stick it out folks, but expect the slowing. back to you. >> mike, thank you very much. you can find out the latest coming up in our next update at 7:25. we'll be back all day. have a great one. >> thanks for watching. have a good one. good morning. elaborate farewell. the funeral of north korean leader kim jong-il held overnight. his son and successor walking beside the casket. many in the crowd appear to be weeping uncontrollably. we're live with dramatic images. iowa heats up. gop presidential candidates take shots at each other with the state's caucuses just six days away. is the race now ron paul's to lose? and moments of terror. the chilling 911 calls from the deadly christmas morning fire in connecticut are now released. >> huge fire at the house next door to us, the whole house is on fire, major fire and there

are three kids and a woman in it. >> now investigators aren't sure if the home's smoke detectors weren't working. "today," wednesday, december 28th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie in for ann this morning. that state funeral for kim jong-il kept more than a week of public mourning in north korea, the procession led by a vintage american sedan with a picture of what the north koreans call the dear leader. >> there was military presence and enormous display of emotion by tens of thousands of people who lined the snowy streets. some were questioning whether it

was spontaneous emotion or if it was a staged event. we'll have details on this coming up straight ahead. also ahead a pastor in tennessee says parents who refuse to spank are "emotional cowards" and written a controversial book highlighting his tough methods of discipline. both the author and book are coming under fire in the wake of three deadly child abuse cases. we'll hear from that pastor coming up in a bit. we talked about making new year's resolutions. a lot of people do them. in 2012 a lot of people will resolve to lose weight. three people dropped at least half their body weight will reveal their new looks live in our studio. we begin with this morning's funeral ceremonies for north korean leader kim jong-il. adrienne mong is watching the event from seoul, south korea. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. until the last minute, the north koreans kept everyone in the dark about the details for kim jong-il's state funeral.

in the end pyongyang made sure the whole world could watch the proceedings which by the way featured some classic american cars. under heavy snowfall the funeral procession for the man the north koreans called their dear leader made its way through the capital, pyongyang. leading the way, kim jong-un, walking alongside the hearse believed to be carrying his father's body. thousands of men and women in military uniform or civilian clothing lined the streets to pay their last respects. the sound of their wailing clearly broadcast along with music. a stark contrast to the mood among north koreas living south of the border. "the only thing he did was starve 3 million people to death." says this woman who fled north korea eight years ago. she now works in seoul with eight other defectors running an independent radio station that broadcasts daily supports back

into their homeland. at first i thought, wow, we can go home says the radio station's founder. he escaped north korea 11 years ago. but, he says, there's no hope of change. no hope, because of this man, kim jong-un, not much is known about him or his ability to rule, but one thing is clear. he's inherited his father's dictatorship, says the radio station manager. now we just want to remind everyone that those images of the funeral procession today were only available direct from north korean state television so it hasn't been possible to verify how much of that, if possibly all of it was staged, including the mourning. >> adrienne mong in seoul, south korea, thank you. it's four minutes after the hour, here's savannah. and here at home, the iowa caucuses are just six days away now and the republican

presidential candidates are descending on the state to make their pitch to voters there. peter alexander is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. mitt romney the former governor of massachusetts will begin his day with a breakfast meet and greet. consider this statistic. a recent poll shows nearly 40% of likely republican caucus goers in iowa are not firmly set on a candidate which is why what happens here next tuesday is largely unpredictable and why the presidential candidates are once again crisscrossing the state. arriving in iowa late tuesday before a standing room only crowd, mitt romney ignored his republican rivals. instead launching a fierce attack on president barack obama. >> gone is the hope and change candidate of davenport. gone is the candidate who would heal the nation. >> reporter: earlier tuesday in new hampshire, romney mocked newt gingrich for his failure to

get on the ballot in gingrich's home state of virginia. >> i think he compared that to what, pearl harbor? it's more like lucille ball at the chocolate factory. i mean, you got to get it organized. despite romney's efforts to act like the presumptive nominee the race in iowa remains wide open. >> what the people of iowa want is an inspiring candidate. they want somebody who can get them enthusiastic, who can get them engaged. >> reporter: since this summer, seven different republicans have led in the polls here. one of the recent gop front-runners, gingrich, the former house speaker, now appears to be losing momentum, in part due to a bare-fisted blitz of negative ads targeting his congressional record. to combat that assault, gingrich's supporters launched their own new ad tuesday. >> when a principal conservative took the lead they attacked him

with falsehoods. >> reporter: still another sign of trouble for gingrich, conflicting stories about the end result of his first marriage. on his campaign website gingrich claims his first wife asked for the divorce but court documents suggest gingrich himself requested the split. romney was also on the defensive tuesday trying to shake his moderate record, as conservatives attacked him on the issue of abortion, launching a new text message campaign, citing his past pro-choice views. >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. >> and with ron paul demonstrating steady support, the biggest battle here may be over which candidate becomes the conservative choice. >> of all of the candidates that are running i am the one with the unassailable proven track record of a clear 100% consistent conservative. >> reporter: michele bachmann, rick santorum and rick perry, stumping tuesday with controversial sheriff joe arpaio are all vying to earn that title.

the slugfest continued into the night with mitt romney being attacked by newt gingrich who called him a big government moderate. newt gingrich also attacked ron paul saying he couldn't vote for paul if he became the romney. nominee. "his views totally outside the main stream of every decent american." matt? >> peter alexander in iowa, thank you very much. chuck todd, the chief white house correspondent is on the road in iowa, as well. he's in mason city. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. >> we talk about the slugfest and it will continue over the next six days. one of the reasons is so many people in iowa say they haven't made up their minds yet. i'm curious what your take is on this. what do they expect to hear in the next six days that they haven't heard in tv ads, radio ads, seen in literature and heard in these 13 gop debates? >> reporter: i think part of it is for iowans they like to get wooed and they haven't been

wooed in this cycle than in previous cycles. only in the last ten days has iowa to me looked like iowa, where you have candidates crisscrossing the state. there's sort of three chunks of voters to woo in iowa, mainstream establishment republican type who show up to every sort of republican event. you have your evangelicals, and this new group of voters that ron paul's been wooing, and it's the middle group, the evangelicals that helped dictate the winner or perceived winner out of this before. and there's so many candidates, matt. to appeal to that sort of one-third of what could be the caucus electorate, and because that's splintered still, that's where there seems to be so much indecision. >> this professor in peter's piece said iowans are looking for someone to inspire them, get them engaged, get them enthusiastic. any indication in polling who seems to be filling that space? >> reporter: well, no and i think who was filling it, the reason you had different

leaders, the latest newt gingrich was the person firing up conservatives, was the one that was making the case at a debate that said i'm going to go directly after president obama. maybe do it a little more personally than a mitt romney. all of it seems to be this attempt to find a contrast to mitt romney. mitt romney more soft-spoken, mitt romney somebody the conservatives are still trying to figure out, is he really one of them, and that's what's missing here. ron paul inspires a chunk of voters and right now he seems to be the one guy that's inspiring some folks but they're not traditional republicans. >> if you look at the polls he's going to have a pretty big day on tuesday. if he wins in iowa, and a lot of people think he could, is there a path to victory for ron paul past iowa? >> reporter: there, there's not. the caucus states are where you can do well. you can change the electorate. you can bring in non-republicans and register them that day as

republicans and he has this appeal to independents and new voters and things like that. look, this is a game of where does mitt romney finish and where does newt gingrich or even in an upset a rick perry finish. if any of those finish above mitt romney that are not named ron paul will be the actual winner. regardless of whether ron paul wins and is the actual winner. >> if mitt romney finishes second to ron paul it's still a victory for him because he can say, a, we didn't put that much time and energy into iowa. and b, this would be making these words up, it's just ron paul. >> reporter: well, yes, and there's no more importantly no conservative alternative. ron paul doesn't have the appeal to the evangelical conservatives or foreign policy conservatives or economic conservatives. there would be no alternative in that front. you have romney coming out here with a second place of steam, if it's behind ron paul going into

new hampshire and a bunch of candidates trying to make a last stand in south carolina about ten days after new hampshire and that could be it. >> chuck todd in iowa, thanks very much as always. it's 11 after the hour. here's savannah. there's new information on the cause of the deadly christmas morning fire in stamford, connecticut. for the first time we're hearing one of the 911 calls placed as that tragedy unfolded. craig melvin is in stamford. >> reporter: good morning to you. when the 911 calls started coming in, firefighters rushed to the scene and saw what they described as walls of flames. despite that, they went in twice to try to save those three little girls and their grandparents. this morning officials say right now they believe they know what caused the deadly blaze. neighbors saw flames shooting as high as the trees and heard the trapped children screaming. >> there's a huge fire at the house next door to us, the whole house is on fire, it's a major

fire and there's three kids and a woman. >> we have the fire crew on the way. >> please, please come quickly. >> reporter: firefighters say they arrived and found 47-year-old madonna badger on the roof frantic, shouting, desperately she tried directing firefighters to her family but the flames were too hot, the smoke too thick. >> after 37 1/2 years, 38 years on the job, you're never prepared for anything like this. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: officials believe badger and her friend, mike, had started a fire in the fireplace. shortly after 3:00 christmas morning they put it out. >> the fire appears to have been caused by hot fireplace ash and embers which had been discarded. >> reporter: the blaze spread quickly to the second and third floors. everyone woke up and tried to get out, but five didn't make it. lily badger was 10. twins sarah and grace 7. grandparents were visiting for

the holidays. the day before he died, lomer played st. nick at saks fifth avenue. firefighters found him just outside an upstairs window, trying to help his granddaughter escape. >> there were a pile of books. looks like she was placed on the books so he could get out the window and then reach in and grab her, but when he went out the window, that's when he succumbed. >> reporter: tuesday officials said no one should have been living in the victorian house because of ongoing renovations. they are not sure if the home had working smoke detectors or fire alarms. they'll know for certain when they talk to madonna badger again. right now, they're letting her grieve. >> that poor woman lost her entire family in one fell swoop. i couldn't imagine how she feels. >> reporter: back live here in stamford, that makeshift memorial has grown. neighbors and friends have stopped and placed flowers and teddy bears and even placed a

big wreath as well. no funeral arrangements have been made just yet. we do know that the johnsons will be buried in canada. savannah, back to you. >> craig melvin, thank you. in our next hour important information on what you need to have in your house to protect your family from house fires. we want to get a check of the rest of the top stories. carl quintanilla is at the news desk for natalie. carl, good morning to you. >> matt, savannah, good morning. good morning, everyone. some new reports as to what sparked a huge brawl at minnesota's mall of america on monday. nine people were arrested, up to 200 shoppers were reportedly involved in the scuffle, fighting each other, grabbing items from other shoppers and kiosks. witnesses are reporting the frenzy was touched off by rumors that rappers lil wayne and drake for visiting the mall. local police could not confirm the rumors were to blame. no serious injuries reported. terror on the tarmac, a southwest airlines flight was forced to abort takeoff when the tires blew out.

rescue firefighters hosed down the 737 as a precaution. the 130 passengers evacuated the plane by a portable stairway. officials say there were no injuries. they do not know what caused the blowout. the taliban claiming responsibility for a roadside bombing attack in afghanistan that killed three nato service members tuesday. nato has not released the nationalities of the dead, but the taliban says the target was a u.s. military convoy. to wall street, cnbc's courtney reagan is at the stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning to you, carl. the markets remain focused on the headlines out of europe as italy gets set to sell billions of dollars worth of government bonds today. however, many investors are still on those holiday sidelines. tuesday was the lightest trading day so far this year. perhaps those investors are shopping online instead. holiday spending online totalled $35 billion through december 26th, marking a 15% increase from last year. carl?

back to you. >> thank you very much, courtney. three classic american films have been named national treasures and entered into the world's largest film archives. "forest gump," "silence of the lambs" and "bambi" are selected by the library of congress because of their "endearing significance to american culture." this year's selection also included early silent films from 1912. and what do you give a cranky half-ton crocodile named elvis? whatever he wants. in this case elvis wanted a running lawnmower so he sunk his teeth and dragged it down into his pool and once the 16-footer won the tug-of-war he wouldn't give it up, guarding his prize for hours. the king did not emerge unscathed. he lost two teeth in the scramble. it is now 7:17. all that work and he still didn't mow the lawn. >> carl, thank you. by the way, how often do you get to hear the names "bambi" and "silence of the lambs" in the same story.

doesn't happen very often. carl, thank you. stephanie abrams is here while al takes time off. we had nasty weather yesterday. >> it's all gone. it's time for the west coast to get in on some of that action. the northwest will be wet and we'll see a lot of snow coming down as we head over the next 24 hours. you can see the higher elevations could see up to a foot of snow. the rest of the country starting to quiet down. it will still be windy around the great lakes and the northeast. now here's a look at what's good morning to you. we have interesting changes happening right now. no heavy downpours by any means. we have clouds and very light showers, isolated nature, rolling through the bay area. as we head throughout the day today, 60 in san jose, 61 in fremont. cloudy the second half of the day. 62 degrees in redwood city. good news is we've got more rain on the way as we head through your friday for the greater bay

area. hope you have a fantastic day. more good news to report on the recovery of a young model from texas who suffered serious injuries when she walked into a plane's spinning propeller. army robach has the latest on this. good morning to you. y robach has the latest. >> lauren scruggs family says she spent christmas surrounded by loved ones and has an entire community coming out to offer support. >> lauren is doing amazingly well. i call her this little spunky fire cracker. >> reporter: ask anyone who knows lauren scrukggs they'll tell you. >> sweet, tender spirit. >> always positive. you instantly fall in love with her. >> reporter: dozens of friends and strangers came out tuesday to raise money for lauren's medical bills. thes aspiring model and fashion blogger has been hospitalized since december 3rd, when she

boarded a flight to see christmas lights near her home in texas. when the plane landed lauren accidentally walked into the propeller, suffering severe injuries to her head, shoulders and hands. doctors had to remove her hand and her left eye, but the scruggs family remains positive. on monday, the day after christmas, lauren's mother posted an update on her daughter's blog saying "lo is making remarkable strides. her spirit is incredible. she's positive, hungry and cheery. her appetite is very healthy, even though she is still taking lots of pain medication." this year the family says christmas served as a reminder sometimes it's the simple things in life that bring great joy, saying "britt and lo wore their matching pjs just for christmas eve. love has been poured out over us in ways we could never have dreamed. our hearts are changed. our lives are molded in a deeper way. lo has twin sister brittany to

lean on and brit can literally feel her sister's pain. being twins and having a bond that most never understand, brit's eye has been twitching for the last four to five days every 30 seconds or so." they are still tallying the money raised at last night's fund-raiser. so far the total is at $10,000 and counting. matt? >> amy robach, thank you very much. coming up, are the deaths of three children related in some way to a tennessee pastor's controversial book on child discipline? we'll hear from him, but first this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead our hidden camera investigation into the shady practices of some locksmiths, what they're doing to take

advantage of you during an emergency when you need it the most. also ahead, shedding hundreds of pounds without surgery. we'll meet three men and women featured in "people" magazine's popular "half their size" issue. we'll find out how they did it and how it can help youyour it your new year's resolution to lose weight. but first your local news and weather. r helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪

nurse...! [ female announcer ] dawn power clean can give you the power of an overnight soak in just 5 minutes. [ sponge ] it's a scientific miracle! [ female announcer ] dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect.

[ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. good morning everyone. the time is 7:26. i'm jon kelley. more than 400 people reported their neighbors over christmas weekend for lighting up wood fires in their homes. poor air quality triggered spare-the-air days on christmas eve and christmas day. bay area quality police didn't issue any fines on the spot. they're right now sifting through 77 cases of potential violators. if you're planning a new year's eve house party, a ban may be in place for fireplace burns coming this weekend. first-time violations will get a warning. repeat offenders will get stuck

with a $400 ticket. let's check in with meteorologist christina loren. >> i think we'll see better air quality. today everybody is in the moderate range. it's not a spare-the-air day. want to point out a couple things on your radar, a little cell pushing towards redwood city. overall, light activity in the forecast. basically the storm track is way to our north. we'll see most of the moisture come down the pacific northwest. but the little tail end will sneak through the bay area as we head throughout the day today. that means we'll turn cloudier and cloudier in the second half. you'll hit about 60 degrees in san francisco. as we take you through your extended forecast, the good news is, i think the greater bay area will get some rainfall. not much, but a little bit on friday from san jose to santa rosa. not as hazy on saturday as a result. let's check the drive with mike inouye. overall we have kind of a holiday week traffic. so a light flow. look at this oakland camera, a

very slow drive northbound from 98 up past the coliseum. top of the screen is the high street off-ramp which is closed doing emergency repair work to the sand barrels. one lane will remain closed for another half hour. 8:00 should be the opening time. you can get over to 580 or tough it out. slow down past the coliseum and up through downtown not a big deal. the rest of the approach to the bay bridge an easy drive. the rest of the bay area, jon, pretty easy. green chiclets all over the place. >> thanks a lot, mike. for the latest traffic and news updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook. another local news update in one-half hour. for right now, the "today" show rolls on. beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ femalennouncer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars

into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ 7:30 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 28th day of december, 2011. pretty sky, pretty view in washington, d.c., our nation's capital. looks like the weather is beautiful there this morning, as it looks to be pretty nice here in new york city, as you take a look from the top of the rock, out over central park to the northwest, the george washington bridge over the hudson river in the distance there and let's move it down to street level now and see that we've got a nice crowd of people gathered hopefully in rockefeller plaza. there they are right there, with the christmas tree in the background. savannah guthrie joining me, the grinch here asking when they're

going to mulch that thing, which is january 7th by the day. you did ask. >> i was asking to emotionally prepare myself for the loss. >> yeah. on january 7th that's when they'll take down the tree. we'll miss it. just ahead our hidden investigation into a scheme pulled by some locksmiths that could cost you hundreds of dollars, and what we discovered had one man running from our cameras. we'll have more on that story coming up. also ahead what does it take to lose 100, 150, even 225 pounds? three people who dropped half their sizes without gimmicks will be here to tell us how they did it and will show off their new looks. you want to see that. >> as savannah mentioned in the last half hour in the wake of the deadly house fire in connecticut, would you know what to do if a fire were to break out in your home? coming up, life saving information you need to know to make sure your family is safe. we begin with a parenting book by a pastor in tennessee, creating controversy, after the deaths of three children.

does it encourage abuse? nbc's thanh truong is there this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. no greater joy ministries is a self-described christian nonprofit group, covers a lot of subjects including parenting and marriage. its headquarters is located in rural tennessee, but its penetration is international. its leader believes that children should be routinely spanked and advises parents to do so but some say his message is opening the door to abuse. >> i like that background. >> reporter: christian michael pearl says the bible says he that spares his rod hates his son. >> if a parent refuses to employ spanking, they are emotional cowards. >> he and his wife debbie run no greater joy ministries. he wrote the controversial book "to train up a child" covers topics ranging from potty training to bullies, but it's

his writing of the spanking and the use of what he calls the rod that draws condemnation. when a child rebels he writes "if you have to sit on him until he's surrendered do so." he says spanking can start as early as 1 years old but warns against abuse striking with bare hands or in anger. i could take that hand right there and break your ribs with it. i could dislocate your shoulder. i would never hit a child with that hand. >> reporter: instead pearl recommends instruments of punishment less harmful, wooden spoons, flexible plumbing lines or thin branches, known as switches. what makes this an ideal switch for you? >> it's not heavy so it's not going to bruise the skin, not going to hurt the tissue. >> reporter: the book is coming under fire after three separate deadly child abuse cases, each involving adopted children routinely spanked by parents who have the book. near seattle, a coupling is facing trial for allegedly

abusing their daughter to death earlier this year. in 2006 a north carolina woman was convicted of suffocating her son after she wrapped the 4-year-old in a blanket too tightly. the mother is serving a life sentence. kevin and elizabeth schatz also in prison for the death of their 7-year-old daughter lidia. they reportedly beat her for hours using a hollow plumbing tube similar to the kind mentioned in the book. she died after suffering severe tissue damage. >> the schatzes were following almost exactly how the book intended for them to discipline their children. >> reporter: even though pearl's book is cited in the three cases he faces no criminal charges. >> he has a first amendment right to write awful things. was he legally responsible? no. was he morally responsible? absolutely. >> reporter: pearl says suggesting his book encouraged abuse is baseless. >> if they had listened to my book, it would never have happened.

>> reporter: how so? >> because my book clearly teaches that you're not to spank a child to the point of leaving a mark on them. you're not to continue to spank a child if it's not working. >> reporter: one psychiatrist says spanking sets a bad example for children and can lead to behavior problems. >> if we want to break that cycle we have to stop now and realize that it is okay not to spank your child. it's okay to talk to your child. it's okay to give them a time-out. >> reporter: more than 700,000 copies of the book have been sold despite calls to ban it. pearl's book are still readily available. savannah? >> thank you. "today" contributor michelle borba is a parenting expert. good morning to you. pastor pearl we should reiterate the people charged in the cases with he just saw the terrible cases where children died were not following what he advocates in his book but setting that aside for a moment, he says you should use switches, plastic plumbing line, wooden spoons to

train up a child. we did a poll on our website, 900 people voted, 75% disapproved of those practices. where do you come down on it? >> right there with him, for a number of reasons because you've crossed the line. first advocating you can start this with children who are infants, 6 months, 7 months of age, use it on legs, arms, back of a child, use switches, rulers, and until the child obeys you, you've crossed into physical or emotional damage to a child. >> it raises the question are there any circumstances under which you think spanking is okay? >> the american academy of pediatrics as well as the american psychological association and myself included say no, we don't endorse it, but that said, the majority of parents also will admit that they do a little swat every once in a while. number one is for physical safety of a child, you've got the electric socket there and there goes the kid with the fork going into it, bam, quick, get him away and remove, but there are so many other more

appropriate alternatives to spanking that get you effective results and that's what we got to look at. >> we'll talk about those in a moment. the question about spanking is, is it a slippery slope? if parents believe under some circumstances it's okay to spank, is there any evidence out there that this leads to increased abuse, something much more serious? >> yes, because it can be a gateway. the reason for it is not just the spanking as the discipline, it's the parenting style, combine those two together so if you've got a parent who has a tough time staying in control, who isn't thoughtful and consistent or takes the time-out themselves, it can be toxic. >> parenting little ones is really hard work. >> of course it is. >> let's leave parents with tips. learn behavioral management techniques. >> there's so many other alternatives. get yourself educated. get yourself a good book written by a darn good expert in child development. take a parenting course. >> you talk about the alternatives? >> time-out, effectively used, consistent, calm and clear with

your expectations. removing a privilege. if you're consistent with it, you will find results. >> reinforce the right behavior. >> that's the one we don't use nearly enough. if you point out the moment the child's doing it right in a calm moment, that's what they want to do. they want to please you. our goal is to help this kid learn self-reliance and be able to act right without you. >> and your last tip, teach appropriate behavior. >> because otherwise you get the repeat of the same kid doing the same thing over and over again, unless you teach him how to be calm and how to ask without hitting another child. we can do it. >> michele borba thank you so much. let's get a check of the weather from stephanie abrams in for al. good morning. >> i found the biggest flat stanley i have ever seen. looks like flat stanley has been roughed up, missing an eye. where has this flat stanley been? >> came from orange, california, and he's visited the statue of

liberty, times square. he's here at the "today" show on nbc and he's going to tour everywhere in new york. >> everywhere in new york city. so hopefully he'll be in one piece once he gets finished with new york city. let's show you the forecast. flat stanley will have to deal with the cold and the wind today. we're getting a taste of the winter advisories. the snow will be coming down good morning to you. beautiful sunrise over the city of san jose. high and mid-level clouds ahead of a front bringing rainfall. a batch developed from vallejo through concord. as i zoom out, you can see it's the north end of the bay area getting the activity in terms of rainfall. as we head throughout the day, clouds increase, 62 in redwood city. breaks of sun to get to 60 later in san jose. a better shot of rain over the bay on friday. thanks. coming up, three amazing

weight loss stories. we'll meet three people who dropped half their body size without surgery, without gimmicks. but up next our hidden camera investigation on how some locksmiths prey on you during ar thgeing up right after this. ever since she discovered the mccafé caramel mocha from mcdonald's, she's been expecting a little bit more out of...everything. ♪ this is what happens once you savor the taste of sweet caramel in rich chocolate with smooth espresso. ♪ settling for less is no longer an option. mccafé caramel mocha. the simple joy of big expectations. ♪

tony, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little bit whiny when you're hungry. better? better. [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. hey! my back hurts. [ grunts ] [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies. [ roseanne ] now my front hurts. build the best vehicles and once a year offer them with special savings. today, it's an american tradition. toyotathon is back with great deals on the toyotas you've been waiting for. right now, get a low 0% apr financing on select new tundras and drive with peace of mind, thanks to toyota care, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. others have tried to copy it. but in the end, there's only one...toyotathon. the biggest and best sales event of the year is going on now!

when sugar plums appear, temptation's all around. donuts, cakes and pies, they've got a gift for me, i wish that i could take it back, but there is no receipt. oh jiggle bells, jiggle bells, jiggle all the way.

oh how i wish i could resist, jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy! truvia®, box of bliss, zero calorie sweetness from a leaf, my sugar plum happiness. truvia®. honestly sweet. we're back now at 7:42. this morning on "today investiga investigates" more of our top investigations of the year. back in november we targeted a scheme when you're most vulnerable, when you're locked out of your car or your home. jeff rossen, good morning to you. >> a big response because we can relate to it. it's frustrating, you forget your keys, get locked out, desperate and standing outside. you call an emergency locksmith. our investigation found some locksmiths are preying on customers, charging outrageous fees and intimidating them. our hidden cameras were rolling to show you what really happened when they showed up at our door.

why is this man breaking into our house with a crowbar? why is this one destroying our lock and cameras? why is this locksmith busting our door open with a drill and then demanding we pay him hundreds in cash. >> i don't have $635 cash. >> maybe we could go to the bank or something like that? >> reporter: wait, did he just ask the customer to go to the bank with him? >> i'm not going to get in the car with you to go to an atm machine. >> reporter: does that seem legitimate to you? >> what do you want me to tell you? [ bleep ]. >> reporter: what's your name? >> what's my name? what's your name? >> reporter: jeff rossen. >> nice [ bleep ]. >> reporter: they grab you with catchy web ads promising professional service at a great price but when you're standing in the cold and call for help,

who's really showing up at your door? >> i was just horrified. >> reporter: janice putnam was locked out of her condo all alone, so she googled a local locksmith. >> i asked how much it would cost me. $39, oh, wow, i'm lucky, this will be good. >> reporter: when the locksmith got her back in the house that $39 quote was gone. the new price, a whopping $833. >> i couldn't even think. i was like almost physically ill. >> reporter: experts say locksmith schemes are a growing national problem, so we set up our own experiment, renting this home in suburban new york. we hired this licensed new york city locksmith to install simple locks on our door. he says any real locksmith would pick it easily. he showed us in just seconds. his charge for this job, about $100. >> there's no damage to the lock, minimal charge and the proper way to perform that service on a lockout.

>> reporter: we installed hidden cameras covering every angle around our door. then we had this nbc producer pose as the homeowner, locked out, after forgetting her keys inside. >> yes, i'm locked out of my house and i need someone to help me get back in. >> reporter: over two days she called eight locksmiths, advertising 24-hour service in our town. >> i'm so glad you finally got here. >> reporter: as each locksmith showed up, we were watching with our expert, from a control room inside the house. >> i locked myself out, the keys are inside. >> reporter: when this locksmith arrives great news he quickly picks our lock and charges us only $97. but our lock is about to change. >> hi, i thought you'd never get here. >> reporter: this guy touts $15 locksmith service but when he gets to our door. >> it's $100 and a $15 service fee. >> reporter: he's just warming up. instead of picking our lock he tries to pry the door open with

a board. when that doesn't work he grabs our doorknob with pliers and ribs it off. >> this is what i would do. >> yes, that's why you're not a licensed locksmith. >> reporter: now on the hook for a brand new lock and doorknob, total price $223. jeff rossen from nbc news. how are you? is there a reason you charged $223 for a job that experts say should cost about $100? you never tried to pick the lock. you didn't ask her for i.d. to make sure that she actually lives here. is there anything you want to say? believe it or not in most states locksmiths don't have to go through background checks or be licensed. this next guy wrecks our lock and charges us $253. what is your past experience? what makes you a professional locksmith? >> i didn't say i'm professional. >> reporter: his company told us it doesn't condone his behavior. after every visit our expert put a fresh lock on and he says one after another overcharged us.

>> i got to drill this lock because it's the only way to open this. >> reporter: this next guy immediately brings out the drill. oh, look, he destroys this lock and conveniently sells us a new one. you didn't try to pick the lock. >> that's experience, that's what i do. you don't pick the locks. in the movies you pick a lock. >> reporter: the movies? our real life expert picked a lock in seconds. of all the locksmiths we called we were most shocked by this one. >> it's going to be $275 to drill the lock. >> i need a lock, right. >> a new one is $225. >> reporter: we're already up to $500 and he hasn't started working yet, and then he begins to drill. final price this time? $635. >> it's horrible. that's ridiculous, it's a $100 job, $600 he wants. >> reporter: more outrageous, he wants it all in cash. >> the credit card machine isn't working. there's no way you can pay cash?

