use your shop your way rewards card at kmart today... ...for the chance to win 1 of 30 trips to universal orlando resort... ...and step into the magic and excitement... ...of the wizarding world of harry potter! there's smart, and there's kmart smart. . good morning. write-in win. lisa murkowski claims victory in alaska's senate race as nbc news calls her the apparent winner. how did she turn back the tea party and sarah palin? and why is palin now saying she believes she can defeat president obama in 2012? kate middleton makes a surprise visit to london's famed westminster abbey. is that where she will marry her prince? natalie morales has details and takes us on a tour of the place that prince william and kate call home. and up to our eyeballs.

the four of us, four plastic cubes, 250,000 ping-pong balls and the most downloaded band in internet history. our latest attempt to go viral today, thursday, november 18th, 2010. today, thursday, november 18th, 2010. ♪ captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to "today." 9 i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. >> the results are not official, but it looks like lisa murkowski will become the first senate candidate in 50 years to win a write-in campaign. >> she declared victory wednesday two months after launching what appeared to be a long-shot to save her senate seat. that after she was defeated by sarah palin endorsee joe miller in the state's gop primary. we're going to talk to senator murkowski straight ahead. also ahead, some news you can use if you ever eat at your

local mall's food court. how safe are the items you're being served? coming up, the results of a "today" investigation that uncovered health violations inside some popular malls. plus, new details on the arrest of a former survivor producer who is accused of killing his wife in mexico. bruce beresford-redman has made his initial appearance in what is expected to be a long extradition battle, and he will be seeking bail. coming up, the victim's sisters will speak out. first, let's begin with the more th morning's top stories. >> good morning. good morning, everybody. in the news this morning in the first ever civilian trial of of a former guantanamo bay detainee, ahmed gahailani has been acquitted on all but one of the 258 counts against him. he was found gilley on a single conspiracy charge but the decision could undermine president obama's plan to put other guantanamo bay detainees on trial in civilian courts.

china was able to briefly access 15% of the world's internet traffic in april and this included highly sensitive e-mail exchanges between senior u.s. government and military officials according to a new report to congress. chinese officials say it was all accidental. haiti's cholera epidemic has now reached the united states. a woman in florida is now hospitalized with cholera but health officials say there is no cause for panic stateside as cholera is generally a waterbornee disease. the nigerian military freed 19 hostages overnight including two americans. they were kidnapped from an exxon oil rig ten days ago. a democrat-led push to repeal a ban on gays in the military could be taken up again in december. senate ma jord leader harry reid called the policy discriminatory and said it must be repealed immediately. general motors has now made the largest public offering in

u.s. history in response to overwhelming investor demand. we've got cnbc's trish regan at the new york stock exchange with more on this. trish, what's the latest with gm? >> it's certainly a big day for gm. back on the market after declaring bankruptcy last year. you know, this is a company that really investors have lately been clamoring to get in on this ipo. it went up in price, just $33 a share. gm, as you said, is on track for a major offering here. likely to raise more than $20 billion. of course, while it may do very well today, ann, the big question here is how is this company going to be faring six months from now? that still remains to be seen. >> trish, thanks so much this morning. qantas airlines has announced up to half of the royals royce engines on the qad

half of the royals royce engines on their fleet of airbus must be replaced. they're considering pulling those 40 turbines from the world's biggest jumbo jets after a blowout on a qantas flight earlier this month. a 3-year-old argentinean girl is alive after following 100 feet into a well, at an age when tieing a shoelace can be a challenge, the girl managed to fasten her own harness so rescuers above could hoist her to safety. doctors say she is doing just fine today. just 3 years old. it is now four minutes past the hour. back to matt and meredith. that's great news. >> nice to see you, mr. roker. looks like a nice day here. >> here. but in the northwest we have a big storm slamming that area. if we check it out for you and show you unsettled west ahead of the storm system high wind advisories. wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour behind it. rain and snow. rainfall amounts not so bad but the snow is going to come down in buckets. as you can see right now, low pressure off the coast. looking anywhere from 6 to 9

inches of snow and in montana, upper elevations, could pick up to a foot of snow before it's all over. that's what's going on ar we are seeing partly cloudy skies in san francisco. notice the direction the flag is pointed. it's off to the east. the sea breeze will pump in cooler air and temperatures out of the 70s and 80s. rather 50s to mid 60s inland and breezy and partly cloudy for the far north bay. northern sonoma county mayee a shower. it will stay north of lake port and tomorrow, the rain starts to come in. it's chilly and breezy for the weekend. >> thanks very much. we turn to politics now. more than two weeks after the mid-term elections, alaska senator lisa murkowski is claiming victory in her historic write in bid to keep her senate seat. kelly o'donnell has details. >> reporter: good morning. we talked how unpredictable this

election season has been and just look at what's going on in alaska. voters have done something that hasn't happened since dwight eisenhower was president. a sitting senator winning back her seat on a write-in. it is not official yet but looks like alaska has written some more history. >> they told us this couldn't be done. >> reporter: home in alaska to claim victory. >> can you imagine? over 100,000 who wrote in the same name. >> reporter: against all odds, lisa murkowski put voters through an election day spelling test and she scored big. >> you are m-u-r-k-o-w-s k-y. >> reporter: after a time consuming hand count of write-in votes, a stunning comeback.

in august, senator murkowski lost her republican primary to newcomer joe miller backed by the tea party express and her long time rival, sarah palin. murkowski was called a sore loser when she launched a write-in campaign. now, miller says he hasn't given up. >> it's looking like it's less than 1% where it will come out and we will obviously continue to watch the process very closely. >> reporter: back on capitol hill, it was speaker, nancy pelosi, who bounced back after the democrats shattering defeat. >> they know that i'm the person that can attract the resources, both intellectual and otherwise to take us to victory because i have done it before. >> reporter: pelosi was chosen to serve as the next minority leader, transition out of power for democrats has been rough. >> madam speaker, you're still speaker, thank you so much. >> reporter: 43 house democrats turned against pelosi when a more moderate democrat, north carolina, heath shuler ran against her.

>> it wasn't about winning a race but a voice within our caucus. >> reporter: no surprises and no on camera comments after house republicans picked their team. with two newly added leadership spots reserved for incoming freshmen, kristi noem and scott won those as expected. democrats got criticism for keeping the same team in place. republicans have done basically the same thing but added new positions for freshmen to reflect tea party influence and make their leadership team appear more diverse. >> kelly o'donnell in capitol hill for us this morning. thanks very much. alaska senator lisa m-u-r-k-o-w-s k-i. senator, congratulations. apparently, is that what i should say? >> thank you. yes, apparently. alaskans have learned to spell it as you have. pretty good. >> the divisions of elections has not certified this and will not do that until the 29th of the month. nbc news has declared you the

apparent winner. are you at all concerned based on the twists and turns in this campaign so far that there may be another surprise down the road? >> we were waiting for the numbers. that's what this process has been. it's taken a while. there were a couple hundred thousand ballots cast and that chose to go the write-in way and we made sure they were counted fairly and openly and in a very good process. it's taken a bit of time. the fact of the matter is the numbers are what they are and clearly indicate alaskans have not only spoken, they have written it down. >> there were doubters, as you well know and people who thought -- i think maybe i was one of those back on september 22nd when you were last on this program and thought maybe you shouldn't do this and couldn't do this. explain to me briefly, how did you win? >> it was alaskans coming

together. the most phenomenal coalition of alaskans. this was not a republican campaign. this was democrats and republicans and independents all coming together saying, this is too important for the future of our state. we're going to take that extra step. we're going to take that affirmative act and we're going to do something that the rest of the country says we can't do it. it was a challenge for alaskans and we clearly met it. >> this morning, there are already people saying you defeated joe miller and a lot of people saying you also defeated sarah palin. she backed mr. miller in her home state, put the prestige of her power behind that endorsement. how much does this say about her power and impact going forward in your opinion? >> i think it's important to recognize that here in alaska, we are looking at alaska, we're looking at those issues important to us. endorsements from outside may not have as much pull as much

stroke as you do in the lower 48. this was alaskans speaking up. i think what they said was we want the consensus building that i bring to the table. we don't want -- we don't want governance based on anger or fear, we want governance that comes about when people reach across the table and try to figure out how we build good policy? you talk about governance based on anger or fear, you're a moderate republican and say you do not pass the purity test the tea party has set out. you said something else, i will tell you i am not one of those who wants obama to fail. will you stand up against other republicans who feel the only way for them to succeed is for the president not to succeed? >> we have too much to do for these next two years to be focused on who's going to be president or who's going to be leading the senate in 2012.

we have an obligation to the people of this country to govern. we have unemployment at 9.5%. we have people continuing to lose their homes due to foreclosure. we have work to do. that's what the american people want. that's what the people of alaska have asked for in this election, is get to work, whether you're working with the president, whether you're working with the majority leader or the speaker, figure it out, congress. >> senator lisa murkowski, the apparent winner in alaska's write-in senate campaign. senator, congratulations. >> thank you. it's good to be with you this morning. thank you. >> nice to have you here. 13 minutes after the hour. here's meredith. south dakota's republican kristi noem has been elected to the leadership team. representative-elect noem, welcome to you. congratulations. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> this leadership team has been a nod to the tea party in a way of dispelling any rumors there

is tension between the old guard and the new guard. is that how you see it? >> i see it as the leadership giving this freshman class an opportunity to weigh in on a lot of decisions that will be made on policies that we need to get this country back on track. the freshman class is definitely viewing this as a great opportunity for them to have a seat at the table in those important discussions. >> for you, it is not window dressing at all? >> no, i don't. ever since we arrived here in washington d.c., this leadership team has been in the room. they have come to extra meetings. we requested as a class. they've listened to us. they have the same goals, same agenda, same items on their mind all of us do, what we've been hearing across this country and from the american people. >> you talk a lot about coming to washington to make change there and you want to shake things up. you look at the gop and democrats, all the key leadership positions, the ones at the very top went to the same people. how do you affect change without the significant change at the top? >> i think you've seen through

the republicans pledge to america we have real changes we'd like to make. a lot of us coming from the freshman class are businessmen and women, living ordinary everyday lives running our businesses back home and affect change coming here and making sure the politicians and bureaucrats that have been here in washington d.c. understand the ramifications are when we pass legislation in washington d.c., how it impacts real people back home. that's the perspective we need and good to see our republican leadership is listening, giving us seats at the table so we can have those kind of discussions. >> the tea party did endorse you but you made it clear you are not a tea partier. do you plan to caucus with the tea party? what's happened through this election cycle we have seen labels be used to create division. that needs to stop, have everyone sit at the table, have adult conversations to solve these problems. as far as joining caucuses, we'll consider that when we come back to washington d.c. and want to hit the ground running. right now, we have a lot of work to do.

>> interesting when you were campaigning, you were campaigning against washington insiders and specifically nancy pelosi in some of your ads. the irony you and her are the only two women in the house that hold leadership positions. can you work with her? >> i believe i can work with anybody who is willing to sit down and make changes to get this economy on track. the fact that the democratic party re-elected her to leadership endorses what she's done the last two years and endorses what this administration has done. i don't believe it's the right direction to go but we will work with people who are willing to find solutions. >> a lot of people compared you to sarah palin. she did not directly endorse you, the tea party did. you're both strong conservative republican women, both like to hunt. where do the comparisons end? do you like the comparisons? >> i certainly admire her for her work and willingness to step forward. people need to recognize it takes a lot of courage to step into the political ring. i admire her for that. i want people to focus on the

fact i was a south dakotan, like every other back home and i'm kristi noem and willing to work for them. >> thank you and once again congratulations. >> thank you. i appreciate that. >> it is 7:16. more now on sarah palin. her new book set to be released next week. we're getting an early look at some of the people she's taking aim at in it. norah o'donnell has details on that. good morning to you. >> good morning. sarah palin's book is called "america by heart," settles old scores with levi johnston, praises her daughter's chastity and calls out the reality stars on "american idol." >> sarah palin is everywhere. on her hit reality show about alaska, on the front cover of "the new york times" magazine and in a new interview with barbara walters for an upcoming

special palin admits she's got barack obama in her sights. >> i'm looking at the lay of the land now and trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing. >> if you ran for president, could you beat barack obama? >> i believe so. >> palin's new book, which amazon says is the strength and virtues that made this country great comes out next week but a blogger that has exerts from the book, palin writes about the personal including fresh criticism of levi johnston, the father of her daughter's child. because the new father wasn't there until the end of bristol's labor, i helped deliver tripp. >> she praises her dedication to

abstinence and dredges up the '90s sitcom murphy brown that got dan quayle in hot water. palin writes i'm biased but given a choice of role models between bristol and murphy brown, i choose bristol. >> another palin target, "american idol." she blames producers for a seemingly endless supply of people who can't sing but are diluted enough to get up in front of a national televised audience and screech out a song any way. ironically, it's bristol getting criticized these days for lack of talent. just this week, she advanced to the finals of abc's "dancing with the stars" despite receiving the lowest scores from the judge's panel. >> the judges scores are important, but viewers don't necessarily go by them. they will vote based on who they think deserves to go to the next step. >> conspiracy theorists are accusing sarah palin's tea party supporters of getting out the vote for bristol.

a suggestion bristol denies. >> when they say it's just the tea party, i say think of all of the people that hate my mom. why don't we talk about that. >> back to the 2012 election and "new york times" article this week, palin acknowledges if she decides to run for president, she would face the challenge of proving her qualifications and expanding her small close-knit and secretive team of advisors. matt. >> norah o'donnell. thank you very much. it's 20 minutes after the hour. a new photo of newly engaged kate middleton is fueling speculation where next year's royal wedding will be held. for more on that we turn to "today" national correspondent natalie morales in north whales this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: kate middleton was spotted leaving westminster abby. fueling speculation that will be the choice for the royal

wedding. as she remains in london, prince william returned back to work at the royal air force base and here is where they will spend their first years of life as a married couple. their engagement may have been a traditional affair but kate and william are a thoroughly modern couple. the last eight months they have been living as man and wife where prince william serves as a helicopter pilot on an air force pilot on a rescue mission. >> luckily we live in the 21st century and a lot of people live together before they're married. i think in this instance, the queen was delight. >> reporter: far away from the media glare and in this insulated part of lake wales, they've been trying to lead a normal life, shopping at the local supermarket and picking up a takeout dinner and having an occasional drink at the pub. >> she was here for a good hour.

it was quite pleasing to have them in the establishment. >> reporter: it's a long way away from the royal life and glamorous surroundings prince william is used to and kate might struggle to find the latest fashion. >> a great place to live, a great place to holiday. fantastic scenery all around. >> reporter: you have to get past the wind and rain. >> we have a bit of rain here. >> reporter: where it rains most days and temperatures rarely hit a high. william can go on his adventurous streak. >> he'll whiz around on his motor bike with his helmet on going around the place. >> reporter: kate can indulge her love of photography with the landscapes right at her doorstep. >> reporter: how much of a boost is this for your tourism? >> quite a boost. they will think, wow, prince william and kate middleton live here. >> reporter: they're hoping the couples in their midst will boost tourism. >> it's good news and good for the economy. >> reporter: they're not about

to give away their secret. >> it's not that much of an issue. >> reporter: that's how kate and william hope to hold on to their private life a little longer before they face the full force of royal duty. the royal couple will continue to live her through 2013, when the prince's tour is over and after that, speculation already gun as to where they will choose to settle then. >> thank you very much. coming up tomorrow, brian williams has an exclusive interview with prince charles. you can catch the man that uld be king at 9 and 8:00 central ha time followed by "harmony" with the prince's views on the climate crisis on nbc. and meanwhile, the reality producer charged with killing his wife on a mexican vacation makes his first court appearance. the victim's sisters speak out about their brother-in-law's arrest.

