good morning. crisis in korea. the bodies of two civilians have now been found on that south korean island attacked by north korea, pushing the death toll to four. this morning the south korean military is on high alert as a u.s. aircraft carrier heads to that region. second chance. amanda knox appears in court this morning for the start of her appeals trial. will she be acquitted this time around or will a new judge add even more time to her 26-year murder sentence? we'll talk about that with her parents in a live interview. and hassles and headaches. the thanksgiving rush gets under way and those airport pat-downs and a major snowstorm out west are threatening to make the

usual holiday delays even worse today, wednesday, november 24th, usual holiday delays even worse today, wednesday, november 24th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. this morning, an estimated 64 million americans are starting the trek to their thanksgiving destinations by road, rail, and sky. here is what it looks like right now at reagan national airport, where those new tsa screening procedures are in place. >> so those new rules could mean longer lines and bigger delays at airports all across the country. and that call for passengers to actually boycott full-body scans could only add to the problems. that's not the only concern. at least a dozen states from michigan to utah are dealing with winter weather advisories and blizzard warnings. the latest on the travel rush

and al's forecast coming up straight ahead. also ahead, if you're geerg up to hit the malls on black friday, where should you go first to grab the biggest deals? coming up, three experts will tell you exactly where to go. that didn't sound right. sounded bad. >> that's okay. plus, these days, just about every parent with an infant owns a baby monitor. did you know if you own certain models, anyone can actually monitor your family in your own home? you won't believe what we picked up just by driving through a neighborhood. we'll have more on that story, just ahead. but we'll begin this wednesday morning with the latest developments and fallout over north korea's deadly attack on a south korean island. nbc's ian william is in south korea this morning. ian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. there have been no fresh clashes today, but the border region does remain tense. the south korean army is on high alert and today recovered the body of two more victims of tuesday's assault, both of them

civilians. it's being called one of the gravest incidents since the end of the korean war. dozens of artillery shells, fired from the north without warning, slamming into a south korean fishing village. the barrage lasted for an hour, terrified villagers, scrambling to reach underground bunkers. their front line island sits just a couple of miles from a disputed sea front here with the north. but nobody had expected this. fires were everywhere. it was chaotic, this man said. while this villager said, i thought i was going to die if i stepped out of the house. it's remarkable the number of casualties wasn't higher. the south korean military was carrying out drills in the area at the time and had informed the north. it denies doing anything to provoke the attack, but did quickly respond, firing its own artillery and scrambling fighter jets. president obama was woken early tuesday to be given the news and quickly condemned the attack,

calling on the north to end its belligerent action. later, in an abc interview, he reaffirmed the u.s. security pact with the south. >> south korea is our ally, it has been since the korean war, and we strongly affirm our commitment to defend south korea as part of that alliance. >> reporter: which he later repeated to the south korean president, lee myung-bak. he's been meeting with his generals, warninging that unprovoked attacks will not be tolerated. he threatened enormous retaliation if the north attacks again. in fact, this is the second attack from the north in march. in march, pyongyang sank a south korean ship killing 46 seamen. many civilians were still huddled in shelters today. with smoke hanging over their still-smoldering homes, hundreds of civilians are being evacuated to the mainland. officials say several thousands are also being encouraged to

leave from other islands close to the frontier. meanwhile, the aircraft carrier, the "uss george washington" is on its way here for exercises with the south, scheduled for this weekend. locally, officials are saying it's pre-planned, but they're also saying it's a timely reminder of unity and strength. matt? >> all right, ian williams in incheon south korea for us this morning, thank you very much. wendy sherman is the vice chairman of the albright stone bridge group and served as north korea policy adviser to president clinton. wendy, nice to see you. good morning. >> good to be with you, matt. >> secretary gates, robert gates said earlier this week that if you start any question on north korea with the word "why," he can't answer it that. that they are entirely unpredictable. does that apply if we ask why they did what they did a couple of days ago? >> it's always hard to know what north koreans' intentions are, but i think these actions are really to get four things done. one, to project power out to the world, so say that north korea

is a powerful sovereign country. two, to create deterrents against south korea and the united states, which north korea sees as the last remaining superpower that could take them down. third, to put bargaining chips on the table. we saw that with the new nuclear facility, the incident you mentioned in this latest horrible artillery fire. and fourth and very crucial this day is the transition of power from kim jong-il to jim jong-un. he's trying to make kim jong-un into a very powerful military force and keep his military in line for the succession. >> you talk about the revelation thats there this high-tech facility to enrich uranium. it was not previously disclosed. let me read you what the "financial times" said about this, kim jong-il is sick, isolated, in the midst of one of the most risky ventures of his life. handing over power to his untested 27-year-old son. he has few cards in his hand, but this week he's played two of them, and in the twisted logic

of pyongyang poker, they were both aces. do you really think they think these were aces? >> i think they think that they are very much aces. i think that they believe that they only have one thing to worry about, and that is the survival of the regime, that the legacy of kim jong-il's father, kim il-sung, the great leader, will go on throughout eternity. so they're going to do everything they can to play the only cards they've got. >> and real quickly, wendy, what good options do we have? what good options do the south koreans have? >> well, we have not a lot of very good options. the one that is most important is the conversation that ambassador steve bosworth, the special envoy of president clinton, secretary clinton and president obama had with the chinese yesterday. china is north korea's last remaining ally. the chinese have tried to be the leader here, to be a neutrality death of these civilians as well as the military in south korea

and it's time for the chinese to tell the north to cut it out, to get back to the negotiating table, but to stop this very dangerous, provoke, and risky behavior. >> wendy sherman, as always, thanks for your perspective on this. we appreciate it. >> thank you. seven minutes after the hour. here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. here at home, the holiday travel rush is officially on. and the estimated 24 million americans expected to fly to their thanksgiving day destinations are having to deal with those tough new airport screening techniques. we have got things covered from the airports to the roads and rail and al's holiday forecast as well. we're going to begin with nbc's tom costello. he's at a tsa checkpoint at reagan national airport. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, meredith. good morning to you. and we are watching this checkpoint, because, remember, this is the day that some on the internet have called for a national opt-out day, protests they claim -- protest those full-body scanners and tie up tsa check points as a way of protesting. i would say this is probably a

ten, 15-minute wait it has been moving pretty quickly throughout the morning. but the concern is if there are protests, it could cause backups and delays. most years, travel on this day before thanksgiving is all about the weather, but this year, it's about how many travelers might choose to protest and tie up tsa checkpoints by opting out of those new full-body scanners and insisting on a pat-down. the opt-out organizer says he chose this day for a region. >> you're going to choose a day when people are paying attention and when most folks are going to be flying. it doesn't make sense to do it any other time. i don't think anyone's going to miss thanksgiving because of any sort of protest. >> reporter: that would be welcome news at chicago's o'hare international, the nation's second busiest airport. and united airline's national nerve center. >> our security lines here are currently flowing very smoothly. >> reporter: where they keep track of 6,000 daily flights, scheduling, routing, catering, maintenance, and the biggest variable of all -- >> weather is very, very much an

impact on our operation. >> reporter: now combined with continental airlines, united starts its holiday planning during the summer. >> we're prepared to handle whatever comes our way. >> reporter: while 1.6 million americans will take to the air this holiday week, the vast majority of travelers are going by car this thanksgiving. some 40 million of us. >> aaa roadside assistance, this is ryan, how can i help you? >> reporter: at the aaa call center in denver, the holiday crush is on. >> the doors are unlocked. >> reporter: 1,100 service calls each day for dead batteries, flat tires, and lots of lockouts. >> they tend to lock their keys in their car more during thanksgiving than other times of the year. >> i am 25. >> reporter: starting on black friday, call volume jumps 30%. that's where ted monotonya comes in. one of aaa's 50,000 road assistance technicians on duty

nationwide, trying to get cars back up and running again, some 350,000 cars between today and sunday. >> sometimes we get lucky. that's all it is. >> reporter: back here at the airport, flightstats.com says that the airlines have a pretty good track record for getting people to their destinations on this day before thanksgiving. 80%, generally 80% arrive on time. the worst is the monday after thanksgiving, that drops to 64%. meredith? >> tom costello, thank you very much. it is now 7:11, and with more, here's matt. >> meredith, thank you. let's get more on how the roads are looking today. nbc's tom trang is at the georgia department of transportation navigator center in atlanta. it sounds impressive, thanh. what goes on there? >> reporter: look, atlanta is considered the cross roads of the south and there's going to be a crush of drivers coming and to and through here in the next several days. and the folks at the navigation center will be watching it all. they have 2,000 cameras to monitor weather conditions. and if anything happens, they'll dispatch help and send crews out

there as well. 39.7 million americans will be driving this thanksgiving, so do the math. they say that more drivers on the roads means more accidents. so, please, do take your time getting to grandma's this thanksgiving as well. and we're just getting word from aaa today that there's some concern that there could be possible major delays on the i-95 corridor because of a lot of construction there. so if you're going through there, please watch out. >> all right, thanh trang in atlanta for us this morning. thanh, thank you very much. it's now 12 after the hour. here's meredith. >> thank you. thanksgiving travelers opting to take trains will not find relief from the crowds. nbc's mike taibbi is at new york's penn station with more. mike, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. yes, it's been crowded here for hours. for amtrak, the nation's largest rail carrier, this is going to be the busiest travel day of the busiest travel week of the year, some 127,000 people riding the rails, probably on the way toward and probably past the week-long record set last year. every available rail car pressed

into service, that means a few things. you should make a reservation, because it's going to be almost impossible to just show up and get a ticket. show up at the station early so you can pick up your ticket at a kiosk or the ticket window. ands there a suggested luggage restriction of only two pieces of luggage. it's not going to be enforced. i can see now by looking around, a lot of people have more than that. amtrak will be adding extra trains on the busiest part of the system from the northwest corridor to the pacific northwest. and one more tweak, if you're riding a long-distance car with a dining car, you can get a special thanksgiving dinner, turkey with all the trimmings, in case you didn't get it at grandma's house or you just really love turkey. meredith? >> mike taibbi, thank you very much. while we're understanding the weather is not going to help the holiday commute in some parts of the country, al's upstairs and has more on that. al, good morning. >> you're absolutely correct. here in the northeast, it's not going to be bad weather, just windy. boston, new york city, newark, going to be problems, wind gusts 30 to 45 miles per hour. that will delay flights.

head out to minneapolis, snow eeansld t will be developing. that's a big airport hub. we'll slntinue'l out west toalt lake city. snow showers. they had a lot of delays last night. that's going to ripple over into today. and then we'll move back east t again to chicago. they've got rain, increasing winds. of course, a major hub for united and american so that's going to cause some problems. and down to st. louis, we've got heavy rain and severe storms. more airport delays will be expected there later today. matt, meredith, back to you guys. >> we'll get your local forecast in just a couple minutes. thanks very much. first, a check of the other top stories of the morning. ann is still on excitement so tamron hall is filling in at news desk. >> good morning, everyone. a powerful second explosion has rocked the new zealand mine where 29 miners got trapped last week. today police say that all of the men are dead, as it would be impossible to survive this latest massive blast. relatives of the dead and missing in that cambodian stampede are still trying to identify their loved ones. nearly 400 people died in

monday's stampede after panic spread when an overcrowded bridge began to sway. and violent activity in afghanistan has tripled since 2007, according to a new pentagon report. this comes just days after a nato official said that children in kabul are safer than those in new york. stephanie lazarus was a decorated pd officer and now she's charged with murder. here's her videotaped interrogation by fellow officers. >> reporter: on the newly released tape, stephanie lazarus seems relaxed as first as she talks about her career with the l.a. police department. >> going on 23. >> reporter: years in which she rose from street cop to decorated detective. now she's accused of murder in a cold case investigated by her fellow detectives. >> i mean, what's the -- i mean, what's this all about? >> reporter: those detectives lured her into the interrogation room, telling her they needed help on another case. then told her it was about the

murder of sherry rasmussen, a nurse who was found brutally bludgeoned and shot to death in 1986. 23 years later, investigators discovered that the ex-boyfriend of the female cop was the victim's husband. they said they matched dna from the crime scene to stephanie lazarus. >> if you're doing this as an interrogation, you're saying, hey, i'm a suspect. well, now i've got a problem with -- well, now you're accusing me of this? is that what you're saying? >> we're trying to figure out what happened, stephanie. >> reporter: lazarus protested repeatedly. >> i just can't believe it. i mean, it's just -- i mean, i'm shocked. i'm really shocked. that somebody would be saying that i did this. i mean, we had a fight and so i went and killed her? come on. >> reporter: moments later, she left the interrogation room, but was arrested just outside. lazarus has entered a not-guilty plea. her trial is expected to begin early next year. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles.

