slow moving, bonchilling. the monster storm that hit the midwest inches its way east. and it is a snowy mess around the great lakes with al in the middle of it. persona non grata. bernie mad aoff will not attend his son's funeral. and look at that frosty go. most drivers go around, but not this city bus driver. >> no! oh, my god! >> the snowman is no more. the driver is out of a job, and

a lot of people are saying what h bah humbug, "today," tuesday, h bah humbug, "today," tuesday, december 14, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> and welcome to "today" on thisuesday morning, i'm meredith viera. >> and i'm matt lauer. can you say arctic blast? >> i can say freezing. >> there's a big storm in the mile of the country that's now urging its way east bringing with it a lot of rain and a lot of snow. >> the bone-chilling cold is only part of the problem. in parts of ohio, pennsylvania and new york where lake-effect snow is making a big mess of things. al isive with the forecast straight ahead. also a sad story to tell you about, the death of richard holbrooke who served as president obama's point man in

afghanistan and pakistan. he died last night from a tear in his aorta. we'll have more on his life and his pasng coming up. and hollywood's biggest names are up early for the announcement of this earlier's golden globe nomination we'll have complete coverage from los angeles. but we begin this morning with a major winter storm causing problems all across the east. let's start off with nbc's john yang, he's in michigan city, indiana for us. >> reporter: the shores of lake michigan, youay be able to see the snow blowing in off the lake. there is a lake-effect snow advisory still in effect here. this will be the third straight day of snowfall here. in some areas, there are two feet of snow already on the ground and the wind is creating drifts up to four feet high. for drivers, it's not a winter

wonderla wonderland, it's a winter whiteout. in northwestn indiana -- >> they told u to shut it down here and try to keep traffic heading that way. >> reporter: more than 100 cars and trucks were stuck on snow covered highways, drivers who were able to move found that the hard part was stopping. >> what you got to really watch for, you try and step on the brakes and you're all over the road. >> reporter: this isn an ocean, this is lake michigan. waves 25 feet high, wind gusts up to 35 miles an hour. americans from the great lakes to florida are in the deep freeze. in chicago, officials warned of the danger bitter cold. >> all chicagoans should avoid making unnecessary trips outside. >> reporter: it's all part of the massive wintertorm that stranded travelers at chicago's o'hare airport, and zraukly deflated the deftable roof of

nnesota twin shea's stadium. outside kansas city, a man returned from a weekend trip to fi that a broken water main had coated his house in ice. the mercury dipped in par of the country not used to freezing temperatures, from virginia -- >> i don't like it. >> to georgia. >> nice and funnd cold. >> reporter: all the way to florida. here in the midwest, some try to look on the bright side. >> you can't getourars out. it's a blessing in the e because you get that sense of community, but there's lots of snow to get through. >> reporter: roads are still closed in th area making travel dangerous, treacherous and sometimes just plain impossible. the storm has moved on from here but t snow istill hanging on. >> john yang in michigan for us this morning. john, thanks very much, when will this arctic blast end? al has made his way to dunkirk,

new york, about 300 miles northwest of here. >> reporter: schools are closed, businesses are having tuble staying open. this is about an hour south of buffalo, new york, that's lake er behind me, the winds are howling at about 35 miles an hour. temperatures are in the low teens, windchills anywhere from zero to 5 below, and we're going to continue to get this arctic blast coming across the great lakes causing lake-effect snow on all five great lakes. snow amounts, in the syracuse area, another one to two feet, back through western new york, western pennsylvania, about five to six inches to eight inches of snow and the cold air, we're talking about bitterly cold temperatures, you can see the jet stream dips way to the south. these are departures from normal. actual temperatures right now, you can see it is bitterly cold, 29 in orlando, the good news is

in plant city where they have got all those citrus and strawberry crops, temperatures a little bit warmer, 12 in buffalo rit now, windchills make it feel well below zero around much of the great lakes. single digits in atlanta. we're not going to see any moderation until tuesday. upr 40s to low 50s down into florida. and then the jet stream takes a little bit of a moderate jog to the north. that keeps the cold air banked up around the great lakes and then temperatures moderate down through the southeast. but again here in the great lakes, the windchill, the winds, and the snow a big, big factor, matt? >> i'll take it, al, thank you very much. we'll get the rest of al's forecast in just a bit. but for now, to sad news out of washington, richard holbrooke, has died. andrea mitchell has more on holbrooke's storied career.

>> nominated seven times for the nobel peace prize, richard holbrooke's crowning achievement was ending the war in bosnia. to the end he was striving to end another war in afghanistan. widely considered onef the most gifted diplomats of his generation, richard holbrooke was praised by president obama and hillary clinton monday night at a diplomatic reception, shortly before holbrooke lost his last battle. >> america is more secure and the world is a safer place because othe work of ambassador richard holbrooke. >> he's a fierce negotiator, i'm sure there are some shoulders here tight that are still a little bit sore from his arm twisting. but he is a fiercer friend and an invaluable counselor. >> reporter: richard holbrooke began his career as a foreign service officer. he quickly rose to the white

house under linden johnson where he drafted a key war memo and wrote a chapter of the pentagon papers. holbrooke accompanied henry kissinger to the peace talks in paris. holbrooke aspired to be a great man himself. his signature achievements, ending the war in bosnia. >> this is the best alternative to continued war. >>eporter: he served as ambassador to germany and then to the united nations under bill clinton. a close advisor to johnkerry, holbrooke was known to have aspired to become secretary of state had kerry been elected. instead the next democrat to occupy the white house was barack obama who offered the state department job to hillary clinton. clinton carved out a special envoy role for holbrooke, awarding him the toughest

assignment of all, afghanistan and pakistan. holbrooke at the end was at hillary clinton's side on duty at the state department. a larger than life presence who helped reshape foreign policy for generations. today the president will be meeting with his advisors for his long-awaited review of the afghanistan policy, tragically without holbrooke. holbrooke was single minded in s focus to the very end. his family said that before being given anesthesia for his emergency surgeon, he told his pakistani surgeon, quote, you've got to stop this war in afghanistan. >> it is 7:09 and once again here's matt. president obama's tax cut deal with republicans has crossed a major hurdle and could be up for a senate vote. kelly o'donnell has the details. >> reporter: suddenly there's a lot of talk of bipartisanship around here and this new spirit

of cooperation centers on a package that would keep taxes from going up in a couple of weeks but it would add to the deficit in big way. are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? >> reporter: a supersized vote tally in the senate. >> the -- on a package of tax cuts and unemployment benefits for 2 million who are out of work. the president had so much ring on this, he popped into the briefing room bore the final votes were even counted. >> this proves that both parties can in fact work together to grow our economy and look out for the american people. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell gave the president credit for bending to give tax cuts for those with high iomes along

with the middle class. >> we're telling people to keep money that's rightfully theirs so they canpend it and invest it as they please. >> reporter: the deal will add about $900 billion to the federaldeficit. fear about that is also bipartisan. >> i sincerely feel that the bad choices made in the last decade will haunt us through the next decade >> reporter: short-term the white house claims the economy eds this deal to grow. the president says he is working the phones to convince fellow democrats in the house who could te later this week. their outspoken anger primarily over breaks for the wealthy may be starting to cool. >> this bill is giving democrats pause. but having said that, i believe this bill was necessary and comprose one inevitable. >> reporter: and democts especially ithe house are still thinking they might be able to get some changes made before this goes on to final passage. but the top republican in the senate, he was warning last night that they should not play

what he calls political games to try to make what he calls partisan changes. matt >> kelly, thank you very much. howard dean is the chairman of the democratic national committee and former governor of veont. governor dean, good morning, good to see you. 6 let me tell you what bernie sanders, the junior senator from your home state of vermont has called ts an absolute disaster. you said it's terrible for our country in the long-term. a lot of people in the democratic party don't like it, what can you do abo it? >> i'm not sure, i'll leave that to the vote counters in the house. first of all it stops $120 billion from going into the social secury trust fund and instead borrows the money from china and other places. you can't shore up the social security trust fun with borrowed money if you want it to work. secondly, it punches a huge hole in the deficit which some of the republicans agree with and i think as you pointed out, there's bipartisan opposition to this. it's probably good short-term

politics. it's going to help some. it's going to help some in terms of stimulating the economy, but the ng-term consequences of this are really not so great. >> when you talk about the long-term consequences, go back to that deficit, $900 billion. that is a major issue. how and when do we pay for that? >> that's the problem. what the truth of the matter, this is an inside washington deal. washington politicians like it, but they're not really telling the whole story to the american people. in order to get out of this deficit which is really bad and habeen accumulating over ten years, we're going to have to limit the growth of social security, limit the growth of medicare, cut the fed a so cutting taxes now doesn't make any sense. >> you say it's an inside washington dea let me disagree for a second. a recent poll sd that six out of ten of the american people favor this deal, they like this kind of compromise, they want to see more of this, not less of this. >> of course they do, everybody wants their taxes cut, but the

long-term future of the country depends on raising revenue and cutting spending and that hasn't been done here. >> let's talk about one other item here, kind of a blow for the president's health care reform, the now law on monday. there had been talk about repealing that law by republicans, doeshis make that much more likely? >> actually i think the decision is not a bad decision. the first thing is that the mandate is notessential. that was principally a benit for insurance companies. it's absolutely not essential. because we have done something like that. >> you mean tellingeople to buy health insurance? >> you don't have to do that in order to make universal health care. >> under mitt romney, under their mandate, there's 4%hat aren't affected. this is an important point. the judge limited his desis to this particular clause, he did not declare theill unconstitutional, just this piece of the bill and he

specifically said in his decision that this doesn't apply to the entire bill i know the administration had a lot of heartburn over there. this may be a good thing, because this very conservative judge said that t bill as a whole could go forward. there's no chance tat this is going to the supreme court without a lot of pross. so is president obama's health care plan in jeopardy or not? as matt mentioned, a federal judge has now found part of it unconstitutional. pete williams has more on that. pete, good morning. >> one othe things that makes thisoteworthy is that this is the first time a federal judge has ruled that the key part of the obama health care law, the requiremt thatllmericans buy health insurance is unconstitutional. so now there's sure to be a legal battle all the way to the supreme court. the justice department is likely appeal the ruling which echoed a theme of tea party

activists and conservatives. the government has no powero order the public to buy insurance. >> people still have the right to make a decision. whether they buy health insurance or not, they shouldn't have it imposed on him by the governme. >> reporter: henry hudson said that while it gives the government the power to regulate activity, it as no authority to compel anyone to enter the stream ofommerce and buy something. the obama administration argued that no one stays entirely out of the health care economy, evtually getting care from somewhere like an emergency room. and the president told nbc affiliate wfla that with more than two dozen legalhallenges already in the courts, the battle is far from over. >> keep in mind, this is one ruling by one federal district court, we have already had two federal district courts that have ruled that this is definitely constutional.

