good morning. the gambler. gop presidential contender mitt romney feeling the heat for challenging rick perry to a $10,000 bet during a weekend debate. not $10 -- $10,000. does it show he's out of touch with the average american? this morning, nbc's ted koppel weighs in on the race so far. shifting story. new questions about exactly what new questions about exactly what an alleged witness saw and heard jerry sandusky doing with a boy in a locker room shower? a surprising development just one day before sandusky faces his accusers in court.

god's quarterback, tim tebow, pulls off yet another come-from-behind victory giving branco fans more reason to tebow today, monday, december 12th, branco fans more reason to tebow today, monday, december 12th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> we are excited for tebow. but we should probably mention with just three weeks to the iowa caucus, the name of the case is to avoid missteps. mitt romney facing heat for challenging texas governor rick perry to a $10,000 bet. his detractors say it proves the millionaire businessman can't relate to average americans. this as a new nbc news/maris poll shows that newt gingrich is leading in both south carolina and florida. we'll have the latest on all of

this coming up straight ahead. also this morning, a florida woman who was brutally assaulted and nearly killed confronts her attacker in court. the question is where did she get the courage? she's going to open up about what she had to say. she was very strong in her words an decision to speak out in a live interview coming up. turning personal grief into something good. the parents of a rutgers university freshman who took his own life after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on him. they'll ep up for the first time. they've decided to speak out to protect other young victims of bullying. we'll be talking to them exclusively. we begin with the presidential rate. nbc's kristin welker is at the white house. >> reporter: president obama will meet with iraq's prime minister later today to discuss the u.s. troop withdrawal. in the meantime, he continues to defend his record at home. in his latest interview he says a full economic recovery will take several more years and argues that his vision for the country is in stark contrast to the entire republican field.

>> i'm a persistent son of a gun. >> reporter: with his re-election prospects jeopardized by the slow economic recovery, president obama appeared on "60 minutes" sunday and expressed confidence that can he beat any republican contender. >> joe biden has a good expression. he says don't judge me against the almighty. judge me against the alternative. >> reporter: the president predicted a long gop primary battle and weighed in on the two top contenders starting with former house speaker newt gingrich. >> he's somebody who's been around a long time and is good on tv, is good in debates and -- but mitt romney has shown himself to be somebody who's good at politics as well. he's had a lot of practice at it. >> reporter: on saturday those two candidates, along with four other republicans, squared off in iowa for their 12th debate. newt gingrich in his first debate as the clear front-runner came under repeated attacks.

>> the real difference, i believe, is our backgrounds. i spent my life in the private sector. >> reporter: but gingrich was ready. >> let's be candid. the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> now wait a second. now say the a wek. >> reporter: romney who has cruised through past debates made an uncharacteristic unforced error after perry accused him of writing about his support for an individual health care mandate in his book, romney said perry was wrong, and then challenged him to a bet. >> rick, i'll tell you what. $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> reporter: on sunday, critics, including rick perry, pounced. >> that's just a lot of money for most people and i guess not for mitt. >> reporter: rommy made light of the incident joking that even his wife, ann, wasn't that impressed. >> after the debate was over, ann came up and gave me a kiss and said i was great, and she said, a lot of things you do

well -- betting isn't one of them. >> reporter: now just for a little bit of context, $10,000 is more than most middle income americans make in about two months. in the meantime, there is more good news for newt gingrich. according to our latest nbc news/maris poll he leads romney by bubble digits in both florida and south carolina and those are two key primary states. >> kristin kernlg, thank you. veteran news man ted koppel is now a correspondent for nbc's rock center. we're very proud of that. you have covered a lot of campaigns. you've seen a lot of debates. when you heard mitt romney challenge rick perry to a $10,000 bet, what was your first reaction? >> it's a whoops moment and it is a whoops moment at this particular point in the campaign that can hurt him a lot because he just seems to be vulnerable right now and newt gingrich is

clearly on a roll. but think about it for a moment. newt gingrich has been bragging in recent weeks that he didn't need all that money from representing freddie mac because, after all, he was pulling down 60 grand a pop for his lectures. doesn't seem to bother anybody. >> when you look at the row of candidates up there and none of them seem to be in the same group or bracket or income bracket as the people they are trying to win the votes from right now, you got people hurting, people out of jobs. it just doesn't seem relatable. >> what i'm saying is for some reason or another it didn't hurt newt gingrich when he said that. for some reason or another the three marriages don't seem to have hurt newt gingrich. for some reason or another taking $1.6 million from freddie mac -- >> why do you think there is a difference and why are we holding them to different standards? >> i think what happens is you hit a streak. newt gingrich is on a streak right now. it happens to be coming just as the iowa primaries are going to

begin and he may be able to run that streak all the way to the republican nominating convention. >> if you want to hit a streak, this is the time. he has said some very controversial things over the last month, ted. he's talked about child labor and the poor. he talk about the palestinians at the end of last week calling them an invented people. is being outspoken -- and some would even say a little bit reckless -- necessarily a bad thing in this election cycle? or do you think people want someone who is not business as usual? >> you know, i always used to say there was something that's kind after richard nixon quality in the world. richard nixon is the kid who, in high school, did everything the right way and if one day he screws up in the slightest way, teacher comes down on him like a ton of bricks. and then there's the sort of kid that has everybody laughing in class all the time. at the moment, that's newt. >> and we'll see what happens with just 21 or 22 days to go until iowa. one of the reasons you're here this morning is you've got a great story on rock center

tonight. you went to iraq as the last u.s. troops prepared to withdraw at the end of the month. what do you think about the stability there right now as we draw our troops down? >> i think it's dreadful. we've got between 16,000 and 17,000 americans that we're leaving behind at what is the largest embassy in the world. we have two consulates. you know what a consulate is? we've got a consulate down in basra which is the main oil area of iraq. of 1,320 people. they get hit by rocket fire two and three times a week. the first thing that happens when you go to the consulate is they set you down, they give you a cup of coffee and they give you a briefing on what to do when the rockets start coming in. there have already been threats against the diplomats there saying, as soon as the last u.s. troops leave, we're coming after you diplomats. >> so are you saying this is the inappropriate time to pull these troops out?

is this fulfilling a campaign promise at all costs? >> i'm saying that the military commanders did not want to take the u.s. troops out at this time. the man who is in charge, general lloyd austin, wanted to leave 27,000 troops there. they are -- i'm talking about the diplomats and all the other americans who are still in iraq -- are terribly, terribly vul ne vulnerable. don't be surprised if some of them become almost like pawns over the next few months. >> ted koppel. ted will have more on that side of the story tonight on rock center. always good to have you. come back and see us soon. let's get a check of the morning's other top stories. natalie is over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. disgraced former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky will face some of the young men who have accused him of sexual abuse tomorrow in court. nbc's national investigative correspondent michael isikoff is in state college, pennsylvania with more. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie.

it is going to be a critical week of court hearings for jerry sandusky and for two top former penn state officials. but it may be a challenging one for state prosecutors as well. jerry sandusky spent the weekend under house arrest meeting with his lawyer and preparing for tomorrow's dramatic confrontation with his accusers. prosecutors plan to lay out new details of their case, calling some of the alleged victims to testify in public for the first time. but in an interview with nbc news, sandusky's lawyer suggests the alleged victims may be working together and may be motivated by money. >> at least one of the accusers, that's all the accuser is talking about, what they're going to do with all the money they're going to get. >> reporter: new allegations by amendola drew an outraged reaction sunday from the lawyer of one of the alleged victims. >> the idea that these people are coming forward with a financial incentive is ridiculous. >> reporter: but prosecutors may have a new problem. over the weekend reports surfaced a statement made by penn state offensive coordinator mike mcqueary, a key witness, is

now being called into question. according to a grand jury report, mcqueary alleges he saw sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the penn state locker room in 2002. but nbc news has confirmed a report in the patriot news that another witness, dr. jonathan drenoff, a mcqueary friend, told him he only heard sex sounds in the shower. he asked him three separate times that night whether he saw any sexual activity. each time mcqueary said no. the credibility of mcqueary is key to the separate case against two former penn state officials who are charged with perjury and are facing their own preliminary hearing this friday. meanwhile, another important witness in the case, former penn state coach joe paterno, entered the hospital this weekend for a fractured pelvis but is not expected to need surgery. natalie? >> michael isikoff in state college, pennsylvania, thank you, michael. president obama and iraqi

prime minister nuri al maliki meet at the white house today in an effort to promote strong diplomatic relations. all u.s. troops, as you heard, are set to leave iraq by the last day of the year marking the end of a nearly nine-year-long war. an american teen is finally free this morning. 14-year-old kevin was captured five months ago while vacationing in the philippines by groups claiming to be related to al qaeda. he fled his captors and fled through the jungle. the boy has been reunited with his mother. one-time dictator manuel noriega is back in panama this morning to begin serbing three 20-year sentences for murdering his political opponents while in power. he was toppled in a u.s. invasion in 1989 and has since been behind bars, first in florida, and then in france. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. >> good morning, natalie. with less than two weeks to go until christmas day, holiday

sales continue continue to outperform expectations. online sales particularly strong. up 15% this year. meantime, investors gearing up for what could be one of the busiest weeks of the year. federal reserve meets. there is a slew of economic data reports and corporate earnings. last, but not least, more than a dozen companies are expected to go public in what could be one of the busiest weeks for initial public offerings in four years. back to you. >> courtney reagan, thank you. we'll have more on holiday sales a little bit later on. lowe's home improvement is sparking outrage after its pulled its ads from a reality show about american muslims on the learning channel. the retail giant bowed to pressure from an evangelical christian group which called for a boycott against the chain of home improvement stores. lowe's apologized for making some people very unhappy on sunday but it did not say if it would reinstate its ads. a california state senator, meanwhile, says he is considering a boycott and legislative action if the company does not reverse its

decision. it is 7:13 right now. you're up to date. let's turn it back over to matt, ann and al. >> hey, mr. roker. >> we got some stuff going on out west. low pressure system making its way into southern california bringing rain in southern california and some heavier mountain snows back through the southwest. rainfall amounts generally about one to two inches from los angelenix. look at the mountain snows, anywhere from one to two feet in the upper elevations. that's what's going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. i'm tom kierein in storm center 4. eastern sky streaked with iridescent clouds. sunrise is about three minutes away. our temperatures are cold, down into the upper teens to just near 20 degrees throughout much of the region. 29 at reagan national. later today into the low and mid 40s with those high clouds in and out. clearing out tonight. a cold start tomorrow mornin

>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >>. al, thank you very much. if you are load with packages that need to get somewhere in time for christmas you are running out of time. today is one of the busiest days of the year for both shipping companies and online retailers. cnbc's brian schactman is at the fedex center in the bronx in new york. brian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. despite a still struggling economy here at fedex, conveyor belts are humming and trucks are ready to pull out. they expect to ship more than 17 million packages today alone, twice the average daily volume. major reason for that is that the holiday shopping season is off to a stronger than expected start. internet retailers call it green monday. that's because according to analysts, the second monday in december has become as big for online holiday shoppers as the monday after thanksgiving. >> we might see the strongest day ever this week even surpassing what we saw on cyber monday a couple of weeks ago. >> reporter: as much as $1 billion could be spent online today spurred by low prices and

free shipping offered by many retailers. shipping companies like fedex and u.p.s. have hired thousands of people and ramped up operations in order to handle christmas rush. >> hundreds of thousands of amazon packages every day. >> come right through this door. >> i think the drivers of e-commerce have always been convenience and price and i think that this year especially price is really important. >> reporter: it is not just online. shoppers are spending offline as well despite the sluggish economy. this holiday season is so far turning out to be more joyful than expected. >> consumer confidence is picking up a bit and we are seeing that in the spending numbers. >> reporter: according to a survey, the average shopper plans to spend $751 this year, up from last year. outlet malls up 18% from last year. >> everything is under one roof and the prices really are better than regular department stores and you really can see the

reduction in prices. it is pretty amazing. >> reporter: this week is about online shopping. next week is about traditional stores because by then, if you don't have your present and you want it ontime, matt, you might just want to pick it up yourself. >> brian schactman from cnbc, thank you very much. 16 after the hour. here's ann. matt, thank you. now to one of the most talk about athletes in the country right now. on is under the legend of denver broncos quarterback tim tebow grew even larger with a big win over the chicago bears. nbc's peter alexander is joining us now with details. hey, peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this has been called tebow time. he has even been referred to as the chosen one. tim tebow, that's his name, is the denver broncos charismatic quarterback and has really become the face of christianity in sports. some have even labeled his recent onfield success a modern day miracle. >> tebow fires and the catch is made. >> reporter: for tim tebow's denver broncos sunday facing imminent defeat, another

improbable come-from-behind win. >> tebow takes off, throws to the end zone -- touchdown! >> reporter: just as they've done four times in previous weeks. but during sunday's winning kick, tebow didn't watch. he prayed. >> for the win, the kick is -- good! >> i just figure at a time like that, it is more important to just be talking to the man upstairs and just my relationship with jesus christ is the most important thing to me so there is not a better time to talk to him than then. >> reporter: in only his second season as a pro, the 24-year-old quarterback has become one of the sport's most captivating figures. known as much for his evangelical faith as for his football. this is how he began sunday's post-game press conference. >> first and foremost, i'd like to thank my lord and savior jesus christ. >> reporter: this weekend one newspaper headline even touted tebow as god's quarterback, noting that the 6'3" son of a pastor has defied his critics and revealed the deep seeded anxieties in america about the intersection of religion and sports. >> he's polarizing because

people don't understand what he stands for. he believes in his christian faith and he's not afraid in today's time to come out and tell people what he believes in. >> reporter: many americans were first introduced to tebow during this controversial anti-abortion ad that aired during the 2010 super bowl. >> sorry about that, mom. >> reporter: and while many christians embraced tebow's continued proclamations of faith, former broncos quarterback jake plummer recently said he wished tebow would, quote, just shut up. still, too tebow has inspired an international audience, they've even come up with this pose -- calling it tebowing. a website is dedicated to those mimicking the public display, including american skier lindsay vaughn who tebowed for the camera. tebow's latest on-field heroics have observers wondering whether it is skill, luck, or perhaps divine intervention.

