good morning. terror plot. a u.s. citizen is accused of trying to carry out a car bomb attack at a crowded christmas tree lighting in portland, oregon. we'll have the very latest on this developing story. shock and awe. the holiday shopping season kicks off with a mad dash for rock bottom bargains. but can great deals this weekend help jump-start the nation's economy? and in stitches. president obama takes one to the lip in a pickup basketball game. so how rough does it get on the court with the president? we'll talk to someone who knows. "today," saturday, november we'll talk to someone who knows. "today," saturday, november 27th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

>> and good morning. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm amy robach. >> and i'm carl quintanilla in for lester holt. we know the president loves his basketball but things got a little bit too heated yesterday. >> 12 stitches. that's not just a little mishap. there he was icing his lip. and apparently the guy who hit him, by accident, called the president a tough competitor, but a good sport. >> he's in an undisclosed location this morning. we'll which heal more about that story. also this morning, just in time for the holiday rush home, parts of the northeast could get up to a foot of snow this weekend. we'll get more on the winter weather coming up. >> plus survival at sea. the incredible story of three teenage boys who were lost in the pacific ocean for 50 days. they were presumed dead and even memorial services for the boys had been held. but then came the amazing rescue, and a story you have to hear. we're going to bring it to you just ahead. >> and then tiger woods. his world unraveled one year ago today. he lost his marriage, he lost

endorsements, but now, he says he's feeling great. we will look back on the year that changed everything. >> and if you're a fan of the '80s then you have to love duran duran, right? >> and you do. >> yes, apparently. on "today's" teen idol i chose them. i got to meet them. they look great. they were so, just -- i was so impressed by them. they still had it. >> yes. simon, nick rhodes. will we see pictures of you? >> do i hear a fan? >> oh, yes. >> will we see pictures from you back in the '80s? >> unfortunately that was a part of the tease i was forced to thand over. you can make fun of me a little later. we begin with that alleged terror plot in portland, oregon. nbc's pete williams joins us live from washington with more on all of this. good morning, pete. >> reporter: amy, good morning. though there never was a real bomb in this, federal prosecutors say the man they arrested after months of investigation had a very real intent to cause widespread death and injury. fbi agents arrested 19-year-old mohammed osman mohamud, a

naturalized u.s. citizen born in somalia on friday night after he tried to detonate what he thought was a van packed with explosives. he thought he was getting help from terrorists, the government says, but they turned out to be working undercover for the fbi. court documents say it was mohamud who came up with the idea last august of setting off a bomb at the annual christmas tree lighting ceremony in portland. investigators say he wanted to kill, quote, a huge mass of people with their families. they say during the past several months he bought bomb components and practiced setting off explosives but the fbi men he thought were terrorists actually constructed a fake bomb. they arrested him friday night after he repeatedly dialed a cell phone number that he thought would set it off parked near the crowd at the ceremony. law enforcement officials say they began investigating mohamud after receiving a tip that he was intensely interested in committing violent jihad. agents monitored his e-mail communication with a former college student who went to the tribal areas in pakistan, where terrorists are known to operate in.

>> all right, pete, so he's been arrested. but what happens now? what's next? >> well, he'll be in court on monday. and now the fbi will be looking at whether anyone else was involved. all indications are he was acting alone. >> okay, pete williams in washington with the latest, thank you. and now here's carl. >> amy, thanks. now to the start of a holiday shopping season. it officially began on friday. and it's now in full gear with millions seeking out bargain basement deals. nbc's mike taibbi is live at the manhattan mall here in new york. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. just opening up here at the manhattan mall. after a flat holiday sales last year, and a disastrous 2008, the national retail federation is planning to see some good news. they're predicting a modest 2.3% increase in holiday sales, among other signs that retail may finally be slowly leading the way out of the country's deep recession. and on black friday all those signs were on display. the crowds were huge. a lot of leading retailers

opening earlier than in past years. shoppers had to start sooner to try for that specific item at the door buster price. >> a refrigerator, a stove, and a tv. >> we expect so be record shopping season over the last four years. >> reporter: because it is a race there were some tense moments reported. a standoff between two customers who reached for the same item at the same time. >> do not touch me! >> reporter: but mostly the tension this holiday season will be over the bottom line. several bottom lines, actually, that will have a real impact on the broader economy. >> for all the things we don't know, we do know that the road to recovery runs through retail. >> reporter: and retail is tracking every telling trend. is there more self-gifting? so far, 15% of purchases in one survey were people buying for themselves. up from 9% on black friday last year. but still well below the 26% in the last pre-recession year. and how fast will black friday internet sales continue to grow, and to what percentage of

overall sales? it's up a huge 16% this year over last. >> we like to do as much as we can to offer similar deals online and in the stores. >> reporter: and the computer savvy consumer has a lot to sift through this black friday weekend. not just the deals for so-called cyber monday. but for what some are calling small business saturday. a day to support local, nonchain businesses. and then there are the new tablet and smartphone apps that will tell you exactly where in the store to shop. how to get special loyalty discounts, and where to find a better price than the one you're scanning with your own cell phone. new ways to shop. >> but we have to keep something in mind. no matter how strong the holiday season is, the question becomes, what happens after the holiday season? >> reporter: that's for later. right now the experts are saying that some of these new ways we're shopping, these new trends are going to become permanent components of the way we shop from here on in and new ways for retailers to control inventory and cost. but for right now it seems that at least anecdotally black

friday weekend is off to a robust start. carl? >> all right, mike taibbi in manhattan. thanks. now here's amy. >> carl, thank you. industry analysts are crossing their fingers, counting on this being the best holiday season in years. here with more on the shopping outlook is nicole lappen, anchor of cnbc's "worldwide exchange." good morning. >> good morning. >> you're a shopping expert now in >> i try to be. >> black friday is officially behind us. although we call this black friday weekend. expectations were fairly high. how is it shaping up? >> it's expected to be the best black friday in three years and expectations were extremely high going in to black friday. 138 million people were expected to hit the stores. hit the malls. and that's compared to last year, that saw about 134 million people shopping. and we're expecting to see more and more people hit the stores this year, retailers are more hopeful that consumers are back in full force. but compare that to the last two years that we saw flat or negative growth. we're not coming from anywhere spectacular. >> and what does black friday itself say about the overall

holiday shopping season. is it an accurate predictor if you have a good weekend this weekend, does that mean the rest of the season is going to be great, too? >> not necessarily. i looked back at some historical data, and if there was a stellar black friday it didn't necessarily mean that there was going to be a ho-hum holiday season or vice versa. >> i think most of us would think this would be a good predictor or a good way of seeing whether or not consumer confidence has returned in this economy. >> absolutely. but think about it. there's two types of consumers. there are the consumers that have a job and a consumer that doesn't have a job. the consumers that have a job we're expecting them to have more discretionary income to spend on discretionary items like jewelry and makeup and shoes, amy, throughout the holiday shopping season. >> i don't know why you mention my name. >> as i'm looking at your lovely shoes. and the ones who don't look for the sales like black friday and they do all their shopping on this day. >> what about cyber monday? this is going to be a big day or it has been. that phrase has been coined over the past five years. >> we're expected to see uptick of about 2.5%. and remember we said an online

commerce record last year, $887 million was spent online. nine out of ten retailers expect to get some sort of deal this year. let me just get something off my chest. cyber monday, more and more people are saying this is a manufacturer term. this was all about marketing. this was back in the day when online shopping wasn't what it is today. and there's not necessarily a time that people go online to shop. they're shopping potentially right now while they're watching us. they were shopping yesterday. they're shopping tomorrow. not necessarily going on monday at 11:00 in the morning, which is what the term suggests. >> okay. stock market, though, is doing well. so what's the overall predictor for this holiday shopping season? >> well we've seen better than expected data, consumer sentiment is up, we're also seeing us close to our highs in the stock market. so economists are pointing to a lot of good economic indicators. to lead us through a stellar holiday shopping season. and even early indicators from the likes of tiefny, the likes of coach, looking at you again, have been better than expected. >> i like t.j. maxx.

