hi, everyone, i'm zinhle essamuah, my friend kate snow is off today, and "nbc news daily" starts right now. ♪♪ notice. today, friday, february 9th,

2024, angry and defiant, president biden slams the blistering special counsel report on his handling of classified documents which cloerd him of criminal charges but questioned his mental fitness. >> i know what the hell i'm doing, i'm the president and i put this country back on its feet. my memory's fine. >> did those comments do more harm than good? how the white house and washington are responding. felony charges, a grand jury indicts seven people linked to a brutal attack on two new york city police officers, what recently released video is revealing about their alleged roles. bringing the fire, lunar new year kicks off this weekend, millions around the world are getting ready to celebrate. how they're ushering in the year of the dragon. and, be mine? nearly half of all americans say dating is harder now than a decade ago, an expert shares how you can make finding love a bit more fun and a whole lot easier. yeah, you're going to want to stake around for that one, but we're going to start this hour with the fallout of the special counsel report of

president biden's handling of highly sensitive government documents. robert hur declined to prosecute the president however he did find mr. biden, quote, willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after he served as vice president. while president biden has avoided criminal consequences in this case, the political fallout may be more serious. the special counsel called president biden's memory, quote, significantly limited during their interview, which the president strongly rebuked in rare primetime remarks last night. joining me now is senior white house correspondent gabe gutierrez, and legal analyst danny cevallos. gabe, starting with you, how is the white house responding today to the report and biden's remarks last night? >> hi, zinhle. the white house is pushing back hard in just a short time ago vice president kamala harris calling the hur report politically motivated. a white house spokesman for the counsel's office calling it gratuitous and saying it's safe to say, of course, that president biden remembers when his son died. the spokesman also talked about and pushed back hard on whether

the president shared classified information with a ghost writer as alleged in the report, the spokesman flatly denied that he did so, and even pointed to later in the report when the special counsel concluded there was not enough evidence to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. now, in the white house briefing a short time ago in the report the special counsel acknowledged that the president sat down for an interview the day after the israel-hamas war broke out, again just a short time ago the white house spokesman described why the president did not ask to postpone the interview. listen. >> counsel told the president, i understand that you're dealing with a lot of things right now, and i'm going to be asking you questions about stuff from a long time ago. i want you to try to recall to the best of your abilities, you know, things of that nature. that's often what prosecutors would tell witnesses, so, you know, he understood that, but the president was going to commit to being cooperative. he talked about this last night.

he wanted to make sure he had everything he needed and didn't want to throw up roadblocks. >> the white house spokesman ian sam reiterated that no charges were brought in this case, but as for the transcript of the mt.'s interviews he was asked about that. he says it's going through a classification process, and so far the white house is not committed to making that interview transcript public. zinhle. >> let me bring you in, as gabe said the special counsel says they did not find enough evidence to establish president biden's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but i want to read portions of the report where the special counsel describes a hypothetical trial, writing, quote, mr. biden would likely present himself to a jury as he did during our interview of him as a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory, adding it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him. i wonder, danny, did the special counsel overstep at all by putting in these characterizations, is this typical noting there's not much

precedent here? >> nothing about this is typical but as a defense attorney i applaud anytime a government prosecutor takes into account all the factors in arriving at the conclusion they must be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt before they charge it. that being said it was an indictment with everything but the indictment, and a few insults thrown in for good measure. it might have been enough to conclude we don't think we would prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, we think the defendant would come across as a sympathetic witness but to add we think because he's old and doddering and has memory loss and is feeble. i mean, obviously i'm paraphrasing but it does feel like a little bit of overkill and look the government is very good at overkill in proving their cases but, you know, to say they don't believe they could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt they do appear to think they could probably get a probable cause, an indictment, but they don't feel the jury would go their way. the elements appear to be there.

>> my head turns to former president trump's classified documents case, might this set precedent for that? >> yes and no. much of president trump's case or the theory of guilt against him revolves obtaining the documents and retaining the documents and doing so willfully in a way that obstructed justice. make no mistake about it, i was surprised by this report in that i fully expected it to conclude that biden never willfully had any document and i was shocked to find that the opposite was the conclusion that he willfully possessed those documents according to the special counsel which is one of the key elements in one if not many of the criminal statutes involving classified documents. >> major revelations there, danny cevallos, gabe gutierrez, thank you both. while speaking about the special counsel report last night president biden also made his strongest comments to date against israel's strike against gaza. take a listen. >> the conduct of the response

