good morning. breaking news. prince philip leaves the hospital this morning, just four days after undergoing emergency heart surgery. he says he can't wait to rejoin the royal family's holiday celebrations. we're live in london with details. hack attacks. thousands of numbers stolen from a firm that specializes in security. their clients include the u.s. military and apple. now the group behind the hacking is vowing to cause even more havoc in the coming days. and unbearably cute, the 1-month-old polar bear winning an army of admirers online opens his eyes for the first time. we'll adviseity siku, live.

"today," tuesday, december 27th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie in for ann curry. matt welcome back. did you have a good holiday? >> i had a great holiday. how about you? >> i did, too. this polar bear reminds me of aanother adorable bundle of joy bornd 40 years ago today, 40 years ago today. >> you had to say 40 twice. breaking news i'm old >> happy birthday. >> thank you so much. just ahead, prince philip was all smiles as he was driven away from the hospital early this morning. will the health scare force the 90-year-old to further scale back his travel plans just

months before his wife, queen elizabeth's diamond jubilee. and a christmas house fire that claimed the lives of three young sisters and the grandparents. the girl's mother had to be pulled away by firefighters as she tried to rescue the family. >> a heartbreaking story. new developments in the murder case against former reality television producer, bruce beresford-redman. he'll stand trial in mexico for the murder of his wife. reaction to that from the victim's sister in a live interview. carl quintanilla is in for phatly at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. britain's prince philip has been released from the hospital this morning. michelle kosinski is outside

buckingham palace with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, carl. this morning the queen's husband, prince philip, got his wish to be released from the hospital after spending four nights there. in his treatment for a blocked coronary artery was a minimally invasive procedure to install a stent. given the prince is 90 years old, despite his great health, great spirit and great desire to leave, doctors wanted to keep him under observation but this morning they allowed him to be driven to sandringham palace, where they can be out of the public eye and spend the rest of the holidays together, the first time prince philip missed christmas there. he's one of the busiest members of the family, making 300 to 400 appearances every year. it is possible after this he will scale back a little more. carl? >> michelle kosinski in london, thanks. officials are investigating what caused a helicopter to crash in florida on its way to pick up a heart for transplant.

all three were killed including a mayo clinic heart surgeon. the donated heart they were on route to retrieve has been expired and can't be reused. the patient who was to receive the heart waits for a new donation. shoppers took to the web instead of the mall with online sales jumping 16% over last year's christmas day shopping rush and the numbers using iphones and ipads and other devices to make purchases increased by a whopping 173%. for more we turn to cnbc's courtney reagan at the bay plaza shopping center in the bronx. courtney, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, carl. this week between christmas and new years is a rebalancing act of sorts juggling between returns, exchanging and new sales. it's difficult for the digital content retarls, barnes mp mp nobles, the amazons of the world.

amazon in a statement to cnbc tells us "this christmas, not only did we have more kindle book downloads than last year, but christmas 2011 was our biggest day ever in terms of kindle book downloads." similarly ceo of barnes & noble, william lynch noting that is the biggest day of the year. we'll keep focused on the sales numbers as we get them. >> cnbc's courtney reagan, thanks. the babysitter charged in the death of a 9-year-old indiana girl makes an appearance today. aliahna lemmon was found dead monday. and breaking an nfl record is a breeze if you're drew brees that is, the quarterback for the new orleans saints set a new record for passing yards in a single season, a record held by dan marie know for the past 27 years. breeze threw for 307 yards, four

touchdowns, setting the record with one mifinal nine-yard stri. no surprise the saints beat the falcons 45-16, taking home the nfc south title. dan marie know tweeted after the game "great job by a special player." that's class. >> they're both special players. by the way carl thank you for doing a good job the last couple of days. >> you're welcome. >> al is off this morning. we have stephanie abrams from the weather channel in. >> good to see you. airport delays are going to extend from the south all the way into the northeast. atlanta, charlotte, charleston, detroit, new york and boston. why, you ask? because of this whopper of a mess, rain and snow falling from the gulf coast, all the way into the great lakes and the northeast. there is the threat for severe weather stretching from virginia beach down towards savannah. happy birthday, savannah and as we work our way through the day,

soggy up and down the i-95 corridor, otherwise w >> good morning. a storm system approaching. the mountains will be the first to see it. a high >> matt, over to you. >> steph, thank you very much. now it sounds like a good thing at first, a wealth of donations made to charity, but the contributions are the result of a major hacking attack, after thousands of credit card numbers were actually stolen from a security firm, and the group, claiming responsibility, says more attacks are on the way. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has details on this. pete, good morning.

>> matt the company involved in this latest hack attack is a think tank in texas with big named clients including apple and the u.s. military. now it's the company that's trying to protect itself, after a serious breach of private client information. alan barr of texas was stunned to discover that just before christmas, red cross records showed he recented contributed $200 with his credit card, something he didn't actually do. while many of the victims in the laters hacker attack were corporate clients, strator, individual subscribers discovered their information was stolen too. >> in this sense they take from individuals, they could have ruined our lives. >> reporter: he says the hackers tried to steal $700 in all from his account but his credit card company alerted him in time. most of the contributions made by the hackers, the group calling itself anonymous will be returned because they were stillen to start with but the

embarrassment is major for stratfor. the group claimed in a statement there's "plenty more havoc in store for the rest of the week." they called for the release of army private bradley manning, accused of passing thousands of classified documents of wikileaks, and the hackers circulated a list of hundreds of stratfor corporate clients and the names of individual subscribers along with credit card numbers and private data. >> it's a fairly serious breach, a lot of people's identities, including people in sensitive positions in the defense department, intelligence agencies and private companies, even foreign embassies. >> reporter: a twitter feed sometimes connected to the hacker group says celebrities, singers and a reality show star are among its next victims, but because the group is so decentralized, there's no way to verify that claim. the texas company, stratfor,

says it's putting systems in place to prevent something like this from happening again. security experts say it's a warning to all big companies to make certain that their sensitive client data is well protected. matt? >> pete williams, thank you very much. mark rash is a security expert. mr. rash, good morning to you. good morning, matt. >> a couple of things sound odd. a lot of major corporations are clients of this money but "the little people" were also targeted. why do you think that's the case? >> because the people who were subscribers to this list, all kinds of different individuals use credit cards and the credit cards is what they were after, plus embarrassing or demonstrating they could do this. >> just to demonstrate they could do this, on the one hand this is criminal, hacking into the private accounts of individuals, yet donating this money to charity, so they're setting themselves up to be modern day robinhoods in some way. >> but the charities aren't

getting the money, when people see the charge they didn't authorize they'll charge it back and the money is not going to be going to these charities. >> the group mind this hacking attack says they were able to do this because stratfor did not encrypt certain information. if that's true, why is it true and what does it mean for the rest of us? >> credit card numbers are supposed to be encrypted. when you give your credit card to somebody in a store or online, once they have that credit card processed and even during the processing, it's supposed to be stored in encrypted manner so it will be secure and that's the standard of care people are supposed to have. why it didn't happen in this case, requires an investigation really. >> quickly, i can only imagine the number of people online using their credit cards over the last month so if people have concerns about whether they were hacked, how do they go about figuring it out? >> the best thing for consumers is read your credit card bills and once a year, get a credit report so you can see if