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still ahead, the local mall. >> what our cameras caught on the local news. good morning. time now is 7:26. we want to check in with mike for the latest on the commute. >> in san francisco an accident is clearing off of the ninth street exit. that's the upper deck approaching san francisco. it will be slower and the back up should grow a bit. there is the slowing on the upper deck as well as 280 that is typical and the metering lights will likely slow down on the upper deck along the span.

they will slow them down. southbound 880 and you see it marked at 23rd and slowing approaching that area as well. your slow lane is blocked. overall, things are not that bad. there is fog out there. >> the fog may slow you down in a few spots. i do want to show you the seven-day forecast. a big drop in temperatures today and a dry day. tomorrow will be a chance of showers. look at the temperatures. air cold enough for snow levels. rain off and on for the weeke mr times nd more news after the break.

>> an empty building will have new tenants. the owners leased eight floors of the skyscraper built in the dot-com boom. the office building has been mostly empty for about years. 1200 employees will now move in from a different office down the street. more local news in a half hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. see you back in a bit.

7:30 on this thursday morning the 18th of november, 2010, another beautiful fall day here in the northeast. kind of brisk but nice. a great group of people outside. we thank them for making their way to rockefeller plaza. we will be outside. and matt lauer with meredith vieira, the reality producer who

once worked on "survivor," accused of killing his wife at a popular mexican resort. we will get details and talk to the victim's sisters. he was arrested yesterday. and how safe is the food at the food court, we will show you what our "today" investigation uncovered. a little later on, we have fun with the okays from okay go. we gave them free rein with us, which was a bad decision and we will see the results later on in the show. and the hollywood producer accused of killing his wife in mexico appears in a los angeles court and vows to fight extradition. nbc has details. >> reporter: dressed in a white t-shirt, shackled and handcuffed, bruce beresford-redman never entered a plea.

he was arrested seven months ago. he was attentive politely answering the judge's questions in an extradition hearing that lasted only minutes. his lawyers said he's innocent but beresford-redman remains behind bars at least until the end of the month. >> he's prepared and knew it would come eventually and waiting for the day it would happen. >> reporter: sitting feet away from the man accused of killing their sister, the sisters say they knew this day would come. after monica was murdered in april, they flew back to hear murder charges against bruce but by the time the charges were filed, bruce was back in los angeles living with the couple's children for months. >> for me, there is no happy ending on this, you know, just a hope to get what we need to go so justice is served. really, there is no happy

ending. >> reporter: new courtment tos paint the picture of a troubled marriage saying bruce attempted to assault his wife the day before the murder and had conflicting statements afterwards. a marriage on the rocks, prosecutors say ended in murder and the start of an extradition battle that could last a year. nbc news, los angeles. >> monica birthderesford-redman sisters is here. good morning to you all. good morning. >> it's been seven months since your sister was found dead in cancun and most of that time, you believed her husband was behind this, responsible for it. carla, what was your reaction tuesday when you found he had finally been arrested? >> it's been so long, it was a mix of feelings, but, of course, i was really relieved all this

process has started for the extradition and the justice for my sister. >> you were actually at the court hearing yesterday, just a few feet from bruce. what was that like for you? >> it's surreal! i think you anticipate feelings and when you get there, it's really a total different experience. it's hard. it's a relief and it's sadness. it's a combination of feelings and it's really even hard to explain. >> did you make eye contact with him? >> yes, i did. >> did you say anything to him? >> no. i didn't say -- we were far apart and we're not supposed to say anything or speak to the person where he was at, but, in a way, was relieving to see him where he was at and sitting where i was. >> carla, now that these court documents have been unsealed, we

are learning terrible details about your sister's death, apparently she was affixiated, bruises on her face, a blunt head wound. as hard as it is to learn these things, were you surprised by any of the details, carla? >> we mostly knew most of the facts. just to listen and read everything all together, it felt really, really bad. it was really painful, really painful. >> we are also learning, because of these court documents, an employee of the hotel, the night before your sister was murdered, he saw her sister and her husband, bruce, fighting outside a restaurant and then the morning of the murder, guests in the room beneath them reported screaming and crying and calls for help and loud banging, and the only thing the hotel did was call up to monica and bruce's room, got bruce on the phone and he said, oh, no, no, we're just playing with our 3-year-old son. do you feel your sister's death might have been avoided if the hotel had responded differently?

>> meredith, i'll answer that. we have certainly questioned the hotel's efforts in protecting monica. we knew a lot of these facts. we were aware there were guests in the hotel that had heard screaming. we were aware the housekeeper questioned why they couldn't come into the room. but seeing it and seeing the documents was really chilling. it was very difficult for us. the facts are gruesome. we do want to compliment the mexican authorities. we think they really have put together a very strong case against bruce. >> carla and jeane, in a family statement, you said you were prepared to pursue this horrific tragedy to the end. what does justice served mean to your family? >> i think it means a lot. it means -- like i said, there is no happy ending because my

sister won't be brought back and all the damage done in terms of the kids' situation, they lost their parents and the baby-sitter, everything that they had. >> and my parents. >> and my parents going through what they're going through, never going to be repaired. at least is a relief that justice is being served. you know, the person that is responsible for, you know, making all this happen, will pay for what he has -- he has done. >> carla and jianny, thank you so etch and thank you. >> thank you. >> let's switch gears and gs a check of the weather from al. today's weather is brought to you by priority mail flat rate boxes, only from the postal service, a simpler way to ship. >> good morning, everybody. we look to the temperatures for today, we have the jetstream way up to the north out west. that means temperatures well above normal.

denver above normal, rapid city, above average temperature. you look at temperatures in the east, we have cooler than usual readin readings, 30s and 40s, 50s in the northeast. 80s in florida and 70s for the northwest. and mountain rain and plenty of sunshine and snow in the northwest and sunshine in this you can see the rain off to the north on the national map as we show you from san bruno mountain. patchiy fog and high clouds from the north and cooling high temperatures today. 50s and 60s and more clouds into the afternoon. areas north of lake port can see a shower or two, but tomorrow and the weekend, we will see the best chance of rain at times and much cooler and highs in the 50s.

if you're traveling for the holidays, the weather channel has you covered on cable. more extensive coverage on weather.com online. re. thank al thank you. "today"'s health investigation uncovers health violations in a food court in some of the most popular malls. hey. hi. you know, holiday shipping's easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. yea, i know. oh, you're good. good luck! priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. wow!

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critical health violations that could make you sick. "today" takes you behind the counter of food courts to show you what's really going on. >> reporter: within minutes at this boston mall, we saw it. a cockroach climbing the wall right next to a grill at this popular japanese place. >> you're kidding. i wish you hadn't told me that. >> reporter: most aren't as obvious. bare hands on the food, raw meat sitting out, filthy kitchens to name a few. we traveled across the country and to the mall of america in minnesota and boston and new york city. we traveled with food safety expert, cindy rice and pulled hundreds of inspection reports that exposed the dirty truth. rice says food courts may be more risky than average restaurants because of tighter workspaces and higher volumes.

>> reporter: they start cutting corners? >> they start cutting corners if you're not careful. >> reporter: we found it too often. 43% of vendors had critical violations that could make you sick. at the mall of america, 68% had critical violations. at the new york seaport mall, a tourist hot spot, a whopping 48% of vendors had critical violations. one of the most common unsafe food temperatures, hot foods kept too cold, cold foods too hot can lead to dangerous bacteria growth. we found it a lot, these raw burgers just sitting out. even if cooked later, they could still make you sick, so could these kabobs piled too high and too far from the heat. >> when you go up to a deli case holding hot foods, ask for the one on the bottom layer, that's usually the hottest one in the pile. >> not the one on top sitting out a couple hours? >> that's right.

>> reporter: not just meat. produce kept too warm can grow bacteria, like these salads at room temp. those these food cups look refrigerated, don't be too sure. >> touch the outside of the deli case. >> reporter: this one was warm. >> this one was warm and risky. >> reporter: and another is rodents and insects. remember this cockroach next to the grill. the same vendor had mouse droppings in their storage area. we confronted the manager. >> do you have a pest control problem here? >> no. >> reporter: we just saw a live cockroach. >> reporter: the company told us it never had food problems and always gets outstanding suspicions. but we saw different on our video. >> if you have one cockroach, chances are you have thousands in the walls and ceilings waiting to come out at night. >> reporter: an inspection

report shows since 2009, more than half the vendors have hat pest violations. at the charcoal grill, the inspector saw mice ex-cretia and in this food prep area. and the owner had no comment. >> how comen is it to have rodents and insects inside the food area. >> they're all of concern and will have salmonella, e.coli, viruss. >> reporter: but rice says most comes from the workers. in boston, watch this worker put her eye drops in, then hand out food samples. >> it's a problem because bass sbass -- she has bacteria and mucouses on the foods. >> reporter: watch this worker wiping the counter with a fit the rag, no gloves and then

handling the food. sometimes cross contamination can send you to the hospital. >> it hurt so bad. something was wrong. >> reporter: stan had eaten mexican food at this maul in illinois and days later, rushed to the emergency room with e.coli poisoning. doctors said he could have died. a department of health investigation found five customers got sick most likely from cross contamination from the same food vendor with workers accidentally mixing salsa with raw meat. >> do they know the consequences of taking childrens and people's lives in their hands. >> reporter: that vendor is out of business. we found 6 out of 7 restaurants had critical health violations. >> it's offensive to me. who has the responsibility for testing the public, protecting the public. >> reporter: that falls to the local health department who do annual inspections of restaurants and will shut them

down if they aren't fixed. follow-up reports show all the violations are fixed. the mall told us the safety of our customers is a top priority and any safety in fractions is a top priority to be corrected immediately. >> we see a pattern. vendors get a violation, fix it, a few months go by, maybe a year, get the same violation and fix it, it goes on and on. >> they do get away with it because the health inspectors are only there one or two times a year and see a snapshot, not there every minute of the day. >> reporter: with all these health violations, you may wonder why don't we see a lot of people getting sick? the cdc doesn't report it because they don't connect the illness with what they ate a few days ago, check for clean workspaces and hairnets and gloves. the only thing you can look for. >> what's this best way to crack down on these vendors. >> the health department doesn't

have the money to go more than once a year. if they get a violation and fix it, they get a clean slate. they can go year after year and it's okay. once again, there's no more money for local health inspectors to go more often. i should say this is do-able, we found some with zero violations. it can happen. appreciate it. 48 after the hours. youtube stars help us ownre our own viral video and we'll see how that turns out. first, these messages. out of the very best america had to offer. ingenuity. integrity. optimism. and a belief that the finest things are the most thoughtfully made -- not the most expensive. today, the american character is no less strong and chevrolet continues as an expression of the best of it. bringing more technology to more people than ever in our history. inventing new ways to get around our planet

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twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. [children screaming] [growl] i met my husband here. i got to know my grandkids here. we've discovered so much here together. but my doctor told me that during that time my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why i'm fighting my cholesterol... with crestor. along with diet, crestor does more than help manage cholesterol, when diet and exercise alone aren't enough. crestor is also proven to slow

plaque buildup in arteries. crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. i love it when we're here together. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. all right. just ahead, three hours, four cubes and a quarter of a million ping-pong balls. do you believe this? we get in a viral video from the guys from okay-go, who happen to be great musicians and good guys. >> what happens if we have to go to the bathroom. >> then, tomorrow, one shot involving the entire staff. it is crazy, you guys.

you won't believe it. >> by the time we get to that -- >> the cameraman is still recovering. >> ann hathaway stops by after your local news. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere.

it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. funny how nature just knows how to make things that are good for you.

new v8 v-fusion + tea. one combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the goodness of green tea and powerful antioxidants. refreshingly good. when we all become doers. when our mittens double as work gloves. and we turn every room into a project. but this year, let's trim the budget. get some help from martha stewart that we can't get anywhere else. and spread our money as far as our cheer. ♪ more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we're lowering the cost of bright spirits. now get a 100 count light set for $2.28. but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there. but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then my company partnered with unitedhealthcare. they provided onsite screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping.

