good morning. here it comes. a powerful storm takes aim at the east coast, from north carolina to maine, after pounding parts of texas. some areas could get close to a foot of snow. leader of the pack. a new nationwide poll shows newt gingrich with a double-digit lead in the republican presidential race. how does the white house feel about his surge? we'll talk to a top adviser to the president's re-election campaign. and bounced. alec baldwin returns to new york overnight after being kicked off an american airlines flight in los angeles. he says all because he failed to turn off his ipad. what are his fellow passengers saying? we'll hear from them today, wednesday, december 7th, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. well, we knew this good weather couldn't last. we've been enjoying nice, mild temperatures for this time of the year in the northeast but it's about to change. >> a storm system that's going to hit parts of the south and mid-atlantic today will quickly bring a nor'easter to our region. heavy rain, snow, much colder temperatures all expected. we're going to get to al's forecast coming up straight ahead. we're also following a story that might outrage a lot of people. a seattle doctor and his wife living in a $1.2 million lakefront home traveling the globe, but they have been accused of illegally collecting welfare for eight years. so we're going to get details now on how they allegedly did

that. and michael jackson spent his final days in a rented beverly hills mansion. now some items from that home are about to be auctioned off which might make some people uncomfortable. we'll take a look at what's being put on the blocks. but let us begin with that storm system that will impact millions of people from the south all the way up the east coast. al roker is upstairs tracking the storm. hi, al. >> not just a snowstorm but a rain storm as well. you can see parts of texas really getting slammed yesterday from amarillo to austin. we're talking snow causing problems, flipping over trucks, 18-wheelers, causing big, big traffic jams and lots of problems throughout parts of the southwest. that same system is making its way to the east and you can see right now we've got snow in memphis. they picked up 3 inches earlier this week and have more snow coming. this storm system will make its way up the coast and it's got heavy rain in front of it, snow behind it. look at this, we've got flood watches and flash flood watches from roanoke, virginia, all the

way to new jersey. a lot of heavy rain out of this system. so far la guardia has already broken a record today, 61.2 inches of rain, wettest year so far on record. you can see the heavy rain, 2 to 3 inches of rain from roanoke to boston. back behind that system we're talking snow. into the poconos, anywhere from 9 inches to a foot of snow. big changes temperaturewise. look at this morning's temperatures, low to mid-60s. cold front moves through. by tomorrow morning at this time temperatures anywhere from 20 to 30 degrees colder. so it will begin to feel a lot more like christmas. ann. >> all right, al, thank you so much. now to presidential politics. a new poll shows newt gingrich out in front in the gop race nationwide. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent, joins us now. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. well, today should have most of the republicans singing from the same song sheet. they'll be questioning president obama's relationship with israel at a republican jewish coalition

forum here in washington today. the newt front runner, newt gingrich, is finding himself coming under increasing attack. >> you are the worst possible questioner. >> reporter: new gingrich may be the new front runner but is walking a fine line criticizing mitt romney. trying to laugh off a question claiming he doesn't understand the economy. >> you can make an argument i helped romney get rich. i did the macroeconomic things necessary to make his career possible. >> reporter: he has commanding leads in iowa, south carolina and closed the gap with romney in new hampshire, also has opened up a large lead nationally. according to the inaugural gallup daily tracking poll released tuesday. gingrich is also the subject of the first major negative attack ad campaign in iowa, courtesy of ron paul. >> he's the essence of washington insiders. >> reporter: romney, now the chaser in this campaign, is attempting to frame his battle with gingrich as a question of leadership, saying he will come out on top compared to gingrich.

>> his role as a leader as the speaker of the house will be examined very carefully. people will measure our capacity to lead. i don't know what that is going to show with regards to him. i know what it will show with regards to me. >> a former gingrich aide takes the comparison one step further. >> newt never made the comparison from being an entrepreneur or revolutionary to being a manager. >> reporter: romney who picked up the endorsement of dan quayle tuesday is also ramping up his media appearances after criticism he's been avoiding reporters. >> any questions? >> reporter: he is holding more frequent press availabilities and has agreed to his first sunday show interview in over a year. but he will not join the december 27th debate moderated by donald trump, saying he politely declined trump's invitation by phone. >> we've already set our calendar in december and i communicated to mr. trump that that schedule is completed. >> reporter: in a statement, trump fired back a predictable response, complete with a dig at romney writing, it would seem

logical to me that if i was substantially behind in the polls, especially in iowa, south carolina and florida, i would be participating in the debate. but i can also understand why governor romney decided not to do it. meanwhile president obama traveled to kansas tuesday to preview his re-election argument. casting himself a nonrepublican as the protector of the middle class. using the phrase 20 times. >> we simply cannot return to this brand of you're on your own economics if we're serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. >> reporter: a former republican front runner in this case, texas governor rick perry, is doing an all-in strategy on tv. he just placed a million dollar ad buy and his super pac did the same. that may be all the money he's got left as he makes one final push in iowa. >> chuck todd this morning. chuck, thanks. robert gibbs served as president obama's first press secretary and now is working on the team that's trying to get the president re-elected. mr. gibbs, good morning. >> good morning, ann. how are you?

>> doing great. the first question is who does the obama campaign consider the more formidable, mitt romney or newt gingrich. >> i think both candidates from a national perspective have plusses and minuses. if you're mitt romney, your biggest negative obviously is you've been on both sides of virtually every issue in the public debate. newt gingrich just was mentioned in your story, really came of politics and prominence at a time in which our politics got much sharper in tone and partisan gridlock set in. i don't think voters will like, quite frankly, either one of them. >> a lot of people are listening to him right now, as you well know, and he's been criticizing the president on the economy, even last night calling the president the president of food stamps. the fact is, bob, that this past year more americans are asking for and applying for food stamps than ever before. why shouldn't americans hold president obama accountable? >> well, look, the president is

the president of the united states and he takes responsibility for getting us out of the economic mess that took us years to get into. i think the best way to give people a help up right now is to continue cutting the payroll tax that republicans don't want to do. at the end of the year 160 million families are going to find themselves with a tax bill that's $1,000 greater simply because quite frankly the republicans, newt gingrich and others, simply don't want to see the middle class get a tax cut. they're happy to have millionaires and billionaires continue to get big tax breaks, corporations to get tax breaks but quite frankly the question of our time is what are we going to do to help the middle class. >> on that question you mentioned the payroll tax. the truth is it's so basic and yet it still has not been passed. if the president cannot get something like pat roll tax passed, then how effective can he be in the future in trying to fix this economy, bob? >> look, ann, let's be clear. the american people are for it,

the president is for it, the president's party is for it. there's a group of people that stand in the way. and in our democracy, we call them republicans. that's what they're doing right now. quite frankly they just don't want to see the middle class get a tax cut. they're happy to protect the tax breaks for the wealthiest in our society. even if it means hurting our economy and not making sure that our middle class gets a help up. and i think that's very dangerous and it's going to hurt our economy even further unless republicans decide quite frankly it's time to start working with this president and getting something done that's positive for this country. >> as you know better than most, in 2008 the president campaigned on this idea of hope and change. a lot of people think that this election based on the attacks on his record already going on that he's going to have to go more negative. can you give us one example of what the president has done tha has inspired hope or created change in this country? >> ann, we'd have to -- you'd

