good morning. behind bars. jerry sandusky waking up in jail this morning after two new alleged victims claim they were molested by the penn state coach, one telling police he screamed for help knowing sandusky's wife was at home at the time. break in the case. police find the cell phone of missing florida mom michelle parker. will the discovery help unravel her mysterious, three-week-old disappearance? backing down. alec baldwin issues an apology and shuts down his twitter account in the wake of getting kicked off a flight in los angeles but it hasn't stopped the war of words between the actor and american airlines today, thursday, december 8th,

actor and american airlines today, thursday, december 8th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome to today. >> jerry sandusky's attorney says his client hopes to post a $250,000 cash bond today following the arrest on new charges of child sexual abuse. >> that's right, matt. the newest alleged victims to come forward, two young men who claim they were abused starting when they were just 10 and 12 years old. one of them says his alleged molestation began in 2005. that is two years after an initial grand jury investigation into sandusky. we'll get the latest in a live report coming up straight ahead. >> the first votes are set to be cast in the republican primary season a couple weeks from now and the race is heating up with former vice president dan quayle's endorsement of mitt romney.

this morning vice president quayle is in our studio. he is going to tell us why he made that decision. >> nice to have him in our studio. also coming up this morning we have very important information for women in the fight against breast cancer. this morning there is a report that two drugs tested in patients with advanced breast cancer may show some promise and there is also another study just released that is highlighting environmental factors that increase a woman's chance of getting breast cancer. we'll get the low down from dr. nancy snyderman. >> all right. also we begin with the arrest of former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky on charges based on the claims of two new accusers. nbc's national investigative correspondent mikchael isikoff has the latest on this story. >> reporter: good morning, ann. for the first time jerry sandusky spent the night in jail. his attorney hopes to post a $250,000 cash bail and get him out later this morning but if he does he'll have to wear an electronic monitor under house arrest as the case proceeds to

court. without warning, state police arrested jerry sandusky at his house on new charges of child sexual abuse. wearing handcuffs under a penn state track suit sandusky is now accused of abusing two more boys both between the ages of 10 and 12 at the time of the assaults. prosecutors say one series of assaults started 14 years ago. all total ten boys have now alleged abuse by sandusky. the latest charges involved an accuser identified as victim 9 and may be the most shocking yet. in a grand jury report victim 9 claims after meeting sandusky at his second mile charity summer camp the former penn state defensive coach gave the boy gifts and money and invited him for sleepovers at the sandusky house. sandusky started out with hugging, rubbing, cuddling and ticking he says and then escalated to sexual assaults. many of the alleged sexual assault, at least 16 according to the grand jury, took place in the basement of sandusky's home

when the boy would come over he said sandusky would tell him to stay in the basement unless otherwise directed. he ate meals there and sandusky would bring the food. the victim claims during one assault he screamed for help knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs but no one ever came to help him. sandusky is accused of abusing victim 9 from 2005 to 2008 which means the abuse started three years after the grand jury says penn state officials were told about sandusky allegedly assaulting another boy in a campus locker room shower. sandusky is now charged with sexual abuse occurring as early as 1997. victim 10 also says he met sandusky through the second mile and was invited to penn state football games. he says sandusky wrestled with him in his basement and sexually assaulted him. victim 10 says sandusky grabbed his privates while swimming in the outdoor pool on campus. the victim says sandusky gave him gifts and frequently told

the boy that he loved him. for his part, san did you say can i has insisted he never sexually assaulted anyone. his lawyer, objecting to the unannounced arrest at sandusky's home. >> certainly would have turned himself in today, so the question begs to be asked why would the attorney general's office decide not to tell me? they knew i was his attorney. and why go to his house and take him out in handcuffs? >> reporter: the prosecutors say both of these new victims came forward after the original charges were filed last month. now, sandusky is due to appear in court next tuesday and, prosecutors say, the investigation is still under way. ann? >> michael isikoff this morning, tough new details this morning. it is now 7:05. here's matt. now to presidential politics and the countdown to the first primaries in the republican race. in a moment we'll talk to former vice president dan quayle, who endorsed mitt romney on tuesday. but first nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd has the latest on the gop field.

chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. with 26 days to go until iowa team romney has decided now is the time to start aggressively taking on the person who has become their chief rival and the conservative alternative newt gingrich. with mitt romney falling behind newt gingrich his campaign is ramping up efforts to make the case against gingrich. this new tv ad uses the parts of romney's biography that his advisers believe are key strengths compared to gingrich's main weaknesses. the multiple marriages and his often volatile tenure as speaker. >> i think people understand i am a man of steadiness and constancy. i don't think you'll find somebody who has more of those attributes than i do. i've been married to the same woman for 25 -- excuse me -- i'll get in trouble -- for 42 years. >> reporter: both candidates address the jewish coalition in washington wednesday all playing to the audience and hitting president obama. >> i will travel to israel on my first foreign trip. >> we stand with israel. >> it is the oldest democracy and it is our strongest ally in

the middle east. >> this one sided, continuing pressure that says it's always israel's fault no matter how bad the other side is, has to stop. >> reporter: increasingly, because of his new front-runner status gingrich is finding himself asked about his negatives even from potential supporters. on the threat from nancy pelosi to go public with what she knows about gingrich's ethics investigation -- >> if she was in the middle of it how nonpartisan and just do you think the process was? >> reporter: meanwhile, rick perry, desperate to catch up in iowa, is making a direct appeal to evangelical christians with this new ad. >> i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm christian. but you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know there is something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas and pray in school. as president, i'll end obama's war on religion. >> the romney campaign has enlisted a handful of surrogates who worked closely with gingrich

back in the day to do the dirty work of making the case against him most notely former white house chief of staff and new hampshire governor john sununu who had high profile run-ins over policy back in the days of the bush-quayle years. >> thank you very much. in washington this morning as we mentioned former vice president dan quayle has endorsed mitt romney for the republican nomination. mr. quayle, it's good to see you. how you doing? >> great. good to see you. >> you served with newt gingrich in congress. >> correct. >> you know him very well. why not him? why mitt romney? >> i know them both. i've known newt since 1978. i've known mitt since i think the late 1980s. comes down to one thing -- leadership. mitt romney would be a much better leader. we need a strong leader today. matt, you know and everybody knows washington is a mess. it's dysfunctional. starts at the top. a lot of blame to go around. but somebody from inside washington, a washington politician, somebody that has been there for the long time in washington, d.c. is not the one

to go to have the top job to try to clean up the mess. >> republicans have been taking a good, long look at mitt romney for years now. basically he's been running for president for about five years. you've seen the polls. he's always between 20% and 25%. conservatives have tried to find anybody to pass him. first it was rick perry, then herman cain, now newt gingrich. why doesn't he -- why is he the rodney dangerfield of the race, mitt romney, why doesn't he get any respect? >> that's a fair question, but look. two-thirds of the republican primary voters have not made up their minds. a lot of people that they hoped would run, governor christie, governor daniels, jeb bush from florida, did not run. they're taking their time. mitt romney is a well known quantity. he is a leader. he's got good character. he's got the discipline, the temperament. he's conservative. he's as conservative as anybody of the other major contenders and they will come around to him. they will come around to him.

