captioning funded by cbs good morning. it is wednesday, december 30th, 2015. welcome to "cbs this morning." historic flooding threatens 18 million people in the midwest and the mississippi river could swell to its highest level in more than 20 years. >> donald trump announces he'll spend millions for a final push on a primary vote. >> will guns and roses make a final push? we begin this morning with a look at today's "eye opener." your world in 90 seconds. >> a lot of disaster. a lot of people hurt right now. >> we expect most rivers to crest in the next few days. >> flood fears rise in more than a dozen states.

living under warning. missouri is grappling with what officials there are calling historic -- >> white house conditions from the northeast to the midwest. >> thousands of travelers are stranded. >> we don't even know if we are going to get on a flight. >> george pataki announced the suspension of his campaign and donald trump is ramping up his fight against hillary. >> madam president, can you imagine? if it has to be a woman, which i'm all in favor one day, it shouldn't be hillary. >> the u.s. military says iranian naval vessels conducted rocket tests near u.s. war strips in the strait of hormuz. >> a 4.4 magnitude earthquake widely felt across southern california. >> everything started shaking really bad. >> the fbi is investigating the fatal crash of a plane into an anchorage office building.

sixth floor. >> iron mike tysyn on his son's hoverboard and the latest to hit the deck. >> might come out with big moves. >> in rhode island. >> my brother and i will whoop both of their booties if we ever step in the ring with them. >> guns 'n roses will be reunited with the bad coachella. >> it is a joy to watch a baby's first step but a riot to see this baby eating bacon for the first time. >> thank you! dada! [ screaming ] announcer: this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by toyota. let's go places. welcome to "cbs this morning," i'm jeff glor with margaret brennan. chilly rose and gayle king and

millions of americans face the threat of flooding in illinois and missouri. mandatory are under way at this hour and in missouri the flood is blamed for 13 deaths. >> the mississippi river could each 14 feet above its flooding stage in st. louis. the flooding could affect 18 million in its path from illinois to louisiana. anna werner has more. >> reporter: this is what you're seeing around st. louis or they are waiting for it to happen. this is river water coming this way. it looks kind of just like a generic area or a field. this is supposed to be the southbound lane of u.s. 67, but as you can tell, there is no

the severity of this is not broken to flooding. >> they would not sell me flood insurance so i've never been concerned about it. >> reporter: this is not the usual time of year for the mississippi river to come over its banks. it's been more than 20 years since this kind of event has happened in the area, but all of

winding up down here. margaret? >> anna, thank you. some areas could suffer from the effects of the storm system for days. chief weather caster lonnie quinn of our new york station wcbs shows us what to expect. >> reporter: good morning, everybody. what is interesting to note you take a look at the satellite image for the entire u.s. a good portion of the country that is having this catastrophic flooding is getting a pretty calm day today. but, remember, a lag effect from when the big rains come and when the river crests. take a look at the number of rivers we have river flood warnings in effect. 18 states have a flash of green out here. each and every urnship one a river flood warning. you saw the pictures in st. louis. here is the deal. for st. louis, flood stage is 30 feet and 31 feet will cause a problem and right now it's 41 feet and it will crest tomorrow at 43.1 the third highest in history. i don't see it being a record because that would be up to like six feet above that.

fall in the southeast so that is problematic as well. if you take a look at how things will change by the time you get to new year's eve to new year' day colder air for the norman tier of country and mid-atlantic states have chillier air. in new york city, you're dealing what is the warmest december in our history going back to the late 1800s and start on a different note as we go into the that is the latest. now back to you. airlines are scrambling this morning to get back on track after days of weather delays. more than 160 flights are cancelled so far today and 170 delayed. yesterday, more than 7,300 flights were cancelled or delayed. adriana diaz is at chicago's o'hare airport, one of the hardest hit airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. if you're trying to get through security at this checkpoint this morning you have to get on this line. it is eight rows deep and starts a hundred yards in that direction.

flin are frustrated and weary. they are just trying to get home after weather delays from two days ago backed up flights. >> our flight was at 5:30 and it's 10:00! and they cancelled it now they won't speak to someone! this is bull [ bleep ]! it's such a bull [ bleep ]! >> reporter: emotions are running high at chicago's o'hare airport as travelers struggle to get to their destination. this woman is trying to get back to northern virginia. >> how long does this even go? oh, my god. this is actually -- this is for security? >> reporter: yes. the airport set up 400 cots last night for people calling these terminals home and hope pfizer and scott millman found a spot on the floor. they described the situation as chaos.

our flight had newyear's, a wine that comes from one particulala region in france, sham chain region, that's the only way it can wear that name on it which means it's -- >> are we tasting? >> the champagne from the northeast. >> just outside of paris, a little bit east of there you'll fine the champagne region. that's where it has to be from. >> that's one you u commend. >> what's the price? >> about 42 bucks. this is from one of my small growers. >> love that whatever you said, yes, vernice. okay.

