Transcripts For WBAL Today 20091231 : vimarsana.com

good morning. deadly attack. eight americans, including cia agents, killed in a suicide bombing at a u.s.-run military base in afghanistan, and this morning the taliban said it is responsible. hospitalized. conservative powerhouse rush limbaugh rushed to the hospital with serious chest pains during his hawaii golf vacation. we re live with the latest on his condition. and 2010, here we come. the new year arrived overnight to some parts of the world, and here at home, millions of americans are gearing up to join the celebration. we ll kick off your new year s eve countdown, today, thursday, december 31st, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to today on this busy thursday morning, the last day of 2009. i m lester holt. and i m erin burnett. matt and meredith both have the morning off. lucky for them. they re getting ready for a big night, maybe even in times square? big night, late night. when you do this shift, probably staying up past 8:30 is considered a late night. exactly. let me run something past you, as we look at the preps in times square. i said 2010 a moment ago. are we past the point do we have to call it two thousand ten or 2010? i think there was a rule i broke it because i just said 2010. there you go. we ll tell you about the preparations under way blocks from here in a moment. but we begin with the taliban claiming responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at a u.s.-run military base in afghanistan. nbc s jim maceda is in kabul with the latest. jim, good morning. reporter: good morning, lester. well, the cia itself has yet to make any public comment about the attack, but a number of u.s. and nato sources are saying that the eight americans killed were indeed cia employees, either staff or contracted out. it s not uncommon to find cia agents or analysts or security details, for that matter, based in those small military outposts along afghanistan s border with pakistan. they also run the predator drone air attacks on al qaeda and taliban militants inside the nearby tribal areas. now, the loss is enormous, lester, first for the cia. the single biggest loss of life since the u.s. embassy bombing back in 1983 in beirut, and it s a blow to u.s. counterterrorism efforts along that pakistan/afghanistan border, as well, especially those safe havens that are in there. the taliban has claimed responsibility, as you say, for the attack, which also wounded six other americans and killed an afghan civilian. now, according to the taliban, the suicide bomber was a uniformed afghan soldier working for them, the taliban, and it raises all kinds of troubling questions about how that soldier breached a usually highly guarded gate and whether there was a letdown or complacency on the part of the americans at this time of year. there s an investigation under way, lester, and we hope to get more answers soon. back to you. jim maceda, thank you for that update. it is now 7:03. here s erin. thanks so much, lester. friends of rush limbaugh are said to be concerned but optimistic after the conservative powerhouse was rushed to a honolulu hospital last night with serious chest pains. nbc s chuck todd is outside the queens medical center in hawaii with the latest. good morning, chuck. reporter: good morning, erin. well, we don t know a lot about his condition, but what we do know appears to be good news. he has a statement on his website saying he is resting comfortably. we should be getting more updates on his website. they are promising more updates on his radio show today. he was admitted with chest pains, nothing else beyond that do we know, but it s always that first couple of hours when somebody s admitted to the hospital where you don t have a lot of information, where you re usually the most concerned. the fact that we re at least six, seven, eight hours removed from when he was admitted is pretty optimistic news. and so, chuck, when do you expect to hear, perhaps, a little bit more? i know there have obviously been a lot of secrets in terms of when he left the hotel, as just an example. reporter: right. look, i mean, he s obviously trying to stay private. a lot of us didn t even know he was on the island, sharing the island this weekend with president obama. but you know, again, we do expect to hear something more. he is promising some updates on his radio show. he s not doing his radio show this week. he s had a number of guest hosts, but as you know, erin, look, he s had a few bouts with health in the past and gotten through them, whether it was the hearing problem that he s overcome, his own prescription drug addiction. and frankly, he s fought weight. years ago he had hired a chef and talked about how eating properly was one way he could lose weight, but like a lot of people who battle weight problems, he s gone up and down over the years, erin. chuck todd, we appreciate it. it s 7:05 and once again, here s lester. erin, thanks. new fallout over the handling of the attempted christmas day bombing on a flight headed to detroit. a number of pilots who were also in the air at the time are now expressing anger that they weren t immediately notified of the incident. nbc s justice correspondent pete williams has the latest for us. pete, good morning. reporter: good morning to you, lester. two reports on the attempted bombing are due today, both ordered by president obama. one will look at intelligence gathered over the past several months. the other examines airplane security, including the immediate response. just before walking off the plane after last week s harrowing moments in the air, a detroit man snapped this picture of the spot where investigators say umar abdulmutallab tried to set off explosives. now pilots for american airlines say the federal government should have notified all u.s. flights still in the air when the bombing attempt was discovered. instead, only flights then on the way from europe were told, about 130 in all. the transportation security administration called it a strategic, risk-based decision, based on available intelligence. the bombing attempt has brought new calls for more full-body scanners at airports. able to see what s hidden under a passenger s clothes. michael chertoff, the former homeland security secretary, says his push to get more of them deployed was resisted by privacy rights groups and congress. obviously, we don t have a technological solution for everything, but there are many things we do have a technological solution for if we are willing to use the technology. reporter: u.s. investigators say it s now clear that abdulmutallab got help from al qaeda operatives in yemen. some of the leaders of the terror group there were once held by the u.s. at guantanamo bay but then released. a republican senator says that practice should stop. why would we keep making the mistake of sending these people back out who can organize and send out suicide bombers from safe havens in yemen or elsewhere? it just makes no sense. reporter: president obama says the u.s. intelligence system failed to spot warning signs about abdulmutallab. and u.s. officials are investigating a claim by police in somalia that a man tried to board a plane in mogadishu last month carrying explosives, similar, they say, to what umar abdulmutallab is accused of smuggling onto his flight, but african officials say the somali man had different chemicals, including ammonium nitrate fertilizer in his carry-on bags, not hidden on his body. the fbi crime lab is still working to analyze all the chemicals that abdulmutallab was accused of smuggling onto the plane but has yet to conclude how it would have functioned or even if it would have worked. erin? thanks so much, pete williams. well, allen was one row in front of abdulmutallab and may have been the first to realize the magnitude of what was happening. he s here with us exclusively this morning. glad to have you with us. glad you re safe. and what exactly happened? you heard a noise and then what did you do? after i heard the explosion, i was the first one to stand up and to react, and we all looked toward the left side where the man was sitting, and a minute after we started sitting down, thinking it was just a noise and it went away, and just as i was getting ready to sit down, i saw the smoke coming out of his body, and and you were the first to stand up and yell fire! yes, i was the first one to report the fire and the passenger then started jumping over and within a minute or so, we saw a big flame coming up higher than his face. and you went in, i know, and tried to use bottled water at that point to try to extinguish the flames. we passed on bottled water and the blanket i had on. so the passengers were trying to put the fire out as we were waiting on the fire attendant to bring the fire extinguishers back to the scene. and that means you very close to the man. so, did he react as he was being severely burned? did he say anything? no, unfortunately, he did not say any words, he did not yell, he did not scream or anything at all. the whole process i did not hear his voice. you didn t hear his voice and his eyes, he didn t look terrified or anything? no. i would say either using drugs or a very good professional. so, when you got off the plane, you were coming home we should give people your background. you were born in congo, american citizen yes. coming home to visit your wife and family. one of your daughters is old enough to understand what actually happened. what did you tell her? she s 7 years old, and before i got on, she had seen in the news that it was a plane that had a problem, and when i got on, then she found out that i was on the plane and from there she had been watching the news and asking me, looking in the newspaper, asking me if it was the bad guy that tried to get me, so what can she do to him. so, what about what you re going to do. are you going to go back where you were consulting in africa to finish your project? are you going to fly again? are you nervous? i will fly again, of course. there s nothing i can do for what i do, i have to fly, so. so, let me ask you a frank question. i was in nigeria this week and a lot of nigerians were angry they could be stigmatized or people would say you re black or from nigeria, so there will be racial profiling getting on a plane. how do you feel about that? i hope it doesn t get to that point because nigeria s a big country, over 150 million, and it s a little part of the population that takes part in that. so, hopefully, they will not be stereotyped by that whole and you don t think because someone looks arab or looks black now that they re going