Transcripts For WRC Today 20100513

the cast will join matt at the live in the south of france, "today," thursday, may 13th, live in the south of france, "today," thursday, may 13th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira in studio 1a. hey, matt. >> hey, meredith. i have to confess to you, i was almost late for the program this morning. this morning, it took me longer than i thought to shower all the glamour off me from last night. this place is crazy! yesterday we were talking about the fact they were rushing to get everything ready for the premier of "robin hood." they got it ready, it went off without a hitch. star-studded event, russell crowe, cate blanchett, kate beckinsale, eva longoria. it was really a good time. we'll have more from cannes this morning, including all the stars of the other highly anticipated film here at the festival -- "wall street: money never sleeps." michael douglas and the rest, including the director, oliver stone. we'll have that later. but meredith, what else do you have coming from new york? >> we'll get the latest details on casey anthony, the florida mother accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee. this week her defense team asked the judge to take the death penalty off the table. coming up, the important decision that judge has now made. also ahead, anna nicole smith's daughter dannielynn was just 5 months old when her mother died in 2007. she's now 3 1/2 being raised by her father, larry birkhead. this morning they're with us. they'll also share some of anna nicole's personal items being put up for auction. what may have been preventable failures that led to the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. nbc's chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson is in venice, louisiana with the latest. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. it's another day on the gulf coast, and with it comes yet another attempt by bp to stop that giant leak. as we learn disturbing new details about what may have started this horrific disaster. this is what the deep sea environmental disaster looks like up close. the unrelenting flow of oil into the gulf. a possible cause coming to light in washington as a congressional committee focused on the blow-out preventer, the allegedly fail-safe system that didn't work the night the oil rig exploded and killed 11 workers. >> when we get assurances from the oil industry year in and year out that this cannot happen, i just don't know how we can ever believe anything that we hear from the oil industry. >> reporter: the panel produced the confidential bp memo titled "what we know," pointing to a hydraulic leak in the blow-out preventer. but there was an even more outrageous revelation. >> even the battery in this case, the one control panel we did find, the battery wasn't working. correct? >> that's what we were led to believe, yes. >> reporter: what bp hopes will work now is the top hat. this small containment dome to eliminate the ice-like crystals that clog the towering version, the top hat has a riser connected to it with a drill pipe inside. crews will put warm water and methanol into the pipe to keep it warm enough to keep the crystals from forming. also putting a tube into the leaking riser, the pipe that comes out of the well. it would also pump oil to the surface. >> insertion tube method is quite simply trying to insert a pipe far enough into the riser so we're beyond the point where the water is. >> reporter: at the venice marina where silence has replaced the sound of working boats, matt o'brien is trying to held ho hold on. >> i'm hopeful that they can cap it but my confidence is dropping. >> reporter: there are no fish. >> my main concern is the fishermen ain't going to survive. if they don't survive, i'm out of business. >> reporter: that is the harsh reality here in this spill zone where time isn't on anyone's side. meredith? >> anne thompson, thank you. so is enough being done to stop the leak? the former president of shell is with us and he is the author of "why we hate the oil companies -- straight talk from an energy insider." good morning. is enough being done at this point? >> i think bp has a crisis planned. they're following the different steps of the plan. they're going to try every possible solution. >> is it a smart plan though? >> i think smart -- the fact that the blowout happens says something went wrong. but you plan for these crises just in case. i think it is a smart plan in the sense that it has a variety of options. the options are all different. everyone in the industry knows that the ultimate failsafe plan is to really do the relief drilling, get down to the base of the reservoir, re-cement the pipe that's carrying the oil out of the reservoir. >> they are in the process of creating that relief well now but that's going to take leaks. >> that's the problem. it is a slow process. i think the whole industry is wondering what in the world happened to that blow-out protector. there are 30,000 wells in the gulf of mexico. every one of them had to be drilled, every one of them had a blow-out protector. >> but the fact that it was defective, does that speak to the company at all and its responsibility here? >> of course it does. a company is responsible for making sure that the equipment that they're using is operational. and if it's not operational, to make the hard decisions of what to do about what's not working. >> they're talking about this top hat, this small containment home, top hat, pinning all their hopes on that right now. what's the success rate of that in the past? >> this is all new territory. what happens with the temperature, the pressures, the forces that exist at 5,000 feet. most people just can't comprehend. so you really have to do your calculations very carefully if it is going to work at all. they have to try it though. >> they have actually -- bp has actually reached out to the oil industry and said, have you got any ideas? send them our way. and you did send them a possible solution. what was it? >> i'm very worried about the spreading of the slick on the top of the surface. i had the opportunity to meet a few engineers at the offshore technology conference who came forward with experience from another part of the world. the arabian gulf where a huge spill took place some 20 years ago. it was such a large spill, larger than anything we've seen in this country, ever, that they actually deployed super tankers to skim the surface of the ocean. by skimming the surface of the ocean with these huge super tankers in formation, they could collect massive quantities of oil, off-load it, come back out, collect more, and actually the report from these engineers is they had a very clean, clean-up taking place. >> why didn't we ever hear about this? >> well, the press is not exactly open in that particular part of the world, and it is a spill that was huge but never reported. >> and you mention this to bp. what was the response? >> they were looking into it. i don't know where it went from there. of course, this is also something the coast guard could decide to deploy, the interior department. we're just trying to get the message out there that maybe there is a remedy that hasn't been tried, putting chemical dispersants on the surface of the ocean is not a good thing for sea life. >> you say there is a negative effect here, what they're doing is making the problem worse. >> it solves one problems but creates another which i think potentially makes it much worse. if we can get super tankers in place to skim the surface, they have the equipment and the capacity, and in the scheme of things, 5,000 barrels a day relative to huge super tankers is not a huge amount of oil. >> there's been a lot of criticism, in general, about the lack of federal oversight when it comes to the oil industry and the drilling offshore. you were in the business, you were in big in the business. is it a case of the oil industry basically the fox guarding the hen house? >> i never thought of it that way. i always respected what the regulators had to say. the experience in the industry is so technical, it is so well developed, that people who work in government may not have the expertise, but they have the authority. and it was my position, and my company's position, that we don't run the industry. we work for according to the permits, the regulations and so forth, and try to make sound judgments in that regard. >> quickly, all the finger pointing that we saw in washington, d.c. over the past couple of days, shameful? >> it's not productive. it's just not productive. i think having hearings on a preliminary basis like this may be good for congress, but we're frustrated because we don't have answers to the questions that are being asked. when documents get produced that haven't been reviewed and somebody has to respond to a document they've never seen before, that's setting somebody up for a pretty difficult exercise. i've been there. i've been through that process. it is an ugly way to try to get answers. it's better if we can do the investigations and then in a timely way and reveal what we know when we know it. >> john hofmeister, thank you. 7:10. now back to matt in cannes. meredith, thank you. now to the search for the family of the only survivor of wednesday's deadly plane crash in tripoli, libya, a crash that killed 103 people. the sole survivor is a 10-year-old boy now hospitalized with multiple fractures of his legs. dawna friesen is in london with more on this story. >> reporter: good morning. somehow a boy, thought to be 9 or 10 years old, named rubin, survived this plane crash in libya, while 103 others on-board did not. most of the victims were dutch tourists, families on their way home from spring break in south africa. a new photo released this morning of what many are calling a miracle boy. one look at what remains of afriquiyah air flight 771, so shattered a wreckage that only the tail is recognizable, makes this sight all the more remarkable. a boy, legs fractured, head bandaged, but alive. the sole survivor of the crash he was barely conscious when found and muttered "holland" when asked where he's from. he's since had surgery and a libyan doctor told dutch tv he's in stable condition and starting to talk. >> he could speak and he could say his name. >> and his name was? >> i think his name was robin or something. i don't know how you pronounce it. >> reporter: dutch officials believe he is rubin van asdel, 9 years old, who had been on an african safari with his family. >> there has been a tendency from what we found in these other accidents that the parents have shielded the child, providing a higher level of protection. >> reporter: lone survivors, while rare, are not unknown. last summer a young girl was found clinging to the wreckage 13 hours after a plane went down in the water off the islands. this girl did survive a northwest airlines flight that crashed after take-off in michigan killing all the rest of the 154 people on-board, including her parents and brother. the afriquiyah air crash, an airbus a 330 happened on the runway in tripoli. libyan authorities have ruled out terrorism. as the sole survivor recovers, what have thought to be his aunt and uncle, are being searched for. dutch media is reporting a short time ago the aunt and uncle arrived in the hospital in tripoli. when the boy saw them, he smiled. so what seems a happy reunion, in of course absolutely tragic circumstances. >> dawna, thank you. dawna friesen in london this morning. let's go back to new york. ann curry is standing by at news desk with all the other headlines of the day. ann, good morning to you. good morning to all of you. we begin with an update on the string of attacks on children in china. it turns out the man who attacked the kindergarten class wednesday was known to the children, according to officials. they say he lived near the school and saw the children daily. seven toddlers were killed in the brutal attack, some as young as 3 years old. one teacher was also killed and 11 other children are hospitalized. a school in houston, texas is under investigation after a video from a student's cell phone apparently showed a teacher beating a 13-year-old student. the teacher has since been fired. the boy suffered some bruises. in an effort to prevent another housing crisis, the senate voted wednesday to ban loan officers and mortgage brokers from being paid more money when offering higher interest rates to borrowers. the senate also voted to require borrowers to prove they can repay their loans. > some mixed news on the housing market this morning. a real estate tracking firm says the number of american homes facing foreclosure is down. more than 9% since march. but the same tracking firm also says the fastest growing group of people falling into foreclosure are homeowners with good credit who did not take out risky loans. wall street is hoping for another rally today. cnbc's erin burnett is at the new york stock exchange. what's the good news? >> so here's some good news actually for consumers. stocks are going to be a little more cautious out of the gate but we're back to where we were before that flash crash. companies are still competing to get consumers' loyalty in this slowdown. sprint/nextel will be offering cell phone service for 7 cents a minute, 30 cents cheaper than its nearest competitor. that's going to be at walmart. according to the "wall street journal," the probe into mortgage deals is expanding from goldman sachs and morgan stanley to also include jpmorgan chase, citigroup, deutsche bank and ubs. back to you. >> erin burnett this morning, thanks. a wayward gray while hale h become entangled in fishing ropes. a team from seaworld removed 100 pounds of fishing net from the 20-ton female who was docile during her rescue and is now back swimming in the ocean. 7:15. back to meredith. >> i'm glad she's okay. now let's get a first check of the weather. al is still out in l.a. again. good morning, al. >> good morning. it's cloudy, damp, and chilly. temperatures only in the low 50s to near 50. 53 in washington and a little bit of scattered drizzle for this morning and a little sun this afternoon and mostly cloudy. highs in the low and mid 60s. 60s overnight and tomorrow into the 80s by mid-afternoon. partly cloudy. late afternoon, strong thunderstorms. drying out over the weekend and >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. now to capitol hill and the debate over financial reform. this morning as the senate wrestles with new legislation, some suggest those very lawmakers deserve some of the blame for the economic collapse. nbc's senior investigators correspondent lisa myers is in washington. lisa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. congress has spent a lot of energy lately bashing wall street. but experts say that in assessing blame, congress also needs to look in the mirror, that its cozy relationship with wall street led to lax rules that enabled the meltdown to happen. the senate's investigation of what caused the financial meltdown has zeroed in on many things. >> you ought to have plenty of regrets. >> reporter: mortgage lenders gave liar loans that couldn't be repaid. federal regulators were asleep at the switch. credit rating agencies gave inflated ratings to investments that turned out to be junk. and investment banks like goldman sachs made billions, feeding bad mortgages into the economy where they blew up. >> all of the fingers from those three days of hearings turn to wall street. >> reporter: but experts point fingers at another important culprit -- congress itself. >> i think congress deserves a lot of the blame for the meltdown. >> reporter: why? because experts say congress, when controlled by democrats and by republicans, created the conditions that allowed wall street to run wild. elizabeth warren chairs the panel named by congress to oversee the t.a.r.p. bailout. >> basically congress threw open the door to the financial services industry and they said, "have at it. have at the american family. sell them whatever you want to sell them. trick them however you want to trick them. trap them however you want to trap them." >> reporter: congress repealed banking safeguards in place since the great depression. declined to regulate some failed wall street practices and failed to do anything even after repeated warnings that families were being victimized by predator practices. and wall street banks and mortgage companies, in turn, funded congressional campaigns. providing more than $626 million in contributions over the last 20 years. 