>> if you're celebrating christmas, have a merry one. this is what's happening today in the bay. we're back at 7:25 with an update. good morning and merry christmas. a day for faith and family, fun times and food. and we are celebrating the holiday right along with you today, wednesday, december 25th, christmas day, 2013. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning, welcome to "today" on a christmas morning, i'm matt law air long with savannah guthrie, al roquer and natalie morales. merry christmas. >> wearing the bow tie you got

for christmas. >> i can only stay for a while, give-to-go grade some philosophy papers. >> mr. peabody and sherman opens up. >> open presents last night or saving them for this morning? >> this morning. yeah. >> one presents on christmas eve, don't you-all agree? >> christmas state big bonanza. >> kids don't like the midnight, they lining the morning. >> spending holiday with your fam laich lot to get to >> we do indeed. gather around our fake fire. call the fire department. >> melting iron ore. >> it is amazing. as we said, we have a lot to look forward to on our show this morning, we have cardinal timothy dolan here, we love to have him, he will give us his thoughts on the day and how it keep the christmas spirit alive during the year. >> favorite christmas movies, like the newer stuff or some of the classic you. >> like the newer stuff, watching it with my kids. >> i agree. i completely agree. >> that is their classics, like "elf" that is their classic.

we are going to have the ultimate holiday movie debate a little later on in trending. >> we have a lot to get to lots of celebrating coming up. but let us begin on this wednesday morning with a check of the top stories from nbc's andrea canning at the news desk. andrea, merry christmas, good morning to you. >> merry christmas, guys shall and merry christmas to all of you at home. breaking news in afghanistan overnight two rockets hit the u.s. embassy compound in kabul just before dawn. the attack sent hundreds of american diplomats and aid workers scramble nothing bunkers. no one was injured. a source says the rock did the not cause any damage to the embassy, but did impact the ground within the compound. pope francis celebrated his first christmas eve mass as pontiff tuesday in front of a packed house at st. parties basilica. nbc's martin fletcher is in vatican city with more. martin, good morning and merry christmas. >> reporter: andrea, good morning and merry christmas to you, too. after leading the catholic world in prayer on christmas eve, at noon here today, pope francis gave his first christmas message

as pope this time, meant for the ears of the whole world and it was very strong. the faithful still throng st. peter's square to hear the first non-european pope in 1300 years. he called on the prince of peace to turn hearts away from violence. in syria, south sudan, nigeria, the congo, and he called for successful peace talks between israel and the palestinians, god, pope francis said, is peace. >> he really seems humble. he seems like he is different and wants to make a change. >> he is very dedicated to the humble origins he has in representing the whole. >> reporter: last night in st. peter's basilica, pope francis underlined his homily by overturning tradition. instead of a vatican aide placing the statue of baby jesus in the manger, pope francis did with a kiss of humility and

love. god loves us, he said. he gave us his son to be light in our darkness, a traditional christmas lesson from a most untraditional pope who has charmed the world. >> he has got the catholic church back on message. let's say that. the core business of the church is preaching the gospel. that is what the pope is doing in words and in gestures. >> reporter: reaching out to all, especially children, the poor around the afflicted. but he is also looking inward into the workings of the church, determined to correct corruption and priestley abuse. the new year will see the new pope try to put his words into action. andrea? >> all right, martin, thank you so much. and ups is apologizing to customers in morning after telling them thousands of holiday gifts will not be deliver nerd time for christmas. ups said the unpredictably large number of shipments have overwhelmed the system that and the company doesn't have the capacity to handle all the deliveries at scheduled.

ups expects most of the packages to be delivered on thursday. a las vegas cab driver hit the jackpot, but instead of keeping the money he found, he did the right thing. girardeau gamboa found a passenger had left a brown bag in the back of his taxi. he opened it up and discovered stacks and stacks of cash, $300,000 worth. gamboa called dispatch right away and turned the money in. police were able to find the rightful owner. he was a prominent poker player. i guess add good night. he was not identified. for his effort, the taxi company named gamboa driver of the year and rewarded him with $1,000 and a nice dinner for two. taking a look at today's weather, much of the country will see a quiet and seasonably chilly christmas day. a few scattered showers are possible in the southeast and florida in southern texas. quick-moving storm system will produce snow showers in the great lakes. cities in the northeast are 10 to 20

sglmpbltsz temperatures are chilly. 46 in san francisco. overall we are going to see a warm day. temperatures today in the record setting territory. 60s at the coast. 70s for the valleys with many

records being broken on this christmas day. have a good one. and it is 7:07 and matt, let's send it back to you. >> all right, andrea, thank you very much. on this day of celebration it cab little bit easy to forget what the holiday is actually all b joining us now his eminence, timothy cardinal dolan, the a h archbishop of new york and member of the college of cardinals. >> merry christmas to you and everybody, matt. what a joy to be with you. >> let's start right with the true meaning of christmas. we celebrate the birth of the baby jesus. >> you got it. >> and so as you take to the lectern today what is the most important thing that you want to communicate to the people in the room? >> you just mentioned it, what this holiday is all about, what this holy day is all b last night at midnight mass at st. patrick's, you got the empty crib. i had the honor of carrying in the baby jesus. we put that baby in that empty crib. now the message is this, matt. within all of us is an emptiness. there's a gap. we all admit that. there's something missing. we are always a little restless.

and only god, only things etern eternal, can fill that and jesus is the son of god. he fills the gap. >> it's interesting you say that for all the celebration we also hear at this time of year it can be the hardest time of year for people. they feel lonely, they feel depressed, they feel hopeless and i always thought if they got back to the true meaning of christmas, you find brotherhood and hope in churches and synagogues. >> there, you got t you should have preached last night, st. peter's. >> hardly. >> that is the message. all we got do is admit that we say, lord, god, there's something mising in my life, there's a gap, there's a void, there's an emptiness there's a hole there i have tried like the dickens to fill that and i can't seem to do it on my own. maybe i need to turn to you and maybe you're gonna fill what's missing in my life there it s that is the meaning of christmas. >> you are a block from us here on fifth avenue and st. patrick's cathedral. >> uh-huh. >> if you walk out the front of st. patrick's and turn to the left or the right are you are in the heart of one of the most popular shopping streets -- >> you got it.

>> -- anywhere in the world. that the time of year, for the people in some of those stores, christmas takes on a different meaning. does bother you? >> no and you know why? yes, it could bother me, here is the interpretation i give it, matt. 99% of those people who are frantically shopping are shopping for other people. they are not shopping for themselves. so, at least i'm saying, let's make lemonade out of lemons here, yeah, we got people in there shopping all the time but at least they are drive bine a sense of gift, a sense of sharing, a sense of giving. so, that in itself is pretty good. all right? so i don't know if i'm -- that's how i try to justify that, or else i would get upset thinking why are people crowding these stores? they ought to be in st. patrick's. >> can we go back to childhood for a second? >> sure, you can. >> talk to me about your upbringinging in the midwaepsd christmas in particular. what's the tradition that stands out to you, your people writes your family? >> christmas eve, i think every christmas eve, yesterday, matt, my dad, we didn't have all that much money, we didn't know it as

kids. mom and dad really provided for us well. but on christmas eve, he was a member of something called the st. vincent depaul society, which almost every catholic parish has it, a quiet hem bell group of men and now women, thank god, who help the poor in very non-discreet -- non-showy ways. christmas eve, he says to me, tim, you want to go with me? we have a couple deliveries. and we got these boxes of food and a toys and clothes and thinking where are we going? i was kind of hoping it was for us, seeing it in the back seat. and go to this area, baldwin, missouri, where i grew up, right outside of st. louis. i didn't even know it existed and it was really poor. and wes very visit three houses, he had a list of his houses. and when i saw, matt, first of all i saw my dad's sense of duty that on christmas eve this was his on blick gachlgs and number two when i saw their sense of joy, that somebody was caring for them, somebody was taking care of them, when i saw their father, who were kind of -- when my father walked in, those fathers were relived because

they thought, ah, i haven't let my children down because there's going to be something for them, i will never forget that christmas eve experience. >> favorite christmas carroll do you have one? >> "silent night." i like that. >> i have traveled to italy with you, favorite christmas meal? >> i like the turkey. i like the repeat of thanksgiving. >> see, turkey, stuffing >> come on over. what are you doing later? >> you know, i may join you for that big year for the catholic church, you and other cardinals gathered in rome during the conclave and like theed a new pope. >> you were there. >> francis. extraordinary time since then. >> tremendous. >> here is a guy who was named man of the year by "time" magazine and "the advocate," the gay and lesbian paper. >> i did not think that happened. i'm glad it did. he has taken the world by storm. people keep asking me, maybe you were about to, am i surprised? i'm surprised that he is even more effective than we thought this is the man we wanted. this is the man we hoped for.

when we talked about what characteristics we should see in the next successor of peter, the next pope we talked about the very characteristics that he is doing. you know the brilliant thing, matt, he is doing it naturally, spontaneously. he doesn't have some marketing expert coming in saying, oh, holiness this is what we need now for you to do he just does it naturally, it is part of his person. i thank you is part of the simplicity, humility and sinner is that won the heart of the world. >> been an amazing time. >> a blessed christmas. >> cardinal dolan. >> see you soon, all right? >> my pleasure. merry christmas. and here's savannah. all right, matt, thank you it is hard to be away from loved ones during the holidays but thanks to the uso's christmas convoy, service members stationed in the most desolate areas, you of afghanistan have recent reason to celebrate today. here's nbc's chief pog correspondent, jim miklaszewski. >> reporter:.in eastern afghanistan, the majestic snow-capped mountains at least gift feeling of christmas, but it's the uso that delivers the goods. for the fifth straight year, the uso's annual christmas convoy

spread gifts and good cheer to u.s. troops on the battlefield. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: in the east, it was led by santa herself, regina wages, the uso director at forward operating base. >> i love these guys. they need a little piece of home and i love providing it for them. >> reporter: it is all done with volunteers, soldiers helping soldiers. >> just putting a smile on someone else's face. >> reporter: all gifts are donated, like flat screen tvs and the latest xbox. >> i like seeing faces, too, when they open up something, and like, they are all surprised if it is something really nice. >> reporter: donations for the uso christmas caravan come from a wide variety of sources in this care the big am, new york city, of course. with donations from the new york giants, but the big score, the new york yankees. helicopters turned into santa's sleigh, delivering gift toys military bases throughout

afghanistan. at forward operating base metterlam, soldiers were preparing for a mission outside the wire, only days before christmas. >> so, all he have a new xbox, your newest 2014 games, including you "call of duty ghost." >> reporter: uso convoy was just what these troops needed, at least for a moment to take their minder off the war. >> just to be kids for five minutes and just help the next two months. >> how about you? >> i like being a kid once in a while. >> reporter: alan reyes is a senior vice president for the uso. >> just a little taste of home gives them that feeling of comfort and frankly, the feeling that people back home care about what they are doing and who they are. >> reporter: and what about those yankees? despite last season's record, they were big winners here. >> i am a yankee fan. it goes together. >> reporter: for most of these soldiers, this will be their last christmas in afghanistan. as the war winds down, so does the uso convoy.

the uso delivered gifts to 80 american bases last year. this year, only 50. by next year, these convoys may come to an end. that's hard to take for regina wages. >> out here serving these guys for -- since 2009. and to think that -- i mean, i'm glad they are going home, but for me, it's kind of sad. >> reporter: for this holiday season, as notice past, the uso was front and center and the soldiers' spirits soared. >> merry christmas! >> ho, ho, ho! [ laughter ] >> reporter: just knowing that somebody out there cares. for "today," jim ming la she have ski, nbc news, afghanistan. >> it's nice to see. we want, of course to wish every member of our armed forces a very merry crist mace. hard to be away from home during these times. >> we should mention not only overseas but there are a lot on bases here in the united states. >> absolutely. >> who can't be with their families either. so thank you for what you do for this country. let us head over to tamron

in the orange room, happy to say she drew the short -- i mean she volunteered to be here on christmas morning. >> i can't think of anywhere in the world i would rather to be than way over here while you guys are over there. >> merry christmas. >> the fire all the way over there? >> my handles are burning. i got supports coming up soon. but listen, guys, it's been awesome, this entire holiday season, people have been sending in pictures of their christmas trees. thank you so much. we havecalities in trees, dogs in trees, kids in trees, you name it we've got it for you and that's been pretty awesome there. also, we have been watching some of the hashtags that are trending of than christmas day and one that's pretty school #thank yousanta. you mean thank you santa for the love and not indict mond ring but whatever floats your boat and i pulled up a picture, guys, of my favorite gift of all time, i was about 7 years old. >> stingray? >> this was brought to my home, via santa. awesome. hashtag, thank you santa.

merry christmas to you guys. >> and to you, tamron. that is a kpool bike. >> pay a fortune for one of those now. retro. >> those seats are so comfortable. >> you like it? >> those seats, never get used to the new seats. >> is there anything you want to tell us? >> great. >> all right. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to everyone. tamron, thank you. coming up, a new way to experience the cult holiday classic "a christmas story" and more revelations from natalie. and should you keep that new tv in the box? do you hold off wearing this sweat from your aunt? al didn't, he is wearing it now. why tomorrow could be the best day of the year to shop and return. but first thursday is "today" on nbc.

