good morning. breaking news. a new video surfaces with a retired fbi agent who vanishes in iran nearly five years ago. the first signees alive since his disappearance. the question this morning, who is holding his prisoner? shocked and dismayed job jerry sandusky's wife opens up for the first time since her husband is charged with month lefting young boys and she takes on the victims, saying their claims are made up. and encouraging signs of a young model after she walks into a plane's propeller. you might be surprised by what she said when she saw her favorite for the first time since the accident.

today is friday, december 9th, since the accident. today is friday, december 9th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome today on this fri morning. i'm ann curry. >> and i'm david gregory. this hostage video was just 54 seconds long and along with some photographs, it was sent to the family of robert levinson about a year ago now. >> but it was not released until this morning because authorities feared if made public it would hurt their efforts to bring levinson home. sad news for the dugger family. after announcing they were expecting their 20th child, michelle dugger has now suffered a miscarriage. we'll talk about the decision do have another child, given that michelle is 45 years old and has already given birth 19 times.

>> and a little later on a lighter note, something you carry about is your holiday shopping. we're going to tell you where you can find the "it" gifts for men, women and kids. and charlize theron is in the house. >> i'm very excited about that and the holiday tips. i'm focused on the holidays, not her. >> of course you are. let's begin with the top story this morning. natalie, good morning. >> good morning, ann. good morning, david. more on that newly released video. it showed robert levinson who was taken hottage in iraq more than a year ago. the video raises more questions than answers, transforming what had long been a mysterious disappearance into a strange hostage standoff where the canters are unknown and clues in the photos and the video indicate that levin son may now be held in pakistan and even

afghanistan. u.s. officials say they don't know exactly who is holding levinson and that they received a list of prisoners to free in exchange for him, but none of the names on the list match any currently held prisoners. investigators are trying to determine why a man shot and killed a virginia tech campus police officer thursday setting off a chain of events at a university already familiar with deadly gun violence. chief justice correspondent pete williams is in blacksburg, virginia, with more. pete, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, police are still trying to figure out why the shooting that so alarmed this community happened here in the first place. and university leaders say they responded immediately at the first sign of trouble. >> we lost a fellow officer who has dedicated his life -- >> reporter: it was just after noon when a virginia tech police officer was pulling a car over on a traffic spot stop in a campus traffic stop. police say another man walked up and shot the officer who died a

short time later. >> our hearts are broken again for the family of our police officer. >> virginia tech authorities identified the officer as 39-year-old derek crowd, a married father of five who had been on the authority for four years. after shooting courthouse, the gunman ran off. there officers hurrying to the scene found a second body. they now believe it was the gunman. law enforcement officials say they believe the man stole a car in nearby radford, virginia, took a bus to the campus and shot the police officer for reasons they don't understand. word of the deaths alarmed a campus all too familiar with gun violence. in 2007, a student killed 32 people, then himself inside university buildings. during that attack, four years ago, the university was criticized for waiting more than two hours to alert the campus.

this time this alert went out within minutes. the university stresses no students were involved in the shootling. as for why officer courthouse was chosen as the victim, investigators say at this point it appears to be rand yumm. >> thank you, pete. a hospital fire in calcutta, india, overnight has claimed more than 73 lives as government officials there accuse hospital staff of abandoning patients as flames ripped through the buildings. emergency workers made desperate attempts to rescue the patients after staff allegedly fled after relatives sobbed on the streets below. now to wall street, cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange. >> among investors, a tepid response this morning to news out of the eu where leaders dpraed to add funds to the region's bailout fund, but they

failed to come to agreement on fiscal unity. britain as well as four other countries deciding to opt out of a propositival on stricter budgetary rules because that would mean that the eu would have greater fiscal oversight over the uk and the uk doesn't want to given up that fiscal sovereignty. >> thanks, mary thompson. and nothing can stop this u.s. soldier and his military working dog white sox ax. the soldier lost both his feet in an explosion while on duty with ax earlier this year. just five months later, he was back to work and back to the sky for a training mission. but he couldn't just leave ax on the ground. the two jumped together. as the soldier posted on this video, i am stick rocking. boy, you can say that again. the soldier is currently working in the u.s. special forces, so his identity is not revealed. dave and ann, i walked the whole video. ax is a special dog. he looked very happy to be strapped on while jumping. >> and that's a special soldier.

>> absolutely. you got it. >> thanks so much, natalie. now let's get a check on the weather. al is not here. he's in los angeles. let's find out what's going on here. >> hey, guys. thanks so much. we're we're talking about lake-effect snow, and those folks have not seen snow and they are starting to get some and they are seeing less there than down in the south, and we're looking at the cold front coming across the great lakes picking up the warm moist air, and then some areas, anywhere from six to 12 inches of snow. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. here in washington, off to a clear and cold start. watch out for area ice on roads and streets from the rain that fell out wednesday. and we got dawn under way, and gorgeous yellow sunrise, and we'll have our temperatures remain in the upper 20s to

mid-20s for another couple hours. it's a little above freezing near the waters, and we will have >> and that's your latest weather. ann. >> al, thank you so much. former penn state coach jerry sandusky is out of jail but under house arrest after posting bail following his arrest on new sex abuse charges. now sandusky's wife is opening up about the case for the first time. jay gray is in state college, pennsylvania, with more on this. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. yeah. and the message from dotty s ty sandusky is one that we haven't heard from anyone but his lawyers. strong defense of the former penn state assistant football coach who now faces at least 50 charges in this child sexual assault case. >> jerry sandusky back at home where he will stay. >> jerry, anything you'd like to stay? >> reporter: ordered by a judge to home confinement after at

least a dozen new charges of sexual assault, an electronic monitor strapped to his ankle to make sure he doesn't stray. another condition of his release, a full $250,000 bail. $200,000 was secured by mortgage holdings. the only $50,000 secured with a certified check. while sandusky remains silent, for the first time we're hearing from his wife, dottie who said, quote, i've been shocked and dismayed by the allegations made against jerry. she stridently denies testimony from one of the victims who said he was held against his will in the basement of their home and that dottie ignored their cries for help. she wrote, i am angry about these false accusations that such a terrible incident ever occurred in my home. no child who ever visited my home was ever forced to stay in

our basement. next she aggressively defends her husband quoting, we don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we know everyone is untrue. i continue to believe in jerry's innocence and all the good things he has done. but the two new accusers alleged years of abuse by sandusky, adults that came forward almost two months after the scandal and adds to eight other victims in the initial grand jury report. >> he thought he was the only one that this had ever happened to. and there's a certain amount of shame and negativity feeling to go along with it. >> reporter: sandusky has not responded to the latest accusations, but has said several times, including during this "new york times" interview last week, that he's never abused any child. >> these allegations are false. i didn't do those things. >> reporter: still, the questions -- >> how many more children do you expect to come forward, jerry?

>> reporter: the concern and controversy linger here. now, attorneys for several of the alleged victims identified in the initial grand jury report plan to testify at jerry sandusky's first hearing in this case. that is set for next tuesday. ann. >> jay gray, thank you so much. at 7:11, here is david. now to presidential politics. we're just 3 1/2 weeks away from the iowa caucuses and the battle for the republican nomination appears to be shaping up into a two-man race between mitt romney and newt gingerich. chuck todd, chief white house correspondent, good morning. >> good morning, david. >> we've been talking about gingerich and romney and this two-man dynamic now. you see romney starting to respond to that. not just going after obama, now taking on gingerich. how is he doing it? >> he's doing it twofold right now. the first thing is to get surrogates the. one thing that is out there is there is a ton of republicans who have worked with newt gingerich who want to do whatever it takes to stop newt

gingerich. on one hand, that's good news for mitt romney. he has plenty of resources to tap into. the other thing he's using is the so-called super pac and money. you're going to see millions of dollars, in fact, it might be the largest ad ever placed in the state of iowa by his super pac, which, of course, they technically don't coordinate, but we know they're previewing a potential gingerich spot. what's unclear is whether this could work in a year where money hasn't mattered the way it's mattered in the past. >> and step back for a second and let's talk about gingerich. we look at all the polling this week seeing him shooting ahead. what's driving that if you look inside the polls? >> everything is about the fact that he's winning the tea party conservative, the anti-washington, anti-establishment feeling that dominated the republican party in the 2010 election. it's still there. it's about half of the electricat. and that's helping him inversely what's hurting romney is that conservatives don't believe he's a conservative.

so gingerich is viewed as the lone alternative there. and one thing gingerich has going for him that i think the establishment underestimates with newt -- and yes, he's had different positions and different issues over the years. he is seen as being there at the seminole moment of the conservative movement, and that was winning back congress, something that at the time in 1994 hadn't been done in over -- almost two generation peps. >> let met talk about president obama. he's not talking about the republican field. he's letting surrogates do that. but this was an exception. he's been attacked this week by republicans for practicing an apology of appeasement in foreign affairs. he had a pretty briefing yesterday in the briefing room. this is what he said. >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether i engage in appeasement. or whoever is left out there, ask them about that. >> that sounded like a president

that said, if you want to have this fight, let's have this fight. >> i think he would love to have a foreign policy conversation. that's why you're not going to hear this much. look, the republicans were at a republican jewish coalition meeting this -- so, you know, they were talking a lot about iran and israel, but i can promise you this, david, whoever the nominee is, they're not going to have a foreign policy conversation. they want to have an economic one. they're going to hear the president say three words, osama bin laden. >> chuck todd this morning, thank you very much. ron paul will be one of our exclusive guests this sunday on "meet the press." also going to talk to dick durbin and republican senator lindsay graham as they debate the fight for the middle class that president obama talked about. 7:14 now. once again, here is ann. >> david, thanks. now for the first time we're seeing video surveillance footage from the hotel where former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn was accused of assaulting a maid.

that tape is now lead to go new questions about this case. michael isakoff is joining us with details. >> reporter: good morning, ann. newly surfaced video from inside a hotel is adding mystery to a sex scandal that brought down one of the world's most influential figures. at 1:29 p.m. on may 14th, a call to the police from this upscale hotel. >> toipt report a domestic -- i'm sorry, a sexual assault. >> reporter: nbc news has obtained hotel video taken at the french owned hotel calls 911. >> one of our room attendants, apparently she was assaulted by one of the guests. >> the defendant is charged with -- >> reporter: the guest, dominique strauss-kahn. at the time the managing director of the international monetary fund and a man who could be the next president of france. and just two minutes after that phone call, a surprising reaction inside the hotel.

t two officials do what looks like a victory dance. >> it looks like they are celebrating a 911 call that is going to set in motion a -- a change in the entire political system of france. >> reporter: lawyers for strauss-kahn and his political supporters have now seized on this video to argue that the sex charge against him may have been a political dirty the trick, facilitated by hotel security officials at the possible direction of associates of french president nicolas sarkozy. it's a major story in france. but is being adamantly denied by sarkozy's office and a u.s. legal adviser to the a.c.o.r.n. group, the french company that owns sofitel. >> the notion that this is involved in some conspiracy is utter nonsense.

>> reporter: why were they celebrating? >> they don't remember specifically why, but they just heard that this housekeeper finally decided to allow the hotel to call 911 and they were relieved. >> reporter: the housekeeper who first made the allegation is pursuing a civil lawsuit against strauss-kahn. wednesday, her lawyers denounced the conspiracy claims. >> nasi dialo had nothing to do with any type of dancing, any gestures that suggest she's not telling the truth. >> reporter: but after first indicting strauss-kahn for sexual assault, prosecutors later dropped all charges against him, saying diallo had repeatedly lied to him. strauss-kahn admitted there was a sexual encounter, but said he was enticed. he gave his version of events to michelle taudman for a new book. >> at the moment he was coming out of the shower, he met mrs. diallo. she was in his bedroom. she looked at him and she

proposed him to have sexual relation. and mr. strauss-kahn, who is a womanizer, he's a man who never refuse these kind of relations. >> reporter: sources tell nbc news that strauss-kahn's lawyers are hoping to use the new video to argue in the civil suit that did i allo was part of a honey trap designed to destroy his political career. for their part, diallo's lawyers hope to prove her claims are true by showing strauss-kahn has a history of being a sexual predator. ann. >> thank you so much. there are new details this morning in the search for michelle parker. police found the florida woman's cell phone earlier this week. now, parker's mother is speaking out. nbc's mark potter is in orlando this morning. good morning to you, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you, david. police sources tell the orlando tv station that that cell phone

was found in the water beneath that bridge. throughout their investigation, police have said finding that cell phone could be a major break in this case. police sources tell wesh reporter bob keeling divers found mishg partialer's cell phone submerged between the neila avenue bridge in orlando's belle aisle area. police released this photograph of the phone which they say is still in remarkably good shape. >> it's very encouraging for us to have that piece of information, that piece of evidence. >> reporter: they also released photos of parker using the phone. family members said it was hers, later confirmed by the serial number. forensics experts are now examining it for any physical evidence. parker's sister, lauren, hopes the phone technology can help reveal her sister'ses whereabouts. >> we don't know what they're going to feel in that.

