we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, the 15th of december, 2010. it's another cold, cold start to the day here in the northeast and many other parts of the country. hopefully it's a little warmer where you're waking up. got a nice crowd of people outside, sking up some holiday cheer in rockefeller plaz a. just a couple of feet from this inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer and al roker and natalie

morales. a gunman opens fire on a school board. one woman tried to stop him by hitting him with her purse. we'll have a live report and it is as we mentioned very dramatic. >> hard to watch that video. and ahead on "today's" money 911. our financial experts are back, they have got advice for protecting your personal information if it happens to get in the wrong hands. and priorities when it comes to paying down debt and is it better to file as a married couple or as an individual? and we're out with the picks of the best and the worst of 2010. there has been no shortage of highs and low this is year. we're going to have a look back at the year as it was. and we're going a little bit beyond the traditional to help jazz up your holiday decor with some festive and chic accents.

good morning to all of you this morning. we begin with news that overnight a boat packed with what rescuers believe is a boat from iraq and iran. at least 41 people survived but 50 refugees might have died. the victims believed to be curds are believed to be fleeing to australia. mark potter is joining us from panama city with the latest on this story. >> reporter: the gunman was killed in the incident here and it was caught on tape. but we're not going to hear that and we warn that the rest of the video leading up to that moment is very intense. just as the bay county school board opened the floor for public comment, a man later

identifieded as 56-year-old clay duke began spray painting the wall with a circle and a big v. after drawing a handgun, he ordered most people out of the room. one board member who left the room, ginger littleton tried to intervene, hitting the gunman with her purse. >> i could either walk away and try to live with myself because i knew something bad was going to happen. or i could try to defend, delay, somehow or other divert, hoping that the cavalry would come soon. my guys had three-ring binder s and pencils to protect themselves. >> reporter: duke, gun still in hand, complained to the superintendent, four board members and their attorney that his wife had been fired. off camera, the superintendent tried to get duke to let the others go. >> this isn't worth it. this is a problem. please don't, please don't. please.

[ gunshots ] >> reporter: after duke fired at the board members, witnesses say, school board security chief mike jones rushed in and exchanged shots with him. panama city police say duke who was wounded then ended up killing himself with his own weapon. >> you could see in his eyes that he was intent on dying. >> reporter: the entire incident was also captured on a school board camera and streamed live as horrified workers and viewers watched the drama unfold. on facebook, one of his apparent profile pictures is similar to the v he painted on the school board wall. a symbol some have subjected used in the 2006 thriller "v for vendetta" but police say they cannot confirm any link between

duck duke's actions and the movie. and the school board says there's no records that -- it's very lucky that no one else was hurt in that incident. >> mark potter this morning. former chief of staff rahm emanuel with stood 11 hours of questioning about his eligibility for chicago mayor. the most serious requirement is that one must live in the district for one year before the election to qualify. president obama is meeting with ceos of major corporations to discuss ways to boost the economy and to create jobs. berkeley, california has now tabled a resolution that would name jailed private bradley manning a hero. manning is awaiting trial on charges of releasing thousands of sensitive documents to wikileaks. the mayor says the city council of berkeley is now unsure whether manning is a hero or a

traitor. the rock and roll hall of fame has named the class of 2011, they include neil diamond and the alice cooper band. it is cold outside, especially if you're having a baby in a snow bound vehicle. mom and dad were stuck on a snowed out michigan highway so dad pulled over and helped deliver the 8 pound blizzard baby right there in the passenger seat. mom and baby boy are doing just fine this morning. it's now six minutes past the hour, now back to all of you on the couch. that's sweet. >> ann, thank you very much. mr. roker, how about that weather that was up there, where is it now? >> we're thankfully going to see some moderation in these temperatures but not until friday. the current temperatures right now into the 20s in the northeast. 40s right now in florida with record lows. and you look at the high temperatures, you're going to see only getting up into the 50s

to low 60s in central and southern florida, teens as you work your way into the upper midwest and we have got snow to talk about, double barrel low pressure making its way east across the country, that's going to bring about six to nine inches of snow right around the rockies and we're looking at anywhere from three to six inches of snow from fargo to just west of chicago. >> it is breezy and cold and temperatures in the single digits this morning. a mixture of sunshine and a few a mixture of sunshine and a few time for "today's" money 911 where we answer some of your