have to give me about an hour to go through them all. this president has done great work. let's take the auto industry, for example. millions of people would be out of work if mitt romney had -- if we had done what mitt romney said, which is let detroit and michigan go bankrupt. there's thousands of examples of what this president has done to make this country a better place. this campaign, ann, will be about the future, it's not going to be about the past. it's going to be exactly what the president talked about yesterday in kansas. how do we get this middle class on much firmer ground, how do we make sure that our children have the same opportunities or greater opportunities than our parents and grandparents had. that's the defining issue of our time. i think this campaign will be a positive future oriented campaign about who best can get the american people and the middle class to a place of greater genuine security. >> you're asking the questions about how to fix things, but the point has been made that the president has so far not laid out what he wants to do in his

next term. what specifically does the president -- what is his agenda ahead, if he is re-elected? >> ann, i think people should go and listen to what the president talked about yesterday. we cannot continue in a country where we're seeing the haves' incomes increase greatly and the rest of us, the middle class, watching our incomes getting smaller and smaller even as people play by the rules and work harder. i think income and equality, hope and opportunity for the middle class, being able to get ahead, education and investment to make sure workforce the greatest in the world, i think that is the defining issue of this campaign and i think it will be the work of this government and this administration for years to come. >> to be continued. robert gibbs, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. let us get a check of the rest of the top stories. natalie remains on assignment. savannah guthrie is at the news desk. >> good morning. we begin with a new development in the illegal phone hacking

case against rupert murdoch's "news of the world" tabloid. a journalist from the now defunct paper has been arrested in london in connection with fresh allegations of phone hacking. the 41-year-old was jailed back in 2007 also on phone hacking charges. there's a new acting chief today at the federal aviation administration. deputy administrator michael huerta. this after the top official stepped down. randy babbitt resigned tuesday after being arrested over the weekend on drunk driving charges. local officials did not disclose the results of his blood alcohol test. new information about the u.s. drone that went down in iran over the weekend. the unmanned aircraft was on a cia mission and was part of a special fleet of stealth drones that have spied on iran for years from an afghanistan air base. iran claims it shot down that plane after it was found some 140 miles deep into that country's airspace. a sentence is expected this

morning for disgraced illinois governor rod blagojevich. the impeached governor is expected to address the judge today and ask for mercy. in a last-ditch effort to avoid a lengthy prison term. prosecutors will also give a final argument about why they think blagojevich deserves up to 20 years for his conviction on 18 counts of corruption, including an attempt to auction off president obama's old senate seat. now to wall street, cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange this morning. mary, i guess the question is what impact greece is having on the markets today. >> reporter: well, the news that greece's parliament approved an austerity budget aimed at dealing with the country's deficit is contributing to the cautious optimism among investors this morning ahead of a critical meeting of euro zone leaders. that two-day summit begins tomorrow, with french officials promising a powerful deal to help ease the region's debt crisis. meanwhile closer to home, "the new york times" is reporting j.c. penney is close to buying a stake in martha stewart's

company, a pact that will bring many martha stewart stores to the chain. finally, just how private are your facebook photos? it turns out even facebook founder mark zuckerberg isn't immune to security breaches. these are personal photos of the internet billionaire just hanging out with his girlfriend, hunting chicken, rolling around down with his dog and eating, eating, yes, and more eating. they were pulled from his page using a fairly simple trick. the problem has now been patched, but reportedly could have been used to hack into anyone's personal pictures. back in november facebook settled with the federal trade commission over its failure to protect privacy but luckily those photos are scandalous. >> if those were the first photos ever put out there of mark zuckerberg, he fared pretty well. >> yeah, but mark, an apron? really? >> he didn't want to mess up that t-shirt. >> yeah, we're really glad you told the story so now we can get

all of our scandalous photos off the website. mr. roker will have a busy 24 hours. >> yes, we are unfortunately, because we're talking about a lot of heavy rain up and down the eastern seaboard. you can see it there. literally we play follow the front. you can see it from the gulf coast all the way up into new england. out west we've got air stag nation alerts for the pacific northwest. sunshine through the southwest. >> good morning.the we have some batches of heavy rain. that will continue off and on through the day. the temperatures are going to drop. >> and that's your latest

weather. all right, al. thank you very much. 70 years ago today nearly 2400 americans died when japanese warplanes bombed pearl harbor. an attack that brought the u.s. into world war ii. and a dwindling number of survivors are now gathering at the site to remember those who lost their lives. nbc's george lewis is there. george, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. later today when about 3,000 people gather, including 125 pearl harbor survivors and their families, the bell behind me from the sunken battleship arizona will toll to remember the dead. almost half the americans killed at pearl harbor were aboard the arizona when it blew up. the survivors of the arizona, their ranks thinned by the passage of time. that day of infamy seared forever in their memories. the arizona blew up when it sustained a direct hit from an armor-piercing japanese bomb. 21 american ships were either

sunk or badly damaged. john anderson and his brother were serving aboard the arizona. his brother killed that day. others like don stratton were badly burned. >> it was just a terrible day. it just engulfed us up there in the flames. >> reporter: only seven arizona survivors were able to make it here for today's ceremony. for them, it's heart breaking remembering the shipmates who were lost here 70 years ago and in the years since. >> it's sad. you can't lose all those people and friendships and not let it bother you. >> reporter: the arizona national memorial marks the spot where the battleship went down, its sunken hull under water, many of those who died on board entombed here. vernon wilson survived the attack but died at age 91 in april of this year. today with his family in attendance he will rejoin his ship mates. his ashes interred be neat the

waters of the memorial. members of his family say being here is a deeply moving experience. >> these men did it all to help us learn to live and be safe and for their country and the people in this country and other countries. >> i can compare it to going to the world trade center memorial. this is of their generation compared to my generation. >> reporter: and now as these old warriors say good bbye to their brothers in arms and to one another, it will be up to future generations to keep the memories of pearl harbor alive. because so many of them are getting so old and so many members have died off, the pearl harbor survivors association will officially disband at the end of this year, so for those in attendance, this is an extremely sentimental journey. matt. >> and it's important to take the time to remember what happened that day. thank you very much. it is now 18 after the hour. once again here's ann. now to seattle where a

well-to-do couple is accused of filing false claims to collect more than $100,000 in welfare. mike taibbi is in seattle with details on this story. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this is one of these stories that makes your blood boil. with so many people struggling financially, it's about a couple with plenty of assets. world travelers with big bank accounts and a lakefront mansion who have allegedly collected well over six figures in welfare benefits over at least an eight-year period. nice house, all those custom windows looking out at a lovely lake washington south of seattle, a million dollar view. actually the house is now valued at about $1.2 million. the woman of the house has salted her several bank accounts with big recent deposits, from more than $31,000, two more than $5,000, one for nearly $11,000. the man of the house, a chiropractor, drives a blagck

jaguar. on his private dog, a sleek boat. nothing unusual says the next door neighbor. >> pretty typical according to the neighborhood. >> reporter: but over the past eight years, dr. david silverstein and his wife have collected tens of thousands in food stamps and disability payments and approximately 135,000 in housing subsidy benefits. now in a federal civil suit, the government wants it all back. kevin concannon administers the food stamp program. >> when we come across cases like this alleged case, we think, you know, bring on the heat here because these are serious violations. >> reporter: the alleged scam was relatively unsophisticated. when she applied for benefits, she claimed she lived alone with her two children with almost 2 assets. a few hundred bucks, a $2,000 car and listed her husband as her landlord to whom she needed

help paying rent. he reportedly listed his office address at his residence boasting on his website, on a personal note, i am happily married with two children. it was a government database cross-check that finally caught up with them. >> i think the public should be reassured that this is an absolute anomaly. this is a rarity in this regard. >> reporter: rare perhaps, but undetected for years, during which time they lived in the lakefront mansion and vacationed in paris, moscow, israel, turkey, mexico, while collecting thousands in your tax dollars month after month after month. no comment yet from either of the suspects. beyond a civil suit for restitution, they have not been charged criminally yet. a decision on criminal prosecution will be made sometime in the next few weeks. ann. >> mike taibbi this morning. mike, thanks. just ahead, alec baldwin boot fred a plane as it idled at a gate in los angeles, he says for playing a game on his ipad.