>> the fact you're endorsing him now is a sign that the republican establishment does like mitt romney but aren't we living in an anti-establishment world right now? >> i think that the establishment likes mitt romney. the tea party, a lot of the tea party party people are for mitt romney. conservatives like mitt romney. mitt romney is the one that can bring the party together. he can go into the general election against president obama. he can expand the base to moderates, disenchanted democrats, to get -- hispanics, african-americans, asian americans, and have a coalition that will win. >> i want to ask you about a major decision he would have made in 2008. you worked for global investments right? >> right. >> back in 2008 you owned chrysler and that company was in deep trouble and mitt romney said let chrysler fail. he wrote an op-ed in the "new york times" that said let detroit go bankrupt. if he had gotten his way you guys would have lost billions. there would have been thousands of jobs lost. did he get it wrong? did president obama get it right by bailing out the auto industry? >> mitt romney talked about a

prepackage bankruptcy which is in essence what the obama administration somewhat did. you know, we ended up in court with the thing. there was a lawsuit. as a matter of fact the state of indiana was the plaintiff in this case on the priority of the bond holders. the supreme court decided they didn't have standing to hear that. but president obama and mitt romney both talked about in essence a prepackage bankruptcy and that's what happened. >> you talked a second ago about washington being a place where obviously the mood has changed. you've been out of public office for 20 years. what is the biggest change? what's the biggest difference that you have seen in the way washington works today or some would say doesn't work today? what's the biggest change? >> the partisan divide. i had a lot of good friends on the other side of the aisle. dick gephardt and i as a matter of fact shared car rides down to capitol hill periodically when we had events because we lived close to each other. i don't know if that happens today. i remember doing a thing with tip o'neill when i first came to

congress. danny rostankowski was a good friend and very helpful to me as a freshman republican. the question is why. there are a number of things. one, the cable news and 24/7 news, how do you get on there -- >> it's not all the media. >> i'm not -- i said part -- let me finish. it's not all the media but i'm putting everyone trying to get on television and the way you get on television is to be the most strident, the most partisan, the most outrageous. the other thing, in the name of ethics, and we want clean government, is that nobody can, in washington today, whether it's an establishment figure, or a lobbyist or anything like that, get republicans and democrats together and have lunch or dinner or coffee because they can't pay for anything anymore. and it's gone to such an extreme. another thing is, most of the members today don't live in washington. you know, they don't see each other. they come. they work. they work hard.

and then they go home. >> you make it sound like social dysfunction. >> well, there is no socialability. there is no interaction outside the votes, outside the committees, outside the debate which is always very partisan. it's very complicated. there is no one answer. >> in the ten seconds i have left, if your guy doesn't get the nomination, if newt gingrich gets it, can he beat barack obama? >> yes. >> that was less than the ten seconds i had left but it works. dan quayle, vice president quayle, it's good to see you. >> thank you very much. 13 minutes after the hour. here's ann. there is important health news this morning for women when it comes to the fight against breast cancer. we have nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyder here with some answers. >> hi, annie. >> overnight two new drugs significantly lengthen the time before breast cancer tumors -- we need to mention this research was paid for drug companies. >> i want to caution people that doesn't mean it's bad because

outside people are looking at it. this is aggressive tumors that affect 80% of women. one group has a protein called herd 2 women have heard about and another one fueled by estrogen. these are new kinds of drugs added to traditional therapy. what they found in one group, they could decrease the time that tumors came back by six months and another group by four months. so that on its surface is pretty darned good. the question that's looming, though, is if your tumor doesn't come back for six months does that mean i can save your life longer? and we haven't equated the two yet. but, nonetheless, scientists are very excited about this. >> the drugs are still not available. >> clinical trials only but a big step forward. i think this is the trend we'll see in more breast cancer research. >> in another report sponsored by the susan b. komen foundation it talks about the environmental factors that increase a woman's risk for breast cancer. we have a graphic. >> this is from the institute of medicine funded by komen and

trying to figure out what happens to the 92% of women who don't have the genetic links? you look at this stuff. second-hand smoke, night time shift work. we know if you inhale cigarette smoke there is probably going to be a link to cancer. the world health organization has already put overnight shifts as a real carcinogen. the other kinds of chemicals that a lot of people find in exhaust fumes or in the work place, it's, you know, they've associated with it but there is really no cause and effect. >> i know over many years of research there are other factors that have been alleged to be linked. >> right. >> this report did not find linkage for example with the next graph. >> people are going to have pushback with this. the idea of hair dyes. we're going to say that's fine. but for the women in the work place using those, it's a real question. nonionizing radiation not an issue, like your phones and kitchen appliances.

but bpa, there will be pushback on bpa and pesticides because a lot of people will say wait a minute. you can't tell me there is not a cause because it just hasn't been studied. that is where the squishiness comes in. >> lastly, what is the most important thing that women can do then? >> this is where women are going to go, duh, really? because these are the take homes. quit smoking, watch your weight. obesity really is increasingly becoming a bigger risk factor. women who get breast cancer do worse if they are fat. you have to exercise. avoid radiation. that's the kind that gets full body radiation when you go in for those unnecessary ct scans, hormone replacement therapy, and alcohol. this is the take home list of anything from this report. >> just a few seconds left. the government stepping in and not allowing the release of the morning after pill for kids under a certain age. >> the first ever time the secretary of hhs stepped in on the fda saying that the morning after pill cannot be given without prescription to women under the age of 17. i see this not as a science move

but a political move and there is going to be a big brouhaha between scientists and politicians in washington. >> all right. throwing down the gauntlet. >> yes. >> there we go. we leave it there. >> move to the right. >> okay. now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from savannah guthrie at the news desk while natalie is on assignment. good morning, ann. in the news today investigative teams are heading to the site of a deadly helicopter crash in nevada. the helicopter was on a sight-seeing tour of the las vegas strip and hoover dam when it crashed. all five people onboard were killed. former illinois governor rod blagojevich has few days of freedom left. despite a final plea for mercy a federal judge sentenced blagojevich to 14 years in prison. he's been ordered to surrender to police on february 16th but he can still appeal. blagojevich's sentence is the longest ever given to a former governor in illinois state history. former senator and new jersey governor jon corzine returns to congress today, this time not called by popular vote but by subpoena.

corzine is the star witness in the probe of the mf global collapse, the eighth largest bankruptcy in u.s. history that has left some $1.2 billion in client money missing. he was the ceo and chairman of the company until its collapse. it's the first time in more than a century that congress has subpoenaed a former senator to testify. the remains of some 274 u.s. troops have been dumped in a virginia landfill according to a new report using data base information from the dover air base mortuary. air force officials told "the washington post" that they hid the landfill disposeals from the families of the dead and there are reportedly no plans to inform the families. the remains of most of this country's war dead come through dover. some 6300 troops since 2001. now let's get to wall street. cnbc's mary thompson is at the stock exchange this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. the rating agency standard & poors is causing a stir again this time warning it could cut the triple-a rating of the

27-nation european union. a downgrade could make it more expensive for the eu to fund programs aimed at helping the region's troubled economies. the warning comes on the heels of one earlier this week when s&p said it could cut the ratings of 15 individual eurozone countries if leaders don't come to some kind of firm agreement on how to deal with the region's debt crisis at a two-day meeting that begins today. savannah, back to you. >> all right. thank you. finally, is there an app for that? pope benedict xvi put a high tech spin on holiday tradition by lighting a massive christmas tree about 140 miles away from his seat in the vatican. he was using, yes, you see it there, a tablet computer. this is not the 84-year-old's first foray into the digital world. earlier this year he became the first pope ever to tweet. it's now 7:19. back to matt and ann. he just friended me. >> yeah, right. >> i don't know about that app. he pushed that button and my garage door started to open and close. weird. >> that's funny. thanks, savannah. >> he has a laser beam that goes through a crystal cat.

