good morning. was he a hit man? police sources say the man killed himself as they tried to talk to him about the murder of ronni chasen was named harold smith, and a neighbor says he openly bragged about the killing and getting paid for it. stranded, hundreds of drivers stranded on a car on a new york highway for 20 hours after an accident in the middle of a heavy snowstorm. and now some areas are buried in as much as 3 feet of snow. and oy viral. first there was this version, and we tried it, then just in

time for hanukkah. ♪ in the air sometimes faith saying a-yo ♪ ♪ spin the dreidel the new holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, holiday version lighting up the internet "today," december 3, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith viera and i think we have been officially one upped. >> who are those guys? >> they're good. more video just ahead. also ahead, some new details tied to the controversial website wikileaks. overnight the provider of wick wikileaks.org's domain name pulled the plug on the website. we're going to get the latest in a live report from sweden coming up. and disturbing video, especially if you are a parent. a terrifying carjacking caught on tape.

young parents watch as a man steals their car at a gas station with their 6-month-old daughter inside. that is when they both jumped into action. the mom was dragged through the parking lot until she lost her grip, but thankfully they did get their baby back and they'll be here to share their incredible story. that's coming up. before we get to all of that, let's head over to the newsdesk, ann curry is standing by with the other top storms. good morning, everybody. happy friday. wiki leaks is struggling to stay afloat after being dumped by its servers, and the site's owner, julian assange is still a wanted man. good morning, peter. >> reporter: good morning from stockholm. even assange's own lawyer admits his client's legal appeals here in sweden have been exhausted and now there are growing indications that assange could be arrested in britain as early as today.

for the last several days, assange, the controversial founder of wikileaks has been working without rest to keep his website running. website running. his lawyer confirms he's at a secret location somewhere in britain. >> he's not in hiding, evading any interpol arrest warrant. he has genuine concerns for his personal safety as a result of numerous, very public calls for his assassination. >> reporter: the 39-year-old australian computer hacker is wanted for questioning in sweden about allegations of rape and sexual molestation, allegations he vehemently denies. >> they have been abused. they have gone to the police in the same way as, unfortunately, thousands of women do every year. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with nbc news, klous bergstrom, the lawyer for the two women, also denied assange's claim that the sex was consensual. >> i'm not surprised of his stance, of course, and that's why he has to be interrogated. >> reporter: the swedish prosecutor insists assange's

case is being handled like any other and is not part of an international conspiracy. >> there have been no contracts, whatsoever, from the other countries. >> reporter: assange came to sweden for its liberal freedom of the press law. now that same country may be where assange's own freedom ends. and once assange is finally arrested, the swedish prosecutor tells me, ann, that it could be days, if not weeks, before he is extradited back here to sweden. >> peter alexander this morning. peter, thanks. with all the bad weather, it has been a tough week for upstate new york. on one highway, hundreds of drivers were stranded for nearly a full 24 hours. nbc's ron allen is in west seneca, new york, this morning with this story. hey, ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. yes, the good news is that that main roadway, i-90, is reopened this morning after about 36 hours shut down. it happened when a tractor-trailer jack-knifed, causing a huge backup that closed the road as much as ten

miles in both directions, stranding hundreds of motorists in their cars, many overnight. it was a really awful scene, and this morning, people are demanding to know how that could happen in a place like buffalo, new york, which certainly gets more than its fair share of snow. that snow continues today, but much lighter than yesterday, when we had blizzard conditions. still, there's up to two to three feet on the ground in most places. ann, back to you. >> ron allen this morning. ron, thanks. new unemployment numbers in for november show job growth slowed to a sluggish 39,000, a sharp drop from the 172,000 jobs created in october. the unemployment rate jumped from 9.6% to 9.8%, the highest it's been since april. 15.1 million americans are now out of work. there is life on earth, but it's a bit alien to us. nasa announced on thursday that they have discovered a new form of life in a lake. it is the only known organism that does not have fossils in its dna. this microbe uses poisonous

arsenic instead, and nasa says it revolutionizes the search for life outside our planet. it was not a happy homecoming for lebron james in cleveland last night where his former fans rammed the all-star in his first game back at the q since joining the miami heat. he scored 38 points, taking his new team to victory and even did a powder toss at the top of the game amid the booing of the crowd. said lebron, "there's no hurt feelings. i wish them the best." apparently, they do not return that emotion. it is now 7:06. let's turn back to matt, meredith and al. >> 38 points, i think he made a pretty big statement. no question about it. ann, thanks very much. mr. he's's in chicago this morning. al, what are you doing out there? >> we had a book-sign lt niight winnetka for the midnight show murders, and they were awfully nice there. mike leonard introduced me, so that was awfully nice. although i'm getting out of town

today with just in time. we've got a clipper comings ands going to be causing winter like weather for a wide swathe into north dakota and into illinois and indiana. we have got winter weather wint warnings. snowfall amounts generally going to be about three to sme areasa as nine, especially in central . d so we are waking upes a as we to the satellite andyyyyyyyyy r delta and eastern solano county, but the clouds offshore is the reason why we have showers coming through off and on today to kickoff the weekend as well. at least the temperatures are running more mild. for the weekend, the heavy rain will start to roll in on sunday afternoon. breezy and maybe isolated thunder with showers lingering into monday morning.

>> meredith, 23 degrees here on michigan avenue with a windchill of 13, yeah. i'i'm h headiding there later o today. there are new details in the urder ofy>y>y>y>y>y>lylicicici roronny chassen.n. good morning to you, george. >> reporter: good morning to you, meredith. police sources have identified the man as harold smith, a suspect who allegedly bragged about killing publicist ronni chasen, but before officers could question him, he took his own life when approached by police. who was the mysterious man who killed himself? his suicide captured on surveillance camera are was he the murder of hollywood

publicist ronni chasen? the man known to his neighbors as haroldyy iderere a suspspect t in t the murder, b the investigation does not end with his death. >> that's correct, it's not over yet at this time, yes, thank yu questions. >> reporter: this as police try to figure out if others were involved in the ykikillpipin wh floor where smith had his apartment, said he bragged about killing chase on and getting paid for it. >> he said i did that, i did that, i'm coming into some big money. >> reporter: but residents say they didn't take the story seriously because he acted so strangely and didn't hit the profile of a hit man. >> we're talking about a guy who's living in what would be considered a flea bag apartment g got n no car, he rides a bicycle, his

walks was described as more of a shuffle. it didn't seem like he was firing on all eight cylinders. >> reporter: nbc news has obtained a copy of a will ronni chasen wrote in 1994. in it she values her estate at an estimated $6.1 million, with most of it going to her brother and her sister, with a few thousand of it going to charities. >> police admit they know a lot more than they're letting on in the murder of ronni chasen, a case that after two weeks still has hollywood on edge. it is 7:10 and now here's matt. >> now to politics and a rare scene on capitol hill on thursday. congressman charles rangel sen ch sured on the house floor for breaking ethics rules. >> reporter: this is the kind of histororyaking momentoundzeree .

forr thehe firirst time since 1 the house censured one of its own, finding that charlie rangel was in violation of 11 ethics rules. a tense and dramatic ritual on the house floor. >> will the gentleman from new york mr. rangel kindly appear in the well. >> reporter: asz:z:z:z:z:z:z:z: housuse,e, it wawas ncy pelosi duty to formally admonish her longtime friend and allie. this public shaming ended a two-year bipartisan investigation. >> we found that representative rangel engaged in misconduct in four areas. >> reporter: among the violations, to r rzézézézéepept taxes and i used his office to raise millions for a college center in his name. >> this is a day that does not have to be.

>> reporter: the ethics committee said that rangel deserved a serious punishment. >> most egregiously, the committee found that mr. rangel failed to pay his income taxes for 17 years. >> reporter: rangel expressed sorrow. >> let me apologize to this august body for putting you in this very awkward position. >> reporter: acknowledged he broke rules -- >> i have made serious mistakes. >> reporter: but then rangel and his supporters argued for a lesser sanction, saying censure had been used for congressmen convicted of crimes or sexual misconduct. new york's republican peter king argued censure was too severe. >> expulsion is the equivalent of the death penalty, then censure is life imprisonment. >> reporter: but overwhelmingly the house chose scensure. later rangel's turn more bitter saying past offenders brought

more dishonor to the house. >> i think history would show that a different standard has been used in this case where i did not curse out the speaker, i have not tried to have sex with minors, i did not steal any money. >> reporter: and rangel repeatedly pointed out that the committee did not find that his mistakes were about trying to advance some personal gain, but still this is a very serious punishment. but it ends here, there are no outside criminal charges pending and rangel will be sworn in for his first term in january. >> david gregory is moderator of "meet the press," good morning to you. there's often no love lost between the two parties, the republicans and democrats, ahn times they seem to take delight in the shortcomings of the other and yet you look at this scene on the house floor yesterday, did anybody feel good about that? >> nobody did, there's no question about it and there was frankly more democrats who voted for the censure resolution than

republicans, so this was a bipartisan vote, a painful vote. nobody likes to stand in judgment in such a humiliating way of their colleague but this is something that has been dragging on for a while and charlie rangel talking about the standards that were used, so fighting along the way and it made it more difficult for democratic leaders. >> let's talk about the so called bush tax cuts on thursday. the house voted to extend just the middle class tax cuts and that's a measure that has no chance of passing in the senate and it prompted this comment from the incoming speaker, in his words chicken crap, end quote. what happened to the spirit of cooperation that seemed to be somewhat present after that meeting at the white house a little earlier in the week? >> it's going to take a lot more than that meeting, the reality is you have a split here on the left. you have nancy pelosi and some democrats who don't want to go along with some kind of deal

that seems to be coming down the pike between the republicans and the democrats for extending the tax cuts. >> what's in the deal? >> the deal would be if they get an extension of all the tax cuts for a temporary period of time, then you get a couple of things, including extension of unemployment benefits, which the president really wants and the left certainly wants. and then you have the s.t.a.r.t. amp arms treaty with russia. >> let's talk about the bipartisan deficit commission. they're going to vote saying they should send their budget cutting recommendations, when you talk to people in washington, is there the political will present right now to make the kinds of cuts, the difficult cuts that are required to fix the deficit problem? >> matt, i don't see it. you know, republicans don't want to raise taxes, democrats don't want to cut entitlements and i don't know how you get there

from here. that's the difficulty, and it's a huge leadership challenge for the president who may have what's called a nixon to china moment. but it's going to be very difficult in this climate. there's a split on the right because you have prominent senate conservatives voting for this debt commission deal and then conservatives in the house voting against it because of the promise of tax hikes. >> what are we going to see when we tune in on sunday morning, david? >> more on this showdown between republicans and democrats. mit . >> david gregory in washington this morning. as always thanks very much. 16 after the hour, once again here's meredith. >> if you do not have a backup camera in your car, you will in the near future. the government is about to require them in all new vehicles. tom costello is in atlantic city with the details. >> reporter: this is the kind of backup camera we're talking about here, it's a dashboard view of who and what is behind

you. and the camera used is a tiny little camera. it's usually tucked up right over here on top of the license plate. every year, 230 people die being backed over, a large number of them are children. as a parent, some things in life you never get over. for the nelson family, it was losing one of their three kids. >> truly in our wildest nightmares, we never thought that we would lose a child. >> reporter: alex was just 16 months old when he walked behind an suv as it backed down the family driveway. >> all it takes is an instant that somebody doesn't realize where that child is. >> reporter: it was adrian's father, alec's grandfather who had carefully checked all of his mirrors, but never saw alec behind the car. >> he was destroyed when i held him and i said it's not your fault. i forgive you. >> reporter: it's a tragedy repeated all too often. every week in america 48 children are injured and two die

after being backed over. a consumer reports investigation found the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spot. sedans have a blind spot of 12 feet on average, minivans 30 feet. suvs 14 feet and double that on pick ups to 30 feet. but backup cameras can make a huge difference. here's the problem, i know there are three children right now standing behind this car. but i can't see them in this mirror, can't see them in this mirror and i can't see them in that mirror, it's not until i put the car in reverse that the kids pop-up in the rear view camera that's set in the license plate. >> no one would buy a car if you couldn't see 20 or 30 feet going forward, but we all have been buying vehicles where we can't see 20 or 30 feet going backwards. >> reporter: for the nelson family and alec's grandfather, a crusade that's intensely

personal. >> i think it's still hard for him and probably will be until he leaves this earth. >> reporter: while you can start to expect that the government's going to require these cameras in cars by the year 2014, you don't have to wait that long, because you can with buy these after market cameras right now for a few hundred dollars and fix your car. that's my back up sensor, you can buy those also after market. i have these in my car, it has prevented me from hitting things, thankfully not people. it is 7:19 and here's matt. now to a battle between george w. bush and sarah palin. they're duking it out not on the campaign trail, but on the best seller's list. norah o'donnell has more on this one. >> reporter: you can call it the battle of the books, if you

want. president george w. bush versus sarah palin and in that matchup, bush gets top billing. two book selling behome mutumbos. . >> the truth of the matter is i'm shamelessly marketing. >> reporter: former governor sarah palin in iowa. >> are you closer to an announcement on running for president? >> reporter: call it bush versus palin, and the winner, president bush is number one, leaving sarah palin to tweet -- so thanks for sharing inspiration. >> president bush is selling at a much faster pace. he's sold almost i think 400,000 copies in his first week. >> reporter: palin draws huge crowds on her book tour. >> she's a breath of fresh air. >> reporter: but "america by heart" is no "going rogue".

