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American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg won the first gold medal of the Sochi Games Saturday, beating out Canadian favorites Maxine Parrot and Mark Morris in the Olympics’ premiere slopestyle competition.

After Shaun White pulled out of the event a few days ago, the hopes to medal in this event were grim; not to mention the fact that many of the participants had stated the danger of the treacherous course.  Earlier in the day, a female competitor had landed head first in the snow.  Kotsenburg prevailed in what proved to be a difficult fight.

Maxine Parrot landed in fifth, while Mark McMorris, who competed with a broken rib, won bronze.  Norway’s Staale Sandbech, the top scorer of the competition in qualifiers, took silver.  Kostenburg was the only American to advance to the final round of the competition after teammates Charles Guldemond and Ryan Strassel were bumped out in semi-finals earlier in the day.

The 20-year-old Utah native had to fight for his place in the medal round.  He was not among the top eight snowboarders to automatically advance to finals from Thursday’s qualifying competition.  But he steadily improved in the second round, living up to his nickname, “second-run Sage.”

Still, Kostenburg appeared surprised at the positive turn of events.  “Whoa how random is this I made finals at the Olympics!!!” he tweeted.

He was the first man up at the finals and immediately became the one to beat.  The uber laid-back snowboarder tamed the treacherous course that chased away teammate Shaun White earlier in the week and sent several other contenders to the medical tent.

While the course that features a large nesting doll, tricky rails and three jumps took out its fair share of riders, Kotsenburg kept his cool.  His blonde hair flapping out from under his helmet as he soared through the sun-splashed Caucasus Mountains, Kotsenburg looked as if he were cruising down the hill with friends.  Still, there was drama as he waited out the rest of the 12-man field.  He stood off to the side after his second run, a not quite sharp 83.25, and clapped behind a nervous smile as the rest of the field aimed for his score.

McMorris, slowed by his broken rib, couldn’t quite get there. A gold medal favorite before his injury at X Games last month, McMorris needed to scramble to get through the semifinals and his trip down the hill in the finals was solid but not spectacular.  Sandbech, who went next to last, was nearly flawless.  He was so pumped after his second run he belly-flopped onto the ground.  His 91.75 wasn’t quite good enough, leaving only Parrot in Kotsenburg’s way of gold.

Parrot dominated qualifying, posting the best score of the week.  He put together a flawless first run only to sit on the landing of his final jump. He wobbled twice on his second run.  He dropped his head when his 87.25 popped up on the scoreboard while Kotsenburg raised his arms in triumph.

Go Team USA!

The same company that investigated alleged Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis for his security clearance also did a 2011 follow-up investigation of Edward Snowden, the former NSA systems analyst who leaked documents about the National Security Agency.

The company, USIS, said in a statement Thursday it conducted Alexis’ background check in 2007 for the Office of Personnel Management but that it couldn’t elaborate.

“Today we were informed that in 2007, USIS conducted a background check of Aaron Alexis for [the Office of Personnel Management],” spokesman Ray Howell said. “We are contractually prohibited from retaining case information gathered as part of the background checks we conduct for OPM and therefore are unable to comment further on the nature or scope of this or any other background check.”

USIS is under a federal investigation into possible criminal violations involving its oversight of background checks, the AP reported in July. USIS dominates the background check industry, taking in $195 million in government payments last year and more than $215 million this year.

Alexis had worked for a Florida-based IT consulting firm called The Experts. He had been refreshing Pentagon computer systems, holding a military security clearance that would have expired five years from now.

Alexis’ employer said it had had no personnel problems with him and two separate background checks revealed only a traffic violation. But there were trouble signs below the surface. Public records databases used in those kinds of searches can be spotty repositories of arrest records, court dockets and other information.

The Experts — and possibly the government — missed how, in September 2010, Alexis’ neighbor called police in Fort Worth, Texas, after she said she was nearly struck by a bullet shot from his downstairs apartment. When police confronted Alexis about the shooting, he said he was cleaning his gun when it accidentally discharged. Alexis was arrested on suspicion of discharging a firearm within city limits.

The checks also missed how, six years earlier, Seattle police arrested Alexis for shooting the tires of another man’s vehicle in what he later described as an angry “blackout.” Police said two construction workers reported seeing a man, later identified as Alexis, walk out of the home next to their worksite, pull a gun from his waistband and fire three shots into the rear tires of their car before he walked back home.

No charges were filed in either the Fort Worth or Seattle incidents.