to get special screening? i hope they don t, but would they have done that to everybody on the plane, we would not have this catastrophe. would it have made you mad, though, if they had done it to everyone on the plane and you were one of them? actually, i did get extra screening when i was in amsterdam. i had been questioned for a while really? about my i.d. and the reason of my changing of planes. so, i wouldn t have minded that because i know it s for my own safety. right. even though sometimes we don t like to stay in the lines waiting, but from now on, i think it is something that is needed and i hope the authorities learn from that. all right. well, alain, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. glad you re back with your family and your daughters and happy new year. thank you so much, happy new year to you, too. alain ghonda. here s lester. former vice president dick cheney has blasted president obama s response to the attempted terror attack, and he s not alone in his criticism. we want to go back to nbc news correspondent chuck todd in honolulu. chuck. reporter: good morning, lester. well, the white house is fighting back on these dick cheney attacks. they went ahead and white house communications director dan pfiefer put up a blog post that said it was a typical washington finger-pointing blame game situation, and frankly, talking to white house aides, there s sort of on one hand not surprised that cheney s attacking, because they feel like any time there s been a national security issue since president obama took office, cheney, like clock work, has attacked. but in this one, you have cheney saying he doesn t think the president understands we re at was, they sit there and say, well, the president just decided to send 30,000 u.s. troops to a war zone, in his oslo speech accepting the nobel peace prize talked about the fact that the united states is currently at war, has okayed hits against al qaeda targets in yemen. so, they re sort of they think the factual hit by cheney is absurd, but at the time, they know that it does carry some political weight, and so, they feel like they had to fight back, lester. and isn t there some comparison to how president bush responded to the shoe bombing attack back in 2001? reporter: well, there is, and i think democrats continue to point out that it took president bush six days to make his first statement about the shoebomber, richard reid, where president obama was out within 72 hours making a statement, and in fact, had aides out within hours calling it a terrorist attack, just a few hours. so, i think they think that, you know, again, they re being held to a different standard. and they think it s surprising that republicans are being so brazen in trying to make this a political issue while we re in the midst of dealing with the actual terror crisis itself, that they would not even put aside politics for a few days, saying that democrats during the whole, for instance, the shoe bombing thing, stayed away from it, did not make it a political issue. but look, lester, there is some blame game going around. you ve got folks like janet napolitano on the firing line, the head of the department of national intelligence, dennis blair, even the head of the national counterterrorism center, michael lighter taking some heat. so, there s going to be some finger-pointing more so in the next couple weeks. nbc s chuck todd in honolulu this morning. chuck, thanks very much. and now let s get a check of the rest of the morning s top stories. peter alexander is in for ann at the news desk. good morning. good morning to both of you. happy new year, lester and erin, and to you at home. it is already the next year in many parts of the world. 2010 was ushered in in new zealand with the fanfare and fireworks. meantime, preparations are under way for a big night in new york s times square and our own amy robach is there this morning. amy, good morning. long day for you. reporter: yes, peter, it is going to be a busy day for police, perhaps. they will be the busiest of anyone. it is quiet here, but hundreds of thousands of people will pack these streets in just a few hours. and as you might imagine, security is at a heightened state. there are going to be police on rooftops with high-powered rifles. they re going to be on the ground with bomb-sniffing dogs and radiation detection devices. this all comes on the heels of a security scare yesterday where police swarmed a van that had blacked-out windows, it had no license plates and it was right in an area where the festivities are to take place tonight. in fact, they had to shut down buildings, they evacuated people in the area. these were all precautions they took, and it turned out to be nothing. but certainly, a clear example of where things will stand tonight, given the state of the world these days. but again, hundreds of thousands prepared to come here to ring in the new year and hopefully have a great time, despite the rain, 36 degrees. it s going to be a rough one out here. peter, back to you. will not stop the crowds, though. amy robach in times square, thank you. gunfire and panic this morning at a crowded shopping mall in finland. police say four people were killed when the gunman opened fire on the second floor of the mall. shoppers were evacuated while police searched for the shooter. violence at a virginia courthouse left two people wounded on wednesday. officials say an inmate awaiting a court hearing shot one deputy and stabbed another in a holding cell. both are in stable condition. new government figures indicate you are not likely to catch swine flu from someone else at home. a new study in the new england journal of medicine finds your odds of catching the virus from someone who has it in your own home are about one in eight, but children are twice as susceptible as adults. swine flu has already sickened about one-sixth of americans. fishermen and divers have a new artificial reef off key biscayne. and it was a snowy australia with snow falling in that state. and one family built a 12-foot snowman in front of its home in kansas city. it s even taller than the family s house. look at the family portrait this year. not to be outdone, a man in chicago built one 16 feet tall. they had to get shots of it from the sky. these guys aren t messing around. at 7:16 right now, back to lester and erin. when they start competing about who has a bigger snowman, things going downhill fast. bad news is it will be there good morning, everyone. the steady snow, sleet, freezing rain we have all morning will start to taper off over the next couple of hours. conditions are going to improve as we head into the afternoon. and finishing off the year on a good note, just married, right? yes, sir! where are you guys from? dallas, texas. all right, good luck. now back inside to erin. thanks so much, chris. a former ohio police chief has been sentenced to prison for his role in a bizarre break-in at the home of a surrogate who bore twins for sarah jessica parker and matthew broderick. nbc s kevin tibbles has the details. reporter: hundreds of miles from the sexy streets of new york city, the conclusion to a seven-month-old drama played out in a small-town ohio courtroom. i hope you re able to see the light. i want him taken into custody now. reporter: martins ferry, ohio, police chief barry carpenter was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail in connection to the break-in at michelle ross s home last may. ross is the ohio surrogate mother hired by sarah jessica parker and her husband, actor matthew broderick, who live in new york city. after years of struggling to have more children, they paid ross to carry their now 6-month-old twin daughters marian and tabitha. just weeks before the twins were born last summer, the sex and the city star spoke out about the case. and i am incredibly outraged by the sort of extraordinary and unprecedented invasion of her privacy. reporter: the prosecution alleged carpenter, along with chad dojack, the police chief from a neighboring town, broke into ross s home and attempted to sell items related to the surrogacy to paparazzi. ross, who was in the final stages of her pregnancy, wasn t there. she was hiding in a west virginia hotel to escape the media scrutiny. carpenter was convicted of receiving stolen property. he has resigned as police chief. dojack is expected to go to trial january 12th. hold your head up. is there anything you would like to say, barry? no. reporter: ross herself spoke out via e-mail read by the judge. the day that barry carpenter entered my home and helped himself to my personal belongings was the day he walked out of my house with my privacy, security and peace of mind. reporter: peace of mind shattered by a small-town official who saw profit in the glamour of sex and the city. for today, kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. and just ahead, a new twist for charlie sheen, accused of attacking his wife with a knife. it now looks like she is the one who wants to reconcile. so, where does that leave the sitcom star in the eyes of the law? sitcom star in the eyes of the law? we re going t it s so hard to choose one. you know, during the sign then drive event, you can get a cc, tiguan or fuel efficient jetta for practically just your signature. you can get scheduled maintenance at no cost. there s got to be more to it than that. i ll never doubt you again. don t tell my wife, but is it really okay to keep secrets from your spouse? evidence, that s a third-rail topic. plus, the lawyer for letterman s alleged blackmailer involkswagen the tiger woods scandal in an attempt to get the case against his client dismissed. it s an interesting turn of affairs. we ll have the latest. than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can t compete with. it s self propelled. chevy. compare us to anyone and may the best car win. the only three layered bath tissue with plush-quilts ® . it has two layers for softness and an inner layer for a luxurious experience you can see and feel. in fact, it may inspire you to make all the things you touch ultra plush. quilted northern ultra plush. luxury you can see and feel™. and if you re not delighted, we ll give you your money back. yep! 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(announcer) it s more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif. live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. good morning. i m stan stovall turning out to be an interesting morning on the roadways. not in a good way. we have had a busy traffic morning all morning. we don t have time to get to all of the crashes. accidents on major roadways. 