u.s. markets are keeping an eye on overseas events. cnbc's amanda drury is at the new york stock exchange. amanda, good morning. >> good morning to you, tamron. that's right. of course, the north korea attack earlier this week and ireland's debt problems are going to keep investors cautious, buts there a heavy slate of economic news at home to ponder as well. the negative reaction to north korea yesterday really overshadowed the good economic growth revision, so let's hope that any good news we get on the economic front today will be well received. back to you. >> thank you, amanda. if there's one thing not to be thankful for this week, it is the weather. at leastweek, it's the weather. snow is blowing in sideways in the sierra mountains. not a good weather picture, at least in that video. >> that's highway 88 in the sierras and it's closing for a while. we're going to see ome showers,

but those aren't going to happen sun til after the thanksgiving day parade is over. midsection of the cotr y, you can see those storms starting to build up, we have got clouds moving in the pacific northwest, clouds building in the plains, in the center of the country, a risk of strong storms, rain moving into the upper ohio river valley, it is going to be windy, we look for snow in the central rockies, windy conditions as you move into here's a live look at a chilly commute across the golden gate bridge this morning. cloud-free temperatures really bottoming out around the bay area. 20s and 30s. now that the sun is up at least we're not going to get any colder. freeze warning will continue through 9:00. frost advisory elsewhere through 9:00 this in the morning. snow showers around seattle and portland. it's going to be cold sunshine today and tomorrow. next chance of rain friday night into saturday morning. latest weather. 156 days and counting, that

is how long prince william and kate middleton have to get ready for their wedding. stephanie gosk sat buckingham palace with the latest. >> reporter: william and kate are involved personally in almost every detail of the wedding. the prince's secretary said, they're giving us very firm directions indeed. five months, that's all they have to plan the most spectacular and complicated royal celebration in decades. a top priority and a delicate one, the guest list. there are those that should get invited, those that shouldn't and those that must. westminster abbey as the capacity of 2,000, but as many as 8,000 can be packed literally up to the rafters. it won't be just heads of state and european royals. it is being called the people's wedding. >> i'm sure the palace will be

very, very conscious of the need to reach out to all constituencies in britain in the ceremony. let it be as grand as we like but also be inclusive. >> reporter: already a public holiday has been declared, street parties are being planned and a free concert will likely be held in london's hyde park. the invite will only go to a select few. everyone is invited to the procession with it's pomp and its circumstance as it winds through these streets just as it did 30 years ago with charles and diana. as the future head of the armed forces the prince and his bride will have a full military escort, possibly a flyover and soaring regal music. in the category of wedding dilemmas most people don't have, they will have to choose a carriage. there's over 100. the glass coach, the queen alexandra coach, and the coach equivalent of a luxury limo, the six-horse edward vii coach.

>> you have to pray that the weather be good. if it's good, the carriages will be open. >> reporter: the process will wind its way from the abbey to the palace. the staff inside are used to throwing a big party. >> probably end up with 5,000 glasses and someone will have to wash them up. >> reporter: the royal family will be picking up the bulk of the cost with a little help from the middletons. the queen will be paying for the reception herself. it's kind of like any other wedding. any other wedding with a global audience of more than a billion people. >> yeah, but who's counting? stephanie gosk, thank you so much. just ahead, american college student amanda knox back in court as her appeals trial gets under way this morning. live rents speak o [ female announcer ] dry, cracked hands? gold bond ultimate concentrated cream heals and protects like lotion can't. gold bond concentrated therapy. real medicine, ultimate healing.

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good morning, everybody. it's 7:26. i'm brent cannon. the big story this morning, thanksgiving travel. today is the bay's busiest travel day and elise kirschner is live on the phone this morning. shees at sfo where she's been checking out the screening process. how's it been going so far? >> reporter: well, standing here at sfo you wouldn't know it's one of the busiest travel days of the year. security lines are moving very quickly. airport officials estimate wait times will be from 8 to 10 minutes on average. right now it's probably around three minutes. we also haven't seen any signs of protesters upset about the

full body scans and patdowns, so so far so good if you're planning on flying out of sfo. for now we're live, elise kirschner, today in the bay. >> glad things a are going well. we'll check traffic and weather after the break.

welcome back. here we're look at the coldest temperatures of the day. 29 degrees in fairfield, 30s elsewhere around the bay area. we still have freeze warnings up for the north and east bay through 9:00 this morning. frost advisory elsewhere and it's going to be a cool afternoon. highs mostly low 50s.

tomorrow another frosty start. the next chance of rain will hold off until saturday. a quick check of your morning commute. the bay bridge toll plaza, metering lights still off. definitely not a work morning. things looking like holiday light this morning. a quick check of livermore and you'll see travel there looks pretty good. same story on the other getaway gateway, 101 out of san jose traffic moving just fine this morning. >> thanks, rob. more local news in half an hour. the "today" show in less than a minute.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, november 24, 2010, the day before thanksgiving. and out on the plaza, we're hosting a special concert in the 8:30 half hour, kings of leon. and just ahead in this half hour, a second chance at freedom for amanda knox. >> the i appeals trial for the college student accused of killing a student in italy starts today. a lot of parents use baby monitors to keep tabs on the kids. but wait until we show you just

how easy it is for anyone with a receiver out in the street to see and hear what's going on in your home. this morning the best of black friday deals on the hottest holiday gifts of the year. everything from clothing to technology. and we're going to catch up with one of the most talked about people of the year, kim kardashian. >> let us begin this half hour amanda knox. nbc's keith miller is in perusia with details. >> reporter: it's all or nothing for amanda knox on this appeal, she could win her freedom, but also the judge in the case could impose a harsher sentence than the 26 years she is already serving. knox is older now, the strain of three years behind bars starting to show. in the same courtroom where she

was convicted of murder and sexual violent assault, amanda knox sat at the defense table, still proclaiming her innocence in the murder of her roommate, meredith kercher, an exchange student from england. knox's defense will argue that the evidence against the defendant does not exact. they have a new witness list and they're asking the appeals judge to appoint an outside panel of experts to examine the dna evidence. if the appeal judge agrees, it will be a whole new trial for knox, a good chance to win her freedom. >> that would mean that the judges have some doubt and want to delve into the evidence more in detail than was done in the trial. >> reporter: the prosecution is also appealing. they want knox to serve more time behind bars. the circus like atmosphere surrounding the appeal is exaggerated by more than 100 journalists. the attraction is knox,

appearing like the all american girl that the italian press still calls angel face. alongside knox is her former boyfriend, rafael sollecito, also convicted of kercher's murder and sexual assault. on appeal, the defense hopes to show that knox had no motive for killing her roommate and that the prosecution failed to provide evidence backing up its claim that the killing was the result of a drug fueled sex game gone wrong. explaining the guilty verdict, the trial judge characterized knox as a manipulative permiscuous woman who clashed with kercher. the defense maintains that's no motive for murder. in the written appeal, the defense described knox as worn out, writing, the lone pre-emptive custody has broken down the young woman. the judge this morning postponed to the trial until next month, at that time everybody will be back in court, but as we know,

meredith, the wheels of italian justice move very slowly. we don't expect a verdict in this appeal until next spring. meredith? >> all right, keith miller, thank you very much. amanda knox's parents kurt and ella are with us. right after the hearing today, one of amanda's lawyers said to the press, her time in prison has taken a toll on her psychologically and the lawyers also said that custody has broken her down, they describe her as tense, worried, exhausted. you talk to her on a weekly basis. is that what you hear in her voice? >> we have a short ten minutes when she calls us and she always tries to put on a brave face for us during those ten minutes but we know this is horrible for her to be locked up for a crime she didn't commit and it is taking its toll. >> in what way? >> i think you can see the fact that she's just, you know, down,

she's worried that this is not going to get fixed, you know, to be innocent and to be locked up is just horrific, i don't know that i would characterize her as depressed, but she's definitely worried and this is hard. >> you know, there's a new judge assigned to this case, to the trial, do you think that will affect the appeal? >> actually i think it's going to from the standpoint of a fresh set of eyes really looking at the case and looking at the evidence and how the motivation was written and the fact that there was a lot of assumptions made without fact in the wrongful conviction. >> i know that there's been a review of all the forensic evidence, they also want to introduce new witnesses. if the judge agrees to that, what signal would that send to you, it that? >> i think it's a positive signal. i think they're saying, wait a minute, maybe we didn't get it right. let's retake a look at this. >> right after amanda was found

guilty of murder last december, the court explained it's verdict this way, they said it found no inconsistencies with the prosecution's case, you disagree with that, kurt, why? >> absolutely. in going through the motivation, there are assumptions made that are not backed up by facts, there ee's hype pott this is -- >> her trial is also going to be held simultaneously with that of her ex-girlfriend rafaele sollecito, do you think that's going to hurt her or help her? >> they're both in the same boat, there's nothing connecting them to this crime. so i -- you know, i think it's fine. i don't know that it's going to hurt or help, i think it is what it is. >> meanwhile you have the prosecution, they are also appealing because they want her

to serve life in prison. are you worried at all, either one of you that this could all backfire on amanda, that she could be in worse shape after this trial is over? >> if they take a look at the facts of the case versus all the media hype that took place during the first trial, we're going to find out that it's not much of a gamble at all and this wrongful conviction should be overturned and you do. >> when you're innocent, you have no choice, but you appeal and you keep going until you're freed. >> tomorrow is thanksgiving, one more holiday without your daughter, how do you cope with this on a day-to-day basis? >> you know, we have other children here, and we talk to amanda and she wants us to stay strong and to keep plugging along and so we all do it, you know, for her. >> right. we focus on her, but we also continue to live our day to day

lives as well. >> kurt knox, etta, best of luck to you and to your daughter. now let's get another check of the weather from al. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by chevy. every model is backed by 100,000-mile, five-year power train limited warranty. >> good morning. i feel like the hamburger helper guy. out in utah, they have been getting some snow, i mean we are talking sideways snow, salt lake city airport, a lot of delays yesterday. those are probably going to ripple through into the day, scores of accidents, luckily, things will kind of die down a bit today, but still snow covered roads are going to slow things down. let's look at your forecast, show you what's going on for today. parade weather for the

thanksgiving day parade, cloudy, cold, temperatures mid 30s to 40. northerly wind 7 to 14 miles an hour. should not be a problem for the balloons, that's good news. let's look at the rest of the forecast for you, wet weather from the mississippi river valley, into the ohio valley, moves into the northeast, rainy in the pacific northwest, then on friday, we have got showers up and down the eastern seaboard, for your shopping skills, they will be challenged. look for wet weather in the pacific northwest. here's a gorgeous view looking back both through the bin lad bay bridge and golden gate bridge. temperatures later on today, we still have 30s this morning. we will see highs today likely only as warm as the low 50s around the bay area. 40s from ukiah up through lakeport. tomorrow another frosty start.

showers coming back friday night into early saturday morning. >> and, you know your weather travel all day long on the weather channel or on weather.com. let's all do our mime. >> thank you, al, very much. up next, how strangers can use your own baby monitor to spy ve your entire family, even ifec r. yoturn off the receiver. right after this. okay, which picture for the card?

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- will you marry me? - before saying those words, there's one word every man should know. - leo. - the leo diamond, certified to be visibly brighter, at kay, the number one jewelry store in america. - yes. we're back now at 7:43 with a warning to parents. baby monitors are a convenient way to keep an eye on the kids when they're in a different room. but did you also know they can let strangers see inside your home? tom yamas is outside our studio and he has details on this. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: we're transferring this video using a baby monitor. i wanted to show you how

powerful this is, i'm hundreds of feet away and yet you can still see me in the baby monitor. this baby monitor can broadcast through the thick walls of rockefeller center and also your home. all it took was five minutes, from the moment we powered on a baby monitor and drove through this long island neighborhood, we were able to peek into crib after crib after crib. this is one of the better ones we have found so far, you can look right into that crib, you can see the blanket, the bottle in the crib, you can even see details of the. and we could do more than just look into homes. with our baby monitor, we could also listen in. at this home, we talked to a lawyer, that someone was renee mcnaulty and we showed her what we could see and hear from our

car parked outside of my house. >> i didn't know anything until you knocked on my door and you said i can see your baby crib. >> reporter: it exposes the danger many parents are bringing into their homes. >> there's a lot of child pedophiles out there, and you never know which home they're living in in the area. >> reporter: and also burglars. >> he knows when you're leaving the house for dinner that night. he knows when you're going to be home and when you're not going to be home. >> reporter: dennis ross knows about surveillance. he says that many baby monitors broadcast on a simple frequent. many of the more affordable monitors don't have a digital lock, so if it's on, it's

transmitting hundreds of feet outside your home. >> you can see the whole crib, the baby's toy, everything, it's very, very scary. >> reporter: when this toddler popped up on our monitor, it wasn't hard to find the exact location. is that your baby? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: what do you think about that? >> i don't know what to say, you guys are like watching a movie. >> reporter: this guy turns off the receiver when not using the baby monitor, which is a big mistakes. >> it's scary. really scary. >> reporter: and if you look into buying a baby monitor, buy one with a single digital lock or look for a security guarantee on the box. if you have one of the older ones that's on 900 megahertz, always point the camera where you want it, never have that shot live showing your living room or your bedroom.

>> but the audio line, they catch your conversations, they know when you're leaving your house and that leaves parents vulnerable. >> they turn off the monitor, they forget about the camera and that way the perp or the burglar can hear everything they're talking about. ahead the best deals on everything from clothes to toys to electronics. we're not talking about baby monitors here. one of nbc's people of the year will show up. l c atnd have conversation with kim kardashian right after this.