The Experts said it had most recently used a company called First Advantage of Alpharetta, Ga., to search Alexis’ past for criminal involvement. A First Advantage spokeswoman said Thursday The Experts asked only for a typical employment background check that only returns information on convictions, not merely arrests.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced Wednesday that he wants three rapid reviews of security clearance procedures completed by Oct. 1, including a review of Alexis’ service record to determine whether his conduct problems while in the Navy should have threatened his ability to keep his clearance.

The announcement came after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a review of the physical security and access procedures at all U.S. defense facilities worldwide as well as a study of the programs used for granting and renewing the security clearances for the military, civilian employees and contractors.

“Obviously, there were a lot of red flags” about Alexis, Hagel told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday. “Why they didn’t get picked, why they didn’t get incorporated into the clearance process, what he was doing, those are all legitimate questions that we’re going to be dealing with.”

Hagel, facing mounting questions from lawmakers and the public over the military’s security procedures, said he has ordered two Pentagon reviews. One will examine the physical security and access procedures at DoD facilities around the world. The other will examine the procedures for granting and renewing security clearances, including to contractors. Hagel said an independent panel will also look at those issues, while the Navy conducts a review of its own.

Military leaders are under pressure to account for how Alexis was able to both keep his security clearance — despite a history of disturbing and violent behavior — and walk into the military facility with a shotgun.

As the final matches were rounding up in London, some rather unflattering comments were made about this year’s new female singles champ.  The outrage has left BBC facing mounting pressure to take action against one its most high-profile sports presenters for criticizing the appearance of France’s Marion Bartoli.

John Inverdale incensed radio listeners before Bartoli beat German Sabine Lisicki when he asked if people thought her father told her when little that she was never going to be “a looker” like Maria Sharapova so would have to fight harder for success.  The last thing any little girl would want to hear from their father.  Eventually, he did apologize for the comments after a storm of protests on Twitter, admitting the remark was “insensitive”.

Inverdale said on Sunday he had written to apologize to Bartoli and told listeners ahead of Sunday’ men’s final that he used “a clumsy phrase” about Bartoli in trying to make a point that not all players need to be “6 ft fall Amazonian athletes”.  As a female, I can think of any instance that I would take his comment as such.  It is simply a blatant insult.  And the public seems to feel the same.

“This is appalling.  Tennis is one of the worst offenders in sport in terms of the focus on women athletes’ looks and the BBC needs to take action,” Sue Tibbals, chief executive of the Women’s Sports and Fitness Foundation, told Reuters.  “I thought Bartoli was an absolute inspiration, so spirited and gutsy, and she does not deserve these outrageous remarks.  This is not a one-off event from this presenter.”

A BBC spokesman, however, said the corporation had apologized and so had Inverdale and that there were no plans for further action to be taken.

Bartoli, 28, won the admiration of Centre Court on Saturday when she won her first grand slam title in a straight-sets victory over 23-year-old Lisicki that earned her 1.6 million pounds ($2.4 million) in prize money.  The Frenchwoman, celebrating her success in becoming the first Frenchwoman in seven years to win the coveted Wimbledon women’s title, shrugged off Inverdale’s comments.

“It doesn’t matter, honestly.  I am not blonde, yes.  That is a fact,” Bartoli said in a press briefing late on Saturday.  “Have I dreamt about having a model contract?  No.  I’m sorry.  But have I dreamed about winning Wimbledon? Absolutely, yes.”  Bravo on her maturity and ability to let the negative comments roll off with such ease.  Twitter users praised Bartoli’s dignity as they called on the BBC to act against Inverdale.  Many of the Tweets included the hashtag “Everyday Sexism”, which has gathered a large following as people tweet examples of causal sexism in the workplace and public life.

“Isn’t it time the BBC woke up to the sexism at the heart of its sport broadcasting?” tweeted feminist blogger Leopard.

“#BBC apology over sexism comments not good enough. suspend #Inverdale & hold enquiry. Sexism is on par with racism,” tweeted yvonneridley.

The incident came after the BBC has this year faced one of the biggest crises in its 90-year history.  A sex scandal involving the late TV presenter Jimmy Savile threw the broadcaster into turmoil and raised questions about the organization’s ethics, leading to the appointment of a new head, Tony Hall.  Hopefully Mr. Hall is a pro at damage control if the BBC continues to head in the direction that it is now.