nicole lappen, thanks so much. once again, here's carl. >> amy, thanks. moll day shoppers in parts of the northeast will have to dig out of the snow before they head to the stores. the weather channel's mike seidel is in dayton, new york. mike, good morning. >> good morning, carl. here it is. it's a winter wonderland in the snow belt of western new york. it hadn't snowed in buffalo for 271 days until yesterday. that's the second longest stretch on record. they picked up an inch and a half here. in dayton that same band moved through here early this morning with four inches of that lake effect. what causes lake effect? let's go to the map. it's cold air over the relatively warm lakes, especially in late november. lake temperatures mid to upper 40s. the air above it, teens and 20s. that temperature difference leads to the banding and the snow. sometimes two to three inches an hour. and we're expecting another five to eight inches in some of those areas like in jamestown. buffalo, you're pretty much done. you'll have some sunshine today, a few flakes. how about the forecast? well, the same northwest wind that causes the lake effect is

causing pretty good weather away from the lakes like boston and philadelphia. d.c. you drop from the 60s yesterday behind the front today, 50. that's four degrees below average. in pittsburgh, a dozen down. barely getting above freezing. new york city, boston, great shopping weather. with temperatures in the mid 40s. and carl, these areas average 150 to 200 inches of snow a year so we're just getting started. back to you. >> thanks for that, make. mike seidel in dayton, new york. winter is on its way. >> apparently so. at least for mike. that did not look fun. let's get a check of other headlines making news this morning. lynn berry at the news desk. lynn, good morning. >> good morning, amy and carl. good morning to all of you at home. we're going to begin in south korea where tensions are running high over the north's attack earlier this week, and the government's response. this as north korea is warning the south against tomorrow's planned military exercises. nbc's ian williams is live in seoul with more. ian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. tensions running very high along

the border between the two koreas today. we are just hours away from the beginning of those military exercises between south korea and the u.s. they'll take place in waters to the southwest of here, and of course at the heart will be the nuclear powered aircraft carrier the "uss george washington." with 75 warplanes. now, the north koreans today blasted that exercise saying it was an unpardonable provocation and threatened a sea of fire in retaliation. i should point out, though, that we have seen a lot of rhetoric like that before. now, passions also running high here in south korea. today we saw the funeral of the two marines who were killed in that attack on yeonpyeong island earlier this week, lynn. >> ian williams. even, thank you so much. well, the qantas a380 super jumbo jet took off from sydney today for the first time since an engine explosion earlier this month grounded the fleet. no one was hurt in the incident

attributed to leaking oil. but the company did replace 16 of the rolls-royce engines. ceo allen joyce was among the nearly 500 passengers on today's flight from singapore and london. well, the alabama man who served 18 months in an australian prison over the death of his wife back in alabama is back in alabama rather this week gabe watson was found guilty of killing his wife while scuba diving on their honeymoon. on thursday he was extradited from australia to california. searchers will be back out today in upstate new york looking for 20-year-old jenny lynn watson. the college junior disappeared a week ago after she returned home for the thanksgiving break. and finally, roughing up the president? well, that's exactly what happened during a friendly game of basketball on friday. you could see the commander in chief leaving fort mcnair nursing his lip. then later again, through a window at the white house. president obama needed 12 stitches, after being elbowed by a fellow player.

the elbow in question belonged to an employee of the congressional hispanic caucus institute, who says the president is a good sport. and i'm pretty sure when someone says make a good impression on the president, that's not really what they mean. that's the news. now back to amy. >> also said a tough competitor. >> yes, a tough competitor. >> we can't play anymore. we're done. keep playing, president. >> lynn, thanks. bill karins is here with a check of our forecast. hey, bill. >> it's colder on the east coast. but overall for everyone traveling back from their thanksving destination, it doesn't look all that bad. we're going to see a lot of sunshine in the eastern half of the country. when you head outside this morning the temperatures have plummeted. they're about 20 to 25 degrees cooler right now than at this time yesterday. so if you're taking the dog out for a walk or heading out to the car you'll need the heater on full blast today. temperatures in the midwest, it's warming up. hard to say 32 is warming up in north dakota. but it was bitterly cold the last couple of days. the west coast is the tricky

spot, especially in interstate 80 heading near tahoe. overall, a pretty peaceful weekend weatherwise. . well, today is all about another change in the weather. rain started last night. rain continues through today just through ja just through the afternoon. rain comes in. today, clearing late. then, tonight, it gets cold and, again, we might see snow on our local mountain ranges, not just tahoe. then, sunday, it will get chilly. we will talk about how long this chilly weather is going to last and when our next chance for rain will be. forecast. a amy? >> bill, thank you. we may just be hours away from another massive release of classified military records. once again they're coming from the wikileaks website. it is described as highly sensitive and embarrassing. more from jim miklaszewski. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell

nbc news that the upcoming document release from the website wikileaks contains top secret information so damaging it could threaten senate ratification of the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms control treat we the russians. the information contained in classified state department cables reveals secrets behind the s.t.a.r.t. negotiations and embarrassing claims against russian leadership. information that could provide ammunition to republican opponents of the treaty on capitol hill. >> the russians are not going to be surprised that american officials say derogatory things about them. what they'll be extremely upset about is that it's being leaked to the public. >> reporter: there's also serious concern that some of the leaks could threaten u.s. counterterrorism operations on two fronts, afghanistan and yemen. in afghanistan where president hamid karzai has already come under fire for afghan corruption and questions about his mental stability, u.s. officials say the secret cables reveal new and

more embarrassing claims about his personality and private life. perhaps more troublesome, the leaks reportedly include top secret information about u.s. military and intelligence operations against al qaeda in yemen. and some critical dispatching about yemen's president. u.s. officials fear those leaks could not only threaten u.s. military operations but jeopardize future cooperation from both countries on two critical war fronts. >> anything that's released that is publicly embarrassing will complicate our effort to fight the enemy in those two countries. >> reporter: this will be the third release by wikileaks. the controversial founder of the website. julian assange, who is facing rape charges, the coming months will see a new world where global history is redefined. keep us strong.

but how did they get leaks of classified documents? u.s. officials say the prime suspect remains private bradley manning, an army intelligence officer in baghdad who is now in custody charged with illegally downloading thousands of classified documents, many of which have already been released by wikileaks. pentagon and state department officials have launched a massive damage control campaign calling all those world leader who may have been mentioned or maligned in these documents. but they say there's so many, they may not get to all of them before tomorrow. for "today," jim miklaszewski, the pentagon. >> now here's carl. a revealing look at life in the west wing. author and political analyst richard wolffe gained extraordinary access to the president for his new book "revival, the struggle for survival inside the obama white house." richard, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i want to talk a lot about what's in the book, but the news of the day involves this injury

in the basketball game. is it indicate ib of his style of play. >> these are tough games. >> you have played several times. >> not because of my height or skill but because they needed bodies. this is what we lack in finesse, we make up for with the physical stuff. it's rough, it's competitive. this is a president who i suspect if he had wore a mask guard he would have been fine, but he likes to trash talk. >> was it bound to happen? >> everyone plays close together. he was defending. he's defended me. sometimes you get there a bit late and someone moves to the basket quick. yeah, of course, i bet the first lady is not too happy. >> you spent 21 months covering the campaign. that's one reason why you had so much access to the white house. what has surprised you most about how they operate? >> the most surprising thing to me is the swings from failure to success. one of the reason s i call the

book revival is because he's been written off so many times before. the transition from campaigning to governing is something they've been wrestling with all the way through. and they are now. what's the balance with these newly empowered republicans as they try to campaign against them but also try and run the country. and the revival piece of this is that there are those folks who want to get back to the campaign days. that's ha they want to revive. >> you divide the white house into two groups. a group that wants to really change the way washington operates and another group that says we have to do business in this town. >> that's right. and i call one side revivalist and the other side survivalists. but if you want to go with the ways of washington, do the deal, then you undermine what this candidate and president said he wanted to do in 2008 which is reform, change, transparency. along the way there's a feeling that he's drifted away from that 2008 spirit precisely because the pull of levers in

washington. >> michelle obama you argue is disappointed in at least the clarity of the message. >> the early part of this year as they were written off, left for dead, when they lost in massachusetts, the president said he was getting a hard time from the first lady. she was unhappy with the message. unhappy that he'd been portrayed as the guy to blame for the economy and had lost this message of change. she weighs in at least in the account of the president to his senior aides. >> he's gotten knocks over his pursuit of the health care deal. you say it really does stem to an extremely personal experience. >> right. this is a president -- when you ask why did he want to risk his presidency on this? why did he want to put so much on health care, you can see it when he signed the health care bill into law in if east room, he got extremely emotional, fighting back the tears. a lot of that comes from his mother's experience, struggling with insurance companies, with terminal cancer. those are the storied that motivated him through campaigning for health care.

