good morning. over and out. for the first time in nine years, american troops are out of ish rack and headed home. capping an end to an historic war that has cost the lives of some 4,500 american service men and women. live on the ground in kuwait, where it all started. advantag romney? with two weeks to go before the iowa caucuses, mitt romney scores two key endorsements. how much weight will they carry? sideline. the ult mitt undergoing to that inspired the hit film, "rudy," the real man behind the film is being tackled with fraud charges. that today on december 18, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. nine years of war in iraq and now it's over. >> just three days ago, the war in iraq was declared over. the last american troops have left. a picture that richard engel just tweeted a short time ago. literally, the last vehicle out. and someone scrolled that out. a historic picture. richard is standing by in kuwait. meanwhile, prince harry finds himself in the middle of a police investigation, after his friend was reportedly mugged. details, coming up. clint eastwood, one of hollywood's most iconic actors from his memorable performances on screen to success behind the camera we may see a whole new side of clint eastwood. we'll explain in a few minutes.

a little later on, a story we all grew up with, and champion gymnast kathy rigby is bringing peter pan to life. >> i got a chance to see everything on stage and above it as well with a rare lesson in flying. so much fun to spend time with such a wonderful actress. we'll have that story. she took that role before she had kids obviously, because of the harness. >> can i just say, i have seen more of that tape, and it's not all as graceful as what we saw. they were very kind to you. they didn't show you hitting the wall. >> literal ooechl. a lot to get to. history in the middle east as the last american convoy crossed the border out of iraq late saturday night. chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us from camp virginia in kuwait. >> reporter: good morning, lester. the last convoy, parked safely

here in kuwait. this is where the war began nearly nine years ago and this is where it is ending. it was a dignified end to a problematic war. the long convoy of mraps rolled into kuwait in an organized line. and all of the armor wasn't necessary. the troops left iraq without firing a shot. >> it felt like it was such a relief. you know you are no longer in a danger zone, and you can kind of relax, kick back, and just enjoy the ride here. >> reporter: the last 480 american soldiers to serve in iraq, following more than 1 million before them. >> this is my other battle star. >> reporter: the journey began 1,200 miles away. with just one drive left to do, they seemed excited.

happy. >> puffing cigars, barbecuing. tossing footballs. >> got your back! >> reporter: and triple checking vehicles. no one wanted to break down. not on this trip. most of these troops were only teenagers when the iraq war began. many were called to serve here time after time in a few hours, they'll all be gone, ending a chapter for iraq for the troops and america. after dark, they set out, 110 vehicles protected from above by 45 aircraft. >> just want to jump in march of 2003, and now i'm honored to close out the war in iraq. in december of 2011. >> reporter: the troops settled in for a long, dark ride. a slow one, cruising speed, 35 miles per hour. >> where is home?

>> this is home. >> reporter: feel good? >> yeah, real good. >> reporter: and the significance of this moment was now becoming clear. another 50 miles to go on this, the final mark. the end of iraq war is closing in with every mile. then, lights in the distance, th kuwaiti border. by sun rise, they had all crossed over. the gate to iraq was shut. and america's war in iraq, 4,500 lives later was over. the troops in that last convoy are from the first calvary division based at ft. hood, texas. marking the historic occasion. you can see the vehicle i took a photograph of earlier. last vehicle out of ish rack. the reason this vehicle was the last one is because it was being used as a medevac vehicle. at the end of the convoy, in case it needed to rescue anyone

attacked. but it never did. >> richard, i got to tell you. seems like a lifetime ago, i was at msnbc, you were in iraq as the war began. you have been there virtually nonstop. what are your emotions on this day, watching it come to a close? >> reporter: since we're here with the troops, it's a time for them to reflect on what they've seen. many troops have been here on three, sometimes four tours in iraq. and now they know they are not going to have to go back. some of these troops are thinking ahead that they will have to deploy eventually to afghanistan. but this is a day for the troops for many americans, closure to the iraq war. what happens next remains unclear. a very large u.s. embassy presence, thousands of contractors there. but at least for the troops, the end of the american presence in the iraq war is now over. >> richard, not lost on any of us, a whole group of nbc folks there the last many years have put their lives on the line.

