stephanie gosk covering it all. stephanie, thanks for your reporting tonight. >>> in this country, news tonight about health. first, the big headlines about the state of women's health in america. it is dismal in a word. that's what a new report says tonight. more women than just a few years ago are too heavy, have bad blood pressure numbers that are too high and are throwing back too much alcohol. our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has our details. >> reporter: in a ten-year look at women's health in this country, the national women's law center reports that when it comes to meeting government goals to keep woim healthy, the united states is failing. >> it's disconcerting that we have seen so little change over the last ten years. and i think we really need to pay more attention and do more in the coming decade. >> reporter: while no state is given an overall satisfactory grade, 37 states are found to be unsatisfactory, 12 considered outright failures, getting a grade of f. >> what the worst states did so

our own stephanie gosk is at london's paralyzed heathrow airport tonight. and stephanie, a british friend of mine e-mailed today to say "this country is in shambles," at least it must seem that way where you are tonight. >> reporter: it certainly does, brian. a lot of people here are in shock. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas, but for those passengers stuck in heathrow the last couple of days, it's beginning to feel a lot like a nightmare. the snow fell saturday morning, just five inches in one of the world's largest and busiest airports ground to a halt. two days later with only one runway cleared, a majority of flights were canceled. two terminals were shut down in the middle of the day. officials told passengers, no booking, don't bother. >> airports like chicago that have much more snow on an annual basis and they're able to have flights go out every day all winter. >> reporter: the earliest the airport will operate at full capacity is wednesday morning. but officials admit the backlog could last through christmas. until then, the stranded lin

stephanie gosk is live tonight in london. hey, stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. a major criminal investigation has been launched into what is being called the worst security failure in this country in a decade. just moments before the attack, the royal couple were doing what they normally do. waving and smiling, windows open. until a violent group of protestors who, moments before smashed shop windows, surrounded the vintage rolls-royce. >> off with their heads! >> reporter: when the crowd turned, photographer matt dunham was there. dunham captured what has now become the definitive photo of the attack. >> the first thing i could see was camilla clearly terrified. >> reporter: today, charles was pinning medals on royal navy pilots, as scheduled. camilla, the future king says, is fine, and so is he. but the london police are under fire. some are calling the failure in security an embarrassment. >> the unpredictability on how they moved about the couple yesterday meant that the protection officers were

stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. >> in the stunning case in dayton, ohio, a police officer got a helping hand from a good samaritan. this all started as aoutine traffic sto jonathan cedar pulled the car over because it had a missing headlight. the driver of the car became belligerent, resist add rest and began to fight. during the struggle, coleman tried to grab the officer's gun and taser. a woman passing by ran up and beat coleman in the head. the woman is credited for stopping what could have been a deadly situation. coleman is facing a lot of charges. >>> dramatic dashcam video on a highway in ohio. the car slammed into the vehicle thatas stopped on the side of the road. that car hit the police officer, and the man he was talking to. both were injured and both were taken to the hospital. but ey are expected to be okay. >>> twitter has become the water cooler of the 21century. so what was the buzz for 2010? the gulf oil spill, theorld cup, the movie "inception" and the earthquake in haiti. the incoming president of brazil runs second behind justin bieber about what you're tweeting abo

. >> stephanie gosk joins me live from london. stephanie, how long is this appeals process expected to take? >> hey, tamron. not that long. it has to be decided within the next 48 hours in british high court. it will certainly dampen the small victory they had with the appeal. should the swedish government lose appeal, assange will be released. there will be conditions. he's going to have to wear an electronic tag. he's going to have to stay at a egistered property in the uk. passport. but it's not all bad news. he has very rich friends. one of them is supporter offered up a 600 acre estate in southern england. he's going to stay there while his legal team fights the extradition to sweden. he's going to have access to the internet, we're told, and all the freedoms of being in the house and being able to move around. he will have to abide by a certain curfew. but he's not in the clear yet. . he still has to get over the challenge of the appeal that we should know about in the next couple of days. tamron? >> greatly appreciate the up

nbc's stephanie gosk is live in london with those details. be intimidating. >> it certainly would. the queen of england is part of the in-law group. you definitely have to be careful as you behave at dinner, for sure. but you know, she went to that event yesterday and met all of the in-laws. it was a difficult day for her. there were a couple of pictures of her coming out afterwards with a big smile on her face. so at the very least, it went well or she was particularly relieved when it was over. you know, it's interesting. kate had met the queen before a couple of years ago at a royal wedding for one of the queen's grandchildren, peter philips. she doesn't have that much contact with the queen. isn't this a familial relationship. we spoke to a royal expert about the subject and this is what she had to say. >> the whole notion that kate and the queen had had intimate lunches together or cups of tea by themselves is not true. really, kate has had very little interaction with the queen because the queen is so busy. >> one possible interaction w

for "today," stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. >>> now 19 minutes after the hour. here's amy. >> lester, thank you. with the holiday season comes another tradition many of us are very familiar with. tipping. and from your hair stylist to your baby-sitter, it's not easy knowing just how much to give. msnbc financial analyst vera gibbons has some tips for holiday tipping. >> tiz the season. >> yes, it is. and everyone has their hand out, right? we know that there are certain areas where, it's very typical to tip during the holiday. how do we consider or determine who we should give to? >> you should be tipping everyone who's provided you with personal services over the course of the year. just a nice thing to do to show them you appreciate their hard work. how much gets a little bit tricky. it's going to depend on their level of service, how long you've worked with them, whether or not you tipped throughout the course of the year, and most importantly your budget. >> so there's no right number for everybody? >> but we do have some guidelines for you. >> and i think t

. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much. >>> coming up next, the legal setback for president obama's health care overhaul. virginia governor bob mcdonell and stephanie cutter, special assistant to president obama from the white house, both joining us. plus as flags fly today at half staff at the state department, we remember richard holbrooke. with us, ambassador christopher hill, his close friends. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] clear some snow. ♪ or spread a little warmth. [ cellphone rings ] [ wife ] honey, where are you? i have no idea. [ female announcer ] maxwell house gives you a rich full flavored cup of coffee so you can be good to the last drop. try maxwell house coffee and cappuccinos in the tassimo single cup home brewing system. aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. the first time since president obama signed the mammoth overall, a federal judge ruled a ke

nbc's stephanie gosk is in london with how the bride-to-be is not exactly your typical british royal. >> one of the queen's eight grandchildren, daughter to princess anne and 12th in line to the throne. the timing of her engagement to rugby player mike tindell on the heels of that other big announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. >> when we waited for a royal wedding for such a long time and for two to come at once, it's a bit of a shock. >> reporter: the announcement was low key from a couple that has lived together for years. zarra has always been one of her grandmother's favorites, noted for her fashion sense, edgier and less conservative than the other bride-to-be. and gently criticized at times for less than royal behavior. the 29-year-old is the only grandchild with a pierced tongue. zarra started riding horses when she was four and is now an accomplished equestrian, winning a gold medal at the world games her brrlth peter married his wife autumn, a canadian in 2008. famously it was when kate middleton met the queen for the first time. peter and zara will be joining the queen

stephanie gosk is at buckingham palace with details. >> reporter: good morning, matt, on a rare snowyn. it's intimidating for anyone to meet the future in-laws anywhere, but imagine meeting the entire extended family. aunts, uncles, cousins who also happen to be dukes, duchesss, princes and princesses and the party's being thrown by your fiance's grandmother, the queen of england. kate middleton isn't officially a member of the royal family yet, but an invitation to the queen's annual christmas lunch ---both kate and william attended the annual gathering at buckingham palace on thursday. >> this is the first time she met the entire royal family in one place at the same time and royal experts say it had to be an extremely daunting experience. >> and kate has only met the queen once before. >> the whole notion that kate and the queen have had lunches together or cups of tea by themselves is not true. really kate has had very little interaction with the queen because the queen stays busy. >> reporter: kate is smiling from ear to ear, perhaps a sign that everyone went well, perhaps a sign

stephanie gosk is at buckingham palace with the details. >> reporter: good morning, savannah.erhaps it's the power of suggestion or maybe there's something in the water at the palace. somewhere another royal wedding. zara phillips and mike tindall were engaged on monday night. they have yet to announce their wedding date. we can be reasonably sure of one thing. it's not going to be april 29th. zara phillips is one of the queen's eight grandchildren, daughter to princess ann and 12th in line to the throne. the timing of engagement to rugby player mike tindall on the heels of that other big announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. >> we've waited for a royal wedding for such a long time. >> reporter: the couple's engagement photos were less formal than those of kate and william, the ring slightly smaller. the announcement was deliberately low key from a couple who has lived together for years. zara has always been one of her grandmother's favorites, noteded for her fashion sense, edgier and less conservative than the other bride to be and gently criticized at times for less th

. >> you don't have to take after anybody, you are one of a kind, stephanie gosk. the hair cut. >> it's got to be an a-plus. the idea that sh girl went into her wardrobe, the shirt that she wore was two years old and that's going to come out again, they're going to call it the kate shirt from whistle's. and if you can't get it in the store, you can get it online. this is a chance we're all going to be able to have that kate look. but the idea that she dip into the mall store brands, but also has that princessy moment, is fabulous, modern and absolutely right because the public is lapping this up. >> what about her hairstyle? >> i think her hair is classic and beautiful, i think it's hard to look classic and beautiful, it's supershiny and just very natural looking and modern. >> she also looks great in an up do as well. >> do you think she's going to make the mark on fashion that diana did? >> we're desperate for someone back in eveningland to make a m. we loved it the first time, and we're going to love it again. and i think everyone's a little bit nervous that she

. >> all right, stephanie gosk. thank you very much. >> christopher, welcome back.e royal china. cy need your opinion. >> i can hardly wait to see the doves. >> this is not an official book. i don't want people to think when they were engaged you sat down and spent four weeks slaving away at a book, since this has been in the works for a while, so has the book. >> i have been working on this story for about 30 years, covering the royals, three books. my sources told me a year ago that they would be married in the spring of 2011, and count on it, even though the palace was saying it won't happen any time soon. all of the people in the british media thought it wouldn't happen until 2012 or later, so i got to cracking on the book, and i've been working on it now for about a year. >> i'm going to get right to the book. 64% in a recent poll, 64% of people in the uk said they would like prince william and kate to be next in line to the throne. and what you basically suggest in the book is that there is a possibility that the queen is considers abdicating in order to get w