in gaza, in the gaza strip, has been over the top. >> those comments come as hopes for a new cease-fire are quickly fading, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley is in tel aviv for us. so, matt, after the october 7th attack by hamas on israel, the u.s. said israel's response against hamas should be proportional, now biden is saying israel has gone too far. so, what does this change of tone indicate? >> reporter: well, it seems as though, we've been hearing this in the past. that we've been hearing about these sort of divisions between biden and netanyahu, we haven't heard them in public, this is the first time we've really actually heard biden express publicly from his podium there, his opinions on this continuing offensive in the gaza strip that's now killed more than 27,000 people, most of them civilians, this according to the gazan ministry of health and this is a big change and we

haven't heard much reaction from the israelis but this is something we've been hearing criticism in the background, again, and it's been increasing as the months wear on, but this comes at a crucial moment. this is right at the time when the israelis are planning on turning their guns from khan yunis, a southern city in the gaza strip, towards rafah, the southernmost town in the gaza strip where there's about to be 1.5 million palestinians, the vast majority of whom have fled from elsewhere in the gaza strip. now, benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, the man who biden has been, you know, supporting ever since october 7th, he has asked the idf, the israeli defense forces to make plans for an evacuation. these people don't have many other places they could possibly go, zinhle? >> matt bradley, thank you so much. let's bring in nbc news now anchor and senior washington correspondent hallie jackson to dig into this special counsel report. it's not lost on me, a major

sticking point for voters today, in 2024, is biden's age, and his fitness for office. so i imagine the details of this report, about biden's age, could be a big blow for his reelection campaign, right? >> listen, in conversations with folks around this over the course of the last 24 hours, in the words of one democratic member of congress, who said to me, this validates to the eyes of some, pre-conceived notions, pre-conceived concerns people already have, and you've heard this today, i think, that because this gets directly at the heart of what voters already say is the biggest concern about president biden, his age, his fitness for office, that is what has the potential to make this so damaging. we're not fortune tellers, we don't know what's going to happen six months from now and whether or not voters will still be thinking about this moment, but you can bet that republicans will be trying to remind them of that, we've already seen the rnc coming out with that -- that key phrase there, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. that is, they're putting that on

the biden campaign logo, a point of i attack you will continue to see from the gop for months to come but i do think there are some democrats who feel like this was a gut punch. that said, there's also, and i've heard this too, the thinking that president biden may be off the ticket all together, right, the idea that that may be overblown, at least at the moment, zinhle. >> hallie, former president trump has chimed in here, he says the special counsel's report shows a, quote, two-tiered system of justice, saying biden's classified documents case is more serious than his own, fact check that for us, how do the two documents cases compare. >> they're different, the special counsel laid that out preemptively. like he knew they were going to ask that question and he laid out the distinctions, biggest among them, remember one word, it's cooperation. right? from everything we know president biden cooperated with this investigation, and donald trump is the indictment against him lays out did not. and that is the nexus of the differentiation between why one ended up with criminal charges,

the other did not. that said, you are seeing, i think, there are two attack lines you're seeing from republicans, one has to do with what you just described, the allegations of a two-tiered criminal justice system the other is on the memory and the age piece of it that came up in this report as well. >> hallie, digging back into that, right, because both of these men, former president trump, and president biden, have these classified documents cases but they've also both mixed up leaders in the past. right, confused u.s. leaders, trump is 77, biden is 81, do voters seem to have the same issues with trump? >> no, they don't, zinhle, and you talk about this, listen, they're both older men, like donald trump is -- you said it, late 70s, versus early 80s here is the distinction we're talking about. donald trump just recently mixed up nikki haley with nancy pelosi, for example, nikki haley made some hay of that, you obviously have seen what happened here with president biden over the course of the last 24 hours in the report, and then in that news conference overnight, or at least press availability, and yet, when you look at the polling, 76% of

voters, based on most recent nbc news poll have concerns about president biden's fitness for office, only 48%, less than half, have those same concerns about former president trump, for whatever reason, zinhle. >> interesting analysis, hallie jackson, thank you so much. for more of hallie's analysis and reporting, tune into hallie jackson now, stream that tonight at 5:00 p.m. eastern here on nbc news now. time for today's cnbc money minute, the u.s. is making a big investment in microchips, and zillow is posting individual rooms for rent. steve kovach joins us. >> the biden administration today announced a $5 billion investment to develop advanced computer chips, the public and private consortium is funded through the chips and saturday night act and aims to boost the semiconductor sectors here at home. soccer star's lionel messi's no show will cost them $7.25 million in refunds.

