good morning. state of the union, state of the presidency. as barack obama prepares to address the nation, a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll finds 61% of americans lack confidence in his policies. what does he need to say tonight to convince them otherwise? we'll ask white house press secretary robert gibbs. sticking situation. toyota suspends the sale of eight of its most popular models in the u.s. while engineers try to fix a dangerous problem with gas pedals. and this morning the company says it doesn't know how long that will take. and not so fast. students blindfold their girls basketball coach and set him up for an impossible shot to win tickets to the final four. two problems -- he makes the shot -- [ cheers and applause ] and they never had the tickets. the story of the prank gone wrong today, wednesday, january 27th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. you know, it's not just what the president says tonight in his address, it's also his ability to connect with the voters, that people will be watching. >> that's right. and judging by that nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, boy, he's got his work cut out for him. so, what kind of tone will he take? what does he need to say? we'll get a preview of the speech from white house press secretary robert gibbs. also ahead, new developments this morning in the tragic death of nancy kerrigan's father. state police returned to the kerrigan family home late last night. it was the scene of the violate struggle that ended with kerrigan's brother in jail and her father dead. and there is word now that mark kerrigan, the brother who has been charged with assault in the case, will not be able to attend his father's funeral. coming up, we're going to get the latest details and also talk with nancy kerrigan's good friend and fellow skater paul wiley. here's an interesting question -- would you stay with your husband if he were caught with a male prostitute? the wife of popular mega church pastor ted hagert faced that very decision when her husband made that shocking admission back in 2006. she chose to stand by him. she'll tell us why in a live interview later on in the show. but we begin this wednesday morning with president obama's first state of the union address, a speech that comes at a pivotal time in his presidency. david gregory is the moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, high anxiety around the country means high stakes for the president tonight. the white house agenda and the fate of the president's party in this midterm election year are both riding on the new course the president sets in tonight's speech. >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: one overriding goal for mr. obama is to restore confidence in his leadership. >> i think it's a turning point for the president. he has to recapture the voice that he had during the campaign. >> reporter: while still personally popular, doubts are growing about his ability to solve problems. in a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, only 39% felt confident the president had the "right set of goals and policies to be president." 61% lacked confidence. tonight, even as the fate of his health care reform push remains unclear, the president will speak about the economy and announce a three-year spending freeze for many domestic programs. aides have defended the freeze against critics who claim the impact will be too small. >> this is only one component of what we are going to be doing to be bringing the deficits down over time. it's $250 billion over ten years. that's nothing to sneeze at. >> reporter: efforts to cut red in come as the government announce a record $1.4 trillion deficit for this year. that, coupled with 10% unemployment, underscores growing political weakness for the president and democrats among independent voters. >> go, scott, go! >> reporter: the gop upset in massachusetts could be an early warning of what democrats will face this fall. >> he has to re-establish a connection to many of those voters who are feeling economically uneasy about the trajectory of the jobs, the stock markets and housing prices, but also disillusioned with what they are seeing out of washington, both with process and to some extent with substance. >> reporter: in fact, our new poll shows anger at washington spares no one. 93% say there is too much partisan fighting between the political parties. seven in ten say the federal government is not working well. most of the blame goes to republicans and democrats in congress. >> he's going to have to show that he's listened to the american people over the last few weeks and he's not impervious to that message. >> reporter: part of that message is where's the bipartisanship in washington? look for the president to talk about that tonight, to call out republicans to get off the sidelines and to help govern. and what about health care? well, the president will chart a course for the way forward on that, but there's a lot of question marks about that path, and right now, senior advisers say, meredith, the first goal is to get a jobs bill through the congress. >> david gregory, thank you very much. robert gibbs is the white house press secretary. mr. gibbs, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. how are you? >> i'm great, thank you. you know, the president has his work cut out for him tonight. according to our poll, 58% of those asked feel the country is on the wrong track. that's a big number. what do they need to hear tonight that would convince them otherwise? >> well, look, i think the president will discuss what many americans are feeling, that the past year was one of the most challenging in our nation's history, but he'll outline a plan to get our economy -- to continue to get our economy back on track to make us safer and more secure, to make college more affordable, to cut spending here in washington and outline what he believes it will be a hopeful decade for this country. >> let's talk about tone for a minute. will he strike a note of contrition for the mistakes that he's made over the past year, because every president makes mistakes? >> every president makes mistakes, including barack obama. he's not been shy about admitting that. we've made mistak here. i think what you'll hear the president, though, focus most on tonight are plans to cut taxes for small businesses that hire workers, how do we get credit flowing again from community banks to many small businesses, eliminating capital gains for investment in those small businesses. as i said, changing the way washington works, cutting spending here in this town to get us back on a path towards fiscal responsibility. all of those things the president will outline here tonight. >> speaking about cutting the deficit here, the spending, he will announce this three-year budget freeze. already some critics are saying it's just a drop in the bucket. others are wondering how cutting social spending will create jobs, which is number one in most people's minds. so, what's his answer to that? >> well, understand this, meredith -- from 1995 to 2006, this portion of our budget grew by 90%. so, for critics out there that don't think this is something that we need to address -- we're never going to close our budget deficit if we don't take every step, not just one orwo steps, but every step that we need to control spending. the president believes we have to put ourselves back on a path towards fiscal responsibility, and freezing nonsecurity spending in thi budget is one of those paths. it's not everything that we have to do to close our budget deficit, but it's certainly one of those steps. >> but it is, again, it's only one-eighth of the budget. i think that's why critics are focusing on that. >> well, again, understanding this, meredith -- in 1995 -- between 1995 and 2006, this part of the budget doubled. so, if it's one-eighth of the budget now, it was one-sixteenth then. if we can't address this with the one part of the budget, how will you do that for the other seven-eighths? we'll cut programs that duplicate what other programs do in this government. it's exactly what families are doing around the kitchen table all over this country. they can't afford everything. they know what they have to spend money on, which in our case is security and investing in things like education, but they know that they can't afford everything. they've got to tighten their belt and they're going to start with some of those decisions just as the president is doing. >> very quickly, last year the president made a big push for health care reform, a health care reform bill. now the senate majority leader, harry reid, is suddenly saying there's no rush. does the president agree with that, or again tonight will he push for that reform? >> we'll discuss health care reform tonight, meredith, because even as millions of americans are working harder for less pay, one of the reasons they're taking home less money is their skyrocketing health care costs. we were close to having reform a few weeks ago. we're still just that close, and the president will discuss why we can't walk away from making sure that the struggling the high cost of health care doesn't choke off an economic recovery. >> does he still feel there's a rush? >> we still have an urgent problem in this country, because as the president speaks tonight, more people will lose their insurance, more people will be discriminated against by an insurance company, and more people will see their health care costs go up if we don't do anything. >> all right. white house press secretary robert gibbs, i'm sure we'll be talking to you in the days ahead. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> it is 7:09, and for more, here's matt. >> meredith, thank you. for perspective from the other side of the aisle, let's bring in republican congressman eric cantor of virginia. he is the house minority whip. congressman cantor, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> you just heard robert gibbs lay out what the president's going to talk about, this freeze in spending. he's going to talk about cutting taxes to small businesses, about getting credit flowing to those small businesses, about jobs, jobs, jobs. is that what republicans want to hear? >> well, matt, the american people want to hear that the president has listened and that he's learned from what has gone on over the past year here. as we know, way too many american families are still out of work. we've got to be focusing on those kitchen table issues to make sure now that we create an environment where small businesses can start hiring again. the path to make that happen is through creating the environment, empowering small businesses. it's not through more government programming or washington spending. >> when you say they want to hear that he has listened and he's learned, do you think that they want to hear -- and do you want to hear -- that contrition that meredith just talked about? >> matt, what i think that we all want to hear is a real commitment to putting this economy back on track, and it starts right here in washington. the president has talked about the need for fiscal discipline now. the problem i have got, given that just last month we saw him sign a bill that increases spending by 12% -- yesterday, on the same day that the white hoe announced that it would tighten the belt, it also introduced tens of billions of dollars of new spending. either we're going to stop the spending and focus back on the issues that are important to people -- empowering small businesses -- >> right. >> or we're going to continue this process of out-of-control deficits. >> this poll that we've been talking about this morning, congressman cantor, from the "wall street journal"/nbc news, 58% of americans asked believe the country is on the wrong track, but when asked who's to blame, 48% -- a clear majority, actually -- hold republicans in congress responsible. so, what's your part in this? >> matt, we have stood ready and willing to work with this president since his first day in office. we were there when the stimulus discussion occurred -- >> and nobody supported . >> making sure -- no, we had a republican plan -- making sure that we wanted to create jobs at half the cost ofhat the president's plan was. i think everybody would agree now that the stimulus hasn't worked. we've also proffered to the president a health care proposal. i think the american people have spoken out on that. we saw the results of the elections in massachusetts, virginia and new jersey. clearly, people do not like this health care plan. we've got a plan -- >> is it done, congressman? is it done? >> well, we have a plan that will bring down costs and create competition. people will be able to stand up to their insurance companies because they'll have a choice. if the president would actually realize that i think the public doesn't want his plan, we certainly could work together to try and accomplish some of the things that the american people want. >> congressman eric cantor, who will be attendance tonight and watching carefully. congressman, thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you, matt. >> and a reminder, we'll have ve coverage of president obama's state of the union address. that's tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on nbc. it's now 12 after the hour. once again, here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. and now to that unprecedented move by toyota. the automaker has suspended the u.s. sales of eight popular models involved in a recall over accelerator pedals. cnbc's phil lebeau covers the auto industry and is at a toyota dealership in park ridge, illinois, for us this morning. phil, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. this is a highly unusual move by toyo, but it's one the company felt it had to make in order to get its arms around a potentially deadly problem that could impact millions of toyota cars and trucks. hoping to stop mounting concerns about the safety of its cars and trucks, toyota is suspending sales and shutting down assembly lines for eight models, including the best-selling car in the country, the camry. toyota acknowledges these models may have sticking accelerator pedals. >> i think in many ways, it's unprecedented, even a little bit shocking, but ultimately, i think it's absolutely the right thing for toyota to be doing. >> reporter: for months, there have been anecdotal reports about the accelerators accelerating out of control, including this one outside of dallas the day after christmas. four people died when their avalon smashed through a fence and flipped into a pond. just last week, toyota announced a recall of 2.3 million models it suspects might have sticking accelerator pedals. now toyota is going one step further, effectively taking 65% of its new cars and trucks off showroom floors. they are -- 2009 and 2010 rav4s, corollas and matrix models, 2005 to '10 avalons, certain models of 2007 to 2010 camrys, current highlanders, 2007 to 2010 tundras and 2008 to 2010 sequoias. in a written statement, the company's general manager says -- "this action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. we're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible." toyota is unsure how long it will suspend sales. while the federal government investigates if toyotas have a defect causing unexpected acceleration, it has yet to issue its own safety recall, but attorney richard mccune believes there could be thousands of cases where drivers could not slow down their toyotas. >> it is not just those that have experienced the problem, it is those that have not experienced the problem but are fearful of it. so, i think it's more than just the peop that have complained. i think everybody that owns a toyota that has this type of system is potentially has reason to be concerned. >> reporter: toyota believes the problem with its gas pedals are coming from accelerators that are supplied by one specific supplier. the problem is, toyota hasn't figured ou a way to work with that supplier to come up with a solution. and until it does, meredith, it is going to halt production and sales of those eight models. meredith? >> doing the right thing. cnbc's phil lebeau, thank you very much. let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from ann over at the news desk. good morning to you. >> matt and meredith, good morning. we begin with a remarkable news that a man was pulled alive from the rubble two weeks after haiti's earthquake. the u.s. army's 82nd airborne rescued him from a collapsed building on tuesday and helped treat him for a broken leg and severe dehydration. it is still unclear how the man in his 30s was able to survive, but some are taking note that the building is on a road named miracle street. tensions flair this morning between north and south korea. the two countries exchanged gunfire along their disputed western seaboarder. no reports of any casualties. a search for the missing virginia tech student has apparently ended tragically. police believe that a body found on tuesday is that of morgan harrington, who disappeared three months ago. nbc's ron mott is in charlottesville, virginia, with more on this story. ron, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. police say they're confident they have recovered the remains of 20-year-old morgan harrington, ending a painful search for her family and friends. now the search is on for clues in what's likely to be a homicide investigation. a farmer tending to his field spotd the remains tuesday morning in a remote part of his property, initially thinking they belonged to an animal. >> i saw what i thought was a dead deer. i got a little closer, and it didn't look like a deer skull. >> reporter: instead, police soon concluded the remains are likely those of 20-year-old morgan harrington, the virginia student who briefly attended a metallica rock concert on the university of virginia campus last october. >> while this has been a missing person's case, we have always treated this as potentially a homicide. the cause of death will be determined, hopefully, by the medical examiner. we still proceed as if this is a homicide, and most likely will be a homicide. >> reporter: harrington called friends inside the arena saying she had wound up outside without her ticket stub after goingo the bathroom and wasn't let back in. she said she'd get a ride home, told them not to worry but was never seen again. >> this is what she looks like. >> reporter: harrington's parents, who made emotional pleas for her safe return, rushed to the area. her mother jill's recollection of their last conversation now all the more somber. >> as she left, morgan's last words to me were "two, four, one, mama. i love you too much, forever, one more time." >> reporter: police fielded hundreds of tips here over the last several months and hope for one more to lead to an arrest if, in fact, morgan harrington was murdered. >> ron mott, thanks. hundreds of tourists are trapped by mud slides in machu picchu in peru. the only roadway into the area is blocked. some people have had to be evacuated by helicopter. and a five-story apartment building collapsed this morning in belgium in a cloud of dust and smoke after an apparent gas explosion. at least 20 people were hurt. pretty dramatic images. it is now 7:18. let's now go back to you three guys. >> how did they happen to have a camera there? >> i was asking about that. doesn't look like a surveillance picture. probably the gas explosion brought the news cameras and then they got the pictures. >> mr. roker, what's going on? a big storm out of the southwest is going to affect the midsection of the country over the next 48 hours. take a look, we can show you winter storm warnings and watches from the four corners of the southwest all the way into parts of tennessee and kentucky. this low pressure system comes out of the southwest tonight on through tomorrow, bringing with it rain, snow and ice, especially from parts of n mexico, texas, on into oklahoma. we're talking up to a half an inch to an inch of ice in central oklahoma. snowfall amounts anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow, rainfall amounts of about one to two inches through texas. it is going to be a mess there. and in fact, it was a year ago they had the worst snowstorm - - good morning, that same storm will be approaching us by friday evening and into saturday, between now and then, we'll stay dry and then certainly cold this morning. 