good morning. heading home -- a holiday season that left millions stranded or snowbound ends with new weather woes for travelers trying to finish up their trips. checking out -- after three months in court-ordered rehab, lindsay lohan is just days away from freedom. how did the troubled actress try to turn her life around in the new year? and paint by numbers -- new clues to unlocking the mystery of "the mona lisa" do numbers and symbols within her eyes reveal a real "the da vinci and symbols within her eyes reveal a real "the da vinci code"? captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. it's the new year being with you, can you dig it? >> i have been practicing 2011 for the checks. >> for the checks? good. >> you know how it is that it's march before you get used to the new year. have you looked outside? >> it's foggy out there. >> this is from the top of the rock looking at the empire state building. this is the last thing people want to see that are going to be traveling. >> i'm beginning to think mother nature doesn't want anyone to leave new york. it's only been a week since the blizzard paralyzed much of the northeast and the airports are still recovering. >> the snow crippled all three major airports here and affected millions around the country. people who were planning to be home by the new year are still headed home. the latest on travel concerns. jfk was having arrival issues because of the fog. we'll find out what's in store

for folks trying to get home. also, holiday vacation is almost over for president obama. he heads back to washington this week. he faces a new congress. the new speaker of the house and a brand new big agenda. we're going to have more on this important week ahead coming up. plus, on her o.w.n. oprah winfrey's new cable channel launched on new year's day. o.w.n. reaches some 80 million homes. that's a big gamble for the queen of day it is time talk. we'll look at what it means for oprah and her viewers. >> did you watch any? >> not at all. i didn't watch anything. >> you did watch football. and quite strange. you are looking at what's called a panda cow. it was born in colorado. that was the best name they could come up with. it's got very panda-like markings. more on that coming up. >> it's having bamboo cravings. >> something like that.

we begin with the trip back home from the blizzard in the east to the rains out west the weather has disrupted travel plans for millions of americans. we have full coverage of your travel as you head home. we are live at laguardia airport with mara. >> reporter: the people behind me are waiting an hour just to check in partly because so many people are finishing up trips they started in 2010. now the faa is reporting some delays at jfk airport on arrival but for the most part air travel is back to normal in new york city after a week of post-holiday travel that was anything but festive. for alana green, preparing to leave her grandmother's house is a ritual. the harvard student was supposed to head home last sunday. just as a monster snowstorm

descended on the east coast. >> my first flight was cancelled. the second, i spent the entire day at the airport and it got cancelled as well. >> reporter: she was rebooked on a flight january 3rd, ending the trip she started last year in 2011. >> it was exhausting. >> reporter: it was an exhausting week for lots of travelers. the post-holiday blizzard closed all three new york city airports for almost 24 hours paralyzing the biggest transportation hub during one of the busiest times of year. airlines cancelled thousands of flights each day while the storm moved through the northeast stranding thousands of passengers. >> we have been cancelled six times already. >> reporter: even flights that managed to land were delayed with some passengers sitting on the tarmac for hours, waiting for available gates and airport staff. when the snow stopped, airlines were left with a huge mess of re-booking travelers. on average, airlines operate at

more than 80% capacity. that can go higher during busy times like holidays which means finding empty seats is no easy task. >> it becomes a huge issue when you have a major disruption in air travel like we had with the blizzard. repositioning passengers, flight crews. it's time-consuming and expensive. >> analysts predict the storm cost airlines up to $150 million. passengers paid with time and holiday cheer lost. airlines managed to re-book almost all the stranded travelers. alana was finally able to head home to boston. this time the flight left on time. and not a moment too soon. now airlines say the flights will be booked practically to capacity for most of the week. our friends at weather channel say it's expected to be a quiet week weatherwise nationwide.

