Transcripts For WRC Today 20100416

following the rescue in that florida swamp four days after she disappeared. how she's doing "today," friday, april 16th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. look at the cover of the "washington post." this spectacular picture of the cloud of ash from that volcano whose name nobody can pronounce in iceland. it is truly beautiful but it's caused so much trouble. thousands of flights canceled across europe. >> that picture taken by a farmer i see was fleeing his farm at about 80 miles an hour, i would imagine. overnight airports in germany were forced to close and british officials announce no flights will be allowed over england until saturday morning. that's at the earliest. the only piece of good news, airports are ireland are being allowed to re-open and ironically, flights from the u.s. can land in iceland because the wind is blowing the ash to the east so it is a little clearer there. al is there in a small town a few miles from the volcano. al, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, good morning, matt. the name of the glacier is eyjafjallajoekul which actually means island mountain glacier. the volcano is about 12 miles on the other side of that ridge there. you see that beautiful waterfall. just here over this bridge, under this bridge, you see how fast this water's moving? that is actually glacial melt from the volcano. what we're talking about is the volcano that is erupting, in fact geographies cysts in iceland say it shows no sign of abating at this point. even though you can't see the ash plume, it is rising up into the atmosphere anywhere from 20,000 to 36,000 feet. of course that causes a problem for aviation because that volcanic dust gets sucked into jet engines, it melts down, coats the engine blades, clogs up the vents, then cools off and literally shuts down the engine. that's not even talking about the visibility problems. right now, airports shut down in france, germany, the uk, denmark, norway, finland, belgium, poland, even air travel as far away as china has been affected. normally on a friday you'd have 28,000 flights over europe. today only 11,000. as you mentioned, the biggest aviation disruption since 9/11. here is the big problem -- the wind flow. the jet stream right now up at about 20,000 to 25,000 feet is blowing out of the northwest across greenland, across iceland, and then to the southeast, on into europe. here's the big problem -- we are not seeing any change in this wind pattern for the next five to seven days. and, the geophysicists say this could continue for the next 48 hours. in poland, they're worried about the funeral for the polish president who was killed late last week in that airplane disaster. because the problem now is that flights may not be actually able to land in poland. president obama may not be able to get there. this eruption is ten times more powerful than the one that happened at the same volcano just last month. so the big problem is, there is a big strong, strong eruption and it shows no sign of abating at this time, guys. >> al, we'll go back to you a couple of times throughout the morning. thank you very much for getting up there so quickly. just to give you an idea of the history behind what this can do to an airplane, in 1989 a klm 747 hit a cloud of volcanic ash, lost all power, dropped 13,000 feet before they could reach an airfield. >> nbc's dawna freezen is at london's heathrow airport which has been shut down until tomorrow at the very earliest. dawna, good morning. >> reporter: never has volcanic ash created this level of disruption to air travel. european aviation officials predict 17,000 flights will be canceled across europe today. heathrow airport usually handles about 180,000 people every day. you can see, the radar is still working but there aren't many planes to pick up. all of this having a ripple effect right across the world. hundreds of thousands of passengers affected. from the land of fire and ice, a menacing cloud of ash that's wreaking havoc with air travel. iceland's volcano gathered strength overnight, spewing still more ash high into the atmosphere, ash that can jam airplane engines. the winds spread it across northern europe in the nordic countries and it creating a huge no-fly zone. germany's frankfurt airport, a major international hub, shut down this morning. only 11,000 flights are expected in european airspace today, compared to 28,000 normally. only one-third of the usual transatlantic flights made it this morning, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers with few options. >> i guess the trains are all full up, too. maybe i'll have to take a boat or a bus. >> reporter: the ripple effect is being felt around the world, from new york -- >> i want to go home. i just want to go home now. we have no money to stay out here. i need to rest. >> reporter: to mexico city. tokyo, and sydney, australia. >> we had people who were planning to travel today. unfortunately, your arrangements will have had to change. >> reporter: the volcano lies under a glacier. researchers flying as close as they can have peered into it. molten rock surging up. it is thought to have popped the ice like a champagne cork, the force creating these massive plumes, a mix of rock, sand and glass. >> if you imagine throwing a bucket full of beach sand into the engine of a big airplane, you can imagine it is not going to do the airplane any good. >> reporter: in parts of iceland, day has turned to night as the ash rains down. geo physicists are not sure what happens next. >> this disruption may stop tomorrow but it may continue to disrupt air traffic for weeks or months. >> reporter: knowing it's all about safety, most passengers are frustrated, but not angry. >> you have to go with the flow. >> it suction but it's nature so we can't help it. >> reporter: there is a glimmer of hope. ireland announced this morning that it is reopening some of its airspace so planes will be able to take off and land in dublin and cork, though the clouds of ash will continue to be monitored so it may close again. no one is sure when all of europe's skies will be safe to fly over again. >> dawna friesen at heathrow airport, thank you very much. for more we turn to a nasa program scientist who studies the world's polar regions. tom, good morning. let's do volcanic arab cloush c 101. people say wait a minute, people fly through cloud clouds all the time. what's actually in this cloud if. >> little fine bits of rock. think of flour being thrown up into the air in your kitchen but it is actual rock particles. it is so abrasive it can screw up airplane engines. what happens is when a volcano erupts and the magna hits the ice, it will literally explode. think if you shook up a soda can and popped the top, the gas involved in that soda can strays out. same thing happens with a volcano. >> there are a lot of active volcanos around the world so this a xhor common occurrence, the grounding of aircraft in certain regions than we realize? >> it is definitely. you have hundreds of volcanos in the north pacific, the routes people fly to asia all the time. every year few of those volcanos erupt and air traffic is redirected because of that. >> we can see with the naked eye very easily this cloud of volcanic ash. it is right there, looks like a really dark, ugly cloud. but do some of these particles of ash fan out in places -- in other words, could a plane get in trouble flying 20, 30 miles from the actual clouds you can see? >> the biggest problem is this -- it is impossible to tell a volcanic ash cloud from another cloud and it is really difficult for us to track. one of the reasons we use satellite. we don't even track the ash itself, we actually track sulfur that's in the ash so it is hard to see from space. >> scientists can use all kinds of sensors to try to determine when a volcano might erupt. fast forward -- once the volcano erupts, do you guys have a way of figuring out how long it might spew ash? >> it is very difficult. we look at the chemistry of the rocks themselves, looking at all the stations on the ground to figure out how the volcano is tilting and using things from space, is the volcano inflating. you put that together but also you learn about the eruption history to try to figure out what's going to go on. >> we know this ash can cause havoc for an airplane. what happens if this is all through the atmosphere, it clearly has to settle in countries all around the world. what happens when a human being inhales this stuff? >> there is a few things. first, in this volcano itself in the 1820s it erupted and it killed a lot of local cattle. some people talk about there were some health effects in europe from that. in general i don't think anyone fears health effects from this eruption. if you're right near the volcano there is danger from the eruption itself, gases, and breathing in the particulates over the long term can give you lung problems. right now nobody expects anything from this because it is too dispersed. >> tom, nice to see you. now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from ann curry at the news desk. good morning, everybody. welcome news this morning for hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed americans. last night, hours after congress passed an $18 billion funding bill, president obama signed a temporary extension of unemployment benefits. the bill also restores full medicare payments to doctors who were facing a 21% cut. more than 48 hours after china's deadly earthquake, rescuers today pulled a young girl and her mother out alive from under tons of rubble. the death toll is about 800 with hundreds of people still missing in china. a magnitude 4 hadn't 9 earthquake rattled utah, wyoming in idaho on thursday. it causes no serious damage or injuries. today a bombing inside a hospital's emergency room in pakistan killed at least eight people. more than 30 people were wounded. in a blistering report, the u.n. concludes pakistan's government could have prevented the 2007 assassination of former prime minister benazir bhutto and says pakistan's intelligence agency interfered with the u.n.'s investigation. in the weeks before her death, bhutto told news that pakistan's government was not doing enough to protect her. pakistan says that police will open a new investigation now into her killing but an aide to former president musharraf calls the u.n. report, in his words, a pack of lies. a chicago area police officer is facing charges of battery and misconduct after he was caught on tape hitting a driver more than a dozen times with his baton and firing a stun gun at man's passenger. state officials call the officer's conduct outrageous. and one day after tax deadline day, the government says today is the last day for you to mail back your 2010 census form, and people who don't return it will likely get a visit by a census taker. that is actually not as prominent as it sounds. let's go back to matt and meredith. >> i did mine. >> i got mine in also. absolutely. le good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. the early morning sun bouncing off the buildings and it will be a beauty of a day. temperatures in the mid-to high 50s right now although there upper 40s in the western suburbs. increasing clouds and a risk of a shower or thundershower, but not until after 8:00 this evening and early tomorrow morning. most of the weekend will be breezy, cool, and dry. >> and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. thousands of tea party activists across the country used thursday's tax deadline to rally against what they say are taxes that are too high and a government that is too big. nbc's kelly o'donnell is in washington with details. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. it's been just about a year and the tea party movement went from what was a grassroots opposition to the bailouts and health care reform, into something much bigger, able to pull off a major political show -- a two-week cross-country series of rallies. tea partiers don't like washington much and some came here to deliver that message in person. from the distance you hear the loud speaker blaring. >> we are the tea party movement. >> reporter: and see the eye catching signs. >> it is basically a little bit of sarcasm. >> reporter: but within the crowd, a feeling runs deep. >> i love my country and i don't like where it's going. i don't like all this debt. >> 99% of all we've got in the tea party are good, hard working people who simply want to have a voice. >> reporter: they were heard in big cities like chicago, denver, kansas city, smaller towns like madison, wisconsin, montgomery, alabama, and rochester, new york. and in washington, a tea party favorite -- congresswoman michelle bachmann made their goal clear. >> two years from now barack  obama is a one-term president! >> reporter: 9 out of 10 tea partiers surveyed say the president is not doing a good job. >> i'm not expecting to see an obama supporter here anyway. >> reporter: saying it is a novelty, rick willmore sells what he calls obama dollars. >> yeah, it is a criticism. it is a humerus criticism. >> reporter: the cbs news/"new york times" poll found that 18% of americans say they support the tea party. most are married white men over 45 with more formal education and more wealth than average. but the tea party is also retired air force veteran darryl postel. >> it is sort of a protest against government sort of infringing upon my right to choose how i want to spend my money, how i want to spend my life. >> reporter: the tea's is full of business women like lindsey flowers. >> i am a middle of the road person, probably not too far to the right on a number of things, but i do believe that our representatives should listen to us. >> reporter: of those surveyed, about 20% who say they believe in the tea party have actually given money to the organization. now it is interesting, most of them said they believe the amount of taxes they pay is fair, and again, many i talked to and many in the survey say they don't really want to see the tea party become some sort of formal party but they want it to have influence over elections and to allow people to be heard. meredith? >> they're doing their best to make sure that happens. kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. 7:17. here's matt. as we just saw, president obama was the target of some of those tea party protests. this morning, we're getting our first look at the president's tax returns. nbc's norah o'donnell's at the white house with the numbers. norah, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, good morning, matt. the president and first lady made a lot of money last year. in fact, more than any recent president while in office in history. they banked $3 million more than last year, and they gave generously to charity. president obama has the most powerful job in the world, but it's the books he's written and sold that have made him a very wealthy man. in fact, the obamas reported $5.5 million in income for 2009, and paid nearly $1.8 million in federal taxes. >> barack obama's made a lot of money for a sitting president. according to his tax return, more than $5 million. that's a lot more than either george w. bush or bill clinton. >> reporter: almost all of the president's paycheck comes from more than a huge $5 million in sales of obama's two best-selling books. "the audacity of hope" and "dreams from my father," a story of race and inheritance. >> i can recall only one story that dealt explicitly with the subject of race. >> reporter: the white house posted all 65 pages of president's tax returns online. if you want to take a peek, some of the details include the $329,000 they gave to more than 40 charities. >> the obamas' tax return indicate they gave about 6% of their income to charity which is a little above the national average. >> reporter: in addition, the president gifted his $1.4 million in nobel prize funds to ten charities, including $250,000 to the fisher house, a nonprofit providing a place to stay for families of wounded soldiers who are getting care after returning home from war. in all, president obama donated more to charity than his vice president earned in 2009. in fact, vice president biden and his wife, a community college teacher, reported $333,000 in income, paid $71,000 to uncle sam, and gave just $4,$4,8 $4, $4,800 to charity. >> i used to fill out my own taxes but today, everybody thinks it is too dangerous. fy made a mistake it would become international news so i have someone else doing it. >> reporter: the bidens only gave 1.5% of their income to charity. a spokeswoman for the bidens points out the biden's tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions, saying, "they contribute to many causes with their time as well as their checkboo checkbook." >> norah o'donnell at the white house, thank you very much. on monday on "today," an interview with the member of the first family's inner circle -- michelle obama's brother craig robinson has written a revealing new book about their life growing up. we'll talk with him monday right here on "today." 