we appreciate your efforts there. good to see you. >> reporter: thank you. >> all right. here is jenna. >> lester, thank you. turning to politics. now at home, the president is enjoying a small victory after the senate on saturday extended the payroll tax for two months, this as one republican presidential candidate picks up what some call a key endorsement. mike viqueira joins us live from the white house with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. already a big weekend in politics, both here in washington and on the campaign trail. a rare saturday session of the senate. the president appeared in the briefing room afterward, after coming to a temporary standstill with republicans on extending the tax cut. and on the campaign trail, the man that obama is most likely to face next fall picked up key endorsements. >> instead of a year, they got two months. >> it would be inexcusable for

congress not to further extend the middle class tax cut for the rest of the year. it should be a formality. hopefully it's done with as little drama as possible. >> reporter: one issue has republicans high-fiving. keystone oil pipeline project added to the tax bill, requiring the president to decide within 60 days if it will be built and not wait until after the election. despite an earlieier threat fro the president, they think the president will sign it with the pipeline language. >> in terms of jobs, the economy, the american people, i think it's a good deal. >> reporter: last night a major endorse. "des moines register" endorsed mitt romney. republican approval of congress at a new low, a hit for newt gingrich. >> newt, the originator of

earmarks back in the '90s. a grand daddy of earmarks, he would be it. >> reporter: gingrich trying to stay positive, even as a barrage of ads and voter mail take aim. >> this electorate wants to hear solutions, don't want to hear a traditional political campaign where have you attack after attack, negative charges. >> santa, i've been so good this year. >> have you? >> all i want for christmas is to win the iowa caucus. >> reporter: gop candidates out in force this weekend. a day after she endorsed him, mitt romney campaigned with nikki hawley. romney could emerge stronger than ever. >> romney was able to field test his opposition research, rapid response organization. something that might serve him in good stead. at the end of the day, newt gingrich's surge might be a good thing nor mitt romney.

>> reporter: one more note on the tax cut fight it has to pass the house. last night, a conference call among house republicans, many rank and file unhappy. not a done deal yet. >> mike viqueira at the white house, thank you so much. once again, here is lester. >> david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." >> good morning. >> mitt romney has not put a lot of work into iowa. now he has picked up the endorsement of "the des moines register." how he is doing? >> this may not has have as much effect as it would for a democratic primary. it helps romney make the case that iowans should take a hard look at newt gingrich, still on top of the polls. if you're romney, you may not be able to win iowa, but you hope to reduce the scale and the size of a gingrich win in iowa. and others can help him do that,

ron paul does well, bachmann gets a don't percentage of the vote, gingrich win in iowa could be seen as a smaller victory. >> romney stumping in south carolina. gingrich decided to take the weekend off. he lost almost his entire campaign staff many months ago on the issue of whether he was putting enough time effort and in the campaign. does that still dog him? >> i think questions about his organization, questions about the team that surrounds him, yeah, that's still a question for him. so much again rate e generated himself. you look at the prospect, a small percentage of votes, of delegates being apportioned to the initial contexts, you have to give it to romney, actively preparing for a longer, more drawnout fight. >> we have been looking at this as a two-person fight. ron paul, michele bachmann, the

nature of the way the voting is done. loaded and primed for surprise? >> well, that's always something that you keep your eye on. what congressman paul particularly, because of the kind of passion that he has behind him and the organization and the fact that he's -- he's made that mark in iowa so long, you have to keep a very close eye on him. but still social conservatives will carry the day. 50% of caucus goers or he van gel calls. i don't know if he will have the corner on those voters. you look at candidates bunching up together and don't discount rick perry either. spending happily there and has appeal among evangelical voters. if gingrich can win, can he win it sizably enough to say strong victory. >> what's coming up on "meet the press?" >> the latest drama in washington. an exclusive interview with speaker of the house john boehner on whether the payroll