hopefully we won't see any more big weather-related delays. lester? now to the roadways. 92 million people hit the road this is holiday season. what can they expect heading home? nbc's mark potter is in pompano beach, florida, with a look. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. as you can see in the northbound lane of the florida turnpike, traffic is pretty light this morning although the florida highway patrol expects things to kick up this afternoon as people leave the south florida vacations. many people have left the area, especially those with long trips ahead who need to be at work on monday. nationwide aaa says 9 out of 10 people who traveled this holiday did so by car rather than by air or rail. that represents an estimated 87 million people on the roads off about 3% over last year. even with gas prices around $3 a gallon for the first time in a christmas holiday season, more people chose to drive than deal with the hassles of airports and

weather delays you reported on earlier. speaking of weather there are concerns for drivers. rain along the northeast -- the eastern seaboard in the northeast and in north florida. snow in michigan and montana. he have rain in california headed into nevada. so safety experts are urging people to get on the road early, give themselves extra time given the potential traffic problems and with so many people on the road and so many troopers out there, by the way, they are just urging people to take it easy and get home safely. lester? >> mark potter in florida this morning. thanks. no matter if you were driving or flying the holiday season has been full of dangerous weather. >> janice huff is here to tell us if there is anything to watch for today. good morning. >> in the west it's rain again. another storm system moving over the california coast. expecting an inch of rain from santa barbara up to sacramento, san francisco. that will cause delays in the air and on the roads n. the east, as you mentioned, it's

foggy. we have fog advisories around new york city and parts of the northeast. the fog, visibilities are down to a half mile and more in spots. that should start to lift later on this afternoon with improving conditions. it's relatively quiet for now. back to you, jenna. >> now to politics and the new power base on capitol hill. the 112th congress begins this week with tea party freshman taking aim at president obama's agenda. for more we are joined by david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning, jenna. >> we're not the only ones with new year's resolutions. the president is trying to get the economy back on track. in his weekly address he talked about working across the aisle. let's take a look. >> i'm willing to work with anyone in either party who's got a good idea and the commitment to see it through. we should all expect you to hold us accountable for our progress or our failure to deliver. >> this isn't the first time the

president said he's willing to listen to anyone with a good idea. but as we start the new year and start this new congress, talk to me about the timing of the message. why is it important to get this out now? >> well, look, this is still all about the economy in 2011. the president realizes until people get back to work he can't get any part of his agenda through. he certainly is not going to improve his political standing unless the economy recovers in a way that's not so fragile and doesn't accompany a high unemployment rate and a housing crisis where prices are going down, interest rates are going up. that's the economic condition the president has to play on. the challenge to republicans said, i'll play on your turf. we'll talk about cutting the deficit, cutting the budget, government spending. but let's see where you are willing to compromise here. he wants to build off the momentum from the end of the year and the lame duck session where he was able to work with republicans and have success there. >> a big part of getting the

economy on track is for the president to name a new director in the economic council to replace larry sommers. how important is this post and how viable are the contenders now? >> well, it's important because it's part of a refashioning of what the white house looks like, how it does business. that will be important to the public. in terms of how it functions internally this is not as high-profile a job as it is described as because as the staff job. you are coordinating an economic message. certainly important substantively in reading where the economy is, where it's going and what government policy should be. there are internal candidates and it's interesting to look at how the president made staff changes, still looking internally to other candidates. there was talk about an outside ceo, not necessarily a ceo job because it's a staff position. a lot of ceos are used to being the boss. they don't like to come in and be in a subordinate position. but it's certainly a job the president will fill in the next couple of weeks. >> all right, david gregory.

