good morning. artist blast, a deadly storm system pounds the midwest causing travel problems all around the country, even caving in the metrodome in minneapolis. rocky ride, heavy winds and huge waves caused a royal caribbean cruise ship to list heavily during a storm. we'll hear from an american who's on board. and cheap shot, an jets coach tripping a player as he ran along the sidelines.

he's saying it's unexcusable what he did. "today," monday, december 13, what he did. "today," monday, december 13, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, welcome to today on a monday morning. >> good morning, everybody. >> welcome back from your travels. >> we have got from some really hot weather in haiti, to my gosh, what is this the weather is supposed to look like. here it is this morning because of the snow, it's inflatable roof collapsed. it happened on sunday morning. luckily no oneas hurt, but the vikings game against t new york giants had to beoved to tonight in detroit. the storm also caused major travel problems closing highways across the midwest, canceng thousands of flights.

critics ar supposed to review a performance, but what about a performer's weight? coming up, we're going to tell you what he said, why he's not backing down and we'll also talk to the dancer when she joins u on an exclusive live interview this morning. we're going to reveal the year's mostopular viral videos and that one right there ranks very high on the list. we want to begin this morning with a storm that pounded the midwest and caused that minneapolis metrodome to collapse. mike seidel is in cleveland with the latest. mike, good morning to you. >> reporter: as you can see here, it's another day of wind driven lake-effect snow and bitter cold temperatures. this storm was so bad that it took out a mor sports arena. cameras inside the metrodome showed the first signs of trouble.

snow leaking through the teflon of. but at 5:00 a.m., it was an avalanche of snow that collapsed into the unoccupied arena leaving aaping hole in the dome and the football field coverewith snow. in the light of day, the metrodome looked like a crater. officials blame the heavy snow and high winds which caused drifts on the dome ceiling leading to the collapse. >> very high winds, that with the high snow accumulation really impacted us. >> reporter: because of the roof collapse, sunday's sedule game between the jet -- was moved to new york. wintry weather battered the miest. >> there's a lot of snow on the ground. >> with more than two feet of snow falling in parts of minnesota, residents spet sunday trying to free their cars and homes from the snowy mess. >> one seems a lot more packed down than the wind blown so the

snow is very heavy. >> reporter: the snow also shut downarts of iowa and wisconsin where officials warned some residents to stay off the roads. even major highways were closed across the region. and more than 1,600 flights we canceled in chicago. in the days ahead, residents will be facing bitter cold while back at the metrodome, officials try to figure out what went wrong and when they'll be able to play football there again. you think it's cold where you are this morning, it's 30 below zero i international falls, but no windchill. another freeze for tomorrow afternoon in florida and bac in cleveland the windchill is 1, it's 18, this all happening before the first day of winter initially next tuesday. >> just a taste, mike, just a taste. >> >> al's tracking the storm.

>> this storm stretches from indiana all the way into new england. we have lake-effect winter weather advisories, lake-effect storm advisories, always as fa south as nashville and what we're looking at, indiana, 12 to 18 inches of snow. plus add to that the cold air, we have got the jet stream dipping way down to the south, 15 in nashvilleight now, 9 in chicago, pitburgh 19, afternoon highs today will only get up into the single digits in minneapolis, 31 in minneapolis, you add the windchill, it feels much colder, 5 in atlanta, feels like 3 in pittsburgh, then over the next 24 hours, look at how cold it gets, orlando, 24, jacksonville 18, that stretches on into wednesday. 9 degrees in chicago. we'll have the rest of the forecastn just a bit. >> al, thank you very much. but for now the debate over

your taxe not just yours, but everyo everyone's. the controversial tax deal faces itsirst test vote today. kelley o'don jeyell nell -- >> reporter: extending income tax rates and it now appears that some of the opposition from some of the hous liberals who don't want to see this deal may not be enough to scuttle it. while the first family enjoyed some christmas cheer in washington suny night, today the president may get an early gift from senate democrats on his tax cut compromise with republicans. >> i can say that we have good cross section of the senate democratic caucus from left to right who are prepared to accept

this. >> repter: and there has been a real turn around from some house liberals who say the president's compromise gives too many taxreaks to the rich. last week they ved to stop it. >> it is not acceptable to the house democratic caucus. it's as simple as that. >> reporter: but by sunday, congressman chris van holland predicted the deal would pass. >> we're not going to hold this thing up at the end of the day. >> reporter: liberals say they will rework the deal to make the wealthy pay higher taxes on. >> i don't think anybody wants to be responsible for taxes going up o january 1 because we couldn't come to a resolution. >> reporter: republicans support this deal, even though it would add about $900 billion to the deficit. >> i think it's worth it. i think it will create jobs and help our economy. >> reporter: in his 60 minutes

profile of the next house speaker, john boehne says the president was disrespectful when he called republicans hostage takes. >> excuse me, mr. president, i thought the election was over. >> reporter: boehner worked as a janitor inublic schools. >> making sure that these kids have a shot athe american dream. it's important. >> reporter: and in that profile piece, there were a couple of different times tt boehner actually teared up. he says peoe know that about him, he's comfortable in his own skin. and after today's vote in the senate, it could take a few more days to play out before we know if the house will pass it, so it is a critical time for this package. >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill this morning. it's now eight minutes after the hour, here's ann. >> another sad development in the bernie madoff sag the

death of his oldest son mark has now en ruled a suicide by the new york medical familiar never's office. this as his father serves a 156-year sentence in prison. >> reporter: as you mentioned, those official autopsy results are in this mning as expected. mark madoff's official cause of death is suicide by hanging. if he was trying to send a message here, he sure did it, taking his own life on the exact two-year anniversary of his father bernie madoff's arrest. we're getting our first look inside where it happened. with a fishing business and multiple mansions, mark madoff's chmed life came crashing down after the scandal and came to a shocking end on friday morning. this morning the "new york post" published an exclusive look inside.

>>ark doff was found hanging from a pipe in the living room of the apartment. >> reporter: sources say mark madoffas visibly depressed. just says ago he was sueded yet again, this time even his wife and young kids were named. friday afternoon, he stopped by the parking garage, gave the attendant his car and a $400 tip and said gdbye. though mark has never been criminally charges, there are rumblings he coulde soon. in fact "the wall street journal" posted this. i love you, send someone to take care of nick, their son. to his lawyer, no one wants to hear the truth, take care o my family. >> he was a pariah, his frnds

had lost their life savings, they turned on him. he was fays a lifetime of misery. >> reporter: mark and his younger brother andrew turned their father in when they confessed to him in 2008, they haven't spoken to their dad or their mother ruth since. bernie madoff was informed o his son's suicide from behind bars. noord on his reaction nor if he asked to attend the funeral. >> the security level that he's in, he has to get approval by the u.s. attorney's office. it's going to be a challengeor him. >> reporter: mark madoff has denied any knowledge or involvement in his father's ponzi scheme, not everyone believes it. but evenernie madoff's angrst victims are sadden i by this twist. >> i'm very, very sorry his for wife and his childn and my heart goes out to them. anybody who feels that that's their only way out, i think it's extremely sad. >> reporter: yesterday a madoff

relative identified the body here in manhattan. now the family will start planning the funeral. ruth madoff who reportedly now lives in florida i said to be heart broken by her son's suicide and at least one published story out this moing, she blames her husband bernie for all of it. let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. >> good morning, everyone. several suspects have been arrested in southern afghanistan in connection with this month's deliest attack on coalition troops. six u.s. soldiers were killed sunday when a minibuss packed with explosiveses was detonated at the entrance to a joint nato afghan base. 20 children with their teacher have been safely releasedfter a 17-year-old man yiding two saber swords took them hostage at their nursery school in france.

british police raided a home north of london believed to be linked to the suicide bombing in sweden this weekend. it's the first terror attack in stockholm's history. the suicide blast killed only the bomber but wounded two others. a south korean fishing sp suddenly sank in the antarctic without sending out a distress signal. meanwhile north korea is threatening nuclear war in response to new military exercises the south is conducting this week. the great atlantic and pacific tea company better known as the a & has filed for bankruptcy amid risings competition. the retail has nearly 400 supermarkets, th foodmporium and pass mark. >> trish reagan is at the new york stock exchange. >> investors wou certainly like to have another week of gains, on the economic front, a number of reports due out, including a measurement of

inflation, the consumer and the producer price index, we also get housing numbers coming back, retail sales obviously incredibly important right now natalie, because they're the excellent barometer for the health of the economy of the country. com scores has seen a 12% increase in holiday sales over last year. sarah palin is urging americans not t forget haiti after spending the weekend touring the earthquake and cholera ravaged nation with an aid group. and call it a knee jerk reaction, new york jets conditioning coach says he made a mistake when he tripped miami dolphins cornerback nowlan carol on the sideline. carol was briefly on the ground, but he came back to play later in the game.

they're w reviewing the situation and considering the next step. it is now 7:14, back over to matt, ann and al. talkbout a dirty trip. >> the appropriate next step is he should be fired. that's really interestin >> busy morning for you. >> absolutely and it just keeps getting better, we have got more wicked weather to talk about for our frie good morning. turnin much colder around our region this morning and the cold air has surged in to change it

to snow. you can see snow in prince george's county and across the potomac towards fr fredericksbu. this is advancing to the north-northet and temperatures are toward freezing so the snow is sticking to the grassy areas. up to an inch or so possible. windy and cold through midweek. >> pd than's your latest weather. amanda knox teared up in court this weekend as her murder conviction appeal continued in italy. >> reporter: good morning, matt, well the appeal has just started analready amanda knox wasted no time in declaring her innocence, to a new judge and jury. when she arrived in court on saturday, surrounded by guards, knox appeared pale and

uncertain. prison life, she admitted, has broken her. she was scheduled to be a preliminary session, but knox unexpectedly took over her own defense declaring to the court she did not commit murder. given pmission to speak to the court, knox, in fluent italian says she is the victim of an enormous mistake. knox and her former boyfriend rafaele sollecito were convicted of the murder and violent sexual assault in 2007 of her roommate meredith kercher, an exchange student fromengland. in a 20-minute declaration of innocence, knox expressed her remorse to the kercher family, choking back tears, she said, it does no justice to meredith and her loved ones to take our lives from us. >> it was extremely emotional and clearly it had an impact on

everyone in the room including the jurors. >> knox's defense plans to attack the dna evince useto convict her, claiming it was flawed. but the prosecution is also appealing, it argues the 26-year prison sentence handed down to knox is not harsh enough for what it called a brutal murder. and is asking for a life sentence. the strain of facing a life sentence clearly taking its toll. today, knox is back in her prison cell, preparing for her fourth christmas behind bars. the trial resumes later this week, but with the wheels of italian juste moving ever so slowly, we don't expect a verdict in this case until sometime in the spring. matt? >> keith, thank you very much. keith miller this morning. it's now 18 minutes after the hour. a violent storm in the mediterranean is being blamed

for the rough ride aboard a royal caribbean cruise liner. huge waves tossed the ship leaving the bt in shambles. >> reporter: she's billed as one of royal caribbean's finest, with glistening glass walls and elevators, but it's a floating mess this morning and the ship sailed headlong into stormy seas. >> it was just violent and we truly thought it was tend for us. >> reporter: for tt terrifying minutes, passengers say anything not bolted down became a flying weap. the cruise ship with some 1,600 americans on board left sman for a mediterranean cruise that included a stop in alexandria, egypt's largest port. but severe winds and rain have been battering the middle east. >> i don't know why he wld

subject to us to this. i think he really put us in harm's way. >> unlike a carnival cruise ship which had -- the -- in a basement reports of the ship almost tipping over or coming even close to that would be greatly exaggerated a characterization that angers some passengers. >> the boat was completely sideways and everybody thoht they were going to die and it was not an exaggeration at all. >> it's like last week's cruise ship being tossed around--but the damage to the ship was enough to shake passengers up and they're still at least a day away from dry land. and coming up, what is elizabeth smart planning to now after jurors convict her

still coming up, prince william and kate middleton release their engagement pagraphs.

good morning. it's 7:26 on this monday, the 13th of december. in the news today, another heart breaker for the red skins. after a late-game drive and touchdown, tying the game with less than 13 seconds left, it was a possibility but the extra point goes through hunter smith's fingers that seals the game 17-16. the redskins are now 5-8. they head to dallas t play the cowboys. snow is fallg around town. we'll have weather and traffic coming up next. stay with us.

