good morning. it's over. a special ceremony in baghdad this morning officially brings the u.s. war in iraq to an end. was the nearly nine-year, $800 billion campaign worth it? and what is next for the war-torn country? we will ask senator john mccain. n fit to lead? mitt romney fires rather sharp criticism at gop presidential front-runner newt gingrich. >> zany is not what we need in a president. >> the former house speaker was quick to respond. and face lift. a big change is coming to facebook and it will radically transform the way you view your profile. we're unveiling it herev]= thur

and women have died in iraq since march of 2003. and it is estimated that there have been at least 100 iraqi deaths also in this war. >> 100,000. >> 100,000. right. iraqi deaths in this war. so during this morning's ceremony defense secretary leon panetta said that sacrifice was necessary because it helped the

iraqi people to cast tyranny aside. we'll go live to baghdad in a moment. >> also ahead on a much different note michael jackson's daughter paris sits down for her first one-on-one interview and had a lot to say about the unusual way she was raised, lessons she learned from her father, and what she has planned for her own future. we'll tell you more about that. also, hollywood is up early this morning because we have the nominations for the 69th annual golden globes being announced and so many great tv shows this year and movies. we're excited to hear who they picked. we'll have coverage coming up. oscar winner sandra bullock will join us as well. >> so that is exciting. we love her here. we begin with our lead story, the ceremony held overnight to mark the end of the nearly nine-year military campaign in iraq. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in baghdad for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. with this small ceremony attended by just a few hundred people, the u.s. military command in iraq closed its

operations, making this country a sovereign nation. in a brief ceremony on a base on the edge of baghdad, the united states took down the flag of its command here to mark the end of the military mission. with the casing of the colors, the american military command in iraq is officially closed. the iraq war as a war led by the u.s. military is no more. all that's left to do now is withdraw the 4,000 remaining troops in the coming days. defense secretary leon panetta. >> no words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass. >> reporter: but as the mission ends, most troops have already made it south to kuwait where they've repacked. >> go back, spend some time with the family. >> reporter: and go through preflight inspections. after years of fighting they're

not used to carrying just tiny bottles of liquids when they travel. >> three shots. no pornography. >> reporter: but mostly the troops wait. >> the family, they're tired of me being gone all the time. it is going to be nice to be home for a little while. >> reporter: you hear a lot of that -- excitement for the simplest of things -- family, friends, maybe a few beers. >> not being in the desert all the time, you know, just being able to spend the weekends at home, you know, i haven't really had a day off since i took leave. >> reporter: but out processing takes days, sometimes longer. after a war and with family waiting, kuwait can feel like the worst layover ever. staff sergeant michael stevens served four tours in iraq in some of the toughest war zones. >> going days and praying. >> reporter: he lost a finger in combat. some of his friends didn't make

it. >> what pushed me and kept me going was knowing i wasn't going to give up. my friends obviously took the ultimate sacrifice and i wasn't going to turn around and say i'm done because they wouldn't have done it. >> reporter: stevens plans to surprise his four children by being home for christmas after missing so many. and now there's just a 16-hour flight to go on a charter plane from delta. the flight crew tried to lift the troops' spirits as america's biggest military mission since vietnam is ending for the holidays. but now many iraqis worry what will happen next. they fear a return to sectarian violence. matt? >> richard engel in baghdad for us this morning. richard, thank you very much. republican senator john mccain is the ranking member of the senate armed services committee. senator, it's nice to see you. good morning. >> thank you, matt. >> you watched this ceremony i'm sure or parts of it this morning in baghdad. what are your reflections?

>> well, my reflections are that it was a noble cause and obviously i believe that saddam hussein was going to attempt at least to get weapons of mass destruction. i believe the iraqi people are better off. i believe serious mistakes were made which prolonged this war, which i think people -- history will hold responsible. i think the surge obviously turned the whole situation around. it's too bad that we didn't employ that strategy earlier. but i'm also very concerned because in the words of general keene, one of the architects of the surge, we won the war and now we risk losing the peace because we do not have a residual force to leave behind and there are serious challenges and difficulties the iraqi government will face in the form of their air space, in the form of the kurdish/iraqi areas and including counterintelligence capabilities. i really think we risk losing --

great risk at losing everything we gained and that is the opinion of every military leader that i've talked to. >> so was this purely in your opinion an idea of meeting a campaign promise? is this simply not the right time to conduct this pullout? >> well, i think the pullout was correct, but condoleezza rice, former secretary of state, as you know, stated that we had always envisioned a residual force being left behind. the president made a promise, a campaign promise that he would bring all the troops out. it's very obvious. i know for a fact because i was involved that there was very little real discussion with the iraqis about a residual force being left behind and it is what it is. so we risk losing everything that we gained at enormous sacrifice. >> td "new york times" talked to some iraqis about this pullout

and a government employee said, quote, i am so concerned about the u.s. withdrawal. many things will gradually deteriorate in iraq especially security, which will be affected by iran's influence once the americans have gone. do you fear we're leaving behind a void that the iranians will gladly fill? >> i think they already are filling it. there's no doubt that sadr is a client of the iranians. he's part of the iraqi government. there's tension on the kurdish/iraqi border over a lot of things, and there is, of course, not the kind of counterintelligence that is necessary with u.s. assistance. so as i say, we risk losing everything that we gain. i think it's a great risk and i think it was unnecessary. we always envisioned some residual force, and this administration -- they were never really serious at all. we risk seeing iraq break up into three countries, which is

what the vice president envisioned. remember that the president and the vice president all oppose the surge, said we couldn't win, and they wanted to withdraw and they have succeeded. >> let me ask you about our image around the world following this war. former vice president dick cheney was here on the show not long ago. he said he doesn't believe there's been damage to the u.s. reputation as a result of this war. do you think there has been damage? do you disagree with vice president cheney? >> i travel extensively in that part of the world. every leader i meet with believes that the united states is withdrawing, that our influence in the region is clearly on the wane, and i think that this has an effect on the taliban in afghanistan. recently a former administration official was meeting with the president of pakistan. he said, do you think they'll make peace, the taliban? he said, why should they? they know you're leaving. >> senator john mccain coming to us from washington this morning. senator, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you.

it is nine minutes after the hour. here's ann. thank you. now to politics and fresh fireworks in the republican presidential race. mitt romney is showing no signs of letting up his attack on front-runner newt gingrich insisting the former house speaker is too, quote, zany to be president. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent and joins us now. chuck, good morning. >> good morning, ann. the republicans meet tonight in what is their final scheduled debate before the iowa caucuses. judging by how aggressively mitt romney has gone after newt gingrich this week, it's going to be lively. >> what's wrong? >> mr. gingrich we are here to protest your speech today! >> reporter: one way to gauge which republican is the front-runner? the number of protesters who show up at your event. >> we are outraged! >> reporter: in iowa city a loud group of protesters delayed the start of newt gingrich's speech at the university of iowa. >> okay! >> reporter: at the same time, a much smaller group protesting mitt romney's new york city fundraiser was more sedate.