32 in washington, we're just a few minutes away from sunrise. it's near 30 in the suburbs and rural areas, many locations in the 20s. lots of sun today, highs reaching the low 40s. southwest winds should reach that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. the conservative activist who posed as a pimp last year to draw attention to the community organizing group acorn has now been arrested. he and three others are accused of trying to bug phones at the office of a u.s. senator. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has the details on that. pete, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning. this sounds like something out of a movie, or maybe a prank video, which could be what this was all about, but it has triggered a serious federal charge and questions about what exactly four young men were up to in new orleans. >> we talked about the abusive pimp. >> reporter: at the apparent center of it all, james o'keefe, the 25-year-old who last year got the liberal community organizing group acorn into hot water with this undercover video. now federal prosecutors accuse him and three other men of tampering with telephone lines in the office of u.s. senator mary landrieu, a louisiana democrat. the fbi says it happened monday when two of the men went to the new orleans federal building dressed as phone repairmen. court documents say they went to senator landrieu's office, asked to use the receptionist telephone and manipulated the handset. all the while, the fbi says, james o'keefe was recording the encounter with a cell phone camera. after trying to get to the building's main telephone system but failing to produce phone company i.d.s, the three were arrested. a fourth man was picked up outside waiting in a truck. >> we've been threatened with lawsuits. we're tired of this. >> reporter: o'keefe became a medias sensation last year afte he opposed as a pimp in undercover videos asking acorn officials for advice on how to keep the irs from taxing teenage prostitution. >> if they're making money and they're underage, you shouldn't let nobody know anyway. >> reporter: because acorn helped register thousands of low-income voters, republicans pronounced. o'keefe became a conservative hero and congress recommended banning all federal funds for acorn. >> i consider myself an oppressive radical. >> reporter: in an nbc news interview last fall, o'keefe said he planned to continue making undercover videos. >> i would hope to be able t do more of these types of things and expose more corruption and do more investigating, absolutely. >> reporter: also arrested with o'keefe on monday was a louisiana federal prosecutor's son, robert flanagan, a former congressional intern who criticized senator landrieu earlier this month on a libertarian blog. a lawyer for one of the men calls this a bad stunt. senator landrieu herself calls unsettling and says she's as interested in anyone in finding out what their motives were, matt. >> pete williamsn washington. pete, thank you very much. just ahead, the tragic death of skater nancy kerrigan's father. will her brother face murder charges? we'll get the latest on that story and talk exclusively to kerrigan's longtime boss: so word's gettin' out that geico customers could save even more on their car insurance by signing up for other things - like homeowner's or renter's insurance. nice work, everyone. exec: well, it's easy for him. he's a cute little lizard. gecko: a gecko, actually - exec: with all due respect, if i was tiny and green and had a british accent i'd have more folks paying attention to me too... i mean - (faux english accent) "save money! pip pip cheerio!" exec 2: british? i thought you were australian. gecko: well, it's funny you should ask. 'cause actually, i'm from - anncr: geico. save even more with our new multi-policy discount. still ahead, the not-so-perfect prank foiled by a high school basketball coach who sank that remarkable shot. we'll explain. also ahead, the president and first lady live in our studio, sort of. it is now 7:26 on this wednesday january 27, 2010. in the news for today, federal safety investigators say they are just in the beginning stages of trying to fixture out what caused the accident that killed two metro workers. the two long-time employees were hit while working between the rockville and shady grove stations. the tragedy happened as a direct result of human error. we're going to take a break and we'll check your forecast. and we have problems on the beltway this morning. good morning, clear and cold on this wednesday morning, temperatures 20 to near 30 degrees. getting a bit windier tomorrow. highs in the mid and upper 40s. much colder friday into the weekend, cowl get accumulating snow friday into saturday. >> chopper 4 over a beltway crash over the b.w. park way. a hefty backup coming out of college park heading toward greenville. jammed on the beltway inner loop as you leave springfield on up toward gallo road. an earlier accident has been cleared there. >> now back to the "today" show after this short break. 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, january 27th, 2010. we are giving these folks a chance to wave to their friends and family back home. we're going to send al out in a kb bit to keep them company. i am meredith vieira along with mattlauer. coming up, the event that landed nancy kerrigan's brother in jail and may have led to her father's death. we'll have more in a moment. also an exclusive live interview with kerrigan's good friend, cater paul wylie. also ahead, he was the successful leader of a megachurch, but in 2006, ted haggard shocked his followers when he admitted to an affair with a male prostitute. his wife gayle was there with him and stayed by his side. later this morning, she'll tell us why and what their relationship is like now. plus, time and money, how you can have more of both of them. >> sounds good. but let's begin with the new developments in the death of nancy kerrigan's father. nbc's jeff rossen is in stoneham, massachusetts, outside the kerrigan family home. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, matt, good morning to you. of course, your heart really has to go out to nancy kerrigan and her family here. she lost her father in this, and that's awful enough, of course, but in many ways, she also lost her brother, mark kerrigan, in this tragedy. they were so close growing up, but then nancy kerrigan's life went this way and his life went this way. this morning, nancy is planning her dad's funeral, while her brother mark is in the hospital for a mental evaluation. tuesday night, the massachusetts state police came back to the kerrigan family home. nancy kerrigan met them at the front door as the investigation deepens into what really happened here. earlier in the day, a small peek into nancy kerrigan's spirit, flashing a brief smile leaving her parents' house. the same spirit that rappelled her to medal in the 1994 olympics, even after getting clubbed in the knees. back then, as he always was -- >> brenda's daughter has seized the moment. >> how is she doing? >> great. she's wonderful. she's going to therapy right now. i think she'll be all right. >> reporter: 16 years later to the month, nancy kerrigan is in a uniquely awful position of being the victim's family and also the suspect's family. nancy's brother mark is charged with assault in connection with their dad's death. according to the police report, there was blood on the kitchen floor and pictures that apparently knocked off the wall from a struggle. mark kerrigan admitted to officers he was fighting with his dad over using the phone and "put his hands around his father's neck and his father fell to e floor." the kerrigans claim it wasn't the assault, but rather, a heart attack that killed dan kerrigan. legal experts say it may not matter. >> he could still be charged with manslaughter or even murder if the authorities believe that during the commission of a felony, meaning the assault, that the death occurred, that could be mder. >> reporter: in court this week, mark kerrigan cried. his lawyer painted him as a disturbed man. >> he has some post-traumatic issues with respect to his military service. >> reporter: in the past, he's been convicted of assault and drug charges. his wife once filed a restraining order against him. a troubled man with a star for a sister. >> nancy was living this elegant, athletic life in the spotlight, and meanwhile, her brother was living in the shadows and we really didn't know much about him. >> reporter: philip bondy wrote a book about her life, her middle class roots and her father, who worked several jobs just so she would make it. >> her father would drive a zamboni just to make a few extra dollars. they refinanced their house just to finance her lessons and her coaches and her costumes and her travel. >> reporter: for the first time, nancy kerrigan won't have her father in a time of such great need, but in the tight-knit world of figure skating, nancy kerrigan sure has a lot of friends. >> you know, it really puts life and skating and everything in perspective when you know there's people out there dealing with real problems and real things, and you know, i just wish her all the best. >> reporter: now, tonya harding -- that's nancy kerrigan's rival skater from 1994, of course involved with that now-famous clubbing incident involving nancy kerrigan -- released a statement to us, saying "tonya feels very sad for nancy and her family and extends her deepest sympathy and condolences to them. tonya's beloved dad, al harding, passed away this past april, so she understands the grief nancy and her family are feeling at this difficult time." we should mention, the wake for dan kerrigan is set for later today, matt. the funeral tomorrow. and there are several published reports out this morning that the state of massachusetts will not allow mark kerrigan to attend because, of course, he's in jail right now for assault. >> all right, jeff rossen in massachusetts for us covering this story. jeff, thank you very much. olympic silver medist paul wylie was a teammate of nancy kerrigan's at the albertville games and the two have remained very good friends. paul, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> you guys have known each other since you were barely teenagers. you go way back. give me your reaction to this news. >> oh, it's so sad, and i just feel for nancy and her family. and you know, i immediately called her and said, you know, whatever we can do to ease your pain, and you know, it's just really hard, i'm sure. >> how is she coping with this, paul? tell me a little bit more about that phone call. >> well, when i first called her, she was, you know, crying and very, you know, she was in shock. and i know that yesterday she was able to get out and, you know, she has lot of details to take care of, like anybody when a parent dies, you have details and funerals to plan and things like that. and so, she was getting his clothes and that kind of stuff. >> she's got three young kids. i know she was visiting you in north carolina with your children not long ago. did she talk about her mom and how her mom is doing? >> i know that her mom is really, i mean, like everyone else, grieving very much in the family, and she's concerned about her. >> i know you've asked -- you said you don't want to talk about nancy's brother, and i understand that, but can you tell me, is nancy supporting her brother? is she confident that this story will unfold the way he says it should unfold? >> i don't -- we haven't talked about that at all. we've only talked about her dad and the reaction to, you know, just the sadness of it and how she's dealing with her grief. >> because you have spent a lot of time with the kerrigan family, what can you tell me about her father? and i know you admired the relationship between her mom and dad. >> well, i mean, dan was such a great guy, and dan would, you know, he'd be the guy that came over to my apartment and said, you know, you really need to fix a couple things around here, and you could, you know, save some money over here, and your left-rear tire is running low on air, paul. i mean, come on! he was always the dad, and i really, you know, i can remember brenda and dan, dan sang at weddings and just a tight-knit family. we would go to the beach together when we were on cape cod training. and just a real family like you'd expect in your neighborhood and wonderful values. so, i mean, we just -- it's a tragedy. we're going to miss dan and it's going to be hard for everyone. >> you're truly a good friend. i mean, not only stepping forward right now, but i know you were there for nancy back at the time of the famous tonya harding incident. it's hard to believe that she going through such a difficult situation again. >> i know. it is hard, and i can't imagine what it's like to have the satellite trucks outside her house again. so, you know, we're just trying to be strong and we'll be there tomorrow for the funeral. >> paul wylie. paul, thanks for talking to us. and if you speak to nancy, please give her our best. >> will do. thanks, matt. >> and we should mention paul's going to be working for universal sports in the vancouver games. so we'll look forward to seeing him there. let's get a check of the weather now from mr. roker. all right, thanks a lot, matt. not only do we have this storm coming out of the southwest, but it's, unfortunately, perfect timing. cold air is funneling down from the arctic. bismarck right now 2 above. international falls 4 above. chicago 9. factor in the windchill, it feels like 7 below in chicago, 11 below in bismarck. high temperatures today only get up into the low single digits to the double teens, and then as we go into the day friday, you can see that cold air slides to the south and to the east. we're looking in new england, temperatures in thee single a cold start to this wednesday morning. a clear sky is just near the freezing mark in washington to near 30 in washington and rural areas. highs today in the low 40s. tonight partly to mostly cloudy, upper 20s tomorrow morning, and partly sunny tomorrow with a blustery southwest winds and much colder near friday morning by 20, friday afternoon only in the a lot of weather going on. if you want to keep tabs of it all, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> al, thank you very much. still to come, the coach who sank a shot blindfolded from half court after he was promised tickets to the final four if he made it. well, the tickets never existed. we'll talk to him. back at 7:43 with more of our exclusive look inside the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s, our nation's silent warriors. as we saw on monday and tuesday, most people are not cut out for the job. so, how do they find the right people? nbc's chris jansing is here to show us. chris, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, meredith. well, the short answer is, it isn't easy to find the right young men, given the job requirements -- extreme physical fitness and mental toughness, ability to learn difficult languages, willing to go face to face against al qaeda or the taliban. so, under a mandate to increase the size of the force by more than 20%, navy s.e.a.l.s are looking for recruits who may never have considered the military before. it's quite an entrance for warriors who pride themselves on stealth. two navy s.e.a.l.s parachuting from a c-130 into the world iron man championship. for the s.e.a.l.s, this is a new kind of mission, competing in extreme endurance sports as a recruiting tool, and david goggins is their point man. >> you know, i'm looking for, honestly, that guy who has a 1,000-yard stare. it's mental toughness. it's not wanting to fail. >> reporter: and failure was exactly the navy's problem. >> keep it to yourself! >> reporter: most prospective candidates can't make it through the grueling training, but the s.e.a.l.s have a mandate to expand the force by 500 in the next two years. so, the navy did a study to find out who was most likely to succeed. and it wasn't the big guys who play football. >> water polo, triathlon, rugby, lacrosse, boxing. >> reporter: a lot of your typical sports. >> wrestling does real well, too. most of those sports have a real high training hardness factor. >> reporter: armed with that information, the navy designed a one-day competition called the s.e.a.l. fitness challenge. >> keep it up, man, looking good, looking smooth! >> reporter: a series of tests identical to what they give recruits. anyone can sign up, but the navy invites athletic, young men. on this day, several water polo teams. obviously, from a s.e.a.l.'s perspective, they spend a lot of time in the water, they have upper body strength and know teamwork, but they're also often getting up at the crack of dawn and diving into a cold pool. they're focused and self-motivated. they're guys like ben miller, a college water polo player who after graduation took a sales job with some of his teammates. >> and there wasn't that overall goal -- >> reporter: you were looking for a big challenge. >> yeah. we were looking for a larger cause besides ourselves. >> reporter: as for david goggins, he's back training for his next test, a 3,000-mile bike race all the way across the country. and along the way, he'll be on the lookout for the next generation of elite warriors. >> i ask them one big question -- where's your heart at? do you really want this for the right reasons? it has to be something that, you know, you really are passionate about, and passion is what gets you through navy s.e.a.l. training. >> in the last 12 months, s.e.a.l. recruiters have talked to 15,000 wrestlers, water polo players and swimmers. and just to tell you the basics, meredith -- okay, now, there are no women s.e.a.l.s, but if you were interested, could you do 50 sit-ups in two minutes? >> no. >> 42 push-ups in two minutes? >> absolutely not. >> run a mile and a half in 11 1/2 minutes? >> maybe. >> really? >> i'm going to say one thing i might be able to do. >> you know, maybe they'll make an exception. >> i doubt it, chris. they're amazing people. >> amazing, and also, their wives are incredible. we're going to talk to four s.e.a.l. wives tomorrow. you will not believe what a s.e.a.l.'s idea of a first date is. >> okay. i look forward to that. chris jansing, thank you so much. and still ahead, the sex scandal involving a male prostitute that brought down influential pastor ted haggard. through it all, his wife gayle stood by him. we're back at 7:50. they may be preparing for tonight's state of the union address, but it hasn't stopped the president and the first lady from spending a little time with us here in studio 1a, kind of. what do we think of these two? >> amazing. >> i think they look great. >> yeah, these are from madame tussauds here in new york. >> here in new york. >> and what makes them different from other locations around the world, the outfits. >> that's right, the inaugural out filefits outfits. >> inaugural. >> this is a replica of the dress mrs. obama wore to the inaugural, and obviously, his black tie. >> how long does it take, four months and a lot of money, down to the last detail. >> he looks fantastic, and mrs. obama, a dead ringer. >> but you were saying that in real life, you think her arms are a little more buff than this? >> in real life, not only a her arms more buff, but i think she's a little taller and has a little bit more broader shoulders -- >> is she as tall as i am? >> she is taller than her husband. >> you know what i found in his back pocket -- >> oh, my lord. >> the state of the union address. i'm going to read this puppy. >> only you would be rifling through the president's pockets. very nice. >> you just broke laws in about 15 states. >> and we've got some wax figures of the secret service to wrestle you to the ground. >> you won't believe this stuff. 