bay bridge. not much of a wait unless you're coming off the berkeley curve. >> we're back at 7:25 with a live local news update. >> see you then. monster storm set to snarl holiday travel for millions on the roads and in the skies. airports from the midwest and northeast preparing for major delays on christmas eve. dylan is here to tell you what to expect. call for calm. new york city's mayor asking for a few days of eased tensions so the city can properly mourn two officers gunned down in cold blood. new video shows the chaotic moments after the shooting as police around the country are told to be on high alert for copy cats. retaliation? north korea's internet shut down for hours. it's apparently back online this morning. but a lot of questions being asked. was the u.s. government behind that outage as a response to the

sony hack? and road rage. >> oh, my god! >> she just hit our car. she's pushing us off the road. >> a frightening incident in northern california all caught on tape. the driver of a pickup truck relentlessly pursuing two women in another car until they safely reach police leaving us wonder where is the holiday spirit "today," tuesday, december 23rd, 2014. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. live from study joe owe studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. . >> welcome to "today" on a tuesday morning. that scene out of northern california on a highway reminds you while the holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, not for everybody. >> to hear the screams and the panic in the voices of those passengers, we'll have more

details of what went down there. >> exactly. let's get right to our top story, though. huge storm is coming at the worst possible time, on christmas eve. it could be a nightmare for millions of travelers. so if you can get to where you're going today, you might want to try to do that. dylan is keeping an eye on all of this. good morning. >> good morning. tomorrow is the big storm. today's no picnic either. heavier rain down toward dallas. rain moving north of chicago. snow through omaha. thunderstorms down through the southeast. so the eastern two-thirds of the country dealing with all sorts of wild weather today. watch as we go through the day. we are looking at this area of low pressure to organize a little bit. potential for strong storms down along the southeast. that could cause delays, especially airports like atlanta. we are looking at rounds of heavy rain and storms through date today making their way up into the northeast as we go into christmas eve day. we could also see some accumulating snow through the afternoon and evening christmas eve back through chicago and this whole storm will continue

to pull away as we go into christmas day. today is a mess. tomorrow is the bigger mess up and down the east coast. possibility of flash flooding, especially down near the gulf coast where some of those storms will be strongest today. tallahassee could pick up as much as four inches of rain. and that will extend all the way up and down the east coast with as much as one to two inches of rain from the midatlantic up into new england. we will see again the possibility of accumulating snow out there chicago as we go through tomorrow afternoon but it, again, is just starting to get raining down in atlanta. that's where gabe gutierrez is right now. there's also a lot of fog out there right now. right, gabe? >> dylan, good morning. this is the world's busiest airport. because so many people connect through here, we've been seeing a steady stream of travelers and plenty of rain and low clouds, which could cause issues later in the day.

so far, no major delays. there have been some small delays because of these low clouds. we're also watching chicago. this is expected to kbet worse throughout the day. and tomorrow christmas eve as this winter storm rolls through. aaa expects more than 98 million american also travel this holiday season. the weather may not be great. but, hey, at least gas prices will be done. >> in atlanta for us, gabe gutierrez, thank you again. now into the investigation of the murder of two nypd officers. police are working to track down the movements of the alleged killer in the hours before the shooting. tensions between the police and the mayor of the nation's largest city remain strained. stephanie gosk has more from brooklyn. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. some officials and former officials in this city have made a link between the murder of these two officers and the ongoing protests against police

tactics. that's a link that the mayor of this city firmly rejects. he's called for an end to the protests until the two officers can be buried. >> reporter: a bride just two months ago. >> reporter: the widow of new york city police officer wentjin liu thanked supporters. lie and raphael ramos murdered saturday are being mourned by the city they served. as their families plan their funerals, police are trying to learn more about their killer as families plan their funerals. his sister says her brother was troubled and needed help. >> clearly, something is wrong. he should have been offered help in the system. >> but he wasn't. >> right? but he wasn't. >> newly released surveillance video shows him at a mall. instead of holiday shopping, police say his plans included murder. less than three hours later, he gunned down the two officers in

it captures the crime's immediate and chaotic aftermath. now the city's police commissioner has this warning. >> we received a number of what i would describe as copycat garner the head of the police union was critical of bill de blasio. >> there's blood on many hands and it starts on city hall. >> reporter: he isn't backing down. >> do you feel you went too far on your comments? >> when i speak i'm speaking on behalf of new york city police officers and this is how they feel. >> reporter: the mayor's response. >> i need to support them, regardless of what they feel. >> reporter: in brooklyn, new york's finest keep coming, wave after wave, to pay tribute to

their two murdered colleagues. mayor de blasio visited the memorial. it's the first time he's been here and had respect for the officers. the debate needs to wait until they are bury ied. . the internet appears to be working again in north korea after an outage blanketed that country for hours. it came after the government said north korea was to blame for the sony pictures cyber attack. hallie jac morning. >> good morning, matt, the outage may have been a routine glitch or it may have been something more suspicious, like a coordinated attack on north korea's internet. all this has south korea taking steps reportedly beefing up its cyber deferences with sony going offense online. the elite few in north korea who

have the internet apparently can once again access it after a 9 1/2 hour outage cut them off from the rest of the online world. >> that's nothing i haven't seen before in north korea. >> reporter: raising eyebrows, aa week after the u.s. blamed north korea and promised to respond. >> we'll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. >> reporter: two u.s. officials familiar with the situation are denying an american role in the north korean outage but the state department was not as definitive. >> some will be seen, some may not be seen. >> reporter: sony has a response of its own in response to people placing leaked information online. the studio asking twitter to suspend the account of someone revealing e-mails and suspend any other user who is seeking to disseminate the stolen information. sony hackers stopped leaking information after the studio

announced it would pull "the interview," featuring a plot to kill kim jong un. the studio promises it will release the controversial comedy somehow. >> what do the hackers have? what would they release? will they do anything if sony goes ahead with the release of this film? >> reporter: coalition of theaters said they would support sony and show the movie if it allows it or stream it online for the world to see, provided there is working internet. a small theater group plans to do a free reading of "the interview" script, calling it as much a political statement as a theatrical event. the heads of sony are thanking their employees for professionalism during what they call this, quote, extremely difficult time. for sony, it may not be over. matt? >> hallie jackson in los angeles, thank you very much. meanwhile an alleged gun smuggling ring has been busted. natalie is following the details

of that story and others. >> baggage handler for delta airlines is under arrest, charged with helping a smuggler take guns in his carry-on bag if on flights from atlanta to new york. pete williams has more on this developing story. pete, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, this was part of an investigation by police in new york, tracing the illegal flow of guns into the city. it could raise new questions about security at the atlanta airport. federal agents say a 31-year-old baggage handler for delta in atlanta, eugene harvey, agreed to help a former delta employee to sneak guns on to flights to sell on the street. that man has also been arrested. harvey used his airport security badge to enter the airport terminal and later go into a concourse bathroom. the former employee entered that same bathroom and walked out one minute later with 18 handguns in his carry-on, allowing the smuggler to get the guns after

going through tsa screening. court documents say surveillance video shows what's apparently a similar handoff late last month. police in new york say all the smuggled guns were bought by undercover officers. natalie? >> pete williams in washington, thank you, pete. the texas weatherman shot twice outside his tv station is speaking out. patrick crawford, ambushed in his tv station parking lot last week spoke to reporters monday at the hospital where he is being treated. >> the man that shot me didn't say many words to me. there was no interaction whatsoever. it was -- he just started shooting at me as i was leaving the parking lot of kcn tv station. >> police have release this sketch of the suspect, but no arrests have been made yet. crawford continues to recover in the hospital. the consumer product safety commission is recalling more than 6 million keurig coffee makers. because they can overheat and

burn consumers. it's the mini plus brewing system with the model number k10. for more information, go to today.com. lots of people have that coffee maker. health alert for you as well. deadly new virus is believed to be spread by ticks and other insects, the bourbon virus. one person in kansas with the virus has died. health officials cannot say whether that was the direct cause of death. in college football, miami beach bowl turned into a punch bowl on monday. take a look at this scene after memphis clinched a wild 55-48 double overtime victory over byu. things got really ugly as players from both teams started throwing punches and helmets. it was just mayhem on the field. byu issued an apology on twitter saying, quote, we expect better of our athletes, even in the face of a difficult loss.

>> distinguished himself from that sucker punch from behind there. >> no. >> not going to want to see that tape over and over again. dylan, you've got the rest of your forecast? >> yes. and all across the country, something not good is going on. snow through the northern plains and upper midwest. wintry mix through parts of minneapolis. strongest storms along the gulf coast. we could end up with isolated tornados and gusty winds. we are looking for pockets of heavy rain up and down the east and coast. and there is a lot of fog. also in the southwest, santa ana wind also kick in. your local forecast in 30 seconds. kohl's is open 24 hours! now through 6pm christmas eve! get all of your last minute gifts, and save when you want to... plus, everyone gets kohl's cash.

find your yes. kohl's. . good morning. 7:14 the time right now. waking up to some very dense fog in parts of the south bay. you can see in san jose right now. there is the fog. it's very isolated once you get out of the south bay into the peninsula, even in san francisco, clear skies. we're talking mid to upper 60s and a few isolated 70s. rain arrives in the morning, continuing through the afternoon. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> all right, dylan, thank you very much. h. a california woman is under arrest after police say she tried to run another car off the road. it was all caught on video. betty has more on that. good morning. >> good morning, tamron. this story gives a whole new

meaning to the phrase the fast and furious. driver identified as 50-year-old deidre arozko is behind bars, tailgating a white mazda. as she passed the sedan those passengers, quote, made a rude hand gesture. from there, things spiraled out of control. >> oh, my god. >> go, go, go, go, go! >> reporter: in this dramatic video posted on youtube, seen accelerating, brake checking passengers in a white mazda several time. the women called police for >> we have a vehicle that has been following us. help. she keeps trying to tell us to pull over. >> swerving in front of us. >> we're in the white mazda, yes, ma'am. >> reporter: the women speed up to get away from arozko. >> she keeps trying to get us off the road. >> i'm freaking out. dude she's going to [ bleep ]. >> she just hit our car.

she's pushing us off the road. yes, she's pushing us off the road. she's coming for us. >> arozko got out of her car and flashed an unknown type of identification card, claiming to be a sheriff, telling the two women they were going to jail. >> she's saying she's a cop, knocking on our window, saying she's a cop. >> reporter: the women sped away to arozko, flagging down an officer. >> make sure he helps us, please. help us. >> reporter: they met up with arozko at the exit and arrested her. relieved that the ordeal was over. >> she was definitely coming after us specifically, and wanting to harm us somehow. who knows what she would have done to attack us. she definitely wanted to make her point. >> reporter: arozko faces reckless driving, obstructing an officer, assault with a deadly weapon. the two women were not seriously injured but, tamron and matt, they were shaken by it all. >> unbelievable. >> crazy. >> it is.