>> reporter: the judge decided not to block the mandatory insurance requirement for now because he said the law doesn't take effect for a fewore years so there's time for the courts to decide who's right, meredith. >> pete williams, thank you very much. let us get a check of the re of the morning's top stories and for that we turn to anne curry at the news desk. last night michael steele made a surprise announcement saying he will seek re-election despite recent reports that he will resign. steele has controversy for spending funds at a strip club and using 19,000 of the committee's money to redecorate his office. anoth cyber attack report. walgreens are warning that hackers are using customer e-mail accounts to prompt customers for information. security experts suggest that using a different passwordor each of your own online accounts

would make things safer. yahoo is preparing to lay off as many as 5% of its woforce beginning today, cutting as many as 700 employees. now we head over to wall street for a look at what vestors are watching today. we have got trish reagan at the new york stock exchange. >> the fed is meeting today for investors will be watching that pretty carefully. no expected changes in terms of the policy. no expected changes in terms of the fed'sqv 2 program in which it's quantitative easing. nevertheless,nvestors will watch this statement very carefully for any nuances there. the other big thing of course is you've got a slew of economic reports coming out, especially with retail sales, business inventory and also wholesale prices so a lot to keep folks busy. if you braved the winter chill last night, you might have

seen a meteor shower last nht with a rainbow of falling stars in white, yell, blue, red and green. up to 60 meteors an hour rained down on four stargazers. and a poorly placed snowman left one bus driver out of a job. cars carefully steered around a snowman in the middle of the road. moments later a bus veeredo the right side of the rode and takes the snowman down. after a meeting with officials, the bus driver resigned. the group is aeady calling for the bus driver to be reinstated. more than one melt down there. it is now 7: 19. let's go back to good morning.

snow showers overnight left a

thin coating of snow north and west of washington. as a result, we've got slick roads, streets, a sidewalks. watch out for that. right now that snow activity has ended. it's frigid. windchillsre in the low to single digits. this cold, biting wind will be with us throughout the day, tonight, and tomorrow. hi near 30. a bit milder thursday and friday. >> and that's your latest weather.>> and that's your lates ather. and just ahead, why bernie madoff says he will not attend his son' funeral and why madoff's heart broken wife is so angry at him. we'll have the

coming up, some of the most powerful men in the world and why they have no problem crying in public. >> plus the man behind twitter

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call humana to take advantage of the medicare prescription drug plan with the lowest national premium in the country. go to waart.com for more details. ♪ . good morning. it's tuesday, december 14. i'm joe krebs. the roads are pretty much a mess in many places. many are iced over and we've seen some wrecks this morning. let's check in with jerry edwards. >> it's been a tough commute. the good news is things are dying down as far as the snow goes. you can see the wind is picking up. visibility not an issue, but there's still plenty of icy patches. it's solid ov to virginia along 395. a couple of problems early in the morning are cleared. we're loaded up with all lanes

open, but be careful out there. joe? >> thanks. it's also bittly cold out. we'll get the forecast right after this break. stay with us.

good morning. a fresh coating of som light snow areas in washington overnight. it's really slickened up

sidewalks and streets. watch your footing. we've got errors of many people lling down. we'll have gusty winds, maybe a passing snow shower. tom? >> thanks. tune in every morning for

7:30 now on a tuesday morning, it's the 14th day of december 201 and the thermometer tells us it is 20 degrees out on the plaza, but you know what? throw that out the window because there'sind out there as well, it feels a lot colder as it does in many parts of the country on this tuesday morning. that didn't stop these folks from gathering out on our plaza. we'll get out there in a little while and say hi. meanwhile i'm matt lauer alongside meredith viera.

john boehner who is known to get emotional cried several times during an interview on 60 minutes. would his peers get a different reaction if boehner was a woman? how powerful can 140 characters be? more than 1,000 tweets are sent every second, some funny, some mundane, some can actually change the world. coming up the co-founder of twitter will reveal the most powerful tweets of 2010. let's beg this half hour with new details of the details of berniemadoff's son mark. >> reporter: according to his lawyer, bernie madoff decided not to attend the funeral out of respect for his family th shunned him. now bernie madoff's own grandkids may pay for his

mistakes. at the madoff's connecticut estate, the family gathered monday, no comment, as relatives came down the long winding driveway. as they grieve rk's suicide, apparently depress over the criminal investigation and lawsuits against him, his father bernie madoff has made a decision behind bars, he won't attend his son'sfuneral, out of his daughter-in-law and his grandchildren's privacy. it's not even clear if bernie madoff would even be welcome a the funeral. mark cut ties with his father since the story broke in 2008. ruth reportedly blames their convict husband for their son death. sk sk . >> she cims that bernie madoff has bloo on his hands, she calls him an s.o.b. and that he

has totally ruined their family and theeath of their son was the final straw. >> reporter: mark madoff pled poverty to friends, but in reality, he was still living a lavish life. his compound in connecticut, worth $2.3 million. his ocean front estate in nantucket seen here is wth $17 million. and the manhattan apartment where he hanged himself with a doing leash is worth $6 million. and now victims seek pay back for his admitted scam. his wife and young children as young as 2 years old may be on the hook for tens of millions. >> the victims of the bernie madoff ponzi scheme want their money back. and one of the things they have tried to do is to go after mark madoff's children seeking money they got through allegedly the bernie madoff ponzi scheme. so this litigation is going to go on. >> reporter: and federal investigators haven't ruled out criminal charges either.

officials still want to know what the sonsnew about the ponzi scheme and whether they were involved. >> andrew is now the sole surviving son and if the u.s. attorney had intended to bring charges against the sons, it will all fall on andrew now. >> reporter: both mark and andrew madoff have denied any knowledge or involvement in the ponzi scheme from the very start and law enforcement sources say two years later, there's still not enough evidence to charge eith one of them. by the way, the family still hasn't claimed mark's body from the medical examiner here in new york city and there's no word yet on funeral plans either. a contributing editor for "vanity fair" who has written about bernie madoff and the sons mark and an dprdrew you wrote a piece about mark and andrew and you talked a lot of friends and colleagues and

acquaintances, what was your reaction to the news? >> i was shocked along with everybody else. i guess i would have assumed that hpassed the worst of it already, that the epicenter of the story had moved on. everybody thought they were going to get indted right off the bat, that the case against them was just so obvious and it didn't happen. and one would have thought that maybe he had reached different kind of equilibrium in his life, but obviously that wasn't true. >> he took his life on the two-year anniversary of his father's arrest, what did you make of that? >> i don't think he was making a particular point by picking that date, i think that it was just a reminder that the case was never going to go away forhim. on the second anniversary there were legal consequences because the trustee had a deadline for filing actions by the second anniversary and so there was a flurry of activity around then and then there were the usual newspaper stories two years in,

including stories about him and supposedly onef the things he was concerned about was a story in the "wall street journal." >> that came out the day that he killed himself? >> the morning of his suicid and the story in the journal had nothing new about him and nothing incriminating about him, but it was just a reminder that he was always going to be under this shadow, he would never be able to escape it and maybe just he was finally overwhelmed by that. >> he sent out some e-mails right before he took his own wife, one to his wife stephanie who was in florida with their other child. he wrote, i love yo please send someone to take care of nick, their 3-year-old son who was sleeping in his room when he killed himself. and he wrote nobody wan to believe the truth, please take care of my family. what was the truth as he saw it? >> the truth as he saw it was that he was entirely innocent of all of this. he said that nobody believed him. he really didn't make much of a defense in away.

he just kind of disappeared. when i tried to interview him, of course, he wouldn't talk to me. his brother wouldn't talk to me ther. but his brother sort of made himselavailable through surrogates. he got his case out there. i think that the two madoff brothers reacted very differently t is. andy madoff, the younger brother sort of went on with his life, head already separated himself from his father even before all of this exploded. and mark didn't do that. it all kind of coiled up within him. >> you said he had read articles about what happened. >> that was the image of him sort of huddled over his computer, finding whatever sort of story he could on this, never really getting away from it. i think that andy madoff had a little bit more perspective on things, andy had other businesses, and he had had cancer. andy sort of knew what problems were even before all this happened. he was in a sense conditioned. >> do you thk andy will

reconnect with his mother ruth who has now said she blames bernie for mark's death? >> i really don't know what the dynamics are in this family. >> he said nobody believed him. did you believe him at the end? >> i sort of did believe him, the more that i learned about the case and the more that i spokeo people that knew him, the more impressed i was, even people who had grievances against him and had every reason to revent simsent him, they sti of invited them into their lives. this is not something you do to a co-conspirator. "today's" weather is brought to you by advil, make the switch of advil now.

we've had some lake-effect snow showers overnight. made it all the waydown into central maryland in montgomer county. parts of loudoun county, frederick and howard county had

enough snow to make it freeze on the highways. we're getting snow on the lower eastern shore. temperatures the 20 degrees now. windchills, single digits. stro gusty winds, highs near freezing. look like it will stay that >> wit this crazy weather going on all across the country, you want to make sure you check in at least once aay on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. julian assange is expected to appear in a british court in relation to the charges he's facing in sweden. overnight assange released his first statement since his arrest last week. peter alexander has details on that. >> reporter: julian assange's hearing is expected to start a short time from now. his lawyer will ask to have bail set for his release. his mother came all the way from australia meeting with her son behind bars and releasing this

statement on his behalf saying, quote, eremain true to the ideas i have expressed. if anything this process has ineased my determination that they there true and correct. and we're learning new details this morning about assange himself fromhat seems like an unlikely source. julian assange arrived in court this morning in the back of this prison van, his mother speaking in his defense. >> as a mother, i'm asking the world to stand up for my brave son. >> reporter: he is the mysterious hacker at the heart of an international storm. but before the scandal exploded, assange was reportedly also a single man looking for love online. the profile of the then-36-year-old going by the name harry harrison, he writes, i am dange and describes himself as passionate andften pig headed activist intellectual seeks siren for love affair, children and occasional criminal conspiracy. that he's looking for a spirited

nonconformist. he says do not write to me if you're timid, write to me if you're brave. ok cupid says it has existed for several years, last updated in december 2006, the same month wikileaks published its first document. now assange faces possible extradition to sweden where he's a wanted man, on allegations of sexual misconduct with two women he met at the stockholm wikileaks. >> all that's talked about has happened just because one apartment in this triangle was julian sange. >> reporter: an aspiring investigatedive journalist at oxford university, isabel spent three days with assange this fall. she describes his spark and magnetic personality. >> funny, intelligent, you know and loose and not at all like

this kind of rigid media persona when you're interviewing him. >> reporter: this weekend swedish telision aired a new documentaron the wikileaks affair, interviewing the controversial founder shortly before his arrest. >> i have a second message, and that is reset examples. if you engage in unjust behavior, it wilbe found out, it will be revealed and you will suffer the consequences. >> reporter: and if the judge sets bail at today's hearing, julian assange could actually walk out of this courtroom as a free man. the british prime minister today alted government workers to be on the lookout in case internet activists assange supporters try to hack into government websites today. still ahead on this tuesday morning, how you can look like kate middleton, but first these messages. ♪

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you know, in 2010, twitter became one of the go-to social net working sites for everyone from celebrities to politicians and millions of people. >> the most powerful tweets of 2010. good morning to u you. we're talking blions of tweets. how do you narrow it down to the ten most powerful? >> you print them out and you read them all. >> you wouwe put a group tether we found thousands of tweets and we tried to carry a nice cross section of tweets that showed the power of the network at work and sort of the pow of humanity. >> let's go through a few of them quickly, at number six, you've got the royal family's tweet announcing prince william and kate middleton's engagement. they tweeted, the prince of

wales iselighted to announce prince william's engagement to kate middleton. >> i think all that anybody could talk about was that engagement. i thinkt's still going on. >> number four tweet came in the wake of the gulf oil spill. based on bp's public image problem, the tweet read, catastrophe is a strong word, let's call it a whoopsie daysy. >> it was just very interesting that a parody account became this voice of this whole thing. >> we're going to move all the way to number one, your most powerful tweet from 2010 comes from this young lady to my left. while cering the earthquake in haiti, ann tweeted this message to the u.s. airports, find a way

to let doctor s without borders into haiti. >> so many people retweeted this message out and they made sure that the u.s. air force know it. >> one tweet can get tweeted so many times that ann was able to sort of virtually wave in that doctors without borders ple and get them landed within an hour. first of all that's a b honor. congratulations. and how many billions of tweets you do expect this year? >> many, many. >> start reading now. >> thank you very much, we appreciate it. and still ahead t crying game, the double standard when it comes to men, wom and tears. but first these messes. you see the big turkey for thanksgiving? ♪ [ grandma ] okay. ♪ ah. then we will all do it togeer. treats. teets...teets...teets...