52% to democrats, 48% to republicans. and, in recent months, wall street has actually stepped up contributions to both parties. >> wall street, the big banks, still have a phenomenal power over congress. >> reporter: in fact, some experts argue that the financial reform bill now before the senate does not go nearly far enough to prevent another meltdown. hou however, senate majority leader harry reid says the bill provides the strongest protection ever against wall street greed. members of congress insist campaign contributions do not influence their decisions. >> of course. nbc's lisa myers, thank you very much. it is 7:19. once again, here's matt. >> from capitol hill to wall street, whether you are referring to the economy or the classic film of 1987, there is no doubt that things are very different today than they were back then. so is oliver stone prepares to revisit with gordon gekko with the special screening of "wall street: money never sleeps" in cannes, we thought we'd look at the wall street landscape to see how he's changed both on and off the big screen. >> greed, for lack of a better word, is good. greed is right. greed works. >> reporter: that was then. 1987. michael douglas is gordon gekko, the epitome of wall street excess. >> just enough to block anybody else's merger plans and find out from the inside if the books are cooked. >> you're kidding me. you didn't trade it? >> reporter: while this is now, 22 years after the first "wall street" premiered, michael douglas is once again suiting up his gordon gekko. in oliver stone's new movie wall street money never sleeps. >> a fisherman always seeing another fisherman from afar. i think you ought to start calling me gordon. >> gordon gekko became this sort of iconic figure in pop culture. he was kind of the emblem of everything that went wrong in wall street in the 1980s. watching the money again, you realize that it's not just about greedy people on wall street, it's about how that affected the entire country. >> reporter: today americans are still reeling from the effects of the worst economic crisis since the great depression. homes have been foreclosed. jobs have been lost, and a lot of people blame wall street. but have things really changed there? >> in some ways wall street has changed a lot and in other ways hasn't changed at all actually. there's been a explosion in individual investors, 100 million investors today. it's much more broad-based. but on another level it hasn't changed at all because risk is being used in a big way and that is the same thing as 20 years ago. >> try telling the feds you didn't commit a felony. >> reporter: michael douglas as gordon gekko may have aged a bit but has his philosophy changed? the answer will be revealed on the big screen. in real life though, it turns out the more things change, the more they stay the same. >> there will always be gordon gekkos. there will always be the bad apples, people who want to push the envelope and think they're smarter than the system, and that remains today. >> still to come here in cannes, the cast of "wall street: money never sleeps," michael suggest glass, shia la beouf, karen mulligan, josh brolin. who am i leaving out? and the director -- oliver stone will all join us live. but first, this is "today" on nbc. still ahead, meredith vieira, larger than life here in cannes. i'll explain. plus, anna nicole smith's daughter, dannielynn, is here with her dad, larry birkhead, after your local news. good morning. there is the 13th day of may. in the news, we have breaking news on i-66. let's go to jerry edwards. >> good morning. it is a car fire and it is created a huge mess east on i-66 before the exit for the capitol beltway. tired up with fire development. only the far left lane gets by. that is growing rapidly as you make the trip from fair oaks. utility work if you weren't with us, canal road at the white hurst freeway, one lane open to traffic in either direction. the key bridge is now jammed. >> we will take a br >> cloudy and cool and scattered drizzle. temperatures in the low and mid 50s. by mid-afternoon, sun breaking out and tomorrow much warmer into the 80s and could get afternoon and evening thunderstorms and dry and cooler for the weekend. sunshine returns for saturday and sunday. that's the way it looks now. >> wake up and tune in. we begin at 4:30 every weekday morning. headlines, weather, and traffic as soon as you get 7:30 now on a thursday morning. it is also the 13th day of may, 0 2010. you're looking at the spectacular sight of cannes, france. the premier of "robin hood" last night was a star-studded event. more than 1,600 films vying for considering at this year's festival. 167 were actually entered. i'm matt lauer in cannes. coming up, we'll have the stars of another hotly anticipated movie, a blockbuster in the making, this one is "wall street: money never sleeps." the stars, michael douglas, shia la beouf, karen mulligan, josh brolin, the director, oliver stone will all join us live in just a couple of minutes. meanwhile, meredith is back in new york. what else is happening? >> matt, also ahead from new york, it has been three years since the tragic death of anna nicole smith. now some of her personal items are going up for auction to benefit the daughter that she left behind. this morning, 3-year-old dannielynn is here. she's sleeping. along with her father, larry birkhead. we'll catch up with them and check out some of the items from that auction just ahead. she was out last night seeing mary poppins so she's a little tired this morning. we begin this half-hour with a new effort by casey anthony's legal team to block the possibility that she will face the death penalty in found guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter caylee. nbc's kerry sanders is in orlando with details. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. casey anthony's legal defense team has come to court here this week throwing just about every argument at the new judge to take the death penalty off the table. it's an emotional high-stakes debate, but the new judge says he sees no legal reason to stop prosecutors from asking for the ultimate penalty -- execution. tears, and more tears from casey anthony. as her mother cindy sits anxiously in the courtroom. >> how do they intend to prove that? >> reporter: together, hoping they could get the death penalty dropped from the case. >> why it is that they are ying that they can show this premeditated homicide, when their own medical examiner cannot determine a cause of death. >> reporter: caylee's official cause of death is homicide by undetermined means. a rare conclusion by the medical examiner who had limited forensics to work with. that's because caylee's skeletal remains, pieces of duct tape, and clothing, were found in the woods near her home six months after she disappeared. while casey says she's innocent, that her daughter was abducted, prosecutors have said before in graphic detail how they believe casey looked down on her daughter as she smothered her to death with duct tape stretched across her tiny mouth. maybe her killer even saw her eyes as the tape was applied, prosecutor jeff ashton said. first one piece, then two, then three. so that no breath was possible. the new judge in the case -- has established a fast-paced agenda. but what about those snapshots the defense wants eliminated as evidence? pictures of casey anthony out on the town. some taken long before, but others snapped during the 31-day period when casey failed to tell anyone her daughter was missing. >> these statements are nothing short of outrageous. to assume that a person is a bad person because they go to a nightclub. >> reporter: prosecutors say the photos are relevant and important to a jury. >> exactly what her activities were during the specific time frame. >> reporter: women rarely face the death penalty. only two women have ever been executed in florida. >> if the prosecution can prove that a mother intentionally murdered her own child in order to pursue a wild social life, and this is indeed a death penalty case. >> reporter: defense experts say those pictures will taint a jury into believing casey's a bad mom, so she must be guilty. >> if we're talking about a woman defendant, and if that woman defendant was deviant, she's likely to get tagged for it and be very difficult to defend successfully. >> reporter: they even played this videotape for the judge to show the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the case. >> i believe that the mother is guilty! >> reporter: the judge says finding a fair jury in orlando is unlikely. his plan, pick jurors in another florida city and bring them to orlando for what could be a two-month-long trial. the judge did decide that prosecutors must explain in writing why they're pursuing a death penalty case, and that essentially will provide a road map to the defense as to how and why they believe that casey anthony allegedly killed her daughter, caylee. meredith? >> kerry sanders, thank you. dan abrams is nbc's chief legal analyst. good morning. let's talk about the onus that's on the prosecution right now. what do you need to convict someone in a death penalty case in florida? >> you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt, first of all. but in order to get the death penalty, you have to have aggravating circumstances. aggravating factors. that's what the defense is waiting for. they're saying, what are those aggravating factors in this case? in this case, expect them to be premeditation, the cruel and heinous nature of the crime, the age of the victim and the fact that it was her daughter, and now the fact that she's also a convicted felon because she was convicted recently, pled guilty in connection with putting forward false checks. >> when the defense, though, argued unsuccessfully to try to get this death penalty off the table, one of the things they said was, how can this be premeditation when in fact the medical examiner has never indicated the cause of death. we don't know the cause of death. >> that's an argument for the jury, in effect. what the defense is trying to do, they're trying to say, look, as a legal matter, we want the death penalty off the table. very tough argument for the defense. in every case. because the burden is on the defense to be able to prove that there had been improper motives on the part of the prosecution, that there's no legal basis at all for this. very, very hard and not surprising that this judge has said that they can move forward. but this is just the very first step. >> did the defense have a point when they said they tried to argue there is an inherent bias against women who are aaccused of violent crimes, particularly accused of killing their children? >> whether they have a legitimate argument sort of broadly as a societal matter, maybe. as a legal matter, it is not a strong argument, meaning this would then suggest that almost any woman accused of killing her child shouldn't face the death penalty because there is this supposed bias. so i think this argument was a non-starter from the beginning. >> so it is not a case where women tend to be in that position more than men, because of their gender. >> i think what they were saying, in effect, was it is not going to be fair, that a jury won't be able to fairly evaluate the evidence because she's a woman, because she's a mother, because these pictures are going to come up, et cetera. that's an argument that they can try to make at a later date. it is not an argument that i think had any weight at this point. >> finally, it was the defense that wanted a new judge brought into this case and they have one now in this belvin perry. is that a win for the defense? >> be careful for what you ask for. they asked to disqualify the previous judge saying that he had some sort of connection to a blogger who had strong feelings about the case. they got that judge removed. now they've got a judge who may be even tougher on them than the previous judge. so you always have to be careful when you're seeking to dismiss a judge in a case, because you never know what you're going to get. >> dan abrams, thank you. now let's head out to los >> a big change from yesterday with an east wind bringing in chilly damp weather. 53 in washington and just near 50 in prips george county. low 50s in montgomery. high today may reach the low and mid 60s if we get sunshine breaking out. otherwise near 60 degrees and drizzle around this morning. tomorrow much warmer into the mid 80s and partly >> don't forget to check your weather any time of the day or night by going to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? >> al, thank you very much. up next, how anna nicole smith's daughter is doing three years after her mom's death. we're going to meet her and talk to her dad, larry birkhead, just after this. wake up! p! 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 now get a 27-month, low mileage lease on this malibu ls for around $199 a month. call for details. the switch to chevy starts at chevy dealer dot com. vegetables are naturally low in calories. v8 juice gives you 3 of your 5 daily servings. it's a tasty, nutritious way to make this number go up... and help this one go down. v8. what's your number? experience new positively nourishing body washes from aveeno, the naturals brand dermatologists trust most. delightfully fragrant, truly moisturizing. that's positively nourishing. only from aveeno. what if they change the terms? 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( crunch ) with the endless possibilities of kellogg's® pop-tarts, it's sure to be a picture perfect summer. pop-tarts®. made for fun. a necklace or a belt that's a conversation starter. a show stopper! i guess some women are destined to wear chico's. ♪ chicka boom boom boom, yeah, yeah ♪ what life is like now for anna nicole smith's daughter, danny loin. she is here, along with her father, larry birkhead. we'll talk to them in a moment, but first, here's nbc's natalie morales. >> dannielynn was just five months old when her mother died setting off a heated custody battle. now more than three years later she is a happy toddler and her father is making plans for her future. at just 3 1/2 years old, dannielynn birkhead has been in the spotlight her entire life. the daughter of the late "playboy" model anna nicole smith, dannielynn was born into life exposed to drugs, death and legal battles that continue to this day. in 2007, anna nicole smith died from an accidental drug overdose, just days after her giving birth to dannielynn. anna nicole's lawyer, howard k. stern, took the fight for custody of dannielynn to court and lost. >> when you compare dannielynn's life to a few years ago when her mother just died, there was this huge fight over the paternity and there is a big question of who the father was, you look at her life now, there is a lot of stability, a very strong father in larry and life seems to be pretty good for dannielynn right now. >> reporter: but in march, a federal court ruled anna nicole's estate is not entitled to $88 million left by smith's late husband, billionaire oil magnet j. howard marshall. >> the ruling essentially meant that dannielynn, who is the sole heir to anna nicole smith's estate would not get any money. we're talking a lot of money. >> reporter: now in an effort to raise money to support her, dannielynn's father, larry birkhead, is set to sell off some of the ex-model's memorabilia at an upcoming auction in las vegas. but the glare of the spotlight may return to dannielynn later this summer when stern, her mother's former attorney and two of the doctors who treated her, go on trial for charges of illegally supplying smith with the prescription drugs that killed her. >> this is going to be very dramatic and it is going to put anna nicole smith right back in the headlines. >> by the way, that trial is set to begin on august 4th in los angeles. meredith? >> natalie, thank you very much. larry birkhead is here along with his sleepy daughter, dannielynn. good morning to you. we mentioned before you were out last night seeing "mary poppins." she obviously had a good time and is sleeping in this morning. it's been over three years since anna nicole was found in that hotel in florida. you gained custody of dannielynn after a rather drawn out custody battle with her attorney, howard k. stern, sort of thrown into this role of being a single dad. what's this been like for you? >> it's been a wild ride but i'm settled and there's always drama, always headlines, there's always things that pop up, anna nicole and keeps the memory kind of fresh. it is kind of hard to move on. but we're happy and she's happy baby and -- tired but happy. we're moving ahead. >> what is day to day life like for you guys? >> she's like any other kid. except there is a lot of attention on her and we try to do the play dates like any other family. sometimes it is difficult, people pop cameras up and do things. but we have a house that i just finishing in kentucky. she'll start preschool soon. hopefully have a quiet life and as normal as she can. just be happy. >> she's going to start preschool soon which means she's going to start asking a lot of questions, if