good morning. the cost to you -- the showdown over taxes as the president and the parties battle in washington. with time running out, will you end up paying the price? wikileaks warning -- the defiant founder of the explosive site vowing to release more secret documents, even if he's arrestedkilled. and tour du force, natalie portman's performance in "black swan" is generating oscar attention. swan" is generating oscar attention. today, sunday, december 5, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning and welcome to "today" on a sunday. >> i'm erin burnett in for jenna wolfe. >> we are going to ask, could somebody be using your social security number? we have a stunning new report on identity theft that says one in seven americans is being ripped off. we'll tell you what you need to know coming up. plus, making a comeback. tiger woods dominating golf again, poised to win his first tournament since hithe tabloid headlines. and how americans are making it out of harm's way. wounded warriors on a flying hospital. >> can't wait to see that. here comes al, working on a sunday, stopping by to talk

about his mystery novel set in the world of late night television. he'll also tell us about the awareness of alzheimer's disease. it will be good to see al on a sunday. >> we're thrilled to have him here today. we want to begin with the battle over the so-called bush-era tax cuts. the white house and congress are fighting over how to deal with it. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the clock is ticking on the bush-era tax cuts and tempers are running high. some hope a partisan clash in congress can yield a bipartisan compromise within a few days. >> president obama arriving home with the dawn after his surprise trip to afghanistan. later at mid-day, offering his first reaction to the latest bad news on unemployment. >> despite 11 consecutive months of private sector job growth. despite creating more than one million private sector jobs this year, it's not enough.

>> reporter: the big issue now -- taxes. with rates for all americans set to go up at the end of the month, the fight in congress spilled over into the weekend. >> you new yorkers think you can make us mid westerners look bad. >> reporter: voting on keeping rates lower for middle class. >> let us not give tax breaks to the millionaires and billionaires who have never had it so good. >> reporter: republicans say any tax hike would be a blow to a still fragile economy. >> we feel you should not raise taxes on anybody during a recession. >> reporter: a solid wall of republicans, joined by a handful of democrats, voted no. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: leaving supporters short of the 60 votes needed to pass. with the outcome never in doubt, republicans called it a waste of time. >> until the partisan votes have been cast, then and only then will people sit down to negotiate how to resolve the issue. >> reporter: those negotiations are already under way.

with top administration officials meeting with congressional leaders behind closed doors. many expect mr. obama to agree to a temporary extension of cuts for the wealthy, coupled with the rerenewal of unemployment benefits. with the senate votes out of the way, the president called for quick fwreemt with republicans. >> it will require compromise. i'm confident we can get it done. >> reporter: with the jobless rate a top concern the president touted a break through with south korea. potentially the biggest of its kind since nasa. >> all told, this agreement including the korean services market will support at least 70,000 american jobs. >> reporter: erin, the key is the extension of unemployment benefits. at midnight last tuesday they expired for some 2 million out of work americans. the president and white house aids letting it be known they will insist on extension if they are to agree to extend tax cuts

for the wealthy. >> mike, thank you very much. let's talk about this now. can a deal be reached this week? david gregory from "meet the press." great to see you. interesting that you have the democrats trying to push a vote here. i guess to make republicans look bad that they couldn't get the tax cuts extended. do you think the democrats succeeded? >> well, not necessarily. i think they took a vote they wanted to take. a lot of liberals -- a position they wanted them to stick to and will be disappointed if the president does deal on the extension of the tax cuts. look, something you report on every day. the president is being told by his own advisers, look, you can't afford uncertainty in the marketplace, especially with the job market, unemployment creeping up to 9.8%. if people think tax rates are going up, you have problems. take it off the table now. get extra help for the unemployed which is what the president is insisting on and take it off the table and the

president may be able to position himself as a fiscal conservative on some of the debates coming newspaper the new year over the deficit. >> what do you think the compromise will be here? will it be extended for everyone for the foreseeable future? >> i think one to two years is more likely. those are big distinctions. whether it's one, two, three. that will be part of it. it depends on how large the pot of money is to extend unemployment benefits as well. what the president wants to do is say, look, the government needs to pump more money directly into the economy to try to help the job market because there is so much uncertainty. so we want to do that. we want to deal with the uncertainty by extending tax rates, hopefully freeing up more hiring as we move forward. so i think those will be the major pillars. the added benefit of that, perhaps, is that they get a vote to ratify the s.t.a.r.t. treaty