- oh, we miss you, honey. - i'll be home soon. until then... tommy? - behind every open heart is a story. - it's beautiful. - tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers. keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in. [ laughter ] ♪ [ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you, boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours.

i love christmas. just shake it. [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] need ink? staples has a low price guarantee on all the ink you need. find a lower price at another store, and we'll match it. that was easy. new windows phone can go from my pocket to taking a picture in seconds. what up, dave! i just point, shoot, and post to facebook. so instead of fumbling to open my camera app like dave here, i can put my phone away, and open my parachute. open yours, dave! hey, is it cool if i date emily when you're... ...nevermind. vo: less fumbling, more capturing. new windows phone. get yours at at&t.

ah, this is hey guys. what the eightsorry we're late. milk looks warm. finally got the whole gang together. maple brown sugar, strawberry delight, blueberry muffin. yeah, a little family reunion. [ wind rushes ] whoa! whoa! whoa! whoa! we're cereal here! what? just cooling it down. enough said. gotcha. safety first. whoo-hoo! watch the whole grain! [ female announcer ] try kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® hot. just add warm milk and you've got a hot way to keep your kids full and focused all morning. oops. dude your eight layers are showing. [ female announcer ] mini-wheats® hot. keeps 'em full, keeps 'em focused. > . >> you dealt me the worst jin

hand in the history of begin hands. >> when you play gin rum my with kim kardashian, you can see the strategic ambition lurking behind those eyelashes. >> i'm here to win it and right now she has a winning hand, her hit reality show keeping up the kardashians just finished its ninth season on e with record ratings and she used it to turn her branding stardom into an empire what is the brand? >> i think the brand is very personal because i am very hands on and people feel i'm unrelatable. >> just walk into any mall and you'll see that brand at work, she and her sisters have a new book, kardashian confidential, then there's kim kardashian perfumes, lips and skin care products, workout cds even a

kardashian credit card. her 5 million followers on twitter become her tailly soundisound sounding board. >> i don't know what nail polish color to wear. so i will literally wear the one they tell me. it's the best focus group. >> how many people seem to gravitate to you? you must thought about that? >> i think that they feel like they can somehow relate to me or maybe a member in my family. >> she seems very likable. >> she is and, boy, does she got a corporate going? >> she's one of the people to talk about tomorrow night and other big names, the 2010 people of the year, tomorrow night at 9:00, 8:00 central time here on abc. 9:00, 8:00 central time here on abc. by the way,

- did dad go to jared for the pandora bracelet like we told him? - i... i can't tell. - [gasps] oh, honey. - oh, yeah. he went to jared. - he totally went to jared. female announcer: celebrate life's unforgettable moments with pandora charms and bracelets, now at jared, where you'll find a fabulous pandora selection. - oh. all: aww! - they are so cute at that age.

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] here's hoping you find something special in your driveway this holiday. ♪ [ santa ] ho ho ho! [ male announcer ] get an exceptional offer on the mercedes-benz you've always wanted at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends soon.

[ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. at the winter event going on now. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

good morning, everyone. 7:56. i'm scott mcgrew. rob pulling double duty with traffic and weather or i like to say tweather. >> you're seeing freeze warnings up through 9:00 this morning, frauflt advisory elsewhere and a cool afternoon around the bay area. highs only 40s to low 50s for this afternoon. same story tomorrow, another frosty start. next chance of rain should roll in friday night and saturday. now speaking of that commute, let's show you highway 4 now seeing slowing westbound. hillcrest approaching railroad avenue. the drive times really slowing down, down to 11 miles per hour. around the south bay travel times looking good, a little slowing southbound 280. here's your commute as you head over the santa cruz mountains this morning. we're seeing some slowing southbound approaching the summit. possibly due to some of that patchy roadway ice.

otherwise looking pretty good there. one more stop for you as we take you out of the north bay approaching the golden gate bridge north to south, driving through temperatures in the 20s and 30s this morning, patchy ice still a possibility. timeht now7:56. mo is s 7:56. more news after the break. ♪

♪ great work everybody! now freshly remodeled, your target has never been better. is the perfect choice for holiday gatherings. martinelli's is non-alcoholic, festive like champagne, and tastes great! martinelli's: since 1868. the california tea party wants to make illegal immigration a top priority for election 2012. tea party activist michael erickson pushing for an arizona-style immigration law. if approved by voters, it would

require police to investigate if they have reasonable suspension a person could be an illegal immigrant. erickson says his proposed law will crack down on drug cartels, but one san mateo county democrat sees major problems with the proposal. >> with arizona having done what it's decided to do with sb-1070, we don't want california to be seen as a safe haven for drug cartels and human smugglers and other criminal elements. >> you're going to separate families. there's no due process. this is a gestapo-like approach to a problem that needs to be dealt with at the federal level. >> supporters knee 443,000 signatures to qualify for a ballot.

we're back now 8:00 on a wednesday morning, it's the 24th day of november, 2010. you know, it's a little chillier than it's been out here, we got 41 degrees, a little breezy, they tell us the temperature is around 33 degrees. >> that's what they said. >> i'm up in the control room where it's a balmy 72 degrees. we have another great concert this morning coming up from kings of leon in our next half hour. >> out on the plaza, matt lauer

along with meredith viera and al roker. what else have you got? we have seen black friday ads for months, but this is the time of year we're going to see those big, big deals. we're going to run through the best of the bunch, from the hottest toys and the coolest gadgets and much, much more. >> even before "slumdog millionaire" came out in theaters, we on this show predicted it would win an oscar because it's a great movie. the team speech that's coming up in new york and l.a. this weekend and around the country december 10 is phenomenal. if it doesn't win the oscar, then there's something terribly wrong here. it's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant film. it is unbelievable. >> i have not seen you this enthusiastic. >> it's about queen george vi,

queen elizabeth's dad. and he had a stammer. >> let's go back inside to tamron hall who's standing by at the news desk with the headlines. good morning, everyone. a u.s. aircraft carrier is headed to the waters off korea's peninsula. the move comes one day after north korea rained artillery shells on the south korean island killing at least two soldiers and two civilians. u.s. officials say the carrier will take part in the maneuvers that were planned before tuesday's attacks. and an explosion in the new zealand cole mine -- amanda knox returns to an italian courtroom to appeal her conviction. she's appealing her 26-year sentence for killing her british roommate.

holiday travellers should expect more company than last year, and possibly airport delays. security officials are bracing for threatened nationwide boycotts of full body scanning. however most travelers, some 40 million people will take to the roads, a 12% increase over last thanksgiving. thanks to low inflation, the cost of a thanksgiving turkey dinner for ten with side dishes is only about 1.3% higher than last year, which works out to an extra 5 cents a serving. the 911 emergency service is -- text messages in case where is the sound of a phone call might put them in added danger. and it's been a very good year for myrtle bergland, not only did the maryland senior turn 100 this week, she's also completed four college courses and each friday she joins friends to hand stitch quilts for babies with hiv. pretty awesome. congratulations, myrtle, it is

8:03, now back to matt and meredith. >> let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> and then the smucker's jar and her life is complete. where are you guys from? >> queens. >> all the way from queens, fantastic. let's check your weather and see what's happening, pick city today, new orleans, some early morning fog may cause some early delays. for friday, we have got wet weather in the pacific northwest, showers in the morning along the eastern seaboard, frigid in the midsection of the country, then on saturday, we have more rain and snow out west. lake-effect snows around the great lakes, sunny and cool through the southeast. sunday, sunday, we're looking at showers and wet weather, snowy weather in the rockies, cold into the plains, sunshine along the eastern seaboard.

there's sunshine but a cool start to the morning in san jose. here's updated temperatures. 39 in san jose. still 34 in livermore. 34 in napa. santa rosa, 42. we still have the freeze warning up for the next hour for the north and east bay valleys. frost elsewhere. it will be sunny, cold and dry. highs in the 40s to low 50s. cold sunshine today. about the same tomorrow. probably more morning frost. then a chance for rain dropping in friday night into saturday morning. >> and that's your latest weather. meredith? al, thank you very much. coming up a special wednesday version of the whip. we'll tell you where to go and what to buy on black friday right after this. [music by air supply] ♪

♪ lost in love and i don't know much... ♪ ]male announcer] starts friday at 4am. get there, first. ♪ but you're not sweet you hit on my friends ♪ ♪ i'm not your fool i won't just sit here and drool ♪ ♪ i'm tired of sharing you this is the end ♪ ♪ so i founne vew e ♪ ♪ i'm tired of sharing you this is the end ♪ ♪ that comes from a leaf green and bright ♪ ♪ zero-calorie, guilt-free no artificiality ♪

♪ my soul sings with joy and delight ♪ ♪ its name is truvia i had no idea ♪ ♪ and i am loving every single bite ♪ [ announcer ] truvia. honestly sweet. [trumpet playing "reveille" throughout] let's support the small business owners getting our economy booming with the first ever small business saturday. on november 27th, shop small. it's going to be huge. [trumpet playing "reveille" fades to silence]

♪ ♪ bung, ding, ding, ding, ding ding, ding, ♪♪ ♪ bing, ding, ding, bing, bing, bing, bing... ♪ ♪ bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah... ♪ "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target, expect more, pay less. >> this morning on "today's" holiday gift guide, what to buy on black friday. we have three experts to tell you where to find the best deals. >> first up, mario armstrong is a digital life science expert. i want a big screen tv. what features do i want and what are the best bargains? >> a lcd and plaza, 55 inch, you'll be looking at around $2,000, budget for that extended warranty, though, when you make

the purchase. >> those blue r-ray players. >> advanced features like internet, online music with pandora, so you want internet connection and the players are like butter without popcorn, without the movie, so you got to have blu-ray movies. and these movies will be 70% off this friday. >> cameras are always very popular, you say you can get some good deals on the more expensive cameras too? >> when you buy those, you'll get a whole lot of accessories, a tripod, a second memory ca. >> these all shoot in hd now? >> they all shoot in hd, one of my favorite features is while you're shooting video, you can take a still image at the same time. >> good bargains this year? >> good bargains and they're easy for the grandparents all the way down to the little ones

to use. >> what is your advice on net books versus lap tops. >> net books are good for e-mail and web browsing. if you're looking for more than that, you want more processing power. >> you want as much memory and as much hard drive space as you can possible afford. >> it's an investment. happy thanksgiving to you. >> let's go down to al. >> the hottest toys will be selling out fast friday. amy goodman is from "all you" magazine. what is the hot doll this year? >> cabbage patch was in the '80s who mama -- mitten fluff and stuff is the it doll of the moment. girls actually go gaga for them. >> the thing ma jigs, they talk, they sing and they harmonize.

>> they're freaking me out. >> harry potter. >> with the release of the new harry potter film, they actually have to conduct hog warts first to play the board game later, that's really great. >> boys and girls like to get down and dirty. the dump truck. >> he sings, he plays, he makes 80 different sounds and noises. it's like interactive play with toys. >> this is the squinkies bake shop. kids adore it. it's a collector's item. >> air hawkeye cameras? >> this is actually a remote control helicopter that takes five minutes of video and of course the barbie video doll as well, which is taking about 30 minutes of video. barbie goes high-tech. >> we're back in 30 seconds with deals testealsla t i comes to your home and fashion right after these messages. ding, ding, ♪ bung, ding, ding, ding

♪ bing, ding, ding, bing, bing, bing, bing... ♪ ♪ bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah... ♪ ♪ lost in love and i don't know much... ♪ ]male announcer] starts friday at 4am. get there, first. "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target, expect more, pay less. >> back at 8:12, with more holiday gift dids. now the best deals for you and your home. we're going to start with a big item that you found a great deal on. sears is offering this kenmore trio fridge for $1,100.

that's almost a 60% savings. it's also an energy star appliance. >> why is this such a good time of the year to get this? >> this is going to be the lowest time of the year to buy appliances. so if you're in the market so it's time to invest. target is -- people want to get people into the doors, like those 5:00 door busters. target's offering these appliances for $3. >> moving on to sheets and pillowcases and all that, this is also a great time. >> this is some of the biggest sales. like in january the bedding sales. this is a great time to buy because you're going to have holiday guests. they're up to 70% off. >> and fashion forward friends look for sweaters from them like ca cashmere. >> it's such a classic, gloves for your teachers, to glittery

stuff, hard to buy tweed. even like a baby, 30% off. it's so cute. >> and if you're got shorty friends. it's a good time you want to exercise during the holidays. great time to get a kick start on your new year's resolution. >> it does pay to go to the store by 4:00 a.m., really? >> people are getting really competitive this year because they really want the consumer dollars. so they really want to get you in the door, biggest savings we have seen in the last couple of years. >> let's head outside to tamron hall. >> i'm outside on the plaza, the crowd wants to see king of leon. how did kings of leon come one their name, is it a the former boxer leon spinks, or the band's

grand father o the spanish explorer juan prince de leon? ♪ lost in love and i don't know much... ♪ ]male announcer] starts friday at 4am. get there, first. [ whistle blows ] [ squishing ] [ male announcer ] pool filled with caramel. not as good as chocolate filled with caramel. introducing milky way simply caramel. life's better the milky way. berry-topped, almond strudel pie? ♪

triple-chocolate-swirl brownie? ♪ [ sk sampler ] crunchy, berry, nutty, chocolatey goodness? [ female announcer ] when watching your weight, the more options you have, the more likely you are to stay on track. special k® cereals. in nine delicious flavors like red berries, chocolatey delight and fruit & yogurt. ' cause variety equals victory. taste all nine. ♪ ♪ bung, ding, ding, ding, ding ding, ding, ♪♪ ♪ bing, ding, ding, bing, bing, bing, bing... ♪ ♪ bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah... ♪ daddy, i'm bored. almost. it converts the car's braking force into electricity, so it's more efficient. so i thought... what if we put that same system onto one of these? [ people screaming ] who knows? we might be able to create the world's first self-sustaining amusement park.