somebody is using your name or your credit without your authorization. >> mark rasch, thank you very much, appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up in the next half hour, a warning to parents about another breach of security, how criminals get their hands on the identities of babies before they were even born. we'll talk about that. right now 7:12, here's savannah. now to politics and the presidential race. the iowa caucuses take place one week from today and the republican candidates are hitting the road hard with just seven days to go. nbc's peter alexander is in des moines, iowa, this morning. peter good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. all of the candidates are back on the trail but they did take a break from the relentless campaigning for the christmas holiday to be with their family. with one press ahead to the caucuses, what happens could dictate who gets the gop nomination. with that in mind the candidates begin their final push. post christmas and it appears no more mr. nice guy from newt

gingrich. the former house speaker's campaign is out with its first attack e-mail labeled "mitt, the massachusetts moderate" directly targeting rival mitt romney. the e-mail marks a departure from the positive only campaign gingrich promised to run. >> we need a positive candidate with a positive program, and we're willing to overlook the fact that he's not running a single neckive ad. >> they're counting on last-minute handshakes and hellos. on monday, rick santorum turned a hunting trip into a photo-op. >> we'll surprise people with how well we do caucus night. >> michele bachmann continues house to house, and recent polls show ron paul, romney and gingrich leading the pack, prompting "the des moines

register" to ask "could ron paul win?" >> there have been six front-runners in iowa but there's no clear front-runner headed into the actual caucus. >> reporter: after months of campaigning mostly outside of iowa, romney is trying to convince voters in the hawk i would state that he's a committed conservative. >> i'm going to get rid of obama sager. >> perry took aim straight at washington. >> that's the reason i call for a part-time congress, cut their pay in half. >> reporter: gingrich accepted blame for failing to get enough signatures to enenter the virginia primary over the weekend but says the failed system should be changed. >> well, i think that it's time for them to change it. if something's wrong, we got to fix it. >> reporter: analyst caution one week is an eternity in politics and a lot could change here in iowa. >> iowa caucuses are very unpredictable and everybody

ought to understand that and be aware surprises are part of the territory of the caucucaucuses. >> reporter: at new hampshire mitt romney is pulling to the top of the pack and all the way the president of the united states, barack obama, is still in hawaii vacationing with his family, yesterday enjoying a hike and also a chance to go to the gym. by the way the temperature there in hawaii in the 80s. in here we just hit our high at 34 degrees. happy birthday from a cold iowa. >> peter alexander, thanks so much. chris matthews, host of "hardball" on msnbc and author of "jack kennedy, elusive hero." good morning. >> good morning. >> iowans are famous for not making up their minds until the final days. these are the final days. you have ron paul surging, romney at second and it's a battle for third. >> i think ron paul is proof there's a tremendous appeal among actual republican voters who get to speak for the first time next week for small

government conservatism, the less government the better, the good old barry goldwater approach, i think that's the message from his victory if he wins. >> romney made a calculated decision this time around not to actively campaign in iowa, after the upset in 2008, and yet he seems to be surging. he's up with an ad, going to go wall to wall in this final week. how does he have to finish in order to kind of exceed expectations? >> he's got to beat newt gingrich and almost an intermural battle between the two front-runners. they're leading in the national polls. if he beats newt it's a huge night for him, even if he comes in second to paul. >> newt gingrich people say his momentum is fading. do you think he poses the biggest long-term threat to romney? >> he's the brainiest candidate but he has flaws in personal history, big government past and all kinds of problems. he's not pure. my hunch is coming out of iowa you'll see purity, ron paul, and

real surge for rick santorum for his religious conservatism. they want both. and winnability. >> at the end of the day iowans seem to be so undecided even at this late date. is this something business as usual, how it goes in iowa or larger here with dissatisfaction with their choices? >> when you have dissatisfaction with your choices i think all the voters want to leave those caucuses next tuesday night with clean hands. i didn't have to hold my nose or go with flaws. go with the purity of ron paul on small government and purity of rick santorum on religious conservatism, and duke it out for second place. >> presidentby ma's job approval, higher on approval versus disapproval. is this a reflection of things getting better in the economy or

people not liking republicans. >> i believe it's the economy. the stock markets come up a bit, the unemployment come down a bit. his biggest problem, and i don't want to rain on his good parade, if the numbers get to 8.4% unemployment rate and climbs back up that's bad news for him. he's almost better off with a higher unemployment rate this month than a low one. >> chris matthews thank you so much. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> catch more of chris on "hardball" on msnbc. the christmas morning tragedy in stamford, connecticut, where five members of a family died in a house fire. investigators believe they've found a likely cause. nbc's craig melvin is in stamford with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you as well. we're standing in front of all that's left of the badger family home. officials demolished it

yesterday for safety reasons. madonna badger lost her three children and two parents in that christmas morning fire. this morning we're learning more about them and what may have sparked the deadly blaze. until christmas morning, this was the badger family home, monday bulldozers reduced the charred shell to rubble. a few feet away neighbors turned the yard into a makeshift memorial. >> any day it's bad but christmas day, family visiting, i don't know, i don't know what to say. >> reporter: investigators now have a good idea what caused the christmas morning fire that left three little girls and their grandparents dead. city official says it looks like embers from a log triggered the fire. when flames started shooting from the house the 45-year-old mother rushed and tried to save her family. fire officials had to drag her away. >> all i can say she was instructing where she thought the children would be and the firefighters made an attempt,

were pushed back by heavy flames. >> badgers three daughters were trapped on the third floor and died. lily was 10, twins sarah and grace were 7. madonna badgers escaped with her friend, mike bursini, reportedly a contractor doing work on the house. badger is behind the marky mark ads forical vine klein. she is going through a divorce. the house was built in the 1890s and a city official said age and newly installed siding may have spread the fire faster. >> i feel horrible for madonna and the children and her parents. it's just a tragedy. >> reporter: the badgers pictured here with their grandfather and his wife, also trapped upstairs and died, they would have celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary monday.

johnson didn't just wear the big red suit for family. this year he played st. nick at saks fifth avenue in new york city. he says "i am now a santa because my oldest granddaughter asked me to be." back live in stamford, that makeshift memorial of teddy bears and flowers has grown. would fire alarms and smoke alarms even helped? those are a few questions we expect to get set for a press conference this afternoon. >> craig male vin in stamford, nothing but heartbreak in this story. back in a moment on this tuesday morning. this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, filing for bankruptcy at just the age of 2 years old? the follow-up to our investigation into a costly crime targeting the identities of babies. and we will go live to siku,