palin's first book was off the charts, number one for weeks, selling 2.2 million copies. but this time palin didn't do oprah. other republicans possibly eyeing the presidency, mitt romney, newt gingrich and mike huckabee also have books but not blockbust blockbusters. >> this is a republican primary between republican candidates, sarah palin is running away with it. >> if you could see what she did to the halibut the other night? >> reporter: and it's not just the politicians pedalling their books, it's the cable tv titans too. glenn beck's book broke number 7. and bill o'reilly's pinheads and patriots falls to number 14. these conservative authors tend to outsell liberal ones. >> i think that conservatives have some really strong media

personalities that have a platform that they can promote their books from. >> reporter: but don't count out the current president. some interesting perspective, while it took bush and palin two weeks to sell a million books, it took the novelist dan brown just one day to sell that many and, matt, what about al roker's book? where's my copy. >> you just helped him right the there. coming up the young couple who fought back against a man who stole their car with their 6-month-old daughter still inside. we'l

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this is a huge crowd, we had to come out and say hello. >> biggest crowd of the last

month by far. >> it's going to get bigger and bigger as we get closer to christmas. people are coming here to shop and stop by and say hey. >> absolutely, we got a lot coming up, including -- >> are we more wedding than the? ah, this is just what the eight layers needed. hey guys. sorry 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. good friday morning. time now is 7:26. checking in with mike inouye, he has a new accident to tell us about. >> for involves a motorcycle. northbound 101 fors the 280 interchange. the fast lane is blocked and first reports of a motorcycle. the second is that a car hit the motorcyclist and took off. a number of folks have stopped by to help and help traffic control. we have two lanes at a minimum as you head up to the area. you should see slowing towards the 280 interchange and slowing. i will follow the injuries and the related impact.

getting over from oakland with the back up under the low clouds and fog. >> we are watching the scattered showers through the bay area right now. moisture offshore and lift to the atmosphere. a mixed bag of sunshine and scattered showers today and tomorrow. temperatures not too bad. 50s and 60s for highs though sunday afternoon stay tuned for some rain and breezy conditions in the second half of the weekend. it looks wetter and we will see showers following us into monday morning. 7:27. more news after the break.

johannis mehserle will be in court asking to be released from jail. he was convicted and experienced for two years for the manslaughter of oscar grant on new year's day of 2009. he is appealing that conviction. alameda prosecutors will file papers against granting bail today. more local news in a half hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. see you back here in a bit.

7:30 now on this friday morning, the 3rd of december 2010. a massive crowd out here on the plaza, no doubt many of them doing some holiday shopping this weekend. i'm meredith viera along with matt lauer. >> it was nice to be out there with them for those 20 seconds a while ago. sales of thomas kincade's paintings have topped $4 billion, that's with a b. but one of these companies has now filed with bankruptcy as he

deals with a drunk driving arrest. also we're going to meet the parent who is fought for their daughter's life after a carjacker drove off with their baby inside. the mother held on to the car until she finally lost her grip. but they did get their baby back. >> the mother was able to smash the passenger's side window with her elbow which enabled her husband to get in the car. the man convicted of killing a connecticut family has now been sentenced to death. jeff rossen is in new haven with details. >> reporter: surprisingly, one of the people who thinks steven hayes should be put to death is steven hayes himself. he stood up in front of the judge and the petit family and said and i'm quoting here, death for me will be a welcome release and he got it. the judge gave him six

consecutive death sentences and he got something too, emotional heart wrenching speeches from the victim's family. >> we are to resist evil and i have to say i see you only as pure evil. >> reporter: a district plea from the victim's sister to her family's killer. >> i hate that it took my sister and her daughter to pay with their lives to stop you in your tracks. you stole from all of us when you took the lives of jenna, hazy and kk. you took our joy from each and every day. you robbeded from us. >> reporter: butpetit, the fath lost his kids, the husband who lost his wife who brought some to tears yesterday, standing up, facing hayes in person called that night our own personal holocaust. i considered suicide many times, no wife, no children, no home.

about his wife jennifer, we were best friends, his daughter heyley, i miss the car rides and chats and his daughter michaela, i mis her running to the door and yelling dada's home. petit retold the horror in his house that night, how steven hayes and joshua come sar jeff i can broke in and -- >> i think the defendant faces far more serious punishment from the lord than he can ever face from mankind. >> reporter: as the judge was about to sentence him to death, hayes took full responsibility, telling the court, i am deeply sorry for the pain i have caused. i often times looked at dr. petit and became sick to my

stomach knowing what he has been through. hayes says death for me will be a welcome release and i hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who i have hurt so much. the judge condemned hayes to six consecutive death sentences by lethal injection, little relief for william petit. what do i miss, he said in court? i miss my entire family, my home, everything. the judge actually set the execution date for steven hayes as may 27, 2011. but that doesn't much better, because here in connecticut for a death sentence there is an automatic appeal. and they're actually fighting through trying to fight that death penalty saying this turned into a media circus, there are 140,000 twitter messages, tweets that came from the courtroom during the trial so this is unfair to begin with. so this could be tied up for many, many years. we should mention one other thing, joshua cokomisarjevsky wl

go on trial later this year. it is 7:34 and now here's matt. now to the mounting legal troubles facing one of the most popular artists in the country, a guy named thomas kincade. good morning, miguel. >> reporter: chances are if you don't own something by thomas kincade, you know someone who does. but his business is an empire and it's anything but trouble free. a cozy cottage, a calming creek, a snowy sunday. for many, thomas kincade's paintings offer an escape from reality, but for the artist, his work is a financial dream. thomas kincade is the most collected living artist in the u.s., retail sales topped $4 billion. >> i love the light in his paintings. >> reporter: but the self-described painter of light has been flooded with legal issues. in june, his manufacturing division filed for bankruptcy. court documents show he owes an

estimated $10 million to creditors. the problems began nearly eight years ago, 27 lawsuits were filed against kincade by gallery owners who claim the artist undercut their sales and oversaturated the market with his work. all the lawsuits were dismissed but one, which could cost kincade millions of dollars. gallery owners say they were left holding pricey art being sold at rock bottom prices. >> they were losers from the beginning to the end. the only people that got rich were mr. kincade and his associates. >> reporter: kincade's troubles aren't just financial. in june, nine days after the bankruptcy filing, kincade was charged with drunk driving. he pled not guilty, the case still pending. but some former colleagues paint an unflattering picture of the artist. they say while kincade publicly claimed to be inspireded by god. >> god chooses to bless us. >> reporter: privately he failed

to follow a christian lifestyle. this former colleague said he abused alcohol. >> he would go from being totally rational to totally irrational and you didn't know where that was going to happen so you couldn't put a stop to it. >> reporter: still negative headlines haven't slowed kincade's commercial success. >> we really don't involve ourselves in his personal life nor should we, but the reality is, celebrities become a target. >> we have got 650 retail locations across the u.s. and generally speaking a very solid group of dealers and we're selling a lot of art so people have a tremendous affinity to him. >> reporter: legal and personal struggles aside, kincade's future looks as rosy as his paintings, his pieces are in an estimated 25 million homes. >> reporter: they expect to emerge from bankruptcy in the next few months and say they'll

pay off all of their creditors and the holidays almost here, they expect their sales to spike. let's get a check of the weather now from al in chicago. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america. and while it's a little brisk here in chicago, 23 degrees, they're waking up to some cold weather down south. take a look down at the southeast, these temperatures, jacksonville right now 29, 34 in apalachicola, tamp 42, 52 in miami, columbus, georgia, 52. rest of the country, we are going to see some above normal temperatures in the southwest. look at the frigid temperatures through the plains, clipper coming across bringing snow to minnesota on into illinois. for tonight into tomorrow. lake-effect snows continuing western new york, the western

great lakes, some areas just south of buffalo, almost 40 inches of snow and it's still >> here's a view of san francisco with patchy fog and mist around downtown. we will see the same picture for the afternoon and a mix of sunny skies at times and a chance of scattered showers especially for the coast and areas north of san francisco for the weekend. sunny breaks and showers for saturday and expect the rain to fill in sunday afternoon with cooling temperatures through the weekend. showers will likely linger into monday and briefer on tuesday and another round for wednesday and thursday. >> got a lot of wild weather coming up this weekend. if you want the best in football, you want sunday night, football night in america. that's right, at the evans you

bangs stadium, it's going to be a rough one out there, windy and cold, temperatures upper 20s to low 30s, that's the best night of the week, on sunday night, football night in america. >> wow, that sounds even better from chicago, al. that's cool stuff. thank you very much. coming up, ann on the road wieoth grge clooney. 's coming up right after this. th - why are you up? it's 2:00 a.m. - it's 2:00 a.m. christmas morning.

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and all through the house... whoa, that's grandma. [ grandma ] ...nothing was stirring, not kara, not maya... how does she do that? magic. [ grandma ] ...grandma loves you. [ both ] goodnight, grandma. [ female announcer ] be there to read them a story every night. read it to me again. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. this christmas, make it wonderful at your hallmark gold crown store. we are back at 7: 43. george clooney is on a mission. >> next month, the people of southern sudan will take part in a vote that might make them an independent country and could plunge them into war. back in october, i reported on george clooney's trip to sudan. >> i'm up to my knees, but i do

believe that there's a real possibility of saving a lot of lives. making it harder to kill people. >> reporter: making it harder to kill people because it's going to be in the light of day? >> i think the light of day is a pretty amazing thing. >> reporter: george clooney has been trying to use one of his most potent assets, his fame in an effort to prevent it. you may remember our trip in october. >> how are you? >> reporter: when we met people worlds removed from scenes we take for granted. like seeing their own image. let alone on something like a tv camera. many had suffered tragedy and we listened to their stories. she's saying pregnant women were burned to death. old women were raped. these are the worst things. a spark for a new war, a

scheduled referendum on independence for the south. clooney wants sudan to document just how perilous the situation is. are you more convinced or less convinced that war, even atrocities could happen here? >> i am much, much more convinced. >> reporter: after gathering what he considers convincing evidence, clooney headed home to sound the alarm and his pr offensive began right here at "today." do you think this war can actually be stopped? >> i think it can be stopped if we get involved now. we have a shot. >> reporter: then clooney proceeded to blanket the air waives. >> he's on a mission to help save sudan.ves. >> he's on a mission to help save sudan. >> george clooney shedding light on what's happening in sudan. >> do we turn away? does the world care? >> that's not the biggest danger. >> thank you for using your celebrity for good and not evil, george clooney. >> reporter: he reached millions

of people during his media blitz. then phase two of his plan, bringing the message to the halls of power. he hit the capitol. our job is to report on what we saw, and that's what we're here to do. >> reporter: and the white house t meeting is a long one. >> we're very impressed at how involved at the highest levels this administration is. >> george is like the master recruiter. >> reporter: john pendergast, the head of a project that accompanied clooney to sudan and washington. >> it's a direct line from george getting involved on an issue to a much bigger spike in public interest. >> reporter: people are getting involved. after clooney's visit, the white house received 50,000 e-mails. will all this be enough to stop a war half a world away? >> i got lucky and i feel that that luck that you get needs to be shared and one of the places you can do it is a place that has absolutely no luck at all, like the sudan.

>> and you can see our full report on a special "dateline" including some very candid and raw moments with george clooney. the special is called "the winds of war." that's tonight at 9:00 central time on nbc. >> the clock is realisticing here. >> 37 days until the vote that could unleash not just a war, but potentially a war of atrocities and perhaps even genocide. >> and do you think that his voice is strong enough to -- obviously it's reached washington. >> it's amazing, he's allowed himself by doing this to become a real mover on this issue and he has gotten the world to listen. the question is will the world for the first time actually step in and stop something like this. >> we'll see. ann, thank you so much. just ahead, the parents who fought aveerho drove away with their 6-month-old girl. we're going to meet them after

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♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ the war went on and on ♪ until the mighty greeks were gone ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ saying a-o sfoet ♪ sp ♪ ♪ spin the dreidel >> they have albums out and now they're selling a lot more because of this. >> it's terrific and they had to write this as well to make it rhyme. >> and they're fun. >> and we'll be back after this. hey, guys. printer's out of ink.

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uhm... santa? good morning. time is 7:56. mike has a new update on a motorcycle accident. >> a tough drive to san francisco. the accident updated the location on 280 approaching 101 and a big slow down out of daley city. it looks like a friday light volume, but two lanes are blocked by emergency crews. it sounds like minor injuries to the motorcycle driver, but 101 is the alternate. 101 is heading south and also slow as you head towards the dumbarton bridge. speeds in the 40s and dipping down towards 45. visibility with haze. >> still with patchy fog and you can see the scattered showers

out of solano county and eastern contra costa and east of antioch. we will continue to see more opportunities along the coast and along the hilltops of the north bay. temperatures come up into the 80s and same forecast for tomorrow. it's sunday we will see rain starting to develop as we head into the afternoon. time right now is 7:57. more news after the break.

