good morning. blizzard of oz. a powerful storm turns roads into sheets of ice from new mexico to kansas. at least six people have died, dozens rescued and major highways closed. is the worst over? al is live in colorado. lying in state, kim jong-il's body on display in a glass coffin. his son and successor by his side. will the country rally around their new, young leader? is he ready for the job? and the dutchess dazzled. kate middleton sparkles at an award ceremony honoring british soldiers. we'll tell you what happened there that nearly moved her to tears, today, tuesday, december 20th, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning, i'm ann curry. >> and i'm carl quintanilla in for matt this morning. take a look at conditions in garden city, kansas, right now, just one of the cities hit hard by this storm. >> blinding snow and fierce winds as you can see from the flags have combined to make driving nearly impossible across the region. the national guard has already been called in to rescue randed drivers on one highway in texas. al willt have the latest. a fight to avoid a new year's tax increase for millions of americans. house republicans are moving to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for two months. house speaker john boehner says a short-term fix isn't enough. we'll get details from capitol

hill coming up. we'll also have an exclusive interview with the mother of former "survivor" producer bruce beresford-redman who's in a jail in los angeles fighting extradition to mexico where he is accused of killing his wife. a little later, two big names live in our studio, former president bill clinton and carole king. >> exciting on both counts. but we begin with that major storm that's making travel and nightmare from new mexico to kansas. we'll be talking to al in just a moment. but first the weather channel's mike seidel is in garnden city, kansas, with more. mike, i'm sorry to see you out there in it. what can you tell us? >> reporter: i can tell you it's still snowing and blowing. you get a sense of what happens when you have 50-mile-an-hour winds. we've had drifts as high as ten feet in parts of southeastern colorado. take a look at some of the pictures overnight. actually we had winds clocked in new mexico of 72 miles an hour, up to two feet of snow in parts of new mexico and this has shut down a lot of highways.

there are blizzard warnings in parts of six states. here the windchills are in the single numbers, some of the coldest windchills we've seen in a rather lackluster december. only 50% of the average snowfall has fallen and only 25% of all the snow we dug out last december. now, these blizzard warnings will last in some areas until noon. once the winds back off, we'll lose that ability of drifting, but still a lot of roads are closed this morning and just about everything is shut down here across the high plains. ann. >> mike, listen, a lot of people who are on the roads that want to travel. what is the advice this morning given this storm about whether people should stay inside instead? >> reporter: people should sit tight. we have parts of three major interstates shut down, i-70 kansas, i-40, a huge stretch from albuquerque to amarillo is closed and i-25 up in northeastern colorado. a lot of secondary roads. here in garden city you can't go south, you can't go west, you to sit tight. remember yesterday a lot of this began as rain and froze so under

the snowpack is a layer of ice. last night we saw a lot of tractor-trailers, a lot of spinouts, a lot of wrecks. the only thing missing this morning, ann, is al roker. he was supposed to be here. >> let's get to al roker. al was, in fact, heading to kansas as well when mother nature intervened so this morning he's in a very frigid area of aurora, colorado. al, good morning to you. >> reporter: yeah, good morning. we're just outside of denver. what happened, by the time we landed, all of the flights from denver into kansas were cancelled. and so we decided we rented an suv and we were driving i-70, got to limon and they shut down i-70 of the some of the other secondary roads that we could have taken. there's a twitpic that i had sent, whiteout conditions, blowing and drifting snow, so we ended up saying, you know what, the heck with this, let's head back to denver because we did not want to be one of those people you see stranded on the

side of the road or in a ditch. now here's the deal, we do have winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings out for today for, again, parts of colorado on into also oklahoma, kansas. i mean we've got some rough weather to talk about. look at the latest radar. you can see we still have snow wrapping around this low-pressure system. it is starting to weaken, but here's the track of the storm as it makes its way pushing up to the north and east. as it does, that snow does start to lessen. we'll be looking at about another 2 to 6 inches of snow generally in the areas that already got that snow and then as it pushes north, we're amazingly going to be looking at a lot of wet weather and stormy weather. carl. >> al, i'll talk to you soon and get the rest of your forecast in a bit. in the meantime let's shift to the shift in power in north korea. kim jong-il's body is now lying in state as the world tries to figure out what direction the secretive nation will take now. andrea mitchell has details.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. the white house is trying to project calm today in the face of an uncertain transition in north korea, even as officials in washington and south korea acknowledge they had no intelligence kim jong-il had died and been succeeded by his youngest son for two days. kim jong-un, north korea's untested new leader, as the regime tries to carry on the family dynasty. state tv broadcast images continuing its effort to glorify kim jong-il. laid out in a glass coffin, surrounded by his name sacred rose, and party eleeites who shared in his power. they went to lengths to show a mass display of public mourning for the man they called the dear leader, staging a lavish ceremony with hundreds of performers and airing images of what appeared to be battalions of north koreans sobbing almost in formation over kim's death. very little is known about the dynasty's new leader, kim's youngest son, kim jong-un, but

the u.s. is assuring its neighbors that more than 28,000 american troops on the peninsula will stand with them if needed. >> we reiterate our hope for improved relations with the people of north korea and remain deeply concerned about their well being. >> reporter: kim jong-il's reign of terror lasted 17 years. menacing his neighbors with nuclear weapons, holding his own people hostage with prison camps and starvation. while kim jong-il had years to emulate the personality created by his father, the nation's founder, his youngest son had no warning. does he have the skill to control the military or will he be a figure head? almost nothing is known about him. he's believed 28 years old, educated in switzerland and unlike his father had little time to prepare for his new role. >> one of the questions as we look down the road whether this is going to be a successful leadership transition or whether the regime will simply not be

able to hold it together. >> reporter: this is a regime that has confounded generations of american presidents, while intelligence failed to anticipate north korea's nuclear progress and missile tests. >> they are going to send signals that they're tough and don't mess with us, so i would expect some more. hopefully not in a way that provokes south korea to respond in kind. >> reporter: kim's death comes just as u.s. diplomats in china were to meet with their north korean counterparts on a new food aid for disarmament agreement that is now on hold. the real worry is loose nukes and there is fear of provocative military action by a young leader still trying to prove himself or a military trying to show its muscle. there's no love lost for the dear leader, as he's called. john mccain said i can only express satisfaction that the dear leader is joining the likes of gadhafi, bin laden, hitler and stalin in a warm corner of

hell. >> andrea mitchell, thank you very much. former new mexico governor bill richardson previously served as u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and traveled to north korea eight times. governor, good morning. >> good morning, carl. >> you have called north korea a tinder box right now and said the 24 to 48 hours following the announcement of kim's death would be critical. it's been about 36 hours. do you see trouble brewing? >> not yet. so far it looks like the party elite, the people of north korea and most importantly the military leadership is rallying around the son, kim jong-un. the north koreans are very ceremonial, pomp and circumstance, symbolism. the funeral is an indicator that he is being elevated and statements made that he is the leader. the key is going to be whether he in effect is the leader. there could be some power struggles. the concern is that he might

take some aggressive action to show his mettle as some say he did two years ago when the south korean ship and the island were bombarded. but again i think the early signs is that he's consolidating his leadership, there's a transition going on just as when his father took over from the great leader, buried some 17 years ago, so right now it's too early to tell. >> how would you be advising the oval office at this stage? >> well, so far i believe the administration is doing a good job, calm, collected, no provocations, urge all countries in the surrounding area, china, japan, south korea to play it cool. but i would engage the north koreans if the signs are good that they're going to continue some of the recent thawing that they have done. for instance, i would engage them. i would give them food aid. this is a humanitarian gesture.

people there are starving. i would encourage the south and the north to continue their dialogue to lessen tensions. i would try to get the six-party talks going again to try to get north korea to reduce its nuclear arsenal in exchange for food and fuel. it's very tough to bargain with them. they're unpredictable, they're mercurial, but what you don't want is to isolate them. this is a country that may have six to eight nuclear weapons, a million men in arms, they have missiles, aggressive. we have 25,000 troops. so it's a tinder box. we've got to be very careful. >> for that reason, governor, the "wall street journal" says the best policy at this point may actually be to get tougher, to isolate further, more pressure, more sanctions and this is not the time, they say, to engage or make any promises or put out any carrots. >> i think that's totally the wrong approach. efforts in the past to isolate them havex,qju)q".

they detonated their nuclear weapons, they shot missiles, they bombarded the south koreans. i think at a time when there's a transition, reaching out a little bit, after they indicate where they want to go, is the best way to go. dialogue, diplomacy and not isolation. it's not easy to deal with them. they're unpredictable, they don't keep their word all the time, most of the time, but they're a dangerous country. the best thing to do is engage them. >> governor bill richardson, thank you for your time. it is 7:12, once again here's ann. now to the showdown in washington over extending the payroll tax cuts that's set to expire at the end of this year. it's revealing some infighting between republicans on capitol hill. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest on this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. you don't see this very often. most senate republicans joined with democrats and the white house to agree on a short-term solution to get past the holidays, but house republicans

protested loudly, and that's put speaker john boehner in a visible, awkward position where it could look like republicans are messing up a tax cut, and that's all happening with the deadline of a ticking clock. holiday cheer gone sour. >> it's grinch time in washington. mr. speaker. >> another phony crisis courtesy of the extremist bah humbug house republicans. >> reporter: also congress acts, on january 1st working americans would pay higher taxes and jobless benefits would run dry for many long-term unemployed. house republicans who met late monday blasted the senate solution, a two-month extension. >> our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. >> reporter: republicans say two months is too short to take seriously. >> two months, really? come on. that is really do nothing. what's going to be different in two months?

>> reporter: both parties set a goal of a one-year extension but that fell short on saturday, when 89 out of 100 senators, democrats and republicans, settled on a two-month extension. republican leaders even high fived. before the senate left washington for the holidays, thinking the house would agree. >> i didn't see the high fiving going on, but i did hear the tune "i'll be home for christmas" coming out of that mix. >> reporter: all this exposed a rift between republicans in the house and the senate. >> we outright reject the attempt by the senate to kick the can down for 60 days. >> reporter: democratic leader nancy pelosi blames the tea party. >> it's just a radical tea party republicans who are holding up this tax cut for the american people and jeopardizing our economic growth. >> reporter: the white house has tweaked republicans, displaying a countdown clock that marks the

number of days until a tax hike. >> i think americans who are paying attention to this must be pulling their hair out when they look at the house now refusing to do what the senate did. >> reporter: and house leaders say their solution is to bring senators back to washington and negotiate a one-year deal. they say there's still enough time to do that, but majority leader harry reid says, no, he does not plan to bring his people back and that leaves us in an awkward position of not knowing what the next move is. the house could vote today, they're trying to sort that out. >> and the clock is ticking because the end of the year is coming up so fast. kelly o'donnell, thank you so much this morning. let's get a check of some of the other top stories this morning. natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> good morning, carl and ann. good morning, everyone. police in kansas have intensified their search for a college student who disappeared after she made a chilling phone call to her family.

kevin tibbles is in chicago with the latest. >> reporter: natalie, police have conducted extensive searches around the campus where she was last seen studying for final exams, but so far no sign of the missing student. the 19-year-old college student from kansas has not been heard from since leaving this panicked message on her sister's cell phone. >> oh, my gosh, it was so scary. my heart is like pounding. i've never got this scared in my life. >> reporter: aisha kahn said she had just been accosted by a man who smelled of marijuana and alcohol while studying for finals outdoors at the university of kansas campus in yoefrld park. she said she slapped him and he had run away. >> and he left. and he was so pissed. pick up your phones. i am freaked out right now. okay, bye. >> reporter: her sister returned the call but no answer. shoo drove to the campus and found her books, cell phone and

it po-- ipod but no sign of ais. >> we have no information that it was an abduction and no information that it wasn't. >> reporter: she was married over the summer. >> i am thankful to everybody to have me out to bring my wife back to home. >> reporter: now there's a facebook page dedicated to finding her. police have gone door to door seeking information as the missing woman's family prays for her safe return. >> keep us in your prayers and think of aisha all the time. you're going to the gas station or the post office, think of aisha all the time. >> we just want her safe back home. >> reporter: aisha kahn's husband said the couple was planning a delayed honeymoon to happen after the final exams. now the family is offering a $10,000 reward for any information to help them find her. >> hopefully seeing this report will get people's attention. kevin tibbles in chicago, thank you. there was a dramatic ending to a police chase near los angeles overnight. officers had their guns drawn

when the suspect refused to hand over a young girl in the car with him. the child's mother had called to say her daughter was taken after a domestic dispute. police eventually swarmed the man and rescued the child. at&t has scrapped its $39 billion bid to buy t-mobile usa which would have made it the nation's largest cell phone service provider. the company could not overcome antitrust opposition by the obama administration. and it was lights out in san francisco during last night's nfl game at candlestick park. the power failed not once, but twice during the nationally televised game. the 49ers eventually beat the steelers while utility officials tried to figure out what went wrong. pretty unbelievable. people using their cell phones to light up the stadium. it's 7:18, let's turn back over to ann and carl. >> i keep thinking about the journey song when the lights go down in the city. >> i think that's right.