>> betty, thank you very much. a lot of sadness with the news of the death of the great, the great musician, joe cocker, died at the age of 70 after battling lung cancer. craig melvin is here with a look back at his life. i love this guy's music. >> you and a lot of other people. he was blues, rock 'n' roll, he was raw. he modeled that voice, one of the most recognizable in all of music, after the legendary ray charles. ray charles once said the three best soulful voices he had ever heard were aretha franklin, marvin gaye and joe cocker. rock 'n' roll lost a piece of its soul yesterday. ♪ you are so beautiful >> reporter: there is no mistaking that distinct raspy voice, joe cocker. he died in his colorado home monday, losing his battle with

lung cancer. ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ♪ >> reporter: the rock legend first gained attention at woodstock with his classic take on the beatles "little help from my friends". ♪ little help from my friends >> reporter: paul mccartney calling him a lovely guy this morning, adding that cocker totally turned the song into a soul anthem and i was forever grateful for him for doing that. >> looking at these songs 40 years later, you realize he really had something unique. ♪ i got to stop believing all your lies ♪ >> reporter: known for his unruly hair and on-stage gyrations, his career spanned five decades, he had a string of hits, fell off the chart notice '70s when heavy alcohol and drug abuse nearly ended his career n 1982, he made a comeback. ♪ love lifts us up where we belong ♪ >> "up where we belong" featured

in an officer and a gentleman, earned him a grammy for best song. >> at a concert back in september, billy joel paid tribute to joe cocker. >> i think he should be in the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. i'm throwing in my vote for joe cocker. ♪ you are so beautiful to me >> few doubt that he will get into the hall of fame soon but many wonder what the heck took so long. he leaves behind his wife, pam, brother, stepdaughter and grandchildren as well. said his wife, pam, saved his life. >> i was listening to someone on the radio talk about him today and they said, i think, the ultimate compliment. anybody that can take a beatles song and make it their own. >> and have the beatles compliment it. >> exactly. >> he really infused ray charles

into rock 'n' roll, even though he was english, he was so closely associated with american soul music. >> yes. >> tragic loss. one of the greats. number 97 on their list of top 100, "rolling stone," crazy to me. a lot of people last 24 hours, as you can imagine, 330,000 hits, joe cocker, unfortunately losing him. ringo starr writing, good-bye and god bless. bette midler says i loved joe cocker. i saw him live many times and was always amazed at his range and soul. the theme song to "the wonder years" in 1986 and danica, who played winnie, wrote "rip joe cocker." >> this is a day you want everything joe cocker stuck in your head. mom of a missing pennsylvania college student speaks out on the family's desperate wait for answers about what happened to their son.

also ahead, this almost sounds like something out of a movie. wife of a cuban spy gets pregnant while her husband is in a u.s. prison and wait until you hear how the u.s. helped make this happen. first this is "today" on nbc. coming up, why the government is getting involved with♪ i found a happy place

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you're watching "today in the bay." >> good morning to you. it's 7:26 on your tuesday. i'm sam brock. while start with a live look at downtown san jose where we've been seeing unusually thick fog this morning all over the city. in some cases the fog is making things a bit challenging for drivers, visibility less than a quarter mile on some bay area roads. at the same time other parts of the region completely clear. so far the fog is not impacting airports but we'll keep tabs on that. arson investigators are looking into several suspicious car fires overnight in west san jose. the two happened two blocks apart near delmar high school. right now investigators don't believe the third fire was

intentionally set. later this morning east bay regional park police expected to update an unsolved homicide from last month on a popular hiking trail. 60-year-old english teacher david runzel was an avid hiker. he was robbed and shot in the huckleberry regional park there. a reward been offered to track down his killer. >> if you are just waking up, plenty of fog in the south bay. elsewhere clearer conditions. good morning, anthony. >> you can see it right behind me. this is a perfect example of what you were saying. here we clear. just another step. the camera in downtown san jose, the fog is in the camera back there. our cameras show clear skies, even through san francisco, completely clear save for the

bay. how is that for your christmas eve eve forecast. let's talk about that drive. >> we have the holiday very close to us so very light traffic flow. low clouds still drifting around. farther south we do have patchy, dense fog. we're watching out for morgan hill and gilroy. approaching the bay bridge toll plaza, turn the metering lights off just two minutes ago. very light volume of traffic into the city. back to the "today" show.

♪ 7:30 now on a rainy morning, tuesday, december 23rd. that's right, two days to go before christmas arrives. that tree is shining brightly in rockefeller center. good time to come down and check it out, despite the inclement weather. >> it's going to be like 60 degrees tomorrow. >> that works. if we get the rain out of here, it works. >> it will feel like christmas when you rip open the gifts. stories making news right now. a huge storm, as mentioned, is expected to make travel a nightmare tomorrow on christmas eve. millions of people will be

impacted friday florida to the northeast. airports are already preparing for major delays. the internet appears to be working this morning in north korea. that would be a headline any more. there was a huge outage for 10 hours on monday. no word on what caused the blackout but there are some questions, people wondering if the u.s. played a role in that in response to the sony hack. gas prices are at the lowest they have been in years. average price for a gallon is $2.39. aaa says prices have fallen for 88 straight days and are the low est we've seen since 2009. >> merry christmas. >> feels like christmas now. coming up, a really interesting story. a cuban spy sat in an american prison, his wife became pregnant with his child. so how did it happen? and why were both the u.s. and cuban governments involved? your child may have put a drone on their holiday wish list this year. they come with a big warning from the faa. what you need to know to make sure you and your kids are using them safely. lots to get to. let's begin this half hour with the search for a missing college

student. the search is intensifying this morning two days after shane montgomery's car keys were found in a river near where he went missing. while encouraged by that find, his family says they still don't have their son and they won't stop looking for him until they do. "today's" erica hill has been following the latest developments. good morning to you. >> matt, good morning. shane montgomery's disappearance, quite simply, a mystery. nearly a month into the search there have been very few clues, leaving his family and law enforcement to grapple with the question, what happened? this morning, shane's mom is speaking out about the agonizing wait for an answer. watching teams on the schuylkill river for any trace of their son, kevin montgomery is speaking out. his keys were found, the only trace of the college senior since he disappeared before thanksgiving. >> it points in the direction that shane is in the river and

that that's where they have to focus now and try to find him. >> reporter: investigators renewed their focus in the area about two weeks ago, after surveillance video from a nail salon showed the 21-year-old walking into this parking lot, immediately after he left kildare's irish pub, the last place he was seen. the video does not show him leaving the area. >> three theories, he accidentally fell in, took his own life by jumping in or he met with foul play. and that fourth distant wild card is that he went away of his own volition. there doesn't seem to be anything to support that. >> reporter: despite a $65,000 reward for information, there have been few tips in the case. the only constant, the void, as shane's family waits for answers. >> i'm not going to stop until i find shane.

there's no resolution, just because i found a set of keys. >> experts say the recovery of shane's keys is evncoruraginenct the search for additional clues remains a challenge. >> leaves and twigs and trees and fishing lines and so many other obstacles under water. there's no real way to conduct an investigation and suggest where that body would go. >> reporter: still, shane's family is holding out hope. >> i miss him terribly. i text him every day, to ask him to help me find him. every day. and i won't stop until i bring him home. >> the fbi continues to urge anyone with any information to come forward. there's a number there at the bottom of your screen. shane's aunt told us yesterday if love could bring him home, he would have been there for thanksgiving dinner. >> such heartbreak during the holidays. >> erica, thank you very much. let's get a check of the

weather. dylan is here. we are talking about a rainstorm on the east coast tomorrow. we have snow and rain back through the midwest right now. green bay starting to change over to heavier rain, snow in through iowa and southeastern minnesota. in chicago, we've got fog. that's where we're noticing a lot of airports right now, foggy conditions this morning with visibility of about a quarter of a mile and up to two miles. we will hang on to the clouds throughout the day in chicago. we have winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories throughout northern wisconsin, parts of dakotas and northern nebraska, too. we're not looking at a lot of snow. traveling today, three to six inches is enough to make things slippery. elsewhere in white is 1 to 3 inches. isolated tornados and wind gusts will be our biggest threats. that's a look at the weather across the country.

can r. >> it is dark down below but there is the fog right up against the foot hills. it was causing some really slow travel this morning. we're going to seey of sunshine as we're seeing across most of the bay. 6 for san francisco today, 70 for the south bay. enjoy that. cooler weather son the way with rain arriving for tomorrow. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> dylan, thank you very much. landmark announcement to ease american relations with cuba has an unbelievable subplot we're learning more about this morning. kate snow is here with a story about how the u.s. government helped the wife of a cuban spy become pregnant. kate, good morning. >> good morning, tamron. until last week, ad richlt ana perez's husband was in a california prison, convicted of being an undercover agent for

fidel castro's regime. she was back in cuba, desperately wanting to start a family. now she's due in a few weeks, a conception that defied the embargo in a very modern way. >> his hand on her very pregnant belly. yes, pregnant, with hernandez's child with the help of the u.s. and cuban governments houchlt it came about have all the makings of cold war spy novel, cold war flights from the u.s. to cuba. ring leader of the cuban five, group of agents convicted in 2001 of running a spy ring in south florida. the charges included help shooting down two cessna airplanes that killed four americans working against the castro regime. he spoke to nbc news in 2012 in an exclusive interview.