>> thank you for the destruction of our economy. thank you. >> thank you all. >> reporter: it is another bit of evidence gingrich is the front-runner and may be why romney used an unusual word to pick out what he believes is gingrich's key vulnerability -- temperament. >> zany is not what we need in a president. zany is great in a campaign. it's great on a talk radio. it's great in the print. but in terms of a president we need a leader. a leader needs to be someone of sobriety and stability and patience and temperance. >> reporter: gingrich was attending a brain science seminar and jabbed back. >> i think a brain science initiative is a way of helping human beings. i'll let him decide if it's zany. they should run their campaign the way they want to. i'm going to run my campaign the way i want to. >> reporter: gingrich also responded to the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" that showed him with a large lead in the primary but struggling against president obama. >> i'm about where reagan was against carter at this stage.

>> reporter: gingrich's rise appears to be troubling some of the biggest republican leaders in congress. speaker john boehner who was in the house leadership with gingrich in the '90s tried to stay neutral. >> like all big figures they got some great ideas then they have some other ideas. it would be hard to describe newt as not conservative. i'm not sure he is as conservative as some people think he is, but newt is a conservative. >> reporter: romney disagreed with that. >> this is a person who has a very questionable record when it comes to leading conservative principles. >> reporter: romney, who has struggled to appeal to tea party republicans nabbed the endorsement of one of the more prominent tea partiers from the 2010 campaign failed delaware delegate christine o'donnell who said the perception of romney as flip flopper isn't an issue for her. >> that is one of the things i like about him because he has been consistent since he changed his mind. >> a little more evidence that the establishment is rallying against gingrich. the conservative national review penned an unusual editorial today and wrote, we think it is important to urge republicans to have the good sense to reject a

hasty marriage to gingrich which would risk resulting in acrimony. the magazine didn't endorse any of the actual remaining candidates, just against gingrich. >> to think, chuck, we're just getting started. >> oh, yes. >> thank you so much. let's check the other top stories of the morning. natalie is over at the news desk with a look at those. good morning, everyone. tragedy was averted overnight at the lucky friday silver mine in idaho after a rock burst trapped and injured seven workers, all of them rescued safely. nbc's miguel almaguer is in mul mulmul mullan, idaho with more. >> reporter: the miners were injured during a rock burst, sudden explosion of underground rock. the miners were more than a mile deep when they were installing a safety net to prevent an incident like this one. nearby crews heard their call for help and brought them to safety. the injuries we're told are fairly minor lacerations and a

broken leg. the lucky friday mine here in mullan, idaho is owned by the hekla mining company. after two deaths earlier this year the company was cited four times for safety concerns and fined a million dollars. the company says the mine will be shut down pending an investigation. natalie? >> all right. for those miners though, lucky mine living up to its name. thank you very much, miguel almaguer in mullan, idaho. lawmakers are racing against the clock to avoid a government shutdown this friday. early this morning house republicans revealed a $1 trillion spending bill in a bid to muscle democrats into finalizing legislation before friday's deadline. and as partisan bickering over a payroll tax cut extension drags on a new poll from the associated press this morning finds that some 60% of respondents want those cuts renewed. the obama administration says one portion of its new health care law has reduced the number of young americans without coverage by $2.5 million. that provision lets children stay on their parents' insurance plans until the age of 26.

yet another company has pulled its commercials from tlc's all american muslim. the travel website kayak has now joined home improvement retailer lowe's and pulled its ads during the reality show. kayak is defending its decision, saying tlc was not up front about the nature of the show. the docuseries follows the daily lives of five muslim american families in michigan. let's head to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. >> good morning, natalie. it's ban tough thr ae's been a street for three days as stocks have hit their lowest level in weeks. gold prices have also been falling sharply. we've also been hearing from retailers including h & m about how the holiday season has been and they posted the third straight monthly falling sales. overnight we got economic reports from japan and china that were also weak and that concerns global investors. why do we care? it does have a big impact on how our stocks trade as well. we'll be watching how things pan

out today. back to you. >> we'll be watching you. mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. and the first family has released a new official portrait this morning. it was taken in the oval office by white house photographer pete soe sosa and shows the obamas in their holiday best, just gorgeous. the most recent photo was taken back in 2009 in the green room and it's amazing as you can see how much the first daughters have grown since then. malia is now 13 and sasha is 10. they said they took the new picture precisely for that reason. the girls have grown up so much. >> pete sosa is one of the hardest working guys in photography. that guy is always on the job soenchts talejob. >> so talented. got them to smile at the same time as well. i love that photograph. >> mr. roker is smiling as well. >> and oh, how i've grown since 2009. let's show you what we've got going for today. we have wet weather stretching from new england all the way back down into texas.

some snow up in northern new england. but that is going to quickly change over to rain. we're looking at heavier stuff getting ready to get itself together down in central texas where rainfall amounts will total anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of rain in northern texas on into the oklahoma border. the rest of the country, we are expecting the air stagnation alert to continue in the pacific northwest. we have rain along the northwest coast. that snow changing over to rain in new england. evening showers moving into the northeast. we have plenty of sunshine along the southeastern atlantic coast where temperatures are still good morning.> we should be mostly dry as we head to the drive time. into the afternoon hours, we will see a chance for some rain showers.

and that's your latest weather. ann? al thanks. the holiday shopping season got off to a record-breaking start and while malls have remained packed it looks like not everyone is there to shop. nbc's craig melvin is a few blocks away in herald square in new york. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. including today there are ten shopping days left until christmas but many retailers say they're only starting to see a surge in returns because it turns out a lot of shoppers got those bags home and realized they needed the money more than the savings. remember those deal finders lined up for deep black friday discounts? >> ah! >> the target two-doy sale starts next friday morning at midnight. >> reporter: how about the stores who interrupted thanksgiving to open earlier than ever? all the hoopla seemed to be working. >> i overspent. i just overspent.

i spent and spent. >> reporter: shoppers have spent close to $25 billion so far this holiday season. that's up 15% over last year. but also up? returns. >> we bought an item for each other for the holidays and had to return it. >> reporter: hit especially hard are the companies that make and sell electronics. everything from tablets to televisions. this year they'll lose $17 billion on returns alone. up 21% since 2007. >> every time a retailer has to accept a return it ultimately impacts their profitability. >> reporter: just 5% of consumers returning electronics said something was wrong with the item, but 27% said it was buyer's remorse. >> buyer's remorse. right now this is a perfect environment for it. you go to the store and the deals lure you in but ultimately you realize you don't want to patient stuff off for the next six to 12 months. >> reporter: also fueling returns some retailers are making it easier. last year it cost you six bucks to return something you bought on nordstrom.com.

