good morning. another allegation, another denial. republican presidential hopeful herman cain refuting a woman's claim that the two engaged in a 13-year-long extramarital affair. he says it's just a friendship so what really happened and what does it all mean for the former front runner. let it know. a rare november storm dumping heavy, wet snow into the deep south and into the midwest. in some areas they're expecting up to 9 inches. and what does he know? the ex-fiance of a missing florida mom who vanished just hours after the couple appeared on "the people's court" now named the primary suspect. her sister reacts in a live interview today, tuesday, november 29th, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning and welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, i'm savannah guthrie in for ann who's on assignment. herman cain has had to defend himself against allegations of sexual harassment and now he's having to address an accusation that he carried out a lengthy affair with a georgia woman. >> that's right. the woman spoke out to a local tv station in atlanta alleging the affair started back in the late 1990s. while herman cain does acknowledge that he knows her, he's denying her claims. so what impact will this newest allegation have on him and the gop race? we'll have more on that straight ahead. also this is a big day for dr. conrad murray. how is he feeling as he prepares to be sentenced for his role in the death of michael jackson. coming up, his friend and former assistant opens up about her

recent jailhouse visit with dr. murray. here's a story i think a lot of people can identify with. imagine being the parent of an obese child and being told by social workers that your kid would be better off living in foster care. basically they say you neglected your own son or daughter by allowing them to get so overweight. it happened to a family in ohio. >> no surprise, a lot of people are outraged by this. others think it's a good decision. so how do today's professionals feel? we'll tackle that topic and a lot more later on. let us begin this tuesday morning with herman cain facing an allegation of an extramarital affair. lisa myers has the latest on this story. lisa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. cain's latest accuser says she had an on-and-off affair with him for 13 years and that the physical part of the relationship ended eight months ago, right before cain announced for president. >> i didn't want to come out

with this, i did not. >> reporter: with that, atlanta businesswoman ginger white told a local atlanta tv station, waga about what she says was a 13-year affair with herman cain. >> i was aware that he was married. and i was also aware that i was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship. >> reporter: white says she met cain in the late '90s in louisville, kentucky, where he was speaking as ceo of the national restaurant association. she says they had drinks. he invited her to his hotel room. after that she says for 13 years he flew her to meet him in hotels and lavished her with gifts. >> he made it very intriguing. it was fun. it was something that took me away from my sort of humdrum life at the time. >> reporter: even before white's allegations aired, cain went on tv admitting he knew her bedue

but denying the affair. >> i acknowledge that i knew the woman but the accusation that i had a 13-year affair with her, no. >> reporter: after the report the campaign issued a statement. detractors are trying once again to derail the cain train with more event of past events that never happened. >> my wife's reaction was very similar to mine. here we go again. we will basically show when the details come available that i didn't do anything wrong. >> reporter: white said she had planned to keep the relationship secret, until she saw what happened to the four women who accused cain of sexual harassment. >> these statements are all false. all of these women are all lying? they're all lying? >> did not happen. >> they are all lying? >> yes, they are. >> it bothered me that they were being demonized sort of or they were being treated as if they were automatically lying, you know, and the burden of proof is on them.

so i felt very bad for them. >> reporter: as evidence of her relationship with cain, white produced records of 61 phone calls and texts over four months to cain's private cell. cain told waga he was just trying to help white financially. court records reviewed by nbc news show that white has had financial problems, including a bankruptcy filing and eviction notices, a lawsuit by a former business partner also accuses her of slander. the former business partner told nbc news that white told lies about her. we reached out to white's lawyer, but got no response. one other curious note, matt, as this story was breaking, cain's lawyer issued a statement which stopped short of denying the allegations and instead argued that this was none of our business. he said alleged consensual conduct between adults goes to a candidate's private sex life is not something the media has a right to question and that the public has a right to know. matt. >> lisa myers in washington on

this story. lisa, thank you very much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd is white house correspondent, guys, good morning to both of you. >> hi, matt. >> the first reaction is this is almost anticlimactic after the first drip drip drip of the last month or so. what impact do you think this story has on this race? >> i think some of the impact from the allegations has already started to materialize in cain's poll numbers. he's fallen some, particularly in early states and in the national rankings. whether it's among women or social conservatives in an early state like iowa, and they are really important in the iowa caucuses. some of that support has started to fall away. herman cain got on the political map because he was talking about tax reform, 9-9-9. now he's had gaffe after gaffe when it comes to foreign policy. i think he's being taken less seriously so there's less

conversations about these kinds of personal allegations although their impact will be felt. >> before i turn it over to chuck for a second, the statement from lynwood, the attorney for herman cain saying this is basically none of our business and an alleged consensual sexual relationship between adults falls outside the media's right to know, does that statement raise more harm than good? >> it certainly raises those questions. those other allegations were legitimate things we can deal with and this is a private affair. i don't think that's going to work in this case. it suggests maybe he doesn't want to get into this. maybe something really happened even though cain denies it. i think it's a way to target the media again, this is another example of coming after herman cain. >> this is not about that lawyer telling the media to back off, this is for the people who don't trust the media in the first place, especially what they consider to be the mainstream liberal media. they're firing up the base with that statement. >> they are, and the first time

that did seem to work when the first round of allegations, the sexual harassment stuff, because they were anonymous accusers and so you could rally the base there, the tea party conservatives that are really -- that were really behind herman cain. they got into that and they loved attacking the media. this, though, the accusation is not really coming from the media, it's coming from this woman. and i've already noticed you're not seeing the same rallying around cain that you saw the first time. but just to go to the point that you started with earlier, matt, this was a campaign that was withering on the vine. now we're in sort of the sixth sense mode. everybody knows this candidacy is basically dead except the campaign. >> so 36 days to go until the iowa caucuses. is herman cain at this point doing damage? i mean he's talking about everything but policy right now. is he doing damage to the rest of the gop field or in some odd way, guys, and david, you could tackle this, is he helping some of the other candidates? >> well, i think to the extent somebody like newt gingrich who has told people i'm not going to

attack herman cain for his problems but wait patiently for his supporters to come to the point of view that he can't win as chuck says and get some of that support and look where newt gingrich is in the polls right now. he's on top. i think power begins to consolidate against the one anti-romney candidate. for the moment it's newt gingrich. it gets difficult to come back a second time. >> chuck, your take on that? >> i think that cain is not necessarily hurting the field anymore. he's become a sideshow. it's almost a shiny metal object at this point. the campaigns themselves, the other ones, newt gingrich was asked about this yesterday and said no, no, no, i'm not talking about it. yeah, it really is a distraction but i don't think it's hurting the field. i think it actually was hurting the entire field during that week of focus on sexual harassment. >> guys, thanks very much. i appreciate it. it's nine after the hour. here's savannah. now to another big political story. after more than three decades in congress, massachusetts representative barney frank has

announced his plans to retire at the end of his current term. congressman frank is with us this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> when you talked about why you are retiring, you said your district has been redrawn in a way that would make it more difficult for you to win re-election. my question is are you leaving your fellow democrats in the lurch? it won't be any easier for any other democrat to win this seat, right? >> right, but that's not exactly what i said. i didn't say i wasn't running because i was afraid i couldn't win. what i said was i had decided over a year ago i was going to retire. i'll be 72 in a couple of months. i didn't think staying until i was almost 75 was ideal. but i then wenhen we took over e house i thought i should be here to fight financial reform and to make sure military spending reductions of an appropriate sort are part of deficit