7:19. here's meredith. >> now to something a bit out of the ordinary. an auction with some of the most busy star items we've ever seen up for grabs. here again is nbc's dawna friesen. >> reporter: it's not every day something like this goes on sale. yes, it's a yetty, a rather tall yetty. if that's not your cup of tea, how about a furry pike? native to lake superior, apparently. or this -- a fanged, flying monkey thing with duck feet. or perhaps an extremely rare winged cat. they are just a smidgen of the weird and wonderful creatures snapped up in an unusual auction in england. it was stand iing room only, peeking over tigers, nudged up to zebras, even sitting next to queen victoria. the recession apparently has not hit eccentric victorian era curiosity, relics at a time more than a century ago when people may even have believed these taxidermy creations were real. there's still, it seems, a market for unicorns. it sold for $4,300. >> this is very rare stuff. >> reporter: all of it came from a museum of victorian relics on britain's isle of white. it fell on hard times so the owner was forced to sell. >> there is a lot of my life tied up in this room today. i'm very sad to see it being sold. >> reporter: victorians were fascinated by this peculiar and whimsical, and today it seems some still are. >> a lot of collectors are eager to own these things. >> reporter: especially eager to own this. >> everybody loves sid. i'd like to take sid home. >> reporter: he told for $2,500 to a guy who has big plans for him. >> i'm going to put it on her side of the bed. he'll get to sleep next to me. >> reporter: the family dog seems worried about where this is all heading. and as for the yetty, it was a steal. $1,000. and after a slightly awkward moment with his new owner, was last seen heading north. eccentrics, it seems, are still alive and well and mesmerized by magical monsters. for "today," dawna friesen, nbc news, dorchester, england. >> you've got some of that stuff. i like that bat looking thing though. sid. yeah, i like that. still ahead, how 11-year-old nadia bloom is doing following her four-day ordeal in a florida swamp. we'll have exclusive details. but first, this is "today" on nbc. just ahead, he was labeled a person of interest in the anthrax attraction, but he didn't do it. an exclusive interview with steven hatfield. >> after your local news. it is 7:26. in the news today, police in silver spring are trying to figure out how a man died in a home in the 9300 block of columbia boulevard. a coworker went to check on him after he didn't show up for work. his car usually parked outside is missing. police are calling the death suspicious. there was a double murder in the same house in 2002. weather and traffic are next. stay with us. temperatures in the mid-to high 50s, but will be in the 80s. >> jammed from the beltway in shirlington. along the far right side. on the beltway north of town, crawling. broken down vehicle and delays begin at university boulevard to silver spring. >> we are waking up extra early. get your news, 7:30 now on this friday morning, april 16th, 2010. we have a tremendous crowd with us in rockefeller plaza. i'm meredith vieira, alongside matt lauer. just ahead, we have exclusive images of 11-year-old nadia bloom as she recovers from her four-day ordeal in a florida swamp. she was rescued on tuesday but remains in the hospital. we'll have the latest on her just ahead. also ahead, imagine being the focus of a terror investigation. well, in the wake of 9/11, dr. steven hatfield was labeled a person of interest in the anthrax attacks that killed five people in this country, and for five years, authorities pursued him, watched him, perhaps even bugged his phones. guess what? they had the wrong man. this morning, we'll hear his side of the story in an exclusive interview. plus, some priceless beauties are in the studio. i'm not talking about you this time. that is a collection of some rare jewels worth millions that are going up for auction. we'll check them out coming up. but let's begin in mexico where police are releasing new details in the investigation of a murder of a reality tv producer's wife. miguel almaguer is in cancun with more. >> reporter: meredith, police are under building pressure from the victim's family to solve this case quickly, but their investigation is still clearly under way. room 7816 remains a crime scene. clues inside could help solve monica beresford-redman's murder. police say the time line doesn't add up and investigators are focused on their room. bruce beresford-redman told police he last saw his wife alive on the morning of april 5th. but hotel staff says later that night at 9:00 p.m., they called bruce after complaints from neighbors and he confirmed he was arguing with monica. the coroner's office estimates her time of death a few hours later and the hotel's electronic door shows someone went in and out of the room nearly a dozen times between midnight and 6:00 a.m. three days later, monica's nude, strangled body was discovered dumped in a hotel sewer. >> translator: we are looking at recreating how this may have happened. the circumstances of how the body was moved and what the motive was. >> reporter: but the murder is nearly two weeks old and the victim's family wants answers. their lawyer in cancun says they'll fly to mexico to meet with the attorney general today. >> translator: i share the opinion of the attorney general that there's only one line of investigation. >> reporter: an investigation authorities say points to one man. bruce hasn't been questioned by police in over a week and the former producer of cbs's popular show "survivor" could be just about anywhere in mexico. the attorney general's office is awaiting forensic results that could come back as early as tomorrow or within a week or two. once they receive them, they'll decide br bruce beresford-redman will be charged with murder or given his passport back and allowed to leave mexico. >> miguel almaguer, thank you very much. now let's head back to iceland with the latest on that volcano eruption and a check of the weather from al. >> all right, well, thanks a lot, meredith. again, volume ck volkanol gigss iceland say they don't see any end to this eruption. it is spewing 36,000 feet into the atmosphere causing this massive disruption, the worst disruption of airline traffic since 9/11. it is going to just continue. the other problem, the jet stream. the band of air 20,000 feet above the earth's surface from blowing from the northwest across greenland, iceland and on into europe. that doesn't look like it is going to change any time soon between the next five to seven days. this could be a major, major disruption for a lengthy period of time. let's look closer to home. a back door cold front moved through boston and on into the mid-atlantic states but not quite as far south as washington, d.c. so boston today, only in the 40s, whereas washington will be in the 80s. unbelievable. i mean this is the difference between those two frontal systems, between those two air masses. as we look at the rest of the country, you can see that warmth continually hanging out through the southeast. they love having that cold front come through, finally wash some of that good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. we are off to a bright and sunny start in washington this morning and mild as well. temperatures in the mid-to high 50 no, sir most neighborhoods to get your friday started. 55 in frederick, maryland. it will be a very warm day. temperatures in the low to mid 80s for a time this afternoon and a risk of showers after about 6:00 this evening and lingers into the first part of the day saturday. the big story is the weekend will be much cooler. >> check your weather any time of the day or night, whether from iceland or your backyard, go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> al, thank you very much. now to a "today" exclusive. first pictures of 11-year-old nadia bloom since her remarkable rescue four days after she disappeared into a florida swamp. here's nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: seen here smiling in the first images since her rescue, 11-year-old nadia bloom remains in an orlando children's hospital. she'll likely stay a couple more days because of an infection, probably from cuts she received while lost in the woods. >> the reason she's got it stay in the hospital is she has bacteria in her blood which has become positive. >> reporter: nadia's parents are thrilled to have her safe again. she got lost in the woods last friday and wasn't rescued until tuesday. >> she wanted to come back home. i don't think she thought she was going to be found. i think -- based on what i heard, sounds like she was surprised someone found her. >> reporter: the underbrush where nadia was found, it was so thick even authorities had trouble getting through. >> something we checked through, went around, went over and under, had to help each other get through to get to the point where she was was phenomenal. we just couldn't believe that she had pushed through to that point. >> reporter: nadia spent four nights alone in the woods. she said she didn't see alligators but did see snakes and made a bed of leaves, falling asleep to the counseled of crickets and frogs. for her parents, waiting for nadia's rescue was difficult. >> you don't know where she is or what condition she is in. you don't know if she's scared and crying and there's nothing you can do to help her. your heart just breaks. >> reporter: the parents say they are most grateful to james king, the man who found nadia. >> we are so fortunate god used him to bring our child back to us. >> reporter: a little girl many feared might not survive in the woods. mark potter, nbc news, miami. coming up next, the one-time person of interest in the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001 speaks out for the first time. our exclusive interview right after this. and everyone deserves a car, truck, or crossover they can count on. like these consumers digest best buys. and all backed by a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. discover for yourself, and see why over a thousand people a day are switching to 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[ female announcer ] have you ever seen a glacier while sunbathing? why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not. royal caribbean's floating nation where you're free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. visit royalcaribbean.com today. wrongly pursued by the fbi in connection with the anthrax attacks that terrified this nation in the weeks and months after 9/11. several members of congress and media outlets, including nbc, received tainted letters. five people died, 17 others were sickened. now for the first time, dr. steven hatfield is speaking out about what he was forced to endure. dr. steven hatfield worked at a scientist at the army research medical center's in maryland which holds stores of anthrax. when the fbi started investigating the deadly attacks, it looked at more than 1,000 people. he wasn't surprised to be one of them. did you volunteer to take the polygraph or did they ask you? >> they asked if i would. i said, sure. >> that would be a moment that would get my blood going a little bit, at least my heartbeat going. no, i think this is just standard. >> no reservations about that whatsoever. >> no, why? >> what kind of questions did they ask you? any of them jump out at you? >> sort of mundane things. >> they didn't come right out and say did you keel people with anthrax? >> no, actually i got upset with them with all of these mundane, you ever cheat on a test type things. said, why don't you just ask me? the guy said, yeah, okay. that was the end of it. >> reporter: but unlike the others, he became the focus of the investigation after two outside sources said he fit the profile of the anthrax killer. for the next five years, hatfield's life would be turned upside down. >> imagine being the fox chased by the hounds, and i think you begin to get an idea of what it was like for steven hatfield. >> reporter: on june 25th, 2002, hatfield's name became very public. the fbi said they wanted to take some tests at his home. feeling he had done nothing wrong and had nothing to fear, he agreed. >> well, we'd like to do some swabs. it will be very discrete, quiet. >> you sign a consent form. >> sure. >> you got home later that day? >> no, i walk out in the parking lot, there were already news cameras filming me walking to the car. they were taking me back to the apartment. then the whole news thing was out there and the helicopters and all this. >> didn't you say to one of the fbi agents, you know, how did this get leaked or didn't that person say to you, someone must that leaked this to the media? >> i can't remember the exact conversation, but i said, what's going on here? and, well, it got leaked. wonderful. i'm watching this on television and there's guys in hazmat suits. what show. apparently that's what it was -- a show. >> reporter: a show that was watched by americans on live tv with no concrete evidence. steven hatfield was now public enemy number one. can you try to describe for me what happens over the next several years when you are now under surveillance constantly by the fbi, and under the scrutiny of the media? >> it just never seemed to end. >> when you say they're following you everywhere you go, is it like in a bad movie where they're in a van, peeking out of a side window? or are they just obviously -- >> no, right behind you. >> so they're making it clear to you, "we are watching every move you make." >> sure. it just became a way to harass. you're going to a restaurant, they'll sit down on either side of you. >> how did you react to that? >> you keep thinking, well, this will end. somebody will come to their senses. >> it is all a mistake. >> yeah. >> reporter: in august, 2002, attorney general john ashcroft took the unprecedented step of naming hatfield a person of interest in the anthrax killings. >> he's a person that the fbi has been interested in. >> reporter: the scrutiny cost hatfield his job and every aspect of his privacy. you can't go anywhere without them following you. you can't have a candid phone conversation because you have to assume they're listening to every word you say. >> i think by the time the fbi come and see you, i think your phone's already been done. which, you know, if the law says they can do that, then fine. >> how long did this disaster last for you? >> it lasts forever. >> what about friends? during the heat of this, when the spotlight was the brightest on you, did you lose friends? were people afraid to associate with you? >> no. what upsets me, i don't know of any law that permits the fbi to go by your closest friends and say you're not to associate with dr. hatfield. you're not to see him or talk to him. what they're trying to do is socially isolate you as a part of this stress. >> trying to make you snap. >> yeah. intentionally. >> reporter: in 2007, the fbi was able to track the deadly strain of anthrax used in the attacks to a supply kept by dr. bruce ivans who worked at the same army lab as dr. hatfield. as investigators closed in, ivans took his own life. his family maintains his innocence. case closed, says the fbi. given what you've told me, steve, about your now complete lack of confidence in the justice department and the investigation they conducted surrounding you, do you think they got it right now? >> matt, i have no way to know. i haven't seen the data. obviously the fbi haven't felt it necessary to share anything with me. i have talk to some senior scientists that i trust and respect. i have to take their opinion that, yeah. other than that, i can't say. >> what's your feeling about the way the justice department treated you? >> i learned a couple things. the government can do to you whatever they want. you break the laws, their laws, as they see fit. you can't turn laws on and off as you deem fit. and the privacy act laws were were put in place specifically to stop what happened to me. i used to be somebody that trusted the government. now i really don't trust anything. >> you settled with the justice department, a legal settlement, for a lot of money. this may sound trivial to you, but did they ever apologize? >> somebody phoned me up and say "we're sorry"? >> yeah. "we screwed up." >> no, they don't do that. >> the falsely accused often ask the question, where do i go to get my reputation back. where does steven hatfield go? >> i was fortunate that about half-way through this mess, i had a band of brothers and they never left my side. i still work with them to this day. patriots, soldiers, highly decorated men. and that gives you the strength, just to be in their company, to carry on. >> sounds to me like you wouldn't have made it without them. >> no. no, i doubt it. >> while he was never formally clear after being labeled a person of interest, the government's multi-million dollar settlement would seem to speak for itself. read more about hatfield's story in the may issue of the "atlantic monthly." he said he used to drive his car and they'd be right behind him, pull him over for routine traffic stops and give him tickets for ridiculous things. his life was turned upside down. >> it still is. you can see by the pain in his face. a possible break in the search for the missing 17-year-old stephanie directional as film of her ill-fated trip surfaces. we'll talk to her mother after these messages. so you can do more fixing... replacing... fastening... and updating... for less. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get a ryobi 18volt starter kit, with drill and circular saw, for the incredible price of just $99. when i really liked to be outside, i did not like suffering from nasal allergy symptoms like congestion. but nasonex relief may i say... bee-utiful! prescription nasonex is proven to help relieve indoor and outdoor nasal allergy symptoms like congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneezing. 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[ male announcer ] meet the family and the new sienna on youtube. toyota. with two scoops! of raisins harvested at the peak of sweetness, and golden flakes of bran with 28% of their daily fiber, nothing gets your family's day off to a brighter start... than the goodness of kellogg's raisin bran cereal. feed their sunny side. try the first great-tasting, zero-calorie... natural sweetener borne from the leaves of the stevia plant. truvía. honestly sweet. find it at your grocery store. it makes my skin really silky and velvety. this is my body wash. what do you mean? this is it? why?! oh, don't do that to me! dove creamoil body wash. now with nutrium moisture. nutrium moisture. i'm a believer. the nourishment in dove creamoil goes somehow deeper. i'm happy about the change. change is good. dove creamoil body wash. 7:56 and temperatures soar into the 80s. i'm aaron gill crest. we ever following breaking news. we learn a man found dead in silver spring was a d.c. principal. brian bets was found in his home in the 9300 plok of columbia boulevard. he was the principal of shaw middle school. they are calling his death suspicious. his car, a dark blue ex-terra was missing. there was a murder at that same house in 2002. weather and ♪ everywhere i go... ♪ i'll pass it on, ♪ and on...and on...and on... edible arrangements. happiness is always in season. visit, call or go to ediblearrangements.com. good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. temperatures in the 50s in a lot of spots. prince frederick, maryland 54 and forecasted highs today into the low and mid 60s and a risk of a shower or thundershower late this evening and cooler for the weekend. >> 395 northbound struggling to recover. two separate beingses in the shoulder lanes. interesting video out of baltimore of a truck hanging over the side of the bridge off 695 in baltimore. that's how we are doing. back to you. >> we are waking up extra early these days along 8:00 now on a friday morning, it is the 16th day of april, 2010. we had a couple of beautiful days of sun, now we're expecting a couple of showers hitting the new york area. but we've got one of the biggest crowds in the last month or so. huge amount of people here on rockefeller plaza. we'll give them their moment in the spotlight here in a second. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with meredith vieira. coming up in this half-hour, we've got a serious story. new developments in the search for 17-year-old brittany directional. that's the new york teenager who disappeared a year ago in south carolina while on spring break. now police have identified several persons of interest as new images have surfaced of brittany the night before she vanished. we're going to talk exclusively to her mom coming up in just a few minutes. >> i just met her mom. we said how important it is to keep this story out there. there is hope as long as we keep talking about it. ahead on a much lighter note, check out what is in the studio. a lot of security. obviously they don't trust us. some of the rarest jules in the world, including a 100-carat necklace worth a few million buckaroos. that's coming up. and also some great american hotels and great discount prices. we'll look at some wonderful vacations for your next trip. but before we get to that, the latest on that volcanic ash that's canceled thousands of flights. al is in iceland. how were you able to get in to iceland while all these other flights were canceled. >> interestingly enough, meredith, iceland is obviously up to our north, but we're west of that flow that's causing all the problem. so iceland's airport is open and we were able to fly in. iceland airport open for business, but anybody going from iceland trying to get to europe, no go. in fact, euro control, which is the european aviation control agency, says at least another 24 more hours before airspace over much of europe is opened up. france, germany, the uk, denmark, norway, finland, belgium, poland, all affected. air travel as far away as china. right now the volcano is about 12 miles away on the other side of the glacier there. the glacier is called eyjafjallajoekul. let me bring henrich in, a native icelander. am i pronouncing that correct? >> nearly. >> oh, gee, it looks like we've lost al. >> see? that's directional drexel. her mother speaks out in a live interview after this. one that's backed by a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. and named a consumers digest best buy, two years in a row. discover malibu for yourself and see why over a thousand people a day are switching to chevy. during the spring event, qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on this new malibu ls for around $199 a month. call for details. the switch to chevy starts at chevy dealer dot com. i want a product with the best decongestant. my choice is clear: claritin-d. 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>> i believe that they are. >> you think they've done everything they can? >> i don't think they've done everything they can but i believe -- i mean they're working on her case actively. >> when we talk about these three, possibly four persons of interest that the officer just talked about in amy's piece, what do you know about these people? have they shared any information with you about who they might be? >> they haven't shared any information with us. only thing that they told us was that they had three to four persons of interest and also a location of interest. that's all we were told. >> they haven't told you whether these people may have known brittany prior to her disappearance or are these people just a random meeting that she had in south carolina? they didn't share that with you? >> they didn't share that with us. >> i know you've been down there many times. >> yes. >> you know, moms have this unspoken connection. so when you go down there and you look around the places where she was last seen, do you have -- have you been able to put anything together in your mind as to what you think happened to her? >> well, there's only three possibilities that i think would have happened to brittanee. she is either being held against her will, she's been trafficked or she's not alive. >> i know the police say, the authorities have expressed doubt that they'll find your daughter alive. you called that claim appalling. how do you continue to keep faith after 12 months? >> i have a lot of support from my family, friends, families of missing persons, monica casen is my advocate with the cue center for missing persons. and i have also a lot of other support within the community of myrtle beach and in rochester from where we are. >> monica, sounds like something positive happened with the identification of these three to four persons of interest, or possible persons of interest. but what are the challenges a year out from brittanee's disappearance since you have experience in this? what challenges are authorities facing right now? >> well, they have to prove the crime. they have to develop more information so they can make arrests. and i understand that we need to get to an arrest and justice. but right now the family wants the resolution to finding brittanee first. so we're going to continue to work forward to try to find brittanee with searches, awareness campaigns and so forth. we just have to keep pushing. that's what the family wants and i know that they want an arrest soon, and so forth, but they want brittanee first and foremost. >> obviously, the most important thing is to keep this story in front of people. >> absolutely. >> and that's why hope is so important. >> it is. you can't take hope from families of the missing. that's the only thing they have. you can't rip that away from them. every day is hope. that's what gets them up, gets them moving, and it is not a false hope. it's truly a hope that either they'll be found or an answer will be that day or new information will come to lead investigators one way. >> dawn, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. we hope this turns out to be some information that police can use, monica, thank you for your time. we'll put all this information up on our website in terms of the numbers you can call if you have any information about brittanee drexel. we'll be right back right after this. female announcer ] grass stains, believe it or not, i have missed you. pollen in the air kept hunter cooped up itching his eyes and sneezing. but now i found zyrtec®. it's #1 allergist recommended. with children's zyrtec® he can get 24-hour allergy relief indoors and outdoors. ♪ now he can run wild... with the rest of the pack. with children's zyrtec®, he can love the air®. 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(announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. to get more of the fiber you need every day, try fiberchoice. with the natural fiber found in fruits and vegetables and 33% more fiber per serving than benefiber. go to fiberchoice.com to get savings and rewards. entree plus an appetizer pairings for $9.99. pick one of our 16 entrees, like baby-back ribs or honey chipotle chicken crispers. then choose an appetizer -- all just $9.99, for a limited time. chili's. it's all in the "pepperaon." because right now it's rollback time at walmart. which means thousands of rollbacks all over the store. it's another way to master your budget. and another great day for the savers. save money. live better. walmart. back now at 8:18. we'll check back to iceland and check in with al for a quick look at the weather. al, good morning again. >> thanks a lot, >> and that's your latest weather. diamonds may and girl's best friend but sapphires and rubies ain't so bad, either. we have some of the world's rarest and extensive jules. lisa hubbard is with sotheby's. lisa, good morning. we donned a few of your jules. >> i always tell everybody jewelry's meant to be worn. i'm glad to see all three of you look great. >> what is so special about this collection? >> it is a combination of wonderful gemstones like the necklace, 100 carats of vivid yellow diamonds. >> what makes that so special, being vivid? >> it is the ultimate grading of the intensity of color. and to be able to find 100 carats that match this way is indeed a very rare thing. i think it is the first necklace of vivid yellow diamonds to come up for sale at auction. this is valued at $2 million to $3 million. >> move on to natalie's bracelet. >> this is tiffany & company, circa 1925. it is a reminder of really the grandeur of the art deco period. to find a line of emeralds so well matched in color, simply alternating with diamonds, is simple and simple is the hardest to do. so this is actually the second time this has come up at auction. it came up in 1985. it was part of the estate of annie aiken, sonny von bulow's mother. >> the estimate is $200,000 to $300,000. >> this belonged to marlene dietrich. >> circa 1930. it was given to her by her director in the "blue angel" which was the movie that made her a star. there she is wearing it. it was reputed to be one of her most favorite jewels. "shanghai express" as well. exactly. >> this is a very expensive piece. >> this actually is next to the vivid yellow diamond necklace, the most expensive piece in this group zblpg and why? >> it is a rare burmese ruby. and it is reputed to be that pigeon blood color that you try to attain. perfect harmony between pink and red. wonderful crystal. and it weighs 8.66 carats. as a gemstone, it is very special but also it was once upon a time in the collection of isabella stewart gardner of boston. she was avant garde and a free spirit in her time and she loves rubies. so this is one that she wore. >> look at ann's earrings. >> ann's earrings. >> sparkle, sparkle. >> i'll tell you, it brightens up your day. and these are part of the jewelry collection of patricia klug that we are selling. >> this is a white diamond. >> this is the white diamond. it is also the balance between the 8 and 9 carats on the top, the 11 and 13 carats on the bottom. $600,000 to $800,000. >> if you can keep your head up. >> she had beautiful jewelry. >> the thing about this auction, you are letting people, like we are now, try them on and you're letting people touch them. >> you bet. >> sotheby's, public exhibition, public auction. you can all come and bid on these. >> i'm wondering how many of those guys over there would like to try these on. >> don't get any ideas, ann. >> you have to come to our place at sotheby's. there we have lots of people to make sure you're safe and you can try everything on. this is also in the collection. this is a wonderful leopard bracelet watch. >> where's the watch? >> you pop open the -- >> that's great. >> wow! surprise. >> you've never seen a piece like this? >> i had never seen a piece like this. dy a little research with cartier. and what is wonderful is you think about, it is platinum, sapphires, diamonds, all these hard stones that all of a sudden come together to make this wonderful panther lying on a sapphire rug telling time. >> minus the bargain here -- >> relatively speaking, it is a fabulous 20-carat diamond and the estimate is $150,000 to $200,000, although i can tell you if you are bidding on this, you'll have to chase it. it is a wonderful color but there are certain imperfections in the stone that keep the price very reasonable. but it is -- it's not heavy. >> you'll get used to 20 carats. >> again, the exhibit