>> all right, you all have a blessed day. >> y'all have a blessed day. that's how he ended his news conference. tebow is now 7-1 as a starting quarterback. for his part, he says that football is just a game. he says god doesn't care who wins or loses but, matt and ann, you better believe he is picking up new believers every step of the way. >> no kidding, thanks, peter. at least people want to learn how to tebow. >> you hear the analysts saying he's not a good passer. he can't do this well. he's 7 ln-1 as a starting quarterback. look at that. still ahead this morning, alec baldwin pokes fun at [ 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...

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on this monday morning we have some sad news to report. over the weekend we lost two members of the nbc news family. >> that's right. cardinal john patrick foley, a long-time contributory our broadcast died peacefully in his

home state of pennsylvania early on sunday morning. cardinal foley appeared on "today" a number of times, most recently during pope benedict's histor visit to the united states. he served as the vatican's chief of communications for 25 years, appointed by pope john paul ii and pope benedict made him a cardinal four years ago. he was a wise, warm and wonderful man. the voice of the christmas eve midnight mass from st. peter's basilica in rome which is a traditional broadcast here on nbc. and cardinal foley will be sorely missed by his community, his church and his friends. >> he certainly will. he was a great man. we were also shocked to learn allan harding, a manager of field operations passed away suddenly on friday. allen was one of the most funny and generous people you could meet. for viewers, it may be hard to understand what a manager of field operations is. but in a nutshell, allen was responsible for making the impossible possible. some of the most iconic images you probably have of the "today" show in recent times wouldn't

have been possible without him. he was the technical manager on the last four olympic games and 9 out of 10 of my "where in the world" trips. it was only 9 out of 10 because allen retired last year after 35 years to spend more time with his dear wife and son. he was 62 years old. he always had a saying -- no matter what you asked him, whether it was to make live television in the far corners of the earth or to lasso the moon, his answer was always the same -- no problem. our condolences go to allen's family and we're back after your local news. the holidays are here, here comes that jiggling sound. when sugar plums appear, temptation's all around. donuts, cakes and pies, they've got a gift for me, i wish that i could take it back, but there is no receipt. oh jiggle bells, jiggle bells, jiggle all the way. oh how i wish i could resist,

jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy! truvia®, box of bliss, zero calorie sweetness from a leaf, my sugar plum happiness. truvia®. honestly sweet. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals.

this is a news 4 news break. >> good morning. i'm angie goff. it's 7:26 on this monday, december 12th, a chilly start to the workweek. let's check out how things are shaping up with meteorologist tom kierein. good morning, tom. >> good morning. there's our live view of this sunrise, live view from the sky watcher camera. sun is up on a partly cloudy sky. temperatures are down to near 20 degrees throughout much of the region. reagan national at 29. later today climbing into the mid 40s with the clouds in and out. a cold start tomorrow morning. afternoon highs low 50s on tuesday and wednesday with clouds. thursday could get showers, highs mid 50s, dry and cold for

the weekend. a look

good morning. if you're traveling on i-270, slow at shady grove. those delays continue as you head southbound towards the spur. northbound not seeing any issues for you right now. for you right now. >> thanks, danella. il, any luc? not yet. i want to buy used but how do you know what you're really getting. check out carmax. all their used cars are guaranteed. that's where henderson found the one for him. way to go, henderson. finding the perfect car is easy at carmax because each car is carefully selected, inspected, thoroughly reconditioned and backed with a five-day money back guarantee so come find the one for you today, at carmax. way to go, neil.

7:30 now on this monday morning. it is the 12th day of december, 2011. and we have a pretty nice crowd outside. excited this holiday season. rockefeller christmas tree is out on the plaza. it is cold out there, about 33 degrees. we'll get outside pretty soon. just ahead, a tragic suicide that made national headlines, matt. >> we talked about this story a lot here on the show. tyler clemente was just 18 years old, a freshman at rutgers university when he took his own life. it happened shortly after he learned his roommate had

allegedly used a webcam to stream his encounter with another man over the internet. now cliemente's parents are trying to turn their grief into good. they'll speak out this morning in a live exclusive interview. how the tough economy altered our spending habits? a new study out highlights what americans will and will not sacrifice when it comes to shopping. we'll give you details about that. alec baldwin had some fun with his american airlines encounter during a surprise appearance on "saturday night live." we're going to show you what you may have missed. but we begin this half-hour with the story of bravery and resilience as a florida woman confronts her attacker in court. we'll talk to her in just a moment, but first, nbc's michelle franzen has details on this story. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. heidi damon still considers herself lucky to be alive after surviving a violent attempted rape assault at this parking garage two years ago. while courts go to great lengths to conceal the names and faces

of sexual assault victims, heidi took the rare step of revealing her own identity as she confronted her attacker on his sentencing day. facing her attacker inside this tampa courtroom -- >> my name is heidi elizabeth damon. i have a name. i have a name that will go on forever. >> reporter: and not holding back. >> i survived. you have simply victimized yourself. i will be free for the rest of my life. you will be a prisoner for the rest of yours. >> reporter: heidi damon personally delivered a message to javon cooper on the day he was sentenced for trying to rape and kill her. >> i'm not a victim. i am the victor. the stronger and the winner. >> reporter: it's been two years since damon was brutally attacked during the day in this parking garage while walking to her car. damon testified cooper grabbed her from behind while she was

talking on her cell phone, choked her and caused her to pass out. when she came to, her pants and underwear had been removed and she was bruised and her eyed remained bloodied for weeks afterwards. >> tell me your name. >> reporter: prosecutors say her assailant, just 16 years old at the time of his arrest, and much heavier, likely got scared when she lost consciousness and fled. >> you did this horrible thing to me and you allowed yourself to go to the dark side. well, you know what? you had a choice. >> reporter: confronting her attacker, experts say, played a huge part in the healing process. >> there's a feeling of empowerment. there is a feeling of i'm not alone. >> reporter: and heidi, of course, will be on in just a moment, but cooper and his attorneys accepted a plea deal of 15 years in prison, followed by ten years probation. but heidi says her attacker will have a lifetime to think about

her words. ann. >> michelle franzen, thank you so much. well, the aforementioned heidi damon now joins us exclusively. good morning. what gave you the courage to so publicly confront your attacker? >> i think the desire to want to help other people that might not be as able to come out and talk about difficult things. >> but what made you able? i mean because so many people who have been attacked, especially women, will not want to be identified especially when there is an attempted rape. >> i felt that if i didn't come out and put my name out there that it would just be another case of someone almost murdered, almost raped, and that it would just kind of be another story that passes by. that if i actually put an identity that i'm a person, that i've given to my community, that i've lived a life, that he almost took an actual life, that people would take it a little bit more seriously.

i always use branding as a part of my explanation that, a lot of people remember brands or names or -- like the "today" show. but if i were just to go by jane doe, which i did for 2 1/2 years up to this point, i think people would be more apt to forget. >> so you're giving voice then to all the women who have been made silent by the pressures of society. you stood up and said something. and it must still have been very emotional for you to come up with that speech. tell us what you went through to put that together. >> it's funny, i actually put it together within about an hour and a half. and i put it together on bullet points because i wanted it to guide me as i was standing there. i didn't really know how i would react. i didn't know if i would be able to get through the whole thing so i put down bullet points and it's nothing to prepare for because it's been in my mind for over 2 1/2 years. so when i stood up there, a lot of it was even things that just popped in my head as i'm standing there.

>> some of the women listening right now have themselves suffered similar kinds of attacks. some of them have been raped. some of them have had to deal with attempted rape. so what can you say about that journey for you that might help them kind of come to terms in the way that you have? >> it's okay to give yourself permission to cry. it's okay to -- sorry. >> that's all right. >> it's okay to give yourself permission to cry and to not be ashamed. it's not your fault. you're not the bad person. the person that did it to you is. i think so many times we're so embarrassed or we're so afraid of what people will think. you know, there's so much vanity out there that if this happens to someone, they should be able to go and talk about it and reveal who attacked them and not be ashamed, feel empowered to say, no, i'm still going on with my life, have you not taken that

away. that's why at the very end of my talking to the person who did this to me, that just popped in my head that wait a second, i have a name. i'm going to go on and on and on. you won't. you will always be known by what you did and the number that you have in prison. >> heidi damon, showing all women that there is no shame for the woman but for the perpetrator, the person who's convicted, they're the one who should be ashamed for what has happened. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> for speaking for all these women. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> announcer: "today's" weather brought to you by keurig. choose, brew, enjoy. good morning, a brisk morning out here. as far as your weather's concerned, afternoon temperatures, we've got 30s and making their way into new england, 40s along the mid-atlantic states. 20s and 30s as you get out into the plains. we arer way along the east coast. a little chilly but not too bad.

we have air stagnation continuing in the pacific northwest. snowshowers making their way into the southwest, rain along the southern california coast. strong rip currents along the eastern florida coastline with showers along the southeastern atlantic coast. we have a little christmas efl here. who is this? >> this is tris ten. he's going to be a big brother. >> congratulations. when? >> in june. that's what's going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. sunup on this monday morning with cold temperatures. this is a live picture from the sky watcher camera, and the temperatures under this partly cloudy to cloudy sky are very cold. we're only near 20 degrees throughout much of the region. later today it will climb into the low and mid 40s with those clouds in and out. then clearing out tonight, 20s tomorrow morning. afternoon highs low 50s with sunshine. >> and that's your latest

weather. al, thank you so much. coming up next, living with less than nrormal. how your spend habits have changed since the recession. and we'll catch up with scarlett johansson. but first, these messages. keurig has a wide variety of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. because it is. whatrun...hat? it's the monster.... ahh, ah, no ♪

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a small, s1-2-3-4 pine tree. ♪ we're back now at 7:42 with "today's" money. this morning a new study that's highlighting how the recession has changed our spending habits. "today's" financial editor jean chatzky is here with details. good morning, jean. the study was conducted by the dloit and harrison group, 5,000 shoppers studied, some even

accompanied on shopping trips. what had the headlines? >> the headlines are we know a good deal now when we see it and unless we get that good deal, we are not going to buy. >> 80% of people in this study believe that something has fundamentally changed in the economy and even though they're spending less they don't feel it is a sacrifice. >> that's right. they've gotten smarter about what they need versus what they want. they're purchasing less on impulse. many, many people -- 9 out of 10 -- believe that despite what the statistics say we are in a recession right now and it will last another year. >> and they're not going to change their spending habits even when the economy starts to get better. >> which i think is really bad news for the retailers and the merchants because they are going to have to continue to come up with ways to make consumers feel like they're getting a better deal. >> some habits that they say they are now employing. 86% say they're more precise in what they buy. 80% say they are more efficient at getting in and out of the store. >> they are managing their time as well as their money. they are -- it's like a surgical strike. you know what you need, you get

it and you leave. >> 63% decide what brands to purchase before entering the store and only 10% decide what to buy in the store. no impulse buying anymore. >> no more impulse buying. and again they want to make sure they're getting those items that they do need at the right price. >> another thing that came out of this is gender. more men are doing the grocery shopping than in times past. >> ten years ago only 20% of men were the primary grocery shoppers. now it is 40%. and men are different than women. men are less health conscious, more brand conscious and more willing to buy on impulse which is why my kids like it when my husband goes grocery shopping. >> couponing still popular? >> still popular but we are a little tired of it. what we like better are those loyalty cards because they're quick and easy. you only have to swipe them. then consumers actually said when the money rolls off at the end of their purchase they feel like they're in vegas. >> let's talk about some things consumers told these researchers

that they are unwilling to sacrifice on. pet food, candy -- which surprised me -- couldn, condime household cleaners -- and beer. >> these are the items. i think beer is probably the best example. they say something about who we are. if you're a blue moon drinker, a rolling rock is just not going to make you happy and visa versa. so even if these things are not on sale, you're buying them anyway. >> and the things that americans are willing to compromise on -- frozen pizzas and meals. bottled water. paper towels. salty snacks, and sauces, which sound kind of random. >> well, it means that if totino's is on sale, that's what you're buying that week. it doesn't matter. your kids aren't necessarily going to complain if you come home with something else. >> interesting market research. >> i think so. >> jean, thanks very much. up next -- fanning the flames. alec baldwin pokes fun at his airline fiasco on sat die night

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of course we all just knew that alec baldwin getting kicked off a flight would be the tart of jokes on "saturday night live," but we may not have expected that baldwin himself would be making the jokes. nbc's jeff rossen is here with details. hey, jeff, good morning. >> good morning. alec baldwin is apologizing again. this time to himself. as we've been reporting, he's gone off on american airlines and bashed the tlflight attenda

who kicked him off the flight but this weekend the pilot made a surprise appearance. it's weird, he looks a lot like ael beck baldwin. >> the pilot of that flight -- captain steve rogers. >> reporter: the mustache. nice touch. alec baldwin back to comedy making fun of himself. >> it was very important for me to come here tonight and on behalf of everyone at american airlines issue an apology to mr. alec baldwin. >> alec, are you sure this is the right way to handle this. >> yeah, yeah. keep going. keep going. mr. baldwin is an american treasure. and i am ashamed at the way he was treated. >> reporter: last week alec baldwin was sitting in first class playing words with friends on his ipad. american airlines says baldwin refused to turn it off. then took the ipad into the lavatory, slamming the door so hard the cockpit crew heard it. baldwin, they claim, used offensive language with the

crew, and that's why he was kicked off the flight. >> now seth, words with friends can be frustrating, and again, i just started playing the game myself. but when you think you're about to play jailers off of someone's quiche, then you realize you don't have the "i," let me tell you, that will make you slam the bathroom door, too! >> reporter: you know who wasn't laughing? a real american airlines pilot who was watching. >> i was disappointed that it was making light of something that's fairly serious and also was poking fun at a group of employees that are very proud and a historic airline group going through a tough period right now. >> so what happened? >> reporter: until now, baldwin wouldn't talk about it on camera. question is -- will his surprise appearance on "snl" end this fiasco for good. >> alec, this is too much. i don't want to be a part of this anymore. >> seth, i'm not alec -- but i wish i was. that man's a hero. a smart hero.