Winter is dark, cold, and expensive, at least where heating a home is concerned.  The cost of heating oil climbs each winter and electricity is not cheap.

It’s hard to know what changes can be made to help lower your bills, but help is a just a phone call away.  The local electric company is happy to assess your needs, family lifestyle and patterns of energy usage.  They will go through your home to check for areas to be improved.  They will survey your appliances, inspect the home’s structure, and measure your insulation.  Once done they will make suggestions and help implement needed changes for more efficient energy consumption.  Often times the suggestions will come with rebate incentives that will help reduce your bill.

Whether you are in a new house or an older one, drafty windows, doors and attics will allow air to sneak out and along with it heat.  It is important to seal up any air leaks to keep heat inside.  Start by checking the weather stripping around your windows and doors; replace if it appears worn.  Next, check for any leaks where hot air can seep out into an unfinished attic space.  Cuts made into the drywall to install lighting fixtures and ceiling fans create easy escape routes for air too.  Seal the openings using a silicon or latex caulk.  By sealing air leaks, you can realize about 30 percent in energy savings.

It is very tempting to set your thermostat for a comfortable 75 degrees during the winter months, but it is a sure-fire way to boost your energy expenses.

The lower the setting, the more savings you will realize.  The commonly agreed upon lowest comfortable setting is sixty-eight degrees.  If you keep it at 68 during the day, your savings can be 6.2%, and for every degree above that, costs will go up.  For example, a room that is 75 can cost 15 percent more.

While 68 may seem chilly, you can always wear a sweater and comfortable socks to stay warm.  Setting the thermostat at 62 overnight will also save on your energy bill.  If you leave for a few days, turn the temperature down to 55, which is the lowest setting without the pipes freezing.

Insulation is perhaps the most important feature to keeping a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. To save money make sure you have the proper level of insulation in both the attic and between the inside walls. Insulation has an R-value measured by the amount of heat allowed to pass through it. The higher the value the less likely heat will escape, resulting in lower energy bills.  Heat rises and easily escapes through an attic if not properly insulated. Heat losses can add close to 30 percent to your energy bill too.

Fireplaces are excellent sources of heat and can warm a room in a matter of minutes.  Snuggling with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book in front of a fire is a relaxing way to spend a cold winter evening too.

Fireplaces do have their drawbacks, though. Similar to air leaks in drywall and unfinished attic spaces, a fireplace damper left open when not in use is a welcomed invitation for heated air to escape and cold air to funnel into your home.  After every use close the damper and more importantly, open it before you decide to enjoy a cozy fire or your home will fill with smoke.

Air vents and radiators can be eyesores in a room; designed to be functional, not pretty.  In an effort to be pretty, furniture or window treatments often hide the air vents.  Pretty screens can cover the radiators to hide the unsightly monsters also, but these methods only serve to obstruct the airflow, making the furnace work much harder.

It is best to accept that they are rather ugly and keep the airflow moving freely throughout the space.  One trick that will help to hide these while not hindering airflow is to paint them the same color as the wall or the flooring so they fade into the background.

High ceilings are wonderful features in a room, but can increase your heating bills as warm air rises, trapping it close to the ceiling.  If you have a ceiling fan, change the direction of the blades.  Instead of it circulating to cool the hot air set it to push the air downward along the walls by reversing the flow of the fan.  Circulating the air back through the room will heat the room more evenly and ease the effort your heater needs to keep the room at a comfortable temperature.

Window treatments are beautiful features in a cozy living room or romantic bedroom, but they can serve a great purpose besides adding color to a space.  Full drapes made of a wool cotton blend when opened will let a natural source of heat, the sun, into the room and warm it up. In the evening, as the sun goes down and temperatures dip, closed curtains help to insulate a room from the cold air seeping through the windows.  Line the window treatments and you will provide more insulation and another layer to keep out the chill in the evening.

It may seem like a great idea to turn on a space heater for a little extra warmth in a small space, but they pose several threats.  First, they are expensive to run regardless of the type.  Electrical ones just run up your bill and kerosene can be costly.  Second, they are dangerous.  All it would take is for someone to knock it over, which could start a fire or cause personal injury.  The perceived savings are not worth the risk of burning down the house.

Area rugs often add color and style while unifying a space.  During the cold winter months, they serve an important function, too. Rugs add another layer of insulation to the floor, trapping the cool air underneath and keeping it from seeping up and cooling the room.  The warmth of the rug will keep your feet toasty too.

