good morning. digging ourselves out. new figures show the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in 19 months. sounds like good news. but this morning many are still asking where are the jobs? sister act. they were sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery. now two sisters are free, and finally home. >> we are blessed and it feels so good to be able to walk outside and feel fresh air. >> but freedom comes with one big condition. and gathering storm. another big blast of winter threatens to bring rain, sleet, snow and ice to a large part of the country this weekend. we'll tell you where the storm is headed "today," saturday we'll tell you where the storm is headed "today," saturday january th, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everybody. nice to have you here. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. yesterday i think we were bracing for a lot of snow. there wasn't that much. today there might be more. >> a lot of plows on the street of new york. go figure. >> to make up for the lack of them the last time around. >> but there's another band of winter coming to the northeast. this is starting out to be a really, really tough winter. >> that time of year, right? >> also the new job numbers. unemployment did drop to its lowest rate since may of 2009. 9.4%. but job creation was lower than experts predicted. and more americans apparently stopped looking for work. fed chairman ben bernanke said friday at this rate it could take four or five more years for a full recovery. coming up we're going to look at

what the numbers mean and where the jobs are being created. >> and then a desperate search under way for a missing teen in baltimore. what happened to felicia simone barnes. she's a 16-year-old honor student who disappeared nearly two weeks ago while visiting relatives for the holidays. now police fear she's been abducted. we'll get the latest from police, and the girl's mother just ahead. >> also ahead, new developments in the case of the so-called milkshake murder. you might remember the story of nancy kissel, convicted of murdering her husband after knocking him out with a milkshake laced with sedatives. the story inspired books and a made for tv movie. last year her conviction was overturned. the new trial will start next week. coming up we'll get the latest in this strange drama. >> and later on, i know lester thinks he's got the moves, but you've got competition. wait until you see this group. they're one of the nba's hottest dance teams. but if you notice anything different there. well we're going to introduce you to the senior citizens, 65-plus burning up the court with their hip-hop dancing, no less. >> looking good.

but first the latest job numbers. unemployment dropped from 9.8 to 9.4% for the month of december. but while employers reported more than 100,000 jobs created that's less than predicted and slower than needed for the economy to fully recover. nbc's kevin tibbles has more. >> reporter: it's the biggest one-month drop in unemployment since april 1998. on the surface, good news. but where are the jobs? the unemployment numbers reveal 14.5 million americans remain out of work. 6.4 million of them for more than six months. >> we're now 18 months into the recovery and everybody's waiting for when will that number happen? when will we see a big job creation number to suggest that job creation engine has turned on? >> reporter: december's job creation simply did not materialize at the predicted pace. so the falling unemployment rate indicates many people have simply stopped looking. the president acknowledged the listless recovery while visiting

a small window manufacturing plant in landover, maryland. >> still got a whole bunch of folks who are out there looking. still struggling. we've got a big hole that we're digging ourselves out of. >> reporter: for some that hole is deeper than others. among african-americans the unemployment rate is 15.8%. and for hispanics, it is 13%. but in bloomington, minnesota, finally, after a year and a half, chrissy clocker is working again. >> initially when i first got unemployed it was tragic. >> reporter: after waitressing part-time, the 25-year-old engineer found her dream job working on filtration systems for donaldson company. donaldson laid off 2800 workers in the recession, and its ceo says an uptick in orders now means he's hiring. >> we're expecting our sales to be back to our record levels pre-recession and we can expect our employment to be pretty close, as well. >> reporter: accounting firm mcladry says it's looking to fill 1100 new jobs in the coming year. >> we see more confidence in our

clients and their growth plans which gives us conference. >> reporter: still john challenger said the recession hit so hard it will take many businesses time to have confidence in any positive numbers. >> coming out of deep recession, nobody really believes that recovery is for real. that we're really out of the woods. >> reporter: for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> and joining us now to break down the numbers is trish regan, co-anchor of cnbc's "the call." >> good morning. >> if you just looked at the headline here you'd say this is great, great news. >> sure, 9.8% down to 9.4%. but when you look beyond that headline what you actually find is number one, many more jobs were expected to have been created. they only created about 103,000. it's just not enough to really sustain this economy, to really grow this economy. the other big headline here, it's a fact that 9.4%, that reduction in the overall unemployment rate, is really a result of a reduction in the number of people participating in the labor force.

in other words, a lot of people said, i'm giving up. i can't find work. >> it's not how many people are really sitting home without jobs. >> it does to a certain extent. but what it tells you as well is just a lot of people dropped out of the labor force. so that's one of the reasons you're seeing this reduction. when those people come back into the labor force, when they feel like a can get a job, you're probably going to see the unemployment rate tick back up. >> what did the seasonal employment picture do to this number? >> not a whole lot here. i mean, you would have hoped that seasonal employment, especially within the retail sector, would have meant more on the jobs front. but, again, only 103,000 jobs created in december. we had the ceo of macy's on cnbc recently, and he was saying that they're not hiring. now that's important, because macy's accounts for one in every five jobs within the retail sector. so if they're not hiring, that gives you some sense of retail's lack of performance right now. >> let's take a more optimistic

stance here. what areas are hiring? what are the fields that are looking good? >> well, technology is certainly one of them. health care is another area. education. these are three sectors where you are finding some growth. but you know, keep in mind, back in 2000 you had technology that was just booming and that really helped to fuel the economy. and then, of course, you had the real estate industry and construction after that. and when you look around today, there's no real career sector that's about to really break out. yes, these three sectors are doing well but it's not like there's a huge boom on the horizon. which, to one extent is probably healthy. you don't want another real estate -- >> i just want to run through forbes.com came up with the list of best and worst cities because these numbers don't always apply around the country, washington, d.c., boston, austin among the best. then las vegas, riverside, california, miami among the worst. what drives these various markets? >> when you look at las vegas, when you look at miami, when you

look at parts of california, one of the reasons those areas are really suffering is because of the real estate crisis. i mean, let's face it when you look at foreclosures, florida, vegas, these are areas that have been very, very hard hit. on the other hand, areas like austin, washington, d.c. and boston are doing really well. now washington, d.c., of course, has all those federal employees. as long as the government continues to spend, washington, d.c. probably is going to do well. boston, you've got a big tech center there. a lot of education there. we were just talking about technology and education being big areas of growth. and austin, similar story there. technology is big and you have the university there in austin which is helping employment. >> trish regan, good to have you on. thanks very much. and now here's amy. >> lester, thank you. president obama said friday that accelerating job growth is his mission. and now he has a new economic team at his side and a new congress to work with. here with the political side of things is mark halperin, senior political analyst for msnbc, and also "time" magazine. mark, good morning.

