good morning, major storm -- the midwest bracing for its first significant snow of the season. some areas of wisconsin and illinois set to get nearly a foot. further south, rare january tornadoes caused significant damage and injuries in north carolina. disturbing -- the government launches an investigation into a video that aears to show u.s. marines urinating on the corpses of taliban fighters. we're live at the pentagon with details. and mr. and mrs. smith go to washington -- brad pitt and angelina jolie meet with president obama in the oval office. we'll tell you what they talked about with the commander-in-chief today, about with the commander-in-chief today, thursday, january 12th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to "today" on this thursday morning, i'm ann curry. >> and i'm matt lauer. i think you can see it's raining hard in the northeast here, but the midwest this morning is bracing for really, the first major snowstorm of the season. and here we are, two weeks into the year. >> this one has a little bit of everything. snow, high winds, matt, and also some bitter cold temperatures. it's going to have a big impact on some major cities in the region, chicago, milwaukee and green bay. we'll get al's forecast coming up straight ahead. and tom brokaw is here, he's going to weigh in on the gop presidential race. is the criticism of mitt romney's business practices by his opponents, actually hurting the republican party's chances of winning back the white house. tom's going to talk about that and some other things.

and also coming up this morning, casey anthony's pretrial psychological evaluations have been made public for the first time. in them she reveals that her daughter may have been the result of a rape. also ahead, how a 12-year-old girl used a webcam to catch a brazen thief in the act. and a little later on here in our studio, queen latifah and dolly parton will join us to talk and perform. >> they've already rocked our studio once and they're going to do it again. and we'll talk about giving you a rare look inside the most talked-about hospital suite in the country right now. the room where beyonce and jay-z welcomed their baby girl into the world. we begin with the major snowstorm in the west. we've got al roker with details. >> this is a pretty potent storm and it covers a wide area. we've got winter storm watches, warnings and from marquette,

michigan, as far east as cari u caribou, maine. two complex systems, one pushing up the east coast, one coming into the great lakes. one moving up along the east coast is bringing a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain to the northeast and new england. snowfall amounts over the next 24 hours, about six to nine inches of snow generally. but up to nine to 12 inches in central new england. the green and white mountains and the adirondacks. and out west, chicago four to eight inches of snow. three to six in milwaukee, four inches in green bay. south bend will see six to nine inches of snow. about one to three inches of snow in indianapolis over the next 48 hours and really cold air starts to make its way into the great lakes and the northeast. we'll have details on that coming up. matt? into the investigation launched into a troubling video that appears to show u.s. marines urinating on dead taliban terrorists. nbc's jim miklaszewski is at the

pentagon this morning. good morning to you. and i think the first thing i have to ask is has anyone at the pentagon authenticated the video or the images yet? >> the marine corps is pretty confident that these are in fact u.s. marines in this video. and they, like just about everybody else who has seen this video, call it disgusting. the video shows four americans dressed in full marine corps combat gear, in southern afghanistan, circled around the bodies of three dead militants and it's clear that they're urinating on the body. at one point you hear some chuckling. and one of the marines says something about -- golden showers. the reaction from the u.s. military and international force there in afghanistan was pretty swift. they strongly condemned the act. calling it disrespectful, and inexplicable. one marine leader in afghanistan told us this senseless stunt will totally undermine all the progress they've made in southern afghanistan. now, the marines are convinced these four marines are from the

third battalion, second marines out of camp lejeune. if they are identified and prosecuted, they could be charged with desecration of remains and taking what is called trophy photos. criminal acts. and if convicted, they could spend time in jail. and this just in from afghanistan, the presidential palace called this act insane and demanded that those involved be punished severely. matt? >> we'll be waiting and watching to see what the fallout from this is. jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, thanks as always. it's five minutes after the hour, here's ann. >> now to presidential politics and the harsh attacks being faced by gop front-runner, mitt romney. are they serving to hurt the republican party as a whole. we'll talk about that with tom brokaw in just a moment. but first, nbc's peter alexander is in greer, south carolina with the latest on the campaign trail. hey, p hey, peter, good morning. >> we flew down to south

carolina with governor romney. on the plane he told us that the big win on tuesday night felt like christmas morning. but in many ways, that was a home game, he's from just next door in boston. this is like going on the road. and he is well aware that the blistering attacks here will make it much less pleasant. >> how do you feel? >> great. >> it may be warm in south carolina, but the political climate is about to get much hotter for front-runner, mitt romney. >> the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. >> reporter: fog back-to-back victories in iowa and namvy, romney now appears increasingly confident. trying to present himself as the inevitable republican nominee. focusing exclusively on president obama. >> i know we're going through tough times, and we're going through tough times in part because of the failure of one man, and that's why he's got to go. >> reporter: here in socially-conservative south carolina, where the primary is notorious for nasty politics, romney's opponents are sharpening their attacks.

>> massachusetts moderate, mitt romney, he can't be trusted. >> reporter: newt gingrich's latest td ad targets romney on abortion. >> what happened after massachusetts moderate mitt romney changed his position from pro abortion to pro life? >> reporter: and there's been no let-up in the barrage of criticism over romney's record as the former head of bain capital. >> greed, for lack of a better word, is good. >> reporter: this gordon gekko impersonator greeted romney in south carolina. both gingrich and rick perry kept piling on. >> crony capitalism, where people pay each other off at the expense of the rest of the country is not free enterprise, and raising questions about that is not wrong. >> i happen to think that companies like bain capital, could have come in and helped these companies. if they truly were venture capitalists. but they're not. they're vulture capitalists. >> and there's even a gingrich

web ad that hounds romney for a road trip years ago when he put the family pet, seamus on the roof of his car. >> this is a completely air-tight kennel. mounted on the top of our car. he climbed up there regularly, enjoyed himself. we love the dog. >> reporter: and among the more serious attacks, a superpac supporting newt gingrich posted in its entirety, a 28-minute bruising movie about governor romney's time at bain. we'll put a screen shot of that up on your screen. it includes this shot that shows governor romney on the tarmac, his feet kicked up. getting polished in front of a corporate jet. i spoke with senior adviser with the romney campaign. who said they were prepared for these attacks, but they expected them not from the republicans, but from the democrats. >> all right, point taken. peter alexander, thank you so much this morning. we've got nbc special correspondent, tom brokaw, here to share his perspective on the presidential race. he's also the author of a new

book called "the time of our lives." tom, good morning to you. >> good morning, ann. >> could gingrich in portraying essentially romney as part of the 1%, create a backlash that could hurt the republican chances of getting in the white house? >> we've looked at his financials, he got $1.8 million from the federal housing agencies, ran up a $5 million in bills in tiffanys. i think he's going to have a hard time portraying himself as just a man of main street. now having said all of that, this has had a kind of two-tiered effect. first of all, it's prompted a lot of people to come to mitt romney's defense. notably, jim demint, a senator from south carolina, widely perceived to be the most powerful republican in that state, has not endorsed, but he said in the last 24 hours, george romney is going to win this primary in south carolina. and he criticized both rick perry and newt gingrich for