is at sothe sotheby's here in new york tuesday. >> 8:26 is the time. i'm lynn yang. a man fun to dead in his sing ver spring home was the principal at a middle school in the 93 helped human block of columbia boulevard. his death is called suspicious much a dark blue nissan x terra was missing and there was a double murder at the same house in 2002. we will h good friday morning. temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s. temperatures in the low 80s and a risk of a shower or thundershower late this evening. the rest of the weekend is cloudy and cool. >> dounch town an accident at 7th and independence. a quick check of 270 not bad with the travel lanes open. >> we are waking up early these days. get your news, we're back at 8:30. we have a peanut butter fon doo. >> there's like a mac and cheese patty in there. >> some of this is very good, some of it not so much. also ahead, if you're planning your spring or summer vacation, stick around. we've got the list, the brand-new list of america's most affordable hotels. these aren't bargain basement places. the prices are low, but the quality is very high. we'll share that list with you. plus, as any parent will tell you, once have you a kid, you practically live out of your strollers. we'll show you the latest and greatest, things to dress up boring necessities, for example, wireless speakers, fans, coolers even. it's gone way beyond the cup holder, as you can see. also, do you take vitamins? >> on occasion, yeah. >> the question is, when you take vitamins, does it make up for a bad diet? we will address -- no? we got a no. no? no? all right, we'll find out the truth, if you're right or wrong. first we'll head back to iceland where al has a check of the weather. >> hey, guys, they've had to evacuate people because of the flooding from the glacial melt. in fact, this is one of the main highways here in iceland. >> good friday morning. i'm chuck bell. the sun is shiping here in northwest washington. temperatures on the way up out of the 50s and into the 60s in many spots. it will be a toasty warm day and breezy as well. 15 to 30 miles an hour. highs will reach the low and mid 80s. enjoy it because the warm weather is gone after today. highs over the weekend will be in the mid- to upper 50s with a little bit of drizzle satur >> you can get more information on this volcanic ash and your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> all right, al. great job, thank you very much. you got to be careful covering this story. you can say something that will get you kicked right off the air. covering volcanic ash. we'll check out some >> announcer: "today's moms" is brought to you by walmart. save money, live better. walmart. this morning on "today's moms," adding spring bling to your stroller. whether you have a brand-new one or a stroller that's been handed down from child to child, it is all about the extras. take a look at what some moms think about their wheels and accessories. ♪ life in the fast lane ♪ surely make you lose your mind ♪ ♪ life in the fast lane notes >> i use it every day. this is our form of transportation. i put all kinds of junk, containers, then in the bottom i usually have soccer ball. >> these little hooks that i have here are golden. you can hang the baby bag off them. you go to the supermarket, can you hang bags off either side. this is our stroller. it's 12 years old. >> one thing i love most about this one, too, it doesn't tip over. >> i am looking forward to not pushing it some day. >> so, how can you dress up your stroller? the editor in chief of ""parents" magazine is here. dana, good morning. tell me about this first one. >> lilly is sitting in a chico lightweight stroller, easily collapsible stroller. umbrella stroller. and on it we have this munchkin cup holder which is kind of clever because it is made so that as the stroller tilts,he bottle stays level. >> what is this? >> this is the sci-fi wireless speaker. you can add it to your device, your iphone, and it will play. she's sitting in this lightweight -- a lot of us have had those heavier winter bundle-mes. this is a lightweight version. >> perfect for this time of year. you are such a good girl! my goodness, she's been so good the whole time. during the commercial, i can't believe it. all the kids. here mia is in this one. >> another lightweight stroller. this pulls a child up to 70 pounds. this is a really genius device. the stroll-o-meter. the first pedometer for a stroller. measures how far you've gone, it even tells you what time it is and what the temperature is outside. >> allows you to know the little bit amount of exercise you're putting in. >> a good incentive. >> this is an essential. >> it is. so often whatever bag you're carrying doesn't quite fit. >> you want to bring the groceries back home. >> exactly. then over here -- >> $10? >> they're really inexpensive, $10. can you show us your fan here? this is the dream fan. >> don't worry, sweetie pie. >> this fan -- not to worry, huh? >> these are foam. >> it is a great little attachment. >> mia, you were playing with the fan earlier. weren't you? >> this is something that -- does it really work? >> yeah, you can put it on, battery powered. it just gives them fresh air in the face. >> mama's coming, sweetie pie. don't worry. over here, this great stroller, hot pink. a lot of guys are, i'm not so sure. >> more guys are wearing pink these days. this is the newest one, coming out in may, retails for $529. appropriately enough, she has a bee to play with here. >> strollers that are more expensive like a bug-a-boo, do you get more use out of them? >> it depends on your family. you need to find the stroller that's right for your lifestyle. somebody might be better off with this, somebody else might want a really quick umbrella stroller they can carry on the bus. so with it -- >> i don't know what happened there, sweetie pie. >> this i think a lot of moms are look. the text hook. $25. focus on the baby first. this is the insulated bag with a sense of humor. it's insulated. the stinky bum. there is a special holder in here for wipes that will keep them moist. >> and also, this one has a handle that fits off to the side? >> yes. this is called a tag-along. this is for an older child to hold on to. if you've ever been shopping, you tell them, hold my skirt -- >> wonderful. good job, everybody. thanks to the moms, too. we appreciate you lending us your kids. nicely done. dana, thank you so much. coming up next, are you planning a family vacation? we'll check out the new list of the country's most affordable hotels. but we are back now, 8:44. this morning on "today's travel," affordable american hotels. "travel & leisure" magazine has put together a new list of some options that will not break your bank account. the nela, thanks for being here. the travel industry has been hard hit by the recession. is that why we are seeing a lot of deals this time of year? >> yes, in fact it is true that the hotel industry is making whatever of it they can by giving deals. these hotels are affordable to stay all year round, all the time. >> small of these are large hotels, some are small hotels. these are $200 or less. >> yes. we have 138 hotels that are going to be featured in a book that we have coming out in the next month that is called "the world's greatest hotels, resorts and spas." >> all right, start very close to new york city here, this is the north fork inn, full disclosure -- i've been here, i've had dinner here. i haven't stayed here but the food is fantastic. >> two great new york city chefs who have opened a fantastic restaurant with four rooms attached. you can stay there for $200 a night until may 27th. then when the rates go up, it goes up to $250. still very affordable. >> cool area, on the water, a lot of vineyards in the area. >> it is the wine country. people go to the hamptons, this is a great alternative to the hamptons. you still get the beautiful scenery and the great local food which is a real focus. >> for people who want a nice summer get away and like water, but want a lake -- this is in arcadia, michigan, on lake michigan. in the 1800s, this was actually a logging town. the town itself has become the entire hotel. you stay in cottages that were formerly for the loggers. this is a perfect place to go on a family get-away. >> what's there to do there? >> first of all, can you go on to the lake which is fantastic. you can go row boating. there is a 300-foot dune that's called mount baldy. the kids love to climb. it is really fun. there are barbecues, hay rides, they have bingo. this is really old school. and $85 a night per person. >> by the way, what do you say to the people watching who say, you get what you pay for. there are amenities at these hotels. >> absolutely. there is no question you won't be forsaking any of the things that you would expect just because you are getting a good deal. are you just getting a good deal. we just know how to find out. >> now out to los angeles, what do you like about this? >> this is in west hollywood. this hotel is the place i'm going next. i've never stayed here. i stayed very close by recently. but for the amount of money, for $155 a night, you are not only getting fantastic and old hollywood glamour, you have your flat-screen tvs, et cetera, et cetera. >> this roof club is supposed to be happening. >> you know who's been showing up to the roof club? sienna miller. maybe matt lauer in the future. fireplaces in the rooms, kitchenettes. and a saltwater pool and they show international movies on sunday. >> portland, oregon now, a larger hotel. >> this is the nine. it is an interesting concept. what i love about it is that you don't have to forsake luxury to be at a green property. this is 1 of 12 properties in the world that has silver leave certification, which means they have lots of green, sustainable things they are doing, including all of their energy is from sustainable measures. >> alternative fuel sources. >> this doesn't mean that your room doesn't have your 42-inch flat-screen tv, rain water shower so you aren't getting the drippy shower. it is in portland, oregon. $150 a night. >> back on the east coast, down in florida, in south beach, you like the riviera hotel. >> this is $129 a night, just a couple of blocks off of collins which is where everything is happening. the rooms are ginormous. 700 square feet. some apartments in new york are that big. you get a bedroom, living area, kitchen, very luxurious and only two blocks from the beach. >> not bad. very good, if you do say so yourself. >> i just did. up next -- seaweed tonic, anyone? we'll sample some unusual foods. . this morning on "today's kitchen, back to basics. wacky and interesting new foods. phil lempert is here this mo kitchen, back to basics. wacky and interesting new foods. phil lempert is here to torture us. >> this is fabulous. i want you to try it. >> buy this in the supermarket? >> it is only $2.99. one of the best tasting i've ever had. 47 grams of sugar. real coffee flavor. it is a fabulous product. >> it is kind of a heart attack waiting to happen? that's a lot of fat. >> in moderation. everything in moderation. in fact -- >> this is actually very good. >> the other thing that we've got is this is ice cream without the cream. this is vegan ice cream. it is raw. it is made with cashews. >> great for you, cashews. >> agave and mango. >> mango? is. >> yeah. that's the base. then they add the flavor to it. i love it, it is not as creamy as you would find like a haagen-dazs or ben and jerry's, but i think it is a terrific product. and matt agrees with me. >> yummy. >> meredith agrees with me. >> it's not terrible. >> no, it's excellent. >> is it expensive? >> no. it's the same price you would find with a haagen-dazs. >> it's okay. >> i really like ice cream. this sounded when i read about it a little disgusting. but it actually looks like it might be good. it's ketchup flavored. potato snack. it is gluten-free. it is wheat-free. >> people at home are looking and thinking these are the consistency of french fries. more like potato chips. >> and 50% less fat. even though it looks like it is designed with kids with the name and everything else, it is a great adult snack. >> this doesn't look good to look at it but it is probably delicious. is this the seaweed drink? >> this is the seaweed drink. matt especially has been looking forward to this one. this bottle we actually shook. it takes a lot because that's the way it comes on the bottom. you really need a lot of strength in order to try this. >> you know, you have to be careful here because i don't want to hurt whatever company these are. i'm sure they're -- nice. it's just not my taste. it's got a lot of spices. very sweet. >> it has a lot of sugar to mask the taste of the sea wood. >> you make a seaweed drink but then you put a lot of sugar to mask the fact of the sea wood? what's the point of it? okay, let's move on. >> was this water strategically placed here to cleanse our palate? >> this is very special water. imported. and next what we have is happy bites mac and cheese. this is designed for kids. >> my daughter is mac and cheese crazy. >> this actually has vegetables in it. it has the cauliflower in it. so it is great for kids to get their vegetables. is that nice? >> i'm not going for the seaweed. >> come on! >> seaweed is extremely good for you. >> if you're a mermaid? >> and then we have ginger -- you like that? >> not the best sweet drink i've ever had but it is drinkable. and it is good for you. >> it's drinkable! >> isn't that good? ginger and lemon. that's terrific. that's great to cleanse your palate. very refreshing. >> this is really good. >> it's got a ginger kick though. >> and last, but not least, we have the peter pan peanut butter fondu. this has low-fat cream cheese in it. it's got chocolate. you can get the recipe at simpleanddelicious.com. >> she dropped her apple in there. >> come on. >> i don't want that. >> matt? >> no, i can't get over the ginger and lemon drink over here. >> you didn't like the ginger and lemmen? >> maybe i still had some seaweed in my teeth. >> natalie? >> that's good! really good. >> peanut butter, chocolate, low-fat milk. >> it is delicious. >> and cream cheese. low-fat cream cheese in it as well. everybody's making fun of the fact that we were going to taste cheese with the peanut butter. >> i don't think that's a good combination. >> i think you should try it. >> what's good when you come and do the food segments, the crew descends on the table afterwards. but they're not even coming close to the table with this. still ahead, we'll so i told the guy i wanted yeah. a convertible. and this is what he had in my budget. aw! well, the top is down. the top is gone! lots of head room... tons of head room! --careful! that's sharp. jeez! yeah...sorry. narrator: settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. guaranteed-quality used cars can cost a lot less than new cars. so you can get more car for less money by shopping at carmax. now more than ever, the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. we're back now with more of "today" on a friday morning, the 16th of april, 2010. it is gray outside here in new york city. city temperatures only in the 60s day. big change from the beautiful weather we've had over the last couple of days. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer, alongside ann curry and natalie morales. speaking of gray skies, that huge plume of volcanic ash across iceland has become a nightmare for people all over the world. thousands of people are stranded in airports because flights have been canceled. al is in iceland. al, good morning again. >> good morning, matt. back behind me what you see right now is eyjafjallajoekul. that means, island mountain glacier in icelandic. and that is the problem. you can't see that plume of smoke, but what you can see is the clouds and behind those clouds there is a plume of smoke and ash that goes up anywhere from 20,000 to 36,000 feet in the atmosphere. the big problem with that is that's where the jetliners fly. that ash gets sucked into the engine, causes problems, could shut down the engine. so that's why the european agency that controls aviation, euro control, says at least another 24 hours of no flights over most of europe. the problem, it's the jet stream. besides that ash, the jet stream is bringing the winds across from the northwest from greenland, flu iceland, and then on into europe, and that ash is covering much of europe. so we're talking about the biggest airline disruption since 9/11. normally on a day like today, there would be 28,000 flights over europe. today, less than 11,000. airports that are closed in europe, france, germany, the uk, denmark, norway, finland, belgium, air travel as far away as china has been affected by this. plus, almost 1,000 people have been dislocated and evacuated here in iceland. in fact, behind me you can see this flow of water. that's actually glacial melt from the volcano as it makes its way into the atlantic. so a big, big disruption. and the problem is that jet stream, we don't see it changing for at least five days. that, my friends, can cause big problems for the airlines because it doesn't look like that -- in fact, vul canologvoll air traffic may and nightmare this weekend. >> al, apropos of nothing, what's the air temperature like up there in april? >> right now it's about 35 degrees with a 25-mile-per-hour wind so it feels like it is in the upper 20s. it is a little brisk. >> hang in there. it is pretty though. >> doing a great job, al. we'll check in with al in a couple of minutes, get his local forecast. coming up in this half-hour, ann, you'll talk about some hot properties. >> i am. we'll be talking about it, with mortgage rates being low, they won't stay this low for long. so this morning we'll show you what you can get from vegas to colorado, even hawaii starting at about $250,000, matt. >> a steal. also if you're about to pop a multi-vitamin with your breakfast this morning, is it really a good way to get all of the nutrients you need? we'll try to separate fact from fiction when it comes to adding supplements and whether you can get everything you really need from just having a healthy diet. okay. a lot to get to. you have a check of the top stories of the day. >> i do. the other major news this morning, more than 48 hours after china's deadly earthquake, rescuers pulled a young girl and her mother out alive today, out from under tons of rubble and the death toll there is now about 800. hundreds of people still missing. pakistan today promised a new investigation into the 2007 assassination of former prime minister ben deer bhutto. she's the first woman elected to head a muslim state. pakistan's security forces have been blamed in a new report for failing to protect bhutto after she returned to the country after a self-imposed exile. the u.n. encouraged pakistan to carry out a serious, credible investigation to determine who killed bhutto and bring those responsible to justice. today a bombing inside a hospital emergency room in pakistan killed at least eight people. more than 30 people wounded. we have an update now on 11-year-old nadia bloom and first photos of her after spending four days lost in a florida swamp. she's still in the hospital because of bacteria in her blood. she was rescued on tuesday. welcome news this morning for hundredses of thousands of long-term unemployed americans. last night president obama signed a temporary extension of unemployment benefits. and, astronauts took out the trash today aboard the international space station. they put a giant container with two tons of garbage into "discovery's" payload bay for the return to earth in a few days. those are some of the top stories at five minutes past the hour. i think that's going to be a very smelly trip home. >> at least it comes home and doesn't float around in outer space. clean up their mess. i like that. let's go back to al now for a check of the weather. he's in iceland covering that volcano. al? >> do they have to separate the >> achbd and that's your latest weather. sfan. this morning on "today's real estate," what you can get for about $250,000 or more. whether you want to hit the beaches or hawaii or live in a quiet gated community, "today" real estate expert barbara corcoran has some of the country's best houses. one of those houses one might be surprised, is in hawaii. >> everyone thinks hawaii, they think expensive. that's not the case. it depends on which house you find. have a look at this one. it is in a beautiful community called puna beach palisades. it doesn't disappoint. it is a huge house and it has everything you would expect in paradise. snorkeling, surfing, every water sport you could think of. plus it has hot ponds and tropical trade winds which hawaii is famous more. that's the front side of the house. there is also a linai on the back side of the house. this home is sort of like a chalet. the beach is a few steps away. have you ocean views from every single room. that room there, the main room, looks so hawaiian. i'm sure i'm stereotyping but it has local woods, it is predominantly cedar and trims from many different trees in the local area. that's a kitchen. it feels homey, easy to maintain. the master bedroom. that is a loft that separates the loft from the rest of the house there. it is just a stunning house. a claw foot tub. there is also an outside shower right next to your claw foot tub. i can just picture having fun there. this is one beautiful house for a very cheap price. >> under $260,000. >> i know! you don't have to be rich. >> let's move on. we want to go to wisconsin. this costs more, $400,000. >> it's worth it because where it is. this is a great town. it is actually home to the university of wisconsin's park side campus. it is 45 minutes north of chicago. so this is actually a commuting home which it doesn't read that way. you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. that's a giant backyard there. it's totally level, flat. it is actually three acres and you could have 20 chickens, 20 ducks or turkeys. your choice. that's part of that community. that's something i hadn't thought of myself. the foyer that we you a there was two stories tall. i love the window arrangement here. nothing about the house is boring. that is a working fireplace there in the main room. you can see the moldings are beautiful, floors are in great shape. everything about this house is in meticulous condition. that's the master bath right there. it also has a separate shower. there is a kitchen that we'll see in a moment. >> it looks like that bath has jets. >> it does have jets. most people don't use those jets, i find. that delicious bed with a cross on top of it. >> if that doesn't cramp your style. las vegas, nevada, a house for $300,000. >> this is actually a townhome in an upscale gated community. very quiet, very glereen, a ver popular area of nevada. it is 15 minutes from the vegas strip. when you look at surroundings of the house, it is so isolated and peaceful. you just can't picture that vegas strip is 15 minutes away. there is a beautiful pond. it has the tables and chairs, that chaise lounge is off to the corner. a double-height living room. this is a turn-key townhome which basically meanings all the furnishings right down to those pillows, whether you like them or not, you get with the house. it is being sold totally furnished. it has a user-friendly kitchen. i like that light colored wood. not sure what that panelling is on the top. but it is different and it is fresh and that's one of the guest bedrooms in the house. >> panelling is easy to replace if you don't like it. >> the cheapest kind of improve the to make and you can do it just to your own taste. >> los cruces, new mexico. >> this is going to be hard to picture this town's main event, which is the giant enchilada festival. hey, whatever. whatever floats your boat here. but they have the largest enchilada in the world there. it is 12 feet across and it weighs in at 1,575 pounds! that's a plus that's going to make this house worth a lot more. this is a grand entrance. it feels very spanish in style. beautiful mountain ranges in the back there. you can see the neighboring houses. it is a very clean, meticulous community. that's a chef's kitchen, i would call that for sure. it has that dark wood that's all authentic custom-made. it has that big kitchen that also abutts into a big dining room area. >> barbara corcoran, thank you so much for showing us around the country. >> it is a lot of fun. >> happy weekend to you, honey. coming up next, once you buy that new house, how about planting your own herb garden? i want to know how to do that. we'll show you how easy it is. but first, next, the truth about multi-vitamins right after this. kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength is developed before adulthood... it's so important that they get enough calcium every day. that's why there's new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it's power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is... yummy! so they can start building strong bones today... for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. to prove you can wear anything while pouring our thicker-formula bleach. freedom from splashing, revolutionary whitening-- the liberating new line of clorox plus splash-less bleach. it makes my skin really silky and velvety. this is my body wash. what do you mean? this is it? why?! oh, don't do that to me! dove creamoil body wash. now with nutrium moisture. nutrium moisture. i'm a believer. the nourishment in dove creamoil goes somehow deeper. i'm happy about the change. change is good. dove creamoil body wash. [ female announcer ] kids who don't eat breakfast may not be getting the nutrition they need to keep their bodies strong. a nutritious start to the day is essential. that's why carnation instant breakfast essentials supplies the nutrients of a balanced breakfast. so kids get the protein and calcium they need to help build strong muscles and healthy bones. ♪ carnation instant breakfast essentials. good nutrition from the start. this morning on "today's health," the truth about vitamins. about half of american adults routinely take vitamins or dietary supplements in hopes of maintaining a healthy diet and warding off disease. but, do they really work? or are they wasting your money? dr. david katz is an associate professor at yale medical school. good morning. a lot of us, i mean we said 50%, take a vitamin daily, multi-vitamin daily. are we saying that the research is there that shows you actually really don't need that? >> well, it goes beyond we really don don't need that. they're questioning whether there is any benefit at all from taking a typical multi-vitamin. i think we all fell in love with vitamin supplementation in the early days of the 20th century when we were identifying deficiencies and recognized the power of vitamins. then the other issue is we are a quick-fix silver bullet society. if you can just take a multi-vitamin. actually, science is increasingly questioning the value of that. >> let's separate fact from fiction. starting off with, if you're taking your vitamin right now, multi-vitamins can be makeup for a bad diet. fact or fiction? >> fiction. that's a complete myth. first of all, for this entire category, supplement, not substitute. there is no substitute for eating well. one of the important things about nutrients in food is they act in concert with one another. we could think of the thousands of nutrients in plant foods like a symphony orchestra. an interesting category of supplements call whole food-based supplements try to preserve that harmony. but with multi-vitamins we just select nutrients out. that's like taking one musician from a jazz ensemble, one from a rock band and one from the symphony orchestra, you put them together and you get noise. a lot of research suggests it is not a substitute for healthy eating. >> what about warding off disease? you hear that claim a lot. myth or fact, taking vitamins protects against heart disease and even cancer? >> unfortunately, the evidence to date is almost always no. that's a myth as well. antioxidant nutrients studies have looked specifically at various combinations of antioxidant nutrients to prevent heart disease and cancer. none of them has shown a benefit other than in populations that are overtly nutrient deficient. rural china, for example. some of them have even hinted nutrients like beta carotene when you isolate them can increase cancer risk. >> a new study out of sweden. tell us about that. >> 35,000 women in sweden followed for ten years. the women were asked do you take a multi-vitamin, yes or no. over that ten years they observed who got breast cancer and who didn't. the women who took the multi-vitamin had a higher rate of breast cancer than those who didn't. that stuck. that statistic stuck after they controlled for all of the other potential explanations. now it is a very, very small risk. don't want anybody to panic here. but since we're taking multi-vitamins for benefit and there may even be harm, it is a real reality check. >> speaking of the reality check, a lot of people think, well, if vitamins can't really help me, taking one is not going to really hurt me. can it hurt you? >> absolutely. once you take nutrients up into the realm of high doses, what we call fapharmacologic, we are in high doses. anything that can do good can do harm. potentially increasing the risk of breast cancer, clearly that's a harm. >> some supplements are worth taking. important to point out the ones you do recommend. >> absolutely. let's not throw out the baby with the bath water here. i'm intrigued by supplements that preserve the balance of nutrients in food. there is clear evidence supporting supplementation with vitamin d. we all need it. we used to get more sunlight. between indoor jobs and sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, almost the whole u.s. population is vitamin d deficient. now we think 1,000 iu of vitamin d every day is good for almost everyone. some need more. the other thing we've nutrient deficient is fish oil. >> but all of these supplements really you can find in your food, too. >> that's clearly the best source. again, even the best case for supplements, supplement not substitute. food is the best way to get our nutrients. >> that's a list right there of where you should be eating your vitamins. >> mostly plants. foods close to nature. >> exactly. dr. david katz, thank you so much. great information. read more about this in this month's issue of reader's digest. coming up next, two lucky law diz get a hot new style after getting ambushed on our plaza. the result of their makeovers. but first these messages. but i'm not just a number. i have a purpose. a higher purpose. and some respect! not good. oh, man. hello! no! finally... the buck stops here. mcdonald's meaty melty mcdouble... with 100% beef and cheese. and a juicy mcchicken. just some of the irresistible choices on the dollar menu. only at mcdonald's. ♪ ba da ba ba ba i've got good news. you need more fiber. huh? 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[ male announcer ] old el paso. a special blend of seasoning for especially delicious tacos. feed your fiesta. air wick i-motion. the only continuous air freshener that detects movement, releasing a burst of fresh scent inspired by nature. so day, after day, your home always feels welcoming. and freshmatc compact with i-motion makes even the tough spaces welcoming. try the full i-motion range. air wick. release the freshness of nature. >> announcer: "today's top dog" is brought to you by the makers of zyrtec. love the air. okay, the moment we've all been waiting for. it's time for "today's top dog." and another finalist, jami is our first finalist. this week we'll introduce you to our second round of semi-finalists. bix, 4-year-old florida pooch who pawed his way to piano greatness. we also have jake, a 10-year-old rottweiler with a soft spot for the environment. he helps keep the park in his utah hometown litter-free. and finally, we've got 15-month-old sami, the colorado rescue dog who's made it her mission to help her puppy pals find homes of their own by going to weekly adoption events. somehow she is able to blog about this online. >> drum roll, please! because with an overwhelming majority, 68% of the votes, say the semi-finalist winner is -- jake. ♪ my best friend ♪ right through it all ♪ if i die before i wake feed jake ♪ ♪ if i die before i wake feed jake ♪ >> i love that he has a theme song going along with it. next week we'll have a new round of semi-finalists. still time to enter our contest. check it out online, todayshow.com. life on earth like you've never seen it before. 