good morning. breaking news. bernie fine, the long time assistant basketball coach at syracuse university, fired after being accused of sexual abuse by a third man, as a taped conversation surfaces between fine's wife and one of the alleged victims. >> i know everything that went on, you know, you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted. >> did she know what was allegedly happening and failed to stop it? lack of evidence, the only suspect held in the mysterious disappearance of a maryland woman in aruba ordered to be set free tomorrow. have prosecutors reached a dead end in the case? and merry clickmas. it's cyber monday and retailers are hoping you still have money to spend after a record start to the holiday shopping season. we'll tell you where to find the

best deals. "today," monday, november 28th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. good thing we've all survived thanksgiving so we're all here. in the meantime the scandal at syracuse university has taken a new twist because now a third man has come forward accusing bernie fine of molesting them. >> fine had been on administrative leave and now out of a job, fired by the school and late last night, syracuse head coach jim boeheim who staunchly defended fine at first called the new allegations disturbing and deeply troubling. we'll get right to nbc's jay gray in syracuse, new york with

the latest. >> reporter: good morning, matt. dramatic changes overnight in this case, bernie fine fired after a new audiotape surfaceed along with those new allegations in this sex abuse case. >> there's a three, it's gone! >> reporter: the syracuse orangemen are an ncaa basketball power house and for more than 35 years assistant coach bernie fine has helped to lead the team but now, fine is out of work, officially fired from syracuse as he faces accusations of molesting three young boys. the allegations began with former syracuse ball boys bobby davis and stepbrother mike lang who said fine sexually abused them in the '80s. >> he started to touch me and honestly i don't even remember if i thought that was what was supposed to happen. i know i cringed up and didn't want it to happen. >> reporter: on friday, federal authorities searched coach fine's home for more than six hours and the shocking release

of a recorded phone call reportedly between bernie fine's wife, lori, and accuser bobby davis. >> i know everything that went on, you know, i know everything that went on with him. bernie has issues. maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues, and you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted. >> reporter: that phone call was reportedly recorded in 2002 by davis and given to espn. the sports network first aired the tape this weekend. bobby davis says he recorded the call because he feared no one would believe his story and now, another accusation, 23-year-old zach tomaselli of lewiston, maine, has come forward saying in 2002 bernie fine allegedly molested him in a pittsburgh hotel. >> i have a fear there could be many other victims in this case as well and if somebody didn't back up bobby davis and his story, then this could continue. >> reporter: tomaselli's father, fred, says his son's story is

not true. tomaselli himself faces sexual assault charges in maine involving a 14-year-old boy. he's pleaded not guilty to those charges. bernie fine has not commented since his firing but has called the allegations patently false, and early sunday his lawyers released this statement saying, "mr. fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities." fine's former boss, hall of fame coach jim boeheim says he supports the school's decision and in a statement sunday night went on to say "the allegations that have come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling. i am personally very shocked because i have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged." now, boeheim continued saying he regrets his early strong support of fine, at one point even calling the accusers liars. now he's calling for a full investigation here and urging anyone with any information to come forward in this case. matt? >> jay gray, jay, thank you very

much. mike lupka is a long time journalist and columnist. what did bernie fine do, how many people might be victims? was this a well-kept secret? had you heard whispers of this for years? >> no, what's amazing with this tape with lori fine, bernie's wife, it's been around for years. >> since 2002. >> i worked for those who did a story for "syracuse post standard" who urged bobby to get some backup. the reason the paper didn't go with the story nine years ago is because of no credible second source. >> you have the wife of the accused saying she knows everything going on. >> i talked to a lawyer saying as damning as this is in public opinion she never talks about him being a child molester so i

don't think that would be admissible in a real courtroom because of spousal privilege. >> this is shades of penn state a lot of people will ask questions this morning, mike, what did syracuse university officials know and when did they know it. we know they conducted an investigation in 2005 and apparently did not find enough or any credible evidence to support the claims. >> you know, there is -- we're living, and all of a sudden it's a jerry sandusky world, it's a penn state world. there's an element of what happens in vegas stays in vegas and you see how powerful the institutions are. >> is there a possibility they didn't conduct a thorough investigation in 2005? >> the paper didn't go with this because they didn't have enough. it's amazing it was floating around out there for this long but it speaks to what we've had at penn state about blind faith and flus these powerful institutions. >> you talk about legal versus public opinion. this tape lori fine saying "i

know everything that went on" to bobby davis, and "he has issues, he may be in denial" if she knew he was still around young men and boys, boy, she's got some explaining to do. >> and then she does become like somebody at penn state who had heard and knew the things about jerry sandusky and did not come forward. what is interesting about boeheim's story originally he was sticking up for a friend which was fine except he basically called the first accuser a liar. >> it's not i'm supporting this guy innocent until guilty. "this is a bunch of a thousand lies." >> i think he walked himself back from that last night because he's establishing a more solid legal position because they're going to come and ask him what he might have known about this guy. >> can he survive this? >> my first reaction when this happened at penn state was yes,

that joe paterno, and i was dead wrong about that so with these stories, they're so fluid i'm not going to say he's going to survive this. >> mike, lupika, thank you so much. it is now seven minutes after the hour. here's ann. a record 206 million americans visited holiday stores over the weekend and retailers are hoping shoppers will be back at it for cyber monday. courtney regan is in hawthorne, new york with more. >> reporter: i'm at ibm solutions lab where they're tracking in real time what consumers are doing online, that means what they're dyibuying, we they're buying and how they're buying it on what could potentially be another record setting day. >> this is our crunch time. >> reporter: in this massive warehouse in if arizona, amazon.com prepares for their

busiest day of the year and hopes to break records. on this day last year the company sold a record 158 items per second, close to 14 million items in total. >> people avoid the crowds of shopping malls, of traffic and sit back at home or work and get their shopping done. >> reporter: more than 86 million braved those shopping malls on black friday alone. a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and went online this holiday weekend, up from 212 million last year. total spending reached a whopping $52.4 billion. for the search for the best holiday deals, it wasn't what it used to be. violence across the country led many to wonder if black friday specials were even worth it. >> is this necessary for shoplifting? >> reporter: in buckeye, arizona, this 54-year-old grandfather was bloody and unconscious after being slammed to the ground by police for alleged shoplifting and

florence, alabama, police used a stunned gun on an unruly shopper and in los angeles a woman used pepper spray on shoppers in what officials called competitive shopping. the woman surrendered to police saturday evening. while things can getting you will i in the retail world according to amazon.com a safer chaos takes place in cyberspace. >> the madness takes place on computer servers as opposed to in physical retail. >> comscore reports that $1 billion was spent online last year, for the first time this year they expect that record to be broken, estimated $1.2 billion will be spent online today. >> sounds intense. courtney reagan, thank you so much. 7:10, here's matt. the first gop presidential contest are just a few weeks away and in advance of the contests newt gingrich has picked up a big endorsement. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning.