7:a 55 is your time right now. a chance of snow in the forecast. we'll have details after the news. in the news this morning, despite metro's recent tragedy, an important public hearing will be held tonight to discuss possible fare hikes and service cuts. the transit agency is trying to close a $4 million budget gap. some proposals including raising the price per trip. tonight's hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. at metro's headquarters in downtown washington at 600 5th street northwest. there will be street closures on parts of constitution avenue, independence avenue, capitol good morning, the sun's been up now for about 40 minutes. look at the blue sky over the monument and the potomac river. and temperatures right at the freezing mark in washington. later on today, we should make it into the low 40s and a little breeze. and a bit blustery tomorrow. we'll have partly sunny skies, highs reaching upper 40s. much colder weather into friday and into the first part of next week. clouding up after some sun in the morning. then friday evening, could get some light snow developing and then become perhaps moderate friday night and tapering off and ending saturday afternoon. by the time we get into sunday and into monday, still cold with sunshine. >> the inner loop of the beltway jammed as you leave springfield most of the way to 66. a couple of problems early in the morning, but nevertheless, we're looking at substantial delays. an accident on the b.w. parkway and it is jammed between landover and college park. >> another local news update in 25 minutes, but for now, back to the "today" show after this short break. it's 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 27th day of january 2010. it's nice here in the northeast, moderate temperatures, mid-30s. these people aren't complaining. we want to thank them for stopping by and waving to the folks back home. inside the studio, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira and al roker. and coming up, one of the more shocking sex scandals in recent memory. >> that's right. back in 2006, pastor ted haggard, leader of a 14,000-member megachurch and president of the national association of evangelicals, admitted that he had a relationship with a male prostitute. surprising, yes, but a lot of people were more surprised that his wife, gayle, stood by him. just ahead, gayle haggard tells us why she did that in a live interview. plus, can he do it again? we're going to talk to the coach who ruined his students' prank by making a blindfolded, half-court shot. find out more about that and let him try it again live. >> ooh. plus, seven ways you can save time and money every day. all right, but first, let's check on the morning's top stories from ann curry. hey, ann. >> hey, you guys. good morning once again, everybody. in the news, president obama's gearing up for a state of the union address tonight, where he is set to propose a domestic spending freeze that would spare education funding. in fact, administration officials said late on tuesday that the president will seek a multibillion dollar increase for education. aides say he will also talk about health care reform and why he feels lawmakers cannot walk away from it. nbc news will cover the president's state of the union address live beginning at 9:00 eastern time tonight. in haiti on tuesday, another dramatic rescue more than two weeks after the earthquake, and it has a lot of people incredulous. nbc's michelle kosinski's in port-au-prince with more on this story. michelle, tell us about it. >> reporter: good morning, ann. here in port-au-prince, it seems like as soon as someone reiterateshathings have shifted from rescue to recovery here, somne else is pulled out alive from the disaster that was their home. there was another one last night. two weeks this man spent in the dark and dust waiting for someone to come. just when it seemed there would be no more rescues in this cracked shell of a city, the u.s. army's 82nd airborne found a man alive. a broken leg, dehydrated, but out of the rubble on miracle street. the army had just begun a new mission, clearing disaster away, the countless dead still inside. >> it is daunting, but it has to start somewhere. if you do two blocks a day, over time it will get better. >> reporter: on the streets, survivors jostle for the basics of life, while many hundreds of thousands leave, crowding towns like this one, four hours north, one of the poorest in haiti. this family now houses 17, but the wide, green countryside is where this 17-year-old and his family will now stay. [ speaking foreign language ] never, he says, will he go back to the capital. so, this is the new problem now, with most of the resources either in or going to the capital, these outlying areas need food, shelter and they need medical care. ann? >> michelle kosinski this morning, thanks. in other news, toyota ordered dealers to stop selling the most popular cars while it tries to solve a problem with the acceleratoraccelerators. this includes the top-selling camry. overseas markets are lower. as for wall street, erin burnett's at the new york stock exchange. erin, there's a lot of attention today on interest rates. >> there is, ann. we're going to get a decision on interest rates from the fed this afternoon, and a big question is whether the fed will go along with its plans to stop supporting the mortgage market. if it does that, mortgage rates could go up as much as a percentage point. al, current and former treasury chiefs timothy geithner and henry paulson will be self-ing on capitol hill about whether there was a cover-up of the taxpayer bailout of aig. and apple, they're rolling out a new tablet, and ann, that really is the water cooler topic of conversation today. it's likely to cost $1,000, but everyone's obsessed with what it will look like. back to you. >> erin burnett, thank you so much. the sherf's deputy in southern california is being hailed as a hero today after he saw a man walking dangerously close to railroad tracks as a train was approaching. the deputy pulled the man to safety just in time. in just a moment, you'll see the train coming in on the right-hand side of the screen. look at that. good for him. it is now 8:04. let's get a check of the weather from al. well, thank you very much, ann! we've got some nice groups of -- where in louisiana are you guys from? >> west monroe! >> all right. what's the name of your school? >> west monroe high school! >> there quyou go. can't get much better than that. let's check your weather, see what's happening. who dat? they dat. salt lake, utah, nbc 5. the storm in the northwest will march across the southern part of the country, causing big problems. underneath the clouds we go, lake-effect snow around the great lakes, anywhere from three to six inches of snow generally. we're looking at showers and snow in the four corners area, the southwest. sunny skies up and down the ea eastern seaboard, good morning, it's a cold wednesday morning, we have sunshine now, 34 in washington, that's the warm spot elsewhere, still below freezing. and we'll have highs today only reaching around 40 to low 40s for a brief time and we'll have maybe a few clouds later on today. and then tomorrow, blustery southwest winds, partly sunny, afternoon highs mid and upper 40s, and much colder as we get into friday and into the weekend. could get acc >>and that's your latest weather. matt? al, thank you very much. coming up next, why did the wife of pastor ted haggard stay with him after he admitted using drugs and having sex with a male prostitute? gayle haggard speaks out. well, that's how i'm going to get there. it's guidance. oh, so maybe i should follow it, too. it doesn't work that way, pete. you see, this is my own personalized plan. you've got to get one that's right for you. okay. but i can still walk alonit while we talk, right? 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>> oh, shock, first of all, and then heartbreak once discovered that there was some truth to the allegations. >> but first, disbelief, right? you said no way that could be true. >> total disbelief. i felt as though my marriage was at a healthy place. everything in my life felt healthy at that time. i felt as though our family was doing well. ted was clinging to me and felt closer to me than ever before. our church felt healthy. so, that was probably the happiest time in my life up until that point. >> and yet, that very day he came clean, what did he say to you? do you remember the words? >> i do remember the words. it was the morningng after the allegations first broke, and we were at our attorney's office, and i had gone to the bathroom and come back, and the attorney told me to go in the office with ted, and he closed the door. i just felt like draining from my body because things didn't feel right all of a sudden. i sat down with ted, and he looked at me and he said, "gayle, i have to tell you, some of the allegations are true." and that just -- thatas such a shock and heartbreak. i couldn't speak. i couldn't put the words together. they didn't fit with the man that i knew. >> so, you didn't even have a comeback to that, nothing that you asked him in response to that? >> well, i think eventually, i uttered the words "who are you?" because it was so far removed from the man that i knew. >> and yet, that night -- even before i get to that night, what is going through your mind? as you said, you've been married to this man almost 30 years. you think you know him. >> certainly. and i do describe in the book some of the things that ted had told me early on in our marriage that led to some suspicion there. >> well, that he had had an incident, as he put it, with a man earlier in your marriage. >> he had. >> he told you about that. did that raise a red flag then or do you think it would never happen again? >> i think at that point i was ignorant of the gravity. i felt as though, you know, we all struggle, you know, in different areas of our lives, and certainly in our sexuality. and so, i was willing to forgive him. that was painful at that time, but we were just beginning our family and i felt as though i could forgive him, and he had gone to a counselor, he had said he would never, you know, go back tohat city where he was. he was in classes at the time. and so, i felt as though the problem was pretty much solved at that point. >> but in fact, it wasn't. >> it wasn't, although i think through the years what i've discovered and i write about in the book is that, that it would re-emerge in ted's life from time to time, but he didn't tell me about it. and so, when i would ask him, he would say it was no longer a problem, because it was something he was ashamed of and trying to hide. >> so, this time when he admits it to you, finally, this in november of 2006, that very night, the two of you are in bed. and i think that's going to throw a lot of women a curveball there, because i'm not sure many women would have gone to bed with him that night or allowed him back in the house. but you are in bed with him. he reaches out to touch you, and you write "i didn't want if reject him, but what was i supposed to do with the anger, revulsion and pain in my heart. so that night i began choosing, choosing to love." how were you able to make that choice so quickly when you're feeling, as you put it, this repulsion and this anger and this heartache? >> well, i knew i was going to have to make the choice early on as to what i was going to do, and i chose early on that i really do love this man and i'm willing to fight with him for our marriage and for our family, and actually, for everything that i cared about, for our church even. >> you know, you've gone through three years of therapy with ted, individually and as a couple. and yesterday on oprah's program, you talked about how important therapy had been for him. let's take a look at that. >> the biggest thing that helped me was therapy. since that time, i have not had one compulsive thought or behavior. >> so, you no longer feel -- you feel that you are a heterosexual. >> oh, yeah. >> no longer -- >> we have a lot of evidence. >> no longer a heterosexual with homosexual issues. >> no. >> you don't feel that at all? >> not at all. >> do you believe him? >> i do believe him. i think throughout our marriage, d and i have had a wonderful sexual relationship. that's why this was such a shock to me. but now, since we've gone through therapy and i've just been on this journey of trying to understand my husband, i understand the complications, and i think with all of us, our sexuality is conditioned, and we could be conditioned in any number of ways in our heterosexuality, in our homosexuality. so, i've grown to understand that his situation was unique to him. >> but did you ever wonder, gayle -- and maybe this is a hard question -- but maybe ted is gay, but given his role in life as a preacher he couldn't acknowledge that, and so he has acted out through life? is that something you've grappled with, thought about? >> certainly, early on i wanted to know the truth. i wanted to know -- and all i had was the knowledge that i think most people go to. it's kind of our psychology of the day that i don't think is actually helpful to people, because we are all individuals. and ted was dealing with certain compulsions that were unwanted, they were thoughts that would come into his mind. they weren't something that he wanted to embrace as himself. and i think as human beings, we all need to have the ability and support of others to choose what we want our lives to be. in ted's case, he had had some experiences as a child that kept replaying themselves in his mind. once he went to therapy, he was able to identify that and given the tools to deal with it. and so, because of that, he no longer has those compulsions, but that's not true for everybody. >> right. >> that's his story. >> you know, when this whole story broke, there were some people who agree with one thing that the malerostitute said. he said that he had brought this to light because he wanted to show the hypocrisy of a preacher who stands up opposed to gay marriage while engaging in gay acts. do you believe in any way that ted was a hypocrite? >> well, i think, certainly, if the term means to say one thing and do another. however, i have discovered that is the human condition, that all of us have ideals that we strive for in ourlives. so, i think all of us are to one degree or another a hypocrite. ted just had to play his out on a very public stage. >> and very quickly, your relationship now? >> our relationship is better than it's ever been. going over this mountain together has given me the marriage that i've always longed for. >> i think, gayle, there are a lot of people out there that are probably struggling with something like this in their lives right now, and to hear your words of inspiration about sticking with it is important to a lot of people as well. gayle, thank you so much for sharing your story. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. the book is "why i stayed" by gayle haggard. i'll just use my phone. let's say we crashed. whoops, you lost your phone and you're disoriented. i'm not disoriented. now you are. onstar automatic crash response can call to see if you're ok. onstar emergency. is everything ok howie? 