good morning. winter blast -- a blizzard in the midwest is followed by ice, rain and plunging temperatures that will put much of the country in a deep freeze. how long will it last? >> madoff he turned in his father and now the son of the financer who swindled billions from investors takes his own life. what drove him to it? >> and royal smiles -- new photos of prince william and kate middleton show a side of the royals we rarely get to see. "today," sunday, december 12, the royals we rarely get to see. "today," sunday, december 12, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning. welcome to "today." >> those photographs were all over the london newspapers. nice to see them looking happy. it's been a busy month in london. >> they are a great-looking couple. this is a casual look. they are affectionate and we'll show you more of them. >> and spontaneous, too. >> that's a great shot. >> weren't posing at all. then we head to washington where president obama is under fire from his party after reaching a deal with republicans on the tax cuts. many democrats are blasting the compromise saying the president caved into the gop. we're going to talk more about it with david gregory who will join us in a moment. >> look who's camping together. sarah palin and kate gosselin. the former governor and the mother of eight are two of the biggest reality stars on tv. tonight they appear in the same

episode. as you will see they have plenty in common and they are armed. there is a big bear there. we'll have more coming up. >> plus, the final installment of our "today" teen idol series. for me it was michael j. fox. do you think? wasn't just my idol. this guy was my heart throb, the one i thought i would one day marry. didn't work out for me that way, but i am still quite a fan and those are all mine. that's actually not my apartment right now, just in case anybody -- >> when you see that many clippings it looks like the beginning of a hostage note. >> one restraining order and the guy's crazy. >> you're labeled for life. looking forward to that. we want to start with the weather affecting folks this morning. it began with a blizzard in the midwest. the worst is yet to come for a lot of molson canadiafolks. michelle franzen starts us out.

>> reporter: whiteouts and wipeouts as a wintry blast barrelled across the upper midwest and plain this is weekend. in minneapolis, many snowbound drivers ended up spinning their wheels. for the twin cities, it is the snowiest december day on record. nearly 14 inches and still counting. early on, transportation officials urged residents to stay home, and many stocked up on food and supplies before getting snowed in. >> i don't think we're going to leave the house. >> reporter: blowing snow closed airports and slowed the new york giants' travel plans to the twin cities for sunday's game against the vikings. giants spokesman pat hanlon posted a photo on twitter showing players stuck in kansas city for the night. this major storm is expected to leave its mark as it moves east, it is the latest sign winter is here in a big way. near hagerstown, maryland, on friday, snowy conditions triggered a multi-vehicle crash on i-70 injuring seven, including children. in the pacific northwest, a massive snowstorm in washington state closed parts of i-90 as snow plows tried to keep up. for "today," michelle franzen,

nbc news, new york. >> as you just saw, minneapolis took a direct hit from this major storm. the weather channel's scott williams joins us now from the snowbound city. scott, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, jenna. here in minneapolis and in particular at the metrodome there is breaking news. there has been a compromise of the actual dome due to the weight of the heavy snow that accumulated late last night. over a foot of snow has fallen here in the twin cities and that, combined with the wind, has caused some tears in the roof of the actual metrodome itself. the vikings stuck in kansas city. inclement weather caused treacherous conditions. no word officially on if that game is likely to still be played on monday night because of the weather because now we are hearing that the roof has collapsed and some of the snow has actually fallen onto the mall of america field. we are also dealing with the

bitter cold here in minneapolis. that's it. now back to you. >> all right, scott. thank you very much for being out there this morning. where is the storm headed and how long will the deep freeze last? we'll bring in meteorologist mike bettes for that and more. mike? >> on top of the snow in the twin cities the numbers do not lie. it is really frigid out there. look at the temperatures and some of the wind chills. places like international falls, 37 degrees below zero. that cold blast works its way today all the way into the deep south. memphis at 32. chicago, minneapolis, atlanta tomorrow, not even hitting the freezing mark. guess what. tuesday into wednesday it's all on the march as we head eastbound, staying cold in the northeast as well. another look at the forecast coming up in a few minutes. now back to you. >> all right, mike. thanks. now here's lester. all right, jenna. now to the suicide of bernie madoff's son. his body was found on the second anniversary of his father's arrest for that massive ponzi scheme. scott cohen joins us with more.