>> we came here with fake passports, fake identity. >> reporter: his wife defended him as well. >> he is an extremely noble person. is he sincere. he is honest. >> reporter: last year when senator patrick leahy, perez tracked the senator and his wife down with an urgent and unusual plea. >> she didn't know whether she would ever see her husband out of prison but she loved him very, very much. and she wanted to have his child. she's now in her early 40s and was afraid that may never happen. >> reporter: leahy intersbr conveniented, arranging the delivery of hernandez's sperm to cuba where they started insem nation procedures. now she's 8 1/2 months pregnant. >> it's a human thing, nothing to do with the politics of the two countries. it was just a family value, human thing. >> reporter: there is some outrage about the conception.

the sister of one of the cuban americans killed in those cessna planes called the entire effort absurd. here we are, going way overboard so that this guy has a child? it doesn't make any sense, she told nbc news. >> it's tragic that the people were shot down, but let's not take it out on a child. years later a child that could be born into a loving family. >> so most americans may barely know who the cuban five were. they're hailed as national heroes in cuba. hernandez is not actually asking for forgiveness for what he did, spying for cuba. a couple of years ago the only thing he regretted, he told us, is getting caught. >> if this happened the way it happened, many americans will have very strong opinions. >> very strong opinions that this was way overboard, as this woman said, a guy that committed a crime. >> we may have to fire up carson

in the orange room. >> why were their needs and concerns placed so high? interesting. >> carson, you working on this? >> carson in the orange room, we'll hear what you have to say. >> i'm going to get on this right now. have everything going. hold on a second. still to come, what could possibly be making this dog so darn happy that she is one of the funniest dances you will ever see? it's dylan's favorite video. >> favorite. >> she's watched it a thousand times all morning long. >> never mind, carson. get on this one instead. christmas gift with a message from the feds. why they're giving a

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okay. we're back at 7:45 on this tuesday morning. and if you or someone you know is getting one of the hottest selling gift this is year, beware, it comes with a steep learning curve and also a warning from the faa about how and where to use them. we're talking about drones. nbc's tom costello is in washington with more on that this morning. hi, tom. >> hey there, matt. i'm going to keep a close eye on this guy. more than a million drones have been bought worldwide in the last few years, coming in all shapes and all sizes but they've also gotten far too close to concert goers, police officers and most concerning, to airports and to airplanes. if you haven't heard the buzz in

your neighborhood yet, it may only be a few days away. >> the one wts cameras, you can get for as little as $189. this guy here is $419. >> reporter: a hot gift this year,fullying off store shelves. >> it's a lot like riding a bike. it's not hard but you crash a lot when you're learning. >> reporter: the faa has serious concerns. since june 1st, pilots have reported 25 near collision with his unmanned drones, three close calls at new york's busy jfk airport, over four days last month. >> we just had something fly over us. i don't know if it was a drone or a balloon. it just came real quick. >> reporter: if a drone were to hit a cockpit windshield or get sucked into a plane's engine, it could bra bri down a plane. >> looks like one of those unmanned drones was flying right on the final. >> reporter: now the faa and unmanned aircraft association are rolling out a safety campaign to educate new drone users. among the tips, stay below 400 feet, keep the drone within line

of sight and take lessons before you fly. faa even releasing a video. >> do fly with local clubs. don't fly near airports or any manned aircraft. >> reporter: faa chief michael wuerta. >> the thing we have to avoid is any opportunity for aircraft to come into contact with one another, because that is an extremely dangerous situation for everyone involved. >> reporter: the faa is still working on a rule book for commercial drone use, arial photography to organ trans plants to pizza deliveries. >> flip mode. yeah! >> isn't that the coolest thing? >> i love it! >> reporter: meantime, amateur drone users are encouraged to learn the rules of the air. the trouble is the rules are routinely ignored by amateurs. anyone who violates rules could face thousands of dollars in fines and even jail time. faa has approved limited drone use for movie makers and

corporate farmers. we're still waiting on the rest of the corporate rules. >> tom is controlling that with his mind. don't even have a controller. >> nice. >> just want a fly swatter. >> the noise is irritating. >> it is. >> tom, thank you very much. still to come on trending, decoration fail. hilarious look at awkward christmas displays as decking hilarious look at awkward christmas displays as decking the halls takes on yeah so with at&t next you get the new iphone for $0 down. zero down? zilch. nothing. nada. small potatoes. no potatoes. diddly squat. big ol' goose egg. the new iphone, zero down. zero. zilch. said that already. zizeroni. not a thing. zamboni. think that's a hockey thing. you know what, just sign us up. okay - this way. with at&t next get the new iphone for $0 down. now get a $150 credit for each line you switch. thanks for protecting us from trash cans & chair legs, and helping us appreciate your enthusiasm.

this holiday season, give thanks to the pets who inspire you. at petsmart, save up to 25% on select aquarium kits from aqueon® and marineland. petsmart®. walgreens knows the holidays are full of surprises. that's why, whenever the need arises... walgreens is always right around the corner, so you can get in and out in no time. and help keep the magic in your holidays. at the corner of happy and healthy. most stores open christmas day. you've been part of this family for as long as i can remember. and you just mean so much to all of us.

the holidays wouldn't be the same without your crescent rolls. we got you a little something. we got you jeans. it's about time. pipin' hot pillsbury crescent rolls. make your holidays pop! is a really big deal.u with aches, fever and chills- there's no such thing as a little flu. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. attack the flu virus at its source with prescription tamiflu. and call your doctor right away. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior.

the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. ask your doctor about tamiflu and attack the flu virus at its source. check out one of the hottest gift idebeats pill xltmas: now available with special financing when you use your walmart credit card. they're bluetooth enabled. so you can stream a song to one beats pill. and pair it with another beats pill for huge stereo sound. woah! dance off. whut? whoa!

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in the meantime in san jose, mold causing firefighters at one station to work out of their parking lot. crews are working to clean fire station 16 on king road near the high school. until that mold is cleared, firefighters cannot sleep inside of the station. and the holiday tradition is coming to an end in concord. fans call him mr. christmas and he is calling it quits. burst mirts has has displays for the past 36 years. he said health issues are making this his final year. neighbors last night came out to say a thank you and a good-bye

to him. let's get a check of what's going on outside right now with meteorologist anthony slaughter. >> you can see it is completely clear, no fog to speak of this morning at this location. but as you saw earlier, downtown san jose completely socked in. you can see over 87, it's very isolated. this is receipt up against the fo -- right up against the foothills. it's going to be very nice. mid to upper 60s with a few isolated 70 over the north bay. let's go to mike. >> that was a beautiful shot behind you. a very light volume all around the bay. the metering lights around the bay bridge, those are off. we have slowing near the coliseum. looks like something might have happened around the northbound

side, the southbound side the volume is growing. we may still have patchy, dense fog today. we'll get you back to the "today" show.

♪ and this christmas will be a very special christmas ♪ tis the season to celebrate acts of kindness. >> oh, my god. i'm going to cry. this stuff never happens. >> how lay away angels are helping christmas count this year, paying off strangers bills. merry christmas. cheers. >> and then a country christmas. nashville superstar mar tina mcbride invites jenna bush haguer home for the holidays. >> do you ever put the tv on and sing along to yourself. >> i don't. >> if i was a singer i would do it. >> they will talk music, family and christmas cookies.

this dancing dog can't contain herself when she spots her owner. we'll show you the video that has the internet buzzing. today is tuesday, december 23, 2014. first time in new york city! >> good morning, friends and family back home. [ cheers and applause ] we're back at 8:00 on a tuesday morning. it's the 23rd of december. and i think we can adequately say it's not the nicest day

today. rain in the northeast. it's going to get a little worse through tomorrow. lots of travel issues. good day to check with your local airports and carriers. >> another great crowd out here today. amazing, right? >> has this ever happened to you? here we go. you're hosting a holiday party and all of a sudden some of the invited guests bring some of their friends. >> plus one. >> you bring a plus one without asking the host. >> that's not nice. >> not cool, right? the question is, do you boot the plus one? >> you boot the original person and keep the plus one. >> let the plus one stay. we'll check in with martha stewart and etiquette expert thomas farley with those surviving those awkward holiday moments. natalie has the top stories. natalie? >> good morning once again. a gun smuggling bust is raising new questions about airport security this morning. officials say a delta baggage handler in atlanta used his security clearance to sneak guns past airport screeners and would

then enter a con course bathroom transfer the guns to a former delta employee who flew with them to new york to then sell those guns on the streets. both men are now under arrest. new york police say the smuggled guns were eventually bought by undercover officers. new york's mayor is calling for a pause in protests, while the city mourns two police officers who were murdered on saturday. some protest leaders say, though, they will defy the mayor and say they'll continue their marches over the use of deadly force against unarmed black men. meantime, new mall surveillance video shows the suicidal killer hours before the ambush, holding what officials believe is a gun inside a white bag. websites in north korea are apparently back online following a nearly ten-hour crash that came days after president obama vowed retaliation for north korea's hacking sony pictures computers. experts are debating whether the outage was a routine glitch or

maybe a targeted attack on north korea's internet. pope francis has stepped up his criticism of powerful vatican bureaucrats using his most stinging language to date. jim maceda is at the vatican with more. jim, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, excitement is growing here on st. peter's square with christmas eve mass now only a day away. and an event, of course, broadcast around the world. ironically, the clergy who actually run the vatican are said to be feeling anything but joyous. catholics converge today on st. peter's square in anticipation of christmas. but inside the vatican, the clergy was still reeling from the public humiliation handed to them monday by their leader, pope francis. in his traditional christmas speech, the pope lashed out at the bureaucracy, calling it a sick body, hypocritical, and out of touch. at times they looked stunned by the pope's scathing comments. >> in the past he decided to use

a soft approach. this time he came down like a ton of bricks. >> reporter: it got worse, acting as if they had spiritual alzheimer's, blinded by worldly goods, petty rivalries, forgetting why they even became priests. why the attack? some analysts say it's his blunt way of telling his clerics they aren't reforming their church fast enough, if at all. there's a lot of resistance still to change, he said. it's been increasing recently. it's been an historic year for the first latin-american pope, softening the tone on gays within the church and helping to mediate the breakthrough in relations between cuba and the united states. the pope's biggest challenge could be the one closest to rome, cleaning up his own house. >> reporter: some vatican watchers say 2015 is shaping up to be a showdown between francis elected to reform a church mired in corruption and scandal and the very men who elected him to do the job. natalie? >> we'll be watching. jim maceda at the vatican for us.