pressing finance questions from the best time to pay off student loans. our experts are doling out advice. our personal finance correspondent for cnbc.com. and the author of "start over finish rich" and carmen wong ulrich is a personal finance expert. kim in new jersey writes i recently applied for a home equity loan. during the approval process i learned my personal information was faxed to another company's fax machine for employment verification. i'm now concerned about our personal information becoming public since it was sent to an unknown company. how can i make sure it wasn't sold or stolen? >> it would have been a lot easier if that lender would have just called her employer to

verify information. but they likely sent it to a company that they're already doing business with. her information is probably okay because of that relationship. but if she's concerned, she should begin to check ore own credit report. get a credit report and then wait six weeks and then get another one from another credit bureau. do that until you have all three credit reports. make sure you look at the rates, make sure they have legal help and good customer service. but she probably wants to double check and make sure she's okay, but it's likely that she is. >> that's good to know. next we have got a viewer video in, this is from jarrett from green acres, florida. >> i have $45,000 in student loans that we have been paying off monthly. most of them have a 6.55% interest rate. we have about 80,000 in our savings, mutual funds and bonds. we're wondering if we should use

some of this to pay off part of her loans immediately or continue paying monthly. >> such a good question. 6.5% on a student loan sounds like a low interest rate and it is. but a lot of his money is probably sitting in a very low interest account. in fact a lot of your money is in a money market account earning zero or 1%. i would look at your monthly expenses. set aside six months of expenses. probably in your situation that's less than $25,000 right now. if you've got $80,000. i would take at least a chunk of that. i would take it and apply it to student loans. a quarter of your savings, apply that to your student loans and that will reduce your student loans and keep paying the payment that you're already making and you'll pay down the principal even faster. >> now we're going to go to the phones, good morning, sarah. >> caller: good morning. >> what's your question for our

crowd? >> my husband and i were married this past year and we're determining if it would be more beneficial this upcoming tax season to file married or married filing separately. my husband makes quite a bit more than i do as i work part-time. my concern is when we're filing for student loans next year, which are based off taxes, will i be eligible for more loans if i file separate lseparately. so i'm looking for suggestions on how to get the best refund and the best aid for school. >> what matters is you guys are married. so no matter how you file on the f fas fa form, you must declare your husband's income. in terms of filing jointly or separately in terms of a refund on your tax bill. most married couples, it makes much more sense to file together, jointly so that you qualify for a lot of the tax

credits and deductions. run both scenarios if you k but remember, don't go for a huge refund every year. that's not necessarily the thing to do, because basically the government's holding on to your money. no matter how you file, his income is going to be tax exempt. >> i have bought bonds for my kids since they were born. i was told back then that the interest is not taxable if the child goes to school. my son is now 16, plans on going to college. how can i convert those bonds into a tax free problem so that i can convert that money into college expenses. >> she probably wants a tax free situation, maybe her income was too high, maybe the child was no longer a dependent, or she had not enough expenses to offset. what she wants to do is to find out if she can still get less income to make sure that she can redeem those bonds. if she makes more than $85,000 a

year, and if she's married and makes more than $135,000 a year. she's still not going to be able to redeem those bonds tax free. the best thing is to put it in a 529. room and board will count as expenses as equalified expenses where they don't with the bond redemption. >> i suggest she save for college. that's up side. >> if you have questions, just log on to todayshow.com, starting at 9:30 eastern right here on "todatodayshow.com. and from your living room to your bedroom. elegant ideas to decorating every room of your home for the holidays. and "people" magazine reveals the best and worst of 2010. right after these messages. okay, which picture for the card? hellllllo...that one, everyone looks great.

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>> "today" celebrates 2010 is brought to you by three muskateers. >> this morning on "today" celebrates 2010, the best and the worst of the year that was, from celebrity weddings to failed marriages to fashions. indicate coin is people's assistant managing editor. kate good morning. a lot this morning so let's get right to it. the covergirl, as you see there, the obvious choice sandra bullock. >> absolutely. the year that she has had, there was no other choice. she had a phenomenal year full of highs and lows, a huge roller-coaster ride for her. the high of winning the oscar to just a few weeks later finding that her marriage was imploding to then when she finally re-emerged from the spotlight, revealing that she was now a mom to a beautiful little boy. it's been a phenomenal year.