on nuclear arms with russia and a vote to continue funding the government. that's the most to be accomplished in this lame duck session. >> thank you very much, david gregory. we'll see you later on. >> thanks, erin. >> willy is at the news desk with headlines for us. good morning. >> good morning. good to see you this morning. we begin with wikileaks as the organization fights to stay online. the founder is threatening to release more damaging documents, perhaps involving my jurajor corporations. peter alexander has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. it's been one month to the day since julian assange last appeared publically. he remains defiant and now is prepared to unleash a huge array of uncensored documents, even if his website is shut down or if he is arrested. the british newspaper, the sunday times, says tens of thousands of assange's supporters have downloaded a massive, heavily encrypted file

described on the wikileaks site as insurance and believed to contain documents on bank of america, bp and guantanamo bay. to reveal them, all assange has to do is release the code. the paper report that is the pentagon isn't certain what's in the files and that computer experts acknowledge it is unlikely the u.s. could break the code. meanwhile the latest release details extensive internet hacking operations suspected of originating in china. >> thank you, peter. two teenage brothers have been arrested in israel, suspected of starting a bonfire that sparked the worst wildfire in that country's history. 41 people have been killed. american firefighting planes arrived saturday to join the international battle against the flames. firefighters hope to have the blaze under control later today. two men were stabbed, two police officers injured in a brawl before saturday's football game between cross town rivals usc and ucla.

dozens of fans fought in the parking lot of the rose bowl stadium in pasadena, several hours before kick-off. the stabbing victims are in fair condition. three people have been arrested. finally, susan boyle said she never wanted to be a star. we're guessing she'll accept the pay that comes with the job. the sunday times of london reporting today that boyle is now worth more than $17 million, just 18 months after she was discovered on kwo"britain's got talent." her album reached number one in 28 countries. her latest album opened at the top of the charts. that's the news. now back to lester, erin and scott. guys, she says all she wants to do with the money is get her teeth fixed. she can't think of anything else she needs. >> good for her. great story. >> all right. scott williams from weather channel, as advertised, out on the plaza with a check on the forecast. chilly, but not so bad.

>> absolutely. good morning. it's chilly on the plaza. signs of the holiday season all around us here. it is cold, but not stopping the folks from coming out this morning. tell us your name. where are you from? >> i'm tara from san francisco. >> i'm catherine from wheaton college. >> are you staying warm? >> trying. >> hot chocolate and lots of coffee. two-thirds of the nation think temperatures are good. 15 to 20 degrees below average for is time of year. 5 degrees in minneapolis. chicago, good morning. 22 degrees. 31 in raleigh and even in south florida in the upper 50s. an arctic blast indeed. highs around chicago today of 31. we'll keep the temperatures frigid into the deep soult. . at's a look all right. good morning, happy sunday to you. a couple of rain drops yesterday around the bay area. this is all we have left. what you see on the radar right now. not a whole lot. most of it is into the central valley and we have snow in the

sierra. as we go through the afternoon, though, the second storm is ready to come in. most of the second storm is going to be an afternoon event. this afternoon, close to 6, 7, 8, 9:00, 10:00 is when the heavier rain comes in. most of the day will be dry. the rest of the week ahead expect another rainy day on thursday. >> right here, say hi. hi. all right. that's a look at your latest weather. back to you. you. >> thank you very much. as many of you may know, we took this broadcast on the road to afghanistan. visiting with the troops and reporting on the status of the war, i ended my ten-day assignment there at the bagram military hospital, the same hospital president obama visited on friday. i returned home by way of germany on a very special flight, in the company of wounded warriors. >> reporter: thanksgiving night, two more soldiers are going home the hard way. the bagram airfield hospital, the last stop for the wounded on their way out of afghanistan.

inside, the staff can already see what kind of night it's going to be. >> i see five traumas there. this tells you, rpg blast? >> yeah. looks like a couple of traumas from the eastern part of afghanistan along the border. >> reporter: most of the wounded are first treated at field surgical hospitals, close to the battlefield. >> you know, you do what you can to initially stabilize and then maybe you do the second stage surgery, even third stage surgery while they are here in theater. >> reporter: next, it's on to germany where keith chumley is headed. >> we got hit. i got a little bit of -- >> reporter: shrapnel? >> up and down my legs, my waist. >> reporter: he was wounded by an ied blast while treating a soldier from an earlier attack. he's already talking about going back. a lot of people would say you have done enough.