>> hey, amy. >> the unemployment number, elections have been won and lost over this number. are we going to see now this new focus of this new congress specifically be about the jobs and the economy? >> there's no question. look, the president, all presidents, you say, deal with unemployment. it's a huge indicator. this president has now tied the unemployment number like nothing else. gdp, all sorts of other economic numbers are going to be out there but he has to find a way to create jobs. the opportunity he has now is republicans, because they control the house, they've got to be involved in governing, too. they've got to hope, the president has to hope, the country has to hope, that even though they're at odds, they're political foes, they've got to find a way to work to the to create jobs. there's no other priority now that matters. >> a new congress and also some new staff changes for president obama. many people are calling this a move to the center. he's brought in gene sperling who held the position during the clinton administration. one of obama's top economic advisers and bill daley as his new chief of staff. what is this refocusing going to mean for the obama administration? >> i think it's less about centrist than about people who

can get things done. experienced people. yes they worked in the clinton administration but if you look at democrats, before clinton the last democratic president was jimmy carter. so you've got to look for where you can find people of your own party to serve in these jobs. bill daley is a guy who wants to get things done, will work with republicans but also will work with liberal democrats. the key for the president and these new people is people of accomplishment, people he's comfortable with, and again to get the economy moving you need people who know what they're doing. i think he's brought in some pretty good people. >> and yes this perceived move to the center has drawn some criticism from those liberal democrats. does he need those liberal democrats to get things done at this point >> >> he does. he needs to go back and i think he's thinking as he conjures up the state of the union to first principles of what he's about. he wants to be leading a movement that's not about just the left. he wants the left included. he wants a movement of the whole country. that's what got him elected. that's what people saw in him. i think he needs to go back to that. i don't think it's a question of is he going to the center, is he alienating the left. it's can he knit together the country? the business community, political leaders in washington, people around the country in a

way that said, there are challenges, how are we going to meet them? i think that's what he's trying to do right now. >> quickly this week, republicans are going to try and tackle health care reform or at least repealing what they call, want to get it right, the job-killing health bill. it's expected to pass in the house, not in the senate. so what are republicans trying to accomplish here? >> they're trying to live up to their promise to say they're going to try to repeal this. i think the big question is not this focus. what do they do the rest of the year? since it won't be repealed, the president would never sign a repeal and it won't be overridden, what do they want to do the rest of the year? do they want to keep fighting about health care or create jobs? the president's got to put them in a box so they don't keep working on health care and try to help him and the country do what needs to be done. forget the politicians, we need more jobs. >> mark halperin, thanks so much. we appreciate it. now here's lester. >> amy, thanks. two mississippi sisters, once sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery, are free women this morning. but they were released under one unusual condition. one sister must donate a kidney to the other.

nbc's than trang joins us live outside the family's home in pensacola, florida. >> good morning. gladys and jamie scott arrived here at their mother's house in the early morning hours and enjoyed their first night's rest as free women after a whirlwind 24 hours for the sisters. after 16 years behind prison walls -- >> we're free! we're free! >> gladys and jamie scott rode away as free women. one of their first stops -- >> i'm feeling good. >> reporter: gloria's kitchen. the restaurant and its patrons, longtime supporters of the sisters, whom they say were unjustly punished. >> i love macaroni! i love it. 16 years! >> free at last. free at last! >> reporter: sentenced to life in prison for their role in the 1993 armed robbery that yielded only a handful of cash, the sisters were released on the

condition that gladys donate a kidney to jamie who is suffering from kidney failure. >> i was going to give it to her anyway. don't nobody have to release me. if they would have let me give her, i would have gave it to her without a shadow of a doubt. i love my sister. >> reporter: the scotts agreed to sit down with us on the condition we ask no questions about the crime. after all these years, what does freedom feel like? >> we just blessed. and it's feels so good to be able to walk outside and feel fresh air. like a breath that i have been waiting for so long to take. that i was holding inside, and without those gates it's just like a relief. >> reporter: from mississippi they drove to pensacola, florida, back to loved ones, anxiety waiting for their return. for the first time in 16 years, it will be a life without bars. and there's a lot ahead for the

sisters. they say life on probation, and there's also the question of will the sisters be a match for kidney donation and how they'll pay for it? they'll face all of that free women and also with their families. lester? >> than true okay in pensacola for us thanks. >> time for the other top headlines and we head over to jeff rossen who is at the news desk. >> good morning to you. glad you could dig out this morning. only a few inches. we begin with another explosive device sent to another government official. a package addressed to homeland security secretary janet napolitano ignited friday afternoon at a washington, d.c. postal facility. no one was injured. authorities say the package is similar to two others sent to maryland's governor and transportation secretary just the day before. unclear who's responsible for this, but police say there were notes complaining about the state's terrorism fip line. all packages are now at the fbi lab. in california, a mother of three has been arrested on charges she had sex with a 13-year-old boy. police say rachel ann hicks

befriended the boy while playing xbox online. she allegedly told the boy she was 23 and flew to see him at his home in maryland over the thanksgiving holiday. investigators say they're trying to identify a second possible victim. another underage boy. this morning, several homes in california may be in danger, after a landslide. on friday a neighborhood in san clemente gave way, tending trees and shrubs from back yards right down the hill, as you can see in this video. so far, four homes have been evacuated. engineers are checking to see the stability of the hillside to see if more homeowners need to leave the area. at least 35 people have died, more than 30,000 have been displaced after weeks of heavy flooding in brazil. the flooding was so massive some people actually had to swim out of their homes to escape the rising waters. and there is no relief in sight. more torrential rain is in the forecast. and the situation is getting worse in australia, where now even the kangaroos, as you can see, are trying to escape the

rising waters. about a foot of rain has already fallen today alone, flooding a huge section of the state of queensland already battered by weeks of floods. ten people have died. and 200,000 have left their homes. finally, america can't get enough of snooki and the situation. and by america, i mean lester. nearly 8.5 million viewers tuning in to the season premiere of mtv's "jersey shore." that's why you look tired this morning. the network says that makes it the most watched show in mtv history. that's the news. now back to the biggest jersey shore fan i know, lester, amy and bill. >> i never watched it. >> another big distinction, we should point out. >> the next episode will be at your house. jersey shore party. >> all right. bill karins here with a check of your forecast. some snow up here in the northeast. >> start stretching your back out now. get ready for the shoveling. let's talk about this snowstorm because it's going to start in areas of the south. this is going to be a southern

special. areas from shreveport to jackson to montgomery. they barely have plows down there. you're going to have to deal with snowy weather throughout the next day or two then the possible its of a nor'easter coming up the coast. that this point that would be tuesday/wednesday from d.c. up to boston. prepare now. here is a look at our temperatures around the bay area. another chilly start. 30s, 40s, patchy, dense fog. we are seeing that in the bay and east valleys. once the clouds break up, high clouds drifting in. we are not expecting rain for the weekend. temperatures a lot like friday, 40s inland, 50s around san jose. santa cruz, probably the warmest spot at 55 degrees. a dry weekend with some fog and the rain comes back late on tuesday. that's a look at your national weekend forecast. >> bill, thank you. and now to the investigation surrounding the death of john wheeler. a former moog official and one of the founders of the vietnam

