good morning. welcome to the last weekend of 2023. >> everyone gearing up to ring in the new year. this is december 30th. this is "today". west coast deluge as california is pelted with rain as coastal residents brace for another round of dangerous surf.

rogue waves reaching 30 feet and higher and sending people running. the forecast for the rest of the country looking a lot better as millions hit the road and take to the skies for the long holiday weekend. ballot controversy. more states to rule soon if donald trump can appear on the primary ballots as the former president vows to challenge the rulings finding him ineligible to run in light of the actions on january 6th. will the supreme court have to step in? free speech. a chancellor removed from his position after 17 years for posting explicit adult videos he made with his wife to social media. the couple now claiming his firing is a violation of his first amendment rights. all that and bowl games abound. a huge weekend of college football with four bowl games,

including two-time national champ georgia facing off against undefeated florida state. >> and moppa riding and clemson leads. >> it follows a slate of friday night games that saw clemson, missouri and notre dame racking up wins and we've got all the highlights. today, saturday, december 30th, 2023. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and laura jarrett. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" and thank you for joining us. peter has the morning off. joe fryer is here to talk about new year's eve eve. >> we decided this is new year's eve eve day. everybody is getting up and

preparing for times square. we get to the precautions cities are taking ahead of new year's eve. you see times square right there where 1 million people are expected to gather and celebrate tomorrow night. let's start with the all-important weather forecast making it a difference for the travel rush and fireworks tomorrow. angie lassman has it covered. >> good morning. i'm happy to report that i have mostly good news with the weather forecast today and tomorrow to round out 2023. here is the satellite/radar across the country. we have a couple of snowshowers for interior northeast and the middle of the country is dry. out west is where we have problems. when it comes to travel, we watch for the potential for delays in san fran and l.a. and san diego with the potential for problems. the middle of the country looks great. no air travel delays today or tomorrow. san francisco and l.a. are the spots that we will watch for the potential for light rain and

maybe low clouds and giving you a bit of a headache with travel. as we look at the radar, the heavy rain worked through parts of california this morning. it will slowly, but surely, taper off as we get into the later parts of today. notice we have the dangerous surf alerts. coastal flood advisories and watches and warnings from the impressive waves. 15-to-30 feet is something we watch for the next couple days. we will see additional rain for the new year's eve celebration on the west coast. guys. >> angie, thank you. we will check back in for the full forecast in a bit. the wet weather in california is a southern because more dangerous surf is expected today. steve patterson has the latest. >> reporter: terrifying monster

waves lashing the west coast. walls of water as high as 30 feet exploding over sea walls sparking flooding and evacuations and harrowing ocean rescues. the high surf causing at least eight injuries in ventura county, california with crews racing to save 15 people swept into the sea. colin hogue was filming. >> people were running and screaming. it was like an an movie. >> reporter: crews racing to build the mile-long berm with the eye of the storm on the north. the waves part of the surf from the bay area to washington. in california, where the rough seas are a huge attraction for

surfers. >> stay out of the water for your safety. >> reporter: a warning ahead of the next wave. stay clear of the coast. guys, we are far from out of the woods. the storm system could still bring waves as tall as 40 feet in areas. this berm is the last line of defense between the dangerous serve and this community. laura and joe. >> steve, thank you. millions of americans on the move this weekend trying to make it to their destination in time for new year's. blayne alexander is in atlanta with more. >> reporter: good morning, laura. the airport is living up to its name today. you can see with the numbers where they are expected to see 3.3 million passengers this travel season. that is higher than what they saw last year and it is much the

same around the country. in fact, when you look at numbers in the air and on the roads, they are exceeding pre-pandemic numbers or meeting those numbers and there are more busy days ahead. this morning, from the streets to the skies, millions of americans are taking off on one of the busiest travel days of the year. the tsa is expecting 2.5 million air travelers on monday. passengers are staring down long lines as more brace for increased delays and cancellations. >> busy. plan extra time. you have to do that. that's the world we live in. >> reporter: as more than 48,000 flights are set to take off today, some airlines are already reporting hours long delays. at miami international airport, the holiday rush shattered a record marking the highest number of daily travelers ever

this year with six of the ten busiest days coming in the last two weeks. the high volume, mixing with bad weather and short staffing in air traffic control towers has airlines asking for help in preventing delays. in the letter to the faa and department of transportation, airlines for america, representing american, united and southwest, writes continued atc staffing challenges have driven delays and cancellations over the holiday period. and if you think it is crowded in the air, try hitting the roads. aaa says nearly 104 million people are driving to their holiday destinations this year. the good news? gas prices are lower than last year. the national average is around $3.12 a gallon. that downward trend could be coming to a stop. speak of hitting the roads today, if you are getting ready to start the road travel, aaa