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if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. an early-morning fire in the charles village area had crews in baltimore city busy. it started a long 2:45. part of the structure is occupied by the big boys bail bonds company. it took crews hours to contain the fire. two people were inside it in the

time and were transported to shock trauma for smoke inhalation. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> no significant delays around the area. in annapolis, rita road, be careful in their bank. closures related to the fire. 25th street at charles street in the city, warren road remains blocked at york road. another one in the aberdeen region. everything looks good on 95 from harford county. rest of the major roadways in good shape. 95 and the fort mchenry, coming towards us. southbound traffic moving without delay at the fort mchenry tunnel. greenspring, very light volume this morning. ava has a check on your forecast. >> rain is approaching. it is reaching the western part of the state.

mostly are arriving in baltimore after 11:00 a.m. high at 49 today. overall, very mild temperatures. we are back to normal. we bounced back through the end of the week. slight chance for showers on friday. mostly mild weather all the way into the new year but even on new year's eve, et dry

♪ jazzy start to our 7:30 half hour on this tuesday morning, december 27th, 2011. looks pretty nice now but according to some local forecasts, we're in for some heavy rain this afternoon and high winds. i heard one local weather forecaster saying about christmas decorations today, take them in, move them or lose them. it's going to be that nasty this afternoon. you're looking at the view or did look at the view from the top of the rock and now street level, a lot of nice people in our plaza waving to the folks back home. we'll say hi to them in a little while. meanwhile inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie, while ann is taking time off. one of our most startling

investigations, criminals stealing the identities of children sometimes before they are born. one family was stunned to learn their 2-year-old was already thousands of dollars in debt. now changes are being made to make sure it can't happen but we'll give you details on that. after all that holiday spending you're probably looking for ways to save. coming up what you need to do before the end of the year to maximize your tax savings. and we dare you not to fall in love with this little guy, siku, a 1-month-old polar bear being hand raised by humans. we'll visit with him coming up. >> i hope he wakes up before our interview. he's adorable. the former reality show producer accused of killing his wife in mexico. nbc news learned bruce beresford-redman will not appeal a federal judge ruling sending him to mexico to stand trial. we'll get exclusive reaction from the victim's sister in a moment. first nbc's george lewis has the

latest. >> no further appeals. bruce beresford-redman says he's innocent, but a federal judge in los angeles ruled there was sufficient evidence to extradite beresford-redman back to mexico to face charges of aggravated homicide. beresford-redman, his wife, monica, and their children had been staying in a resort in cancun, mexico, last year. three days after monica was reported missing her body was found in a sewer at the resorts. authorities say she wases asphyxiated and injury to the right side of her head. beresford-redman's mother spoke out in defense of her son. >> he is a good man, never been in trouble with the law, he's not a violent person and despite difficulties in the marriage, everyone has difficulties, usually there's still a great deal of love. >> reporter: mexican authorities say there was evidence the

couple fought over his alleged infidelity, that there were scratches on bruce beresford-redman's body and waited until the day after his wife reportedly went missing to notify authorities. >> monica when she has a day out she has a day out. she worked nights as you know in the restaurant and there were times when she didn't get home until the wee hours and the second and more reason is he fell asleep with the children. >> reporter: mexican police found evidence that bruce used his key card to enter and leave the hotel room nine times on the night of his wife's disappearance. he maintains that's because he was searching for monica. >> he was looking for her, and then he would come back and check on the children and did that numerous times. >> reporter: but a federal judge in los angeles did not find beresford-redman's arguments about his innocence compelling enough to block his extradition to mexico. the lawyer for monica's family applauded that. >> you can't really call it a happy occasion, since their sister was brutally murdered,

but this is an important day. it's an important day for justice. >> now that beresford-redman decided against further appeals it will be up to secretary of state hillary clinton to approve his extradition to mexico to face murder charges. >> george lewis in los angeles thank you. monica beresford-redman's sister, carla is with us, along with the family attorney. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> news we just received this morning, he is not going to fight extradition, essentially dropping his appeal and he'll go to mexico to face trial, assuming it passes through the state department. carla, did that surprise you to hear that? >> yes, very much. we waited for him to do that through the beginning. >> because earlier in this process he has been fighting extradition. why do you think he changed his mind? >> i don't know. >> i think we were surprised because given the vigor with which he has fought this, tooth and nail, every step of the way,

really surprised that now he's decided to waive extradition and go back to mexico. >> what is the significance? it fast tracks the process. >> i had prepared the burgos family for another long battle. he could have appealed to the ninth circuit and maybe the united states supreme court, but this way, as long as secretary clinton signs the certification for extradition he's going back to mexico within probably 60 days. >> carla, how is your family doing? i can't imagine going through another holiday without her. you've got the little kids. >> yes, it's been really painful, painful, for my parents, for my father. he's been always like a happy man, easy-going and stuff and he's been so sad and angry with all the situation, you know. i'm happy that he's going. >> has there been any contact at all between your family and

bruce beresford-redman? >> no. >> not at all. how about the kids? you've got these little kids. who has got them and how are they doing? >> well, unfortunately they're staying with the grandparents, and it's not where we want, and we don't think it's the best for them, but it's the legal situation. >> alison when the judge upheld the extradition, the judge cited a list of evidence. the threshold is very low to be extradited. it's not a finding of beyond a reasonable doubt but does that signal the strength of the case against him in your mind? >> we always felt there was overwhelming evidence, started with the cheating and the number of times he left the room and proximity of her body to the hotel room, the cuts and scratches all over him so we always believed unfortunately that there was overwhelming evidence and as they've always said to me, you know, they wished their daughter wasn't murdered but of course they

wished it wasn't their brother-in-law who had done it so it's very sad. >> take us back, carla. when you first heard what had happened, was there any doubt in your mind who was responsible? >> well, it was a hope that, you know, it would be other people involved, but as we saw, there's nobody involved, until now, and there's a lot of evidence that unfortunately leads to believe it was him that did it. >> assuming that this process goes forward, it looks like he's headed for trial in mexico. how do you feel about the mexican legal system? do you feel confident about it? do you think that your sister's case will be handled fairly there? >> they've been really fair during all this process and we really hope that they keep doing this, you know, because they need justice for her. she didn't deserve to go like that. >> carla burgos, good to have

you here, thank you for being with us and alison, for sharing your perspective, appreciate it. it is now 7:37. let's get a check of the weather from stephanie abrams, in for al this morning. >> savannah you're not the only one celebrating a birthday. sam celebrating his 12th birthday from marchingenmuth, michigan. there's a particular way you show where you're from. right there in the thumb. what's there? >> the world's largest christmas store. >> there you go. wait that was a couple days ago, for next year, everybody, that's where you can go. in the northwest, it's not only the east coast that will be seeing the weather. we will also see the rain and the snow all compliments of the jet stream coming over the next 24 hours. we could see up to a foot of snow over the next 48 hours, otherwise the sunshine is right >> good morning. the country. a cloud start the with mild

temperatures. a high of 49 around baltimore. the clouds are in place. >> and if it's your birthday, all you have to do is go to weather.com 24 hours a day for your birthday forecast. savannah back to you. coming up next, why would a 2-year-old need to file for bankruptcy? how criminals are getting the identities of baby, in some cases before they're born. we'll have that story after this. has a crew. it gets invited to parties with paparazzi. it hangs out poolside. it has millions of drooling fans.