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our time right now is 7:56. 26 degrees. cold outside. beautiful picture of the capitol dome. it's slippery outside. be careful. a line of lake-effect snow came through the area overnight. the snow quickly fze, creating very slick and dangers driving conditions, mainly in d.c. and maryland. meteorologist tom kierein is here now with a look at more on the cold freezing temperatures. tom? >> yes, indeed. it's not gold to melt because we'll stay cold between now into thursday morng. right now we're getting bay effe snow on the eastern shore. the lake-effect snows are temporarily halted. we could get a few more of those later today. right now it's near 20 degrees. windchills single digits.

highs today near 30 degrees. and frigid tonight and we'll have winds gusting 40 miles an hour. frigid again on saturday and a little bit warmer on friday. joe? >> thanks very much, a look at how traffic is rolling at this hour right after this.

good morning, everyone. now the aftermath. along interstate 66, no accidents, just volume. as you head in from centreville to fair oaks en route to the beltway. on the topside of the beltway, look at that. look out for that. joe? >> thank you very

8:00ow on this tuesday morning, the4th of december, 2010. and our friends on the plaza, huddling together for warmth, it is a bitter cold, windy morning here in manhattan. and outside on the plaza, i'm meredith viera along with matt lauer. just ahead in this half hour, e interesti fashion statement being made by kate middleton for her new engagement photos, she didn't wear clothes by her designers, she picked them out of her own close set. >> imagi. holidays a great time to save on

books. we have a ght saber. she was coming after you and i saved your life. of course i gave it right back to her. talk about giving the gift of food, the holidays fast approaching. we have some great ideas, the best part about it, you don't have to make it yourself and you don't even haveo mail it, the companies do that for you. >> i still have not done my shopping. >> you got to get to it. also it is a big morning in hollywood as the golden globe nominations are out, we will have complete coverage of this year's nominee. >> that woman just cut you in half with her light saber, bad news for you. let's go insid and get a check of the morning's top new stories. as you have been reporting, president obama said the nation has lost a true giant of foreign policy. richard holbrooke, the u.s. specl envoy to afghanistan and pakistan died last night after a

weekend surgery for a torn ao a aorta. ending the war in bosnia to his efforts to end the war in afghanistan. he was 69 years old. the last week of fall is off to a brutal start in the midwest where waist deep snow has randed drivers and closed schools. in washington state a driver had to be be rescued from a pond swollen by heavy rain and the mbination of broken water mainand freezing terms leave a family wait forgive their home to outlaw out. a suitlaims that sexual assault in the military is nearly twice as common as in civilian life, but that much of it is not reported or prostituted. the democrats health care overhaul suffered it's first major set back on monday.

a federal judge ruled it is unconstitutional for the vernment to ruire americans to carry health insurance, however the judge refused to block the law from going into effect while it is being appealed in the u.s. supreme court. the compromise bill extending tax cuts and long-term unemployment benefits could win final senate approval as early as today. it passed a test vote on monday by a margin of 83-15. house democrats are still demanding changes. one of the most incredible streaks in all of sports came to an end last night when minnesota vikings quarterback brett favre did not start i281 seasons. the new york jets assistant coach who hit a miami dolphins player sunday has been suspended without pay for the rest of the season and fined $25,000. the nfl will not seek any further disciplinary action. and a rareppearance by former first lady nancy reagan. she unveiled the design for a

new first class forever stamp marking next year's centennial of her husband, ronald reagan's birth. it is now t

good morning. overnight snow showers left a light coating of snow, parts of northern virginia and maryland. right now they're getting bay-effect snows. and elsewhere we've got winds blowing 30, 40 miles an hour. temperatures right now near 20. windchills in the single digits. you need to layer up. temperatures should stay below freezing through thursday. stng winds today, tonight, and tomorrow. they'll diminish thursday and friday.

>> and that's your latest weather. just want toell you it is will's 10th birthday over there. happy birthday,will. when we come back, kate's chic style statement. - did dad go to jared for the pandora bracelet like we told him? - i can't te. - oh, honey. - heotally went toared. female announcer: celebrate life's unforgettable moments

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back now at 8:08. with kate middleton's flair for fashion. fashiosta's everywhere are looking for inspiration. >> reporter: very few women are lucky enough to land a prince. kate middleton is at the top of that very glamorous list. what they lack in likeness, they make up for in attention to detail. herclothes, her hair, ssible and stylish. elegant and at least some of it surprisingly accessible. for the engagement the future princess didn't turn to designers, she went to her closet. this dress was off the rack from

the btish store reece. kate bought it two years ago, the blouse, from a store called whistles. >> she's going for something that any girl in london or anywhere would have access. >> reporter: not like princess diana. more like michelle obama and j. crew and talbot. kate gives herred ed admirers a within reach. the new york salon sees a steady stream of wannabes. >> her style is simple, she's classy and beautiful. so i was going for a look like that. >> reporter: to be fair, it may not be as easy for everybody. >> i've got a little length in the back. >> reporter: those loong to buy the kate middleton look are very good for business. knock off of the ring has sold out everywhere and the briti

brand lucky enough to get a nod in these photos are -- >> i can definitely see people going and seeking those items. >> reporter: at reece, the dress will go on sale again in january, but kate wears a lot of their clothes, quite a bit for the copy kate tohoose from. >> she's a good customer, how she wears her coats, her dresses. she comes into our stores and she even knows some of our staff personally. >> reporter: and now so do i. for someone who's going to be a kate middleton wannabe, they might want to buy that coat? >> i think so. >> reporter: i got the coat, i need to work on the hair a little bit. but i figure by april, i'm going to be a dead ringer. >> you don't have to take after anybody, you are one of kind, stephanie gosk. i however wou-- first of all, w

grade do you give kate for the clothing she has selected and the hair cut. >> it's got to be an a-plus. the idea that sh girl went into her wardrobe, the shirt that she wore was two years old and that's going to come out again, they're going to call it the kate shirt from whistle's. and if you can't get it in the store, you can get it online. this is a chance we're all going to be able to have that kate look. but the idea that she dip into the mall store brands, but also has that princessy moment, is fabulous, modern and absolutely right because the public is lapping this up. >> what about her hairstyle? >> i think her hair is classic and beautiful, think it's hard to look classic and beautiful, it's supershiny and just very

natural looking and modern. >> she also looks great in an up do as well. >> do you think she's going to make the mark on fashion that diana did? >> we're desperate for someone back in eveningland to me a mar. we loved it the first time, and we're going to love it again. and i think everyone's a little bit nervous that she's going to be turning into this iconic figure and there's going to be a huge amount of pressure. but she can do it that in a michelle obama way. >> when you say michelle obama, that's exactly who i thought of, who went to the j. crew look and the talbots instead of doing the high d. >> she wears fabulous clothes too. but fashion doesn't stop and end on the high streets. it's both ends and what makes a great closet. >> and i think it's more of who she is. >> i think she's just more from that middle class and she's not flashy and again, she's

superclassic and approachable. and ihink that's what appeals to so many people is that, i mean look at her in that white coat. she's just so elegant and eagle. and i think that's very hard to pull off and be modern. >> and it's not just the clothes and the hair that people are copying, it's the ring as well that was originally diana's so 's been copied for years. >> when that ring was given to princess diana it was $100,000. >> is it more attainable for the average person? >> definitely. and i think that's why so many people are coming in wanting to look like her and i think women have looked like that for a long time. it's just that classic, long layered flowinghair, that has e round brusht the bottom, it just very approachable. it's not too trendy, yet i think

it's hard to pull off that look and look interesting. >> it's hard to pull it off if you're my age, but if you're in your 20s. i don't know about the older women. >> i would go a little bit shorter, but just the framing around the face, you can be pretty much any age. >> i'm getting the white dress. and up next, hasty mail order gift ideas that will get there in time for christmas, believe it or not but first these messages. ♪ express yourself

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♪electronic santa song "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target. expect more, pay less. this morning on "today's" holiday gift guide, mail order gifts from bunt cakes to pickles. we have got some st-minute ideas that will please the food lover on your list and save you a trip to the post office. elizabeth, good to see you, happy holidays do we have time for this? we have 11 days to go until christmas, can you still order and get them delivered?

>> one of the best things about food is it's usually shipped overnight. some of these you might need 48 hours' notice, but until then you're fine. >> let's start with the savory items. >> delicious, delicious. these are salamis made the old-fashioned way. these are especially good. they're located in the ferry building in san francisco. unbelievable flavors. >> are they exp they're aged, they're delicious. they have been smoking meets for 50 years. it's absolutely incredible. it's made with corn cob and maple and absolutely delicious. >> i love chicken pot pies, you found a good brand? >> chicken pot pies, these are all organic, two women got

together started this company. it's a great thing to send to a family. >> what is this bacon jam >> this is delicious. >> you really think so? >> it's really, really good. i suggest you try it. it's very good quality bacon, it's cooked and it's then thrown in with spices and onions. you would put it on a hamburger, with eggs. use it instead of bacon for a blt. >> baked gos. >> this is the one stop shop. they're very famous for their coffee cake. i also like for their -- these cakes come in wooden boxes, very sturdy, everything's packaged really well. i also like their spani elephant ears, they're doused in olive oil and very good. >> and for people with food

allergies, you've got some things there are gluten free? >> gluten free, dairy free, you name it. you need to give them 48 hours' notice for them to ship it. they do loaves. everything baked good that if you can't eat wheat or eggs, you can get it from here. >> the pecan pie is from the gooden company. but they're known for barbecue. their pecan pie, they have been sending it to people since the '80s. >> for popcorn lovs, you've got 479-degree popcorn. >> this is a cordon blue graduate who said that 479 degrees is the best temperature to make popcorn. it also comes in carmel that come in sea salt and they have nice messages wrapped around them. >> for health lovers, you've got

your mix your own granola. >> 75 different things that you can add. we have got one for you. >> and finally pickles by mail order and sometimes pickles and bloody mary mix. >> fabulous company, two brothers, they do everything the way their great grandmother did. and the root, which is a really cool drink from the 1700s. >> you c order them now and get them to people in time for the holida. thank you very much. there is a new wrinkle in the debate over whether it's okay for men to try, especially powerful men in public forums. this after john boehner the next house speaker teared up during a "60 minutes" interview. >> outgoing speaker of the house nancy pelosi says she doesn't cry over politics, but she can't say the same about the surprisingly emotion man who's replacing her. >> reporter: john boehner, soon to bthe most powerful figure

inhe house of representatives often cries over pending legislation. >> put it at the top of our list. it's provided for the safety and secuty of the american people. >> reporter: and he told "60 minutes" even the thought of talking to school children gets him all otional. >> making sure that these kids have a shot at the american dream, like i did. it'smportant. >> reporter: on abc's "the view" they had a field day with it. >> they call him the weeper of the house. >> this g has an emotional problem, that any time we talk about anything that's not raise taxes, he crews. >> reporter: he gets away with i it--they might have said what some said when hillary clinton appeared to cry at a difficult moment during the new hampshire primary in 2008. but the te-- that the tears shod

she was too weak for the tough stuff. but others said it humanized here, she won new mpshire. of course her husband's frequent emoating during his presidency was seen as hanizing him and george bush's supporters saw his public tears the same way. so the song "don't cry" may be pretty much out of date. what matters now for men is why they're tearing up and when. >> you get a sense of a person's general sincerity is going to determine how you read some of their tears. your sense of wheth the circumstance warrants it. >> reporter: crying publicly might have sounded dour in the election campaign. >> i have sinned against you, my lord. >> reporter: but manly tears are

no longer shocking, whether it's glenn beck regularly opening up the water works on fox news, and remember that reality show bachelor jason mesnick constantly cryin over which love interest to chse. and more politicians than you can count, giving vent to their not feminine side, but human side. president obama has ao been known to shed a public tear, most notably after his grandmother died at the end of the campaign. it seems like in this new era, its all right to cry, at least for the man. >> are you going to show a little bit of tears? >> absolutely. just ahead, the golden globe nominations after your local news.

