good morning. coward. jerry sandusky blasted by an attorney for one of his accusers for backing out of a hearing tied to his child sex abuse case. was it a sign he's hoping for a plea deal? this morning, jerry sandusky's attorney speaks out in a live interview. total ban. a total federal agency push to goan all personal electronic devices behind the wheel nationwide. even hands-free phone calls would be off limits. will it make the road safer, or is the government going too far? and who will it be? a lot of people have made their mark on the world in 2011. but only one can be named "time" magazine's person of the year. we'll reveal the answer, live today, wednesday, december 14th, we'll reveal the answer, live today, wednesday, december 14th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is

"today," with matt lauer and ann curry. live, from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning, welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. is jerry sandusky's attorney is calling his decision to waive this right to a preliminary hearing a tactical one. >> well, it comes with a lot of other comments. it came as a shock to a lot of people, especially many of sandusky's tuesdayers prepared to share their stories in open court for the very first time. and after the brief court appearance, the former penn state assistant coach's attorney fond the flames even more when he suggested some of the accusers were only out to profit from this case. we'll talk about that with sandusky's attorney, joseph amendola, straight ahead. >> and new developments in this case that we have been following for weeks now in the search for a missing florida mom named michelle parker. police now say they have found

valuable information on her recovered cell phone. we'll get the details in a live report. also haahead, in this difficult economy, some people are struggling to make ends meet. we'll meet a couple who have a home filled with art and beautiful surroundings and they did this with just $20,000 a year. coming up, what you can learn from them on finding happiness with much less. we begin with jerry sandusky's child abuse case, and nbc's michael isikoff is live with more. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. many of jerry sandusky's alleged victims were poised to testify on tuesday, but their moment to speak out never came. instead, everybody went home with both sides vouaing vowing to fight this case to the very end. with wife dottie close by, jerry sandusky vowed to keep fighting tuesday, moments after his lawyer told a surprised courtroom, sandusky was waiving his right to a preliminary

hearing on charges he sexually abused young boys. >> we fully intend to put together the best possible defense. to stay the course. >> reporter: but prosecutors said they were undeterreded and are now ready to go to trial. >> he's giving up rights. we're not giving up anything. >> reporter: prosecutors were prepared to call 11 witnesses, many of them alleged victims, in what promised to be explosive testimony laying out the state's case in detail for the first time. but sandusky's attorney, joe amendola, decided to waive the hearing after he says prosecutors vowed to object if he challenged the credibility of witnesses during cross-examinati cross-examination. like sandusky, amendola resorted to football metaphors. >> this is a fight to the death, this is the fight of jerry sandusky's death. this goes beyond the penn state-miami game in '86. this is the game of his life. >> reporter: for sandusky's alleged victims, who had been

preparing weeks for the hearing, this is painful. >> he's a coward. >> reporter: ken sugs represents victim six. >> they need their chance to confront him in open court. >> reporter: another big witness spared having to testify tuesday was penn state assistant coach mike mcqueary, whose claim to the grand jury that he reported seeing sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the shower in 2002 has been disputed by other grand jury witnesses. >> i don't really have anything to say about it right now. and that will come out in the legal setting. >> reporter: but legal analysts like wesley oliver say the case may never get to trial. >> i think the waiver of his preliminary hearing is a strong signal that a plea bargain is in the works. >> why? >> because there was no strategic advantage to waiving the hearing. >>. >> reporter: and while sandusky insists he is still fighting, his alleged victims say they are ready to face him another day. >> he's got to understand that victim number four is not going anywhere, and i don't think any of these other witnesses are

going anywhere, either. >> reporter: sandusky has also waived his arraignment for january and the pretrial conference will take place in march. meanwhile, two former top penn state officials charged with lying about what mcqueary told them about that 2002 shower incident have their own preliminary hearing scheduled for this friday in harrisburg. ann? >> all right, michael isikoff, thank you so much. joseph amendola is the attorney for jerry sandusky. mr. amendola, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> is a plea bargain in the works, yes or no? >> no. there's never been any discussions about plea bargains on either side of this case. and i don't anticipate there will be, ann. any sort of plea bargain that might be in the works would involve essentially a life sentence for jerry sandusky, given the nature of the allegations and the fact that he's 67. jerry sandusky has maintained his innocence from the allegations brought by accuser number one three years ago, and

he's maintained his innocence with regard to all of these allegations since then. there would be no reason for jerry to even consider a plea. he hasn't. and i don't anticipate he will. >> all right. then let me ask you a pretty tough question that has been raised by experts in your own profession. in light of your decision to waive the preliminary hearing yesterday, and also your decision to allow your client to speak to the press, not once, but more than once. and the question is pretty tough. it is, mr. amendola, are you competent to defend jerry sandusky against these charges? >> well, i'm competent to defend him. but the fact of the matter is, ann, that he's facing an uphill battle, which i compare to climbing mt. everest from the bottom. i think we have a defense, but as you know, when these charges were first filed in early november, the media and the public convicted jerry sandusky before he even had a chance to appear in court. and unfortunately, despite our

efforts, he is still facing a really tough task. so as far as competency is concerned, i have absolutely no doubt in my mind that we can give jerry the best defense possible. but the fact still remains, he's facing a really, really big challenge in overcoming the allegations. >> why wouldn't you have known that you could not question in the preliminary hearing that you waived the right to yesterday -- you could not have questioned the accusers on credibility. why would you have not known that until the 11th hour? did you do your homework on that, sir? >> oh, my goodness, i've known that for years. that's a basic fundamental principle, ann? >> why did you wait? why did you wait until the 11th hour? >> first of all, let me clarify something. credibility is never an issue at a preliminary hearing. that wasn't something we discovered yesterday or the day before. we waived for a very simple reason. the night before the commonwealth attorney contacted me to talk about the preliminary

hearing details. in that conversation, he indicated that he was going to request following the hearing an increase in bail. and if there were any additional charges filed between yesterday and the time of trial, he would request additional bail. it's very important to me, as jerry's attorney, and very important to jerry, that he remain out on bail, so he can properly assist us and the defense team in the preparation of his defense. the commonwealth attorney said he would not request a bail increase, and the current charges or any additional charges if jerry waived his preliminary hearing. that was a big concession. because it's very vitally important jerry stay out of jail. that conversation took place on the eve of the preliminary hearing at about 7:00. we then had a meeting. we then memorialized that meeting, and based upon that meeting at about 10:00 on monday night, we agreed to waive the hearing. the commonwealth attorney knew that. i advised him he could call off his witnesses, he was reluctant

to do so because it was a fact that jerry could have come into court and decided to have a hearing anyway. so the witnesses came to court, and the fact that one of the attorneys for one of the accusers indicated that jerry was a coward is absolutely false. jerry sandusky has always said he wants to defend these charges. he wants to defend himself in this case. all that would have happened yesterday, ann, is that the media would have had a feeding frenzy. they would have heard the worst of the worst from the commonwealth witnesses. we would not have been able to kris examine them about credibility. everyone in the legal profession that does criminal defense work or prosecution work knows that. so we had very little to gain, a lot of down side. and what we got in return was a guarantee that unless jerry sandusky violates his bail conditions, he's going to be out of jail, helping me prepare his defense until his trial. >> obviously that's still to come. joseph amendola, thank you so much for joining us this morning and giving us your perspective. of it is now 7:09.

