i'm here at radio city music hall where i'm going behind the scenes with the rockettes.s this precision dance troupe has been kicking their heels up with style and glamor. >> welcome to radio city. >> we are heading into the large rehearsal hall. we have up to five shows a day. >> tell me how cool it is when someone asks you what you do and you're like, i'm a rockette. >> it's amazing. >> how much dance experience do you need? i'm not a bad dancer, but i haven't danced much either. >> you need to be precision in jazz, tap and ballet. we need ladies over 18 and height 5'6" to 5'10". >> unlike some dancing when you have choreography, you have to have it town to a head pop. >> absolutely. >> what is a bevel? >> i'm going to teach you. >> where do we start? i clearly know how to line up. ♪ >> one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and -- ♪ let christmas shine >> i was a soloist for a second. >> you guys are so glamorous and you always look so put together. >> we do our own hair and make-up individually. it takes us about six minutes to do our make-up and four minutes to do

>>> perhaps the best known christmas show in the world is the radio city christmas spectacular.he big star of the show. now we're going to have the real santa here in just a moment, but first let's introduce you to one of his very special helpers. ♪ let christmas shine >> reporter: ask any new yorker and they'll tell you the radio city christmas spectacular is the ticket to score this time of year. for more than 80 years, the show has been dazzling audiences. and the hottest star in the glittery production hails from the cold of the north pole. meet charles edward hall, a/k/a santa claus. >> yes! >> reporter: for 25 consecutive years hall has played the man in red and at 200 shows a season that means he's ho, ho, ho'ed on stage an astonishing 5,000 times. >> he's a magician. he's a comic. so he embodies so many positive and wonderful things, that it's just a joy to play. >> reporter: santa has been one of the two constants in a production that takes pride in changing up its scenes annually. the christmas spectacular's other constant, the rockettes. paul says he's locked arms wit

coming up next, a performance from the one and only radio city rockettes.brought to you by old navy. come fun, come all. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: welcome back, everybody. you know, one of the greatest new york holiday traditions is going to radio city music hall and seeing the christmas show. we're so thrilled tonight to have the stars of the "radio city christmas spectacular" from right across the street. performing "let christmas shine," please welcome the rockettes! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ let christmas shine bright as a diamond clear as a beacon true as a guiding star ♪ ♪ let christmas shine new as tomorrow now past and present form an unbroken line ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ shining on from year to year meaning more and more ♪ ♪ now we see it reappear brighter than ever before ♪ ♪ let christmas shine every december help us remember ♪ ♪ shine out the light of love shine out the light of joy ♪ ♪ shine out the light of hope shine out the light of peace ♪ ♪ every year blazing light crystal clear diamond bright ♪ ♪ let christmas shine let christmas shine le

coming up next, a performance from the one and only radio city rockettes. i'm away on a movie shoot and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. ♪ >> steve: brought to you by old navy. come fun, come all. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: welcome back, everybody. you know, one of the greatest new york holiday traditions is going to radio city music hall and seeing the christmas show. we're so thrilled tonight to have the stars of the "radio city christmas spectacular" from right across the street. performing "let christmas shine," please welcome the rockettes! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ let christmas shine bright as a diamond clear as a beacon true as a

it was the height of the great depression and radio city was designed to be place where ordinary peoplee high-quality enter taint. 79 years later, more than 300 million people have seen shows at radio city music hall and it is still the largest indoor theater in the world. i did not know that. >>> seven days out from iowa and it looks like a three-way battle for first place. so, who needs this iowa win the most? let's bring in our panel, michelle bernard is an msnbc political analyst and president of the bernard center for women, politics and public policy. steve mcmahon is a democratic strategist and michael shearer is white house correspondent for "time" magazine. hello, all. welcome back. let talk first about iowa. we are seven days out. everyone is spinning, you know, rick santorum -- if rick santorum get his votes, taking a victory out of it the romney, i talked to romney folks the last couple of days, said we finish in the top three that is good enough for us. who need these win the most, mike? >> the second tier crowd needs the win the most. romney can survive a little bit of a d