thank you, jim. a runaway ostrich caused a major commotion on one of china's busiest highways, surveillance videos captured the ostrich bursting through a gate. police finally caught up with it on a highway. they tried to coral it. a truck passed and the ostrich, as you see, starts to sprint after it only to be left in the dust. apparently exhausted, then the ostrich rested for some time before then walking off the highway. you're under arrest. no, it's not. anyway, it's 8:06 right now. let's get another check of the weather with dylan. hey, dylan. >> hey, natalie. we have folks here from texas. what do you think of christmas in new york city? >> fun. >> having a good time? >> yeah. >> how about you, are you having fun? >> yes. >> most of the country is seeing rain right now so there's no winning in that department. heaviest rain is across the southeast into tallahassee and some fog up into georgia, atlanta right now visibility has been down to quarter of a mile.

even today, check with your airlines. we are seeing fog causing some delays. strongest storms from louisiana right over to the panhandle of florida, including mississippi and alabama. biggest threats will be for damaging wind gusts but isolated tornados are possible and also flash flooding. we could end up with five inches of rain in the heavier downpours and a couple of inches of rain extends up into the midatlantic and the northeast over the course of the next 72 hours. as we go into christmas day, we should finally start to see some improvements especially in the afternoon. that's a look at the weather across the country. well, this morning we are waking up to some dense fog. in fact the fog is still burning out of here, and we're going to see a beautiful day. lots of sunshine. back to 70 degrees in the south bay. 67 for the peninsula, with just a few clouds. the east bay and san francisco expecting temperatures in the mid 60s and expecting bright sunshine, 71 for your afternoon high here on this tuesday.

i hope you have a good day, and happy holidays. >> and that's your latest forecast. such a gentleman. thank you. coming up, how is something that's been around for 100 years all of a sudden the gift of the season? we'll get into that, in trending. >> love this one. then complete strangers step in to help make the holidays a little better for unsuspecting shoppers. >> plus jenna bush hager heads to nashville for a special country christmas with martina mcbride. all that after these messages. walmart has everything you need to make your signature christmas dish. mine is mouthwatering mashed potatoes. i mix my russets with milk, butter, and cream cheese to make them super creamy. mmmm... and yours? sock-it-to-me spiral cut ham! whoa! you made this? yep. i just take a sam's choice super premium spiral cut ham from walmart, bake it flat side down, tent the foils so all the juices can mingle... who are you? ham man!

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♪ it's 8:12. time to take a look at what's trending today. why don't we start on a tuesday morning with what some are calling the season's hottest holiday gift. you know what? it's more than 100 years old. 1902 is when l.l. bean invented the duck boot. that's right. have you seen these before? >> of course. >> well, the fact that they're 100 years old has not stopped college students, especially, from making them the craze this year. matter of fact, if you want to get your hands on a pair of these l.l. bean says they are dealing with a 100,000 pair back order. >> what? >> we have two pair here. >> 100,000 pairs. you won't get them till march. >> why don't they supply that demand more? >> they weren't as popular for a while and all of a sudden college students decided to make them the rage again.

it takes four months to learn how to make these boots. they are handmade. >> are they really? >> yes. >> hand stitched. >> back in the '90s, they had a resurgence as well. >> never gone out of style. that's the thing. if you wear them out, you can just send them back to l.l. bean and they'll replace them for you. they have the best return policy. >> great stuff, guys. >> i'm not giving them to you. >> there's a pair missing. >> there's a backlog of 1,000 pairs. >> 100,000. >> whatever it is, i've got a pair. >> by the way -- no. speaking of hot holiday gifts, do you remember the must-have toy in 1996? >> yes. >> a furry little creature called tickle me elmo. take a look. >> elmo is, i think, adorable. >> isn't he cute? >> yeah. i love his voice. go ahead. [ laughter ] >> that tickles.

>> ooh, baby. let's go outside. >> i'm afraid you're enjoying that a little too much. >> love that. >> bryant still has his, by the way. >> he's with it right now. everyone loves a good christmas lights show, of course. there are some times when things don't work out as planned. like the store that got it twisted. greetings seasons instead of seasons greetings. imagine the poor person with that -- and this next one. >> how does that happen? >> bring a little christmas cheer but it did not go well. >> what is that? >> it's an angel -- i don't know. >> stringing lights on a house. >> i don't know. it looks like an alien from space. the guy decides to hang a dummy from the top of the house. the neighbors kept screaming thinking it was a real guy. they had to take it down. >> stop taking pictures of him. somebody help him. >> i like that. >> come on. >> i like that one.

>> i like the santa feet coming out of the chimney. >> you like the ones where the feet come out of the trunk of the car, too. >> okay, that's scary. the best video we've seen all morning long, a doggy at daycare. this little guy cannot contain his excitement when his owner arrive. >> look at that. >> to pick him up. >> that is the salsa. >> oh, my gosh. >> it looks like it. >> cong a-line. >> the video has been now viewed 2 million times and counting. >> that's so cute. >> look it. this dog is like, come get me, come get me. >> and the other dog goes in circles. >> energy for day. >> that's why we love dogs. always happy to see you. that is what's trending today. all right. we've noticed a trend recently, good samaritans coming to the aid of complete strangers, especially around the holidays. nbc's sheinelle jones is here with more. sheinelle, good morning. >> good morning to you. that video was so cute, by the way. this time of year really brings out the best in people, paying off a stranger's layaway bill to leaving a tip that's bigger than your bill. we're seeing so many acts of kindness this holiday season.

something amazing is happening this christmas season. >> oh, my god, i'm going to cry. this stuff never happens to me. >> it means so much to me. >> reporter: in random acts of kindness, thousands of holiday shoppers are getting a santa surprise when they go to pick up their layaway presents. >> this man said that he was paying it off for me. >> reporter: not so secret santas called layaway angels show up at stores and pay off balances for family whose can use a hand. >> well over 300 families, you know, right around $63,000. >> kindness and love will change the world. that's what we're doing, spreading a little kindness, little love. >> reporter: no question tis the season. waitress got tip bombed by an anonymous group of good samaritans for a $128 tab, they left a $1,200 tip, simply to

spread holiday cheer. and what can you say about a real-life grinch who steals someone's grinch decorations? >> hate, hate, hate. double hate. >> reporter: and when you find out it was homemade to help save money to pay medical bills. >> loathed entirely. >> reporter: that's exactly what happened to the langhines family. >> dear person who stole our christmas decorations. >> reporter: so mom, jordan, posted a letter to the grinch who tried to steal christmas. >> maybe you needed it more than us. we hope it brings you joy. >> reporter: while dad was at work, a brand new grinch decoration appeared on their front lawn with a card. >> we weren't about to let some grinch steal your christmas. it makes you think about what christmas is all about. it didn't matter how many presents we had or lights we had or what kind of sign we had in our yard, that christmas is in your heart.

>> the layaway angel phenomenon has become so widespread, walmart has a function on its register where a cashier can bring up a layaway with only toys on their list. for piemt people who have big hearts and want to help out. they can pull up a random list and you can clear that list and pay off that entire bill. >> love that. >> she fell on her knees and started crying because she was going to cancel her order because she couldn't pay for it. >> so sweet. >> happy holidays. >> you, too. >> thank you so much. minding your manners during the holiday season. martha stewart and thomas farley will walk us through some stressful situations. we're back in only 15 seconds. stressful situations. we're

we're back on a tuesday morning with a little etiquette 101 for the holiday season, whether you're dealing with unwanted gifts, party guests or uncomfortable discussions around the dinner table, there are sticky situations that could pop up. >> yes, indeed. we've brought in the experts to help us all survive. thomas farley, lifestyle expert and martha stewart is also here to tell us about the proper ways of handling any awkward situations you might encounter. good to see you. >> good morning. >> good to see both of you. someone who decides, martha, to bring a plus one to the party. what do you do? >> set another place. >> oh. >> that's all you can do. you can't turn them away. if it's a sit down dinner, set another place. i actually usually set an extra place or have it ready anyway because people are very inconsiderate these days or at least they're kind of casual about it.