95 northbound past white marsh boulevard, an accident blocking the right lane. several accidents are in the clearing stages still causing delays around them. this was blocking the left lane so we will see delays there. southbound harrisburg expressway approaching timonium road, and out of the beltway, that accident cleared. but we are seeing a back up on the west side. an accident on a 97 southbound at dorsey road, and a crash 95 northbound on the ramp to 198. we will give you a live look at the west side of the beltway at a pretty road. delays on the public have cleared up around their prepared delays on the outer loop of cleared up around there. topside of the beltway are on harford road is looking good, but a lot of us know what they re covering the roads, making them quite slick. make extra caution so that you do not become one of those accident this morning. things have the guiding taper off. snow in the suburbs is kicking off. still some is breaking off. there could be some minor i sing in an oral county and the eastern shore counties. snow, sleet, freezing rain will taper off during an hour or two. this afternoon, temperatures climb above freezing. but not before, was to do get an inch, maybe up to two inches in some spots, of this note. check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update in 25 minutes. fact: your child could pick up the flu virus from surfaces. lysol disinfectant spray kills cold & flu viruses, including h1n1. lysol is the number one pediatrician recommended brand. lysol. disinfectant to protect. 7:30 now on this new year s eve thursday morning, the 31st of december 2009. and you are looking at times square right here in new york city. it is pretty quiet now, but later this evening, about a million people will pack in tight to see the ball drop. millions more watching from the snugness and warmness of home. and from the look of things out on the plaza, it looks like the celebration already under way here. we ll go outside and join them in just a couple of moments. good morning to all of you. i m erin burnett alongside lester holt. matt and meredith have the day off. just ahead, we ll talk about whether there is a connection between this year s most talked about sex scandals. apparently, the man accused of blackmailing david letterman thinks there is a connection. his lawyers are trying to get his charges dismissed by bringing up the tiger woods case. what s the connection? we ll tell you in just a moment. and speaking of scandals, we ll look back on the year that was from those juicy celebrity stories to the viral videos you couldn t get enough of to the passing of legends. coming up, a complete review of 2009 and a look ahead to what lester has dubbed 2010. that s right, it s official. it s official. now i ve said it, you ve said it. plus, should you tell your spouse everything? you called this the third rail a moment ago. yep. it really can be. we ll talk about the secrets that experts actually want you to keep from your partner. they think probably not a good idea to talk about. so that s coming up. but we begin with the latest in actor charlie sheen s christmas day arrest after he allegedly threatened his wife with a knife. she now wants a protective order loosened so the two can meet face to face. we get details from nbc s lee cowan. reporter: kiss and make up? maybe. charlie sheen and his wife brooke mueller have a lot to talk about after their christmas day visit in aspen, not from st. nick, but by police responding to brooke s 911 call. okay, tell me exactly what happened. my husband had me with a knife and i m scared for my life and he threatened me. reporter: sheen denies he threatened his wife but was arrested for domestic violence. a protective order was put in place keeping the couple separated. but now the sheens, with their two young boys at stake, want a colorado judge to modify that protective order so the couple can try to save their marriage. they really do love each other. they really do have a solid foundation. they ve got these two beautiful children together and they want to continue to raise them and live together, and hopefully, have a very successful long-term marriage. sex, definitely sex. reporter: charlie sheen s playboy character on cbs s two and a half men isn t far off the real deal. his romances are often ruckus affairs. there was the accidental shooting of his former fiancee kelly preston back in 1990, then his divorce to denise richards back in 2005, which was the definition of nasty. what might be the difference this time? there has been a report that if brooke doesn t press charges and charlie stays out of jail that he ll give her an additional $1 million in her prenup. so, that s a million dollar reasons for her to stay. reporter: but there are still those criminal charges. they don t just go away, even if marital bliss results from the couple s chance to reconcile in private, although brooke s attorney says he doesn t want it to go to court, it very well may. she s a witness against someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with, and that s why it s a legal conundrum. even if she wants it dropped, the da can subpoena her and force her to testify. reporter: maybe it was just a bad marital moment, as brooke s attorney calls it, but in the eyes of the law, it may end up being far more. for today, lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. diane diamond is an investigative crime reporter. susan filan is a former prosecutor and nbc news legal analyst, as i clear my throat. good morning to both of you. good morning. thanks for being here. susan, let me pick up on a legal point made there. she can t simply drop charges and could be forced to testify, but she could be a bad witness for the prosecution, couldn t she? well, a bad witness is not necessarily what you re thinking about. if she s subpoenaed and she s under oath and she s asked questions and she s weaseling and she s an uncooperative witness, she may have criminal penalties. a bad witness in terms of being incredible, who may then be a liar may face perjury charges. so, a bad witness, and uncooperative witness are two different things. but diane, doesn t this happen a lot, though? it does, and in this case, there s a 911 tape. so, we hear her say he held me at knife point, i felt i was going to be killed for an hour and it has happened before, and it does happen all the time that they make these charges and then they pull back. let s talk about holding this marriage together. image is important for hollywood celebrities. here s a case of a guy who image has already been kind of tarnished on some levels. so, does he have the same bar to leap as other celebrities might in a similar situation? he s a bad boy. he is a hollywood bad boy. i remember covering him a long time ago in connection with the heidi fleiss prostitution scandal, so he s got a bad reputation, but he s got a number one show now. and as we ve seen with chris brown, the public can rise up and opinion can change like that. and susan, in terms of the judge lifting a protection order, that s a big deal. what do they have to consider? it s a huge deal. you have to consider the safety of the alleged victim, because she may be saying now, for many, many reasons, because domestic violence is extremely complicated often, you are in love with your abuser. he s the father of your children, may have some support issues involved. she may be in fear that he s going to retaliate if she presses charges. it s very, very complicated. so, she goes to the judge for whatever reason and says, oh, please lift it, you know, subtext he s going to kill me if he doesn t say this and he does lift it and he does kill her, there s enormous implications for this. the judge has to be very, very careful that he s quite convinced that there are no safety concerns. and if there s a past history of this, not just with her, but we ve seen he has issues of domestic violence in the past, and there s pattern evidence here sure. and we ve got an alleged knifepoint over an hour saying i thought i was going to die, you don t take this so lightly. let me ask you about prenup, because the question certainly came up with tiger woods, maybe there was a postnup, sort of change the deal. could something like that happen here, where you essentially redo the prenuptial agreement to preclude her going after him? absolutely, but both parties must agree. you know, you can t just go in and say i m going to add an extra million dollars to my prenup. charlie sheen would have to agree to that and she would have to agree i ll stay for these reasons. but you re mixing apples and oranges. right. they can do anything they want monetarily, but a judge and a restraining order does not care whatsoever what kind of money s being exchanged between these people, because when the judge is considering her safety, he could care less who s buying out who. we can t also forget there were children in the household. do child s services become involved here s the thing, they were visiting in colorado. they were there for the holidays, where it allegedly happened. should social services be there? in my opinion, yes, they should be. whenever there s alcohol, knife threats and a 911 call, my guess is they probably won t act because this is a couple that resides in california. it s always hard for me to understand how couples in these situations can begin to heal with all the limelight they re in, the media coverage. the fact that they ve quickly come out of this case saying we want to reconcile, does that take some of the glare off of them or will they have to relive this whole thing? you re shaking your head. no, no, no. tiger woods learned how to do the pr spin the wrong way by not saying anything. they re handling the pr spin well and they have lawyers and people to talk for them, but they have some underlying issues. both of them have substance abuse problems in the past. he has some anger management problems. they need to work on that. they need to hire a marriage and a substance abuse counselor before they continue with the pr and the criminal defense attorney. why the wife hired a criminal defense attorney as prominent as yale galanter. i don t have a problem with that. when the tides turn and the victim says oh, i want to reconcile. i think the public opinion is more sensitive to the problem of domestic violence and they understand that the victims very, very much too often say, oh, honey, i just want to get back with you. they still feel a bond to the person, obviously. not only this bond, but sometimes a bond out of terror and the judges are not buying it anymore. i ve seen a