just another view of the rockefeller christmas tree on this christmas morning, a couple

of weeks to go before we have to say good-bye. >> starting to smoke. >> because in the commotion, shekeled the fire, burst it up a bit. any way, straight ahead, we are going to have the story behind some of your favorite christmas tradition and the interesting connection to one of the scariest stories ever written. >> all right. then on trending, what is the best christmas movie ever? we are going to set the debate, once and -- >> there are many classics i. >> okay. >> okay. >> i'm gonna hold it. i'm gonna hold it. >> all right. we are gonna settle this. it is going to be over. ready? >> we never go back and argue. >> never. never. >> we won't have that kind of strife on christmas day. first, let's get a you a check of your local grandma is so happy to be here for your very first christmas. i hear you're quite the expert at waking people up in the morning. let me show you how grandma does it. ♪ you're daddy made this when he was a little boy. ♪ this is your dad in my house,

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good morning to you and a merry christmas. i'm peggy bunker. investigators are on the scene of a murder suicide this morning where four kids live. they say a husband shot his wife of 16 years and then took his own life. the couple's identity has not been released. their four children were in the home at the time. thankfully they were not injured. investigators are trying to figure out why a woman was on a light rail track in san jose. she was hit by a train and killed overnight. this happened on the highway 87 tracks. the train was heading northbound back to the vta dwrard and did not have passengers on board at the time of the crash. the vta put a bus bridge in

place this. both directions. several people are spending christmas morning looking for a new place to live after a fire ripped through their apartment complex in san francisco. this happened near the san francisco general hospital after midnight. fire officials tell us one person was taken to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries not clear at this time. crews were able to get control of the fire quickly but several units were damaged. all ten adults were displaced. the cause is under investigation. right now we're getting a look at the weather with meteorologist anthony slaughter. tell us what's going on with this air issue. >> we have spare the air alert in effect for one more day. i want to bring your attention to san francisco right now. as we get a closer look, i want to show you this flag. it's an offshore wind but it's really blowing this morning. the winds in san francisco are gusting up to 30 miles per hour and with that strong wind that's

going to be enough toer clear out some of the fine particulates in the atmosphere. even though we have that alert for today, this will offer some relief. you'll knows as we look at the sky camera network, not so hazy this morning. but look at these highs today. we're talking about temperatures ten degrees above average in places like san jose that could set a new record. the east bay. south bay will be back into the 70s this afternoon. not bad. >> that is a california christmas for sure. thank you so much. we will have another local update coming up in just about half an hour. have a great day.

730 now on this wednesday morning is christmas day the 25th of december, 2013 and rockefeller plaza all decked out in its holiday gear. >> as they do out here. >> is impossible not to be in the christmas spirit when you live and work around here it is really cool. >> love that area of the channel gardens, looking straight down to the trees. >> the angels. pretty. >> beautiful, beautiful sight. >> for those of you opening present and found maybe one or two thing to us return or getting a bunch of gift cards, great news. we are going to tell where you to find the best postpoll holliday deals. all right. let's begin this half hour with one of the most beloved holiday movies of all time, "a christmas story" turns 30 this year n

facts you can find ralphy and his red rider on constant loop on television today. nbc's kevin tibbles traveled to cleveland to visit the house where it was actually filmed. >> reporter: it may be chilly in cleveland, but they are lined up down the street to visit this sweet, old house anyway. >> i have been bugging him to go for weeks. >> reporter: after all turks is a christmas tradition and i double dog dare you to get through the holidays without seeing it at least once on tv. [ screaming ] >> wait! my tongue is frozen. >> reporter: "a christmas story" was filmed here and released 30 years ago. how many times have you seen the fill? >> probably 50 maybe. >> reporter: the film set in the fictional town of homan where tongues freeze to poles -- [ crying ] >> reporter: snowsuit russ giant marshmallows. >> i can't feel my arms. >> reporter: and bullies lurk in

alleyways. >> fragile. >> reporter: where a lamp shaped like a leg is is a major award. >> you won that. that's major award. were and where every man hero, ralphy parker is constantly being warned -- >> all he shoot your eye out, kid. >> captures the essence of what christmas is, you know? the family chaos, the food, the presents. you know, good movie and it's funny. >> i was ralphy. >> you were ralphy? >> without the little brother, but i was the ralphy. yeah. >> i always loved the movie. >> reporter: ryan jones loved the movie so much, he bought the house and turned it into a museum. >> i think everybody can relate to it. it's basically a christmas from a kid's perspective. sure, it's an adult narrating it back. >> be sure to -- be sure to what. what was he trying to say? be sure to what? >> would you please come out? >> all right, mom, i will be right out. >> reporter: to mark the 2 3 0th an verse ray giant leg lamp glows high over the cleveland sky.

and "a christmas story" convention brings them out in all shapes and sizes. >> that is awesome. >> reporter: it also brought a couple of all grown up actors town that bully was played by zack ward. >> in their.70s, 50s 40s, 5-year-olds and 10-year-olds who all identify with the move and i have the whole family can actually enjoy it together. >> reporter: ian petrello played randy in the snowsuit. >> this scarf wrapped around you, you felt like an astronaut. >> reporter: for everyone else, just a nice, warm, happy feeling inside. times may change, but "a christmas story" san annual treat that keeps on giving. >> remind me of being a kid. >> it is literally my childhood. >> every year at christmas eve, we watch it. >> ho, ho, ho. >> reporter: for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, cleveland. >> i love you that movie. my favorite. >> i was working in cleveland

when they filmed that, it was supposed to be indianapolis. but -- and they were so excited because it was the first big major motion picture that had been fill ummed in cleveland in a long time. so it was really cool. >> you remember, was it a huge hit in the theaters or is this something that came became a classic later? it has become a classic, i think it is beyond cult classic. >> it is great. holds up generation to generation. i have watched it with my own dhansd love t. >> is a great one. now to another house that is definitely steeped in holiday tradition this one in england it its history captured by one of the great american writers. nbc's michelle kosinski stepped back in time for a visit. >> reporter: like climbing into one of those christmas cards that sends your mind back through time -- >> oh, driver? >> yes, mum? >> reporter: this was the idyllic country side ramble of one washington irving, an american writer, who, at the dawn of the 1800s, longed to hold onto what this holiday should be.

in his book, "old christmas," he lamented even back then, the good old times so fast passing, i'm apt to think the world was more homebred, social and joyous than at present. are we there yet? >> just another one day and 20 thundershowers go, mum. >> reporter: after an arduous, freezing carriage ride, his inspiration began here. hole low. where irving arrived one christmas eve. oh, my gosh. >> welcome to the great hall of astin hall. >> reporter: would have been positively glowing with candlelight. some people would be dancing and sing and drinking you? >> yeah, ex-actly. it would have been crowded with people, as he describes in the book and there were people playing card, some coon versing around the fire. >> reporter: the whole house, indeed, seemed abandoned to merriment, literally loaded with good cheer. people just seemed to let loose back then, radioity? >> exactly. they played all sorts of games that he describes, like hoodman's bluff. traditional cust forms that he really tried to keep alive.

>> reporter: irving, from manhattan who also wrote "the legend of sleepy hollow" and "rip van winkle" so impressed a mr. charles dingens with his adoration of a proper christmastime, it inspired his "a christmas carol." >> god bless us, everyone! >> reporter: shaping our christmases, even today. ♪ irving's holiday would have been full of joyful dancing, the twerking of its time. and so you could actually get to know somebody this way? >> would you, indeed. >> reporter: and hospitality, grand homes like this would open their doors to the poor and everyone. wow, the stairs are so worn, you just picture all of the feet that happily went up and down. and what a sensation to sit and read in the very room where it happened, a sketch of a young woman, where she sat, right here, 200 years ago. many old traditions we have kept, holly i mistletoe, the ul log, and maybe most happily --

♪ the feast. >> that there would have been a huge, ceremonious procession with all the food coming out. >> reporter: for most, long forgotten with the pig's head and peacock pie. ♪ >> reporter: after a merry dinner back then there would be the even merrier passing around the spiced wine. but irving found in all his travels, searching for that perfect krims mass, the spirit of it is what has it has always been about. the season for kind ling not nearly the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart. michelle kosinski, nbc news, birmingham, england. >> merry christmas. >> fun. >> that's how you party like it's 1813. >> exactly. right. by the way, the good news, while we were watching that story, fedex arrived with the eggnog, in business here in studio 1a.

>> this show's going to get a lot better really quickly. >> i was about to say, is alcohol in it? we will never tell. you might be able to tell at home. >> hold it away from the fire, not helping to move out the poor air quality. lots of haze r already building. temperatures in the 30s. very chilly outside right now. later on this afternoon, we're talking about record heat in our inland valleys. many places could break records in the 70s. have a good christmas. me what you are a your name? >> you take it savannah. >> coming up next, the best postholiday sales, where to spend all those gift cards you're opening up this morning. also on trending, a burning question, white christmas tree

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black friday, of course is known as a bargain shopper's bar dies. if you know where to look, you can find even better deals tomorrow. here with money saving tips is retail expert, natalie morris. good morning to you. merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. >> i feel guilty we are talking shopping on christmas day you can get some real deals. >> sometimes we get a little tired of shopping for other people. so now, let's just do it let's just shop for ourselves, balls we went out there and asked the retailer what are your deals going to be aft the holiday and i let must on good stuff. they are anxious to mark it up after the season a few more days of holiday season. let's spend the money. >> people have gift cards too, the first is for the home, the

great cook set. tell me about this >> jc penney august bella cookware set, the stainless steel one is normally $100, on sale for $47 for the whole set and if you like the non-city the bella non-stick set is on sale for $129, normally $280. >> okay. bedding, always good to kind of stock up on that stuff. >> right. if your new year's resolution is to make sure all your sheets match for once, a good thing, kohl's, all sale, all bedding, not just sheets, comforters and mattress pads and pillows as well. >> you have to be really organized for this next one, but if, do you you get a good price on wrapping paper. >> everyone knows they should buy the wrapping paper after the holiday because that's when you get the great deal. the container store has something they called gift wrapped wonder land, all types of gift wrap, bows, ribbons, these little gift sacks and boxes and wrapping paper, you get it for pennies, clearance, rather than, always bugs me so much to spend $6 on bow. >> especially when you know what it will cost the day after crist malls. >> target has a clearance on holiday storage as well.

so these are nifty little box, you can organize your ornaments so that they don't break. >> that's cool. >> put them in the grocery is a sack this is a really great way. buy this, again, after the holiday, save money on t >> let's move on to fashion and beauty this is the gap, right? >> gap has a great sale on outer wear, coats and sweats as well as, about 50 to 70% off, depending where you find it also they have a sale on denim. if you buy one regularly priced jeans, get 25% off a regularly priced item. all their clearance stuff an extra 50% off through the weekend. >> talking about discounts but luxury items here? >> these are luxury items, a nice bulova watch, if you wanted one of those, $225 on sale for $99. this beautiful cashmere sweat, these are $195 on sale for 3rds 9. >> okay. great. now, bath and body works this stuff, i don't think, goes on sale that of then. >> they have semiannual sale that starts tomorrow this is really great, especially in the winter when your skin is a

little bit more dry. they have got up to 75% off throughout the store and brought back some items from the springtime you haven't been able to find through the winter. >> tell me about this josie marin product, a lot of makeup artists like this one. >> you can get this gift set, normally $29, get it on sale for $10 this is online at josie marin this is a really great natural line of products. >> if doesn't get the tv you really wanted for christmas, you have the big ticket items. >> this is at sears, rca l.e.d. tv, built in dvd, over $100 off for a 32-inch screen. $239. and sears has great deals on appliances and fitness gear, if you wanted to get in shape for the new year. >> i'm out of time. don't want to talk about return bus one piece of advice? >> keep all the original package willing and be nice as well. everyone has had a long holiday season, you catch more fly honey. >> it's true, natalie, thank you so much. merry christmas. coming up, a special performance from kelly clarkson who has one of the hottest

holiday albums of the season. and. and where will you find santa after his busy night? where else, the orange room. we will chat with him right after this. we all have our little tricks. mom swaps one of my snacks for a yoplait. i don't mind, i mean it's orange crème. and when mom said bobby was too edgy... 'sup girl. i just swapped him out for tyler. 'sup girl. mom never questioned bobby again. two can play at this game. [ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait. and everybody wins. yoplait. it is so good.

. . . . ♪ and nobody ever says goodbye

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mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. a fun way to spend christmas morning go a little skating on the rink there >> now what he's frightening? >> what? >> no matter where you look there's fire.

here. here. >> over to the orange room, tamron is standing by -- >> there it is again! >> tamron? >> yeah, don't tell me yet exwho certificate deal, matt, and guys, parent does it for love they stand in line so that their kids meet santa, take the picture, sometimes you cry. nevertheless, you get that photograph. well there's a super cool new app in my opinion, it's cool. hello santa, you can use your smartphone, iphone, whatever you got, ipad, computer around you can actually talk to santa. and guess who i have with me here, you see it watch, hang on, wait for t hi, santa. >> ho, ho, ho, tamron, hi! >> how are you doing? >> i'm great. how are you? >> i'm fantastic. thank you for the presents. you're so sweet. >> i'm so glad that you're happy with them. i knew you would be. >> how was last night for you? >> oh, it was terrific. you know exi have to tell you, i have been delivering presents around the world now for many, many years. and last night was magical.

it was just absolutely seine sakesal. the world is going so well. >> so, i've got natalie and savannah and al and matt there so, they were on the naughty or nice list? >> oh, well, we know they are on the nice list. >> thank you, santa. >> thank you. >> a moment of pause where savannah didn't know, but neverthele nevertheless, great work, santa. the kids all love you and thank you and we will see you next year. >> okay. i'm gonna take a few more video calls with hello santa and i will see you then. >> bye, santa. so he mentioned the video calls, guys, you get a copy of the call with santa. >> these great. >> fabulous. >> adorable. >> nice he is still taking calls. need to take the rest of the day off. >> thank you very much. santa, thank you very much. by the way, coming up on trend egg, some letters from children to the big guy that are going to keep you laughing all day long. and then from connecticut with love, the touching story behind this year's beautiful rockefeller center tree. and some holiday music from

kelly clarkson. >> after your holiday news and weather. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ so you think santa will like these... red and green m&m's? i don't know! i never met the guy! whaaaaa! he does exist!

they do exist! uhm... santa? it's a morning breeze smooth as black silk. with folgers gourmet selections k-cup packs you can turn any day gourmet. rich roasts and flavors... available where you buy groceries. [ male announcer ] can't believe you can pronounce everything in it? believe. new deliciously simple from i can't believe it's not butter! with 100% taste and zero artificial preservatives. it's time to...believe. ugh! actually progresso's soup has pretty bold flavor. i love bold flavors!