so just take it in stride. >> if you're on the other end of it, thomas, you're bringing the plus one or plus more, should you bring food or something? >> absolutely. offset that by bringing a little something. it's always nice -- >> a lot of something. >> a lot of something. have the guest bring a little gift, too. >> what do you say in the gift range, flowers, alcohol? what's the best gift? >> it's nice when people bring a bottle of wine or a flower, plant would be very nice, orchid plant. very popular gift these days. >> thomas doesn't like flowers. >> i think the tricky thing with flowers, the plants, martha's right, is perfect. it doesn't have to be cut or fussed with. cut flowers, you have a big problem because the hostess has to put them in a vase now. >> some people feel that way about alcohol. my mother is on the fence about whether to bring alcohol. what if they don't drink in the home? >> then don't. >> is that a wise thing to call in advance, and say what do you need? >> no. no. it's a hostess gift. you don't ask in advance.

that gets a little bit too -- you know, too intense. so just take something that is -- a good book. there's so many beautiful coffee table book. >> nice idea. >> somebody brings you a gift, thomas, say it's something to wear, do you have to try that thing on in front of the person who gave it to you? >> even if you hate it, you really do want to try it on. >> really? right there at the party? >> somebody shopped for you. not in the moment perhaps but i would excuse yourself at a certain point, come back, try it on. if it doesn't fit you have a nice excuse as to why it has to go back. >> what about regifting, if you try it on or don't like it, what's the rule, martha? >> take it back if you can. send a thank you note. always send a thank you note. i had a party the other night and guests were very generous, brought lots of presents. i put them all under the tree and left them there. i didn't open them while they were there. afterward i enjoyed opening up, seeing what people brought. >> if someone brings you a scarf and they're expecting to see you in it but you never wear it

because you don't like it, what happens then, tom? >> a gift is a reflection on you. if you give something to somebody that's ugly because you don't like it, it's a reflection on you. if it's a scarf your grandma knit, you're going to keep it and wear it with pride. >> you said always write a thank you note. a thank you note, like a handwritten note. >> not a text. >> not a text or e-mail. >> no, little note. i have a closetful of note cards. we all do. a lot of us have forgotten how to write a note but it's welcomed. >> quickly, viewers sent in one. you get families together, it can be a lot of fun but you can end up with family bickering. what's the best way to get out of a bickering situation, thomas? >> you definitely don't want to hear the entire table hostage -- >> i want to hear this. >> -- to your conversation. politics isn't completely off the table as long as you know it is not going to escalate.

if this is a sibling rivalry that's gone on for years, you won't solve it this holiday. >> if the in-laws are bickering, do you give them a kick in the shin? >> definitely. a whisper in the ear. be quiet. >> task for them in the kitchen and send them on their way. >> do you have a 10-second idea for the overserved guest? how do you deal with that person? >> yes. make sure you start that person with lots of appetizers at the very beginning to fill the person's stomach, and give them the appetizer tray to pass around. so that their hands are michael okwu -- are occupied. ep the ha >> smart. thomas >> they might drop it on your nice carpet. >> something to do. keep the hands busy. >> smart. thomas, thank you. martha, thank you. happy holidays to both of you. >> always fun. >> martha will head over to the orange room for a live chat to answer viewer questions on holiday entertaining. if you want to talk to martha, go to today's facebook page. meantime, carson is in the orange room with a holiday treat for one direction fans. >> matt, that's right. thanks. they're the hottest band to come from the uk since the beatles.

now you can watch one direction in their first-ever prime time special tonight on nbc. here are the boys with a preview. >> we want to wish everyone a merry christmas and happy holidays from all of us. if you would like to share in our festive joy, there is a special preview of our nbc special airing tonight on nbc. >> enjoy. >> merry christmas. ♪ everybody want to steal my girl ♪ ♪ everybody want to take her heart away couple million in the whole wide world ♪ sing it ♪ find another one cause she belongs to me ♪ >> that's right. you're going to get a rare inside look at 1d, watch them perform in "one direction: the tv special" airing tonight, 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. how to make your holidays less stressful after your local news and weather.

good morning. it is 8:26. i'm vicky nguyen. we are seeing some unusually thick fog this morning. not much of a look, is it? pea soup out there. this is leaving limited visibility. other parts of the bay area are completely clear. today is the last day for some of the largest tides of the year. they're called king tides, seasonal wave that is bring higher levels. they'll return again in about 28 days during both january and february. let's take it over to mike inouye to let you know where those trouble spots are. >> you had a beautiful view of that fog, but right now traffic

is very light, except for right here, north 880 past the coliseum. it looked like we had an earlier issue, tires tread that were reported that have been cleared. look at the bay bridge toll plaza. the metering lights turned off at 7:22, so the clouds lingering around, but the fog is not an issue here. no orel drama through the south bay, but look at san jose in the live shot. kind of hazy. back to you. we'll have another local news update in half an hour.

♪ 8:30 now on this tuesday. rain seems to be letting up a little bit here in new york city. it's the 23rd of december, 2014. got lots of people in town from all around the country getting ready for the holidays. happy to have them here. >> pleased to have y'all. >> great crowd. >> coming up at home for the holidays, jenna bush hager traveled to nashville recently to get a little taste of true

country christmas with martina mcbride, who goes all out this holiday season. i'm so looking forward to this. it's a peek inside her christmas. it's so pretty. >> southern christmas. a young woman who embodies the phrase "i am unbroken," a gymnast with the will to win no matter the obstacle. her story is really remarkable. >> those stories are incredible. >> they're really great. >> out of the mouths of babes. there's only one group of people to ask if you want to find out what the holidays are all about. jenna bush hager sits down with an adorable bunch. >> looks like it could get out of hand quickly. let's get a check of the weather from dylan. >> the rain is coming down so heavy you have two umbrellas over i don't you are head right now. it's just a mist but that will turn around into christmas eve. heavy rain up and down the east coast. on the back side of the storm, we could see a line of heavier snow back into chicago, maybe up to three to four inches of snow

on the afternoon tomorrow and through christmas eve itself. then on christmas day, we will see some lingers snow showers back through the rockies, lake-effect snow making for a white christmas. northeast it's a rainy christmas. temperatures will be as warm near 60 degrees up into boston, rain in the morning. and that will start to pull away. elsewhere across the country, southeast, we're looking at highs in the 60s. 59 in louisiana. we should be in the 40s back through the tennessee river valley. the only place it's sunny will be in southern california, which is where you guys well, this morning we are waking up to some dense fog. in fact the fog is burning out here. we'll see a beautiful day. back to 70 later this afternoon. 67 for the peninsula. the east bay and frajz expecting temperatures in the mid 60s. expecting bright sunshine, 71 for your afternoon high here on

this tuesday. i hope you have a good day, and happy holidays. >> and that's your latest forecast. matt? >> day two of our special series, holiday hacks. this morning, we're focusing on travel. one of the most stressful times of year to plan a get away. we'll help to make things easier for you. katie quinn is the host of a youtube channel called q katie. good to see you. >> good morning. >> frowns on their faces. it's a stressful time to travel. i also see people walking through the airports with pillows and you've got a way to do it where you don't actually have to pack the pillow. >> you don't need a fancy travel pillow. if you have a hoodie, that's all you need. couple of folds -- try it, too. >> roll from the bottom, up to the hood. fold, fold. fold it in half again.

take that hood, tuck the little ball in. >> you made yourself a travel pillow out of something you packed anyway. >> yeah. bam! >> if you want to make it softer, you could throw some things in there? >> oh, yeah, you could personalize it. >> travel pillow even though you already pack this had. a lot of women travel with jewelry and necklaces tangle all the time. >> you have this problem a lot. >> constant issue. >> i can't tell you how many necklaces i ruined. super simple. all you need is a straw. loop the necklace through the straw. >> let's see if you can do this on the first time. >> i know. i know. there you go. bam! you clasp it. it holds its loop so it doesn't tangle. >> that's a great one. >> never tangle. >> lot of people want to travel with wine. you have a safe way to carry it. >> it is not a holiday without wine in my family but you can't break it, obviously, when you're traveling with it. when you have high-top shoes

like the ones i'm wearing today, put them to use, right? stick the bottle of wine in. go ahead and try. pop it in. take the other one -- your high top shoes encase the bottle of wine. no shattering in your suitcase. >> it does take up a lot of room but at least you know it's protected. >> if you were packing the shoes anyway. >> holiday hacks for safer traveling. katie quinn, thank you very much. >> thank you. still to come, inspiring athlete who never gave up on her dreams even when she was told she would never make it to the top. also, jenna bush hager visits martina mcbride to get a taste of a true country christmas. first on a tuesday morning this is "today" on nbc.

we are back now at 8:37 on a tuesday morning, kicking off a special holiday series called jenna's country christmas. martina mcbride is country music royalty, picking up countless music awards to her chart toppers. what you may not know is that she also throws one of the best christmas parties in her hometown of nashville. "today's" jenna bush hager stopped by to visit the home in tennessee. i'm so jealous of this. >> as a texas girl, you know we love martina mcbride. when she invites you to her house there's only one answer, where and when? she very koindly invited me into a look at her family holiday traditions at christmastime. >> hi. >> merry christmas, martina. how are you? thanks for having me to your lovely home. >> absolutely. >> martina mcbride says she's always cherished christmas and special times with her family, her husband, john, and their

daughters, delanie, emma and ava. >> we leave cookies for santa and dr. pepper. my husband drinks a lot of dr. pepper. it's kind of his thing. we also leave food for the reindeer, on the front porch. we leave lettuce, carrots because they have to eat, too. >> they're carrying that large man. >> exactly. >> what's your favorite christmas music? >> i like the classics. so, dean martin, tony bennett, frank sinatra. >> do you ever put your cd on and kind of sing along to yourself? >> i don't. kind of weird, but i don't. >> that's kind of weird, but if i was a singer, i would do it. that's why i'm not a singer. ♪ bells will be ringing >> proving that singing isn't the only talent that this country singer has, she has released a book, how to on entertaining. i got to sample some of her expertise. so, martina, these are your famous christmas cookies?