shift in that. they re not buying it. so, they may have made a public relations faux pas by quickly doing the love bird thing, like rihanna and chris brown. when she immediately said i want him back, there was a huge public boo and she may get that, too. diane diamond, susan filan, thank you both for coming on. happy new year. you too. now let s get a check of the weather with chris cimino, in for al this morning. good morning, chris. good morning, lester. we ve got a few ladies that are missing southern california. you ve never seen snow? i ve never seen snow before. first time. well, you know what happens, if it starts to accumulate, they give you a shovel and put you to work. i hope you re ready for that. it s snowing overhead here in new york, it worked up through the middle atlantic states. it s a mixed bag. that area indicating ice, sleet, and rain from virginia towards the florida panhandle. north of there, pennsylvania, the snow, the sleet, the freezing rain, will taper off as we go through the morning at the temperatures will gradually climb above freezing this we ve got an announcement here. new baby coming. not out of the scarf. you have an announcement. yes. we re having twins and we wanted to officially announce their names. yes. will and jack. will and jack! yes. well, we welcome them in about three months, right? yes. if you want the weather any time of day, go to weather.com. now back inside where it s nice and toasty to erin. chris has been out there for a while. all right, the man accused of trying to blackmail david letterman is now trying to get his case dismissed by invoking the other big sex scandal of 2009. peter alexander has the details on this one. good morning again, peter. it was certainly a busy year for sex scandals, erin. this is being called the tiger woods defense. the attorney for david letterman s accused extortionist is comparing his case to the golfer s sex scandal. in newly filed court papers, his lawyer claims that if women connected to woods got paid off and were not charged with a crime, there s no reason his client should be treated any differently and certainly should not end up in jail. they are two of the country s biggest stars, david letterman and tiger woods, caught up in two of this year s biggest scandals. i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. reporter: letterman came first, making his stunning admission in october after cbs news producer joe halderman allegedly tried to blackmail the late-night comedian for $2 million to keep silent about his romantic affairs. weeks later, tiger woods turn, admitting he cheated on his wife, as more than a dozen women came forward, each with a salacious story. but is that all these two tabloid tales have in common? exactly. reporter: in these just-released court papers, halderman s lawyer cited numerous news reports that tiger woods paid mistress number one, rachel uchitel, millions to stay quiet, but uchitel hasn t been charged with extortion. neither has her lawyer, gloria allred. why not? according to halderman s lawyer, because their behavior was capitalist, not criminal. he adds, when halderman offered to sell his very marketable story to david letterman, it was just a business transaction, no crime was committed here. letterman s lawyer blasted the argument, telling nbc news, this was not a sale of anything legitimate. this was classic extortion. legal experts say the comparison would be a tough sell in court. tiger woods apparently willing to buy silence. david letterman, the complete opposite, unwilling to pay for silence, told his own audience about what was going on and went to the authorities right away and said, you know what, i think this is illegal. reporter: reporter gerald posner, who s repeatedly cited in the new court filing, says the strategy by halderman s team feels like a long-shot. they think that everybody can understand the tiger woods situation, so they re trying to fit it into the tiger woods analogy, even though it doesn t, in the hope that it will confuse the public, confuse the jury pool a little bit and maybe make people more sympathetic to him. we ll find out soon if the strategy worked. a new york state supreme court judge can decide whether to dismiss the charges against halderman early next year. erin. creative. all right, peter, thank you very much. and next, college kids waiting in line not for concert tickets, not for the latest fashions, for food handouts. the tough lesson being learned in the wake of the bad economy. . that little rush in finding what you need for less. now walmart has unbeatable dollar days. extra savings on everyday things, all over the store. it s a new way to conquer budgets. and another great day for the savers. save money. live better. walmart. 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( squeaking ) good news for anyone with a lot of driving to d - ( barks ) - efficiency to move you forward. we re back at 7:45. every parent knows paying for a child s college education is a huge undertaking, and the recent ups and downs haven t made anything easier. as nbc reports, it has some college students looking for new helpful systems. reporter: call it the new american bread line, college students lining up not for financial aid, but food aid, like these students at michigan university. bring the food back here, bag it up, and in the top right-hand corner will be the client s last name. reporter: they re shelling out thousands of dollars for tuition, working part-time jobs and taking out loans, but students like lauren say they re struggling. my parents can t afford to help me. i m getting scholarships to cover my tuition, but that is it. so, the minimum wage job that i have covers my apartment and leaves me with maybe $50. yeah! reporter: forget the raging keggers. college officials here say the sad situation for a growing number of students is nothing to celebrate. that perception that college students are free and easy and they can go and party any time and you have a lot of excess money just isn t real anymore. i m not looking for, you know, a big handout or anything. i just a few things here and there would be really nice and i think would help out a lot. reporter: there s about 9,000 pounds of food being delivered and stocked. the food bank paid about $3,000 for it, but the eventual cost to michigan state students, that s going to be nothing. do i worry about students using the food bank when they don t need it? probably a lot more in the past than now. now i see the looks on their faces. now i see the emotions. reporter: so, what about help from mom and dad? administrators say the recession is squeezing family budgets, and many parents can t afford to help a child away from home. any help is really needed. if i can save money on food, then maybe i can pay off my credit card. reporter: across the country, food banks on or near college campuses are seeing a surge in students. these are your bags. reporter: it s a reality those waiting in this line know all too well. for today, thanh truong, nbc news, east lansing, michigan. up next, your pick for the image of the year. my name is herb. and i m here to tell a story. my parents all smoked. my grandparents smoked. i ve been a long-time smoker. i m a guy who had given up quitting. what caused me to be interested was, chantix is not a nicotine product and that intrigued me. the doctor said while you re taking it you can continue to smoke during the first week. (announcer) chantix is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. today i see myself as a jolly old man, (laughing) who doesn t have to smoke. (announcer) herb quit smoking with chantix and support. talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that s right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosi may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit smoking products. the urges weren t like they used to be, and that help me quit. (announcer) talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. legendary photography dorothy alange once said that photography takes an instant of time, altering life by holding it still. and with that in mind excuse me, i can t clear my throat today we asked you to go to todayshow.com and vote for your most memorable image of 2009. well, the votes have been counted and here s a look at your favorites. they are snapshots that tell the story of a historical year gone by. this photo taken by a witness to the miracle on the hudson landed with the third most votes. and this unforgettable still frame of a soldier fighting on the front lines of afghanistan while wearing his boxer shorts finished second. but it was this iconic image of inauguration day that you voted the most memorable. photographer chuck kennedy captured the moment. i think there s kind of a simple pleasure of a very happy family in that moment. everybody can kind of relate to that. reporter:. seen on the front pages of newspapers across the country, the photo was taken with a remote-controlled camera that revealed a never-before-seen angle of the oath of office. there s great moments that happen every day, and that s the real task is to stay on top of it and make sure you don t miss any of them. i know moving pictures are a staple of our business, but there s something about a still photo that just still allows you to really get inside a story in the way that some moving pictures don t. it s true. it s amazing, too, the technology of the new angle. although the underwear that poor guy. thank goodness it was from the front he loves new york. (announcer) they ve been tested, built and driven like no other. and now they re being offered like no other. come to the winter event and get an exceptional offer on the mercedes-benz of your dreams. it s our way of showing a little holiday spirit. hurry before the offer ends january 4th. 6 years. i ve had asthma forever. i never knew why my asthma symptoms kept coming back. .kept coming back. .or that i could help prevent them in the first place. the problem was that my controller medicine. .was treating only 1 main cause of asthma symptoms. but there are 2. airway constriction. and inflammation. unlike most controllers, advair treats both main causes. advair treats both main causes. and that helps prevent symptoms in the first place. (announcer) advair contains salmeterol. salmeterol may increase the chance of asthma-related death. so advair is not for asthma that s well controlled on another controller medicine. advair will not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. .and should not be taken more than twice a day. talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of advair. if you take advair, see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. if you re still having symptoms. .ask your doctor how to help prevent them with advair. (announcer) get your first prescription free and save on refills. advair. now you know. try the first great-tasting, zero-calorie. natural sweetener borne from the leaves of the stevia plant. truvía. honestly sweet. find it at your grocery store. i ll call someone in the morning. how about i hook it up with my mind? alright, it s show time. [ beeps ] how are you doing that? [ humming ] pow! unh! [ grunting ] ugh! [ slurps ] not bad, baby. 