>> reporter: good morning, lester. mark madoff was facing growing legal and emotional pressure over his father's crimes. on saturday, he took his own life. sources say 46-year-old mark madoff was increasingly distraught as the two-year anniversary of the scandal approached. early saturday morning his father-in-law found madoff hanged with a dog leash in his new york city apartment. madoff's 2-year-old son was sleeping in the next room. >> mark madoff was found hanging from a pipe in the living room of the apartment. >> reporter: madoff and his younger brother andrew turned their father in to authorities after he confessed, but the sons were never able to escape suspicion that they, too, were in on the scam, which they denied. a year ago the bankruptcy trustee in the case sued, demanding mark madoff return some $67 million in illegal payments to the victims saying madoff knew, should have known about or deliberately disregarded the fraud. then just days ago the trustee

filed another suit naming madoff's wife, ex-wife and their two children. while mark madoff was never charged with criminal wrongdoing, speculation continued to grow, including a wall street journal article posted online friday night. overnight, madoff began sending e-mails to his wife who was vacationing with their 4-year-old daughter in florida saying he loved her and asking her to take care of the children. the last e-mail came around 4:00 a.m. ronni sue ambracino who lost $1.7 million in the fraud says the death is sad. >> when everything that you have worked for is taken away from you like that, it's very -- on top of the financial loss it's really frustrating to not know who, how, why, how long and in two years the victims haven't heard any of those answers.

>> reporter: the death comes on the final day to file claims in the case. >> he's facing pressures on all sides -- civil arena and the criminal side. obviously it's not easy having the last name madoff. >> ruth madoff, reportedly living in florida is said to be heartbroken over her son's death. bernard madoff serving a 150-year sentence at a prison in north carolina was notified of the death saturday morning. his attorney would not say whether madoff would seek to attend his son's funeral. mark madoff's attorney calls his client an innocent victim of his father's crime. in fact mark madoff is the third suicide linked to the scandal. a new york investment adviser who lost millions of dollars of his client's money and a british soldier who lost all of his savings both took their own lives. lester? >> the two sons turned in madoff. what happened after? has there been any relationship? >> not with the father. we are told the last time mark

madoff spoke to his father was that day, december 10, 2008, the day bernie madoff confessed to his sons. after that, both for legal reasons and for obvious reasons there's been no contact. >> good to have you here. thank you very much. now here's jenna. all right, lester. thanks. now we switch gears to politics and the big week ahead for president obama in the fight over tax cuts. david gregory is the moderator of "meet the press." he joins us this morning. hey, david. >> good morning, jenna. >> let's get to the proposed tax package. the senate is expected to vote tomorrow. the house says they are not ready to vote. might the house miss an opportunity to get what they want before? >> well, the house democrats that i speak to in leadership say they are really going to attempt to try to change the deal somewhat and the big -- the poison pill for a lot of house democrats is the revisions being made on the estate tax that they think are patently unfair. nancy pelosi and others will try to introduce amendments. how much the bill will change,

whether it will go back to the senate in a different form, this is the process that grinds on this week. >> then there is also in-fighting among democrats. the president's base says he compromised too quickly on this issue, that he should have fought harder for what testimonies wanted. obama, on the other hand, said, i did all i could. in fact, he met with former president bill clinton who agreed with obama on this. >> right. >> if the deal passes as is because democrats didn't have the leverage to make changes will this sort of vindicate the president in some way? >> well, the president has been clear. this is not the deal he necessarily wanted but he felt it was a deal that had to happen because the alternative was too potentially costly to the economy. and even president clinton who was at the white house on friday said, look, you could have had the stand-off liberals wanted to try to push the issue with republicans and in the end, you could have had yet more uncertainty in the economy, more jobs lost, higher unemployment rate and the president felt and articulated, look, i'm not in a position to do that.