it comes down to that personal thing that is surprising for someone that we think of as cool and detached from politics. >> do you think they underestimated the degree to which the gop had changed? >> absolutely. this is something that rahm emanuel told me through the reporting of "reviva"revival," s the gop. there was no bob dole, they were trying to find something that didn't exist any more. and that was a big miscalculation. >> the second half of the term going to make 2012 look like the midterms? or will it be better? >> i think they are now very aware that they have to get back to that campaigning spirit of 2008. if they're not the change candidate, then we're in for a forced change election and they'll find themselves on the wrong side of it. >> the book is "revival" by richard wolf. >> thank you. >> one year after the scandal hit, a look back at his life changing year. [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties

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keurig. still to come, the royal wedding. how you may be able to see it in a whole new way. >> plus the incredible rescue of three teens after 50 days adrift at sea. but first these messages. an

rain started last night and continues today and then some more cold air. not as cold as it was. today, clearing late. tonight, gets cold. dropping syllables might see snow on our local mountain

ranges. sunday, it will get chilly. we will talk about how long the chilly weather will last and when our next chance for rain will be. today, when it comes to holliday shopping, it is not all about the big bucks stores. small businesses are making a play for you the shoppers on the first-ever black saturday. american express is behind the movement to get people to shop local mom and pop stores "today in the bay" area. the city of martinez is hosting small business saturday with many main street businesses offering specials throughout the day. there are an estimated 28 million small businesses in the u.s. this morning, the results are in on the buying bonanza known as black friday. across the country, stores are reporting more customers in stores than last year. they are expecting holliday stores to bring in more than $447 billion, a 2.3 increase over last year. experts say extended store hours

and early store openings on thanksgiving day gave black friday a much-needed sales boost. what can good little boys and girls expect in their holliday stockings this year? here is walmart's list of the top selling toys offered. number five the switch kick scooter. number four, bash by doll. number three, the radio controlled new bright vehicle. coming in second, zhu zhu pets. the hottest selling toy, hot wheels ten-pack toy cars. who knew. up in sierra, skiers and snowboarders are giddy as kids on christmas morning. resorts are reporting conditions like they normally see in the middle of winter and the best early skiing they have seen in decades. squaw valley has seen eight feet of snow and twice the number of visitors they had last season. al pie meadows said a recent storm dropped 6 to 9 feet on the slopes. still of plenty of things to do even if you don't ski or

snowboard. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay." we have a story about party buses. some people say they are nightclubs on wheels. who is ultimately responsible if the fun turns deadly? we found a legal loophole that could mean it is last call for one popular party favorite. that story is coming up for you at 7:00 and more local news coming up for you in 30 minutes. right now, more of the "today" show. morning, november 27th,

2010. you're taking a look at the rockefeller center christmas tree. the 74 foot pine tree weighs 12 tonights and it will be lit this coming tuesday night right here on nbc. back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach along with carl quintanilla, who is filling in for lester. and coming up in this half hour, it's being called the divorce curse. women who make more money than men, and it's causing problems at home. are the higher incomes actually causing the couples to divorce? we're going to have a surprising answer. >> interesting story. then there's tiger woods. believe it or not it has been one year since this

life-changing scandal first surfaced. tiger says he is thankful and is feeling better each and every day. but can he ever recover from the damage? we will take a look back and have a closer look. >> and then we're going to continue our series on the pop culture icons who influenced our lives. for lester it was the partridge family. today it's my turn with the '80s pop band duran duran. the videos, the styles, the songs. and guess what? the band is still going strong, as i found out when i met them in london. that's coming up in our next half hour. they were so funny, and so cute still. i was really impressed. you know you have low expectations sometimes when someone was your idol. >> oh, yeah, of course. >> they met and exceeded all that. >> it sounds like they feel like they're going to play for awhile. >> they have a new album coming out. >> trying to impress with my duran duran knowledge. >> first we begin with what's being called the miracle rescue at sea. three teenage boys from the south pacific were lost at sea in their small aluminum boat. that was back in early october.

50 days later, they were found, alive. nbc's lee cowan has more. >> reporter: rarely has a pair of sea legs been so happy to set foot on dry land. three teenage castaways, adrift for almost two months. managed to walk off the fishing boat that found them with just enough energy for a smile. >> are you glad to be alive? >> yes. >> reporter: for 50 days they've been a speck in the south pacific, a floating needle in a haystack of blue that new zealand's air force was unable to find. their families even held a memorial, fearing the ocean had claimed the trio for good. now, on that string of tiny islands in tokelau that they call home, they're saying the ocean gave back a miracle. >> oh, we're so happy. everyone is so happy. all of tokelau people are so happy that, oh, what a story. >> reporter: the three had set off back in october to find love, it's rumored.

a girl on a neighboring island. but not far from samoa their outboard stopped, leaving them at the mercy of the current that carried them some 800 miles off course. it was in a pretty lonely part of the south pacific, rarely traveled and well outside the major shipping lanes. and yet for some reason, a tuna boat decided to take that very heading home, and was shocked to see another boat off its bow. >> they were just skin and bones. the skin was falling off their bones practically. but, they were just overwhelmed. >> reporter: they had survived on rain water, a few coconuts, raw fish, and one unlucky sea gull. if their home was to impress a girl, their story of survival undoubtedly will do the trick. but first, they may have to explain to their grateful parents what on earth they were thinking. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. >> you can kind of jest a little

because it did have a happy ending but they're calling this girl the siren of the sea. >> i wonder how long to take the parents to kiss them, i'm so glad you're home to hitting them upside the head. >> we're all glad they're safe and sound at home. now for a check of the weather with bill out on the plaza. >> good morning, everyone on this saturday. wonderful crowd. this is a wonderful time of year. we love this. how are they doing down there? >> great. we made it to new york. >> it's a beautiful place, right? >> yeah. >> i heard you guys are giving out kisses this morning? >> no. >> hershey kisses from pennsylvania. >> okay. >> it said kisses there. what are you talking about, weather guy. let's give you the forecast as we go throughout this weekend. everyone that's going to be traveling we're going to see pretty ideal weather conditions. we do have snow showers off the great lakes through lake erie and ontario. also looking at a storm system out west that will move through the central rockies. utah will get more snow and colorado into sunday. the airport should be looking

really nice as we go throughout saturday and sunday for everyone returning home. for today, all but another change in the weather. rain started last night an continues through today through the afternoon. some more cold air comes in. thankfully, not quite as cold as it was. today, clearing late. then, tonight, it gets cold and again dropping syllables might see some snow on our local mountain ranges, not just in tahoe. on sunday, chilly. coming up, we'll talk about how long this chilly weather is going to last and when our next chance for rain will be. weekend forecast or hour by hour forecast, weather.com. >> all right, bill, thank you. coming up, the divorce curse. what it means for women making more money then they're husbands. >> plus, time to buy. what the housing market looks like for you this holiday season. but first these messages. od for 23 yards. - hey. he went to jared. - that's a peerless diamond. the ideal ideal-cut diamond.