reduction. that's what i planned to do. when i saw the new district, there were two responses. because it's 325,000 new people, it would include full-time campaigning, including raising a couple of million dollars. >> so for those who think this is a signal that you don't think democrats will win back control of the house in 2012, your response would be what? >> that i wish we could talk substance sometimes in the media. i know that's against the rules. i'd like to talk about public policy. i regret that we can't. no, i am making a personal decision here. i was going to retire. i changed my mind because i felt i could spend this two years most effectively if i was a candidate for re-election fighting to protect financial reform and reduce excessive overseas military spending. now that i would have to spend most of the year in campaigning, fund-raising, et cetera, those reasons are no longer valid. so, no, this doesn't mean that we're not going to take back the house. in fact i think we're likely to

win this seat. again, i don't know, did you think i would serve until i was 106? i'm 71 years old. the question is i have decided not to serve until three months before my 75th birthday. i guess i don't understand why that is so hard for people to grasp. >> you've talked about the tone in washington among the media but also members of congress. you have served in this institution for 30 years. during that time i don't have to tell you congress's approval has gone down to the single digits. how does that make you feel about your life's work? >> well, you exemplify what i think is a change in the tone. you manage to ask all sort of negative questions. i understand that's the media's current role. it didn't used to be that way. that's part of the way for the low approval. it's gotcha this and gotcha that, it's gotcha journalism and gotcha politics an it does lessen our chances to get things done. i may have a big ego but never identified myself as the entire

congress. i'm very proud of the financial reform bill and proud of the progress we've made, for example, in protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people against environments. i'm proud of the role in helping impeach bill clinton. the fact that institutions in america today are less popular, the media is less popular, congress is less popular, i don't tack that personally. >> back to the tone, you make a fair point about the media, on the other hand, you certainly are known for your sharp tongue at times. do you feel any responsibility for your own role in kind of that tone that we do see in washington, whether it be media or members of congress? >> well, congratulations, you're four for four in managing to find a negative approach. no, i will say this. in 1981 when i got to congress, i was very cooperative in a bipartisan way. newt gingrich actually boasted about the extent to which he

changed things. he forced out the minority leader and said, no, we have to challenge the democrats as our enemies. look, there was a poll taken a couple of years ago, 2010, i believe, or 2009 and people were asked who was the most partisan member of congress and who was the most bipartisan and they asked the republicans to rate democrats and democrats to rate republicans. i was rated as the most partisan and the most bipartisan. i think that's what's appropriate. where you have areas of disagreement, you ought to articulate those. where you have areas of agreement, you ought to work together so i think i've been able to do both, be sharp where there were differences, which is appropriate in a democracy, but reach out and be cooperative on those areas where we can work together. >> congressman barney frank, congratulations on your retirement. thanks for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> you've welcome. >> how's the rest of your day going? >> i don't think i'll be invited to the retirement party.

let's go over to the news desk. natalie is standing by with a check of all the top stories. >> good morning, matt and savannah. good morning, everyone. we've got some breaking business news. american airlines and its parent company had filed for chapter 11 reorganization. the company's ceo is also stepping down. he will be replaced by the company's president, tom horton. retail came to the rescue and cyber monday said sales soaring up 18% from the same time last year and that in turn sent stocks soaring. mandy, what is it looking like there this morning? >> reporter: at this stage we're looking a little positive but who knows by the end of trade today. as for cyber monday, you're right, it was a booming success for retailers showing americans growing confident using their tablets and smartphones and pcs to shop online. it's also very important that black friday and cyber monday are good for the retailers because some of these retailers make up to 40% of their annual revenue during the annual

shopping season. big news from facebook with that report saying it's considering raising about $10 billion in an ipo in april to june next year which would value it at d.$100 billion, which would be twice as high as what it was back in january. back to you. >> that is unbelievable. mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. the second mile charity that was founded by jerry sandusky is asking its donors to contribute elsewhere, in particular an organization for victims of sexual abuse. prosecutors say the former penn state assistant football coach met many of the young boys he's now charged with sexually abusing through that charity. this, as the young man known as victim one in the case against sandusky, has hired a legal team known for representing victims of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the philadelphia archdiocese. the chairman. u.s. joint chiefs of staff has refused to apologize for the nato air strikes that killed 24 pakistani soldiers this weekend on the border with afghanistan. general martin dempsey acknowledged that islamabad has the right to be angry but cited

the need for an investigation. this morning pakistan pulled out of a conference on afghanistan slated for december. officials say it is a boycott to protest those nato air strikes. and three wealthy money managers from the posh new york suburb of greenwich, connecticut, just got a lot more money to manage. they won more than a quarter of a billion dollars on a single powerball ticket. that's the largest jackpot in that state's history. they took the after tax lump sum of $103 million cash and say they are putting it to good use. they are planning to give a significant portion to charity. there are some reports that say the trust is a front for an anonymous winner who hired the men so he could keep his own identity secret. it is now 17 minutes past the hour. big mystery, though, because it took almost a month to come forward. they even put billboards up asking them to make themselves known. maybe because they don't need the money? >> a lot of papers say rich get

richer, with the whole occupy situation going on not going on well in some quarters. you guess right, you get a buck and a dream, right? >> except for savannah. >> all right, all right. >> who sees the glass half empty rather than half full. >> you're going to gang up on me too? >> try to get that positive attitude back. time for the tree lighting. let's go you what's happening. first of all, tennessee getting socked with snow. places like denmark, tennessee, 5 inches of snow. schools all over the state having delayed openings or closings altogether. snow covering tennessee, mississippi, alabama, arkansas, missouri and kentucky. go to the map and show you what's happening. basically we've got some snowstorm getting itself together. ahead of the system as you can see some of those snowfall totals, maury city, 1 inch, wilson, arkansas, 3 inches. there you can see the wrap-around of the system. we've got snow, winter storm watches and winter weather

advisories in effect throughout parts of the midplains and also up into the upper great lakes. we're talking anywhere from 6 to 9 inches of snow in the next 48 hours in the upper parts of michigan. that's what's going on >> good morning. periods of rain will be with us. rain could be heavy in some neighborhoods. and that's your latest weather. matt. now to los angeles where the doctor who was found guilty of causing michael jackson's death will be sentenced today. dr. conrad murray faces up to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the

latest on that. kristen, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. we're all watching to see what happens today, but even if the judge throws the book at conrad murray, a court order to reduce prison overcrowding here in california means he may only serve a fraction of any time. >> find the defendant, conrad robert murray, guilty -- >> reporter: for many of michael jackson's fans, the day a jury convicted dr. conrad murray of involuntary manslaughter marked the end of a long, difficult struggle for justice. but for murray's friends and supporters, the verdict signalled the beginning of an uncertain new chapter of time he'll spend in state custody. his friend and former medical assistant stacy rug els visited him in jail. >> he was extremely positive. he told us he had read the bible from front to back twice already. >> reporter: according to tmz, murray has been placed on suicide watch while in jail, reportedly telling friends that he's lost the will to live.