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we're back now, 7:42, with "today investigates." all this week we're looking back at some of our top investigations of the year. this morning, a new twist on an old crime targeting your baby's identity. it's a story nbc's jeff rossen first broke back in may. jeff, good morning. nice to see you. >> hey, matt, nice to see you. welcome back. we're both parents. the question we should all ask ourselves, when was the last time you checked your kids' credit report, chances are never and the crooks know it, they're stealing children's information and wracking up millions in debt. federal investigators they were watching and took action. teagen is 2 years old and owes thousands in credit card debt and had to declare bankruptcy. >> you think this is a joke and it's incredibly serious.

>> 9-year-old riley is in default on utility bills. her social was stolen 11 years before she was even born. >> as a mother i was shocked and angry and violated. >> reporter: katie was only 3 years old when crooks stole her identity, now as a teenager, her credit report shows over $750,000 in debt, all at the hands of i.d. thieves, a scary thought for a young girl. >> i think that because it is illegal, like they should be in jail. >> reporter: but they're not. in fact, we found two men using her identity living free. how did you get her social security number? >> i don't know. >> reporter: you don't want to talk? this guy worked at an auto shop miles away from katie's house and we tracked another one. according to the credit bureau you're an identity thief. working at a local 99 cent store. a leading credit bureau says both these men stole katie's social security number to take

out mortgages and auto loans. >> it's not fair. >> reporter: that they're still out there. >> um-hum. >> reporter: our "today" investigation discovered thousands of young victims, nationwide. >> each pink dot represents a suspect we've been able to positively identify their location. >> reporter: jamie is an investigator with all clear i.d. why are babies so attractive for these criminals? >> it's a blank check. the child doesn't realize they have a problem until they start using their credit. >> reporter: that may not happen until your child is 18, applying for their first loan or credit card, giving thieves free reign with their identities for years. >> never in my wildest dreams had i thought to run a credit check on my son. what parent would run a credit check on their child? 's in diapers, crawling. >> reporter: stealing socials is easier than you think. the number is actually a code, the first three digits stand for the state it was issued in, the last six stand for the

approximate date it was issued, a clue to the person's birthday. now using simple software crooks can predict numbers. when the newborn gets their number at the hospital it may already be stolen which is exactly what happened to riley. her mom discovered it years later by chance on a family credit check. >> the government gave me a bum number that obviously they hadn't cleared. it's a financial birth defect and the parents aren't warned. >> reporter: and in many cases, police don't have the time or resources to catch these crooks, leaving parents like katie's dad out in the cold. in a nutshell, what have the police done for you? >> nothing. it's almost like they don't want to be bothered. >> reporter: we found two of the suspects. >> pretty easily. >> reporter: we found man kel contreras in arizona from two days. jeff rossen from nbc news. according to the credit bureau you've been using a young girl's social security number and getting home loans, wracking up

nearly half a million dollars in debt. >> a million dollars. >> >> reporter: half a million dollars. have you been using a young girl's social security number and passing it off as your own? >> i don't understand. >> reporter: so we took in a translator. you took a home lone for $107,000, 2006 for $153,000, also in 2006 for $38,000. that's against the law. >> i don't talk right knew. >> reporter: i'm not a police officer. i'm trying to figure out why you did that. >> i don't see why i don't see no cops. >> reporter: that's a good question. i don't know why you haven't been arrested. hi jeff rossen from nbc news. mario salinas working in the store parking lot wrangling grocery carts, using katie's social he's wracked up over 35 grand in debt. have you ever used a social security? >> translator: no, never used

it. >> reporter: according to the credit bureau you have and taken out several auto loans. there's a young girl whose credit could have been ruined. do you have anything to say to her? >> i don't know. >> reporter: but authorities know a flaw in the credit system lets them get away with it. when someone applies for say a loan usually the bank only checks that the social security number has a good credit history. believe it or not, most banks don't check whether that number was assigned to that name, because the government charges a fee to do that, and most banks don't want to pay, so thieves can use a child's identity over and over again. that seems ridiculous. >> the system definitely has a gap. >> reporter: and for parents, cleaning up the mess can take years and haunt your child, ruining their credit as adults. do you want to say anything to this young girl's family? you don't want to say anything to them? are you going to stop using this

young girl's social security number? >> i talk to my lawyer first. i call you, i talk to you, everything, okay? >> reporter: okay, i'll wait for your call. >> i call you. >> reporter: waiting. he's still out there. he's free. >> burns me up. he can walk around, living on my child's social, and nothing is being done about it. >> now something is being done about it. as a result of our story federal agents have launched an investigation into katie's case. now back in may we also offered viewers free credit scans for your kids. nearly 7,000 of you got them and the results were eye-opening. one in ten found someone else was using their child's social security number. the government is trying to crack down now, all new social security numbers are more randomized, so matt, they're trying to make it harder for the crooks to predict them before the babies are born. >> still you recommend parents on occasion find out if there's anything fishy with the numbers? >> that's the way we do it. we check our credit reports

sometimes, the advice from the government and the advice we should do as well. we have advice on today.com on how to do it. >> jeff thank you very much for refreshing our memory on this one. it's 7:49. just ahead we'll say hi to siku, the adorable baby polar bear, and we'll check his credit rating, right after this. [ male announcer ] 33 years ago, we had a simple idea. make the best vehicles in america... and once a year offer them with special savings. today, it's a phenomenon. toyotathon is back.

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just ahead, year-end tax tips. we'll tell you what you need to do in the coming days to save

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when did you start that project? every new year comes with a few stories waiting to be built. it's when our brand-new to-do lists become "you did that yourself?" so when we can save more on the projects that let us build, make, and even store more, well, that just makes the stories even better. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. make room for savings with these sterilite totes for a new lower price of just $5.88.

>> good morning. i am stan stovall. time to get it checked on the morning commute for you. >> a few accidents still wrapping up. let's get you up-to-date on at those. annapolis, 665, rivaroad, watch for that crash. 25th street closed at charles street. in practice, warren road remains blocked. that is due to accident. rick 22 end beltsville road, use extra caution. it was a different situation yesterday night.

moving a lot better today. live view of traffic at putty hill ave. north side looks good. entire beltway continues to run smoothly. we will not see the delays until monday, unfortunately. 39 and 32, northbound and sap traffic in great shape. let's get the latest on the forecast withava. >> the roads are still dry right now. storm is approaching from the south and west. they will be slowly but surely inching their way towards baltimore. around 11:00 a.m. for baltimore, these are the isolated showers. as for the forecast for today, we are expecting most of this to come in towards the afternoon. 59 for ocean city. 52 for southern maryland. it may be cold enough for snow into the western mountains tomorrow morning. light accumulation.

just something to watch out for. 42 is our first date in 10 days that will be below normal and above normal for the rest of the week. new