that's pretty good. all right, natalie, thank you so much. let's now go to al in colorado where it sounds like, al, you've been losing your voice because of your efforts to travel to this bad storm. >> i'm just doing my best andy divine imitation. but let's take a look and show you, we've got another storm system that's going to be have affecting the rockies in the next 48 hours. you can see the system getting out of here and that's the good news as it pushes through. we will talk about the other system coming up in the next half hour. you can see rain moving into the mississippi river valley, and we have showers moving into the pacific northwest, and sunshine in the northeast, and although only 39 degrees and boston today, and 74 along the east coast of florida. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. a cloudy start to this tuesday morning. i am tom kierein in storm center

4. temperatures around 50 degrees, and we will stay this way throughout much of the day, and this morning a few sprinkles south and southeast of washington and those moved over to the eastern shore and a cloudy day today, just a small chance of a sprinkle. highs in the low 50s early afternoon. milder tomorrow with rain likely. could get more rai and that's your latest weather. carl. >> all right, al, thanks. take care of that voice. katle middleton is preparin to celebrate her first christmas as a member of the royal family and last night she shined at a ceremony for military heroes. jim maceda is at buckingham palace. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. well, with each public event kate middleton seems to be eating up the cameras and all the attention with both grace and ease and no more so than last night. it's called the night of heroes, a gala awards event at london's imperial war museum to honor

british soldiers' courage in battle. but the real star of the evening was kate middleton, the dutchess of cambridge dazzled the crowd and cameras with a stunning black velvet dress designed by alexander mcqueen, the same british fashion house that turned out kate's memorable wedding dress. to complete the classic but elegant look, a matching diamond bracelet and earrings and a diamond and ruby necklace, given as a wedding present by a family friend. >> i think kate was making a statement that she's a far more confident royal now that she's been married for half a year. >> accompanied by prince william and harry, the royal tree row stood out in a crowd that included international soccer star david beckham. kate, herself a military wife, was visibly moved as she listened to stories of loss and heroism. >> like any person related or knows anyone serving in the forces, she will feel it in her

heart and i think that's why we saw her tearing up a little bit and getting emotional. >> reporter: attending her first buckingham palace christmas lunch as a dutchess earlier in the day, she's embraced her new role as a supporter of charities. like william at this rehabilitation center and harry, seen here walking with wounded veterans here recently near the north pole, her very presence at an event can trigger a donor frenzy. it's one reason why kate and william are making their london home at kensington paling palac. for the princes who grew up there it has special meaning. >> kensington palace to them was one of the most exciting places of their childhood. di diana was instrumental in making sure that happened. >> there's more than a touch of diana in the royal family's newest and hottest asset. next up in january, the royal premiere of steven spielburg's new movie "war horse" with so-called golden tickets going

for, get this, $15,000 each, carl, to see kate and the princess with all those proceeds going to charity. >> thanks, jim. coming up, new details on the reality show producer who's in jail accused of killing his wife in mexico. chris beresford-redman's mother speaks out for the first time in an exclusive interview. first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead the top youtube videos of the year. >> but first your local news.

good morning. it's 7:26 on this tuesday, the 20th day of december. i am joe krebs. let's see what the forecast is looking like. 51 degrees. here is tom. >> certainly unusually warm for this time of day. this time of year the region is around upper 40s to 50 degrees. and clouds are all over the region. we had a few sprinkles predawn. and later today, just a small chance of a sprinkle this first day of hanukkah, and cloudy and likely tomorrow, and m

this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ ♪ takes everything you've got ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪

♪ ♪ you want to be where you can see ♪ ♪ our troubles are all the same ♪ ♪ you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ good morning. taking the inner loop of the beltway, you are slow. your delays start around the i-95 and 395 interchange, and

that continues to the dulles toll road. and taking the outer loop in maryland, still slow. this is the view at new hampshire avenue, and your travel speed is 30 miles per hour. another news update in 25

7:30 now on this tuesday morning. it's the 20th of december, 2011. christmas just five days away and hannukah begins tonight. and we have a huge crowd getting in the holiday spirit out in rockefeller plaza. we're glad they're there and we'll get outside and give some big hugs coming up. meantime inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla. >> toasty is pushing it. >> carl is in for matt this morning. just ahead if you think eating at home will save you money and

calories, there's something you ought to know. >> it's true. some of your favorite go-to meals at the supermarket could actually be damaging to your diet. coming up, some of the biggest offenders and a few of the healthier alternatives. also just ahead, a pretty remarkable couple. elisa and nathan bond are raising a young daughter. earlier this year, each one of them was diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer, just days apart. the parents' futures look grim so this morning they are back with us and they're going to share some great news tied to their treatment. >> looking forward to that. also we'll unveil the new list of the most popular youtube videos of the year. >> that will be fun. this one is so fantastic and that one too if you have not seen those. stay tuned, guys. >> her we know. plus a special holiday performance from carole king and former president bill clinton will be here to reveal his top books of the year. >> that will be a treat. meantime let's get started this half hour with a last-ditch effort by a former reality show producer to fight extradition to

mexico where he's been charged with murdering his wife. we'll talk to bruce beresford-redman's mother in just a moment but george lewis has the latest on this story. >> reporter: good morning, ann. bruce beresford-redman has been in a federal detention center since his arrest in november of last year. he's appealing an extradition order that would send him back to mexico to be tried for murdering his wife. it was in the spring of last year when beresford-redman and his family went to a resort in cancun, mexico. monica beresford-redman was reported missing on april 5th and three days later her body was found in a sewer not far from her hotel room. mexican officials say she had been strangled and insists their case against the husband is a strong one. >> they have evidence that he was calling a sex phone line, that his wife found out about, that they were fighting while they were in mexico, that he had scratches on him. >> reporter: mexican authorities say he used his hotel card key to enter the room numerous times on the night of his wife's

disappearance. he says that's because he was looking for her. monica's family says beresford-redman was an unfaithful husband and was upset that she was threatening to leave him. as far as the scratches go, beresford-redman's attorneys say he got them while enjoying the outdoors with his family. >> so they were outside very active, swimming, hiking, and he sustained some cuts and scrapes. >> reporter: mexican authorities say they told bruce beresford-redman to stay in cancun but that he left for the united states. that's when they filed charges. the sister of mon today beresford-redman says it's been difficult hearing all the details about how she died. >> every time is like the first time. it's awful. it's really hard and sad to see what she's been through. >> reporter: and now monica's family is fighting bruce's parents for custody of her two young children. >> we are the guardians of the children.

and that's the essential point. the children will be protected as long as we live. >> reporter: bruce beresford-redman's parents say their son wants to tell his side of the story, but federal authorities are preventing any news interviews while he's in custody. legal experts say it will probably be sometime next year before the question of beresford-redman's extradition is settled. if he is tried and convicted in mexico, he could face a prison term of 12 to 30 years. ann. >> george lewis, thank you so much. on monday we sat down for an exclusive interview with bruce beresford-redman's mother, juanita, and began by asking her how the family is doing. >> it's living in a nightmare, but we're healthy and the children are a joy and they keep you going. >> you say that your son would like to speak to the media. >> yes, he would very much. >> but has been prevented. >> yes, the warden will not let

them in to interview them. >> why didn't he report monica missing the evening she didn't return? >> largely, i believe, because in the first place monica, when she has a day out, she has a day out. she worked nights, as you know, in her restaurant and there were times when she didn't get home until the wee hours. the second and more important reason is he fell asleep with the children. >> and didn't report her disappearance until the next day at 6:00 p.m. to police. that seems a long wait when you're in mexico. >> i don't believe so. i mean he awakened, monica wasn't there. got the children up and dressed and went out to the police. >> how does he explain this report that one of the hotel keys was used to open their room at least nine times between the hours of midnight and 7:00 a.m. on the day of april 6, which is of course the day after he last saw her? >> he was looking for her and then he would come back to check on the children. and he did that numerous times.

you tend to do that when someone is missing and you're nervous. you look, even though it's useless, but back immediately to check on the children. >> you knew that there were problems in their marriage. what makes you so certain that he is innocent of any wrongdoing? >> bruce himself. he is a good man. he's never been in trouble with the law. he's not a violent person. and despite difficulties in the marriage, everyone has difficulties, usually there's still a great deal of love. and with bruce and monica, their focus has been the children from the beginning. they both adore them. and with everything else aside, there is no way bruce would have taken their mother away from those children. >> was there a great deal of love still in their marriage? >> i believe so. i was in contact with monica before they went on the trip. i was in europe and we skyped a great deal, especially because of the upset, and i was talking to her and sympathizing with her. and she told me -- i asked her do you still love bruce? and she said she thought so. but what they wanted to do was

stay together for as long as they could because of the children. >> why won't bruce go back to mexico and face the authorities? really try to clear his name? >> many of the states in mexico presume a person is guilty until proven innocent. now, i know a great change is going on in mexico about that, but it is an entirely different justice system and the evidence against bruce is all circumstantial. there is no physical evidence, the crime scene was badly degraded. >> if all that is true it seems he has a better chance of being found not guilty. >> the mexican justice system is a bit of an unknown. i frankly hope and trust that they will do better for him than his own government has done, to be perfectly honest. that they will realize that there is no evidence and they will vacate the warrant so that he can come home. >> meantime, you are with your husband raising the two children. >> yes, i am.

>> who are now ages 7 and 4. >> that's right. >> how are they doing? >> remarkably well. they have their moments, of course. christmas coming up is a bad time, they miss their parents dreadfully, but they're beautiful, intelligent and sweet children. we do see bruce once a week for an hour. >> what do you tell him in terms of how this might be resolved? >> we have to put our trust in the mexican government. one of the reasons he doesn't want to go to mexico is at the moment he can see his children once a week. not much, but he can see them. we're not going to be able to fly to mexico once a week to see him. and it seems to me as long as he can be close to them, he should be. if eventually he does -- if he is sent down there, then he will face what he has to. but i know he's innocent. he is a good man and of course i trust in him completely. >> juanita beresford-redman, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

>> thank you. >> and now let's get a check of the weather from al, who is out in aurora, colorado. today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> and as we look at what's coming up next for the rockies, we've got another storm that's going to be pushing its way toward us. in fact you can see on the futurecast as it gets itself together makes its way out of the pacific northwest. it will be pushing slowly down to the south and bringing more snow into denver and then it works its way down further and to the south and bringing more snow into denver and then brings more rain and snow down further. by thursday, we're looking at anywhere from 6 to 9 more inches of snow through the central rockies into the southern plains. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> a cloudy morning here in washington. good morning. i am tom kierein in storm center 4.

a live view from the skywatcher camera. and all cloudy and we're starting off with temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees throughout much of the region. we will stay this way for the rest of the day with a loft clouds around. and a small chance of an additional sprinkle later today >> as we get ready for christmas, you want to make sure you check that forecast. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, former president bill clinton stops by with his list of the top books to give as gifts this holiday season. also coming up next, healthier alternatives to the supermarket foods that can really pack on the pounds. it's coming up right after this. ñ

back at 7:43. this morning on "eat this, not that" the pitfalls to dieting you'll find at your local grocery store, david is the author of the "eat this not that" supermarket survival guide. good morning. >> great to see you. >> you want to pat yourself on the back for going to the grocery store because that means you're not going to the restaurants, right? >> here's the problem, there were 15,000 new food items introduced in 2011 alone. our grocery bills are going up 5%, our paychecks are getting smaller, you can't afford to make bad choices. this is all about quick and healthy and inexpensive choices every time. >> all right. so you're going to start us off with some refrigerated jimmy dean, what is this, pancakes and sausage? >> this is a breakfast bowl, one of their famous breakfast bowl. here's the thing, a bowl is for cereal, not pork products, okay? just remember that, that's a

golden rule right there. the problem is it's over 700 calories. it's got more sugar than a snickers bar and the calorie equivalent is these 13 powder doughnuts, which, by the way, are delicious. so what you want to go with jimmy dean's delight menu. this is a canadian bacon egg sandwich. you'll save 500 calories. just to put that in perspective. do that every day, you lose a pound a week. >> over here some hostess pastries. >> this is the hostess pudding pie chocolate. now, the problem here is got six different types of fat. it's like the lebron james of the pastry world. not going to win any championships. it is 520 calories. it is the calorie equivalent of these four bowls of cocoa crispies, also delicious. but here's what you want to do. get a single cupcake. leave your meal-size calorie load for actual meals. get this hostess cupcake and

you'll save a couple hundred calories. >> everybody loves kraft macaroni and cheese. >> that is the original recipe which makes me wish for something wholly unoriginal. the recipe calls for half a stick of margarine. in addition to the refined carbs and the day glow orange. so this ends up at 400 calories being the calorie equivalent of these 72 original cheez-it crackers. go with the kraft deluxe mac, half the fat. you are cutting 80% of the fat out of that mac and cheese. same portion size with one smart swap. >> i like that. frozen pizzas. >> yes. this is a great training food for olympic athletes. not to eat but for the discus throw. it's got 800 calories, carl. it would be the equivalent of five of these slices of pizza hut pizza, which is more than half the pie.