from 37 in santa rosa wed radioed city 36 mountain view 39 -- redwood city 36 mountain view san jose0 san francisco napa. 37 santa cruz watsonville 38 salinas 41 monterey frosty 29 in gilroy tonight's temperatures will be cooler let's talk about highlights sunshine and mild today low humidity it is drone again chilly tonight profit -- frost in our valleys another seven days without rain and snow in the sierra unless it is manmade low 60s east bay valleys with that sun same temperatures east bay shore fremont 63 south bay low to mid 60s 63 campbell and los gatos as far as peninsula low to mid 60s palo alto, 63 to 64 upper 50s along the coast into downtown 60 south san francisco upper 50s north bay beaches inland low to mid 60s could be a little breezy from time to time. monterey bay 59 carmel, low to mid 60s bay as you head inland around the state today all quiet from the mid to upper 50s through the central valley 39 tahoe mid 60s l.a., palm springs and san diego. back home tonight temperatures in the 20s livermore, fairfield, santa rosa, cloverdale, 33 palo alto cool spots around th

however, we are sharing goodies here if you are walking through or from radio city or any of the great the americans stop by. get some chocolates or a picture with me, $50, it is well worth it. so, please keep us in mind. in the meantime, back to iowa and developments there. i don't know if you heard this, but mitt romney might, might, might, might, might have gotten a present he did not expect from joe biden who in the state newspaper was essentially focusing on romney as being a big mistake. in that indicate, could it be ammunition for romney and provided just the oxygen he needs at a time when the poll numbers are very close to the man who won that state four years ago and no one expected it. you though this fellow. governor huckabee, former leaders of the fine state of arkansas and the man who finished second in the last presidential run. governor, good to have you. >>governor huckabee: by the way, i expected it although no one else did. >>neil: you did. you did. i can be on record saying i did not. but it was very nice. a fun raise and, of court, that is then and this is now and e

happy birthday to radio city music hall which opened 79 years ago today back in 1932. happy birthday. >>> all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> finally, here's a look at what's coming up this morning on the "today" show. former "survivor" producer facing murder charges for the death of his wife, the victim's sister speaks out live in the studio. >>> you'll get to meet that 1-month-old polar bear who opened his eyes for the very first time, something you definitely don't want to miss. >>> keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific tuesday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

radio city playing music under a heated ten at the docks for dancing and entertainment. all the bars and restaurants will have events scheduled all leading towards another fireworks show at midnight. many are glad the fireworks will still go on. >> we're going to have dinner here in town and then bounce around and see the fireworks. >> reporter: so annapolis has all age groups covered early fireworks for youngsters at 7:30. for the adults who can stay up later and wants to enjoy everything annapolis has to offer the late fireworks go at midnight. also there's free parking downtown. in annapolis i'm don harrison for abc2 news. >> that guy used to spin records in the hearts of annapolis on new year's eve. although parking will be free it will be limited. make sure you leave early. >>> today is good riddance day. so say bye-bye to whatever it is that made you blue this year whether it's a bad memory of a parking ticket. it's time to say good riddance. it's all happening today in times square if you can't make it don't worry you can submit your worst memory of the year onlin

neil diamond and the radio city rockettes performed at the annual ceremony. the rockefeller christmas tree which has 30,000 l.e.d. lights will be on display until january 7th. >> love neil diamond. love trees! >> beautiful sight! >> the time right now is 4:35. at 4:40, news of the world's central banks are coming to the rescue of financial institutions. that sent stocks on a nearly 500 point surge. >> that lifted things up. >> at 4:48, d.c.'s fire chief is proposing key change which will impact 75% of the department's work force. >> we're back with your weather first in two minutes. find out what you need to wear today. >>> 4:38. a chilly start to the day. most of us in the 30s. some wind chills down in the 20s. winds will be out of the northwest at 10. a little bit light later this afternoon. temperatures into the low 50s. i'll come back, talking about your weekend ahead. let's go over to monika samtani. she's talking timesaver traffic. >> taking a look live at route 50, i just got off the phone with the operations center, overnight construction is clearing

