spectacular car crash opens up about the accident for the first time today, friday, december 10, about the accident for the first time today, friday, december 10, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith viera. this morning british police are facing tough questions over the protests that charles and camilla were swept up in last night. >> the royal couple was on their way to theater when their limo was surrounded by an angry mob. people were chanti ining "off w their heads". we're going to get the latest in a live report from london straight ahead. someone pretending to be from a college sorority friending pledges on facebook and asking them to send naked photos. now an arrest is made. you have only got two more weeks to finish up your holiday shopping. we're going to have some gift ideas especially if you're struggling with that hard to buy for person on your list. an attack on prince charles and camilla's limo. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is a wild one. this is where the royals were headed here to the theater. but the streets were filled with protesters, some of them even set fire to the christmas tree at trefalge compare. the prime minister referred to the attack as both shocking and regrettable. but by all accounts, the protesters were as stunned to see the royals there as the royals were to see them. it was hardly the royal treatment. student demonstratoors pounded their limo with fists and paint. the stunned charles and his wife camilla, both in full formal attire, headed to a charity event in london's famed west end. >> the responsibility for security is to keep their charges safe and this could have been a lot, a lot worse. >> reporter: the couple wasn't hurt, but the duchess of cornwall was rattled. >> she was shaken to the core, she was guided straight through and let's just say a stiff brandy was administered. >> all across london students protested the government's plan to raise tuition. the mayhem spread to one of london's most popular tourist areas. a dozen officers were hurt as well as 40 students. these days much of europe shares britain's pain, with more protests expected. >> i try to have some sympathy and i think now by attacking the royals they have really turned against them because they are very well liked and well loved. >> reporter: still with a heavily anticipated royal wedding just four months away, the latest violence on london's streets will force the royal family to reassess security. and today the head of the royal fleet said the route had been checked just minutes before the royals went through there and that it was safe and clear. they also said that the royal police used restraint by not opening fire on the protesters. >> i guess it could have been worse. peter alexander in london. now to politics and more fallout over president obama's tax cut deal with republicans. house democrats say that will not take up the package unless changes are made. kelly o'donnell has details. >> reporter: there's actually some progress to tell you about this morning with a different group of democrats in the senate. they scheduled a vote for monday afternoon. expected to pass it and that will put more pressure on house democrats who are refusing to even call for a vote. >> and we will not bring it to the floor in its current form. plain and simple. >> reporter: house democrats are defiant. >> house democrats will not admit to hostage taking and we will not submit to this deal. >> reporter: a liberal rebellion against the white house. >> the republicans seem fairly lethal about this deal. >> reporter: the vice president's hard sell only stirred up emotions. so much that now even the president's friends say mr. obama should go to capitol hill himself because loyal supporters feel let down. >> at least he would have a chance to hear from the very people that have been carrying hiss water. he will also have an opportunity to thank the over 60 member who is supported his policies and lost their elections. >> reporter: because so many democrats lost, republicans have leverage to negotiate their own tax cut priorities. keeping rates the same for high earners and a lower rate on estate taxes paid on big inheritances. house democrats refused to vote on the compromise deal unless changes are made. >> what we said is that we are for tax cuts. we are for inheritance exceptions. we just got a different legal. >> reporter: but the white house says tinkering could torpedo the their. that's what people want right now, they want jobs, they want paychecks. >> but they also want unploemt benefits. >> they want paychecks more than they want unploemt benefits. >> better than a job, they want unploemt benefits. >> we want people to have jobs. it isn't just unemployment, it's also food stamps, it's also housing assistance, it's also all the other programs that go along with it. the best thing we can do is grow the economy and to do that, we need to keep rates lower now so we can hire more people. >> the president has basically lost a lot of support within his own party, but has he gained support among the democrats. >> there are tax increases in this and it spends a lot of money that's not paid for. so there's not yuan unanimous anymority. >> i'm a businesswoman, we have got to have tax tables, this is highly irresponsible. we have to get is work done so people have certainty. >> now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories, natalie morales at is the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. an end to the controversial don't ask don't tell policyh/óú not be in sight as legislaturors block. -- now with only days to go in the lame duck session, opponents of the ban are racing to get new legislation on the president's desk. there's an empty chair in oslo as the nobel prize winner -- ian williams joins us from beijing. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie, a crackdown on the award don't stop protests in beijing today. they knew the authorities would quickly crack down. but that didn't stop scores of ordinary people from across the country gathering to demand an end to human rights abuses. they knew that today the eyes of the world were on china. this is a protest that was brai bravely and kindly broken up here. even building a wall near the compound where the wife of the nobel winner is under house arrest. she is in jail for 11 years for subversion after calling for greater democracy in china. the authorities have angrily condemned the award as an obscenity calling the demonstrate fors anti- china clowns. >> ian williams in beijing for us this morning. two brothers were killed in an explosion at a small chemical plant in west virginia where they worked. the third fatal explosion at that plant in 15 years. a third employee was seriously injured in the incident. the controlled burn of a southern california home went off safely. the house held the nation's largest ever cache of weapons. no neighboring homes caught fire in the planned blaze. the resident of the home has been charged with bank robbery and possession of explosives. i want to head over to wall street to see what investors are watching. amanda drury is at the cnbc stock exchange this morning. >> china took action against inflation once again this morning which potentially reduces the demand for commodities. also lots of