thank you very much. >> okay, jenna. time for a look at other top stories with jeff rossen. good morning. >> happy new year. good morning, everyone. we begin in springfield, ohio, where police officers got into a gun battle with a suspect and the sheriff's deputy was killed. suzanne hopper was investigating shots fired when she got shot. officers fired back. when the smoke cleared the suspect was dead along with deputy hopper. she was 40 years old and leaves behind a husband and two children. it's only the second day of the new year and already lives have been shattered in the south and the midwest. hundreds of people will spend today sifting through debris and rubble after deadly tornadoes struck this holiday weekend. a missouri woman died from her injuries saturday, raising the death toll to seven from the storms. four were killed in missouri. three in arkansas. flood waters continue to rise in australia. officials say floods are reaching biblical proportions, at least one state, queensland,

is literally under water now from days of rain. that's an area bigger than france and germany combined. one person was swept away and killed from the rising waters. this morning a rare moment of diplomacy between two countries with a less than diplomatic relationship. secretary of state hillary clinton shaking hands and chatting with president hugo chavez of venezuela. the two were in brazil for the inauguration of the country's first female president. the travel website expedia has stopped selling tickets to american airlines flights. last month american pulled flights from the travel website orbitz as well. they are trying to sell more tickets through their own website. finally, you be the judge. is it a panda or a cow? it's a mix of both. this rare miniature cow born friday in colorado has markings similar to a panda bear. he's the result of genetic manipulations.

the panda cow is thought to be one of only 24 in the world. want to take him home? experts say he'll cost you about $30,000. i don't think the money is the problem. it's the house training, i think. lester and jenna? >> why? >> with that panda cow -- >> the panda and cow didn't get together, right? >> hey. >> janice is here again with a check on the weather. good morning. >> good morning, everybody. let's talk about the weather. it's a problem in a few spots around the country. for those of you traveling back from the holidays watch for fog in the northeast. visibility down to zero in spots. it should clear up this afternoon. there are strong storms over north florida. all the severe weather from a couple of days ago, that's what the front has now weakened considerably. for tomorrow, relatively clear in the east.

cold across the northern states with more snow across the great lakes and rain in the southwest speaking of the rain, closer to home, ptty soggy morning around san jose and the south bay. see the heavy rain moving to the east of san jose into downtown livermore, danville, san ramon seeing good downpours and showers around san francisco and oakland. area of low pressure which is going to approach the central coast today. rain changing to showers and a slight chance of thunder for areas south of santa cruz this afternoon. this is the soggiest part of the day, the morning. we'll change over to scattered showers and those showers head south tomorrow with a mainly dry week outside of the weekend. now here's jenna. janice, thank you. up next on "today," "the da vinci code." what onalisa's eyes may reveal after this. and put it here. introducing nook color. experience millions of books like never before. relax with the magazines you love.

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stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin reactions, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ it feels wonderful. i don't smoke. i don't smoke. [ male announcer ] it's a new year. so, ask your doctor about chantix. and find out how you could save money on your prescription go to chantix.com to learn more and get terms and conditions. and find out how you could save money on your prescription seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important.

we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with the farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. we've gone from being in 5 stores to 7,500. booming is using points to make connections that grow your business. only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value to help close the calcium gap, we're giving away a million free cups at yoplait dot com. this morning, solving the mystery of "mona lisa." one of the most famous portraits of history continues to hold secrets. now some experts believe letters and symbols in the mona lisa's eyes could unlock them. martin fletcher has the story. ♪ mona lisa

>> reporter: it's the most famous painting of all time and the most mysterious. we aren't even sure who she is. one theory, a self-portrait by leonardo da vinci as a woman. he loved riddles. that alluring smile. what does she know that we don't? and the eyes follow you around the room. but wait a minute, leonardo da vinci painting by numbers? italian researchers believe they discovered painted into her pupils numbers and letters. a secret code? was dan brown's "the da vinci code" right after all? messages hidden in the renaissance painting? this professor appears unconvinced. >> the idea that there are numbers embedded in the pupils are absurd. you can find support for almost anything if you look hard enough. >> reporter: it reads like a mystery novel. a member of the national committee for cultural heritage