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good morning to you on this wednesday. i'm peggy bunker. investigators are on the scene of a murder suicide at a home where four children live. they say a husband apparently shot his wife of 16 years and took his own life. the couple's identity has not been released. thankfully the children were not injured. also tragic on this christmas morning a woman hit and killed by a train on the highway 87 tracks. there were no passengers on the train at time. service was disrupted but has since resumed. if you have eaten at the come stock saloon, you may have been exposed to hepatitis a. a food handler has tested positive for the disease. so far no cases of hepatitis a have been linked to the handler

who is currently restricted from working until he or she is no lo longer contagious. let's take a look at that christmas day forecast. >> merry christmas to you. we're looking at clear skies. we have some haze that's starting to build. overnight we saw the winds gust up to 20 to 30 miles per hour. as we look at our live sky camera network, we're clear but the haze starteding to build. it's cold. we're in the 30s. with the exception of san francisco and the north bay. north bay dipped back into the 20s in the past hour. so very chilly to start. but it's hard to believe we'll be talking about record heat. highs anywhere from 65 degrees in san francisco to 70s in the south bay. even the east bay expected to be warm today with a mix of low to mid-70s. this is record setting territory. we will go down in history books for today as one of the warmest in over 100 years. hard to believe. back to you. >> that's amazing. it sure felt like it it yesterday.

we will have another update for you coming up in half an hour. have a great day.

is 8:00 on "today" and coming up, what's the best christmas movie of all time? >> ho, ho, ho. >> debate to end all debates. plus, picture perfect, the most memorable moments of 2013 through the lenses of some of the most talented photographers in the world. and a home for the holidays. >> we have a lot to be thankful nor year. >> the uplifting program that is giving veterans in need a very special reason to celebrate today, christmas day wednesday, december 25, 2013. ♪ ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells,

jingle all the way ♪ >> merry christmas! ♪ >> merry christmas. >> happy holidays, from north carolina. >> happy holidays. >> merry christmas from tucson, arizona. whoo! >> savannah, some folks from tucson there this morning. welcome back, everyone, on christmas, i'm matt lauer allowing with savannah guthrie, al rocker around natalie morales. merry christmas to you watching at home, hopefully, you are surrounded by friends and family and thank you for sharing part of your holiday with us. >> we have covered christmas songs, check. christmas dinner version important. we will head into the kitchen in a bit august holiday feast with a south of the border flair. very cool. >> looking forward to that. >> and also putting to rest the greatest holiday movie ever. >> yes. >> debate. >> i hate to fight on this

holiday, but i am prepared to fight. >> we will fight on this one no doubt. >> a lot to get to we want to begin this half hour with a check of the top stories. andrea canning is in this morning. merry christmas to you, good morning. >> good morning, guys, merry christmas and merry christmas to everyone at home. we begin this morning with breaking news. the u.s. embassy in afghanistan was attacked this morning. the taliban claimed they fired four rockets at the embassy in kabul, afghanistan's capital city, inflicting heavy casualties. but u.s. officials say no one was injured after two rounds hit the compound indirectly. the attack send sent hundreds of american diplomats and aid workers scramble nothing bunkers. thousands of u.s. troops on deployment in afghanistan are celebrating christmas far away from their homes and families n kabul tuesday, a group of american troops marked christmas eve by lighting candles and singing christmas hymns. this is the 13th christmas for american troops in afghanistan. pope francis delivered a christmas message of peace this morning from the vatican.

the pope spoke from the balance copny of st. peter's basilica to tense of thousands of worshippers in the square below. he prayed for peace in syria, south sudan, the central african republic, nigeria and iraq. and for successful peace talks between israelis and palestinians. success in space. the cooling system on the international space station is up and running now. astronauts wrestled the big new pump into position on christmas eve. flight cors are in houston restarted it and tested it. science experiments can continue on board the station once the pump is fully integrated into its systems this weekend. chaos at a long island, new york, shopping mall on christmas eve. panicked shoppers ran for the exits after hearing what they thought were gunshots. it turns out that the noise was a display case crashing to the ground. the case was knowledged over when security was arresting a shoplifter. three people were hurt in the

chaos. it's a harrowing christmas for a cruise ship stuck in the antarctic ice today about 70 passengers and crew sent a distress message early this morning. they are trapped in the ice nearly 2,000 miles from the nearest antarctic base. everyone is safe right now but it will be at least two days before help can get to them. it is the first christmas for britain's baby prince george, but the little prince wasn't at church today. prince william and kate middleton left him safe and warm at home. temperatures are just above freezing in sandringham, england. four generation of the royal family are gathered today for a traditional turkey dinner. the royals open their presents on christmas eve. what is better than carolers outside your door on christmas eve? how about if one is superstar u2 frontman, bono. ♪

>> not too shabbyship. a christmas eve tradition for upon know. he and irish folk singer, glenn hansard, have been caroling since 2009 for a charity. looking at your weather, much of the country will see a quiet and seasonably chilly christmas day. few scattered showers are possible in southeast florida and southern texas. quick-moving storm system will produce snow showers in the great lakes, especially in michigan and back to wisconsin, where up to five inches of snow may accumulate. elsewhere, plenty of sunshine is on tap acres >> good morning. 8:05, still waking up to clear skies across the bay area. really beautiful conditions expected across the afternoon with a mix of 60s and 70s but right now it is chilly, feeling like the christmas holiday, 30s across the board now. still in the 20s across the north bay. over although, later today, we will see plenty of sunshine continue with highs back into the 60s and low 70s.

it is 8:06 on this christmas morning, send back to matt. >> andrea, thank you very mu. coming up two big debates in trending, all tied to the holiday, we are talking about tree lights and holiday movies. then what will you remember most from 2013? we will flip through national geographic's year in pictures. and kelly clarkson stops by to perform a song from her first-ever holiday album. but first on a wednesday morning, these messages. turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. take skincare to the next level with new roc® multi correxion® 5 in 1, proven to hydrate dryness, illuminate dullness, lift sagging, diminish the look of dark spots, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles.

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it's not the "fumbling around with rotating categories" card. it's not the "getting blindsided by limits" card. it's the no-game-playing, no-earning-limit-having, deep-bomb-throwing, give-me-the-ball-and-i'll-take- it-to-the-house, cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so let me ask you... what's in your wallet? and we are back now with a special christmas edition of "trending." now that christmas, the shopping is finally over, the bills probably aren't the only thing piling up. take a look in your wallet and you're probably going to relate to george costanza, this episode from "seinfeld."

take a look. [ laughter ] >> my receipts! >> not a lot has changed. >> sure it is 2013? why are we still using paper receipt she is in printing them kills millions of trees every year. they clog up our pockets and kitchen doors and purses. i mean, this is like -- i have a million of these in my purse. >> so do i. i have double that amount. >> apparently, paper revote not going anywhere. a website says it is because retailers don't want to anger customers who do like getting them and also switching over to paperless system is pretty expensive. some people like to give their e-mail address and have your receipt e-mailed. >> a lot of stores doing to thank now. >> one take a picture of t. >> a smart idea. >> throw it away. still, you are wasting the paper. they stay is expensive to switch over. isn't it more expensive to keep printing the paper? >> you think so like a newsroom having to print all these scripts.

oh, wait a minute. >> exactly. >> that's what we do all right. well what would christmas be without all of the great letters to santa? did you guy guys write them growing up? i think luke wrote about ten. santa shared a few of his letters with us. here is one from a girl naked nick kim "dear santa, how is it going the north pole? is it is an ta reading this on ar elf? thank you for read mike christmas list, hope you have an awesome christmas." >> this next swann kid not afraid to dream big. listen. "dear santa, i would like a doll and cash for my college fund. $2 million would be good. "no state school for this kid. >> i like it was unsigned. santa will know. >> know where to send it. >> haley writes "dear santa for example there are christmas, i want a baby brother." that's really sweet. >> finally, a letter from a very understanding child. "dear santa. how are you? i want to ask if you bring me a tablet. if you can't, it's okay.

i'm still going to love you. ps, fly safely. " >> so cute. not to worry, kids, by the way, all your letters did make it to the north pole, santa just decided to share a couple of the nicer ones with us. you can find more of them at today.com. >> very nice. well this next topic often causes fierce debate this time of year, when it comes to christmas tree lights, do you have preference? white lights or colorful lights? >> i like white for outside, but i like color on my tree. >> i'm the other way around. >> really? >> yeah. >> colored lights outside. white lights inside. i evolved. i used to be all colored lights. now i like white lights. >> i grew up with colored lights on the tree. people have very strong opinions. one woman wrote to the website, jezebel, asking which is fwhaerntd writer mince nod words she said, "the only true christmas lights are found on a strand of white lights." well, okay so today the kopp, we asked what you prefer, the results were clear, 63%, white

lights. 33% said they like some color, just 3% are neutral. not going to talk about tinsel. because that is -- >> tipsle -- >>maker debate. >> people still use that? >> my mom loves tinsel. >> tinsel is not good for your carts. >> i have had a couple of christmas day tinsel dissas wers a dog. >> yes. >> you get all around the roller thing. >> remember angel hair? like spun stuff? that was -- >> tinsel. >> a mess. >> now, a big tradition for a lot of families, watching their favorite christmas classics. but there's no need for you to dig out all the vhs tapes from the attic, the website, screen junkies, created the ultimate christmas movie mash up. here it is. ♪ >> hey! >> merry christmas.

>> hi, mom! ♪ >> ho. ho. ho. >> oh my god! >> yes, virginia, there is a santa claus >> ho, ho, ho. ♪ >> air brakes. ha ha ha ha.

>> nice. well done. >> yeah. >> pretty impressive. >> what are we wearing? >> okay. designing an ugly sweater, christmas sweater, isn't rocket science. but a hot new version of the holiday classic was actually designed by a rocket scientist. >> his name is mark rober, a former nasa engineer, mark's sweat uses a free app on your smartphone to create a dynamic look. for example, how about a caroling kitty, no, this is a roaring fire. >> kitty. >> roaring fire. >> caroling kitty what do you have? >> crazy eyes santa. says he knows when i've been sleeping. okay, santa, just don't hurt me. >> i have got the roaring fire. if you wear it down here it is one thing. if you wear it here, it is heartburn. and -- >> i got the snow globe. >> can you shake it?

>> ho ho ho! >> the sweaters start at 54795, tell you how to get one of your own at our website, webb webb. >> iphone not included. >> merry christmas, if you want to return it here is your receipt. >> thank you. >> that is what's trending today. mean tile it would not be christmas, of course, without a tree. we happen to have the world's most famous one right outside. just imagine how many presents santa could fit under that one. today's jenna bush hager has story behind this beautiful norway spruce. >> it really is a majestic tree. >> reporter: for over 20 years this tree has been at the root of the bargoshi family home. >> it has been just such a part of the house and shaving this summer and it holds snow well in the winter. >> she has watched of other our family for the past 20 years. >> reporter: after john bought the house in 1992, the tree became a landmark. >> we used to tell people, the last house on the left with the big christmas tree in the front,

can't miss it. >> reporter: but when he and his wife, louise, had their sons, it became an integral part of their family. >> looking back on pictures, seek the boys, wait for the school bus under the tree we had the baby swings in the tree, it is always in the background. it is always there. i don't know if i can climb all the way up there. >> reporter: 15-year-old, nathan, and 12-year-old, noah, have grown up alongside its wide and welcoming branches. >> it's been here, you know, my entire life. be completely different without it. >> when i was little, i asked my dad to put mony this branch, because i couldn't reach up but now i can. as you can see. >> as you can see, you can climb the top. >> reporter: this 75-foot norway spruce was planted over 60 years ago by the original owners of the home after the family had purchased the saab ling as a christmas tree. >> it is kind of ironic that it started its life as a christmas tree. >> it started as a christmas tree exit is going to end its life as a christmas tree.

