breaking news, suicide bombing in russia. more than a dozen people dead, many more wounded after a massive blast at a train station. that terrifying moment caught on tape and now raising security concerns about the upcoming winter olymcs. arctic blast. a deep freeze over much of the country today. unwelcome news for the thousands still in the dark and the cold a week aftert that massive ice storm. and shark tale. talk about a photo bomb. two kids having a great time in the waves have no idea what is lurking only a few feet away. maybe they are thinking twice about heading back into the water today.

from nbc news this is "today" with lester holt and erica hill. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. >> a lot of concern in russia this morning as the suicide bombing takes place in a train station 39 days now away from the olympics. concerns on whether this is a diversion, maybe trying to split security forces. we will get a lot more details in a moment. we want to start with the snow and bitter cold that will impact millions in this country as we are getting ready to close out the new year. dylan dreyer is tracking it for us. >> we are going to see a lot of rain with the storm system. take a look at where all the

rain is right now. this is a huge storm extending from the ohio river valley through florida and then making its way into new england. we are going to see some very heavy rain despite the fact that it has been a little cool this storm system is bringing in warm air with it. it is all rain in washington, d.c. and parts of south carolina and all of that rain is inching into the new york city and even up into boston looking at all rain. about two to three inches of rain is possible. so for everyone traveling along i-95 today that is where you will see slow downs because of the fact that there will be a lot of puddles on the roads. further to the north we could see six to nine inches of snow. that is snow for areas where we have people still out of power or just starting to get power back on. elsewhere we could end up with about three to six inches of

sn snow. >> those are tough numbers. we'll get more of the full forecast in just a few moments. we want to turn to the breaking news out of russia wherefficials say a terror attack at a train station, they say the attack has killed more than a dozen people as the country prepares to host the winter olympic games in sochi. duncan golestani is following for us. >> reporter: the railway station was much busier than usual. dramatic security video footage eshows the bright orange flash from the flash from the explosion. russian officials say it happened just inside the main entrance to the station where a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in front of a metal detector. this is the second deadly attack in russia in three days.

on friday a car packed with explosives blew up in the city close to today's explosion troubled by islamic rebels. no one has claimed responsibility for this attack but comes a few months after a rebel leader called for new attacks including the sochi games. the government had pledged to make sochi the safest olympics in history deploying tens of thousands of police to protect the games. russian president vladimir putin has ordered all necessary security to be in force. >> we will continue to follow the developments with you. there is developing news in this station. the nationwide hunt for a suspected bank robber and cop killer may be over this morning. kristen dahlgren has more. >> one police officer shot and

killed and another wounded. while we are waiting more details later this morning it seems the suspect's crime spree has come to an end. the fbi says they believe this is the suspect they have been searching for, a man seen here in a black face mask and patterned jacket, the same clothing worn in two separate robberies. >> the bank surveillance photos are a match. >> reporter: officials say the suspect robbed a bank of america in atlanta monday morning. first demanding money from a teller and then when unsuccessful officials say the suspect approached a customert at an atm. that afternoon police say the same man robbed a bank shooting and killing a police officer and wounding the officer's partner in what is being called an ambush-style attack. >> he seemed to have gotten into a fire position or firing stance

similar to someone who has a background in tactics. >> reporter: overnight the fbi released a statement saying they believe the same suspect was killed in at shootout with a police officer after trying to rob a saturday in phoenix, arizona more than 1,800 miles from where they think the wave of robberies started. >> authorities haven't released details on the suspect's identity. we should learn more today. the slain officer was just 38 years old. his wife said he died doing what he loved. there is a new report out shedding light on the attack in benghazi that killed four americans. in the piece the "new york times" is reporting there is no evidence the attack was the work of al qaeda and was largely triggered by an american-made film which mocks islam. david gregory, walk us through here. what are some of the

ramifications of the report and the findings? >> initially the administration claimed a video that was part of the reaction that caused riotting in egypt. critics say that was a ruse, that they were lying and it was al qaeda and was a well-orchestrated attack and the video had nothing to do with it. so this really does bolester some of the initial claims of the administration and detracts from what has become a very aggressive narrative on parts of the republicans attacking the state department, hillary clinton. >> patrick toints to two lessons. one involvement isn't aid to the

u.s. and these should be taken into account as far as getting into other attacks. how does this impact going forward? >> i think anytime there is an after math of military the after math has to be managed carefully. there is very indication that security was inadequate. you had an ambassador who chose to go to a an outpost on 9/11. that is ambassador chris stevens. when you are dealing with local militias the conclusion of the article is you can't count on their loyalty. theyallegiances.

