COMING UP ON "ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS" - MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2012

WHAT real estate slump? While millions of American homeowners have seen the value of their property plummet, one type of U.S. real estate is BOOMING: farmland. Prices are rising so much so fast that there's even talk of a coming bubble. Harry Smith goes to Iowa where the price of farmland has risen as much as 23% just in the last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. What is driving prices up, and might it have a ripple effect?

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Lobster is often the priciest item on any menu. But what if your lobster dinner also exacted a terrible cost in human health and even human life? Natalie Morales goes to the isolated Miskito Coast in Honduras where lobster diving is a way of life - and where most of what is caught is shipped directly to the U.S. - and examines the devastating health effects on the men who plumb the depths for this delicacy.

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We've all seen the craziness in Times Square as millions of merrymakers gather there to ring in the New Year. But what happens after the confetti flies and the ball drops? And who has the honor of cleaning up the colossal mess? We'll show you!

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David Corvo is the senior executive producer, Rome Hartman is the executive producer and Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of "Rock Center with Brian Williams" (Mondays at 10p/9C). Follow us at RockCenterNBC.com, facebook.com/rockcenterNBC and @rockcenterNBC.