war memorial, his body was found in a landfill nearly a week ago, and now new surveillance video of him the night before his death has only deepened this mystery. >> reporter: in the days leading up to his apparent murder, john wheeler was seen in several plays around wilmington, apairing confused and dishevelled. surveillance video shows him walking into a parking garage last wednesday night, wearing no overcoat, despite the cold, and carrying one of his shoes. his car was not even parked there. garage employees thought he was homeless. >> he had a suit on, but the suit looked like he had it on for two or three days. i can see like dust marks throughout, you know, maybe on his pants. >> reporter: a security guard says wheeler claimed someone stole his briefcase, and offered a rambling explanation for what he was doing. >> he said that his brother dropped him off. he said two days ago, to visit his mother. >> reporter: but a family member says his brother died three years ago. an hour earlier, witnesses say he went into a drugstore and asked for a ride. but left when the pharmacist

offered to call a cab. he was seen again the next day, thursday, in downtown wilmington, wearing a change of clothes, and wandering briefly into a government office. police say he was last seen at 8:45 thursday evening leaving a downtown commercial building. within eight hours after that, they say, he was apparently murdered. his body placed in a trash receptacle in newark. it was discovered last friday morning in a will tingeton landfill. investigators believe he was killed somewhere in newark, but a police spokesman says they still don't know exactly where. >> we have not located a crime scene at this time. >> reporter: they have yet to reveal how he was killed, saying only that lab tests have not been completed. those tests could reveal whether a medical problem, or some other cause, was behind john wheeler's erratic behavior in his final hours. for "today," pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> on friday, police released a new statement from wheeler's family thanking the public for their condolences and asking for privacy. and we'll be back.

but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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now to a growing problem in the south. bands of wild pigs invading neighborhoods everywhere. you've heard of bringing home the bacon. well, weary residents are now finding out the hard way what happens when the bacon comes to you. here's nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: they can be endearing. comical. >> a testament! >> reporter: but when the real thing shows up in your backyard it turns out there is reason to whine about the swine. this is not a cute little arnold pig? >> no. no, this is not a pig. this is a big, short of a rhino.

>> reporter: rhino? >> i mean, they're huge. >> reporter: they are huge. some weigh more than 300 pounds. they're smart. and they're most destructive at night. rooting for their favorite dinner, acorns. and come morning -- >> i take karp of the yard but i don't think i can take care of that. >> reporter: perfectly manicured lawns completely ruined. >> last night we had some in our yard and i saw one that i thought wow, that's another hogzilla, it's huge. >> hogzilla? >> it grunted. sounded aggressive. >> reporter: so aggressive she had but one solution. put up a giant fence. so is this going to work? >> i hope so. cost me $7,000. >> reporter: what is the damage? neighbor ryan greengartner. >> this is their snout just picking into the ground and looking for worms, mushrooms, acorns. >> reporter: he says he's thankful the federal government is now involved. these night mission shots were taken from the scope of a rifle.

the usda solution -- thin the herd. either shoot them or trap them. >> down the door goes, and they're in. >> reporter: but often the pigs outsmart the trappers. >> i had one chase me right in the backyard around here and i had to shoot him. he was coming at me head-in. ort from florida to texas, and across 35 other states, wild hogs. brought do the south decades ago so rich families like the vanderbilts could hunt them. are now officially a nuisance. with an estimated 2 million of them roaming the southeast. >> it's a lot of pork. >> reporter: but the problem with the pigs here is a lot like the problems with deer up north. and when will that problem eventually go away? when pigs fly, of course. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, in cypress, florida. >> pigs and hogzilla. >> that's what it was. i saw a subway rat almost as big

as one of those pitgs. we have our own issues. >> will michael jackson's doctor be put on trial for the pop star's death? that is just ahead. >> plus what happened to this honor student? comi

good morning. a couple minutes before 5:30 looking live at san jose. it is freezing and foggy. i'm kris sanchez here with rob mayeda with the forecast. it has been very cool. >> it has been. we have had the central valley fog machine pumping in the cool air. tough to drive down 680 because of the fog. you see san jose, 43 degrees, pretty chilly. east wind at 5. that wind slightly offshore mp ting inhe fog. 44 degreesnland.g

temperatures, livermore, 36, 37 in fairfield. 39, concord. almost a repeat performance we had yesterday morning with the winds coming in from the northeast pumping in the central valley fog. their friends in the north and east bay will only see highs in the 40s. a few high clouds drifting in for the weekend. you will see the temperatures staying pretty cool, hour by hour, right around 3:00. santa cruz, mid-50s. that's going to be the warm spot. we do have a dry weekend. foggy through monday morning. >> 35 is warm, i guess. this morning, wikileaks says u.s. investigators are asking twitter for details about the whistle-blowing website's account. wikileaks say they have a subpoena and are demanding private information, contact information and other personal details of wikileaks founder, julian assange. they are broadcast blasting the court order saying it amounts to

harassment. they have not commented on the case in tick. it's policy is to notify users if possible of government request for information. some residents in southern california are scrambling after the back patios went tumbling head over heels into a golf course below. heavy rain triggered the landslide. some residents noted some of their yards were slipping towards the cliff for years. families have to pack up their belongings immediately and have to find someplace else to sleep. >> is there a law against staying if you want to. they said, the law says you have to go if it is red tagged. i asked for how long, they said i don't know. >> they are not sure if or when the homes will slide. families are busy moving the valuables to the front of their home. this is something we saw a couple years back.

a good thing that crews are fixing public transportation. the cost of gas could hit $5 a gallon by 2012. new numbers could support his claim. right now, the afrmg price for gas in california is 3.34 up by about 31% from last year. the last time gas prices began the year at similar prices was back in 2008 when we were show shelling out about $4 a gal. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," murdered in one of the bay area's largest parks, the mystery is unraveling. there is one thing that could help catch the killer. more local news in 30 minutes. right now, more of the "today" show. dinner's ready! it's french's crunchy onion chicken! (announcer) for a quick and easy dinner crush french fried onions. dip chicken in egg. coat with onion crumbs and bake.

