and how did he survive this? the man who lived through this spectacular car crash opens up 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 handling of the protests that prince charles and camila were swept up in last night. >> the royal couple was on their way to theater when their limo was surrounded by an angry mob. you can see the stunned look on their faces. people were even chanting "off with their heads." the mob was protesting a controversial tuition fee hike. we're going to get the latest in a live report from london straight ahead. new details in an online scam that we told you about last week. 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. let's begin on this friday morning with the attack on prince charles and camilla's limo. peter alexander is in london winter park the latest. peter, good morning. >> 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 trefalgar square. 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 demonstrators pounded their limo with fists and paint. even shouting "off with their heads." chaos captured on cell phone video, the stunned charles and his wife camila 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 visibly 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 while the government voted to nearly triple tuition in a country where college had long been free. part of sweeps and drastic budget cuts. the mayhem spread to one of london's most popular tourist areas packed with pre christmas shoppers. at least a dozen officers were hurt as well as students, with more than 40 arrests. these days much of europe shares britain's pain, with more protests expected. >> first i have some sympathy. by attacking the royals it turns 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 police 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. thank you very much. 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. nbc capitol hill kres sp correspondent 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. >> our caucus will not submit to hostage taking and we will not submit to this deal. >> reporter: a liberal rebellion against the white house over the tax cut compromise. >> 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 members who 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've just got a different level. >> reporter: but the white house says tinkering could torpedo the deal. >> if everybody took out what they didn't like, we would have nothing. >> reporter: the president said jobs will be lost and middle class families will pay higher taxes if the compromise fails. insisting on national public radio this morning it will pass. >> here's what i'm confident about is that nobody, democrat or republican, wants to see people's paychecks smaller on january 1st because congress didn't act. >> reporter: and the white house says it has not completely opposed to trying to improve the deal, but they just don't see that happening and today the president can talk this over, maybe even commiserate when former president bill clinton meets with him in the oval office this afternoon. but it's a meeting that's been scheduled for a while. minnesota republican congresswoman michele bachmann is with us this morning. good morning. the clock is ticking on this lame duck congress, you have one more week an then you adjourn for good. house democrats say they're not going to accept this package, they say they will extend tax cuts but not at this level. is there any wiggle room here? >> maybe that's what we should do. maybe we should make it very simple at this point and just extend the current tax rates as they are and let that be it and not deal with anything else. we may need to keep it simple. >> they're saying no to that, they don't want to extent the tax cuts, they put a level on them. >> that's the problem right now, that's the issue, will taxes go up massively on january 1 or will they stay where they are? for those of us coming from a conservative perspective, we don't want to see anyone's taxes go up and the compromise that was forged wasn't rich enough for speaker pelosi and they want the taxes up even higher and that's where the line of demarcation is. >> let me ask you about fiscal responsibility, if you extend these tax cuts, we're going to add $500 billion to the deficit. how do you justify that? you said you opposed extending unemployment benefits. because that's going to add $55 billion, but that's a lot less. >> remember it all begins with spending and there's been dramatic overspending that has gone on. and so we have had over $1.4 trillion in overspending in '09, $1.3 trillion in overspending this year. >> how do you justify adding that much more money to the deficit? >> remember that money -- when people are allowed to keep their own money, that's considered a deficit. i don't agree with that definition. when people keep their own money, that's considered a deficit to government. but it's not a deficit to your pocket or mine, so i think it's important that people can keep their money. >> let me ask you about people watching the interview and they're frustrated -- >> i don't blame them. >> they feel that republicans are all for the tax cuts, even for multi millionaires but opposed to extending the unemployment benefits to people who are hurting the most. >> we're talking about a chart layer in wisconsin who employs his brother-in-law and son and have $250,000 in gross sales. that's what we're talking about. >> you're talking about that and also people who are living large. >> we're talking about everyone. remember, those people who are the job providers, those are the people that won't be able to provide more jobs. that's what people want right now. they want jobs and they want paychecks. >> they also want their unemployment ben facilities and you're opposed to that. >> they want paychecks more than unemployment benefits. >> if they don't have a job, they want unemployment benefits. >> that's right. that's what we want. we want people to have jobs. right now it's historic. people have unemployment