economic news coming out of the u.s. so we'll get a check on how our economy is doing, like consumer sentiment and we will be certainly watching what kind of changes might possibly be made to the deal that caused the obama cut with the republicans after the house democrats voted it down yesterday. lots of developments to keep our eye on, natalie, back over to you. >> we'll be watching you guys on cnbc. a very bundled up first family flipped the switch last night to light the national christmas tree across from the white house. the president carried out the 88-year-old tradition with a little bit of a modern touch. the blue spruce is adorned with energy efficient lights. looks very beautiful. it's 7:14 right now. let's go back to matt, meredith and al. >> where did they get that idea? >> i think maybe they stole it. let's see what's going on, getting me in trouble with the white house. thanks a lot. got a developing storm, it is going to be friday evening, pushing its way into the midwest. we have got blizzard watches for parts of iowa on into minnesota. winter storm watches and warnings as well. mild on the backside of this system. but look at this, we have got snow, we're talking anywhere from nine to 12 inches, some areas up to a foot and a half from rochester, minnesota to marquette, michigan. a big storm system to talk about along the eastern seaboard as well into the northeast. but for today, we have got wet weather on the pacific northwest. windy and snowy back through the plains, showers in the mid mississippi river valley. lots of sunshine, texas into the >> good morning. mostly cloudy. indications on the radar that might be a couple flurries on the eastern shore and also in western maryland. basically pretty quiet. we might see some flurries, a >> sunday lousy weather, so you know what you're going to be doing? i know what you're going to be doing, you're going to be in front of the tv set, watching sunday night, fool night in america. this is -- trying to pluck the eyes out of their opponents. oh, those eagles. mostly clear, cold, temperatures 41 to 45 degrees, on sunday night, football night in america. >> i hope they have the roof open at the stadium. the american army private who was the alleged source in the wikileaks case is now awaiting court-martial in what's described as a massive cust -- nbc's mike tiabbi explains. >> reporter: bradley manning was the undersized sax player in the band, the straight a student, and his lifelong friend jordan davis who says he often got under classmates words. now he's the alleged source in the middle of the wikileaks firestorm, an army intelligence officer entrusted with downloading and distributing classified documents made public by wikileaks. in h hometown of crescent, oklahoma some are already judging him, like former marine roger campbell. >> i think he should be executed for doing what he did? >> reporter: and if he did it, why? a former computer hacker says he had a -- i want people to see the truth, manning wrote about war strategy, air strikes that killed civilians in iraq and about all those cables in the state department database. it belongs in the public domain, he said repeatedly, he says i couldn't be a spy, spies don't post things for the world to see. >> he described himself at one point to be a hacktivist. >> reporter: he sometimes refused to say the pledge of allegiance at school. >> that was one of the things that was a little different about him. >> reporter: he talked about his parents divorce, about a boy who joined an army who would not allow him to serve as a gay man. i was the only one in town who was nonreligious, i am godless. >> if found guilty, he deserves all he gets. >> reporter: given the current charges he faces, that could be 52 years. for today, mike tiabbi, nbc news, crescent, oklahoma. 19 minutes after the hour, once again here's meredith. >> the connecticut man who lost hiss entire family in a brutal home invasion is speaking out about the vicious crime and his life since the tragedy. natalie has his emotional story. >> it is really hard to imagine what dr. william petit and his family went through on that night in 2007. but now dr. petit is speaking out about the heart taaches and how he's facing the future without the family he loves. >> it pretty much comes back every day. >> reporter: for the first time dr. william petit tells his heart breaking story to oprah winfrey, a heart breaking account of losing his two daughters and his wife. >> just intrusive thoughts, banging into your brain. every second, every minute. you know, replaying events over and over and over again in your mind. >> reporter: prosecutors say these two men steven hayes and joshua cokomisarjevsky broke in and terrorized his wife and two daughters upstairs before setting the house on fire. >> i went to sleep one night with a nice home and a loving family and basically awakened in an emergency room manaked on a gurney with no clothes, no family, no home. >> reporter: hayes was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. komisarjevsky goes on trial next year. he pleaded guilty on all charges. petit was asked if he could forgive the two men. >> i don't think you can forgive ultimate evil. you can forgive somebody who stole your car. you can forgive somebody who slapped you in the face. i think forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate. >> will you ever be able to feel happiness again? >> i'm not convinced. a lot of people tell me, yes, that will happen. >> reporter: no matter what the future brings, dr. william petit wants people to focus on the loves of his life. >> it was such a terrible, terrible thing and i wanted people to have positive memories and know who they were. >> reporter: dr. petit has set up a foundation in memory of his wife and two daughters. the petit family foundation has now raised $1.5 million in support of causes the petit women held close to their hearts. >> and you can learn more about the petit family foundation on our website. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. just ahead, the man behind groupons speaks out in a live interview. plus the man who survived this spectacular car crash oepes up for the first time after your local news. save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%! come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive combined. by a lot. 40 million drivers. more savings. and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. equals chili's $20 dinner for two. share an app like our texas cheese fries, then choose two entrees from 14 chili's favorites, like our new honey chipotle baby back ribs. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> warning. i am stan stovall. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> overall, not looking too bad. baltimore street downtown is still closed for the ongoing fire investigation. we also have report of a crash in that area. report of a disabled vehicle on the ramp from reisterstown road to the inner loop of the beltway. also crash at middle river, eastern boulevard and white marsh. 