>> ironically here baldwin's show "30 rock" is also played on american airlines in flight. this morning the flight attendant's union is asked it be pulled from the roster. no word yet if the airline will do it. >> thanks a lot, jeff. >> nice inside information. >> i was on my way out to los angeles thursday. i sat next to the guy who was next to alec baldwin. >> and? >> he said, alec -- after everything happened, got off, he was fine. but lot of people were ticked off that they were delayed. >> scarlett johansson is coming up. [ indistinct conversations ]

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good morning everybody. the time is 7:56. early on this monday morning, let's get the forecast from storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein. tom, the weather has a little bite to it this morning. >> really feeling wintery cold. there's the sun rise. sun has been up for about half an hour. we have high drouds drifting through the region. temperatures are still down into the upper teens and low 20s throughout most of the region. reagan national is at 30. later today climbing into the mid 40s with clouds in and out. clearing out tonight, a cold start tomorrow morning. afternoon highs tuesday and wednesday into the low 50s with some sunshine. then maybe some rain on thursday. then dry and cold for th

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good morning. black ice is slowing you down on landoverrode on the beltway. police are on the scene and are directing traffic. use caution in that area. the beltway new hampshire avenue outer loop, very slow. your delays continue as you head towards georgia avenue. no accidents to report. but just seeing big

8:00 now on a monday morning. it's the 12th day of december, 2011. and we have come outside to greet some of the nice people who are stretching their weekend time a little bit here in new york city. stick around. watch the show. then go out and shop in new york city. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry and al roker. it is a little chilly out here but seasonal. not too bad. coming up in this half-hour, we're going to talk about one family's tragedy. >> it is a pretty sad story, matt. it is about a young man who had just come out to his family to

say he was gay. he was 18 years old, his name was tyler clemente. he committed suicide 15 months ago just days after his roommate in college allegedly used a webcam to spy on him and broadcast it over the internet of him kissing another man. so tyler's parents are now joining us this morning to speak out about this for the first time. they want some good to come out of their family tragedy. we'll talk to them exclusively. on a much, much lighter note, if you look in our studio now as well, i believe the lovely and talented scarlett johansson. she's starring in a brand-new movie called "we bought a zoo" opposite matt damon. always fun to talk to. people trying to figure out how to get something for that hard-to-find person, the person who -- >> you're hard-to-find person. >> elizabeth -- i don't know what that thing is to the left but that's pretty good. some great stuff. two words -- pork products. >> yeah. >> the whole studio smells like

bacon. we've got many different kinds. natalie's at the news desk with a check of the led lines. good morning, everyone. new republican presidential front-runner newt gingrich is back in the spotlight today. this afternoon he'll take on jon huntsman in a debate in new hampshire. meantime, president obama told "60 minutes" he believes he can beat any republican contender but he admitted he could lose since the american public is very unhappy with the state of the economy. today is green monday and it may turn out to be a record day for retailers and shippers like fedex. consumers could spend as much as $1 billion online today, spurred on by low prices and free shipping offers that will end this week. a 66-year-old florida woman is behind bars today accused of attempted murder. she shot her son-in-law who's divorcing her daughter when he came to pick up the couple's son last week. the man had anticipated trouble and recorded the attack on his

iphone. the victim was shot in the shoulder and ribs but he survived. meantime, college football has lost one of its greats. former harvard university coach joe restic. he won a record number of games at the school and developed an offense similar to what you see in the nfl today. he was 85 years old. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> natalie, good morning and thanks. coming up tonight -- first on "nightly news," and then on "rock center" here on nbc -- two exclusive reports from the two new faces in our nbc family. ted koppel, chelsea clinton. both joining us for the first time tonight. we'll look for you then. natalie, for now, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's

trending "today," internet users are buzzing about the proposed design of the cloud, a pair of luxury twin apartment to youers in south korea. the images went viral online because some say they resemble the exploding world trait center buildings on 9/11. dutch architecture firm behind the design is now apologizing saying the resemblance is unintentional but did not reveal whether they'll change their design plans. denver broncos quarterback tim tebow is dominating searches. despite his unconventional playing style, tebow helped lead the broncos to their sixth win in a row on sunday with yet another thrilling last-second comeback. troubled actress lindsay lohan is making waves online -- again. this time with a curse-filled rant that appeared on tmz after her purse was stolen in hawaii. lohan said she was worried because -- she was worried she'd be sent back to jail because her purse contained her passport and

important probation papers. she did get it all back minus $10,000 in cash. it is 8:04 right now. let's go out to al for a check of your weather. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> got a bunch of new york city tour guide folks here. what's going on? >> city council passed a bill that buses ought to have headsets. >> so they want to get rid of the live tour guides? >> boo. people don't want an app for a tour. they want a real live new yorker. >> all right. well good luck. we've done that bus tour. it. let's check your weather and see what's happening. pick city, force myers, florida, nbc 2, isolated showers and 82 degrees. rest of the country you can see a lot of wet weather down through the southeast. also looking at wet weather through the southwest with

mountain snows. in the pacific northwest, air stagnation again. icy conditions minnesota into wisconsin with snow in the four corners today. that's what's going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. i'm tom kierein in storm center 4. anything that was a puddle yesterday turned to ice this morning. watch out for patchy ice. the road looks wet. under a partly cloudy sky. live picture from the sky watcher camera. our temperatures are frozen down to the upper 20s -- teens to low 20s, upper 20s in washington by the bay. later today climbing to the mid >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. coming up, we'll talk to the parents after college freshman who tragically took his own life after he learned that his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on him. why they're speaking out now. they'll explain right after these messages.

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back now at 8:09 with a "today" exclusive. 18-year-old tyler clemente took his own life in the fall of 2010 shortly after his roommate at rutgers university allegedly used a webcam to spy on tyler's private encounter with another man. tyler's parents will speak out in their first interview in a moment. but first, here is nbc's kerry sanders with more. hey, kerry, good morning. >> good morning, ann. tyler's parents don't know if there is really a direct cause and effect between that secret webcam incident and their son's suicide. the case is yet to go to trial, but either way, investigators believe this was a serious invasion of privacy. >> i was in disbelieve. >> and today? >> i can still barely believe it. >> reporter: tyler clemente, a soft-spoken vial inist jumped to his violent death from the george washington bridge to the hudson river below. it was just three days after

tyler's roommate and other students allegedly spied on the quiet teenager as he an another man. secretly embraced and kissed. tyler may have thought no one could see what was going on behind the closed door of his dorm room, but investigators say his roommate's webcam was streaming everything live to the internet. >> i'm not angry. i'm heartbroken. i love my son. our family loved our son very much. >> reporter: tyler's parents had learned just days before he left for college he was gay. how were you when he came out to you? >> i was very shock. i felt like he had kick me in the stomach. i was very surprised. and -- >> surprised in a -- >> i had no clue. >> when tyler came out to you and you were so shocked, did he pick up on that in any way or not really? >> yes, i think he did pick up on it. >> reporter: tyler later tweeted to a friend "mom has basically completely rejected me." has that tweet haunted you in

any way? >> yes. yeah, it has. >> but haunted you because -- >> because i had never intended him to feel that way, that i -- i think in the tweet he had said that i had rejected him and that was never even a possibility that i would ever be able to have my life without him. >> reporter: tyler's roommate faces 15 charges, including invasion of privacy and hate crime violations. on friday, the 19-year-old rejected a plea deal. >> he's innocent, he's not guilty. that's why he rejected the plea. >> reporter: but prosecutors have pages upon pages of instant message chats, text messages, e-mails, and tweets, including this tweet they say he posted -- >> making out with a dude. yeah. when you read that, you're angry? >> i don't know. i don't know if anger is the

right word. i feel violated. i feel violated for my son. >> tyler's first birthday. >> reporter: because tyler left no note explaining his actions, his family says they may never really be able to explain why. a private family that never wanted attention thrust into the spotlight. their grief, nearly 15 months later, still debilitating. >> it's almost like a physical pain. you know? it's like a tightening of the chest. it's aching of your muscles. and tightening of your face and your jaw and it is clinching. just physically hurts. pain just hurts so much. >> the family says the one thing they have never heard from their son's roommate is an apology. another student, 19-year-old molly way, who was also initially charged in the case, has now agreed to testify for the prosecution. as a condition of her deal, she will also perform 300 hours of community service.

a trial date for robby is now set for february 21st. if convicted he could face ten years in state prison. >> kerry sanders, thank you so much. joseph and jane clementi are now joining us. good morning to you. you knew your son better than anyone. what do you think his emotions were when he had heard that he had been watched over a webcam kissing a man so soon after coming out and saying that he was gay? >> that's a difficult question, but to answer -- because we know him. but there are a private part of people that you don't ever really know. my impression is he would have been upset. >> from what we've learned is that he did seek help from the ra and he also did text a friend, a friend from ridgewood. and those things indicate to me that he was very distressed

because he was not one to seek out help. he was one to kind of try to fix everything himself. so the fact that he went to seek out help from the ra indicates to me that he was very much upset. >> very much upset, needing support. did you feel as you look back over this that he had someone to speak to, that he was supported, that had he had that support, he might not have taken his own life? >> i'm not sure that the ra was the right person for him to -- the right help for him to seek. i wished he had come to us, but he didn't. and i wish the ra had encouraged him to come to us. >> that's what he should have done, he should have called dad, he should have called mom. come to us. >> which brings us to a very sensitive point. you know, this idea of -- we just heard about it in kerry sanders' piece about how he felt about your reaction, jan, when you came out to him saying that

he was gay. if you had a second chance, if you could have a do-over, how would you wish you could have reacted when he told you he was gay? >> you know, i don't know that you can change your reactions. that's just something that comes up from within you. he did send that text early only a few days after he had told me and we continued to talk and we continued to have relationship and i have to think that he understood i needed some time to process and i was working through that. and he did know that i still loved him and there was no change in that. >> the court case is going to proceed. we don't know how this will go. but i want to know really more than anything, what is your message to gay people out there, young people who are struggling with this? what is your message to parents out there?

because i know you've started a foundation. you want to make a stand against bullying. you want to encourage families in this -- in a way that makes them less vulnerable. >> right. we started the foundation to help people. if you feel alone, find somebody, reach out to parents, friends, get help. suicide is never the right answer. it's always wrong. >> well, there's something that is very wrong whenever a young person commits suicide but a gay person is seven times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual. >> that's why one of the aspects of our foundation is to work on lgbt acceptance. >> well, you have a big job ahead of you, joe. >> yeah. yeah. >> and jane. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> we'll talk again, i hope. my best to you. and we're back right after this. ♪

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back at 8:it 20 with scarlett johansson. you're probably used to seeing her in all kinds of designer duds on the red carpet but in her new film she wears a lot of khaki. >> have you no idea what we've been doing here. we used to have three times the staff. they all quit. i'm 28. i never go out. i had to move back in with my mother. we need somebody who can really take charge of this place or else we and all these animals are gone. >> so your question is? >> why did you buy this place? >> why not? >> scarlett johansson, welcome back. >> thank you. >> are you playing another zoo keeper? aren't you afraid of being type cast? this is like your fifth zoo

cooper. >> i love whole khaki overall. >> when somebody calls and says here's the script, you play a zookeeper, did you think -- yes. >> traditionally, i probably would think twice but it was pretty incredible experience. >> i want people to understand when they hear the premise for this. a guy, widower, decides to buy a zoo and move his kids in there, they think it far-fetched hollywood. >> it is a true story based on benjamin may. he wrote a book about his experience and there is also a documentary about his experience. it is really -- i think the film is really about starting over and i think it's about a sort of human connectivity that allows us to kind of overcome obstacles that seem larger than life at times. >> you had wanted to work with cameron crow for a long time. i think you auditioned for a couple of other projects for him and the way i read it reading some articles last night, when you read this character, you

didn't love it. you didn't think there was enough on the page there for you to sink your teeth into. >> no. i didn't really know what to do with the character. i didn't know how to play the character and i went in and met with cameron and i remember -- i think i said to him, i was just so excited to collaborate with him. >> while on the subject of directors, a lot of things i read about you last night, scarlet, many of the directors who have worked with you go out of their way to say how eager and willing are you to take direction. and there are a lot of actresses at your pay scale, shall we say, who aren't as gracious about that, who think that they know what to do. why are you so open to that? why are you still so open to that? >> i think that making films is about collaborating. that's why i love it. it's never about just -- it's never about going in there and just kind of being rigid about

what your ideas are and this kind of vision for the character. it is there of course, but it is open to interpretation and i always appreciate that kind of collaborative process. >> when push comes to shove and it is your face out there on the screen, do you make the final decision or does the director get the final say? >> everything's out of your kind of -- out of your hands once you give your performance and you just kind of cross your fingers that the editing process will be kind. >> this has been an interesting year for you. to say the least. okay? career is going great but there's -- obviously you got divorced. there was a photo hacking scandal. what have you learned about yourself in this year and what have you learned about the business you work in that you didn't know before? >> i think i've been really fortunate. i've found that i've had -- even in times of crisis, have had a lot of love around me and people have kind of come out of all different dark corners to sort of support. and that's been a really beautiful thing and i think i've

also learned to be much more tolerant and much more patient. >> interview magazine wrote something about you. i'll just get your reaction. joe hanson's coming off one of those years young actresses seem to have frequently these days but which she said until now had mar clusly managed to avoid. joe hanson's response to all of the added and unwanted attention she's received in her personal and professional life has been atypical. instead of cloistering herself away or lashing out at the paparazzi, she pressed ahead with her business with a kind of unflappable grace. i didn't write that. but it's nice. >> i just like the word unflappable. >> did you find comfort in work? >> absolutely. i find that there is a community on film sets and in this industry that, two seem kind of cut-throat, but for me i've been in the industry for 20 years and it has that familial kind of feel. i think that if i can focus -- when i'm at work i can't pay

attention to anything else but the job at hand. >> keep going. you're doing great. >> thank you. >> we bought a zoo opens in theaters on december

santa's had a rough night. >> presidential hopeful ron paul -- 8:30 now on a monday morning, the 12th of december, 011. boy, our crowd is in the holiday spirit.2011. boy, our crowd is in the holiday spirit.