[ male announcer ] how would you use toyota technology to make a better world? learn how to share your ideas at toyota.com/ideasforgood. learn how to share your ideas 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. kings of leon are set to set this place on fire. just before the break, we asked you how did the band come up with their name? and the answer was b, kings of leon is a band of three brothers

and a cousin and their grandfather is leon followill. now back to you, meredith. carmen has been -- in his new film, the king's speech, it's getting a lot of oscar buzz. king george vi had to get over a speech impediment to lead his country. >> that is st. towaredwards' ch that seat is the seat on which -- >> i don't care how many royals sat here. >> listen to me. >> listen to you? by what right? >> by divine right. i'm your king. >> you said you didn't want it. you think i wasn't listening? i have a right --

>> and i have a voice. >> good morning to you, i cannot say enough about this film, i'm not blowing smoke, it's fantastic. there's so much buzz about it too. it is a small film. why do you think it's making such a big splash? have you figured it out? >> we were worried that we were probably making a rather difficult little film. >> because? >> it's set in 1957, does anyone care about that era? how many people care? i know plenty of people care about the royal family, but not everybody. >> and your character has a stammer. >> and one has to finesse that so you come to realize how painful it was. it had to be something people could sit through. and i think there was concern that it would alienate people in some way. but actually, it seems to connect -- so many people think this film isn't for them. that's what i hear most often. i really did not imagine.

>> you are used to playing fictional characters, is it more difficult to take on historical characters who are real? >> it might. i have one time in my life played my exact age. that was the hardest of all, probably. this, i had some room to maneuver because people don't have an image of him in their mind the way they did winston churchill. >> and people don't know, he is her dad, the queen mum's husband. >> it's not that long ago in the grand scheme of things and he has relatives that are very much alive. i was also very conscious of that. >> did you reach out to the royal family to get some perspective on him? could you? >> one could try. they're not in the habit of commenting on these sorts of things and the flow of information out of the palace is zero. and i think quite right. i think they would likely will compromised by anything they

say. >> there's a great story about this. i don't know if it's true. the screenwriter actually approached the queen mother and said i would like to make this movie and she said wait until i die and she's been waiting around for 20 years. >> she's going to live to be 123. if she had said yes, i would have been too young for the role. i'm quite glad it worked out the way it did. >> and your sister is a speech therapist and you leaned on her because it was very important that you get this right? >> we don't have a lot of direct information, kings don't let you hang around with them. i would liked to have control over the country for a day to see what that was like. so you have to go to secondary sources, and we had this amazing moment where we uncovered his diaries and letters. we traced the family of the

family. some of the dialogue you hear is from the diaries. we have that material, but he wouldn't have been much of a therapist if he had documented the therapy sessions for everyone to read. and so i turned to the best speech therapist i know and that's my sister. i said what would the mechanics be in that time. so it was her idea. >> you got a oscar nomination last year for a single land. and the buzz is that you're going to get another one. are you uncomfortable when you hear that? you feel like it's almost bad luck to hear it? >> you know, i just -- i plead the fifth. no, i think it's great, actually. this film was a $12 million tiny little independent film. it doesn't have a massive financial machine behind its

promotion and that is basically just a by word for we love your movie. so at the moment this is all we have and the sort of wonderful comments that you made are what it's going to thrive on. it lets it punch about its way. >> everybody, it is a great movie. i wish you a happy thanksgiving, but you don't celebrate, do you? >> i have an american family. i have a son and two step kids. i have terrible thanksgiving envy. i think the british should have it. it doesn't mean we're an unthankful people. but it's just a wonderful family thing that were it for not celebrating so i'm very happy to have it back in action. >> well very happy holiday to you and the film opens on friday, take a break from shopping and see it. it opens nationwide december 10.

let's head down to washington, d.c. and check in with our good friend willard scott. >> over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go. happy birthday to my friends at smucker's. take a look if you will. ralph gains, from pasadena, california. he still loves the ride and listens to his ipod. johanna sell, 109 years, always very active in helping other people. and daysy mcfadden from the bronx, new york, had triple bypass when she was 89 years old. and nettie rosenstein.

she plays t s ths the piano and memorized all of the tunes she plays. and pennie burden, from detroit, michigan, she was honored for her charity effort on her birthday. what an honor to have. and louis foppiano, he's from healdsburg, indiana. just ahead, kings of leon, out on the plaza in concert. but first, your local news and weather.

good morning, everybody. it is 8:26. i'm brent cannon. today is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and one of the busiest airports is sfo. we are in the middle of it all. we have been at sfo all morning long. how does it look right now? >> reporter: things are looking pretty good. airport officials have been preparing for this day all year long. the fear was protesters would grind these lines to a halt, but we have seen no signs of protesters in regards to the pat-downs. it will take eight to ten minutes to get through security lines. and the controversial pat-downs

take two minutes. and the scans take 20 seconds. even though, there isn't much going on as far as the lines here. it may get busier as the day goes on, so give yourself plenty of time if you are heading to the airport. live at sfo,sf lee kirshner. we'll look at your weather coming up.

welcome back on this chilly morning. chilly afternoon as well with highs in the 40s to low 50s today. still some 30s out there at this hour, but mostly sunny skies.

cool temperatures today. probably another frosty morning tomorrow. next chance of rain holding off until friday night and saturday. a quick check of the morning commute. did have an accident at westbound highway 4 at somersville road. that is now cleared, but you can see the lingering effects there. 880 heading into downtown oakland a little bit of northbound slowing there. the final stop takes us to 101 getting out of san jose approaching the dumbarton bridge. slowing speeds down to 45 miles per hour northbound. back to you. more local news in a half hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning. the 24th day of november, 2010, the day before thanksgiving. many kings of leon fans out here today. for a live performance. outside on the plaza, i'm

meredith vieira, along with al roker and tamron hall. >> don't forget you can check out the macy's thanksgiving day parade right here on nbc tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m., followed by the dog show. >> that's right. and of course, i remember my mom making thanksgiving dinner while we watch the parade. >> and an interesting way to make a turkey, it's called a deconstructed turkey. cut it in half. it's delicious i know that. >> you mentioned the dog show, i'm going to bring in actor and

dog lover john o'hurley. host of the national dog show. >> we are less than 24 hours away before we release the hounds, 2,000 of the best dogs in the country are competing for the title of best in show. our ninth season with an audience of 20 million people. >> you always have a huge audience. what is it about this program? >> i think it's one of the best pieces of television on the. >> he's introducing six new breeds at the show, what do they do? they take a couple of weird dogs and set them up on a blind date and say we have got a new breed. >> you have to have a long history of the dog, the dog has to have a parent club to take care of the breed and it has to have a geological distribution and a long period so they can develop a written standard for

the dog. we have two hunting dogs that we're introducing. >> we just saw a photo of you and all the new dogs. >> that took 12 hours to do that photo, yes. >> do you have a favorite breed? >> the last few years i have always loved the irish setter in the ring. i think it's a show dog. i'm hoping the irish setter is -- >> i want to remind folks that the national dog show presented by purina immediately following our coverage of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> let's get a check of the weather from m and here's a beautiful view of the bay bridge. the commute is heading well in

both directions. this morning you can see clear skies over the golden gate bridge. no fog this morning. chilly temperatures in the 30s and 40s through breakfast time and eventually for the afternoon. the high today is in the low 50s. we have had a very chilly start to the morning. even with an all-day sunshine. lakeport, 45. heading to the high country, reno seeing highs in the mid-20s. another frosty start. the next chance of rain holding off until early friday night into saturday. ch r weather any time of the day or night the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> a twist on the traditional thanksgiving turkey and we have got kings of leon live on the plaza. but first this is "today" on next. c.nb

"today's" holiday is brought to you by ocean spray, tastes good, good for you. >> this morning on today's holiday kitchen, thanksgiving with a twist. you know what the traditional meal should look and taste like. but there's a new taste your family is sure to enjoy. his latest cookbook is family meals. happy thanksgiving to you. when i think of thanksgiving, i think of the turkey as a whole on a platter. but you're doing something, you deconstruct the turkey, which is a sophisticated way of saying you cut it in half? >> it's a heritage bird, it's air chilled so it never touches water and it's a fantastic tasting bird. the first thing you want to think about is quality. get the best bird you can possibly get. the second thing, roasting a bird whole always destroys the

texture of the turkey. don't waste your time, you can cut it in half yourself, by using a pair of shears and cutting it along the backbone. or you can ask the butcher to do it. >> once you cut it in half. >> you put it in the roasting pan and you want to treat it like you would anything else. you want to smear a little bit of butter on top of the turkey itself. you got a little bit of texture, a little bit of salt, you want to season up the bird really well. and then what you want to do is just bury it in herbs. so the name of this dish is split roasted turkey buried in herbs. >> what herbs? >> we have got a little bit of fresh thyme and some rosemary, this is going to cook in an hour

an 25 minutes. when you cook it for three hours, it ruins the bird. do your family a favor, don't cook the turkey whole. we're going to put whole split roasted heads of garlic in here too. >> while this is cooking -- >> that's going to go in the uv, 400, or two hours. you start off with a base of onions a little bit of olive oil, a little bit of butter. we get a little bit of sugar, a little bit of caramelizization. >> but you don't want the spinach to burn or anything? >> if you want it trance -- we're going to add some spinach to this. you want to add a little bit more spinach than you need because it wilts down like crazy. give this a little bit toss, a little bit of scream, a little bit of parmesan, cook that to almost a beautiful side dish itself.

>> this is one of my favorite dishes out of the cookbook. there's onions that's going to go on top of the whole thing. there's a little bit of honey and a little bit of sherry vinegar. and there's a little bit of bred crumbs. there's a little bit of color on top. >> if i put this in my fridge tonight, could i serve it to my guests tomorrow. >> i would just build it at the last second, you can cook the bred crumbs on top of this, it bakes in the oven for about 25 minutes. >> this is what you get, turkey buried in herbs. you get a nice crackly bit on top of this. you want to cook this until you get an instant read thermometer 160 degrees in the breast and

the thigh. this is the best turkey, it's easy, it's quick and it's fantastic. don't ruin your turkey this year. this is a really good idea. everybody likes sweet potatoes, everybody likes mashed potatoes. since the sweet potatoes are savory and sweet, blended together. you get a little bit of this, a little bit of that, you get a really good flavor. >> oh, my god. >> and we share the spoon. >> that's right. >> thank you so much, happy thanksgiving again. a life concert from the emmy winning band kings of leon. make your christmas story unforgettable!

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. the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota.

>> their last album turned kings of leon into rock superstars and earned them four grammy awards. now they're out with their follow-up album. it's called coming up sun down. ladies and gentlemen, kings of leon. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

>> kings of leon. we'll be back with more music and we'll chat with the band, but first this is "today" on nbc.

kings of leon's newest album is being praised for showcasing the tennessee-bred band's many musical influences. kings of leon, we've got caleb, jared, nathan, and matthew, guys, welcome back. good to have you here. so the good news is, the last album, four grammy awards and a number one hit. the bad news is, the last album, four grammy awards and a number one hit. a lot of pressure on this one? >> no, i don't think so. we put enough pressure on ourselves.

i don't think we have to worry about the success of the last one, you know, we've had a few records before the last one that we thought were pretty good. we didn't have the success. >> it's an inexact science, isn't it? you guys recorded this in new york. and for the people who don't know anything about the music industry, i think a lot of people wonder, why would changing locations change the sound of an album? can you explain that? >> i think just doing a record at home in nashville is more of the comfort level of being at home, sleeping in your own bed, hanging out with your friends. just a little more chilled out. coming to the city, new york, space is a little more -- a lot more smaller, so there's not a lot of room to kind of get distracted from making the record. so new york is just, get in there, get your job done, and get out. >> you guys seem to like the city. a lot of you have kind of spent a lot of time here, places to live here, things like that? >> we all have places here now. >> that's good to hear. and by the way, congratulations. didn't you just get engaged? >> yeah, yeah.