she hasn't already about her mom, where her mom is, what's happened. what have you told her about her mom? >> originally you try to be as child-friendly as you can. first i started with mommy's in the clouds, now we'll graduate to mommy's in heaven. she has these play dates where she sees other kids with moms, she sees cartoon characters with their mothers. she's curious. right now we just keep it as friendly as we can and i think down the road, with her starting school it is going to be a little more difficult. i think that's what i'll turn to some expert help to help me. i've never been in a situation obviously like this, of this magnitude. i just do the best i can with the knowledge i have and with support from friends and family. they try and help me. >> i was going to say, because anna nicole's life was at times extremely complicated and very troubled. those are things that are documented, that she at some point is going to see it or wonder about it, someone will say something to her. >> luckily she's not googling yet. she's just still a kid. there will be the time when she'll learn things about her mom. but, again, they're not all bad things. her mom was a great individual and she was -- she did a lot of things for charity. she was happy, she loved kids. even though she met a tragic death, she loved life and there were many things that -- happy things that i can tell her about her mom. >> over the course of the past three years, larry, you've been criticized from time to time for being on the cover of a lot of magazines, being on a lot of entertainment shows. especially in the beginning we saw a lot of you with your daughter. do you think you were unfairly criticized? do you understand where that came from? >> well, i guess everybody's going to be criticized for something. i don't think that -- think there was such a soap opera and there were so many people that were rooting for one person or another and there was a ton of interest. so to me, i tried to find a balance of allowing people's curiosity to be met, but also at the same time shielding her. i think i've done a great job. i don't see her nearly as much as you do other celebrity children. she's rarely anymore seen and that's one of the reasons why we traveled back to kentucky and kind of the safe haven where you don't have all of that. but, you know, i just realize you're going to get criticized for something at all times. i just do the best job i can do as a father. >> you also traveled to l.a. a lot because you're still dealing with the estate on a constant basis. that means you're dealing with howard k. stern who is the executor. now he is going to go to trial for -- accused of supplying the drugs that killed anna nicole. do you feel he should continue to be executor? is there anything you can do about that? >> well, at this point, the estate's moving along as needed, and at some point if there's any reason why he shouldn't be or -- you know, i think that he's been charged in the media as being guilty already. he think he and the doctors have their day in court. if it leads to something else other than not guilty, then i think at that time we have to address it. at this time we have a working relationship where he has been -- we had the paternity struggle, but then on the estate level and business, he actually has become a friend and at this time -- i don't think that he had anything to do with anna nicole's death. obviously. but -- >> you don't. >> i don't. i think some of his interests in her might have clouded some of his judgment as far as the paternity battle being resolved and that whole issue. but i think as far as if anyone were to ever tell me he'd harm anna or daniel, that would be crazy. that basically was their life. and still is to this day, he's still working for the estate, still doing things. there is a lot of things in the headlines about the judgment and they're continuing that whole fight on to the supreme court as far as i know. >> you're standing by him, at least for the time being. >> well, you know, i've been a witness. i've cooperated with the authorities and i've told them everything that i know. their attempts to try to build a time line. if that were to lead to something down the road, then i'm open-minded as far as that goes. but at this point, i've seen nothing to the contrary that he would do anything to harm them. >> when we come back, we'll show you some of the items you're auctioning off of anna nicole's to go to dannielynn for her future. back after these messages. er these messages. homes for those in need? 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>> coming up tonight at 5:00, they are sneakers that claim to give you a work out with every step. they claim to tone your legs and other areas without a trip to the gym. we will find out whether they morning, may 13th here in the united states. picture-perfect afternoon in the south of france where some of the biggest stars in the world have flocked for the cannes film festival. a number of them are actually with matt live. that is the gang from "wall street: money never sleeps" which premiers at the festival tomorrow night. outside on the plaza here in new york, i'm meredith vieira, along with a lot of our buddies right here. matt! matt, take a look at this. "we love matt all the way from california." unfortunately, matt's not here. he's over in cannes. hey, matt. they're missing you. >> meredith, thanks very much. i'm doing good here. it's been a lot of fun. people have waited 22 years for the return of gordon gekko. they aren't going to have to wait much longer. oliver stone will premier "wall street: money never sleeps" right here at the cannes film festival in just a couple of days. then it comes out for the public in september. we've got the cast and the director on the couch here. we'll be talking to them in just a couple of minutes. but, there is another star, meredith, casting a huge shadow here in cannes. take a look at what i discovered walking the streets here. meredith, you seemed a little jealous about the fact i was in cannes and you were back home. what people don't know is that you recently went to london -- movie star -- and you shot a part for the upcoming movie "gull ver's travels" starring jack black. imagine our surprise walking here in cannes when we see a huge billboard for "gulliver's travels" and jack black that features you prominently. here's the billboard right in front of our hotel. who is that right there with the parted red hair? that is our own meredith vieira. ruling cannes! >> oh, you think you're so funny. that was not me. >> congratulations. that's big. >> my role is a little bit bigger than that, mr. lauer. not much bigger. >> the way you held that rope, meredith -- >> yeah, i'd like to use that rope on you right now, but that's a whole nother matter. cut away from that! just ahead from new york, larry birkhead will be back to show us some of the rare anna nicole smith items that are going up for auction, everything from a fancy dog bed to a portrait of her ex-husband, to this. this here is part of her artwork. first, kathie lee and hoda are here to reveal their true selves because they are here to reveal today is a no-makeup day. come on, girls, put the papers down. are you mice or are you women? put the papers down. come on! put the papers down, give us a look. you're not even going to talk? you noah, matt? let me tell you, they may not be willing to show their faces right now but i participated in this earlier. they took a shot of me without my makeup. i'm a little embarrassed but i'm going to reveal it. what the heck. take a look. i know i don't look as good! because i don't have my makeup on. but -- >> you know, i have to live with that image every morning when you walk in. it's tough. >> i know. you poor thing, you. let's throw it over to ann at the news desk who i'm not sure if she has her makeup on or not. she's so beautiful, you never know. >> thanks for that. we'll show our bare faces later. let's talk about the news. we're finally getting an up-close look at oil gushing into the gulf of mexico and we're learning more about the human errors that may have helped cause the environmental catastrophe. new images show oil and natural gas are spewing from the well 40 miles off the coast of louisiana and congressional investigators said on wednesday a device that failed to seal the damaged well was broken and had a dead battery. doctors say the dutch boy who is the sole survivor of wednesday's jetliner crash in labor ya is in satisfactory condition after surgery to repair his fractured legs. the boy's aunt and uncle arrived in libya to see him today and he said -- they said that he smiled at them. his parents and brother were among the 103 people who perished in the crash. president obama holds a town hall meeting on the economy today in buffalo, new york, a city hard hit by job losses. he will visit a small metal works plant and urge congress to act quickly on its proposal to help small businesses expand and hire more workers. meantime, revealing new numbers in the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll which shows 69% of americans like the president personally but only 51% approve of his policies. on that controversial immigration law in arizona, a majority of americans, 64%, support the measure, while 34% oppose, and at the same time, 70% of hispanics oppose the law. supreme court nominee elena kagan returns to capitol hill today meeting with senators who will vote on her confirmation. among them, democrat arlen specter who voted against kagan for her current job as solicitor general. on wednesday, kagan responded to some republican concerns about the potential political bias by insisting she would be faithful to the law. now here's brian williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." >> hey, ann, thanks. tonight, the warrior games. for the first time, a sports competition for wounded servicemen and women. how these games boost morale and change lives. how they're making a difference. that is tonight on "nightly news." ann, for now, back to you. >> brian, thanks so much. it is now 8:05. let's go out to los angeles and get a check of the weather from >> good morning. an east wind chill on this thursday morning. low cloud and temperatures if the low 50s. 52 in washington. staying in the 50s throughout the morning. scattered drizzle as the day progresses. afternoon highs in the low to mid 60s if sunshine breaks out. sun in the mid-afternoon and mostly cloudy and 60s overnight. partly cloudy and warmer and late afternoon and evening strong storms. sunshine returns and >> that's your latest weather. now, matt, i must say, you are rocking the no-socks look. i love it! >> frank langella has the no-socks working also. we'll talk about that in a second as we catch up with the cast and director of "wall street: money never sleeps." live from cannes. but first, these messages.. what do you guys want to do? 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a special screening of "wall street: money never sleeps" happens here in cannes in the next few days. we're thrilled to have the cast and director with us. guys, ladies, nice to have you all here. thank you for letting us shoot this in your hotel suite. this is really, preelly nice. >> by the way, nice socks, matt. >> thank you very much. frank as well. >> we're the only guys without socks. >> oliver, start with you. 22 years ago -- >> don't start with me. >> let's do it. none of you may get a word in after this. 22 years ago, it was a huge hit, the movie. but some say you felt maybe you missed your mark with the message. instead of casting a light on the greed of wall street, it served in some ways as a recruiting film for young people who wanted to emulate this guy right here. so making this movie, did you approach it differently? >> no. frankly, we took another -- yeah, we did. michael douglas is broke in the movie. he comes out of jail broke. so he has to work his way back up into the system. he uses shia who is a young trader with integrity to get there. shia is engaged to his daughter, carey mulligan. >> gordon gekko's daughter. didn't tell the ending! >> it is a different ball game because he has to get back inside. how he does it is very interesting. >> the movie starts with your character getting out of prison. what has he learned in eight years behind bars? about the financial system. >> oh. >> this is a morning show! >> i mean, first of all, you can't make message movies. all right? the first one worked because it was dramatic and it was also about characters. but what blew my mind about this one is how much the personal relationships, the familial relationships work. carey plays my daughter, shia is her boyfriend. frank is sort of the good aspects of wall street. josh, not so good aspects. >> seemed to me in the first movie you had to create a villain and you created him. now the villain has hmm been created for you in this movie based on what we see in the headlines every day and what we see sitting testifying before senate committees. did that make it easier you think for everyone? >> no, that's the framework. we had to create a story, narrative with five actors playing very complex parts and they're all interacting with each other. basically on this couch portrays everybody else at one point or another in the movie. >> we're about to portray each other right now. >> i don't think frank is so good a guy. actually he's playing a guy who's like the lehman brothers guy. >> you're the guy who created the system, then was devoured by the system. >> i don't think my character is that of a bitch -- can i say that? >> you just did. >> josh is not all bad. >> josh is all bad. >> carey, your character introduces us to the family side of gordon, a side we haven't seen. you're in some ways the conscience of this movie -- you also, probably, shia -- how did you feel about going to this subject matter? would you have any trepidations about it? >> no. i mean it was sort of boring. of course i saw it. no, i felt like it was just a different story. we were revisiting a really amazing character. i was excited to be in the family. >> you said you hung out with some traders getting ready for this. and this is a wild group. >> yeah. i felt heavy pressure walking into this. this cast is pretty heavy. you know? a bunch of heavy-hitters. i remember coming in a room -- not fat! >> i've lost 30 pounds. >> you know what i mean. for me, it's big. kind of like the all-star team. the only way i could feel comfortable in the room was to know more than anybody else. i tried. i tried. i don't know if i did, but i tried. >> he started trading himself with some guys. he did very well, thank you very much. >> didn't you have a trading company also? >> i did. i did. and we failed miserably. no, we did okay. even after september '08. we never went for the big win, we got the little jumps. they then i started working more and i didn't need it. >> ask shia how much he made. >> people were trading at the same time, so we would send each other our makes and losses. then we would talk about it on the set all the time. it was always coming up. oliver was always on me because i didn't really read the -- >> it's something new. >> i wasn't reading the "wall street journal" often. >> you were hanging out with the big hitters. >> yeah, we had a couple guys like john thomas financial, guys that were working there. >> schottenheimer. >> those guys, like while i was training with them, i wound up going inside to insider trading when i was with them. >> we're thinking we're going to promote this movie now, when it comes out in september there will be a lot of promotion for it. but in some ways isn't the promotion going to happen in the newspaper every day? that's really what's going to promote this movie based on what's happening in real life. >> if we'd come out last week, we have a company that shorts the market like goldman did. but we're not making a news picture. we want to make a movie that's going to last through time way beyond this crisis. >> how big is just this moment? >> people. human beings. people are just human beings, not interested in stock market crisis. this is a crisis, yes. major heart attack, yes. but these people take you to another realm beyond. it's drama. >> i was knocked out on the relationships -- sorry. no, i'm sorry, frank. >> i said in the commercial break, don't be afraid to jump in on each other. >> you said don't be afraid to jump on each other. >> josh brolin, frank langella, oliver stone, shia la beouf, michael douglas, thank you. back with much more from cannes, new york after these messages. get our hands a little busier. our dollars a little stronger. and our thinking a little greener. let's grab all the bags and all the plants and all the latest tools out there. so we can turn all these savings into more colorful shades of doing. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we've made a special buy on bonnie vegetable and herb plants for just $2.98 each. toi switched to a complete0, multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has gingko for memory and concentration plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. 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(announcer) smucker's captures the goodness of fruit in every jar- even the flavorful aroma. we are back at 8:22 with some of anna nicole smith's personal items set to be auctioned off three years after her tragic death to benefit, both charity and her daughter, danniely dannielynn. dannielynn's father, larry birkhead is back, along with julian from julian's auction house. good morning, again. you had to go through, larry, so many storage units full of stuff because anna nicole didn't like to get rid everything. >> no. it was quite a job. >> you also decided what to save for your daughter. were their certain items i want this for dannielynn when she gets bigger? >> obviously jewelry. every girl likes jewelry. anything special that could tell a story that i could tell. every single outfit could tell a story about anna nicole because of the way she lived life. fortunately, i am able to share some of these with her fans. >> she lived a very eccentric life but she sort of is off the radar to some extent. you think this is going to do well? >> absolutely. since we announced the auction we've had huge interest all over the world. there is a fascination with anna nicole smith. she has a huge fan base all over the world. >> begin with this outfit worn at a halloween party. >> yes. in 2004. and it is a great piece. comes with the hat and great photographs of anna wearing it. >> i'm glad you didn't save this for dannielynn. tell us the story behind this. this is from a christmas show that she did. >> this is from "anna nicole smith's holiday special." kathy griffin was comedian. it was a wild time, popular with the fans. >> you think people who know anna nicole smith and loved her will remember this dress because they're the type of people who would have watched this had special. >> exactly. >> moving on, this is a fur coat. she ended up teaming with peta and they asked her to get rid of this coat. >> once she had a conversation with them where she promised not to wear them. she told me this came from her husband, the late howard marshall. so she agreed not to wear it but she said that they kind of came to an agreement she'd keep it in the closet for another day. so here it is. >> thought it was time to auction it off. now this outfit is significant because of where she wore it. >> she wore this on a trip to graceland. we went together down to tour the house. she was photographed outside the gates of graceland looking at the exhibit. she was an elvis fan as well as a big marilyn fan. >> that will do very well. >> i can understand the coat or that dress, but this is just a plain outfit she wore -- >> it is when she went to see another celebrity's estate and also, you know, i mean anything associated with anna nicole smith is -- there is a lot of interest in it. it was a piece that will do well just because it was hers. >> i didn't realize she was an artist. she loved to paint. this is one of her works right here. >> it is. it's a dazed and confused power puff girl. >> she probably felt like that a lot of her life. >> you see the red eyes. a little bit of humor there. >> but, yeah. she loved to paint and this just kind of was one of the main paintings she did throughout her life. >> what do you expect something like this to go for? >> we estimate around $4,600. $1,600 on the paintings. >> this hung over your bed? >> this oung over anna nicole's master bedroom. >> this was her doggy's bed. >> sugar pie's bed. the auction i 8:26 and 51 degrees. cloudy chis and we will have the forecast in a moment. we have breaking news right now on i-66. let's go to jerry with details. good morning. >> we just can't catch a break along 66. this time the problem is a serious accident that occurred westbound i-6 approaching route 28. this is the westbound side and fire and rescue is on the scene. vehicle and another truck involved in the accident headed inbound. the left lane and fire and rescue are on the scene. headed for downtown and reports of a possible car with a manhole cover. headed over the potomac into >> it is cloudy and chilly in the low 50s. highs may reach 60s. much warmer tomorrow with storms. >> thank you, tom. tonight at 5:00, they are sneakers that claim to give you a work out with every step. it claims to even tone your legs and butt without 8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 13th day of may, 2010. as you can see, a lot of sunshine, it seems, there in the northeast, in new york city, rockefeller plaza. nice crowd of people gathered on this thursday morning. we expect an even bigger crowd tomorrow morning when our summer concert series gets under way with the one and only sting, live on the plaza. that's going to be a hot ticket, if you're in the new york area, come down early, get a spot. that's on the 8:30 half-hour tomorrow morning. meredith and ann are out on the plaza this morning. save me a space for that. i'm going to try to jump on a plane here in a couple of minutes and make it back for that. >> we hope you do. it will be very exciting. this young lady is named katie. you remember the other katie. university of arkansas, just read this. okay? >> and, matt -- and matt, i hear you had quite a morning there in cannes. matt? >> wow. you're the future, katie. there's no question about that. i did, katie, meredith and ann. got to take part in a fun event a couple of hours ago, the ribbon cutting for the american pavilion here at the cannes film festiv festival. that was the u.s. ambassador to france and monaco. the american pavilion where all things american happen here in cannes. group discussions on films, things like that. it was a lot of fun. just part of the hobnobbing that goes on here in cannes, ladies. >> my goodness. go ahead. >> we're going to have more coming up, including a look at some of the wealth that gathers here especially during the 12 days of the festival. >> don't get used to it, because you're coming home. >> i know. >> also from here in new york, top chef host padma lakshmi is here. >> she's such a wonderful woman. this will be a different side of padma. but good morning. here on this thursday, it is cloudy and chilly and scattered drizzle is dissipating and temperatures in the low 50s around the region. only 52 in washington. a persistent east wind will keep it cool today. we may get a few breaks with highs in the low and mid 60s and tomorrow much warmer with a southwesterly breeze into the mid 80s and during the late and afternoon and evening >> don't forget, any time you want your weather, day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. now let's head down to ft. meyers, florida and say hello to uncle willard scott. >> how good it is to be in florida. i miss new york, don't get me wrong. but here is lovely. happy birthday from smucker's to all of our birthday buddies in tv land. as the jar spins, alfred robbins, coral springs, florida. 100 years old, retired electrical engineer. looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday with 60 of his old buddies and family. i don't know 60 people now. look at charlotte rubin. beverly hills, california. always nice. 101. second time she's tried to get on the show. i'm glad our crew was alert and got her there. she sat on teddy roosevelt's lap when she was just a child. isn't that funny she remembers that? happy birthday to you. take a look, if you will please, columbus smith, clarksville, pennsylvania. marched in president hooverer's inaugural parade in the '20s. enjoys planting in his vegetable garden and also playing in his vegetable garden and learning all about crops. a good little farmer. sophia brown, billings, montana, you have near big sky. 100 years old today. works at an airport today in the kiosk information booth and volunteers at noon with all sorts of organizations like meals on wheels. that's good, service to others. and we have tinh nguyen. centervil centerville, virginia. 100 years old today. reunited with his children after the vietnam war and claims the love that he has for his family has kept him going forever. good. katherine justice of bal harboru, florida. 100 years old. plays jazz all of her life and loves it. played in a new york theater. that's it from your favorite birthday boy. back to new york. coming up next, padma lakshmi opens up about a very difficult illness, a painful condition this morning on "today's health," end meet yo sis, it is a painful condition that affects 1 in 10 american women but does not get a lot of attention. among them, padma lakshmi. we'll talk to her in a moment, but first here's nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> it is a very private subject, and it's an illness that affects the most intimate part of a woman. >> reporter: for 23 years, 39-year-old padma lakshmi waged a very private battle. >> i was diagnosed very late. >> reporter: the model, actress and reality show host suffered from painful debilitating periods. >> a lot of us are told to just grin and bear it or that it's our lot in life to suffer through pain. but pain is really your body's way of telling you that something's wrong. >> reporter: something was wrong, and padma was determined to find answers. she saw countless doctors until finally a diagnosis. >> i had stage 4 endometriosis which was unchecked until i was 36 years old. >> reporter: it affects 90 million women worldwide and occurs when menstruation flow backs up through the fallopian tubes and spills into the abdominal cavity. >> i'm a college-educated woman. i live in america, in a big metropolitan city. i had access to all the best doctors, members of my family who were in the medical profession. yet i had never heard the word endoimmediate yo sis. >> reporter: there is no known cure for this painful disease that often goes undetected for years. for padma, that diagnosis brought emotional pain as well. endometriosis is the leading cause of infertility among woman. >> i always want the choice about motherhood. you don't want it to be made for you. >> i first started suffering from endometriosis when i was a teenager. >> i thought it was important to speak up so other women didn't have to go through what i went through. >> life is not supposed to be filled with pain just because you're woman. >> reporter: after five surgeries, years of treatment and being told she would never have a child naturally -- the unexpected happened. padma beat the odds and in february gave birth to a healthy baby girl. >> i can't believe that she's in my life. i remember being in the delivery room right before she came and i remember just tears coming down my eyes and saying, thank you. thank you so much for giving me my daughter. >> padma lakshmi and dr. nancy snyderman, good morning. first of all, congratulations. your baby is beautiful. how is she doing? >> she's great. she's healthy, happy, hungry. fantastic. thank you. >> i'm sure in your life somewhat of a miracle. >> yeah, it's funny because last year when we were getting the foundation together, the e endometriosis foundation of america, it happened, because i had to many surgeries, i wanted to make sure i could insure my own ability to be a mom. and i knew i had had all these surgeries and i knew that endometriosis is one of the leading causes of infertility. and like me, many women defer being a mother until their late 30s or early 40s. so in the process of investigating my own options, i was told by a doctor that i wouldn't have children naturally, but i would only be able to have children, 15% to 20% chance of having children with in-vitro. i think it galvanized me to start the foundation with my doctor. i didn't want young girls to have to suffer like i did for a decade and a half. if i had been diagnosed in my early 20s rather than in my mid-30s, i would have had a much different life. >> 1 in every 10 women have it, why is it so hard to diagnose? >> what happens when we're teenagers. we talk about our periods, we're cramping, we don't feel good. it becomes the societal norm. unless you have extremely irregular periods, a lot of cramping and sort of outside that normal 40-yard line area, doctors don't think about it and women don't know about it. then when it is time to get pregnant, it's like, i can't get pregnant. then it becomes part of the normal infertility worko-up. you may not have all of these. some women don't have any of them. but irregular periods, heavy bleeding, a lot of cramping. >> back aches. >> back aches. >> weirder pain than just sort of the normal cranky. if you feel like you're sort of out of your body when you are a having your period, huge hormonal fluctuations. some women, like padma, you found out, i thought this was going to be the easy part. >> i have been blessed with this beautiful daughter. sort of good karma from starting the foundation and i'm so thankful. >> is it treatable then? >> well, it is treatable. look. i thit use the word preventible because that word "preventable" in the truest sense because it is really just bits and pieces of the uterine lining going up retrograde and not coming out of one's body. birth control pills are a terrific way to sort of regulate periods, and a lot of times doctors put women on birth control pills as sort of a first line of defense. but in a lot of case it ends up being surgery after the past. >> you had tissue removed. >> yeah. i had several surgeries and had it taken out. you should be checked for -- >> intervene early. that's what we're both saying. >> if you've got any of these symptoms, say to your doctor "i want to be tested for this." >> it can be as simple as outpatient treatment. then it can be checked every few years. that's what you need to do. it also has a lot of emotional ramifications, because chronic pain is so debilitating. your ability to earn a living. you miss all kinds of family events. your hormones. >> it is evexly belly button surgery with a little telescope. >> thanks both so much. surgery with a little telescope. >> thanks both so much. much more to come-thanks for co. i think you might have hooked it up wrong, though. yea, we're getting way too many channels. no, no. that's -- that's standard. fios also comes with 11,000 free movies and shows on demand per month. ah, standard. gotcha. a certain somebody says "thank you." tell him "he's welcome," but it's still standard. he's happy to be back with his friends. is he? [ male announcer ] call now and get fios tv, internet, and phone for just $99.99 a month guaranteed for two years! this is beyond cable. this is fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. back now at 8:47. in "today's american story with bob dotson," an 8-year-old super hero whose special power is the gift of music. >> reporter: he prefers his super hero nickname. peaceful warrior. >> my special power is to fight fear, sadness and pain with music. hey! drop that lady's purse or i'll do this flute! >> no! >> that was the bad guy. >> reporter: how long have you loved music? >> since i was a year old. >> reporter: a baby born with no working kidneys. ♪ >> reporter: music took him out beyond the limits of his life. he spent most of his childhood tethered to machines until his mom gave him a mother's day gift three years ago. her kidney. >> they took the ivs out and he says, where's my drum? how many of us wake up in the morning feeling how great it is to be living? >> reporter: he loves music as much for the experience it brings into his life, as for the music itself. the other day he struck up a friendship with a man who came to entertain at seattle's children's hospital. ♪ >> reporter: matteo had more on his mind than a few giggles. matteo first came here in memory of a friend whose 4-year-old daughter died after brain tumor. he kept coming back, as constant as the need, most months traveling 1,000 miles from his home in los angeles. for 12 years. ever since the day he almost died in a fall from a mountain. >> the ground broke because i was so close to the edge. in that time i thought, well, this is how i die. >> reporter: but, he's still here. just like recci. at this check-up, his mom got some difficult news. the kidney she gave her son may only last six more years. then they would have to look for another donor. >> i'm not going to cry. i'm not going to cry but i can feel my heart breaking. >> reporter: the family decided to focus on the joy recci finds in life. that's why they encouraged him to become a super hero. >> got to work on that one. >> reporter: his new friend matteo was writing a symphony for super heroes and asked him to help compose a song. >> we both had an idea of what this song should be about. ♪ when i play the world