Transcripts For WRC Today 20110525 : vimarsana.com

that included an awkward moment during the president s toast. to the queen. so what happened? we ll explain wednesday, may 25, so what happened? we ll explain wednesday, may 25, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to a split edition of nbc nightly news on a wednesday morning. i m matt lauer in new york. i m meredith vieira in los angeles. once again, parts of the south are picking up the pieces from tornadoes, matt. this is one of the twisters that caused problems on tuesday. hundredses have been left homeless from oklahoma to arkansas, all on the heels of the tornado that levels joplin, missouri, over the weekend. we ll have the latest in a live report. meredith? and the bombshell dropped by casey anthony s defense team during her trial. they claim caylee anthony drowned in the family pool and anthony s father helped cover it up. the prosecution tells a different story. we have details coming up. and this is the day fans of oprah winfrey have been counting down to and dreading. her final show after 25 years. we ll hear from people who were in the audience for the taping of the emotional show. let s begin with the deadly tornadoes. mike seidel is in piedmont, oklahoma, for us this morning. good morning. reporter: good morning. this home is about the only house on the street still standing. the rest have been levelled. the preliminary count so far, at least three dozen twisters, more than a dozen killed and some of the disaster unfolded live on tv here in oklahoma. a series of tornadoes roared through oklahoma city on tuesday. this was the scene in grady county as a large tornado chewed up the landscape. kfor, news channel 4 was on air covering the event es. folks, get under ground. this tornado is headed your way. oh, my gosh. it s bigger than before. reporter: one of the meteorologists caught in a storm driving to safety as power poles danced in the air around him. oh, my gosh. it s a half mile wide. another killer tornado. it went across highway 81. it almost got us. it intensified right on top of us. amazing. reporter: from the air chopper footage captured the devastation as the scene played out. look at this tornado. this is unbelievable. just unbelievable. look at it tearing up the ground. look at the debris. that s a roof. it s taking roofs. reporter: in the aftermath the grim reality was striking. these survivors took shelter in the basement and escaped with only cuts and bruises. le their house is gone. reporter: their truck flipped on its side. in sehawnsee, another tornado tearseses by nearby. a veterinarian just escaped withes his life. we jumped into the kennels where we keep the dogs and it proceeded to blow everything away. reporter: others are not so lucky. in piedmont, a mother and her children took refuge in a bathtub and were buried when the storm hit in the debris. the mother and two of her children badly injured while searcherses look for a third child still missing after being pulled from her mother s arms. this morning there are many facing the daunting task of rebuilding. i came around the corner, saw that my house is gone and my carses. everything was just a loss. we re safe. that s all that mattermatters. thank you for the warning. you saved our lives. reporter: overnight a tornado hit the ozark mountainse. meanwhile two were killed in arkansas. and 53 killer tornadoes so far this year. in an average year, we have 24. more than twice the number of twisters and it s only may. thank you. al hases more on the latest round of severe weather and what to expect today. welcome back. thanks sthanks, matt. strong low level jet stream. moisture from the gulf. you combine the two and we have a big risk area to show you right now from little rock, memphis into central indiana. the potential for large tornado tornadoes, widespread damage and hail in the area. we have a slight risk from texas to buffalo, new york and up to chicago. we ve got a wide area today under the gun for severe weather. you can see the rotation around the system. an upper level low. we have a tornado watch from missouri into illinois. rainfall amounts anywhere from one to three inches of rain out of this system. yesterday i got a chance to go into a blackhawk helicopter. to give you a sense, this is a seven-mile-long stretch of hurricane i should say tornado damage. if you think about your neighborhood, you get in your car, drive for 30 miles, givesesgivese you an idea how long that is. we have had four ef-5s this year. last time we had this many ef-5 tornadoes was 1974 when we had six. by the way, while we were in joplin, missouri, we met john degraaf. he was looking for a friend feared lost in the rubble. take a look. your missing neighbor? larry. he s 73. i know he was home. turns out larry survived the tornado, left and stayed with friends because he couldn t stay in that house. larry was quoted as saying, the fact is he didn t know so many people cared about him, matt. there is a silver lining in the story. absolutely. it s an important follow up. al, thank you very much. we ll check in with you in a little while. dr. greg forbes is a severe weather expert for weather channel. good morning to you. good morning, matt. we look at the frequency of the tornadoes that we are seeing this year. more than double the average number of tornadoes year to date. is there a simple explanation as to why we are seeing so many? it s really the pattern that we got into in april and then have come back to for part of may. april was about four times the average number of tornado. it was a record for any month of any year. the pattern has been way above average temperaturewise. all of the areas east of the rockies have been above average. that helps fuel instability. then in combination with that there s been an active jet stream up into the great lakes, the northeast, sometimes going into the southeast. that combination of instability and strong winds aloft fuel the thunderstorms and give them wind shift needed to rotate. you get tornadoes, big disturbances that trigger the tornadoes. do you see anything that shows you the patterns of warmer than usual temperatures and the jet stream may be disrupted in the near future? it looks like for the next couple of weeks, that is going to continue to be a favorable pattern. later into the summer we get into less tornado threat. june is a pretty active month but it beginses to ta to taper the fall season. we can get thunderstorms and damaging winds become a threat in june and july. thank you very much, dr. forbes. i appreciate it. it s nine minutes after the hour. back to meredith in los angeles. matt, thank you very much. now to more on the devastation in joplin where the search for survivors of sunday s tornado is entering its third day. nbc s kevin tibbles is there. good morning to you. reporter: meredith, rescue crewses here, when weather permits are busy combing through the debris and miracle rouloumio more survivorses were found. everybody down. reporter: sirens blared in joplin. this city now stands in ruins. this used to be in home and now there is nothing left of it. reporter: with hundreds of businesses and more than a thousand homeses destroyed the newly homeless are finding refuge here at a red cross shelter at missouri state southern university. there is a clinic full of volunteerses from across the country helping those injured in the storm still haunted by what they saw on sunday. it s the most evil-looking thing you have seen in your life. reporter: eager to get the word out that they survived. i want to let my sister and my daughter know that i m alive and well and only in minor pain. reporter: with an unknown number of people missing in joplin they come seeking news of loved ones, praying they are on the red cross s safe and well list. it s heart wrenching to not be able to be in contact with your loved ones, especially through such a traumatic event. we want to facilitate that reunion. move to the side so that the dog doesn t smell you. reporter: even civilian rescue teamses have been out in full force, with two people rescued. rebuilding this once vibrant city will have to wait. we are thinking ahead and developing plans but our first focus is search and rescue. that s what we are concentrating on at this point. reporter: one desperate family waited and prayed as rescuers searched for a young boy ripped from his parents arms when the tornado hit. they were injured. he remains missing and the parents hope to be reunited. i just want to fine him. reporter: at the red cross shelter, for close friends sh good news. she s like another child. reporter: a friend spotted jane bryson. i want to take her home with me. she s alive. that s all that matters. reporter: perhaps adding insult to injury the violent storms did pass through here last night. fortunately for all of us, no twisters touched down. matt? kevin tibbles, thank you very much. sources close to the investigation tell nbc news that the justice department authorized prosecutors to proceed with criminal charges against john edwards. the case stems from his alleged use of campaign donations to cover up an extramarital affair. lisa myers has details on this. good morning. reporter: good morning, matt. these sources tell nbc news the justice department green lighted criminal charges against edwardss for violation of campaign finance lawses related to money used to cover up his affair. sources say an indictment is expected soon unless edwards agrees to a plea bargain. edwards may face chargeses but you would never have known it. he was being a good dad watching his son play ball. no visible sign of big trouble ahead. ironically at the same field that day, 100 feet away the government s key witness against edwards. his former aid, andrew young. young claims edwards covered up his affair with rielle hunter with whom edwards now admits he has a daughter, 3-year-old francis quinn. andrew, hey, it s john. i had a wonderful conversation with bunny. i think we can completely count on her. i just wanted to hear that and once again to tell you that i love you. i really love you, andrew. reporter: bunny is an ardent supporter. her decorator, brian huffs man said he sent her checks totaling $700,000, one enclosed in a box of chocolates. checks forwarded to andrew young. payments were made to keep rielle hunter happy and to keep the story from ruining john edwards presidential campaign. reporter: huffman and mellon said they were asked to help with a personal problem but had no idea what it was. rielle hunter was hidden in private homes, flown around in a jet. much of it was paid for by fred barrett who claimed that edwards didn t know anything about it. i never paid a dime of money to any of the people involved. i have never asked anybody to pay a dime of money, never been told that any money s been paid. nothing has been done at my request. reporter: sources indicate the government can prove otherwise arguing the money contributed by two wealthy donors was not a gift but a form of political contribution used illegally. a source with knowledge of thes ca the case said it could still end with a plea bargain. but some are insisting edwards plead to a felony which many doubt he will do. the edwards team had no comment. lisa, thank you very much. let s get a check of the top stories. ann is at the news desk with those. good morning. good morning, matt. we begin with what may be a sigh of relief for air travelers in europe. eruptions from the iceland volcano are dying down as ash clouds dissipate. some 700 flights are expected to be cancelled in germany while remaining cloudses. on tuesday the head of the federal aviation group. sleeping on the job in texas and in california. that brings the official number of lapses this year to seven. the record of a stealth helicopters used in the raid that took down osama bin laden is back in the united states. pakistan returned the pieces after repeated demands from the pentagon. a surprise victory for democrat kathy hokel who won a special election to replace chris lee who stepped down after topless photos of him surfaced. there is a plan to make deep cuts in medicare. shuttle endeavour astronauts plan to have a space walk to upgrade a robotic plane. this is the third spacewalk and as mike fink said emerging from mike fin k said, wow, it s great to be outside. interesting images. it s now 7:17, and let s go back to matt and al. al has a check of the weather. that s what s going on around the country and here s what is happening in your neck of the woods. here we do have a mild morning. we re down into the mid-60s throughout much of the region. right now 67 at reagan national. and near 70 by the way in southern maryland. today later in the mid to upper 80s, and then tomorrow morning we could get a passing shower or thundershower with highs near 90 on thursday. and then friday could get scattered late afternoon storms, and lates your latest weather. meredith? al, thank you very much. president obama and the first lady woke up this morning in buckingham palace. they spent the night there after attending a star-studded dinner in their honor hosted by the queen. michelle kosinski is at the palace this morning. good morning to you, michelle. reporter: hi, meredith. the white house has come to buck house, as they call it here. this is the second state visit by a president that the queen has hosted and it s generated a lot of press. things like dinner mishaps, ping-pong and the fashion statements. reporter: not always easy being a visitor in the realm of ancient protocol. president obama tries to toast the queen at a star-studded white tie state dinner at the palace. to her majesty, the queen. reporter: but she doesn t touch her glass. and they play the music over him. reporter: he gets it. and waits. to the queen. reporter: a long day for the president and first lady starting with nice handshakeses this time. none of the controversial semi-hug that dogged michelle obama in 2009. but this time the british press didn t like her outfit calling it clashing, prom style, even a faux pas saying she must have tried to dress to please the queen who kind of matched. and that brutal british wind was kind to no one. the prince of wales had a bad hair day. reporter: but then william and kate appeared fresh from their honeymoon looking tanned, relaxed and not an ounce heavier. kate s dress also talked about, not only being from a regular store but a tad fitted and above the knee. she s making her own choices, her own style. this possibly was the wrong sort of dress to wear, but she wore it well. reporter: though the obamas were not at the royal wedding they get to stay in the suite where the couple spent their wedding night. different bed, say it s the pal. the message wrote a touching message but accidentally dated it 2008. they dropped in on the prime minister, a trip to a school and table tennis. oh! reporter: two world leader s quickly wiped out by teenagers. ending with a glittering night. for michelle, a second chance to shine. another hard-won american victory. today it s serious. president obama will address parliament and will meet with david cameron on libya and afghanistan. meredith? okay, michelle kosinski. thank you very much. just ahead, the bombshell bombshell accusations made by casey anthony s defense team as her trial gets under way. first, this is today on nbc. just ahead, did arnold schwarzenegger use his power to keep his affair a secret. matt? details on oprah s final show after your local news. pooches and puppies, we are fed up with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn t repel. any tick that isn t repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let s put our paws down in protest. no fetching, no friendship till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. 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[ female announcer ] when is it okay to lose the cover-up? when you can. take the special k challenge. and lose an inch from your waist in two weeks. so lose your cover-up, and show off your confidence. design your plan at specialk.com. good morning. 