yes, the "hidden dragon star" will talk with news just a little bit. look at how many people are donating toys, matt. >> we've had a very successful year. >> i don't think you can have enough suggestions when you're getting guests. we've got some mail order treats. these are always popular. we'll have some from all around the country, including hot tamales from texas and whoopi pies. a big cheer down froor whoopi pies. if the cold weather is getting you down, we've got great vacation destinations, affordable ones in fact. warm weather vacations for you. there's no shortage of ways to spend cash this holiday season. if you aren't careful about

spending, you koend up wicould a holiday hangover whether it comes to your finances. i'll show you how to avoid that. but first let's say hello to michelle! the new film is called "the lady." it is the story of aun san sg s ky kyi, the nobel prize winner. it is so great to have you here. >> thank you. >> a lot of attention has been brought to this maybe because of the secretary of state's recent visit to myanmar. >> that was a momentous visit, a historical one. i think for all of us just to see the two ladies embrace, that was truly wonderful. >> you have been a champion of this project for a long time. you really wanted to see this movie made. why? g . >> because of who aun san isg s

kyi is and what she represents to the people of burma. it is about an incredible love story of michael, and his devotion to his wife, that i think enabled her to be who she is today. >> because he stayed in london whether she stayed in what was then called burma and they lived apart for years because she insisted on her fight for democracy. i was able to interview her only over the telephone because of the restrictions at that time in traveling to that country. but you were actually able to meet her in person. >> yes. >> which probably was very important to inform your work. >> by the time i met her, we had almost ended the principle shooting in thailand but it was just a chance to meet a living legend, someone that's truly so inspirational, really to find out where the strength comes from, how do you stay so committed? because that what the junta at that time was trying to do,

break her spirit. when you cut her off from her family, her soulmate, her husband. >> and her children. >> and her children. and you know, what -- how does a woman make that decision and what kind of a decision when you have to choose between family and country. >> cannot wait to see the movie. >> good for you for getting it made. >> i had a great director so i'm very lucky. >> i'm sure it is fantastic. the film is called "the lady." i can promise you i'm definitely going to see it. we're definitely going to find out about the weather now. >> before we do though, we want to remind you, you may recall this earlier this year. back in october i joined the first lady michelle obama at the white house to kick off national geographic's kids magazine attempt to break the guinness book of world record for most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour time frame. the record stood and 40,45. she shattered that bad boy! 300,265 people taking part doing jumping jacks all around the world.

>> congratulations. >> that's pretty cool. let's check your weather, show you really quickly what's going on. looking ahead normal temperatur in the northeast. below normal out west with snow in the southwest. as we get into the midweek period, temperatures warm up in the east. we've got rainy weather through the mississippi river valley. wet in the pacific northwest. the latter part of the week we chill off here in the northeast. we rain down through texas where they could use it. above normal temperatures in the plains and the southeast. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> and that's your latest

weather. let's head on down to washington and say hello to uncle willie scott. >> deck the halls with politicians -- fa-la-la. this is the fabulous christmas tree ornament and it can be yours. white to the white house historical association. picture of santa claus on the front lawn of the white house. he says "i think there are kids in there." beautiful there, beautiful obama children. take a look if you will at your imagine intv screen and you are going to see the lovely and exciting charlie bradt. charlie from dekalb, illinois, 108 years old. a wonderful guy. was never, never, never been late at school. always -- and guess what? his cousin invented barbed wire. his uncle actually. here's allene crockett from

senatobia, mississippi. loves to drink coffee with friends and also play bridge. that's an intelligent game. you have to use the old noodle. and we have george sims. ft. lauderdale beach in florida. 103 years old today. he loves to watch sports on television and he also met babe ruth once. here's maria cardone, jamaica estates, new york. 100 years old today. loves to crochet and experiment with recipes in the kitchen. they say she is one heck of a cook. luther dupree, pittsburgh, pennsylvania. a former photographer. loves to go to church and loves to sing. good for you. here's gladys jee from tennessee -- no, she's actually from louisiana, right up the block. new orleans. and loves to bowl and play

cards. you can't beat that. that's it. that's all. always a pleasure. see you later. >> willard, thank you very much. when we come back, we'll show you the best mail order edible treats for anyone on your

inf infer. >> announcer: "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target. this year santa has elves, you have target. this morning on "today's" countdown to the holidays, mail order food gifts from fancy fruits to decadent desserts. if you are looking for edible treats for your loved ones, we have the answers -- actually elizabeth mayhew has the answers from "woman's day" magazine. listen, food is a practical gift and boy, a lot of us are feeling like we want to give practically especially this year. let's go all around the country starting in the northeast. you've got some maple syrup. >> maple syrup from duchess

county. that's the perfect place weatherwise and climatewise. this farm, the crown farm, has a little red maple and sugar maple trees that they -- it is 100% organic. it is a sustainable farm. absolutely delicious. great gift. pancakes christmas morning. who wouldn't want that? >> whoopi pies from maine. >> this is off the coast of maine. these ladies, cranberry island kitchen makes these. what's cool about this company, you can customize -- they have 11 flavors can you choose from. go online and put whichever ones -- peppermint, gingerbread men, all different shapes. >> cookies from cape cod. >> cape cod. these are really interesting. they are kayak cookies. they are very salty and sweet at the same time. if you like that combination, the woman was a former pastry chef. her cookies were so popular that she went and created this company. >> let's head south. let's go to virginia. sausag sausages. >> edward's smoked sausages. what's cool about this company, mr. edwards was a captain on a ferryboat and he was giving away

selling his ham sandwiches in 1926. the ham sandwiches were so popular that he began a smokehouse instead, gave up his captain situation and now they do everything from hams to sausages, absolutely delicious. >> these caught my eye. also from virginia? dill pickle potato chips. >> you want to try these? >> bring it! are you kidding? >> they're fantastic. you can order them in a tin. they have a vinegary, dill pickle -- they are delicious. they come in all different flavors. really fun to send to a family. >> i'm totally into this. let's go to the west coast. >> first we're going to atlanta. cobbie sauce, a vinegary barbecue sauce. this man is a quadriplegic and he started this company after he was wounded. actually he gives a huge portion of the proceeds to the hospital, shepherd center, in atlanta that helped take care of him. so it is a gift that gives back.

it is absolutely delicious. now we're still -- we are in the south still. >> tennessee. >> tennessee with the loveless bacon. huge hit among the crew here. >> loveless bacon? i think that's some love is what everybody's going to be thinking. >> this is for the not faint of heart. dry cured. the flavor is very intense, very smokey. >> now to california. >> this is dr. bob's ice cream. dr. bob is a hospitality professor in pomona, california, he set out to create the best ice cream he could. >> to mail order this, you have to be packing it -- >> six pints. it is very rich, very creamy. can you rye it for yourself. we have chocolate. the brown sugar -- this is the brown sugar strawberry -- it is very, rich. amazing. delicious. obviously this all comes fed ex'd so you don't have to worry about that. >> south dakota. >> smoked goose. this is from the largest goose farm in the country in south dakota. it is a great christmas gift.

it is iconic. >> from illinois, you've got some cheese. >> pastoral puts together two gift packs i love, the best of the midwest. then the best women cheese artisans. women are at the forefront of creating some the best cheese in the country. >> i've been rushing you because we have got to get to this. this is from missouri, a caramel apple pecan pie. >> it's got over 18 apples from it. it comes frozen so you stick it in your oven. it is just like a wow factor. that's all it is. it could be in the middle of your dessert buffet. >> these are from texas. >> peanuts. bloody mary peanuts. delicious and hot damn tamales from texas. >> did you just say that? >> i did. >> i know we had to rush through all of these but they'll all be on our website with all of the prizes and everything you need to know about them. elizabeth mayhew, happy holidays. next, how you can avoid a post-holiday hangover after

spending all the money that you might be[ baby coughing ]best [ coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] more pollution from power plants means more childhood asthma attacks. [ labored breathing ] there's technology that makes the air cleaner, but too many plants don't use it. we can't wait. epa must update power plant standards to protect our kids. [ baby coughing ]

>> announcer: "today's" money is brought to you by fidelity investments. turn here. this morning on "today's" money, how to avoid a financial holiday hangover. the national retail federation expects that holiday sales will be up around 3% over last year. for some, extra spending can also bring extra debt. cnbc's mary thompson is here with valuable advice on that. mary, good morning. happy holidays. >> happy holidays to you. >> what's the estimate of what the average person ends up in debt at the end of the holidays? >> well, think of this in total, matt. the average household in the u.s. has over $15,000 worth of credit card debt. so americans are expected to spend about $764 on average. you are looking at almost $16,000 total when you look at each american household. >> to avoid that shock come january 2nd, the best thing to

do -- avoid the debt in the first place. you say you got to write a budget when you are going shopping. >> start early. everyone knows christmas is coming. write down a budget. figure out what you'll spend on food, gifts and decorations and keep that list with you at all times. >> add a little bit for unexpected expenses probably? >> maybe 10% overhead of whatever you have. >> leave the credit cards home. take only cash to the stores. >> if you can do that. put your money aside, take the cash with you. or if you're worried about this, take a pre-paid card which means you could put $500 on this card and use this every time are you in the store. >> you can't go over it. >> exactly. >> if you are going online -- so many people are. today is another big day. take time to comparison shop online. >> when are you online and are ordering a gift, a coupon window will pop up. if it pops up, don't order the gift until you look for a coupon. can you do that on different websites like retailmenot. >> when you are in regular stores, try to avoid impulsive buys. talk about getting out of the hangover once you've already got

it. cut back on your daily expenses. this is not that easy for a lot of people. >> it isn't but you have to think of nonessentials. do you need that cup of coffee in the morning, should you bring your lunch to work. figure out how much money you can save if you take little steps because you need to apply that to the debt. >> when you start to get the credit card bills, think about the interest rate on the individual cards. >> always you look at whatever card has the highest interest rate. pay that off first, then go down to your lowest rate card. >> pick up the phone and call the credit card company and try to negotiate a lower rate. >> you can do that but you need to be careful because if you don't have good credit and if you have a lot of outstanding debt they're going to pull your credit card file. if they see all that extra debt they're going to say we don't want to give you a lower rate, we want to raise your rate and cut your limit. >> this will make some people chuckle like santa claus, start saving now for christmas 2012. >> the christmas savings account. do it. then you aren't surprised when 2012 comes up. >> mary thompson, thanks very much. still ahead, some affordable much. [ female announcer ] at verizonfios.com,

you can choose your channel package. ♪ you can choose your own internet speeds. ♪ you can even choose to chat with a live person. ♪ now you can choose to save $35 a month for fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus get a $300 verizon visa prepaid card with a 2 year agreement. but hurry, offer ends soon only at verizonfios.com. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. "today's" american story with bob dodson comes from hyde mountain valley in montana where people are surviving on hard times without federal aid or giant corporations. instead, they have found an antique solution. bob, good morning. >> good morning. you know, this is one of those

moments that you're going to be feeling a little bit like you're homesick for a place you've probably never met. phillipsburg, montana is a pioneer town. it's filled with people who have that old spirit that built this country. forget for a moment that there are fewer than two people per mile in the county, bigger than rhode island. consider what they already have. two original live theater productions each year. a hospital bank rolled, in part, by more than $1 million, raised in a thrift store selling hand-me-down clothes. >> we need all your money. >> reporter: folks in the county seat tax themselves a bundle -- $2,500 a piece to restore their old schoolhouse. students are learning how to pay

that back. this high school shop class is building rooms for the volunteer fire department. local hunters paid for the project with a sense of urgency. 29 ghost towns sound phillipsburg. deb, why is it that this town exists when other towns have disappeared in the county? >> if somebody needs help, everybody jumps in. >> reporter: neighbors saved the superintendent mike cutler's life when he was diagnosed with cancer, leukemia, and needed a costly stem cell transplant. cooks donated meals. raised nearly $40,000 in one day. >> the folks who helped, were they all just rich? >> oh, no. no. >> reporter: they simply value the town's survival more than personal gain. >> it's tough around here just like it is anywhere else in this