feels better ♪ ♪ everyone feels soothed >> reporter: what's it like clab wa collaborating with an 8-year-old? >> it is awesome. so much more fun than collaborating with executive producer. >> reporter: matteo won a grammy award for "juno." this performance with the seattle symphony was just as powerful. the peaceful warrior. recci's song helped raise $189,000 for sick kids whose parents cannot afford treatment. ♪ >> reporter: that's what super heroes do. for "today," bob dotson, nbc news, with "an american story" in seattle. up next, from welcome back to cannes where for the 12 days of the film festival, this place is known as hollywood by the sea. but it's not just the stars that make this place shine. no, here in cannes the energy and the buzz go far beyond the red carpet. the champagne is more than just a wish. the caviar more than a dream. in cannes, it's all about the good life, enjoyed by locals, tourists and celebrities alike. >> the first time i came, i was kind of in shock by it. >> reporter: there's glitz and glamour everywhere. the main boulevard called la quasette. and beyond the bay, a sea of yachts, one bigger than the next. >> reporter: during the film festival, space comes at a premium here. the waiting list for a prime location like this can be over a year. right now i'm on a 150-foot yacht. one is actually called "the lady joy." it is owned by new york philanthropist denise rich. for the next 12 days, it is on yachts just like this one where you'll find the hottest parties in cannes. >> we throw a big party every year in cannes. a lot of our friends come. many of the artists in the music business, as well as in the film business and it is just a lot of fun and everybody has a really good time. >> reporter: the wealth of this area extends beyond cannes as well. less than 25 miles away, monaco, a place that has more millionaires per square mile than any other place in the world, making this region a playground for the wealthy. really is a lot of fun around here. kind of a feast for the eyes. we were out and about last night. they some parties for the premier of "robin hood" an things like that. you got people walking down the street here in black tie and lots of music coming from a lot of the restaurants. it was pretty cool, meredith and ann. >> matt, i know this isn't your first time there. you seen a lot of changes this year? >> you know, i guess like most things it's getting bigger. you see more tents erected on the beach here, more pavilions, more corporate-sponsored events. i think that's the way of the world. but i would imagine though when the film festival is not here, this town goes back to being just kind of a great little resort town, 70,000 people, right on the mediterranean. but clearly it is different for these 12 days. >> are we going to have any trouble getting you to come home? >> we're working on it. we're apparently having some issues but we are working even as we speak and hopefully i'll get home in time for the concerts. our thanks to the crew here in cannes, in particular big dave moody who we like to call the king of camera one. so thanks to everybody. >> all right, >> 8:pitch is the time on may 13th, 2010. breaking news out of northbound virginia. a serious accident on i-66. jerry, it looks bad. >> unfortunately it is bad. multivehicles involved and serious in nature. 66 westbound near route 28 in centerville. right now only one travel lane is getting by. leaving the capitol beltway it get to fair oaks and centerville it is jammed. the right side is the eastbound flow. that too is jammed because of the emergency equipment on the scene. if you are going to be continuing on eastbound 66 after all of this, we are looking at significant delays. 66 at the beltway. here comes more equipment to clean up the accident. >> thanks very much. we will take a break and come "know the species, know the stain." lanolin-free coat, i know it's an alpaca. walks in here, looks says "hey look, it's a llama!" cleaning the stain like he would a llama stain. time he's wasting. ♪ call 1-800-steemer okay, wait, let me take a picture. okay. ready? [ giggling ] perfect! um, move a little to the left. oh, my gosh, you guys! you guys, you gotta see this. this is totally going on the web. come here! the new ultra-slim fp series, from lumix. touch screen, hd video, one small camera. still low clouds and an east wind keeping it chilly in the 50s and low and mid 60s this afternoon. we might see sun, but overall mostly cloudy. cloudy tonight and in the 60s, the 80s with afternoon storms. >> thank you, tom. tonight at 5:00, sneakers that claim to give you a work out with every step and tone your legs and butt without a trip back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning. it is the 13th day of may, 2010. and welcome back to cannes on the south of france. the french riviera for the cannes film festival. for 12 days, about 150,000 people descend on this town, and it is the center of the film universe for that period of time. i'm matt lauer on the beach here in cannes. natalie and ann are back in new york city. i think al is still out in los angeles. we're spread out all over the place these days. al, i would imagine this is a great time in l.a. to get a table at any restaurant because half the people there are probably here. >> that's right. in fact, things are so empty here, they actually called me "sir." it was unbelievable. >> ladies, i mentioned that this place really kind of got off to a great start last night with the premier of "robin hood," that 200-foot red carpet was jammed with all the stars and producers and directors. it really was quite a scene. now it keeps going for 11 days. but i am not going to get to enjoy that because i am hopefully going to get on a plane in a couple of minutes here, after finishing this glass of champagne, and i'm going to get back there and see you guys tomorrow. >> well you should come by, because we've got sting actually playing. >> yeah, come back for sting. >> have a great trip, mattie. we'll see you when you get here. >> i will. coming up this morning here on "today," on "today's daily dose," talking about women who are more susceptible than men to thyroid problems. dr. nancy snyderman will answer our questions about thyroid and weight gain and the affects on your ability to conceive. we're going to show you what an impact a change in just your countertops can have in your kitchen, at a much lower cost. ann has some of the top stories. i do. in the news this morning, british petroleum says it hopes to have a small containment dome in place off of louisiana's coast by late today or tomorrow. this as we get our first up-close look at the oil gushing nearly a mile under water. nbc's chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson is in venice, louisiana with the latest on this story. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. once again, bp officials will try to stop that massive leak in the gulf. this as we learn new information about what may have started this horrific accident. this is what the deep sea environmental disaster looks like up close. the unrelenting flow of oil into the gulf. a possible cause coming to light in washington as a congressional committee focused on the blow-out preventer, the allegedly failsafe system that didn't work the night the oil rig exploded and killed 11 workers. >> when we get assurances from the oil industry year in and year out that this cannot happen, i just don't know how we can ever believe anything that we hear from the oil industry. >> reporter: the panel produced a confidential bp memo titled "what we know," pointing to a hydraulic leak in the blow-out preventer. but there was an even more outrou outrageous revelation. >> even the one battery we could find in the control panel wasn't working. correct? >> that's what we were led to believe, yes. >> reporter: what bp hopes is that this small containment dome with a riser connected to it with a drill pipe inside, crews will put warm water and meth thol in the pipe to keep it warm enough to keep crystals from forming, also putting a tube into the leaking riser, the pipe that comes out of the well. it would also pump oil to the surface. >> insertion tube method is quite simply trying to insert a pipe far enough into the riser so we are beyond the point where the water is. >> reporter: at the venice marina where silence has replaced the sound of working boats, matt o'brien is trying to hold on. >> i'm hopeful that they can cap it. but my confidence is dropping. >> reporter: his seafood dock is almost finished but there are no fish. >> my main concern is the fisher mer ain't going to survive. if they don't survive, i'm out of business. >> reporter: that is the harsh new reality of life here in this spill zone as time is not on anyone's side. ann? >> that's for sure, anne thompson, thanks so much this morning. in that string of attacks on children in china, an official says the man who attacked a kindergarten class on wednesday was known to the children and had lived actually near the school and saw the children daily. seven toddlers and a teacher were killed, 11 other children are hospitalized this morning. an outbreak of e. coli poisons tied to romaine lettuce is now in at least four states with a case now confirmed in tennessee. federal health officials say two dozen people were sickened last month in michigan, ohio and new york. the tainted lettuce has been traced back to an arizona farm. the senate voted on wednesday to ban loan officers and mortgage brokers from receiving bonuses for getting borrowers to agree to higher interest rates. the senate also voted to require borrowers to prove they can repay their loans. a real estate tracking firm says the number of homes facing foreclosure is down more than 9% since march. but according to the firm, the fastest growing group of people falling into foreclosure are homeowners with good credit who did not take out risky loans. those are some of the top stories at five minutes past the good morning. mid-morning and temperatures have not warm up. a for siftent east wind and low clouds. 53 in washington and it's going to stay in the 50s here for the next several hours. later on this afternoon, we might have a few breaks allowing a little sun. we will make it into the low and mid-60s. tomorrow hitting the 80s and partly cloudy. late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms, some of which could be severe tomorrow. >> that's your latest weather. ann? >> announcer: "today's daily dose" is brought to you by nature valley granola nut clusters. 100% natural delicious. al, thanks. this morning on "today's daily dose," all about the thyroid. according to harvard medical school, more than 12 million americans have some form of thyroid disease, and the majority are women. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here to answer questions about the symptoms, the risk factors and the treatment. nancy, good morning. first of all, this sort of feels like the mystery organ. where is the thyroid and what exactly does it do? >> it's in your next. it is a little butterfly-shaped organ. every time your doctor says let me feel your next, he's feeling for lumps and bumps. this little organ is the machine shop for your entire body. it is the again that keeengine running. texture of your skin and hair, menstrual periods, how well your heartbeats, everything that keeps you going is already there. >> it sort of produces hormones. too much or too little. >> connected with your pituitary gland, it pumps out hormones. if you have too little hormone, you'll have hypothyroidism. that just means you aren't having as much circulating hormones. in that case you may feel like your skin is coarse, your hair is coarse, you gain weight, you're less tolerant of -- you feel cold more often. that's classic hypothyroid symptoms. sometimes even things like constco constipati constipation. if you're pipe e hyperthyroid, e are too much racing around. you can feel edgy, you lose weight, can have changes in menstrual cycle. it is almost like being on natural speed. you feel very uncomfortable. >> do most people know they have thyroid problems? >> no, we know it is underbelievably underdiagnosed. it can be at peak times in a woman's life when you have problems. you may have to bring it up to your doctor because doctors aren't so good about thinking about it. it is a simple blood test. >> now an e-mail from deborah from virginia. what is the relationship between thyroid and weight gainle? will removing the thyroid solve the weight problem? >> the first part of the question i think is the biggest part to address. that is if in your thyroid isn't functioning well and it is low, yes, it can change your metabolic rate. but now i caution -- most people in this country are heavy not because of low thyroid, but because we still eat too much and exercise too little. it is not about operating on your thyroid. it is about replacing it with simple thyroid replacement. >> a phone call with a question. melissa in california. what's your question? >> i am 23 years old. i just had my -- half of my thyroid removed a year ago due to a benign nodule. then they switched my medication to a different brand, same dosage, but yet i seem more let that are g hargiy than before. >> the benign module is the most common reason they see doctors. they rarely have cancers. your doctor was doing the right thing taking out half the thyroid. what you're hinting act is the fact that the thyroid medication has changed. is the whole new world of generics. you start on a thyroid medicine and you are doing fine but you shift because your insurance company shifts and you feel a difference. let your doctor and pharmacist know. it raises the question that not all generics are the same. you may not be getting the same amount of medicine in that new prescription you're getting. talk to your doctor and pharmacist about going back to the old one. that's really interesting. >> melissa, i hope that helps you. we all do. we've got also an e-mail question from andrea in new jersey. she's asking, i am 30 years old and was diagnosed with a hypothyroid 13 years ago. i am recently married but will my condition affect my ability to conceive? >> it can. so make sure your doctor, gynecologist, even an infertility doctor runs a standard battery of thyroid tests. tweaking thyroid hormone is the first step to dealing with some fertility issues and very, very straightforward. >> are thyroid problems inherited? >> they can be familial. there is a difference. they may not be a gene, but let me take you back to bush one white house. president bush, mrs. bush and even millie, the dog, all came up with a hyperthyroid condition. those of us in medicine were scrambling around saying, is this the coolest thing or what? what's going on in the white house? is there something in the water? >> you mean -- >> from a scientific standpoint, it was like this big ka numb dru conundrum. it was probably just happenstance and there may be something familial but enough that the bush girls were warned and barbara bush and everyone else that perhaps this is something you should watch out for in your family. not inherited, but maybe familial. >> a question from debbie in pennsylvania. she sent a question on video. >> hi. i'm debbie. i have a question for dr. snyderman. people have been telling me that i have big, bulgy eyes. high would this relate to a thyroid problem? >> that's a great question. what you have is the eyes bulging out a little bit. the eyes just don't sit in their sokts no sockets normally. when people get hyperthyroid and the thyroid glance attacks itself. you can get bulging eyes. remember the comedian martive feldman and his budging eyes? get that treated early and make sure your thyroid sock. because if you can't get enough tears over your eyeballs and you can't close your eyes completely, you're more predisposed to getting little scratches in your eyes that can lead to all kinds of vision problems. any time your eyes look like they're popping out or someone says, you know, your eyes look like they're bulging a little bit, think thyroid until proven otherwise. >> sounds like we should just simply make sure we get ourselves tested if you have any of those symptoms. >> it is a very simple, inexpensive test. various times in a woman's life getting a thyroid panel is really smart and prudent. >> speaking of tests, there is this word that on friday for the first time we'll get these genetic testing kits. >> the ones at walgreens. >> for alzheimer's, cancer. >> basically a spit test where you can send back into a company. >> what do you think? >> i'm not a big proponent of this because it is a scattershot way of saying here's what's in your genes but we don't know what it means. the fda says we haven't approved this. the company says you don't have to because we're not diagnosing and we're not treating. it is a very gray area for the fda. so yesterday after some pressure from the company, the company said we'll hold on this and walgreens says we won't sell them yet. now you'll be looking at what does this brave, new world of at-home testing mean. but for right now, this test is going to be withheld from the market. >> thank you so much. so great to have you here. coming up next, the latest on that 10-year-old boy who was the sole survivor of that jetliner crash in libya on wednesday. also coming up, a quick fix for a drab kitchen. changing your countertops. what you need to know before you take the big plunge right after this. 