what another star who was also on that flight is saying about the incident. first, this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, "today" investigates one of the largest puppy sellers on the web. do you get what you're paying for? >> plus the dutchess of cambridge steps out and turns heads at a charity event. when doesn't she? coming up after your local news. you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

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>> good morning, everyone. the time is now 7:26. problems on the roadways, sarah with traffic pulse 11 is with us this morning. >> we have delays all around the area. let's get you up-to-date if you are headed out the door. we have an accident right near hammer shirer wrotroad. the way over to the hammer town expressway. the express, backed up to the

belt way from the no. if you are headed out on the west side. 12 miles per hour down toward edmonton. southbound 95, slow going. 295, backed up getting you down toward the capital beltway, with delays on westbound 32 from 175 to 295. we have a live view updating you with a camera on white marsh. approaching white marsh, down for the split, headed out this morning we will take a live view. not bad here, frankly. those delays continue down toward the west side. tell me? >> we have a solid area of rain -- tony? >> we have a solid area of rain that could be heavy. a flood watch is in effect today. right now, the temperatures are in the upper to because, low 60's, but it will be falling off

as you had for lunch time. going home from work, it could be in the 40's. maybe a couple of inches of rain before this evening. tonight, it will turn cold enough for snow. we could get a couple of inches of accumulation over night, clearing up quickly during the day. sunshine, colder, 40's through the weekend. if you are going to the ravens game this weekend, expect sunshine. sunshine.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 7th day of december, 2011. this is a live look at the conditions in our nation's capital, the early part of a powerful storm system that's now making its way up the east coast to the northeast and it's already drizzling here in new york city as well. and there is more severe weather on the way such a mild season so far. we'll have the latest on this from al in just a moment. inside studio 1a, i'm ann curry along with matt lauer staying warm inside. >> trying to. just ahead, thinking about buying your kids a puppy for the holidays? >> apparently where you shop could make all the difference. in fact it could be just as important as the dog you

actually pick. coming up "today" investigates one of the largest sellers of puppies online and you may not be pleased with what we found. meantime, how do you cope with a stressful day? you're not going to believe this, matt, but according to a new study, a growing number of women are turning now to prescription drugs. should popping a pill ever be as comfortable as taking a warm bath? of course not. we'll talk about this and perhaps try to explain this phenomenon. also an auction that could make some michael jackson fans a little uncomfortable. it's prompted some discussion here in the studio. items from the home where the singer spent his final days are going up for auction, including a mirror with a personal message the singer wrote to himself. we'll tell you more about that coming up in a little while. >> there were even some chairs in what was called the medicine room, you know, so it's kind of -- anyway, we'll get to that coming up. we want to begin this half hour with drama aboard an american airlines flight. actor alec baldwin says he was asked to leave the plane tuesday

night after a dispute with a flight attendant. we've got nbc's jeff rossen covering the details for us. >> good morning. in the beginning of the flight when the stewardess tells you to shut off all your devices, and of course you -- >> do it immediately. >> of course. we too. alec said he was playing on his ipad, i'm told it's very addictive and you play online. the flight attendant asked him to shut it off again and again and suddenly one of the funniest actors on tv was escorted right off the plane. >> so what happened? >> reporter: alec baldwin, arriving back in new york overnight, wearing sunglasses and not thrilled with the media crush there to greet him. on tv, he loves to fly. >> after all, isn't traveling hard enough? >> reporter: boy was it ever tuesday. >> what happened with the flight attendant and american airlines, man? just want to give your side of the story? >> reporter: baldwin says he got the boot after settling into his seat aboard american flight 4 at

l.a.x. headed to new york. the he had his ipad out playing words with friends. it's a lot like scrabble, you play against other people online. baldwin says the flight attendant demanded he shut off his ipad multiple times. he immediately took to twitter, alerting more than half a million followers flight attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends while we sat at the gate, not moving. #no wonder america air is bankrupt. witnesses say he slammed the bathroom door out of anger, though these people deny it. fellow passengers say the pilot came out and security kicked baldwin off the plane. >> we kept seeing him get up and everyone's head is popping up and celebrity spotting. then we realized it's actually a big thing going on. >> security came in and he just was like, yep, fair enough. it was like it was inevitable.

he went off. >> reporter: also sitting in first class, a man who knows a fight when he sees one, boxing champ oscar de la hoya who says he didn't see one. >> i didn't think there was no problem. alec baldwin was turning off his devices. he just got a little angry. that's about it. >> reporter: baldwin was rebooked on a later flight, but he took to twitter again, now on the 3:00 american flight. the flight attendants already look smarter. my words with friends user now is now #there is always united. citing privacy concerns, american airlines wouldn't comment to nbc news but did tweet back. mr. baldwin, we are looking into this. please direct message us contact information. the flight drama all ended okay. baldwin tweeted this picture from his new flight and the words let alec play speak for

themselves. this morning it appears the faa is not investigating this incident. baldwin's pr team is having some fun with it saying in a statement alec is so in love with words with friends that he would risk getting thrown off a flight to play. we're told the gaming company has already reached out to him for an endorsement deal. >> we've got to try this game, i've never even tried it. okay, jeff rossen, thank you. coming up now we want to go to al for a check of the weather. today's weather is brought to you by priority mail flat rate shipping only from the postal service, a simpler way to ship. we've got some nice friends here. got a birthday girl. what's your name? >> olivia. >> you are 10 today. where are you from? >> new jersey. >> double digits, very nice. congratulations, happy birthday. let's check that weather for you. we've got afternoon temperatures that are fairly mild along the eastern seaboard, but they are going to drop as that cold air you see over the plains with 20s makes its way toward the east. 40s in the pacific northwest

with air stagnation alerts, 60s in southern california. we're looking at a lot of rain in parts of the eastern hawaiian islands, heavy rain along the mid-atlantic coast and mountain snows interior sections of new york and new engl >> good morning. we will start out nice and mild but the temperatures will drop as we go through the day. >> and that's your latest weather. ann. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, one of the largest online sellers of puppies advertises healthy top breeds, but a new lawsuit alleges you may not be getting what you pay for. "today" investigates right after

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we're back at 7:39 this morning. on "today" investigates, online puppy sales, a new lawsuit claims one of the nation's top puppy companies on the web is actually deceiving customers, charging them thousands for what too often turn out to be sick dogs. lisa myers is here with details on this. good morning. >> good morning, matt. the company is called purebred breeders and that's exactly what its websites promise, healthy puppies from the country's top breeders. it all looks like a dog lover's dream, but our investigation found that the truth about some of these dogs has been more of a nightmare. her name is lola, a scrappy golden doodle puppy who at eight months old has already caused her family a lifetime of heart ache. what was supposed to be a fabulously happy event turned out to be a traumatic event.