was browsing in an antique shop and found a musty old book and leafed through it and read about the symbols in the eyes, but the knowledge was forgotten. even though professor kemp does see an upside. >> it's engaging people with one of the great human creations. it's sbeto be welcomed. it's a great thing. exciting, great fun. >> reporter: in the right eye, visible through a magnifying glass they found the letters "lv." that's clear enough -- leonardo da vinci. and in the other eye, ce or possibly just a b. the number 72 or possibly an l and a 2. professor kemp found nothing. so discovery or stunt? it isn't clear. the masterpiece is 500 years old. it isn't as clear or sharp as it was, but it is known that da

vinci loved to hide symbols and codes in his work. one thing is sure, the mona lisa was dear to da vinci. it took 15 years to finish. he never sold it. he carried it with him everywhere in a secure case. is there a message in the eyes? if so, what is it? italian experts are investigating. there is more to this than meets the eye. martin fletcher, nbc news, london.>> we're back and we'll have more after these messages.

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still to come on "today," leaving rehab -- what the new year may mean for lindsay lohan as she gets ready to leave the betty ford clinic. >> and oprah on her own. the big tv gamble is under way.

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good morning to you. it is the second day of january. we have more of what we got on the first day of january, happy 2011 if this is the first time you're waking up early this year. i'm chris sanchez. rob mayeda is here with the forecast. >> new year, same forecast. sorry about that. >> it's winter, we need the rain. >> we do. that's the silver lining to everything. we got a lot of rain coming down around the south bay. you saw san francio, san jose it's breezy, the rain is comin in sideways at times. the south bay see the winds north at 21 at fairfield and napa. it's gusty this morning. one look at the radar shows it's

the south bay, santa cruz mountains, highway 17 seeing good downpours.om heavier rain in san jose that has lifted off to the north. actually approaching the livermore valley right now towards san ramon and walnut creek. saw the golden gate bridge, lighter rain further north of san francisco. the cus of mostf thaith rain this morning is going to en t i the south bay as the area of low pressure where you can see it spinning heads to our south for this afternoon. so we're going to see widespread rain for the morning, changing to scattered showers this afternoon, a slight chance of thunder south of santa cruz today and then the rest of the week we start to dry out and see some patchy fog. chris? >> all right. thank you very much. styrofoam is getting the ax in fremont. restaurants and companies that do business with the fremont -- city of fremont have to use biodegradable containers. styrofoam does not break down and wildlife mistakes it for food and waterways. others complain that card board containers leak and are more expensive than styrofoam. the new ordinance does not affect grocery stores, however.

fremont is the fifth city in alameda county to outlaw sti row row foam. berkeley, emmiriville, alameda prohibit it. riders got a jolt on a union square cable car yesterday when the cable car was rear ended by a car. the crash happened at pal and owe ferrell streets at about 9:30 in the morning. no one was hurt, although they were sthaken up. the cable car was not damaged. service in the area was disrupted for several hours because of the investigation. the crash is not being investigated as a crime. sacramento is getting ready for a changing of the guard. tomorrow the men and women who will lead the state for the next four years, will be sworn into office. more than 3,000 people are expected to attend governor jerry brown's inauguration tomorrow. it will be held a few blocks from the state capital at the memorial auditorium which is the same place governor schwarzenegger was innag grated back in 2006. however, most people expect that tomorrow's ceremony will not be as flashy as the schwarzenegger

event. instead, entertainment will be provided by students from two oakland schools which brown helped to found. the inauguration starts at 11:00 and watch it right here on nbc bay area. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay" -- we will show you why san francisco mayor gavin newsom won't be taking office tomorrow and we'll take a look at what governor schwarzenegger will do after he officially leaves office. today is his last full day. those stories and more coming up at 7:00. back to the "today" show. i

we're back on a sunday morning, the first sunday of 2011. it's a balmy morning here in new york. it's a city that is one giant slushfest, but we are not complaining. happy new year to everyone. thank you for spending part of your morning with us. i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. >> did you say 2011? >> i did get it straight. instead of 2010. i said it would never catch on to say 20-11 and i did it. coming up in this half hour, we are talking about oprah winfrey. she has her own network, her own world now.