>> before we let you go wednesday january 1 health care coverage kicks in for those who signed umfor obama care. how can the newly insured affect the politics? >> the president in his news conference says there is demand and the product is good. they have had a surge in enrollment but they are still way behind. that matters because for the program to work you have to have young and healthy people signing up in significant numbers. is the product really a good one? we'll see as people start to test it, whether they can go to doctors, whether they end up paying more. what happens if you don't have a policy that measures up? all of these things will be put to the test. >> we will check in with you in a little bit. time now for a look at the rest of the morning's overnight head lines. >> good morning. we are starting with that

trapped cruise ship stuck in the ice. an ice breaker could reach the ship around midnight tonight. it has been stuck for five days. passengers are showing few signs of stress instead exercising their wifi and posting videos to youb. >> having a wonderful time. you can see we have the wonderful snowy wonderland. it's my birthday today. >> the birthday was the asime. happy birthday. there is enough food on board to last them at least two more weeks. fighting broke along the israel lebanon border today. the israelis retaliated with artillery. no one has claimed responsibility but the prime minister accused the lebanese government of not lifting a finger to stop. an up and coming rapper was killed at a mass shooting at a montgomery night club. 22-year-old glen thomas and a

woman shot to death on saturday. police have no one in custody at this time. six people were shot last year at the same location. a series of earthquakes in mexico. the road 58 miles runs over a fault line. luckily no one was injured in the collapse or the earthquake. finally this morning, you ever take a bunch of pictures and then hours latder go back and look and go what was that guy doing in the background? a mother took a picture of her son and friend surfing. what to the what? she went back to look at the pictures. look what she saw. it looks like a huge shark swimming next to the kids. kids didn't know the shark was there. said the shark afterwards, did i just photo bomb your picture.

i will tell you that lesterer has doubts because he doubts all pictures on the internet. >> it is hard not to. >> it is hard not to. i have seen stuff like that out there before. you remember the one with pictures of hurricane sandy and sharks in the flooded subway. >> same shark, by the way. >> like hey. >> dylan dreyer is back. no sharknados forecast, correct? >> no. that's for sure. we are going to see cold temperatures as we finish off the year. it is going to be 1 degree in minneapolis. and then for monday temperatures up to about 7 in minneapolis. now the cold air starts to stretch eastward. we are about 37 in new york city. here comes the colder air. 22 in buffalo by tuesday. 36 in parts of the new york area. as we go into the new year 5 in

minneapolis. 22 in chicago. 25 degrees in boston. it is certainly going to cool down. all behind this cold front that arctic air is moving in. first we have a lot of rain in good morning. 6:13 is the time right now. we still have a red flag fire warning in effect until 10:00 just because we're talking about elevated fire danger at least through 10:00. gusty winds expected up to 20 to 30 miles an hour and low humidity expected above at least the hills above 1,000 feet. right now we're clear outside but you will notice later on this afternoon plenty of sunshine. temperatures very similar to where they were yesterday. mid to upper 60s, and we're talking about a few 70s possible even at the coast today. have a good sunday. and that's your latest forecast. people across the country are enjoying some of the weather hitting the slopes, getting in skiing during this holiday week. there is a danger out there.