12 minutes on the outer loop west side. 95 sought to in the beltway 32, looking at 11 minutes as well. we'll give you a live look outside. it might be a little bit slow there. maybe a top of the bricks or two. fort mckendrick plaza, things of looking nice. >> good morning. we have had sent around the area. a couple of those clubs try to produce a flurry. out to the west, it might be a couple of snow flurries or a brief snow showers. there is a weather disturbance moving through the area. southerly winds are producing mild temperatures. five degrees warmer than yesterday morning. temperatures 22 degrees. humidity is up with little bit. high pressure is making the little weather disturbance passing through deflect mostly to the north of us. a bunch of clouds today. only a small chance, mostly north of us. temperatures a little milder. south, southeast winds at five to 10 mi. per our. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and 7:30 now on this friday morning, december 10, 2010. and these folks are getting an early start to their weekend spending the morning in rockefeller plaza. we're going to join them in just a little bit. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith viera alongside matt lauer. the young driver who survived this terrifying crash, doctors say it's a miracle he didn't die. and we're going to hear from him exclusively. andrew mason's website did not exist two years ago, now less than 22 months later, "forbes" magazine has called it the fastest grows company ever. and google reportedly tried to buy groupon for $40 million. which is is more dangerous to the gentle giant, cold weather, or human's touch. we begin with the facebook scam targeting sorority pledges. jeff rossen has been following the case. >> reporter: police say it was an online predator who was e-mailing sorority pledges, demanding nude photos, threatening violence and disclosing secrets. police were stumped until now. investigators say this is the man who did it. preying on sorority girls from his home computer. it all started with a facebook chat. >> the first conversation was about two hours long and very thorough and in department. >> about your life? >> they get you. >> reporter: ashley is a freshman at florida state university, she even got a chance to pledge a sorority. >> they basically said, tell me anything about you, what your personality is like, why you decided to join a sorority, how was your family life like? >> reporter: so you thought it was legitimate? >> they asked me what color underwear i was wearing and then they asked me to go even further and to put them in my mouth to show that i was below them. >> they wanted you to take a nude picture of yourself. >> yes, they did. >> reporter: you thought this was what you had to do to join the sorority? >> basically. they threatened me to use any secrets. >> reporter: police say it was all a scan, ashley was actually chatting with mitchell hill, a 26-year-old man hundreds of miles away now being charged with video voyeurism and extortion. >> the "today" show was instrumental in con joining the efforts of all the law enforcement agencies to -- >> reporter: hill targeted women at schools all over the southeast. smu, the yooefuniversity of flo the university of alabama and lshs su. >> i had word from the police that girl actually fully undressed themselves on skype which is is a video camera for this person. they lured them in to go to that extent. >> we are glad we were able to assist in getting a predator off the street and we do urge any other victim to please come forward so this young man can be brought to justice for every single crime he has committed. >> reporter: police recovered mitchell hill's computer. they actually found evidence connecting him to at least 11 victims. one thing they don't know right now, how he picked the women to target. how did he know they were sorority pledges for example. ashley is just relieved they have somebody in custody. >> jeff, thank you very much. let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> we're out here with our friends and you got a kind of a quiet wave. what's your name. >> emily. >> where are you from? >> connecticut. >> it never gets cold in connecticut. let's check your weather and see what's happening. these temperatures, boston--these are air temperatures. 22 in buffalo, caribou is at 4. and the afternoon is only going to get up to 16 there. albany 26, pittsburgh 36, we have got more cold air coming next week as you look at the rest of the country, you could see brutal temperatures up in the northern plains. 70s down through the gulf. and on into flori >> clouds today, maybe a flurry. the clouds may be a flurry, and warmer temperatures up here. >> and don't forget, you can check your weather any time of the day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. the survivor of a terrifying car slash in ohio is speaking out about the day he almost died. >> reporter: when you see this tape, it's amazing to believe that the driver survived and not only that, but just four months after the accident, he's able to sit down with us and talk about it. one look at this police dash cam video and it's impossible to understand how anyone survived. police say 19-year-old brennan eden was traveling at over 100 miles an hour, when he lost control, sped through the median, went airborne and smashed into a concrete bridge pillar. watch and you can actually see him bounce across the payment. >> i just remember driving regularly, the speed limit, just like anyone else. >> reporter: this is all that was left of brennan's 1980 firebird. the car literally in pieces. >> we have a vehicle that does this much damage, how another vehicle wasn't involved is amazing actually.brennan was ta to the hospital in an air ambulance. his mother, a trauma nurse was 40 miles away. >> i was wondering what i was going to see, how i was going to able to handle him in such critical condition. >> reporter: brennan was in intensive care for several weeks and underwent four surgeries before he learned to walk again. doctors say there's no medical logic to explain his survival, but the fact that he was thrown from the car may be one explanation. >> i don't remember any speeding, crashing, nothing. >> reporter: shortly before the accident, police approached brennan's car while it was parked in an empty lot. they discovered an empty can of alcohol and a small amount of marijuana. but there was no trace of alcohol in brennan's system after the crash. >> i was probably doing things i shouldn't be doing. probably looking back i wouldn't do them again though. >> reporter: brennan's driver's license has been suspended for two years for reckless driving, but he says he's willing to face the consequences because he's just thankful to be alive. meredith? >> he should be, john yang, thank you very much. what you should buy that impossible to shop for person on your holiday lift. . next up the founder of groupon, he rejected a $40 million bit for his company. rules and restrictions. oh, and limits. 