>> a convicted sex offender caught raping a toddler in plain sight in the aisle of a store. eugene ramos will likely face rape, kidnapping and false imprison am. the 2-year-old was shopping with her aunt and grandmother and briefly separated from them in a dollar tree store. the grandmother found ramos in one of the aisle, pipping her granddaughter down and sexually assaulting her. the grandmother and the aunt chased him out of the store and then two men saw what was happening and they chased him and tackled him and held him until police could arrive. more local news in a half hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute.

we're back now, 8:00 on a friday morning, it's the third day of december, 2010. and we have got a massive crowd lined up on the plaza this morning. these people obviously, a lot of them in from out of town, here to do some christmas shopping and to check out the rockefeller center christmas tree. we'll have more on that beautiful tree in just a moment. meanwhile, we're going to -- i'm

matt lauer, along with meredith viera out on the plaza. and coming up on this half hour, incredible story, we have got this video of this mother and father, their car is carjacked, but the problem is their baby, their 6-month-old daughter inside the car. they spring into action to make sure that that guy does not get away with their child, it's an incredible story, i'm going to talk to that family in just a minute. also it is obviously the gift giving season and sometimes it's hard to know what to give to certain people that you want to show your and appreciation for what they have done for you all year, perhaps the woman who walks your car. take a look at that christmas tree. most people get to see the finished product, but take a

look at the work that goes into it. here's 18 days of work in 18 seconds. there you go. and our thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make that happen. >> you know, it's always exciting. it really is. when that tree gets lit. >> we're go to ahead inside, ann curry is standing by at the news desk. in the noose this morning, new trouble for wikileaks and its founder. it was unable to support the number of cyber attacks trying to disable. meantime sweden has issued a new arrest warrant for founder julian assange who's wanting for questioning into alleged sex

crimes. wall street is focusing on new unemployment figures. amanda drury is at the new york stock exchange. >> it's all about jobs today with a monthly count of how many jobs the u.s. is creating and it comes every single day getting better numbers on the u.s. economy. bun thing we do have to focus on next and that is the issue of continuing the jobless benefits that does remain on the congressional to do list. president obama's bipartisan deficit slashing committee is voting today on a proposal to reduce the national debt including changing the retirement age. the compromise could include extending benefits to the long-term unemployed. veteran democratic congressman charles rangel was

sen chured by the congress on thursday. he later said the vote to censure him was very, very political. the house also gave final congressional approval on thursday to a bill that would prevent broadcasters from raising the volume on commercials to catch viewers attention. celebrating his 50th anniversary this week, penny camp coral reef state park, including a sanctuary for marine life that draws more than a million human visitors each year. it's now four minutes past the hour.

hey guys, i've got a musical crowd with me. this is the lincoln park singers doing a little carolling for us. and i'll tell you, our pick city of the day just happens to be -- nbc 5, sunny early. three to six inches, urmpatn er iesthe low 30s. and as you can see on the satellite, we have got another storm movin i into the west, clipper coming across the plains, that's bringing more snow from minnesota on into indiana and michigan. we're going to be looking at anywhere from three to nine inches. lake-effect snow continuing on the great lakes, gulf coast looks pretty good continuing sunshine, temperatures a little cooler than usual. boy, they sound good. lincoln park high school singers. very nice. festive atmosphere there in new

york city. in oakland we have hazy skies, slow commute. let's show you what's going on on the radar. most of the showers heading out of eastern contra costa counties this morning, but notice offshore we do have more moisture that will continue to drop in on us from time to time, which will leave a chance of scattered showers in the forecast. temperatures no longer frigid, but we'll continue to need the umbrella off and on, heading through the weekend. . >> they certainly are beautiful voices. thanks so much, al. the couple who fight against the man who tried to steir car with their baby inside. we're going to talk to them after this. - hey. he went to jared. - he definitely went to jared. that's a peerless diamond. that's the ideal ideal-cut diamond. what? female announcer: jared has five times the selection

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we're back now at 8:09 with and heroic young couple. they were on the road when their car was stole within their little baby girl inside. and surveillance cams catch the whole thing, their fight to save that little girl. >> reporter: aaron and melanie richman watched as a man slipped into their car and peeled out with their 6-month-old daughter strapped in the back seat. >> if we didn't act immediately, we would never see her again. >> if he would have gotten out of that parking lot, it's pretty much signing her death certificate. >> reporter: the richman family was on the last leg of their move from denver to kansas city, on this surveillance video, you can see melanie putting baby samantha in the car while arron is standing out of camera view. >> we turned around, took a

couple of steps away from the car toward the moving truck. and all that time the carjacker was belining towards the car. >> reporter: as the assailant backs out of view of the camera, melanie manages to break the passenger window with her elbow while aaron jumps in. >> the best i can describe it is a spring loaded swan dive into the passenger seat floor. >> reporter: meanwhile melanie won't let go. >> reporter: as the car speeds off with aaron and the baby inside, melanie losing her grip, hitting her head on the pavement. that's melanie's brother running after the car. >> i just start kicking him on the right side and saying, my baby's in this car, get out of my car, you're stealing my car. >> reporter: seconds later the carjacker slammeded into an embankment, got out and fled.

although the suspect is still on the loose, baby samantha and her parents have learned the true meaning of what it means to hold on for dear life. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> mel laanie and aaron richmane here. i'm looking at the bruise on your arm, is that from the window or the pavement. >> the window. >> we go back to this video for a second, you guys had just stepped a few feet away from the car after you had strapped samantha inside, you're standing next to the moving van with other people in there, did you see this guy approaching the car? >> no. >> you never did? >> he was in our blind spot the whole time. we never saw him at all. >> the first thing you realize, you see your car backing up. >> how far did you have to run to grab on to that car? >> a couple of steps. >> just two steps? >> just a few. >> the first motion you make is

your bust that window? >> i needed a little momentum, so my husband gave me a little shove and helped me out. >> that's not easy to do to break a window with your elbow, so that took some force. and that eels all y's all you n dove into the front seat of that car. you don't know if this guy is armed or anything. >> that never crossed my mind, my goal was to get in there and get him out. >> you have already gotten in that car, you had to right yourself, get sbointo the seat you could get in a position to go after him. describe what's happening inside that car. >> as soon as i jumped into the window, i kind of did a 108 so i'm sitting on the seat, facing him. >> kind of like you're facing melanie? >> basically, but my head's toward the floor of the car and that's when i started just kicking him on the right side of his face as hard as i could. >> was he saying anything at all? >> he didn't say anything at all. >> he said one thing, as soon as

the car had run over the embankment and ran off, he looked over to my brother. >> you're hanging from the side of that car as it's now speeding through the parking lot and you fell off and hit pretty hard. you hit your head, did you have any injuries? >> no, just had a bump. >> so he runs off now and what was samantha's state of mind in the car? >> as soon as i put the car in park, i realized she was screaming, i couldn't hear her at all. i just ran to our mother-in-law and gave her to my mother-in-law. >> i know you both are still pretty traumatized by this. this was mentioned in the piece t guy who tried to steal your car was not captured. does that worry you? >> i'm terrified of the dark, i'm afraid that he may want

revenge or i'm just scared of creepers and everything now. >> and for me, it just -- i have my guard up 120% of the time now. there's no rest for me basically. i have to make sure my family's safe at all times. >> when you look back at the tape and you can watch this thing play out in real time. would you do anything differently now that you have a chance to view it in hindsight, 20/20. >> i would have not left the keys in the car, we couldn't have stepped away for a few minutes, we would have done everything differently. but i am grateful that what we did, we did it fast and we did it instinctively. >> everybody asks the question if in a moment of emergency, how would we react? we have all asked ourselves that question. did you think you had this type of thing in you? >> not at all. >> so this is the power of

parenthood? >> i think so. >> it kicks in, it really does. >> you are a lucky young lady. she's adorable. she's going to have some story to be told a little bit later on, isn't she. >> definitely. >> aaron and smelanie, samantha it was nice to meet you. for everybody fror f babysitter to your mail career for $30 or less. okay, which picture for the card? hellllllo...that one, everyone looks great.

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"today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target, expect more, pay less. ♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ >> this morning on "today's" holiday gift guide, thank you gifts from your child's teacher to the dog walker, we all have people we appreciate. we have some thoughtful gift ideas for $30 or less. good morning to you, lisa. >> good morning. >> i just got this gift from someone in the crowd. >> there you go. very appropriate for the season. >> appropriate for me. beginning with gifts for hoste hostesses, and you're starting with pops? >> you don't want to come empty handed to a host's house so you bring a plant or candy or flowers.

you want to bring in a reusable pot or jar so they have something to remember you by. it's something to use later. >> and these are very, very colorful. >> they're under $25. >> if the hostess is a foodie, you suggest spices on the go? >> you have indian, you have mexican and thai and then this is a kit that includes all the basic spices. it's $20, it's a really chic packaging and it's great for someone who likes to experiment. >> i always love chocolate. because the fine chocolate you never buy for yourself. >> everyone loves chocolate and this set is really fun, because each piece is decorated by an artist from brooklyn called ed ross who does stenciling, and it comes with a stencil that you can then use on a t-shirt or a card. >> i usually get a bottle of wine. is there a rule of thumb with that? >> wine is good, if there's a dinner, you can call ahead and

ask what she's serving and ask the person in the wine store. champagne which is better priced are usually cant miss. >> let's move on to teachers, good gifts for them. you start off with a game cube. >> a teacher needs a pleasant distraction more than anyone else. remember rubics cube? this game is a cross between rubics cube -- >> a cute tote, this one is $10 and it's really cute. and speaking of notebooks, just because you need one, doesn't mean it needs to be drab. these have eight colors and they fit right in your bag. >> babysitters, a lot of people out there have babysitters and every kid loves popcorn. >> this is a popcorn maker, and it makes great popcorn because you put butter in here and it melts over the popcorn as you're

making it so you get good coverage. >> the teenager who loves fashion and makeup? >> this is an eye shadow palate. it has 100 eye shadows in it. it's $10. he best gift ever. >> now movingat on, this is for? >> somebody who helps you out with deliveries, a paper boy, somebody who works out in the cold, they're going to really appreciate something that keeps them warm . it shows that you care. this one is $30. >> and when you want to pamper yourself when you get back home. >> if you want to help somebody kick up their heels at the end of the day. these are special because the fabric is as huge with shea butter, so not only are they toasty and cozy, but they hydrate your feet while you're relaxing. >> how long does that shea butter last? >> through about four washings. >> and then maybe your dog

walker for example. or your mail carrier. >> these are very cool, these gloves have this little fabric on the tip here and on the thumb. so it interacts with touch screen devices so you can text and e-mail and dial without taking your gloves off. it's kind of genius. >> for your mmp3 player, you ca clip it on and you can take it anywhere. it just needs two aa batteries. >> and when in doubt, how do people like money? >> money is always good. just ahead, a four star restaurant's secret to the perfect perfe perfect lasagna, but first your local news. a

good morning, everybody. time now is 8:26. i'm brent cannon. checking on an update on a accident in san francisco. >> still slow, but all clear now, we told you about the earlier discern involving a motorcycle and hit-and-run, but all lanes are clear. now traffic flow is being restored. much better travel time, but still use 101, if you can, headed into the city, a much better route. southbound on san mateo bridge, slowdown on the dumbarton, and an accident approaching the caldecott.

so plan on those delays as well. rob, how is that weather? >> we're seeing some clouds and some scattered showers out of the east bay, but you'll see plenty of moisture offshore. that will continue to spill on in for the weekend. more so for sunday. today, 50s and 60s for highs, tomorrow some widely scattered showers, and sunday we'll see showers lining up, and rain rolling in, but those showers lingering into monday inmornin time is 8:27. more news after the break.

a one-day strike is canceled for two south bay hospitals. the union representing vocational nurses, house keepers and food service workers had planned a strike at the regional medical center of san jose and good samaritan hospital starting at 6:00, but both sides agreed to head back to the bargaining table, sticking points include staffing levels and patient worker ratios. more local news in half an hour. "today" returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. see you back in a bit.