>> the o.w.n. network officially began yesterday. beamed into 80 million homes. more than an option it's a new experiment in programming. is it a risk for one of the most famous brands in the world or does everything she touch turn to gold? >> wyou watched about six hours yesterday? >> between football games. and we are talking about lindsay lohan. she's been at the betty ford clinic since september. it was a court-ordered stay. it comes to an end tomorrow. the question is will she start the new year off right and will she turn her troubled life and career around? we'll take a closer look at what's in store for lindsay. >> after a couple of bad years people started spending this holiday season. could be a bad thing if you're not ready for the credit card bills that are going to come in. we'll talk about the post-holiday spending diet as we look at your holiday finances and get you back on track for 2011. >> 2011. and 2010 was the year of

facebook. so what does 2011 have in store for us sn? it's not just social networking. we'll look at technology and the environment. lots to look forward to this year. >> let's talk to janice about the warm weather in the northeast. >> i know! it's so mild. don't get used to it. this mild air moving over the snow pack is causing problems with the fog this morning. happy new year, everybody. [ cheers ] >> what's your name, sweetie? >> cali. >> what are you from? >> maryland. >> how did you celebrate the new year? >> we came here. >> did you stay awake until midnight? >> no. >> it's tough, isn't it? we're glad you came down to celebrate with us in 2011. those glasses are cute. we'll check the weather and we're talking fog in the northeast bei abl proem p this morning. it mr. continue to be that wayem for the next couple of hours.

there is light rain, too. heavier rain across the florida panhandle along the frontal boundary. you're seeing calm weather in the midwest and the plains. there will be snow over the northern plains and great lakes tomorrow. rain in southern california and styrofoam. e southwest. here's a look at our regional radar out to the sierra you want toch te akange heading up to lake tahoe but need the umbrella around the bay area for your sunday morning from the mountains into san jose. rain easing off a bit around downtown, but picking up now in livermore as that rain goes from south to north out towards the tri-valley and still some showers around san francisco and a few morecre aoss the north b. we'll be watching this area of low pressure track by through the central coast today but the slight chance of thunder for areas south of santa cruz for the afternoon. and you can always check your weather any time by logging onto weather.com. if you want to know about football weather i'm going to tell you. tonight is football night in

america here on nbc. the st. louis rams and the seattle seahawks at qwest field. mostly cloudy and cold, temperatures in the low 30s during the game. that's a check of your weather. here's lester. >> janice, thanks. the future for oprah winfrey began on new year's day with the creation of her cable channel called o.w.n. for the queen of talk the network is a dream come true, but one with risks. >> reporter: for oprah winfrey, the new year brings a new chapter. >> welcome to o.w.n., the brand new oprah winfrey network. >> reporter: with the launch of her network, oprah is now the new kid on cable. the channel encourages viewers to live your best life and includes a number of familiar faces from her daytime talk show. >> every minute of this network has been hand selected by me. >> i'm oprah winfrey! >> reporter: since debuting nationally in 1986, oprah has

become one of the most influential people in the world building a production company, a magazine and a broadway musical. her book selections become best sellers, her political pick became president. experts hope it will drive people to the new channel. >> expectations are huge but she has a lot to live up to. she has an amazing track record. >> reporter: oprah's success is undeniable with a net worth of more than $2 billion and a daily viewership of millions. not all of her ventures turned to gold. the oprah-produced 1998 film "beloved" which she starred in was a box office flop. the o at home magazine folded in 2008. that same here the reality show oprah's big give was cancelled by abc after just one season.

if this network doesn't succeed analysts say o.w.n.'s failure will be more than a business blow as oprah is putting her entire brand on the line. >> she's taking 25 years of brand loyalty and applying it to cable. the risk of it failing is tremendous. it may be the last thing she's remembered for. >> reporter: in june, oprah will end her talk show after 25 years. >> it's time to say good-bye. >> reporter: devoting herself fully to this new endeavor, one that may come to define her legacy. nbc news, new york. >> forbes lists oprah's fortune at $2.4 billion. cost of launching o.w.n. is reportedly $189 million. up next, a new start for lindsay lohan. we'll talk more about that after these messages. ft you nowhere t. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious... aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help.

