i'd love some. one taste, and you'll understand. delicious dunkin' donuts coffee. pick some up where you buy groceries. america runs on dunkin'. good morning, occupyout rage. police officers blast pepper spray at california university. send sg shock waves around the campus and the occupy movement. >> new questions surrounding the mysterious death of natalie wood 30 years after the tragedy. why is the case being reopened now. what do they believe happened the night the hollywood star drown? we'll have the latest. prince in the city. harry says hello on a night out on the strip. we have the details november 20,

2011. good morning, everyone. welcome to today on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna holt. what stays in las vegas stays in las vegas unless you are prince harry. >> right. he's wrapping up military training exercises here. a colorful weekend he spent in vegas. we'll have more on that, coming up. >> or not to have a colorful weekend in vegas. on a more serious note, without a trace, a woman disappears the same day she appearses on the people's court. friends and family are desperate to find out what happened to her and why. the penn state sex abuse

scandal. ncaa is taking part of the investigation. the football team played over the weekend and the sad news about joe paterno and his bout of cancer. we'll have the latest, straight ahead. >> thanksgiving days away, believe it or not. we have the inside scoop on the macy's thanksgiving day parade. i went to the studio where the balloons and floats come to life. it definitely brought out the kid in me is an understatement. that thing behind me, that was a tricycle. >> there are so many christmas decorations up, i feel like we went past thanksgiving. it's crazy. we are talking about turkey day. we asked you to send your favorite stuffing recipes. we have a stuffing cook off. one contestant makes individual

servings, stuffing muffins. say it four times fast. >> we have a lot to get to. let's begin with the shocking video of the university of california davis where a police officer was recorded pepper spraying a group of protesters. we are live with more. good morning. >> good morning, lester. whatever your politics may be abtd the occupy protest movement, it's a disturbing video that's raised questions about police tactics used across the country to break up encampment. it's the viral video that provoked outrage. uc davis police pepper spraying a row of students seen here with their arms locked and seated on a sidewalk, part of the occupy protest. >> we have a right to be here. this is a peaceful protest. >> now the association is calling on uc chancellor to

resign for authorizing police action against the student-led sit in. >> i understand the unfortunate situation that was created for the students. >> the protesters were pushing police back. the police chief said protesters were cutting the officers off from their support. it's a volatile situation. that incident capped off a week of police crackdowns, including this one of an 84-year-old woman seen here in this photo on seattlepi.com. the latest crackdowns on how authorities are dealing with the occupy protest encampment. it may be the students who be refusing to move are bringing new life to the movement two months later. the university chancellor ordered a review of the incident.

they acted after protesters refused their orders. they were surrounded by students in what could have been a volatile situation. >> thanks very much. we have much more to get to. willie geist is at the news desk. good morning, system good morning. we begin in the middle east where police and protesters are clashing for the second day. richard engel is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. election four, a new parliament here is one week away. yet once again, violence in the streets of cairo. more clashes in the square today. protesters and the members of egyptian forces in which two people were killed, 700 injured. protesters are demanding the military immediately transfer authority to a government. they accused the egyptian army as establishing themselves as a

permanent custodian of the political system. now, there is still a week to go between now and the key elections. between now and then, there may be more violence. >> thank you. some of the republican presidential candidates are getting emotional on the campaign trail. mike viqueira is live at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. itis almost six weeks to go before the iowa caucuses. many candidates were gathered together speaking at a thanksgiving scene. many of them, you are right, spoke in personal terms about the challenges they have faced throughout their lives and the role of faith in their lives. at one point, newt gingrich took a swipe at some of the occupy wall street protesters gathered around the nation. >> go get a job right after you take a bath. >> reporter: back here in washington, all eyes are on

