid-20s and that wind's still whipping in out of the north and west. look at windchills, still only around 10 degrees, so quite a cold february morning. later today, getting just above freezing for a brief time and the winds will diminish, thankfully, by later tonight. and it will be clear, cold tonight, and finally a warming trend for the weekend. jerry, how's traffic? down along i-66 inbound, had a little problem, activity on the shoulder, but the traffic lanes are moving along well. outer loop of the american legion bridge, broken down vehicle on the left travel lane. inner loop looks good. one more stop. still loaded up into downtown. earlier problems on the southeast freeway have been cleared. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. coming up on "news 4 midday," a special [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. you'll get a multi-room dvr free for 12 months. record shows ione room and watch them in up to six other rooms. call now. offer ends soon. there's no term contract required. you cacancel anytime with no early terminatiofee. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd; plus the fastest internet in the u.s. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month -- plus a multi-room dvr free for 12 months. don't wait. this incredible offer ends soon. call 1.866.680.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.866.680.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. get the network that delivers more. get fios. a network ahead. and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> we're laughing already, everybody, because this is thirst-day thursday, february 10, 2011. i hope you have a toasty day. >> we should point out in new york midweek it's going to be in the 50s, we hear. >> someone who didn't make it that far, and this may be the fastest scandal ever in washington history. this republican representative, chris lee from, i guess, the western part of new york state resigned promptly. >> this is what apparently happened. he went on craigslist like people tend to do, and he was looking for a girl. >> company. >> company. so he post aed a picture of himself flexing -- >> i got to admit he looks okay. >> he said he was 39. he's 40-something. >> and he said he was single skpl and a lobbyist. >> and he's married with a baby. >> so this girl googles him and finds out he's a representative because he used his own name. so she becomes the gossipist and he's resigned. do you use your picture and your name when you're an elected official? >> the legislation warned of this very thing. he has pledged, by the way, to work it out with his wife. good luck with that. we mean it. good luck. and -- what was the other thing? what was the legislation that he sponsored? >> the legislation that he wanted so -- there should be an age limit on facebook, right? >> he said kids just don't realize at that point in pictures and things that they put on line, they post on line, is going to come back to haunt them. they just don't realize that. he's 47 and didn't -- the irony -- >> if you post your picture, your name, and you're an elected official, why do you think you're not going to get caught? >> the ego and arrogance is just unbelievable. it blinds you, i guess, to the -- i don't know -- the capitulousness of doing something like that. they have a no tolerance now for this stuff. boehner laid down the law. he said, if you do it, that's it. >> boinking? >> i didn't say boinking. >> that's what you meant. so lindsay lohan went to court again. apparently she's accused of taking a $2500 necklace. the judge put bail down at $20,000, which she paid 10%, so it's $2,000 -- >> i thought it was 40. >> 20. anyway, when you listen -- he doesn't sound as tough as everyone was saying, does he? >> i don't think he sounds tough at all. maybe if it's a first offense, but i've lost count. nobody is dealing with the seriousness of this, it seems. >> everyone is talking about the outfit she walked in with, wearing the white, tight dress. >> i always felt sorry for her attorney because he's dealing with someone who isn't listening to her. her attorney should have said -- maybe she did -- that you wear something appropriate for court. maybe she didn't get the memo. the inappropriateness of all of it. you start to think maybe there is a different universe for you, the rules don't apply to you. every single person has to follow the same laws in this country. but then he didn't put an exclamation point on it with -- >> here's a picture in the new york post which is a cartoon. can you read it? i just started not being able to see. >> you got it all wrong. it's a loan. >> i do think they think there are different rules that apply. >> just now your eyes started to go? >> yeah, it's weird. last week everything seemed fine, and then lately i'm in the restaurant trying to read the menu -- >> ha! >> look, i already have a problem. i can't see far away. >> you wear contact lenses already. >> if i took my contact lenses out, it would be one big blur. >> so you're legally blind. >> so now i'm getting hit on the other side, too? i can't read, either? >> yeah, welcome to my world. you're pre-menopausal. >> no, i'm not. >> wait till next week. first it's the eyes, then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. one thing after another. then you