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cymbalta can help. freedom for lindsay lohan. the troubled actress is expected to be released from the betty ford clinic tomorrow, ending 90 days in court-ordered rehab. jeff rossen has more. good morning. >> hi, jenna. she's been here before. on track to restart her life after rehab. experts say it comes down to her support system on the outside keeping her clean. will we see a new lindsay in the new year? for lindsay lohan, 2010 was a vicious cycle of jail and rehab. >> she finally admitted that she had alcohol and drug problems. she lost out on movie roles. she had a really tough time. >> reporter: the stories about lohan were less about acting. >> she starred in one movie "machete" which was pretty much a cameo where she was naked the entire time. >> reporter: and more about

acting out. most recently accusations made by a workr from the betty ford center threatened to derail her fragile freedom. >> she's very angry and out of control. >> reporter: but the worker who told tmz that lohan assaulted her then changed her story and said the actress did nothing wrong. in may, lohan was ordered to wear an alcohol monitoring device after failing to return from the cannes film festival for a probation hearing. >> she said she would be here at 8:30. she's not here. >> reporter: the star was criticized for not taking the courts and her troubles seriously. >> i respect it and i am taking it seriously. >> reporter: in july she was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in rehab for violating probation. she was released after serving 14 days of her sentence. >> lindsay was in with alleged murderers and she became friends with a lot of them. >> reporter: as for the court-ordered rehab, she was

released after 23 days. >> she's completed her alcohol program. >> reporter: but the random drug screening tests continued and in september, there was a hit. on twitter lohan admitted she failed the drug test. lohan was told to stay out of places where alcohol was served or she'd end up behind bars. days later she checked herself into the betty ford treatment center. lohan last appeared in court on october 22 and was ordered to stay in rehab until january 3. in a statement meant to be sobering the judge told her, you're an addict, i hope you realize that. lindsay lohan spent christmas and new year's in rehab. she's set to be released tomorrow. this morning lohan sent a message to fans on twitter writing, today is the first day of the rest of my life. jenna? >> jeff, thank you. joining me now is dr. julie holland a psychiatrist and author of "weekends at belleview" and bonnie ford,

author of hollywoodlife.com. lindsay did tweet, today is the first day of my life and the london mirror has pictures of her first photo shoot since being in rehab. they are calling it the comeback shoot. is this the comeback or is it overzealous to think she's on the road to recovery so quickly? >> i think she's done the exact opposite of what she should be doing if she wants a comeback. she should be laying low. we don't need to hear from lindsay on twitter. the last thing we want to see is more sexy photos of her. she needs to prove that she is sober, working on her sobriety and sober about her career and taking that seriously. >> dr. holland, lindsay and her mother and siblings are expected to leave the clinic and go to a secluded place by themselves away from hollywood, away from her old haunts.

is that the best thing she can do and why is it important? >> it is a good start. one of the initial strategies when trying to maintain sobriety and recovery is avoidance. avoid the people you did drugs with, party with, the places you went to. so being with her family is a good move. >> isn't it true she's spent time with her mother out at parties? has her mother been a bad influence? has any of that changed? >> let's hope it's in the past. but it is true that in the past her mother has been more of a friend than a mother at times and has been alongside her partying. >> speaking of her mother she did come on "today" and did say that now lindsay considers herself an addict. she calls herself an addict. does that meantime at the betty ford clinic worked for her because she's acknowledging that or are we getting ahead of ourselves? >> the thing about addiction is