tax break will be extended and we'll talk to michele bachmann and nikki hawley. who endorsed romney. that got a lot of attention as well. now to the news desk for the rest of this morning's top stories. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with the death of pavel. the hero that ended the cold war died at 75. he was the first democratically elected president after the velvet revolution, that brought down communism in czechoslovakia. he battled bad health from cancer and from years of being locked up in communist jails. and we have a story from london on prince harry coming to the aid. >> if you are a friend of prince harry, you know he has got your back. he came to the rescue of thomas

van strousbury, who was being robbed. thomas and harry were speaking on the phone when harry heard a scuffle and the line went dead. fearing the worst, he headed down to the neighborhood to try and find his fraed. and he had good cause for being concerned in this particular part of london, people have been killed and being seriously injured while being robbed. luckily for all concerned, harry found him in the local police station and joined him in filing a report. since then, the cell phone has been found and a man has been arrested. but it does raise the interest prospect that if this went to court, prince harry could be a witness. >> wow. that is very interesting. thank you for the story, duncan. the united states is ready to help the philippines, where more than 500 people have died from flash flooding, triggered by a weekend tropical storm in the southern part of the country. another 400 people are missing. winter weather moving in quickly in some areas of this

country. a lake-enhanced storm dropped as much as 5 inches of snow on cleveland on saturday. flurries in chicago. and here in the northeast, certainly feeling colder as well. in just a minute, we'll get the full forecast from janice huff. a soldier from central florida who lost both legs in iraq has a new home for the holidays. army specialist louis swickert and his family were given a specially designed home for free. he want to work in prosthetics so he can help other soldiers injured in combat. that's the news. now it's back to lester, jenna, and janice. >> thank you very much. >> janice huff here with a check of the weather. cold here in the northeast. a blizzard brewing in the southwest. yeah, another storm that's producing rain around los angeles and southern annevada, will turn into snow. that low pressure system brings snow to the mountains in los angeles and san diego. and a

good sunday mornings. i'm storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. off to a cloudy spot in washingt washington. temperatures in the upper 20s to low and mid-30sment as you can see on live doppler, we have a little bit of very light snow in montgomery, frederick, maryland. it might be enough to get a white coating on some of the grassy surfaces. highs will reach into the low 40s. now here is lester. >> janice, thanks. up next on "today." go ahead, make my day. move over kim car dasha, clint eastwood could be the next big reality star. details, after this. with this. deal [ boy ] she's pushing me! [ mom ] you guys stop it. [ horns honk ] look for spaces.

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thanks! ♪ nook by barnes & noble. starting at just $99. he's ab award winning actor and director, one of the longest running movie stars in hollywood. he's even been a mayor. now it looks like clint eastwood is getting into the reality business. miguel almaguer with details. >> reporter: director and academy award winner clint eastwood. >> you don't know what this does to my confidence. >> reporter: it adding another job. reality tv star. sources connected to the planned show's production says the series will explore what it's like to live in a family of hollywood reality. >> when we think of reality tv who do we think of? kardashians, osbornes, gene simmons. we don't think of clint eastwood. >> reporter: it will focus on the relationship between dina

eastwood, daughter morgan and daughter francesca, an aspiring actress. eastwood will not be a main character. >> there has to be a reason why he is going into reality tv. it will be interesting to watch this series and figure that out. >> reporter: the show set to premiere on e! by the same people behind another hit show. >> admit it. you thought you were good. >> i don't know if anything could follow in the kardashian footsteps. that family is made for reality tv. >> reporter: eastwood, considered an icon for macho movies widely known for his role in the dirty harry films. >> make my day. >> reporter: starred in almost 70 movies, directed more than 30 and been the mayor of carmel, california. why would a hollywood legend want to step into the reality real world? we may soon find out. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> the good, the bad, and the

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still to come, the man to serve as inspiration for the movie, "rudy" is being hit with fraud charges. plus, come join me as i soar to new heights with kathy rigby as they brings peter pan back to life on stage. first, these messages. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes?