congress looming wednesday's deadline for the supercommittee. they are supposed to come up with $1.2 trillion in savings. right now, it looks like they are going to fail. that would trigger deep cuts. >> thanks for the promotion. thanks so much. firefighters say they have the upper hand on a wind driven wildfire in the foothills of reno, nevada. it's burned more than 2,000 acres and damaged or destroyed 32 homes. there were 200 car wrecks in three hours, if you can believe it after a couple inches of snow fell in minnesota saturday. 25 people were hurt. none of them seriously. finally, a marine corps sergeant runs from afghanistan to a hot day with mila kunis. she accepted an invitation to be his guest at a marine corps ball in greenville, north carolina. that is the news. back to lester, jenna and

janice. >> trying to wipe the grin off his face. >> hey, janice. nice in new york today. >> man they are getting slammed on the west coast, again. another winter storm moving into california. heavy rain from san francisco to los angeles. the foothills of l.a. 5,000 feet, three to six inches of snow expected. get zimpacting us in the bay area. we have showers and downpours moving off to the north and east. notice what's happening offshore of san francisco. the next batch about to move in across the peninsula. we'll be watching that. you can see that low scooting its way down th coast. later today, most of the showers will drip further south of san jose, setting us up for a dry start to the short workweek. more rain comes in wednesday night into thanksgiving. here is lester.

janice, thanks. to the latest in the growing of the penn state sex scandal many it continues to take surprising new turns every day. one of the new surprises, joe paterno, the legendary coach forced to step down, has lung cancer. jay gray is live at state college to tell us more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. another tough week on this campus. look, only for a few hours and did nothing to change the allegations here or the scandal, but last night, many in this place they call happy valley said they finally had a reason to cheer. it's thanksgiving break at penn state, and many of the students are gone. but the controversy here clearly is not. on the road saturday, taking on rival ohio state, the nittany lions got their first victory in more than 45 years without legendary head coach joe paterno, whose family revealed late friday that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

>> they will keep fighting, you keep fighting, and everything will be great. >> reporter: but even for fans who gathered to watch the fin, the focus is still not entirely on the field. >> certainly what's going on over the past two weeks is always in the front of our minds, with the impact it's going to have on the team and the university, alumni. >> reporter: an impact that won't be fully realized until multiple investigations are complete. this week, the ncaa joins local police and an independent committee at penn state in the search for answers. federal agents could still learn that list. sources tell us that the fbi and federal prosecutors are moving closer to opening their own case to deal with allegations that jerry sandusky traveled across state lines to penn state bowl games with young boys and repeatedly abused them, and he used the internet to contact or

promote potential victims. there are questions about what mike mcqueary saw or said. too many investigations could take the focus away from the victims and the man accused of the horrific crimes. >> i'm not sure the ncaa and the other folks that -- the federal government, everybody else that wants to join in, might not dilute what we're able to find out about this. >> reporter: so that is what many in this community and on this campus worry about the most. what they may find out next. and let's get back to the football game for just a minute. there were indications that the team, after the big win, planned to bring the game goal to coach paterno's house when they returned from ohio. that did not happen. though there are some who believe it could later today. >> jay gray, thank you very much. here's jenna. the sex scandal at penn state brought to light another disturbing allegation from the area, one that involves the catholic church. nbc national investigative

correspondent michael isikoff reports. >> reporter: the same year that jerry sandusky is aalleged to have molested a boy, there was allegations that many assaults happened in a church rectory, which they were horrific. >> the abuse was the most heinous types of acts. sodomized, subjected to oral sex. acts of this nature occurred routinely. >> reporter: in the end, that victim was awarded $1.8 million. the diocese had to pay another $8 million to other victims. and those who had to live through the sex abuse scandal with the church now are relive it with penn state.

>> so many factors, frankly, are what attract predators. >> reporter: what penn state officials knew about the sandusky allegations and what they did about it are the focus of multiple investigations. in the catholic priest scandal, the church fought the lawsuits all the way, transferred one priest, accused of molesting 11 victims from parish to parish. the local bishop said that the accusations had been handled prudently, confidentiality, and charitably. but the church was found accountable. >> they found the church more culpable than the predator priest, they had knowledge of misconduct and took no action to stop it. >> reporter: now the stakes couldn't be higher for penn state. not just criminal prosecutions, but an expected wave of lawsuits, that some lawyers say could cost the joouchuniversity much, if not more, than the

earlier cases cost the catholic chur church. up next on "today," the people's court mystery and the woman who vanished after right afteth.the show. - [spoken in chinese] will you marry me? - [spoken in spanish] will you marry me? - will you marry me? male announcer: before saying those words, there's one word every man should know. - leo. - leo. - leo. announcer: the leo diamond at kay jewelers, a fire, sparkle, and brilliance so intense, it is the first diamond ever certified to be visibly brighter, one more reason kay is the number one jewelry store in america. - [spoken in chinese] yes. - [spoken in spanish] yes. - yes.