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[ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. we're back at 7:41, what if someone offered you billions of dollars for your startup company, would you take it? the folks at groupon have reportedly accepted a $6 million offer. before i get to that, for the uninitiated, let's talk about groupon. basically you send out a deal every morning, it's a great deal on a product or service local to your customers. a certain number of people have to sign up for the deal, and if they do, they get the coupon. >> you should be our spokesperson. >> so the customer gets a good deal, the business that's providing the discount on a product or service gets exposed to a huge audience. what is your average subscriber like, who's your target audience. >> we're mostly people that live in cities, a little bit more female than male. people who are college edge indicate educated. >> 2/3 make between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. these are the customers everybody wants. >> yes, it's not the typical person you would associate with being a coupon clipper. this is more the type of people that everybody wants to get into their store. >> it's a simple formula and it has made you a juicy target for other companies wanting to get a piece of this or the whole pie. the reports of late on the business pages has been that google offed you $6 billion for this company and the same reporting says you turned it down. have you turned down a deal like that lately? >> unfortunately, matt, i can't speak to that. but we're excited to be -- to have a cool company that we're continuing to grow. >> can you at least confirm that you were in the -- i'm not looking for the specific number, will you confirm that you were in talks with google for such a deal? >> let me tell you a story to answer that question, matt. >> i have a feeling i'm not going to get an answer here. >> my middle name is divens. i was embarrassed at this middle name. and josh wilson made fun of me on the baseball field and i started crying and running after him and mrs. patterson ran after him. the next day on the school bus, someone said hey divens and i tried to squirt suntan lotion on those. >> you will stall any way you possibly can? >> some people say this business model is fantastic right now, but they worry, they have a major concern that's too easily copyable and that any other company can copy this and someone who wants to be aggressive and come in and undercut your fees can basically push you to the side, are you worried about that? >> in addition to being the fastest growing company ever, we have probably been the most copied company ever. there's over 500 groupon claims all over the country. the first groupon claim came out in the first 18 months. 99 of them are completely irrelevant. >> last week amazon made a significant investment in one of your competitors called living social. does that worry you that a company like amazon is pouring money into that company? >> we think as long as we build a product that our consumers really like to use and is useful for merchants and brings them new customers. >> this seems like a great niche right now, but will it feel that way when klaclaustrophobia sets. it goss on to say groupon will regret passing on google's billions then if it doesn't all right. without going into your middle name and the story of skiquirti again, how do you answer that. >> even with the copycat sites out there, we have backlogged for six months for people that want to be featured on groupon. so what we're doing is something that consumers and merchants seem to like. >> we are excited by people like you, you are the young guns, you are the pioneers in the digital world. what do you want to do with your clout, andrew? >> i want to see if i can get more buildings to have laser in their name. the word laser. i don't know. do i have clout. >> you do have clout whether you realize it or not, and you do realize it, you do have clout. i feel like clout is something that builds up on your teeth. i can't even take the question seriously. >> did i get one serious answer? i'm not sure. andr andrew mason, nice to have you here. swimming with florida's manatees, should it be allowed? [ male announcer ] it's here. the all-new chevy cruze. msn autos called it "the class of its class right now." but that's not the only story. it's got turn-by-turn navigation, onstar, an available six-speed automatic transmission, remote keyless entry, and 10 air bags. it's a big story for a compact car. the all-new chevrolet cruze. get used to more. very well-qualified lessees can get a low-mileage lease on a 2011 chevrolet cruze ls for around $159 a month. call for details. ♪ it comes along just once a year ♪ ♪ on winters wings, decembers rear, ahha humbug faces come and dear ♪ ♪ then appears at perfect christmas time. ♪ ♪ a tiny tree, christmas, tinsel, the lights ♪ ♪ the star that sings, top your tiny tree, yeah ♪ this week's cold weather in florida could be a death sentence for endangered manatees. but there's at least one place they can go for warmth. kerry sanders -- >> i'm at the national wildlife refuge here. it's a chilly 32 degrees, but down here in the water, it's a constant 72 degrees. that's because these are spring fed waters so. the manatees are sort of like tourists who flock to miami beach in the winter, they know where to stay warm. but at the same time, as you see the manatees swimming here, there's a little bit of a conflict in terms of, well, is it a good idea to have people up close to these manatees when it gets cold. so under new federal regulations, fish and wildlife if they need to can close this area off where i am right now to people swimming. but that means for tour operators, people who travel from around to the world, won't be able to swim with manatees. on a cold winter morning, crystal rivers steamy waters become a sanctuary, a warm bathtub for manatees, a distant relative to the elephant, these gentle giants quietly gather in large herds here. but sometimes even if they follow their instincts, it's not enough. so far this year, a record 659 manatees have died from hypothermia. >> for them being able to find refuge at the springs is a life or death situation for them. >> reporter: more than 100,000 tourists from around the world come here every year like the merck family from georgia. if they want to touch, pet and scratch these behemoth, long ago mistaken by sailors as mermaids. >> it's new, it's fun and it's kind of scary, but like you just want to keep touching them and keep going for them. >> reporter: environmentalists claim petting and rubbing the manatees especially when it's cold is a problem. tracey colton calls it harassment and believes when manatees try to escape the prodding, the only place to swim are dangerous colder waters. with the video camera, she spent five years documenting human manatee encounters. >> i really believe that the touching has to be banned all together. >> reporter: but now studies prove that people are chasing the manatees to their deaths. which is why florida state law outlaws harassment but petting is just fine. >> the manatee is going to approach and that's the law, let them come to you. >> captain diane who for decades have brought tourists to swim with the manatees, says the tragic deaths are from unusually cold weather. she fears government officials under pressure will expand an every expanding no swim zone. >> the whole town is primarily dependent on tourism. i love the manatees and i want them to be protected. i don't want them harmed in any way. >> reporter: and so now we're looking at a live picture of a manatee right here. it's a good bet that this area possibly will be closed as early as next week because the temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s. matt and meredith? >> whatever they can do to protect those beautiful, beautiful animals. still ahead, what to buy for the hard to buy person on your holiday list. >> after your local news. with the capital one venture card we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! 