>> absolutely. >> reporter: it all started online. new jersey mom jen papa, whose husband is a nbc commentator was looking for a golden doodle for her boys when she found this adorable ad for lola. the website, new jersey goldendoodle breeders looked local and promised happy, healthy puppies from award winning breeders. jen called right away. >> i'm told the dog is from a great breeder, they're very reputable, there's a lifetime guarantee and you're going to get a top-notch dog for the money. >> reporter: turns out the company behind the offer, purebred breeders operates nearly 800 websites, making it one of the largest puppy sellers on the web, advertising triple health check dogs at pedigree prices. >> how much did you pay for the dog? >> $2,000. >> and how much additionally have you end ed up spending on the dog? >> about $4,000 worth of vet bills. >> reporter: jen says instead of getting a healthy dog from a

local breeder, lola was flown in from a kennel in florida and arrived so sick, two vets labeled her unfit for purchase. what's more, she's no mini. just look at her size. >> i feel it was completely fraudulent. >> reporter: now the papas and ten other customers are suing purebred breeders and its owner, accusing them of unlawful and deceptive practices by selling sick puppies from substandard breeders to consumers nationwide. >> disgusting. >> reporter: plaintiff karen leeland paid nearly $1500 for this precious beagle, zoey. but she said she arrived anemic and weak and died days later in karen's arms. the company says leeland didn't follow their proper medical procedures, which she strongly denies. >> it breaks my heart. they're not taking into consideration how many people they're hurting. >> it's a fraud. >> reporter: humane society president wayne baselli says it

starts with how the company loser you in. google any breed of dog in any state. >> boxer, puppy, virginia. >> reporter: and chances are one of the first ads you'll get is from purebred breeders. >> it's a marketing deception. these folks in the company never even see the dogs. >> reporter: in fact we found purebred breeders aren't breeders at all but puppy brokers, selling dogs sight unseen from this unmarked call center in south florida. and this is where some of the dogs come from. when the humane society sent investigators to six company breeders, they found large-scale operations with dog after dog stacked in wire cages, often in dirty conditions. classic signs, they say, of puppy mills. >> it's horrible. >> reporter: now for the first time, company insiders and one of its breeders are speaking out exclusively to nbc news. >> did the company train you to

mislead customers? >> yes. >> reporter: this former sales agent who asked that we conceal her identity and voice said she was trained to fabricate heart-warming tales about where the puppies came from. >> home raised, family raised. we set up that breeders had children even if they didn't and the puppies were being socialized. >> reporter: what were you supposed to do if someone wanted to visit the puppies? >> we told them the puppies were very fragile, the breeders don't like people coming to their homes because it's not good for the puppies. >> reporter: she said she was fired for poor performance after protesting having to lie. still the company promotes a squeaky clean image, claiming all its breeders follow a meticulous code of ethics and are thoroughly researched. >> did anyone come visit your kennel? >> no. >> reporter: this breeder, who says she wants to help clean up the industry, says she has sold dozens of dogs through the company and no one ever researched her. >> did they ask you for any proof at all that you're a good breeder? >> they just asked me if i had a

website and to send them my website. >> and that's it? >> that's it. >> reporter: so how could the company be sure you weren't a puppy mill? >> they couldn't. there's no way they could. >> reporter: as for those triple health checks, she said the company only requires her dogs to see a vet yuns. >> i do know some people who have had problems with their puppies. >> reporter: the company has told other breeders to go ahead and send sick puppies? >> yes. >> reporter: last year purebred breeders reportedly earned $20 million. the ceo lives in this sprawling compound in florida, complete with a guest house, tennis courts, riding trails and a nine-car garage. we wanted to speak with purebred breeders so we came here, to the company's unmarked headquarters in south florida. after multiple requests, company officials agreed to go on camera, but then at the last minute pulled out. they say because of the pending lawsuit. in a statement to nbc news, the company told us it has a comprehensive breeder screening

process. the vast majority are responsible, and 90% have seven or fewer puppies. those exposed by the humane society were terminated and it's doing a full review of all its breeders. the company also says it scores high in surveys, has an excellent reputation and thousands of happy customers. it says a few unhappy customers do not paint a proper picture of a business. as for these dogs, it says vets found no health issues before they were shipped. ultimately these families got refunds for their dogs through their credit card companies. purebred breeders says the papas also were fully reimbursed for their vet bill, which they dispute. they wonder how many more families will pay thousands for sick dogs before something is done. >> i want this company to be held accountable for what they're doing. i think they should be shut down. >> experts say before buying any dog, you should check out where it comes from. go visit the breeder yourself. and if the breeder doesn't want

you to come, that's a huge red flag. go find yourself another puppy. >> where do you get more information about this if you're thinking of buying a puppy? where can consumers go? >> go to the websites of either the better business bureau or the humane society. both have excellent information on where to find a good breeder. >> lisa myers, thank you. appreciate it very much. it's 7:47. up next, the dutchess of cambridge steps out with her in-laws right after this. ♪ have a better day [ male announcer ] only subway has a deal this flat-out delicious -- the $3 flatbread breakfast combo. a toasty flatbread breakfast sandwich and a 16-ounce cup of seattle's best coffee or 21-ounce fountain drink. all for only $3.

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jcpenney. [ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters. back now at 7:50. with a benefit concert attended last night by the duke and dutchess of cambridge and, boy, did katherine turn some heads. city >> reporter: yeah, the dutchess really turned some heads last night. she hasn't chosen any charities herself. she supports her husband, but as

she showed us last night, she's bringing those organizations lots of new attention. the season for giving has begun. at london's royal albert hall, members of the royal family were dressed up and ready to do their part. once again, princess kate turned heads, this time in a lace dress from zara. the charity concert was held for young victims of the london riots. british pop star gary barlow performed. >> not too loud. >> the louder the better, guys. the louder the better. >> reporter: in the concert hall they were greeted with cheers. some say the royal family is more popular now than it has been in a generation, due in no small part to the family's latest addition. since the wedding, the palace has been easing kate into her new public role. what's becoming increasingly clear is that she is getting very good at it. the next challenge for her in a year that has brought many will

be christmas with the queen, kate's first. there is a formal and rigid schedule for the holiday. >> the whole day is ruled by a gong. they will bang a gong when it's time for them to get up in the morning, they bang another gong when it's time to come down for breakfast, they bang another gong when it's time to have your morning coffee. >> reporter: kate will need multiple changes of clothes for church, christmas lunch, even cocktails, pheasant hunting. but there is one relief. the pressure is off when it comes to gifts. >> i get so many presents throughout the course of the year that actually when it comes to christmas, they just want to exchange something small, something very, very silly. >> reporter: kate may also get some help from her family. the british press reports her younger sister, pippa, has invited for pheasant hunting the day after christmas, perhaps making kate's first christmas away from home a little bit easier. i had a rare chance to meet kate actually at a reception at

buckingham palace last week. what struck me is she is confident and comfortable in her new role. >> very cool, stephanie gosk. lucky you. we're back after your local news. dessert. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] why skip breakfast when you can start your morning with special k multigrain oats and honey, a wholesome blend of rolled oats and honey kissed multigrain flakes. it's a delicious way to get your whole grains and make your breakfast beautiful. ♪