>> good morning, matt. you say weeks, i say days. 36 days until january 3rd and the iowa caucuses and we're hitting the primary within the primary phase. the race to become the official not mitt romney case is in full swing. newt gingrich candidate and campaign left for dead in the summer is seeing his stock soar. newt gingrich begins with a boost, the endorsement of the conservative new hampshire union leader trumping mitt romney. the publisher explained the decision to back newt. >> he's not afraid to speak his mind. his view is that we have to really look at history and shape a new turn for the country. >> reporter: the newspaper tookd a veiled swipe at romney labeling him "one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear" but the endorsement is no guarantee for gingrich.

since 1976 "the union leader" picked two republican nominees, ron rald reagan and john mccain. jon huntsman said the race is too volatile for this to matter. >> newt is the chief foil against romney and they latched onto that train. >> i'm getting whiplash. >> reporter: at a book signing in iowa, michele bachmann also downplayed the news. >> the main endorsement i'm looking forward to is the one in iowa on january 3rd in the caucuses. >> reporter: over the weekend, michele bachmann flooded central iowa with automated phone calls. romney, ron paul and herman cain bombarded the state with campaign mailers. gingrich's biggest hurdle in the primary could be immigration, where he favors allowing some long time undocumented workers to stay in the country.

it's a vulnerable romney is trying to ek ploit xploit in th mailing. rick perry is hoping for a second look. he's nabbed the support of arizona sheriff joe arpaio, a prominent illegal immigration opponent who travels with perry to new hampshire tuesday. with the rise and fall of so many conservative opponent this is year, mitt romney's biggest challenge may be simply to avoid looking stale as consecutive activist grover norquist spoke of his tax plan. >> he needs to update it in terms of where the debates go. >> the snernt thcertainty is soe haven't seen in decades. one group, conservatives to are palin plan to run tv ads in iowa trying to draft sarah palin into the race. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. >> as tim russert would say,

"what a story." more of the top stories natalie morales is at the news desk. it's a historic election day in egypt, voters are heading to the polls since hosni mubarak was ousted back in february. richard engel is in cairo. we've seen the escalation of the violence in the last two weeks, how significant is this vote? >> reporter: good morning, natalie. so far it's peaceful today. it's significant because of who is voting and who is running. this is just the start of a political process in egypt. egyptians will be going to the polls over the next several months to elect a new part amount but what is significant is that many of the people here in tahrir square have decided to opt out of this election, they're boycotting. they believe that the egyptian military can't be trusted to oversee a transition to democracy. the muslim brotherhood, however, which is a party that is islamic, it was banned under

hosni mubarak, is participating and it's expected to do very well. >> richard engel in tahrir square there, thanks so much, richard. and now some other news out of egypt, last week we saw this video of three american college students who were detained in an egyptian jail, all three were released this weekend, they returned to the united states and i spoke to one of the students, gregory porter, who denied the accusations by egyptian authorities that he and the other young men had molotov cocktails and were violent toward police. porter claims he had been beaten by egyptian police while in jail. a severely 8-year-old obese boy in ohio has been taken from his parents and put in foster care because officials say his mother isn't doing enough to control his weight. the third grader tips the scales at about 218 pounds while the average boy his age weighs just 57 pounds. his mother who is not identified says she loves her son who is

otherwise abhonor roll student in school. about 1,000 protesters held an eviction block party and held classes on resistance taxes and in philadelphia a smaller contingent refused to leave after a deadline to vacate passed. a canadian football league turned violent when joe capp offered a single flower to angelo mosca. he told capp to shove his flower. in case you were wondering this bad blood is apparently the very definition of old school. the two have been at odds since a 1963 game when mosca used a controversial maneuver. they just will not let it die. time to bury the hatchet, guys. :17. back over to matt, ann and al. >> aren't canadians more -- than

the rest of us? what's that? >> i don't know about that. >> it could be more peaceful. >> like the battle of the yodas. >> the union and a hockey game. natalie, thanks. a great stretch of weather we've had. >> what are you talking about? >> whoa! >> what's going on -- he never touched me. we got a frontal system running from canada down to florida ap. loi t lot of rain with it and behind the pressure system we have a lot of rain. that's what's going on in the country. >> good morning. it will be another warm day today. temperatures will be in the mid 60's this afternoon.

>> that's your latest weather. ann? prince william is being hailed a hero, after a cargo ship sank in the irish sea. nbc's michelle kosinski is in london with more. >> reporter: generally we think prince william, future king and some glamorous occasion but over the weekend he was all flight lieutenant william wales doing what he loves to do, flying a chopper in the middle of the night in the worst conditions to save someone's life. everything about this mission was treacherous, middle of the night, pitch black, gale force

winds howling across the irish sea, waves some 20 feet high. above it the helicopter co-piloted by prince wilial. below it, two sailors desperately clinging to a lifeboat. both russian crewmen were pulled to safety. their huge 260-foot-plus british freighter had been hit by an enormous wave, rolled, split in two and then sank. one sailor's body was found, others were missing. this is prince william's day job. >> straight ahead. >> roger. >> reporter: and he talked about it just before his wedding. >> it was totally apparent straight away how important it is. you're flying low down at night and 40 knot winds, the clouds down to about 200 feet and trying to get through to someone who has broken a leg, it gets quite interesting. >> reporter: in september when we saw william and catherine on

a classic royal visit to the hospital what we didn't see, he had just worked a 24-hour ship, up all night, rescued a woman with a head injury, picked up a fellow serviceman aboard a ship who needed to visit a sick loved one and then to his royal duties, far less dangerous. >> it's fun and rewarding and put the two together and it's a fantastic job. >> reporter: is it too dangerous for a future king? >> prince william said when he became a serviceman he didn't want to be wrapped up in cotton wool and made to do easy duties. he's not going to shirk his responsibilities and this is what he sees as his duty. >> reporter: it's hard to describe the level of respect and admiration people have for the prince's military service, when you hear them talking about it. prince william will serve six weeks in the faukland islands in

february. >> congratulations to his entire rescue team. just ahead the prime suspect in the disappearance of a maryland woman in aruba said to be released from jail tomorrow. br will that lead the case? the latest in' live report, but first this is "today" on nbc.

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♪ monday, monday just ahead your complete guide to cyber monday. >> we'll tell you the websites you want to visit today if you're looking for deals on toys, electronics and much more. first a check of these messages, your local news and weather. ♪

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relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth... regenerist. from olay. >> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. time for a look at one of our top stories. jury selection is expected to begin later today in the trial of one of two men accused of trying to suppress voter turnout in the 2010 gubernatorial election. a longtime aide to former governor bob ehrlich is accused of conspiring with a political operative to keep african american voters home by launching a robo call telling them the election had already been decided.

his attorney said despite a six- count indictment, his client committed no crime. let's get a check of the monday morning commute. >> monday morning after the holiday and everybody is heading back to work and school. we are seeing the usual delays fallen to split -- into place. harford road, you can see the back up on the outer loop that begins in bel-air and all the way to charles. also a back up making a way from 795 toward edmundston. it is creating a delay on southbound 795. let us look as we switch to harrisburg expressway. normally have the right but looking good as you make your way toward middletown. if you want to have further south, down to the belt way, you are going to find delays. eastbound i 72 -- toward 40, southbound to 95 from 100 down toward 32. watch for an accident in the city at a at an pulaski highway. now i check of the forecast. >> a little bit of cloud cover

but no rain. good for the morning commute. the temperatures in the 50's already in most areas. 51 in randallstown. the forecast, a mixture of sun and clouds. another mild afternoon. i, is expected in mid 60's bid of the rain is likely tomorrow. 90% share. some could be heavy. and then after that, quiet but school for the rest of the week. [ female announcer ] everybody loves that cushiony feeling. uh oh. i gotta go. [ female announcer ] and with charmin ultra soft, you can get that same cushiony feeling you love while still using less. charmin ultra soft has extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand.