predicts the busiest time is between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. that is important to keep in mind when you plan to get on the roads. all told, aaa came into the holiday season expecting to see some 115 million passengers, that is the second highest number since the year 2000 and the highest numbers since the pandemic. joe and laura. >> thank you, blayne. cities across the country are getting ready for new year's eve celebrations amid protests over the israel-hamas war. times square visitors can rest assured. erin mclaughlin shows us more. >> reporter: this morning, times square ready to ring in the new year. city officials insist security is set to handle a crowd in the hundreds of thousands. >> there are no specific threats to the city. >> reporter: even so, with thousands of officers deployed,

they say they are expanding the zones. >> we are here with the k-9s and drones and helicopters and boats. >> reporter: the ball drop amid tension over the israel-hamas war. protesters taking aim at new york's holiday season having already interrupted the christmas celebrations and thanksgiving parade. >> we're prepared for anything. >> reporter: the fbi arrests one already. a 23-year-old new jersey man. this following the machete attack last year. law enforcement this year is worried about the lone wolf this year. >> someone sitting alone in their basement watching videos and getting filled with hate and decides today's the day. >> reporter: across the country, in vegas, a low altitude

helicopter buzzing over the strip checking for radioactive contamination. the large of the cities in america taking no chances with the delicate balance between security -- >> welcome 2024 -- >> reporter: and celebration. the protests planned to new york on sunday and officials say they expanded the security zone for two reasons here at times square. one of them being they want to create more of a buffer between any protests and the celebration and they want to create more space for them to respond to any potential security incidents. joe and laura. >> erin, thank you. now to new developments in the race for the white house with more than a dozen states weighing whether to keep former president trump off the ballots. monica alba is in new york with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. the former president's campaign is appealing the maine decision

to keep him off the ballot just like last when when the state supreme court ruled to remove mr. trump. arguing his role in the january 6th attack on the capitol amounts to insurrection. that prevents him from being president again. most have sided like minnesota and arizona where he will stay on the ballot, but plenty of others have pending challenges like nevada and wisconsin. others have already been dismissed for a number of reasons. sometimes having little to do with mr. trump at all, but from the practical standpoint, this is timing. these disputes are about the primary because those ballots have to be printed ahead of the super contest on march 5th. removing mr. trump in maine and colorado, the former president

is technically on the ballot because those states paused their implementations so higher courts can step in to make a more definitive ruling. all this comes as mr. trump is fund raising and insisting this say politically motivated attack that takes away power from the voters. laura and joe. >> monica alba, thank you. >> deja vu all over again. we had this conversation last week. more states are weighing in. it seems like the supreme court will weigh in. >> they will soon. to be clear, the reason this is happening because every state has a different mechanism for how somebody is eligible or not eligible, to be on the ballot. that is why it is all different. it makes sense under state law. the supreme court sets the rules for the country. they will be the ones to rule. colorado will move as soon as this week.

>> glad we have you here to explain it. thank you. i'm sure we'll have the same conversation next week. in the middle east, fighting continues. israeli army is still drawing out with attacks. we have josh lederman with more from tel aviv. josh, good morning. >> reporter: joe, israel is under international pressure over the war. just in the last 24 hours, south africa announced it opened a case at the international court of justice accusing israel of genocide against palestinians. they are asking the court to stop the attacks. israel's foreign ministry says that is baseless and calling this a blood libel. israel has been facing scrutiny over the conduct with the idf announcing it has acknowledged now that air strikes in gaza struck civilians. now a u.n. agency said israel

fired on the convoy in the gaza strip. the idf has not commented. the united states is offering new support to israel. the biden administration will sell $115 million of emergency weapons to israel while side stepping the review process in congress where new aid to israel has been held up. there are still six americans believed to be among the more than 100 hostages held in the gaza strip. prime minister netanyahu and president biden are fully engaged in bringing the hostages home, but working withmediaors to bring more hostages home. hamas says that will not happen. they are not interested in another temporary cease-fire. the region is on a knife's edge. israel saying the fighter jets struck in lebanon. in a rare move, israel is

acknowledging the strike in syria after two rockets were launched in the golan heights. the window for a wider war is closing. >> josh, thank you. ukraine is reeling from what they say is russia's biggest air attack yet. 158 missiles and drones swarmed across the country killing 30 people on friday. the u.s. and the uk are continuing to send aid to ukraine. the ministry of defense promised to send 200 air defense missiles in response to the latest attack while the u.s. lawmakers approved another $250 million aid package this month. and the ohio governor blocked access to transgender youth for access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers.

it would have barred transgender girls to play on sports teams that don't relate to their identity. mr. dewine said if the bill were to become law, ohio would be saying the state knows better than the child's parents about what is medically best for them. it is time for another check of the forecast. angie, i see a lot of sunshine on the map. >> exactly. that is why i said i mostly have good news. it is a couple of trouble spots. here is the forecast for the day today rounding out the last saturday of the year. lingering system out west. mostly sunshine with chicago at 40 degrees. kansas city at 46. oklahoma city in the upper 50s with sunshine. looking ahead to tomorrow, fair skies for the center of the country. a couple of snowshowers across the great lakes. nothing will accumulate a lot. as we look ahead to midnight, the all-important forecast, let's look at new york.