you went to iraq, here. you have been wounded. why do you want to go back? >> it's like your second family. you don't want to leave them hanging. >> reporter: for now, he and 16 others are carried on stretchers, bussed to the flight line and taken aboard a c-17 cargo plane where a medical team awaits them. >> there is a lot of pride in taking our troops home. >> reporter: the plane designed to carry anything from tanks to pa are atroopers is designed for the mission. they are stacked three high, a flying hospital ward. a soldier wounded in war today has a 98% survival rate and will usually be back in the u.s. within three days. that compares to a 75% survival rate back in desert storm in the 1990s. wounded from afghanistan and iraq, all stop through this military hospital in germany which, since 2004, has treated

almost 13,000 battle injuries. what's the most difficult part of the job? >> our mission is to help them, but also send them back home so their family can see them, take care of them and be there. when they pass away here, that's the hardest for me is the family, the mothers and dads don't get to see them. >> reporter: the flight arrives on a snowy friday morning. the patients are bussed to lambstool. keith will spend at least a night here before heading to the states. while a 19-year-old corpsman is granted a simple request. >> we got your flags back. >> thank you. >> thank you for your service. >> reporter: you have to be proud of these young men. none of them was older than my own son. they are so young. they get to germany and, of course, parents then want to fly to germany to be with kids but they are only there for a day or two. they are told, wait, they are

coming back to the states. it's difficult for families to know they are almost home, but not quite there. >> it was amazing when you were talking about how they wanted to go back even after being injured. >> i saw the whole trip there everyone i talked to wanted to protect each other. they are there for each other. >> inspiring. >> up next, stolen identity. how do you know if someone is usfoe your sociaur sl itecnumbe? we'll talk about that right after this. woman: how do you go from saving to spending? fidelity helped us get to this point, and now we're talking about what comes next. man: we worked together to create a plan to help our money last. woman: so we can have the kind of retirement we want. now, you know how this works. just stay on the line. oh, yeah. fidelity investments. turn here.

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there is a good chance you could be being victimized by an identity thief. a new report says one of seven americans has had their social security number stolen. how do you protect yourself? bob sullivan has been reporting the story for msnbc.com. it is a stunning number, bob. people have multiple security numbers. can you explain how prevalent it is? it's shocking. >> reporter: it cuts a bunch of ways. there are 20 million people whose numbersville multiple names associated with them. there are 40 million numbers connected to multiple people. there are lots of situations where this could be relatively innocent -- a typo. it happens at the store when you enter a social security number. if they enter it incorrectly you could be in this database. there are 5 million cases where we are pretty sure there is fraud involved where numbers have three or more names attached to them.

for sconsumers there is no reliable way to find out. the way the credit bureaus, irs and other agencies work you are not allowed to see the secret life of your ssn. >> when do you find out? when you go to apply for a mortgage and find someone's taken your number and gotten credit in your name and not paid it back? >> even then you don't have the right to know. most people find out about it when they do something that interacts with the government like filing for unemployment and they are told we can't give it to you. you already work. then you have a sense that maybe someone is out there using your number. i have a couple suggestions for people. this is something you have to get a feel for. it is important that you check your annual credit report and have a look at that at annualcreditreport.com. of course you get the annual social security administration statements. but the most important thing is to pay close attention when at a government agency and maybe when applying for a new bank account you may get a funny look the

from a teller or someone at the bank that may say, did you live in another state? a question like that could be a hint that someone may be using your number. >> so be vigilant on that. it's amazing that you don't necessarily know. a lot of people find that shocking. there is no way that will change? >> not at the moment. finally, this study done by i.d. analytics, this is the first time we have seen how much of a problem it is. we have known about this special form of identity theft called ssn-only. this company is quantifying it. counting things is often the first step toward fixing things. one in seven americans are sharing their number and don't know it. >> thank you very much for bringing it to our attention. bob, thank you very much. still to come, holiday songs. what's your favorite? first, these messages.

