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.