7:26 on this wednesday, the 25th of may. i am joe krebs. right now, united medical center? southeast washington in applying a chemical treatment to part of its building after a patient reported finding bedbugs there. the health department of d.c. says umc is being very proactive. we ll take a break and come back and good morning. sunny and in the 60s. near 90 on thursday and friday. might get a thunder shower tomorrow morning and then off and on friday afternoon and perhaps saturday afternoon, but the rest of the holiday weekend looking dry. it s a tough one out there. the drive in from the west on i-66 jammed before manassas, and looks like this all the way to the capital beltway. and not much better on 395. backup begins at the beltway and to and across the 14th street bridge. bridge. tonight, a new tool to tame i m drinkin dunkin . dunkin iced latte. iced dunkin decaf. estoy tomando café helado. large caramel iced with skim. one shot of hazelnut, iced, cream and sugar. i wouldn t want it any other way. get your iced coffee your way. america runs on dunkin coffee. 7:30 on this wednesday morning, may 25, 2011. a funny morning in rockefeller plaza. if these people come back friday they will be treated to a performance by rihanna as we kick off the summer concert series. justahead, matt, casey anthony s defense. her team went on the attack alleging the death of her 2-year-old daughter caylee was an accident, not murder. that was just one of the surprising allegations they made but the prosecution is telling a different story. we ll have the latest from the court ahead, meredith. also, matt, how could arnold schwarzenegger keep an affair and child secret for so long? did he use his power and influence to butte bury negativ headlines leading up to his election? and oprah ends her 25-year run today. what did she do for the finale? we give you a sneak peek. we begin with opening day bombshells at casey anthonys s murder trial. kerry sanders has details. good morning to you. reporter: good morning. casey s defense attorney said he would tell the full story when he got to court. it s a shocker. he told the jury that casey anthony never murdered her daughter but rather her 2-year-old daughter caylee anthony accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool. casey anthony, at times in tears, listened as her lead defense attorney jose baez spelled out what he says really happened to 2-year-old caylee. you re going to find that this is not a murder case. this is not a manslaughter case. this is not a case of aggravated child abuse. this is none of those things. caylee anthony died on june 16, 2008 when she drowned in the family swimming pool. he said why would casey have waited a month to tell anyone her daughter was dead. baez said there was a deep family secret. it began when casey was 8 years old and her father came into her room and began to touch her inappropriately. reporter: the defense claimed the alleged relationship warped casey s judgment, submissive to her father and his fury when he said he found caylee in the pool. shortly afterward he yelled at her, look at what you have done. your mother will never forgive you and you will go to jail for your life. reporter: caylee s remains somehow wound up in the woods. prosecutors detailed a different story. casey anthony is guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree. reporter: a party girl who would rather be at a hot body contest that at home raising a daughter. in a gut-wrenching moment, prosecutors showed the last photo ever snapped of caylee alive, side by side with a picture of her skull found in the woods. how was caylee murdered? prosecutors say with duct tape. three pieces of overlapping duct tape covered the nose and mouth of caylee anthony indicating that caylee s killer never intended that it be removed. reporter: late in the day the state called its first witness george anthony, casey s father. have you ever sexually molested your daughter casey anthony? no, sir. reporter: he denied he was there when defense attorneys say caylee drowned in the pool. i would have done everything humanly possible to save my granddaughter if what was stated prior would have happened. reporter: in the story presented here by the defense there are some unanswered questions like did cindy anthony, casey s mother, know about this alleged drowning? later this morning the prosecution continues to lay out its case, one they say will indeed prove she s guilty of first-degree murder. matt? thank you very much. linda boddin worked on casey anthony s team for years. savannah guthrie is our lead correspondent. linda, you did work on the case for about 22 months. the defense is saying it wasn t murder at all. this was an accident that caylee drowned in the family s swimming pool. did this defense surprise you at all? it didn t surprise me at all. i have been in the case. you know, matt, as early as 2008, october, before the body was found people were saying she could have drowned in the pool because of the ladder. no one investigated, took anything from the bones to see if she could have drowned. the defense says george, casey s father found caylee but they didn t say what happened in the six months between when the little girl allegedly drowned in the swimmingi pool and her body was found in the woods. aren t they going to have to explain that? i think the prosecution has to explain it. they didn t tell us what happened in the five hours before george said he left. i don t think that s a defense burden. it s a prosecution burden. if you believe the defense side you have to believe george anthony knew about the little girl drowning in the swimming pool, lied to cover it up even while people were searching for his granddaughter. you have to believe this other bombshell that he sexually abused casey anthony, warping her sense of right and wrong. you re right. but usually when the defense opens they say nothing. he s gone beyond his burden and put a defense out there. the prosecution called george anthony as their first witness, indicating they knew it was coming. they wanted to nip it in the bud. did they succeed? in one sense what they have done is removed doubt for jurors compelled by what jose baez said in opening statements, they have an answer from george anthony. they are not going to listen to the entire case and wonder, i wonder if he really did molest her? i agree that baez is out on a limb here. this raise it is question of whether the defense intends to call casey anthony to the stand. you have george anthony denying abuse. if they want the evidence in the trial casey anthony is the one person who can tell the story. let me stick with you on this. the opening statement on the part of the prosecution was dramatic. they talked about what casey anthony was doing during 31 dayses before she admitted to anyone that caylee anthony was missing, talked about partying and drinking and they jux potapd pictures of caylee anthony alive and the skull. how do you knock that image out of your mind? you can see why they had explosive allegations in the courtroom. it may explain casey s behavior but as a practical matter it creates sympathy. if jurors believe casey anthony lived in a house of horrors it will create sympathy. how powerful was the opening statement? very powerful. they have to put george on the stand and say he s the one who put the body there. appreciate it. let s get a check of the weather now from mr. roker. as we look at the temperatures today, it s awfully warm here in the east, and down into the southeast with temperatures, 80s and 90s and 60s and 70s in new england, and 90s and 80s through the southwest. we have a rix of strong storms through the mid-ohio and mississippi area. and then sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard with temperatures in the 80 and 90-degree reading for the second day in a row. good morning. we have sunshine and a blue sky. temperatures in the 60s throughout most of the region. now, 67 at reagan national. and later today into the mid-80s and partly cloudy, and might get a thunder shower or shower early tomorrow morning. and then hot again on friday. could get afternoon storms. afternoon storms are possible on saturday. sunday, memorial day, and tuesday, highs in the upper 80s each day and your latest weather. matt? al, thank you very much. up next, arnold s secrets. did the former governor influence media coverage leading up to his election? we ll have details after these messages. 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[ beep ] [ beep ] [ beep ] [ beep ] [ male announcer ] find an italian masterpiece in your grocer s freezer. buitoni shrimp and lobster ravioli with garlic butter sauce. simple ingredients, artfully prepared. winner of 2011 product of the year. buitoni. create an italian masterpiece. on display in the freezer section. back now at 7:42 with more fallout from arnold schwarzenegger s admitted affair and son. how did it stay out of the headlines for so long? peter alexander has been looking into that. good morning. good morning to you. it is unclear when arnold schwarzenegger first realized that mildred baena s son was his. in 2003 schwarzenegger was one of the world s biggest movie stars starses, a public figure and a near shoe-in to be the future leader of the state as long as his past didn t come back to haunt him. i am going to run for governor of the state of california. [ cheers and applause ] reporter: by the time arnold schwarzenegger threw his hat into the ring for california s top job he knew he would become a target for political attack. i know they re going to throw everything at me and they re going to say i have no experience and that i m a womanizer and a terrible guy and all of these things will come my way. reporter: gary south was a long-time consultant for gray davis. they were well aware of allegations around arnold schwarzenegger s past and calculated they would derail any political aspirations. the thought was there was no much out there about the guy that trying to do an opposition research project as a political opponent was unnecessary. reporter: allegations of his inappropriate behavior on movie sets and rumors of affairs had become regular fodder for tabloidses like the enquirer and star magazine. at that point the lesson in arnold schwarzenegger s camp was what? the moral of the story was make friends with your enemies which is what he did. reporter: in 2004, investigative journalist anne marie bardick researched a story on arnold schwarzenegger s political rise. she reported on business moves with the help of an old friend that got the tabloids off his back. that friend joe weider is credited with modernizing modern body building and turning schwarzenegger into the face and body of the sport. weider convinced him to come to america. he won titles for the next seven years. it was the beginning of a profitable relationship between arnold schwarzenegger and the weider magazine empire. arnold credits the weider family with helping launch his career and he gave them all the credit they deserved, rallying to their side. reporter: in 2002 weider sold the seven magazines and a collection of archived photos of arnold schwarzenegger to american media, the parent company of the enquirer, star and the globe. arnold schwarzenegger discussed lending the magazines his name and image but david packer said he never offered immunity from the tabloids. still, in the months leading up to california s recall election bardak says the flood of tabloid coverage quickly turned to a trickle. they had allegations of affairs. they had allegations of multiple love children. why did none of this come out? arnold schwarzenegger was partners with american media. david packer said to me, i m not going out of my way to dig up dirt on my partner. so suddenly he had a partner. reporter: three staffers who worked for american media at the time tell nbc news that after arnold schwarzenegger announced his bid for governor, few new headlines. instead tribute issues including a special edition called arnold, the american dream. schwarzenegger s poll numbers rose. it seemed to be smooth sailing. five dayses before the election the los angeles times dropped a bombshell,ing six women who claimed arnold schwarzenegger groped them. i have behaved badly sometimes. reporter: schwarzenegger acknowledged some of his past behavior may have been inappropriate. his wife maria shriver came to his defense. you can listen to people who have never met arnold or who met him for five seconds 30 years ago or you can listen to me. i advise you to listen to me. reporter: the final bomb dropped two days before the electionses when britain s daily mail dropped a story about a supposed love child. the national enquirer followed up with its own headline reading arnold love child scandal. the story claims schwarzenegger was the father of one of this woman s children. tammy was a flight attendant on schwarzenegger s chartered jets in the 80s and 90s. the same rumors hounded her before mildred baena was revealed. she s denied the claimses for eight years and says she has the paternity tests to prove schwarzenegger is not the father of her son. on the night schwarzenegger was elected governor mildred baena s son had celebrated his 6th birthday, a secret schwarzenegger kept for seven years in office. when you hear the headline that arnold schwarzenegger admitted to an out of wedlock child you must have said what? well, it was about eight years too late to have any effect on the recall in 2003. [ cheers and applause ] for his part mildred baena s ex-husband has spoken out for the first time since the scandal broke. he called the situation a betrayal. he said schwarzenegger was his hero. he thought the boy was his son all along and only found out it wasn t a week ago. what a mess. thank you very much. still ahead, simple changes to save hundreds a year on gas. first, these messages. [ male announcer ] when mike rowe heads home, his family knows what to expect. hun, mike s coming let s get crackin . [ male announcer ] but what mike rowe doesn t know is that his parents have armed themselves with unquilted viva® towels. place looks great. [ male announcer ] mike doesn t know that every concentrated viva roll is made of strong, fiber packed sheets, making it one tough towel. but his mom sure does. wow, for me? you shouldn t have. i insist. 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[ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don t drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don t drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. and the troublemakers get all the attention. so how do you reach the kids in the middle? this is exactly the kind of challenge we help future teachers solve. my name is beatrice hair. i teach hundreds of kids one-on-one, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] university of phoenix is proud to sponsor education nation. because we believe an educated world is a better world. just ahead, a preview of oprah s farewell show, matt. after your local news. at i v. vo: so to show her what she s missing, we built a pc store in her house. julie: (gasp) employee: thanks for dropping in! julie: you ve got to be kidding me! this isn t my house anymore! employee: have a little look around! julie: very nice! employee: this one is touchscreen. julie: i like that. so there is no tower anymore? wow! i admit i m wrong on this account that there is a computer better than mine. vo: new pc in the house julie(to camera): i m a pc and i m gonna kill him. until the combination of three good probiotics in phillips colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. .and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that s the best part. i love your work. 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[ child screams ] [ male announcer ] almost. the new 2011 dodge grand caravan. now get $2,000 cash allowance or 0% financing for 60 months on select 2011 dodge grand caravans. share my concerns about bone or breast health makes me feel good about the choices i ve made. [ female announcer ] like switching to one a day women s a complete multivitamin with more calcium and vitamin d than centrum to support bone and breast health. now available in small, easy to swallow petites. thankfully, there s new crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gumline, helping prevent gingivitis. it s even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. new crest pro-health clinical toothpaste. life opens up when you do. good morning. i am joe krebs. it s 7:56 on this wednesday, the 25th of may. chopper 4 is live over the scene. right now police are investigating reports of a shooting at the largo metro station. we do not know anymore information at this time. and there are reports of a carjacking in the parking lot there. we do have a crew on the way to the scene and will bring you more information throughout the morning. there is no disruption to rail service at this time. we ll take a break, and weather and traffic is next. but first a look at what they re working on for news4 at 5:00 tonight. losing 20 pounds despite being surrounded by delicious food. a do it y good morning. sunny and in the skis, and sneer 90 tomorrow. could get afternoon storms friday and again on saturday. dry the rest of the weekend. tough morning out there. 