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( phone rings, laughter ) ( phone rings ) victory starts now. with the special k challenge, you can lose up to 6 pounds. in 2 weeks. now with so many delicious ways to be victorious. lose up to 6 pounds in 2 weeks. join us at specialk.com. live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. good morning. i m stan stovall. problems on the roadways because of us no good. kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. because of the snow. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. we have accident on the roadside inner loop of the beltway. that is blocking the right lane and causing a bit of a backup. pulaski highway and roscoe boulevard, crashed there. philadelphia road. white marsh roll call want a pulaski highway, a crash. white marsh boulevard and pulaski highway, a crash there. we would give a live look at 95 and caton avenue. 95 northbound and caton avenue, and not causing any problems as far as traffic rose. a live look at harford road there. you will see that back to the harrisburg expressway. again, snow is on the roads there, turning into slush. it looks it is pretty slick on the roads. use a little extra caution and leave extra time for yourself. conditions are improving. the steady snow, sleet, freezing rain we saw earlier in the day is moving down. there are scattered light snow showers in the northern suburbs and light rain, freezing rain. but the study saba s come to an end. but not before picking up a good inch or two of snow. everything should be tapering off as we had through the morning. temperatures climb above freezing of the habitat above the freezing of the stomach to the late morning hours. above freezing by the time we get to the late morning hours. back in 25 minutes with another live update. 8:00 now on a thursday morning, december 31st, 2009. the fireworks ringing in the new year. that s a live picture from the land down under. january 1st, 2010. the celebration in sydney, australia. 1.5 million people being treated to a spectacular fireworks show there. the party starts tonight at midnight. and it is snowing like mad out here it is. we ve got a pretty good snowfall going. it s got the holiday season. this is the way it should be on new year s eve. it should be this way on christmas day. lester holt along with erin burnett. matt and meredith have the morning off. and where are our hats, young lady? they re staying warm. from the inauguration of president obama to the sudden and tragic death of michael jackson to the epidemic of infidelity, there s been so many headlines about that this year what do you think was the most talked about and most important story of 2009? we ll have a look back at all the highs and lows. it s always a difficult question. i can t seem to go back more than a couple months. the most recent is at the front of your mind. we ll also talk about the issue of keeping secrets from your spouse. is it ever a good idea? are there circumstances where maybe it s the best idea? we ll get some expert advice on things that can actually strengthen a relationship. we ll talk about that coming up in a moment. and did you forget to plan for tonight s new years bash? well, we have some elegant, easy entertaining ideas. and yes, the words elegant and easy apparently can go together. so, we will show you how. but first, we have a check of the morning s top stories from peter alexander, and he is in for ann this morning. hi, peter. hi, erin and lester. good morning to you. and good morning to you at home. the taliban is now claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing wednesday at a u.s.-run army base in afghanistan. it killed at least eight american civilians, wounding six others. cia employees are said to be among the casualties. a passenger s photo shows the burned jetliner seat where investigators say a nigerian man tried to set off explosives on christmas day. president obama, vacationing in hawaii, is expected to meet with his national security team after getting today s preliminary reports on the failed terror attack. conservative talk show host rush limbaugh also vacationing in hawaii, where he was hospitalized overnight with chest pains. limbaugh s website said the 58-year-old is now resting comfortably. in finland, police searched a shopping mall for the gunman who opened fire while people were stocking up for the new years holiday. at least four people died. the suspect s ex-wife who worked at the mall was found shot to death in a nearby apartment. police also say they found a body that they believe is that of the mall gunman. overseas markets are mostly higher this morning. as for wall street, cnbc s amanda drury is at the new york stock exchange. amanda, what s in store for the final day of the year? well, indeed, it could be a fairly quiet day out here, but i have to say, peter, that the u.s. market really is the comeback kid, indeed. we finished this year for the dow jones industrial average with a gain of 20%, and if you take it from a march low, a gain of 60%. certainly one stock we watched was ford. if you held their stock this year, you saw its value quadruple. indeed, have a very happy new year. let s hope the market can continue with its gains into 2010. back to you. amanda, happy new year. nice to see you. and in the year that started with bank bailouts and ended with bank bonuses, who could resist whack a banker? the new arcade game in britain lets you vent your frustration on those involved in the economic crisis. apparently, the game so famous in britain, the mallets keep wearing out. somewhere the moles are enjoying a quiet vacation. 8:03 now. back out to lester and erin. give me the hawaiian candy, i say give me the hawaiian weather. i have the salt and pepper thing, but now you do, too. i do, too. let s get a check of the weather. chris cimino s in for al. hey, guys, it s snowing! yeah! that s just what this crowd needed, some snow. real quick down here hold on. stephanie, you said nobody knows where you are exactly. the memorial hospital thinks i m lost! i m not lost, i m in new york! stephanie s been found! all right, let s get a look at the weather picture. we ve got, of course, snow here in the northeast, mid-atlantic states. it s going to rain along the coast. even here it will eventually change over to rain before all s said and done, but again, it could accumulate one to three inches across new jersey, connecticut, new york city, further south rain over the southeastern states and quite a bit of snow shower activity and lake-effect snow will kick in across the great lakes a little bit later on today. some cold, arctic air moves in. new year s eve times square, could be a few flakes, a few drops in the air, nothing reall the snow, sleet, the freezing rain will taper off as we had through the morning. conditions will improve as conditions will improve as all right, we ve got a 50th birthday. it s today! it s today. where are you guys in from? california. california. everybody s from california. what are they doing here? let s send it back over to lester. all right, chris, thanks. up next, we ll talk about the year that was, from michael jackson to tiger woods to balloon boy. 2009 s highs and lows, right after this. r award-winning cc for practically just your signature. and volkswagen even covers scheduled maintenance at no cost. it can t be that easy. 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[ male announcer ] sign then drive is back. hurry in and get legendary volkswagen value for practically just your signature. and i was so tender to the touch but i didn t know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia. and then he recommended lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i m learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? ask your doctor about lyrica today. back now at 8:09 with a look at the year that was. president obama was inaugurated, the king of pop passed away, and while susan boyle dreamed a dream that came true, for other celebrities, 2009 was a bit more like a nightmare. here with their thoughts, tina brown of the dailybeast.com, and andy bore wits of theborowitzreport.com. thank you very much. we appreciate it. so much to choose from. tina, what do you think was the most important moment of 2009? well, it s got to be the incredible inauguration of obama. because you know, you started the year with this huge festival of hope and renewal and everything is going to be so different now, and then, like the bad fairy at sleeping beauty s christening, rush limbaugh says i hope he fails. and from that moment, sort of the pandora s box opened and the rest of the year has been just this big discord and toxic atmosphere in politics and partisan divide and people shouting at each other at tea parties and death panels, and to the end of the year where now we ve just got the health care bill probably about to be passed with no republican votes at all. so, it was a real turn-around from the bank bonuses and bailouts. to here. so, the high point being that photo we were just showing of the family. nancy, for you, it was the king of pop. yeah, culturally. i mean, michael jackson just transformed the music business. he was a great musician and entertainer, and the tragedy was that as talented as he was, there was so much obsession with how he looked, whether he had surgery, always trying to find out about his plastic surgeons, when nobody really questioned what was going on inside and tried to maybe point him in the direction of a shrink. there was so much interest in the money he was generating for the family. right, right. he felt like they turned their backs on him, and there will never be anybody like michael jackson ever. andy, for you, it was an airline incident. now, i don t know if you re going to edit this because of what s happened over the past few days with the airlines, but no, no. their answers had so much substance, i thought i d bring us down to the gutter a little bit. we need that. i m talking about the airline incident where the