good morning. fireworks, the debate gets heated last night in des moines and newt gingrich goes on the offense during his first debate as gop front-runner. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician is 1949.ost to teddy kennedy in > . >> mitt romney makes a bet he might regret. >> $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> what came out on top? bench clearing brawl. tempers flare at a basketball game. punches thrown, faces bloodied. officials forced to call off the game before the final buzzer. happy feet. born with a life threatening

limp. a penguin gets a special shoe from his human friends. now he's up waddling like a champ. today, december 11, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good sunday morning. welcome to "today." i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. for months, newt gingrich languished in the lower rungs of the gop presidential pack. now he's finding out that being on top is not so fun, it's not so easy. >> tends to make you a target. that's what happened last night in the latest debate. gloves were off. newt gingrich challenged in extramarital affairs and connections to freddie mac, marge giant. how did the candidates fare? we'll take a look. an incredible story out of

virginia. imagine having a friend who battled cancer for years. donating your time and money to help, only to find out that she was faking it the whole time. one woman managed to fool a lot of people and bilked them out of thousands of dollars by pretending she was dying of the disease. and that time of year again. folks sending out christmas cards, showing pictures of the family. what if you were on the mailing list of britain's royal family? one woman putting her 20-year connection up for sale. some of the rare images they contain, just ahead. it's that time. time to look back at the week that was. alec baldwin took his feud with american airlines to the set of "saturday night live." and a new star is born in the jackson family. paris is ready for hollywood. we'll tell you about those stories and more, coming up in our next half hour. turn off all electronics before the show. >> always. or we'll get kicked off the show. we begin with politics. last night's gop presidential debate in iowa, where

front-runner newt gingrich found himself fending off attacks from fellow republicans. mick viqueira has more. >> reporter: crunch time in iowa. now or never for some of the gop candidates. last night, they came out swinging at front-runner newt gingrich. >> wait a second. >> the gloves came off last night in iowa. >> i've been of the opinion that if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner. >> reporter: a cheer challenge from rick perry to newt gingrich and his history of infidelity and divorce. >> when i make a vow to god, i would suggest that's even stronger than a handshake in texas. >> gingrich appeared to be ready. >> i made mistakes, i had to go to god for forgiveness. >> an odd moment, when mitt romney, in a dispute over his massachusetts health care plan, suddenly challenge ed a big wag. >> i'm not in the betting

business. >> reporter: romney caught gingrich a career politician. but gingrich hit back. >> the only reason you didn't become a career politician, you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> that's probably true. if i would have been able to get in the nfl, like i hoped when i was a kid, i would have been a football star all my life too. but i -- >> reporter: rivals trailing the field fought to get attention. michele bachmann was more conservative than both front-runners put together. >> if you look at newt/romney, for obama care, for cap and trade. >> reporter: ron paul, a major factor in iowa, hit gingrich on his lucrative deal with mortgage giant freddie mac. >> in a way, you probably got some of our taxpayers money. >> never did any lobbying for the agency. i offered strategic advice. i was in the private sector and doing things in the private sector. >> reporter: gingrich doubled down on his climb that

palestinians are "an invented people". >> some people need to tell the truth. these people are terrorists and they teach terrorism in their schools. >> i will exercise sobriety, care, stability. i'm not a bomb thrower, rhetorically or literally. >> reporter: gingrich appears to give as good as he got. despite the fireworks, no one really landed a clean punch, nothing to land gingrich off his perch as front-runner in iowa. >> mike viqueira, thanks. let's turn to david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." >> good morning. >> let's start off with the bet romney offered. $10,000. that's a different kind of a bet. does that hurt him? trying to shed that image of being an elite businessman? >> i would suggest he would like to have that one back. he was trying to make a point that he didn't support a mandate