that covered shipping. this year, returns are free. >> a good return policy is crucial to holiday shopping, both for the gifts i receive and for the gifts i give. >> reporter: thanks to technology, consumers can also compare prices quicker than ever. and they're not afraid to take something back to save a few bucks. >> things are kind of tight and, you know, money doesn't go as far as it should. basically you want to make sure you're getting the best deal you can for anything you buy. >> reporter: now, ann, there is an up side here for retailers. the average shopper hasn't done their shopping and 37 million people say they haven't even started looking for a gift. >> all right. craig melvin this morning. thank you so much for your reporting. coming up, michael jackson's daughter talks about her unusual upbringing and having to wear masks in public in her first solo interview. we'll have that. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises. trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. defense secretary leon panetta paid a visit to troops as part of a ceremony marking the official end of the war in iraq. after nine years, the final soldiers in the country are coming home from the holidays. the u.s. was able to help bring democracy to the country, but officials say they're still

security problems in iraq. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> several incidents we are tracking. this one in harwood has been here since early this morning. was an accident rate now just a downed pole. take 460 as your alternate. we have a new crash coming in, another one and reisterstown. 14 miles per hour west side. philadelphia road and mclaughlin road, new accident coming in. take pulaski highway as your alternate. white marsh down to the 895 split. live view of 83 at padonia road. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> we are off to a quiet start this thursday. clouds are thickening up a

little bit. right now this is dry. it should stay that way for the rest of the drive time. mild start for us. we will make it into the mid- 50's. rain will hold off until after lunch time and most areas. variable clouds tomorrow could 49. could be a few sprinkles or flurries to close the weekend.

7:30 on a thursday morning, december 15th, 2011. it's a little warmer than usual here in the new york city area. going to be about 10 degrees warmer than average for this time of year. al says that's the good news. the bad news is rain is on its way. we'll get his forecast in a little while. meanwhile, inside studio 1-a i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. coming up, something that is going to interest anyone who uses facebook. that's a lot of people. >> in just a moment, for the first time anywhere, we'll debut the new look for the facebook profile called "timeline." it's going to completely change the way we interact with our friends on the site. i actually haven't even looked at what they've done to my site. without my knowledge.

well, actually i knew they were going to do it but i didn't sort of, you know, okay what they've done. we'll see what they've done and whether you're okay with what they do. >> all right. also ahead michael jackson's daughter speaks out. it's her first solo interview and the 13-year-old paris talked quite candidly about her childhood, acting career, and the most memorable thing her dad ever told her. we'll be hearing some of that. >> very beautiful and poised young woman. also, oscar winner sandra bullock. we're always glad when she's here. she'll be here this morning to talk about her new movie and also what she has planned for the holidays. maybe a little bit about her family and also we've got complete coverage this morning of something that is pretty exciting especially this year. we've got so many great movies, the golden globe nominations. we begin on a more serious note with a search for the killer after a body of a tennessee mother missing since halloween was discovered. natalie has details. good morning to you, matt. in the death of karen swift, a beautiful mother of four, the death is officially ruled a homicide. her disappearance was the most

recent of several cases of missing women in four neighboring states. some people want to know if there is a possible connection. from a desperate search -- >> oh, it's devastating. we just feel for her children and wish we had answers. >> reporter: to a murder investigation, the body of karen swift, a 44-year-old mother of four who vanished over a month and a half ago, was found saturday in a patch of undergrowth near a cemetery just two miles from her home. >> we have to move forward with this case as a homicide investigation and we have to go after this person that's responsible. >> reporter: swift was last seen outside her home at 1:30 a.m. on october 30th after spending the evening with friends at a halloween party. >> she got her car from her house and went home, went to pick up her daughter, ashley, from an overnight sleepover. picked her up from out there and then came home. >> reporter: investigators say the last known person to see swift was her husband, david,

who spoke to her before he went to bed. less than a mile away from their home, swift's abandoned suv was discovered on the side of the road. her tire slashed. court records reveal that just 20 days before swift went missing, she had filed for divorce from her husband citing irreconcilable differences. >> she kept it pretty quiet and private and probably out of respect to her family, kids, her husband. >> reporter: though the couple was still living together she had been awarded primary custody of the children. authorities say swift's husband has cooperated with the investigation. >> currently we're not naming any suspects and we are not naming any until we feel it would benefit this case. >> reporter: meanwhile, the case has created quite a buzz on the internet as bloggers speculate about a possible link between swift's murder and the disappearance of other women who have gone missing in four neighboring states, some just 20 miles apart in the past 13 months. swift's body was found at dyer county, tennessee.

just 90 miles away in parsons, tennessee 20-year-old holly bobo vanished last april. in september, 2010, 22-year-old page johnson disappeared in covington, kentucky. further north in fairfield, ohio 21-year-old kaitlyn markham vanished in august, 2011. in bloomington, indiana 22-year-old lauren speier went missing in june. >> a lot of times in these cases they are crimes of opportunity. >> reporter: this crime reporter says investigators don't think the cases are connected but adds -- >> investigators at this point have to take a look at all these cases and say, could there be a connection? yes, all these women do look alike. if there is a connection, what could that be? is it a crime of opportunity? or is it in fact someone who is just targeting specifically these younger blonde white women? >> reporter: back in tennessee, neighbors try to make sense of the tragedy. >> we all know each other and pretty much know each other's comings and goings. so it's hard to think that

something like that could happen just right down the road. >> again, we spoke to several investigative agencies and while authorities don't believe the cases are linked they are looking into any and all possibilities. as for swift's husband we reached out to him several times for comment and he never returned our calls, matt and ann. >> all right. thank you. now to the first ever solo interview for michael jackson's daughter paris. she opened up about her late father, childhood, and her dreams for the future. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in los angeles with details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the daughter of the late pop star has just signed on to star in her first movie. she tells ellen that acting has always been her dream. >> and how early on did you know you wanted to act? >> when i was really little, because my dad was in, like the movie "moon walker" and i knew he could sing like really well but i didn't know he could act. i saw that and i'm like, wow. i want to be just like him. >> paris jackson, poised and mature sitting down with talk

show host ellen degeneres. it was just two and a half years ago that the public first met the pop star's daughter. >> ever since i was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. >> reporter: a very public introduction for a girl who had lived most of her life under a mask. >> but do you remember wearing a mask going, this is kind of weird? >> yeah. i'm like, this is stupid. why am i wearing a mask? >> right. >> but, yeah. i kind of realized the older i got he only tried to protect us and he explained that to us, too. >> reporter: now 13, paris no longer lives in disguise and has been trying to enjoy a normal childhood. she, along with her siblings prince and blanket have embrace ad more public persona, appearing at the grammy awards and, more recently, the cirque du soleil michael jackson show in las vegas. there admitting her showbiz ambitions. >> do you guys think you would ever follow your dad's foot steps as an entertainer possibly? >> definitely. >> in what way?