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in florida, police are searching for a missing mom who vanished after appearing on an episode of "the people's court" and some are wondering if her disappearance may be related to what she said on the show. >> i felt somebody grab me and yank me around. >> reporter: one of the last times michelle parker was seen was in court, "the people's court". she and her ex-fiance fighting over her engagement ring. after this episode aired, the 33-year-old mother of three vanished. >> this is heart wrenching. and i'm very, very, very scared. >> reporter: orlando police say parker last seen by friends at around 2:00 p.m. on thursday.

at 4:30, her brother received an uncharacteristically short text message from her cell phone and that was the last time anyone heard from her. >> it is the absolute biggest nightmare of your life that somebody may have your child. they may be hurting her. >> reporter: orlando police say parker and her ex, have a violence history, but they have no suspects. her family believes smith was the last person to see parker when she dropped off their 3-year-old twins at their home late that afternoon. but they say they have no reason to suspect him. nbc news has reached out to smith for comment, but receive nod response. on friday, police found parker's suv in a part of town that she normally doesn't visit. they are still searching for her. >> open that mouth up and search anywhere in a five-mile radius. >> reporter: the question remains, does the heated tv fight have dig knick to do with parker's disappearance, or is it

just a coincidence? nbc news, miami. >> joining us live from orlando, where the search for michelle parker continue ere eer continu mother, and father. >> thank you so much for trying to help us. >> yvonne, let me begin with you i know every possibility has gone through your mind. what theories stand out in your mind at this point? >> i think somebody carjacked her. i think somebody knows information about this hummer. it's so distinctive. they have to be able to remember where they may have seen her. that's the biggest thing we want to get out right now. that hummer, any information, if you have seen her on thursday afternoon between 3:00 and 8:00. >> let me turn to lauren. we know she appeared on "the people's court" the same day. your mom thinks it was a carjacking. do you think it has nothing to

do at all with the show? >> i'm sorry. the show? it could just be a coincidence. we really don't know if it has to do anything with "the people's court." we're not ruling anything out. there is nothing that's being ruled out right now. we need to focus on all possible aspects. somebody out there somewhere will know something, even if they don't realize it. something might spark in their mind a -- you know, they saw something. >> that particular show she was on as we noted with her exfiance, dale smith. the episode was taped months before but aired the same day she disappeared. did she show any anxiety about that particular broadcast coming on the air? >> the only anxiety she showed is, she didn't really tell a lot of people about it because she was going to be on that show, but she wasn't trying to be like, hey, i'm going to be on. she wasn't excited about it she did what she had to do for her

circumstances. but, you know, she did it. so -- >> and, brad, you had spoken with your daughter wednesday. the two of had you made plans to go to dinner on friday. she wanted you to meet a new person in her life. how did she sound? anything that left you curious? >> no, nothing at all. she was in good tone, glad to see us, and we were going to go eat some oysters. she didn't even tell me about the show being aired. she didn't say nothing. we talked the about 235 minutes or some of and i said i'll call you friday morning, we'll meet up and have supper. >> the car was found on the west side of orlando. any reason why she would be in that part of town? >> we have no idea. she don't come on this side town. someone grabbed her, we're not sure actually if they took her and someone else took the car. like lauren said, it's wide open. we have no clues right now.