what you meant to do is double up on the 200 calorie pepperoni slices and even doubling up on it you're saving 400 calories. >> we'll finish up with some ice cream which has not melted yet. >> yes. i know this is a big choice during the olympics right here for the crew. this is the magnum double chocolate ice cream bar. it has the same name as a deadly weapon that does double the damage. enough said. 340 calories. it ends up being the equivalent of these ten dunkin donuts powdered munch kins. instead go from the breyer's smooth and dreamy triple chocolate chip ice cream. you're saving over 200 calories. >> when we leave you here, do you start eating all the bad stuff? >> with the crew. if the anchors don't go for it first. >> david, thanks a lot. up next, what were you watching in 2011? we'll reveal the top youtube videos of the year right after this.

we're back now at 7:51 with the most watched youtube videos of 2011. there are a list of the top ten. number nine is one you probably web, the volkswagen commercial with the force. it had over 45 million views. >> little kids did that everywhere for weeks. >> it never worked for my kids,

though. they could never get the car started. >> there's born this way, number eight. we want to keep going and look at the jack sparrow one. >> this involved michael bolton. >> viewed more than 60 million times. take a look. >> he goes off into the captain sparrow thing. it's hi lir u.larious. >> that had 60 million. this is the ultimate dog where basically this is seen more than 74 million times. the dog actually talks because he's upset. >> the owner tells him -- >> the maple kind. >> he's so cute. >> we should mention number one is rebecca black called "friday." this has a lot of parodies. more than 160 million views. >> lots of commercials launched based on that. >> just ahead bill clinton. >> first, your local news and

weather.

good morning. the time is 7:56. it's tuesday morning. let's get the forecast from storm 4 meteorologist, tom kierein. a lot of clouds around this morning. it's a live view from our skywatcher camera. a few breaks on the eastern horizon. temperatures around the reen are in the 40s to around 50 degrees. will stay that way for the rest of the day, and a lot of clouds around, too. in the last few hours, sprinkles have been east of the metro area sxr moving out and we have a small chance of an additional sprinkle today and a greater chance of rain tomorrow. thursday night into friday ♪

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good morning. an accident on the outer loop of the beltway at river road causing big delays. only the right lane was able to get by, and now it's on the shoulder lane, and police are on the scene but you will see some delays. inner loop still jammed at

8:00 now on this tuesday morning. it's the 20th day of december, 2011. we've stepped outside to say hello to everyone who drove or was dragged out of bed to spend part of their morning with us. it's not as cold as i thought it was going to be. 46 degrees. it's been far colder weekday mornings this season. winter still a couple of days away. at any rate people are seeing hi and we're glad to see them. i'm ann curry along with carl quintanilla. >> they are fired up today. >> i know! we're so glad. meantime, you guys, we're so glad to have you here. we're going to be talking about

books this morning. we're so lucky because we're going to be having former president bill clinton in the house. he's got recommendations on great books. you know he is a voracious reader. >> and author. >> that's right. and we'll find out what his picks are if you have some ideas that you need to buy christmas gifts for your family. what else is coming up? good news for a very special couple, very brave couple diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer within days of each other. they'll share that and some recent medical news for them in the live interview. >> sweet, sweet people. also coming up, we're going to find out more about how the italians celebrate christmas, specifically the seven fishes. why seven, how do you make them, do you to you eat them? is it for the omegas? we'll find out more about that. first let's get a check on some of the top stories. good morning, natalie. >> good morning, carl and ann and good morning, everyone. forecasters are warning that preholiday travel could be

nearly impossible in the great plains today as heavy snow and fierce winds push deeper into the region. some areas could get up to 16 inches of snow two days before the official start of winter. at least six traffic deaths are blamed on the storm which has closed highways and filled hotels from northern new mexico to kansas. the house and senate are on a collision course over extending the payroll tax cut that expires at the end of the year. house republicans want a year-long extension of the tax cut. they'll be looking for a compromise today over the senate which approved a two-month extension before heading home for the holidays. foreign markets were mixed following monday's 100-point drop by the dow. courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange. good morning to you, courtney. boy, has it been a rough kep couple of weeks. >> reporter: it's been a rough couple of months actually. today the telecom sector will likely be in focus. at&t is dropping its $39 billion bid to buy t-mobile in the face of pretty fierce objections from both competitors and u.s.

regulators. meantime, investors will also be watching shares of bank of america. the stock closed below $5 for the first time in two years yesterday. and economic data is relatively light. a handful of consumer companies will be reporting earnings today. back to you, natalie. >> courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange, thank you. there are no signs of a power struggle in pyongyang as north koreans mourn the death of leader kim jong-il. the possibility of a contested transition of power has heightened tensions in the region but state media are indicating that kim's youngest son, kim jong-un, will succeed his father. lori barenson who spent 15 years in prison in peru will spend the holidays here with her family. this is her first time back. she flew home along with her 2-year-old son. she must return to peru to finish her parole. a pair of arizona teenagers are doing well today three days

after they got lost while hiking in a steep canyon near phoenix. the 13 and 14-year-old cousins called 911. firefighters decided the best way to get the boys out was to use a long line from a helicopter. lucky for them. now for a look at what is trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. jon bon jovi a top search on google. he has posted a twitter picture of himself complete with date and time to counter rumors of his death. the picture shows bon jovi holding a sign that reads "heaven looks a lot like new jersey." the kardashians have released their 2011 christmas card. big on yahoo! and it's an over the top glam photo of the a separate shot of kim shows off her slim figure. take a look at this adorable video catching fire on youtube. it features a pet cat stroking a crying baby and finally putting the baby to sleep.

boy, i could have used that for my cats back when i had little, little ones. it is 8:04, let's go back outside to ann and carl. that is the cutest video. today's weather is brought to you by massage envy. massage envy gift cards make the perfect holiday gift. >> and good morning from aurora, colorado. we tried to get to garden city, kansas, and were stopped when they closed i-70 so we are here just outside of denver. it's a chilly morning, but i'll tell you, as we look at what's going on, our pick city of the our pick city of the day, not a bad one for you today, we have a nice city at houston, texas, local 2, morning showers, 74 degrees, and could be a thunderstorm as well. and around the country, you see the storm system making its way to the east, and ahead of it and

rain behind it. we have blizzard warnings stretching from kansas to texas. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. i am tom kierein in storm center 4. temperatures around the region are in the upper 40s and low 50s throughout much of the area. right now 53 at reagan national under a cloudy sky. we will have the clouds with us throughout the rest of the day today, and we will have a small chance of a sprinkle, and then tomorrow, a likelihood of rain from the morning into the evening. highs reaching near 60, and then maybe more rain thursday night into friday morning. into the weekend, go to get an and that's your latest weather. ann. >> by the way, all your fans out here are sending you a lot of love. anyway, coming up next, we've got some encouraging news for a young couple that was diagnosed, both of them, with cancer within days of each other. but the news is good, right after this.

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♪ that is their song, rds of good cheer, om everywhere, ♪, ♪ne seem, ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, ising the sound, ♪ ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪ ♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here. ♪ back at 8:10. this morning on "today's good news" the young mother and father who received life-threatening cancer diagnoses within a few days of each other. we'll catch up with them in a moment. first nbc's janet shamlian has their story. good morning. >> reporter: this is a heart-breaker that touched so many of us. elisa and nathan bond thought life was about perfect until a

dual diagnosis of cancer. after we met them, their situation became even more dire. and yet if there is such thing as a christmas miracle, the bonds are believers. >> same thing. >> reporter: for elisa and nathan bond, it's as if they have already had christmas. >> good job! >> reporter: decorating with 2-year-old sadie is just the trimming on the tree. >> look at daddy. does daddy look silly? >> yeah. >> reporter: we met the brooklyn couple in april, not long after their lives were turned upside down. just nine days after nathan was diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer, elisa would receive an even worse diagnosis, stage four metastatic breast cancer. and yet from the start they seemed unflappable. elisa shaving her head even before her hair started falling out from chemo treatments. >> we are determined to get through this.

>> reporter: despite that optimism, elisa's condition worsened this summer. they celebrated sadie's second birthday in september amid devastating news. the cancer had spread. >> the liver was the worst place. it had the most cancer. and that's not good. and then the brain tumors emerged. >> reporter: elisa lost her last shred of independence, she could no longer drive. treatment followed, chemotherapy and the drug per ce pchl tin. just days ago news from her doctor sharing news she had dreamed of but was unprepared to hear. >> they got the brain tumors. they're all gone. beyond that, i had a new pet scan and all my active cancer is gone. >> liver? >> liver. that's exactly what i said, liver? >> breast? >> breast. >> brain? >> brain. >> so what does this mean? >> i am what they call n.e.d.,

no evidence of disease. it's the best news that i can get. >> reporter: elisa posted the news on the blog they use to update family and friends and, it turns out, thousands of well wishers the world over. >> i thank all of the people that wrote to us. >> the road is not over. >> no. >> but it looks well paved. >> yes. it looks like a sandy beach now as opposed to a rocky hill. yes. >> reporter: as for nathan, his surgery is scheduled for january and he says just routine checkups after that. the couple says they're looking forward to a long overdue vacation in 2012 and something elisa was sure she'd see, the end of the preschool year for sadie in the spring. >> janet, thank you for that. janet shanley an. elisa and nathan bond are here

with us this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you would love to hear you just say it out loud, your health right now, how is it? >> it's great. again, my status is n.e.d., no evidence of disease, and with stage four cancer, that's the best diagnosis one can get. >> any idea how common this is for it to disappear within the first year? >> i have never -- no one ever mentioned it to me. i have a friend who after seven years of chemo was able to receive this news, but it's within a year so i think it's pretty remarkable. >> and how does it feel when you hear yourself say that, n.e.d.? >> yes, it's surreal. it's just as surreal as when i found out i had cancer. so it's wonderful. it's wonderful. >> no better way to put it. we saw sadie in the piece, who's beautiful, by the way. >> thank you. >> nathan, talk to me about sort of how she's absorbed whatever you would absorb as a 2-year-old in this family, this news. >> i think probably it's made her -- she's very sensitive.

kids are very intuitive. she's handled it very well, remarkably well. we've tried to keep the home joyful. >> she knows mommy and daddy have boo-boos. >> yes. when one of us isn't home, she says mommy at the doctor? so she knows we're at a doctor but probably doesn't grasp quite what a doctor is. >> and janet got to it in the piece, but summer was tough. and losing your driving privileges is tough. >> it was almost worse than finding out about the cancer, because it was a real loss of independence for me. i am a driver. i love to drive. the minute i got my license, i was out the door. so i felt, you know, hamstrung, and that was almost worse in my everyday life than the cancer was. >> nathan, you've got one more surgery left. >> yep. >> so has watching how things have gone for her helped your own faith in your own battle? >> oh, yeah. it's made it a lot easier. i've kind of always just been waiting to get over my treatment

so that i can be there to support her more and it definitely makes it a much more happy time to go into a surgery knowing it's all good news for her. >> and the response you got after your appearance on this show, obviously a huge outpouring of support. how big of a role do you think that played? >> oh, huge. we get e-mails every day, phone calls, letters, and a lot of the people will say i saw you on the "today" show, i've been following you since i saw you on the "today" show. i saw a clip of you on the "today" show so it really was an outpouring of support. >> well, we'll be thinking of you. we're so happy for you, elisa and nathan bond. thank you for sharing your story. coming up next, former president bill clinton and actress mindy kaling on the best books to put on your holiday list right after this. dad's a real cleaning machine. and look at mom whipping up some kraft homestyle mac & cheese. sure it's easy to make, but it looks like she's been busting her hump in the kitchen.

[ doorbell rings ] ♪ let the fireworks begin. hi, it's so nice to see you. something smells good. [ male announcer ] kraft homestyle macaroni & cheese. cheesy noodles topped with golden-brown, breadcrumbs. you know you love it.

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well, this necklace is awesome. honey, you're getting a necklace! see what i mean? i'll surprise you. please. [ male announcer ] the only place to go for last-minute christmas gifts. walmart. "today" celebrates 2011 is brought to you by walmart. save money, live better, walmart. >> back now at 8:20 as "today celebrates 2011." and this morning the best books for your holiday list. we're pleased to have two avid readers and best-selling authors and they include former president bill clinton. he's the author of "back to work, why we need smart government for a strong economy" and mindy kaling who stars on

nbc's "the office" and is the author of "is everyone hanging out without me?" can you believe we're sitting in the presence of the president here this morning? >> unbelievable. >> before we actually get to the list of books, let me quickly get your take on how concerned we should be about the stabilization in north korea given the events of kim jong-il's passing? >> well, i think we should be concerned, but i think the president did the right thing. he called the president of south korea, hillary met with the foreign minister of japan and the foreign minister of south korea and they basically want to do nothing now so that there's no provocation and they have time to sort it out. kim jong-il's son is quite young. when i went there a couple of years ago to bring the two american journalists home, i didn't meet him. so they were grooming him. what you don't want is for the military, which has overwhelming influence, to feel that they have to do something radical to

reassert their control. and i just think we ought to let them sort it out and make the argument we've been making now for a long time, which is they ought to give up their nuclear power and selling military technology and let us work with them to grow food and create factories and create broadly shared prosperity. >> we appreciate your perspective on that. we could go on about that but we do have to get to these books. let's do that. first of all, let's talk about the importance of books. i know you're such an avid reader. why do you think they are a good thing to give someone as a gift? >> because it makes you think. >> there you are. >> it makes you feel and it gives you time where it's intensely personal, but you're completely involved. it's a wonderful sort of way to get away from the helter-skelter of your life and throw yourself into something else, and you can always be growing. when hillary's mom died recently

at 92, she was reading this amazing book about what happens to the brain and the psyche if you lose one of your faculties. by the guy that wrote -- oliver sachs. so he's written this new book. my 92-year-old mother-in-law, and she stayed young doing it. >> so that is what it's really about, keeping your mind open and thriving. mindy, ladies first, let's go down your list. you have your top five includes 11 11-12-63 by stephen king, bossypants by tina fey. lady gaga, a photo book by terry richardson, my father's daughter by gwyneth paltrow and alexander mcqueen, savage beauty a visual feast by andrew bolten. >> i'd love to read them.