singing? acting? >> acting. >> and telling ellen acting was something her father encouraged. >> we did improvs together and he'd give us little scenarios. so in this scene you're going to cry and i'd cry on the spot. >> reporter: paris's big screen dreams are coming true. she has been cast as the only human character in a mostly animated film "lundon's bridge" and coming out as an actress is no surprise. >> paris has been taking acting lessons, has a private coach, and has the blessing of her grandmother who is very excited for her. >> reporter: the underwater children's drama will also feature the voices of larry king, his wife shawn, and former n-sync member joey fetone. name alone does not guarantee success but paris has her famous father's words to keep her motivated. >> the most memorable thing that your dad said to you was? >> he said, if i die tomorrow, always remember what i told you. and i took his advice and i

remembered everything he told me. >> now, paris also says she is enjoying school and was excited to go to a school where not all the kids knew who she was so she could be more like the other kids. >> thank you so much. by the way, ellen's full interview with paris jackson airs on her show today. meantime, let's get a check of the weather from al. today's weather is brought to you by daisy brand sour cream. a dollop of daisy is the natural way to make good food taste better. good morning everyone. we have a couple towns. somebody from hurt, virginia and then this town in georgia. i hope you like it. we do. we like it allot. let's go to hawaii where they're not liking this weather. the big island, they got a ton of rain plus an unusual high tide and a number of businesses, roads flooded out. big problems. the good news is the rain is coming to an end but they picked up a few inches of rain in a

fairly short period of time. let's show you what's happening temperaturewise and you'll see we've got some warm air here in the east. montpelier, vermont above normal. cincinnati 59. roanoke, virginia looking at 19 degrees above normal at 67. atlanta will be flirting with 70 degrees and houston, texas almost 15 degrees above normal at 79 degrees. >> good morning. some rain showers will catch up to us. the high temperature between 53 and 58.

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we're back with something called vocal fry that is creeping into the speech patterns of young women. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here to explain. i've never heard of this. >> it's a new term and a lot of people probably haven't heard about it. but you have probably heard about it many times. that is where there is this low-pitched vibrato sound. where does it come from and what does it mean? it is no surprise what we see in the movies and on tv can influence our style in fashion, but it doesn't end there. for years, what we hear has influenced the way we talk. >> oh, as if! >> whatever. >> reporter: these familiar vocal patterns quickly made their way into speech. >> shut up. >> reporter: and now experts say

they're noticing a new speech pattern creeping into the conversations of college-age women. they call it vocal fry. ♪ wake up in the morning feeling -- ♪ >> reporter: common in pop culture. >> before i leave brush my teeth. >> reporter: it's a low, stacatto vibration produced by a low fluttering of the vocal cords. >> it sounds something like this. ah-ah. >> he designed it on photo shop himself. >> it perplexed me for a long time because vocal fry has traditionally been a symptom of a voice disorder. and yet i was hearing this naturally in normal conversation. >> reporter: after studying dozens of female college students, researchers at cw post campus of long island university found that approximately two-thirds of this population used vocal fry. >> most of the time it was at the end of sentences. >> when a man looks for something beyond his reach his friends say he is looking for a

pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. >> she starts a little bit here and then you can see how it dips really low. >> reporter: why has this low-pitched animal-like sound become so popular? >> it' a's possible that our yo folk who want to sound cool and mimic the famous are perhaps using this as a social quality to add to their voice. >> frustrating he is so content with living separately. >> reporter: janet humberg at northwestern university says she has noticed vocal fry for decades and thinks pop culture may be poplarizing the pattern. >> people on tv are epitomizing a trend which was really there and they're not really causing the trend. >> this seems to be more prevalent in females and not as prevalent in males. >> in the "twilight" book? >> reporter: this study was published in the "journal of voice" and experts say more research needs to be done to find out just how prevalent vocal fry is and what the

long-term effects on the vocal cords may be. >> donuts and cookies. >> okay. >> reporter: in the meantime, keep your eye out for that cricky low voice known as vocal fry. >> it is just so embarrassing to like catch someone. >> i think that's it. it's that deep -- kim kardashian sort of has it. you sort of drop your voice like this. i can also do valley girl. >> is there anything equivalent in men? >> no, there isn't. what's interesting, it's almost a women's affectation of sort of wanting to be in so we've seen these trends and this like, you know, it's like you hear someone say, ah, it's so fabulous and then suddenly you hear "fabulous" everywhere. that sort of cool thing like this. girls will pick it up because it makes them feel part of a macro culture. you are just not hip enough to be there. >> thank you very much. up next a face-lift for facebook. an exclusive first look at the way your profile is about to change starting today. right after this. so humpty dumpty had a...

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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. well, today facebook releases its most radical transformation yet to the way you view your profile. they're calling it timeline and kate is the global director of design for facebook and is here to show us an exclusive first look. hey, kate, good morning. >> good morning. >> more than 800 million users. this is the first anywhere in the world that people publicly will be able to see what you're doing. show us how it looks. >> okay. i'm here to talk about timeline,

the new facebook profile. it's a place for you to tell your story from beginning until now with all the special moments in between, your photos, your check-ins, shared experience. it is like an online digital scrapbook. every online scrapbook should have a great cover. let's jump in and look at mine. the first thing you'll notice, big, beautiful photograph. this is my son. it's a recent photograph from a great vacation we had. >> beautiful photograph but is it a layout? is that the difference? is that what is changing? >> yeah. the layout is changing but it also gives you the opportunity. you'll see my recent check-in here but you can go back in time now. facebook started in 2004. but i just uploaded these fun photographs from my childhood from the '70s. >> let's look to the right of your screen at home. basically you have the months, the years, so you can quickly get to all that information. >> absolutely. >> which is different from before. >> yes. >> before now you had to sort of search. >> you did. >> you guys have colluded to do something similar, to do timeline on my page. i have purposely not looked at

it. i wanted you and the producer to have at it. show me what you've done. >> here we go. >> okay. >> there you are. gorgeous photo. >> that's me way up. thanks. all the years that are on the right then. >> so if you actually can go back in time to 1959. >> oh, dear. >> yes. it's adorable. look at that childhood photograph. >> great. >> and it notes you were in san diego. you can actually scroll up like if you look at 2009 you actually had some amazing career highlights and it shows all of your travels down to these amazing photos. >> these are my photographs. >> with the dalai lama. really beautiful. >> so really then it is a way of sort of seeing your life kind of in sort of a more i guess an easier-to-access way. >> absolutely. >> there is even a map involved here. >> there is. >> which is an interesting feature. >> your map looks really good. >> so you can use this map to say where -- in my case where you've been in your work but you can use it for whatever you want it to be.