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good morning. it's sunday, december 18th, 2011. i'm chris gordon.

the 25-year-old man went missing after the sailboat he and two others were on capsized saturday afternoon. they have found no sign of the man. rescue teams were out on the water throughout the morning. montgomery county police are looking for one of the drivers involved in a deadly pedestrian accident in wheaton. investigators say the man was crossing veirs mill road by randolph shopping center when he was hit by a westbound car around 10:30 last night. the victim landed in the middle of the road and was hit by a dark-colored suv, which did not stop. he was taken to holy cross hospital where he later died. [ 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. well, the day began cold and cloudy. >> cold and cloudy remains the

situation. sunshine will be making a return before the day is done. yes, it's a cold and cloudy start this morning. temperatures hovering in the upper 20s, low 30s. most of the snowflakes in frederick, hagerstown. but even those will be coming to an end shortly. clearing out this afternoon. highs today in the upper 30s to low and mid-40s. with a bit of a northwesterly breeze. windchills will stay primarily in the 30s. back to work and school on your monday. mostly sunny. milder tomorrow with highs closer to 50 degrees. a little breezy at times. certainly not too bad. rain chances return as early as tuesday afternoon. most of the rain looks like it will be coming on wednesday. a chance for more rain into christmas eve. that's the latest on the forecast. chris, back to you. another news update in 25 minutes. now back to the "today" show.

♪ back on this sunday morning, december 18, 2011. a week until christmas day. if you haven't finished your shopping, you may want to rethink your plan. our thanks to everyone out here who decided to spend part of their time with us. outside on the plaza, i'm jenna wolfe with lester holt. can i show you something real quick? forget the posterboard, don't tell the hotel. richmond, virginia. i love that. >> take the soap and little shampoos too.

>> the soap had lester on it. >> very creative. remember the movie rudy? >> one of the most emotional sports stories ever. >> a guy told he was too small to play for notre dame? the man who inspire thad film is being charged with fraud. th that, coming up. >> and we'll talk about the calendar, which does not lie. christmas, seven days away. seven days away. a big joke, you haven't started your shopping yet. the pressure is actually on. not just from shopping, cooking, getting everything ready, our daily jobs, making sure inlaws are happy. that's important. the stress can be absolutely unbearable. great advice on how to stay sane. >> early this morning, i tweeted out what is the biggest dilemma for you? and one person said, accident lone is stressful. a lot of people -- a lot of people have to decide which set of parents to visit first. we'll discuss those questions on the air.

kathy rigby, famous gymnast, you got to hang out, literally. >> literally, more than just walking on stage and spending some time together. we got start to finisfinish, pu make up on, put on the harness and had some fun. after 96 times, i got it down pat. >> and from the makeup, we can't see the bruises where you hit the wall. >> looking forward to that. we want to say hello to tim from mattel. time for today's toy drive. good to have you here. >> good morning. >> what are you bringing this year? >> we are donating $250,000 of barbie dolls, hot wheels cars, and video games for kids this year. this year we brought this barbie designable hair extensions. you can take this, design the hair extensions online with artwork like that. >> very cool. >> and a doll can wear it or you can wear it as well.

>> and don't leave lester out. you are so eager to be part of this. why so important? >> we want to be reaching out to the community and underserved children around the country. helping them have a wonderful christmas and giving them opportunities to play. >> we appreciate you being here. have a happy holiday. thank you for what you've done for us. and we like to remind folks, nearing the end of our toy drive. >> this is about it. if you want to donate this is the time to do it. >> let's get another check of the weather from janice. >> cold on the plaza. thanks to these people coming ouand about. signs are a little tricky. where are you from? >> north carolina. >> okay. let's spread it out over here this way. and these people from south carolina. >> go tigers. >> let's check t

good sunday morning to you. i'm storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a cold and cloudy start. a few passing snowflakes to be found out there. it's not going to last much longer. if you're a snow lover, look hard. don't be disappointed. because i'm telling you right now this is not going to be much. temperatures now upper 20s to low and mid-30s. a couple of lonesome snowflakes. highs today, 43. and you know, you can always check your weather any time by logging on to weather.com. here is jena. >> janice, thanks. a story of daniel reuttiger.