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(announcer) have a heart to heart with your doctor about your risk. and about lipitor. and awhile back i got an idea right in there. and you know what it was? make my pc simpler. so what did i do? i pass it along to microsoft. next thing you know, windows 7 and this new snap feature. now if i'm working at two things at once i just drag this over here, this over here. snap! simpler! pretty much exactly what i told them. i mean i'm not trying to take all the credit... wife: he called his mother. of course i called her. she needed to know this. i'm a pc and windows 7 was my idea. >> announcer: "simplify your life today" is brought to you by windows 7, your pc simplified. and this morning on "simplify your life today," how to save time and money. face it, we never have enough of either, so today we've got two experts to help you out. first up, "today" financial editor jean chatzky. her latest book is called "money 911." jean, good morning. >> good morning. >> you want us to do some chores online. how do we vacuum and clean the toilet online? >> i can't give you that one. >> okay. what do we do? >> what i can give you is grocery shopping online. and i know you're going to say, when you shop online for your groceries, you're going to pay a fee, right, for getting the items delivered? what you're not going to do is go into the grocery store, perhaps with a child, and pick up all of those impulse things. i went into the grocery store last week. i bought quisp. that was not on my list. >> also, you're not going to get in your car and drive and spend money on gas. >> and spend time in the store. and when you shop online, you can keep your old lists. i go click, click, click, done in ten minutes, the groceries show up. >> what other chores do you want us to do online? >> bank online. a, it will save you two hours a month. it will save you $60 a year on stamps. but it will also protect you from identity theft, because -- >> how does it do that? because a lot of the times, you go on to these payment sites, you're giving out your e-mail and a lot of information. >> you are giving information, but you're doing it in a very secure way. the thing about people who bank online is they look at their money more often. they look at their money four times more often than the people who bank the old-fashioned way. when you look at your money, at your accounts, you can actually shut down an identity thief. that will limit the losses. >> okay, but you say this is going to save us time, and a lot of people will say one thing this also does is by giving your e-mail address to all these companies, you are now the victim of massive spam, and that takes time just to sort through on a daily basis. >> absolutely. every time you go to a retailer and they ask for your e-mail addre address, you get advertisements for their sales, and you're probably a little bit of a lemming and you get the pop-up, you go to their site, spend time, spend money. take a half hour, go through all of those addresses and unsubscribe and then you won't get them anymore. >> if you can streamline your chores and do them online, any idea how much you could save per month? >> adding all of these things up, probably a good ten hours. >> not bad. and money. >> and money. >> jean chatzky, thank you very much. >> sure. >> now for more, here's ann. >> and now for advice, lucy dhansinger is the editor of "life" magazine. >> there are many ways to ultimate task and your tights can do, now, because you have black on one side or brown or blue. one pair of spanx. it's $32, but you can wear them multiple ways. >> basically, your drawers are not going to be so cluttered. also, you want us to get into one underwear -- >> a slip. >> this fits all. >> it's an asset slip from target, $40. you wear it five different ways. straps are adjustable, strapless, straight up, haltar. for any neck line, just one slip. >> i love this next idea. you've got a container of roasted red pepper and tomato soup and you've made four soups out of it. >> basically, at "self," we say fast food doesn't have to be unhealthy. so, you can take this soup, add wild rice or mushrooms, both of which will fill you up, burn energy faster. nuts are a healthy protein. you can make turkey chili, a vegetarian mushroom soup. all these recipes are at "self," and you know what? honestly, they're healthy. >> you stay install a water filter rather than carrying bottled water. why is that? >> okay, in 12 bottles, it pays for itself. it's a $40 filter but takes out more contaminants than they have to take out of bottled water. you get these cute, leak-proof water bottles, bpa-free, you get a filter and install it, and you're saving time, money and the planet. >> you're saving time. >> yes, and put these in the fridge and they're ready to go. >> okay. i love this next one. if you don't have all the money for all the beauty products they're selling, you say just go with a potato. >> i love a spa, but nobody has time, nobody has money. this is a reader tip. it's so cute. a reader wrote in and said if you cut the top off a strawberry and use it as an exfoliator, you get the natural glow. the vitamin c acid -- this has more vitamin c than any fruit per calorie. so, you should eat them, put them on your face. >> after you put them on your face, hopefully not. >> divide them up, a little for the cereal, little for exfoliating. and for the irritation around the eyes, use a sliced potato. put this on your eye and it takes all the irritation away, the alkaloid in the potato. >> really? what are the cucumbers good for? >> they cool it off, too, but if you cool the potato, it works even better. we say bring us all your time and money-saving tips, because at "self," wdid a survey. we asked women, do you want to save $10 or ten minutes? 80% said $10, so. >> all right, but we really want to save time and money. >> you can be happy and healthy. >> luising danziger, thank you so much. there's much more to come on "today." our time right now is 8:, 32 degrees out there, cold, freezing but a beautiful, sunny day here in the nation's capital. i'm joe krebs and in the news4 today. federal safety investigators say they're just in the beginning stages of trying to figure out what caused the accident that killed two metro workers. the two long-time employee were hit while working between the rockville and shady grove stations. the metro chairman says the tragedy happened as a direct result of human error. we'll take a break and come back and look at good morning, a few clouds coming through, it's cold this morning with light breezes, temperatures near 30 right now, and it will only reach the low 40s, and tomorrow, partly sunny, breezy and a bit milder, throughout the weekend, it will be below freezing, could get accumulating snow throughout the day on saturday and sunday. >> looks like a new problem on the shoulder as youet near shady grove road. 95, northbound and southbound between the beltway and wood bridge, clearing out very, very nicely. >> we'll have another local newsup date coming your way in about 25 minutes, now we're going 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, january 27th, 2010. pretty nice day -- actually, very nice y. the sun is out. it's a little brisk. we have a lot of friendly faces with us right here in rockefeller plaza. just ahead, martha stewart. martha, martha, martha. martha is here. she's going to be talking rice, as you can see. rice is nice. she's got some terrific recipes. but we're also going to address martha stewart and exotic dancing. >> whoa! >> yes. she knows exactly what i'm talking about. >> hmm. >> soon, so will you. also, if you don't know the name meg whitman, you probably know the company she helped to make so successful. when she started at ebay, it had 30 employees. ten years later, about 15,000. now she's written a book about what it takes to be successful in life and business,nd she's running for governor of california. we're going to talk to her about all those things in a couple minutes. then later on, another lady who had a dream. she wanted to be on broadway. so, she is making her debut. she's a broadway baby at 81 years young. >> she has a famous brother, right? i'm pretty sure. also coming up this morning, i wonder what you would name as the top dog breeds for 2010. i'm sure you'd name -- >> lab? >> maybe jasper could be in that category. >> jasper, yeah. >> we'll find out what they are. >> all right. before we go any further, mr. roker's got a check of the weather. i do, indeed. let's see what's happeni for you. today we have a system coming out of the rockies, the southwest, bringing rain and snow there. rain showers in northern texas, snow showers around the great lakes. tomorrow, got a big, big storm coming out of the southwest. icy conditions in northern texas into oklahoma. snow to the north and west of there. frigid conditions in the plains and rain in the northwest. good morning, some clouds rolling over washington out of the northwest now, elsewhere we have some sunshine, but north and west of washington, we have quite a bit of cloudiness now and temperatures are still below freezing for most of the region. highs today only reaching the low 40s and we'll have the clouds in and out throughout the day. and light freezes as well. blustery winds tomorrow and a bit milder, partly sunny. and then much colder friday and all the way through the weekend, we'll probably sta and that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to ft. myers and say hello to big willie scott. how are you, sir? >> i know you're a gormon, gourmet, goo goo. you're the best in the busines when it comes to cooking, and we are here at randy's fish market restaurant. you see it behind me. the best seafood in the world comes from florida. you can't beat it and this is one of the great little restaurants where you can get it. take a look at this, all this nice fish and protein and this marvelous keylime pie to keep you straight. it isn't the fountain of youth, it's the food and fish in florida. so, remember that. you heard it first. happy birthday! try a little smucker, gang, and let's look what we have. well, my goodness, how about that? doris haddock. how about that, the first one's a fish? dublin, new hampshire. walked across the united states at age 90. how about that? bless her heart. patricia zyla, newark, new jersey, one of my towns. 100 years old. attributes longevity to being kind-hearted and known for being a champion scrabble player. wish her a happy birthday. betty switzman, and she's from pembroke pines in the great state of florida. secret to longevity is having good genes. her mother lived to be 100. it does run in the family. no two ways about it. william devore from coeur d'alene, idaho, truly a great part of the country. if you've never been there, you should. attends exercise classes weekly. attributes longevity to having quality time with his wife. lolita olaine, palo alto, california. sounds like an actress, huh? anyway, worked for an art museum and won many awards. wish her well. finally, roy fauber. i know a lot of faubers in virginia. jim is from vesuvius, virginia, 100 years old, very independent and just renewed his driver's license. and there's nothing like it. north naples never had it so good. randy's never had it so good. i never had it so good. matt? >> making me jealous. willard, thank you very much, sir. weppreciate it. when we come back, martha stewart tells us everything w >> announcer: "martha on today" is brought to you by macy's. the martha stewart collection is now available only at macy's and on macys.com. ♪ dancing in the kitchen we are back at 8:37. and this morning on "martha on today," one of the most versatile grains in the world. it can be white, wild, brown or jasmine, and boiled, steamed or stir-fried. we, of course, are talking about rice. martha stewart is here with some rice recipes from the february issue of "martha stewart living." martha, good morning to you. >> yes, it's not a chocolate heart. >> no, it's not. before we talk about rice, you were turning up the heat on your show the other day. let me show the audience what we're talking about. >> i think i know. >> bend the knees! move with the music. >> i'm loving this. >> keep those hips going. martha, come on! [ laughter ] >> i haven't watched this. >> you're going to walk that way. >> okay. >>low walk, right through. oh, my god, i've got martha! >> and this is actually the first time i've seen you do pole dancing with your clothes on, so -- >> oh. >> i was amazed by that. >> and high heels. >> no, but -- >> you have to wear high heels for pole dancing. >> you were great! >> you didn't see me do the upside down stuff. >> maybe later. >> next time. >> all right, so many varieties here of rice. >> there are. and they're all kind of different. brown rice is unmilled. it still has that wonderful brown coating on it, a lot of enrichment in that rice. it takes a little longer to cook. >> because of that. >> a real rice short-grain italian, used for risottos. it's little bit gummy. >> okay. >> i think that's a good word to use. jasmine rice from thailand, right? their rice is delicious, it's long-grained and individual grains. you can see it cooks up dry and beautiful. valencia rice, which is really a short-grained rice cooked with saffron to make it tt gorgeous yellow color. and bismotti rice, very expensive rice used in indian cooking, very delicious. jasmine is a good substitute if you can't afford that. >> and the difference between the long-grain and the other? >> it's really how it cooks up. the short-grained is really softer and cooks wetter. >> okay, let's talk about steaming your rice, because there's a trick to this. >> okay, there is. and it's -- the long-grained rices, the jasmine -- half a teaspoon of salt. >> right. >> 1 1/2 cups of boiling water -- >> not the two cups that most people think? >> well, no, for the jasmine, it cooks in 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. so, it's 1 1/2. for the brown rice, i use two cups of water because it takes longer. now, bring that to a boil, lower it to a simmer and cover it. and then, here it is, perfect rice every time. just fluff it up with a fork. >> and can you put -- >> doesn't that look good? >> it looks delicious. >> and it's not overdone, not underdone. >> and you can put that in the freezer and save it? >> well, you can save it. but it's best to eat it right away with a topping of some sort. >> exactly. >> or stir-fry it. this is day-old rice, and this dish is so good. it's a real stir-fry. do you like to stir-fry? >> i do. >> do you have a wok? >> no, i don't. i run a little, i never walk. why do you mention this day-old? is it better -- >> well, people have rice left over and don't know what to do with it, you know? >> okay. >> i've already sauteed the shrimp. >> what is this dish we're making? >> this is a shrimp fried rice, the kind that you order in. >> right. >> but boy, is it better to just cook it up at home. >> what do we do? >> we have two eggs scrambled. >> why scrambled? >> well, you should have done it right in the wok, but for time, because they're already cooked. see how it is? and break it up like that. add your scallions. >> yummy. >> and these are cut on an angle. >> how many of those are we talking? >> oh, just about two scallions. >> all right. >> we have lemon grass very finally chopped. about two tablespoons. >> can you use something else if you cones hadon't have lemon gr? >> well, you can find it anywhere. thai chili, garlic, all finally minced. stir this up. this takes seconds, really, no time at all. and this is ginger, very finally chopped ginger. >> okay. >> doesn't that smell good already? >> smells great. we've got a minute left here. >> okay, soy sauce. >> soy sauce. >> salt and pepper, shiitake mushrooms. >> all of them? >> yep. right in there. put them right in, stir-fry around, add your shrimp, your rice, and you have -- this is what you end up with. i'll just turn that down because i don't have time to finish it, but this is what it looks like. >> can i have some? >> i want you to taste that. >> thank you so much. >> it is so beautiful. you have a mushroom risotto. there are very, very good recipes in the article. there is one from the spanish or puerto rican chicken and rice. >> and when i eat, i likeo be entertained, so, could you come in here? we have a pole. >> fantastic. >> it's right here. so -- >> i'll draw the line right here while my friend meredith eats her rice. >> get going, girl. >> it has to be affixed to something. >> yeah, right. up next, succeeding in work and life. advice from the back in 1998, a start-up company dreamed of being a marketplace where anybody could sell just about anything. at its helm was meg whitman. 12 years later, ebay is now an $8 billion -- that's with a "b" -- billion dollar global power house. now she's taking on a new challenge, running for governor of california, and she's written a new book "the power of many: values for success inusiness and in life." meg whitman, good to see you. good morning. >> thank you. thanks for having me. >> i want to start by offering my condolences, because i know your mom passed away just last week, and she's someone you write about in this book. >> you're right. >> because she's the person in many ways that instilled some of the values in you that you talk about in this book. >> you're right, you're right. and we got to read my mother a bit of this book right before she died, and she really appreciated that. >> when she -- by instilling these values in you, did she do it by preaching to you? did she drill them into you or did she ask you to learn more by example? >> more by example. you know, even from the earliest days when she took - she and her best friend took eight children on a three-month camping trip across the country. of course, no cell phones, no gps. and we just stayed in campgrounds for the entire summer. and the point was flexibility and courage and doing things you didn't think you could do. >> some of the things you write about, these values, they're pretty basic. and you say that if you follow an ethical and true course, you can unleash the power of many. what do you mean by that? >> well, remember what the power of many is, what we can do together none of us can do alone. and ebay was a perfect example of that. we created the trading platform, but it was ebay buyers and sellers who built the company. and we made a small number of rules, we set a course for expectations in terms of behavior, and look what happened. you know, now over 1 million people make their living selling on ebay. >> you're one of the people who's trying to transition from business to politics. and a lot of people have tried it, some successfully, some not so successfully. you say if elected governor of california, you'd be the ceo of california. and some say, well, there's a problem there, because running a state is very different than running a company. how do you respond to that? >> well, it is differe in many ways, but i'll tell you what's common about it. first is leadership. great leaders paint a vision of where an organization or a government needs to go and enlist people to make change, and that's what we need in california. >> yeah, but great leadership in a company setting, they're all rooting for the same thing. they want the company to succeed. you know politics. in a state like california, two very powerful political parties. and at some points, meg, they're going to be rooting against you, the opposition. >> well, i think that's right, but you know what californians want? and i have now traveled up and down this state. the number one priority is they want the economy fixed. they want jobs to come back. they want government spending to be under control. and maybe, you know, the fringes don't want that but i promise you, 80% of californians want that. and if we can harness the power of the people of california, i think we can make a big difference. >> can we talk about money for a second? >> we can. >> you were here a year ago, just about, 11 months ago, when you announced you were running for the governor of california. and since that time, you've spent i believe about $39 million of your own money to run for this office. and let's face it a lot of people -- we've had an example here in new york city -- a lot of successful people do spend a lot of their own money to gain political office, but are you worried in these days and times, with this deep recession, people out of work, people really hurting, that in some ways, by spending all this money, you're creating a disconct, people are going to think you're out of touch with them? >> well, we haven't spent that much money yet, for sure. >> you've lent the campaign that much money. >> right. we've given that to the campaign. but you know what, i think voters are really smart. they look at the individuals, the message, and what we are doing in california i getting our message out, allowing voters to interact with me, get to know me. and voters are really smart. they will pick the best person they think to lead the state and fix, you know, jobs and get government spending under control, and one thing we haven't talked about is fixing our kindergarten through 12th grade education system. no amount of money can buy an election. what you can do is get your message out, and i hope the voters will like what they hear. >> well, you're getting your message out, because in the year since you've visited us, you've been rising steadily in both sets of polls, so, clearly, something's