>> you know we love cats. >> we've had a miserable couple days of weather. >> wow. >> that's right. we got more coming. >> thanks. >> good news. but the good news is it's not going to be all that bad. we are looking at snowfall amounts of anywhere from 2 to 10 inches throughout parts of the northeast and the mid-atlantic states. heavy rain, though, we're also talking anywhere from 3 to 4 inches of rain throughout some parts of the country. the good news is that system now moving out of new england leaving with it some snow. it gets the heck out of here. we'll start to see some sunshine and lake effect snow cropping up. we'll look at that in the next half hour. the air stagnation continues in parts of the pacific northwest. sunny and mild in the southwest through the gulf coast. >> the weather will be fairly quiet today. the wind will be a big story. the wind will diminish as we head into the afternoon.

and that's your latest weather, ann. >> thank you. just ahead, could it be the break police have been hoping for? the family of a missing florida mom, michelle parker, says her cell phone has now been found three weeks after her mysterious disappearance. we're live with details. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up what led to alec baldwin being kicked off a flight in los angeles and what led to the actor deactivating his twitter account. and matt in his impersonation. the real deal is sharing his response after your local news.

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chase slate with blueprint helps you save money on life's little surprises. trip...lets... start your path to saving today, call 855-get-slate. >> good morning, everybody. i'm stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top story. police in prince george's county say they are on the lookout for a man dressed as a popular super hero. authorities say a man dressed as spider-man from bbb and keybank in fort washington just after 3:00 wednesday afternoon. pedestal unclear how much money

the suspect took from the bank. look for the webs. let's get a check on the traffic. >> good morning. a couple of problems out there. we are hearing from police in carroll county that the roads remain a little slick. icy conditions expected in the morning hours. a smooth ride in most of the major roadways. this accident just cleared a northbound 97 at benfield ingleside -- and ingleside and parallel 16 miles an hour on outer loop. delays in place on the west side. southdown 95 as well looking for slowing and 95 out of the northeast. here is a live look at the 97 recovering. a live view of 95 coming toward us -- southbound backed up out of the white marsh area toward the split. now tony has a check of the forecast. >> behind the big storm with the

rain and snow last night, the winds were kicking up a couple of hours ago. saddling down now. still breezy. west wind at 10 at the airport. but better than was earlier this morning. but the airport -- the wind chills, get to dress for temperatures in the 20's. mostly sunny. breezy and cold. honestly -- high temperatures in the 40's. a beautiful sunrise a few moments ago. nothing going on, but temperatures in the four deposit. if you are g

7:30 on a thursday morning, the 8th of december, 2011. the nor'easter that hit our area was no fun but now that it's out of here we've got drier weather but colder temperatures for these people on the plaza. just 36 right now. not people. degrees. bundled up against the cold. we'll get out and say hi in a couple minutes. >> we also saw some people in uniform out there. savannah and i are going to get out there. >> al will have a forecast as well. meanwhile, inside the studio i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. coming up, alec baldwin issues an apology to his fellow passengers after getting kicked off that flight in los angeles. he says it was because he was

using his ipad. now american airlines is out with its version of what they say really led to baldwin's bouncing. we'll have details on that coming up. also this morning you might have heard about this really renowned family piano group called the five browns. five kids who all got into julliard. they're incredibly talented and play classical music. coming up they'll be talking about a very deeply personal family secret in an exclusive live interview. on a much lighter note, on "where in the world" we had a little fun doing our version of the old spice commercials. apparently the old spice guy was watching and this morning he will share his response. >> i cannot wait for that. let's begin this half hour with a major new development in the disappearance of florida mom michelle parker. her family says that a key piece of evidence in the case has now turned up. we'll go to orlando for the details this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. as police continue to interview

the loved ones of the prime suspect, there is word this morning of a new break in the case. michelle's family says her cell phone has been found which had been missing since the day she disappeared. from day one authorities have called it a top priority in their search for michelle parker -- finding michelle's cell phone. the phone, seen in this photo, is a black iphone with a pink and black case. in this video michelle carries the phone while amusing her toddlers. on wednesday police asked michelle's mother and sister to identify a picture of the phone. >> just pull a piece of paper out of the file and said, can you -- do you know what this is? we're like, it's her phone. >> what goes through your mind when you see that phone? >> any emotion possible. i am sad that her phone was out somewhere where it was not supposed to be. >> reporter: lauren says police did not tell how or when or where they found the phone but michelle's family hopes it will provide answers. >> i'm hoping maybe there is a

fingerprint that shouldn't be on there meaning like not my sister's or the twins. i hope it is in a condition where they can retrieve something from it. >> reporter: the last signal from the cell phone came three weeks ago on november 17th the day michelle went missing. that same day she appeared on a taped episode of "the people's court" fighting with her ex-fiance dale smith over a lost engagement ring. >> any other problems we've ever had it's always been alcohol related. >> reporter: police have since named smith their only suspect. he has denied any involvement in michelle's disappearance. one by one smith's relatives have been called into the state attorney's office to answer questions. first, dale's mother. and then on wednesday his father dale smith sr. >> what do you want people to know about your son? you think they're being -- >> reporter: meanwhile, the search goes on. michelle's family hoping every clue will bring them one step closer to michelle. >> she loved christmas and i didn't even realize until i'm walking down the street right now that all these lights are up and everything and i just -- there is only one christmas present that i want this year

and i hope i get it. >> reporter: orlando police will not provide any information of the phone. but now the question remains just how much can it tell us about michelle's whereabouts? >> all right. thank you so much. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. all right. thanks so much. a little on the chilly side out here. got some folks from washington huskies. all right. >> go huskies! >> let's show you what's happening in memphis. they got some snow. i mean, we're talking -- memphis has got more snow than chicago this winter. that's crazy! as we show you on the map, we'll see some lake effect snow finally, cold air flowing over the warmer than normal lake waters. lake water temperatures in the mid 40s, should be in the upper 30s so that water comes, the winds come across, dump the snow. locally 9 inches or more between watertown and buffalo. about 12 inches up in u.p. of michigan, grand rapids looking at light snow as well. a morning anchor from wichita

falls, texas. what is your name? >> ann arnold. >> from our nbc station. >> want to say hey to greg and brian. they have to work today. i'm having a great time, guys. >> and she's rubbing it in. that's w >> good morning. we will have windy conditions. the wind may guess over 30 miles per hour. don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to your weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> thank you very much. alec baldwin has now shut down his twitter account in the wake of getting booted off an

american airlines flight on tuesday and now we're learning new details about what allegedly happened that led to his removal. nbc's jeff rossen is here with the latest on that. jeff, good morning. >> it just won't end. alec baldwin won't let it go but the real headline here is alec baldwin is apologizing sort of. he says sorry to his fellow passengers but just couldn't hold back. going on a new tirade against the flight attendant who kicked him off. this morning american airlines is fighting back, for the first time telling its side of the story. >> mr. baldwin? >> reporter: alec baldwin wouldn't say "sorry" in person when the cameras caught him in new york, but now a change of heart. a farewell to common sense, style, and service on american airlines. that's the title of his open apology letter sent to nbc news and other outlets. first off, i would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard. and that's it for the sorry part. speaking of the flight attendant who had him removed, the lesson i've learned is to keep my phone off when the 1950s gym teacher

is on duty. and calling american airlines a greyhound bus experience. >> what happened with the flight attendant on american airlines, man? want to give your side of the story? >> reporter: there he was, alec baldwin, sitting in first class playing words with friends on his ipad. baldwin and the airline agree on that. in alec's story the flight attendant singled him out, demanding he shut the ipad off even though the plane was still at the gate and not moving. baldwin said, no. and that was it. he was kicked off the flight. but now here's american airlines' story. baldwin they say not only refused to turn off his ipad but then took it into the lavatory, slamming the door so hard the cockpit crew heard it. baldwin they claim used offensive language with the crew, calling them inappropriate names. and that's why he was removed. >> became a little irate and had to remove him from the flight. cost us about 45 minutes. >> reporter: baldwin, himself, first fanned the flames of the story, sending out instant twitter reaction from the plane.

flight attendant on american reamed me out. hash tag, no wonder american air is bankrupt. but in a bizarre move wednesday baldwin suddenly deactivated his twitter account, writing to his 600,000 followers, let's play a game called mass unfollowing. i want to crash this account and start again. now baldwin is taking his lumps on facebook, too. people are posting on american airlines page. finally a hollywood celebrity learns the rules the rest of us have to follow apply to them. wow, what a concept. >> celebrities are offered and often extended preferential treatment on flights and sometimes it manifests itself in poor behavior because at times when they don't get it they have that same sense of entitlement. >> baldwin's spokesman says the comedian canceled his twitter account to focus on shooting 30 rock here on nbc. he points out other passengers were tweeting about the scuffle which means they had their phones out, too, proving the point, he says, matt, that he was singled out by this flight

attendant. >> is that it on this now you think? okay. jeff rossen, thank you very much. coming up, minors sneak alcohol into one family's house party. now expectant father and college professor is facing up to a year behind bars. is that fair? he'll speak up in a live interview. up next the unusual target of an international robbery ring hitting museums and auction houses around the world. we'll show you and tell you more right after this. i love the holidays.