now here's matt. thank you very much. to politics now. we talked a lot about newt gingrich's surprising surge in the republican presidential race and a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows his lead widening even more. but it's not all good news for the former house speaker. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, matt. the two republican candidates have a electability problem. for mitt romney, with conservatives for gingrich, he convinced some his baggage is old news but he still has a way to go with the political middle. mitt romney's political action committee is spending millions of dollars in iowa to send the message that newt gingrich will have a problem getting elected. >> newt has a ton of baggage. >> reporter: the ad may be on to something. according to the latest nbc news "wall street journal" poll, gingrich still has a lot of negative ratings from his days as speaker of the house. in october, 1998, the last tumultuous month of his

speakership, just 27% of the public had a positive view of gingrich, compared to 46% with a negative view. 13 years later, gingrich's rating is barely better. 25% feel positively, 40% negatively. despite that, gingrich has surged to become the strongest republican we have tested since the start of this primary campaign. he sits at 40% to romney's 23%. >> why is this man smiling? because his plan is working. brutally attack mitt romney, and hope newt gingrich is his opponent. >> our polls suggest why. in a hypothetical general election, president obama does best when matched up against gingrich. against romney, it's a real nail-biter at 47-45. and to top it off, gingrich is the only presidential candidate tested where half the country says they could never vote for him. romney's issue is one of ideology. while 70% of all republican

voters call themselves conservative, only 29% believe romney is a conservative. compared to 57% who called gingrich a conservative. overall, it's a volatile electorate. more than half those we polled believe the two-party system has real problems, and 34% believe the country needs a third party. businessman donald trump is most vocal. tuesday he bowed out of moderating the controversial debate which newt gingrich and rick santorum agreed to attend. he now won't close the door as running as an independent candidate if the republicans pick what he calls the wrong person. >> i can't give up that possibility of running. i just feel i owe it to myself, to my family, and perhaps, most importantly, to the country. >> and one other thing we found in our poll is that republicans aren't impressed with the candidate field. 51% call it average. 27% call it strong. 21% call it weak. matt? >> chuck todd, thank you very

much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." good to have you here. >> good to be here. >> we look at the rise of the polls and newt gingrich, we have seen other candidates in the past sky rocket, but usually after they announce they're getting into the race. he has been hanging around in this race for a long time, at around 12, 13, 14% and now he's up there around 40. why? >> he's consolidating that tea party support. chuck referenced the fact, 70% of the primary goes -- identify themselves as conservatives. he is getting the lion's share of the vote. the tea party folks who want to see a candidate take on president obama, they like his debate performance, they like how he's taking on the media. that drives the anger in this electorate right now. >> when you look at this idea that he has an electability problem, is that about likability or his policies? 50% of people say they would never vote for him. >> right. i think it's about how erratic eggs over time. i think a lot of people, including republicans, have forgotten why they dislike gingrich. they just know they dislike him.

that it goes to how high his negatives are. why romney can drive those negatives up as we move forward. >> so for mitt romney, if you're looking for a silver lining in these polling numbers, which show him in decline, and newt gingrich rising, it is that he is perhaps more electable in a general election. >> well, i think it's that. >> how do you communicate that? >> you make the argument. but i think there is so much tension this year between what you have to do to win the primary fight and then how you stack up against obama in the general election. there's always that tension. i think it's exacerbated by the tea party here. i think romney not going on the offense against gingrich, driving up those negatives. but that alone is not going to cure his problem with conservatives. that they haven't trusted him and they haven't trusted him for a long while. >> let's talk about ron paul. i know you had him on your show a week ago. and here's a guy, when you talk to his supporters, they say watch out for ron paul, he's going to surprise a lot of people in iowa and new hampshire for a couple reasons. his supporters don't poll well. in other words, these aren't the land line folks we tend to call at home. these are the cell phone folks.

and also, he's got a real organized group of people out there. what are you expecting? >> that he could pull off an upset in iowa. governor of the state says he has the best organization bar none. if you go to the caucus, it's amazing because it's really about organization, getting people there who know how to caucus. he's drawing in the same kind of voters obama did, younger voters, new voters to the process, nonrepublicans, people who are anti-war, who have real problems with the role of government. i think a huge issue in this race is what is the role of government. and paul is not ruling out a third-party run and polls well in a three-way. >> normally i ask what you have on "meet the press" but since it's wednesday, this is for political voters. >> nbc politics.com. if you care about politics, whether you're a junky or a casual, you're watching the "today" program, "nightly news",

"meet the press," if you missed anything, go to nbcpolitics.com. if you missed the interview, want more analysis, want more of our interactive features, this is our digital home for nbc politics. it's going to be a great place. >> look forward to it. david gregory, good to have you in new york. 16 after the hour. here's ann. will it make the road safer? the national transportation system says they want all 50 states to ban all personal electronic devices for drivers. nbc's tom costello has details for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the ntsb does not have any regulatory authority but as the nation's leading safety investigative body, when it talks, people listen, including lawmakers. and the ntsb wants the country to take distracted driving as seriously as it takes drinking while driving. so many families have been touched by distracted driving. 13-year-old marga skee killed

when her school bus was rear-ended by a truck driver. somehow her i.d. survived. >> i don't understand how this little plastic card came off that bus. but marga did not. >> reporter: after this 17-year-old was hit and killed by a distracted driver, utah adopted some of the toughest distracted driver laws in the country. >> i'll never have anybody call me mom again. she was my only child. >> reporter: and then there was reggie shaw. >> when i left that morning, it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone. >> reporter: in 2006, he crossed the yellow line while texting, killing two men on their way to work. >> i thought it was something that i could do. that i could drive down the road and send a text message and be safe. >> reporter: now, after yet another chain reaction fatal crash in missouri caused by a distracted teenage driver, the ntsb is making a dramatic recommendation. urging all 50 states and d.c. to

ban the use of all portable electronic devices for all drivers. an exception would only be made for emergencies and gps units. but not for hands-free devices. >> we know that this recommendation is going to be very unpopular with some people. but we're not here to win a popularity contest. we're here to do the right thing. >> reporter: currently, 35 states and d.c. ban texting while driving. ten states and d.c. ban handheld devices. with new government stats for 2010 showing, there are 3,092 fatalities as a result of distracted driving last year. meanwhile, roughly 20% of all drivers, and 50% of drivers between 21 and 24 years of age admit to having texted while driving. but a total ban on all devices? >> i think hands-free devices are perfectly okay. >> i think it's really good if it's going to save at least one life, it's worth it. >> i don't think it will be effective. people will just do whatever they want anyway. >> no e-mail.

no text. no updates. no calls. it's worth a human life. >> reporter: the ntsb says it wants to ban both handheld and hands-free devices because studies prove that people on hands-free devices can often be just as distracted. ann, a lot of civil libertarians here think this is going way too far. and while a total ban really may not happen, it could put pressure on corporations and insurance companies to create new rules for their employees and maybe even their policyholders. back to you. >> all right. tom costello. to be continued. thank you so much. let's get a check of the morning's top stories. natalie at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. at syracuse university, men's basketball coach jim boeheim is facing a defamation suit. two former ball boys for the school's team say they were molested by assistant coach bernie fine, a claim initially shot down by boeheim. fine's accusers have filed suit against syracuse university as

well. house republicans extended social security payroll tax cuts through 2012. but the legislation is likely to be dead on arrival in the senate, because of it includes a requirement for the construction of a oil pipeline that the obama administration has already threatened to veto. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. after two straight days of decline, the market is really looking for reasons to stabilize now. one thing that has been rising is the u.s. dollar, now at an 11-month high against the euro. and investigators are speculating more could be downgraded and also our economy, the world's largest, is comparatively stronger. if we look at the stats as we approach year-end, the s&p 500 index has fallen 2.5%, but still the second-best performer after new zealand of the 24 largest developed markets. that puts it in perspective. back to you. >> sure does. man degree drury at the new york stock exchange, thanks.

