Transcripts For WRC Today 20100318 : vimarsana.com

good morning. feisty at the finish. president obama sits down for a heated interview with fox news on health care. i know you don t like the filibuster. i m trying to answer your questions and you keep on interrupting. and he weighs in on the controversial deem and pass rule which could push reform through without a direct vote. disgusted. that s how friends of elizabeth edwards describe her reaction to this photo spread featuring her husband s mistress. would rielle hunter do it over again if she could? this morning, her reaction. special delivery. a young brother and sister call 911 and calmly help deliver their baby brother when their mom suddenly goes into labor at home. she says the baby s coming now. the baby s already here. more from that emergency call and how the family is doing today, thursday, march 18th, and how the family is doing today, thursday, march 18th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today on this thursday morning. i m meredith vieira. i m matt lauer. no matter which side of the aisle you sit on, the vote that s coming on health care reform will be an epic vote. now it looks like the earliest that will happen is sunday. the president and top democrats picked up two yea votes on wednesday. he also gave an interview to fox news to press the final push for the vote and whether he supports that controversial deem and pass maneuver being pushed by house democrats. a spirited debate on all of it with anita dunn, who served as white house communications director for president obama, and president bush s press secretary, dana perino. also ahead, the red river is rising this morning as is tension among homeowners in north dakota and in minnesota. the river rose over 30 feet on wednesday to o what s considered to be major flood stage. and forecasters expect it to rise an additional eight feet by this coming weekend. we ll have a live update of the situation there in just a couple of minutes. plus, an arrest has been made in connection with the illegal prescription drug ring corey haim has been linked to in the days before his death. was he using stolen prescription pads? the latest on that investigation. beginning this thursday morning with the final push for the president s health care reform and the president s contentious interview o fox news. kel o donnell has the latest. reporter: of all the complex issues in the health care debate, one question is now bubbling to the surface how important is the process? the rules, the strategy that democrats might use to get health care passed. now republicans are attacking that process andow president obama has weighed in. i don t spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the house or senate. reporter: but there is a heated fight over the fairness of those rules. house republican leader john boehner. you can t hide from this vote. you can t gimmick this process up. welcome to washington reporter: that issue spilled into a contentious interview the president gave to fox news. what i can tell you is, is that the vote that s taken in the house will be a vote for health care reform and if people vote yes, whatever form that takes, that is going to be a vote for health care reform. i don t think we should pretend otherwise. reporter: democrats may use a controversial vote shortcut called deem and pass. so you support the deem and pass rule. i am not you re saying that that s that vote. what i am saying is that whatever they end up voting on, and i hope it s going to be some time this week, that it is going to be a vote for or against my health care proposal. and that s what matters. reporter: house democrats want to make big, and some say popular, changes that would striout of the senate version of health care lots of deals cut for specific states, and then vote on it. the president cass quwas quizze project by project about what stays and what goes. everybody knows what s in the bill. president, you couldn t tell me what the special deals that are in or not today. i just told you what was is connecticut in? connecticut what do you specifically referring to? reporter: mr. obama said he expects states to be treated equally. but that won t matter unless the president and house speaker nancy pelosi convince enough wary democrats. they have turned ohio congressman dennis kucinich who stressed he still has doubts about the bill. i ve decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. reporter: the president had this message for democrat holdouts if they vote against it, then they re going to be voting against health care reform and they re going to be voting in favor of the status quo. reporter: it was a spirited exchange. they re going to be able to keep their doctor. you got to let me finish my answer. sir, i know you don t like the filibuster. i keep trying to answer your questions and you keep on interrupting. if it doesn t pass, i m more concerned about what it does to family out there who right now are getting crushed by rising health care costs and small businesses who are having to make a decision do i hire or do i fix health care. that s the reason i make these decisions. mr. president, we re wrapped up, i don t want to interrupt you, but to finish up, do you think this is going to pass? i do. i m confident it will pass. and the reason i m confident that it is going to pass is because it s the right thing to do. i apologize for interrupting you so much, sir. i m trying to get the most for our buck. reporter: now there could be something today that might be enough to turn some of those democrats toward the president or maybe nail down some no votes. although people know what s in the bill generally, today they expect to be able to see all the details in writing. and some democrats say that s very important. they may also get from the congressional budget office the official price tag on t bill. that might be what s needed to finally convince some people to decide on a vote one way or another. that s something we re watching closely today. matt? kelly o donnell on capitol hill this morning, thank you very much. anita dunn served as president obama s communications director and dana perino was george w. bush s final press secretary. ladies, good morning. anita, is it going to pass? yes. close call? squeaker? in your poll, matt, it s got a one-point lead in terms of people who favor it. i think that s about accurate in terms of how close the vote may be. that s a squeaker. dana? i think there is more underlying in that poll. i think if you look at independents that ar not for it, i have always said i said with anita last spring i still think it is not going to pass. 60-40 it is not. it did gain momentum. do you think the momentum has moved in favor of the bill? we ll have to say. i think across maybe in congress they ll inch towards it. i guess they need 11 more votes. we ll see if they get them. i think one of the things that bothers people, the straw that broke the camel s back on public support is when the cornhusker kickback was put in last december. then the president held a summit at the blair house, invited the republicans to the table, and quickly retreated behind closed doors. how many more cornhusker kickbacks and deals behind the scenes are we going to have to deal with? so that raises the question, given the criticism around these so-called cornhusker kickback which the president has clearly said he doesn t want in the bill, here s the reality all the stuff you hear about process and this and that procedure is because the republicans know that the american people are moving towards support of this bill as your own poll showed. the reality is they don t want to talk about subsntial. you saw that last night on fox. oh, come on. the poll showed that 57% of the people do not like the way the president has handled the issue. and that does speak toward process. doesn t it? i think what it says is that people would like this to be done, that they think it should have been done before, that they re impatient to have this done. they want to see the president get this behind him, move on to jobs which we, too, want to do. i think at the end of the day, at the end of the day, the american people, and i think your spokesperson for the republican congress at committee is quoted this morning is quoted as saying once it passes the publicans won t repeal it because many independents will like it. here s the thing. if this were as popular as she says it would have become law already. the democrats had such huge margins in the house and the senate, the fact that it is held off for so long is i think showing you that the policy isn t popular. here another thing. politically, they re asking their memberso violate their principles on the left and the conservative democrats and they re asking them to give up their seats in november. i also think that in that interview last night, it was ungracious and there s not an ounce the interview happened and i can t do anything about it. i can just briefly say something though? dana, the reason it hasn t passed you know this yesterday the new york times had a front page article about how senate minority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky has basically had a strategy of day one of this administration to stop everything. the reason it hasn t passed is because of the rules. let me stop both of you. let me move on to what s going to happen. we ll get a report from the congressional budget office talking about the price tag of this bill. do you expect that to help or hurt the chances of the bill? let s be clear, this cbo report has been held up for three days while the democrats have tried to wheel and deal and say, if we increase taxes here, can we get the number that we need here? that s why it s taken so long. i think they ll probably try to twist arms and get it. if it is a trillion dollar price tag, i don t think anybody s going to support it. if the vote on this cannot happen until nday, if the cbo reports come out today, the vote could come late in the day sunday. the president s scheduled to leave for asia. he s already delayed that trip by three days. he s staking his presidency on health care reform passing. should he go to asia even prior to a vote? i think that they will vote by the time he leave for asia. i think he ll go on the trip with a huge victory for the american people under his belt. i call it the great copenhagen gamble. part two. dana, anita,thanks, ladies. good having you both here. ten minutes after the hour. let s get a check of the morning s top stories. ann curry back from assignment at news desk. welcome back. good morning, everybody. in the news this morning, president obama signs a jobs bill today that promises $18 billion in tax breaks to o businesses so they will hire more people. on wednesday the president thanked 11 republican senators who voted with democrats to pass the jobs bill. the measure also extends an existing program that will pump billions into highway and mass transit projects. today secretary of state hillary clinton is in russia for talks on nuclear arms control and while there, she s also meeting with world leaders about how to bring israelis and palestinians back to the peace talks. these are anxious times along the rising red river in north dakota and minnesota where residents are bracing for some severe flooding. nbc s kevin tibbles is in moorhead, minnesota with more on this story. kevin, good morning. reporter: good morning, ann. it is all coming down to a nail-biting waiting game here in the fargo-moorhead area as the red river keeps on rising, people here simply pray it doesn t reach last year s record levels. they are battling back against the red river. one 30-pound bag of sand at a time. a virtual army of students going door to door in the low-lying areas of fargo, building makeshift levees to keep the water out. it s amazing to see these little kids out there with the bags. the older people can t do it. they re too heavy. but the kids dive right in. reporter: unusually warm march weather has led to an unusually fast snow melt, and that adds up to another year of rising waters. people here pray the red river doesn t get near last year s record-breaking 40 feet above flood stage. still, they re prepared. at fargo sandbag central, they ve made 1 million sandbags. 750,000 of them have already been put to use. the national guard is also here building earthen levees and installing a portable aqua wall to help hold the water back. and that waiting game, ann, is expected to be over some time over the weekend because the red river is expected to crest on sunday. ann? kevin tibbles, thanks. more than 1 million highchairs are being recalled because they can tip over. the recall involves graco harmony high chairs. there are 24 reports of children being injured. you can find more information about this on our website at todayshow.com. today in australia, lifeguards were competing in a national competition where when huge waves from a cyclone hundreds of miles away battered the beach and capsized several of their boats. at least one of the lifeguards competing had to be rescued. it is now 7:13. back to meredith and matt. that s some serious weather. if the lifeguard has to be rescued, that s not good. mr. roker s on the move this morning, at the weather channel in atlanta. hey, al, good morning. good morning, guys. something that s kind of wacky in the weather when it s warmer in new york city than it is in atlanta. but as we ve been talking about, all eyes along the red river as we check out the satellite and radar combination. the good news for that area, skies are clear. so no more rain going into the red river basin. however, we still have warm temperatures today. they will start to cool down, that hopefully will retard some of the snow melt. flood stage, normally 18 feet. current level, 32.8 feet. sunday gets up to 38 feet. that s the peak. of course, last year we had the same just a week later we had that record-breaking flood level at 40.82 feet of water. last. as sunrise on this thursday morning, a live view from under arrest sky watcher looking off to the east and the sun is coming up on a clear sky. it s a chilly start in the low to mid 30s in the nearby suburbs to upper 30 no, sir prince georges anded the mid 40s. highs should be in the mid 70s with lots of sunshine to be and that s your latest weather. meredith? al, thank you very much. the catholic church is being forced to confront two major sex abuse scandals in europe that led to pope benedict the xvi being heckled in st. peter s square on wednesday. nbc s stephanie gosk is at the vatican can more today. reporter: good morning, meredith. the dark cloud of sexual abuse has hung over the vatican ever since victims started coming forward about a decade ago. you remember that u.s. cardinal bernard law had to resign over this scandal but these allegations have come right to the front steps of the vatican. ireland, the netherlands, even the pope s birthplace, germany. pope benedict xvi says he is deeply concerned. the irish church in his words has been severely shaken by allegations of priests abusing children. but it isn t just ireland. germany, the country where benedict was born and rose through the ranks of the catholic church, has been rocked by its own scandal. since nuary, 250 new allegations of abuse spanning four decades have emerged. and german chancellor angela merkel called for the church to come clean. 18 out of 2 2 diocese in german are implicated, including munich where the pope served as an archbishop. a pedophile priest was transferred to benedict s dediocese in 1980 for treatment, then went back to work and abused more children. the priest was finally suspended earlier this week. i think the congregation in germany needs answers as to why this is happening, why this particular pope may have been part of the coverup. reporter: the vatican says the holy father has been unfairly linked to the case. translator: he was definitely not involved in the decision to allow this priest to return to work. reporter: this is the second time this month that the vatican has had to deflect a sex scandal. two weeks ago italian news reports alleged a member of the vatican choir was running a homosexual prostitution ring. the string of sex scandals has opened the door to critics of the church, like jon stewart. disturbing news to be sure, but on the bright side, at least this scandal didn t involve priests molesting kids. reporter: the wave of scandal threatens to further tarnish the image of catholicism, especially in ireland. the head of the church there, sean brady, watched two young victims sign an oath of secrecy in 1975. the accused priest went on to abuse children into the 90s. now cardinal brady is apologizing. we have failed people, and especially survivors of abuse, on friday, the pope says he will issue a letter to the people of ireland that he hopes will help one of europe s most catholic countries recover. so far, the pope hasn t addressed the german scandal publicly but they say that the letter he issues this week will reach out to catholics across europe. meredith? stephanie gosk, thank you very much. it is 7:17. once again, here s matt. thank you. administrators at cornell, one of the most prestigious universities in the country are dealing with a rash of on-campus suicide. nbc s rehema ellis is at the ithaca, new york, campus. rehema, good morning to you. reporter: good morning, matt. it would be difficult at any time, but especially now. it s exam week and stress is already high. people are working hard to get emotions under control. reporter: the university is trying to lift spirits on campus where tension is running high. cornell really nee support right now. i feel like a lot of us are a little bit down. it s sad to know that a member of our community, you know, is no longer with us. reporter: an emotional challenge at a demanding ivy league school, stunned by the a parent suicides of three young men in the last month, in the gorgeous beneath bridges around campus. two of the deaths, this last week. 19-year-old william sinclair, an engineering student. 