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[ male announcer ] this week only, save up to $12 on zyrtec® products at zyrtectv.com and in sunday's paper. 100% fruit & veggie juice with no added sugar. just one glass equals two servings of fruits and vegetables. with tasty flavors like cranberry, strawberry, banana, it's like a farm stand in every bottle. the fruits you love mixed with the veggies you need. just, you know... demonstrating how we, uh, mix the fruits and the vegetables. ocean spray. grower owned since 1930. would you like a tomato? >> jennifer lopez in her new romantic comedy the backup plan. she's a married mom of twins but she is playing a single woman who decides to go it alone when it comes to motherhood. guess what? she does that just before she meets the perfect man. wouldn't you know? we'll talk to her about that monday here on "today." meanwhile, coming up in this half-hour, we'll be sharing some of the most amazing images. look at some of these. from the world's primates to majestic butterflies, to meat-eating plants. and there is a new discovery project that is going to be having viewers mesmerized. we'll take a look and maybe learn a few new things about the earth along the way. >> there are those meat-eating plants. how does this sound? better taste, fresher food, saving money, and you can have all those things if you learn how to grow your own herbs. no meat-eating plants over there. we'll show you how easy it is to begin planting no matter what size space you have. >> i want to start an herb garden. amy robach is here to tell us what's coming up this weekend on "today." lester? >> coming up this weekend, we'll talk about financial infidelity. is it cheating to lie about where you spend your money? keeping secrets about money can be as devastating to a relationship as an affair. we'll tell you why you need to clean your finances -- or come clean about your finances coming up. plus -- >> that obviously rattles you. >> oh, those shoes? i've had them for weeks. no, that's not new! >> didn't mean to ask you any questions, lester. plus, we'll also talk about the truth behind personal shoppers. they aren't just for the elite anymore. we'll tell you where you can get their help for free. all that and more when we see you this weekend on "today." lester, that might be good for you with all that secret shopping you're doing. >> fine, honey. i bought the ipad. >> we'll watch you guys this weekend. now let's head to al roker who has been in iceland all morning for a check of the weather. al? >> hey, thanks, guys. let's check your weekend weather. show you for saturday, we are >> and that's your latest weather. back to you guys. >> al, thanks. you no longer have to fight your kids for the remote. at least not tonight. because family movie night is back with the launch of "secrets of the mountain." >> it is an action-packed tv movie following single mom dana james who takes her family on a treacherous quest after unveiling an ancient secret. actor barry bostwick. we love you. i'm sure we can do some of the song and dance here. >> the madison. can you do the madison? >> i can't. you can. >> that's the only thing i know. >> this is a kid's movie. why are you doing this? >> because i've always either kissed a girl or killed somebody in a movie. so this is like the first time i've been able to be all in the heart. you know? and do a movie that is family-focused. and i can bring my own kids in and i don't have to, like you said, dive for the remote. i can cook for them and have like a home movie night at home. well, i'll make grilled cheese and tomato soup is all i'll make. >> that's very cool when you're able to do that with your kids tonight and watch this. it looks like it is an adventure and i do know that had you some problems with the character's hair. >> the only problem is that i didn't wear any gel and as you can see, i'm sort of a gel guy. >> you're blessed to have good hair like that. >> that was perfect for the guy. he was a bit eccentric. he's like the history teacher you wish you had had who knew everything, and had all these quirks, and really made you love the subject. that's sort of basically what this character does. >> it is so hard not to flip and say get cha. this program "secrets of the mountain," tonight, 8:00, 7:00 central on nbc. coming up next, save your money by growing your own herbs at home. right after this. just one glass equals two servings of fruits and vegetables. with tasty flavors like cranberry, strawberry, banana, it's like a farm stand in every bottle. the fruits you love mixed with the veggies you need. just, you know... demonstrating how we, uh, mix the fruits and the vegetables. ocean spray. grower owned since 1930. ♪ [ dog panting ] [ cat meows ] ♪ [ male announcer ] cats everywhere are using fresh step with carbon because it doesn't just mask odors, it eliminates them. so don't be surprised if your cat needs help finding her litter box. fresh step, the only clay litter with carbon. it's paw-activated, to eliminate odors. so it's almost like not having a litter box. join fresh step's support of the aspca. special k protein shakes -- ♪ a truly great-tasting breakfast shake. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, it's the creamy, delicious way to satisfy... your hunger to help you lose weight. ♪ so you can kick the tin can habit. try special k protein shakes today. try the first great-tasting, zero-calorie... natural sweetener borne from the leaves of the stevia plant. truvía. honestly sweet. find it at your grocery store. truvía. honestly sweet. can you believe how fast kids grow these days? 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[ female announcer ] new aveeno nourish plus shine. . in morning on "today's garden," planting your own herbs. there is no better way to kick of the flavor of a meal without adding calories than to add rosemary, dill or bays. p. allen smith, author of "bringing the garden indoors" is with us. i love the smell and taste but they can be expensive going to the grocery store and buying them. >> look at this packet here. heavens, that's $3.50 for that measly stem of basil. >> exactly. when you can have this in your backyard. >> ten trips to the store, $35, you could have this entire window box. you don't need a lot of space but you need full sun. make sure that you keep it -- soil consistently moist. use dwror gorganic fertilizer a organic control. you don't want to be putting poison on them. you can grow them from seed if you don't want to start with the plant. you can even cut costs that way. it is fun for the family. kids love to grow it. just to have it so available, it is enormously satisfying to grow some of your own food. >> not to mention how great it will taste on anything you add the fresh herbs, amazement. >> i love rosemary and tarragon and sage in grilling for summer. it is fantastic. for chicken, for lamb, all sorts of things. then of course, parsley. you've got the flat leaf italian and the curly parsley. these are -- i love it on new potatoes and so forth. >> this is a good time of year to start doing this but they are cold sensitive. >> they are. as soon as the threat of frost has passed, you can plant them. this is only 3 1/2 feet by 7 feet. my hefavens, you could feed an entire neighborhood with this many herbs. basil is such a great one for seafood. this is called spicy globe. this is a thai basil. there's nothing better really than fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil. >> you can have a dinner party and impress everyone. >> this is spicy globe. a tiny leaf. it is a very compact plant. it is a thai basil here. if you just want aroma and beauty, try this lavender. isn't it gorgeous? you just tear these apart, pack them in a container like this. >> they also get those beautiful blooms, too. >> oh, yes. can you hang them up, use them for potpourri. i like to take two tablespoons of basil, chop it up like this. take them, put them in an ice tray. you can pop them out and store them in a freezer bag so this winter you have fresh basil. for sauces or whatever you want to do. >> wow! amazing! i'm taking some of this home. >> we're working on your green thumb. >> well, good. p. allen smith, thanks so much. up ahead, a look at some of the most breathtaking creatures on earth. the most breathtaking creatures on earth. right after this. that they get enough calcium every day. so imp that's why there's new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it's power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is... yummy! so they can start building strong bones today... for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. - definitely the one on the right. - yeah, are y-- - seriously, the clorox one. - oh, okay. the difference is obvious. for the whitest whites, use detergent, plus the advanced whitening formula of clorox bleach. make that first step easier, with the nicoderm cq patch. nicoderm steps you down from nicotine gradually. doubling your chance for success. nicoderm cq. three steps, ten weeks and you're free. and they can without even trying. caprisun 100% juice is a full serving of fruit and no added sugar. so your kids get 100% goodness in the pouch they love. caprisun 100% juice. i can respect that. now to the amazing creatures on earth. the discovery channel series provides a glimpse at some of the most spectacular and bizarre plants and animals on the planet. susan winslow is the executive director of the series. good morning. numbers, four years to make, 3,000 days of filming across every single continent. oprah has been narrating it. what kind of response have you had so far? >> absolutely overwhelming. it is really a crowd pleaser. lots an lots and lots of people are watching. big, broad audience, which is just what we want. >> in the "today" show offices monday morning, it was all the chatter. snow monkeys in japan. explain this to me. they actually have a monkey spa? >> they have a monkey spa. but it is a members-only spa. it depends what family you're born into as to whether you're allowed into the hot tub, which is beautiful warm water in the middle of the winter. 105 degrees when it is 5 degrees outside of the tub. only the mothers and some of the males and the offspring that are born into the right families are allowed in. there is a gatekeeper, there is a bouncer who keeps the riffraff out, if you can believe it. >> also the primate episode. the monkeys in costa rica. i've seen them close up. >> aren't they incredible? they weigh about eight pounds, the size after cat maybe. they've figured out they are very, very smart monkeys. they've figured out how to get clams. they roll them and they bash them. they aren't trying to crash open the shells. they're trying to tire out the clam's muscle to get to the meat inside. >> in the plant episode, you have the venus flytrap. shooting that is all about timing. >> it is indeed. so is catching the fly. it is an adaptation to survive that this plant has turned the tables on the animal kingdom and it set up a booby-trap where one hair is triggered, then within 20 seconds of another one it is slammed shut and catches the fly. >> to get these images, they're really mind-blowing. had you to use high-tech and low-tech methods. for example, you used high-tech to look at slow-growing plants. >> indeed. the most ambitious shot in the entire 11-part series of "life" is one that looks at a little patch of an english forest over an entire growing season. and what we did is we shot in the forest with the moving shot, and then rereatcreated this exa thing in the studio so the plants can be shown growing and flowering in a known condition. then a group of computer graphics people and horticulturalists work together to pull off this single shot of an entire growing season in under 60 seconds. >> unbelievablebly! >> isn't that amazing? >> it is. >> very brief, because we're almost out of time in terms of a low-tech shot, you have the butterflies of mexico. >> yes, the monarchs. they're coming out of hibernation. here they had to trek in all their materials so they brought steel cables, bicycle wheels and a back of rocks. and so what they had to do was we wanted to make everybody feel like we were flying in the trees with the monarchs as they come out of hibernation. this is really just jury-rigging something and making it work. it took 17 takes. we soar up into the trees. >> i used to think i had the best job in the world. have you the best job in the world. the final episode of discovery "life" airs this sunday at 8:00, 7:00 central. this is "today" on nbc. this morning on ""al's book club for kids,"" imagine getting behind the doors of 99 mysterious covers. it is a magical adventure that's sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. nate wilson is the genius author of "fantasy series 100 covers." we're joined by our book club kids. with al being on assignment in iceland, i have the honor now of sitting in. his loss, my gain! good to meet you. i know you were a big fan of the chronicles of narnia series. is that what shaped the book? >> it absolutely did. reading the narnia series as a kid, i was in wheat fields in idaho, climbing big red barns and playing baseball. i loved those stories though they didn't actually connect with my childhood. this is my -- in sixth grade the attempt i wanted to go after to bring classic fantasy to american kids. >> the main character, henry, a young boy who discovers these other worlds and a lot about himself from traveling to these other areas. >> he's a very protected kid, overly protected, not allowed to play sports, not allowed to ever drink a soda. that kind of thing. as a result, he's pretty timid, pretty afraid. so when the blaster starts falling off the wall in his grandfather's old farmhouse and he starts to discover these doors, it opens up his whole life. this world first, then the other world. >> there is a trilogy. ian, you want to start with a question? >> is there any cover you would like to visit? >> yeah. the problem is i would like to visit all of them. when i was putting together the list of all these cupboards -- 99 doors and hid a little bedroom, i deserted worlds behind everyone of them. every one is a world i wanted to visit. stuff i read about in ancient history or other mythologies or so on. a few are higher than others. i'd say the baden hill cupboard is one for sure. >> del roy. >> my question is, when uncle frank in the part of the book, it says that he is selling tumbleweed for a lot of money. what made you come up with the idea that tumbleweed is so much money? >> well, i wanted a bad idea. uncle frank was not a very smart businessman. so he was coming up with the idea of what could he sell, what did he have all around him. the kansas flat he had a lot of tumbleweeds so he thought he would try to sell it on the internet. it started out as a joke for me, i discovered a little while after somebody actually started doing that. somebody is actually making money selling tumbleweet wed on internet. >> would you say henry is adventurous or not? >> i would not not at all. at the outset this is just a kid who is afraid of what's happening. then he can't even imagine what's happening. he thinks when he finds these cupboards, he thinks there might be socks in there. he's not imaginative or adventurous. but as the doors opens, he oepts up and becomes adventurous. >> we are out of time, unfortunately. but next month you'll be reading and you'll get the questions first. the book this time around was "100 cupboards." for our next book, here it is, folks. "kiki strike," so kids, keep reading and grab those books. we'll talk about this next duct system as the lungs of the house. expulsion of air. dust and dirt that helping the house to breathe. say i'm a doctor. not a doctor either. suction. ♪ call 1-800-steemer if i had to sit on a bench during the middle of a game due to diabetes it would frustrate me. in a basketball game a couple minutes could mean a big momentum shift. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it allows me to be able to look at my highs and lows to make sure that my diabetes is being controlled as tightly as possible. with my bayer meter i don't miss valuable game time. i'm alana burns and staying in the game is my simple win. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer. my daughter--obsessed with fashion. she never met a label she didn't love. then, my best friend took me to t.j.maxx. i thought it was knock offs, but i came home with all the brands we both love. t.j.maxx has buyers that deal directly with designers. so i save big! two diehard fashionistas are now proud maxxinistas! t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you! from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from stewedy 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> ahead, everybody. happy dry day. >> yes it is. friday, april 16th. we're so happy you're with us. this has been the longest week of my life. and thank god it's friday. >> and a day before my mom's birthday. >> happy birth today sammi. >> tonight i will be at bookends from 7:00 to 9:00 in huntington, long aisle. >> you are on the go. when you go to this is signings you, it's quite the event. >> i put on quite a show. nobody wants it, but i put it on. >> people are bringing their babies and children, and we're dancing to the songs. i get to hold babies. i like it. >> "party animals" is the name of the book. >> what's on your weekend? >> i'm going to see my mom, so we are going to cook, i mean, my brother and his wife are going to cook. >> but you don't know hose to make that fish, tilapia. >> that's what i like. >> we heard about this volcano in iceland yesterday, and you wonder how does that affect us, it happened so far away? shall volcanic ash has caused more airline disruptions -- i think it's second to 9/11. >> they say the lava is too far away to be of any kind of danger to anyone, but it's the ash, that plume. >> they say the issue is when a plane -- all these planes have been delayed all over the world, but the ash gets into the engine, and the engine acts like a vacuum cleaner, so it sucks in all this crud and jams up the engines, and they cannot fly. they say there may be disruptions for five to seven days. it may be a long time for a lot of people. >> i read in the paper about a group that was here, synchronized skaters or something from sweden. they only had enough money for a two-week trip. i thought how many of them are there? those 23 sounded cute. you're a skater, ahead, why not? >> the president of norway is here. he's sitting with his ipad governing with his country -- he came for the nuclear weapons summit and ended up having to stay here. >> why weren't we invited to that. >> we're never invited to any good things. on a sad note, it's the third anniversary of the virginia tech massacre. >> it's my alma mater. they're doing a lot today. they're going -- they have a 3.2-mile run to honor the 32 victims, they have a vigil today. it's a terrific school. >> we were talking about it this morning, how long do they think they'll be doing this, and we talked about when something like that happens in your own community, whether it's column bias in colorado or this massacre in virginia tech, the rest of us tend to move on. we mourn and discuss how awful it is, and then something else takes place, like larry king. but for that community, on a yearly basis they'll take time to do it. >> on my facebook page and twitter page, a lot of people from virginia tech said, don't forget us. sometimes, even when you lose a loved one, it's weird. you can't believe the world hasn't stopped. >> i still feel that way about my daddy. i know you do, too. >> this is a very strange moment. larry king and shawn, his wife, said they were going to be divorced. >> they both filed at the same time. >> yesterday the two were at one of the kids' games. hi, ahead, you smell great. >> that's what he said to her. >> look how long that hug is. >> look. >> he said, "you smell great." >> he said, uh-huh. >> how can we hear what they're saying? >> it's all background. >> did they say anything else besides "you smell good"? >> i don't know. but they want it to be an amicable divorce. she doesn't look upset about him sleeping with her sister, which she's alleging. >> the sister says it doesn't happen. >> but shawn's people are saying it doesn't happen. i like seeing adults get along. >> the other thing that was reported is there's no prenup, apparently. >> you would have thought larry would have learned by now. he's a very intelligent man. >> seven marriages, eight divorces. >> yeah, seven marriages, eight divorces. he divorced one twice. >> there's an only saying, i can't afford to have my half one more time again. that's what don meredith used to say. love to don, he'll have a birthday soon he's a good friend. always worried that he was cody's godfather. if he's in charge of your son's spiritual upbringing, you better. we have a problem with bad hair. >> well, one of us days. i don't think it's an issue for you, you look gorgeous, because you have 20 people working on you every day. but once in a while, i see you after a downpour and -- [ laughter ] anyway -- >> this is the deal and everybody knows it. you have hair issues. i have very weather-sensitive hair, yes, it rains, i flee like it's scud missiles incoming. >> it is scud missiles time. >> back off. >> they did say the main thing people are worried about is thinning hair. i can't believe that. >> hormonally, but it comes back. i'm not wearing those extensions anymore. >> we don't care. >> but people are asking. >> don't and you have it. >> it's either too thin, too fine, too dry, too damaged. now we told you we're going to do this thing every week with bobbi thompson, or fashion editor, and she has a minute to tell us about the things we have to have. >> our bobby bobbi. >> love the nail polish color, and i love your hair, because i spend time teasing my hair. >> go. >> they do say april showers bring may flowers, and no matter where you are, you can have some fun flats. i love these, they're rain flat jellies, and sneakers. they slip on, they're so fantastic. >> how much? >> $29 to $40. >> wow. >> and mineral makeup is water resistant. i love glow minerals, but you can find it at the drugstore. they all offer it. >> you lieu flawless. >> party in a purse, if you're going to a picnic. >> bobbi, it's a national holiday. >> this is called the baggy wine coat. to go to your girl friends or picnics. last not least, get a jump-start on earth day, this is the first water bottle with a filter in it. >> designer colors. >> $9.95. go to bobbi.com, all the info is there. >> and your dress? >> nanette le pore. we've been telling you about the mom's night with curtis stone. we have our winner. >> karen herrera, mother of three from seattle. >> he has a long flight. >> she's been a flight attendant for delta for 25 years. >> son who is 15 and twin daughters who are 13. she says, she wants to spend some time on herself. she's on the road three fourths of the year. is she on the phone? >> i thought she was on the phone. >> hello? >> hi. >> hi. guys, we're on. >> is she at a terminal right now? >> we are so excited. curtis will fly to your house, make this incredible meal for you and your family. >> i can't believe it. >> send him back to us in one piece, all right? >> i don't know, we might keep him out here with us. i'm so excited, guys. you have no idea how much this means to us. >> appeared happy birthday to your twins. >> happy birthday to the twins. >> ahead, karen, karen, got a minute? >> yes, i do. >> there is another hot aussie coming on. there's a gentleman we had on our show, sexy, in the new film with j. lo. we're going to talk about the movie and his love life. >> alex will be next. nice! follow me, the missouri river is this way! lewis and clark expedition of 1804. oh, he'll never get this. magellan, 1520. awww, my 8 layers must've given it away. help keep your kid full and focused with 8 filling layers... of whole grain fiber found in kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal. this is one giant leap for mini-kind. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. hoo hooo! kids are hungry after school. that's why i always have totino's pizza rolls. big pizza taste. in a bite size roll. kids can't resist their delicious pizza flavor. totino's pizza rolls. the pizza way to snack. and you'll dump your old duster. but don't worry. he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? 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[ cat meows ] ♪ who's that lady? ♪ [ dog panting ] [ cat meows ] ♪ [ male announcer ] cats everywhere are using fresh step with carbon because it doesn't just mask odors, it eliminates them. so don't be surprised if your cat needs help finding her litter box. fresh step, the only clay litter with carbon. it's paw-activated, to eliminate odors. so it's almost like not having a litter box. join fresh step's support of the aspca. and if you think all batteries are the same... consider this: at iowa lakes community college, the students learn to keep america's wind turbines going and to keep them safe, the only battery they trust in their high voltage meters are duracell rechargeables. so whether you're responsible for tomorrow... or enjoying today... it just has to work. duracell smart power. duracell trusted everywhere alex olaf learn has been appearing on stage and television since he was a teenager. now a leading man, he has a better accent than i do. >> alex plays stan, a chide farmer from upstate new york, who's trying to find his way when love finds him first. >> did you buy that dress to wear for me tonight? >> i will never tell. >> really? because i have ways of making you talk. >> oh, you are so sexy. that's good. >> take as long as you want. >> hi, alex. >> we feel like you're a member of our family after joining the man panel yesterday. >> i had so much fun, we man-paneled. >> yes, you certainly did. >> it was great. >> maybe this is the first time a u.s. audience will see you on the big screen and knowing your name and who you are. is this the first big one? >> first big film, yeah, first big look at me on the billboard film. >> you must have been up against many, many american actors. is the english -- american accent for you? >> the english-american -- yeah, i speak english, american and australi australian. >> so it is easy for you? >> my stepfather is canadian, so there was always a north american sound in my house, and we all grew up with american tv, so not a foreign sound to us. >> so you're the cheese farmer. >> i wouldn't have thought that. >> and of course i had to get super fit, because cheese farmers are all -- >> yeah, they work so much with their arms. >> milking all the goats and everything. the film is about two people who -- whose lives collide, you know. >> where does she come from? >> she's a new yorker, they both are, and stan -- >> this is such a gross scene. >> this is a great scene. she's eating stew. >> she's a carnivore. >> she pregnant, right? she got pregnant from a friend of hers and then she meets you? >> she hasn't met the one, she wants a baby, so she gets artificially inaccept nated and then meets the one. >> what is it like working with her? >> fantastic. she's a real pro. centered, grounded, it was terrific. >> i'm so distracted. outside there are so many sides "alex is my dream man." >> yeah, that's like a month 'wage for me. i paid all of them. >> how do they know you? >> i don't know. i guess i've done a bunch of tv shows. i met most of them at the hotel. >> had a little fun last night. okay. >> i did a show called "moonlight" which is the thing that i really got most of my fans from. it was a vampire show, and i did a medical show called "three rivers." i played a heart surgeon. >> do you live in america now? >> i do. i've been here for five years. >> in new york? >> no, l.a. >> we asked you yesterday, you said you were single. >> um-hmm. >> how would you describe the type of woman you're looking for? >> well, kind of busy at the moment, so i'm not really looking, but it's -- i don't know, i think, funny, honest, pretty, smart. >> yeah. >> age? limit on that? >> age, like 18 to 60. >> hoda, you just made it. a little joke. actually i just made it barely. >> alex, we wish you all the best. would you please come back and see us? >> i would love to. >> you're such a lovely gentleman. >> back for the man panel. "the backup plan" opens nationwide next friday. don't lose your cool. i wonder if we could learn that. [ birds chirping ] [ pickle crunches ] [ meows ] oops. [ laughs ] now, that's what a pickle should sound like. [ stork ] vlasic. that's the tastiest crunch i've ever heard. ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms and works when you need it most. benadryl®. you can't pause life. nutri-grain -- one good decision... can lead to another. ♪ made with real fruit and now with more... of the whole grains your body needs. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. of the whole grains your body needs. [ ryan ] ahh! fresh. minty. ready! ♪ hi. oooh, minty. [ sniffs ] so what do you think? fresh. [ female announcer ] for a fresh breath feeling that lasts up to 5 times longer, there's new scope outlast. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal! we've all had bad days, you get a route wait tres or lazy salesclerk and you just want to go off, but instead of losing your cool, could you be polite? >> we sent out sara haines to find out how people handle rudeness. >> reporter: is there ever a situation in rue life where you lose your cool? >> yeah, there has been, when people aren't paying attention. >> i find when i'm in a drugstore, i think -- it's too long to wait in line. i'm like, seriously, are they going to make you wait in line? i just want to go faster. >> do you run into impatient people? >> many. >> how do you handle that? >> carefully. >> subway. >> reporter: anything in particular. >> when somebody hits me, knocks me over, doesn't care, doesn't say sorry. >> reporter: how do you reply? >> i'm like, really? >> reporter: do you ever find in your job you hit your boiling point and just want to lose it? >> every day. >> reporter: do you lose it? >> every day. if i'm going to take my time. >> even if they're like mean back to you. >> reporter: having the patience is like an inner zen. >> i think. >> i agree with that. >> reporter: did you just say i concur? >> yes. >> reporter: i love that. i concur as well. one woman made it her mission to be polite for one week straight. holly robinson is the article's author. ladies, welcome. >> holly, why did you decide to write this article? >> i realized after several incidents that i was being rude back, i was snapping back. i had a british grandmother and who was very mannerly, and she always said catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and i tried it for a week. >> there was a postal clerk who terrified me, because she was always barking me in line, and i thought i would conquer her first. >> and did it have any effect at all? >> it did. i commented on a photograph of a dog she had on her wall. it turned out she rescued the dog from hurricane katrina. >> so a common humanity. >> it was like a light switch turned on. she suddenly smiled and we could chat. >> being angry a lot, bottling it up, isn't it a good thing? >> not letting it out isn't healthy, but that simmering chronic rage that's sort of irrational, that's what's really bad for your health. >> we all know somebody like that. >> that kind of stress is a killer. >> sometimes that's happening to me -- >> road rage. >> when you're kind, something has gone wrong and you say, can you get to it, will you get to it? sometimes i think you get put to the back of the line. sometimes i think it is the squeaky wheel, the complainer, that gets the attention, but i think that is the way it is sometimes. >> i think also if you give them the chance first and mannerly first, as well as you can be, if they snap, you can snap eventually, you have to to get things done, but mostly it feels better not to. >> for a week you never snapped? >> no, i didn't say that. i snapped a couple times. >> what puts you over the brink. >> always cars cutting me off. >> how can you not -- you're not around anyone? isn't it okay to snap in your own car? >> it still makes you feel awful. if you can say, well, she was probably in a hurry -- >> god bless that jerk. >> you can learn to let it go. when it's sort of that irrational anger, you can learn to let it go. your blood pressure will drop. >> but does letting it out release it sometimes? >> yes t. does. all the studies make a distinction between controlled, rational expression of anger. that's healthy. in a marriage, in a relation-with a postal clerk, but it's sort of this crazy violent outburst, like if somebody bumps into you in doesn't, and then you get crazy, sometimes it escalates and becomes almost violent. >> i think it's cumulative sometimes. >> that's when it's getting dangerous in your body. that's when you need to learn to let it go. even the old count to ten thing, take a deep breath, walk around the block. >> we've had that experience with hoda, where she's had a leak -- you were so nice about it, and for the longest, longest time, and then she blew. >> then you blew. i left a voicemail that would get me in trouble if anybody else heard it. >> it's a fascinating subject. thank you very much. we need more politeness on this planet. coming up, two deserving women get ambushed by our experts. check it out. .to slow us down. but even in your 30s... ...your bones can begin to change. overtime, you can begin to have bone loss. calcium and vitamin d work together to help keep your bones strong. and yoplait gives you... ...20% of your daily calcium... ...and is the only leading yogurt with vitamin d in every cup. keep your bones strong every day... ...with yoplait. 