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>> good morning. it is 7:56. >> there is a lot going on out there. the weather is impacting your commute. an incoming accident on 50, right at bayview dry. there is a crash northbound on 97, approaching train highway. the delays stretch back to highway 50. in the meantime, westbound 100, a slow ride toward 97. also experiencing a slow ride from 295 to 195, southbound toward the capital beltway. the same goes for 95.

congested as well. a crash off to the side, adding to the delays, average speed is 12 miles per hour on the west side. traffic, looking at a slow ride on the inner loop on the jfx, moving south toward 28. southbound harrisburg expressway, beginning with delays at 7 miles per hour on the northeast side. southbound 95, coming out of the northeast, the blaze there. -- delays are there. the weather is adding to the delays on the west side. we will switch over to a live view of the traffic on 97. here is a look at the accident on white crime highway. a slow ride from 50 all of the way up. tony has a check on your forecast. >> obviously, we have some rain to contend with this morning. some of it could be heavy. we have a flood watch in effect. that will be with us, often and

on, through the afternoon. temperatures will be falling by the time the to drive home from work. it might be in the

we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's the 7th day of december, 2011. it is not a nice day here in new york city, been raining for about the past, i don't know, 24 hours. it's going to rain some more and then turn to snow north and west of us here. it is a potpourri of weather for mr. roker to be talking b i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and mr. roker. coming up we'll talk about women and stress. >> that's right. it's a sobering topic because get this, more than a quarter of adult women are now taking prescription drugs, and often to deal with anxiety, depression,

the daily stresses of work and family life. there was a great stigma using pills but is that stigma diminishing and is that hazardous for women. also ahead take a look at our studio. these are some of the items that were in the room and the home where michael jackson passed away. now, this is an auction coming up. to be perfectly honest, i think some people might be a little uneasy about this, but we're going to be showing you some of those items and talking to the people responsible for selling them in just a little while. then on a different note, it's a big cast, rom com called "new year's eve" and two of the key players, michelle pfeiffer and zac efron will be here in our studio to talk about the movie. there they are. >> by the way, you've got a little something on your cheek there, matt. >> lipstick? oh, that might be from michelle

pfeiffer actually. >> or zac efron. >> actually that's zac, i'm sorry. >> i got a thrill seeing them in the studio. >> let us go inside. savannah guthrie is standing by at the news desk while natalie continues on assignment. most of the republican presidential hopefuls are in washington today to address the republican jewish coalition as a new gallup tracking poll shows newt gingrich opening a double-digit lead over his fellow republicans. mitt romney is still ahead of gingrich in new hampshire and picked up the endorsement of dan quayle on tuesday. citigroup said it is eliminating 4500 jobs in a cost-cutting move. that's more than 1.5% of its global workforce. citigroup blames slumping revenues and unprecedented market conditions. financial conditions worldwide have shed more than 200,000 jobs this year. in florida police searching for missing mother michelle parker appear to be zeroing in

on the man they call their only suspect, her former fiance. lilia luciano has the story. >> reporter: it's been nearly three weeks since michelle parker went missing and police have said their only suspect is dale smith and now they have questioned smith's mother. >> mrs. smith, are you cooperating with the investigation? >> reporter: silently staring straight ahead, dale smith's mother, tamra, walked into the state attorney's office subpoenaed to answer questions about missing mom, michelle parker. smith's son, dale, is the man police say is the primary suspect in the disappearance. dale has denied all wrongdoing but legal experts believe his family members may hold critical information. >> there's a lot of relevant information that members of the family can offer, especially when they're all living together. >> reporter: 33-year-old michelle went missing, just hours after she appeared on national tv with her ex-fiance on a taped episode of "the people's court" arguing over a lost engagement ring. >> i felt somebody grab me and

yank me around. >> reporter: michelle's abandoned hummer was found the following day but extensive searches in the air, on ground and underwater have yet to find any trace of the young mother. meanwhile michelle's family also met with detectives, as they try to keep their hopes and michelle's memory alive. police say smith's mother is not the only person called in for questioning, but there's no word yet on who will be next. savannah. >> all right, lilia luciano, thank you. now here's brian williams with what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." >> good morning, thanks. coming up tonight on "nightly news" can where you live and where you work increase or decrease your chance of breast cancer? it's called environmental factors, and we'll deal with that tonight when we see you for "nightly news." savannah, back to you. >> thank you. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. a story we brought you earlier this morning is a top search on google. alec baldwin was escorted off an american airlines flight in los angeles tuesday for refusing to

turn off his ipad before departure. he was playing a popular scrabble game. baldwin later tweeted flight attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends while we sat at the gate not moving. no wonder american air is bankrupt. alec summed up his argument by tweeting this visual statement saying let alec play. twitter has released the top three hash tags of the year, the phrase three words to live by was third, charlie sheen's tiger guilty blood was runner up and in first place egypt. on facebook, casey anthony was the third most popular global topic behind the packers winning the super bowl and at number one, the death of osama bin laden. and it takes a big man to be this humble. bradley cooper dubbed "people" magazine's sexiest man alive told a british talk show the honor should have gone to ryan goss ling whose snubbing triggered an international backlash. back to al for a check of the

weather. today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> and the rain holding off just for now, not too bad. as we commemorate, it is pearl harbor day, 70 years ago the bombing of pearl harbor, but a pearl harbor baby back here. what's your name? >> joanne dirkin. >> and you were born 70 years ago. >> yes, in freeport, new york. >> let's check it out and show you fargo. you betcha, yeah, channel nbc 11, sunny, breezy, cold. 30 degrees. as you look on the satellite, a lot of rain making its way up from the south along into the mid-atlantic states. behind it colder air will be bringing snow. temperatures will be dropping 20 to 30 degrees from where they are today to tomorrow. we've got air stagnation alerts in the pacific northwest. sunny but cool from texas into the southwest. >> good morning.

we have some batches of heavy rain. that will continue off and on through the day. the temperatures are going to drop. >> and we've got a real cute -- oh, she's not too happy. >> this is clara. >> all right, clara. very nice. back to matt. >> mr. roker, thank you. when we come back the growing number of women who are using prescription drugs to deal with their stressful lives. we'll talk about that right after these messages. en forever. kay jewelers presents the ring that lives up to the moment. neil lane bridal, from hollywood's premiere jewelry designer. - the setting has to be perfect. it's where the diamond lives.