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bye. drive safely. yes, we will we will love you. ♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ ♪ toys in every store. egg nog? ♪ the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door ♪ back at 7:42 with a wave of unusual robberies on two continents has taken police by surprise and left a trail of victims in its wake. nbc's jim maceda connects the dots in a caper that's far from being solved. jim, good morning. >> reporter: that's right, ann.

good morning to you. and the daring thieves struck again this week, this time in paris knocking out security guards with, get this, stun gas to get to their prize. while back here at a very blustery england, friends and strangers are saying that they just can't believe such evil could happen to so many innocent and often very elderly victims. take a look at this. the unlikely crime scene, a dusty victorian museum, small town england. after midnight, robbers break into a back door, ignore a priceless egyptian death mask, and bolt right for the target. a rhino horn. snapped off this stuffed rhino nick named rosie, a beloved resident since 1907 and who survived two world wars intact. minutes laters the robbers have fled. >> people feel quite a strong, personal feeling about why would anybody want to come in and

wrench a 20-inch horn off something like this? >> reporter: rosie is not alone. in museums across europe rhino horns are in the cross hairs, at least 30 heists so far this year. >> the scale of the offenses has taken us by surprise and the fact that they're still continuing today. >> here's why. rhino horns make big money. >> they're going for something like $99,000 a kilo, which is more right now than the cost of gold or diamonds or heroin or cocaine. >> reporter: driving this? a superstition many would argue of chinese a world away where exotic animal parts are believed to be cure-alls for disease. rhino horn powder for fever, cancer, and more. >> they believe it creates sexual potency of chinese men. >> reporter: a crackdown on the sale of rhino horn has dried up the international market. the result? rhino poaching has skyrocketed in southern africa.

horns hacked and sawed off by the hundreds. the wild rhinos left to bleed to death. animal rights groups are desperate to get the medical truth out about rhino horn. >> it's exactly the same protein as found in our hair and in our fingernails so you might as well chew your own or somebody else's. >> reporter: but the myth lives on. >> sold for 40,000 pounds. >> reporter: rhino horn crime has even hit provincial english auction houses. >> they forced their way in. >> reporter: robbers broke into this one and stole a rhino head and its two horns right off the wall. >> you can still see the marks where it was. >> reporter: despite a sophisticated alarm linked to police. >> it was definitely a wakeup call. i had no idea that thieves were targeting these. >> reporter: many museums are replacing real horns now with fake ones made of resin. recently thieves smashed into this world museum making off with worthless copies. but rosie was not so lucky. >> not a good thing is it? >> no.

i think not. >> reporter: now a condolence book fills up with messages of shock and sadness and hope that rosie gets a prosthetic horn and her dignity back soon. well, at least her story has a happy ending and rosie has gotten her artificial horn and that old museum got an upgrade. >> all right. apparently we've lost our signal to london but the bottom line is when a myth can cause so much damage to an animal like the rhino it's really a travesty. jim maceda, thank you so much. coming up next, the old spice guy has something to say about matt's take off on his commercials during "where in the world." we'll hear what he's got to say coming up right after this. two medium cappuccinos! let's show 'em what a breakfast with wholegrain fiber can do. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos, make one a double. she's full and focused! [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip

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how could any one of us forget matt's funny take on the old spice commercials to open day five of his where in the world adventure? just in case you did forget here is a clip to jog your memory. >> look at roker. now look back at me. now back at roker. >> okay. >> sadly, he is not me. but if he were me, he might be a lumber jack somewhere in the canadian rockies. but al roker is not me. look down. look back up. >> whoa. >> where are you? >> you're on a yacht in monte carlo with the man your man could be if he were on "where in the world?" >> enough already. >> i was waiting for that water. >> the best part when the mustache came off the tape was still there. >> still there. >> it turns out the old spice guy himself was so touched by the classy homage that matt had that he's got a response. check it out.

>> this gift is for my friend matt lauer. we have shared so many amazing travel adventures together. from shark riding in san jose to ride sharking in jose san lucas. in fact, i just ran into those half woman half crow creatures we met off the coast of mikanos in 2002 and they were calling about the time we -- well, perhaps i should just leave that at that. to commemorate these years of loyal brotherhood, i have painted you this noble friendship portrait, which will make a priceless addition to your home and will certainly not irritate your wife with its presence. happy holidays, matt. i look forward to joining you on yet another one of our famous chugging charity fun runs in the new year. >> love it. >> and, ladies and gentlemen. >> look. oh, air here! oh, my god! >> get out. >> that is crazy. >> how are you? >> you are so funny. >> nice to see you. >> this is for you. >> i can have this? >> this is yours. >> look at. this is remarkable, too. >> i like it.

very nice. >> but all i'm looking at is the bare chest actually, isaiah. >> i can't believe the trouble you guys went through. you painted this yourself didn't you? >> yes, i did. bob ross helped me out. >> i'm a little disappoint ted's not on velvet. >> you know, isaiah, i was going to wear the towel. and then i looked at you again when i was looking at those commercials and said, there is no way i'm wearing a towel. >> is this going to replace the one you have of yourself already in your dressing room? >> the lava chugging -- what was that exactly? >> it is one of several things me and matt do together. yes. >> on a more serious note, were you prepared for the response these commercials were going to get? i mean, you really hit a home run with these things. >> it's been so tremendous. you know, we're actually doing a thing right now where if you go to youtube old spice's youtube channel the old spice guy is gifting 7 billion people this holiday. >> awesome. we love you. >> this is the best gift i'll get all holiday season. what a pleasure. thank you. >> we're back right after your

local news. when my asthma symptoms returned, my doctor prescribed dulera to help prevent them. [ male announcer ] dulera is for patients 12 and older whose asthma is not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. dulera will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. dulera helps significantly improve lung function. this was shown over a 6 month clinical study. dulera contains formoterol, which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. dulera is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop dulera and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take dulera more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if dulera can help you breathe easier. ♪

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>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. it's time for a check of your morning commute. here is sarah caldwell. >> tracking several accidents, the latest from howard county, elkridge, closures on 103 in both directions at 100, also severn, telegraph and donaldson avenue, another at ritchie highway and furnace branch, -- milford mill at scotts level, an accident sounds pretty serious. 12 miles an hour outer loop 795 continuing down to edmundston. southbound 95, about 5 miles an

hour approaching white marsh to the 895 split. north side delays in place as well. we will show up 50 and up8, an accident was down bay bridge, looks like traffic is slowing. heavy delays on the outer loop, sun glared a factor on the inner loop. >> behind a big storm, we had big wind gusts last night. over 50 miles an hour. but the winds are settling down. as the storm poles further away, the winds will the minister. 35 at the airport with the west winds at 9. when you factor in the win, it feels like it is in the 20's this morning. that is what you want to dress for. a few more clouds will drift through in the northern suburbs. further north from baltimore, the more cloud cover but most will see plenty of sunshine. breezy, high temperatures in the

mid 40's. a seven-day forecast until weekend, quiet, but seasonably chilly. if you are going to the game on sunday, looks like good football weather, sunshine, with a high of 48. of 48. so to save some money, i trained this team of guinea pigs to row this tiny boat.