lashing out at what he said was the exercise of a free enterprise system. he defended mitt romney. so it's worked against them as well as for them. democrats are pretty happy. they think they're doing the work that governor perry and newt gingrich are doing the work of the democrats come the fall campaign. >> gingrich got some push-back at an event recently where a voter asked him, maybe you should be criticizing romney on another tack, not this one. and while gingrich's comments may have been misinterpreted about in terms of whether or not he thought that was a mistake, he did, his campaign did release this statement. saying we will continue to examine what decisions he, being romney, made at bain. why he made those decisions, what was motivating him to make those decisions and the american people can decide whether or not they want an investment banker in chief as their commander-in-chief. so how ugly could this get in south carolina? it looks like gingrich is doubling down. >> it's the republican party equivalent of a g-out. they're going hard after george

romney. >> mitt romney. >> they're going hard after governor romney, in part because they see that he has got a big head of steam at this point. he's very likely going to be the candidate if it continues as well as it has in the opening two phases of this campaign. but it's, the real danger for the republicans is it will deeply divide the party at a time when they want it to be united. because most republicans, as we've seen demonstrated in iowa and new hampshire, want somebody who they think is electable. who can run a strong race against president obama. >> well the real question then becomes, is will it work? will this tactic work in terms of taking down romney? because romney is saying look, it didn't work in iowa, it didn't work in new hampshire. why do you think it's going to work here on? >> we saw the way it could go in south carolina. and a lot of things could happen, there's two debates between now and then. and that's always the test, about who makes the biggest mistake or the strongest impression. my guess is, it won't work. i've been talking to a lot of

people in south carolina. i'm going down there next week. and the issue for them is the economy. they've got very high unemployment, almost 10% of the state. and they're looking for somebody who can solve the economy. and many of them have set aside their so-called social conservative issues. it's a very conservative state. it's a very religious state. but most people we're talking to are saying this time we've got to get somebody who can fix this economy. and romney, continues to run very strongly in all of the south carolina polls. so at this stage of the game, and a week away is a lifetime in primary politics. at this stage of the game, george romney seems to be holding his own and the momentum continues for him. especially because senator demint spoke up for him. >> that's right, for mitt romney. thank you so much. tom brokaw, it's always great to have you here. great perspective, we'll see you back also tomorrow because we're going to have our big 60th anniversary celebration. have we mentioned that? >> has anybody been talking about that?

i hadn't known about that? is that true? we ought to say something about that on television. could we talk about a little more here on the "today show"? >> all right. point well taken mr. brokaw. let's get a check of the morning's other top stories from natalie morales at the news desk. good morning, everyone, the assassination of an iranian nuclear scientist is ratcheting up tensions between washington and tehran. secretary of state hillary clinton categorically denied iran's claim that the u.s. had a hand in the killing of the scientist. the targeted car bombing is similar to earlier killings of scientists working on the iranian nuclear program. and while iran has been quick to blame the u.s. and israel for the attack, recent comments from an israeli military chief have raised international suspicions. national guard troops armed with shovels are a welcome sight in cordova, alaska, where rain has now compacted the 17 feet of snow that has been piling up there since november. meanwhile, in north carolina, a tornado reportedly touched down

there on wednesday. powerful winds destroyed homes and damaged dozens of buildings. no more surprises when it comes to the extra fees you pay when you fly. the transportation department will now require that airlines advertise prices, including those hefty taxes and fees, that can add more than 20% to the original fare. airlines are fighting the new rules, though. saying that other industries are not required to include taxes in their advertised prices. is the foreclosure crisis finally coming to an end? for more on that and what we can expect today on wall street, we'll turn it over to cnbc and the new york stock exchange this morning. >> well there's lots of news coming out today on the economy and foreclosures have been in focus. foreclosures dropped sharply in 201. while that rate is still likely to rise this year, realty track says the worst of the housing crisis is over. recently, the news has been getting better and better and that has helped to push u.s. stocks to their five-month highs where they're sitting right now.

there is one thing, however, that could put a complete stunner in the work and that's higher energy costs. if you thought that 2011 was the priciest year ever for gasoline, costing the average household around $4100, experts say that 2012 could break even more records. back over to you. >> all right. we'll be watching mandy at the new york stock exchange, thank you. the oval office got a lot more glamorous last night. brad pitt and angelina jolie stopped by the white house to chat with president obama about jolie's humanitarian work, fighting genocide and violence against women. pitt was seen using a cane, which has needed since a recent skiing injury. the two are in the nation's capital, promoting jolie's directorial debut and they watched a washington screening of "in the land of blood and honey" this week. it's getting raive reviews. >> sometimes when i watch them,

i think, don't you wish you were them? beautiful, talented, get to hang out with -- >> no. >> you don't? >> i like being a slacker. >> everybody is going to buy that. >> mr. roker here with his second check of the weather. >> you bet. let's look at what else is going on around the country. and we've got some cold air making its way through the plains, the dakotas will see temperatures in the teens today. a beautiful day in the pacific northwest. a little cool, plenty of sunshine, though. windy conditions down through the gulf, sunny and mild, miami, 8 0 degrees today. but that rain here in the northeast, probably going it cause problems. air travel, boston, d.c., >> good morning.w york and the showers are ending. we will see some clearing into the afternoon.

and that's your latest weather. matt? joran van der sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway, will be sentenced tomorrow, but in a different case. he's pleaded guilty to murdering a young woman in peru. nbc's lilja luciano is in peru with details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. joran van der sloot has been behind bars here in lima for 19 months. this morning, he awaits sentence after pleading guilty to murder. a guilty plea, and then an apology. appearing calm and confident, joran van der sloot told the judge he was responsible for the murder of 21-year-old stephanie

flor flores. i regret what i did, he sai in broken spanish. adding he felt very bad about it. outside, a cluster of protesters shouted "killer" and demanded justice. a hotel worker found flores dead in joran van der sloot's room 19 months ago. police say she was murdered five years to the day that natalee holloway went missing in aruba. joran van der sloot has always denied any wrongdoing in the holloway case. and authorities in aruba never found enough evidence to charge him in peru, there was no lack of evidence, legal experts say. and the state's confession, the peruvian police, van der sloot describes beating and strangling the victim to death. >> the most overwhelming piece of evidence was his own testimony. that was not a random act and it was basically premed dated. >> reporter: the evidence also included surveillance video. seen walking into his room. hours later, he walks out by himself. prosecutors say leaving

stephanie's lifeless body inside. prosecutors seek a 30-year sentence for the 24-year-old dutch citizen. going by your experience, how long do you think he'll serve? >> if he were to be sentenced to 30 years, he'll probably end up serving seven to nine years, given the overcrowded conditions in peru. >> reporter: appealing for a lighter sentence, van der sloot's lawyer told the judge his client was suffering from post traumatic stress when he killed stephanie. stemming from the constant questioning on the holloway case. natal natalee's parents says they hope this will move their quest for justice forward. >> the holloways continue to cooperate with all the law enforcement agencies and remain hopeful that some day, someone will be held accountable for justice here in alabama. >> reporter: today in alabama judge is scheduled to decide whether to declare natalee holloway dead. here in peru, van der sloot will be sentenced for the murder of stephanie flores tomorrow

morning. matt? >> lilja, thank you very much. it's now 19 after the hour. here's ann. >> there's outrage in mississippi over former governor, haley barb our's decision to pardon hundreds of inmates. mark potter is in jackson with more. >> former gore hailey barbour is trying to soften some of the anger over the pardons he granted. meanwhile, a local judge has put some of those pardons on hold until they can be reviewed. on his last days in office, haley barbour, the powerful and highly-regarded mississippi governor ended up angering and confusing so many of his constituents. without explanation, he granted pardons or early releases to a long list of more than 200 convicts. including 21 murderers and many others serving time for violent