38 degrees and mostly clear skies. we will see a little cloud cover. i don't think we can complain too much. slick roads for the northeast and maybe the appalachians. mid-20s for wichita. lights showers for our friends in california. something they are not used to on new year's eve at midnight. we will see a couple good morning at 5:57 on this final saturday. what a storm last night, but now things are starting to calm down. the storm is moving down to the south and to the east. let's zoom in on storm ranger and see light rain happening now through the central bay. mill valley driving to richmond, parts of south san francisco and scattered activity through parts of the north bay and the east bay as well as out along the coast. half moon bay down into tusc and that's the look at the

forecast. guys, i don't think you can get a better forecast for times square ball drop. no showers and mild temperatures. >> no one is complaining for december. still to come, a former college chancellor speaking out after his firing for posting adult films he made with his wife. plus, the surprising reason polar bears are invading one small canada town and what they want the rest of the world to know about protecting them. we're back after thi s.

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we're back on saturday morning with "the weekly download." >> nbc's emilie ikeda joins us at the desk.

>> we have a lot to talk about. a drone attack at a u.s. base there. u.s. air strikes hit three facilities in iraq used by iranian-backed militias. the u.s. saying the strikes killed multiple fighters and this ends a clear message to the groups and iran after a christmas day strike on erbil air base that injured three u.s. troops. >> a new caravan with 8,000 men and women and children, the largest in a year, continues to the u.s. as president biden presses to take action. antony blinken met with the president about the surge at the border. >> only an empty lot remains of the house where under the idaho students xana kernodle and

kaylee goncalves were killed more than 13 months ago. the house was demolished despite pleas from kaylee goncalves' family. >> they tear it down and one jury member says i wanted to see that place and go inside there. i had questions that could not be answered. >> the university of idaho saying we feel certain that now is the right time to move forward with the healing that comes with the demolition. >> and after eight years behind bars, gypsy rose blanchard is free. she was released from the correctional facility in missouri after the sentence for second-degree murder. she pled guilty in 2016 after planning the murder of her mother deeddee with her boyfriend. >> and two men discovered a mangled truck with a 27-year-old pinned inside.

>> i woke him up and he looked right at me with his eyes wide open. relief. >> he survived for six days by drinking rain water until he was found. >> mom always liked you best. >> tom smothers of the smothers brothers comedy duo died as the age of 86 after a recent battle with cancer. ♪ some of you don't like ♪♪ >> tom and dick's style in the 1960s helped pave the way for bold social commentary on tv. they performed for decades together. >> finally, it is college football playoff season, but it wasn't the play on the field that had everyone talking. it was the pop tarts bowl and mascot dancing and going into a giant toaster.

the kansas state wildcats earned an edible human-sized pop tart and normal size ones, too. >> i miss add opportunity to bring pop states to "popstart." i missed out. >> i baked cookies. >> human size. what would your kids do with that? >> i don't know. gobble it all down. >> the only thing that would be better is if it was brown sugar. still to come on "today," from boosting the economy to the football ban. we look at taylor swift's impact on sports and beyond in 2023. plus, the big winners and losers of the box office from th

good morning. thanks for joining us on this saturday december 30th. i'm kira klapper. the heavy rain fall ago cross the bay area the last couple days is calming down a bit this morning, but not before causing problems across the region. sonoma county was hit with strong winds and rain. the water so high some roads were completely closed because of flooding.

heavy winds also centuries toppling over, including this one in cloverdale. you can see it destroyed this deck splitting it apart. in contra costa county a man was hospitalized after his car flipped on its side. it's still unclear if rain was the primary factor in the crash, but reminding drivers, you need to slow down in these conditions. >> slow down. yeah. got to slow down. it's tough at night like this when it's raining hard, and things are puddling up pushing your car from side to side. hard to see lines on the road. >> the city didn't escape damage. clogged drains caused flooding on the muni tracks at third and mission not far from oracle park and highway 101 one of many bay area freeways hit with sloppy and dangerous driving conditions. so perfect time now to check in with cinthia pimentel on this last saturday of the year. >> good morning, kira and good morning, everyone. quite a storm last night. things calming down for the most part. just scattered activity this

