good morning. toss-up, mitt romney leading the gop presidential field in iowa, according to our new poll but ron paul isn't far behind and with so many voters undecided it's neighbor's race with the caucuses four days away. chilling radio transmissions from firefighters trying to save the victims of that deadly christmas morning house fire in connecticut. >> we have victims trapped on the second floor. we're going to rescue mode on the ladder. >> the heroic effort to save lives. and the year it was. we'll look back at the stories that inspired us from 2011, the

stories that inspired us, shocked us. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> and good morning, welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone, i'm savannah guthrie in for ann. it's the last friday of 2011. happy 54th birthday. >> you didn't have to say the 54. i was going to say isn't it great we celebrated our 40th in the same week. verizon is payicharging a convenience fee if you want to pay your bill online.

didn't the people at verizon pay attention with what happened with bank of america a few months ago with the debit card fee? >> people are outraged at being nickelled and dimes. you got to pay extra to pay your bill so we'll get into that. a marine who made it through tours in iraq and afghanistan uninjured, forced into a fight for his life after being shot in florida. wait until you hear how he used his military training to survive. we'll talk to him live from the hospital straight ahead. >> a texas teenager's last message inspiring people online. we'll tell you more about that. we begin this friday morning with the gop presidential candidates in iowa. peter alexander, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you and happy birthday. the front-runner mitt romney is showing new confidence he's now beginning this aggressive and ambitious final sprint. he begins today in iowa, heads to new hampshire, then returns

here tomorrow to iowa. his camp is really hopeful this field will pretty much freeze in place with things neck and neck between he and ron paul and a jumble of everybody else. with four days to go until the iowa caucuses, front-runner mitt romney before another large crowd wednesday night aimed to nail down his support, focusing his closing argument on patriotic values. >> we want to instill in our kids a confidence in the future. if i become your president, i will do everything in my power to restore those principles, not to transform america into something new. >> reporter: romney was defeated in iowa four years ago by former arkansas governor mike huckabee who united conservatives behind his campaign but romney is benefiting from a sharply divided conservative field. the latest republican to emerge, rick santorum, who spent more time in iowa than anyone else believes his success here can make up for the lack of

resources. >> i will provide the spark. there's plenty of detinder on t ground in other states. >> trying to stop santorum, texas governor rick perry. >> i'm wink taxandspend. which republican running for president voted for the bridge to nowhere earmark? >> rick santorum? >> correct. >> reporter: newt gingrich whose support plummeted in iowa is struggling to keep his campaign alive. >> do you really want to be president? >> i think it's my duty to be citizen and as a grandfather to help serve my country at a time where i think we're in trouble. >> reporter: gingrich is promoting his wife kacalista as campaign asset, drawing on her

own experience in music. >> music is a vital part of today's education. today many schools are threatening to cut or eliminate envir music programs. >> reporter: michele bachmann's political director left her campaign late thursday, just after her state chairman defected to ron paul. last night mitt romney took another jab at the president, comparing him to marie antoinette who once said "let them eat cake." new jersey governor chris christie is joining him on the campaign today. >> nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd is also out in iowa. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, sir. >> if you live in iowa and you don't see one of the candidates face-to-face over the current weekend that means you'll be

staying indoors. according to our new poll it's mitt romney in front. >> it is. let's go through the latest horse race numbers, barely ahead at 23, ron paul behind him at 21, look at the jumbled mess, three, four and five, 15% for santorum, and rick perry sitting at 14 and newt gingrich at 13. michele bachmann at 6, and frankly if she gets in a now, she'll get half that come caucus night. you see santorum coming from single digits to sitting technically in third place in our poll and the gingrich where the bottom is falling out and on this one -- >> that's been a drop of 15 points in a couple of weeks, chuck. when we asked people in the polling what's the reason for that decline in support, what are they saying? >> reporter: look, it's his negative ratings, went from

three weeks ago we had him at a favorable rating of 51-14, he's now among republicans 35 favorable, 35% negative. i have to emphasize that's among republicans only here in iowa. that is why is he in freefall, and the fear, if you're gingrich, did our poll simply capture him as he's falling down the cliff and he's got farther to go. if he's in single digits come caucus night it quoowouldn't surprise our pollsters. >> 46% identify with the tea party but when you ask them who their front-runner is, there's no choice. >> reporter: none, and this is the secret to mitt romney's success out here. among tea partiers, six candidates get double digits. santorum got 20% of the tea party vote, the sixth candidate gets 10 and everybody is in between them. that's your floor and the

ceiling, 20 and 10. the conservative vote has not coalesced. mitt romney sitting at 23%, he got 25% four years ago, that was a losing number. this time, 23%, 24%, 25% is a winning number if this stays that way. >> when you ask people about the intensity of their support, how strongly do they feel about the candidate, they say they're probably going to vote for, what did we find there? >> reporter: we found it's rick santorum and ron paul who have the highest levels of intensity of support at 59 ps% and 54%. rick perry has more than mitt romney. a woman said i love michele bachmann but i don't think she can win. i guess i'll be for romney because he might win. how many people say "i guess i'll be for somebody" actually

show up on caucus night. that's the unknown factor. by the way, no margin of error for you on your birthday. no plus or minus on this one. >> plus or minus five ten years. thank you very much. appreciate it. "meet the press" will be live from iowa this coming sunday where guests include gop hopeful rick santorum. it's now nine minutes after the hour. ear's here's savannah. for the first time we hear the tape recordings of what transpired at that fire in connecticut christmas morning. >> reporter: to give you an idea of the tragedy behind me, firefighters who responded to this house fire have had to go through counciseling, some of tm can't stop thinking about what they saw, experienced and screaming come from the mother who knew her children were trapped and for the first time

we're hearing what the firefighters were up against. >> we got victims trapped on the second floor. we're going to rescue mode with the ladder. >> radio transmissions from the inferno christmas morning show from the moment stamford, connecticut, firefighters arrived on the scene the fire already had the upper hand. >> heavy fire in the back of the building. >> reporter: investigators believe in the back of the home discarded embers and hot ash from a fire sparked the blaze. >> we got a report from one of the victims there's people in that window. >> reporter: fire officials say the homeowner, madonna badger was reportedly trying to get back into the home after escaping, trying to rescue her three daughters along with her own parents, who were trapped inside. >> all right, but we're gonna need some protection up here, we got to get this line here. we can't stay here. >> i hear ya, but we got to get in there though. >> okay, we're going. >> reporter: the fire department entered the home on the second and third floors where the victims were trapped, but as