if you're married, you may be in the minority. barely half of americans over 18 are married. that is a record low for this country. back in 1960, some 72% of adult americans were married. but by 2010, that number plummeted to just 51%. notably, the marriage rate dropped by 5% between 2009 and 2010 alone. researchers say it could be due to the economy or just a cultural shift. matt, ann and al, people have more options these days, living arrangements have become more socially acceptable. people are also getting married later in life, as well. >> these weren't options available to us when we were younger. i'm not sure how i feel about that. i'm not saying anything. >> you had options, ann. >> no, i'm -- >> her husband is sitting at home going, thanks a lot. >> all right, natalie, thank you very much. big christmas shopping day. good weather out there? >> fantastic. >> okay. >> did you leave a list? >> i did. >> let's check it out and see what's going on for today. we have a risk of strong storms

from austin into southern oklahoma. could see some tornadoes out of this system. and north of there, we're already seeing some heavy rain starting to fall through chicago, wichita. we're looking at anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rain in northern chicago. northern illinois, i should say, possible airport delays. dallas, kansas city, st. louis, all the way to minneapolis, fog and drizzle. >> good morning.ing on the average high temperature is 46. we will be above that mark this afternoon. but the clouds will be thickening up. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, new hope in the nearly month-long search for

missing florida mom, michelle parker. what police are now learning from a key piece of evidence in the case. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, we'll reveal "time"'s person of the year, live. >> and why so many americans are in live with color christmas sweaters. after your local news.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. the national trepidation safety board is calling for a complete ban on phone -- national transportation safety board is calling for a complete ban on phones behind the wheel. maryland delegates are pushing to make talking without hands- free device a primary offense that would come with a stiffer penalty. here is sarah caldwell 11. >> tracking any accident in

westminster. it route 27, ridge road and nicodemus road, delays forming there. also finding delays on middletown road. there is an accident in parkton. . southbound 83 from middletown to mount carmel, up 543 n. philadelphia road, bel camp region. seven miles per hour from white marsh to the beltway. tapping the brakes on the outer loop to the harrisburg expressway. 15 minutes to get through the stretch. westside, 20 minutes from top to bottom. 295 southbound, looking at delays towards 32. we will switch to a live view of traffic at the j.f.x. not bad at once to get closer to cold spring, things back down. >> we have got a little cloud cover this morning.

temperatures are warmer and then yesterday. 37 in westminster. forecast for today is becoming mostly cloudy. you might get a few weeks of sunshine, but becoming mostly cloudy. could be a little bit of rain coming in this evening or tonight. then it turns colder going into the weekend. maybe a few sprinkles or

♪ 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, december 14th, 2011. and we're looking at an exciting crowd here at rockefeller plaza. and they're waving to some of their loved ones back home, maybe just trying to stay warm because it's cold outside. we'll get outside in a little bit. in the meantime, warm and coasty inside studio 1-a, i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. coming up this half hour, one of the national guessing games every year since 1926, and that is who will be "time" magazine's person of the year? >> a lot of coffee table and water cooler buzz about this. recent winners include mark zuckerberg, president obama and vladimir putin. but who will grace the coveted cover in 2011? we will reveal "time's" pick

live in a few minutes. also coming up, the holidays are a time for tradition. and this year, one seasonal tapel seems much more popular than ever. we're talking about christmas sweaters, the louder the better. savannah guthrie will help us find the best ones all around that apparently we are going to try on ourselves to get into the spirit. also, is living on less the new american dream? we're going to meet a family that get by on just $20,000 a year and wait until you hear their secret. >> okay. we're going to be inspired by that. let's begin this half hour with new developments in the nearly four-week-old search for missing florida mom michelle parker. are police now closer to finding answers? nbc's thuan truong is in orlando at the orlando police department with new developments. thuan, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. just as the family of michelle parker was starting to lose hope and scaling back its search for her, the head of police here in orlando released new information about her recent recovered cell phone, and the lone suspect in

this case. new details given to family by police, michelle still may be found. it's now day 27 in the search for missing mom michelle parker. ♪ this is the defendant. >> reporter: 27 days since she appeared on "the people's court" with her ex-fiance, and the prime suspect, dale smith. it's been nearly a month since she last saw her 3-year-old twins. parker's mother is now back at work at the very salon where michelle was last seen before she vanished. >> michelle just graduated from hair school, and she was going to be here, working right along side with all of us. >> reporter: she prays her daughter is still alive. >> i always have hope. i get sad a lot, because i just miss her so much. and i don't know what she is going through. >> reporter: parker's family reluctantly scaled back its search because of a lack of leads. but then orlando's police chief revealed new details about parker's iphone, which investigators recovered exactly one week ago at the bottom of a lake. a major breakthrough in a search

so massive that officials say it's the largest effort they can remember in the past 30 years. >> we are still following up, relentlessly, on any tips that you would not know about that come in through crime line, that -- phone calls for leads that we may be getting from the cell phone. >> reporter: what leads exactly chief rooney won't say. despite being found under water, police say michelle's iphone is in remarkably good shape. >> i know that the cell phone is definitely -- there's going to be some key things coming out of that. >> reporter: chief rooney also alluded to people responsible for parker's disappearance. >> i think we know who may be involved. >> reporter: a month, ago, parker and smith's problems played out on national television. >> it's been a hell of a roller coaster ride and it's poison and we're done. >> reporter: while smith denies any involvement in parker's disappearance, police reasserted he is the prime suspect and

suggest they have information to back that up. >> there is other evidence we may have that i can't reveal at this time. i'm sorry. i know that's not the answer you're looking for, but i have to be honest. >> reporter: suspicions, but no clear answers as parker's family continues to search. >> it's really hard to not know where your daughter is. and to not know who did it and to not know what they did to her or where she is or if she is not going to be able to raise her family. >> reporter: and we reached out to dale smith's attorney for comments and never got a reply. police here say although there may not be a tight profile search going on, finding michelle parker remains priority number one for this department. ann? >> thuan truong, thank you so much. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every case kiss begins with kay. >> good morning. wow, you've got a lot of stuff working there. is it somebody's birthday? what's your name?

>> malba kester. >> 25 years you put me on the jar. >> all right. it's a date. let's check your weather. and we'll show you for today. we've got the heat -- look at this, duluth, even though it's only 35 degrees today, it's going to be 13 degrees above normal. des moines, 18 degrees above normal. chicago, even though it will be rainy, 51. 61 degrees above normal. st. louis, getting up to 63. oklahoma city, 68. tuscaloosa, 71. and dallas, a high of 73 degrees today. rest of the country, the plains awfully cold on into the southwest. 20s and 30s up in the northeast. we're looking at heavy rain making its way into the mid mississippi river valley. slight risk of strong storms. texas into oklahoma. snow showers up through eastern minnesota, and the air stagnation conditions continue for the pacific northwest. that's what's going o >> good morning. expect increasing clouds today.