someththg a little different. >> yeah. >> this is the pink champagne, a rose. >> this actually comes from lifornia. ultra marine is a wine m me by a young man in sonoma, entirely made from pinot noir and rose champagne gets that color bebeuse it's made froro a red grape and that makes it more fun and festive. >> more expensive because it's red? >> not necessarily. >> most of these winesre made from pinot noir and don't give it contact with the skin. >> do you call it would inas well? >> everything is wine and then there'sparkling wine. >> oh, okay. >> this is a little bit of a better budget item here. >> most wines cost between 40 and 50 bucs. to esare twotions around the 0 mark. >> a lot of people f f new year's eve and within theed a big toast, you know, want to buy eight bottles, this is a good

>> get a case of it for sure. local from new york from the finger that makes sparkling wine, chardonnay and pint noir blend. >> just like shopping in a liquor store and looking for $20 to $30. i usually go by the label, if i happen to like it. >> me, too. >> there are certain areas that make good wines, prosecco and there's other areas, new york. >> that t ttes good. >> and frarae and south of france. >> did you tell us about this one? >> this is a sparkling wine made in france but made in burgundy which is further south, an area momo known for t tir still wines but t ty do make sparkling wines and as a result they are not as famous for their sparkling wines. >> don't mind if we do. >> a better value. >> you can taste t t difference between t t southern region and the northern region. >> you really can. >> and can you please tell us about this. >> got to get tc the opening.

>> great opppptunity to make cocktails with sparkling wines and this is a french 75 which is a traditional cocktail. make it in a restaurant or bar but make it for a party. big batch. >> fun for a party. >> how do you tonene >> give us a tip on opening it. >> for sure, for sure. >> you're going to move that, remove the foil. it could pop right out. >> they can come out for sure, and get the cage off and put your hanan on the cork, okay. >> this way. >> twist slowly and pull a little bit, exactly perfect. i've done that before6 >> that's one way of opening. >> a veritable pro. >> andnd there is another option. >> oh, lord. >> don't try this at home. patrick is a professional. >> okay. here we go. >h, my gosh. do it again. sometimes you try not to get >> you have to be careful.

pop it off so there's no glass bottle. i wouldn't do this at home unless you've taken some practice, a lesson. come and get a lesson and it doesn't alwayssork either. >> oh. >> you shouldn't try tat home but if you are an expert, w cool would that be? >> don't do if if you've had too many >> exactly. >> patrick, thank you so much. for more tips and new year's eve ideas head to and keep your parenting resolutions in the newew year,

got to try the punch on nbc. i'm moving to a place where i can get internet from centurylink. if i get the three year price lock, am i stuck with the three year contract? no. thth just means the price won't change. for three years. at way the price is locked, you're not. you can just hang out and be free. lock in your monthly price for 3 years without a contract when you bundle with unlimited nationwide calling.

. > we are back at 8:39. tomorrow negotiate's arrival. new year means you're likely to

ked our parenting team to sharar some of theirs. >> my parenting resolution for 2016 is to spend more time around the dinner table and have a lot less of this. >> i'm going to do a better job of getting my kids to their school activities on me, and by on time, i mean within 15 minutes of when they are supposed to be there. >> mom, we're more of this for my 2-yeararld's hair. >> we're starting a new program we are done speaking naftly to each other. guys, which words are weone saying?? >> i hate you. >> dumb. >> and other fun swearwords. >> and what happens if you screw up, you losee your device for the rest of the day. good luck, gentlemen. >>y@resolution for my middle school daughter is that i want age-appropriate apps and i don't want her being introduced to

i also need to teach my son how to drive and today is our first lesson, and i thinkt's goioi great. >> yu. >> can i get this app, mom? >> no, that's for sectioning. >> what's sexting? >> two of the things we're committed to are -- >> no electronics atthe table. >> no electronini at the dinner table and aliya? >> a bed time for our eleconics. >> our new year's resolution is to watch less television because we really love tv in ourouse, don't we, cassidy? >> yes. >> yeah. >> hurry up. we're really, really, really late for soccer. move, move, move, move. >> sometimes in the craziness of life with three kids i forget that it's supposed to be fun so this year my resesution is that i want to laugh more. >> we're going to call our resolution a revolution, and it's going to be playing together and being outside and having fun. >> our new year's resolution is

are finally going to organize all these toys! >> can you say resolution. >> resolution. >> good job. >> my resolution is to replace a negative thought with a positive one. >> i'm going to take care of me in 2016. it's always about the kids firs i can't remember t t last time i had a warme. i'm going to take care of me and in doing so it's going to make me a better father to my kids and then everybody wins so, boom. >> so boom. betsy brownraun is a parent ucator. good morning. fun watching that with you, but you make a really good point about resolutions. >> yeah. >> they are supposed to be parenting resolutions, something that you are promising to do, not something that you want your kids to do. >> can't make somebody to do anything. you have to make a resolution for yourself to decide to make a change. that's hard to do, but you have to be the one to make that decision. >> a lot of people want to do this. you've got some tips. theeirst thing you say iso focus on self-discipline. explain.