good morning. we've had some passing snow showers this morning moving southwest to northeast. they're now mainly east of washington where you see the dark blue there. that's somelight to moderate snow in prince george's county and charles county heading north d east. temperatures are right near freezi, so it is sticking to mostly grassy areas. we had one accident still on the shoulder, 66 eastbound at fair oaks.

the lanes are open but still drawing a lot of attention out of manassas for that. 270 looking pretty distinguigoo. 'tis the season for slick roads and school delays. we're here for you all

obviously we have a rapist in macon park. ♪ had the wife had the kid ♪ had the wife >> it's monday morning, t 13th of december 2010. that's the internet song called the intruder song. anwhile inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. >> pnce william and kate

release their official engagement photographs. and also this morning, did you hear this new york critic who called this ballerina's ight into question? boy, this set off a firestorm o the internet. >> i also feel strange to even say this, but jennifer ring sir that young ballerina, she just walked into our studio and you sit there and you say, huh? she's got a beautiful figure. clearly i don't getthis. let's begin this half hour with justice for elizabeth smart after a jury found brian david mitchell guilty of kidnapping the near 14-year-old back in 2002. we're going to talk to ed smart in a moment. kristen welker is in new york city. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: elizabeth smart smiled when that guilty verdict was read. she is calling this moment a victory. and says she is proof there is life after painful past. >> i am so thrilled to be here, i' so thrilled with the

verdict. >> reporter: it was the verdict elizabeth smart has waited more than eight years to hear, guilty. >> i'm so thrilled to stand before the people of america today and give hope to other victims who have not spoken out about what's happened to them. >> reporter: the jury made up of seven men and five women deliberated for about five hours, their ruling means that brian david mitchell will go to prison and not a mental hospital for abducting smart and holding her for nine months when she was just 14 years old, hiding her for most of that time in the foothills of utah. >> this is an exceptionally victorious day for us all, as mothers, as women, as lawyers, that we can go forward and these things don't have to happen to us. >> there's only one hero in this story and that's elizath. i want to commend elizabeth for her bravery, her resilience and her courage. >> reporter: the n 23-year-old took the stand and testified about her terrifying time in

captivity. she described a living hell, what it was like to be abducted at knife point, raped almost every day. >> it just made me sick inside because i had heard many things in court that i had not heard from her. >> reporter: at issue for the jurors, whether mitchell was mentally stable enough to understand the difference tween right and wrong. the prosecution called him a ster manipulator, the defense argued mitchell was delusional. but jurors didn't b the insanity defense. >> you've got to be pretty callous to be able to walk away without having something tug at your heart. >> reporter: while theerdict was read, mitchell sang hymns, a ritual he carried out every day. mitchell may have stolen elizabeth smart's innocence burks he didn't break her spirit. >> i hope that not only is this an example that justice can be served in america, but that it

is possible to move on after a something terrible has happened. >> reporter: smart will now travel to paris where she will finish her religious mission. she will be back in time for mitchell's sentencing hearing in may, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. matt? >> ed smart is elizabeth smart's father. she was just beaming, how is she doin >> brian mitchell may not want to take respsibility for wt happened. >> that was important to you by the way. >> it was. it was. i mean i remember back origin originallyhey were working on a plea agreeme and he would not accept being a sex offender. and if one thing came out during the course of the trial was that he absolutely is a sex offender and he could not get away

without being labeled such. >> you must be incredibly proud not only of elizabeth and the way she handled herlf throughout this trial, but also proud of the jury. the fact that you and your people were at this trial every single day, i think there's two sides of that coin. first i would love your reasons as to why you felt that was importt. then i want to talk to you about perhaps the other alternative. >> i think as a family, we wanted those jurors to know and any witness there that the truth needed to come out. brian mitell was all about lies, deception, manipulation. and, you know, the time that elizabetgot up and walked out, she said, you know, during those nine months, he held me captive, this was a chance where i wasn't going to put up with the lies. >> that time, that was the one time we saw raw emotion from elizabeth during the trial and it came after a defense psychiatrist told a story and was talk about that elizabeth perhaps had even chosen a name

for a baby had she become pregnant by brian mitchell. after a the testimony, so much of it being so graphic and awful. why was that story something elizabeth simply couldn't stand to hear or want to hear? >> it was just another one of mitchell's lies. mitchell, you know, he would tell her, all the time, both wanda and brian would force her to write things, so say things, they were trying to indoctrinate her into their crazy mindset. she said this is it, this is a lie of brian david mitchell. and for the mental health expert, he was saying, well, ms. smart allegedly, and it wasn't allegedly, i mean you had brian mitchell, wanda barzee and elizabeth smart and who had the right mind there? i mean obviously there's some problem. >> there were times she -- your

daughter testified over three days and from what i understand there were things that she had to testified to on the witness stand that you had not heard before? >> absolutely no >> have you taken the stance that elizabeth will tell you what she wants to tell you when she wants to tell you? >> when s came home, we thought we want her to understand that nobody has the right to do this. and when we talk about helping children and prevention, that's one of the most important things that i believe kids have to know and that's why i'm such a proponent of rad kids because it teaches nobody has the righto hurt you, you know, you don't have the rht to hurt anyone else and the most important thing that is it's okay to tell. i mean elizabeth, you know, we felt like if you want to tell us, we heard enough. but if she wants to tell us, that's fine. and she called us this summer while i was on that bike ride across the country and she said,

dad, you know, i'm having to say so much more than ever thought i would ever have to say to anyone. and the bottom line is the prosecutor came out and said, elizabeth, this is necessary to drive home the point that mitchell is not insane. >> any father would want to be able to remove this episode from his daughter'slife. i mean you would love to just make this go away forever, unfortunately, it's part of the fabric o who elizabeth will be from now on, what are your hopes and dreams for her, ed? >> she was so inspired by the prosecuting team. that the last day when we went in to hear the verdict, that morning, she was looking at what her school requirements were ing to be to finish up and she said, you know, i really think i'm going to go into law school. i wouldn't mind being a prosecutor, i think having a voice for thoseeople who don't have a voice is so important. i mean she really got into it.

so i think she's going to finish up her mission and finish up school and then i think she's really thinking of going into law school. >> well, we wish you and elizabeth all the best, to your entire family and thank you so much. >> currently the internet crimes is one othe greatest saves out there and rht now in the senate there's a bill, the omnibus budget bill that we hope gets passed because they need the money. children like elizabeth that are being held for their lifetime in this horrible situation with child pornography need to be saved and we really need the emphasis and the funding to make the internet crimes the greatest save. >> ed smart, thanks so mu

> good morning. passing snow showers this morning. right now on radar we're getting some light to moderate snow in prince george's county where you

see the darker colors is where the snow is a little harder, prince george's and charles county heading off to the north and east. could leave a dusting to an inch of snow. to the sou there's another watch of lighter sw advancing north-northeast. temperatures are near freezing so the snow is sticking to grassy areas. rain roads are wet. >> and that's your latest weather. coming up xt, the most watched viral videos of the year. that's rite after this.

back now at 7:43. more than 13 hours of video has been uploaded to youtube in 2010. at were the most watched videos of the year? youtube is out with a list. you want to go through them? number 7 on the list, our buddies okay go. their ruth goldberg contraption that lasted for about five minutes. >> that was one shot, one take. >> they had over 20 million hits. >> number 6 was something called double rainw. have you guys seen this? >> you ought to listen to it. >> oh, my god, it's a double over here all t way. whoa. >> he sounds happy. >> he sounds like donna nash. at one point he's almost crying

with ecstasy about what he's seeing. he appeared on jimmy kimmel and jimmy kimmel asked him the obvious question, were you on drugs? he said not during this video. the old spice guy made the list. a lot of people have seen that. >> now back to me. sadly, if you stopped using scented body wash. >> and he's now got a record contract. >> he put the video on youtube. and he's since launched his recordg career. 34 llion. >> and the bed intruder song. >> these guys had this interview which was turned into this song.

>> yeah, by the gregory grandmother brothers and that one got over 47 million hits. >> and we had the makers that video on, and it said that they were actually glad for it because theyctually got a t of hits. 700 billion hits in 2010. that's unbelievable. >> a lot of wasted time. >> no, it's fu iove it. >> we have got a lot more coming up. a look at kate middleton and prince williams's engagement video. >> yway, more coming up.

back now at 7:48, the big wedding is now 137 days a way. and prince william and kate middleton have released their official engagement photographs. >> reporter: nobody's keeping track, right? this is a couple that used to walk in and out of buildings separately so avoid being photographed together. so these photos are really being viewed as a breath of fresh r. and they may mark the start of a more modern royal age. they're at ease, affect not and in love. the prince of cuddles, one british headline read. >> they have had time to adjust to each other and that's what

carried them through and the reason they look so happy is becausehey are. >> reporter: always conscious of scrutiny and intense speculation. today even kate's wardrobe is getting credit, affordable and class eye. >> the world absolutely adores her because she's her own person. >> reporter: prince charles and diana appeared distant back in 1981. and in their first photo, queen elizabeth and -- the engagement photographer dcribed the you couple as in their prime and brimming with happiness. the portraits mark a stark contrast to the jarring images of prince charles and camilla whose car was attacked by protesters last week. anarchistroups are already

planning to disrupt the royal wedding just four months away. the future king says he wants a very public celebration. and he and kate may be able to share a little more of their private side too. >> also this weekend, police confirmed that one of those protesters was able to put a stick through the window of that rolls royce, jabbing camilla during that ride. that rolls royce with few built in security modifications will likely be parked for a while. peter alexander this morning. and by the way, that incident involving prince charles and camilla made for a fewaughs on saturday nightlife when paul mccartney stopped by for a weekend update a. >> i will be the voice of prince charles and you'll be camilla. >> grea >> and can you do an english accent? >> i can try. >> and action. >> oh, no!

>> oh, gdness me j >> oh, no! >> oh, charles, do something! >> heavens i love you camilla! >> and i love you! >> i love you! >> and scene. >> he has a good sense of humor. he's going to take some heat when he goes home, but that's okay. >> we have got much more coming up too. including the uproar over a review that implies that this ballerina was too heavy. we're going to talk to her exclusively in just a little while. >> that's coming up after your local news.

good morning. our time right now is 7:56. we have 32 degrees outside. cloudy skies. we've had some snow around the region. good morning. yes, the entire metro area is waking up to a fresh batch of snow. take a look at some pictures from across northern virginia. viewers posted these on our facebook page. you can te the snow is beginning to accumulate in some places. here's tom kierein with a look at today's forecast. >> yeah, those were scenes from spotsylvania county and prince william county earlier this morning. right now we're getting the snow where the darker colors are a little bit harder. that snow is advancing to the north and east. temperatures are right near freezing, so it is sticking to the grassy areas, but the road temperatures are above freezing so most of them are just wet as

the snow falls. we may get an inch of accumulating -- passing snow showers through midday. we'll ke a look at traffic next. stay with us, we'll

od morning, everyone. the drive in from the west along interstate 66 had a couple of problems earlier when the roads were wet but right now it's just volume most of the way the beltway with lanes open. over on 270, had an accident northbound as you head on up toward falls road tying up the right side. southbound side looks pretty good right now. part of mass avenue just above the observato circle had fire department activity so you might find the roadway partially tied up. 'tis the season for slick roads and school delays. news 4 today hasou covered all winter long. tune in every weekday morning beginning at 4:30.

we're back now at 8:00n a monday morning, it's the 13th day of december, 2010. it drizzled a little bit overnight. it's abo 43 depressi 3 degrees. it's comfortable, so much so that -- out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with anne curry because meredith viera is off and al roker. there's a little bit of outrage viewing over a critic's commes

about a ballerina. he said this woman, this -- she's in our studios this morning we're going to find out what she had to say about this. this comment set off a firestorm on the internet. >> also ahead, ifou've got a book lover on your christmas list this year, and you're worried about what to get that person, coming up, a best selling author is here to share their opinions. >> i like your suggestions. >> and on wednesday, "time" magazine will reveal its personalf the year. right here on "today." just ahead, we're going town veil this year's finalists. >> some interesting names on that list. really, is diverse. let's g side, natalie is at the news desk. good morning, everyone, dangerously coldemperatures are gripping the midwest today after a weekend of heavy snow.