>> yes. >> maybe your ancestral history or something like that. >> absolutely. you can check in as you're going or retroactively go back. you have check-ins from antarctica and then all the way up to special moments like if we look at new york here. >> forget it. >> thank you. now i'm mad at you. we need to ask you quickly, what do you say to people who don't want their profile to change? because, you know, the last time you made a big change there was a big pushback. i probably expect one again this time. >> facebook is super personal to people. it has your photographs, friends, communication. so we know change can be hard. this time we're giving people a seven-day period from the time you click on timeline you get seven days to get it exactly the way you want it before you share it with anyone. >> that's right. >> so nice adjustment. >> very quickly, about privacy concerns, there is a privacy click on this one, right? because that is a big issue still on facebook. >> yes. >> yes there is. >> so with privacy in mind we're also launching activity log. it's a place for you to see

everything you've done and click on privacy to decide how to share it all in one place. >> all right. kate, thank you so much. and of course we'll be letting people know that as soon as we're off television, you can go to today.com for more information about this after your local news. [ br ian ] free shipping is like my little gift on top of a gift. and this time of year, i send out a lot of gifts.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> still a few problems to get to. if you are traveling in the next few minutes, here is what you want to watch for. aberdeen is still clearing the philadelphia road and laughlin roadbed 140 and 795, we have an accident happened up there. another accident on the spot 32 at 175. further south, route 2. solomons island road closed due to a downed pole and wires. take 468 as your alternate there.

we will see what is going on at on our cameras. northbound and southbound traffic, no delays to report there. northern parkway, j.f.x., you can see southbound delays. heading towards 20, things start to get here. >> so far so good. there is a little cloud cover, but the rain has held off. it should do that for the rest of the drive that time and most of the morning. 40 in taneytown. chance for rain will go up as we had to the afternoon. it will feel more like december over the weekend. 45 on saturday. 43 on sunday. may produce sprinkles and snow flurries.

chance for rain again on tuesday and wednesday of next week.

♪ rocking around the christmas tree ♪ 8:00 now on a thursday morning. it's the 15th of december, 2011. and we're happy to be outside. hi, guys. here at rockefeller plaza with the great group that decided to spend their holiday, part of their holiday season anyway, with us. waving at their family and friends back home. a pretty nice morning. what, 49 degrees, not as cold as it has been of late which is terrific news. meantime, i'm ann curry with matt lauer and al roker. coming up, we'll be talking about an oscar winner's return to the big screen. >> she is in the studio right now. we're talking about sandra bullock. she took a short break from acting and is back with a new movie called "extremely loud and

incredibly close." i saw it the other day. it is extremely well done and powerful. we'll talk to sandra about that and other things in a couple minutes. always good to have her here. and as we bring this year to an end oftentimes it gives us great perspective to look back on some of the trends. one of the questions we'd be addressing this morning is what do we use the internet to search for? what were our google searches? and you can see some of the people who were searched on google. we talked about major stories. we'll find out what were the top trends of 2011? >> and then another question. what were the top movies and tv shows of 2011? we'll have complete coverage. the golden globe nominations are coming up. and we'll have all of that for you. big coverage. >> i'm so excited. the descendants was a great movie. "money ball" and "the artist." i could go on. >> instead we'll let natalie go on. she is standing by at the news desk with the headlines. good morning, everyone. in a ceremony rich with tradition and full of emotion

the u.s. military this morning officially ended its mission in iraq. defense secretary leon panetta told u.s. troops in baghdad that nearly nine years of sacrifice set iraq on a path to democracy. the war left at least 4,476 americans dead and 32,000 wounded and cost taxpayers $800 billion. a massive defense spending bill is expected to win senate approval today. the house passed the $662 billion measure last night but first it had to make last-minute changes to ensure president obama's ability to prosecute terror suspects in civilian courts. a record 48% of public schools failed to meet the standards for yearly progress set by the federal no child left behind act. that is according to the center on education policy, a nonpartisan think tank. states used standardized reading and math tests to measure progress against federal benchmarks which are set higher each year.

now an update on the e! news host who has successfully undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery for her breast cancer. her husband says she is in great spirits and already cracking jokes. glad to hear that. last night's auction of elizabeth taylor's jewelry fetched a record $137 million. the new york post reports her favorite tailor bought up million dollars of its own creations including a $6 million diamond and emerald necklace. her art, clothing, and memorabilia sales continue this week. and our quick roundup of what has you talking online. facebook is buzzing about a new study that finds women make better bosses. researchers say female bosses are more likely to appreciate the need for balancing work and life. men are more likely to scold workers for being on personal calls or social media. demi moore and her twitter handle mrs. kutcher are top searches on yahoo. she tweeted that changing her twitter name is not a top priority right now, adding sorry

it bothers so many of you. demi is divorcing ashton kutcher. and this seal pup is getting lots of love on facebook and twitter. it wiggled out of td wahe waterf new zealand and made itself comfy on a sofa. the home owner thought she was hallucinating. when she called the spca they thought she was drunk. when being driven back to the harbor the seal broke out of its box, flopped into the seat and accidently turned on the car radio. sounds like quite the party animal. it is now 8:04. very cute. let's go back outside to al with a check of your weather right now. today's weather is brought to you by massage emy. the gift card makes the perfect holiday gift. >> good morning, everybody. we have brand new 16-year-old. what's your name young lady? >> alexandria. >> where are you from? >> spring hill, florida. >> all right. it says it right there if i just read the sign. there you go. well, happy birthday. >> thank you very much.

>> thanks. all right. and let's check your weather. shall we? see if i can read what's on the screen. the whag nbc 25 showers mild, 53 degrees, and you can see that cold front pushing its way to the east bringing rain from new england all the way down into texas. starting off with a little snow in new england. that'll change over to rain later. got some snow showers out in the mountains of idaho and western montana. we're also looking at wet weather stretching along the coastal pacific northwest into northern california. heavier showers and thunderstorms down through texas. look for rain moving into the northeast later today. sunny skies and nice and mild down through florida. good morning. we should be mostly dry as we head to the drive time. into the afternoon hours, we will see a chance for some rain shers.

got these nice ladies. >> woo hoo! >> all right. ann? >> hey, al. we've got a bone to pick with you because it was 49 degrees a few minutes ago but take a look at that. wait a minute. it was actually 39. no i'm not seeing things. it went down to 39. >> i can see why you're upset. oh, my gosh. it's the same it was ten minutes ago. >> we have sandra bullock in our studio after this. and melt with you ♪

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long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters. we're now back at 8:10 with one of our favorite guests around here, sandra bullock. two years after winning the oscar she is finally returning to the big screen and the new movie is called "extremely loud and incredibly close." sandra plays a 9/11 widow and mom to a 9-year-old boy trying to cope after their tragic loss. take a look. >> what do you miss about him? >> oh, i miss so many things about him. >> i miss how he could tell the weather just by touching the window. >> when woe cohe would come in house and yell "what's everybody doing?" >> he told me. he said, i really love your

mother. she's such a good girl. >> welcome back, sandra. it's nice to see you. >> thank you. >> i feel the need to start this interview by telling our viewers two things. one, bring tissues. >> yes. >> it's a very emotional and powerful movie. the second is if they're going to this movie because they want to see you, up on screen for the whole film, this is not that movie. >> true. >> you're in there about 15 minutes. >> it's actually 24 minutes. >> sorry. i miscalculated. >> throughout the whole film. strategically placed moments. >> yes. >> but, no. it's truly this amazing story of this child's point of view of what happened in his life that was this horribly tragic event and to see it through his eyes is far more i think poignant and impactful than to see it through an adult's eyes. >> i bring it up only -- first of all, you are great in those 22 minutes. >> 24. >> sorry. because -- 15 the way i calculate. >> 24. >> i like it because i like the