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[ female announcer ] bring your letter to santa into macy's and we'll donate to the make-a-wish® foundation. together, we'll collect a million reasons to believe. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> in downtown baltimore, the street is still closed between south street and gay street. that is because of the fire accident. earlier this week, and a fire investigation still on going there. in middle river, one to watch for at eastern boulevard and white marsh boulevard. another crashed at northern parkway and harford road. delays around the area is starting to form. harrisburg expressway, padonia to the beltway. 795, a bit of a slowdown. southbound owings mills boulevard to the beltway. j.f.x. slow approaching northern parkway. big delays here. you can see traffic is just crawling from liberty road. delay from 795 to edmondson, 18 minutes all the way down the west side on the outer loop. switching to the topside, looking a little better. you can have a top of the breaks from harford to providence. and from the inner loop from our cuts to j.f.x. >> we have some clouds this morning. there have been a few breaks. these are the sprinkle on but over radar. to the rest of us, there are some indications of flurries of snow showers. primarily west of frederick. cloudy that way as well. north of the maryland- pennsylvania line in york county, maybe a couple of flurries there. temperatures just up to 24 at b.w.i. marshall. a 30-38, a romantic pressure. not quite as cold. but around 40 for the hybrid may be -- a round 40 for the high. it may be a flurry. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information to back a we're back at 8:00 on a friday morning, it's the 10th day of december, 2010. you know what winter has really arrived in new york city. 34 degrees, i'm bundled up as are all these great people out on the plaza. just a reminder, only 13 days left to do your shopping. i know you were done in august. >> i got a couple more things to pick up. >> but you're 99% there? >> pretty much. >> how about you? >> i have purchased nothing. zero. >> i'm about 5% done. i haven't done much either. so we're going to get busy next week. >> also when you get invited to parties, do you understand the dress code? what does that mean, holiday casual? we're going to find out what those dress codes really mean, how you decipher them. >> that's holiday chic. >> and one icon goes to bat for another. we're going to show you why hugh hefner was the playboy man went to bat for the hollywood sign. >> okay, a lot to get to. let's go inside, ann's on assignment, natalie is at the news desk with all the headlines. british initials are questioning security procedures after prince charles and camilla's car was attacked and vandalized in london last night by students holding a massive protest against tuition hikes. the royals were unharmed. senate republicans thursday voted down a bill to track and treat sickness among ground zero workers. the $4.7 billion program would be too expensive and open to abuse. virginia tech could lose millions of dollars in federal aid after the -- notified the campus in a timely fashion as a shooting rampage unfolded there three years a lot. 30 people and the gunman were killed then. an advocacy group says the united states needs to focus more resources on women's health. dr. nancy snyderman has more. >> reporter: in a ten-year look at women's health in this country, the national women's law center reports that when it comes to meeting government goals to keep women healthy, the united states is failing. while no state is given an overall satisfactory grade, 37 states are found to be unsatisfactory, 12 considered out right failures, getting a grade of f. >> what the worst state did so wrong was not put into place policies that could actually help women get healthier. >> experts are concerned by the marked increase in the number of women who report binge drinking and fewer women are getting pap sme smears, the curervical test for cancer. for "today," dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. new figures released today show that the $700 billion bailout program known as t.a.r.p. earned a profit of $35 billion for taxpayers mostly from the government's ongoing sale of citigroup stock. . resourceful parisians went skiing there. that looks like a lot of fun. love to be there. it is now 8:04, you're up to date right now. let's get a check of the weather with al. "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america. >> and i don't think we have ever had this before in a sign. the only thing you love more than al is bacon. wow. who are you, lady gaga? we got these nice folks here, it's mattie's eighth birthday weekend. where are you guys from. >> north carolina. >> all right, let's see what's happening as far as your weather. pick city of the day, this happens to be panama city, florida, sunny and cool at news channel 7 and it's going to be a high of 60 degrees today. and we'll take a look at the weekend, sunshine here in the east, the rain over the mid-atlantic coast, some snow around the great lakes, rain down to the gulf coast, heavy rain in the pacific northwest. then sunday, sunday, sunday, arctic air comes into the plains, snow in the upper midwest into ohio and west virginia. ice changes over to rain in the northeast. rain along the coast, heavy rain in the pacific northwest, sunday is going to be a mess, get all your shopping done on saturday. midsection of the country looks pretty good. still awfully . >> temperatures running about 5 degrees warmer than yesterday. we did see flurries today. this could just a lot of clouds. >> and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, thank you. it's granny's birthday today. when we come back, some great items for the people on your list who are hard to buy for, right after these messages. tommy? - i helped dad pick it out. - it's beautiful. - behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america. there are millions of reasons to give one, but the message is always the same: keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in. - i love you. - i love you too. one made with only real cheese. a pizza my family will love. [ female announcer ] freschetta naturally rising crust pizza. no other pizza tastes like freschetta, because no other pizza is made like freschetta. "today's" holiday gift guide is brought to you by target. expect more. pay less. >> back at 8:10, this morning on "today's" holiday gift guide. ideas for those hard to buy for people on your list. >> we have gathered three experts to give suggestions to everyone from the health nut to the fashionista. >> the featureded director of travel magazine. let's start with a good piece of luggage. everybody loves that. >> the best way you're going to get through security lines is to carry on is this one, $89. but if you have someone in your family who likes to pack a little heavier and are not worried about those extra charges which can be above 50 pounds. it goes red if you're over 50 pounds. so it has a built on scale. >> so