With the cost of college continuing to rise and the economy still stagnating, the student debt burden has swollen to a record $1 trillion.

Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb.com and FinAid.org, believes that one of the main culprits behind the student debt crisis is the private student loan sector.

“Students are following their dreams and don’t pay attention to their debt,” Kantrowitz says. “They sign whatever piece of paper is put in front of them, figuring they’ll pay it back when they graduate.”

Unlike federal loans, private loans usually come with variable interest rates that seem low at first glance but can skyrocket by 5 points over the loan’s lifetime. They also offer far fewer options for cash-strapped graduates struggling with payments, such as deferment, lengthy forbearance periods and income-based relief.

And since it’s next to impossible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy, millions of students are left drowning in private debt they have no hopes of ever paying off.

Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put out a call for consumers to share their student loan stories on its message board and get the ball rolling on lending reform.

But for these nine commenters, it may already be too little, too late.

Besides being one of the millions of college graduates (from a for profit school nonetheless) that, at one point, was unemployed and had absolutely no way of paying my loans, here are a few other horror stories many of us can relate to:

Steve Macintyre: $100,000 in debt and out of a job

“I used to work in the entertainment industry but have been unemployed for a few years and I needed to desperately update my skillset if I could hope to find a job in the highly competitive field of games and animation.

Searching for various schools, I kept seeing advertisements for the Art Institute and talked with one of their recruiters and was told wonderful stories about how the school was accredited, how students went on to successful careers, etc.

I told them I wanted to get a degree in Game Art and Design but was told I could but needed to take the Graphic Design course first. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I agreed. I was dismayed at the quality of the classes…(Now) I’m stuck with over $100,000 dollars in debt, which qualifies as theft as I received nothing substantive in return.

I actually had to sign up for other courses outside the school in order to successfully complete assignments! Courses that offered REAL *VIDEO* Instruction at a fraction of the cost ($35 dollars per month as opposed to $2000+ dollars!) and by a company that trains people in the industry.

It’s now 8 months since loans have run out and I couldn’t complete my degree and I’m still looking for work.”

Michael Speck: Passing on a generation of debt

“I have three degrees, including an MA and a JD. When I graduated from law school in ’99 all of the offers – with the exception of those from the upper echelon firms that essentially own you – were for little money, leaving next to nothing for living expenses.

Now I am making a decent living and can pay my loans under the (Income-based repayment) program, but repayment is a distant dream.  As a result, I am unable to assist my son with his education expenses (thereby effectively making the debt trans-generational), or buy a home, start my own practice, etc.

As a macro-economic problem, those of us saddled with this debt are unable to fully participate in the economy.”

Dgoeck: Stuck with a clunker – indefinitely

“I’m not really sure what to do at this point. I am a victim of a for-profit school that definitely seemed in cohorts with Sallie Mae. My original loan was $80,000 but has grown to $135,000 and all I can pay is interest only, which is already $700 a month.

It’s ridiculous how sad this market has become. No one offers consolidation anymore or those that do will pin you at a ridiculous interest rate.

I am definitely in this for life… It looks like I will be stuck living in a low-rate apartment for the rest of my life and drive a 15-year-old car. I’m at least glad I found a really good job in the industry I was hoping for, but these loans are a real burden. Just thinking about them hurts my overall outcome each and every day.”

KDF11: Dogged by debt collectors

“I am a graduate (doctoral) student with a 2005 loan from Bank of America which was passed to American Education Services. AES passed my loan to their subsidiary National Collegiate Trust…

They cited that my (notice to them) was over 60 days late and the loan was in repayment and refused to negotiate. Then, when I called/wrote/emailed NCT to negotiate, they sent my loan to another subsidiary— their collection agency MRS.

These companies are working together and when students are full-time in school, they bombard them with calls and deadlines and capitalize by taking punitive measures such as outlined above, from which they no doubt profit.

…I believe that a lot of students have had loans placed at (a) collection agency while they are full-time in school. This should be amended to allow students wiggle room to complete their studies stress-free. If students graduate, find employment and refuse to pay, only then collections should be appropriate.”

The healthcare reform bill, often referred to as “Obamacare”, doesn’t mean  a lot to workers who receive employer-sponsored coverage, but for those that buy individual insurance on the open market, it changed a lot.  Six months after enactment, health insurers could not place lifetime limits on the value of coverage or revoke existing coverage.  Starting in 2014, however, insurers must accept all applicants, including anyone with preexisting conditions.  Until then, individuals with preexisting conditions who have been uninsured for more than 6 months will be eligible to enroll in the national high-risk pool and receive subsidized premiums.