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♪ 7:30 now on this monday morning, the 28th of november, 2011. these folks are here after a long holiday weekend and lucky for them it is a balmy 58 degrees outside, remarkable for this time of year. if they stick around until wednesday night they can catch the lighting of the rockefeller christmas tree. more in a bit. >> looks nice when the scaffolding comes down and they're ready to flick the switch. >> we have our decorations up in the studios. inside studio1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. if you're surfing for a bargain and don't know where to

go we'll give you a special monday whip you can't afford to miss, especially if you're looking for toys, electronics and clothing. parents will try just about anything, i know i will and have to get our kids to eat their vegetables but believe it or not some of what you may be doing could lead to your child becoming overweight. there are apparently eight things that parents do that actually cause their children to be overweight so we'll be getting into those coming up. and ground-breaking new robotic surgery that's giving new hope to sleep apnea sufferers and i guess i should probably say and their spoiuses and partners, too, because people who have sleep apnea are not easy to be in the same bed with. we begin with a game changer in the case of robyn gardner, the missing american in aruba. a judge ordered the prime suspect released from jail. nbc's jeff rossen is in aruba with the latest on the story. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, ann, good

morning to you. it is a bombshell decision that shocked nearly everyone on the small island of aruba. the judge told prosecutors if you don't have enough to charge gary giordano with manslaughter, murder, any crime you need to release him. tomorrow gary giordano will be released from home and his lawyer says he'll flying home to maryland. as the sun kissed waves crash in the prosecution's case may be crashing down, hard. in over three months they've been unable to find robyn gardner, dead or alive. >> gary, over here. >> reporter: unable to find direct evidence against the prime suspect, gary giordano. the judge had enough, now ordering giordano's release from jail tomorrow evening. chris ledgeway is giordano's aruban lawyer. >> when i asked him how he felt he started to cry, tears of joy of an innocent man. >> reporter: you believe he's innocent? >> i believe else' innocent

because i have no reason to believe he's not. >> reporter: he's been behind bars for 114 days, still not charged with anything. prosecutors are fighting release but in another setback aruba's appeals court won't hear the case until wednesday, some 18 hours after giordano's release. >> if gary giordano is not here on the island, if you're not in control of him anymore, is your case effectively over? >> no, no, our countries do have a treaty in place for extradition. we'll go on with the investigation. we are determined to bring out the truth. >> reporter: the case is bizarre in this exclusive surveillance video, robyn and gary are seemingly happy at this beachside restaurant in aruba. hours later she's gone, never to be seen again. giordano says he and robyn left to go snorkeling. and she was swept under by the current. you can see giordano banging on doors looking for help, just minutes after she vanished. you're convinced he's lying? >> yes, not only convinced, we

think we can prove he's lying. >> reporter: but not enough to charge him. >> well, at this point in time we still are not sure what has happened. >> reporter: after more than 100 days a lot of people say if you don't know what happened yet, maybe he should walk out of jail. >> well, again, that's an opinion. and we feel that he still needs to be here and that's why we filed for an appeal. >> reporter: but investigators have searched the water and the beach where robyn was last seen, even staged an elaborate re-enactment at the scene and no sign of her. >> we feel that somebody out there must know something, and when they see that there's some pressure on and that this is their last chance to do the right thing, that they'll step up to the plate and they'll do the right thing. >> reporter: so here's the time line, gary giordano will walk out of jail here in aruba tomorrow evening, officials say around 5:00 p.m., if prosecutors win on appeal when the high court hears the case on wednesday and they sort of miss

gary giordano by hours, he's midair or back in the u.s. prosecutors would issue a new arrest warrant and contact u.s. authorities hoping they send him back. there is an extradition treaty between the two countries, ann. >> jeff rossen thank you very much. john q. kelly is a former prosecutor familiar with the aruban justice system, he represented natalee holloway's mother. >> i don't think they'll get him back there. >> ever? >> ever. >> really, so in that sense are you saying this is a done deal, once he leaves, this case is over? >> unless they find a body and charge him again. i mean the prosecutors are complaining, appealing the decision not to hold the man. all the prosecution has to do is charge giordano now and he's not going to be released from prison. >> you disagree with the judge's ruling? >> i disagree with the way the prosecutors are handling it.

they haven't charged him yet. he has motive. he has opportunity. he has circumstantial evidence against him and exhibited consciousness of guilt. it's a strong circumstantial case, the prosecution has pulled the trigger and should charge him. >> do you think the authorities there are basically getting cold feet about this to some degree because of the natalee holloway case because they failed to prosute in that case? >> they've always had cold feet. you can see it from the aruban legal system there's no transparency there. they don't try murder cases. they want this to go away. >> so failing to face, if in fact he deserved to, could gary giordano when he returns home with this now behind him, could he collect on the $1.5 million travel insurance policy he took out on robyn gardner? >> he's apparently thought of that. two days after robyn disappeared he called on the insurance company to check if it's in place.

i think he'll have a long road ahead to collect. >> based on what? >> there's substantial evidence to indicate he was involved in her death and shouldn't collect on the policy. >> the man is returning back to maryland i understand, where he lives and you know, they could not find a case against him to basically file charges against him. he comes back an innocent man. is it possible for him to file a case against the authorities for holding him for so long without any charges ever being filed against him? >> no, none whatsoever. that's the repercussions, they had enough evidence to hold him, a judge ruled they had enough evidence to hold him. i don't think he has an option. the only option is for the family of robyn gardner to bring a wrongful death action against him >> what would be your message to the family of robyn gardner and her friends f they believe gary giordano is guilty they have very little recourse. you have a unique perspective, you represented natalee

holloway's mother. >> bring a civil action and don't let him capitalize on the death of robyn gardner. >> john q. kelly, thank you, appreciate your getting up early. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> ann, thanks so much. a lot of folks traveling today. last night, folks had problems leaving logan airport, a lot of dense fog shutting things down, causing a lot of delays, big problems, flights were backed up for hours and we had problems in the new york area as well due to high winds as well. hopefully things back on track today. look at the temperatures from 10 to 20 degrees above normal in the east and back through the plains, colder than normal through the south where you think it would be the opposite. highs today, 42 in memphis where they see snow tonight, 64 in denver, 66 in new york city and as you look at the afternoon highs around the rest of the country, 40s and 30s through the plains, 80s through the southwest and 70