18-year-old bradley ginsburg, an economics major. matthew zika, a 21-year-old majoring in engineering. just days before his death, this haunting message on his facebook page saying, my hope in living life is that if one day someone told me it would be my last, i could smile and nod knowing full well that i did all i could with the time i was given. with the startling six known or apparent suicides since september, it s revived cornell s reputation as a high-stress suicide school. right now we have a very unusual circumstance with this string of tragedies. but over time, the rate of suicide at cornell has been no higher than on other campuses nationwide. reporter: suicide is a problem on every campus. the second-leading cause of death for college students nationwide. in the hope of preventing suicides at cornell, where the tragedies have been so shockingly visible, guards now patrol the bridges that cross the deep gorges. faculty and staff knocked on every door, connecting with each of the school s 20,000 students. campuswide from librarians to custodians, everyone is now looking for signs of depression in students stressed by the pressure to succeed. the most important thing that i hope students at this campus learn and i hope at every campus in the country is to take care of one s self and to ask for help when we need it. we all need it at some time in our lives. reporter: cornell university, stepping up efforts to spread awareness about the signs of depression that are often hard to see. we should point out, from the start of 2006 through the beginning of this academic year, there were no suicide here at cornell. and university officials say they think it is, in part, to the intense mental health intervention they do on this campus and have been doing for several years to help keep students healthy. matt? rehema ellis in ithaca new york for us this morning, thank you very much. still ahead on a thursday morning, does john edwards former mistress, rielle hunter, regret posing for these pictures? her exclusive response is coming up. and what justahead, in the wake of corey haim s death, just how easy is it to buy illegal prescription drugs? the result of our investigation. lindsey vonn, the most decorated u.s. skier ever stops by after your local news. these are a few of my favourite things when the curls break. when the ends split when my hair goes mad i simply remember my favourite thing and then i don t feel so bad new dove damage therapy has been reinvented with fiber actives, so keep on doing your favourite things. and let dove take care of the damage. can your moisturizer do that? dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula. now proven to build a moisture reserve. so skin can replenish itself. that s healthy skin for life. save at aveeno.com. [ sniffs ] morning. you got in pretty late last night. dad, i m not sixteen anymore. still, it was late. well. you re not gonna have to worry about that anymore. yeah, why s that? todd s a lucky man. the best part of wakin up. that s what i told him when we talked last week. .is folgers in your cup ladies, raise your spoons. now there s nothing left standing between you and a satisfying breakfast. introducing special k low-fat granola. with 50% less fat than the leading granola. and 5 grams of fiber per serving, it s a satisfying way to help you manage your weight. special k low-fat granola a taste of freedom. [ woman ] when you go with frozen, it can t be real. [ female announcer ] oh yes it can! with lean cuisine. they put in real wholesome ingredients like farm-picked veggies, real cheese, and crunchy walnuts. just one of 90 varieties with no preservatives. lean cuisine. keep life delicious. in what? imported ice? yeah! i mean, people love imported water. so this is the next logical step. i think i ll stick with following my green line. oh, come on! hey, working with my guy at fidelity could have me retiring in a few years. and besides, couldn t people just freeze their imported water? don t be ridiculous. work with the company that s helping more people reach retirement than anyone else because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments. our time is 7:26 this thursday, the 18th day of march. in the news for today, a virginia man will be put it to death for a brutal murder back in 1999. he killed 16-year-old stacy reed by stabbing her in the heart and raped her sister bore slashing her throat. she did survive and will witness the execution in virginia tonight. can you go back to the right? no, back here. how about over here? hmm. let s go back to the left. uh. waffling is back at dunkin donuts with the return of the waffle breakfast sandwich. two oven-toasted waffles with a hint of maple, complete with fluffy egg, a slice of melted cheese, and now with delicious sausage. so hurry in today because it s only around for a short time. america runs on dunkin . try our oven-toasted waffle breakfast sandwich today, only at dunkin donuts. sun s up in a clear view on this thursday morning. low in the mid 40s in washington and highs into the upper 60s to near 70 and tomorrow with a high near 70 and lots of sun. saturday clouds in the afternoon and up near 70. on sunday increasing clouds and showers and how is the traffic on this thursday morning? outer loop of the beltway, a broken down vehicle and the inner loop, expect sunshine delays. inbound 66 is loaded up with the sun and the travel lines from menassis remain open and looking good to the roosevelt bridge. another local news update in 25 7:30 now on a thursday morning, the 18th day of march, 2010. it s bright and sunny here in manhattan. get this we could actually get up to about 70 degrees in new york today. that would be a new record high. we ll take it. we ll go say hi to these people in a couple of minutes. rnl inside the studio, i m matt lauer, alongside meredith vieira. just ahead, elizabeth edwards reaction to the provocative photos of rielle hunter. plus an exclusive statement from hunter herself specifically about those photos. also ahead, we ll take you inside the secret world of celebrities and prescription drugs. police have now made an arrest connected to the drug ring that actor corey haim has been linked to. more on that and how easy it can be to obtain prescription drugs without an actual prescription. we are a few days away from the official arrival of spring. quick fixes for the worst of spring allergies. plus more of our special series ask away today. this morning, our photography helps our own ann curry find balance in her busy life. she ll share some remarkable pictures that she s taken. the fallout from rielle hunter s interview and photo spread with gq magane. what did elizabeth edwards think about it? reporter: john and elizabeth edwards have been separated since january but friends and family now tell people magazine that elizabeth was just beginning to move on with her life when she read gq s exclusive interview with rielle hunter this week. the pictures left little to the imagination. john edwards former mistress rielle hunter, the mother of their 2-year-old daughter, telling gq magazine that i love johnny and i love my daughter more than anything in the world. and aiming her fire at elizabeth edwards saying the wrath of elizabeth is a mighty wrath. but now, the new issue of people magazine quotes elizabeth edwards sister, calling hunter delusional. especially regarding hunter s claims that the edwardses marriage was broken long before she became the other woman. whatever she thinks she knows about the marriage, she received secondhand. it was not a broken marriage. people quotes friends eve liz beth say ing she was disgusted y the racy photographs of rielle posing with her daughter s toys but after reading the interview monday, she still went about her day as usual, stopping by the furniture store she now runs in chapel hill, north carolina, and taking her two youngest children to a soccer game. for her part, hunter told barbara walter she herself found the pictures repulsive. well, if that was the case, then why did you pose the way you did. she said that she trusted the photographer who she said is a brilliant photographer and she, quote, i went with the flow. as to hunter s claims to gq about edwards that we love each other very much, people also reports that john edwards and hunter talk on the phone about 2-year-old frances quinn but do not see each other in person. as for john and elizabeth edwards, people reports that john has moved out of their chapel hill mansion and that the two have cordial relations. what about former edwards aide andrew young who s publish that best-selling tell-all book bet edwardses and rielle hunter? he s just signed with a top hollywood agent, the brother of white house chief of staff rahm emanuel, who wants to turn his story into a movie. matt? norah o donnell, thank you very much. last night rielle hunter provided a statement exclusively to nbc about those photographs that accompanied the gq article. in it she says, i understood what photos were being taken. it was my mistake to pose for them given i had no photo control or approval. i also pos for many photos that i thought were more appropriate for the content of the interview. obviously, i really wish they had decided to use those. i stand by this interview and would give the exact same answers under oath. again, that s a statement provided to nbc news by rielle hunter. for more on the story now, here s meredith. matt, thankyou. people magazine s washington correspondent who collaborated on the new elizabeth edwards article is here. sandra, good morning. you quote sources in the article. i know you talked to her sister. her sister and people in touch with elizabeth and have some knowledge of her thinking had spoken to her that day and said that her jaw hit the floor like everybody else s, but that she moved on pretty quickly. how did she find out about the article? she was tipped off the night before when the washington post obtained a copy and i was told she went to bed early, didn t even wait for the post story. it was really like at midnight. right. she d already gone to bed. she saw it the next morning when most of us did. you say sources told you she then went about business pretty much as usual, including making several postings on o her facebook account. in those postings did she reference at all the article? there wasn t a whiff of the article, nothing. she talked about the republican hypocrisy on health kaye. she was commenting on her friend s photo albums and business at the store. if it bothered her, nobody knew about it based on what they wrote on facebook again. not at all. you wouldn t know that anything was happening in her life that day other than business at the store was brisk. there was one comment in particular by rielle that bothered elizabeth the most, that is how elizabeth found out about the affair. for her to have her credibility questioned was annoying, to say the least. and i was told that her only official response was going to be that she stands by her version of how she found out. and what s the discrepancy there between what she says and what rielle says? elizabeth says that john came to her almost like nothing and just confessed a one-night mistake and rielle hunter says that, no, it was elizabeth finding a cell phone that they had their secret cell phone. she dialed the last number dialed and rielle picked up, said, hi, baby, and that s how it was found out. then confronted john. elizabeth says that s totally untrue. that john came to her and confessed it was just one night. her sister, nancy, did say that rielle, to her, sounded delusional is the word she used when she said that their marriage was already broken before the affair began. did she tell you anything ee about the state of the edwards marriage before the affair? nancy was there when the two of them renewed their vows on their 30th wedding anniversary. she said if rielle hunter wants to claim that john edwards never lied to her, then she wasn t there to see the love in that relationship. she said it s always been a marriage that she and those who know the edwardses envied. the fact that rielle talks about the relationship with john, or johnny, as she calls him, in the present tense, she said to gq, i do know that i will love him and that love is until death do us part. according to a friend you interviewed, john and rielle do not see each other and went on to say, sounds like most of that is in her head. is it the implication that she s lying about that as well. people who see and talk to the edwardses regularly say there is absolutely no indication there is an ongoing relationship between john and rielle. they have a functional co-parenting arrangement where he calls and checks on quinn and they make arrangements for him to visit with his daughter, but it s still always with a third party and not with rielle present. how hurtful was it to elizabeth to see those photos of rielle in that magazine? you know, i was told disgusted, like everybody else was. i think was the phrase used. but after so many years of being pummeled with revelation after revelation, i think she s learning to tune it out. what do they say about elizabeth s relationship with john at this point? obviously he has moved out of the house, he s living elsewhere. cordial. i m told they don t even fight anymore. it s more on the phone, if elizabeth is irked by something, it s more like, hey, this isn t cool. but that the temperature has come down and they are figuring out a way to co-parent and make it work. did they talk at all about elizabeth s health at this point? that is seems, good. yeah. that she gets tired, usually around the end of the day and needs to take little cat naps, but that she s got a lot of energy. she s planning some travel overseas with her sister and her children. she s moving forward. she s creating a whole new life for herself. before i let you go, some sad news people reported about sandra bullock. what can you tell us? she left the family home in southern california on monday just before the news broke in the tabloid about the rumors of her husband s infidelity. but nobody is saying split or broken up. she s just not currently living in the same place as her husband. we wish her the best obviously along with elizabeth edwards as well. sandra, thank you so much for your insight this morning. now let s get a check of the weather from al. we re at the home office of the weather channel, meredith, in atlanta. big changes are happening out in the rockies as we start off, we ll show you right now things are not too bad. we ve got clouds overhead but big changes are coming. look at the forecast changes. a storm system moves through. today in denver, partly sunny. by friday, snow, colder, 28 degrees for a high! unbelievable. and the snowfall amounts, talk about spring coming in? we re talking some areas picking up more than a foot of snow between aspen, on up into steamboat springs and denver. rest of the country, beautiful weather in the northeast. 71 in new york city. partly sunny in the pac good morning. sun s up and a clear sky. the promise of spring in the air on this thursday morning. at this hour we have temperatures that are chilly in the suburbs and rural areas down into the 30s, but mid 40s in washington and highs today climbing to near 70 degrees. lots of sun and tomorrow another sunny day with highs near 70 and mid 40s on saturday morning for th marathon and could and don t forget, any time you want to check your weather day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? al, thank you very much. up next, the secret world of celebrities and drug abuse. wait until you see just how easy it is to buy prescription drugs. right after this. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, and then recommended lyrica. fibromyalgia is thght to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i m learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affec you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? 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[ cellphones ringing, vibrating ] [ computer beeps ] get started at bank of america. we re back at 7:43. this morning on today investigates, celebrity and prescription drug abuse. actor corey haim may be the latest victim. now police have made an arrest tied to his case. nbc s jeff rossen has more on that and the results of his undercover investigation. seems like this problem is just getting worse in hollywood. place say corey haim obtained pills from stolen prescription pads. they also say the actor was doctor shopping just before he died. these celebrities go from doctor to doctor, paying them off to write prescriptions they just don t need. it s sort of an open secret in hollywood. so this past summer, we went undercover to show you just how sy it is. yet another star buried this week after a long battle with prescription drug addiction. corey haim s mother was there when his life came to a sudden end. i think my son is dead. he s not breathing! ma am, are you with him right now? yes. reporter: like so many other celebrities, corey haim was in deep. officials say he visited several doctors recently for pills. they even traced one of his prescriptions for oxycontin back to a massive prescription drug ring. wednesday police made an arrest but wouldn t say who. reporter: in a town where celebrities rule and anything goes, it s the new epidemic stars buying off doctors. it s not like buying crack off the street, but it s as simple as that. that easy. easy as ordering a pizza. reporter: to find out, we launched an undercover sting. our decoy is an ex-performer in hollywood. he asked us to hide his identity. we watch as he walks into a doctor s office with a wad of cash. he ll see a doctor with a reputation for taking care of celebrities. he made it clear to me, if i walk in his office and pay the fee, i give him the money, i have a doctor, i have drugs, i have whatever i want. reporter: as our guy walks inside, you have to remember, he s never met this doctor before. he just made an appointment saying he has a tv pilot coming out. he was with the doctor for only five minutes and handed over nearly 2 grand in cash. when he walked out, even we were surprised, prescriptions in one hand, a goody bag of samples in the other. drugs tha were prescribed to you, could those drugs kill you? this is a suicide cocktail on paper. reporter: the doctor wrote hi prescriptions for four different drugs, including a heavy dosage of oxycontin, a schedule 2 narcotic. 