crimes. >> pardon me, this individual can go grab a school bus, go to law school. get a law degree. >> reporter: among those granted pardons were five prison trustees, who worked at the governor's mansion in jackson. four were convicted murderers. among them, david gatlin, sentenced to life plus 30 years, for shooting to death his estranged wife, 2578y. as she held her 6-week-old son and for shooting her friend, who survived. >> i cried, first. >> reporter: tiffany is tammy's sister and said the whole family is furious with barbour, for releasing gatlin. causing them to live in fear. >> he's a cold, calculated murderer. and why wouldn't he come back and finish what he started? you know. being a trustee at the governor's mansion does not change a murderer. >> reporter: also among those pardoned, earnest favre, the brother of retired nfl quarterback, brett favre, he was

convicted of a drunk driving incident in which his friend was killed. in a written statement sunday night, barbour's office said, approximately 90% of those who received clemency were no longer in custody and a majority of them had been out for years. but shortly after, a mississippi judge issued an order blocking a release of any more prisoners and ordered the five trustees pardoned after working at the governor's mansion to appear at a hearing later this month. >> it's a slap in the face to me as a prosecutor. for serving 20 years, that we have to go back and try to round up all of these convicts that have been turned loose. and try to fix the mess that he's created. >> reporter: and here at the state capital, some of the lawmakers have been talking about proposed legislation, even a constitutional amendment to limit the governor's power to pardon criminals. ann? >> mark potter, thank you so much this morning. coming up inside the mind of casey anthony as her pretrial psychological evaluations are made public for the first time. but first, this is "today" on

nbc.

just ahead, a look inside beyonce's maternity suite. >> but first, your local news and weather. your final wish has been granted. wait, wait, wait-- where's the peanut one? [ yellow ] wheeee! oh, hey red. [ male announcer ] m&m's® can't resist m.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top stories. baltimore city police say they are looking for a person who shot a man inside a northwest baltimore county out. this happened at 10:00 last night at liberty heights ave. we're told that the victim, 22- year-old man, was shot multiple

times. time to get a check on the morning commute. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> 295 is the biggest delay due to this accident. southbound 295 at 100. you can see the delays stretch back to 195. if you want to get out 32 in the eastbound direction, 3 vehicles involved with an accident. south of jennings chapel road, we have to be taking up lanes of there. bausch ave and reisterstown, but a road, watch for crash. coldspring, tapping the brakes with an accident. slow go on the west side outer loop from reisterstown all the way to edmondson. that is backing up traffic on southbound 795. delays in place as well, out of the northeast. here is what looks like on 295. one to avoid this morning to take 95 as your alternate, or even washington boulevard.

white marsh, tapping the brakes as well. ava, over to you. >> rain has ended across the state, but you will catch up to delays. this should be a breeze compared to this morning. temperatures will be warming up. upper 50's this afternoon. last chance for mild air before cold air comes in. we will have scattered rain showers first and then the snow showers tomorrow morning. accumulation up to an inch north and west of the city. thirties' at best this

7:30 on a thursday morning, the 12th of january, 2012. a little bit wet. actually, a lot wet here in the northeast. we've got a big rain storm coming up. people in the west are getting snow and up north as well. and these are the people who are braving the elements outside our window on the world, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry. >> i feel bad for them. >> we've got to go out and give them a big hug, get ourselves wet. >> we'll get al out there. just ahead, we'll meet a 12-year-old crime fighter. >> a girl in california set up her webcam, hoping to catch her

sister messing with her stuff and she ended up catching a real thief in the act. we'll share her story this morning. and i'm not sure i can go on -- the makers of twinkies filed for bankruptcy. >> no! what are we going to do about it? >> does that mean it's the end of the line for the snack cake beloved by generations of americans? what's next, yoohoo? we'll sink our teeth in a that, coming up. and two huge stars in the house, not huge in size, but huge stars. dolly parton and queen latifah -- >> they're little people. >> "joyful noise" stars of a new movie. they'll be joining us in studio and talking about their movie. i saw it last night and laughed constantly. and also coming up a little bit later, we're going to be celebrating our 60th anniversary of "today" and we'll be checking out the remarkable ways and places you watch us. for example, from a subway, in

beijing, from a horse. that's something, not even we knew, matt. >> we're going to find out more about that. but we begin with newly-released court records giving insight into caseny anthony's state of mind before her murder trial. nbc's janet shamblian is in orlando with more. >> reporter: these are depositions from medical professionals that have just been released in them, casey anthony says she believes her daughter, caylee, was conceived during a date rape. and she said she also believes that her father could have been responsible for caylee's deathth and both the medical professional said when they talked to her she seemed upbeat and showed no signs of mental illness. seven months after the not guilty verdict, stunning new details about what casey anthony told mental health experts before the trial. a judge in orlando has unsealed the depositions of psychiatrist

jeffrey danzinger and psychologist, william weis, two medical professional who is evaluated anthony. according to weis, casey talked about her father, george, saying it is the perception of casey, that her father had something to do with the death of her daughter. dr.-anziger said she told her, i think he held her under water and casey also recounted her younger years. weitz said her father had sexually abused her back to the age of childhood. >> have you ever sexually molested your daughter casey anthony? >> no, sir. >> reporter: george anthony denied those allegations during the trial and the defense never presented evidence. on wednesday, george anthony said he has repeatedly said, he never molested any member of his

family, including casey anthony and had nothing to do with the death of caylee anthony. the depositions are just the latest version of what casey said happened to her daughter in 2008. >> there's no doubt that casey anthony, by her own account, is an admitted liar so it becomes virtually impossible to know which of the accusations she's made or which of the explanations she gave had any truth at all. >> reporter: casey also told danziger and weitz about her personal life, saying caylee may have been conceived during a date rape. she said she attended a party and blacked out. she believes that's when she was impregnated. as for her mental state, dr. danziger said i do not find any evidence of an active mental illness. and that anthony was surprisingly cheerful for someone accused of murdering her child.

weitz said anthony seemed detached from a lot of her feelings and emotions and used lies as a protective measure. >> she lies about so much, so i think nobody actually will know what to believe and what not to believe. >> reporter: both of these medical professionals were originally listed as defense witnesses. but it's important to note that neither of them ended up testifying at the trial. also this morning, there is information that casey anthony may be splitting with her attorney, jose baez. he told nbc news that he had no comment. back to you. >> janet shamlian in orlando, thank you. >> we have our legal correspondent and psychiatrist. as a trained mental health professional and trained lawyer, what jumps out at you? >> i was surprised we heard a new theory from casey anthony about what happened to little caylee. now she's saying in these evaluations she thought her father may have done something to this little girl and covered it up. interesting that that version of events didn't end up being talked about at the trial.