>> good morning. another nine states there. clouds will be thickening -- another nice >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you so much. coming up next, why walmart has to staff up for midnight shoppers one day each month, plus your shopping guide to cyber monday. but first these messages. [ female announcer ] today...is the day

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we're back now at 7:43 with what's caused the nation's largest retailer to change the way it does business. nbc's kate snow is here to explain that. >> good morning to you, matt. this number might surprise you but 15% of americans now rely on food stamps to feed themselves and their families. we all know black friday was a crazing shopping day but you might be surprised by what's happening every month in a lot of walmart stores and supermarkets. beca reader is nearly out of food. >> there's no milk, no milk. >> reporter: and she's out of money to buy more. >> just water, bacon grease for the dog's food, and a little bit of apple juice. we got two different kinds of cheeses there and there's our tortillas, so there we have

quesadilla. >> reporter: becca, husband t.j. and son miles have to hang on for six more days until the first of the month, that's when they'll get the cash to go food shopping. it's the same story for james dougherty and jessica postma. they live in the same idaho town, nampa, and waiting for the moment they learn there's money in their account to feed themselves and their five children in their blended family. >> we are calling the qwest card line to see what our balance is. >> one moment, please. >> reporter: finally they get word. >> your balance is $691.00. >> a great day, it's like oh. >> reporter: it's 12:01 a.m. and now they can go shopping. the money they've been waiting for isn't from a paycheck, it's a month's worth of government assistance from the food stamp program now called s.n.a.p.

the number of people who rely on food stamps has gone up 37% in the last two years to 46 million. so many people are shopping the instant they get their assistance that it's changed the way walmart, the nation's largest retailer, does business. >> a few years back we started seeing that our customers were literally sometimes at midnight were really showing up in our stores. >> reporter: on the first of the month. >> on the first of the month. >> reporter: carol johnston is walmart's senior vice president of store operations. you bring on more staff because of the spike? >> right we bring more staff to stock and make sure all of our registers are actually open because some people think 12:01 it's quiet, but in a lot of areas 12:01 is a big day or a big night. >> reporter: james and jessica get a babysitter so they can get to the store right at midnight.

becca figured out her debit card gets it at exactly 12:04 a.m. both the families we profiled are working families, at least one in each couple is working. >> it's a sad reality and a sign of the times. kate, thank you very much. appreciate it. by the way, see more of kate's story tonight on "rock center with brian williams" at 10:00, 9:00 central time and of course that's right here on nbc. still ahead, eight mistakes you could be making that cause your kids to pack on the pounds. we'll tell you about those, but first these messages. glad that one's over. yeah, i know what you mean.

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so the last time three of us saw each other, santa was blocking traffic in herald square. >> yes. >> that's one way to look at it. >> we were there for the macy's thanksgiving day parade, which was a lot of fun, beautiful weather for a parade. how was the rest of your holiday, guys? >> oh, my gosh, i had to cook for 14 people after that. >> how'd it go? >> it went pretty darned well. a lot of them teenagers, so i was up to my eyeballs in teenagers. they were playing poker downstairs by the time we were done. >> strip poker in the basement. >> no, they kept their clothes on but that was like a whole thanks giving. >> went to my brother's, 32 people, any more assigned they'd have to have hourly seating. we flew to perry, georgia, and saw deborah's family. >> i cooked for 15 people, made

martha stewart's turkey. i stole her turkey. >> what did martha do? >> they don't need a commercial, this isn't a commercial. i went from the parade and did an early dinner/late lunch with my family at scottos, at fresco. oh my god, it was fantastic. >> so much easier. >> it was fantastic, no cleanup. next big event right here on the plaza on wednesday. >> right, they're going to light up the rockefeller center christmas tree. savannah guthrie joins me starting at 8:00. a number of stations start at 7:00 and then we will light that bad boy up right around 8:55. >> justin bieber -- >> i think i've done it 22 years. >> when when i first started it was literally a five-minute forecast. we've got justin bieber and a whole slew of folks coming in, it cais going to be an amazing event.

>> and strip poker in your basement. >> that's right. >> hanging out with the teenagers in my house. >> we want to go. >> coming back with cyber monday. we took out a heavy synthetic and put in a light touch of beeswax. up with the volume, down with the weight. lashes are 20% lighter than the most expensive mascara. new natureluxe mousse mascara. so free your volume! and...your easy breezy beautiful covergirl. and try natureluxe glossbalm. how about making it brighter. more colorful.

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>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories this morning. some people in middle river are upset this morning. they say their property has been vandalized and the person responsible is, run. police say the vandals struck sunday morning on holly grove road. residents awoke to find a swastika and of the message is spray-painted on cars and fences. neighbors believe it may be a group of teenagers they have seen. police do not think the incident is hate related. here is traffic. >> still dealing with delays but not all that bad. west side continues to be slow

from 795 down toward edmundston and the outer loop. taking a look, does not look like it stretches back to 795 anymore, so perhaps right around liberty toward admin submitted 795 and probing southbound as well. cutting out northbound 95 in the area of 175 just prior to exit, one lane closure with an accident in howard county and is down 50 on the bay bridge, watch for a disabled vehicle. a live view as the switchover to 95. delays in place, southbound toward the beltway northeast, and having to -- heading harford to delaney valley. >> good morning. at a little bit of a cloud cover but no rain in the of forecast. a good thing as everybody had to back to work and school. temperatures are mild for this time of morning. 54 degrees in frederick. the forecast for today, a mix of sun and clouds. the clouds will thicken up fighting in the afternoon but

did not expect any rain. temperatures, mid 60 positive seven-day forecast, a good chance of rain tomorrow but

♪ 8:00 now on a monday morning, it's the 28th day of november, 2011, and while it looks like the holidays here in rockefeller plaza with the tree behind us and all kinds of nice decorations and some santa hats, it doesn't feel like the holidays, because it is 58 degrees right now. >> crazy. >> a little bizarre, isn't it? i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and mr. roker, and it's already a record-breaking start to the holiday shopping season. you have to root for the retailers in a tough economy. you root for consumers as well. we'll do that today. >> that's right, because millions of people today are shopping online, so our crack staff has been looking for the best deals online and so we're

going to have those for you coming up. >> a lot of folks, millions of people put their health at risk every time they go to sleep, talking about sleep apnea. a revolutionary new robotic surgery that's helping cure that disease. and also ahead we're going to get the holidays off to a swingin' start with some great music in our studio, that's michael buble, the grammy winner will be performing inside during our 8:30 half hour. >> wow. he's going to put news the mood, isn't he, for the holidays, right? >> a lot to get to. natalie is inside with a look at the headlines. >> good morning, ann, matt and al and good morning, everyone. basketball powerhouse syracuse university fired a long time assistant coach accused of child sex abuse. bernie fine was let go last night, despite his claims of innocence. this, after a third man came forward to say fine molested him when he was a child. on friday, federal authorities also searched fine's home for more than six hours, and a