8:26 is your time now. 25 degrees. it has been a snowiny morning i washington, the region as well. we'll have the latest on your weatr and traffic after the news. good morning. i'm ung yang. while many woke up to snow-covered roads, d.c. saw as much as an inch. parts of virginia also got a dusting. meteorologist tom kierein joins us with a look at what happened threst of the day. tom, it was a mess out there. >> yeah, just a thin coating of snow. we may get a few passing snow showers again li we had overnight later today.

highs reaching only near the freezing mark. a frigid night tonight as well as tomorrow. in addition we'll have winds gusting at 40 les an hour throughout the time. a bit milder as we get toward the end of the week. toward the weekend maybe a little snow. eun? >> tha you. we're going to take a quick brea

good morning, everyone. finally relief. no two-lane accidents. there's actually a little space between some of the vehicles. still heavy germantown on down. one more stop. we'll

8:30 now on a tuesday morning, it's the 14th day of december, 2010. and it's cold outside. that's ann curry, that's ricky duvet, the verfunny n. >>e have collected $18illion

in gifts this year. so thanks to everyone here. >> the goln globes are all the talk of hollywood this morning. we're going to have coverage of the nominations. also coming up this morning, we're going to be talking about our steals and deals, and we have got some ideas aboutot fashions for as much as 85% off. >> that sounds good. and we have got a question for you, will it be aida, patrick or freed rick. anybody's guess as to who's going to come out first. the host joins us this morning from burbank. allison, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning,veryone. you look chilly. >> a little brisk here. that's right. we know fredo and patrick are ready finalists because they have lost the highest percentage

of weight. 43, fredo is 12 to 16 years older than the remaining contestants. how is that going to work ou >> i know, i think fredo, if anyone can overcome it, it's fredo, he's certainly had his eye on the prize from day one and henew how to play the game and work hard and get him all the way to the end. no question, no vote, he is in the finals and he did it himself. he busted his butt and he's not doing it for the money, he's doing it because he wants to win that bad. >> he was the heaviest contesta contestant, will that work to his advantage. >> e's young, he's fighting for it. he has been doing this for his family. he said from thebeginning, his beautiful ki need him to be healthy so he has a lot of reasons to fight to win this. and i think he has a good chance to win. >>ida is another one of finalists and why do bob and

jillian call her basically a machine and a terminator? >> she's aida the terminator and she actually earned what title. she's just been working so hard in the gym every single day since she got on the show. so if anybody can overcome

good morning. frig winds blowing out of the northwest, gusting to around 35 miles an hour this morning. picked up moisture off the great lakes and gave it some overnight snow showers. northwest washington and points west and north. right now it's only near 20 degrees, and with that gusting wind, the wdchills are in single digits. we'll likely stay below freezing all the way into thursday. these winds will still be gusty today, tonight, and tomorrow. maybe an additional passing snow shower today. maybe above freezing thursday >> and with this wild weather ppening all across the country, you'll want to check in with the weather channel on cable and weather.com online. when we come back, this mornins golden globe nominations, but first, this is "today" nbc.

and that is the scene out in hollywood this morning with the award season getting underway with the golden globe nominations. >> this is a big morning for all the week out in hollywood, television, movies things like that. let's just go over some of the possible movies that we could be hearing about in the next couple of minutes. >> you're going to be hearing about social network >> true grit. >> i think it's brilliant, i think collin ferth is brilliant. >> the story about aaron ralston who got stuck and had to amputate. there's a lot of people waiting to see what's going to happe let us get out there. >> gd morning, everyone. d welcome to the nomination announcement for the 68th annual golden globe awards. and to reveal these nominations,

please welcome blair underwood, josh duhamel and katie holmes. blair, you're up first. >> thank you, phillip. be performance by an actor in a miniseries or a motion picture made for television. idruth elba. dennis quade, a special relationship and edgar ramirez carlos. best performance by an actress in a miniseries or a motion picture made for television. pillars of the effort. claire danes, temple brandon. judy dench. best performance by anctress in a motion picture, comedy or musical.

annette bening, the kids are all ri right, ann hathaway, lly ann more the kids are all right. best performance by an actor in a motion picture comedy or musical. johnny dep. alice in wonderland. johnny depp. the tourist. jake gyllenhaal, love and other drugs and kevin stacy spacey, c jack. >> best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture. christian bale, the fighter. michael douglas, wall street money never sleeps. andrew garfield, the social network, jeremy renner, the

town. geoffrey rush, the king speech. best performance by an actress in a suprting role in a motion picture. amy adams, the fighter. helena barnum, the king's speech. black swan. jackie weaver, animal kingdom. best performance by an actor in a television series drama. brian kranston, breaking bad. michael c. hall, dexter. john ham mad men. be director motion picture. black swan, did fisher, the social network.

tom hooper, the king's speech. christopher nowlan insemgs. david o. russell the fighter. best most picture comedy or musical, alice in wonder land. burlesque. the kids are all right. red. the tourists. >> best television series drama. boardwalk empire. dexter. the good wife. madmen, the walking dead. best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama.

halle berry, francke and alice. nicole kidman, jennifer lawrence. natalee portman, michelle williams blue valentine. best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama. jesse izenberg, the social network. james franko. 127 hours. ry mark wallburg, the fighter. best motion picture drama. black swan. the fighter. inception. the king's speech. the social network. thank you.

>> let's give a big thank you to blair, josh and katie. don't forget to join us sunday january 16 for the 68th annual golden globe awards live coast to coast on nbc. thank you. >> ricky will host, good morning to you. >> i was mentioned right at the end. >> better late an never. >> didn't hear mname until right at the end. >> they save the best for last. >>ou kept saying throughout the whole thing- >> you have nothing. >> you don't know anything about it. >> i saw one of the lms, inception, it was amassing. >> in your world.

>> i he seen all the tv shows and they'll all great i love dexter. >> boardwalk empire. >> that one was amazing. >> you should know from your people. >> my people? what, the royal family? they're my people, all righ >> this is not an easy thing to host. >> the show? >> this is easy. your show. the golden globes. >> i'm telling people off because your cappuccino was cold. >> yes, he has. >> i saw a different side of you. >> get it right, all righ but, no, you've got an incredibly eclectic room there, and you've got to hold it all together. >> now they're my people. >> what is the trick to doing it? because you did it so well. >> i just don't think you have to worry about it. at first i started thinking, oh, this is on television, it seemed

like 250 million people. if you're doing it and you're having fun. i'm all over this show. >> you got into it last year, you wanted people to understand that not only did you star in the office back in th uk, you're an executive producer of that show in this country and you don't give yourself credit for that. >> whatever that means. >> i did the letterman show last year. and they were like ricky, ricky. and one guy said who's that? they said he did steve correll's role in the english remake of "the office." >> use know james franco who's been nominated, he's on location

in our old stomping grounds. hey, james, congratulaons. james? >> hello? >> hey, congratulations. >> thank you, thank you. i just heard. >> who called you? >> my friend barry, he's a text message friend. we send each other photos of fat animals. >> okay. more than we need to know, actually. >> you're nominated for your role, you basically dominate the screen in 127 hours, the story of aaron ralston who got in a very difficult position, had to amputate his arm. i know you saw it as a real emotional transformation? >> yes. i mean you would think tha that movie would be the slowest and

most static kind of theirivet n around, but it's an incredible movie going experience in one of the most dynamic movies out there. >> it's getting an enormous amount of response and your role in particularnd the job you do with this character, so congratulations, james, thanks for getting up early, say hi to the folks in providence. >> thank you. >> thanks, james. you got to see that movie now, you winced a little. >> is it a comedy or a musical? >> oh, gosh. >> you're going to get to do the golden globes again, but you'll never come back here. >> break a leg, richard. >> you can catch the 68th annual golden globes live coa to coast on sunday, january 16. at 8:00 p.m., eastern, 5:00 p.m.

pacific here on nbc. back in a moment, this is "today" on next.

31 years later, the cohn brothers have remade the film with jeff bridges in the lead role. bridges plays a u.s. marshall who helps a young mwoman track down her father's killer. not only are you following in the footsteps of an icon. you're taking on an iconic role, are you mad? >> the first introduction the cohn brothers gave me was that they were going back to charles porter's book and that was a relief. so i started it completely fresh and just went from the book. >> the book is beautifully

written. >> -huh. >> andow does it differ from the movie they grew u watching? >> well, it may be a little darker, a little funnier, you know. and of course, in the hands of the cohn others, they give it their own special touch. >> you played with the big lewski. >> it a very relaxed kind of atmosphere. >> how are you handling and i would imagine pretty well all of the attention you're getting right no at this stage of your career. and i didn't mean you didt get attention at anarlier stage, but they did. things have exploded with you with the oscar. you've got true grit openg is week, tron next week. couldn't be more different kinds of roles.

>> and winning the oscar for that music movie gave me kind of -- flamed my own interest in music and just get through kind of the basic tracks. >> is it better getting this kind of response at this stage in your career than perhaps it might have been at a much younger age? >> probably so, yeah. >> y? >> well, you know, when you lose too early, maybe it could peak too early. it's nice peaking right now. >> most people would think that after you won the oscar, the scripts just come flooding in. is that the case? are there enough roles for mature actors these days? >> i think there are, but i haven't noticed big flood of scripts necessarily. but it has raised by profile a bit. i'm able to pay some attention to the no kids hungry campaign, that i'mhe national spokesperson for, we're trying to end hunger here in our country by 2015.

>> jeff bridges, always good to see you. true grit opens next week and we're going to catch up with the co-star matt damon on thursday. we're back on nbc. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yeto hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. 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 moreith our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. still ahead on a chiy tuesday morning. we're going to talk about some diet tips to help you through the holiday season. and our special series

steals and deals, but first your local news. grab your scarf, your heavy coat, your jacket, your ear muffs, your glove, everything you've o got. it's very cold outside. good morning, everyone. i'm kimberly suiters. be careful. the snow quickly froze, creating shick and dangerous driving conditions, mostly in d.c. and maryland. >> right now, though, the big story, the temperatures. only arod 20 degrees. winds gusting 35, 40 miles an hour. windchills, single digits. it looks like we'll stay below freezing all the way into thursday. and strong gusting winds today, tonight, and tomorrow. kimberly? >> thanks, tom.

jerry will have a check on

good morning, eveone. topside of the beltway, still a little sluggish. accident on the outer loop of the beltway at the dulles toll road. police are headed over ere. kimberly? >> "news 4" is your

we're back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morning, the 14th of december 2010. barking dogs outside, chilly temperatures, lots of nice people waving simply to keep warm. it's about 20, 22 degrees out there, windchill much lower than that. had a dusting of snow in the northeast overnight. that's nothing compared to what the people in other parts of the country have been dealing with, waist deep snow in some places and ridiculous temperatures. >> lake-effect snow that just won't go away. >> i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales. take a look at some of the

scenes from around the country, and we should tell you that al this morning is up in dunkirk, new york. it looks chilly up there, al. >> yeah and i'll give you an idea of how cold it is, this is lake erie just about 15 yards behind me. and this is what just flew over here. >> come on. no. >> no, you got that at a & p. >> look, over here, this is one of our producers, it's cold and i found this. and it's crazy. >> oh, my goodness. >> that's how cold it is. you got to look around, someone's throwing fish at you. all right, al. >> nobody's throwing fish. >> that's great. >> this is for your, lauer. >> someone threw it at you just for the halibut, no question about it. we're goin to get to your

forecast in just a moment. >> you're giving me a had ddock. >> this is getting worse. >> i'm tired of working for scales. >> okay, we can't take it anymore. also ahead, navigating the diet mine field knowns the holiday season. this morning on our diet s.o.s. whether you're sufferingrom a lack of will power. it's also time for another installment of jill's steals and deals,deep, deep discounts on everything from jewelry to handbags just for your "today" show viewers. let uset a check of the top stories at the moment. anne is standing by 59 at the news desk. we begin with that deadly winter storm that's still moving across the country. we have got nbc's john yang, he's how in the bad weather in michigan city, indiana with more on this. hey, john, how are you?