>> i don't have $635 cash. >> maybe we could go to the bank or something? >> the bank? >> reporter: when our producer resists, the locksmith calls his boss and the price jumps again. >> $685. >> reporter: you heard him, $685. then the boss tries to pressure our producer. >> i don't carry over $600 in cash on me. tell him to take me to the atm, and then he will drive me back home? i don't know. >> oh, my gosh, she can't get in the car with this guy. we don't know whoo he is. >> reporter: hi, jeff rossen from nbc newses. spertsz say you could have picked this lock in under a minute and $100 job. you charged her $685 and then demanded she pay you cash. do you think that's right? >> how can i help you sir? >> you can answer my questions. >> turn the camera off. >> reporter: why are you trying to charge a woman more than six times what the job cause? >> what do you want me to tell you, get the [ bleep ] out of

here. why are you standing back, are you scared? >> reporter: what's your name is. >> what's your name? >> reporter: jeff rossen. >> nice. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: in the end, four out of the eight locksmiths charged us too much and mangled our locks in the process. and there is much more, we found many of these online locksmiths are actually using fake addresses making it nearly impossible to track them down. we found some of them listed in parking lots, abandoned buildings, matt, even some churches as well. >> this isn't putting me in the holiday spirit, jeff. >> holidays are done. >> does the industry police itself at all? >> believe it or not it doesn't. as we mentioned in the piece a lot of the locksmiths don't have to be licensed. masseuses have to be licensed but not somebody who picks a lock. >> jeff rossen, thank you very much. we appreciate it. it is 7:50. still ahead, important information on how to protect your family from a deadly house fire in the wake of that christmas morning tragedy in

connecticut. first these messag

'til it's over. it's not over, it's the sears after christmas event. right now get up to 25% off kenmore appliances. 10% off whirlpool and kitchenaid. and an extra 15% off all appliances with your sears card. sears so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

just ahead, great getaways for 2012. >> some of them are close by, too. plus three people who dropped half ofheir t wteigh without gimmicks. their remarkable, new figure, next. ♪ ♪

[ male announcer ] some people just know how to build things well. give you and your loved ones an expertly engineered mercedes-benz... ho ho ho! ...at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] take the special k challenge. lose up to six pounds in two weeks. get your free, delicious personalized plan at specialk.com. what will you gain when you lose? thanks, man! that's what i'm here for. ( palms slap ) man: do your simple return with the turbotax federal free edition, and now, get our free, one-on-one, expert tax advice, live by phone or chat. get the federal free edition,

at turbotax.com. we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a mace, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet?

good morning. the time is 7:56 on the nose. a 9 yrd boy, we're happy to report, is safe at home this morning after escaping an attempted kidnapping in oakland. police say a strange man approached the boy monday afternoon on arrowhead drive near northwest redwood regional park. the man allegedly offered the boy some candy before grabbing his arm. the boy ran off and told his parents what happened. oakland crime stoppers offering a reward of up to $250 for any information leading to an arrest an conviction in this case. time to check in on weather. meteorologist christina loren is here to tell all. >> we're actually looking pretty good this morning. cold out there. grab a jacket.

but leave the umbrella at home south of the golden gate bridge. bring it with you if you're waking up with us in santa rosa. let's show you where the showers are rolling through. take it to your radar. as you can see, not widespread activity. however, fairfield through antioch, even concord and livermore getting activity. we see light spotty showers throughout the day today and mostly turning cloudy. basically we'll see enough breaks of sun to warm up to about 60 degrees in san jose. a better chance for rain as we head into your friday. check your drive with mike. >> we have a couple of accidents reported on the san mateo bridge over the last half hour. westbound away from us moves smoothly off the toll plaza. the flat section is clear. there's a new accident right around 101 and should be off to the shoulder. it involves a truck, so at least a visual distraction. 880 just a distraction past the construction zone. northbound 880 at high street reopened. all lanes past the coliseum

reopened. slow from about 98 past high street. that will clear over the next 20 minutes, jon. back to you. >> for the latest traffic and news updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook. we'll be back with another local update in one-half hour. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity.

that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today.

♪ it's friday, friday, gotta get down on friday ♪ ♪ everybody's looking for a way to how are you guys doing? nice to see you. 8:00 on a wednesday morning, the 28th day of december, 2011 and you are looking at rebecca black's "friday" which is the most viewed youtube video of 2011. that's our way of letting you know she's going to be with us tomorrow on "today" a long with the stars of some of the other hot viral videos of the year. so if you're a viral video fan,

check us out tomorrow morning. meanwhile out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, and about 500, 600 of our favorite people. nice to have you in town. and coming up in this half hour, i hate to start on such a serious note but this christmas morning tragedy, the fire tragedy in stamford, connecticut, has a lot of people thinking again about fire safety. do you have the right systems in place in your home, does your family understand the plan? could you get out in an emergency? lou manfredini will be with us and go over some of the basics so a tragedy like this does not occur again. >> always worth repeating. it's the new year. that means resolutions. a lot of people resolve to exercise more or lose weight. this morning we have real inspiration and motivation for you. we are going to meet three people who literally dropped half of their weight, a total of 540 pounds. they'll tell us how they did it without gimmicks or surgery and

reveal their great, new looks. also, a lot of people look back at hot topics of year. we'll look forward at some of the travel destinations that you will want to put on your list for the year 2012, and some are exotic, some are very close to home. before we get to that let's go inside, carl quintanilla is at the news desk, filling in while natalie is taking holiday time off. carl, good morning. >> good morning, matt, savannah and everyone. funeral services are under way in north korea today of their leader kim jong-il. mourners line the streets of pyongyang. son and successor kim jong-un walked alongside his father's flower. they clutched their chests, wailed and appeared to weep. a national memorial service will be held tomorrow for kim. the republican presidential hopefuls are fanning out across iowa today. many caucusgoers undecided six days before the lead-off contest of the 2012 campaign.

polls show mitt romney and ron paul running neck and neck at the top of the field. newt gingrich is quickly fading from the top tier after being targeted by a barrage of attack ads. admission of guilt in the death of a 9-year-old girl. michael plumador said he killed aliahna lemmon with a brick and then dismembered her. the trailer park where the girl lived has more than a dozen convicted sex offenders including the girl's own grandfather. a lawsuit brought by the parents of phoebe prince has been settled for $225,000. the sa 15-year-old irish immigrant took her own life after bullying in massachusetts. on tuesday civil rights activists forced the details of the year-old settlement to be released. juliana rancik isn't letting her battle with breast cancer slow her down. she was back at the news desk two weeks after undergoing a

successful double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. we'll talk to juliana live on friday. for a look at what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. an online privacy advocacy group is warning social media users what might be the wrong things to say. a watchdog says homeland security trolls facebook and twitter for terms including "collapse, infection and outbreak." if you use the words the dhs might monitor online activity and share its information with governments and law enforcement so be careful what you tweet. sinead o'connor ended her 16-day marriage to her fourth husband. therapist barry herrage says the marriage went sour just three hours after their las vegas wedding and that herridge had become unhappy with their relationship. >> speaking of weddings, this

video racked up hundreds of thousands of hits n you-tube. could this be a bad omen for this couple. >> speak now or forever hold your piece. [ siren ] turns out the tornado siren that interrupted the vows may have been good luck. the bride posted the video tuesday saying she had just given birth to a baby. so somebody's got the alarm. it is now 8:05, back to matt and savannah outside. >> like the universe is speaking to you. >> al is taking time off. stephanie abrams from the weather channel has the forecast. >> we've had three inches of buffalo. you want the snow or don't want the snow?the snow or don't want >> we want the snow. >> why do you love the snow? >> skiing, sledding, we love the snow. >> so much to do in the snow. there's more snow in west texas than in buffalo, believe it or not.

we'll take you into laredo, texas, where we'll see the sunshine and mild temperatures at 74 degrees. over in west texas we had over ten f n oessn as of late but look at that, see i told you there's snow in buffalo today. you're missing out on it. you'll go home to it there. otherwise sunshine through the center of the country. good morning, the time is 8:06, a look at the spectacular sunrise. a mix of sun and clouds. it is cold, grab a jacket. temperatures are in the 30s and 40s. santa rosa, on the east end of the bay area, fairfield toantioc, enough breaks in the clouds to see the sun warming up to 60 degrees today. a chance of rain for the greater bay area on friday. people who are resolving to lose weight in 2012. we'll meet three people who lost over half their body weight in 2011. how did they do it?

they'll tell you right after these messages. oll you r aig ll these messages. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories --

plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus i can pick it up for free. perfect because we have to get that outta this house. c'mon, it's not that... gahh, oh yeah that's gotta go... priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship and return. you feel it working, so you know you're ready for whatever the day brings. compared to ordinary toothpaste, you feel a deeper clean. up to a two times cleaner feeling. new crest complete. feel it working.

you squashed my willpower like a fly. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star, natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia®. honestly sweet. back now at 8:09 with some amazing and inspirational weight loss stories. "people" magazine is set to release their "half their size" issue on friday.

we'll meet the men and women featured in it. michelle tan senior editor at "people," good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a popular feature. this is the tenth year people have done it. how do you find these folks? >> we have a great relationship with trainers, different gyms, different weight loss companies but we also put a call out on twitter for people to share their weight loss success stories. the best is when people write in to uand want to share their inspirational stories after reading "half their size" or after saying "half their size" turned their life around. >> all of these stories featured, they've done it without surgery or gimmicks. all of the candidates have not opted for surgery. they decided to go at it with diet, exercise and really changing their lifestyle habits. >> we'll bring some out in a moment. i n only imagine this is a popular issue because it's inspirational to read the stories. >> absolutely. we've been doing this issue since 2002 and year in, year out one of the most popular issues. it's so inspiring. whether you want to lose five or ten pounds or really turn your

life around. >> we'll start with angela mccullough, volunteer firefighter. we have her before picture. she was 307 pounds at her peak. angela, come on out, now 135 pounds. wait until you see how good she looks. angela, good morning to you. tell us how you did it. >> i did jenny. >> you did jenny craig. you lost 150 pounds. >> took me just a little over a year. >> so now you were a volunteer firefighter. but there came a time when you had to stop doing it because of your weight, correct? >> yes, correct. >> was that hard for to you give us something you loved? >> it was very hard but i am back into it, so i'm enjoying it. >> what advice do you have for people? we were just talking about so many people will draw inspiration from your story. you look fantastic. >> thank you. take baby steps. it's small things that make a difference. you know, just take your time, evaluate everything, and start small. start small. it's the little things and never give up on yourself. have a good support team. >> how has your life changed?

>> i'm so active now. i'm outgoing now. i enjoy life, and i love the adventures that it's bringing me. >> and one thing we know has changed is your pants size. these are your old firefighter pants. >> these are and these were snug on me and i can fit in one leg. >> we could fit two of new those. thank you so much. we're going to bring out our inspirational stories. tyler synan is from springfield, oregon, he weighed 330 pounds at his peak. tyler, come on out. we can't wait to get a look at you. he now weighs 165 pounds. tyler, show us your new look. good morning. >> good morning. >> tell us how you did it. >> i guess i was inspired. i joined medifast and lost 165 pounds, just went at it. >> i read you had always been a chubby kid and you were bullied, people talked about it. what does it feel like now to come into this new body? >> it's definitely different.

there's a lot of new things. i mean, just to be able to go up and downstairs without having to wheeze and really work at it, it's little things. i mean, it's hard to explain. it's just, everything is new. everything is awesome. >> you feel good? >> i feel awesome. >> i heard you got your roomie into it to lose some weight, too. >> my roommate joined medifast and lost 100 pounds. he was inspired by me and one of the people who probably wouldn't have done it. >> we bring out natalie, a grad student from jefferson, georgia. we'll show the before picture of natalie at her wedding 14 years ago. natalie come on out. she now weighs 135 pounds. that means she has lost, yes, 225 pounds. natalie, good morning. >> good morning. >> you look great. how do you feel? >> i feel excellent. >> tell us how you lost the weight? >> the atkins diet, mainly low

carbs, high proteins, fruits and vegetables. >> people find it hard to stay on the diet. how were you able to do that? >> most people think you eat bacon, eggs and cheese and sausage but you eat spinach and i live off of lean meats and my kids eat it with me, and it's really very easy. i've been on it for ten years and kept the weight off and a lot easier than people think. >> tell us how your life has changed. >> now i'm able to keep up with three very active boys and i can go on amusement park rides with them and i run seven miles a day, and i can do all the things that i never could do when i weighed 360 pounds. >> and final piece of advice to folks looking at you and thinking could i really do that? >> they can. and don't lose hope. >> never give up. >> all right, thank you so much. it's such an inspirational story. we can't wait to read the whole issue. michelle tan, thank you so much. tyler, ann and natalie thank you very much. the january issue hits

newsstands this friday. coming up, a life saving lesson, how to protect your family from house fires, coming up right after this. r family from house fires, coming up right after this. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ great fall. ugh, it's my sinus congestion, and it's all your fault. naturally blame the mucus.

he's funny. instead of blaming me, try this, advil congestion relief. often the real problem is swelling, not mucus. advil congestion relief reduces swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. happily ever after. another story? from him! [ mucus ] advil congestion relief. the right relief for the real problem. ♪ [ female announcer ] silky smooth dove chocolate. your moment. your dove. goals for the future... what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease is the sixth leading cause of death, and affects more than 5 million americans. the alzheimer's association is taking action, and has been a part of every major advancement. but we won't rest until we have a cure. you have dreams...

help the alzheimer's association protect them. act now, go to alz.org. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret?

coming up on 8:18 this morning. how to keep your family safe from house fires. investigators believe it was accidentally sparked by still smoldering embers from a fireplace that were placed in a bag. lou manfredini is a "today" contributor and host of "house smarts." >> good morning. >> awful story, five people died in the fire and a lot of the stuff we'll talk about, people assume they already know but let's go over the basics. >> right. >> because you can't say this stuff enough. you build a fire in your home first of all, just about all fireplaces should have some kind of a screen, whether it's a glass door or an ember screen like this. >> right, and this is important. you cannot have a fire built

without this, and here's the thing, too, matt, with wood, of course, we think about things popping out and ashes, but even if you have a gas fireplace those logs are ceramic. as they age, they, too, can pop and something can come out, even though you have the heart in front, you may have carpeting, you may have a rug. >> this needs to fit properly after i go to bed at night the fire is done. do i still keep this in place? >> absolutely. don't open it up and leave it open. check the logs. most people aren't going to clean that out because things are still hot. make sure everything is pushed back. >> it's the holiday season. people hang ornaments, decorations by the mantle, if an ember pops out and hits this here, you're in trouble. >> a good rule of thumb. we have stockings hanging in front of our fireplace at home. at night, take you will of this stuff down, move it off to the side, make sure there's nothing combustible in the front of this fireplace and make sure that it's down as far as possible. >> when you take the embers out of a fireplace, you put them into one of the metal buckets

and you put the top on it. >> take it out of the house, the metal bucket. >> space heaters, hundreds of thousands of these are sold every year. what is the problem? >> the problem is they're a great way to heat up a cool space in your home. they come with a cord about three to four feet long. don't ever put this into an extension cord. >> why? >> the extension cord can heat up. you may have something that isn't rated for the same type of draw. these things when they're on high draw 1,500 watts. it's quite eye hot unit. they're safe as units are, when they tip over they shut off. make sure it's not near anything combustible. people put it by the window, and there may be drapes there, that get in front. even though the units are safe, something could happen. don't leave them unattended. >> every home should have these items here. we start with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. isn't this code? don't communities require these? >> all 50 states, state law require them and so it's really important. i can't stress enough to people that this is an inexpensive, life-saving tool.

it doesn't matter what age you are. doesn't matter whether you have kids in the house or not. smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should be in every floor, in sleeping spaces and particular at the top of the staircase. these have come a long way. they're very sensitive. >> these are going to go off at the first sign of a fire. >> right. >> they'll give you that time you need to get out. >> right. you think about there's a couple of different methods on how they use, they measure heat or smoke or both, and this is your first chance to get out of the home. >> as we change over to the new year, change the batteries in those. you like the escape ladders. are they hard to use? >> no, simple to use. this bracket here, you open up, you slide this under a bed on the second floor. you, god forbid there's a fire, you pull this cord, the ladder rolls out, you hook this on the window sill and you climb out to safety. >> if you've got kids capable and old enough to use this, you teach them how to use it. you also have a family plan. >> the family plan is very important.

you and i have young children. talk to your kids on a regular basis about where to go if there's a fire. pick a neighbor's house across the street. at hours the clemkin house. go across the street if there's a fire. >> go out of the house, take nothing with you. call 911 after you get out of the house. >> just take your family. >> fire extinguishers, a lot of households have them. a lot of people are intimidated about using them. >> most people when i ask, have you ever used a fire extinguisher and their answer is no. you said you've used it -- >> probably never in an emergency. >> buy two of them and i want to you take the one and take it outside and practice with it. because in a panic, what's going to happen is you're going to grab this thing, start pulling that trigger and wondering why it's not working. something to remember, if you cannot extinguish that fire in 20 seconds, if whatever it is you're trying to extinguish, put the thing down get out of the house and dial 911.