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( snickering, laughing ) morning sir. beautiful day, isn't it? we take the time for our cheese to mature... before we bake it into every delicious cracker. because at cheez-it, real cheese matters. we're back with more every "today" and the results of our ambush makeovers, where two lucky ladies get hot new looks from the experts. >> indeed, and the experts are mr. louis licari, and contributor and author jill martin. kids, let's get started. >> how was it outside? >> it was great. >> damp? >> the drops started to fall as we got our final picks. we aced it. >> the first lucky lady is kim fuller, 1, from rapids city. for ten years she spent her time looking as an teen. she's been dying to get out of that rut, and she was excited when we gave her the opportunity. let's listen. >> all right. well, i found kim in a t-shirt -- it's too cod today for a t-shirt with stains on it, and then you described her as cold and grumpy. >> because i made her get up early and come out with me. >> but now she has a makeover. >> she works really hard. she deserves it, so i'm happy for you. >> tell me why you said one. >> i'm thrilled, and what better place than new york city. >> are you ready to go? >> i am ready to go. >> we're all ready to go. she has two friends, julie and brian. keep on your blindfolds. here is kim fuller before. all right, kim, let's see the new you. >> no way! okay. they're going to freak. are you ready to freak out? take off your blindfolds. >> oh, my gosh. >> you look amazing. >> spin around right here. >> oh, my gosh. >> that is so sexy. >> louis, tell us about the hair. >> that's all about the haircut. what he did was went in with the scissors and layered it. the best part is just some volumizing spray and scrunch it with her hands and she's ready to go. >> it's like a lisa rinna look. it's adorable. >> you have tears in your eyes. >> yeah. >> those earrings are great. what do you think? >> she looks amazing. >> tell us about that outfit. >> that t-shirt was stained, and this is a twist on a little black dress. it has spandex and like ra on this. it's available at macy's. >> i love that. >> thank you, kim. >> all right. >> our second lady is terry wilson, from thunder bay, canada. she has two daughters, due to her business schedule, she buys clothes from the same store she gets her groceries from. let's listen to her story. >> all right. i'm here with the entire kelso family. i'm happy you stopped screaming for a little, so i can talk to you. mom, i know you want karen to have a makeover. why? >> she's just turned over 50, and she would like to start feeling really good for herself at 50. >> we want to help you do that. you tell me you want to feel sexy? >> yeah, because right now i'm not. i'm feeling old and i don't want to. >> we're going to make you feel fabulous. ready for a whole new karen. >> yes! >> i don't know who is more excited, karen or her mom and sisters. let's look at karen before, and let's bring you out now, karen. everybody keep your blindfolds on. >> oh, my gosh. >> ladies, take them off. >> karen, you look amazing. check it out. >> that is so dramatic, both of these. wow. >> turn right here. >> oh, my gosh. louis is crying. >> first thing i did was got rid of the dark brown hair, which was too harsh for her face. her fine hair, short and layered. and popped up her makeup with those beautiful lips. >> that dress, i love that dress. >> t.j. maxx, originally $200, then $70, then $30. >> do they have any more? that's adorable. >> what do you guys thing? >> spectacular. >> incredible. >> can you believe it? >> you may be 52, but you look about 22. >> i'm just blown away. >> kim, come on out. >> yes, thank you louis, thank you jill. up next we have real advice from a family these terrific jewish mothers. >> yes. you're going to love it. and they're all darling. it's going to be fun. granola nut clusters from nature valley. 100% natural nuts and granola in bite sized clusters. it's a little bit of nature... a little bit better. and nature approves. granola nut clusters from nature valley. that lets you eat six times a day? yeah, baby! introducing the new slim-fast 3-2-1 plan. 3 snacks, 2 shakes or meal bars, and 1 balanced meal. slim fast. who has time to slim slowly? still haven't tried activia? listen to this story. my problem was occasional irregularity. my commercials didn't convince you? i'm definitely a skeptic. actually, my mom convinced me. and i have activia every morning for breakfast. activia definitely helped with my occasional irregularity. help get your system back on track. activia, with bifidus regularis helps regulate your digestive system. chances are someone you trust can recommend activia. ♪ activia! and try activia fiber. a delicious blend of cereal, fiber and activia yogurt. all right. usually if a jewish mother has advice, it is no secret. the new book "secrets of a jewish mother" is the jewish mother's guide to life. >> the outspoken authors, jill zarin, her beautiful mother gloria kaman, and her sister, radio host lisa wexler. and to you all, how fun was it to work together on this? >> a lot of fun. >> a great thrill and privilege. i'm on the "today" show. >> and our father is here. >> your father is adorable. >> whose idea was it? >> actually i can't take the credit. the credit comes from the fans. the fans wanted advice from gloria. we decided to think of a book, and -- >> jill wanted to do a book. she love collaborative family things and she said, lisa, let's do a book, but there was a scene of mom giving advice to beth any, i think that first or second season, afterwards "the new york daily news" asked mommy to write an advice column. >> you're so soothing on the show. when you say something, it's like lean in on the television. where did all this wisdom come from? >> making wrong decisions, and learning from them. i don't think you really -- i really believe it's what -- when you get older, it's really what you should learn not to do. doing it, giving advice is very easy for people to do. it's working it out. you make a lot of turns and twists. >> you have a solid family. it's very obvious downstairs, i met your husband, how much you all love each other. my daddy said, i love you too much to deny the privilege of making mistakes. >> our father said that a lot. >> it gives you freedom, doesn't it? >> one of the things i always say is it's not the things you do that you regret in life, but it's what you don't do. you have to try and you make errors. >> you talked about loving a man, you've got to like the man sometimes, even more important, like him than love him. >> and he's got to like you a little more than you like him. >> after the passion goes, and it does after years, whatever, if you don't like the person you're living with, you can't live. >> it's rough. >> you guys open the book with a chapter on friendships. that was the beginning. why did you choose that? i know these relationships, jill -- >> my whole life is about relationships, and i'm constantly working on them. it's hard -- like i said last week, it's easy to throw something away and hard to build a relationship. >> or repair something. >> i've been living through them, but the show is only seven weeks in. >> we thought a lot about the fundamentals of friendship. we talked about being there. we talked about apologizing when you're wrong, letting it go, but in direct answer to your question, why did we begin the book that way, if you look at the book, there's an arc of life, dating, marriage, parenting throughout the book, but everybody has friendships, and those are the first lessons we learn. >> you talked about how there were different kinds of friendships. i loved the analogy. we all move around, too. >> that's a great one. >> and one of those e-mail chains, and i thought that was genius. >> everyone who watching the show know you and beth anyhave a -- and you were thick as thieves before. >> yes. >> did you both follow the rules in there? >> i'm getting there in the show, in real life i follow my own rules, but in the show you have to wait and see. i do hope things work out. i've reached out, but i only want the best for her. i loved her like a sister. i think i didn't handle it right. when i was upset, i should have been confrontation all, but i had so much going on i couldn't deal with it, just like she couldn't deal with it. >> look at the love going on here. >> and you talk about, it's not just a jewish mother who has these secrets. it's a lovely book. >> you do not have to be jewish. >> the book is "secrets of a jewish mother." thank you so much. >> and thank you, daddy. before you dive into the cheeseburger, food for thought. what you could be eating instead of that. >> but i want that. >> you can't have it. >> jill and i could share it. come on. than a mop. so you'll dump your old broom and your old mop. but don't worry -- they'll always have each other. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady ♪ who's that lady? [ female announcer ] the 2-in-1 swiffer sweeper does it all. the electrostatic dry cloths trap and lock dirt, dust, and hair and clean 50% more than a broom. ♪ ♪ real fine lady [ female announcer ] and swiffer wet mopping cloths are premoistened with built-in cleansers that trap and lock dirt deep into the cloth to clean better than a mop. the better sweeping, better mopping swiffer sweeper. gives cleaning a 2-in-1 meaning. winner of the good housekeeping very innovative product award. ♪ that, on the list of things kids love, our party pizzas have just passed toy robots. awkward. kids love totino's party pizzas. with two scoops! of raisins harvested at the peak of sweetness, and golden flakes of bran with 28% of their daily fiber, nothing gets your family's day off to a brighter start... than the goodness of kellogg's raisin bran cereal. feed their sunny side. 100% fruit & veggie juice with no added sugar. just one glass equals two servings of fruits and vegetables. it's the fruit you love mixed with the veggies you need. this -- this is how we mix it. in "today's kitchen" a food face-off. we've got some food for thought. >> just imagine how many callries you're downing from one plate when you could be eat ago three-course meal with dessert instead. here with the calorie comparison dana cohen, editor in chief of "food & wine." were you surprised to know this burger is here, but to know that one meal is 1,000 calories? >> this one is 1,500. it's layered with cheese, it's got bacon, fried pickles, it's got brioche. in the food world everybody is fixated on burgers, but the truth is that's a gut buster. >> what is wagu beef. >> it's a massaged beef that comes out extra-fatty, which is what that burger is. >> why don't you show us what we can have instead. >> i think it's just as delicious -- >> i don't want that. i want that with the fried pickles. >> i'll tell you why this is great. four ounces of filet minute on. kumar rice and wild chicory. that is a great meal. you have some cheese. it's like a steakhouse meal, then a whoopi pie for dessert. >> i like that. >> i understand you actually like your glass of wine. >> i like the wine with the burger. >> no, no, you can't do that. >> all right. let's move on. this is depressing. >> now, how do you feel about fried chicken. >> who doesn't love fried chicken. >> how many calories? >> 1,000 calories right there, and a biscuit. >> but i don't eat the biscuit. >> so instead of this, what's our healthier, better, more filling alternative. >> this is a look at the new south. pimento cheese, celery, plus this yummy roasted chicken. you roast it with the skin on. >> i love roast chicken. >> sweet potato fries. >> but baked instead of fried. and great seasoning. >> we have some rosemary. hoda is a french fry girl. >> and incredibly good screamed spinach, but instead of cream, it's greek yogurt so tricks all around. these are baked not fried, and you get an amazing dessert. >> so, wait, all of this equals that? >> yeah. >> this is so much more filling, but that probably would be more satisfying. >> even when you take the skin off that is better. >> but mine is the vanilla ice cream. >> chinese food. >> what about the oil? so you think, i've got some vegetables here, and it can't be so bad, a little bubble tea. >> this is 900 calories. >> is it the general tso? >> i love that. >> it was 900 calories. this is a bubble tea. would you believe that each black bubble -- it's tapioca pearls steeped in a milky tea. each bubble is 10 calories, so when you suck through that straw. >> do they come through the straw? >> they do. i love it. >> it's not easy working here. >> once you found out there was 300 calories in that drink, i had to reject. go for this amazing asian meal. look at this. you have snack crackers, and baked spring rolls. >> what is this? >> those are wild alaskan fish fillets. what i like about that is this company gets sustainable fish. fish is a tricky subject in the world of food right now, should you even eat fish? >> you hear about the mercury and everything else. >> and kim-chi. >> we'll be back in a moment. 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(announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer. it was jill martin's birthday this week, and we wanted to say happy birthday to our jill. >> love her, lover, love her. >> you really do get more beautiful every year, and we're sick up it. monday julianne moore and newest member of the joy fit club. >> and i'll be at the book review in huntington, long island from complain to 9:00 tonight. >> have a good time. >> have an awesome weekend and nice, dry day. everybody, it's tuesday. that's right, i said normally booze day. kids got to move their thing. >> you wouldn't believe. >> we only drink on the air. >> she had to be careful when choosing each guest. >> i don't know. >> khloe kardashian. [ laughter ] >> you're so funny. >> april fools'. >> i don't know. >> ahead, chicky, chicky. >> gday. >> you had me at "good day." i'm lucy sykes. i'm a fashion stylist. what i do is dress people for magazines and tv. my job is to hunt down the best fashion and stay on budget. my secret? t.j.maxx. their buyers have their finger on the pulse of what's on trend. they buy directly from designers and you see the savings! i dress fashionistas. but i'm a maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you!