firefighters tried advancing by pronging in, the fire became unsafe even for them. >> unit four be advised number one floor looking up the two floors are compromised right through. >> back out, back out. >> reporter: with the ceiling and floors collapsing around firefighters the deputy on scene called off the search for the victims. >> all units inside, back out, back out. >> reporter: when firefighters eventually reentered the home after fighting down the flames they found badger's daughters, 10-year-old lily and twin 7-year-olds sarah and grace, along with pauline johnson all dead from smoke inhalation, their grandfather, lomer johnson who played santa claus at saks fifth avenue fell through the roof trying to save the girls. it's still unclear'victorian

home, more than 100 years old had working smoke detectors. city officialness think they were not activated. funeral services will take place next week on manhattan's upper east side. >> tom llamas in stamford, connecticut, thank you. there's outrage over customer fees. starting next month verizon will charge you extra if you pay your bill online. nbc's pete williams has details. it's not going to go over well. >> verizon is calling this a convenience fee, $2 for the convenience of paying wireless phone and internet bills directly to verizon online, on the company's website or by phone, but the company says there are many ways to avoid the fee. the new fee goes into effect in two weeks for verizon wireless, the largest wireless service

provider. january 15th they'll be charged $2 each month extra if they go to the company's website or pay by phone, that's $2 each time the bill is paid. >> it's annoying, one doesn't like to be pushed and i'm sure it sucks. >> everybody's doing it, and i don't know what you can do about it but we don't like it. >> it's a little bit unfair so it's going to affect how i think about verizon. >> reporter: verizon wireless says there are many ways to avoid paying the $2 charge and says most customers already take advantage of them. the company will not charge the fee if customers who enroll in automatic billing from a credit, debit, atm or checking account or pay by mailing in a check, going to the verizon wireless store or kiosk to pay in person, logging onto their own online banks to pay the bill, using the company's gift or rebate cards or pay by electronic checking. word of the fee comes over a

battle of the plan to raise fees for debit cards. three card issuers backed down from new charges in the face of customer protest. verizon wireless may be trying to push more customers into using the automatic billing option because the company gets its payments on time that way. verizon wireless says the fee is intended to offset what the company describes is the cost of handling monthly payments sent in online or by phone and the word of the new fee is just coming out now. the company says customers will be notified directly. >> pete williams in washington, pete, thank you very much. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. tom ran hall is in for natalie at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. iran's threat to close the world's oil route may be easier said than done. while iran could disrupt traffic for some time it's unlikely tehran would be able to close it

down. an attempt could turn its few remaining allies against it. a russian submarine was burning through the night. there has been no radiation leak on the fire. the sub was in dry dock. president obama paid his respect for the memorial of the victims of the 1941 attack on pearl harbor. they scattered flower pedals in the water after a moment of silence. this year marks the 70th anniversary of the japanese attacks that brought the united states into the second world war. the biggest moon mission since neil armstrong's giant leap for mankind is set for this new year's eve. a pair of probe also investigate the long held theory that our planet may have had two moons long ago. it's believed they collided

causing the peaks and valleys we see today. the probes have been on their way in september and expect to reach orbit of the moon this weekend. cnbc's courtney reagan, last market day of the year, hope it's going to be a good one. >> i hope so, too. we have to wait and see. there's going to be pretty light volume today as we've seen most of the week not totally unexpected in a holiday week. it's going to be the battle for break even when it comes down to the wire. the s&p 500 is about where we started the year and that's the benchmark for traders. the dow is up 6%, the tech heavy $dak downnasdaq is down 1.5%. back to you. as north korea hands over power to kim jong-il's son, pyongyang is declaring other nations should not expect any change. this is the image from kim jong-il's funeral, sent from north korea to the world, a bright snowy day, mourners lined

up in the row to see the hearse pass by. this is the aftermath. this camera crew suddenly appears and another image causing head scratching is what appears to be a giant soldier, another example of creative imagery or some speculate it could be 7'9" north korean r ri yun han. those are big mysteries. i want to know on your birthday how he managed to stay so young looking. >> oh, troubling situation. >> that is a shameless effort, but i thank you so much. i appreciate it. ms. abrams is here while mr. roker is enjoying time off. >> i'm sticking with a straight happy birthday, matt. >> thank you. it's been very mild because our jet stream has been so far to the north but as we head toward the beginning of the week

the jet stream will dip down, some of the coldest air of the season is finally coming in, down into florida. as we head through the day today the midwest will see some >> good morning. the we will start picking up some clouds. look where the temperatures go. ratings jumped into the 50's for highs. >> stephanie, thanks. a message from a texas teen who suffered from a dangerous heart condition. tamron is back with the story. >> dan breezelove wanted to share his deepest thoughts and struggled with the entire world.

he made online videos. sadly he died christmas night but his final post left behind a legacy of warmth and hope. >> thanks for weeching breedlove tv on casual wednesday. >> reporter: ben breedlove had a loyal fan base. giving advice on life. >> i'm here to give you the information back. >> reporter: to love. >> the older you are, the more mature you can be about it. >> reporter: a lively 18-year-old from austin, texas faced a battle of his own. >> i have a pacemaker. >> reporter: hcm, he had fought the disease his entire life. >> he was always happy and always smiling and he never complained about his heart condition. >> reporter: his energy and endurance rivalled that of any high school teenager. >> i'm not limited on anything but i may have -- i have to go in for checkups but other than

that it's not a big problem. >> reporter: doctors knew his heart couldn't keep up. on christmas day his heart stopped. but his message did it. it turned out that ben had secretly recorded a silent video one week before he died. it's a powerful message set to music and told on flash cards, a lifelong struggle with a failing heart. he cheated death not once but three times, the first time at age 4. he recently collapsed at school. his heart just stopped beating. ben was taken to the emergency room, where he wrote that he saw a white light and his favorite rapper, kid cuddy. >> i'm not sure why steven didn't show but cuddy, i'll go with that. >> telling the world of his near death experience, ben still smiles, a brave young man at peace with his destiny. >> i think a lot of people think about something they've never

thought about before and that is to me is a wonderful gift. >> reporter: at the funeral friends and family honored his life and silent message. >> it seems more mere coincidence the timing of everything and how ben's message is going literally to millions of people. >> reporter: a flash card worth a thousand words and a wisdom way beyond his years. more than 1 million people have already reviewed it. kid cuddy wrote ben's vision of him warmed his heart. >> amazing story. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead the marine who survived tours in afghanistan and iraq, recovering after being shot in florida last week. he'll explain how his military training saved his life. plus a look back at the big stories of the year of 2011,

after your local news and weather. ♪ [ male announcer ] they've been tested, built and driven like no other. and now they're being offered like no other. come to the winter event and get an exceptional offer on the mercedes-benz of your dreams. it's our way of showing a little holiday spirit. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd. ♪

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. two doctors facing murder charges in botched procedures in elkton. the doctor is charged with first- and second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. he was performing procedures in

maryland because the laws were more permissive. they had been ferrying patience from new jersey to this location in elkton to perform late term abortions. the two doctors were arrested after the uncovering of human remains. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> note delays to report, just a few problems. fire -- rather, a police activity at richmond and owings mills. tydings memorial bridge, clear at the moment. tuesday, that is when and they will resume. we will give you a quick live look outside and check the cameras for you on the northwest corner at old court. no delays at all. we will switch over to the bay

bridge. if you go to the eastern shore, nice start at this any point loss of. -- the sandy point toll plaza. >> that sandy point picture looked nice. we have a few clouds moving into the area. there is liquid precipitation with the rain in the ohio river valley. by now the temperature at b.w.i. marshall, after a low of 28, is now 30 degrees. barometer is high as well. at the moment, the winds are calm.