recorded phone call surfaced and was aired on espn sunday in which a woman said to be fine's wife tells one of her accusers that her husband has issues and should not have been trusted. supporters of former imf chief dominique strauss-kan allege one private e-mail had been read by his conservative political party. strauss-kan a socialist was considered the main rival until that sexual encounter with a new york hotel maid derailed his chances. today, egypt votes in its first election since the ouster of hosni mubarak. three american college students detained in an egyptian jail were were released and returned to the united states. i asked one of them about the accusations from egyptian authorities that he and the other young men had molotov

cocktails and were violent toward police. >> no, i never had in my possession anything relating to molotov cocktails. i never had any intent of making molotov cocktails and i was most certainly never on a rooftop as they were claiming we were, when we were arrested. >> you never became violent toward the police? >> we were simply there to observe, we stood in the background and we just watched history unfold before our eyes. >> porter also claims to have been beaten by egyptian police while in jail. this weekend, police are searching for missing florida mother michelle parker and raided a home where her ex-fiance is staying. lilia luciano is here with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. michelle's family shares more details with us about the missing mom in the hopes they'll hope someone remembers something that can bring her home safely. >> are you helping clean that out? >> reporter: michelle parker just being a mom.

these videos taken just weeks before the 33-year-old disappeared. >> this is like a morgue now. there's no life here anymore. >> reporter: inside michelle's home her mother tells us real sit starting to kick in. >> i hope we get to see her again, you know, as the days go by, i just don't know. >> reporter: it's been 11 days since the popular bartender and mother of three went missing, on the same day she and the father of her 3-year-old twins appeared in a taped episode of "the people's court." >> he gets pretty malicious and vin vindictive. >> reporter: dale smith is not a suspect, police say but over the weekend the investigation took an unexpected turn. in the cell phone video caught by a neighbor, a suite team raiding the house dale smith shares with his parents. the same house where michelle's twins are staying while the search for their mom continues. >> all i see is like the suite coming up to the windows and the gate, just fire extinguishers,

flew a flash grenade, broke the door in. >> reporter: with the police going to his house what do you think they were looking for? >> michelle. they were looking for michelle. >> reporter: michelle's family has been saying all along that they had no reason to suspect dale smith, but now her mother tells us they're not so sure anymore. dale smith and his family have not responded to requests for comment and although police confirmed that they went to the home, they will not reveal any details of the search. natalie? >> lilia luciano in orlando this morning, thank you. the internet is buzzing with the sounds of ecommerce as holiday searhoppers, search, po and click for bargains. retailers say black friday spending in stores was up 7% over last year. one woman's creative effort to fight holiday weight gain has gone viral. they call her the dancing queen of the gym and apparently thinks the safety rules on a treadmill

are made to be broken. we just hope she doesn't break anything else there. pretty smooth on that. let's go, already. this labradoodle has places to go and people to see. you hear him honking the horn. the youtube store thought the best way to get the humans back in the car was just keep laying on the horn. come on, let's go! cute. 8:06 right now, back outside to matt and ann. very cute until it gets annoying. >> which is fairly soon. >> right. >> meantime, moving on the treadmill, they should use her for a music video, somebody should hire her. >> we may have just done that. >> i hope so. i thought she was good. >> a check of the weather from mr. roek per. >> we have a cutie here, who is this? >> avonley, 8 months old from tennessee. >> a cutie. >> thank you. >> our pick city today just

happens to be dayton, ohio, wdtn, nbc 2 on your side, rain, cool, 50 degrees as we look at the week ahead, going to be warmer than usual but wetter than usual into the northeast and the plains, out west, cool down to the south where we could see some snow. midweek period we're looking for warm weather again in the northeast, look for cooler conditions out west, and as we get to the latter part of the week, we're expecting to see again that warm air still hanging out in the northern plains, normal throughout much of the country, below normal temperatures through the southwest. where are you guys from? >> lancaster, p.a. >> good morning.o it will be another warm day today. temperatures will be in the mid 60's this afternoon.

>> got another good looking fami family. where are you from? >> florida. >> what is your name? >> frances, javen and sean. >> you forgot to say something. a guide for your cyber monday where you can get some terrific deals but first these messages. ♪ i wish it were sunday ♪ cause that's my fun day why hn by hollywood's biggest stars. now you can have a neil lane ring for the star in your life. presenting neil lane bridal at kay jewelers. - this scrollwork is a vintage technique, very intricate. - each hand-crafted ring is an original neil lane design with diamonds hand-selected by kay. neil lane bridal: the newest reason kay

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thanks! ♪ nook by barnes & noble. starting at just $99. "today's holiday gift guide" is brought to you by target. this holiday, santa has elves, you have target. >> this morning on "today's holiday gift guide" cyber monday deals, the monday after black friday has become one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. >> that's right, we've assembled four experts to walk you through where to find the best bargains on everything from toys to travel. we start with electronics. natalie morris is a cnbc technology contributor. happy holidays. >> happy holidays. you want to be quick but don't want to be rash. go to the review sites like "consumer reports" or cnet and know what are the comparable technologies to the things that you want. if you want a laptop, have a few

in mind that would be acceptable, because you don't want to get something that's cheap and find out it's cheap. >> exactly right. let's talk about flat screens, everybody's looking for flat screen tvs. you found one you think is a good deal. >> this one by vizio is just under $500 and internet connected. what i like about this television is that it uses your home broadband network to stream video from the internet so you can watch things like hulu or amazon on demand. >> this year you can save 250 bucks. >> exactly, you got to be quick. >> laptops, all computers are not for all people. you have to make sure you get the features that work with what you want to do. >> right. >> why do you like this one? >> i like this setoshiba becaus it's a lot of laptop for under $400. it's just under six pounds so it's lighter than you think and got a lot of storage as well so you can use this as your main machine to hold your photos, music and video. >> good for kids or younger adults

adul adults? >> an older student or business person on the move. >> digital camera, you like this camera. >> i like the kodak easyshare because it's easy to share with your social network so it's got a feature, you can tag photos if you think i look amazing in this photo i'm going to too longface. this is $69, normally $140. >> thank you very much. let's go over to ann. >> thank you so much. toys are always a cyber monday favorite and so where are the bargains? we have jamie grayson, the gear guru for strollertraffic.com. good morning. >> hi, how are you? >> what's the big news about toy this is year? >> all over the internet there's stores like toys "r" us site wide, hundreds of deals, percentages off, buy one get one, a few things we really like, 30% off, up to 30% off with razr scooters, up to 40% off the entire line of nerve toys. >> toysrus.com.

>> this is 40% off of one item, that's one per household so if you have one big ticket item for the holidays, that's your place to get it, there are exclusions. check the website. there are exclusions so go to yoyo.com, get barbie toys, hot wheels, thomas the tank engine, craft sets, really cool stuff. >> all right and moving on to mbeans.com, aka magic beans. >> an independent retailer, all about independent stores, support local business, 20% off site wide no, exclusions in their toy department, no limit. it's really, really great. get magnetic tegu blocks, cuba maze, green toys, melissa and doug, very good stuff. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. now here's natalie. >> ann, thank you. next up, apparel, liz gumeiner is publisher and editor in chief of coolpicks.com. >> good morning.