>> this one pull the safe tab out. >> hold it firmly, pull the trigger. i told you there would be dust. >> if it's something too big to be put out in 20 seconds it's not your job. >> that's a chemical one. this works great. use common sense. >> let's go over to savannah. let's head down to washington and check in with our good friend mr. willard scott. hey, willard. >> well it's getting to be toward "auld lang syne," so make resolutions and keep one. i'm going to gain weight. that's going to be my resolution. i can do that. joseph jackson of longview, texas, 101 years old today, and loves to fish and garden, and watch the you-know-who cowboys. ♪ hail to the cowboys we have eva, little eva beachler, and she is from

longwood, florida. 105 years old. enjoys keeping up with all kind of world events. hallelujah. pauline vallon of jackson, new jersey. 105 years old today. likes to help out at all kinds of fund-raisers and likes to sing her little heart out like a canary. hallelujah. now we have abe frey from biloxi, mississippi, 101 years old today, has a lifelong hobby, of doing all sorts of paintings and artwork and loves to show them to his friends. how about that? and we have beautiful helen harvey at holmes beach, florida. 104. how about those apples? i mean that's amazin loves to read the "wall street journal," and azep up with the

stock market. or keep down with the stock market, whichever comes first. we have louise ridgeway of aledo, illinois, 100 years old today. lives independently, and loves working in the yard. isn't that something, yard work and gardening, they love it, and she loves and is so proud to be a citizen of the usa. god love you. well that's it. that's all. now back to our friends in new york. >> willard, thanks. coming up, 12 places to visit in 2012. but first some of the striking images that we've shown you and we've seen in 2011. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> it is 8:26, oakland has been without an encampment, police cleared out the last camp on november 22nd. a brand new camp, this in a vacant lot near mandela parkway. some of the other locations was high profile. this one, pretty much under the radar. 13, 14 tents out there, one occupy protester said they will stay put as long as they k and

they must figure out who owns the lot they are camped out on. time for a check on your weather. hi, kristina. oh, mike. >> skies are looking clear, 880 all that back up half an hour ago has cleared. the maps show no major construction. foam on the road at 280. >> we will be back in a few. i will get it straight. weather, traffic, and see it on facebook, they don't mess it up. it's the perfect time to find great deals

on the 4g lte devices you love. like the droid bionic by motorola for $199.99. or the pantech breakout for $49.99. our lowest price ever. get the technology you love, on the network you deserve. and for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon.

8:30 now on a wednesday morning, december 28th, 2011, just another chance to check out our nice crowd, big crowd here on the plaza on this wednesday morning. the rain has cleared. the sun is out, although it's going to get a little chilly and windy by this afternoon. no problem though. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, who

is in while ann is taking some time off and we're joined by carl quintanilla as well. always good to have you both here. coming up, we're going to take a look at some of the great destinations for travel, thanks to the people at "travel & leisure" magazine. these are places you must put on your travel itinerary for 2012. these are not last year's places. i think a couple particularly in the united states might surprise you. >> there are some surprises on that list. also ahead the story of one sibling's remarkable effort to save her brother's life. he needed a kidney transplant. she was willing to donate one of her kidneys but doctors told her she was too overweight to donate her kidney. she's worked out, lost 130 pounds, they have now gone through that surgery, they're going to be here live to tell us how it turned out. what do a porcupine, a bobcat and a couscous have in common? >> couscous as in the side dish? >> we'll find out. they're all delicious by the way

but animals in studio. there's an owl. >> none of the above right there. >> we'll get up close and personal with them later on. >> courtesy of the national wildlife foundation which is what, celebrating a major milestone. >> huge anniversary. >> cool. stephanie abrams is in for al with a check of the weather. >> i found a high school student from thailand. what are you most excited about? >> i want to see the snow. >> i can't give anybody snow. she's come all the way from thailand. let's see where we're going to see snow today, on into the northeast, a little bit of lake-effect snow but not a whole lot will be falling. otherwise colder temperatures are from the upper midwest as we head into the day tomorrow. the northern tier, we will see a little bit of snow, the northwest is where all the good morning to you, we have moisture passing through the area. some cities getting light rainfall. san jose, thicker clouds. that will be the the case throughout the afternoon. clouds thicken up.

as a front tries to inch its way into the bay area, falling apart north of the golden gate bridge. as we head throughout the day, expecting 60s with sunshine coming through the clouds. we have a better chance of wide spread rain on friday. around the corner. if you want your forecast, all you have to do is go to weather.com 24 hours a day. savannah, all yours. coming up next, 12 great places to travel in 2012. but first this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] they've been off limits to dieters since time began. not anymore. fiber one is bringing brownies back. at 90 calories, the only thing between you and chocolaty brownies... ♪ ...is a nicely designed package. ♪ you can have brownies again. fiber one 90 calorie brownies. in the granola bar aisle.

caramel...pretzel 90 calorie bar. ♪

>> announcer: "today's travel" is brought to you by the united mileage plus explorer card. get it, and you're in. >> coming up this morning, we are going to be talking about "today's travel." instead of looking back at the year that was in 2011, nilo

nilou motamed is here from "travel & leisure" magazine and she'll give us destinations we should consider in 2012. >> good morning. >> happy holidays. we're telling people plan your year ahead. you've got to get out and see the country and the world and some of these destination also surprise people. let's start here in the united states. okay, bentonville, arkansas. why? >> it is unexpected, the home of walmart but the youngest heir of walmart decided she wants to build the most impressive museum in a generation in this town in arkansas. now you get one of its most important architect in the world, important artworks and put them in the unexpected destination in the ozarks and we predict this will be a buzzing destination. >> easy to get there? >> easy to get there. there's a loft to stay at for only $89 a night and lots of hotels coming up. i see you're incredulous. >> not at all. >> it's unexpected but we love a

place not new york and not chicago and not l.a. is getting buzz. >> let's move on, the next one i like, not only is it close to home, it has the exotic feel of a foreign country because it is a foreign country. >> toronto in canada. there's been the film festival there, a great restaurant theme, so great that two big wigs from new york restaurants are going there, david tang and daniel belou opening his cafe, the four seasons. >> a lot of fights there. >> feels like you're close to home but you are in a foreign country. >> few locations make the list down south, st. vin gent acent gr grenadines, but your pick is panama. >> if you've been to belize and craving the central american excitement this is the place to go. frank gary is building a bi bio museo, a museum devoted to

biodiversity. the panama canal is having a $5.6 billion expansion happening in a couple of years. >> so accommodate the super ships. >> and great hotels, manray, a great hotel. >> we were there for "where in the world" and we saw a lot of americans and all said they loved it. >> go before it changes. this is the moment to go. >> moving across the pond into europe, hamburg, germany and guemaraes in portugal and also costa navarino, greece. >> it's a 20-minute flight from athens. despite the economic challenges greece has had, you're going to get an incredible ecoresort only 20 minutes flight from athens. >> you bring up the economic difficulties. the country has been teetering on the brink for a long time. that means it's a travel bargain for americans? >> the romanos which is beautiful which has 80% of its energy coming from solar power in the year 2012 which is amazing. only $193 a night to stay there

and they have five different kinds of honey at breakfast table. >> there's the reason to go right there. >> they're not skimpy. that's what i'm saying. >> is it a bummer to go there right now? >> any place, weather that's had a tsunami or natural disaster, it's great to support them. >> you bring up challenges, your next location is sri lanka. people who follow the news say wait a minute, there's been a lot of difficulties in that country, including a civil war. >> 26-year civil war. >> so why is now the time or 2012 the time to go to sri lanka? >> it ended three years ago and i went last night on travel.state.gov and there are no travel advisories for americans traveling there. you get value and you get a place that is still relatively untouched. >> what is to do when you get there? >> everything from going to the national reserve where they have incredible animals to just the local people and the incredible culture and a lot of people don't know sri lanka is just off

the indian subcontinent so interesting mix of southeast asia and india. >> you have three spots in a are exotic, the first one in china called? >> xishunagbanna. >> and northern coast. >> this is beautiful, beautiful resorts, unspoiled, stunning, stunning vistas. >> you like abu dhabi. >> abu dhabi, you went to dubai and you know that was booming. abu dhabi is the next great destination in the middle east. >> nilou motamet, bettonville, arkansas. >> that's right. >> shout out to bentonville. up next a sister who lost 130 pounds to save her brother's life. we'll catch up with both of them, but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪

okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol.

i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? this morning on "today's update" the gift of life. a few months ago we shared the story of a brother and sister

and the lengths she went to, to save her brother's life. we'll catch up with them live in a moment. first nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman has their story. when tony boulder was diagnosed with kidney disease, doctors told the 40-year-old father he wouldn't survive without a new kidney. his sister, carrie, quickly stepped up to the plate but just as quickly doctors turned her down. at 375 pounds, she couldn't even be considered as a donor. >> we felt it was much too risky for her at that point in time because her risk of developing type ii diabetes or kidney failure or both were quite high, given that her weight was over 300 pounds. >> reporter: carrie refused to take no for an answer so she took matters into her own hand and stepped onto a treadmill for the first time in her life. >> i went down, plugged it in, it worked, got on it and started walking. >> reporter: and mile by mile, she shed the pounds, determined to save her brother's life.

two years later, and 130 pounds thinner, doctors told carrie she was not only an eligible donor but a perfect match. >> i called him, he kind of just sat there, he didn't say anything for a while because we were waiting. we were excited. >> back at 8:09 -- >> in september carrie and tony shared their good news with us. >> the fact that she did that, tony, means what to you? >> it's just, giving me my life back. i just feel very fortunate i have a sister like carrie to do that for me. >> reporter: but their journey was only just beginning. >> i'm a little nervous for my sister. her surgery is a lot more invasive than mine. >> i feel good, surprisingly i'm calm. >> reporter: and calm she stayed, with the support of her family, carrie never had a second thought. as she headed into surgery, her brother followed closely behind, in hopes of a new future, and

just moments later came the greatest gift a sibling could give, the gift of life. >> and dr. nancy is here along with tony boulda and carrie roberts. tony, you look great. how do you feel after the surgery? >> i feel great. >> how did it go? >> it went perfect, yes. >> and so what do they tell you now? what do the doctors say about your diagnosis? are you cured? >> yeah, pretty much i'm kidney disease free. i have no more eating restrictions which i've taken full advantage of since i've gotten out of the hospital. not too much. >> ask carrie, she'll tell you how to get back on board. >> right. >> carrie, when you look at that story and here you were not only willing to go to great lengths but to take on a massive undertaking to lose that weight, how do you feel now, having given him literally a new lease on life? >> i feel great. it feels good to see how great he feels and how back to normal he's doing, and -- >> tony you're more emotional

now than the first time we met. >> yes. >> did it hit you more? >> yes, now that we're passed it all and things worked out perfectly. >> savannah, when we first met we looked at two lives being saved, a life being saved and a life literally kari saved her own life but it's a reminder, 96,000 people on waiting lists, most people having two kidneys think about being a donor. it doesn't always have to be siblings. >> kari what was your experience? sometimes the donor experience can be more complicated than the recipients. i know you had a tummy tuck, too, at the same time which i know added a little more pain. >> yes. it was what i expected. i mean, it's not a walk in the park you know, but it was a little painful, but the outcome was worth all of that. >> yes. how are you planning to keep the weight off? because that's always such the challenge. >> i still enjoy walking. i haven't gotten back to running yet, but yeah, i enjoy walking.

it's more like, you know, kind of therapeutic for me, and i just think it's the way i eat is just burned in my brain now. >> i imagine that you were close already, the way you so quickly leapt to help your brother but how has it transformed your relationship, tony? >> brought us more closer, we spend a lot more time together and you know, i owe her everything. i don't know how i'll ever be able to repay her but it's brought us a lot closer. >> they always say it's better to give than receive. how do you feel? >> i feel great. i feel like i said, it feels really good to see how good he feels. >> and dr. nancy, what would your message be? there are people out there, they need donors, i mean what's the message here? >> this is the one organ for some reason we're given two of, in most good days you need one of. think about being a kidney donor. it's interesting, these guys move forward in their lives, the real impetus to stay healthy is because you know you have one

kidney. you have one kidney. so you want to protect that and the ways to protect that are to eat a good diet, avoid diabetes and high blood pressure and when you come so close to losing your life or losing a sibling, you look at life very differently, especially this time of year, so this is the feel good story that can resonate to millions of people across this country. >> and there may be no more powerful message than to hear from the two of you, who have actually been through the experience. what would you want to say to people out there who may be considering becoming donors? tony? >> definitely consider it. it's a great thing for me. you know, i mean, there's nothing really more you could do for somebody than to give them a piece of yourself and save your life. >> and kari, you've been through it. >> yeah, yeah, i would say you don't really, you don't need two kidneys and if you could help somebody else, then i mean, the way it makes you feel inside is worth all of it, you know. >> with the extraordinary shortage in this country it's really a time to remember there are 96,000 people out there who

are watching this and thinking, could i be the next person to be so lucky? >> both of you are such an inspiration on multiple levels, we're so glad you came back and shared your story. tony and kari, thank you and dr. nancy thank you as always. coming up next an animal invasion right here in studio 1a, that porcupine is here. we'll say hi to him and other amazing creatures. first this is "today" on nbc. the word is swapportunity.

can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today.

back now at 8:50 with "today's call of the wild." the national wildlife federation celebrated its 75th anniversary in the year 2011 and here with some of the animals that the group fights very hard to save is david mizijewsky, a natural with the nwf. what was the mission statement when this organization was founded? >> pretty much the same it is today to protect wildlife for our children's future. 75 years we've been doing that, hope to do it for 75 more years and with the help of americans we can do that to protect animals. these are animals from all over the world. is a prehensile tailed porcupine. he comes from brazil. these guys live up in the trees. they use the tail which is almost like a fifth limb, they

can hold onto things with this. >> do other porcupines do not have a prehensile tail? >> they do not. the north american porcupine in the states do not have that. >> he looks like he's a vegetarian. >> he's an herbivore and chomping on sweet potato. >> the quills, are they dangerous? >> they're gorgeous. >> unless they stick in you. >> you notice i'm not touching him, the quills will stick in my hands. it's a form of protection. they cannot shoot them, a lot of people think porcupines can fling their quills out but if a predator went after this animal and touched it, they are very loosely attached and they will stick in and it's not a good thing. >> what's next? >> our next animal is -- >> and they get along? >> yeah, we're going to take the porcupine away. another gorgeous animal, snowy owl. you guys have probably all seen the harry potter films. >> yes. >> this is the same species at harry potter's owl, gorgeous

white feathers. where do you think they live? >> in the arctic. >> exactly. so this bird is well camouflaged on the tundra. unlike most other birds or owls, these don't nest in trees because there are no trees. these guys are ground nesters, they're predators, they eat le lemmings and this bird has come a lot further south than it normally would. people in upper new england, upper midwest are actually seeing snowy owls because the lemmings population has crashed up in the arctic so they've come further south to find more food. stunning, beautiful creature. >> i see one in the distance, also pretty. >> another arctic animal, our next guy, this is an arctic fox. as you can see, again, white fur here. this animal grows this white fur in the fall, to be camouflaged in the winter. in the spring it molts the white fur and grows a gray coat which

is camouflaged in the summer because the snow melts up there. >> how are they doing in terms of numbers? >> these are not threatened species however their habitat is. climate change is something the national wildlife foundation works on. they skaf cavenge polar bears a follow polar bears and eat the leftover carcasses. >> padded feet? >> they have padded feet and thick fur. you can gently touch it, you feel how thick that fur is. this keeps this animal completely well insulated. the fact it's warm in here for him, he was panting back stage because he wants to be out in sub freezing temperatures. >> he was excited about the segment and a little nervous. >> we've got couple more animals here. this last one is called a cuscus, not a couscous. this is a marsupial, related to kangaroos, to qukoalas.