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all right. mother nature listen up because we have a parade running through san jose downtown today, so shape up. it's good to have you with us this morning. i'm chris sanchez with craig herrera. we're watching for the san jose parade. >> don't rain on our parade today. it looks good. there's a window and looks like we'll be okay. couple scattered sthours that came through, but tonight is when the heavy stuff comes in. we have the radar and you can see most of the rain is in the central valley, snow across the

sierra. if we get anything this morning in the south bay it will be close to los gos and into the santa cruz mouns the storm is off the coast, off to our west and with the big upper low as that comes through later this afternoon, close to 3:00 and 4:00, the wind is going to pick up. it is going to be very gusty this afternoon. heavy rain at times. watch for some thunderstorms and as we go through the evening hours, some more of that rain. let me break it down for you. there's 9:00, look at san jose, don't see a lot of rain, by 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 that's when the heavy rain comes in. look at the yellows coming in, expect about an inch or so of rain from this storm through monday morning. expect this to be an afternoon event. there's your seven-day forecast. a dry day tuesday. more heavy rain on late wednesday into thursday. >> all right. thank you very much. tomorrow a federal panel in san francisco will hear arguments on california's same-sex marriage ban. the three-judge panel will meet for three hours of arguments which will be televised on

c-span. the ninth circuit is reviewing a lower court decision which ruled prop 8 unconstitutional. experts say it is likely that case will wind up at the supreme court. three judge package is made up of three men but their approaches vary widely. judge rhine hart of los angeles was appointed to the bench in 1908 by jimmy carter and considered the most liberal on the panel. michael hawk kins of phoenix was nominated by president clinton in 1994 and considered a moderate. then randy smith the newest judge on the panel was appointed by george w. bush in 2007, a life longe conservative and a graduate of brigham young university. tomorrow bay area lawmakers will call for tougher oversight of party busses, the clubs on wheels that are all the rage for teens and 20 somethings in the bay area. assemblyman jerry hill of san mateo will introduce a law to hold bus companies accountable for keeping booze out of the hands of anyone younger than 21.

they're not allowed to serve it but often they look the other way when the youngsters have it. built comes after the death of a teenager who drank with friends for hours on a party bus, then got behind the wheel of his car and crashed and died. the boy's parents say they are comforted knowing that their son's short life will have an impact. >> never liked being the center of attention, but i think he would feel good about this. >> party busses usually tricked out with dance systems and stripper poles do not fall under the alcohol laws for transportation companies. we have all the day's top news at 7:00 on today in the bay. os

♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> we have a great holiday crowd this morning. >> we have a special guest this morning. al roker joins us on sunday. he'll be here to talk about his latest mystery novel. we appreciate al coming in for us. [ cheers ] >> time to put a devastating sex

scandal behind him, tiger woods is set to win his first championship in a year. what would a victory mean? this is something he's been hoping for. >> we're watching to see if he can get back in the game. this is it. also, can't wait to see "black swan." this is a psychological thriller set in the ballet world. for the star of the film, natalie portman, it may be the role that earns her an oscar. lots of folks talking about it. more on the buzz surrounding the film coming up. >> first, some star power this morning. we have the star of the new movie "tron legacy" with us. nice to see you. good morning. if i didn't see it in 1982, what am i going to find? >> this one stands alone so well. i seen it the other day and it's unlike anything we have seen before. it's just fantastic. a high tech thrill ride.

>> takes you into the world of a video game. the first movie came out before you were born. >> yes. >> when you saw the film, how did you project your image on the new version? >> you just rely on bridges for that. it's so incredible to work with him. such an incredible opportunity. "the dude." he's such an inspiration, a brilliant actor. that's a fantastic journey. >> it's not a normal action flick. how is it video game-y? >> i mean, you know, it's such a cool world. i think you just want to explore more of it. that's up to the fans. >> you also finished shooting "country strong." you have been a busy guy. >> as soon as we finished "tron" i started guitar training four or five days a week with the lead guitarist from ryan adams & the cardinals.