>> mindy, let's ask you about bossypants because that's the book you really would put on the top of the list. >> well, tina fey is the funniest person, i think, that i know. she's so funny, the book is so inspirational. it's part memoir and off her work on "saturday night live." to be a writer, performer, comedian on nbc, it behooves me to read a book like that. >> i bet she loves that you read that and looked at president clinton. >> you like comedy, so yeah. >> i think she is so funny. >> let's go to your list, president clinton. your top choices include in order jerusalem, a biography of a city by simon montefiore, lincoln, which is a prize-winning portrait by david herbert donald. meditations, a spiritual journal by marcus aurelius, the way of the world by david fromkin and the cure at troy, which is a

hero's tale, by seamus henley. i don't know if i get all that correctly out, but i feel smarter. >> i didn't see his list when i made my list. marcus aurelius is one of your favorite authors. >> you read this every year? >> mm-hmm. and it's short. you can read it, it doesn't take long. the thing about marcus aurelius, he was deeply spiritual and understood that life required balance. and that's really important in the world we live in today. as an emperor he had absolute power, and this book is in part about the things he wouldn't do. and that's really important. you know, we're having a presidential election and one of the things i look at, every time an election comes along, i think

about things that you could do that you wouldn't do. you know, i thought about it when i was president, when i had options a, b and c, are there any i think i shouldn't do good morning. it's 8:26 on this tuesday, december 20th. it's a slow morning commute today for many. let's go to danella sealock with a look at the roads. >> outer loop, the accident now in the shoulder lane at river road, but delays on the outer loop start at new hampshire avenue and they continue as you make your way towards i-270. you are at 21 miles per hour in this area. inner loop in virginia, still slow. delays start at the interchange, and they continue to the dulles toll road.

good morning. it's cloudy and chilly but not cold on this tuesday morning. temperatures are around 50 degrees and will hold steady throughout the rest of the day under the clouds. we have had sprinkles overnight exiting points east. and later today a small chance of a sprinkle this first day of

hanukkah, and tomorrow rain likely and a bit warmer. highs thursday and friday, mid to upper 50s. and then over the weekend, turning chillier. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone.

8:30 now on this tuesday morning, the 20th of december. 2011. one of the final days of our 18th annual holiday toy drive. and guess who? that's right, music hall of famer carole king is now collecting donations from our crowd this morning. she is sweet to do that. she's also here and will be singing for us from her new

holiday album and the performance is coming up later in this half hour. we'll also have bill clinton sticking around and also talking about books which is something a lot of people are giving out for the holidays. also coming up this morning, we'll be talking about last-minute holiday help when it comes to shopping and cooking, right? >> right. that's right. >> you know, it's christmas time when the scattas come. >> and the feast of the seven fishes. plus if you've waited to wrap up your shopping we'll tell you where to find the best sales out there and steals and deals. jill martin add one more edition for those last-minute shoppers. first let's get out to aurora, colorado, where al has been bringing us the lead story of the morning, hey, al. >> hey, guys, how are you? that's right. we'll continue to see that low pressure pull out of the plains

and wrap snow around it. as it does, it's going to start to see the low pressure pull out of the plains, and it will start to weaken and that's the good news. let's show you the weather map for today. we have the storm system wrapping itself around the rain ahead of it and rain could be heavy at times. sunny, chilly in new england. we are looking at showers moving into the pacific northwest. as we move into tomorrow, that rain makes its way further east. we expect to see sunny and warm conditions in florida, and we are looking at frigid conditions making their way across the plains. the sunny skies continue along the west coast. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. it's cloudy and temperatures are right near 50 degrees on this 20th day of december, and will stay hovering right around 50 throughout the rest of the day. over the last 12 hours, we have

had sprinkles to the east. and we could get more rain thursday night into friday morning, and again over the weekend. looks like perhaps saturday and don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. carl. >> thanks very much, al. coming up next, a lot more with former president bill clinton. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're back now at 8:35 with more of our conversation with former president bill clinton. mr. president, thank you for sticking around and talking about your love of books. before we get to some other topics, i want to ask you about your number one pick, which is the book "jerusalem" which is just out, you say. after all of the years you spent focusing on the middle east, you think this is spectacular, why? >> because it's truly a biography of the city.

so many books about jerusalem have been written from the perspective of judaism or christianity or islam and there's plenty to go around there. but he really tries to tell you what the life of the city has been like from the temples of david and solomon through bethlehem, you know, is right next door, how important it was to christians, how it was the great scene of fighting in the crusades and why the dome of the rock from which the muslims believe muhammed ascended into heaven, why it means so much to everybody and why it's so spectacular. you fall in love with the city and it breaks your heart that people can't make peace over it because it's a treasure. it's a wonderful book. >> a biography of the city, you make it so impossible not to pick that up. but i want to also ask you about something that you said in september. you said when everyone else counted gingrich out, you did

not. >> no. >> you said don't count him out. you also, having worked with him, i'm wanting to know putting aside politics, do you see newt gingrich as a man who has the temperament, the leadership qualities to be president of the united states? >> that's what the presidential election is for. you really never -- you find out a lot about people in the crucible of battle and they're all turning on him now and running all these negative ads. it's funny, they're basically doing to each other in a serial way what they did to the democrats in 2010. and then they fight back and one rises and one falls. it's going to be interesting, because it appears that right now he or governor romney have the edge. the one with the greatest resilience, with the ability to come back from adversity will probably prevail.

perhaps one of the others will rise. but i think that will be the test. that's what these elections are for. they tell you a lot about people. and when you're just getting the living daylights pounded out of you and people count you out and you were down, gosh, i was pronounced dead more times than a cat has lives in '92, that's when you find the something people want in a president. >> so as we move forward, then, do you believe that gingrich deserved the credit that he's taking for balancing the budget when you were president? >> not really. but i think he did work with me to pass some good budgets. we had the balanced budget act in 1996 and we, unlike some since then, we got our work done on time and i had a decent working relationship with him. but the vast lion's share of balancing the budget was done by the budget in 1993 that he led the opposition to. 90% of the budget was balanced

before the balanced budget act was ever passed. so i noticed the other day one of the republicans was saying from '96 on the government's tax cuts and investments actually added $10 billion to the debt. that's true, but the reason is it didn't stop us from balancing the budget and running four surpluses because of what we did in '93. but if i were in his position, i would be saying that because it is true that we worked in a bipartisan fashion to pass five budgets and they worked out pretty well for the american people. >> i hope you don't mind another left turn because i'm going back to the books and i want to ask you about a book about a president, about abraham lincoln, and that's one of your recommendations. i'm wondering, because so many books have been written about this great man why you chose this one written by david herbert donald. >> well, first of all, he was a magnificent historian who died in his late 80s a couple of years ago. i knew him and admired him.

but i've read just about all the lincoln biographies. and i thought his was special in its fidelity to the facts, his understanding of lincoln's political significance and his understanding of his fundamental humanity. it has everything. it's not a book that's single faceted. this is a book you could read if you wanted to read a novel. this is a book that you could read if you were a serious historian. this is a book you could read if you wanted to understand war and how it's conducted. it's an astonishing book. and it came along near the end of donald's career and he was filled full of juice. and he just -- he painted a magnificent portrait of president lincoln. >> the way of the world which is a story of humanity, which is a very interesting topic in itself. what does that mean exactly? >> well, this is a book i read several years ago but i always recommended to people. if you read it, it's like a

one-volume short history of civilization, progress and setbacks and progress and how the world goes forward. i always tell people to read that and the book i recommended for years, "nonzero" by robert wright which explains how we avoid destroying ourselves at the last minute. but fromkin's book is fascinating. if you want to understand big historical events and how they shape the world we live in today, it's the best one volume that i know. >> do you remember who it was who first made you see books as a ticket to a life? >> oh, yeah. my grandparents, neither of them had a great deal of education, had me reading little dick and jane readers when i was 3 and 4 years old. by the time i was in grade school, i had two or three friends and we would race each other to see how many books we could read. then i went to the local library and a friend of mine's mother was always there volunteering

and she would tell me things to read. and i had a whole period when i was 8 or 9 when i read every biography of every indian chief that america ever produced and i tried to learn about the native americans. and it always stayed with me. i love it. i've always got two or three books i'm reading. i'm trying to finish now the truly magnificent biography of george washington, which i think anybody who wants to understand how we got started, should read. >> it seems like a lot of what you read are biographies. you want to read about the lives of people. >> i do. >> do they 55 ygive you a road or what that makes you so interested? >> because you get to see the history and the personal side of it at the same time, the interplay, i like it. i also read a lot of crime novels. >> do you really? >> yeah. >> are you a james patterson reader? >> i do. i like the alex cross series.

i've read all of sue graftin's novels. i've read all of daniel silva's novels. the hero is my favorite character in children. i've read all of lee childs' novels. i just devour them, i've got one with me all the time. >> you may not have heard there's a man al roker who writes crime fiction actually now. he's on the second book. i'll send you a copy. >> i'll read it. they're my adrenaline junky books. >> all right. i promise i will put it in the mail to you. former president bill clinton, thank you so much for your perspective on so many of these great topics. and for parents now who are trying to get their kids to read, you're obviously an example of why we should do it. >> now you've got the kindle and the facebook and the nook and the kindle and the ipad and the nook. people can read even if they don't have a lot of space in their house. you can buy the books for less money. and it ought to lead to an explosion of learning and literacy in our country. it will be good for us.

>> well said. bill clinton, thank you again. still ahead, we have a special holiday performance by none other than carole king. stick around. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

today's holiday gift guide is brought to you by target. this holiday, santa has elves, you have target. >> this morning on "today's holiday gift guide" last-minute deals. according to the american research group, one out of four americans still have some holiday shopping to do and that procrastination could lead to big savings. leslie jane seymour is the editor and chief of "more" magazine and joins us with some of those deals. >> yes, we're all naughty sometimes, right? >> you have an idea. you say when you go into the store ask the clerk. >> it's really interesting. everybody is doing sales right now. a lot of things are happening ad hoc as the day progresses.

i walked into one place and he said 30% off today. every single day something new is happening so go in and ask. if you don't see a sign, ask the sales clerk, ask up at the cashier desk. >> electronics are always sgluj awesome. but this year really big sales going on. what's really fabulous is look at these great laptop computers. there are six new laptops coming out every single day so there's a lot of pressure on laptops. what's interesting, these are under $400. you can be a hero. what's really amazing, if you go to decide.com which is online, it's a shopping service which you can enter the name of what you're looking for and it will tell you when to buy it and where to buy it locally and whether to buy it now or after christmas. >> video games. >> these are u up to $20 off. >> clothing and apparel. you've got some sweaters. >> land's end, 50% off at sears. men's and women's coats which

are great at penney's. who knew this stuff that you can wear right now is available and on sale. this was never the case before. but they want you to do something practical and smart. >> i've got to imagine with the warmer weather, retailers have a ton of warm clothes that have not sold. >> exactly. so we've got to move it out. >> how about kids clothes? >> what's really great, this is your moment you can disappoint every child you know. this is that moment where you say, oh, no, they got me clothing, thank you. but what's great about it is this is carter's sleepwear, 60% off pjs. oshkosh is up to 70% off. and these are great things. we want to be practical today. everybody is sort of tired of just stuff. so if you really want to do great things for kids and for the parents, maybe they're going to remember you as the mean old uncle, but it's great stuff. >> this is the part where we have all the men tune in and perk up their ears, because jewelry. some of the discounts on jewelry

are unbelievable. >> what's interesting is the jewelry makers know that you guys have a tendency to wait until the last minute. >> i have no idea what you're talking about. >> they want to bring you in anyway. so what's so interesting is we found these at amazon, 70% off selected items. >> 70? >> 7-0. and at amazon, you can also go into different retail stores and look as well. but we were shocked. amazon? i thought i was buying books and things. no, i can buy jewelry. >> my experience with my wife, if the jewelry doesn't work, a shoe will. >> no one thinks as shoes as something you would give. what's so interesting is with a place like zappos, look at these, these are designer boots, designer shoes, 30% off. what's great is you can get free shipping and you can order up until the 23rd at 1:00 p.m. and they will let you get it on christmas day. and what's great is you can always -- you get the wrong size, you can always exchange it at the last minute. women are used to doing this. you can be a hero. >> and cashmere throws? >> this is restoration hardware.