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money than their husbands may be a good thing for the family income, but as you'll see, it may also lead to divorce. in today's economy, women are taking the reins of the american workforce. and bringing home the bacon. ♪ takin' care of business >> in nearly one-third of marriages, the wife is better educated than her husband, a in 22% of couples, she's also the primary bread winner. >> and what we're really seeing is around the world, women in the job market and of course with this, we're beginning to see growing economic equality between the sexes. >> reporter: but what's padding the pocketbook could be hurting marriages. >> my husband was very supportive of my career, he wanted me to be successful. but, he didn't want me to be more successful. >> reporter: antoinette banks is a lawyer in new york city. when see saw her salary skyrocket, her relationship went south. >> i think he had the expectation of being the primary breadwinner. >> reporter: a recent study found women who make more than

their husbands were 38% more likely to get a divorce. >> it's a very uncomfortable relationship. >> reporter: for laura wellington, being the mother of five and owner of three companies, left little time for her marriage. >> my devotion had to be to the children and work. you know. and all that meshed together. >> it's about expectations. how the family's going to work. it's about the details of the partnership. and they can become extremely complex when people went into a marriage with certain expectations and those expectations are not fulfilled. >> expectations and income could be a bad combination for some marriages. matt titus is a relationship expert and danica voice is known as a financial fitness coach. it's a huge issue and makes a lot of sense. broadly, why does it always come down to money? why is it such a huge issue in marriage? >> because it's very emotional.

we're very connected to it from the time we interact with our families and our friends. it really dictates the way so many people interact with each other so it is a very emotional things it's used to show love. it's used to take away love. it's used if you get good grades. so we do have an expectation that money equals the amount or how much we love someone. >> and for so long, for so many decades women marry in large degree for financial security. and as their incomes have gotten better, i guess, there's less reason to stick around if it's not working out. >> two primary reasons that we got married in the past was to pro-create and to provide. and women, at this point, don't need those two things from men anymore, or as much as they used to. >> matt, you know this personally, right? you lived through this exact scenario. >> when i got married my wife was making six to seven times as much as i was. i was just out of a divorce, i was on my attorney's couch. it was disastrous. i said how can i feel wanted and needed? what do i need to do? what's lacking from a woman that has career success, she's

financially solvent. what's lacking is maybe emotional and physical intimacy. maybe it's just being there to listen to her problems. >> how did you handle the situation? what steps did you take? >> i was smart about it. i looked at the situation, i said what is she lacking? what can i do? i can give her a family home, more of a family life. more of a stability factor. what can i do? the main dishwasher, dogs i've walked, and homes i'm taking care of. so my career, you know, actually exceeded her career. she was smart enough to see those things in me and if the guy is smart, he'll know how to handle a woman without knowing that she's being handled. and that -- >> that's true. >> and maybe part of the secret, is for the woman who's making more money, to say, i may not need you as much financially, but i still need you. >> exactly. and that need is so important. because we as women want to be wanted. men need to be needed. and so when we can do that, exactly as matt said, there are so many things that money can't buy, but the emotional piece is huge. and to have someone to talk to

at the end of the day, and to really have someone who is going to be affectionate and to have someone who is going to hug you and embrace you, those are the things that money can't buy. those are what women are still fundamentally looking for. >> women need that. she needs emotional support. she needs someone to say how was your day? what can i do? here's a different perspective, to make your career better. if you're a guy, it's lacking, money, do that for your wife. >> in most cases, matt, do you think it's generally the guy's problem? the guy's issue? >> absolutely. because we've been socialized to be the provider. we're the ones that take care of everything. >> and you have to adjust. >> yeah, and if you can't, you're the weaker sex. don't do that. be strong. >> fascinating stuff. still to come this morning, a year in the life. looking back on the tiger woods sex scandal. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] this weekend let's take the holidays by the antlers... expand our toolboxes... and fill our sleighs to capacity.

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this morning on "today's real estate," the housing market during this busy holiday season, with home sales up recent months many people want to know if now is the right time to buy. with us is "today" real estate reporter barbara cork man. >> good morning, amy. >> we have record low mortgage rates and serious bargain prices. but have we really hit bottom? >> everybody wants to know that. and i'm telling you, nobody has the answer. depends entirely on where you live. right now, as of last month, half the towns across america had homes that were losing value and exactly half have values going up. but there's ways you could tell, before your neighbor knows, when your town is about to turn and some of them are very easy, like counting the for sale signs in your neighborhood. if you have more than two for sale signs for every three blocks you can count on the fact that prices are going down. the other is keep your eye on the cheapest homes in your neighborhood. even if you're looking to buy a more expensive home, because real estate always recovers from the bottom up. and once the cheapest houses start moving off the block, the

high priced houses soon follow. >> all right. you also have tips for deciding whether it's the right time for you to buy. first you want people to think with their right brain when it comes to real estate. what do you mean? >> i know it sounds silly but i think all the best decisions in life come out of the heart and real estate is no different than all. moving for a bigger backyard, a better neighborhood, the prettier view, might not sound like enough of a reason to move but my mind those are the people that wind up the happiest in their houses. the people who trust what their heart is telling them to do. >> you say another thing to do is keep your ears open at cocktail parties. >> i know we've all been at a party where some big mouth guy drives you crazy but the minute you hear him bragging about a steal of a deal on a house he just bought, that's the time the market is going to be all set to turn around because it's coming to the mainstream. when that guy is mouthing off what's happening as everybody else is about to go into the market because it's being talked about. it's not embarrassing anymore. >> and this is another interesting barometer. you say when young people move in to your neighborhood, the prices go up.

how can you tell if young people are moving into your neighborhood? >> well, certainly go online and check the demographic. but i think the easier way is to simply count how many new cars are in the neighborhood. young people always buy inexpensive new cars and if you see a lot of those it means there's a lot of jobs to be had. if there are a lot of jobs it means the real estate market is going to be fine. >> most of the tips you're dealing with kind of personal matters, personal feelings, but there's one question you say you can ask a realtor. that will really take the emotion out of it for all of us. what's the question you need to ask? >> the question that half the realtors out there cannot answer, really should have the answer to, and that is, you should ask them what is happening in that town with the average surprise per foot of a house. the reason you want to ask per foot, not what does this sell for, what does that sell for, is because per foot, you can't mess with. it's a real number that you could watch month to month, and see if prices are going up or down. and so, that's really the one number you should have your eye on. >> so it's good to have your eye

on whether or not it's the right time to buy in general. you'll also say it's important to ask yourself if it's the right time to buy for you. >> for you personally is where it's at. heck i know so many people have made the wrong decisions using their analytical skills. usually men i might say. but if a woman could weigh in and say i just love it, i feel we'd be happy there, that's always the best spot to come from. >> we always like to trust our gut. barbara corcoran, thanks so much. we're back, but first, this is "today" on nbc. lightning fast. lightning strong.

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good morning. don't forget your umbrella. there is rain in the forecast. here is jennifer hill with a look at the forecast. spotty rain around the area. with it, some really cold air is coming in. that will drop the snow levels down to 2500 feet. a lot of snow in the sierra nevada. let's put this in motion as the futurecast model. let's get to 12:00 today.

we still see the showers coming through. some breaks here in the clouds. clouds are these gray things here. the green is really the rain we are expecting as we get into the afternoon. we start to see lighter rain showers coming in. by the time we get to this evening, just a few remaining showers moving from north to south affecting the east bay and down through the peninsula and south bay as well. then, it is going to get cold. we see the clouds moving out. that will allow for a lot of cooling. for sunday, don't see a lot of rain in the forecast. temperatures will be cold yet again. we will see more rain chances coming our way later this week as well. for the weekend, a little bit rainy. a march through san francisco's castro district will mark the 32nd anniversary of a tragic day in the city's history. on this day in 1978 that supervisor harvey malk and mayor george moscone any were gunned down by former supervisor dan

white. tonight, the annual memorial begins at 6:00. at 6:45, a march will begin. speakers at the vigil which include former supervisor barry brit and carol migman a cleve jones, the founder of the project. this morning, a teenager is behind bars accused of plotting to set up a bomb during a christmas tree lighting ceremony. the fba and police in portland, oregon arrested 19-year-old mohammed after he tried to designate a van rigged with explosives. they have been monitoring him for months. he was e-mailing a person believed to have terrorist ties in pakistan. police say that the device inside that van parked near the holiday celebration in portland was a dud. he could face life in prison.

coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," a big change. the home game means the end of an 87-year-old sports legacy as we know it. more local news coming up in 30 minutes. right now, here is more of the "today" show. [ woman on tv ] if you won't let me in, you can't really love me. i know about gayle. i don't know what you're talking about. if you just tell me what happened... [ ding ] [ man ] 35th and archer. next stop hamilton. [ brakes hiss ] ♪