( announcer ) turning complex data into easy tools. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. good morning. time is 7:56. we are getting the latest from mike inouye on the morning commute. >> slower than we would like because of the earlier accidents on the san francisco side. all lanes are clear and doing testing with the lighting inside. keep that in mind. you should be fine as far as visibility goes. the slow down from about the maze. 880 shows similar lighting on the the top, but look at the slow at the northbound side. overall from 238, about 17 minutes. interesting lighting. >> partly cloudy skies and the

rain off to the north and we will see it drop into mendocino and lake county. the bay area sees the showers roll into friday. a cooler afternoon and 50s to low 60s and briey and partly cloudy and temperatures cooling more tomorrow with rain for the second half of friday. the weekend, get ready for rain off and on and chilly and breezy temperatures. 7:57. more news after the break.

the ride to school is about to get safer for thousands of kids. they are papering with the state to give 5,000 bike helmets to studentsa the no cost. the program is funded with grant money and covers elementary and middle school kids in the franklin and kinley school district. it will cover traffic safety programs through the street smart program. don't forget to join us for the bay area food drive helping people throughout the holidays. go to any safeway store and either drop off or donate food. you can get a turkey or ham or nonperishable. all the staff will be out and about. we will be in morgan hill at the safeway and scott will be in san jose. the "today" show is coming back in less than a minute.

♪ should have known ♪ should have known girl ♪ >> 8:00 now on this thursday morning, the 18th of november, 2010. that is youtube's most downloaded band ever. okay. over 50 million hits for their treadmill dance alone, and they were happy to give it up as it goes viral. i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker.

our latest journey into the world of viral videos. >> what we did is go "okay go" free creative freedom. they can do with us whatever they wanted to do to create a video, and they had some fun. we have cubes there that create clauser phobia in any person. we'll show you how this all turned out later on. cubes that create claus strophobia and lots of ping-pong balls as we go on later on. >> i was actually a little freaked-out by it. >> plus, we ask you, our viewers, to create some "today" show themed viral videos. >> and we catch up with actors gyllenhaal and he describes the scene as an nude-fest. hard to recognize them in

clothes. >> ann is at the newsdesk with the headlines. >> hi. in the news, president obama is stepping up pressure on senate republicans to approve the nuclear arms treaty he signed with russia. today, he is hosting henry kissinger and madeleine albright and other former secretary of the state of defense why it's in the u.s. interests to have it ratified this year. and a mosque in murphy's borrow, tennessee, arguing the proposed mosque was approved without enough public notice, opponents tried to claim there was a muslim conspiracy to impose extremist islamic law in the united states. rescue aircraft searched overnight for the fighter of an air force fighter jet. a helicopter crew spotted the wreckage wednesday. a new government survey finds 1 in 5 adult americans suffered from mental illness last year with symptoms ranging from severe depression to attempted suicide and, still

fewer than half received treatment, according to the survey. here's brian williams with what's coming up on nbc evening news. good morning. >> hi, ann, you're a fellow dog lover and you may already know this, they're changing lives in their own way from simple tasks to companionship and loyalty. when you think about it, they're making a difference and that's what we bring you tonight, that story on "nightly news." ann, back to you. >> thanks. a 3-year-old boy in great britain using a metal detector for the first time as he unearthed a 500 year old gold pendant. experts say his find could be worth as much as $4 million. it is now 8:03. hey, guys. his father was blown aw away -- you're not even listening. >> that's okay.

>> i will dos for myself. no, it's fine, really. this boy is 3 years old, using a metal detector for the first time, discovers some jewelry that's 500 years old, that's worth $4 million potentially. >> wow! >> really? i got to get one of those things. >> we did. we got nothing, bottle caps. >> that kid will have a ton of money. >> thank you. a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> that was a strong finish. next time, pay attention to ann's newscast, please. these guys are in the spirit of christmas. what's your name? riley. >> what's your name? where are you from? >> north carolina. >> you got to see the rock eths? let's check your weather. nashville, tennessee, one of the greatest nbciailfftes ever. 55 degrees, working for you.

look on the satellite, we have sunshine in the southeast. rain is coming in there to the ohio river valley. big storm moving onshore in the pacific northwest, dumping anywhere from 3 to 9 inches of snow. snow showers in the upper great lakes and upper river valley weather moving into the northeast and southern and you can see partly cloudy skies in and around oakland and parts of the east bay this morning. a little breezy as well. we'll show you what's going on in tinms of the satellite and radar view. nothing in terms of rain right now. a different story. eureka northward, some rain there. that will start it to drop to lake port later this afternoon. for the bay area a cooler finish to the day. upper 50s to low 60s today. tomorrow a better chance of rain showing up for the first half of the day and look at those temperatures, 50s for the weekend.

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the target 2 day sale starts friday november 26th at 4am. are you ready? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ look at that car, well, it goes fast ♪ ♪ givin' my dad a heart attack ♪ [ friend ] that is so awesome. ♪ i love my car [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] that first chevy, yea, it gets under your skin. ♪ we're back at 8:09 with today goes viral, and today our latest attempt at becoming internet sensations. >> thisç time instead of recreating a popular video, we thought we would film an original. >> that's right. so to insure success, we thought we would join forces with a group of guys who have had more youtube successes than any other

band out there. >> what happens when you combine okay goes viral video knowledge? our questionable looks, amazing stamina. check it out. >> ever been to a turkish prison before, meredith? >> everyone is settled. >> if you get claustrophobic, what is the way to let people know? >> scream. >> just simply scream? >> enter your cube. >> fire, fire, fire. >> hang in there, al. >> if you are wonder whatting we're doing and how we got here -- >> good luck, al. >> you're not the only one. >> we do have some concern that the thing we're trying to do with ""the today show"" hosts is not actually possible, but i guess that's kind of always an issue. sfroo yeah. i mean well, like to try to make the impossible possible. >> and if anyone can pull off the impossible, it's the band

okay go. they call their viral videos incredibly awesome art projects, and apparently the rest of the world agrees. this treadmill dance has over 50 million hits on youtube. they have become the most downloaded band ever. >> one of the rules of our videos? >> awesome cars. always bigger than a c cup. >> leftover cash. >> diamonds. >> gold bars. >> reporter: when bling and hot chicks are scarce, they prefer simple but brilliant ideas over big budgets and special effects. shooting an entire video often in one shot requires meticulous planning, a tireless crew, and end ams attempts. >> the dog video is 128 takes, although we used take 72, the last, like, 50 were useless. >> can we suffocate? >> no. you can't suffocate. >> you are completely submerged, and you can breathe fine. >> to maintain our sanity we

limit the band to three hours of our time, but give them total creative freedom. their concept seems simple. >> the hosts of "the today show" have to spend three hours in these incredibly small claustrophobic cubes, and that's my phone. i'll be back. i'll be back. hello. >> this video is going to have a lot of ping pong balls in it. >> and we're going to dump those ball on the hows of ""the today show"." >> different colored balls? >> our biggest challenge? spillage. >> no one has ever died? >> no one has ever been seriously injured. tim was shot in the face with paint that had not fully been diluted and thought he had broken his nose, but as it turns out, he is fine. shall we do it? one, two, three. >> ping pong balls! >> define seriously injured. >> you ready for us? >> yes, we are ready on the set. >> i'll be here in three hours. don't worry.

>> here we go. >> are you okay, al? >> al, say something. >> al. >> ow! >> it takes about 20,000 ping pong balls to fill each cube. >> it's kind of cool. >> which means we have amassed a quarter of a million for this shoot. >> okay. i think that's plenty. >> we've gone to a new territory here. >> for the first five minutes we're having a blast. all çwell-behaved and keeping e ball jokes to a minimum. >> these ping pong balls all come from china, don't they? >> i'm the shortest, so i'm going to die first. >> you start whining now, i will come over there and kill you. >> the fumes are overtaking me, but i feel great. >> reporter: provided we survive. how did sd this translate into a compelling video? well, the idea is to use stop motion photography, shooting roughly 600 still pictures in three hours. the result will be changing

patterns of color, whether it will work is anyone's guess, and if you think our job looks tough -- >> this is our team of highly trained ball sorters. when the colors mix, it goes to them. >> reporter: in no time at all, bordom sets in. >> are you -- >> i'm on the floor. >> just another day at the office. >> thankfully crackberry addicts, we can still get our fix. 20 minutes later and vieira has lost it. >> hold your fire. >> yeah. like we trust you. hey. i thought you said truce. am i getting you, matt? >> this is going to make it. >> please do not do this.

>> reporter: sadly, we're oblivious to our angry clean-up crew, but they get us back. >> turn your head. >> what is it, the exorcist? what are you, crazy? >> clear cube one. >> quickly emptying 20,000 balls from each cube is no simple task. >> i'm ball-free. >> do you find yourself counting the seconds until they clear your tube. >> reporter: this will go down as one of the strangest things we've ever done. sn >> free the hosts! >> reporter: but a bit of discomfort -- >> i'm a little claustrophobic. >> reporter: is a small price to pay for the chance to become cyber superstars. >> thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> really appreciate that. >> i never see another ping pong ball as long as i live, it will be too soon.

>> what people don't know is they had a really weird odor. >> some of the colors did. >> the red -- the pink. which one did? the red. >> as they got closer up towards your chest and your -- you really were inhaling this stuff, which made it a little uncomfortable. >> you had something -- there was something in your ball. >> it was a bug. >> that's right. >> it was alive. >> yeah. >> so the goal was to shoot 600 pictures during those three hours, which was very ambitious. in reality we only ended up shooting about 200 stills, so they had to get creative with the editing. are you ready to see how it looks? >> yeah. >> let's take a look. >> all right, guys. you ready? let's do it. ♪

♪ get that taste out of your mouth ♪ ♪ you can't go back the same way you came ♪ ♪ got all theç pieces, but the just don't fit the same ♪ ♪ let your hair down now ♪ let it all come down now ♪ let it all come down >> wow. >> they are creative. hoo that was with only 200 of the 600 shots. >> if we were there for another four hours, we would have had a

full video. >> if you want to get your hands on a quarter of a million ping pong balls, where do you go? ping pong balls.net. they have never an order that big. if we didn't return those balls, they would have been out of business. a huge thank you to okay go. they helped us pull this off, and they couldn't be here today, but they were really fun to work with. >> you still have some of them, don't you? >> the ping pong balls? >> okay. >> by the way, you can see all of our viral videos on today show.com, and up next the winner of our viewer viral video challenge. >> oh, good. >> yeah. >> coming up tomorrow we've got a feeling you'll like our final video. one of the most ambitious things our staff has undertaken. one song, one take, no edits. could we pull it off? you'll find out tomorrow on "today", and we're back right after this. we pull it off? you will find out tomorrow on "today." [ women ] ♪ pop-tarts happy sunshine time! ♪

[ man ] ♪ grab a pop-tart and you might just start ♪ ♪ to sing songs like a meadow lark ♪ ♪ stretch and yawn ♪ blow a kiss to mom ♪ cause pop-tarts mornings are the bomb ♪ ♪ so, rise and shiiiiine sure. cake or pie? pie. apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream?

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go to takeadvil.com. ghailani. back now at 8:22 with "today" goes viral. >> we didn't want to do this at all. >> yeah, we >> every. >> with you challenged our viewers to come up with our own today show theme, and here's the wener courtesy of the chandler family from arlington, texas. t with clips from our show and here's the winner, the chandler

family from arlington, texas. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yeah! ♪ >> wa, wa, you anchor, you! >> oh!

>> this is "today" on nbc. >> they did a good job. >> i like the way baby hallie got into it. >> we weren't worried about baby hallie. >> that was great. >> we appreciate it. let's check with our friend, willard scott. >> i love a party! good old birthday parties. we have so many nice birthdays, friends, take a look. marcelly baker, of winter park, florida. you don't really see her. we got this in too late. no picture. a party girl and loves cross-eyed putz lsz. john nakagawa, 100 years old today, retired carpenter and survivor of the nobel peace prize camp during world war ii.

we have rose duprey, from connecticut, 103 years old, wants a boyfriend. get on facebook. john ghiringhelli, from milford, massachusetts. played in a band until his late 90s, happily married to his beautiful wife, blanche, 75 years. that's a feat. >> hazel youngman, from murraysville, 100 years old. sponsored by the aarp group. happy birthday. and mollie keitelman, of douglaston, new york, a bookkeeper secretary and longevity is how she gets along

in life. and robert and mary prosser, 78 years they've been heard, always being humble about love. that's it. that's all. back to new york where they are, always humbly in love. >> willard, thanks so much. just ahea time is 8:26. i'm brent cannon. a look at the bay bridge. >> if you're going to the bay bridge, we'll see what takes you there. the freeway, you have pretty good speed, about 35-minute drive. no incidents. 5-a looking nice through oakland as well. closer to 40 than to 30 there and 880 is what boggs down. through downtown oakland, look at this off 230 and out in hayward is very slow and in the 20s there. southbound also approaching the

san mateo bridge and a disabled vehicle will slow things. once you get on the bridge, smooth drive. we can just barely make out the hills, rob. >> we're not seeing much in the way of sunshine. partly cloudy skies. some radar scans not picking up any rain just yet but it's not all that far away. on the north coast it will drop into lake port this afternoon and move further south into the bay area as we head into friday. today much cooler. highs only in the 50s to low 60s today but today is going to be the warmest of the next seven days and highs dipping into the mes.this ratid. at s.h8:y 27e stit 8:27.