>> children, jaqadi, 40% off today in. >> it never happens. if you have kids, if you're going to have kids, might have kids in ten years go to the website now and get them. >> beautiful things. >> gorgeous. >> shoes, we cannot have enough shoes and endless.com is the place to find endless deals as well. >> endless is amazon's site for shoes and accessories. right now $30 off purchases of $100, up to $90 off purchases of $300 so if you have a whole family to buy for you can save a lot of money there. >> stock up and buy a couple. if you want something a little sexier and every woman needs these, hanky panky has a great deal on their site. >> up to 50% off thongs, as low as $11.99, a favorite with celebrities, they're a favorite with the cool mom picks staff. i might be wearing them myself right now. >> we won't go there but i'm sure you're wearing them well.

esprit.com offers 40% off the site. >> the entire site, stock up on outerwear, accessories. we found this gorgeous down parka, down to $137 so really great deals to be had. >> very good, thanks so much. >> thank you. last but not least here's al. >> who doesn't want to get away? cyber monday may be the day for to you book your next vacation. nilou mutamed good morning. >> good morning, we have to talk fast. starwood hotels, w, westin, st. regis, all those 35% off on their rooms. so in cancun, $79 a night, so a swim-up bar is something you're interested in, perhaps getting a massage on a beachside, check out the website for this cancun property at the westin. >> next trump hotel location, serious discounts, all seven of their properties. >> that includes vegas, two properties in new york, chicago, doing 35% off on suites.

you can book that from, starting right now until the end of the day, wherever in the location, so giving you extra time in some of the places that are on the east coast. i'm talking too fast but $99 in las vegas to stay at that great hotel, the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, even the pool has a view and they have a kid's cocktail menu. not alcoholic i hope. >> i would assume so. the kids get their hair to look like donald trump. >> you had to get a joke in. >> chicago's magnificent mile. >> $9 a might to stay there, book this deal now so get on it right away and the great thing is they have the deal from december 11th all the way to december 30th. perfect time to go shopping on the magnificent mile which is where you are. >> fantastic, always good to see you. >> and thank you. coming up next new ground-breaking robotic surgery giving new hope to sleep apnea

sufferers and their significant others, right after these messages. done done done,done,done almost done. done done done done done,done,done,done,done done done done ♪ gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

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i'm more active, i eat right, as i get older, i'm making changes to support my metabolism. and i switched to one a day women's active metabolism, a complete women's multivitamin, plus more for metabolism support. [ female announcer ] look for great savings on all one a day products in this sunday's newspaper. >> announcer: "today's health" is brought to you by one a day women's, a multivitamin of more what have matters to you. >> this morning on "tooled's health" sleep apnea, it affects more than 18 million americans. if left untreated it can be deadly. now there's a revolutionary approach to curing it. here's nbc's medical editor

nancy snyderman. >> reporter: it's known in the medical world as the silent killer and yet it's estimated that 10 million americans with sleep apnea don't know they have it. 32-year-old police officer matthew stanisleo felt tired all the time but because he lives alone he had no idea that when he slept, he stopped breathing 52 times an hour. >> in the middle of the day i would get these strange headaches in the back of my head or you would just feel a little bit dizzy and this is after plenty of hours of sleep. >> reporter: after visiting multiple doctors, matthew was finally enrolled in a sleep study and within one minute the problem was clear. >> they stopped the procedure and they basically put me on a machine immediately because i stopped breathing for over a minute and a half. >> reporter: sleep apnea is a serious disleep disorder in whi the breathing stops and starts. the most common form obstructive sleep apnea occurs because the soft tissue of the throat

relaxes and closes up. >> elevated blood pressure, increased risk for stroke, inability to concentrate and weight gain. >> if i can stop it now i'm actually saving my life down the road. >> reporter: but stopping it isn't that easy. until recently, the only option to cure sleep apnea was a complicated surgery that sometimes involved a tracheotomy and permanent visible scar. i've watched this field develop and in the early days which i was a part of the surgery was rough and tough and the outcomes weren't good. >> the outcomes from the conventional surgery are not the best. >> when i originally did my research on this the only things that were coming up were tracheotomies and i'd be left with a stoma and i told myself that's not possible. i'm 32 years old. i can't live like that. i shouldn't avery to live like that. >> reporter: with new robotic surgery came new hope. >> i hope i can finally sleep. it's been probably years since i've slept correctly and there's been months where i don't think i've slept really at all.

>> reporter: dr. heckard at somerset medical center performs a state-of-the-art surgery using robots. amazing view. >> this is the throat like you've never seen it before. >> reporter: she can get to the narrow channel of the throat, removing the necessary tissue that's causing the problem. >> robotic technology has two main advantages. it has the high definition camera that provides three-dimensional and highly magnified view and the robotic instruments are miniaturized so smaller than the surgeon's hands and a greater range of motion than our own wrists. >> reporter: one month later the officer is back at work, 35 pounds thinner and feeling great, now that exhaustion doesn't consume his life. >> i feel great. it's literally been a life-changing experience for me. when i breathe in, it's like a breath of fresh air every time. >> reporter: a breath of fresh air that helps not just matthew but the people he serves. >> all right, gir girls.

as police officer we conduct a service for the community, i didn't realize it would be for something like this but it's important to stay healthy. >> and we're joined by dr. nancy snyderman. nancy good to see you.. >> hey, matt. >> who is at most risk for this? >> most -- well mostly men over the ange of 50 who tend to put n pounds over the years. the officer is interesting because he was never fat but had a thick neck and tissue at the base of his tongue that caused the problem but it can happen to anyone over the years. i've seen it in babies. >> why did he lose so much weight after the surgery? >> when you have sleep apnea you don't sleep well. when you don't sleep well you crave the wrong foods and puts it in the really weird cycle of eating poorly so it's very, very easy to either start fat and then get fatter or to get sleep apnea and then because you're exhausted, your body just naturally puts on weight. >> clearly if you go to a professional it's easy to diagnose. they diagnosed him in a minute

but what are the signs without going to a professional that should alarm people? >> number one, snoring at night. and if you follow that with morning headaches and a lot of times daytime sleepiness where people say no matter what i do i'm exhausted, and irritability and memory loss should not be minimized. this could really affect people's performance at work. a lot of times bosses catch it first. >> when we heard the officer say that they found he was not breathing for up to a minute and a half. >> right. >> that sounds very dangerous. >> what happens is if you're really holding your breath that long, what does it mean? your brain is not getting oxygen, your heart is not getting oxygen. you prematurely develop all kinds of problems like heart disease. you can fall asleep at the wheel, leads to diabetes, all kinds of problems. you may not need robotic surgery, that's state-of-the-art but you should see a good ear, nose and throat doctor who will diagnose you correctly >> good to see you. >> thanks, matt. a holiday performance from michael buble, after your local news.