[ male announcer ] u-verse brings you entertainment across all three screens on your tv, smartphone and online. now get up to $300 back via promotion cards. at&t. rethink possible. it's 8:00 now on this saturday morning. the 27th day of november, 2010. we have a great crowd this morning. we want to thank everyone who's come out to the plaza to spend part of their morning with us. i'm amy robach along with carl quint neleh in for lester holt this morning. >> good to be here. a little chilly. >> it is a little chilly. but it feels appropriate. >> for fall. >> it's nice to have you here. >> thank you, good to be here. >> coming up this half hour we're going to talk about tiger woods at a crossroads. hard to believe but exactly one year ago today the tiger woods sex scandal hit. his life, his career, his reputation, all changed. now he's speaking out and as you'll see he's grateful for

what he has. but can he put it all behind him. we'll talk about that. >> also coming up, all eyes are on britain's future princess kate middleton. how is she holding up in the royal spot light? we'll talk to one of her friends and find out what a new book reveals about prince william and kate's romance. >> and then, the scam alert. you know it's a big season for buying and shopping from online tricks to credit card cons. we're looking out for you this holiday season with some expert advise that will keep you from becoming a target. that's all ahead. >> but first we're going to tell but the latest on the fbi's sting in portland, oregon, where investigators say a teenager was plotting a car bomb attack during a christmas tree lighting ceremony there. nbc's pete williams is in washington with the details. pete, good morning. >> reporter: amy, good morning. the fbi says there never was any danger at the tree lighting ceremony because there never was a real bomb. but agents say the man they arrested thought it was real and wanted to cause death and

injury. 19-year-old mohamed osman mohamud was arrested friday night after he tried to detonate what he thought was a van packed with explosives. court documents say it was mohamud who came up with the idea last august of setting off a bomb at the christmas tree lighting ceremony. investigators say he wanted to kill, quote, a huge mass of people with their families. they say during the past several months he bought bomb components and practiced setting off explosives. he worked with two men he thought were terrorists but were actually working for the fbi. they helped him build what turned out to be a fake bomb. they arrested him friday night after he helped assemble the components, rode in the van to the ceremony and then repeatedly dialed a number on a cell phone that he thought would set it off. >> the big question, how law enforcement actually found out or now about mohamud's plans to form this terror plot. >> law enforcement officials say that they started investigating him after they got a tip that he was intensely interested in committing violent jihad. and then agents monitored his e-mail communications with a

former college student who went to the tribal areas in pakistan where terrorists are known to operate in. >> all right, pete williams with the latest. thank you, pete. now to the holiday shopping rush. a lot of retailers hoping that shoppers turn out for the bargains, and bringing them a profit. nbc's mike taibbi is live at the manhattan mall in manhattan. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. the shoppers have been showing up, anecdotally at least a huge black friday opening yesterday here at the manhattan mall in manhattan. i think the doors just opened, people are starting to trickle in right now. the numbers at least again anecdotally all look pretty good. the national retail federation is estimating a modest improvement this year, about a 2.3% increase in holiday sales over last year. that after a flat year last year and a disastrous 2008. but everything looks pretty good. one other stat, don't gift it as a measure of how the economy is doing. 50% of those asked say they're buying for themselves first or only for themselves as opposed to 9% last year. another indication that at least so far black friday weekend

looks like it's off to a pretty good start. >> how is the success or lack of success of black friday sales, how is it being measured? >> they measure every way they can. they look at the size of the crowds who show up, the early opening yesterday, macy's says its crowd of 7,000 here in manhattan was twice as big as the year before. they count the cars in the parking lots of the mall, supposedly up 12%. even here in manhattan, the improvement district had kids out counting the number of shopping bags per hour that they see. that number also up from last year. so far everything looks good. the real report card when they get the actual sales figures after this black friday weekend. >> mike thanks a lot. >> i was going to say the same thing, there's nothing wrong with self-gifting. let's head now back inside to lynn berry who is at the news desk with a look at the other top headlines. good morning. >> good morning, amy and carl. good morning, once again, to all of you. we begin in south korea. where tensions are escalating over the north's attack earlier this week. and there are dire warnings

against tomorrow's planned military exercises between the u.s., and south korea. nbc's ian williams is live in seoul with more. ian, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. passions running extremely high here in south korea today, where they've been holding the funerals of the two young marines who died in tuesday's attack on yeonpyeong island. now this funeral was broadcast live nationwide, and during it the commander of the south korean marines threatened what he called thousand fold revenge for that attack. now, also, today we've seen a series of protests here in seoul, urging tougher action by the south korean government. it comes just hours before this joint military exercise between south korea and the u.s., which will take place in waters just to the southwest of here. now, at the heart of that operation, of course, will be the "uss george washington," the aircraft carrier with 75 warplanes on board. the island where that clash took

place tuesday has been the scene of a big cleanup operation after the attack. but also the authorities going door-to-door to make sure that civilians have evacuated ahead of this exercise, lynn. >> nbc's ian williams. even, thank you. secretary of state hillary clinton has reached out to several countries in advance of this weekend's expected release of classified state department cables by the website wikileaks. the communications are said to include candid assessment of foreign leaders and could embarrass the u.s. president obama is recovering today after getting 12 stitches on his lip. the commander in chief got roughed up just a bit in a friendly game of basketball on friday. he was elbowed by an employee of the congressional hispanic caucus institute, who said the president is a tough competitor, and a good sport. luckily for him. and maybe that's why the president didn't join his family to welcome the white house christmas tree. mrs. obama, with first daughters

malia and sasha greeted the douglas fir as it arrived by horse and carriage. the 19-foot tree from a pennsylvania farm got the thumbs up from the first family. it will adorn the blue room during the holidays. that's the news. and now back out to amy, who's on the plaza. all right, lynn, thanks so much. we want to check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins, who is also out on the plaza with me. i'm shivering a little bit. >> it's a little cold. 34 out here. and of course, this is thanksgiving weekend, everyone still thankful for so many things. want to introduce you to not just a special boy, he's cute, too, but he's also had a clean bill of health for surviving cancer. this is ward. this is his mother. what would you say through the whole experience? >> we just wanted to appreciate every day that we are blessed with. and life is just -- we try not to sweat the small things now. >> well, congratulations. >> thank you. >> we wish you the best, ward. is this your sister? >> yes. >> hopefully you have many positive and fun years together. >> thank you. >> let's talk about the

forecast. as far a traveling back from our thanksgiving weekend, the west coast is the spot we're having the issues. this is where we have the rain. this is where we have the snow, with the high elevations, especially near tahoe and reno. that's where we could pick up another foot or so. travel will be okay. a little bit of rain for san francisco, sacramento today. ray little bit of snow up in the olympics. east coast looks just fine. just snow showers. well, today is all about another change in the weather. rain started last night and continues through today, just through the afternoon and then some more cold air comes in. thankfully, not quite as cold as it was. so, today, clearing late. then, tonight, it gets cold. dropping syllables might see some snow on our local mountain ranges not just tahoe. sunday, chilly. coming up, we will talk about how long this chilly weather is going to last and when our next chance for rain will be. >> also our friends from ohio and alabama people here.

wonderful people. back to you, carl. >> all right, bill, thanks. now to tiger woods. it's been exactly one year since that mysterious early morning crash outside his florida home. since that moment, everything changed for the golfer, and the way the wolf views him. here's nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: in the year since his plunge into international scandal, tiger woods' life went from bad to worse as he was ripped apart publicly. but now, he says, he's turned a corner, and feels much more balanced. >> amazing, you know, how much better i feel internally each and every day. how thankful i am to have the connection that i have with my kids, and people who mean the most to me. >> he's almost been freed or unshackled by a lot of this stuff. it's ironic such a terrible thing would lead him to feeling this good about himself. >> reporter: until a year ago woods was on top of the world, a billionaire golfing great, flush with endorsements and championships.

but then came a 911 call at 2:25 a.m. in wind mere, florida. >> what happened? what's wrong? >> i have a neighbor, he hit the tree. >> reporter: at first, it seemed a routine car crash. >> tiger woods has been in an accident. his suv ran afoul of a fire hydrant and a tree in the wee small hours of the morning. right outside his house. >> reporter: but soon there were questions, then lurid claims that woods, a married father of two, had a wide range of extramarital affairs, igniting a tabloid frenzy, and destroying his carefully crafted image as a family man. woods lost millions of dollars in endorsements. and many claim he wasn't forthright about what he had done, despite his public apology. >> i am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and self-ish behavior. >> reporter: in the months to come, he and his wife elin divorced. she receiving a reported $100 million settlement. meantime, woods' golf game suffered dramatically.