these are down from $300 to $199, cashmere. it's beautiful, it's last minute and look at the cute little water bottle warmer. >> can you come shopping with me? we'll leave right after the show. >> i hear you're going to be in trouble if i don't, right? >> thank you, leslie. up next, holiday music from the great carole king. but first this is "today" on nbc.

the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. >> back now at 8:52 with music legend carole king. she put on a terrific concert on our plaza just before thanksgiving. well, now she's out with a new holiday album called, appropriately enough, "a holiday carol." good morning to you. >> i can never resist a bad pun. >> i liked it. by the way, after all the years you've given us music, after all of the albums, after all of the grammys, how could it be possible that this is your first holiday album? what took you so long? >> well, i've been working on my book which will be published next april called "a natural woman" but i daughter took the reins and produced this. it would not have happened otherwise. >> what was it like to work with

your daughter, louise? >> she just has a great sensibility of repertoire. she has a bigger repertoire of favorites that i do. she brought so many unusual songs to this. not all are actually christmas songs. there's the hannukah prayer, which we used to sing, which my parents sang to me, and she and her son, my grandson, are on it singing, so it just -- she just brought a great sensibility. >> now, about this memoir you just mentioned, can you tell us anything more about it? are you done writing it? is it deeply revealing? what do you want to say about it this morning? >> i do talk about things that people may or may not know or think they know. but it's fun, and i'm at the stage where i'm just completing the audio book. oh, my god, that was so much fun to be in a studio but not doing the usual. >> all right. carole king, we love you. i know you're about to sing "have yourself a merry little christmas," we will have a better one because you're here.

carole king. ♪ have yourself a merry little christmas ♪ ♪ let your heart be light ♪ from now on, our troubles will be out of sight ♪ ♪ have yourself a merry little christmas ♪ ♪ make the yuletide gay ♪ from now on our troubles will be miles away ♪

♪ here we are as in olden days ♪ happy golden days of yore ♪ faithful friends who are dear to us ♪ ♪ gather near to us once more ♪ through the years we all will be together ♪ ♪ if the fates allow ♪ hang a shining star upon the highest bough ♪ ♪ and have yourself a merry

little christmas now ♪ merry christmas. >> happy holidays, carole king, thank you. again, the album is called "a holiday carole." we're back after this. good morning, everyone. it's 8:56. let's go to storm 4 meteorologist, tom kierein, for a look at today's forecast. >> as we approach the 9:00 hour, we have a lot of clouds over the region now.

and we are 49 at reagan national. we will stay this way the rest of the day. a lot of clouds around and we might have a sprinkle, a small chance of that. may be a small sprinkle near prince william county right now. and milder tomorrow, and rain likely, maybe more rain thursday nigh

outer loop of the beltway, still having problems there. you are slow and your delays start at new hampshire avenue. traveling on the inner loop, still jammed at robinson terminal.

♪ i'm with you in christmas paradise ♪ the delightful carole king serenading us. we'll be hearing more from her this morning on this tuesday morning here on "today," the 20th day of december. and we're back and we are so glad that she's been performing in our studio for us this morning. and by the way, bill clinton was standing there watching her. i think that we all sort of enjoyed her song and now we'll hear more of her second song coming up.

meantime, we've got some nice folks here in the plaza joining us this morning kicking off their sight seeing, and we're glad to have all of them here. we're going to be talking about this morning the weather is fairly mild here in new york, but out west in the plains, a big story of the day is just how much -- how powerful this storm is. it's ice over roads, major highways, shut them down. there's blinding snow and fierce winds. drivers are stranded in some areas. some had to be rescued by the national guard. there have been at least six deaths that have been blamed on this storm, it's a real mess. so the question this morning is how does that affect holiday travel, especially air travel and also by road. we'll be getting to that, we've got two reports, one from al in colorado and also mike seidel is in kansas that's also hard hit, so their reports coming up. >> not a good time for it at all. certainly if you plan on throwing back a few drinks, that's what it said, or sipping, whatever your thing is, we know that the liquid calories can

certainly add up. we'll tell you which drinks are best for your waistline and we'll have some great healthy alternatives for your main holiday meal that will still satisfy your guests. joy bauer is back to answer your throwback questions. >> you do that so well. >> you have no idea, carl quintanilla. >> sorry, mom. also back today, jill martin with some holiday steals and deals. what have we got, some good offers on restaurant meals, faux furs. >> that's very big right now. >> hair care items up to 94% off, if you can believe that, and that's just for "today" viewers. also let's get a check of the morning's top stories from natalie, who's at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, carl, ann and tamron. a deadly prewinter storm has been dumping heavy snow on america's heart land. mike seidel is in garden city, kansas, where preholiday travel is treacherous to say the least. good morning to you, mike. >> reporter: hey, good morning,

natalie, from garden city. you can see behind me the roadways are open, but few cars out here. we've got a layer of ice under the snowpack from the first blizzard of the season here in the high plains. take you back to last night. snow and blowing snow. whiteouts across parts of five states. at least six fatalities and we still have blizzard warnings this morning in parts of three states. here in western kansas and the texas-oklahoma panhandle. we had wind gusts as high as 72 miles an hour and closed new mexico. that just caused whiteouts, spinouts. we saw jack-knifed tractor-trailers filled with cattle out here in western kansas last night. speeds, 5, 6, 7 miles an hour if you can even get anywhere. this morning parts of i-70 and a long stretch of i-40 from amarillo to albuquerque are shut down. natalie, the snow is going nowhere. if you want a white christmas, come out to western kansas. it's going to stick around. temperatures below freezing through christmas and they may get several more inches of snow on thursday.

natalie, back to you from a snowy kansas. >> it's going to stay snowy for a while. mike seidel, thank you. the house and senate are back to fighting over president obama's payroll tax cut. it's set to expire at the end of this month along with jobless benefits for almost two million people. the senate approved a two-month extension before leaving for the holidays, but the house wants a year-long extension. mourners in north korea are filing past the open coffin holding the body of long-time leader kim jong-il, who died suddenly this weekend. his state funeral will be held on december 28th. meantime, the united states is calling for a peaceful and stable leadership transition in north korea. the nuclear armed regime is known for its unpredictability and its hostility to the united states. paroled american activist lori barrenson arrived in new york to spend the holidays with her family after spending 15 years in prison in peru. she was arrested in 1995 for helping a rebel group. she must return back to peru to

finish her parole. police had their guns drawn this morning after a car chase outside los angeles. the driver refused to hand over a little girl taken from her mother after a domestic dispute. officers swooped in to rescue the 4-year-old, unharmed, and arrested the suspect. kate middleton looked stunning at her latest public event. she wore a black, strapless velvet gown by alexander mcqueen last night at the night of heroes military awards at london's imperial war museum. the gala honored british soldiers for their courage in battle. absolutely gorgeous. it is now five minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to anchors carl and tamron, and a great event. >> yeah. that's the bigger part of the story is that a lot of the royals were in tears because they were honoring british soldiers and the stories of suffering. so anyway, that's a little serious. also serious is the weather so we should go to al and find out more about that. al, the big question is, is this going to affect holiday air travel any time soon? >> well, this storm not so much

really because it was basically concentrated in kansas, so that's not the problem. roads, if you're coming between texas, new mexico, kansas, that's going to be a problem. colorado, there are some issues there. but for the most part last night when we were in the airport, flights were coming and going, no big problems here at the denver international airport, so that's good news. let's show you what we expect f going and no big problems at the denver international airport, so that's good news. and right now we are looking for blizzard warnings, and we have winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories stretching from texas all the way into oklahoma, kansas, colorado. we have more snow wrapping around this system. it's weakening, and that's the good news. snowfall amounts will be less over the next 24 hours. you will see the system lifting up and away. it's spreading an icy mix ahead

of snow. snowfall amounts anywhere from 3 to 6 inches, but generally around one to three. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods.. >> tom kierein here in storm center 4. it's cloudy and temperatures hovering around upper 40s, and over the last 12 hours, we had sprinkles south and east of washington this morning. there was a few sprinkles there in fairfax county trying to reach the ground as well as in montgomery county. a chance of a small additional sprinkle and cloudy the rest of the day. >> and that's your latest weather. natalie. >> it is brought to you by walmart, more christmas for your money guaranteed. save money, live better, walmart. al, thank you. this morning on joy's diet sos we're dishing up some advice to help you get through the week of

holiday parties, family dinners. today joy bauers is answering your question. >> good morning. >> let's not be a buzzkill. this is a hard time of year. so first we have heather in houston, texas. she joins us on skype. heather, good morning to you. what's your question for joy? >> no, it's abby. >> abby in houston. sorry about that. we had your name wrong. >> that's okay. joy, i have to make a meal for approximately 10 to 12 people on christmas eve and this year i'd like to change it up from our traditional feast of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and a side of veggies and instead make a healthy pasta dish. i just don't want people feeling like it wasn't enough. so do you have any suggestions for a healthy, delicious and filling pasta dish? >> i love that you want to mix it up and i bet it's going to make it so much more fun and interesting for you as the host. when it comes to a hearty and healthy pasta, you want to remember three things. first, whole grain noodles,

protein and vegetables, because those three things work together to expand in your stomach and keep your guests feeling full and satisfied. you can go with a christmas theme, i call this christmas pasta. think red and green, so start with whole wheat spaghetti or linguine and mix in shrimp, red bell pepper, garlic and basil. or you can go with a traditional roasted vegetable pasta, and then just do whole grain penne and you can mix it with a slew of preroasted vegetables, anything goes, and top it with goat cheese crumbles and pine nuts, because that's going to be your protein. but either of these things is going to impress and leave them feeling full and satisfied, i promise. and maybe think about giving out recipe cards. that will be fun. >> great idea. >> thanks for your phone call. okay, next we have crissa in boise, idaho. good morning, what's your

question for joy? >> hi. i'm wondering if i promise to get back to healthy eating and exercise after the holidays, is it really that bad to indulge for a couple of weeks? >> she's going to get back on the fitness wagon, but right now it is hard. >> and you know what i'm going to tell you, that people do not gain as much as we're led to believe. i mean we toss around these really scary inflated numbers, but, natalie, when we look at the surveys, on average people only gain one pound between thanksgiving and new year's day. that's not that much. and really if you want to completely avoid that measly one-pound weight gain, just be choosy with your splurging. if it's worth the splurge, enjoy it, and if it's not worth it, walk away. >> there you go. rules to live by. >> and you're not deprived. >> sounds good to me. next we have a viewer e-mail question. audrey from chicago writes what are your suggestions for slim holiday cocktails?

we love this one. >> so the big rule of thumb is if it tastes like candy, it is candy. >> it's got that syrupy candy in it. >> that's right. but when it comes to the most slimming selections, stick with a glass of wine, either white, red or champagne, that's only 120 calories or a light beer, about 100 calories for light beer, which is about 50 calories less than the regular, or vodka mixed with club soda or any kind of juice. and if you're at brunch, a mimosa or bloody mary, each of those only 125 calories. the bloody mary has a little bit less sugar. >> good to have you here, joy, as always. >> bottoms up! >> just one pound, she says, from thanksgiving to christmas. >> it's not a crazy amount that we tend to gain. but selective with the splurjge. >> as always, thanks so much. itch you're still looking for toys for your tots, we'll check out the best and safest toys of 2011 according to "good

housekeeping" magazine. up next, our steals and deals has everything from leather accessories to hair care products as much as 94% off, right after this. [ cat yodeling ] honey, check your email! [ cellphone chimes ] [ cat yodeling ] kids! [ cat yodeling ] sing, larry, sing! [ cat yodeling ] we should have got a cat. [ male announcer ] get low prices on gifts to stay connected. order your last-minute gifts at walmart-dot-com and get free same-day pickup on select items. save money. live better. walmart. [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can.

♪ it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪ 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. ♪ and tea to choose from. it's the way to individually brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew, hon. nyquil tylenol: we are?ylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion.

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back now with another holiday edition of jill's steals and deals. whether you want to sit by the fire, sip some tea or treat someone to a very nice restaurant, jill martin has some offers that are as much as 94% off exclusively for "today" viewers. jill, it's way over there, good morning. >> hello. >> we are separated by luxury. >> we are separated by faux fur. >> go to "today".com right now and check the shopping. many are for christmas, for holiday and many for new year's. so this is a creative one. this is from ann taylor. and you can printout a coupon for 70% off that links you to

the app taylor website. you go into the store and pick anything faux fur. >> anything in the store? >> you printout this coupon, walk in with it today, tomorrow, up until holiday and you can get 70% off. >> in the store? >> in the store. >> that's lovely. >> we did it that way and then people can literally go shopping, get the discount in time for both holidays. so we showed all the different versions. first, look at the home collection, which is really great. >> next up on your list, treating someone to a nice dinner. >> and this is a similar situation. restaurant.com voucher. the retail value is $500. this is an electronic gift card, so restaurant.com is the leading provider of restaurant savings on the web. offers deals to 18,000 restaurants nationwide. so you'll get the voucher within 48 hours via e-mail. so for $500, you sit down and spend $500 on your meal, $32. so that's 94% off. you go online and spend $32, and you get a $500 voucher. >> that is ridiculous!