working. >> yeah. no, i think californians, they really have a -- i think californians are scared, like many americans, you know. can we fix this? will we be able to be the great state we once were? and i have confidence we can do that, but it's going to take a different approach, no doubt about it. >> might take "the power of many," to use the title of the book. meg whitman, nice to have you here. >> nice to be here, thank you. coming up next, a broadway the entertainment world is filled with stories of young actors who come overnight to be a star. but we have a story of one woman whose journey has taken a bit longer. >> reporter: broadway's neon lights have attracted many an actor, but alice stuffy may be one for the record books. at 81, she's making her broadway debut in the revival of noel howard's classic comedy "present laughter." >> i had no idea you were going to africa. how very interesting. >> reporter: did you ever dream of being on broadway? >> never. i never -- >> reporter: never? oh, come on. >> no. >> reporter: isn't that every actor's dream? >> maybe, but not me. i just like to be in a play every now and again. >> reporter: this humble actress now finds herself on the great white way, appearing with hollywood and broadway star victor garber. >> what a charming tribute. >> she's one of a kind, and she should -- people should know about her. >> reporter: alice fell in love with the theater as a child and joined a summer stock troupe after graduating from college. >> we made room and board and $10 a week. it had started out being $20, but then we had to go down to $10 because we didn't do that well. >> reporter: but she did meet the love of her life, her husband ben, and settled down in the role of a house wife. >> and in less than so many ways, mainly with three marvelous children, whom i wouldn't have missed for anything in the world. >> reporter: her children raised, alice went back to the theater in boston, building a career as an actress of a certain age, picking up bit parts in movies like "housesitter" and "school ties" with ben affleck. >> don't forget to make room for the holy ghost. >> reporter: performing is in her blood. her father was a tv pioneer. >> you know it's getting to be that time of year -- >> reporter: hosting a children's show in philadelphia. and you probably know her brother. peter boyle, who starred in many movies, including "young frankenstein" and on tv as the loveable patriarch in "everybody loves raymond." >> holy crap! >> the first television commercial i got, i called him, what do i do? and he said know your lines and stay on your marks. and that was very good advice and i did it. >> reporter: advice she now takes to heart every night. what do you get from being up here? >> oh, i get great joy. there is nothing like hearing an audience laugh. >> reporter: really? >> it's just heaven. >> reporter: out in the audience, it looks like you guys are having a ball. >> we are. we are. >> reporter: this proction of "present laughter" opened in boston two years ago. director nikki martin says there was never any question about bringing alice to new york. >> there won't be anyone in new york who would be any better, and very few who would be as good as alice. >> reporter: but alice almost turned him down, because just four months ago, she lost her oldest child, kate. >> and i was going back out, and then i thought, she'd be so ashamed of me if i did that. so, i didn't, and i'm here, and she's with me every night. in fact, when i look out at the curtain, there are a lot of friendly ghosts out there for me -- my parents, my husband, my kate. >> reporter: but it's also a chance to reconnect with friends of over 60 years, like her trinity college classmates. >> rejuvenates us. >> yeah. it's exhilarating. it truly is. >> reporter: at 81, alice says she doesn't anticipate a long broadway career. still, she hopes there are more roles in her future. >> there's really nothing that i aspire to -- a good play with good people. i think i have had so much joy, and to be here at this time is joyful. >> reporter: reveling in the footlights at an age when many recede into the wings. for "today," anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> exciting. >> i love that alice is out there doing her thing. >> yeah. >> me, too. good for her. meanwhile, look what we've got here. >> what have we got? oh. she likes my dress. >> uh-oh! >> sissy and -- >> oh! >> that's not good. >> sissy and sherman, her our time now is 8:55, it's wednesday, the 27th of january 2010. charges could be imminent on a frightening atang on a college student. police say the student was assaulted on the silver spring campus of montgomery college. police arrested a suspect last ght at nearby days' in. we got this exclusive video of him being led away in handcuffs. police have not released the suspect's name nor formally charged him yet. we'll take a break and come back good morning, it's a cold wednesday morning, temperatures are generally below freezing around the region, reagan national in the mid 30s now, but elsewhere, it's only rig near 30, and afternoon highs climbing into the low 40s with clouds in and out. and then tonight partly to mostly cloudy. and partly sunny on thursday. then on friday, much colder, looks like we'll stay below freezing through most of the friday and all the way through the weekend and accumulating snow is possible friday evening all the way into saturday afternoon. and then on sunday, some sunshine returns, remaining cold, more of the same on monday, highs only near 30 sunday, perhaps mid 30s monday and tuesday when we could get a little more snow. >> we'll over to northern virginia i-95 northbound and southbound, looks like the rush hour winding down, no issues to report. let's head over and see how we're doing along i-270 south bend. we had a couple of problems earlier in the morning, we are still jammed gaithersberg headed out to the capitol beltway. >> we'll have another look at we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, the 27th day of january 2010, hump day. people outside, a few of them left after spending a couple of hours in the cold. we thank them very much. not sure what those medals are all about. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer along with al roker and natalie morales. and coming up in this half hour, new developments in the kerrigan family tragedy. today that family is holding a wake for dan kerrigan, who was found dead on sunday. his funeral now set for tomorrow. meantime, nancy kerrigan's brother mark is undergoing a mental evaluation after being arrested for assault. this morning in an exclusive interview we'll talk to one of nancy's closest friends and fellow skaters, paul wylie. also ahead, matt, president obama will focus on the economy and jobs in his state of the union tonight. that's because millions of americans are still out of work, struggling to pay their bills, let alone save for their future. so, if you're deciding whether to file for bankruptcy or short sell your home, this morning our panel of financial experts is here to help you get back on track with "today's money 911." and we also want to tell you about a prank that backfired on students at a high school in kansas big time. they told their girls basketball coach that if he made a blind-folded half-court shot, he would win tickets to the final four. well, they planned to cheer when he inevitably missed so he would think that he won. >> a little confusion -- >> yes, yes. >> but joel gran strbranstrom a made the shot. the tickets, they never had them. he's here with a member of the spirit group who arranged the stunt. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> hi, brad. i've got to start with you. this was just supposed to be a practical joke. you were going to make this impossible shot or try to have him make an impossible shot, knowing he'd never be able to do it. you can promise him anything you want because it was never going to come to reality, right? >> yeah. that's what we thought, but as soon as it went in, i was just amazed. i had no idea what to do. >> and -- >> a funny story about him. in chemistry class, i guess the next hour, he broke a thermometer, maybe spilled some acid on the floor. he was an absolute mess according to the teacher. he said he didn't know what to do. he felt so bad. he didn't realize it was all in good fun, and i knew what was kind of going on. he's a great kid. >> as natalie mentioned, all the kids in the gym were going to cheer whether he missed it or not, just to make him think that you had made the shot, correct? >> yeah. that was what we wereupposed to do, but when it went in, it was just -- he had no idea, because he knew something was up. so, he thought we'd cheer either way, but, it was like amazing. >> so, brad, you couldn't see at all through that blindfold, joel, i mean? >> i'm sorry? >> joel, you couldn't see anything? >> no, i could not see anything through the blindfold, no, sir. >> and i understand, joel, they even spun you around like three times. so i mean, you must have been so disoriented when you took that shot. you didn't know where you were shooting. so, did you realize you had actually made the shot? >> no. i didn't know. in fact, again, like i've told the story. i kind of knew they were trying to prank me without letting them know that i knew, and i wasn't -- you know, they put the jersey on me and the beanie on me outside the gym as they were telling everybody to cheer for me. i thought they were going to hit me in the face with some pie or something else, too. so i had been waiting for this the whole time. so again, as i shot it, i was just going with the plan and, again, generating school spirit and having fun with it, but i didn't know for about a minute longer. it was crazy. >> basically, you taught these young things a lesson is what you did, joel. >> you spanked them! >> yeah. you were a ballplayer, played at kansas for a little while. why don't we do this? if you made the miracle shot one time to teach them a lesson, why don't you seef this morning on live national television -- >> no pressure. >> -- you can do it again, all right? >> all right. >> blindfolded, right? >> we'll try -- >> i don't even think we have to blindfold him. >> i don't know if we have time for the blindfold. i don't have any excuse then if i miss the shot. >> let's make this official. let's spin him around a couple times. >> okay, spin me around. >> will we give him a prize this time if he really wins? >> yeah. >> tickets to the "today" show. >> i'm not promising anything. >> hey, i'll take it. i'll take it. oh, that was way off! >> oh. >> sorry. >> he knew it the minute it left his hands. >> second prize is eight tickets -- >> wasn't very good. >> hey, do we have another ball? do we have time for a second shot? >> i don't know. if you can get the ball back, we'll try it one more time. joel, i understand a lot of people are actually contacting you saying, hey, we have tickets to the final four. we'll give them to you because we feel bad? >> well, there is -- thank you, america, for a lot of people stepping up and showing your generosity. the community has supplied tickets to me and my whole family. it's been really cool. >> that's great. >> yeah. it was awesome. >> let's try it one more time. >> one more time? okay, one me time. >> for the "today" show. >> oh, that looks pretty good. oh. that was better. that was better. >> you can come visit us anyway, joel, any time. >> all right. thanks. >> joel, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> teach you to mess with a coach. >> that's right, exactly. let's get a check of the morning's top stories from ann curry over at the news desk. ann? >> i say we bring him anyway. >> yeah. >> thanks a lot, you guys. in the news this morning, everybody -- good morning, once again -- aides say president obama will acknowledge the frustration of the american people when it comes to the economy in his state of the union address tonight. he is also expected to outline tax breaks for small businesses in an effort to lower the nation's 10% unemployment rate. earlier on this broadcast, white house press secretary robert gibbs said the president will also explain why he will not abandon his bid for health care reform. nbc news will cover the president's state of the union address live beginning at 9:00 eastern time tonight. toyota is still trying to figure out what's causing gas pedals to stick on some of its most popular vehicles. it's already announced a massive recall of those vehicles, which include camrys, corollas, rav4s and tundras. and now it is suspending sales of those and four other models because of the faulty gas pedals. today the federal reserve is announcing whether or not interest rates will go up, and many analysts think that the fed will hold rates where they are but may indicate where rates ll go in the months ahead. a survivor was pulled from the rubble in haiti on tuesday, more than two weeks after the earthquake, and members of the u.s. 82nd airborne helped treat him for a broken leg and severe hydration after they pulled him from a collapsed building on tuesday. it's unclear how the man in his 30s was able to survive, but some are noting the building is on a road named miracle street. a five-story apartment collapsed this morning -- apartment building collapsed this morning in belgium in a cloud of dust and smoke after an apparent gas explosion. at least 20 people were hurt and officials are now checking to see if anyone is still trapped inside. hundreds of tourists are trapped this morning by mud slides near machu picchu in peru. the only railway out of the area is blocked, so some of the tourists have had to be evacuated by helicopter. it is now seven minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather from al. >> all right, thanks a lot, ann. big storm coming out of the southwest, going to be causing some problems. look at this, winter storm warnings and watches from new mexico all the way to tennessee and kentucky. we're talking about a big storm getting out of the southwest, moving through the southern rockies and on into texas, bringing rain there. ice and snow from west texas on into oklahoma and arkansas. snowfall amounts, we're talking about anywhere from 6 to 12 inches. ice is going to be a big problem good morning, it's a cold wednesday morning, we have some clouds coming through and a little bit of sunshine in and out as well. and it's still mostly below freezing around the region, 35 in washington, a little above freezing in prince george's county, but right near the freezing mark in montgomery, arlington and fairfax counties. we'll have some clouds in and out with temperatures only making it into the low 40s with a light breeze. tomorrow a bit ♪ somebody call 911 this morning on "today's money 911," tackling your money questions. from when to file for bankruptcy to the right time to start saving for retirement. our crack team is here to help. jean chatzky is "today's" financial editor and author of "money 911." david bach is author of "start over, finish rich." >> stop that! >> and carmen wong ulrich is cnbc's personal finance expert and a nice wave. thank you very much. natalie is across the street with questions from our crowd. so, good morning to everybody. >> good morning. >> good morning! >> okay, let's start off first of all an e-mail from mimi. here's her question -- "i'm 54 years old, i've been unemployed for over a year. all of my saved money is gone and i'm receiving unemployment. i have been working with my mortgage company since may to modify my loan. nothing has happened yaeyt i've tried selling my hom but no avail. i'm afraid of foreclosure. i'm at my wit's end. my question is should i apply for bankruptcy and if so, chapter 7 or 13?" >> first of all, there's a lot of people out there like mimi. it's what the president is going to talk about tonight. the reason you're not qualifying for a loan modification is because of the lack of income. they have to be able to see that you've got the income to pay this loan. what i want you to do is find yourself a housing counselor. you have to go through credit counseling anyway as a precursor to bankruptcy. it's part of the way this works. so, you want to go through that credit counseling with a certified housing counselor. go to hud.gov or nfcc.org. you'll be able to find somebody to work with you. and they'll be able to tell you if bankruptcy is the right move. chances are, it will probably be if you end up going that route, chapter 7 rather than chapter 13. >> what's the difference? >> in chapter 7, your assets are basically liquidated. in chapter 13, the government comes up with a payment plan for you to pay the money back. sounds as if she doesn't have a ton of income coming in. >> sure. >> so, unless you find another job -- and i encourage you to keep looking, because we hope that things are going to start to move quickly -- 7 more than 13 probably looks likely. >> all right, let's check in on skype. maureen from richmond, virginia. maureen, good morning, and what's your question? >> good morning. i'm 26 years old and just beginning to save for retirement. how much money should we save for our retirement? is there like a magic number that we can say, yes, i can retire now or a percentage that we should save over a number of years? >> david? >> yes, good morning. first of all, i love the fact that you're asking this question at 26. right now there's millions of people who are in their 40s and 50s going, where was i -- why wasn't i doing this at 26? so, congratulations. here's what i will tell you. i'm going to give you what i believe is the magic formula. you want to save one hour a day of your income. and here's how i want you to think. if you work from 9:00 in the morning until 5:00, i want you to take the 9:00 to 10:00 hour, that first hour of income, and use that money. what do you earn an hour right now? >> oh, gosh, i'm salaried, so i haven't really figured that one out. okay. you need to know what you earn an hour. let's sa it's $20 as an example. >> okay. >> all right, that first hour a day goes directly into your 401(k) plan automatically. if you pay yourself one hour a day of your income, it's 12.5% of your gross income, you'll be saving four times what the average american saves. now, i want you to focus on the daily dollar amount. i'll give you a website to go to. go to thelattefactor.com. write that down. plug in your number. so, i ran a simple number for you, $10 a day. at your age, $10 a day at oy 8% rate of return. by the time you reach retirement, you have about $780,000 set aside. now, you might say that's not enough. so, okay, maybe i want to save $20 a day or maybe 10%, $10 a day at your age would be worth $1.8 million. so, go to thelattefactor.com, quickly calculate it it will motivate you, get you excited. focus on the daily dollar amount. >> maureen, hope that helps you out. >> thank you. >> now, natalie's across the street at dean & deluca. >> i'm joined by dina and caleb. you have a question? >> yes. we recently paid off all our debt and we have two small kids, 4 and 1 1/2, and we now want to save for their college. should we invest in a 529 or an esa? >> great question. carmen, you want to start this one? >> yeah. that's great. i've got to ask myself that question. i went with the 529 and i'll tell you why. an esa is an education savings account, and that's a coverdale. there are two ways to save tax-free and have your money grow tax-free, but there are a lot of differences. first of all, the money has to be used for education purposes, but a 529 has a lot more options on where you can put the money, investing options. go to savingforcollege -- we're all sending you to websites -- bring out your pen. savingforcollege.com. >> and look at these websites. >> and you can compare 529s, because the one in your state may have too many fees or expenses. find one that fits you and your plans. and also note that contribution limits are so much higher than a coverdale, which is very limited. however -- so, basically, your grandparents can give gifts into a 529 and pour money in there. coverdale's limited. however, the one advantage of the coverdale is, if your kids need the money before college, you can use coverdale money for things like high school, even grade soolnd grammar school. so, just think about what kind of flexibility you want with the investment, but they're both really great. >> all right, everybody stand by and we'll have more answers to your money emergencies, like should you go with bonds, cds or a standard saving account when putting money away for your kid's future? 