the economy is too precarious for that kind of political brinksmanship and we continuean afford it. >> the deficit is part of the reason the gop did as well as they did. here you have the republicans supporting the deal that would almost add a trillion dollars to the debt. how is that going to sit with republican voters? >> well, probably not well. there have been republican critics who said it makes it difficult for them to say, we get it. we're fiscally responsible. but i'll tell you, they got the extension of the tax cuts. that was important. that's something they campaigned on. second, it is an important point. whether or not you can have this kind of package that is stimulus that's a trillion dollars in new spending and the tax cuts but other things like payroll tax deductions and extension of unemployment benefits. how you do that and signal that you are serious about dealing with long-term debt. because in two years, in an election year do you think any

republican will not vote to extend it again? it becomes a question of taking on the debt. >> david, thank you. >> we want to check on other headlines. for that we say good morning to richard from msnbc. good morning.

a swedish news agency reports an e-mail threat before the blast referring to sweden's involvement in afghanistan. richard holbrooke is in critical condition after surgery to fix a tear in his aorta. he collapsed during a meeting with hillary clinton. president obama saying he and the first lady are praying for recovery there. and the drama was thick. few doubted auburn's cam newton winning the heisman but the ncaa saying his dad wanted pay for play. that cast a shadow. that's why cam didn't want to let go of mom as they hugged here. he got the fourth most first place votes in heisman history. and oprah conquered her fear of heights down under. she's seen scaling sydney's harbor bridge today with fans all dressed up. she gave the audience a trip to australia where she's taping two shows there and just like oprah she probably has a few surprises up her sleeve.

lester, jenna and mike, they are probably big surprises at that. >> we are taking our entire audience to 49th in the rain today. >> you get to go to 49th street! richard, you get to go to 49th street! >> and if you're lucky we'll go to 48th. >> ooh, field trip. this will be fun. >> mike, how areou? >> umbrellas, unfortunately. as long as we have those we're in good shape. nasty in the northeast, but the midwest dealing with wintry weather. blizzard warning in effect. drifts as high as six feet today with the wind. we have strong storms across the south staying the same today. bitterry cold in the north. very windy as well not to mention rain in the northw >> good sunday morning to you. we have patchy fog, misty skies in a few spots with 50s for the most part to get your day started. as we past lunch time patchy fog lingering with fog in the low to mid 60s. not a bad day for most of your

outdoor plans. we will finish on a dry note, showers dropping back into the forecast starting tuesday and then more rain late in the week. and that's a look at your weather. now here's lester and jenna. >> mike, thanks. up next, fighting to free her son held in iran for 500 days. josh fattal's mother joins us live right after this. fatell's live after this. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere.

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you can decorate with them, bake with them, even make holiday drinks, like our cranberry punch we call the festive sparkler. mm! festive. for all these reasons, we declare the ocean spray cranberry... the unofficial official fruit of the holidays. we'll probably get flak from the dates and figs. but no one can tell them apart, anyway. [ snickering ] for holiday tips and recipes, go to oceanspray.com. it was in july 2009 that iran seized three young american hikers, one of them, sarah shourd was freed in september, but shane bauer and josh fattal have been held prisoners for 500 days. laura is josh's mother and joins us. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> shane's mom cindy was going to be here but she was snowed in in minnesota.