>> hopefully -- >> where her car was found -- where her car was found is right next to the big mall of millennia. the only reason -- her and i love mac makeup. there is a mac makeup store. that is the only connection we could possibly have. she was tired. she wanted to go home and take a nap before she had to go to work at 7:30. no reason she would have done that. >> hopefully this exposure will create more attention and exposure. a lot of people in the back ready to search. thank you so much, we appreciate your time this morning. ba income a mome back in a moment. first, these messages. and tea to choose from. keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. because it is.

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good morning to you. looking live at downtown san jose, where christmas in the park is building up slowly and steadily toward the thanksgiving day holiday. thanks so much for joining us on this sunday morning. i'm kris sanchez with meorologist rob mayeda. we had a big food drive yesterday. >> it w ait good day for it. this morning,ome a plas seeing rain. otr places, downpours. we havee a little bit lightning and thunder offshore. thbi will continue to rotate h th trougrehehrough the next bay.le hours across e restea you can seeeee ofhose

showers apprching the coast. some of that, i think, may hold up over the coastlinep and brin some lightning and thunder. we're going to have to watch this line as it continues to cross over the peninsula. in the meantime, san jose has had some moderate rain showers. let's take you on a quick tour around the bay. we'll ta you to the south bay to start things off. san jose, a break in the action. east bay, things are relatively dry. where things could get interesting is right there west of san francisco. you see those lightning bolts showing up. the trend, i think, as we go through the day is most of these showers are going to head south toward southern california. kind of a rainy start for the morning. a little less so for the north baby lunchtime. by 4:00, look at those highs today. only mid 50s. the showers will shut down and clear the bay area. then a dry start to the workweek but just in time for thanksgiving looks like more rain coming on in again. not the best timing. >> nobody wants to go outside on thanksgiving anyway.

>> just stay in and stay near the oven. >> thanks, rob. a candle light vigil will be held later tonight for a fallen vallejo police officer who was shot and killed while chasing a bank robbery suspect last thursday. he also coached a girl's basketball team last year, and the entire team walked to a makeshift memorial site by the police station. the vigil will be held at vallejo city hall tonight at 6:00. an investigation is underway into the handling of occupy protesters by uc davis campus police. video shot on friday shows police pepper spraying a group of protesters who are refusing to leave the area. police say they had given the crowd of 200 several warnings to pack up their tents, and then they were forced to spray police. the uc davis chancellor says the video is chilling and now she's forming a fact-finding task force made up of pufaculty,

students, and staff. >> the unfortunate and very bad situation that was created for our students on friday. >> so painful. your eyes are just in excruci e excruciating pain. it goes up your nose. you start kind of choking. >> the chancellor says the task force will release its findings in 90 days. the uc davis police chief says the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," police move in on an occupy encampment overnight. the latest on that developing news. plus, all of the day's top stories coming up at 7:00. more of that very rainy forecast rob was telling us about. see you back here in 30 minutes.

we're back on this sunday morning, november 20th, all right. 2011. four days until thanksgiving. we have a great crowd on the plaza. not too cold today. people are here for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. thanks for spending part of your sunday morning with us. every sunday morning we tweet. >> yeah. >> you do all the work. i retweet it. >> that's the way it is for the rest of the show. we walk around and have fun. >> what are you?

>>@jenna wolfe. >> i'm learning this whole twitter thing. >> you do great. >> trying to be more active on it. coming up, we are talking more about natalie wood and what happened. >> there's an official count that it was an accident. she drown 30 years ago after spending a night on the yacht with her husband. they ruled the death accidental. reopening the investigation, we'll hear what her sister has to say and which actor hired an attorney all these years later. >> the last time i was in las vegas, i think two people recognized me. prince harry is there. what kind of time do you think he's going to have? he had a night at one of the biggest clubs. his love for motorcycles. center stage as he rode across

the dessert. harry on a harley. >> i think he deserves a little time to kick it up. he's been doing military training in the u.s. for the last eight weeks. then a stuffing contest. some call it dressing, we are going to call it stuffing. three were chosen. we are going to pick a winner, coming up after the tasting. >> calorie free. none of those things. it's actually going to taste amazing. >> i have been a big fan of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. we watch the floats, the balloons go by. i went to the factory where all the floats and balloons are put together. it was a helium experience for me. it was a lot of fun. we'll take a look inside. >> talking funny after inhaling all the helium. >> not much. >> all right. we have a check of the weather.