♪ on top of the world, i feel on top of the world ♪ 7:30 now on a friday morning, it's the 30th day of december, 2011. there is the view of new york city's times square. tomorrow night savannah and a million of her closest friends will be packing that street to watch the ball drop to ring in 2012. >> and the weather is not going to be bad. >> the crowd will be huge. inside studio 1a, matt lauer, alongside savannah guthrie, ann is taking time off. when it comes to car repairs do you get what you pay for? we brought you our camera investigation in dealerships.

when we took the same cor to popular chain store fixers. giuliana rancic went to work two weeks after a double mastectomy. we'll catch up with giuliana and her husband, bill. and facing trial to massive protest overseas, how we covered the events and people of 2011. we'll begin with a remarkable story a marine who survived in some of the most dangerous spots in the world only to find his most life-threatening danger here at home. first kerry sanders has his story. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. lieutenant colonel karl trenker has been on tour in iraq and afghanistan, only to be shot at at home.

one bullet grazed the top of his head, the other his shoulder, one into his chest and the other in his stomach. it happened shortly before christmas when the lieutenant colonel helped sell his fiance's gold chain on craigslist. >> the one invasive was the one that hit me in the center of the abdomen. >> reporter: marine lieutenant colonel karl trenker made it out of the war zones and never thought he'd be in a war zone in florida. >> i come here and i'm full of holes. >> reporter: trenker's fiance advertised a gold chain on craigslist. the marine piled his four boys into his suv and went to meet two men who said they wanted to buy it. >> it was 3:00 in the afternoon. the families were out, women pushing strollers with babies. >> reporter: suddenly trenker says one of the men took off with the necklace. no surprise the 48-year-old marine gave chase. >> just as he turned the corner he turned around and pulled out a gun and started shooting at

me. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> hey there's a shooter. >> first it didn't register, is he shooting at me? it was when i got hit, i was like yes. there were a couple of holes, i put my fingers in them, got up. >> reporter: trenker used his bleeding from the battlefield to stop the bleeding. as he waited for help to arrive he managed to reach his boys, a few feet away from the gunfire. >> i told them dad was shot, i'm okay. >> reporter: then he called his fiance. >> i can't believe he's calm at the other end, giving description to the police. he's, you know -- i fell to the floor. >> reporter: trenker says he's grateful his fiance was not the one who went to meet the suspect. >> he's a hero, my hero and a hero to the country and i love him. i love him so much. >> reporter: the marine artillery expert still has a bullet lodged in his pelvis. >> the bullet went straight to the bone.

that's why you felt that pain. >> reporter: jeff steele and james flownery are charged. >> he wants them put to jail but if not he has other plans. >> let me in a room with them without any weapons, mano e mano. >> reporter: doctors say the lieutenant colonel should make a full recovery. >> marine lieutenant colonel karl trenker is here along with his fiance by his side. >> good morning. >> it's good to see you looking so good considering what happened to you. how are you today? >> i'm feeling very good thanks to the great care at north broward medical center. >> have the doctors told you to expect a full recovery? >> yes, they do. it's been great.

obviously the experience wasn't that fantastic but the care i've had has helped me to recuperate quickly. >> this is an astonishing story. take me back to that moment. you realized this guy was shooting at you, what was going through your mind? >> i was actually a little pissed off about it quite frankly. >> i think everyone can relate to that. did you just go into shock? >> no, like i said i was angry. i can't believe this guy is shooting at me, and i really wanted to make him stop, obviously i couldn't and once i received the second hit i realized i needed to back away, and reevaluate what i was doing. >> tanya, you were out with one of your real estate clients showing a house and you received this call from karl, telling you he had been shot. i mean, what did you think when he said that?

? initially, honestly i was waiting for the punch line, like ha ha, ha, and he told me again, i fell to the floor, started shaking, i couldn't lock up the house to put the key back in the lock box my clients had to help me with it. i was just devastated. you just really never expect anything like that to happen to you and then when it does, it's just, it blows you away. there's no words to express. >> lieutenant colonel, is there any doubt that your own training helped save your own life? >> there's no doubt. if not the direct training it self, just the experiences that i've had abled me to maintain my wherewithal and apply direct pressure to my wounds, to go back to my children, they were about 50 yards away so quite a distance i had to cover to go

back to them and i told the man that called 911, "i know the ambulance is coming but i have to go take care of my children first" and i ran. >> very quickly, one of the things that's so striking about this the fact here you are, a marine who served in iraq and afghanistan and yet in your hometown that you faced this life-threatening danger. have you thought about that? >> i have thought about it quite a bit. i mean it's just, there's no words for it. it's unfathomable that we have this kind of situation here where you go into a combat zone and come back out of that unscathed and come back home where it's not, but there's a lot more dangers here and for me, one of the dangers is craigslist, and i think that's something people need to be aware of. >> we're so glad to see you're okay. it's an amazing story. marine lieutenant colonel karl trenker and his fiance, tanya

saiz, thanks. let's get the weather from stephanie abrams. >> we have a big and rowdy crowd today. it's going to be a fun morning on the plaza and a dry one through the west and upper midwest. otherwise the s >> good morning. a mixture of clear skies and a few clouds beginning to move in. increasing clouds is the increasing clouds is the hoy about sunday night football, romo versus manning and the temperature also be quite mild, not too bad for

tailgating before the game, temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. savannah it's all yours. >> stephanie, thank you. coming up, "today investigates" auto repair shops, what's the truth behind the pricey bills? our hidden camera investigation, right after this. ranklin 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. 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.