snow storms have created a ripe environment for avalanches that have turned deadly. here is joe friar. >> reporter: the avalanche dangerer has been high across much of the united states after new layers of heavy snow stacked atop old layers of weak snow. >> that is always a perfect recipe for human triggered avalanches. >> reporter: two people were killed on friday including 28-year-old mike kisanji. in colorado a man was rescued after everything but his pole was buried. then there was this. edwin lamare triggered a

colorado avalanche that carried him 800 feet. >> my chest was a little compressed by all of the snow compacting around me so i was struggling to breathe a little bit and got kind of panics. >> his brother dug him out. >> you must feel pretty grateful right now. >> yes. definitely. i am extremely thankful that everything turned out the way it did and that i didn't sustain worse injuries or die. >> reporter: he was carrying life-saving equipment, a shovel, beacon and probe all recommended by experts. >> avalanche debris sets up like concrete in just a second or two. >> reporter: if you are found hopefully someone else can dig you out. up next on "today," what a year it has been for pope francis. we will look back at the first year as leader of the world's 1

billion catholics after this.

those pictures from pope francis from earlier this morning. look at the crowds there. what a year it has been for the argentinean who began as a cardinal but not long after became the people's pope.

martin fletcher takes a look back at his first year. >> reporter: for the first time in 600 years a pope resigned. benedict's replacement from argentina. the new pope is changing the way the world sees the catholic church, a man of the people. he gave up the luxury of the palace for a two room apartment and gave up the limo for a ford focus and the christmas day address says it all. here is pope benedict last year. and francis this week, as simple as it gets. and the people love it. >> he's awesome. >> reporter: his spokesman said they couldn't make up the iconic moments of the first year, the

little boy, the selfie, embracing the afflicted. pope francis is also opening the doors of the church. on gay priests he said who am i to judge. on women in the church he said they are essential. a change in catholic dogma or just a change in style? >> there is certainly a style change which is simplicity. he is not going to be throwing out core doctrine. >> reporter: pope francis is changing the way the world sees the catholic church and then the other challenge is the way the church sees it itself. francis is taking aim at vatican waste and corruption as well as parisely abuse. commiters will report in the new year. >> i think that in the new year particularly around february we will see concrete changes. >> a jesuit pope, the first, francis is determined to bring the church back to its

essentials, the message of jesus, humility, love, acceptance. still to come on a sunday morning you can forget the 12,000 pound crystal ball. for cities across the country there are other perhaps slightly more creative things like pickles that they will be dropping to ring in 2014. first these messages. at some, everyone's been at the corner of "new year's resolution" and "maybe i need a new new year's resolution." ♪ at walgreens, we know that starting healthy routines can be tough. that's why walgreens makes it easier with realistic and real simple solutions... everything from great deals on vitamins, supplements and fitness monitors to helpful online tools. at the corner of happy and healthy. abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell.

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in just a few days millions of eyes will be looking on as the crystal ball drops to ring in the new year. what do a pine cone, a motorcycle wheel and a possum in a cage have in common? >> is it is question like yesterday? >> dylan is in the orange room and has it. no surprise. >> this is a question we posted on twitter. we got very funny responses. one viewer says it is all part of the process of making home made ice cream. another viewer says all things found on a road side in west virginia. those aren't the answers. if you guessed it those are the things lowered on new year's eve you guessed it right. we are so used to the iconic ball drop in new york city. other towns across the country

have their own transitions. in north carolina they really know how to party in brass town they lower a live possum in a cage. in mt. olive they have a pickle drop. ocean city, maryland drops a beach ball. pittsburgh, pennsylvania heinz ketchup. in key west a conch shell, piratet wench and a red high heel shoe. >> usually there is sushi, a drag queen who goes by the name sushi. it is all part of the event. >> how do you know that? >> another network i used to workt at we covered it every year. >> we don't. >> we'll be right back after this. hopefully i'll still be here. what does that first spoonful taste like?

ok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. super savings celebration.art's dayquil 24 count, nyquil 12 oz. all on rollback. hamburger helper only a dollar. 2 liter of pepsi or mountain dew only one dollar each. it's the super savings celebration going on right now at walmart.