>> good morning. brother, sister and cousin from connecticut and where? >> pennsylvania. >> are you having fun? >> yeah. >> you're too cute. give this guy an a. let's check the weather and see what's going on this morning. across the country for the travel forecast, i can't believe it's thanksgiving almost, already. it's going to be a tricky travel week with rain and thunderstorms spreading from dallas to chicago to eventually here in new york we'vegot some rain. isolated down pours there. the tri-valley. east bay, not so bad. but look at that. west of pacifica. that line of showers has a history of lightning. seems to be weakening a little bit heading toward san francisco. cold, unstable air rotating off the coast will pull inland. we have showers at times off and on throughout the day. decreasing later in the afternoon. highs in the 50s. yes, a dlie start to the short workweek.

tonight we have sunday night football here on nbc p and we have a big game going on. itis going to be happening at metlife stadium in new jersey. the new york giants will host the philadelphia eagles. we are not wearing coats right now. it's going to be in the 60s later. >> janice, thanks. prince harry has been on military training exercises in california. his trip to the u.s. is not all work. harry is having a bit of fun along the way. that was the case over the weekend with the prince hitting the las vegas strip. nbcs duncan has more. >> reporter: he's known as the party prince. you can see why. getting wet and wild here and yesterday dancing on down this las vegas club. reports say harry arrived at the vip section around midnight.

admiring young ladies followed. at the end of eight weeks, the prince has been having fun. friday, harry on a harley. britain's most eligible bachelor roaring across the arizona dez sirte. he's seen his brother up the aisle. no girl is able to take him down the aisle. his girlfriend on and off again and finally off. he met a cocktail waitress. she says he was a perfect gentleman. >> like any young guy in his late 20s. he wants to have fun. he's possibly one of the most photographed bachelors in the world. >> reporter: since then, he's been to work in the arizona air force base. eight weeks of training as an apache pilot. this is the image buckingham palace would prefer to see from

serving in afghanistan to campaigning for charity in africa. the motto is work hard, play hard. nbc news, london. by the way, captain harry whals is here with other members of the british army. he is at the top of his training class. now, here is lester. thanks. now the developments surrounding the death of actress natalie wood. authorities reopened the case. it has many people talking, including the cyst. we have the report. >> reporter: from child star to silver screen icon. >> let me -- entertain you. >> reporter: natalie wood did just that, entertain movie goers. the three time nominated actress died 30 years ago in a mysterious accident aboard a

yacht about robert wagner. >> an accidental drowning. >> friday, an announcement. >> recently, we received information, which we felt was substantial enough to make us take another look at this case. >> reporter: including information from the boat's captain. >> i made a mistake by not telling the honest truth. >> what took place was the subject of speculation for many years and reopening the case triggered mixed reaction. natalie's sister told media she welcomed the news. >> to natalie. i think all the facts need to come out. >> doug, who found natalie's body floating in the water says reopening the case will be painful. >> i think it's bad from the standpoint that robert's family and everybody has to deal with it again. >> reporter: christopher hired a lawyer.

in 2008, robert wagner explained how wood died. >> she slipped on a step of the boat and hit her head and rolled into the water. tragic, tragic night. >> others speculated it was a lover's triangle that ended in tragedy. now, 30 years later, the boat's captain is pointing a finger at wagner. wagner ordered him not to search for her or alert authorities immediately. the sheriff's department is classifying the death as an accident and said wagner is not a suspect. the wagner family welcomes a new investigation which would prove to be the last act in this hollywood mystery. for today, nbc news, los angeles. joining us now with more insight is casey jordan. good morning, good to see you.