guinea pig: row...row. they generate electricity, which lets me surf the web all day. guinea pig: row...row. took me 6 months to train each one, 8 months to get the guinea pig: row...row. little chubby one to yell row! guinea pig: row...row. that's kind of strange. guinea pig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

here you go. 8:00 now on a thursday morning the 8th day of december, 2011. it has been a cold, wet start to the day here in the northeast. it is now 36 degrees outside. if you want all of the fine people here, gold stars for hanging out with us here. >> the sun is out now, baby. >> i'm going to keep babbling on. i want that camera to go around all this morning so everybody gets on tv. meantime, i'm with matt lauer. this is a windy day. and al roker. coming up a very difficult topic regarding any parent with a teenager. >> teens and drinking. it's a major, controversial topic. what if your child wants to have a party.

that child is under the age of drinking consent. you say okay. we'll have it at our house but no alcohol allowed. one father did that. however, someone snuck alcohol into the party. now the father has been arrested, charged with 44 counts of child endangerment, faces a year in jail. we'll talk to that couple in just a couple minutes. it's a cautionary tale. >> okay. >> a little bit later on we'll try to lighten things up a bit. we have great last-minute deals for holiday vacations that the whole family can enjoy. >> all right. but first let's get inside. >> natalie is on assignment. savannah is standing by at the news desk. good morning guys. in the news today former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky woke up in jail this morning after his arrest wednesday on new child sexual abuse charges. sandusky was charged with molesting two boys in addition to the eight who were named in the original indictment. according to the grand jury report, one boy said sandusky abused him in a basement bedroom and that he screamed for help knowing sandusky's wife was

upstairs. but the boy says no one came to help. the judge ordered sandusky held on $250,000 cash bail. with just 26 days to go until the iowa caucuses republican rivals are sharpening their attacks on the front-runner newt gingrich. in his new tv ad mitt romney notes that he's been married to the same woman for 42 years, an apparent jab at gingrich's three marriages. texas governor rick perry competing with gingrich for evangelical christian support emphasizes his own christianity in an ad running in iowa. the obama administration has blocked a move by the fda to make the plan b morning after pill available to girls under 17 without a prescription. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius said she overruled fda scientists because there is not enough evidence that younger girls can understand the label instructions. meantime, there is encouraging news in the fight against breast cancer. two different drugs tested on women with advanced breast

cancer appeared to significantly lengthen the time before tumors got worse. german police confirm that a suspicious envelope sent to the head of deutsche bank wednesday in frankfurt, germany did contain a letter bomb capable of exploding. police have stepped up security at deutsche bank locations in the u.s. here is brian williams with what is coming up tonight on nbc nightly news. savannah, good morning. coming up tonight for those who need work and are willing to travel we'll take you inside the world of mobile job hunting. a lot of folks roaming the country in their rvs in search of a good job and a paycheck. we'll have that interesting story for you tonight. savannah, for now, back to you. >> thank you. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. lindsay lohan's nearly topless playboy cover is the top search on yahoo and google. it was leaked online one week ahead of the official release date. lohan was reportedly paid close to a million dollars for the nude photos inside, which her spokesman describes as, quote, tasteful. tv buffs are googling actor

harry morgan who won an emmy award playing colonel sherman potter on "mash." he died from pneumonia on wednesday at the age of 96. older fans also remember morgan as officer bill gannon on "dragnet." and the youtube all star teddy the porcupine gained viral status for being stingy with his corn. turns out he is not much better with this left over pumpkin. what? teddy's corn on the cob adventure already has nearly 1 million hits on youtube. the pumpkin can't be far behind. back to matt and ann. >> i'll make a prediction. i know it will be a trending topic in the coming days, that old spice commercial. >> the guy, isaiah mus tava. >> that he made for you. my mind is blown. >> awfully nice. let's check the weather. mr. roker, it's chilly out here today. it is. this might warm your heart.

what is your name, young man? >> joe. >> and your mom thinks you look like matt. >> that's what she says. i think he looks like me. >> ah, well, there you go. okay. very nice. there is a resemblance. turn to the side. let's get your profile. yeah. there you go. let's check your weather and see what's going on. our pick city today, rogers, arkansas, where we're looking at knwa, northwest arkansas news. sunny and cold. got some arkansas folks over there? memphis. all right. and there's that storm system moving out of new england bringing rain and snow out away from it. but cold air coming in from the plains. we'll trigger some lake effect snow. snow showers through the central plains. the air stagnation is continuing in parts of the pacific northwest. freezing fog in the central mississippi river valley. sunny but windy here in the northeast. and ch >> the weather will be fairly quiet today. the wind will be a big story.

the wind will diminish as we head into the afternoon. head into the afternoon. that's your latest weather. >> thanks so much. coming up the case that may have you asking did the police go too far? a father and respected college professor facing now up to a year in prison after someone snuck alcohol into his teenage son's party. we'll hear from him and his wife son's party. we'll hear from him and his wife coming up right after this. hi, can you help me? ♪ barnes & noble nook sellers at your service ♪ ♪ friendly folks with just one purpose ♪ ♪ to help you fall in love with nook ♪ ♪ for movies, music, apps, and books ♪ ♪ and another thing for you and me ♪ ♪ nook support

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and peppermint hot chocolate from mccafe. ornyou're a miracle workerful sabrina soto.. [sfx: doorbell rings] and you can mix your seasonal pieces with your everyday china. [sfx: knocking on door] and now you need to hide. oh, i love the mercury glass pieces on the mantel, we could put some evergreen pieces... you know a simple touch like adding. oh, i think we should quickly decorate the hallway, wouldn't that be fun? maybe just put some...oh thank you so much, i'm going to bring you a snack later. wait, i still need to talk to you about led candles. happy holiday's. hey! hi! please come in. you know ornaments, they make a great centerpiece. back at 8:09 with a dilemma facing the parents of teenagers how to deal with the dangers of underage drinking. one california couple thought they came up with a way to handle it but ended up in trouble with the law.

we'll talk to them in a moment but first nbc's mike tybee has their story. >> reporter: it was the friday night after thanksgiving and stanford university professor bill burnett and his wife cynthia decided to hope their house for a party so their son and his friends, 16 and 17-year-olds, could celebrate a big football win. their instructions, they say, no alcohol. >> serving alcohol, certainly, we'd buy chips and sodas and things for the kids. and i had gone down twice and had not seen any drinking. >> reporter: but at 11:00 while bill says he was baking brownies, a knock at the door. a police officer said an anonymous caller had phoned in a complaint. >> we think there are kids drinking here. and i said, there's nobody drinking that i know of. we have no -- there is no alcohol. >> reporter: but the police did find alcohol, they say, was snuck in by some of the kids. >> they found evidence the alcohol had come from that house. photos were taken, recorded statements were taken.