>> exactly. next on people's most intriguing list, rocker brett michaels, good buddy of ours. and what a come back he made, also had a tough year. >> a tough year, but beyond just a come back, really people got to see a completely different side of him. he was really in a lot of ways a punch line because of the vh-1 shows and rock of love and he was always hanging out with scantily clad young women. now you got to see that he's a real fighter, he's a real survivor and he's a pretty smart guy asapprentice." >> he's such a great guy and i know he's got surgery planned in january. >> another surgery coming up. >> we wish him the best. and the other people that have dominated the headlines in the last couple of weeks, kate middleton and prince william as you would expect after they announced their engagement. that's going to be the big story of 2011 too, right? >> the wedding of the century,

really until you look forward to the wedding of any of their children, this will be the wedding of the millennium. this is absolutely massive and really such an exciting event that everyone is looking forward to. >> exactly. next elin nordegren, obviously now tiger's ex. and what a year she has had. she came out and spoke to "people" magazine. >> this is the year she broke her silence. she talked about what happened at the end of 2009. she talked about the dissolution of her marriage. and much as with sandra bullock, did it with such dignity and class and restraint and really shows what a very, very strong woman she is. >> all right, and another part of the magazine, you talk about some of the celebrity weddings and among them, chelsey clinton, a . >> it was done with such elegance and style and beauty and nothing was over the top.

it was really pitch perfect and i think people really -- >> and really quick, carrie underwood married mike fisher. and courteney cox and david arquette married for 11 years. >> what's interesting, i think they were shocked because they had seemed so committed to making their marriage work, not because they were necessarily such a perfect couple. because when you look at them, they are polar opposites, they have so many differences that in a lot of ways the real surprise should be that they lasted as long as they did. and that was a testament as to how much hard work they did. >> and just yesterday, scarlet johansen and ryan reynolds. >> that marriage is over. after only two years. >> and really quickly, the haul of shame. who can forget mel gibson and his voicemail messages to his ex-girlfriend oksana. >> there you go, charlie sheen

also had some trouble this is year. >> he sure enjoyed new york city that night. >> yes, he did. >> but in typical charlie sheen teflon fashion, he shook it right off. >> kate coin, as always, thanks as always for sharing some of the issue with us. she is thethe -- will i am here. this season, make christmas poppers. use thicker paper for the cylinders and then fill them with snickers, twix, three muskateers and milky way. to learn how to create a sweet memory with chocolate this

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our 17th annual toy drive is going strong and we love to give children the gift of reading. one of our generous contributors has been giving for ten years. the senior vice president and publisher. so nice of you to join us once again with a great gift for us. th >> this time of year we love to give books to kids. we thought a great gift will be the superheroes ultimate popup book. it has some cool popups in it. >> wonder woman, batman. >> superman. >> some of our "today" show heroes. >> bring it to life and the gift of reading is so important to instill that love of information. >> it's so important for people to have books at home as well as at school and in the libraries. >> thank you so much, we really

appreciate it. meg megan, thanks again. it's not too late to donate to our toy drive. you can do so by going to todayshow.com. we're back in a moment, but first your local news and weather. -i can't always get to the bank. -but i can still bank. i have the bank of america mobile banking app. i can take care of things on my break. i can check my balance... while i'm on a bus. waiting at the barber shop. at the studio. oh, my paycheck's already in. [ chuckles ] i just transferred money. i went online and set up alerts to let me know if... my balance drops below $200. you can pay your bills online. you enter the amount. then, "make payment." -boom. -done. -wish i was... [ male announcer ] bank whenever, wherever, however you want. with mobile and online banking from bank of america. set your pace to island time. rich chocolate over creamy coconut. almond joy and mounds. enjoy more.

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news update. >> it is a breezy and cold start for us this wednesday morning. wind chills running in the single digits. this afternoon, the winds will die down a touch. high temperatures only in the upper 20's and low 30's, with a mixture of sunshine and clouds. system will pass by to our south, giving us a chance for light

you're more handicapped with out the eye, an the eye without the arm. [ gunshots ] >> i thought you were going to say the sun was in your eye. that is to say, your eye. >> that's oscar winner matt damon in new version of the

classic "true grit." the talented actor and father is going to be here tomorrow on "today" to talk about his busy life. coming up, a really touching story. >> it's really incredible. ryan, and we have a picture of him here, he was a fun loving athlete in his first year of college when he was attacked. he was kicked in the head repeatedly and he was left in a coma. now his parents give him round to the clock care. it's really a story of the incredible amount of love, faith and hope that parents have for their children and this is an embodiment of that. if you haven't already decorated your home for the holidays, we have some elegant ideas for every room in your

house. and if you're looking for a main course to go along with those elegant decorations, we have a roast pork with a champagne sauce. >> but first, how about a check of the weather. >> thank you very much. let's show you for today, we are looking at -- for the weekend, i should say, saturday, west coast going to be a mess, a lot of rain inland, we're looking at snow, along the eastern atlantic coast, going to be some rain as well. sunny skies from the plains, frigid from the plains down to texas. sunday look for more heavy rain along the central and southern california coast, up into the frigid northwest. sunny and cool through the southeast. mild weather working its way through the great lakes. what we are looking at still, some lake-effect snow showers through the eastern great lakesr >> it is windy, it is cold, temperatures in the single digits. otherwise, a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. and a few clouds.