>> isn't that great? it's like they're paying you to eat. >> you can't be mad at that one. we mentioned sipping tea. i think tea is a great gift to give. >> we did a tea set last time that did so well. i'm not a big tea drinker but i tried it and it's delicious. retail $108. there's two sets, perfect for any tea lover. the first set, the noah assortment kit which is six cases of teabags with an assortment of flavors, 300 bags total, and the second set is the flowering bloom tea saeet in th front. it includes a 40-ounce hot tea maker. retail $108, the deal $32.50. that's 70% off. and you put it in up to five to seven minutes. look at that beautiful flower. >> this smells so good. it smells like perfume. this is great. >> okay, moving on. i have hair problems all the time. >> who doesn't. >> so this one was a good one. the flat irons and curling wand,

$135 to $165. three options, all available in these fun colors and patterns. the vintage flat iron, 100% solid ceramic plates. the silhouette flat iron which lets you curl, straighten all different hair styles and the curling wand. these are all great for your hair. the retail $135 to $165. the deal, $48 for any of these. that's up to 71% off. >> i love these funky colors. these are great gifts to give girls, teenagers. >> and these leather goods are beautiful here. >> we'll have to get a real closeup to see the 'eembossing. two deals, let's start with the cosmetic bag. the remail $150. it's a fully lined cosmetic bag, the retail $150. the deal $45. that's 70% off. then we move on to the key chain or this is a phone holder with a lip gloss. >> oh, wow. >> $70 to $95.

leather phone case with embossed initial. $70 to 95, the deal is $28. >> i love the initial gifts because you can never find tamron, but when you have the little initial, you can give it to everyone. i love it. this is a great list and you put it together nicely. a lot of these things again you can get to the person by the holiday. >> either by holiday or new year's, so make sure to check the shipping. but go to today.com. >> limited edition. again the products are ann taylor's faux fur styles, the $500 voucher from restaurant.com, the art of tea gift sets, the flat irons and curling wands and the leather accessories. head to today.com for the exclusive coupon codes. if you have any questions, you can tweet jill and she'll tell you how to rock the faux fur and use the hash tag steals an deals. coming up, we hip up a

fabulous christmas eve feast. first, these messages. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? 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.

this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf.

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lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. little elves have been working very hard to make sure all of the donations you've given us for our 18th annual toy drive make it to the hands of underprivileged children. there you see singer/songwriter carole king who was our elf this morning helping us out. we thank all of you who have donated this year. we are getting a wonderful donation. with us is darren to tell us about it. it's good to see you. you've got a lot of fans out here. >> hello, hello. >> tell us about what fox is donating. >> yeah, it's very cool.

as part of the fox family, i'm very happy to say fox has donated over 700,000 toys. >> what are some of the things on the list? something like $2 million? >> a lot of fun toys and dvds but i think the glee concert dvd is on there. >> speaking of "glee" you are on he hiatus but you are gearing up to be on broadway. >> it will be january 3rd to january 22nd. we started rehearsals yesterday. between that and christmas shopping, i'm a busy bee. >> well, congratulations on everything, good luck. >> we want to thank everyone at fox home supentertainment for s a generous donation. >> tomorrow is the last day so come down to our plaza or go to today.com. i'm good about washing my face.

but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser 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. [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, ♪dong ♪ throw cares away, christmas is here, bringing good cheer, ♪ ♪ to young and old, meek and the bold, ding dong ding, dong, ♪ ♪ that is their song, with joyful ring, all caroling, ♪ ♪ one seems to hear, words of good cheer, from everywhere, ♪ ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, raising the sound, ♪

♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪ ♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here. ♪ ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ good morning, everyone. it's 9:26 on this day, the 20th. so far a couple roads, southbound nebraska avenue, getting reports that a driver hit a tree in that area and definitely seeing delays on nebraska. it's after you pass ward circle. and then the inner loop, very slow at robinson terminal. those delays continue to the dulles toll road. and good news on the outer loop, that's clear. first i need to show you 395.

you are passing duke heading towards seminary road, no

good morning. temperatures right around 50 degrees and will stay this way under the cloudy sky a small chance of a sprinkle, and tomorrow likely rain from the morning into the afternoon and highs near 60. thursday, could get more rain in the evening and into friday morning. and then over the weekend, turning chillier, and might get

rain saturday night through midday christmas day, and then chilly and getting cold as we start off the first part of next week. that's the way it looks right now. back to you. yeah, i'm married. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪

♪ hey, california, it's cold and it's damp ♪ ♪ that's why the lady is a tramp ♪ ♪ that's why this lady is a champ ♪ >> look at that combo. tony bennett who gained a huge following. you can see him with lady gaga and he'll bring his smooth tunes to our studio tomorrow on "today." >> i love that smile on his face with gaga. meanwhile coming up this hour, toys with a good housekeeping seal of approval.

if you still have a few kids on your christmas list, we'll show you some of the safest toys on the market that are also a lot of fun. >> i bought a gift for a kid the other day and i forgot he was 2 and on the box it said 5 to 7. >> you definite to pay attention to that label. also ahead, we're bringing out the animal in you with some animal accents for your home decor. we'll show you how to make it work in any room without going overboard. but we are going overboard in today's kitchen with a christmas eve feast with none other than the first family of italian cooking, the scottos. >> first let's get a check of the weather from al, who's in colorado this morning. hey, al. >> thanks so much. let's see what's happening as far as your weather for today i. >> thanks so much. let's see what is happening as far as your weather today is concerned. it's chilly up in new england.

boston, 39 degrees. showers move into the pacific northwest. we are looking at the storm system wrapping up and dumping a good eight to six inches of snow, and some areas maybe more through the plains, and then tomorrow we look for the rain to move further to the east. we will see showers making their way into the northeast, and snow changing over to rain, and then we're looking at cooler conditions and plenty of sunshine through texas. sunny and cool as you make your way out west. partly sunny skies for the pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. temperatures around the region are near 50 degrees and there's a small chance of a sprinkle coming through in the next couple of hours, and that chance should be diminished. getting a few sprinkles in fairfax county and further to the south and around baltimore. later today in the low 50s. tomorrow, rain likely and highs near 60. could get more rain thursday

>> and that's your latest weather. natalie. >> all right, thank you, al. got to take care of that voice. a little honey and tea and getting out of that weather. coming up next, don't head out to the toy stores just yet, because we're going to show you some of the safest toys for every age group. you won't want to miss it. it's coming up right after this. we know a place where tossing and turning 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,

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ask your doctor for acuvue® oasys brand. this morning on "today's countdown to the holidays" it is toy time with hundreds of toys available for your holiday choosing, how do you know which ones are the best? janice lieberman is here. like so many others, you say we've got to keep our mind on safety. >> 100% because it's very confusing out there. choosing toys for your little ones can be a daunting job. now "good housekeeping" magazine is out with its top award picks for fun and safety so we decided to see just how these toys passed the magazine's test. there's more than just child's play that goes into selecting get year's top toys.

"good housekeeping" magazine gave us an inside look at what goes into making the list. >> as a parent you have to be very vigilant. all these toys go through rigorous testing. >> to choose their top 20 toys, they bring in the ultimate judges, kids. their mission, have fun. >> we have over 125 kids come in and play with them. >> the magazine's staff chooses 100 out of 1,000 toys and checks them for safety first. then kids get a chance to play. >> so how do you toy test? >> we look at all the safety considerations for the toys and make sure they wouldn't pose choking hazards, won't break into small pieces. >> to do that, the toys go through what is called a drop test. we wanted to see for ourselves, so after donning ear plugs and goggles, we were ready for the test. >> we ready to roll? >> ready. >> toys are no match for this lab equipment. it can literally make or break a toy's ratings. >> what do you call this guy? >> the drop tester.

some call it the big green monster. >> time for our first tester. >> this is a magnetic yo yo. you want to make sure nothing breaks off of it. >> okay, let's see what happens. >> okay, get ready. so this one as you can see didn't break into any small pieces. nothing chipped off, nothing broke off. >> the last toy tested had lots of small movable pieces. >> we want to watch places like the hinges to see if the doors come off. something like that could be a potential hazard. no doors broke. >> pretty strong little toy. >> as you can see, this is one of our winners. >> but not all toys are winners. >> what would make something not be recommended? >> if things proved to be extremely messy or require a lot of parental supervision, it may be something we wouldn't recommend. >> like what, we wondered? >> this toy. it molds, it literally won't stick to anything. now, this other foam which is another one we tested, it breaks into other pieces which when

you're cleaning up is a real hassle. >> nevertheless, in the end, kids have the final say. >> the bubble blower is my favorite toy because it's really fun. >> and that's what counts but as parents we should look for toys that are affordable, safe and have staying power and are not forgotten about after christmas day. >> what would be another reason to keep a toy off the best list? >> safety. this is a toilet paper roll. if you have a little kid and something fits through it, that means it can also go through their throat and they could swallow it. >> that's a good little trick there. what about age requirements? >> and also magnets, very dangerous. now, this toy is fine for an older kid, but if you have little kids and they swallow these magnets and the magnets attach inside your body, it's very difficult and requires a lot of surgery to get it out. not a good thing. keep these away from younger kids. >> and pay attention to the box, what the recommendations are. you have some of the top-winning toys. >> this is mario. mario and luigi have to duke it

out. you have to make obstacles. that's about $60. the kids love this one. >> and this has small parts but again for 6 and over. >> right. you create obstacles, which is great. spy net, my son is 8 years old and he absolutely loves anything with spying. you put this on the wall and it magnifies the sounds and you can listen in on anyone's conversation. so they love that one. >> that's cute. >> they love this leaf blower, this is for 2-year-olds. so, so cute. the bubbles just burst out all over the place and it really, really is fun. and then a weird and wacky contraption for 40 bucks, this is for 8-year-old kids, and you have to make designs. >> oh, that's fun. >> and construct contraptions which they absolutely, absolutely love. so these are some of the their best ones. and the best game was this connect game over there and that's for 5 years old, 6 years old and over and you have to launch the disks and they have to get four in a row and they

absolutely love this game. only 20 bucks. >> something to keep you occupied while other things are going sdplon. >> and the price is right. >> good stuff. thank you. happy holidays. up next, home decorating touches with your furry and feathered friend in mind right after this. ♪ would you like me to read you a story? you can't read. [ grandma ] 'twas the night before christmas, and all through the house... whoa, that's grandma. [ grandma ] nothing was stirring, not kara, not maya.

how does she do that? magic. [ grandma ] ...grandma loves you. goodnight, grandma. goodnight, grandma. [ female announcer ] be there to read them a story every night. read it to me again. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. this christmas, make it wonderful. ♪ and this is the brand-new nook tablet, with access to 2 million books, including my latest, "hotel vendome." it's barnes & noble's fastest, lightest tablet, with my favorite entertainment, my favorite music, e-mail and facebook, so i can keep up with my fans. i love it. introducing nook tablet by barnes & noble. books, the best in entertainment, facebook, apps, magazines, and more. ♪ it rides in limos. it has a crew. it gets invited to parties with paparazzi. it hangs out poolside. it has millions of drooling fans.