both of you got good news this past month. you get calls on thanksgiving. >> yes, we did. cindy and i are soul mates. our sons have been detained for 17 months, so we are very much together. though cindy is not next to me this moment, we are together in this urgent plea to have shane and josh released. we were very relieved to get the phone calls november 27th. >> last time you saw them was may. you made the trip to iran. did you know the call was coming? >> we were hopeful that around thanksgiving we'd get a phone call, yes. >> tell me about the conversation with your son. >> for both of us, it was two separate calls for cindy and shane and myself and josh. in my home, my husband was home, my oldest son alex and sarah was visiting us that weekend. so we all got to tell josh how we were hoping and praying for him to be released and then gave him great hope. i know cindy and her family did it also. >> just a five-minute conversation. did you get a sense of conditions, how he's doing

physically andemotionally? >> the phone call haunts us. we found they are more isolated. we are happy about sarah's release, but it's one less person for them to talk to. >> you probably thought this would be over within days or weeks. we are at 500 days now. the trial has been delayed. it was supposed to start last month. where does it stand? >> it was delayed to early february. we want them home for the holiday season. we are yearning for them to be home for the holiday season. we just hope a humanitarian release similar to the way sarah was released could happen now. the families would be so grateful. >> i know you heard about ann curry's interview with a top iranian human rights official who suggested they may be open to the idea that the young men are innocent. that had to buoy your strength.

>> absolutely. we were very, very thrilled to hear this very important official from the islamic republic of iran speak about josh and shane. we are thrilled to believe that perhaps in the very near future both josh and shane can be home. 500 days is on monday. >> do you know anything about the evidence against them? >> no. our website, freethehikers.org documents what's been said about the case, but we know it is more than time. any investigations are over and we would be so grateful to have them released at this time. >> laura, thank you so much for coming. our thanks to cindy who wanted to be here as well. weather kept her home. we appreciate the time you have given us. >> oh, absolutely. i know cindy is just praying for shane to get home. the whole family is waiting for the holiday to be the most joyous holiday for us, too. much. >> we'll be right back with more after this. [ sneezes ] [ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest.

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still to come on "today," reality's perfect storm. kate gosselin and sarah palin in alaska together. >> first, these messages. [ coughing ] [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffles ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take?

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good morning to you. take a live look at the oracle arena. the raiders are playing out of town. for the rest of us, spare the air day. looks like you might not need to use your fire place to keep warm. here's rob with a look at the forecast into good sunday morning to you. we have patchy fog, misty skies in a few spots with 50s for the most part to get your day started. as we pass lunch time notice patchy fog lingering with highs climbing into the low to mid 60s in parts of the bay area. not a bad day for most of your outdoor plans today. we will finish the weekend on a dry note but plan on showers dropping back into the forecast,

starting tuesday, and then more rain late in the week. and new this morning, at least one man is in the hospital after an overnight shoot-out outside a pizza restaurant. a police spokesman says offic s officersed two men shoot at each other. police say one of the man who fired the shots is in custody. the second man was found a short distance away suffering a gunshot wound, under guard at a nearby hospital. his arrests could be coming. police say it is possible that injured man is the second suspect in the gun fight. officers say there was a large crowd gathered outside of the restaurant at the time of the shooting but no one else appears to have been injured in the shoot-out. the shoot-out comes after one person killed and four injured in another shooting in oakland. police found five men and women wounded by gunshots on international boulevard near ninth avenue. one of the victims tied at the scene. the other four are expected to

survive. so far police have not arrested anyone in connection with this shooting. police say the shooting appears to be unrelated to the gun battle near city hall and that pizza restaurant. and a month-long manhunt for a shast it ta county girl came to an end by chance this weekend in san francisco. it is the second missing child case in the city in as many days and ended with the safe return of a child. police found jean burrellinghoff near the sports basement store where the girl's cousin happened to be shopping. her only relative in san francisco. officers say the girl's cousin spoptsed the girl with her uncle and another man walking past the store yesterday afternoon. >> also the subsequent records check revealed the subject who is mr. charles burrellinghoff, 44-year-old male, is wanted out of shasta county for child abduction warrant.

this morning the uncle is behind bars charged with kidnapping his niece. the man responsible for recovering assets stolen by bernie may daughter is suing two accountants for $900 million. the court appointed trustee accuses the accountant and members of their family with covering up the actions of bernie madoff. persons closest to the madoff family says it may be one of the factors that led to the alleged suicide of mark madoff. most parents would love it if their kids turned out to be gold medal winning sports super stars. we'll take a look at how young at 7:00.

we're back on this sunday morning, december 12, 2010. it's a soggy, soggy, soggy, rainy, rainy sunday morning, but it's all good. we're not complaining. who are we to complain? we thank everyone for braving the rain on the plaza. i'm jenna wolfe along with lester holt. it must have just started. >> now you're complaining. >> i'm sorry. i am. >> it's a soggy apple today. >> but it's not bad, right? we're having fun. still to come, sarah palin and kate gosselin united together.