>> reporter: bill burnett a college professor with a spotless record was charged with 44 counts, one for each teen at the party, of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. >> they put me in handcuffs and then put me in a cruiser and took me to the police station where they arrested me. >> reporter: because they know the consequences of under age drinking so many kids make the same choice. if the kids want a party let's have it over our own roof where we can set the ground rules and insist they be followed. but insisting doesn't make it so. when the rules are broken tragedy sometimes follow. six years ago the deaths of two teens in a car accident following a booze-fueled house party led the town of pacifica to pass a so-called social host ordinance imposing stiff fines if parents fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent the possession and/or consumption of alcohol by any minor. bill and cynthia burnett said they tried to do just that. >> my wife and i set really clear limits. >> reporter: limits ignored the police charged. >> they need to be aware of who

their kids' friends are, what their kids are bringing to the room. >> reporter: a reasonable thought some parents would say is a practical impossibility. for today, mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >> bill and singt ya are with us now along with star jones. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> bill, this sounds like one of those situations, you tried what you could to prevent a situation, but when you gather 44 high school students knowing drinking is often a part of gatherings like these even though you tried to prevent it were you asking for trouble? >> you know, i don't think so. our son is a great kid. these were all seniors. you know, in six months they're all off to college. we put really clear rules in place and we were patrolling the party. my wife and i were both at the house. we were upstairs. the kids were downstairs in the basement. so we were there the whole time. i went through the party a couple times. i brought chocolate chip

cookies. i was about to bring them brownies when the police came. >> reporter: so, cynthia, short of hiring a security guard to sit down where these high school students were, the entire time, do you think, have you thought in hindsight, was there anything you could have done differently to make sure that this didn't happen? >> you know, it's a tough question. you don't want to be sitting downstairs in the middle of your kids' party. that's not reasonable. you talk with your kids about how to be safe, how to make good choices, how to take care of each other. you let them know that you're there. both supervising and in case they get -- they do make bad choices. and, you know, i don't think there is anything else we could have done short of sitting there in the middle of the party. >> so do you think, both of you, that the police over reacted here? i mean, this is one of those what if situations? what if a child at that party had gone off, had a few drinks, gotten in a car and been killed? do you think the police did the right thing by the letter of the law and the wrong thing,

perhaps, in judgment? >> well, you know, i can't comment too much on what the police did. there is a case pending. but for us the big issue is how to keep our kids safe. we were certain that everybody at the party would have checked out with us before they left and i'm absolutely certain that nobody at the party could have left and driven if they had been drinking. i think the police have the opportunity to exercise judgment in situations like this. the menlo park police do a hard job and do it pretty well. in this case, you know, i think arresting a parent isn't going to prevent kids from drinking. if anything, now the other parents in town -- sorry. >> real quickly, cynthia, if you could tell me, this is embarrassing i know. you could just go off and not talk about this. why do you want to talk about this? >> well, you know, i think the answer is in dialogue among different communities. the adults in the community,

parents, law enforcement officials, city officials, and the teens themselves need to have a dialogue about how to create a safe environment for kids to be, for teens to be teens. >> right. >> you know, we need to learn to apply the law, apply common sense, and apply real caring for these young people as they're learning to come into the world and not create an environment of fear and uncertainty for them. >> i think it's important that you two are speaking out about this. bill and cynthia burnett, i appreciate your time this morning. thank you very much. and, star, let me turn to you. by the letter of the law they were wrong. >> they were absolutely wrong. >> is it the correct application of that law? >> the law says when you commit an act or fail to perform a duty as it relates to a minor that could lead them down the wrong path that's contributing to the delinquency of a minor. >> so you think the police acted appropriately in this case. >> the police may not have used the best sort of community-based policing judgment but in terms of the law they did.

your job as a parent is to supervise and exercise control and protection and when you don't, the police have to step in. especially when there's alcohol involved. >> i do give them credit for speaking out about it. star, thank you very much. i already thanked the burnetts. coming up next a "today" exclusive. two sisters from the musical family known as the five browns open up about suffering abuse at the hands of their own father, right after this. ars ago, our goal was simple. 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! ready, go! biggest and best sales event of the year sears super saturday is on! all treadmills are on sale, like 40% off this nordictrack, plus a craftsman 200-piece mechanics tool set is 50% off.

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giving a gift of their family's delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas! the five browns, a utah family of classical musicians, are known for their chart-topping music and critically acclaimed performances. but earlier this year they made headlines when their father pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three of his daughters in the group. well, in a moment we'll speak exclusively to two of those women and their brother but first nbc's miguel almaguer has their story. >> reporter: five brothers and sisters, a single stage, an amazing sound. the utah quintet known simply as

the 5 browns have toppedvenues the world but offstage three of the five browns were living a nightmare. >> it is one of those things you not only don't want to talk about but i think a certain part of you just shoves it away in the back closet somewhere. >> reporter: for years, desiree, diondre, and melody were sexually abused by their father, keith brown, who was also their manager. the browns started playing the piano when they were just 3. by 9, each performed with a major orchestra. the abuse began for each girl a few years later. >> i think abusers make you feel like you shouldn't tell anyone. they make you embarrassed. >> reporter: the browns always seemed destined for greatness. each went to julliard. there were critically acclaimed performances. through it all the sexual abuse was always a secret even from each other until 2007. >> we were discussing other things and it just kind of came up and we just shared that with each other and realized oh, it

happened to you. oh, it happened to you, too. >> reporter: the browns had not only been known as child proteges but as a wholesome, church-going mormon family. the girls wanted discretion. >> we approached my father and my parents and we thought that we could deal with this within the family. you just expect somebody to take full accountability. that there would be, you know, extreme remorse. that was lacking in our situation. >> reporter: when the five browns learned their father wanted to manage other children, they went to police. >> it boiled down to if he doesn't go to prison there is a chance he may do this to somebody else. >> reporter: in february, keith brown pled guilty to sexually abusing his three daughters. his sentence? ten years to life in prison. >> the five of us are closer than ever. >> reporter: for the five browns, life goes on and so does the music. the piano has always been their salvation, while on and off stage they remain by each other's side. for "today" miguel almaguer, nbc

news, los angeles. >> diondre, desiree, and gregory brown are joining us. their sister melody decided not to speak out today. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> what was it that has made you now be willing to sit here and speak publicly about what was once really a terrible secret for you? >> i think we want to reach out. we want to change the laws, change the statute of limitations so there are none for victims of childhood sexual abuse. we also want -- it is so rampant, this sexual abuse within families. we want to speak out so people can feel not ashamed anymore. and the more people are aware, i think the less it will happen. >> the courage for you to say this this morning, to reveal your story at all, what has given you -- i mean, i can see your motivation, which is beautiful. you want to help other people. but what has given you the courage? >> i think we get courage from several different places, from

each other. we have wonderful spouses who have stood by us 100%. we just feel like we've been really blessed to be able to have the support that we need to get through and to be able to come out and speak about these horrible things that happened to children. >> i know you've said your brothers have been amazing. you say they've stood by us 100%. this guy, your father, was your -- as i understand it -- your little league coach. i mean, sons look at their fathers in a certain light. how has this been for you? what has allowed you to be so behind your sisters even in this fight? >> well, i think what a lot of people don't realize is that this sort of abuse affects a lot of people other than the actual survivors. for me, i think one of the most important things has been to just really be there for them, because if it's really cut and dry, there is no wrong answer to -- i mean, there is no right -- there is only right and wrong. there is only supporting the

victims or supporting the perpetrator and no one should ever be doing that. >> you know, clearly, that's been a road that you've traveled, a very difficult road you've traveled. but speaking for a moment, because there are children today, who are enduring what you have endured, and speaking for that 11-year-old who is not being heard, describe the -- what that child has gone through based on -- is going through based on your own experience? >> there will be life-long scars from the abuse that you suffer and, hopefully, a child of that age of 11 like you're speaking of will be able to find that support, whether it's within the home or a good friend foundation or something where they can kind of reach toward and be able to hopefully find what they need elsewhere from that. >> that support you've had because with five of you siblings together, you know, very close in age, it's been really terrific. you've actually founded a

foundation to do the things you want to do. >> yes. it's the foundation for survivors of abuse and it's at surviving abuse.org. we're really determined. we are getting senators onboard to try to get rid of, abolish the statute of limitation. so the 11-year-old doesn't feel that pressure to come forward when they're in the household of the abuser. this way she can heal in her own time and come forward when she is ready and put the perpetrators away so it doesn't happen to more victims. >> before we started this interview we were all kind of talking and comfortably laughing and it's clear that you three in your family have found happiness and success even in this. i know everyone listening applauds you. tomorrow we'll hear some music from you. thank you so much all three of you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. and we're back right after your local news and weather.