>> great to be here again. >> they tell an interesting story, but not the same one told 30 years ago. if you are reopening this investigation, do you rely on him as key witness? >> he is the person bringing this new concept. he's calling it evidence. he has the co-author getting affidavits saying things are not as he said 30 years ago. but, his credibility is going to be in question. memory does not get better with age and skeptics are going to say he's trying to exploit the 30-year anniversary to sell his book. >> they say they have a lot of new information. he may be one component. to think he fits with other things they learned, it would make it more critical. >> but he's not coming forward with what the new evidence is. they are going to hash over someone heard a woman screaming. there was an argument. it stopped. if you piece it together, there really is a logical explanation for how things could have

absolutely been an accident. it's turning the details. i haven't heard one report of something new other than he's saying robert wagner told him not to go look for natalie that night. that seems to be it. other than allegations, there's no forensic evidence of foul play. it's coming down to his word, the captain's word against the other occupants. >> no physical evidence or a body to exhume if you wanted to go there. >> it doesn't sound like -- she was buried, not cremated. there's no talk of doing that. a proper autopsy was done at the time. if there was evidence of foul play, a knife wound, strangulation, it would have been discovered at that time. slipped, fallen, drown is feasible. that is what they came up with 30 years ago. >> we have seen cases, cold cases reopened and they do learn new information. i mean, there is a possibility

they could. >> absolutely. this isn't a cold case. this is a closed case. it had a proper investigation. now, whatever evidence had been brought forward by the captain and his co-author, the police have an obligation to look at it. i'm happy they are taking it seriously. but, at the same time, going to go to hawaii and florida. they are enjoying free vacations and going to get the same outcome. >> they can say they did it. follow up. >> they can say they did due diligence. ha tpolice agencies should do hk >> thanks. we're back in a moment. ery much. >> great to be here. >> we're back in a moment. ♪happy birthday to you. ♪happy birthday to you.

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a part as thanksgiving as turkey and stuffin. >> welcome to the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> where do the characters, like sponge bob, spiderman and snoopy come from? >> who rang that bell? >> hi. >> hi, jenna. welcome to the brand new macy's da parade studio. >> reporter: this is macy's parade studio, which just opened in september and before any of the parade's 25 floats hit broadway, they are drilled, stapled, sanded and painted right here. every turn of the prize. a sight behind every door. >> in this area -- >> oh! >> if willy wonka did parades this would be his factory. >> come november, the noise and

action doesn't stop. willy wonka around these parts is named john piper. is he vice president of macy's studio, and this thanksgiving morning, he'll work his 31st parade. it starts at 9:00. what time do you get up that day? >> we start with a meeting on 7:30 on wednesday morning. >> i said 9:00 a.m. thursday, you start with a meeting at 7:30 and go straight through? >> yes. >> i love it today john and his team finish the last float on which every last little detail, down to the exact paint color is meticulously planned. >> what is the color of that red paint really look like? is it fire engine red or is it a craisin? what do we have on this? seven layers of paint now? >> at least. >> reporter: as for the snow -- >> okay, nice and easy. it's actually carefully crafted

sti row foam. >> just a little bit. very good. very good. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: 100% jenna craftsmanship. where does that piece go? >> reporter: behind the turkey. all eyes will be there. final float complete, what about the high flying start? >> when the balloons first came into the parade in 1927, they would march them down to the parade route until they got to macy's and let them go. a tag attached to it, if found, call this number for a prize. >> reporter: the 14 giant balloons in the parade live here too. and i got the inside look at mr. square pants, literally. >> oh, my god! this is so cool! look at this. >> welcome to the land of 1,000 or more lines. >> this is like the matrix.

look how this thing is all held up here. >> each one of those ropes is attached to various points that help pull the outside of the balloon into shape. come on out. >> reporter: wow. so much more helium than i thought. all kidding aside, the job that john and his team undertake until the big morning is that all of them, some of whom have worked more than 40 parades, take very seriously. how much work goes into this? i know it's an enormous amount. >> we are already working toward next year. >> reporter: you haven't even had the parade, and you're working toward next year? >> yeah. >> reporter: and as my visit comes to an end, i wasn't about to leave empty handed.