morning that will carry us through the final saturday of the month. zoom it on out with storm ranger. mobile doppler radar scanning skies closer to the surface to tell us where the rain is now. marin county driving into parts of richmond into the north bay scattered making your way up from novato into parts of healdsburg into bodega bay and scattered activity around the east bay, richmonds, hayward and out to the coast could see a bit more heavier rainfall in yellows and darker greens from half moon bay down into tuscadero and parts of the santa cruz mountains getting a break. heavy rain seems to be pushing down south and to the east. the thing i want to be warning about is the high surf. it's going to continue for today and tomorrow. we do have a high surf warning. coastal flooding a possibility. things are iffy with roadways but should clear out. that new year's eve forecast coming up at 7:00 a.m. >> cinthia, thanks. a reminder, you can download

our free nbc bay area app and use the interactive radar to track the rain and the wind in your neighborhood. coming up this morning on "today in the bay," countdown is on. san francisco getting ready for the end of the year. what you need to know if you plan to head to the embarcadero for new year's eve where you can and cannot go. we'll have that, plus all your top stories and cinthia's full forecast coming up at 7:00. we hope you join us. right now, back to the "today" right now, back to the "today" show. [narrator] covered california is a free service from the state that's already helped millions of people like you get and pay for health insurance. with financial health to lower the cost of health coverage, you could get a quality health plan for less than $10 a month. every plan covers preventive care,

doctor visits, emergency care, and more. if you have questions, we're here to help every step of the way. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by december 31 at coveredca.com. we're back on saturday morning, december 30th, the day before the 31st, 2023 with the live look at new york's times square. last-minute preps are ahead of the new year's eve celebrations and the big ball drop tomorrow

night. kudos to the folks who brave that who spend their time in times square. i will barely make it to midnight. i work monday morning. i will immediately go to sleep. >> i will make it until 9:00. we say we will stay up and watch things and i'm passed out. >> your kids wake you up. >> they better be asleep. let's check on the headlines. google setting a $5 billion lawsuit saying it spied on people using private modes on the browsers. the class action suit filed this 2020 said google misled users while using icognito mode on google chrome. it continued to collect information about the site visits and search history. the settlement is still awaiting approval from the federal judge. the spirit airlines employees is out of a job after

putting an unaccompanied 6-year-old on the wrong flight. the airline said the internal investigation said the gate agent at philadelphia international put the child on the flight to orlando. the worker is no longer with the company and it is reviewing procedure was the team to prevent this situation from happening again. the detroit pistons have a lot on the line as they face the toronto raptors. the pistons are trying on avoid a new record for the longest single season losing streak in the nba history. pistons tied the record of 28 consecutive losses thursday when they fell to the boston celtics in overtime. the raptors game will be in front of the hardest of the hometown fans. also this morning, free speech at the heart of the controversy facing a major american university this morning. the chancellor of the university of wisconsin lacrosse was fired from his job this week after it

was revealed he was making and posting adult videos with his wife. jesse kirsch has the story. >> good morning. >> reporter: at the university of wisconsin lacrosse, dr. joe gow led this commencement ceremony days ago. >> she's carmen. >> and he's joe. >> reporter: gow was working on a different video. >> you have outdone yourself. >> reporter: he and his wife star in the porn videos on porn hub. he said they started publicly posting the adult videos and this explicit cooking show. >> you had such a great time. >> you got it. >> reporter: roughly a week ago, gow said the university of wisconsin asked about his videos and by wednesday, he was terminated as chancellor after nearly 17 years of service.

>> there was no due process. i was never informed of any policy i violated. >> reporter: the university system has not specified why gow was terminated. he subjected the university to significant harm. gow believes he was terminated because of his pornography. >> the classical exceptions to the first amendment, butting having material that explores consensual adult sexuality, we should be able to talk about that on a college campus. >> is it fair to say you were held to a different standard as the leader of the university and face of the university in ways? >> i'm not sure. >> reporter: some experts say legal precedent does not favor gow. >> there is a large zone of speech on private concern that

is protected in the sense you can't go to jail for it or can't be sued for it. the employer might still fire you. >> reporter: this morning, an old debate getting a new look from the surprising perspective. jesse kirsch, nbc news. >> all right. thanks to jesse. we will leave that right there. >> you are having conversations at home right now. let's turn to angie for another check of the weather. not any reaction to that. >> thank you. i'm glad there's no reaction needed from me. let's talk about the weather. are you happy about that? i am. we have chilly conditions in florida and georgia waking up to freeze watches and frost advisories in jacksonville. look at this. we have temperatures in the mid-30s for savannah. mid-30s for tallahassee. 37 for valdosta. freezing in jacksonville. it is a cool start for you and this afternoon, you will be more mild for this time of year. in the 40s for atlanta. new orleans in the upper 50s.