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. your hair mixes with pollen and dust. i get congested. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe freer, so i can love the air™. (announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. you said you bought a digiorno. but the pizza came with cheesy breadsticks. new digiorno pizza & breadsticks. taste. believe. it's not delivery. it's digiorno. she found the box. maybe 'cause you left it right on the counter. she found the box. why do women like you love activia light? sometimes i have no choice but to eat on the run... and to eat whatever happens to be around. heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet... and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. activia light, with bifidus regularis is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. mmmm. the new taste is better than ever. and with only 70 calories activia light helps make it easier to watch my weight. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia! want to spruce up your kitchen without spending a lot of money? for a quick design makeover replacing your kitchen countertops can be the perfect option. from granite to quartz to laminate, there are great things on the market. elaine, good morning. complete kitchen makeover could cost upwards of $30,000. by just changing the countertops, how much could you be saving? >> you could save literally countertops you can put in for a fraction of the price. you know what? after the cabinets, what do you see the most of in your kitchen? >> the countertops. >> there you go. >> so it can make a huge difference. >> huge. changing your countertop this year, if you're still waiting for your stimulus package, changing your countertops this year will give you the biggest bang for your buck. >> i think we have some pictures of a kitchen without the new countertops. here you go. now let's take a look at what just simply changing out the countertops did for that kitchen. brand-new. looks amazing. then you can change the hardware, you're perfect, set to go. so much to choose from though now on the market. seems like the options are ever-changing, even more now is being offered. what should you look for, what are some considerations to keep in mind as you're shopping? >> there are three things that you really want a countertop to deliver on. you want them to be stain-proof, scratch-proof, and also heat-resistant. >> if you have kids and all of those fings, factor in lifestyle, how much you use your kitchen. our first option, granite and marble. if you want a show kitchen, that's the choice for you. right? the creme de la creme. >> i love granite and marble. they have a natural look that's hard to compete with. they're the paris hilton of countertops. stone is porous like our skin. so if it is not properly oiled, oil, red wine will stain it. forget about it. they're just a lot of work. if you've got to have granite and marble, just must have it, here's what you need to do. compare it and shop for installation. that's where contractors can gouge you. >> now there is also a lot of marble and granite that comes already sealed with a lifetime warrantee. >> there's one that's available at lowe's. it comes with a lifetime guarantee, or maybe 50 years. it is a long time. comes finished -- sealed at factory. >> something to think about. if you want something that's a little more user-friendly, especially if you're using your kich tchen a lot more, corian. >> it is really great. if you want more of a marble effect, i think corian delivers that brilliantly. it is made of 100% acrylic. the beauty of that is that it is colored all of the way through. what's happening here on the surface happens all the way through. >> sort of that marbling look. >> exactly. if you scratch it, because it does scratch, you can just sand it out very lightly. >> much cheaper than this option. >> stay with the basics. once you get with the fancy stuff, then it starts adding up. >> now engineered quartz. this is kind of the new thing. >> engineered quartz is amazing. it's only been around for a couple of decades now. but, it is ecofriendly, 97% quartz which is found naturally, and the rest is resin just to hold it together. quartz is the only thing that is actually heat-proof. you don't put a hot pot on anything but yourself, but quartz is virtually heat-proof, scratch-proof, it's harder than granite so that's the way to go. this is called style stone. >> real quickly, laminate right here. people think of laminate as that '70s kitchen but it has come a long way since then. >> laminate, you can put in a laminate countertop this weekend, this it for mica for $300. keep it dry. water is ikryptonite. a lot more on todayshow.com. coming up soon, kathie lee and hoda are baring it all -- sort of. stripped down for an entire hour. they're going on air without their makeup. girls, come on. show us a little. their effort to empower women to feel good about themselves and beautiful in their natural states. we'll be right back. it's rainy out there. what do you guys want to do? both: make rice krispie® treats! how many cups is it? six. oh, that's not six yet. whoa. where's the pan? both: over there. 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(announcer) zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. >> 9:fwix and 52 degrees. a lovely view of the white house you should great skies. breaking traffic news this morning. let's go to jerry edwards for the latest. >> it's been a tough morning along interstate 66. there was a car fire that jammed things up for several miles and then this accident that occurred westbound or outbound 66 between fair oaks and centerville. two left lanes get by and the right half of the roadway is blocked and sizable rubbernecking. the work continues. the utility work and canal road near the white hurst freeway. >> a messy commute. we will take a break and >> low clouds continue to hangover washington and the entire region with a persistent east wind keeping it chilly. in the low and mid 50s and highs today in the low and mid 60s if we get sun breaking out and it might. otherwise remaining cloudy. today and tonight in the 60s overnight and tomorrow. partly cloudy and warmer. a breeze will warm us into the upper 70s and low and mid 80s. late afternoon and early evening, we could get strong thunderstorms moving west to east. that to be followed by drier weather saturday and sunday. >> nice weekend. coming up at 5:00, sneakers that claim to give you a work out with every step. they claim to tone your legs and ♪ roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light ♪ ♪ roxanne >> that's sting, the legendary rocker, he has a new project under way and he'll be here to share his new take on some of his old favorites live on our plaza, kicking off our summer concert series tomorrow here on "today." it's a big one. and then next week, inspirations as diverse will be taking center stage. in two weeks, one republic, the guys behind the big hit "apologize" will be here. for the wheel list of our summer concert series, go to todayshow.com. >> people will start camping out today out there. >> people even on the broadcast who have been here for many years are excited about this season. coming up in this half-hour, the loan survivor. an airliner landing in libya on wednesday morning, crashed killing all 103 people on-board except for this 10-year-old boy. we'll update his condition. shifting gears, swree on a much lighter note, tips on holding the perfect yard sale because 'tis the season from pricing to getting out the word, how to pocket some extra bucks, clean out some your closets all at the same time. also this morning, in "today's kitchen," we always like to sit down with our entire family for a great meal. it is great for families, it is great for our connections. how do we do that? with the right recipes sometimes. we'll get a good idea this morning. first, good morning. a persistent east wind with the low clouds and chilly temperatures on this thursday. at this hour still in the 50s. 53 in washington. later low and mid 60s and sunshine breaking out rveths but quite a bit of cloudiness into tonight. 60s overnight as well. tomorrow we will warm up under a partly cloudy sky into the mid 80s and late afternoon and strong thunderstorms. drying up and cooling down for the weekend. >> and that's your latest weather. have a great weekend, natalie. >> you too, al. we still have one more day before the weekend. thank you. coming up next, a miracle survivor. latest on the little boy who is the loan survivor of that plane crash right after this. mom: we have a pretty big family. all boys. yeah. i call them our starting five. yeah. boom! so when we go out, like the other night, we have to make sure they get enough to eat. pass these down to your brothers and make sure they get some, okay? 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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 ] when is it okay to lose the cover-up? ♪ when you can. take the special k challenge... and lose an inch from your waist in two weeks. so lose your cover-up, and show off your confidence. design your plan at specialk.com. now to the story of the only survivor of wednesday's deadly plane crash in libya that killed 103 others. the boy is hospitalized this morning recovering from multiple fractures in both legs. we've got nbc's dawna freezen in london with the latest on this morning. >> reporter: for a day and a half no one knew his name, just that he was the only survivor of wednesday's plane crash in libya. now anonymous dutch officials say his name is rubin, 9 years old from holland and his parents and brother were killed in the crash. his aunt and uncle from holland have flown to be at his side. a new photo released this morning of what many are calling a miracle boy. he survived this wreckage, so shattered that only the tail is recognizable. 103 passengers and crew died, all except the boy. he was barely conscious when found and muttered "holland" when asked where he was from. he's had surgery for multiple fractures to his legs, but now he says to be doing well. >> he's asking questions. he's saying that he wants to eat and drink. >> reporter: dutch officials say he is 9 years old, he had been on a safari in africa with his parents and older brother. they died in the crash. this morning a couple believed to be his aunt and uncle arrived at his bedside in holland and dutch media reports he smiled when he saw them. how he alone survived, no one knows. some aviation experts speculate his parents may have had something to do with it. >> there has been a tendency from what we've found in these other accidents, parents shield the child providing a higher level of protection. >> reporter: lone survivors, while rare, are not unknown. last summer a girl was found clinging to the wreckage 13 hours after a plane went down if the water. in 1987 -- >> a 4-year-old girl may have survived. >> reporter: this girl did survive a northwest airlines flight that crashed after take-off in michigan killing all the rest of the 154 people on-board, including her parents and brother. the afriquiyah air crash, an airbus 330 that was almost brand-new happened just short of the runway in tripoli, libya. a team of experts from the u.s. and airbus is on its way. libyan authorities have ruled out terrorism as the sole survivor recovers, alive and now an orphan. what brought down the plane is still a mystery. there are reports the pilot requested ambulances be on stand-by just before it went down but that's not being confirmed. most of the victims were dutch tourists, on their way home from spring break in south africa. >> dawna friesen, thank you. back with much more of "today" right after this. 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. if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, you may also have very high triglycerides -- too much fat in the blood. it's a serious medical condition. lovaza, along with diet, effectively lowers very high triglycerides in adults but has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or strokes. lovaza starts with omega-3 fish oil that's then purified and concentrated. it's the only omega-3 medication that's fda-approved. you can't get it at a health food store. lovaza isn't right for everyone. tell your doctor if you're allergic to fish, have other medical conditions and about any medications you're taking, especially those that may increase risk of bleeding. blood tests are needed before and during treatment. in some, ldl or bad cholesterol may increase. possible side effects include burping, infection, flu-like symptoms, upset stomach, and change in sense of taste. ask your doctor about lovaza, the prescription that starts in the sea. but look below the surface. your mouth is no different. just brushing leaves germs behind. adding listerine® antiseptic cleans deeper. 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[ exhale ] [ male announcer ] listerine®. clean deeper. get healthier™. ♪ take a picture of a pretty day ♪ [ coughs ] [ laughs ] ♪ oh, a wish is just a wish away ♪ [ sneezes ] ♪ it's a present, little something new ♪ [ female announcer ] your hands are only as clean as the towel used to dry them. so why use the same hand towel over and over... instead of a clean, fresh one every time? new kleenex® brand hand towels. a clean, fresh towel every time. new kleenex® brand hand towels. brighter skin? younger skin? i want both. introducing anew clinical luminosity pro... a brilliant breakthrough from avon. it's got injectable grade brightener. the look of dark spots? illuminated. dullness? brightened. and when skin looks brighter...it looks younger. anew clinical luminosity pro does it. and only avon has it. with a love it or return it guarantee. want it? get it... call 1-800-for-avon or visit avon.com to find a representative. ♪ [ female announcer ] these cookies aren't magic, but they make magic happen. that's because glad has partnered with cookies for kids' cancer. it's small bake sales like these that help raise big money for pediatric cancer research. together, we can make a difference... one container at a time. because with glad, the care that goes in is the care that comes out. ♪ this morning on "today's home," how to have a successful tag sale. with the warmer weather, it is a great time to do spring cleaning and get rid of the stuff you don't want or use anymore. we're going to show you how to do a yard sale the right way. perfect time of year to be doing this right now. >> from now until september is what you want to take advantage of, this weekend, warm weather. start going through your stuff, get ready, set it up, be organized. >> that starts first with having the right supplies on hand when you do your tag sale. >> things that you want to have -- have bills, for sure. small denominations, lots of 1s, 5s. have $100 to $200 worth of that. i suggest wearing an apron. you think of people having a little cash box but it is probably better to keep it tight to you. you also have all your supplies at hand. have calculators so you can do quick adding. really good if you're having anything electrical, have an extension cord so if somebody wants to plug something in, plug it in to your garage. pens, pads, keep track of what sells. you'll be amazed for next year. collect your grocery bags over the next few weeks, your newspapers. just so that people can wrap up and go. bubble paper if you have that as well. >> you want -- the whole idea of the tag sale to get rid of your junk because you want it out! think about the opportunity cost of keeping it, just get rid of it. will you make some money but the goal is to get rid of it. >> pricing. a lot of that can be sort of subjective. how do you know what -- where to start? >> number one, again keep in your mind, i'm getting rid of this stuff. figure that you're going to -- anything is going to be priced between 10% and 230% of its original value. books, group things together, duck plates, put them together. you want to merchandise. think like a store. put all your table top together, all your kitchen goods together. make it feel like of boutiquey. the better your stuff looks, the better it is going to sell. also in terms of pricing, consult things like price list or