so you wanted me to say the signature balloon. wait a minute. that's our new strike balloon. she is bringing that back, isn't she? >> just when you think you have the coolest job, that look as a lot of fun. >> watch thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. guess where? right here on nbc. just ahead, which thanksgiving day stuffing reigns supreme? the stuffing contest is next. we'll stuff ourselves. first, these messages. ood of ommuni on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. allen's boots... at juno baby store. make the pledge to shop small. please. shop small on small business saturday.

okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? savory or spicy, we love our own thanks giving stuffing. what makes a recipe award

winning? >> we selected the three best recipes from millions and millions of viewer submissions, like billions, brought them together in our studio and judging the best of the best, are sunny anderson, hosting her own thanksgiving special later today and willie geist. good morning to everybody here this morning. >> good morning. >> great to have you. we want to start with v williams, actually it's venita. you brought a fusion kind of a thing inspired by a trip to puerto rico. >> it has mashed plantains, and section r secret ingredient is all spice. >> you will dish it up, i want to try this and you do a cornbread by the way too. >> the cornbread, it's interesting. i made it a great recipe, but you can buy and and just crumble it right up. >> very good.

residen >> sunny, what do you think? >> this feels like a vacation. i love the chorizo. >> a little puerto rican flavor. >> next up, bob yodice. here is what i love about yours. you have the chestnuts. tell me about the inspiration? >> this is a family recipe passed down from my mom, my grandmother. this is my version of it. it's been changed a few times over the years. >> do you mind if i help myself? go on. >> it has chestnuts. that give it an earthy taste. a little sweetness, the spongeiness of the bread, the italian sausage. spices, sage,tim thyme, celery crunch, and the chicken base gives extra flavor to the whole dish. >> i'm not a sausage eater, i

had a little chestnut and the chestnut flavor brings everything together. absolutely delicious. willie, what do you think? >> i love the sausage this tastes like the holidays, comfortable, i love it really good. >> that's called a compliment. that is fantastic. thank you very much. >> then ann lahey here. stuffin muffins. this is a fun idea. >> yes. >> what inspired this? >> several years ago when i was making my thanksgiving dinner, i thought to myself, you know, everybody wants the crunchy part of the stuffing and there is only that bit of real estate. >> you're right. >> and it's always a fight at the dinner table who gets the crunchy part, so i had this revelation and i thought, well, let's put them in a stuffing muffin tin. >> can i try it? >> see how they came out. >> everyone does like the crunchy part. at least i do. >> the year i did that, everyone ate the stuffing and i had no leftovers for stuffing the next day. >> what do judges think?

>> wow. wow. >> nice, huh? >> i like the format too muffin format. >> breakfast, lunch, and dinner. >> does it come outside the turkey in the muffin mold. >> no, i just make it and put it in the muffin tins. >> let the judges confer. do you need a moment? i guess we'll leave our contestants over here. >> why you do that -- >> these are all original recipes, right, guys? >> yes. >> when you decided to share them with the nation, that a little scary? >> it was more scary getting the phone call. you picked our recipe. >> i think they are all winners. what do i know. >> i have something big and gold here. a nice trophy to give to -- >> yes. >> who and why? >> this is very difficult. >> i think the theme for the day is sausage. all good throughout and this is truly the best of the best.

the 2011 stuffing contest, the winner, so seasoned, so stacey. >> are we going to take a commercial break, or will you tell us? >> it's ann. >> yeah! >> congratulations. congratulations. >> oh, my gosh. >> all our contestants as well. they were really terrific. >> anyone want to come on food network later today? ers.'ll take a break, thibait. more after this.

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let's briefly check in with david greegry to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." >> down to the wire. a deal on the deficit remains elusi elusive. joining me, republican senator john kyl and john kerry. and plus our political roundtable. >> thank you, david, very much. >> that will do it for us on sunday morning. janice huff, willie geist, thank you so much. onward and upward as far as digestion goes. this has been a wonderful morning. >> thank you for being part of our stuffing contest. coming up next weekend, the best cities to live in for football fans. i'll be back tonight for "nbc

nightly news." have a great day, everyone. so long.