the sheriff's department refused to comment on murray's physical or mental health, but ruggles says those reports don't sound like the man she's known more than a decade. >> i'm sure anybody that were to go to jail that's never experienced anything like that may at some point feel defeated or may feel that they're at a breaking point. >> reporter: in an interview taped before his trial ended, murray told savannah guthrie that he wasn't mentally preparing for life behind bars. >> have you thought about what it would be like to spend four years in jail? >> that is a chapter that i have not thought about. because i do not have any plans for any such activity. >> reporter: now murray's future lies in the handle of judge michael pastor. >> dr. murray's reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public. >> reporter: legal experts say the judge's decision to hold murray without bail indicates that he may be inclined to hand out the stiffest sentence he can. >> we'll give him the maximum amount of time in jail and i

think we will be surprised that he will also order restitution and money to the jackson family and potentially even to the prosecution for the cost of investigating this case. >> reporter: but because of a legal mandate to reduce the prison population in california, even a four-year sentence could mean only a short stint. >> prison overcrowding has changed the game as far as sentencing goes. someone who is receiving a four-year sentence is likely to only do several months in the county jail due to the new laws. >> reporter: now, the court is not saying who, if anyone, from jackson's family will be giving victim impact statements today. no matter how much time murray gets, it's likely he'll lose his medical license here in california and other states could follow suit. >> all right, kristen dahlgren. kristen, thank you very much. coming up, the ex-fiance of a florida mom missing for more than a week has been named the primary suspect in her disappearance. we'll talk to the missing woman's sister. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, new evidence that shows more parents are refusing to vaccinate their children. we'll talk to dr. nancy about the controversial decision that could put others at risk. plus the boy who says he's been to heaven writes a new book for kids. we'll talk to him after your local news and weather. hey babe... oh, hi honey! so i went to the doctor today, then picked up a few extra things for the baby. oh boy... i used our slate card with blueprint. we can design our own plan to avoid interest by paying off diapers and things each month. and for the bigger stuff, we can pay downalance faster to save money on interest. bigger? bigger. chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises. trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate.

>> good morning, everyone. here's a look at one of our top stories this morning. new, overnight, a fire in carroll county claimed the life of an 80-year-old man. fire crews responded to the 3000 block of old washington load this morning. we are told that five other people escape from the fire. the cause is still under investigation. let's get a check on the morning commute. sarah? >> the busiest spot is on the north side of the beltway. multi-vehicle crash that takes up two left lanes on the outer

loop at hartford road. let's give you a live look of the traffic right there. the left lane is still closed. just crawling past the accident scene. the delay still stretches back to 95. the inner loop is a pretty nice ride. everything looks good on the outer loop passed this accident, until you get to the area of 795. that is when it starts to slow down. once you get to 795, southbound , back to owings mills, backed up. delays south of the belt way down toward 7 -- 28 street. southbound 93, the harrisburg expressway, is starting to be a slow go as well toward the beltway. let's get the latest from tony. >> good morning, everyone. has not been that bad so far as far as the rain around baltimore. but, if we look to the west, we can see heavy rain from the

mountains and winchester, moving in our direction. the rain will pick up in intensity throughout the morning. rainshowers likely starting later this morning and into the early afternoon. the high temperatures between 60 and 65, we are already there right now. it might fall off later this afternoon. cooler tomorrow, 51 for a high temperature.

7:30 now on a tuesday morning. 29th day of november, 2011. a mild start to the day. those temperatures will hold up for a while but we will have some rain in the area a little later on. the good news is, though, it's expected to clear out before they light the christmas tree in the background there tomorrow night. meanwhile inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie who's in while ann is on assignment this morning. just ahead kids and vaccines. new numbers show a growing number of parents in more than half of the states in this country are opting out of school shots for their children, and there are renewed fears that trend could lead to trouble for public health. we're going to get some perspective on that from dr. nancy snyderman. also ahead, charlotte church, who of course rose to

fame as a child opera sensation, is opening up to her treatment by the british tabloids. she claims she was once offered a choice, take 100,000 pounds or favorable press coverage, saying that meade -- singing at media mogul rupert murdoch's wedding. and professionals weigh in on cell phone software that can track your whereabouts as you walk through a mall to those three wealthy finance guys from connecticut who just claimed a $254 million lottery jackpot. we're going to begin with new details in the case of missing florida mother. she vanished following an appearance on "the people's court." they say her former fiance is the primary focus of this investigation. we'll talk to parker's sister in just a moment but lilia is here with the latest. >> reporter: good morning to you, savannah. it was a bombshell in the search of a missing mom that's captivated orlando.

after saying for days her ex-fiance is not a suspect, police are now saying he's the only suspect. missing mom michelle parker in happier times with dale smith, the father of her 3-year-old twins. now the chief suspect in her disappearance. >> after numerous tips and investigative leads, we are officially naming dale smith, the ex-fiance, as the primary suspect in the disappearance of michelle parker. >> you could have avoided this, dale, if you had cooperated with the police and took a polygraph test when they asked you, you know. you could have eliminated a lot of stress, so unfortunately you brought this on yourself. >> reporter: a youtube video and postings on facebook offer an inside look into the life of the man believed to be the last person to see michelle when she dropped off their twins at his house. >> he's suing for $5,000, the value of the ring.

>> reporter: hours after the two were seen on national tv arguing over a lost engagement ring on a taped episode of "the people's court." >> he's a mean person, especially when he's been drinking. >> reporter: when michelle told her mom she was humiliated by the experience, smith promoted the episode on his facebook page where he also posted photos showing him dressed up as some of his favorite movie and comic book characters. captain america, gi joe, luke skywalker, costumes he wears to science fiction conventions. but at 11:08 on the night of michelle's disappearance a darker post on his wall. oh man, oh man, michelle, the mother of my kids is missing. her mother called me and said she never showed up to work after dropping the kids off with me. the police just came by and searched my whole house. this isn't good, my kids need their mother. this was not the last time police searched smith's. on saturday a s.w.a.t. team raided his father's home. >> nothing of significance was

found in that location. >> reporter: smith posted on facebook that he prays for michelle's safe return. he also tries to clear his name saying i'm not that time of person. if you know me, then you know the truth. just what michelle's family is seeking. >> we're not going to stop until we find out who did this. we love our michelle so much. >> reporter: we're learning this morning that smith has hired a well-known orlando criminal attorney, but police say they're not looking to arrest smith. we have reached out to him and his family for comment, but they have not responded. savannah. >> all right, thank you. we're joined by michelle parker's sister, lauren erickson. good morning to you. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> i know these are really difficult days and i just wonder what your reaction is to the police coming out and now saying that your sister's ex-fiance, dale smith, is a primary focus of this investigation. i know early on you and your mom and your family members didn't suspect him. have you changed your mind now?