the other thing about it is, these are two psychiatric ev evaluations done i assume for the purpose trying to detect if she had a mental illness that possibly could have been a defense. here you have two mental professionals saying she doesn't have a a mental illness or defect that could be significant in any way. >> psychiatrists are not mind-readers, if somebody is lying to the psychiatrist, they have no way of knowing what's a lie and what's not. and mental illness has very specific definitions. in a diagnostic manual, if you really don't meet all the criteria for that, you can't say the person has a mental illness. but it doesn't mean that they're not a liar or they don't have character problems that could lead to kinds of things that could be criminal behavior. >> savannah, let me go back to you for a second. so casey anthony was found not guilty. she is innocent in the eyes of the law. why were these documents unsealed? >> because florida has some of the most expansive open government, open records laws in this country. there's almost a presumption that court records will be opened. they were sealed during the trial for the purpose of

protecting her right to a fair trial. and the judge in the case made a simple conclusion that the trial is over, we don't have to worry about the fair trial rights any more, now they can be unsealed. >> as a mental health professional, does it trouble you when conversations, evaluations like this are made public? >> it troubles me deeply. the cornerstone of any decent treatment and people wanting to come into treatment is confidentiality. and the only time it should be broken is something called a ruling that you have a duty to warn if patient tells you somebody's in danger. >> there's an ethical or legal responsibility on the part of a psychiatrist or psychologist, if someone says a crime has been committed, to tell an authority? >> retrospectively? no. the law is really if someone tells you, i'm going to kill so-and-so, or i'm going to molest so-and-so, then you have a duty ethically to warn. otherwise, if it's in the past, no, you don't. and really, not without

confidentiality, without patients feeling they're going to have that, they can't be in a safe treatment. and they're not going to come into treatment. >> just in the 30 seconds i have left, savannah. any surprise at all or any headline coming out of this possibility that jose baez and casey anthony have gone their separate ways? >> not altogether surprising. what strikes me is i don't think casey anthony has too many people that she's connected to in her life. she doesn't have much of a support system. she has no relationship with her family. jose baez was probably one of the closest people to her. but apparently she's got some disappointment. he may be done with her, and gayle's got some theories on that. >> there's clearly the minimum, deep conflict about men in her life. and you know, they're either over-idealized, or if that doesn't work out, they become really devalued. you have to wonder about that being behind it. >> ladies, thank you both. let's get a check of the weather now from al. we've got a change temperaturewise, too.

we're looking at some cold air making its way into the plains. single digits. teens and 20s into the central plains, into the mid mississippi river valley. teens and 20s in northern new england. we've got plenty of sunshine and warmer temperatures through the southwest. that's what's >> good morning. the showers are ending. temperatures are looking mild. . that's your latest weather. matt? coming up, a 12-year-old girl who used a webcam to catch a thief in action. we'll share her story after this.

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(announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif. back now at 7:43, with a tech-savvy 12-year-old who used her web camera to catch an alleged thief red-handed. nbc's miguel agaria joins us with more. >> the pritchards put their house up for sale in august and police say it was their webcam that caught more than a curious house hunter. >> i had it under a bunch of pillows like right over here and i had it kind of, you could see like pretty much my whole room.

>> reporter: 12-year-old howie pritchard suspected a thief all along. >> i thought i would catch my sister. >> reporter: but she got more than she bargained for when she set up her laptop and focused her webcal on the entrance to her bedroom. instead of catching her sister, police say she caught this guy, busted rifling through her drawers and stuffing his pockets. >> i saw there's a guy going through my stuff. >> reporter: place say he made his way into her home during an open house. and when howie came home a few hours later, she caught him on her laptop. >> i saw my chair was moved and i saw him come through the hallway and went through ply drawers. >> she came down the stairs screaming, somebody ripped us off. we looked at the video and it was shocking. >> reporter: the pritchards didn't recognize the man, but police did. douglas john callendrella is a

46-year-old real estate agent, convicted of stealing from houses before. two years ago he was arrested for accessing locked boxes to rifle through bay area homes. investigators say when put more than 50 stolen items on ebay, a victim notified police. >> it's shocking the stuff he's taken. especially in this community that's really tight-knit. it's really too bad. >> reporter: the pritchards say the suspect swipeded a diamond necklace, a diamond bracelet and some loose change. but they hope to get it all back. thanks to their 'tween's technology. >> it didn't happen that much like a 12-year-old catch as guy stealing. >> reporter: caught on camera, now callendrella is sitting behind bars. because the suspect is on probation for a burglary, he's being held in jail without the possibility for bail. he faces the exact same charges today in court. as for the pritchards, ann, they've taken their house off the market. >> miguel almaguer, thanks so

much for your reporting this morning. coming up next, the maker of a classic snack files for bankruptcy. could it be the end of twinkies? say it's not so. and we'll be taking you inside beyonce and jay-z's much talked about maternity suite, after this. following that fidelity green line? yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be -- oh! i left my 401(k) at my old job. and i left a jacket on the back of my door. but i think the line's talking about my 401(k). leave a 401(k) behind? roll it over with the company that's helping more people reach retirement than anyone else. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. ♪ maybe it's the things you do or the things you really want to do. ♪ whatever it is, kfc's new weekend bucket

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♪ and fits our budget perfectly. so there's a brand-new room right where the old one used to be. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. new glidden duo paint plus primer only at the home depot and starting at only $24.97 a gallon. we're back now at 7:49. and how about this -- could we soon see the end of the twinkies? some of america's classic snacks appear to be on thin ice. nbc's john yang is in chicago to explain. john, say it isn't so. >> reporter: well, matt, you know, generations of american school kids have taken twinkies to school in their lunch boxes or in brown paper bags. and now the maker of twinkies and ho hoe hos and wonder bread file ford bankruptcy protection. for baby boomers these spongy cakes are the king of snacks. >> i used to be a pastry chef

for 14 years and i do have it say i have a guilty pleasure for the ho-hos and the twinkies. >> i think of being a kid again. >> reporter: the future of his guilty pleasures may be crumbling. hostess brand has filed for bankruptcy protection to try to take a bite out of rising costs for labor and ingredients. while they reorganize, they say they'll keep store shelves stocked with the 82-year-old product and its cousins, hostess cupcakes, ho-hos and wonder bread. >> the twinky as an icon is too big to fail. we saw so many commercials that it becomes real. >> reporter: the ads were a staple of kids tv for generations. >> yahoo, it's twinkie the kid! >> reporter: despite the push for healthy food, the twinkies ingredient list hasn't changed

much. >> sodium and calcium cesaina temp and red number 40, there you go. >> reporter: recently twinkies sales have sagged buxts overall, big snacks have held steady. even in these health-conscious times. >> if i had a ding-dong or twinkie right now, i'd have to visit the gym, i feel guilty. >> reporter: chefs deep-fry them for dessert and once on "today," ann made twinkie sushi with a group of kids. the appeal? the indescribable, irresistible, melt in your mouth taste. >> i think they're looking for the sweet and fatty sensation. which is what you get from ice cream and other favorite treats. >> it's delicious, you know and the moment you're eating it it's like the best thing in the world. >> reporter: the twinkie lovers take heart. analysts say no matter what happens to the parent company, twinkies are likely to live on. matt? >> john yang in chicago, thanks

very much. that's good news. >> you can buy them and pass them on to your grandchildren. >> you can stash them away. >> people will make lots of purchases in the upcoming weeks. >> how about the snowballs? let's talk about this the story that's come out about beyonce and jay-z's hospital room. there some pictures that have come out that show inside lennox hospital, lennox hill hospital. and it doesn't look like a hospital room at all, actually. >> this is the executive suite that lennox hill reportedly built for -- anyone it could be anyone to come in who could use this. >> hospitals are in business to make money. >> and a lot of them are doing that. >> this is how they compete with other hospitals. >> meanwhile the health department has cleared, opened and closed the case that there's no more complaints. >> no wrongdoing on the part of the hospital, according to new york state health officials. >> and it's got a kitchen.