you are watching "today in the bay." >> and a good sunday morning to you. a live picture right now of the city of san francisco and the bay bridge all lit up at 6:26 on this sunday. good morning. i'm sam brock. anthony slaughter joins us now with a look at your weekend forecast. >> sam, we have a red flag fire warning. this went into effect yesterday afternoon and it continues to run through 10:00 because we have elevated fire danger. not only are we talking about sparing the air once again, but with gusts in our hills above 1,000 feet, we are looking at elevated fire danger at least for this morning. eventually this afternoon if we can get off scott free without looking at any fires we will eventually talk about improving air quality but that does come if we do not have any fires break out in the next couple hours. right now we're looking at clear skies. you can see from the peninsula

starting to see that sunrise come up over palo alto. just those first few signs of our sunrise. as we look at the highs for later on, temperatures warming back to the mid-60s. in fact, the coast will be very warm today. fuf the day off, maybe want to head over to the bay. they're at 60 degrees. eventually headed to 70. really every single place today will be very close to that. mid to upper 60s for the most part, even san francisco above average, 64 degrees for your daytime high today, sam. >> unbelievable. thank you very much, anthony. we begin now with breaking news out of san francisco where a woman has just died after sustaining gunshot wounds to the face. this outside of a movie theater in japantown. police say the victim was shot across the street from the kabuki movie theater on post street just before 2:00 this morning. she was then transported to a local hospital suffering from at least one gunshot wound. police have not released any suspect information or a motive at this point although witnesses told us they saw a silver or gold buick speed off after the

shooting carrying at least five people inside. now, to a developing story out of oakland. the family of the 13-year-old girl who remains on a ventilator at children's hospital in oakland is running out of time. they're reaching out on social media now this morning asking for a pediatrician in the los angeles area that will treat the teen which might allow her possible transfer to a facility in southern california. jahi mcmath's family has until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. that is when the hospital they will remove her from life support. they have created a fund to pay for a possible transfer. the goal is to raise $20,000. so far half of that amount has been donated. in the meantime, the family does plan to ask the judge tomorrow for an extension on that court order. almameda police are asking for the public's assistance in locating hair yet holbrook.

she was last seen around noon yesterday. she's 5'5" and weighs around 110 wounds. harriet may be walking with a brown chocolate lab. almeida police are asking anyone who may have seen her to call the police department. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," could facebook soon be a thing of the past, a remnant of the past? why the bay area company is struggling with younger generations and a study says facebook just isn't cool anymore when it comes to teens. more coming up at 7:00. for now we send you back to the "today" show.

we're back on a sunday morning, december 29, 2013. great shots of our crowd this morning, our last show of 2013. >> it happened so quickly. >> it did. >> i know. let's do it again. >> let's not. i'm lester holt. >> we have a lot coming up. we want to first get you caught up on the top headlines. a suicide bomber attacked a train station in russia killing at least a dozen people and wounding more. >> bitter cold and snow. tough news for many who are struggling from last week's storm. >> today may be the day that the

stranded research ship which is stuck in antarctica is freed. an australian ice breaker could reach the ship by midnight. still to come in this half hour i hit the ice with two siblings. their mom takes an exl role in their training. and then a couple of hollywood stars stunned us with their antics, rants and publicity stunts. we look back at some of the biggest stories. we are toast 2013 with a look back at all of the fun. we will share our most memorable moments and give you a behind the scenes peek. >> some of it will be a peek but you won't know what happened. we begin with a story helping to keep the holiday spirit alive. the cowboys newest quarterback will be on the sideline.

the highlight isn't necessarily the game. it's the fact that kitna was pulled out of nfl retirement and how he is using this game to teach an important lesson. john kitna never planned to be on the practice field again. >> if you feel i can help the situation i would love to help the situation. >> reporter: the 41-year-old retired in 2011 becoming a high school math teacher and football coach in washington state. >> i think a lot of people don't believe me but seeing that kind of change and seeing hope come into the eyes of kids again that maybe felt hopeless for a long time is greater than any high in the game. >> reporter: after tony romo injured his back and kyle orton stepped into the starting role the cowboys needed a third

stringer for the final game of the regular season. >> we were juggling like you should go back. this is a good time to go back. i guess he took it seriously. >> reporter: kitna texted the cowboys coach and this week the team signed him. >> you don't see too many players come out of retirement at all after two years away from the game. >> reporter: even more unusual kitna decided to donate his salary for this weekend's game, $53,000 to the school where he teaches and where his wife runs the booster club. >> we don't need the paycheck. it would be more help to give it to some young man and young ladies at our school. >> reporter: given the cowboys' uncertain playoff outlook kitna is unsure when he will return to class. >> they will have questions on day one and by day two they will be giving me a mad time or telling me how bad i looked in