temperatures below normal this time of year. chicago is 41 degrees. these temperatures are on the warm side for this time of year. mild conditions for the last saturday of 2023. we will take a ride on the temperature see-saw. mid-40s for lexington. eventually, we start to see things cooling down and getting back in the 30s for cincinnati before good morning at 6:06. heavy part of the storm moved out. we are behind the cold front and seeing light scattered activity through the coast line, parts of the north bay. mostly clearing through parts of the east bay and down in san jose. i want to warn you. going out to the coastline today. please, please, keep your distance as we have a high surf warning until 2:00 this afternoon where breakers could be 26 to 38 feet possible.

keep an e and that's the look at your forecast. guys, i don't know where the time went, but we are ending on a nice note for most. >> we will take it. just ahead, we take you on the job with the polar bear alert team where people are alert team where people are learning to live with furry new

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it's been said that when someone you love has parkinson's, you have parkinson's. if you have questions, the parkinson's foundation has answers. to learn more, please go to parkinson.org or call 1-800-4pd-info. welcome back. this morning on our series "today climate," a journey to the polar bear capital of the world in manatoba, canada where

tourists flock to see polar bears in the wild. >> now more and more bears are going the opposite direction. into town. anne thompson has more. >> reporter: polar bears broad tourists to churchhill, canada. where the forests stop and tundra starts, they look to see the bears go back to sea ice to hunt on seals. take a look. we're about 12 feet from the polar bear. fine from a protected buggy, but dangerous. >> a bear! >> reporter: when hungry bears come to town. and when they are spotted, conversation sergeant ian van ness gets the call. >> we'll be there in one minute. >> reporter: the polar bear alert team tracking bears at 5:00 a.m. in the town of 900

people. >> judging by the size of the tracks, it is a sub-adult. >> reporter: when they find one of the bears -- >> we'll ease them to the west. >> reporter: they fire shotgun blanks in the air to scare it away. >> it's all about steering the bear in the right direction. >> reporter: by afternoon, it is a day to remember. >> there's been six that have tried to walk in the town today. >> six? >> yes. >> is that an unusually high number? is that the most in one day? >> today set the record for the season. >> reporter: government officials say this year they are seeing twice as many bears in town compared to 2022. on the tundra where the bears belong, polar bear international says the lack of sea ice due to climate change is the problem. >> the longer the bears are on shore, the more likely they will start looking for alternative sources of nutrition.

>> how hungry are these bears? >> these bears have been generally fasting for five months. >> reporter: an issue we first saw in 2013. as a result, polar bears like the ones behind me, must spend weeks on land. the polar bear population here in western hudson bay has declined 27% in the last five years. the bears are smaller and this year, the sea ice is taking longer to form. inside the tundra buggy, we are seeing what is happening. >> no ice at all. >> if thisis normal, how much of hudson bay is frozen? >> we see ice around the shelf especially around churchhill. >> reporter: next year, york hopes to add bear-dar to detect

threatening bears. the mayor is just as worried about the other threat. the changing climate. >> how much are you worried that it will not be the polar bear capital? >> you think of it at times, naturally. we do our part to co- exist. >> reporter: a town doing its part hoping the rest of the world does the same. for "today," ann thompson, nbc news, manatoba. >> this trend of species and moving and finding new habitats is going to happen more with the animals looking for different spots for food and places like california with the really bad drought. coyotes were moving into the town to find food. this is something we will see more of. >> they're hungry, but cute. we are back on the couch

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we're back with "popstart." emilie ikeda. >> let's check in with the box office. the period from christmas to ne new year's is a busy time. this year's is a disappointing one with numbers down pre-pandemic. the "wonka" taking the top spot at the box office as it earned $8 million in the second full week bringing the domestic total to $110 million.

the second is "migration." and then third is "aquaman" with $55.2 million in the first week of release. 55% lower than the first "aquaman" film. hollywood will have "inside out" and "dune" and "mean girls" out in 2024. and jeremy renner is back to work after the accident last year. he shared a post on his instagram account. she will be back with her favorite guy next week and lots of physical therapy where renner wrote music about the experience. take a look. ♪ i know that ♪ ♪ i'm complicated ♪ ♪ i don't have a lot ♪

♪ to say ♪ ♪ maybe little unpredictable ♪ ♪ sometimes ♪♪ >> that was "wait" with renner and his daughter. it will be released one year after his accident. it is a remarkable recovery. look at him. stunning. >> i remember when we learned the details. how did he survive that? it is incredible to see him back in action. >> he sings? since when? >> did i miss that? and speaking of singing, barack obama, the former president shared his list of songs on social media on friday rounding out his recap days after sharing his favorite books and movies. top songs of the year where his taste spans a wide variety. "america's got a problem" and

"crazy love" with "my love all mine." also on the list is "road to freedom" by kravitz. that's your "popstart." >> that list is small. i'm trying to see it on camera. i didn't see anything by paul russell. hoda's pick of the year is a big hit in my house. the kids always go crazy for it. >> it is a catchy one. >> i love the variety. we have beyonce and keith urban. >> emilie, thank you. one of our favorite ways to close out the yearor f

still to come on "today,"