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8:00 now on a tuesday morning, it's the 27th day of december, 2011. we've got a big crowd out on the plaza this morning. these nice people spending the last couple of days of the new year with us, or of the old year with us before the new year and we thank them for that and we've come out to join them and they're yelling happy birthday to savannah guthrie. >> we have a couple of birthdays out here, a 12-year-old and a 30-year-old. >> and a 40-year-old over here. happy birthday. come up, speaking of the new year arriving, there are things you can do right now to save money on your bills this year and alsout yourself in a better position for your taxes

in 2012. so we're going to be talking about some of those things coming up in a little while. also ahead the 1-month-old polar bear who is making hearts melt around the globe. look at that. his name is siku, being handrailsed, just opened his eyes for the first time. that is a live picture. we'll interview him live and exclusively just ahead. >> hate to break it to you we're not going to interview the polar bear. you keep asking your questions of siku. what were the biggest stories of the year, according to "people" magazine. there were huge weddings, breakups as well, so we'll talk to the people at "people." i always like saying that. find out what they thought the top stories were. we head inside, carl quintanilla in at the news desk while natalie is enjoying time off. carl take it away. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with the developing business story between 100 and

120 sears and kmarts nationwide are closing storms. federal officials are being called in to investigate a christmas weekend hacking case. a loose-knit hacking movement known as anonymous claims to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers from strategic forecasters or stratfor. the data security company clients include bank of america, apple and its u.s. military. in one internet posting a hacker claims the goal was to give money to charities. an al qaeda cell in iraq is claiming responsibility for the vicious wave of attacks that ripped through baghdad last week, killing 69 people. the coordinated bombings were thes first major attacks since u.s. troops fully withdrew from iraq earlier this month. the man suspected of shooting and paralyzing a 22-year-old u.s. army veteran at his own welcome home party in southern california is now in police custody.

19-year-old ruben jarado shot christopher sullivan as the vet tried to break up an argument over football teams. sullivan's spine was shattered by the gunfire and now paralyzed from the incident. he had been awarded a purple heart after being wounded in action in afghanistan. the death toll from flash floods that swept away entire villages in the southern philippines is up to nearly 1,500. hundreds are missing after a tropical storm unleashed more than a month's worth of rain in 12 hours, on december 16th. investigators in ft. worth, texas, say the man who fatelogical a shot his family on christmas day was a relative dressed in a santa claus suit, gunned them down after they opened their presents. four women and three men, including the shooter, are dead. now for a look at "what's trending today" our roundup of what has you talking online, drew brees has been the number one search on google this morning. the new orleans saints quarterback broke the nfl single season record for passing yards

for monday night football, the record had been set in 1984 by miami's dan marie know, who congratulated brees via twitter by writing "great job by such a special player." van halen getting the band back together. ♪ you got it tough, i've seen the toughest soul around ♪ >> complete with original lead singer david lee roth. the veteran rockers released this video trailer announcing their upcoming tour for 2012. an abandoned baby polar bear is taking the internet by storm. siku has been viewed on youtube more than 115,000 times in less than 24 hours. born at the scandinavian wildlife park last month, siku's mother didn't make enough milk so he's being raised by humans at the danish zoo. we'll have more on this unbearably cute bear coming up live in this half hour.

8:04, back to matt and savannah. even siku is complaining how early this show is. >> exactly. >> carl, thank you very much. al is taking some time off. stephanie abrams down the other side of the plaza with a check of the weather. steph? >> yes, and i have cousins who haven't seen each other in 20 years, melissa, matthew and brittany. what have you learned about b t britta brittany? >> we are exactly alike. >> matthew are you the third pea in the pod? >> no. >> the weather is shaping up, our pickcy, la crosse, wisconsin, average high is 26, so a little love average. we'll see sunshine, extending down into the southern plains and the four corners but the east coast and the northwest is where it will be active. >> good morning. a storm system approaching. the mountains will be the first to see it. a high

>> matt, back to you. >> all right, stephanie thank you very much. when we come back, some important years for you. first the one and siku, oh, he's awake. we'll see what he's up to, right after this. ♪ [ 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.

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will have you saying oh! a baby polar bear, 1-month-old, hand raised by zookeepers in den nark. >> we'll say hello to siku in a moment but first here is nbc's any shoal kosinski. >> reporter: is it possible, fathomable, advisable that anything on this planet could be this cute? trying to roll around, getting a massage. and maybe his favorite pasttime, napping with his little tongue hanging out. but his name is siku, which means sea ice. the baby polar bear born at a denmark zoo, in his one month of life he's winning admirers around the world, thanks to internet video. doesn't get much more adorable than this.

you can call him unbearable cute, weighing less than two pounds at birth, when his mother couldn't produce milk, zookeeper, round the clock tending to his every need, who could resist. now he's a healthy seven pounds, but those big, squishy feet say it all, there's a giant bear in there, waiting to come out one day, that will be more than 100 times his size, at around half a ton. it calls to mind one other thing this baby polar bear, yes, knut, the beloved berlin superstar who inspired songs. ♪ and merchandising, who eventually became a little too big to snuggle. knut died suddenly in march of encephalitis at 4 years old. in captivity they can live 40 years. there's only an estimated 25,000 polar bears left in the world. so zookeepers are giving siku all the care he can handle. what a job.

to ensure that whether or not this guy also becomes a rock star of the animal kingdom, he will be as happy as this, for a long, long time. the polar bear that is melting hearts by the millions. for "today," michelle kosinski, nbc news, london. >> and siku is with us now along with his primary caretaker, frank v. larson from the animal wildlife park in london. good morning to you both. thanks for being with us. >> frank looks like he's got his hands full already this morning. frank it's obviously the adorable part about this is obvious, but taking care of a 1-month-old polar bear is not that easy. what are the challenges? >> the challenges were to get him to eat from the beginning. unfortunately his mother had no milk, so we were left with two options.

we could either leave him to die from starvation or we could bottle feed hill and turn him into an ambassador for his wild cousins living in the arc tirk. he's 5 weeks out today and grown from 800 grams to just more than four kilograms so he's doing very fine. >> what's involved with taking care of a polar bear? i mean, we can see this is not easy work you've got going there. >> just takes a lot of patience, and takes away your sleep, but it gives back a fantastic opportunity to see this little thing grow up. he was 800 grams when he was born, and i weighed his daddy two weeks ago and he was just over 500 kilograms so there's a long way to go yet. >> you talk about a long way to g it's not an exact science. there are risks and challenges and we know the story of knut, at forable polar bear who grew

up but unfortunately died at the age of 4. what are the odds for long-term survivability for siku? >> oh, they're very fine. siku will be completely different bear than knut. siku will grow up in a different environment. he will become an ambassador for his wild counterparts in the arctic. his name siku means sea ice and that's symbolic baulgs the sea ice is threatening the existence, survival of the polar bears. also we have the world's largest polar bear facility covering two and a half hectares and when he's about 2 years old, he will move in with the other polar bears, as normal as a polar bear's life can be in captivity. >> you say he'll be in captivity, you wouldn't expect to return him to the wild i take it. >> no, none of the animals we have in zoos and wildlife parks

are supposed to go back to the wild. he'd never make it. no, he's going to stay here with us and take part in an international breeding program for polar bears in captivity so hopefully in a few years' time he will become a daddy himself. >> frank, just do me a favor, can you pull that index finger out of his mouth so i can see that it's still there. okay. i just wanted to make sure. >> oh, it's just that sweet, little tongue. >> exactly. listen good look with siku. he is true lay forable and a wonderful thing you're doing there so thank you for joining us. >> can i make a new year wish on behalf of siku? >> you may. >> well, siku would like you all to reduce your carbon footprint and save energy, and if you all do that, he would be very, very happy. >> good wish for everybody. frank, thank you so much. we appreciate it. and up next, we're going to talk about some year-end tax tips, what you need to do before the calendar flips over to 2012.