go to ebay. go to your local like consignment shop. get their prices. they know what they're doing. that's a really good place to go. >> okay. sport items always go at garage sales very well. >> right. easy thing to do is have sticker. like for lower-priced items, do everything that's red is $1, just for a little say $2 for green. for higher priced items, i suggest putting a tag on it so that it is very, very clear. also be prepared for people to bargain. people are going to ask for a better price. if you see -- if you see somebody wavering, say, you can have this but i'll give you a gift with purchase. again, think like a store. you're trying to get rid of this stuff. >> including thinking like a store, having a clearance bin as well. for things that aren't selling, make it look like you're marking it down even further. >> and if things are not selling by the end of the day, knock it down. again, you want to get rid of it. making the money is the little perk in the whole thing. but your whole goal is to really get rid of it. you want to move it. you can invite your friends to participate with you as well. the more stuff you have, the better it looks. you were even saying how people show up early? >> early birds knock on the door before you actually officially start. what do you do about them? >> you can charge them $5 to $10. get the word out. in any advertisement that you do, you can say, early birds, $5, come at 7:00 a.m. after setting up. they'll be there. >> they're coming for looking that something that they may sell later on in their own sale. >> make sure your sale is legal. some towns require a permit. go to city hall and get that. >> clearly, advertising. >> you can get waterproof poster board an hour or so before you actually set up. have a neighbor or friend drive around to make sure your signs are still up. and if you have anything like a treadmill or any kind of equipment, farm equipment, all that stuff sells really well. put that in your ads. the more you communicate, the better off you'll be. >> estate sales, antiques, furniture, people always go for those. >> also people like name brands. if you have a pottery barn sofa, put pottery barn sofa. you'd be shocked how that will drive people in. name recognition is key. >> advertising. >> you can absolutely tice on craigslist. go to "for sale." there is tracker.com where you can also list your sales. put signs up at the grocery store, do all those normal things but also use your social networking. facebook, twitter, again, get people there because you want to sell your stuff. >> absolutely. elizabeth, thanks so much. coming up next, lessons learned by cooking and easy recipes that will 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 this morning on "today's kitchen," recipes that even beginner cooks can master. cooking is what brings families together according to hot chef kim severson, author of "spood fed." the book shares the wisdom she's learned from eight famous cooks. kim, thank you. are you a delicious writer. you write "my heroes are women who never abandon the kitchen. they use cooking as a source of strength. their recipes have helped save their communities and kept families together." you specifically had eight cooks, one of whom was your mother, who taught you something about this thing. >> my mother, ann. we grew up eating around the table, five kids. it was a rock, a place to come to even when i was off being an awful teenager and things were rough. we always came back to the table. i still think the best thing you can do for anyone is cook them something delicious and sit down and have a conversation. we wanted to make some dishes that are really simple but delicious that can allow you to interact at the table. that's where you learn everything about life, you learn to share, listen. i think the table is really an important place. >> a lot of wisdom you've learned from people who are very well known chefs, people like alice waters who taught perseverance and patient in the kitchen. maryann cunningham taught you that in food and in life, it is never too late to start over. that is a good lesson. >> which is key. >> let's start with another chef recipe, she has a very simple tomato recipe. >> the first cookbook my mother ever gave me. it meant a lot to me. this is a sauce i think every cook needs a good dish in your back pocket. you can put it together, it is delicious, everyone will be impressed. this is three ingredients basically -- tomatoes, onions that are -- just cut them. just like this. the essential part, the butter. right? you have to put a little salt in there to season it up. >> that's enough. >> you cook this for 45 minutes. then -- through the magic of television, you have this beautiful sauce. isn't it amazing? it is terrific. when you're done with this, just take out these onions which you really don't need to -- you can put a little salt and pepper on them? >> i might put them in a soup. now it is a thicker sauce. >> it is lovely. easy to do. you want something that's delicious and something that makes you both feel good. when you feed somebody you tend to open up with them and you really get down to the stuff of life which is the lessons that i got to learn. >> some of the best conversations i've ever had were with just friends in the kitchen. when you have people over, you start cooking together -- >> if you give somebody a bite of something delicious, you make a friend immediately. there's something so important about that. >> we do need pasta to go with this. you boiled just some basic pasta. >> this is basic fetaccini. but you can do whatever you want. hey, are you going to do? just cook it like that. little bit heated up. then it is a really delicious -- use tomato from your garden, canned tomatoes. but to sit down and eat a pasta, that means everything. right? >> we're running out of time. waffles come from? >> these are maryann cunningham waffles. when i first got a job writing about food for the "san francisco chronicle." she wrote the fannie farmer cookbook -- or rewrote it. she told me she thought it was going to be just fine. >> they clearly are just fine. >> strawberry season? this is a yeast waffle recipe. make this the night before. right before you'll cook it -- it rises? >> right. a little baking soda. stir it up. >> your book is lovely! >>. >> 53 degrees and look at the cloudy skies. we will get the fore cav in a moment. if you are get are ready to head out the door we is have breaking traffic news. >> it has been a terrible commute. i-66 is taking the brunt of the issues. several problems including a serious accident which had things tied up westbound 66 between fair oaks and 28. finally a few moments ago, everything was moved out of the roadway. the through lanes are open, but flashing lights a distraction. eastbound traffic is jammed because of all the activity on the other side of the roadway. if are heading out, you may want to postpone your travel or find an alternate route. continuing issues over on canal road off the white hurst freeway and delays out of george and broadway. >> 66 is bad on a normal day. forget the accident. >> le clouds and chilly. we continue with the persistent east wind keeping it in the 50s. we will stay in the 50s throughout the next couple of hours. by later on, we may get sun breaking out and that should get us into the 60s. staying into 60s for a high and heating up tomorrow. afternoon and evening storms. that's the way it looks. >> coming up tonight, sneakers claim to give you a work out with every step. are the sneakers worth the work out on captions paid for by nbc-universal television he said, yikes. let's go. that's right, people, don't adjust your television sets. >> before we face you with the full monte, we'd like to show you what we go through to get ready on a typical morning. >> this is going to be a real treat. pay attention, rosy. >> no makeup. >> here i am bare and unafraid. the way i go through life. it's the way i roll. >> i feel naked. >> we came into this world bare, naked and it's how we're going to go out. >> i feel self-conscious. >> if you see a scar, i'll own up to it. >> i'm just being honest, so there. >> only from the neck up. >> i just need a little lips and a little mascara and i'll feel okay. ta da. a little makeup -- ins the game face. >> most of it is just about feeling secure. >> i like like myself. >> confidence is very sexy. >> i'm ready to go on tv. >> this is tv-ready for me. very good questions. >> let's get rid of the shades. >> all right, hoda, this is us. >> don't -- anthony. >> anthony. it felt very strange. ir start eed realizing, i feel vulnerable. >> i never thought about it really. >> now that i see our monitor i know why. >> wow. >> we have all this to blame. on rosie o'donnell. >> rosie was watching our show while doing her radio show and she was commenting on somewh wh she thought were enhanced features. >> she went too far. people need to learn when to quit. >> exactly. so kathie lee said to her -- >> i said, rosie come to our show, before we put on hair and makeup. you can look for scars anywhere, honey. if you find them, i'll own up to it. >> so, rosie has a show that happens to go on when ours goes on. rosie's joining us by skype without her makeup and didn't even brush her hair. >> did you brush your teeth, honey? >> i did not. just rolled out of bed trying to look at natural as possible. >> well, needless to say, it's half the thrill of doing radio. have a huge -- you can have a huge zit and it doesn't matter, you know. >> do you feel self-conscious when you're outside without wearing it? >> i never wear makeup unless i'm doing television, anywhere, ever. >> so it feels strange to you to have makeup on. >> right. when i come home from doing tv, my kids look at me and say, what's wrong with your face. that's makeup. take it off. >> do you want to see the tight shot of kathie lee to make sure there were no scars. >> and we are going to show that we really do not have any makeup on. >> i could do that, too. do you want me to prove it? >> only because you're a little oily. >> that's just normal, baby. >> not a stitch. >> rosie, take us back to that day when you first saw our show come up on your monitor. what did you think i had done? >> i'm not good at that stuff, but i'm like, oh, my god, kathie lee looks so different. my friend, when i go anywhere with her, she can spot a woman at 50 feet and go lips, cheeks and a pull above the eyebrows. if you want to have things done, go ahead. there's nothing wrong with it. >> but you thought i had gone too far. >> i don't believe i said that. i heard cathy griffin say she was talking to you at the "today" show and didn't recognize you. i just thought you looked different. >> was that a compliment? >> you're beautiful. i've never looked like you once. >> i mean, i think every woman feels, you know, when we're in this business, that we have to remain competitive. >> yeah, we do. >> but you can never compete with the girls in the miss usa pageant. >> rosie, we want to say thank you so much -- >> i don't want to. >> i wasn't trying to hurt your feelings. i thought you looked good, just different. >> thank you, rosie. say thank you. >> couldn't possibly look that young, is what you meant, at your age. love you, sweetie. say hello to the children. >> all right. and i'm sorry i hurt your feelings. >> it was fun. >> i was trying to grow a big zit before today, but it didn't happen. see you. >> in solidarity on our show, all the great anchors at nbc decided they were going to show their faces without makeup, so we have a little tape of them. >> i almost never wear makeup when i'm not on the show because when you're here, you use so much of it. this is my face. like it or not. >> this is the real me and i'm glad to show it to you because sometimes i feel like on the show, i wear enough makeup to frost a cake. it takes a village. >> i'm scaring little children at home right now. this is me. no makeup. this is actually the way i am most of the time. what you see on tv is really very extraordinary events in my life. i don't usually put a lot of makeup on. i like to go au natural. one person who thought they were giving me a compliment, you look so pretty on tv. >> they're here like at 4:00 in the morning. they look gorgeous. >> i think it's awesome. >> i feel liberated a little bit, too. >> i think we have bobby thomas -- >> and sara. she's doing a news update. >> i think this is really very cool. what's really cool is that women are able to say, this is who i am. the bottom line is that the men on the show, they're wearing makeup, too. let's make that point. >> it's a great point. it is thick. >> my gosh. >> now, we brought special drinks because we figured we needed something to get through this. we've got to get to okay not okay. is it okay for celebs to give commencement addresses? kathie lee, you said, if they are people with a message, but i'd think twice before inviting snooki. you said, it definitely depends on the situation. then there's pictures. virginia tech. >> i think we got a scoop, but what are the fans saying? >> we're going to look at them without makeup. this is gigi from new jersey. she's a stay at home home. sofia from new york. also wearing no makeup. margie. she thinks she's the only flight attendent that doesn't wear makeup. and jenna, from vermont. >> you look gorgeous with no makeup by the way. >> you jump, i jump. >> i do feel a kindred spirit. >> up next, modern family's modern woman. >> we are going to be talking to her right after this. >> but first, let's see what women have to say about our day. >> they should be really proud of what they look like without makeup. i think that's a beautiful thing to be able to pull that off. >> it's good to see that people can be on the air and do their own thing without makeup. >> i think it's very brave to go without makeup. i don't think i would do it and i don't wear very much makeup. ♪ when you can. take the special k challenge... and lose an inch from your waist in two weeks. so lose your cover-up, and show off your confidence. design your plan at specialk.com. their brains are 75% water. their muscles are 73% water. their lungs are 80% water. want to grow a healthier, happier family? water daily. embrace the pure life. nestle pure life. ♪ sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. 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. as the star of one of the hottest comedies on television, sofia vergara is having quite the year. >> this show was a good idea until right now. not only is she featured on "people's" most beautiful cover the second time, she's also made the list on the world's most beautiful people. >> that's just great. >> great. >> i would never leave without. no. >> what would you not leave the house without? >> all of it. i'm colombian. we give birth in full makeup. >> drinking coffee. >> is it fun to keep getting these awards, the most beautiful this and most beautiful that? >> i guess it's fun. it's interesting. >> humanitarian of the year, doesn't it? >> of course. or on oscar, i don't care. it's more important. i'm almost 40. that's a big achievement. >> how old are you? >> almost 40. >> really? >> i'm 37. >> "modern family" turned into be such a megawatt hit. were you surprised? >> at the beginning, i loved it, but never thought it was going to be so fantastic. >> how come? >> for example, my role. when i read the script, i thought, everybody's going to hate her. a younger woman living with a much older guy. >> wealthy, maybe? >> wealthy and they're going to hate her. nobody likes a gold digger, but then you start seeing the relationship they have and you fall in love with her character, but at the beginning, i told them, i don't know, they're going to like this. and that we're going to make her like a hooter waiter and i said, no. >> you play that very well. >> let's take a look at the clip. >> did you see the old lady with the cane? what if she has a knife in there that can go through the metal detector. yet, you waste your time on a little kid. >> you seem to know a lot about sneaking contraband on to a plane. >> i'm colombian. >> it explains it all. >> didn't tv guide say this is the best new series in a decade. >> loving it and you know what, i love is that i get approached by kids, little girls, older men -- >> i'm sure you do. >> by everybody. >> what's in like in your personal life? are you a married lady, a happy lady? >> i am happy. i'm divorced for 18 years. i have a son who's going to be 19 tomorrow. i live in los angeles and i'm pretty happy. >> she needs to meet -- >> latin guy rs too much drama. >> he's like an angel of god. >> eduardo -- been there, done that. >> the sweetest man on earth. >> you have a project really quickly you want to talk about. >> i'm teaming up, doing other things. filming in new york and promoting this new salon, beautiful shampoo to make a hair bouncy. the price is like a regular shampoo, but like a good salon shampoo. we're giving away 100,000 bottles. >> you and your makeup can stay over there. >> bye, sofia. up next, is beauty only skin deep? just some facts that are good for your skin. >> we're looking worse. >> i have my cap on today, just a little lipstick. >> i'm not confidence enough. >> i agree. i don't think i have it was to go without it. >> i go without makeup all the time. >> i try to always wear makeup when i'm out in public. it's great. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ...yeah, every night it's something different. oh yeah yeah...she always keeps them in the house. no no no, i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. [ wife ] babe... ♪ umm, i gotta go. 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( laughter ) push it down. push it down. thank you for helping. it's amazing what you can make out of a rainy day. childhood is calling. it is time for "today's woman" and myths and facts. since we're spending this hour makeup free, we figured it was a good time to test our knowledge on skin. >> are expensive options better than drugstore and if they are, do you want to know? lauren gellar is here to put us to the test. hello. lauren is wearing a smidge of makeup. a tad. >> that's okay. we're glad you're here. we're going to decide whether these are myths are facts. >> myth or fact -- >> fact. >> this is actually a myth. >> no, it isn't. it's not true. that's good. because it means that up to 80% of how you anyone ge is based o lifestyle, whether you smoke or use sunscreen. >> excessive wine? >> next question. myth or fact -- >> fact. >> it's true. it can make your skin look up to five years older than it is. >> you know what i like, guess what, you can go like this. >> i like it, too. >> too much stress breaks down the collagen, can cause redness and can trigger breakouts. minimize the stress. >> thank you. what else? >> myth or fact -- this is actually a fact. >> thank you. babies can be born with birthmarks or beauty marks, but freckles only form in response to sun exposure. as they get on in the sun, the fr freckles will form. >> is there a prize at the end of this? >> you get to put on some makeup. >> next question. myth or fact -- >> i say that is a myth. >> this is a myth. what's the best time? >> nighttime. because all the gunk. >> you want to watch off all the makeup and bacteria. and also, as you get older, the oil production, your skin produces less oil. it drys out and washing your skin twice a day can make it look duller. >> if you wash with an oil-based cleanser, like lancome cleanser, i love oil. >> next question. myth or fact -- >> i'm just going to say that's fact. >> this is a myth. readers ask us about this all the time. unless you're severely dehydrated, how much water you drink has no bearing. >> so what does? >> in fact, overhydrating can be bad. it flushes out key vitamins and nutrien nutrients. >> no laughing. >> you want to use a moisture. >> i'm going to say myth. i want to be different from hoda. >> it is true. it's a fact. your ears continue to grow -- >> haven't you seen those old men? >> that's because your ears continue to grow throughout your life. >> what about once you die? they say your fingernails and ears keep groeg. >> they grow about 2.2 millimeters a year. >> hoda, look at yours. >> i have normal ears. let me see yours. >> next question. >> i don't like when the crew laughs with her. >> you can not find a hat that fits her head. >> myth or fact -- >> eating? >> myth. >> this is true. >> what? >> they're really high in an antioxidant that helps reverse uv damage from sun. scientists found that people who ate the most tomatoes had 25% more protection. >> cassidy must eat 15 a day. >> thank you so much. >> i had my doubts, but you were lovely. coming up next, we've got the bobby thomas. >> pull that mirror away. >> she's hiding. she's got her makeup secrets after this. 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[ screaming ] - [ all jeering ] this is us. yes, unfortunately, for you, we're back on this thirsday with our no makeup zone. >> today's style editor and our good friend, bobbie thomas is here, sharing her fresh-faced tips. we also wanted to get our bobbie on. >> you look beautiful. >> well, look who's talking. >> you look like you're 12. >> i'm like this every day. when i'm not working, i'm no makeup. >> your boyfriend likes you this way, right? >> yeah, i think men in general like you without makeup. >> the nakeder, the better. >> they don't want to kiss all that. i have a beauty secret. >> she has got the softest skin. >> yes, she does. >> rosie was on earlier, you're looking very, very good to me. >> oh, i love you. this is my secret. scrub in the shower. i do this every single day. >> these have exfoliant in them. >> they're good to get your backside, they're exfoliating towels. >> i get my bobbie on. >> at least two times a week, i use exfolicate, but you can also put unrefined sugar in your cleanser. this is why it's important. when you want to go makeup free, you want the best skin possible. it improves the texture for younger girls, helps avoid breakouts and you don't have to spend as much time in the beauty store to fix it. >> you said when these top models go to auditions, look sees -- >> go sees. >> you say they're not allowed to wear any makeup. >> no, it's not even considered cool sometimes in fashion circles, so models insist on certain products. one is a french product they insist on. you can just do this without rinsing. this is great. go to alco.com. and dial soap is something dermatologists tell you to use. drys it out, antibacterial. and papaw. this is a plant from australia, like a beauty secret. they use it for their lips and cuticles. this is really nourishing and exfoliating. >> i'm plumping. >> another thing, eyelashes, ladies, we know how important they are. they frame your eyes. i used to be hook on fake eyelashes and it was so bad that every time i took them off, i was losing my eyelashes. i got a prescription for lat iri latisse. >> i use rapid lash. one-third the price. it's $50. and nonprescription. >> the one i use the prescription. >> of course it is. because you've got your bobbie on. >> it's important to know that other thing models do, they curl their eyelashes and don't do mascara. this is the preferred brand. it's only 10 or $11, a pocket eyelash curler. they even have this one. don't hurt yourself. >> no, you do it. >> look straightforward. i know. >> you got it. let go. let go. >> wow. >> does it make you forget i'm not wearing any makeup. >> that was a real close-up, by the way. >> if you're going to use a concealer, you want to cover a blemish. it's important to look for double duty products. physician's formula, sephora, they have stuff to help you. if you want a little glow, a daily self-tanner, a gradual one. wear it near your face. >> bobbie. >> she helped us get our bobbie on. thank you, darling. you're beautiful. up next, one of our favorite novels. her name is emily giffin. >> what men think about women and makeup. >> too much makeup is a big turn off. a lot of guys don't tell you that, but it's the truth. >> well, i think it needs to be natural. i don't think it needs to be overdone. overdone is not sexy. >> when there's too much makeup, i don't like it at all. did you have a good breakfast? no. well here, try this... ...jimmy dean breakfast bowl. mmmmmmm... booooooommmm!! did someone call for rain? fight the morning fade with sausage, egg and cheese breakfast bowls jimmy dean. shine on. 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. well, it's only dust. dust contains allergens... from pet dander and dust mites. - ew! - pledge traps up to... 84% of allergens in dust. s.c. johnson -- a family company. eating healthy is important, but only vegetables can give you vegetable nutrition. one of these will get you more than half way to your five daily servings. v8. what's your number? announcer: grow lashes... grow longer... grow fuller, and darker lashes. grow? how's that possible? i'm using latisse®! the first and only fda approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough lashes. applied nightly as instructed by your doctor, latisse® grows lashes in as little as 8 weeks with full results in 12 to 16. announcer: if you are using prescription products for lowering eye pressure or have a history of eye pressure problems, only use latisse® under close doctor care. may cause eyelid skin darkening, which may be reversible, and there is potential for increased brown iris pigmentation, which is likely permanent. if you develop or experience any eye problems or have eye surgery, consult your doctor immediately. common side effects include itchy eyes and eye redness. grow longer, fuller, darker lashes. ask your doctor if latisse® is right for you. go to latisseoffer.com to learn about a $20 rebate. and eating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium. general mills big g is the only leading line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain and a good source of calcium. help your kids get more of what they need, with general mills kid cereals. emily giffin is an incredible writer. she's been called a modern day jane austen. this book, "something borrowed" and "something blue" a year later. >> both became international best sellers and now, she's out with "heart of the matter." the first one's being made into a motion picture here in new york city right now. >> it is. i'm so excited. >> i go to barnes and noble and open a book and read the first three lines. your books always hit you on that first couple of lines. your style, did you grow up always wanting to be a writer? >> i really did. since i was about 5 or 6 years old. >> then why did you go to law school? >> because it's for people who are afraid to follow their true dreams. >> really? >> for the most part. that's why so many lawyers go on and do different things. >> were you surprised at the success of your first book? >> it was a beautiful cover. that helped a lot. very lucky. sure. lot of luck involved. it was my dream to publish a book. i would have been thrilled to have it in hard cover. my mother was a librarian. >> but -- she just wrote a one-line, they all rejected it. they being eight new york city publishers. >> what made you get up and keep writing? >> i think just having some faith in myself, although that sometimes you know -- for sure. but it was also just that i wanted it. and also being a lawyer, the misery. when you're miserable in something, you're more motivated to make a change. fortunate that i was lukewarm about the law. >> you have to you do crank them out. after the first one, i remember waiting for the second. i would go to the bookstore and say, does emily giffin have more books. how long do you wait? >> one or two years. when i had my daughter, she's three now, i skipped that year because i wanted to take that summer off. >> is there somebody you run it by before, somebody that has your ear? >> sure, yes. my sister, my best friend. >> and now, hoda. >> like you don't have enough to do. >> the woman does nothing. >> tell us about the motion picture. i'm not even listening to her. should i go here or -- >> it's good. >> who's playing, who's starring in the movie? >> kate hudden and jennifer goodwin. i met her and i was just committed to be on set. there was a moment when i was disoriented and thought i was meeting rachel, my character. she's just -- it's her -- she's so sweet. you need to create that empathy for the character who's having an affair with her best friend's fiance. >> that is the gift. >> usually, we're saying, do it. you help us understand why they're doing it. >> well, thank you for that compliment, but you know, i think if you think about your friends, your sister, your mother -- >> they're all doing it, right? >> everyone makes mistakes and you don't dismiss and write off friends. >> people aren't all bad. >> there are other shades of gray and it's important to capture that. even the men in my books, i think i'm pretty fair to them. >> the male bashing, you don't do that. >> do you like nick so far? >> right off the bat, he says i'm a world renowned pediatric -- >> the book is called "heart of the matter." thank you so much. >> what a pleasure to meet you. >> thanks so much for having me. up next, super jenny levinson dishes out chilled soups. >> no makeup on up there. >> i think at around 17, 18. bad timing. >> i have a granddaughter who's 12 who would love to try wear makeup. >> my granddaughter's three and a half and always wants to paint my nails. the activia 14-day challenge today. problems that i have are, you know, irregularity... i do have some doubts if it works. i think it's really good. um... i like the flavors. i think from being a skeptic in the beginning i do think that activia actually works. help regulate your digestive system. take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. ♪ activia ♪ doo doo doo woman: there's only one disinfecting wipe with a low streak formula. clorox disinfecting wipes. that, on the list of things kids love, our party pizzas have just passed toy robots. awkward. kids love totino's party pizzas. artificial colors don't rain nourishment down from the sky. and kids don't jump into pools of high-fructose corn syrup. or play in fountains of sugar on a hot summer day. water is the pure choice... for your mind and body. so drink better, live better. embrace the pure life. nestle pure life. oh, cool. >> time for "today's kitchen," making chilled soup with super jenny. >> we invited jenny, who is completely makeup free. thank you. terrific eatery called souper jenny and author of souper jenny books. >> when they said will you come on with no makeup, what are you thinking? >> i was like, what. as long as they don't say, don't drink coffee, i'm good. >> days you've got to have a colonosc or colono colonoscopy, i'm good. >> everyone's growing their own food and venlg tables. >> they don't trust what's going into it. >> people are doing rooftop gardens, growing all these fabulous green vegetables in season right now. if you don't have your own garden, you can get these at your local farmer's market. >> buy what's in season now. it's a 100-mile radius, buy it there. >> we're starting with a hot soup, then we'll chill it. we've got onions and garlic. we are going to add every kind of green vegetable. we've got kale, swiss char. broccolini. right here. >> you've got asparagus. >> anything you can think of. all you're going to do is pour some fabulous vegetable broth. good, low sodium broth. pour that over it. you're going to turn it up to a boil and while that's simmering, we're going to make some nice, fried leeks. putting a little flour, right in some hot oil. as soon as you see it brown, you can pull some out. get a little crispy. while that's cooking, you've got your fried leeks as a garnish. i'm going to go here to the finished product. we're going to puree with a hand blender, which anyone can buy for 10 bucks at bed, bath and beyond. we're going to rub this on our face as a face mask. >> could you put this in the juicer? >> you could. a blender. the hand blender is super easy. i'm worried. all right, while we're doing that -- i don't want you to get hurt. >> then you just chill that. the next thing we're going to do is this great, fresh raspberry soup. we've got everything here, but we just put fresh orange juice, lemon zest and raspberries. the other thing, a little champagne. we're going to bring that up to a boil also and we're going to simmer it for about 45 minutes. >> you have white on. careful. >> so, it's another great -- the hand blender's great. just do it all in the pot. >> we're going to taste all of these. >> it has yogurt in it. we're topping it with lemon. >> delicious. >> this one is -- >> what's this one? >> that is a yellow tomato gaspga gaspacho. >> this is the one you just made. >> jenny, you are adorable. >> then you can put it on your face when you're done. >> go to our website for all the recipes. >> we'll be back wit first thing in the morning, a woman with makeup is not going to look very sexy. during the day, like most things in life again, a little bit goes a long way. >> all right. that's good advice. usually, we are fully made up and we want to give a shout out to mary kaylor, our makeup ortiso artist. >> i don't usually wear makeup, but i thought i would put some on. >> we're looking forward to being with you very early tomorrow morning. >> love you, mary. >> everyone loved it, first of all, they don't think you guys look that different. but megan says, what an awesome idea. we're obsessed with the way people like and anita says you've given this redhead the courage to go ah natural. >> some day, we'll have a national no makeup day. >> tomorrow, ambush makeovers. >> and rabbi smully. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com