you don't have to put it on the scale in your bathroom. this says al roker, he loves his ipad. he travels all the time won't leave home without it. >> we have an ipad case. this really cool company is doing these ecoflip slips for your i pad. >> a jigsaw puzzle, i don't quite get this. >> you give them an address and they will make it into a map. search you went on a great honeymoon and you went to commemorate that or if you want to surprise someone with a trip and you want to have them figure it out, you can do it. >> if you want to splurge, a camera is always a great gift. >> is has a usb port built in, it's a flip camera. people love to shoot their memories and send them to every member of the family. but now they're personalizable. >> coming up, if you're stopped going through security at the airport, you've got to take your shoes off at the airport. matt hates that. >> they come in small sizes, these are $50 and they will keep you warm at 30,000 feet as well. >> that's great. and very quickly, finally, clothing when you get there. >> three islands has these great tunics for $55 so you don't have to break the bank just because you're splurging on a trip. what do you get for the stylist one on your list? "today's" style editor bobby thomas. nice to see you. from grandmothers to granddaughters, sweaters are a great gift and you've got an interesting one here. >> i really love this two for one sweater that comes with a neck piece. and it's detachable. and what's great is it's -- >> two sweaters for the price of one. sparkles are very big this year, why is that. >> sequins and vera line you can find all that for less. that societote is really afford >> i find accessories hard to buy for other people, it's so personal. >> think about making it a statement piece. this is such a great collection, because they're fun, affordable. >> what kind of prices are we talking about? >> about $50 for a big ring like this. which is really great. >> what about the necklace? >> the necklace is about $90. >> i mentioned that accessories can be personal, but when you start to get into beauty products, again, this is not something i deal with. do women buy beauty products for other women? >> they do. you can give a big name at an affordable price and they always make great limited edition special things. this opens up and there's makeup and a mirror inside. what's great is that the makeup can be removed and you can use the case for something else. and the same with this dress set from channel. it's not something you splurge on yourself, but great for something else. >> and always great ideas. bobby thomas, thank you very much. we're going to find out what to buy the hard to shop for health nut on your list right after this. ♪ tie it all up in a big shiny bow. i'm a "home for the holiday" superhero ♪ ♪ mrs. claus ain't got nothin' on me. i'm dancin' circles ♪ ♪ around the christmas tree. "today" at the rink is brought to you by smucker's. >> and time to wrap up today's holiday gift guide with gifts for the hard to shop for. this lifestyle expert has some suggestions. this looks kind of interesting. >> you're a bit of a fitness fanatic, you just won the marathon. >> if nobody else was running, i won the marathon. >> you can put your cell phone in there and your keys and go for a run. >> what's this? i love this. >> this is called road idea. 40,000 of us end up getting hurt and taken to the hospital without any identification with us. and this is a great gift, from's opti there's options to put it on your shoe. this is a huge trend, they're finding that it's better for your feet if you separate your toes. these are called toe stocks, they're for the yoga enthusiasts, you put them on and go do your yoga. >> these five finger gloves are good for running. >> these are a great gift item. >> you want to make sure someone gets a healthy snack. >> this is the fruit of the month including. you can buy three months, six months. >> this is unbelievable, this is from smart box. you basically -- there's different price points, $69.99 to $299 and basically this is a box. this is for someone who has everything, you can buy different -- all they do is show up at the place, that's it. >> and a fitness video game. >> this is fallen. the lovely fallen who's demonstrating the smart cycle. they're work out but they're also learning their a-b-cs and how to count. how to decipher those holiday dress codes. right after these messages. ♪ every little step, brings me closer to the gift. can't be late. ♪ ♪ip it open in a second and 's time to play. ♪ ♪ i was up all night in anticipation feeling electric jewels of jubilation. ♪ ♪ yule tide carols from the local congregation. ♪ ♪ make it tough to hold my patience in check. ♪ ♪ is it time yet, is it time, i can't wait. ♪ ♪ is it time yet, is it time, i can't wait. ♪ how's it going in there, hon? um, almost ready. [ car alarm blaring ] [ blaring echoes, fades ] oh! [ male announcer ] relax. pam helps you pull it off. [ male announcer ] relax. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. [ laughter ] ♪ [ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you, boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas. back at 8:20, this morning on "today's" style, decoding dress code. have you ever been to an event and the attire is listed as holiday casual. stacy, good morning. i get these invitations sometimes and i never can understand what the codes mean. >> doesn't that make you angry at the host? very abstract. >> it's very abstract. what are some of the most common mistakes that people make when they're dressing for a hole did party. >> they dress in a literal interpretation of the holidays with the christmas sweater and santa and the elves and more reindeer. little bit hokey and it's a little bit of a caricature and it's an investment in terms of your ability to wear the pieces throughout the year. when you go to holiday parties, you want to wear things that you can wear to holidays any time. and to interpret the invitations you really need to understand them a little bit. we have categories. >> let's interpret this dress code. they say dress your best, for an office party. >> you're going to an office. one of the things i feel strongly about is that usually an office party means you're going straight from the office. this is what i call the add and switch. all you need to do is bring a tote bag, put in a different shoe and add a great sequinned -- you can wear this throughout the year. the big mistake people make in the office is that throughout this party, you are still at work. you can't show too much skin, you can't be inappropriate. be more conservative. and with a monochromatic palate, add some shine and maybe some color in your shoe. just add a little plush in your coat that you can take with you to the party. >> the next confusing dress code, creative black tie. so we know it is formal. that's about all we know. what's the creative part? >> here we have done something creative. this is alicia. what we have done here is a cot don jersey. and believe it or not, it's full length. you can do full length or to the fl knee. but what i love about this is it creates this beautiful formal silhouette in a very comfortable fabric. what really make this is formal is the jewelry. the idea of using these bolder matt bronze pieces, matt