>> i think it's something that's definitely been on the back of my mind ever since the second she went missing just because of the show airing that day as well as that was the last place that she was supposed to go to drop off the kids. i'm honestly not surprised that this has happened, no. >> what have police told you, if anything, about why it is they do now consider him a suspect? >> as to why, i'm really not sure. i mean i have my own theories, just because of their past and everything and he was the last one to see her and he is now not cooperating. they asked him to take a polygraph test and he said no. there's a couple of other things that he's not doing as well, he's not cooperating and he hasn't let us see the kids. >> lauren, what are your suspicions here? >> my suspicion, i mean i don't know what he knows, i don't know what he did, i just wish that for h children's sake to have their mother that he would say

something. he was the last one to see her. he knows something. i don't doubt for a second in my mind that he knows something. >> are you concerned that he still has custody of their twins? >> i don't think he would ever do anything to hurt his own children. he has surprised me in the past of doing things that i thought he would never do, so is it a concern? i mean yeah, kinda. >> you mentioned "the people's court" a few minutes ago. she disappeared the same day that this episode aired. early on michelle's mom said she thought that was just a coincidence. it sounds like you think this show had something to do with it. do you know what? >> i don't know what it may have had to do with it. i just know that i last saw my sister at 2:30 who said she was dropping her kids off and going home to take a nap. at 6:50 i get a phone call from my oldest nephew asking me where his mom is. the instant i had that phone call, it went straight to my mind, i'm not going to lie. but i was hoping, i was hoping

for the best that something like this wouldn't happen. >> very quickly, we saw in the piece that dale has posted several messages on facebook since michelle's disappearance including one that said dear god please keep michelle safe and return her home unharmed and another said i hope they find her and bring her home. what's your reaction to seeing that? >> i didn't even know he had a facebook. as far as i knew he was deleted. he's not a friend of mine or my family's on facebook. he has not tried to contact my family nor has his family tried to contact my family to help hand out a single flier. >> lauren erickson, i know these are difficult days and we wish you all the best in the search for your sister. >> thank you. >> if you have any information call 1-800-432-tips. now we'll get a check of the weather from al. >> savannah, thanks so much. as we look and show you what's going on as far as your temperatures are concerned for today, we've got 40s, 50s and 60s in the northeast all the way down along the eastern seaboard.

80s in southern california. it's a little on the chilly side up through the upper mississippi river valley. we expect to see plenty of sunshine tomorrow for the tree lighting. we've got temperatures 55 degrees at 5:00 by the time we light the tree, 48 >> good morning. rain showers will be likely, especially as we have to the late morning and early afternoon hours. and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> thank you, al. still ahead, one boy's story of his trip to heaven. it inspired the best seller "heaven is for real." we'll talk to him about his new book for kids. up next, new evidence that a

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[ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their family's delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas! we're back at 7:42. this morning on "today's health" new evidence of an increasing trend that's long worried health officials. an analysis by the associated press finds that a growing number of parents are opting out of giving their kids vaccines that are required for school. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good to see you. >> hi, matt. >> if they're required for schools, how are the parents opting out? what's going on? >> pretty darn easy. i spoke with a woman yesterday who is catholic and she used it

as a religious opt-out so the bar is really low. for philosophical reasons, religious reasons, but the bar is really low. >> the fact is -- this is an analysis. study after study after study has shown that vaccines are safe. >> right. >> so why are so many parents still convinced it's not right for their children? >> i think this may be one of the cases in public health where vaccines have been so effective in eradicating disease, the new generation of parents in their 30s and 40s have no memory of seeing polio and whooping cough and measles so you look around and see healthy kids and say kids have better nutrition today, i'm not so worried about it. therefore, i'm not going to vaccinate my children. and therein lies the rub. >> and you're worried about this negatively impacting something that's called herd immunity and that is? >> enough of us need to be vaccinated so that we don't pass on these viruses and bacteria. the threshold is about 90%. right now about 90% of kids in this country are vaccinated. but we're seeing pockets where

there are less than that. just this morning on long island, new york, an outbreak of whooping cough. last year 2100 kids, 24 died in california. measles outbreaks last year in minnesota. and these are areas where in fact there aren't enough people vaccinat vaccinated. >> and when you look at the map, the analysis found in eight states more than one in 20 public school kindergarteners are not getting all the vaccines required for attendance. if people at home are thinking this might be in poor communities where there's less access to medical care or information, that's not what the analysis found at all. >> the profile is white, middle class, educated, college attended and a couple of kids. and it goes to the web savvy bright person who says, you know what, i'm going to outthink my doctor, i'm going to outthink history and frankly i'm going to opt out of this. the problem is even when parents say i'll take two of those shots and not the third or i'll take

this one and not that one, you can be underimmunized and still at risk. >> but people don't look at it that way. by the time a child is 6 years old, that child basically has had 25 vaccines. >> let me flip it around on you. >> a lot of parents think that's an excessive number. >> but 14 to 17 illnesses prevented. so i know it's a number of shots. but if you're not thinking about your kids, think about it this way. your mother who might be fighting breast cancer, your sister with rheumatoid arthritis, your other child with as marks an unimmunized child is a walking typhoid mary who can put any of those immune compromised people in an early grave. i personally think it is selfish not to think about that and we have to think about public health in a whole new way than we have with immunizations. >> dr. naepncy, thanks. coming up next, former child star charlotte church testifies about the british tabloids. what she says she was offered as a 13-year-old to perform at

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in britain, more testimony is pouring in from celebrities about the torment they say they faced at the hands of tabloids. their stories seem to grow more shocking by the day. nbc's michelle kosinski is in london with the latest. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: hi, savannah. we have seen a parade of celebrities testify at this hearing, and each one of their stories seems to be worse than the last. in the case of singer charlotte church, though, the tabloids were tormenting a child. she says at one point she was given a choice, more than $100,000 to sing at rupert murdoch's wedding or good press coverage. ♪ >> reporter: charlotte church was 11 when fame found what the press called the voice of an angel. now in her 20s, she is using it -- >> just horrible, you know. >> reporter: -- to describe the

hell that tabloids put her through. following her to school, vacations. at her house someone hid a video camera in the hedges. she said she was asked to sing at media mogul rupert murdoch's wedding in new york but told, she claims, she could either accept more than $150,000 or favorable coverage in his newspaper. >> i remember being 13 and thinking why on earth would anybody take a favor over 100,000 pounds but being advised by management to take the latter option, that he was a very, very powerful man. >> reporter: murdock's company denies this and says charlotte's appearance at the wedding was a surprise to him. yet she says her manager told her murdoch himself insisted that she sing this, even though she had warned it was a funeral song. as she grew older, she said the

sun tabloid ran a countdown clock to her 16th birthday with innuendo it was the legal age for sexual consent. they started paying her teenage boyfriends to intimate details, which they printed. police showed charlotte evidence that by 17 her phone had been hacked by "news of the world" and someone paid a private investigator to track her. >> they brought a massive, massive black book which was just full of information. information about me, information about my friends, family members. >> reporter: and from murdoch's "news of the world" came this cover story. >> superstar charlotte church's mum tried to kill himself because her husband is hooked on campaign. so they knew how vulnerable she was and still printed the story, which was horrific. it had a massive psychological effect on me.