we'll get to that right after this. >> one more shot. this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪

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♪ dove visible care creme body wash. we're back now, 8:18 and this morning on "today's money" ways to save some money before the end of the year. you still have a few days left in 2011 to help your bottom line in 2012. here with the moves to make is sta sharon epperson, cnbc's financial correspondent. even though the year is running out you can do things. >> there are a few business days left to take advantage. >> a lot of people go around, have you maxed out your 401(k)? what exactly does it mean and what are the steps you need to take? >> it means for this year you can contribute up to $16,500 into your 401(k), and you should be doing that, and you may have already missed the cutoff for your employer. you may have already received your last payroll stub for this year, it may be difficult to do that. what you should know, that's

going to increase by $500 for 2012. now is the time to give yourself that 3% raise into your retirement account, tell them now that you want to up your contribution. >> you talk about the amount of money, if you're 50 years old or older it's $22,500. >> if you've been laid off if you become a small business owner because of what happened to you this year you can do a solo 401(k) by december 31st and put way more money in that, up to $49,000. >> this next one you can do now but also have until april to do it, you can add money to your i.r.a. >> if something happened and you started your own business, gone into consulting and self-employed, this is a great thing a lot of small business owners are doing, a health savings account. you can put money into that up to $3,050 for an individual and $6,150 for a family. >> you don't have to fully make the payments until april.

>> what kind of bills are we talking about tax deductible bills. >> if you want to prepay the mortgage. >> if it's not due until january 3rd for example. >> you could do it for this month and this month and get that for your 2011 taxes, you can also do that for your real estate taxes or student loans and medical expenses. you want to look at all of these. you want to look at the alternative minimum tax if you fall into that category that may not be the best thing for you to do. >> this has been a tough year in the stock market although it's rebounded as of late. a lot of people have losses, investments that are under water. you get rid of those now? >> get rid of them in their brokerage account. if you have losers in your brokerage account, in your tax account, take them against the gains that you have and you can do that up to $3,000. this is something that you may want to do, you swap out a loser investment, get something perhaps that is similar that you think is going to be a better gainer. this is a strategy that you have to do if you have a big loser. this is not something you do for

a little wit of money because it can be confusing to people and if you got the investments because long-term you think they're winners and they fit with your strategy, stick with that. if they're really bad ones, you want to get rid of them. >> this next one we encourage people to do at all times of year but a really good time to make a charitable contribution because it helps other people and can help you as well. >> perhaps you make it with the credit card, you can do that now and pay the bill in january and it will still count for your 2011 tax return so now is the time to make that charitable contribution, keep the documentation, a check, a credit card statement, cash, ask for a receipt and giving clothing or household items you want to get a document for that as well. >> religious organizations are almost always tax exempt. >> exactly. >> what are some other ways to check to make sure the organization you want to donate to creates a tax deduction for you? >> you want to do that and check with the irs, see if they have a letter or look on the irs

website and go to charitynavigator.com, it is a great website to gather more information. >> millions of teachers across the country, they are underpaid, we always say that and a lot of them can take advantage of something in these last few days as well. >> they can get a school supply deduction, up to $250, and if you're like me, small children, you gave money to the teacher for christmas or for a holiday gift. i would encourage them to use that gift to buy the supplies they need for the classroom. all of these things are great things to do for the end of the year. if your financial house is not in order, if you're overspending, if you're not saving enough in your retirement accounts these are little things that will make a difference at the margin, so that's really what you need to focus on. >> sharon epperson happy holidays. >> thank you, good to see you. >> here's savannah. we say hello to whether willard scott in washington. hi, willard. >> here is adele pelligri, from

framingham, massachusetts, 105 years old today, still likes to play her bingo. happy birthday to a lovely, lovely lady, and we have morris schoenberg from woodcliff lake, new jersey, a lot of pretty little towns in new jersey, 100 years old today, a proud wwii veteran who loves to draw and dance and smiles all the time. he could be in show business. get him on "dancing with the stars" for god's sake. louise simons of blackstone, virginia, 105 years old today, and loves to sing old hymns. ♪ i love to tell the story that's a good one, anyway, and she loves to work in her garden. a lot of people work in the garden when they get to be an older group and we have the exciting george lloyd, sounds like a name of a diplomat.

anyway, he is from henderson, texas, 100 years old today, and loves to help anybody who wants help. how about that. also loves to repair violins. he's an excellent repairer of violins. mary belle gould of overland park, kansas, sweet mary belle, a proud american red cross volunteer and world war ii, her secret to longevity is her joy and happiness. we have kenneth poiry from torrance, california, 100 years old today. recently celebrated his 75th anniversary with his lovely wife, connie. and that's all. that's it right now. >> okay, willard, thank you. just ahead, "people" magazine's top stories of the year, but first your local news and weather.

>> the time is 8:26 and time to get a check on the morning commute. >> we have problems cropping up. we will start in cockeysville. warren road and york road, closures remain in effect. 55 miles per hour on the north side. entire beltway it looks good. charles street, fire department activity. aberdeen, closures along route 20 to viers hill road. everything as being good in

cecil county. live view of traffic. we will see what is going on at 83 and warren road. live view of traffic at 29. 32. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> as you notice on the cameras, the roads are dry, but rain is moving through western maryland. moving in baltimore through the late morning and afternoon. temperatures are very mild. around 40 for the western mountains. rain should be ending after the evening hours. we dry night with some clearing. we should become windy with the latest storm. 42 tomorrow. that puts us one degree above normal for the first time in 10 days. when the conditions make it feel colder. temperatures bounceback at the end of the week.

sunday night into monday, we could see more rain. new year's eve looks mostly dry. >> we are back with another update at 8:55.

♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bell rock ♪ ♪ jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring ♪ 8:30, on this 27th day of december, 2011. we have a huge holiday crowd out on the plaza this morning, perhaps returning gifts later today, doing some more sales shopping, checking out our christmas tree, or simply just here to wish savannah a happy birthday, you pick it. we're joined on the plaza by

carl quintanilla who has been here for the last week or so. always good to have you here. coming up we'll be talking about the things or the stories we've always been talking about during the last 12 months. >> there were a lot of them, too. we'll look at some of the top stories of the year according to "people" magazine from the casey anthony trial to the royal wedding and high-profile breakups. the biggest headlines of the year. thinking of having people over new year's for a big feast? >> new year's is a down dayor me. >> a hangover. we'll have affordable solutions that will not have you getting up too early on new year's morning. >> great. before we get to that let us swing over and get a check of the weather. stephanie abrams is just across the plaza from us. steph? >> that i am. i have some football fans here working that terrible towel. show me how you work that towel for the steelers there. you said what? >> go green bay. >> a lot of nfl fans here.

let's have a look at our forecast here as we go across the country. maybe you got a football for christmas, you're going to go outside there and not the best weather to do it from the great lakes into the gulf coast. otherwise, snow finally here along the eastern lakes, which i know is fantastic news for many of you. otherwise, along the i-95 corridor it is going to be a >> good morning. a cloud start the with mild temperatures. a high of 49 around baltimore. the clouds are in place. >> and these are three of 17 dogs coming up a little bit

later on the show. savannah, over to you. >> stephanie thanks. this morning on requesting today celebrates 2011." from the famous to infamous, "people" magazine had a lot to pick for its year-end issue. kate coyne, contributing editor, good morning. >> good morning and happy birthday. >> thank you. let's start with some of the celebrity things that were memorable, charlie sheen has to top anybody's list. >> charlie sheen was, i think he would approve of "epic" a spectacular meltdown, the lixz of which we haven't seen unless it was some andy kaplan performance art but this was very real and it was amazing that no publicist, no manager, no lawyer could seemingly shut him down for quite some time. >> at the end of the year does he seem like he's maybe going to have a second act? >> well he still made lots of money off of the remaining contracts he had for "two and a

half men" so at the end of the day tens of millions of dollars went into his bank account and he has a new show coming up for next year so he didn't fare too badly in the end. >> another big celebrity debacle the cakardashian wedding, the fanfare, the reality show and 72 days the divorce. >> 72 days was a surprising number even in the world of celebrity relationships, weddings. you would think something as documented and hyped and anticipated as this particular marriage was in the world of reality stardom that they would have stuck it out a little bit longer, so for it to unravel that quickly was stunning. >> there were a lot of celeb brit breakups, some surprising, maybe some not as much so. j. lo and marc anthony and ashton and demi and rumors had been swirling for a long time. >> neither of the breakups was hugely shocking. the ashton and demi breakup many people thought that marriage was doomed from the beginning simply because of their age difference. what was surprising about the way that fell apart demi issued

a statement on her own essentially taking a shot at ashton which is not something you see every day in these kinds of breakups. >> of course it all happened on twitter, where else do things happen anymore. big trials in 2011, casey anthony got to be at the top of the list, amanda knox, dr. conrad murray. >> really not since the o.j. simpson era have there been so many people watching courtroom proceedings so closely. the casey anthony trial, people were there from the beginning when caylee was missing, found and the end of the trial. the ma are the jo of people, the vast majority of people feel justice was not served. people are riveted to the case still to this day. >> people are interested in it. there were so many losses of wonderful people in 2011, steve jobs, this inventor, this american original, elizabeth taylor, i know that both are featured in the magazine. >> absolutely. they were both originals.

the work of steve jobs impacts billions of lives every single day and will continue to do so. he changed the way we live and the way we think. and elizabeth taylor, the style, the hollywood glamour, the degree to which she was an icon will not be replicated again, but that was the end of an era. >> it was sad to see amy winehouse pass away but given all of her struggles i think it's one of those whether where it's not entirl shoely shocking very sad. >> very sad. it's interesting and makes it more tragic to note that there were no illegal drugs found in her system in the autopsy, which suggests that maybe she really was starting to overcome some of her demons. >> we had a lot of smile about this year, certainly congressman gabby giffords' recovery. she was shot on january 8th, just such a shocking event in tucson but to see how far she's come in just a year is an amazing story. >> from such a tragedy came such a tremendous triumph, when you see the leaps and bounds that she has made, and then when you

see the relationship that she has with her husband, the tremendous role he's taken on of being a caregiver to her, the love and the union of the two of them have. it is miraculous. >> we've seen some transitions certainly in our business in the television world, oprah winfrey leaving her show and regis philbin. you might look at the two as irrepoceable. >> absolutely. there are no replacements for either. oprah is not a replacement for oprah, the way her new channel is faring would suggest it wasn't merely oprah winfrey, it was "the oprah winfrey show." >> are you surprised her network hasn't done better? >> there is yet to be anything on the channel and there may be at some point in the future that replicates what "the oprah winfrey show" was in people's homes every afternoon. >> and regis philbin spent more time on my television than i think anybody else. >> he was and remains a class

act and somebody who was just an old school entertainer the way they just don't make them like that anymore. >> least we forget, last but not least we have to talk about will and kate, the wedding of the year. there was so much interest and there continues to be so much interest in everything this couple does. >> the wedding of the year, the story of the year. this was a romance that everybody was cheering for, everybody was just captivated by a real life fairytale, because really for most people, this is the first royal wedding there has ever been that has been so magical because the couple has been so clearly in love. >> and she seriously has not made one misstep, which is amazing, considering the eyes of the world are upon her. >> it has yet to happen. she's had many years to prepare, and many other people's mistakes to look at and learn from, and so far she has been flawless. >> all right, kate coyne from "people" magazine, thank you. the special issue is on news stands now. coming up next, having the family over for a new year's day

feast. some easy, last-minute recipes that everyone will love and laugh about. but first this is "today" and look he's already there. what are you doing? no, no, let's just hang on this a few more minng

♪ celebrate good times, come on ♪ we're back now, 8:41 and this morning on "today's holiday kitchen" time for your new year's day meal, it can be hard to cook a big feast the day after rockin' in the new year. doesn't have to be difficult. sunny anderson, good morning. >> good morning. >> cooking on new year's day better be something you can prepare the day before or super quick and easy. >> if you have to do preprep for new year's day, we've made it through halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, take it easy on yourself. i have no prep new year's day dinner, no prep.

>> you love these hamzs. >> it's already cured and cook. you buy this. the idea is just to bring it back up to temperature in your oven without drying it out. >> by the way it takes a little longer than a lot of people realize. i can't tell you the number of times i've put it on the table and it's cool on the inside. >> about 20 minutes to every pound of ham and remember bring it out of the refrigerator, leave it on the countertop for a couple of hours to let it get room temperature before you put it in the oven. >> these already have been seasoned somewhat. you like to add a little zest and they come with the packet of gook. >> i don't do this. the ham's already been through so much to get cured. i don't want to put things i can't pronounce on it. it's light brown sugar, a little bit of honey, orange zest, orange juice. >> pumpkin pie seasoning? >> pumpkin pie spice. you buy it, it's around for the holidays, you still have it leftover. let's use it on our ham. you mix this up. >> okay.