bronze is really big this season. you can still be comfortable and with the new shoe with super great high heels you've really got a formal look. >> thank you alicia and for festive attire, maybe you're being invited to a casual holiday party. >> i would say start with denim. jeans with high heels immediately is great, but color and patterns is a great way to defi define festive. that does not mean red and green together. bold colors, make sure you wear something you love. nine times out of ten you will get to the party and it will be hot. add a jacket in a bold color. does not have to be red and green, it has to be complementary on your skin tone. if red and green look great on you, that's great, but don't do them together. >> buy pieces that you're going to wear at other times of the year. otherwise it's like a halloween costume, it's a great investment. this vest that alicia's wearing is $49. you can wear it during the holidays not just for black ties but for other occasions. >> think beyond the holidays. >> as always, you want to get bang for your buck, even for the holidays. >> i'm on morning television, i think i better keep it tweed. >> i'll keep that in mind at my next party. easy to make minty holiday treats after your local news and weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> we have a bad situation on the inner loop of the beltway approaching reisterstown road. it it looks like accident might have cleared and the cast -- cleared in the past couple of seconds. we're still seeing some delays. 36 miles per hour on in the loop and northwest corner. baltimore street remains closed between south and gay street. anne arundel county, the entire way, a crash to watch for there. -- lawrence highway, a crash to watch for there. 705 southbound is slow from owings mills boulevard to the beltway. you are going to see some slow traffic southbound approaching northern parkway. we will give you a live look outside the left side of the beltway. i'd see a topic from 795. -- top of the bricks from 795. leave a little extra time. topside is looking okay. john, over to you. >> breaks in the clouds here and there. trying to produce a couple of flurries. but now that pennsylvania -- up north in pennsylvania, and it is out between hagerstown, the mud between snow showers of the disturbance moves through. 24 is the reading at the airport. the humidity is up. the wins at the moment are calm. temperatures around 40 for the high. mostly cloudy skies. >> thank you for joining us. we. 8: 30,on this friday morning, the 10th of december, 2010. big holiday crowd on rockefeller plaza. right now many are donate fog the toy drive. and ira smith is collecting toys. we're going to talk with him in just a minute. >> if you're thinking about giving, take a moment to brag. >> a little bragging. the "today" show charitable foundation has just received a 2010 foundation fill lant by award. we're happy to help them and we're also hum nbled by the awa. meanwhile just ahead, "today's" amy robach lands and takes off on the newest aircraft carrier in the u.s. navy fleet. she's going to share that incredible experience. >> i like the look of a window. >> you know what, take the clock down 30,000, 40,000 feet and it's still great for your skin. >> look at her, she's going to fly out. they might have forgotten that. >> anyway, a treatment of a different sort. a delicious pepperment flavored dessert with the help of sara lee. >> all right and now we're also going to have a beautiful live performance from olympicic gold medalist sarah hughes. but first, let's say hello to matt. hi, guys. >> danny o'donahue, mark sheehan and glen powers. your first album was so well received. does that make you feel better about the second one? >> it makes me a little bit nervous. >> why? >> you just worry that you got so much attention on the first album, that you hope you did a good job. >> when you guys sit down and listen to this new record, how do you think it compares to the sound? >> we're so proud of the work that we have zone. that's all we can do. . >> you have been compared so much to u-2. was that why you had -- >> she's an incredibly talented actress. she's going to be in a film with sean penn. she's on her way, and we're on our way with the band also. so we thought it would be a good thing to combine all the talent. >> in our book, you're there. >> you're finally getting a break this year. what are you going to do? >> we have three weeks off, it's only two weeks now, but we're going to go home and chill out and see family and friends and just put our feet up. >> but you're coming back next month? you're going to be live on the plaza. >> you got it. >> and st. patrick's day, you got to come out. >> congratulations. >> he's responsible for the weather, by the way. go ahead, al. >> clouds today, maybe a flurry. the clouds may be a flurry, and warmer temperatures up here. >> and don't forget, you can check the weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. navyal aviation was born in 1910. 100 years later, "today" national correspondent amy robach flew on the uss "george h.w. bush." >> it was a really cool experience. the bush leaves norfolk, virginia for its first combat deployment next spring. the crew just spent several weeks on maneuvers out on the atlantic ocean to fine-tune those operations. i got a taste of what these brave men and women do day and night to prepare for combat. it's one of the most amazing sights to witness. a navy fighter attack jet landing and then catapulting off the four-acre flight deck of an aircraft carrier. but watching it and actually experiencing it are two different things. it may be just another day at the office for these navel pilots. >> information on the flight suit. >> reporter: but for a civilian like me, just to ride in the back seat required an intense day of preflight training. and we' after several classroom hours learning about potential loss of consciousness, extreme ear and sinus pain, vomiting and blacking out, i was fitted with helmet and mask and put to the test in the altitude chamber. i'm ready to go. but i wasn't exactly ready for the water. drought proofing is a must before a carrier landing and i was petrified. >> that was not easy. >> reporter: but it was all worth it the next morning, i suited up and met pilot perry solomon. call sign, whisper. as we walked out to the flight line, perry eased my fears with his confidence. >> it's a rush every time. >> reporter: after one last brief -- >> our mission today is a trap cat trap. >> reporter: it was time to strap in and go. we lifted off from our land base at oceaniana navel air station and headed out to sea with a little extra boost. >> all right, amy, we're going to light the after burners. that was 7.1. >> reporter: this has been an incredible experience. i am in an sa-18s superhornet and we just did 750 miles an hour ground speed and we are on our way to the uss "george h.w. bush" aircraft carrier what. a ride. >> here we are. >> reporter: you don't see that every day. maybe you do. >> i do, yeah. >> reporter: it's a beautiful day as we approach the aircraft carrier. >> look at that thing. how awesome is that? >> reporter: that is awesome. as we make our final approach, whisper tells me to expect a controlled car crash. >> 15 seconds. >> reporter: okay. and that's exactly