8:30 now on this friday morning, the 3rd of december, 2010. the star of three men and a baby has a new concept we're going to be talking about in just a bit. and "today's" military

families and homeless children in new york city. >> remember the toy drive runs until december 22. for details including how to donate online, head to todayshow.com or amazon.com/today. coming up, we have got a mother/son team, they're going to be here to reveal -- you know one of their restaurants, four stars from the "new york times," it's unbelievable. they're going to reveal the secrets of one of their signature dishes there, 100 layer lasagna. >> that's big. also ahead, kids helping kids, we're going to talk about a new program that gets teenagers to inspire younger peers to reach their potential. and also coming up this morning, we'll be talking about the five rules you can break and

still lose weight. joy bauer has got some tips. let's say hello to nancy travis. >> good morning. >> in this movie you play trish, a tsa teacher who discovers something about one of her students moms. how did that happen? >> i play a woman who's pretty much rushing through life and not taking time to smell the roses and i have a freak accident where an angel comes to me and has me trade places with this woman who's having a hard time and by walking in her shoes and living her life i come to appreciate my own life and people around me. >> so it's a nice message for the holiday s for the whole family? >> it's a nice movie that i can watch with my family so i'm excited about it. >> it's sort of like "it's a

wonderful life." >> "it's a wonderful life" meets "touches by an angel." >> you mentioned your two boys, benjamin and jeremy, how are you guying spending the holidays? >> we're spending christmas at home, we also celebrate hanukkah. >> what a beautiful boy. >> there he is. >> what a beautiful boy. congratulations. you're lucky. i remind the audience "a walk in my shoes" premiers tonight on nbc. let us go out to chicago where mr. al roker is doing the weather. >> i want to remind you that i'm going to be hosting a first of its kind telethon this weekend to raise awareness for alzheimer's disease. the alzheimer's foundation of

america calling on americans and president obama and congress to declare a decade of care for this disease. currently 5.1 million americans living with alzheimer's. on this telethon, we have so many celebrities, ellen degeneres, donald trump, wendy williams. we have even got our own joy bauer and natalie morales. airing tomorrow december 4, leading up to prime time on your nbc local stations. please check it out. let's check out your weather for the weekend. here's what we have got for you. on saturday, we have snow cutting across from minnesota all the way into illinois, talking about three to six inches of snow, rain moves into the pacific northwest, northern california, rain in new england as well. sunny and warm through the gulf coast, then on sunday, sunday, we're looking at some more lake-effect snow along the eastern great lakes, windy along the mid-atlantic states, rain from the pacific northwest down into central and almost southern california. sunny and cool through texas, mild in florida.

finally warming up after a chilly start this morning. and here's a view of san jose, looking at hazy sunshine and high clouds moving through. temperaturewise this morning we're more mild. 40s and 50s outside just before 9:00, still some showers heading away from the east bay hills. more moisture offshore, that will continue to spin on in for the weekend. today 50s and 60s for the high. look for a few widely scattered showers, and sunday the rain will fill in, turning breezy to wrap up the weekend. >> got a lot of shopping to do this weekend? go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> why it's so important to inspire your kids to give back, but first these messages. [ dog barking ] mom!

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this morning on education nation today, inspiring students to give back. between home work and extracurricular activities, some teenagers feel they don't have time to give to their communities. but some have discovered what they take away from such experiences can be incredibly valuable. >> i just remember middle school and you're kind of that cramped time, you're just out of elementary school, but you're not yet in high school. so it's a little bit of an awkward phase. >> chelsey dale had an idea, recruit some of her fellow high school students to become mentors to middle school students. the public middle school is a mere four miles from chelsey's school, but these seventh graders face a number of different challenges.

for many, english is a second language. the group now in its second year is called on giants shoulders. >> hello. >> hi. >> each week, the high school students -- >> i had braces for four years. >> including my daughter lily. >> what's your favorite team? >> new york giants. >> i wasn't expecting to build a bond so quickly, but these kids really are willing to share with us. >> the unexpected happened, oh, you like to dance? the next thing you know they're dancing. >> that was so great, guys, you have to promise to teach us when we come visit you. >> reporter: the ultimate goal, inspire these students to reach for their academic potential. >> what's your favorite class? >> art. >> art. what do you like to do with art?

>> everything. >> besides being able to explain, do your home work, that's really important, we have also been able to get to know them on a personal level. >> we'll see you guys next week. made an unannounced trip to afghanistan. he landed about an hour ago and we are told he's to make remarks shortly. he's scheduled to speak with president hamid karzai, thank u.s. troops and speak with u.s. advisers on the ground. this as the white house is preparing to release a review of the president's war strategy which, of course, has become increasingly controversial. also after a new unemployment report that shows the rate of unemployment is now at 9.8%, the

highest since april. we've got nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd standing by at the white house with more on this. what more can you add? >> reporter: i can tell you this. the meeting with hamid karzai is now off. the president of afghanistan and the president of the united states will speak by phone due to some issues with weather, according to the white house. the other thing with the trip is they planned to do something between thanksgiving and christmas in afghanistan. they believed this was the best time to try to do it. as you will recall, two weeks ago in lisbon, portugal, nato agreed to a 2014 timeline for pulling troops out of afghanistan which is sort of blowing past the original july 2011 goal that the president announced when he surged troops there last year. >> this is the second trip, i understand, to afghanistan. the last time he was there was in march. that's right, chuck? >> that's right. last time was march, just after he announced the surge of

troops. it was about a year ago, just after that. this is his second trip as president, third -- he did visit afghanistan once when he was a candidate. >> all right. chuck todd, thank you very much for joining us. we'll have a lot more including full coverage of the president's remarks on msnbc when they happen. i'm ann curry. good day. does the volunteer for the special olympics. that will keep them going and also builds their self-esteem. >> what about getting teachered involved this? >> all you have to do is raise your hand and say can i help out. >> a lot of people don't realize, just in your neighborhoods there are often things that need to be done. >> if you check out your neighborhood, the local newspaper, just keep your ears open. first of all, kids really are more impacted with empathy on face to face connections. you start with just that hands on charity and it just mobilizes even more so they want to reach

out. >> so they can see the impact immediately. there are a lot of things that are being done that excite you, what are some of the projects you have heard about? >> some of the ones i absolutely love, a family in san francisco, they have taken on a local women's shelter and they go and paint together. there's a group of moms with their grandmother, aunts and their daughters, they love to knit, so they taught the daughters to knit and what they did was they knit beanies for servicemen overseas. when my son came back from iraq, he pulled out his suitcase and said here's what kept me warm, those beanies. there's so many things. the lemonade stand there,'s an absolutely wonderful little boy whose brother has autism. so she decided to raise money for research, she got the whole family involved, she's making the lemonade, and she has some

good donations. and up next, in "today's" holiday kitchen, a mouth watering four-star lasagna, but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:45, this morning on "today's" holiday secrets, cooking secrets from a four-star restaurant. we have the owners with us, mother and son team, lydia and joe, they're going to share their menu's signature dish, 100 layer lasagna. first of all, congratulations, that is a terrific honor. that really is. congrats to both of you. 100 layer lasagna sounds incredibly complicated. you start making this now for new year's eve? >> first of all, you need -- the

vegetables, then the meat the wine. >> what kind of meat do you use? >> you let that simmer, simmer and this is how it gets nice and creamy and velvety? >> four hours for that, matt. >> this is not for the feint of heart this dish. this is for people who are serious about cooking. >> this is a regular egg pasta, very thin, worked well, very thin and to make the lasagna, to layer it. we're almost three-quarters of the way, there's 89 layers in here. >> who counted? you let him count? >> just like that and you don't even let it cook. >> so it just goes in for a second to the boiling water, just to loosen it up? >> just like that. and you put it right on to the layers before. >> you're not putting a layer between every single layer of pasta, are you?

>> actually, right here, it has the milk, the cheese, and a little bit of nutmeg and just a little bit of marinara to lighten it up. >> in the restaurant, you have 20 cooks, so you have three people who work all morning to make a lasagna like this. at home it might take you a day or two, but if you're focused and committed, you can do it. >> what would be the mistake that somebody would make doing this? >> i think just the pasta. >> cooking it too long? >> and not layering it with enough sauce the between. you continue building it up just like that. >> that's 90 in case you're counting. come around the back, and let's see what it looks like when it's finished here. this is like six inches high. >> it's like when you eat it, it's like literally the leaning

tower of pizza of lasagna. it's flavor upon flavor upon flavor, it's amazing. >> we cut it when it's still cold. otherwise it would kind of fall apart. >> how long would you bake that. >> you put it in the oven abo35 degrees for about an hour. let's talk about the home meat lasagna. >> this is what we do on the down and dirty, about a half hour before a football game on sunday. we buy the no boil lasagna, buy the jar of tomato sauce. a little ricotta, three layers. i take hers because i don't want the make my own. >> so if i were to blindfold you, you wouldn't even know the difference between these two. >> you might know the difference, but they each have their charms. >> can i do a little taste test?

you want me to start with that one? >> this is the 100 layer four star lasagna. >> tell us about the sensation, the mouth feel and the complexity of flavor. >> it helps to have you sing all that. >> it melts like silk. >> it's really delicious. >> and this is a little bit more down and dirty. >> do i even spoil the home made lasag lasagna? this is the down and dirty as you call it. >> lots more texture. >> more cheese. it has more of a cheesy creamy taste. >> exactly. i could live on either one of these things. what kind of wine would you serve with this? >> this is like the beauty of four star italian, taking a simple thing and exalting it or making it really simple. >> that is a huge, huge deal.

>> lydia and joe, thanks very much. we're back in a moment here on nbc. [ female announcer ] safeway talks the main course. mmm. you smell that? yeah, wait. what is that? love. smells like ham. [ female announcer ] serve a main course brimming with comfort and joy. safeway. ingredients for life.

when you don't have to cook, you have time for other things. yeah, like what? i don't know. fishing. [ clears throat ] oh. ha. ha. [ female announcer ] when we do the cooking, you do the enjoying. safeway. ingredients for life. business may be booming for royal look alikes in britain, but work is fading for another look alike on the other side of

the world. >> reporter: it's not every day you get to meet kim jong-il, north korea's leader, or at least his south korean look alike. but these are challenging times. >> translator: i'm getting massive headaches, my blood pressure is climbing every day. >> reporter: he's the same height as kim jong-il, he's got the same pot belly and all the gestures of the north korean dictator. he's cashed in on that uncanny resemblance, hired at weddings and birthday parties. but the real kim jong-il has now spoiled the fun and the invitations have died uried up. >> translator: people point to me on the street and accuse me of dropping bombs on the island.

>> reporter: he first got hiss break playing the leader in a 1995 movie about the two koreas coming together, embracing each other, unifying, then nuking japan. it wasn't a big hit, but it did launch his career which thriver thrived during the sunshine policy of years of cozying up to the north. north korea's aggression has -- kim jong-il sti that's kim jong-il from north korea, this man mutters, he's a dear. he's considering hanging up that suit and getting a makeover. >> translator: i have to get my hair cut to look like kim jong-il. the way people look at me now, it's not friendly anymore. i need to avoid looking like him now. >> reporter: lying low in his bunker like print shop where not

even loyal customers can describe the fact that kim jong-il is no longer so welcome on the streets of the south korean capital. for "today," ian williams, nbc news, seoul, south korea. >> what else can he do? >> he's got to find something.cu and o ywsne weather. . .

. lightning fast. lightning strong. verizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. well, good morning everyone. you know, we hear there's some trouble in the caldecott tunnel. >> they just cleared all lanes, and the accident we followed the last half hour, but look at the big backup in lafayette.

jamming up westbound 24, and a new action for the south bay northbound 101, heading toward shoreline, heading up toward the peninsula. meanwhile, san jose and the rest say swing typical delays. more news after this. ♪ it comes along just once a year ♪ ♪ on winters wings, decembers rear, ahha humbug faces come and dear ♪ ♪ then appears at perfect christmas time. ♪ ♪ a tiny tree, christmas, tinsel, the lights ♪ ♪ the star that sings, top your tiny tree, yeah ♪

expect heavy traffic in downtown san rafael today because of a huge funeral mass for a well-known north bay builder, mario galatti helped grow the company. he died from injuries after falling down some stairs. he would have been 88 tomorrow. now, this morning's funeral procession will leave albert park lane and travel on eighth between 10:00 and 10:30. mass at san rafael church, heavy

traffic expected in the area until 1:00 this afternoon. well, brent will have another update in about 30 minutes "today" returns in about one minute.

we'r we're backe ba with more "t" on a friday morning. it's the 3rd day of december, 2010. quite a chilly morning out here on the plaza. breezy on top of that. we have got a great group of people from all over the country, including tennessee, where we'd like to wish amy a happy birthday. happy birthday. i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales out on the plaza. we're going to get to al in a second. he's out in chicago. coming up in this half hour, have you ever thought of this?

how would you feel getting stranded in a car for 20 hours on a snowy highway? >> oh, my gosh. >> that's what's happening to a lot of people in upstate new york over the last couple of days. that area got dumped on, up to 3 feet of snow in areas. then tractor-trailer kind of turned over on the highway, it shut it down, 20 hours stuck in your car in the snow. >> they had to bring in power bars and water to get them to get through that time. >> exactly. crazy. >> we'll have more on that story coming up in a second. also ahead, acne's probably something a lot of you, as teenagers, suffered with. but for nearly half of all women, those annoying blemishes follow you into adulthood. coming up, we'll talk to an expert about how to handle your adult acne. >> okay. a lot to get to. first, let's go inside. ann's standing by at the news desk with all the headlines. >> hey, everybody. in the news, new unemployment numbers just in for the month of november showed that job growth slowed to a sluggish 39,000.