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. let's get a final check of the morning commute. >> good morning. a few new problems. howard county, a very slow ride on northbound 95 from 198 all the way to 175. on the northbound side taking up the right lane and delays all the way back to 198. southbound traffic pretty standard toward the capital beltway. a live view of the traffic, big problems of the north side of the beltway. outer loop, an accident taking

up at least two right lanes, left lanes squeezing by and also closing left lane opposite on the inner loop of the harrisburg expressway. plenty delays on the topside. delays on the west side not quite as bad. jfx in pretty good shape into town and nothing significant elsewhere. things improving southbound 95 all of white marsh. >> nice and quiet. a little cloud cover but we do not expect rain. temperatures mild for this time of year. 51 at the airport, 52 in catonsville. the forecast is thickening clouds as we head to the afternoon but the range of hold off until tonight. high temperatures, in mid- to upper 50's -- 60's. a good chance of rain tomorrow. high-temperature 59. wednesday, thursday, friday,

high temperatures dropping to the upper 40's to low 50s. looks like a nice weekend. >> another update at 8:55 a.m. >> another update at 8:55 a.m.

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♪ have a holly, jolly christmas ♪ and in case you didn't hear ♪ ♪ oh, by golly have a holly jolly christmas this year ♪ 8:30 on a monday morning, the 28th day of november, you're looking at michael buble, the crooner, also our elf this morning helping us with the christmas toy drive, talking about that in a few moments, great to have you. we say hello to all of the fine folks who gathered in our corner

of rockefeller plaza. i'm ann curry along with matt lauer, al roker and natalie morales. coming up this morning, we're also going to be talking about this problem of how we hop on kids not to gain weight. there are things we might do that make them gain weight. do you ever say to your children, look, if you eat your vegetables you get to have dessert. >> yes. >> that is common for parents, that probably doesn't help so we'll get to the bottom of that and other tips. also, do you use emoticons? the smiley faces when you text? >> you use them, natalie. >> i do not, only with my kids. >> what does it say about you? what about in a business envirnlmenenvirn environme environment? >> definitely not. 29 million people suffer from migraines and there is now thinking to not only what causes

them as well as best ways to treat them. we'll have the details coming up. >> the heart emoticos and this e they're pretty and red. >> that was a story gone past. we mentioned michael buble was' talk about our 18th annual holiday toy drive. our first elf of the year, as ann mentioned and we might also mention for the second year in a row, grammy award winning singer michael buble, has a holiday album out, pulling in quite the haul. >> he's a sweetheart. if you can't make it to the plaza to give us a toy for the holiday toy drive go to today.com for the details. >> starting with today, we're talking about snow in the deep south, memphis, nashville, maybe looking at some snow today, rain moving up into the ohio river valley and parts of upstate new york, wet weather down to

florida, showers out west, sunny skies through the southwest. tomorrow the heavier rain moves into the northeast and the ohio river valley. rain in the pacific northwest, sunny and warm through the southwest and >> good morning. another nine states there. clouds will be thickening -- another nice don't forget, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. >> this is cyber monday, biggest day of the year for online purchases. who is doing their holiday shopping online?

are you? >> absolutely. >> what is on the willist? >> we want to get a new laptop for our family and gifts for, you know, our son and other people for the holidays. >> lots of toys for the young one. >> do you find huge bargains? >> absolutely on amazon own other sites, you can price compare and shop around. >> how old is your son? >> 15 months. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> where are you from? >> annapolis, maryland. >> what are you doing in ining? >> vacation. >> when i talked to you, did you notice mr. roker ran away in the other direction, nothing, nothing, nothing. >> what, huh? when we come back are you making mistakes helping your kids pack on the pounds? we'll talk about parenting, but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:36.

most parents have done it, you bribe your kids to clean their plates at idinnertime or entice them with sweets to eat their vegetables. joy bauer is here with the parenting mistakes that could be packing on the pounds. joy, good morning. >> hi, ann. >> happy post thanksgiving. >> thank you. >> we're all on tryptophan this morning. >> trying to wake. >> encouraging kids to clean their plates. >> kids are born with this amazing internal mechanism, they eat when they're hungry and they stop when they're full and as parents when we encourage them to clean their plates, we're really messing with that mechanism and we're teaching them to overeat so our job as parents is to provide small to moderate portions of healthy food, but ann, their job as the kid is to decide what quantity they're going to eat. >> don't keep nagging them. >> no. >> when you say small to moderate portions, what is this is that? different parts of the country have a different definition. >> for toddlers and preschoolers, about a quarter to half the portion that you would

feed yourself and then use your personal judgment. >> mistake number two, offering sweet rewards. what if they won't eat their spinach otherwise, joy? >> you don't want to dangle the pot of gold at the end, the dessert for the broccoli. you're reinforcing that the broccoli is so unappealing that it requires a prize. >> i don't think they have to be told that it's you an peeling. i think they pretty much know. >> they figure it out on their own especially when we try to use that dessert leverage so instead keep it positive. tell them vegetables make them smarter and stronger and help them to grow but whether they eat the vegetables or not and i can't believe i'm going to say this, i would still give them the dessert. it's still okay. >> yes? >> never give up on vegetables. >> talk about popeye, and why i eat spinach still today. mistake number three, serving too many starchy snacks. this is a no brainer. for example what? >> we give kids so many snacks and that translates to calorie

overload and also disinterest in real food when lunch and dinner rolls around. so you want to be strategic about snacks. no more than two or three a day, if you can, keep them about 150 calories or less, and you want to make sure that you don't give your child a snack within two hours of a meal, because we want to get them hungry. >> so you're saying carrot sticks instead of potato chips? what would appease them, nevertheless? >> well, most of the time we give them starchy snacks like the crackers and the pretzels, all starch, no protein and new research shows now that the starch makes them sluggish, tired, but if there's protein incorporated like yogurt, a string cheese, hummus, peanut butter. it wakes up their brain cells. >> letting kids pick the menu. >> it depends. what are they going to pick, macaroni and cheese, pizza, burgers and fries. as a parent you have to take control. if you can make slimmed down

versions of their requests, that's a home run, but you also want to mingle in some adult things like shrimp and broccoli stir-fry, there's the blockly again because we want to expand their taste buds. >> if they refuse to eat it? >> you have one fallback meal, keep it the same night after night and make sure it does not require the oven or a stove, a peanut butter sandwich, a bowl of cereal. the idea here is to give your kids some sort of power to give the option that's not exhaustive to us. we don't want to feel like a short order cook. if it's limiting and boring hopefully they'll venture out and try some exciting things. >> allowing too much screen time is a mistake, a lot of sitting around and letting kids stay up late. what is the evidence for that staying up late leads to obese isn't it. >> just like with adults, it messes with your hormone balance. it increases the hormones that make us hungry, and it decreases the hormones that make us full so kids that are sleep deprived truly will be hungry throughout

the whole day and tend to nibble and graze and munch. so know how many hours your kids need and make sure that you stick to it. >> and you also say that letting our kids when they're very young stay in strollers is not such a great idea. teaches them to be -- >> sedentary, sedentary thrown so to speak. as soon as your kids are old enough to work, 10 months, 12 months, ten-minute rule, ten minutes in the stroller, ten minutes out of the stroller. it's a little bit more exhausting for the parents and you're not going to cover as much ground but it's a great thing to start with them in terms of increasing activity at an early age. >> i know from personal experience you lose weight chasing them around. >> you're right. >> thank you so much. coming up, are you sending the wrong message if you use smiley face symbols and winks in your e-mails and texts? we'll find out but first this is "today" on nbc. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

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back now at 8:43, when it comes to e-mail and text messaging, there are two kinds of people, people who use emoticons and people who despise them. where do you fall? >> somewhere in between. you don't strike me as a colon half parentheses kind of guy. but the truth is we've all thrown a smiley face into an e-mail or a text message, but while well-meaning, is that smile really spreading joy? emoticons, the little sideways faces popping up in e-mails, text messages, twitter feeds and facebook walls. and we're not just talking about smiles, a few taps on your keyboard and you could be winking, perplexed, yelling,

even skateboarding, and homer simpson, yup, there's an emotor confor that. >> doh! >> reporter: what's the deal with the faces? >> you want to add a real feeling to the post you put an emoticon at the end. >> if i'm worried the message is misconstrued, i put a smiley face like i'm so happy with you. >> i think the emoticons are a reaching back to find facial expressions and tones of voice that were missing from our all text all the time life that we're living now. it's sweet that way and kind of human. >> reporter: while emoticons enjoy their rise in fame they make some people less, and more. >> to be like a lack of imagination. >> oh, they're terrible. they're awful. >> i think it's the downfall of civilization. today emoticons, tomorrow chaos. >> reporter: they even have

"curb your enthusiasms" fired up. >> what are they going to be in newspapers? >> you called it. shortly after this episode, the new york times ran this. so if emoticons are good enough for national red lines, does that mean they're okay to use at work? >> i would not recommend using them in a work context. if your boss has started the emoticon story, you may respond in kind, but don't send an emoticon to your boss unless she or he has sent you one first. >> we asked our "today" show offices. >> too cutesy, too 20-something. >> i like the smiley face. >> the only thing worse than emoticon is a winky. >> i like the one that winks. >> show me again. >> that face. >> reporter: for the fining word we decided to go straight to the top. i'm going to write an e-mail to the big boss, jim bell, our executive producer here at the "today" show.

dear jim, omg, i kinda feel like i should take all the holidays off this year. you rock. happy face. p.s., i also just got braces and now have a slight lisp. so was my e-mail well-received? how disturbed were you by the way i wrote that e-mail? >> not good. >> not good in an office setting? >> not good. you can put a period at the end of good, no the an emoticon, smiley face, closed prearenthes. if you wanted to you could underline and boldface. >> reporter: what did we learn from all this? seems at the end of the day, perhaps the safest way to send someone a smile is face-to-face. >> you know i always have love for you so happy thanksgiving. >> is this xoxo?

>> better way. >> happy face, happy face. >> oh, peter alexander right there. clearly jim bell our boss is not a fan. here's the thing show, i find i'm doing it more and more. you write a sentence that's not a great sentence, maybe doing some, undoing good news not so great, smiley face. >> the devices make it easier and easier, now they have that little section. >> right to the end. >> scroll over and it pops one off. jim bell and his comments to you, normally he spam blocks all of your e-mails. >> we have to go through nine layers of security just to have him receive one of our e-mails. but for purposes of this he did. matt thank you. >> thank you. jenna wolfe, thank you. special performance from michael buble in our studio but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ >> announcer: the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. ♪ and the thing that will make them ring ♪ michael buble's last album sold more than 7 million copies, so much he's dancing about it worldwide. now the grammy winner is getting into the spirit of the season, recording some of his favorite holiday songs for a brand new album called "simply christmas." good morning. >> good morning. >> i can't believe this is your

first christmas album. >> i can't believe it took ten geniuses to come up with the name "christmas." what will we call it? i know, christmas. >> what put new the mood for doing this album? it seems you are perfect in the way you sing to do such a thing. what took you so long? >> i wanted to establish myself as an artist because i didn't want to make a christmas record. i wanted to make the christmas record and this was christmas music was a huge part of my life. i think it's what introduced me to music when i was a kid, the bing crosby record was playing and that was it. introduced me to that style of music and now i'm 36 years old, when i hear it, i get sentimental. now that my sister has kids, both of my sisters have kids it comes back and makes it more important again. >> if you're weighing against that bing crosby and that was in everybody's home, it must be intense to be not only making an

album with favorite songs but also writing a new song yourself. called "cold december." you already know the name "cold december night." >> yes. >> the point is to take that on as well, says something about what you want to do to christmas music. >> it's called "cold december night" but should be called "cold december chang" because alan chang did all of the work, he's my co-writer. we're co-writers. >> nice, well done and you're getting credit so that's good. >> it was so good i couldn't help but do it. it's one of my favorite songs on the record. >> so that's terrific and we're excited to hear about that and also you have a lot else going on, because you're doing the kris mastery lighting. >> christmas tree lighting. >> and holiday special on the "today" show and newly married and to a beautiful woman. how is life these guy deys for you besides exhausting? >> life is great. i'm happy, excited for christmas and i get to see the whole family and her family is coming in from argentina.

i am probably the most content i've ever been. >> that is good. i'm happy for you. >> thank you. the only thing that could make me happier is singing christmas songs. >> let's do that. how about that? i'll stop asking you questions then and the song is called "santa claus is coming to town." take it away, michael buble! >> let's go, boys. ♪ ♪ you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ santa claus is comin' to town ♪ ♪ he's making a list, he's checking it twice ♪ ♪ he's gonna find who's naughty or nice ♪ ♪ santa claus is comin' to town ♪ ♪ he sees you when you're

sleepi sleeping, and he knows when you're awake ♪ ♪ he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake ♪ you better watch out, you better not cry ♪ ♪ you better not pout, i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ cause santa clause is comin' to town ♪ ♪ let's go, boys, oh, yeah ♪ ♪

♪ he sees you when you're sleeping and he knows when you're awake ♪ ♪ he knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake ♪ ♪ you better watch out, you better not cry ♪ ♪ you better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ you better watch out, you better not cry ♪ ♪ you better not pout, i'm telling you ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming, i mean the big fat man with the long white beard ♪ ♪ he's comin' to town

very good, boys. >> michael buble, making bing proud. thank you so much this morning. catch michael on "christmas in rockefeller center" wednesday night at k, 7:00 central and holiday special, much more after your local news. >> good morning. i mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. four people recovering after a two-alarm fire in pasadena. crews were called to the 1800 block of riverside drive sunday evening. a 56-year-old woman and three firefighters suffered injuries. still no

>> good morning. off to a nice, quiet start. a little cloud cover but we do not expect any rain. there may be a chance of a couple of sours this evening or overnight. the temperatures, nice and mild and in the mid 60 pocket. a good chance of rain tomorrow and drop to temperatures upper and drop to temperatures upper 40's