temperatures will be slightly above average. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> thank you so much. now it's time to reveal "time" magazine's pick for the person of the year. the criteria, someone who for better or worse has done the most to influence and affect our lives. rick standing, good morning. >> good to see you. >> don't give us the name yet. let's take a look at some of the names that made the final list, the people you deliberated about in the final hours. kate middleton, the duchess of cambridge, admiral william mccrave en, commander of the

navy s.e.a.l. team that took out osama bin laden. chinese artist. and you also included a conceptional option, the protester, a nameless, faceless protester. >> admiral mccraven captured bin laden and the duchess of windsor captured our hearts. they represent people who affected us in one way or another who swayed the conversation, captured our imagination. and it kind of represents a gamut from the protester to the duchess, who is a more popular choice, to mccraven who did something extraordinary in changing the destiny of our fight against al qaeda. >> some people might wonder, not in your top five, steve jobs, gabby giffords. >> gabby giffords is in the magazine. we did an e-mail interview. steve jobs is at the beginning of our farewell section where we say goodbye to people who left us during the course of the year. you know, a lot of discussion about steve jobs. it's not -- it's not a lifetime achievement award, and steve,

you know, is someone i venuer ate, but it wasn't a year where he transformed anything. >> when it came down to the final voting, rick, was it a unanimous choice? was there a lot of disagreement? did you have to step in and make the final decision? how did it go? >> you know, there was a lot of consensus among our people, among our correspondents and editors. people felt that this was the best choice, the most serious choice. and so it actually felt right and good. >> all right. so i'm assuming that you are ready. you have a magazine in your lap. >> i do. >> and the criteria is someone who has influenced the past year, also may influence the year ahead? >> right. i like to choose somebody who actually does influence the year ahead. and our person of the year for 2011 is "the protester." the men and women around the world, particularly in the middle east, who toppled governments, who brought democracy and dignity to people who hadn't had it before. and i think speaking of the year, these are folks who are changing history already, and they will change history in the future. >> and you think about what they

did in the arab spring with gadhafi gone, and hosni mubarak put on trial. and you look about how that region literally transformed in a matter of six months. >> right. and you all reported from there. that place was -- there was no movement the there. we thought these dictators are not going to be toppled. and then these people who risked their lives, risked their livelihoods to go out there and brought about change that nobody had expected. it really is a transformational thing and i think it is changing the world for the better. >> are there links between what has happened in the arab springs and what happened two years earlier, actually, in iran with the green movement that was suppressed and also what's happening on wall street and across this country and even over the weekend in russia? i mean, there seems to be a global protest. >> absolutely. there's this contagion of protests. in fact, the story written by curt anderson brings together all those strands. because iran prefigured what was going to happen in the arab world and what happened in the arab world did influence occupy

wall street and occupy oakland and the protests in greece and madrid. all of the protests we talked to and our correspondence fanned out around the world talked about how they had been influenced by other protests and how social media brought all of that closer. and it's really an extraordinary combination of demography and technology that brought about this change. >> so, again, just if you missed it a second ago, "time" magazine's person of the year for 2011 is "the protester." as always, rick stangel, good to have you here. thanks for revealing it here on the show. >> thank you so much. >> we appreciate it. by the way, the issue is available online today. it hits newsstands friday. up next, the surprise hit of the holiday season. those colorful and sometimes gaudy christmas sweaters. right after this. ho, ho, ho! look, honey... it's santa. [ mom ] i thought i heard reindeer. mom... i mean, mrs. nelson, i have the perfect gift for you. he must've gotten my letter. ♪

oh...santa. [ male announcer ] levian jewelry featuring levian chocolate diamonds at kay jewelers. levian. one more reason kay... is the number one jewelry store in america. these are for me, right? ♪ every kiss begins with kay so you don't have to deal with this. [ crying ] i just wanted some stocking stuffers. what am i -- invisible? are you serious? don't get involved. everybody's bumping me! [ woman crying ]

[ female announcer ] just go to walgreens. one simple trip to find everything you need to stuff every stocking. and don't forget the hershey's kisses chocolates. now earn up to $20 in jingle cash good on your next purchase of $30 or more. shopping. simplified. with walgreens...there's a way. ♪ [ female announcer ] just for these hectic holidays, mcdonald's introduces new peppermint mocha and peppermint hot chocolate from mccafe. the simple joy of unwinding.

♪ [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ woman ] i want to see that. careful. careful. careful. good. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're for bringing us together. ♪ this holiday, select hallmark cards come postage-paid.

back now at 7:44, with a christmas classic that seems to be hotter. i use that word maybe advisedly than ever at the end of the season. savannah guthrie is here to explain. >> good morning. a lot of us like to bring out our christmas finery to celebrate the holidays, perhaps a sparkly pen. something tasteful. that is not what this story is about. >> 3, 2, 1! >> reporter: ah, christmas. chestnuts roasting on an open fire. jack frost nipping at your nose. and folks dressed up like eskim eskimos. in ugly christmas sweaters!

long the stuff of hollywood lore. >> maybe not. >> reporter: the ugly sweater has gone from the small screen -- >> salem ons! >> lemons! >> reporter: to the big-time. americans everywhere are warming up to the trend. ugly christmas sweater parties like this one are hot this holiday season. no wonder everyone is googling the heck out of it. >> we've seen searches for ugly christmas sweaters more than double what they were last year, and more than five times what they were five years ago. we do see that searches for ugly reindeer christmas sweaters are 25% higher than searches for ugly santa christmas sweaters. >> reporter: sites like rustyzipper.com and tipsyhe feels are an homage to the knit. the rules are simple. jolly santa, check. colorful gifts, check. jolly santa, colorful gifts and

flashing ornaments on one sweater? check, check and check. >> 218! >> reporter: sweater trend sweater jimmy fallon rocked it times twelve. >> time to deliver my annual fruit cake gift. >> reporter: in fact, it seems everyone around 30 rock is really getting into the spirit. >> oh, hang on, i'll call you back. >> merry christmas, ryan. >>. >> thank you! >> here's your fruit cake. >> what a beautiful sweater you're wearing! >> thank you. >> i know so many people are looking for something just like that. i just find it makes the holiday so much more joyous. this old thing i've worn for years. >> no, but i think it's really flattering. >> you think so? >> yes! >> thanks. >> especially the way you have that one button. >> well, it's kind of a masculine look, i think. ♪ every girl is crazy about a sharp-dressed man ♪ ♪ >> reporter: plus, with fashion inspiration -- >> hi. do you have any ugly christmas sweaters? >> yes, we do.

>> reporter: picking out sweaters for my "today" show co anchors is no sweat. >> this is actually kind of cute. i don't think it's ugly. this has natalie written all over it. that is majestic. this is -- here's one that makes noise. pretty. and ann, this could be for you. this you could sell-year round. two words. matt lauer. press here? music. ♪ al roker, this one is for you. is this uglier than this? ah, so many options. so many sweattastic combinations. just four more reasons to love the holidays. >> so we're -- you are wearing your sweaters. >> ta-da! >> you look so good. >> mine plays music. >> it does. >> press my button. >> should i take --

>> holiday party tonight. >> and you guys look great. and apparently, you know -- everyone really got into the sweater fever? >> really? >> yeah. in our control room, i think. >> that's right. take a look downstairs. >> whoa! >> everyone except for joe. >> and look what we have over here. >> our crew. >> our crew. >> oh, my. >> one is uglier than the next. >> the sweaters, i mean. >> you guys look so good. >> i'm starting a trend. i want to do a handca sweater. >> well, erica has one on right now. >> jerry is the best. >> yeah, jerry's is very disturbing. >> very nice, erica. >> i haven't felt this good about myself since you guys convinced me to put the snuggy on. >> and you burned that right? >> and you're going to burn this the minute it's over. >> thank you, savannah. >> thanks for being in the holiday spirit. >> you look so cute, i just want to hug all of you. but i won't. >> yay. >> by the way, if you want to

see your own christmas photos with sweaters, take a look at that -- that's mark. mark, you look fantastic. if you have your own christmas sweater photos, share them on our website, todayshow.com and we'll share them. also this morning, matt damon, but first these messages. congestion meant, i couldn't breathe right. i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower...

or took a pill. then i tried drug-free breathe right advanced. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. it felt...better. thank you, breathe right! [ male announcer ] breathe better, sleep better, feel better. try breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too? ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] oh what fun it is to ride. get the mercedes-benz on your wish list at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho! care and dedication. our family-owned company has focused on making... the best-tasting sour cream for over four generations.

it's made with farm-fresh cream... that's 100% natural without any additives or preservatives. and no added hormones. so you can feel good knowing every creamy dollop... will bring all your favorite dishes to life. ♪ do a dollop, do-do a dollop of daisy ♪ they're itchy, dry and uncomfortable. i can't wait to take 'em out, throw 'em away and never see them again. [ male announcer ] know the feeling? get the contacts you've got to see to believe. acuvue® oasys brand contact lenses with hydraclear® plus technology, keeping your eyes exceptionally comfortable all day long. it feels like it disappeared on my eye. [ male announcer ] discover why it's the brand eye doctors trust most for comfort. if you have astigmatism, there's an acuvue® oasys lens for that too, realigning naturally with every blink.

ask your doctor for acuvue® oasys brand. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today. just ahead, could your family live happily on just $20,000 a year? we'll meet one couple doing just that. they say they could not be happier. and also coming up, we congratulate the winner of "the biggest loser." [ male announcer ] since julia discovered

the mccafé caramel mocha from mcdonald's, she's been expecting a little bit more out of...everything. with sweet caramel, rich chocolate, and smooth espresso, the simple joy of big expectations. ♪ make the best vehicles in america... and once a year offer them with special savings. 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, now's the time to get the toyota you've been waiting for. others have tried to copy it. but in the end, there's only one...toyotathon.

the biggest and best sales event of the year is going on now!

. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> if you accident still working out there. at 395, accident off to the shoulder. causing a delay out of fort mchenry. reisterstown road and mcdonald wrote, we have an accident there. ridge road and nicodemus road in westminster, accident wrapping up. all lanes are closed. southbound 83 towards mt. carmel, delays in place. watch for accident in the

process. 25 minutes through the outer loop west side. 11-minute ride on southbound 95 from the beltway to 32. 83 and york road, not too bad here. once you get closer to mount carmel, a little bit slower. harford road, definitely seeing delays here. delays from belair road towards the harrisburg expressway. >> a little cloud cover to start the day. no precipitation. it is a little bit warmer than yesterday. 39 and taneytown. do not have to scrape frost off of your wind chills today. increasing clouds, becoming mostly cloudy. high temperatures between 48 and 53. warmer tomorrow. up to 55. 40% chance for a couple of rainshowers. by sunday, we will be in the low 40's.

sprinkles or snow flurries to close the weekend.

back at 8:00 on a wednesday morning, the 14th day of december, 2011. got another nice crowd here on the plaza on a breezy morning. temperature about 38 degrees. we've got sunny skies. this is pretty good for december. we'll take this. >> absolutely. >> i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and mr. al roker. and we're going to be talking about living on less. even in this holiday season. >> that's right. everybody is trying to save money. well, would you believe that there is a family that actually can find happiness living on $20,000 a year in that lovely home? we're going to find out more about how they do it and see if there are some take-away lessons for all of us. >> all right. also ahead, the one and only matt damon. we like this guy a lot, a very

talented actor, has done all kinds of movies from action adventures to comedies, tackling a family movie called "we bought a zoo" and was recently named the sexiest family man alive. >> i would not dispute that. and matt, when they heard your name -- it's true, matt. how much do we love matt damon? [ cheers and applause ] >> exactly. we feel the love, matt. coming into you. >> we're going to go talk to the sexiest family man alive in a little while. >> and both matts sporting the same haircut. >> in a tribute to me. >> very nice. a little bit later on, mark bitman will be here to help us have a great holiday party with some fantastic appetites. >> he's always great. i always learn something listening to him. in the meantime, let's go inside. >> natalie is at the news desk with the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. today, disgraced former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is preparing to go to trial on child sex abuse charges. tuesday in a surprise decision,

sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing where some of his accusers were set to testify against him. earlier today, sandusky's attorney says his client does not want to cut a deal with prosecutors. >> there's never been any discussions about plea bargains on either side of this case. and i don't anticipate there will be, ann. any sort of plea bargain that might be in the works would involve essentially a life sentence for jerry sandusky, given the nature of the allegations and the fact that he's 67. >> joe amendola also said jerry sandusky maintains his innocence against all of the charges against him. turning now to politics, donald trump is out as the moderator of an upcoming republican presidential debate in iowa. trump says he pulled out because he wants to be able to run for president as an independent if it he doesn't like the republican nominee. but the debate was already in jeopardy, because only newt gingrich and rick santorum had agreed to do it. the days of being started startedeled by a loud commercial break will soon be over.

the federal communications commission has now passed legislation to make sure that the volume level on commercials is the same as on regular programming. the rules will go into effect december 2012. well, if you like to use your cell phone while you're driving, you may be in for a disappointme disappointment. on tuesday, the national transportation safety board recommended that all states should ban talking while driving, even on hands-free devices. the ntsb wants texting and e-mailing for bidden, nationwide, as well. it's up to the individual states to enact the ban. the buck stops here. the white house announced tuesday it is stopping virtually all production of dollar coins bearing the likeness of dead presidents. there simply wasn't enough demand. the move will save taxpayers $50 million a year. and now for a look at what's trending, a quick round-up of what has you talking online. facebook and twitter are abuzz with last night's record-breaking option of elizabeth taylor's jewelry. the total reached nearly $116

million, the highest-priced item was a ruby and pearl necklace given to her by richard burton, went for $12 million, northe mo any pearl to go under the gavel. "the biggest loser" the top prize winner lost 220 pounds. john is here, and joining us for a live interview coming up in our next half hour. congratulations, john. and he's definitely smarter than the average bear. youtube watchers can't get enough of this kodiak bear who lives on a farm in washington state. as you see there, he waves to visitors. apparently he has been doing it for years. wonder how he learned that it s is. it is now 8:04. let's go back to al with a check of your weather. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by keurig. choose, brew, enjoy.

>> i what that bear is thinking. come on over here. you're officially a teenager. what's your name? >> max. >> where are you from? >> michigan. >> very nice. we like that. another sister's 60th birthday. what's your name? >> holly. >> and you have your own pr team. >> that's right. let's check your weather for today. we're looking at our pick city, greenville, south carolina, wyff, partly sunny, 66 degrees. a big system making its way up from texas all the way into the upper mississippi river valley where there will be some airport delays, most likely, detroit into chicago. we have a risk of strong storms, texas into oklahoma, air stagnation conditions still continue in the pacific northwest. sunny skies up and down the eastern seaboard. on the chilly side here in the northeast, but nice and warm through the southeast, 79 miami, 75 in tallahassee. looking at 69 degrees in atlanta. that's what's going on around the country. >> good morning.

the average high temperature is 46. we will be above that mark this afternoon. but the clouds will be thickening up. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thanks very much. coming up, could your family survive on only 20,0$20,000 a y? what you can learn from this family right here. they do it and they like it. we'll talk to them right after this. and tea to choose from. keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. so with keurig, every cup

tastes like it's brewed just for you. because it is. and with my bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i love 'em even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as 1... -2... -3... [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. [ toy robot sounds ] [ male announcer ] little owen wanted to play,

but his nose was raw and sore. achoo! [ male announcer ] and common tissue made it burn even more. ♪ puffs plus lotion is more soothing than common tissue, and it delivers our most soothing lotion for every nose issue. a nose in need deserves puffs plus lotion indeed. to give your cold a comforting scent, try puffs plus lotion with the scent of vicks. what mak es a what hershey's bar pure? pure togetherness. pure friendship. pure delicious chocolate. pure hershey's. hey. hey mom! what is this? it's a special paste i invented to replace socks. why? because we can't find socks that shape to our feet. we're sick of it! try hanes socks with the smooth comfort toe seam. a better fit your whole family will love. ♪ barnes & noble nook sellers at your service ♪

♪ friendly folks with just one purpose ♪ ♪ to help you fall in love with nook ♪ ♪ for movies, music, apps, and books ♪ ♪ and another thing for you and me ♪ ♪ nook support ♪ is always free thanks! ♪ nook by barnes & noble. starting at just $99. we've done a good job caring for our mouths. that's why there's a rinse like crest pro-health multi-protection. it helps you get a better dental check-up. so be ready for your next dental check-up. try any crest pro-health rinse.