the uniform. >> reporter: this backup quarterback might not take a single snap yet the lesson in generosity may be among his greatest plays of all. some lucky kids have such a dedicated teacher. you can watcht that game tonight right here on nbc. our coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >> i am hoping he gets a snap. let's get another check of the weather from dylan. >> good morning everyone. we have people you want to say hello to. who do you want to say hi to? >> my grandmother in florida. >> my grandpa in boston. we are good to go. we are lookingt a at a lot of rain to move into the northeast. right now it is sitting through the mid-atlantic. heavy rain from south carolina back into southern new jersey creeping to the north and east. most areas see rain with this

except central and northern new england. that cold front is certainly going to cool us down by the time we get into the new year. we have 1 degree by this afternoon in parts of the dakotas. that is going to continue to spread eastward. very fridged as we go into monday. it is a massive system and fast moving. good morning. 6:35. we're still tracking that red flag fire warning in effect until 10:00 this morning just because of increased fire danger. we have some gusts this morning up to about 35 miles an hour and it's an offshore wind so it's warming our coast. in fact, today we're going to see the coast a little bit warmer than the inland locations because of that thermal trough. we're actually expecting 70 near the coast. we're in the 20s to 30s with 50 on the peninsula, 51 in san francisco. temperatures warm to mid to upper 60s. now let's head a little

further west in new york for today's top shot. this comes from hamburg, new york, just south of buffalo. hamburg is home to the ninth annual fairgrounds festival of lights. our affiliate wgrz, the annual tradition brings visitors across western new york for family friendly holiday fun. more than 1 million lights on display along with rides, games, a magic show and, of course, always santa. erica and lester, back to you. >> quite the display there. i love it. dylan, thanks. this morning on our countdown to sochi, we are just 39 days away from the start of the olympic winter games. it looks like our very own lester holt just may be a ringer this year for the u.s. speed skating team. you've been hiding so many skills. >> if they do it in slow motion, i'm in. i did catch up with two olympic hopefuls at a training facility in milwaukee before they hit the ice this weekend for the speed skating trials in utah, brother and sister from the chicago area, hoping to keep a family tradition alive.

>> we live, eat, breathe, do everything skating. >> reporter: like most olympic hopefuls, nancy swider-peltz, junior and her brother jeffrey compete in relative obscurity until the olympics come around. >> as hard as it is, and sometimes i again sit back and think how crazy it is that we're doing this daily, but it is worth it. >> reporter: nancy raced in the 2010 games. younger brother jeffrey who gave up college football to commit to skating full time is taking his first shot at making the olympics. >> all i need is a good race and i can make the team. >> timing is right on that. >> reporter: the coach is the first u.s. woman to compete in four olympic games, a holder of two world records. she is also their mom. >> when they were old enough to be on skates, i put them on skates. never with the intent that, oh, my gosh, does he look like he has talent, should i push them in this?

>> reporter: they were born to be athletes. dad is a football coach at wheat ton college in illinois where another brother 34r5i z as well. this brother and system go by the name team swider-peltz. they will rise or fall on their own in the u.s. olympic trials going on right now. it's where all the sacrifice comes to bear. >> it's a saying amongst speed skaters, what the hem am i doing? why am i doing this sport? >> reporter: did you ever tell them how hard this is? >> you know, i didn't. i wonder if that would have been a discouragement. >> reporter: the coach in nancy senior trains them to win. the mom in them training them in life. >> i think if you do the best you can and your goals are set, whatever happens, it has made you who you are. >> reporter: what is it like having your mom coach you? >> she has been probably one of the most fair coaches out there, giving equal amount of time to other skaters as well as myself. >> reporter: as i quickly learned, coaching, too, runs in