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we're back now at 8:11. many of us use a warm bubble bath or perhaps a glass of wine to relax from a stressful day of parenting, but increasingly more and more women are turning to pills. savannah has details. >> a new study shows women are turning to the med sip cabinet for membershhelp more than ever.

now they are becoming mother's little helpers. at the crack of dawn carrie has to get her two young daughters, husband and dog up and out the door before starting her job as a midlevel manager in the mortgage industry. >> my life became a lot more stressful after my second child was boerrn. i thought i could return back working full time, manage two kids, the family life and professional life not a problem and it turned out not to be as easy as it was the first time around. >> reporter: she slept only two to three hours a night and the pressures of being a working mom took a toll. >> she was sad. she didn't really see a smile on her face. >> i felt like i wasn't able to effectively handle all that was being asked of me. >> reporter: her doctor prescribed ten milligrams of lexipro a day as well as ativan. she also adds a tylenol pm a few

nights a week to help herself sleep. >> i would say probably within three weeks i noticed a huge difference. everything just seemed to be put into perspective. it really helped me address the same challenges and the same issues that i had been presented with before i went on the medicine, but i was able to see it and compartmentalize it. >> reporter: carrie is not alone, according to a recently released analysis of prescription drug plans. medco, a health care company that manages 65 million health insurance plans found more than a quarter of adult women take prescription drugs for anxiety and depression. women 45 and older were the highest percentage of all users. >> in that age group when we're talking about 40s and 50s, there's a lot of change in life going on, a lot of hormonal changes for women, and there's an overlap between the hormonal

changes, things like depression, anxiety and other symptom that say cause them distress. >> reporter: the number of women seeking medicine for sleep is also increasing. "the new york times" found an increasing number of mothers are turning to prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids. >> mother's little helper of the new millennium is anything from ambien or low dose antidepressants or antipsychotics. it might be melatonin, tylenol pm. people call it mom's secret weapon. >> reporter: after surviving the day, carrie was back at the house with her family, focusing on the things that matter. >> i don't have any short-term plans to go off the medicine at this point. i don't want to be dependent on medicine for the rest of my life, but at the same time if it's something that helps me, gives me a better quality of life and the side effects are minimal, then it is something that i will continue to consider. >> and some experts attribute the increase in use of

antidepressants and antianxiety medications to a decrease in the social stigma associated with using those drugs. ann, back to you. >> dr. julie holland is a psychiatrist and also the author of "weekends at bellevue." dr. holland, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's review the numbers. one in four women are now taking a mental health drug and also women are being prescribed these medications at a higher rate than men now. why the increase? >> well, a couple of things have happened. in the mid-'90s the pharmaceutical industry was allowed to start advertising on television and magazines and a lot of ads do target women. the other thing that happened was 9/11 happened. everyone was very anxious and fearful, couldn't sort of turn off the alarms. people started giving themselves permission to take anti-anxiety medicines and sleeping pills and that sort of got the ball rolling. >> we just heard savannah talk about the stigma. the stigma did decrease, do you agree with that? >> at least in new york city it feels like the stigma is very much gone. when i started my practice

people came to me and were anxious and depressed and they didn't know why. i had to explain medicine, it was okay to take it. now they come and say which medicine should they take. they talked to their friends, they have seen the ads, things have changed. >> you actually think that the numbers are higher than one in four in cities than less urban areas? >> yeah, i think in the cities there's more noise, more stress, people are working longer hours, they're eating later, there's less time for sleep, less physical activity and it's really taking its toll. >> one woman talked about side effects being minimal. every drug has a side effect? >> every drug has a side effect. >> sara from washington writes as a single mother doing everything on my own, it gets very stressful. sometimes the stress is so overwhelming is overflows to my children. taking a xanax during those hard times really helps me cope. what are the other solutions if you are so stressful, and we've all been there as parents? >> the biggest thing you can do immediately to help you when you're stressed out is to get in

touch with your body and your breathing and really focus on your breathing and take slow, deep breaths. as soon as you get tensed up, your breath becomes more shallow and as soon as your brain census there's less oxygen in your blood, it goes into panic mode. so the first thing to do is really breathe and slow everything down. >> deep breaths as in let your stomach -- let your stomach go in and out really deeply. julie from new york wrote ever since i had my babies, i do not sleep. i often use tylenol pm but have also used ativan to relax myself to help get to sleep. i feel like i have 2,000 things running in my mind. what else can women do to promote sleep that doesn't hurt them? >> it's really important to clear the decks. one thing to do is make a list and teach yourself to meditate. teach yourself to sit calmly and do nothing and clear your mind. in terms of inducing sleep, very important not to have caffeine later in the day. a morning cup of coffee okay, afternoon not okay.

>> are there other things you can take? >> there are herbs that you can take and there's a proprietary blend i like to recommend called deep sleep. cam meal can be helpful. the other thing is screens. turn off the television, close your laptop, no screens. no glowing screens. >> even when you're asleep if they're by your head. >> tv in the bedroom a bad idea. turn off the tv, turn off the computers, put on some music, read a book, read a magazine, unplug. the best thing you can do before bed. >> dr. julie holland, thank you for coming in. really appreciate it. still ahead, michelle pfeiffer and zac efron live in our studio. look at them. don't you just love them? i do. anyway coming up after these messages. with special savings. nd once a year offer tm today, it's a phenomenon. toyotathon is back. see the reinvented camry, named a 2012 "best resale value" by kelley blue book's kbb.com. and with amazing deals,

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we're back now at 8:22. if you think minding your manners is becoming more complicated, you're not alone. technology and social media are raising new questions about polite behavior. philip galanis tackles the issues in his weekly column in "the new york times." also the author of social qs. philip, good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> questions you receive on a daily basis and questions i hear on a daily basis are any

indication, people are confused by these things. >> absolutely. what makes this book to me so useful and fun is that it is based on tens of thousands of questions that have come into my column, so i know what people like and what drives them crazy. >> let's give an example of some of the questions you hear all the time. how about this one, perfect for the time. i like to send my holiday cards via e-mail with a picture of my kids and a generic happy holidays message. i could say i prefer them for environmental reasons but the truth is, it's just simpler for me. is it tacky? >> i'll give her points for honesty on the eco thing. but a picture of your family in a holiday sweater with a generic seasons greeting that you send with a click of your computer to a thousand of your friends, that goes in the "drives people crazy" pile because it feels like junk mail or spam. if you're going to use one of these e-card companies and they're terrific, compensate by typing a personal message. >> to make people think you've made an effort to talk to them

directly. >> have a great time skiing. >> i walk everywhere and am moving and shifting to avoid bumping into people who are looking at their phones instead of where they're going. i want to yell at these people "pay attention." can i politely tell them to get out of my way? >> you can try. but let me tell you, strangers on the street are strangers. and based on the letters i get, it doesn't matter how sweet you are, people will either roll their eyes or flip you the bird. >> flip you the facebook. >> exactly and the problem is looking at our phones on the street has become like a basic human right. >> it's dangerous, people walk out into intersections looking at their phone. this next one is an interesting question. i've recently received a few facebook friend requests from people i work with. they're perfectly nice but they're not my friend friends, they're just work friends. i'd like to reserve facebook for people i really care about. how should i handle this? good luck. >> good luck, exactly.