after a few months i was able to go to nashville and get up on stage to play, perform. >> great to have you here. hope you have time to enjoy the holidays. thanks for spending time with you. great to be in new york, isn't it? >> it's a wonderful sunday morning. >> "tron legacy" opens december 17th. >> scott williams has our next check of the weather. scott? >> thank you very much, lester. signs of the season all around us. we have the colder air and also, it's the season of giving and the 17th annual "today" show annual toy drive. we have the president of the hallmark gold crown. thank you very much for joining us. you are one of this year's donors. tell us why it was important to be a donor for hallmark this year? >> the hall family has been donating for years and we are celebrating our 100th university. we thought it would be a great year to start with "today" and the toy drive. we are donating $100,000 of

books and toys to the drive. >> you brought along a book. tell us about the recordable storybook. >> this is a best seller, our feature item. this is the recordable story book. it's a great item, something that you can record a story like "the night before christmas." it's a great gift when you're not present. great for military families, grandmas and grandpas to leave a voice behind after christmas. we just had a fantastic reaction to the book. >> thank you very much. jack moore. you can donate here in person at "today" or at the nbc experience store as well and online at good morning to you. a break from the rain, at least for now. we will have some heavy rain tonight. the san jose holiday parade gets started at 9:00 a.m. we should have a break just for the parade. as we go through the afternoon hours the storm you see on the satellite will start to come in. as it comes in this afternoon, the wind will pick up. it will be gusty at times. we'll watch for some

thunderstorms possible and heavy rain and snow in the sierra, highs mainly into the 50 or 60s rather, and then as we go through next week more rain on thursday. we have friends of nbc news president steve kapas here this morning. where are you from? >> chester springs, p.a. >> what's your name? >> renee, connie. >> riley. >> kelsey. >> thank you very much for joining us. now let's go to you, erin. >> thank you very much, scott. it's one of the most critically praised films of the year and "black swan" is getting oscar attention for natalie portman's role as a troubled ballerina. here's more on the film. good morning, mara. >> good morning. "black swan" hasn't even opened nationwide and critics are already saying it could be an oscar contender. it is about the world of ballet, a captivating art form with a side few ever see. ballet, elegant, graceful,

mesmerizing, but the new film "black swan" portrays the dark side of that beautiful world. >> attack it! attack it! >> reporter: on the surface, a movie about classical dance, the film is a deep psychological thriller about the anguish of a prima ballerina. >> our new swan queen, nina sayers. >> reporter: natalie portman plays the innocent and naive nina who reaches her lifelong dream when tapped for the lead in "swan lake" but the dream becomes a nightmare as she faces a tough director, a complex rival and her own inner demons. >> what you think will be a film about dancing, driving ends up being a gruesome horror film. >> reporter: it's a raw depiction of the mental and physical suffering beneath the beautiful costumes and choreography. it's already being hailed as a potential oscar contender, not

without reason. "black swan" shares the same director as "the wrestler," another no holds barred movie about a suffering performer. critics say the film draws a similarly stellar performance from portman and a complexity audiences have never seen before. >> natalie portman has to go through the stages of acting and she does it so well. >> reporter: it is an extremely physical role. portman, herself a ballerina until age 12, trained up to eight hours a day for a year with professional instructors, losing 20 pounds and working, at times, with a dislocated rib. >> you see the beautiful image. underneath it is some really, really grotesque detail. >> reporter: portman performs most of the dancing in the film herself. an actress reaching new heights while learning firsthand about the contradictions of ballet. "black swan" has been getting oscar buzz since it opened at

the venice film festival in september. we'll see if the buzz is true when the nominations are announced. erin? >> i can't wait to see that one. >> reporter: it looks terrific. >> up next -- ♪ >> this man, al roker is stopping by to talk about his new book after this. ] i don't want to feel depressed. [ woman #2 ] i'd like to enjoy things again. [ woman #3 ] i feel these aches and pains. [ woman #4 ] the guilt. [ man ] my sleep just isn't right. [ woman #5 ] i'm so anxious. [ man #2 ] i need to focus. [ female announcer ] depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk.

severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. talk to your doctor and go to cymbalta.com to learn about an offer to help you get started. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. [ breathes deeply, wind blows ] something wrong with your squeegee, kid? uh, i'm a little sick. sick?! you gonna let a sore throat beat you? you're fearless! ahhhhhhhhh! atta boy! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. al roker has done it again. our friend and colleague has written another mystery novel.