>> a couple huge tv stars teaming up for an alaska adventure like you have never seen before. the strong ladies will be portrayed as polar opposites but they have plenty in common. it's an interesting pairing. we'll tell you about it coming up. >> i know we are not complaining but if you will allow me -- it's pouring. >> it is. >> no! >> i'm sorry. i was just looking over there. >> not funny. >> i thought it was funny. >> i didn't. candid portraits. we saw pictures earlier. official pictures of prince charles and kate middleton show two different sides of the royal couple. there is an interesting back story to the pictures, so we'll tell you about them in a few minutes. >> then we continue the series on my first teen idol and it's your turn. >> you did the partridge family and amy did duran duran. mine was an obvious choice. michael j. fox. we remember "family ties," and "back to the future."

he was my absolute teen idol which is putting it mildly. i turned my bedroom into a shrine to the actor. my friends and family will tell you perhaps i might have gone just a little too far. who, me? no, never. it will be interesting to see. >> [ coughs ] stalker! sorry. >> wise guy today. i'll take the umbrella. >> first, today's toy drive is in full swing. this morning we are getting a special donation from remington hair products. joining us is celebrity hair stylist richard marin. >> i can only walk as fast as you. hey, how are you? >> good to see you. >> merry christmas. >> what do you have for us this. >> we have great items from remington. fashion printed flat straightener and blow dryers. we have carried these exclusively at target and target.com. we are excited to donate these to toys for tots. >> you absolutely need that in

this weather. you don't realize that, but it's okay. these are adorable. i haven't seen these before. this is your first time donating, right? >> it is. we specifically wanted to target the tween set. they are doing their own hair, creating styles on their own. these are fantastic. they are really just fun to look at and girls want to be inspired to create hair styles. >> thanks for taking part this year. >> thank you. >> we preach wait it. >> happy holidays. >> thanks for braving this. >> going to ask mike about the weather, but i think we know. >> let's turn this off. we have folks here from texas. >> whoo! >> can i assumes in not what you expected in new york. >> no, snow. >> having a good time? >> amazing. >> you saw this tree at rockefeller? >> yes. it's amazing. >> isn't it gorgeous? we want some snow on it. the snow has been in the midwest. record-setting conditions with huge snow and big time cold in places like minneapolis.

chilly, windy, snowy in chicago. the cold goes into the deep south. rain in the northeast. we can attest to that. as we go through the day tomorrow, more sunshine across the country than anything else. still blustery around the great lakes. we have snow falling in places like cleveland and pittsburgh back d good sunday morning to you. we have patchy fog, some misty skies in a few spots with 50s for the most part to get your day started and as we pass lunch time you'll notice patchy fog lingering with highs into the low to mid 60s in parts of the bay area. not a bad day for most of your outdoor plans today. we will finish the weekend on a dry note, but plan on showers dropping back into the forecast starting tuesday and then more rain late in the week. of course it's sunday and we have saints fans here.

whodat? let's get to the forecast. who are the saints playing today? >> st. louis. >> sunday night football in america, we have the philadelphia eagles at dallas cowboys. 37 to 41 degrees for the temperature. you know they have a beautiful new stadium. should be comfortable inside. enjoy the games. now here's lester. >> mike, thanks. it's a reality tv perfect storm tonight as two of tvs hottest families collide. kate gosselin and her brood join sarah palin and her crew in alaska for an outdoor camping extravaganza that's ratings gold. lee cowan reports. >> oh, my goodness gracious! >> reporter: you can probably guess how this turns out. a gun-toting sarah palin. >> that feels good. >> reporter: giving suburban mom kate gosselin a lesson in alaskan wild life. >> there's a bear on the floor.