Another big change that effected this population was the requirement to be insured or face a monetary penalty.  Early retirees and self employed individuals have to be able to purchase coverage through state based plans.  Tax credits are now made available to individuals and families with income between 133-400% of the poverty line.  You should speak to your local CPA about these tax credits.

Lastly, if you are 55 years of age and are enrolled in an employer sponsored retiree health plan, your costs could have possibly been lowered.  Under the government reinsurance program, employers were reimbursed for 80% of retiree claims between $15,000-$90,000.  The program will end on January 1, 2014.  Speak to your insurance liaison to help pick the most beneficial plan for you.

Felix Baumgartner stepped out of the space capsule an astonishing 128,100 feet, or 24.26 miles above earth, about three times the cruising altitude of jetliners.  Wow!  The skydiver plummeted for 4:20 seconds, but it seemed an eternity, because his faceplate was fogging up on the way down as he fell through harsh atmospheric conditions at a dizzying speed.  Baumgartner was also thrown into a dangerous tumble shortly after exiting.  “It felt like a flat spin.  I had a lot of pressure in my head, but I felt I could regain control so we could go after the sound barrier,” said Baumgartner.

According to Brian Utley, who’s responsible for FIA certification, roughly one minute into his jump Baumgartner reached a top speed of 833.9 mph, a new record for a skydiver.  That also means he successfully broke the sound barrier, reaching Mach 1.24.  Had his suit torn, however, it would have meant instant death.

He also broke the record for the highest manned balloon flight, unofficially reaching a height just shy of 25 miles.  He did so in a balloon that’s also the largest ever manned.

Baumgartner’s long-anticipated leap from the edge of space was the Austrian daredevil’s attempt at breaking all those records, most notably the highest successful jump and becoming the only skydiver to break the sound barrier.  Baumgartner is the first skydiver to ever break through the sound barrier, and remarkably, it comes 65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager, flying in his X-1A, first broke through the harrowing milestone.

As Baumgartner opened the hatch of his capsule and stepped out onto the platform, he said before jumping, “I wish the whole world could see what I see.”

After landing, he said the only thing he was thinking about once on the platform was getting back to earth alive.  “At that height you become so humble, you don’t think about breaking records anymore.  You just want to come back.”

The Red Bull Stratos project had been seven years in the making. Baumgartner, 43, made the leap while wearing a pressurized space suit.  He jumped from a pressurized capsule that was hoisted toward the heavens above Roswell, New Mexico, by a towering white stratospheric balloon.

During the marathon free-fall, Baumgartner’s unofficial speed of 706 mph came while passing through sub-freezing air zones.  While falling, he was communicating with mission control that his visor was fogging up, which is the likely reason behind his early parachute deployment, at 4:20.

The epic jump, the team has maintained, represents more than a mere stunt.  Extensive research that went into this mission is expected to help scientists design safer and more effective space suits for future astronauts.

Family and friends were on hand, with his mother, Eva, describing the feat as Baumgartner’s “biggest dream coming true.”

Baumgartner, whose mission was planned cautiously and meticulously by a team of scientists, shattered a 52-year-old skydiving altitude record of 102,800 feet.  That belonged to Joseph Kittinger, a former U.S. Air Force colonel, who joined the Red Bull Stratos project as chief of flight operations and safety.  Last March the skydiver and famous BASE jumper made a preparation jump from 71,580 feet (more than 13 miles) above Roswell.  During that leap he set a world free-fall speed record of 364.4 mph.  The free-fall spanned 3 minutes, 43 seconds, and included a plunge through temperatures as cold as minus-75 degrees.

Baumgartner became so cold that he could hardly move his hands, and the free-fall was so long that he had to fight the urge to deploy the parachute too early.  Remarkably, two others had survived jumps from similar altitudes–both in the 1960s. They were Russia’s Eugene Andreev and American Joseph Kittinger.  In July Baumgartner made his final test jump, from 97,146 feet, also in Roswell.

The balloon was launched from the back of a pickup truck.  For 52 years Kittinger, who also wore a pressurized suit, held the distinction of taking what had been described as “the highest step in the world.”  It was during an era in which nobody knew whether a human could survive a jump from the edge of space.  A handful of people died while trying to beat Kittinger’s record.