when dinner's made with french's french fried onions, everyone's happy. french's. happy starts here. look for it in the canned vegetable aisle. and we're back on this saturday morning, january 8th, 2011. our thanks to everyone who's come out on the plaza to spend part of their morning with us. it's chilly out there. we're going to head outside. -- we're going to head outside to say hi in just a bit. >> see what's missing behind them? >> the tree is gone. christmas is over. >> i know, feels a little naked out there. >> it does. hopefully we can show up with those smiling faces. back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach along with lester holt. and coming up here on "today," where is felicia simone barnes? >> felicia is a 16-year-old honor student from north carolina. she traveled to baltimore to spend a new year holiday with her half-sister when she simply

vanished. the fbi and baltimore police are baffled. they're doing everything they can to find her. she turned 17, by the way, later this month. coming up we'll talk with felicia's mom live about how she is dealing with her daughter's disappearance and what's being done to find her. >> plus it's been called the milkshake murder. nancy kissel, the american banker's wife living in hong kong was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly lacing her husband's milkshake with sedatives and killing him. hong kong's highest court ruled there should be a new trial and that trial begins next week. coming up we'll take a look at the case and what life has been like for kissel. >> and then die-hard fans probably knew this already, but today would have been elvis presl presley's 76th birthday. now a new photo exhibit is out displaying intimate photos of the king before he became a rock 'n' roll legend. we'll take a look at some of them still ahead. but first we begin this half hour with dr. conrad murray. dr. murray, who has spent the week at a preliminary hearing to determine whether he should be tried on an ill voluntary manslaughter charge in the death

of michael jackson. nbc's george lewis has the latest. >> reporter: in june of 2009, rehearsing for his "this is it" world tour, jackson was having trouble sleeping and turned to his personal physician for help. the singer wound up dead. that physician, dr. conrad murray, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges. dr. murray admits giving jackson a powerful anesthetic, propofol, to induce sleep, but contends it wasn't a lethal dose. on friday, a coroner's investigator told the court she found a dozen bottles of the drug in jackson's home. in earlier testimony, jackson's bodyguard, the paramedics who transported him to ucla hospital and emergency room physicians all said murray never mentioned administering propofol. dr. murray's failure to be candid with other medical personnel is strongly suggestive of both conduct that's below the standard of care, and consciousness of guilt. >> reporter: prosecutors contend murray was distracted, leaving

his patient to make 11 phone calls the day jackson died. a former girlfriend says she was on the phone with murray, but just before noon murray broke off the conversation. prosecutors contend this was about the time jackson went into cardiac arrest. some 20 minutes before 911 was called. jackson's family members have been in court for every day of the hearing. >> what is hurting them so terribly is the evidence of the delay in calling 911. it's devastating to them. >> reporter: and although it hurts hearing the details of michael's death, their attorney says they feel they have a duty to be there. the preliminary hearing continues on monday with the prosecution about halfway through its list of witnesses. murray's lawyers haven't said whether they plan to put on any witnesses of their own. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> we want to get another check of the weather now. for that we'll head outside and say hello again to bill karins in the plaza. bill? >> good morning, lester. 23 degrees with the windchill in

the teens. die-hards out here this morning. what's your sign say? >> fantastic and 40. >> where's your mom at? oh, there she is. i don't see anyone close to 40. where do you guys live? >> rhode island. >> still coming in days for you, too. let's talk about your weekend forecast. the cold air, ao the snow. maybe a little morehan you'd like. oflantic city up through areas delaware, you'll be shoveling later on this afternoon. a little bit of light snow head nothing boston this morning and high terrain of the appalachians getting snow. cold air is the story through the great lakes. windchills are brutal from wisconsin to minnesota, also down in chicago. and then a new storm out west. very active weather pattern, not just today but right into next week. it's a chilly start saturday morning. waking up to 30s around the bay toward the north and east bay valleys. we have some high clouds drifting into the north bay. no worries about rain other than the midst we are seeing some of the fog in spots this morning.

afternoon, expect highs only in the 40s for our north and east bay valleys. 55, santa cruz. 52, san jose. tomorrow, more of the same mornings chilly with safog. we should stay dry through tuesday morning. tuesday night into wednesday, showers return with rain for the better part of the week. if you want your hour by hour forecast you can always get that at weather.com. >> all right, bill, thanks. still to come, easy rider. a side of the late actor dennis hopper you've got to see to believe. >> but up next police are on a frantic search for a 16-year-old honor student. where is felicia simone barnes? hi. chili's tonight? do i know you? yeah. your mother's brother went to summer camp with my uncle's friend's accountant. we're practically family. jason? who? my mom's brother's accountant. yeah. that guy is a maniac. okay. i love jason. isn't he a riot? chili's $20 dinner for two. all you need is somebody to go with. share one appetizer, choose two entrees.

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then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. 16-year-old felicia simone barnes was visiting her half-sister in baltimore for the new year's holiday. on december 20th felicia left the apartment to get something to eat, and that was the last time she was seen. nbc's kristen dahlgren reports. >> reporter: to her family, felicia barnes was a bright light. 16-year-old with a sparkling smile. on track to graduate high school early and head to college. >> she's my baby. she's my flower. >> reporter: now, they haven't seen her in more than a week, and with every day the mystery around her disappearance grows. >> this is completely unlike felicia to disappear like this. >> reporter: the north carolina teen was spending the holidays in baltimore. trying to get to know dina, the 27-year-old half-sister she met just two years ago. staying in dina's apartment, where young people often came

and went. >> met with 20 different guys had been in and out of the apartment since she had been there. >> reporter: felicia was last seen early afternoon on december 28th. officers have combed through local neighborhoods, while choppers fly overhead. and her picture stares out from billboards along i-95. >> this is baltimore's natalie holloway case. this is a young girl who came to the city to visit family and just mysteriously disappeared. >> reporter: while her family just tries to hold onto hope. >> agonizing. >> reporter: for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, baltimore. >> joining us now are anthony pulliamy, spokesperson for the boston police department and felicia's mother janice sallis. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> anthony i want to begin with you, because we heard about felicia's last-known whereabouts. where are you at this point in your investigation? do you have any leads?

do you have any concrete evidence at this point? >> amy, we have -- we're at square one, to be frank. we have nearly 100 law enforcement personnel, whether it's the baltimore police department, the fbi, national center for missing and exploit ploited children, the maryland state police. we're at full throttle. we've thrown every single law enforcement and technological resource at this case trying to find felicia, trying to reunite her safely with her family. we just don't have any solid leads. we're at a crossroads right now investigating two scenarios. one is that somebody did something terrible to felicia in baltimore. and the other is that she was abducted, possibly taken out of the baltimore region, and even out of the state of maryland. >> we heard from felicia's mom in the piece, janice, and we'll hear from her in just a moment. but she said there are about 20 or so young men coming in and out of that apartment. can you give us a sense of what that complex was like, and if you have a true understanding of who was actually there and who may have been the last person to see felicia? >> we do.