270 in one word describe your cohorts on the show. matt. jerk. no, no. all kidding aside, my hero. he s unbelievable. there is no one better in the business. for sure, no one better. okay. ann. ann, what can i say? stole my job, i guess. no, only kidding. she stole my heart and she will everybody else. she s great. al? spandex. that is our friend meredith having fun at our expense with our other friend, mr. jay leno, last night. meredith out in los angeles painting the town red, doing all kinds of fun things. did you have a good time out there, meredith? i had a great time. i m a little tired today, but no reason to complain. he was fun. you did something despicable to me though that we are going to show later on. again? totally surprised me. i m glad to hear that. wow. that s not the only reason meredith was in l.a. meredith accepting a gray cy awd for outstanding news anchor last night. that s great. it s a terrific honor sponsored by the alliance for women in media to recognize outstanding women in their field. there is nobody who deserves it more than you, my dear. al, thank you very much. i feel like i sort of stole this thing, to tell you the truth, since i m leaving. i thought they would confiscate it as i got off stage. but i thanked everybody. i forgot to thank natalie in my acceptance speech. i just want obviously i want everybody to know how much i love her. even though people sometimes say, is she your daughter? she s gorgeous, but talk about dating me, you know? i also want to congratulate dr. nancy snyderman and her producer kerry zimmer. they won breaking news coverage for haiti. and also anne thompson won for her correspondence work with brian williams of nightly news. congratulations. well done. nice going. thank you very much. that s right. meanwhile from los angeles, what does oprah have in store for her big finale today? we ll get a preview of that, guyses. check it out, meredith. we ll celebrate the 60th anniversary of the miss usa pageant. the reigning miss usa and this years s competitors. all right. we have a lot to get to. first let s head inside. ann curry is staat the news des with a look at the headlines. hi, guys. congratulations to meredith. we ll tell you about the tornadoes which have brought more misery to the nation s heartland. at least 13 people were killed last night when tornadoes struck during the evening rush hour in arkansas and kansas. the death toll in missouri is 120. president obama speaking to both houses of the british parliament today. he met with prime minister david cameron to discuss wars in afghanistan and libya. last night president obama and mrs. obama were guests at a state dinner hosted by queen elizabeth. christine le gaar may replace dominique strauss-kahn as head of the international monetary fund. he was charged with trying to rape a hotel maid in new york city. in tucson, jared loughner faces a hearing today to decide if he s competent to stand trial for the shooting of the wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords and also the killing of six others. nbc s mike taibbi joins us now. hey, mike. good morning. reporter: good morning, ann. law enforcement sources tell nbc news it will be a brief haefring with all sides including the judge on agreement in on one conclusion that jared loughner will not face trial any time soon. 22-year-old loughner is accused of planning the deadly shooting rampage at a tucson shopping mall, but is he at present able to understand the 49 charges against him and assist in his defense? former arizona federal prosecutor curt altman. s it is my position that mr. loughner is not competent to stand trial. reporter: he points to two letters sent to judge burns apparently complaining about his defense team and sources tell nbc newses two evaluators who interviewed loughner agree. his mental issues now make him unfit to stand trial. he will continue to be re-evaluated, even medicated involuntarily with the intent of getting him before a jury in a death penalty case. i would expect the system to be very, very persistent in trying to restore jared loughner to stand trial. reporter: whether loughner stands trial or remains in a prison hospital indefinitely makes no difference to one of his victims. as long as the man who did this is not walking free, i don t really care what kind of a place is holding him. reporter: experts say given the notoriety of the case extra effort will be made to restore loughner to competence to stand trial. there is no guarantee and it could take years. ann? mike taibbi, thanks. reclusive and mysterious heiress clark has died. the last known photograph of her dates back to 1930. most recently clark captured the public s imagination when reports surfaced of her empty sprawling estates maintained by her lawyer and accountant. she died tuesday at the age of 104. a family in slovenia that lovingly adopted an orphaned bear will have to give it up now. the cub may be smaller than the family dog for now, but wildlife officials decided the family won t be able to properly shelterer it when it s full grown and could reach 600 pounds. family members don t want to say good-bye to the pet despite the fact that it s wreaked havoc on doors, trees and flower beds. it is now 8:06. let s go back out to matt. ann, thank you ver it has wreaked havoc on their home. mr. roker here is on a busy weather week. absolutely. the weather is spectacular. nice folks hanging out. who are you saying hi to? our grandchildren. interesting names. very good. let s check your weather and see what is happening. this is why we have been getting the strong storms. the low-level jet stream and a lot of moisture coming out of the gulf and cutting across it and that s causing storms from little rock into central illinois, and then as we widen out, you will see that we have storms from texas and parts of chicago and wisconsin, and tornado watches stretching into much of illinois today into the early afternoon, and we ll look at heavy rain from illinois into i indiana and parts of idaho. that s what s going on around the country and here s what is happening in your neck of the woods. bright sun and a satin blue sky on this wednesday morning. near 70 degrees throughout much of the region, and later today climbing into the mid-80s, and a few clouds around this afternoon. and then tonight, clouding up and maybe a thundershower tomorrow morning. and then friday afternoon might have scattered storms and maybe a passing thundershower on saturday, and sunday, memorial and any time you want your weather day or night go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? al, thank you very much. it is a sad day for fans of oprah after a blockbuster 25-year run. the last episode airs today. mara schiavocampo is at harpo studios in chicago with more. good morning, mara. reporter: good morning, meredith. this final shows has been shrouded in secrecy and the big question who would oprah s final guest be? audience members say there were no guests and no surprise giveaways. just oprah talking to viewers. she called it a love letter to her audience. there was plenty of love in the audience, too, with friends like tyler perry and maria shriver joining oprah s most devoted fans. though at first they had no idea what to expect, audience members for the final taping of the oprah winfrey show got exactly what they wanted an hour of conversation with their old friend. the final show was all about talking to the audience and reflecting on the past 25 years. it was more than i could have ever hoped for. it was just very warm. just very personal. reporter: the finale couldn t have been more different from the previous two shows where 13,000 gathered for splashy, star-studded extravaganzas at chicago s united center. in the end, oprah opted for an intimate affair. she walked and hugged people. you saw the tears, the emotion. the audience, we all got emotional. she was emotional. then in the very end she got to her office and the dog was waiting for her. she picked him up and hugged him. reporter: a fitting farewell as the daytime diva s connection with her audience is what made the show a hit to begin with. will be to the very first oprah winfrey show! reporter: since its debut in 1986 oprah has given a generation of women friendship, comfort and guidance. our warrior of the year! oprah winfrey came along and suddenly there was a warmth, intimacy and emotion to day time television that hadn t been there before. reporter: oprah shared her own struggles including her weight. this is 67 pounds. i can t lift it. reporter: and personal family secretses. she got celebrities to let loose creatinging iconic tv moments all along the way. you get a new car! you get a new car! reporter: with a net worth of $2 billion oprah is one of the richest and most influential media moguls in the world, expanding her reach beyond television. her book picks become best sellers. her political pick became president. there will never be another oprah winfrey. she s different and unlike anyone who has gone before her and like anyone who will come after her. reporter: in the moments before oprah s last show began taping tuesday, crews put up a sign for the newly designated oprah winfrey way. one woman leaving her mark on a city and countless people around the world. now, audience members say oprah did get teary at points and they were crying, too. oprah will now fully devote herself to the oprah winfrey network cable channel. meredith? thank you very much. lola oganaki is a pop culture expert and dave is a writer for entertainment weekly. good morning. good morning. 25 years is a long time on television. what do you attribute her staying power to? i think her compassion and honesty. she s clearly kf lly comfortabl hearse a herself. she was willing to talk about sexual abuse, having lost a child, the secret sister, her weight loss, hero manslaught ro. people really responded to it. no matter how rich and famous she got and she got both in spades people still related to her as a girlfriend. absolutely. that s why it s fitting that the last show is just her talking to the audience. that s where the bond is. it s like goldilocks. all the other daytime shows are too tacky or too nice and boring. she brought spirituality but still got jennifer hudson to say how many pounds she lost on weight watchers. 80 pounds. absolutely. when she first started on the national scene it was really men running the daytime talk circuit. it was all about phil donahue. right. then oprah came and it was bye-bye, phil, hello, oprah. we have seen people come and go. montel, ricki lake, sally jesse raphael. she s launched so many careers like dr. oz, dr. phil, gayle king, rachel ray. it indicates her influence over the media. she doesn t just tell us what to buy, who to vote for but who to be friends with. dr. phil, nate berkus, these people feel like friends to the viewers. it s 25 years of trust she built up. she has the midas touch. she does. she s not going away. she has the magazine, a network. but without the daily show, can she retain the influence she has? i think that oprah is i think i don t think she needses the show anymore. she s oprah. she s an institution. she ll have as much power as she did before. she has lost audience over the years. and losing that platform will be huge. once she puts more time and energy into her own network that tv channel is only going to get better. i have been in the room with her. i have gotten the chance to interview her. she s a rare person where you feel the magnetism sitting with her. she was on the couch with bare feet and i remember thinking, okay, this is a special person. she has that. people will follow her. now there is a hole in daytime. can one person fill it? i think it s going to take more than one person to fill oprah s shoes. anderson cooper is committing a. we think you should fill her shoes. oh, well! that s very nice. i don t think so. syndication is where it s at. the two people you mentioned are the two i m curious about. anderson and katie. if he can let his personality come through hes s appealing. and katie couric also has the strong connection with viewers, particularly the female viewership watching during the day. do you think people will be hungry for it, still? or was it the oprah phenomenon? both. people will miss her and they will look for that kind of feeling in daytime. people will miss their girlfriend. she was the nation s girlfriend and she s gone. i think people will be tuning in to the repeat. and today will be an event. what do you think the audience will be? it s up 50% this week compared to the whole season. sky s the limit. it s truly an event. everybody came to kiss the ring. everyone from tom cruise to tom hanks to will smith. halle berry. they acknowledged oprah. she knew they would. was she really surprised? thank you so much. now back to matt in new york. all right, meredith. thank you very much. this morning on today s consumer, we are talking about saving money on gasoline. the memorial day weekend kicks off the summer driving season. unfortunatelile gy gas prices a dollar more per gallon than they were this year at the same time. kevin tibbless conducted an experiment to see if making little changes in the way you drive can save you big money. reporter: when i get behind the wheel i admit sometimes i m an angel. and sometimes i m not. go on, pass me. do it. turns out some of my bad habits are costing me money. to see how much i was wasting, i challenged myself to a little competition. reporter: driving two identical chevy cruises, i set out on the same 20-mile route from the leafy burbs to wrigley field in the heart of chicago. ready, set, go. but wait, how about a cup of joe for the road? did you know for every 15 minutes your car idles you burn a quarter of a gallon of gas so the $2 coffee just cost you $3. skip the drive-thru. you re better off parking and going in. okay. back on the road. i ve got to get downtown. cruising speed, 70. but at 60, i can save four miles per gallon. at 50, another four miles per gallon. yeah, but i m not that good. pedal to the metal. wait. traffic. this is chicago, after all. but when it comes to fuel efficiency, if you re hard on gas and hard on the brakes. [ tires screeching ] reporter: you will end up losing money. did i mention the junk in my trunk? yeah, that one. if you use your trunk as a storage unit you re wasting gas. for every 100 pounds of weight you reduce fuel efficiency by 2%. i m cruising now and showing my support for the home team. turns out a third of the fuel is used to overcome wind resistance. even little flags have a big impact on efficiency. i make good time, but how about the mileage? 