on health care. i think they will remember the point that he is not poor, didn't grow up poor, and he is offering to bet someone in a sporting way $10,000. not something he wanted to emphasize out there. he wanted it to be about him taking down newt gingrich a norch or two. >> mitt romney has enjoyed the perception of front-runner. he is not now. was he more aggressive? >> leadership and temperament matter. newt gingrich talked about palestinians being an invented people. you heard it in the viqueira report there. romney says i'll have stability, sobriety as a leader. the point is, i will not be zigzag leader on issues, not figuratively be a bomb thrower, that's the image he is trying to create. and he thinks gingrich is doing it with the comments he's

making. trying to create that contrast that as a standard bearer of the party, you cannot think out loud in the way gingrich does. >> gingrich prided himself on running a positive campaign, not going on the attack. were challengers able to bring him down into the fray to get him more on the offense? >> i don't think so, lester. i think he did a good job of counter pumping, did so very aggressively with romney by saying the only reason you weren't a career politician, you lost the election to ted kennedy. a tough blow. this is what gingrich does well. he debates. he can handle all of the questions. the argument he's making is to the conservative primary goer, look, i can't take on obama. i can take the fight to obama. look how i challenge rivals coming after me. that's his selling point. that's why gingrich wants to debate every day. >> let's talk about the new

nbc/marist poll numbers. one in florida and south carolina. gingrich taking a commanding lead. we're not just talking about iowa anymore. this shows a total change in the landscape, doesn't it? >> and it shows as you start no look at head-to-head contests against president obama, he's holding up pretty well. those numbers falling behind in key states, but that he has the momentum here to even show he's taking on president obama as you look at how they break down in the florida poll, for instance. obama has a big lead against gingrich in florida. but not that much of a bigger lead over romney this is the argument that gingrich really wants to present, that he has the electability, not just the ability to debate. >> thanks very much. >> thanks, lester. time to get a check of other morning headline. let's turn to tom yam llamas.

a 6.2 magnitude earthquake killed at least six people. it hit near acapulco. it could be felt near 100 miles away in mexico city, panicking residents there. no reports of widespread damage. philippine military says a 14-year-old virginia teenager has been released after five months in captivity. the boy, his mother, and cousin were kidnapped earlier in year while on vacation by al qaeda-linked rebels. the boy's mother freed in october. the cousin escaped last month. the militants demanded a ransom, it's still not know if it was paid. and xavier and cincinnati, two teams emptied on the court with nine seconds left in the game. suspensions are expected. xavier improved to 8-0 by beating cincinnati 76-53. robert griffin, iii, returning to baylor with the heisman trophy in his hands. he received the award saturday

night, finishing comfortably ahead of andrew luck, the odds on favorite in the balloting. civil rights groups marched through new york city to protest what they called a nationwide effort to suppress voting rights. many states have passed laws requiring a photo i.d. to vote. 90,000 veterans who lie at rest at arlington national cemetery have been honored with a wreath laying. this was started 20 years ago by a maine christmas wreath company. >> hms ocean home for the holidays after a seven-week deployment turned into seven months at sea. they put their own twist on "all i want for christmas" music video. ♪ baby. >> all i want for christmas is

you, baby ♪ >> let's hope the enemy doesn't see that. since going online a week ago the video attracted more than 1 million hits on youtube. >> for a look ahead, our quick round of stories to watch this week. fedex hopes to delivery more than 7 million packages on monday. up 9% from last year's holiday shoppers, buy more online. golden globes out on thursday. awards presented in january, seen as ab an indicator of the academy awards. and "time" magazine will select the most influential person of the year or group. my pick, steve jobs, s.e.a.l. team six, or "real housewives of new jersey." >> based on the blacked out profile it could be any one of

them. every year it seems like it's the same person based on the shading. thank you so much. >> janice has a check of the weather. >> a few new profiles for all of the housewives in that picture. pretty quiet weatherwise across most of the country. only thing we're finding a problem is rain across texas. not a problem for texas. along the gulf coast, due to an easterly flow pushing moisture from the gulf of mexico. north florida, a few showers and >> good morning. after a chilly start to the game. 44 in baltimore, 44 in ocean city. the co atlanta.