>> reporter: nearly everyone has said the same thing, that the press coverage that just was not true hurt their careers and the stories that came from hacking hurt their relationships because they're blaming loved ones for leaking that. in many cases the newspapers were forced to run retractions, even apologies, but the victim said it didn't matter, the damage was already done. >> michelle in monday, thank you. coming up, today's professionals. >> right after your local news. so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ]

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>> good morning. it is 7:56. time for a check on your morning commute. here is sarah. >> good morning, everyone. we are still dealing with a lot of delays out there. on the other live, beginning around 95 on the northeast corner, for the harrisburg expressway, you will be tied up in that delay. there was an accident in the ever lived. we are also looking at a slow go on the inner loop as to make your approach from hartford scored 95 on the northeast corner. 95, the lays from 795 toward edmonton, creating a backup on 795 southbound. take a look at this live picture of 95 coming toward us. southdown traffic, the blaze from chopper road all the way

down to fort mchenry. we are also looking at an accident that we had reported in the northbound side, near white marsh. no sign of any delays as a result on the beltway, but perhaps further north you might hit the brakes just a bit. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony has the check on your forecast. >> so far, around baltimore, breaks in the overcast without much on the radar. if you look to the west, in the mountains you can see heavy rain that is slowly drifting towards us. it will take a couple of hours to get here by late this morning in early afternoon there will be a good chance for rain. starting out in the upper 50's and low 60's, we will not be moving much, but it will still be a mild day. temperatures with rain showers likely, especially during the middle of the day. quiet during the rest of the week, significantly cooler, highs in the upper 50's and low were 60's. a slight chance for showers on wednesday and friday. heading into the the weekend, we

will keep the sunshine and it will start to warm up. making into the upper 50's and lower 60's on sunday, the next lower 60's on sunday, the next chance for rain is

8:00 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 29th day of november, 2011. you know what, we decided to come outside because it's beautiful in terms of temperature, not so nice in terms of sky conditions. mr. roker says the rain will move in later on, but if you take that shot, jimmy, of us with the tree behind it, these two are going to throw the switch on that tree tomorrow night and the weather will be nice. >> it will be clear and temperatures in the upper 40s. >> good for you guys. we look forward to that every year. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie who's in while ann is on assignment and al roker is here as well. coming up, a story that's generated a lot of emotional response. should a child be accused -- i mean should a parent be accused of neglecting their child if they allow that child's weight

to balloon. there is a third grader in ohio who was taken out of his family's home, put in foster care because he weighed over 218 pounds, about four times what his peers weighed. the mother was not happy about it. a lot of people who responded to it were not happy about it. today's professionals will weigh in in a couple of minutes. also ahead, do you believe in heaven? we'll introduce you to a little boy who may make a believer out of you. he emerged from life-saving surgery and told a detailed tale of having been to heaven and having met relatives. it's an extraordinary story and he has a new book that's for kids. we'll catch up with the family. and the simple act of buying a car can be very intimidating. we'll give you a checklist of how to make it a much less intimidating ordeal in just a little bit. all right, a lot to get to. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk with the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. herman cain's campaign says people who want to derail his

republican presidential bid are behind the latest accusation against him. ginger white told an atlanta tv station that she and cain had a 13-year affair that ended just eight months ago. the georgia businesswoman says she came forward because the other women who accused cain of sexual harassment were treated as liars. last night cain admitted he knew white and helped her financially, but denied any affair. the man accused of killing 77 people in norway in july was insane at the time of the shooting and bombing massacre, according to a psychiatric evaluation. the finding will help determine if he will be sentenced to prison or receive psychiatric care instead. the prime suspect in the disappearance of robin gardner is being released from prison today in aruba. jeff rossen is there with more. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, natalie, good morning to you. here's the plan today. gary giordano will walk out prison around 8:00 tonight.

he wants to get right off this island. the problem is if he's released at 8:00, he's going to miss the last commercial flight back to the u.s. tonight so he'll have to spend another night in aruba and leave first thing tomorrow morning. gary giordano's beach side accommodations, aruba's prison about to lose its high-profile inmate. after 115 days behind bars -- >> gary, over here. >> reporter: giordano will walk in just hours. his lawyer, jose baes, who famously defended casey anthony, has arrived in aruba. >> we've been able to see that there is no case, there is no evidence of a crime and the facts just don't support it. so we're happy to see that gary is finally going to be able to walk out and go home. >> reporter: giordano says the victim, robin gardner, drowned in a snorkeling accident. prosecutors say he's lying and was somehow involved. but nearly four months of investigating and they don't have enough evidence to charge him, so the judge ordered his

release. >> after months of investigating, do you have any idea what happened to robin? >> we have theories, but we have no facts in that respect. >> what kind of theories? >> theories that she went missing there, maybe that she was murdered and then was brought to another place and either thrown in the sea or buried. >> reporter: at home in maryland, some of giordano's neighbors are less than thrilled to have him back. >> i mean i understand the system of innocent until proven guilty, but there's just too many unanswered questions. >> reporter: nbc news spoke with robin gardner's family late last night who told us, and i'm quoting here, no one was prepared for this reality. we are devastated. robin is in our prayers. i should mention even when gary giordano leaves back for the u.s. first thing tomorrow morning and he's released from jail later tonight, he's not fully in the clear. prosecutors are appealing, there's a hearing tomorrow, plus they could also charge him down the line and could file another arrest warrant and contact u.s. authorities to try to accepted

him back to aruba, natalie. >> jeff rossen in aruba with us, thank you. and now here's brian williams with what's coming up tonight. coming up tonight on "nightly news" we'll take you up in the air with the texas department of public safety along the rio grande. we've been covering the war next door for quite some time but you need to see it from this vantage point. we'll have that for you tonight. natalie, for now back to you. >> thanks. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you looking online. batman 3 star anne hathaway is a top search after confirming she is engaged. her dark knight is adam shulman. she met him after a disastrous relationship with an italian real estate developer. bieber fever is now a full-blown epidemic. he was the most searched person on bing.com for 2011. he bumped kardashian into second place but kim is the most

searched female. and this video of teddy bear, a grumpy north american porcupine is seeing a spike, get it in, youtube hits. teddy just doesn't like to share. >> oh, really? teddy? can you share your corn with me? can i have it? no? let me have it. >> it sounds like he's talking. anyway teddy lives at a traveling wildlife center called zooniversity. they posted online that they should bleach the teeth and get him an agent because he's going to need one. he's bound for hollywood. 8:06, let's go back out to al with a check of your weather. >> we get the point with that video. sorry. hey, we've got a birthday girl here. what's your name? >> anna. >> and you're 9 years old. where are you from? >> south carolina. >> very nice to see you. is this your brother? >> yes. >> he looks very happy to be here too, right? what's your name?

>> jake. >> do you want to wish your sister a happy birthday? >> no. >> all right, jake. oh, man, strong. let's check your weather and see what's going on. denver, colorado, 9 news, sunny, mild, 56 degrees. as we show you what's happening, wrap around the low-pressure system in the mid-atlantic states, snow on the back side of it, rain ahead of it. looking at rain moving into the pacific northwest as well. heavy rain in the mid-atlantic on into the northeast. we expect 5 to 8 inches of snow in parts of central and northern michigan. that's what' >> good morning. periods of rain will be with us. rain could be heavy in some neighborhoods.

and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> all right, al, thanks. coming up next, is it time for airlines to adopt dress codes for passengers? today's professionals will weigh in on that and oather hot topic coming up writ after this. indulge all you want.] now there's no need to hold back. ♪ new revolutionary scope with dualblast technology obliterates strong food odors and kills bad breath germs leaving your breath minty fresh. hey. sorry i'm late, baby. i bet you're starving. [ male announcer ] so there's no trace of evidence... hey, i thought i did the dishes. [ male announcer ] blast away strong food odors and bad breath germs with new scope dualblast. also, try crest complete extra white with scope dualblast. whatrun...hat? it's the monster.... ahh, ah, no ♪