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subject 2: it doesn't feel good because you can't play outside with other children. subject 3: as a parent, it is your job to protect your family. but here is something that i cannot do. i cannot fix this. i don't know if my daughter is going to be able to walk. i don't know if she's going to make it till tomorrow. [music playing] interviewer: you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live. subject 4: childhood cancer, there's no escaping it. but st. jude is doing the work, continually researching towards cures, giving more than just my child a chance at life. interviewer: please, call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope for only $19 a month.

subject 5: those donations really matter because we're not going to give up. and when you see other people not giving up on your child, it makes all the difference in the world. interviewer: when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. subject 6: st. jude is hope. even today after losing a child, it's still about the hope of tomorrow, because. childhood cancer has to end. interviewer: please, call or go online right now. [music playing] once in a lifetime is never enough. never enough! ♪ love and happiness ♪ when i wear diamonds, i feel powerful. i feel on top of the world. diamonds!

diamonds for all. pandora. lab grown diamonds. good morning. thanks for joining us on this saturday, december 30th. i'm kira klapper. as we move you forward into 2024, the heavy rain will move out for your new year's eve plans, but in san francisco, there might be low visibility for fireworks because of cloudy conditions expected tomorrow. still, the city is making its final preparations for its waterfront fireworks show. the thousands expected to celebrate should prepare for some restrictions. it will happen at midnight near the ferry building, but there are already signs along the embarcadero telling drivers not to park on the street. the san francisco police department also urging people not to park on treasure island. they say construction projects on the island will make it difficult to leave. it's something some tourists have already noted.

>> i've been driving around ten minutes, i think, on the island, before i was even able to get here. just, you know, road blocks ahead here and then, i don't know, all kinds of construction going on. >> the area around the ferry port on treasure island road is fenced off. access to avenue of the palms blocked off as well because of a few major rennell construction projects. so as we mentioned, hopefully the rain will be gone. cinthia has a look at our forecast. >> yeah. i think most of it should be gone. definitely the heaviest part last night into the evening hours. right now most of that storm has pushed off fought east. left with scattered showers around the bay area. zooming in on in with storm ranger we have pockets of rain as you make your way into southern marin over into san francisco, into south city as well out towards the coastline. from pacifica, half moon bay into tuscadero, light amounts of rain. warning you about high surf

warnings for today and coastal flood warning in effect as well. both going until 2:00 this afternoon. could see localized flooding, huge waves towards the coastline. want to make sure you are aware of that. also taking it out to the sierra, a winter weather advisory. still too cold to get any significant snowfall but it will bring about hazardous conditions making your way up there for new year's eve. what to expect the rest of the weekend, high surf warning, scattered showers and i'll walk you through the first couple days of 2024. back to you. >> thank. as a reminder, use the interactive radar to track the wind and rain in your neighborhood from our app when not on the air. 6:29. coming up on "today in the bay," breaking news into the officer shot and killed in oakland yesterday morning. the very latest we're learning about the suspects this morning. that plus all your top stories coming up at 7:00.

good morning. on the road again. millions of americans ready to enjoy the final holiday weekend of the year. roads expected to be packed and the airlines already reporting hundreds of flight delays this morning. we'll have the latest, including that all-important weekend

forecast. many happy returns. if those holiday gifts miss the mark, no worries. several companies are springing up to make the return process a breeze with no boxes or labels required. and taylor's version. the year 2023 dominated by taylor swift with her record-breaking concert tours and a blockbuster concert movie and a new sweetheart. she's got us dancing into the new year, today, saturday, december 30th, 2023. >> i'm brook brook and this is maddie. >> we are the bruno family from new jersey. we love the "today" show and we watch it all the time. >> i'm rachel. >> we're from california. we are super excited because

this is our first time getting to see the "today" show. >> we're the family from boston, massachusetts. it is our daughter's birthday. happy holidays. ♪♪ good morning. welcome back to "today" on saturday morning. peter is off this morning. so much to celebrate, including easing us into the end of the year and new year. >> we have a great crowd. we are excited to get out to ay hi to them. millions of people are trying to make it to their destination in time for the new year. let's begin with blayne alexander at hartsfield international. >> reporter: laura, you see

behind me how busy it is. we have seen already this morning with people waiting for 20 minutes and longer in a lot of areas here in atlanta. this is what we are seeing around the country. this is the busiest travel period of the season. tsa expected some 115 million travelers this season alone. that is the highest number since the pandemic. when we talk about delays and cancellation, flightaware is seeing 123 delays and 30 cancellations. we are expecting higher traffic on monday, new year's day. plenty of preparations going on, especially in new york's times square. officials tell us there are no specific security threats right now, but officials are very much on high alert, especially because of the increa increased tensions with the hamas-israel