at least six deaths were blamed on the storm. major highways were closed in several states and blowing snow forced the cancellation of 1,600 flights in ccago. a buildup of snow even caused part of the roof to collapse at e metrodome in minneapolis. the death of ponzi schemer bernard maff's son's death has been ruled a suicide. it's the second anniversary of his father's arrest. mark madoff had been named in lawsuits seeking to recover money for hisfather's victims. the compromise on extending bush era tax cuts faces its first test vote in the senate today, it also extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. about 30 cruise ship passengers were treated for minor injuries sunday after their shipas slammed by high winds and huge waves off the coast of egypt. royal caribbean's brilliance of the seas is en route to the

final stop of its 12-night journey. art historians studied magnifies high resolutions of the mona lisa and they found the tiny letters l and v in mona lisa's right eye. and elsewhere the letters cb and the number 72. a mystery just as intriguing as the lady's famous smile. a shoeless running craze hit full stride as a race in india billed as the world's first barefoot half marathon. not once did they have to stop and tie their shoelaces. it is now 8:03. let's go back outsideo matt and ann. quite peaceful. >>

good morning. it's cloudy, it's cold. just near 30 degrees. we have snow falling wre you see the color on radar. the darker colors is where it's

coming down a little bit harder. as well across the potomac into the northern neck of virginia near fredericksburg. that snow is advancing to the northeast. it's cold enough for it to stick mainly on grassy areas and most of the roadways are wet where it's snowing. and we'll fall out of the 30s to near 20 tonight with gusty cold >> and that's your latest weather. it's a little chilly over there. now let's head back to matt. >> all right, al, thank you very much, the nutcracker ballerina called out by critics for her weight speaks out in an exclusive live interview. uh, a little help... oh! you know shipping is a lot easier with priority mail flat rate boxes. if i fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus, you can print and pay for postage online. and i can pick them up for free with package pickup. perfect! cause i'm gonna need a lot of those.

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calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums back now at 8:08 with fallout over a recent review in the new york city times that called a ballerina's weight into question. first natalie's got the details on this story. >> reporter: so many women feel great pressure to be thin and for ballet dancers, it's

especially intense. but now a quip about a nutcracker ballet star implying that she's too heavy is causing a huge uproar. it's a beautiful ballet that's a holiday ritual for many families. in the new york city ballet production of the nutcracker, 37-year-old dancer jennifer ringer has a high profile role. >> i am jennifer ringer and i am the sugar plum fairy. >> reporter: but it's not her performance that has everyone talkings, it's the contribute tyke. jennifer ringer looked as if she hadaten one sugar plum too many. ringer has been very open about her past battles with an for rexa. >> she came out in the past admitting to eating disorders and an for rexa.

>> an online fury exploded attacking the critics. we thought the critics were supposed to review the dancing not someone's stomach. this made me hot enough to crack a nut in my fist, one wrote. she has been so open about her body issues and disordered eating and this jerk says somethg so hateful. >> there was a ton of flack over is. >> reporter: there was such a firestorm, the "new york times" even posted a follow-up by the critic who stood his ground, if you want to make your comments irrelevant to -- ballet dancers have unusually thin frames. >> dancers are und incredible pressure to maintain a low body weight and because of that they're at increased risk of developing eating disords. natale poman who's just 5'3"

lost 20 pounds for her role in the current movielack swan to accurately portr the skinny world of the ballet world. a world where you've got to have an thin body and ev even thicker skin. >> the aesthetic for ballet is not changing any time soon so it will continue to essential for success for ballet dancers to continue that ideal. >> we reached out to the "new york times" and they said the reviews by their critics peek for themselves. ann? >> natalie, thank you so much. we have got jennifer ringer now joining us exclusively. good morning. >> good morning. >> the first moment you read that review, when you read those words, what was your immediate reaction? >> it made me fee bad, it's embarrassing to see something bad written about yourself in print. so it did make me feel bad about myself. but, you know, i really had to

tell myself that's one person's opinion, you know, out of the 2,000 people that were there that night. so,ou know hawhere i am right now, i was abl to move forward from it. >> youidn't expect the reaction, the outpouring really from the public. >> i never expected it and i have to say it's made me feel very loved and supported, to tell you the truth, the outpouring of people that leapt to my defense was wonderful. >> especially in light of your ting disorder that you suffered years ago. and you suffered it after you had already joined the company, is that right? >> yes. >> do you believe that there's too much pressure on dancers that dancers are really more likely to suffer eating disorders? >> it is a field where our bodies are important. and as dancers, we're taught to

attempt to try to be perfect, in every way technically and in every way. i think for me, i was in my -- i was 16 when i became a professional and i think i just -- i wasn't prepared to cope with just being an adult performing world and i think that my coping mechanisms kind of turned into eating disorders and body imagessues. so for me, i think it was more of just inability to cope, really. >> so when you see, for example, natalee portman coming out in which she's lost 20 pounds for the role, it sounds as though that it is representative of the true pressure that there are on dancers to be exceedingly thin? >> i haven't seen the movie, to ll you the truth. so i don't really know exactly what it says. but, you know, it's a physical profession, we're dancing all day long, a, a lot of times when

you're dancing all day long, i'm sure natalie mt have trained like crazy, so there's a natural weight loss for dancing eight hours a day. and that was my problem, when i went through my eating disorders, you know, you're weak, you can't do the job, you can't peorm it well. >> so your reaction then to the writer of the "new york times" who basically said that he basically defended that if you are in ballet, that you should sort of understand that your line, your body is also going to be something that may be written about. do you think that it should be? >> i think that that is a really complex question. as a doonser, i do put melf out there to be criticized. and my body is part of my art form. at the same time, i'm not overweight. i do have, i guess, a more

womanly body typehan the stereotypical ballerina. but that'sne of the things about the new york city ballet, we have every body type you can imagine, we have tall, we have petite, we have athletic, we have womanly, we have waif like and we have ever body type out there, and they can all dance like crazy, they' all gorgeous. i think dance should be more of a celebration of that, seeing these beautiful women with those these different bodies all dancing to this gorgeous music, that's what should be celebrated. >> so do you want an apology? >> no, it's his opinion and his a critic and he's paid to put his opinionnto the paper and, you know, i know as a dancer that i'm going to get criticized and i also know that, again, there were 2,000 people probably out there and so he got to put his opinion in the paper, but evybody else had aifferent opinion as well. >> this morning you were able to voice yours, jennifer ringer,

thank you. you're really lovely and really thank you in appears this morning and helping to srt a dialogue. and coming up next, three best selling authors reveal the best book to give this year, but first ese messages. gain. [ woman #3 ] i feel these aches and pains. [ woman #4 ] the guilt. [ man ] my sleep just isn't rigt. [ woman #5 ] i'm so anxious. [ man #2 ] i need to fus. [ female announcer ] depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, soe fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes.

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♪ ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ♪ "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target. expect more, pay less. >> back now at 8:19,his morning on "today's" holiday gift guide, book buying 101. how do you choose whenhere are literally millions of title to pick from. >> first up tackling fiction and nonfiction is patricia cornwell. congratulations. >> it's great to be here. >> but you're goi to talk about other people's books which is really nice and you're starting off with the latest book by steve martin, why do you

like it so much? >> this is a really provocative book, andhat i look about it is that it introduces us to art auction. he's embedded photographs of paintings inhe text that i never would have thought. >> you call it mixed media fiction? >> it's new and incredibly brilliant of him and when you're reading it, you love looking at these paintings. >> the next book you want to talk about is "the reliable wife" it's about robert goolrick. you said it's about as ugly as there is lovely. >> she's plotting the vicious poisoning the man she chose to marry, but it's remarkably told and written. >> you're going to roll out of your chair laughing and is is a very witty brilliant guy. there's a scene of a burial at sea that goes as wrong as anything possibly can. >> you've got keith richard' book life. and do you think this is going

to be interesting to people who aren't rock 'n roll fans or ones fan. >> absolutely and love his love of music. he's almost teaching you to play the guitar in the book. >> and talk to me about "three cups of tea." >> this is a man who was changing a plan, it was a school he was building in afghanistan but it's a wonderful story and i love his scenes about mountain climbing. >> you've just covered fiction to nonfiction in the midst of 40 seconds. patricia, thank you very much. >> one of the must have cookbooks, warren brown is the found -- his book is united cakes of america. this one is for a real foodie, it's called around my french table. >> that's right, it's beautiful, it just h recipes that any person who loveso cook would just jump into and love to get started with. beautiful pictures, wonderful

recipes. culture. >> what more can you ask for? >> you couldn't really. >> the next one is filled with pictures and stats. >> and for me this is what i real get into. because it's ingredients of every single kind from all around the world. fantastic photos and you wan something you can turn to all the time just to know how do i make manager really well and what is this ingredient? >> the food stylist handbook. >> yes, and i'm selecting this because i think it's great for people who love watching food shows to understand a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes. this book is supposed to tra od stylists and give an inside look to it. it's interesting to know what goes on and how many different ways you can manipulate foods and make them look good. >> and the fourth book, you couldn't decide? >> for me it's all about family

projects and i have made jams at home and it a great way to be together wit the family in the kitchen. but it's kind of hard to do alone. but i like the idea as a family. >> and i know you like the jam. >> i do as much as i can. >> and this is my favorite. lots of different creative recipes yocan go crazy with and have your favorite flavors. >> we have been trying to decide whether we should make a bacon cupcake? >> a crumbled bacon on top of a cake. coffee table books are always a great gift. weave got the author of happy chic accessorizing, jonathan, go morning to you. first of american fashion designs at home and this book is from the far end over there. what do you like about it? >> it's so fun to see a glimpse inside the world of fashion designers. you have heard of them and you get to see how they live and it's always unexpected, a little

bit quirky and fun. >> well known names >> well known names. >> and a lot of free pictures and i love this book because of the ideas you get out of this is pretty surprising. the fashion apartment therapy how to be a real person in a small space and make it happen. >> and surprising. >> i'm all about surprises in creativity. >> and speaking of surprise you've got a book selby is in your place. this has a lot of very interesting pictures. it's really an experimeenceable book. >> it shows you how to make your house, glamorous, unexpected and kind of excentric. >> and being a designer, we can understand why you would pick those first three.

>> the fourth book was called untouched by johnny rayside. he's a photographer. it's beautiful photographs. >> it's johnny rosea, no resu resuch -- retouchi. there's something addicting about reading this book. >> i'm going to grab the book because i have a few seconds left and you've got susan sarandon who wrote the introduction and she said being with this photographer was always an event and thehotos are stunning. >> yeah, the photos are incredible and very creative. >> jonathan, thank you so much. and thanks to all of our guests. and you can get more information about all of these bos at todayshow.com. jessica alba after your local news.