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. let's get a final check on your morning commute with traffic pulse 11. still very busy. several no accidents coming in. let us look at the map and we will point out the latest one rest down 50 -- several lanes closed. now the right lane is squeezing by. very heavy traffic leading to the accident scene. elkridge, route 103 completely shut down at the intersection of 100, milford mill at scotts level, the accident on but still have the delays the west side,

southbound 95 back up. westbound delays due to an accident coming in the past few minutes, outer loop and baltimore national pike. a lighter view of the moment. delays jfx to the 20 it. philadelphia road at silver spring, watch for an accident, in a loop, pulaski avenue, east side, delays 95 coming out of the northeast. the accident scene westbound direction at 50, the right lane squeezing by only. switching over quickly to baltimore national pipe, outer loop delays due to an accident to the left side. john joins us with a look at the forecast. >> the traffic cameras show lots of sunshine. the storm is pulling away. clouds up in pennsylvania. that is the end of the big storm, which was a big rainmaker. now coming in behind, chilly temperatures. mostly sunny skies, breezy, colder. 42-47 for the high. winds are 15-25. some gusts will be a little

stronger. in the weekend, hi is an but 40's, but looks dry. next week, just a little bit warmer. >> thank you for joining us. another update at 8:55.

8:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 8th day of december, 2011. our 18th annual holiday toy drive in full swing now. >> thank you. >> check out our guests. we have jessica biel and scott meyers from the new movie "new year's eve" which opens friday and they are nice enough to spend some time with us this morning collecting gifts for

children in need all across the country. we'll chat with them in just a couple minutes. >> he is not even buttoning his coat and it is 37 degrees out here. >> meanwhile out at the plaza i'm matt lauer with ann curry. al roker and savannah guthrie are joining us. if you'd still like to travel over the holiday season and haven't made plans yet, we have great last-minute travel ideas including some packages that will actually save you a lot of money which you don't think of in the holidays. >> okay. that sounds really good. by the way, let's take a little look inside studio 1-a and see what awaits us because we have a large number of exotic and also we should mention endangered animals. i think this is something called a kinkajoo. i never saw that little guy before when he's gone into hiding but we'll find out more about these animals and what's being done to try to save them. >> in a little bit we'll head over to the rockefeller center rink where evan is on the ice for a performance.

>> we love him. remember him at the olympics? what a talent. he has such a great family, too. >> also ahead today's professionals are in the house and they are going to talk about the alec baldwin situation as well as the key to happiness later in life in marriage. any guesses? >> i guess i would say humor. >> intimacy. >> like that. >> before we make any more guesses can we bring in jessica biel and seth meyers please two of the stars of the new movie called "new year's eve". hi. how are you? so lots of different story lines in this movie. >> yes. >> you guys play a married couple. >> we do. >> i haven't seen the movie yet. one of you is pregnant. which one? it is important to have this baby on new year's eve? >> yes, because we want to win some money having the first -- >> the first child born on the new year, 25 grand. and we play craven very well. we do that very well. >> oh, my gosh. so you're in this kind of competition.

first of all i just have to mention, seth meyers, being in a role where you're married to jessica biel. >> i know. >> i mean, hello. hello. >> i like -- >> i'm mayor toyed seth meyers. >> no, really. >> only through the magic of cinema. >> stop it. >> if you thought "avatar" was impressive wait until you see seth meyers married to jessica biel. i get it. >> i mean, she is so beautiful. that was, you know, anyway. >> i kept saying after each day to jessica, let's walk around with your fake pregnant belly and walk around town and get sighted together. >> yeah, yeah. >> jessica, this is your second movie with gary marshall, seth, your first. what is that like working for this comedy genius? >> he's first of all the nicest man in hollywood. >> ever. >> and he's great. he just, like, has fun doing movies and it's really fun to be onset and he just takes care of his actors. >> makes it fun for everyone. he really helps you to understand what's funny, how to be funny, how to be charming and funny. which is really hard.

it's difficult. >> he lets you really be yourself. >> very comfortable. >> are you guys pro new year's eve going out or do you think it's like forced fun? >> i think you kind of have to go out because it's depressing if people say what did you do for new year's eve and you're like just played it cool. stayed in. >> spaghettios and whatever. >> had some soup. >> i don't think it's depressing. i always stay in and play drunken board games. >> just like a real married couple. >> yeah. >> i didn't know that you got up early in the morning. >> i barely do. >> i'm impressed that you're here. thank you. >> very nice. are you referencing last time i was supposed to be here i over slept? >> any time. >> the movie is called "new year's eve" and opens friday. jessica is the one who is pregnant in this. mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> and afterward family game night with jessica. anyway, let's check it out and see what's happening for your weekend. saturday we got sunshine up and down the east coast. some showers down in florida. wet weather in the pacific

northwest. sunny and mild through the southwest. sunday sunday cold and sunny in the northeast. we're looking at some showers along the southeastern florida coast. we've got some snow showers in the pacific northwest. sunny and mild southwest into southern california. >> good morning. we will have windy conditions. the wind may guess over 30 miles per hour. blabber mouth! don't forget you can get your weather any time of day or night. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. ann? >> so sorry. i'm telling everybody, get inside. it's too cold out here.

37 degrees. coming up next great deals on last-minute holiday vacations hopefully in a warm climate. first, this is "today" on nbc. help!

back now at 8:38. this morning on today's travel we're talking about last-minute holiday vacations. kate maxwell is editor-in-chief of jet setter.com and is here with great deals that are still available if you're looking to get away in the coming weeks. always nice to have you here. good morning. >> thanks for having me. >> before we get to some of the deals you've got and the packages you want to tell people let's talk about some tips. people are going to be heading to the airports. a lot of people bringing presents, wrapped gifts to give to other people. >> exactly. >> what is the big advice on that? >> the rules have been relaxed this year. you can take wrapped gifts with you. however, if they don't like the look of them, look a bit suspicious, they are going to insist on you unwrapping them. >> not only carry on but also

checked bags. >> my advice is take them unwrapped and wrap them when you get there. alternatively ship or mail them in advance. >> snow globes? it sounds so dumb. don't bring snow globes. why? >> they contain an undetermined amount of liquid. no snow globes. >> all right. you're traveling with your family. you're at the airport. crowds are going to be big. >> right. >> take advantage of what is set aside for families. >> a lot of people don't know there are family lines at every single airport and they tend to share these lines with airline personnel. if you can't find one, ask. the rules again have been relaxed for children under 12 which is great this year. they don't have to take their shoes off. so that's a great relief for parents. >> if you want to get to your destination on time you might want to think ahead as you're booking your flight. always book the first flight. >> the first flight out. the ticket this time of the year, because the first flight of the day is less susceptible to delays. and again, if you haven't booked your flights yet think about flying on christmas eve or christmas day for much better deals. >> when they make that announcement that we're willing to pay people to get to bump them off over crowded flights, what are they paying these days? >> if your flight is full then