the refunds will leave the organizer with a loss of more than $5 million instead of a planned profit. and like you said, zillow launched an option to search for individual room listings as americans struggling with higher rent and housing costs, the app now includes a room filter under the home type dropdown menu. search for a room in a single-family rental, condo or townhouse based on your budget, lifestyle, and preferred location. i used to have to rely on craig's list. this is good too. >> this is definitely a change. it makes me a little nervous about the future of housing. >> rents keep going up. >> keeps going occupy. steve, thank you. coming up, millions of folks are getting ready to tune in, and chow down this super bowl weekend, steve kornacki will dip into the numbers. there's a pun there's a pun when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief

and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission... ...and the chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check, check, and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq and learn how abbvie can help you save. we know that potty training can move to its own rhythm. and pull-ups has refastenable sides for changing that's easy as it gets,

so they don't miss a note. ♪ i'm a big kid now. ♪ [ tense music ] one aleve works all day so i can keep working my magic. just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. aleve. who do you take it for? and for fast topical pain relief, try alevex. if you have chronic kidney disease you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd rather be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪

prince harry reached a settlement in his case against british tabloids for hacking into his phone. he sued the newspaper publisher and says the former editor knew what was going on. foreign correspondent meagan fitzgerald has the details. >> reporter: prince harry's lawyers back in a london court today telling the judge the mirror group newspaper has agreed to settle the rest of the lawsuit, the duke of sussex filed against them. the publisher agreed to pay what's being described as a substantial sum, in damages, and legal fees, with the initial

payment set at more than $500,000, now you'll remember last year prince harry filed a lawsuit claiming journalists with the publication gained information about him unlawfully through methods like phone hacking and using private investigators. in december, a high court judge ruled that harry was a victim of unlawful information gathering and the editors knew about it, in a statement released today, prince harry calls out former editor of the mirror piers morgan saying he knew perfectly well what was going on. harry went on to say that he and his team proved the mirror group acted dishonestly for years and sought to conceal the truth. his mission is to stop these illegal and basic tactics from continuing. the news comes after prince harry left the uk this week after flying in briefly to be by his father's side after the palace announced that king charles has cancer. harry also making a surprise appearance last night in vegas at the nfl awards. back to you. >> thank you.

authorities in new york city have announced felony charges against seven men, several of whom are migrants, for a brutal attack on two police officers in times square caught on camera, it all happened last month, two officers apparently trying to detain a man when a fight broke out. several other people jumped in and attacked those police officers. nbc news correspondent valerie castro is following this one for us. what do we know about the suspects who were found in this attack? >> we know at least five of the men who were named in the indictment were arrested last week, but most of them were released after the district attorney did not request bail in order to hold them in jail, most of the men are believed to be migrants, this happened near a migrant shelter in the times square area. we're waiting to learn who two of the men are. their names remain sealed in the indictment. they haven't been arrested yet. charges range from felony assault to hindering prosecution. >> valerie, there's another unrelated incident near times square in new york city, someone fired a gun inside a store and injured a tourist.

what more do we know about that? >> this happened just last night. the nypd says there was a shoplifting incident with three teenagers at the sporting goods store, when security tried to intervene a 15-year-old took out a gun and fired, injuring a tourist from brazil. police chased after that tarnl for several blocks, the suspect even fired shots at officers actually trying to get away officers did not fire back and they were not hit. police say the teenager is a recent arrival from venezuela, a migrant staying at a shelter here in the city. the governor weighed in on the recent events involving migrants just this morning. take a listen. >> yes, there are isolated incidents, but i will not characterize that as a massive crime wave. we have a lot of people in our city who are law-abiding, people living here trying to find a path forward. >> police say the suspect in this shooting is still on the run. they are calling him extremely dangerous. they say he's also wanted for two other incidents involving a

gun, including an armed robbery. there is now a 13,500 dollars reward for information leading to his arrest. the tourist injured is expected to survive, and police held a press conference earlier this afternoon saying the caliber weapon used in last night's incident, if it had hit one of those officers there could have been a very different story. >> so glad that didn't happen and so glad that tourist is doing okay. hopefully this all ends soon. valerie castro, thank you very much. coming up, a rare tornado touches down in the state of wisconsin, we'll have a look at the destruction on the ground. you're watchin"nbc news you're watchin"nbc news g oooh! this is our night! shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever,

and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. people claim “my butt's perfect” oh yeah? then why does “normal to wipe 37 times” auto-populate? cottonelle ultra clean's deep cleaningripples™ make it easy to get clean. because this is crazy... when you could just do this. (avo) kate made progress with her mental health... ...but her medication caused unintentional movements in her face, hands, and feet called tardive dyskinesia, or td. so her doctor prescribed austedo xr— a once-daily td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced kate's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, kate can stay on her mental health meds—