Before Sunday’s jump, Baumgartner said of the mental struggles: “You get claustrophobic fast in the pressurized suit.  You start to let your mind go, and you think of people who lost their lives trying to do what Joe Kittinger did.  You have to get your mind in a different place.  Count backwards … whatever you have to do.”

Kittinger added: “Of course it’s not easy.  It takes a special combination [of talents].  The best partner you can have is Felix Baumgartner.”

On Sunday, Kittinger had a special message for all the doubters at the post-jump press conference.  “I’d like to give a special one finger salute to all those who said he’d come apart going supersonic.”

When Felix Baumgartner was asked what’s next now that he’s achieved this long awaited dream, he replied, “Well, in forty years I’d like to be in the seat Joe Kittinger is in today, helping somebody try to break my record.”

I’m sure those of you following this Ann Curry departure saga at the TODAY show are fairly regular watchers.  We are all familiar with Savannah, as she has been a legal correspondent, as well as a co-host during the 9 o’clock hour of the TODAY show.  She’s smart, she’s bubbly, and, yet, there is much more to her pretty face.  Here are 10 things you should, or may just want to know about your new co-host:

1. She’s not named for the city in Georgia. She was actually named after her great-grandmother. And her middle name is Clark. (So is her grandmother’s.)

2. Australia born, Arizona raised. Guthrie grew up in Tucson, Ariz., where she attended Amphitheater High School, graduating in the same class as Olympic medalist and NFL player Michael Bates.

But she was actually born in Melbourne, Australia, where her father was stationed for work. She lived there two years before the family returned to the United States.

3. Higher education. Guthrie earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in 1993, where she graduated cum laude.

Years later, in the midst of a thriving broadcast journalism career, Guthrie attended Georgetown University Law Center. She earned her Juris Doctor there in 2002, graduating magna cum laude.

Guthrie is also a teacher: She led a first-year Legal Research and Writing workshop for first-year Georgetown law students.

4. She scored highest in the Arizona bar exam. Of the 634 people who took the Arizona bar exam in July 2002, Guthrie scored the highest, according to the state Supreme Court.

After also passing the D.C. bar, she worked as a litigation associate, specializing in white-collar criminal defense at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a D.C. law firm.

5. Broadcasting bona fides. Guthrie got her first break in broadcast journalism in 1993 with a weekend anchor gig for the ABC affiliate in Columbia, Mo. In 1995, she moved back to Tucson to work as an anchor and reporter at the NBC affiliate.

She left for Washington, D.C., in 2000, where she worked as a freelance reporter at NBC affiliate WRC-TV, covering the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the 2001 anthrax mailings.

She joined Court TV (now truTV) in 2002 while working at Akin Gump, where she worked as the national trial correspondent, covering such high-profile cases as the Michael Jackson molestation case, the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal trial and the sentencing of Martha Stewart.

6. A quick rise at Today. After serving as NBC News White House correspondent from December 2008 to June 2011, reporting for NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams, Today and MSNBC (where she co-hosted The Daily Rundown for a little over a year), Guthrie was asked to join Today full time in June 2011 as co-host of the show’s third hour. She also serves as the show’s chief legal analyst.

7. She plays hardball. Guthrie has said that her approach to any interview is “to try to think of the one question they would rather not be asked, just to see what they would say.”

8. She isn’t immune to controversy. In a Today Show segment from August 2011, Guthrie asked a doctor guest if “it’s proper to breastfeed in public.” Later, she compared breastfeeding to going to the bathroom, saying, “You have to go to the bathroom but you don’t do that in public, hopefully. Is there a difference?”

The comments earned an angry protest on Twitter, where outraged moms marked their outraged tweets with the hashtag #NIP (a punny acronym for “not in public”).

9. She is single. Guthrie met her husband, then-BBC journalist Mark Orchard, while both covered the Jackson trial in 2005. The two married December 2005, but the marriage had dissolved by January 2009.

Guthrie was later romantically linked to political consultant Mi­chael Feldman, a former aide to Al Gore.

10. Her dream is to play guitar with Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin. She admitted this in a question-and-answer session with Today viewers.

Ann Curry announced, just before the 9 o’clock hour, that she will be stepping down as co-host of the TODAY show. She stated that she will be taking on a new challenge at NBC News.  As TODAY Anchor at Large and National and International Correspondent for NBC News, Curry will lead a new team covering stories spanning the globe.  She’ll anchor prime-time specials and report for TODAY, Nightly News, Rock Center, Dateline and MSNBC, and will have a major presence across all digital properties.