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this morning on "today's home" adding animal accents. whether it's a love of birds, dogs or horses, savannah has some styles you can incorporate into every room of your home. good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of people can go a little over board if they put too many animals in one room together to decorate. >> we all love animals or have a favorite animal, and there were so many great, fun choices out there that were chic and affordable, so i wanted to bring them here today and just celebrate all the different ones that there are. the whole animal kingdom is here today. >> let's get started with this great little accent piece that you found. >> better than a real one on a wall. i love the boldness of this. i thought this was so cool, this ram's head. again, whimsical fun. could be great in an entryway, i just loved it. >> i like it. it's very different.

over here we've got an owl lamp. >> ann curry christmas gift. she loves owls. i just was so taken -- this is like $85. it's so, again, whimsical, special. >> great on a little side table. >> everything here is great with accents. birds. i love this from pier 1. look at all the birds here. again, either side of your sofa. it's not overboard, it's just very subtle and pretty. >> and i know you love birds because they bring you a lot of happiness. >> they do. >> there's a comforter. >> this is from home goods. this is $70 for everything. look, it's so fun. the colors, you get the pillows with it. it's very unusual, the parakeets in the cage, i just loved it. so fun. >> it does bring you happiness looking at that. over here -- >> rugs. >> these are great little entryway rugs or maybe a girl's room. >> cat fanatics, i thought this was so cool from urban outfitters.

oversize, be great for a girl's room. >> black and white is modern. >> this is so bold and visual, this would be great for a mud room. not expensive as all. this fabulous mock butterfly, i fell in love with it. >> and over here, pillows. this is a great way if you want to add accent to a broom. >> look at this brooks brothers lobster pillow. it's got a preppy formality to it. i thought it was so fun. it would be great on a sofa on a porch. and the squirrel pillow. who thought squirrels would be chic. i thought it was fun and unusual. i loved it. >> over here, we've got this great peacock platter. >> i loved this. this is like art. you can hang this on your bathroom wall or dressing room. >> or use it as a serving platter. >> yes, you could. absolutely beautiful. i love these bookends for a kid's room. >> they are heavy so they'll hold the books. adorable. >> just adorable. these little drag on flies are only $8 each. i thought it would be pretty to

puch a whole bunch on a wall. >> like a grouping. they could be art. >> they're functional or great to look at. >> speaking of art, you have a couple of examples. >> from art.com. so many people love horses and i loved this because it had a raw artistic sketch to it. >> it looks like a real oil painting. >> and i didn't get it framed deliberately. i thought that was so special and beautiful for someone who loved horses. >> this is actually a silhouette of your dog? >> our rescue dog, cheddar. this is a woman who you e-mail her the portrait of your animal and she will -- or your kids. >> like a silhouette. >> she does the old-fashioned silhouettes where she cuts out and put it in a frame. i picked this blue paper because it looks kind of modern. but look how fun and classic cal and kind of hip that looks. >> that would be great like in a bathroom too. >> yes. i just think it's a really fun way to personalize your pet. >> excellent. well, susannah, great ideas. thank you so much. susannah has a lot more tips on

ivillage.com. coming up next, yay, christmas eve with the scottos. we have some easy seafood dishes in today's kitchen. first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "cooking with the scotto family" a christmas eve feast where seafood is traditionally the star at the table for many families. >> anhappy holidays, everyone. >> happy holidays. >> and starting out here -- let me start with you. you've got a seafood salad first. >> that looks amazing. it's beautiful. >> if i was invited out, which i never were, no, i was never invited out for christmas eve because we were so many people, that salad had to go with me. >> beautiful.

>> it's mussels, it's seven fishes, shrimp, and this is all bakala and calamari. you name it, it's in there. we do it with lemon juice and orange juice and olive oil. and it gives it such a great flavor. >> delicious, fantastic. so that's a star but this is something for -- >> this is our eggplant parmesan, or eggplant and zucchini parmesan. >> inspired by kathie lee gifford, i understand? >> she came into the restaurant many years ago and said i want you to do an eggplant pie. so we did a notch more, we put zucchini in it. >> so that's instead of the noodles, it's the zucchini, right? >> well, this is an eggplant lasagna, no pasta. it's just layered. >> so we've got layers of -- >> eggplant and zucchini and our

mozzarella, some egg wash and parmesan. >> and all kinds of -- what is this? >> basil and parsley, all the good things. and you layer. you layer, you layer. >> right. >> another layer of eggplant on top. you top it off with tomato sauce and some parmesan cheese. >> how long in the oven? look at that. >> one hour in the oven. 350. >> beautiful. >> and it's vegetarian. >> go ahead, anthony. >> anthony has already started here. we're using blue crab in your recipe. >> which is great this time of year, by the way. so i've taken the crab, i've taken the top off the crab and the gils off but i'm keeping the caviar in the crab itself. this makes it a little spicy. i doubled up on the garlic as you can see, correct? and we're going to start adding in your crab. >> okay. >> we're going to add that in.

we're going to toss it together, maybe five, six minutes. >> and that's about how long it takes for the crab to start cooking up. >> i want to try to get the flavor in there. >> then we're going to add tomato sauce. we're going to take a stock. last night you hopefully made shrimp cocktail. you use those shells of the shrimp cocktail and make your stock. >> very nice. >> so you're going to make that stock, gives it a little extra flavor. we'll cook this probably for an hour or so. add the rest of the crabs, which only take about 15 minutes. got all that? >> uh-huh. got it. >> at the end we're going to add fresh crab because it gives another layer of that freshness. >> nice. >> and we're going to add the pasta. >> skinny spaghetti? >> yeah, it's perfect. we're going to mix this altogether. we're going to top with it some cherry tomatoes which i par blanched for a second. and this is what it's going to look like. terrific. >> oh, that is nice and so hearty. perfect, perfect. natalie? >> okay, now we've got the

gorgeous elainaelaina. >> well, this is a traditional neapolitan dessert. it means honey balls. so we start here with our dough. we've made it. >> and it's just a lot of eggs, flour. >> and some rye. you slice it up and roll it into these cylinders. we have our canola oil, 350, 375 degrees. as you can see, they cook up so quickly, probably like two or three minutes. we drain and then we move on here. here's our dough. our honey and we mix it on top. and we add walnuts. >> you know what, we were saying that's inspired by you, kathie

[ screaming ] [ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house. whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

good morning. 9:57, i am barbara harrison. it's tuesday, december 20th. it has been a slow morning commute out there for a lot of folks. let's go straight to danella sealock. >> a crash taking away your lanes on nebraska avenue at ward circle.

northbound, you are being diverted on to new mexico avenue, and just be aware it looks like a driver hit a tree. and 395 at duke, you have construction taking away the right side of the road, and single file to the left will get you by. over to tom now with a look at weather. >> we have had a lot of clouds around this morning and might get an additional sprinkle later today. temperatures holding steady to where they are now in the low 50s. we could get more rain thursday night through midday friday, and over the weekend, more rain possible on saturday evening and perhaps on christmas day. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks.

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captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody. welcome, welcome, we are so happy you're with us. it's booze day tuesday, december 20th. >> look at carole king singing. she will be with us later in the program singing here in studio 1a. >> love her. that's the nice part of having my dressing room downstairs. i can spend time with people down there. >> she is sweet, sweet. >> i get in trouble on my home

without you. >> every year this time youtube comes up with its top ten videos. we tell you videos that get 60, 70 million clicks. >> who gets the money though? >> who gets the money? >> that's what i want to know. >> if we do a crazy piece of video. >> say we get 50 million hits. >> who gets paid? >> yeah. >> here is number 10 on the list. this is a mother cat whose baby is twitching around. she flops her arm around him to comfort him. >> she's having a little bad dream. oh, stop it. that's me and bambino. oh, my. >> just so you know, 38 million hits. >> that's all the kitty needed to know was mommy was there. >> he's asleep. >> how can you get better than that? >> apparently the force is better. that's that volkswagen commercial with the kid who keeps zinging things.

>> that was cute. that was a commercial. ♪ >> oh, here it is. >> look at his little hands. [ engine starts ] >> i saw one last night that i laughed my tail off on. it was brand-new, a traveler's one about the dogs chasing one another until they get back. the dog's got a bone.

he brings it to one of his friends who's in the cone of shame. all the other dogs, go, ahh. it's the cutest commercial. >> i haven't seen that one. >> snl. this is a digital short. this had more than 60 million hits. this is the jack sparrow feature with michael bolton. ♪ oh captain jack >> so that one was good. this one is number two. this is a big one. listen closely. this is a talking dog with 74 million hits. >> i went to the fridge and i opened up the meat draw. you know what the meat draw is, right? >> yes. what was in there? >> you know that bacon that's like maple? got maple flavor. >> the maple kind, yeah.

yeah? >> i took that out and i thought -- >> yeah. >> i know who would like that. me. so i ate it. >> oh! you're kidding me. >> nope. not kidding. i also noticed -- >> that is adorable. >> oh, my gosh. that's so cute. >> guess what the number one youtube video with over 180 million hits is? >> going to make your brain explode. ♪ got to catch my bus ♪ and see my friends ♪ sitting in the front seat ♪ sitting in the back seat ♪ but i made my mind up ♪ it's friday friday ♪ got to get down on friday ♪ everybody's looking forward to the weekend ♪ friday friday >> you know what? i think it's excellent

marketing. she seems like a sweet girl. what bothers me about that? hello! not one of them is wearing a seat belt. >> yes. that's a problem. >> that bothers me. that sends a bad message to kids, 65 or 80 million. >> and who gets the money? >> i know. i still do want to know that. >> that's a big one. >> we want to wish our jewish friends a happy hanukkah which starts tonight. festival of lights goes on for eight days. >> there is a jewish group called pellea that celebrate with a song called "tonight tonight" it's their own version. let's listen to that. ♪ i love when it's this time of year ♪ hanukkah is coming ♪ lighting up the candles ♪ spinning my dreidels here ♪ happy hanukkah

♪ we're celebrating lights ♪ tonight ♪ got a holiday party ♪ going to have a good time tonight ♪ tonight ♪ going to eat lots of food and drink wine ♪ >> everybody needs a holiday survival guide, no matter what family you come from, what faith you are. everybody gets together for all kinds of bad reasons, but during the holidays, some good ones, too. >> people ask the most -- i don't know -- they ask the most inappropriate questions. if you're single, you know which ones i'm talking about. >> we came up with some responses. >> you're asked are you seeing anybody? and when you're not, it's difficult. they say that the proper way to answer that question is just to say, no, and then end it. >> in other words lie, you are seeing somebody. >> because if you're seeing somebody, you're going to get more questions asked about it.

they say respond no and that's it. >> okay. the next one is, when are you getting engaged? we should do it this way. sometimes it's not the question, it's who's asking it. if it's your precious 85-year-old grandma, when are you getting engaged? >> that's sweet. >> you should reply, grandma, when the time is right. when your weird wacky aunt who is drunk by -- i shouldn't talk -- so when are you getting engaged? >> what is the right answer there? >> none of your business. >> sometimes you want to say none of your business. you know it will add family drama to the evening. you want to say, listen, because you already had it up to here with people asking you questions. >> i like the one answer, when i see a marriage that succeeded or something like that? what's the thing? when i actually see a relationship that works. can you imagine how the conversations would come to an end in a big family gathering.

i've never seen an actual good marriage. that would be fun. that would be fun. how's your job? shorty. >> just say fine. >> just say fine. going well. >> enjoying myself. >> yes, yes. >> what are you up to these days? don't give a resume. don't show off. >> speaking of show-offs. if you pulled out "usa today" today, there is a section kath was talking about in the make-up room. the question is, are you a narscist? mark each question with always, sometimes five points, never zero. >> play along with us. i'm ready. >> i don't care what other people think of me or my actions, i do what i want. >> what are you supposed to respond? >> do you give yourself a 10? >> i do what i want all the time? what's the middle one? 5. >> i give myself a 10.

when someone expresses negative emotions towards me i brush them off. >> yes. all the time. i'm going 10. i don't like when someone isñr negative around me. what does that mean? when they express negative emotions toward me? yes. i don't want to hear it. >> that's different than brushing it off. number 3, i don't depend on other people to get things accomplished. 10. >> i'm a 5. >> when i am with friends or my partner, they must always look good. >> oh, no, i don't care about that. i don't care about that at all. >> because they are imaginary. >> i'm zero on that. >> when talking with others, i tend not to ask information about them and their lives. that saves me. >> you always ask. you're a narscissist. am i? >> i'm old. that's what happens to you.

i used to care what everybody thought. i used to care. anything negative. that's not because i've become a narcissist. >> you're in the danger zone. >> you're in the danger zone. >> thank you. >> tuesday's trend is adorable. this isn't fair. britney is so adorable that everything looks adorable on her. >> it's annoying. she's gone wax jeans. >> can we feel? >> it's just a new style of jeans like how leather was in or something like that. they are like the jeggings. >> there is no wax involved, just the texture. >> the texture. >> they don't look like leather. >> they sort of look like pleather. >> black, smoky, gray, golden amber. >> and that's $160. >> do we have the torrey and dean clip?

we are going to be on their show apparently. let's watch it. >> it is time to welcome back one of hollywood's favorite couples, tori spelling and dean. >> i'm starting to feel better, having fun out here. interview in the final home stretch. we're in the clear. >> we are going to give you an opportunity to answer the rumors that are out there. >> okay.r>ñ what's the rumor. what is it this week? >> we are very delighted indeed if you are expecting another little mcdermott. >> we hope one day, but we're not currently expecting. >> flat-out fudge. >> that was a fudge. a big fudge. >> flat-out fudge. >> busted. >> not just a little fudge. >> we are going to be on tonight on oxygen. >> and they have had the baby. >> we've been proven right again. >> this is going to be a difficult interview coming up. i can't tell you why. he's a delightful man and a

great actor from "the girl with the dragon tattoo." >> also, st i'll to come, sara visits one of the sweetest places on earth, hershey, pennsylvania. "the girl with the

too" opens tonight. >> and stellan skarsgard plays the brother of the girl who

disappeared 40 years ago. >> we can talk about it later. >> talk about it now. she knows everything about my crazy family. that's why she'll never marry me. >> i don't want to read about that in the book. everything else is fine. everything changed after that. not just the family, but the company, as well. >> this i'll say about him, he does serve excellent wine. wow, this movery is something. it took a long, long time to shoot this film. it was quite cold in your native sweden when you shot it. >> it took about a year. it's because fincher is meticulous. >> if you've got to do scenes over and over, these include rape and torture -- merry

christmas. it's a tough movie as everybody who read the book knows it's going to be. were you prepared -- because you hadn't read the books, i understand. >> i hadn't read the book, but i saw the swedish version. >> which i hear is pretty rough, as well. >> it's not hard to do the scenes just because it's hard on the audience. it's nice to torture the audience with those scenes. we have fun when we are doing them. >> what do you think it is about these books that captured 65 million people that bought the books, people are dying for this movie to come out. what is it do you think is capturing people? >> it is the two lead characters. blomkvist and salander. they are tough characters. she is one of the -- she is a tough, edgy, very violent

person. at the same time she is vulnerable, damaged and vulnerable. it's a character you never see. >> rooney mara was here yesterday. obviously got the golden globe nomination, which i thought she deserved. >> how did you and daniel craig get along? you seemed to have fun. >> no. he was just terrible. am i going to talk about him? >> we are done with him. >> it's hard to talk to you about this movie because you are so integral to it, but we don't want to give anything away? >> you mean the 65 million people who read the book? >> they don't watch us. tell us quickly what you're doing for the holiday. it's fascinating. it's so swedish. >> i'm spending christmas with my former wife, my current wife, the kids we have. eat a lot of ham and pickled herring. >> is that swedish or what? >> thanks. >> the movie is opening today.