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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. any better? >> unfortunately not. southbound is the biggest spot, because the delays are from 195 down to 32 due to an accident in the area of 100. the vehicles is down 32 and 100, -- eastbound 132, 3 vehicles

involved. another one at 29 and route 40. we 27 and frederick rowe, we have an accident. busy intersection at there. shut down at have been at brought back road due to a downed tree. southbound j.f.x., all volume- related. from the beltway all the way into town at 28. live view of traffic in the area of white marsh. southbound traffic. you can see the droplets on the camera there. volume-related delays around de area. ava lets us know when it is going to end. >> rain has already ended, easing conditions through the afternoon. temperatures are warming up. we will start in the 40's right now and are going to be in the upper 50s this afternoon. powerful cold front is on the way, moving through chicago

right now. that will write the very late tonight. it will bring scattered rain showers. then we could see a change to snow north and west of the city. an inch accumulation in parts of carroll county and baltimore co

happy birthday to the "today show," it's hard to believe that you're 60 years old. you're so new, fresh, sexy and fun. thinking of the history of the "today show," it's like the history of america itself. youth full, glorious, institution. but for me it will be summarized, symbolized and embodied by the beauty and the curve tur of meredith vieira. how i miss her. happy birthday. >> that was great. we miss her, too. thank you so much. for that wonderful rendition. the good news is that she's going to be back here tomorrow, along with katie couric, been ra norville, jane pauley, barbara

walters -- >> just say everybody. >> anyway, we're going to be celebrating. >> woo, what are you doing out here? it's a major windstorm, rainstorm out here. anyway, we're now welcoming the 12th day of january and we're wet. and just ahead, we'll be talking about the most important member of the today show, who is you. >> who is me? >> that's right. >> no, who is you. >> oh, sorry, them. >> i thought it was you, matt. >> no, we talk about the viewers. look at it, it's crazy out here. we asked our viewers to tell us where and how they watch "the today show." our website was flooded and we're flooded. and wait until you see some of the responses. all right. okay. >> i'll just say, let's go inside. >> before we do, we want to say, dolly parton, queen latifah. new movie, "joyful noise" singing, interview, inside, natalie. >> give us the news, natalie.

come on back inside, folks. >> come inside. >> come inside, i'll save you. meanwhile, in the news this morning, some serious news to begin with, the marine corps is investigating a new video that appears to show four marines urinating on the corpses of taliban fighters. the video is graphic, so we'll only show you this still photo with the faces blurred out. marines are allegedly from a sniper team based in camp lejeune and the video is believed to have been shot in afghanistan. meanwhile u.s. officials have condemned the incident and say they are working to authenticate the video and identify the solds. a mane at camp pendleton, california, testified wednesday that his commanding officer ordered violent retaliation before his squad killed 24 iraqi men, women and children in 2005. sergeant sannic dell la cruz was granded immunity in exchange for his testimony about a staff

sergeant. a mississippi judge has temporarily blocked the release of 21 inmates who among 200 pardoned or given medical releases by republican governor, haley barbour, just before his term ended on tuesday. the judge acted on a request by the state's democratic attorney general, who said barbour may have violated the state constitution by failing to give sufficient public notice. president obama is back in washington this morning, after political fundraising events last night in chicago that were expected to raise $2 million. his campaign announced this morning that the president raised more than $68 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone compared to republican front-runner, mitt romney's $24 million raised in that same time period. meantime, romney is hitting the campaign trail today, in the next primary state, south carolina. after back-to-back victories in iowa and new hampshire. but his gop rivals are attacking him for his former career as a venture capitalist. now taking a look what is

trending today, a quick round of what has you talking online. four-time winter x games champion, sarah burke is a top search on yahoo and google. the canadian freestyle skier is in a medically-induced coma, she underwent surgery on wednesday for unspecified injuries suffered in a training incident in utah. last night's people's choice awards is topping google trends and katie perry was the biggest winner and also the night's biggest no-show. and take a look at this flight of president obama reciting the lyrics to lady gaga's "born this way" gaining traction on youtube. ♪ i was born that way ♪ i make no mistake ♪ i was born this way >> well the clips were all apparently plucked from an official white house website. that is pretty cool how they do that. 8:04 right now, let's go back outside to al with a check of

the weather. and serious at the same time. >> it is. you got to watch that you got a nice little bear there, huggable henry? >> yes. >> our security guy. >> and you took it from him. >> i did it. now he's wet. >> that's right and you're wet but it's your birthday, what's your name, young lady? >> izzy. >> that's my mom's nickname. happy birthday. let's check your weather, show you our pick city of the day, just happens to be minneapolis, cloudy, windy, cold. highs only in the low teens today. there's those two storm systems wrapping up. rain and snow in new england and the northeast. snow back through chicago. parts of michigan, wisconsin, anywhere from five to eight inches of snow. sunny but chicky back in seattle, 43 and sunshine. we all need to get to miami, it's sunny and 80 degrees. our stage manager, leslie, is about to do a mary poppins, i think. >> good morning.ing on

the showers are ending. we will see some clearing into the afternoon. that's your latest weather. matt? >> very good. you're about three minutes behind us, al, thanks very much. up next, two stars for the price of one. we'll catch up with dolly parton and queen latifah. dolly, by the way, loved that president obama video. and we're back right after this. speak frankly about something no one wants to talk about. it's time to get real about what happens in the bathroom. stop all the cutesy stuff.

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one of hip hop's finest, queen latifah, with one of country music's biggest stars, dolly parton? you get "joyful noise" the name of their new movie. when they play gospel choir singers who don't like each other very much. let's take a look. >> it must really gripe your ass to see somebody you can't charm. >> well, i am who i am. >> maybe you were five procedures ago. >> oh! you want to know what passes me off? >> not particularly. >> you are going to hear it. it is your holier than thou, pius, racist self. who gives a rat's ass if i have a few little nips and tucks. god didn't make plastic surgeons so they could starve. >> queen latifah, dolly parton. good morning! you want to do that scene over and over again.

we got to do that one more time. >> we didn't even watch us. >> we wish somebody would throw as you biscuit today, we would eat it. >> and we got dolly in a head lock right after that. you were the first person in all of time to do that. >> i hope i have that record. you know, i hope it's official. >> this is the story of two women who are in the same choir, who don't like each other very much. in fact that's kind of an understatement. and one of them gets appointed to head the choir director, and the other one feels like, you feel like you should have that opportunity. and but holy cow, is this movie about more than that. how would you describe it? >> it's about a small town that's suffering from the economy. it's about people running out of money and we've had the choir that we've been competing for years and now we can't afford to do it. and so my character has run the choir, supported the choir with my husband, who is played by chris christopherson. when he passes away suddenly, i think it should be my part. and she takes over because we're

both after the same thing, to build up our community. but we don't like each other. because i think it's my job. >> that's where the problem is it's not that we hate each other. it's just that we wind up become competitive, because i get the job that she probably should have gotten. and i'm kind of a control freak in this movie, my character. she's a little too wound up. >> right. >> and her character is much more -- loose, relaxed. and you know, easy-flowing. and so it definitely creates some tension. >> but so as you touch about it, it's about that story and it's also about the economy, it's about the military. it's about mother-daughter relationships. you have a speech in this movie to your daughter that every mother watching this will identify, i mean with a young, growing up, going to be a woman daughter. >> i was scared watching it. i thought, i put fear in myself. >> and there's some great acting. >> i thought about my mom and the conversations we had when i was 17 and when i went through that. and how we overcame that.