the family. >> you need to get that low because in order to get power in the push, you need to have that loaded leg to explode off from. >> reporter: between mom and daughter, a combined five olympics. now with jeffrey on skates, a chance to expand the legacy. >> i think i'm considered a long shot, but i've got the best coach in the world. >> i'm considered an even longer shot. they will know by early next week whether one or both of them will be headed to sochi. i've already found out that i didn't make the cut. >> that's all right. you're going to be there any way. >> i will be there rooting them on. >> just won't be competing. >> not on the ice. >> you got some speed up, though? >> i did. they are speed skates. you find yourself kind of opening up and you think, wow, if i crash, this is going to be spectacularly bad. >> that's what we call great tv. up next, a look back at the year in entertainment including

controversial comments from paula deen, questionable dance moves from miley cyrus. it's the good, the bad, the ugly moves from miley cyrus. it's the good, the bad, the ugly and a few [ laughter ]tween he loves me. he loves me not. he loves me. he loves me not. ♪ he loves me! that's right. [ mom ] warm and flaky in 15, everyone loves pillsbury grands! [ girl ] make dinner pop! she should be braiding her hair. not losing it. he should be battling video villains. not cancer cells. they should be living life. not fighting for it. at st. jude children's research hospital, we're fighting for kids who aren't as lucky as yours.

st. jude's research labs may not be in your community. but our discoveries are. our research has changed how the world treats leukemia, brain tumors and sickle cell disease. and no family ever pays st. jude. for anything. our discoveries today could save a child you know, tomorrow. so if you have healthy children, give thanks. give thanks. da las gracias. give thanks. give thanks. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. and give to those who are not. go to st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo.

this morning in today's hollywood headlines, a look at entertainment. >> we will cover it all with e news correspondent alicia quels. first we want to talk to jenna in the orange room for a look at what you consider to be the biggest story of the year. jenna, who is the big winner? >> remember on saturday we asked you to vote on the biggest entertainment story of 2013. your options were miley's vma performance, paula's surprise from grace, kim and kanye in the spotlight. the people have spoken. here is what you said. foam fingers and blurry lines, it's miley cyrus's vma performance. fret not, paula deen, you gave

miley competition, came in at number two. alicia, i ask you why did this resonate so much with the people? >> we all know hannah montana, but to see her up there twerking with a home finger, it's like what is going on? on top of that, she has talent. from cutting her hair, breaking off her engagement, twerking up a storm. she stole the spotlight. >> one of the biggest entertainment moments. >> i would say kimya situation, naming your baby northwest. the fact they got engaged in such a major huge way was one of the stop stories and also beyonce. beyonce everywhere. >> the album she dropped in the middle of the night. >> woke up, hi, album. 14 songs, 17 videos. i went to an experience with beyonce where she showed all the videos and she came and spoke to us afterwards and said she wanted people to not just see

the single, but whole album. she changed the game. >> it's funny. this is how kids are getting introduced to music. they watch the videos when they're looking for the song. when it comes to movies, the biggest hits at the box office? >> all about sequels and follow ups, ironman, hunger games and despicable me. ironman, $1.2 billion, despicable me, $918 million. hunger games, $730 million. eight of the top ten were sequels and followups. >> a lot of good movies come out. really good ones fall between the cracks. which ones stand out to you? >> i love prisoners and blue jasmine. those were movies that came out early. people kind of forgot about them. academy voters don't remember these kind of movies. they were phenomenal. >> i saw "blue just masmine" on plane. >> and prisoners stars hugh

jackman. fantastic. >> any other recommendations that maybe we may have missed? >> some things that are still in theaters. if you haven't seen "american hustle," "august gus of sage county." >> care to venture what the big headline of 2014 will be? >> oh, my goodness. kim and kanye getting married and the "fifty shades of grey" movie. >> they already have controversy, main star dropped out. had to get another. >> is there a wedding date for kim and kanye? >> no wedding date. i'll be here in '14 to bring you all your updates. >> which we look forward to. alicia, thank you. happy new year frmths happy new year. just ahead, this is our last show of 2014. time sure does fly. we'll take a look back at our most memorable moments on

"today" wh did you get chips for the party? nope. [ ding ] cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. ♪ so i should probably get the last roll... yeah but i practiced my bassoon. [ mom ] and i listened. [ brother ] i can do this. [ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop.