was the tongue removable before? it is now. >> reporter: the plot is predictable. >> i'm freezing to the bone. i'm hungry. >> come on. it wasn't that bad. >> reporter: they're not exactly the odd couple because as much as tonight's show tries to make them appear to be polar opposites, in some ways they are very much alike. >> you could not be any more ex-ploy tif of the media than these women. they understand the media. they use the media. >> reporter: for sarah palin, the media is actually what emphasizes her brand. >> how's that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you? >> this is her way of reinforcing the message that she's part of regular america, part of the real america. >> reporter: kate gosselin is about as real as reality tv gets. >> i don't think you would see her bringing ms. gosselin on for "meet the press". >> reporter: she remains popular. the daily beast named her one of

the highest earning reality star this is year. >> whatever is worthy of my time, i give my all. >> every day they pop up. >> reporter: she's everywhere and like palin makes no apologies for putting the kids in front of the camera. >> it is in their best interest. it's wonderful for them. we would not be doing it if it wasn't. >> reporter: for palin the stakes are higher than the ratings. >> may not make her look presidential, but it gets attention. gets people talking about her. we're talking about her now. >> reporter: no doubt people will be talking and watching. but experts warn overexposure is a risk, too. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. >> reality paid off for the pair. for each episode palin earns $1 million while gosselin makes $250,000. here's jenna. >> thanks. this morning the official photos of prince william and kate middleton. they were taken just after the announcement of the royal engagement and they were shot by

princess diana's favorite photographer. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. it's been a difficult week for the royal family with the attack on prince charles and camilla captures and broadcast around the world. the week ended with a different set of images -- official engagement photos of william and kate. a couple in love, engaged to be married, snapped by celebrated photographer mario tostino, the fro tos were released last night. stark contrast of the images of charles and camilla caught in a riot. after the surprise attack on the royals during a street protest, the question now, does royal protection need to be stepped up? >> charles, how are you doing? >> the scrutiny the royals will be under after this event, everybody is now under scrutiny and how to protect our royal

family. >> reporter: what will william and kate make of this? william wanted the wedding to be a free-for-all celebration, inviting britain to party with them. >> they still want to plow ahead with making this the people's wedding. that remains to be seen whether he gets his way or, of course, the royal family do. >> reporter: the palace want to avoid a wedding marked by protests and disruption, but the royals aren't ones to hide away. >> the royal family want to be seen. this is part of the success, what the british royal family is about. >> reporter: today, some question the timing of the release of the engagement photos, an attempt to knock charles and camilla off the front pages. it almost did the job. there are now long discussions in security and royal circles. the safety of the royal family and how to avoid scenes of this week are at the top of the agenda. jenna? >> thank you. up next, going to a holiday gathering? we'll tell you how to navigate the holiday party scene right after these messages.

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this morning on "today" we have holiday parties whether at the home or office there are certain guidelines to follow. >> from what to bring to when to leave we have experts with tips you need to know. >> first let's talk about the holiday house party. do you have to bring a bottle of wine? here with other ideas, style expert for thefine.com. allison, good morning. >> good morning. >> i have enough wine to open a bar with what people have brought. you have an idea -- bring the wine opener. >> if you aren't going to bring two bottles -- one for the host, one for the party -- this is an electric wine opener plus chiller for $30. >> comes together. >> it's fabulous. pull it out, put it on the wine, press a button, zips it out. no finagling to get it out. >> you have an idea here for

coffee cake for after the party. >> bring the dessert for the next morning and when you look at dirty dishes in the sink, it doesn't look that bad when you have a great breakfast. this is from mygrandma.com and also on qvc. the next morning she's ready to go. >> that's terrific. you don't feel like making a big breakfast the morning after. this is a great idea. >> this is available at jcpenney. it's fuss-free baking. the host says, can you bring dessert? so make the little cup cakes and bring the baby cakes as the gift additionally. it's a great gift. >> the george foreman. >> it's find your inner george foreman or panini maker for something sweet. if they want the chips and dips, crudite. nothing worse than bringing it,