“We’re going to go all over the world and all over this country at a time where this world needs clarity,” she said.   “After all these years I don’t even know if I can sleep in anymore,” she joked.  Matt, Al and Natalie “seemed” to express their love. “You have the biggest heart in the business,” Matt said.  “You put that on display every single day for almost 20 years.  Most importantly, you’ve made us better, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Over 15 years at NBC News, Ann has covered violence and ethnic cleansing in Sudan, interviewed the Dalai Lama, reported from Japan after 2011’s devastating earthquake and tsunami and broke the news that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would release the two American hikers held hostage in that country for two years.  She has earned seven Emmy Awards.  “I know of only one journalist who in just a matter of years has travelled to Sudan six times, broken exclusive world news with top world leaders, and broadcast live from both the South Pole and Mount Kilimanjaro,” said TODAY Executive Producer Jim Bell.  “Ann has quite literally reached amazing heights in her career, and with this new role, she will continue her intrepid climb bringing viewers her signature brand of humanitarian reporting.”

At this point, there is no word on the deal she struck with NBC to leave TODAY, but it has been rumored that she was asking for the remainder of her contract, $20 million.  Nothing has been announced officially, but the front runner for her position is Savannah Guthrie.  It has also been swirling that Natalie was threatening to quit if she was passed over again, as well as Matt’s wife threatening to divorce him if Natalie gets the position.  I’m sure many of these rumors will be addressed throughout the day.  Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Matt Lauer’s wife WILL be accompanying him, along with his 3 children to the Olympic games in London this summer.  She generally not travel with him, as it is a lot of work to tote along 3 children, let alone across an ocean.  They will be staying at a different hotel then the rest of the cast and crew.  Annette clearly still has concerns about Natalie and is not taking any chances.   Radar Online reported, “Annette has made no bones about the fact she will be keeping close tabs on Matt.”

All of this controversy stems from rumors that seem to never cease about Matt Lauer cheating on his wife.  It had once been said he had an extramarital affair with Meredith Vieira, as well as fathering a love child with Natalie Morales.  Are the tabloids right?  Is Matt not the family man he portrays on tv?

UPDATE:  Savannah Guthrie will be taking over Ann’s chair next to Matt tomorrow morning.  TMZ has also reported that, “it’s ‘likely’ they will formally announce the big switch during the show.”

UPDATE: No replacement has been named as of yet.  It appears it is still up in the air.  They are still debating between Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie.

UPDATE: Savannah Guthrie HAS been named, on the TODAY show website, as the new co-anchor of the TODAY show.  She will now officially be sitting alongside Matt Lauer each morning.

Subway has decided to expand its menu to attract more vegan customers.  The company says it will begin a limited test of three new vegan sandwiches in 8 locations throughout Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia, according Kevin Kane, Subway’s public relations manager.  They are set to be released this week.

The three new options: Malibu Greek, Sweet Riblet, and Italian Black Bean – all are available meat free, and dairy free.

“We’re testing to see what what the reception is, if people like them,” says Kane who added that there are no plans at this time to add the vegan options on menus nationwide.  Kane says the idea for the sandwiches was presented to Subway by one franchise owner in the mid-Atlantic region.  The sandwiches are available on the vegan breads available at the restaurant: Roasted Garlic, Sourdough, Light Wheat English Muffin, Hearty Italian, and Hearty Italian White.  The cost is $7.00 for the foot-long and $4.50 for the 6-inch.

Animal advocacy organization, Compassion Over Killing, says it convinced Subway to sell the new options after it launched its “We Love Subway” campaign, after the group lobbied the fast food chain to introduce the “Totally Vegged” vegan patty in Canada.

Locations to get new sandwiches:

Washington, DC:

• 555 13th St NW, Washington, DC 20005 — (202) 347-4616
• 455 Massachusetts Ave, NW (1st Floor) Washington, DC 20001 — (202) 638-0348
• 550 First St., NW, Washington, DC 20001 — (202) 661-6639

Maryland

• 8145 Main St, Ellicott City, MD 21043 — (410) 418-4330
• 5520 Research Park Dr, #107, Catonsville, MD 21228 — (410) 455-5222
• 300 Sentinel Dr, #100, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 — (301) 490-6553

Virginia

• 320 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314 — (703) 879-4321
• 2361 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA 22314 — (703) 879-4321