but i'm fully confident there's something that's going to be found that's going to help lead us to her. >> reporter: but parker's mother appears less hopeful now and became distraught over the news that only the cell phone has been found. >> it's becoming a lot more real to me now that somebody has done something horrible to my child and to the mother of my grandchildren. and i cannot even begin to tell you how much pain my heart is in today. >> reporter: the area where the phone was recovered sits between several other sights revealed in the investigation. it's about seven miles from the home of parker's ex fiancee, dale smith, who police sa is their own suspect in the case. parker dropped off her children there at 3:18 p.m., november 17th, the day she was last seen alive. ten miles from there is the home of smith's father, where dale smith, according to his lawyer, then took the kids about an hour later. he denies any involvement in parker's disappearance.

at about the same time, parker's brother said he got a text from her cell phone indicating she might be in the waterford lakes area. at 8:00 p.m. that night, a ping from her cell phone was detected close to where the phone would later be recovered in the water. the next day, her hummer was found in a parking lot some distance away. now, michelle parker's mother says she just hates whoever might have harmed her daughter as others hope that something, just something inside that cell phone will tell them who that is. david. >> very tough story to here. mark potter, thank you very much. just ahead, the road to recovery for a model seriously injured after she walked into a small plane's spinning propeller. what she told her family when she saw her face for the first time since the accident. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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good morning. i am joe krebs. it's 7:26. we have breaking news. an accident involving a ride on bus. >> if you are traveling westbound on honey branch road, your westbound lanes are blocked. you can see ambulances on the opposite side of the roadway. also, all your lanes are shut down. this is northbound dolly madison boulevard, and georgetown pike, lanes are blocked and you cannot access the main entrance to the

good morning.

sunrise on the frosty cold friday morning. and we will have sun today but it's cold now, we're in the low to mid-20s throughout much

7:30 now on this friday morning. it's the 9th day of december, 2011, as we check out the view from our camera at the top of the rock on what is the first clear morning here in new york city in several days. and that's putting a big smile on the face of everyone gathered in rockefeller plaza down below as they greet their families and friends back home. we'll bet be getting out there soon. inside studio 1a, by the way, i'm ann curry in for matt this morning. >> and smiling because of the weather. >> and we're also cozy inside. in the meantime, let's get to a story we've been talking about.

it's been two years since utah mom susan powell disappeared. her husband remains the only known suspicious person in the case. we'll get the latest on where this investigation is. >> t. also, michelle duggar has suffered a miscarriage just weeks after announcing she was expecting her 20th child. more on that coming up, as well. and later on, we're going to catch up with oscar winner charlize theron. she's going to be here to talk about her new movie. i just saw it yesterday. it's very, very powerful. but first, good news on the recovery of a young model. she had walked into the spinning propeller of a plane. janet shamblian is here with more on this. >> reporter: ann, good morning. it's been less than a week since this accident. despite critical injuries,

lawrence scruggs is walking, talking, and yesterday she looked in the mirror for the first time. and what she said afterwards gives us a glimpse of who this young woman is, and that her beauty isn't just skin deep. dirty. that was the word lawrence scruggs spoke after she took her first steps after that propeller accident. we're thinking, what does that mean? she said win walked 30 steps. >> reporter: 30 steps on what could be a long road to recovery. in a news conference thursday, scruggs parents say their daughter doesn't remember the accident. >> she doesn't know -- she can't remember any detail of it at all. >> reporter: it was last saturday night, scruggs boarded a private plane in the dallas area to look at christmas lights in the air. the 23-year-old had just climbed out of the single engine plane when she walked directly into the propeller. >> it was dark and we were thinking that lauren came back

to thank the pilot and she didn't see that the propeller was winding down. >> lauren's family says it was an accident and they don't plane the pilot who has yet to comment on the accident. a part-time model and fashion blogger, lauren suffers a number of critical injuries, including a severed hand, trauma to her face, head and shoulder and the possibility she may still lose her left eye. >> she is excelling in the physical and occupational therapies. they're not concerned about that but it's nor the cognitive therapy she'll need after this. >> reporter: her parents say she is showing signs of her old self. >> she has hurry spunk back, her permit. >> reporter: and her positive attitude. >> she looked and she said, well, it's not that bad. >> yeah. >> so that was really encouraging. and she still has her beautiful smile. >> lauren's parents say they don't know the extent of any

brain damage she may have at this point, but with her progress so far, they are very encouraged. and clearly, ann, this young woman is a fighter. back to you. >> all right. that is very clear. janet shamblian, thank you. ann, thanks. this week marks two years since the disappearance of utah mother susan powell. the story has made national headlines ever since. to this day, there's been no resolution to the case. keith, good morning to you. >> good morning, david. thank you. there has been a lot of activity this week, but no development. the police announced that they had found some results, forensic results on bits of charred wood which had been found in the desert by cadaver dogs about 30 miles away from the place where josh powell said he took his two sons camping on a frigid december night, the very night that his wife, susan, went missing. but there's no word yet on whether or not those results are

related to susan's disappearance. salt lake city, december 2009. the impending christmas holiday was the last thing on the minds of susan powell's friends and family. gifts, carols, normal things fell away. all they could think of was finding her. but despite their best efforts and extensive multi state search operations, the mystery lives on. >> people who know me know that i would not hurt susan. >> reporter: susan's husband, josh, remains the only named person of interest in the case. but he's never been arrested. >> it really hurts that people would try to say that i don't love susan. >> i'm not sure that anybody said you didn't love susan, but they were saying you killed susan. sometimes you kill the one you love. >> well, i never hurt susan. >> reporter: but josh's owner sister, jennifer graves, has her doubts. >> i do still believe that my brother must be responsible in some manner. his actions have told me all along that there's something wrong there.

>> reporter: after all, josh powell is the last person to have seen her alive. he says he left to go camping with their two very young boys around midnight. with a serious winter storm on the way. susan's parents, among others, have questioned the story. >> smeld not leave the children. and for her to leave the house without her purse or her cell phone or anything, it's just -- she would not do that. >> reporter: so what did happen? >> it's a puzzle. until you can fit the pieces of that puzzle into what the picture is, we cannot make improper assumptions. >> susan and josh seemed to have a fine marriage as far as anybody could tell, at least. >> they were kind of still in the newlywed stage even though they had been married for three years already. they were always cuddling and hugging each other. >> reporter: so josh's husband, steven powell, interpreted susan's nature in a very different way. >> susan was very open and very aggressive in male/female

relationships. and she called the shots. >> reporter: but behind steven powell's public theories about susan and sexuality was evidence of private activities that have landed him in jail. he's now awaiting trial on charges of voyeurism and child pornography while in family court, susan's parents fight for custody of josh and susan's little boys. >> i am a fit and qualified father. i am the natural father. i love my sons. >> reporter: the case has been in the public eye since it began. but so much remains hidden. wild allegations of abuse, religious conspiracies, sexual deviance. >> i feel like the more things come out, the more things that are -- establishes the fact that we're getting closer to whether the police can complete their investigation. >> reporter: josh powell and susan's parents are continuing to struggle over custody of those little boys. one hearing scheduled for today was canceled. josh has filed a declaration

claiming that the coxs are trying to turn those boys against him. the coxs say they're trying to protect the boys from some of the strange developments in some very strange case, which -- of which those boys are the innocent victims. >> keith morrison, thank you very much. for more on the story, including josh powell's most exclusive interview to date catch a special tonight at 10:00 central here on nbc. now let's get a check of the weather with al from los angeles. >> today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> all week we've been reporting just to our north there are air stagnation advisories. here is what's going on. you can see from medford to spokane, we're talking about air strd up to spokane and everywhere in between they are having air stagnation. we have calm winds, and the jet stream is off to the east, and so we're not getting any mixing

of all the pollutants. and frigid conditions in the plains, and we have plenty of sunshine up and down the west coast. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. i am meteorologist, tom kierein, in storm center 4, a blue sky over the region this morning, and it's frosty cold, down in the 20s throughout much of the region. what water did not evaporate, watch out for patchy ice this morning. we will warm above freezing in another couple hours and then hit the low 50s in the early afternoon. clouds on the increase tonight. a sunny >> and, of course, that's the your latest weather. we've got one heck of sunday night football night in america game for you. that's right, eli manning brings the all hail the new york giants into cowboys stadium.

where it's going to be cloudy and cold but, of course, they have a dome. they're not worried. what will tony romo think? temperatures low to mid 40s. that's on sunday night football night in america. it's a good one. david. >> al, thank you very much. that's going to be a great game. just ahead here, a holiday shopping guide. we're going to tell you about the hottest gifts of the year for men, women and kids. but up next, sad news from the dag y duggar family. mis-duggar suffers a miscarriage. we'll vet latest on that right after this. tommy? - i helped dad pick it out. - it's beautiful. - behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america. there are millions of reasons to give one, but the message is always the same: keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in. - i love you. - i love you too.

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children came to tell us they were expecting their 20th child. on thursday, michelle announced that she had had a miscarriage. >> good morning, ann. while the duggar family was deciding on baby names the night before they discovered the terrible news during a routine doctor's appointment. >> good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> just one month ago, michelle and jim bob duggar, their 19 children and two grandchildren appeared on "today" to share their news. >> i understand you have a big announcement this morning? >> yes, we do. we really are excited. we are expecting our 20th child. >> reporter: thursday was supposed to be a good day. michelle, in her second tri midwe trimester headed to a routine checkup. instead, the doctor was unable to find a heartbeat and told the couple the bad news, that michelle the miscarried.

in an interview, michelle spoke about returning home to tell her children. she said, quote, we had just been talking about baby names last night and were getting excited about naming a boy or a girl. it has bee a real sad disappointment. she went on to say, i feel like my heart broke telling my children. they have all been so excited about this baby and having a new little one in our arms. that was the most difficult. thursday night, jim bob released a statement thanking fans for their support. he wrote, quote, we would like to thank everyone for their prayers, e-mails and outpouring of love as our whole family is grieving, we also know that god promises to work all things for good in our lives. this is the second miscarriage for the 45-year-old mother of 19. she also suffered from preee clamps ya during her last pregnancy in 2009. their most recent announcement sparked a passionate response on the internet among those

questioning and defending the decision. >> why isn't 19 enough for you? >> well, we have the motto around our house that there's always room for one more. and they are such a gift. >> a gist they don't take for granted. >> the pressure life we see here is not a coincidence. i just know it is a miracle. so i don't take that for granted. i know that god is the one who gives life and i'm just so grateful and thankful and we would welcome another if he saw fit. but we'll wait and see. >> reporter: the duggars say they will select a name for the lost baby after they find out whether it was a boy or a girl and they do plan to hold a funeral service. >> thank you. rebecca brightman is a ob/gyn and clinical instructor. good morning. >> good morning. >> they're planning to name the child, hold a funeral. a lot of people don't realize how emotional it is to go through a miscarriage. and the numbers are about 20% to 30% of women will experience

miscarriage at some point. was michelle even more vulnerable just simply for the fact that she has already had 19 children? >> absolutely. you know, women are at risk of having a miscarriage with any pregnancy. that number tends to increase as women get older. so by virtue of the fact that she's in her 40s -- >> but the fact that she had 19 previously, did that increase her risk or not? >> no, no, she's fortunate that she has had so few to date. >> so few miscarriages to date. >> absolutely. >> and when a miscarriage happens in the early stages, as has happened for michelle, what does it tell us? >> it tells us the majority of the time when someone miscarriages like this, usually there was something chromosomally wrong with that fetus. >> and chat is an increased risk when you were at the age of 45 or even older. >> yes, yes. >> so with so many relatively easy pregnancies, than to have these last two pregnancies be a problem, what would you advise her as a doctor?

would you advise any woman in this circumstance? >> well, one thing, women as they get older are at increased risks of having complications during pregnancy. clearly, her last pregnancy was complicated by something we called pre-eclampsia which is the situation with high blood pressure. once a woman has a pregnancy complicated by that, her subsequent pregnancies are at risk of the same complication. >> although i had it with my first pregnancy and not the second one. >> younger women and older women, women on other side of the age spectrum. but having one pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia does put a woman at greater risks. >> so are you saying that this indicates something that -- that this should probably indicate something to her about her ability to continue having babies? >> i think it's something to think about. clearly, increased pregnancies are at risk and she wants to be

there for her kids at home and not to put herself at risk to be there for her other children. >> hopefully her other children will help comfort her. we wish her the best. thank you so much for this perspective this morning, rebecca brightman. we've got much more coming up here on a friday morning, but first, these message aess. and bean boots. hingsr ♪ and that's what makes them such a good gift. that and the fact that everybody wants warm feet for christmas. my name is jason valero, and i cut leather for bean boots. and the holidays are made here, right here. at l.l.bean, where your order ships for free.