32 years ago today 900 adults and 305 children died at the people's temple in jonestown, guy hannah. family and friends of the victims will gather at evergreen cemetery in oakland to pay their respects. james warren jones established his church headquarters before moving his congregation where most of them died in the mass murder suicide. more local news coming up.

utah. we're back now, 830 on a thursday morning, the 18th day of november, 2010. that is just a gorgeous

christmas tree behind all that scaffolding. 30,000 lights being placed on that beauty and al will help flip the switch november 30th. natalie morales as well. will unveil what another one of the stars of that show will be later on. al roker and ann curry, we have two big stars in the studio. >> they are teaming up for an unconventional love story, called "love and other drugs." >> i have hathaway in that one. >> yeah! >> that's two out of three. >> they're distracted by memories of their movie making. let's say the wardrobe in that department had very little to work with. >> it is a love story. >> it ends up a love story, yeah. very unconventional love story. >> that sounds good. also, we have martha stewart in

the house. what is she going to do? she will feed us, baby, with yummy things, including her unique spin on classic pumpkin treats, if you're tired of the same old desserts. my gosh, i'm salivating already. >> one of my favorite segments, jill always comes in and brings us the fabulous bow-wow. we have wonderful contestants. tomorrow morning, wait for it, an adventure on the high seas, when kathie lee and hoda climb aboard the lure of the seas. >> they have the whole boat to themselves. >> i think it's like 16 stories. >> a small city. >> that scares me. >> i'm being honest with the american people. >> the american people or boats? >> looks like fun to me. >> how come the pirate couldn't get in this movie theater?

>> how come? >> it was rated rrr! just a little pir rascy on the high seas. >> let's check the weather. >> let's check it out for you. show you what's goingon. >> for the weekend, we have sunshine for the eastern two-thirds of the country. we have rain along the west coast. know showers in this planes and also rockies, sunday sunday, we're looking at snow through the western great lakes, a lot of snow through the rockies and cascades, wet weather up and down the west coast, sunny and mild in the gulf and atlantic states. and here's a look at clouds over san jose. one of the reasons why we're running cooler today, that combined with a stronger sea breeze will keep our temperatures down quite a bit from the last few days. we're also watching rain up there around eureka and that line will weaken as it approaches the bay area. some showers across northern sonoma county late this afternoon. we'll see highs, upper 50s to low 60s tomorrow. the rains will move further

south and our temperatures will be dropping as we head into the weekend. rain off and on at times breezy and much cooler. if you're doing holiday traveling, don't worry, the weather channel has you covered. check out the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. coming aha anne ha ♪

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back at 8:36. jake gyllenhaal and anne hathaway play an unconventional married couple in ""brokeback mountain"" and now playing a couple who can't keep their hands off each other in the new romantic comedy, "love and other

drugs." >> wait, wait. oh, my god. what are you doing here? >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i know it's so late. >> oh, my god! >> oh, my god! >> josh, turn around! >> josh, pleasure to meet you. >> jake gyllenhaal and anne hathaway, good morning to you. >> let's just cut to the chase. a lot of nakedness in this movie, right? >> well, yes. but i will say, my dad was at the premier the other night. >> you're kidding. >> he said, i'm so happy all the ndudity has been trumped up so much because it's really not that shocking when you actually see it. >> all that everybody's talking about. >> compared to the hoopla and i really don't think there's so much. >> squif% of the movie we're naked. >> 62%, jake.

>> you play characters and have sex with a lot of people but have real trouble committing, right? we are you laughing? >> i love your description of this movie. you have sex with a lot of people and have trouble committing. >> it's a movie with a phobia about commitment? >> two characters afraid of intimacy and ultimately finding each other and through fate or something, they have to open up to each other. >> let's get off that. there's a funny story behind that scene, right? >> >> just watjust watching tha miss josh so much. >> josh isn't watching. josh isn't up until noon. >> you like to think he's watching. >> when we were shooting that scene, we were shooting it a couple hours. it's a little scary, very revealing. after a few hours of shooting it, i guess the set was quiet. i was behind the scene waiting for my cue and got into a

conversation with someone and they came up, annie, it's time, it's you. my gosh, i run onto the set and take my top off like i do in the scene and all of a sudden, i notice jake is wearing his pants, josh isn't in his costume and everybody is talking and i realize we're rehearsing and i unnecessarily had gotten completely naked in front of the crew. >> i love how she knows we're rehearsing because my pants are on. which is an amazing subject. >> is doing this stuff, you're actors. but is it intimidating? scary? it's cold. >> nudity in pittsburgh, not the best. >> we already had our experience in "brokeback mountain." we had love scene in that. i was pretty familiar with anne hathaway. i wasn't totally comfortable but it is an awkward thing to make fake love on the screen. >> at the same time, we are

actors and made our piece with our job. >> she always clears it up for me. >> i'm sure when you're involved in scenes like that, just acting together, you learn stuff about each other. >> it's pretty tough to be -- you know, turned on by a girl like her. >> thank you. thank you very much. not even 9:00 a.m. and you already crushed my soul. >> seriously, you must learn things about each other as actresses and actors? >> as actresses we do. >> one of my favorite jokes is scratch and actor, find an actress. >> what does that mean? >> i'll explain to you later. >> have you learned anything about each other? is there any depth here? >> no. no depth. >> only interested in each other's surfaces. >> you do have to get close to somebody like that particularly the amount of times you do it in the movie. a lot of emotional scenes are even harder. she's a brave present awesome person and actress. >> there's a very serious side to the movie.

you play somebody with parkinson's, first stage parkinsons and part of the reason you have the commitment problem to begin with. >> and part of the reason why she's interested in jake and so sexually aggressive, she is attempting to ctrol all relationships she has and looking for people -- purposely looking for people who aren't interested in romantic entanglements or attachments. >> i play a viagra rep, which is the same thing? >> it says you're fully into your manhood or adulthood in this film for the first time. do you agree with this? >> i do in a way. it was an opportunity for me to be more like myself and be okay with that. at a younger age, we're trying to do something everybody else wants us to do. in this movie, i felt very comfortable with myself. and, yeah, i think that's a big part of being a man. i do feel that way. i'm glad he said that. >> it's a nice place to be. you're hosting "snl" this

weekend? >> yes. >> i asked you which is scarier, taking your clothes off or hosting "snl"? >> both for different reasons, they're both equally revealing. >> you are america's sexiest man in "people" magazine, you know this. >> it's a tough job. somebody has to do it. >> ah! >> congratulations. >> and "love and other drugs" opens next wednesday, november 24th. coming up, save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%!

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originality on tasty delights and everyday food. good morning to you. >> we're negotiating turkeys. do you want one? >> of course i do. >> do you want one? stuffed? >> absolutely. >> i'm coming here thanksgiving morning. >> i know you are. >> i will show, everybody can watch and we can cook together a really good turkey and really good sides. >> count me in. >> we will start really early in the morning, 7:30, 8:00. >> we'd like a standing rib roast thursday. you are doing something not as traditional. >> these are delicious pumpkin desserts, not just the pumpkin pie. this is a wonderful bread pudding. who wants to mix this up? >> talk to me about ingredients. >> 15 ounces of canned pumpkin. your own homemade puree pumpkin, one cup of milk, half a cup of cream. >> yeah. >> mix that together, add two

eggs. you're making basically a pumpkin custard you will pour. >> keep going. >> i'm trying. >> a quarter cup of light brown sugar. half a tea party of cinnamon, this is good, three-quarters tea party of vanilla. >> and seized. >> an additional. you will like it. it's good. >> i like licorice. >> you can buy this- >> can you cube it also? >> you can cube it. this is a pretty presentation. >> you like it day old, don't you, your bread? >> you can do it day old. it will soak up the pumpkin mixture. there you go. >> very nice. pour this over. the dish is buttered, by the way, underneath. >> that's what you do? >> yes. isn't that beautiful? >> gorgeous. >> that's the custard. you bake this-

>> just like that? you cover it? >> you bake this in a 300 degree oven. >> so you don't cover it. >> let that bake and put pecans on it. here are the pecans. >> pecans. >> pecans. and sprinkle this all over. while this is baking, make it delicious. this is -- taste that, matt. six cups of milk cooked with 1/2 cups of sugar. you cook that about two hours. it's so good, right? >> it is. >> so good. >> this is going over the top. >> yes. three-quarters of a cup of baking soda. very important to put that in this. it reduces the acidity. >> okay. >> put it on low. >> muffins. >> they're not muffins. these are pumpkin donuts? .but they're not fried, they're baked. they're so fun to make. it's a very easy --

>> what did you put in there? >> butter and brown sugar. two eggs. >> same thing as before. >> and some -- you have some pumpkin 1 1/4 cups of pumpkin and buttermilk. this is a very kind of healthy -- like a muffin mix but it's baked and looks like a donut and tastes like a donut. taste that, matt. >> i am. >> you are going to love it. so this -- >> how long do you do this? until it's all mixed up? >> just cream it. butter allspice, nutmeg, all the good flavors and baking soda. we're using buttermilk. that gets alternated with pumpkin and buttermilk mixture. >> putting that into a buttered pan? >> using the ice cream scoop. >> it's so easy. >> i could even do it, is that

what you were thinking? >> level it off on the side of the bowl. >> how long do you cook these? >> 350 degrees, 20, 25 minutes. that's what the bread putting looks like when it's done. pretty, right? >> cockroach, cockroach. it a gone. >> it's gone? >> you scared me. >> the "today"'s show kitchen is very clean. >> really? >> i cleaned it myself. >> you want to know what's up next? [ bell rings ]

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♪ we are back now with today's bow to wow. we take shelter dogs and clean them up and find them great new homes. we have a 100% track record on this. jill, good morning to you. "today" show's animal advocate. >> i will say we have a great group and again today, we have a great group. this is a feast for the eyes, thanksgiving special, personalities so delicious and names to match. as the weather begins to turn a little colder at animal care and control in new york city, we have four great dogs guaranteed to bring a lot of warmth to new loving homes. ♪ and they called it puppy love ♪ >> starting with this scrumptious little pup named

truffle. this little baby is only 3 months old? >> only 3 months old, a lab-hound next. a lot to be thankful for. walking next to a busy highway. could have easily wandered out and hit by a car, somebody brought her to us and anxious to get into a home. she will be energetic and running around and very playful for sure. >> from sweet truffle to a mop top maltese, who could use a little makeover. this little lovebug is appropriately called muffin. yes. >> muffin is a 3-year-old maltese. somebody put her in a bag and left her. you can see she could use a little grooming. she's a little matted and her paws dirty. she will look amazing when she gets done. >> look how sweet she is. on to a hot dog named snitzel. >> she is a 3-year-old

dachshund, hit by a car. she broke her leg. >> it was a story that started out tragic. you help dogs injured. >> came in with a broken leg and through our maggie fund, able to get care at the hospital. >> and a shepherd mix named biscuit. >> 70 pounds, probably won't get bigger than this, a big boy. >> probably suited for older, maybe teenagers, not young kids. >> not young kids, foot that he is aggressive but may bump into them and is big and strong. >> four terrific dogs looking for loving homes just in time for thanksgiving. >> as always, we're joined by richard from animal control care of new york city. holiday time, people say, let's get a dog, fun for the holidays, holidays pass and have different feelings. >> don't get caught up in emotion of the holidays, don't give a dog as a gift or cat as a gift. a lot of shelters have gift

certificates, animal control has gift certificates and be careful of feeding table scraps and turkey bone and chocolate. >> thank you very much. good advice. why don't we talk about our dogs up for adoption today. let's start off with truffle and meredith is bringing truffle out. look how cute this dog is. richard, tell me about truffle. >> truffle is still a puppy. she loves the steel shoe and a you have to chase her. she was found walking next to a street. >> how big is she going to get? >> i think probably 50, 60 pounds, hard to tale, a medium-sized dog. she will stay cute her whole life. >> meredith, thank you very much. truffle, thank you very much. next, we have a major makeover. let's see muffin's before picture. >> a little mop top. >> a 3-year-old maltese. here comes ann with muffin now.