>> so there's a pouch. >> there is a pouch, she's a feel miami. in america we have things like virginia opossums. everyone calls them possus. in australia, new guinea, southeast asia, we have animals called possum with no "o." >> that is also a prehensile tail? >> correct. 'got amazingly strong basically hands. you can see the configuration of the digits there. actually helps this animal climb around in the trees, that prehensile tail does that. it's amazing. most people have never seen this animal before. that's why i'm excited to have him on. >> we highlight the work the national wildlife federation has done, over 75 years, getting us to care about what goes on in

the w > you can do to avoid picking up nasty germs on the next flight. first your local news and weather. good morning, the time is 8:56, i am john kelly. this holiday season, something doesn't look right in lake tahoe. people on vacation, looking to enjoy their holiday with snow, they only had a couple of inches, this is 95% below the

average snow depth. there is a chance for a weak storm today. the forecast not looking too good. reports are, the snow using machines is how they will get it. and to a professional. >> they'll see more rain than snow in tahoe today. better chance on friday. thursday, a big happy birthday to our director. if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't get the show on the air everyday. beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ femalennouncer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios.

back with more of "today" on wednesday morning, december 28th, 2011. we've got a festive crowd waving hello to their friends and family members back home, and we're just always happy to have them share in our moments. in the background, the rockefeller center christmas tree still in all her glory. if you're coming to new york, hurry up. that thing gets taken down, what was it? >> january 7th. >> a week and a half left. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie.

al and ann are both off today. coming up, an elaborate and seemed like an unusual funeral for a world leader, a dictator. >> incredibly striking images out of north korea, the funeral procession for kim jong-il, the reception through the streets of pyongyang and people weeping uncontrollable. was that for real or was that staged? we'll get into all of that. also ahead, money questions answered, for example, how do you manage to pay down debt in your life, while managing to keep enough money on the side to actually enjoy your life. our money 911 experts will be weighing in on that question and many others. >> we have a lot of good questions this morning and also a segment made tailored for resident germophobe, mr. matt lauer. how to avoid nasty germs on flights. >> unavoidable. >> don't fly. carl quintanilla is in while natalie is taking time off. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. a rare glimpse into north korea

as a massive funeral procession for long time leader kim jong-il paraded through the streets of pi i don't think ang. nbc's adrienne mong has the latest from south korea. >> reporter: in the end, they put on an elaborate show, under heavy snowfall, a long line of vehicles made its way slowly through the capital pyongyang. it was led by two vehicles in particular, one a limousine, bearing a portrait of the late kim jong-il and another the hearse believed to be carried the remains, joined by kim jong-un, also joined by his uncle. thousands mourning and wailing, asking for their dear leader as they called him to come back, telling everybody that he was the man who gave them everything. back to you, carl. >> nbc's adrienne mong in seoul, thanks. new information on the cause

of a deadly krs mass morning fire in stamford, connecticut. for the if, time we're hearing one of the 911 calls placed as the tragedy unfolded. craig melvin is in stamford this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: carl, good morning to you as well. workers behind me have been removing what's left of the badger family home. there's a memorial, flowers, teddy bears, a card from a small child. you can't see it but i talked to a firefighter who left a flower there a short time ago and he talked about what dozens of the firefighters saw here on christmas morning. he said they were so traum tilesed that many of them have had to have not one but two rounds of counseling. neighbors saw flames shooting as high as the trees and heard the trapped children screaming. >> there is a huge fire at the house next door to us, the whole house is on fire. it's a major fire and there's three kids and a woman. >> we have the fire department on the way, ma'am. >> please, please come quickly. >> are.

>> reporter: firefighters arrived and found 47-year-old madonna badger on the roof, shouting. frantic, shouting, desperately she tried directing firefighters to her family but the flames were too hot, the smoke too thick. >> after 37 1/2 years, 38 years on the job, you're never prepared for anything like this. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: officials believe badger and her friend, mike, had started a fire in the fireplace. shortly after 3:00 christmas morning they put it out. >> the fire appears to have been caused by hot fireplace ash and embers which had been gis carded. discard discarded. >> reporter: the blaze spread quickly to the second and third floors. everyone woke up and tried to get out but five didn't make it. lily badger was 10. twins sarah and grace 7. their grandparents, lomer and paula johnson, were visiting for the holidays. the day before he died, lomer played st. nick at saks fifth avenue.

firefighters found him just outside an upstairs window, trying to help his granddaughter escape. >> there were a pile of books. looks like she was placed on the books so he could get out the window and then reach in and grab her, but when he went out the window, that's when he succumbed. >> reporter: tuesday officials said no one should have been living in the victorian house because of ongoing renovations. they are not sure if the home had working smoke detectors or fire alarms. they'll know for certain when they talk to madonna badger again. right now, they're letting her grieve. >> that poor woman lost her entire family in one foul swoop. i couldn't imagine how she feels. >> reporter: michael boracina last check was in fair condition at a nearby hospital. at this point we have not heard about funeral arrangements for the three small children or two grandparents. >> craig melvin, thank you for that. new reports this morning as to what sparked a huge brawl at minnesota's mall of america on

monday. nine people were arrested, up to 200 shoppers reportedly involved in the scuffle. fighting each other, grabbing items from other shoppers and kiosks. witnesses are reporting the frenzy was touched off by rumors the rappers lil wayne and drake were visiting the mall. local police did conot confirm the rumors were to blame. there were no serious injuries reported. the clock is ticking toward the big celebration that will mark the end of the year in new york. on tuesday, workers installed the final panels on the glittery ball that will drop new year's eve from high atop times square. this year's theme is let there be friendship. and there's a new video of roller man, the real life transformer who seems to have roller blade skates growing out of every part of his body. he is the alter ego of 41-year-old jean yves blandeau, who likes to speed down roads in the french and swiss alps. probably needs a good

chiropractor. six minutes past the hour with stephanie and a check of the weather. >> i don't know what's more dangerous that or two 16-year-olds getting their license. what are you going to do for your 16th birth day? >> i'm going to see "wicked." >> what are you doing? >> shopping. >> carl this is wha you have forward to when your babies grow up. you're going to be celebrating with a mess into the northwest but don't let that stop you.up enjoy it, clouds, rain, snow into the higher elevations over the next 24 hours, otherwise the rest of the country is looking pretty dry here and >> some interesting things around the bay area, a mix of sun and clouds here, some rain showers coming down across the bay. one cell, bull's eyeing san francisco. falling apart. you will likely see a bit of rainfall in the next 15 minutes. 60s with enough breaks in the clouds to let sunshine through. 61 degrees. wide spread rainfall

on friday. have a great day. money, always sunny ♪ >> thanks. now to "today's money 911" where we answer some of your most pressing financial questions. courtney reagan, correspondent for cnbc, david bach, founder of finishrich.com and author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson, cnbc's personal financial correspondent. good morning. too early to say happy new year? >> happy birthday. >> thank you, i was stretching it out one for day. first question e-mail, jacqueline in honolulu, hawaii, i havele examinent credit but i just canceled one card as i wanted another airline card. i was told it could hurt my credit score if i cancel a card. is this true? courtney, a lot of people wonder this. you hear this. what is the truth?

>> seems not to make sense but it does impact your credit negatively if you cancel a credit card. there are five factors that go in to determining that credit score, payment history, amount owed, types of credit, it's new credit and all of these things together make up that credit score. two of them make up your credit utilization, so the easiest way to explain this is with an example. if you have four credit cards, say that total is $30,000 of available credit and you have 10,000 of an outstanding balance. 10,000 divided by 30,000 is 30%, you're managing your credit fairly well according to the credit agencies. however, you cancel one of the cards you lose $10,000 of available credit, so now you're $10,000, over $20,000, you have a 50% credit utilization. not as good. >> around 30% is a sweet spot. >> keep it at 10% you may improve your score. that's what they want to see. >> 10% would be ideal. >> 10% boo be ideal. >> david, next one for you, skype, kevin in sherman oaks, california, up early with us.

kevin, good morning. >> good morning. >> go ahead with your question. >> my wife and i have two kids, ages 3 and 1. plus a third on the way. we'd like to start some sort of college fund for them. we've heard about a 529 account, but don't know if this is the best option. what else is out there for us? also, if we do set up the fund, we set it up in their names or in our names? >> first of all mostly you're speaking about saving for college and the key is to save automatically. so every time you get paid, whatever plan you use, you want to be saving every two weeks when you get paid. having that money removed from your checking account into whatever you choose to use for college savings. the 529 plan is what i use for both my kids. here's why. first of all it's in my name. i looic that. in your case it's in your name. i control the money, you control the money, the kids don't control the money. the money grows tax free until i take it out for education costs. it will be the same thing for you.

so it's tax deferred growth and you control the money, that's the key. if you choose not to do a 529 plan, you can look at what's called an educational i.r.a. or a cloverdale account. i don't like those because you can only put up to $2,000 into it and it depends on how much money you earn so i choose the 529 plan, go to savingforcollesavingforcolleg savingforcollege.com, review the 529 plans across the country. every state right now has a plan. in many cases the plan in your state will allow to you get an extra tax deduction, a small tax deduction but check based on your state. >> thanks, kevin, hope that answers your question. another e-mail from michelle who writes, "our oldest daughter will begin college in the fall of 2012. we established a 529 account for her years ago and contribute to it regularly. recently a high-interest cd of hers matured and we're wondering whether we should roll this into her 529. how does it affect the fafsa,

and is there any advantage of having the money be in her name or in our names?" sophisticated viewer this is morning. >> i have a 529 for my kids. i love it. the reason why it's terrific, this is in your name and when it's in your name, that's better for financial aid. you'll be assessed at a lower rate than it was in the students' name so that cd should go into a 529 plan, regardless of who the owner is, it will be assessed at the parents rate that's under 6% compared to the student's rate which would be assessed at 20%. the other thing that as david mentioned the tax free withdrawals and the growth tax free, that's great for financial aid purposes as well. the thing to remember, less than a year, couple months away from going to college, don't. you the this money all in equities. you can find cds, money market accounts within a 529 plan, that's where the money should be invested, savingforcollege.com a great place to go and also for financial aid.

>> lisa's question from granger, india indiana, i'm in debt, trying to climb out but there is no money left after paying bills. is there a way to attack debt load and still live a bit, that i'm not seeing? >> i think this problem is two-fold. first thing is tackle that debt, make it as low as possible. the first thing i would do is call up the different billing companies or billing agencies that deal with the different debts that you owe. see if they will settle with you, if you agree to pay it a little bit sooner, perhaps even immediately, they will not knock some of that off. second prioritize those debts. pay off the ones that have the highest interest rates first so that's the first part. second part, stretch that income. what i want you to do is write down everything you spend for a month, everything from the rent that you pay to the soda that you buy at the gas station. it's going to be hard but it's like a food diary. will you see where every penny goes and it's much easier to cut back that way, and last but not least, make little cuts where you can. pack your lunch, carpool to

work. all of that adds up in a big way especially if you do it over time. >> thank you so much. good questions from our smart viewers and smart panelists, courtney reagan, david bach, sharon epperson thank you. coming up next, staying healthy while you travel, how to avoid catching a cold on your next flight. plus sweet treats from the sugar mamas. we'll have them coming up.u. oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free. [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu.

the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy.

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in.

♪ come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away ♪ this morning on "tooled's health" germs on a plane. the scariest thing you might encounter when you're flying over the holidays is a fellow passenger hacking and coughing. what can you do to stay healthy?

dr. cakeri peterson, contributo to "women's health." flying is nasty. >> it is, if you don't take proper precautions. >> what is the likelihood of getting sick after a flight? >> there have been great studies that looked at this. when the h1n1 virus came out, 2% of passengers that boarded the plane with a virus. they followed up with all the passengers a week later, and five additional percent of the passengers had gotten the same exact strain of virus and depends on where you sit in the plane. if you're sitting within two rows of someone who has flu symptoms you increase your likelihood of getting sick by 3.6% and within two seats of someone beside you, it doubles to 7.7%. >> so it's not a coincidence. >> no. >> you say there are four main reasons you get sick on airlines and you start with the security checkpoint. >> um-hum, even before you get on the plane you're putting yourself at risk of exposure. people are bunched in lines, they're on top of you, in front

of you, behind you, they're coughing and sneezing all over you, probably not covering their mouths, and then think about the security bins that you put your handbag in, your jacket in. what else are you putting in there, your shoes, the bottom of your shoes that have touched every germ imaginable on the floor are lining that bin. you might as well take the bottom of your shoe and wipe it on your clothing. >> you already mentioned passengers nearby in the hot zone so to speak and the environment on the plane, the air we know is relatively dry and that makes your body less likely to fight off infection. >> it does at 30,000 feet the air is dry and viruses thrive in that environment and not to mention that same dry air drys out the lining of your nose. when your mucus membranes are dry you're more susceptible to infection and more likely to become dehydrated and dehydration makes you susceptible. >> whether or not the air is recirculated enough. they have filters. >> a lot of people think they're not effective but they happen to be extremely effective. they filter 99.7% of germs and

viruses and bacteria. however, the issue is when the plane is idle, when passengers are coming in and exiting the plane, or if it's delayed on the tarmac there is a high incidence of germs spreading like wildfires. there have been studies as well, a plane stuck on the tarmac for three hours with 54 patients on it, 72% of them got the flu from one source passenger. >> wow. >> and that is why the faa actually began advising planes to get passengers off the plane if it's idle for more than 30 minutes. >> 30 minutes. so you say preparing yourselves, let's start by talking about what you can do before you go to the airport. >> okay, there are a few things. first get your flu shot. the best way you can protect yourself against getting the flu and at "women's health" bring a travel health kit, put in tissues, pain relievers and anti-bacterial hand rub if you don't have water and also soap. and then finally eat healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables and exercise. those boost your immune system.