what it feels like as we go from 115 miles an hour to zero in two seconds. an amazing landing with a perfectly calm, cool pilot. but the fun wasn't over yet. the most exciting part was the catapult off the carrier from zero back to 180. in three seconds. landing on the "bush" a second time, you quickly realize why it takes 5,500 young men and women working together in a tight ly choreographed mission. >> you saw them up on the flight deck, not an easy job, a lot of responsibility, dangerous. >> reporter: admiral nora tyson is the first female to command a flagship. the average age of the crew is under 20. >> it takes every single person doing their job for all the pieces to come together to be able to accomplish what we're doing right now. >> these guys are the professionals with all the pride and they can trust them 100%. >> this was an awe inspiring experience, i had a few panic attacks, some tears. i think i called every member of my family to talk me off the ledge. but i have a newfound respect for the men and women every day who do their jobs and help us sleep safely every night. >> that catapult is -- >> you've done it. it's like you're on a rocket ship to the moon. >> and as you were describing a second ago, it wasamazing, you get off the edge of that deck, it feels like you're floating. it's just like nothing else you have ever experienced. >> you catch the third line. >> the third line. >> i'm nauseous, though. imagine if i was in a convertible. >> if you look at that tape, i rest my case. up next is holiday desserts. but first this is "today" on nbc. the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents. experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. vrmgs. we're back now at 8:45. candy canes are everywhere during the holidays, why not put them to use for a creative, festive dessert. sandra lee christmas and her latest cookbook is called home made. it's gate to have u you here. peppermint screams holidays. do you do a lot of cooking over the holidays? >> entertaining? >> not so much this year, we have a big new year's coming up, but usually, yes. >> what are you starting with? >> i like to do something whether i'm entertaining or for the kids at home which is kind of a fantasy dessert. so what we have is our peppermint bonbon pop. in this bag is going to be a bag of light chocolate chips. a third of a cup of butter, a quarter of a cup of heavy whipping cream. don't whip it, just put it in there. melt the chocolate chips. >> get some paddles ready. clear! >> it's candy, it's christmas. melt them on low for about five minutes, low heat, a nice, soft, slow melt. >> that's the consistency you're looking for? >> it's very shiny, now is the fun part. you are going to put in a cup of powdered sugar. >> all of it at once? >> all of it at once. and with that whisk, you are going to go to town. one teaspoon of peppermint extract. >> so you don't want to overpower with the peppermint taste, you just want a hint of peppermint. let's say i did that already and it ended up looking like this. you want to put your chips in? >> peppermint chips. >> this becomes kind of like mud here. >> it's a candy. it's a candy pop. this once you're done, you put it in a bowl in the fridge for two hours. you're going to roll them your hands. and then you're going to set those aside. in your oven goes helper mint. >> i had no idea those things would melt like this. >> three minutes that's all. all you do is put this on your plate. now we' >> now we're going to make a pepper mint pie. you're going to have the cheese flavor, everything in this. >> i've got two different kinds of pudding, you make it the regular way, i've got white chocolate pudding and the cheese cake putting, the flavor. >> you can buy a crust? >> you can buy a crust, but if you want to make it the money saving meals way, because i have two shows on the network, it's just some gram crackers, sugar and melted buer. pack down your sides. now you're going to put in layers of white chocolate pudding, the topping, another teaspoon of your extract goes in there. >> just two layers? >> two layers, one on top of another, that's what you have here. put that together. >> you have to chill that first? >> you want to chill it after you put that in. >> okay. >> go ahead and place that on here. you want to grab the peppermint because that's going to be our topper. and then just have a good time creating billows. >> you actually want to make it look kind of exotic, correct. >> kind of festive and fun. >> you do stuff like this all the time? do i sprinkle these on, is that it? >> you just made pies. >> fantastic. >> one more. >> all right. well, actually two more. i have a punch here and this is my christmas white cake. but instead of water, just use eggnog. it pumps up the flavor. >> up next, a special performance on the rink from 2000 gold medalist sarah hughes. "today" at the rink is brought to you by smucker's. >> "today" at the rink, the woman behind one of the biggest upsets in olympic skating history. sarah hughes was just 16 years old in 2002 when she pulled off the near flawless long program to win gold in new york city. eight years later she's dazzling us on the ice. and inducted into the figure skating hall of fame, congratulations on that. while you were skating you were studying at yale university. >> when i was inducted into the hall of fame, i was around all the people that i had looked up to and skated with and competed with and had so many good times and i was watching the skating and i said you know, i miss it a lot, i want to start practicing again and going to the rink and here i am. >> and christmas you're going to be on a show on nbc called "the salute to the world of skating." you're going to have to stop after this. you get in the skating position, and sarah is going to be skating to grown up christmas list by barbra streisand. ♪ do you remember me ♪ i sat upon your knee ♪ i wrote to you with childhood fantasies ♪ ♪ well i'm all grown up now ♪ can you still help somehow ♪ not for myself ♪ but for a world in need ♪ time would heal all hearts ♪ every man would have a friend ♪ ♪ that right would always win ♪ and love would never end ♪ this is my grown up christmas list ♪ ♪ what's this illusion called ♪ ♪ love would never end ♪ this is my grown up christmas list ♪ ♪ this is my only christmas wish ♪ ♪ this is my grownup christmas wish ♪ ♪ >> sarah hughes, thank you so much. still ahead, the right >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. new details are emerging about the suspect plotting to bomb their recruiting center in catonsville. antonio martinez was arrested wednesday in an fbi undercover sting operation. documents show that he has a criminal history that dates back to when he was a minor. he was charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. if convicted, he could fac >> now let's look at the forecast with john collins. >> radar has been showing a little weather disturbance trying to move in. a few ferries have been evident. most of this will be afflicted with the bus. temperatures this morning started out five degrees warmer than the past few mornings. a little warmer during the day today. temperatures on the upper 30s to around 40. we will see a few sunbreaks today. 37 deported to the high. maybe a flurry or two in the south, southeast winds. >> we will