we have it for you today from los angeles, monday, february 27, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to a special edition of "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer in new york city. ann curry and al roker are in los angeles with a complete wrap-up of the oscars. ann, i think in los angeles it's a felony to steal an oscar. >> it definitely is. i didn't steal it. >> borrowed. >> i can't believe that mark bridges who won this for the artist loaned it to me because i'm not to be trusted. i might run home for it. "the artist" is the first to win hollywood's top prize since 1929. we'll talk to the men and women behind the film including best actor jean dujardin and we'll have other big winners as well. we love that scene from the movie. >> absolutely. everybody talking about the return of billy crystal as host. first time in eight years. we'll tell you how his return is being received. of course, we'll talk about all the hot looks on the red carpet. matt, ann was very impressed by angelina jolie's stance. >> she had a beautiful stance last night, so i wore a dress with a slit. >> you're working it. i did see angelina standing that way in the paper. and, al, you should stop that now. also, sacha baron cohen showed up from "the dictator" and things got a little bit out of hand when he was interviewed by ryan seacrest. more on that coming up as well. ann? >> we begin with highlights from the 84th academy awards. it was a fabulous night in hollywood. in fact it feels like it hasn't quite ended. ♪ >> an evening to celebrate cinema full of bright color and moving acceptance speeches but the biggest winner of the night, a small black and white picture with no talking at all. >> "the artist." >> thank you from the bottom of my heart. to you members of the academy. >> the french film's homage to hollywood's silent era took home best picture, best director and best actor for star jean dujardin. >> i rolove your country. >> i love you! >> the other award went to a familiar face. >> i knew i was gay though. at the weddings i would be staring at husbands and not the wives. >> christopher plummer won his first oscar, best supporting actor in "the beginners". >> you're only two years older than i am, where have you been all my life? >> i hope i can do it for another ten years. >> reporter: billy crystal got laughs but his performance received mixed reviews from critics. >> george, let's make pasta! maybe it will rain! say "i'm batman." >> in perhaps the tightest contest for best actress -- >> meryl streep, "the iron lady." >> the oscar went to meryl streep for her role in "the iron lady." >> when they called my name i had this feeling i could hear half of america going, "oh, no, oh, come on, why her again"? >> it seems like she's nominated every year but streep hadn't won since 1982. >> thank you, all of you, departed and here for this inexplicably wonderful career. thank you so much. thank you. >> but the biggest ovation of the night may have gone to octavia spencer who had to be helped on stage after winning best supporting actress for "the help." >> thank you, academy, for putting me with the hottest guy in the room. thank you! i love you. i'm sorry. >> i still love you, matt lauer, ann curry and here's what's happening in your neck of the woods, al roker. >> it was really a fun night and it was so great, matt, to see octavia spencer. it was a real moment when she was up on stage. it was fun to watch billy crystal. what did you think, matt? >> that made me feel good to see the opening montage and his song in the beginning. i love having him back. probably two or three people should host on a rotating basis and he clearly is one of the men. >> very funny guy made an interesting joke about watching during the recession all the rich people, people all dressed up for the oscars. he was a delight. you're right. it was very comforting. we'll have much more on the oscars coming up including the hottest fashion and hair friends on the red carpet. back to you for more serious news from new york. >> absolutely. now to afghanistan and the rise in violence sparked by the burning of korans by american troops there. there was a fresh attack outside an airport on the heels of the murders of two military adviser inside an afghan government compound. attiya abawi is in kabul. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a car bomb killed nine afghans today. there are also possible reports of a poisoning at a u.s. base. the military said they are investigating but no one was injured. this follows seven days of unrelenting anger. it's been a week of rage, frustration and bloodshed and the anger shows no signs of letting up. just this morning a suicide bomber struck the airport and base in eastern afghanistan. four americans and more than 30 afghans have been killed since u.s. soldiers accidentally burned korans and other religious materials last week. despite repeated apologies from u.s. and nato officials the situation is very tense. president karzai tried to diffuse the anger saying our emotions for shown all over the country. it is time to return to calm and keep i. karzai offered condolences to the families of the americans who were slain buftz chaos. last thursday 25-year-old joshua born and 22-year-old timothy conrad, jr., were killed by an afghan soldier who turned his weapon on them. on saturday two high ranking u.s. military officers were killed inside their offices in the heavily fortified interior ministry. their killer is still on the loose. >> there is no place necessarily inside afghanistan that's safe for anybody. i don't think a great deal of progress has been made in places it needs to be made. >> the latest cran burning follows insults that intensified public outrage toward the u.s. including the intentional burning of a koran by a pastor in florida and the video of u.s. marines urinating on the corpses of taliban fighters. the u.s. ambassador believes the anger will eventually settle. he told cnn the mission is still necessary. >> this is not the time to decide that we're done here. we've got to redouble our efforts. we've got to create a situation in which al qaeda is not coming back. >> reporter: last night the pentagon said a planned visit this week by afghan's defense ministers has been postponed as they try to end the violence. the anti-american and western sentiment is at an all-time high within after standard of practice and has many foreigners living on edge. matt? >> atia, thank you very much. here at home the gop presidential race is facing what could be a critical turning point. mitt romney and rick santorum are battling it out on the campaign trail on the eve of the key contests in michigan and arizona. nbc's peter alexander is in rockford, michigan, with the latest there. good morning to you. >> hey, matt. good morning. mitt romney and rick santorum will be crossing michigan today to nail down votes ahead of tomorrow's pivotal primary. a senior adviser for the campaign says they feel like they are on a good track now. down in the polls two weeks ago. now they are slightly ahead according to most polls. meanwhile, santorum has been going after romney claiming he's not conservative enough to deserve the nomination hoping voters will help him turn the race on its ear. >> let's take the first step to a better future on tuesday. >> reporter: down to the wire. >> you can change this race, right here in michigan. >> reporter: rick santorum and mitt romney are mixing it up in michigan. with his poll numbers slipping santorum is appealing to social conservatives insisting this john f. kennedy speech to protestant ministers. >> i believe in america for the separation of church and state is absolute. >> reporter: makes him sick. >> i don't believe in a separation of church and state. to say people of faith have no place in the public square, that makes you throw up. >> reporter: santorum claims college campuses are places of liberal indoctrination. >> president obama said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. he wants to remake you in his image. >> reporter: but jan brewer endorsed romney on "meet the press." >> i think he would serve america the best of all the candidates. >> reporter: meanwhile the daytona 500 was delayed by rain and mitt romney played up the auto industry. >> this plays up things i like best -- cars and sport. >> reporter: but when asked if he follows the sport. >> not as closely as some of the most ardent fans but i have some great friends that are nascar team owners. >> reporter: that made him seem out of touch. >> i drive a mustang and a pickup truck. ann drives a couple of cadillacs actually. >> reporter: he was seen scoping out the 26 car sponsored by the santorum campaign. santorum hopes his car pulls off a win. >> hang back as long as you can, let the folks in front of you crash and burn, move up at the end and try to win the race. >> reporter: campaign sources tell nbc news rick santorum will begin receiving secret service protection. today mitt romney already has secret service protection. >> peter, thank you very much. let's check on the top stories. natalie is at the news desk. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. welcome back. >> thank you. >> in the news the compound where osama bin laden lived from 2005 until his death is in are you able. pakistani authorities destroyed the house. demolition crews worked throughout the weekend to take down the house, a symbol of pakistan's association with the terror chief. officials didn't explain why they destroyed the house at this point in time. a train from niagara falls to toronto canada has derailed killing at least three and injuring 40 others. 