john said if he hit lotto, he was going to hire someone to decorate that tree. so, now, it is going to be decor rartd better than i think anybody could ever decorate t. >> so what made you decide to donate her? >> i keep calling it her. yes. yes. time after time, neighbors have said it would be great tree for rockefeller center, a perfect-shaped christmas tree, you really should send it in. >> and that, they did. it seemed only natural to give the tree that has given to them, to all the thousands of visitors that come to gaze at its majestic beauty. >> not just new york, not just the u.s. but all the visitors from all over the world that come down to new york, especially just to see the tree. it's a big thing. >> it is gonna be really great knowing that so many people across america are gonna see this tree and then it's gonna be a cool feeling knowing that we are the ones who had it and that we are the ones that donated it. >> reporter: donating a beloved tree that has grown along with this family. >> and it also kind of symbolizes the growth of your

own children? >> absolutely. i think we have high schooler in and starting looking at colleges in a couple years, he is not going to be here. i'm sorry. the tree is not going to be here. so. yeah. yeah. definitely. i'm sorry. a lot of people say it is just a tree, but it is not. it is not just a tree it is a big part of our family and we are gonna miss it. >> but they look forward to seek the tree in its true glory. >> she is going out with a bang. everybody gets to enjoy her. >> reporter: jenna bush hager, nbc news, shelton, connect kept. >> fun to hear the backstory behind the tree. >> year it is a great family, great story, a great tree. you always kind of get to see it through their eyes in a sense as they watch and get ready to see that tree lit up. >> it is absolutely beautiful. by the way, the tree will remain lit until january 7th. so if you are in town, you really should come by and see it. it is a pretty one. all right, now here is matt. savannah, thanks very much. times of joy and pain to stories

that touched our hearts, 2013 has been a memorable year. but what images will you remember the most? keith jenkins is the director of photography for "national geographic." keith, happy holidays. good to see you. >> same to you. >> some of these photos we are going to take a look at, as gentlemen just mentioned, some are very sad, some very poignant. some will make us laugh. start with perhaps the most photographed young man in the world today and that will be the new royal baby. >> the new royal baby. this is probably my favorite photograph of all of them. why? because they are an awkward couple. and it shows in this picture. it is a picture that really talks about their relationship, as much as it does about -- about their relationship to the roya but what i also really like about it, i call this my "downton abbey" moment, i know you're a big fan. >> yeah. there are so many people who wanted to see the baby, who were around the baby, around them and just a really wonderful moment. >> it was a wonderful moment. the installation of pope francis, another story that made news this year.

while the pomp and circumstance, for example, there is beautiful, i know you took special note of the expression on his face during some moments. >> i really love pope francis, in the fact that he is a regular guy. one of the great things about his expression was his ability to kind of transcend the moment. but then you take a look at this other photograph of him and he is picking up his own luggage at the hotel and that's pope francis in a way, kind of a real, great light. >> a tragic note on april 15th, we all remember the boston marathon bombing and some of the images that were captured noon day. remember how many people had cell phones and caught a lot of pictures, they are seared in our collective memory. >> i worked in boston for many years. i still get chills when i like at some of these images, pictures of survivors being rescued, horror and humanity kind of playing off of each other in all of these pictures, the fog of terrorism, really in this image, really just amazing,

captured. the police are kind of scattered. this guy on the ground who is stunned, you know, i felt like him at that moment, you know, what's gonna happen next. >> not da we will on trang dmoirkts long ago that tragic shooting in nairobi, kenya, at the west gate mall. and we had some images, one in particular of a little girl, i know, running away right there and trying dash guy trying to help her. there is another image of a mother with her children trying to remain motionless beneath a store counter. >> yeah exthese two pictures kind of touch really primal instinks in us to protect our children. they are -- we don't know if they are going to be rescued or not. what we do know is that they have a horrific situation that is unfolding. and we are, you know, powerless to do anything about it. >> we all knee nelson mandela was a larger-than-life persona and an iconic figure. take look at this photo here, where he is truly larger than life for these young children. >> this picture, for me, really represents the world and the legacy that mandela has left.

children in india honoring him, hours after he has passed away, drawing a direct connection between him and ghandi, which i just found to be very profound in that image, a great story being told by that photograph. >> we all, on this show, spent time in moore, oklahoma in the wake of the tornados swept through that area. and while it was a natural disaster it also brought the best out in some people and that's what you want to focus on in these photos? >> yeah, this picture is one that ran in our magazine, just shows the beauty of nature, but also the horror of what's to come. this is one of my favorite photographs. i mean, the survivors, we can look at this image and we can see them walking out of the wilderness, but we have no idea where they are coming from because there's nothing left behind them. their body language is really just impressive, it mirrors the tree. and then, know, hope. hope kind of springs eternal from almost any location. and here, amidst the run, we still have that >> we saw images like that all during our time in moore,

oklahoma. and our thoughts with those people as we celebrate the holidays. keith jenkins, keith, thank you so much. >> thank you. pleasure. >> we should menti we should mention the january issue of national geographic is on the newsstands right now. coming up, the ultimate holiday feast. kelly clarkson will join us. but first, your local news. . .

well, good wednesday morning, merry christmas. it's 8:26. health officials issuing a warning after a san francisco food handler tests positive for hepatitis a. health officials say anyone who ate or drank there on december 12th through the 15th or perhaps december 19th may have been exposed. so far, no it's kas of hepatitis a have been linked to the food handler who is currently í until she or he is no longer contagious. we're going to continue to see record heat today. not really hard to believe, just because we're so cold right now. it's still just 30 degrees in the north bay, 40 in the

peninsula and still 39 in the south bay. we will warm very quickly once we hit noon. i want to bring your attention to the peninsula right now. what we're looking at is that haze starting to build overnight. we did see gusty winds. the wind is settle down and that's allowing for the haze to build. record heat today. highs range from 65 in san francisco to about 75 in inland valleys it enjoy that warm weather. >> will do. we have another local update in about half an hour, we'll see you then.

book at 8:30 with a pretty shot of the rockefeller christmas tree. a few more days to enjoy that sight, we say good morning to you and wish you a merry christmas, great to have you along with us. i'm savannah guthrie, alongside matt lauer, natalie morales and al rocker. coming up, we are going to head to the rink and get a great performance this is one of the due that he hopes to make it to sochi. >> look forward to that two things the holiday is all about festive music and the delicious meal. >> did you guys do your dinners

last night or do you do it christmas day? >> christmas day. >> christmas day. >> leg of ham and a ham. >> ham. ham. >> i am about the ham. >> all right. we have with us the food next work's marcella, this is a prime rib roast. wither told it is out of this world. always lookings so hard to make but looks so beautiful and impressive to your guests. >> i saw this thing upstairs it looks like something from the flintstone he is. >> maybe move us on ham. love ham. >> bronlt rosesaurus roast. all right. that holiday music is gonna be courtesy of a fantastic singer, ms. kelly clarkson. but firs just want to let you know, it is going to be a warm day across the bay area. record heat for today. gill roy could set a new record at 75. san jose, 71. oakland, livermore, expecting to set new records today. san jose, go back to 1901 to actually find heat like this on christmas day.

so we're going to go down in the history books. temperatures start off cool though with plenty of sun. we're talking about temps from 75 later on. weather. thanks so much this is a day that's all about family and home but some veterans cannot afford to put a roof over their heads, especially if they have been wounded and are unable to work. well this holiday season that's changing you in the happiest of ways. here's nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: aaron jenkins is about to have his life changed for a second time. >> this everything? >> reporter: the first was when the army sergeant was critically woundeded by an ied blast in afghanistan three years ago but it feels like yesterday. >> i feel as broken as i did. every day is hard. >> reporter: broken financially as well, unable to work, aaron, wife, lisa, and daughter, lucia, are leaiving in washington stat where you, disability barely covered the rent on their small

apartment. >> we wouldn't be able to keep going the way that we were going. >> reporter: they are heading where they were promised something they are almost afraid to wish for. their own home. jeff and nicole mcfarland felt that way two years ago, not knowing how they would provide for son, kellen, after the marine suffered a debilitating head injury in iraq. >> i have had a total of 18 surgeries, mostly to the face, 'cause when the explosion happened, it pretty much caved in my face. >> reporter: compelled to join the marines following 9/11, his injuries forced him to retire. they struggled until the day they were given this home. >> it still really hasn't sunk in that the house is ours. it is more like a -- i don't know -- i don't know what it is. it is unbelievable that's all i know. >> reporter: the mcfarlands are among nearly 7500 families with a wounded veteran to be given a free home by the military warriors support foundation and

general leroy cisco. what's it like for you at the moment when you see a veteran get a house? >> i can't even explain it to you. i mean, it is the most heartwarming thing i've ever been involved in. >> our future office. >> reporter: homes like the mcfarlands were foreclosed properties, chase, wells fargo and bank of america cleaned them up and turned them over to the foundation which takes online applications and then gives them away. >> with the gift of a fully renovated home in baltimore, maryland. >> reporter: only problem is not a lack of homes but lack of heroes applying for them. >> right now, our goal is to get these heroes in homes, as many as we can. there's 50,000 of them out there today, we have given 493 homes away. ♪ girl i'm all wrapped up in you ♪ >> reporter: country music star, clay walker, who helped create the foundation, hopes to raise awareness and give away even more. >> it is just a win/win for

everybody, you know, having a mortgage-free, it's -- it's genius, the way that it was put together. i can't think of a better program out there for these guys. >> reporter: on this day the jenkins will learn that firsthand. having driven halfway across the country, they arrive at their new home. it is hard to believe it is true right now. wow. >> reporter: one before this moment they have seen only in photos. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: it's overwhelming. >> and on behalf of our foundation and chase bank and everything, we want to give you the key is to your new home. >> reporter: the fitting gift for a collective sacrifice. >> can you believe it? >> this isn't something that we would be able to afford, ever. this is beyond our wildest

dreams. this is amazing. >> first impressions? >> blown away. i mean, it's big. it's new. it's nice. it's safe. everything i could ever want for, you know, my family. >> reporter: for the first time in a long time there is reason to celebrate the season. for "today," janet shamlian, nbc news, nashville. >> just a reminder that some gifts are certainly a lot more important than others. >> yeah. >> and all of us are really the recipient of the gift of the service that so many members of our military have given us. >> that's true. coming up, much more ahead, including some last-minute holiday peace and kelly clarkson is here to make your holiday a little brighter. but first this is "today" on nbc.

we are back with today's countdown to sochi. the winter olympics just 43 days away now. and we want to introduce you to some great u.s. pairs skaters. we have marissa castelli and simon, you are the reigning national champs. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> you getting excited for sochi? >> yes, definitely. >> a special connection for you. off russian background snvlgt i was born in russia, came over when i was just a little boy, just 16 months old, still families there, special to go back. you even speak russian. >> i do speak russian. [ speaking russian ] >> how are you, marissa? >> no russian. >> yet. you have got the national championships first, you're defending your title. how are you guys feeling? how is practice going? >> it is going very well. we are very excited and also skating in our hometown, we are going to have a great cheering squad. >> you guys are boss tone yans, right? >> thrilled to have the championships in our hotown, home ice, have all our friends and family cheering us on. >> we are going to see a lot of

you. nbc has a special coming up in a couple of weeks, it is kind of a two fer, gymnastics and skating. i mean, these are some of the most beloved sporting events in this country. >> yeah, we are super thrilled to be involved with this. >> all right. well, marissa, it is christmas. simon has offered me a little christmas present. he says that he can lift me on the ice. so, all right. you're on. >> merry christmas. >> thank you. what do i do? >> put your arm up. >> yes. >> i will do the rest. >> oh, my goodness. >> where are we? let's leave this to the professionals? simon and marissa, take it away. ♪

♪ you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, i tell you why santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ he is making a list, he is checking it twice ♪ ♪ he is gonna find out who's naughty or nice ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ ♪ he sees you when you're sleeping he knows when you're awake ♪ ♪ he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake ♪ ♪ oh, you better watch out you better not cry you better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪

♪ oh, you better watch out you better not cry better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ you better watch out you better not cry better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ the wig fat man -- the big fat

man with the long white beard ♪ ♪ he'sbig fat man with the long white beard ♪ ♪ he's coming to town >> national champs, olympic hopefuls, marissa and simon, thank you. a reminder, you can catch more from them on the progressive skating and gymnastics spectacular, january 5th on nbc. and now, here's matt. all right, savannah, thank you very much. up next, from skating to singing, a musical performance from grammy winner, kelly clarkson. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

well, kelly clarkson's first-ever christmas album has raced up the charts the holiday season and it is called "wrapped up in red" and here she is

performing "a blue christmas." ♪ i'll have a blue christmas without you ♪ ♪ i'll be so blue just thinking about you ♪ ♪ decorations of red on a green christmas tree ♪ ♪ won't be the same dear if you're not here with me ♪ ♪ and when those blue snowflakes start falling ♪ ♪ that's when those blue memories start calling ♪

♪ you'll be doing all right with your christmas of white ♪ ♪ but i'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue christmas ♪ ♪ and when those blue snowflakes

start falling ♪ ♪ that's when those blue memories start falling ♪ ♪ you'll be doing all right with your christmas of white ♪ ♪ but i'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue christmas ♪ >> kelly clarkson, thank you very much and merry christmas. up next, a christmas day feast with latin flair. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we are back on this christmas morning in today's kitchen and here with some of her favorite holiday dishes is marcella valladolid, a celebrity chef, author and host of the food net work's "motion can made easy." merry christmas. we have been smelling this all morning, we are ready to eat

this. >> get down here it is so impressive. even if you are not a cook, a couple little details you need to take care of and it is done. >> impressive but intimidating. >> a massive roast here. >>, an eight to ten-pound roast, prime rib roast. super easy, preheat your of ton 400. heavy seasoning of salt and a heavy seasoning of person. >> did you trim this up at all, take some of the fat off of it? >> french it. take some of the fat off, but your butcher can absolutely do that for you if you don't a want to do it at home that is what so great. you will see the last one, we did clean it up u put it in a roasting pan, savannah, want to help me with the rub. >> ribs down? >> yes, ribs down. you will do the roast -- i mean the paste, which is dijon, i love that you are putting you gloves on to keep it clean. >> yes, exactly. >> a little rosemary, add that in there >> am i just stir tug. >> by the time you get the gloves on, she will have the whole rub done. >> am i just -- stir it with my hands. >> a little bit of soy sauce and that's what you guys are smelling, a little bit of

worcestershire sauce august lot of ground peppercorns, different colors, a little bit of garlic and add a little bit of flour and that is going to create the beautiful crust, grab that and smear it of tempt. >> you wouldn't put this on way in advance, only before you roast t >> you want to let it sit about 30 minutes, threat come to room temperature if you pop it in the oven when it is too cold it will take forever. >> is that mixed well enough? >> you are creating that beautiful paste and rub it over. >> it possible to overmix it? >> no you really can't. really not doing anything. just raw ingredient he is. that's perfect. >> the glove is coming off. what's gonna end up in the roasting pan? we are gonna eat that later. keep the gloves on. >> i know. i nose. >> you get the idea. >> can you smell it already though? >> yes. >> a little bit of smoky flavor, you can substitute with the chi chilis, chipotles. >> a nice job. well done. slow start. but you picked it up. >> very evenly spread.