country. but people support each other. you know? it takes a community to keep the community. >> reporter: a few years later in the depths of the recession, the neighbors rallied again. the handful of folks in granite county came up with another $100,000 for mike cutler. this time his daughter needed surgery. for brain cancer. >> i had to learn how to walk again. i had to learn how to see again. yeah. >> it's way easier being a patient. i know that. than the parent of a little girl or little boy, whoever it may be, that's fighting for their life. >> reporter: fortunately, sidney cutler lives in a place that nourishes hope. >> people that i know, they've helped me so much and helping me overcome my disabilities. >> people took care of our animals. took care of our yard. >> reporter: for months at a time. after each trip to the hospital,

sidney's mom found -- >> there were groceries in the fridge when we would get home. >> reporter: how can a county with more cows than people come up with 100 grand in the midst of a recession. >> they gave from their hearts an they gave from their souls. >> reporter: more than that. they donated things others needed to buy anyway. ranch manager bill shields put a cattle chute up for auction. most folks figured -- >> if there was no town, there would be no people. so they saved themselves is what they did. >> reporter: like they saved the cutlers. sidney and mike are now cancer-free. >> all i can say is thank you and i'm so glad that i knew you. >> reporter: out here, far from the rest of us, america is at its very best. >> this is the last best lace. it really is. >> reporter: where people can survive even in hard times with

the help of their neighbors. folks in phillipsburg didn't stop with the cutlers. they're doing the same for others in need. ann? >> bob, thanks for sharing this. it was great and what's the best about america. because when you show us that, you show us what's possible all over america. >> you know, out west we think of the rugged individuals. but the truth of the matter is, it is the rugged town that's the amazing part that makes this work. >> bob dotson, thank you so much. coming up -- the best coming up, the best beauty products of the year after your local news. 8:56 is your time now on this monday, december 12, 2011. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a look at your cold forecast. >> good morning, eun. as we approach 9:00, temperatures in the region in many locations are still below

freezing, right at the freezing mark at reagan national. near the bay waters in the upper 30s. into the mid and upper 20s. we should be getting above freezing. highs in the mid 40s later this afternoon. mid 50s thursday with rain possible

back. stay with us. good morning. a water main break closes seven locks road in potomac at bells mill road. if you're traveling on 395, just under speed, you're just about like 37 miles per hour as you head towards the 14th street bridge. you're going to see volume even as you head into the city. but the good news on 395, no accidents north or south, just congestion. eun, back to you.

back now with more of "today" on a monday morning. it is the 12th day of december, 2011. kind of a chilly start to the day, but this makes you feel like it is really christmas. grt shopping weather. great weather to take a tour around new york city and hopefully these people will be doing both of those things later in the day. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. so we have black friday, we have cyber monday, and apparently today is green monday, the second monday -- second monday in the month of december is green monday.

to be followed by taupe tuesday tomorrow. this is apparently a big day for shipping packages and online shopping. we'll tell you more about -- actually fedex planning to ship 17 million packages today. 17 million. all that shipping, of course, means people are spending and we are going to have some good tips for all those holiday gotchas, whether it is the extended warrantees that the stores are offering or some stores use certain scents that make you want to buy. there is a new one on me. >> really. a lot of times i've noticed that. that and the music, i think. >> they turn the air conditioning up so you'll buy heavy coats. >> do they do that in restaurants so you eat more? >> well that also would work. >> i don't know. >> just trying to get a word in here. you're like in a bad tennis match here. >> i'm telling you. >> we'll talk later. >> enough! if you prefer the sun and surf to the cold weather, have we got some deals for you. we've got plenty of warm weather destinations from california to

costa rica offering some great deals right now that are just waiting to be snapped up. also coming up, the end of the year is nearly upon us. nearly every time about this time of year we talk about the best in beauty so the best in beauty 2011 from wrinkle repair to hair color to lipstick, we've got a bunch of things that are all under $30. great. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk with the best in headlines. good morning, everyone. we begin with what could be a record setting day, as you heard, for online retailers an shipping companies as green monday has holiday shoppers scrambling at the last minute. cnbc's brian schactman is at the fedex center in the bronx with more. brian, good morning. >> good morning, natalie. say people at home have three kids to get out the door in an average day? what if i had to tell them they had to deal with six today. that's basically the story with fedex. that 17 million package is twice the average daily volume and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the holiday shopping season is off to a very strong

start. internet retailers call it green monday. that's because according to analysts, the second monday in december has become as big for online holiday shoppers as the monday after thanksgiving. >> we might see the strongest day ever this week even surpassing what we saw on cyber monday a couple of weeks ago. >> reporter: as much as $1 billion could be spent online today, spurred by low prices and free shipping offered by many retailers. shipping companies like fedex and pups have hired thousands of people and ramped up operations in order to handle the christmas rush. >> this is all amazon. hundreds of thousands of amazon packages every day. >> come right through this door. >> i think the drivers of e-commerce have always been convenience and price and i think that this year especially, price is really important. >> reporter: and it is not just online. shoppers are spending offline as well. despite the sluggish economy, this holiday season is so far turning out to be more joyful than expected. >> consumer confidence is picking up a bit and we're

seeing that in the spending numbers. >> reporter: according to the cnbc all-america economic survey, the average shopper plans to spend $751 this year, up 22% from last year. business is especially brisk at outlet malls, up 18% from last year. >> everything is under one roof and the prices really are better than regular department stores. and you really -- you can see the reduction in prices. it is pretty amazing. >> reporter: this is also a jobs story. fedex adds 20,000 seasonal workers. 55,000 at u.p.s. even for a short time, that's 75,000 jobs in the u.s. economy. natalie, from that perspective, it is a win-win. back to you. >> good boost to the economy. brian schactman there in the bronx, thank you. disgraced former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky will face some of the young men who accused him of sexual abuse tomorrow in court. sandusky's lawyer told nbc news he believes at least some of the accusers are motivated by money.

meantime, some new questions are being raised about the key witness in the case and whether he actually saw sandusky abusing a young boy or just heard something suspicious. thousands of americans across the northeast are bracing for a cold winter ahead as the federal government makes deep cuts to funding that subsidizes heating bills for our nation's poor. as applicants for heating assistance programs surge by as much as 10% in some areas, congress is weighing more than $1 billion in cuts to those benefits. one-time military dictator manuel noriega is back in panama this morning to begin serving three 20-year sentences for murdering his political opponents while in power. the drug running strongman was toppled in a u.s. invasion back in 1989 and has since been behind bars, first in florida, and then in france. hollywood is getting coal in its stocking this holiday season. this past weekend was the worst in more than three years. the star-filled "new year's

leave" only brought in $13.7 million. "the sitter" in second, "breaking dawn" was third. the bebes and barack are bringing in the holidays together. the star-studded annual christmas event in washington raised money for the children's national medical center. the whole first family kicked off the event by greeting patients from the hospital dressed as elves. very sweet. it is now six minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt and ann. >> natalie, thank you very much. >> yeah. let's get a check of the weather. how about talking to you, mr. roker? >> thank you. got some friends who want to share their firefighter calendar. yikes. wow. one of your friends? >> this is actually one of my firefighters i work with at a fire department in the city of tampa, florida. >> all right. therepa, florida. >> all right. there you go. florida's bravest. there you go. let's check your weather. thank you very much. we'll put b putting that up for

our director joe michaels very shortly. wet weather in southern florida and southern georgia as well. heavy rain there. also looking at rain coming into south earn california. some mountain snows in the southwest. flurries in the western parts of the great lakes. we have air stagnation advisories again in the pacific northwest. sunny but on the chilly side in the northeast. strong rip currents along the southeastern atlantic coast. that's what's going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. i'm tom kierein in storm center 4. we have quite a bit of cloudiness on this monday morning after a little bit of sunshine. those clouds should slowly thin out as the day progresses and temperatures should warm. right now still in the 20s to around 30 much of the region. later today climbing into the low and mid 40s. and then we'll get a clearing tonight. tomorrow, sunny, into the low 50s. low 50s again wednesday and increasing >> and that's your latest weather. savannah?

>> announcer: "today's" money is brought to you by bank of america. this morning on "today's" money, holiday shopping gotchas. msnbc financial analyst vera gibbons is here with some tips on how to avoid common retail tricks that may get you to spend more money than you want to. good morning to you. before we start, let's just put this in perspective. how many americans are still paying off last christmas' bills? >> the number will astound you. 14 million americans or 6% of us are still paying off last year's credit card debt. i imagine that number will go even high they are year because people are doing a lot of shopping online, using their credit cards. fast and furiously. >> so to avoid overspending you've got some tips. the first one on your list is don't fall for the store credit card deal. but they entice you because they say we'll give you 10% or 20% off your purchase. >> right. and you get the pitch at the counter. very inenticing. these cards are very easy to get. but, the interest rates on these things typically exceed 20%

versus about 14% for credit cards. if you carry a balance month to month, the same-day savings is going to be wiped out by the interest and fees you'll have to fee and there could be consequences to your credit score, too. if you open up a lot of these accounts, going on a shopping binge, racking up the debt and using all of your available credit, could you get dinged by as much as 20, 30 points. >> your number one tip to avoid overspending. >> the fool-proof way is to spend cash. that may not be the most practical for people though. if you are going to charge on your credit card, make sure you can pay it off in a month or two max. >> people are saying what is cash? big holiday sales, door busters. you should avoid those? >> the thing is, retailers are using a sense of urgency to get consumers to spend because they know if the sale is limited, if it is one day we might actually spend. the one-day sale turns into a week-long sale. the door buster sale isn't all that great so you really have to take the time to to do your homework, do georgia to the

comparison sites. i like fatwallet. googleshopper is a popular one. people are scanning bar codes, using sites like redlays to check and do comparison shopping. >> do you that on your phone? >> 18 million people are shopping on their smartphones this holiday season. a phenomenal number. i would also suggest you check out the reviews. e-opinions.com to see what others are saying about the products because just because something's on sale doesn't mean it is a good product. >> do they ever jack up the prices, then put it on sale to make you feel like you're getting a deal? >> that may be a sneaky way. >> here's a crazy one. you say they actually use scents that entice us to buy? what kind of scents? >> music, too, as ann curry pointed out. they use vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, maybe apple this time of year is pretty popular. try get you in the right frame of mind to actually spend. these scents appeal to our emotions, they put us in that frame of mind that allows a commitment to occur. buying is a commitment. you see all sorts of scents used

particularly over the holidays. and again, music. just be aware of it. there's nothing you can really do but be in tune with your emotional state. >> electronic products. a lot of people are offered the extended warrantees and because these are often big-ticket items you're tempted by it because you don't want it to break, then you lose all your money. >> "consumer reports" survey show time and time again this is not a good deal for consumers. we spend $1 billion on warrantees over the holidays. profit margins on these things are phenomenal. chances are you don't need the extended warrantee. first, most products don't even break during the period of the extended warrantee coverage. that's the main thing. also some repairs are covered under the standard warrantee anyway so you probably don't need one. if you need peace of mind, just check with your credit card company. a lot of issues offer extended protection. if you have a high-end card some will double the extended warrantee period at no extra charge to you. >> a lot of these places have restocking fees so if you return an electronic product they'll

charge you $20 or more. how do you avoid that? >> you can't. you have to sort of know the policies in advance. it does apply primarily to electronics. don't open anything that you think you will potentially return. >> vera, all good advice. beware of the scents. coming up next, chilling out with the warm weather get-away. we'll show you some hotel deals being offered right now. and later the best beauty products of the year. they work, and they are affordable. they work, and they are affordable. but first, these messages. l. 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 ] dad. did you know it's 22 days, 11 hours and 2 minutes to christmas?

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tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing. [ female announcer ] let betty crocker do the measuring and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. ♪ just pour, mix...love. 's ♪ new baked pasta romanas. ruffled pasta, layered with creamy fontina and asiago cheeses, and oven-baked just for you. try it with pan seared chicken with toscano tomatoes. or, try it with braised beef. for a limited time, only at olive garden. sears real big gift sale is on now. save 50-60% off clothing for everyone on your list. and incredibly low prices on fleece activewear, only $9.99.

plus, get coupons at searsstyle.com for over $100 in extra savings on top of already low sale prices. sears. hurry! sears real big gift sale is on now! up to 40% off all mechanics tools sets, our lowest price ever on this craftsman autohammer, and entire stock tvs is on sale. plus 60% off men's outerwear, fleece and sweaters. so get to sears, now! this morning on "today's" travel, warm weather get-aways. you may already be thinking about soaking up some raise. the features director for travel and leisure is here to make your

dreams come true. including shoes like that. those shoes are just lovely. >> you can't see them. let's talk about travel though. >> oh, there they are! do they come with a little wheel that they can run around? >> i like pets wherever i go. >> let's start in hawaii. >> let's talk about hawaii and more importantly stop going to the mall. buy people travel for christmas. it is a genius idea. you get to go with them! >> whether they like it or not. okay. so let's start in honolulu. >> if you want to go to waikiki, the hyatt regency waikiki beach, they renovated, $2 million, you can stay for $219 a night. the fun thing they do on fridays is aloha friday. from 4:30 to 6:00 they have hula performances, can you learn how to make leis, hands on. and the beautiful waters right beyond. >> palm springs.