his name you might not recognize first, until you mention the movie that made him famous, "rudy." michelle franzen joined us in studio this morning. >> good morning. the never give up attitude became the centerpiece for the movie and the motto used to market a sports drink. but his business was also used in a stock scheme. >> rudy, rudy, rudy, rudy! >> reporter: he was the inspiration for the 1993 movie, "rudy." the story of how daniel reuttiger, lacking the height, grades, and money, needed to get into notre dame beat the odds to become a walk-on football player for the fighting irish. and now the hero who most recently used his fame and name to market a sports drink called rudy, has settled a federal lawsuit, claiming he defrauded investors in a 2008 pump and

dump stock scheme. >> in the allegations, it says strong promoters were used to run up the price, making misrepresentations about the product, running up the price and then having all his friends sell it, buy it, and fraudulently conveying the stocks to people. >> reporter: securities & exchange commission say that reuttiger and company associates made false claims about the sports drink, saying it outsold gatorade and won in sports test. federal regulateors said that reuttiger and 11 others made more than $11 million in profit from stock sales. >> the s.e.c., charging him with fraud, totally opposite of what the entire movie was about. >> reporter: in the highly fictionalized movie, rudy's big dream plays out the last home game of his senior year.

the team well ahead and number 45 finally gets his first chance on the field. with just seconds left, rudy sacks the opposing team's quarterback, making notre dame history as his team carries him off the field. a happy ending on screen. but in real life, dreams of making big in business didn't pay off. reuttiger agreed to pay nearly $400,000 to settle charges, without admitting or denying the charges. calls to his attorney were not immediately returned. >> michelle franzen, thank you so much. up next, comply with me as i go behind the scenes of the new show, peter pan with champion gymnast kathy rigby, right after these messages. [ br

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we're told the holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and happiness. but for a lot of folks this time of year can be filled with stress or sadness . whether you are struggling to make ends meet or spending the holidays alone. here is r.g. allen, a relationship therapist. good to have you here. >> good to be here, lester. >> one of the best stress things time. give me some general advice to make the holidays less stressful. and we'll talk specifics. >> here is the thing. you have to have realistic expectations, we have time, money issues, dealing with loss. and during the holiday season, we have to remember what is the reason for the season? sometimes it's not about time giving gifts it may be time giving the gift of love or yourself. >> i tweeted about this segment a bit earlier received a lot of responses, a lot of them to do with family. some said the most

stress-inducing dilemma is dealing with family. is that up there right at the top? >> bottom line, you can pick and choose friends, you can't pick and choose family. sometimes would you spend time with your family near the holidays that you wouldn't do throughout the year. keep it in perspective. if you need a time-out, need to get away from a family member, that's fine. but also remember, your family members are the ones that will really be there at the end day of the for you. so holiday time is difficult. family is difficult at times. we have to keep it in perspective. >> conversely, those who may be going through a breakup or don't have family nearby. spending time alone again. a lot of pressure that is supposed to be this family event. if you're alone, that makes it stressful. >> we have to realize, that the holiday time can be really difficult. family is not the way it used to be. sometimes going into holiday season, the family member that's not there now that was there last year, so you have to remember that this can be really difficult time for somebody. understand the loss, understand the grief, and in order to heal,

you have to feel. and take time out for yourself. while allowing yourself to still get the needs met with your family members. >> colleen posted on our facebook page on friday this question. when you know the holidays will be taxing, how do you tell family members you would rather not visit them without hurting their feelings? >> lester, here is the deal. we can't be responsible for everyone's feelings. at the end of the day, they are responsible for their feelings if you're not feeling it, it's not in your heart, you shouldn't go. too often we say yes out of fear, versus no out of love. if you don't want to go visit, do something different. spend time with a friend. send the kids with your spouse, and you take time for yourself, this holiday season if they are family or friends, they'll understand. >> and kathy in the crowd right now has a question for you. >> hi. i just wondered, how do you deal with all of the pressures, the gifts you are buying for loved ones will meet their expectations? >> yeah, well, listen, the

bottom line is we need to move away from the commercialism and materialism about the gifts, the greatest gift we can give anyone is the gift of ourselves through love. if we give a gift we think our family member doesn't like, put the gift receipt in there, they can take it back, they don't have to worry unnecessarily that you will be offended. at the end of the day, this is about caring, sharing, fellowship with friends. >> you are saying it's the thought that counts, truly. >> don't sweat the small stuff. don't worry about things that don't matter at the end of the day. if you have given yourself and i would recommend make a gift, because we're dealing with difficult times now. if you can put time and effort into making something for your family members, they will way more appreciate that than buying something in the store that we will put in the bottom of the drawer. >> all good advice to think about. nice to see up. now here is jenna. >> lester, thank you. it's a show we all grew up with, peter pan, and kathy rigby, the actress who played him the last

30 plus years is back on stage in new york, soaring to new heights. and the sprinkling of fairy dust sarnd again. we went behind the scenes at madison square garden. >> who and what are you? >> i'm free! >> eight hours before opening night. eight hours before this stage turns into never, neverland. ♪ every good reason to be snebd. >> 59-year-old kathy rigby plays 12-year-old peter pan and not much of a leap she says. >> you know this is where your home is on stage. you don't have to act like peter pan, you just become him. >> reporter: and for this former world class gymnast, tumbling through the air is second nature. not one bit of fear, no? >> no fear! >> reporter: rigby has been playing the boy who never grows up for over 30 years, which is

why i trust the her when she offered up her harness. >> she wants my job. >> reporter: paul rubesen is knn as the fly guy. he pulls the strings. i need to get your credentials. >> this february, 25 years. >> reporter: the most important part of the operation, the fairy dust. >> tinker dust took a lot of time cutting this up. think wonderful, lovely thoughts and go. >> whoa. not nearly as graceful as i thought it would be. >> perfect. >> whoo! >> the distribution of fairy dust is great. good. look at that. >> look at that. >> look how gorgeous. >> oh, wait. is that bad? >> not quite my most graceful moment, but once i got my feet back on the ground, all great. >> i won't grow grow up.

>> i don't want to go to school. >> so i knew cathy could perform on stage. >> not me. >> so there. >> that was great! >> reporter: but transforming into one of the lost boys, that's a different story. >> i'm supposed to be diabout 1. >> reporter: 30 minutes before show time, in the final stages of preparation. >> slowly becoming the character. >> reporter: there is knust enough time for a last-minute warmup. >> look at that. >> and a little rehearsal. wow. that was awesome. my follow-up question, how many times did you hit yourself across the head? >> you are the only one that ever asked that, i absolutely have hit myself in the head and got a big knot. >> reporter: even though she's done this over 3,000 times, she still gets preshow butterflies. are you nervous?

>> i'm excited. i try not to get nervous. i get nervous right at the overture. just think wonderful thoughts and go! honestly, the minutes you fly through the air, it's as if everything goes away. >> reporter: as for me, i had to give this flying thing one more try. what happened? >> you are stuck. hold on a second. >> reporter: you're kidding, right? you're joking, right? what kind of shoddy production is this? oh! i'm such a serious -- >> really let you down, didn't they? >> how long have you been waiting to say that? at least all morning. cathy rigby, absolutely wonderful. playing for a limited time here

in new york. go see it if you get a chance. >> looks like a lot of fun, in the seat. just ahead from kobe's split to howard stern going prime time. we'll get the scoop on this week's celebrity buzz. and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed & turned... i even vaporized! and then i fought back: with drug-free breathe right advanced. these nasal strips instantly opened my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better! [ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right... get two free strips at breatheright.com. hey, it's your right to breathe right! 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