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[ bottle two ] can we even clean a leather shoe? what do you mean? what is a shooee? he's cleaning things that we don't even know what they are. [ male announcer ] effortlessly removes more grime per swipe. with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. we're back with more of "today's money 911" with jean chatzky, david bach and carmen wong ulrich, natalie across the street with questions from the crowd. let's get started. this is kim from san francisco, california. good morning, kim. thanks for getting up so early. what's your question? >> caller: thank you. good morning, everyone. a couple of years ago, i had my social security number compromised. someone was opening up credit cards in various local stores under my name. and i found out -- a credit card company called me and had some questions and that's how i found out. it took me about two weeks, buts i decided to freeze my credit completely with all three credit agencies, and that's been about a year and a half, two years. my question to you is, is that hurting my credit, being frozen like that, and is it time to unfreeze it? >> jean, should she unfreeze? >> it's not hurting your credit at all, actually. you don't have to unfreeze it. you should unfreeze i before you go and apply for credit, but until then, you're fine. >> and no freezer burn? okay, kim, hopefully, that was helpful to you. now let's head back across the street to dean & deluca and natalie. >> i'm joined by keith and brian from houston. keith, you have a question. >> yes. i have a substantial amount of money in mutual funds over the last year and a half. what's the best way to invest in these hard times? >> all right. david. >> first question is what mutual fund do you own, do you know? >> i'm not sure -- >> ta da! here's the thing. i hear this question all the time, i don't know how my mutual fund's doing. well, what do you own? first thing is go back and look at that mutual fund, pull out the statement. take the symbol, put it online. go to a website like morningstar.com. take a look at the performance. the reality is, if you've been in a stock-based or even a bond fund in the last 12 months, you've done really well, but for you to have a substantial amount of money in an investment and you not even know the answer means that you do not have enough education on what you should invest your money in, and that's dangerous. the reality is you're probably doing just fine, but you have to know what you own. >> all right. now let's head to skype. we've got sylvia. she's in riverdale, new jersey, and has a question this morning. hi, sylvia. >> hi, good morning. we bought a house in orlando, florida, in january 2007 and currently owe more than what 's worth. my husband was laid off from his job, and after nine months, he found employment in new jersey. we're now living in a small rental apartment while trying to keep up the house in florida. we do not see any responsible way to get out of this burden in the foreseeable future. should we short sale? should we foreclose or should we try to negotiate a loan modification? >> carmen, what do you think? >> yeah. i mean, this is such a loaded question these days. sylvia, here's the thing, where you were in florida, you are far from a loan. almost 40% of folks are under water right now. it's going to take years, probably like 15 years, to get the money back. but if you want to be responsible, first, can you afford to make these payments and pay your rent? if you can, i still want you to apply for a loan modification. as jean said earlier, go to hud.gov, get a credit counselor to work with you. i want you to do a bunch of things at the same time. also, talk with a reputable real estate agent in florida and see what the chances are of having a short sale. you can apply for the loan modification and put the house up for sale, but look into both and decide which one to do. walking away from a home is not the necessarily responsible thing to do, but if it's dragging you down into bankruptcy, last resort. >> keep an eye on the loan m modifications. we're hearing out of washington they may start to work on the principal that you owe. >> which would be great. >> so, if you're underwater, it will be available to you in the next couple weeks. >> there are a lot of stories about people walking away. >> yes. >> if you don't reduce the principal -- the point is, if you have a home for a $600,000 mortgage, it's worth $300,000, there's nothing they can do to the monthly rate -- >> the only question is when will they? >> i hope so. >> a lot more people will be dealing with that issue. guys, thank you so much. jean chatzky, david bach and carmen wong ulrich. if you have questions for our experts, go to "today" shtodays. we'll try to get to as many as we can next week. now, who's top dog in your house? we're going to count down the five most popular dog breeds in america. aww. a long term struggle needs long term relief. eucerin calming creme. is clinically proven to relie dry, itchy skin, with 92% of people reporting improved overall skin condition over time. eucerin calming creme. and the gentle cleansing formula of calming body wash. calm, healthy skin starts with eucerin. is also a great value? it's the difference between paying more... and getting more. snuggle fabric softener gives you fresh, snuggly softness your family will love - and it costs much less than the leading brand! because everyone loves to snuggle! of calcium and vitamin d. that's where their favorite cereals can help. general mills big g is the only leading line of kid cereals that has calcium and vitamin d help them get more of what they need with general mills kid cereals. you need listerine® whitening® vibrant white™ rinse. the mouthwash that gets teeth four times whiter than the leading toothpaste. and kills bad breath germs. listerine® whitening vibrant white™. and kills bad breath germs. kosher beef only uses the finest cuts of kosher meat. not so with the other guys. that's why hebrew national 100% kosher beef hot dogs have no fillers or by-products. no ifs, ands, or butts. hebrew national, we answer to a higher authority. sir? 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[ female announcer ] new moisture wrap body lotion. neutrogena skin care. #1 dermatologist recommended. is showing isabelle that mommy feels confident be victorious. lose up to 6 pounds... in 2 weeks by taking the special k challenge. get started at specialk.com. ♪ get started at specialk.com. new anti-aging eye roller. reduces puffiness immediately -- and also helps with lines and wrinkles. not surgery. is is our way to do your eyes. new regenerist anti-aging eye roller. taking a live look outside, overcast in parts of the district, very cold today and a storm on the way. your time is now 9:26 on this wednesday, january 27. virginia's new governor will be delivering the republican response to president obama's first state of the union address tonight. bob mcdonald will give a 10-minute speech two months after he won back the executive mansion for the gop. mcdonald is actually starting off delivering a breakfast speech to the northern technology virginia council. tight security for the state of the union could make it difficult to get around the city today. there will be street closures around the capitol tonight, parts of constitution avenue, independence avenue, east capitol street and good morning, it's a cold morning juntd way, temperatures are still hovering around the freezing marks, it will warm into the low 40s this afternoon, partly sunny, breezier, a bit milder tomorrow. colder over the weekend. accumulating snow is possible friday night into saturday. >> beltway crash, the outer loop of the beltway between connecticut avenue and belt way park. and a quick check along i-95 northbound, should find the lanes open. 66 loaded up headed to the capitol beltway. >> we'll have another news update in 25 ♪ do you remember dancing in the dark, do you remember lying in the sand ♪ ♪ all the special moments we had in wonderland ♪ you're listening to the legendary singer-songwriter, brooklyn native, by the way, did you know that? neil sedaka, one of the most successful artists of all time. he's back with his first studio album in ten years, and guess what? he's performing it live in just a little while. in fact, here this morning. so, we'll be talking and hearing from him this morning. meantime, coming up this hour, the latest on a very serious story. we've all been talking about it. a lot of people shocked, still, to think about this heartbreak for the kerrigan family. olympic skater nancy kerrigan not only has to plan her father's funeral, set for tomorrow, but now her brother is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation after being charged with assaulting her father before he was found dead on sunday. so, coming up, we're going to speak exclusively to a close friend of nancy's, fellow skater paul wylie. >> such a sad story. also, moving on to a much, much lighter topic. if you're in the market for perhaps a new puppy -- >> aww. >> well, you're going to be checking out five of the most popular dog breeds in the country. you're seeing one of them. why they could be the perfect fit for your home and family. aww, look at that face. >> very cute. how about some doggone good ribs? in "today's kitchen," our loveable chef, tim love, is showing us two ways to make delicious beef ribs. that's the slab that tipped over fred's car. >> oh, my lord! >> a big hunk. >> a brontosaurus. wow. >> i cannot wait for this. >> wow. >> okay. >> ooh. >> we'll have to wait, though -- >> enough for all the crew. >> because you've got a check of the weather. >> vegans everywhere are in shock. a big storm is coming out of the southwest, causing snow for the four corners. sunshine in the southeast and mid-atlantic states. lake-enhanced snow showers around the great lakes. tomorrow that storm really causes big problems. heavy rain in texas, ice from northern texas into oklahoma. snow as you get into the rockies. wet weather in the pacific northwest. sunny and mild in the southeast. cold weather, frigid conditions through the plain states and also in the northea north good morning, here it's a cold morning, temperatures are just right around freezing, it's just 35 in washington nownd we'll only see it climb about another 10 degrees for highs later on today and we'll have some clouds in and out. partly sunny and a bit milder with a southwest breeze. and then much colder friday and through the weekend. most of that time will be below freezing and there is a possibility of accumulating snow friday night and that's your latest weather. >> thanks, al. >> al, thank you. coming up next, the very latest on the kerrigan family tragedy. we're going to hear from one of her closest friends, fellow skater paul wylie. make my webs. five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own small-business site with intuit websites. just choose a style that fits your business and stomize, publish and get found in three easy steps. sweet. all from just $4.99 a month, get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. ♪ so good inside ♪ oh, and when i double up on my lovin' ♪ ♪ you're gonna be satisfied now you can double your extracare rewards. for a limited time, you can earn double bucks on prescriptions and on cvs/pharmacy brand items. ♪ gonna double your lovin', double your fun ♪ ♪ you get two for the price of one ♪ double bucks means double savings! sign up for double bucks today, only at cvs/pharmacy. don't get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamid? 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>> reporter: hi, ann. good morning yeah, every day's been tough since this happened on sunday, but today will be especially difficult, because the wake for dan kerrigan, that 70-year-old father of nancy kerrigan, will be held at a funeral home just a couple of miles away from the family's home here in stoneham, massachusetts. his funeral will be held tomorrow. and according to several published reports out this morning, mark kerrigan, nancy kerrigan's brother, will not be allowed to go to the funeral. the state of massachusetts department of corrections has a long-standing policy that prisoners are not allowed out and they will not make any exceptions for mark kerrigan, who is now charged, of course, with assau in connection with his father's death. you mentioned, ann, the state police investigators came back here to the kerrigan family home late last night. nancy kerrigan herself greeted them at the door. they're trying to put all of this together, exactly what kind of struggle happened inside the house this past weekend and what led to dan kerrigan's death. we should mention that mark kerrigan is charged right now with assault only, but legal experts say that could be bumped up to manslaughter or murder with or without the medical examiner calling this a homicide. of course, the experts say if they call this a homicide, that's almost a no-brainer, it will be a manslaughter or murder charge, but they say even if the medica examiner comes back and says he died of a heart attack or natural causes, as the kerrigan family claims, that may not matter, because under felony murder, under that definition, if the death occurs during the commission of a felony -- in this case, the assault -- that could be murder or manslaughter anyway. and so, there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle that remain. but once again, dan kerrigan, the wake will be today and he will be laid to rest tomorrow, ann. >> such a sad day. all right. thank you so much, jeff rossen. and earlier this morning, matt spoke exclusively to a very close friend of nancy kerrigan, fellow skater paul wylie, and he began by asking paul what his reaction was when he first heard about the tragedy. >> you know, it's so sad, and i just feel for nancy and her family. and you know, i immediately called her and said, you know, whatever we can do to ease your pain. and you know, it's just really hard, i'm sure. >> how is she coping with this, paul? tell me a little bit more about that phone call. >> well, when i first called her, she was, you know, crying and very, you know, she was in shock. and i know that yesterday she was able to get out and, you know, she has a lot of details to take care of, like anybody. when a parent dies, you have details and funerals to plan and things like that. and so, she was gettingids clothes and that kind of stuff. >> yeah, she's got three young kids. i know she was visiting you in north carolina with your children not long ago. did she talk about her mom and how her mom is doing? >> i know that her mom is really having, like everyone else, grieving very much, in the family, and she's concerned about her. >> i know you've asked -- you said you don't want to talk about nancy's brother, and i understand that, but can you tell me, is nancy supporting her brother? is she confident that this story will unfold the way he says it should unfold? >> i don't -- we haven't talked about that at all. we've only talk eed about her d and the reaction to, you know, just the sadness of it and how she's dealing with her grief. >> because you have spent a lot of time with the kerrigan family, what can you tell me about her father? and i know you admired the relationship between her mom and dad. >> well, i mean, dan was such a great guy, and dan would -- you know, he'd be the guy that came over to my apartment and said, you know, you really need to fix a couple things around here, and you could, you know, save some money over here, and your left-rear tire is running low on air, paul. i mean, come on! he was always the dad, and i really, you know, i can remember brenda and dan, dan sang at weddings, and just a tight-knit family. we would go to the beach together when we were on cape cod training. and just a real family like you'd expect in your neighborhood and wonderful values. and so, i mean, we just -- it's a tragedy. we're going to miss dan, and it's going to be hard for everyone. >> you're truly a good friend. i mean, not only stepping forward right now, but i know you were there for nancy back, you know, at the time of the famous tonya harding incident. it's hard to believe that she's going through such a difficult situation again. >> i know. it is hard. and i can't imagine what it's like to have the satellite trucks outside her house again. so, you know, we're just trying to be strong and we'll be there tomorrow for the funeral. >> paul wylie. paul, thanks for talking to us, and if you speak to nancy, please give her our best. >> will do. thanks, matt. >> paul wylie earlier this morning with matt. and we're back with more of "today" after this. heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet... and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. activia light, with bifidus regularis is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. mmmm. the new taste is better than ever. and with only 70 calories activia light helps make it easier to watch my weight. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia! pretty. 