find yourself at your dermatologist getting your fat sucked out. that's the way it works. >> is that what's going to happen? tomorrow you're going to reveal the belly thing, aren't you? >> it's not sucking, it's not the lipo, it's the melting. >> kathie has been doing this for the last couple weeks, using a special heating element that melts fat into liquid. >> that was me this past weekend. i don't even remember her. i weighed 104 pounds. >> this is before your kids, right? >> that's the summer before frank and i got married. i was 33 years old and weighed 104 pounds. >> i can't believe your stomach was concave. >> it's almost gross but i miss it now. i thought it was weird then, but i'd give anything to have it back now. the things people will do. there is a whole other thing about texting, doing all kinds of things you -- you should not be multi-tasking. there was a woman who was giving birth, and while she was giving wirt she was texting because she wanted to give her mother the blow by blow of what was happening. father held the phone by the bed so grandma could feel like she was there. >> and they were posting the videos on facebook and everything. >> so hospitals are saying they're banning those kinds of things, probably for legal issues, but the families are saying, don't take our moment. you're stealing our memories. we'd like to know how you feel about that. they're saying it's a potentially dangerous distraction. there are serious things going on, and they would be potentially liable if there was a camera getting in the way of a baby and saving a life, possibly. >> people are never where they are. they're always looking through the eyes of a lens. >> give me an example. >> kim kardashian was called up by prince on stage, and she's on stage and she's tweeting, hey, i'm with prince. instead of being with prince, she's tweeting, i'm with prince. >> they asked her to leave the stage because she wasn't dancing, she wasn't in the moment. >> it's the same ceremony from the olympics. they're all out there with all these athletes and everybody is looking at it through the eye of the camera because they want to capture it. i can understand wanting to have the memory, because that's important, but live a little memory of your life. >> we're so busy chronicling it, we're not living it. >> let's talk about our purses. >> let's talk about it. . >> this is okay or not okay. is it okay to carry your life around? >> i say life is too heavy to carry around. take what you need and leave the big stuff at home. >> i say the bigger the better. we have our purses -- >> this is what she carries around. >> i'm going to say that's a good -- >> 25 pounds. >> that's not 25 pounds. look what's in here, though. everybody needs water. >> you don't need that, though, hoda. that's the wallet, the famous wallet. you know, we went to see a great show yesterday. you would think you could throw it out or save it someplace. that's from broadway yesterday. a terrific show called desert cities. >> what about sex? >> what does it all go to? everybody needs one of those. what is this? more stuff in bags. hoda, it's unbelievable. and there's more. >> careful of my things. do you mind? do you mind? please put it back the way you found it. >> sara is going to measure them for us later. >> this is one of those songs, you guys -- i usually go crazy and nutty. this one is mellow. it's one of the best loved songs i've heard. i heard it twice today already because i knew something was happening. it's called "marry me" by train. beautiful. beautiful. ♪ ♪ revel can never be long enough for me ♪ forget the world now, we won't let them see ♪ but there's one thing i'm thinking ♪ that the weight has been set. >> something gog ing on in hoda life. >> i just like the song. ♪ today and every day. >> it's beautiful. come on. close your eyes. >> marry me. say you will. >> we want to have our viewers guess the weight. that's right. we want you to go on facebook. guess what mine weighs. it's light. can you do this with one arm? >> yes, i can. >> up next, if gravity is getting you down, you might want to think about the hottest procedure around. it's called a brazilian butt lift. are you serious? >> no, it's true. and a teen crush on a hollywood heartthrob. how one woman turns her infatuation in a poster boy into something to read. [ female announcer ] back to school means back to busy mornings. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. than listening to our favorite songs. there's nothing we love more than listening to our favorite songs. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh by giving me huge discounts on rooms hotels can't always fill. with unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. where you book matters. expedia. ♪ i like big butts and i cannot lie ♪ >> we're back with hoda's life changer series, and we're here to tell you how to get bootylicious. >> it seems like the sky's the limit. there is this hot new procedure called the brazilian butt lift that has women everywhere shaking their tail feathers. >> my name is grace, and i'm 41, and i'm a mother of four. on the fourth baby, my body just quit and said, you know what, i'm done. i'm not doing anymore. i love my butt but it has fallen and it can't get up. i am going into surgery to have a butt lift, brazilian butt lift. >> hi, my name is dory, i'm 31 years old and i'm the mother of one. i'm doing the brazilian butt lift. >> the brazilian butt lift is a combination of three procedures, the abdomen, the hips, the lower back and the thighs. we strategically shape the butt to lower and contour. >> men do like big bottoms. did i consider that when i thought about doing this? yes, i probably did. >> in a perfect world it would probably look like kim kardashian. >> kim kardashian has a very nice bottom. i just love the way their body is sculpted. >> over the last year, we've seen a threefold increase in requests. this has become one of our most popular surgeries. the brazilian butt lift is being requested by women of all ages and economic status. >> the goal is for it to be perky and up. >> i need it to go back to where it was at one time. >> working out sometimes you still can't get the perfect bottom that you're wanting. so i'm here. and the doctor is going to help me. >> today it's surgery day. we're going to go ahead and have surgery with lori and grace. they'll both come out with beautiful round bottoms. >> everybody keeps asking if i'm nervous. should i be? i'm in good hands and i'm just looking forward to the outcome. >> i'm feeling great, really excited. i'm going to be bootylicious. >> it's time to come see! grace and lori, come on out. >> come out, ladies. >> oh, let's see! hello! >> okay, hello! >> can you sit? it's only been a couple weeks since the surgery, right? the good doctor, dr. paz mino is with us, american society of plastic surgeons. you're very serious about this. this is not just cosmetic surgery, there are risks involved, obviously. >> absolutely. >> but you guys were willing to take the risks. and you've said why. >> explain a little more. how does it feel having the new configuration? >> it's so early, still, to tell, but i feel better. i'm still recovering. >> are you still tender, hard to sit? >> yeah. i'm still swollen. i also did a tummy tuck. >> you had the motherlode. >> i sure did. >> they took the fat away. are these your actual bodies we're looking at? >> yes. >> so they took the fat out of one area and put it in your rear end. tell me how you're feeling. >> i feel great and i like the results so far. >> these are the contraptions you're wearing right now? >> i'm wearing my garment today. >> you're all free? >> yeah, it was chilly. >> the recovery after this procedure is very important, and so what we do is the brazilian butt lift is a combination of three procedures. we first do thorough liposuction of the abdomen, the back scoop, the hips and the thighs. s entire procedure takes two hours. >> how much does it cost? >> many times they combine it with other things, but the range could be between 8 and $10,000. >> is this about kim kardashian and j-lo, guys, or is it your own personal deal? >> for me, i've always had a nice butt, so i just wanted to get back to my high school body. >> what about your four children? should we have expectations like that, doctor, really, after four children? i've had two. i know what it did to my body. can we really ever get back to what we were? >> i don't think so, but i feel there is a safe and effective way to change something you're self-conscious about. >> we all heard the story, i think it was last week, about a woman who died getting this type of surgery done but done, obviously, by people who weren't professional. it was done in a hotel room. >> they didn't use their own fat, did they? >> that's a very important point because that poor woman did not die of plastic surgery. she traveled here from england to philadelphia, and in a hotel room, she had a dangerous chemical injected into her body. >> what exactly was it? >> it was industrial grade sill don' -- silicone, from what we hear. we've heard of people injecting motor oil, caulking from kitchens and bathrooms. it can cause permanent scarring. people have died from this. what's heartbreaking about this tragedy is there is a good option, a safe option, and that's the brazilian butt lift. >> it was all about cost, probably. are you glad you did it? >> i am, very much. >> always check to make sure someone is certified with the association of plastic surgeons. up next, she's here. every kid's nightmare. catching their dad in action. uncomfortable skin om, with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture. women saw improvement in all five symptoms of winter skin in just one day. beauty you can see and feel. that's being comfortable in your own skin. aveeno skin relief. and now get dermatologist recommended relief from severely dry skin with eczema therapy. new from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> we're back with webtastic, our series to puts you on the next big curve of the music videos. >> do you ever do your groove thing and you think that no one is watching? >> besides hoda, that's exactly what happened to tom rebecca. the catch? his 15-year-old son got the entire thing on tape and posted it on youtube. >> nice. ♪ >> very nice. >> you were busted! >> what did you think when you realized your son had not only taped it but put it on youtube? >> when i first taped it -- you didn't see it on the end of the clip there, but i laughed and said, chase! another funny thing chase is doing because he's a funny kid and he caught me. but