>> reporter: here on the shores lake michigan, the third straight day of snowfall here in northern indiana. there's already two feet of snow on the ground and the high winds are creating drifts of up to four feet high. for drivers, it's not a winter wonderland, it's a winter whiteout. blowing snow covered highways as fast as they could be cleared, snarling traffic and causing accidents. in northwest indiana -- >> we're trying to keep traffic headed that way. >> reporter: more than 100 cars and trucks were stuck on snow covered highways, drivers who were able to move found that the hard part was stopping. >> this isn't an ocean. this is lake michigan. waves 25 feet high, wind gusts up to 35 miles an hour. americans from the great lakes to florida are in the deep freeze. in chicago, officials warned of the dangerous bitter cold. >> all chicagoans should avoid

mang unnecessary tps outside. >> reporter: it's all part of a massive winter storm that stranded travelers at chicago's o'hare airport and dratically deflated the deflatable roof at the twin cities metrodome stadium. a woman in her 60s had to be rescued after her van was spotted in an icy pond. she was taken to the hospital in serious condition. also a man woke up to find that a broken water main had coated his home in ice. the temperature has been dropping, the high today was before sun rise. and they have been chasing surfers out of the water here. on a very serious story now, veteran diplomat richard holbrooke has died. the obama administration's special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan has been in the hospital since friday for a torn aorta. holbrooke served under every

democratic president since john f. kennedy and was notably the architect of the bosnian peace agreement. his last words were to his doctor whene said, quote, you've got to stop this war in afghanistan. holbrooke was 69 years old. republicans will have n ammunition next year when they try to repea theealth care reform law. a federal judge on monday struck down a key provision of the law that requires most americans to carry health insurance. wikileaks founder julian assange appears in a london court today to make a fresh appeal to be released on bail. today he made his first public statement since his arrest following a visit ijail from his mother. he said, quote, my convictions are unfaltering. america's neighborhoods are more raciall integrated th ever according to recent census data. integration among blacks and

whites in major cities fell. and the 18-foot long mammal beached mself in san diego last night. it took 20 sea world workers to inject him with antibiotics and push him back out to sea. if you're looking for very unique vacation spot, this could be it. starting next year, the site of the 1986 chernobyl nuclear meltdown will be open for tourism. the highly contaminated zone surrounding the blow reactor has beenff-limits for decades. more than 50 people died in the aftermath of the meltdown, although the radiation released will eventually kill thousands.

good morning. snow showers over the night left a light coating of snow in northwest washington, parts of northern virginia, as well as in maryland, and thatas ended now temporarily, and it's stilln the ground and still stuck to untreated roads and other surfaces. later today only reaching to the near freezing mark. winds gusting at 40 miles an hour. low teens throughout the day. maybe an addional passing snow shower. cold ought the way into the

weekend. >> and that's your latest weather. this morning on jos diet s.o.s. how to enjoy countless holiday parties without it affecting your diet or your stomach. joy bauer's slim down workout, good morning, y. the first one here from dana, she's in bronx, new york and she joins us via skype. what's your question? >> my husband suffers form acid reflux and we're going to be going to a lot of holiday parties, i wonder what the worst offenders are that he should avoid at all costs. >> it's super hard during the holiday season. i think the most iortant thing hands down that your husband can do is to not overstuff himself with a large volume of food. and that's because when you eat a super large meal, you incrse the pressure in your stomach, it

sits in your stomach for a longer period of time and it increases your exposure to acid. so just encourage him to have smal portions, your daughter's adorable. encourage him to have small portions of whatever he's eatg at parties and also to wait at least three hours after eating a meal before going to bed. because when you lie down after eating, it's easy for that food to travel up back into the esophagus. and also watch the alcohol. it's a big trigger. just one or two cocktails per party if possie. >> i think so. >> small portions, that's the key, though. happy holidays. >> thanks a lot, dana. and i think peppermint and spearment are also triggers and high fat food are also triggers. >> avoid tomato based sauces and some of the citrus fruits. >> you know it's all there and you want to have all of it. we have stacy, she's on the

phone in fishkil, new york. stacy, what's your question? >> caller: good morning. during the holidays, our customers are constantly bringing us goodies, trays ofbr chocolates. i'm very appreciative of their warm wishes, but the calies are killing me. do you have an tips tha will help me not eat them all day? >> i think every single person wants to hear your answer to this one >> yes. and stacy, here is your strategy. i want you in the afternoon to review the trays of goodies and select the most delicious looking one, maybe it's a chocolate fudgy browny or hard christmas koocookie. this way you don't open up the pandora's box in the middle of the day. you know it's waiting for you later on. and to distract your taste buds a little bit,ack sugarless

gum, pack interesting blends of herbal tea. and if it's in your clear line of sight, ask if you can move them and try to also send them off with customers, as quick as they come into the salon, try to gethem out of the salon. send them to their spouses and their kids, it's all good. >> this can also be a question that actually weave gotten some viewer e-mails, asking pretty much the same question, how to avoid overindulging, and i think setting something aside makes a lot of sense and picking the one thing that you love, it's going to be cholate and i'm going to hold out for later. >> really it's the whole month of december tends to be problematic. be very selective with your splurges. pick just a few parties or gathering and plan to indulge at those special get togethers and the rest of the month, try to

stick to your althy eating plan. >> what's your indulgence? >> i love meltyhocolate and hard crunchy christmas cookies. stelara® helps control , moderate or severe plaque psoriasis with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter ses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patienthad their plaque priasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your riskf infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, or have had cancer. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision probls.

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can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a maze, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet? so i mix together a packet of dden valley ranch, 1 box of spinach, and ounces of sour cream, and tonight everyone gets a taste of something special... ranch spinh dip.

[ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up. ranch spinh dip. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quitlike us. we're back once again with our very popular series jill's steals and deals where we have great discounts just for you. jill martin has everything from electronics to winter coats, even some lobster today. jill, good morning. >> let's remind people again how this works. >> so retailers come to us and offer these deals for 24 hours at extremely discounted prices. i am not involved in any of these brands nor am i a spokesperson, i don't benefit nor does thetoday" show. this is about giving you the

deals of a lifetime because they really are amazing and there's something for everyone. >> they get on our website and the's a special code and then they are able to order. >> go to todayshow.com and then you'll get a code to go on the website. and just be patient because there's so many people logging on it may take a little time. >> let's go first, you've got a great deal on these jackets here. they come in four colors actually. we have got three of th here, also come in black. >> these are lined, these are great jackets. so the original price is $99.50. and steals and deals pric $25, that's 75% off. so you really can't beat this. it's great if you need a color to pick red and jt have a bright color. i al love wter white. and these are great as a gift. >> perfect. >> and you can get them at the stores as well and available for christmas.

>> $25. okay, you can't beat that price. >> we have got these great leather purses by christine price. tell me about these, ll. >> genuine leather. we have one that's great for work. i made these huge because i love these bags. and then the smaller one and there's a little one that can really go from day to night. and just feel them, they're genuine leather, originally $129, $58. so that range in price, but it's about 82% to 81% off. >> these are popular with the celebrities. >> hillary duff, jennifer love huet great fans. and you can wear winter white bags all year. i'm always asked that question. >> and over here, a viewer favorite, how can you go wrong with od? omaha steaks last week, they so out, right? >> i went around town and people were saying i ordered it for my

friend. let me tell you what you're getting first. two lobster tails. two pounds of coconut shrimp. $214.94 for $49.99 that's 77% off. >> wow. >> and it all comes right to your house. it's a great gift. it's dinner for four verhungry people. >> parties this holiday season, the coconut shrimp, great appetizer. >> and it's also prepared so you can have fun yourself. >> we love jewelry and you've got some great pieces right here. tell us about them. >> i love jewelry, especially for new year's because people think they need to invest in dresses. you can take something simple and dress it up with statement jewelry. this is a great example. look at all these great pieces.

originally $150, steals and deals priced $30, that's 80% off. >> wow. >> sohese are great. and even just a light t-shirt throughout the year if you want to dress it up with jeans, these are great, great pieces. >> and here's something that everybody needs, a little gps, from radio shack. >> i consistently get lo everywhere i go so gps is my friend. it's 4.3 inches, the touch screen, written directions come up, a map and it talks to you so you don't have to be distracted. i still get lost, but this is a good deal. $129.99. now for $19.99 so that's 90% off. ive the speed limit changes, if ate letters you. or if you're going a little too fast, it will let you know. >> that could be very annoying. >> or very heful.

so this works on battees so you charge it and put it in the car, perfect. >> jill martin, thank you so much. here to remind you, the coat, handbags, by christine price. the world seafood prize catch direction, the gps receiver from radio shack. just head to todayshow.com for the promotion codes and the websites offering all these fantastic deals. in 24 hours it will be gone. coming up a deserving mber of our armed forces whoerves in iraq and afghanistan gets all glammed up with the help of bobby brown. but first these messages.

ou have osteoporosis, and you take once-monthly boniva, check out the myboniva program. it's free to join, and it shows you lots of ways to help improve your bone strength. like bone-healthy exercises that are easy to do. boniva works with your body to help stop and reverse bone loss. and myboniva gives you calcium-richecipes... monthly reminders... and even a month boniva, free. so call or go to myboniva.com and sign up now. announcer ) don't take boniva if y problems with your esophagus, low blood calcium, severe kidney disease, or can't sit or stand for at least one hour. follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems. if jaw problems or severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain develop, tell your doctor. ask your doctor if boniva can help you stop losing and art reversing. and join the myboniva program.

to get one month free, plus more tips and recipes, visit boniva.com, or call 1-800-4-boniva. ["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup.

"today's" 17th annual toy drive is all about making sure children get what they need for christmas. including tools for learning. and who acceto help us with tha have got dan moore, you're donating not toys, but something else? >> we're a direct sales company and we start with first things first, on behalf of thousands of college students from across the u.s., canada and europe, they have their own businesses in our summer program. we want to say thank you to the "today" show. and we're delighted to donate educational software that's going to be in use with needy families and organizations all over the u.s. >> and so if you would like to

donate a gift, you can come down to our plaza or go to todayshow.com for details. we have got more coming up after these messages. [ malennouncer ] are you reconsidering your medicare coverage? now is the time to takaction. call unitedhealthcare medicare solutions today. you only have until december 31st to make sure you have the coverage you need. consider a medicare advantage plan. it combines medicare parts a & b, which is your doctor and hospital coverage and may include prescrtion drug coverage

for as low as a $0 monthly premium. you only have until december 31st to enroll. call unitedhealthcare today. the weather outside is frightful. just 24 degrees at this hour, and that's in the sunshine. good morning. it's 9:26. i'm kimberly suiters. maryland and d.c. saw as much as a quarter of aninch. parts of virginia just got a dusting. meteorologist tom kierein joining us live with a look what will happen the rest of the day. >> it was just enough to make the roads, sidelks and streets slick with snow. there's the sky now with the camera bouncing around with the gusting wind might produce a few more snow shows later today. right now in the low to mid-20s.

windchills, single digits. remaining cold through the end of the week. kimberly. >> thanks, tom. it will be a mess on the roadways.

good morning, everyone. as we take a live look at the tail end of the rush hour which is still hanging on, 270 remains slow. a it wille bit of a lay. 66 to the roosevelt bridge. and over on the beltway the outer loop is still slow as yu head to and beyond the dulles toll road. but the earlier accident that was tying up the side of the

roadway has just cleared. kimberly? >> you can really see the camera shaking. "news 4" is your winter weather station. watch every day at 4:30 aim for the latest oh, i see.

a throne for the tv... room for movies... your workout gear... non-stop football... it's a n cave! the boys next door will never leave. who says we want them to? are you still physically attracted to my daughter, greg? >> jack, there's never been a problem of that? >> even though her body has endured the hellish or deal of bearing twins? >> it's all good under the hood. >> that's disgusting. >> i love robert deniro and ben stiller. just in timeorhe holiday a

really lucky soldier? >> master sergeant betty thompson has been serving in the army since he was 17 years old in dals, texas, she's served all around the world from macedonia to iraq to afghanistan. so w wouldn't be in the mood for a little makeover. >>. also ahead, we're making a list, wee checking it twice. when it comes to holiday decorating and safety around your home, from flameless candles to flame retardnant rug.

>> hey, al, how are you doing, dear? >> we'retarting to get some lake-effect snow kicking in again, we understand it's snowing pretty good in buffalo right now, syracuse as well. this is going to be the shape of things t come for theext 48 hours around the great lakes and the winds are pretty howling too. wind gusts of 40 miles an hour, windchills anywhere zero to 5 below. as we look and show you what's going on as far as today's concerned, we are looking at record lows down through florida, a real mess down through the pacific west with rain onhe coast and snows inland. morrow we have got more lake-effect snows in the eastern great lakes. cool weather down in good morning. we've had some strong gusting

winds. we've had gusts out of th northwest and accompanying by clouds coming through with a few flurries in the past hour or so. we may have a passing snow shower later today. right now in the low to mid-20s. windills in the single digits with strong winds. later, a passing snow shower and a brief dusting. windy and cold tonight and tomorrow looks like we'll stay by low freezing through thursday morning. >> that's your latest weather, now lets head down to washington and say hello to uncle willie scott. >> it's all good stuff. take a lk at phillip,andsome devil. phillip weintraub, west palm beach, florida. 100 years old, exeises at the gym five times a week. attributes his longevity to eating healthy. there you go. there's a good stroke for good clean living. and lena whitlock.

from greendale, indiana. 100 years old today. lives independently and formerly a lunch lady, fed those kids and they all grew up to be healthy and happy. i tell you these older people love their computers. cunningham, 100 years old today, known as the bingo queen and loves to go to the casinos last once a week. i like that. roger welling, 100 years old. drove seniors to the doctor, how about that? doing his good deed helping other seniors. can't beat that. harold and moxey, 75 years they

have been married, and longevity they say never, never going to bed angry. so they sleep in separate bedrooms. they don't, i'm just sing that. happy birth, happy anniversary. that's all, back to new york city. >> and happy holidays to you. we have got the finists who have been announced, who will be "time" magazine's person of the year? according to time, it is someone who has done the most influence the events of the year. >> who do you think will get the distinction? and we took an online poll, our viewers did and here's how you think it should go. 44% of you thought it should be the chilean miners. 20% say the tea party. 19% the founder of facebook, mark zuckerberg. julian assange, steve jobs, apple.