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open it, you should open it, i'll open it. no, no. back now at 8:12 with "today's professionals" here to discuss the headlines and hot topics. folks, good morning, nice to see you. a story we reported here on monday getting a lot of reaction around the country. in cleveland heights, ohio, local department of children and family services went into a mother's home, took away her 8-year-old son because that son had reached a weight of 218 pounds, or about four times the average weight of his classmates for a third grader. her staying basically the mother neglected the son by not doing more to control his weight. did they go too far? >> well, the rules of child abuse are is there an imminent fear that there will be serious harm done to the child, serious,

continuous and it requires emergency action. if you've done everything that you're supposed to do ahead of time, if you've tried family counseling, if you've gone into the home, if you've provided the resources and they still are in the same situation, the courts would remove the child. >> a 200-pound 8-year-old who should weigh about 80 pounds is not going to suddenly lose that weight probably within the home with suddenly having a more nutritious dinner. it requires an emergency intervention. what you'd like to avoid is something like gastric band or gastric bypass but this sort of reminds me of two things. one, is obesity an illness or disease or is it not and in the medical community we are still struggling with that. but i liken this a little bit to a parent who refuses to give a child chemotherapy and does the court have a right to say you're barring that. >> i think we have to distinguish a parent who's neglectful and giving the kid 18

hamburgers at mcdonald's, versus this kid is on the honor roll, he's on a normal kid. what is this is a parent who's trying or a thyroid condition. >> what's the magic number? was it okay to live in the house at 200 and not 218? who decides that number? >> the real problem is that obesity is still the argument. we don't know where it comes from. is it genetics, is it just sedentary. >> but taking a kid away or not taking the kid away -- >> but you're blaming the condition. >> we don't know if this is a condition and you just yank the kid out of the home. >> and what if the question should be, instead of extricating, doing an intervention in the home where experts can go in. >> let me jump to another topic right now. software has been developed, you go to a shopping mall, they use your cell phone to track your movements within the mall so they know where you are. the goal being they can send you advertisements for the store you're approaching. so donnie, you're walking toward victoria's secret and there you

go, you get the ad to lure you into the store. is that too much? >> this is a huge topic. stop. basically this is going to set the tone for the future, and i do believe that any type of tracking, any type of privacy intrusion is going to have to be signed off by the consumer. that's what's going to happen. this is dangerously -- >> so you walk into the mall and they say would you allow us to do this and you say yes, it's okay. >> it should only be opt-in, you should not have to opt out. every single time you get one of those pop-ups do you want to track, do you want notifications, do you want location, you should say no. >> i think the united states is catching up to the rest of the world. this kind of technology has been around other countries. it happens in japan a lot. i understand the intrusion of one's, you know, privacy. but i think we're fooling ourselves. we are tracked all the time. there are cameras on every street corner. i get it. but you know what, at least -- on my iphone give me a push. >> scary stuff.

>> let me move on. should there be dress codes for airlines? a lot of airlines have dress codes, but they leave it up to the flight crews on the individual plane to enforce that. should it be stated and written right on your ticket stub what you can and cannot wear on an airplane? >> well, airplanes -- look, the tsa can't even decide if your laptop should go in or out of a case and if you take your shoes on or off. i think it's such a crazy gray zone and one i think that's too nebulous to define. what i'm stunned by when you watch people get on airplanes is who thought that thongs and shorts to here or track suits are a good idea any way? >> but that's what i'm talking about. >> here's the answer, guys. this is not run by the government. these are private businesses, just like a restaurant owner has a ability to say i think if i let you into my restaurant, this is bad for my business. >> but should they post it? >> i don't think it's going to be one set of things.

>> when it comes to those kinds of things you know it when you see it and that's the problem. >> let's move on because this last one i think will get a lot of reaction. these three wealthy guys from greenwich, connecticut, came forward to claim the $254 million powerball jackpot. people are screaming these guys don't need it, the rich get richer, what's the pobottom lin? >> i don't believe these guys are the real winners. >> there are a lot of people who think they're fronting for someone else. >> a dollar and a dream, it was that person's dollar. that would be nice for them to make a donation, be nice to tithe some money but they don't have to. their dollar, their dream. >> you know what, who said life is fair. it's not discriminatory. >> i play all the time. >> what's very surprising is that people that wealthy would be playing the lottery. >> wait a second. because people of all economic classes play the lottery, that's why those jack pots grow to the amount that they get to be $254 million. so it might not feel right, but

you know what, that's what it is. >> wouldn't it be lovely if this trust or philanthropist really does something great with it but the reality is it's nobody's business. >> don't hate the player, hate the game. up next, a new book for kids from the family. boy who says he's been to heaven. we'll talk to them right after this. [ nadine ] buzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz, you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

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heaven quickly turned into a best-selling book. "heaven is for real" has spent the past 52 weeks on the new york times best sellers list, including 44 weeks at number one. and now the family who brought it to us is out with a children's version called "heaven is for real" for kids and todd, sonja and colton burpo are with us this morning. good morning to all of you, it's good to see you again. >> good morning. >> let's recap for those who aren't familiar with the book. when colton was 4 years old he had a burst appendix, had several surgeries. having come through that, he started telling you guys about having seen heaven. what did he say, todd? >> i think his stories have been incredible. he can see us where we were in the hospital while he was in surgery, so that first grabbed our attention because those facts, we didn't know how he knew them. then he goes on to talk about a sister he met in heaven, my grandfather and of course he tells us what god looks like. the only painting of jesus that he's ever said is right, the

information he shares is pretty incredible. >> sonja, colton seemed to know things you had never told him. after all he was only 4 years old. >> he told us about our miscarried daughter and about a great grandfather he had never met and various other things. >> colton, it's been eight years now, it's a long time for anybody. do you still have those vivid memories of heaven? >> yes, i do. >> and what stands out most in your mind? what can you really still see? >> well, the things i remember most are my family members and jesus. >> do you worry at all that those memories will get fuzzier and fuzzier over time? that happens to everybody. >> no. i think those memories are implanted. >> let's address the skepticism, because i know you're familiar with it. i guess it has two parts. on the one hand some people are just -- they want to believe this, who wouldn't want to believe it, but they wonder could it really be true that someone so young could actually see heaven and live to tell

about it. >> well, we questioned our son as first. i think as parents everyone can tell when their 4-year-old is telling the truth. when they're telling you things they cannot make up, we're close enough to verify the story. for people that are farther away, we understand that. but we also see all the people that are finding peace and hope and comfort from colton's story. so for those people that might even be against the story, we just look past them and see all the people that are getting peace and hope. it's incredible to have ideas. what do my loved ones look like, how am i going to meet them, what's it going to be like. and for them to hear that and have peace, that's what we focus on. >> it's an amazing perspective to start thinking in those terms and i think the other criticism would be, well, you wrote a book about it, now you've got a kids book and i hear a movie might be in the works. so for those saying is this all about getting a profit, what would your response be, sonja? >> it's not about that. we're just going to share the

story, god bless the story and a lot of people have found different parts in it that felt their hearts and are touched by it. our intention was to just write and help a few people and it just kind of exploded. the kids book we're superthrilled about. >> colton, i know people that are your age can read it. are you pretty excited about that, about sharing your story? >> actually the book isn't for my age. i'd say the adult version is more their age. but kids 4 through 8, it's a 32-page picture book. so it works for them pretty good because the wording is easy, pictures describe the story. >> well, it's wonderful to have you here. have you thought about who might play you in the movie? >> i have no clue. i think those two already have a few people that they already have but i don't. >> all right. well, you'll have to pick somebody pretty good to play