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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. we're back now at 7:42. this morning on "today investigations" we're looking back at our top investigations of the year. when you take your car to popular auto repair stores do you get what you pay for? jeff rossen is here with details. good morning again. >> good morning once again. sitting here yesterday we showed you what our hidden cameras recovered at auto dealerships. four out of five billed us for repairs we didn't need. we decided to take the same car for the same experiment to national chain stores, midas, meineke, and our hidden cameras are rolling again.

name-brand mechanics under our hood, charging us big money for repairs. what do you make of this? >> terrible. >> reporter: we set up services at some of the most trusted names in the business, our car this 2007 jeep grand cherokee, under 47,000 miles and out of warranty. first we took it to a mechanic certified by two top auto repair groups. he inspected every system of our jeep and gave it a clean score. >> everything looks fine, everything looks good. >> reporter: then we asked him to rig a simple problem. he used this small part in the air conditioner called a relay switch. what are you doing? >> i'm going to take your ac relay out and i'm going to replace it with a defective one. >> reporter: makes the air conditioning blow warm air. >> yes. >> reporter: quick and easy fix? >> yes. >> reporter: this independent mechanic would charge only $100 to fix our program. what would the name brand shops

do? to find out we installed hidden cameras inside our car and under the hood. >> almost $100,000 to fix this? >> reporter: in october we showed you when we took our car to auto dealerships. four out of five tried to charge us hundreds, up to $2,000 in what experts say were unnecessary repairs. so would these chain stores be any better? that same month we sent this female nbc producer with the same jeep to five stores, a random mix of city and suburban locations. >> it's blowing warm air. >> reporter: our hidden cameras were rolling as she drops the car off at this midas in new york. within minutes the mechanic diagnoses our bad relay as the only problem. >> this is the part that was bad in my car? >> yep. >> it was pretty simple. >> reporter: and pretty cheap. the charge only $91.

same great result at this meineke in new jersey, the bill only $90 to fix our ac and if you think that's impressive, this pep boys in new york is more helpful. they find our bad relay, then the manager confides "we don't need them to fix it." we can buy the relay and do it ourselves for just 25 bucks. >> that's something i can buy at an auto parts store. >> yes, you can buy it at an auto parts store and ask for an a/c clutch relay. >> reporter: but our good results before to take a turn. at this midas in long island they quickly find our bad relay but then say fixing our ac requires some extra services, ac recharge system. >> the charging is $19. >> reporter: and brand new air filter. >> your cabin air filter is dirty, to get that done it would be $59.99.

>> reporter: our hidden cameras showed they never checked and the ac recharge, we this mechanic check our ac pressure before every shop and it was always fine. total charge at this midas? $464, up to five times as expensive as the previous shops. the franchise owner later told us, though his technician didn't follow company standards in documenting the inspection process, he believes the tech correctly diagnosed and fixed the problem, based on our car's mileage and his knowledge and experience. >> looks to me what he's doing right there is using the little bit of knowledge he has to try to convince you, you need some things you don't need. >> reporter: we showed our undercover video to two experts, paul digiuseppe and phil reid. while they can't comment on these shop's practices, they say many may push new fluids or filters, cheap fixes, even when

you don't need them. >> this is the easiest go to place to make money. >> reporter: when i hear fluids and filters, ah, $50, but that adds up. >> it does and over the course of the lifetime of the car it adds up to thousands of dollars. >> reporter: but it was at this meineke in new york where we got the biggest surprise of all, our hidden cameras show the mechanic never even checked our relay, instead, he comes up with a much more serious problem. >> this valve is leaking. this [ bleep ]'s been leaking for a while. >> reporter: he breaks the bad news to our producer. >> so i detect a leak immediately. >> i have a leak. >> right. >> reporter: how would you rate his work? >> horrible, terrible, sorry to see this. >> reporter: that mechanic is not done. >> we have to replace and then we recharge the system again. >> how much is this going to cost me? >> the total down here is $393. >> $393 to fix my air conditioning. >> reporter: nearly $400 for

repairs experts say were completely unnecessary. >> it's people like that that give us a bad name. there are really a lot of good people out there. >> reporter: the franchise owner told us this mechanic misdiagnosed the problem. in fact he told us he's received other customer complaints about his shop and as a result has now hired all new managers and mechanics. in the end, good practices seem to prevail. experts say three out of five shops charged us to fix the real problem. nothing more. as for the others -- >> they're abusing our trust because in many cases, they appeal to us as the trusted adviser, and yet they're actually picking our pockets. >> reporter: in a statement, midas corporate told us it does not tolerate what happened at that store, that billed us too much and it required additional training at that specific store. both midas and meineke say most stores do a great job but each

store is independently owned. >> hats off to the guys who did the right thing in that story. thanks for the series this week. >> matt, appreciate it, happy p birthday. >> thank you very much. how is giuliana rancic doing, two weeks after a double mastectomy? we'll talk to her and her husband after these messages. fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido

when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home.

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australia and all of the other places for chiming in on the celebration. can i mention something to our dear friend meredith vieira, lebron james, tiger woods. >> someone from hawaii felt like he had to send his own special message so let's roll it. ♪ happy birthday to you, matt ♪ happy birthday to you matt, what do you think about that ♪ ♪ happy birthday to matthew ♪ happy birthday to oo oooo you ♪ >> thank you, steven. >> happy birthday matt. >> i felt bad the other day and when i saw what you had in your office -- >> that was probably 48 years

ago. >> yeah. >> 47 years ago. >> you didn't really catch a big one. >> but back when i was that little that was a big fish. it's not so great today. >> well, happy birthday. ♪ happy birthday to you >> thanks so steven tyler, i really appreciate that. >> beautiful. >> i got candles. >> network cut back, we couldn't afford all the candles that needed to be on my cake. >> thank you, everybody, and meredith if you're watching, happy birthday, sweetheart. love you. reunion in austin. but this year, i can only afford one trip and i've always wanted to learn how to surf. austin's great -- just not for surfing. so i checked out hotwire. and by booking with them, i saved enough to swing both trips. see, hotwire checks the competition's rates every day so they can guarantee their low prices. that's how i got a 4-star hotel on the beach in san diego for half price. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> it is another good commute out there. light volume throughout the week. back to normal on monday. reisterstown road in owings mills, we have police activity that continues. disabled vehicle if you are heading out in westminster the next few minutes. 55 on the west side. we continue to move well at baltimore national pike. speeds around 58 on southbound

95 is out of the beltway northeast. here is a live view of traffic. we will start on 295. southbound traffic on 175. problem-free all the way towards the capital beltway. north side traffic is very light. that is the case all up in the area paid into it is quiet ride. happy new year. >> clouds have drifted in. they are connected to this disturbance coming in. these are rain echoes on the radar. it is a little chilly this morning. the low at the airport was 28. here is the updated temperature. 31 degrees at b.w.i. marshall. barometer is rising. at the moment, the winds are calm. today's forecast takes the the 31 we have now, the 50's for eyes. when the disturbance comes in, we will see more clouds.

possibly a few sprinkles, netflix is, they added a day. -- not flurries, late in the day. here is a look at the seven-day forecast. we maintain mild temperatures to the weekend. the weekend.

58 now on a friday morning. it's the 30th day of december, 2011, 40 degrees in new york city and a massive crowd has gathered, all of these people in town to celebrate the new year and we thank them for stopping by. out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. as we get ready to ring in the new year we'll look back to the year it was in 2011 from the t y triumphs and the tragedies to some of the natural disasters and other headlines that made our news. >> we are going to check in with giuliana rancic, just had a

double mastectomy two and a half weeks ago, we'll check in with her and her husband. tamron hall is in while natalie is on vacation. tamron has the headlines, good morning. >> good morning, everyone. the republican presidential candidates are crisscrossing iowa making a final push for votes, the first in the nation's caucuses just four days away. mitt romney is the front according to the latest polls there. he's campaigning in iowa today with new jersey governor chris christie. rick santorum enjoyed a late surge while newt gingrich has seen his support plummet. verizon wireless is facing a huge public backlash today. the company just announced that his plans to charge customers $2 for paying their bills on the company's website or by phone but verizon says there are many options to avoid the fees such as automatic billing or use electronic checking. now for a look at what's trending today our quick roundup

of what has you talking online. a top search on google, a story we brought you earlier, ben breedlove, an 18-year-old from texas who lost his battle from a rare heart condition on christmas day. he inspired millions with videos about life and love that have gone viral around the world. animal lovers are flocking to learn about kenzie the chimp who enjoys nothing more than a good old cookout. he starts the fire himself. i'm not sure if that's safe, he has a lighter and good roasted marshmallow there as well. aren't they sweet together? zee woe and joseph co-starred in "500 days of summer" check out their version of "what are you doing new year's eve" seen by 1.6 million people on youtube. ♪ what are you doing new year's, new year's eve ♪ >> maybe they'll take their

adorable act on the road. i'd love to see that. 8:02, back to stephanie with a check of the weather. >> hey there, tamron. i have some people who are going to be at times square for new year's eve. you're from alabama and getting down there at what time? >> 12:00 or 1:00. >> what are you going to do all day? >> stand there and take it all in. >> it will be a great time. let's have a look at our forecast, if you are in little rock, arkansas, our pick city today, 64 degrees for our high, and as we head through the afternoon hours, it's going to stay dry in the south and wet >> good morning. we will start picking up some clouds. look where the temperatures go. ratings jumped into the 50's for highs.

>> congratulations on your engagement, proud and nerdy. savannah i'm proud and nerdy. >> me, too, stephanie. coming up next a look back at the people and events that made headlines in 2011, coming up right after this. 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. 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

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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. from the devastating tsunami in japan to sweeping change in the middle east and the wedding of the century, 2011 has been a year of extremes. >> this morning a look back at the memorable moments as we reported to you, right here on "today." ♪

>> we begin on this friday morning with the latest on the crisis in japan. ann curry is in abu dhabi -- >> a major 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocks japan. it was a very powerful earthquake. the images are stunning. >> and then came the tsunami. the waves as high as 33 feet swallowed everything in their path. >> thousands without water, food, electricity. >> the death toll is estimated at 10,000. that is expected to climb. >> japan's nuclear crisis takes a dire turn. >> there have now been two explosions at the fukushima daiichi plant and a desperate attempt to avoid a meltdown. >> a woman said to me today "we will be strong. we will rebuild." >> an american woman tweeted ann curry because she had not heard from her sister. >> you have my sister?

>> i found your sister, here she is. >> oh my god. >> hi, sis. two devastating atacks in norway, police have one man in custody. >> after setting off the car bomb in oslo's center square another pulled out an automatic weapon and started killing. >> he killed people like it was no big deal. >> mourners trying to understand. >> the african nations of somalia, kenya and ethiopia are plagued by an unrelenting drought and famine. >> this young boy died sunday, his family carrying him home for burial. this is your child? the powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked new zealand's second largest city. >> survivors pulled from the rubble after a powerful earthquake rocks eastern turkey. >> britain burning, violence spreading across great britain.

>> in is criminality, pure and simple. kidnapped israeli soldier was released after five years of catch activity in gaza. rupert murdoch said to testify in front of parliament about the tabloid's phone hacking scandal. >> ultimately we are responsible for the whole fiasco? >> no. >> silvio berlusconi is out of a job today. north korea's dictator kim jong-il has died. >> potential economic catastrophe in greece. >> they are so angry. the austerity is coming one way or the other. >> we have the unrest in egypt, president hosni mubarak addressed his nation and said he would not step down. >> riots are sweeping tunisia and at least 40 civilians have been killed. a night of violent new clashes in cairo's tahrir square. >> protesters have more

demonstrations. >> they shouted requesting the people want to topple the regime." >> riot police clashed with protesters in bahrain. >> after the fall of hosni mubarak, hundreds of thousands of egyptians flood the streets of cairo. >> witnesses say nowhere feels safe. >> anwar al awlaki has been killed in yemen. >> armed rebels celebrated what they called a victory over the libyan military. >> once in rebel hands, gadhafi was shown no mercy. >> looking forward to this day, congratulations. >> finally here, two hours ago before the wedding. >> and good morning, matt. >> you are cordially invited to the wedding of the century. >> folks are already gathering, detected out with the beautiful hats.

♪ >> they used to call her waity katey and whee is waiting no more. >> i william arthur flil imlouie take thee catherine. >> i catherine elizabeth take the arthur philip louis. >> first chance for the crowd to see the prince and now the princess. >> here we go, here we go! oh! >> that was cute. >> that was cute. >> wouldn't that be impressive to have a second kiss? yep! >> oh, yeah, that's it! >> news that osama bin laden had been killed after a nearly ten-year search for him.

>> irene strengthens in the atlantic. >> the occupy wall street -- >> where is the recovery? unemployment highs, stocks down. >> wild scenes on wall street rage on. >> we are spending more money than we are taking in. >> the heated showdown over raising the debt ceiling. >> the first ever downgrade of the u.s. credit rating. >> shown terrible judgment. >> the american people are dissatisfied. >> we are the 99%. >> the occupy wall street movement is heating up. >> this morning at mark. hundreds of thousands have joined. tensions are rising between occupy wall street protesters. >> police caught using pepper spray. protesters dig in for the long haul. >> congresswoman gabrielle giffords in intensive care after a gunman shot her in the head. >> six people were killed. >> just this beautiful, young, vibrant girl. >> the remarkable recovery of

congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> 30% of the town has been wiped out. >> go right to weather. >> breaking news, a massive tornado nearly a mile wide levels huge sections of joplin, missouri. >> as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but devastation. >> get the hell off the beach. you're done. maximize your tan. >> hurricane irene is here, it is deadly and it's dangerous. >> whoa, look at that. we just watched the building wash off of its foundation. >> record flooding in the wake of irene. >> the impact of this storm will be felt for a long time. space shuttle "atlantis" touched down today for the final time. the united states conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. people will stop and remember where they were when they heard the news. how could pakistan not find someone right in front of them? >> casualties of war, most of the victims of navy's elite field team six.

what do you want the kids to know about him? >> his love for this country and amazing man he was. >> he ended the nine-year military campaign in iraq. >> remembering 9/11 years later. >> they tried to take away our freedoms and we didn't let them. >> breaking news, penn state university -- >> publicity stunt? charlie sheen in his first morning show interview. >> tired of pretending i'm not a rock star. duh, winning, tiger blood. tiger blood, people took it so seriously. >> schwarzenegger admits he fathered a child with a woman who worked in their home. >> what is your reaction to the idea this may have all been a sham? >> it's over. demi moore is ending her

six-year marriage to ashton kutcher. detectives reopen the investigation into the death of actress natalie wood. bonlgshell verdict. >> we find the defendant not guilty. >> casey anthony acquitted of killing daughter caylee. jury in perugia deliberating the fate of aman da knox. why is it going to be hard for you to hear? >> she's fighting for her life. >> the jury said amanda knox did not commit the crime. >> thank you to everyone who has believed int me. >> the manslaughter of michael jackson's doctor. >>. >> i didn't do anything wrong. >> the jury finds him guilty of involuntary man slaught per. >> my son's gone. i'll never see him again. >> one of the world's most powerful bankers accused of sexually assaulting a housekeeper. >> dominique strauss-kahn now a free man. >> i was hacked. >> kont me anthocongressman ant

weiner sent inappropriate photos to women online. >> if it were me i would resign. >> today i announce my resignation from congress. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> the sex abuse scandal that rocked penn state at the center is former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky. >> are you sexually attracted to underaged boys. >> am i sexually attracted to underaged boys? >> yes. >> i enjoy young people, but no. ♪ >> 4,000 americans lost their lives, maybe 100,000 iraqis lost their lives, cost about $1 trillion, was it worth it? did you give the right advice? >> i think i did. >> what is the evidence against them? >> they illegally crossed our borders but i think they'll be freed in a couple of days.

>> when you look in your son's face, a young man who served in this country, what do you say? >> i say i'm so daned proud of you. >> most economists say that would send the economy back into recession. >> most of them are not very smart. >> 14 million americans, why are you not angrier? >> i spend all of my time think being this stuff because i'm talking to these folks every single day. >> we're seeing sweeping changes in school lunches. >> that's not going to affect my kid's tater tots though? >> do you want them to have the tater to thes? >> i want them. >> hair and makeup team on board? >> that should be obvious. when i get off the plane in the middle of the night i'm always afraid i'll scare the children. >> did you say to bernie, with he should kill ourselves? did bernie say it to you? >> i think it was my idea more than his. i just wanted to get it over with. >> i think it's a shame that i

can't say something nice without jen being drug in. >> let me read -- >> please don't read it. >> i think if jesus were alive today there would be polls in "us weekly." >> should he cut his hair. that's the sew we live in. >> what is the noise in your head? ♪ sit a spell it will take about an hour, i'll tell you all a story about me and matt lauer ♪ ♪ >> three, four, in, out, one, two. >> vice president has such a nice ring to it. >> first problem most of us face every morning is the news. ♪

♪ i go back to black >> we appeal to those volunteering to do something for your country. ♪ bye, bye w my baby >> i am as mad as hell and i'm not going to take this anymore! ♪ >> have the currentourage to fo your heart and intuition. you somehow already know what you truly want to become. >> five, four, three, two, one --

>> a new day in washington, republicans officially taking control of the house. >> united they sit. >> come to this moment will be to determine not whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow. >> blame game, frustration grows in washington. >> this debt limit increase is his problem. >> if they bring this economy down they've broken it and they own it. >> americans are fed up with the stalemate. >> let's get it done. >> the ayes are 74 and the nays are 26. >> the debt showdown is over. >> neither side got as much as it wanted. that is the essence of compromise. >> the approval ratings of president obama and congress are sinking. >> the president still is struggling to sell this jobs bill. >> i will not support any plan that puts all the burden on ordinary americans. >> i had to check my calendar this week to see if it was 2011 or 2012. >> now is not my time. >> contentious gop presidential debate. >> this is a ponzi scheme. >> 9-9-9.

>> i'm offended for the little girls and parents who didn't have a choice. >> edation, and -- i'm sorry. >> what happened last night? >> i stepped it in last night. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> whoever the nominee is, we are all for defeating barack obama. >> by the president's own admission he has a tough re-election battle. >> stop complaining. we've got work to do! ♪ >> wow. and there's still one day left in the year. that's a lot of events. >> we see the politics, just a preview of coming attractions for the coming year as well. >> exactly right. we've been busy. we thank yal fedderbush, kate i-buckley, and jason krilovich

putting that together, eight a gargantuan task to go through all of those tapes and events and come up with something as beautiful as that. >> when you see it in one piece of tape you realize how much seismic change we've seen just in the last year going back. >> it seems to go so fast. >> it does. >> it's amazing. >> that was 2011. we get ready for 2012. we'll take a break. we're back right after this. [ woman ] weighing myself in times squar >> there we go, there we go! [ woman ] oh, i don't want to look. ♪ [ woman ] let's get it over with. ♪ satisfaction! satisfaction! pizzazz! pizzazz! confidence. i like it! just what i've always wanted! joy! ♪

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♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] oh what fun it is to ride. get the mercedes-benz on your wish list at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends january 3rd. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho! be. coming up, ooex news host giuliana rancic opens up about her double mastectomy two weeks ago.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> nice start. no delays. police activity in owings mills at reisterstown road and ridge more road. disabled vehicle clearing at malcolm drive and 140. everything has been light all week. nice change. monday things will return to normal. 57 on the west side at 40.

southbound 95 at beltway, 58 miles per hour. nice start on the area bridges. ruxton road, south of the beltway, moving well into town. keybridge, a nice start here. great on all the major roadways. john come over to you. >> we had clouds drifting into the area. they are not rainmakers or anything like that. warmer out to the west. it is a rainmaker, though, not a snowmaker. low this morning of 28. 31 at the airport. barometer rising a bit. at the moment, the winds are calm. current readings right into the the 50's for highs. cooler off the northwest. on average, these are about 10 degrees warmer than they were

yesterday. after dark, maybe a few sprinkles. south wins at five to 10. we keep the temperature is up over the weekend. if you spend a saturday morning into sunday night. >> back with another update

happy birthday! >> we're back now 8:30 on a friday morning, the 30th day of december, 2011, last day of friday of the year, and we have a big festive crowd celebrating with us before they head over to celebrate in times square tomorrow night. more on that celebration coming up in just a couple of minutes.

meanwhile out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie who is here while ann is taking time off and tom ran hall is with us as well. ann and al are uoff. a difficult couple of months for giuliana rancic, a couple of weeks ago underwent a double mastectomy. amazingly already back at work. also ahead are you not sure what to serve at your new year's party? ming sai will be here to dazzle your guests. that looks tasty. 2012, promising to be a big and busy year with the summer olympic games, as well as some huge highly anticipated hollywood blockbusters, get a look ahead at what's coming up and of course you can't miss that big moment around the corner. >> let's bring carson daley in,

host of nbc's new year's celebration. good morning, eight years in a row. thank you very much. >> yes. >> there are some of us who go to bed at 10:30. >> i'm normally one of those people. >> i love it. tomorrow our big day, been a great tradition at nbc. we have tony bennett this year which is nice and the whole family is helping out, ce lo green, my friends from "the voice" jesse jay, drake live at times square. >> a big cup of coffee, ready to ring in the new year and a social media aspect of it. >> we're asking people to tweet us their resolutions, or what they're doing in their communities to celebrate the ball drop and donning of a new use, #nbcnye. >> we have to ask what is your new year's resolution? >> i have a beautiful son who is almost 3 now and so for me it's

always about balance professionally and personally and so the new year being a good dad is still hard work. >> it's a great show. what time do you end up getting out of there? >> actually nypd has this down. >> they clear the roads for you? >> 12:15 they're ready for the commute the next morning so 12:35 we're out thereof. >> happy new year. >> i hope so. >> carson new year's eve right here on nbc, 10:00 to 11:00 p.m., continuing 11:30 p.m. eastern time. good luck >> thank you. mpb l let's get the official forecast for new year's eve. stephanie, good morning. >> we have people from missouri. what are you doing for new year's? >> going on a plane ride back to our lovely kids. >> the party is happening right here in the plaza right here right now. happy new year. let's go forecasting and here is a look at our new year's eve forecast at midnight. we'll see nice weather for

carson and all of the folks into the northeast. here is for the 1 million plus people in times square, partly cloudy, looking good. the winds will be light as well and on new year's day a little bit of snow and rain around >> good morning. a mixture of clear skies and a few clouds beginning to move in. increasing clouds is the >> this one was dressed up by her daughter and granddaughter. doesn't she look great at 70? if you want your birthday or new year's eve forecast go to weather.com 24 hours a day >> thank you, stephanie. we love that feather boa.

coming up, giuliana rancic, two and a half weeks after her breast cancer surgery. first this is "today" on nbc."t

man: my electric bill was breaking the bank. 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.

back now at 8:36, this morning on "today's update" giuliana rancic's bat well breast cancer. we've been following her progress since she first announced her diagnosis on this program. we'll catch up with ghoul ya-ya and husband bill but first a little bit more of that irstory. for years she's been a familiar face to fans who followed her on television as a co-anchor on e! news. >> they save their biggest secrets for us. >> and gracing the red carpets for major hollywood events. giuliana rancic's infectious smiles caught the attention of season one inwinner of "apprenti "apprentice" bill rancic.

>> you're hired. >> the two were married and chronicled their lives together on the style network reality show "giuliana and bill." on the show the couple shared their struggle to have a family while undergoing fertility treatments, giuliana learned something stunning about her health, something she revealed here on "today" in october. >> i have early stages of breast cancer. >> reporter: giuliana underwent a double lumpectomy but earlier this month came the news more treatment was needed. >> i'm going to go ahead and move forward with a double mastectomy. all it came down to was just choosing to live and not looking over my shoulder. >> reporter: two weeks after undergoing a double mastectomy, giuliana and bill were out greeting fans at an event in santa monica, california, and on tuesday, giuliana returned to her post on e! news. >>ed so go to be back. thank you for your love, your support, your prayers, means the world to me so thank you so

much. >> giuliana and bill rancic, easiest question how do you feel? >> great. i got to be honest, i feel great considering it has only been about two and a half weeks but i still have a ways to go as far as the recovery. >> i think people have really appreciated your openness, your honesty through this process, especially in interviews here. i'm curious the morning of the surgery, the day of the surgery what was your emotional state? what was the question, the last question you wanted to ask the surgeon before you went in for the procedure. >> oh, gosh, when i was going into the procedure i was acting so crazy. >> they had given her something to relax her so she was cracking jokes with them as they're wheeling her away. i've never seen anything like it so she was in pretty good spirits. >> i was but went in i said are we having a party? i was trying to have a good attitude. >> surgery is over, i know the first day where from what i've read was tough. >> oh, yeah.

>> and again since you've been so open and honest, take me through a little bit of that. >> it was definitely hard. i knew this was going to be a tough surgery but i in no way want to minimize it. i'm two and a half weeks out but up until a week and a half ago it was hell. it was horrible. >> you were on morphine. you were sick to your stomach >> absolutely. >> pain still even though you were on morphine. >> sure. >> and you were afraid not to get too graphic you were afraid to throw up because you felt it would hurt. >> absolutely. and it did. you know, what happened was i went into surgery at about 4:00 p.m. i got out about 9:30 p.m., and by 4:00 a.m., i had to get off the morphine because i was so sick, and i thought to myself, either i have to deal with the pain from the surgery, or i'm going to have to throw up, and the last thing i wanted to do was throw up, considering i had just had my chest operated on and you have to engage all your chest muscles. >> exactly. >> so it was not good.

>> you have been there physically and emotionally. you are cheerleader number one, but there's no faster way to become the worst husband in the world trying to force your wife to get up and walk on the first few days after surgery which is what the doctors require. what was she like? >> the doctors gave me strict orders and said at 3:00 you have to have her walking around and up out of bed. she was not happy with me. as soon as she took the first couple of steps she was walking around the hallways of the hospital and wanted to set the record, she went up to one of the nurses, what's the record for the most laps around the ward in the hospital. >> it was two and i did two and a half. >> i was watching the tape of you back on e! news, gesturing with your arms. how much mobility and flexibility, how much soreness? >> i realized on our flight i can't turn much to put my seat belt on for instance. bill still has to help me. he has to help me get in and out

of bed and i can't put my arms above my head. people have to help me get dressed so it's limited mobility, a lot of pain but. >> back to work in two weeks and maybe i should ask you this question, not giuliana. are you ever worried in her effort to be so strong and to set such a good example for other people, other women across the country, that she's pushing this too hard? >> well we don't do anything without the doctor's approval, and i think this is something that she was, you know, intent on doing. she wanted to turn the negative into a positive and i think the response and the number of people who said i went in and got my first mammogram or my wife got her first mammogram, it's worth it. if you can save one life through this process you turn the negative into an incredible positive >> to be honest, matt, i had a goal to go back towork this week. if i couldn't have made it -- >> you wouldn't have forced yourself. >> no, i would have gone the next week or the week after but it is a goal and helps you recover quicker.

it was having that light at the end of the tunnel, the date i wanted to get back to work helped me heal quicker. >> you'll be in times square tomorrow night for new year's eve, something you wanted to do as well. >> yeah, uh-huh. >> first of all let's get rid of 2011 for your family and look forward to 2012. >> we are excited, hosting the nivia kiss stage at times square and not looking back. as soon as 2012 comes in we're moving full steam ahead. >> we need a good year, matt. >> thanks for coming in. from technology to entertainment a look at what's in store for 2012 but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ time, i don't understand

♪ and time won't give me time back now at 8:45, in your last half hour we looked back at the biggest stories of the past year. now it is time to look ahead. "time" magazine's newest issue is all about what's in store for

2012. and radika jones is "time's" executive editor. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> we're going to be talking about politics in 2012. >> we're talking about it already, all eyes on iowa. there are a couple of things to keep in mind as the primaries unfold. one is that they may go on longer this year than usual, that's because the republicans, a lot of states have switched over to a proportional delegation system so even if mitt romney emerges as a definitive front-runner it may take him longer to accrue the delegates which also means a longer period of negative attack ads. >> used to be states would do winner take all. if you won the primary, you won all that state's delegates but now proportionately it to coprolong the race. >> it could. >> and we'll see more money. >> because of the rise of the super pac, which after a supreme court decision in 2010 it became legal for these organizations to

accept huge donations on behalf of candidates who themselves have a cap on how much money they can accept so with super pac money coming in and funding a lot of advertising and general campaigning you're just seeing a lot more money being thrown around in a campaign and some insiders say all the negativity of it may damage the candidate going forward. >> we already see this going on in iowa. let's talk about medicine. what are some of the new drugs you're talking about that are coming onto the market in 2012? >> the takeaway for medicine this year and going forward is that drug companies and doctors are trying hard to target exactly what the problem is, and how to solve it with fewer side effects and fewer negative by-products and drugs. there are a couple of things in the pipeline, two drugs related to breast cancer, one of them is a test that targets a type of cancer that's usually treated with radiation and surgery. this test may make it able for

patients to decide, toe know whether they'll need the radiation and if you can take that out of your treatment plan, that's a great thing. radiation is no fun for anyone. there's also an anti-obesity drug that is in application with the fda that's been shown to decrease body weight by about 14%. >> this is a combo drug but they don't recommend it for women in child wearing years. >> because it does have a risk of birth defects. >> let's talk about sports rivalries, and of course we're going to have the olympics this summer in london. >> it's a great year for sports rivalries. >> tell us about it. >> you of course remember michael phelps and his eight wins in beijing. well he will be swimming again in london and he's got some competition from a teammate, best kind of competition to have, swimmer named ryan lochte. there's a rematch between the

u.s. and chinese gymnast which there is controversy. >> some people are saying are the chinese gymnasts really, did they cheat on the age rules. >> right, so we'll see those teams match up again and look for the americans to excel on the floor and on the vault. >> and on the track you've got a rivalry. >> on the tracks the rivalry comes from jamaica. you remember usain bolt, he also has a teammate hard at his heels so there may be a new fastest man in the world come summer. >> talk about hollywood, i love this one, battle of the beef cake with two names i got it be honest with you i never heard of channing tatum and chris hemsworth? >> they're not george clooney or brad pitt but they're two young attractives, and did i mention they are very attractive? channing tatum was g.i. joe and chris hensworth played thor. they have five films coming out this year so an equal matchup. >> if we don't know them yet we

will know them by this time next year. happy new year to you. >> "time's" 2012 user's guide issue is on news stands now. coming up, creative additions that will truly impress your party guests. we're already pouring the drinks.

♪ we gonna party like, like it's the end of the world ♪

this morning on "today's holiday kitchen" new year's eve and party foods to get you ready for tomorrow night's celebration with noted chef ming sai, from boston, massachusetts, always glad to have you here. >> happy to be back. >> these are impressive recipes. looks like you've spent a lot of time doing these things. >> it's real easy. the whole idea of new year's eve you want to party with your friends and not be in the kitchen the whole time. this is my mom's version of shrimp toast. you take fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp. eggs, a dash of truffle oil. that was a third of a teaspoon barely. a little white pepper. white pepper is nice because it keeps it white and a pinch of salt. this we do in advance and puree

it so it's nice and smooth. >> can you pop that in the fridge a couple of hours before? >> absolutely. so the mousse gets firm like this. we'll take some hijicama. >> what is that? >> like water chestnut, really crunchy and mexican cuisine it's awesome, got a great sweetness to it. so in chinese shrimp toast we use water chestnuts but water chestnuts are expensive and kind of a pain to peel. so jicama once you peel a big one like that you're done. help me put sesame seeds on, sprinkle it on. >> we're going to make toast but the bread is steaale or you wan it to be? >> it is not stale but it is dry. >> especially moldy. >> budget cuts. no, it's dried so that it doesn't absorb as much oil. so that you put into oil like this. >> the whole thing, right on top of the toast.

>> down first and it doesn't fall off. >> you didn't do both sides. >> only one side. >> why doesn't it fall off? >> chinese gravity. >> obviously. >> not the first time we've heard that. >> literally 30 seconds a side. you end up with shrimp toast which is so easy. you can have the toast made and fry them when the guests arrive. >> you layer it jt like this. >> this is just a better row. i want to you taste one, please. >> thank you. >> and simple, easy, you can do scallops if you don't like shrimp. >> now my favorite, slider station. >> this is a slider station. you get a plate and a bun and this is a surf n turf smoked slider station. we have beef tenderloin here, and all of the condiments. as a slider, you want beef or salmon? >> i'm going to go beef.

>> okay, and the idea is then we have a horse radish cream made with non-fat greek yogurt which i love. i'm going to make myself a surf one. people some people don't like meat, right, so have something for everyone. >> the idea is you set all this up and people do their own thing. >> set it up, we have crispy onions. that is the tea rub on the beef that you cook and this is really spicy, the sambau has plums in it. >> is that only for the salmon? >> no, the idea is everything works. people can mix and match. i don't know if you want to put smoked salmon, probably not, have a salmon and then have a beef. >> this is goat cheese, crusted with apricot chutney. >> i'll save one of those for later. >> it's his birthday. >> you're supposed to eat noodles on your birthday. >> later tonight. >> chicken with an almond kind

of pesto. >> oh, it's pesto. i thought it was avocado. >> no, just almond taste, high basil. >> delicious, i'm making a pile. >> what are we drinking? >> pomegranate ginger ale. >> happy new year. >> thank you so much. the recipes are on today.com. just ahead, tips for putting more cash in your pocket where the holiday debt hangover. first your local news and weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. two doctors are facing murder charges, accused of a botched abortion procedures at a secret facility at elkton.

dr. nicola riley is charged with first and second degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. the doctors from utah and performing pro 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.

>> new weather disturbance coming in. the defense is, a lot warmer today. temperatures in the upper 40's and the 50's. maybe a few sprinkles after dark.