fact that did you this. i think there are a lot of a-list actors who would have said this isn't a big enough star term for me and i admire your choice on that. >> i've already had those moments i think. i'm -- there might be more. i don't know. but i don't know how many moments and opportunities like this there will be with stories like this, with directors and casts like this. you know, it's where, like, the rare moments in life where all the elements are there and they all come together for some strange or bigger reason and i, you know, you can't say no to that. >> it's haunting stuff. i mean, it takes place, 9/11, or as it's called in the movie sometimes the worst day. here in new york city as those planes hit the world trade center, you were actually in the city, so this is close and personal for you as it is for a lot of people. as part of the research for this movie you went and listened to the voice mails left behind by people trapped in that tower for their families. talk to me about that. >> the fact we were given access to them by the families or that

they allowed people to have access to them is pretty -- >> why do you think they shared? were you surprised? >> i was at first until you see the tremendous gift it was to them, left by those who are no longer here. you know, so many of them were a progression of e-mails from i'm going to be fine. everything is great. don't worry. to, we're trying to find a way out. and then of course the final outcome. but i was absolutely and still am -- it's haunting and it's inspiring that the last message inevitably was one of hope for the families left behind and i -- as a human being you don't know how to comprehend that. but i -- i am so glad that those handful of people had that gift. they didn't have the contact that they would have loved, but they are able to have this gift and the strength of the loved one just what they gave is just mind blowing. >> let's talk about the young man who plays your son in this, thomas horn. i mean, he is in just about every scene. you're in eight minutes. but he is in about every scene here and he is extraordinary.

>> yeah, yeah. >> when you look at him and you know this movie is going to change his career. >> yeah. >> what advice do you have for a young man like that? >> you don't give someone like thomas horn advice. >> why not? >> because he doesn't need it. this isn't going to be his sole career. he is destined to do so many things of great worth. not that acting isn't something of great worth. but he has his -- he knows what he is here to do and he has so many interests and he might only be 13, 14. i don't know if he's 13 or 14. but he is far more educated, wiser, kind, empathetic than most adults in this room and i don't say that as a negative thing. i just say that he is an extraordinary human being and he was given this opportunity. it was something he wanted to take. and he did not shy away from it from day one. it's frightening to watch his level of professionalism. it was frightening. >> tom hanks as well. max -- he never says a word

without giving anything away about who his character is. he is a guy who either has lost the ability to speak or chooses not to speak. we don't know. and the power he brings is -- i was blown away by him. >> yeah. the beauty of this story is it shows so many points of view of grief and how vastly different they are. and, you know, we like to see pretty grief on film but in the end you have such a cathartic response to this movie. it lets you feel what you're feeling whatever it is. you know? and it's a rare thing. >> let's leave them laughing. let's end on a lighter note. christmas around the corner. i was reading you're going to spoil the pants off louie. >> yes. >> we have him in a sound proof booth down at nbc. >> yes. >> so he can't hear. what is the most extravagant thing you'll buy him? >> i don't know if i've stopped. >> what did you buy? >> i am not going to tell you. >> he can't hear. >> no. i'm not going to tell you because he understands everything. >> you bought him a plane didn't you? >> i kind of did. i got him a g-5. maybe he'll let mommy use it. i don't know. >> he'll grow into it.

what is your favorite christmas song? since you're musically trained. >> yeah, because that gene did not pass on to me like sometimes two doctors don't have a surgeon child. they have, well, we've seen what happens. it's usually my favorite christmas songs are ones that are like by some beautiful choir with a great orchestration and sounds like in some holy place. >> do you have a name? >> no, again, because there are many. i know you want me to pick one thing but life isn't about just one thing, matt. >> it's true. >> i'm sorry, you guys. you have to do this every day. i have to deal with this once every two years. >> the movie is incredible. extremely loud and incredibly close. sandra's two minutes in this movie are just incredible. >> why am i here? why did i show up today? >> merry christmas. >> you too. >> good to see you. it opens in theaters on january 20th. and nationwide on that day. up next, what were you looking for? the top google searches of the year right after this.

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cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. back now at 8:20 and this morning on "today" celebrate 2011 the top google searches of the year. americans with plenty of online hunting for information for anything from big news event to celebrity gossip and recipes. we'll break it all down starting with the news. >> all right. i think some of these searches will not surprise people. you know, this is not really in a particular order, but these are the top five of the year.

actually i have six in here. and the first one we want to talk about is hurricane irene. i mean, this was a storm that affected some 55 million people. >> and people -- a lot of critics were saying oh, it was over hyped and the fact is it was not. it lived up to and more than what it -- >> a lot of damage. >> we remember here in new york thinking we might take a direct hit. it didn't seem that bad until we started to realize the power outages that resulted all up and down the east coast and inland up into northern vermont. >> absolutely. >> people suffering from this. another major news event searched for this year, occupy wall street which started here in wall street in new york and then spread quickly across the country. people were obviously curious about that. number three, you were there, the earthquake in japan. >> the earthquake in japan. that obviously became also concerns about radiation after the nuclear power plants were affected. so that one i think a lot of people are concerned about which way the winds were going and what was going to happen. how many people were affected.

also the images, the videos that were taken at that time were so dramatic as we're looking now. >> and the billions of dollars in cost and also lost lives. >> another one on the list of the news searches, iphone 5. >> though it turned out to be -- >> exactly. >> people were disappointed. they were searching and hoping it was going to be an iphone 5 and a lot of people were disappointed but the iphone 4s was in fact what resulted. went on to become a huge hit. >> a story that dominated headlines for a long time was libya and obviously the eventual death of moammar gadhafi, and the raid that killed osama bin laden was one of the most searched news items of the year. >> right. exactly. and on the list of the most searched people. by the way, this is in order. you know, you would think that maybe president obama, maybe even today newt gingrich would be in the top five. no, in fact. they are not in the top five because the top -- number five -- the most googled person

was casey anthony which is a really -- a trial. that story caused a lot of emotions. >> the hip hop artist, nikki -- >> she is so fun. lady gaga we would expect to be on that list. >> right. >> she was number three. then at number two? >> kim kardashian. >> and who do you think the number one most searched person was on google in 2011? >> hit it. >> justin bieber. there you go. >> bieber fever. >> okay. and weddings. >> if you were a royal watcher obviously you had something going. but interestingly enough, not the most popular search here in the states when it came to weddings. we had the kim kardashian wedding, i should say the nikola shea wedding. >> that's four. >> then the khloe and lamar wedding. >> lamar odom. >> very interesting. >> yes. >> and of course we got to witness the royal wedding kiss. >> that's right. >> on the dale connie. how great was that? >> how short was that?