>> that's nice. so then there was one. one single guy left, huh? >> yeah, yeah. speaking of pressure. >> you guys going on tour? you going to be in europe, i understand? >> yeah, we're going to antwerp, belgium, the day of thanksgiving. >> good for you. you're cruising, on a plane. what are you going to play for us now. this guy over here says, i'm going to be there too. what are you going to play for us now. >> "the end." >> all right. ladies and gentlemen, kings of leon. ♪

♪ ♪ running with street lights ♪ laughing at the grave ♪ he swears he's gonna give it up, it's never gonna be enough ♪ ♪ i just want to be there, when you're all alone ♪ ♪ thinking about a better day, when you had it in your bones ♪ ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end

♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end ♪ i see you in the evening, sitting on your throne ♪ ♪ you're playing with a fireball, and post it up against the wall ♪ ♪ i just wanna hold you, and take you by your hand ♪ ♪ and tell you that you're good enough, and tell you that it's gonna be tough ♪ ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end

♪ 'cause i ain't got a home ♪ running from the streetlights, shining on her grave ♪ ♪ once you had the good stuff, never gonna fill you up ♪ ♪ i wanna be the one who gives them my world ♪ ♪ and gives them all the feeling of it, just a little taste of it ♪ ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end ♪ this could be the end

♪ 'cause i ain't got a home, i'll forever roam ♪ ♪ no, i ain't got a home, i'll forever roam ♪ ♪ i ain't got a home ♪ i'll forever roam ♪ no, i ain't got a home ♪ i'll forever roam ♪ i ain't got a home ♪

[ male announcer ] welcome to the far reaches of the internet. when you go faster, you're free to go farther. at&t. rethink possible. get high-speed internet from at&t for only $14.95 a month. good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. travel is big in the headlines this morning. today in the bay elise kirshner is live at sfo airport. hi, elise. >> reporter: hi, scott. we have been here since 4:30 and the lines have been moving

pretty quickly. they were worried protesters would slow the lines down, but so far only four protesters are here. they are over at terminal one. they are just passing out fliers criticizing the new body scans and pat-downs. it is taking eight to ten minutes on average to get through the line. so far so good for travelers here. we are live at sfo for today in the bay. and we will be back in just a minute. ♪ lost in love and i don't know much... ♪ ]male announcer] starts friday at 4am. get there, first.

verizon 4g l. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. ♪ ♪ bung, ding, ding, ding, ding ding, ding, ♪♪ ♪ bing, ding, ding, bing, bing, bing, bing... ♪ ♪ bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah... ♪ around the altamonte pass we have slowing westbound getting sloo liver more. highway 4 is seeing slowing as well. heading westbound approaching lover's grove right now, travel times are down to 20 miles per

hour and slowing blocking here in the number two lane approaching 880. another update in 30 minutes. the "today" show returns in one minute.

♪ ♪ i've been roaming around always looking down and all i see ♪ back now an a wednesday morning, november 24, 2010. with more of "today." we're looking at a crowd that is extremely happy because we just had a great concert from kings of leon.

brand new award-winning band back with more music a little later on. we thank them for sharing a little holiday spirit with us. out in the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with my friend al roker. and a lot of people are hitting the roads. this is one of those biggest getaway days. of course a look at the airports where the tougher new tsa screening procedures are in effect. and we have got "today's" money 911. plans you should think if in the next few months you think you're going to be getting laid off. we have some advice for you. plus who's going to make the guest list for the wedding of the century. prince will and kate middleton. i know a couple of people that aren't on the list. >> i would be stunned. we're going to talk about who is on the guest list. >> let us go inside now. tamron hall is in while ann is on assignment.

good morning, everyone. a u.s. aircraft carrier is headed for korean waters today following the north korean bombardment of the south korean island killing at least two soldiers and dozens of civilians and setting dozens of buildings and homes on fire. the navy will engage in exercises with south korea on sunday. anthony wader was found guilty of every count against him after olding a 16-year-old neighbor captive for more than a year. sentencing will begin in january. a massive explosion inside a coal mine in new zealand has erased any hopes of rescuing 29 miners trapped by a similar blast five days ago. the prime minister has declared it a national tragedy. this is one of the busiest travel days of the year, millions of americans head out for thanksgiving celebrations. tom costello is at reagan international airport. tom, any sign of passengers opting out of the full-body scans at the internet bloggers have threatened to do? >> reporter: no, so far not.

and we have pretty much full sailing -- smooth sailing, i should say, at this tsa checkpoint. you could be in and out thaf that in three, four, five minutes maxed. we've checked across the country. so far no rchts any of these opting out protests. we'll be watching out throughout the day. 1.6 million people traveling by air over the koufrs this holiday period. 40 million people going by car. the biggest problem, really, probably tamron, will be the weather in the midwest where they are deal with some rain, some sleet and some ice. back to you. >> tom, thank you. in a special thanksgiving gathering, five organ donors and recipients have met together. they are doing well and everyone in the chain agreed that it was a great joy times five. finally, they very important matter of state today at the white house. president obama pardoned one of these two birds in an annual thanksgiving day tradition. the newly crowned national

turkey, along with its vice presidential alternate. it will then be sent to mt. vernon estate to live out the rest of their days on the farm and luckily not on the table. it is three minutes past the hour. now back to matt and matt, i think their names are apple and cider. >> how cute. that's very nice. thank you for that little tidbit. let's go over to mr. roker for a check of the holiday weather. >> we have got a great view of the keyboardist. from the kings of leon. not too shabby. let's check your weather and we have got some weather to deal with as far as airport delays. in the northeast, mostly wind. 30 to 45-mile-per-hour winds, boston, jfk, newark, laguardia airport. out in minneapolis, snow and sleet developing. could be some problems there. salt lake city, they have a lot of snow yesterday. snow showers today. and residuals today. and then chicago, rain, sleet and windsr telate tay.

probably some airport delays. down to st. louis, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms. again, airport delays later on here's a view over the bay area this morning.shun seinf suo the oakland airport. we need it. temperates are in the 30s for parts of the bay area.er san jose is warming to 43. that's warm. the freeze warning should have expired. we'll make sure that's the case. heading to the north you'll notice we still have snow around portland and seattle. factor that into your travel plans today. low 50s for highs today. the next chance for rain should hold off until saturday morning. >> that's your latest weather. tamron? this morning on "today's" money 911, your most pressing financial questions answered. today's financial editor and author of money 911 and sharon

epperson, cnbc's financial expert. we have got so many questions. we have got anna from ohio. she's joining us from skype. good morning, anna, what's your question? >> good morning. my question is me and my husband have a 529 for your 9-year-old son and he wants to take the money out of this account, close it out, use some of the money to catch up and some of the money we'll put into an ira in our name because he has heard that having this money in our son's name will hurt hiss chances of getting financial aid later. i disagree, i want to keep the account, i think we'll be sorry when it comes time for him to go to college. what should we do? >> this is a great question. >> anna, i am with you 100%, if you can afford the leave the money in there, it will not hurt his chances of financial aid, in fact having the money in a 529 is really considered your asset

and the schools don't look at it until the second or third year in which he goes to school, but that $9,000 won't hurt you. i would take future contributions and put them in an ira if you need to play catch up for your own retirement. as we say all the time, your retirement has to come before college because there's financial aid out there for college, but there's no financial aid for retirement. >> you'll be glad you have some money in the 529. >> we didn't even talk about the taxes and the penalties, but believe me, you don't want to --. >> we have got nicky in virginia. how can i help you today? >> hi, how are you? thank you for taking my call. what's in my other sibling's and i do to protect our 84-year-old widow's mother from a younger sibling who we think is taking advantage of her. mom paid off her large credit

card debts, just moved in with her, now she is joined on mom's account, the house that dad paid off now has a mortgage and mom has $20,000 plus in credit card debt and she sounded really sad when i talked to her about her debt once, now mom is also talking about selling the house for a third of its value. >> that is a tough one, nicky. we're sorry that your family is in this situation. >> unfortunately, this is the conversation that comes up a lot around the holidays through thanksgiving. i would suggest if you can put this conversation off with your family until the day after thanksgiving. but here's what i would tell you. the most important thing is who has signatory power on your mom's checking account and credit cards. ideally, if you don't -- is your sister right now on the credit cards and the checking account? >> just on the checking account. >> i would recommend to your mom the following. there's what's called dual signature. is your mom in a good capacity, does she understand what's going

on right now? >> i think so, i live in another state than my mother does, we're like a country apart. >> so in essence if you don't trust your sister, i would do two things, i would suggest to your mom that there be two signatures on all checks. ideally your sister won't be signing the checks. but you actually tell your sister, you can tell your mom, mom, will you just copy me on the statements, the bank will actually send the statements to your home or you can get online access. you can say, just let me be the second set of eyes for you. the third thing i would say is it's possible your sister has good intentions and you may also want to have a conversation with your sister about this and say, i'm also going to be watching over this, i'm going to be looking through the statements and looking through the checks, i know you mean the best, but i'm going to be watching you. >> let's go to the phones, arnie

from san francisco. >> caller: my questions are i will be laid off from my job in five months, i've been in the company for 11 years. do you have any suggestions for what i should do no preparation for the layoff. i do have a mortgage that has a 6% interest rate. should i try to do a loan modification or should i refinance and then do a loan modification? >> i'm sorry about your situation with your job, but i do want to ask you, do you have any leads on a new job? have you started looking? do you have anything lined up? >> caller: not yet. >> you need to try to get even a part-time job. but the other thing, are you the sole owner on this home? >> caller: yes. >> unfortunately, you're not going to like what i have to

tell you, they're going to want verification of your employment and of your future employment and you're not going to be able to say that you're going to be employed for a long period of time, and if you try to get a loan modification, if you don't have any income, that's going to be difficult for you. you may want to looking into selling that home and rent something cheaper. but make a list of all the expenses that you're going to be able to cut right now and what you can cut when you lose your job. also keep in mind that you may want to stop if you're contributing to retirement, i hate to say this, but right now you need to build up your savings, so stop putting money into that 401(k) or that ira and start building that liquid savings that you v and also you want to try to get a line of credit. and all the while, you're still looking for a job. >> it's worth trying to re-fi that mortgage now. as long as you've got five more months of income and you're not doing anything dishonest, she

could certainly try. >> if you're employed, that's -- >> but you do need to be truthful on the questionnaire. >> that's right. >> thank you all, jean, david, sharon, great pleasure, happy holidays to you. still ahead, the next big choices awaiting prince william and kate now that they have picked the wedding date and the church. up next, a touching story of thanksgiving from st. jude's children's hospital. right after this. ♪ turn the tub around

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our series thanks and giving. on friday, auburn and alabama face off in one of the year's most famous college football games. the young athlete will be with the team in spirit, but not on the sidelines. 18-year-old shaun dreams of playing on this very field. >> i want to play in this uniform every day. >> reporter: the st. louis rams honored him on the field for his personal battle off of it. >> please welcome our honorary captain, shaun coleman. >> reporter: shaun knows that this is where he belongs. >> he's one of the best offensive linemen in the country. we got on him early in the

process, watched film on him, talked to his coach, found out a lot about him. has a great size and a great future. >> at 6'7", 285 pounds, shawn was at the top of his game, having just committed to a football scholarship at auburn university. months later, lumps on his head and his body would turn out to be something no one expected. cancer. >> i was completely shocked, there was no better way to put it. it was surreal. >> reporter: shaun's mother told him the lumps were malignant. >> from the first meeting he never doubted that he would beat this. he accepted it and told me to buck up, it's going to be okay, he's going to be fine. >> reporter: shaun was dged with acute leukemia? >> the common age group is a

little younger, but it's a continuous variable. >> the cure rate has gone from 4% to 94% thanks in large part to advances at st. jude's research hospital. but even with these successful numbers, it's still a mystery why someone as seemingly health think as shaun would be diagnosed. >> that's the problem, we don't know why kids get leukemia and that's why we're doing all the research to try and figure out. >> as he continues to fight the leukemia, shawn's coach and teammates are standing behind him, holding his place on the team for when we's ready to play again. >> when you're a great player in this league, you definitely have a shot to go on to the nfl and be a great player there as well and he's definitely got that ability. >> reporter: shaun still works out daily and sits with his team on the sidelines.

he has two years to go to finish his treatment, which he compares to the game of football. >> i look at the opponent and like my coaches, they set up a game plan for me every week, i use my game plan to overcome whatever it is to my achievement. >> reporter: and in addition to his achievements, shaun's mom's dream of playing football again will be a reality. >> i don't see anything that's going to stop him. i would say in the next two years, he'll be running out of the tunnel at jordan harris stadium and within the next several years, he'll be living out his dream in the nfl. >> i know i'm going to win. >> marlow thomas is the national outreach director. we heard the piece, it went from 4% to 94%. is this going to be 100% krurable? >> the whole reason it's come up to 94% is that we have gotten

better at combining the drugs, at customizing the drugs, dosing the child, depending on their own dna, we have got to come up with better antibiotic drugs and all of this has led to us not using radiation on children. and we're the only hospital in the world that does that because we're able to cure leukemia without radiation. his quality of life is going to be up to 100% because he doesn't have to suffer the side effects of radiation. >> marlow thomas, happy thanksgiving. . >> you, too. we have one more song from the kings of leon. but first, these messages. with the capital one venture card we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card.