>> while you're traveling, there are more tips on that front, right? >> especially on the plane. hydrate well, bring a bottle of water and saline spray to keep your nasal passages lubricated, bring disinfek cant wipes and wash down the high risk areas, the armrests, tray tables and television buttons and wash your hands frequently and use sanitizer. three things to avoid, the first is avoid shared items. if they're not wrapped in plastic like the pillows, the blankets, the magazines, stay away from them. here is another little trick, the air vent, don't blow it on your face. direct it just in front of you, it directs the germs away from you instead of on you, and then finally, be aware of your surroundings if you hear a passenger within that two-row hot zone, ask if you can change your seat. >> good luck with that last one. >> if there's a seat available. >> keri, thank you very much. dr. keri peterson. coming up, are you worried

whether your child will find a job after graduating from college? what they can do now to improve their chances, but first these messages. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light.

over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido you're welcome, mija! coraliz has the manners of an adult and something else adult-like. my treatment. at st. jude children's research hospital, we pioneered the new use of an adult cancer drug that could help save kids like coraliz across america. what does research mean? to mommies and daddies, it means everything. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to st. jude.org or shop wherever you see our magnifying glass. john. loo. latrine. head. bog. the oval office. the porcelain throne. the toilet. no matter what you call it, clorox has been trusted to keep it clean

for nearly 100 years. you squashed my willpower like a fly. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star, natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia®. honestly sweet. still ahead, kathie lee and hoda catch up with bret

michaels. >> and delicious desserts with the sugar mamas, after your local news. ...there are no sick days. ♪ vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. [ snoring ] [ indistinct talking on tv ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free.

good morning, it is 9:26. a new report out this morning said that as plan to move doesn't seem to be on the agenda. here is the proposed stadium for san jose. a report said that baseball was expected to approve the move soon. the giants own the rights, and the team is not letting go without a fight.

a solid contender, eight players will head to oah o. the patriots are sending eight. on the 49 list, rodgers, goldstin, frank smith, david akers and andy lee, four of them will be honored as starters. on the raiders side, three, the kicker jan cow ski, joined by seane lecler and richard seymr, the pro bowl will be played on january 29th. ym

good northerning, we had a bit of moisture pass throughout bay, a mix of sun and clouds over the city of san jose. can you see the layer of haze. we are looking at better air quality as pressure moves on

shore. supplying us with moisture, mixing up the atmosphere, the air won't be as stagnant through the next couple of days. turning cloudy, as can you see, a few more showers on friday. checking your drive with mike. >> we are mixing it up a bit. the approach to the bay bridge, fine. toll plaz ano metering lights all morning. a report of a three-car accident. no slows shows up. we will track this one. and out to the south bay, no major slowing or problems through san jose, hardly any minor slowing. the live shot shows you 92 over the water. back to you. >>y woo will be back at 9:56.

[ laughter ]. and we're still laughing. that's michael mcarthur, the baby who put smiles on millions of faces in 2011, laughing hysterically as his dad ripped up a job rejection letter. that's been viewed more than 32 million times on youtube. he'll be here with other folks who made it big on youtube, that's tomorrow on "today."

stephanie apparently a fan of the "friday" song. it is tough out there to find a job, no question about that. believe it or not there is good news as well, where should your young adults looking for work look and how much can they expect to make? answers coming up. deborah sharpe author behind the "mace bauer" mysteries. we are new book is filled with mysteries and laughs, too. the self-proclaimed sugar mamas. everybody should have a sugar mamas. they're in the house to share some of their favorite dessert recipes, unapologetic sweet stuff. >> i love it, two former lawyers i believe. >> and rock stars. >> two sugar mamas, not just one sugar mama. you got two. >> let's get a check of the weather. stephanie abrams is here. >> new year's eve is right around the corner. here we go your midnight forecast, it is really looking phenomenal across the country, a

little bit cold in the northern tier but nothing that you can't handle and as we take you into times square, look at this, partly cloudy, i don't know that you can call 36 to 40 degrees cold, right, guys? >> who writes that? >> i think it's cold. >> not for new york city. >> there you go. >> true, on new year's eve. what is 36 is cold, we think. temperatures on new year's eve, looking comfortable. when the clock strikes midnight in san francisco, we will be at 52, much nicer on the west coast. the showers are dwindling away. and temperatures in the south bay, in particular, climb to the 60s. better chance of rain on friday. looking more wide spread. >> are you guys the new year's resolution types? >> no, why bother.

break them every year. you? >> no. >> good talk. >> i need to, i just don't bother. stephanie, thank you so much. coming up next what your college student can do to improve his or her chances of finding work after graduion, coming up right after this. ou h. ♪ imagination ♪ imagination imagination ♪ ♪ helps you see the world in different ways ♪ yay! yay! ♪ this is a pony ♪ and this is a choo-choo ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. and this is a... [ male announcer ] with a wii twist. what is this? [ male announcer ] netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds. all for only 8 bucks a month. ♪ yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart.

[ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues are america's softest... no wonder people want to share them on and on. send a kleenex brand share package for free today at kleenex.com and start your own chain of sharing. in return, you'll receive a sample of new kleenex cool touch tissues... the only tissue that actively releases a cool sensation to soothe a sore nose on contact. kleenex. softness worth sharing.

happened to come across quicken loans online. [ chris ] quicken loans constantly kept us updated and got us through the process twice now. quicken loans is definitely engineered to amaze. they were just really there for us. fi p p pharmacist,efinitely engineered to amaze. i have technology, like computerized patient records, that helps me make a difference in the care of our veterans. and that's what they deserve. (announcer) learn more about careers with today's va at vacareers.va.gov. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios.

millions of americans are struggling to find work, a fact that isn't lost on college students preparing to begin their careers. so what can recent college graduates and kids who are still in school do to improve their unemployment odds? cat cohen is ceo and founder of ivy wise. >> good morning. >> graduates and parents look around, see the unemployment rate is 8.6% and they think there's no chance. is that true? >> well, those numbers are scary but the good news is the unemployment rate for college graduates is only 4.4%. so you're twice as likely to be employed if you have a college degree, and i tell students, though, a job isn't just going to fall into your lap. students have to work for this. they have to be proactive. they have to network and utilize their resources and colleges are doing a lot to help students with the job placement. it's important when a student gets to their college, find out what the internship opportunities are and what the

career service resources are available to them. >> when you graduate i think employers are in some cases looking for work experience and a new graduate might say i don't have much work experience. i just got out of school iof sc. what is your advice to them? >> they're not only being counseled on which career path they should choose but being provided resources on resumes, cover letters to interview etiquette and exposing their students to various industries, helping with internship placement, they might be hosting career expos on their campus, they're inviting professionals to come and speak, preparing students with alumni so for example, barnard has a program called m.a.p.s., matching alumni to partner with students. an alumni will mentor a student and they have this program, take a barnard student to work and what's also great about barnard you can borrow a suit from their suitable suits closet for your interview. >> that's a great program and the importance of networking and

internships cannot be overstated in this case. let's talk about job sectors and salaries and where some of the hot spots are right now for jobs. >> right, well according to the national association of colleges and employers, january 2012 salary survey, they're reporting that the top industries for job placement are hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, justice, retail, computer systems design and actually the highest salaries are going to graduates in computer science, engineering, business, and health sciences, and in terms of colleges, actually, the highest starting salaries are coming from mit, cal tech, loma linda, molloy and harvey mudd. those start between $60,000 and $70,000 for a starting median salary and that's really high. >> the average salary overall is up year over year. >> it is. they're reporting, nace is reporting for the class of 2011,

graduates, their starting salary is up to $41,701, which is up 2.3% from the class of 2010. >> so what do you say to those, all right, mit, i'm not going to mit. i might not go to an ivy league school at all. am i going to make anywhere close to that money? >> you don't have to go to an ivy league school as we see from the top salary list, none of which are ivies. the select school is not a dealmaker. we tell students college is what you make of it. you've got to make an impact while you're there. you want to network with your peers and your professors, take advantage of academic and research opportunities, get involved in organizations and local community. ultimately employers are going to be looking for how you've made that impact while you're there. and they're also going to be looking for things, what i call soft factors so your work ethic, your communications skills, how well you collaborate with others, problem-solving and

critical thinking skills, and those, you can get at any college so that's, you should really cast your net wide. >> you make the point, too, if you're afraid of taking on a lot of debt to go to school it might pay off in the long run. >> it does. graduates aren't coming out of school, with an average of $25,000 in debt, they are coming out with that average, but think of this in terms of long-term payoff. college is an investment that will pay off for the rest of your life. the college board reports that people with a four-year college degree will actually make $1 million more over the course of their lifetime than those with just a high school diploma. i always say the more you learn, the more you earn. >> that will get people's attention. kat, thank you much. up next, deborah sharpe on her latest novel. and the sugar mamas will share their favorite cookie recipes. can'wa, itthatfibut that, but f these messages. [ female announcer ] removing facial hair can be irritating.

challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm. then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here.

[ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber while you are eating a candy bar? you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. back now a movie shoot in a southern florida town that turns deadly and that's when the fun begins. the presence of mama sees

stars." deborah sharpe, the author is here, practically related to us, also the wife of nbc's kerry sanders. deborah, good to have you here. >> thank you, great to be here. >> tell us about this latest one, mama sees stars, hollywood comes to your fictional town of himershey, florida. >> gave me the opportunity for the fish out of water. a hollywood movie company invades this town. mace bauer gets her job as a horse wrangler and her mama sees this as a chance to become a star. >> as the title indicates. what is mama's behavior? >> always over the top, happily over the top, right, and she just cannot wait to get a speaking role in this movie and she spends her whole time trying to do that. unfortunately, they find a body, and that kind of throws things -- >> i was going to say the drama seems to happen behind the scenes instead of in the movie, the executive producer turns up dead. how did that happen? >> well, it's funny, people always ask how do you get your ideas? this particular idea i was a

former journalist, and i had an assignment to go and trail somebody on a movie set so i went to a big hollywood movie set shooting in florida, and this executive producer was so obnoxious to me and he yelled at me and he did this and he did that. he made me feel this small, so i thought 20 years later, so i'm going to kill that guy. >> you don't hold a grudge or anything. >> still hold a grudge, that's where the idea came from. >> turns up there are a lot of suspects. this guy is so mean, so nasty. >> that's right. >> he's got a lot of enemies. >> he really does, conkniniving crew members to the spoiled stars, a lot want him dead. >> there's humor in addition. mama, who is settling on her fifth husband. >> number five. he is a keeper she believes. we won't say that for sure. >> mace has complicated love relationships. >> mace bauer is the main character although mama thinks she's the main character. >> she does get the title character all the time. >> the middle daughter mace is

the main character and the amateur sleuth and has a rocky relationship with her hot, hunky detective from miami, florida. >> the library journal gave you a starred review which is great. they noticed how you mixed humor in a murder mystery. is that hard to pull off? >> it is a little hard and a line to walk. really homicide is not funny. i was a reporter for many years but you have to find funny ways to go over the top with these characters and whatnot so that's what i try to bring the humor in. >> the nice buzz on the book and had a red carpet book signing i believe. we have video of you on the red carpet. ooh there's a lone paparazzi. no, i thought we were going to see keri there. you have legions of fans. >> legions. >> it's just you and i. is kerry supportive of your writing? >> he's incredible. >> did he ever give you good ideas? >> he does give me good ideas and he actually reads the book.

>> good for him. is he legally required to? >> he must. >> are you working on your next one? >> i am, that's called "mama gets trashed." >> my goodness. based oen what we know about mama that's not really a surprise. deborah sharp great to have you here. "mama sees stars" is the book. thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up next some sweet suggestions to liven up your new year's celebration but first this is "today" on nbc. we're there already having fun. ♪

[ female announcer ] during the holidays, there's a lot to get done. and safeway select appetizers help you rise to every occasion. ♪ from delectable to amazing. there are over 20 affordable safeway select appetizers ♪ to make all of your gatherings just as merry as can be. ♪ only at safeway. ingredients for life.

♪ sugar, oh, honey, honey this morning on "today's holiday kitchen" tasty desserts to sweeten your new year's party. the sugar mamas, authors of the new cookbook "sugar, sugar, every recipe has a story. "kimberly, jenna, good morning. you need to tie memories to

sweets which as kids is something we all understand. >> absolutely. those are the best memories is around the desserts so we focused solely on that. >> as we like to say no one wants to talk about the brussel sprouts. everyone wants to talk about the dessert when they unbutton their pants at the table, silently. >> you guys became pals in law school and now you've moved on to this. what made you attracted to sweets. >> what doesn't? >> i guess that's the question. anything to not practice law. everybody goes to law school but -- >> right. >> that's what i was getting at. what are we making first? >> well, we are making some party pickups for new year's and we are going to start with lemon starlets. first you into ed to make your tart shells. you pink and push. if you want to pink a little dough off of there, roll it into a ball and press it with your thumb into the tin. you really can't get this wrong. >> are you sure? >> go with your basic store-bought dough? >> we've made this or you could

grab store bought. >> let's be honest, the tart shells are a vehicle to get the luscious lemon filling straight into your mouth. >> how do we make that lemon filling? >> well, we're going to come over here and we have two eggs and two egg yolks and we are going to mishky the eggs together. >> is that from jewish cooking history in. >> yes, that's our technical term we like to use. then what you're going to do is just put the eggs over some boiling water. >> oh. >> and then if you'd like to, savannah, please add -- >> butter i think. >> butter. >> yep. >> this is going to make your lemon kurd. >> lemon kurd right now. then we are going to add -- >> you really do use sugar. >> yes. >> how much is there a full cup? >> yes. >> this is lemon juice and lemon zest. >> okay. >> and we are going to mix this together, and this is going to cook on medium-low heat for

about ten minutes, until it cooks. >> you use the double boiler. >> you canboiler or a glass bowl over the pot. >> it gets to be the consistency of about mayonnaise and that's how you know it's done. >> exactly. >> we have our finished tart shells over here, and then we have the lemon kurd, and this is the fun part. now we get to assemble. >> okay. >> i like to take a spoon, and -- >> eat it out of the bowl. >> that's what i do. >> she does. >> for this segment we're not going to do that. >> she's very dainty about her spoons. >> you don't need to pipe it in a bag. >> i like to grab it and squeeze it in there. >> is there advantage to one technique over another? >> no, i like to make it pretty. >> and i've got pleases to be. >> what do you have on the top, meringue? >> we reserved some of the egg whites and added variety to the display. >> refrigerate how long?

>> refrigerate until you serve and you want to serve these right before midnight to make sure that you pucker up for your midnight kiss. >> a little champagne would go great with this. these are h-bombs. >> chocolate h-bombs, explosion of flavor. we start with the liquor. if we'd drizzle brandy over the top of the amareti. >> drizzle about a fourth of a teaspoon of brandy. you can use bourbon, whatever liquor you choose. get it over each cookie to make sure the cookie absorbs the flavor. >> have some dignity about it. >> or don't. >> gently drizzle. this is chocolate melted with honey and i'm going to take my salted milk and egg yolk and pour it in there and incorporate it and if you would like to add my creamed butter and sugar. >> put this in there? okay. >> exactly. >> i thought i was going to get to turn the mixer on. i got excited. >> don't go crazy. >> yeah, i know.

>> we got the creamed butter and sugar so we incorporate that nicely, a little bit at a time. until it gets to a nice smooth consistency over low heat. >> and ends up looking like this. >> it ends up looking like chocolate soup. no better soup than chocolate. >> does it have a strong alcohol taste? >> this has no alcohol in it at all. you put your vanilla in and throw dignity out the window and take your chocolate and slather it on. if you'd like to grab a spoon. >> i would. >> don't be shy. >> is there a technique to the slather? >> just go for it. >> i don't want to slather your outfit. there we go. slathering. >> yes. >> over here you have cherry slices. >> and we have some cakies and more alcohol bourbon balls. >> like shreddy balls but drunk. >> depends on how much you had new year's eve. >> thank you so much, sugar ma mass. >> thank you.