>> but then they did number two. >> which was also great. >> they double dipped. >> and number one was the kim kardashian wedding, now in divorce. so the most googled recipes, turns out what americans wanted to eat this year is all about comfort food. bringing it on out right here. and your guesses for what number five was? pancakes, breakfast. okay. well because we don't have time. >> wow. >> okay. >> chili, number four. >> number three? >> so these are all recipes. >> banana bread. >> number one. >> chicken breast. >> what? >> could have a thousand different ways to make chicken breast. >> that is basically saying the internet has become now our cookbook. we're starting to go to the internet to figure out how to make basic things. >> the biggest head scratcher i think was the top rising search video and that was rebecca black that friday video went viral. >> all right. >> her mom paid over $4,000 for it. there are lots of parodies online. you have to google them to see. >> i got dibs on the meat loaf.

>> that's what i want. >> the chicken. >> i have chosen the chili. >> could be a rough third hour. >> i know. golden globe nominations. come on. bring it. bring it. mm-hmm. first your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> let's get a final check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> still dealing with problems. trying to wrap up the rush hour, but it is a little bit tough this morning. if you are traveling in harwood, route 2 remains closed. we are also getting word of the accident along route 255 at 468. 468 is what we have been providing as your alternate. garland road in pasadena, watch for an accident it saw i-95 in the area of 175, crash. if you want to head out on the

outer loop, west side, toughest spot. not bad on the inner loop. 10 minutes to the 83's. we will switch over to an live view of traffic at pimlico road. southbound j.f.x. so far, pretty good. john collins has into the forecast. >> we have only seen a few breaks for sunshine. over to the west, far western maryland, rain shower activity. there is a cold front out there. it is increasing the rain chances. at the airport, cloudy skies. barometer is up. we have a light, a south wind running almost calm. mostly cloudy today, chance for showers. south wins at about 10 to 15 miles per hour. for saturday, both look dry. highs in the 40's.

sprinkle of larry as the storm passes to our south on sunday. monday looks dry. tuesday and wednesday, rain chance increase. >> we will have another update at 8:55.

thank you. >> it is 8:30 on a thursday morning and also the 15th day of december, 2011. got a nice crowd in the giving mood this morning taking part in our 18th annual holiday toy drive. right now our elves this morning, the cast of the emmy winning series collecting our donations and big news to share about them. we'll do that in a moment when we talk to them. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer

with ann curry, natalie morales, and al roker. >> we'll break down the golden globe nominations out in beverly hills this morning. >> that's always fun. >> yep. >> also coming up couples are always busy but have we got to the point where we actually have to schedule those intimate moments with our partners? the professionals will talk about that as one of our topics. get them going. >> check your iphone. and tomorrow -- there is an app for that. tomorrow on "today" it's our annual look at all the big moments from the past year here on "today." we had plenty including meredith leaving and ann taking over the anchor desk. the royal wedding. matt's "where in the world" adventure. hey now. so much more. >> yes. >> hey now. these are not the droids you're looking for. >> exactly. let us say hello to cast of the popular series "dounton abbey"

following the lives of servants and aristrocrats during world war ii. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. congratulations. you guys were nominated for a golden globe award this morning. how does it feel? >> we're happy. >> amazing. >> wonderful. >> you're okay with it? for people who don't know about this series describe it if you will. >> it takes place in a grand house just after the world war i which would be the series and it's the intertwining lives of the servants downstairs and the family upstairs and as the great war unfolds. >> and how your relationship is affected. you play a lord and lady right? >> we do. >> and how is your relationship affected by world war i as people start to -- you start to

lose people to this war? >> well the great war obviously wiped out a whole generation and the house that has been populated by, you know, male and female staff in the first season. in the second season in the middle of the war we see those men go off after the war and the house changes forever really. >> because of that, that includes some of the loss of life and perhaps your characters so who is going to stick around for season three? >> raise your hand if you'll be here for the christmas party. all right? >> not so fast. >> congratulations once again. >> thank you very much. >> good for you. >> all right. >> mr. roker? >> all right. let's show you what's happening as we head toward your weekend. tomorrow we've got rain in the southeast and the gulf coast. santa ana winds may be kicking up again tomorrow in southern california. showers in the pacific northwest. as we move into saturday we're looking at morning showers along the mid-atlantic coast. showers down in florida. and some wet weather along the pacific northwest coast. sunday we've got some snow

showers. i forgot to do it. sunday sunday we're looking at showers down in the southwest. also coastal oregon we've got more wet weather possible down in southern florida. >> good morning. some rain showers will catch up to us. the high temperature between 53 and 58. don't forget, get your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> you turned that into one long word. >> i did. just no pause. when we come back the golden globe nominations for this year. first, this is "today" on nbc.

hollywood is getting an early wakeup this morning for the 69th annual golden gloek be nominations. >> we'll get to the announcement in just a moment. first let's bring in the managing editor of "entertainment weekly" magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> it must have been fun looking at all these great movies. >> a very exciting day. second holiest day next to the oscars. >> so this is movies and television. let's start with movies. what will be the sure fire stories that we're going to be hearing about? >> i think you'll be hearing a lot about brides maids, a lot about george clooney, ryan gosling. there is an amazing best actress race this year both with these

golden globes and also the oscars. you've got meryl streep, viola davis, michelle williams, glenn close. it will be really interesting to see how the golden globes shake out with those. >> also a lot of buzz about brad pit in "money ball" as well. >> you've got the whole "ocean's 11" team actually up for stuff. >> clooney with "descendants." >> matt damon for "we bought a zoo." sort of a long shot. i think pitt and clooney you'll hear those names. >> 15 seconds until we get the announcement. what is the one big story? >> i think it was in actor comedy there was johnny gileki instead of jim parsons. that was big. and a lot of new stuff like jessica lang. >> let's find out who gets a big nomination. >> good morning, everyone. and welcome to the nomination announcement for the golden globe awards. with us this morning are reshita jones, gerard butler and woody

halston. please get us started. >> best performance by an actor in a mini series or motion picture made for television. hugh bonneville, interest alba, "luther." william hurt "too big to fail." bill nye "page 8 masterpiece" and dominic west "the hour." best performance by an actor in a television series drama. steve bushemi "boardwalk empire" and brian cranston "breaking bad." kelsey grammer, "boss." jeremy irons, damian lewis "homeland." best television series drama. "american horror story fx." "boardwalk empire" hbo.

"boss" stars. "game of tloehrones" hbo. "homeland" showtime. best performance by an actor in motion picture, comedy, or musical. jeanne gudardine. "the artist." joseph gordon livt "50/50." ryan gosling "crazy, stupid love." owen wilson "midnight in paris." >> best performance by an actress in a supporting role and motion picture bernice bejo "the artist" and jessica kestine. "the help." octavia spencer "the help" and shealene woodly "the

descendants." best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama. george clooney "the descendants." leonardo dicaprio "j edgar." michael fasbender "shame" and ryan gosling "the ides of march" and brad pitt "money ball." >> did you leave one name off of there? >> it's so weird. it was here but they typexed it out. i don't know what that means. best motion picture in a comedy or musical, "50/50" "the artist" "brides maids" "midnight in paris" and "my week with marilyn." >> best performance by an

actress in a mini series or motion picture made for television. roman igidi" the hour" and diane lane, elizabeth mcgovern, emily watson "appropriate adult" kate winslet "mildred pierce." best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture, kenneth briana "my week with marilyn." albert brooks "drive." jonah hill "money ball." "a dangerous method." christopher plummer "beginners." best director motion picture woody allen "midnight in paris." george clooney "the ides of march." michael hasinovichich "the artist." alexander payne "the descendant." martin corsez "hugo."