>> a lot of tiger's not winning in 2010 has to do with the emotional struggle that he went through. >> reporter: a struggle that woods says has now made him a better person and that many fans hope could eventually lead to a comeback. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. and joining us with more this morning, cnbc's sports business reporter ard courtney hazlett, todayshow.com's pop culture correspondent. darren, if we're going to look for a way to measure the come back, look at the number of ads he's been in this year so far, about $700,000 worth. a year ago this time, $70 million worth. >> clearly, carl, the fact that he did not win really impacted him as an endorser. not only did he lose an estimated $25 million in deals, and he lost the ability to forever say, i'm the guy who's untouchable. don't worry about your brand. and i think that was big, electronic arts sold their game with his name on it. sales are off about 30%.

and nike couldn't bring him back because he just didn't win. >> you recently did an interview with his agent who said he expects to see him back in the mainstream in 2011. how likely is that? >> well, i think that there's going to be companies that are going to, you know, want to go forward with him. i think nike's obviously stuck around for a reason. they think he's going to be the number one player in the world again. they think he can win again. the question is, mark steinberg, his agent, told me he's going to get endorsement deals and there's one on the way. who is this tiger woods that you're now investing in? and do you pay a discount versus last year, obviously the year before all this happened. >> courtney, there'ses business side and then there's the personal side. some of the rumors that he is now beginning to date around a little bit. >> there are rumors but they're also very convenient given that this is the one-year anniversary. rumors would surface saying he is seeing women again. i think one of the big mistakes tiger is making right now is he's talking about his feelings. i mean, nobody wants to hear about tiger's feelings. a lot of people's feelings were

hurt here. we don't care that you've grown or whatnot. we want to see a good golfer. at the end of the day he's got to win. >> he did this interview with espn. he's written the op-ed for "newsweek." he is tweeting now, which there are a quarter million followers. >> someone who should not be allowed to twitter. if he couldn't handle the text messages, tiger woods, twitter might not be the best forum to be reaching out to your fans. not only that, and i'm joking around a little bit, but the tweets that he's actually doing are saying, thanks for all the love, fans. no, we're actually following you to see when you make a mistake. not necessarily because we love you. it's turning limb into a caricature of himself. >> and i think it has to be genuine. if he's going to go on twitter and tweet, he's been ribbed all along for the fact that what he's saying, what's coming out of his mouth, is that really him? or is that someone putting words in his mouth, because it is the strategy to recovery. >> how about this game, just his golf game as it is, first year without winning a major championship? in order for this comeback to be complete does he need an award?

does he need a trophy? >> i think so. i mean, we wrote his comeback story. we said, america needs to forgive. and they will. but they won't if he's not the same player. we can't get our minds off what happened. so he's got to win, and he's got to win like he did before in order to be the tiger woods that we once knew. >> he's got the added problem of his apologies not ringing sincere with some people. you argue in order for his comeback to be complete that's got to change. >> that's got to change. he has to actually seem sincere. i think the doushl-edged sword was the fact that tiger was so private earlier, now that we're hearing this personal side of him, it doesn't seem really genuine. had he been genuine with his personal life leading up to this, we'd have something to compare to. but right now all we have to compare it to are all the mistresses. >> amazing as one person said, the higher the reach, he was so successful, the decline makes it all that more remarkable. >> i don't know if he's ever going to get back to that point. >> i think another thing that

has to happen is elin has to move on, maybe get married. and everyone once they see she's okay, because at the end of the day, it was his family that got torn apart is what everybody was so angry about. not because he didn't play golf as well as he used to. but because he tore apart this family unit. if she's okay, tiger's going to be okay. >> it's been a crazy year with lebron james. people say that they hate lebron james more than they hate tiger woods. why? because lebron did something to you. he didn't go to chicago. he didn't go to new york. he did something to you. tiger just did something to himself. >> right. darren, courtney, thanks so much. still to come this morning the royal wedding. how the bride-to-be is holding up under all the pressure. and sneaky scams to watch out for this holiday season. right after these messages. ♪

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create your own memories with charmed memories, one more reason kay is the number one jewelry store in america. - i love it. - santa said you would. no, really. and now to the royal wedding of prince william and kate middleton. this morning a new book is providing us with even more insight into what's being called the greatest love story of the century. joining us now is nbc news royal contributor and longtime friend of kate middleton, jessica hay. jessica, good morning. >> good morning, amy. how are you? >> i'm doing well. and we mentioned you are a good friend of kate middleton. how is she holding up to all of this attention? i know she's dealt with it in pieces up until now. but this is probably at a whole new level. >> yeah, absolutely. she has been with him for a long time so she's had a long time to prepare for what is going to be a massive public occasion in

april. now, i think, from what i've heard, she's holding up pretty well. she's got a good head on her shoulders, as i've said before. and she's a very calm person. of course, it's going to be stressful for her. but she loves william. so, for her, it's just a natural progression. >> i'm sure, as all of us saw what william's mom, princess diana, went through, with the paparazzi, is she prepared for that kind of attention? is she nervous about it? >> i think deep down she's very nervous, obviously, with the past that happened to diana. she obviously doesn't want that kind of thing to happen again. and obviously william doesn't want that to happen to her, either. although she is prepared. i don't think there's going to be so much public scrutiny over her. they're going to give them a lot of privacy. >> just ten days after the announcement of their engagement a new book has hit the shelves called "william and kate: a royal love story." the book has been written by the royal reporter of "the sun."

can you describe what their budding romance was like? >> well, way back when they first started it was just like any other normal couple. they clicked instantly. they have a lot of similar interests. which i think, you know, bodes well for them. and they were just like any other normal couple. they used to go out to parties together. you know, friends, going to the pub. just normal things. and i think that's why they make such a lovely couple. and they haven't changed. they're still exactly the same. they're almost still in their honeymoon period. >> the book has gone so far as to call their romance the greatest love story of the century. that's quite a tall order. is that how you would describe their romance? >> i would describe it as a very, very lovely romance. if you call it the greatest, that's generalizing a lot. but i think it is a very lovely romance. and you know, we're lucky to have those two. because, they do make the world a bit more of a happier place at the moment. >> it is nice to watch them so in love. jessica hay, thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. bye.

>> bye-bye. and we're bang. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today," how to avoid holiday season scams before you hit the mall. >> plus from rio to the reflex, my teen idols duran duran. but first, these messages. ♪ 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. [ both ] 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 at your hallmark gold crown store.

this christmas, make it wonderful [scraping] [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering.

ed to today, . > today, it is all about the weather. rain continues today through the afternoon. more cold air comes in. thankfully, not quite as cold as it was. today, clearing late. tonight, it gets cold and again dropping syllables might see some snow on our local mountain

ranges, not just in tahoe. then, on sunday, it will get chilly. coming up, we will talk about how long this chilly weather will last and our next chance for rain. we are getting a picture of what went wrong the day after a tiger attacked a group of friends at the san francisco zoo. the examiner obtained tapes of those two brothers that survived that christmas day attack. questioning centered on whether the group threw something in like nachos to provoke the tiger. they said, how could we throw nachos at a tiger. the police officer said, i am trying to understand what would make the tiger want to come after you guys. four gunshots were fired into the car of a woman as she drove through los angeles last week. the 64-year-old chasen died from gunshots fired into her mercedes

benz as she turned off sunset boulevard. one of the bullets was a hollow-point bullet that expands after it enters the body causing greater damage. she was on her way home from a star-studded premier for the movie, "burlesque." the full autopsy report will be released next week. three men are facing charges from outside auschwitz concentration camp. that man and two polish men stole the sign that sat atop the entrance to the camp. the main suspect has pleaded not guilty and could face ten years in prison if he was convicted. the sign was emblem matt particular of the nazi camp at world war ii. when it was stole be a year ago, it sparked worldwide outrage. relatives of disgraced finance sear fern any madoff and his wife face wanting millions

of dollars. 22 lawsuits are filed against his relatives and former employees of his investment firm. trustee irving pick card says the lawsuits were filed as part of an effort to recover money from relatives and those closest to the center of the fraud that might have benefited the most from the ponzi scheme. in stitches, the injury the president is nursing this morning and what the man responsible for it is saying all about it. we have that and all of the day's top stories coming up for you at 7:00. right now, here is back to the "today" show.