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. so coming up, we're going to talk to charlize theron. but, anyway, that got us to talking in the makeup room because we wear makeup on the show about the movies that we've been seeing. and you got all excited about george clooney and -- >> well, we're talking gingerich, romney and we're talking clooney, clooney/pitt. it's a two-man race. >> there are going to be other people nominated, but those two guys are phenomenal this year. >> i think it's clooney, i think different kind of role, the emotion. >> have you seen it yet? >> i have not seen those movies yet. but i'm looking forward to war

horse, which opens christmas day. "war horse" and "the adventures of tin tin." >> i think brad pitt does such an amazing job -- >> i love him. >> and i wouldn't be the one to make the decision. "desendants" it's a whole new role. what do you think? >> i think george clooney stepped outside of him. we're going to talk holiday gifts, as well, after your local news. >> we're going to keep arguing during the commercial break. in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel.

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good morning. i am joe krebs. it's 7:56 on this friday, the 9th day of december. we have breaking news involving a ride on bus. >> the accident is taking away all of your westbound lanes at new hampshire avenue. you will not be able to continue westbound on honey branch because of the accident here. chopper 4 is live over i-95. 395, you are jammed earlier, and an accident on the right side of the road on i-95, and you are ♪

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good morning. i am tom kierein in storm center 4. watch out for patchy ice and water on the roads from wednesday's storm turned into ice. we will get above freezing over the next couple hours and later today in the low 50s and then increasing clouds this afternoon and tonight and a dry and cold weekend to follow. we will be

8:00 now on a friday morning. tgif, everybody. it's the 9th day of december, 2011. 37 degrees and we've got a big crowd saying hi to all their families and friends back home and we've got a shot of the christmas tree. i'm ann curry along with david gregory who is in for matt. >> iust want to say, i've got this lsu hat. but, you know, our executive producer is a louisiana girl, so i thought i would bring this back for her.

i'm not going to put it on my head, though. >> why not? >> oh, here you go, this is for you. it's a little rivalry. we'll talk football later. we're going to be talking about holiday gifts, great ideas for men, women and children. we have some on the hottest gift ideas. >> i know we're going to try to save some money, give people good ideas this morning. also this morning, we have some star power in the house because none other than academy award winner charlize theron is in the house. she's basically giving some oscar buzz once again for a new movie called "young adults." we're going to catch up with her coming up this morning. >> you know what's great? we're talking about movies and now we get to talk about liquor. we're going to talk about wine, whether you want to drink it for the holidays or drink it for the holidays or give it as a gift to somebody for the holidays, give some good advice as the kind of wine to bring as a gift to someone's home. how about a check of the news? natalie is at the news desk for

us. >> good morning once again, ann and david. good morning, everyone. police are searching for a motive in a deadly shooting at virginia tech university that brought back memories of the 2007 massacre there. officials says campus police officer dariat crouse was ambushed and shot to death thursday in a school parking lot. the campus was locked down until the alleged gunman was shot down in an apparent sooud. suicide. for the first time since her husband's arrest, the wife of former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is defending him publicly. dottie sandusky says her husband's accusers made up their claims of sexual abuse, including one who suggested she was home when she screamed for help. sandusky, who was re-arrested on wednesday on additional charges was freed thursday on $250,000 bail. u.s. officials confirmed that a video broadcast by

iranian state tv does, in fact, show the rq-170 sentinel drone that was lost over iran earlier this week. iran claims it brought down the top secret aircraft, but u.s. officials outright deny that iran's military took the drone down. meantime, the obama administration is planning to ease sanctions against iran's central bank, but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are fighting the proposal. hurricane-force winds have brought parts of northern england and scotland to a stand still. wind gusts reaching 165 miles per hour made it difficult for planes to land. the winds damaged homes, flipped trucks on to their sides and destroyed wind turbines. one resident caught a trampoline rolling by you see there on video. a package bomb exploded this motion at a tax collection agency in rome. the person opening the package suffered eye and hand injuries. >> foor a look at what is trending today, sad news has

made michelle duggar a top on google. the reality star has suffered a miscarriage just weeks after announcing on this program that she was expecting her 20th child. husband bob duggar said his would he have is resting comfortably at home. techkies are searching for one of apple's biggest stores opening today. commuters can order gifts by cell phone and pick them up after they get off the train. and texas governor rick perry's new campaign ad knocking gays in the military is fast becoming one of the most disliked videos in youtube history. in just two days, it surpassed rebecca black's much ridicule d video. it is 8:04 right now. you're up to date right now. let's go to al with a check off your weather in los angeles. we miss you here, al. i haven't seen you in ages. >> i know, i know, i can't wait

to see you on monday. let's check out what's going let's check out what is going on. our pick city of the day just appears to be beautiful flint, michigan. nbc 25, and snow showers and cold and 28 degrees. as we go to the radar, we have lake-effect snow setting up on the eastern side of the great lakes. we will look at 6 to 12 inches of snow there. we have clear skies in the pacific northwest, and air stagnation alerts continue, and windy around the great lakes, and sunny skies up and down the east coast, and showers down in southern texas, and showers and thunderstorms in southern florida, and plenty of sunshine in the southwest with temperatures in the mid-60s. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> frosty and cold on this friday morning. i am tom kierein in storm center 4. we are in the 20s to nearly 30 degrees throughout much of the region. we have patchy ice from some of

the water from wednesday's storm that iced up. we have several reports of cars spinning out. and then later today in the low 50s, and we will have increasing clouds tonight and sun back saturday and sunday, but >> and that's your latest weather. david. >> al, thanks very much. coming up, we've got a great holiday gift guide, best ideas for men, women and children. also, she's right over there. charlize theron is here in the studio. she's coming up right after these messages. [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are choosing advil®. here's one story. pain doesn't have much of a place in my life. i checked the schedule and it's not on it. [ laughs ] you never know when advil® is needed. well most people only know one side of my life. they see me on stage and they think that that is who i am. there's many layers to everybody everywhere. singer, songwriter, philanthropist, father, life's a juggling act. when i have to get through the pain, i know where to go. [ male announcer ] take action. take advil®.

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plus free shipping at target.com we're back now for our holiday gift guide. and we're on the plaza, but that's not really me. here i am, yeah. we're talking about hot holiday gifts, ann. >> that's right. we've acceptabled four experts to walk us through the best of the best. we have first up, gifts for women. alicia corals is a global editor for "the associated press." what is key people should be thinking about when they're buying for women? >> chic, shiny, all the things women love. >> we're starting with rose gold. you're saying that's very hot this year. >> very hot. it is the color for jewelry and accessories. we have an array here from piper line.com.

ranging from $28 to 108. shoes, jewelry, everything. very pretty, right? >> as for chic, this is making a lot of -- a lot of people are talking about this in the fagz fashion world. >> these are together bags. they don't have thousands like victoria beckham to spend on a bag. these are couture bags painted on. so $65, you've got a good bag. >> speaking of more shine -- >> we see, this is a card began from ann taylor. $128. you go ah-ha, but that's a lot of money. you see people like rihanna wearing this. you can always catch a sale. don't freak out at $128. look for the sale. >> these are in the foe fur category. these are fun because they're in different colors. >> juicy couture. $88. you see designers like rachel zoe putting this in their collection. comes in an array of colors.

and they have coziness on the inside. if you don't want to wear the real fur, you can do that. >> this is a throw from restoration hardware. $78. feel it. so soft and lovely. >> and lastly, super cute and green or maybe pink. >> very pink, yeah. you see people like katy perry riding around on the city in their bikes. doesn't this remind you of childhood? >> it does. i like everything on the table here. thank you so much. now let's talk about what men want with david. >> all right. hot gifts for men because riding a bike is so hard. chuck nice, talk to us here. start with the hats. >> let's start with the hats. so far, we're talking about mad bomber hats from l.l. bean. $39 for the nylon, $69 for the leather. >> a timeless fashion. >> these are pretty cool. >> al wears them. matt wears them. >> and they look best if you have a plastic head. what about the puffy jacket?

>> this is in, it has a twist because it's a shell from banana republic, $198 and you don't have to look like the mischelin man. >> and guys like toys. let's talk about what we've got. >> an ipad, an ipad with a keyboard. brookstone.com. $59 for the roll-up silicone keyboard. and the great thing is it's wireless so you can bang through e-mails. i'm alec baldwin. what did you say? put it away? i'm already done. >> now i -- >> i know you like these. java wireless headset, allows you to take calls and talk at the same time. that's the cool thing about that. $99. >> these things are cool. i love the college days. >> hottest head sets on the market. beats by dr. drey.

put them on your whole life is a video. >> are they really that good, though? >> they really are great ppdz 299. best buy. >> because i do a lot of mixing and scratching and i want to make sure they're the right device. >> and these are things you love. they are working stiff, power stays, collar stay wes a magnet. it's like viagra for your shirt. it's awesome. >> these are great ideas. savannah, over to you. top that. >> oh, we're going to natalie. >> i'll take it, i'll take it, david. he's mixing and scratching too much. thank you so much. next up is goodies for the kids. lori is style editor of "lucky." hard to know what's hot and what's not because there's so much out there. >> these next five are on david can mix and scratch with elmo. let's rock elmo, very hot. fijit friends, natalie, every little girl wants one of these. >> what does it do?

>> they're interactive toys. air swimmers, remote control. they're all over the house. they're balloons, so much fun. all of these things are under $50. get them at target, toys are us, walmart. >> now angry birds is now a game. >> and i love this because it's under $20. you can get this at k-mart. it's the reverse, a sign of the times. now the board game is based on the app. it's just like the video game. i am t-pain mic, how fun is this? you can record your own voice. >> now for the creative side. >> these are the creative things. if you don't want to do the hot list, this is where you go. this is a design your own super cape. $39.99. this is for the musician in your life at target. cute and it meows, let's you record, as well. $20. it's great gift.

now, gaming, this is youdraw. so if you have an artist in your house, they can draw pictures. it's under $50 at gamestop. you can save them so you don't have a lot of paper around the house. >> great. >> this is the big ticket item. $169.99. nintendo 3ds. gaming and 3d. >> lori did my shopping for me. thanks so much. now, last but not least, here is savannah. >> thanks, natalie. now for everyone else on your list, the leftovers, good morning. >> good morning. >> what do we have, the wine? everyone loves this. >> and this takes the guest work out of having the right wine. between $27.99 and $32.99. the perfect way to give your friends wine that they love. >> and you can include a gift certificate. >> absolutely. they can pick their favorite. >> is this a camera lens or a mug? >> who knows. these are designed to look like

popular cannon lenses. one is a mug you can use at your home and another is for traveling. get these at photodojo.com. >> you don't want to mistake it for your real lens. >> that's right. >> this would be a great hostess gift. >> right. this looks vintage and it makes popcorn the old fashioned way so you're popping it with air instead of oil. it also makes a tasty, healthy snack. >> and speaking of snacks, these cake pots are everywhere. >> they are all the rage. you can make them at home with this amazing device. put some cake patter in there and then you have 12 delicious and fresh cake pots. >> you put the stick in? >> you pick the stick in when it's all ready. and you can design these with your family, too. >> kids would love to help with that. >> and finally, this is so retro. >> atari. basically, you put your ipod in

here and download your games and then you can use the actual joy stick. totally fun, $59.99 from target. >> very kool cute. coming up, we've got charlize theron after these messages. babe... oh, hi honey! so i went to the doctor today, then picked up a few extra things for the baby. oh boy... i used our slate card with blueprint. we can design our own plan to avoid interest by paying off diapers and things each month. and for the bigger stuff, we can pay downalance faster to save money on interest. bigger? bigger. chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises. trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate. [ pneumatic wrench buzzing ]

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the hometown where she grew up and rekindle an old flame. but she quickly finds out there might be some problems with her plan. let's take a look. >> buddy slade and i are meant to be together. and i'm here to get him back. >> i'm pretty sure he's married with a kid on the way. >> no. the kid is here. i'm cool with it. i've got baggage, too. i would keep all of this to yourself. i would find a therapist. >> that's not the old flame. that's matt who you became friends with. >> yes. >> but this is, i think, a dark, complicated role in which mavis gary seems to not understand reality. how would would you describe it? >> i think you did a really good job. i really like the idea, the film is really kind of dressed up as it looks like a very simple story. and what i liked about it is what you just said. it's a film that deals with some really complicated human issues. it really is a study on human behavior and it really is the

story of a girl who kind of had a -- development and writes these young adult novels and has never grown up and has no tool set. so there was something interesting about watching a woman in her mid 30s dealing with things that we all know, but dealing with them like a 16-year-old. >> exactly. and she's not just trying to rekindle an old flame. she actually is going after her old boyfriend after he has just had a child with his wife who he's happily married to. >> yeah. >> so she's actually a character who you have ever reason watching this movie that you want to hate her. >> yeah. >> and yet in the way you play her, it's impossible to hate her. and why is that? >> because i fool you. i thought i -- when i read it, i think, like you said, the things that she does are despicable. but there was something about her that felt very human to me. and i think jason wrightman, who directed this film so brilliantly, said something

really so very true. when we watch movies, it is in a way like holding up a mirror. and we see these things that most of the time it's the attributes that we aspire to. most movies are about people doing good things and this is a character that i think holds a mirror to the things that i think maybe are not so attractive about us, that are very human. >> in a rare way, in a way that we don't often see women portrayed on film, you know? and i'm interested in that because i wonder, do you go after the sort of dark, complicated bob de niro type characters or do they come seeking you? >> i don't know exactly how it works. i mean, i think those are -- that's definitely the career i wanted for myself. i grew up on 70s film and i looked at what gene hackman and dustin hoffman did and those are the characters that i just relished. it was very rare. i think women in the 70s got to do them, too, like meryl streep and susan suranden. but i think we're waking up to the feeling that women are not

just the two extremities. we are really -- there's a massive gray zone when it comes to us and we're, i think, sometimes more complex and layered than men are. and i think slowly film is kind of coming around and showing those women. >> and you're playing some of those roles and to the point where you have won an oscar, you've been nominated for another and now there's buzz about this particular movie? so when you are in that category of actresses who is sort of expected or sort of perceived as being oscar worthy, what's the sort of -- i mean, is there a comfort kind of a zone? what does that mean? i mean, few of us have that experience. >> i sometimes feel like i never -- i mean, it's so bizarre. i feel incredibly blessed that i have gone through that experience and this is like this little film. i haven't worked for three years. and to come back in this film with this kind of material with someone like jason wrightman directing me, that feels like a gift and i can't even think -- i can't think beyond that.