known as self-control is critical to make any kind of a change change means it has to be focused and deliberate. can't just be a whim or an impulse impulse, but the thing about self discipline is anybody can have it. people think oh, no, i don't have self-discipline. there's no self-discipline gene. you have to make a concerted effort, decide you're going to do it and stick to it. >> i love your tip. find the motivation. the thing that will keep you going when it's hard. >> the best motivation is to go public. when you go public, tell your kids, tell your family, you're going to be embarrassed if you blow it. your kids are watching you. they are your accountability, and you don't want to model something for your kids that they are not going to be able to do. >> and kind of feeding off of that you say@we should create a means of self-inspection. >> oh, yeah. so many ys. you have to be accountable and check in, so you can check in positively or negatively, and negative self-inspection would be a swear jar, maybe the old-fashioned days when you throw a dollar in the swear jar

marble in the marble jar. have reminders. put a little sticker on your rear view mirror so every time you look at you remember you won't swear. write it on toothpaste in the mirror of your bathroom. keep it at the front of your head. >> and finally be persistent, like new fall off the wagon just keep gogog. >> absolutely. be aware of what your plan is, if you fall off, aware of what the saboteurs are, lousy local conditions, what's going to make you triri up andnd state i i out loud if you're going on the dark side, if you're leaning that way. someone will help you or remind you where you want to be. >> good for parenting resolutions horany resolutions. >> i think so. >> thank, betsy, thank you very much. coming up next, did you not get everything on your christmas list?

first, this is "today" on nbc. cordes: most nurses are tough. they're problem-solvers. they like making things better. people don't have e cess to healthcare because they just can't afford it. bernie sanders understands how pharmaceutical companies and major medical companies are ripping us off. bernie tells the t tth, and he's been consistent. he understands that the system is rigged, and he's the only one who can bring real change.

and welcome back. if you missed out on all the big

worry. our today.com contributor and financial expert is here to walk us through all the deals you can expect to find in stores next month. she was alson "total request live" 15 years ago as a teeny bopper screaming. >> totally. >> gave a shout-out. >> i forget the band. >> look at you now. >> i know, ght. >> mom, will be at me. the first thing is flat screen tvs. january is the month, and shall we move down. flat screen tvs. we're seeing discounts of about 35%. this is the month to do it. >> why is this the month? >> the consumer electronics show is every time injanuary. that's when the new products come into the market, s s best buy, stores like that. >> get the inventory out to make way for new stuff. >> everyone from vizio to samsung, deals, $200 markdowns. >> whaha else? >>the next one is gym memberships. >> of course. >> and fitness equipment. everybody wants to look good in the new year so gyms go to your local gym and ask for a discount.

>> sometimes they will waive the initiation fee, give you 20% off and fitness stores. seeing deals in the 25% to 50%, dumbbells, tre mills and yoga pants. >> a good time to buy for the >> yes, yes. >> all righty. >> what other sorts of deals can you get in january on goods in general? >> linens, january is the famous linen sale. >> why? >> stemsmsack to the 1800s. source like wanamakers in philly, they wanted to offload linens during the slow months. >> do you neeee to know whaha stores to go to. >> west elm, target, costco and ziera home. >> kitchen appliances. >> if you wantto maybeet new pots and pans, cutlery, go to macy's, if you want to renovate your kitchen go and get new cabinets, lowe's, seeing a 20% off deal. >> remodeling the kitchen, january is the month to do it. >> and getting someone to help you out, painters, they are cheaper this time of year.

new year, buy t t appliances n n and store them in the garage. >> exactly. >> video games. this is the month to do it because we have the toy fair next year and also comic-con later this year so we're expecting new announcements in the video game world so get some deals. microsoft right now and xbox 1 and xbox 360, a sale about 40% to 60%, sometimes even more than 6060 on those games. >> this is harar for parents to see because they just spent money on some of these gaming devices. >> gift cards, this time of year, the time to go and spend them. >> the game is similar to the tvs all have new inventoryry coming in, new technology. >> right. >> a good time to get this. >> january in general is good because either historically there's inventory going on. >>o you remember who w w on trl? >> p. diddy and vince vaughn and you, you we there. >> you're thebest. we posted these other great janunuy deals at today.com. comimi up next, the recipe you've been red for.