and this means the unemployment rate jumps from 9.6% to 9.8% with 15.1 million americans now out of work. road are now clear and open on a western new york highway where hundreds of motorists were left stranded in their vehicles for up to 20 hours. crews had to dig through six-foot snow drifts to provide motorists with water and protein bars. israel's lush north is still in flames today. the largest forest fire in its history has killed at least 41 people since thursday. international aid has begun arriving in the form of firefighting planes. south korea has appointed a new defense minister, and with him, a new position on retaliation against the north. at his confirmation hearing, kim quon jing said that seoul would definitely use the air force to strike back if attacked once again. the previous defense minister resigned in wake of deadly attack on wung punk island.

wikileaks is struggling to stay afloat. amazon dumped the whistle-blower because it was unable to support the number of cyberattacks trying to disable it. the page is now popping up on various servers on the web. and julian assange has a warrant for his arrest. some good news for anyone who has ever been startled by a loud commercial. congress is putting those blaring ads on volume control. the calm act will ban advertisers from abruptly boosting the volume of their ads to grab attention. it could go into effect as early as next year. there's life on earth, but it's a bit alien. nasa announced thursday that it has discovered a new form of life on a california lake. it's the only known organism that does not have phosphorus in its dna. this microbe uses poisonous arsenic instead, and nasa says the finding revolutionizes search for life outside our

planet. and he may not live up to his species name of giant panda yet, but this tiny one-month cub seems to be measuring up just fine at this checkup at the atlanta zoo. he'll go on display early next year once he learns how to walk, but he won't be named until he is 100 days old, in keeping with chinese tradition. it is now three minutes past. let's go back outside to matt. >> they always say they're so cute when they're little. that thing wasn't all that cute, to be honest with you. we'll go out to chicago right now. al roker's been out there all morning. >> throw a little baby panda under the bus. >> be honest. don't be diplomatic. that was not that cute. >> that was a cute little panda. >> no, no, no. >> all right. well, let's take a look and show you what's going on. i've been here in chicago, i had book signings for "the midnight show murders." i'm getting out just in time, they've got a clipper coming across bringing snow on into chicago tonight.

we've got winter weather advisories from billings, montana, all the way to northwest india. winter storm warnings from iowa into minnesota. snowfall amounts generally about 6 to 9 inches. we could see a band about 3 to 6 inches from peoria back to business mark and that snow will finally taper off some time late and here's a view of san jose. we're seeing sunny skies, but watching a couple things this morning. 40s and 50s outside right now, running warmer than we have so far this week, but notice the visibilities, out towards livermore, still three miles or less so, patchy fog or hazy skies still out there. this morning we will continue to see moisture coming in, a few scattered showers as well for saturday, then sunday expect to see rain developing around midday, turning breezy to wrap up the weekend. >> that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to washington, d.c. uncle willy and he's got the smuckers jar. >> ding, ding, ding.

don't forget the salvation army. they are now collecting. greatest organization in the world. they do more that you can believe. they know how to handle money. they should be in the government. happy birthday! take a look at our smuckers jar that spins around, the wheel of smuckers. we have irene hearter. she's from reedsburg, wisconsin, 105 years old. and she lived in her own house until she was 103. isn't that terrific? okay. we have margaret grant of newark, delaware, one of the great towns in america. celebrating her 100th birthday with a party of 100 people. how about that? flavia, i like that name, flavia sherwood. she's from mcminnville, oregon. i opened a library there about 100 years ago. 106 years old. rode in a car that goes 130 miles an hour. she's celebrating her firbirthd

with her friends. we wish her well. kermit, not the frog, kermit the man, bless him of rugby, north dakota. he is 100 years old today, and lives independently. proud cancer survivor. took computer lessons when he was 97. take a look, here's harold zagnip, trenton, new jersey, 100 years old, lives with his lovely wife of 30 years, and they believe that love is the answer. how about that? a little romance, among the centenarians. we have ray haimm from brooklyn new york, new york, 100 years old today. hosts a party every saturday night for her friends. josephine richardson, josephine's from florence, mississippi. 100 years old. grows vegetables and gives them to friends. that's it. that's all from washington at this time. >> willard, thank you.

well, this morning on today's real estate, what you can get for $400,000 or less from traditional homes to modern open floor plans and a lot of sweeping views in between, we've got some great homes from coast to coast. barba barba barbara corken is our real estate contributor. let's take a look. let's start with a beautiful three-bedroom home in minneapolis, minnesota, priced at $350,000. >> and minneapolis is outperforming the nation in the job market. they added $28,000 jobs in the last year alone. this is a simple brown 19s to colonial. i think it should be painted white to look a little bit better. but you're paying half of the house and half for the family location, and the top-rated schools. and just a few blocks away, there's beautiful lake harriet, which is a real draw for families in this neighborhood. >> look at the inside. that looks beautiful. >> it is beautiful. the living room has beautiful hardwood floors, moulding, and that beautiful white brick

fireplace. there's an archway that leads to the formal dining room. and the big windows let in lots of light. there's a small kitchen that's well equipped with a gastop range and new cabinets. we'll have a better view of the kitchen in just a moment. there it is! okay. we're a little slow today. but, anyway, i like that kitchen, because it's well equipped with a gastop range and the new cabinets. totally refinished basement downstairs. you can pretty much use it for whatever you want. they use it as a great play room and also a media room. and there's a small sun porch out back with a big private backyard and a garage. there's a great view of the sun porch. a pretty house for less than $400,000. >> nice curb appeal and very nice. let's go to sacramento, california, to a four-bedroom home priced at $359,900. >> sacramento is the state capital, but was one of the hardest hit real estate markets in the country. today homes are half the price they were in 2007. the good news is, prices have

leveled off. there's a house with a little bit unusual gingerbread trim. you can pop that right off if it's not to your liking, but it's a traditional cape cod house. very traditional floor plan, and the rooms are huge in this house. the kitchen has new appliances, granite countertops, and a big sunny eating area you see in the back. and there's an extra large laundry room we don't have a shot of -- oh, there it is. i didn't think i got that one. >> a beautiful laundry room shot. that's extra space and a luxury in any house. there's the big backyard with a nice flat lawn and well shaded by mature trees. >> looks good and a good price. >> next house, about 30 minutes outside of denver, evergreen, colorado, a great area. i've been there. it's a three-bedroom house priced at $369,900. >> and evergreen is well named. it's 30 minutes from downtown denver, and prices in the denver area keep going up. it's up 4% again, against last year. it's really leading the nation

in home recovery prices, that is. this custom home has panoramic views. you can see all the way from mt. evans, right down to downtown denver. the nice white living room has extra tall windows and a nice wood-burning fireplace, and there's a great shot for a small dining area, which also has access to the back deck. that bright kitchen has a white tile countertop with wood cabinets. i think, well, whatever, it's very neat and clean, it's functional. nothing to complain about. and out back there is a great big multi-level deck with breathtaking views, no matter which point of the deck you're sitting on. >> that view right there is priceless. a nice ride up from there to the ski slopes. not that for a away. very good. now let's come over to the east coast. got a four-bedroom in murphy, north carolina. it's on the market for almost $400,000. >> and a lot of people love north carolina, and murphy is one of most loved towns there. it's at the heart of appalachian mountains. it's named after the murphy

railroad line. >> you love the historical facts. >> here and there. this house, when you actually live in this town, because it only has 1,700 people, it's like living in a norman rockwell painting. a traditional home with a nice green lawn, that we just had a shot at. those dark couches, i think, make the room much smaller than it should, absorbs too much of the light. slip covers on that to sell the house would help. a nice dining area surrounded by windows, located right off the chef's kitchen. a very usable, working living area. i like the enclosed sunroom with the wood floors, the gas fireplace, and the stone the facade. the backyard has an open fire pit. a nice place to hang out. and you can't see it from that shot, but breathtaking views all around that house. >> and it looks like a newer home too. >> and what wasn't new, they renovated. you can't tell the difference. >> let's look at a very unique home in dentner, missouri. four-bedroom priced at $400,000. >> this home is very pretty at

night, we'll see a shot later on in the daytime. so pretty. it's 40 miles from st. louis, as you said. it's custom built and it's on 20 acres of open land. i might tell you that the taxes are only $150 a month. that's a lot of land and house for only $150 a month. that great room has the vaulted ceiling, the hickory floors we just saw, the kitchen has tile floor, maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops, what i want to say. >> the nice tile floor. >> that's a very lovely shot of a portion of the living room with the spiral staircase that leads from the family room and also down into the basement. there's a timber deck that wraps around the entire house. i think we saw a shot of it on the outside with the lights, and it looks out on acres of prairies and blue skies, and you don't have a neighbor in sight. and that house is only $400,000. >> lots of property. you can make whatever you want with it. >> you betcha. >> barbara, thanks so much.

coming up next, a touchy topic for millions of women. how to deal with adult acne, right t after this. right after this. walmart and p&g present...r ] justin, i want you to pass this class. mrs. fahey! give him one more chance. be in charge! be the mother! [ male announcer ] what would you learn... trish, you can't go home just yet. how do you know my name? [ male announcer ] ...if you stepped into someone else's life? family movie night is back. what's going on? [ justin ] i never got to say i was sorry. everything's gonna be okay. funny how when you help someone else, you heal your own wound. [ male announcer ] "a walk in my shoes." december 3rd 8/7 central on nbc.

sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. 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. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. this morning on "today's" health, adult acne. we thought that skin blemishes were just anned a doe les sent problem. it can be caused by stress to maybe even the makeup you're

using. we have a dermatologist here in new york city with some answers on this major problem. but it is a problem for a lot of women and you say that it can happen to women even through up to men knopause? >> 60% of all women will complain they have breakouts at some time and 20% of adults, women adults will dplan that their skin is breaking out and require dermatologist intervention. >> and you mean any kind of pimples, any kind of outbreak, and you say this is more likely to happen in women? >> yes, it is more likely in women, because in women there are hormonal issues that often cause the issue. there are other issues besides the hormonal changes. a birth control pill can cause a big problem for a lot of women or starting a medication like

cortisone can cause acne. cosmetics can cause acne as well. people will start with a whole new skin regimen and all of a sudden realize that their skin is just not cooperating the way they're used to. >> how can diet and stress contribute? >> stress releases a hormone called cortisol which can stimulate the sebaceous glands. diet's a little bit more controversial. the only thing that's actually been shown to cause significant acne is an overabundance of dairy. short of that, if you actually eat pizza or chocolate or you're consuming lots of fried foods, it's really thought to be the grease on those products that get on your hands that cause the acne rather than the actual ingestion of those. >> the question then becomes what to do about it. are the treatments similar to the ones we tried when we were teenagers?

>> yes, at of them are similar, and women traditionally will try medications like antibiotics and those kind of things. a lot of women complain i'm having wrinkles and pimples so they'll use some chemical peel products. there are some light based therapies and laser based therapies that are helpful for that as well. >> if i get some clearasil, that might help? >> a lot of women will spot treat and the spot treatment often causes more dryness and irritation and will leave marks, so you want to be careful to pretreat the area that's more prone to acne versus just treating the acne when it appears. >> that's something we really don't want to deal with, but perhaps it will not give us a choice. thank you so much. and still ahead this morning, kathie lee welcomes

here special co-host this morning and it's grammy award winning cheryl crowe the singer. and also this morning, the must-have items for every expectant mom and what she should take to the hospital. but first these messages. [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig.

choose. brew. enjoy. lose those lines for up to a year! juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor about juvéderm® xc.

would you like me to read you a story? you can't read. [ grandma ] 'twas the night before christmas, and all through the house... whoa, that's grandma. [ grandma ] ...nothing was stirring, not kara, not maya... how does she do that? magic. [ grandma ] ...grandma loves you. [ both ] goodnight, grandma. [ female announcer ] be there to read them a story every night. read it to me again. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. this christmas, make it wonderful at your hallmark gold crown store.

we are always so happy to welcome new deliveries to our toy drive. jessica simp

>> this is the iconic case. it's out there for 20 years. kaboodle. we're bringing a donation of 1,000 kaboodles to the drive that you can use. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> and by the way, if you would like more information on our toy drive, check out todayshow.com. and you can find out how to donate online by heading to amazon.com/today. and we'll tell you five diet rules that you can break and still lose weight, guaranteed. but first, your local news and weather. ♪ ♪ ten thousand watts of xmas cheer ♪

♪ ten thousand watts glow brightly clear ♪ ♪ the colored lights will shine sincere, ho, ho, ho ♪ ♪ ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ♪ the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. [ 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.

good morning, everybody. time now is 9:26. i'm brad cannon, checking the latest. we're going to the toll plaza. >> where it's very light right now. >> the metering lights have turned off. that might be an issue as you're driving through portions of the east bay. the approach in the web direction, that is a huge issue as well. map shows a slow sensor. all the way over to the earlier accident, so we continue with the slow drive, but both westbound are open.

rob, some haze, low clouds around as well. >> low clouds, plenty more moisture offshore. kind of a mess showing up. a lot of tropical moisture being thrown at the bay area. this is why we'll be in and out of the scattered showers today, and for saturday, then probably heavier rain due in right after midday sunday. in it for the weekend, especially right around noon sunday, i think that rain will try to fill in. morere newews ririghafafter the.