war. officials are doing the preparations with the ball drop. now for the people hitting the roads instead. aaa expects the buiest time is between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. today. guys. >> blayne, thank you. the u.s. deported nearly 122,000 people in the fiscal year as the biden administration worked to stem illegal border crossings. the government reports this is double the number from 2022. of those reported, 18,000 were parents and children traveling as family units. this comes as the caravan of 7,500 migrants is approaching through mexico to the u.s. border. turning to college football on the bowl weekend. clemson beat kentucky 38-35 with

the wild fourth quarter. notre dame set the largest margin of victory as they crushed oregon state 40-8. missouri took down ohio state 40-3. and the action continues today with four more. penn state and ole miss and auburn and maryland and undefeated florida state taking on defending champ georgia. >> that is one a lot of folks will be watching. if you looking to start the new year richer, look to get a powerball jackpot. the jackpot is $760 million. let's turn to dana griffin in california. dana, good morning. >> good morning. an estimated $760 million with this payout being the fifth largest in history. since 2016, three of the largest

jackpot powerball winning tickets were sold in the state. guys, i'm pretty optimistic the ticket i have could be a winner. these are the top ten jackpot winners of all time, which include the mega million, california and florida are the only states appearing more than once. since we're only hours away from the new year, here's what you could buy to kick start your new year's resolution. if you look the all-cash option, $386 million, gets you 5 million gym memberships. if you want to travel, 193 private jets allowing you to give one to your friends and family members. if you are trying to tidy up, you can pay for a housekeeper for life or 7 million hours of services. that is a pretty messy house. the drawing tonight is 10:59 p.m. eastern. tickets cost $2.

keeping my fingers crossed. >> dana griffin, thank you. what is $2? >> right? >> i have a hard time using my one membership. >> if i win the lottery, i'm not buying a gym membership. that's not going to happen. >> maybe the 193jets. >> probably. all right. speaking of good news. now instead of a saturday morning "boost," we have one better. >> a time for the look back at the best "boosts" of the year. ♪♪ >> coming in at number five, dedicated pooch who could not bear to say good-bye. that's rescue dog gus chasing his owner bodie down the street. bodie headed off for penn state. gus tries everything he can to stop his pal from leaving. even crossing back and forth in

front of the car. his family said when they were packing up the van, gus kept jumping in. man's best friend indeed. >> in fourth place, the principal in utah held down the fort while the snow day kept staff and students at home. ♪ one is the loneiest number ♪♪ >> tyler howe made it best playing a solo chess game and hoverboarding in the halls and going to the gym before curling up with the dr. seuss book in the library. >> kicking off the top three, indiana toddler and his aunt who is definitely in the running for coach of the year. >> go out and score. >> yeah. >> you shoot. >> shoot. >> put everything in there. >> everything in there. >> you ready? >> ready. >> yes? yes, coach.

>> yes, coach. >> go score. >> the kid shoots and scores! next stop is the nba. >> a quick thinking dad in utah is our boost runner up. >> did daddy do your hair? >> matt was trying to do something nice for his wife by letting her sleep in. he got his daughters ready for school and he had to think quick when he could not find hair ties. his solution? zip ties, of course. >> it will last all day. >> kudos for matt. the electrician for the improv. >> and finally, the boost that beats the rest. showing the power of the beyhive. john was hours away from attending a beyonce concert when he was turned away from the flight to seattle because the

airline could not accommodate his wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy. that video worked with the hive helping him out. >> he made it. >> beyonce's staff arranged transportation and ticket for him in second where he met tina and queen bey herself. beyhive, you made this happen. >> there are so many good ones that i forgot about. >> it is fun to revisit. >> you liked the pony tails? >> that's a new thing. >> we got practice. we can do that with zip ties? coming up next, how some companies are making gift returns a breeze. jake ward got a look inside one jake ward got a look inside one of the warehouse s (♪♪) some people just know that the best rate for you is a rate based on you, with allstate.