it's such a compliment, but it's so -- >> well, we're cheering for you. the movie is called "young adult" it opens in select cities today and nationwide on december 16th. i think you're fantastic i good morning. it's 8:26. danella has details on the traffic. >> we have good news. the accident cleared if you are traveling new hampshire avenue at honey branch road all lanes are open now, and that's a great sign. i-95 in virginia, not so good. still slow at fairfax county parkway. if you are making your way on i-95 northbound from the occoquan, all the way to the beltway right now, still 9

good morning. lingering water from wednesday's storm has frozen up so watch out for patchy ice. right now around the region, we're in the upper 20s and low

30s, and sun but clouding up tonight and sun back but cold for saturday and sunday. we will be

8:30 now on a friday morning. it's the ninth day of december, 2011. look at who we've got, oscar winner charlize theron sticking around to check toys for the 18th annual holiday toy drive. we thank her and also everyone who is contributing a lot of these toys. we need more help this year with so many struggling and a lot of

our beneficiaries are newly homeless. we're so grateful for everything you're doing. log on to our website, today.com. and just ahead, a lot of people are heading to holiday parties. and, you know, a lot of us are carrying a bottle of wine. >> that's right. and joe is here to tell us what bottle of wine to bring if you want to give it as a gift for them to keep or to actually drink. and there's a big distinction there. we're going to have that conversation. it could get as heated as the whole clooney/brad pitt debate we had earlier. >> because i have strong feelings about that. >> i know you do. >> and you consider yourself a connoisseur. >> i don't know about that. >> you said that in the makeup room. i'm busting you. >> and also coming up, we talk to the members of the five browns on thursday. this morning, the family of classical music star res going to be here to perform a special holiday concert. >> they're really, really good. five siblings and all five got

into juliard, which is remarkable. meantime, let's go out to legislation. we're missing you, al, and we want to get your weather forecast and tell you we love you. >> thank you, ann. we miss you. let's take a look at what's let's take a look and see what is happening as far as your weekend is concerned. saturday sunshine on the east coast, and cold conditions in new england, and lake effect showers in the great lakes, and sunny and cooled throughout much of texas, and then sunday looking at cold air around new england, and showers working their way to the california coast, and wet weather along the atlantic coast. watch out for patchy ice on air withdraw roads and streets. some of the rain from wednesday that has lingered froze up this morning and temperatures are in the upper 20s to low 30s throughout much of the region

and today they will climb into the low 40s and 50s and then sun back on saturday and sunday with highs in the 40s, and sunday afternoon into the low 40s, and it will be cold on >> and that's your latest weather. don't forget, coming up to the weekend, check that weather. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. now let's head out to washington, d.c. and say hello to uncle willie scott. >> i get up in the morning and get some biscuits and get some of that smuckers jam. happy birthday from smuckers. this is chester smith, 102, went through the navy training in bainbridge, maryland, not that you care. but he loves to play golf. his longevity secret is eating

ice cream every day. and we have our own earl white of prescott, kansas, 100 years old. what a blessing to have your mind, longevity secret is hard work. happy birthday, if you will, please. this is luella haley, washington, d.c. that's where we are now. 104. ann is a wonderfully remarkable storyteller. everybody loves to her her tell stories. some people are gifted with that. we have robert steward of indianapolis, indiana, finally hit the big one. 100 years old today. loves to play all sorts of games. likes checkers. that's a nice game. good for the mind and loves to watch sports on tv. and we have the lovely leo lautmann of riverdale, new york. 101 years old today.

and a proud wwii veteran who loves to stay up late and check things out every single day around his house. he's a good man. oh, sweet marie collet of upper sandusky, ohio, 105 years old today. former postmaster in her neighborhood and she still loves to play crochet and she loves to play cards with her friends. so there, that's all. now back to you guys. >> thank you very much. coming next, how to pick the right bottle of wine to bring to a holiday party. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone.

back now at 8:37 with today's countdown to the holidays. this morning, how to xhoos the right bottle of wine for your next holiday party. >> it's like i'm here to -- >> i know. i'll come down, we'll both come down and bill be a little bit more -- okay. but we've got joe bosianich here with some affordable selections and maybe some that are not so affordable. joe, it's great to have you. >> thank you. >> the big issue is when you go to a party, sometimes when you take a bottle of wine that costs a lot of money, it makes you crazy that they just kind of open it, they didn't really enjoy it. so what do you do? everyone is going to go to a party this week, next week and you want to bring wine. do you bring a wine that you expect to drink that night or do you bring a wine that's a gift for a host? >> usually a gift for the host. >> but really, people are serving wine, they may be into it and want to make that choice. how do you know? i think you should tell them. >> how do you know about so many things in life.

>> i think the issue is you have to size up your guest. you have to do some profiling here. if the guests are the kind of people who are going to curate the event and pick the whines, then you probably bring a host gift. if you're going to your more bohemian friends and it's more of like a pot luck and you're thinking, should i bring, you know, a thing of cabbage stew or a bottle of wine, you're probably bring ago bottle of wine that you want to drink. >> as you tell us about the wine, there are some whines that are ready to drink and some are not. you can bring a knights nice bottle of wine and they're not really ready to drink it. >> so when you're bringing wines, bring a wine that says something about your good taste and says something about the host you're bringing it to. >> i really would like to stop talking and start drinking. >> he this is proseco. this is great. this is a wine you bring because it's full of holiday cheer, easy, breezy.

>> and that can be done right away. >> this is flavorble, not too sweet. >> open it, drink it, open the next one. >> he's not called for the white wine yet. >> next would be -- >> reisling. >> this says you're wine savvy. >> it's dry, it's not sweet. >> this is dry and not sweet, it goes with food, it goes with everything. >> i think a little something something there. >> it's yummy. this is a tempernio from spain. it's fruty, easy to drink. >> can i say something about the spanish whines? it's affordable and something different for people. >> 10 bucks retail. so this is affordable. now we move to the category of whines that you can bring as a

gift. when you bring wine as a gift, you say it's silly about your hosts. champagne. >> nick his, we opted to the $30 bottle of champagne. champagne is the drink of life. when you say something about your own good taste when you bring champagne and you say something about your host's good taste because you bring champagne. >> a lot of people will recognize that and this is for paying a little bit more. it's something that you don't want to -- and it comes in a box and you can wrap it. it's swanky. it says you're a cool, hip, generous person. >> and just back to the pricing, this is generally a lot less expensive. >> how much? >> 15 bucks, 30 bucks. >> then we're going to jump to bordeaux. this is chateau marcarda. >> i'm feeling really happy. >> this is one of the great whines of the year. this is a mix. it says something about your good tastes for them. and, again win just want to keep coming back to the pricing. a lot of people think, french

wine, i can't afford that. most of the deals are actually in french wine. >> these days, french is at a second seating to italy. and france, i think, is feeling the pressure. so they're pricing more aggressively and you can buy a $20 bottle of bordeaux, which is great. >> tell me if i'm wrong, for a lot of people that don't know french wine, that was be motor of the cabernet and -- >> you have to stop. >> we want to point something out, that you're in great shape and you just competed in an ironman. >> yeah. i competed in the ironman world championship and it will air tomorrow on nbc sports at 4:30. >> awesome. you've got to be kidding. and we have master chef season three coming up. >> i can't believe you did the ironman. >> and this is for last. you bring a dessert wine. >> to you and cona. well done. >> happy holidays. maybe we'll have a headache in the morning. >> i know. you're going to give me a

headache in the morning. still coming up this morning, we have affordable homes for sale all around the country. but first, a toast to you "today" on nbc.

back now another 8:45 this morning, turning success on the field into a game changer for kids in need. nbc's kristin dahlgren is here with one man's touching story. good morning. >> good morning, david. fans know jason whitman as a pro bowl tight end. but for the famous football player, the road to the nfl was a bumpy one. now he's made it his mission to help kids who suffer domestic abuse. he found glory on the gridiron. but for dallas cowboys tight end jason whitney, the sunday night lights are a small way from the tennessee town where he escaped what he called a sometimes

dirveth life. >> it wasn't a situation where a kid needed to be in that environment. thank goodness my mom realized that and said, we're getting out of this situation. >> whitman's grant grandparents took him in. and his father, who happened to be the high school football coach -- >> this is where it all started. sglended up showing whitman just as many things off the football field as on. >> i taught him things like you're supposed to stand up when women come into the house. >> reporter: he also taught a young boy with a dream of the nfl that everything is possible. >> even though you have adversity that goes on, there's people that believe in you and don't allow you to think anything other than if that's what you want to do, let's put everything we have into making that happen. >> reporter: with all this success, it would be easy for number 82 to try to forget where he came from. and witten started the score foundation. >> now, because of what i felt,

i can only imagine what these kids are going through and these women. >> reporter: on a recent night, he brought in a group from a dallas domestic violence shelter. they got present s and quarterback tony romo read the story. >> it was the night before christmas when all through the house -- >> but witten gave them more than a holiday. >> i cried. i did. >> it's still a journey for us. and to come here is the support. this is support for us. >> the score foundation offers support all year, sending mentors to the shelters. >> a lot of times they're in a situation and unfortunately their parents don't show a lot of -- so they need someone to tell them that everything is going to be all right. >> reporter: it turns out witten got one more thing out of that move to tennessee. his high school sweetheart, now wife, michelle.

she's his partner in the foundation and is today as proud of jason as the person as the player. >> it's not just the situation that jason was put in, but the path that he took. and to encourage the kids, you don't have to go back into that cycle. >> and so know all this, that has to make you feel great. >> i leave here feeling more fortunate and -- >> reporter: but you can't ignore the change in the children. after caddie harris unwrapped a karaoke machine, the aspiring singer told me -- >> i have to practice hard and i can make it. >> reporter: it's what his grandfather once told witten, a living legend in overcoming the odds. >> man, i was there 15 years ago and now you can be in this situation, so can you, trust me, so can you. >> now, witten may be one of the best tight ends in history, but ask him about his legacy, he says the most important thing is

the mark he leaves outside the game. learn more about witten's score foundation on our website, today.com. >> great story. thanks so much. appreciate it. you can see jason witten and his cowboys when they take on the new york giants in a key game this sunday night on nbc. coverage begins on football night in america. up next, a special holiday performance from the five ground. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the piano playing fielding the five browns have been making beautiful music together for more than two decades. graduates of the julieard school, they've released four albums. we've got ryan, desiree, melody, gregory and dionne brown this morning. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> what explains how five siblings could all be so talented at one particular instrument? ryan. >> i don't know. we all just chose the same thing. the piano seemed like it was a good starting point and desiree being the oldest, i guess she

started first and it went down the line. we all wanted to do the same thing. >> they wanted to copy you. a lot of you will just talk about how music is a way of communicating. and is sort of another language. what is it to you to be able to communicate in this way to your siblings? >> oh, my goodness. it's an incredible experience on stage. we almost feel like we have telepathy with each other. it's a little look in the eye, a smacking of the mouth, you can read volumes about each other. >> and i would imagine you push each other quite a lot. i can do that better than you can. is the sibling rivalry playing out while you're playing the piano? >> it's not really rivalry. it's more like a mutual respect. when i watch these guys on stage, i have so much respect for how good they are and i'm so honored to be a part of that. >> what are we playing today? >> "sleigh ride" by leroy anderson. >> ladies and gentlemen, the five browns.