thank you very much for that >> welcome. >> we have the roast here. >> how long did that cook? >> 400 degrees for 30 minutes to create that beautiful brown crust and then put it down for 350 and threat go about an hour and a half to two hours until you reach 110. >> that's a little on the rare side for a lot of people. it s government longer than that as well? >> you could go for longer, you can go up to 125 and you're still gonna get that beautiful flavor. >> marcella told us this is her piece. >> the end cut? >> it is. i like the end country. i lining the nice, christy part, like it to be nice and brown. you have to have one of these guys at home unless you know how to touch meet matt and know when it is done. a good idea to have a thermometer. that is what it means. >> how many people would that serve, a roast that size? >> in my family? two. >> i'm coming to your house. that's cool. >> you can get six to eight people from this roast. >> take a look at some of the sides you're making for the holidays. what do you serve that with? >> i have a crunchy cauliflower. the way we get it nice and crunchy, i like to make a nice picks of pank coker sway japanese bread crumb, a little

more coarse, get more crunch. tons of butter, a little bit of pine nut, mint, and i like to add a little bit of tang with pickled pep ron cleanny or banana peppers or hall pain knows. >> do you like cauliflower? >> i do, indeed. >> one of those things people like or don't like. i love it. it is fantastic. >> can you pass me a fork? >> we added the parmesan cheese, makes it kid-friendly. you add the salty, cheesy element, the kids will eat it. >> this, maybe this is a production thing. do weer is of this hot or room temperature? >> it can be room -- either/or. what is so great about t potatoes with chipotle, do you on a grill pan or absolutely roast them as well. >> try some of that. that is amazing. >> i want some. >> fred and barney, get right in there >> for zerts, you have got this over here? >> cajeta, it is made out of

caramelized goat milk. puff pastry, purchase it made, don't make it lay ter up, powered sugar, fresh berries. >> a beautiful hot chocolate, a toast with you in a couple of moments. >> did you just double dip on that? >> no, i did not. >> marcella, thank you so much. >> much more to come this christmas morning here on "today," but first, your local news and a check

good morning. it's 8:56. the warriors are not getting christmas night off. they'll take on the clippers at oracle arena. you can see it right here on our affiliate in the bay area. looking forward to that. hope your christmas is going well. >> it's going to be a warm day. we're talking about record heat across the bay area.

the kids will be able to get out and enjoy their toys. right now, 30s and 40s for the most part but it is hazy. the haze building across the open water. eventually we will see temperatures later this afternoon that will turn other to very warm 65 to 75 expected for your high today.

\s 9 am a little concerned, today's take, christmas. >> where is the christmas music? >> that beautiful crowd on a christmas morning. it is december the 25th -- >> presents, get some fresh air. come out. >> join us here on the plaza. >> see us here. >> merry christmas, everybody what a great morning it is outside. i hope it is where you are. i'm willie geist and al reerngd natalie morales on this beautiful special day. how has the morning been so gar? >> it is great. christmases are always great. i think it's a time for family and friends to get together.

>> theoretically not with them right now. >> we have abandoned them. >> we have left the kids to fend for themselves. just big bowls of kibble and eggnog. >> you can disappear for hours. they don't know where you are. they could care less. >> unless they need batteries. then they come looking for you. >> assembly required, mom, dad, legos, mom, help me build this 3,000-piece lego, i got a lot of leg goes this my future. >> fantastic. it is a fantastic company, but it's a very deceptive thing. >> yes. >> because you look at this box, everything is all put together, think is great. >> so easy. and then it's not. >> i love it has the specific number of legos, 739. >> yes. >> oh, my goodness. last year, santa had the brilliant idea to buy the big r2-d2 lego. >> how many pieces? >> got to be over 1,000. >> like 6,000 pieces it for expert level. need tolls say like 191 to 18-year-old age group. >> you start at 11, you finish

when you're 18. >> my kids are 10 and 5 or 9 and 4 back then. so we had to put that one in the closet for a while. someday, santa will bring that one back. >> santa is very busy. doesn't have time to assemble everything. >> had the kids seen it -- >> they didn't see that one. >> they didn't see that one because, fortunately, there was some intervention ahead of time, parental interception. >> got t understood. >> my goodness. ruining christmas. >> what are your traditions around the holidays? >> about family, like you said. i'm very lucky, very blessed, i have my parents in new york city, my in-laws across the river, aunts and uncles in connecticut. we are all able to be in one place. it is great grate. always s >> i remember as a kid, our tradition always was, waiting to get old enough to go to midnight mass. >> yes. government to midnight mass and you come home, would you open one present and mom and dad would break out the eggnog. >> sure. >> the kids' eggnog. and then the mom and dad eggnog.

>> yes. yes. yes. >> and then you go to bed, the next morning, get up and finishing opening. >> we did the midnight mass as well. so important, i think to remind your kids what the holiday is really all about, what it really means. >> then you move on to the eggnog. >> then you don't remember what the holiday is. >> my uncle, hurricane rita who is a wonderful guy. >> always sounds good. >> uncle herb make what is we call herb nog. he gets help from uncle bert. >> were they money sets in >> real people. >> like ben and jerry. >> some people in this room met herb and bert. the nog start office as a pleasant eggnog, the course of the day every ladleful gets stronger and strong, somebody in the back. >> basically a clear liquid. >> a clear liquid. christmas gets exciting. put it that way. >> the kids are really fending for themselves at that point in time. >> mommy and daddy won't come out of the bathroom. >> good luck, kids.

>> oh. oh. >> a lot of people looking things up about christmas day. what do you do after the gift are open, top searches on yahoo!. they put together a list each year, number one is what's open, people want to know about grocery stores, restaurants, last-minute shopping. you ingredients. >> people about immediately worried about returns though, think there are some of those, too. >> oh, yeah. >> what's open. >> are stores opened today, probably one of the thing? >> yeah, some r non-christmas food, a big one. >> remember, in "a christmas story," they end up at the chinese restaurant because the bumpus hounds eat the turkey. sun's up! bumpuses! >> chinese food always big. indian food, japanese restaurants, thai restaurants. >> games and tech, another big one. looking for new computer games, trouble shorting some of the gifts this he go >> cheats for the computer games. >> cheats and secret codes. >> movie times. current movies and movie times.

>> we do that check out movies. >> do you go to the movies on christmas day? >> sometimes we do if there's something we really want to see. so you know, depends. depends. usually, i think we try to stick with family. >> as public service, eight movies hitting theaters today a few of the highly anticipated releases, "the great holiday movie movie, "the wolf of wall street," leo dicaprio as a crooked stock broker, finds the truei true meaning of christmas. >> greed is good. >> supposed to be a great flick, you don't bring the kids on this one. >> no. no. >> here is one the kids will enjoy if they are beliebers, justin bieber has his new believe, a follow-up documentary to the singers a 2011 "never say never" movie. teenaged girls, beliebers, i think, see this. make sure there's no potted plants around. >> okay. >> the secret life "the secret

mitty." ben stiller, kristen wiig starring in this one. >> i have always loved the story by james thurl ber. >> great story. >> looking forward to that. >> bring us an opportunity to talk about our own favorite christmas moviesism think mine goes "elf." i love watching with my kids now. >> a good one. >> it is just an -- >> ed asner the best santa going. >> yes. he is the real santa though, right? >> yes, yes, he is. he is the best santa. >> and remember, don't eat the gum. it's not free candy. >> will ferrell in christmas. i still go back to "christmas vacati vacation," never old for me, chevy chase, randy quaid, the they will whole thing. >> a good one. >> the classics, can't beat "miracle on 34th street." and "wonderful life." >> i still love "a christmas story." that is -- the old man, darren mcgavin as the old march you will shoot your eye out. >> it's fragile. it's fragile. >> fragile.

>> yeah. yeah. >> i won! i won! i won! a major award. >> so many classic lines from that film. i double dog dare you. >> it is a classic. >> a classic. >> it is a classic. a little piece of video, you may have seen this, barack dubs, they are in the holiday spirit, so this is the president singing "jingle bells." ♪ dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ ♪ oer the field wes go laughing all the way ♪ ♪ bells on bob tail ring ♪ making spirits bright ♪ what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight ♪ ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, judge all the way ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ ♪ hey ♪ sing jingle bells, jingle bells, judgele all the way ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ >> i wonder if there's some dubbing. >> they have to. when would be saying jingle? >> or slay. >> he speaks in public every day. i bet he said jingle somewhere.

>> maybe. it may be that he has got a deal with barack dubs and says, just slip these words in. drop some of these words. >> occasionally. we can edit it together. >> said that is just the latest. 20-year-old guy puts those together and just splicing up stuff he has seen from the president. >> a loft work. >> does he have a life? that has got to take a long time. >> brought out some christmas joy. bless you. >> thank you. thank you. >> an opportunity to talk about some of the worst christmas songs. >> best/worst. >> because sometimes, you hear them starting before thanksgiving. sometimes even right after halloween you start hearing christmas songs. so they stick. >> they do. >> stick there. >> the bad ones stay with you. >> "huffington post" put together a list of the best worst christmas songs. among the winners or losers, however you want to look at it. new kids on the block "funky funky christmas." ♪ go ahead. >> i never heard that >> thank you is on the worst, not the best. >> best/worst.

all best/worst. >> how about your -- >> that's my guy p the hof. david hasselhoff singing "holy night." ♪ o, holy night, the stars are brightly shining ♪ >> not so bad, actually. >> he is a huge hit in germany. he was a huge hit. >> christmas album. he must have a christmas album. >> he was a big hit. >> not that bad. >> really not that bad. >> think that's beautiful. he has got a good voice, actually u >> so my earworm is -- >> santa! >> said ed asner was the best santa there is only one santa. >> thank you for making the time for us. >> i love your stories. >> well, santa. >> i'm glad there's some sensitivity and love coming from here, radiating on christmas. this is my last stop. >> is that right? we are honored.

>> gifts for you. i have a few little things here. >> i have been very good, santa. >> i know you have. you have been nice and good. i think this is yours, you got a -- oh. willie gets a big one. let's see. >> are you gonna open it? it is the empty bag of the season. the last gifts. >> can we open it? >> not opening -- >> opening them now. >> we are? >> absolutely. >> open. >> let's see. >> thank you. >> santa, you are too kind. >> i think that's all i have. >> how was the run -- >> al doesn't get anything? >> oh, no, wait a minute. >> oh, santa! santa, now he me so well, a hulk hogan action figure. you're the greatest and he really talks. >> something to play with. >> santa, what is this about? do you know my whole story about lemonade? >> santa. >> one of the best things you can do.

>> wow. google that one, by the way. natalie, lemonade? >> help you. very good for you. >> all right, al. >> you've been naughty? oh, no. >> who's the real santa? >> you're the real santa. of course you're the real santa. >> well, let's see what you got there. >> this is fantastic. you know what it is? >> yes, i know. of course i know what it is. >> this is actually a make your owner diamonds kit. >> hold on a second. >> no. no. >> apply pressure for about 20,000 years this is gonna be fantastic. santa, thank you so much. >> just hold onto it. >> i'm holding on right now. >> hey, and santa, merry christmas. >> i know you got to make another stop at radio city before you leave. >> i sure am, i'm going to be there until december 30th. drop by again. i know i saw you the other night. >> i don't know how you squeeze it in, dropping presents. >> i can tell you how you squeeze it n >> catch santa and the rockettes

through december 30 thank the radio city music hall. >> cubic sir cone ya. >> wow. >> worth something one day. merry christmas. >> the best. >> anybody want some lemonade? >> good morning. 9:12. still waking up to clear skies but that haze is really starting to settle in. from the east bay, looking towards san francisco, how murky it is this morning. this is another spare the air alert date. make sure you keep that in mind. go to sparetheair.com for more information. temperatures in the mid-60s if in san francisco to the mid-70s in our inland valleys.