>> ah. >> because muffin was matted, a lot of her hair was cut off. that's why she's a little cold right now. she likes to be around people. she would do great in a home where somebody is home a lot, whether they work from home or are retired. she needs to be around people

good morning to you. 8:56. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> everybody gathered.

much less folks on the crossing. we were watching for reports of a disabled truck or a wheel from a truck. they didn't find anything and hard to find any people there now. that's good news approaching the area. travel time still looking sloppy on the east shore freeway. there is an incident on the right-hand shoulder. 580 and 80 slow through oakland. the congestion still through that part of the east bay but then once you get to the maze it will be clear. the target 2 day sale is almost here and the last thing that's going to stop me is weak thighs. mountain series, level 10. backwards. [male announcer] starts friday, november 26th at 4am. woman: did you bring the camera phone? man: i did.

do you wanna go first? i've been waiting for this all day. ok, this is from... aunt stacey. introducing chase quickdeposit. just photograph the front and back of your check using the chase mobile app on your iphone, and hit send. it went through. this is so cool. this is so cool. you wanna try it? yea. ok. all right. who's next? make a deposit from anywhere, anytime-- with your iphone. to mister and misses walker. why would they send my parents a check? chase what matters. ♪ i'm doing a bit of light calisthenics, to practice for the big target 2 day sale on friday morning. when i'm shopping i feel it right here. finally getting its first target box store. it's been approved on the first and second floor. the sign will be replaced with target's signature bull's eye

logo. 100,000 square-foot expected to create 250 local jobs and bring in nearly $2 million in sales tax revenue. i'll have another update in 30 minutes or so. the. >> todd: show returns in a minute.

we're back now with more on "today." on the plaza, matt lauer. and meredith is out there. >> running for office. i'm matt lauer, along with

tamarine hall and al roker. speculations growing perhaps prince william and kate middleton will get married at westminster abbey. pictures taken from that church closed down and a private meeting there. will they get married there? one thing we do know after they get married, they will be living in a small town in the northern part of wales. that is where natalie morales joins us this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. they've actually been living here already. this is a quaint and beautiful part of the world in north wales, absolutely stunning, as you can see from the gorgeous landscape behind me. it is rainy and windy. i imagine they will spend a lot of time indoors and being

romantic, what newlyweds do, once they get married. a beautiful part of the country and said to be enjoying their time here and do get out and mix with the locals and have my tour of anglesey next. >> i wasn't sure where natalie was going with that story. you pulled up just in time. >> that hat is very nice. >> very nice. what else is coming up? >> also talking about, speaking of natalie's fashions, talking about kate's fashion sense, known as being sophisticated and classy and many wondering what designers will she put on the map? which designer will she select to put her gown together and we'll look at kate's fashion sense and how it will make a huge splash, not just across the bond but here as well. that time of year and you start hearing coughing going on in the office. what right medicines are good for your symptoms.

we'll help you make the right choice for fast relief without overmedicating. then later, we tell you why your grocery bill is going up later in the next few monthings a -- months and how you can prepare yourself. >> ann curry is next with the headlines. in the news, the fbi arrested two women who worked for ponzi schemer, bernie madoff. federal prosecutors already filed civil complaints against the women seeking to recover at least $5 million. the first guantanamo bay prisoner to face a u.s. civilian trial has been found not guilty on all but 1 of 285 counts in a civilian court. it could put 36-year-old ahmed g ghailani in prison the rest of his life but still a setback for president obama trying terrorists in civilian courts.

and lisa murkowski wins after her write-in campaign against joe miller. she appeared this morning. >> the fact of the matter is the numbers are what they are. they clearly indicate alaskans have not only spoken, they have written it down. >> it will be the first time in more than five decades a senate candidate has won a write-in seat. and senator harry reid says he will call for legislation to allow gays to serve openly in the military but several including john mccain says they will fight to keep the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in place. george bush and investor warren buffet are among the 2010 winners of the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor president obama will present early next year. wednesday, they awarded the highest honor for science, the

brains behind super glue, microchips and digital cameras. northeast overnight, the storm knocked out power more than 82,000 people and left a lot of damage behind including 2 200 damaged homes in maryland. hong kong confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years. a 69-year-old woman is in serious condition after returning from a visit to mainland china. a sports car developed by british engineers has made a pan-american road trip from the arctic circle in alaska to the world's southern most city. the team drove through 14 countries in 70 days, covering more than 16,000 miles without a single blast of carbon dioxide emissions. a california woman may never want to pop the hood of her car again, she found a 10 foot long boa constrictor curled around her engine. it took a half hour to pry the snake from her car, even

greasing up the reptile with cooking oil to help free it. experts have no idea how it got there. i'm sure they're all glad to get it out of there. five minutes past the hour. let's go back outside with a check of the weather with al. >> mr. roker, what's the weather look like? >> we have a mess in then northwest. let's check it out for you. a couple of low pressure systems, a big one offshore, bringing rain and snow to the mountains. ahead of it, high winds and wind advisories and warnings and we will continue to see that over the next 48 hours. you can see the precipitation coming on in and we are looking from snow from bend, oregon, all and here's a look outside. you can see we've got kind of a mixed bag of clouds, some patchy k it's a little breezy at times. you can see the reason why we have a system dropping in from the north. the first one is going to weaken by the time it arrives in the bay area.

we'll feel the cooling effects and the stronger sea breeze. tomorrow that rain is going to be further south especially for saturday. rain off and on mixed with sunshine but cool and breezy, highs only in the 50s. >> that's your latest weather. ann. thanks. we have new clues about where prince william and his bride to be, kate, may get married, we have natalie morales in anglesey, wales. i hope i said that right. >> reporter: good morning to you. kate middleton was spotted in london leaving westminster abbey and leaving speculation and becoming more evident that will likely be the choice for the royal wedding. meantime, she remains there in london. prince william has made his way back here north of wells to anglesey, where they will spend

the first years of their life as a married couple. their engagement may have been a traditional affair but kate and william are a thoroughly modern couple. for the last eight months, they have been living as man and wife in anglesey, where prince william serves as helicopter pilot serving rescue missions. >> luckily we live in the 21st century and a lot of people live together before they're married. in this particular instance, the queen was delighted the couple were living together. >> reporter: far away from the media glare in this isolated mart of lake whales, hey have been living together a normal life, shopping at the supermarket, picking up an occasional dinner and drink at the pub. >> there were here for an hour. quite pleased to have them in the establishment. >> reporter: it's a long way away from the royal life and glamorous surroundings prince william is used to.

kate might struggle to find the latest fashion. >> it's a great place to live. great place to holiday. because of the fantastic scenery you can see all around. >> reporter: you have to get past the wind and rain. >> we have a bit of wind and rain in wales. >> reporter: where it rains most days and temperatures rarely hit a high, prince william can go on his adventurous streak. >> he has been whizzing around on his ducati motorcycle. >> reporter: and kate can take pictures right on her doorstep. >> when they come here, people will think, wow, prince william and kate middleton live here. >> reporter: they're hoping the couple in their midst will boost tourism. >> good for them and the economy. >> reporter: they're not about to give away she kretsz. >> you're making far too much of an issue of it. >> reporter: that's how kate and william hope to hold on to a little bit of their private life

a little longer, before they face the full force of royal duties. >> the royal couple will continue to live her through 2013, when prince william's toure with the raf is over and speculation has begun where they will then settle after that. ann. >> meantime, kate middleton has been praised for her elegant yet modern styles, who may she pick to design her wedding gown? who knows? but we have ideas bus weigh will talk about this with our executive fashion and beauty editor for harper's bazaar and has ideas. and anna, a senior editor with "the knot".com. before we get to anything, we should talk about your having had a wonderful experience being in london when diana was married. >> yes. i was in the crowd. my first job after university. i was in london. the whole run up to the glamor and fabulousness of it all and

luckily in my career, i was able to meet princess diana and now we're celebrating a daughter in law, kind of lovely. >> i was talking to my girlfriends, does feel like a fairytale nature of it. people are really excited and seem to really like kate middleton. >> yes. and we all are dying to know what wedding dress she will choose, what it will look like. she will be 29 when she gets older -- gets married. she has her own sense of style. she is a fashionable girl. i don't think she will be covered in tool or beads like princess diana was. she has a structure to her. she loves wearing v-neck lines that plunge like that and has styles that look great on her and i think the wedding dress will look the part. >> you know how it works. it has to be a situation -- is it fair to saynote is applying in some way?

>> you have this willowy gorgeous girl with long auburn hair, wonderful to dress and you have vivian west woods and stella mccartney and john geliana and all british and all could be in the running to design the dress. >> do they send notes? hopefully they have a relationship her already because she does have beautiful clothes and worn beautiful clothes. how do they put their name out there so she will consider them because they will want to dress her? >> the prs will all be -- >> also, there's also so many wedding dress designers very well-known in britain i imagine will be coming out with amazing styles that look like her. bruce olefield, one of diana's favorite couture designers and someone up and coming, someone british so she can buy local, i

think, that also really again, speaks to her personality and style while keeping that royal look. >> one of the ideas we were talking about before we started speaking on camera and she looks so lovely and v-neck sort of type. >> not too plunging. you have to please the establish. as well as the younger generation. already, she has that broad appeal. she still has to be very stately and very glamorous and sophisticated because the eyes of the world will be on her. we will keep her in the spotlight and i don't think our eyes will be off. >> i think she could very well be such an influence on fashion. i think she is already. people already want to find a beautiful blue dress the color she wore when she announced her engagement, don't you. >> already. she has a very modern style but remember the prerequisite of being a princess, not only look good in a bikini, look good in the countryside, fishing, looks,

in a stately ralph lauren kind of way. >> here we go. buckle up. >> it's going to be fun! >> thank you so much! how to choose the right col coming up after this. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious.

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this morning on today's health, how to navigate the cold med sign aisle from stuffed up to runny nose and cold medicines treat particular symptoms. >> a board certified internist and medical director. good to have you here. >> nice to be here. >> is it true there's no cure for the common cold. >> no. >> how is this possible? >> there's so many variations out there they captain nail it down to a vaccine. believe me, we are working on it. >> it seems like there are 100 choices when you walk in the medicine aisle. do these things help? >> you are already sick and there are so many for cold and cough and chest congestion. they work and don't eliminate the symptoms but reduce them. >> let's start with congestion for a stuffy nose. it's important to know the category. when you look at the box, see

the words stuffny nose or nasal decongest stand. important you don't get that if you don't have that symptom. that's the problem. >> why? >> a lot of side effects. this would be the ones that make you jittery, keep you up at night, make you pharmaceutical raese. they're the ones you're not supposed to take if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart problem or pregnancy. this has the most problems. >> a lot of side effects. you get the multi-one that has everything, you will get this ingredient and you may not need it. >> what about expect tore rant for cold medication? >> this is the one no one can remember. the green mu cuss you want to get out, take this. the reason point it out, it doesn't tend to be in cold medications, look for this when you have a cold, you get all

stuffy, sinuses get clogged, nothing is flowing, this will help things cold and get the mucous out so you can feel better. >> cough it out. speaking of coughing, cough suppress sants withants, has a . if you're blocking the urge to cough, you might be keeping everything in which sets you up potentially for another infection. >> if you have the mucous and take the mucous loosener and take a cough suppressant, you're battling what you should be. >> and you should be taking the other one to loosen and get it out. dm is for annoying tickle cough or on a plane, but you shouldn't, taking it blanketly for a cold. >> what about combination pain reliever and fever reducer. >> ibuprofen, plain and simple.

if you have a cold and stuffny nose, you grab that multisymptom cold pack, you will get that in it. later on, you take a headache, take acetaminophen again. >> people overdo it. >> yes. it's important to look at the box. >> what about any multisymptom? what's the problem with those, if you're knnot careful besides this. >> i urge people to look at this, nasal congest stand, expect tore ant, cough, congestion, and look at it. it could keep you up at night, and you're not tailoring it to your symptoms. >> what if you don't want to use medication? >> salt, garageles, nasal saline, humidifiers, and chicken soup an hot fluids. >> can't hurt. >> it can't hurt and helps loosen up the mucous.

>> good to see you. up next, a head to toe makeover in a special ambush. echo! so we earned a trip to the grand canyon twice as fast. uhoh. we get double miles every time we use our card. i'll take these. no matter what we're buying. plus the damages. and since double miles add up quick, we can bring the whole gang. it's hard to beat double miles. no, we ride them. [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? oh, that's the spot! it's your fault. naturally, blame the mucus. [ mucus ] what you need is new advil congestion relief. it reduces swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. we knew the perfect place to go. i guess i did okay. i knew they'd love him. try our new sacchetti dishes. pasta pouches stuffed with four italian cheeses. served with marinated chicken breasts

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dawn is in a crystal jacket herself actress and star of gossip girls, blake. good to see you. this jacket is rocking. you are fitted for the occasion. just behind us, a beautiful star. a lot of work went into it. >> it's incredible to be here and in new york, unveiling the star on the rockefeller christmas tree. knowing there's over 725 crystals and l.e.d. lights. >> you studied up on it. >> every year i have been here with my nieces and nephews and never thought i would be unveiling it. >> you say you're a california girl. >> i lived in new york the last four years but raised in california. the thing you always do at christmas time is come to rockefeller plaza. >> pig plans with the holiday family? >> we stay home and cook.

>> are you a good cook? >> pretty good cook. >> you don't want to give up any secrets there. it is a great honor and many people will come by and see it through the holidays. continued success on "gossip girls" and everything's else. still ahead, holiday from fames from famed italian chef lidia. first your local news and weather. aahh, aaahh! you will win this. faster, faster yes! ♪ the target 2 day sale starts friday november 26th at 4am. are you ready? our family-owned company makes daisy... with 100% natural farm-fresh cream. no artificial ingredients. no preservatives. and no added hormones.

♪ daisy, do-do a dollop good morning to you. 9:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. i want to check the commute with mike. >> still slow. getting to the bay bridge toll plaza. the freeway, speeds in the 20s at times. mostly in the 30s. coming up through oakland now speeds up into the 30s and out of the 20s so starting to get better there. across the bay in san francisco we do have an accident on city streets, some major streets.

keep that in mind. a considerable amount of activity there. the roadways are also open getting into the city via the golden gate bridge, an easy drive as far as the number of cars there. they closed down the right lane for the second day in a row, rob. >> seeing sunshine but things are trending cooler. a weather system with rain to the north and cooler air aloft. that's a sign of cooler air that will eventually spill to the bay area as you approach the weekend. 50s to 60s today. tomorrow a chance of seeing some rain for the second half of the day and then for the weekend chilly sunshine, windy rain off and on. look at those highs, 50s into the beginning of next week. time right now is 9:27.

lawmakers are gearing up for an all-day meeting to get the ball rolling on next year's budget after facing a $118 million budget gap last year, they face a shortfall of $70 million next year. mayor chuck reid says the city will face a $22 million increase

in retirement and benefit costs. >> we know we're going to have to make cuts again next year. we'll be seeking concessions from employees to avoid layoffs. it's kind of a repeat of last year's budget. only not quite as bad but still quite bad. >> today's meeting started at 9:00 at city hall expected to last until 5:00 tonight. today is a great day to quit smoking. the american cancer society marking the great american smokeout. smokers are asked to snuff out their cigarettes for one day in the hope that it might encourage them to stop permanently. according to the american cap certificate society 443,000 people die in the u.s. every year due to smoking and second hand smoke.

all hands on deck when kathie lee and hoda gone on the cruise ship, the allure of the seas. when he you're talking kathie lee and hoda, there may be a

little imbibing involved. it all happens tomorrow. if you remember speed ii, it will probably be something like that. >> i heard they're the only ones on board. they will have the run ofhe place. >> check the silverware when they're done. many people think going green will be hard and expensive. we have ideas for you this morning. we heard about shopping bags, what about coffee cups and nonstick pans and shoes, and things you can buy and use to protect the environment and don't cost you a lot of money. >> also ahead, you may have noticed, it's getting more expensive to feed your families with the cost of eggs and other staples getting higher, how to prepare your family finances the next few months. you may be needing to set aside a lot more money. >> cereal is six bucks.