75 passengers were on the six-carriage train when it went off the rails. the incident is under investigation. the cause of the derailment isn't known. an assassination attempt on vladimir putin has been foiled. a joint operation by ukrainian and russian intelligence caught the would be assassins and discovered their links to terrorists. this is according to russian television. the report comes days before elections that putin hopes will return him to the office of president for a six-year term. the federal trial over the bp oil spill, the worst offshore oil disaster in our nation's history, has been delayed. proceedings were scheduled to begin today but bp will get another week to try to come to a settlement deal. penalties could run into the billions if bp is found grossly negligent in the spill when the "deepwater horizon" hig exploded. 11 people were killed and miles of coastline doused in millions of gallons of oil. courtney is at the new york stock exchange. what will we watch this week? >> economists surveyed are growing optimistic for 2012. improved sentiments in employment, new housing construction, business spending and economic outlook. however those rising energy prices could curtail the optimism. according to the lundberg survey the national average for a price of gas increased 18 cents in just the last two weeks to $3.69. drivers in denver are paying $3.07 on average. san diego drivers forking over $4.24 for a gallon of gas. natalie? >> thank you, courtney. for the first time in daytona 500's history race day was rained out. it was postponed from sunday until today at noon but could see another delay as puddles well up on the international speedway in florida and another storm is looming. 7:15 now. back to matt. better safe than sorry. slick track for sure. >> thank you, natalie. let's go to los angeles for a check of the weather from mr. roker. i heard some complaining it was chilly on the red carpet last night. >> it was a little brisk, but the fashion was so hot nobody minded. the good news is we've got weather on its way out. we have really rough stuff coming into southern california and the pacific northwest as well. look at these high wind warnings, wind watches. we've got winter storm warnings, winter storm advisories and watches as well as we make our way into the mountains. there is a big system coming on shore. it will be bringing rain to the coastal southern california. we're looking at mountain snows and you can see a lot of wet weather in the southeastern atlantic states. big snowstorm getting itself together through the plains into the midwest and maybe the northeast. details coming up in the next half hour. >> good morning. things will start to warm up a little bit today appear will see a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. we will wi and that's your latest weather. ann? >> thank you, al. we are so happy to be joined by the men and the women from the movie "the artist." the best director, best actor, berenice bejo, penelope ann miller, thomas langman and harvey winestein all joining us as well as the best score winner and best costume designer, mark bridges. congratulations to you all! [ cheers and applause ] >> you have to tell us how you have been celebrating. you said you were the happiest director in the world. what have you been doing all night? >> we're french. we have been drinking. >> there was a rumor that some of the frenchmen who worked on the movie have been jumping in pools. >> our producer jumped into a coffee cup. >> he's got what? >> coffee. >> oh, he dropped coffee, i see. >> what i'm wondering is what does it feel like to have won five oscars for a movie that even said you were crazy to make, michele? >> can you answer that question? >> we feel great. it's just amazing. really thrilling. this is the highest recognition we could hope. and it happened. it's crazy. yeah! >> jean, what was your emotion? what did you feel when you heard your name? >> i was over the moon. i was out of my body. >> you were out of your body? that must have been an experience. >> yes, it's a new experience. >> you were yelling at the end of your speech in french. >> yes. >> what were you saying? >> no, no, it's very correct. it's me saying, unbelievable, thank you very much. >> i love you all. >> o okay. >> thank you, my friends. >> everything pg-13. i made you blush by asking the question. let me through this next question to you. for two years no one would listen to you. they wouldn't give you money. you had to mortgage your own assets. what does it say to you -- this big win -- about the value of taking a risk for what you believe in despite what everyone is saying? >> it's amazing. sometimes he calls me the most stupid producer in the world. now with this in my hand i don't feel stupid at all. >> you're brilliant! >> you can be stupid and have an oscar. >> oh, dear. >> he's smart! >> harvey, this is a movie a lot of americans will consider anew. they hadn't maybe convinced themselves to