. >>> the annual tree light at rockefeller center, but the radio city rockettes providing the kickoff there it is! tens of thousands of people packed in to get a look. the tree has 30,000 lights that run five miles long and it will be on every night until january 7th. you got to love it. starting to look a whole lot like christmas. honestly, the tree looks bigger on tv. i saw it the other day. beautiful sight, though. . i'm terrell brown. and this is the "cbs morning news." [ male announcer ] all over the world, i'm terrell brown. and this is the "cbs morning news." holiday joy. of course, children don't really think about which battery makes their toy run, but, still, you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere. with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a $500 dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. life opens up when you do. ♪ a little rendezvous ♪ that special something ♪ that will carry you through ♪ that little reward ♪ for all the things

neil diamond and the radio city rockettes performed at the annual ceremony. the rockefeller christmas tree with 30,000 lights will be on display until january 7. if you have never been there, you should check it out. it's beautiful right there at "30 rock." they got the ice skating ring. >> brings out the holiday spirit. >> it does especially when there's snow there, too. it looks pretty snow-free right now. >>> we have a lot of wind. we are going to talk about that coming up. also ahead, 5:47, we have breaking news. a fire burning near a bart station in san francisco's mission district. anne makovec heading to the scene. we'll have a live report coming up shortly. >>> plus, a family is still holding out hope that a toddler reaches his second birthday. the urgent plea to find the shooter. >> and a deadline to move just hours away for the "occupy sf" campers. the key demand campers have for the city coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,, fire near san francisco's mission district just a block from bart. let's get to >>> good morning. ea

just ask a world famous radio city rockette. >> point. bring it back. good. >> the same can be said about running a small business. ask any owner what it takes to survive in this economy and the the same qualities could make it to the top of the list. >> good girls. >> amy knows what it takes to succeed in both worlds. she performs with the rockettes for more than a decade and opened up a dance studio in jersey city. >> there are no dance studios in jersey city right now. i seized the moment. this is an area with lots of kids. we are right next door to broadway. i think i have something special to offer them. >> success in the business is entirely different from being successful at business. she set out to be professional at that as well. >> i took a year to prepare myself for the business. i talked with a lot of entrepreneurs and got ideas. i took business seminars and learned simple things like how to write a business plan. >> a plan calling for measured growth. classes were limited in time and scope. >> we started with cannes classes and a couple voi

. >> we need to see barry at radio city. he'll be back here february 10th through the 14th.e are in the bahamas. >> we are very busy. here is good news, you guys. there is a 2-year-old british rapper. he's a huge hit on youtube. he's in a onesy, his dad is in a hip-hop artist. his brother learned hip-hop when he was younger. this has more than a half million hits. if you haven't seen it, you're about to see him now. ♪ >> who knows what he's talking about? you know what? it sounds like regular rap. >> i don't understand regular rap anyway. sounds the same to me. >> look how he is so focused. he's got the beat. >> look at him looking at his daddy. he's precious. >> speaking of music, you guys. if you are a fan of "the sing-off" and i know a lot of you are. the winners of season three, penatonix is downstairs. >> i heard them singing and i said, shut up, you guys are geniuses. >> you can't believe that there are no instruments. >> these guys are incredible. three were friends and they picked a couple from youtube. ♪ video killed the radio star >> there is no instrumental backgr

they're heading over to see the fantastic radio city spectacular.e to have one of those guys who are handymen, who can fix things and fix leaks and gutters? they said that most of us women would enjoy that, having someone who could do that thing. >> if i had to give up frank to have that, no thank you. no. i'm trying to make up for the last thing that i said about -- >> what about the basics? like the shelf fell. >> i told you that story so many times when some of our fencing was coming down around the pool. frank said, i'll take care of it. frank does lots very, very well. he's in a few halls of fame. he goes down there and comes back about five minutes later. like half the fence is down now. i said let's make a call before the entire fence is down. it was like, well, you know, it wasn't as easy as it looks. no kidding. but would i rather have somebody who can do that and doesn't give me what he does? am i making points? >> you're making it up. >> can jay do everything? >> jay doesn't do any handiwork. >> that's why god gave us jerry. >> so here's

radio city. >>shepard: more like early october. no coat. love it. the news begins anew, on "studio b," the former illinois -- he's back. the former illinois governor rod blagojevich would fight and fight and fight. remember? he is awaiting sentencing. makers of the morning after pill are like, look, we want this thing to be available to everyone would wants it or neats it without a prescription. >> experts have not seen assaults like this in the afghanistan since the united states toppled the taliban. all ahead on a busy day in "studio b" today. >> fox news is america elections headquarter and gingrich is continuing his surge in the polls, a new washington post-abc news poll has him ahead in iowa, four weeks before the g.o.p. caucus there, and former massachusetts governor romney and the congressman ron paul in a tie for second. and then the texas governor rick perry is rounding out the top four, and iowa holds the first presidential nominating contest so a win there could be key. romney is the frontrunner in new hampshire and then south carolina. a