you. thank you so much. it's great to have you. once again the book is "heaven is for real" for kids. a live performance coming up after your local news. >> good morning. at the time is 8:26. let's get a final check on the morning commute with sarah. >> good morning, everyone. still trying to recover from an earlier accident that just cleared up on the ramp from the outer loop on the top side near the perry parkway. the ramp that takes you southbound has just reopened. and you can see the delays and stretching back to 795, all of the way to the harrisburg expressway. on the west side, standard delays down to edmonton. southbound 795 remains at a crawl at the island's mills

area. near the perry parkway, that ramp is closed and it is now reopened, everything getting by. east around 100 and interstate 95, an accident report coming in. another one northbound 97. we also want to give you a heads up on some water main repairs. it is block downfield wrote in a nottingham region. watch for that closure this morning. that is the latest on traffic pulse. tony? >> good morning, everyone. not so bad. sunshine breaking through the cloud deck in some areas this morning. things are going to change as we had through the morning hours. the rain is talking about getting closer, just west of washington, d.c., hagerstown. the chance of rain is going to go up as we had through the day, today. we will probably see a steady rain in the afternoon hours. a mild, rain picking up in intestate -- intensity. this morning the rain will cool things off in the afternoon.

it will turn closer to average in the next few days, but quiet. wednesday, thursday, friday, it should wind up on the tail end of the weekend. >> another update at 8:55. [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪

♪ 8:30 on a tuesday morning. you're looking at a sneak peek at the new justin bieber/mariah carey video, "all i want for christmas." if you want to see more of justin bieber, just tune in tomorrow night, wednesday night, right here on nbc as we light the rockefeller center christmas tree. actually we don't, al and savannah do. >> and we'll be debuting justin bieber's video. >> right here on nbc.

it is a little funny. not funny at all? >> nice that you said something that's not negative for a change. >> back to that again? >> the tree lighting, 8:00/7:00 central time. >> we'll be in a good mood. hopefully you'll watch us ring in the holidays. also ahead. a lot of folks have brought in their toys and hot chelle rae, a very popular band right now, are collecting them. so come to our plaza, you never know who might pick up your toys or you can donate online. we're going to hear from hot chelle rae in a couple of minutes. also i think a lot of ladies know it's really intimidating when you're looking to buy a new car, so coming up we're getting expert advice on what you should know about and research that you should do before you get into a lot and get into that car. >> basically i learned that i have done everything wrong. >> a lot of guys don't do too well either.

>> i'll pay more, sure. >> i'll buy it today. how many of you like hot pigs in a blanket. >> oh, we love them. >> love them. >> no, no. well, we're going to also show you some different appetizers and hors d'oeuvres with one of the hottest chefs in new york. he's got some elegant and easy recipes that will impress your guests. why don't you give us a check of the weather first. >> hopefully impressing our guests as well with the weather. we'll show you for today we've got rain moving into the northeast later today, rain changing over to snow in the upper midwest, rain moves into the pacific northwest. sunny from texas on into the southwest. tomorrow, rain and snow showers spread across the plains. morning rain in northern new england, left over lake-effect snow hours in the eastern great lakes. plenty of sunshine through the southern tier of states with cool weather in the lower mississippi river valley. nice in the southwest, gulf coast on into florida. >> good morning.

rain showers will be likely, especially as we have to the late morning and early afternoon hours. don't forget, you can get your weather any time of the day or night on the weather channel or weather.com. is that what you do, uncle willie? >> silver bells, silver bells. it's time in the city for christmas and holiday time and have fun, you can't beat it. come see it. happy birthday, how sweet it is from the smucker's birthday list. we take a look at paul lovell, 102 years old.

loves to eat oatmeal every day for breakfast, i'm with him. here we go, phil symmonds, buccaneers fan. and here'sdale mcclintic, 100 years old. has a wonderful mind, great memory, sharp as a tack and loves everybody in the world. likes to do the lord's work on this earth he says. and we have wellford goode of richmond, virginia, 100 years old today. very proud wwii veteran and he says an attitude of gratitude. that's what he believes in. that's a nice little catchy phrase, attitude of gratitude. inez giles of st. louis, missouri, 10 tleechlt lov3. loves to reminisce and she also loves to sing in her church. people down there love her. and finally we have frances

lyons from zt hest. helena, california. 105 years old. she is truly a lovely woman. that's it, that's all, from washington. >> all right, thank you very much. when we come back, avoiding buyer's remorse when you go out to buy a new car. what you should be doing during that all-important test drive. but first this is "today" on nbc.

well, if a new car is on your holiday wish list, you'll want to take a test drive and it calls for a lot more than a simple spin around the block. car reviewer and room growth.com editor in chief tara winegarten gave kristen dahlgren a checklist for test driving. take a look.

>> there are not many things in this world that scare me. i am pet prified of going to th car dealership. >> you're going to walk in and take control, you're not going to let the salesperson dictate how your test drive is going to go. i know it sounds silly but getting in and out is a big deal. is it comfortable to get out? go back in. come on out. we're going to go. a test drive should be a workout. now we're inside the car. this is where you live so we are going to touch everything, open everything, see if your stuff fits. how's the cup holder? >> i need to know this is no girly cup holder. >> that's right. >> got to fit my mega joe. wow, okay. >> the trunk is really important in a test drive, so bring all the stuff with you to the dealership and see if it fits in there.

>> you brought me to a parking lot. the whole point of the parking lot thing is to determine how you can see in a tight space. >> this handles pretty well around these tight turns, so that's pretty good. >> how's the visibility in here, is it good? >> yeah, pretty good. >> so now we go into a quiet street. this is where we're going to test out the brakes. you're going to get the car going about 20, 25 miles an hour. you can going to slam on the brakes. >> they work! >> awesome. the last test is the highway. the point of this is go, hit the fa gas, see how it accelerates, see how you like it. >> you ready? >> i'm ready. >> let's go. >> for today, kristen dahlgren,

nbc news, rolling down the highway in los angeles. >> she cut it out before the police sirens. tara, good morning to you. >> hi. >> so is the dealer really going to let you spend that much time with the car and kind of pick at everything like you suggest? >> they don't want to. they want you in and out of there in five minutes. but you know what, it's your money. you dictate how long the defendant dritest drive is going to be so i recommend a half an hour. >> is there a best time to take the test drive? >> during the week. on the weekends the dealerships tend to be busy so you want to go during the week when they're less crowded. >> and sometimes you can call and make an appointment and say i'm coming in, i want to spend a half hour with x car? >> yes, that's really important. try to call ahead or e-mail them and ask for a half hour or longer and say this is what you're going to need. >> if you've got kids, should you bring them on the test drive and make a adventure out of it? >> not the young ones. 5 and older maybe and see how they like the car. >> one of your suggestions is that you should test drive at

night. why do you say that? >> you know, all the cars have different instrumentations and illuminations and the only way you'll see that is at night, so you've got to turn on the lights and see how it looks to you. >> a lot of people may love the orange interior lights, other people it will bother them forever. >> that's right. >> another of your tips is check the trunk. why? >> you know what, a lot of the cars now are not coming with spare tires. and what it does is it reduces the cost of the car so they're able to reduce the price and make themselves more competitive. but if you don't know it's there and you're out on a highway and you get a flat, you're in big trouble. >> and sometimes you can get it as an option, though, right? >> you can get it as an option. i recommend that you do that. >> everyone is so wired these days, cell phones and that kind of thing. you want to make sure that this car you're thinking about buying is able to be connected to your particular phone. how do you find that out? >> all the phones are compatible with all the cars. what's different is how easy they are to operate.

some of the car companies have more difficult telemetrics which is what it's called than others. >> this is a great time to buy a car, right? >> yeah, the model year switchout so there are certain companies bringing in the new models for 2012. the sweet spot is between christmas and new year's. >> perfect time. just in time for the holidays. tara, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> if you want more of those test driving suggestions, head to our website, today.com. coming up next, tasty recipes to serve at your next holiday party. but first, this is "today" on nbc. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' a dunkin' latte. i can't think without my dunkin' iced latte. it's a real latte. i love it. i run on dunkin'. get a premium latte without a premium price. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

we're back at 8:44. this morning on "today's holiday kitchen" easy entertaining. if you want to impress your guests, award-winning chef daniel blaallou is here.