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we are back on saturday morning here with "today's" "holiday conconsumer." if you have returns, you are in good company. >> millions of people are bringing back billions of gifts. i like my gifts. we have jake ward with a look of how this one company looks. >> reporter: inside the southern california warehouse, they are preparing for the super bowl. >> this december, we are looking at millions of returns. >> reporter: they come in by the truckload. boxes and boxes of cloclothes t

did not fit or toys that were not wanted. last year, americans returned $1 trillion of stuff. the process? >> hassle. >> annoying to leave my house and stand in a long line. >> the process of returning something is terrible. >> the worst part of shopping online. >> reporter: the ceo of happy returns. a company springing up to make returns easier. over 800 companies like lands end works with them. they have 10,000 drop-off locations around the country. they don't require boxes or labels. >> tape is a four-letter word. >> reporter: bring the product and the qr code. amazon allows to you drop off with no box at stores. return mates picks up for a fee from your door. target let's you return without getting out of the car. someone has to pay for it. >> retailers are bearing the

burden of the free returns. now they are trying to balance their books. >> reporter: recently, big name retailers like amazon and h& m started to charge for returns. check the return policy. how long do you have? are there hidden fees? some charge you to send it back. others offer free return shipping, but there may be a restocking fee. getting to the happy returns warehouse is half the journey. >> we sorted them by merchant. we have taken all of lands end returns and we prepare those items to be sent back to lands end in bulk on trucks that leave here. >> this is like a fulfillment center in reverse? >> that's right. >> reporter: they're ready for when the season of giving turns into the season of giving it back. jake ward, nbc news, santa cla clarita, california.

>> i have a stack. i need to try one of those companies. let's get one more check of the forecast from angie. >> i'm the queen of needing to return things and missing the window. i will try to do better with that in 2024. in the meantime, we have a great saturday for most of the country. plenty of sunshine in the mid section. rain and snow lingers out west in california where you will deal with that and coastal flooding. we have light snow across the northeast. new york city has a good good morning. it's 6:46. left with scattered rain activity especially towards the coastline, southern marin and san francisco. half moon bay into parts of tuscadero. plans to travel to the sierra today a winter weather advisory until late other than tonight. not cold enough to get any substantial snow, but cold enough and messy enough for those roadways. talking what's ahead for the weekend, new year's eve and the first couple days of 2024.

that's a look at your forecast. guys. >> good one. thank you. some call it 2023, but others call it the year of taylor. we look at how tay-tay came to world domination and what her fans can look forward to in 2024. 2024. >> ware back after thie s. [narrator] covered california is a free service from the state that's already helped millions of people like you get and pay for health insurance. with financial health to lower the cost of health coverage, you could get a quality health plan for less than $10 a month. every plan covers preventive care,

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so, no offense, however good your 2023 may have been, but taylor swift has you beat after having a year of her wildest dreams. >> swift is closing out the year with the top four spots on the

album charts. >> it is time to look at how the global megastar is continuing to dominate the world in 2024. savannah sellers has more. >> reporter: the results are in. seemingly everybody agrees. ♪ everybody agrees ♪♪ >> reporter: this was taylor's year. she's "time's" person of 2023. "people's" most intriguing and top five of "forbes" most powerful women. the world was enchanted to meet her. taylor's nothing new. nearly a decade ago, barbara walters said these famous words. >> taylor swift is the music industry. >> reporter: the year of taylor swift has been a long-time coming. >> welcome to the eras tour. >> reporter: it might have something to do with how she made us all feel. >> we love you, taylor.

>> reporter: let's start with the highest grossing tour of history. mothers and daughters swapping friendship bracelets and causing seismic activity in seattle. and we got to live it all over again in the film version of the show. >> i'll go to the movie at least 13 times. >> reporter: turning movie screenings into dance parties and sing alongs. 2023 saw the release of two of her rerecorded albums. part of her quest to own all of her music. meticulously recreating the songs giving us the treat of vault tracks and bringing back all of the feels. we were all ready for it. the albums have charted for a second time. 1989 version is the most

successful release ever. one newspaper decided they needed a reporter to focus solely on taylor. >> there is a dedicated reporter to cover the beat of an entertainment celebrity. >> the hype with the tour and movie and relationship have meant that taylor swift has found new fans? >> we have seen her new relationship and bringing in the nfl fans. >> reporter: her new relationship brought a new legion of fans to the nfl with swifties hoping to watch her love story play out live. female viewership sky rocketed. we will remember this moment of total taylor dominance, you better believe she has plenty of her bejeweled sleeve with the international tour. she is the mastermind and the

anti-hero we did not know we needed. thank you, taylor, for helping us dance like it's 2023. for "today," i'm savannah sellers. >> i saw emilie in that story. >> i think i have covered her for dozens of stories. she is relatable. as she experiences fame, who hasn't been bullied or heart broken or wronged in business? she is relrelatable. >> i'm all in. >> luring people over. more and more. >> laura? >> 2024. this will be the year. >> laura becomes a swiftie. >> we'll be right back.

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good morning. i'm kira klapper. coming up next on "today in the bay," following breaking news in connection with yesterday's shooting death of an oakland police officer. what police have revealed overnight about the manhunt for the suspected killer. in much lighter news, virltual reality set for a big holiday gift. it's not all fun and games.

looking into mounting injuries related to the technology. plus, slick roads out there this morning. cinthia pimentel details your microclimate forecast including the cloud cover and look at chances of drying out to ring in the new year.