then she has to find serving trays and clean it. i found these from kohl's. $20. leave the serving trays as the gift. >> are these wasabi peas? i love those. games. >> don't rely on the host to do everything. bring the party with you. this is from knockknock.biz. this goes back to elementary school days. dysfunctional bingo, spit ball dart board. rate the wine or beer. >> and lastly, a variation on sweets. >> from etsy, everything is amazing there. i want to do something sweet. this is macaroon parlor. an homage to paris. bring it as a dessert for coffee. it's fun, whimsical and delicious. they come in so many flavors from caramel to peanut butter and chocolate.

>> merry christmas. here's jenna. >> okay. thanks. now to holiday party manners and advice on proper etiquette. here we have a columnist from the new york times. philip, good morning. >> good morning to you. >> there are etiquette tips. if you are the host, having a party. maybe it's winter like now and it's gross outside. you come in. do i have it within me as a host to say, i think you should take your shoes off? can i do that? >> sorry neatniks, the shoes stay on. if we are talking about winter mud boots, sure. but people get gussied up for the party. if you have gone to the trouble to wear hot shoes. >> which i do. >> keep them on. you're going to have to vacuum the apartment in the morning anyway. what difference does it make? keep your guests comfortable. >> a lot of alcohol is usually served. everyone brings a bottle. is it my responsibility if i see someone drinking too much, is it my responsibility as the host to

say something? >> you'd think that buying all the food and drink and decorating your house with all this stuff would be enough to be a host, but the other important responsibility of a host is to keep your guests safe. >> okay. >> it's a holiday time. people have been to more than one. anyone can get drunk. if you see it, say something. it can be, jenna, slow down! no big deal. it can happen to anyone. >> as far as the perspective of the guests, we are invited to a lot of parties and we want to get to as many as possible. how long do we have to stay at each one if we have a number to hit is? >> for a big party, 40, 50 people, make sure the host and her best friend see you. in the morning they will talk. >> that's smart. >> if it's a little thing you have to stay 20, 30 minutes unless you are willing to use the babysitter exemptions. god, i just got a text. i have to leave. but you should probably have a babysitter and a baby. >> i have used that.

i don't have baby. i knew i was missing something. the other thing, do you have an idea of tips to talk about? you're in little socially awkward conversations. one topic that's safe to bring up? >> it's a hard thing to talk to new people. have a couple in your pocket if you're the nervous type. what gift does your baby really want this christmas? or what exactly do these kardashian sisters do? >> have something ready to go. thank you so much. >> pomy pleasure. >> lester, back to you. >> now how to watch your weight. kerry, good morning. she's from women's health magazine. >> i went to four holiday parties last week. serious i'm not sunoshing. how do you stop it? >> t it's hard. have a snack. two slices of turkey or a handful of nuts before the party. you will cut hunger so you don't

dive into the hors d'ouvres. also bring a healthy dish so you can fill up on that. and choose three hors d'oeuvres you absolutely cannot resist, eat them slowly in a conscious manner to avoid mindless eating. >> let's talk alcohol. in terms of choosing one that doesn't have a lot of calories, there is a lot of fancy cocktails out there that are loaded. >> there are. if you can't see through it, don't drink it. eggnog has about 325 calories. a chocolate martini or irish coffee has 300. if you like liquor, couple it with club soda, lemon, lime, keep it simple and keep the calories to less than a hundred. if you know the bartender well by the end of the evening, ask the bartender to fill your drinks halfway. pros prosecco and champagne, they are bubbly. drink them slower and they are generally lower in calories. >> give me tips for a host who