we're back on this saturday morning, november 27th, 2010. everyone has come out to share part of their thanksgiving weekend with us. outside on the plaza, i'm amy robach, along with carl quintanilla filling in for lester. very enthusiastic crowd out here. >> yes. >> still to come this half hour today, buyer beware. >> as you all know the holidays are fast approaching. some of the holiday deals can actually be too good to be true. so coming up we've got the sneaky scams you need to watch out for before you actually go out and spend your money. that's important. >> absolutely. and then we're going to continue our series, my first idol. and this morning, two words, duran duran.

remember the songs to reflex, real hungry like the wolf? i loved them. so did you, carl. i feel better about my past love as a 'tween teen. the '80s band is releasing a new album. i got to fly off to london and meet with them. it was a lot of fun. >> when you walked in the room, were you nervous? >> i was excited. and then i was really, because i didn't know what to expect. but they were great. and i was so pleasantly surprised. always nice when you meet your idol and they're nice and fun and all the things you thought they would be. >> plus are you tired of turkey leftovers yet? a lot of people are. this morning master chef marcus danielson is with us for a delicious alternative for this time of year. >> all right. a lot to get to. but first let's check in again with bill karins on the plaza with the weather. >> well, good morning, everyone on this saturday. it looks pretty quiet weatherwise. wonderful crowd here. what's your sign say? >> love rock 'n' roll. >> which one of those three do

you love the best? >> peace. >> rock 'n' roll. >> i could tell. >> the forecast for today, nice conditions out there. we have some snow showers, definitely moving off lake erie and ontario. out west is where we're dealing with stormy weather. that's where we're going to watch our storm moving from saturday to sunday. high elevation, snow. overall a pretty good weather forecast for anyone who has to travel back home or back to work or school unfortunately as we head to the end of this weekend. well, today it is all about another change in the weather. rain started last night. rain continues through today just through the afternoon, though. then, some more cold air comes in. thankfully, not quite as cold as it was. so today clearing late. then, tonight, it gets cold and again, dropping syllables might see snow on our local mountain ranges, not just in tahoe. then, on sunday, it will get chilly. coming up, we will talk about how long this chilly weather is

going to last and when our next chance for rain will be. there's already been a lot of football going on this thanksgiving weekend. we've got more for you. we're going to end it all on sunday night with two of the best quarterbacks in the nfl. philip rivers, who's been extremely hot and the indianapolis colts, of course peyton manning. they play that game indoors. should be quite a game. back to you, amy. >> this morning on our series "today's teen idols" i'm reaching back to the '80s for my choice of duran duran. the band defined the era and for me they were the pop icons that influenced my life. the sound, the videos, the style. duran duran embodied all things '80s. i spent the better part of that decade with their posters on my bedroom wall listening to my favorite song, "the reflex."

and flipping through their issues of "tiger beat" but i had to wait until now to fulfill my teenage dream. here i am in london, it's taken me 27 years, i crossed the atlantic, and now i'm finally going to get to meet duran duran. i waited a long time to meet you. a quarter of a century almost. >> very patient. >> nice to meet you. >> simon lebon, nick rhodes and roger taylor, along with fourth current member john taylor all started with the band touring the clubs around england nearly three decades ago. you guys haven't changed a bit. so you're still doing music, too. >> just finished a new album. >> we've been very lucky because we got to do what we wanted to do for a long time. ♪ >> they splashed onto the scene in 1981 with their first single planet earth. and with it came instant fame. when you said you all performed, you playing here in london, and

to go from that to all of a sudden, having, you know, teenagers screaming, fainting at your very sight, and singing all the words. it happened so quickly. >> signs of success did take us by surprise. we knew we were good, and we knew that we had a very original sound. we knew that we wrote good songs. the enormity of the success. >> beatlesque. ♪ >> for duran duran, timing was everything. making its debut in the u.s. at the same time was a new cable television netwo called mtv. >> i remember the first time a record company executive came to us and said, look, we'd like to make a video for your song, planet earth, off our single. we said what do you mean? they said well we're going to make a little film that goes with your song. we were laughing saying, you're kidding? we get to make a film with the song? from that point we thought of them as little films that ran with your music. >> reporter: the result, unforgettable scenes from the

golden era of music individual hes fwro hungry like the wolf to the provocative girls on film. some controversy in some of your videos at the time. now it's probably kind of funny to even think that that was controversial. >> they worked really well for us. >> you put it right up on the edge. >> a very good excuse with the videos to put some beautiful girls in it. >> after 19 chart topping hits, over 80 million records sold, and countless concerts to sellout crowds around the world, in the last decade the fans have turned to the internet to reach their fans. >> the last five years have been people saying oh, my god, the internet is killing off the music industry. and it isn't. it's changing it. >> it's the most district route we have to our audience. >> with the release of their 13th studio album next month, it's an audience they hope keeps tuning in. >> you know, we're the band that

people like to put on when they want to get people jumping. >> you guys see music forever in your lives? >> yes, actually. >> duran duran? >> we're very lucky in that we've got jobs that don't particularly have age limits on them. >> as long as we have an audience that you know, is there to receive us, i can't see an end to it. >> wow. >> you know, there was so much of the interview, i mean when i left, my face hurt because i was laughing so hard. they were really funny. they were actually igniting things. >> you are guaranteed backstage passes from now on. >> you're right. are you listening? that's exactly right. >> can we get one more look -- >> no! that was prom. '89. so embarrassing. >> you look great. >> can we move on, please?

up next seasonal sneaky scams. >> how to keep your family safe. [ female announcer ] smooth skin? not good enough. [ female announcer ] now get baby-smooth perfection with new dream smooth mousse from maybelline new york. some makeups leave skin rough, dry. ours is cream whipped, so it hydrates. skin looks flawless, baby-smooth. new dream smooth only from maybelline. i feel like i have to wind myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about pristiq®, a prescription medicine proven to treat depression.

pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. tell your doctor if you have heart disease or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. for me, pristiq is a key in helping to treat my depression. ask your doctor about pristiq. this morning on today's risks, sneak j scams. shoppers are often targets for

tricks and cons. >> it happens all the time. how can you outsmart the scammers? we put together a panel of experts this morning to make sure you don't become prey this holiday season. >> first up we'll talk shopping scams. we'll all be doing a lot of buying in the days and weeks ahead. here with popular scams is lisa lee freeman, editor in chief of shop smart magazine. >> good morning. >> a lot of these are variations on old themes. one of them is called smishing. >> you heard of phishing. that's when they send you an e-mail. this is when they send you a text message, looks like a legitimate institution like paypal or your bank and asks you to call an 800 number. there's an automated service that asks for all your account information. you give it to them. they clear out your account. >> best way to prevent that? >> only call phone numbers on legitimate paperwork like your statements -- don't call the 00 number on the text message. call the company through the statement. >> we know gift cards are going to be popular. i was amazed to see the ways

people can get in to a gift card and take things from you before you spend on it. >> that's right. you go into a supermarket, you see the card stands and you grab one. well a crook it's just as easy for a crook to nab one. they scan the front, they scan the back, when you activate it, they rip it off. >> the best way to prevent that as well? >> try to buy gift cards from behind a customer service counter so no one can get to them before you do. and also ask for a receipt and give the receipt to the recipient. >> one thing you say to watch out for are tiny little charges on your credit card statement. >> that's right. you see a charge on your credit card, maybe it's $10, $20 or less and you think it's got a legitimate-looking company flex to it. maybe even an 800 number so you probably pay it. well criminals are stealing hundreds of card numbers and they're billing lots of people small amounts and ripping people off. if you see a charge that doesn't look legit call your credit card company. >> membership programs. how can that go wrong? >> what happens is you get a little pop-up message after you are checking out from a big legitimate shopping site, it says save an extra $10 or $20,

click here. when you click there and you automatically get entered into some membership program, and they start billing your credit card $10 or $20 a month. so you've got to be beware of those pop-ups. >> totally different third party. >> absolutely. >> and now here's amy. >> carl, thank you. and now to travel scams, and the bogus deals you need to watch out for before you book your trip. mark orwall is the international editor at travel and leisure. good morning. >> good morning. >> many travelers hit the road and rent cars. if you rent a car they always ask you about insurance. you want to get this insurance. and i never quite know what to do. what are the rules? >> and it's expensive. as much as $20 a day. don't get insurance if you don't need to get it. because if you have personal car insurance it's generally covered. if you have -- if you're paying with a credit card, many credit cards will include car rental insurance. if you use that car to pay for it. lastly, remember to take a picture. use your cell phone, take a picture of the four sides of the car before you drive away and when you bring it back because