i would describe it as a college dorm setting. felicia's half-sister is younger. she had a lot of friends. they came in and out. there were about 20 people we interviewed. we whittled that last down to 12 and we're reinterviewing. we're making sure that people's stories are consistent, and hold. detectives are poking those and trying to make sure we have as solid a time line as we can. at this point we really don't have any leads. >> all right, janice. i know that every mother out there is feeling for you at this point. it's unimaginable what you're going through. can you tell us when the last time you spoke with your daughter, and what her state of mind was like? what information did she give you when you smoke with her? >> i called her on christmas die to tell her that i was lonely and i had missed all of them because they were all gone for the holiday. and i said, you are not going away next year, and she laughed and she said, mommy, i miss you, too. >> janice, we've been describing

your daughter. she's an honor student. she was on track to graduate from high school early. what else can you tell us about her and her relationship with her half-sister. were you comfortable with her being there? >> actually, i encouraged her to find the bond side of her family two years ago, because i didn't want her to be like so many other people wondering what is her other half of her family like. i wanted her to be balanced. i didn't want her to be imbalanced just knowing my side of the family. i wanted her to know her other side of the family, as well. before she had visited approximately four times. and each time before i sent her, i spoke with her half-sister dina, and drilled her, and let her know that the type of lifestyle that she is not allowed. she assured me, she told me she was a student in school, plus

working full time, and that encouraged me a lot to allow her to go up there. that's the type of influence that i wanted her around. when i got there thursday night, however, after the missing, that's when i found out a whole lot of activities had been going on in and out of that apartment, and i felt totally deceived by her half-sister. and had i known about all of that, she would not have visited up to baltimore. >> janice, i want to give the opportunity quickly, we often do this. i know that police right now are at a loss for where your daughter might be, if she's with somebody, if somebody's holding her. is there anything you'd like to tell your daughter or the person or persons who may have her at this point? >> i would like to let her know wlefr she comes home that she's going to be nurtured with lots of love, and i'm going to care for her until i bring her back

to the state of mind that i sent her. however long that takes, and for whoever has her. i condition only express over and over again, god is going to get you worse than the law enforcement is going to get you. >> janice sallis, i know this is a tough time. anthony, thanks so much, as well, for being with us. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. >> and we're back after these messages. [ sneezes ] [ sneezes ] [ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest. no wonder people go out of their way to share them. ♪ [ sneezes ] ♪ ooh! ooh! ♪

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or has recently received a vaccine. with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses, it's stelara®. easy rider, apocalypse now, blue velvet, these are the iconic films we all associate with actor dennis hopper. what some of us may not know is that the legendary actor was a collector of art and memorabilia. this week, his extensive collection will be sold at auction. joining us with a sneak peek is kathy elkise, head of christy's and corporate connections. he's got to have an extensive art collection. there is memorabilia in this, as well. why did he want these items put up for auction? >> well, hopper was a collector for decades, literally. prolific. i think most people don't know that about him. he had four children. they already have some of their own art that they've slegted from the estate. but there was literally hundreds

and hundreds of pieces. more than any one person could manage other than hopper, i suppose. so it just seemed appropriate to send it to auction, and really share the proceeds with the children. and this is very common in an estate mission. >> before we get to the art pieces i want to look at a piece of memorabilia associated with the movie that put him on the map, "easy rider." this is a script. and he was the director. >> this is not hopper's script. this is the script from the script supervisor. what's great about it is, it's got lots of notations, continuity photographs. there's a great one here. so for memorabilia collectors, this is such a great piece because it's a work product. very much the film process and the fact that hopper kept this, for all the art he has, he didn't keep a lot of memorabilia at the end, the fact that he hung onto this, it has meaning for him. >> let's look at some of the artwork. this is andy warhol mao tse-tung. there's something especially interesting about this. >> this is really my favorite piece in the sale. this is a very familiar image to

a lot of people. it was a warhol. warhol and hopper were great friends starting in the '60s. in the 1970s, one late night hopper got spooked, thought there was an intruder in the house, pulled out a gun and fired off two shots. >> and those holes are in this. >> in the light of day we found that he saw mao and what's great is he showed it to warhol who thought this was absolutely brilliant. warhol circled the fire shots. labeled this one warning shot, labeled this one bullet hole. >> it's written right here. warning shot and bullet hole. >> he loved it. it's now a collaboration. but it's got a great story. >> i want to step down here, look at another piece of art. this is helmet newton took this shot. >> this is a great photograph. this was shot out in venus, and you know what's wonderful about this is, and i've worked with this collection now for over six months. we sold the first part in november. there are many faces of hopper. and so this is sort of very different kind of depiction of him. you see him in the suit. he's looking very thoughtful.

you'll see the next image a very different side of him. i actually love this. it's just a beautiful shot. and they were quite close. and this is dedicated to him, which for a collector is a really special thing. >> it's a great shot. let's contrast to this andy leibovitz shot. >> more on the dark side. it's a little bit moodier. >> christopher walken with him? >> they were working on a film together "true romance." what's great is it is a shot at the infamous, legend' chateau marmont hotel in l.a. which gives it a whole other veneer. it's a little dark. but these are kind of dark portraits of hollywood. >> and lastly, he was awarded a star on the hollywood walk of tame. >> he was. >> shortly before his death. >> and this is actually probably one of his last public appearances. what's great is, again, this sale is very much about the art. the art collection. but obviously, you know, he made such an imprint on our culture that to have a piece that really

represents the culmination of his film career, you know, starting with "easy rider" but numerous movies since, it's just a great piece to have in the collection. >> any estimate what all this will go for? >> neighbor about a million dollars. what's great is, about 300 lots. there's things for $200 if you're a film poster collector up to about $30,000 or $40,000 for a warhol. so there's really hopefully something for everyone in the sale. >> all right. kathy, thanks for being here. >> thank you so much. >> we're back in a moment. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans

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still to come on "today," how does actress marilu henner remember literally every day of her life? >> that's ahead. we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus i can pick it up for free. perfect because we have to get that outta this house. c'mon, it's not that... gahh,

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with a fruit, grain, and yoplait light. betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit. oh...neither have you... sean. well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. good morning to you. taking a live look at the golden gate bridge. if it were lighter, you might not see the bridge because it has been foggy. not only foggy but also cold. >> it is. we have 30s and 40s outside. golden gate bridge, mid-40s. san jose, pretty chilly by san jose standards. 43 degrees. east wind at 5. chris pointed this out. it is chilly out there, especially the tri valley east bay. we are waking up to mid-30s

right now. we have high clouds drifting in. part of a weather system that is going to bring showers well north of the bay today. for us, the combination of morning fog and afternoon high clouds. temperatures on the coast thanks to the offshore winds should be mid-50s for santa cruz. 52, san jose. inland where the fog is going to stick around for places like livermore and fairfield. looking at highs in the mid-40s. more the same tomorrow into monday. then, the rain comes back in and we will see temperatures warming up over the morning temperatures towards the middle part of the week. kris? >> thank you very much, rob. new this morning, california prison officials say they are about to get enough lethal drugs to carry out 80 executions. the british company will ship more than 500 branz of a drug that makes prisoner's unconscious before heart-stopping injections. they made the drug last year and it led to a delay in scheduled