so we split the shows because each week there is about 32 shows at radio city.inute of it. i don't think that you can walk on to that stage and strike up your first pose and not enjoy the feeling of being there. >> gretchen: a lot of other women and probably men are thinking issues wow. do they ever have to do any other workouts because they're up there getting all that exercise. do you work out op the side? >> not during the christmas season so much. we like to take dance class and work out, do pilates, yoga. but during the christmas spectacular -- in the show we have eight costume changes. it's very, very strenuous and that's our top priority is making sure we have enough energy to get through the show. >> gretchen: it's an amazing show and it's so nice to have a family affair over at the rockettes today. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> gretchen: coming up on the show, a former f.b.i. agent missing for more than five years now we're finding out, you know where he is? being held hostage in iran. the brand-new details coming up next. then, hav

and i remember in 1963, my dad bringing me down, my family down to see -- we went to the radio city christmasw, then saw the tree. in my wildest dreams i never thought i would host the lighting of the rockefeller center kri mass christmas tree. and that's why this is the greatest country in the world. that i can end up doing this. unbelievable. >> more importantly you're hosting it with that delightful woman in the red velvet there, al. >> all right, set down, piers. yikes, wow. man. you went there -- i didn't even have to wait, tick, tick, tick, and he's there. boom. >> let's move to the second most successful african-american in america, barack obama. what did you make of the incredible moment that he became president? and on a score sheet, if you were the head teacher marking barack obama, how do you think he's really done? forget all the kind of spin and hype and headlines, what do you personally feel? >> well, look, personally from just a standpoint, from an american standpoint, from being an american, seeing this happen i think was just a momentous occasion in this country. and i think

and what happened was about a year ago, when she did a huge show at radio city music hall, i was sitting in the audience with a tremendous number of major celebrities, and her manager came up to me after the show, mr. trump, gaga wants to the see you in the back, nobody else, nobody else. it was a little embarrassing to me. but she was great. she hasn't forgotten. and i know her, and she's a terrific person and a great talent. but we put her on the miss universe contest. and to be honest with you, she was amazing. and the next day, everybody wanted to know, who the hell was that? >> yeah, she's a phenomenal talent. you've got the debate coming up in three weeks. before we go, i want to get a little inkling of what you're going to ask these guys who do turn up, gingrich and the others. what do you think the key issues are? >> i think there are a lot of key issues. you can talk about health care, obama care, what the views are and everything else. you can also talk about opec and talk about how opec is just ripping off this country and how everybody is ripping off the country. that's somet

. >>> hi, we're the world famous radio city rockettes.ere to celebrate the holidays on "the wendy williams show." how you doin'? >> it's time for "wendy." today, the very funny cheryl hines. plus, the outrageous "a list: dallas" cast. plus, lindsay's personal diary exposed. "hot topics," "inside scoop," and all your favorite stuff. now, here's

on this day in 1932, thousands turned out for the grand opening of new york city radio city music halle brainchild of john d. rockefeller jr. he built it as the corner stone of rockefeller complex in a formerly run down manhattan neighborhood. more than 700 films premiered on the stage setting sun the curtains went up 79 years ago

[ cheers and applause ] "radio city christmas spectacular." how new york can you get?it's a game i used to play all the time when i was a kid. it's where you take a story and you fill in some of the nouns, verbs and adjectives with whatever random words you want. it's really fun. and this year, i wanted to combine that with a fallon christmas tradition -- reading "twas the night before christmas." so i enlisted the help of a bunch my friends to fill in the blanks and spice up the story a little. here's our mad libs version of "twas the night before christmas." ♪ >> jimmy: twas the night before christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring. not even a -- >> swiffer. [ light laughter ] >> jimmy: stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that -- >> rod carew -- [ laughter ] >> jimmy: -- soon would be there. the children were nestled all snug in their bedswhile visions of -- >> -- sweet and sour shrimp -- [ laughter ] >> jimmy: -- danced in their heads. and momma in her -- >> -- performance suite -- >> jimmy: -- and i in my cap had just sett