and 30s across the great lakes. here is jenna. >> janice, thanks. former penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky will face some of his accusers for the first time in court on tuesday. jay gray joins us with a preview. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jenna. you talk about an exfootball coach, jerry sandusky. his attorney tell itting me he's taking an active role in game planning for his first hearing on tuesday for a difficult and very pivotal week for the former nittany lion defensive coordinator. mr. sandusky, any comments? strapped with an electronic monitoring band, he appears for his first day in court, on at least 50 charges in the child sexual assault case. >> this will be a one-sided proceeding, a proceeding where the commonwealth will call

witnesses who are going to say all of these horrific things happen. >> this is the first time sandusky has seen some of his accusers face to face since their horrific allegations of abuse went public. >> he's looking forward to it in a sense to see what these young men say in a court of law, under oath. while we're there with the ability to cross-examine them. >> reporter: sandusky repeatedly said he never abused any child. >> these allegations are false. i didn't do those things. >> reporter: his attorney, joe amendola, continues to question accusations that he believes are driven more by high dollar lawsuits. >> why do people lie? i can think of 9 million reasons. why do people lie? >> reporter: for both sides, finding the truth in the penn

state scandal officially begins with tuesday's hearing at the center county courthouse. now, as we talked about, jerry sandusky confined to home containment. he was allowed to visit his attorney's home for preparations for the hearing on tuesday. and joe amendola told me, he has provided "a wealth of information." if they go through this process, from the defense point of view, the stories from the accusers, they just don't add up is what he is saying. >> in the wakes of accusations of penn state and syracuse, yesterday you reported on disturbing new allegations focused on the head of the prestigious amateur athletic union, the aau. what's the latest on that investigation? >> an investigation that's growing. the aau says internal compliance officers with memphis police are looking into allegations that the former head of the aau, a very prestigious agency as you

talked about, bobby dodd, he is facing accusations now from two former players, who men who were teenagers and played on a team in the '80s, they say he sexually abused them during that time late yesterday. the new interim president spoke publicly for the first time. >> aau has contacted the memphis police department. we have provided them with the limited information we have up to this point. and we have given them our sincere commitment to actively cooperate in every way in any investigation law enforcement takes. >> two very active investigations at the beginning stages there. we have reached out to dodd to talk to him about these allegations. to this point, we have not been able to do that, jenna. >> jay gray, thank you very much. up next on "today," some of the british royal family's most

revealing and intimate moments, all from their christmas cards. and they could be yours, find out how, just ahead.

this time of year, brings the annual thrust of christmas cards. what if you got one from the british royal family for real? nbc's annabelle roberts reports. >> reporter: they are rare,

vealing and for sale. >> it shows them as a family, outside of their royal sphere, that they are just a regular family and i think that's why they are so special. >> reporter: these christmas cards span two decades of royal history, and they are being sold by a woman who worked for the royal family. some reveal intimate moments, like this one on holiday in scotland. free of royal duties. other predict the formal role. this military parade, the queen led on horseback early in her reign. >> william as a small child. he must only be a year old there. diana looking very young, demure and quite shy. and charles proudly gazing on. >> a young prince harry joined the photo shoot. >> quite a formal background, but with the grandchildren, harry's gorgeous smile.

this is the family spending holiday east of england when charles and diana marked together. this card marked the start of a particularly bad year. 1992, the fire at windsor castle and charles and diana's marriage at rock bottom. >> 1992 is not a year on which i will look back with undiluted pleasure. >> reporter: this card poignant. diana passed away the year before. harry, at 14 looks uncertain without his mother. william, grinning, is more confident. this is the royal family pulling together in difficult times. >> every single item in this room is for sale in the auction on tuesday, including this portrait of the queen's father. it's thought the royal christmas cards will generate the most interest with bidders from both sides of the atlantic. this as prince charles releases the christmas card for this year.