executions starting september. the new shipment could cause executions to resume in california. there is a catch. the fda improves importing them without inspecting them to make sure they work the way they are supposed to. instead, the fda leaves that job up to law enforcement agencies and that opens the door for courts to step in and order testing for that drug. more delays could be in the future. two years after a young man was murdered in golden gate park, his family is still looking for answers. now, they are offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads police to his killer. that reward is being offered by the group requests justice for brandon." 20-year-old brandon lee was shot to death on thanksgiving 2008. for more information about that reward or the case, go to justiceforbrandon.com. construction is chugging along in san francisco's sunset district. it will repair aging tracks,

repave the streets, improve sidewalks and upgrade the water lines. sunset boulevard and tara vel street will be affected. if you are driving through the sunset district, expect slow traffic. track improvement work will continue over the next couple of weekends. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," what if you had to save your city with donations? one east bay city is asking its citizens to do just that. that story and more coming up at 7:00. we have more local news coming up in 30 minutes as well. here is the "today" show.

good morning, welcome back to "today" on a saturday morning. january 8th, 2011. nice crowd joining us here on a chilly, chilly morning. there's not much wind here and there's no snow. we'll take that. outside studio 1a i'm lester holt. >> wow, your glass is half full. it's 23 degrees. it's really chilly. the it's freezing. coming up in this next half hour, as we're talking about the weather, it's all part of the winter weather that swept the east coast. causing delays, travel delays in new york city. we just got a dusting on friday. but it's not over yet. forecasts show a new storm brewing that could bring snow and ice to parts of the country. we're talking about the south, as well. we're going to tell you what

people should be bracing for the worst just ahead. >> now i'm cold. really, really cold. also we're going to change gears and talk about new developments in the so-called milkshake murder. happened back in 2003. it inspired books and a made for tv movie. nancy kissel admitted she killed her wealthy banker husband and was sentenced to life in prison. prosecutors said she knocked him out with a drug-laced milkshake before murdering him. last year a court overturned her conviction. next week her new trial begins. could she go free? we're going to get some more insight into this coming up. >> all right. and on a lighter note, happy birthday elvis. elvis would have turned 76 years old today. that's kind of hard to believe. coming up we're going to take a look of portraits of him as a young man courtesy of very candid photos taken before he changed the face of music. >> i think somebody back there said me too. somebody else's birthday? >> you're 40. >> you and elvis, happy birthday. all right before all that we want to get more on the wild weather that has gripped the

country so far this season. we get the latest from the gathering storm from nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: here we go. again. it may be a new year, but you wouldn't show it outside. the weather looks very much like 2010. the second snowstorm in less than two weeks moved into the northeast friday, blanketing roads, and causing airport delays. it comes as many are still recovering from the deadly post-christmas blizzard that dumped two feet of snow up and down the east coast, including new york city. where many residential streets went unplowed for days. >> i realized there were problems with the city's snow cleaning efforts last week. we want to assure all new yorkers that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we don't experience those kinds of problems again. >> reporter: in the end, the big apple received just a dusting that mostly melted by the time it hit the streets. but all around the country, extreme weather has been playing

out. from heavy rain and mudslides on the west coast, to major snow in the midwest, and freezing temperatures all the way to florida. and more is in store this weekend, as atlanta and parts of the south brace for another rare round of winter. >> several inches of snow in the south is a huge deal. and then you add on some sleet and freezing rain so some ice, we could be talking about a potentially very dangerous situation. >> reporter: old man winter, getting a jump on the new year. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> all right. so everyone wants to know where this storm is headed. a lot of students and a lot of people who don't even own -- >> they already started canceling schools on monday in the deep south because they don't have the plows and salt to handle it. this is going to impact millions of people as we go from sunday through monday into tuesday and then up the coast possibly on wednesday. these are areas of louisiana that are going to deal with snow and ice. some of these cities are going to get icy conditions, some are going to be all snow. the further north you are,

better chance for all snow. atlanta is right on the line. if you're all snow in atlanta you could end up getting possibly six inches of snow. mixed in, it will probably be a little less than that. then the question is does the storm redevelop and turn into a nor'easter? we're going to at least see snow from boston to washington. the high end will be a foot, the low end three or four inches. >> all right, everybody will be listening closely. bill, thank you. >> all right, jeff rossen is standing by inside. he's got another check of the morning's headlines. >> good morning to you. and good morning once again at home. we begin with a drop in the unemployment rate. last month, it felt to 9.4%. that's the lowest level in 19 months. but analysts say part of that decline is because people just stopped looking for work. the economy also added more than 100,000 jobs in december. but experts say that falls short of what they expected. celebrations in pensacola, florida, today by the family of two sisters released from prison after 16 years. but it comes with one big condition.

nbc's thanh truong live in pensacola, florida, for us this morning. good morning to you. >> hi there, jeff. the sisters finally reunited with their family here in the early morning hours. this after walking out of prison 24 hours ago. one of their first stops, after getting out, was gloria's kitchen where gladys and jamie scott were greeted as heroes. the restaurant and its patrons are longtime supporters of the sisters, who say they were unfairly punished for their role in a 1993 armed robbery. the condition that they get released was that one of the sisters donate her kidney to her sick sister. after so many years in prison, the sisters say the simple things in life seem so amazing. >> i just feel like that, you know, we just blessed. and it feels so good to be able to walk outside and feel fresh air, see cars, see trees. >> after being locked up for 16 years, we take nothing for granted. nothing. i can't wait to go home and take out the trash. >> as for the kidney donation,

it's unclear when it's going to take place. and whether the sisters are even a match for a kidney donation. >> nbc's thanh truong in florida. today elvis presley would have turned 76. to celebrate at graceland today is one of his biggest fans, chilean miner pena. he helped to keep morale up for the trapped miners by doing elvis sing alongs. pena says going to graceland is a dream come true. that's the news. now back to lester. >> jeff, thanks very much. bail karens now back with the national forecast for us. >> well, good morning, lester. very cold out here as we've been mentioning. here's from alexandria, virginia, all right? you getting a little snow this morning down there? >> yeah. >> who did you talk to? who told you it's snowing down there? >> my dad. >> doing some shoveling for you. you have fun in new york, but not too much fun without dad. let's talk about this forecast out there. it's an active forecast around the country. we have cold air that's moved down from the great lakes and all through areas of the middle

of the country. but still stormy in montana, wyoming. a winter storm watch in areas of colorado. and of course the pending storm that's going to be arriving in the southeast tomorrow. around the bay area, another chilly start to the morning, especially around the east bay. numbers in the 30s and 40s around san jose. some weather headlines, continuation of the weather we have seen for the last couple of days with the morning fog lingering through the north and east bay valleys into the afternoon. today and tomorrow, dry. tuesday, showers. highs, 40s inland. 50s, san jose. 55, santa cruz. dry weekend. rain comes back in the middle of the week. >> hey, amy, they're chopping up the christmas tree behind us. we've got the chainsaw going out there in the background. unfortunately, it's gone. back to you, amy. >> all right, bill, thank you. now to a new chapter in the so-called milkshake murder. nancy kissel was sentenced to life in prison for killing her wealthy banker hills at their hong kong apartment back in