i've been hearing a lot of reports about car rental companies calling the renter and saying, hey, there's a dent in the car we're charging you extra for that. you can prove that there wasn't. >> something else to give out when you're traveling you might have more valuable things in the rental car than you might otherwise have. now is not the time to let your guard down. >> do not drive around in a stage city with all your valuables, your carry-ons, electronic gear, cameras. don't leave it on the front seat right next to you. you're inviting a rip-off. >> airlines have found plenty of ways to charge us extra money from in flight snacks, baggage, often it can feel like you're getting scammed. how can you avoid those extra charges? >> i would always recommend use carry-on luggage, because you're not going to get charged for baggage. but if you do have to check bags pay for the baggage fee when you book your airfare. because you're actually going to save money. if you go to the airport they're going to charge you an extra $3 to $10 per piece of luggage each way. if you're traveling with a family that costs real money. >> the fake villa scam. if you go to a vacation

destination spot. what is this? >> it's actually vacation rental properties that don't exist. if you go online to rent one of these holiday properties, a villa in france or a condo in hawaii, make sure that you have a telephone number and address for the rental agency. don't just use the website. talk to somebody there. get references from people who have actually stayed at this place. go to google maps, google the address and make sure that the rental unit actually exists. because people have gotten ripped off this exact way. >> that's incredible. okay, thanks for the advice. and now here's carl. >> all right, amy, thanks. finally, outsmart scams, getting duped with make you feel like a helpless victim. here with tips to protect yourself is la toya drake, aol consumer adviser. >> good morning. >> one thing that helps the scam artist these days is the influx of e-cards which are being sent all over. >> that's right. people are migrating away from traditional mail going over to e-cards. if you receive something like an e-card from a friend or family

member click this thing to retrieve it. do not cling the link in many cases. it's a fishing message. you click the link, a virus is downloaded. >> you say don't do anything that requires you to download something. don't open something if you don't recognize the sender. >> that's exactly right. >> other than deleting it, what should we do? >> it's not enough to delete it. you have to send it to the ftc. they've got an e-mail address, it's spam@uce.gov. they store those messages at a da database in law enforcement agencies. >> hopefully over time those things end up. >> absolutely. >> you talk about how do you know when you're actually getting a good deal and some of these price comparison sites are pretty beneficial tool. >> that's right. our number one go-to tip. pricegrabber.com, bizrate are great price comparison sites. if you're in a store, you're shopping one of these final liquidation, going out of business, you need to know if you're actually getting real prices that are bargain basement. check the price tag, if it's a different color, if it's a different font, that merchandise

probably did not come from that store. it came from a third party. so maybe marked up the merchandise. >> even though don't believe the signage in other words. even if it's staring you in the face. >> that's correct. >> you make the point, too, that as consumers we have rights that we probably don't always know about or hear about. >> many people don't think about this. when you purchase an item online by phone, the company has to send that merchandise to you within the shipping range that they say. if there is no shipping date, within 30 days, you should receive that merchandise in 30 days, if you don't have your product, you have the right to cancel and demand your money back. >> amazing because at this time of year consumers have so much coming at them they probably aren't as watchful as they should be. >> that's right. most consumers are wrapped up in getting the best deals. you have to be your own advocate. >> la toya drake, thank you so much. when we come back, chef marcus danielson shows us some delicious dishes for the holidays. lightning fast. lightning strong.

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this morning on "today's" holiday kitchen, a savory salmon dish that will make you forget all those leftovers. marcus is grating horseradish. he is the chef and owner of the new restaurant red rooster harlem. when you walk into the kitchen it smells amazing. i honestly never even knew that you could do that. >> i love horseradish. >> i thought it comes in a bottle or something for me. >> it could. or it could be grated fresh just like this. >> and it smells great, too. >> a wonderful piece of salmon with skin on. after the holidays like this, eating light, eating something that is not a lot of -- something like always love to do this. next stage just eat light. so what could be better than to have salmon dish. >> right. >> you think that that was going to be really spicy. really hard to eat. you say when you look eight the horseradish does what? >> turn sweet and really nice and moist. think about the horseradish here.

almost becomes like a little oven. lots of horseradish, salt and pepper, in the oven for about six minutes on 375. >> that's it. >> you're going to have wonderful, moist baked salmon. and with that you're going to have some couscous. >> pumpkin couscous. >> staying in season. >> that's amazing, too. >> i've got some pumpkins. we were talking about before. some tomatoes. >> big, plump raisins. >> i'm adding a little bit of cilantro and parsley. i love some greens and then i cook the couscous. >> separately. >> yes. >> and then i'm just going to stir this in there. >> you want to stir that? >> sure, i'd be happy here. >> what did you cook during the holidays? >> you said did you cook? and i hesitated. i said i baked. i don't know if baking is the same. >> just a tad. >> like the swirl. >> everyone thought it was really impressive. but it just took a knife and a swirl. >> but did you like it? >> i did like it. >> i love baking. >> that's what matters.

>> this is absolutely amazing. >> it's very rick. you sauteed it in butter or olive oil? >> a little bit of olive oil. >> you just have this wonderful salad. >> in the oven you have the cooked salmon. >> right. >> and also sort of look at this. >> it looks beautiful. five, six minutes in the oven. this crust is absolutely amazing. >> wow. >> i brought with me a wonderful, fresh salad. a salad made with grapefruit. >> croutons. >> yes. >> some more of those raisins. >> yes. >> those raisins. >> this is so refreshing and nice. >> okay. >> what kind of dressing do you have on here? >> here it's just grapefruit juice. a little bit of olive oil. >> hmm. that's so good. >> i wanted you to get a chance to eat. i know it can get competitive in

here. >> i heard there was panacotta. >> taste the fish. >> this is the salmon? >> this is the salmon. the horseradish baked salmon. >> that's the radicchio. >> the radicchio is radicchio, which is absolutely wonderful. >> and then for dessert. >> happiest for dessert. >> a little bit of pomegranate and then some fresh pomegranate on top of that. it's not really a sweet dessert. >> how do you make this? this looks like something i couldn't make. >> no, no, similar to the way you make cheese cake. it's not that difficult to make. if you do it the day before. >> a little crunch. >> it's nice. >> do you have containers? >> you know what? i made some extra for you. >> a mixing bowl. >> i wanted to ask you what temperature did you cook that salmon at? >> 375. >> it was so noise. >> it was great. >> and then the salad with it is just refreshing. >> this is refreshing, too.

>> locale. >> hardly. marcus samuelson, thank you so much. this is great. my mouth is her ouery much. s haven't stopped at walmart! come in saturday at 6 a.m. for great deals on electronics! like a vizio 37-inch hdtv for $378 and get a $40 gift card! get there first -- quantities are limited. this saturday only at walmart. yep! look in your bag, made you something. (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif. sure. cake or pie? pie. apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? oil or cream? cream! (announcer) some use hydrogenated oil. reddi-wip's uses real dairy cream. nothing's more real than reddi-wip. [ pony ] she had a fever yesterday. [ elephant ] well, her pediatrician recommended new triaminic fever reducer syrup.

[ dog ] so she'll feel better! [ female announcer ] with the #1 doctor recommended ingredient to help bring down children's fever... trust in triaminic. - good for 23 yards. - hey. he went to jared. - that's a peerless diamond. the ideal ideal-cut diamond. what? female announcer: if you want to create your own one-of-a-kind ring, get to jared this friday through monday, because you can receive get set in diamonds rewards, up to $1,000 toward a beautiful diamond setting, when you buy your diamond at jared. choose from thousands of diamonds and hundreds of settings. get up to a $1,000 reward this friday through monday at jared. so chef marcus is upset because i acted surprised. but it was so great. it's amazing. thank you chef marcus. that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. lynn berry, bill karins, thank you for being here. tomorrow on "today," the art of an apology. i just said i'm sorry.

the right way to say i'm sorry. >> and we'll look ahead to cyber monday. have a great day.

good morning. i'm kris sanchez. a somali immigrant living the american dream in the u.s. is behind bars charged with pushing the detonate tore on a holliday bomb plant. the end of an 87-year-old sports legacy as we know it. the big change on the way for cal fans. that and more coming up on "today in the bay."

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the wind is whipping the flag around. you can expect rain in the