240 pills of vicodin, sleeping pills, and for good measure, cialis for erectile dysfunction. what did you tell the doctor to get these prescriptions? i had something in my arm, i re-injured an old back injury. he did not even take my short off. he says i got exactly what you need and started writing. reporter: since our investigation first aired, deejay a.m. died of an overdose and michael jackson s personal physician, dr. conrad murray, has been charg with involuntary manslaughter. we re going to waive the reading of the complaint, judge. just enter a plea of not guilty. reporter: prosecutorsay he administered a lethal dose of proep foll it makes me sick that they swore an oath to help fellow man and they re actually killing fellow man. reporter: this doctor runs a rehab clinic in malibu. how much will a mega star pay a doctor to be at his beck and call? $30,000 to $50,000 a month. $50,000 could be conservative depending on really what the addict or celebrity wants. reporter: truth be told, it is the celebrities in this town who allow this to continue to happen. it s the celebrities, and it s the doctors who feed on greed. reporter: celebrities like jeff connoway. that s him in grease. he also played bobby wheeler in taxi. jeff was a rising star until he got hooked on painkillers and hit rock bottom. i don t know why. reporter: jeff played himself on the show celebrity rehab. i used to get like, you know, anything i wanted. you know? just say, can i have some of this? can i have some of that? done. done. script. script. script. script. done. done. over. go get high. there are people that are dead today that would not have been dead if there were doctors using their authority the right way. reporter: but it seems unstoppable. the list of dead celebrities is growing. and so is the list of crooked doctors willing to sell their power for a brush with fame. right now, as we speak, the same thing i just did is happening all over. this is scary stuff. yeah, this is scary stuff. how many celebrities have to die? ten more? 20 more? how many movie stars before this stops? here s the problem. there s actually a loophole in the law to arrest a doctor for overprescribing medication. police have to show malice or gross negligence. we re told that is very difficult to prove in court, and the doctors know it. so they still do it. matt, just one other note about corey haim. of course, police originally called this an apparent overdose, toxicology and autopsy results will take a few weeks, but there is no question he had a problem with addiction. this is not only happening with celebrities. there are a lot of people all over the country who do this sort of thing as well. jeff rossen, thanks very much. 7:50. still ahead on ask away today, a lot of you want it know how ann manages to find balance in her hectic life. she ll show us but first these message. i ve got an idea. or improvise? maxwell house custom-roasts each bean. for a full-flavored cup of coffee. so you can be good to the last drop. i think we need more cups, mom. look in the glove box. 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[ laughter ] [ male announcer ] a consumers digest best buy. with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. it takes you farther. and brings you closer. wore only what i was wild about. always knew what i loved, and insisted on wearing it. chicka boom boom boom i guess some women are destined to wear chico s. want to make sure allergies don t always have to keep you cooped up inside. that s why we re making it easier for everyone to find allergy solutions. by offering products like new zyrtec liquid gels. zyrtec, the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine, is now available in a liquid gel. zyrtec liquid gels work on your worst symptoms. indoors and out. you ll also get the expert advice of your walgreens pharmacist. so you ll feel freer to love the air. walgreens. there s a way to stay well. isn t this how fiber should taste? eating well has never been so craveable. with quaker wild blueberry flavored multigrain fiber crisps. isn t this how whole grains should taste? eating well has never been so craveable with quaker caramel baked rice snacks. save big on your biggest purchases. plus, lindsey vonn conquers the world for a third straight time. we ll talk to the most decorated u.s. skier ever after your local we ll talk to the most decorated u.s. skier ever after your local news. to be heard in washington, so we get our fair share of funding!! the census is 10 questions in 10 minutes. fill it out, mail it back and help make your town better. we can t move forward until you mail it back. 2010 census. hey, do you guys want to make some easter eggs? girls: yeah! okay, ready? we are going to dip on three. all: one, two, three. dip. wow, that one s pretty. ( laughter ) i m going to make mine for the easter bunny. yeah. it s the memories you make. dip in that one. that really stick. look at how beautiful. childhood is calling. with a brief look the action on royal caribbean s new oasis of the seas. carolina diago found her thrill 9 decks above the boardwalk. meanwhile, 3-year-old axel rode his first carousel at sea. taylor from florida went surfing somewhere in the middle of the ocean. and finally, the turners and kratzes enjoyed dinner in central park. that s the news. i m stilt walker christy piper, on royal caribbean s oaoasis of the seas. why aren t you? . our time is 7:56 and beautiful bright sunshine this morning. blue skies and 44 degrees. in the news for today, montgomery county will thot have to make up the days for a blizzard. they granted the county a-day waiver. this means the schools will not have to make up any of the nine snow theys they got this winter. classes will end as scheduled on the 16th of june. the basketball tournament will start today. 7:25 tonight in providence, rhode island. we will take a look and come back and look a sun climg climbing higher. 30 to near 40 degrees and climbs to the 60s and highs near 70. should be sunny on saturday and highs near 70 again. on sundayncreasing clouds and showers late in the day. highway is the thursday commute? we are loaded up and a broken down vehicle before the beltway is cleared and jaming it up out of fair oaks. one more stop on the beltway. hard to see because of the sun, but a long exit ramps that takes you on to georgia avenue. another update coming your way in 25 mi 8:00 now on this thursday morning, march 18th, 2010. on this sunny, warm warning, can t help wonder if any of our friends here in rockefeller plaza are feeling spring these days. did you notice people are sneezing and sniffling? i think it is an early allergy season this year. a lot of people are suffering right now. how do you know the difference between allergies and a cold? we ll ask an expert that question and learn quick fixes so getting through allergy season a little easier. also ahead, between work and family, how does ann handle her hectic schedule? that s what you wanted to know for our ask away today series. ahead, she ll introduce us to her ue passion photography. and we ll check in with a familiar face. lindsey vonn captured two medals in vancouver, a gold and a bronze. now she s won the overall world cup title for the third straight year. it is an impressive feat and she s going to join us, saying hi to the people outside. we ll talk to lindsey in a little while. right now let s go over to ann standing by with the headlines of the morning. good morning, everybody. in the news, president obama says he is confident that health care reform will pass in the house. and congressman dennis kucinich now says he will support this reform bill. the house could vote on sunday. nervous residents in north dakota and minnesota are keeping a close watch on the rising red river. forecasters expect the river to crest sunday about 20 feet above flood stage. volunteers filled their 1 milli millio millionth on wednesday. colleen la rose was charged in federal court this week, charged with plotting a terrorist attack from overseas. we ll open at 18-minute highs for u.s. stocks. a lot of optimism but some pressure today. the main reason the very small economy with a big influence on global stocks. that s greece. there is concern the deal for a bailout there could be falling apart. one piece of good news though today, ann you re in excellent shape. a lot of people are wearing nike. profits more than doubled and a good sign for the american consumer. erin, thank you so much. a final special delivery for former first lady nancy reagan from ge s ceo. she was given all 209 episodes of tv s general electric theater hosted by her husband in the late 1950s and 60s. the tapes were a donation to the ronald reagan presidential library as part after two-year celebration of what would have been the late president s 100th birthday. ge is the parent company of this network. it is now 8:02. back to matt and meredith. i m sure she loved that. very nice gift. al is in atlanta this morning, we ll head down to him for a check of the weather. hey, al. that s so great seeing nancy reagan. what a great gift. let s see what s happening as far as our pick city of the day. just happens to be the hometown of the beautiful weather channel, nbc 11 alive. mostly cloudy today,n isolated shower or two. temperature of 61 degrees. as you see those showers pinwheeling around low pressure moving off the southeastern atlantic coast, we ve also got big changes coming in to the rockies as colder air funnels back in behind a low pressure system. in the northeast, beautiful weather. 71 in new york city. 68 in boston. sunshine in the pacific northwest. some breezy conditions in the pacific northwest as well. few showers in the southea good morning. a bright and sunny thursday and a live view from the sky walker camera. the temperatures are chilly still. 42 at washington and the low to mid 40 from prince georges county and articling and fairfax in the 30s. highs though should soar into the 60 wise lots of sun and near 40 tomorrow morning with a sunny day on friday and surday near 70 both days. a chance of showers that s your latest weather. up nex on ask away today, you wanted to know how ann finds balance in her life? 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(woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe our new savory shrimp jambalaya. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. my muscles just ache. . all over my body. .it just doesn t go away. it s so baffling. (annncer) does this sound like the pain you ve been experiencing? this is fibromyalgia. chronic, widespread pain and tenderness that affects millions. sometimes i need a hug. .but i know it s gonna hurt. (announcer) there is hope. understanding your pain. .is the first step to treating it. talk to your doctor and visit fibrocenter.com for answers and support. ( man ) last summer my kid made 4 figures. does he need to file a tax return ? they re not just any questions. ( woman ) did we just make a charitable donation ? they re the trickiest, thorniest, questions of all. ( woman ) is this considered a home office ? bring your tax question to the company that helped clients get over 43 billion dollars in refunds last year alone. how can i get more money ? click, call, or come over. h&r block: get it right. we are back at 8:08 with more of our special series ask away today. this morning, it is ann s turn to answer the burning question that she gets asked all the time. that s right. oftentimes i get asked, how do you find balance in your life? my doctor actually asked me that same question a few years ago. when i answered that i balance between my children and my job, he said that s just not good enough. he said we would all live more fulfilled an maybe even longer lives if we can find our passions. for me, that s taking pictures wherever i go. reporter: i love photographs. i love that they tell you something about a moment. a good photograph will stop time, will tell you something about a people, a place, an event. think of what we just saw in haiti. i took a bunch of pictures in haiti. right after the earthquake, it was absolute chaos. no structure, no idea, no system of taking care of people. the volume of human suffering in haiti. as you re doing your work, it s very hard to keep your mind focused because your heart is broken. hundreds of people waiting in pain for someone to help them. so it was an oasis for me havin my camera. i wouldn t say that it was oasis enough, but it was something. the pictures in darfur will always mean something to me. speaking of a specific incident, when a boy falls to his knees and he looks at you with those eyes that speak to his resilience and his pain, you want to be good enough to get that picture, because they won t get another chance to be seen. i like to go and find places where you can take pictures of people in their real moments. taking pictures of children in a hospital, sick children in a hospital, and seeing the love that their parents have for them, seeing the joy they have in their own lives, even though they re enduring such challenges. it s the lesson for all of us, isn t it? those of us who think, oh, my life, oh, why don t i have this, why don t i have that. it teaches us about resilience and gratitude, and that giving people photographs of themselves, even in their worst or their best moments, is a real gift to them. i have this friend, his name is david, he is a pulitzer prize winning photojournalist. it is almost like medication. yes, absolutely. because you re forced to pay attention to everything outside of yourself. reporter: i just happened to meet him. i told him i love photography. so i got to be his student, you know, really, and learn from him. we ve been to many different places. it was so instructive and david was so tender in teaching me how to shoot. the most meaningful photographs of my family are, of course, of my little girl and my son, moments when they didn t realize they re being photographed, like the moment when my daughter was lying on the couch in this lobby. she didn t know i was taking her photograph and there was just something about the way she was lying there that i thought was so beautiful. it s really fun to take pictures of your kids. i don t have as many pictures of my son as my daughter because he doesn t like to have his picture taken. so i have to keep sneaking around. but i think it is important to be connected to our lives and pictures connect us. i went on vacation with al. we went to italy, our families. we all went together. we shared a house. there was a moment when al and his son were on the bed and nick was hugging his dad. al s such a good father. and nick looks at him like he s everhing. i wanted to get that in a picture. it was neat to give that to al. i feel so lucky that i found something that has given me peace, even in the worst of circumstances. and it makes me know that all of us can find peace, even in the chaos of our own lives, if we can find that one thing that we care so much about, that helps us breathe more deeply. and for me, it s taking pictures. my doctor told me to find that balance that we all want, you should spent at least a full day a week on something you love and while most of us can t afford that amount of time, it does give us a frame of reference of why it s so difficult to achieve balance. i smell four-day work week. that s a great picture of you and nicky, al. yeah, it is one of my all-time favorite pictures and i ve been with ann and i ve watched her when she composes. her eye is really special, because she takes sometimes the most routine things and turns it into a really beautiful moment. and it s just a wonderful gift. it was easy to take a picture of you. giving that as a gift to somebody is really special. think about when you leave your house, if something were to happen, the one thing you can t bear to lose is your pictures because it is stopping time. may you find more time to take pictures. tomorrow on ask away today, how natalie finds time in her busy life for passion, which is running, and why it s become so important to her. and apparently boxing, too. still ahead, some allergy fixes right after this. olay professional pro-x wrinkle protocol is as effective as the leading wrinkle prescription brand at reducing the look of wrinkles. that s because olay has teamed with a highly specialized group of dermatologists and created a wrinkle protocol that gives you the results of the leading wrinkle prescription brand, without a prescription. olay professional pro-x. this is a guarantee you re guaranteed to love. . unlock an outdoor dreamland for your indoor cat. exciting flavor combinations, plus a touch of garden greens make it irresistible. friskies indoor delights. feed the senses. honda accord and toyota camry stand behind their powertrain for up to 60,000 miles. chevy malibu stands behind theirs for up to 100,000 miles. which makes it pretty clear whose standing out front. a consumers digest best buy two years running. chevy malibu. compare it to anyone and may the best car win. now, qualified lessees get a low mileage lease on this 2010 malibu ls for around $199 a month. call for details. see your local chevy dealer. make that first step easier, with the nicoderm cq patch. nicoderm steps you down from nicotine gradually. doubling your chance for success. nicoderm cq. three steps, ten weeks and you re free. 