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christmas is not about gifts, going to parties, it is about love, family and faith. >> as george bailey came to realize in the classic film "it's a wonderful life," how can we keep the spirit with us all year long? >> rhonda britson a life coach and founder of the fearless living institute and td jake sass pastor.

so glad you are with us on this special day. bishop, we all know how we feel on december 25th around the holidays we feel generous of spirit it val magical tile. i guess the question is how can we feel this way on june 25th? how do we keep it all year long? >> good question. >> the funny thing about it the ting thinks that make christmas valuable are things we can have all year round, the respect for family, friends and self, taking the focus off of you and learning to give and see about other people, has nothing to do with santa, reindeers or any religious connotation it has something to do with understanding that love and giving love cause you to be able to receive and joan that i love. >> then able to bring out toes feelings in other sass remarkable gift. >> it is a remarkable gift. i like people to have focus on holiday tension. what is their intention this day and all year? what do you want to make happen with your friend family and friends? do you want to go in with lovez,

as bishop said, or think i have to get along no matter what and i don't like those people? we have those contentious relationships what are you, how are you going to show up this holiday season today specifically and throughout the year? focus on the love. >> speaking of as living for the moment, unfortunately, for a lot of people this is a time of a lot of pressure as well, they have these ideals the perfect waking up christmas morning with your family, not everybody has that situation. it is hard sometimes for families to get together in that way, right? >> i think that what you really have to do is focus on what you have and not what you lost. to celebrate your reality rather than what you see on tv. your life not be like what you see on tv or what you expected it to be. the fact you are alive and able to share and give and enjoy that start from there and be thankful. >> and i think that word is gratitude, to really have gratitude for what you do have and to really stay anchored in that, regardless of what's going

on around you. >> i think it's important for all of us as parents, we try to do this make christmas about giving as much as it is receiving from their children so they learn at a young age it is better to given that receive. >> the reality is when you teach children it is about giving it is a great equalizer, nothing to do with status or comings from very, very poor children to very, very wealthy children, the idea is to cause them to understand the real blessing is in giving and not receiving that when they are not so focused on themselves. >> a great message. we appreciate you both being here on christmas day, bishop td jakes are, rhonda britain. >> merry christmas. a christmas day visit from some of my mother and my grandmother are very old fashioned. i think we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet.

you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. [ female announcer ] resisting the magical taste of silky smooth dove® chocolate is difficult. but choosing which one is even harder.

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good morning, merry christmas, everyone. it's not a merry christmas for everyone. for some u.p.s. customers today expecting their presents. the company was overwhelmed on tuesday and couldn't deliver all its packages. u.p.s. is apologizing to angry customers. workers will be on the job tonight trying to make sure everyone gets their presents on the day after christmas..o it's going to cost more to get holiday cards out next year. the post office is raising the price of a first class stamp from 49 cents from 46 cents. the increase begins on january 26th. but it isn't permanent. price hike is supposed to help

the post office recover $2 billion in losses. that is expected to take a couple of years. tradition calls for a hope cooked meal on christmas day but if you're looking to eat out, there are a few places you can go. according to restaurantnews.com, applebee's and i-hop will be open but call ahead for hours to make sure what time. denny's is serving lunch and dinner all day long. showny's has a christmas debut faye. starbucks is brewing and serving coffee today. if you're looking to catch a movie today after all the presents have been opened, there's no shortage of options. amc theaters and other big chains are open for business. several big movies were released today including "the wolf of wall street" and "the secret life of walter mitty" with ben stiller. now that all the presents have been delivered, you may be wondering where is santa. well, the big guy took a dive. st. nick threw on the scuba gear

and went under the water. in the florida keys beforefl% heading back to the north pole. we will be back right after these messages. ♪ music ♪ music it's so much more than coffee. brew the love. keurig. we throw out over 500 dollars ziplocin food every year. help save more of it with ziploc bags featuring new smart zip plus. a seal you can see, feel, and hear close. get ziploc and get more out of it. [ female announcer ] sc johnson, a family company.

good morning, merry christmas. it is 9:26. the investigation continues into an early morning murder/suicide in san lorenzo. officials tell us a husband shot his wife and turned the gun on himself. family members say the couple had been married for 16 years and were having marital problems recently. the couple's four children were at home at the time of the shooting but fortunately they were not foisically hurt. family members who showed up at the scene said they would take care of the kids going forward. also this morning the highway tracks between the kirker in and capital expressway stations are back open at this hour. service was halted while officials investigated a death on the tracks overnight. they say a one wwoman was hit a killed. it did not have any passengers

on board at the time of the crash. several people are spending christmas morning looking for a new place to live after a fire ripped through an apartment complex in san francisco. this happened near the san francisco general hospital after midnight. fire officials tell us one person was taken to the hospital but the extent of injuries are not clear at this time. crews were able to get control of that>2ñ fire pretty quickly. several units were damaged. tenants are now displaced. the cause of the fire is under investigation. we'll have a check your weather coming up.

welcome back, 9:28, the time right now. a little hazy as you look across our sky camera. you can see, oakland towards san francisco, you can barely make out the city, and that's all the smog still hanging around. we have another spare the air alert in effect today. highs today are going to be very warm. we're talking about 10 degrees above average in our inland valleys. anywhere from 65 in san francisco to the low to

mid-70s in our east bay valleys, also the north bay valleys and that does include the silicon valley as well. we're talking about record setting territory for today. so enjoy the warm weather while it lasts because we're talking about cooler changes as we head through the upcoming weekend. scrolling at the bottom of the screen, by friday, saturday and sunday, we'll be watching a system that will improve our air quality but will also cool us just a bit. >> we certainly need that, anthony, that's good news. we'll have another local news update in about half an hour. we'll see you then. have a terrific day, merry christmas.

welcome back to "today" on this christmas morning, december 25, 2013. along with natalie and al, merry christmas. we hope you are having a great day. we like there time of year because the of the santa pictures, the kids inevitably screaming, crying. >> no kids take a good santa picture right off the bat. >> not until they are past their toddler years. >> you sent in great pictures, we asked you and you did. let's look at some of the great submission. one is from angela brown, elliott, a true scared of santa photo. but santas, just as scared of my twins, she says, one who is swinging punches at him. allison and his bell, elliott, 18 months old, this photo taken

a couple of years ago. >> adorable. santa does look a little scared. >> a great-looking santa. >> this is alex, i guess eight months old, mom, amanda, says he was completely fine five seconds after i picked him up. that is usually the case. >> always how it works. >> cameron, number three, this was his third time on santa's lap. wow. third time was not the charm. >> no. >> that strange paradox of a man they love so much, santa claus. >> till you see them. >> you get up close. >> yes. >> you know that he has been checking on you all year long. if you have been naugh well, at 9:31, still waking up to clear skies. the haze continues across the bay area. in san francisco, we're at 52 degrees. you cab see that haze really building across the bay area. we are in another spare the air alert for today here on this christmas. temperatures are going to be

warm. mid-60s to mid-70s for day time highs today. have a good christmas. this morning, a special visit some from some santa's little animal helpers around the world. saenchts world and busch gardens ambassador, julie scardina is here with animals that love cold weather. >> these guys are beautiful. >> they are. >> merry christmas to you guys, too. these guys have -- >> the huskies. >> infamous sled. dogs have been pulling sleds they think over 15,000 years these guys are perfectly adapted for it. >> how are they adapted? >> so muscular. feel this fur, you guys. this is, like, very thick, very insulated. they are very good about being out in the really subzero degree temperatures, which you have in new york here. >> are these good family dogs? >> they are also, because they are very friendly, they are very social. but, of course, they need a lot

of exercise. and they need a lot of specialized diet and things like that. so certainly not your average, typical house dog, but very good pets. >> these dogs, too julie, have incredible stamina. i have rid own sled with these dogs running that end just don't stop. want to keep running. >> these guys want to pull. actually, we have got some more gifts you guys can put under the tree from the sled and we are going to take these two off so that we can bring out the next animals. >> mom used to take me to the husky department at montgomery ward's. >> we brought them from busch gardens tampa to go under the tree. >> oh, right. help you. >> so, who is our next guest? >> the next guest is actually our -- >> oh. >> owl. isn't that awesome? now, she is just amazing. this is one of the largest owls in the world. and this is a eurasian eagle owl. how much does she look like she weighs, guys? >> i'm guessing 70 pounds.

>> 70 pounds? >> gonna say 20. >> don't have her on "its price is right." >> look at the wing span. >> it is 150 pounds, if it's a pound. >> she weighs about 4 1/2 pounds. but 70 was a good guess, natalie. >> it is not a helicopter. it's an owl. >> why are they lighter than they look? >> because they have hollow bones, first of all, and they have this great insulation. she lives -- she can live up in the tundra, in e himalayas. they will hunt out there. so, they are perfect for hunting. they have got these great tall lons, so powerful, exactly why i'm wearing a glove. and the wonderful insulation for the feathers, of course. perfect for night hunting, those gorgeous eyes that you can see, huge, can't move in their soxets, she has to turn her head.

>> julie, 150 pounds. >> admit it. >> 70 pounds. i don't know how you got it. >> our next guests are so cute. asian otters. >> we are gonna have -- >> look that the guy. >> zander come over. >> zander has a trick. >> zblapder is going into the present he is. >> the candy. >> like my son in the morning. >> yeah. you can -- we will have another presents later, but these guys are for fwachbd alexander, they love christmastime at seaworld in san diego, because this is their favorite thing, getting into everybody's present he is and finding out. >> it is amazing. >> their paws pretty sensitive? >> they are very sensitive. that is how they find their food out in the wild. they would be actually watching for predators with their eyes facial up, while their paws are looking all over in the mud and underneath the water to find fish, crayfish, shrimp. you know what, we have some shrimp here and some fish. >> get in there.

>> you guys hold it by the head. >> like a game -- >> here buff, if i zander. > how calls can they make? >> about a dozen different calls. >> zander, here. >> whoa. >> buffy? >> buffy. buffy, excuse me. look i got. hey, buffy. look what i got here, buffy. there you go. yeah. >> here, you can give zander one if you like. >> a little hard time. >> they are very good. >> look at them going to town on that thing. >> communicate among the family groups this is brother and sister, they were born 15 years ago at seaworld san diego. >> how old will they get? >> very old right now. in the wild they never would have lived this long. i would say that they have another five good years. >> do they have aarp for otters? >> yes, they do a great retirement program at seaworld. >> what about reindeer? >> christmas not complete without a reindeer. >> actual reindeer. >> actually, i think, showing off for all the folks outside.

they drew such a crowd outside, we figured maybe that is the best place. >> santa double-parked the reindeer. >> now, reindeer are really well suited as well. >> you know what, they have the most amazing both fur, it's hollow, allow those go across waterways, they have the huge rack and the antlers and they have hoofs that actually change texture, depending on what surface they are on. >> and they weigh more than 70 pounds? >> zblander is looking for something. zblander is 60 pounds himself. >> hello, guys. hi. hi, zander. >> any fish for zander? >> here we go. >> christmas. >> do your thing. >> do your thing. >> you want this? >> awesome. >> julie scardina, thank you so much. >> so fun. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas, guys. all right, well if you are ex-haased from the running around and cooking you have been doing, we will show you a mouth-watering meal made from shrimp. no, kidding. super simple to make.

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delicious, smarkt chef and co-owner of hearth. typical in italian tradition to have a roast? >> it is. >> but this is a pork roast? >> it s the best advice i can give everybody is keep it simple, stupid. do something that is very forgiving. this really fits the bill. standing rib roast of pork. the reason why it is called a standing rib roast this chine bone is left on. other reason it is forgiven, fat, bone and bone, protect all this beautiful meat. >> gout to leave that fat on, right? >> a big window of success there. >> okay. >> what makes it tuscan style? >> the holy trinity of meat cookery throughout tuscany, same, rosemary and garlic what you do you pierce each side of this roast, right in the center, right? and you use the dowel of a wooden spoon and you kind of shove it right through there. >> that is a greaeeat idea.

>> get the flavors on the meat. >> probably do that with other cuts of meat as well. >> give me some black pepper? >> sure. >> i'm like where did it go? it is right in front of me. >> all over it. the other thing about people doing roasts at home they don't realize how much salt it takes and every time i season something in front of somebody, their mouth drops are and they are like, oh, my god. >> why do you need the salt? >> because there's a lot of interior meat here around salt is flavor so i really want to show you guys exactly what i'm talking about. >> all that fat. >> you are coating it. coating it on the bone side, and you are really coating it, and rub it in there, a little oil on there and then what happens you is set it on top of a bed, i have a couple of fennel bulbs, i have an onion, some rosemary, sage, garlic. >> that is beautiful. >> this thing will cook in the of been an hour and a half two hours, 400 degrees. the other thing people are afraid of is how i do know when it's done?

>> yeah, a big cut of meat. >> they don't know what to do. this is your friend, right? >> yes. >> these are always in your drawer and you use them once a year, important to put it in ice water and make sure it reads 32 degrees, them you know works. >> calibrate it. >> you down the want to end up with something not giving you the right information. >> the temperature for cooked pork that you want -- >> 130. 130 internal temperature i think is ideal u stick this thing to the thickest part of and you just start doing that about one -- an hour, hour and 15 minutes. checking it every 15 minutes. >> here we have it see how beautiful the fat has sort of crisped up. >> exactly. >> then cut beautifully here. >> the other thing is when this comes to you the of the oven now, you want to let it rest on this bed of vegetables so all of those drippings fall into the vij, because this will be turned into what we call a pasada sauce. you put all the vegetables and drippings in the food mill and pass them through, down the have a food mill, pass them through the blender, always a squeeze of

lemon brightens everything up, right? >> makes this great crazy? >> makes that great crazy, the other thing, because of the chine bone, can't chops, what you need toe do you is need to take it -- >> off the bones. >> off the bone, right? >> oh this is gonna be good. >> and then this is the best part for you. >> thank you. merry christmas. >> part between the bones isn't bad either. >> i will give you the best part. >> try that beautiful. you served it with the great vegetables a the hearth. >> roasted autumn vegetables with maple and slices and ricotta cheese. >> congratulations, tenth anniversary of hearth. great review in the "new york times," true to your vision. >> thank you. thank you. coming up next, they sell out concert halls all around the world with their soaring voices, out concert halls all around the world with their soaring voices, a performance by the young she should be braiding her hair. not losing it. he should be battling video villains. not cancer cells.

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they have sung for the pope at yankee stadium, the president at the kennedy center and shared the stage with miley sigh ruffle >> they are the boys choir from south london known as almost ibra and out with a new cd and dvd "angels sing, christmas in ireland." >> here they are singing a familiar holiday classic, "joy to the world."