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(announcer) you need a sinus medicine ooohhh... that rescues you from all three symptoms introducing new sudafed pe® triple action™. for more complete relief from the sinus triple threat. get more complete relief. with new sudafed pe® triple action™. also find sudafed® behind the counter. ♪ how much is that doggie in the window ♪ this morning on "today's pets," the top dogs of the year. whether they're pound puppies or pure-breds, we all love our pooches, but which ones w the popularity prize this year? gina dinardo is a spokesperson for the american kennel club. good morning. >> good morning. >> so, you rank these puppies, the akc does, and what are the surprises we're seeing this year? >> well, we' seeing the increased popularity in some of the hypoallergenic breeds, which isn't a surprise -- >> right. >> because people are looking for dogs and some of them have allergies. the top five, we really have no surprises. we just kind of have a flip-flop in popularity. >> and you go well beyond the top five. all the breeds. >> we list all 164 akc-registered breeds. >> okay, so, let's get started. >> okay. >> number five on the list. this breed was made popular almost a half century ago from the cool dog from the peanut gang. i think you know what we're talking about, the dog from the '50s. snoopy, the beagle. tell me about this gorgeous little beagle. >> the two most important things to know is they need compani companionship and exercise. >> yes. >> they're a hound dog, so they were bred to follow the scent of hair in rabbits for hunters. they have a nice, compact size, so the hunter could follow them on foot and not on horseback. >> oh. and he's a great temperament, but as you say, high energy. >> fabulous temperament. will make a great pet. a lot of households can find them as a loveable companion. >> and they're adorable. thk you for that. coming in at number four is a dog that is certainly a family favorite as well as used as a popular guide dog, search-and-rescue and assist dog, and this is the golden retriever. little jeter here -- big jeter, i should say. >> he's about 10 weeks old. >> 10 weeks old, oh, my gosh. look at this. >> they're active, energetic, very eager-to-please breed. they're highly trainable. that's why they make such great companion dogs search-and-rescue dogs -- >> guide dogs. >> guide dogs excellent. >> they're smart dogs. >> yes. they have a shedding coat. sheds about twice a year. so you have to brush it and you have to direct all this energy and intelligence with training and activities like obedience and agility. >> great. okay, jeter, moving on to number three. okay, number three in the rank is a smaller type of dog, a great family companion, the yorkie, yorkshire terrier. >> that's right. >> gorgeous. >> this is a little feisty dog. a big personality in a little body. they have this beautiful, long, flowing coat. they have a true terrier temperament, sohey're tenacious, they're brave, they're energetic, but portable. >> take them anywhere. put them in a bag. >> a lot of peopl like to take the dog on the plane. this is one of those breeds. >> okay. a couple other dogs having a wonderful time discovering each other. okay, number two on the list, and this is one that has actually started to move up the list once again, all-american favorite dog, and it is the german shepherd, and we've been seeing them in haiti a lot. they're really life-saving dogs. >> they are one of the most versatile breeds there is. they're brave, they're intelligent, they're loyal, they're great family companions. when socialized properly, they're great with children. and they're naturally protective. they're a fabulous military working dogs and guide dogs and all-around fabulous, fabulous breed. >> very, very good. and so, this one moved up to number two. where was it before? >> it was three last year. >> three. >> but this is the first time at number two in over 30 years. >> and you're seeing it start to maybe inch toward number one. we'll see. >> we'll see. >> but holding strong at number one, once again, 19th year in a row, by the way, and this is a dog that makes families across america happy. it looks like that, labrador retriever. and look at this little face. oh, my gosh. >> the proverbial favorite. >> yes. >> the labrador retriever. he's a great companion. he loves to be with people. he's sweet, he's gentle. gets along well with families, with other dogs. and is so darn smart, so you can train him to do just about anything. so, that's why they're great service dogs. they will do huge services for mankind and they make great family pets. >> look at that. look at that. that's unbelievable. four of the top five dogs all have something in common. what's that? >> we find four of the tom five dogs are constantly found working for us to save our country -- homeland security, protecting our borders -- >> woo, okay! >> he saw something he didn't like. >> something. what is it? okay, okay. well, great, great dogs. thank you so much, gina dinardo, once again. you can find a whole list on our website, todayshow.com. appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up next, a ♪ ♪ oh, my mama, ain't that texas cooking something ♪ oh, yeah! in "today's kitchen," we're heating things up with some southern love, hot chef tim love, that is. his two restaurants in texas, the lonome dove, the bistro and the love shop have plenty of beef on the menu. well, today he's got beef ribs two ways. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> we're starting off with big ribs of beef. we're doing these dry first. >> yeah, this is dry ribs. if you get a bone-in rib eye, this is the rack on the back side of the rib eye. >> so, you say the first thing to do is get the membrane off. >> that's right. so, at home, lot of times you don't have professional knives and things like that. a screwdriver is a great thing to use. i sthougt i'd have you do this. get in here and peel up underneath this membrane like so. scooch up like that and you start peeling the membrane. >> why do you want to peel the membrane off? >> because when you get the ribs in their final state, you want to make sure this membrane doesn'get caught between your teeth. >> would this hold true for pork ribs as well? >> that's absolutely true, most importantly for beef ribs. pork ribs, it can disintegrate a bit, but beef ribs, you definitely want to pull this out. >> once you pull this off, you do a dry rub. >> right. i'll flip it over and this mixture is consumen, chili powder, black piper, thyme, rosemary, little garlic assault and kosher salt. i'll grab this hard and get on that. >> oh, yeah. >> this is where you getour stress relief right here, al. just keep rubbing your meat real good, you know what i mean? just like that, exactly. then we're going to put them on a tray, rub both sides. >> both sides. >> put them on a tray. we'll put this in the oven. this is the original set it and forget it. two hours at 270 degrees. >> so low and slow. >> low and slow, baby. now brazed short ribs. these are further down the bone, coming across the belly. now we're going to rub these as well just little bit. but then we're going to cook them in a completely different manner. now, this is something, with all this cold weather coming up you've been talking about all morning going across the country -- >> right. in texas. >> that's right. it will be cold there on thursday, cold here in friday. right in the pan. and we've got some little carrots, onions, celery and i like jalapenos for flavor. >> okay. >> then our aromatics. now, when you're brazing, the ario mattfter aromatics are ver important. sage, cumin, garlic, bay leaf, black pepper, thyme. then we're going to add water here, just enough water to cover them up. this is really important here. you don't need too much water. >> right. >> and then very imrtant, plastic wrap, then foil. >> plastic wrap. now, that won't melt? >> that's exactly right. now, make sure it covers the whole thing. and foil, because foil's a little porous. so, we're kind of creating a steam chamber in here. >> okay. >> wrap these up real tight. >> goes in the oven how long? >> for about three hours. then we've got some fresh ones here. now, these come out. now, you'll notice -- >> this smells good. >> see the plastic wrap here coming off? >> it just comes right off. >> and the steam comes out, just like so. >> oh, yeah. >> look at these babies. now, this is kind of -- talking about fall off the bone kind of deal. that's some tight plastic wrap. >> i'm telling you. >> wow. >> cut them up here real quick. >> okay. >> smells good. >> just like this. >> wow! >> look at that. just comes off the bone there. >> by the way, over here are the -- >> now, these are dry ribs. if you like barbecue sauce on your ribs, in texas, we don't like sauce on the ribs. >> no, i'm a dry -- >> but you want to put the sauce on about an hour before they're finished, let the sauce caramelize a bit. >> what kind of beans do you have? >> a three-bean ragu, black beans and a little pto beans. >> dig in. >> dig in. make it happen, guys. >> yeah, all right. >> i am going to go right here. >> oh, you're -- >> that's for you. >> thank you. >> there you go. >> wow. >> right here. >> this is a distinctive rib right here. >> that's a meat lollypop. >> there you go. >> tim love, thank you so much. the recipe's on the website. we've got more. a mix of sun and clouds as we anticipate snowfall in the next few days. the time is now 9:56, wednesday, january 27. in the news for today, metro will hold an important public hearing tonight to discuss possible fare hikes and service cuts. the transit agency trying to close a $40 million budget gap. the changes include raising the rates and changing bus routes. the meeting will be in downtown washington at 600 fifth street northwest. >> snow maybe friday night into saturday, until then we'll have dry and chilly weather. highs today in the low 40s. a few clouds in and out, breezy and chill again tomorrow, but much colder friday, saturday and the rest of the weekend, it does appear we could get some accumulated snow on friday evening ending friday afternoon. sun returns sunday and monday, but still cold. highway's the traffic. >> we take a look at the beltway struggling to recover from the accident at b.w. avenue. 95 southbound, lose the right lane as you make the trip down. >> we'll have more news, weather and traffic coming up on news4 midday at captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. it's wednesday, january 27th. so delighted sharon osborne came back for a second visit with us today. how are you? >> i'm so good. >> i heard you had quite the night on the town with someone. >> oh, last night. >> do you want to confess? >> i was very naughty. >> tell us. >> i went out with a girlfriend mine, cyndi lauper. it was meant to be a very quick cup of tea. >> really? >> after the second bottle of wine -- >> that was just yours. >> exactly. we were kind of asked to leave because we were a little loud in the bar where we were. you know. we kept getting like -- here's the bill. we were like -- i would like another drink. it is like, well, here's the bill. wow, what time was it that you got in? >> about 1:00. >> that's about the time i woke up. >> i got in about 1:00. >> look at us. don't we look like post-menopausal rock stars? i guess not. was ozzie worried about you? >> no. he kept texting me. i kept taxing back. i will be a half hour. are you crazy? what are you doing? >> what does sharon osborne and cyndi lauper talk about? what do you guys talk about when you get together? >> we just giggle. >> yeah, a lot of alcohol involved. >> talking about cindi's son and my son and back and forth. >> you have been fends a long time. doing "the apprentice". >> we knew each other before. >> one word, if you had to describe your friend, what would it be to describe cindi? >> oh, she is just very loving. she is a very loving -- big heart. >> loving. >> she wears her heart on her sleeve. >> we are kind of disappointed today because ozzie was supposed to be here. i have been reading "i am ozzy." after i put my bible down, i read "i am ozzy." unfortunately, ozzy is a bad boy. he did not show up today. did you spank him? >> he's so naughty because i wish i could say to you he's got a bad throat. he has an earache. there's nothing wrong with him. he's just lazy and is in bed. >> guess who he is in bed with. bella, the little dog from yesterday. >> you know bella. >> i knew there was something weird about that dog. >> she is lying there like this. he is cuddling her. >> a weird vibe i got from bell yesterday. isn't that a weird thing, to think of ozzy in bed with bela watching us now? >> yeah. >> are you mad at him? did you go at each other on many, many, many occasion. he actually tried to kill you once. but doesn't even remember anything about it. >> the thing was that that got on the news. but all the times i tried to kill him never made the news. >> yeah, yeah. you -- one particular time you busted him in the face so bad. >> i did. >> he thanked you for it. >> yes. >> honestly, on a serious note, i have read a lot of books in my life and interviewed tons -- thousands and thousands of people. i don't think i have ever read a life story like this in my life. can i not believe the man is alive. it is miraculous that he is alive. and when you first met him, he was -- really at the height of his drug and alcohol -- >> no. when i first met him, he was -- he was at the stage where he was fun. he was such fun. he was a fun drinker. he was the sort of guy -- i always -- referred to him -- he was like the arthur type you love to have at a parrot and everybody loves and have fun with, you know. >> but you have really never known him sober until the last four years. >> five years. yes, the last five years. >> isn't that bizarre to think of, though? you also fell in love with him and married him at a time when you were not doing drugs. you never did drugs, you said. >> no, never did drugs. i never had -- i have never had even a cigarette in my life. >> you north korean funny kind or any kind? >> any kind. never been interested. >> was it just the fact that he's fun -- you sent him off to betty ford clinic. first thing he asks betty ford, where's the bar? he had no idea what was -- that betty ford -- he thought it was a resort. >> he thought she was going to teach him how to drink like a gentleman. he thought that she was going to say you sip and then you wait five minutes and you have another sip. he thought he was going to have like a velvet jacket, be at the bar. talk like a gentleman. that's what he thought it was. >> he was going to be james bond. >> yeah. >> so -- you didn't tell him the truth because you knew he would never go. >> he would never go. >> drank three bottles of champagne on the way over. snorted a little coke on the limo on the way to betty ford declinic and then greeted by betty ford. this is one of thousands of stories where you are going you can't believe it. that didn't quite work out for him, though. that one. >> oh, my goodness. ozzy was about that betty ford center. came out. he had his, you know, like -- leaving good-bye speech. they gave him his chip and wished him well. by noon, he was drunk. we left the betty ford center at 10:30. went straight to a restaurant. ordered everything. by noon he was drunk >> did you -- why did you ever never give up hope on him? >> because he probably was the only person that i ever met that was so truthful and honest and told it like it was. he was just so honest. he didn't try to be anything that he wasn't. he wasn't like hey, i'm a rock star, baby. you know. he was just so -- he was really pure. but, unfortunately, a terrible addict. >> yeah, well, he came from an abusive situation at home. >> yes, he did. >> worked -- talks about his father. hay says look, this is ozzy when he was a child. look at that. >> cute. gorgeous. >> why. he said to his father -- his father said you are going to be turn out to be something really special or in prison. by his 18th birthday he was in prison. >> he was. >> that didn't ite clean up his act at all. but he survived it. survive instincts there. >> yes. hay is a good -- he has a great survival instinct with his gut. he knew how to get the best of people by being funny. >> the whole bat incident we have all heard of -- there was no devil worship in black sabbath. i thought the guydemonic did s worship. >> they said that's what that movie is called, we are going to call ourselves black sabbath. that was it. >> he did incredibly outrageous things. he became very well known for the bat incident, biting the head off of a bat and dove. he is an animal lover. he must be peta's worst might mayor. >> absolutely. number one on the list. >> he thought it was a rubber -- not a rubber. i'm sorry. he thought it was a rubber, a rubber bat. >> yes. >> so, you know, and so he bites it off and -- describes what it is like when he realizes it is twitching and it is in his -- i'm sorry. it is warm and it is there. and -- everybody thought he just did it because he's crazy ozzy. the next concerts people are throwing up -- it is like working in a slaughter house again. people were throwing -- >> snakes, big toads, somebody came in with a head of a cow. >> then you go home and sleep with the man. >> oh, he's so cuddly. >> he's kud. >> i and cute and cuddly and funny. he is like a teddy bear. >> i wish he was here. i'm so fascinated now by read thing. people read the most amazing rock 'n' roll -- autobiography. ozzy, we missed you today. thank you, sharon, for sharing so much of it. i only got to that part of the book. frank took it yesterday. >> he did? >> it is so funny frank gifford wants to read ozzy's life story. >> ozzy, get out of bed, you lazy thing. >> she cleaned it up. what's happening? >> sharon's fans are here. a woman wrote in, there should be a hall of fame for women behind the man of rockers and sharon should be the first one in. she rocks. diane wants to know could you ask sharon if her parents liked ozzy when they met him for the first time? >> they did. may parents, very much. especially may mher. yes. >> didn't your father become his manager. >> yeah, yeah. he did. yeah. >> he --well, there's more to it than what she is telling. i wish ozzy was here. relationship advice which you don't need apparently. what you shouldn't tell your other half. have you always been totally honest with him? >> oh,o. no. it is time for today's relationships and whether or not you should keep secrets from your spouse. >> they can run the gamut from how money is spent to incorporating thoughts of real hair color. >> yes. yes. >> right? >> also, fantasies. sexual fantasies. here to help for two old married folks, not to each other, contributing psychiatrist dr. gail salts and sex and relationship counselor ian. welcome to you both. i was just saying if there is ever a study of a marriage to -- which would be a psychiatrist's dream, it is this book. they are still together. what do you say about that? >> i think -- well, the power of committing and making a decision based on some rational things, it is important to stay together. i love this person. i know they will be -- there will be tough times. we have children together. >> i'm not keeping secrets, right? >> she did keep secrets. >> i kept secrets. oh, yes. ozzy will say to me, those boots -- they are so old, ozzy. you know. it stills that price on the bottom. >> i think she would do it because she was afraid that i would get angry. right. guys get angry. we don't understand why do have there have to be 100 pairs of shoes. you know, it made me angrier when i discovered them and led to -- i felt like it was outside of the marriage. like a unilateral decision had been made. finally we started to talk about it and began to have a lot more spent for why she felt like she wanted thehoes. >> does she mick her own living? >> yes, she does. >> doesn't that affect it as well? if a woman works, shouldn't she be able to spend her money -- >> it does. it shouldn't really. because if you -- i you decided together which hopefully it is a decision together that you want a