>> crazy now. >> it will not cost you a lot to make delicious holiday cookies. folks love getting those. famed italian chef, lidia bastianich, sharing her recipes and being helped out with her granddaughter. >> we will go cook with her. first, let's check out the weather near you. >> we have beautiful weather in the eastern half of the country for saturday. rain and snow out west and sunday sunday, we are looking at more snow around the great lakes, rain around the central great lakes, snow in the rockies, wasatch and here's a nice view from oakland looking back to san francisco. a lot of low clouds this morning and even some spotty areas of drizzle underneath the clouds as the onshore winds pick up. you can see in terms of more substantial rain nothing showing just yet. we are seeing the rain in the north coast. that is getting closer and closer to the bay area.

back tomorrow a good chance of rain today. mainly cool and breezy. 50s and 60s for highs today. we'll see the rain at times for tomorrow then saturday and sunday windy and cooler. thatr yu that's your latest weather. >> thank you very much. it is easy being green if you make simple everyday changes right after these messages. all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled,

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as part of our ongoing environmental initiative, "green is universal," we're celebrating green week. this morning, practical tips to green your routine everyday. we have the founder and editor, rachel, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you have stunning bits of information. people would be surprised how many paper cups or throw away cups they would reuse every week. >> 50 in a week. this represents basically what the average person throws in the trash can and hopefully recycles every week. >> a lot of paper, plastic and styrofoam, not good. >> this is what i'm trying to do. this is what this is about, trying to show people that this is perhaps not the best thing to do but there are easier options. >> you say these are little cups

you can take and carry around with you. >> you do not want to carry a big reusable cup in your bag, it doesn't fit, you can't wash it out. this pops into a cup, hot or cold, done, squeeze it back together, put it in your purse. >> you can wash it later if it leaks -- >> does not leak. >> if you're on the go, those are great. >> we go for sheets, we go for cotton. you say that's great except we don't realize what. >> cotton, fabric of our lives but one of the most heavily sprayed crops of our world and five are carcinogens according to the environmental protection agency. this is a great example. this represents a pound. >> i will put this -- >> of pesticide. right? it's sugar. i'm trying to show in your basic t-shirt and jeans outfit we all wear everyday, a pound of pesticides goes into the cotton.

>> you're saying buy organic when you're concerned about pesticides. >> you can get them anywhere, k-mart, wal-mart. >> lipstick. a lot of people don't realize how much we ingest of lipstick that we should be concerned about. >> women eat nine pounds of lipstick over their lifetime which is what this represents. 60% contain lead, a neurotoxin, not something you want to put in your body. >> that's bizarre. you want to find lipsticks that say what exactly? >> you can find that on e ecostiletto. you can test it and make it easy on yourself and look for this seal, certified organic. >> we can show it here. the one with the circle. >> it's safe and safe to eat, not that you want to eat it but you could. >> we've long learned we don't want to use this kind of pan

because it comes up. >> even if you don't scrape it, it's getting into your food when this heats up. >> we don't want to eat that if we worry about this issue. we want more of ceramic bottom? >> these are cast iron, the traditional pots and pans our grandmothers used to use. pfra is considered cancer causing by not an alarmist organization. >> and we've known this for some time. cast iron, copper, stainless steel. >> i just love these pots and i think they're so cute. >> i see, i see. >> plastic bags, it shocks me how much we throw away in plastic bags and how easily we get them. i saw somebody at the airport, got something in a plastic bag and walked two or three yards down and threw it away. and we don't have space for them. these are very small. >> i want to make it easy.

these, you can put in your purse or pocket or car and put them anywhere. basically, they open up, like this. 85% of the dirt and toxins can be lost inside your home just by taking off your shoes and i learned this from the organization dedicated to your children's and your health. if you're going to, mr. rogers, change your shoes when you come in, look for sustainable options. these are recycled tire and sustainable and recycled material. >> thank you very much for the good information. coming up next, why your next trip to the grocery store is getting moreveensi and expe what you can do about it, right after this. ♪ i was young and i was stupid ♪ i had just turned 17 ♪ a harmonica and a box guitar ♪

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[ woman #5 ] i'm so anxious. [ man #2 ] i need to focus. [ female announcer ] depression hurts. with many sympmsto of depreion. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. talk to your doctor and go to cymbalta.com to learn about an offer to help you get started.

depression hurts. cymbalta can help. not sure what to take? now click on the robitussin relief finder. click on your symptoms. get the right relief. makes the cold aisle easy. the robitussin relief finder. it's that simple. we knew the perfect place to go. i guess i did okay. i knew they'd love him. try our new sacchetti dishes. pasta pouches stuffed with four italian cheeses. served with marinated chicken breasts or sauteed shrimp. at olive garden. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. yeah. we're buying gifts. i gotta decorate the yard. people are coming over. i want to make sure i get something for my spending. some credit cards... they have all these rules and... restrictions with their rewards.

they make us jump through hoops. i have the bankamericard cash rewards™ credit card. -1% cash back... -with every purchase. there's no limit to the amount of cash back i can earn. and our cash rewards, they won't expire. no hoops to jump through. -1% cash back. -really simple. [ 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" money, the real cost of living in america. over the past several weeks you may have noticed your weekly food bill creeping up, and it's not expected to get better anytime soon. exactly what's happening? gary is the co-host of cnbc's strategy session and author of "smarter than the street: invest and make money in any market." good morning. >> good morning. >> i think you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who hasn't noticed food was gone up. canned tuna, 25%.

hotdogs, something just about every fame has, up 20%. why? >> they may -- viewers may be wondering why if the economy is so weak or the economy is so -- there's such issues related to the economy, why the price is going up. it has to do with inflation. inflation is the reason why at the retail level you're seeing the price increases. >> how is inflation defined? >> inflation is when you're paying more money for the same product, same goods or services, essentially the same product you're paying more out of your pocket for that product. >> is it too simplistic to say inflation is good or bad? >> well, that's the biggest issue. some inflation is necessary. you have to have some price increases in order for the economy to grow. but too much inflation, those that remember the 1970s, for example, is terrible. so you got to have a fine line between some inflation, 1%, maybe 1.5% to 2%, and when it gets above that it becomes -- it starts to hurt the economy. >> where are we now? >> well, essentially the reported figures today is that

we have no inflation, and that's one of the reasons why it's so frustrating to individuals because the government will tell us we've got basically zero inflation because a lot of their statistics are what's called x food and energy which is somewhat ironic. any viewer i know knows they're paying more for the normal things. >> why are we seeing it reflected in common staples, eggs, coffee? why is it reflected in the staple products? >> because the manufacturers of these products are passing these incremental costs on at the wholesale level and the retail level has to pass it through to consumers to protect their own profit margins. >> and the deflation, that is obviously the opposite of inflation, is that something we will see here soon? will that help us? >> that's been the biggest fear of the federal reserve and the government. the biggest fear is that deflation, which, for example, japan was in a deflationary environment on and off for the last 20 years. when you have deflation, paying less for the same goods and

services of products, it's great to be a consumer when you pay less, but the economy can't grow and businesses don't hire, and at the end of the day the biggest concern in this country is the unemployment rate and how to improve that. >> and all of this has to do with the fed and most people, you glaze over this, you know what you're paying out of your pocket, but in the end it goes back to the fed. >> absolutely. even if you don't have any money in the stock market, you don't care about investing in equities, you're not interested in what's happening on wall street, what the federal reserve bank is trying to do to stimulate economic growth and full employment is going to affect the 90% of people that have jobs and who are working in the idea of creating higher prices to stimulate economic growth. >> i was stunned that you were asked what should people do to prepare or deal with the higher costs, for example of food, and you say set ahead 20%, maybe a little bit more, of your budget because things will continue to pick up. >> well, again, when i was actively managing money and always tried to err on the side of being too conservative and

obviously in the last ten years that was a great strategy to follow, i think that given what has been the game plan, the strategy of the federal reserve bank today, plan your 2011 budget, expect that the staple items are going to go up 20%. if it doesn't happen, you've got more money to save at the end of the year. i think the lesson of the last decade is plan for the worst and you will be better prepared. there's no way that the policies that are in place today you will see prices at the retail level come down. >> in your estimation we're in for a little bit of a long haul. >> it's not just individuals, it's at the state level, it's at the government -- >> we're seeing local governments cut back so we have to do the same. >> we are paying the price now for 10, 20-year period where debt was encouraged, taking -- spending more money, and that is now we are deflating that bubble. >> gary, thank you so much. great information there, and you can catch gary on cnbc's "strategy session" every weekday at noon eastern time.

up next, festive cookies for all the holidays in "today's" kitchen, but first, this is "today" on nbc. >> that's a good one. what's that? yeah. okay. diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes. [ man ] then try this. new and improved freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip.

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is the perfect choice for holiday gatherings. martinelli's is non-alcoholic, festive like champagne, and tastes great! martinelli's: since 1868. this morning in "today's" kitchen an italian christmas tradition with lidia bastianich. she's sharing her love of family and tradition in a new children's book. lidia is here with her granddaughter, julia. good morning. >> or you're nonni. so you do this book oozeas a wa remembering. >> when we go to bed at night, what do we do? altogether we pile up, and the question is nonna, tell me a

story. yes. and the story in this case, and i told her many stories, but in this case it's about a christmas tree i made made out of edible things, cookies and candies and oranges. we begin with making a simple dough for this delicious cookie. >> so your question for your grandmother is what are we making today, is that right? all right. >> out of the 14 recipes in the book this is one of of them. so we have some butter, sugar, we'll put the flour, very simple. so this is four family, grandmother, mother, children, in the processor. eggs, lemon juice, lemon rind, orange juice, orange rind and we'll just put some milk and we'll get that all into a dough.

>> and then -- now, did you grow up making this as a child? did your mother, grandmother teach you this as well? let me help with you that? >> help me out. >> this is the modern convenience. i'm sure your grandmother stirred it all up and znd do this. we're going to pretend this happened. so this became this. this becomes the dough. >> the magic of christmas. the magic of christmas. >> julia helps me roll it. >> how did you learn how to do this? >> nonni taught me. >> what did she say for you to do? >> she told me to push down and roll. >> push down and roll. you're using a little flour so it doesn't stick, right? then what is nonni doing now? >> she's tying the cookies into a knot. >> show ann how you cut them. right here, you can do this one. right here. and then ann can help us tie it, if you show it to her. >> a little serrated edge there. does it have to be just perfect

or can you be a little erratic about how wide you make it. >> it can be straight. anything goes. in the kitchen with children, i think the beauty is everyone is different. every single cookie is different. thank you. ann, how about you getting into the action? >> yes. >> and then we fry them. just like that. >> you make the little tie. then you go under. >> wonderful. okay. we have only a few seconds left. right now julia i'm going to put this right on the counter because we want to show this right on the counter because we want to show everybody what you have made. sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist.

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i'm laura garcia-cannon with mike and an update on the morning commute. >> the bridge it self looking really nice. that haze shows it's still slow through san mateo. there is an accident on westbound jackson street at mission boulevard, 238 is the official highway number for that and that's a major intersection through hayward. a little slow and slow on the northbound 88 coming through downtown but starting to see the benefit as you approach the toll plaza. metering lights are still on and 21-minute drive down to the berkeley curve. we've seen the fog lift as well. >> low clouds are starting to break up around the bay area. rain off to the north will head to lake county later on this afternoon and eventually by tomorrow move across the rest of the bay area. today highs running cooler. 50s and 60s outside. breezy at times but today by far the warmest day.

we'll see the clouds coming in. rain off and on, a mix of chilly sunshine for the weekend. highs low to mid-50s. snow levels close to 3,000 feet this weekend. laura? >> thank you, rob. despite protests, the uc california board plans to vote on a fee hike this morning that follows the 32% increase earlier this year. yesterday four officers were injured and 13 people arrested when protesters tried to storm into the board meeting in san francisco. the board says they need to raise fees. the regents are scheduled to vote on a plan to expand the uc financial aide program. dozens of student activists will stage a sleepout on the berkeley campus today all to raise awareness about poverty and homelessness. about 30 students will bring sleeping bags and blankets out to sleep for 15 minutes starting at noon. they're holding a canned food drive and clothing drive this

week. another local news update in half an hour or so.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. this thirst day, it is november 18th, we're so delighted that you're here with us today. what we really want you to come back and be with us tomorrow because tomorrow -- >> it's big day. we're going to be on -- is it

the biggest cruise ship? >> it is one of the two biggest. >> one of the two. called the allure. >> royal caribbean. >> so we have some antics planned for you from that ship. >> we're going to get down a little early and hilarity will ensue. >> live from that ship. >> it is brand-new. it not even has had its maiden voyage yet. we don't want to trash the thing. >> you just never -- the crew will be with us. >> the crew. they can be cute. >> we're going to have some fun. looking forward to that. >> you may get lucky on the cruise ship. >> i don't know why i show up. some days i wonder. okay, today is also a big day because last week the entire "today" show staff shot this incredible video. we were talking all week about "today" goes viral. we wondered if you could use the entire staff and i'm talking about 150 people, okay, every person, crew guy, audio,

everybody, executive producer, all involved. the song is the one -- >> i want to talk to the caterer. >> the black eyed peas "i got a feeling". >> i couldn't get it out of my mind for five days afterwards. >> it is a single camera and the whole entire staff. you got to -- >> all over the whole rockefeller -- >> it is going to run tomorrow. >> right. >> this is what we call a tease. >> that's j.k. long, our producer. she also produced our trading places. hot shot, that one. >> yeah. >> if you are traveling over the holidays, remember this, americans are two things when traveling acording to trip adviser.com. we are both the friendliest travelers. >> which is nice to hear and we're also the -- >> most annoying travelers. >> is that at the same time? are we so friendly that we're annoying or is it that half of us are really friendly and half of us are the most annoying?