2005. her story inspired true crime books and a made for tv movie, and starting next week, a new trial could give her a shot at freedom. here's nbc's adrian wong. >> reporter: hong kong, a glamorous international city with a seedy underbelly. >> it's not unusual for hong kong for expatriate wives to murder their husband. >> reporter: but that's not allegedly happened in 2003 in this luxury apartment complex overlooking hong kong, where in a storage room police found the body of american expatriate robert kissel, an investment banker with merrill lynch, wrapped in a carpet. his wife nancy, a michigan native, was accused of drugging him with a milkshake spiked with sedatives and bludgeoning him to death with a heavy ornament. the mother of three was charged with murder in a case that quickly became dubbed the milkshake murder. garnering worldwide attention and inspiring books, and a made for tv movie. >> what have you done? >> i've made us money. >> reporter: during the trial,

details about their marriage emerged, including accusations by nancy that her husband of 14 years had been abusing her. and only a year into the proceedings tragedy struck the family again, when robert's brother andrew was found dead with multiple stab wounds in his greenwich, connecticut home. his murder is still unsolved. nancy kissel was convicted by a jury six years ago and sentenced to life. but last year the court of final appeals, hong kong's highest court, ruled that there should be a new trial. mrs. kissel killed mr. kissel, the court wrote, in a unanimous decision that cited legal errors at the original trial. that much is not in dispute. but was the killing certainly murder or might have it been in self-defense? hong kong journalist francis moriarity has been following the case since the beginning. >> the question comes back, can she get a fair trial in hong kong? >> reporter: but the new trial, which is due to begin next wednesday and will last 50 days, also raises another question.

>> what does nancy kissel really think? what does she have to say? will we even see her at trial? she took the stand in the first trial. will she take it in the retrial? >> reporter: making this not just a potential murder, but a mystery, as well. for "today," adrian wong, nbc news, hong kong. >> and joining us now for more insight is paul callen, criminal defense attorney and former new york city homicide prosecutor. paul, good morning. >> good morning. >> it's not in dispute whether or not nancy kissel killed her husband. she admitted so, even in her first trial. the defense put on a self-defense defense. is that likely what we'll see again this time around? >> we'll definitely see that this time around. you know, this is such a fascinating case. they -- there was substantial evidence that she drugged her husband, and then killed him by striking him repeatedly with a blunt instrument. at trial, she surprised everyone by saying, yes, i drugged him, because he was a brutal cocaine

addicted person, and he attacked me with a baseball bat, and i defended myself with this object. and that's how the trial went back and forth, back and forth. she was eventually convicted, of course, and sentenced to life in prison. >> now, paul, you weren't directly involved with this case but you do have an interesting connection. you had conversations with a private investigator that her husband robert hired, because he feared for his life, correct? can you tell us about what this investigator found? >> well, it's very interesting. robert kissel, who was killed in this case, a goldman sachs financial trader, had a relationship with a guy named frank shea, a former new york city detective, one of a top investigators in new york and kissel called shea up and said, you know something, i think my wife is trying to poison me. frank went over to hong kong, and he was going to have tested a decanter of scotch because he thought there might be drugs in it and he repeatedly warned kissel that he thought kissel was, in fact, being poisoned. shea also had surveillance done

and found out that mrs. kissel was having an affair. so there was motive for the killing. >> all right. and so robert told the investigator that he feared for his life, and yet that ironically was part of the testimony that led to the conviction being, at least, thrown out at this point, correct? >> yes. i think a lot of people will have a hard time with this. but there's a rule called the hearsay rule. and in this case, the deceased robert kissel says to frank shea, i think she's trying to kill me. i think she's trying to poison me. he also says this to another person. that was introduced in evidence before the jury. the high court in hong kong said that's hearsay. you can't cross-examine the deceased person. we don't think it's reliable evidence, the judge should not have admitted it into evidence. the jury never should have known that robert kissel feared his wife was going to kill him. so they reversed the conviction based, at least in part, on that mistake. >> and paul, quickly, do you think we'll hear from nancy in this trial? >> oh, i think we definitely will. and i think the prosecutor will

come at her, maybe even in a stronger way on retrial because they now know exactly what the defense is going to be. >> paul callen, thanks so much, we appreciate it. >> nice to be with you, amy. >> still to come, imagine being able to remember every detail of every day of your life. actress marilu henner can do just that. we're going to find out about her amazing ability right after these messages. made with 100% natural whole-grain oats and loaded with real fruit. crisp, fresh red and green apples, sweet cranberries and golden raisins. be honest now -- when has good for you made you feel this good and been this delicious? introducing mcdonald's new fruit & maple oatmeal. freshly made for you. the simple joy of loving what's good for you. that's what we're made of. ♪ that's what♪we're made of. looks like it's time to stock up. so, save big at the petsmart stock up and save sale. right now, save up to 25%

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>> reporter: she can recall almost everything in great detail. >> i was racking my brains to try to remember the first time we met. do you remember? i don't remember. >> it was friday, february the 13th, of 1998. >> reporter: henner is one of six people diagnosed with a rare condition called superior autobiographical memory. >> their brains are almost like encyclopedias of their entire lives and they can look up any page, any moment, that they want to or someone asks them about some detail. >> reporter: it's so rare doctors don't yet fully understand how it works. researchers hope that studying the condition could benefit those with empaired memory. >> it really is like selected scenes on a dvd. and it lines up left to right, kind of in a chronological order and it's like, the year will come in, but some days will come in more vividly than others. >> reporter: for many, forgetting is important. but for henner, it's all about remembering.