(kate) oh, hi buddy! (avo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, or have suicidal thoughts. don't take if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo xr may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, or abnormal movements. seek help for fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, or sweating. common side effects include inflammation of the nose and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ ask your doctor for austedo xr. ♪ austedo xr ♪ if you've had sensitivity, those zingers can really cause some of that jolting pain. there is one great solution out there with sensodyne. it creates a protective barrier, and now they get to feel like, 'oh, this is a product that actually works. ♪ why didn't we do this last year? before you were preventing migraine with qulipta®? and look at me now. you'll never truly forget migraine, but zero-migraine days are possible. don't take if allergic to qulipta®. most common side effects are nausea,

constipation, and sleepiness. qulipta®. the forget-you-get migraine medicine™. good friday. this is "the fast forward." i'm janelle wang. a stolen plane is on the beach in half moon bay. it's at the center of an investigation after police say a man stole the plane, flew it around and crash-landed before running away. ginger conejero saab is at the airport where the plane was taken. >> reporter: that stolen plane has been the talk of the morning here at palo alto's general aviation airport. this is where the red and white single engine plane was stolen yesterday. the person suspected of stealing that plane is now in custody at a redwood city jail. i met someone this morning who was here yesterday when that stolen plane unexpected took off from the runway. i'm told there was no communication with the tower when the stolen plane flew off

headed towards half moon bay sending officials here into a frenzy. the motivation is under investigation as well as the house. this morning, we are learning stealing a plane may not be as complicated as you think. >> it's not that difficult. it's usually in a small aircraft a master power switch you turn on. throttle some gas and start the ignition like with a car. >> reporter: around 5:00 yesterday evening, deputies received a report of a small plane that landed near poplar beach and half moon bay. a witness said she saw the plane flying frightening close. the man flying it hopped out, said he ran out of gas, and walked off. the plane was intact and unoccupied when authorities got to it. a short time later, deputies arrested 50-year-old a man. agencies have been working to get the plane off the beach,

especially as the tides threaten to wash it away back into the ocean. ginger conejero saab, nbc bay area news. >> thank you for the update. here are other stories. vta began removing abandoned transit cars. a runaway bus. pamela price will speak shortly about a murder case. nishita was shot and killed in november of 2021. he was protecting a tv news crew at the time. last month, police arrested a third person in connection with his murder. that person was scheduled to be arraigned today. a runaway muni crashed. this happened yesterday afternoon just south of the outer mission district. this is in daily city. passengers jumped out after it landed on the median. two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

police investigating this crash. this morning, teams started to move decommissioned vta cars that have sat unused for four years. we discovered the cars. they have been sitting in the san jose parking lot since 2020. the agency says the cars weren't useful as far as mileage or reliability and got lost in the shuffle during the pandemic. critics argue the cars could have been sold off years ago. the agency still plans to auction off the cars. the removal process is expected to take several weeks. we are getting a break in the rain. you will need to keep your sweater handy. here is kari hall with the details. >> high temperatures today into the upper 50s. san jose, 57 degrees. it will be mostly sunny. toward the east bay, slightly cooler for the tri-valley. 57 in oakland. upper 50s in palo alto.

cooler for daily city. a high of 56. 56 for the outer sunset. marina district, 54 degrees. 57 in napa as well as santa rosa. temperatures going up a few degrees for the weekend. we are enjoying a nice break from the rain with sunshine. we will talk about whether we could see rain in our seven day forecast coming up in 30 minutes. >> thank you. super bowl sunday just two days away. niners fans are headed to las vegas. alaska airlines is showing out for the faithful with a special surprise for those niner fans. alaska's flight 13 took off earlier headed for vegas. it includes an endorsement deal with number 13 himself. fans on that flight were gifted a niner rally towel. the gate was decorated in red and gold. a memorable sendoff for what will hopefully be a memorable

game. get all your coverage on our website. we will hi, my name is damion clark. and if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. all of these plans include a healthy options allowance. a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items like vitamins, pain relievers, first-aid supplies and more. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. other benefits on these plans include free rides to and from your medical appointments. you pay nothing for covered prescriptions, all year long. all plans have dental coverage which includes 2 free cleanings a year, fillings, and a