pilots missed the runway by 150 miles because they were playing on their laptops oh, my god. you know, passengers in the future, you know something s up when your pilots are friending you on facebook during the flight. that is a warning sign. so, that s news something to be concerned about. that s news you can use, erin. it really is. tina, in terms of the daily beast, you can obviously see from high brow to low brow what people are most interested in. on the rankings, what was the biggest story? this was an absolute boom year for infidelity it was the gift that keeps on giving, you know? we had tiger woods, we had mark sanford. you know, we had david letterman. i mean, this was the year when everybody you had all three or they had this was the year when everybody s crotch was on fire. oh! man! she just beat you at your own game there, andy. oh! so the jockstrap jihadist is only ending a year where everybody s crotch is on fire. i thought i brought this conversation down. she has topped you. the jockstrap jihadist. let me take an intermission here and show you the best news. taylor, i m really happy for you. i m going to let you finish. the reforms i m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. you lie! i dreamed a dream of time gone by from highs to lows. oh, man. you didn t show the end of that wedding video. it was a little disturbing when the judges voted the husband out of the marriage. that was sort of unfortunate, i thought. what about youtube in the last year? what would we have done without youtube? they were the only moments of joy and uplift came from these stolen moments that s true. britain s got talent was on youtube and that s how everyone susan boyle was a transformative thing. a cinderella story. my mother every single piece. her album is a best-selling album. i love it she s really something special. it was great to see this person who was totally written off, again, because of her appearance and because of what people perceived. when she opened her mouth and sang, talent reigns, yes. i mean, there s the one-minute talent window where you believed she was so real and nothing would change her, the whole way she looked and now you all know they re getting at her and making her over. i think she s way too sexy now. oh, yeah. shows people like the real thing sometimes, though. thanks so much to all three of you. we appreciate it. tina, nancy and andy. and happy new year. up next, keeping secrets from your spouse, our third-rail topic of the day, is actually a good thing. that s why i book with expedia. so i can find someplace familiar. or somewhere more distinctive. nice! then i can compare dates to find out when i can save the most cash. done and done. we should do this more often. more choices, more savings. where you book matters. expedia. dot com and no fruit is as versatile as our ocean spray cranberries. you can decorate with them, bake with them, even make holiday drinks, like our cranberry punch we call the festive sparkler. mm! festive. for all these reasons, we declare the ocean spray cranberry. the unofficial official fruit of the holidays. we ll probably get flak from the dates and figs. but no one can tell them apart, anyway. 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i m shocked. i didn t know suave could do tha you wi. suave professionals. salon proven to work as well as salon brands. suave professionals. rethink salon hair. this morning on today s relationships, keeping secrets from your spouse. is it ever a good idea? a recent online poll by redbook magazine found more than 60% of women keep their spouses in the dark when it comes to shopping purchases. can that strengthen a relationship? here s nbc s janet shamlian. reporter: leslie adler is a lawyer for an accounting firm. good to see you. reporter: but before heading to work so, we want to get rid of these up here. yes. and with the frowning in the middle yes. none of those angry school teacher lines. exactly. reporter: the 43-year-old mom of two made a quick stop at her dermatologist s office. very motivated patient. you don t even move during this. reporter: an errand she didn t mention to her husband. when we see eric, make believe you haven t seen me in a long time. he will absolutely never know. reporter: dr. schlesinger says it s a secret both spouses keep. the ironic thing is later that day the other spouse will come in for treatment, both telling me not to tell the other person. reporter: and it s not the only secret. i need some funky clothes. i m feeling old and i want to shake up the wardrobe. reporter: she enjoys the occasional splurge. if he likes it, i return it. if i get home and he really dislikes it, i know i ve bought something cool. reporter: but rarely fesses up. is it lying by omission? i wouldn t consider it lying. omission, i can t argue on that one, but i don t think it rises to the level of a lie. can t look 43 in this outfit. reporter: she calls them healthy secrets, among the unwritten rules of her 19-year marriage. even if i buy him clothes, i don t tell them what they cost. i take the price tag off. he doesn t want to know what things cost. reporter: a touch-up and some retail therapy she says in her marriage don t cross the honesty line. i think it s one of the unwritten laws of secrets. i think the truth is, if you have a real secret, you really should keep it to yourself, because no secret is sacred. reporter: for nbc news, janet shamlian. of course, 6 million of you are now in on that secret, but gail saltz is a today contributor. good morning. good morning, lester. interesting, that woman is shopping, and the botox she keeps a secret to improve the marriage. can that work sometimes? generally speaking, no. generally speaking. i mean, look, there are many kind of marriages, so i don t want to tell people there s only one way to do this, but generally speaking, secrets really increase intimacy in a marriage. they increase feelings of trust, they increase closeness. when you keep a bunch of secrets, like i ve separately i would say for this woman, maybe i m separately having a midlife crisis because i need to dress young and i need to botox for me to feel that you will love me, that s actually dividing them. that s actually creating a space in their relationship where she believes that without doing this, you know, he s not going to find her attractive. one of the big secrets in relationships can be spending of money, because money s always a big issue. and for some people, they don t want to ever feel like they have to get permission to spend money. so, how do you navigate those waters in terms of secrecy? lester, there s a big difference between permission and we re on the same team but we talk about what the team does. so, it s not i mean, to say, you know, i was thinking i wanted to buy such and such, and your spouse saying, well, i don t know, let s weigh that, let s talk about that because that s a big purchase, and then coming out with the end result is not the same thing as him saying, no, you can t buy. now, if you re having a situation where no, then you ve got a different kind of problem. but just to talk about where you re going to buy your big-ticket items and how much you re going to spend is not really permission getting. but the reverse sometimes is, hey, i deserve these things. you know, and then you need to talk about that, too. you need to say, hey part of the same conversation. yeah. i carry the weight in this relationship and this is what i do and i feel entitled to have some things, too, and we need to discuss that. talk about when it is okay and maybe even healthy to keep a secret from your spouse. well, i think when you have some private thoughts. i m going to use, for instance, sexual fantasies, because this is a very common secret, so to speak, that people keep that i don t think you necessarily need to confess, particularly if it involves somebody else. so, it s not a bad thing to occasionally think about somebody else in your head as long as you re only being sexual with your spouse, but then you don t necessarily want to share that, because the only purpose that will serve is to hurt your spouse. and you believe it s important to examine why you are keeping secrets. that is above all the most important thing. if you make it conscious as opposed to unconsciously, i think i m just not going to tell him, what the heck, when really i m having some issue about aging that would be better to share if it s unconscious, that drives you to perform certain behaviors that can be a problem, but if you make it conscious and then say, why do we need to keep this secret? is it only going to hurt them and not really benefit our relation relationship? well, then maybe that is a secret worth keeping. and how do you handle it when someone shares a secret with you? in the survey we mentioned, 57% of women said they would share their friend s secret with their husband. is that fair? you know what, this is really important because this is a very common occurrence that your girlfriend says, hey, i want to tell you something but don t tell anyone, including your husband. if you like to share things with your husband, you need to say at that juncture, you know what, i really do share everything with my husband, now he won t share with anybody either, but you need to know that up front. if you don t feel comfortable, don t tell me the secret. me is we. me is we. and be prepared because it could be a secret that really affects you and the two of you if it s something that really impacts you. dr. gail saltz, always a pleasure to have you on. and happy new year. you, too! here s erin. thank you, lester. rap music can sometimes get a bad rap, but could it be the key to helping your child improve his or her grades? here s lynn berry from wnbc, nbc s station right here in new york. reporter: it may look like recess, but at ps 315 in brooklyn, this is actually vocabulary class. fourth graders beat boxing and free-styling their way to higher learning. i m doing the two things i like the most at the same time. when you create a place in a classroom where they feel like their interests are respected or they feel like they can be passionate, they can be motivated, you re really just creating a better student in general. reporter: that s why musicians alex rappaport and blake harrison created flocabulary, a curriculum that teaches everything from math to science through rhythm and rhyme, all with the help of fellow rap artists like devon gibson. we don t use it much, take it from me, maybe once a year, that s annually kids find it easy to memorize song lyrics, so we found early on that if we put the definition of words