6%. >> a remember that "time" magazine says it's someone who for good or for ill has affected the most lives and it's not somebody who has affected lives in the past, but also may have affect in the future. so looking at that -- >> i think the chilean miners is a great choice, but i'm not so sure how they would move forward. so i'm thinking about maybe mark zuckerberg or julian assange as being possible. >> certainly the tea party is a big player in american politics could be changing the face of elections as we know it. >>lready has. >> mark zuckerberg has done so much good, now he's donating most of his fortune. so he's going to be somebody who clearly not only his influence. and steve jobs, obviously we're not making a choice here. >> you'll have to find out tomorrow. >> they're going to reveal it

live here on the "today" show. coming up next, a holiday makeover for one deserving soldier, courtesy of makeup maven bobbie brown. rit after this. hey susan, you gotta tell the aunt jessie sty again. -yes, you do! -ok, ok. joe: love that story. try olive garden's two new scaloppini dishes. pan-seed chicken breasts in a lemon-herb glaze. or sauteed pork in a creamy white wine sauce. both served with asiago filled tortelloni. with our unlimited salad and eadsticks. this is like being back at the kids' table. [ laughter ] olive garden. when you're here, you're family.

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in a more delicious world, there would be more smoothness, more creaminess, more rich just-for-me-ness, more hershey's bliss-fulness. hershey's bliss. it's not just chocolate. it's bliss. have you tri honey buncs of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real rawberries the mix. can i have some more? honey buncheof oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us.

when you can have pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits? thearm, light delicate layers are like nothing else. add a layer of excitement to your next meal. ♪ try mini crescent dogs. just unroll the dough, roll up, bake, andresent. very imprsive! and very easy. for this recipe and more, visit pillsburycrescents.com. this morning on "today's" beau, a dazzling look for the holiday season, courtesy of bobbie brown and today bbie wanted to pamper a busy mother,

army master sergeant thompson, good morning to both of you. how did you two meet? >> i wanted to give back to someone who was giving back and i thought it was really importanto find someone who has done so much for our country. so i found betty. >> and betty, you have served for almost 20 years in the military. >> she was 11 when she started. >> and when you heard that bobbie brown wanted to give you a makeover sparkle, what was your response? >> i was honored that i was selected to come on the show and i received the holiday makeover. >> but you were disappointed that i wasn't the singer, right? >> we thought about that first. >> you have serd in wars, you have served in difficulty, in situations where a girl doesn't get a chance to put on a lot of makeup, so here's bobbie brown. >> she has never put a lip gloss

on. i had her try and said you have done this before? and sheaid i haven't. she looks so beautiful without makeup and in her army fatigues in her beautiful face, but she's going to a party. we added a little sparkle. we gave her a smoky eye. a beautiful blurb. the new smoky eye is not just dark colors, it's about adding a little bit of sparkle. the season is all about sparkle. this isn'tglitter, it's sparkle. and the differenc s i don't even know if the tv will pick it up. but the sparkle just lights up your face andi ingand, and if y light sparkle, it's smoky eyes. >> it's not a heavy sparkable. it's amazing when i feel a little tired, a little sparkle just gives you a little lift. it's really nice and we can also do a little sparkle on the cheek we want. but red lips, people always think of for the holidays and we're told not to wear red lips

with dark eyes. so instead of going for a bright red lip, i'm going for something a little more smimery, the great thing about a gloss is that you can keep it in your purse and you don't need a mirror really, you can just kind of throw it on. and because it sheer and to hae bright red lips what do you think, laura? this is your daughter? what do you think of how mommy looks right now? you think she looks good? >> and laura's got sparkle on her eyes too. meantime, you know, i'm sure that theen and women you command are goingo have a f thoughts about seeing you on tv with all these sparkles on your eyes. >> i'm sure they will, and i

mi them a lot. >> you miss them because you're here or because you haven't seen them in a while? >> it's been a while. when i was stationed in afghanistan and then i left the unit. so i was a first sergeant with an attachment there. >> you know, bobbie, i think what you're doing is i think what every american needs to do which is to step up in any way we can, it's time that we serve them and you're serving in this way. >> it's amazing what lip gloss can do, huh? >> thank you for your service. is there anything you want to say to your men and women who are under your command? >> just that i miss them and that they're doing a great job and to continue doing it and they're the ones that do all the work and leadership usually gets all the credit for that. >> that's right. well, you gave them credit this rning. sergeant thompson, thank you so much for everything.

and coming up next, the safe way to decorate your home for the holidays right after this. ♪ wow! ♪ they're from my garden club, up north. [ female announcer ] this year, hallmark has all new ways to say it. well, there's the snow you wanted. when you can actually rty at your party? with homemade chex party mix. five great recipes that wow the crowd. and you can make them in only 15 minutes.

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so i mix together a packet of hidden valley ranch, 1 box of spinach, and 16 ounces of sour cream, and tonight everyone gets a taste of something special... ranch spinach dip. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch. mix it up [ whistle blows ] [ squishing ] [ male announcer pool filled with caramel. not as good as chocolate filled with caramel.

introducing milky way simply caraml. life's better the milky way. "today" celebrates christmas is brought to you by milky way. life's betr the milky way. >> this morning on "today" celebrates christmas, how to deck the halls witut the holidays decking you. burning candles, many holiday zeshts can be avoided. here is the host of the syndicated show house smarts. sadly a lot of people do get injured because they're doing things, they're settingp their decorations and not being as carefuas they should. number one is slips and falls. >> you've got a holiday rug, and you're putting it out there, head down to the hardware store

and get a nonslid mat. a smaller one like this will do the trick. it has a rubber tactile feel to it and will not hurt the floor underneath it. >> absolutely perfect. okay now ladders too. >> don't use the one that came with the house. >> exactly. >> and make sure you have mebody holding it as you're getting up there. >> on every ladder that you purchase or use, you'll see a little sticker on the side that has theeight rating on there. this one has 300 pounds, remember it's not just you, it's you and the stuff you bring up on it. and don't extend up higher than the laster goes. the second step down on a stepladder is as high as you should ever go. it not worth it, hundreds of thousands of people ends up in the emergency room because of accidents from ladds. >> i was watching national lampoon's christmas vacation. stringing up the lights.

tree lights. this unfortunately is a cau for a lot of fires. >> uh-huh. and part of the things witcon vern conventional lights. a lot of people don't like the colors, but trust me, this is wherwe're going to go. when it comes to plugging them in. you can buy cords. this thicker one is for outside. and this one has multiple points to plug the lights into. so with conventional lights, never more than four together at one time. so you can do that, for four here, four ere. this is an indoor versionf that. these cords have you ever used these outside? tell me the truth. >> i think we have some outside right now. >>hose are not for outside. they're too thin. they get cold and they get brittle and ty can break. multiple plugs like this, this has a breaker in there so in case something shorts out and timers, this is an odoor timer

for your lights. you can use an outdoor timer inside, but you can't use an indoor timer outside. this will short out. so you need something with protection. and the nice thing about timers is you don't get hone did you turn the lights out? >> set it and forget it and that's going to help save energy too. >> thinking about being safe with candles and fires. candles a are a big source of fire. >> if you're someone that likes natural cales. set a little timer put it by your bed. about 15 minutes before you typically or after you go to bed, the thing is go to go off, oh, i forgot to put out the candles. or the battery operated ones, to the tea lights, the different candles. in the sdio, they don't do it just justice. in darker settings or homes, they really look beautiful. here's the secret about these.

this set o six votives cost about 7:9 cl$7.99. the batteries are $4. buy another set of lights. >> this is the time to check your smo detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. i also want you to get fire extinguishers. i want you to buy two of the them. have youver used a fire extinguisher? >> i have not. >> what do you do? take one, go outside and use it. and then you'll know. if you can't put it out within 20 to 30 seconds, 911 and get out of the house. >> absolutely. >> happy holidays. >> thank you. >> can you come fix my lights? >> absolutely. >> back in a moment, first this is "today" on nbc.

beautiful day. well, if you can standthe cold. it is blowing out there. we'll talk to tom about that coming up shortly. 9:56 the time. good morning, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. we ear following breaking news. police are looking at a suspicious package. it was found a short time ago at 7th and d streets. entrances to the metro station is closed while police investigate. be careful. lake-effect snow came through overnight. meteorologist tom kierein now here with more on the freezing cold temperatures and the wind that's blowing. nobody wanted to get out of their cars and walk through the parking lot. >> walking is treacherous too. we've had many reports of people slipping and falling. the snow that fell has stuck, and it's going to stay because

temperatures are below freezing. winds areouncing our cameras around. live view of the sky watcher camera showing the clouds passing rough. there may be an additional snow shower today. later in the mid-20s. in the afternoon, 30s with strong winds and a passing snow shower through the end of the week. how's traffic? >> the outer loop of the beltway. the acdent at dulles toll road is cleared but traf track still heavy. heavy traffic montrose road. but, again, all lanes are own. barbara? barbara[ female announcer ] safeway talks holiday baking. that smells scrumptious. yummy! smells delightful. awesome! m not smelling anything. [ female announcer ] everything for holiday baking. just add love. safewa ingredients for life.

i think there are eggnog people and non-eggnog people. and which are you?

i'm a fish. on a tree. [ female announcer ] if it tastes like the holidays, we've got it. safeway. ingredients for life. captions paid for by nbc-universal television we've got it. hello, everybody. it's tuesday, booze-day. december 14th. >> who said anything about snow in new york? >> i was shocked this morning. >> yeah. >> you know who was really shocked? bambino. bambino, five pounds, has never seen snow before. this is his first winter. he didn't like it! i had to give him the little

booties. >> it was really -- i wish we could stop this train already. i'm not into it. >> i know. it's not even - >> winter. >> -- even winter yet. >> it is a big day because the golden globe nominees are out. i don't know if it was a shocker, "the king speech" had the most nominations, seven nods, of all the movies. "the king's speech." >> i tried that see that and "black swan" over the weekend and they weren't playing anywhere near me. the one i did end up seeing was "the tourist." i was disappointed. >> this is "the king's speech." the number two with the number of nominees were "the social network" and "the fighter." >> and "inception everybody thght -- cody still thinks that might get bestcreen play. but then he saw "social network" and say, no, maybe that one. >> did you see natalie portman?

>> beautif woman to begin with. >> look how teeny she is. they said she dropped 20 pounds on her frame and she's 5'3" to get ready for that role. >> she trained up to eight hours a day. she's not, by training, a dancer. can you imagine trying to -- that's unbelievable. but i guess there's one scene -- it is a lot of her. a lot of her in the movie. >> it's amazg how you learn that, to me. >> attack! attack it! >> th movie was also nominated. that guy does really fine work. >> natalie portman is great, in anything. >> she's got the most buzz, i think, on this. >> i think so, too. and in the tv world, your show "glee" -- >> i haven't seen it -- >> five nominations. that's the most. >> that's pretty cool. i was surprised by "the

tourist." johnny dp got two, one for "alice in wonderland" and one for "the tourist" but i think he was wasted in the tourist. i was disappointed in it because i love them both. >> i saw "alice in wonderland" and i was completely creeped out. i found it really creepy. >> i didn't see it. >> yeah. it was dark and -- i don't know -- funky to me. >> what? >> funky. >> ears are the second thing to go at my age. kyra sedgwick has announced "the closer" will be her last season. >> she got a nod. you know what i love so much about that show, i love when she's trying to crack a case she can't take her eyes off the snicker's bar. she's a real woman like the rest of us. >> it wouldn't be a snicker's bar for me. that's going to be some time in january. 16th i guess or something like that. >> so big news for elin -- >> or is it?

we're not sure. >> this is being reported. >> she apparently has a boyfriend, tying's now -wife. she's dating a guy, he's south african. >> she's 29. >> i think it's offensive they're calling this guy in her life the boy toy. the guy is six years older than her. to call him a boy toy is offensive. if he's 13 maybe he's a boy y or even 0. you know what i'm saying? we should be a little more careful how we categorize people. >> i do find it interesting how quickly people go in and out of relationships. like you know when you see reese witherspoon with jake ji gyllenhaal -- >> but the media makes up so much of that stuff. how could you even have a relationship with somebody, go out on a first date and the nxt thing you know you're on the cover of one of the magazines and you're practally moving in together. >> well, they say tiger's not taking the news well. >> who are "they"?