this time he's taking us inside the world of late night television with "the midnight show murders." good to have you here on weekend today. you're normally watching the show in your jammies. >> or we're on the way to church. >> you had a telethon bringing awareness to alzheimer's disease. how did you get involved in that. >> a friend was involved with the alzheimer's association of america. they said, this is getting big. would you be involved in the telethon, help us raise money and awareness for alzheimer's? look, we all know somebody who's been affected by it. 5.1 million americans have it. it's the caregivers that are a big problem. these folks, it's emotionally, physically draining and financially draining for them. we want to get people's awareness levels up. not only is alzheimer's something that there is no cure now, but if you are a caregiver there is help out there. >> you're incredibly busy. you are working the today show,

your own production company, the telethon. how do you find time to write a novel? >> i've loved mysteries from the time i read the hardy boys and sherlock holmes. this has been noodling in my mind. either somebody involved in morning tv who gets involved in crimes. if he happened to be bald, black, stocky, well, what the heck? >> and the same character has moved to l.a. with a talk show. >> he's been asked to take a little break from his morning show duties to help host, be the sidekick of a new late night talk show. first night the host is murdered and the police determine that probably billy, chef billy blessing, our hero, was probably the intended victim. he's trying to find out who wants him dead and why. >> you will love this. james patterson said, "this is a funny, funny, very funny mystery that gallops along and has several cool twists."

maybe al roker should quit his day job. >> many people have suggested the last part. >> this one's a compliment. >> exactly. james patterson, that's high praise indeed. the idea was that people have a good time with this. there are mysteries out there that the murders are grisly, gruesome. i want people to feel as good as they can about murder. >> that's the takeaway from the interview. >> we want you to feel better about murder. hopefully you feel better when you finish the book than when you started it. >> next, daytime? >> or cable news. many cable news hosts deserve to die. we want to take them out. >> that's the next segment. where do you get your ideas? >> i work with a great mystery writer dick watke. he's terrific. i ask what he thinks. he gives me guidance and he's a

terrific plotter. you look in the headlines. it's a fun version of "law & order" in a sense. >> right. >> the late night talk shows have been in the news for a year for obvious reasons. you know, you move to day time and cable news. that's in the headlines now a lot. we'd like to go where the news is. >> great stuff. here's al with another check of the weather. i'm kidding. >> i panicked. >> al, thank you very much. just ahead, will a win for tiger on the course change his reputation? we'll find out. but first, these messages. [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back.

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this morning the return of tiger woods. following the sex scandal that

nearly destroyed his career, the golfer is on the verge of winning his first tournament in a long time. ron mott reports. >> reporter: after driving his personal life into crisis last thanksgiving, tiger woods says he has a new perspective off and on the course, just as flashes of the old dominating golfer are once again outshining the competition. >> that looks like the tiger of old. >> reporter: today he's poised to win his first tournament, the first since a scandal involving sexual trysts. his wife divorced him and some of his endorsement deals went by the wayside as well. some said his image would be sullied forever, others said there was an immediate fix -- a cure-all to help all forgive and forget. >> third birdie in a row for tiger woods. >> if he wins the tournament, no

matter how many people are in the field, it will be enormous for him. >> reporter: woods returned at the masters following a dramatic nationally televised apology. >> i'm sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior. >> reporter: the former number one golfer played nothing like the old tiger missing fairways, putts and drawing doubt about whether topping the championship record was possible. now with his game seemingly back in order the watch and the tiger buzz resume. sure to sell more tickets, tv ratings are sure to grow when he's playing. >> i would imagine he'll be not only intimidating but every bit as popular as he was before. >> reporter: from down and out to atop the leader board, a comeback falling into place. for "today," ron mott, nbc news. >> you can watch tigern the final round of the chevron world challenge on nbc starting at 3:00 p.m. eastern. lester? back to you.

>> this morning on countdown to christmas, holiday wines. no matter what's for dinner we have the perfect gift to go with it. we have the executive wine editor from food & wine magazine. great to have you here. >> great to be back. >> folks will be serving a meal. >> what's the ideal wine to make everybody -- >> can we start with ham? you like a sparkling wine? >> anything salty goes great with sparkling wine. the bubbles and tartness works well with salty food. ham, no matter how you cook it there will be salt there. two options. one, go with a great classic champagne. this is a 2003. that's $60. that's the best, we'll have a wonderful christmas. >> is there a less expensive option? >> there is. this is a terrific sparkling wine which is $20 a bottle. >> right. >> it's also lovely. >> but it brings out the ham?