or definitions of key terms right in the song lyrics, then the lyrics themselves would be enough. reporter: the guys say it s like a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down. and according to a new study, the program, now in 10,000 schools around the country, appears to be working. test scores rose an average of 25% per student nationwide. alex and blake wanted to use hip-hop not only because that s what the kids like, but because they wanted to show them there was a more positive side to the music. the chorus was we re going to make it if we all just try. you know, they re singing that. they re not saying, oh, this is really corny. we can express ourselves with the way we feel or the way you want to feel. reporter: a program bringing harmony to the classroom and setting the stage for a new generation of students. for today, lynn berry, new york. just ahead, last-minute food and drinks for your new years celebrations on a nice snowy day. live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. good morning. i am sarah caldwell. time to get a check on the morning commute with kim dacey. roads not helping us out any. let s start with an accident on the inner loop the beltway approaching providence road. that is causing a backup there. eastern boulevard and carroll island road, pulaski highway and roscoe boulevard, and in harford county, accident on route 165 could delays in both directions. lane closures are possible there. moving to howard county and columbia, cedar lane, a crutch too much corporate and washington pictured crashed to watch for. and washington boulevard and bair road. discipline visibility is limited out there. a very, very slick. watch out. use extra caution, and don t go out if you don t have to. have a great new year s eve. thanks, sent to you, and the weather tonight should be sok. sleet, freezing rain, but should taper off. snow flurries in the northern suburbs. steady accumulating snow we had this morning tapered off. all this will taper off, scattered rain and snow showers this afternoon. we will get an inch or two of snow in the door burst suburb. in the northern suburbs. if you have new year s eve plans, don t cancel anything to a chance for rain or snow showers, and that is it. we will have another update at 8:55. 8:30 now on this thursday morning, december 31st, 2009. it s the last day of the year and the decade, and we re guessing a lot of people here will be putting in very long days, beginning the day on the plaza and going to end it just a few blocks away on times square for tonight s new years celebration. but out on the snowy plaza, appropriate for the holiday, i suppose, erin burnett with lester holt and peter alexander. matt, meredith and ann have the day off. a little bit of trivia. the last time it snowed at midnight new year s eve in new york city, times square, 1967. wow. wow. so, one of those things i don t know. let s hope it does because it might turn into rain and that would not be a good thing. by the way, if you planned on not being outside, but partying at home, we ll have last-minute snacks and drinks that are perfect for welcoming in 2010. and also ahead, we ve got a checklist of the checkups and tests that are worth your time that you should be getting in 2010. also ahead this morning, when is the last time you listened to a cassette or used a stamp? do you remember, that s what you put on what is not an e-mail? we ll look back at what s become obsolete in our tech-savvy age. first, we want to start ringing in 2010. carson daly will host nbc s coverage live from times square with a little help from our natalie morales. hey, carson, come on! hi, carson! how are you, my friend? ooh! hey, lester, how are you? hey, carson. getting ready for tonight? i m looking at what time it is. i ve got 14 more hours of this, i think. they ve already started partying in australia. happy new year. do you still get excited about doing this? i do, lester. it s so much fun. we have a great tradition on nbc, new year s eve in times square. it s a blast. to be in the middle of a million people staring at that ball. traditionally, it s happened for hundreds of years and our show has gotten better every year. it s just such fun to be there. and now you have a new guy in your life, the meatball man. yeah, choo-choo train, my son. he s 9 months and he s out here with us in new york and just fantastic. great having him. let s talk about new years resolutions. you re probably an expert at it. your resolution for 2010? well, i never make it official, peter. i end up breaking them anyway. but obviously, having my son in 09 was a big part, so i m going to resolve to be a good daddy in 2010. that s great. thank you. thank you. aww, come on. listen back here. you guys always have great acts, so who s on this year? thank you. this year is top-notch. we ve got green day, rihanna, jay-z, the king of new york, so that s great. also the cast of the musical hair will do a production for us as well. a perfect night. grab your snow shovel. bring your hat. welcome back to new york, my friend. thank you. carson, nbc s new year s eve with carson daly kicks off at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. central time on nbc. how s the weather looking for the ball drop, chris cimino? gee, let me think. actually, it s great packing snow. we started earlier this morning at 32. uh-oh, we re down to 30, and that s why some of the snow s starting to stick. real quick, we ve got a young lady here celebrating her 40th. what s your name? deanna! where are you coming in from? casanova, new york! on the other side, i have a 100. you want to say happy 100? happy 100 to my grandmother in arkansas! thank you very much. a quick look at the weather. obviously snow in parts of the northeast today. could accumulate two to four inches away from the coast. near the coast an inch or so, then it goes over to rain. it s showery over the southeast, much of the state of florida seeing a few showers. the northern half of the state, some lake-effect snows kick in across the great lakes later today and t the snow, the sleet, the freezing rain, will taper off as we go through the morning at the temperatures will gradually climb above freezing this what better way to finish off the year 2009 than by saying hi to uncle willie down in, apparently, sunny, warm, toasty florida. willard, look what i ve got here for you. can you catch? hey, you good-looking devil. even in the snow. you re still the best. listen, wbbh, our fabulous nbc station, they ve rented two hotels, they ve got limos to take all the staff, big party, catered affair. but the budget s been a little slow, so it will all be to checkers about midnight and open a pepsi. anyway, happy birthday to you, from our friends at smucker s. this the last day of 2009. can you believe it? i didn t think i d live that long. louise schreck. great movie, huh? loved that movie. retired accountant, served as pta president and does all sorts of church fund-raising. we love her. and milton rogovin. how about that? buffalo, new york. tim russert s town. helped create voter registration for african-americans in the 50s. his thing in life is never give up. good for you. and albert chevalier, is that it? auburndale, florida. 100 years old today. the guy did roofing, i mean, got up and did it himself, until he was 85. so, hopefully married to the same beautiful lady for 75 years and it s her birthday, too. happy birthday. arlene drotz of puyallup, washington state. retired teacher, proud breast cancer survivor and enjoys fishing with her family and friends. leif hansen, west newton, mass. get this guy, exercises with a personal trainer weekly, pedals miles on his bike and does crossword puzzles. keeps his mind and body safe, he ll live forever. eugene fish of rydal, pennsylvania, a former lawyer who stopped practicing at 95. happy birthday to you. that s it. erin, god bless, happy new year to you and love and peace and good health. and back to you. thank you so much, willard. happy new year. there is a great new way to enjoy new year s day. the national hockey league s only outdoor game of the year. nbc sports s bob costas will cover tomorrow s winter classic from boston s historic fenway park. that s right, hockey in fenway park. bob, good morning. great to see you. good to see you, too, lester. let s see, buffalo the first year, then wrigley field, chicago wrigley field. this year fenway. the fun thing is obviously hockey fans love it because a lot of them played hockey in their backyards, but it attracts non-hockey fans. absolutely. you don t have to follow the nhl. it s a little like the kentucky derby. you don t have to read the racing form or follow the horses any other day of the year. the derby feels like an event. this really feels like an event because of the setting and the unique outdoor nature of it, new year s day. it s become a destination in only three years. so, only three years, and you have left out an important city, haven t you, so far? new york? what about new york? could be there s lots of talk that next year it would be yankee stadium with the rangers as the host team. this year it s the flyers against the bruins in boston. i m saying take it to anaheim, change it up. slush. it was three years when they started this a couple years ago in buffalo, it was snowing for the game. i guess they just play through this. and you ve got the snowglobe effect, which i think fascinated people first time out of the box. tomorrow s forecast is kind of mixed in boston. they say rain or snow. snow is what we re praying for. it looks great on television. if it rains heavily, it ruins the ice and they ll have to postpone the game until saturday. but the players are into this. the players love it. teams lobby to be involved in it, because all of these guys you know, many of them are canadian or they re from europe, whatever. they grew up skating on frozen ponds or rivers. this is the roots of the game for them. we ll see you in vancouver as well. absolutely. got a busy couple of months. see you sunday as well. that s right, jets and bengals. huge, huge, huge. you can watch nhl s winter classic tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern right here on nbc. up next, last-minute food and drink ideas to make your new years bash a huge success. but first, this is today on nbc. back at 8:41. this morning on today s holiday kitchen, last-minute new year s eve entertaining. robin moreno is lifestyle expert and author of practically posh: easy and elegant eats for tonight s big countdown. good morning. good morning. so, i heard earlier in the program, we said it s going to be easy but