8:26 is your time. it's 32 degrees. we have snow throughout the region. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. part of the viewing area is under a winter weather advisory right now. several schools are opening two hours late. we posted the delays on the bottom of your screen the snowfall is causing delays as well. here are some pictures from across the northern virginia region. here's meteorologist tom kierein with a look at today's forecast. lots of pretty snow out there, tom. >> they got about a half inch to an inch. that snow generally east of washington and another batch coming up near fredericksburg

heading off to the noth and east. temperatures are at or a little below freezing, so where that snow has fallen it has stuck to the grassy areas. most of the rain roads are above freezing so when the snow hits there, it's just wet. there could be a few passing snow showers through midday as much colr air comes in on gusty northwest winds. we'll fall out of the 30s to near 20 tomorrow morning. wi windy and cold tuesday a wednesday. it remains cold thursday into the weekend. we'll take a quick break and

good morning. connecticut avenue ntz mayor from nebraska to calve

8:30 now on a monday morning, it's the 13th day of december, 2010. our crowd being generous as always, donating to our annual toy drive and look who's our liday elf this morning, that is the lely and talented jessica alba.

you know, look at this, we have people, especially guys right now, somebody gave her his car keys. >> that's awfully nice. >> we have got guys going out and buying gifts right now just to run back here and donate. we're going to talk to jessica in just a couplef minutes. what do we have coming up? >> speaking about the holidays, a lot of people are finding it very difficult, in fact it causes a lot of unhappiness and stress. we have got some experts talking abouhow to eliminate some of the tension so that we can have a happy, happy holiday. >> also ahead, it's that time of the year or "time" magazine to name it's person of the year, and boy, a lot of story this is year who made headlines from the chiln miners, mark zucker, major year with facebook, stephen jobs introducing the ipad. we're going to talking to the people from time in just a couple of minutes.

lot of folks have urgent real estate questions like should you sell or stay if your condo is under water and how much do you -- how much should you insure you home for. we'll have that with barbara corcoran. >> ladies, what is your man really thinking?

passing snow showers over the last several hours have left up to a half inch to inch of snow. where you see the color on radar, radar still getting that snow in the darker areas where it's examining down a little harder south of fredericksburg as well as east of washington an across the bay. right now temperatures are right near the freezing mark, so that snow is sticking to the grassy areas, up to about an inch. mid-30s mid-afternoon, windy and cold this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow and into wednes >> and there is wild weather still going all over the country, make sure you check it out. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. joining us now 1984 heisman trhy winner doug davis. you're making a donation to our toy drive on behalf of capital one? >>$50,000 for the "today" show toy drive and we'll have a few more smiling faces on ristmas

morning. >> what abt the capital one cup and scholarship? >> it's a new award that's given out to the division one proam for cumulative onfield performance. so $200,000 worth of scholarships for both men's and women's sports. >> thanks so much, it's great to have you here. >> al, thanks very much, when we me back, h to retain your sanity during the entire holiday season. is it possible? we'll talk about it. first this is "today" on nbc.

become now at 8:38. and this morning on "today's" family, happiness and the holidays. 'tis the season for joy and fun and for many americans stress and unhappiness. what can we all do to helpur holidays be merry and bright. we have the author of the

happiness project joining us with katherine burg door of. they a joining us to give us some sense about all of this. i should also mention tha you tw are friends. what would you say among the man reasons why so many people get stressed out and unhappy, they run happy this particular time of the year? >> one thing i found in my blog, is that for a lot of people the holidays are like a high school or college reunion, you're with a lot of people you haven't seen in a while, they're like, hey, did you g that job? do you have a boyfriend yet? and so one of the things you can do is to really say to yourself, what are the questions i'm going to get fm my nosey aunt sally and what's the answer i can give so that i can handle it the way i want to. >> and what areou learning from your blog, katherine.

>> i think that happiness from the holidays is a bit of an oxymoron. i think that happiness and holidays don't always go together. i think stress and sadness and difficulty. it'slso a beautiful time of the year, but the expectations that it's going to be great, it's going to be perfect, that you wait all year for this time of year and it doesn't live up to your expectations. it's s disappointing. >> one person wrote us an e-mail i am not on speaking terms with my mothe just brings sadness and frustration. it's a kind of things that you're talking about, the balance between what you really wish it would be and the realities of our lives. >> and if you can know that in advance and be prepared and think that it's probably going to be the same old, same old, even though you want it to be or wish it to be different, you can prepare for it, but like gretchen said, it's helpful to not feel as sad or disappointed.

>> people play an important role because they really do keep those traditions goingnd that makes everybody happy in the long run because traditions do add to happiness. but if you're that person who says it's not going to be perfect, other people are not going to be dressed the way i want them to be, or behaving the way i want that. that can overshadow the day. it'smportant to have that sense of celebration of the holiday and let something slide if it turns out. >> and you can make new traditions, some people wh are wistful for the past may realize that now is it. and if it didn't work, create new memories. >>that's an interesting point. >> me new things with your family, feel differently. >> i like to tell my kids that perfect is boring. it reall is because it sort of makes this kd of limit on what can happen. and with relationships with your family, yes, it's going to be intense, but there's also opportity and recognizing what probably is not going to be so much fun, but creating

opportunity for something that could be fun. >> sometimes the things that go ong are the things that make the best memories, so the day the christmas tree falls over er the cat gets the turkey. at the moment you feel devastated because you have this whole big mess and it's not perfect, but in years to come everybody's laughing about it. >> things that are not going to be like how we expect them to be, like they're in storybooks, what do you say to yourself when that happens? what's the message? >> t message i would say is expect conflict. expect it's going to be difficult. exct zafts are going to happen. and have fun wh that. >> and also know that conflict is okay,hat it's all right if there's conflict, it doesn't mean tt you don't love your family and that you're not having a good time. but they may drive your crazy, but conflict is fine. >> i find a lot of joy in the little things that our family has passed on, the certain things we eat.

we wear bells around our necks on christmas eve and that can kind o unify people. >> those little traditions that let you feel connected to the past and give you that connection to your childhoodr connection to the way your original family did things can really add on to the holiday. >> thank you so much. some good suggestion this is morning on how to have a happy holiday. >> and coming up next, we're going to be revealing the finalists for time's person of the year. finalists for time's person of the yea[ female announr ] safeway talks hostess gifts. you know what i want for the holidays? do tell. true love. true lo is a th. [ gasps ] you're a myth! excuse me? [ female announcer ] 's the thought that counts. and the gift. safeway. ingredients for life. gotta get that bacon! smokey bacon, crispy bacon, tasty bacon! where is it? where is the bacon? tv newscaster: bacon popular, story at 11.

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when you don't have to cook, you ha time for other things. yeah, like what? i don't know. fishing. fishing?! i, uh, i said wishing. [ female announcer ] when we do the cooking, you do the enjoying. safeway. ingredients for life. "today's" time person of the year is bught to you by state farm. nd an agent or get a quote at state farm.com. >> since 1927, "time" magazine haselected a man, a woman, a group even an idea as its person of the year.

we're going to reveal this year's pick wednesday on today. today we have aook at the short li of finalists. time's managing editor is back. going through the process, for those who don't remember, how do you come up with even the final list? >> it's the person or thing that's most influenced the culture and the news in the past year. for good or for ill. >> it doesn't have to be a great guy or a great woman. >> it's a person whose influence is overpowering. >> we're going to collect six finalists, the chilean miners, these guys trapped under ground for 70days, why do they make the list. >> it's a feel-good story of the year, it's a story of human courage and pluck. and the chilean president w said we're going to do this and they did it. >> let's move on to steve jobs. massive year in 2010. introduced a little things called the ip. is that why we makes the final list? >> ipad could be a

transformational device. it's changing the w we create and consume information. big, big year for steve jobs. >> the person or persons who most affected the news, our lives for good or for ill. question mark about this next guy, he's julian assange, he is the founder of wikileaks, why does he make the final list? >> he's changing the way we deal with diplomacy, the way countries deal wh each other. >> embroiled in some personal scandal as well, we should mention. >> indeed. >> is she someone who is on the list. >> -- hamid karzai, why is he important? >> he's someone that's at the center of something important and dangerous in the world. he in many ways is a symbol of the things we're reckoning with,

terrorism, taliban, the future of our own safety. >> another guy who had a huge year is the ceo of facebook, and this is mark zuckerberg, over 500 million subscribers. if not this ye, when i should say. >> they're pressing 600 million, one out of ten people on the planet subscribing to facebook. it's not only a new technology, it's changing the w human beings relate to each other. >> we're talking about a group of people, not a person or individual. and this is the tea party. why do you think they belong on this list. >> it was a huge change election, two years after an original change election. it taps into this feeling of frustratn that people have, distrust for authority and distrust for centralized leadership. that's been the tme of the whole here. >> and wednesday we will take the question mark off of that graphic and reveal "time" magazine's person of the year. we'll see you wednesday. and agai we're going to have much more ahead in just a moment.

the person of the year issue comes wednesday. we're back in a moment, this is "today" on nbc. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, oannuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options.

learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. rich and powerful and has led a storied life. yet most americans have never heard of him. richard engel recently caught up

with the elusive aga cannes. >> he's one of the most fascinating people who i have ever met. he's like a head of state without a country, he's a relious leader. he's also doing some of the most important charitable work in the islamic work. -- world. reporter: around the islamic world, you'll see his works, in the restored monuments of old cairo, flaed b a new 74-acre park. in refurbished mosques in africa and even in the afghan army but you'll almost never meet the man responsibleor it all. one of the richest and influential but least known people in the muslim world. he told us this is the first interview he's ever given to an american television network. >> i have always taken the attitude that it's better that the work speak rather than the individual. >> reporter: i met him in a poor nation in west africa.

we sat in a park he had just refurbished, 600 miles south of tim buck tu. his goal is to show die versusy in islam, and sw oppression in islam most often known for war, from baghdad to kabul. a regn he recognizes many americans find formidable and intimidating. >> the horrible conflicts which are dominating the images of the islamic world and i can say without one it yoota of fear ist that's totally wrong. >> rorter: his personal history is as fascinating as the ancient works he preserves. 73 years old, he is the leader of a shiite muslim faith with an estimated 12 million to 15 million followers. so the faithful, he is like a king and spiritual guide.

they believe he's the direct descendant and legitimate heir of the muslim prophet mohammad. they call him an immom leading leader. >> an imom is responsible for the people who ref to him, he's responsible for the interpretation of favorite and he's responsible f their qualit of life. so those three areas are areas which are my responsibility. >> broadly they're considered moderate. in fact al qaeda believes they are a bitter enemy. >> have alwayseferred to it as a conflict of ignorance and i still believe that's the root of the problem. >> reporter: born in switzerland, he grew up in the spotlight. his grandfather was the last aga cahn. his father was married to the late film legenrita haworth

and was said to be one of the richest men of his day. but when he assumed the role at 20 years old was private. skiing was his passion. ensconced among the international elite, he studied at harvard, is fluent in three languages, was on the cover of life magazine in 1958 and met president kennedy at the white house. today he remains very wealthy, the money comes mostly from the contbutions of his followers which he then redistributes, liberally. >> i think the first thing is to try to replace that fear of poverty and the pain that goes with it. but some sense of hope in the future. that things don't have to be that way, that they can change. >>. >> reporter: trying to change a region, better known for war, with development and culture.

the charies distribute about $450 million a year. much of it in area where is the united states has interests including pakistan and afanistan. >> richard engel, that's a really fascinating profile. thank you so much. still ahead, how to lose belly fat without feeling like you're dieting. it is a strange thing. right after your local news.

8:55 is your time now, it is 32 degrees out there. this is snow in parts of our region, and many of you saw the first snow first thing this morning and it is the first snow of the season. you shared some pictures with us and we'll share them with you. here are some photos viewers posted on our facebook page. let's turn now to meteorologist tom kierein with today's forecast. is it going to snow all day, tom? >> no, just ofand on. spotsylvania got a little more than prince george's county. about half an inch. right now it is snowing where you see the cor in anne arundel, calvert, eastern-southeastern charles and parts of st. mary's county and acause the potomac into the northern neck of virginia and advancing off to the north and

east. otherwise it's cloudy and cold, right near freezing. highs today mid-30s and getting windy this afternoon, tonight and into tomorrow and midweek. it's going to stay cold. a check of your traffic is next. next. stay with us. ♪ [ female announcer ] picking tights isn't always easy. ♪ picking a free detergent is. switch to tide free & gentle in the white and blue bottle. no other free detergent is milder on skin and unlike the leading free detergent, it removes more residue from dirt, food, and stains. so notng spoils this tights enthusiast's enthusiasm. ♪ tide free & gele. style is an option. clean is not. also try new tide free in-wash booster.

good morning, everyone. still a lot of backed-up traffic. but no major accidents 395 headed for downtown. 'tis the season for