back now at 8:10. in this economy, a lot of americans are just happy to have a job. but for some, there was a new american dream. and it's not about buying a big house or a fancy sports car. natalie joins us once again to explain. hey, natalie. >> hey, ann. the dream is all about comfortably living on less. and for some, even leaving your things behind to pursue your passion. most never make the leap, assuming life off the grid is impossible. or is it? ♪ this quaint, maine cottage looks

like it's straight from the pages of a "martha stewart" magazine, artfully decorated, treasured pieces. but if martha only knew the source of the designer's inspiration? >> my ultimate shopping spot is the dump. >> we could use this. >> nothing back there. >> yeah, those will work. >> yeah. >> yep. >> this would be good for the kind ling. >> fun to say i got that at the dump and that's from the dump and that's from the dump. >> could be something for the garden, maybe? >> 75 to 85% is actually found. found. >> we could be going down the road, doing of 65 miles per hour. before i could stop the truck, she could see out of the conner of her eye. i install it, beautiful. >> reporter: stay-at-home mother jennifer and her partner artist michael earn only $20,000 a year. technically, they're hovering just above the poverty line. >> we're poor on paper, but we don't look poor in our

lifestyle. we're living a very unique, creative, unusual lifestyle. >> reporter: back to basics. theirs is a life of living without. no heat, savings, life insurance, trips to the mall or cable tv, though they do have three free state provided health insurance. and when things break, michael fixes them. jennifer repurposes everything. >> she could stretch a nickel into a dollar, and that dollar turns into five. >> i'm just like the budget queen. i actually have fun figuring out how little i can spend. but well. what i like about balancing the checkbook is at the end of the month i feel so proud that we have gotten everything paid, we've eaten well, done what needed to be done and it was all covered. >> reporter: any income goes towards rent and healthy food, though jennifer does admit, they eat a lot of beans. >> jen is a great cook. she can take three ingredients

and there's three nights of a different style meal. >> by the end of the month, it's like, okay, what do i have to make soup out of? >> we have to find treasures, buddy. >> reporter: beyond the junkyard, michael combs the beach for driftwood that washes up on shore. he transforms it into furniture and art which they sell and use to decorate their home. >> there is no stress tomorrow about i've got to get to work at 8:30, possibly work a 14-hour day, but i make my schedule. >> it's far from perfect, but it suits us. not being tied down to money allows us to appreciate the very simple things in life which are each other, environment around us, and just doing what we love. money isn't -- isn't everything. >> and the couple says they hope to increase their budget enough to start saving for their son's college and an emergency fund, but they vow to never change their thrifty ways, ann. >> all right, natalie, thank you so much. how can you learn a few lessons, even if you're not ready to go

off the grid? well, jeff jaeger is a self-professed cheapskate and also the author of "the cheapskate next door." good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> in this story, they had heat, but they don't have heat they pay for. and they are actually doing a lot of things that maybe the average american may not want to do, which is to basically cut their own wood. >> you betcha. >> what can the average american do? >> the lesson for me from people like this is the important things in life aren't necessarily things at all. people are choosing to simplify their lives. and i think not everybody needs to go to the extreme that michael and jennifer do, but there are a lot of things that you can begin to go down that path. >> you don't like the word downsize. you say simple size. >> we heard about downsizing, we heard about rightsizing. i say simple size. figure out what's important and skip the rest. these folks are living on $20,000 a year. but it's also a way to really understand the relationship of happiness and what's important. >> okay. so rethink -- basically change

the way they we think about things. number one, avoid debt like the playing. >> it's not what you have, something you don't have. that is debt. these people are living debt-free. if you can't afford to pay for it now you can't afford it. >> also, don't pay for depreciation. what do you mean? >> lots of people like jennifer and michael are buying things used. we all know that a car depreciates 20% when you drive it off a lot. but also, clothing. you can buy it at the thrift store, 10 cents on the dollar. i'm wearing entirely thrift store clothing this morning. it's not matt lauer-ish, but fashionable enough. >> it looks nice, actually. matt would like those cords. >> furniture and household goods, 75 to 80% saving buying used. >> you said do whatever we can ourselves. you also say skip the soda, eat in and love the leftovers. >> skipping soda. for the average family of four, if they only drank tap water

when they went out to eat, they would save $800 a year, believe it or not. the whole idea of eating out less. we spend about 45% of our food budget on meals prepared outside the home. cook in batch, eat at home, save the big money. and finally, usda says we throw away 25% of our food every year, so by being smarter about food preservation storage, eating up leftovers, we could save big. ann, that's a pound of food per person per year, that's like throwing away two of me every year. my wife might like the idea, but -- >> and he brings the humor, as well. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> for helping us rethink what we actually really need in life. >> stay cheap. >> if you want more information, go to today.com and talk about the monthly budget, for example, and the people in the story. coming up next, matt damon gets wild. oh, and apparently gets a new sweater. we're going to catch up with him. >> pretty sad. >> i love you in it, though.

i love you in anything. coming up after this. i take an omega for my heart.

but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3. it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible.

challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm. then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo. [ grandma ] ok. ♪ ah. then we will all do it together. treats! teets...teets...teets... yeah, look at this. [ female announcer ] it seems like the best family traditions... always start in the kitchen. ♪ rice krispies®. happy holidays. it burns! it's singeing me. it's the sun. get out of the office more often, with chili's $6 lunch break combos, featuring texas toast half sandwiches. chili's lunch break combos.

[ laughter ] ♪ [ 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! 8:20. back now with oscar and golden globe winner matt damon. this past weekend, he received a new honor. "parade" magazine named matt damon the sixiest family man alive. and he takes on a family role in a movie called "we bought a zoo" where a owner thinks he found a place for a fresh start. take a look. >> this place is perfect. why didn't you mention it

earlier? >> well, it's a bit complicated. >> complicated is okay. what's so complicated about this place? >> well, you see -- it's -- [ growling ] >> it's a zoo. >> a zoo. >> yay! >> matt damon, good morning. welcome back. >> thanks, man. >> you're doing a remake of "patton?" >> i just finished the movie and i had a completely shaved head. >> you like it? you like the way you look? >> i love it. it's been like six or seven months i've had it like this. and is it's really liberating and very easy. >> you don't own a brush, dry with a washcloth. >> done. >> you obviously never heard the rule you don't work with kids and animals. you work with both in this movie. why did you decide to do it? >> well, cameron crowe, the director, was really the draw for me. and we talked about that, that famous wc fields, never work with children or animals. but we kind of figured we would get it all out of the way in one movie. so it's the cutest kids you've ever seen and the most beautiful

animals. and that's it. so if it goes horribly for us, we'll learn our lesson. >> is it true you said -- and i don't want this to sound derogatory -- you said i don't want it to turn out like a disney version of this film. nothing wrong with disney movies. >> no, of course, nothing at all. but the over-saccharin version. >> you don't want things too simple and easy. >> yeah. or kind of cheesy, you know, which is the same -- kind of, you know, tv movie version, you know. you know, version of the thing would have been a movie that i just wouldn't want to spend my time doing, because it's not the kind of movie i like to see. >> about the animals part of this, scarlet johansson was here. and she revealed when the snakes came around, because there's snakes in the movie and you're smiling already. when the snakes came around on the set, you cried like a baby, that you were so afraid of the