when i send you a facebook request, matt, it is like going like this. hi. >> if i don't reach you. >> do you want to be the guy that says, yeah, mary, i like you but not that much. >> i sympathize with her. she wants this to be a special place to connect with real friends, she doesn't want it polluted by people who are just acquaintances. >> i totally sympathize with her, but listen, in the real world, is it more important to have your little facebook page or not to hurt somebody's feelings? >> and there's another one in here that we don't have time for about dating and date sites and pictures that go up that aren't current so people deceive other people. it's a great idea for a book. the column is always great as well. great to have you here. the book is called "social qs." just ahead, items from michael jackson's final home hitting the auction block. how do you feel about that? after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. it is time for a final check on the morning commute. sarah caldwell. >> it has not exactly been a nice ride out there, dealing with weather-related delays and accidents. northbound 97 is probably the biggest delay, from 50, through the accident scene. watch for those delays. on the interloop approaching green spring, a jam, ride, beginning past liberty. it is off to the side, but

creating a backup. once you get to the jfx, you are dealing with delays. watch for an accident. if you head out on the north side, 6 miles per hour on bel air road to the harrisburg expressway. southbound 95 from mountain road to the 895 split -- jam conditions. here is what it looks like ed green spring. if you are going to head out, we will show you what 97 looks like. the accident is off to the side, northbound 97, at crain highway, and it extends to 50 with the backup. >> it will be a changeable weather day. if we start with mild temperatures, upper 50's, slow- 60's, and it will fall into the

upper-40's later today. the rain will change into snow tonight. most of you will sleep through that. when you wake up, the sunshine should be altered >> thanke

8:30 now on this wednesday morning. it's the 7th day of december, 2011. check this out, we've got two of hollywood's biggest stars on our plaza. that's right, that's michelle pfeiffer and zac efron meeting fans and gathering donations for our holiday toy drive. very excited to have them out on our plaza. we'll pry them away in just a little bit because they're in a new movie called "new year's

eve" that has a lot of stars, matt, and we'll interview them coming up. >> directed by derrick marshall, one of the kings of comedy. also ahead, we'll take you inside the rented home of michael jackson, where he spent his final days, and actually see some of the items that he surrounded himself with, some of which are now actually going on the auction block. we'll talk more about that. also ahead, martha stewart is going to be here. she's got four great recipes for christmas cookies and she is going to teach us how to make them. >> she makes the best cookies. i love this segment every year. >> you might avoid the five things couples fight about at the holidays. we'll tell you what those five things are and how to avoid them. mr. roker, how about a check of the weather. >> it's raining here and that rain up and down the eastern seaboard is going to be heavy at times. snow from sections of new york on into new england. plenty of sunshine along the gulf into the mid-atlantic states. tomorrow it will be windy, but

also chillier as well with some snow left over in northern new england. that air stagnation continues in the pacific northwest. frigid conditions fall into the >> good morning. we will start out nice and mild but the temperatures will drop as we go through the day. got some wild weather coming? check the weather channel on cable or weather.com. >> always good advice. thanks very much. when we come back, michelle pfeiffer and zac efron talk about their new movie called "new year's eve." then we'll take you inside the rented home of michael

jackson where he spent his final days and take a look at some of the things that are now on the auction block. first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:35. it's been two and a half years since the death of michael jackson and now all of the items in the home where jackson spent his final days are hitting the auction block. we'll have a preview in just a moment. first a short tour of the multimillion dollar mansion. it's a mansion fit for a king, and the king of pop hand picked the six-bedroom estate in the heart of los angeles using its sitting rooms and fully functional movie theater at his personal sanctuary while he rehearsed for his comeback "this is it" tour. but it's the furnishings that michael jackson used, some personalized by the singer, that will get the most attention at the auction, including an

antique armoire where he wrote a motivating message to himself. train perfection march, april, full out may. hundreds more items are about to hit the auction block and darren and julian are from the auction house. good morning. you have experience auctioning off michael jackson's things before but this one seems to be a little different. he didn't actually own any of these things, they're from the house where he spent his final days. do you expect that viewers will have as much interest in items that he never actually owned himself? >> very much so. it's very much like when we sold the house -- the contents of brentwood where marilyn monroe passed away. those were owned by the lady that bought the house afterward and we sold them for record prices. these surrounded michael and his family the last year of their life together. >> this is a kind of morbid nature to this. we just heard about the end of the trial not so long ago. these are actually things that really were connected to him as

he was struggling, according to everything we've learned. >> very much. but there's still a demand for his items. there's a love affair with michael jackson all over the world, from china, japan, everywhere in the world people definitely want something. they're very nostalgic and they want a memory. michael is gone and they want to cling to something tangible. >> now the owners of the home where he rented are selling this, putting them on auction and they would benefit from this auction of the one of the things comes from this armoire that we heard about. you couldn't bring it all but you brought the door, the mirror where he wrote these words. train, perfection, march, april full out. m -- no, that says may and there's a little drawing. >> mirrors, typically when we sell a celebrity mirror they do very well. michael stood in front of this mirror, wrote that. we state six to $8,000 but we anticipate it will sell for more. >> and this bench was owned by the owner of the house but

michael jackson wrote on it? >> that's right. michael hired us in 2008 to clear out neverland and we noticed that he wrote on a lot of furniture. he would also do this in a hotel room. write on the mirrors, write on the furniture. stick figures. yes, it looks like somebody is dancing but this was in the shower. >> this other item, this seems like something you wish that the children would keep because according to what we understand, one of the children wrote on this a message to her or his father. >> because it was a home, he was a daddy, they were children. they were living among beautiful items. they're all just very nostalgic note. it's a really amazing piece, very sought after and the kids have all the memories and probably other numerous items they have wrote to daddy. >> it says love daddy, i heart daddy, smile, it's for free. >> it's a wonderful message. >> this candle, you know, you look at it and it doesn't look like it would be worth, the candle itself.

but prince wrote something on it. >> typical child growing up in a house. >> how much did that increase the value? >> significantly. we'll know at the auction on december 17th. something it's typically found in a family home. michael lived in a beautiful home with his children, normal kids growing up and this is a part of the memory of that. >> you know, i think one of the most sobering sort of things that you have here are some of the chairs that were in what was called the medication room. i'm wondering who -- some of these apparently still have a little of the makeup on it on the chairs that michael wore? >> there were over 600 items in the sale and we're doing an amazing exhibition. we're going to recreate the home in our gallery starting on december 12th so people that didn't get a chance to see the home would come to our exhibition and walk through the rooms like if it was the home. >> do you expect any bidders who might be a part of a museum or historical kind of site?

because that would seem to be something where this should go. >> absolutely. but again, it's beautiful furniture, intrinsic value by themselves, probably 350 to 550 for the five chairs. this also comes with a couch so 1500 to 1800 is the value. not highly priced but the michael jackson factor is unknown. >> okay, thank you so much. i want to mention the auction takes place in beverly hills on december 17th. coming up next, we've got michelle pfeiffer and zac efron live in our studio. we love them. first these messages.

we are back now at 8:42. two of the stars of the new movie "new year's eve" are with us, michelle pfeiffer and zac efron. this movie follows the lives of several couples and singles on the most dazzling night of the year and some of them have a few things on their resolutions list from last year that they need to finish. take a look.

>> i'm your next job. i bought you for the day. >> bought me for the day, huh? miss withers, i think i should be offended but i'm too intrigued. >> my new year's resolution. i just took care of the first one. >> you quit your job? all right. >> if you could make the rest of these come true by midnight, you get these. >> michelle and zac, good morning, nice to see you. you had worked together before, right? this is not your first rodeo. it was "hairspray," right? did you two become friends during that or more ships that passed in the night? >> well, a little of both. i don't think socially, but we -- i really -- we really loved working together but didn't have any real scene scenes together. it was sort of like snarling and like little semi flirtation moments.