what better way to close out the year than to look back at

how many times we made fools of ourselves? >> from the brand new set to the brand new member of our family. take a look. >> twas the last weekend of 2013, the anchors took a look back on a year of "weekend today." ♪ >> it is our first weekend here in the new studios. do not adjust your television set. this baby rotates a full 360 degrees. >> look at this huge tv screen. this is where i'm going to come watch the super bowl. >> i feel like there's something -- >> that's my husband. >> time to raise a glass and toast lester's first ten years on "weekend today." >> the one thing that hasn't change about the "today" show, the party on the plaza! >> i'm going to finish my bagel

and dylan, what's the weather? ♪ i want to scream and shout and let it all out ♪ ♪ >> lester made a hole in his. >> you feel like you digested it really easily? >> we're making cauliflower soup. the ultimate comfort food is mac and cheese. >> thanks. ♪ >> it's off tune. you're good to go. ♪ >> what is your talent that you're going to be doing for us? >> i'm going to do the news, the open of the 8:30 half hour on the "today" show. >> hearing you read the news

would be insufshl. >> there's some good news around here. i'm pregnant. >> jenna, take care of our littlest fan. congratulations, we'll see you soon. >> barry expletive manilow? >> look who stopped by. >> jenna. >> i think it's possible that she actually got cuter. >> sorry, this is private. ♪ ♪ walk out the door, just turn around now cuz you're not welcome anymore ♪ ♪

>> how long is it taking to shoot this picture? >> hey rob, good morning. >> is that dylan? >> dylan, let's see who is calling? >> dylan. it's time to get up. >> the show starts in nine minutes. ♪ let me show you a few things >> no one is seeing this, right? ♪ ♪

>> and just like that the year has come to an end, but pretty soon we're going to do it all over again. the end. >> that didn't give harper a nightmare, did it? what a year. >> ten years on this show, you think i would remember that even when we're not on the air, they're always rolling tape on things that happen. a lot of those things, we're like, we didn't do that on tape. >> not even tape, there's always a microphone anywhere. any time erica wants to break out into tunes, it's being recorded somewhere. >> it's painful for the people listening to it. >> sometimes you know there's a moment, i know i'm going to have to see this at the end of december. we just saw it.

you know what? -- >> this is this morning. >> oh, i new we were rolling. >> hamming it up a little? >> here is the thing, lester likes to groove a little bit before we get on the air. >> i often play deejay. >> he deejays on his phone in the morning. how could you not move? let the music move you. >> we did a little motown thing here, a little r &b. this continues to be one of the great jobs in television. i can't think of three people i'd rather spend my early mornings with. >> we have a great weekend family. >> you get to see a lot of the faces that you don't get to see. you see us. but there are so many people downstairs in the control room, upstairs in wardrobe and makeup, glad to see they got air time, too. >> they have to deal with us. ♪ [ male announcer ] new vicks dayquil severe.

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want to check in once again with david gregory for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press." good morning again. >> good morning again, erica. more on the bombshell report in "the new york times," the controversy over who gets the blame for benghazi. do the results of this new investigation in "the times" change the debate over the charges the administration was playing politics with terror? i'll speak exclusively with a republican in congress cho claims there was a coverup, darrell issa. before we say good buy this morning, we wants to toast our wonderful year on "weekend today" to my friends, colleagues and this great audience.

the audience at home, we hope you had a wonderful 2013 and an even better 2014. >> looking forward to sharing that with you on the weekends. >> cheers. >> cheers everyone. >> i'll see you back here tonight for "nbc nightly news." have a great day everybody. so long.

good morning. i'm sam brock. coming up on "today in the bay," tragedy in japantown. early this morning a woman gunned down, shot in the face as police scramble to find a shooter and a motive. and this is what you get for stealing on christmas. thieves behind bars this morning following a christmas eve looting. plus a scenario that once sounded unimaginable. could facebook be losing its staying power? why the bay area company is struggling to keep its customers. all this and more on "today in the bay." >> from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." 7:00 on your sunday morning. a live picture now of the golden gate bridge and the palace of fine arts on what should be a fine sunday morning. good morning, i'm sam brock in