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"today's" let is brought to you by kellogg's frosted mini -wheats. this morning on "today's" health, faith and hope is an inspiration. they have given up everything to care for their son ryan who was left in a coma after a brutal beating. sue and ken remember the last time their son ryon hugged them. >> he was full of joy, it was a football thursday. i remember getting to his house and him hugging us. >> reporter: growing up in ashburn, virginia, going to west virginia university. >> he had a passion for sports. he had a passion for debate. he had a passion for women.

>> he wanted to make the world a better place. >> reporter: but their world came crashing down on november 7, 2009. ryan had been walking with friends off campus when they got into a heated argument with a pair of strangers who were later convicted of attacking ryan. they punched him and then kicked him in the head until he lay unconscious. witnesses say it was as if ryan's head was being punted like a football. after the beating, ryan was in a coma in grave condition. >> they said they thought he had 24 to 48 hours to live. >> reporter: 13 months later after nine surgeries and eight months of rehab, ryan is living at home, still in a coma, where taking care of him is now a full-time job. his day starts at 8:00 a.m. with 40 different prescriptions. >> i'm going to give you a little bit of juice, okay? >> reporter: he spent 90 minutes in an oxygen chamber and hours with therapists. his doctors make house calls.

>> this is normal, nothing to worry about. >> reporter: but ryan's full-time therapist is his father, ken. >> i hate what they did. i hate that they didn't give ryan the opportunity to introduce himself because they would have loved him. >> reporter: but they don't focus on the past where every day is critical to ryan's recovery. >> turn your head! >> yeah, good job, buddy. >> good job, ryan. >> reporter: moments like these are rare, but cherished by devoted parents. >> you see me? you're doing great. yes, you are, you just got a bump on your head. you're waging up. >> ken and sue are now joining us along with their daughter kerry, good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> you know, as you well know, and correct me if any of this is incorrect, but over the last 13

months, i understand that ryan's heart has stopped beating more than twice, he's had a tracheotomy, a feeding tube, and he's also had part of his skull removed. sue, i guess the question most everybody wants to know the answer to is what gets you through this every day? >> i think it's just, you know, my love for our family and for ryan. we have always been really, really close. and he's my baby. i mean, you know, i can't live without him. i mean i need him to, you know, wake up and, you know, i pray every day that he's going to wake up. i just -- it's all about ryan. you know, he's been aan amazing son and i know he's fighting in there. they gave us 24 to 48 hours that

he would live, we're 13 months out now. he's in there fighting and we're standing right by him and i know he's going to wake up one of these days. >> what gives you that faith that he's going to wake up one day? are doctors giving you hope by something they're saying? i need to point out, i don't know that we said it enough in the piece that we just showed. but you, even after the therapists go, there you are, you stay with him, massaging his legs, massaging his feet, you even watch football together. you read him the newspaper, trying to keep him stimulated. it's a remarkable, the amount of love you are showing your son. but what are the doctors telling you? and is it love or hope that's really driving you? >> doctors generally are not willing to share their information with us or how they think his outlook will be. the standard answer we get is everyone is different. so going on that theory, my son

is different in a very good way. he's made of the right stuff. so my objective is to give him every hope that if he does wake, that we minimize the physical challenges and we're able to focus more on the cognitive. >> ryan's not here to speak for himself. but i understand he was very smart, he was hilarious, energetic, he loved to make people laugh and smile. kerry, when you watch your parents doing what they're doing wh for your brother, what are your thoughts? what goes through you? >> i just think of how amazing of parents they are and i just feel bad that they have to go through this and you know do this every day because they deserve nothing but happiness. but i completely look up to them for everything they have done for my brother and i know they would do the same thing for me. >> he wanted to be a lawyer, he wanted to be a judge potentially.

sue, i know that a lot of people watching this will want to know if there's anything they can do to help. is there anything you want to say about that? >> yeah. i mean, you know, i really, you know, anybody that, you know, in their heart wants to help out, the expenses are getting, you know, very high right now, a lot of the treatment that he's getting, you know, will not be covered under our insurance. and you know, if anybody wants to make any donations, we have a site that's set up, ryan diley.org. we also have a facebook site and that's a site where people write to us, it enables us to keep our friends and family up to date on how ryan's doing. and it's just one of those things you asked us before what keeps us going, that's one of the things that keeps us going is the people. our families, the community, we have the best neighbors. our parents, everybody, they have just been amazing.