>>back now with more of "today" on a monday morning, 13th day of december, 2010. great crowd outside, kicking off their week with us. some of them are probably going to take off from our plaza and head off and do a little christmas shopping in new york city. >> back inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. the verdict that elizabeth smarhad waited eight years to hear, the man who kidnapped her

and held her captive for nine months has now been convicted. we'll have her reaction to the verdt and our conversation with her father, ed smart. barbara corcoran is he to answerour real estate questions. >> also if you happen to be among many of us who carry a little bit too much weight in our midsections, you know that it can be unhealthy and even potentially dangerous. we have a doctor coming up who claims he knows how toet rid of belly fat for good. he's got some secrets that involves eating and i'm not sure about exercise. lots to get to, let's go over to the news desk. natalie is standing by with the news. several suspects have been arrested in southern afghanistan in connection with this month's deadliest attack on coalition troops. six u.s. soldiers were killed sunday when a minibus packed with explosives was detonated at

the entrance to joint nato afghan base. swedish officials say a man killed by an explosion in stockholm saturday was wearing a suicide belt that went on prematurely. they believe he was probably headed to a crowded train station or department store when his device went off. residents from the midwest to the pacific norwest are cleaning up and gging out after getting a walloping from snow and rain. oregon and washington were hammered by driving rains and flooding. and in chicago, more than 1,600 flights were canceled because of snow there. and trouble off the coast of egypt for royal caribbean's brilliance of the seas. throwing some passengers from their beds and setting the megaliner listing from side to side. several aboard were treated for injuries reportedly including broken bones. the death ofonzi schemer

bernard madoff's oldest son has been ruled a suicide. 46-year-old mark madoff hanged himself with a dog leash saturday on the second anniversary of his father's arrest. mark madoff had been named in lawsuits seeking to recover money for his father's victims. there's a new theory about one of the great mysteries of our solar systems, the origin of sat urn's rings. the rings are lt over debris from 4.5 million years ago. the chronicles of narnia took the top spot at the box office, the tourist came in second and tangled was third. take a look at this, you can now add singing sensation to a resume that includes kgb agent and former president of russia. vladimir putin is here. belting it out or the weekend

in st. petersburg, all for a good cause, it was to help raise money for children with cancer. >> four minutes past the hour, let's go back to matt, ann and al.

well, at least we're not alone. we are going tbe getting that cold air as well. lingering moisture from yesterday's in changing to snow. where you see the colors, it's snowing. many places getting light snow accumuting lightly, mainly on grassy areas. temperatures are still near the freezing mark throughout most of the region and maybe an inch of paing snow showers later today. windy and cold through the rest >> and that's your latest weather. now to the elizabeth smart case and last friday a jury found brian david mitchell guilty on two counts related to the 2002 kidnapping of the then-14-year-old. we'll hear from elizabeth's father ed smart in a moment.

but first nbc's kristen welker is in salt lake city with the latest. >> reporter: elizabeth smart smiled when that guilty verdict was read. she is cling this moment a victory and says she is proof there is life after a painful past. >> i am so thrilled to be here, i'm so thrilled with the verdict. >> reporter: it was the verdict elizabethmart has waited more than eight years to hear. guilty. >> i am so thrilled to stand before the people of america today and give hope to other victims who have not spoken out about what'sappened to them. >> reporter: the jury made up of seven men and five women deliberated for about five hours, their ruling means brian david mitchell will go to prison and not a mental hospital for abducting smart and holding her for nine months when she was just 14 yes old. hiding her for most of that time in the foothills of utah. >> this is an exceptionally victorio day for us all, as mothers, as women, as daughters,

that we can go forward and these things don't have to happen to us. >> there's only one hero in this story and that's elizabeth. i want to commend elizabeth for her bravery, her resilience and her courage. >> reporter: the now 23-year-old took the stand and testified about her terrifying timen captivity, she described a living held, what it was like to be abducted at knife point, raped almost every day. >> it just made me sick inside because i have heard many things in court that i have never heard from her. >> reporter: at issue for the jurors, whether mitchell was mentally stable enough to understand the difference between right and wrong. the prosecution called him a master manipulator, t defense argued that he was delusional. >> you can't walk away without

having something tug at your hear >> reporter: when the trial started mitchell sang hymns, like he did every day. mitchell may have stolen izabeth smart'innocence, but he didn't break her spirit. >> i hope that this is not only an example that justice can be served in america, but that this is possible to move on after something terrible hasappened. >> reporter: smart will now travel to paris where she will finish her religious mission but she will be back imitcll's may coul servehe rest of his life behind bars. and earlier this morning matt spoke to elizabeth smart's father ed and he began by asking him how elizabeth was doing after she had had the weekend to think about the verdict. >> she's just doing great. i mean it was justuch a relief to see that brian mitchell, he may not want to take

responsibility for what happened -- >> that was important to you, by the way? >> it was. it was. i remember back originally they were working on a plea agreement and he would not accept being a sex offender. and if one thing cam out during the course of the trial was that he absolutely is a sex offender and could not get away without being labeled such. >> you must be incredibly proud not only of elizabeth and the way she handled herself roughout this trial, but also proud of the jury. the fact that you and your family were at this trial every single day, i think there's two sides of that coin. firsi love your reasons as to why you felt that was important. then i want to talk to you about perhaps the other alternative. >> i think as a family, we wanted those jurors to know and any witness there that the truth needed to come out. brian mitchell was all about lies, deception, manipulation, and you know theime that

elizabeth got up and walked out, she said, you know, during those ni months he held me captive, this was a chance where i wasn't going to put up with the lies. >> that time, that was the one time we saw raw etion from elizabeth during the trial and it came after a defense psychiatrist told a story and was talng about that elizabeth perhaps had even chosen a name for a baby, had she become pregnant by brianmitchell. after all the testimony, smuch of it being so graphic and awful, why was that story something elizabeth simply couldn't stand to hear or want to hear. >> it was just another one of mitchell's lies. mitchell was -- you know, he would tell her all the time both wanda and brian wld force her to write things, to say things, you know, they were trying to indoctrinate her into the crazy mindset. d she said, this is it, this is a lie of brian david mitchell.

and for the mental health expert, he was saying well miss smart allegedly, it wasn't allegedly, it was will wanda barzee, brian mitchell and elizabeth smart. who had the rht mindset there? >> your daughter testified over three days and from what i understand there were things that she had to testify on the witness stand that you h not heard before. >> absolutely not. >> had you taken the approach with your wife that we will tell you what she wants to tell you at t time she wants to tell it to you. >> really when she came home we thought, we want her to understand that nobody has the right to do this. and you know when we talk about helping children in prevention, that's one of the most important things that i believe kids have to know and that's why i'm such a oopponent of rad kids because it teaches that nobody has the right to hurt you, you

don't have the right to hurt anyone else. and the most important thing is that it's okay to tell. i mean elizabeth, you know, we felt like if you want to tell us, we heard enough. >> any father would want to be able to remove this episode from his daughter's life. i mean you would love to just make ts go away forever, unfortunately it's part of the fabric of who elizabeth will be from now on. at are your hopes and dreams for her? >> you know, she was so inspired by the prosecuting team. that the last day when we went in to hear the verdict, that morning, she was looking at wt her school requirements were going to be to finish up and she says, you know, i really think i'm going to go into law school. >> and again, that was matt earlier this morning with ed smart. coming up next, whether you're buying, selling or perhaps a little under water, barbara corcoran has answers to your urgent real estate questions. and then later, what is your man really thinking?

we're going to go inside a guy' brain, but first these messages. [ female announr ] imagine the possibilities with stelara®.

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go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil®. good morning on "today's" real estate we're answering some of you most pressing questions. what to do if you owe more than your home's actually worth. barbara corcoran has se advice for you. we want to get started right off the bat. our first question is coming from norma in hollywood, california. good monday morning, norma. >> caller: good morning al, and good morning barbara. thank you foraking my call. my question is i purchased a condominium three years ago for $200,000. i put down $40,000 and i'm holding a ten-year interest only mortgage for $160,000. so seven years less.

the value has depreciated considerably, it's down to $70,000 and i real don't know what to do. i'm turning to you because i don't know what else to do. >> first of all, you have a little bit of time here, you have a full seven years. so there's no need to panic right now. if you can afford those payments and sit tight, that's exactly what you should be doing. because the other options on to you are going to ruin your credit. what your best option is to call your bank and arrange for a short sale. that will take you between six weeks and six months to get their okay. once you sell the house, what will happen is you won't be able to buy another house for anhere between three and seven years going forward. if you can stay right where you are, that would be the best right now. >> can you hang out where you are, rma? >> i can, i don't know if i want to, but i appreciate that, that's very important to me. thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> now we have got an e-mail

from anonymous viewer. writing we love -- we're thinking about moving to a warmer area of the country. what southern or southwestern cities have a good mix of cultural activities with good prices on homes. >> you should pack your bags and ta a visit to austin, texas. the average price is $205,000. what's great about austin is it's a friendly town. you don't want to fee like an outsider once you move to a new place. their slogan in their town is keep austin weird. they have a film festival. >> you have to like that. >> but it keeps new people coming in there and you'll feel right at home there and you're certainly going to have your sunshine there. the other one i would suggest would be charleston, south carolina. it's a little bit more genteel. people are polite, they have tremendous beaches and golf. just like the other city, up 8% this year.

so you wan to keep your eyen a rock solid real estate market. >> die jane sends us a video we. >> what advice wouldou give to sellers who are reluctant to reduce their price who fearhat they then won't have any wiggle room when it comes to lowing their price. >> let's forget about wiggle room. that's not even part of the pricing strategy what. you want to do is price that house exactly where it should sell f or what it should sell for. and that's a hard thing to do because every seller out there is unrealistic and wishes they could get more of their house. you should make a list of every home that has sold in the last six months, notnly the sale price, but how long each of those homes took to sell. and then you should share that with your sellers and make a list of every home that's in competition with their house. and take them out and show them. if the price is not right on the

dime for you, you should fuse the listing. stockpiling listings you can't sell. >> betsy? >> my question is when you go to insure your home, should you base the value of the home on the insurance company's appraisal of your home or do you base it on the banks appraisers because those values are very different? >> the only vue you should have tre is the insurance company value and that should be a replacesment cost value. because the purpose of insurance is to rlace that home should anything happen. the bank's value has nothing to do with it. if you have a beautiful home, don't forget to think of add ones, things like furnishing, jewelry, technology equipmen anything that's of great value and you look like you have a beautiful home there. definitely the insurance company's value. >> thanks for your questions and barbara thanks for the answers. still to come, how to lose dangerous belly fat for good. but first these messages.

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[ male announcer ] if you c't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. we want to thank everybody who's been donating for our toy drive. especially one company who's called stepping up. you've got the founder and ceo. what is your idea? and you have been involve with this. what are you donating this year and why? >> we have been involved with this toy drive for about six years now and we are donating products like this, stamps, inks, papers to makecards, scrapbooking gifts, home decor. it seems like young and old, male and female, all need to be creative. we all have this instinctive desire to make and create these. >> thank you so much for doing that and we want to mention that our toy drive runs through december 22 and you can also donate online at

amazon.com/today. and meantime, still to come here on "today," forgotten holiday desserts that will be a hit at your holiday table after your local news. ♪ ♪ a blender for aunt sue ♪ head phones for uncle wayne ♪ pillow pets and hot wheels for my sister's kids in maine ♪ ♪ oh, walgreens has perfect gifts ♪ ♪ for all those on your list ♪ le a walgreens gift card ♪ for your daughter's teacher ss gilchrest ♪ [ female announcer ] finish up your list at walgreens and get $5 in walgreens super jingle cash with every $25 you spend. good r anything in the store. [ female announcer ] stay jolly with walgreens. [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is thway to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you.