♪ joy to the world the lord is come let earth receive her king ♪ ♪ let every heart prepare him room ♪ ♪ and heav'n and nature sing and heav'n and nature sing and heav'n and heav'n and nature sing ♪ ♪ joy to the earth the savior reigns let men, their songs employ ♪

♪ while fields and streams, rocks, hills and plains ♪ ♪ repeat the sounding joy repeat the sounding joy repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪ ♪ he rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove ♪ ♪ the glories of his righteousness ♪ ♪ and wonders of his love the wonders of his love the wonders wonders of his love ♪

♪ joy to the world the lord is come let earth receive her king ♪ ♪ let every heart prepare him room ♪ ♪ and heav'n and nature sing and heav'n and nature sing and heav'n and heav'n and nature sing ♪ ♪ joy to the world joy to the world ♪ >> just beautiful. that is the boys choir, libra.

we are back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

coming up next with kathie lee and hoda, country star, trisha yearwood, cook up a special lunch. and a performance by leona lewis. >> coming up after your local news and weather. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. have a great day. >> happy festivus.

good morning to you at 9:56. the investigation continues into an early morning murder/suicide in san lorenzo. officials tell us a husband shot his wife and turned the gun on himself. family members say the couple

have been married for 16 years. the couple's four children were also home at the time of the shooting but fortunately we are told they were not physically hurt. also new this morning, highway 87 vta tracks between the kertner and capital expressway stations now back open. service was halted while officials investigated a death on the tracks. they say a owoman was hit and killed overnight. if you've eaten at the saloon you may have been exposed to hepatitis a. a worker tested positive for the disease. and here's another check with anthony of your weather. good morning. >> we're expecting a warm day. record heat for today. gilroy could get up to a record high of 75 degrees. san jose, 71. even downtown san francisco, back to 67. so everywhere across the bay area, we'll be bright and very

warm. the south bay, low 70s there. peninsula, a mix of 60s. even san francisco, a mix of low to mid-60s there. no 70s in san francisco today. north bay, mix of 60s and 70s. 71 in santa rosa. east bay and trivalley expecting bright sunshine and a mix of upper 60s to some of our warmest locations. livermo livermore, 74 degrees. even san ramone, 68 degrees. not a bad forecast on this christmas day. >> very much a california christmas. if you're celebrating christmas today, we hope you're having a wonderful morning so far. thank you for injoing us. we'll see you back here in about half an hour. have a great day.

♪ ♪ yes, yes, yes. >> that's beautiful! the new york city chirnl chorus on this very special christmas

day. merry christmas, everybody. >> what a great, great way to open the show. >> absolutely beautiful. thank you, kids. >> merry christmas, everyone. >> merry christmas to my hoda. >> i remember when my kids were little how fun it was with all the stuff. >> i know. >> is that new again? >> just can't get enough of it. >> we have got a really great show for you today. count country music star trisha yearwood is here. i wish she was singing for us but the second best thing is she's cooking for us. >> you know who is going to sing for us? >> we have a heartwarming story about a young woman who found her birth mother 20 years later. >> you don't want to miss that. what are your plans for today? >> christmas is always such a chill day. after the tearing open of the presents, you know, just kind of relaxing day. what about you guys? >> always, always, always. you know what i like to do on either christmas or new year's

day just go through my -- i still have an address book. >> you do? >> i have an address book. frank and i will sit down and we'll just start going through the address book and calling people. >> that's fun. >> spend the whole day doing that and saying thinking of you. no one wants to be bothered on christmas. no one wants to hear from you on new year's day. mostly we get voice mail. but at least we were thinking of them. >> fun this morning as you unwrap your gifts, play a game with us. this is called guess the christmas movie. so we're going to play a little clip from a classic christmas movie. we're not going to show you the clip. you have to listen to it. and then you have to try to get the film. are you ready? >> yes. >> clip number one. >> we're ready. >> if you're really santa claus you can get it for me. if you can't, you're only a -- >> "miracle on 34th street"? is it? >> yes, it is. you are correct. the year i was born. >> nice man with a white beard like mother said. >> you know who that is, natalie

wood. >> oh, my god, it is. >> young, beautiful natalie wood. >> wow. let's hear clip number two. >> okay. >> we all try to stick to the -- font don't show it. >> we caught it. >> i didn't see it. >> it's okay. we're authentic and we are what we are. >> i didn't hear it though. >> i learned it -- i know who it is. "elf." >> okay. >> i didn't see it. >> let me tell you why because we saw it along with you. that was the answer. "elf." how about that? >> yes, good for you. okay. >> let's do the next one. >> what's the next one? >> maybe christmas eve doesn't come from the store -- >> "the grinch." >> yep. yep. >> can we show the clip? i love this clip. >> maybe christmas doesn't come from the store, maybe christmas perhaps means a little bit more. >> ah. i love the grinch.

i could watch "the grinch" even now as an adult. >> did you like jim carrey? >> i like the cartoon. >> finally, because it's a tiebreaker. >> let's watch. >> recently right now for you get you something to eat? drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead? >> no, i'm doing just fine, clark. >> it's the one about -- with the -- wait. this is karen's favorite movie. what is it called? i know it. "throw mama from the train"? >> no. >> like dirty santa or whatever the one with billy bob thornton? >> no. >> no, it is -- >> oh "national lampoon." >> get you something to eat? drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead? >> no, i'm doing fine, clark. >> if i heard clark i would have known but didn't hear that. you know what? >> what? >> i lost so much this past year. >> what do you mean? >> now it's my hearing, my sight. next year i hope i lose my thighs. right now -- i'm just losing everything.

>> you can't see? >> no, i can't -- >> i know the prompter, you can't see that well. >> no, no, no. no. men versus women, holiday wish list is what we're going to talk about next. >> okay. a lot of you guys are again at home opening presents. what presents do men and women really want? okay. so this surprised me. women really want those gift cards. >> and yet suze orman told us that's the worst gift. >> they want them but they don't use them. they put it in their wallet and it goes away. >> i get starbucks one, though, kathie's spoiled because she goes like three times a day. i think it depends on the person, you know. if your favorite store is, say, saks fifth avenue and you get a saks fifth avenue one you're going to go. you've got to know the person, hoda woman. >> another thing women love geting are clothes. >> i like getting clothes if my mom gets them. if someone else gets you a sweater or top. >> it becomes, again, those kinds of things are very iffy if

you don't know the person really, really well. >> household goods and homemade gifts. >> homemade gifts are always just the sweetest. >> men? >> electronics but frank sure doesn't. i think it's generational. frank could have had all of those -- he still shaves the way he always shaved. >> guys look brook stone. they have all those things in there, gadgets. >> yeah. >> men, number two, was homemade gifts. if you're thinking about, you know, for next year, thinking ahead. make something. >> do you honestly know one person who is thinking ahead? christmas day and someone's thinking ahead? >> i'm not. i'm the last person thinking ahead. >> martha stewart, she's the one that's thinking of that. >> all right. >> so it is awkward when you get some of these worked really hard on a gift for you and they give it to you, have you ever had a gift that you just couldn't -- >> you know what i say? oh, my god, you did it again. >> i love this. >> how did you know? >> no, i love this. i love it. and then i'll take it and i'll

thank them and then later i'll wrap it again and give it away to someone else. >> regift it. who will wrap it and give it away. it used to be the fruitcake that went around the world because everybody would wrap it up and give it to somebody else. >> sometimes you don't really have a use for it but someone put time and thought. they talked about how much time people spend shop for gifts. i think it's hours that people look -- four hours looking for a gift for your significant other. >> strange to me. you haven't been significant very long if you don't know what they want. what do i know? >> four hours. >> who's got it? >> nobody. >> but, plus, i don't like when i say, hey, i'd like some reindeer and then i open the present and it's reindeer. like i don't like that. what's the point of doing that? >> of giving something -- >> i asked for it and here it is. i like it to be something that, what did you think, like what would you have gotten me? i like that. >> why would you say i want reindeer horns?

that makes so new orleans sense, hoda. >> if someone asked me, i'll say it but i don't really want to. >> here, you want a hat, too. does this hat fit you, by the way? did you see how nice -- does that -- >> yes, it does. the answer is yes. all right. >> okay. >> coming up, the perfect story for the holidays. how one young woman found her birth mom 25 years later. and country music star trisha yearwood whips up a christmas lunch. take it away, kids. ♪ ♪ oh, jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way! ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ ♪ jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride

in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ my mother and my grandmother are very old fashioned. i think we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. it's holiday time, and no fruit is as versatile as our ocean spray cranberries, which is why were declaring it the unofficial official fruit of the holidays! the fig's gonna be so bummed. [ laughs ] for holiday tips and recipes, go to oceanspray.com. what does that first spoonful taste likok. honey bunches of oats. ching!

mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal.

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we're back on this christmas day with a touching story of how one young woman tracked down her birth mother 25 years after being adopted by a very loving family. >> today she found that young woman and her birth mother and is here with their emotional story. hi. >> merry christmas.

>> all in red today. >> yes. >> very festive. this is such a terrific story. emily thought it would take forever to find the woman who brought her into the world. but it took her only two day, thanks to facebook. take a listen to their story. >> i found out that i was adopted when i was 5. >> i knew i could not take care of her and give her all that she needed and all that i wanted her to have. >> life for me growing up was very normal. i was involved in lots of activities and sports. >> i got to pick her family and i knew that, just by her mom, i knew she would be okay. her mother would write me a letter once a year and send me pictures. that really helped. >> i received all of those letters when i was 18-year-old. >> dear adoptive parent. >> dear birth mother. >> i want to send you a letter about our little girl. >> we have enclosed a picture and as you can see, she's quite

beautiful. >> i just wanted to find stacey because i just always felt like there was some sort of a piece of a puzzle missing. the journey was a quick one. i actually found her brother first through facebook. when i had contacted him, he immediately knew exactly what i was talking about. said, yeah, i'm your uncle. >> i was driving down the road. i usually don't answer numbers i don't know for some reason. >> my heart was pounding. i was really scared. >> she said, is this stacey? i said, yes, it is. >> my name is emily and i think that you may might be my biological mom. >> i said, oh, just a minute, emily, i'm getting ready to lose it. >> she immediately started crying. i knew that was the best day of her life. >> i told her, if you didn't come to me by age 30, i was coming for you. >> it's cool to talk to her because i find a lot of similarities between the two of us. >> her mother gave me the gift of growing up with her by sending these letters to me. for her to get to know me now,

it's going to be great. >> we are here with emily who is here to explain how to find the loved one you're looking for. hi. >> hi. >> how are you? >> that's the first i have seen that. >> it's emotional. >> yeah. it is. >> so it must have been -- how interesting to receive the letters at 18. all i can think of is getting a pile of letters and just reading. what was that like for you? >> it was so overwhelming. i -- it was my birthday. we were just about to have cake. and my two best friends were there. and my mom comes out with this big plastic bag and she just gives me all of these letters. she explains to me, you know, exactly what they were. and i just like -- i grew up my entire life not thinking that i had anything, you know, to connect with. and when she gave me those letters, it was just like, i couldn't believe it. i was so evoverwhelmed. >> how quickly did you find her on facebook? crazy, by the way. >> yeah, it's crazy.

stacey wasn't on facebook. i actually did a google search with her birthday, the city that i was born in, and one of the names that i had discovered along the learning process of trying to find her. and her name appeared on it was like a white pages or people finer website. and on one of the side columns it said possible relatives. i found her brother, and he was on facebook. >> kyle, obviously we see the appeal of this story and loving person, oh, my gosh, this is unbelievable. but, so tell us why you then reached out to her. >> yeah, well, i just like saw emily's story and her determination to find her mom, her birth mom, was just so strong. and there were so many obstacles along the way. but that didn't stop her. she kept going and she found her. >> how often have you and your birth mom visited, like when was

the first time you saw her? >> i've never met her face to face. i have spoken to her on the phone. and we'll talk here and there. we tried to do a face time one time but service was really spotty. >> we can do one better than a face time. >> how about a christmas present. >> why don't you come on out, mom. ♪ >> thanks for joining us. >> how are you? i know. is it what you thought? >> i knew that like i would be -- i knew it would be -- i

knew that there would be an instant connection, especially after i read the letters. so, i mean, i knew after i read the first letter that meeting me was something that she always wanted. >> how hard was it for you to give up this child when she was first born, stacey? >> the hard part was, we had been in the hospital for three days. and knowing they couldn't hold her, but that was probably the key to the whole getting me through it because had i held her and touched her, i don't think i could have done it. >> you wouldn't want to let her go. >> it took a lot of counseling to do it. >> and the family that adopted her did such a beautiful job. >> beautiful job. >> so kind of them to continue with the letters to you. that is such a gracious, gene l generous thing to do. >> i had three families to choose from. open adoption, immediate adoption, and closed.

they didn't have to write me after six months. >> and they did. >> and they did. >> how kind. >> and her mother is just amazing. >> she's got two amazing mothers. >> she sure does. >> apparently, you get one more surprise. just one more. >> apparently you also have a half brother. >> did you know that? >> he's here, too. why not. >> why not, it's christmas. >> this is so wild. >> and we have a couple of uncles back there and -- and some second cousins removed. but we said, no, enough, enough already. >> how does it feel to be flanked by your kids? >> i have two dogs, two cats, and two kids. >> and hopefully you'll spend the rest of your lives to the just catching up. >> yes. >> we're so glad to have spent this moment with you. i can't tell you, what a way to spend christmas. thanks for sharing with us. >> god bless you. >> we'll be back right after this.