elegant. exactly. and usually when i think elegant, i think it s far from easy, but i can have both. and when we think of easy, we think of bowl of chips. no, listen, just because it s last-minute doesn t mean it can t be posh. remember, keep it simple. even though everything looks amazing, nothing here took longer than 15 minutes to make. wow. so, remember that. also, have enough. because it s a buzz kill when you run out of food. also, i like to bring my food out, stagger it throughout the evening, so it kind of has a rhythm to your party. and lastly, try something new. that s the elegant part, because it s pretty standard stuff but with a twist. let s talk about a twist on bruschetta. exactly. bruschetta s really popular, but why not try this tomato bread. it s essentially the same thing, very easy ingredients, just garlic, tomato, olive oil and a little bit of salt and i ll show you how to make it really easy. get some bread and rub on some garlic and right away you re going to be able to smell it. oh, wow, you can, yeah. so, simple ingredients, but so fresh and so good. then get your tomato, juicy and yummy, and spread it on. so far, i can do this. you can really do this. it s at my level. and all you do is drizzle on your olive oil, then a bit of your sea salt. is that it some. that s it? so amazing. everybody will be going crazy. they ll be like, what is this? and you can top it off with some parma or make it hardier. and if you don t want to do that 30 times, all about the presentation, you can make a pure out of the tomato. that is, wow, i can really do that. yeah. it s often intimidating because they look good, but it s hard to figure it out. do you like hummus? i like hummus, but that is so 2009, or totally. you know what? white bean pure, 2010. come on, let s get in here. white bean pure? try that. it s essentially the same thing because hummus is made out of chick peas, which is a sort of bean. you get catalini beans, the kidney beans, and in a food processor put those with olive oil, inventory garr, sauteed garlic. so you can get them in the can? totally in the can, and top them off with a little salt and lemon to taste and serve with we use these sort of healthy, like food should taste good chips, because why not get started on your new years resolution? that s great. but that s something people will be talking about because it s different. another thing you say is things you can get in any grocery store. a lot of times the recipes involve confusing spices i ve never heard of and they re not sold at every store, but everything here is regular a&p. or in your own kitchen. lester, you ve got to ask about this. two days in a row we have lucked out. we have had pigs in a blanket. it s like people never get tired of them. nope. they re always the first to go. i say why not posh them up? this is actually this is crazy. chutny. get crazy. we re adding our twist or sassing things up. i just put seeds. i added caroway seeds, sesame seeds, and for the sides, there s usually always a mustard that goes well with dogs. i say why not put ape cot preserve in the mustard i would never have thought chutny and pigs in a blanket. it s working. see? turning you on to something you have made pigs in a blanket elegant. classy. i m a classy lady. what s this? i like to serve these sort of right befo midnight, because again, we sort of bring our foods out at different times and these are mini quiches. these are completely store-bought. save yourself some time. you ve got to be present for your guests. but it s fun because it s almost like a midnight brunch kind of thing and you can serve a variety. we have some that are vegetarian and some with meat. so, everybody s sort of happy. what should we be drinking tonight? bubbly. it s festive to pull out the sparkling wine and it doesn t have to be champagne. that can be expensive. this is probably the most popular sparkling wine. i m a big fan of the hi. it s only $15 and has a female wine-maker, which i think is really cool. should we toast? normally i don t drink at this hour, but as we saw in australia, it s almost 2010. absolutely. happy new year. happy new year. all right, and still ahead, the things we used to use every day at the start of the decade are now obsolete. we ll show them to you. 2010 will be the 50th anniversary of a little known but very important moment in the civil rights movement. nbc s hoda kotb brings us the story of a brave little girl named ruby bridges, who at just 6 years old left her mark on history. they were throwing things, and i could hear things hit the pavement, and later on, i knew that they were eggs. my mother told me that. why do they hate me, you know, when they don t even know me? reporter: i first met ruby bridges in 1994 when i was working as a local news reporter in louisiana. in 1960, ruby was only 6 when she walked past an angry mob to become the first black student at william frantz, an all-white school in new orleans. over the years, ruby s story has stayed with me. i have the norman rockwell painting of young ruby hanging in my apartment, i wanted to see this woman who inspired me so much back then again now. hey! look at you! reporter: looking at ruby, it s hard to believe such violence and hatred existed in her lifetime but it did. so, you get up that morning, you put on your new dress. you looked very pretty. and there s a knock at the door and there s four very tall white men standing at the door. we re here, we ve been sent by the president of the united states to escort you and your daughter to school today. i was thinking that all the fuss was because i was on my way to college. i was the first 6-year-old to go from kindergarten to college. reporter: you thought you were going to college some. yes. reporter: i love it plus, it was the new school. it made perfect sense. it was a new school and it was so big and there were so many people out. reporter: right. reporter: when you heard those chants, did you understand? no. reporter: what did you think that was? it s a rhyme, two, four, six, eight, we don t want to integrate. so, when i went home, my sister and i jumped rope to it, you know? that s what it was, like a nursery rhyme. reporter: and you didn t know what integrate meant. i didn t know. reporter: you were 6. for the entire year, ruby was the only child in her first grade classroom. at first, all the white parents pulled their kids out of school. but as the year went on, some sent their kids back. near the end of the year, ruby was finally allowed to meet them. i was so excited. i went in to sit down and play with them, but that s when this little boy looked at me, and he said, i can t play with you. my mom said not to play with you because you re a nigger. and that s when everything made sense at that point. i realized why there were no kids in the school. it was all about me and the color of my skin. reporter: how did that get resolved right then about you walked in? well, the thing about that is he remembered what his mom said initially, but like most kids, after a while, he forgot it and we all played together. reporter: today, ruby s life still centers around school. she spends much of her time telling her story to children all around the country. she s also become very involved once again with the william franz school. beginning in the early 90s, ruby volunteered at the school and started her own foundation to help raise money to revitalize it. but in 2005, hurricane katrina hit it. it was, you know, demolished. it was closed. the roof caved in. reporter: despite the fact that it s been declared a historical site by the government, it is still in shambles. my next phase is, you know, to really fight for the school, because i do believe it s my school. turn, turn, turn i do believe in what dr. king stood for, that it doesn t matter what color we are and that we absolutely have to come together. i swear it s not too late that was nbc s hoda kotb. and there is good news for the franz school. renovation work on the building has now begun, and the hope is to reopen the school in about two years. we re back in a moment, but this is today on nbc. at the e. of another decade has you feeling like an antique, or at least older, we re all feeling the same way. new york magazine recently compiled a list of everyday items rendered obsolete just over the last decade, and we have a few of them in front of us. one of these? i still have stacks of those. floppy discs. do you have a computer that will take them? well, that s what makes me worried. i feel like i ve saved special things in my life on them and i ll never be able to retrieve it. lester pointed to the yellow pages and said what is this? yeah, the yellow pages. we call it google now. this is an answering machine. i still have one of these you have an answering machine? i do. i m old-school, i guess. wow. if you have a vhs player, we have some issues. no. the stamps are interesting. they said something at the beginning of the decade, most stamps were lick. only 4% were literally adhesive, right? and now 96% are adhesive. 29 cents for those stamps, now 44 cents. i like the roladex, because when s the last time you physically flipped through paper a couple days ago. lester! i m the senior member of this team. and the blackberry cassette. i don t have a cassette. what should be added to the list is cds. we download music, a lot of us. good point. when s the last time you bought a cd? maybe physically borrowed cds to burn it off somewhere. i bought the susan boyle cd. you re so old-school! live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. good morning. i am sarah caldwell. with baltimore city s homicide rates standing at three more than 2008, mayor sheila dixon plans to lobby for tougher gun laws and penalties at the upcoming general assembly. despite the increase, she says she s pleased that the second year, of homicide rate is significantly lower than in years past, a sign that the city stra now let s take a look at the forecast with tony pann. a little snow this morning. there is still a chance we could see some light rain or snow showers. but steady precipitation has ended. otherwise, mostly cloudy skies. it will climb above freezing this afternoon progressed conditions will improve. for everybody having a tonight, don t cancel your plans. there is still a chance of rain or snow showers, but generally just cloudy skies. i think that a driving this evening should be ok as well. new year s day tomorrow, a chance for rain or snow showers. not a steady precipitation effect. snow showers possible on saturday. otherwise, windy and cold. thank you for joining us. we will have another update at 9: 25.