>> i love palm springs. i like the retro cool of it. no other place has focus on the retro cool as much as the ace hotel and swim club. for $109 a night can you stay at this place. it just makes you feel cooler to go to this hotel. i can't explain it other than they just know how to basically throw a great party. they keep the pool open until 2:00 a.m. they have deejays, yoga classes. you can get spa treatments, et cetera. there are people waiting. >> this next one, the island of viakis. didn't they have a bombing thing? >> not a bombing thing. >> targets. >> the u.s. navy was based there. they no longer are. a lot of the island is quite preserved. a malicon house is on the southern side of the island. can you stay for $175 a night. what i love about this place the fact that the two owners took a year to renovate this house and

they are there and taking care of you with everything that you need. they only have ten rooms. you get lots of personal attention and you can have water -- not water. can you have breakfast -- you can have as much water as you want! >> fantastic! >> this is the kind of service we look for. can you have breakfast with a view of the caribbean and it is gorgeous. >> that view includes water. >> there's so much water -- more water than you can handle. >> let's go to costa rica. >> you can't rock me. okay. costa rica. the niara hotel and spa. this is a gorgeous hotel that is surrounded by tropical rain forest and right within view of this volcano. it looks familiar because it was just featured in nbc's "loving the wild" which is a series that just aired and did very well. forget about the loving the wild, what i love is you are really in a nature laugher love paradise. this is a great, great resort. anyone who wants to go somewhere

and really wake up their senses, i would recommend this one. >> if you go whitewater rafting you are in the water. >> there's water there, too. honestly it is a theme throughout this segment. even the next property. >> orlando, florida. >> the kids love to go to disney and we can't blame them. >> and universal studios. >> thank you very much. brought to you by -- and so why not take them to hilton orlando bonnet creek. a great deal right now, one room $239 a night, second room half off. the kids can have their own room which is great. free transportation right from the hotel to disney. not to universal, unfortunately. they have a two-acre water -- again, it is a pool that goes around the entire property for two acres. >> that's fantastic. always great to see you. >> always water. >> bye, guys. still ahead, from wrinkle creams to night cream, we've got the cream of the crop in your beauty products. that's coming up after these messages. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there,

like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta.

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also make beautiful you're a miracle worker sabrina soto.. [sfx: doorbell rings] and you can mix your seasonal pieces with your everyday china. [sfx: knocking on door] and now you need to hide. oh, i love the mercury glass pieces on the mantel, we could put some evergreen pieces... you know a simple touch like adding. oh, i think we should quickly decorate the hallway, wouldn't that be fun? maybe just put some...oh thank you so much, i'm going to bring you a snack later. wait, i still need to talk to you about led candles. happy holiday's. hey! hi! please come in. you know ornaments, they make a great centerpiece. but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? then i found new pronutrients omega-3.

it's from centrum, a name i trust. it goes beyond my heart to support my brain and eyes too. and these ultra-concentrated minigels are much smaller than many others. it's part of a whole new line of supplements. there's probiotic and fruit & veggie too. new pronutrients from centrum helps make nutrition possible. we had a really generous crowd helping us with our toy drive this morning. actress michelle yo was here a little bit earlier today helping collect lots of gifts for underprivileged children that are now on their way to homeless shelters on the west coast right now. >> we've already delivered some

$25 million in toys and gifts for needy children and haley from southwestern company is here this morning. good morning to you. tell us about your donation. >> good morning to you guys. thanks so much for having us. we are delighted to announce that we've been donating since about 2004 but this is, by far, our largest donation at over $1 million retail value. educational software ranging from preschool all the way through college prep and we also are providing access to our membership based website that offers both educational tools and life building tools for students and their families. >> that helps parents help their kids. >> exactly. which is one of the biggest challenges for kids. >> southwestern has done a lot philanthropically. tell us about some of the organizations you've helped out over the years. >> we absolutely have. we do a lot to help college students. we have over 3,000 college students around both united states, canada and europe that build a business with our company each summer. so we involve them in a lot of our philanthropic work. for example, they were just -- >> actually, we have to stop

right there. you guys have done a bunch of great work for us. >> thank you so much. it was a pleasure and thanks to the "today" show for having us. >> of course you can donate. the "today" show for having us. >> of course you can donate. go to our website. the contacts you've got to see to believe. acuvue® oasys brand contact lenses with hydraclear® plus technology, keeping your eyes exceptionally comfortable all day long. it feels like it disappeared on my eye. [ male announcer ] discover why it's the brand eye doctors trust most for comfort. if you have astigmatism, there's an acuvue® oasys lens for that too, realigning naturally with every blink. ask your doctor for acuvue® oasys brand.

more after your local news and weather. let's go to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein for a look oopt your forecast today. still cold out there. >> it is. most areas just get together the freezing mark after we started in the teens and low 20s. it's a gray monday, live view from the sky watcher camera. temperatures right around 30 degrees much of the region. later today we'll climb into the low and mid 40s with sun back this afternoon. clearing out tonight. cold start to tuesday morning, sunny, a little warmer tomorrow. increasing clouds wednesday into the low 50s, mid 50s thursday with rain late in the day.

a cold weekend to follow. >> tom, thanks so much. [ terri ] my husband, hank, was always fun. never took life too seriously. 'til our son was born... that day, he bought life insurance. now, there's no way i could send our boy to college without it. if there was one thing i could say to hank, it'd be "thank you." you're welcome. hey, hank. [ male announcer ] life insurance you can use while you're still living. you are one lucky lady. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today.

good morning. traveling in d.c., a two vehicle strash on 34th street and massachusetts avenue. use caution in the area. still seeing a little congestion

if you're taking new york avenue, making your way on to bladensburg, your congestion starts right about "the washington times" plant and continues as you head across bladensburg.

this is the miracle blade world class knife set. they're stainless steel. the retail $140. the deal -- $29.95. >> wow! >> that was jill martin last week with one of her fantastic steals and deals where she showcases some great items discounted exclusively for you, our "today" viewer. she'll be back here tomorrow with some gifts for everyone in your famy and you won't want to miss the bargain she has this time. as much as 85% off. again, that's steals and deals tomorrow on "today." you got to be on it. to get it. >> everything must go. >> be in it to win it. coming up, the best in beauty. the folks at "shape" magazine have scoured the shelves and are

out with their list of the top beauty picks of the year that really work. most of them can be bought at your local drugstore for $32. then jack kennedy. he was president for just 1,000 days. from his inauguration to his assassination, he has been a figure of great fascination all these years. now chris matthews is out with a new and sometimes surprising look at the president in "jack kennedy elusive hero." we're uncovering the secret to an easy main course by using your favorite side dishes. we'll show you how to make two main meals from one side in "today's" kitchen. first you got a check of the weather forus? >> we're going to start with today, showing sunshine in the east, icy conditions in minnesota and wisconsin. we're looking at rain in the southern california area, snow in the southwest and then for tomorrow, the rain will end down in florida. sunny and milder conditions, cool as you get into the ohio

river valley. look for rain moving into the mid mississippi river valley. more snow in the southwest. hard to believe, they've had more snow in arizona than they've had in buffalo. yikes. >> wow. really? >> absolutely. that's what's going on around the country. here is what's happening in your neck of the woods. a gray and cold monday. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. a live view from the sky watcher camera looking toward the west. weak sun trying to shine through the overcast. we'll have the cloud thinning as the afternoon progresses. temperatures climb out of the 20s into the 30s. then the low and mid 40s by mid afternoon. clearing to night, 20s tomorrow morning. afternoon highs low >> and that's your latest weather. coming up next, the best beauty products of the year and they won't bust your budget, either. and then what you didn't know about president kennedy from author and tv host and one of our favorites, chris matthews.

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this morning on "today's" beauty, the best products of 2011. senior lifestyle editor nor "shape" magazine is here with her top beauty picks that are affordable. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. >> so define "new" and how many of these new products debut every year on orange? >> well, so many products come out every year but at "shape" we go through and test them all. today we are sharing some of our favorites from 2011. >> they're innovative. >> they all have technology, they all work and they're all under $30. >> which we love. good price tag. okay. start off with your favorite

wrinkle cream and this one is neutrogena. $20. >> the great thing about this is that it has retinol and hyaluronic acid. retinol stimulates your collagen production, it will plump up your skin, get rid of those fine lines that we all have. the hyaluronic acid really hydrates your skin. but the best thing about this product is it works in just seven days. you're getting fast results for $20. great bang for your buck. >> wow. seven days. that's amazing. now eye makeup remover. it is always hard to find the one that gets everything off, especially waterproof makeup. you found the solution. >> this is from sephora. if you wear contacts or have sensitive skin around your eyes, this does the trick. it gets rid of every last trace of your waterproof mascara or eyeliner. under $10. >> great on your wallet. okay, now hair color. the new inknow ration it seems

the new color foams. this is something that's been really easy by niceneasy. >> it is a lot less expensive to color your hair at home than it is to go to the salon but a lot of women are afraid to do tho this. it is usually messy and a big hassle. this is a no-drip foam solution. just put this on your hair, super easy to use. it will give you great color, great tone and you have results for up to eight weeks. >> the color that you see on the box is the color you're going to get? >> it is true to the box. >> that's good. that's always hard to gauge. next, boots number seven. these are very popular in the uk and now sold at target. this is the body cream? >> a lot of people go to great lengths to make sure that the skin on our face is protected but we forget about our neck, our chest an our shoulders. so this is a great body serum, anti-aging, it will get rid of any damage you may have experienced or prevent future damage. you put this on your body and you will you a see results in

just four weeks. >> wow. got to get on that one. over here, shadow pencils that glide on. by urban decay. >> how cool is this? so this is an eye shadow that just glides on like silk. super easy. you don't have to deal with the brush. you don't have to deal with the brush or you don't have to worry about the compact falling on the bathroom floor and shattering. i do that all the time. and it is silky smooth and it is going to last for up to 16 hours. >> perfect. >> bold color, long lasting. >> very nice. and they glide on. over here, dark spot correctors. by garni oechlt r. >> if you have dark spots from aging, sun damage, acne scar spots, this is a corrector. put this on your face an within a matter of weeks it will fade those dark spots. >> what's the active ingredient? >> vitamin c is what makes those dark spots go away. >> very good. for those with sensitive skin, again we have great face cream. >> this one is from burt's bees.

it is a night cream. it is a wonderful product -- the wonderful thing about this is it is very, very great if your skin is irritated or tends to break out. it has cotton extracts and a little bit of aloe and rice. >> smells good, too. >> it is all natural. it is great if you're into that organic stuff. >> last, but not least, we all love a new lipstick and this is the new formula by chanel out just last month. is that right? the velvet formula? >> velvet allure. this is one of my favorites. now this is a matte lipstick. matte lipstick tends to get a bad rap because it looks and feels really dry on your lips but chanel's formula is amazing. it is moisturizing, it is beautiful and it really does feel like velvet. plus it has a little bit of mother of pearl pigment so you get that rich finish. >> they're beautiful colors, too. thank you so much. appreciate it. good job testing it all out for us. coming up next, he inspired generations of americans. now a new and revealing look at president john f. kennedy in a

new book by "hardball's" chris matthe matthews. that's coming up right after this. ♪ 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? this was the gulf's best tourism season in years.

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as we approach the next presidential election, there's been a lot of talk about what characteristics are needed in a modern president. many former presidents are held

up as ideals, including, of course, john f. kennedy. now chris matthews, host of msnbc's "hardball" has delved into the kennedy era and mystique in his book "jack kennedy elusive hero." one thing you say in the book is that jack kennedy loved politics. when you think of where we are in our politics today, it is almost a bad word. what it was that he liked? >> i think he liked getting together with the guys. during the crisis over desegregation in the south, he had a little gesture like this. all his mafia guys got around the table. let's go, we got to go to war now. he seemed to like it. >> he loved people. >> he was a happy guy. everybody talks about the girlfriends. i wanted to get back to what he was like day to day among his friends and the people he worked with, the real jack, as ben bradley said, he used to say the reason people read books like this is to answer the question, what's he really like.

that's what i wanted to find out. >> you talk about his leadership again in our modern campaigns that quality people often talk about but so rarely exhibit. how would you explain what you meant by the fact that he had leadership qualities? >> a leader is a guy who other people follow into battle. colin powell is a natural leader, for example. you just want to follow him. think the greatest thing he ever said was ask not what your country can do for you. because it asked the american people get involved. they don't want to watch their american president be bill yant, they want to be asked to follow him. they want a leader, not a genius as president. like the peace corps and the space program, we all felt involved in the early '60s. people like to be asked. >> that's an interesting distinction. people think a leader, oh, a leader tells you "do this," then you are supposed to do that. >> come on, join the peace corps. do a 50-mile hike. root for the space program. american people felt like it was our government. president obama is probably martyr than kennedy but after the inauguration, everybody was sent home. you got to be brought in.

a leader is somebody who brings others along. i think it was the great spirit. television shows like "mad men," i like people like the early '60s because it is about a positive, upbeat "we can do it" spirit. >> you mentioned that famous kennedy line, ask not what your country can do for you. >> back when he was in prep school, he heard his master say ask not what you could do for her, the school. -- ask not what she can do for you but what can you do for her. a lot of it i guess protestant or classmates were really mad at him over that because he plagiarized that. they wanted him to say, "as my head master said." no. that was where it came from. he was a troublemaker in school. he was a rich kid's son and he overcame that and became this democratic popular hero, war hero. when you read in the book about how he saved that crew in the south pacific, swimming for four hours with one of his crewman on

his broken back practically, he is a real hero here. >> a lot of people knew he had struggles with his health but i think you reveal how this was just a constant thorn in his side. >> literally his back. he had to take six shots every day. he was always taking showers. real striking thing. imagine are you a kid in high school and you're told you have leukemia. you don't think you'll make it past high school. had he the last rights in '47, '50 and '51. he faced death all those times and he came through it. we always thought he was this handsome guy here. he had addison's disease. he wore a core set all the time. he had colitis his whole life. >> before i let you go, you are obviously an admirer of kennedy's. is there anything in your research that you found that disappointed you? >> i can't understand why he was thrown f jackie. >> you mean why he cheated on her? >> yeah. she was totally in love with him and love is uneven.