yearly exam. they also have vision coverage including vision exams and a yearly allowance towards eyewear such as lenses or contacts. and hearing coverage, which includes routine hearing tests and coverage for hearing aids. you'll also have a $0 copay for the shingles and other routine vaccines at in-network retail pharmacies. plus, your doctor, hospital and pharmacy may already be part of our large humana networks. so, call the number on your screen now to speak with a licensed humana sales agent. wouldn't you love benefits like a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent and over-the-counter items? so, if you have medicare and medicaid, call the number on your screen now and speak with a licensed humana sales agent. if you're eligible, they can even help enroll you over the phone in a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. so, call now. humana. a more human way to healthcare.

here are stories making headlines on "nbc news daily," the five marines who died in a helicopter clash earlier this week in southern california have been identified. donovan davis, captain miguel

were on board conducting routine flight training when the chopper experienced a technical mishap. the incident is under investigation. the national weather service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in wisconsin on thursday, it's the first time ever that a tornado has hit the state in the month of february. it came on the same day the temperatures reached 59 degrees, breaking the daily record. local officials say dozens of homes, businesses and power lines have been damaged but no serious injuries have been reported. and colin jost will headline this year's white house correspondents dinner, the saturday night live host will deliver jokes in front of the president, other government officials and the press at the dinner. jost currently co-hosts weekend update on snl, previously a writer on the show and the dinner is scheduled for the end of april. now to a conversation that's making headlines around the world, a rare interview with russian president vladimir putin, he sat down with form fox news host tucker carlson in moscow to discuss the war in

ukraine, russia's relationship with the u.s. and detained journalist evan gershkovich. international correspondent keir simmons has the details. >> reporter: for more than two hours president putin was allowed to focus on his favorite topics, history, the cia, ukraine, almost entirely unchallenged. his interviewer tucker carlson, who in the past has expressed sympathy for president putin, let the first answer run for around 30 minutes. with the war in ukraine on a knife edge president putin says russia has always wanted to talk. he has said that before. all the while continuing to pummel the country with drones, missiles and other weapons. >> translator: we have never refused negotiations. >> reporter: the interview with conservative former fox news host tucker carlson echoing talking points from donald trump's election campaign. >> translator: don't you have anything better to do? you have issues on the border.

>> reporter: they are messages putin has repeated time and time again, including in our interview before attacking ukraine. will you commit now not to send any further russian troops into ukrainian sovereign territory. you, the u.s. crossed an ocean with military equipment, he told me, and yet you believe somehow we are acting aggressively. but his invasion has killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people in ukraine, and russia. he said, again, that he is looking to do a deal over jailed "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich, this time clearly signaling that russia wants to exchange the american journalist for a russian fsb assassin jailed in germany. >> i do not rule out that the person you refer to, mr. gershkovich may return to his motherland. >> saying evan is a journalist,

and journalism is not a crime. we are encouraged to see a deal that brings evan home and we hope this will lead to his rapid release. nbc news continues to report from russia, last month we traveled to a putin event as he stands for election, with a small hand picked audience. i'll vote for putin, this woman told us, comparing the ukraine war with the war on terrorism. this week, a candidate we met in december, who opposes the ukraine war, was banned from the election. president putin's objectives with this interview included to influence the debate in washington, congress still hasn't approved more funding for ukraine and to influence his own voters ahead of his election in march. russian media is also celebrating the interview, the headline with the state news agency task, putin trending on "x." tomorrow celebrations will kick off for lunar new year, the

spring festival, celebrated by communities all over the world. janis mackey frayer is in beijing with more on the country's treasured festivities and traditions. >> reporter: the biggest holiday event of the year, the lunar new year kicks off february 10th with festivities that could last up to two weeks, millions of people across asia and around the world are celebrating the near of the dragon. here in china it's known as the spring festival and it triggers a mass migration as hundreds of millions of people travel to their hometowns for the holidays. a 40-day long travel surge, this year, a record number of flights and trains had to be added to accommodate command for people wanting to get somewhere, weather made it tricky earlier in the week, with freezing rain and snow that hit parts of central china and forced a lot of cancellations, the holidays