when we got it on youtube, it was a whole different thing. >> why did you do that, sweetie? >> because i could. >> oh, you're one of those kids. >> great. does he often dance like that? >> that's not the first time he's done that. >> you caught it on tape, though, that's adorable. >> you don't need a butt lift, you're doing just great. >> you have great moves, honey. >> you better watch out for this one. he's nothing but trouble for years to come. we have home-spun valentine's gifts, courtesy of danny cito. >> we love our danny! power of dawn. right in the eraser. oh-h, look at the bubbles. bottle 1: that's the race car of erasers. bottle 2: it is, it's the "erase car". is there a pit stop in this guy's future? this is unbelievable. he helps remove three times more greasy kitchen mess per swipe. well, i think he wins this race. oh man, look at him go. if i had hands, i'd throw in the towel. yeah, things aren't what they used to be. mr. clean magic eraser kitchen scrubber... when you're a stunt woman, work can be pretty unpredictable. from knowing when my next job will be to what i'll actually be doing. so in the rest of my life i like control. especially in my finances. that's why i have slate with blueprint. i can make a plan to pay off everyday things and avoid interest, or pay down my balance faster on the big stuff. that saves money. with slate from chase, i have everything under control... ♪ ...financially. announcer: debit card control. credit card flexibility. get both with slate. the metro board will meet in a few minutes. board members were greeted this morning by protesters. coming up on "news 4 midday," why those protesters say they have a solution to the transit system's escalator problem. good morning, i'm barbara harrison. also coming up, our "weekly workout" segment has a valentine's day theme. steve hayes will show you how to do the cupid crunch with your special [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. you'll get a multi-room dvr free for 12 months. record shows ione room and watch them in up to six other rooms. call now. offer ends soon. there's no term contract required. you cacancel anytime with no early terminatiofee. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers superior picture quality, more hd; plus the fastest internet in the u.s. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month -- plus a multi-room dvr free for 12 months. don't wait. this incredible offer ends soon. call 1.866.680.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.866.680.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. get the network that delivers more. get fios. a network ahead. . >> we're back on this thursday with more of "today." a woman who turned her teenage crush into a best-selling novel. >> if you have a teen or tween daughter in your house, leave it to beaver is probably running rampant, but turn the clocks back when david cassidy was causing young girls' hearts to pound. this book is about one woman's obsession with the oldest son of the partridge family. by looking at the little ribbon you're donning, is that young girl in the book possibly you? >> she has some resemblance. this was found in an archeological dig in my mom's t attic. it's thousands of years old, but when we find these things, it takes a little bit of music and a picture, and all of a sudden you're that 13-year-old girl in the bedroom. >> that wasn't all that was found in the archeological dig. this kills me. you never did cut it out and take it around like where's waldo. >> no. >> you're already talking about a movie about this book with sarah jessica parker maybe starring in it. >> it's being made into a movie now, and it's full of great music, and it takes me back to when i was 13 and i read in a magazine that david cassidy's favorite color was brown. so for two years of my precious adolescence, i wore brown. >> nobody liked brown then. >> i look terrible in brown. >> i look malarial in brown. >> what was it about david cassidy? >> my david cassidy was perfect, and i was in competition with 30 million other girls. >> but you thought, if he only knew me, he would love me, right? >> that not only takes you through your teen years but your adult years as well? >> yeah. the character in the book is older, and she's looking back, of course. her marriage has just broken up, her mother has just died, and she found a letter her mother has kept from her which says, you won the ultimate david cassidy quiz, which was 20 years ago. she wrote them and said, i claim my prize. >> you did get to meet him, right? >> yes. >> how was that? >> it was great. i didn't know whether to wear brown. >> you should have worn brown today. >> come on out, our special guest. >> someone is here to say hello. ♪ >> there he is. hi, david. >> oh, god. hey, i'm sorry, you don't hate me for writing this book, do you? >> are you kidding? i'm wearing tails, as you can see. >> and you're wearing black with very strange shoes. >> well, i'm a very strange guy. by the way, i wanted to -- sweet. your writing is superb. i have to tell you, i was humbled by it. >> it's a love letter to you. somewhat belated. >> i don't know why you would say that. we're both still breathing. the most fabulous thing is i can be objective about it. what she does is so brilliantly crafted, to get inside the psyche of