the wrecking ball will tear through the old transbay terminal in san francisco this morning. crews will begin demolition at first and mission starting at 10:00, coming up in about a half hour. the transit hub will be replaced with a more modern building to connect eight systems, as well as the future high-speed rail system. construction is expected to conclude in about 2017, and in

the meantime, the temporary terminal is set up at howard and main streets. get ready for another case of giants fever. tickets going on sale for the 2011 season today. the giants are selling a limited number of single-game tickets starting at 10:00 this morning. sales end on december 12th. they are not going to resume again unfanfest, which is february 5th. the tickets on sale today are lower box view level and bleachers tickets. the packages include games against the braves, the rockies, reds, a's and dodgers. tickets will be sold at san franciscojits.com and giants dugout stores. more local news in half an hour. "today" returns in less than a minute. have a great friday. we'll see you back here in a bit.

well, winter's not even here yet, but this song makes you dream of summer. that is cheryl crowe with her block bluster song. and this morning she's going to be co-hosting our fourth hour with kathie lee. she is way cool. >> she's great. >> i'm ann curry, along with natalie morales. we're talking about our five diet rules that you can break

according to joy bauer. plus we're going to catch up with our class of 2020, they're now in the third grade and they have actually just voted in their first student council election. also if you are expecting a baby, what should you pack in your hospital survival kit? we're going to tell you coming up. in the meantime, what do you guys have coming up this weekend? >> we have what happened to susan powell, she's the utah mom who vanished nearly a year a lot and her husband was to the only person of interest named in the case but there's been no arrests. we're going to get the latest on the case and talk to susan powell's parents about that. some websites say you can learn everything from bake bread to play the piano, we're going to put that to the test. it took me five years, i think. >> we're going to start a clock and have a teacher. >> and we're going to show you how quickly you can learn it. >> we're going to reveal -- we're going to reveal our

favorite -- i don't know, i just read them. we're going to reveal our favorite holiday songs this weekend on "today." >> do they make you sing songs on camera? >> i did have a sing songs. >> please, oh, it's embarrassing. >> do you have christmas music on your iphone? >> yes, i have a whole christmas play list. i have a pandora thing that i don't even have to download it. the crew told me about pandora. >> okay, we digress, because i think al's thinking, when are they going to throw to me for the weather? >> it's only 21 degrees, with an 11-degree windchill, but let's hear some more of your christmas songs. >> tell us what's happening, dude. okay, lester's got a great voice, so if anybody ever sing this is song, saturday we look

ahead to the weekend, there's that dreidel song. we have got mild weather in the southwest, some rain in northern new england, rain moves into northern california, snow from minnesota to illinois and then sunday, sunday, sunday, we have got more rain from the pacific northwest all the way in central california. sunny skies in the southern tier states, frigid in the plains and we have got some lake-effect snow showers kicking in again along the eastern great lakes. of course as always, adam sandler's hanukkah song. here's a look at san francisco thork. we've got some clouds, temperatures now in th 40s and 50s around the bay area. 50 right now in san francisco, 51 in san jose. you'll notice we've got reduced visibility still in the north bay and out to the eight that month pass. it will also linger in the forecast. the weekend has a chance of showers, today and tomorrow, sunday will be the wetter of the

weekend days. with more showers to kick off monday morning. it looks like another round for wednesday into thursday. >> and that's your latest weather, of course you've got bad weather on sunday, it doesn't matter, you're going to be inside, why? because it's sunny, football night in america. >> that's right, we have got the pittsburgh steelers heading to take on the ravens. windy, told, temperatures upper 20s, low 30s, windchills in the teens. on sunday night, football night in america. >> that's a nice little voice in there, al. >> he's frozen. >> go on inside, al, thanks so much. safe travels, he's alive.

>> oh, my goodness, coming up next, joy bauer is going to tell us the five diet rules that are okay to break. ♪ it's time for hanukkah with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patients had their plaque psoriasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, or have had cancer. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition.

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if copd is still making it hard to breathe, ask your doctor if including advair will help improve your lung function for better breathing. get your first full prescription free and save on refills. this morning on take it off today, the five diet rules you might be able to break. it's no secret that in order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. but other than that, diet rules might be more flexible than you might think according to joy bauer a registered dietitian who's here to explain. a lot of people are afraid of dieting, afraid mostly of the disappointment they're going to feel, if they break the rules they set out for themselves. you're here to give dieters a little bit of space, a little bit of leeway. >> a diet should launch you into

a long lasting lifestyle change. so you have to make it flexible and livable. >> it is important for everyone to exercise, but for some people, it's really difficult. some people say i have just never done it and i'm afraid that i can't lose weight if i don't exercise. so rule number one, let's talk about this, is exercise mandatory for losing weight? >> it's not. exercise offers up a whole host of health benefits, it's great for the cardiovascular system, it's great for mood, it boosts your immunitieimmunities, but y have to exercise in order to lose weight. as long as you watch the food that you eat and you count your calories, you can lose weight without exercising. >> in other words if you're willing to eat less, you don't have to exercise. if you love eating then maybe you do have to kper iexercise. >> exercise will enable you to burn a few more calories. but for the people who have disabilities and they can't

exercise or they just are not willing to commit the time. tighten up that food and you will lose weight without exercising. >> people say they just don't eat dessert. the rules say no sugar at all. for some of us having a little dessert is impossible. so maybe for those like me, you shouldn't actually start. but if you are able to moderate, it's okay, you say to actually break the rule of not having dessert? >> it's totally okay. and for a lot of people it removes the deprivational piece. and it helps give you staying power, whether it's a fudgy rich chocolatey piece of cake, as long as you work those calories in, it's doable. and for people who want something every single day, i would say portion the dessert around 150 calories. maybe that's a low fat ice cream pop, but if you want a restaurant or bakery decadent

dessert, bank those calories, don't eat them during the week, then choose one day, a friday or saturday night perhaps and then enjoy that edert. >> another thinking that we're starting to embrace is this idea of portion control, i have been hearing about this for probably about a year or two. >> forever. >> and so really because i'm from oregon, all across the country, portions can be really huge. you are saying that we don't have to portion control everything. obviously we do need to portion control many things. how do we know when to not portion control? >> there's one thing that you never need to worry about portion control. and i wish i could say it was chocolate ice cream. you don't have to worry about nonstarchy vegetables that you eat. just make sure you don't add a lot of salad dressing or oil or butter. you can steam them, you can roast them, you can slightly saute them with an oil mister.

but the more you eat, the actual better you are off in terms of losing weigh. because they're filling, they have fiber, they have water, they have low calories and they're going to displace other fattening foods. >> so it's a great food to snack on. let me just simply say that never skip breakfast, while it's important to eat breakfast as much as possible. and rule number five is salads are best. you say that's a rule we can break, now why? >> because some salaries are calorie bombs and they can be as fattening as the deepest pizza or a burger and fries. you have to know what's in your salad. watch the croutons t cheese, even some healthy foods are really caloric. nuts, seeds, walk molly. so if you're sure that the salad is loaded with starchy vegetables and then go easy on the extras. and then if you hate salads, don't make yourself angry by eating them and feel

dissatisfied. you can lose weight eating sandwiches and stir fries as well. >> and salads aren't for everyone. >> let's be a little easier on ourselves. and coming up next, a big moment for our class of 2020. their first election day, that's coming up after this. ♪ would you like me to read you a story? you can't read. [ grandma ] 'twas the night before christmas, and all through the house... whoa, that's grandma. [ grandma ] ...nothing was stirring, not kara, not maya...

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back now to our ongoing series the class of 2020 where we follow a group of students from kindergarten through high school. our students first take on politics. >> raise your hand if you are going to vote in today's school election. >> let's just check. wow, so it looks like we're going to have 100%

participation. >> reporter: it's election day and for these third graders, it's the first time they have ever been allowed to vote for student council. >> i'm excited about the opportunity to become your class representative on your student council. >> reporter: it's also the first time that students have been able to run for office. >> i just wanted to see how it feels if i really wanted to be a o -- >> reporter: jordan looked at his own life experience to convince his classmates to vote for him. >> i said that i was baseball team captain in sports. >> i was there the day that he was giving his speech, and i could tell that he was nervous, but he got and gave the speech incredibly well. >> if you pick me, i will represent our class well. that's why i think you should pick me, jordan. >> give it up, everybody.

voting is a way to choose. >> reporter: before the students go to the ballot box, they get a chance to talk about the issues and candidates. >> i don't know who i'm going to vote for yet, but i'm going to vote for a guy who has an awesome poster because i like posters. >> a lot of people vote based on advertising and campaign advertising and commercials so we want to emphasize to the kids that, yeah, that can be one component of the reasons why you vote for somebody, but there are many other things to look into. >> reporter: after two weeks of campaigns and speeches, the students get to cast their votes. >> thank you for doing your civic duty. >> you have to report to your class what we did here in student council. >> jordan was elected as class representative. >> student council committees that you will sign up for. >> reporter: now the real work begins, twice a month, they will spend their lunchtime at student

council meetings instead of playing with their friends. >> i think he got a great life experience out of it knowing that he can see a process all the way through from the beginning. i always kind of secretly admired those people that would go after stuff like that because i always thought they were the smart group of people. so it's, you know, it's pretty cool that, you know, this is something that she wants to go after. i'm proud of her. >> let's give it up. >> great job. >> and a great lesson in education there and voting. the white house is next guys. >> and by the way you can follow all of our class of 2020 students on a special web page dedicated to them on our website todayshow.com. for itchy dry skin.

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this morning on "today's" moms, preparing for your

hospital stay when you're expecting. what are the essentials that you need to pack long before you need to make that mad dash to the hospital. jessica is a contributor for big city moms, jessica, good morning. >> good morning, natalie. >> good to have you was. a lot of women when they're like ready to pop, they're not really thinking as clearly and prance don't really pack all the essentials they need. you say you need to pack four weeks in advance, why? >> because the average normal term for delivery is between 36 and 40 weeks. keep in mind, you're not going to a five-star hotel. so you need to bring some essentials, the basics the toilet paper, the towels. definitely a warm snugly robe.

a great shower gift and scrunchies. >> comfort is definitely key. >> absolutely. >> and also some pajamas, think about some button down pajamas, because if you are planning on nursing. don't be embarrassed going into the hospital with your own pillow because you do need to be comfortable and add a colorful pillowcase or a nice print, it's a great backdrop for all the photos you'll be taking with your new baby. >> and you don't have that white, sterile background. >> exactly. >> also you see a lot of hospitals provide breast pumps if you're breast feeding but you say it's good to bring your own. >> because you could be waiting for hours and most moms do start out breast feeding, about every three out of four do. there's lots of functionalities, there's different price points. also when you're at the hospital, lackation consultants

are there, i highly recommend talking to them because you never know when you're having a problem. >> and then a lot of activity in the hospital, a lot of noise, it's very hard to get a good night's sleep, you know, especially when you have a newborn, as you know, but you say something to think about is bringing a sound machine or even just some music that you can create more ambiance? >> the white noise is break because it drowns out some of that background noise and there's a lot of mobile apps that you can download on your phone. and this machine is about $20. >> for your newborn too, i don't know if you used white nice for your sons, it keeps them asleep. >> don't forget about feeding the staff, right? they're taking such good care of you, you say have your husband bring some sweet treats. >> hospitals are also very busy, about every second, a new baby

is born in the u.s. so you really want to show your appreciation for those nurses who are working really hard for you. >> and thank you gifts as well. but we cannot forget, you cannot leave the hospital without the car seat. >> even in city areas, make sure you know how to use it. there's a base, you can attach it weeks before in your car and know how to use it. >> and a lot of the products, they have on your website, they have some video. >> jess

good morning, everyone. more problems with the caldecott

tunnel? >> it's just slow problems this morning. the accident cleared a while ago, but web out of lafayette seems to be moving smoother, but towards orunna and the caldecott country, we still have that slow drive. the tunnels themselves remain open. oakland, more smoothly before the nimitz, but some low clouds and gray skies there, and we see the clouds around the sunol. so a combination of low clouds, you pointed that out around oakland, heading over toward sunol. you can see all the moisture off the moisture. this is the reason why we're going to get a few sunny breaks at times, and a few showers before more widespread rain rolls through. 50s and 60s for your wide. some widely scattered showers for tomorrow, then it looks like by around noon, we'll see the rain filling in to wrap up the weekend. this is a short week for the 49ers, as they get ready to head

to green bay, niners trying toened a 20-year losing streak in lambeau field. san francisco will need the win if they want to keep up with division coleader seahawks and rams. the game's at 10:00 a.m. sunday. raiders play sunday at san diego at 1:05. the raiders will take the field in san diego without the services of bruce gra douse can i. he hurt his shoulder last week, could be out the rest of the season. raiders need a win on sunday. kickoff again, 1:05. the warriors play, they'll be in oklahoma city to play the thunder. golden state looking for a way to win. they lost last night to phoenix. also sunday the big sam jose christmas parade. "today" returns in about a minute.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. you made it to friday, dry-day, friday, december 3rd. and this is not hoda, in a smaller version. this is sheryl crow. we're so delighted to have you here today. >> dry-day. of all the days i show up, it's dry-day? >> it doesn't have to remain dry-day because you're our guest and we want you to be

comfortable. if it weren't dry-day, what would you want? >> i would probably have a margarita. made with pickle juice. >> everybody needs a jerry in their life. can't make that happen personally. what do you think? >> i'm happy to do this friday, dry-day thing. >> this is apparently pickle juice. it is called pickle juice. it is a power drink, like a gatorade type thing. >> and it keeps you from having cramps, right? >> oh, my gosh! >> that just made my throat cramp. >> i know it! that makes my mouth cramp. i love pickle juice. make that two! what have you been doing since i last saw you? you were giving us your fabulous jeans last time. hoda and i went crazy for those jeans. we wear them all the time but isn't there a new man in your life? >> there is.