>> well, it is a tiny bite of something, either spicy, crunchy, warm, cheesy, something that goes wonderful with cocktail. and so -- and it's something usually that would be able to be grabbed by hands. >> okay. >> and certainly not overfill your mouth. >> you have got a couple of great recipes. >> yes. >> the first is smoked salmon and it sounds very easy. there's a little more to it than that. >> i'm making a roll of smoked salmon with some cream cheese inside. >> what's in the cream cheese? >> some lemon zest, some chive, a little lemon juice. so i'm putting -- you put the smoked sammlmon on plastic wrap and layer your slices. you layer a layer of cream cheese over.

>> how do you roll that? >> just take the plastic on one side, just pinch the beginning and then create a little roll like this. >> you're going to pop that in the freezer? >> then you pop that in the freezer a little bit. >> why? >> just to get it hard so this way you can have like this. and then it can be cut and sliced after that. so that's a little easier to cut and slice and put it on a little piece of pumpernickel. the idea is you can see the layers of cream cheese. >> and you garnish with that witle mo with a little dill and some more lemon zest. >> a little dill and you can add a little chive or extra herbs there. >> by start to finish, this is not a complicated recipe. >> very simple. everything is made.

and this is about having a little crunchy black olive sort of crackers, like a little crustini. >> so you put -- >> i'm putting water into a dough, which you can use puffed pastry or make what we call a cracker dough, like a crescent dough. then i have black olive that's been drained and i put three lines of black olive paste. >> could you buy it store bought? >> of course. this is what you would buy if you get it store bought. >> okay. >> like that. very easy. then you have the layers on top like that. >> is this just water? >> this is just water. we put that right over like that. mark it slightly. sprinkle a little bit more water over and sprinkle also with a

little pepper to give a little hit to it. >> and you're going to slice that? >> yeah. >> so you put that again in the freezer, just to get it hard. until really the dough hardens. then you just cut it in slices like this and you've got this wonderful little -- >> and you put that on a cookie sheet. how long do you bake that? >> about 15 minutes at 350. >> that's fantastic the way you get that shape. that's beautiful. come up front and show me some of the other hors d'oeuvres you've prepared. what's this here? >> here is a cheese puff. that's what you have as a snack to start. here we have a slice of cucumber with a little uni -- >> can the average person really make that? >> very easy. buy cucumber and fresh uni and here we have our little black olive cracker. >> just tell me about the

cocktails because you have great recipes in the book. >> not only do you have recipes of all those, but also of the cocktails. so here we have a french 75, which is basically champagne, a little bit of bitter and orange. >> and that one? >> and this one is a ginger -- it's a ginger whiskey-based cocktail. >> the crew will be gathering shortly. >> absolutely. >> you can have all these cocktails at the bar. >> happy holidays to you. great to have you here. >> thank you, matt. up next, a live performance from music sensation's hot chelle rae, but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. >> back now at 8:51 with one of the hottest acts in music, hot chelle rae just took home the american music award for best new artist and their new album "whatever" is out today. the band is ryan follese, nash overstreet, ian keaggy. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this has been an incredible year for you, how does it feel? >> it feels incredible. we said f our speech we owe it to our fans and we feel that

way. >> some call it bubbly elasti fupg. >> >> that's the new genre. >> for those who think writing a relentlessly catchy song as you have several times over is easy. with pop music, it's very difficult, isn't it? >> it is. it's complex simplicity. it's very, very tough to write something so hooky but it seems easy. >> i know you guys are very talented musicians. you also are quite fashionable. who took the most time getting ready this morning? >> i don't know. we woke up at like 4:30. i don't think i even remember the process of getting ready. >> i think today was the most on time we've been. >> you look excellent, you sound even better. what are you going to sing for us today? >> "i like it like that." >> take it away, hot chelle rae. ♪ let's get it on, yeah, y'all can come along snoets everybody drinks on me, bought out the bar snoets just to feel like i'm a

star, now i'm thanking the academy ♪ missed my ride home, lost my iphone ♪ i wouldn't have it any other way snoets if you're with me, let me hear you say ♪ ♪ i like it like that, hey, windows down, chillin' with the radio on snoets i like it like that ♪ sun's so hot, make the girls take it all off snoets i like it like that snoets yeah, one more time, i can never get enough of everybody, sing it right back, i like it like that snoets till the break of dawn, yeah, party on the lawn, whistle as the girls walk by ♪ ♪ if the cops roll up, so what, pour the cops a cup because everybody's here tonight ♪ ♪ call a taxi, pack the back seat snoets i wouldn't have it any other way snoets if you're with me let me hear you say snoets i like it like that, hey, windows down, chillin' with the radio on ♪ ♪ i like it like that, sun's so

hot, make the girls take it all off ♪ ♪ i like it like that, yeah, one more time, i can never get enough of everybody ♪ ♪ sing it right back, i like it like that ♪ ♪ oh oh oh oh, like that ♪ oh oh oh, like that oh oh oh, sing it rye back, i like it like that ♪ ♪ oh oh oh, like that ♪ let's get it on, y'all can come along, everybody drinks on me, ♪ ♪ i like it like that, hey, windows down, chillin' with the radio on ♪ ♪ i like it like that, sun's so hot, make the girls take it all off ♪ i like it like that, yeah, one more time, i can never get enough ♪ ♪ of everybody sing it right back if you like it, like it like that ♪ hey, windows down, chillin' with the radio on ♪ ♪ i lake it like that, sun's so

hot, make the girls take it all off ♪ ♪ i like it like that, yeah, one more time, i can never get enough ♪ ♪ of everybody, sing it right back, i like it like that ♪ ♪ oh oh oh oh, like that ♪ oh oh oh like that ♪ oh oh oh, sing it right back, i like it like that ♪ ♪ oh oh oh, oh oh oh like that ♪ like that, sing it right back i like it like that ♪ ♪ i can never get enough of everybody ♪ sing it right back, i like it like that ♪ >> hot chelle rae, thank you. the new album is "whatever," it's out today. just ahead, we'll have the new

holiday steals and deals. >> live, local, late breaking. >> good morning. is it o'clock 56. here's a look at our top stories this morning. gary giordana will walk free today after spending three months in prison in aruba. prosecutors have not found enough evidence to keep him detained. he will be released this evening. prosecutors say that it will file an appeal.

he will be extradited back

>> rainshowers will become more likely as we head into the late morning in early afternoon hours. another mile the day today. temperatures around 61, we will make it into the low to mid 60's. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another update on whether it 9:25.