love is unfair. and he was on the wrong side of that one. i just don't get it. i think she said she was going to put up with it. she had a wonderful line a friend told me. she said all these men came down the road and they all wanted jackie bouvier at the time and she was totally in love with this guy. >> a great read especially around the holiday time. >> a gift corfor the kids, a gi for the old man. >> chris matthews, great to see you. coming up next -- turning your dinner on its side. we'll show you how to make a

>> announcer: "today"'s" kitche brought to you by ritz.

easy as 1-2-3. turn side dishes into main courses. host of "sam the cooking guy" has some ideas for transforming the supporting cast and making it the star of the show. sam, good to see you. anybody knows this. 12-time emmy winner. >> 14, but who's counting. >> okay, they said 12 here. you picked up two while we were reading this. you're taking vegetables -- >> we're always taking the main course and making it into something -- steak becomes a steak salad. turkey becomes a turkey sandwich. side dish is sitting there going what about me? i'm just here -- somebody give me some love. roasted vegetables. we've got carrots and onions and peppers. anything. add some olive oil. a little salt. some pepper. some garlic. some dried basil. simple, right? so this is going to start the first night as a side dish. you can mix that. then you're going to dump them on a baking sheet. they're going to go in the oven.

about a half-an-hour or so, 350, 400. asparagus are great to add but they go faster. so i just throw these in here, give them the same treatment about half-way through i throw the asparagus on this. why is that funny? oh, i see. so you roast them. they look like this. they're gorgeous. side of a plate and they're beautiful. now we can take and plate these up here. make them nice. bring them to the table. now, second, we'll take these, put them back here or i'm going to get in trouble. then we take them and we dice them up like this. we're going to make a pizza. you can use the roll-up kind yourself on top. beautifully here. we're going to crumble some feta cheese over the top. >> could you use any other cheese you want. >> you could, but why would you? feta is amazing. peop feta? they should. >> they should. >> open your mind to this. then basil oil. drizzle this over the top. boom. just like that. >> boom! >> we're finished. how long?

>> takes about 15 minutes or so. 425. lots of heat. get crispy. >> fantastic. >> one more thing. >> here we go. in here i'm heating a little olive oil with some garlic. we're going to add the same vegetables. >> nice medley. >> can you make this ahead of time and use it during the week or not? >> absolutely. why not? they're just vegetables. they'll be fine for few days in the fridge. we'll start to get these hot. we'll add a can of diced come toes. if you want to do the fire-roasted ones, the ones with garlic-basil, it's all yours. make this what you want. we stir, we get it hot. that's it. if you have people coming over at 6:00, do this at 2:00 and just let it sit. flavors will just get better. >> i think we're going to put it on top of this already-cooked pasta. you've got the 14 emmys, not me. >> you're right. but who's counting. we're going to do this. beautiful -- >> sam, you just won two more emmys. you're up to 16.

>> congratulations. hi. >> then a little parmesan cheese on top and a beautiful little basil. >> yum. >> who can't do this? it's time to start thinking easy. five, six ingredients make all of this stuff happen. simple. pizza dough there, pa za here, side dish there. >> when's the next book coming out? >> next year, i think. >> he's got two coming out already. >> good to see you. thank you. coming up, kathie lee and hoda welcome a new member of the ""joy fit club."" >> plus great gifts for just $25 or less. >> after your local news. plus g5 or less. >> after your local news. [ music box plays ] multi-policy discount.

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wednesday into the low 50s after a freezing start. then on thursday cloudy, could get a midday, afternoon or evening shower. then clearing out for friday. then much colder for the weekend, but sunny. danella, how is traffic? >> good morning. it's cold out there. the roads look really nice. volume is light. taking the beltway past route 1 making your way into greenbelt, no issues there. if you're taking the outer loop past route 1 towards georgia avenue, that whole stretch of roadway is clear. no accidents to report. also checking the beltway into virginia as well. inner loop and outer loop there, not seeing any

johansson. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. welcome to fun day monday, it's december 12th. it's also green monday. >> green for money because it is the busiest shipping day of the year. this is the day when you ship everything it's guaranteed to get there. some people will ship for free if it's included. and that's what that means about green. every day has a theme, doesn't it? >> yes. i'm over it. cyber monday, black friday.

nobody's over alec baldwin. >> okay. >> it's our daily update on sir alec. >> he decided he was going to use the stage of "snl" to do his alleged mea culpa. he dressed up as a pilot for american airlines and made his apology to alec baldwin. let's watch him. >> what's your take on the events of last wednesday. >> we was awful, seth, which is why it was very important for me to come here tonight and on behalf of everyone at american airlines issue an apology to mr. alec baldwin. >> alec, are you sure this is the right way to handle this? >> keep going. >> i appreciate the idea of it. i think it was clever. he didn't really apologize. he was digging in a little deeper. >> at one point they said, is it true, alec, in the skip that alec baldwin delayed the flight.

>> he said it's not like american airlines flight have never been delayed before and he brought up bankruptcy jokes. what do you guys think at home? some people thought it was hysterical and he's so funny. some people didn't, who look at his history, because he's had history with writing unkind things about other people. >> maybe we should ban tweeting. i don't know if he stopped it or started it up again. you know it never happens to me because i'm tech-free and happy. somebody who has been one of the great role models in my life is meryl streep. i don't believe there is an actress on the planet that can touch her. she is so brilliant. she is, for the very first time, on the january cover of "vogue" magazine. she jokes she is the oldest

person ever to be on "vogue." she is always in vogue because she is brilliantly talented. >> she is 66 years old. she always looks beautiful. i just saw her in that movie "iron lady." she plays margaret thatcher with the teeth, the whole thing. it's cool to see someone in her 60s on "vogue." >> she tells the story she woke up at 40 and she received three scripts and they were all to play witches. her husband said, what are we going to do? it's over. look at work she's done. she gives hope to all of us with a capital "h." >> if you were in your 20s, you were like the next big thing. i think of all the powerful women on television. most of the women now are over 50. it's not like it used to be. if you had your things out and everything you got hired. now it's different. >> i can put them away?

thank god for betty white. she's kicking it for everybody. betty white was not named the sexiest women of all time. she should have been in the running definitely. in "men's health" magazine, they picked -- >> they picked jennifer aniston because they say funny is sexy. but here are the other top five. they have madonna as number five. >> frank doesn't think that at all. >> britney spears is number four. >> doesn't think that at all. >> who is voting? marilyn monroe. >> he might agree with that. >> raquel welch. >> remember what the grew did around here when she showed up? all their dentures fell out. >> jennifer aniston was number one. >> good for raquel. i bet she is over 70 now. >> who are some of the other people on the list? >> hey, nameless. >> ursula andres.

>> and we have jane fonda coming up soon. she was wearing that leotard. >> think about the top ten, probably six of them are over 50. >> yes! >> how about that? >> it's a good sign. >> this is a good one, you guys. there is a stretch of road in maryland that if you were driving down this stretch of road, there is one of those big neon signs. it says "honk if you are wearing a thong." those are usually reserved for amber alerts. >> a lot of thongs going by. >> did we add those honks in? that's ridiculous. >> i love that one. >> i love that thing. >> they are asking would you honk? >> yes, you would honk if you're wearing a thong, wouldn't you? >> since i don't wear a thong, not that you know -- >> i like this idea. those signs are usually reserved

for amber alerts. >> as if there aren't enough things taking our eyes off the road. >> they took it down. they don't know who put it up. >> this is not good news, people. we all know it, we don't want to admit it. as our waist lines are expanding, so are the boat capacity. boats are sinking because we are now too fat to get on the boat. nobody tells the truth about their weight. the u.s. coast guard has recalibrated the average weight that a passenger -- anyway, the new rules are a certain weight for a boat's capacity. >> in the '60s, the average was 160, now it's 185. they have dinner boat cruises. you can fit 153 passengers on board. that's in the '90s. now you can fit 134 people. >> and that's before dinner. >> a miami charter used to hold 49 people and now can only hold 35 people because everyone is getting bigger. here is the other thing. they say that one of the most

popular fabrics now that's out there that people are buying, spandex. >> i have iin my napkins to serve dinner with. i'm only kidding, hoda. >> i don't know. i love spandex. it's got give. >> you don't need it. it's here to stay. >> we like that, but it's so that you don't feel like your clothes are tighter because it's expanding with you. >> thus spandex. >> this is a study and we don't know we believe it. >> yet another study. >> okay. >> that's it? we've been waiting for that for two weeks. put a little sound effect on that or something. >> can we do it one more time for fun? [ horn honking ] >> here is what the study says. a scientist said sitting on your

tush says your fat cells are multiplying because you're sitting on them. the pressure. >> just what we needed, one more thing. now you can't sit any more because -- ises that solid science? >> we don't know. it's a scientist from a study said that it worked. we have something that might help. sara is going to demo it for us. if you're sitting on your turn all day long, look what we have here. it's called sit fit. >> i'm sorry. >> that's ridiculous. >> honk if you're wearing a thong. >> it's a little difficult with heels on. >> do you feel a workout happening? >> i'm trying really hard. i don't know if i can do anything else but this. >> anyway, it's just kind of --

look at our crew. look at christine. you're fine. >> some things work and some don't. we are very sorry. probably destroyed these people's christmas. didn't mean to do that. >> it's showtime for our favorite things. >> a couple of years i've been involved in a wonderful project of writing the lyrics for "it's a wonderful life" the musical. well, a lot of people don't know that the frank capra movie was actually based on a short story. i didn't know that even before i started the musical. it's called "the greatest gift." apparently the man who wrote it philip van doren stern couldn't get it published. he sent it out like a christmas card to 200 people. frank capra saw it and said, i've been waiting all my life for this and based his movie on that book. it's a beautiful little gift book. it's -- let's see. >> $320. >> new it's $320.

you can get it used for $46 at amazon.com. i want you to hear this music for one second. ♪ my spirit sing >> this is my friend nancy lamott, an album she did. she died of uterine cancer at age 43. tomorrow will be 16 years ago. >> beautiful voice. >> "just in time for christmas," unbelievable. one of the greatest christmas albums. order that. it's the most amazing album. >> beautiful. let's hear a little bit more. ♪ just in time for christmas ♪ you showed me what christmas is about ♪ >> that's beautiful. wow. >> it's a great song. >> i have an uplifting favorite

thing. this is called the uplifting nighty. i'll tell you what makes it unique. first of all, it feels like butter. >> it's better than butter. it's so soft. it's like bambino. >> what makes it unique is, in the nighty there is a little bra thing. >> it doesn't feel like a bra. >> it feels light. sometimes you need a little something, but you don't want a full-on -- >> it's gotten to the point i need to start wearing these. i turn over and knock frank out, you know what i'm saying. poor baby. he sleeps so well. every time i turn over, whack. okay. >> it's great. they run, go to -- it's $95, but so worth it at uplifting nighties.com. >> sara. >> this is my favorite thing by tint cosmetics. it's the vintage lip color. this is peaches and cream. you can get them in root beer, peppermint. >> then you liqueur lips so much.

>> i know, it's delicious. you can get it at tint cosmetics.com. they are about $14, but they bring back those memories. they are the best. >> coming up next, all the celebrity happenings in hollywood. >> we'll have the latest buzz because guess who is in the house? rob shuter. the best way to designow me a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. wait a second... with olay challenge that. new regenerist wrinkle revolution... relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth... regenerist. from olay.

it's all crossed out... it's 'cause i got everything on it. boom! thank you! [ male announcer ] the big christmas event is here. starting 8 a.m. saturday. with great deals on toys, electronics and more... the only place to go for last minute gifts is walmart. sally, you don't need toys when you have... ♪ imagination ♪ imagination ♪ imagination ♪ helps you see the world in different ways ♪ yay! yay! ♪ this is a pony ♪ and this is a choo-choo ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. and this is a... [ male announcer ] with a wii twist. what is this? [ male announcer ] netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds. all for only 8 bucks a month. ♪ i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories.

it will add up to amazing. ♪ 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 it was a very busy weekend in tinseltown with purse problems to poor lindsay lohan

and the kardashians on the move. >> here with all the sizzling scoop is our good friend it's naughty but nice rob shuter. >> it's now the huffington post.com. we merged. >> yes, fancy. >> fancy, fancy. >> we see you a lot on the huffington post there let's talk about one of the kardashian girls may be packing it up and moving to dallas. >> this is going to happen. lamar has been moved to dallas. he didn't talk about the reality show transferring with them. cameras will move with them to dallas. >> how many more spin-offs are there going to be? i'm exhausted. there aren't that many

kardashians. >> let's talk about lindsay lohan. her purse was stolen with $10,000 in it? >> lindsay went to hawaii to get away. her "playboy" spread was released a little early. she went out of town before the crazy jeff starts. at a party she had her bag stole. they got the bag back, but $10,000 was missing. what she was freaking out about was her passport and i.d. is in this bag. she has a court appearance on wednesday. >> and her probation papers are in it. >> she couldn't guy without any i.d. >> would you explain why she has $10,000 in cash money in her purse? who has that kind of cash? >> who carries that. >> what are you doing with 10 grand? >> you're inviting disaster is what you're doing. >> we just talked about this. "men's health" decided they will pick the sexiest women.