a 13-year-old girl and the way she weaves the characters, the frustrated, seemingly holier-than-thou bill who sees himself, fancies himself as a serious movie critic and can't tell his significant other that he's writing the essential david cassidy -- >> you must still, david, get tons of girls who come up with you and still see themselves back in the day. >> and even here. >> what happened here? >> look at the groupigroupiees. >> even here. this is one of half a billion dollars. i was told after the show was over, the partridge family became the most successful financially because of merchandising. and i had nothing to do with it. >> you got no part of it, right? >> they owed me a lot and i never received it, but they're making an effort to compensate me a little bit. >> hopefully they will and your book will be the big hit. congratulations. >> i think i love you all, too. >> good to see you. >> it's great to be here, and i thank you. i thank frank as well. please say hi to him. >> he liked susan dey. up next, if you think you love someone, danny cito is going to show you how to show them without spending a dime. >> look at that. oh, my. 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[ female announcer ] do you know scott? scott extra soft is softness, done right. it's valentine's day. it's just four days away, so you have all weekend to the stores for the perfect gift. >> but why would you do that when you probably have resource ful items just sitting around your house ready to be put to good use. danny cito is here to show you how to put those things to good use. >> hi, danny boy. you said you spent all week working on crafts for us. that's what he said to the people, his followers. >> like a faithful stalker, i've made valentines for kathie lee and hoda. >> what did you come up with? >> i went to chanel, i went to hermes to buy some high-end things but i didn't spend a dime. >> i took the ads for perfume. i cut out these petals. you make the petals by going around and around and creating bouquets. we got donna karan -- how awesome, you take one edition. >> great kids' project. that would be great for kids to make for their teachers. you should have a book deal. what's this? >> valentine's day love bottles. take canisters, empty bottles. you can take maybe some sand, and basically you just take a funnel -- i'll do this -- you just pour it into the sand and filter it over the sand, and i've got do-dads from the craft store. >> careful. >> i don't like crafts. >> there you go. you got a cork inside, some extra wire. you got things floating inside, but it's a nice little time capsule. >> not great, but pretty good. you got four more chances, it looks like. >> all right. >> one for two. >> scrap wood. go to the home improvement store, they have a little lumber section with scrap woods. take some extra pieces and sandpaper the edges. these are stamp kits. basically what you're making here are wooden postcards. >> i love them! that's adorable. >> you can send them in the mail but you have to use a first class stamp not a postcard stamp. you can totally send it. it's mailable, it's free -- >> and a little stamp kit. that's adorable. >> take big, chunky scarves and run them into blankets. i've taken scarves to the dry cleaner, and for like $10, they'll sew them for you. so, old books. we're going to take a page and you're going to fold it in half. >> i don't like tearing it up. >> it's a "jersey shore" book. >> we have an awful lot of those around. >> you punch it with a heart-shaped hole punch and we're making heart garlands. it's easy, you can do a whole garland in like ten minutes. this one i'm totally obsessed with. broken watches. ready for this? you pop the back off the watch, and what you do on the inside, take all the little mechanisms out and you pop in a picture of you, hoda, kathie lee on your wrist. >> danny, you're a genius. >> danny, for once, it was fabulous. >> it was outstanding. up next, romance in a bottle. >> leslie and ray going at it. they secretly adore each other. ugh. roots driving you crazy? i've been there. yeah...but i've gotta go. over here! put your roots in reverse. boop, boop, boop... with root touch-up, by nice 'n easy. ooh. it extends the life of your color in 10 minutes with a seamless match to any brand -- guaranteed! that's why allure magazine voted it best home hair color for root coverage. so even when you're on the run, roots are outta there. ...and i'm outta here. 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[ male announcer ] small business owners, don't be invisible. call today and get a 6 month free trial of verizon websites powered by intuit, when you sign up for verizon's reliable high-speed internet & phone for business, just $84.99 a month with no term contract required. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities verizon. the hardest working network in business. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is an nbc news special report. here's ann curry. >> we interrupt our regular programming to tell you the news that two separate sources have told nbc news that egypt's president, hosni mubarak, will step down tonight and that his vice president, omar suleiman, will now resume office. we've got nbc's richard engel. he is in cairo with a reaction to this. first of all, richard, do we know if the word about this has reached the streets of egypt, and what do you think the response is likely to be? >> reporter: the response will be nothing but cheers here. the word is just starting to reach the streets. there has been no official statement from the government. no statement by mubarak coming out and saying that he is stepping down. but we have been told by two separate sources that president mubarak will step down. what we have seen is a statement from the military. a statement saying that the egyptian army is now in a permanent state of meeting and will take the necessary actions to protect the egyptian people. that is the first time we are seeing the military take a leading role, a decisive role, a clearly political role. and we are now waiting for word from mubarak himself. this situation, after several weeks of unrest, does seem to be finding a resolution right now. >> interestingly enough, richard, this comes as we are getting word today that many groups have -- are starting to protest. now, not only is there a call now for another huge protest tomorrow, there also are public transportation workers who are staging a protest. i mean, increasingly, grouping are saying, we're going to try to shut things down even further than just filling tahrir square. >> reporter: this coup, if you could call it that, that's what it appears to be right now as the military is taking the lead as making statements, does appear to be a preemptive strike. there have been huge protests and much bigger protests were scheduled for tomorrow, friday, the day of prayers. also, beginning yesterday, we've been seeing labor strikes growing across the country with the potential of bringing this country's economy to its knees. so when you have labor strikes growing and a massive demonstration tomorrow, this government, this military, this presidency, has apparently now taken the decision that it is better for mubarak to step down, that his continued presence as president of this country after 30 years is no longer a source of stability. ann? >> all right. we want to have you stand by, richard engel. we're looking at a real people's revolution unfolding here. we've also got nbc's andrea mitchell standing by. omar suleiman, this is a vice president actually newly named by the president mubarak. what's the response to the reaction likely to be in the white house? i understand he's considered a friend to israel. is that true? >> he is considered a friend to israel and to the united states. long-standing relationships. but the question is, of course, whether he will have credibility with all of the hundreds of thousands of people who've been protesting and the people who believe that he is part of the mubarak establishment. whether he is acceptable as a transitional figure remains to be seen. his conversations, repeated conversations with vice president joe biden have not been entirely successful, according to most reports here from officials in the united states because they felt that he was not stepping up quickly enough, not agreeing to the kinds of reforms. that he was continuing to both overt and more secret ways to harass journalists. they have been demanding repeatedly these people be released from jail, protests continue unimpeded, that journalists be able to cover the protests. and it remains to be seen whether suleiman is increasingly responsive to american and international demands. >> all right. nbc's andrea mitchell, thank you so much. we also want to thank nbc's richard engel reporting from cairo and to tell you that we'll be covering this story all throughout this day on msnbc and also on "nbc nightly news" with br ann curry. >> -- with their chocolates, even though sweets go beautifully. this is called doyenne. and this is the sera blend, dry and hearty, a rich, rich, beautiful red wine. it has that little bite of dark chocolate. and the kisses right there. isn't that lovely? if you want a dry wine, i suggest this. it's a bit of a splurge, a $30 wine, but it's beautiful. >> i pick a sweet wine with chocolate because i think it goes well, and madeira. this is a five-year-old malmsey madeira. $25 a bottle. not too bad. have some more chocolate. why not? >> here's a heart, hoda. >> that's good, too. >> it's fantastic with chocolate. the sweetness and the acidity together is just mind boggling, i think. >> i'm going with the sera. >> let's just say it was a tie because we're all in love on valentine's day. >> we'll be back. >> cheers. okay, the results are in. sara, you checked the weight of our bags? sara is here to do the measuring. >> the lowest guess for hoda was 4.1 pounds. this isn't scientific, but the highest was 35 pounds. >> that would be if there was a bowling ball in there. >> bernadette says hoda's wallet alone is 35 pounds. >> hold it up. >> oh, my gosh. >> how much is it? >> ten pounds. >> ten pounds. >> carrying that around all day long, hoda? >> human breasts weigh five pounds. that means you have two extra sets on you right now. >> what human breast weighs five pounds? >> really, the human breast is about five pounds. >> not mine. in mine, the earring you lost at the theater yesterday. >> half a pound. >> one and a half. >> i used to have a stomach like this. >> now she's trying to melt the fat away.

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