cookies, but, first, it's happening hey! this holiday, u.s. cellular's giving you 15 gigs of data for just $70! but i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] you're getting data. pony-sized data? u.s. cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use bebeuse it works in the middle of anywhwhe. i'd like $100! you're getting $400 in promo cards! yes! switch to u.s. cellular and get 15 gigs of data for justst70.

we're back now at 8:51, "today's food," our last hurrah before we start watching what we eat again. >> that's right. we've about busy waitingng for moment right here. hedy goldsmith is here with an indulgent cooky that she's going to make for us. walk us through the ingredients.

delicious, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, vanilla bean paste, very important, butter, everything is better with butter. >> i'm like in love. >> junk in the t tnk cookies. >>absolutely. >> let's do it. >> got to do that. >> junk in the trunk, yeah. salty sweet. we've got butter that's screaming. keep it at room temperature because it's going to really a a ate and incorporate. so we're doing white suger and brown sugar to keep it nice and soft. brown sugar is going to keep it soft. once that dreams, we're going to addd theanilla bean paste and i love that because you see all the little speckles of vanilla. >> the vanilla bean paste is a special ingredient. your wife sy ri loves vanilla bean paste. >> absolutely. what it does it gives you a little bit more for your money, a little bang for your buck. >> what are you mixing it. >> an egg, and that's going right into the cream. >> the whole egg, vanilla bean

of your ingredients room temp. never mix cold butter and warm egg and like little f fh form kind of things. this way it all incorporates >> okay. >> then you'll get your flour sifted with baking soda and that will go in, goes in very slow and very low. don't want to create like a little white issue all over your walls. >> yeah, that's happened to me. >> you can kind of do it all minutes. >> oh, absolutete. >> all right. >> don't want to overmix your cookies because that will make a tough cookie. >> they had a tough cookie. >> okay. >> tell me about this tray of delightfulness of candy. >> this is obsessive compulsive because that's the way i rocks, all kinds of deliciousness. the candy-coated everything. itit whatever you have in the hohoe. it's leftover >> this is the junk of the junk in the trunk. >> this is theunk in the trunk. >> look a this.

had a little crumb left of potato chips. >> kettle cooked, nice and crunchy and sta -- >> you're doing this. this is happeneng. >> s s you've got caramel and salt and sweet and you've got everything, and it's -- if al were here it would probably have bacon. >> not a bad call. >> i'm feeling a littleit of love right now. >> i am, too. >> it does my heart good. >> and that you'll mix by hand. >> we'll add this right into that base. >> any candy you have lying around that's good. >> halloween, my favorite. >> throw in some m & ms for the heck of it. >> because it's festive. >> whatever you havav i ithe house. it changes allll the time. >> okay. >> so it will never be the same. >> i love cookie dough. >> and then i take this and we'r'r going to scoop. now you're using an ice cream scoop. that's a pretty big cookie. >> it is a big cookie because you've got to get all that junk in the bowl.

will stay in that farm or if it will become flat and big. >> is there enough real tate. >> this is. >> and why does it do that because i feel like my cookies would flatten out and be one big cookie. >> you know what the key is chill your dough first. >> very important so it doesn't flatten out. >> i didn't know that. >> and how long are you going to cook these for? >> well, it depends on your oven but usually about 10 to 11 minutes. >> got about a minuteest. them out. >> shall i grab them. >> you do a little -- >> put a little sea salt. there. >> all right. >> all right. >> oh, my gosh, looks so good. that's the junkn the trunk. >> that's the emergency junk i i the trunk just in case you're between sglets what are these little doodads. these are pecan pie bites with a little b of salt on to. got a little bit of bacon fat in

>> of course you do. >> it's delicious. >> i like the whole way you're rolling this morning. >> very sweet kind ofning. >>eople will be making these before the new year kicks in. >> yeah. >> try it. hedy. >> that's even better. >> hed goldsmith, thank you so

all the recipes on why threat tracker is in the yellow. tomorrow, we'll see a little bit more sunshine with partly cloudy skies, but it will be cold. these cold conditions will continue into the day on friday. as far as the snowfall totals, they will be light. most areas will see leks than an inch o@ snow, with isolated areas getting an inch, maybe an inch and a half with the moderate bursts of snow. storm track 7 live doppler radar

viewing area. this is all tracking off to the northeast through iowa with a quick moving system. by lunchtime, the snoo will be ending but this will impact the morning commute. on average, it takes three hundred americans working for a solid year, to make as much money as one top ceo. it's called the wage gap.

those at the top and letting corporations write their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise incomes fofofamilies, a higher minimum wage, lower taxes for the middle class. she gets the job done for us.