>> it brings the flavor out. then turkey, we have all just finished having a lot of turkey, but at the end of the holidays there is a lot of turkey coming up. this is from kendall jackson. they have always had the vintner's reserve chardonnay. this is less oaky, lighter and crisper. >> let me taste. you want something crisp with turkey. >> yeah. turkey's not a really, really flavorful meat so you don't want to bulldoze over it. that's crisp, light. goes well with it. >> we have pork chops? >> yeah. >> that's difficult. it's the other white meat? i always think of red with that. >> you could go red. you could do a boujelais or something. but it goes well with a bodied white wine. this riesling is $20 a bottle

from alsace. >> is it sweet? >> they can be, but this one's dry. >> it is very dry. i think of riesling as sweet. >> if you have a fruit chutney or come poet, riesling is a great combination. >> now we have lamb. >> these are the reds. >> lamb can be gamey. >> it can be. you want a wine that has gameyness itself, earthy funk to it. siraz is the answer to me. it's great with lamb. they have a peppery spice and that goes fantastically. this is syrah from down in the santa barbara region. it has kind of -- >> yeah. >> it's earthy and goes well. >> i can see it. >> it's torture looking at this.

>> i know. this is really unfair. finally, tenderloin, classic thing for any holiday meal. cabernet and steak of any kind is a classic. hello. >> any sort of wine and she shows up. it's a strange thing. >> here you go. >> talking wine. >> why not? >> the robustness of cabernet, classic napa valley wine. if you are having tenderloin spend money on the wine, too. it's just spot on napa cabernet. >> do you realize how difficult it is for folks to find the right wine? it's key. >> it is. the other thing about finding wine is that a lot of people worry about making mistakes. wine, by its nature, goes well with food. it's hard to make a mistake where everybody will get up from

the table and walk off and say, you know, that's it for you, pal. we're never coming back. there is a lot of leeway. this will bring out the flavor. >> we appreciate you being here. >> thanks. >> what's on your holiday st playlist? we'll find out after these messages. nture card we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a maze, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet? [ pony ] she had a fever yesterday. [ elephant ] well, her pediatrician recommended new triaminic fever reducer syrup. [ dog ] so she'll feel better! [ female announcer ] with the #1 doctor recommended ingredient to help bring down children's fever...

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♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ >> what else the holidays be without songs like that? we thought it would be fun to share some of our personal favorites. ♪ jingle bell ♪ jingle bell rock >> dave brubeck. wonderful classic pianist.

my favorite things. whitney houston does "joy to the world." it's not just -- it's a gospel version. it's a get up, clap and praise the lord in church kind of thing. ♪ ring, are you listening ♪ ring, are you listening >> that's all we can remember. >> i'm jewish. i love the adam sandler "here comes hanukkah" song. i like the old school holiday songs that new age artists created like bruce springsteen when he went crazy. ♪ santa claus . that one. i really enjoy the mariah carey -- ♪ all i want for

christmas is you ♪ >> i can't sing but she can. ♪ jingle bells ♪ jingle all the way >> any time i hear alvin & the chipmunks, i remember as a kid that was one of my favorites. nothing said christmas like dave seville going "alvin"! ♪ joy to the world ♪ the lord has come >> i like james taylor, jazz stuff. i like traditional christmas carols a lot. one of my all time favorites is "the nutcracker." ♪ dreidel, dreidel ♪ you made it out of clay >> i love the old school christmas songs with the deep, ras pi voices. some of my favorites, chest nuts roasting on an open fire, rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. ♪ rudolph the red-nosed

reindeer ♪ ♪ had a very shiny nose >> like pinocchio? like a lightbulb! >> my personal favorite, bing crosby featuring david bow by "the little drummer boy." >> "christmas in hollis" run dmc. mom's cooking chicken and collard greens. ♪ merry christmas and happy new year ♪ >> nothing says christmas like run dmc. >> got a favorite? >> chestnuts roasting on an open fire. >> and the charlie brown one. >> vince guaraldi. thanks for sharing e everybody. david gregory is here to tell us about "meet the press." >> the president makes a surprise trip to afghanistan as

the jobless rate creeps up to 9.8 in november. no deal on taxes or unemployment benefits. this morning republican leader of the senate mitch mcdonnell and senator john kerry. and our political roundtable is coming up on "meet the press." >> thank you very much, david. >> i brought my family here for the holidays to celebrate. my sister, lauren and julia. >> great to have you here. >> celebrate christmas. >> we want to thank scott and willy for being here. thanks for sharing your music choices. next week, the rockettes perform life on the plaza and we have the holiday gift guide as well. >> good to be here. >> see you later tonight on nbc "nightly news." so long, everybody. "nightly news." so long, everybody. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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