>> yeah. they're kind of a take on an oatmeal cookie. orange zest. it takes it up a notch. >> this is the dough. it's hard for me not to eat it. making cookies with your girls is one of your favorite things to do during the holidays? >> yeah. i'm not a terribly good baker but my oldest daughter is a really great baker. she does a lot of the work, i'll be honest. >> cookies in the oven, now it's martini time. >> i love a margarita, but i've never had a margarita martini. this is your specialty drink? >> it's fun, so festive and feels like christmas to me. it has orange juice, cranberry simple syrup, lime juice. if you have extra simple syrup, cranberry syrup to make and give as parting gift. >> look at you. you are a domestic goddess. merry chis masristmas. cheers. >> cheers. >> favorite christmas carol.

>> i love to sing holy night. >> turkey or pot roast? >> pot roast. >> favorite christmas movie. >> "it's a wonderful life." >> you know dasher and prancer -- >> dasher and dancer and prancer and dixon. >> there's no dixon. >> comet and cupid and donner and blitzen. >> but the greatest one of all, who is your favorite? >> rudolph. >> with reindeer trivia solved, our next stop, martina's christmas tree, where she shared with me her favorite christmas keepsakes. >> delanie made this in kindergarten. my grandmother, when we were kids, for all the grand kids, she would make handmade ornaments. she felt like she couldn't give us a lot at christmas but we were all thrilled to get this because we knew how much love went into it. >> i have a confession to make. you asked earlier if i listen to my own christmas music.

few years ago, grand ole opry made an ornament with me in there. ♪ when we finally kiss good night ♪ >> the girls think it's a hoot. they love to play it. >> i love it. >> though it's tough to top the grand ole opry, i brought her a small reminder of our special christmas visit. it's rockefeller center. it lights up. >> the girls are going to love this. >> it is fancy. >> it is. so sweet. thank you so much. >> merry christmas. thanks for having us to your home. and martina also has some big news for 2015. she signed a new record deal with nash icon music. making new music just for you. >> thank goodness. i love that martina makes martinis. >> i have to say, martina martini about 13 times. >> and name the reindeer again? >> dixon. once i start watching it with mila, i'll get it.

did you know it? >> of course not but we'll talk about it at the 9:00 hour because you're with us then. thanks again, jenna. and thanks martina. up next, our new series "i am unbroken," inspiring gymnast who gives new definition to the words perseverance. first this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:45 with more of our series "i am unbroken." that movie hits theaters christmas day. it's the story of louis zamparini, who survived 45 days stranded on a raft in an ocean and then in a p.o.w. camp. >> we are also honoring other resilient heroes like him.

we introduce you to chelsea's story of perseverance, incredible athlete, as you see, against all odds. >> what a princess and incredible personality, self esteem and pure joy, joy of my life. >> she's a gymnast and loves life. very happy. very social. very outgoing. >> reporter: lisa and ray werner are proud parent whose have watched chelsea grow into a talented young woman. it was not an easy jurn. >> after she was born the doctors said, something's not right. i think she has down syndrome. >> the pediatrician came in and listed off the medical potential issues. >> reporter: they were told chelsea would have low muscle tone. to help, when she was 4, they enrolled her in a toddler's gymnastics class. and by the time she was 8, chelsea was training for the special olympics. >> the coach said well she'll

probably be at level one for quite a few years. and we were thinking, that doesn't sound right to us. so, ray just got out the phone book and started calling gyms just to see if anyone would want to coach special olympics and that's how we found dawn. >> dawn pambo became chelsea's trainer. >> want to try one more? chelsea's ability in the beginning was not very good. she was very excited, but physically, she could barely walk on the balance beam. one direction and back without falling. the obstacle in the beginning was strength. she just lacked muscle tone. >> reporter: but chelsea kept practicing and dawn coached her like all shooe did all her other students. i would say i'm going to try to teach her a backhandspring. there was no way. are you kidding? no, i think she can do it. she can do it. >> reporter: with dawn's high expectations, chelsea kept

improving. her favorite event, the floor. and her toughest event, the beam. but while chelsea continued to improve, a slight setback. the special olympics gymnastics program was dropped in her area. but that didn't stop chelsea. instead, she started to compete in regular u.s.a. gymnastics at 14. >> she probably competed in that for three years and probably came in last place every time. she didn't care. then there came a time when she did understand what the lower score meant. that began a whole new journey of training her to understand if this is what you want to do, then you have to work harder if you want to get a medal. >> reporter: she started practicing 16 hours a week. >> i think she puts in that much more work to get to where she needs to be. >> reporter: all of her hard work paid off, chelsea has won several titles, including special olympics national championship title four times

and international down syndrome foundation world champions title. and at the age of 22, she participated as a special guest at the ncaa women's gymnastics championships. >> she has put in this many years and hours of gymnastics training and all those times when she didn't get a ribbon and she kept going. she fits it to every aspect of what unbroken means. >> there it is. >> i am chelsea werner. i am unbroken. >> meanwhile, chelsea plans to continue competing this season. she plans to go to the nadia komenichi international. coming up tomorrow, an incredible story as well. a man who has never slowed down, double amputee, completed the iron man a couple of times. he is truly mazing and has really gone to the unthinkable. >> i am unbroken.

love these story. >> yeah, they're great. >> we want to tell you, "unbroken," from our sister company, hits theaters christmas. traditions through the eyes of children. sometimes the very funny eyes of children. they'll definitely put a smile on your face this morning. first, this is "today" on nbc. [male announcer] in ireland, we live in what we like to call the now. it's a wonderful place where the conversation flows. in the now, the sun always shines, even when it's raining. you might even meet friendly locals with long shaggy hair. and find yourself lost in music in the middle of the day. ♪

jump into the now. jump into ireland. visit ireland.com to find out more.

back on this tuesday morning at 8:51. and this holiday season, while we're celebrating traditions of the season, we thought it might be interesting to stop and think about how they all came to be. so, we sent "today's" lifestyle and fitness correspondent jenna wolfe out in search of key answers we need to know. >> answers i seeked, answers i received, though slightly off the beaten path. instead of googling our holiday questions, this year we decided to ask the most creative minds we knew. kids. >> you might as well say hello to santa claus. >> why? >> it's been said we get wise by asking questions. >> cause santa's beard always been light? >> what's a latke? >> all kinds of questions about all kinds of things. >> does santa and mrs. claus have kids? >> we're going to talk about the holidays. >> what if the tables were turned? what if we were the ones asking them the questions? to find out we invited 11 of our closest friends to a tea party

to talk about all things holiday related. who knows the story behind christmas? >> when jesus was born as & as he got older, he wanted friends so he made santa claus. >> who can tell me what santa claus' last name is? >> claus. >> in america he's santa claus but in germany he's st. nick. >> what's hanukkah? >> the jews didn't think they had enough oil but it lasted for eight days. >> oil was their light source. >> do you know who adam sandler is? >> yes. ♪ time putt on your yamaka it's time for hanukkah ♪ >> what's a latke? >> no idea. >> who knows what mistletoe is? >> some sort of plant and if you put it over someone's head -- >> don't say it! don't say it! --

you have to kiss them. >> i feel like i asked ayou a stress tful question. >> what color was his beard before it was white? >> blond. >> it was blond? so santa's a blond? is santa married? do they have kids? >> no. >> no. >> they don't have any kids? >> they have elves. >> human and magical -- >> mixed breed of human and magical people. >> you get to spend time with your family and like relax. >> it's all about happiness and niceness. it's not just about the presents. >> reporter: which is true and rather poignant. also a good way to end the afternoon. after all, we came, we ate, we swapped knowledge. the only thing missing was a lesson in verse. ♪ five golden rings

♪ four -- ♪ three french hens ♪ ♪ two turtle doves ♪ ♪ and a partridge in a pear tree ♪ >> so what did you learn? >> so much. who has the time to tell you how much i've learned? they were so high on sugar, i didn't realize, that they were running around and telling me things, and then on valentine's day, let me tell you five other things i know. >> we're going to wait until february. they didn't hesitate, whether they knew it or not. they went full steam. >> our generation's art linkler. >> that's what some people call me, matt. >> what's coming up in the next hour, guys? >> willie sat down with brad lely cooper and was with the veterans as well to talk about his new movie "american sniper." >> tamron's tuesday trend, the things i gave out to my girls as

gifts. >> we can't wait to receive. >> jenna is joining us. surprise! >> all right. good luck, guys. >> thank you. >> have fun. we'll be back. first your local news and weather. a good morning. it's 8:56 on your tuesday. i'm sam brock. sacred heart church is hoping the community is still going to come through to help out children in the south bay. that charity plans to dole out two toys and one book for 5800 kids in san jose. this morning they tell us they are still about 1,000 toys short. today, though, is still the final day to donate. you have an opportunity. you can do so online.

go to nbcbayarea.com and search "sacred heart" to find out more information. we hope you do. fog leaving some parts of the bay area. it's way better. you can actually see parts of the skyline. conditions are improving, but still an issue for drivers. we'll get a check on xwrur driving conditions in 25 minutes. see you then.