>> it's one of the advantages of -- one of the advantages of helping ryan is that it's also helping with the research because traumatic brain injury is so unknown. the brain is such a complex organ, that it's mostly not understood. recent developments are getting closer. and ryan's going to be going through this new sort of research. >> well, fingers crossed for you and also i know everyone would wish to give you a big hug and encouragement for what you are doing, ken, sue and kerry, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you for letting us share the story. >> we'll be right back. hey guys. sorry we're late. milk looks warm. finally got the whole gang together. maple brown sugar, strawberry delight, blueberry muffin. yeah, a little family reunion. [ wind rushes ] whoa! whoa! whoa! whoa! we're cereal here! what? just cooling it down. enough said. gotcha. safety first. whoo-hoo! watch the whole grain!

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"today's" holiday kitchen is brought to you by twizzlers, a twist you can't resist. this morning on "today's" holiday kitchen, a festive holiday kitchen. how to make a perfectly roasted pork loin with a champagne sauce. >> this recipe is not in your bacon book. he was telling me this morning he loves his bacon book. >> it's about pork, you have pork. but you're on tv, she's not. let's go. don't get testy here. >> you're so sensitive, i gave you my book the day it launches. shoving this book in my face, telling me how fabulous his bacon book is. let me tell you about my pork roast. >> are we married? >> i know, it feels like a marriage, right?

>> anyway. so how do you season this thing? >> listen, we're just putting some sugar, some salt and some flour on it so that we coat it nicely. >> on all sides? >> on all sides, just to give it a nice browning. the sugar is going to help that. >> and olive oil, we brown it? >> we have got butter and olive oil. we have got this one already going. look at how beautiful this is looking. so what we're going to do, this is already nicely browned, we're going to put it in here, we're going to finish it off in the oven. what i have here, i have got a reduction of champagne, green apples and cider. we are going to remove the apples. because we don't want this in the sus. we're going to puree some and leave the roast so it looks pretty when we garnish. we have this champagne, and we're going to do some glazing. careful with your beautiful suit here. we're going to do yellow onions,

finally chopped. we have got fresh pine. this is going to give us that kni nice flavor. this is nutmeg. >> we're going to put some green grapes in here. and now we're going to put a little bit of chicken stock, 2 1/2 cups. >> the whole thing? >> the whole thing. and then we're going to let this cream reduce and get to a really creamy consistency. and since we work ahead, we have got this ready to go here. the pork roast goes into the oven, about 375 degrees. you want to make sure that your internal temperature is 165 at least. so we have got our sauce ready to go and we're going to cut this up really beautiful. and as you can see, we have got some ready to go. >> my mom was somebody who said you had to cook pork all the way through and it had to be gray.

>> the most important thing you want your internal temperature to be at least 165 degrees. >> so a thermometer is a good idea? >> thermometer is a must. you've got your sauce that you have helped me make. we're going to lay it over the loin. and as you see, this is a very simple recipe. >> right. >> very elegant. it's delicious, super easy to make. and as aalwai always say, why mt difficult when you can make it easy. i always make for new year's. you know how they say you eat 12 grapes at midnight. i put my grapes in my apples and it's all there for good luck. >> what's a side dish? >> i call it my green emerald rice. you take cooked rice ready to go. and you add some cilantro, and any herb you've got going back, blend the herbs and mix it through the rice and you can always put a little bit of cheese on top if you want and there we go, ready to eat.

and all we say all the best for the new year's. >> a little extra sauce on that worked out pretty nicely too. and you know what would be great with this? some bacon. >> i knew you were going to say that. >> i'll bring some bacon to you next time. >> thanks so much. coming up, we have got black eye's peas front man

♪ ♪ ten thousand watts of xmas cheer ♪ ♪ ten thousand watts glow brightly clear ♪ ♪ the colored lights will shine sincere, ho, ho, ho ♪ ♪ ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ♪

still to come on "today," hoda and kathie lee hang out with the multitalented will-i-am. >> and healthy food that may not be so healthy after all.

>> live, local, latebreaking.

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