>> kimberly and jenna, thank you, great stuff. coming up the best travel deals for 2012 plus kathie lee and hoda are hanging out with none other than bret michaels, he used to do voiceover work for nbc early in the day. we'll get to some sugar. here's your local news. [ male announcer ] southwest makes the call. man: please swipe credit card.

what?! you've got to be kidding me?! i am absolutely not paying this fee. [ whistle blows ] whoa, whoa, whoa. break it up! please swipe credit card. i've got roughing the passenger's wallet. you okay, son? yeah, thanks, ref! looks like they hit you with a fee pretty hard. they sure did. good call, ref. please swipe credit card. look! see! that's it! you're gone! thanks, ref. swipe card, swipe card, swipe -- [ male announcer ] bags fly free. southwest airlines. it's the right call. it is 9:56, san jose city

leaders respond to one group's criticism to a new law. police willñi no longer respondo business alarms unless there is a confirmed break-n with fewer cops and a growing population, it will make sure that they respond to high priority calls. >> there is a tremendous risk here, specific when you are advertising to the public that in the normal circumstances, police are not going to respond, that doesn't make any sense. >> a city council member said the law will take effect sunday as planned. it costs the city $600,000 a year to respond to false alarms. now, the forecast. >> good morning to you, isolated

spotty activity, light and minim minimal, in terms of accumulations. starting at 2:00, showers continue to move east. today's high, 60 in san jose, a better chance for wide spread rainfall on friday. a comfortable start for 2012. >> we will take you to a new issue, 580 is cleared, eastbound 80, the same direction, at the brookwood curve, clearing lanes there. east shore freeway, no slowing past the scene. light volume, look at the bay bridge toll plaza, no metering lights, as you can see, that is the reason why. not a lot of cars. >> the drivers and the toll takers getting a break this week. we will be back in 30 minutes.

see you again at 10:26.

inchsz hey, everybody, welcome. it's december 28th. this year has flown by. >> it sure has. new year's eve is knocking. it's coming up. >> do you have big plans? >> you know what? i'm going to hang with jay. and we're going to catch a little sun because that's kind of what we do. just have some festivities. how about you guys? >> just you. >> just us two. >> yeah. we're going to hopefully down in

the keys with some friends. what we like to do is just watch the ball come down at midnight. then everybody goes to their separate rooms. >> yeah. go to sleep. >> i'll see you tomorrow. then we go to our favorite place, alabama jack's. >> oh, yeah. >> we have lunch the next day at alabama jack's, ring in the new year, clog with all the ladies that don't have teeth and ring in the new year. >> i've got to tell you, that is a fun spot. >> that place is outrageous. >> it really is. >> the whole world comes there, and we have a ball. >> this will put you in a good mood. we have a little father/daughter duo. this guy, jorge, has done -- he used to do some singing with his kids. he put it on youtube. you never know, when you plop something on youtube, is it going to be a big hit or not? he's singing with his daughter, a song by adele. let's take a listen. ♪ there's a fire starting in my heart ♪ ♪ reaching the fever pitch after

dawn ♪ ♪ the stars of yore ♪ remind me of us ♪ and keep me thinking that we almost had it all ♪ ♪ the stars of your love ♪ they lead me breathless ♪ i can't help feeling ♪ we could have had it all ♪ all rolling in the deep ♪ you had my heart inside of your hands ♪ ♪ and you played it to the beat ♪ >> oh, my gosh. what memories she will have. >> looks professionally shot. >> yeah, it sure does. wow! ♪ ♪ the stars of your love >> that's very, very sweet. they have now 61 million views. >> it's unbelievable. >> i can't even imagine how a

person's career -- i mean, i did it such the old-fashioned way, getting your little picture taken and going and, you know, singing anytime anybody would pay you a dollar, singing for free most of the time just so you could get heard. now it's different. >> you can get on "american idol" or one of the shows, put it on youtube. somebody asked me in an interview yesterday, did you really write that letter to walt disney? yes. when i was 6 or 7 when you learn to write, i wrote walt disney a letter. and it said, "dear mr. disney. i know you love hailey hills and annette funicello, and i like them, too, but you really need to meet me." what kind of chutzpah is that? i know from my expressions. i wish i had the letter back. he sent me a form letter, you know, dear kathie, whatever it was, work hard and maybe someday we will work together. and darn if i didn't do 15 years with the disney company with reege and i did a bunch of movies for them. >> that's crazy.

>> all the little sitcoms and stuff. you never know. you think about what's going to happen with that little girl. >> this is a problem that a lot of us women have. they say it is very important to blow your own horn. [ horn sound ] >> good. >> because women -- and i believe this completely -- women have a hard time saying, look what i did. >> well, we're raised to be modest. >> yes. >> not like hey! you know, look at me. you know, that's disgusting. >> and here's the other thing. the women who are, like, hey, i'm so proud of something. i was really, really good today on the show. and i did something great. i can't stand those kind of people. like i don't like people who spend their days talking about how great they are. >> well, let somebody else say it in general. unless there's nobody there, then go ahead. >> but here's the thing. guys are so good at saying what they don't. >> are you kidding me? look at me. you don't want this?

>> sometimes even in front of bosses, you'll see a guy bragging to the boss. you're, like, oh, my gosh. we all know what happened. >> he's taking credit for it. >> yes. they say that's what we should be doing more of this year. >> working mothers say they are happier than stay-at-home mothers. and i don't know. i've been both. so i think you have to be a happy person to begin with. and then the details are -- you know, the devil's in the details. but you've got to be a happy human being regardless of your circumstances. >> this is upsetting to a lot of people because the study says that working mothers are happier than stay-at-home mothers according to this study, but the happiest group of all are those who are part-time. >> part-time working mothers. they can be as involved as they can be with their kids, in the schools and all of that, but they also have a little income, and they have a different life that may seem a little bit more -- maybe not exciting but challenging. there's a different kind of challenging thing. >> when we were growing up, both of my parents worked. like we always came home.

>> that's who your role model was. >> yeah. we came home, and sharon, our baby-sitter, was there. we'd get the key when we were old enough. and our parents drilled, they said they get home at 6:00 or 6:30, and when they got home, dinner was supposed to be on the table, period. one of us would cook. >> what about the pierpot thing? let her make it. >> she was gone. she was history. >> did she cook? >> one person made the salad. we'd be, like, they're coming up the driveway. we were dragging stuff out of the oven and we'd plop it on the table. it was awful but it was ours. >> to this day is that why you hate to cook? that's why she loves whole foods. >> we were always late, burned on the outside and frozen or raw on the inside. he would eat that chicken. i remember him cooking it and cutting it and talking. i was, like, oh, my god, he's eating it. oh, my gosh. but every day that was the drill. >> yeah. >> but i don't feel like, you know, i know my moms feel guilty because i want to be home for my

kids. i'm lucky. i like how i was raised. i like -- i don't feel like i missed something. i mean, i don't know. how was it at your house growing up? >> my dad worked three jobs at once. and my mom sold eggs door to door. and we didn't have -- we didn't have anything materially. we had everything that we needed. >> mm-hmm. >> so i think the biggest mistake we all make is in thinking that if we just give our kids more stuff, they're going to be happier. just spend time with them. a bunch of things i had to do yesterday, right? but cassidy called me and said, mom, can we take a walk at 3:00? and i canceled everything. your 18-year-old daughter still wants to be with you? but if i made something else more important, she would know it. it adds up and they remember it. it's a balancing act. it really is. but when i was first up on broadway, and i only say this because a lot of women out there are thinking yeah, you know what? cassidy was 1 year old.

and my lifetime dream had been to do broadway. and julie andrews calls me to do "victor victoria." just take one day out of the week to do it. and i was so tempted. and i called her back and said, i can't believe i'm saying no to mary poppins. but the truth is, my daughter's 1 year old. she'll never be 1 again. and broadway's always going to be there. and she's so lovely. she goes, kathy, i had to make the same kind of decisions when my children were little, too, and you'll never regret putting your family first. you'll always regret it when you don't. so that's not from me, that's from mary poppins. >> exactly. and you know what's funny, they did one of these polls and they polled working moms and stay-at-home moms and working moms wanted their daughters to be staworking moms. >> i want my daughter to be what she wants to be. we have got to stop dreaming our

k kids' dreams. let them be the human beings god wants them to be. all right. do we have time? >> yes, we do. so here's the deal. we know what's happening. it's christmas. it's new year's. it's during the holiday time. and you're lonely. and you're thinking, should i call my ex? just to say happy holidays? should i say, ring-a-ring, happy new year? don't do it. >> how do you keep from doing it? >> they say erase all of your phone numbers, your ex's phone numbers from everything. just get rid of them. >> just in case you're drunk, you just happen to call him. >> i say none of that because you know what happens? >> you don't prank call anybody, hoda. >> they don't remember and you pick it up. because you need to see the name. >> have you changed your number since you got divorced? >> no, i haven't. it's the same number. but i think once you see the name pop up, then you know. because otherwise numbers are confusing. >> some say restricted. you think maybe, you know -- >> but in that case, if he's calling you, you should know. >> they say exercise a lot, you'll be accomplishing a few

things at once, keeping occupied, staying healthy and staying away from all electronics devices. also, you're going to look so doggone good that if you do run into him, he's going to hate it. he's going to see what he's missing. >> you're going to drink because we all do, but just do a little so you don't feel bad. >> that's just a no-brainer. now, this is disgusting. you say it. >> no. >> spread your joy, nothing else. you know what i mean. i'm not going to say it. nothing puts in focus priorities like a do-gooder. >> then keep reading it. >> remind yourself. make backup plans and back those up. boredom leads to bad decisions, hoda woman. >> when you are home by yourself and your mind goes crazy, you do go on his facebook page, you know what i mean? that's what people do. >> what would you be doing now? what do you think your life would be like if you hadn't met jay over a year ago and found this unbelievable happiness that

everybody hates you for? >> what would i be doing? i don't know. i'd probably spend the holidays with my family. i think i was always fine. i think i feel so much better than i did. i didn't know. so i think i wouldn't have known what i didn't know. so i would have been happy but not this happy. >> i have some girlfriends who think that, you know, all their life they just wanted to get married and have children. that was going to be their -- and that's all they want. so you then sit down with them. they had no hopes and dreams other than that. and i said to one of them the other day, why don't you work on being an interesting person? so that when you do sit down with somebody someday, you're going to have something to talk about and interests and hobbies that are going to make you look appealing and fun to somebody instead of the oh, my god. this is my worst nightmare because i'm everything this woman's been waiting for her entire life. am i right? >> yes, i know those people. how about the worst christmas present you ever got? debbie from pennsylvania shows off hers. these are some m&m earrings.

her husband got them for her. >> they're now divorced. no, they're not. get ready to rock, everybody. >> bret michaels is givingisst more than just his gift of music. >> right after this. [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. ♪ it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪

yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. sally, you don't need toys when you have... ♪ imagination ♪ imagination imagination ♪ ♪ helps you see the world in different ways ♪ yay! yay! ♪ this is a pony ♪ and this is a choo-choo ♪ [ male announcer ] it's movie time. and this is a... [ male announcer ] with a wii twist. what is this? [ male announcer ] netflix now delivers unlimited tv episodes and movies instantly through wii and nintendo 3ds. all for only 8 bucks a month. ♪ gives us the most nutritious of gifts. but only when they are ready to be given.

that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, ho, ho. green giant

rock star, reality star, spokesperson and philanthropist. bret michaels has been through a lot in the past few years, notably suffering from two major medical emergencies. >> bret has recovered so well, he was able to go on tour and give back through a new "reader's digest" campaign. >> you look good. >> thank you very much. >> you look strong. >> thank you. >> was it two years ago? >> 2009? >> when i took the hit? yeah. we went down there, and we were playing. we were just getting ready to kick off a tour for the summer out in the arenas. and i took a pretty severe hit to the head. you know, like i said, the show was great. everyone there, nice people. and it just was an unfortunate accident. and yeah. it rung my bell. >> yeah.

>> well, we didn't know if you were going to make it with that one. i didn't know about the one this past summer. >> the disco ball? >> when you were on tour. what was that? >> that one barely missed me, so i was fine. the brain hemorrhage, like i said, everything that happened with the -- they s echsewed up heart. and i feel a lot better. i feel great. it's weird because even when all that stuff happened, i never felt healthier. this is good, and it shows it can rock your world and i'm a fighter. >> how did it change you? >> obviously, first of all, you know, i say this, it's faith, you know. it wasn't my time to go. you could say as much as you want, but it just wasn't my time. as far as, you know, great doctors and faith, family and good doctors, but it changes your perspective. i've always taken life with a lot of respect being a diabetic my whole life. >> oh, that's right. there's that, too. >> yeah. you know, that's four shots a day since i've been 6 years old. and i said it puts -- i look at

it sometimes like that's the card i was dealt. and instead of being angry about it, i just had to work a little harder to get the things i wanted. but i think it made me, through life, fight harder and be a tougher person. sfwroo what's great about you, you not only spread your music, but you're working with "reader's digest." tell us about this charity. >> "reader's digest," great magazine. >> forever. >> yeah, forever. a lot of stuff i would read as i was younger and then as i got older. it's really simple. they did a campaign a year ago. i play out when you tour, you live your life in every single city across america. right? so my whole thing has always been this sort of we hear you, america. and that's what "reader's digest" is doing. we go into these cities and we help them fund stuff and stuff that i do on my own. "reader's digest" had this huge campaign called "we hear you, america." go to readersdigest.com. and whether it's a skate park, a public pool that got shut down, we're going through it really,

really awful. people like to say tough economy. it's an awful economy and tough. and people out there are such -- america is so resilient, but "reader's digest" goes in and funds all of these campaigns. >> that's fantastic. >> and i'm the voice. i get to go in and say, here's what's happening. we started this a couple weeks ago this year. and it has been over 4 million people write in, which is unbelievable. i mean, it just pours in. but people really want to be heard. and as a musician and artist, that's what we bring out. >> so how's the rest of your life? the kids? the girl? >> you're engaged to the mom of your two daughters. >> life is good. life is rocking. i'm out on the road. >> look at her. why won't you marry this woman? >> you're hard on me. every time i come here. you're making me out to be a bad guy. i'm a good guy. >> you're a good guy. >> i'm a good guy. >> look at your family. you are engaged. so you have made progress. >> it's moving forward. >> tiptoeing. >> can i say work in progress? >> work in progress. >> how about that "reader's

digest"? how about them steelers? >> well, we wish you a great, great new year with your family. >> thanks for coming to see us. >> you're very welcome. thanks for having me on. up next, what the what? the funny, off-the-wall photos you sent us. it's not our fault. you sent them in. we're going to show you right after this. looking good! you lost some weight.

you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent, and i found myself using three times more than they say to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. that's my tide. what's yours?

is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free.

♪ we're back with our irrevent look at "what the what?" >> sarah's here. >> our first photo is from barbara stowe from cincinnati, ohio. is this a single room or a double? clearly that's a side shot of an actual inn, but it was unfortunate placement. >> yeah. >> would you like the -- >> i could get a good deal. >> our next photo was sent in from palmer, alaska. is this payback for thanksgiving? >> oh, my gosh. >> we missed an "l" on that one. but thank you, it was only

$3.50. >> can't be the turkey dumping. >> sorry. susan from madisonville, tennessee, submitted this photo. one of these things is not like the other. >> funny. >> they rescued that dog from a live trap. he had accidentally gotten trapped, and they've had him ever since. he'll go into their closet and do that sometimes, and they thought it was hysterical. >> they're from texas? where are they from? >> that was cents in from alaska, actually. >> alaska. that's at sarah palin's house. >> we have a photo from sara from columbus, indiana. what happens if they win? this is really sad. >> that is mean. >> look how they keep crossing off because the colts haven't won a game. >> that is cruel. >> some of these teams, you feel so for them, and the fans. >> because peyton is not well. >> but the positive twist is the consumer is getting a break in this tough economy. >> okay. i like it. >> glass half full. >> giving it away free pretty soon. >> eddie from grimesland, north carolina, sent us this photo.

there's no such thing as a free ride. this is my favorite. win a free ride by shoplifting. lucky winners will also have their name in the paper. >> so family and friends can see. that's clever. >> that's really good. >> reverse psychiatry. >> i love it. and finally, gavin from jacksonville, north carolina, submitted this photo. too late. busted. we cannot figure out why, we went back to the person that took it and said we don't understand if it's a loitering thing, why they would have that on one sign. >> well, then say don't loiter. >> one would think. >> thank you, sarah. is that it? send all of your pictures in to klhoda.com. you think you know everything? guess what? plus, your places to travel to in 2012. and what does your man want? >> really? >> donny deutsch man has got the hitim hh wlais gss him with he on. >> he's sitting on the answers right now. mall. what's next? 607 franklin st.