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this morning, taking another look at the week in buzz, from celebrity splits and engagements to howard stern's return to nbc. what has talking? >> chuck knight and carrie riley, and ben bailey, host of "who's still standing." good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> let's talk about kobe bryant

in the news. his marriage of ten years apparently coming to annee ingi. >> declared irreconcilable differences. tmz says it's because kobe has been unfaithful again. we don't thank to be the case. >> of course we know that to be the case. only so many $4 million dollar rings you can give to your wife before she has enough. >> i think she should suck it up a little more. >> aat a certain time, i tried to stick it out with you. now he says i desperately want to win my money back -- i mean my wife back. >> he is willing to do anything to get her back, other than stop sleeping with other women. >> a shame that he doesn't have a pre-nup. not a very smart guy when it comes to that everybody knows pre-nups are not for when are you in love, it's for when she

is no longer in love with you. >> 10 1/2 years worth of that. >> let me ask you about britney spears. going to do this again. decided to get married. that's what we hear tmz reporting. she is engaged as well. >> i hope the third divorce goes as smoothly as the first and second. i love britney spears. >> you don't believe in this one? >> no. first of all, i've been to all of her concerts. i'm a big fan. she shouldn't marry anyone. chuck goes with me every time. clearly. >> i do look like a big britney spears fan as well. >> whoo! >> not going to last. she just shouldn't marry seni anymore. she still has the baseline of crazy. she still has that. >> baseline of crazy. >> i hope she doesn't wake up thinking, oops, i did it again. >> i'm with britney on this one. this guy older, more mature,

more settles and the love of a good man can cure many ills, even notice a good man is hard to find. >> it cannot. it can't cure crazy. >> howard stern coming to nbc as a judge on "america's got talent." >> i'm wondering if he's bringing strippers with him. >> he's going to have a lot of folks in tears, huh? >> yeah, he is. >> he is used to being on satellite where he can say whatever he wants. >> the problem, they are hiring him because he's edgy and, you know, he's unpredictable, the problem is, is he does anything edgy or unpredictable, they have to fire him. >> his career is getting hired and fired. >> he does it really well. >> he'll be great at it. howard stern is great. he'll do a great job. >> i thought it was really interesting. new gift registry that happens

not just when you get married or have a baby. now it's the holidays. now you can go online and register for your own gifts. so what do you think about that? i have to tell you, i think it's awesome. >> i think it's a bunch of baloney. i don't want to give you what you want. i want to give you what i want to give you. >> i'll meet you in the return line then. >> so what? >> i think it's great for immediate family, because you should be able to say here is my wish list and get what you really want. i think it's bad if you are giving it to friends and acquaintances. you gave me that, i'll show where you you can go, my backside. >> i think the whole thing, people are meant to buy things you wouldn't buy for yourself, that's what a gift is supposed to be. >> don't want to get married, here you go. >> i will. >> you enjoy it. >> have a happy holiday. >> don't read the notes about

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a lot happening on nbc this

week. a figure skating special and premiere of a new primetime game show. and also joining to us talk about both, u.s. figure skating champ michael wise and host of "who's still standing." >> let me start with you. tell me about this? what makes this so unique? >> it's actually on this afternoon on nbc. part of the pandora skating series and it's a very unique show, because we have live music of chicago, the notre dame marching band. great skaters, brian voboitano d myself. >> a new take on trivia, a whole new level. >> high-stakes trivia. everybody is on a trap door. you answer one question incorrectly, you drop through the floor. >> interesting. >> watch the skating spectacular

today at 4:00 on nbc and welcome to news 4 today. i'm angie goff. >> i'm chris gordon. it is sunday, december 18th. a developing story out of iraq as the last soldiers have officially left the country. nine years after the war started in iraq, it's finally over. this is brand-new video now of the final convoy of soldiers crossing the iraq/kuwait border. once they arrive in kuwait, they must be processed, including filling out paper and returning some of their gear. and a holding pattern for up to five days. the soldiers say they can't belive the war is