snakes you cried like a baby. is that an exaggeration? >> yeah, just a slight exaggeration. i was not excited to be working with a snake. i had -- >> you still have a fear of snakes? >> no, i kind of got through it, because there's so many of them. there was one scene where the snakes escaped from their crate and there's like hundreds of them. and so i was really -- i've never been a snake guy. and she was totally cool with it. so the second she sent some, you know, trepidation -- she was like wrapping them around her and putting them on the kids and the kids were laughing at me so i had to kind of man up and pick up the snake. >> we were talking a second ago, and i asked you, do you have any idea how many movies you've made. and you said if you count cameos and things like that, maybe around 50. one of the things i was reading about you, since "goodwill hunting," you have done at least one movie a year for the last 15 years. are you not the type who thinks maybe it's good to take a year or two off and sit around on your butt? or does that worry you? >> i think for a long time, it

would have worried me. just once ben affleck and i got our feet in the door, i think there was this tremendous impulse to keep working. because we could. and because we had been unemployed and we knew what that felt like, and working was better. and now i think i'm starting to get to a place where i'm -- where i'm a little calmer. >> you don't think that the roles would not come your way if you were out of the public eye for a year, for example. >> no. but i did have an interesting experience a few -- about a month and a half ago. i walked into starbucks downtown, and it was right around nyu, and there were all these nyu students who were, you know, working the registers. and the girl i ordered from said, oh, hey, i'm a big -- i'm a big fan. and i said thanks a lot. and she goes, i love "the departed" and i said i love that one too. and she goes, i know it was a long time ago. >> you're like, have you seen my real stuff, my new stuff.

>> i realize if you're 19 years old, the departed came out when you were 12 or 13. but i can remember what i had for lunch every day -- if it i look at that movie, yeah, i had a ham sandwich that day. so there is that thing of needing to kind of keep your foot in the door a little bit. >> you obviously are well-known for the borne movies. they're making a fifth one. i understand jeremy renner is not going to play jason bourne. >> no, another agent in a similar or same program. >> but they kind of reserved that role for you. they put larry byrd's number up in the rafters at boston garden, which is a pretty nice thing. >> yeah, definitely. i think because it -- because those movies travel kind of -- they're not like the bond movies in that you can watch the bond movies out of order, because each is a stand-alone mission. the bourne ones, you have to see the first one to see the second one to see the third one. >> matt damon, happy holidays. >> thank you. >> great to have you here.

>> you too. >> and "we bought a zoo" opens >> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a check on the commute with sarah caldwell. >> howard county, in the area of 100, there are delays. you are also looking at an accident clean-up in a owings mills. west side delays on the outer loop. southbound 795 backed up from

the greenspring to j.f.x. nicodemus road, westminster, that as been there for awhile. in the area of parkton, that is due to an accident we have been tracking all morning. 24 minutes on the outer west side. 16-minute travel time and there on the outer loop north east side. we will start in the area of 95 north of 100. you can see the southbound accident. tying up traffic in the southbound lanes but harford, things are easing up, thankfully, on the northeast corner. tony has a check on your forecast. >> we are off to a fairly quiet start this wednesday morning. we don't expect rain. it is a few degrees warmer than yesterday. 36 and parkton. why at this time, the temperatures were in the 20's. 10-degree spread from yesterday.

mostly cloudy is the forecast for the afternoon. 55 tomorrow. better chance for a few showers on thursday. >> another

8:30 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 14th day of december, 2011. and guess who? none other than matt damon, the store of the new movie, "we bought a zoo," was kind enough to stick around for a few moments and greet the crowd and take their presents, collecting gifts for the annual holiday toy drive. very sweet of matt damon this morning. he is a really nice guy. so we thank him for that. and meantime -- wow, that's a

big present. we're going to be talking about what to serve for our holiday meals. we're going to be talking about that this morning. >> and maybe less about the actual meal, but when people come over, they drop by unexpectedly. mark bittman is up in the kitchen, he's going to take us through his holiday finger food generator. things you can prepare if you just keep certain items in your pantry. he's got some great selections to make all kinds of cool combinations. >> wearing that sweater. and then it was a thrilling finish last night. john rhode was crowned "the biggest loser." he has flown cross-country overnight to talk about his big win. >> look how happy he is. looks on top of the world. we'll talk to him coming up. >> he looks amazing. also we'll head over to the rockefeller rink with brian bo boita boitano. we love him. >> and first -- we love you,

too. first, we're excited to say hello to robin wright, the star of the new movie "the girl with the dragon tattoo." robin, great to have you here. >> thank you. >> you're also in "money ball." but this movie you say has been a gift. why would you say that? >> we have three jobs in a row, it's called security. to work with a best-selling novel. and we're hoping he comes on for the following two. we'll see. >> you know there is going to be a huge following, because the book was so popular. the swedish films were popular. one thing we should mention, there's a lot of adult themes in this movie, coming out during the holiday season, not normal holiday fare. does that worry you at all? >> i think they put the slant in the ad campaign, which is the feel bad movie of the year, right? >> you play somewhat of an

unconventional character, erica berger. and you're michael blomquist's editor/lover but you're married. was this a difficult role for you to take on, sort of this unconventional person? >> absolutely not. they describe it as the on-off lover of bloomquist. so when is it off? when he's not good-looking? >> and you've had a pretty good year. 2011 "money ball" this movie. and it's all clicked in for you. >> i wrote everyone a really big check. and -- no, it's been a great year. >> well, this role, i know, is -- you're particularly fantastic at playing this nua e nuanced character. it's a complicated character. the one who has many layers to it. so good for you. and by the way, we both loved this movie. >> yeah, we did. we really, really did.

>> loved it. very powerful performance. >> robin, great to see you. happy holidays. >> "the girl with the dragon tattoo." >> and opens december 21st. >> sunshine on the east coast, heavy rain mid section of the country, up into the ohio mississippi river valley. air stagnation problems in the pacific northwest. tomorrow the rain moves into the northeast in new england, across the southeast. main awrolong the northern california/oregon coastlines, windy and snowy in the central great lakes, and frigid air makes its way into the great northern plain states. and , of course, our grandmothers all had fri >> good morning. expect increasing clouds today. temperatures will be slightly above average.

and that's your latest weather. don't forget to check your weather any time of the day or night, weather channel on cable or weather.com. now let's say hello to uncle willie scott. hello, willow. ♪ it's beginning to look a lot like hanukkah and christmas and all the good times ♪ happy birthday, how sweet it is. if you check out the screen, you see your smucker's friends are right there. elizabeth fox, bethlehem, pennsylvania. that's nice. i was there once. 100 years old today and loves to crochet and knit. and she reads john grisham books, one of the great american

treasures. madeline davico of engelwood, new jersey, loves to share recipes with her friends, and a good cook, as you might imagine, as she is. thomas ryan. and he is from whiting, indiana, 100 years old today, and an avid chicago sports fan. i'm sure he likes the cubbies. and he's never been further than two blocks from the house he was born. how about that? here is pricilla morneau of new haven, connecticut. enjoys working on cross word puzzles and bowling. but not at the same time, i might add. i like this, too. elfie. elfie larkin, oakland, california. worked at the zoo for years, and

now likes to teach kids all about the animals. how about that? and we have the lovely and exciting catherine wolfe from naples, florida, enjoys staying up with her friends to talk and laugh and write and keep up with all kinds of political and current events. can't beat the combination. that's it. that's all from washington at this time. >> willard, thank you very much. coming up, we're going to catch up with the winner from last night's "the biggest loser." but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. back now at 8:39 with last night's nail-biting finish on nbc's hit show "the biggest loser," battle of the ages. [ beeping ] [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, my god. john, congratulations, you've done it. >> look at those biceps.