♪ because it is. choose. br. enjoy. keurig. 9:26 is your time now, 32 degrees. have snowflakes throughout the region this morning. it is monday, december 13th. good morning, i'm eun yang. you, the viewer, helped tell us the weather story this moing. take a look at this picture we just got in from spotsylvania county. end your pictures for o facebook page. some very nice shots. meteorologist tom kierein joints itith the latest on the forecast. >> they had abouan inch of snow in parts of spotsylvania county. now that snow is moving off to the east washington and

temperatures are right near the freezing mark. it's only going to climb a few more degrees for highs today but very strong, gusty, cold winds this afternoon, tonight, through d-week, going to keep it cold. we're going to take a quick break and check your traffic

>>good morning, everyone. we had a couple of problemsut on the beltway. authorities just now wrapping up an accident that was on the inner loop of the capital beltway at arlington boulevard. along the very far right side of the roadway. elsewhere, the rush hour lingering a little on 395.

hov lanes a little sluggish from shirlington to downtown but travel lanes are open. to we careful out there. 'tis the season for slick roads and school delays. news 4 today has you covered all winter long. tune in every weekday morning at 4:

'tis is season for shopping. we have got some steals and deals at home that will make your heads spin. we're talking 70% to 90% discounts on jewelry, handbags even gps systems. so itwe have got one doctor who says he has got the solution, it involves eating and he says it

doesn't necessarily involve exercise. so he really says this is going to work. i don't suppose -- i don't know that that hamburger is going to be on the list. >> avocados and olive oil. when you ask your guy how his day was, his typical answer was fi. that's it. expes say it's because a man's brain is wired differently than a woman's. just ahead we're going to hear the results of some new research and also how you can use it perhaps to help improve your relationship and how you approach the man's brain.

good morning. we've had some sw this morning. south of washington got about an inch of snow around fredericksburg. in southern maryland they see the color of blue getting some lighter snow. they have had a dusting to about half an inch in that region as well as the northern neck of virginia. it's gradually drifting off to

the northeast. it's cold. temperatures are right near the freezing mark and probably going to stay just in the low 30s to mid-30s briefly throughout the day. ndy and cold tonight. windy and cold through midweek >> how do lose the belly fat without all that hard dieting and exercise. coming right up after this. h a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. wow! ♪

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to tell you about tomatoes. hunt's is the only leing brand that uses flashsteam to give their tomatoes that backyard garden fresh taste. oh, my goodness. oh, sir. how are you? mmm. oh, that's good. i like the taste of the tomato... tomato! tomato... how is i tell me the truth. it's good. isn't it time to take a fresh look at your tomatoes? this morning on get fit "today," losing that dangerous belly fat for good. his new book is called the

leaning belly prescription to help you lose fat around the middle without feeling like you're on a diet. travis, good morning to you. as an er physician, you have a sense probably pretty often how dangerous belly fat can be. >> so i have a little surprise for you here. >> i noticed something was under this napkin. >> this is what we're gog to eat. >> oh. >> this is an alien invader inside so many of our bodies. people don't think of fat in terms of fat leads to diabetes, heart disease, many cancers, it's not just about i don't like the way i look in my bikini. >> if somebody comes in for example having a simple car accident, they're less likely to recover as easily if they have a lot of fat around their middle? >> it's so very true. but what's really important for people to realize is that belly fat is the most dangerous kind of fat. but what if i told you it's the

easiest fat to lose? >> you're going to have to convince me. because i don't believe it's the easiest fat to lose. let's talk about breakfast. one of the ideas ishat you shou choose high protein. >> would you prefer to eat this for breakfast or the bagel with the orange juice? >> i would probably eat this without the bacon. >> well, let me tell you bacon and eggs for breakfast is okay, because it's got protein that's going to fill you up toughout the day. and really the focus again. when we talk about lean bellies, everyone thinks that fat is what makes us fat. but think about 20 years ago, we went low fat, everything on the shelves was fat free. and what happened? we gained more weight as a nation. this is about iorporating good fats, lean proteins. >> bacon is not a good fat. >> this is where people need to

realize. did you know that slice of bacon and i don't eat bacon every breakfast. but some people a going to insist on eating their con. but a slice of bacon is maybe a quarter of the calories as in the bagel. but the way our bodies process it, you can lose 10, 15 pounds in four weeks. that's all carbs. >> and this is sugar. >> so all sugar versus ptein for breakfast, fill you up throughout the day. most people don't believe this. this is why i wrote the lean belly prescription is because diets don't work. what happens when you go on a diet, you lose millions mas-- muscle mass. this is about eating foods you love and losing weight while doing it. >> but not pop? >> if youove soda. do you like soda? >> no. >> i grew up in the midwest, i used to drink soda every day. so there are alternative to soda that are healthy and if you

make this alternative, you can lose a pound a week evenf you don't drink any other beverages. >> it's specifically going to target your belly? >> now dairy, you are big on dairy, dairy is a high fat food. >> dairy, here's the thing about dairy, it's got calcium, it's got good proteins, dai is one of these things that if you eat three servings of dairy a day, you're going to lose weight. but the key here is you're balancing out good carb. can you tell the difference. >> one's wheat pasta. >> muchetter for you, you're going to lose weight if you eat whole grains versus refined carbs. if i show you this over here -- >> these a basically about eating fats and you've got steak here and this is a very lean steak, olive oil,vocado and

waln walnuts. >> we're so afraid of fatin our country and we got so afraid of fats that we didn't think we could eat them and still enjoy the foods that we t. so you can eat your steaks, you can have avocados. you can even in moderation enjoy a hamburger, be careful wh the buns and all the condiments. you can lose weight eating the foods you love. >> really quickly, we' completely out of time. you say you don't have to exercise. is that right? >> well, it's about being active. a lean belly, it starts in the kitchen, not in the gym. if you're going to make phone calls today, get up on your ft while you're making phone calls. there's all these neat little things you can do to incorporate activity. doesn't involve a gym. >> and being active, including to the things that you see on this list have some fun outdoors. and that will hp you out. thank you so much, dr. travis stewart trying to take care of our belly. thank you so much. >> and coming up next, we're going to be talking about the

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twizzler the twist you can't resist. this morning on "today's" relationships, getting inside the male brain, it comes as no shock that men and women think very differently. but there is no research investigating just how opposite the male and female brains are. and it just might help explain a few things or two. good morning, ladies. and cosm orko delves into this later this month. it shows how we can approach the man perhaps better if we know how they're thinking, right? >> we're not going t get as annoyed if we know it's really how his brain functions. >> let's talk about the four areas that our minds are mismatched and the first one is how men and women deal with

dress different stress differently. how is it when you get them to talk to you about it, they just shut down? >> men has a part of the brain that oversees how you relate to people decreases in activity. whereas ours, as women, it increases, so when we want to vent or share the experience, the guy just wants to go off and lick his wounds. and it's particularly bad if we're both under stress because he's not going to want to listen and he's not going to wan to talk either. >> so the brain then decreases activity when stress is involved? >> it's part of the brain that sees conneing with somebody se. >> dale, what does this tell us as women about how we can learn to relate to our mates a lite bit. >> we can be more understanding and as kate implies we can change our behavior and not go into this place where we will be

fighting. but we need to leave him alone when he's having that stressful time or that sessful moment, even though we want to engage because that's what we would want. but we need to let him be on his own and not take it personally. and then later, you can say i would really like know what happened when he's not so stressed. >> let hem go into their man cave. >> and call a friend if you would like to talk to somebody, but don't keep pushing. that's the real issue, is don't keep pushing him. >> next area is, you know, when you ask your man how is your y, and they say, fine, and that's it. you get nothing more. what part of the brain is that that gives us a limited grunt. >> it's so maddening, there's a part of the brain which is in charge of verbalization and picking up verbal queues and in men, it just sort of explains why they don't like to talk unless they really have something important to say. and they connect better with

people often by bonding through some shared activities ke shooting hoops with a friend, ereas with women, we like to connect by chatting and we finally know men don't have that chatting gene. >> so what should we do, dale? >> i think what's important is to think, again, it's not about you and it's not directed at you, but it feels that way. so what you can do is, again, let him do what he needs to do and call your friend and have that -- if you have the need to talk, talk to someone you can talk to becau you have to do it. but also say, i do wan to talk about this and do it while you're doing something physical like take a walk, walk the dog, do something that's engaging physically and then you can also talk while you're doing it. now it's a disaster to say let's sit down and talk about this. because it's not going to happen. he will feel intimidated, you will feel rejected and you awil start to get more angry. >> men seem to struggle with

remembering important moments, and we're talking about the little details that women obsess about sometimes. is that it? is it that we're just obsessed or that men have a different way? >> it's all about the brain, men store memories on t right side of they brain, which focuses on the big picture, women on the left side, which really forms emotional connections to events and orders them. so that's why we remembers you d a great time on the first date, but he doesn't remember you wore the cute red dress or what theaitress said to you. >> so i'm hearing you say it's importanto make sure the man remembers the facts >> you can remind him. you can make it a test and say do you remember this, do you remember that? forget it, at's not going to work. say iemember when we went and had this to eat and that to eat and you said this. and that will trigger something in his brain and he willeel as if he's a partipant.

you don't want to distance yourself and you want to have empathy and passion for your mate. >> it's typical that all the men in the control room are saying we don't have anymore more time for this segment. kate and dale thanks so much. vintage holiday desserts making a delicious come back. but first this is "today" on nbc.

oh, i see. a throne for the tv... room for movies... your workout gear... non-stop football... it's a man cave! the boys next door will never leave. who says want them to? "today's" holiday kitchen is brought to you by twizlers, a twist you can't resist. >> this morning on "today's" holiday kitchen, lost desserts, whether it's a dicious pie you remember from your youth, you may want to bring back on oldie but a goodie. the editor of cook's country magazine, good to see you. >> we don't have a lot of time here because they were talking about the women versus the men brain.

we like food. >> we like the male brain. >> what are we making? >> chiffon cake. they're making these cake force the brn derby. there's a secret ingredient which is vegetable oil. half a cup of vegetable oil. >> instead of butter? >> it's an angel food cake mixed with a pound cake. we actually have water which is really interesting and it has vegetable oil. a lite cake flour and sugar. baking powder and now we're going to take those whites. if you do it wrong, folks, this is overbeaten whites. >> that's nogood. >> so we'll just finish it up. let's talk about a third of these to start. whisk it in. and then we' fold the rest in. >> okay. >> so it's a nice, fluffy batter. >> this gives it t rise. but the vegetable oil gives it a really nice texture. >> instead of using a spatula,

you do it nice and easily. 225 for about an hour, 300. her house burns down halfway rough the book, she's staying with stephany crawford and she makes a very famous southern cake which we brought it back. it has two white cake layers. inside i has bourbon and pecans. and then it has a nice fluffy frosting on the outside which works great. and by the way, here's a cake decorating tip, we're going to do a couple of things really fast. so if you want to take a spoon. here's a spoon. you can just do this little things, a little twist like that. that's real easy to do. but then if you have one of these cake stands, you can start

in the mid sen cher. >> and we want to get back here, because we only have 30 seconds left. >> the cookie crumb crust has a chocolate custer, as a crumb custer. it came from oklahoma city and from duncan hines. he found this. and the last one is the chiffon cake. boom, there you

some snow this morning. you've probabl noticed. our time is 9:56. it's monday, december 13th, 2010. i'm barbara harrison. topping our news, today, that winter is out there all over the ground. take a look at these pictures sent in from viewers like you from spotsylvania. the whole area has seen a bit of the white stuff. send us your picks tours. we'll go to tom now. i bet you saw some snow out in your part of the woods. >> yeah, indeed. most of the snow, the accumulating snow wasust south washington as well as east of washington and it continues this morning. just some light snow in southern maryland. might get an additional passing snow shower that could put down a quick half inch of additional snow through midday but windy and cold weather coming in later today and into

tonight all the way through mid-week. strong, gusty winds and frigid temperatures thursday, into friday, saturday, sunday, highs only in the 30s. and there's some indication we could get some snow onsunday. still really too early to tell. so stay tuned. jerry, how's traffic. things have really seled down quickly along 395 through ndmark and shirlington moving along very nicely. one more stop to the american leon bridge. both thein are loop and outer loop looking good with travel lanes open. >> thank you, jerry. we'll have a full hour of newsweather and traffic coming up for you at 11:00 o news 4 midday. midday.[ female announcer ] safeway talks holiday baking. that smells scrumptious. yummy! smells delightful. awesome! i'm not smelling anything. [ female announcer ] everything for holiday baking. just add love. safeway. ingredients for life.

i think there are eggnog people

and non-eggnog peop. and which are you? i'm fish. on a tree. [ female announcer ] if it tastes like the holidays, we've got it. safew. ingredients for life. captions paid for by nbc-universal television we've got it. hey, everybody. welcome to fun-day, monday. december 13th, after a big, big weekend for both of us. youad yet another -- but this was very special -- book party four. right? down in indianapolis? >> yes. i flew to nashville, tennessee and a wonderful woman named kelly crockett lined up this book party for me. and jane who is like a genius, genius, genius author. thisas in nashville.