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donation from one of our generous contributors. we have an avon representative. tell us a little bit about the donation from avon this year. >> we're so happy to be donating over $2 million worth of toys. they're all for boys, we have toys and products and a lot of goodies here. >> you are a woman out there, you're an avon rep, getting in contact with the customers. >> yes, i love it. i've been selling avon for ten years now. this is for boys and girls. >> little bubble bath and items for girls. >> some great products here for the holidays. >> this is actually a sleeping bag. >> this is a great sleeping bag. >> thank you very much. thank you to avon by the way. we'll have celebrity guests out

here collecting gifts out on the plaza if you bring a toy or a piece of clothing for the needy. up next, another song from kings of leon. 19 days, 8 hours... 20 days, 8 hours, 9 minutes... 18 days, 17 hours... [ mom ] let's go, young lady. 12 days, 18 hours... 10 hours, 12 minutes, 7 seconds. come on. it's no days! 5 hours and 59 minutes and 42, 41... [ female announcer ] the hallmark "countdown to christmas" ornament. this christmas, make it joyful, at your hallmark gold crown store. is spreading their love fo afrtsuind veggies. gerber nature select baby food. 100% nutritious. 100% up to gerber standards. [ baby giggles ] [ female announcer ] welcome to the gerber generation. [ baby giggles ] the gerber generation loves whole grains this much! gerber graduates snacks with yummy whole grains,

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good morning, everybody. the time is 9:26. i'm brent cannon. airline travelers could be dealing with frustration today. the busiest travel day of the year today, plus protesters are said to happen over the new pat-downs and screenings. we are live at sfo with an update on how things are going. elise? >> reporter: airport officials were really concerned that protesters would slow down security lines like this one behind me, but as you can see that hasn't happened. in fact, we were only able to find two protesters at terminal one. we are at terminal three here and they were passing out fliers criticizing the new body pat-downs and scans.

and they were asking travelers to opt out. we have not seen anyone opt out. and again, if you take a look behind me, lines are moving smoothly. they are on average going through about eight to ten minutes. and also all flights we see here are on time. for now, we are livesburtgh pitturgh international airport. more news is coming up.

we'll start off with your weather. later on we'll see temperatures in the 40s and 50s after a chilly start to the morning. the national weather service just reissued freeze warnings for tomorrow. you'll see why. another cold start to your thanksgiving morning. patchy frost with highs in the 40s and 50s. a chance for rain arriving getting into the start of the weekend. now checking your getaway commute, as we take you over to the altamonte pass, this doesn't look that bad right now. eastbound and westbound moving at speeds, but not moving at speed is westbound highway 4 moving towards leverage road.

speeds dropping down to 24 miles per hour. 880 heading up to high street northbound, we did have a disabled vehicle blocking the number two lane. that has been cleared off to the side, but you can see the residual slowing. traffic is picking up south of there at 70 miles per hour. we'll take you to another stop to show you the travel times around the bay area. this morning the bay shore freeway right on time. you can see as well from highway 92 tohighway 84 things are looking good. one more check here on parts of the south bay. we are seeing highway 85 to downtown san jose. 64 miles per hour. not that bad. travel times getting in or out of town are looking good. more local news for you coming up in a half hour. and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. see you back here in a little bit.

it's just now -- it's not just thanksgiving without the annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. we're going to bring you the marching bands, the floats and the balloons. i'll be there along with matt and meredith. macy's thanksgiving day parade immediately following "today" at 9:00 a.m. right here on nbc. meanwhile inside studio 1a, i'm al roker alongside tamron hall. >> you're going to do some traveling today? >> i'm leaving out of here, but

april 29 is the date prince william and kate middleton have picked for their wedding. you have their date marked on your calendar, don't you? >> i've got it. plus would you give your kidney to save someone you had never met? we're going to meet the people involved in the largest kidney transplant chain ever performed in the u.s. 16 donors, 16 recipients and their doctors, we're going to talk to them all coming up. another song from southern rocker kings of leon, but first, al, one of the king this is morning. >> it's good to be king. >> with a check of your forecast. >> let's show you what's happening. a parade, cloudy, temperatures 36 to 40 and the winds 7 to 14 miles an hour.

so that's good news. thanksgiving day some rain in the pacific northwest. rain in the upper mississippi and ohio river valley. sunshine in new england, then on friday, we have got showers along the east coast for your shopping pleasure. sunny, frigid and cold in the plains and then for saturday, cold in the plains, rain in the west, a few snow showers around the great lakes and then sunday, sunday, more rain along the west coast into the southwest, mountain snows out west, plenty of sunshine, but cold weather for the great lakes into the plains down into the gulf coast. well, it is a pretty picture of san jose. nothing but sunshine. here's the picture inside your house. you think it is warm outside. no, it's not. 43 in san jose. still 30s outside in parts of the north bay. cold and sunshine. case in point, you just saw it in san jose, highs in the upper 40s around the bay area today. another round of frost and freeze warnings tomorrow morning for thanksgiving. the next chance for rain will hold off until friday night and saturday. clearry and breezy for sunday.

up next, just how vod are prince william and kate th ei pnning their wedding? we'll have that after this. sometimes i worry. yeah. what if something bad happens? so what happens if someone gets my credit or debit card and buys a ton of stuff? that would be... really, really bad. [ male announcer ] with bank of america's zero liability guarantee, you're not responsible for any fraudulent charges on your card. guaranteed. bank of america says they'll credit any fraudulent charges back to my account as soon as the next day. the next day! that makes me feel better about using these cards. they've got my back. they've got my back. [ male announcer ] the opportunity to worry less about fraud with the zero liability guarantee from bank of america. when you can have pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits? the warm, light delicate layers are like nothing else. add a layer of excitement to your next meal. ♪

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the koubd count down is on, prince william and kate middleton have six months to iron out the wedding at westminster abbey. stephanie gosk has the latest. >> reporter: five months, that's all they have to plan the most spectacular and complicated royal celebration in decades. a top priority and a delicate one, the guest list. there are those that should get invites, those that shouldn't and those that muftd. westminster abbey has the capacity of 2,000, but as many as 8,000 can be packed literally up to the rafters.

and it won't be just heads of state and european royals. it is being called the people's wedding. >> i'm sure the abbey and the palace will be very, very conscious of the need to reach out to all constituencies in britain in the ceremony, let it be as grand as you like, but let it also be inclusive. >> reporter: a public holiday has been declared, street parties are being planned. everyone is invited to the procession with its pomp and it's circumstance as it winds through these streets just as it did 30 years ago with charles and diana. >> as the future head of the armed forces, the prince's bride will have a full military escort, flying over and soaring military music. in the category of wedding dilemma most people don't have, they will have to choose a carriage, there's over 100.

there the glass coach, the queen alexandra coach, and the coach equivalent of a luxury limo, the sixth horse edward vii. the procession will wind its way from the abbey to the reception, likely to be held at buckingham palace, the best balcony for the newlyweds to make an appearance. than they will usually end up throwing a party. for "today," stephanie gosk. nbc news, london. >> up next, sweet 16, we'll meet the people involved in the largest kidney exchange ever right after this. if you fight to sleep in the middle of the night, 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 discover a restful lunesta night. so i mix together a packet of hidden valley ranch, 1 box of spinach, and 16 ounces of sour cream, and tonight everyone gets a taste of something special... ranch spinach dip. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up.

start with cookie dough. ♪ add frosting. [ giggles ] [ female announcer ] then sprinkles. [ both giggle ] [ female announcer ] fun. easy. [ child ] wow. [ female announcer ] at pillsbury.com. ♪ oh, love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just hold me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just kiss me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just want me ♪ l-o-v-e ♪ love, love, love, love ♪

♪ l♪v--o-e ♪ ♪ love, love, love, love now to the people behind the largest kidney exchange ever. 16 patients, thankful to be alive and thankful to their 16 donors, including a soldier and an nbc news viewer, we're going to talk to them in a moment, but first, nbc's tom costello has their story. >> reporter: what does it take for someone to give a kidney to a total stranger. after two tours in iraq and one in afghanistan, army specialist patrick duncan had seen enough, enough suffering, enough death. >> i think that up close and personal and now it's time for a change, now that i can actually save someone's life, it just means so much. >> for patricia harris, it's a trade, she'll donate and someone else's kidney will help save her son.

>> i will move heaven and earth for my son, but more than that, i can improve the quality of life of someone else, that's what god wants us to do. >> reporter: jonathan was just 12 when his sole kidney started to fail, then open heart surgery and chronic asthma, now at 22, the kidney his brother gave him has also failed. >> i guess that just means i was put on earth to -- >> reporter: after 25 years of kidney disease, rhonda carry is also hoping for better things. >> i'm praying that this will be the only trance plant that i ever have to have. >> patrick, patricia, jonathan and rhonda are part of the biggest transplant chain in the history of the u.s. >> what i try to do every day is try to find more kidneys for my patients.

>> reporter: the kidney transplant director another georgetown. 32 trands plants over three weeks, spread over three different hospitals, georgetown, walter reid. >> only approximately a fourth of the people that sit on the transplant list will ever be transplanted. so you have to get a living donor for the rest of these patients if they're ever going to get a transplant. >> reporter: there simply aren't enough donors. there's over 65,000 americans wait forgive a transplant but only 6,000 people actually gets one. that means every 23 minutes, someone dies wait fog arrest kidney. relatives, friends, even strangers can donate. >> from watching television.

>> reporter: christine hall stepped forward after watching our report on the doctor last year. i began thinking, why don't more people do that? and then i realized the question should be why don't i do that? >> reporter: donors and recipients were finally introduced. patrick harris's kidney went to rhonda carry. >> thank you from the bottom of my heart. >> reporter: when pat trick harris met his donor, he was overcome. >> for a long time, i had to leave us alone. >> jonathan is going to take good care of it. and i hope it gives him a whole new lease on life. >> reporter: and jonathan's mom, her kidney went to kochar. so many lives so much gratitude, that's what it means to get a kidney today.

good morning to all of you. >> good morning. let me ask you, we have heard, some people have decided to just do this out of the goodness of their heart. if somebody decided to do this, what are the risks of the healthy folks who want to donate a kidney? >> well, it is major sunshine surgery, the risk of bleeding or the risks are very small. most healthy people can be without any risk that they can be in the hospital one or two days and they can pretty much return to normal activities in more than a month. >> you have tours of duty in afghanistan and iraq. why did you decide to do this? >> i decided to do this because i have lived all my life, i have lived a healthy life and for someone who can't have that life

just because they're on dialysis, it wasn't fair so i decided to do what i had to do to give them a good life. >> and rhonda, you got the kidney donated by specialist duncan. you got a lot to be thankful for, you and your family, this thanksgiving? >> yes, i do. i'm very thankful and i thank god that i was able to be a part of this and i thank god that i got patrick's kidney. >> and patricia, you and your son jonathan, you've been through a lot together, he had a kidney that would have been donated from his brother. what would it mean for you and jonathan to have gotten this kidney for him. >> well, it's definitely going to increase the quality of his life providing him an opportunity to live a young

man's life that without this having occurred come independent of each other. >> i can see that bond, it's very special. christine hall, you saw the report that tom costello did on "nightly news" with brian williams and you were moved to act and you said this helped you improve your life as you got ready to donate a kidney? >> it did. >> how so? >> i think you're referring to my weight loss. >> yes. >> i lost 40 pounds getting ready for the surgery. >> wow. knowing that you, as a bonus, you're in better health and you have helped somebody, how did that make you feel? >> honored. >> yeah, that's terrific. doctor, you've done 16 pairs,

what's next, 20, 24? what are you thinking? >> well, al, actually our national organization, the united network of organ sharing is now going to make this a national program. so what we're most proud of is the fact that more people across the nation will be able to participate in these sort of exchanges and be transplanted. >> that's terrific. happy thanksgiving to everybody, please enjoy and we're so proud of you, thank you so much. >> thanks, al. and just ahead, we have got one more song from kings of leon. but first this is "today" on nbc.

david hyde pierce and doris

roberts. but first, one more song from the kings of leon. ♪ i've been running around ♪ i've been looking down at all i need ♪ ♪ ain't afraid to go to the place i can't reach ♪ ♪ you know that i could use somebody ♪ ♪ you know that i could use somebody ♪ ♪ someone like you

♪ you know that i could use somebody ♪ ♪ you know that i could use somebody ♪ ♪ someone like you ♪

♪ i'm off to sleep ♪ i want you to know that ♪ i want you to know that ♪ you're what i need ♪ ♪

♪ i've running around ♪ i've been looking down at all

good morning, everyone. it is 9:56. i'm scott mcgrew. rob is pulling double duty with

traffic and weather. it is chilly outside. we had patchy frost and ice earlier the morning. 40s and 50s for highs. if you thought this morning was cold, we'll get another round for thanksgiving morning. cold again in the 20s and 30s with freeze warnings likely posted for the same locations tomorrow morning. the next chance for rain holding off until friday night into early saturday. now the traffic side of things. you can see the altamonte pass, a little slowing heading westbound approaching livermore there on westbound 580 this morning. you can see highway 4, travel times picked up a bit. a bit slowing ranch road there. there is san mateo. a little bit of slowing south of the airport. we have one more stop in palo alto. the travel times are at the speed there. if you are flying the friendly skies, we have your travel update. elise kirshner is live at sfo.

how are things out there? >> reporter: we have been here since 4:30 this morning, and you really wouldn't know this is one of the busiest travel days of the year. this is the security line here over at terminal three. you can see there are very, very few people here. around 123,000 travelers are expected to come through sfo today. and there were concerns people protesting the new security measures would slow things down. that hasn't happened. in fact, we were only able to find about two protesters over at terminal one. they were passing out these fliers asking travelers to opt out. we didn't see anyone opt out. again, take a look behind me, you can see the security lines moving very quickly. we are live at sfo, elise kirshner, "today in the bay." we'll have more local news in a half hour. the "today" show continues. hi! welcome to progressive.com.

come on in, and i'll give you a free quote. quote and compare in about 8 minutes. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. i'm vember 24th, one day before the big thanksgiving turkey day. sort of get-away day for mem today. you're staying with your family and going to the parade. >> right now they're coming. they're about to get on the trains. the trains are delayed a little. they'll be here by 1:00, and we're going to -- and you're heading to florida?