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 [clucking] look for delicious cadbury s, reese s and hershey s products in the easter candy aisle. cause no bunny knows easter better than hershey s. a whole new look. introducing benefiber orange, an orange-flavored fiber that tastes great and dissolves completely. so, there s no grit. only a refreshing orange flavor 2 out of 3 people prefer over metamucil orange. an orange flavored fiber that s a joy to drink. that s the beauty of benefiber. [ woman ] nine iron, it s almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that s the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i m ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that s good because the competition s steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ announcer: today s health is brought to you by the makers of zyrtec. love the air. this morning on today s health, saturday marks the start of sprg and another allergy season. how can you make it through without a lot of sneezing and sniffling? today contributor dr. raj is an assistant professor at new york state university. i woke up with a slight sinus headache. i thought it s got to be spring. why do we get allergies this time of year? a lot of people get allergies throughout the year but particularly in the spring, there s more pollen, dust, there are weeds and grass pollen out there, molds that really proliferate in the spring time. that can cause an allergy reaction in some people. do realities always show up in childhood or can you suddenly as an adult develop them? they usually show up in childhood or early adulthood but it can occur at any age. i have patients that say, that can t be allergies! i ve never had them before. it can occur. i had a friend who only got them in the spring, now it is year-round. they can extend. good fuzz, for most people as you get older, they tend to get less severe. we think your immune system starts to learn a little bit and it is a little bit tampened down as you age. how can we tell whether it is allergies or a cold. it is not always easy. runny nose and congestion you get for both but a fever is most likely a cold. you likely don t get a fever with allergy. cough again is more likely to be a cold as opposed to allergy. you can tell, if it lasts for a week it could be a cold. if it lasts for months, that s an allergy. talk about treating allergies. first without using medication. right. so the main thing you need to do is avoid whatever s triggering your allergies. if it is pollen, check your local weather forecast for a pollen count for that day. if it is a high pollen count, stay indoors especially in the morning. that s where we get more pollen. if it a hot, dry, windy day, again more pollen out there. take a shower when you come in from outdoors remove your clothes and shoes. you can get special allerg allergen-free covers for your mattresses and pillows. basically avoid everything. what s allergen mean? that means whatever is triggering your allergy. that includes pollen, dust, fuft mi dust mites. cockroaches carry them. anything that triggers them. are any medications helpful? start with over the counter things like antihistamines and decongestants. if they don t work, talk to your doctor about a prescription decongestant, or can you go for allergy testing and shots which may eliminate your allergies completely. if your allergies are seasonal, how many weeks do they last? the whole season? it depends. certain pollens are more likely to occur early in the spring or late in the spring. if you re allergic to all of them, it could be all spring or even summer. the other word for it is hay fever. but you don t get a fever, and it is not due to hay. makes total sense. dr. raj, thanks so much. check out who has joined us, the most accomplished ski racer in u.s. history. we re talking about lindsey vonn. she won her third straight overall world cup title in germany just on friday. after picking up two medals back in vancouver, a gold and a bronze. lindsey, good morning. congratulations. thanks, matt. no rest for the weary. right from vancouver, back on the world cup circuit and you win your third straight title. you re the best skier in the world three years running. that s pretty good. thanks. yeah, it s definitely been an interesting ride this year. just a lot going on and after the olympics, everyone was like, oh, what are you going to do now? go on vacation? i said that to you. i thought you d get some time off. no, i got to go back to work. we had two weeks left of the season. i was tired and beat up obviously but we made it through and it s done now. you won the super g as part of that world cup. you didn t even really have to win that because you d already accumulated enough points to take the title. that frees you up a little bit. doesn t it? it definitely did. standing in the start i knew i won the overalltitle. my husband was there, gave me a hug, everyone was excited. i was like, okay be, i just want to go out, have a great run, end the season strong and just have fun. and i did. on one hand you probably don t want this year to end, you ve accomplished so much, getting the olympic medals, gold and bronze, now your third consecutive world cup title. on the other hand, you have to say let me heal. you were really banged up. you had an arm injury, a shin injury. have you ever experienced a 12-month period like that? is. no, i ve never had so many crashes and so many injuries in one season. it was brutal. i kept fighting through it but at some point you have to say, okay, that s enough. thankfully the last super g race, i still had a slalom race afterwards, i said it s enough, just call it a day and go on vacation. i remember it like it was yesterday you called a couple days before the opening ceremony in vancouver saying there s something i have to talk about. i have a severe shin injury. we sat down and talked about it. if i d kicked you in the shin i would be mad! that would be normal. is that 100% now? it s pretty good. honestly as long as i m not in a ski boat, it s been great. it was just skiing that was obviously the problem. now that i m not skiing it is much better. what motivates you now? you finally got the olympic medals you ve been working for. clearly nothing left to prove on the world circuit. what is going to drive you from now on? there is a lot to motivate and drive me. there s world championships next year. i hope that vail, colorado, my hometown gets e world championships in 2015. obviously there s another olympics in sochi. now i have the record for the total amount of u.s. wins on the world cup and there are a lot morph people in front of me still got a lot of personal goals. i have a lot of personal goals left to hieve. you were one of the athletes left to watch going into vancouver, you got a lot of endorsements. procter & gamble made you the face for a lot of their products. normally i don t talk about endorsements and sponsorships, but it does remind me that although you re in good shape with that, there are a lot of american athletes who try to make the olympic team every year, and without those endorsements or sponsorships, they can t compete at a world class level. exactly. that s why sponsorship is so important. i always try to associate myself with companies that i like, that i use. procter & gamble for me was awesome because i obviously already use cover girl, pantene, things like that. for me it was a great fit. all athletes need support. for procter & gamble to support team usa was a big one. you had a lot of support at home. that shoot we did with you in vail where you are an ambassador for vail. they did that pep rally for you last sum person it was really an extraordinary thing. now they ve named a ski run after you actually so everybody can actually take a run on the lindsey vonn run? is that it? yeah. it s call lindsey. so you have to go see it. i mean it was the world championship hill. used to be called international. it s one of the more challenging hills in vail. i m really thankful that they did that. those are the kind of things that doesn t always happen but is i think one of the best benefits of having sponsorships like that, is that the people stand behind you and you have such a network of friends and just a huge amount of support. is there one thing you can pick out from the last from this ski season that really stands out as the highlight? it would definitely be the medal. i think for me, that was above and beyond any other experience i ve ever had. because of the circumstances going into it? did that add to it? i think it was everything. i mean it was the shin injury, it was just my whole life building up to that one moment and just having that emotional peak was more than i ve ever experienced. as we left you in vancouver you promised to bake me some banana bread. i made it for you! i made it, and you left. you left! you left. i made it. i m here now. i m here now. well now i don t have a kitchen! congratulations. thanks, matt. a:26 ask bright sunshine and another gorgeous day. tom will have the forecast after the news. d dot unveils plans to build bike rains downtown. they are needed because of the high demand for curb space. the proposals are i street, l street, 15th street and 9th street. we will take a break and back to the right? no, back here. how about over here? n let s go back to the left. waffling is back at dunkin donuts. for a short time only, enjoy the return of the delicious oven-toasted waffle breakfast sandwich. america ru on dunkin . the sun is leaping into the sky and it s a beautiful blue clear sky and quite a kill in the air. near 40 in washington and the suburbs into the 30s, but we will have sicks with lots of sunshine and near 70 today and again on saturday with clouds in the afternoon. sunday clouding up and a chance of showers perhaps sunday afternoon into sunday evening. how is the traffic? the inner loop of the beltway is cwling past i-66 and unclear lane markings the issue. hopefully v dot will fix it up. the inner loop is clear and outer loop is moving along nicely at this hour. we will have another local news update in 25 minutes, good morning, i m drew and welcome to the shawkerino show. today we have a guest all the way here from farmington hills, michigan to tell us about a very special event. 8:30 now on this thursday morning, march 18th, 2010. that s kim shaw s fourth grade class in farmington hills, michigan, sharing 26 reasons why they are extraordinary. but is it enough to win our big trip to the wizarding world of harry potter universal orlando resort? only time will tell. there is still time for your kid s class to enter. led to our website for the details. i m meredith vieira, along with ann curry. natalie morales. matt, as you can see, had to leave early this morning. we have a huge crowd here. we re going to talk to them in just a moment. first just ahead, a remarkable story. a 9-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister delivered their baby brother. we ll hear the 911 call they had to make when their mom went into labor at home and their dad was not there to help them out. if you listen to the sounds, they re remarkably calm. mom is screaming but they re calm. exactly. also coming up, we ll talk about the eight ways you can save money on very expensive things. for example, buying a car. getting paying for your insurance. these are fundamental things. we have a crack team, including sharon epperson and jean chatzky, telling us how we can take those bills down. before we get to al in atlanta, should we talk to our friends out here? yeah. hi, guys. my name is kim lawson. you have a soldier serving overseas? yes. my husband s in northern iraq. he s in the army. how long has he been gone? he left in november. he ll be home this november. long time to wait for him. but it s worth it. we ll pray for him and hope all is well. thank you. we ve actually got some twins over here. what s your name? ali. you are twins from little apple to big apple? that s fantastic. what are you doing to celebrate? just coming to new york. we were in boston, headed home on saturday. were you at the parade yesterday? no. because you looked sober, so i figured maybe you weren t. i m going to walk overere because i see a sign that s begging for a story. hi, guys. you were holding up a sign that says i love dan. who loves dan? what s your story? does dan know you love dan is it. yeah, he s my father. that s good. that s the end of that story. we re going to go over here, because we have a lot of young people and you guys have come out from a choir. who are you guys singing for? in carnegie hall. you are singing in carnegie hall? that is amazing! this is the choir that s come from where did you come from? kansas. welcome to you and welcome to everybody. we have such a huge crowd. let s go over to meredith and natalie. let s throw it down to al who is in atlanta for us. everybody s missing you, al. we re missing you guys, too. that s some great running, ann, in high heels. very, very impressive. wow. i know matt does that, too. but anyway, let s see what s going on as far as your weekend is concerned. we re ready for the weekend. for saturday, mild conditions up and down the eastern seaboard, slight risk of strong storms down in the southern gulf coast. some snow showers up in the northern ohio river valley. sunny and warm out west. and then for sun y sunday more rain along the southeastern gulf coast, on up into new england. sunny and warm through the southwest, into texas. chilly, but sunn good morning. you need a coat now, but you will shed it into the next couple of hours as we warm into the 50s. now it s 30s to 40 degrees. we will make it into the 60 wise lot of sunshine and clear. a chilly night tonight and tomorrow and bright and sunny again. highs in the upper 60s to near 70. saturday should be milder in the morning near 70. sunday may trigger s and that s your latest weather. ann? thanks a lot, al. meanwhile with, if you ve been here, this couple just got engaged. congratulations to them. also coming up, we ve got a great story about a 9-year-old boy and his sister, they delivered their own baby brother. it is an incredible story, especially when you listen to the 911 tapes. back at 8:37 with a special delivery for a california family when an expectant mother went into labor at home with only her three young children by her side. the baby s coming now. she said the baby s coming now. reporter: alana saunders was home with her three children last week when baby joseph decided it was time to enter the world. my water broke right when i went to go stand up. i felt the need to push and then there was joseph. i wasn t expecting him to come out on his own like that. reporter: the kids sprang into action. 9-year-old jabari called 911. my name said go get the phones and call 911. so i called 911 and there was the phone the phone operator, they kept saying these questions i didn t understand. are you in a different room from her right now? the baby s already here. it is? yeah. can you put your sister on the phone? the baby was just born. big sister, 11-year-old faith, then played the role of mother s helper even helping to tie the umbilical cord with a piece of yarn. without pulling on the cord, tie a spring or shoelace tightly around the umbilical cord about six inches from the baby. okay? do not cut it. so go to the string or shoelace and tell me when you have that done. do you have a string now? yeah, i have a string. i was afraid that if i tied it too tight that something was going to happen. so i tied it kind of loose, not too tight. i m very proud of my kids. they didn t fight, the 2-year-old didn t cry or freak out. i m just i m amazed by them that they handled everything so well. surprising, really. i knew my parents might have more kids one day, but not in the bathroom. no, no, not in the bathroom. they did a great job, those kids. we re happy to report both mom and baby joseph are doing just fine this morning. up next, a c announcer: today s kitchen is brought to you by benefiber. a better you from the inside out. that s the beauty of benefiber. back now at 8:42. we re cooking with curtis, chef curtis stone, that is. he has a cheesy treat for all of us to share. it saves time and money. looks good and smells good. we should also mention curtis is competing in the new season of the celebrity apprentice. curtis, i watched you in that premier. what s the experience been like for you? i mean you are in a room with a bunch of wacky people. all right? we had some interesting contestants. which were fun. fun people to meet. but, yeah, it was a challenge. i got to say, you were the one who suggested that $100 burger. i figured this guy is going to be kicked out on the first show, which you weren t. right. the $100 burger worked. it did work. you ended up winning the challenge. congratulations for that. now that you ve been on celebrity apprentice, nice of you to come and hang out with us little people on the today show. yeah, yeah. you re here to talk about kitchen dictionary grauten dish with a browned crust. ingredients include breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs and butter and it can be baked or broiled. the refer grating refers to scratching. i guess it comes from that because you scratch the top. you really need a beautiful golden crust when you talk about a grauten. what you did with your potatoes, i ve got a little japanese mandolin here. slice them nice and thin. you got to be careful with your fingers. is that part of the trick, that it be very thin? it should be nice and thin. if you do it with a knife, that s just going to cook a little bit slower. that s the only difference. these are consistent. exactly. so they ll cook evenly. you line the bottom of the pan with those. line the bottom of the pan. then basically what you do is you need because the potato has starch in it, that s what s going to thicken the dish. all right? so what we re going to do is make a flavored cream, morals. over here i have some onion, a little bit of garlic, i m making a little bit of bacon. this is a smokey applewood bacon. i love bacon when it s nice and smokey. it gives it a little bit of extra zing. a little bit of thyme, salt not too much. black pepper. and then what you do is put a combination of cream whoa. this is something that s for a special occasion and you just have a little spoon of this with some meat, greens, make sure it is a nice balanced meal. he only has to have a spoon because he looks more like this. let it come up to the boil. all of those flavors from the onion, garlic and bacon are going to fuse. whether we pour this over the potato, the starch of the potato is going to thicken it. you literally just lay all this over the top that s all the potato you need? no, you keep layering. that tells me right there what i know about cooking. i ll work on that. you keep going all the way up to the very top. what are you making here? come here. this is cauliflower. this is all you need in this one. you don t dump any more? this is a healthier version. keep working. cauliflower doesn t have the starch. so you start off with butter and flour. whisk it together. little bit of seasoning. you can put the same flavors, put some thyme leaves or whatever. this one you don t need the cream. is that like 2%? just milk. this is a low-fat milk. whisk that. and it becomes that? it gets nice and thick. looks like this guy. yeah. i can pour that? please do. i can just dump it on? we, don t dump it. well, i won t dump it. i m just saying. like that. i m just saying. that s beautiful. then the cheese that you put on top which gives you the crust, the gratin, is totally up to you. here i have some white cheddar from vermont. this one is a swiss cheese. really we re talking about things that are relatively as lovely as cauliflower and potatoes are, they are really extremely intense in flavor so you work on the flavor. in the sauce, yes. how much cheese do you put on in all of it? yeah, that s good. here, i m going to give you a little how long do you cook it? then it goes into the oven. the potato takes a little bit longer. another 40 minutes or so. that s not broiled then. no, you just put it in the oven. i already screwed it up again. i figured you used a broiler. you get that golden color. beautiful. it goes into the oven about 40 minutes. this is rich and decadent and tasty. i m even going to have some myself. the kids would love this. it s a live so are you in the last two? i can t say. are you not? can you say that? can t say. i think he is. curtis stone, thank you so much. still ahead, how to pick the right blazer for your body type. i m going to need a big one after this boss: so word s gettin out that geico customers could save even more on their car insurance by signing up for other things - like homeowner s or renter s insurance. nice work, everyone. exec: well, it s easy for him. he s a cute little lizard. gecko: ah, gecko, actually - exec: with all due respect, if i was tiny and green and had a british accent i d have more folks paying attention to me too. i mean - (faux english accent) save money! pip pip cheerio! exec 2: british? i thought you were australian. gecko: well, it s funny you should ask. cause actually, i m from - anncr: geico. save even more with our new multi-policy discount. bob dotson updates one of bob s most popular pieces. a sweet story about a boss who altered his own plans to help his old employees. reporter: he was enjoying an active retirement. just 54, he traveled widely and lived well after selling a candy company in st. louis eight years before for a sweet profit. but one day, he got a call from a couple of long-time employees, debbie and marley otto. they needed some help. they needed a place o work. my unemployment ran up and i think i knocked on everybody s door in st. louis. reporter: so, bud gave up all this and returned to 80-hour work weeks doing what he s done since he started his first business at 18. he bought another little store, his tenth, and staffed it with all those old employees who needed work. he gave up his own retirement so they could have a paycheck until they reached theirs. if you could create the perfect candy for him, what would it be? probably a heart. reporter: marley and dbie had worked side by side making chocolates since they were teenagers. when they retired last fall, bud kept working, training their son-in-law, brian. on a bad day, he don t even yell. reporter: on a good day, he offered him the company for free. people are as important as profit. reporter: kay woods, another who wass plucked from the unemployment line, got the same gift. what have you done for him? keep him in line. reporter: for 28 years. we just got to get you moving faster. reporter: bud didn t just give them the business. he spent theast five years teaching them how to be the boss. i have a few new items here. reporter: sales at lake forest confections are strong, despite the recession. without their hard work, i would have never been this successful as i am. i wanted to give back. reporter: bud never married. he has no children. i consider my employees my family. reporter: so that s why he made them an offer they couldn t refuse. on the day bud announced his second retirement, brian asked for a meeting. he came to me with tears in his eyes. reporter: saying he wanted his weekends back. life is too short to just worry about money. you got to worry about your happiness. reporter: kay decided not to take the company either. i value my family life. reporter: she needed more time with her six grandkids. i understood it, but it was very wrenching. reporter: bud didn t want them to end up back on the street again, so he sold the business to a family of candy makers who agreed to keep his family. we hope they stay on for years and years and years with us. reporter: what kind of guarantee do the employees have that they won t be back in the same position the last time? we ve been in business 30 years. i ve never had to lay anybody off. have a good day. reporter: brian, the reluctant boss, is now teaching his new boss. don tess too many up because you like to eat all the bad ones. knowing how the story end, would you do it again? i would be there. start another company? yep, if that s what i m asked to do, i would do that. reporter: bud did not find his fairy tale ending, but brian and kay discovered something they thought was even better their own version of happiness. if you get up in the morning with a smile on your face and look forward to doing whatever, then that s what you should be doing. reporter: after all, life is not just about making money. it s finding what makes you smile. for today, bob dotson, news with an american story in clayton, missouri. love that story. very nice. look who has joined us, ralph maccia is helping out hoda today. what are you getting yourself into? ralph said he wants the other hosts and they ve got nothing on him. the first thing when ann realized he was coming on, she said karate kid. you were acting in this way that i think was revelatory. it was how people think in japan, about being japanese. i thought this guy gets it. that character was a very relatable, innocent kid next door. that s what worked so well about that film, i think, is that everyone could see themselves in that kid and going on that journey. and growing up. i can t believe you have a teenage son and daughter. neither can i. were you 5? i was 5 when i had my children. what are you up to these days? i just finished up a little run on ugly betty. f fun. great group. couple things in the works. and you re with me. thatwhat s happening in an h i m going to be on. he doesn t need any advice. he s been so funny in the makeup room. he said he watched all the other ones and they were like ralph, hoda, thank you very much. we re so glad you re here. welcome! back after your local news. 8:55 is the i m and another great day. thursday march 18th, 2010. a virginia man will be put to death for a murder inny in nassis. he killed 16 year old stacy reed by stabbing her in the heart and raped her 14-year-old sister before slashing her throat. she survive and will watch the execution tonight. we will have good morning. sparkling sun and a blue sky. a live peculiar from the sky watcher camera and the sun will climb higher and temperatures will too. under a clear sky and bombing out near 40. on friday near 70 with bright sunshine and saturday should be mostly sunny near 70 and on sunday increasing clouds and being get rain perhaps in the afternoon and evening. looks like it may linger into monday. occasional showers and drying out and turning cooler into next week. how s the traffic? taking a live look and still loaded up across the 14th street bridge. in maryland, looking good. traffic is getting settled down. a little sluggish on the outer loop west from i-95 towards silver spring.ocal news update in just 25 minutes. now back to the today show here she is. pretty cool, huh? yeah, but. what happened to the back there? well, here s the thing: this was the only sporty two-seater they had on my budget. uh-huh. and the seats go all the way back. (announcer) settling for less is not smart. what is smart is getting more car for your money at carmax. for the money you d spend on a stripped down new car, you could get a fully loaded, guaranteed-quality used car at carmax. now more than ever, the smart choice is carmax. the way car buying should be. back now with more of today on this thursday morning, it is the 18th day of march, 2010. another sunny day here in midtown manhattan. hope everyone had a great time yesterday. meantime, inside studio 1a, i m ann curry along with natalie morales. matt has something he s doing with his son, had he to leave early. we ll check in with al in a moment with the weather. coming up in this half-hour, we have the eight ways to save big money on major expenses from buying cars to saving for college to reducing medical costs for your pets. we ll show you how you can save some big money long-term with some very simple changes. from cutting costs to cutting calories, nutritionist joy bauer is here to answer your diet s.o.s. questions, like whether coconut oil is a healthy option and does it make a difference if you drink light beer versus regular beer. and something a lot of us are doing, trading in bulky winter coats, trench coats, short jackets are all very trendy right now. we ll show you some for every body type. you have a check of the morn s top stories? i do. it is an anxious wait for people living along the rising red river in north dakota, expected to crest on sunday some 20 feet above flood stage. nbc s kevin tibbles is in moorhead, minnesota with more on this story. kevin, people there have been working really lard to get ready. reporter: well, absolutely. now it essentially comes down to nail biting, waiting time. as the red river slowly creeps up on both sides, that s fargo on the other side, today we ve crossed over into minnesota. they ve pretty much stopped sandbagging. they made 1 million sandbags and essentially deployed three-quarters of a million along the banks of the red river on theargo side, and now it is wait and see. people here have got their fingers crossed hoping that the red river doesn t rise to those record levels that it did last year, topping 40 feet above flood stage. no one wants to see that again this year. today they re going to be having a meeting here to discuss building a diversion canal to essentially reroute some of these floodwaters away from the urban centers or populated areas here. but that s not going to happen for years to come. we ll be back here a few more times before this is all over, ann. kevin tibbles, thank you so much this morning. today the president signs a new jobs bill that was approved wednesday by the senate. it gives temporary tax breaks to companies that hire unemployed workers. the president says he hopes there will be other jobs bills in the future to put people back to work. a vote on the contentious health care reform bill could come on sunday in the house. on wednesday the president expressed confidence that it will pass. more than 1 million high chairs are being recalled because they could tip over and children could fall. the recall involves graco harmony high chairs. they ve received more than 400 reports of chairs tipping over because of loose screws or krakted brackets resulting in 24 reports of injuries. for more information, go to todayshow.com. cia director leon panetta said on wednesday you a gris ef attacks in pakistan s western tribal region have seriously disrupted al qaeda. one missile strike last year reportedly killed one member who reportedly participated in the bombing of the cia base. children living in an orphanage for the past seven weeks in haiti. police in washington are looking for three suspects caught on tape stealing beer from a store, then knocking a 74-year-old woman unconscious as they fled. the woman suffered a concussion. police hope this video may lead to the suspects. a special piece of history went on display wednesday at canada s hockey hall of fame. it s the puck that scored the goal that won the gold medal for canada at the winter olympics. it s made of rubber but for canada it might as well be made of pure gold. you are you a now up to date at four minutes past the hour. let s now get another check of the weather from al who s in atlanta this morning. it s a great puck. yeah. anyway. let s take a look, see what s happening. we ve got a real change coming in for our weather. especially throughout parts of the rockies where they re going to be seeing some major, major changes. but we re also keeping an eye on the red river and the good news is, no more rain in that region. there will be a few light showers, nothing major. what we are expecting is to see that flood stage peaking out at 38eet. currently it is little more than 32 feet. flood stage is at 18. it will peak well above that but hopefully about two feet below the record from last year on march 28th when it peaked at 40.82 feet. rest of the country, we ve got plenty of sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard. we are looking at sunny skies in the pacific northwest. breezy northern california. few showers in the southeast. we expect a big storm system moving through the rockies. temperatures today in denver, good morning. a rapid warm up assed the sun climbs higher in a blue sky. 47 in washington and near 50 in prince george s county. in the 40s in arlington, fairfax and montgomery counties and can will climb into the 60s with lots of sun. we will be chilly tomorrow morning and on friday should be mostly sun we highs near 70. a few clouds, but a mild day near 70 for a high by and that s your latest weather. ann? all right, al. thanks. this morning, today s money, eight ways to save big on major expenses, whether you re shopping for a new car, a vacation home or just want to lower your health care costs. we have best-kept secrets to help you stretch your buck. today financialditor jean chatzky and also cnbc personal finance correspondent sharon epperson teamed up for a story about this in usa weekend. and they are joining us now. this seems like a really great project that you guys were involved in. it was a lot of fun. the internet sales force is based on the number cars they move so they have an incentive to just get them out of there so you can save $1,500, 2,000 i$2, the cost of a $25,000 car. we had no idea there are ways to have free checking. banks have been going crazy with these fees to recoup their losses. they ll probably come up with more fees. you can find free checking. there is a great website, checkingfinder.com. you can find checking accounts that will pay you interest on your checking, say 3%, 4% interest. but you may have to use your atm card or make certain number of transactions during the month but you can get great deals on not only checki ining but inter. we are trying to save our money and clothes are simply expensive. but you found a way where we can actually look good and not spend a lot. my new favorite website, renttherunway.com. you can rent designer dresses for one-tenth of what it would cost to buy it in the store which means a $3,000 dress for $300 or $1,000 dress for $100. jewelry as well has been added to the site. just so you don t freak out, they do build in a system so they ll send you two different sizes so thatf it doesn t quite fit the first time and they clean them very well in between wearing. cannot wait. if it was a designer top i might worry i might damage it. they build a $5 insurance on every rent. no worries, you re covered. vacations. we still need time to relax and we don t give ourself enough of that because of the expense it takes. not only can we swap houses, there are now ways to figure out how to easily do that. if you don t have a friend or colleague or someone that you know that you can swap houses with, there are websites out there that will set you up with partner. homeexchange.com is one of them. roofswat.com. homeexchange.com, one of the bigger ones, very interesting the way they work. you pay three-month membership fee for $48 or get a one-year fee for $120. that s all you have to pay and you list your house and you get access to about 33,000 listings in 130 countries. you can decide where you want to go. what s so great about it is you get to actually live in a neighborhood, you get more of the local flavor, and you have a kitchen. you don t have to pay for meals. you might even get access to cars. if you love pets you might even be able to bring yours or have theirs there. it may not feel like a step-down vacation at all. no. you re actually living in someone s house who can give you really concrete information about where to go. it makes it a lot of fun. and here s the house, pleas feed the dog. health care. we don t want to cut back on health care. but we can t save money. we can save money by negotiating with our doctors. many people don t realize, when your insurance company, even when medicare pays a doctor or hospital, they don t pay the full retail price. they pay somewhere around 40% of that. that gives you a lot of room to negotiate. if you can pay up front or can pay cash, you can often save as much as 30% but have you is to ask. i know people, including members of my own family, thought about cutting back on insurance. because they just don t know that they can continue to afford it. you can t this is not a time to cut back on insurance especially when things are uncertain in this economy. when you talk about life and property insurance, one of the things that you need to know is that you can actually save money by paying in full, paying your premiums in full. they call it fractional premiums. the jargon that they call it. it is basically a fee on your account for being able to pay monthly or quarterly. realize that even though it may ease your cash flow, you are actually paying a little bit more on your premiums to have that is it significant or not significant? it can be very significant. it can be as much as 10% to 30% of your annual premium. know that you re actually paying a little bit more when you decide to pay monthly. america loves our pets. but they are expensive. they re really expensive when they get sick. the best new tip i learned here was that you should really do a hands-on examination of your pets once a week. because what? yes. ous your hands? pet her but go from toe to head and look for lumps and bumps. ooh! but the chance of finding lumps and bumps is probably not huge. but if you find one and find it early, then they can get rid of it before you get into thousands of dollars of bills for your pets because we get so emotionally involved, we don t want to say no. i want to get to one of the most critical ones, college. we d t have a lot of time. college tuition. is there a better way to save? there is a great way to save. a lot of people shop online. one great way to shop online, youthpromise.com. it has a lot of different vendors. they ll give you a rebate you can have in a savings account or 529 plan to pay for college for your kid. it is a great way to save as you do what you have to do anyway, not overspend but spending. always trying to help us hang on to our money. sharon epperson, jean chatzky. coming up next, light beer or regular? coconut oil or olive oil? joy bauer has the answer to all your diet questions. and flattering your figure with bright, spring jackets. eve how fast kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength ideveloped before adulthood. it s so important that they get enough calcium every day. that s why there s new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it s power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is. yummy! so they can start building strong bones today. for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. new danonino from dannon. gotta get that bacon! dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin strip? dog: me! i d get it myself but i don t have thumbs! yum, yum, yum. it s beggin ! hm. i love you! beggin strips! there s no time like beggin time! is the farmer s vegetable patch, right? there s a full serving of vegetables in every manwich. so you re made of vegetables, yet you re eating vegetables? exactly. [ male announcer ] every manwich has a full serving of wholesome vegetables. manwich. meat your vegetables. go-gurt is specially made to freeze and thaw by lunch time? so kids can have their favorite yogurt in their lunch box go-gurt. freeze it. thaw it. eat it up. this morning on joy s diet s.o.s., answering all your questions about healthy eating. whether you drank too many beers on st. paddy s death, today diet and nutrition editor has you covered. first, chia seeds from san jose, california, mile tell us your question. i recently started adding raw chia seeds to my oatmeal or in salads after reading about their health benefits online. you wonder what your take is on them as far as benefits or if there are any down sides to them. chia seeds. these are the very same chia seeds that grow those hilarious little chia pets. will we start sprouting hair? ion t know. we ll ask miles. chia seeds are terrific. there is absolutely no downside whatsoever. there are some studies that show if you consistently eat them, you can help to regulate your blood sugar. just like edible flaxseeds, they have healthy fats and fiber. you can sprinkle them on yogurts, oatmeal, cottage seeds. seeds, we re discovering all these benefits of seeds. chia sds have more ever the healthful ingredients than flaxseeds. i think we ll hear more and more about them in the coming years. because of the fiber it creates a gel and can be used as a thickening agent. you can toss them in smoothies, one or two tablespoons or integrate them into things like turkey meatballs or turkey burgers. they re really terrific. it has a slightly nutty flavor but pretty much neutral and it won t interfere with the taste of the original food. can you get them at health food stores or in the supermarket. i m going to go pick some up today. it is worth knowing about chia pets and chia seeds. then you can sprinkle them in your garden, too. miles, let us know if you re growing hair. i will. thank you. he looks like he has plenty of hair. maybe it s the chia seeds! exactly. next we have a question from judy in mesquite, nevada. hi, judy. what s your question? good morning. my question is about coconut oil and i started using extra virgin organic coconut oil whenever possible after reading that it was good for you because it contains good saturated fat and last november there was a warning about using it and how bad it was. so i m confused about the conflicting information and i d like to know the truth about coconut oil. you re seeing coconut water. judy asks a great question. benefits of coconut water, you read a lot about that now, as a high drader. but coconut oil. judy s confused because it is confusing, period. there are two different types of coconut oil. there s hydrogenated coconut oil that you find in some snack foods, and baked goods. that s just evil. we know that s bad. if you look at the ingredients and see hydrogenated coconut oil, put it right back on the shelf. now judy s talking about extra virgin bottled coconut oil. it s 90% saturated fat. you would think that saturated fat raises the bad cholesterol, the ldl, it s not good for you. some studies show that the type of saturated fat is neutral and it doesn t touch the bad cholesterol. other studies show that it does in fact raise the bad cholesterol. so until we know definitively that this is a healthy fat, i would say use it sparingly, and as your mainstays, stick with olive oil and canola oil. again, just until we know for sure that this extra virgin coconut oil is two thumbs up. but if you do like the taste of coconut, there s coconut milk, coconut water. are those okay? coconut milk, light coconut milk is fine and also grated coconut every once in a while is good. we just need to figure out whether the saturated fat in coconut across the board is neutral on cholesterol levels. the jury, unfortunately, is not out. i wish i had a definitive answer. sorry, judy. it is a great question because it is everywhere. you see coconut waters and milks everywhere. next question, e-mail from ellie in new york. must have i guess she had a lot of fun on st. patdy s day she writes most of my girlfriends drink wine but i love my beer. is there a big enough difference in calories to switch from regular beer to light beer and is the alcohol content the same in light and regular beers? i m a wine girl but a lot of women love their beer. this is a great question. in terms of the calories, a 12-ounce bottle of light beer has about 100 calories. and a 12-ounce bottle of regular beer will var from 150 to 200. so if she s only going to have one beer, i don t think there s enough of a meaningful difference calorically speaking. go for the brew that you like the best. on the other hand, if she s going to guzzle down about three beers, i m just saying i m not condoning it just sayin then, the calories are really going to add up and she s going to save herself by switching from regular to the low-cal beer, 150 to 300 calories. so in that case it is worth it. when it comes to the alcohol content, interestingly enough, what brewers do is they trim off the carbohydrate but try to preserve as much of the alcohol as they can. so the alcohol content thanks to the brewers for that! the alcohol constent pretty much going to stay the same. the only downside is carbohydrates lend body and flavor so the lighter beers will be a little bit more watery. but again, thanks to those brewers, they are cleverly and continuously coming up with making sure you re still feeling the effects of the alcohol. and they re coming up with better and better, richer versions of these low-cal light beers. bottoms up. yeah. keep them coming to us. please keep them coming. still to come first he was an outsider and most memorably the karate kid, but not ralph macchio has a new gig. he s fill in as a co-host of the today show with hoda in about a half-hour. today show with hoda in about a half-hour. but first, these messages. octor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, and then he recommended lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i m learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? ask your doctor about lyrica today. you don t decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they re perfect. then freeze them fast so they re as nutritious as fresh. ho ho ho green giant [ bella ] i love you. 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[ female announcer ] oh yes it can! with lean cuisine. they put in real wholesome ingredients like farm-picked veggies, real cheese, and crunchy walnuts. just one of 90 varieties with no preservatives. lean cuisine. keep life delicious. our very own natalie morales is gracing the cover of yet another magazine for the second time in three months. this time around, natalie s the cover girl for the march-april issue of catalina magazine, a magazine for the mind, body and soul of today s latina. pictures are stunning, natalie. oh, thank you. i have to say, of all of the shoots that i ve done, this was one of the most fun. ed tore editor is amazing. they took these incredible pictures. what s great about this magazine, they are really trying to break the stereotype of latinas, how they are portrayed in the media. i preciate that. so are you. congratulations! coming up, stcottos. ( laughter ) i m going to make mine for the easter bunny. yeah. it s the memories you make. dip in that one. that really stick. look at how beautiful. childhood is calling. beautiful blue skies. answers after news will thursday march 29th, 2010. students in mobt gomry county will not have to make up all the snow days missed because of the blizzard. they accounted for a five-day waiver. they had four ow days built in. they will not have it make up the snow days if there aren t any more cancellations, csses will end as schedule audiojune 16th. we ll be right back with the it is sunny and chilly and 47 in washington. in the 40s to near 50 in the suburbs and many of the rural areas in the low 40s. right near the bay in the mid-and upper 40s. we will have lots of sun and temperatures into the 60s. another rapid warm up tomorrow with sunshine to make it to near 70 on saturday morning in the mid 40s and afternoon highs near 70. a few clouds and sunday increasing clouds and highs in the 60s and a chance of passing showers that may linger into monday and cooler drying out tuesday and wednesday. how s traffic? traveling in town, they moved the camera. this is an accident at new york and new jersey avenue. police are on the scene. we will head over and check things out. top of the beltway with rein sight both directions around silver spring. thank you. we will have local news update in 25 minutes, but for now how cheering for? my mom. woo! it s natalie s turn to answer some of the questions that you have been asking and her question is, how do you do it all and stay in shape with this crazy schedule. nat will show us her routine tomorrow here on today. about finding that balance that you talked about from your piece earlier today. i think exercise can help you find your balance. i know yoga helps me with that. hoda weighs in. you have a lot of interviews. meanwhile, in this half-hour, time to put away the bulky coats because tis the season to go with a itch lighter blazer or trench coat. we ll help you find the perfect style to flatter your figure that s light enough for these warm days and somewhat cool nights. she looks great. it is spring fever in our kitchen so the scottos are taking over. showing us how to prepare braised lamb with spring peas and an ez piasy ricotta pie. if you are a proud puppy owner, we want to know. we ll look for the 2010 today top dog. u think your dog s got talent or pizzazz? we want to hear from you and see your video. look at that! we got some real talented pooches already. send us a minute video showing us why he or she deserves the title. find out how to submit your video by logging onto our website, todayshow.com. we ll take submissions through the end of april. the owners are pretty talented, too, to get their pets to do that stuff. just someing about pets that just makes you breathe deeper. it is just nice. let s get a check of the weather. al also opens us all up to breathe deeper in atlanta, talking about the weather. hey, you, we miss you! i miss you, too. but believe me, i don t want to have soup at that family s house. i m with you. anyway, let s see what s happening for your weekend and we are starting off on the east coast where it is going to be sunny and mild, warm down in florida. risk of strong storms through the lower mississippi valley. wet weather up and snowy weather up into the northern ohio o river valley. sunny and mile out west. for sunday sunday we re looking at some more showers in the southeast, mid-atlantic states. rain gets ready to encroach into the northeast. sunny but cool in the northern plains. nice and warm through the southw good morn. we have a blue sky with sparkling sunshine on this thursday morning. a live picture from the sky walker camera. temperatures in the 40s. it s 47 in washington and 50 in prince george s county. it should be warming up around the region. chilly and near 40 tomorrow morning. friday should be sunny and near 70 on saturday with high clouds late in the day a that s your latest weather. tomorrow morning i m going to be live from the california science museum, their big grand opening happening this weekend. i ll be hosting the gala. we ll have more coming live from los angeles tomorrow. guys, see you then. we look forward to it. coming up next, our outer style to enhance our inner beauty. the best look for spring for you after this. p. and there s the meatloaf. yuck. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips, oh, bingo, it falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the new stretchable drawstring that grips thean and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that s all today for glad tv. both: don t get mad get glad! there s a full serving of vegetables in every manwich. announcer: surprise. every manwich has a full serving of wholesome vegetables. manwich. meat your vegetables. gotta get that bacon! dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin strip? dog: me! i d get it myself but i don t have thumbs! yum, yum, yum. it s beggin ! hm. i love you! beggin strips! there s no time like beggin time! let s take a look at the stats. mini has more than double the fiber and whole grain. making him a great contender in this bout. against mid-morning hunger. honey nut cheerios is coming in a little short. you ve got more whole grain in your little finger! let s get ready for breakfaaaaaaaaaast! ( ding, cheering, ringing ) keeping you full and focused with more than double the fiber and whole grain. in every tasty bite frrrrrrosted mini-wheeeeats! didn t know i had it in me. [ bella ] i love you. 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[ female announcer ] eggland s best. better taste and now even better nutrition make the better egg. this morng on bobbie s style buzz, as the weather gets warmer you ll want to trade in those puffy down jackets for a light hoodie or trench. bobbie thomas has the hottest styles to flatter your figure. we re seeing jackets, short coats, trench coats. trend is to layer up. there are so many options. if you think back five or ten years ago we really only had a jacket or two jackets to think about. today it is the accessory everybody has. i ve been flooded with e-mails from women asking how do i wear a cropped jacket, how do i wear a utility jacket. they think is it just for one day? they can work every day. cost per wear is fantastic. a great investment. and it is the first thing people see. you want something that flatters your figure and has the right style statement. there is a jacket shape for just about every figure. first model is wearing a hoodie style, though this is not what your typical hoodie. no, it is a more modern hoodie. this is the casual look. let s face it, we don t run around in heels like this every day. on the weekend you want to layer that s because i love it. the modern hoodie that s underneath. this leather jacket is only $39. that s a great investment. beautiful! then she s got on this really great blanket-cut hoodie. this is from jcpenney. it is really flattering especially if you have curves. this angular cut will drape and really lengthen your legs. and it is a great, as you saw, versatile piece. you can tie it up ballet style or leave it long and you feel very comfortable. a lot of women who have curves don t like to wear leggings but this is a great way to wear it by having something that comes longer. this is a great alternative to a bulky sweatsuit. do something that s chooic and n errands every day. jcpenney. thank you. love that. next, nancy s wearing a casual blazers. i am always conscious because they can make y look a little boxy. but generally a blazer is universally flattering for all women. e thing to keep in mind if you some definition in the midsection, make sure you try on the right cut that you can button and really kind of defines your waistline. what i like to point out is that get something in a casual fabric. i love this denim blazer. from mango, $79. it is affordable. i love the whole nautical theme. the anchor piping on the sleeve. a great lining. another idea for thi blazer, put this on with your little black dress from fall and give did a spring-summer update. but look at linen and silk blazers because they don t have to feel as stuffy as a suit jacket. you can get a lot of versatility out of a blazer. nancy, very nice. thank you. gorgeous. our third model, elizabeth, is wearing the trench coat. you got to have a trench coat. a couple of trench coat. they re classic. what i want to encourage women to do, elizabeth looks beautiful. think of it a an alternative to your suit jacket again. with a pencil skirt or dress that can be great for the office, it is very chic. for my girlfriends who have girlfriends, don t i afraid of the style. pick a single-breasts. i love that floral look on her. something that s feminine can instantly become sharp and serious for the office with a trench. i love that she s wearing it just like an every day jacket and not for the rain. fantastic. don t have to this is only $49 at h&m. go for a cropped style or colored trench. it is multi-purpose. if it does rain, she s covered as well. elizabeth, thank you. looks great. next, we have the utility jacket. which is going to be worn by edna. a great figure-friendly coat with a cinched-in waist. sometimes the utility jacket can be fashion meets function and feel a little bulky and almost masculine. look for something with a cinched waist. if you turn around, this old navy jacket s only $39 but it comes in at the waistline and another styling trick is, roll up the sleeves, show off your wrists, a little skin. add color, we did it with the belt and shoes. roll up, again and show off your arrangele ankles. this is a really feminine way to wear a more functional, sometimes masculine piece. it is really cute for spring. isn t she a gorgeous woman? edna does our makeup every now and again. thank you, edna. gorgeous. finally. cropped moto jacket. again, this is a little edgy and kind of fun. worn by julie. feminine still. it can be really chic. sometimes i think of a cropped motorcycle jacket as a very youthful, teenage trend. but look for a thin accounten fabric. it adds visual account interest on the top. if you re leaner on the top half it will balance out your screen. pick a bulkier fabric. if you have girlfriends on top this is $25 from forever 21. very versatile, balance out a feminine dress, or you can wear it with jeans and t-shirt. but you keep the accessories more simple here. right? the hardware on the jacket is the accessory, kind of your statement. but don t be afraid to mix it with like she has this very feminine dress on. you can add it with the jeans and t-shirt. great for long and lean types but also good. beautiful. bring the models back out one more time. gorgeous job, beautiful. thank yo ladies. you all look amazing, as always. bob bobbie thomas delivers. coming up next, spring cooking with the scottos. yay! we re making braised lamb this morning right after this. perfect for easter. [ woman ] nine iron, it s almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that s the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i m ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that s good because the competition s steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ is the farmer s vegetable patch, right? there s a full serving of vegetables in every manwich. so you re made of vegetables, yet you re eating vegetables? exactly. [ male announcer ] every manwich has a full serving of wholesome vegetables. manwich. meat your vegetables. so warm and fluffy. make the most out of the most important meal of the day. make the most out of the most important meal of the day. can you believe how fast kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength is developed before adulthood. it s so important that they get enough calcium every day. that s why there s new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it s power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is. yummy! so they can start building strong bones today. for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. this morning in today s kitchen, it is spring time with our favorite family, the hot chefs, the scottos. always here with a spring in their step, marian, john, anthony and elena. listen, the spring is a season for the in italy that s a very important new beginning. it is. it s easter time and it s torta time. so, john. so i am making with my mom a broccoli rob and sausage torta. basically a deep dish cake. basically now i m sauteing the brocco broccoli. put it in water for about four minutes. have it in oil. add the sausage. i m going to cook it for about five minutes adding the red pepper on top. and basically this will be the inside, the filling for the torta. the torta you can choose to do all cheese, add prosciutto, add anything you want. we chose do broccoli and sauce. you have some dough? that s a quote of the day. also, do you need to chill the dough? yes, you do. then when you roll it out it is easier. there s no holes, it s wonderful to work with. but now we re going to start with our cheese filling. and in here, ann, we have ricotta, parmesan cheese, fontina cheese. could you help me start to mix it? absolutely. it s going to be good. but you know, you don t eat it every day. right. you re putting how many eggs? i m putting three eggs. you are mixing this all together. very creamy. it s fabulous! oh, and a little cream we re putting in there, too. that s fantastic. all right, that makes it nice and smooth. then we re going to put all this inside. i ll hold it for you. now what? bottom layer. now i m gng to put the sausage and broccoli at the bottom. it is like building a building a cake. only without pasta. now, ann, come on. not too much, right? oh, no, no. come on! all of it? it s fresco. one more. done. john? come on. all right. i m listening marian, when she orders, i jump. she says come on, i m coming on. this is it. mom says go. all right. you know, one glass full of this is so good and so delicious. but how do you make that pretty golden thing on the outside? well, you ghknow what? you do an egg wash. you bring the dough up and egg wash, bake it in the oven for one hour at 350. and, boy. if you put this on your table and your family comes to eat, they re going to be so stunned. the kids will love it. they re always coming back. my kids are used to it. and even if we re insightvited we take the torta with us. fantastic. anthony and natalie. we ve got braised lamb. spring is lamb. so spring. exactly. and easter. we took lamb shoulder. the reason why, it has that fat content. when you do it and braise it, it isoing to fall apart. really delicious. we ll add a little salt to that. we ve rolled it. what we ve done now is we re going to you can have your butcher help you. yeah. simple tie, like a knot. no big thing. help me with that. we ll continue with that. what we ve done in the braising pan is made a slab of bacon, cooked until it is brown. start browning off all the lamb shoerd. shoulder. we cooked ahead of time vegetables, which we ll add to it. okay? we re going to add garlic, great thing about braising, everything goes in one pot. tomato sauce. now about salt, most people would put salt, but my mom has a different twist we ve done at fresco, which is using e ining anchovies. it gives the flavor, then the salt also. but if you don t like anchovies though i highly recommend anchovies. brown stock. how long to simmer? about hour and a half to two. half-an-hour left to the cooking time, add the peas. it will be absolutely deliciou it looks so stunning. we re running out of time. i started here with ricotta, sugar and some eggs. we re going to add cinnamon, vanilla. and just to make a difference, orange flour water. this pie, what makes it a little different, we re going to use some barley. that s very typical of the italians. we ll fold in some egg whites. once this is mixed, we add it into our pie shell. we bake it and we top this off with some chestnut honey. oh, my! which really makes it a really great way to end your meal. you made strips on the stop. we gave it a lattice look so it looksike an easter basket. great job. the scottos. thank you so much. welcome, spring. the recipes are on the website, todayshow.com. back in just a moment. ralph macchio s like one of the family already. one of your people! he s welcome here. he s going to be co-hosting with me. what do you think? he thinks the scottos are here for him. this is what happens every day. kathie lee, watch your back. 9:56 is the time and a beautiful day in the capital. enjoy it. in the news for today, the nc, a amen s basketball toirnament starts tonight in 7:25 in providence. they play houston tomorrow night at 9 time tim 40. let s take a look outside and it s very beautiful. gorgeous days over the last days and we needed the sunshine after four days of rain. let s get the latest from tom. good morning. bright sunshine down on the potomac and warming up now. temperatures aring into the 50s and 60s later on and lots of sun. clear and chilly near 40. sunny tomorrow with highs near 70. on sunday increasing clouds may trigger showers lingering into monday and turning cooler. sunshine returning, but highs near 60. how is the traffic? loaded up along 66 as we head for the roosevelt bridge. a broken down vehicle out of the tunnel. we will head over to the american legion bridge. there is no work zone yet on the outer loop. more good news for now. join us for midday at 11:00 a.m. have a great day. captions paid for by nbc-universal television > it s thursday, march 18th, 2010. as you can probably guess, this is not kathie lee gifford. this is the wonderful ralph macchio. i feel kind of bad because ralph came in today to be on the 10:00 hour. we were in the make-up room then baptism by fire. ralph, your make-up done, what, it doesn t look done? let s go. matt had to go be some place with his kids. fill in, you re in. and then did it again at 9:00. right after, i text my wife, good, suck, how do i look, the outfit s great. have fun. when i look at you, i swear, you have that exact same baby face that we remember from the karate kid. it was my intention. ageing was unpopular, so i decided not to do it. now you put clips up and i look 100. was the karate kid a blessing our curse? a blessing. there was a section of time, enough already. but that s just immaturity as you get older because it is happening. you begin to embrace that privilege and that s how i look at it. and you had been married for 20 how many years? it will be 23 in april. tell us about your beautiful wife. there she is. shes a nurse and amazing mom. and there she is again. we have a whole montage. she is the rock and runs the show and we are partners. and your kids are teenagers? yes, that happened pretty quickly. look at them. that s the christmas shot. are they bitten by the acting bug? my daughter is. my son is, you know, he likes i mean, i m not so sure he s bitten by that bug, but when he got to meet some of his faves, you know, i could do that. who s his fave? he got to meet miley. jill. jill s part of our famil i m sorry. she better be. i think it s cool. and you ve been doing a lot since then. the minute you re off ugly betty the show gets canceled. you ve been doing a lot of stuff since karate kid. what else? i ve been working behind the camera. i want to direct a feature. i directed a short and some other things and now i m looking at directing my first feature and developing and produce television products. i just did a law and order, so that will be on soon enough. i have an indie film coming out, i think, in a couple of cities in june. i think the cool thing about you, i love this. you re from long island and you never got that hollywood thing that happen to a lot of young tack anch actors. but you stayed grounded and you live near your in-laws and parents. you have the whole family. i ve always kept one foot one foot in hollywood, but both of the other feet, the other foot i have three legs. it s a whole other story. i have one foot is always grounded in outside of hollywood. i ve never i ve always jumped back after work to home base and i think that s how i ve managed it. it s a big part of my sensibleties and upbringing. is it tempting, because we ve done so many stories lately on kids like corey haim, who have lost their lives. was it tempting for you to get involved in things you shouldn t have been? not really for me because i never really lived i lived in l.a. from probably before i did the show eight is enough, nine was too many. isn t it a pattern? me and the last season of shows. so, after that, once i got the outsiders, i just moved back to new york. i probably traded off opportunities by not being in it all the time, but i think at the end of the day, i ll be better served by not getting sucked in. we see all the time, too, about hollywood marriages not making it. there was something today, we don t know the real story, but on the front page of the washington post, it s sandra bullock and her husband and a woman claiming she had a fling with her husband. it is hard in hollywood to keep a marriage together. what s the secret to you guys forget hollywood? to having a happy marriage. i married a nurse and not an actress. but also, the media s all over and it it s much tougher because you can t turn anywhere without it in your face, b i think for me and my wife, it s commitment. it is the values of i know it sounds old fashioned, but it marriage is what you re into, it is old fashioned and general concept. there are highs and lows to any relationship. sure. this guy, by the wa i twitter a lot and every time i m on, you re on. no one twitters more than me except for ralph macchio. a couple of people were saying, you should do this social networking thing. i m not a facebook guy. managing a page. twitter i can throw out information and not necessarily have to answer anybody if i don t want to. i sort of like that in relationships. hello. it s a kind of cool way to keep in touch with a fan base. what got me into it, i tried it out then started getting feedback from fans all over the world. seemed like a nice way to say, hey, what are you doing. i m less the guy that s on there telling them what i had for breakfast and lunch and what i m doing. although i did tell them about this. the other thing we were surprised to learn today is that facebook actually has more hits than google. that s amazing. that is shocking. when ever you re on facebook it says like 8 kazillion people are on. what do you think about that? it s like any kind of technology from my view. there s a pro and a con. technology like blackberries and this instant media, it makes things much easier, but more complicated. my daughter is on facebook. you allow that? we just started. it s still odd to you want to take a peak and say, who are you and what are you you know. do you look at her page? my wife does probably more than i do. i don t want to know. no, i do. every week, we do this okay, not okay deal. this week, the question was is it okay to put on makeup in public. i do it all the time. kathie lee says technically, powdering and applying lipstick is aacceptable, but anything else n a powder room. i said a quick touch-up is sign. i would agree. i guess a touch-up is probably okay. bringing out the foundation is probably not. ook at you knowing all of this. married 23 years. i know, you know. kerry wants to know, did you get her love letter she sent you in 1983 and linda wants to know, what was your favorite movie that you were in? that s a good question. i answer that like this. my favorite movie to make was the outsiders. i read that book and wanted that part. great spirit of all those guys and that experience. it s tough not to watch the original karate kid film. what do you think about will smith s son being the new karate kid? i m interested in seeing what it s going to be. it s going to be a big hit, but it feels different and the movie feels different. we got a lot coming up. ralph macchio s going to stay with me the entire hour and we ll talk about something your friends will not tell you, but we will. how to know when you re a snooz. with two scoops! of raisins harvested at the peak of sweetness, and golden flakes of bran with 28% of their daily fiber, nothing gets your family s day off to a brighter start. than the goodness of kellogg s raisin bran cereal. feed their sunny side. than the goodness of kellogg s raisin bran cereal. whiten your smile. i ve got it. no red wine.no coffee. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white toothpaste removes up to 80% of surface stains in just two weeks. what did i tell ya. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white toothpaste. ( man ) last summer my kid made 4 figures. does he need to file a tax return ? they re not just any questions. ( woman ) did we just make a charitable donation ? they re the trickiest, thorniest, questions of all. ( woman ) is this considered a home office ? bring your tax question to the company that helped clients get over 43 billion dollars in refunds last year alone. how can i get more money ? click, call, or come over. h&r block: get it right. if you ve ever been in a conversation when all of a sudden, you realize you ve tuned out and haven t heard a word the other person is saying. or you notice the person you re talking to is trying to hold back a yawn. it comes back to boredom. we wanted to see how you reacted when someone is boring yo we sent out sarah haines to find out. what do you do if someone is boring? half turn. you know if they start looking at their phone, away, where can i go to get away. when they look left and right. their eyes glaze over. they don t look at you. they look over your head and look around. have you ever gotten that before? yes. what do you do to people when they re boring the heck out of you? i got to go. does that work every time? no. i have a few people that don t get the did you really just rip out your phone? what happens if i m boring you. you get stuck and party and i m talk ting to you. got to go, i see my friends over there. i just got ditched. all right. so, how can you tell if you re putting your friends to sleep? rob hello. some people just don t it seems obvious. when you re boring people, you can sort of tell. and nobody thinks they re the boring person. like when they re telling a story, they don t think, wow, i m a really boring person and i really hate that about myself. people don t always know. you can be boring and sometime, people are good at hiding that they re bored. part of it is subjective, too. you could be the most interesting person to one group of people and not to the other. let s say you re at a dinner party and this happened to me once. some guy started telling a story. there s the point ere he has everybody then the point where they just don t stop. are there body language kind of cue that is people are ging off, other than the real obvious ones? when you re feet start to move back, when you kick your feet back, you have your right foot come back, you re going to realize your body is getting ready to jump out. or when you re holding your chair down, like on a roller coaster, unless there s an earthquake, you re probably a little bored with the conversation. your mind s giving your body signs. and questions, too. if someone keeps saying, wow, cool. wow. cool. wow. yeah. you know, that s also a sign they re not really asking you specific questions. so, if somebody is asking you questions in a really specific way, it means they re engaged. so, let s say, robbie, i m the person who is boring. let s pretend you know you re losing them, but you are giving talk to a group. how do you reel them in. or should you just cut it short? it depends, but sound bites aren t just for television. you want to keep a story short and interesting. it s hard for people to maintain attention for a long time even if you re the most fascinating person in the world. there needs to be that give and take. anyone who talks too much about themselves is not going to be a fascinating person. sometimes people turn it up a little bit. if you think you re losing the group, you really try to turn it on. like really try to sell the story. you have to use your intuition. if you feel you re losing a group,ou can admit it. hey, am i losing you? where did i go wrong? you have to pick up cues and really, the person who s not boring is the person who s good at connecting with other people. definitely. when you start to lose somebody, the mind is move tg body and that s what body language is a lot about, but also, the body will move the mind. get them moving around and more involved. are you guys bored? you kept me engaged the whole time. up next, the all-guy panel gathers and reveals the one thing married menan t get enough of? do you know what it is? i know what i think. we re going to find out after this. [clucking] look for delicious cadbury s, reese s and hershey s products in the easter candy aisle. cause no bunny knows easter better than hershey s. let s go to last night s highlights. there s mom and dad cleaning up. and there s the meatloaf. yuck. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips, oh, bingo, it falls in. mom was mad. mom should have us glad forceflex with the new stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the strehable strength of forceflex. that s all today for glad tv. both: don t get mad get glad! [ bella ] i love you. [ roars ] [ female announcer ] only walmart has the two-disc new moon ultimate fan edition with exclusive footage from the twilight saga: eclipse. save money. live better. walmart. i ve been thinking about your monthly gift. how do you feel about sudden rapids ? [ female announcer ] tampax pearl s new leakguard design adapts to sudden changes in flow for more leak-free periods than the next leading brand. so you can outsmart mother nature. this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there s no fiber in this. it tastes too good. they have 35% of your daily value. oh, samples. mmm. fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. son: hey mom! wife: what are you dng? what is that? what is this? guy: it s a special paste i invented to replace socks. we re dipping our feet in it. wife: why? guy: because we can t find socks that shape to our feet. we re sick of it! son: sick of it! wife: that s really stupid. guy: that s the future. announcer: hanes makes better-fitting socks the whole family will love. guaranteed, or your money back. all right. they are back. our all-male panel of guys is here to tell all, awering your probing questions about sex and romance. also with me, curtis stone and word has it this guy is single. yes, he is. plus, we have the married comedian, rick younger, star of comedy album. another married guy here, chuck nice from world s dumbest. when are we ever going to change the name of that. and andrew, author of club rules. he s the smart one. ralph s going to chime in, too, because we need a little ralph. we re going to go first to our first person on tape. hi, i m alisa fm new york and my question is when a man does decide he wants to be in a relationship, is it more a matter of timing, the right woman, finance. in your opinion, what do you think it is? that s a lot of questions. what do you care? it s all of the above. what difference does it make. he s made the commitment. that s what counts. women are with a guy for a long time and he success, it s not the right time and he leaves that person and goes to someone a week later and suddenly, it is the right time. this girl s got to be careful because she s showing some signs. there s a lot of questions. why do you love me? that s a big mistake. people get all caught up in time. i always think of that song by culture club. it it s like don t mistake time invested to mean beyond time. who knew boy george could teach us so much about love. once you find theight woman, all those things disappeared. i think it s the right woman more than the timing and everything else. did you know right away? yes, i did. here s the easiest way to find out if you re the right woman. bye. just say good-bye. if he comes running after you, he s serious. if he lets you go, he s like, thank you, jesus. our next e-mail question is from jane in seattle. here s her question. what s the one thing a married man cannot get enough of besides sex? being treated right. people always ask questions about why guys do what they do. if a woman treats a guy right, she can be the most unattractive in the world and he will love her. ralph s been married longer than anyone else here. i guess the response maybe, yes, honey, you re right. can t get enough of that. that has because you never get it. that s something you are never going to get. women have figured out, no matter what, don t admit you re wrong. they know that secret. how about let s do it your way. yeah. the big reason most marriages fail long-term is actually it s loss of warmth and affection. if you can keep that, that helps maintain over time. i love you, honey. we ve got sara at the msnbc.com cafe. we have a question about men and what they find funny. why do guys laugh at the stupidist things? they say comedy is a man falling down. there are some things that are always going to be funny. slipping on a banana peel. repeating words. there s something about the way we think, i don t know what it is, i know that we are hard wired to laugh at certain things. i have a 4-year-old son, every time he gases, he goes, i g gassed. the first time my son ever laughed is when i passed gas. it made the whole family laugh. we re going to take a break and come back and talk some more. don t go anywhere. after your local news. ( man ) last summer my kid made 4 figures. does he need to file a tax return ? they re not just any questions. ( woman ) did we just make a charitable donation ? they re the trickiest, thorniest, questions of all. ( woman ) is this considered a home office ? bring your tax question to the company that helped clients get over 43 billion dollars in refunds last year alone. how can i get more money ? click, call, or come over. h&r block: get it right. i eat yoplus. it has the great taste of yoplait, plus antioxidants, plus fiber and probiotics, plus calcium and vitamin d. new yoplus. the proactive nutrition yogurt. coming up today at midday naming names in maryland. who is costing the state millions in tax money. the 25 worst offenders. coming up on news 4 midday, if your office or home is like this, people are sneezing and coughing. is ia virus or allergies. how to tell the difference. news 4 midday begins at 11:00 a.m. see you then we re back with more of our guys tell-all panel and your studio is filled with studs including this one. i m happy to do it. i get to share my thoughts with the rest of the guys here. curtis stone let s get to the e-mail. suzie writes time. whatever is into her, she should do more than that. and then he d be into her all the time. what is that? what caught me about that, she says, sometimes i feel like. we have no proof that he s really hot and cold and sometimes, you get caught up into what you feel like. guys, we don t always just exude the joy of being in a relationship. and there are times you are going to be into the person more than other times. that s just the way human beings respond to one another. i think she should get out. if he s already treating her like this, is probably not going get better. and what s her feeling toward him? is she willing to go the extra mile. and some days, what are you doing and why are you creating problems. i just buried some bodies in my backyard. how do you break up with someone? what s the right way? we were talking about that during the break. for guys, we need you to deliver the ax. if you treat us nice there s a chance. just tell us the truth. but y guys don t do that. when you break up with women. because you guys are crazy. we also think ahead. why burn the bridge totally. maybe i might need to come back. we have a bunch of girls who were just here watching the show and they are appalled about what you are saying. sorry, ladieladies. we re keeping it real. and men are really have difficulty with emotional conflict more than women do. our next one, this is interesting from a woman named linda. my name s linda. i m from british columbia. why is it that all younger men assume older women are cougars. i m not lookingfor a candy, to take care of someone. i m looking for an equal. i like linda. i applaud the fact she is a single mom for 15 years, but if she wants a serious relationship, then date someone your own age because young men are not into serious relationships whether you are a cougar or not. there are some. some. some. we re telling you the truth. ashton kutcher. here s the thing. it s like it s demi moore. she looks better as time goes on. with younger guys, there are things that guy is eventually going to want out of life and if a woman is too much older, it s going to be the type of thing, i want some kids, and she s going to be like, i ve been a parent for 17 years. i m tired of that. basically, most guys would say they want younger women, right? but the problem comes when you ve got to hang out with them because you ve got nothing in common. look how stupid and ridiculous we act well into our 40s. so you can imagine what idiots we are in our 20s. and a young guy with a older woman is just like every time you turn your back, he s like like you know, he can t believe it. he s wanting to tell what do you think, ralph? i tend to agree that you have to sort of stay within the range of your age. five years, 10. i got a barometer for myself. i m 41 and i m like, if you re in your 40s and you have to explain to somebody who marvin gaye, you need to not be dating. but it s okay for men. you re 62 and i m going to date a 19-year-old. thank you so, so much. we ll see you again. and watch curtis on celebrity apprentice. coming up next straight from the international housewares show some of the newest inventions that will have you never wanting to leave your kitchen. we never want to be in the kichb, really. nooo. here, try this, it s under three hundred calories and pretty satisfying. mmmm! tasty! looks like everything is back to normal. fight the morning fade in under three hundred calories. jimmy dean d-lights. shine on. christopher columbus sailed the ocean blue. in 14 hundred and 92. nice! follow me, the missouri river is this way! lewis and clark expedition of 1804. oh, he ll never get this. magellan, 1520. awww, my 8 layers must ve given it away. help keep your kid full and focused with 8 filling layers. of whole grain fiber found in kellogg s frosted mini-wheats cereal. this is one giant leap for mini-kind. keeps em full. keeps em focused. hoo hooo! [ woman ] nine iron, it s almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that s the fast, powerful relief ozyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i m ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that s good because the competition s steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ made with gooey heheys mini-kisses. spontanious joy may occur. can you believe how fast kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength is developed before adulthood. it s so important that they get enough calcium every day. that s why there s new danonino. danonino! unlike leading kids yogurts, danonino has twice the calcium of milk, ounce per ounce, with vitamin d. so it s power packed for healthy growth. and its rich creamy taste is. yummy! so they can start building strong bones today. for stronger bodies tomorrow. new danonino from dannon. power packed to help kids grow. it starts with the smooth collection from pantene. fly-aways get smoothed to near perfection. and you get healthy results leading salon brands can t beat. that s total hair satisfaction. guaranteed. smooth from pantene. this is onstar reporting a stolen blue chevy tahoe, south on i-75, near exit 5. we re on it. onstar, we may have that tahoe. ok, i ll flash the lights. we got it. it s in the clear. i m sending a signal o cut the power. we got him. mr. ross, the police have recovered your tahoe. we re back with today s home. we walked miles of aisles at chicago s home and housewares show. i love when you come up with these things. i got to chicago every year and look for the things that not only are eye-catching and fresh, but also a twist on the familiar to make them a little more stylized and better. why are we starting with inks? this is the bar tool. think of it as the bartender in a bucket. here s our bucket. you can fill it with ice. it goes into a wine cooler. you can take this apart and you ve got a stainless steel cap opener for your bottled beer. you can measure for your blue curaco margaritas. we ve got a citrus squeezer. that s genious. it s a rimer so you can put your margarita salt in here. it s about $53, invented by a guy in vermont who used to design furniture and wanted to take that point of view to consumer prote er projects. this is a wine rack. they make these awesome tools and barbecue tools and gadgets. this is a bar system that you can connect together with five different little modules here that you put together. what we did, we took 25, it comes with five for $25, and with 25, we completed this whole honeycomb. it would work perfect for your beautiful house. it does the trick. what did your friends say at the show when you told them ralph would be co-hosting? wax on, wax off. easter s around the corner. you ve got your rabbit salt and pepper grinders. that s cute. this one we loved because for the ultimate couch potato, it s the gravity. you are not that lazy. and we did think of you with this one. it s the king pepper. is it really a fresh pepper on your plate there. that s genious. you can take that one home to your son with his miley cyrus poster. it s a corn curler. there s always some take on how to get those pesky kernels off the corn. this one gathers in the chamber and won t be flying all over the room. it s the cupcake plunger. what are you doing here? you can you seem very technical, ralph. first thing it will do is lift out your center. then, you can fill it with your frosting. it s all made? now squeeze it and pull it up. oh, it s like a push up. how do we get that fancy little we got it. there you go. see. be the first on your bck at the bake sale. it s the champagne opener. ready? twist, pull and twist and grasp it again. yep. and you can do it and get that nice pop. this is really good. hey, look at that. safest way to open champagne. one for one and one. the greatest in housewares. all right, we have something coming up next. up next, your kids get to redo on their favorite sandwiches. all things peanut butter. right after this. all vying to be the next california happy cow. you voted for her, america. say hello to kirsten. [ canadian accent ] looks like we re not in saskatchewan anymore. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] you got that right, sister. welcome to california! welcome, indeed. [ male announcer ] great milk comes from happy cows. happy cows come from california. look for dairy brands with the real california seals. sfx: kids laughinge from california. grandmother: who wants to go another lap? kids: go grandma, go faster! vo: manage your weight and stay healthy at unbeatable prices. vo: healthy living costs less at walmart. vo: save money. live better. walmart. [ sighs ] whoo-hoo! this hair color is a washout. try nice n easy with color-blend technology. in 1 step, get a blend of 3 tones. highlights, lowlights, and shine. it makes a fresh, light-filled frame for your pretty face. nice n easy. your right color. ( man ) last summer my kid made 4 figures. does he need to file a tax return ? they re not just any questions. ( woman ) did we just make a charitable donation ? they re the trickiest, thorniest, questions of all. ( woman ) is this considered a home office ? bring your tax question to the company that helped clients get over 43 billion dollars in refunds last year alone. how can i get more money ? click, call, or come over. h&r block: get it right. all right, it s time for today s kitchen and we re getting sucy with the creative sandwich contest. we ve got the five finalists competing for a $25,000 scholarship. we have west from santa clara, utah. we have lauren from wisconsin and we have stephanie from plymouth, michigan. hello, kids. we re so excited. you guys are going to get to your little stations and we re going to start cooking. how did you come up with your recipe? i came up with different ideas and this tasted the best. we tried it with turkey and cheese. we have peanut butter and then you put cream cheese on one side, then your jelly on the otr. that s cool. and then you put apple slices on one side. and you cook it like a grilled cheese? yes. that s smart. how did you think of that? you re just smart? yes. then you put it together and dip it in eggs. oh, wow. and then you fry it. nice. this is it? can we try a bite? yeah. all right. who s next? rachel, you re next. wait, i don t see any bread. what are we making here? we re making lettuce wrap. first mix the honey, mayonnaise and peanut butter together. the peanut butter with the big pieces in it. and then just mix it. what s in there? chicken, apples a grapes. she s got chicken in our peanut butter? i like it. and you just wrap it all up in a little wrap? yep. i like it. we re going to try yours, too. then you just scoop it into there and wrap it up. i like it. west, tell us what you re cooking? moroccoan pi tas. show us how to make it. got peanut butter there. yeah. what s this? hummus? you can put it in there. you put in the peanut butter. that s so good. okay. and you mix it up? yeah. that s it? okay. all right. it s big you try that. i want to try a bite, too. that s a cool, cool, cool how is that? good? it s all good. i gave you the most juicy part. that s good. good job. by the way, these are all finalists and one will be the big winner. what are we making here? a peanut butter and banana quesadilla. what s all this stuff? this is a fruit salsa and you just doesnumpb it all in there? and you mix in strawberry preserves with it. it s just banana and peanut butter. what s that stuff? vanilla yogurt. that s so good. come on. oh, my gosh. awesome. stephanie. we saved you for the end. this is pineapple juice and soy sauce. how do you think of these things? just in the middle of the night, pineapple and soy. then what do you do? sloppy circles. we spread it on and then put our lettuce, red pepper, pineapple and chicken. you wrap it up and grill it. the chicken part is amazing. we re going to try this one. so good. wow. oh, my gosh. you guys, i don t know who s going to win. that stuff is awesome. you re all terrific. big round of applause for our kids. you can find the recipes to these terrific peanut butter sandwiches on [ male announcer ] it s our hottest offer of the season, but it s melting fast. so hurry, act now to get fios tv, internet and phone at the super low price of $99.99 a month guaranteed for 2 years! call now and you ll also get a multi-room dvr and set top box free for six months. with 100% fiber optics straight to your home you ll get an amazing hd picture, america s top rated internet and phone. all for just $99.99 a month. enjoy tons of your favorite shows and channels. fios brings facebook and twitter right to your tv. also, check sports, weather and traffic without interrupting your show. you ll get tv with four times more very satisfied customers than comcast. get it all for just $99.99 a month guaranteed for 2 years! plus a multi-room dvr and set top box free for six months. don t wait. this incredible offer ends soon. call 1-866-932-fios. that s 1-866-932-fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. it s that time of the morning where crazy fans have been outside and there s a couple of them who we ve picked for you. come in. oh, the baby. come on in. this could be my youngest fan. it could be. hello, ladies. hello. how adorable. careful of the step. look how cute, this baby. careful. you guys want to hold the mikes up to urself? i m a huge fan. this is sarah. i just wanted to ask, do you still talk to or hang out from any of the cast members from the outsiders ? i just saw matt dillon. i touched base with c. thomas howell and when we did the 20th anniversary of the dvd, i saw diane lane. how does he look? wonderful. so cute and adorable. you have a question? i m leslie. i have three kids of my own. you have children. how are you enjoying your teenage years? it s been fortunately for me, i have great kids, knock wood, so far. it s a challenge. teenage daughter, but she is pretty grounded and pretty has a nice relationship with my wife and i think that s important. my son is just getting there. thanks so much. and ralph, thank you, you were a terrific co-host. come back. tomorrow, andrew shue s coming. captions by vitac www.vitac.com