benefits for two years. it isn't just unemployment, it's also food stamps and housing assistance and all the other program that is go along with it. so the best thing we can do is grow the economy, and to do that we have to keep rates low enough so employers can hire more people. >> let me ask you before i go, the president has basically lost a lot of support within his own party, but has he gained some traction among republicans by taking the position he's taken? >> some. but there are a lot of problems republicans have with this bill because there are tax increases in this and it spends a lot of money. there's not unanimity on the republican side either. the clock is ticking like you opened the interview with. we're getting very close. i'm a business owner, we have to have tax tables. this is highly irresponsible. we have to get is work done so people have certainty. >> representative bachmann, thanks for joining us. >> 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 policy may no longer be in sight as senate republicans have blocked legislation that would have allowed gays to serve openly in the military. now with only days to go in the lame duck session, as you heard, opponents of the ban are racing the get new legislation on the president's desk. there's an empty chair in oslo at the nobel awards ceremony to honor peace prize lar yet. 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 complaineded of forced evictions and official brutality. they knew that today the eyes of the world were on china. this is a protest that was the here. the authorities have tried to restrict outside information about the nobel peace prize, blacking out international broadcasts. and blocking websites. even building a wall near the compound of where the wife of the winner is under house arrest. dozens of supporters have been prevented from leaving the country to attend the oslo ceremony. the authorities have angrily condemned the award as an obscenity, calling the nobel jury anti-china clowns. a tirade that may have put a for a sharper spotlight on beijing's human rights record, natalie? >> ian williams for us in beijing this morning. thank you, ian. 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, officials say. the house held the nation's largest ever cache of homemade weapons that were discovered when a local gardener stepped on an explosive device in the backyard. no neighboring homes caught fire in the planned blaze. the resident of the home has been charged with bank robbery and possession of explosives. now i want to head over to wall street to see what investors are watching. cnbc's amanda drury is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. amanda, good morning. >> good morning, natalie. lots of news from china today, isn't there? china took action against its inflation once again this morning, which potentially reduces demand for commodities. do watch for some reaction in the commodity pitch there. also, lots of economic news coming out of the u.s. so we'll get a pulse check on how our economy is doing, like consumer sentiment. and of course, we will be certainly watching what kind of changes might possibly be made to the deal that, of course, 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. amanda drury, thanks so much. a very bun 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 colorado blue spruce as you see 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. that snow will be pushing through sunday morning. 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 southwest. with cooler than usual temperatures. that's what's going on one more day before the storm heads to the north much going to warm up for the weekend. if you are fog free, expect 60s. cool by the trivalley it is. sunday night, football night in america. this is a good one. the eagles will fly into dallas cowboys stadium trying to pluck the eyes out of their opponent. the eagles cleaning their claws. temperatures 45 '41 to 45 degrees on sunday night "football night in america." >> i hope they have the roof open at the stadium. >> because the birds will get hurt. the american army private who was the alleged source in the wikileaks case is now awaiting court-martial in what's described as a maximum custody wing. some people are already judging him. nbc's mike taibbi 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. >> he made feel people people feel a little stupid because he always used big words. >> now he's an 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 his 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? "wired" magazine published -- 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. which is basically a hacker who acts out of activist concerns. >> reporter: but in crescent, some remember that he sometimes refused to say the pledge of allegiance in school. >> that was one of the things that was a little different about him. >> reporter: they talk about his troubled home life, parents divorce, about a boy who joined an army who would not allow him to serve openly as a gay man. would later write, 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 his 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 heartaches 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 heartbreaking story to oprah winfrey, a heart breaking account of losing his two daughters and his wife. >> walked around in a daze, 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 komisarjevsky broke in as the family slept, beating dr. petitte and tieing him to a pole in the basement 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 naked 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 not guilty to all the 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. lightning fast. lightning strong. verizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. just ahead, the man behind groupons speaks out in a live interview. plus the man who 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. >> per good morning. 7:26. a new accident in the caldecott. >> as you