>> that's why i was so excited to come back and do this movie with her because it was more of a chance for us to connect and have some good scenes. >> zac, you're very honest about your feelings about being around icons and you said on that first movie in "hairspray" whenever you two did see each other on set, you tended to say the wrong things or were nervous around her. >> i was. i didn't know what to say around michelle. >> you see what you do to people? >> he really covered it, if that was going on. he was very cool. >> what's interesting is when you signed on to this project, and i'll talk more about the kind of movie it is in a second because it's a lot of stories, not just your story. you called and left a message on his voice mail saying you should do this. >> well, actually i called just to make sure that they weren't lying to me, that he actually was doing it because i was -- you know, it was -- i was so excited. >> that was a killer voice mail to get. >> how many of your friends did you play that for? >> i probably still have it on my phone.

i just remember i was working and i didn't check my voice mail. so three days after she left it, i heard it, and i freaked out. i started jumping up and down in my trailer, immediately called her back. >> it was more like three weeks. >> you wanted to be cool. you don't jump right on that. >> yeah, try and be cool. and immediately i said if you do it, i'm in 100%. >> without getting too much into the relationship between the two of you in the movie, between ingrid and paul, i think people would be interested to know that there is a scene in this movie where you two ss. now, first of all, there is an age difference here. does -- don't look at me that way. does it work in the movie? it's not going to make people uneasy, it's kind of fun and romantic and nice? >> are you kidding? it's the best part of the movie. >> well, it was kind of surprising. but i actually -- i don't know, i don't think -- i think we started out thinking it was going to be a little more of a

shock than it ends up being, i think. >> it turns out to be really fun. actually we told gary -- can i tell him? >> yeah, sure. >> it was kind of our idea. we really wanted to spice up the movie. >> so there was no planned kiss in the original scene? >> in the original script, it was a little softer. >> in the original script, our characters actually didn't end up together at the end of the movie. >> yeah. >> we sort of went our separate ways. and that didn't feel right. >> that didn't feel right. new year's eve magic, it's about love. >> it's prom night almost. everybody gets together on prom night. were you nervous for the kiss? were you? >> a little. it's always a little bit nerve racking, those kinds of scenes, and it was also in the middle of the night. it was one of the coldest nights, i think, in the history of new york city. >> it was. it was very cold. >> gary marshall is known for comedy. he's done some amazing comedies.

i like what you said about him making you comfortable on set where he came to you and said if you ever need to talk privately with me, you'll have a code word. >> yeah. >> where you can say it and we'll go somewhere and talk. >> yeah. >> had anyone ever done that with you before? >> no, that was really -- it was magical. gary just goes the extra mile to make you feel very, very comfortable on set. i remember on the first day i felt like one of his kids. he brings you in. he was so warm and so loving. so he said rather than give notes out in front of everybody, if you want to come talk to me in private, let's have a code word. >> i never had a code word. i didn't get a code word. >> you have a beef. you can go to gary with a beef. michelle and zac, thank you very much. the movie opens in theaters this coming friday and it's called "new year's eve." by the way, gary marshall will be visiting with kathie lee and hoda a little later this morning. up next, martha stewart is in the house. we're going to make some holiday cookies. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

martha on "today" is brought to you by macy's. the martha stewart collection is now available only at macy's and on macys.com. this morning on "martha on today" christmas cookies for all to enjoy. if you need a present to please, why not give a homemade treat.

martha stewart is here. martha, you have no idea, good morning, this is one of my most favorite martha stewart segments all year because your cookies are always so delicious. is there a secret? >> well, no, just a good recipe and nice decorating techniques. >> all right. we're going to start with my father's favorite and i think matt's favorite too, gingerbread. you're making bells for us. >> we are. once you make the bells, and this is a good recipe because it bakes nice and flat. if you get bubbles in them and ripples, it's not a pretty cookie. what you want is the final cookie to look like this. >> that's phenomenal. but painting the color on top of it is one thing, but to get that little squiggle -- >> well, we've already outsigned the cookies. once you do the outline, that's called the dam. then you fill the dam with the flood. that's not a good flood.

>> that was an initial -- >> so you get it all filled in like this. and once it's nice and filled in, if the frosting is the right consistency, you just smooth it out like that. >> look at that, shaking the cookie, who knew. >> then you put a line across like this. >> okay. >> every half inch or so, right in the wet frosting. you'll practice and get it better. >> okay. thank you for your vote of confidence. there we go, like that. >> then take a toothpick -- you're putting it on a little heavy. >> that's how i do my mascara, a little heavy. >> then you just draw lightly through the surface and see what it does? you're making it perfectly. >> oh, how nice. here we go. >> it's that lovely top that gives that pretty, very professional look. >> you know what, i've got to

tell you yours looks obviously much better than mine, but what a great little trick. >> so those are gingerbread bells and the recipe is really good and really simple. >> chocolate peppermint thumb prints. simple batter, right? >> simple batter. just flour, cocoa powder makes the chocolate, you press with your thumb or your forefinger or you can use the back of a melon baller if you have it. >> you've gotten some sugar in there? >> it's all rolled in sugar before you bake. then once they're baked like this, then you fill. and you can do all the filling. >> but you've done a half baking. so you bake them partially at first, then you get the little bump or the indentation and then you fill them. i read the note, are you kidding? >> so put that in. okay. >> just like that? >> yeah. bake for five minutes and then bake another five minutes. >> and when they come out, they

look just like that. >> i love cinnamon. >> this is store bought puff pastry and you like cinnamon. >> yes. >> and you make these beautiful -- they're sort of like little clefs for music. now you roll it in cinnamon on one side. the more you put, you know, you just spread it around. you spread that side, i'll spread this side. this is the fun part. i love puffed pastry. i love everything that you make with pastry. >> it's easy because you get it from the store. >> so you roll it up one way, halfway tightly. and then you turn it over and roll it the other way. keep rolling until halfway. >> and then you bring it up. >> and then turn this over and roll the other side. it takes a little finessing. roll it the opposite way. >> and you've got it like that.

>> yes. then you cut and chill it. chilling puffed pastry is very important. cut off the end that's not so pretty. then cut this into pieces like this and you'll see that's your little cookie. baked, they come out like this. squiggle chocolate over the top. >> yum. >> and the recipes are straightforward. these are like torts. >> hazelnut sandwich cookies. >> there's two cookies. the bottom and the top is cut out with a cookie kurt. so you can make one cookie there. >> is there a special technique other than cleanly press? >> push down and squiggle a little. >> see, that always happens. >> that's good, you want it to. if it doesn't lift up, you're in trouble. cut exactly next to it so you don't waste your dough. >> the closer the better. the closer to the edge too, really close.

then you don't waste so much dough. >> it looks easy but it's difficult. >> that's the top cookie, that would be cookie. always use offset spatulas. they bend so you can lift them easier. this cookie, you cut it perfectly. using these sil pads, silicon baking, you don't have to grease and butter the pan. >> we bake them and then we add this jam? >> and then once it's baked, then you put either nutella, using your offset, or jam. >> just drop it right in there? >> no. >> oh, spread it. >> you've gotten almost everything wrong today, savannah. >> we'll be right back, everybody. >> merry christmas and happy cookie making.

>> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. in the face of more budget cuts, fire union leaders are urging city officials to stop rotating fire house closures. it currently affects three houses a day and it makes it

difficult to ensure public safety.

>> good morning, everyone. we will start out with mild temperatures this morning. it will cool off into the afternoon, dropping into the upper 40's and low-50's. upper 40's and low-50's.