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this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning, december 23rd, 2014. crunch time for a lot of folks. maybe those people are going to dash out of here and go shopping. stick around a little bit. i'm natalie morales along with tamron hall and jenna bush hager. will and al are off, enjoying a little vacation. two days to go. are we all ready? technically, tomorrow is the day, right? >> tomorrow is the day. i've now decided my older niece

and nephew -- maya is 17. i'm going the cash route. now they're teenagers. he's actual a a freshman in college, 18. i don't know what to get them. >> gift card, right? >> with them i'm going to give cash i have a fear of losing gift cards. i've lost gift cards. i have gift card phobia. i'm going to give them cash and then i'm done. are you done? >> i'm done. i'm about to head out to my in-laws, which will be fun. i feel like i always get there and it's like uh-oh. i forgot somebody, one gift. >> in a suitcase is extra gifts? >> do you do that? >> i always carry extra. >> jill martin is going to show up at her home, she has a gift closet. >> what? >> smart. >> backup gifts in case you forget a birthday, babies. isn't that smart? >> that's smart. i do not have a gift clos zblet you all remember the epic selfie that ellen took at the oscars, all the stars, celebrities most

retweeted tweet of the year. the whole reason this started, off to the left of ellen is meryl streep. ellen apparently was disappointed that meryl streep wasn't more prominent. so what did she do? she invited meryl to come back, and ladies of "into the woods" movie and they tried to re-create that moment. here we go. taking the selfie again. how does it turn out? >> okay, fieb. >> can we see the shot? >> there it is. >> once again -- >> it's even worse than the first one. >> you can't even see her at all. >> selfie fail fo r sure. >> at this point i'm beginning to think -- >> shaed shaes hiding. >> might have been hiding. >> you need one of these things. >> i went out to see cher, took a selfie with cher. just her hair. she hit behind me. huge amount of hair coming from the side. we have the selfie stick, another last-minute gift idea.

>> great gift idea. >> this extends out -- hey, guys, on the plaza. i noticed a lot of people on the plaza have the selfie -- what are we doing with this? >> hiding like meryl. >> what is that? >> come in. come in. >> photo bomb. >> dylan is getting in. >> can you see me? >> i can't. i'm not in the photo right. >> the meryl of the "today" show. >> the crew. >> we're going selfie crazy in here. >> take as many selfies as we want. >> next year's christmas card. >> already done. >> i've decided to do new year's cards because my christmas cards weren't done in time. now i have the picture for this one. >> got it. use this pick, do an e card. why not? >> i'll do an e card of us. that's the idea of the day. >> something else we're loving around here. did you guys see jimmy fallon. >> yes, and one direction.

>> epic music moments. i thought "all about the bass" with the roots and jimmy fallon was creative. take a look at this rendition of "santa claus is coming to town." take a look ♪ you better watch out you better not cry you better not pout i'm telling you why why santa claus is coming to town oh, yeah santa claus is coming to town santa claus is coming to town ♪ >> all right. so did you know tonight is the night? grab your popcorn, anyone under the age of 18 and maybe some women and men over the age of 30. >> huge. >> "one direction: the tv special" premieres tonight 8:00, 7:00 central, on nbc. i am still obsessed with harry's hair. it's like moth to flame. i just can't -- >> moth to flame. >> i know. i'm getting burned.

i know he's like 10. when i see him, i look and i'm drawn in. >> i interviewed one direction a couple of years ago and i was like, calling my little cousins, what he the thing with 1d, tried to be cool. i got there and they are charming. >> oh, go on. >> they are charming. >> do tell. >> in what way? >> partially, obviously, is the accent. love an accent like that. >> love a man with a british accent. >> but also they're performers. they're funny and humor is my number one attraction thing. >> is your husband funny? >> he's hilarious, i think. >> that's what won her over. >> they called me a cougar. >> oh. wait. >> harry styles? >> one direction. >> the whole group? >> there are a lot of cougar. >> you seem to like one of us. i can't remember which one it was and i was like, oh, no, no, i'm joking. and they're like, are you a cougar? >> harry and the hair. >> it's something about that mane.

>> i won't be bringing home one direction these holidays but a lot of people bring home new boyfriends and girlfriends during the holiday that your family infer met. what is your family really thinking when you bring home a new girlfriend or boyfriend for christmas? >> a new ring is something. >> that's what my parents were thinking. marry these girls off. bringing him home for the holidays, will check out this video. >> glad you got away from the firm. >> mom, this is nate. >> nice to meet you. come in. come in. sorry the place is such a mess. i didn't have time to clean. >> oh, this is great. you have a beautiful home. >> you're a musician? >> yeah, i'm a drummer. >> and you're in a band? >> nate, don't you think a lawyer should dress up? >> you know, the way i -- you know, i've done -- i see the

whole subject is like -- i figure if you're in the situation where you're asking -- >> is everyone done with their plates? >> yes. >> yes. >> thank you, dad. >> i love it. >> it's so true. >> if only there were subtitles half the time. >> the subtitles, you walk in, you're so nervous. i have to say, when my husband first met my parents, it wasn't on a holiday but still intimidating, i have to say. i looked over and his ears were red. he blushes when he's nervous. he's going to kill me for saying this. i looked over and was like, wait, are you having an allergic reaction? >> surely you understood why -- >> he has so much confidence, it threw me off. also my mother has googled boyfriends before. >> my mother has, too. >> really? >> yes and she admit it is. i'll go out on a date and tell her and she's like, did you know

that he -- i'm like, mom, you can't google my dates. >> she googled a boyfriend of my sister's did zblsh whole new world with googling. >> and it was not the right person. she was like, oh, is this man -- i don't know. it seems like he might have a criminal record. i'm like, no, mom, not every person that's named that is the same person. anyway, the holidays is a stressful time to meet a new man. >> did you meet joe's family on the holiday? >> the first time i went with home with him was for thanksgiving. >> wo! >> it's stressful but it was great. it was such a nice time. >> because you want them to like you. >> did you have those subtitles through your mind? >> please like me. please like me. please like me. big holiday tradition, obviously, the fruitcake. in my house, though -- actually, the fruitcake, not everybody loves it, as you know. 19% apparently don't like fruitcake. i was surprised by this, though.

23% actually do like the fruitcake. >> i never met a person -- we have some fruitcake here, who enjoyed fruitcake. i never actually tried it. i will eat anything. i've eaten a squirrel in the wild with bear grylls. i never put a fruitcake in my mouth. >> do you want to taste it? >> no. >> the cherry. >> it's like a jell-o mold. i'm not a fruitcake fan at all. that's why people use the word fruitcake, he's such a fruitcake. >> do you know what i am a fan of? >> what? >> this. tamron asked me, what is that latin american eggnog? i said do you remember the puerto rican -- >> i could not sleep last night, googling today.com trying to find the recipe. could we make it more user friendly? natalie this morning says -- >> this is a tradition. >> you drink this every year? >> every year but every year it's supplied by a good friend

of ours on the plaza, sonja, who comes every year with my stash. she happened to be coming today and i was like, wait half an hour. >> this is the best part. sonja brings in natalie's stash. >> come try it. >> i'm just going to take s sonja's glass. >> due dow want to know what's in it? >> coconut, evaporated milk, sweetened and condensed. >> eggnog, cream of coconut, milk, little bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, touch of vanilla, make the mix and then i add the rum. >> this isn't dairy free. you're not saying it's dairy free. >> it's a little late now if you have the issue. >> good luck to me later on my flight. there will be some unhappy passengers. check of the weather. can you do the weather with the -- >> sure she can.

sure she can. >> absolutely. i'll figure out how to do this, hold it in this hand. i have this hand for pointing at the maps here. scattered showers moving into the northeast. here in boston, some pockets of steadier shower that is will continue to make a mess at the airports. we've had some delays especially back into new york and newark. we've got the fog is the biggest issue, this fog is reducing visibility down to a quarterative mile. this area of low pressure will move n today we've got scattered showers and storms. heavier rain will take hold up and down the east coast especially as we go i go int well, this morning were waking up to dense fog. in fact the fog is still burning out here. we're going to see a beautiful day. lots of sunshine. we're back to 70 degrees later. 67 with just a few clouds. east way and san francisco expecting mid 60s and expecting bright sunshine, 71 for your afternoon high. hope you have a good day and happy holidays.

>> and that's your latest forecast. cheers, natalie. >> you like it? >> too much. appearing in the intense new >> too much. appearing in the intense new film "american sniper" bradle whi, how's it going?. whatever you're looking for, start by test-driving nearly every make and model all in one place. carmax. start here.

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bradley cooper, from the galaxy to portraying "the elephant man" on broadway to what could be his most challenging role yet. portraying chris kyle, the navy s.e.a.l. survived four tours in iraq only to be killed back on american soil helping a fellow veteran.

>> willie caught up with bradley cooper and kyle's widow, at a special screening of the film at ft. hamilton's base. >> it's a heck of a responsibility. we hope we could get it right to tell the story that gets it right, telling what you do. >> bradley, we just screened this movie for a group of active duty service men and women, and vets, too. you get a big ovation. what does that mean to you? >> being here actually means everything to me. when we were talking about making this movie, we talked about what it could do and hopefully tell this man's story and maybe, you know, if we get it right there's a chance people who have walked a similar path will feel that there's a connection. so being able to show it here today is sort of the goal. >> one of the things this movie captures so well is this

juxtaposition of life in theater, life in country and life back at home. >> that's really the thrust of the movie, sort of to show what that must have done and what that does do to soldiers and to the family at home. we got all that from tea. >> the kids are dying to see you. it's been nine months. >> such an incredible job as tea. e-mail exchanges, she told us all these stories and most of that is in the movie. >> i'm coming home. >> you never got a chance to meet chris kyle. you did speak on the phone once. >> yeah. >> do you remember that conversation? >> i do. it's one of those things that maybe it never happened. it's like this apparition. because i never thought it would be the last time i talked to him. it's funny, today, being here and being back there for some reason i never knew him but i really miss him today. it's really weird. it would have been mazing to go to a place like this with him. >> i was just protecting my guys. they were trying to kill our soldiers and i'm willing to meet my creator and answer every shot