levi. he's been with my mom and dad for the last week. i'm just terribly home sick. and wyatt. >> that's the first time anybody's seen levi. >> yes. he's never had his picture taken. there are no paparazzi there. i've been able to sort of keep them under wraps. >> that's awesome. look on wyatt's face. if you could go back to the picture. i remember the good old days when it was just me. >> i had levi for three weeks and wyatt one day looked at me, he was like, mommy, when is his mommy coming to get him? so there was a cold, hard, little meeting that i had to have with him. >> when cody was very theep have a sister but he kept saying, mommy, when is she going to be fun? because all she does right now is lay there and poop and pee and sleep. why do they call it sleeping like a baby when babies wake up

every two hours? >> i can't remember the last time i slept like a baby. >> did you know you were going to have another baby? what happened to make -- >> i had for about a year -- i wanted to -- wyatt to have a sibling and kind of around the two-year mark had a lot of fall-throughs, like moms who changed their mind. i went through the conventional -- it was hard. it was really hard but i also was kind of philosophical about it. i just figured the right child finds you, whether through your own system or whether you open the door to other avenues. he came three years almost to the day. he was born a day after wyatt to the year. >> i'm glad they have their own separate birthdays. >> i know. >> i can see when they get to be like 7 and 10 it is going to be -- can i have my own party? >> enjoy every minute. >> yeah, it's been great. >> before you know it they'll both be 6'4" and 200 pounds and

texting you once a week. >> and you say -- >> in your case you don't have to worry about this. katie -- who the heck is katie? cody hates to be reminded that i breast fed him for six weeks. >> i honestly grew up with cody having watched all those tv shows and pick tuesday of him and the stories. >> but people used to say -- they probably do to you, too, enjoy them while they're little. just wait. i just thought, you know what? that doesn't have to be that way. every age is just fabulous with them. >> well, it's going so fast. i just wish i could slow it down a little bit. but -- the nice thing about it is i have a job where i can put them to sleep, then i go out on stage. we've been touring since levi was 2 weeks old. we had the crib and the big boy bed and all that. but once they go to school, it's weekend warrior. we can only play on fridays. you know because you've done a fair amount of touring but only

on friday and saturday nights, then back to school. >> i sense a very sweet change new over the years. it's so not about the career, is it? >> and breast cancer had a lot to do with that. >> as hoda will also attest to. but you have a new video out. i want to give everybody a chance to see your new rock video. >> oh, i don't know what it is. >> yes, you do. how did that happen? >> oh, stop it, there in the booth. you guys are supposed to show the sheryl crow one! they're silly. stop it, you guys. that's from ten years ago, when i had a pop single for about five seconds on universal records. that's called "love never fails." and it was number 33 in billboard until people realized it was kathie lee, forget it. oh, jerry, you're awesome. here's jerry. >> oh, my god.

i can not believe can you actually do this. >> look at that. we'll suffer. thanks, jerry. jerry just made a hundred bucks. any time any of our crew gets on tv they get paid an extra -- what else would you like, sheryl? >> that is funny. >> we're talking about kids and baby names of the year is always a big deal. neither of yours made the list. >> i know, i'm kind of shocked. >> for 2010 the top girls are sophia, isabella, olivia, emma, chloe -- addison? i don't think i've met an addison. >> i have. and an adeline. >> the boys are aden, jacob, jackson, ethan, jaden, noah, loden -- where's wyatt?

>> it's not on there. >> and levi? >> they say pop culture for the first time people are admitting that pop culture is the way they name their children. who did you name your boys after? >> my dad's maternal side of the family are wyatts. and my dad is wendell wyatt. i always knew it was going to be a wyatt. i knew he was coming for six months. we called him wyatt the whole time he was in the gestational period. levi, i got a call there's a baby coming, you've got four weeks. i didn't care black, white, japanese, whatever. i didn't care if it was a boy or girl but i wound up getting a boy that looks incredibly like wyatt. >> wait until you start to see your kids love each o other. start caring for each other. there's nothing quite like it. but apparently, they're saying that -- well, here's what everybody is talking about this

morning. you now know as mother what it is like to have a mother heart. there was a carjacking. did you see this on the earlier hour? melanie and aaron richmond were moving from colorado to missouri. they put their 6-month-old baby girl into the back. they closed the doors, left the car running to keep it warm for the baby. they were stepping away a few feet just to go to the moving van to talk with somebody right there, look at this. this car jacker comes up from behind. backs out when they've got their back turned and the next thing you see, they noticed it now and they are -- look at the mother. hanging on for dear life. the father jumped in and wrestles with the guy trying to get -- he said my baby's in this car! my baby's in this car! it ran into an embankment, the suspect got away but that is powerful. >> don't you think you o would have done that? i know i would have done that. >> absolutely. but she was on a little earlier, you could see the huge -- >> but how calm she was. >> well, she got her girl.

yeah. you know what it is time for? every friday we do bobbie's buzz around here with our own bobbie thom thomas. c.c. is back to help us with this crozy critters cuddle cuff. >> i just thought bobbie's cuddle cuff. that's perfect. >> she's also wearing this pi pichlt pixie and peanut. i know the dog seems kind of crazy but they're practical. these are paws natural rubber boots which just slip on. >> stop it! >> three pairs in one. they're not jimmy choos but

they're doggybows.com. c.c.'s doing so good. thanks to everybody at home. the viewers actually named her. i was a little nervous, i wasn't sure if i was going to take her on. >> liam? caden? logan? >> sheryl has a fabulous new cd out, "hundred miles from memphis." wish you were singing for us. >> i'll just sing the rest of the interview. >> there you go. up next, bobbie's back to help us out with the "ambush makeover" because jill's off i'. >> and i'm ready to answer all kinds of questions. g present... justin, i want you to pass this class. mrs. fahey! give him one more chance. be in charge! be the mother! [ male announcer ] what would you learn... trish, you can't go home just yet. how do you know my name? [ male announcer ] ...if you stepped into someone else's life? family movie night is back.

what's going on? [ justin ] i never got to say i was sorry. everything's gonna be okay. funny how when you help someone else, you heal your own wound. [ male announcer ] "a walk in my shoes." december 3rd 8/7 central on nbc. [ male announcer ] "a walk in my shoes." in a more delicious world, there would be more smoothness, more creaminess, more rich just-for-me-ness, more hershey's bliss-fulness. hershey's bliss. it's not just chocolate. it's bliss. 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.™ colorstay ultimate™ liquid lipstick... i don't kiss and tell. has a built-in topcoat that keeps your lips perfect past midnight. with a single application in 20 comfortable shades. these lips are sealed. revlon colorstay ultimate™ liquid lipstick.

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>> announcer: "today's" "ambush makeover" is brought to you by maybe lean. maybe she's born with it, maybe it's maybelline. >> "today's" stylist to the stars, louis licari, la-la-la-la-la. you just got serenaded by a big star. sheryl's here, too. they've given two fans of ours i guess a head-to-toe overall. >> i love that.hl. >> i love that.al.

>> i love that.ul. >> i love that. >> what was it like out there, kids? >> oh, it was wild. we had a great group today. more signs, more people, more women wanting makeovers. >> it was so much fun. i'm filling in for jill because she does this all the time and those are big shoes to fill. i had a great time picking the women. >> am i a lucky guy? >> you got bobbie and sheryl. still stuck with me. okay. first lady's name is june hunt. she's 46 from del ray beach, florida. for the past 13 years she's been a seventh grade teacher. because her hair's gotten so damaged over the years, her daily routine consists of gelling it back into a ponytail. so she was thrilled at the opportunity for a new style. >> okay, june. you're here with your students from florida. why do you think your teacher needs a makeover? >> well, she has been wearing that hair forever. her ponytail. oh, my god. >> have you ever seen her in color? >> she does wear some pink but i

think she could use a little bit more color. >> what do you think about that? >> they're probably telling the truth. this ponytail has got to go. it is awful. >> she's here with her students and a fellow teacher. let's take one last look at the old june hunt and let's take a look at the brand-new june hunt. >> beautiful! all right, kids. take them off. >> oh, wow! >> june has not seen herself so turn around, june, and take a look at yourself. >> oh, my god! >> try to please step away from yourself. >> you look so pretty! >> what did you do, louis. >> the first thing we did is the ponytail was a clip-on ponytail because her hair was so damaged, it was short. we gave her this great haircut. >> look at the difference. >> curly hair needs moisture. we moisturized it, colored it

and he layered it. of course i layered with different textures to emphasize the thickness of the hair. >> she looks like tina turner! i love it. what about the outfit? >> i was so excited. you look amazing and i'm so glad you trusted me. she has cuddle tops. i wanted to convince her she could get color and metallics are a nice color. we got this scarf that i twisted through and added through the necklace to elongate her frame. you trusted me, right? do you like it? >> where did the sweater come from? >> this whole look is from jcpenney. >> excellent job! all right, june. you can join over here. we have the second lady coming up. who do we have, sheryl? >> jill pinkston, 47, she's from fishers, indiana. she's been married to her husband jim for 20 years an they have three children. she has had the same look for as long as she can remember and when we approached her on the

plaza, her friends were ecstatic for her to get a new glam look. >> jill, i think you were afraid when i walked up. right? >> a little bit, yes. >> ladies, your friends are so stylish, what is going on with this look? tell me. >> she just rolled out of bed at 4:30. >> okay, okay. >> i can help you? >> please. >> perfect. >> that's great. here with her husband, jim and her friends -- put those blindfolds on, kids. >> can we take a look at jill. >> take a last look at her before. and now the new jill. >> oh, my gosh! it's hillary swank! >> you guys are cheating and taking them off. >> which one's her husband? >> wow. he's looking at a new wife. >> how beautiful does she look? turn around and look at

yourself. >> wow. >> you know what? you look just like hillary swank. you look gorgeous. turn around for us, honey. look right in the mirror so we can see the split screen. louis, got to say love. look at the difference. >> everyone thinks bloond hair makes you look younger. not always! so this is brunette hair being aing as an age eraser. we kind of beveled back, more definite layers. gave her a new color to go with her great brunette hair. >> oh, my gosh. >> it looks so beautiful. her eyes pop. you're a stay-at-home, mom, jill. you were nervous but you can dress up denim and still look chic and be at home and go to lunch with your friends. all of this are pieces from macy's. everybody's really affordable but you can wear them with other stuff. >> come on out, june, join jill. thank you, everybody. louis, thank you.

bobbie, good job. louis licari louis licari la la la la la la! >> up next, sheryl crow's going to take questions from our crowd over at the msnbc cafe. we'll be right ba.ck ["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. ♪

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we're back with "3-2-1 live with sara hains" when our very own sara heads across to the msnbc digital cafe where the crowd is standing by with their

burning questions for us. hopefully they are he all for sheryl. you ready? >> i think i'm ready. >> we were having some audio problems but sara, can you hear us now, honey? >> we're here with patty and janice from riply's believe it or not -- i added that part -- west virginia and they have a question for sheryl. >> sheryl, my question is, do you have a favorite country artist that you like to perform with? >> that can actually get me in trouble. i have been so lucky. i've gotten to perform with so many incredible artists, willie nelson, emmy lou harris. i'm a huge fan of brad paisley who actually happens to be the father of my son's best friend, huck. that's always fun. >> that's a cute name, too, huck. >> william huckleberry. and the two of them are he helliens. >> you didn't mention any women. >> i also love, love dolly

parton. >> i'd like to perform with her, too. that's the best. >> we have a second part to this question. would you consider doing a duet with kathie lee? >> absolutely. >> we just did! ♪ louis licari la-la-la-la-la. ♪ >> we have birthday girls from texas who have a birthdayesque question. >> we are here all the way from alba albany, texas, we are here to celebrate our birthday and we would like to know how you celebrated your 40th bririrthda. i had the most fun. you have to remember -- or not remember but from 36 to 40 i was dreading 40 because there's something about turning 40 as a woman that signifies a lot of -- >> try 50. doesn't get easier. >> at that point all the artists on the radio were like 17 years old, britney spears and christina. i decided i would just throw a huge party for myself. i hired a club. i had all my friends play with

us and we played for like three hours. everyone sat in from don henley to bonnie raitt, dwight yocum. youtube was not up and running yet. there was nothing like youtube. >> but somebody probably taped or filmed it. you could still put it up. >> i've not seen it. >> well don't miss your opportunity for the 50. you know what i'm saying? >> okay, i won't. >> when is that? >> about nine years from now. >> okay. thank you, sara. thanks, everybody over there. still to come, simple steps to turning your house into a christmas wonderland. plus, shelf your shoes for good. and a live performance from broadway's beatles tribute.ne. and a live performance from broadway's beatles tribute.ne. after your cal ws. so, we set out to discover the nutritional science at purina one, we want your cat to be as healthy as possible in some of nature's best ingredients. that's how we created purina one with smartblend. nutritionally optimized with real salmon, wholesome grains