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>> lovely. the five browns, thank you so much. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. good morning. it's 8:56 on this friday, december 9th. it has been a tough commute on i-95. let's go to donneanella sealockh more on that. >> the interchange there, massive delays all along i-95 out of dale city.

you are jammed. prince william parkway, bumper to bumper, and delays continue as you head towards 395. this is the view at fairfax county parkway. 9 miles per hour, and those delays continue as you cross over the interchange.

good morning. i am tom kierein. high clouds and a blue sky and cold temperatures getting above freezing around the region. later today we'll be in the low 50s and high clouds in and out and cloudy tonight, and then sunshine on saturday and sunday. this is the day of sharing

xxx back now with more" today" on this friday morning. it's the ninth day of december, 2011. we are so happy to have such a great crowd kicking off this friday at rockefeller center. it's the perfect tree. that'sokay. they've been having a problem all day this morning. anyway, i'm ann curry alongside david dpregry and savannah guthrie. >> you are so hot and so am i. i'm feeling the music. i'm hearing it. >> david has been basically having a dance party behind the scenes. >> yes. you know why?

neither of us have any breakfast and we had all that wine. there are six. >> they were good. they were good. >> anyway, we have a lot to get to this morning. we have a ver serious story about jerry sandusky who posted bail on those charges. in the meantime, his wife has been talking about defending her husband. we'll get do that coming in a live report. also, we've going to have an update on lauren scruggs who we have been we've been talking about throughout the morning. she was the model who was badly injured when she got off a plane and walked into a propeller. she spoke and saw herself for the first time since the accident. you'll hear what she had to say. it's remarkable. she has a lot of perspective about this. also ahead, if you think if you think you cannot afford to buy a house, you might be surprised as what you can get for less than $is 100,000 around the country. barbara parker will be here to show it to us. and holiday decorations, we all love them. they're so beautiful. but they can also be dangerous. we're going to get some good advice so we can enjoy our

holiday decorations. >> oh, we put the lights on the tree yesterday. that was the dangerous part. >> we were just trying to help people choose the right one for the holidays. >> why are you slurring? >> it was in the name of research. >> don't drink all that wine at this hour of the morning. meantime, let's get to natalie who has a check of the morning's top stories. >> good morning again, ann, david and savannah. in a newry released proof of life video and several photographs show retired fbi agent robert levinson who disappeared years ago. levinson's family has just now released the 54-second video although they received it back in 2010. the video raises more questions than answers, transforming what had long been a mysterious disappearance into a strange hostage standoff where the canters are unknown.

u.s. officials say they don't know exactly who is holding levinson. they received a list of prisoners to free in exchange for him, but none of the names on the list match any currently held prisoners. authorities are trying to link together motives on a virginia tech shooting that left two people dead. the gunman apparently shot himself after killing an officer. it dredged up tragic memories for a campus that was the scene on for a deadly shooting back in 1987. first first time since her husband's arrest, the wife of jerry sandusky is defending him publicly. jay gray is in state college, pennsylvania, with more. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, natalie. the message from dottie sandusky is one that frankly we haven't heard from anyone other than his attorneys in the last couple of months. strong defense as you talk about for the former penn state

assistant football coach who now faces at least auto charges in the sexual assault case. jerry sandusky, back at home where you will say stay. >> jerry, anything you would like to say? >> reporter: ordered by a judge to home confinement. an electronic monitor strapped to his ankle to make sure he doesn't stray. another condition of his release, the full $250,000 bail payment. court records showing the sanduskys posted $200,000 of that in real estate holdings. the other $50,000 secured with a certified check. while sandusky remains silent, for the first time we're hearing from his wife, dottie, who lashed out at his accusers in a statement thursday saying, quote, would have been shocked and dismayed by the allegations made against jerry. she strident lly denies testimo from one of the statements saying he was attacked in hr

home in the basement of their home. she wrote, i am also angry about these false accusations that such a terrible incident ever occurred in my home. no child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement. next, she aggressively dchds her husband quoting again from her statement now, we don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue. i continue to believe in jerry's innocence and all the good things he has done. but the two new accusers in the case alleged years of abuse by sandusky, adults now that came forward almost two months into the scandal and after the eight other alleged victims from the initial grand jury report. >> he thought he was the only one that they had ever happened to. and there is a certain amount of shame and -- and negativity feeling to go along with it. >> sandusky has not responded to the latest accusations, but has

said several times that he's never abused any child. >> these allegations are false. i didn't do those things. >> still, the questions -- >> how many more children do you expect to come forward, jerry? >> the concern and controversy linger here. >> reporter: attorneys for many of the allegation victims from the initial grand jury report say those men plan to testify at the first hearing for jerry sandusky. that set set for next tuesday, natalie. >> jay gray, thank you. in india, police have arrested six hospital officials on homicide charges after a hospital fire in calcutta, india, overnight claimed more than 89 lives. officials say hospital staffs abandon patients as the flames ripped through the building. emergency workers made desperate attempts to evacuate survivors through upper floor windows as relative ss sobbed on the stree below. the jewish holiday of

hanukkah came early to the president last night where the president and vice president lit the menorah in front of guests. a river of lava from hawaii's kailua volcano is making a spectacular landscape more awesome these days. lava is flowing through you an abandon neighborhood into the ocean. what a beautiful sight. now back to al in los angeles for a check off your weather. >> thanks so much, natalie. all that lava kind of reminds me of candles, melting candles for a birthday for erica levins for our fabulous associate dire of melting candles for a birthday, like for erica lefing for our fabulous associate. we have snow coming across the eastern great lakes. we're looking at beautiful weather in the pacific

northwest, and we have air stagnation alerts. plenty of sunshine along the west coast. showers down through southern texas and florida, and hit or miss showers and thunderstorms as well, and chilly in the northeast, more seasonable conditions, and sunshine along the coast as well with windy conditions along the western great lakes. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. a cold start to this friday morning. watch out for patchy ice. high clouds drifting over. the region just getting above freezing, and we should make it in the upper 40s by later this afternoon, maybe a few isolated spots in the low 50s. and then cloudy tonight. the start to saturday will be cold again, and afternoon highs with lots of sun. a sunny and cold start to the and that's your latest weather. and now, here is va vana. >> al, thanks. this morning on today's real estate, what you can get for $100,000 or less.

and you might be surprised at how much home that will buy you. today contributor barbara corpin scoured the country for great deals. i can't wait to see what you have here. >> cheap houses today. >> dayton, ohio. what have we got? >> it's quite a pretty down. it has a lot of jobs there pup not only get a great house, but you can have a job that goes with it. the wright brothers grew up there and most of the jobs are in the aerospace and savation business. there's a popular craftsman style house. there are a lot of this type of house in dayton, ohio. i like the welcoming l-shaped porch out front. i think it's big enough to have a real meal. and when you get on the inside, there's -- well, you have to forgive that weird speckled rug covering that old beautiful floor there. but if you get past the rug, you can see the beautiful mouldings, the connection to the dining room. it's a beautiful house with a

fireplace. the interior has some odd furnishings. i think that rug, again, is a little weird and that looks like a loney dining room, but picture it with a little nicer furniture. it's a huge room, lovely mouldings and you see through to that lovely kitchen which we're going to see in just a minute. there's the kitchen, totally revamped. it's sleek and modern, loose really good. also, if you look out back, there's a great backyard and i think i forgot about the shot on that one. i'm sorry. >> no worries about that. chattanooga, tennessee, tell us about this home. >> this is a two-bedroom house. what's important is it's $87,000 and it's not a small two-bedroom house. this is chattanooga choo-choo. a brick fireplace and crown moulding. the dining room is unique and sophisticated. it's small with wood floors and stucco finished walls. there's a big windowed kitchen that to me seems oversized with

ceramic tiles and simple white cabinets. the bedrooms are spare and elegant. there's one with dove gray walls, nicely done, simple. the backyard is prettier than the front of the yard. that looks like the front to me, but i like it better. it has a covered porch, stone walk away s walkways and perfect. >> let's look at irondequiot, new york. >> this house is surrounded by water on all three sides. look at the street it's on. that's a street i could say, hey, i could be happy living on that street. it has nice, mature trees. this is a traditional colonial home and it sits on the end of a tree-lined streets. in the living room, if you could -- let's see, the living room -- that's the beautiful door. i just took a shot of that door. i love the red door. it looks very welcoming. inside, the living room, it's funky furniture. but who cares about the gray

chair stuck in the corner? look at the fireplace, the brick, the floor sg totally refurbished. there is, inside there in the dining room, i think, honestly, tablecloths should be illegal. >> you don't like that tablecloth? >> no. and i shouldn't even mention that. look at how big this room is. it has double windows on the left-hand side. that kitchen has been totally revamped. i think they did a really nice job. people love those eat-in counters with the stools next door. and the last one here is -- nothing. i'm sorry. >> i'm all over it. i'm out of breath. >> terrific. this is a town home that comes with a two-car garage. it's completely maintenance free and for $84 a month, the association fee includes lawn care, snow removal, exterior painting, concrete repairs, water and trash pickup all for $84 a month. what's wrong with that? and that's a two-car garage.

the side entrance there is a sheltered entryway and it's a cute park like setting and i like the way it reads. the living room needs a new couch, of course. has a wood burning fireplace. >> barbara, you're tough. >> but that fireplace should be painted white to match the walls and it's flanked by two large windows. the kitchen has a decorative copper back splash. nice kitchen. the spiral stairs lead up to the loft, upstairs on the top there and it's perfect for you and your cat and the town home is across from the park and there's a sparkling pool directly across from your home. not bad. remember, that's $93,000. >> and we have time to get to phoenix, arizona. tell us about this home. >> where only $ 00,000 you get impressive home that sits on the end of another cul-de-sac, very quiet in a quiet gated community. the interior is just as impressive as the outside. the kitchen has a big dining room, and the fancy columns and the striking staircase make it

seem unbelievable. does that look like a $100,000 home? not to me. the master bedroom is big enough for a bowling alley, in my opinion, with cathedral ceilings, arch windows and a time of architectural detail. in this house for that big $100,000, it comes with its own pool so you get to decide who can come and swim in your house. >> in the arizona heat, you need that pool. that's are great. and the tablecloths do not come with. so no fear, everybody. still to come, the model who walked into a plane propeller, she sees her face for the first time. but coming up next, how to keep our homes safe this holiday season. coming up right after this. jason ] it's good to know there are some things you can count on. up here in maine, those things are cold weather and bean boots. ♪ and that's what makes them such a good gift. that and the fact that everybody wants warm feet for christmas. zshg is

you just pop in a microwave. like caramel chocolate drizzles. happier holidays. chex party mix.

home, holiday safety. putting up the decorations can be an accident waiting to happen if you don't take the proper precautions. here with safety tips is lou fernandi, host of the show "house smart." your timing is impeccable. i'm going to go out and get my tree this weekend. let's start first with the right fit. getting the tree that will fit in your house. >> so your tape measure is your friend when it comes to measuring the ceiling height. most of us have an eight foot tall ceiling, some of us have neen or ten. find out what that is. the artificial tree res in the

back. make sure you have enough room at the top. at our house, we have an angel and we write on the box which kid gets to put it up. for wide trees, the wider the base, the better. it doesn't have to cost a ton of money. this metal one is by christmas mountain manufacturing. it's $40. you'll have this for the rest of your life. they make custom ones for municipality. key it watered. a fresh tree can drink up to a gallon of water a day. this is not a gallon. this is probably about a half gallon. this holds a little bit more water. another very wide base, plastic in construction and you're going to tighten it up, fine tune that. when you tighten it up and you figure get it going, at the end of the night, i want you to tighten it again because it's going to compress a little bit. >> and another handy tip you're going to show is to tie it up and tie it back?

>> if you have young kids or a cat, i was at a friend's house and all of their ornaments are from here up. but even that, with a good base -- >> latter accidents, we're hearing a lot about that. >> if you're using fun holiday, this is like a durey rug, it's slippery, very inexpensive nonstick mat that you put down on top of this. first on the floor, put this down on top. now when grandma comes over, it's not going anywhere. double-sided tape, don't use the chair. use a ladder. have someone hold it. these are little bitty things going, oh, i can reach. then all of a sudden, 250,000 people fall off the ladder every year. use some common sense. >> outdoor lighting decorations, l.e.d. >> grab those right there. these are l.e.d.s. it's come a long way. these are inexpensive, durable. they don't have that blue look any more. >> good. >> this cord, it's a longer

cord. every eight feet, there's a place to plug in. you don't have to run these multiple cords. when you do that, you want to plug in and cover the ends. can you see back in here? it's a little tape so that the water stays out of there and doesn't short it out for you. >> very good. >> because that can be problematic. and then what you plug it into -- >> timing, right? >> right in here, if you can look inside a gfc outlet is like a mini breaker box. that's .something shorts out. it's a button on there. make sure that's what you plug in. if you don't have it, if you have the other one that you can see there, this is a plug-in version that has that breaker there. >> we're running out of time, but last minute, we have to remind people, candle safety. do you like the smell of the real thing? >> set a timer at 11:00 at night, use the battery operated ones that look pretty nice. >> they do look pretty good.

thank you, as always. coming up, affordable gift ideas that make great stocking stuffers. traditions are not fo. they're for keeping us together. ♪ [ boy ] to dad, love sam. [ mom ] say "merry christmas." [ boy ] merry christmas. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. [ boy ] charlie brown spotted a small, scraggly pine tree. ♪ your new progresso rich & hearty steak burger soup. [ dad ] i love this new soup. it's his two favorite things in one... burgers and soup. did you hear him honey? burgers and soup. love you. they're cute. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i never did anything about it because i felt like okay this is not life threatening. maybe i just need to sip a certain way.