and it is about those relationships. because you know, dolly's character has a young grandson, who is going through a couple tough times and he has a crush on my daughter. and so it's that letting go, and she's growing up in front of my eyes. but you know, your daughters are always your babies. you just can't see them as young women, you know, so it's all that kind of stuff happening. but it's a very positive movie and the music is really like so uplifting and this is literally that movie that you'll walk out feeling so good. >>ky say that. i walked out feeling good. i cried a couple times and i walked out feeling great. not only do you two throw down. you mentioned these two young people who play your daughter and your nephew. and they are jeremy jordan and ki ki farmer and they throw down. >> there's a kind of "glee" nature to this movie. would you agree with that? >> totally agree. anything to do with music is

very uplifting. especially gospel music. so i think people are responding to music these days, because we want our souls to resonate. we need to feel like we need to be lifted up. and this movie does that, i think. >> and people respond so much to you, dolly, because you're so honest. i mean -- >> she's so earthy. >> what an artificial thing to be so earthy. >> even in the movie you're talking about procedures and you're making the jokes about it. you know, you put that in the movie and you felt comfortable. >> uh-huh. >> well i've been at it so long. people have watched me grow up and they watched me grow old and they watched me do everything in between. i've been out there for the people and i love the public and i don't think i have to hide anything from them. >> she said, i had high heels in my high chair. that's what she said. and she said i i'll have them in my wheelchair. i'm dying laughing. >> that's who i am. i'm not a natural beauty like the two of you. >> oh, come on. >> it's a movie with the two of

you at each other's throats. but actually in truth, you guys really obviously get along so well. >> we love each other. >> what took so long to get you two in a movie? >> i don't know. >> this script is great. >> angela, that's great one of the great girls in the show. she's singing in the choir with us later. and michelle lynch, who did all the great choreography, we had a lot of wonderful people on this show. >> we need to take a couple of months to get off tour so we could make this movie. but look, the wheels don't go backwards, that bus is moving. and it's probably outside right now. >> going to a gospel show. >> before you get on the bus, i no he you guys will be performing for us a little later. we're so excited about that, we're thrilled. congratulations. the movie is called "a joyful noise." i loved it. thank you. coming up next, we've got from your sofa to the ends of the earth, the unique ways you watch "today," right after this. i want healthy skin for life.

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back now at 8:18, with more of our special series, "today and 60." of course, any celebration of our 60th anniversary has to include our real important people. >> we wanted to know how, where and why you watch "today" and the response was overwhelming. take a look. >> in five, four -- >> it starts like this every morning. under bright lights, we talk to the cameras. and somehow, "today" gets beamed to the world. >> if i thought about it, i would probably panic. the second we get on the air. >> hi! >> who's watching "the today show"? 60 years after this flickering image hit the air waves for the first time -- you would be surprised. 25-year-old michael yan is a

regular viewer, watching podcasts of the show on his ipad while he commute on the subway in beijing, china. >> i just love watching "the today show." >> do you ever miss an episode? >> no. >> michael discovered "today" when the program broadcast from the 2008 olympics. and he's been hooked ever since. >> it opens a window for me to america. >> when the sun comes up on laura lambert's ranch in wiggins, colorado, it dawns on her that she's got more than one way -- >> they think they're doing their job. >> to watch "today." this cow girl compete on the rodeo circuit and can't always be home. so she's got a satellite connection on her fancy horse trailer. and, better yet -- >> i can check whatever i need to, the news or the weather. on horseback on my smartphone. >> technology brings "today" to this doctor and her cancer patients at willis knight medical center in shreveport,

louisiana. >> if i can catch the 7:00 a.m. opening and that first news segment, i'm good for the day. but there's always the iphone app. >> dr. fagan catches bits and pieces of "today" while going on rounds. >> i get home, it helps me relate better to the patients. and they want to make sure you're in touch with the world, not just their illness. ♪ >> 20-year-old college student heather mallard gets up and works out with "today" at one of the highest-tech fitness centers in the nation. >> the technology is unbelievable. >> at the university of south florida's new recreation center in tampa, each techno gym machine is connected to the web. heather has been a fan. show since she was little, but has never watched like this. >> it's crazy how far it's come from watching on a big bulky screen to watching it on my own treadmill at the gym. pretty cool.

>> thanks to global satellites, "the today show" has viewers in every corner of the world. >> my name is victoria and i work in turkmenistan. >> victoria is 7,000 miles from home in this land just north of iran. >> i also absolutely get homesick. >> but she sees "the today show" live every night on armed forces television. >> it gives me a slice of home in a remote location where there's not much of any western influence. >> of course, some viewers have a connection with the show that goes beyond technology. >> i was born the same day that "the today show" was born. >> sandy westbrook turns 60, the same day "today" turns 60. >> i've always thought that was special. >> the pennsylvania woman has witnessed many of the biggest events of the past six decades, watching our program. >> the coverage is extensive. and they always treat the hot topics of the day.

>> meg of west allen hurst, new jersey, says "the today show" is like family. because, well, she gave birth to her daughter kate while watching one of my "where in the world" segments. >> i was doing my labor breathing and to look up at matt, smiling and happy in paris, it was very comforting, i guess. ♪ >> and from the city of light, american samantha godden watches "the today show" live at ches francis. >> it's my piece of america every morning. >> with a streaming web connection called slingbox, samantha is ready for our next 60 years. >>. [ speaking foreign language ] >> happy anniversary "today show." and love from paris. >> that's interesting, right? >> wow. to think that you're responsible for somebody's baby. >> ah! >> no, no! >> that's not what she said? >> oh, i'm sorry, i

misunderstood. >> see, that's how things get passed around. >> we'll wrap up with a return of your favorite anchors from your last sick decades. but right now, willard scott. >> we're in the heart of it now. happy days are here again. take a look at our birthday buddies from good old smuckers, how sweet it is. james lehey of darlington, wisconsin, is 102 years old today. his secret to longevity? work on the farm. believe it or not, nothing like that. until i was about 14, i worked on a farm all the time. on the hay wagon. verna burr, of henning, minnesota, 102 years old today. enjoys gardening and reading her bible. i do every night. i thought this -- jesse james, of port saint lucie, florida. i won't try to make a joke about that. he's 101 years old today.

loves gardening, bowling and robbing trains. no, he doesn't. i just threw that in. wood carver. and we have nettie lobsenz, a nice lady from new york, new york. 103, loves opera, her secret to longevity? matzo ball soup. she makes the best in the country and it's delicious. matzo ball soup, hands down. henry litzel. of kings park, new york. is 100 years old today. and a proud retired firefighter. how about that? what a hero, huh? and he loves to be involved at church activities. can't beat that. and finally, bessie griswold of dudley, north carolina. a lot of griswolds up in connecticut. 100 years old, loves reading the bible. her secret to longevity? moderation. and even in moderation,

moderation. that's it. >> all right, willard, thank you so much. coming up, the things you can save money on in 2012. >> but first, we're going to take a look at your local news. and if you're living in the new york area, your soggy weather forecast. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> it has been a really rough ride this morning. wet roads have yet to clear up. jammed right from 195 all the way down to 32. much of that due to an earlier accident. all lanes are open. if you want to take 95 as your alternate, much better southbound.