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now introducing glad odor shield with febreze freshness. its inner layer with febreze technology neutralizes odors and leaves a fresh scent. the strength of glad, now with febreze freshness. well, good morning, everyone. it's so:26. i'll see you at the big parade on sunday. >> yes. maybe all of these downtown san jose. right here, though, caldecott open and 24 back to the speed limit. good news here. we'll show you one big issue. sunol has the low clouds, agree skies and also get out of town traffic. that will be an issue later on. chains required for 50 and interstate 80 as well. rob has your forecast. well, this friday morning we're watching clouds, some

patchy fog, and a few scattered showers. this will push on through today and tomorrow, giving us sunny breaks at time and seeing a few rain dwp drops as well. temperatures not too bad. our best bet of seeing rain will be sunday, maybe heavy at times with isolated thunder to wrap up a ewweeken or few more showers heading int the morning. e

no plastic bags, no happy meals, no soda on city property, no bottled water in city offices. just when you thought san francisco couldn't find anything else to ban, they come up with something. members of the board of supervisors support a proposal to ban city departments from printing more than ten pages of stuff. they would have to offer electronic documents instead. the law has preliminary approval and will head to the full board on tuesday. today's a big day for south bay kids. santa claus is coming to los gatos. festivities have the performance of the high school band from fisher middle school, the tree lighting, and santa will arrive moments later. he will visit with children until 7:00. mysteriously santa will also be somewhere else. he has a busy day planned. he'll be at the cal transit toy drive in san mateo county transit district headquarters on san carlos avenue.

his helpers and the u.s. marines will clblgt new unwrapped toys and book fors toys for tots program. holiday music, coffee, cubcakes. thanks for joining us. "today" show continues next. we're back with more of "today" on this dry-day friday. we are counting down to the holidays with our lovely guest co-host sheryl crow helping us out while hoda is in her thong down in the turks and kay koeca. >> we're about to show you how to turn your holiday party into something special. >> happy holidays to you. >> thanks for having me. >> this already looks different from your typical party. >> why just entertain when you can dazzle your guests? starting with the really cost effective easy but high-impact way to make a centerpiece or

decorate a mantel. all you do is take recycled bottles and some metallic tape which you can get at any art supply store. wrap it with different patterns on each. put some greens and candles -- >> cringle candles. remember that. one of my favorite things. that's beautiful. you probably got all that lying around except for the candles. right? >> yes. >> wouldn't and party without christmas lights. use them in creative ways. here we have three different options. wrap them around logs and put them in your fireplace. >> don't burn them then because that would be silly. >> it has the added benefit of not overheating the room which a fire would. you can put them in an arrangement like this or this is my favorite because it is so easy. >> that looks like brains. i got to be honest. but it's's a good idea, lisa! >> i'll take that. moving on to move, who knew that

a cheese plate could be glitzy. with the help of some edible gold leaf it can be. this is goat cheese we rolled in this rub that has the -- oops. got it use my fingers i guess that has the goldleaf in it and some spices. >> how did it turn red? >> rose petals and pink pepp. he perper cons. >> people think you never eat anything but healthy stuff. ? that's so healthy though. >> amy grant once told me she always eats chips before she sings because the oil in the chips is great for your voice. >> really. >> you've never heard that before? >> that is the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard but i'm going to try it. >> let's move on to, this is a new version of eggnog. eggnog is fattening with heavy cream and real eggs. this is a lighter version. you add bitters and cinnamon and

some rum to milk that you've heated up with some vanilla and you have a lighter version. that's also easier to make. >> okay. >> it's dry-day so we're not going to. >> to get your guests mingling, slip a little. ♪ in everyone's napkin that said "did you know" and there is a fun fact on the other side. >> the "today" show had a chimpanzee mascot from 1957 to 19 -- 53 to kw 57 jamd j. fred mug. >> i kind of remember that. >> i was born that year so unfortunately, i remember, too. that's fun. here's yours. >> sheryl. that's me. h was a back-up singer -- >> i didn't know that. >> i was a back-up singer on michael jackson's "bad" tour. that was my first big job. i loved him and i was really sad a couple years ago when he passed. >> but that's fun. >> instead of giving everyone a

little gift, you can donate to their favorite charity. take the time to find out what charity is close to each person's heart and give a little donation. it doesn't have to be big, $5 is enough. write up a card, put it on this tree and they pull it out and -- >> and another thing to read. it says for the holidays i've made a donation in your name to project als. you don't have to say how much it is. i'm taking it back. we finalize with this. >> you don't want your guests to leave empty handed. set up a candy store at the door. put them pretty jars. have some scoops and some bags and they can fill them up on their way out and take a little bit of the celebration home with them. >> very cute. >> that's a real nice idea. >> hope holidays to you and everyone at "in style" magazine. up next the barefoot professor who might just convince you shoes are hadzous to your health. i hope had he a pedicure. plus a performance from broadway's "rain" after this.

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plaque buildup in arteries. crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. i love it when we're here together. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. you know what they say, if the shoe fits, wear it? well there's at least one guy who believes boots weren't made for dancing and shoes weren't made for walking. your bare feet were and that's

it! >> daniel howell is an associate professor of biology at liberty university and author of "the barefoot book -- 50 great reasons to kick off your shoes." >> welcome, welcome, welcome. i hear you had trouble getting on the plane or something, you came here from virginia because were you barefoot. >> yeah, i was getting on the plane in roanoke, virginia. i was on the plane in my seat, buckled up and the flight attendant asked me if i had shoes. said, no, i don't have any shoes. she asked me two or three times. i think she could not believe i didn't have shoes. and walked away for a few minutes, came back and said you have to leave the plane. >> why would that be? >> but you're also on your way here and it's freezing here. what do you do about being in the cold once you get here? >> well, the cold is not that -- your feet adapt to the terrain and weather. i can handle 30s, 20s even if it is dry. don't like cold wet but dry wet i can handle. dry cold i can handle. >> where did all this come from? >> oh, my goodness. i started running barefoot and barefoot running is just taken off these days as a craze in the last year, it's taken off.

i started barefoot running. i've been transformed by it. >> you've run over 2,000 miles. >> injury-free. >> you believe it's just better for your feet, stronger arches. >> 90% of our foot problems in this country can be traced back to the shoe. they're ruining our arches, flat foot, fallen arches, bunions, plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, even up to the knee can be traced back to shoes. >> but you're not a rock star and i can't do what i do without these platforms right here. >> and we are vertically challenged, women, to begin with. >> but it is just in comparison to everyone else wearing three inches. >> what's the craziest thing somebody has said to you -- by the way, they made you go buy flip-flops? >> i had to get off the plane. i went to old navy. old navy has never discriminated against me in old feet. >> you had to put them through security. >> yeah. would you think in this day and age with shoe bombers that

barefoot passengers would be welcome. not at us airways. >> do you wear socks, ever? >> i don't own socks. i don't like them. >> when do you ever wear shoes? >> he has to when he teaches. >> at liberty university they have a shoe rule that requires me to wear shoes. >> what about restaurants? no shoes, no shirt, no service? >> if they won't serve me i'll go somewhere else. there are lots of places that will take me with my feet and places that won't, i'll just take myself and my money somewhere else. >> but you go into public rest rooms with bare feet. >> i don't like public rest rooms. i avoid them. >> please don't pee pee outside. >> no, i do try to avoid rest rooms. other than the yuckiness of them, they're not totally dangerous. they're just kind of yucky. >> you're a very unusual man. >> i am. >> but i like that in a guy. nice to see you. thank you very much for sharing. i feel so guilty about these shoes. i had two operations on my feet. >> i have to wear shoes. up next, you probably never

wished for rain until now. a live performance from broadway's beatles tribute by the same name right after this. that pledge under your sink isn't just a great way to clean wood. pledge is also gentle on leather. safe on stainless. missed a spot. great for shining motorcycles... wood? come on. it's pledge. car seats and dashboards. hey there! it cleans laminate furniture... or whatever that was. even granite. today, pledge shines a whole lot more than just end tables. it's your pledge now. [ female announcer ] sc johnson, a family company. it's your pledge now. 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.™ ♪

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>> announcer: the "toyota concert series" on "today" -- brought to you by toyota. in 1964 the beatles invaded america and ever since, their music has touched countless fans. now fans of all ages are flocking to the neil simon theater here in new york to see "rain" a tribute to the beatles on broadway. >> the pmusicians that rereate the music of john, paul, george and ringo are here.c reate the music of john, paul, george and ringo are here.reate the music of john, paul, george and ringo are here. >> you guys are having great

success. the producer said they're extending you guys through january 9th and they'd probably extend you even further except you're going on the road. right? >> that's the big news is that we are extending. we are going to be here on broadway so details are to be announced but, yeah, it is good news. >> now where did the name come from, "rain"? because sheryl and i both couldn't remember that say. >> the "b" song to "paperback writer." "when the rain comes they might as well be dead." >> the beatles have been together a long, long time. is something you started just to cover beatles songs. you're far more than that. >> the band has its origins as the original band called "reign" as in reign of a king. music like 10cc and other beatle

influences music. they included a beatle set in their live show and it became popular and that's what they became. >> who is more popular still after all this time. >> has anybody come to see it like ringo or paul? >> not yet. some day we would love that. >> do they know about it? >> i think they probably do. i hope they know what we do, we do out of respect and love for all that they created and all that had he methey mean to fell fans. >> you couldn't do the work if you weren't true fans yourself. today you're going to sing "let it be." well "let it be," rain. paul, you're still cute. ♪ when i find myself in times of trouble ♪ ♪ mother mary comes to me

♪ speaking words of wisdom ♪ let it be ♪ and in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me ♪ ♪ speaking words of wisdom let it be ♪ ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ whisper words of wisdom let it be ♪ ♪ and when the broken hearted people living the world agree there will be an answer ♪ ♪ let it be ♪ though they may be departed there is still a chance that they will be ♪ ♪ there will be an answer let it

be ♪ ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ yeah there will be an answer ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ yeah let it be ♪ whisper words of wisdom ♪ let it be ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be yeah let it be ♪ there will be an answer let it be ♪ ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ let it be ♪ yeah let it be ♪ whisper words of wisdom let it be ♪ >> beautiful! beautiful! "rain" will be extended past january 9th -- you are being extended past january 9th.

details will be announced soon. back with more of "today" on nbc. congratulations!

our toy drive has already shipped out hundreds of thousands of gifts to very deserving children all over the country. without the help of our again russ viewers, many of these children who have no presents at all for holidays. >> i hate to even think about that. one very generous organization is amway. joy hartwig is here to tell us all about it. >> amway is an awesome company and they've been involved helping us here at "today" show for how long? >> we're excited to have participated for the last five years. >> we're so grateful and we're going to make you hold to it for the next 50. >> and we will do that. >> i know the company's doing very, very well. >> this year we're giving gifts that really focus on pre-teens and teens which during the holidays are actually

underserved demographic for holiday gift giving. we have gifts -- items such as jewelry, games, and different kinds of other things that really focus on that preteen group. >> that's awesome. you think about everybody thinks what little kids want but a 14-year-old girl -- they just want to feel like they matter. that they're special, too. >> absolutely. and this is actually a great fit with amway's one-buy-one campaign for children where independent business owners and employees have donated over 1.3 million hours to help and give hope to over 7 million children and they've also donated about $112 million since the program's inception in 2003. >> in my mind that's a reason why companies don't do well. when it is a philanthropic company that knows how to give, it's just -- it keeps reaping the harvest year after year. >> holidays are just a fabulous time for the company. because every year the company adopts very special cause, such

as giving away a truck load of sporting equipment to a youth home or something like that. >> i've grown to love the family. you can tell them they can adopt me any time they want. the van andels. give it up, everybody, for sheryl crow. see you monday. give it up, ever sheryl crow. see you monday.

>> announcer: this is an nbc news special report. here is lester holt. >> good afternoon. president obama is in

afghanistan, a surprised trip that took place in great secrecy overnight. air force one touched down at bagram air field just after 10:30 eastern time this morning. and after speaking to afghan president karzai by phone and visiting the military hospital at the base, the president addressed the troops within the past hour. he told them, americans are united in support for them. >> -- and we will never let this country serve as a safe haven for terrorists who would attack the united states of america again. that will never happen. >> chuck todd is at the white house for us. chuck, we had expected to hear from the president on the new unemployment numbers, and here he shows up in afghanistan. it reminds us how much is on his plate these day squoos absolutely, look, he's got a battle both on the domestic and international front. this trip, by the way, lester, was one the white house had planned at some point, wanting do this between thanksgiving and christmas. the president referenced the holiday