see a silent film. what's your message to anyone all over the world who has not seen the movie because they don't want to sit through a black and white silent movie. >> this is the million to one movie that had impossible odds and overcame it. you can do what you dream. that's what michelle, thomas, berenice and the team have done. we're going to expand this to main stream and open it in 2000 theaters on friday. it's in close to a thousand theaters now. the movie will ride a great success. >> in taking a risk in making the movie it really says something. this is your second one. you had "the king's speech" last year. congratulations to you. >> i like to choose interesting subjects -- a stuttering king and a black and white silent movie. i should have my head analyzed. >> martin, you wrote a paper about black and white films, right? >> a book report in 6th grade, silent actors, silent movie actors. i have loved it all my life. i was going to show that to you. so i have always loved it as a kid. as i mentioned in my speech. it just happened tonight. >> very wonderful. your first nomination and win. james, you were not out partying last night, i can see -- >> i was. i was. >> you were the one in the pool. >> the two of you have been campaigning hard for the movie. you didn't believe it would have the legs until you saw it on screen, right? >> until i saw it. actually michele explained what was going to happen but i don't think i heard him until i saw it with an audience. >> i saw it in telluride in front of an audience. it was tremendous. the reaction was really overwhelming. i think we realized we had something really unique and beautiful. >> you really do. we have just run out of time. congratulations to you as well. congratulations! well done! cheers. [ cheers and applause ] >> you were fantastic in this movie. we love you. much more just ahead including the hottest looks and trends from oscar's red carpet, the hits, the misses, very important questions this morning. first, this is "today" on nbc. coming up, a warning to parents before you let your kids travel to mexico for spring break. we'll tell you about that after your local news. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. a baltimore family is mourning the death of the national guardsmen killed in afghanistan this weekend. major robert marchanti leaves behind four adult children and his wife of 24 years. his family says that he had been deployed in afghanistan for less than a year and word of this debt service after this week in's to the protest in afghanistan. -- weekend's deadly protests in afghanistan. >> we are tracking a few problems. the one having the big impact is and southbound 83. you can see the impact it is hatem. -- having. on frederick road and that in the late, accident to avoid. in gambrills, crash at said the delay and sunshine way. -- crash at some city laid and sunshine away. inner loop, eight minutes to its 83's. harrisburg expressway is very congested from shawan road to the beltway. 95 out of white marsh, tracking some delays towards the 895 split. >> nothing going got weather- wise. a little bit of the chilean side, though. 23 in frederick. 2990 parkton. forecast for today, a mixture of sunshine in a few clouds. this is going to push the temperatures in the upper 50s to around 60 degrees. seven-day forecast, cooler again tomorrow. that's a pretty good chance for rain on wednesday. rain on wednesday. ♪ 7:30 now on this monday morning, the 27th of february 2012. stars from brad pitt and angelina jolie to penelope cruz and gwyneth paltrow were decked out. who shined the brightest? we have it covered for you coming up in this half hour. i'm ann curry in los angeles on the morning after the oscars. matt is back home in studio 1a. hey, matt, good morning. a sleepy one for us here. >> hang in there, ann. on a different note the spring break season is heating up. in the coming weeks tens of thousands of u.s. college students will head to parties in various locations. a lot of them will head south of the border. how safe is mexico? it's a country that's been in the headlines for violence a lot lately. coming up, a young man will share a cautionary tale. >> all right. and also coming up on a lighter note we'll tell you what ryan seacrest is saying about this uncomfortable moment with the dictator during the oscar preshow. >> that looked like the moment where you laugh because it's sacha baron cohen, but i'm not sure ryan was thrilled standing there with ashes all over him. >> right. but it looked like he handled it pretty well. maybe a lesser person might have gotten angry. he handled it pretty well. sacha is unpredictable. >> let's begin with actors in the best dressed at goir at the oscars. avril graham is with us from bazaar magazine and will is here from "essence" magazine. you must have woke up this morning and say, matt lauer is doing the segment? wha