>> i'm heading to the keys. if we were staying to the city, we would go to a matinee today. we've been interrupted this year by your book. >> i've been very busy. >> which is finally, thank you, over, and very successful. but if we were going, i would tell you all if you're going, this is only going to run through december 5th, and it is one of the best shows hoda and i saw all season since we went to theater. if you have a kid, a teenager, every teenager should see this show. it's a one-man show. he plays six different characters and he's brilliant and we need to go back regularly. i miss my theater. we have david hide pierce on today, and we have not gotten to his show because of our book tour. >> it's upcoming in the coming weeks. if you were at home last night, "dancing with the stars" was on the tube. it's over. in third place, as you probably know by now, was bristol palin, in second place was kyle massey.

he played that was the song to the see roll, xhs so good. he sang to -- he danced to that one. the winner, of course, was 50-year-old jennifer gray. she won it. >> which sounds young to me. other people make a big deal about how she's 50 years old, and that's young. >> she looks great. she should have won. she was the best dancer left. there was no question. >> no question, right? >> it's going to be fun to see what happens to her career now, because we hadn't seen a lot of her before this. who knows what offers will come streaming in for her now. >> you'd like to see if these shows revitalize someone's career or if they're a thing interesting to watch for now. you hope it does. >> whether you're watching her, i don't think anybody realized she has a ruptured disk in her back and tendonitis in one of her knees. she's hiding it and masking it

beautifully. >> yeah. and on another channel was the show "glee." >> i can't believe i missed "glee" last night. >> i was getting stuff together. i had to buy a microwave oven, xhnters and it was on in the background. carol burnett was on and she was singing with jane lynch. let's listen. ♪ i wonder ♪ why did i why ♪ why did i go ♪ oh why oh did i leave ♪ ohio ♪ maybe i better go home maybe i better go home ♪ >> carol played jane's mom in the show in this episode. >> i hope it becoming a recurring role. people forget she started her career on broadway in "once upon

a mattress." >> she can sing. if you like music, kings of leon was out on our plaza. it was jammed. they played this song you may have heard of called "use somebody." >> not at this moment, though. >> this is it. ♪ someone like you >> yeah, baby. looking good. >> they brought out a very big crowd. >> every single word. >> we wish the travoltas all the best in the world. benjamin was born tuesday. good for them. they had a rough couple of years. >> it is turkey time, is and this is the time where everybody panics. everyone pangs. >> there's a butterball lady. >> do you cover it?

>> we have marge on the phone. hey, marge. >> hi. >> you've been holding on for us right now. you know what it's like for us to hold on. there's quite the wait sometimes? >> there is. we have a lot of callers on the line. >> let's talk about thawing out, because a lot of people get the bird, and it's frozen and they panic. what should you do to thaw it out? >> well, to thaw it out, you should is started it in the refrigerator quite some time ago. if you haven't, then you have to defrost it in cold water. takes 30 minutes for every pound. >> 30 minutes per pound. >> cold water in the sink? >> cold water in the sink. immerse it in cold water breast-side down. >> one of the our experts said if you want a really moist turkey you shouldn't get anything over 14, 15 pounds or

go from one of those big jumbo turkeys. she said opt for two small ones. >> how do you feel about that marge? >> you don't overcook your turkey, it will be juicy and tender. it's the overcooking that does you in. >> that's what i told her, marge. >> don't be afraid of the big birds, because they'll be just fine as long as you don't overcook. >> thank you. >> happy, happy turkey day. >> the hours if you want to call marge is 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. central time today and 6:00 to 6:00 on thanksgiving. >> i was preparing grandma's sage stuffing today. >> you have to be careful with that. they say these holidays are one of the times when most families are fighting. the top things we fight over is money. why is that coming up? >> a lot of people have big, big

money problems right now. >> i mean, the discussion of that at the table. >> leads to fights. you owe me ten buck, you owe me 15. >> here's the second thing people argue about. their dislike of the meal. >> who are you having dinner with? people fighting over money and don't like your cooking, tell them to find some place else to go. that's just rude. >> i think people mask their criticism this ways they stay this turkey's a little dry, but lots of great gravy. i think there are ways to be passive aggressive. >> that person is like that all the time, you know what i'm saying? >> i know. >> you people, unfortunately, don't know who you are, because you keep doing it. >> we have pay frozen version of a turkey here. >> we do. this is an he's cream turkey. >> it's con sealed. >> it's ice cream, and where do you get it?

from baskin robin z? is that where it comes from? >> $31.99. >> you don't want to go near it. >> do you want me to cut it? >> go ahead. >> rip off a leg. >> no, don't. don't do that. no! >> that looks good. that's hugh you start the fight. don't rip off the leg. try that. >> that one is delicious. >> you didn't get to that. >> i don't know why we have this, but this is called a turkey caller. >> okay. okay. we got it. got it, got it. that's how you track turkeys, apparently. pleets let's go to sarah. you're going to have a new york city thanksgiving? >> yes, and just wandering around and seeing lights. we have a fan photo of a little baby that rosemary sent in.

she puts her daughter down in front of the tv when you're on and she turns and watchines and talks to you guys. >> that's really cute. >> this is her first thanksgiving it looks like. >> don't forget to send your what the what photos and things on there. >> still to come, look who is here, tv's most outspoken mother and brother. >> doris roberts and david hyde pierce maken a pierce make an awfully cute couple right after this. just unroll it, fill, top, bake, and present. that must have taken you forever! it was really tough. make a pie with pillsbury tonight. try crescent wrapped brie. just unroll it, wrap the brie, bake, and present. that looks really delicious! and so easy. for this recipe and more, visit pillsburycrescents.com.

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when the think of david hyde pierce you probably can't help but remember him as the snobby psychiatrist on tv's "frazier." >> we think of him as so much more. he's a long time friend of this show and a star of a wonderful broadway play that opened to rave reviews we'll see very soon

calmed did the la bett." >> no. the man is a raging -- >> no, no. >> i haven't -- >> she's not with us today, but david hyde pierce is. >> that's right. i am. that was joanna lumly. >> she's fantastic. >> she's an amazing british sitcom that ran for years, she's the star of that. >> what's interesting about this dialogue, approximate if you don't pay attention you don't realize it's all rhyming. >> it's the most incredible play. the entire play is in rhyming c cuplets. you don't really notice it. >> tell us about your character. you play the straight man in this, right? >> sort of. i'm a writer and actor and high-minded guy. there's a conflict of egos

between me and at great british actor who is a vulgar farting and belching street performer. he's one of the great actors in the english-speaking theater. we battle it out for the affections of the princess. >> there's a portion where this guy does a monologue that's 30 minutes, and you have to react. that couldn't have been easy? >> it's easy with him. it's a brilliant piece of writing. it's basically the opening of the play. he comes on and is so full of himself. we've all been with people like this. like i'm doing now. >> he has a flatuence problem? >> the character does among other times. >> tonight we had a -- a few months ago the new york

philharmonic did a tribute. >> mandy. >> and on and on and on many performing the songs -- the roles they originated and it's one of the great orchestras in the world on pbs. i hosted it. >> the reviewed i read, you got as great a review for this. he's the reason to call somebody a host or something. >> i wrote that review. >> it was quite the rave. i'm sure you saw that. >> lonnie price, great actor and director put the evening together and then captured it on film, which is really hard to do. you watch having been through it, you see it and feel like you're there. >> i'm going to be watching there. >> we saw it, and i thought stfs incredible. i didn't realize all of those songs were his. there's another one. every one you've heard came from him. >> "send in the clowns" and n g

things like that. >> how much longer are you in "la bete"? >> it's a wild ride. i love it. >> what does david hyde pierce do when he takes a break? go sailing? >> i don't know. probably go play football. >> you're such a macho kind of guy. >> oh, shut up. happy thanksgiving to you guys. >> enjoy the rest of your team. we'll see you in a couple of weeks. coming up next she's the loud-mouthed mom on "everybody loves raymond." >> she knows how adorable she is. >> i know. i'm home.

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for nine years everyone loved raymond including his controlling mother marine breen. >> now the five-time emmy-winning actress is star inning a hallmark channel movie

where her character continues to speak her mind and make magic. >> as a finley store employee i was disappointed to learn you had canceled the christmas party. that's one of the reasons i took this job. >> it was canceled 20 years ago. >> i know. there's still talk about it. apparently it's off the hook. >> what? >> it's an expression they use today. >> how are you? great to see you. >> great, honey. thank you. >> you're always working. once in a while i see you out on the town, but most of the time you're working. >> i am. >> tell us about this particular movie. it's a hallmark movie, and your character makes magic, doesn't she? >> she's an angel with an attitude. >> she's very loveable. >> we did this last year and it was number one for the year of 2009 so we're doing it again this saturday. it starts at 8:00. if you miss that one it starts at 10:00 and if you miss that one, it starts 12:00.

>> and there's tivo. >> this young man is adorable in the movie. >> isn't he? >> she shows up in family situations where they need a little miracle. >> absolutely. it's a movie the entire family can watch together from kids to grandparents. you don't get that very often. >> no, you don't. we don't get it enough. >> no. it makes you feel good at the end. a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling at the end. >> when we knew you were coming on the show, we wanted to dig deep in the archives. we found one of your old commercials from back in the day. so we just -- >> she may not like this. >> she might. let's watch. >> an air conditioner? >> not that kind of air conditioner, this kind. new glade solid air freshener. conditions the air and gets rid of odor. >> how do you plug it? >> you don't herb. see this ventilation system?

works continuously so the air smells fresh and clean. >> that's a window? >> not an air conditioner air conditioner but it's an air conditioner. >> was that one of the first things did you? >> absolutely. >> what goes through your mind when you see something like that? what year was that? >> how much money i made? >> did that play for your house. >> i did. i have a plaque outside my house that says this is the house of glade in span spiisspanish. >> what is one of the questions you get on the street? >> how do you learn that time s? you don't. you're born with it. >> i had a little too much champagne. >> these things live on. why do you think they're so timeless, the raymonds? >> they're real.

they're based on reality. it happens with one of the writers and the cousins and mothers or whatever. that was out for nine years. >> i was reading a very poignant story about the gentleman that played your husband, and when he found out that he had cancer, he came to you and asked you -- tell us that story. >> i said i'm going to tell them that i have cancer, and i said don't do that because they'll treat you like a man that is dying and they won't write for you. you can't give into na. you don't know that, and fight against it. he did, bless him. peter boyle. >> when you watch what's on it tv these days, what do you think when you look at the landscape and you see the reality stuff and the comedies? what do you think? >> they've lost something. they've lost to reality, they've lost the simpleness about it. we have to look at something and enjoy it. like this movie, "mrs. miracle," you can laugh at it and cry at

it and feel good about it. we need the time to enjoy television, not to be bombarded by it. >> we've lost the heart of things. even though that was a bickering family and everything else, you knew they loved each other and would do anything in the world for each other. >> for my sons i would do anything. i never approached that character as mean-spirited in any way. my boys had to have the best. >> doris we love seeing you. happy thanksgiving, sweetheart. >> you, too. >> the movie is on the hallmark channel all this weekend. >> plenty of times. you've got to watch it. still to come, turkey trivia when we play "who knew" with our holiday crowd. after your local news. ♪ daisy, do-do a dollop our family-owned company makes daisy... with 100% natural farm-fresh cream. no artificial ingredients. no preservatives. and no added hormones. ♪ better with a dollop here