in a beautiful home. they rolled out the red carpet. we just had such a great time with all the lads in nashville came out. janie was a home run. she got up and gave a beautiful speech and she is the living end. then sunday night, i couldn't sto you said i couldn't go out on sunday nights? but i had to make an exception. >> jennifer miller's going birthday party. she's almost 51 no >> her husband and stepdad ar with us in the studio. i don't know how they're still standing after last night. >> i'm hearing reports from a lot of people that were at this party. i do in the apprecite you keeping my co-host out -- partying like crazy when she's got to work the next day. >> you had a very busy weekend. you took off friday. >> i had to take off friday. we flew down to mt. rnon, texas, where dandy don meredith was born. his original name was joe donald meredith. healways said -- jeff and hazel

meredith -- baby boy. we went down thursday night. there he is in the booth, of course. and it was a great night of remembering him. people stood up and told the most wonderful stories. we were all -- it was like we were all reliving it again wh don right in the room just crying the memories. he truly was one of the funniest human beings god ever made. >> there was a funny story when you were pregnant? what did he say? >> i don't know if i can say this. >> is there something i don't know? why wouldn't it? >> it's a true story. when frank called him when he found out that i was pregnant the first time and there's dead silence. don, kathie's going to have a baby. dead silence. don goes, don't you worry, frank. 3 1/2 years later don calls him back, says guess what, kathie's

pregnant. dang, got wrong -- we have some pictures. there is a museum there. like at the don meredith museum. that's cody and frank and me standing out front. cody was his god n. cody's there in the middle. he flew allight long from california to be there. it's darling little museum. such a great to. i think it's got a population of 2,000 total. then there was the service the next morning that was, you know, as you would expect. filled with people who are just still in shock that he's gone and full of a gazillion memories of life with him. so we send our love to susan and his children and i ved going to mt. vernon. it was beautiful. there was -- we went to see his boyhood house. says "proud boyhood home of don meredith." he was a real hero to the people there. it was great. >> we got lucky because both of

wrus traveling and both ofus got out because those winter storms that really smacked the middle of the country. >> we had had no trouble. >> me either. >> heaven forbid if you were going to minnesota. >> oh, my god! did you see the dome in minnesota? it is not this hard dome. >> it is inflatable! who designed that? >> here's the before. picture of the dome. look at the after. they actually have video of insidehe dome. >> look at that. can you imagin if there had been people, guys playing and all the fans and -- >> i don't get that kind of dome, quite frankly. >> there was7 inches of snow, i guess a very heavy, wet snow on there but wouldn't you think a place like minneapolis you should make it a hard dome! like a super dome! >> i guess they're used to it. >> they're gog to rethink it now, i think. >> they're going to replay the giants/vikings game tonight. >> well, they're going to play it for the first time. they've rescheduledit. >> i hate when she corrects me. >> i just don't want people at home to be confused.

but guess what? it's free! but that's ridiculous because everyone's going to go. >> that's great. maybe some peop who have never, ever been to a pro football game willave a chance to go. >> but that weather really whacked the country. minneapolis got hit hard. where else? all the way in that middle of the country. winter came early. not for us. not yet. >> winter had nothing to do with "satury night live." i didn't get to see this. i'm in bed by 9:00 but i get to watch it on monday mornings. >> they had paul mccartney on and he was doing one of those week intelligent update news things and they were talking about, you guys remember camilla and charles were in the car that got hit with eggs, ttacked? this is these guys' rendition of that attack. let's watch. >> lcome. are you ready? >> i am. >> so i will be the voice of prince charles and you'll be camilla. >> okay. >> can do you an english accent? >> i can try. >> okay.

and -- action! >> oh no! oh goodness me! oh camilla! >> oh, charles, do something! >> oh hefavens, i love you, camilla! >> i love you! >> i love you! >> end scene. how do you think that went? >> that was probably the best thing i've ever rked on. >> isn't he something? i go back to 17 years old. paul! paul! i promised i was not going to do it when i went to see "it was a hard day's night." i thought that's just so juvenile. of course i did. >> i loved paul. he was the best. donna who wor in our wardrobe department said in rehearsal paul mccartney just sat at the piano and just started playing yesterday fo everybody who was just sitting. just started playing.

can you imagine sitting there and listening to him play just for you? >> no. no. i met him one time. >> and? >> his wife, linda, was alive at time obviously and she was on the show with regis and she was doing a vegetarian dish. he just came to support her and love her from the sideline. he was just gracious to everybody. he just beamed. he was just so proud of her. so there are some new photos out of kate and will. these are their engagement photos. she apparently did her own makeup, because that's what she likes to do. they did a casual one, then they did a more -- this is i guess a more formal one. >> that's so sweet though. >> they look like the real deal. don't they? >> they do. they look very much in love. that doesn't look so staged. and yet people are already saying that he's going bald. people are not nice. people ae not nice! >>some people go bald. how old is he? 20-something? >>8 or 29. >> some people have that

premature balding. but he still looks cute. >> yeah. >> that's just mean. >> oh! yeah, he's going bald. >> he sure is. >> maybe they're not mean. they're just realistic. >> he'll wear a crown his whole life anyway. >> his brother's not. his brother's got a full head of hair. right? >> yes. and there is some question about why he might have that big full head of hair? >> what? >> people are mean. what can i tell you. so if you were kate d you think that everything's going to be great because you are a princess and whatnot, "us" magazine talked about a thing she was not going to be able to do anymore, one is spending christmas with her amily. i guess there is some rule that you have to spend christmas with the queen and the royals. >> i don't know if it's a rule, they are just expected to. it is almost like a watch out what you wish for, you may get it. every girl dreams of being a princess or something like that and living happily everfter

wh prince charming, who's going bald -- i mean that's reality. he might be prince charming but people -- fairy tales are stupid, hoda. they just are. they set you up for disaster. think how many of the royal marriages have not lasted. >> i know. >> youonder if it was just a natural way that a coue falls out of love? or combination of all these things he's talking about such as not spending time with your own family, her sister has to be her lady in waiting. >> just standing there all the time. >> yes. can't get a cab anymore. she hasto always walk one step behind her husband for the rest her life. >> i think that's being silly. >> prince phillip has to walk behind elizabeth. >> oh, he does. you're right. let's see. are they doing it here? >> and she will have -- i don't think she's doingt on purpose. i think she's ju a fast walker. >> believe me, no, look, he's like come here. see? she's still behind him. >> maybe she doesn't hav to do

it yet until they're married. >> there they are, side by side. >> let's find out from one of our royal watchers. >>t is our "favorite things" time. wou >> would you want to marry m? >> i'd be arrested. >> he's actually 28. it would be totally fine. no, i wouldn't want that kind of life. would you? >> yeah. >> you would? >> yeah. >> no, you wouldn't! >> i don't know. >> maybe you would. >> be honest. >> favorite things. this is a very cool thing. this is a yoga mat that looks like an average yoga mat until you look closely and realize there's an ipod speaker. so while you're zenning out to your yoga, all you need to do is crank a little tune. ♪ >> with yoga? >> yeah. people like this. can you picture the downward dog? come on. ♪

>> this is just your way of getting your play list on again. >> any time i can get a song in >> all right. so those are $32 at gaiamd.com. >> at christmastime there are darling things that are like stocking warmers. look at the little mittens. little cashmere mittens. they come in different colors. herary the thing, hoda woman. they come with this little thing so just like that neck warmer thing, you crack it and it warms -- you put it inside your mitten? >> no. yoput it in there and then you can put it in your pockets or you can put it in your breast pocket. whatever. and keep youwarm. just keep you nice and warm.

they're $15 on sale today. the sale ends today. tomorrow they go to $20. get in there. it is a nice little -- isn't that sweet? >> sweet holiday gift. coming up next, we'll have the scoop on all the entertainment news you will abdishing about all week. plus donny and marie are here. ty're creating some of their own buzz. they're on broadway for the holidays. first these messages.

>> announcer: "today's buzz" is brought to you by keurig. choose. brew. enjoy. >> it's fun-day and that means it is time for "today's buzz" where bring you up toate on all the entertainment news that you can actually handle that happened all over the weekend. >> here with the inside scoop, bravo's andy cohen. typically ay aslow is on twice a week but this we it is different. he's on every single night. why? >> who needs that much fo? >> people are interested in what andy has to say.

>> i'm freak o out so much that donny and marie are here. i'd like to be able to get through this interview >> hey! >> hey! >> yore a childhood fan, right? >> i'm going to see them friday on broadway. i'm dying. i bought my own tickets. >> call when you get backstage. >> hold it down. you'll get your time. all right, you people? >> just want more camera time! >> we saw the pictures of kate and will. >> yes. yes. taken by mario tostino who photographed diana so beautifully. apparently kate dd her own makeup. >> she did a beautiful job. >> she did. i have to say, i'm big proponent of the way that the prince is wearing his hair right now because it's really short and at is the way, if male pattern baldness is a tragedy. she's wearing it really short and i think that's the way to

go. >> what's going on? >> he's losing i >> like many, many millions of other men andwomen. >> i don't think there's anything so bad about it. >> it's bad if you wear your hair long. matt lauer, one of the most handsome guy on television wearing his hair super short, he knows what he's doing. >> talk about miley cyrus. there was some disturbing news about her over the weekend. >> i know. on tmz. >> how can it not be illegal? >> you know what? it is a form of -- >>ell the story. >> busted on tmz for smoking what looks like dope. it is actually something called salia and it is a form of sage and iis legal and apparently gives you a very intense 20-second ha louhalucinagenic.

i have to wonder who in her posse releases pictures or a video of every time she does something bad at a party. >> her dad tweeted. sorry, guys, i'm so sad. there is so much beyond my control right now. basically saying, kind of convicting her. that's what he's saying. >> she did -- i mean it's on video. >> so what's your take on this for the future of miley? i walked to buy some magazines yesterday with my daughter, there's a hannah montana thing on the side. right next to this magazine -- >> i tnk she's miles away from lohanville and i think -- my prediction, knowing nothing about anything, is she's going to be fine. >> what do you annowing nothing about anything? >> what's he doing here? >> nicolerichie. >> got married over the weekend. reverend run who i follow on twitter officiated the ceremony. lionel richie, her dad, was there and gwen stefani.

it was at lionel's house but they had apparently a baby elephant at the ceremony and katy perry had one her ceremony so i think this is a hot new thing. i just want to say, if kathie lee and i ever become committed to each other, i would like baby pandas at our ceremony. >> we are committed to one another! >> in a deeper way. >> look closer. >> in a deeper way. >> you guys really do have something special. okay. again, catch andy every night. >> every single night. >> on bravo's "watch what happens live." that's at 11:00. >> live. >> who are your guests? do you know any them? >> i know all of them. tonight rebecca romaine and kenan thompson. >> you have to have kenan if he's going t be playing hoda on "saturday nig live." >> i think that's hoda's worst nightmare. everyone who winds up playing hoda ends up -- >> stop it.

>> thursday denne nesise richas. up next, sara's here to reveal the fan of the week. and brother and sister donny and marie are still going ronger than ever. now they'll try out a first. we'll find out what it is.

it is time for "fan of the week" when we give a special shout out to one of our biggest fans. >> i may just know who it is.

once again after searching through hundreds of fan entries we found one of the fourth hour's most devoted followers who really stood out from the rest. it is time to give this lucky fan the recognition they deserve and the winner is -- drum roll, please -- vanessa morrow! >> look out, mountain, georgia! >> stop it. >> from our affiliate wrcb-tv. nowvanessa is going to college toecome a teach person she works at a daycare presently, she is a sagittarius and loves to sing and play piano. she met you. she has an autographed picture of hoda's crazy hair, because that happens. why she'sur biggest fan, she found out about -- >> she's sleeping with kathie lee's. >> we can thank "the soup" later. she loves the reactions during the wild animal segments, hoda. her favorite cooking guests are paula deen and curtis.