>> is this a blessing basically, or are there times when you wish you could, because the emotions -- and not every one is a pleasant one. >> i know. but as an actress you look for those things. so i never thought it was weird to sort of feel this way. >> she's writing a book to share her experiences. it may well be rich with detail. >> and i just feel like if i can help people, because i know what goes on in my brain, now maybe i can help people access theirs. >> i wonder to what extent you can train yourself to at least be somewhat -- >> she was hoping that maybe she could teach her. she was trying to teach meredith how to remember her last meeting. it wasn't really helping. i can't remember what i did yesterday. >> i can't remember what i did in the last section! >> right. so i'm glad at least some people have that memory. i wouldn't want to live with that person, though. they'd bring up everything, right? >> that's true. i'd be in the doghouse all the time. >> still ahead, the man who would be king. see the intimate photos of elvis presley taken before his fame. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans

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you may find it hard to believe but the king of rock 'n' roll, elvis presley, would have turned 76 years old today. a new photo exhibit is showing a young elvis, before he became the king. here's nbc's ron mott. >> i met elvis on march 17th of 1956 in a dressing room. >> reporter: he was 26 at the time. he had just returned from war in korea and was trying to become a photographer, scraping together rent money when he was given an assignment. >> he said i want you to photograph elvis presley. and then there was that 15 seconds of silence, and i said, elvis who? at that time, he hadn't had a gold record yet. he was basically a well-known regional singer, and i was a

photographer who was in business now for one year as a freelancer. >> reporter: over ten days, he shot what are now some of the most iconic images of the man who would be king. it's said that no other photographer was ever given this type of access, and it left an intimate and unvarnished image of presley. now the photos are on exhibit at the national portrait gallery in washington, d.c. where amy henderson is the curator. >> there's that energy that these photographs convey about elvis that is remarkable. and i think audiences picked that up. they walk through kind of smiling. >> reporter: for elvis, these pictures were about trust. >> he permitted closeness. he never once said, hey, al, what are you doing? he felt that one of these days he's going to become famous. and if you don't have a photographer following you, and showing what you do, how will the people in the future ever know what you did?

you have to record this as memories for the future. ♪ going to a party >> reporter: in a 2002 harris poll 84% of americans said elvis presley has touched their lives in some way. half a century since he first struck it big in these photos, elvis still hits that soulful american chord like only the king could do, ron mott, nbc news. >> timeless. still to come, on "today," the controversy between the hit mtv reality show "teen mom." >> plus the nba dance team that's only gotten better with age. but first these messages. [ male announcer ] if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death

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good morning to you. we are experiencing some fog. very cold temperatures. i wouldn't complain except it makes for a long walk to the car. >> we do have a lot of fog pumping in from the east bay. here is a view from the sin knoll grade. you had visibility down to a few feet. golden gate bridge, you can see the fog. you can see itic maing the

lights a little fuzzy there as you go across the bridge. you will see some patchy fog. the worst of it has been in and around the south bay and places like out towards livermore too. you can see san jose seeing some fog for you. your seven-day forecast, not all that bad. san jose should see temperatures climbing into the low 50s over places like livermore and sin knoll. it will be a dry weekend. the rain will enter the picture as we head toward the middle part of the week. foggy for the morning. afternoon, not too bad for your week end plans. >> we have plenty of them. thank you very much, rob. >> if you are heading toward the golden gate bridge, you might need to fire up your gps, whether or not you know your route. parts of highway 1 at 101 will be off limit to drivers as part of a project. northbound highway one to 1001 will be closed. the southbound ramp from

southbound 101 to southbound highway 1 will shut down. it will reopen at 10:00 tomorrow morning. cash-strapped san jose will sell off most likely five city properties for land to build a major league baseball stadium. they are downdown and include the retail annex next to the fairmont hotel. the city's redevelopment agency says the property should bring in about $25 million which would help the city to buy property for the stadium near hp pavilion. the stadium would be paid for by private investors and the oakland a's. next week, san francisco will make history when the board of supervisors appoints the city's first asian-american mayor. on tuesday, they are expected to confirm, city administrator, ed lee as the city's interim mayor. they voted overwhelmingly in favor of lee in a 10-1 vote.

the chinese community packed the meeting to express their approval for lee. outgoing mayor, gavin newsom helped to engineer that choice. >> if i walked away and we got offtrack, that would have carried me into sacramento and i would have had to answer that up and down the state. now, i won't have to. you better believe i am glad i stuck around. >> mayor newsom said he will appoint a new district attorney to replace camilla harris. he will be sworn in as the state's lieutenant governor on monday. coming up on "today in the bay," san francisco making history with the first asian-american mayor. we will talk more about that coming up at 7:00. the rest of the day's top news and the forecast in 30 minutes. they taste so good. now we're adding even bigger pieces of white meat chicken. oh, so when's the big day? oh, we got married years ago. but the point is, i fit in it! are you wearing it... right now? yes! well, good for you.

[ shopper ] excuse me. oh, so sorry. you look nice. oh, thank you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. and we're back on this saturday morning, january 8th, 2011. rockefeller christmas tree is no longer on the plaza. another holiday season has come and gone, but winter is still with us. back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach. along with lester holt. and there are a few brave souls out there braving those very cold temperatures outside. still to come in this half hour of "today," teen moms. >> a lot of people watch the mtv reality show. if you've never seen it, the show follows young girls, 16 and 17 years old, having and raising babies. it's caused some controversy. and certainly sparked a good deal of discussion. coming up we'll take a look at the show and the struggles these young girls are trying to deal with. >> and as i mentioned, baby,

it's cold outside. for many, cold weather means that dry, flaky skin. but with the right choices, your skin can actually survive the season and thrive. coming up, the remedies you need to know before stepping out into the cold. >> then, take a look at some lovely ladies. they're called the netsasational dancers. and they wow the crowd during halftime of the new jersey nets nba basketball games. coming up we'll meet these dancing women. >> i think i might pull a muscle with some of those moves. but first let's get a check of the weather from bill karins. >> good morning. very cold out here today. you're a big oklahoma fan, right? >> we are all from texas -- >> oh, i'm sorry. didn't mean to insult you there. you've got the horns up. tell us about the weather. so much going on out there as we go throughout this weekend. a storm system that's going to be developing in the south. today some snow in areas of southern jersey. that's going to clip to boston and cape cod area. also a big storm system heading through the rockies, montana,

wyoming. that will head through nebraska in the next 24 to 48 hours. a big snowstorm in nebraska. but the big story will be the snow and ice alone the gulf coast. we could see significant snowfall totals in areas that don't typically get it. we're talking louisiana, mississippi, alabama, and possibly even atlanta, georgia. that would be a travel nightmare about monday. another chilly start to the morning around the bay area. 30s and 40s. coldest temperatures in around the east bay valley. pretty thick fog being pumped in due to offshore winds. we have high clouds coming in from the north. interesting weather off to the north out toward seattle. game one of the nfc wild card game. the sea hawks and saints will see showers and maybe some sleet in some spots around seattle. 40s and 50s for the bay area. dry weekend. showers come back by midweek.

good morning. i'm kris sanchez. next on 7:00, oakland mayor will wrap on doors today. what she wants from some of the folks that live in some of her city's most violent neighborhoods. executions could resume for some of california's death row inmates. what could happen next? the kind of landslide we fear along our coastline here in the bay area are now a realized nightmare for folks in southern california. [ dog barking ] mom!

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good saturday morning, folks. hope that your saturday is off to a very nice start. taking a live look at the golden gate bridge. we see lots of fog. if you haven't stepped out of your door just yet, make sure that you bundle up in your blanket. it is cold out there. rob mayeda is here and'm