♪ fresher with a dollop there ♪ ♪ wholesome in every way ♪ daisy, do a dollop ♪ daisy, do-do a dollop ♪ daisy, do a dollop it's that time of year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ all day thanksgiving, with great specials on toys and apparel starting midnight. so you can shop while you wait for the big electronics event at 5 a.m. friday. with an emachine laptop for just $198. that's just $198...at walmart. and now #1 in the u.s. that's outlast lipstain from covergirl. light as air lipwear that does what a lipstick can't. the precision pen glides over lips with a flush of sheer color. it's never sticky. 'cause it's a stain. read my lips, this is not a lipstick.

with one sold every 15 seconds, it's the #1 selling lipstain in the u.s. [ male announcer ] outlast lipstain. from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. [ drew ] top it off with the glossy shimmer of shineblast. and good morning, everybody. 10:26. i'm brent cannon. traffic and weather, we mean that literally. rob has both. i have both clickers this morning. we'll show you what to expect in temperatures of weather. 50s no matter where you are. we have the patchy frost and ice, and now we see the cool sunshine. 40s and 50s across the north bay. same story tomorrow morning. we'll wake up to a cold start with 20s and 30s. the next chance for rain should roll in late friday into saturday. a quick check on your traffic around the bay area, you can see san mateo bridge with travel times looking good. this doesn't look like a busy

travel day there. it is looking pretty good. heading into the south bay, look at the green on the map. a little slowing approaching 680 out of the south bay. the altamonte pass looks fine both eastbound and westbound. one more stop up to highway 4. a little slowing westbound as you approach lovers road. the time isthter eae brk. nreaf.

we now know when san francisco will choose its next mayor or how, rather, but we don't know when. the board of supervisors gets to choose the interim mayor when gavin newsom becomes lieutenant governor. the first nominee to get six or more votes becomes the next mayor regardless of whether there are more nominees who have not yet been voted on. board members cannot vote for themselves. we do not know when the process will happen. the new mayor will serve until the november election. the giants are working to sign several free agents during the offseason to help them to the world series. aubrey huff signed a three-year $30 million contract. two years will be a $10 million each contract and they are guaranteed. they can choose to keep him for a third year or let him go, but it will still cost them $2 million. juan uribe is in arbitration. the team tried to get edgar renteria to agree to a reduced

salary. no word yet on pat burrell. have a lovely thanksgiving. the "today" show is coming up next. we're back on this wines day with more of today ready to play "who knew?" how can we talk anything today except turkey? kathie is across the street. she'll hand out 100 bucks to those who answer correctly and those who don't will receive one of kathie lee's cds or a copy of al roker's new book, "the midnight murders." everyone is a winner. kristen is here to help me out from realsimple.com. let's do it. >> this beautiful young lady always wanted to be on the "today" show. she's turning 18 today. according to the department of

agriculture how many turkeys are cooked and eaten in the u.s. at thanksgiving? this is for al roker's book or my cd? >> i'll go with 45 million. >> yeah. >> she gets the money. >> oh, well. >> 45 million. big number. >> it is a big number. it actually represents 1 in 6 turkeys -- one-sixth of the turkeys sold year-round and about 535 million pounds of turkey. >> i wonder if it's less this year because of economy? >> yes, potentially. >> these folks are from arkansas. on average how many calories are consumed on thanksgiving? 2,3500, 4,000 or 4500 calories? >> 4500. >> you are good today. not a good day for me or al. >> no, it isn't. 4500 in one meal. >> in one meal. that representing about two and a quarters days worth of the recommended calories.

it's really good to get a walk in, get some exercise, something on the day of thanksgiving. >> it's all the grazing and the cooking then and a half. >> exactly. day long feast. >> i'm in love with this guy, 84 years old from new york. he has quite the attitude. when was the first macy's thanksgiving day parade, sir? 1963, 1950, 1924 or 1912. >> i'd say '24. >> wow, you guys are -- >> you weren't born then, were you? >> almost. >> i was a wink in the eye. >> he was a wink in the eye. wow, they're sweeping across the street there. >> they're doing a great job today. 1924. it was started by the employees was macy's store and it went from harlem to the store on 34th street. they wanted a way to celebrate its heritage. >> how big it's grown. >> lovely family from new orleans, hoda. besides turkey, what's the most popular thanksgiving food?

cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes or brussels sprouts. >> pumpkin pie. >> oh, my gosh. everybody is doing great today. >> al is getting ticked off, because his book is not going anywhere. pumpkin pie is the answer. >> you know, it's actually a fairly recent recipe. it started in the late 1700s, 1796 is the first recorded version of the pumpkin pie. >> interesting. back across the street. >> look at this beautiful family from massachusetts. he's the spokes person. true or false, thanksgiving has always fallen on the fourth thursday of november. true or false. >> fru. >> that's all right. what's it going to be al roque or me. >> al, al.

>> al roker wins the vote. the correct answer is false. >> it used to be on the last thursday of the month, and that was started by abraham ling kuhn with ms. pro clam mags but fdr moved it up to the fourth thursday to extend the holiday season and boost the economy. >> where are you from? >> from virginia. >> how many movies are scheduled treeb leased in theaters over the thanksgiving holiday? 4, 6, 9 or 11? >> 6. >> what's going on? this is astonishing. the correct answer is 6. >> it's the start of the big holiday movie season. tons of releases this weekend, burlesque and love another one. >> i want to see the one with reese witherspoon.

>> we'll do one more across the caption. >> lady from texas. true or false, there's no official reason or declaration for the use of turkey of thanksgiving. true or false. >> true. >> false. no, you were right. it's true that it was true. yes. it was like a false negative. here you go. you won. >> thank you. >> the answer is true. >> actually, it was the most plentiful game bird at the time of the thanksgiving of 1621 so old habits diehard. >> thank you. happy thanksgiving. >> thank you. >> black friday bargains and the right time of day to shop for them and then in the kitchen with tyler for thanksgiving sides. first, these messages. ♪ [ grandma ] okay. ♪ ah. then we will all do it together. treats. teets...teets...teets... yeah. look at this. [ female announcer ] it seems like the best family traditions

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time to count down to the holidays with a lesson in in navigates black friday. we have three experts standing by to tell you about the best deals in electronics, cloths and jewelry. we begin with consumer reporter janice lieberman. hey, janice. >> good morning. >> so, when you see these big sales and they tell you 5:00 a.m. and the doors open and everyone crashes in, is it smart to show up early like that on black friday? >> there's a lot of tricks out there the retailers are pulling on us, so you need to read the fine print. we've heard that some stores open at 5:00, but the steals don't start until noon or 5:00 p.m., so you don't need to get there.

the other trick they're using is minimal quantities, limited, maybe four tvs at rock bottom prices, but if it's open at 4:00, by 4:05 they're gone. >> how do you know if those rules are there? >> read the fine print and map out your day. this is a strategy day, okay? you need to start today. you need to go on the computer, figure out which stores you're going to, what you're buying, where the cheapest prices are, what the hours are, where the locations are, and also what you need to do is get on those coupon sites. find out, can you layer the coupons? >> what does that mean? >> go to coupon.com and pricegrabbers.com and print out coupons. let's say lord & taylors is offering another 20% off. >> you can use two coupons at places? >> many times you can. >> these gift cards. what do you think? >> i think it's a great idea if you don't know what to get someone, but make sure the gift cards don't expire.

they can go to any store in a mall, and they don't devalue. who wants to six months later find out it's worth half the amount. >> i see commercials where you turn your gift cards in for money. let's go to kathie lee. >> thanks so much. technology analyst omar is here with the best deals on electronics. good to see you. are you going to find the best deals online or in stores? >> for a lot you have to go to the stores. this is a kodak camera, digital camera, 14 megapixel and well rated online, but you have to go to walmart to get the discount. this is a tomtom gps. it's a $50 discount and $79. you have to go to walmart to get that. >> got to go to walmart. they get in line the night before, right? >> exactly. this is a system sung ultra compact camcorder, and it's an

easy to hold shape. this is $99 and $30 off the current sales price. go to amazon.com/blackfriday for online deals. another dpampl of a deal in store is this 40-inch hdtv. it's the best quality hd. this is available at target for $298. >> what? >> that's a $250 discount, but my recommendation would be to show up at target at 4:00 a.m. approximate if you want that deal. >> they'll run out of those babies, i think. i don't want to see the people that didn't get there in time. >> this is a cisco ume. it's a high-end videoconferencing system. it's a $599 unit. if you get two of them, you get free installation from best buy magnolia. that's a $300 value. you get this beautiful quality videoconferencing, and it it

allows you. if grandma can't make it, this is a great way to connect with her. >> thanks very much, omar. happy thanksgiving to you. >> upstairs for the best sales in style. >> lori has the scoop on clothing and jewelry. how are you? >> good. we have a lot to get to, so i'll jump in. a lot of people think of the holidays and you want to gift toys to kids, but clothing is a great option. everything is under $10 at the children's place. they're having their 5-7-10 sale. you can get cute accessories or layering tees for $5, sneakers and shirts for ten bucks. >> all affordable. >> let's go to the jewelry department. >> we move on to a grown-up gift and i want all the gentlemen to take note. jcpenney is having off discounted jewelry 40 to 60% off. >> off the fine jewelry? >> fine jewelry. these diamond earrings are

regularly $453. guess how much they cost? >> 300. >> $80, real diamonds. love that at jcpenney. if you don't want to make it out to the store, logon to charmandchain.com. they have emerging designers and good names. nare offering 30%. the code is today show, very easy to remember. around $100 you can get two things. this is from emerging designers. love it. >> bags and shoes are favorites at christmastimes. >> especially for holiday parties. they offer 30% off and free shipping. everything from big brands, nine west, under 100 bucks. >> sweaters and coats. >> this is the greatest time to get deep discounts on quality fabric. from banana republic, italian fun cardigan. you can get it for $47. they're having 40% off. if cashmere is your ning, 100%

cashmere, usually $100 from kohl kohl's. >> lori just get married. we're happy for her. we have great thanksgiving day nibbles right after this. the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate.

york peppermint pattie. get the ation. naturally colorful vegetables are often a good source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals. and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ all day thanksgiving, with great specials on toys and apparel starting midnight. so you can shop while you wait for the big electronics event at 5 a.m. friday. with this 19-inch sansui hdtv for just $98! yeah, $98 at walmart. with this 19-inch sansui hdtv for just $98! 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.

time for "today's holiday kitchen" and last-minute recipe for anyone hosting the holidays. >> or anyone responsible for bringing something. how are you? happy thanksgiving to you. >> thank you very much. >> lovely smells emanating from there. >> yeah. when people come over, you want

to have some appear tiesers ready to go. >> but not so much they're not ready for dinner, you know? >> something really nice. this is an easy olive dish i like a lot. these are deli olives you can pick up. we made a little honey and cider vinegar gastrique. it's sweet and sour at the same time. this is reducing away. so what you do is take the olives and fold them in. >> fold them in, baby. >> these are roasted onions, which are nice and you can do shallots and pearl on ions. then we take orange zest and citrus zest and add a holiday flavor to it. also we have savory almonds, too, and garlic, rosemary and some bay leaves. we want to stir all this together, and you kind of let it sit on the stove nice and warm. can you smell that already?

>> yeah. >> it blows up as soon as you put the citrus in there. >> then you let it cool? >> you want to serve it warm which is really, really nice. if you get nice cheeses, it will buy you half an hour. >> it's not nibble food you need a fork for. >> i'm sorry. grab one of these. >> i don't know. where have your hands been? >> my hands are cleanish. >> that's good. >> isn't that great? >> yeah, that's delicious. >> you have the sweet and spicy. >> you get it all, baby. >> i love that. >> and the pit. very nice. >> so here we go. there's stuffing and there's dressing. stuffing goes in the bird. if don't want to do that it's dressing, which is the same reci recipe. one of the my favorite recipes. you start off with carmeliameli onions and sauces.

you can use ground turkey or leave it out. we have a granny smith apple diced and presauteed. we fold that in as well. we have a little bit of chopped rosemary so it's nice and savory. you get the nice spicy bits from sausage and has fennel and sage and smells and tastes like the holiday. that's the base and in the bowl we have one egg. we fold this in. we take cornbread. if you have a favorite recipe you want to make, that's fine, or buy corn bread muffins in a sense. >> break them up. >> we're making dressing and not co cornbread in a sense. you can let the market do heavy lifting. we're going to fold this in, and then we're going to add a little bit of cream and a little bit of chicken stock. you stir this together, and it goes into the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until it gets nice and crusty on

top and it's fantastic. >> it's going to be kind of gooey, right? >> it's moist. >> moist, moist. >> nice, moist dressing, right? go ahead and give you a nice, big scoop of this. >> just want a little nibble. >> nice scoop of this, and it's delicious. it goes great with the turkey and -- >> i don't need a fork. thank you. >> don't worry about me. >> thank you. >> delicious. >> you've got three restaurants coming open. >> brand-new one opening in napa next week. >> rotisserie wine opens up next week in downtown napa and i'm doing a steakhouse. >> happy thanksgiving. >> thanks so much, guys. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc while we eat this.

wish everybody a very happy thanksgiving. the macy's thanksgiving day parade is tomorrow. >> we wish you all the greatest holiday. god bless us, everyone. be grateful, everybody. we live in a great country. be grateful, everybody. we live in a great country. bye-bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com