it's a chronic illness. there are remissions, recoveries. one step forward, two back. she's had multiple rehabs. if she is admitting she's an addict that's a big step for her. >> it's a big if. >> but it is a good step and it's also a good step that her mother has admitted she's an addict. she was so much in denial for years saying lindsay didn't need any help at all. >> she was fine. >> now post-rehab, she has some plans. she wants to take her clothing line further, start a shoe company. are her fans ready to embrace this new and improved lindsay lohan? >> her fans want her to get well. they want her to be successful. i think they want to be supportive, but they don't want to be disappointed again. if she gets out of rehab and immediately starts clubbing again, that is going to send a message to her fans and to the entertainment industry that

she's not ready to take work seriously again. >> what's the timeframe for hollywood to embrace her again? that's a lot of pressure to put on someone that just got out of rehab and now to get back into the public eye like that, that's tough. >> she needs to focus on sobriety, take it a day at a time. it will be important for her to exercise, be calm. she has a lot of chaos and drama around her. she needs to calm everything down. i don't know if being secluded with her family will be less stressful for her. she likes having an audience. it's important to have twitter and people around her, but she needs to get comfortable alone, with herself, in her own skin. >> it takes time to do that. >> she needs therapy. >> that's why her first appearance being in another dramatic photo shoot with her taking off her clothes is the opposite way she should go. >> thank you both so much for your insight. we appreciate it. happy new year to you both. and we're back after these messages.

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we don't have a crystal ball but there are trends expected to make a big splash in 2011. what's the next big thing you need to look out for? let's find out from the founder of trendhunter.com. good to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> before we talk about specific areas, in general, what's the direction of 2011? >> well, 2010 was all about social media. 2011, you're going to see brands starting to figure that out. that means more consumer involvement in everything from product design to marketing campaigns. >> i saw the list. tell me what augmented reality shopping is and why it is going to be a big deal. >> it's rad. you overlay the digital world on the real world usually by

holding up your phone or tablet to the air. for example, in new york city we have an invisible store where if you are in the right location and you put your phone up you can see a whole airwalks store. take it a step further where you get interactive virtual fifthing rooms where you can try -- fitting rooms on where you can try things on. at the converse store, hold the phone up, compare it to your feet and see what the shoes look like. >> check it out. that's cool. social network, you have a trend similar which brings the fashion and social media in an interactive retail experience. what's that about? >> trendhunter.com got invited to the new york concepts store. there was a tour where she had 42-inch touchscreen tvs throughout the store where you could find an outfit you like, select different items, see it on the virtual model, share it with your friends and what happens with social shopping is your friends can react. you can get the live reaction

from facebook or twitter and whether or not they like an outfit. decide if you want to buy it before you leave the store. >> last year we had an earful on the rising cost of health care. one of the trends in the coming year will be about taking more control over monitoring our own health. what's out there? >> yeah. consumers are starting to take control of health. we're seeing everything from little pods you can hold in your hand that give you a checkup on everything that's happening and stress-sensing watches. put on a watch to monitor your stress level so you don't have to worry about getting out of control. >> i understand farming and produce shopping are going in a different direction this year. >> yeah. we're seeing urban farming concepts throughout the world where actual skyscrapers exist where every floor is intended for farming which brings down the cost of transportation and is also more eco. >> advertising, that will change as well? >> yeah. the big thing in advertising is

projected publicity where entire buildings become your canvas. the campaign for bmw has a virtual pac-man but a building gets taken over and that grabs your attention more than a bill board. >> we have been hearing so much about the difficulties of flying and cutbacks for the airlines. i understand those willing to pay a price, the airlines will offer premium service. >> yeah. there's a luxury class that still exists. we have seen an entire luxury terminal in dubai and the airline pods where you can have an entire room all to yourself. >> jeremy, thank you very much for coming out. it was good to have you on. >> thank you very much. >> all right. now here's jenna. ♪ >> lester, thanks. this morning, how to manage your post-holiday budget. americans went on a half trillion dollar spending spree since november. good news for the economy but it could spell trouble for your bottom line, especially when the bills come in.