>> so they decided the sexiest woman of all time is jennifer aniston. they picked generalter. they interviewed her and asked her who she thought the sexiest woman was. she said gloria steinen. they asked what she found sexy in a man. she might have had a dig at brad pitt. she said of course she likes the abs, doesn't every lady? but she likes an appropriately sized ego. >> even though she is unattainable to most men, she seems like maybe she could get a date. >> she is like the girl next door. >> do you agree with most on the list? >> i think it's fascinating.

raquel welch, marilyn. >> she is 71 years old. >> let's talk about charlie sheen. he tweeted and he was trying to direct message justin bieber his phone number and accidentally sent it out. >> direct message is a private conversation. >> i understand that. >> why did he do it by mistake tweeting it to all his followers? they started tweeting it and calling him. hi, it's charlie, heave a message. now he's got a new phone and new number. the big question is, what does charlie want to talk to justin bieber about? run for the hills. run, run, run, justin. >> he's a chick magnet. he knows how to have a stable relationship. he is in a very stable relationship. >> jessica simpson is in the

news. >> hasn't been confirmed, but she has a $3 million deal with weight watchers. after she has the baby, she might be the next spokesperson for weight watchers. i think she is lovely and i think they couldn't have picked being anybody better. >> she wants to get into her wedding gown. >> they haven't sold the baby pictures or the wedding pictures. >> i'm glad nobody was doing that when i had my kids. >> would you have taken it? >> i'd like to think i wouldn't have, but i probably would have and given it to charity. i do that a lot. if they are going to take it and fight over it, make a deal and give it to a good cause. >> someone is going to get it so they might as well sell it themselves. >> rob shuter, thank you. up next, time for our fan of the week. ♪ [ grandma ] ok. ♪

ah. then we will all do it together. treats! teets...teets...teets... yeah, look at this. [ female announcer ] it seems like the best family traditions... always start in the kitchen. ♪ rice krispies®. happy holidays. 102? [ dog whimpers ] 102? no! [ female announcer ] try triaminic fever reducer. with medicine that starts to reduce your child's fever in 30 minutes, triaminic will have them up and running before you know it. [ barks ] you spend all day cooking it. so why spend even a moment considering any broth but swanson?

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monday with our fan of the week. >> who is the lucky fan and what did they win? >> our winner is this week cullen muzik. >> stop it, a guy! >> he watches us on channel 15. he is such a big fan he caters his lynch hour when the show is on to make sure he doesn't miss a minute. he teaches an exercise class every monday called monday pump day in honor of the daily fourth hour themes. they work out to the latest hits

from ihoda. he gets inspiration from the joy fit club. he counts on kathie lee and hoda for a daily pick-me-up. congratulations for being such a loyal fan. we are sending you and a friend to hawaii. >> oh, my gosh! >> wow! >> four-night stay provided by the hilton on the big island for two people as well as round trip airfare for two. the trip will include a round of golf for two, and an on-property dolphin quest experience. >> all right, cullen. thanks so everyone for all your support. >> go on our website, maybe we'll pick you next week. >> maybe not. jill martin with a round of holiday gifts for under $25. >> the latest inductee to the joy fit club. and terri fator stops by.

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hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait.

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we are back with look at me now, the joy fit club and the induction of its newest member. she is a 30-year-old fitness blogger from washington, d.c., who lost a whopping 150 pounds. >> her name is caroline. before we meet her, let's look at her story. >> hi, my name is caroline. i'm 30 years old. by the time i was in the eighth grade i weighed 300 pounds. as a teenager, i used my allowance money to buy and eat an entire medium pizza and package of cookies alone in the basement. it felt so good devouring it, but i always felt bad about myself afterward. being overwhat it caused me to miss out on simple things in

life. i didn't go to my prom. i hadn't worn a bathing suit since i was 9 years old and i couldn't fit into amusement park rides. at 21 years old in college, a dermatologist told me the dark blotches on my skin were an indication i was prediabetic. i finally had my aha moment. i began altering my relationship to food and eating and exercise became an appetite depressant. the more i walked every day the less i thought about food. i adhered to no specific diet. i limited my intake of white foods. sticking to my regimen of walking every day and eating healthy resulted in my losing 100 pounds within a year. a total loss of 150 pounds. i finally accepted that there are no short cuts or secrets to weight loss. exercise has taken my passion for food from a dirty love affair to a committed relationship of self-control.

>> what a way to say it. before we ask her to come out, we'll talk to joy bauer who will tell us more about her eating habits. >> this is another beauty. she is radiant. what i love most, after she accomplished this huge feat, she now believes the impossible is possible. she challenges herself at work, in her personal life. she is a go-getter. she did this nine years ago. >> and you said she is a fitness blogger. i'm sure that has come as a result? >> yes. this is about nine years ago. it was the beginning of the summer. she made one change. she decided to walk. she gave up the bus and she would walk 2 1/2 miles to work then 2 1/2 miles home five days a week. at the end of the summer, just two months, she covered 190 miles. that's about the equivalent, i love to do these calculations of walking from washington, d.c. to pittsburgh, pennsylvania. >> and lost how much weight that first summer? >> in the couple of months she was already down well over 20

pounds. she burned 34,000 calories in those two months. i have to show what you that translates to. 230 frosted holiday cookies, she walked this off. >> that is unbelievable. it puts it in perspective. >> i can't wait to meet caroline. let's look at her before picture. caroline, come join the joy fit club. >> oh, my god! >> oh, yeah! >> take a step back. >> she's still walking. >> i get the chills. >> you look great, honey. congratulations. >> she's stunning. >> first of all, you are a jaw-dropper. absolutely gorgeous. i love that you started off with walking. it's not easy when you're that overweight to take the first ten steps, is it? >> right. it's step by step. i started out with 15 minutes, 20 minutes and moved up to about an hour walking almost every day. >> would you catch the bus later each time. >> later or my step sister would

kick me up and give me a ride. >> i love how you said it went from a dirty love affair to a committed relationship with food. how do you view food now? >> i view food as something, i don't view it as an addiction. i have an appreciation for quality, locally grown food and healthy food. >> she is an amazing chef, too. >> did your friends freak out? >> you've been so heavy so long of your life. you never remembered a thinner time, right? >> right. when my friends of high school see me, they don't recognize me. >> by the way, your mom is so sweet. i see her sitting back there she must have been a big encouragement. >> she was. >> i can tell. she is sunshine from back there. >> we'll make sure all these cookies go to a deserving group of young people so you don't have to be tempted by them. >> caroline, thank you for coming by. congrats. >> up next?

>> we have jerry fator. from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena naturals. pillsbury holiday star cookies start with pillsbury cookie dough easy. then add my own favorite frosting and sprinkles. just three ingredients to sweet memories. holiday ideas made easy. have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery

until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta. is to dig right in. but his dentist knows that to do that he needs to use the brush more dentists use. oral-b. trust the brush more dentists and hygienists use. oral-b. life opens up when you do.

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holidays with gifts under $25. >> from jewels to hostess and baby gifts. "us weekly" contributor jill martin has presents that won't break your holiday budget. >> she always does it right. >> it's amazing that under $25 you can get a fabulous bottle of wine. lucky for us. cheers. >> where do we get that, love? >> this is so interesting. clos du bois teamed up with banana republic. you see a beautiful sketch of holiday dresses, only available november 1st through the new year. on the back there is a code. that will link you to a party soundtrack. that's all in the bottle of wine. is that fabulous? >> you can have a party. $16.99. i even saved whatever. you do the math. now this one.

dreaming tree wines. dave matthews did a collaboration with dreaming tree named after one of his soundtracks, which i'm sure you know. they have this wine out. limited edition for the holiday. $14.99. >> what about the cork thingy? >> those are pottery barn. if you want an extra gift to give in addition to the soundtrack we have these beautiful wine stoppers. >> really lovely. >> i tried to find designer items. not easy. look at mckenzie child. >> the bag is sensational. >> they have all these different things for your office, then these planters. this is a great gift to give in a beautiful way. this i love. ornaments by mac cosmetics. it's for nail polishes. >> that's very, very cute. >> $25. i want to make sure i'm going in order here. our office is obsessed, look at my wrist here, with these hair

bands that don't leave a dent in your hair. this is a new company. they have blinged out all these different hair bands. they say bff, they say fun on them and they don't leave a dent in your hair. and there are arnments for $12. new things for kids. feel this. $20, social goodies.com. isn't this great? >> that looks like a hanna present. >> it does. >> this is too little for hanna, but look at this. it's a rattle. give simple.com. >> where's the box? i want you to see they have a little baby going like this on the box. this is one for hoda. let me do something first. this is a new line shen-beauty.com. it's instant fixes.

this is dry conditioner. this little breakout balm you have a blemish for the holidays, you put a little bit on. >> can we get to my present? >> okay. look at the speaker here. it's a little speaker. isn't that great? look how cute it is. >> that's what i'm giving hoda for christmas. >> buy it and wrap it. she has to buy it herself. >> another hit in the office. jilly willie.com. this was a huge hit last year. sold out on our show. $25. look, one for winter. this is great just to schlep on a beach. roberta ciarelli for the gift of sparkle. $9 to $25. this is so pretty. >> they are adorable. >> comes in a gorgeous bag and

these rubber watches which are great to run. >> what is this monster? >> i ran into this in cvs. it's their 100th anniversary. they made this $24.99. look at what is going on here. it's one layer. >> but still. >> i already know which one the caramels are. i don't need to look. >> so pick yours. which is your favorite? >> that is a caramel, that's a caramel. thanks, jill. up next, ventriloquist terri fator. [ male announcer ] xbox 360 with kinect, 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.

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for effective relief from occasional constipation. go to colacecapsules.com for savings. for effective relief from occasional constipation. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement

when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus -- $300 back. hurry, offer ends soon. go to verizon.com/superoffer. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/superoffer. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. he sings, he makes jokes, all without moving his lips. terri fator's talent made him the title of the winner of "america's got talent" in 2007. >> he has a new holiday show called terri fator.

he presents a very terri christmas. he's here this morning with his puppet friends vicki the cougar and slut, i call her. and bing crosby. hello and happy holidays. >> merry christmas. >> listen, vicki has been so excited about this. she flew in special for this. how was your flight? >> it was terrible. remind me never to play words with friends with alec baldwin again. >> he's your type, isn't he? >> he certainly is. we play words with friends with benefits. >> have you had work done? i know it's an inappropriate question, but have you? >> honey, if i get one more face lift, neither of us are going to move our mouths when i talk. >> the outfit is rather age-inappropriate. >> she is going on tour with the uso for the holidays. >> i get to be the eye candy for the troops. i'm going to serve under some

generals. >> oh. >> inspect some privates. >> okay. >> you're a sickie. you're sick. >> we better bring on bing crosby, please. >> has your life changed completely after winning "america's got talent?" >> completely. >> she's exciting. >> we are having a ball. the best part about it is i don't have to travel. for years and years and years, 20 something years i traveled and had to perform at little small tiny fairs. now we are at the mirage. >> where all the volcanos are. >> all right. okay. >> we'll bring on bing. >> look who is bringing on bing, your beautiful wife mrs. terri fator. >> hi. >> how long have you been married. >> just over a year. >> how is life with him? >> it's great. no puppets at home. >> you do a little number with bing. >> i'd like to do a little song, the most popular song that i'm

well known for. >> okay. take it away. bing crosby. ♪ i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ ♪ with every christmas card i write ♪ ♪ may your days be merry ♪ and bright ♪ and may all your christmases be white ♪ >> wow. >> thank you, bing. >> thank you, ladies. >> bing is a big hit. >> bing is a big hit. one of the reasons i did this "a very terri christmas" at the mirage, i wanted to bring back those bing crosby, perry como

christmas specials. we basically recreated that entire format on stage. i knew bing crosby had to be a part of it. >> you keep singing in the trunk. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

we are so thankful in these tough times so many individuals and companies have stepped up and come forward to help us get toys and gifts to needy kids in our toy drive. so far more than $25 million worth of holiday cheer has been sent to nearly 200 family charities. >> some are dedicated to helping homeless families cope with everyday life. bob and barbara monaghan, founders of up with baby strollers are here. >> you have three children of your own. >> yes. >> tell us what you're doing for us. >> we are happy to partner with

the "today" show toy drive and donating $200,000 worth of strollers to families in need. >> what makes your stroller unique. what makes it work so well? >> well, it's a very light weight stroller. it can do a million things. you can sit in it, recline it easily, reverse the seat. it also comes with a portable bassinet. when they are very young you can pop them in the bassinet. for these families in need, it's a place for the child to sleep. >> how have you had time to start the business with your family. when did you find the time to get it all together? >> kids go to the office. they run around. >> they run around the office, they are test subjects. lauren and i ham and egg it. she does the sales and marketing and i do the nuts and bolts and we work well together and get along together. >> you designed it. >> we did. >> we developed it for the

american consumer. it has all the high-end features of a lot of strollers, but it's very simple. >> they've come a long way since the days my kids were using them. thank you all so much. we wish your family a very happy holiday. >> thank you for having us. >> if you want to donate, you can go to our website. we'll tell you how to donate. >> you can come down here to the plaza any time. we have a big box here. you can put a beautifully wrapped brand-new gift here. coming up tomorrow for booze day tuesday, the cast of the new movie which you loved, "we bought a zoo." and performers by the winners of "the sing off." take care. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com