>> and then what you do is you take half of it and reserve it and put it into a pot, and then get it all nice and glazed up and thickened. one-half of it you go right on top of the ham. get it in between the crevasses, brush it and keep it moist because you are close to drying it out, the water goes in the pan >> pour water in the actual pan but wrap it in the foil. >> wrap it in the foil really tight. this is a 325-degree oven, about 20 minutes every pound. >> okay. >> 140 degrees is what you're looking for. >> when it comes out -- >> when it comes out it's going to be a little bit warm, crank up your oven to about 400 degrees. this is easy because you roll out of bed and put it in, go right back to bed. it's going to take a couple of hours, maybe sit and wait for the game to come on. >> now you put in reserve in the saucepan back on the ham. >> half of the glaze we didn't

use, put it on for the range, gets it nice and oozy, look at that, and just get it right back on, leave it uncovered for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, back in the oven, and then it turns out like this. >> you've got nutmeg over here. when were we supposed to put that on? >> that goes into the glaze. if you don't have the fresh nutmeg like this, grate it, you can use ground nutmeg. >> that's what it comes out looking like. i took a piece before and it's fantastic. let's talk about some sides that you're going to serve with that. >> a little bit of apple oote. >> the sweetness is good with the ham. >> if you've ever seen the pineapple with the ham this is good. ice cream for dessert. >> sweet potato hash. >> this is good breakfast, lunch or dinner. i've got oil in here on that. i'm going to throw down some bacon. >> any kind of bacon, pancheta?

>> you can. i like the fat-to-meat ratio, kind of helps the hangover. >> those are raw sweet potatoes? >> raw sweet potatoes i have diced down. if you want to do this the night before, store these in the refrigerator in a little bit of water so they don't harden out on you. >> cook them down, they come out looking like this. >> a little bit of salt and pepper, add red onion, garlic sliced up, pickled jalapenos, secret ingredients and cumin comes together. >> and looks like this, i have a little piece of garlic stuck on my finger, brussel sprout salad as well, perfect for new year's day, almost no fuss. sunny, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> good to have you here. up next our best bow to wow makeovers of the year. we'll catch up with some of the dogs we helped find loving homes in 2011. first this is "today" on nbc. beth!

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♪ bow wow wow yippee, yo, yippee yay ♪ from bow to wow, it's our reunion year-end wrap-up. >> we're checking in with some of the lucky dogs who found great homes in 2011. jill rappaport is here with the recap. good morning, happy holidays to you. >> happy birthday, too. i would have brought you a puppy. i'm so thrilled to say it's another perfect record, another great year. all our dogs found loving homes all over the country, getting a new leash on life. >> finally we've got kathie lee with a great pair. >> reporter: bow to wow had another banner year, dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds from animal care control in new york city landed into loving homes across the map. >> bailey had a leg injury. >> reporter: there's bailey our little bijon who had major leg

surgery before appearing on our show. he's now a happy, healthy boy with quite a bounce in his step thanks to a lot of tlc from his new family in massachusetts. >> he's going to need a lot of running around. >> reporter: and luke hit the lamb lotto with acres to play in and plenty of furry friends to romp with in his new home, a fabulous farm in north carolina. >> i don't think she realizes a leg is missing. >> let's put her down and show. >> reporter: who could forget sweet little sally, the maltese poodle mix with three legs. she got the sweetest home in the big apple, and there was no short annual of amazing homes for the captivating canines, who were in great demand, the minute their adorable mugs, mugged for the screen. but these personality plus pooches also proved to have minds of their own. when they demonstrated their less than thrilled attitude towards our bow to wow anniversary cake. >> another very energetic dog. >> reporter: flora, this tiny

york sheer terrier has become the fashion hound and j.r. a chatty laddie with his new family. now of course our dogs generated buzz. >> he is so cool. >> he's bigger than i am. >> reporter: what a stellar connection this star athlete made with one of our fur angels. >> you may have found a love there, michael. >> reporter: 14-time olympic gold medalist michael phelps couldn't resist precious penelope and home she went with the champion swimmer, happily joining the phelps household. >> let's bring in richard gentiles of animal care and control of new york city along with some of our bow to wow dogs and owners. good morning, everybody, happy holidays. nice to see you. richard, 100% record on the show, talk to me about what this segment does in terms of generating interest in adoptions nationwide. >> it's definitely brought in people into the shelters in droves, and it's really raised the awareness of if you want to

adopt a pet, go to your local animal shelter. that's the place to find them. that's the best place and you can see the variety of dogs that you can find there. you'll definitely fall in love. >> we have a lot of happy owners here and happy puppies. cambridge and michael, you have evie there. i understand you call her the world's perfect dog. >> she really is. she's like two dogs in one. couch potato who just wants to snuggle up to you and be loved and the dog run, she's got tons of energy and very, very snuggly. >> you made a friend there. >> the manager's dog is in love with her. >> sandra giles, your dog's name is shadow? >> yes. >> talk moo-to-me about shadow, why do you love this dog? >> because sometimes he goes crazy sometimes, because when we leave the building, he wants, he really wants to come with us no matter what. >> oh. part of the family no question about it. >> and kathy, i understand you actually surprised your

boyfriend with buddy by sending a link to the "today" show? >> yes i did. my fiance is based in quantico in the military. i had been pretty lonely by myself and so i had e-mailed in about buddy and i just went and got him and sent him the link and he called me on the way home and i was like well i got a surprise for you. >> raise your hands if this was purely a spur of the moment thing, were watching the show and you said that dog needs a home and i'm going to adopt a dog. that's a lot of you. the segment is really working. it's fantastic. one thing i hear all the time from people on the streets, what about the cats? >> listen, we did meow to wow and we'll do the segment again. >> already got the name. >> richard, good job, jill, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. still ahead what you can do to take the hassle out of your holiday returns but first this is "today" on nbc.

get america's favorite coffee for america's favorite single-cup brewer. try all five delicious varieties, only at dunkin' donuts restaurants. america runs on dunkin'. a lot of us here at the "today" -- we look awfully close together. a lot of us here at the "today" show got an unusual wake-up alarm, we got text mails sent out to most of the staff saying "it's my birthday, don't forget it" came from savannah guthrie. >> no, i didn't. >> celebrating a milestone today. >> yeah you like to keep mentioning that. >> 40 doesn't bother you does

it? >> it really doesn't. i call it the second anniversary of my 39th birthday. no, i feel very lucky and blessed. >> you've been rounding up for years anyway. >> honestly that's actually the only thing i are he great ever since i turned 36 i tried to prepare myself and i've been rounding myself up to 40. i should have hung on a little longer. >> we ask is there any picture you'd like to show us about your childhood and most are shy about this but not savannah. no, she sent us some things, blowups, not little pictures so this is savannah at what age? >> it's like 3. >> 3 years old. >> the topless, okay, now this would be like what 8 or 9? >> that's my fifth grade picture. look, i still have that same hair problem, sticks right now. ♪ all by myself >> these were hanging on the wall. >> thanks, momg. >> savannah the soccer star, followed by -- whoa!

joe, come on in here with our gift for savannah. >> oh, god. thank you. >> happy 40th birthday. we wish you many, many returns. apparently a budget shortage, we couldn't come up with candles? >> do we have a match? i'd like to light the pictures on fire. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. an early-morning fire in the charles village area had fire crews busy this morning. it started about 2:45 on east 25th street. two people were inside at the

time. one of them was transported to shock trauma

>> we have started off with the clouds and now comes the rain. the highs are mild. rained should taper off after the evening hours. >> thank you for joining us. another li