or eat something a certain way. until i went to the dentist one day. the dentist gave me sensodyne toothpaste. once i tried sensodyne and kept using it i realized okay this really works. i have stopped using sensodyne in the past for like a week. and then i would notice slowly but surely that same sensitivity would start coming back. i said let me go back to using the sensodyne. this one is a keeper. build the best vehicles and once a year offer them with special savings. today, it's an american tradition. toyotathon is back with great deals on the toyotas you've been waiting for. right now, get a low 0% apr financing on select new tundras and drive with peace of mind, thanks to toyota care, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. others have tried to copy it. but in the end, there's only one...toyotathon. the biggest and best sales event of the year is going on now!

right now, we're backing up the toys that were donated this morning. charlize theron was here helping

us. >> thank you. >> and, of course, without your help, these children wouldn't have a present to open on christmas day. so it's really, really important and we appreciate it. we thank everyone who has been so generous. and among our most fill an anthropology partners is mary kay. when i read how much mary kay was donating, i had to reread it. i wasn't sure. >> this is our seventh year in a row to donate to this great cause. so on behalf of the mary kay corporate employees and our 2 million sales force members across the globe in 35 countries, we have $7 million again this year of our fabulous skin care, and products as well as for the children. that's $25 million over the last seven years that we've donated. >> you all are so amazing to us. and we thank you because it goes a long way, especially women with domestic violence and abuse cases. we appreciate that, as well.

thank you so much. >> thank you. don't forget, if you want to donate, you can do it on our website, today.com. we'll be back. i love the holidays. and with my bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i love 'em even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as 1... -2... -3... [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. [ toy robot sounds ] apply onldoneor at a bank of america near you. done done done done done,done,done almost done. done done done done done,done,done,done,done done done

done ♪ veronica johnson down here in arlington, virginia, and the bank off of claireton boulevard. we want to have more coats, so that means you have to get down to this location, and we will tell you where else you can go. it's cold outside and expected to be a cold winter. you might be fortunate, with a nice, warm coat but a lot in the community not as fortunate.

a lot of locations you could get to. this is a big community effort. i am joined now with terry cole. >> the bank is really excited to be part of the coat drive. we're in the business of helping people all the time. we help people most of the time with the banking needs, but this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate how we can go beyond banking and helping people contribute to the coat drive. >> lots of locations. go to

i'm serious, we compare our direct rates side by side to find you a great deal, even if it's not with us. [ ding ] oh, that's helpful! well, our company does that, too. actually, we invented that. it's like a sauna in here. helping you save, even if it's not with us -- now, that's progressive! call or click today. no mas pantalones!

start with the post. the post and the cages. >> the post and the -- what? but they're not called cages. they're called enclosures. my brief marriage, that was a cage. >> whew. that's scarlett johansson with costar matt damon drama we bought a zoo. both of them are stopping by next week to tell us about it. scarlet will be here on monday on "today." so a lot of men will be here in the studio. >> exactly. >> lurking creepily around. >> we've got amy here with us, too. >> we'll find out what's coming on weekend "today" in a minute, but first, encouraging signs

from lauren scruggs, who was injured last weekend in that devastating propeller accident. she's seen her own face, she's spoken for the first time since she's been injured. what she had to say may surprise you, and that's coming up. also ahead, we're going to get you squared away for the holidays with great ideas from stocking stuffers from julie to golf balls for 50 bucks or less. we've got it for you. >> and then if you don't want to spend all day in the kitchen but still want to impress your guests we're going to show you how to make a delicious roast in two sides with. >> but first, amy robach is here to tell us about weekend "today." >> coming up, we're going to give you help for that frizzy hair. now a new crop of over-the-counter products claim to tame hair safely. how do they work? well, we're going to show you. and then it's the topic of a new movie that has hollywood buzzing.

my week with marilyn. now a woman who worked with marilyn on the show speaks out about the bombshell and the controversy brought out in the movie. and we're going to have you meet lucky, a penguin born with an impaired foot. we're going to meet him and his caretakers live when we meet him this weekend on "today." >> you had me at frizzy hair. >> we're there. >> thanks. >> let's get a check of the weather once again. al is in l.a. >> hey, dpies. savannah, i like the glasses. >> oh, thank you. i was trying to look more intelligent, al. how is it working? >> you look so smart. and it's that kind of sexy librarian. >> oh, you took yours off. okay. i have to work on my best al roker move. >> let's show you what's happening as far as your weekend weather is you what is happening as far as your weekend weather is

concerned. we're looking at cold weather. cold to the plains, and snow showers around the great lakes. plenty of sunshine through the southwest. sunday, sunday, we will continue cold in new england and the northeast. and cool all the way down to the gulf coast. look for showers along the northern california coast, and it will be colder in the pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods.. >> we have high clouds drifting over the region now. a live view from the skywatcher camera, and just now beginning to get above freezing in most locations, and we will climb later today to around 50 degrees. clouds tonight and near freezing tomorrow morning and a sunny saturday, highs mid-40s, and the 20s for the afternoon highs. and next >> and that's your latest weather. i know you're thinking, i'm glad it's friday because you're

thinking, only 48 hours to the best night of the week. that's sunday night, football night in america. eli manning, takes his giants down to cowboys stadium. they'll be going down to cowboys stadium. will tony romo be going down? we'll find out on the best night of the week. sunday night, football night in america. everybody. >> that is huge. >> and if you had taken off your glasses at the end, that would have -- >> i like when he does it even when he's alone out in l.a. >> thank you, al. we miss you. coming up next, some encouraging signs from the model injured by a plane propeller. we'll see how she's doing right after this. [ woman ] special occasions call for a dip that can't disappoint.

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with a wii twist. netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds. all for only 8 bucks a month. seriously, what is it? now to some good news on the recovery of a young texas woman who walked into the spinning propeller of a plane. nbc's janet shamblian is at parkland hospital in dallas this morning. janet, good morning to you.

>> savannah, good morning. it's been less than a week since this just awful accident. it's the type of accident that often claims a life. despite very critical injuries, lauren scruggs is talking, walking and yesterday she looked in the mirror for the first time. what she said after seeing herself -- and reminded everyone around her that her beauty is not just skin deep. 30, that was the word lauren scruggs spoke as she took her first steps after her devastating propeller accident. >> we're thinking, what does that mean? and she said, i walked 30 steps. >> reporter: 30 steps on what could be a long road to recovery. in a news conference thursday, scruggs' parents say their daughter doesn't remember the accident. >> she was in a bad accident, but she doesn't know -- she can't remember any detail of it at all. >> it was last saturday night. scruggs boarded a private plane in the dallas area to look at christmas lights from the air. the 23-year-old had just climbed

out of the single engine two-seater plane when she walked directly into the still spinning propeller. >> it was dark and we were thinking that lauren came back to thank the pilot. and she didn't see that the propeller was winding down. >> lauren's family says it was an accident and they don't blame the pilot who has yet to comment on the incident. a part-time model and fashion blogger, lauren suffered a number of critical injuries, including a severed hand, trauma to her face and shoulder and the possibility she may still lose her left eye. >> she is excelling in the physical and occupational therapies and they're not as concerned about that, but it's more of a concern of the cognitive and the neurological therapy that she's going to need after this. >> reporter: despite the challenges, her parents say lauren is already showing signs of her old self. >> she has her spunk back, her personality. >> reporter: and her positive attitude as lauren used a mirror to loot a her favorite for the first time since the accident.

she looked and she said, well, it's not that bad. so that was really encouraging. and she still has her beautiful smile. >> lauren's parents don't know the extent of any brain damage that she might have, but they are clearly encouraged by the progress she's made and, savannah, she appears to be one heck of a fighter. back to you. >> janet, thanks. she's amazing. great spirit. >> to hear that she has that spirit and personality, it's encouraging, i'm sure. >> we wish her the best, absolutely. coming up next, we've got to switch gears here and we're going to have some great stocking stuffers. we're going to have some great stocking stuffers.

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super saturday is on! all treadmills are on sale, like 40% off this nordictrack, plus a craftsman 200-piece mechanics tool set is 50% off. come shop the early preview. real deals. real savings. sears ready, go! sears super saturday is on! 60% off coats, sweaters and fleece for the whole family. 50% off all heated blankets, throws and flannel sheets. come shop the early preview. real deals. real savings. sears this morning on "today's countdown for the holidays,

stocking stuffers. we have unique gifts all under $50. sara, good morning. this is price tag. let's get started. starting off with these great monogram belts, which i love. >> you can shop and get great things all for under $50. this is perfect for a woman. an initial belt buckles, $20. >> nice leather. >> and what you can do is attach this to any wrap around belt. but you can buy these belts. these are reversible and are $48. >> now, body products. everyone woman loves body products and you hate to buy it for yourself. >> you can't go wrong. these are stocking stuffer staples, hand creams and soaps. but these look like they're from an old english pharmacy, right? and they also smell delicious. they have tea rose and apple bloos yom. good price, never go to waste. >> okay. and some jewelry. every woman loves a little piece

of jewelry. >> color blocking is a good trend this season. sh a way to give someone that trend for $30. comes in two colors. again, it's k good for a mom who grew up in the 60s. >> i love it. nail polish. every color under the rainbow is in here. >> it's a beauty junky's dream, i would say. it's really good for a sleepover for tweens. it comes 18 different shades, $48. and the thing is, you get kind of the basics and then you get the crazy glitters. >> there's definitely a spectrum. it's great. now over to these wallets, but they're iphone wallets. >> these are men gifts and these are pretty billant, i think. these are wallets that are really pretty leather and they put your iphone in there and hold six cards. it's good for the minimalist guy, comes in dozens of colors and they're $50. >> all right. now for the fashion forward man, you have great ties. >> retroties are back.

the site ivyprepster gave us some of these. you've got an argyle, a stripe, $49 each. >> okay. for the ultra preppy man. >> that's right. >> now for the golf lover, this is guaranteed to make you hit them straight, right? not really. >> 75% straighter. >> really? okay. the ultimate straight for xf from polar. this is 35 for $12. this will make him feel better about his golf range. not good if you're playing pebble beach. these are illegal on the course. >> mine would be straight into the tree. straight, but straight into the tree. now these are great stocking stuffers. always great to have the hot cocoa this time of year. >> powder packets have nothing on these. these are hot chocolate on a stick. they start at $4. they come in real fruity flavors. >> all you do is you take this

stick, put them into the milk and that's it? >> yep. >> delicious. i love that. now, after all the partying that you've been doing during the holiday season, a little rest and relaxation? >> these are fun. they're black out eye masks. they onl obviously have a sense of humor and a style to them, too. they're $20 and they come in six colors. >> now here is the ultimate gift for everyone who loves gumny bears. i'm a big fan. >> natalie, you can have this. >> five pounds, is that right? >> they claim it's the world's largest gummy bear. i'm not sure if that's true, but it is five pounds of glistening, glimmering fun. we can't guarantee what would happen to the kids after they eat this on christmas day. would it make your holidays memorable, for sure. >> sarah humphries, thanks so much. coming up next, a holiday feast that will look like you spent tons of

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this morning in today's cooking school, preparing a holiday feast in just three hours. >> and we're going to show you how to do it in four minutes. good morning, scott. >> good morning. >> here is our goal. >> it's a very reachable goal. >> this is the little black dress. >> it's a holiday meal. it's a merry happy everything meal, celebratory. we've got a pork loin roast crusted with herbs and bread crumbs, fantastic, super simple and bacon. this is a duo of scalloped potatoes, no cheese, very light, simple. some lemon caramelized brussel sprout done on top of the stove in minutes. biscuits.

>> secret weapon and dry fruit compote cooked in pork. >> how do we do this? >> the very first thing, we have some sliced thin white potatoes and sweet potatoes. >> you can do them on a mandolin, as thin as you can. agrassively rub this with garlic and a good amount of butter. and then a little bit of salt and some pepper, if you want to grind a little bit of pepper. >> sure. >> and a tiny bit of nutmeg. and then these are onions. if you want to sprinkle some of these, i'll give you a couple. a little bit of cooked. and you just drizzle them over? >> exactly. >> or clump them. >> and then this is a really light cream sauce. >> am i putting all of these in? >> you're doing great. you're done. next layer. just a little bit of this. it's very, very light. it's not drenched or swimming in it. >> exactly. >> and keep going with that. >> oh, i love that.

that's fun. >> more seasoning as we go. >> and how long do we cook these? >> about 30 to 45 minutes in a 350 oven. and it's going to cook at the same time that the pork roast is in the oven. >> okay. go see nat with the pork. >> and we've got the herb and garlic pork roast. >> this was brianed overnight or a couple of days with water and salt and brown sugar. you don't have to do that. you can skip that and move ahead. >> but it gives you that moist -- >> it's very good. then we brown it up really well in peanut oil, let it cook a little bit. then this is the paste. put a little ape recots, rosemary. >> and puree it in a food processor. >> pour it into a paste and spread a bit of this, froeft it like a cake if you want to do a little bit of that. >> you've got it. >> anytime you can slather on bacon in a paste, why not? >> this is an application that can be used for a lot of other things. >> it's a great idea. then you're going to put this right on top?