>> he was busting with pride on the wedding day. >> reporter: historical cards auctioned here and expected to fetch over $1,000. for the day, annabelle roberts, nbc news, london. >> better check my mail more carefully. back, right after this. get cindy something special this year. - you went to kay. she'll love it. [chuckles] trust me. i know. ho-ho-ho-ho-ho. - the charmed memories collection at kay jewelers each charm is hand-crafted in italy, and with hundreds of charms to choose from, the possibilities are endless.

create your own memories with charmed memories, one more reason kay is the number one jewelry store in america. - i love it. - santa said you would. no, really.

still to come on "today," how one woman managed to steal thousands of dollars from friends and complete strangers by pretending she had cancer. >> and alec baldwin takes his feud with american airlines to the set of "snl." what he had to say? and first these messages. they're for keeping us together. ♪

[ boy ] to dad, love sam. [ mom ] say "merry christmas." [ boy ] merry christmas. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. [ boy ] charlie brown spotted a small, scraggly pine tree. ♪ cigarette? you coming? umm, nah you go ahead. i'm good. alright. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicorette mini helps relieve cravings in minutes. so you can quit one cigarette at a time. nicorette mini helps you go from one little win to another. until you reach your goal. nicorette mini. quit one cigarette at a time.

>> good morning. i'm kerry cavanaugh. the time is 8:25. here's a look at some of our top stories this morning. baltimore county police make an arrest in a series of goodwill robberies. police have charged 29-year-old richard pettaway with five counts of armed robbery. we're told he is a former employee of goodwill's cockesville store. >> we did determine he was an ex-employees of goodwill. we found out what their operations were, so we figured these were the easiest targets around for him. >> police say pettaway is being

held at the baltimore county detention center. >> a man found unconscious was murdered. he was in an apartment along the -- the man's name has not been released. no word on possible suspects in that case. >> a 26-year-old man remains in critical condition after a shooting that happened friday night after what police say was an argument inside club envy that got out of control and moved onto the street. that's when someone shot three men leaving one of them wounded on the street. one of the victims has been released from the hospital. 410-396-2411 if you have information. >> joan marshall, executive director of the college savings plans of maryland will be our "q & a" guest in the next hour of

"11 news sunday morning." if have you a question about the prepaid college trust e-mail questions to sundayquestions @ wbaltv.com.

>> good morning. a start to the day. baltimore started off in the 20's. we're moving off to the 20's. light winds. no problem if you are heading to m&t stadium. you are expecting temperatures in the 40's. we are warming up into mid week.

we stay try until wednesday and the end of the week. a chance for rain at the end of the week. >> thank you for joining us. "11 news sunday morning" continues in such dramatic music. christmas is here, and it's in your face! back on a sunday morning, december 11, 2011. i'm not going to lie to you, it is cold here in new york. but that has not stopped a very dedicated crowd from joining us out on the plaza for a huge par hearty fantastic to everyone who stopped by. and thanks for the signs. they put a lot of work into them. >> they do put a lot of work into it. >> in the back drop of that beautiful christmas tree, i'm jenna wolfe. how is that for an intro? >> that's good. i'm lester holt. >> starting with a disturbing story in this half hour. hard to believe. >> about a woman. everyone around here in person and online, she told she was

battling cancer. she didn't know if each passing day would be her last. turns out, hard to believe, she was faking it the whole time and also way, she stole thousands of dollars from friends and strangers. more on that story. >> very disturbing story. it's sunday, which means it's time for our weekend buzz and we're talking about alec baldwin, top notch here, has everyone talking this week, between the feud between himself and american airlines when he got booted off that flight. but could he have the last laugh? we'll take a look. what he had to say, and many more interesting topics in the week in buzz. >> then we have penguins in the studio yesterday. we will continue the penguin theme today and talk about one not quite ordinary penguin. born with a limp that actually endangered his life. his caretakers at the zoo turned to an unlikely source. getting ready to join us and where he got the boot that he's now wearing. first, time for the weekly holiday toy drive. and so far, we've brought in