wants to be kind to guests. >> you want them to come back the next year so it has to taste good but it's nice to cut calories. when you're baking pie crusts and cookies use half whole wheat flour and half pastry flour to add 12 grams of fiber. for cheesecakes use part-skim ricotta instead of cream cheese. for cookies and baked goods use pumpkin puree instead of oil to save 900 calories for every half cup of oil. >> you like the idea of smaller plate spms people eat what's on their plates especially in the holidays. >> give me a big plate, i will fill it up. >> 7 to 9-inch plates are better. also when people serve themselves they eat 56% more when they serve themselves out of a gallon dish versus a half gallon. be nice. use smaller serving bowls and smaller flaglasses as well. >> great information. just ahead, michael j. fox,

jenna's first teen idol. first, these messages. 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? you won't believe your taste buds. you won't believe it's fiber. benefiber. clear, taste-free, and dissolves completely. what a beautiful way to get fiber everyday. that's the beauty of benefiber.

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yoplait. it is so good. now the yoplait you love in a new four pack. try it today. ♪ you make me feel like i'm living a teenage dream ♪ >> we continue our series "my first teen eidol." for me it was all about michael j. fox and it bordered on obsession. with the resumé that screams overachiever. >> how do i look? >> reporter: and with a face that will forever be boyishly charming, michael j. fox was and is all things perfect at least according to a passionate preteen who thought she would marry him. >> i tell any girl to assume all

plans are soft until she gets confirmation 30 minutes beforehand. >> they find this romantic? >> i say it with charm. >> reporter: the canadian-born hollywood-bred pint-sized superstar has been busy. actor, author, comedian, producer and after being diagnosed with parkinson's disease in 1991, activist. before all of that, michael j. fox was a teen heart throb. i was the teen. he was the heart throb. >> if there was one person that jenna was definitely focused on it was michael j. fox. >> reporter: mom would know. my bedroom walls were covered with poster after poster of you know who. >> this was in 1985. the first one i got. this was the episode where michael j. fox and the "family ties" cast and crew went to london. >> was he brawny? no. did he try to be? yes.

400 posters and lest we forget a scrapbook with just about every published picture all detailing my little crush on michael j. do you want to take some things home with you? i have a box? >> i'm okay. i don't want people to think i'm obsessed. even my high school best friend remembers activities. >> she dragged me to "secrets of my success" at least six times in the theater. every episode of "family ties" and don't get me started on "teen wolf." >> you are an animal! [ howls ] >> were we all embarrassed for her in high school? yeah, a little bit. >> hey, i can hear you. i'm right here. my mom, my best friend. even her daughter. >> michael j. fox. that's all i ever hear about. >> when this story was assigned i thought i hit the jackpot. oh, i met michael j. fox but there was a hitch. >> this is such an honor for me

to be sitting next to you just to meet you. it's amazing. >> why? >> wait, you are michael j. fox, right? >> i am. >> he still has that boyish charm. can i get a quick picture with you? would that be okay? >> absolutely. ♪ without us ♪ sha-la-la-la >> i did it. i met michael j. fox. >> sort of. >> not the -- oh, you wanted that michael j. fox. we were approaching it but we backed off. i e-mailed his publicist about ten times. i'm not sure whether he ever got my request. but the request was put out there. let's put it that way. obviously from what you saw i can deviate from who my teen idol was. >> i think he's feeling the love. >> if not then he's not feeling. be'll ng.hi we'll be right back after these messages. ♪

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. [ 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... trust in triaminic. to help bring down children's fever... have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us.

time for a check on what's coming up on "meet the press." david, good morning. >> good morning, lester. coming up, the tax fight. will a deal pass congress and what will it do to create jobs? we ask the chair of the economic advisers austin goolsby and michael blumberg is here to discuss his political future. our political roundtable weighs in on "meet the press." >> thanks, david. >> that's going to do it for us. mike bettes, thank you so much. coming up, last minute holiday gifts for the last week before christmas. we wait until the very end.

>> that's the best time for last minute gift shopping. and the radio city rockettes perform live. i'll see you ton