it is really unbelievable. >> kisses from sara. her sweet trip to hershey, pennsylvania. papú

good morning. i am barbara harrison, and we have breaking news for you. we have problems on the blue and orange lines. there's an obstruction on the track affecting service between the federal service and southwest and federal triangle in northwest washington. >> yeah, it looks like we have a track obstruction. what we are being told by officials is a piece of the train fell on to the track, so right now they are focussing on getting the passengers off the

train but the good news is there's no injuries reported. right now in both directions, the blue and orange lines on the screens, service will be suspended in both directions. >> the obstruction on the track is between the plaza and smithsonian station. people are being taken on the lines on the blue and orange lines, and nobody has been hurt. we will have more coming up on news4 at 11:00. >> you can follow this online and on our twitter feed as well. >> again, breaking news on the blue and orange lines. temporarily the road causing trouble in one of your cities. >> we put a call out on facebook asking fan was city we should visit. there was one city that was just a little sweeter than all the rest.

hershey, pennsylvania. a chocaholic's paradise. >> i want candy. >> every holiday season from the ground up, a house is built, but there's one little catch. it's completely made of chocolate. >> chocolate, i'm home. after nine months of planning, 1,500 hours of work, 1 ton of hershey products, this candy construction was almost complete. >> we are very quickly trying to finish this house for the grand opening tomorrow morning. we have a lot to do. we would love for you to help us. >> yes. i was put to work. it's a tight squeeze from finishing the walls to giving rudolph a nose job. >>. ♪ rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose ♪ and if you ever saw him ♪ you would even say it glows

>> like a light bulb. >> when we weren't singing or sculpting, there was snacking. >> do you ever eat the pieces? >> yeah, you have to do it quietly so people don't catch you. >> like this? >> you got it. >> there was one last step, completing the chocolate wreath for the door. ow! just kidding. a little hershey humor for the grand finale. this house is complete. before the official opening, a certain builder would need her beauty sleep. lucky for me, christmas came early. the tree is gorgeous. with with a couple of things missing. cookies on the table for any overnight visitors and fire1.$ burning, i called it a night. but before too long, i was greeted by a special guest. santa! ♪ here comes santa claus

>> what are you doing here? >> we have lots of important things to do today. >> i'm not even dressed. >> we can take care of that with a little magic. let's go. >> let's go, santa. >> and with that, we're off. >> i want you to meet my hemmer for the day. this is sara. >> hi. not mrs. clause. >> of course, no opening would be complete without an official ribbon cutting. check out those scissors. step away from the twizzler. here we go. >> yes, the holidays had arrived in person. >> you know what i want for christmas? i want a little kiss on my cheek from you. oh, thank you so much! that was the best. wasn't the reaction i was hoping for, but -- and that reaction

was just the beginning. she's got lungs on her. our house was a hit. santa still had one last trick up his sleeve. >> this was the best surprise ever. they look so worn out, they must have worked so hard bring ug here. >> it was a tough trip this year. we hit the jet stream at the wrong time. >> leaving rudolph to rest, it was time to bid hershey farewell. >> i have two girls at home, kathie lee and hoda that i don't want to come back empty-handed. can you give me a hint if they are on the naughty or nice list? >> kathie lee has been doing really good with the musical this year so she made the nice list. now, hoda on the other hand, her organizational skills are just a little off. with a little bit of magic, merry christmas to all and to all a good night. ho, ho, ho. >> great piece. >> they wouldn't let me come

back without gifts. he gave you an early gift. they did a design of all these art graphics here that are beautiful. >> he did my "saving aimee." >> yes. that is an organization for your wallet. >> of course it is. love it. thank you. [ female announcer ] holiday plus cookies plus memories

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

we are back on this tuesday with today's moms and turn the kid's holiday table into the fun spot. >> "family fun" magazine know how difficult it is to keep kids seated during dinner. mary giles is the magazine's executive director. mary always has the cutest things. let's start with this rudolph table, shall we? >> we have cute ideas here. this is one of my favorites. we put craft paper on the table. kids can color on it.

put markers or crayons on. we had a helper drawing there. we have really cute place cards. these are paper. you can decorate them. >> i love this guy right here. >> this is rudolph. he is a juice bottle under there. you need to make sure he's got a red lip cap. >> here comes sadie. >> this is sadie's time. >> she likes the strawberries. >> complete directions at familyfun.com. >> moving down here someone is busy. >> danny is helping us make our snowmen. these are just recycled jars, juice bottles. you cover them with white tissue paper and glue on the buttons and eyes. this is a beautiful table runner. so easy to make. it's the keep sake you'll bring out year to year. one long piece of felt. cut diamonds from white felt and glue them on.

these chair covers are fun. they've got snowmen on the front. it's a piece of white felt you lay over your chair. then decorate them with snowmen. if you use repositionable glue, you can reuse those covers throughout the year for other holidays. >> that's adorable. cheese balls and crackers. >> that is genius. >> that's what i should send to regis, he loves ritz crackers. >> charlotte and hazel. >> look at the face on this child. >> hi, kids. >> they are showing our personalized placemat. these are cotton. you can put each child's name on the top and they can decorate them during the dinner. it's a nice way to keep them occupied during the meal and they hang out with their cousins and friends. silverware stocking holders. they are a cute keep sake for kids to take home. >> these are apples hollowed

out? >> edible apples. >> did you try it? >> do you want to taste it? >> let's try $x,kit. sip, please. that? yummy. good? she's still drinking it. is it good? yeah. >> i can't take it. >> there is one other really cute idea. a lot of times people have lots of kids coming together who don't know each other for the holidays. you cut a christmas card in half, write fun things on the back, questions. if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be. find your match at the kid's table and ask each other the questions. the match to the card, the other half of the card. >> that's why you're the editor of the magazine. >> look at this. >> jack, you've been very patient. >> jack is decorating our cookie

place cards. we've got some for each of you. >> cassidy, hannah. jack's got his own.t( >> if nobody claims that child, may i have her? >> it's a sweet treat after the meal is over. we've got a nice healthy treat. this is a christmas tree made out of cheese, tomatoes. nice to have healthy options on the table. we decorated the table just with wrapping paper. most tables are going to be bigger than these. just do a table runner down the middle. it's festive, inexpensive and you don't have to worry about the cranberry sauce dripping on it. >> all amazing ideas. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, everybody. sadie, too. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. happy holidays to you. >> up next, a holiday gift near and dear to our hearts. >> great wine gifts.

limited bus service has been requested and is on the way to help transfer people to the other station so some good news there. still the big question, what fell off this train that hit the third part of the track that caused some sparks and some smoke and hopefully dan with metro will be able to explain that. >> we've got live pictures coming in as you can see right here now. megan told us there were about 100 people she counted standing outside the plaza station waiting for some way to move onto the next stop. she said some are beginning to walk if offices were close by. they are waiting as you just said for buses to come. >> if we could take a quick look at the map again. blue and orange line riders take note between federal triangle and federal center southwest you do have service temporarily suspended. the good news is it's only 20 minutes away from 11:00.

hopefully if they work fast to figure out what fell off this train and get the track all fixed by the evening rush hour everything will be back in service and on the go once again. this is all due to a track obstruction at lafont plaza. they we moved all passengers off the planes. a lot being shuttled to other stations to get to where they need to go. no idea what fell off the train and the bigger question, the timetable how long they'll be out there investigating this and trying to get everything peaced back together again. there is shuttle service so that's good news. >> we have also learned that no one was injured even though megan says there was smoke in the tunnel at the time and people had to be led away from the scene of the train where it stopped because of the obstruction on the track. no one injured in this. blue and orange lines affected. service temporarily suspended on both between federal center southwest and federal triangle.

an obstruction on the track between l'enfant plaza and smithsonian station. >> you have the ability to our website in your pocket. if you have an iphone. we launched a new nbc washington iphone app with your realtime traffic and your realtime metro conditions. be sure to download that to stay on top of this story throughout the day with just a touch of a button. >> we have metro spokesperson on the phone now. dan, good morning. >> good morning. >> bring us up to speed on what's happening out there. >> this started an hour ago where we had a report of a track obstruction and what we believe happened is it's actually part of a train that became dislodged from the train car and made contact with the electric elect

third tunnel. there's not been a derailment. the section of track has been taken out of service. we're in the tunnel right now working to identify exactly what this part is. we do believe it's part of the brake assembly and called a friction ring. it's something that as a redundant system on the train, the train can operate without one and so once we get that inspection completed, we'll have this disabled train moved off the line and we'll have service restored. looks like early afternoon hours. >> what's your plan for the people who have been stopped and offloaded on the train? >> right. the incident train has been offloaded. there are no reported injuries from anyone aboard that train. there are a couple of other trains that are in this section of the blue and orange lines where power has been deenergized. that's the section from metro center to federal center

southwest. our emergency responders and d.c. fire are all responding to those trains. they've been through those trains. and they're in the process of getting those folks off of those trains. at this point, you know, we have shuttle bus service operating through that affected section. if you can avoid that portion of blue and orange line, that's advisable right now because there are some considerable delays. >> all right. dan with metro, thank you for that update. >> we'll have more coming up for you in just about 15 minutes on news4 mid-day. stay with us for that. ÷

♪ i've got my love to keep my warm ♪ >> now here's grammy winning singer and 5.nall-around lovel lady songwriterq,@ñ caroleñi ki singing a song co-written by her daughter, it's off her new album "carole king, a holiday carol." take it away, carole.

♪ w ♪ and palm trees swaying ♪ down on the beach feliz navida is playing ♪ ♪ though i'm going to miss the christmases we always knew ♪ ♪ but here i am in paradise with you ♪ ♪ just me and you ♪ wishes come true ♪ no crackling fire ♪ or chestnuts roasting ♪ but we've got some coconuts

and rum for toasting ♪ ♪ don't need a snowman ♪ we'll build castles in the sand ♪ ♪ i'm in a christmas paradise ♪ you and me underneath the beach umbrella ♪ ♪ oh oh ♪ we don't need no mistletoe at all ♪ ♪ whoa whoa ♪ no need to hurry ♪ we don't have to worry ♪ there's nowhere else to be ♪ but the starry skies be our christmas lights ♪ when the sun sets on the sea

♪ i'm in a christmas paradise ♪ you and me in christmas paradise ♪ ♪ we make a scene on the beaches every night ♪ ♪ you and me in a christmas paradise ♪ ♪ i'm in christmas paradise with you ♪ ♪ you and me in christmas paradise ♪ ♪ we make a scene on the beaches every night ♪ ♪ it's christmas time and i'm in paradise ♪ ♪ i hear it's hot ♪ and fun

♪ down to rio wherever we go ♪ won't miss the snow at all ♪ cause i'm with you in christmas paradise ♪ >> carole king! [ 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.

this has been a tremendously successful year for our holiday toy drive thanks to the generosity of viewers and 4 million books to children all over the united states. >> isn't that sweet? the toys are already on their way to help abused and neglected children in pasadena, california. one of our most loyal contributors is the toy company

jack specific. we are so happy to see you. >> you make us happy, don't they? >> who doesn't love cabbage patch dolls? >> these are from the fashion alley line. they are modernized and updated for today's kids. >> they still have those adorable and loveable kids. >> and we donated to today's toy drive. we donated over $100,000 worth of toys this year, but this is our sixth year with the "today" show toy drive. it's been over $5 million worth of toys. >> that is terrific. not to mention the kids who get them. >> these have gone on and on. they don't lose their sparkle, do they? >> they are evergreen and iconic. >> i like the bracelet on them. >> every one makes you smile. >> thanks for coming to see us. >> thank you for having me. >> tomorrow is the final day to donate on the plaza.

come by. >> or donate online until christmas itself. check out today.com. >> tomorrow, the legendary tony bennett is going to sing for us. >> it's about time. giada will whip up a holiday meal. have an awesome great day, meal. have an awesome great day, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com