parent to stay home and raise the children, well, then, that's a job she is doing. >> huge job. >> unfortunately it -- we say well, she's not making the money, it is not -- but it real is. there still should be open discussion. still partners. >> she is enabling him to go out. >> that's right. supporting him. >> i'm not putting down women that stay home and take care of their children by any means. sometime as woman will feel that way. resent because excuse me, i work, too, and i should -- you go out and buy your sneak zblers that's why you both should be transparent and there should be entitlement for both of you but honesty -- the honesty is what allows the real intimacy in the relationship. the real -- i trust you and i know -- i trust that we can negotiate things and work them out as opposed to i better keep you in the dark because i can't really trust you not to run over me or den u me or all these things. >> when you keep a secret you are afraid of your spouse's response which could be anger and in a way, you are disrespecting yourself. you are not letting yourself have your own voice with your spouse. and putting the conversation on equal footing. >> say you have an boyfriend and you have been friends. you know. you don't see them and stuff. that boyfriend calls you and you don't want -- >> why don't you want to? why? >> there's nothing -- but it might upset the husband or the wife. >> it shouldn't. >> don't want to deal with. >> it that's the problem. >> slippery slope. that can become the beginning of an emotional infidelity. imagine a spouse sitting on your shoulder, how would your spouse feel about tha e-mail? or that phone call? >> frank gifford wouldn't like it. i can tell you that. >> listen to little frank. >> but frank -- if you say but i'm being completely transparent with you, i'm going to go have lunch. by the way, if you wanted to come and join us for lunch, that would be fine. then frank's not going to be nervous. >> i never thought you were funny before. you are funny. that's funny. >> it is the dishonesty that -- >> we could go on with this one. >> no secrets. >> hey. thank you. still to come, bad hair to good hair. >> that's right. we are back with "today's beauty and main makeovers. not the state of main. >> thank you. >> i-village contributor and stylist to the stars. >> yes. >> tell us what you did. you went to the city. >> we went to the city. first thing you look at, what do you notice? you notice their hair. the most important feature, don't you think? >> depends which direction she's coming at you. >> i suppose. yeah. >> it could be. >> yeah. >> how many ladies? >> three girls, three women. we thought they could use a little help and made them over. >> is anybody offended when you come up to them? anybody ever been truly offended? >> i haven't -- no, not at all. i have gotten a walk-by. >> like don't mess with me. >> yeah i dealt with it. cried a little bit. >> louis is very sensitive. >> no, no, no. >> shall we talk about first lady? >> let's see. >> okay. our first lady -- >> yeah. >> okay. her name is karen. right? >> okay. >> where she? >> where is karen? how is this going to work? >> here is karen. >> i do makeovers on the "today" show. would you be interested in having a complete makeover? new hair color, new haircut? >> i would. >> oh, my god. great. >> okay. what was her issue, would you say? >> karen wore naturally blond hair. >> ingrid. >> ingrid. excuse me. >> we are doing so well today. >> this is going to get great. >> ingrid was more blond. her hair became progressively darker. what she did to compensate, made her highlights lighter and lighter. it almost frosted looking and her hair was duller instead of blonder. she wanted a more stylish look. she was ready for a change. and she's -- she is a bold girl. you'll see. >> okay. we are about to bring her out. here is ingrid. wow. wow. >> fabulous. >> doesn't she look great? >> she looks great. light copper red. >> it is very warm. >> it is very warm. which instantly gives her a more stylish look. tons of texture and hair body. you look just like a very new york city chic woman. >> thank you. >> do you love it? >> i love it. absolutely love it. >> very modern. >> the second lady we found is -- let's go to the tape and see what louis found. >> my name is louis. i work with the "today" show. i do makeovers. i think you would be the most beautiful makeover. you have great hair and a great face. just needs a little shape. are you ready for change? >> absolutely. >> okay. >> okay. >> her hair was much too long for her face. it made her face look longer. it is thick and overwhelming. too dark. besides she had just enough gray but to make her hair look dull. >> let's bring out the new and improved miriam. >> oh, my goodness. beautiful. >> look at you. >> i love that cross. it is gorgeous. >> miriam's fantasy was to be lighter. i made her dark brown hair much lighter. i gave her these honey highlights. the trick is keep the highlights related to the base color. >> it took 20 years off of you. >> it is fantastic. >> gave her the layered haircut, opened her face which gave her a much more flattering face. >> beautiful. last lady, let's check her out. rachel. >> i do makeovers on the "today" show. >> you do? >> yeah. i think you would be the perfect makeover. would you interested in? >> yeah. >> yeah. why not, right? >> sure. >> you are going to look great. it will only take a couple of hours. >> right now? >> right now. >> oh, my god. >> yes. let's see rachel. come on out, sweetheart. >> oh, my gosh. rachel. >> wow. >> oh, my gosh. saucy and flirty. >> you look fabulous. >> rachel's fantasy was eva longoria look. she was right. the darker hair worked with better with her complexion. she had highlight, reddish hair lights which made her skin color appear more sallow. with brown hair, came her live. cut her hair, sexy bangs make all the difference. look at her. >> gorgeous job. thank you so much, ladies. we will see you friday. still to come, when children behave badly. coming up today at midday. >> toyota is suspending the sale of eight of its most popular vehicles, this on top of a major recall. we'll hear from local dealers on how they're handling the news. also coming up on midday, for homeowners who are not having financial problems are just walking away from their homes. we are back on this wednesday of more of "today" and vice for parents. >> when you have to discipline your children is an important skill all parents need to learn. especially me. >> and with so many approach tows parenting and so many opinions we set out our miss sara haines to find out what parents think works best for them. >> what types of punishment do you use to handle the bunch? >> whatever works. >> strict conversation. >> if they are not listening and you have to spank them, you have to spank them. for the most part try to put them in time-out. >> we make them do their chores without their allowance if they are bad. >> that would be the worst. >> that's right. >> she takes my ipod. i might get it back the next day. >> that is not true. >> it is not true? >> well, at least a week or so. when we are talking about what i'm taking away, she understands why. >> all right. amy is a mom as well as the founder of positive parenting solutions which was developed to help parents correct behavior without nagging, reminding or yelling. wow, is that possible? welcome. >> it is possible. thank you. >> tell us how that works. >> well, it was interesting in the clip. you notice that -- >> all over the place. >> all over the board. i think that's what happens so often with parents. we tend to use the one-size fits all strategies and then maybe they are not really that effective and so we get into the nagging reminding and yelling. >> doesn't it seem like more and more kids areust -- there's no -- they are worse now. much worse. nobody even says please and thank you. just the bare minimums aren't in existence anymore. >> that's the parents. >> were they parented badly as well, the parents that are now passing that bad parenting to their children? >> well, sometimes that is the case. we repeat the strategies that our parents used for us and for better or worse, we see how that goes. what we are finding -- what we know is children must be hay for two primary airy reasons. one is more attention and other is power. so if we are not proactively filling their attention basket in posive ways they are going to act out with negative attention seeking behavior, whining, clinging. same thing with power. we are not giving positive power by letting them make choices and do things on their own and really have control over their life we see as power behaviors like back talk and disrespect and not listen. >> every child is different and unique. what works with one child my not work with the next child. it is incredible how different they can be. so -- what do you do with a child that just throws tantrums all the time? no matter what you -- everything. what do you do? put them in reform school? >> before we resort to boot ca -- >> there are five rs. >> there are. now, again, so -- talk about tantrums and very often our gut reaction. for tantrum is stop the tantrum or talk them down off the ledge. that reinforce it is behavior. you want to just disengage. i tell parents if your child is having a tantrum, have you the right not to par advertise anticipate. >> let them do it. even though you are in the middle of a restaurant? bloomingdale's. >> they have to be in a safe place. songs they are in a safe place, walkway and disengage and let them have their tantrum. after a day or two not a constant tantrum. once they have a tantrum and you respond that way it will start to defuse. >> parents trying to defuse it because they are afraid what other people are thinking around them. did your kids ever throw tantrums? >> yes. especially kelly. always in a public place. they do that because they know we are you will haver in zblabl that's p power part. >> nianything. just stop. >> for consequences to be effective, we want the child. parents can start that today. see results. the first "r," respect pl. yelling is no speakingful and does not work to be behavior change. second, latest to the misbehavior. if a young child refuses to brush your teeth, you can't have snacks or sweets the next day. >> stick to it. that's the worst thing do. not -- >> stick to your gun. >> don't say it unless you follow through. >> third one is it has to be reasonable. for a 4-year-old, it might b they lose a privilege for a day. for 14-year-old, a week. >> yes. the crime -- the time fits the crime. so to speak. >> and the age. >> development of the child. >> right, right. revealed in advance. what does that mean? >> what -- it sounds self-explanatory but the one parents often miss. very often a child misbehaves and we come in after the fact with the punishment. when we want to do is reveal it in advance. for video games, for example. our rule is when i ask you to turn off the video game, you need to turn it off right away. if you choose not do that, i need to let you know you will lose your video privileges for the next week. we revealed it in advance. the child knows full well what the rule is. consequence. >> you set the rules ahead of time. >> the last one is repeat it back to you. >> that's how you close the lip. i would say just so we are clear on the rule, repeat back to me what our rule is and what the consequence is. they repeat it. lose video privileges for a week. now it is totally on their shoulders. p if they make the appropriate choice or not, you can't be the bad guy. >> do you think it is human nature not to do it? >> apparently in your family. not in mine. thank you very, very much. up next, sharon gets to play "who knew" with us. it is all abt love. neil sedaka. we will be back. ♪ love we are back to play "who knew." with valentine's day just over a couple of weeks away, we are testing your knowledge of some classic love songs. kathie lee is across the street. >> hi, everybody. >> ready to hand out $100 to those who answer questions correctly. and those who don't answer it correctly walk away with one of kaie's cd. that's fabulous, too. amazing. contestants will listen to a quick clip of a song. will either have to finish the lyric or identify the song. jess kako -- did i get it right? >> exactly right. >> fabulous. managing editor of "entertainment weekly" is here to help me out. jeff, are you ready? >> i'm ready. >> fabulous. let's go. >> lovely family is from branson, missouri. lot of friends in common. in 1998, this aerosmith song was a hit. not just because it was in "armageddon." listen and name that song. ♪ don't want to close my eyes ♪ i miss you baby ♪ i don't want to miss a thing >> wow. >> unfortunately, you get the money. >> thank you. >> here's a couple of interesting things about that song. this was the song that was their first number one song ever, even though they have been together for -- also, i think it was d written by diane and originally for celine dion. >> also, stephen tyler's daughter was in the movie. >> yes. the music video. >> yes. >> that's right. >> all right. >> do you have a minute? all right. friends from high school. during the hiatus of destiny's child, beyonce released her first solo album in 2003 which features this tune. let's try to guess the title. ♪ you are making a fool of me ♪ have you to be strong >> "crazy love." >> that's right. >> you guys get money. >> and your cd? >> oh, all right. >> thank you. >> this was the song, "crazy in love," that really established beyonce as a formidable solo artist. she had been part of destiny's child. that was the song. another interesting thing in that song there is a little rap verse from jay-z. he showed up the night they were recording the song. he mix this rap verse up in about ten minutes. never writes it down. throws it on the mike. that's what is in the song we hear. i love that song. >> i do, too. >> not as good as "irreplaceable." but that's not a love song. >> i want to put a ring on it. don't you love this? >> i love all of her stuff. >> thank you so much for your help. >> there is a contest going on here, people! do we have time for one more? all right. tina turned heads with her big hair and big voice in this song. let's finish the verse. sing a little. i love this one. ♪ what's love got to do with got to do with it ♪ ♪ what's love the sakd hand emotion ♪ ♪ secondhand emotion >> darn. ♪ secondhand emotion ♪ what's love got to do ♪ got to do with it >> okay. >> all right. we have one minimum. >> quick. she was 45 when that song came out. rebuilt her career with that song. >> whole career. >> tina turner. at the time oldest artist to have a -- a number one song in the hot 100. >> who wrote it? >> wait. i don't know. you stumped me. does that mean i get a kathie lee cd? i think i already have it. >> your attitude really -- i'm not liking it today, i'm telling you. this family have s from connecticut. one of the mt memorable songs from the 'eighth. bon jovi takes on a different aspect of love in this crowd pleaser. try to finish the lyrics. ♪ nowhere to run ♪ no one can tell knee damage is done ♪ ♪ shot through the heart and you're too blame ♪ ♪ you give love a bad name ♪ you give love a bad name >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> that's it? we have to go? that's it? but i love you now. >> i won't leave. >> you are very smand. >> thank you, sharon. you look fantastic. >> have nice teeth. >> i thought you were going to tell me i something in my teeth. >> no have you very nice teeth. >> coming up, neil [ female announcer ] now silk makes shadow new again. 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[ female announcer ] new eye studio color plush from maybelline new york. it's infused with silk powder. the color so rich. the feel so plush. eye studio. the shadow revolution is here. see it at maybelline.com. eye studio. the shadow revolution is here. mmmmmm. mmmmmm. wow! you have got to be kidding me. 80 calories? light & fit has 80 calories versus 100 in the other leading brand. light & fit. irresistible taste. fewer calories. i love light & fit. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own business site with intuit websites. just choose a style, then customize, publish and get found. sweet. get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. ♪ mmm... hot fudge sundae. ♪ ooh! frosted blueberry?!? ♪ over 25 flavors of kellogg's pop-tarts®. and they're all for fun and fun for all. pop-tarts®. made for fun. me brought us big hits, "calendar girl and many others. selling more than 60 million records along the way. 50-year career. >> neil sedaka is back with his first studio album of new material in more than ten years. it is called "the music of my life." >> we love neil. dear close friend. i was watching tv last night. out comes "don't take your love away." it was an allstate commercial. hi, neil. here you are. >> nice to have old but it's much nicer to have new. >> you are still fantastic. >> beautiful new songs. where are you getting inspiration? >> from the people i love. us creative people have our ups and downs. and our hills and valleys. this is a catharsis, this album. >> his gorgeous wife. one of the most beautiful women you will ever meet. he used to perform in the catskills, your mom ask dad own ad place there. that's how they met. you were how old? >> 16. >> sweet 16. that's where that hit came from. >> you know the songs you get it out. a catharsis. you cry and you let it go. >> it is healthy. >> it is healthy. >> guess who is a huge neil sedaka fan. >> ozzy. >> i saw him yesterday in the studio he said neil sedaka. he gave me the honor of singing ♪ oh carol i'm a fool i can't believe it. >> all right. everybody wants to hear you s g sing. >> this is the first opening track. >> it is already in the top ten on amazon.com. here he is, neil sedaka. >> quick. ♪ do you remember taking me to the park ♪ ♪ do you remember ♪ dancing in the dark ♪ do you relying in the sand ♪ all the special moments we had in wonderland ♪ ♪ if i could take these precious moments and put them in a box ♪ ♪ if i could feel this time once more i would turn back the clock ♪ ♪ wouldn't it be wonderful the way things were then ♪ ♪ i would like to turn back time and live it all again ♪ ♪ do you remember stealing our first kiss ♪ ♪ do you remember falling in love like this ♪ ♪ time goes by so swiftly ♪ time goes by so fast ♪ i want to have these good times ♪ ♪ i want our love to last ♪ singing in spanish ♪ ♪ i would like to turn back time living it all again ♪ ♪ i would like to turn back time and live it all again ♪ [ singing in spanish ] ♪ >> yes! we will be back with more of // we will all be watching tonight, mr. president. we wish you all the best. thank you for spending time with us here. you never looked more beautiful. miss sara, what's going on? >> i feel like this is a strange segue. angela wants to know how you keep looking so great. your skin is so smooth. >> you have gorgeous skin. i saw you without any makeup today and yesterday. i hate you. you are gorgeous. how do you do it? >> no. luck and a good doctor. >> where did youet your black dress? >> i have no idea. thank you so much, sharon. you are adorable. love to ozzy. we will see you tomorrow, everybody.

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