>> best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama, glenn close "albert nobs" viola davis "the help" rooney mara "the girl with the dragon tatoo" meryl streep "the iron lady." tilda swenton. we need to talk about kevin. best performance by an actress in an motion picture, comedy, or musical. jodi foster "carnage." charlize theron "young adult." kristin wigg "brides maids." michelle williams "my week with marilyn." kate winslet "carnage." best motion picture drama, "ram

part" opens january 27th. but i don't see it on the list here. just a lot of things left off today. i just want to say. okay. "the descendants," "the help," "hugo," "the ides of march," "money ball," "war horse." >> congratulations to all the nominees. don't forget to join us on sunday, january 15th, for the golden globe awards hosted by ricky gervais live on nbc. >> got through it. >> thank you, everybody. >> all right. that was pretty exciting about

all of these nominations. we want to immediately go to the person who -- some of the people who have been nominated. we've got the silent film artist, now golden globe nominated. we also have jean dujardine and belmisa. what is your reaction? congratulations. what is your reaction to being nominated? >> there you go. >> jean, we'll get to bernice in a second. can you even describe what it was like to prepare for this role? i mean, it's not every day that an actor gets asked to act in a silent movie. >> like a good student i watched a lot of movies. i watched silent movies like "sun rise," "the crowd" and i

watched a lot of douglas fairbanks movies because he always plays the same role like my character. and i watched the movies for his smile, for his movement. victor yo for his italian physicality. clark gable for his mustache. >> and your role in this movie really -- >> of course i watched lassie and rin tin-tin. >> all of those characters really showed up on the screen in your role. let's get to bernice. what is your reaction to this news? you've been nom mountainadoed for -- nominated for a golden globe. >> i did like that. i'm so proud of everybody and so

proud of michelle, jean, i'm very ex-sitded. i'm very moved. so, yeah. i'm very happy. as you can see. >> and emotional as well. >> yes. >> this was a movie that is a silent picture. it certainly is a come from behind in many ways because people weren't sure what to expect. so congratulations. >> to both of you. and thank you for joining us this morning on what is a very big day for both of you. >> enjoy this. >> thank you very much. >> let's bring in jess one more second. obviously that is a kind of a movie a lot of people are going to have to learn more about. any other surprises as you went through the list and listened to the nominations? >> i'm thrilled for george clooney because i really expected him to get nominated for "the descendants" in the lead actor role which he did but also he was nominated for directing the "ides of march" and that movie was very close to his heart and got a lot of attention today. that was nice. i was thrilled to see rooney mara from "the girl with a dragon tatoo." is extraordinair

anythat. >> it didn't get some of the critics awards you would expect it to. i was thrilled to see it. it didn't get nominated though for best drama which i wish it had. but she is amazing. amazing. >> thanks for the cheat sheet. thanks for your time this morning, jess. we appreciate it. a reminder you can catch the golden globes january 15th here on nbc. this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on leonard's look looking at something different. a new series called "catholicism" explores the history of the catholic church. and it looks to find the true meaning of a religion that's been questioned and criticized for having too many rules. let's take a look. >> i know you might be thinking, laws, rules, regulations. weren't ten enough?

now we have eight more. it seems at times the catholic church is obsessed with rules and regulations. what is jesus telling us here on the mount of beatitudes? he is telling us the laws, the rules if you want that will place within our bodies and our minds and our spirit the capacity for joy. >> father robert barren is the host and writer as you just saw of "the catholicism" series and "today's" mike leonard is the produc producer. goodness. you even put on a jacket. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> father, i'll quote you now. you say the church is going through a dark period. the church is under fire, under attack. we need to tell our own story. to some degree is this about moving, trying to move the church so that it's not only to de find by this child sexual abuse scandal of recent decades? >> i think that's part of it. obviously we're going through this crisis tan has to be addressed at every level with great honesty, definitive

action. the sexual abuse scandal has harmed the church in almost every way and produced thousands of innocent victims. we have to address it as mightily as we can. at the same time, i don't want the church to be simply reduced to it. 2,000 years of art and architecture, theology, spirituality, the saints, liturgy, all this richness, i don't want to reduce to the present scandal as serious as that is. that was part of the motivation for doing this. >> which led you then to the very talented mike leonard, who is like me, i think, fair to say, a fallen catholic. how did you get involved? >> i was born and raised that. went to catholic schools. i was, you know, not really there. when they said they wanted to do this and because i'm a story teller, you don't want me. father barren and nancy said, no, we do want you because you come with the same questions, the skepticism, the simple questions that produce profound answers. i found some. i mean t.'s about mercy and compassion and forgiveness and nonviolence. i forgot all of that stuff.

you get hung up in things are going wrong but it's interesting. i didn't pay attention as young man. >> exactly. as many of us don't. >> right. >> we remember the swinging incense but some of the major issues actually become a part of us more than we realize. 2,000 years has taken you to what, 15 countries, over four years, so what is the most important lesson you want for people to get? >> i want them to get what we mentioned in the outset. that it's about joy. what god wants to share with us is his own life and his life is joy. joy is a sign the holy spirit is in you. everything else in the church contributes to that. all the rules and regulations. it's like the rules that govern a golf swing. if you get the rules inside of you you can have the joy of hitting a golf ball well. in the same way when you internalize the rules of the church you find the joy of the holy spirit. that's finding what it's about. when we forget that the church can evolve into less than something it should be. >> i love a father who can make a sports analogy about religion. thank you so much.

such a pleasure. >> nice seeing you, ann. >> thanks for dressing up for us mr. executive producer. >> doesn't happen often. >> the new series is called "catholicism." just ahead, today's professionals tackle the hot to

congratulations to elizabeth mcgovern who was just nominated

for a golden globe, lead actress in a television movie or mini series. congratulations. >> thank you very much. and my partner hugh bonneville as well and meg smith and the rest of that incredible cast. we are just ecstatic. >> were you jumping up and down? >> yes. i tried to stay cool but i'm actually ecstatic. >> you're going to stick around and talk to hoda and kathie lee? >> i am. >> fantastic. congratulations again. >> thank you so much. >> that's a good feeling around here. we'll have much more on a thursday morning >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the search for a potential robbery suspect continues after a barbershop shooting in northeast baltimore. police say a 32-year-old man is shot at 3200 block of harford road, wednesday night.

he suffered gunshot wounds to the eye, finger, and one arm.

>> their share of clouds, a few thin spots, rain to the west of us. rain is in the forecast today, chance for scattered showers closer to noontime.