come at a time when kmien's economy is showing signs of slowing down, with rising unemployment and plunging prices, there have been steep declines in the stock market in recent weeks as well as concerns about the property crisis, the hope here is that a dragon year will breathe some fire into the economy, officials say that consumer spending is going to be a key driver for growth. for the new year period, cities and homes are decorated with red lanterns and other traditional symbols meant to bring luck, health and prosperity, there are family get togethers, always a lot of food, and a list of auspicious dos and don'ts, do wear red but don't wash your hair on new year's day because that's going to wash away your luck. so wherever your celebrating, have a happy year of the dragon. >> janis mackey frayer, thank you so much. with so many asian american communities ringing in the year of the dragon we wanted to dig in a bit more on the significance of the holiday. joining me now to help is nico

lee, the artistic director and programs manager at new york's china cultural center, nico, thank you so much for joining me, let's expand on the history and traditions of lunar new year, why does it officially begin on february 10th this year? >> well, as previously mentioned, the spring festival in china, lunar new year, is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunar solar calendar. it also lasts for 15 days and this year it happens that it's on the 10th. and it's also the most important holiday in china, not only in china and also widely celebrated in south korea, vietnam, and countries with a significant overseas chinese population, yeah. >> as we mentioned it's the year of the dragon, what is the dragon's significance in history? >> i think that the dragon is such a strong symbol and

well-known mascot in chinese culture, you know, dragon ranks fifth in the 12-year cycle of the chinese zodiac sign, throughout history the dragon has represented good luck, justice, prosperity and strength and also the fact that it's, you know, such a majestic symbol that in ancient times, only emperors are allowed to use or wear things that with dragon on it. >> really helpful. as you mentioned earlier, right, this holiday, lunar new year, holds significance for many different communities of a asian american heritage, what are the different ways people will be celebrating the next few weeks? >> a few things we share through different countries is just really the same, you eat a lot of good food, gathering with families and friends, and for this one that lasts for 15 days, people are trying to just have a great time throughout the whole

period, and for us at the new york chinese culture center we have been busy performances celebrating lunar new year since mid-january from educational programs in public schools to public events, throughout the city, and tri-state area, so i would encourage actually everyone to go to www.nychineseculturalcenter.org to check out all the fun activities and cultural performances and then everything that you want and come out and celebrate us. tls it's such a warm weekend. >> thank you for the resource. i know my friends and i will be celebrating on saturday. we'll try and swing by. nico li, thank you. >> thank you for having me. swifties or football fans, silicon valley or missouri barbecues or even just usher fans, all eyes on vegas this sunday as the kansas city chiefs take on the san francisco 49ers with the lombardi trophy on the line. nbc news national political correspondent steve kornacki breaks down the polls but today

we're breaking down these numbers. before we look ahead to super bowl sunday we've got to look back at the history. what should we know? >> there is a lot of of history when it comes to these teams in the super bowl. one thing to remember is, it was just four years ago, the 2020 super bowl, that the chiefs and the 9ers squared off and that was won by the chiefs, patrick mahomes' first super bowl victory, got another one last year, trying to take the chiefs to back-to-back super bowl titles and for the chiefs this would be their fourth title overall, won one way back, a half century gap to the win over the 9ers, they win last year. if they win this year they are the first team since the new england patriots, 2004 rks 2005. to go back to back. history on the line for them as well. two franchises so far, the patriots and the steelers, who have won six super bowl titles, the 9ers had that great dynasty with joe montana, then steve young, it's been about three decades. if they can win this one they would join the steelers and the pats, six super bowl titles,

all-time best. >> fascinating. it could get them on the map to this level. patriots hard to keep up with. but we've been talking about it all week, betting. specifically, 6.8 million people are going to be betting on this game, but it's not just the score. what else are people betting on? >> you can bet on almost anything in this game including, this is my favorite one right here, the coin toss. you can bet the coin toss. for folks looking for an edge here, 57 super bowls before this, it's been tails 30 times, it's been heads 27 times. >> oh. >> make of that what you will. you can bet on the length of the national anthem. reba mcentire, they're setting it at about 90 seconds, higher or lower than 90 seconds. >> interesting. >> the numbers on that, too, the shortest ever was 1::02, longest was 2:15. info there. i don't think you can do this in the u.s. but overseas sports books are taking bets on the number of times they cut away to

taylor swift. which usher song will be first. and stay until the end of the game, the traditional gatorade bath of the coach, the question is, what color gatorade will they use? >> okay, this is my kind of betting if we're going to do it at all. but of course you mentioned gatorade, drinks, food, what should people expect this super bowl? >> instacart did a little bit of a study here and asked folks what's the top snacks for the super bowl. it's chips. the question is, what's the most popular dip? here it is. you can see, with the most electoral votes on this map, it's the green, it's guacamole, a runaway here, but a little bit of split opinion here in new york where we are now salsa, a number of states with salsa, and cheese dip, a few states, the cheese state of wisconsin is not going with cheese dip. >> controversial. >> i wonder. i wonder about that one. and then there's one state that's an outlier. iowa, spinach artichoke. >> who do you think the winner is going to be? >> the chiefs, and that's usually the kiss of death for teams.