>> you know we all have a friend, you're thinking of yours now, and i have one too, who is both incredibly friendly and incredibly annoying. >> and you don't know who you are, that's the problem. >> the other friendly traveler are the australians and the canadians. >> that i believe. the other annoying ones are the french and the japanese. >> i wonder why. >> japanese are very polite, i think. i'm surprised by that. >> i'm surprised by that too. that was from, you know, trip adviser.com. >> i think it is important. i'm always afraid somebody is going to say later, i met that kathie lee, she's the biggest jerk in the whole world. i overdo it a little bit. >> i remember when we went on a trip to san antonio, one of those places and -- the crew on the plane and, you know, entertaining and taking pictures. >> it might be the only time they have any interaction with you, it should be a pleasant one, don't you think? they work hard. >> they do work hard, yeah. >> 90% of the people are so nice. it takes one jerk to ruin your day. >> and you do know who you are.

>> if you could have thanksgiving dinner with anybody at your table, who would you ask to sit down with? >> celebrities. >> celebritiwise. pop eater, rob shuter, did a poll. >> popeater.com. >> he is on -- he's crazy. he's crazy. >> they did not put us in the mix, i'm a little disappointed. >> they gave people a list and they asked who would you want to have dinner out of this group. so the top honors are split between susan boyle and brad pitt and angelina jolie. >> isn't that interesting? >> maybe they want her to sing. i don't know. what do you think? >> then the kardashians. robert pattinson, tom cruise and katie holmes. i want to see who was on the list, wouldn't you? i would like to have dinner with everybody. >> all of those. the kardashians would be an interesting -- you had plenty of meals with those guys. >> yeah. my problem with the kardashians is they are not anywhere -- my

experience with them is completely different from what you see on their tv show. i've known them since they were little kids so i think a lot of that is shtick. >> guinness book of world records came out with its brand-new, brand spanking new book so we wondered could we set a couple of world records in our own studio. it could happen. >> i think it could happen. it will and it won't. >> one of them is a great guy named james romolarios. what is it? >> romiliodis. >> he's going to attempt on that pogo stick for one minute, he's going to try to break the record and the record is 238 bounces. and he's going to try to do 239. and judge stewart claxton is with us. he'll watch and keep track as he does this for a minute. >> if there is any question, we're not going to know, we'll go to a videotape, right? >> start the timer. you ready? this is it, james.

is it up? okay, hold on. he's already going. okay. >> three, two, one. >> go. ♪ >> how is he doing that? >> he once broke the record for the longest length of time on a pogo stick, 20 hours he went. this is a piece of cake, i think. >> what is judge stewart claxton doing. >> he's counting. >> how? just looking? >> yes. he's trained to do this, hoda. >> wow. i think james can do it. i think james can do it. he did it -- when he did it last -- oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. >> it is not like -- >> he wants to get in the book. come on, james. come on. >> the next one -- >> focus, focus, james. 15 seconds. he's down to the last 15. >> you're milwaukeei imaking hi hoda. >> he can't even hear me. he's in his own world. come on, james.

>> turn around, james. that's a long -- >> that's it. >> three, two, one. >> okay. did he break it? judge? >> it is a little too tricky to call now. we'll review the tape. >> who's checking you, judge? >> you. >> here is our second attempt. >> it is boujelaise nouveau day. >> the most m&ms eaten in one minute using chopsticks. the old record is 42 and it is by pharaoh anderson in munich, germany, in 2009. >> does it matter which end we use? can we go like this? >> one arm behind your back. >> one arm behind your back. oh, i don't like it already. and then what? >> you have to pick them up individually. >> one by one? >> one by one. >> okay. wait, we're not ready.

>> one minute. >> one by one. >> the speed is 42. >> don't poke my eye out. you're close. you're close to my eye. >> three, two, one, go. ♪ >> i hate this game. how did pharaoh anderson do it? ♪ >> i got it! i got it! scoop it up. >> i got it! what am i on, 12? >> 12. >> 6, 7.

>> 14, 15. ten seconds left. >> i'm full. >> i'm full? >> hoda, hoda, hoda, hoda, hoda! >> that's time. >> i think you got 19. there was a lot of multiple scooping there. so i'm not sure. >> what is this? >> ew! gross, gross! you are sick. >> i'm sorry, i'm going on a ship tomorrow and i don't want the calories. >> okay. >> how many is that? >> don't even look. >> it would have been 14. >> 19 and 14 adds up to what? what does it add up to? oh, oh, oh, okay. >> it reminds me of bambino. >> ew, gross. we'll keep these here. >> so we didn't break the record. >> thanks, guys. >> thank you, judge. thank you. jerry, god bless you. jerry cares. thank you, jerry. >> i don't need it, but ew. nasty.

>> i wasn't going to swallow it. >> you left it in your mouth -- so now it is time for the other portion of the program that i love so much. >> can we talk about the boujelaise. >> this is an oldie. if you ask any one of my friends, what one of my songs is, it is this one. they know this is it. kate harvest, listen. it will put you in a good mood. we have to play it very loudly, please. please. ♪ we get it almost every night when that moon gets big and bright it's supernatural delight everybody was dancing ♪ >> this is devon, you guys. i don't even know how to spin. ♪ everybody here is out of sight ♪ ♪ they don't bark

and they don't bite ♪ ♪ they keep things loose they keep things alive ♪ >> come on. devon, you're the best. ♪ dancing in the moonlight dancing in the moonlight ♪ ♪ everybody feel ein' warm and bright ♪ >> if you get any version, get the king harvest version. >> i'm not crazy about the lyrics. i like the beat of that. >> you don't like it? it is classy. people like that. let's talk about boujelaise. >> today is the official day and they're not allowed to sell it in france until midnight. and then it is shipped all over the world. so you're getting -- this has not been bought, it has been shipped to us. want to try this? this is 2010 beaujolais nouveau.

>> that is delicious. >> it is $10 a bottle, there are parties all around the country. >> i love it. that's delicious. okay, not okay. let's do that. >> the question is, is it okay to tell your friend -- is it okay to tell a friend that they're too skinny? >> kathie lee said yes, but only if you're truly concerned and not secretly jealous. >> yeah. and hoda said, yes, a good friend should tell the truth. if you are worried about hurting their feelings, don't be. they will probably take it as a compliment. >> there are some people who are really crazy, crazy skinny and i think that seems unhealthy, but they like being that skinny. i haven't met a really thin person that doesn't say thank you if you say i think you're too thin. >> that's true. all right, we got a big show for you. >> mm-hmm. >> up next, when your daughter takes her clothes off for a living, actor andy garcia weighs in. >> then later, a special thursday ambush for two lucky ladies. but first, these messages. ♪ turn the tub around

♪ talking about nutrition

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why don't we have a big home cooked dinner tonight, baked nice. >> yeah, sure. like i do every saturday night. >> yeah, but, like, you know something special, like for a real special occasion, something special, something nice? >> you want balloons or something? >> no, don't want balloons or something. i'm just saying something nice. >> when don't i make something nice? >> make it nicer. >> make it yourself! >> you're looking at a scene from the movie "city island" starring andy garcia and julianna margolies. it is has a small budget and a huge heart. >> and starring andy's real life daughter. there is oscar buzz about this. the story is set in the small community in the outskirts of new york city called city island and it is, in fact, a real place. welcome, andy. >> so great to see you. this say labor of love movie for you, isn't it? >> we started on this journey together, took us about three

years to raise the money for it, and -- >> and did well at sundance, right? >> we won the audience award at tri becca and picked up a distributor and it stayed out there for 24 weeks and there is a buzz about it, you know? >> it is a great movie because it has tons of humor like we showed in the clip. it also has a lot of heart. your character is very complicated. you take us on a ride, don't you? >> he's a prison and a correction officer, in a prison here in nassau county. and he has several secrets. one is that he wants to be an actor. he tell his wife julianna margolies, he wants to -- that he's going to play poker but he's taking acting classes. and then also he has a son that he's abandoned that he never took responsibility for that he finds in prison as an inmate, he brings him home to this crazy family. without telling him he's the son

or the father, just a prisoner in his house, but it is a beautiful script. has a lot of humanity in it, even though it is very funny. the undercurrent of the material is very emotional. >> it was striking a lot of cords with our crew members here. it really does hit a lot of people, though, doesn't matter where you're from, right? >> it is amazing, the movie that -- you make a movie independently like this, like a child, you know, so when you -- >> you have to raise it. >> yeah, you raise it. but when you see it flourish and people really engage and respond to it and the way it traveled, we were very proud of it, you know. so we're still here talking about it and it came out in march. >> i think there is great buzz about it and we may see you up on a stage, you know, collecting a little hardware. >> well you know -- >> for the mantle, you know. you never know. >> to be honored by your peers is the greatest thing you could possibly achieve as an actor or any profession, when your appears respect you or want to say something about what you do positively.

>> you have other projects you're kicking around now, right? >> always got something in the bag. you got to invent always something. >> you can't wait for the scripts to come to you. >> they come, but they're not necessarily good, but you can't sit around as an artist, you know, to -- you have to do your own thing. and then whatever is out there that comes your way, you can assess. i always have things i'm doing, writing or trying to -- >> was it hard not to direct your daughter in this? >> i wasn't the director of the film. >> i know, so -- did someone take her aside? >> she's a professional. she's more of a colleague and as a father, i look across the way to her, i'm very proud of her, but she's a colleague. >> all the best with t "city island" on dvd. >> we'll be back after this. ring ring.

progresso. oh yes hi. can you please put my grandma on the phone please? thanks. excuse me a sec. another person calling for her grandmother. she thinks it's her soup huh? i'm told she's in the garden picking herbs. she is so cute. okay i'll hold. she's holding. wha? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom.

i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. so today i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder. [ female announcer ] if you're suffering, today is the day to talk to your doctor and ask about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents all day and all night. plus, toviaz comes with a simple plan with tips on food and drink choices. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma or cannot empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. toviaz can cause blurred vision and drowsiness, so use caution when driving or doing unsafe tasks. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. [ jackie ] i asked my doctor about toviaz. and today i'm looking forward to my daughter's wedding. [ female announcer ] why wait? ask about toviaz today. no calorie sweetener granulated with fiber. sweet! [ female announcer ] tastes like sugar and has 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon.

use it almost anywhere you use sugar. even in cooking and baking. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® granulated with fiber. all right. we're going to go to sara in a second. we want to point out our pogo jumping guy sadly did not make the world record, though he does hold the world record for the longest duration. >> still has that. didn't make it by about 40, they say. he'll live to break another record. >> yes, he will. we're back with our new series called sara on the streets with miss sara haines. >> we get so much stuff sent to us at "today," it is hard to make heads or tails out of some of it. >> i look the latest thingamajig and this one really stumped up. i hit the streets to see if someone out there could figure it out at all. want you to tell me your best guess, what is this?

>> my goodness, it has got lady bag on it. >> what do you think this is? >> a glove? i don't know. it is really strange. >> like a glove you use when you're cooking or -- >> we can use this for all kind of things. >> want to show me how you put your hand in there. whoa, okay. >> it is for women because it is pink. >> it is like a portable going to the toilet device or something awful. >> something to scoop something up on the street, maybe it pick up doggy -- >> i bet it is for airplanes. >> yeah? >> the kind you vomit in. >> a barf bag. secure this on your child. >> a puke back. >> a puke bag is your final answer. >> a net where you can put it in a fish tank and catch -- >> can you show me how you do that? what is that? >> catches bugs. >> scoop it in --

>> get the fish. >> when the fish is around the hole, pull it up. >> like lightning bugs and stuff and you swat them like this. >> yeah. >> how do you close the top? >> grab it. i'm not sure. >> maybe like a bread sealer on the top, like that? >> yeah, that would work. >> check out the picture. >> now i know what it is. >> want to put your hand back in there? >> she trick me. >> okay. >> give it your best guess. >> i thought it was a fish thing too. >> something to catch something. >> it is a portable pee thing. it has a powder in here to make it solidify so it doesn't leak. >> i want to meet the guy who needs this, you know what i'm saying? >> when you got to go, you got to go, ladies. still to come, two unsuspecting ladies get the real treatment. we'll see how they look after this. and the little girl with the big voice, jackie evancho. flushs every day, you get so hooked on the "fresh" feeling,

you'll want to pass it on to a friend. over half a million have shared the freshness already so just go to getfreshwithafriend.com. ♪ tell a friend about fresh, and you'll both get a fresh reward. that now comes with the cottonelle easy reach hanger -- so it's always right where you need it. so go on, see why everyone's getting fresh with a friend! so it's always right where you need it. to stay fit, you might also want to try lifting one of these. a unique sea salt added to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. it helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ new revlon growluscious mascara. helps lashes grow stronger. with a unique formula that complements my lashes' natural growth cycle. 96% saw instantly longer lashes. this is the start of something big. new revlon growluscious mascara. and no fruit is as versatile as our ocean spray cranberries. you can decorate with them, bake with them, even make holiday drinks,

like our cranberry punch we call the festive sparkler. mm! festive. for all these reasons, we declare the ocean spray cranberry... the unofficial official fruit of the holidays. we'll probably get flak from the dates and figs. but no one can tell them apart, anyway. [ snickering ] for holiday tips and recipes, go to oceanspray.com. 10:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> an accident that happened in the last 20 minutes, laura. actually traffic stopped for a few minutes in the southbound direction. starting to move now again. two lanes are blocked south. you can't quite see it. that's causing the problems. on the maps you see all the way down to 0 the sonoma area and continuing down to the express

lane. also there's some light out 0 of livermore. that's unusual for this time of day. a 19-minute drive has stuck around the last 20 minutes or so. rob, we haven't seen any major fog so i'm not sure why it's there. >> we're watching some of the low clouds around the south bay and north bay dropped mist earlier this morning. now we're seeing the low clouds break up. in terms of more substantial rain on the north coast for today. we'll see that edging closer to the bay area. today breezy and cool. a little bit of sunshine out there. 50s and 60s for the high today. tomorrow the clouds fill in more with some rain showing up the second half of the day and then cool sunshine. rain off and on. mountain snow, you name it, we've got it this weekend. highs in the 50s. time now 10:27.