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sparkle®. the bright way to clean. gotta jet! i'm okay, i'm okay. wout of landfills each year? plastic waste to cover mt. rainier by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often. juan: i had cancer. cancer that required expensive treatments. juan's mother turned to st. jude children's research hospital where no family ever pays us. for anything. so parents can focus on what is important. juan: like buying me a present! like buying you a present. and giving you a future. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. and give to those who not. go to st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo.

when you don't have the time, there's new crest 3d white 1 hour express whitestrips. removes years of stains in just 1 hour. whitening without the wait. now get the best 3d white deal of the year at selected retailers. behind the silver of philadelphia cream cheese. it always begins with fresh local milk blended with real, wholesome cream. going fresh from the farm, to our fridge, in just six days. because we believe in fresh taste. that's the way we set the standard for intensely rich, luscious flavor.

so our story of fresh taste always ends, deliciously. when it comes to taste, philadelphia sets the standard. we're back with emily and her birth family who she just met for the first time. there's something we would like to give to all of you thanks to our friends at the hartman group. tonight you're going to see one of broadway's biggest shows "it's wicked" the musical

playing at the gershwin. >> have a wonderful time. >> we will. >> merry christmas. >> thanks for sharing with us. >> and happy new year, too, boy. still ahead, country music star trisha yearwood gathers everyone in the kitchen. also, we get a special christmas performance by british singer, songwriter, leona lewis. >> and christmas experts. >> wait a minute. find out from santa, all after your local news. ♪ ♪ whooaaaa!!!!!!!! wow! thank you, thank you! ♪

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tylenol®. good morning to you, it is 10:26. the family of an oakland teenager declared brain dead is hoping for a christmas miracle. a judge has ordered the hospital to continue life support temporarily for the 13-year-old. the teenager has been on a

ventilator for two weeks since complications during a tons electric mi. the judge ruled after hearing testimony from a doctor who conducted an independent examination on monday. telling the court she meets all the criteria of brain death. the law states the judge can only order the hospital to continue life support until december 30th. that gives the family time to decide what to do next. we'll have a look at your weather coming up right after this quick break.

we are expecting a warm day across the bay area. in fact, record heat for today. gilroy could get up to a record high of 75. san jose, 71. even downtown san francisco, back to 67 degrees. everywhere across the area will be bght and very warm. in fact, the south bay, low 70s there. peninsula, few low 70s. even san francisco, a mix of low to mid-60s there. no 70s in san francisco for today. north bay, again, a mix of 60s and 70s. 71 in santa rosa. east bay and trivalley expecting bright sunshine. a mix of upper 60s to some of our warmest locations. liver moore, 73 degrees. even san ramone, 68 degrees. not a bad holiday forecast here on this christmas day. >> boy, anthony, you could say that again. a real california christmas there. thank you so much. we have more local news coming up this morning. coming up in a half hour at 11:00, al meet that sheriff deputies investigating a

murder/suicide. plus, a christmas miracle involving this newborn puppy. we are back on this christmas day as we celebrate, ready to play our weekly trivia game we call who knew, strings of miracle on 34th street. macy's santa claus is here to help us with some christmas spirited trivia. >> i know you've been good. >> you're right, sort of. kathie lee is across the street at the nbc store. ready to hand out cards for those who get it right. for those who don't, they get a kathie lee cd. ready, santa? >> i'm ready if you are. >> k of. >> look at this adorable lady from texas. in what country is it customary for children to leave shoes by the fireplace to be filled with gifts by father christmas? united states, china, france, or

denmark? >> well, let's take away the senior moment and say denmark. >> she won "scandalous". >> the correct answer is, it's in france. >> really? and they get -- what do they get put in their shoes? >> a little present. >> okay. all right. back across the street. >> from tennessee. approximately how many letters does the u.s. postal service handle each year that are addressed to santa in the north pole? 250,000, 500,000, 750,000, or over a million? >> over a million. >> that's right. >> oh! santa, you get over a million requests? >> over a million letter, ever 500,000 come in this area and many of them come to me at macy's. they bring them directly to me. >> do you get e-mails, too? >> absolutely, and text.

>> tweets? >> and tweets. >> okay. back across the street. >> very pretty lady from myrtle beach. name the missing reindeer from the following. you're going to have to think. dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, blitzen, dasher, and rudolph. >> donner. >> wow! >> i got a question for santa. she got it right. she said the name was donner. somebody told me the name was -- >> donder. >> is that really what it is? >> it is. the only girl reindeer i have is vixen. >> of course, she is. back astrosz. >> from chicago. a lot going on here. which song was buddy the elf sing in the locker room scene from 2003 movie "elf"? "all i want for christmas is you," "baby it's cold outside," qutd rocking around the christmas tree," "or blue christmas." >> hope she has a grandchild.

>> the correct answer is -- >> "baby it's cold outside." >> do you love that movie? >> i do. he knows me. >> back across to kathie. >> i've got a real live breathing man here. all righty. let me see. what is that? sinterklaas was the original word for st. nicholas in which language? dutch, swot tish, swedisswedish german? >> i would say german. >> the correct answer is? >> i sing this song to them at macy's "sinterklass," it's dutch. >> we have time for one more. >> okay. tampa, florida, finish the lyric to this 1951 song. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.

♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ ♪ everywhere she goes ♪ la la >> she didn't get it. >> santa, you got it? ♪ everywhere you go ♪ take a look at the five and ten ♪ >> santa, you must be exhausted. >> it is the most wonderful time of the year and it's the best time to remind children how much santa loves them. >> aw. >> i always have and i always will. >> we want to give you a little something for you left because we felt like you needed some cookies. >> oh, thank you. >> and some milk. >> wonderful. >> thank you, santa. >> thank you so much. wrap up. >> that's right. that's right. coming up, country star trisha yearwood gets cooking in the kitchen. can i have a cookie? thank you. before you settle for another ordinary mattress,

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cow: (tearing up) go get em' gracie! girl: bye! cow: they grow up so fast baby: (giggles) cow: my bad. girl: would you like some tea? cow: yes please. girl: o.k. cow: (sniffling) i miss her so much already. get on skype at recess! mom: we're fine. we're fine. cow: ahhhhh vo: make us part of your family. look for nutritious dairy brands with the real california seals. mom: she's going to be done at noon. cow: (yells) noon! ahhhhhh it's time to take you into today's holiday kitchen. >> country star trisha yearwood is here to help us out with that. >> grammy award winning singer is sharing holiday recipes from her network called "trisha's southern kitchen" and her cookbook. >> i love the cover. >> welcome. >> thank you very much. merry christmas. you look so pretty. >> you've been busy in the

kitchen, lately, haven't you? >> i have. i cooked a lot before anybody cared but now it's kind of fun. >> it must be fun to have this resurgence, new life. renaissance woman. >> it's fun to get to make a living doing something you enjoy doing. i continue to and now it i. get to do it with food, too. >> what are you whipping up for us today? >> this is from georgia, this is a roast beef. it's what's call about it is it's -- sorry. it's a pork loin. i got all nervous. it's a pork loin. i know pork is beef, right? i haven't had the martinis right. it's a pork loin. what's cool about this is you make a gravy really easy. i'm about things being easy. this is onion soup, like french onion soup. >> any kind. >> that's golden mushroom soup. put it in. >> i gotcha. and this simmer on the stove for three hours. this is all you do. i brown the meat first so it will be nice and brown. >> do you get your butcher to tie it up like that? >> you can. it's not hard to do.

yeah, if you want it really easy tell your butcher what you need and have him tie it together. >> three cans of soup? >> this will make a gravy so you don't have to make a gravy to go with it. simmer on the stove for three hours. >> they don't feel like you to be embarrassed because you opened up a couple of cans. you gave them permission. good for you. >> three hours. >> three hours later, it is done and it is carved. you got to trust me with a knife. >> simmer, right? >> on low for 3 1/2 hours. >> uh-huh. >> the aus juice that it makes. >> now you're talking french. >> all right. it's gravy in georgia. >> those are georgia slices. >> sure are. >> and now this over here that i make all the time is -- >> is this what you cooked it in? >> yes. that's the gravy that we just made. >> perfect. >> perfect. >> bacon wrapped asparagus. you want to be my sous chef on this? >> yes.

>> just take three or four spears of asparagus. thick cut slice of bacon. roll it. you got two there. >> can i do two? >> you can do two. >> roll it in bacon? >> because everything is better rolled in bacon. >> you just stick it. >> you can stick with it a tootd pick and after you've done it for a long time. i just wrap it up and set it down. >> because you might be likely to eat it up. you don't want that fiber in your diet. this is the key. this is a -- can i borrow a spoon or something? >> this has gotten a little bit coagulated. this is butter and brown sugar melted together. it's got a little bit of soy sauce in it. sweet terriaki that you pour over it. >> let's eat. >> yeah. >> when it's all done, this is what it looks like. >> uh-huh. >> ooh. beautiful. >> hello. it's your show, girl.

>> we only have a few seconds so, thank you, sweetheart. >> we want to taste it. >> yes. >> oh, my gosh. so will you be home with the family for today, later, as soon as you're out of here? >> yes, always together at christmas. and, you know, it's just really about being together and of course a little bit of good food to go with it. >> merry christmas. come back when your new album is finished, right? >> all right, darling. >> the christmas festivities continue. >> a little holiday music from british singer/songwriter leona lewis after this. you got the bargain kind? you need a bunch of those to clean this mess. then i'll use a bunch of them. then how is that a bargain? [ sighs ] no, that's too many -- it's not gonna fit! whoa! cascade kitchen and math counselor. here's a solution. one pac of cascade complete cleans tough food better than six pacs of the bargain brand combined.

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♪

wanted to be here for your fist christmas? you see grandma lives waaaay down here,

and you live way up here. brian, your cousin, he's a little bit older than you, he lives here, in chicago. and your aunt lisa lives here, in baltimore. uncle earnie? waaay out in hawaii. but don't you worry, we will always be together for christmas. [ male announcer ] being together is the best part of the holidays and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. you just ate dallas! okay. we just want to make one note. when we were cooking up stairs with trisha yearwood and pork and roast beef, it was actually

roast beef we were cooking. >> who cares. the uk "x factor," singer songwriter leona lewis is out with a holiday album called "christmas with love" and here she is singing "one more sleep." ♪ may baby is coming home for christmas ♪ ♪ i've been up all night inside my bedroom ♪ ♪ you'll be with me real soon ♪ so i wait and i wait but i've had as much as i can take ♪ ♪ because i've got five more nights of sleeping on my own ♪ ♪ four more days until you're coming home ♪ ♪ three more dreams of you and

mistletoe ♪ ♪ two more reasons why i love you so ♪ ♪ i got five more nights of sleeping on my own ♪ ♪ four more days ♪ three more wishes until you're here with the christmas tree ♪ ♪ and one more ♪ one more sleep until it's christmas ♪ ♪ one more sleep ♪ can't believe how much i missed us ♪ ♪ one more sleep ♪ one more sleep until it's christmas ♪ ♪ one more sleep ♪ yeah ♪ now i don't think i can remember a cold and lonelier december ♪ ♪ and i find myself sitting at the window ♪ ♪ wondering when you're gonna get back home ♪ ♪ so i try

♪ and i try ♪ try ♪ but there is nothing i can do to pass this time ♪ ♪ i've got five more nights of sleeping on my own ♪ ♪ four more days until you're coming home ♪ ♪ three more wishes i can celebrate ♪ ♪ if i can make it until christmas eve ♪ ♪ when it's one more ♪ one more christmas ♪ one more sleep ♪ can't believe how much i missed us ♪ ♪ one more sleep ♪ one more sleep until it's christmas ♪ ♪ one more more sleep ♪ yeah ♪ until we're rocking around the christmas tree ♪ ♪ until i got you sitting next to me ♪ ♪ we got a lot of catching up to do ♪ ♪ i just can't take this missing

you ♪ ♪ five more nights on my own ♪ four more days ♪ three more dreams ♪ mistletoe ♪ i can't believe i ever let you go ♪ ♪ five more nights of sleeping on my own ♪ ♪ four more days until you're coming hope ♪ ♪ three more wishes i can barely breathe ♪ ♪ if i can make it to christmas eve then it's one more sleep ♪ ♪ it will be one more ♪ it will be one more ♪ one more sleep ♪ it will be one more ♪ one more sleep ♪ one more sleep ♪ yeah

>> and we'll be right back. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up tomorrow we'll get creative with those gifts that weren't quite with you. >> and we're going to show you what to two with all that wrapping paper. >> and ambush makeovers. >> and how to make money making videos. >> we like to look back at some of the fun we had this past year. >> and thank all the people here behind the scenes who make it all possible, each and every day. merry christmas and our love to each and every one of them. god bless you all. >> there is a beautiful shot of the sun rise. >> handing out roses. >> and there it is. >> good morning. >> good morning.

>> good morning. ♪ >> good, right? >> get a hug. >> i love it. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ we all have our little tricks.

mom swaps one of my snacks for a yoplait. i don't mind, i mean it's orange crème. and when mom said bobby was too edgy... 'sup girl. i just swapped him out for tyler. 'sup girl. mom never questioned bobby again. two can play at this game. [ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait. and everybody wins. yoplait. it is so good.

right now at 11:00, a family in mourning. four kids orphaned when their family pull a gun on their mother. investigators say it was a murder/suicide. plus, thousands across the country opening christmas presents in the dark. the massive storm system pummeling the east coast, knocking out power, making it difficult for people to make it over the hills and through the woods. good morning to you, we wish you a very merry christmas. thank you for joining us on this aecember 25th.