>> time will tell. steve kornacki, thank you so much. coming up, if valentine's day has you reconsidering getting back on the dating scene, an expert shares how you can make the experience a bit more enjoyable. that's coming up next on "nbc news daily."

in today's mental health

check valentine's day is just around the corner, folks, and if you're still looking to secure a date you may have your work cut out for you, pew research center says 47% of americans say dating is harder now than it was ten years ago, don't have to tell me twice. we have tiffany henry, let's get into it. >> let's get into it. it doesn't have to be that hard. >> help us get there. dating has changed a lot. i think of the rise of online dating. how is that sort of contributing to the feelings of anxiety so many americans are feeling? >> i actually think it's contributed a lot because the thing with online dating is you just don't know the person, traditionally, when we met someone through someone, or someone at work, or in other means, like we could at least vet the person a little bit. online dating takes that away and i think that causes a lot more anxiety, not being able to kind of have a way in or know something about the person prior to meeting them.

>> that's so real. oftentimes meeting a stranger for the first time. so, i wonder -- >> exactly. >> what's your advice for someone looking to put themselves out there? whether they're brand new to dating, have been single for a while or maybe recently divorced. >> yeah, so one thing i -- like let's go back, okay, ask a friend. okay. ask someone that you trust, like do you know anyone that would be right for me? and at least you can get comfortable knowing that, okay, this person at least knows something about them. they vet them for you. i think that's great. i think the more we can get self-involved, i think that's key. when you get yourself involved in hobbies and activities, things that you actually enjoy, the more that you do that, the more you are -- have opportunities to meet like-minded people, if that makes sense, and then getting really clear, like we've all had bad relationships, like let's start taking stock of what happened in the past. so that we don't repeat those things going forward. >> i love that. and you said relationship -- it's reminding me there are so many terms these days because

there's situation-ship, there's ghosting, i've heard love bombing, but for those at home who may be unfamiliar walk us through what these terms are and how they might add to or contribute to anxiety surrounding dating. >> they're all going to contribute to anxiety, i think, a situationship, if you're someone who doesn't like a title, situationship's are probably perfect for you. but if you're not looking for a situationship, they can be a little unnerving. generally, they're not exclusive. you don't have the title of a full-fledged relationship but it's definitely a recurring thing, so if you're in the mood for that situationships, you know, no judgment there. love bombing, however, is an excessive display of like affection, being overly complimentary, flattering, but doing so in a way to manipulate the person into a relationship. so no bueno we don't like love bombing. ghosting is when you just don't hear from the person, the texts stop, you don't call anymore, you don't know why the

relationship ended but it just ended. >> to that end, there's so much pressure that goes into dating, planning a date, what are first date tips or dating stipes in general? >> collaborate as much as you can, a lot of our anxiety stems from our need, split the date up. let someone, you know, handle the first part and then you handle the second part, so nobody feels, you know, too overwhelmed. also, lower your expectations, this is the first date, people, and nine times out of ten it's probably not going to be mr. or mrs. right. so just lower your expectations, and if it's a place that you've gone to many times, just say, hey, i'll see what it's like going with someone that i don't know as well. maybe i'll have a different experience with someone with fresh eyes, embrace what you're feeling. >> to that end the feelings, dr. tiff, you know, the anxiety that causes, many walk through some of them, social anxiety, bad

previous dating experiences, finances, what might be a sign of something serious and how can we overcome and work through this anxiety. >> as a card carrying psycho therapist, i will obviously recommend psycho therapy. i think it's a great way when your thoughts and feelings are starting to overwhelm you and push you to a point where they become intrusive and you can't shake the negativity of that anxiety. reaching out to a therapist is key. and don't knock old school match making. making. that coulde b if you have chronic kidney disease you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd rather be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection,

an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. we know that potty training can move to its own rhythm. and pull-ups has refastenable sides for changing that's easy as it gets, so they don't miss a note. ♪ i'm a bi[♪♪]d now. ♪ looking for a moisturizer that does more than just moisturize? try olay regenerist for 10 benefits in every jar. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. [radio commentator]: so, a 2-2 tie. there is a high fly ball deep to right! [sfx: heartbeat] crazy, just crazy!