>> but you know he's not. >> frank's fine with it. i don't know how tiger feels but frank is fine with it. we wish her all the happiness in the world. think about the difference betwe this christmas and last christmas in her life and what a difference a year can make. look at you. riding high, baby. you're on top of the world. who has had a better year than you have this year. >> you! you've had a better year. >> no. john boehner. ohn boehner's had the best year. why is he always cryi? he's on top of the world. >> every time -- seems like when we see him more and more, he's crying. let's watch it. >> oh, gosh, i don't want toee it anymore. >> sound up, please. >> welcome to america. >> oky. anyway. he's crying. so there's a question about we did a piece today, mike taibbi did, on powerl men who cry and they usedjohn boehner. they showed glenn beck. they showed president obama. they showed president clinton. they showed president bush. apparetly there is something presidential about it now.

it is interesting though to see more men like that. it's funny because when i -- okay. if i go to a movie with a guy and if he's crying or kind of crying? i have to -- i feel bad saying this but i feel kind of weird a little. unless it is udy," unless it is the movie "rudy" or anything like that. >> you see it as a weakness. >> no, i don't. i think a tear coming on -- >> balling is not attractive on anybody. think it's not that you're crying, it is what are you crying about. frank got pretty broken up last week on monday night football talking about his friend whom he had just lost, don meredith. more people have come u to me and said that was the most unbelievable moment because it wasn't about fran gifford hall of fame, monday night football, all of that. it was about a man losing a man that he lov. a friend that he loved. but when it's about you and you're sobbing about you, it's -- >> that's a completely -- that's

a very, very, very good point. they brought up that one clip where hillary clinton got very emotional on the campaign and she broke down and all i could think of that day when she bro down -- i don't even remember what triggered it. >> i don't think she broke down. >> she look emotional. but for her, because she's -- >> it was a crack in the veneer. but again it shouldn't be called breaking down when she wasn't. >> i think weird things can happen when you're exhausted. >> tell them about what you did, hoda man? >> which time? which time? >> nobod's -- anybody who's not been on a bok tour understands how incredibly exhausting that can be. >> i'm a car, they were long days. i'm not whining. finally friday came, i was stuck in traffic and i was 45 minutes later toeet someone and i just burst into tears in the car because you come unglued. sometimes that's the just the wayit is. >> we have to look behind the

tears for the reason why and that's where we find our compassion for someone. let's go to our most powerful tweets. shall we? >> ann curry is one of them. >> number three was -- remember a woman was riding her bike through the forest and she wiped out, she really hurt hef self-and hercell phone had no service so she tweeted for help. she said i've had a serious injury, i need help, can someone please call the winding frals in farmington, connecticut. tell them i'm stuck, bike, crash in woods. >> i think she'sot amazing composure t be able to o -- >> when you're in agony, i'm sure. >> good for her. the number one was ann curry. u.s. air force find a way to let doctors without borders planes land in haiti. >> she was in haiti. she was breaking news. >> she actually said aot of people retweeted that. sometimes just to get the word out, it just causes so much -- >> might have been the first hope people were hearing. now colleg kids will do crazy

things. i never did at oral roberts university but i'm sure did you at virginia tech. >> that's what we do. these kidst the univeity of illinois decided to build a snowman in the middle of the street. then they decided to videotape -- they decided to videotape it. if you watch, what happened was cars were going around the snowman and then, here comes a city bus that i guess didn't -- look how the cars go around, slowly, goes around, goes around. okay. now a city bus has had it. >> the city bus is in the right lane so it comes over, swerv over to knock it down. as it should have. the bus driver resigned. >> he's probably crying about it now! watering all over the place. why did itake out the snowman? you know who else is blubbering? the guy, the strengthening coach of the jets? who stuck his knee out and wiped out -- >> you guys saw that video. the player got -- first of all, what an idiot! why uld you do that? but you know what, one time --

just. >> i love when she confesses. >> one time i was playing basketball in high school and i totally got kreemd. i wasribbling the ball and a girl stole and we were getti beaten so badly, we were so tired, i with a flat on my back because she stole the ball and i reached out and i grabbed her ankle -- >> you didn't! >> -- and i yanked it! i yanked it and she fell down. it was bad. >> was foul called on you? >> yes, it was terrible but i couldn't help it. like something came over mere. it was like enough already! we were getting creamed! i was on my back! >> so you were late to this jet coach. >> a little. >> oh, my gosh, hoda woman, you never cease to amaze me. it's booze-day but we're not having any booze today. >> these are cookies. >> from one toughookie nyc.com. >> they're$5 cookie pz little campaign bottles and wine bottles. >> $5 each? that's little price be, isn't it? theye beautiful.

we need to figure out -- is it $5 each? yes. you better love it. yeah. all right. thank you very much. all right, so there are a few 40-year-old virgins left in the world. >> there are. hoda? you haven't met any recently but we're talking about women who have never indulged in certain beauty treatments. >> guess who's here? carrie hillson. she sings a really fun song called "funny girls rock." more after this.th keep wiing myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the trouble concentrating, the ck of energy. if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq. (announcer) pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right awaif your depreion worsens or you have unusual changes in mood

behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young ults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tellour doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholestol, or glaucoma. telling your doctor if you have heart disease... or before you rede or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. (woman) for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. (announcer) ask your doctor about pristiq. to treat my depression. naturally colorful vegetables are often a go source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals. and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? campbell's.®t's amazin what soup can do.™ ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a lot of ings

throughout the day. so it's nice that clorox disinfecting products help kill the germs that can live on surfaces forp to 48 hours. ♪ feels sweet when i can touch you ♪ on surfaces forp to 48 hours. twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. new revlon just bitten. it's the first two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? new revlon just bitten lipstain and balm.

time for "today's beauty." we're talking about doing it after 40. >> we all have e in our life, a girlfriend, who either doesn't find lipstick and mascara important or who is just intimidated by the world of botox and teeth whitening. >> we rounded up three ofhose beauty virgins all over the age of 40 who we'll meet in a minute. but beauty expert rebecca george is here. was it tough to find the beauty virgins? >> it's not. there are actually a lot of 40-year-old beauty virgins out there. the reason why, itan be intimidated to try new beauty treatments because of time or cost or you're just scared of change >> or fear it w't turn out the way you want it to. >> luckily there are a lot of great options out there to help you find a look that's right for you. of course you should absolutely speak to the dermatologist or dentist or hair stylist and find

out what works for you. >> talking about hair coloring, teeth whitening, brows -- >> t whole bit. >> we have three ladies. let's meet them now, watch their story. >> my name is laura and i am a 45-year-old beauty virgin. >> hi, my name is gretchen and i'm a 44-year-old beauty virgin. >> my name is erica ward and i'm a 44-yeaold beauty virgin. >> i don't have my hair colored on a regular basis. i don't wear makeup on a regular basis. on my wedding day, i can' even remember if i wore makeup. i may have worn a little lipstick. i'm busy. i am a teacher at a boarding school. i'm a motr, a wife, so i'd rather use my time for fitness reasons or to do something with my family. >> i've beentuck in the same thing. i've been looking through pictures and finding that my hair style's been about the same since before i was married 20

years ago. here's my frizz. it's like wayward curls and frizz. iave been so busy. i've changed my career. i've been going to school. i just finished my master's and my kids just take up the rest of my time. they're me important right no i may actually even dry my hair in the heater of my car when i'm driving to work. yeah, just hasn't been something that i've put in the forefront. >> when i wake up in the morning, i shower, brush my teeth, i throw on a little bit of makeup and idash out the door. i work every day until a little after 2:00, 2:30, then have to drive my kids back and forth to their activities, music lessons, tae kwon do and take graduate courses in the evening. in the end of the day there is really no time left for me to take care of myself. >> today i'm having a brow wax and then a consultation for a hair color, and a cut, makeup. >> i'm having botox done. i'm having my hair done and i think it will be a welcome change. >> i'm going to have my teeth

cosmetically whitened. >> wrinkles, say good-bye to them. i don't wantthem. >> i can say good-bye to my yellow stained coffee teeth and hello to some pearly white. >> i'm almost there and i can't wait to see the final reveal. >> can't wait to see what it looks like when the color is done and the cut is done. >> i can't wait for the new me. >> all right. >> brave ladies, all. >> laura, gretchen and erica, come on out. hi, ladies! >> hello, ladies. >> what took you so long? >> you're her >> all right. so laura, you wanted the brow wax. look at the haircut, by the way. >> the pixie. >> she proves that short can be sexy and sassy. laura, she's very natural. she didn't want to have botox. she had her brows professional

waxed. >> that lifted it. >> how do you feel? >> great. a young 40. >> 40-ish. >> now gretchen, you wanted to do botox. were you scared abouthe pain? >> i was very scared. >> what were you afraid of? >> just first of all needles. that was scary and i wasn't sure how the result wasoing to be. >> it looks great. it didn't look like you needed it, quite frankly. >> the greatest thing was i had bren my nose when i was younger and they filled in the bridge on my noseo make it normal! >> dr. linda franks actually used it t even out her nose. tre really corrected. >> how aut the blow-o. that looks good, too. >> anti-frizz formaldehyde-free treatment so it got rid of the frizz. gives her nice, sexy hair. but no formaldehyde. >> how soon did y see results from the botox?

because sometimes that can take up to a week. >> well, i think it took like maybe two days and i felt like it was -- had settled in and -- yeah, it feels natural, too. >> eca, let's see those teeth. you want to get rid of those coffee stains. tell us about that. >> well, it was great. for years i've been wanting to whiten. i've been using crest white strips and thngs and they work but nothing compared to these relts. they were great. >> this is a one-time process? >> yep. took about an hour from start to inish. two 15-minute applications of the bleach. that's it? >> that's it. >> what do you your family thinks, you guys? >> they like the results. >> things are good at home? wink-wink. you had a merry christmas early, didn't you? you guys look great. thanks so much. great job, guys. still to kwocome, sara asks question that could make or break her career. >> what? >> oh, ye. we'll explain. [ female announcer ] pillsby cinnamon rolls

with cinnabon cinnamon have suca sweet and delicious aroma that my family can't wait to get their hands on them. enjoy cinnabon cinnamon... now in all pilbury cinnamon rolls. of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. it's the way individually brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew, hon. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. no wonder people go out of their way to share them. [ sneezes ] go to kleenex.com for more fun ways to share.

kleenex tissues. softness worth sharing. where you'll find a huge assortment and a price match guarantee all in the gden center at walmart. the new tangled rapunzel doll, the nerf n-strike stampede blaster and more. they're all waiting for you in toyland, in walmart's gardenenter. ♪ [ male announcer ] we touch a loof things throughout the day. so it's nice that clorox disinfecting products help kill the germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. ♪ feels eet when i catouch you ♪

we're back with "sara on the streets." >> instead of asking miss sara to dig through our prop closet, we asked her to go outside and talk to strangers. had we known what she was going to ask them, we may have locked her in the prop closet. >> since we're i the thick of the holiday season i asked shoers at our nbc experience store if they could share their holiday meal with kathie lee or hoda -- >> i don't like this -- >> who would they choose? >> don't like it. >> bet they can't wait to find out.

if you had had to decide who would spend a holiday dinner with you, one or the other, who would youick 12. >> really? >> yeah. >> i have to pick one? love hoda but i'd like to hear khie sing. >> oh, she's going to love you ack. you might be invited to the giv giffords for ristmas. >> hoda. looks like she may have more family tradition. >> kathie lee. i have more in common with her especially her husband, used to play football. we could talk about some beauty tips -- >> you went tween football and beauty. i like it. >> she'll talk to anybody. >> so will ha,e're good. >> that's why. okay. >>that's probably why. >> her name is -- hardo pronounce. yoda? >> it's hoda. >> okay, i was close. >> you were very close. were you in the family of sounds like. >> definitely kathie. >> why? >> she's very funny.