>> she showed up with that picture at my book signing. i had to sign it. >> she wonders if hoda -- i never knew this -- realizes she lifts the words from the teleprompt weather kathie lee is reading. she lips the >> i do? >> yes. >> really? >> yes. >> she loves the no-makeup show. she tnks you guys are very brave and she watches klg and hoda because it is her daily medicine and it makes her day better. >> thank you very much. >> thanks so muc >> do you this and i'll do what you do. still to come, before there were the jonas brothers, there were the osmonds. we'll sit down with donny and marie. plus jill martin takes the pressure off with gift ideas for under $2 and the newest member ofour "joy fit club" after your local news.

shipping companies are preparing for a busy week. in fact fedex says today could be their busiest day ever. coming up on midday, what you need to know to make sure your gifts get to their destinations on time. also coming up, we begin a week-long series on frugal fis for the holidays. each day we'll pick four affordable gifts. we

♪

leftover desserts, bodroo now. and hurry beforehe interns getere. thanks but i already have some yummy black fort cake black forest cake? ♪ so? [ female announcer ] need a guilt free treat? y yoplait light. i' lost weight. [ female anc ] with 3licious flors aroundoriech. plait. it is so good.

♪ we're back on this fun-day monday and the brother and sister team that, over the years -- 48 years, marie's telling me -- has done it all, tv shows, concerts and of course vegas. >> hard to believe after all these years donny and marie are making their broadway debut together. >> we've done it before but not together. there aren't many roles can you play as brother and sister. >> this is called "donny and marie -- a broadway christmas." today we find out th you have broken a record that has never been broken before. what is it? tell us. >> just found out this morning,

broke a record for -- i guess we broke a record for attendance at the theater? >> for a single performance. >> unbelievable. >> remember we were at frankie and john's and someone said which show should we go to? they all ended up going to see donny and marie. >> and i am so ticked off. opening night i get this bouquet of flowers. read that entire line very carefully. >>o marie and danny osmond. >> who is it from? >> the record breaking danny osmond. oh, that's funny. you mix it up a little bitin this show, though. right? it is not just all holiday. it is a little of your "paper roses." >> "puppy love." you've got to do those. it is a full variety show, it is a lot of energy. but yes, there is a christmas flavor to it obviously. >> singers, dancers, everything? >> oh, yeah, everything. >> this is a big show. >> we had little children there last night, i said do you have any idea who we are?

>> they said sonnynd cher. >> they remember me from "dancing with the stars." one little girl was like, oh, my gosh, because she knows me from my dolls. she was like, daddy, she can sing, too. you have all these generations that remember you from different things. >> now we understand you have been extended -- excuse us -- top january 2nd which means that'she whole holiday. >> yes. it's just so exciting. we didn't expect it to go this long but it's working, you guys. this is our dream. if this works, we'd love to be he every year, make it an annual tradition. >> maybe a andre bocelli to come in. >> every year. >> i might even get him to ice skate. >> i love when you guys did your show in vegas, you gys had writers who worked on the show and you found out tat it was not authentically the two of you. you guys are better when you just do your own thing. >> we experienced that. we had great lines all that kind of stuff. then we said, let's just throw the script away. we've got the template, now let's just say it the way we

want to and it works. >> it was just a template because we hadn't done a show together in 25 or 26 years. we wanted to make sure that it flowed and all that. but once we got on stage and we did the brother/sister thing. you know. oh! >> that is typical of what i deal with every day. >> wow. >> that's what works. >> you got a mean left there. >> knnutrisystem. >> how much did you lose? >> 50 pounds. i wish i'd lost 165. >> donny, it is hard to believe you just turned 53 years old. >> i'm 97. i am not too bad for 97. >> you showed us pictures of your grandkids. >> you've got three? >> three grandchildren. five boys and a wonderful life. and the same one. >> pretty unbelievable. >> 33 years in may. >> you broke so many hearts when

you married debbi right? remember it was -- >> it was mine, baby. >> how are you doing? you had such a hard ear. >> i'm doing well. it is one of the reasons we came he is to just kind of keep the holidays busy. my kids are coming in a week, they're finishing up school. what better place to stay busy and have fun than new york? all the things you can see. they're going to go ice skating. do a bunch of fun things. >> spend cistmas here? >> my older children, my son, tough for him. he's doing a play in london. he just said i need to be away for christmas. my oldest daughter's working so she'll come in after christmas. it is going to be kind of a different christmasor me. >> but you look younger than your children. >> yeah, you do. >> oh, yes, you do. that's not from nutrisystem. >> i believe in happiness and even though life is tough, it's a place of mind and you know, you give over that to god and you keep walking forwardnd with faith and my mom taught us that, always stay positive and

you try to findthe good in everyone. >> li your book says, laugh now because you'll laugh eventually about it. just enjoy life, every enjoy every single moment of your life. >> everything is an experience. i have a lot of empathy for people that don't -- >> we're certainly enjoying new york. we hoped this would be successful but hearing we broke the record and are extded, guys, it couldn't be better. >> we decided to work christmas day. i said i just want to work. it is the best therapy for my heart. serving other people and doing a show christmas day is fun for me. you forget about your stuff and do something for somebody else. >> what's your favorite christmas song? >> i think when we do "winter wonderland" in the show. >> sing a little. >> no. he will." gone away is the bluebird ♪ ♪ here to stay is the new bird ♪ >> while we're singing that, all the donny and marie christmas shows are behind us. just the highlights of it all. then it starts snowing in the theater. >> you're starting to cry.

>> it is something in the air. it's her perfume. >> i d't even wear perfume. in the show it is fun because we -- remember the television specials? >> yes. >> they don't have those anymore because youave youtube and all these places you with download. >> there are other people on this show named marie. i know you might understand that, but there are other people. >> it's now turned into the "donny and marie show"! >> all you need is $25, not to get into their show but jill martin has gifts for the trend setter in your life. love you guys. good luck with the show.

time for "look at me now" and the "joy fit club" a induction of the newest member. >> 31-year-old sara ford called herself an emotional eater. here's her story.

>> my name is sara. i'm 31years old and i don't remember a time in my life when i wasn't concerned about my weight. growing up my family moved around and i tued to food as a comfort. i often ate in secret because i was so ashamed and as a teenager i became a very emotional eater. my biggest dowall was portion sizes. even with healthier options, my portions were double or triple what they should have ben. through my college years and adult life i allowed everything but my own health to be a priority. i put all of my energy into taking care of others and complety forgot to take care of myself. i was physically and emotionally exhausted and i felt like i was drowning in the extra pounds. i felt like i was missing out on my life. when i was 27, i hit my highest weight at 265 pounds. i finally woke up one morning and decided th i was tired of being fat. that day i went out and i bought a treadmill and i made a rule that if i was watching tv i had

to be walking or jogging. over the next few months the weight seemed to melt off of me. after losing 80 pounds, i hit a plateau and knew that i needed a new goal to motivate myself. i decided to do a triathlon and in july of this year i completed the goiva women's triathlon in philadelphia. it's brought so much energy into my life. i approach everyay with the confidence an belief that i can accomplish anything. >> great. before we meet sara, here to show us her typical meal is the leader of the "joy fit club," "today's" contributing nutritionist, joy bauer. >> another astounding weight loss super hero. she's amazing. i think she fell into that same pattern that so many peopleare familiar with. she took care of everyone else except herself. and used food to squash emotions and to comfort her. what i wanted to show you is how much of the starchy, junky, white carbs she ate in a day. we usually look at what they ate

in terms of all of their unhealthy food. we'll just zone in on one day and the starchy white stuff. a pile of white pancakes. an outside white bun for fried chicken sandwich. three slices of bread with butter at some point. a big plate of white refined pasta. and chocolate chip cookies. >> doesn't look like a lot to me. >> thisquals when you look at it in terms of slices of bread, 20 slices of white bread. >> wow. >> she doesn't eat any white stuff anymore, she's dopd over 100 pounds. it took her about five years but i am certain it is off for od. >> let's bring miss sara out. >> this is sara's before picture. all right, sara, let's see the new you. >> wow! woo! okay. sara, oh, my gosh! >> good morning, darling. >> you seem to always keep an upbeat demeanor. we said in even watching your piece you didn't seem sad, down in the dumps. you always seemed to be optimistic. is that the way it worked with

you? or we you pretding? >> to a point, yes, but i think a lot of it was a show and it was a lot of work on a daily basis to kind of put on that front, a big smile and a big laugh. >> while you're crying inside. >> yeah. >> boy, the triathlon,ky not believe you did all that. >> thank you. >> how do you feel differently? >> in every way. i mean everything is different. the energy that i have. my perspective on life has changed. i really ca do anything. >> wow. we're so happy for you. >> congratulations. >> thank you. thank you. >> thank you, joy. up next -- jill martin finishes off your shoppinglist. gifts under $25. every single one. not kidding. >> look at jil

we are counti down the holidays with gifts under $25. >> "today" and "us" weekly

contributor jill martin is here to share gifts that won't break the bank. >> everything here is under $25. if you haven't done youroliday shopping, like me, these are affordable and creative. >> start with the pinot. shall we? >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >> personalwine.com. one from you, one from hoda. you get the bottle of one you choose for under $25 with the label. you can upload a photo where uploet texu upload texts. that's actually your signare i got somehow. personalwine.com. you want a little added extraing with $8 from macy's. >> a little bling. >>very cute! >> createmychocolate.com. i created peanut butter and almonds for you. kathie's kis. milk chocolate and necessarily crunch. >> i can't have this. >> starting at $7. go on createmychocolate.com.

they wrap it up for you and ship it. >> that's adorable! >> isn't that great? >> giveawing.com. i included cody and cassidy, somehow i done think they'll be using this placemat. >> i'm going to make them. >> one for hannah! >> your niece. this is great just becse it is creative and something that a child could give their aunt, uncle and grandma. >> i love it. >> adorable! >> hoda, i knowou love these gloves. these are $15.50 from american eagle at e.com. they're fingerless gloves. >> then you put this on and they become the mitten. yeah. it is a two-for-one. >> and a cute little design. >> that's crazy. >> first i want to show you these usb drives. >> i just want to show fb because they weren't on thisne

the time. see? they're darling. usb drive -- you know i'm a knicks fan but they have all the teams on amazon, $24.99. get your favorite players. that's great for the boy or man in your fe. >> barely made te $25. this is $19.99 from jcpenney. hottest thing for tweens. this is from the crear of hello kitty. nowt is all about the french bulldog. they have all different things available at ses staing at $3.9. purses, socks for your dog. >> stop it. >> the original creator of hello kiy. he maxed out on that, moved ono a bulldog. >> this is great and the biggest craze for tweens. thesere hair bands.

you know how you always lose your hair bands? >> oh, my gosh. got to have them. >> available at macy's. >> how cue! you just forget it because i always lose my hair bands. if you want to package it with something, nail files and gift, fun give-away. at-home facial. we all love beauty products. this is originally $180. they're offering it for $25. lingskincare.com. dr rehydrate your skn. it is a good deal for the holidays. >> those ar cute. >> very cute. these i love. these are -- i'm giving these as my holiday gifts ts year. jewelry plates from bloomingdale's. $12.50 to $25. you put them next to your bed whatever your theme is, flowers. it is just a pretty gift.

we love themey. if you cannot think of anything and you like the ultimate, ultimate gift -- >> i don't like how this is cued up. if you can't think of anything? >> these are $12. >> you can buy two. >> buy two. >> now they're sold out. >> cheers! we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable?

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as always, our annual toy drive gives gifts to llions of underserved children all over the country and we are extremely grateful to all of you who have taken time to help out. >> today we have kaynapier and you are here to tell us about what, kay? >> well, we are a skin care and cosmetic company in the botanical space.

we're a very generous company and our independent consultants are are equally generous. we have 30,000 of them. we are giving $120,000 worth of products. products for babieshat are safe and several hairare product and this highlighter product that teens will love. >> wait a minute, what's the highlighter product in for your hair? >> no, to yur face. it delivers vitamin e and vital nutrients but also makes you look great especially during the holidays. >> it is good for teens especiay. >> the whole theme of our compan company. through ouronsultant base and with our products and donating to young teens. if you don't start out beautiful, you end up beautifu just a wonderful, wonderful mpany. i've only been there 15 months. >> you are loving it. >> thank you so much. happy holidays to you. if you want to donate from home, head to amazon.com/today.

tomorrow we have a great singer, carrie hillston will perform and the queen of cupcakes stops by. >> we love her! see you tomorrow, everybody. what is tomorrow? >> booze-day. imagine that.

[ female announcer ] safeway talks gift ideas.

music makes a great gift. i like rock, hip-hop, country... and you are telling me this, why? i...uh...thought you might be my secret santa? no. i'm giving for skunk. uh, i can hear you.