with us is a personal finance expert and author of "the real cost of living." good morning. >> good morning. >> carmen, you say there are two ways people have been busting the budget -- cash and credit. let's start with cash. you liken it to a diet. you say shock your system. >> absolutely. you have to shock your system. if you haven't done it yet, we are three years into the tight times. do it today. that means spend no cash for one whole day. >> nothing. >> nothing. not a thing. if you do have to spend cash, what are you spending it on? there is a difference between paying a bill or going out for eggs or milk. but what else? putting that pledge into place could mean you make dinner tonight instead of getting takeout. you use what's around you to entertain yourself. >> don't order in? also like a diet, you said write everything down. you write down everything you

spend like we write down everything we eat. you see what adds up to you. >> this works better than any other diet. it's about mindfulness. you're trying to change your behaviors. you tend to not pay attention when it's easy to do things abstract like cards. you don't see the money adding up. bring a pad with you. write down what you buy, even groceries. how much did you spend? and the actual act of writing things down can make you spend 20% less. then you can see where the money is going and you can say, oh, wow, i can cut that and that. you would be surprised how quickly you can cut things down. >> the other thing we talk about and it's actually quite simple. shift things into savings. even a little bit at a time. >> you have to do it today. >> today, today, today. banks aren't open. this is easy. shift $20, $30. the simple act of doing it can

start you in the pattern of getting used to it. and if you can automate it, automate the savings to come out of checking. >> you won't even see it. >> i can't save, i don't have room in my budget. what you don't see you won't spend. >> let's move to credit cards. stop spending on your cards. stop taking the card out of the wallet. >> listen, the true first step of getting rid of credit card debt is to stop spending. if you don't do that then you're pushing the rock up the mountain. it's never going to stop if you don't stop spending on the card. make the pledge to stop doing that. it's a real first step in paying off debt. >> if all the debt is on one card, how do you approach it if everything is on one card? >> that's the easiest scenario. you have just one thing to keep track of. but we all saw credit card interest rates go way up. so tomorrow -- not today -- get on the phone and talk to someone. ask them to lower your rate.

especially if you have great credit and you have access to other cards with low rate. you can threaten to transfer the balance. persistence pays off. call every month. if they don't do it, transfer the balance to a lower rate card. >> there are still options with multiple cards? >> if your credit is iffy, you may not want to take out another loan to consolidate, but you can tackle them all by putting all your money at the card with the highest interest rate. this is important. mathematically it saves you the most money. that's a financial cost you're saving f. you personally think it's more important to pay off the $100 than the $10,000, do that. but pay off the highest interest rates and pay the minimum on the rest. >> we have a few seconds left. this is important. you say to scour the statements. so important. >> this is the time of year we'll be using plastic more than ever. debit as well. use your debit card online. look at e-mail.

see if you have gotten in the junk e-mail box notices about shipping from places you didn't order from. that's a red flag. get on that, check your e-mail and call the card issuer. make sure it doesn't end up on your credit card. >> carmen, great insight. enjoy the new year. 2011. we'll be right back after these messages. pumpkin pie! gingerbread men! egg nog! [ female announcer ] grab a box of multigrain cheerios. get a code to...

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we want to say hello to david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." david? >> coming up, a new year, new challenges for the president and republicans. can both sides compromise on jobs, the debt and the deficit? my guest this morning the senior

republican senator from south carolina lindsey graham. that's coming up on "meet the press." >> that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning, first sunday of the new year. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> janice, thank you very much. >> happy new year. >> thank you. it was a pleasure working with you. wow, it's deep in here. i'll see you tonight on "nbc nightly news." thanks for watching and happy nightly news." thanks for watching and happy new year. -- captions by vitac -- vic.tataco w.mvic.com