another one being cleared on 29 at 40. we are learning about an accident at windsor mill in. it involves an overturned vehicle at belmont ave bit shutdown at gordon ave. downed tree in hampstead. for 82 closed at brought back road. pulaski highway and 543 in bel camp, crash being cleared. in bel air, conowingo road, watch for an accident. jammed up sat down on the j.f.x. beltway all the way down to 28. still dealing with delays in the white marsh area. starting to improve from white marsh down to the split. john collins joins us with the forecast. >> rain is gone from our area. the thunder shower activity from the jersey coast. here we have clouds and at the temperatures are mild. '88 at b.w.i. marshall, now in the 40's.

southwest winds at 8. that's about 20 -- miles per 20 gusts about 20 miles per hour. temperatures in the mid-to- upper-fifties for the high. >> we will have another update at 8:25.

it's 8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 12th day of january, 2012. it's a disaster outside. it's pouring, but thank you very much to these few people who stuck around since the wee hours of the morning. now they're just drenched. although it did stop raining for a bit. >> but they're soaked, the

bottom line. >> on the couch i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry, al roker and natalie morales. coming up, what you can get for less in 2012. >> there are a lot of popular things from furniture to gadgets and even wine that will be on sale, we're told. possibly even all year long. so we're going to find out where some of the biggest bargains might be. >> and mark bitman is on sale. >> i'll buy him! how much? >> he wants us to consider eating better by going semi vegan. one night a week. he's going to share some tasty recipes to get us started. >> better for your heart. and queen latifah and dolly parton will be back to perform one of their songs from their new movie, "joyful noise." >> that will be a lot of fun. first let's say hi to josh lucas, the star of the new nbc series, "the firm." and josh is the reason we're inside, he refused to go

outside. >> not true, not true. >> trust matt to throw you under the bus. >> i do not have the wet look by choice. >> so, john grisham was here, the man who wrote the book "the firm." and he called you the movie star in every since of the word. >> i guess because i have to fill tom cruise's shoes, that's probably a nice compliment. >> you've been in a lot of great movies. in this role, you're running, you run, we are looking at the trailer, you're constantly running. do they have to make special suits so you can do all that running, without ripping your pants. >> there's a question of how many hours a day i can run. they decided i could do 12 and i was like, no. i worked it down to about eight hours a day. i no longer have to work, i just go to work. >> jumping, you jump. oh, man! you talk about filling tom cruise's shoes, does that worry you when you got the part? >> what terrified me, it was a great challenge, obviously, the

point is to try to make it your own. but also homage the fact that i think he did a great job. >> congratulations, we know you just got engaged. and supposedly your engagement had something to do with a mountain lion? >> i was doing a movie in big sur, california, we had taken this place up on the side of a cliff in a little trailer. and unbeknownst to us there was a mountain lion who lived up there and me feiancee knew abou that and i dismissed her and one night ended up walking up alone. it was about six feet above me and growled. and i proceeded to do what they say you need to do, i guess when you see a bear. you just go crazy. >> so you -- you proposed? >> it was an interesting moment in my life. i got into the trailer after making it in. and realized in that moment that she was the right woman for me for all sorts of reasons.

like, he said, you were terrified into marriage? >> well, she's a beautiful girl, congratulations, that's nice. >> and by the way, we want to tell people, you can catch a new episode of "the firm" tonight at 10:00 p.m. on nbc. josh, thanks. appreciate it. >> great to have you here. anyway, let's check the weather from mr. roker. tell us more. >> we've got winter weather advisories stretching from marquette, michigan down to northern georgia, as far east as caribou, maine, with snow there. sleet making its way into the mid new england area. sunshine in the pacific northwest. tomorrow we're looking at rain and snow in the northeast, frigid conditions, more snow around the great lakes. cold in the pacific northwest, with air stagnation alerts. sunshine, but cool around the >> good morning.

the showers are ending. temperatures are looking mild. don't forget, you want to keep track of your weather, you go to weather channel or weather.com online. up next, from tv to wine, the top things that are going to be on sale in 2012, but first, this is

coming up at 8:37, and this morning on today's consumer. saving money. everyone loves a good bargain. while some things will cost you more in 2012, there are a whole list of items that will be less

expensive, at least that's what elizabeth mayhugh says, she's from "women's day" magazine with details on how we can get a deal. we like this information, welcome and good morning. why are some things like for example, even get started with technology, going to be less expensive this year? >> part of it has to do with consumer confidence last year, which was at an all-time low. so there are a lot of models on the market that are coming down in price. and also some things have to do with all the innovations that older models are coming down in price. >> i see. >> starting off, this is a tv, yes, but it's a 3-d hdtv. 3-d did not do as well over christmas as people had hoped. part of it isn't that the tv is more expensive, it's that all of the paraphenalia, the glasses, the 3-d blu-ray, there's already according to dealnews.com. a 33% decrease in price. and it's expected that that could even go lower. >> some of the prices decreases are for all year? or is there a window? >> they can be all year.

certain things, which we'll talk about has windows and to do with a product release. right now it's the consumer electronics show, so a lot of this is dictated by newer models being released there. which will push down prices. let's start out with tablets. tablets across the board, kindle introduced kindle fire, the record price of $199, a great price, forcing all other manufacturers to come if at better prices. and with something like the ipad, there's speculation that ipad 3 will come out. not that it will be at a lower price, but it will affect the secondary market of already-refurbished ipad 2s. >> this is a gps? >> yes, our phones are getting smarter. they're replacing a lot of the things we used to spend money on. the gps is a good example. a stand-alone unit. the other thing is that the integrated systems that go into your cars are often better and less expensive. say it was $170, is now at $60.

>> that's a good deal. >> and if you're comparing. now this is the best deal i would say. >> robert parker, an esteemed connoisseur says this is the year of the buyer. a lot of that is because people were not spending money on the $30 and up last year bottles. so those prices are coming down and you're seeing literally across the board from merchants, sales, big-time. also european, because of the euro, the prices have come down. and that "wine spectator" said look for rhone wines from france. and tuscan wines from italy. the one exception? bordeauxes. >> of course. >> particularly because they're incredible vintage and there haven't been as good vintages lately. and south american wine have gotten better. >> and the e readers, a nook is a good example where their baseline price went from $139, to $99. it's just, catching on and

because of it, more and more are coming out. so prices are falling. sports tickets. >> they're going to get better? >> stub hub has seen like a 20% decrease in prices over the past couple of years. >> why is that? >> a lot of people are staying home because they have awesome tvs and they put in these media rooms and viewing rooms so they're seeing the games in hd and they're seeing stuff better. and in certain places, like in baseball or basketball, there's so many games and because people aren't spending the money on the tickets, they're coming down. >> cameras, how much can we save today? >> again, this has to do with the smartphones. so many smartphones are taking such great pictures. so there's less of a need for a yet another device. and also this is so much tied to the consumer electronics show, which is happening right now. the older models are going to come down in price. this is something you can buy right now where you'll see prices, when you ask about timing. the other thing to buy right now -- furniture. there's two times when new furniture models come out, february and later again in the

fall. right now take these pieces from mitchell gold, the premiere designer, premiere showroom. those prices are 30% to 60% off right now for the month of january. and in some cases, there's an even 20 % discount off of that. off of custom orders. >> you said the prices through february, right? >> this is through january. i think it goes through january 29th is the main sale. then all the new floor models come out in february. this is like two things where if you're going to buy, buy right now. >> who is going to say you've saved us money. we thank you and appreciate it. coming up, semi vegan meals to get you on top of healthier eating from none other than mark bitman. but first, this is "today" on nbc. it smells great, mark!