bayer aspirin. official sponsor of fans' hearts. imagine if you could get ahead of your ibs-c... ♪ by treating it with linzess. then you could start proactively managing your constipation with belly pain, and begin to find yourself a little further away from the symptoms that keep coming back. say yess to linzess. linzess is not a laxative. it's a once-daily pill that helps you get ahead of your symptoms. it's proven to help you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. and helps relieve overall abdominal symptoms - belly pain, discomfort, and bloating. do not give linzess to children less than two. it may harm them. do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. these aren't all the side effects. imagine... what could relief from ibs-c mean for you? talk to your doctor and say yess to linzess.

learn how abbvie and ironwood could help you save on linzess. welcome back to "the fast forward." i'm janelle wang. the bay area is fired up to watch the 49ers take on the chiefs at the super bowl. san francisco city leaders want to make sure you do it safely. the mayor joined other leaders and former 49ers for a safety rally downtown earlier this morning. they encouraged fans to celebrate all over the city. but they warned people to not do less than smart things during or after the game. >> after the super bowl is over, we gotta walk these streets. we want them to be clean. we don't want all that craziness. we don't want to break people's windows and carrying on. we don't want to take a joyous ocean and turn it into something else. >> the mayor is betting the

golden gate bridge the niners will beat the chiefs. it's a replica. after the rain this week, there's a lot more sunshine headed our way. >> it's going to be so nice to get sunshine throughout the weekend. it will be cool. we are going to have mild afternoons. morning temperatures will be in the upper 30s. highs in the low 60s. by the middle of next week, it's warmer with a high of 64 on tuesday. also, pretty nice on valentine's day. in san francisco, it's going to be jacket weather. we will need sunglasses with a lot of sun in our saturday forecast. a few more clouds on sunday. still looking dry. going into next week, as well, for highs in the low 60s, mornings in the mid to upper 40s. we are not expecting any rain until about next weekend. >> thanks so much.

you want to see who we are as americans? i'm peter dixon and in kenya... we built a hospital that provides maternal care. as a marine... we fought against the taliban and their crimes against women. and in hillary clinton's state department... we took on gender-based violence in the congo. now extremists are banning abortion and contraception right here at home. so, i'm running for congress to help stop them. for your family... and mine. i approved this message because this is who we are.

the 49ers are chasing a sixth super bowl win this weekend. here at home, we are chasing wins for viewers like you. chris chmura joins us with a few cases we recently championed. >> when companies sideline your complaint or drop the ball, that's when we step in to run interference. we handled cases from all around the bay area, including lisa. here is what happened. she had a home warranty. good thing, because her drier broke. she says they kept punting the time line to fix it. she asked us to help. we reached out to the warranty company. they completed her repairs. next we fielded nicole. a company fumbled her dad's ambulance bill. after two years of delay of game penalties, the insurance paid. it left a $654 balance and wouldn't budge. they asked us to run interference.

we did. the company responded and now her dad is out of pocket 0. that's the touchdown. if your complaint could use a referee, let us know. scan the qr code on screen to fill out our consumer complaint form online. have a super weekend. >> thank you, chris. like your puns. the 49ers gear up for the showdown. samuel is giving back. he surprised his high school football coach from south carolina. >> thank you for all the things you helped me accomplish. from being an athlete to being a great father. would that being said, i got some exciting news for you. i will be partnering with give you a tv to watch me on one of the biggest stages of my life. >> yes, he gifted a big screen tv to his former coach to thank him for support during the early days on the football field. ahead of the big game, our teammates at nbc sports bay area ha you covered.

tune in as the team brings you tune in as the team brings you complete game day coverage feeling ughh from a backed up gut? miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go... ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try new mirafiber gummies. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters for 8 grams of fiber, keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. people claim “my butt's perfect” oh yeah? then why does “normal to wipe 37 times” auto-populate? cottonelle ultra clean's deep cleaningripples™ make it easy to get clean. because this is crazy...

when you could just do this. rsv is out there. for those 60 years and older protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy.

i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline daytime on nbc. iend from high school who had put something up on facebook. diana is one of my oldest friends. i just fell apart. i couldn't believe it. it still doesn't seem real to me. craig melvin (voiceover): the wedding was in the woods. a really nice outdoor forest wedding.