>> fresh bread crumbs made into putter so they're in another nice and light, not dry. a lot salt and pepper. >> and that will stick on. >> savanna, if you want to pat that all over -- >> it's tremendous success. >> pat it in there. >> all right. okay. >> and then this goes in a 350 oven. >> for how long? >> with the potatoes, about an hour, until it's about 155 degrees with the thermometer. let it rest for about 15 minutes. >> brussels sprout. how hot is that oil? >> hot enough. take the time to put them face down. >> because you want to caramelize them. how do you do that? >> exactly. in the oil, face down. salt and pepper. a little bit of water. put the lid on them. and it comes out exactly like this. >> viola. >> scott, thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up, some lucky ladies from our

veronica johnson out here in the cold. arlington, virginia, for a big share the warmth coat drive. we have gotten a lot of coats already, but we want more coats. come on down and join us. we have all my friends out here. they gentlemen have been part of

the program for the last 15 years. tell us a little bit about what it's like to be part of this program year after year. >> 20 years ago with the salvation army we found the perfect partner, and everything felt good from day one and every day sense then, and we are proud and honored to be part of it. >> jeffrey, you mentioned some of the stories, folks coming out. >> it's great when we give out the coats in early january to the needy families in the area, and families that need the and families that need the

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody. crank it up, it's try day friday, december 9th. ♪ the very next day you gave it away ♪ >> we are still partying. we had our big "today" show holiday party yesterday. >> we had it at a place called the park. >> it's fantastic. room after room had their own personality. >> it was a beautiful spot. it was a fun bash.

there is meghan in the middle with our big boss jim bell in the back at the holiday party. it got a little crazy. wait, look at our crew. >> that's us during commercials around here. it's no big deal. >> keep clicking through the photos. look at joanne and tammy looking good. >> they have delicious food until somebody uninvited showed up. >> this is our cooking crew. >> if you're wondering everyone is behind the scenes. >> i'm not wearing that dress one more time. i look like an oscar, a chubby oscar. >> keep going. there is bobbie thomas in the middle threading the needle, baby. >> some of our sales people. >> jana, sara, britney. >> we had fun. >> it gets to be -- look at christine on tv. >> christine is going to be angry. >> here is the great thing about the party. it starts at 11:30. who has a party at 11:30 in the

afternoon? we do. those were mini cupcakes. >> they were? >> yes. baked by melissa. i hung out there. >> it was a great party and was going strong until one person showed up unannounced, the health inspector. took all the food away. he was not having it. he said party scmarty, i'm here to enforce the law. when you come in and there is a christmas party with 200 people, say you'll come back monday. >> they were taking trays of food away. i was eating it right off there. i didn't care. bring it before you send it away. were those little wrapping things not delicious? >> you, i must say, was miss bossy pants yesterday. >> i was. >> tell them about helen who comes out at parties. >> i have an evil twin. my sisters told me this and i'm very bossy.

people who have known me for a long time have told me that and you learned it yesterday. >> i've seen it rear its little head. >> i was dragging her around. >> no, no, come on, bring it. let's go. you come over here. you put on the santa claus hat. i'm going, i'm going to kill her. >> you dance, you stop. i liked it. everyone needs control in their lives. i have mine. >> it's called self-control. this should be on one of the tips to survive the holiday party, make that number 11, don't be a bossy pants. >> these were the tree ornaments. >> let me hold yours. i don't like holding my own. it's weird. these are the christmas tree ornaments they had hanging up on the tree. >> who doesn't want hoda hanging from her tree? >> these are book marks for the "today" show book. here are ten tips to survive your holiday party.

>> two-drink maximum. yesterday was a two-drink minimum. >> if you want to dance and want to get that party, people have to get lubed up. >> it depends on if you're driving and how much food you're eating. yesterday it was a bit of a problem when they took the food away. you've got to show up for work the next day. >> people who call in sick after the holiday party, it's a big no-no. >> don't pig out -- we couldn't yesterday. something has to absorb the alcohol. >> dress up because it's nice to be festive, but just enough. some people underdress, they wear jeans and some people overdress. >> not me looking like an oscar. no kissing. this is no time to indulge in the office crush, christine. >> how many times does that happen during a party? i'm trying to save christine, where people have a couple of extra drinks, start dancing and flirting. >> the person you had a very sort of funny little flirtatious with all of a sudden you're in

the corner by the mistletoe. >> go alone, don't drag your spouse to it. >> i didn't think spouses were invited. >> lastly, no work talk. a lot of people talked shop. what is the project you're working on? no one wants to talk about that. >> we had little booths where you could get your picture taken with santa claus hats. there was a situation. >> i don't know if we have a people. >> both people would lose their jobs. >> don't say their names. >> i'm not going to say their names. >> i almost said them. >> if you go to those booths, don't hang a santa claus hat from -- >> you saw. >> on your man's junk. >> don't do it. >> you know who you are. >> we are not saying a name, but there is a picture out there somewhere. we saw them taking it. >> we couldn't believe it. >> even we couldn't believe it. really. by the way, tammy, our senior

producer on the show, she edited that photo so she saved someone's job and she looks fab with her new hair cut. >> she does. guess who is employed? the octomom. >> she got a web television show. they are paying her six figures. we don't know if that means $100,000 or $9 hahn,000. nadia suleiman is getting her own web show where she gives advice. it's called octo tv. it will be featured on something called you usestream. she'll talk about things like parenting, fitness, nutrition, shopping on a budget. >> she might know something about that. she does have 14 children. >> she's been out of the news completely. she was on with dr. drew a while back. he said to her, she said she wanted to finish up her college degree. he said woe buy her internet service and he promised he would help her get personal childcare

help. >> good. we wish her all the best. she does have 14 children to take away of. whether you agree or disagree with her, those children deserve to be taken care of. >> alec baldwin is back in the news again. now the american airlines flight attendants are upset with him because they want to remove the show "30 rock" and want him on a no-fly list. >> don't you have to be a terrorist? >> the union acknowledged he wouldn't be on the no owe fly list, but they want him to fine, the faa to fine alec. what they really want is an apology. he stuck his foot in it again -- >> he sort of made the apologies we sort of talked about yesterday. >> he said, he made a crack about greyhound bus, felt like a greyhound bus experience. >> so now greyhound is upset. >> here is what they said. >> instead of christmas cards he should send out apologies to

just everybody. go ahead. >> so greyhound was upset. they say there are many now who walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and clip board in their hands. that's way said. >> they made flying a greyhound bus experience. >> we don't require our customers to turn off their electronic devices ever. you can therefore, play words with friends during your good morning. i am pat lawson. this is a news4 special report about the latest on the virginia tech shootings. virginia state police are holding a conference in blacksburg to discuss the shooting that took place on the campus of virginia tech yesterday which left police officer, derrick krauss dead. let's listen in now. >> it's our tradition to stray

and stay here as long as we can to get your questions answered. i know there are things you want to know that we are not yet prepared to state or to release. let me say that with me on the far right is the chief of the police department, and next to her is the director of public relations for the virginia state police, and to my immediate right, the chief of virginia tech police department. first of all, just a few things. i want to thank you all. i want to thank the extended university community and really the nation for your expressions of condolences that have come throughout yesterday and the evening and this morning. we very much appreciate it. i think you know it's a

resilient and tight-knit community, and we appreciate your concern for our welfare. i want to particularly say also that it's fair to say that the virginia tech police department is a very, very special group to those of us in the community, and so our heart goes out to them because we, too, are deeply pained by their loss. please be thinking about our police department and most particularly the family of officer krauss. i want to thank the extended law enforcement. the response yesterday was short of overwhelming. we had -- i am afraid i was not fair on my characterization from yesterday's press conference,

because we had responded from many police agencies. it was truly an integrated response from local and state police. they were operating under a well-established unified command structure, and we very much appreciate their being here. i know it was very comforting to our university community. just a few things about the campus. as you know, the students have announced there will be a vigil tonight in the memory and honor of officer krauss at 6:30 on the drill field. things are happening quickly. we are doing our best to keep you apprised and posted. i would say the very best thing for my colleagues in the media is to look to the website. we will be working with the state police when we have new announcements and information, and we will post it through our

website. that's the best way that i have to keep in contact with you. and so at this point, i believe i am going to go ahead and turn it over to corrin. >> thank you, larry. first i am going to review exactly what we have got at this point that took place yesterday. it's just after midnight this morning that the virginia department of forensic science was able to confirm through testing of evidence that was taken from both of the shooting scenes on the campus, both officer krauss and the subject found in the parking lot half mile away were shot and killed with the same weapon. the weapon, which was a handgun, was found near the subject in a parking lot known as the cage.

it was approximately 12:15 p.m. on thursday when the officer had a vehicle stopped in the coliseum parking lot along washington street and the intersection of spring road. during the course of the traffic stop, the officer was approached by an unknown male and was shot. the male subject then fled on foot from the scene, and through the course of our investigation, we were able to determine that he ran to the greenhouses where he apparently changed clothes, taking off a pullover top and a wool cap and put in a backpack that he left at the greenhouses, and it was approximately half an hour after the initial shooting, around 12:45, a sheriff was driving through the parking lot of the cage, and noticed a male pedestrian towards the back of the parking lot, and observed him by himself. there was nobody else in the parking lot, acting a bit strangely. the deputy drove through the parking lot to approach him, and

lost sight of him at one point and when he located him he found him lying on the ground and he did suffer what appears to be a self inflicted gunshot wound and the handgun was found nearby. the two shooting scenes were about half a mile apart from one another. the bodies of officer krauss and the male subject were transported to the officer of the medical examiner where that examination is on going right now. we have a state police investigator there now. as protocol, we are very confident, we know who the individual is, however due to protocol, the medical examiners must make that positive identification and then notify the next of kin and then we can release his name. i can tell you at this point he is not a virginia tech student. investigators have also been

able to review the in-car video, and the video captured a male subject with the handgun at the officer's car at the time of the shooting. the clothing that he had on, this individual had on at the vehicle and based on eyewitness descriptions matched that of the clothing found in the backpack. the subject found in the parking lot had on a different top and head gear at that point. as a result, that's one reason we were trying to make sure and confirm absolutely that we were dealing with the exact same individual. during the course of this investigation, the state police had tremendous assistant from the virginia tech police department, and christiansburg police department and montgomery county sheriff's department, and in the wake of what happened in 2007, our departments work together continually over the years and this is an example of what the regional cooperation and partnerships can accomplish in a short period of time, in

unfortunately another tragic situation on the tech campus. all day yesterday overnight and continuing today, we have been in the process of piecing together the whereabouts of the male shooting leading up to the shooting as well as following up on various tips and information that are coming in, and so we thank the public for their information, information that we have been able to pursue and piece together what happened. we are waiting for additional forensic testing as well as other toxicology reports, and that is on going today right now in roanoke at the medical examiner's office. and motive, that's the fundamental part. in law enforcement, the family, our hearts and prayers go out to

the officer and the entire virginia tech police department, and our troopers work closely with the police department and we lost one of our own. at the request of the virginia tech police department to show our support and to help their officers through this difficult time, there will be law enforcement from the agencies, and the state police, and they will be here to help the department as they work their way through the difficult time and lend support to the students, staff and faculty here at virginia tech. at this time i will turn it over to the chief. >> as you have heard, we -- >> you have been watching a live press conference by state police and officials at virginia tech university for the latest on the shootings that took place there yesterday, and what we learned this morning is that the

virginia department of forensic science has confirmed that the officer and the suspect were both killed with the same gun, found half a mile from the scene of the shooting from the officer. the police are not at this point releasing the identity of the suspect until the medical examiner has completed its work, his work and until the next of kin have been notified. they said the shooter, the alleged shooter, suspected shooter was not a virginia tech student, and they revealed that dash camera video that was mounted in the officer's cruiser captured the image of the suspect holding a handgun, and police do not still have a motive yesterday for the shooting that rocked the virginia tech community once again. there will be a vigil tonight on the campus, and we will have more coverage later today.

>> the outfit is available at macy's. she was screaming the whole time so i'm so happy we can give this to you. >> mixing and matching. >> you look sensational. >> let nancy through. >> i don't think nancy is used to those shoes. >> those shoes are too high for anyone. hold her hand. >> you're i not going to be on the catwalk. >> up next, what happens when you put sara in a crowd with a microphone? >> we'll answer the questions. captain, we have to keep going! [ growling ] one step at a time. come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ]

long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters. extended to this friday and saturday the big half-off apparel holiday sale! family sleep sets are 50% off women's jaclyn smith cashmere sweaters also 50% off even holiday costume jewelry 50% off! now that's kmart smart ♪ vegetables picked at their peak ♪ ♪ so fresh my knees grow weak [ male announcer ] new hearty bertolli meal soup for two, with crisp vegetables and tender chicken. [ chef ] ♪ fresh tasting restaurant style ♪ ♪ bertolli soup's in the freezer aisle ♪ nurse...! [ female announcer ] dawn power clean can give you the power of an overnight soak in just 5 minutes. [ sponge ] it's a scientific miracle! [ female announcer ] dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore.