>> yes. >> who are they? >> hoda kotb and -- she's married to the football player. do you know his name? do you want me to try to help you? >> yeah. >> kathie lee gifford. >> okay. >> why hoda? >> well, her personality fits me a little bit better. >> i know her. >> ding-ding. >> can't help you. >> that's not nancy pelosi, is it? >> im getting a haircut! right now! nancy pelosi? >> i know, such a stretch. what? >> you have a lot of frank gifford fans. >> he's asleep by 8:00. you betterome to dinner early. we're all asleep in that household. even cody went to bed that early last night. something about the gifford household. thank you, sara. we'll keep you at least through the new year's. still to come, the gifts we love to give.

plus, the queen of cub cakes! we love our cupcake lady. cakes! we love our cupcake lady. and ri hilson. ♪ ah. then we will all do it together. treats. teets...teets...tes... yeah. look at this. [ female announcer ] it seems like the best family traditions always start in the kitche ♪ rice krispies®. happy holidays. rice krispies®. n getting enou vegetables make you feel good? oh, yeah. v8 juice giv you 3 of your 5 daily servings of vegetables. v8. what's your number?

in a more delicious world, there would be more smoothness, morereaminess, more rich just-for-me-ness, more hershey's bliss-fulness. hershey's bliss. it's not just chocolate. it's bliss. we're following breaking news from baltimore. six people are dead including children after an early mning fire. coming up, what investigators know about what started the blaze. also coming up, more and more people are choosing to decorate their bodies with tattoos. we'll sit down with [ female announcer ] safeway talks holiday favorites.

i think there are eggnog people and non-eggnog people. and which are you? i'm a fish. on a te. [ female announcer ] if it stes like the holidays, we've got it. safeway. ingredients for life.

here's what you should be watching: your cable bill. because you could be paying way too much upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, inrnet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. plus this special holiday bonus: over 25 hbo and cinemax channels free for 3 months. there's no term contract required. you can cancel anytime with no early termination fee. with fios,ou get surior pictur, more hd, plus internet rated #1 in satisfaction, speed and reliability. fiosust keeps getting better. now you can watch select movies you buy on demand not just on your tv, but on your laptop and smartphone. you can't do that with cable or satellite! stop paying for second best. get fios for just $99.99 a month, plus hbo and cinemax, free for 3 months. call.888.884.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.888.884.346 at 800-974-6006 tty/v. it's time for fios.

wow. i love the way she plated that roast. yeah. i said "plated." he's been watching too ma cooking shows. mm-hmm. [ female announcer ] serve a main course brimming with comfort and joy. safey. ingredients for life. we're back on this booze-day tuesday countin down to the holidays with a little help with your shopping list from us. >> kathie lee, sara and i thought ife showed you some of our favorite gifts to give it might help you with your hard-to-buy friends or relatives. >> and we all have one of those. >> and they don't know who they are. >> i am going to start off with a little glass of bubbly for each person. because w wouldn't i? >> she loves her champagne. >> this is 40 bucks. this is like got a little refrigerator so you can give that away as well. >> how much is that? >> that is 40 bucks. >> not bad at all.

>> you know how i love music. >> oh, sure, my book. >> hold on, i'll put it right here. >> yeah, sure, put it out of the way, hoda! >> where are my cards? hold on. ipod shuffle. this is a great gift because i love music. >> how could that be? >> $49! >> that's the tiniest thing on the planet. >> it is so cute, you just hi play and you can hear your songs. ♪ >> and you can also give away itunes gift cards. i like those. i also like to give aw gift certificates. there is a great massage place that i like. sometimes i go high-end like four seasons and sometimes gi to the super magic fingers on 81st street. >> i won't trust thatplace. super magic fingers. >> you get a gift certificate and it is a nice gift to give to someone. i also like to give a gift certificate for peoe's favorite restaurants. i think that's nice. my favorite gift ofll of to give is the kathie lee book. someone put it on my table.

called "par animals" and it is available now on sale. >> yes. all right. >> one of my favorite people in the entire world died 15 years ago from cancer and she was the greatest singer of the american songbook. i've spoken about her many, many times. nancy lamon has my favorite christmas album "just in time for christmas." $17. from nancylamott.com. just released, this dvd. she used to perform as a place called don't tell mama. this just came out. all of it produced by my friend david friedman. that has all the prformances of hers at nan dd dcnancylamott.co. i have had more people say where did you get that. this is tflur did he leer sterling silver ring from

hopemademiracles.com. the last thing before we get to hoda's book, kringle candles. they're all white, magnificent smells. all under$20. same gentleman that started y k yankee candle. i have them and my house smells delicious. lastly, hoda's book which is still available, apparently. it was on "the new york times" best-seller list. i forgot this ornament available at lord & taylor designed because of a story that i wrote, a little poem. 20%f all of the proceeds go to cassidy's place. >> on to me. we've got the royal rivera pears and -- harry and david. >> normally i take my favorite magtag blue cheese from my

hometown. it is a guilty gift. gar cookies are my weakness. they come in all holiday, birthdays, it is easy. gourmetcookiebouquets.com. those are like $47 but you can order like four cookies and it less. favore haines family game, cranium! it is not about smart, itis about being silly. any group can do -- you'd love it. there is singing and humming and sculpting. >> i don't necessarily like singing and humming. >> yes, you do. >> my go-to gift for everyone is "happiness." it is a book that no one ould -- can you get for anyo. everyone will get something out of it. >> that was great. okay. we have got a great lady coming up to sing for us. keri hilson is in the house. but still we are going to go

across the street for some cupcakes. >> delicious! the middle of this special moment and i need to run f to the bathroom. i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. so today i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder. [ female announcer ] if you're suffering, today is the day to talk to your doctor and ask about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents all d and all night. plus, toviaz comes with a simple plan with tips on food and drink choices. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma or cannot empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. toviaz can cause blurred vision and drowsiness, so use caution when driving or doing unsafe tasks. the most cmon side effects are dry mouth and constipation. [ jackie ] i asked my doctor about tovi. and today i'm looking forward to my daughter'wedding. [ female announcer ] why wait?

ask about toviaz today. [ female announcer ] why wait? ["stir it up" playing]

stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. ♪ let's szush up this one tone hair color! try nice 'n easy, with color-blend technology. in one step, get a blend of tones and highlights for dimension that takes you from drabulous to fabulous. nice 'n easy. your right color. we always make tim for just us cousins. like the other nig at olive garden. hey susan, you gotta tell the aunt jessie story again. -yes, you do! -ok, ok. joe: love that story. try olive garden's two new scaloppini dishes. pan-seared chicken breasts in a lemon-herb glaze. or sauteed pork in a creamy white wine sauce both served with asiago filled tortelloni. with our unlimited salad and breadsticks. this is like being back at the kids' table.

[ laughter ] olive garden. when you're here, you're family. of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. it's the way to individually brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew, hon. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. [ female announcer ] choose. brew. enjoy. >> announcer: "today's holiday kitchen" is brought to you by pilz bury cinnamon rolls. made with cnabun cinnamon. >> we're across the street at

t nbc.com cafe. hello, cupcake. these are so gorgeous you don't want to eat them but they're so delicious you kind of have to. >> they're so easy. >> for you,karen. >> she keeps showing us. >> now this is polar opposite. we've got polar bears and walruses. basically it is just -- you know these. munchkins. doughnut holes. you frost it whether you do the polar bears or walrus, frost them, roll them in either coconut or ground ors, graham crackers. >> how do you get the little head and ears and everything? >> those are cheerios. >of course they are! >> we just put a little froing on there. >> you're a genius. >> i can't do it because it won't look good. whatever you do, don't touch.

>> we're starting a new tradition. instead of gingerbread houses we'll make a gingerbread village out of jumbo ccakes. i've got one cupcake already frosted. when you do this you want to start here. if you want to take a few, these are just windows on with the chicklets. i have some rinkles over here. >> do what she's doing? no, no, no, you don't understand the dynics between the two of us. no. >> you have windows o on this e over here. you can put some frosting on. it is basically just pressing and playing. all these different candies on the outside. that's beautiful. it is a city building. there. >> that's exactlyhat it is. so then you add vanillawafers. >> this kind of lks like a -- >> what? that looks like a perverted smiley facial. >> then you put it on its side

and you can put the cookies. >> see? then you just do it like that. we're moving dn over here. so this is our snow family. thinking about cupcakes differently that you don't have to have just onecupcake. you can stack them. >> two's better! more is more! exactly. i've got a head for you. >> make that, kathi. let's see what you can do. >>. put this on its side so you can see it. these are the hats. le m put a little bit of frosting on top for the glue. here's a hat foryou. these are just mini oreos. >> a little frosting, coconut and for the trees we did basically the same thing with the mini. >> you can make every little leaf perfectly, karen.

>> it is just a matter of sn snipping the bag. we did the ducks. this is from the cover of the book. >> you ducked them up! you ducked t halls! >> again, it is that munchkin doughnut hole >> come on. >> now this is the eye candy ornament. >> it is brillian >> for this, here, you'l like this. we took hard candies, put them in a ziploc bag. >> pod the crudola out of it. >> okay, that's good. once that's done you can fill -- we took some sugar cookie dough, partially baked it, put it on a piece of foil and then you take that hard candy, sprinkle it in there, pop it back in the oven -- >> melt it! how can youthink of this? >> she's a genius. >> cupcake lady. you are. >> this is trimmg the tree. this is basically the same thing though we took a cookie cutter. for the little leaves for the pine needles, we took melting

candy wafers, green, piped them out on to some wax paper. >> you're unbelievable. >> then y peel them off and put them on. >> it is easy -- not for me but for most people -- that makes it really simple. >> it wasn't put on properly to begin with but that's okay. >> then you can just add some dots of frosting. >> i will. we got to roll. >> these are drunk en cupcakes f hoda. we love you so much, karen. merry christmas! we'll be back with keerry hilson. >> she's singing "don't hate me beuse i'm beautiful." ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? with cinnabon cinnamon have such a sweet and delicious aroma th my family can't wait to get their hands on them. enjoy cinnabon cinnamon...

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>> announcer: the "toyota concert series" on "today," brought to u by toyota. grammy nominee keri hilson started her career behind the scenes writingits for the likes of mary j. ige, britney

spears and usher. >> but now she is completely front and center with her sophomore cd due to hit stores one week from today. it is called "no boys allowed." welcome back. >> thank you. >> that hit song has got everyone singing it. ♪ don't hate me because i'm beautiful notes♪ >> okay. >> can anybody sg this song? >> yeah. everyone should. i think everyone should just feel the confidence. everyone should feel beautiful. >> what inspired this? >> it was co-produced by neil and chuck harmony. i love neil's approach to writing records. i probably would have never said these things about myself, a whole song long. >> i don't know. we can't wait to hear it. ♪ do the pretty girl rock ♪ rock rock rock ♪ do the pretty girl rock notes ♪ now what's your name ♪ may nay name is keri ♪

♪ i'm so very ♪ my oh my it's so scary ♪ if you touch it i'm a fairy ♪ pretty at a picture motors ♪ sweeter than a swisher ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> woo! >> fantastic! >> that's the song. >> that's the way you do it. >> keri, thank you so much. all the best. new c drops next week. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] are you watching cable? here's what you should be watching: your cable bill. because you could be paying way too much. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. plus this special holiday bonus: over 25 hbo and cinemax channels

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so many generous contributors me forward every year to help with us our annual toy drive and we'd like to welcome two more wonderful companies. >> matthew is the president of schligt north america and jean is the president .

>> we are donating over $250,000 worth of product to t various "today" show charities, children's charities that you guys support. >> the boys and girls clubs. also overseas military bases. >> that is correct. that is correct. we are a global brand t support kids around the world so this is just one of the initiatives that we have heren north america. >> jean with being look what's on your lap. >> are these two a couple? >> well, the toy industry foundation is donating 10,600 toys to your toy drive. worth about $131,000. and some of the toys include the my first disney princess doll, ebie and lots of other donations from companies mike mattel -- >> you're one to talk. >> thank you for allou guys do. that's really sweet. we appreciate it. >> this is your first year doing it. >> it is! it is. >> welcome. >> once you get here yore a lifer. >> we'dove to be ck. >> we'd love to have you.

merry christmas. thank you. you make an awful lot of kids very, very happy. if you want to donate from home, head to amazon.com/today. tomorrow will.i.m. is with us. plus cold-weather hair makeovers. >> imagine that. have a great booze-day, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com