more than 1$18 million. one of the long-time contributors, laura lee fleming, grand manager at goody. what did you bring today? >> today we're excited. this is goody's eighth year donating to the toy drive. we've donated over $1 million. this year, be donated head bands, barre eretetbarrettes, cr doubles, which is hairbands which double as bracelets. >> i get nothing. >> i love it. >> do you this every year, it really feels good to do this. >> getting back is truly engrained in the goody culture. we're involved in tons of activities through the year. we want to encourage the spirit all year round. >> thank you for taking part. >> thank you. >> only two more weeks for you to help us get toys and gifts to

needy kids. donate on the plaza. nbc experience store or online. go to today.com for all of the details. >> i don't know if we mentioned exactly how cold it is. if we don't know enough, janice huff knows it all janice. >> we're all bundled up. except my friend, bruce who did not wear his coat out here and his wife ann. ann has made friends with the lsu people already. show the other side of that. there you go. let's check the weather and see what's going on. cold across parts of the country. chilly with the parts of florida. temperatures in the teens and 20s across the northern plains. highs in the 20s and thursday. here in new york city. about 40 degrees. going to be rain over texas. i don't have think you have a problem with that. and rain in florida because of the onshore flow. a few showers across the hawaiian islands and tomorrow, snow in the mountains right around the l.a. basin there.

winter storm watch in effect. that's what's going on around the >> good morning. after a chilly start to the game. 44 in baltimore, 44 in ocean city. the it's sunday and that means sunday night football right here on nbc. you'll be able to see the game, right here tonight, all when people in this part of the country, giants fans watching. it's at cowboys stadium. giants visiting the cowboys. mostly cloudy skies. should be rain free. retractible dome, of course. temperatures in the 40s.

it is cool there. all right. now back inside to lester. >> janice, thanks. now to a shocking story in virginia where a mother two of faces charges that she stole thousands of dollars from generous people by pretending to have cancer. nbc's mike taibbi has more. >> reporter: from the images of a long suffering cancer patient, to a mugshot of a woman charged with the most cynical kind of fakery. 42-year-old martha nicholas has falsely charlaimed to have canc for years in fund raisers for the american cancer society and they found no evidence of cancer treatment at any medical facility. nicholas, mother of two, reportedly pulled in tens of thousands of dollars over the years. the american cancer society says the money she helped raise in their name did not go to nicholas herself. >> the people who did make donations to the american cancer society, those dollars have gone

for the intention that they were given. >> reporter: friends and donors feel betrayed and angry. >> i was dumbfounded. i couldn't believe that martha, of all people, would do something like that. to deceive so many people that cared so much about her. >> reporter: she's not the first such case. a california police dispatcher drew six months in jail for bilking friends and colleagues out of some $50,000 in do donations based on her fake cancer. and 27-year-old boston teacher was sentenced to two years in jail for pulling in more than $37,000 from sympathetic and generous donors. no comment from nicholas or her attorney. at present, she only faces misdemeanor charges of obtaining money under false pretenses. investigators are looking for more victims. a defense attorney watching these cases believes that will change. >> in the end, i think this case will rise to the level of a felony. she's been raising money for quite some time.

>> reporter: raising money to falsely battle the terrible disease wondering if each night would be her last. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. up next, alec baldwin versus american airlines and lindsay lohan bears it all in playboy. the week in buzz, after these messages. ♪ [ man ] we've been in the business over the course of four centuries. [ woman ] it was a family business back then, and it still feels like a family business now. the only people who knew about us were those in new england, that moment that we got our first web order... ♪ ...we could tell we were on the verge of something magical. all of a sudden it just felt like things were changing. we can use this to advertise to bakers everywhere. [ man ] browns summit, north carolina. crescent city, california. we had a package go to kathmandu once. the web has been the reason this entire section of the warehouse exists today. we were becoming more than this little flour company in vermont.