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it is time for three, two, one live with sara haines. >> we have to answer every one of the questions. what's up? >> i'm here with wendy from virginia with a question about holiday memories. >> what is your fifth holiday memory? >> i think it was always the christmas after a new baby was born. as your family grows and you start making memories together. cassidy's first christmas we shot at our house in connecticut. we had a glass coffee table. cody was underneath it. cassidy was over it going, cody, cody. it was just sweet.

those are the kind of things you remember. how about you, hodi? >> i have great childhood memories of the holidays. it's like when you're carefree. you didn't have worries, you didn't have bills to pay. you rode a sled down the hill. i like when you didn't have a lot of worries, unlike right now. >> kate and libbey from georgia. >> hi. >> what do you want most for christmas? >> world peace. it's true. what would you like? >> i want peace in my own home. my son is returning from college and we never know who is going to show up, the one that loves his mommy or the one who can't stand her. i'm hoping the one that loves his mother is on a plane tomorrow. that's all i want, peace in our own home and a little sunshine down in the keys. have a merry christmas, you guys. >> see you later. still to come, the animals you never want to run into in the great outdoors. >> we've got them and they are here to say a special hello to

hodi. >> choosing the lesser evil when it comes to holiday treats. i already had a macaroon today. >> a terrific performance by the one, the only robin thicke. >> his hair is out of control. ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie

just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy.

[ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne.

man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

♪ jingle bell rock >> we are back on this try day friday with more of "today" and a pop quiz from joy bauer. >> with all the delicious treats at your fingertips, there is going to be some indulging going on that. doesn't mean you can't make better choices so you can pick the least bad thing for you. joy bauer is our nutritionist. >> this is the best of the worst. we are in the holiday season. we are all going to cave. >> even joy bauer does on occasion. >> i totally do. we are at the mall, shopping, we get the urge to snack. are you going to go for the large pretzel with the cheese dip or the frosted cinnamon bun?

>> i think it would be that. >> i like that better. >> it's counterintuitive. >> the winner is the pretzel with the cheese dip. >> which is what i would have picked any way. >> this is 490 calories versus 880 calories. >> you don't need that much. >> that is not worth it. that scares me. that is almost a full day's food. >> you eat it today 2 you'll wear it tomorrow. >> now you're at a friend's or relative's. for breakfast they serve donuts or bagels with cream cheese. >> i'm picking donut. no question, 100% right. >> winner is the donut. you know what the give-away is? it's lighter. this is about 60 calories. this is more than 500. >> if it's cheese and spreadable and edible. >> the majority of calories really comes from the bagel because it's so dense. it's four to five slices of

bread. >> if you hollowed it out. >> i hollow it out. >> of course you do. >> now for the seasonal beverages. are you going to go for the egg nog or for the peppermint hot cocoa with a dollup of whipped cream. the winner is peppermint hot cocoa. it's 270 calories. >> this is solid cream. >> a measly cup of egg nog is between 350 and 450 calories. >> i don't like egg nog. >> the simplest slimming tip is just thin it out a little bit with skim milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk. you love it. you love it. >> it's like water. >> mix it with the thick egg nog. now your host put out dips.

do you go for the spinach artichoke dip or the baked brie. >> i would personally go for that. >> the winner is the baked br ichb e. for half a cup, the baked brie is 250 calories. the spinach artichoke dip is 300. it's typically made with parm cheese, mayo and cream cheese. >> who doesn't love it? it's so good. i do think that's worth the splurge. >> do you go for the honey glazed ham or the prime rib? >> same amount. >> i'm going there. >> i'll go the ham for fun's sake. >> winner is the ham by a landslide. >> how about that? >> do you know the ham is about 240 calories that same portion, 720 calories because prime rib is one of the fatiest cuts of meat. >> but you're cutting the fat out. who is eating that? >> it's still marbled.

>> you can eat three of these plates for one of that. >> all right. >> i don't like this game. >> dessert. >> you only like the games when you're winning. >> you have a chance to catch up. >> i don't think so. >> do you go for the pound cake or apple pie? >> pound cake. >> that's one of those counterintuitive things. i'm going to go with pound cake, too. >> winner is the apple pie. >> you should have gone opposite me. >> this is about 400 calories. >> but this is light. >> not that light. >> if you slice off the crust you save yourself another 100 calories. >> you weren't asking us about that. >> you know how they got the name pound cake? traditionally it's made with a pound of sugar, flour, eggs and butter, pound cake. >> i used to like joy. >> do you go for the chocolate fudge or frost the christmas cookie. >> the christmas cookie. it's much better than that thing. >> i'll go with the cookie. >> winner is the cookie, 150

calories and this is about 220. if you could imagine, ironic, the chocolate fudge has twice the amount of sugar as the sugar cookie. >> lastly. >> cocktails. do you go for the mimosa, champagne and o.j., bloody mary, vodka with tomato choose. >> i'm doing the bloody mary. >> bloody mary wins. less sugar even though they are both around the same calories. >> another excuse. thank you, joy. up next, we are going to the wild. >> i've been there once or twice. >> that's where you spend your saturday nights. ♪ [ female announcer ] lose yourself in a delicious lunch. ♪ special k protein shakes and meal bars. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber each... they satisfy your hunger longer so you can stay on track. [ telephone rings ] ♪ satisfaction.

what will you gain when you lose? love your lunch with special k protein shakes and meal bars. challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm. then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo. they won't be beat. oh, actually... then i'd be like, you rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. [ male announcer ] more christmas for your money, guaranteed. ♪ [ male announcer ] more christmas for your money, [ horse neighs ] you're leaving. it is my destiny. ♪ take this. it is a piece of me. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. with a wii twist. netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds.

all for only 8 bucks a month. seriously, what is it? ♪ vegetables picked at their peak ♪ ♪ so fresh my knees grow weak [ male announcer ] new hearty bertolli meal soup for two, with crisp vegetables and tender chicken. [ chef ] ♪ fresh tasting restaurant style ♪ ♪ bertolli soup's in the freezer aisle ♪

[ chef ] ♪ fresh tasting restaurant style ♪ extended to this friday and saturday the big half-off apparel holiday sale! family sleep sets are 50% off women's jaclyn smith cashmere sweaters also 50% off even holiday costume jewelry 50% off! now that's kmart smart [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. ♪

it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪ we are back with today's call of the wild, creatures like snakes and porcupines you don't want to run into outside. >> san diego zoo ambassador rick schwarz brought them inside to us. they are not just north american animals. >> look at this thing.

>> looks like it's got some weasel in it. >> it is called a fossa. is it cat, dog, weasel, otter, all of the above? none of the above. they are from madagascar. >> he wants to jump. >> we'll have him come this way. >> we are not supposed to go near it. >> nice long kangaroo tail. it's used for balance while jumping around. this is an effective hunter during the daytime and nighttime. they'll hunt whatever they please. >> is he a baby? >> no. he is a full-grown adult male. >> why can't we be near him? >> because he wants to eat you. >> for one, isa is one of the trained fussa in the world we know of. they are a unique animal with an interesting behavior, which is everyone in their family is okay, everyone outside of their family is suspect and should be checked. >> it's almost like a meer cat.

>> let me get this guy with his trainer here. >> nice talking to you. next we've got a snake. >> it was right there all along and we didn't know it. >> this is so cool. this is a milk snake. the reason i wanted to bring this guy is the bright colors you see here are normally reserved for venomous snakes. >> like rattle snakes. >> basically bright colors in the wild mean, look at me, i'll kill you. >> he's not venomous? >> no. this is how they survived. everyone says, stay away from this guy. >> milk in what sense? >> got milk? >> that is a great question. it is believed because they were initially found around barns and farms they were stealing milk. snakes are bad and evil so they do something wrong which is stealing milk which is a value. the reality is they are hanging around barns because of the mouse population.

>> i thought you said hanging around bars. you're not going to get much milk there. i know. >> it's cool. snakes can be responsible for eliminating over 100,000 to 500,000 mice in just one year. >> let's bring up the hedge hog, shall we? >> who doesn't love a hedge hog. they always smell so good. >> he does. >> victor has a lovely odor. >> you always put them right in front of us so we get the down wind. >> you mentioned hedge hog. this is not a hedge hog. they are about this big. this is victor. he's the only other egg-laying mammal in the world. they are related to the platypus from australia. they are leathery and called a puggle. >> can we touch it? oh, my gosh, very bristly. these mate in the sort of normal sense? >> yes. >> doesn't that hurt?

>> they mate carefully. >> that's unbelievable. >> those are sharp. >> speaking of sharp, you have a porcupine down here. >> victor and i are going over here. >> i've got a visual now. wait a minute. >> you mentioned a hedge hog. people look at victor and think porcupine. look at the comparison. quite a bit different. this is an insectavore. ruba here is a true porcupine found in africa. all her quills are dressed back if she would get startled or scared, you would see them flair out. quills are a modified hair, no longer than can we shoot our hair they shoot their quills. >> thank you for bringing them. robin thicke is going to see a song to get new the mood. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ it's bring your happiness to work day. campbell's microwavable soups. in three minutes -- the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do. campbell's -- hershe

y' campbell's -- s bliss. hershe one square inch of incredibly smooth rich chocolate. one square inch of joy... fun... indulgence... one square inch of bliss. hershey's bliss. this season's hottest games and...sweatbands. [ grunting noises ] ahh! this is gold. [ mom ] woo! [ game ] snaps up the ace. i'll never be popular. [ game ] next game decides our winner. [ male announcer ] get low prices on this season's hottest games. like kinect sports season 2 for xbox 360 with kinect. rated e for everyone. backed by our christmas price guarantee. save money. live better. walmart.

after having a baby, everything changes, judgment tell me about it. >> we are talking about how everything changes when you have a baby. by the time robin thicke was writing music and producing for artists. >> we look good together. >> he's got a brand-new album out. this guy is platinum, gold. >> it's platinum, gold, all kinds of colors. >> it's called "love after war." >> it just came out. >> that sounds like an angry title. >> is this my interview with you guys? bring out the presence. >> we'll get them later. >> fine. be that way. >> you're married to a gorgeous wife. she has a big "mission impossible" movie. >> there she is my gorgeous

wife. >> how is your little baby? >> he is the most amazing thing. look at that little bobo with his cool wrist band. >> alan thicke is a grandfather? >> he is the best grandfather ever. this is called "love after war." it's where somebody has to start the healing process. i learned i'm the one to start the healing. ♪ that's right baby ♪ come on darling ♪ kathie lee and hoda ♪ you want the fight ♪ i said i'm sorry ♪ that i acted like a selfish child ♪ please forgive me baby

♪ i was out of line ♪ you know i can make it right ♪ don't you love it when we fight ♪ ♪ let me make it right ♪ you know i want it ♪ you slammed and broke the lights ♪ you've got to go ♪ bottles hit the tv screen ♪ you gotta go ♪ or i'm gonna leave ♪ throwing clothes into the yard ♪ when we go we go so hard ♪ it only makes me want you more ♪ ♪ i need you tonight baby ♪ come on and let me make it

right baby ♪ i'm knocking on that door ♪ you know i want it ♪ you know i want you baby ♪ you know i want you baby ♪ love's all we need ♪ love's all we need ♪ love's all we need ♪ kathie put your hands up in the air ♪ ♪ i just want to love you baby ♪ let's put down our weapons baby ♪ ♪ lay your guns down on the floor now ♪ ♪ give me some love after war baby ♪ ♪ you know it's going to be all right baby ♪ ♪ you know the way that we fight baby ♪ ♪ just drink this glass of wine ♪ ♪ baby remember you're mine

♪ yes you are ♪ say you love me now ♪ come on and let me in ♪ let me in ♪ you know i want your love ♪ can you say love ♪ say love ♪ can you say love after war ♪ can you say love ♪ say love after war baby ♪ you know i need you ♪ love after war >> we were feeling it. >> we were feeling it. >> now i get to feel on you. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

one of the reasons our toy drive is so successful we partner up with terrific companies like kay jeweler. >> for the 12th consecutive year kay is contributing 2 to our toy drive. he is here with two friends from st. jude's research hospital. >> merry christmas. you guys are always so generous. what's going on this year? >> we've got owen and our bears this year sold at our kay stores. we are donating 2,000. >> you guys have been very generous. >> st. jude's is important to your organization. >> it is. we are coming into our 13th year. we raised this year with our customers apartments help. we are donating all the profits of the sale for these bears and raised over $30 million. >> look at roman and ellie sitting here real cute. >> this one is so cute. he's a macho guy. >> he's cool.

>> have you been enjoying new york city? this is your first trip, right? >> yes. >> what have you done? >> i've been to toys "r" us, swatch. >> how about you? >> i've been to toys "r" us and stuff like that. >> we are so glad you guys are with us today. enjoy new york. >> thank you for everything you do. really appreciate it. >> thank you for having us. >> have a wonderful holiday don't forget, you have through december 21st to make a donation to our toy drive. go to today.com for the special link to our amazon.com page or come down here and leave something for the kids. >> next week we'll tell you how to stay calm during the holidays. >> we'll have a special surprise performance. do you know who it is? >> no. that's why it's a surprise. am i singing? >> we work here. captions paid for by nbc-universal television