41-year-old john rhode lost an amazing 220 pounds to take the title in the show's first-ever male-only finale. and he's joining us this morning fresh off his win. also off the plane. because you flew overnight from california to get here. >> i did, ann. >> thank you for doing that. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me. >> of course. what would you attribute to being the single-most important reason that you were successful in losing 220 pounds? >> i would have to say that it was my desire. i had a sincere desire to make this change. but i wanted it to be a true change. i want to keep the weight off. losing the weight wasn't so difficult. keeping the weight off, that will be the true test. >> okay. so have you already started thinking about how you're going to survive that test? i mean, obviously, it's a psychological battle as much as it is a physical one. >> it is very much a psychological, emotional battle. my plan right now is i'm focused on running the l.a. marathon. that's my focus right now. after that, then i'm going to

have to find a new focus. >> i see. so what you're saying what works for you is to be very goal-oriented. >> yes. >> and that is good for our viewers to think about. once you can start to set goals, you require yourself to meet them. and that's actually a smart idea. so you're saying that you think there's going to be something you have to think about for the rest of your life, one goal after another? >> i think so. and in my mind, right now my next goal after the l.a. marathon is a goal of just maintaining my size. i'm wearing pants that are 34/32 and i'm comfortable in them, i like them. if the pants start to become snug, maybe i've got to rework some things. but right now, i don't want to be a slave to the scale anymore. i have comfortable clothes, i enjoy the clothes. if that becomes an issue, then i know i'm doing something i need to fix. >> all right. now what about this prize money you got? what did you get, $250,000? yes, $250,000. >> yeah, $250,000. >> important to your family. >> very important, yes. i'm a teacher. very important to my family. >> i know. so that's pretty exciting. and in the meantime, you also

want to jump out of a plane. i've done that a couple times and it can be kind of fun. but why do you want to? this was part of your goal. you've always wanted to skydive. >> because i was always too heavy. and now i'm not. and also, it kind of freaks me out a little bit. it's a little bit scary, and why not push it, why not live life to its fullest? i've been given a new life. >> actually, you earned that new life. >> okay, i earned -- the door was open, and i walked through, okay, i ran through. but i'm excited. and i want to continue to live an exciting life. i want to just -- i want to live it up. >> congratulations. congratulations. >> thank you. >> and i know you are helping so many people who are listening also try to walk through that door. thank you so much, john rhode. >> thank you. coming up next, tasty finger foods for your next holiday party. they are as easy as 1, 2, 3. mark bittman explains. thank goodness. >> too many things to choose from. >> this morning on nbc.

we're back now at 8:44 this morning on "how to cook everything," finger foods for your holiday party. whether you're expecting a big crowd or just a few friends, all you need to do is gather some versatile supplies to make some great appetizers. mark bittman, author of the "how to cook everything" cookbook is here with recipes from his "new york times" magazine column. mark, welcome back. happy holidays. this is a great idea and another one of your great ideas. >> absolutely. >> you can leave right now. >> can't go better. >> you stock your pantry with some very basic things. you're ready no matter how many people drop over, basically. >> basically. the things you're looking at here, most of them are things you can keep in your refridge rater for a couple weeks. most of them are things you can buy premade. i mean, obviously a little pickle, smoked salmon, prosciut

prosciutto, cucumbers, crackers. and you have a base layer, something that can support other things. >> let's stop there. of here's the foundation. pumpernickel coast, a baguette toasted, cucumber slices. >> endive leaves. >> and what are these? >> toasted peta chips. >> and then? >> now you want a spreadish kind of thing. and this can be anything from -- ann is doing the tapenade, we have guacamole, bean dip. you can also use -- al, you are being shoved out here. >> that's okay. >> you can use a piece of prosciutto. so any of these things. and then finally, something a little -- a hint of flavor. so herbs, obviously. we have sliced roasted peppers, salmon eggs, jalapenos chopped

up, sun dried tomatoes, pickles. >> and what's great, you can either do meat or vegetarian versions of this. >> and this is obviously -- i mean, we have resources here, so this is obviously -- this is a big spread. but even, you know, three or four of each of these things gives you 50 combinations. >> right. and it's great. you have a limitless combinations, but there are certain things that just aren't going to go well together. so what are the ground rules there? >> you know, i think it's really instin instinctual. if you look at this and say what don't i want to do? there are things you can figure out you won't like. but once you have a piece of toast with prosciutto on it, you're probably not going to put salmon eggs or guacamole on here. but you look around and say, okay, roasted peppers or sun dried tomatoes might be terrific. >> you have some things some people might not think about, not only the garnishes with the herb, we also have what looks to me like some caviar? >> these are actually radish

sprouts. so you have super crunch, and you have, you know, salty, fatty, and then you have very fresh. >> you could do the combos or you can do things individually. >> or leave your guests to do the combos, let them make the combinations. >> right. it becomes sort of a grazing party. >> what i love is it's for people sort of having the party -- this is about putting it out there. of you don't really have to do a lot of work, except to have the stuff in your house, make sure you have the list so you can simply have people come over. you put it out there and you can be cooking. >> mark, real quickly. what are these again? because these are going to change my life. >> you know, in indian restaurants you get these big crackers, lentil wafers. >> so these are healthy. >> you could eat those nonstop for the rest of your life and be in fine shape. >> good to know. mark bittman, thanks very much. up next, skating superstar brian boitano on the rockefeller center rink. first, this is "today" on nbc.yw

"today" at the rink is brought to you by smucker's. with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. ♪ this morning on "today" at the rink, figure skating great, brian boitano, the hall of famer three times over, won more professional titles than any other male skater, include the

olympic gold back in 1988. seems like it wasn't that long ago. but pleased to welcome brian boitano back to our skating rink. great to have you here. >> great to be back. >> you're here for a reason, because you have an ice skating special this sunday on nbc. >> that's right, brian boitano skating spectacular. it was so much fun, because we got to skate to the live music of chicago, and we did some of their classic hits as well as some of their holiday songs from their new album. and because we filmed on the notre dame campus, we had 500-piece marching band, notre dame marching band come in for a couple songs. so much fun. >> and you rounded up all of your favorite colleagues. who else is performing? >> we have a cast of 12 olympic and world great skaters. and because we filmed on the campus of notre dame, we got to wear the irish's football uniform, so we did a football number. it was really hard getting those uniforms but worth it. so it was great. >> you doing football. >> i know, right? >> you did a lot of other things, including a cookbook, a show on the cooking channel.

>> yeah, i'm doing a cookbook for this coming year so i'm testing all of the recipes, keeping really busy. and then i'm performing in four other of the pandora nbc skating series. so that's really been great. tomorrow i'm going to do a show with styx. >> fantastic. tell me you're never going to retire. >> you better talk to my knees, because they're saying something different. i don't know. >> not allowed. brian boitano, as you get into place, i'm going to let everybody know you're going to be performing to the beautiful music from the broadway musical "rain: let it be." everyone, here is brian boitano. ♪ ♪ when i find myself in times of

trouble speaking words of wisdom let it be ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and when the brokenhearted people living in the world agree there will be an answer let it be ♪ ♪ ♪ for though they may be part partedparte parteded living in the world

agree there will be an answer let it be ♪ ♪ let it be let it be let it be let it be there will be an answer let it be ♪ ♪ ♪ let it be let it be let it be let it be whisper words of wisdom let it be ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ let it be let it be let it be let it be there will be an answer let it be ♪ ♪ let it be let it be let it be let it be whisper words of wisdom let it be ♪ ♪ the amazing brian boitano. be sure to check out brian boitano's skating spectacular, sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on nbc.

we're back after your local news and weather. thanks, brian! >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. occupy baltimore protesters say they are not backing down. after being evicted from mckeldin square tuesday, demonstrators state their new plan is to make use of a vacant housing. demonstrators had been camping out downtown since october but eventually had their power supply cut off

>> it is going to be another relatively mild today. clouds will be thickening up. high temperatures will sneak into the low 50s. chance for rain showers tomorrow. >> thank you for joining us. and other weather update at 9:25.