definitely volunteer to be bumped. if you aren't in a hurry to get there. don't take the first offer they might suggest of $200 credit first but they're likely to go up to 400 so hold out for that $400 or a free flight. >> be a good negotiator. let's talk about the packages you have for people who still want to travel during the holiday season. you like the afinia manhattan's miracle on 31st street. >> yes. it's a great hotel in midtown, near macy's and madison square park and it is $179 a night at the moment which is great for any time of year in new york particularly this time of year and they throw in a really great ice skating package on bryant park. beautiful setting. you get to cut the line. you get your free ice skates. you get a hot chocolate afterwards. the kind of classic new york christmas experience. >> so that's a cold weather christmas experience. if you want to get to where it's warm and you're active and like golf you like doral golfer's spa. >> 20 minutes outside miami set on 650 acres, five golf courses, and this works out $149 a night

until the 22nd of december and goes up a bit after that. that includes three meals a day for children so it's a real bargain. >> you say for the ultimate christmas experience you should try the great wolf lodge. actually, there's 11 of them. >> there are 11 in north america. america's largest family of water parks. and they're permanently heated to 84 degrees. so a great place to escape the chill of winter. and they have really fun things for the holidays this year. they're building gingerbread houses and every one of them, you can have your meals there with your family and they will donate the proceeds to big brothers, big sisters, which is a great charity. >> let's say we want to go skiing. what do you like in that area? >> i love vail in colorado and the sebastian, i've been there about a year ago, a really high end resort. >> name drop. >> it costs $250 per person per night. >> and didn't mrs. obama -- >> mrs. obama took the girls there, lucky girls, last season. and the $250, yes, sounds

expensive but they throw in a hundred dollar ski pass every day. >> and lift tickets can be expensive. >> they can. and spa treatments and a drink at the bar which is very real hot spot of the moment so that's a very good deal for vail. >> let's go back and end on another warm weather location. this is in turks and caicos. >> yes. turks and caicos. i was there in the summer. it's a three and a half-hour flight from new york so it's really close. a beautiful beach. the sands is offering a rate of $238 a night, which is really a good deal for high season in the caribbean. >> so right now no problem getting on the phone and booking these things? >> absolutely. book away. >> kate maxwell of jet setter.com, nice to see you. happy holidays. >> you too. and it's 8:42. up next we'll get up close and personal with some exotic and endangered animals, but first this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:44 with today's "call of the wild." this morning endangered animals from all around the world. rich is the ambassador for the san diego zoo. rick, good morning. >> good morning. thank you so much for having us, guys. >> well, we're having a lot of stuff going on here with these animals. but you're not here just to show us some cute animals. you're also here to really show us and sound the alarm about the endangered species. >> you better believe it. one thing we want to let people know, too, zoos across america work together very hard for conservation purposes. you go to a zoo and learn about animals and conservation but millions of dollars go from zoos to conservation out in the world every day whether for land purchases, antipoaching work, or even work rehabilitating penguins from oil spills. >> these are african penguins. why are they endangered? >> because they're from south africa their nests and eggs are right on the beach where everyone can harvest them easily. they are considered a delicacy. over harvesting of the eggs has create ad situation where they had a hard time reproducing.

thankfully those zoos like the maryland zoo where these two are visiting from have great breeding programs which increase the numbers which allows us to learn a lot more about them and apply the knowledge to the wild habitats too. >> so sweet. >> very soft. >> cute. >> it allows them to go through the water very quickly. sometimes when we see them swimming we tnhink it's incredibly fast but it is usually 5 to 8 miles an hour. but because they're so small and very good at getting away from the seals -- now it would occur to me we have to move them to bring our next guest out? >> we do. we'll hand off here. >> come here. >> cute and cuddly, boys. >> that was wini? okay. >> next you'll show us a chinese alligator. >> back up. al, al. yeah, you were actually going to take him. >> i thought he was handing him to me. somebody is giving me something free i grab it. >> how endangered are these? >> this is incredibly endangered. though it looks very similar to our american alligator species keep in mind there are 200 of

these left in the wild. >> that's it. >> they are found in a small area in eastern china and this is the only other alligator species in the world. you know, zoos again across america are doing what is called a head start program where zoos are basically breeding, hatching, and raising for the first couple years so they have the head start and then sending them to china for release into the reserve. >> how are they different from the american -- tlnchts >> there is a subtle difference. even as a large adult they won't get as large as our american alligator and this species will eat mullosks so they have a duller tooth. we'll see if we have a chance to see the tooth here. this one loves a good tooth massage. >> i happen to be talking to one of the animal handlers earlier and this one has had gingevitis so everyone is clear about all the details. moving on right? >> yes. we can move on. hand off. we've got something that is rare, called a kinkajoo right? a female? >> we are going to let her have the stage. >> okay.

>> because she the nocturnal. she was up late, her first night in new york last night so she was up late. >> like the rest of us. >> we'll let her take her time but they look like a small bear. they're the only other prehensile-tailed carnivore in the world. >> not in danger? >> not at this time. where they live is usually densely forested and they are still going okay. we don't want people to get the wrong idea that because they are not endangered there are no worries. everything is a delicate balance. >> sometimes called a honey bear. >> looks a little bear like in the face. >> she's got like a prehensile tail. >> hopefully if she comes all the way out you can see. that helps her climbing in the trees. >> bye-bye. >> you know what? i don't -- you know, act on cue. >> although a corarnivore they love to eat their fruit. >> this is our next animal, candy crane. >> hi. >> does that hurt?

>> not bad. >> what do you mean not bad? >> there you go. perfect. hold it like an ice cream cone. this is candy, an african crane. >> okay. african crane. is she endangered? >> this is one of those not endangered at this time. >> good. >> we have the issue of delicate balance of any habitat that we need to maintain and work on. >> would you like to feed her? >> no. i want my fingers. >> come here, sweetheart. there you go. >> what a head dress. it's obviously for mating? >> and actually they do great, intricate dances for the mating process with their mates. and what's interesting, each couple, though made for life, they have their own unique dance moves. >> and where in africa does she live normally? >> this is the west african crown crane from across africa. >> thank you so much. >> happy holidays. up next olympic gold medalist evan lisecek on the

at the rink is brought to you by smucker's. with a name like smucker's it has to be good. ♪ >> and on "today at the rink" we welcome one of our favorites, evan lysacek who we all remember from vancouver, winning olympic gold, something that hadn't been done since what, 1988? >> it's ban while. >> it's good to have you back. tell us how you are keeping up in skating shape.

>> well, i am about six months back to training now and i made the difficult decision after my life had changed so much, after vancouver, to return to training. and i'm going to try one more time and i'm a ways away as all the focus is on london now but it will be here before i know it. >> now, you are multi talented to say the least. not only are you the u.s. champion, an olympic gold champion, you were on "dancing with the stars." is there anything you can't do? >> there are many things i can't do but i'm looking forward to my next goal beyond skating and i'm in the process of applying to some universities across america and wanting to get an education and make sure i set myself up for whatever my next chapter is following skating. >> what would you want to study? >> i really don't know at this point. i spent so much time focusing on one task and one goal that now i'm going to explore. >> we'll let you skate. we've got to see that. we'll let you get set and as you do we'll let everybody know evan is going to skate today to "the nutcracker." this is evan lysacek.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> an amazing performance. olympic gold medalist evan lysacek. we hope to see you in shoichi. coming up next today's professionals.

>> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at one of our top stories. police are trying to determine the motives behind it doubly sad -- deadly stabbing in northwest baltimore that happen 9:00 wednesday night in the 3500 block of woodland ave.

the suspect is in custody but investigators say the

>> yesterday's storm is out of here, looks like a nice day. a little chilly and breezy. mostly sunny skies, breezy, but cooler than yesterday. highs in the low to mid 40's. winds gusting to 25 and perhaps stronger.