24 miles per gallon. that s not a lot. no. that s driving aggressively, going way over the speed limit. carrying extra weight and tire pressure down. absolutely, not the greatest. reporter: with the help of my pit crew, proper tire pressure, my load lighter, steady on the pedal and divine guidance to help me avoid my bad habits. just call me angel of the morning baby reporter: i took to the road a second time to see just how much gas i could save. this time, over 36 miles per gallon. that s a savings of $70 per month, $840 a year. that will get me three prime seats at wrigley. for today, kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. today the federal government is unveiling new fuel economy labels you will see soon on new cars. ray la hood is the secretary of transportation. great to have you here. good morning. $3.81 is the average for a gallon of gas now. how much pressure on the administration to get it down? gas prices are killing family budgets. the president gets it. this is part of the president s plan the new label to help people save money at the pump. these gas prices are killing people. the president gets it. this is part of our plan here. this new sticker looks different. we ll see these on 2013 model years. jump in. tell me what s different about the label. it s easy to understand. it tells you immediately what kind of miles per gallon you will get, how much you will save over five years and the annual cost. you can quickly read if you have a smartphone, you click on this little thing here and you can also see how much you can save over a long period of time. you want consumers to make smarter choices. absolutely. this is the ford focus? that s the focus. now a look at this car that s electric and gasoline, the chevy volt. look how it jumps up. absolutely. people are looking at opportunities for hybrid cars. the volt is a hot-selling car because people can save a lot of gasoline. this tells them the equivalent of using an electric powered car, how much they will save. how did the auto industry feel about this? they re coming along, matt. they understand people want to know how much they can save and they want to advertise that. these new stickerers really tell people quickly how much they are going to save. either electricity or on gasoline. when you look at the numbers, these are great. you want people to buy the cars. but when gas prices are higher there is interest in cars like these and when the price goes down the interest wanes? le while prices are as high as they are and with summer coming on we want people to have this opportunity. the president understands high gas prices are killing budgets. this is part of the president s plan to give people the option. and you will start to see these stickers on 2013 model year cars. thank you, mr. secretary. great to have you here. thank you very much. thank you. let s go to al, natalie and ann. you re on the wrong end of the plaza. we ve got we ll make note that 2011 is the 60th anniversary of the miss usa pageant. this year s group of contestants are here to celebrate that and the 7th anniversary of the uso. they have stopped by along with the reigning miss usa, raina fakeh. thank you very much. when you were named you were the first american-muslim and first arab-american. to ever win this. thank you. i wonder if you think possibly because of the major milestone you have increased power. i broke barriers and being part of the family and being miss usa, this is what you do. you break barriers, you have personal growth. i feel like i have given people hope. not only arabs and muslims but people from america. they can do anything. i hope all these girls feel the same way. i imagine as you get ready to hand over the crown to a lucky young lady here. june 19. you have great memories. i can t believe it s been a year. i remember my first week i was right in this same spot talking to you guys. that was clearly the highlight. and he ll wear this, too. thank you very much. i m so proud. thank you so much. i m honored. with that on my head it would be perfect to throw to willard scott. matt, you re invited to the fabulous world famous strawberry festival this weekend at sky meadows park and the beautiful stables tour. that s saturday and sunday. also to have strawberry preserves from our friends at smuckers. how sweet it is. let s check our birthday buddies this day. ida albert. loves challenging crossword puzzles. we wish her a happy 100th birthday. lillian feldshuh from scarsdale, new york, outside the city. 100 today. and loves to do all kinds of charity work for people. still a good heart. and walter welker of roseburg, oregon. beautiful roses out there. 100 years old. lifelong cattle rancher. those people are making money for a change. that s good. we love you. happy birthday. david redlus of marlton, new jersey. 100 years old today. worked as a podiatrist for years. never stepped on anybody s toes. i just threw that in. anyway, lorraine schutz of kalamazoo, michigan. 100 years old today. loves to play bridge and full of good spirit and a happy heart. esther i love esther strachman from old westbury, new york. a boston red sox fan and a member of the red sox nation. and helen swoboda of freeport, new york. 100 years old today. loves to socialize. everybody s crazy about her. used to dance ballroom dancing with her husband. that s it from washington, d.c. back to new york. willard, thank you very much. we forgot to say one important thing. very important. catch us at planet hollywood las vegas live at 9:00 p.m. and nbc. you get to vote for one of the winners on missusa.com. sunday, june 19th. big event. thank you very much. good luck. thank you, matt. we ll be right back with much more. first your local news and weather. good morning. it s 8:26 on this wednesday, may 25th, 2011. we re following breaking news. a shooter open fire hitting two people at the largo town center metro station. and from chopper 4, we can see lots of police activity on the top floor of the parking lot. it was a carjacking and shooting. a man and woman were both shot. we don t know their conditions at this time. we have a crew on the way to the scene and we ll have more information throughout the morning. there is no disruption to rail service. we make the time to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. but what we should also be celebrating, are the moments. the ones that could have been just another day, but became extraordinary memories. moments when we learn about the world that came before us, and a little more about ourselves. let s celebrate together. colonial williamsburg. come be part of the story. and now is the perfect time to celebrate with the summer bounce package. plan your stay at colonialwilliamsburg.com temperatures now in the low 70s. lots of sunshine and a blue sky. later today in the mid-80s. and then clouding up tonight and might have a shower or thundershower tomorrow, and then maybe a shower saturday and sunday. and then checking reports of several accidents. jammed out of germantown. 395 and the inner loop of the beltway in virginia, it s all jammed trying to get up towards i-66. and a do-it-yours 8:30 on this wednesday morning, may 25, 2011. we have a nice-sized crowd in rockefeller plaza. expecting a much bigger group come friday when rihanna kicks off our summer concert serieses live on the plaza. by the way, some lucky fans are going to win on-stage tickets to rihanna s loud concert tour courtesy of livenation. just bring your biggest and best rihanna sign. easy enough. i m meredith vieira in los angeles this morning. matt, al, ann and natalie on the plaza. i want to share with you guys another moment from leno last night. it came as a surprise to me. jay, you have known me for a long time. you know i each a creature of habit but so is meredith vieira. every morning i finish my homework about 6:15. i leave my dressing room and i walk over to meredith s dressing room to go over the show. i knock on the door. normally she s in there in the red bathrobe and the clogs. bizarre. sometimeses i open the door and the room seems empty. i say meredith, meredith. from the bathroom i hear her say can you come back later? i m changing. and then i hear [ toilet flushes ] the toilet flush. the door opens and she comes out in the red bathrobe and the clogs. meredith changing? really? oh, my gosh. my lord. they sent me a script. they asked me to do that. how juvenile. see, i m not like you, matt. i don t wear depends, so i have to use the bathroom. ooh! this is unraveling at a fast pace, meredith. anyway, we are just trying to spice up your appearance. what s coming up, matt? coming up. funny you ask. a woman who s proud to be called the biggest loser. olivia ward got the title last night. she lost half her body weight. she s made the trip and we ll talk to her in a few minutes. the sisters did well. and why more and more women are shying away from the title grandma. baby boomers are coming up with new and different ways to identify themselves style still enjoying the privileges of becoming a grandparent. we ll explain in a little bit. also, you may have heard the story about the group of freelance journalists taken hostage in libya. they were held for 44 days. one is a young woman, a first-time reporter in a war zone and she s going to share her harrowing experience. she said she wasser ve very con about what would happen to her. lots com in libya, and held 44 days. i just want to share these folks here, take state mental health to heart.com. we are doing a campaign to support the mental health and wellness of the nation s military. send one of our e-cards, and we will donate $1 to the association. let s check your weather and see what is going on. for today, a risk of strong storms. rain in the pacific northwest. and up and down the eastern seaboard, gorgeous weather. and for tomorrow, we have a risk of storms stretching from alabama all the way into the western new york and much of ohio and showers back through the mississippi river valley, and sunny and hot from texas on into the southwest and nice and mild up into the mid-plains. here s what is happening in your neck of the woods. a beautiful spring morning here. temperatures climb into the mid-70s and later into the 80s, and then tomorrow in the morning might get a shower or thundershower and otherwise partly cloudy and hot on thursday. friday, maybe an afternoon scattered thundershower, and highs mid-80s and saturday and maybe an afternoon thundershower, and sunday memorial day and tuesday, great beach you can get any information you need. go to weather channel on cable. weather.com online. by the way, i want to mention you were so great to talk about the great charity they have going on over there. you can also go to the website to get information on how to cope if you are a family in need. coming up next, the biggest loser weighs in on last night s win. we ll catch up with her. first, this is today on nbc. we re back at 8:37. this morning on get fit today the newly crowned winner of the biggest loser couples the scales tipped in favor of olivia ward. she lost an impressive 129 pounds to become the fourth woman to win the title. good morning. congratulations. good morning. thank you so much. after all the hard work you have been through over the last several months you re supposed to sit in a comfy chair and relax, but you jump on a plane. you have flown all night to be here. how do you feel? fantastic. if i could literally bottle this feeling and put it in my back pocket i would be fine for life. you started out this journey at 261 pounds. you were sitting across from me right now at 132. half of your body weight. i know you have struggled to lose weight for a long time. you have tried losing weight with varying degrees of success. why was this time different? i think this time for me i really worked from the inside out. i realized that weight loss happens in the mind and inside first. if you re faithful then with the exercise and diet that part is science. the body will follow. for me i had to grind my body into the ground with exercise and diet without thinking really about what was going on in the inside. because you started from the inside and worked your way out is this something you are confident you can now maintain that you won t suffer a bounceback that so many people suffer once they have lost a lot of weight? absolutely. i think it s something that i have to keep before me at all times. i will struggle with that every day. but because i made the change on the inside, i know that s the rock i can lean back on. let s talk about some of the issues you dealt with in the past because of weight related directly or indirectly. you were diagnosed with help me how to say it. polycystic ovarian syndrome. yes. there was a high likelihood you would not have children. correct. have you been re-evaluated after this? yes. i m happy to say dr. hyzenga gave me a clean bill of health and hopefully with the new body and all my systems back in order my husband and i will hopefully have children. what better benefit could you reap from this effort? i mazing. your husband ben also lost a lot of weight. 113. that s a family effort. it continues because your sister you were the first sisterers to get this far. how much did she lose? off the top of my head, i don t know. i believe it was in the 120s. i think 126, maybe. i think we were really close. this is a new way of life. there are thousands if not hundredses of thousands of people watching now who are struggling wildly with their health and their weight. is there a piece of advice you would offer them this morning? i think the biggest thing is that you just don t look at the whole entire journey all in one bite. it takes baby steps. you didn t get this way overnight. it won t come off overnight. make one good decision a day, an hour, a minute, until you get to your goal. you re an opera singer. you have lost jobs in the past because of weight. do you think it will change? i hope so. i m so ready to play the roles i have always wanted to. carmen, omnaris, ebole. i m ready to take on the women of opera. thank you for making the effort to fly across country this morning. of course. we appreciate it. thank you. up next, don t call me grandma. why more baby boomers are rejecting the classic names when their kids have kids. first, this is today on nbc. i m drinkin dunkin . dunkin iced latte. iced dunkin decaf. estoy tomando café helado. large caramel iced with skim. one shot of hazelnut, iced, cream and sugar. i wouldn t want it any other way. get your iced coffee your way. america runs on dunkin coffee. this morning on midlife today, what s in a name? the word grandma can evoke images of sweet old ladies baking apple pie but a growing number of baby boomeres are looking for fresher titles and celebrities are leading the way. reporter: they re gorgeous, glamorous and they re grandmas. just don t call them that. why should i be happy about being a grandmother? most people don t equate grandmom with sexy. you see more women celebrities shying away from the label. my, you are very accomplished. reporter: so women are coming up with new names as a way to distinguish themselves. and a way to shake the stereotypes associated with good old-fashioned grandmas. they should think of another name for us. something like second mother or mother once removed. experienced motherer. solid gold mother. how about mother, the sequel. reporter: celebrities like goldie hawn who goes by glam-mom. lalo. and nona for priscilla presley. culture tells women it s not sexy to get older. it s harder for women to accept the grandparenting label. grandma gave me a new nickname to call her in front of the navy. oh, yeah? what s that? sis. reporter: whether it s nana, b understa bubby or yaya. barbara corcoran is here and both of these are glam-mas. barbara, you said, oh, that s what s wrong with fwrangrandmot no, i said i m not a grandmother. you re denying it. why? with grandmas we associate sugar, surprise and everything nice. why is there this loaded, i guess, image of what a grandmother is? i guess because of the old image. my idea is an 80-year-old in a house dress cooking every day, never got out of the house a day in her life. that s not who i want to be. who do you go by? someone old. you re not old. trying to parade myself as somebody young so i don t like the word grandma. you have a 6-year-old grandson, a 5-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old as well. yes. how does that work for you in terms of trying to explain the relationship you have? my plan went awry. i had my babies late because i wanted everyone to think i was young. then the grandchildren came and spoiled the image. oh, no! you have a good image. why is there a rejection of the notion of the grandma being sweet but older? i don t think the rejection is sweet. the rejection is the stereotype and not wanting to be associated with that old, infirm, invalid-type person who isn t able to do a lot of thing that is many younger or modern grandmothers are doing. 60 is the new 40. it is. until you run around with your grandchildren up and down stairs and you realize it s not the new 40. aside from that i think there are many roles that grandmothers have. although they may have in the past what the big role they want to have is not appearing to be older than they are and not being slotted into a role of grandma that s not defined by them. what do your grandchildren cool call you? nana. one reason i chose that is i had a wonderful relationship with my grandmother whose name was nana. i wanted that association and that loving connection. also the other grandma was already grandma. so that was taken. that s the thing. do you determine right away, have them call me do you have to establish that with your kids? if i might say what did you say? the key is calling it early. the minute you know the kid is pregnant you say, this is what i m going to be called. claim it. you have a lot of grandmas with second, third families. you don t want anybody snapping up the best label. it s absolutely true. the issue is, again, the role of the grandma is so precious and there are so few roles like that. i don t know. i had a mean grandmother. it s not as precious as it s made up to be. let s talk about the sugary, sweet, spicy grandma. it s about passing on the legacy of the grandma. sharinging sto instories and ha wisdom in a way only someone from another generation can have and can share. it s a love like no other. when people are choosing names they are not necessarily rejecting the role and hopefully they are embracing the role and have it like no other. we ll leave it like that. that s the perfect way to end. all right. for the record, i m not supposed to be here. she s holding firm. barbara corcoran, the glam-ma or not. coming up next, the journalist who was detained in libya for 44 days shares her story with us. first, this is today on nbc. - ( music playing ) - we know technology can make you more connected. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive. sculpted by an unyielding passion for design. and tempered by 125 years of legendary performance. introducing the all-new 2012 cls from mercedes-benz. where the world s greatest automobiles take shape. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. back now with the dramatic story of journalist clare gillis. she was on her first assignment as a journalist in libya when she was captured and held 44 days before she was released a week ago along with some other jourmists. she joins us exclusively. good morning to you. good morning. first, welcome back. second of all, you are a ph.d. in medieval history. yes. you go to libya on your first reporting assignment, your first time in a war zone. what were you doing there? well, you know, you could say the middle east is kind of medieval in some senses. this is a joke we make. what was i doing there? i had been studying history from a distance of 1,000 years for a number of years to write my dissertation. i was really excited to see what looked like pro democracy uprising in the middle east which is a region people have been so used to seeing autocracy and corruption there. to see this historical change happen in front of my eyes it seemed a precious opportunity and one that i was, in fact, in a certain way well trained for. it s the same basic procedure. things happen. you consult all the sources or consult all the people who saw it and put the stories together to figure out what happened and what s the logic of the story people tell themselves. on the day you were captured you went with your fellow most freelance journalists. three others, yes. you were with a contingent a rebel contingent in their vehicle. you went toward brega. what happened? we sent our taxi back to benghazi when we got to the first or second checkpoint. then we rode with different rebel cars. you know, they re on the highway preparing the counter offensive, preparing to attack or just having tea, having some breakfast. we spoke to them and rode with them for a while. then we got out of the car again and we were given the information that gadhafi s ground troops were 300 meters up the road. we just looked at each other and thought, no way. they re not. we don t trust the information. the fact is they have such long range missiles that they have been clearing out rebels to advance on the ground. the rebels you rode with left you. they left, yes. you were running because you knew at one point they were coming. we heard shooting coming from behind. we saw the rebel cars, you know, book out of there and then we saw more trucks behind them shooting. that s when we ran into the desert to take cover in the very sparse trees ahead. one of your group, anton hemeril. you saw him shot. yes. we heard him call out help. we knew he d been hit. jim called out, are you okay ? he said, no . you knew how serious it was. it was the way people talk about it. it was like it was in a movie and i was watching the movie happen. i heard anton, you know, that he was hurt. there was still shooting all around us. the bullets were flying over our heads. we were flying flat in the sand. when the truck pulled up jim stopped and said stop, press, press. they stopped shooting but started hitting us, dragging us into the car. i looked down at anton as i got in the car and i just saw him with a very severe wound and a lot of blood. i just i have no words for that moment. he was left behind for 44 days. yes. you were held in captivity. yes. at times you had a tv, at times you had a computer. yes. i know your greatest fear was being assaulted sexually. you were not. my greatest fear was that for the first, about eight hours. while we were being held just with soldiers guarding us i figured that was the danger zone for something like that to happen. once we were transferred to a military facility and put in cells, i wasn t so worried about that anymore. we re glad you re safe and we re glad you got to have the burger. thank you very much. good morning. it s 8:55 on this wednesday, may 25th, 2011. we re following breaking news right now. a woman shot and another person injured. when a shooter opened fire during a carjacking at the largo town center metro station. up above from chopper 4 we can see police activity on the top floor of the parking lot. we don t know the conditions we are not looking at the parking lot but the first baptist church. police are looking for an orange camaro at this time. we have a crew on the scene and will have more information. no rail interruption at this time. tonight at 5:00, an award-winning chef tells us how she lost 20 pounds despite being around delicious food every day. good morning, sunnyand in the 70s. tomorrow might get a shower, and a passing afternoon storm friday and saturday. and then memorial day, partly cloudy and in the 80s. and then we re back with more of nbc nightly news on a wednesday morning, the 25th day of may 2011. it is the sensational day in new york city after several days of kind of iffy weather. nice people gathered on the plaza this morning. we thank them for stopping by. lots going on in new york city this morning. as a matter of fact, i think it is the beginning of fleet week here in new york. absolutely. you re looking at some of the ships making their way into new york harbor. members of the armed forces like the people aboard that aircraft carrier are going to be headed in. maybe that s not an aircraft carrier. i think it is. looks like something else. anyway. there s a frigate. we welcome the members of the u.s. military to new york city as we always do this time of year. i love this time of year. nice to see them around town dressed in uniform. give them a warm hello. i m matt lauer on the plaza along with natalie morales and al roker. al s back from joplin, missouri, where you witnessed the devastating tornado. i have never seen anything like it, matt, especially from the air. incredible and this being one of the deadliest tornado seasons we have seen in a generation. this twister we are going to show you is near cole, oklahoma. it was brutal. a violent storm causing widespread damage on tuesday. more than a dozen people died. hundreds of families homeless from oklahoma to arkansas. we ll go live to oklahoma in a few minutes to look at what s ahead as far as the severe weather. in fact the national weather service expanding the high risk area for parts of the ohio river valley. it continues. all right. also coming up, it s wednesday so our money 911 panel is here to answer your financial questions. everything from maintaining your credit rating to whether you should rent or buy when you retire. our experts have advice for money emergencies. on the health front it s critical for women to have the latest medical information before going for your annual gynecology change-up. we have new developments and new findings in the medical research and what questions you should be asking your doctor. important. ann is standing by with the headlines of the morning. hi, ann. good morning once again, everybody. in the nuews, devastating weathr has claimed at least 13 lives in oklahoma, kansas and arkansas overnight. this as residents of joplin, missouri, pick up the pieces after more than 120 were killed this week. mike seidel has more on the story. good morning. reporter: ann, good morning. another deadly day yesterday. this outbreak produced at least 36 twisters. that s the preliminary count. at least eight people died in oklahoma. the tragedy unfolded live on television. a series of tornadoes roared through oklahoma city on tuesday. this was the scene in grady county as a large tornado chewed up the landscape. kfor, news channel 4 was on air covering the fast-moving events. i m 15 miles west of el reno. oh, my gosh. it s bigger than before. reporter: one of the meteorologists caught in a storm driving to safety as power poles danced in the air around him. oh, my gosh. it s a half mile wide. another killer tornado. it went across highway 81. it almost got us. it intensified right on top of us. amazing. reporter: from the air chopper footage captured the devastation as the scene played out. look at this tornado. this is unbelievable. just unbelievable. look at it tearing up the ground. look at the debris. that s a roof. it s taking roofs. reporter: in the aftermath the grim reality was striking. in shawnee, another tornado tears by nearby. in piedmont, a mother and her children took refuge in a bathtub and were buried when the storm hit in the debris. the mother and two of her children badly injured while searchers look for a third child still missing after being pulled from her mother s arms. this morning there are many facing the daunting task of rebuilding. i came around the corner, saw that my house is gone and my cars. everything was just a loss. thank you for the warning. you saved our lives. reporter: back here in piedmont this morning the streets have been levelled like in joplin. these were brick ranch houses. this is probably at least ef-3 if not ef-4 damage. so far we have had 53 killer twisters, ann, this season. in a year we normally see 24. another sad and deadly statistic. there s more severe weather on tap today. it tells us again why the warnings are so important. thanks so much. air travellerers in europe may soon breathe a sigh of relief as eruptions are dying down from iceland s volcano and ash clouds are beginning to dissipate. flights will be cancelled in germany where remaining ash clouds are disrupting air traffic at berlin s airport. today in utah elizabeth smart will confront her kidnapper for the first time. she s expected to speak at the sentencing of brian david mitchell who was convicted of holding her captive for nine months beginning in 2002. mitchell faces up to life in prison. president obama is back to discussing weighty global issues on his trip to great britain which may help him forget tuesday when he spoke over the british national anthem while toasting the queen, signed the guest book at westminster abbey with the wrong date of 2008 and was defeated at ping-pong by a pair of teenage schoolboys. police were on high alert in rural england when they received reports of a tiger on the loose. a nearby golf course was evacuated and residents warned to stay indoors as the helicopter was dispatched to track down the animal in the field. that was when police noticed that the supposedly dangerous tiger was actually a large stuffed toy. the chief inspector of the town says the tiger is in police custody where officers have a lot of questions. hmm. it s now six minutes past the hour. let s go to al for six minutes e hour. let s go back outside or maybe inside to al. it killed a stuffed antelope, which was really sad. let s so what is happening. another day of severe weather to talk about appear we have a lot of moisture, warm moisture, coming out of the gulf and the strong upper level jet and combined now we now have a high risk of storms from memphis, tennessee, to paw ducka, kentucky. and southern illinois and parts of indiana as well, and then a high risk from little rock to almost chicago, and then we have got the risk of storms from texas all the way to buffalo. the potential exists for tornadoes. we have tornado watches out for much of illinois into early late this morning. you can see the rotation around the system. rainfall amounts anywhere from two to three inches stretching from wichita to cleveland, and some local areas picking up two to four inches of rain. good morning. temperatures now into the mid-70s. now 74 at reagan national. plenty of sunshine. and as the day progresses, we will have afternoon highs peak in the mid-80s and partly cloudy. a shower tomorrow morning possible, and then hot on thursday, and friday might get afternoon storms and still hot. on saturday, maybe passing afternoon storms. highs in the mid-80s. sunday, memorial day and tuesday, partly cloudy each day and somebody call 911 now today s money 911. answers to your big financial questions from our panel of experts. nbc nightly news financial editor jean chatzky is the author of money 911. david bach is the founder of finishrich.com and the author of debt free for life and sharon epperson is a personal finance correspondent for cnbc and cnbc.com. good to see you. let s get started. we ll go to the phones to say good morning to joan. she s calling from grand rapids, michigan. good morning, joan. caller: good morning. what s your question? caller: i use a credit card consistently for the convenience and i pay off the balance every month. i m considering a new card to take advantage of the travel reward points. i would like to cancel my current one but i hear you say closing an account negatively impacts your credit score. i don t understand why that would be. would you explain it, please? good question. we love, joan, that you listen. let me say that. we like that. here s the deal. 35% of your credit score is based on your utilization which is the percentage of credit you have available to you that you re actually using. when you close a credit card, you shrink the amount of credit that you have available to you. since that s such an important component of your score it can take your score down. the other thing that comes into play is how long you have had the credit card. if you have had it for a long time it s good for your score. getting rid of it is bad for your score. so get the new card first. if it provides you with as much credit as you re losing and you have an annual fee on the card that s okay as long as you don t apply for a big loan like a mortgage or car loan in the next six months to a year. thank you, joan, for the question. caller: thank you. now to skype. this is from john, westminster, maryland. good morning. good morning. how are you? we re great. what s your question? my wife and i are both in our early 50s. we have a 4% fixed mortgage rate and are due to pay off our house in nine years. just so happens that in nine years our youngest will be done with her first four years of college. we have been saving for retirement and i will partly retire in nine years. the question we have is after our house is paid for we plan to move to a warm southern climate. what are some of the financial advantageses and disadvantages of either renting a home or buying a smaller home? that s a good question, john. awesome question. you re doing everything right which i love. you have a fixed rate at 4%. you re going to have a debt free home in nine years when the kid goeses off to college. when your son goes to college don t rush out and buy a retirement home. here s why. so often when people retire they go out, sell their home, move to a new location before they have tested it out. i recommend that you rent in the new retirement community for at least a year, maybe two full seasons. make sure you love the new community and keep your home. you can always rent your home out while you have moved to the new community for a year. the rental income from your current home could pay the cost of your new house. so try out the retirement community first before you buy. then if you re ready, go ahead and buy the home. you will be in great financial shape. don t load up on debt in retirement. if you need a big mortgage for the retirement home that doesn t make sense. the point of enjoying retirement is to be debt free. and you will have a home free and clear so you have lots of options. enjoy the retirement. we have an e-mail from a viewer, simone in alabama. she said, i have a poor credit score and i got just got approved for a master card. i plan to rebuild my credit by using it and paying it t on time each month. is it true? how long will it take before i see improvement in my credit score? this is what jean was talking about. the credit utilization is key. what you want to do so you don t hurt your score is keep it at 30%. if you have a $300 balance, that s something to consider. to improve the score, keep it less than 10%. so that means you only want to charge $30 a month and pay it off at the end of every billing cycle. realize sometimes they check in the middle of the cycle. in terms of whether you want to have a card, if that helps you it depends how many you have, how long you have had them, whether you pay bills on time. all the things we talk about are critical. now to the phones. this is natalie from kerry, north carolina. good morning, natalie. what s your question? hi, good morning. i recently checked my credit report and there were some accounts that were charged off and noted as bad debt and then some were noted as paid. i wonder if these accounts are going to stay on my report forever and continue to affect my credit score and how can i get it cleaned up to better my report? all right, natalie, jean has the answer for you. stay on your report for about seven years. they will not come off. anybody who says they can repair your credit or get them off is lying to you. but they will start to pale in comparison to the newer things on your report. keep your nose clean and two years from now you ll be fine. all right, jean chatzky, david bach and sharon epperson, thank you very much. david will be available to answer more money questions in a live web chat starting at 9:30 eastern at nightly.msnbc.com. che today.com. coming up, what you need to know before you go to the doctor. later on, what was it like inside the studio for oprah s final show? we have details coming up after these messages. free flight. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but. [ man ] there s never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn t it? but that won t happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn t traveling hard enough? ow. [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what s in your wallet? uh, it s okay. i ve played a pilot before. get an extra ten percent off mattresses already half off. and instant savings up to three hundred fifty dollars on select mattresses. head to sears to talk with our mattress experts, or shop our largest selection online. hurry. it s all on now! sears. and a heaping handful of real fruit. when has good for you made you feel this good? new mcdonald s fruit & maple oatmeal. freshly made for you. that s what we re made of. [ male announcer ] discover the new taste of eggo thick and fluffy waffles. whoa! a deliciously different way to waffle. how d you make these, dad? secret recipe. really. [ male announcer ] new eggo thick and fluffy waffles. but when i take four pork chops and sprinkle on a packet of hidden valley ranch, i get something that s anything but traditional. ranch pork chops. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up. and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda® you ll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. that s how splenda® is sweet.and more. this morning on be well, be healthy, new findings for women. one of the most important doctor visits for a woman is her annual trip to the gynecologist. going armed with questions and information on up to the minute findings can only make it more productive. dr. raj is a today contributor and editor for health magazine. why is it so important to schedule that visit? for many women this is their only point of contact with a health care provider. many women only see a gynecologist. this is a great opportunity to talk about any medical issues but you will get the breast exam. breast cancer is the number one cancer killer of women. the annual pap. these things are important for preventing cancer and other diseases. you say going armed with knowledge is very important now. what kind of questions should you ask? what should you be prepared to ask? make sure you have taken note of changeses in your cycle, in your breasts,s how they are feeling. your doctor sees hundreds, if not thousands of patients. there is only one of you. you have a better idea of what s going on. you can t expect your doctor to necessarily remember what you were like six months ago, but you can judge a change. making sure you know the changes is important and being up to date. there are a lot of options out there. and write down your questions so you don t get intimidated or forget. you realize your doctor doesn t have much time. you re in the drafty paper gown. it s easy to forget everything. it s an uncomfortable situation. write it down. you will remember all your questions. how many timeses have you gone to the doctor and you get home and say, oh, wait, i forgot to  ask. let s get to the findings. you say there is a new finding when it comes to women who suffer with a very heavy menstrual cycle. this is called menoragia. this can make you feel fatigued, tired. there are options. we used to say, try the birth control pill, hormones or surgery. now there is a new prescription drug called tranexamic acid which helps your blood to clot more. it can help people. there are side effects but it is an option to discuss. that s a good one. the next has to do with hormone replacement therapy. s there is new research which says for some women it may be good. who are those women? it s been a confusing issue. controversial. first we thought hormone replacement therapy was great for heart disease. then we thought it might produce strokes or cancers. now we find for certain women estrogen hormones only may help prevent breast cancer, help with menopause symptoms and not have additional risk. we are talking about a specific group of women. these are women in their 50s who already had a hysterectomy. if you fall into that category you may want to discuss hormone replacement for menopause. okay. the third finding has to do with fibroids. first explain what they are. fibroids are benign growths that grow out of the lining of the uterus. they can be from the size of a pea to a grapefruit. they can become large. they are very common. three-quarters of women will have them at some point in life. genetic? it can be. if you have a family history you are more prone. african-american women tend to get them more. they can cause no symptoms at all but they could cause pain or bleeding. traditionally the treatment was surgery. either surgically remove the fibroid or the uterus. hysterectomy. but there are options that don t involve surgery. one is uterine artery em bollzation where particles are put in cutting off their blood supply so they slink or there is a focused ultrasound which can heat or kill the cells of the identifibroi fibroid. great options that don t involve cuttings. much morer information on today.com as well. thank you, as always. thank you. from the inside to the outside, the five biggest skin care sins. what they are and how to put a fresh face on your beauty routine. first, these messages. 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[ male announcer ] university of phoenix is proud to sponsor education nation. because we believe an educated world is a better world. have you heard the oprah winfrey show is ending its long run today? we ll take you inside the studio as she says good-bye. and asian goodies on a stick. perfect for your memorial day cookout. food on a stick. nothing wrong with that. after your local news and weather. good morning! [ female announcer ] nutri-grain one good decision. .can lead to another. with real fruit, more of the whole grains your body needs, and a good source of fiber. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. fill an entire community with joy? maxwell house believes so. that s why we ve partnered with rebuilding together to help revitalize communities in need. vote for your community at maxwellhouse.com. and a heaping handful of real fruit. when has good for you made you feel this good? new mcdonald s fruit & maple oatmeal. freshly made for you. that s what we re made of. taking a live look outside. 80 degrees already. good morning. it s 9:26 on this wednesday, may 25th. i am kimberly suiters. a woman was shot and another person injured when police say a shooter opened fire during a carjacking at the largo town center metro station. from chopper 4 we have seen lots of police activity on the top floor of the parking lot. we don t know the conditions of the people injured at that time. we see the ambulance there. police are looking for an orange camaro at this hour. we have a crew on the scene and will bring you more information throughout the morning. there is no interruption in trail service. a chef tells us how he lost 20 pounds despite being surrounded by delicious food good morning. temperatures in the mid-70s with sunshine later today and partly cloudy and into the mid-80s. could get a thundershower in the morning and then hot. sunday, memorial day and again tuesday, hot. afternoon highs upper 80s. along 270, a accident along clarkburg. police are on the scene. another news u you can show off. sorry. that s a scene from m-men first class the latest installment of the popular comic book saga. this one goes back to before they were enemies and traceses the roots of the heroes and villains. the cast will be here to talk about it tomorrow on today. that s exciting. great. coming up in this half hour oprah winfrey saying good-bye, signing off after her talk show. after 25 yearses of tears, cars, trips, laughter and learning. we re going to hear from some of the folks who were inside the final taping. then we ll look at her legacy. you didn t mention the hair styles. lots of them. also this morning your skin and protection from the elements. are you protectsing yourself? we ll tell you the five most common mistakes and how to correct the bad habits according to allure magazine which tasks reporters and dermatologists on the subject for us. okay. very good. plus, later we are looking ahead to the memorial day okay. plus, later, are hot dogs too dull for you? how about dinner on a stick? we will show you how to make food on skewers. inspired. there we go. first dinner on a stick. how about the weather? is it too early to know what the weather is going to be like for memorial day? depending on where you are, it s going to be good. you tried that before and it s not working here. that s all i got. sorry. for the next 48 hours, for today a strong risk, a high risk of strong storms stretching into the mid-ohio river valley. a strong risk working its way throughout the ohio river valley, and then the mississippi river valley into western new york. tomorrow that slight risk moves to the east from the central gulf all the way up into western new york. the heat and sunshine go from texas into the southwest. it s going to be sunny and warm up and down the east coast. that s what s going on around the country and here s what is happening in your neck of the woods. sunshine and a blue sky and temperatures in the mid-70s. 74 at reagan national. upper 70s around the bay now. later today in the mid-80s. it will be partly cloudy, and then tomorrow a thundershower or shower in the morning and cloudy and hot in the afternoon. on friday a passing afternoon storm as well as on saturday, and then sunday and memorial day and tuesday, cloudy. that s your latest weather. al, thank you so much. up next, oprah bids farewell to her daytime talk show. we ll tell you what it was like to be in the studio for the final taping right after this. h. i want someone to bring the make-up counter to me. i want to be the first to discover the latest. and get a little advice from my avon representative whenever i ask. this is beauty that delivers from avon. see how avon can deliver extra income for you. go to avon.com or call 800 for avon to become a representative. every bite of a hebrew national hot dog is the meatiest, juiciest, most delicious bite of 100 percent pure kosher beef anyone can handle. if it were anymore beefy, your mind would literally be blown. ka-blammy. well done, kosher. well done. with no fillers, by-products, artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better than a hot dog hot dog. nicotine cravings make smoking one of the most powerful addictions. try only nicoderm cq has smartcontrol technology. for twenty-four hour craving protection to help you quit for good. try nicoderm cq today. you ve been stuck in the garage while i ve been sneezing from the dust in here, and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my allergy symptoms. it s the brand allergists recommend most. lilly and i are back on the road again, where we belong. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. [ male announcer ] get up to $6 in savings on zyrtec® products at zyrtectv.com. his family knows what to expect. hun, mike s coming let s get crackin . [ male announcer ] but what mike rowe doesn t know is that his parents have armed themselves with unquilted viva® towels. place looks great. male announcer ] mike doesn t know that every concentrated viva roll is made of strong, fiber packed sheets, making it one tough towel. but his mom sure does. wow, for me? you shouldn t have. i insist. [ male announcer ] hey, if viva can handle mike rowe s mess, just think what it can do in your home. grab a roll for yourself and grasp the unquilted difference. for fanses of the oprah winfrey show it s a sad day. the last episode airses today marking the end of a television era. mara schiavocampo is live in chicago with the details. ma are good morning. reporter: good morning, natalie. as you know the final show has been shrouded in secrecy and the big question, who would oprah s final guest be? audience members said there were no guests and no surprise giveaways, just oprah talking to viewers. she called it a love letter to the audience. there was love in the audience, too, with people like tyler perry and maria shriver joining oprah s most devoted fans. though at first they had no idea what to expect, audience members for the final taping of the oprah winfrey show got exactly what they wanted an hour of conversation with their old friend. the final show was all about talking to the audience and reflecting on the past 25 years. it was more than i could have ever hoped for. it was just very warm. just very personal. reporter: the finale couldn t have been more different from the previous two shows where 13,000 gathered for splashy, star-studded extravaganzas at chicago s united center. in the end, oprah opted for an intimate affair. she walked and hugged people. you saw the tears, the emotion. the audience, we all got emotional. she was emotional. then in the very end she got to her office and the dog was waiting for her. she picked him up and hugged him. reporter: a fitting farewell as the daytime diva s connection with her audience is what made the show a hit to begin with. welcome to the very first national oprah winfrey show! [ applause ] reporter: since its debut in 1986 oprah has given a generation of women friendship, comfort and guidance. our warrior of the year! oprah winfrey came along and suddenly there was a warmth, intimacy and emotion to day time television that hadn t been there before. reporter: oprah shared her o struggles with her weight. this is what 67 pounds of fat looks like. i can t lift it. reporter: and personal family secr she got celebrities to let loose creating iconic tv moments all along the way. you get a new car! you get a new car! reporter: with a net worth of $2 billion oprah is one of the richest and most influential media moguls in the world, expanding her reach beyond television. her book picks become best sellers. her political pick became president. there will never be another oprah winfrey. part of who she is she s different and unlike anyone who has gone before her and like anyone who will come after her. reporter: in the moments before oprah s last show began taping tuesday, crews put up a sign for the newly designated oprah winfrey way. one woman leaving her mark on a city and countless people around the world. now, audience members say oprah did get teary as she left and they were crying, too. natalie, it looks like even the city of chicago is crying on oprah s last day here. oh, appropriately enough. i know what i will be doing this afternoon. we ll all tune in to watch oprah say farewell. mara schiavocampo, go get dry. thanks. up next, the five biggest skin care sinses and how to correct them. first, these messages. [ female announcer ] think you need a harsh chemical peel for smooth skin? with olay challenge that and give drastic measures a rest. regenerist night elixir gently resurfaces for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. we know you did it. it s obvious. announcer: sheer blonde go blonder, shampoo, conditioner and new lightening spray is the only line that gives you the control to gradually lighten for a sun-kissed blonde. where is the sun? sheer blonde go blonder. from john frieda. [ male announcer ] discover the new taste of eggo thick and fluffy waffles. whoa! a deliciously different way to waffle. how d you make these, dad? secret recipe. really. [ male announcer ] new eggo thick and fluffy waffles. but when i take four pork chops and sprinkle on a packet of hidden valley ranch, i get something that s anything but traditional. ranch pork chops. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up. mosquitoes or mosquito spray? huh. 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[ female announcer ] lunchables turkey and cheddar cracker combos, now with fruit because a great lunch inspires great ideas. can i borrow your orange? give me a big smile. it doesn t get better than this no hoops to jump through to get it? even better. not a big fan of hoops. that s why i have the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. we get 1% cash back on every purchase. there s no limit to the amount of cash back i can earn. and the rewards yes. won t expire. bankamericard cash rewards. 1% cash back. no hoops to jump through. nice and simple. just the way i like it. [ male announcer ] the refreshingly simple bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. this morning on today s beauty the five biggest skin sinses, but there is good news. you can correct mistakes and your skin will bounce back looking better and younger than ever a cording to allure s latest issue. linda is the editor in chief. you can bounce back and be better than ever? i would not lie to you. you are using dermatologists and reporters. we looked at studies and dermatologists. they say the most insidious skin problems are ones you don t pay attention to, you make by mistake. we identify the ones you can fix. your skin bounces back. we re glad you did the research. let s look at the five thingses on the list. number one on the list is when you get a breakout, don t overwash. don t blast it. right. the first instinct is to say, get rid of this thing. then you re left with flaky skin. go gentler. as your skin is older you have less oil so you don t have to deal with the oil. use milder products and moisturizers. one of the fist things is a cleanser with salycilic acid and moisturizer in it. we love aveeno clear complexion. it has soy, too, so it s gentle. apply the spot treatments but when you were a teenager you may have used not you because you have perfect skin but 10% ben zoil peroxide lotion. now only 2.5 and it does the job without blasting it away. this on the spot treatment is a good one. doctorses love it because it s mild. then apply moisturizer which you think is heresay but if you have one with anti-redness ingredients it helps. cera-v is $14. it s fantastic and reduces redness and takes care of skin at night. very useful. adult acne is a problem. number two is not using the right products at the right time. what do you mean? there are so many products out now. they are confusing and you don t know when to use what. use antioxidants in the morn when they can product against environmental hazards like pollution and son. at night use rhett knopeels and retinolss, things that can go to work as your skin is resting. this is one doctors love so much. put it on before sunscreen and it protects your skin more. so do that in the daytime. at night, you can use a retinol product like roc protection skin cream. that takes care of all of the things you want to repair and anti-aging. you don t have makeup or sunscreen to get in the way of them working. you mentioned sunscreen a few times. very important. but that s as mistake that we don t use it everywhere we need to. everyone knows they should use sunscreen but they misapply it. doctors are finding a lot of skin cancer on the hairline and ears. women pull their hair back and don t protect it and there s the problem. the idea is to forget your vanity. make sure you apply it all over and to your chest and hands as well. the one we love now is shiseido urban environment with spf 35 with uva screens which is important. those are the ones that cause damage and the aging and skin cancer. this is related to the next point which is about rhett to s tolls retinols. it s confusing. they are the proven anti-aging ingredient according to dermatologists. they fight wrinkles build collagen, get rid of spots, even help acne. so there are all these great things in one perfect package. if you get an over-the-counter one at the drugstore, the department store it s much milder than one you will get from a prescription. still, they can cause irritation, so be sure to use it correctly on dry skin and use a pea-size amount. don t layer it all over. less is better. then let it dry and then apply moisturizer afterwards. use it every other day so your skin isn t red and irritated. quickly on the last one. this is mistake number five. always buying the next big thing. right. that s coming from me who edits a magazine which writes about new products, but it s true. we hop from product to product and don t give things to work. take it easy. be patient. use ingredients that are proven. all right. linda wells, looking especially beautiful this morning. the june issue is on newsstands now. up next, a new way to grill up fish, meat and vegetables. we ll share some easy recipes. first, this is today on nbc. at wendy s we grill fresh beef only from north america cause we believe that s the way you make hot and juicy hamburgers. the other guys use frozen beef and some of it comes from . whonoswhere. you won t find any frozen beef at wendy s. so try our bacon mushroom melt with applewood smoked bacon and a cheesy mushroom sauce. you know a hot and juicy hamburger when you taste it. you know when it s real this morning in today s kitchen a festive menu on a stick, step by step. just in time for memorial day a cookout, easy recipes for meat, fish and vegetable skewers. we have the executive chef of coy restaurant in new york city. nick, good to see you. pleasure to see you. skewers are easy, no fuss, no muss. they cook quickly? real quick depending on what size the skewers are. we re starting with tuna? this is sushi grade tuna starting with skewers soaked in water so they don t burn on the grill. how long do you soak them? half an hour or so. cut three-inch pieces of sushi-grade tuna. you re going to marinate it? yes, in a citrus soy. obviously you don t want to marinate it too long or the citrus breaks down the proteins. and starts to quasi cook it? yes. the acids start to cook it. how long should it stay in? ten minutes or so. start with soy sauce, orange juice and lime juice. this is lime zest. okay. orange zest. garlic puree, puree of ginger, minced scallions and chopped cilantro. fragrant. and summary, nice and light. how hard is it skewering? sometimes when i try to do it, the meat doesn t get in there right. it s a barbecue, family style. it doesn t have to be perfect. go ahead and skewer those if you want. okay. here we have our finished, cooked tuna. we re going to plate it up with a little bit of spinach and water it is melon salad. how long do they cook on each side? i like my tuna rare. maybe a minute or two. not long. plate it up with salad. what kind? baby spinach and watermelon with sesame seed. this is a soy dipping sauce. soy and sugar brought to a boil. if you like vegetables? barbecue is a meat dominated season but we have a vegetarian option. we have japanese eggplant skewered up. this is a sweet miso glaze. sugar, japanese rice wine and miso. nice. so we ll go ahead and grill one side, flip it over and brush a little bit on top. what kind of salad is this? just a basic salad with mezuna, baby arugala if you can t find the mezuna. strawberries, black sesame seeds. are those hard to find? strawberries? no, the seeds. you can use regular sesame seeds. fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil. salt. and pepper. what do you use for the dressing? just the lemon juice and that s it? simple. nice. that smells amazing and we are hungry. going to plate those up. wow. just in time. want to get back here. these are the finished product back here. these are the tuna skewers. these are beef skewers. what s for dessert? obviously dessert? banana chocolate spring roll. pick it up, eat it with your hands. thank you so much. well done. much more coming up including kathie lee and hoda talking to lucy liu. after your local news. great start to this morning here in the nation s capital. good morning, everybody. 9:56 is our time. it s wednesday, may 25th, 2011. we re following breaking news. a woman shot and another person injured when police say somebody opened fire during a carjacking at the largo metro station. we can see police activity from the top floor of the parking lot. we do not know the conditions of the people injured at this time. police are looking for an orange camaro. there is no disruption to rail service we understand. and let s take a look at the forecast. tom? beautiful morning under way. right now sunshine and into the 70s, and later today in the mid to upper 80s and partly cloudy. small chance of a morning shower or afternoon shower tomorrow. and then friday, partly cloudy and hot and highs in the 80s. and on tuesday, partly cloudy each day. now, jerry, how is the late-morning traffic? trying to wrap it up. still sluggish. and better than normal. heavy traffic to and across the american legion bridge, so looking good. and just after the pentagon, two and across the 14th street bridge, no worse than usual. 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[ male announcer ] mach tower. heart racing. jaw dropping. coming soon to busch gardens williamsburg. from nbc news, this is today, with kathie lee give today and hoda kotbe. live from studio 1a. hello and welcome to winesday wednesday. it s may 5 and finally a truly beautiful day. you and i are going to be indoors all day long. we have got a marathon day today. what is more exciting than our day is the fact that today is our big day. we have been talking about our own personal voice contest. are they going to sue us? we have made the studio in our own studio. you have no idea what a small budget we have. this is huge. it is the real deal. we are going to have a performance on that stage. and our first three contestants are here. they are hidden away. i can t wait. last night it was a fun night to watch. we had the little girl on with us. she did very well. she was kicking it. let s watch. so the duo won that little round. the guy who entertainment weekly was not kind to them. they love his singing but they called him what s his name? devin. they called him that because that is his name. they called him chicken little. he is adorable and has got a lot of talent. and they picked the girl with the hat, not the girl with the hat. you think they picked well? i do. and i can t wait to see what happens now. i don t care any more. it s all about us. we re in control. matt went into her dressing room we should do this. she was on leno to talk about her new life that is coming. are we going roll it? i was going to tell them. he did a whole thing about her bodily functions. meredith looked cute. in one word describe your heart on the show. matt. jerk. jerk? all kidding aside, there is no one better in the business. ann? stole my job, i guess. kidding. she stole my heart and she will everybody else. and al? spandex. alluding back to the time when they were doing the bobs d bobsled. matt was on the bottom. so meredith was in la to win another award. they wrote for the stuff in haiti. she is having the time of her life. she is staying up late, partying. she knows it is coming down to the wire now. it is. this morning there was a story about etiquette that struck me when i saw it happen. president obama went to london. he was with the queen. there is etiquette and protocol. all i know is that the president raised his glass to the queen and the room went radio silent and they brought music up. watch this. in the words of shakespeare, to this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, to the queen. oh! oh. that was painful. what happened? not yet. not yet. the way it was supposed to go. first of all, let s have i think manners should rule the day. we are all for them. we don t always exercise them. here is the issue. apparently first the anthem was supposed to play, which you heard. and after the anthem he was supposed to toast. the anthem was kind of going, he was sort of toasting and everyone was staring at him and he toasted later. that was painful to watch. at that point if i had been the queen, i would have said thank you so much. i don t know. don t leave him hanging. don t leave the leader of the free world hanging. he has got a lot of his mind. the fact that there is an order to everything and a protocol and a way to do everything. we would have no show if that was true around here. fireworks flew on jimmy fallon right? watch. hoda and kathie lee are downstairs. i co-hosted with them and they said you did as well? i filled in for kathie lee. i had a blast. hoda is such a pro. i have not been proffered that much alcohol since a high school keger. have friends will travel. they are both welcome back here any time. you were busy yesterday weren t you? i was. we left here and i had a big meeting and then i went on to the big book fair yesterday. at the jacob center? yes, goes all this week. my second children s book comes out. this is the second one. same illustrator. i never met the man. he lives in copenhagen. that s michael storings. i tease him all the time about his balls. of course you do. he makes the most beautiful christmas ball ornaments you have ever seen in your life. our conversations, you are screaming they are so funny. we should talk about the doll. this book is about a messy kid, basically. yes. it is about the messiest kid in town. i wrote it a long, long time ago in song form. my daughter said you can t make the main character a girl. everyone will know it s about me. it s such a fun read. guess what? this one is for her. she gets the first one. lots of toots and boogers in it. and the illustrations are fabulous. he is wonderful. there is a fan, her friend celebrated her birthday in style. had something to do with this. we all remembered that. my big one is coming up. that is sweet. that is really cute. we have news this morning that kim kardashian is engaged. is that true? we heard it like everybody else. a boyfriend of six months. plays for the new jersey nets. she was waiting in her he was waiting in her bedroom on bended knee with four words written in red rose pe talls. how many karats? 20.5. that s an ice cube. it s good to be her. we are happy for her. if you stayed up for dancing with the stars and you were pulling for kirstie to win it all, hines ward took the honors. he lights up a room. adorable. kristie lost 38 inches since the first show. she was always one of the best dancers. such great rhythm and grace. i say she is the main winner. i do, too. the person who comes out having lost 38 inches is the winner. i didn t realize she was 60 years old. she looks awesome. i am happy for her. that is inspiration for her. you got take them off. exactly. the real housewives of new yo york. they are going lose weight in their eyelashes that way. lucy lu has plans for your kids this weekend. it involves a panda. and get the blindfolds out. those chairs are going to help us find today s voice. woman: till all the books are read. man: and all the pens are put down. woman: and everything there is to learn is learned. man: till the heroes retire and the monsters return to their dens. woman: and all the plots are wrapped up. man: till that day. boy: by hook or by crook. girl: by book or by nook. woman: i will read. after your dishcloth? bounty extra soft can help. in this lab test bounty extra soft leaves this surface three times cleaner than a dishcloth. super clean. super soft. bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. a body at rest tends to stay at rest. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you ve had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. along with jack black and angelina jolie, kung fu panda 2 has an amazing cast of characters. that includes lucy lu. she is the voice of viper. they are all on a new mission to defeat the peacock villain who is scareyer than you might think. hi, lucy. you are a sweet viper. i am. you love po. she is very supportive. she is not born with advantagev. what did you do to get into the character? they wanted me to have the same natural voice. they didn t want to change it, higher or lower. they didn t want the tones to be different. isn t that the way to make a living. you are beautiful. actually, sometimes i was doing a movie at the time and i came straight from work. but the great thing is they can work around your schedule. so if you have a day off or half a day that you are working, you can work, sort of still get that in there. it is more fun, more energy, more chemistry but you have to go with it. it is good and bad. sit an acting exercise. you see what the other actors are doing. the director will tell you what she is imagining and you have to go with it and just yeah. use your imagination. we didn t hear what happened after. tell us about last night. he was doing some kung fu on the carpet. which was so cute and the kids went absolutely crazy. he did it for us yesterday. that was his famous move. look at him. he is so adorable. he is quite flexible. he is working his inner peace right now. oh my god. this is the one that killed me. it s a movie called man with iron fists. russel crow is in it. it was really great. kung fu panda is a cartoon version of china. they did a lot of research. they dpbegan with detail. if you look at the landscapes they are incredible. they did an incred nl when you watch the movie, you almost want to go out and reach yoir hand out and touch the fur and feathers. a lot of the when there is action there is a lot of stuff flying towards you. it is fun for kids. because they battle this ferocious peacock and all his ugly min ons. i had a friend who brought a 2-year-old yesterday, which is young, but i think he enjoyed it. there were a couple of things that scared him. there was another child who was four and enjoyed it. if you know your kid, i don t think there is really more than anything the adults seem to enjoy it as well. we were surprised at the emotion at the end. we had tears coming down. just sobbing at the end. it st about something important. it has such. thank you. it is so great to see you and have a drink at this hour. and the voice competition is coming up. me even more on my hotel?ow save well, hotels know they can t fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin hotel, for less. my brain didn t even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. smoky eyes look amazing, but creating them? 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[ chanting ] do it! [ all cheering ] [ female announcer ] it s fun to get dirty when it s this easy to get clean. that s because clorox 2 stain fighter & color booster works better than detergent alone at removing the toughest stains. works better than detergent alone call on me, brother, when you need a hand we all need somebody. brawny now comes with a money back guarantee. when you want a paper towel that can do it all, lean on me. when you need something strong brawny never lets you down. we re back with our digital segment called what the what? sarah sifted through your photos that made her say what. here we go. our first photo was sent from arkansas. stores really do sell everything now. that looks a lot easier than pregnancy. our next photo was sent in from wisconsin. meet me at the corner of what? i thought it said huge when i first read it. i literally read that. two gentlemen, mr. butts and mr. dickie. do you think anyone thought about that? no. moving right along, we have got our next one up. boy, they sure are cheap with this one. it is an interesting way of saying open your mouth when you go through that car wash. it was the car wash. biscuits and gravy car wash. but they misspelled biscuit. it s a double what the what. that i don t get but we are happy for them. what else? and finally a photo from dallas, texas. wow, the swiss must really love their fish sticks. crack sticks? just go straight with the name. they are delicious. crack sticks? yay. these are going to be good. how many crack sticks do they sell every day? would you buy a crack stick? i would have skipped a fish stick but a crack stick? i m in. we re beating a dead horse. first, our quest to land on the cover of weekly entertainment. entertainment weekly. that s right. and today s voice competition begins after your local news. 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[ cackling ] he s my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today. we re back on this winesday wednesday. sarah is going help us out as we listen to three singers in the first of three blind auditions. our backs are going to face the singers and in our case the first one to turn around after he hit our buzzer will we will pick that person. sarah what else? there are going to be three weeks of three contestants. by the end you need a team of three people. so we have to be really sure because we don t know what is coming the next two weeks. it is a gamble. turn your chairs around. we have to do it manually. this is today show fourth hour style. are you ready? let s bring out contestant number one. you look beautiful. thank you. i m not cheating. you give me fever in the morning fever all through the night fever i m on fire fever all through the night [ applause ] i am from pennsylvania. you are adorable. i actually love your voice a lot. i was trying to get into the groove. it takes a little more than 30 seconds to feel it. i thought you were terrific. why didn t you buzz her? i was like waiting. is it over? i think you might be the first so we don t know what to expect so, you know, gosh, you are adorable. now i wish i had. you just had a concert on the today show. that s not bad. so let s walk them around, ladies. thank you so much. now we re going bring out contestant number two. i m so nervous. okay ladies. be ready. get the hands on the hot button. okay. we could have had it all rolling in the deep you had my heart inside your hand but you played it to the beat you are so for me. three notes out i was like that. i wanted something automatic to happen. i loved it. i loved it right when you started. i knew from the first note. you were adorable. i knew i shouldn t waste a vote. i picked first. she already picked you. don t take that as a rejection. i like to hear longer. where are you from? from new orleans originally but i live in tennessee. you are from new orleans? there is already a connection. there is something happening. great job. thank you so much. we have got our last turn the chairs around. walk them back. i knew there was a new orleans connection. you felt that. turn her button off. contestant number three, let s do this. she has got good energy. i feel it. you think that you love me say you love me if you don t just let me go teacher, there are things that i don t want to learn oh the last one i had made me cry i don t want to learn to hold you touch you think that you re mine there ain t no joy for an uptown boy whose teacher has told him good-bye that is beautiful. a lot of heart. a lot of heart. that s great. you re hot. had we known. hello. i had make-up put on. what s your name? john from mississippi. you were terrific. i really really enjoyed that. i did, too. there was a lot of heart and soul in it. i think i m going to be moved y by i am afraid by what s down the road. it is not a reflection on you. it is a reflection of my nervousness. you just got a minute in front of 2.5 million viewers. my mom is watching, too. we re a big show. we wish you all the best. so nice to see you. thank you so. now we re going have them all come out again. come on out. you guys were amazing. today show concert series right here. i will see you next time. this is hard. i like it. coming up next wednesday we re going to bring you three more voices. next we play who knew right after this. we have a pretty big family, and olive garden s one of the few places we can take them where everyone s happy. try our new four cheese pastachettis. with grilled chicken breasts in a garlic cream sauce. or with grilled sausage. starting at just $9.95. only at olive garden. his family knows what to expect. hun, mike s coming let s get crackin . 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[ female announcer ] yoplait light over 30 delicious flavors at about 100 calories. babe, what are you doing?! it s time to play who knew, our weekly quiz game where no one leaves important handed. kathie lee is across the street quizzing the crowd on fun facts about summer health. those who know get 100 bucks and those who need help get kathie lee s cd. aren t they lucky? david is here, the editor in chief of men s health magazine. very important. how do you think we will do? we ll see. i m not very hopeful but we will see. let s go across. we have three beautiful girls visiting from nashville. they might know which summer fruit can help boost your skin s natural spf? oranges. no, but you know what? you three can have a cat fight over my cd. there you go. which can boost your skin s natural spf? the mighty melon, water melon. it s 92% water and 8% licopine. interesting. i didn t know that. plus it tastes bester than coppertone. ladies from texas and louisiana. true or false. urine will help ease the pain of a jellyfish sting. true. definitely true. it worked for her. so the answer that is mean, it worked for her. the answer is false. she is not much of a health wiz. you see them do it in movies. vinegar is more effective. if you don t like the person, urinate on them. what about sand? no. but vinegar is good at neutralizing the sting and cleaning it out. they are all wearing t-shirts that say take mental health to heart, which we always do. here it is. which common household item can help relieve sunburn? orange juice, milk, bread, our butter. we re going to go with milk. smart for a connecticut boy. take the ladies out. how does milk help? the lactic acid has anti-inflam tory properties. it fights the inflammation? you just apply it? start with a mustache and keep going. visiting from texas, true or false. an spf 60 sunscreen as twice as p protective as an spf of 30? false. good for you. you would think it would be. it couldn t. it takes you from 97% to 98%. you know what is 100% effective? a shady tree. we have time for one more? we don t. okay. kat s going come back across the street. we are on a mission to land on the cover of entertainment weekly. we will see how we did after this. all you pantene 2-in-1 lovers, this is your lucky day. pantene s 2-in-1 s are customized, with 5 new versions. find yours and love it or twice your money back. that s the smart beauty guarantee. 2-in-1 s from pantene. healthy makes it happen. 2-in-1 s from pantene. smoky eyes look amazing, but creating them? that s a whole different story. introducing new almay intense i-color smoky-i kit. first, sweep the smoky eye color across your lid. then add the crease- accentuating shade, and a highlight under your brow. only from almay. only for me. no, no, i just paid my car insurance bill ouch. [ man whistles ] sounds like somebody paid too much. excuse me? i use progressive s name your price tool. they showed me a range of coverages, and i picked the one that worked for me. i saved hundreds when switching. hundreds? who are you? just a man that loves savings. and pie. out there with a better way. now, that s progressive. mach tower. dude, it s like two hundred and. .forty feet high. .right in the middle of oktoberfest. .the seats go, whoooa. .up to the top, then. .the music just stops. and the seats totally start shaking. it s insane. but then all of a sudden. [ group ] aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! [ male announcer ] mach tower. heart racing. jaw dropping. coming soon to busch gardens williamsburg. in this wild and craze yeah job we have we have been affording many opportunities but there is one thing that seems just beyond our reach. the cover of entertainment weekly. they have poked fun at us on saturday night live. so what does it take? we dropped by the offices and managing editor did not know what hit him. take a look. we are no closer to the cover. we heard a rumor that we were going to be on the cover and then low and behold someone else was. we had to go through 20 some pages to get to our article. i think we need to take everything into our own hands and show them some female power. we are the so-called geniuses. we are sensing a lack of zip in the magazine. they had an opportunity. you remember? you had an opportunity. enough about your sex life. put in twhat are the hunger ? a huge book. this is the problem. if we don t know what it is, america doesn t know. i will tell you what is going to be the biggest seller. hoda s paper back coming out on july 19. kathie lee and hoda are walking in there you go. there are your cocktails. sasha is a surprise. what s happening in music week? i think i should come up with a 16 cd compilation of all my work. everyone has a story, a beginning, a middle and end and hoda? go on. i can t wait. the music editor is right here. he could cover you any time you want. no fuzz in his belly button. what is the that s that s cute. yeah. and he is a safe swimmer. yes, he is. cute. that s important. who do i walk to? can you listen to them? it has been a long time. you know what? you don t hurt my cd. this is the we could save you some trouble. we could. we are here. wait a minute. we could save you a little bit of trouble. there you go. we really love something that week it goes in the center. just answer that question. because you are here. i think that s a wrap. i think it s pretty much a wrap. waste of time? i don t think we changed anybody s minds. i need a drink. okay. so they sent over the new the real cover. which we are featured in, but not on the cover. let s see who made the cover. i think it s going to be jason bateman. why? i have no idea. here is the magazine. thank you. thank you. we are in here somewhere. page 8020 forget it. i don t think we are even in here. that was a waste of time. next up your memorial day party. but first it s today on nbc. at wendy s we grill fresh beef only from north america cause we believe that s the way you make hot and juicy hamburgers. the other guys use frozen beef and some of it comes from . whonoswhere. you won t find any frozen beef at wendy s. so try our bacon mushroom melt with applewood smoked bacon and a cheesy mushroom sauce. you know a hot and juicy hamburger when you taste it. you know when it s real and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. call now and you ll get this special bonus: $100 back. but hurry. this offer ends soon. fios is a 100% fiber optic network that delivers the best channel lineup, superior picture quality, and more hd, plus the fastest internet in the u.s., with no term contract required. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. plus $100 back. don t wait. this incredible offer ends soon. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that s 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. get the network that delivers more. get fios. a network ahead. if you have not planned your memorial day party, don t panic. all you have to do is get the goods. you are so cute. sweating out of every part i could possibly sweat on. everything on the grill? hamburgers and hot dogs are great but let s grill things we wouldn t normally think of. and since it is healthy week here. i made them a little naughty because i put bacon on them. these are peaches. great for dessert. you put a little dallop of cheese, mint, and honey and it is a great dessert. grilling before is a great way to prep things before guests arrive. because that leaves more time for the fun stuff. this is genius. instead of lemons and limes, i like fresh herbs. lemon aid with vodka. my guests do. i give you a little trial so you can see what you want to commit to for the night. it s like a first date. that s the grapefruit jalepeno. can you hand me a a grapefruit one? i m sorry. oh. i all right want to get you ladies a little buzz. i actually like the other one better. that is delicious. hoda woman, there you go. and it s healthy because it has grapefruit in it. thank you. if you want drink umbrellas. steve martin never drinks without an umbrella. he s a jerk. remember? okay. so the recovery portion. we will get to the recovery. first the fun. you can still have fun at a dinner party. it s not a board meeting. laughing hostess, laughing guests. we set a gorgeous table and then we put out little funny gifts. great ice breakers if your guests don t know each other. oh no. what is funnier than this. maybe jerry wearing them. if you want to that is ridiculous. and that is your drink it is drink glasses. it is drink goggles? one in the drink and that goes in your mouth. is it happening? what is better than that? how is it? those are great. my new favorite thing. or you give a guest this. nine seconds. we re going to roll. hangover kits.