and this morning on how to cook everything today, a diet of

less meat and more plants. if you want to be better, healthier, why not add a few vegan meals to your rotation? mark bitman is here with recipes, for the semi vegan. that appeared in "the new york times" magazine. and he's the author of the "how to cook everything" cookbook. hey mark, good to see you. we've known each other for a long time. you know this is going to be a bit of an uphill climb for me, because i'm a carnivore. talk to me about what you mean by semi vegan. >> we all know that eating less meat is good for us. >> right. >> we all know we eat too much. there's a study i wrote about in the paper yesterday, that we are as a nation, eating 12% less meat than we were five years ago. >> people aren't doing it and cutting it out cold turkey, no pun intended. >> no. >> they're gradually doing it, right? >> yeah. and that's the idea. no one is talking about it out entirely. i'm talking about shifting the balance in your diet. >> just to be clear, true

vegans, no animal products at all, correct? >> no meat, no dairy, no nothing. but we're not talking about that. i'm just -- trying to encourage people to integrate more meatless main courses. >> maybe one day a week? >> one day a week, whatever. settle what are we making, risotto? >> yes, but with barley. and so it's a little different. we start with sauteed onions, some dried mushrooms of any time you like, you could use fresh mushrooms, too. a little bit of saffron for color, but just a pinch, it's expensive stuff. >> why do you like barley? >> it gets that same kind of creaminess that rice does. and it's a whole grain. so you're getting a higher degree of fiber than you would with white rice. >> easy or hard to cook? >> very easy. this is a 20-minute process or so. you cook the barley, just as you would risotto. you cook the barley until it's kind of glossy. and then -- >> what kind of stock are we going to add to that? >> vegetable stock, because we're being vegan. but actually water.

you've got so much flavor in here from onion and mushroom and saffron, that even water would work. a little bit of white wine. and then you add the stock, a little bit at a time and stir after every, every addition. >> as you said, 20 minutes, start to finish, you're done. >> it's a little bit of work, but pretty easy. let me make this -- >> you don't have to garnish for me, you know that. >> well, okay. i don't have to garnish for you? well i do want to finish it with some other -- >> it's delicious. i will tell you that. >> it's even better now. >> now we move on. next you're going to make a bean burger? nothing says good morning like a bean burger. >> this is what i had for breakfast. >> i thought that was you. what else do we need to know about this? >> that it's a lunch dish, actually. you know, a bean burger is not a hamburger. but the idea that you can make a burger with no meat whatsoever and you know, they look great, you can garnish them like that. >> i was surprised at how few

ingredients there are. it's basically just beans -- >> we can do it, actually. we've got some onion. some cooked white beans, you could use black, red, whatever you like. >> what's this? >> this is oats. and you need it basically for binding to hold it together. >> this is, that's pretty incredible. >> that's the burger, not you, right? >> very funny. >> okay. and a little chili powder. >> could you add some other herbs and spices? >> it could go any direction you want to. and a little water if, if it's too stiff, a little water, if it's not stiff enough. a little more oats. >> you're going to form it into a patty and put it into a pan and fry it? >> right. that's what i'm going to do. and you fry it just like you would a burger. >> i want to taste that real quickly. >> i don't want to take a whole bun one. >> it's going to be hot. >> it is. it's also good, i have to say.

real quickly the last one is the sweet potato soup? >> this is sweet potatoes and apples, curry powder, coconut milk. this is real crowd pleaser, because it's quite sweet, but naturally so. >> this is a side dish or a main course? >> a main course with our barley risotto, for example. and some peanuts and cilantro. you're done. >> the message here, don't give up meat completely, if you don't want to, try a little at a time. you're burning your bean burgers. up next, "joyful noise" from dolly parton and queen latifah. no, seriously, on fire now! it's your social network.

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the today concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. >> uh-huh. that's absolutely right. we talk to the stars of the new movie, "joyful noise," earlier this morning. as promised, dolly parton and queen latifah are back to perform a company by five-time grammy winner, murray warren, the music director from "joyful noise." he's standing behind me. let's say good morning to dolly parton and queen latifah. welcome again. who knew that hip hop and country had an intersection in the two of you? >> uh-oh. >> we never thought about that. we thought it would be, queen

latifah, she's the queen, hip hop, rap, and the movie. she's the queen of her own 'hood, but i'm the queen of dollywood! >> you know you've had such, i was reading through the notes, you two have admired each other -- you have a lot of wow, that's dolly parton moment. >> absolutely. she's, she's, she's always exhibited such confidence and gorgeousness and fabulousness. but humility and humor. so she was someone i always looked up to, growing up and i thought -- if i could just nail, you know, figure it all out, i'll be all right. and own it like that. own it like she does and have such a good time with it, i'll be fine. >> we'll have some good time listening to the two of you this morning. ladies and gentlemen, take a listen to this.

♪ not enough, not enough, not enough love ♪ ♪ not enough, not enough love ♪ there's no room for hating ♪ a heart full of kindness ♪ how long will it take it for that to ring true ♪ ♪ our chances are saving, stop all this blindness ♪ ♪ a new world is waiting for us to breathe new ♪ ♪ so there's not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ about it, let's put it in movement ♪ ♪ our life would be better with just enough love ♪ ♪ so we have decided that sometimes kind of movement ♪ ♪ better when we could have more ♪ ♪ there's not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ not enough love ♪ not enough love ♪ not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ not enough love

♪ not enough trust ♪ and it's going to keep us apart ♪ ♪ there's not enough care ♪ there's not enough sharing ♪ too much meanness ♪ too much double-daring ♪ too much hating ♪ and not enough praying ♪ i'm just saying ♪ it's not enough ♪ it's not enough i often wonder what god must be thinking ♪ ♪ looking down on us, he'd have to be sad ♪ ♪ we better wise up now ♪ before we start sinking ♪ he gave us free choice ♪ but we're messing up bad ♪ there's not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ there's not enough love ♪ there's not enough love ♪ there's not enough love in our hearts ♪ ♪ there's not enough love

♪ there's not enough trust ♪ so we can pass it on ♪ there's not enough caring ♪ why can't we try harder ♪ why can't we do better ♪ like a good start ♪ not enough praying ♪ i'm just saying ♪ i wish there was more love ♪ i'm praying there's not enough ♪ not enough ♪ ♪ not enough ♪ not enough love ♪ not enough ♪ not enough love ♪ not enough ♪ too much crying ♪ too much lying ♪ too much hating ♪ and not enough trying ♪ not enough staying ♪ and too much good-bying ♪ i'm just saying ♪ it's not enough ♪ not enough ♪ not enough not enough love ♪ ♪ not enough ♪ not enough love

♪ not enough love ♪ not enough love ♪ in your heart ♪ not enough love ♪ not enough in your heart ♪ here in our hearts ♪ not enough love ♪ down in our hearts ♪ i'm saying it's not enough ♪ i'm saying it's not enough ♪ i'm saying it's not enough ♪ it's not enough [ applause ] the movie "joyful noise" opens tomorrow i >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the state is celebrating the arrival of much needed funding in the wake of tropical storm elite.

the maryland state high weight administration has been awarded $7 million in fines to repair road damage caused by the storm in september. most of the money will be spent on roads and

>> clouds this morning, with temperatures in the 40's. we will be up to 64 the high today. some of this will break through. overnight, may be some snow.

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