♪ sea bass... ♪ ooohhh! ♪ i like it. yeah, i love the kitchen. [ male announcer ] the epa-estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from looking for your perfect home to finding it. chevy runs deep. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ that was the pizza guy. you said you bought a digiorno. but the pizza came with cheesy breadsticks. [ male announcer ] digiorno pizza and breadsticks. it's not delivery. it's digiorno pizza & breadsticks. she found the box! maybe because you left it right on the counter.

yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. good morning to you.

10:26. local businesses and people around the bay stepped out to holiday season to help the blue star marlins, they send gifts overseas, their credit cards were hacked in the self check-out lanes, the group received roughly $101,00$1 in donations. good for them. common. i dare you to taste one hint of fiber in fiber one. oh, i'd be able to tell. why don't i just eat this bag? and how can you talk to me about fiber when you are eating a candybar. you enjoy that. i am. [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one.

welcome back, the time now, 10:28. monitoring spotty, isolated showers, we will see another round of moisture move through between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. 61 in the garden capital. and few wide spread showers on friday. check your drive with mike. >> we do have a car fire reported, off 101. not far from here. no injuries reported. you may have the offramp affected. keep that in mind. sweepers on dixie landing road. toll plaz asome of the heaviest traffic all day, 12 cars waiting. >> police are on the lookout they think was trying to kidnap a boy in the oakland hills.

we will see you in 30 minutes. hope to see you then. 1, and we are back with more of "today." our weekly trivia game we call "who knew?" we're testing our knowledge with the chief historian at the history channel. she's with us. kathie lee, of course, is right across the street at the nbc experience store. she's going to give $100 to the winners who answer her question correctly. and to those who answer it incorrectly, they get her cd. okay. is everybody ready to play? are you ready for this one? >> i'm ready. >> all right. let's go across the street. >> look at this handsome father with his two sons from boston. which city is most popular among americans for new year's

celebrations? las vegas? new york? new orleans? or miami? >> i'm going to go with new york city. >> sorry. no. no. >> yeah. oh, sorry. >> all right. so the correct answer -- i would have thought new york, too, but it's actually las vegas. >> that surprised me, but las vegas for the past six years has been the most popular destination on new year's eve. new york and the theater district and times square, of course, that comes in number two. i was surprised. and then we've got new orleans. >> that's a fun one. >> and miami. these are great party cities. not a surprise. people have a good time wherever they go. >> back across to kat. >> finish the lyrics to this classic new year's song. ♪ should old acquaintance be forgot ♪ >> go ahead.

>> i'm with her. >> i'm blank. ♪ should old acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ for auld lang syne >> in her defense, that was a little bit of an interesting version. a little different. >> yeah. >> tell us about that song. no one ever gets the words, including me. >> "auld lang syne" means a long time ago or old time sake. it's written by robby burns, he was like the hugh jackman of the day. you could look him up on wikipedia. he was quite a womanizer. >> all right, we'll google him. go ahead, kat. >> lovely lady from new jersey. rosh hashanah, the beginning of the jewish new year, takes place in which month? september? october? december? or january? >> october? >> it's a big day for me. >> yeah, kat's giving those away

right and left. september is the correct month here. >> well, it's kind of funny. it can go into early october, but it's in the fall. >> oh. >> it's the seventh month of the hebrew calendar which is not a predictable month according to our 12-month calendar. >> then maybe she should get the money. >> i don't know, it has occurred in october. >> give her some money. >> another lady from new jersey. what is the first country to ring in the new year? is it the philippines? australia? or denmark? >> i'm going to go with australia. >> close but no cigar. >> she was right on the edge. the correct answer, new zealand. >> new zealand. they have parties and, you know, people dancing in the streets. it's only 300 miles from the international dateline. so there it is. the first city on the globe. >> got it. back across to kath. >> this lady is from texas. in which country do people wear red underwear on the new year's day? isn't that hysterical? as a symbol of good luck throughout the year? is it italy? portugal? spain or greece?

>> spain. >> you listened to the cheaters and you lost. >> the correct answer here, red underwear in italy. italy. >> no wonder they have so much fun. >> yeah. >> it brings them good luck all year round. it should be new, and it's nice if it's a gift. >> i think we have time for one more. let's go back across. go ahead, kath. >> true or false? the ball has been dropped in times square every year since 1907. oh, i want you to lose because i want these kids to get this. >> true. >> this is kathie lee's favorite day of all. is right now. all right. so the correct answer is false. what happened? >> well, during world war ii, they wanted to take a couple years off. they didn't want all the lights on times square. they were worried about sabotage or air raids. >> okay. so that was the only time it didn't drop. >> that's the only time. if you want to learn more about these things, you can go to history.com/holidays. >> libby, thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks so much for having me.

>> really appreciate it. kathie lee's going to come back over here because our man donny deutsch is going to decode your man. old donny is with us after these messages.

laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks.

♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. he is back. our resident man's man, donny deutsch man. ♪ deutsche man deutsche man donny donny deutsch man ♪ >> man's man could be taken the wrong way. i want to say that for the record.

>> what do you mean? why? >> thank you, somebody got it. >> because we know you so well. >> here he is anyway. >> hi, guys. let's go. >> okay, vanessa is asking, i need to get my husband a present for yis mass, but i feel like i've already given him the shirt and tie. he won't give me any hints. what's the ultimate gift without breaking the bank? >> let me give you one for the future. it's very interesting. do something that's very personal. get him his own baseball glove and bronze it or vintage rock t-shirt, a band that he loved. do something very personal. not about you, what you want him to have. the other thing, timex, 80 bucks on ebay. isn't that cool? >> now she's all set for next year. >> hanna's asking, me and my ex have been separated for six months. we have a 1-year-old son together. we're still in communication because of our son. he has a new girlfriend but still calls me to talk. he says he wants a friendship, but i feel like i'm being played.

should i continue the friendship for the sake of our son? >> very important question. i raise my girls part of the time and their mom has them part of the time. we work really hard to be friends. in a separated and divorced home, if the parents get along, the kids are great. if they don't, the kids are screwed. you have to work hard at a friendship. it's so important for the kids. absolutely do it. you're not being played. your ex is actually approaching it the right way. >> and never use your children as some sort of tool. >> work hard at it. >> do you think that's even fair? he's dating someone else? >> my ex is engaged. and i want her to be happy. the kids to be happy. what's important is that my kids know their mommy and daddy are not going anywhere and that we get along. >> alex is asking, do you have any suggestions on how i can spice up my marriage? i've been with my husband for ten long and loving years. and i think it's time to stir things up a bit and get out of our routine. >> okay. okay. it's 10:30 in the morning. i think what's interesting, women don't do this, why don't you turn to your guy and say, by the way, what's your fantasy?

everybody has fantasies. he'll go, like, you can tell me. whatever it is. let's do some role play. somewhere fun. be crazy. don't make him go outside to get crazy. bring crazy inside, okay? >> so ask him what? >> fantasy, nurse, whatever it is. i mean, like just don't make him have it in his mind. don't make him ever have to go someplace else. i'm your girl. whatever you're up for, let's do it. that's the answer. like it or not. correct answer. >> okay. next one's from rachel. i found some incredibly inappropriate text messages between my boyfriend and one of his girlfriends. i don't want him to know that i looked through his phone because i know it was wrong. but i also want to confront him about this. what do you think i should do? >> first of all, if you're going to go into this thing, be prepared what you're going to find. don't look if you don't want to find it because if you find it, you have it act on it. by the way, there's no explanation. when he says, why were you looking? you say that's not the point. this is it. that's not a good answer. >> well, she did wrong. >> no, she did what she wanted to do. but if you're going to look, before you look, be prepared to act or don't look.

because otherwise you're just torturing yourself. right now she's tortured, he's not. she's carrying this information around. she's not acting on it. >> but they don't have the relationship she thinks. >> that's it. good-bye. later. >> why didn't you just say that? >> because i want -- because a lot of women run into this predicament and they snoop and don't do anything about it and they're tortured. don't snoop unless you're going to act. >> what's the difference between looking in a blackberry in a pocket -- >> that you weren't looking for but you happened to find. >> the difference is you're looking. >> thank you, donny. we've got to go. that's all there's time for. >> we don't want you to go. all right, up next. people just threw up in their mouth. >> a little. coming up next -- >> travel deals. >> yes, for the new year because that's coming up later. after this. [ drew ] what's the latest in eye couture?

intense shadowblast from covergirl. the news? it's eye shadow with primer built-in. fadeproof, waterproof, totally ignore-proof! oh yes! intense shadowblast from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal.

love your new normal or it's free. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

honey, i can't find my internet cord. oh, i'll borrow hailey's. you're downloading movies. fast! from here? where is her cord?! we switched to at&t high speed internet and got wireless access. no more cords.

wireless, okay, honestly, can i just get a cord, please? dad, the cord's invisible. [ female announcer ] call at&t today to get high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with a 1-year price guarantee. it's the fastest internet for the price. oooh. videos online? here? how much is that? nothing. at&t high speed internet at home includes access here. our invisible cord is really long, dad. oooh. [ female announcer ] get access to the entire national at&t wi-fi hot spot network for no extra charge. so call today to get high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with a 1-year price guarantee. aren't you glad we switched to at&t? yes...but i want my own invisible cord. you already have one. oh. ♪ it is time for today's "countdown to the new year" with great getaways for 2012.

>> after ringing in the new year, it's time to pack your bags and take advantage of great deals all over the country. >> sara spagnola is the editor at "travel & leisure" magazine who always gets it perfect. >> perfect. hello, honey. what you got for us today? >> is it okay, should we be booking flights now to go away for new year's? >> yes, right after the holidays is the perfect time to travel. especially if your resolution is to get out there and explore. >> take us. >> jacksonville, florida, the one ocean resort and spa has a great deal. $119 a night. you'll stay on a 254-foot stretch of sand in one of 193 rooms which have floor-to-ceiling windows. so you can overlook the water. you can get right into the sun and in the sand. they have all sorts of activities such as deep sea fishing and jet skiing. a great kids camp for sand castles, sculpture making. all sorts of fun stuff and fire pits where you can drink martinis and watch the sunset. >> a lot of folks, we are lucky enough to live in new york, but a lot of people want to come here. >> yes, new york can be a very

expensive city just around the holidays. but what i love about staying at this hotel, not only are they offering a deal at $345 a night and throwing in breakfast which makes it even more affordable, but you have easy access to great shopping and all of the sales in january. >> oh, that's smart. >> you can go shopping and explore a fun part of town. >> that's a steal. >> that is a steal. >> and you can still see all the holiday decorations. >> somewhere october, go to hawaii. >> who doesn't love hawaii? particularly a more relaxed side. it's on the eastern side of maui. no kids are allowed. only 16 and over so you can relax. it will be quiet. to get there, you take a 2 1/2-hour drive past 59 bridges. you'll see incredible rainforests and beaches. unwind, do cooking classes. they have a great spa. rates there, $219 a person. and i mean, look at that. that is just heaven. >> i love how open air. >> hoda's there. >> i wish i was there right now,

but i kind of am. vermont. >> so from warm to cold, woodstock, vermont, it's called one of the most charming small towns in america. and isn't it such? you can tour independent bookstores. you can walk a country market. the woodstock inn and resort is an historic resort. what i love about it is the rooms, four-poster beds, 600 thread count sheets. they also have a wonderful restaurant called the red rooster in locally sourced ingredients such as cheeses, apple cider brined pork shop. they have a sommelier. you'll cuddle next to fireplaces, cross-country skiing. just a lot of fun. >> you may not want to go home. >> speaking of skiing, aspen is a hot spot. >> aspen is a great ski destination. and you know, of course, it's prime season in january and february. but they're offering a deal for $345 a night which might sound like a splurge, but they're going to throw in a $175 resort credit which you can spend at the spa or at the restaurant.

they have 3,000 acres of skiable terrain, a great ski school, great choice to bring your kids, and they have a kitchen in the room. if you want to make your own breakfast and save money. >> you know what sara da? she did it again! >> she did it again! >> happy holidays. >> happy new year. up next -- how to choose your favorite foods at a holiday party and not pack on the pounds. it is a quiz. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa and new year's as you enjoy the party hop from one celebration to the next, you've got to watch your waistline, baby, or you'll be sorry. >> keeping track of calories will be the key to starting the new year off on the right foot. here to help us out is madeline fernstrom. >> we love you. >> yes, we do.

>> we're going to start off with some fun things. and actually, you might not have thought of is some foods for the new year are associated with good luck. >> okay. >> one of these foods is not. is it the oranges? black eyed peas? cod fish? noodles or sauerkraut? which one is not the food? >> which one's not good luck? cod fish? >> no. >> what was the first thing you said? >> oranges. you are correct. oranges are not a good-luck food. all the others are worldwide good-luck foods. moving on, we know that hanukkah is the festival of lights. and oil is an important symbolism here. which one of these two traditional oil-rich foods has more fat. is it the jelly doughnut or the potato pancake? >> which has more fat? >> which has more fat? >> the potato pancake. >> ooh, hoda. it is the jelly doughnut. >> the jelly doughnut. >> why are you giving her two before she gets it right? she has to answer before you give her the point. >> now familiar territory. we have two holiday favorites to taste. we have egg nog, and we also

have champagne. and calorie to calorie, they're not matched. my question for you is, how many glasses of champagne could you drink for the same calories as this glass of egg nog? is it two? three? or four? >> kathie lee. >> four. >> no. hoda? >> three. >> it is three. so three glasses of champagne for that glass of egg nog. so choose carefully. >> so how many calories? >> it's 300 calories. >> i'm surprised. i thought it would be more. >> well, it would be more with a larger glass and more alcohol. >> if there's some rum in it. >> you get credit for that. who would like snack foods along with cocktails? but how many calories would you save if you replaced this one cup of deluxe mixed nuts with two cups of air-popped popcorn? would you be saving 250? 500? or 750 calories? >> 500. 750. >> well, let's -- you get one answer. 500. >> i've never heard the last one

because she was answering. >> would you save 200? 500 or 750? >> 750. >> let's get competitive. >> many people are celebrating kwanzaa. grapes, pea cnuts and corn represent the celebration of children. is it the corn, peanuts or grapes that are the tradition? >> i don't know. i don't know. grapes. grapes. >> no. >> wait. >> peanuts. >> no. it is the corn. >> i get it, then. i get it. corn. >> you get that point. why not? moving on to desserts. one of these three desserts has less than 300 calories. is it these two cookies? the chocolate cake? or the apple pie? >> less than how many calories? >> less than 300. >> the apple pie. >> no. that's the most. that's 350.

kathie lee. >> the cookies. >> no. >> wait, i got it. the brownie. the brownie. >> the brownie. okay. give me a point. >> and the winner is -- >> tiebreaker. wait. it's over? >> i'm sorry, this one you legitimately lost. even cheating, you lost it. >> the prize for the winner is a bottle of armand brignac champagne. >> i'll regift it. >> you want to regift it? >> that's beautiful. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> all right, madeline. >> tomorrow, jane fonda is in the house, plus must-see movies for 2012. and the best bubbly to bring in the new year. have an awesome day. >> bye-bye. >> bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste?