good morning. the bomber's briefs. these are the fbi crime lab photos of the specially made underwear used by that would-be bomber to smuggle explosives onto a detroit-bound flight. could they ha been detected if some expensive and controversial scanners been in place? the battle for tripp. nbc news learned overnight that sarah palin's daughter bristol has sued levi johnston for sole custody of their 1-year-old son. this morning, why the palins fought to keep that out of the public spotlight. and "i'll kill you." that's what charlie sheen's wife

told investigators he shouted at her during that alleged attack on christmas, as police release the 911 call that led to sheen's arrest. >> my husband had me -- with, with a knife and i was feared for my life and he threatened me. >> and now prosecutors are considering charges that could land one of tv's most prominent actors in jail for up to eight years today, tuesday, december 29th, 2009. captions paid for by nbuniversal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm amy robach, in for meredith this morning. and matt, a wing of al qaeda is now claiming responsibility for that christmas day attempt to blow up a u.s.-bound flight. >> and that lends some credibility to the would-be bomber's claim that he was actually trained by al qaeda in yemen. president obama spoke out about

the incident on monday and vowed to correct the security shortcomings highlighted by that failed attack. and this morning, a number of security experts are suggesting that those corrections must involve controversial full-body screeners. we're going to talk about that with a ranking republican on the homeland security committee, new york congressman peter king, in just a couple minutes. also ahead, a happy homecoming for david goldman and his son sean. nbc was with them exclusively last night as they arrived at their new jersey home. it was the first time sean had been there in more than five years, but he did remember some of his things, including the family cat. we're going to have much more on that coming up. also ahead, is your money as safe as you think it is? coming up, the four questions every american should know the answers to to avoid getting ripped off. but let's begin with new details about that would-be bomber and how he carried out his failed attack on a detroit-bound flight and the security fallout over that incident. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams is at the department of

homeland security. pete, good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. security experts say the explosive was smuggled on to that plane in a pair of underwear with a secret pocket. that bypassed the machines that check carry-on bags, which are given more thorough security screening than passengers themselves. fbi crime lab pictures obtained nbc news tell the story. authorities say umar abdulmutallab wore these underwear that show scorching when it was removed. it was covered with plastic, injected with this syringe found scorched and partially melted after the mixture caught fire but did not explode. president obama says he has ordered a review of how such a thing could happen. >> we need to determine just how the suspect was able to bring dangerous explosives aboard an aircraft and what additional steps we can take to thwart future attacks. >> reporter: the fbi says the

packet contained roughly three ounces of explosive powder, about the same amount as a third of a cup of sugar. that's roughly the quantity of explosive in richard reid's shoe bomb. an fbi demonstration showed the force the shoe bomb would have had if it had gone off. walk-through airport metal detectors cannot detect explosives. authorities say they were in use when umar farouk abdulmutallab boarded a flight in nigeria and amsterdam, where he caught a connecting flight to detroit. security experts say full-body scanning machines might have detected the explosives hidden in underwear. they're in only about two dozen airports nationwide, delayed by high cost and privacy concerns, but a former homeland security official says they must now be widelydeployed. >> because it will make it much harder to hide even this small amount of explosive on your body. and therefore, it will be something -- it will be easier to find it that way. >> reporter: abdulmutallab has told federal agents that he

prepared for the bombing in yemen. the u.s. has been unable to confirm that, but officials in yemen say he arrived there in early august with a visa to study arabic languages. in mid-november, his father, a nigerian banker, told the u.s. embassy there that he was worried his son was becoming a radical extremist, but that information was not considered significant enough to put him on a no-fly or watch list. investigators say those chemicals smuggled on to the plane might have worked to make a successful bomb. they have yet to learn why it didn't go off and averted a catastrophe. matt? >> all right, pete, thank you very much. nbc's pete williams. it is now five minutes after the hour. here's amy. >> matt, thank you. and as the investigation progresses, more details are emerging about the would-be bomber's background and nigerian roots. cnbc's erin burnett visited the family compound in the capital city of abuja. >> reporter: when most people think of africa's most populous country, they think of teeming

streets and poverty, and there is plenty of both. an average wage of $7 a day with 70% living below the poverty line, but there is another sign to nigeria, immense oil wealth held by a tiny few. it's these extremes that begs the question, could a country divided between rich and poor face more radicalism? pete was born here and is now an american citizen. >> the people that are not poor in nigeria are living large. you see them in their range rovers, you know, they live in their gated homes. >> reporter: these are some of the mansions in nigeria's capital, abuja. owners were hesitant to let us film inside due to security concerns. there are plenty of guards and gates here. but we did get to go nude one mansion and we saw a 10-foot-wide crystal chandelier. abdulmutallab had plenty of money. this was one of his family's many homes.

this one in abuja, nigeria, has the barbed wire of the wealthy. his father made his money as chairman of nigeria's most prominent bank. but bankers, like all rich nigerians, owe their wealth to oil. nigeria is africa's biggest oil exporter and the single biggest source of the gas americans find at the pump. and for now, only a few here get all the money that flows from nigeria's oil wealth. erin burnett, nbc news, abuja, nigeria. it is now 7:07 and here's matt. >> amy, thank you very much. new york congressman peter king is the ranking republican on the homeland security committee and serves on the intelligence committee as well. congressman king, good to see you again. >> good to see you, matt. >> you were critical of the president for not speaking out on this incident for some 72 hours. he did speak about it yesterday. did you like what you heard? did he say the right things? >> basically, he did. he was the commander in chief. i give him credit for that. i certainly support what he said about being aggressive about going after international terrorism overseas, whether it's afghanistan or yemen, somalia,

pakistan. i fully agree with that. i do have concerns, though, that, for instance, he spoke about this being an isolated extremist, when it's not. he's an islamic terrorist who's part of an international movement. whether or not he's an actual member of al qaeda, i don't think it's accurate to say he's an isolated extremist. also, i think that the administration has made a mistake by treating this terrorist as a common criminal by putting him into the criminal justice system. i wish they had put him into a military tribunal so we could get as much intelligence and information out of him as we could to find out if there are more attacks coming. >> so, are you worried that this is going to be a missed opportunity to gain that valuable information, for example, the names and locations of the al qaeda operatives who may have trained him in yemen? >> my concern is that we did miss the opportunity, because once we put him into the criminal justice system, he gets a lawyer and gets miranda rights. let me make this clear. i support the president's goal about going against international terrorism. there's obvious differences we

would have, but he's the president, he's the commander in chief. i wish he would have come out sooner instead of putting out janet napolitano or robert gibbs the first few days, but yesterday he was presidential, he is our leader and i stand by him. >> let's go back to security and screening at airpts. millions of dollars being spent, but there are millions of travelers, and i guess the resources are limited. are you concerned, congressman, that too much time and energy is being spent on screening people who in all reality pose absolutely no threat to others, that not enough time is being spent targeting the people who probably fit some kind of -- and it's a charged word -- but profile? >> yes, matt, i am. listen, terrorists come from everywhere, but the fact of the matter right now is that 100% of the islamic terrorists who are coming against us are muslims. most of them are males from the middle east. so, we should be focusing more on that. listen, if you're going after the mafia, you go to italian communities. if you're going after the i. research a., you go into the irish communities, irish bars. to me, it's not kidding anyone.

we're living in a politically correct world to say we should be screening a scandinavian grandmother the same as we do a middle eastern male. the reality is, our enemy comes from islamic terrorism and we should be focused on them, not ignoring others, not realizing -- >> and we shouldn't be afraid to single out someone because of a last name that sounds like a muslim last name or because of background or because of appearance? >> i'm saying we should focus more on where we think the threat is coming from and realizing that 99% of muslims are innocent, god-fearing people, but also realizing that 100% of the threat is going to come from that community, so we have to focus more on that, but also realize that others could be recruited, we could have covers, we could have others from other parts of the world, but if we are going to focus, you focus primarily on where the threat is. this is what the israelis do. the israelis have done this and they have not had an attack in 30 years. >> a little extra focus right now on the country of yemen. the pentagon spent $67 million

helping the government there with their counterterrorism efforts in the last year or so. as someone who sits on the homeland security committee, how much more money, how much more effort, how much more focus should we be paying to yemen? >> we should be doing all we can. i fully support what the president's doin let me say on a bipartisan note, i believe thepresident's actions in yemen have been solid, they've been strong, and the president should realize that we have very strong support among republicans for what he's doing. he's taking aggressive action and it's very layered types of action and the president's doing the right thing in yemen. if he wants to do more, i would support him on that. >> congressman peter king, thanks f your time this morning. >> matt, happy new year, matt. >> and to you. thanks very much. it's 11 minutes after the hour. once again, here's amy. >> matt, thank you. with the new security measures put in place, if you're flying any time soon, you should expect the unexpected. nbc's kevin tibbles is at the detroit metro airport with more on that. kevin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. you know, airport officials tell

me that some passengers are so anxious about the new security measures, they are showing up four, five, even six hours ahead of time. lengthy lineups have been the order of the day since christmas day's failed terror attack. from chicago o'hare -- >> been standing in line for about an hour now, waiting to check my bags. it's moving real slow because of security and stuff. >> reporter: to detroit metro, passengers were anxious about increased security. >> a lotf different folks i've talked to in line told me my flight's not for six hours, but we didn't want to waste any time. >> reporter: airport officials tell passengers to be prepared for added, often random, security checks that may include being patted down or having luggage hand searched. this is especially the case for international travelers headed to the u.s. >> they had to check everybody, one per one, just to frisk them and open all the bags, get everything out of the hand

luggage. >> reporter: security sources now say on flights bound for the united states, the tsa is lowing pilots to use their scretion and decide whether passengers must remain seated for the last hour of the flight, whether they can access carry-on luggage or even have a blanket or pillow. >> on the plane it was quite different because we couldn't go to the toilet one hour before landing and we couldn't even read magazines. >> reporter: some question the severity of the new rules. >> there's aifference between being unpredictable and being silly. airport security needs to be unpredictable so the bad guys don't know exactly what they're going to run into. but some of the measures that have been put in place this week are just downright silly. >> reporter: airport officials are advising travelers to arrive 90 minutes ahead of domestic flights and between two and three hours ahead of international flights. and for many passengers, the extra hassle is worth it. >> it means some personal sacrifices, but it also means that we get a chance to land with all the wheels rather than landing after the plane

explodes. so, i'm okay with that. >> reporter: clearly, in the interests of safety, these new safety measures have to be an accepted part of airline travel these days, but obviously, here in detroit metro this morning with the long lines, even outside in the subzero temperatures and around the world, people are going to have to get used to waiting and waiting. amy? >> all right, kevin tibbles. thanks so much. let us now get a check of the rest of e morning's top stories. ann is off. lester holt's standing by at the news desk. lester, good morning to you. >> matt and amy, good morning to you. hello, everyone. today, authorities are appealing for calm in pakistan, where riots filled the streets ofarachi after a deadly bombing on monday. this morning the death toll rose to more than 40 from that bomb that exploded during a shiite muslim procession. the blast and riots started a massive fire that destroyed hundreds of shops. north korea today confirmed it is holding an american for illegally entering the country. south korean activists identify

him as 28-year-old missionary robert park from arizona who wanted to draw attention to human rights concerns in north korea. the u.s. is reaching out to allies, hoping to build support for new sanctions against iran. the move comes after sunday's violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters that killedt least eight people. today, iran accused the west of inciting those protests. investigators in eastern mississippi are trying to find out what sparked a tragic fire monday. nine people, including six children, were killed when fire swept through an apartment in starkville. the children range from 6 months to 6 years old. overseas markets are mostly higher this morning after another up day on wall street monday. cnbc's amanda drury is at the new york stock exchange. amanda, what are you watching there? >> hi there, lester. well, we're going to see whether we can clock a seventh consecutive gain for the u.s. markets today. of course, it's a pretty sleepy week out here, but there is some substance on the economic front. one thing we are certainly watching is the u.s. consumer

confidence index to see just how happy u.s. consumers have been this holiday shopping season. and also on tap is the s&p kay schiller home price index to see what's been happening on the home price front. those are just a couple things to watch today. back to you, lester. >> amanda, thanks. an 80-year-old bridge linking new york and vermont came crashing down on monday, brought down by explosives after engineers said the lake champlain bridge was simply unsafe. a new bridge is expected be built in 2011. and it was a high-flying birthday monday for a great grandmother in peru. she turned 85 and celebrated by going paragliding as her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren looked on. next, well, of course, she wants to go bungee jumping. it is now 7:16. let's go back to matt, amy and al. >> i don't know about that, bungee jumping. >> she looks pretty good for 85. >> she does. really does. have you ever bungee jumped? >> i don't think i could. i feel like it could hurt your neck. >> you?

>> no desire. >> remember when ann did it? >> but she's three inches taller. >> how about a check of the weather? all right, let's see what's happening, and again, we've got some cold air to talk about and we've also got windchills and we've got lake-effect snow. buffalo, 8 below, that's what it feels like out there. it feels like 12 in new york city, 13 in boston. snowfall, the lake-effect snow's going to be lighter than they were yesterda anywhere from one to six inches of snow. rest of the country, we've got stagnation advisories out in the pacific northwest, afternoon showers and thunderstorms move into the pacific northwest. moreain moving into s later, temperatures are below freezing, the district is 30 degrees. 29 degrees in prince george's county. in montgomery county, your current temperature is 29 degrees. the sun will be up in a few minutes at 7:26, your high at 35 degrees. while we'll be dry for tomorrow,

a system moves up the coast on new year's eve. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all rht, al, thanks very much. a year ago this week, sarah palin's teenage daughter bristol gave birth to her son tripp, and overnight, nbc news has obtained court documents that reveal a custody battle with her former fiance, levi johnston. lester's back with details on that now. lester? >> that's right. bristol palin filed a request for sole custody back in november and was trying to keep it out of the public spotlight, but johnston opposed that. late last week, a judge ruled in his favor. >> eventually, we'd like to get married. he's a really hands-on dad. he's just in love with him as much as i am. >> reporter: just ten months ago, bristol palin had only loving words for her baby's father, levi johnston, but now things have changed. in november, the 19-year-old palin filed a petition seeking

sole custody of their son, tripp. she demanded child suprt and a visitation schedule for her ex-fiance, who she claims isn't mature enough to take on significant parental responsibilities. but johnston says it's the palins who have refused to let him visihis son. >> who is keeping your son away from you, is it bristol or is it sarah? >> it's coming out of bristol's mouth, but i'm sure sarah's feeding her something. >> reporter: according to the petition, levi johnston has not spent any alone time with the baby in the one year since he was born. >> we call him levi -- i hear he goes by the name ricky hollywood now. >> reporter: referring to levi's much in the headlines "playgirl" photo shoot, sarah palin and levi johnston are no strangers to a war of words. >> if we're going to take the gloves off, i'm going to tell a little bit of something. >> reporter: concerned about sarah palin meddling in the custody battle, johnston asked that this case remain public so he can feel "protected against sarah palin." while bristol stated otherwise,

"this case is between me and levi. my mother has nothing to do with it." and overnight, we received a statement from bristol pailen's lawyer. lisa hamby tells us "unfortunately, despite bristol's interests in keeping this matter private, levi has requested that this matter remain public. bristol believes the best interests of the child is served by protecting tripp's privacy, keeping this case between the parties and not involving the media in this private matter." matt? >> lester, thank you very much. still ahead, the 911 call placed by charlie sheen's wife that led to the arrest of television's highest paid actor. we'll have it for you.

just ahead, the four questions you need to have the answers to to avoid being ripped off. plus, david and sean goldman return to their new jersey home late last night. nbc news cameras were the only ones with them. we'll show you that homecoming

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the time now is 7:26 on this tuesday, december 29th, 2009. good morning, i'm pat lawson muse. police trying to figure out who slashed dozens of tires on cars at an auto shop in northeast washington. they say about 50 tires were slashed at city auto service in the 1400 block of rhode island northeast. the tires were on 20 vehicles. it isn't clear who's responsible or why. the specific auto shop was targeted. and we'll take a look at weather and traffic coming up

under some partly cloudy skies, temperatures range from 28 degrees in leesburg, to landover, 28. capitol hill at 30, high today, 35 degrees. it will be blustery, looking for the wintry mix coming up on thursday. jerry? >> on the beltway south of town, an accident outer loop just after van dorn stwreemt. and along 270, no hang-ups, but

plenty of wind, so hang on tight. coming up tonight on news4 at 5:00 p.m., they are the showmen of basketball -- the harlem globetrotters are in town and

♪ 7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 29th day of december 2009. if you like cold, windy weather, the northeast is the place to be right now. outside it is 24 degrees, but you factor in the breeze and you can see the flags down there in the lower left-hand corner blowing. it's about 7 out there, at least it feels like 7. al and i have taken a vote -- amy's going to go outside and say hi to the people out there in just a couple minutes. i'm matt lauer alongside amy robach, who's filling in while meredith takes some time off this morning. in this half hour, coming

up, david and sean goldman's new jersey homecoming. nbc news was with them exclusively when they arrived late last night to the home they haven't been in together in more than five years. we're told sean, who was last there when he was only 4 years old, immediately began to remember some of his surroundings. we're going to show you more of that tape in a couple of minutes. also ahead, 2009 has been a tough financial year for millions of americans. so, what can you do to make your bottom line a little better in 2010? we're going to get some practical advice on how to organize your finances and how to avoid being ripped off. also ahead, with the children in the middle of the holiday break, parents all across the country are probably tired of hearing them say "i'm bored." coming up, what you can do to keep them occupied until it's time to send them back to school, and one of the things you can do is let them help you out in the kitchen with some fun projects. all right, but let's begin this half hour with the newly released 911 call that led to the christmas day arrest of charlie sheen, the highest paid actor on television. nbc's george lewis has details. >> reporter: the call went out from sheen's house in aspen,

colorado, just after 8:30 christmas morning. sheen's wife, brooke mueller, saying she was terrified, pleading for help, claiming sheen threatened her with a switchblade knife. >> okay, tell me exactly what happened. >> my husband had me -- with, with, with a knife, and i was feared for my life and he threatened me. >> okay. are you guys sarated right now? >> yeah, right now. we have people that are separating us, but i have to file the report or else -- >> are there other people there? does he still have the knife? >> yeah, he does, but there are still other people there. >> reporter: reportedly, that includes their twins and nanny, although there is no mention of them on the call. in a sworn affidavit, a police officer says sheen had a folding knife in a travel bag but "denied threatening mueller with a knife or strangling her." sheen says his wife had been drinking, that they began arguing after she threatened to divorce him and take the

children. in a second affidavit, she told an officer that sheen grabbed her by the throat, holding the knife to her neck, saying "you better be in fear. if you tell anybody, i'll kill you." >> you are a bad, bad boy. >> and yet, you're always the one getting spanked. >> reporter: but as a real-life bad boy suspect, he spent a few hours behind bars on christmas day before he made bail and left for los angeles. and the next day, mueller was photographed smiling, no apparent marks on her neck. now, "people" magazine is reporting charlie sheen and his wife are seeking help. >> sources tell "people" that charlie and brooke are actually headed towards marriage counseling, and in fact, charlie's actually going to undergo therapy for anger management as well. >> reporter: the district attorney's office says that any decision on whether to file charges won't be made until just before sheen's first court appearance in february. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> dan abrams is nbc's chief legal analyst, and janice min is

former editor of "us weekly." good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> i have a question for you. is charlie sheen facing more jail time here possibly or is this more of a public relations nightmare for him? >> oh, there's no question, if the prosecutors move forward on the charges upon which he was arrested on, absolutely, he could face up to eight years in prison. and even if they move forward on those charges and they cut some sort of deal, i don't think there's any way that charlie sheen could get away with no jail time. >> tn the question, dan, is what's the likelihood prosecutors will move forward with this, especially if his wife is now not cooperating with him? >> yeah, this is where it gets tough, right? because if she now decides she doesn't want to move forward, that makes it tricky for the prosecutors. they still could move forward. after all, this would be the people of the state of colorado against charlie sheen, not charlie sheen against his wife. so, if they decide they have the evidence, even if she decides

not to cooperate, they could still move forward. no question it mak it harder. the last thing they want is a hostile witness as the primary witness against him, but there have certainly been cases where a spouse or a girlfriend has decided that they don't want to help, and yet, prosecutors still move forward with the case. >> janice, charlie sheen has certainly seen tough times before. >> yes. >> and he's made it through them, but at a certain point, i mean, he is television's highest paid actor, his comedy show is the most viewed. at what point is too much bad behavior enough where it ends up destroying his career? >> you know, with charlie sheen, i honestly don't think it matters. he's proven himself to be teflon all these years. this is -- he's assaulted women before. he accidentally shot kelly preston when they were engaged. he's used hookers. he's overdosed on cocaine. i mean, all along the way he's gotten more roles, he has been nominated for an emmy, a golden globe. i think the public has learned

to separate the private charlie sheen from the public charlie sheen. the thing, is he is incredibly talented, people like watching him on tv. in many ways, his character, all the best roles are those of the sort of loveable bad boy. >> right. does he get a pass because he has the bad boy persona? >> i think so, and women often forgive these bad boys. i see we're showing the "ferris buehler" clip now. that is the charlie sheen they like and remember, the sort of bad boy who they're irriskably drawn to. >> dan, let me ask you about the 911 call. we obviously heard his wife make some significant accusations, saying he was trying to kill her, held a knife to her throat. we mentioned she's now not cooperating with police, but it's been said that she was severely intoxicated at the time of that call. does that impact at all a prosecutor's decision to move forward with this? >> only in terms of whether they believe it actually happened, meaning, if they think that she was so drunk that she might be making up the story, then absolutely.

but if they just think she was drunk and that they still believe that's what happened, then it absolutely does not matter. it's going to come down to, do they believe what she said on the 911 tape, do they believe that what she told the police is what actually happened. if they believe that and they think they can back it one the 911 tape, physical evidence, with the observations of the police officers, then they might still move forward, as i said, even without her assistance. >> and janice, if things don't move forward with their marriage -- we don't know exactly what's going to happen between charlie sheen and his wife -- how much will that affect his public image at this point as well, if there's a custody battle -- there are two little boys involved in this as well. >> look at -- he became the highest paid actor on tv in the midst of a nasty divorce from denise richards, and the fascinating thing there is denise richards got thrown under the bus. she's the one who got vilified in the press. i think he's the bigger star. she, without charlie sheen as

her husband, she's anonymous. so, i think that he will survive this, you know? i think it speaks a lot to how we view badly behaved men in this country, but he will survive, his show will continue to get ratings, probably bigger ratings, and he'll probably continue to get nominated for more awards. >> all right. janice min, dan abrams, thank you both. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> and thanks a lot, amy. i've got to tell you, this is a beautiful picture. hi, what's your name? >> i'm ross. >> and you're the artist? >> yeah. >> very nicely done -- >> my late christmas present to you. >> christmas present, well, thank you! that's nice. we like that. and this young lady has a christmas present for hoda. a virginia tech tokie hat. it's not easy to say hokie hat. this is a hokie hat, but that's another story. afternoon temperatures -- whoa, it is cold, international falls! the high will be 12. 20 in green bay, waterloo 20. rest of the country awfully chilly as well. we are looking at temperatures well below normal all the way

out into the western plains, pacific northwest. 60s i florida and southern california. teens up into new england. snow showers, it is cold and windy and it will stay that way through the day. temperatures are below freezing throughout the entirerea right now. 30 degrees in berry farms, 28 degrees in clinton, maryland. leesburg, virginia, 28. we'll see finally the temperatures rise above freezing. your high today, 35 degrees. a windy one today, winds will diminish tonight, still looking for the storm system coming up the coast thursday, with rain and snow. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. now to sean goldman's return to new jersey overnight. as he walked around the house he had not been in for five years, his dad, david, got emotional,

and nbc news was there exclusively. nbc's jeff rossen has more on that. jeff, good morning to you. >> hey, matt, good morning to you. what a milestone for this family. david goldman, when he popped open the door, he popped open a bottle of criider to celebrate. remember, sean's only 9. he's been dreaming of this for years, but he knows sean must be in deep, deep pain. this boy has been through so much at such a young age. this morning it's back to reality, father and son trying to pick up where they left off. >> remember, these would glow at night and you wod lay here and look at the stars? >> reporter: overnight, david goldman brought his son home. it's sean's first time in new jersey in more than five years. >> remember these? he's home. even on the way, he goes, "when are we going to get to our house? where's our house?" she loves this, like right here. >> reporter: sean played with his old cat, and the neighbors, they had a surprise for the goldmans, too, decorating the

entire house, christmas tree, presents and all. >> "to sean" from you? >> reporter: david kept sean's room exactly the same all this time -- >> it's been waiting for you. >> reporter: hoping it would trigger happy memories, and it did. >> i spent five years avoiding this room but keeping it here for him and now i sit in it under a whole different light. he's home. he's home. we did it. we did it. >> reporter: happiness will come from healing and david goldman knows that will take time. meredith spent time with father and son this weekend. >> your biggest worry about sean right now is what? >> adjustment. >> yeah? >> you know, time will tell on

how he deals and how he behaves, on how much help and healing we'll need. >> reporter: they spent christmas together in orlando. and now the final stop. >> that looks pretty cool. >> yeah. >> reporter: new jersey, where father and son once shared so many happy memories, where this morning david hopes they can make so many more. >> here's something else -- >> "to sean, from" -- >> it's another person who loves you. it's real. it's real. and he's okay. he's really okay. it's real and it's beautiful. >> you can tell david can barely believe it, after five years. there's no rule book here how to get sean readjusted back to american life, but david is consulting with family therapists for help. he plans on hiring a tutor for sean and wants him to make new friends here in the u.s.

and matt, david is a patient man, waiting five years. he's had time. >> he's had to be patient, no doubt about it. jeff, thank you very much. are you being cheated? specific things you can do to prevent yourself from getting ripped off at stores or even work. this is your life and in just 45 minutes a week at a weight watchers meeting you can turn it around, and learn a whole new set of life skills, so you can lose weight and keep it off. and with online tools to keep you on track you can have good days even when you're having a bad one. sorry bud. make today a great day. join for free right now. weight watchers. stop dieting. start living. this is maggie. a very smart little girl. i'm not a little girl i'm a big girl. and this is a seat from the seven passenger toyota highlander.

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off." happy holidays. >> happy holidays, matt. >> reading this book last night, you have one idea -- you say, one of the reasons americans are ripped off so often, we stink at math. is it as simple asthat? >> it is. when i toured the country, all these people said, bob, what's a mutual fund? what's collision and comprehensive insurance? and i started to look into this issue and what's going on with americans, and there actually are a lot of studies, one definitive study by the department of education, which shows just how bad we are at math. >>58% of people can't calculate a tip, 78% couldn't calculate mortgage interest, 22% couldn't calculate a weekly salary from an hourly pay rate. add that to the fact that we as americans tend to go for the things that are too good to be true, and that's a dangerous combination. >> it is, and everyone's experienced this, when you have lunch with four or five friends and you try to split up the bill and what happens? you pull out the ipod, eventually just throw some money on the table. people can't calculate.

a car loan, big trouble. >> basic facts. you think that everyone watching this segment right now needs to know the answers to four basic questions. i'll go through the questions. what is your retirement account balance? what are the interest rates on your credit cards? how much money did you spend last month? and how much would you need to survive for three months? do you think most people don't know those answers? >> i do. i think most americans have kind of checked out of their financial situation, and you see this especially when people overspend on their credit cards. you don't even want to see the bill, but the minute you detach yourself from those specifics, you lose touch of where the dollars and cents are going, and that's whenou get ripped off. that's when you get screwed by companies because you don't have a grasp of what's happening. >> by the way, 10% unemployment rate right w, so many people out of work. you want people to do one thing, and that is to consider temporary work as an option. >> yeah. i think temporary work sounds like a negative term -- this is moonlight 'but in the 21st century, i call this a 21st-century raise. if your company's going to cut back on your hours, that's an opportunity for you to do

something you've always wanted to do. on the internet, you can do a job for 5 or 10 hours a work, pr for a local orchestra, make crafts, sell them online. there are a lot of opportunities, but think entrepreneurial. >> and with so many people wanting, needing more money, they go into their company for a raise right now, companies aren't giving raises. >> no raises. >> you say be creative. >> yes, offer to work for a week less or a couple weeks less and take that time and start the business you've always wanted to start. >> important information in the book and a lot of people will be fascinated by it. bob, thank you so much. >> thank you, matt. it's 7:48. just ahead, how does sizzling bacon and chocolate sound? we're going to sample some bizarre, new foods. and the online tools to help you face any situation. which means 'darn right you can go to the dinner party' and still loose weight. and learn how to keep it off. join for free now. sorry hungry, you're not invited. but you are, join for free today and change your life. weight watchers. stop dieting. start living.

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to make a wish. well, there's a tradition in new york. the concept is similar, but instead of a fountain or candles, it's one giant shredder. it's the crossroads of the world. people flock here for the shows, the shopping and the shredding? right smack in the heart of times square they are purging like mad. this is good riddance day, where before you ring in the new, you say adios to the old. >> this is the third year of good riddance day, and it's the part of new years that's about not just saying what do we want to have happen in the next year, but what do we want to get rid of from the year we've just been through. >> reporter: whatever you hated in '09 -- flabby thighs, cheap men, rude people or sarah palin, just write it down and rip it up. the exes are the most popular. why do you want to get rid of your husband? >> he left me! >> oh. so is extra weight. what are you getting rid of this

year? >> pounds. >> pounds? like lbs? >> as in lots of them. >> are you going to back yourself in and may squish  yourself in there? >> i would like to get so thin i could fit through there at some point. >> it's not all laughs. >> hatred and war. i just want people to be peaceful. >> some shred memories. others missed the metaphor and literally showed up with a suitcase of literally everything. >> it's good riddance to get rid of bills -- >> and have you been collecting this bills and what not here for a whole year? >> yeah, yeah. >> and if it's not on paper, not to worry. instead of printing everything up you want to purge this year, i'd say go for the mother lode, or in this case, the mother hoa hoard. all right, bye-bye computer! so far, the annual event is a smashing success. >> we've only been doing good riddance day for three years, but it's so popular, we think, hey, why not a national holiday? >> if you're wondering if there's a winner, there is.

this year's $250 prize went to melissa of los angeles. she shredded the memory of a counselor on a school trip who turned out to be on an "america's most wanted" list. i put 4:00 a.m. on my alarm clock, bad breath -- other people's not mine -- and poverty. let's put it in here and it's officially shredded. amy, back to you. >> all right. if only that made everything go away. jenna, thank you. >> the "america's most wanted" thing, i didn't expect that coming. out of the blue here. just ahead, how to keep from going stir crazy. (announcer) some people just know how to build things well. give you and your loved ones an expertly engineered mercedes benz at the winter event going on now. but hurry - the offer ends january 4th.

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hang on to your hats as we view the washington monday -- monument under a clear sky but there's a wind advisory in effect with winds between 20 to 30 miles per hour this morning. we're expectingustained winds with gusts as high as 35 miles per hour. the district could be problematic, if you have any problems in the city, call the mayor's call center at 3-1-1, we'll have more on the weather coming up. good morning, on this tuesday, i'm pat lawson muse, the time now is 7:56. if you use the 11th street bridge you can expect construction in the near future, transportation officials in the district will hold a news conference today to discuss a $300 million overhaul of the two bridges. they will soon be replaced by

three new bridges, providing connections between the southeast freeway and interstate 295. and a look at weather and traffic coming up next, stay

we're below freezing and wind chills are in the teens right now. your forecast, a blustery high of 35 degrees. mostly sunny skies with snow and rain starting around dawn on thursday. the highs thursday, 38. les see how traffic is flowing with jerry edwards. a serious accident, we're getting word of it on the beltway, prince george's county. southbound, the inner loop between 414, st. barnabas road and route 210. a tractor-trailer, only one lane getting by. we're on top of it. keep you up dated. coming up tonight, they're the showmen of basketball, the harlem globetrotters are in

♪ happy holidays 8:00 now on a bitter cold tuesday morning, the 29th day of december 2009, and you're looking at some of the people -- there's a lot more room here on the plaza, but they've all huddled together for warmth today, and they're waving at the people back home. and you really have to like cold weather to live in new york today. it's nasty. it's 23 degrees. >> go back to bonfires. >> have they? spare pieces of clothing. >> it really does. >> anyway, they've got a windchill of about --

>> 12. >> 12 degrees. it's brisk. >> there it is right there. >> felt it right up the coat there. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with amy robach, who's here while meredith -- >> whatever you say! >> you look like -- you do look like art carney a little bit right there. al roker joins us as well. >> hello, ball! >> we dressed the ball. coming up this half hour --ow old are your girls? >> one turns 7 today. it's her birthday. >> what a coincidence! >> yes. >> and the other? >> 3. >> 7 and 3. your kids? >> 22, courtney, leila's 11, nikki's 6. >> all right. i've got 8, 6 and 3. they're all on holiday from school. and how many times have you heard "i'm bored"? >> i'm bored! >> especially from a 22-year-old. >> exactly. we have great advice for parents today, how to keep your kids amused and entertained during the holiday break, and we're going to get to those in a second. all right, also ahead, we'll hear from oscar winner penelope cruz. she is showing a different side of her skills. in the new movie "nine," she

sings, she dances. we're going to talk to her coming up later. plus, real housewife bethenny frankel will be stopping by. cheers for bethenny. she's going to share her ideas on swapping out your favorite fattening foods for some low-cal substitutes. and we're going to talk to her about the controversy surrounding her new nude ad campaign for peta. oh, wow, she's got a little rash down there -- >> it got really quiet here all of a sudden. >> okay. let's go inside right now. lester holt is filling in while ann is taking some time off. he's at the news desk. lester? >> matt, amy and al, thank you. good morning, again, everyone. new details this morning from the fbi on how it says a nigerian man smuggled explosives aboard a flight on christmas day. fbi crime lab photos show that the suspect was wearing a pair of underwear with a secret pocket in the front. that's where officials say he hid about three ounces of explosive powder wrapped in

plastic. the president has ordered reviews of intelligence gathering and aviation security. earlier today, republican congressman peter king said he disagrees with how the administration is treating the suspect. >> i think that the administration has made a mistake by treating this terrorist as a common criminal by putting him into the criminal justice system. i wish they had put him into a military tribunal so we could get as much intelligence and information out of him as we could to find out if there are any more attacks coming. meantime, a wing of al qaeda is claiming responsibility for the failed bombing attempt and it's warning americans to expect more attacks. this as security is stepped up at airports around the nation. travelers are waiting in long lines, sometimes stretching outside the terminals. in other news, north korea said it has detained an american who it claims entered their country illy from china. south korean news agencies are reporting that the american is 28-year-old robert park from arizona, a human rights activist. he reportedly crossed the border last week to call attention to human rights abuses in that

nation. today, the head of the world health organization said it's too early to claim the swine flu pandemic has peaked worldwide, while he says the outbreak of the h1n1 virus has peaked in the u.s. and canada, she says many more people around the world could become sick with the virus this winter. and a cute, new addition to a zoo in illinois, a baby giraffe. he was born sunday morning and visitors got their first peek on monday and he'll soon have a sibling. his mother is pregnant and will give birth soon. it's 8:04. let's turn it back outside to matt and amy. >> all right, lester, thanks very much. >> let's turn now to al for a check of the weather. al, good morning. >> hello. >> hello, al. >> hey, i like this. this is very cute. your 35th wedding anniversary. >> yes. >> richard and rachelle, where are you from? >> central california. >> and you've never had a fight. >> not one. >> right up until now. let's check your weather, see what's happening. pick city, wavy tv 10 in

norfolk, havvirginia. sunny, windy. new year's eve, wet in the northwest, windy conditions, snows in the interior, a mess along the eastern seaboard with mid-atlantic states looking at icy conditions, sunny and mild through the u.s. new year's day, a mess in the right here, it's cold, if you're outside, you'll want to move quickly or the wind will push you along. the actual air temperature below freezing. wind chill values this morning in the teens. as we warm up, only a few degrees today, it's still going to feel like we're in the 20s today. wind chill values now from 14 degrees in manassas to 19 in d.c. 13 is what it feels like in baltimore. the high, 35. a blustery 35. we'll get a wintry mix in here on >> drove through six states to get here for your 14th birthday?

what's your name? >> danielle. >> happy birthday, danielle. >> thank you. >> if you want your weather any time of the day or night, you can go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. amy? >> al, thanks very much. still ahead, it's never too late to finish rich. we're going to tell you how to get started. but up next, oscar winner penelope cruz opens up about her latest star turn, right after this. zicam reduces the duration of a cold. ( sneezing ) no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no... can you do it by 3:00 ? yes, i can. how about 2:00 ? hmm... ( sneezing ) ( moaning ) get over your cold faster. now try new throat-soothing liqui-loz and great-tasting zavors. you can get the life skills that put you in charge of your world and hungry and the online tools to help you face any situation. which means 'darn right you can go to the dinner party' and still loose weight.

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picked up five golden globe nominations, and meredith recently had a chance to catch up with one of its stars. >> oscar winner penelope cruz has earned rave reviews for her dramatic roles and is getting them again for her latest role in "nine." she plays carla, one of the mistresses of italian filmmaker gui guido. good morning, how are you? >> great. how are you? >> great. and you must be doing great, golden globe nomination, congratulations. >> thank you. i'm very excited about it. >> when you won the oscar last time, you said you were this close to having a panic attack, so, are you already getting anxious about the golden globes? >> no. i mean, i hope i don't feel as nervous as i did that day. i don't think i've ever been so nervous, and when i said i was concerned about fainting, i meant it, also because it was the first of the night, so, i had just arrived and then, we are going to announce this award. i got very, very nervous. >> yeah, now it's old hat,

awards -- >> no, no, no, no. >> no? >> i think you always get nervous with those things, but i hope not to the point where you think you're going to pas out. >> let's talk about "nine" for a minute. you play carla, the mistress to guido canteenie, who's played by daniel day-lewis who was here on christmas and is such a delightful, delightful man. >> very nice man, and it's such a huge privilege to work with him. i share most of my scenes in the movie with him, and he's so generous and kind, and he's somebody that i have admired all my life. i think he's one of the masters of acting, and you can learn so much from him and he's so humble and adorable. anybody who knows him will tell you. such a kind, kind man. >> is it true that when you went in for the audition, you didn't know what role you were going to get? >> no, i didn't know. i just knew that i wted to be part of this movie. i really wanted to do a musical. i studied ballet since i was a little girl and i never sang professionally, but i wanted to

try this type of adventure. and then if you're going to do it, there is nobody better in the world to do it with than our director, rob marshall, who is also the choreographer of the movie. so, he told me he wanted me to be in the movie and i auditioned for three different roles. i would have been happy with any of them. >> so, it didn't matter to you when you got called, you were just as happy if you had been the wife or anybody else? >> yeah, i thought the script was well-written. did it, by the way, and i knew i would have accepted any of the characters. then he decided it was going to be carla, and i was very happy about that, because it's a character where you can, you know, explore and really enjoy that journey. >> your number, your big number in this film, "a call from the vatican." in it, you're seducing daniel day-lewis' character over the phone. it took you three months of rehearsal to get to this point. let's show the audience a little bit of this performance.

♪ i can hardly wait to show you all, please ♪ ♪ ♪ when you come home tired and overwork overworked ♪ ♪ >> you know, i look at that and it looks effortless, but i didn't -- yeah, i'm not seeing the callouses. it was tough. >> the bleeding of the hands with the ropes and the bruises and all that become your little medals. when you are going through to do something like that and you have three months to train, which is actually the only way to do it, you don't even feel physical pain anymore. of course, you are very worried about not getting that big injury, because those numbers, they have to look easy, but they are easy -- they are very hard

to do. they are hard to choreograph and to learn and to put together, but nobody got hurt. those little things were just things that you wanted to show around on the set, and you know, the story of the bleeding of the hands -- >> yes. >> told the press. but i have such good memories of the preparation of this number. when they showed me the choreography the first time, i thought i would never be able to do it myself, and then working for five hours, dancing five hours straight every day for so many months and you get to do the whole thing and you feel like you are flying. it's such an amazing feeling. >> and now you've said you want to be a little bit more selective about the roles that you take on. you just don't want to do one film after another. for a long time, you were addicted to film sets. i know you're very personal about your personal life and javier bardem, who's a terrific actor himself. i had the privilege of interviewing him last year. but is it important to take time to establish a private life and

have something outside of movies? >> since i was a teenager, i've been working a lot, but around five years ago, i started to slow down a little bit. i was making three, four movies every year and then i decided that i was always living on a movie set. >> yeah. >> and i was always exhausted, and i felt i really enjoyed this job and i would love to do it forever, but to be able to keep enjoying it so much and to keep learning, as an actor, you learn from your experiences, you learn from everyday life, and my experiences were like being on the movie set, nonstop for since i was 16 for all of those years. so, now i make one movie a year or maybe sometimes two if they're not too long. >> well, we're glad you picked "nine," that's for sure. >> thank you. >> such a pleasure to haveou here and congratulations again. >> thank you. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. "nine" is open now. about smoking - he one thing is it dominates your life, and it dominated mine.

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>> announcer: "simplify your life today" is brought to you by windows 7. your pc simplified. back now at 8:18 with more of our special series "simplify your life today." this morning, how to keep your kids busy over this long holiday break. amy? >> yeah, that's right. we've assembled three experts to share their ideas on how to keep the entire family entertained, and we're going to start with at-home arts and crafts ideas. amy goodman is from "all you" magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> we're going to jump right into dream boards, and this is really a new years resolution idea for kids, correct? >> in pictorial form. >> okay. >> so, before you throw away all your magazines from '09, let your kids at them. give them sequins, glue, stickers, then they post it into a collage that represents what they hope for 2010, whether that'sashion they love, celebrities they follow, things they covet or just goals like being confident, working out more. these are really, really great

and fun and will keep them busy for some time, i have to say. >> i know, and then you can hang it up for later use throughout the year. that's great. moving on, for the fashionably creative kids, you've got great ideas. >> for the fashion designer wanna be. get one of their old t-shirts, repurpose it and have them do ribbons with glue guns or fabric glue, provide buttons or sequins, sewing kits for the older kids. and literally, you get these gorgeous ruffle shirts. >> oh, that's really pretty. >> super fun. and make sure they invite friends over for a play date. it's actually more fun with more people. then you can take your old jewelry broaches, earrings, pendants and put magnets on the back and create magnets for their refrigerator or locker. >> how many of us just have one earring because weaven't found the other. and this is great because it's too cold to go out and play in the sand box for much of the nation. you have an indoor sand box. >> bring the outdoors in. collect lentils, legumes, rice, anything from your pant entry a

create an indoor sandbox for the young one. >> how long will this last? does it have a shelf life in. >> it will last a really long time, and then afterward, you make soup. i'm just kidding. >> really? >> no, no. but it will last a while. >> i like that idea. you tried to be green. amy goodman, thanks so much and happy new year. now here's matt. >> amy, thanks. the kitchen can be a great place to keep your kids busy. chef jansen chan is here with a couple youngsters, dimitri and sophia. happy holidays. >> happy holidays. nice to see you. >> you make art for a living and when you bring kids into the kitchen, you have to relax a bit, right? >> you do. it's about makg the project feasible for kids. >> and preparing ahead of time. >> exactly. >> first, we'll try some winter charlotte? >> exactly. we have some brioche that's being cut. we'll butter them, line the cake pan and then put the fruit filling in. >> can you use any fruit?

>> oh, yes. winter fruits are best. these are apples, pears and cranberries. you'll line it with the brioche, put it in the oven for 50 minutes for 400 degrees and there we have it. >> okay. how did sophia do with her helpinghere? >> sophia's doing great. >> it's because she's been stealing m&m's all morning. dimitri is making whoopi pie. where'd you go? what's a whoopie pie? >> it's a cookie. you put a nice big helping -- you want to put it on? all right, we're going to sandwich it. you can have it either just like this or have fun and put it with some toppings. we have different kinds here. >> what toppings do you like here? what would you put on top of that one? want to do some m&m's? no? what do you want to put on there? ooh, the red hots and the chocolate -- >> no, just chocolate. >> and then you basically serve these as is, right?

>> yep. >> do you put them in the fridge? >> no. just serve them as is, just like this. >> all right. fun projects for kids in the kitchen. dimitri, thank you very much. sophia, thank you very much. no more stealing m&m's. >> you were the one stealing chocolate chips. >> yes, i was. let's go down to al. >> of course, you can look for inspiration out of town. nilou motamed has some great travel ideas. that won't hit the wallet. good to see yo >> good to see you, al. >> you say look around the corner from your house. >> indeed, and it's not too late. a lot of parents are panicked. look at the closest city to you. there are so many great children's museums and aquariums in city. i love the tombs museum in boston. it is so fun. you could literally spend a whole day there. they have a cool light-up dance floor. they have a three-floor maze. i was also just in los angeles at the griffith park observatory. their planetarium is terrific.

>> are you can go further and look for adventure? >> well, it's nice to get outside, and we've had a bunch of snowstorms lately, so the slopes are ripe for the picking. so, you should consider going to the mountains. for example, if you live in san francisco, maybe hit tahoe. it's only a three-hour driv so, you could potentially come back the same day. so, if your kids don't ski, it's okay. there are plenty of activities like ice skating -- >> tubing. >> or snow tubing, exactly. and lots of hot chocolate. >> ah, nothing wrong with that. if you haven't preplanned a getaway yet, there are lots of ideas. >> there are. and it's stressful to go online and put it together, so go to a website like lastminute.com where they put the deals together and there are still deals available. another hotel we just featured in our january issue of "travel & leisure" is the postcard inn. $99 a night to go to st. pete's beach on the west coast of florida. you can go there right now. >> wow. >> and they have a deal for $34 and you can have a new year's eve with barbecue. >> ooh, i like that.

>>o you like? >> nilou, thanks so much. say hi to your dad. >> i will. hi, daddy. >> all right. just ahead, what you c do today to start getting your finances in order for 2010. first, your local news and weather.

34 degrees, 8:26, a lot of sunshine, on the white house, you can see the flag blowing briskly because there's a stiff wind out there on this tuesday, the 29th of december, good morning, i'm joe krebs. in the news4 today, the search is on for the bern who slashed several tires at a northeast washington auto shop last night. police say someone slashed about 50 tires at the city auto service shop in the 1400 block of rhode island avenue northeast. at least 20 cars vandalized, no word on suspects at this point. we'll take a break and come back and look at the weather forecast

some nice sunshine out side now, but don't be fooled, it's cold, in part because of stiff wind, with gusts over 40 miles per hour. georgetown in cleveland park, 20 degrees. and damascus is at 29 now in montgomery county. wind chill values currently in th teens, only into the low 20s, the wind chills today. still looking for the wintry mix on thursday. jerry, how are we looking on the roads? >> a problem on the beltway, inner loop after st. barnabas road, but before route 210, tractor-trailer accident, half of the roadway is blocked. thots could be there for a while. a quick check elsewhere,

something you don't see every day, no delays along 66 approaching the beltway. joe? >> thanks, jerry. tonight on news4 at 5:00, the showmen of basketball, the rlem globetrotters are in

8:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 29th day of december 2009. let's just say it is just plain cold here in the northeast with a temperature that's dropping. when we started out, it was 24 degrees. it's now 22 degrees and the wind has not quit. so, it's chilly for all these

people. we give them a little extra congratulations this morning for sticking it out. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with amy robach, who's filling in while meredith is taking some time off. we're joined by lester holt and al roker as well, as we huddle for warmth. >> yeah. >> which is okay. hey, a lot of people, the holidays, they resolve to lose some weight. >> mm-hmm. >> well, we've got reality star bethenny frankel with us this morning. she's got some creative ways to take some of the calories out of some traditional and yummy dishes, things like chicken wings and chocolate cake. >> ooh, love that. >> and she's going to show us more about a healthy lifestyle and we'll talk to her about that nude photo she posed for for a peta campaign that some people screamed airbrush. and she's going to set the record straight on that. >> all right. there it is. also, we'll be talking about another popular resolution, squaring away your finances. coming up in a bit, we'll be talking about david bach, author of "star over, finish rich" about the secret to financial success. he says it may be organization.

he's going to help us get started. then the wild and wacky world of food. how about a little bacon-covered chocolate with a hit of pop rocks candy? we're going to try some brand new foods that you might find a little unusual. >> that's the sweet, salty thing, right? >> yes, yeah. >> all right. >> the way he savors it. also coming up, the right way to make a relationship with your mother-in-law work. >> yeah, have them live overseas! [ laughter ] >> before we go -- >> fill in the blank. >> does your mother-in-law live overseas? >> no. >> before we go any further, let's get a check of the weather from the man who just said something he shouldn't have said. [ laughter ] >> let's take a look, see what's going on. for today we've got windy conditions in the northeast, snow showers around the great lakes, some rain later today moves into the pacific northwest and a mix of rain and snow down through the southwest. tomorrow that mix makes its way

up into the upper mississippi river valley. light snow around the great lakes, a mess out west, windy in new england, sunny and mild down outside, some cold air awaits you. lots of wind, too, wind advisory up through the day until 6:00 p.m. winds could be as high as 40 miles per hour through the area. the temperatures still below freezing. though in about an hour or two, should be rising above freezing. wind chill values in the teens, we'll see wind chills today in the low to mid 20s. 37 degrees tomorrow, it will be dry, but not thursday, storm coming up the coast. we've got a good chance to get some snow. >> and that's your latest weather. now let's head down to washington, d.c. merry christmas, sir! and you're in ft. myers, florida. no wonder you're dressed so balmily.

>> hey, i missed you last week. i was on, you know, and you weren't there, and my little elf -- or is it olf? my favorite -- hey, florida is fantastic, perfect 80 degrees -- 40 in the morning and 40 at night. that's an old vaudeville gag. al, i love ya! let's check out our birthday buddies from smucker's. this would be a good morning in florida for some biscuits and some nice old smucker's jam. cecile rameau from lawrenceville, georgia. and we wish her a happy birthday. she's 107! good lord. came to the united states from haiti when she was 70 years old and always the first to dance at parties and stays longer than the grandkids. how about that? god love you. ellen bollero, ft. myers, florida. i know that town. 101. exercises daily on her stationary bike and goes swimming. sharp as a tack and loves to keep up with the stock market. hope she's doing better than i am.

anyway, happy birthday to margaret palmore of powhatan, virginia. 100 years old today. retired hostess for three virginia governors. publishing a book now at 99  about the history of virginia. and wish her a happy birthda at 100 years old. we also have the reverend charles leonard, new york, new york. 107. still preaches at the local church. attributes his longevity to staying alive. not a bad way to go. and his faith in the good lord. gladys erwin, santa rosa, california, 100. secret to longevity is her family genes. her mother lived to be 100. likes to bake christmas cookies. oh, boy, me, too. i like to eat christmas cookies. leon wilson. leon, leon of baudette, minnesota. one of the oldest licensed deer hunters in minnesota. how about that? wonder how many he's bagged. well, that's it, that's all

there is. once in love with amy, always in love with amy. amy? >> willard, thanks so much. coming up next, "real housewives" bethenny frankel, talking about eating healthy and bearing

♪ thinking of getting in shape in the new year but you can't stand the idea of leaving your favorite foods behind? well, bethenny frankel, one of the stars of bravo's reality show "the real housewives of new york city" is here to help. she's out with a brand new book, "the skinny girl dish," which turns your favorite calorie-ch foods into tastier, healthier alternatives. bethenny, nice to see you. good morning. happy holidays. >> you, too. >> were you always a skinny girl? >> i was not. i was trying to be skany girl, white-knuckling it, but not succeeding. >> were you much overweight? >> probably 20 to 25 pounds heavier, but white-knuckling it.

there's the picture of me with the big fat hair and the big fat face. >> how long ago was that? >> i would say mid-20s. >> i was going to say prom photo -- >> no, that was worse. >> you say there are things everyone should have in their kitchen that are important, essential tools. you have them on the table. >> skinny girl tools. >> why are they so important? >> i don't like to spend a lot of time and money. i am a little cheap or frugal, as we like to say it. this is an emergen blender. these are simple tools to have in your kitchen that are inexpensive that make life easier so you don't have to bring out the food processor. an ice cream scoop is good for individual portioned muffins, turkey burgers. this finally grates this without getting the calories. the immersion blender, if i were the statue of liberty, this would what i would be holding because you can make pure soups and vegetables and mix up your egg whites. it's just a great thing to have.

>> reading the notes about your segment last night, you like to take things people love to eat, like chocolate cake and chicken wings and things like that and you come up with -- >> a renovation. >> a lower calorie renovation. >> rescue renovation. >> are you telling me you can take calories out of chocolate cake? is it still going to taste good? >> i call it how is it so moist chocolate cake? i don't understand. it's evil and i don't know why. it only has two tablespoons of oil but you can't take everything out. i don't belven that and you're dissatisfied and go for something else. i keep a little oil. it's high-quality, dark chocolate and it's good. and that's a peanut butter glaze. the whole book s substitutions. use what you have, variations. because some people can't have peanut butter or nuts or wheat flour. everything -- it has about 1,000 recipes out of 60 -- >> and you -- sorry. i didn't mean to interrupt. >> it's okay. >> you say people should portion out their food. this is the container our takeout food arrives in. >> this is the container. but you know when you pay for

the diet delivery services? it's not that they're lower fat, they're smaller portions. keep these containers and after thanksgiving or after a big family dinner, portion it out for yourself. have a carb, a protein and a vegetable and keep them in your freezer and for months you can have these meals. >> okay, can we catch up for a second? we all know you from "real housewives of new york." you were engaged, by the way. when did that happen? >> it happened in october. >> and -- >> there's not much to plan, we're having a baby. >> engaged and having a baby. jason is your fiance. >> yes. >> been dating him for about a year now. >> little bit more, yes. >> and the baby is due? >> in june. >> congratulations. >> thank you. i'm excited. >> so, when you become a wife and a mother, do you think that changes your image at all, based on what people know you from "the real housewives"? >> i think people think i'm a little abrasive and it will be hard for people to imagine me being soft and kcuddly with a soft, pink baby.

>> do you think that soft side? >> i do, and i'm sure it will soften me up more as well. >> what about this billboard that we've now shown 75 times this morning on our show? so, you posed nude for peta, for a campaign they have. the billboard is up in times square. >> i know, so exciting. >> so, instead of getting attention for the reason it was supposed to get attention for, people say wait a second, they air-brushed that photo to death. and you decided to answer the questions by releasing the untouched version. >> well, it's not like i'm claiming to be a supermodel or anything. you can see either picture, i don't care. i didn't air-brush it. i don't have the air-brushing machine. there's a rogue boob they took out, pimples -- >> what? you have a third boob? >> does rogue mean third? >> well, i thought it was supposed to be one that wasn't supposed to be there. >> no, i don't have a third boob. that will be next week's episode on the "today" show. but it's a little air-brushed, i'm sure, but the truth is, here it is. i don't care. i'm not trying to hide anything.

>> did you have any trepidations for posing for that? >> no. it wasn't about a fitness video or being a model. it was about fur, which i'm passionate about, and it's a good reason to get naked. there are other reasons, many reasons, but that's a good reason to get naked. >> where do we stand with your own reality show? is it happening? >> it's happening. i'm excited. so, the irony is i am finally going to be a housewife and who knows if i'm going to be on "the housewives" after season three. >> do you think you will be? >> i don't know. i love it. it's great, but the season will be so incredible, it will be nice to leave the party at full tilt. it will be really great. so, who knows? >> i think you just tipped your hand. i think you did, bethenny frankel. congratulations on everything, the book, the engagement, the baby, everything. >> thank you. thank you for having me. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. and next, how to get a jump-start on getting your finances in order for 2010. before we get

♪ i want money, that's what i want ♪ >> announcer: "today's money" is brought to you by fidelity investments. turn here. this morning on "today's money," organizing your finances for 2010. if you keep your bills and bank statements stuffed in a drawer or sitting in a pile on your countertop, its time to address that here to show us how is david bach, founder of finishrich.com and the author of "start over, finish rich: 10 steps to get you back on track in 2010." david, good morning. >> good morning! >> you are passionate about this, and you say getting your finances in order can absolutely change your life. >> this -- i've been teaching this for nearly two decades. we've actually taught a million people h to do this, and when i started out on the book for the new year, join the recovery, the recession is ending, the recovery is here, the market's up, our statements look better. here's what we all need to do. rather than worrying about what

mutual fund or stock to buy, gold or silver, here's the exercise for before the new year starts. you can do in now before the holidays, and that's get your financial documents simplified in one place in less than one hour. >> it's all about record-keeping, and you say recession may be over, but that's what starts the new mint of new millionaires. >> this is truly going to create the next generation millionaires. after every recession comes a massive recovery. we're seeing the biggest recovery in the stock market and the bond market that we've seen since the great depression, but many people don't even know where their money is. that's where we start, where is our money. and often at home, what we've got is the kitchen -- >> that even looks pretty organized to the way mine looks. >> peopl have a little bowl in their kitchen and just dump everything there and they don't know where the financial documents are. in "start over, finish rich," the first step i created is what i call the start over file box. >> okay. >> there are 14 files for you to create at home. anyone can do this, and we'll

put this on the "today" show website. but the key is, your financial life can be organized in one hour with 14 financial folders. >> the red and green significant? >> very significant. the red is for debt and the green for all money coming in. as you start to go through the 14 file folders, you're going to notice in some cases that you actually have empty file folders. for instance, one of the file folders in here is a wi. guess what? a lot of people don't have wills. >> right. >> that's okay if the pile's empty, but then you as a family know, hey, we've got to fill that up. >> it's a rinder that you need to do that. >> that's a 2010 project. we need to get our will updated. if we have a will, we put it in the file and tell the family where it is. then tax returns. >> okay. >> tax returns, great way for us to save a lot of money is to itemize our taxes. >> right. >> but again, we don't do this because often we're putting everything in a big pile like this versus sticking it in an organized stem system. in 2010, create a new folder, put in the tax return folder all the things that you would

itemize during the year. now, we know we should do this, we just don't. >> because finding the receipts in one quick rush at the end of the year, you'll miss something. >> the government averages $1,000 lost each year because of failing to do this. homeowner accounts, household accounts -- one of the biggest mistakes we make, and we lose tens of thousands of dollars in taxes because of this, is that when we make home improvements, we don't file the home improvement anywhere special. >> right. >> so, in your household file folder here, you have a special folder for any household improvements. again, the reason that's important is if you go to sell your home, if you haven't kept track of the receipts, you can deduct that from the proof yits. >> and another part of organizing is figuring out what to throw away. >> notice this is all in a small box here. the truth is, you can really have your entire financial life in a box lik this, but it's because we keep too many documents. we don't need outdated

warranties, instruction manuals. a lot of people keep this stuff for decades. you have to keep three years close by and seven years maximum. i tell people to keep one year's worth nearby and take a file folder box, move thato the garage or storage. all you need are documents for 2010 and you are all set to go. this project can be done in less than one hour at home. for those of you sitting around right now wondering, what do we do between now and new year's eve -- >> organize. >> great way to get organized. it will make you feel better and take worry off your plate when it comes to money and it's fun to do to get the family together. >> fun? the book is "start over, finish rich: 10 steps to get you back on track in 2010." david bach, thank you very much. >> good to be here. next, some brand new and

♪ eat it, eat it think you've tasted it all in well, how about chocolate wine or a sizzling chocolate bar? 15 new foods are introduced every year and only about 1,200 of those make it to the stores. phil is here with the newest foods to tickle your taste buds. you've been here long enough to know how this goes. you have a table full of foods, some refreshing and delightful. i'll taste those. >> of course. >> then you have some who sound violent and disgusting and amy's

here for that. >> thanks for the warm welcome. appreciate it. >> let's start with pizza. >> this, both of you can taste. this is truffle pizza. there's no pasta sauce on it, there's no tomatoes in it. and it's frozen. six to eight minutes -- >> you say this is the best frozen pizza you've ever had. >> yes. and again, keep in mind that it's been out of the oven for about a week, you know -- no, not a week, come on. >> it's good. >> isn't it good? >> you have to like mushrooms and i do. it's good. >> and the truffle is not overpowering. >> it's not. which is a nice balance, because in some restaurants where they're doing the truflz -- >> too much. >> it overpowers everything. next is bubble chocolate and you can actually see the bubbles in the chocolate. >> okay. >> what that allows it to do is melt in your mouth. also, the great news is, a third less fat and a third less calories because of the bubbles. isn't that great? >> right. >> different flavors, dark, light -- >> dark and light chocolate. now, i know amy is excited about this one. >> oh, yes, the sizzling bacon bar. >> well, it's not just bacon bar. and try a piece.

>> okay. >> but this is bacon, sea salt and pop rocks. >> oh, that is good. >> what you're going to feel -- >> that's od. >> you're going to feel the pop rocks in the back. >> tastes like a nestle's crunch bar -- >> wait for the pop rocks. >> you getsalt, the sweet, i like that. >> you don't taste a lot of bacon in that. >> by the way, christopher michael is a fabulous chocolateer, and i can only imagine that somebody there was sitting and saying, if we could make this great chocolate, what could we put in it -- >> how about wine? chocovine. >> and this is a toast for the new year. this is a cabernet with chocolate flavor from holland. matt, you might have had this in holland before, not as a wine, but a chocolate liqueur. >> it's strong. >> you know what it tastes like to me? eggnog for some reason. >> it does. >>t's weird. it has no eggnog quality to it, but taste it -- it's really good. >> well, it's the cream in it. >> mm-hmm. >> this is a great dessert

drink, and it's not expensive. like $12 a bottle? >> and it's sold over 1 million bottles, won all kinds of medals. next, ichill. a lot of people are buying energy drinks. this is to do the opposite. this relaxes you. they come in one shots. so take the one shot -- >> i don't have to drink the whole shot, do i? >> no, just to taste it because you need to do the rest of the show. >> that's disgusting. >> wow. i'd rather drink chocovine. >> you know, it has that sweet aftertaste -- >> well, it's got herbs and melatonin -- >> we've got to clear our palates with a little soda. >> it's got a great aroma, smells like cucumbers, tastes like cucumbers -- >> what do you think? >> i do not -- >> oh, come on. >> chocolate wine. >> maybe i have the aftertaste -- >> that's awful. just in time for a product called nuttzo, look who's coming.

>> don't fight over it. >> what is this? our time now is 8:56, 34 degrees, fast-moving water in the potomac river this morning you can see the wind whipping up some waves, good morning, i'm joe krebs on this tuesday, the 29th of december. we're following breaking news out of arlington, virginia. where police are investigating a suspicious death. they say officers were called to a home at 13th street and north jackson street around 3:00 this morning, for a report of a man down. there's to word on how the victim died, and we'll have much more on the story coming up on "news4 midday" at 11:00. right now, we'll take a break and get a check on our traffic

outside today, we've got some low wind chill readings. so if you're outside, move fast. blowing in the wind today, the trees, cars on the roads, our hair, anything that's not fastened down. we've got a wind advisory until 6:00 p.m. we could see gusts over 40 miles per hour. frederick and leesburg and areas south and east down towards pax river. in damascus, maryland, montgomery county, 29 degrees. arlington and maclean, you've

got wind chill readings in the teens. and we'll see a high today of 35 degrees. winds diminish tonight. still looking at the system moving up the coast for thursday. with light snow, switching for mostly rain thursday night. delay-free on most interstates including 395 coming up from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. some good news, the accident on the beltway inner loop after st. barnabas road, not as serious as first thought. everything quickly moved to the shoulder. all travel lanes reopened. joe? >> tonight on news4 at 5:00, they're the showmen of basketball -- the harlem globetrotters are in town, sitting down for lun

back with a little jaunty tune on a tuesday morning, the 29th of december, 2009. forget chicago, new york is the windy city today. although just on cue the winds stopped blowing there. there we go. temperatures and windchills in the teens. temperatures dropping throughout the show. so it's brisk out here for these nice people and we thank them for sticking around. lenny's going to the full hood. inside, i'm matt lauer along with al roker and jenna wolfe.

natalie has the morning off. >> is that why we're in here, because it's 100 degrees below zero? >> because we started complaining. i started laying the pipe at 7:00. 7:15, actually. coming up, if you stayed close to home for the holidays, now you're rearing to go somewhere. we'll check out the top hotels in the world from ita and los angeles to florida, and all, they say, for a relative bargain price. >> all right. and your "diet s.o.s." is here. it's that time of year. you know what we're talking about. so we asked joy bauer to stop by and help us stick to our new years resolutions. she's not taking any excuses, whether it's not enough hours in the day or you're just too tired. and if you're ready to close the door on the relatives forever after this holiday season, we'll have help for salvaging one of the most important relationships in your life. wait for the scream. the mother-in-law. keeping the peace is in everyone's best interests.

we'll have that coming up. of course, i'm not married, but i tend to think that the mother-in-law is -- >> usually to blame? >> perhaps. >> really? okay, good. >> really, as if i know. it's just wh i hear. >> friends everywhere. >> that's a good start. let's go to the news desk. lester's filling in for ann. take it away. new details are emerging about the suspect who allegedly tried to bomb a flight to detroit on christmas day. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has more. pete, good morng. >> reporter: lester, officials this morning say that the explosive was smuggled on to the plane by concealing it in a pair of underwear with a secret pocket. that bypassed the machines that check carry-on bags, which a given much more thorough security screening. fbi crime lab pictures obtained by nbc news tell the story. authorities say umar abdulmutallab wore these underwear that contained a packet of explosive powder in the front. the underwear shows some scorching when it was removed.

it was lined with plastic, injected, the fbi says, with this syringe, found scorched and poshlly melted after the mixture caught fire but did not explode. president obama says he has ordered a review of how such a thing could happen. >> we need to determine just how the suspect was able to bring dangerous explosives aboard an aircraft and what additional steps we can take to thwart future attacks. >> reporter: the fbi says the packet contained roughly three ounces of explosive powder, about the same amount as a third of a cup of sugar. that roughly the quantity of explosive in richard reid's shoe bomb. an fbi demonstration showed the force the shoe bomb would have had if it had gone off. walk-through airport metal detectors cannot detect explosives. authorities say they were in use when abdulmutallab boarded a flight in nigeria and again in amsterdam, where he caught the connecting flight to detroit. security experts say full-body scanning machines might have detected the explosives hidden in underwear.

they're in only about two dozen airports nationwide, delayed by high cost and privacy concerns, but a former homeland security official says they must now be widely deployed. >> because it will make it much harder to hide even this small amount of explosive on your body, and therefore, it will be something -- it will be easier to find it that way. >> reporter: abdulmutallab has told federal agents that he prepared for the bombing in yemen. the u.s. has been unable to confirm that, but officials in yemen say he arrived there in early august with a visa to study arabic languages. in mid-november, his father, a nigerian banker, told the u.s. embassy there that he was worried his son was becoming a radical extremist, but that information was not considered significant enough to put him on a no-fly or watch list. investigators say the chemicals that were smuggled on to the plane might have worked to make a successful bomb. they have yet to learn what prevented the explosion and averted the catastrophe.

lester? >> pete williams, thanks. today authorities are appealing for calm in pakistan, where riots filled the streets of karachi after a deadly bombing on monday. more than 40 people were killed when the bomb exploded during a shiite muslim procession. the blast also started a massive fire that destroyed hundreds of shops. investigators in eastern mississippi are trying to figure out what sparked a tragic fire monday. nine people, including six children, were killed when fire swept through an apartment in starkville. a new study finds that some of tiger woods' sponsors were hard hit by his personal scandal. university of california researchers say in the 13 trading days after woods' november car crash, shareholders of both companies lost a collective $12 billion. and court documents reveal bristol palin is seeking sole custody of the son she had with former fiance levi johnston. the daughter of sarah palin had requested that hearings in their custody battle be closed. the judge rejected that. those are your headlines. it's now five minutes after the

hour. let's get another check of the weather from al. >> thanks a lot, lester. and again, we've got that cold we've been talking about in the northeast. you can see lake-effect snow there. down in the southwest, texas on into new mexico, you're looking at the beginning of a pretty potent storm getting itself together that's going to affect the east by new year's day. and you can see we've got rain working its way into the pacific northwest with air stagnation advisories, interi nice and bright outside, but heading out, prepare yourself for wind and cold. still bea low freezing, 29 in d.c., 30, quanticoquantico, and feels like, in the teens from the manassas to town. 17 fort belvoir and around the pax river. the high, 35 degrees, it will feel like the 20s. still looking for a system to move up the coast for thursday.

light snow changing to rain. with a high ♪ now on to "joy's diet s.o.s." helping to turn your new years resolution into reality. it's a promise you make year after year, eat healthy, exercise and lose those extra lbs. well, this time, no excuses. joy bauer's here with help. she's "today's" nutritionist and the best-selling author of "your inner skinny," and she's answering your questions to the you there. good to see you. >> good to see you. i love this time of year because people have great health intentio intentions, and i'm here to help them stick. >> capitalize on them once and for all. >> yeah. lots of motivation. >> our first question is from jamie moore in great barrington, massachuset massachusetts. jamie, your question and good morning. >> good morning, jamie. >> good morning, joy. as usual, my new years resolution is to get in better shape and lose some weight, but

i'm a single mom and work full time. how do i make time for the gym? >> you know, between work, your kids and additional responsibilities, i totally get not having time for yourself. and so many men and women are in exactly the same boat. it is a legitimate excuse. the first thing i'm going to tell jamie is to forget about the gym, because that involves travel time and child care. instead, jamie, what you want to do is you want to integrate exercise either into your daily routine or you want to do it right in your home. here are a few ideas for people that are way overscheduled. >> okay. >> first, follow along with an exercise video. there are great post-holiday sales and specials, or go to your library, because for no extra charge, you can rent a few things. >> sure. >> you could also tivo or dvr some of the cable ows, a that gives you the opportunity monday, wednesday, friday to do a low-impact exercise. and then tuesday or saturday to enjoy a relaxing yoga class. what she can also do is park her car 15 minutes further away from the office. so, what happens is she has to

work 15 minutes in the morning to work, and then 15 minutes at the end of the day back to her car. >> so, she does that every day -- >> 30 minutes done. and then i post it on the website, if anything, you'll get a great laugh out of it. something i called a tv workout. i mean, at least 30 minutes during the day we either watch the news or a sitcom. so, what i'm suggesting people do is instead of flopping on the couch, get up and move. and i built in this little workout that people can download, and basically, during the show, i have you doing low-impact things like marching in place and leg lifts. and then when the commercial breaks come, i up the volume a little bit and you're doing jumpg jacks and light jogs. >> so, that's at todayshow.com? >> todayshow.com. 30 minutes and you've burned major calories. and the bottom line is, your body doesn't care where you're exercising and who you're exercising with. it just wants the workout -- >> wants the motion. >> -- and to reap the benefits. you got it. >> so, hopefully, jamie, you can work that stuff in, and happy new year. now, this is not exactly dinner and a movie, but we've got karen

who's on the phone from los angeles, early call, but good morning, karen. >> good morning, karen! >> hi, joy. thank you so much for taking my question. >> sure! >> here's my story. i leave the house every morning really early and i'm on the go all day. i typically grab whatever is available, which is usually unhealthy. my new years resolution is to start eating healthier. joy, please give me a suggestion. >> well, this is a great new years resolution. so, bravo, karen. i'm going to give you a bunch of mple, realistic, but totable ideas that you can pack, and some involve an insulated bag, but others don't. the first is sandwiches, using whole grain bread or pitas or wraps. use turkey breast or lean ham. cold pasta salad. you can toss it with low-calorie dressing, light tuna and chopped

vegetables. fresh fruit and vegetables always work -- non-fat yogurts, string cheese. a little out of the box, but turkey jerky. it's high in sodium, but still  better option than she's probably used to picking up. >> sounds like a lot of these include protein and a carb mixing. >> yes. and soy crisps work and nutrition bars, but when you look for bars, there's so many on the market. karen, make sure you pick one that has less than two grams of saturated fat per bar. hope it helps. >> way to go, karen. now, here's an e-mail question from michelle ross from hamburg, new york, "i'm very overweight and although i'd love to resolve to lose weight in the new years, i don't think it's possible. i don't exercise, don't eat right and don't live on junk food. how can someone like me lose weight when i don't like any of the "healthy" foods?" >> first of all, don't give up. there are gazillions of options when it comes to healthy food and michelle needs to retrain her taste buds.

>> sounds like she's overwhe overwhelmed. >> and i want to respect her question and offer up a realistic game plan. first, each day, starting january 1st, michelle is going to incorporate one healthy item. i don't care what it is -- two carrots, an apple, she could order steamed brown rice inste of white rice with her typical chinese food and the hope is that she starts to get used to healthy foods. but the second part of my plan is to buy a calorie book or look up these calories online and learn the calorie counts for the unhealthy foods she's currently eating and keep her daily totals, no matter what she's eating, as unhealthy as it is, between 1,200 and 1,600 calories for the day. because at the end of the day, when it comes to weight loss, calories matter most, no matter what you're eating. so, i hope she's going to learn how to incorporate some healthy foods, but if she counts the calories on the unhealthy stuff, the weight will come off. >> all right. and that's our last question. we're going to the plaza. kathy on the plaza has a question for joy.

kathy? >> i just have a quick question. withhe little amount of time for the gym, what would you prefer, cardio or lifting weights? >> oh, that's a great question. how many days are you going to the gym? >> usually four or five. >> okay. i would say when you go to the gym, at least two of those workouts you should take advantage of their equipment and the trainers and do strength training. the other two days or three days do cardio. and then when you're home, try to incorporate as much walking or other cardio as you can. does that help? >> yes, it does. thank you very much. >> good luck. happy new year. >> in fact, you might want to run in place right now, kathy. >> right now. right now! >> just to warm up. all right. joy bauer, thanks so much. >> thanks, al. >> happy new year. >> and to you. >> all righty. and just in time for the big day, the key ingredients to handling your hangover bore it even begins. but up next, start packing. from florida to portugal, we're going to take you to the world's top hotels at affordable prices with nilou, right after these messages. but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia.

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( crackling ) you'll know when you're ready. 01.01.10. the special k challenge begins. get started with a free box when you buy one, now at specialk.com. this morning on "today's travel," we're taking you to the top hotels around the world. for its january issue, the folks at "travel & leisure" magazine

have compiled a list of 500 top hotels. they had a lot of extra time on their hands. and its features editor, nilou motamed, is here with rooms that will cost you under $250 a night, which is a wonderful thing for people looking to save some money. good morning. >> good morning. >> tell me, how do you rate these hotels? wh goes into the rankings? >> well, we don't do it actually, our readers do. so, this is a great survey, because it really gets the point of view of the people who are going to these hotels and having the individual experience. so, this is actually people telling us what they love -- >> so, they stay there and they came back and this is all actual firsthand experience. >> exactly. so, the reader's opinion is golder than our opinion. >> now, this data, does this include the large hotels and the small boutique ones as well, all mixed together? >> it's all sizes, and what's great about the list you're getting today is you're getting some of the incredible hotels, some of the best in the world, for under $250 a night. >> which is fantastic. all right, you have 66 affordable hotels on this list. >> exactly. >> we want to get to a couple of them, because obviously people looking to save some money.

the first is the london hotel in west hollywood. >> exactly. >> itounds luxurious. throw the word london in, anything sounds luxurious. >> the fact that they have not only a british chef, gordon ramsey, who has a restaurant there, but when you get into the lift, it actually has a little -- when it speaks, it has an english accent. so, that's already -- you already feel like you're transported. >> fantastic. >> i was actually just there in l.a., and it's such a great hotel, because it has a california vibe but still has a little bit of that feeling you want to get when you're in london, which is being pampered. >> okay. >> so, you can go to the rooftop deck. they have a fire pit at night, which is gorgeous. but during the day, the pool is outstanding and the view is stellar. now, the bathrooms at this hotel, i feel like the rooms are large, the bathrooms are extra large. >> they are? >> there are two shower heads -- >> because that's what you want to do is spend a lot of time in the bathroom when you're on vacation. >> honestly, you want to be spoiled. >> perfect. let's move on. the next one is in amelia island, florida. the ritz carlton. i'm surprised this is on the affordable list. >> for under $200, $199 a night.

this is a barrier island off the coast of jacksonville. you can get there very accessibly, and they have -- just some numbers -- 27,000-square-foot spa. that's a lot of space in which to get really, really spoiled. >> and you can get lost, so it's like two for the price of one. >> but they'll send someone out. >> that's all i care about. let's move around now. we'll go to xico, the las mananitas hotel. why did this make the list? >> they have a great art collection, some of the best in the country, beautiful rooms. it's a fantastic place for a wedding if you're thinking of having a wedding abroad somewhere. what's great is it's also right next to a town that's super charming, and it's always great weather there, but best time to go is right around this time of year. 70 degrees right now. >> i'm in. you've convinced me. i'm there. europe, off the coast of italy, i've stayed here and it's gorgeous. i'm surprised there is an

affordable hotel there. under $200 a night for the larosa dei venti. >> well, now that you've stayed there -- >> exactly, skyrocketed. >> bold-faced names go there. this is a place you think you'd never afford. they have seven rooms, overlooking the mediterranean. it's -- >> seven rooms. >> seven rooms. >> you need to book like yesterday. okay, but it is beautiful. >> but book now for the spring, which is when you really want to go. >> perfect. i threw my name out there, bold names. exactly. >> i'm just trying -- >> people are canceling reservations left and right. next in portugal, the convento dd espinheiro. it's like a spanish lesson for me. >> this town of evora is a heritage site, so it's beautiful. >> mark actually just went online. he was navigating online. >> he did. and this hotel you can get for under $250. you are staying in a former convent, but it's all the stuff

that you want in the modern way but still staying in a beautiful setting. >> and real quick, we should mention, if people have other hotels they think should be on the list, they can write in suggestions. >> they can go to travelandleisure.com to see all of the hotels and right now voting is happening for next year's survey. >> thank you. nilou, appreciate that. very good information. coming up, talk about intrepid travelers, we'll show you what happens when hoda and kathie lee do a little bull riding. but i did. zicam reduces the duration of a cold. ( sneezing ) no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no... can you do it by 3:00 ? yes, i can. how about 2:00 ? hmm... ( sneezing ) ( moaning ) get over your cold faster. now try new throat-soothing liqui-loz and great-tasting zavors. go to hotwire.com. when four-star hotels have unsold rooms they use hotwire to fill them, so you get them at ridiculously low prices.

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well, you really need to rev it up this morning if you're going out, it is cold and it is windy. on this -- tuesday. the time now is 9: 26, it is tuesday, not wednesday, tuesday, december 29th, i'm pat lawson muse. and it is cold and windy this morning. in the news, if you're one of the thousands of drivers who use the 11th street bridge, you can expect a lot of construction in the near future. transportation officials in the district will hold a news conference today to discuss a $300 million overhaul of the two spans. they will soon be replaced with three new spans, providing

connections between the southeast freeway and intstate 295. the new spans are expected to serve about 180,000 vehicles each day by the year 2030. and two of the nation's premiere football programs will be duelling today here in washington. ucla takes on temple in the eagle bank bowl at rfk stadium. it starts at 4:30, still seats available if you're willing to brave the cold and the wind. and we'll take a look at weather and traffic, when we come back.

some blustery sunshine today, the high, 35 degrees. we'll have temperatures getting into the mid 30s, but with wind chills in the 20s. a little wet snow to start new year's eve before switching over to rain. jerry? >> a live look here along 9 5 southbound, veronica, and it's loaded up, typical for the holiday period to see heavy traffic southbound during the midday. and we're seeing that.

northbound, no worries. maryland, i-270, the wind is something to deal with. pat? >> tonight on news4 at 5:00, they are the showmen of basketball -- the harlem globetrotters are in town. sitting

♪ ♪ i get up and nothing gets me down ♪ if you're struggling to lose weight and you need a little inspiration, check out these amazing folks. each one lost half their body weight or more. we're going to meet them and learn how they did it tomorrow on "today." cool stories. i am al roker along with jenna wolfe and mr. lester holt. and of course, don't adjust your sets, it is tuesday. natalie is enjoying a day off. >> but you do need a scorecard out here. coming up this half hour, it's all about the in-laws, specifically, your mother-in-law.

that delicate relationship is often portrayed on the big screen, and it's often not far from what goes on behind the scenes, maybe at your house. if you can relate, we've got some strategies so everyone gets along during the holidays or any time of the year. also ahead, you guys ever had a really bad hangover, one of those doozies where you swear off alcohol forever? >> actually, i can say no. >> no. have you? >> really? oh, me neither. definitely not. >> you mean not counting last weekend. >> the first thing many people grab in the morning is the cup of coffee. it's actually a no-no. coming up, we'll help you heal before it starts. because people have online cures or crazy things they make for hangovers. you probably don't thi about this. none of us. >> but it was a great movie. >> exactly. and take a look at this. it's not your grandfather's sherlock holmes. it's a pumped-up robert downey jr. with a swashbuckling jude law. we'll look at that coming up

later. and kathie lee and hoda look at their favorite momentsf the year. >> i love "sherlock holmes," one of the best movies of the year. first, though, we're going to get a check of the weather. i know. i thought i'd shake it up. >> took a little vacation there, did you? >> i'm back. and we're back. >> let's check your weather, see what's happening. as jenna heads now out to pluto. on new year's eve, we've got rain in the pacific nortest, also the mid-atlantic states, new year's eve, frigid conditions in the plains -- >> what's that, a baby? >> what is that? it's indigestion. >> one of our cameramen, bob yager. new year's day, we've got a little messy condition with snow, arctic express blowing across the plains. wet weather with interior ice in the pacif well it might be sunny here, but today's definitely an inside day, with low wind chill readings through the area. the air temperature, below freezing, columbia heights. new carrollton and clinton at 28

degrees. and bethesda and kensington at 29 degrees. wind chill values in the teens, 15 in d.c. 17 at quantico. the high, 35 today, the high on thursday, 38 degrees. so we should see a little bit of snow >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you. up next, if you have a monster-in-law or a mother-in-law -- ow, ow and ow -- we've got help, right after this. or, you can follow the weight watchers plan entirely online and learn life skills that put you in charge. sign up for free right now and see how 31,000 food options give you options, and 1,800 recipes keep them fresh, so when life comes knocking, you can learn to live it, and lose weight and keep it off. sign up for free right now and get living. weight watchers online. stop dieting. start living.

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♪ ♪ mother-in-law, mother-in-law this morning on "today's family," handling your mother-in-law. a recent survey found 60% of women have a negative relationship with their husband's mother, and if you're married, you know what that can do to your relationship. kate white is editor in chief of "cosmopolitan," which has tips for coping in its january issue. she's here with "today's" contributing psychiatrist gail saltz. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of people have this issue. when it comes to a head around the holidays. kate, what's the deal, why are so many women having this issue with their mom-in-laws? >> well, when you get married, moms tend to get closer to their moms, but husbands tend to put distance, and the mother-in-law can start to feel boxed out.

so, she might do things like be critical or nosy or kind of butt in in a way that can really be tough for you as the daughter-in-law. >> right, and gail, this can start right from the get-go. once it starts, is there any way of going back? is there any way to nip this in the butt? >> absolutely, because what we're talking about is a rivalry, and it's a bump in the road that can occur in other arenas as well. if the two people want to overcome that hump, and that's the key right there, it can absolutely change, but you have to work on it. you have to be active about it and you both to some degree have to acknowledge that it exists in order to do that. >> let's talk about some of the advice for doing this. one of the things is don't be a pushover. that sounds well and good, but as the new daughter-in-law, don't you want to be kind of accommodating? so, how do you not become a pushov? >> you know what, there's a difference between being a doormat and feeling that you're awash in this criticism, you can't do anything and you're helpless and setting some limits, but also not being a brick wall, because you could really cut off the relationship by saying, you know, i'm not

taking any of this, so i'm barely going to speak to you. so, it's really a sort of matter of moderation, being in the middle, of saying, you know, these things work with me and i'm going to accommodate and work with you on this. >> and you also talk about asking for advice. is that a good idea or does that open up the floodgates? >> well, you don't want to feel vulnerable, but she feels neeyd, she misses her son. so, if you ask for advice, maybe just for a recipe or her strategy for buying on ebay it lets you know you need her. >> but you've also cracked the door open, haven't you? >> you don't want that door to open all the way. >> mom knows best. >> but you want the door cracked open because not only do you want it to work for the three of you, but you want your own relationship with her. so that's why you do that. >> and it also happens that mother-in-laws can say the inappropriate thing at the dinner table to set you off. what's the advice there? >> don't take the bait, because that's only going to create a vicious cycle. so, good strategy is take a deep breath, be calm, casual, maybe say something kind of amuse.

like, let's say my mother-in-law said, kate, you went a little short with your hair, i could say something like, yeah, but i love the way it feels and then just move on. don't give her anyplace to go from there. >> this makes me think of "everybody loves raymond" and that relationship, and it's a baiting kind of thing. >> it is, and i would go one step further and say if your mother-in-law's doing that a lot, there's hostility there and you can call her on that and say, you know, you've said this, this and this, so the next time, say i'm wondering, are you angry with me about something, because pointing out what's actually going on as opposed to operating on what's on the surface can really be useful. >> we're talking about the mother and the daughter-in-law. we're not talking about the sons here. do they have any role in trying to heal or patch this relationship? >> yeah. they have to be part of it because if they let you do all the heavy lifting with it -- for instance, because she wants to feel needed, it's not just about you asking her for some help with babysitting or coming over for dinner, whatever. you need your guy to do some of that, too. you've got to encourage him to e-mail her, stay in touch so she knows she hasn't lost that

contact with her son that she values so much. >> because this goes back to what we were talking about, she's lost any control in his life -- >> he's her baby. >> and one day you may be a mother-in-law, too, and it is sad to feel your child grow up and move away. so, to just acknowledge that is helpful. >> last piece of advice, very interesting -- show you you're a strong team. this is husband and wife here somehow in some way confronting mom. >> right. you may have to say to your husband or your partner, look, you need to support me in front of your mom. sometimes i feel a little awkward there. so, encourage him to pay you the compliment that lets her know he still loves you, but you're part of his new team. >> and you could go a step further, because if this is happening a lot, sitting down with your partner, saying this is happening a lot, you're hearing it, it's really bothering me. i need you to step up. i've tried. i need you to step in and say, mom, i love her, she's here to stay, i need you to try to make it work. you need to back off. >> why do i feel like this whole

thing is like walking across a mine field? >> because it is. >> at any time. >> because it is. >> but it is fixable if you actively -- >> just proceed delicately. >> thank you for being here. good talking to you both. ming up next, the ingredients to help cure that holiday takeover. what to take and what not to take. ( holiday music plays )

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you're probably looking forward to that big new year's eve bash, but the hangover that can come with it is another story here to help you beat the blues and the annoying headache is "today's" diet and nutrition editor madelyn fernstrom. thank you for being with us. >> good morning, jenna. >> so, is there anything we can do before setting out on our night to help avoid the hangover? >> well, avoiding is always a

good idea, but there are two important things. one is to stay hydrated. alcohol is very dehydrating, so if you drink a lot of water and have something to eat before you go out, because that slows the rate that alcohol gets into your system and gives you all these other symptoms. >> so before, drink a little, eat a little, have something in your system. >> there you go. >> now, what can you do while you're drinking? swrrks well, tweak the earlier advice and do a couple things. if you're prone to headaches, stick with light-colored stuff, white wine, gin and vodka, because the others have compounds that can contribute to a headache. so stick with the light stuff. >> okay. >> also, try and alternate a drink with a mocktail. as ridiculous as that sounds, it's something that helps your liver metabolize or drink so you can stick to one an hour. and no one knows whether you're having a club soda or gin and tonic. >> because we want to fool people into thinking we're drinking. >> really pace yourself. >> the bottom line is, it's new year's eve, it's the holiday season, we're going to go out and drink. some people may drink too much

and they'll be hung over. the first thing people tnk of is the caffeine, the coffee. you say that's a no-no. >> well, you need some fluid. the reason you don't want too much caffeine, a cup or two of coffee, tea or soda is fine, but don't drink too much because that's going to cause you to lose fluid. so it's dehydrating. it counters what you want to have, lots of water. water is going to be the best. you can use sports drinks, low-calorie ones. >> the electrolytes, right? >> sodium and poe satassipotass. your balance needs to be restored. >> what about the over-the-counter or online cures? people say a couple tylenol, you'll be fine. >> whatever it is you like is fine. don't take too much because that will irritate your stomach and people think more is better. it's not. then we turn to the too good to be true category of hangover cures. >> yes. >> thee aren't proven. most of them are mixtures of vitamins or minerals. a couple international things, bottoms up is a mixture of amino

acids to help amino acids -- >> i would take it just because it's translated to mean bottoms up. >> there you go. that works for you. >> let's see if i can read this. >> brush up on your japanese. or this is from australia, which people here wear about, berocca, or just take vitamins, but not alone. don't count on these things to do this separately, because the most important thing is to get something to eat. >> let's move on to that, because look, the big thing in college, when you wake up, if you happen to have a drink or two, and it was completely legal, you want to run to like some diner and just have a big greasy breakfast. >> big, greasy breakfast. >> exactly. >> with lots of grease. >> yummy. >> tasted good at the time, yummy. again, alcohol really does a job on your stomach, so you want a big breakfast. food's going to be good, but kind of downsize the fat and portions. instead of having fried potatoes, fried eggs, a lot of sausage, lighten up a little bit. have a mixed meal with carbohydrates, protein and fat and stick with an orange. get a little extra potassium and more fluid. but nix this really heavy meal

because it's going to be hard to digest. >> okay. >> and make you feel even worse. >> what about the hair of the dog theory, fight fire with fire, have another drink in the morning? >> this is like a withdrawal system. this takes more alcohol and while it's leaving your system, it fuels you again, so you're being more gently let down. don't do this. it's not a good idea. it prolongs your hangover and a sense of not feeling good, though people will do this all the time. stay away from this and replace it with water or a sports drink. >> okay. then the other thing is, when we're feeling like that in the morning, we just want to stay in bed all day or lounge, but you say that's the opposite of what you need to do. >> a good night's sleep is good to help recovery, but fight the effort to stay in bed and curl up in a ball, because getting exercise is going to help. it will help boost your metabolism, metabolize alcohol and give you a sense of recovery quicker, but as you have told me, it will be tougher to do that, to get up and start to work out, but even a walk is good. >> as i said, the hardest part of the day is working out after the hangover, not that i've had one -- >> not you, of course. >> hypothetically speaking.

madelyn fernstrom, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> great information. happy new year. stick to the water. coming up next, gene shalit takes on robert downey jr.'s "sherlock holmes."

robert downey jr. and jude law co-star in the new movie "sherlock holmes," which took in a whopping $65 million in its opening weekend. the movie features the old characters dramatically reinterpreted. does our gene shalit like it? elementary, dear viewer. >> good morning, and welcome to the "critic's corner." millions have grown up watching rathbone as sherlock holmes solving the unsolvable. >> the truth has only arrived by the painstaking process of eliminating the untrue. >> reporter: now the 19th-century detective returns, updated, in director guy ritchie's refreshing, revisionist film with robert

downey jr. as a pistol-packing, bare-fist-fighting sherlock. >> save your bullets, watson. >> his old friend watson -- >> what's that about saving bullets? >> reporte >> is youthified into jude law. it's the 1800s in london. the down side side of town, darkly dank with grime and crime, a murderous criminal, lord blackwood, played by mark strong, is hanged. it appears he's come back from the grave, sir. >> ghoulishly, he reappears, meaning to use any means to rule a mean new world. >> there isn't any time to waste then, is there? >> holmes and watson race to the case, making haste at a sprinter's pace. shirtless fisticuffs. involved with a dubious agent, the lovely rachel mcadams. >> i need you to find someone.

why are you always so suspicious? >> chronologically or alphabetically? >> be careful not to cut yourself on this lethal envelope. >> an unfinished bridge could mean finished for somebody. >> are we in trouble? >> downey is a pleasure as holmes, often disguised -- >> are you wearing -- >> no. >> ever ready for assault or battery. >> holmes, where are you going? >> it's fun -- >> what's that? >> it's fast. it's faster than fast, because director guy ritchie has made sure there's no pace like holmes. and that's the "critic's corner" for today. >> all right. coming up, hoda and kathie lee find work on broadway. >> and try little bull riding as well.

northbound and southbound, slower southbound. we have a sho construction project below lorden, part of the reason for the delays. and in maryland, same old story all day long. it's the wind, hang on tight. but no big deals. joe? >> jerry, thanks very much. tonight, news4 at 5:00, the showmen of basketball, harlem globetrott

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody. it'stuesday. working our way to new year's eve. it's december 29th. almost there. >> we are almost there. ready to celebrate. >> why are we happy about it? we're just going to be older. >> i know. >> think about it. >> i have to say about new year's eve. there's so much buildup, and the outfit, who am i going out with, where are you going? and you finally get to the day and it's never quite as great.

>> you technically become an old person when you don't want to go out. you just want to lay there on the couch or just in front of the fire and -- you know, a little. because you don't want to dpring and drive. >> it's bestto stay at home. so "parenting" magazine has something out this month on ways to raise a grateful child. because we see so many kids, especially now, who feel entitled to. they deserve things. they don't say please and thank you. >> where's mine? where's mine? >> i know. it's hard, especially now, because it is such a me-based world. it seems like more and more, doesn't it? >> the trouble is, it's not the spoiled children, it's that they -- the parents grew up that way. >> yeah. >> the parents are spoiled and ungrateful. and so they raise their children that way. and, nothing like my children are perfect, but -- >> no, they're very good kids. >> from the earliest, frank and i used to argue a little bit about it. they're too young. i was a maniac about please and thank you.

if they couldn't say at least something like peese, you know, something, they didn't get it. and they learned if they didn't say thank you, i took it away. and you just have to keep doing it. until they say it in their sleep because it's second nature. >> and now your kids, you see all kinds of kids who feel entitled. i think it was kathie who was in here and someone dropped papers. first one onhe ground picking up like she was the first one doing it. >> thank you. >> i think it's one of those things that you've got to do it -- >> before they even know any different. >> the thing now about everyone wants their kid to be the best and the most special. so every kid gets a trophy at everything. >> which makes the trophy not mean anything at all. >> right. and every parent says you're different, you're special, you're better and they get out in the real world and realize they're like a lot of other kids. >> you're not doing your children any favors by that. and giving them so much stuff, instead of giving them what really matters, which is your love, which hurts sometimes. it's so much harder to say no to your children.

but that's really how you love them. is by telling them no. >> or when they get out in the real world and they're looking for a job and they can't figure out why they're just the third kid from the left as opposed to the most special. >> mommy said -- welcome to real life. >> welcome to real life. >> speaking of real life. shape magazine polled 3200 readers about their sex life during the recession. hmm, it's receding. polls found that one in six people thought about their finances during -- >> during? >> during nookie. >> really? >> last december the poll found people having sex three or four more times a week. really? i don't know anybody. but this year, both the frequency and the quality have apparently significantly dropped. no one asked me. >> people are in a funk. i get it. by the way, look who's on the front cover of shape. >> and she didn't need airbrushing. she did gorgeous. >> no, she didn't. she's so little. >> she's adorable. >> she is adorable. congrats to giada for being on the cover. >> yeah. the other thing we need to know -- oh, we have this.

this is cute. >> i'm dying for this one. >> people are always trying to lose weight. we say take stairs, instead of the escalator. >> there's a unique thing they did in stockholm. there's stairs and an escalator. it's always next to each other. what they did is they took the scarecase and they turned it into a functioning piano. >> like in the more very "big." >> like in the movie "big." so they just kept a camera and they watched people, and the majority chose the stairs. and you can watch, because they start -- they get intrigued and then they just start -- >> they start to make little songs. >> it's the cutest thing ever. i love that. we didn't get to hear the music. >> oh, well. >> this is beautiful. >> okay, everybody's worried about christmas -- >> we have to hear it. ♪ >> watch. >> cute. >> up and down the scale. ♪ >> there's a dog going up, too. >> it's such a smart thing to do. >> it had to be expensive to

install that, i would think. >> i bet. >> i guess the cutest thing in the whole world is this youtube video that so many people have been watching. >> gazillions. >> i haven't seen this. this little kitten, between 6 and 10 weeks old. when this was taken. >> do it again! >> oh, all day long you could watch it. all day long. do it again. do it again. >> oh! >> oh, gosh! >> we're just going to keep showing that throughout the show. >> that is adorable. >> oh. >> oh. >> okay, we've got to pull ourselves away. sanitary shopping cart. watch this, look at this. >> oh, for god's sake. >> you take that off. you do it right here. >> okay. can i just say something? >> a little bit much? >> okay if you're carrying around a sanitary -- you know what? everyone's too panoid. it's enough already. it's enough with the -- with all

of that. why don't you walk around with one of those toilet seat paper things in your purse. >> i do. >> why? it's just too much. everyone's too paranoid. come sit back down. come and sit back down. it's too much. it is too much. >> this isn't. this is, you've got a problem with this, too? you need a break. you need to go off to abu bye-bye. >> abu dhabi. >> bye-bye. >> these are customized photo note sheets. they're so adorable. you can do your to do lists, grocery lists, reminder lists or just pictures of your friends available. available at lemontreepaper.com. >> you're so into personalized things. >> because we're all so into ourselves. now this is my favorite, favorite thing. >> you're flying through. we have so much time and you're flying like the wind. >> because i've been really dying to get to the pig fart. i'm sorry, i've been waiting all year to get to the pig fart. i'm sorry. this was a very important story. there was a flatulent pig, and it started a gas emergency in

southern australia when a farmer mistook its odors for a leaking pipe. according to officials. now listen, this is the perpetrator. 15 firefighters and two trucks were called to the property. after reports of a gas leak. yeah, that's what some people call it. the officials -- >> ooh, the sounds. >> ooh. >> all right. the official said there was a huge sow, about a 265 pounder that was very obvious where the gas was coming from. >> can we do that again, please? anyway, the people said -- >> what? >> we could not only smell -- >> oh, my gosh. all right, the people -- >> he was embarrassed and rightfully so. it took the fire crews a little while themselves to compose -- >> it wasn't that man. >> the viewers don't know what's

going on. >> oh, my that's embarrassing. >> we want to apologize to the viewers. >> i'm sorry. >> we're sorry. >> and i'm sorry. >> and we're sorry to this fine gentleman. >> very handsome, hoda. >> oh. >> hello! >> well. >> also i apologize -- >> look, he ran away. he's running away. he's running. >> if the "f" word offded anyone. i'm sorry. i didn't mean to say it, but it was on the teleprompter. hoda use e hoda -- code used to think the "f" word he wasn't allowed to say that. >> there's another story. there is this woman, her boss was trying to make a flight to honduras >> this is something you would do. >> stop it. >> it is. >> he was late for the flight, so what did she do? because she felt like she actually made him late, she called in a bomb threat. in south florida. the woman was arrested. >> they found -- >> she's in trouble. >> the call had come from her computer. you've got to be darn careful these days. >> can you imagine being that

afraid of your boss missing a flight that you would call in a bomb threat? >> no. >> she's being held on $7500 bail. >> she could do time for this. >> she could do time and all because she felt guilty that her boss was going to miss his flight. okay, she's got other issues. >> she does. >> all right, can we go now? >> we have to go to sara. we still have two minutes. >> we've got fan question looking back at this year. matthew asked what has been your most challenging interview with a guest? >> challenging? challenging? >> nothing comes to mind. >> oh, one comes to mind. >> really? >> you don't remember it. it's that one that we had the issue with. remember? >> oh, i think i remember. m.c. hammer. >> yes. >> is that the one you're thinking of? >> he took umbrage with me. he was wrong. anyway -- >> okay. >> what was the other question? >> lisa asked who would you most want on the show to interview? has there ever been a celebrity that had you awestruck. >> estruck? >> you've met most of the people we've had on. >> the one person that comes to

mind because i've never met him or -- and i'm a huge fan of his, and not just because he's, you know, a gorgeous guy, but george clooney. >> george clooney. >> that's what i want for new year's. >> is that okay? can i have george clooney for new year's? >> all right. so we have a fun show. we're going to kind of take you down a nice saunter through our finest memories. >> down memory lane. >> all right, do you remember when you and i went and found work on broadway? >> can you say supercalifragilistic- expialidocious? >> we've got a lot more after this. >> we're going to after this. >> you'reight in here. do what she's doing. ♪ express each one more with downy simple pleasures feel more calm with new downy lavender serenity feel more daring with spice blossom dare feel more elegant with orchid allure now all have renewing scent pearls that help you express every side of you downy simple pleasures.

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aaron go brow means, according to frank, always wear green underwear. that's his version. >> all right. as if we didn't have to work hard enough the producers here decided that kathie lee and i needed to find part-time work. >> you know what they say, a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. in our case we should have had a

few glasses of wine to make this medicine go down. can you say supercalifragilistic- expialidocious. >> yes, i can, supercalifragilistic- expialidocious. >> you know how to do that, they decide they're going to put you to work. times are tough, hoda. >> we have to work on broadway? >> i don't know what you're going to do, but you're going to work. you might even have to fly. com on, you've flown before. you know it. >> there they are. >> we hear you're going to put us to work a little bit. >> we want you to conduct. >> we get to conduct? >> the entire cast, our entire orchestra. >> bring it on, mary! >> do you know how to do that? >> absolutely not but i'll give it a shot. >> you're going to see me walk around in my underwear for the next three hours. is that okay? >> who got the better job? who -- >> somehow word got around about hoda. >> 1700 guests today. >> so i'm going to be an usher? >> you are going to be an usher. a broadway yourer >> ooh, tough one. >> i've got the harder job. you just go like that.

♪ >> hoda's not the only one that gets a hurng. hello. >> nice to meet you. >> lovely to meet you. >> we are thrilled to have you here. >> well, i haven't conducted yet. >> but have you accepted the assignment? >> and in your trusty hands i'll be just perfect. >> all right, okay. shall we hand it over? thanks, everybody, we'll see you next week. >> to >> ta-da! . i your usherette. >> i'm hoda. first of all, your outfit doesn't look like my outfit. where's your hat? >> you're going to need a baton. >> we all need a good baton. >> just so we don't get our baton's mixed up, i engraved it for you, as well. >> maestro gifford. i love it. >> the tickets will match the seat. that's all you have to say and watch your step. watch your step. >> should i use both -- >> you can use both hands. down up, exactly like you're doing. the down beat is down. down up, down, up. >> you have to move fast.

whether the hat falls off or not. >> the tricky part is in the middle when it starts to get faster. that part's in 4. >> you don't want me going one two three four. >> yes, that's exactly it. >> fine by me. come give me a hug anyway. this is not part -- >> hoda! hoda! >> we're never going to get done. ♪ supercalifragilistic- down up down up. come with me, seat 108. and here's your thing. ♪ s-u-p-e-r k-a-l-i-f ♪ faster? >> e-8. you don't get paid squat. >> ♪ k3679 p 50i679 a-l >> here's your party. >> right in here. >> do what she's doing. ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ what are you. >> e-101. you're in the hot seat. faster. a little foster. >> hoda! i saw you this morning.

>> and i'm waiting for you. >> i love you. >> kathie lee is here, too. >> you're my favorite, though. >> thank you. >> i wouldn't say it in front of her cause she'll hit you. ♪ even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious ♪ >> you're hoda kotb? >> yes, of course. that's what i do on my side job. >> that's what i said. this is your extra job. i just s you this morning. >> i know, i'm getting paid here. snoept superk ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ >> why aren't we seated? >> i can't believe, ann climbed kill minimum jaro and i coun't even get here. ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic-

expialidocious ♪ ♪ even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ ♪ supercalifragilistic- expialidocious ♪ >> that was exhausting! >> we made it on broadway, hoda. >> we certainly did. all right, coming up next, the time kathie lee and i took a vacation in san antonio. >> did what every city girl does in texas. get bullied. right after this. cleaning up.d and there's the meatloaf. yuck. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips, oh, bingo, it falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the new stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex.

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>> i don't know what happened to it, hoda. here in san antonio, all of a sudden our inner urban cowgirl was set free. >> yes, it was. earlier we met up with a

mechanical bull instructor named oliver jones for a private lesson in mastering the bronco. or at least that was our plan. all right, bubba, show you've got to give us the abcs, what do we need to know to get on this bull. >> you just need to hold on tight with your right or left, whatever you are, keep one hand up for your balance, and -- >> so that's not -- >> hold on for dear life. >> that's not just for show, the hand up in the air? that's for balance? >> that's for balance. >> tell us about the dangerous part. sfl that would be called falling. >> that's what i want to know about. >> that's why we're on the inflatable bed. >> we can't even stand on this thing, much less get on this thing. >> i'm going to help you. >> first show us. we'll be back here in case you fall. >> all right. see! it's not that bad. ♪ >> oh, no! okay.

>> oh, i don't think, it's the tilting thing. the tilting thing. >> all right. okay. all right. >> all right, bubba. >> okay, bubba. good, all right hoda woman, you want to go first? >> i'll go first. whatever you want to do. >> hear it for hoda! >> so far so -- it's really easy. >> all right, ready, hoda? hold on, baby. >> i'm scared. >> go, do it. >> and go! >> hand up, hoda. don't get cocky. >> i got it! >> okay. >> go! >> i don't know. >> go, go kath! >> come on.

>> all righty. >> hold on. >> wait for me. >> keep your hand up. >> go. >> yee-haw! whoo! >> whoo! >> hold on, girl! hold on. >> oh. bubba, thank you. >> we had a great time down there. we want to thank everybody. they took such good care of us. hope they're having a fine new year's. >> all right. and still to come, how the tune changed at the stardust diner when kathie lee and i got there. >> plus a look back at the time i hosted a girl's night in at my house. and all i can say is please take on the grill aka, curtis stone, baby. >> and a look back of more of our fun. after your local news. ♪

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i've already lost some weight [ female announcer ] yoplait light - with 28 delicious flavours at about 100 calories babe, what are you doing?! ♪ we've have your forecast for the rest of the daying anded final days of 2009. good morning, i'm joe krebs, also coming up on snoous midday -- tylenol recall as popular medication this morning. which brand you need to be checking your cabinet for. those stories and more, when "news4 midday" begins at 11:00

and we're back on this tuesday morning with a stroll down memory lane. one of the best memories i have of this year is -- >> i know, i know. coming over to my house for a little girl's night in wh a guest appearance by curtis stone! we love him. who shall we say definitely heated things up. >> yeah. ♪ come on to my house >> i hope i've got the right day. >> oh, my gosh! >> hello! >> what are you doing here? >> one hour exactly. >> oh, my gosh, you guys. >> hi! >> look who's here. >> curtis stone. >> i heard that you were having a night in. i went out and i bought a bunch

of groceries. i've got some nice champagne. i thought i'd come and cook you guys a beautiful dinner. first thing we've got to do is swap out the water and make you guys a cocktail. we're going to make bellinis. the summertime the sun is out so the white peaches are in season. these are beautiful and soft. >> i don't even care what he's making. >> yes, continue curtis. >> curtis looks nice here at my house. maybe he should stay. >> ooh! >> oh. >> look at that peach. it's so soft it's like totally falling apart in his hands. i want to be that peach. >> hello, curtis. is this fun for you so far? ♪ >> so my business is your happiness. >> i'll be back. >> cheers! >> cheers! >> has anyone noticed my bangs? >> where is curtis?

>> whoo! >> thank you, curtis. >> you're welcome. >> curtis! ♪ >> i've got a phone call. can you take it? >> curtis? >> look who's coming. >> look who's here. >> i thought i'd just bring you a little top off. >> anybody else feeling a little muggy? >> it is muggy. >> look at that. >> ooh. >> please, my guests first. >> okay, i'll be out preparing lunch. if you need anything just shout. >> thank you, curtis. >> thank you. ♪ home cooking >> we're all about entrees laid out in front of us. right here, we've got a cornish game hen. we're going to marinate it. we've got some shrimp. >> i'm sorry. i don't know how to do it. >> like that.

>> he's washing his hands down there in case you're wondering. >> let me help him. oh, curtis, stop it. >> you girls sit down, have a lovely glass of wine. i'm going to get the appetizers ready. >> there are appetizers? >> i hope i'm awake for dinner. ♪ >> i could sit and just eat through a bag of oreos. >> apparently none of you read my book. >> i read it. >> i'm just saying we read it. ♪ girls just wanna have fun >> wait until you guys go through menopause. >> ready! ♪ >> so what we have is a tune in ceviche and a lobster salad. would you like me to serve it? >> yes, please. >> would we. >> bon appetit. >> i can't wait. >> hmm.

>> that is so sweet. like sugar sweet. >> that's the sound you want. ♪ can't help myself i love you and nobody else ♪ >> it's ready. >> oh. >> cornish hens. beautiful. >> cornish hens. and shrimp, skewered with rosemary. some charred blockly, brussel sprouts. >> crispy potatoes. >> that cornish hen, curtis. oh, my gosh just melts in your mouth. >> here's to the incomparable curtis stone for a terrific, delicious meal. >> cheers! >> thank you. >> it ain't over, honey. after dinner, entertainment. ♪ i'm melting away ♪ in the city that doesn't sleep ♪ >> have you ever thought about starting a band? because that was amazing. i'll be the chef.

>> love him. >> hello, smokin'. all right, up next, the time we had to sing for our supper. >> yeah. but first these messages. ( "sleigh ride" playing ) pretty. ( laughs ) there we go. ( phone rings, laughter ) ♪ ( phone rings ) victory starts now. with the special k challenge, you can lose up to 6 pounds... in 2 weeks. now with so many delicious ways to be victorious. lose up to 6 pounds in 2 weeks. join us at specialk.com. ♪ my son loves to sing. alejandro has a brain tumor. his doctors turned to st. jude children's research hospital where we have helped 85% of children survive the most common brain tumor. ♪ wow, beautiful.

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>> here's where we landed. >> uh-oh. >> hoda, i want you to smell, just breathe deeply. >> ah. what is that? >> the smell of grease paint. you are on broadway, baby. maugham ma mia, wicked. what's this? >> this is the ellen stardust diner. young kids trying to get into the business come here and they wait while -- >> while they're singing. >> we could do that. >> let's go in. >> help wanted. >> hi. >> we're here to help you. >> doing what? >> singing. i've been on broadway. i'd like to get back. >> i'm sorry, i've heard you sing. we need fresh talent. how about you? >> i'd love to. >> great. >> okay. >> wait, wait, wait. i have a job for you. back there. >> what? >> great. ♪ going to the chapel >> to dow! >> so excited! >> i need a bee bop a lula. >> a what? >> a bee bop a lula burger. just get some lettuce and tomato and put them on here.

we don't have a lot of time. >> this is not my idea of a career move, you know. >> kathie lee, you know what? >> ah! what? don't yell. don't yell. >> come on! >that's a little more like it. >> oh! >> sorry. >> i'm burning my arms! don't yell. >> i'm really a singer. >> aren't we all. ♪ >> okay. >> what cheese do i put on these? >> calm down! we might make this work. oh, i hate pepper jack. i don't want to give them that. that's not going to sit well with their stomach. >> what else? >> come on. ♪ let's sing >> give me some tips for how to waitress properly. because the place is kind of jumping. >> keep an eye on your tables. maintain a level of professionalism. >> sorry about the mess. you guys can clean it up. >> what kind of cheese? you'll get what i bring you. strawberry short cake. whatever. >> i have a customer that's literally about to walk out the door?

>> let him walk. just serve him something. people don't really care. >> you figure about finding these out somehow? >> oh, yeah. this fan in front of me. >> kathie lee? >> what? >> i could really use some help over here, babe. >> good luck. where's hoda? hoda come here and sit on this. >> what if i get hungry? >> don't eat the food! >> oh, you had the shake. hold on one second. you're gonna love it. you're good? really, you sure? honey, can you pass the ketchup? hmm. >> oh. really good. delicious. you had apple juice? >> thank you guys so much. okay, nice talking to you. ♪ >> all right. hot dogs are ready.

you know some of these look kind of good. >> you know, i didn't have one. nobody will mind. >> you can't eat the food. >> someone was just complaining there was a bite taken out of their hamburger. >> it was a little bite. tell them to be grateful. there's a recession going on. people are so rude. there was a time in life when people used to share. >> those days are over. >> those days are over. ♪ >> don't flirt with the customers. >> oh, well hello to you. how are you? let me write that down for you. one water. >> water. >> one water. blue eyes, nice. that's a lot to remember. >> oh -- >> oh! >> guess i'm not getting a date out of him. anyway. >> what -- i'm a little nervous about the song because i really want to be good and i'm trying to figure out the right song to pick. >> make sure it's an oldie but a goodie. >> something everyone knows the words to. ♪ it's my party and i'll cry if i want to cry if i want to ♪

>> i think i got one. i think i can really wow them. i want to sing a song that's really, really close to my heart. this one has had such a big impact on my life. especially last weekend. ♪ apple bottom jeans boots with the fur ♪ ♪ the whole club was looking at her she hits the floor ♪ >> people are leaving by the thousands. i'm coming, hoda! kiss my grits, alabama. cover me, boys. momma's ready! >> let me show you how a pro does it. [ cheers and applause ] >> yes. hit it, boys. ♪ there's no business like show business ♪ ♪ there's no business i know and go on with the show ♪

>> okay, that's enough. >> whoo! >> i don't sing that badly. i don't care what anyone says. >> whatever. nice talking to you. i loved it. >> moving on. >> up next from sipping on coffee and singing to chewing on straw. >> oh, yeah the time kathie lee and i saddled up for some fun. kind of, i guess. right after this. at kmart, 'tis the season for saving with our undeck the hall sale! get great fall and winter apparel at 50% off. plus, 60% off all holiday costume jewelry and jewelry boxes.

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beginning to heat up here in san antonio. >> it is. >> we were having fun two days ago. we went to a dude ranch. >> we did. it's about an hour 15 minutes or so outside san antonio. a place balled bandera. cowboy capital of the world. met the nicest people. diane and clay, they own the dude ranch. >> you've got to see what we went through on that ranch. >> we didn't really know what to expect. >> take a look.

♪ ♪ >> so hot. >> welcome to the dixie dude ranch. now that you're here, it's time to go to work. >> work? >> kathie i'd like for you to meet your designated cowboy. mr. joe henderson. >> name that tune. >> thank you so much. that's just a few years ago. >> and miss hoda, i'd like for you to meet d.c. >> you are a mighty fancy lady. >> thank you. >> i've got news for you. >> what? >> we're going to work the fancy right out of you.

>> uh-oh. oh, no. >> oh. >> let's go to work. ♪ >> our first chore this morning is to get your horses saddled. >> okay. you going to show us how to saddle up? >> well, if tornado will behave for you -- hold, son. put that up there. come on up. i got it, i got it, i got it. one, two -- >> real high. >> there you go. there you go. >> whoo! >> all right. >> tell you what, kathie, let me carry this over there for you. >> oh, thank you. >> why aren't you carrying your own stuff? >> i've got joe. and you don't. >> don't want to break out in a sweat or anything. >> that's right. >> i like the little purse on the side. that is adorable. >> let me get that. >> you're going to have to

rename this dude ranch to dude ranch and spa. >> watch this, hoda and see how it's done. >> okay. yee-haw! that was so easy. and even with spikes on it was a cinch. >> there you go. >> sorry, tornado. >> yee-haw. ♪ oh, what a beautiful morning how you doing, hoda woman? >> i'm okay. >> just okay? >> okay. you're not on tornado. ♪ i've got a beautiful feeling everything's going my way ♪ >> these city slickers. >> slow down, d.c. ♪ >> close over here. >> not that close. not that close. >> show me your stuff. >> okay, whip it. >> hold on a second. >> good girl, good girl.

>> yeah, hoda! >> whoo! >> whoo! >> good job. >> i got me an ear. >> that's a horn. >> that's what i said. ♪ ♪ >> oh. >> this reminds me of cody. >> come and get it! >> what's for lunch? >> beans are for lunch but you'll here can help me fix it. >> what? >> no we're here to eat. >> no, no, no, you're going to serve beans and you're going to help me wash up these pots. >> soapy water, whatever will i do. >> i don't know. >> how am i doing with your beans. >> you're doing great. >> have we worked hard enough? can we eat now? >> i'm going to kiss the cook. >> oh. love it. look at it. look here.

>> you know what, hoda woman? >> hmm? >> beautiful place. >> great people. >> awesome food. yeah. >> y'all come back, you marry? yee-haw. that's it. >> we make it. >> i don't know, there was a lot of sexual chemistry with you and curly. >> stop it. >> i have a feeling. >> quit it. we will be back with more of "today" on nbc.

this has been fun. tomorrow, how to throw a new year's eve cocktail party. >> plus we're going to have hairstyles to take you into 2010. >> see you tomorrow, everybody.