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this morning, taking a look back at the week in buzz. our recap of the stories that has everybody talking. >> from lindsay lohan bearing this it all in "playboy" to a reality show that left people in tears. >> the biggest buzz story, alec baldwin, the whole american airlines thing, didn't turn off electronics, went on twitter, canceled his twitter account. last night, went on "snl" to

spoof it. i'll get your thoughts. >> what's your take on the events of last wednesday. >> it was awful, seth. it was very important for me to come here tonight on & on behalf of everyone at american airlines, issue an apology to mr. alec baldwin. >> alec, are you sure this is the right way to handle this? >> yeah, keep going. >> what say you? >> i love this guy. alec baldwin is my new man crush. i'm sorry. this is the way you handle a celebrity scandal. when you are act bad as a celebrity. own it. just own it and use it. everybody else needs to take a class from alec baldwin. he made it funny. no ego or hubris. he's like, yeah, i did it. >> and he makes fun of himself, he doesn't care. wouldn't it be great if we all had this platform if we had a problem and it could be just be taken care of. >> and he said people are tired

of turning off electronic devices. >> we need to fly and safely. who cares? turn it off. what's the alternative? you crash. what's the alternative? >> he has a problem with the alternative. >> behind sa >> lindsay lohan, she does "playboy," forces hugh hefner's hand. he's going to release the magazine early because it generated so much buzz. >> she's a train wreck, a naked train wreck now. and she's good friends with kris kardashian, the family. and this has kris kardashian all over it. this is her solution to the next step to get hot and famous. she would have you naked in "play girl" in a second, lester. >> i can wait for that episode. >> someone else can wait also.

>> watch this, saw the drama. 13-year-old rachel crow eliminated. burst into tears, hiss tar call. one of the judges cast a controversial vote that had everyone booing her. make sense of this one. >> here is the thing. what niccole supposedly did, she said i'm going to withhold my vote. i can't vote, i can't make a decision. you're a judge. that's what we hired you for. >> that's right. >> to make a decision. we're paying you millions of dollars to do one thing and one thing only. make a decision! and she's like i can't make a decision and then says i -- i feel like i let her down. really? that's like me pushing you a ledge and saying, i somehow feel responsible. >> she said i wished the voters would make the call. >> she took the role of judging

or leadership and didn't follow through. the difference to me is "american idol" is the country club of talent shows compared to this. this is like the jerry springer -- like boo, loud, obnoxious and she's too young to be on the show. the little girl. 13. who can handle that? >> she's like a half black shirley temple. who doesn't love that? >> that's true. >> okay. let's move on. the gop candidates. only two of them would show up for the presidential debate, he may actually cancel it. why no love for donald trump? >> i never feel bad for donald trump. he's incapable of feeling bad for himself, so why should i? i wanted to see this. because it would have been like the wwe of debates. just them attacking each other and him going you're fired. that would have been great. >> he's a big baby. he can't do debates. he would just be mad.

mad at michele bachmann, she's come and seen me four times and ask forb advice and now she's not my friend anymore. more of a baby than my 3-year-old. enough. >> paris jackson, michael jackson's daughter in a fantasy called "london's bridge." >> the big star of this movie is larry king. >> his voice is in it i think. >> the big star. not exactly the blockbuster i think she should come out with. >> i think it's fine. ed to be an actress. >> you think it's fine? >> i think it's fine. i don't think she should be pursuing acting as a career. your father is departed, left you a lot of money. become a hedge fund manager. >> we should see if we could find two more outspoken people. >> nice to have you guys. always a pleasure. up ahead, happy feet.

meet the penguin standing tall because of a brand new shoe. one shoe. first, these messages. annual bonus.cent so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

now to lucky the penguin. born with a life-threatening limp, he's now waddling like a champ with the help of the folks at teva. good morning, everybody. especially you, lucky. you know what? you don't really speak english that well, so we'll concentrate on the two of you. rachel, you first noticed lucky had a problem shortly after he hatched. he walked with a limp because of the shape of his foot.