did someone steal a 6-month-old puppy from a veterinary hospital? that's what the puppy's owner would liblg to know. a cleaning lady it at the hospital says she saw bear, the dog, in his cage monday night. that was the last time anyone saw that dog. by the time the employees arrived for work the next morning, bear was gone. the owners believe someone stole their puppy. they say the vet told them the dog somehow got out even though all the doors were locked. >> it's possible if they let the person who stole the dog, if that is an inside job, if they're still working when they see a dog they like, what's to stop them from taking it? >> the family says they will continue to search for their dog. if you know anything, call

dublin police. today fair prices for new west dublin pleasanton station. fares are expected to cost about $10.80. two-way trips to the san francisco airport will cost $20.80. the new station is set to open in 2011. thanks for joining us on this thursday morning. we're back on this thirst day with a special edition of today's plaza ambush makeover. >> our crack makeover team came 24 hours early to give two more women a head to toe overhaul. they are stylest to the stars louis licari and the stunning miss jill martin, author and "today" and "us weekly" contributor all in one. >> hey, kids, how was it today out on the plaza? >> it was great. a ton of ladies out there, even

though we were a day early. >> you were late. >> it's okay. we'll call it confused. but we have a great theme, a birthday theme, we found two ladies, one who is turning the big 5-0. >> what a present. >> and one turning the big 6-5. >> even better present. >> let's start out with joy abbie, she's turnin the big 6-5 from charlotte, north carolina. she just turned 65. her friend begged us to give her a brand-new look for her medicare card picture. >> i know you don't normally wear a boa, but it is a big occasion, you're turning 65 and you say you want a makeover. tell me why. >> i'm turning 65 today. it is a new step into life and i want to go into that step feeling really good about myself. and looking good. >> and you're single. so tell us, we're on national television, what kind of man are you looking for? >> let me see. a very gregarious fellow, a wonderful sense of humor, very generous. >> well, we're going to get you

ready for your hot date. >> i'm ready. >> are you ready to go, birthday girl? >> yes. i'm so excited. thank you so much. >> all right. >> especially the generation part. >> hello. >> frank's taken. i'm sorry, lady. >> joy is here with her good friend nancy who has her blindfold on. keep that on until i ask you to take it off. here is joy abbie before. joy, let's see the new you. >> wow! looking good. >> all right! >> are you ready to see her? take off your blindfold, nancy. >> oh, my god, oh, joy! >> are you ready, joy? >> i'm ready. >> deep breath. spin around. right here. >> you're the hot ticket. can you see? do you need your glasses? i need mine when i -- tell us about the hair, louis. beautiful. >> you look awesome. >> i look great. >> we brought back her closer to

her natural color. a slight highlight around the face to keep it soft, if you notice. and i gave her this layered haircut to give her fullness, create the illusion of fullness. women's hair becomes finer as the aging process goes on. even lifted the droopy eye by adding a little bit of darker eyeliner on the edges. >> i love it. what do you think, nancy? >> unbelievable. >> looking good. >> she looks as gorgeous now on the outside as she does on the inside. and won't be single for long. i think this is it. >> this outfit is cool. i love it. >> i would love to take credit, but she went through the racks and said this is what i want. >> i love it. >> ann taylor. you can wear it outside and inside. look at the detail on the collar and then the jeans are from talbot's. everyone needs a great pair of jeans. >> big round of applause. >> our second lady is tammy rogers, 50 from yuma, arizona, she takes care of her three

grandchildren. let's hear her story. >> well, we have another birthday girl and, danelle, you tell me your mom deserves this, tell me why. >> she's an extremely loving mother, supportive wife and she's selfless. it is about time she does something for her sself. >> what do you think your husband is going to think? >> hopefully he notices. >> i promise you he'll notice. >> wonderful, thank you so much. >> danelle is -- there it is. a the blindfold. let's take one last look at tammy before and now bring out the new tammy rogers. >> wow! oh, wow, wow, wow, wow, looking good. >> go ahead and take it off, hon. >> he's going to notice.

>> turn around and see for yourself. >> you look awesome. >> oh, my gosh. >> you look beautiful. >> turn here. let's see. >> oh, wow. >> what do you think? >> i got to step up my game. >> what did you do? >> in this case i did lighten her hair. we just gave it an overall lightener and i added highlights and the layers. we blew it dry. gave her fullness, kept the fullness, it is essential. the key thing is when you're turning 50, doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of glamour. you have your sense of glamour and that's what it is all about. >> oh, jill, very flattering outfit. >> right from ann taylor. we love this great wrap top. look at the subtle animal print. this is a great way to wear it in a subtle way and a pop of color. the earrings are from kohl's, under $15. >> where is joy? joy, come on over. >> everybody looks fantastic. >> big round of applause for our

ladies. nice job. you guys look so good. we'll show you where to stuff it, yes, when we talk turkey. why go one more round ? you don't need a rematch, but a rethink. with lunesta. lunesta is thought to interact with gaba receptors associated with sleep. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. lunesta has some risk of dependency. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in other activities while asleep without remembering it the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions such as tongue or throat swelling occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness, and morning drowsiness. stop fighting with your sleep. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a co-pay as low as zero dollars at lunesta.com

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as the day get shorter and darker and you feel like you want to hibernate until the sun comes up again, you're not alone. nearly 20% of the country feels the exact same way. >> reduce sunlight can bring seasonal affective disorder, causing mood changes and depression. good news is there is help.

dr. roshny raj will tell us all about it. i'm one of those people that feels like i do have it. you say there are people that have it at different levels. >> sure. so the winter blues as we call it are very common. feeling a little lower energy during the winter, maybe gaining a couple of pounds, not being as active, that's very common. but true seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression, real depression but just happens in certain months of the year. >> and certain climates, right? >> yes. >> what are the symptoms? i want to know if i'm in a funk or whether i actually have s.a.d. what is it? >> if every day for at least two weeks you're feeling hopeless, low energy, having either trouble sleeping or sleeping way too much, if you are really craving, you know, carbohydrates and gaining weight, loss of interest in sex, these are all potential symptoms of s.a.d. >> a lot of people, i crave k b carbs in the winter. >> if you're gaining a lot of weight and it is accompanied by feeling very sad and low, it

could be -- >> lethargic. >> yes. >> do vitamins help? are there just some regular over the counter things you can take? >> generally speaking most of the supplements have not been shown to work. one that may have some help is vitamin d and vitamin d in general is very important. in the winter, we're not getting enough. that's something to try. melatonin may help for some people, it is worth a try. this is real depression and requires real treatment from a doctor. >> there are things you can do to bring yore light into your life. tell us about those. >> these are different forms of light therapy. point here is being exposed to very bright light can increase serotonin and help treat this form of depression. >> even if it is artificial light? >> right. not any kind of light. these are specifically made for s.a.d. treatment. we have travel options, a blue light technology, they think the blue wave length is more helpful and it is quite small. you can bring it with you. this lamp here has a dawn simulator. what is nice about this, if i can get it to work, 30 minutes

before your time to wake up, set this to gradually increase the light in your room. it is simulating dawn. >> for the blue light one what are you supposed to do with it? stand in front of it or what do you do? >> this brings up an really important point. this should be done under the instruction of your doctor. it is a real treatment. it is about 30 minutes a day but talk to your doctor about it. don't stare right at it. it can harm your eyes. about two feet away. it is a treatment and sometimes you do this with antidepressants or therapy, you do it under the care of your doctor. >> you know what worked for me? i put in indoor window boxes in my house so i can have flowers and greenery inside the house. >> it can be as simple as leaving your shades open when you go to sleep or cutting your trees so you get more house into your house. >> or exercise. >> that will help with the sex drive, the craving of the carbs and everything. >> the last two. >> this is more of the traditional light box. you'll see how bright it is. it is very bright.

that's why you don't want to look right at it but it will work. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> we'll be back with more of "today" after this. ♪ it's been a long time ♪ but now there's nothing grandpa! ♪ ♪ in my way ♪ ♪ lord there is nothing ♪ in my way can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a lot of things throughout the day. so it's nice that clorox disinfecting products help kill the germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. ♪ feels sweet when i can touch you ♪

with not having enough food. that's why i've teamed up with feeding america and hamburger helper®. when you buy hamburger helper® you can help feeding america deliver a meal to a local food bank. visit this website to see how you can help.

deliver a meal to a local food bank. time for "today's kitchen" getting saucy with turkey tips for your thanksgiving table nechblt week. >> there are a few techniques to follow to get a great bird and the rest is gravy. dana is here. >> hi, dana, how are you? >> you need to start with a fresh turkey, a 14-pound turkey. >> 14. >> you want a turkey that will feed a crowd, not be too big and dry out. if you have more -- >> you can't do two turkeys? >> you need to do a breast as a second one. >> some people fight over the drum sticks. >> people like the drum sticks. my family, please. we have a problem. >> you'll be able to do that. but you can cut the drum sticks off and cut them a little longer because otherwise they'll dry

out. i'm going to give you briani br tips next. >> tell us the tip s for brinin. >> you give the turkey a flavored water bath. the first thing you do is take a lot of salt and stir it in. we want it to dissolve. and we have a lot of sugar and that will make the bird brown. then we have aromatics, mustard seeds, fennel seeds. >> a lot of salt. >> coriander. >> it is going to help preserve bird and some bay leaves. and then you boil until the liquid is dissolved. if you could just heave that baby into the -- >> it has spto be iced because needs to be cold. you want the breast down. and then we're going to pour the brine over the top. if you don't have a big bucket like this at home, you can just

do it in a stock pot. >> i've never seen a bucket like that in my life. >> then you won't have it at home. >> how many of you brine your turkey? am i crazy? >> of course. >> bianca, of course. our food stylist here. >> the queen of all things food brines. >> this will be news to people who have been doing the turkey the old way. >> they'll be so happy because they'll get really flavorful, juicy turkey. the next thing we have got some amazing stuffing. you probably -- i know you love your mother's stuffing. >> nothing beats it. >> it is delicious. >> we're not going to go about the -- what's in the stuffing. if you make it outside the bird, you'll have enough stuffing for everybody. we have a lot of people. >> should you stuff the bird? because it is always so much better in there, i think. >> that's up to you. but when you stuff the bird, you have to worry has it cooked all the way through and then you can overcook your bird. i recommend cooking it separately and it makes vegetarians so happy.

>> okay. we're carving. >> we're going to carve. >> this is the nightmare always. >> i'll give it to you. >> excellent. >> we have a tea towel on here so your bird won't move. you need to put a fork in the breast of the bird so it doesn't move and then you're going to carve the turkey across the breastbone, back here. >> this is very uncomfortable. right through? >> i believe you're cutting the back, you want to cut the front side. that's good. keep going. and then carve around that way. >> it is so easy. >> you did it. look at that! one cut in the front. oh, my gosh, it is magnificent. >> it is a meriracle. >> you can stop now because we have a double that we have carved. >> up i want mibut i want mine. i worked hard for this. >> you did it. >> there it is. look at it. >> beautiful slices. carve slices this way and everybody will get that great

breast meat they want in beautiful slices. >> did you actually -- did we actually cook this one the way you said with the bryine and al that? >> yes. >> do you cover your turkey? >> i don't. >> not at all? not even with a tent? >> no. 350, about -- 15, 10 minutes per pound and i don't tent. >> okay. >> a way to do everything. thank you very, very much, dana. i bet it is delicious. this young girl coming up is 10 years old, the voice of an angel. she's taken the music world by storm. jackie evancho up next.

10-year-old jackie evancho's performance on "america's got talent" won the hearts of millions of viewers taking her from pittsburgh, pennsylvania, into the national spotlight. >> now jackie released a beautiful cd called "o holy

night" when brought her here to our studios last week to perform her signature song. ♪ ♪ >> cutest thing ever. >> we love our jackie. we feel like we're really getting to know you now. you've been here several times. you're one of our favorite guests, jackie. >> thank you. >> can you believe everything that is happening for you? >> it's too good to be true. >> your talent is almost too good to be true. as a result of that, people were critical at first, they thought you must be lip syncing, no child 10 years old can sing like that. how did you handle that?

>> well, i kind of took it to heart. it kind of made me feel a little upset, because i'm a very, very truthful girl. and who wants to lip sync? lip syncing isn't fun. >> it is for the phony singers. >> yeah. >> how did you become interested in opera music? that's unique for a little girl. >> well, i became interested in opera or classical crossover from watching "phantom of the opera." we watched it at the movie theater and thought it was a really, really good movie. so when i came back home and started singing the songs around the house and my mom thought i was really good. so what she did is she asked me if i wanted to do a talent competition called "teen idol." sorry it a long story. >> we need you to sing for us. the rest is history, as they say. >> will you sing for us? >> she's been practicing to do the "star-spangled banner," which is very difficult.

>> take it away. >> this is a little piece of it. >> okay. ♪ oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ >> jackie's album -- >> her cd "o holy night" is in stores and she'll be back with us.