what were you thinking at that point? what challenges did the penguin face or would he face? >> well, i think the biggest challenge that we had with lucky is that he was putting all his weight on a joint that's not meant to bear weight, so what we were getting is a really bad infection in that joint. so that was the biggest problem. the biggest challenge was overcoming that infection. and because i had that infection, it meant he couldn't swim normally, couldn't have access to water like a penguin really should. >> i understand surgery was not an option for the penguin. so you reached out to chris at the zoo. chris, when the zoo came to you and asked if you would design a shoe for a penguin, did you think someone was pranking you at that point? >> you know, we actually have worked with this zoo before, but we got that call, and we had a quick huddle as a team this is obviously a pretty irregular request. it's funny, we psychatriclquick

was something we needed to do. and we said let's do what teva does, we make shoes for people that love to be in and around the water for years. >> this is what i found most interesting. this shoe has to be waterproof, couldn't slip. tell me how many prototypes you had to go through to make sure it would fit the penguin? >> it was a huge challenge. we've been making shoes for years for human athletes, but making something for a penguin led to it a local of challenges just in fit. once we got the fit right, it was really easy to take something like this, a teva shoe with features and apply it to a penguin. this is his holiday boot. >> how is lucky doing? is he swimming and getting along with everybody now? >> yeah. and that's the best part. this shoe really changed his life. it saved his life.

made it so he could go in and out of water any time he wanted and we're able to bring him up to the exhibit, just like all the other penguins. >> thank you so much. lucky, you didn't contribute much, but thank you for joining us. we'll take a break being back right after this. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. and this time of year, i send out a lot of gifts. sweater for mom, free shipping from brian.

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this morning on "today"'s best holiday gift guide, our favorite book critic and author john searles looked for the best books for everyone on your list this year. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> books make great gifts for the holiday. we have a fantastic lineup. i want to start with one of my favorites. perfect for the person with the sweet tooth in your life. it's called "cakeby." it has lots of delicious treats. i'm here with the gorgeous and talented molly sims, to tell us about "rules of civility" why do love this book.

>> so good. one of the best books i've read in a really long time. very gatsby, fitzgerald. and tinger gray is the main character. like a mix between a robert patinson and leonardo dicaprio. >> you sold me. can i have your copy? >> "rules of civility" have to give it. all of the women in your life will love it. i'm not giving you my copy. >> and i'm outside louis vuitton. fashionistas flock far and wide. the perfect book is christian loubo louboutine. the fashionistas will love it. >> and two very different celebrity memoirs. we know mindy from the office. but this is not about that show.

it's about her life, her female friendships, her family, her early years in new york city as a comedian. funny and fast. if you are reading this in more than a week, something is wrong with you. the other book is one of the most personal, intimate memorials i ever encountered. diane tells her story and measure mothers. her mother kept 85 journals over the life. and diane kaeaton really shares the story. and a new book called "the affair." tell me about it? >> this is the book, right back to the beginning of the series. before the beginning of the series, in fact, to explain how jack turned into the guy that he is. >> secrets, beautiful woman, dead bodies. >> and the affair gives clues to some of the action.

>> tell me about the next thing? >> 39 passengers die in the warm august waters of lake champlain. but my book chronicles the ghosts in the aftermath. >> how spooky. >> if you look a good ghost storey this channel as a lot of the genre. the big old locked door in the basement. family in jeopardy and if you want to know how to survive a plane crash. >> for the pet lover in the life, "love at first back" heart warming essays by a woman who rescues troubled dogs. and i'm not the biggest "b" in the relationship. >> good collection of books. >> i'm telling you, this is a must read. loved it.

>> between that is the shoes. >> i want the shoe book. >> oh, the boys. >> that's the one to have. down to david gregory to tell us what's coming on "meet the press." >> up, i'm talking about ron paul as we enter the final count down to the iowa caucuses and a debate on the economy. our political roundtable. all coming up this morning on "meet the press." >> thank you. >> that will do it on this sunday morning. janice huff, thank you so much. coming up, why you are seeing so many book and title movies these days are filled with curse words. and the anniversary of roy rogers. i'll see you back for "nbc nightly news" until then, so long, everybody.

>> up next, what you need to know about your son or daughter's tuition. and where to find holiday gifts for everyone on your list and support the local economy. >> after a chilly start to the day, the temperatures bouncing back. we'll look at afternoon high temperatures in the insta-weather plus forec