that i took. >> you're happy with the way bradley captured your husband? >> i'm in awe of it. i don't know how you embody somebody else and get the nuances and the mannerisms. he did it. it's amazing. >> that has to feel good, huh? >> oh, yeah. especially because it wasn't an impersonation of him. i tried to capture something about his internal life. >> okay, thank you. >> what's the feeling when you look up on the screen and watch your life go across in front of you, as millions of people around the country get ready to see it, and around the world? >> it feels like a blessing. it's so right. it's so authentic. it feels good and warm. it feels like i'm seeing chris again. sometimes it feels painful because, you know, i remember those moments. >> i need you to be human again. >> i imagine it's nerve-racking when you see it for the first time. you know bradley. you trust bradley. you still don't know how it's going to turn out in the end. were you relieved when you saw it? >> a couple of months before i

saw it, i thought there's no need to worry. everyone put their heart in it. if there's ever going to be a movie, this is the best it's going to be. >> you got pretty lucky with this character to have tea as a resource, so willing to open up about her life, talk about her husband and guide you through this process. >> it wouldn't have happened without her. for me, personally, it wouldn't have worked. i could gain 35 pounds and sound like i'm from texas, but that wouldn't have -- honestly, that was for me, just so i could believe it. but the man, all of that, that all came from her. >> "american sniper" opens in theaters christmas day and nationwide. it is heavy, but raw. >> it is the story of chris kyle but much more as well. it's a story of a lot of the troops when they come back and that adjustment they have to make back home. >> absolutely. coming up next, before you

brew your coffee this morning, important safety recall to hear about. later tamron will share with us her five beauty products. i can't wait for this. >> i finally tell my mask that i've been guarding. >> gift giving trend, tuesday trend, after this. >> gift giving trend, tuesday trend, after this. >> i'm gifting you give a journey. give a new perspective. give a little joy. a book is a gift like no other. and barnes & noble is like no other book store in the world. with so many books to discover and the new nook by samsung now a full featured tablet. a book is the gift they'll remember long after the holidays are over.

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and no family ever pays. i have the answer. and for kids with cancer, so does st. jude. go to st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo. a long term struggle...needs long term relief.in. eucerin calming creme. used everyday... it's triple ingredient formula is clinically proven to provide 24 hour moisture and to relieve dry, itchy skin, with 92% of people reporting improved overall skin condition overtime. eucerin calming creme. experience the difference that over 100 years of skin science makes. calm, healthy skin starts with eucerin. we're not just selling the at famohottestwear, shoes of the holiday season. we're selling straight up "i'm going to kiss sara marcus under the mistletoe" confidence. this year give them converse from famous footwear. victory is yours.

taking a look at the headlines. the consumer product safety commission is recalling more than 6 million keurig machines that could overheat and spray hot water. 90 reports of burn injuries. the recall involves the keurig mini plus brewing system with the model k10. head to today.com for more information. last day fedex can get presents to your love ones in time. both fedex and u.p.s. have hired lots of extra help to get those packages where they need to be

by christmas. they're hoping the severe weather we're tracking won't slow things down as they did last year. wrapped gifts are allowed but not encouraged when you go through security f anything raises questions, the paper is then going to have to come off. tsa recommends you wrap the gifts after your flight. also small snow globes are okay to carry on to the planes if they contain less than 3.4 ounces of liquid and are in a plastic bag. if you use a tablet or ereader before bed, consider this. researchers at harvard found people who read using an ipad or ereader at bedtime take ten minutes longer to fall asleep and have a harder time waking up than people who read printed books. researchers say the light from the screen can suppress the body's production of melantonin and disrupt sleep cycles. huge holiday surprise when they got to a checkout at a walmart, they found their entire

bill had been paid by a complete stranger. each year one man does what he can to spread christmas cheer. on monday he spent thousands to pick u

a good tuesday morning to you. it's 950626. i'm sam brock. at last, there it is. a struggle so much fog out there this morning. in some cases that fog made a challenge for sure for drivers. before the sun came up, visibility was less than a quarter mile on many roads in the south bay. at the same time, other parts of the bay area have been completely clear, so kind of a tale of two areas there. aueren investigators are looking into several suspicious car fires overnight. two occurred near delmar high school. the third happen in san jose's evergreen flabd. right now investigators don't believe the third fire was

intentionally set, but they are still checking for links. east bay regional park police are expected to update an unsolved homicide from last month, this on a popular hiking trail. the teacher was an avid hiker. two days before thanksgiving, a person robbed and shot him in the huckleberry bo tannic preserve. it's believed that a reward will be offered to help track down his killer. we'll have a look at traffic and weather. we'll be right back.

this morning we are waking up to dense fog. we haven't had any delays this morning. later we'll be at 70, 67 with just a few clouds in the east. san francisco completely clear this morning, and later on this afternoon you're going to stay clear. 65 in your high, even in the north bay, expecting temperatures back in the lower

70s for some of our warmest location. let's check the drive now. >> we're looking at this haze in san jose, but jim just drove up 101 from gilroy. so there's some fog still. we'll see an easy drive, though, the crash on north 87 cleared. there should be 134 residual slowing. that's about it on the bay. a very light volume of traffic. the bay bridge toll plaza, that cleared at 7:22. look at that. no problems down the eastshore freeway. >> that really is magical. thank you, mike. we'll see you again in 25 minutes with more updates.

hi, guys. nice crowd outside. welcome back to "today" on this thursday morning, december -- or tuesday morning. i'm thinking it's christmas already. >> counting down the days. tuesday. you still have two more days. don't worry. i'm natalie, along with tamron and jenna. got to love this shot you're going to see. take a look at 10-year-old lebron james jr. playing for his fourth grade squad. nobody wants to face lebron james. >> he's got mad jumps. >> yes, he does. >> in the fourth grade? >> in the fourth grade, playing in a tournament in houston. no pressure there when your name is lebron james jr., right? >> not when you play like that.

>> his dad tweeted out a video saying proud of you son, great job in houston. congrats on bringing home first place. he's big also for 10, right? >> actually, all of those kids -- you guys have children. i've noticed kids seem so much bigger than we were. is that perspective? >> i don't know. >> michltla is wearing my 2-yead clothes but i was a preemie. don't worry, i developed into a larger human later. >> i don't know where you're going with that. >> we're glad. larger human, you. >> you know, the preemie into a well-fed, developed person. >> let's get a check of the weather from dylan. take it away. >> i will take it away. thanks, girls. cold air to work into the middle of the country right on christmas eve. it's the east coast where we've got this big rainstorm. a lot of rain, inch or two, as much as four inches of rain along the panhandle of florida. look at our temperatures,

lexington on christmas eve, 61 degrees, 18 degrees above average. washington, d.c., 65. boston up to 53 degrees. that's 10 to 15 degrees above average. who is going to get a white christmas this year? it looks like you'll have it, mostly in and on the ground. great lakes falling snow. mentow. ment well, this morning we are waking up to some dense fog. in fact it's still burning out of here. we're going to see a beautiful day. lots of sunshine. we're back to 70 later on this afternoon. in the south bay 67 for the peninsula. east bay and san francisco expecting mid 60s. while we had a little morning fog, expecting bright sunshine, 71 for your afternoon high here on this tuesday. i hope you have a good day, and happy holidays.

>> and that's your latest forecast. tamron? >> dylan, thank you very much. now to my tuesday trend. the pressure is on to find those last few gifts. so i'm going to help you out by sharing a little holiday tradition i have with my girlfriends. what we do each year, we test out -- i'm a sample freak. i love samples. i narrow down my favorite beauty product of the year and we each share our favorite beauty product of the year. so i'm going to share with you mine and my gal pals are here, natalie and jenna, to -- >> this is the part where we get gifts? >> yes. >> they are here to receive. >> i mention this had a while back on the show. i mask every single morning. great advice from one of the most beautiful women i had ever met in my life. that's me. >> that's a lot of work. >> takes a lot of work to look like this. here you go. so many of you tweeted and asked

the name of it and legal finally allowed me to say. here it is. it's an organic line, eminence. i use the clear skin probuyot . oug otic. i use it every day, about four to six months it will last. >> gentle enough to use it every day? >> i use it -- >> hydration, too? >> and it wakes you up. it has a mintiness to it. >> yes! >> my next thing, here we go. i live for this i gave my friend this is gift last year. chanel mascara. we used to have a $20 limit. but then chanel jacked this up to $306789 nevertheless -- i consider it a special occasion mascara. when you have dinner on the town, you want to look good for your man or whatever, you put that on. pow, boom. >> perfect. >> i wear it lash extensions sometimes. i don't have to do that with this. >> trying to take the present

away. >> this is what i gave the women on our staff because they're all beauty geeks like us. i live for this. latest trend, latest rage. pure coconut cream by rms. $18. it's a makeup. it's cream. it's coconut. >> take everything down here in case we walk off with it. >> makeup remover, add a little sheen to your highlight line here and here. cuticles. if your baby is on the plane, looking ashy before they see grandma, hit that baby up with this. it's all natural. >> anti-bacterial. >> isn't it amazing -- >> probably put it in their hair, too, as a gel. >> the gifts continue for natalie and jenna. >> yes! >> my nail polish that i love. i'm obsessed. it lasts longer than any other. since i've been cooking, your nail chips a lot. $18 at sephora. this is the color i've been wearing this year. it's on my toes right now.

it's green. you can't see my toes but they're right here. it's right there on my toes. anyway, this polish -- i wash dishes, always cooking. i love this polish. last, but not least, a gift i gave one of our ladies on the show. this is what i put on my legs. i had an accident with bear grylls and cut my leg. someone told me about this. it's called the perfect leg skin miracle. you put a little bit on your legs. it gives you that shimmer. a lot of you will write in and say why are your legs so greasy? they're not greasy. it's a shimmer. and this actually has a serum in it to help cure your scars. >> vitamin e. >> that i had from bear grylls when i fell off the cliff. it's gotten so much better. >> we'll put them online.

up next, speaking of beauty, check out these table settings. we'll show you how to wow for the holiday cause you look so good after using my beauty products with some easy dinner table decor. clean up, girls!

. . . . ve a little joy. a book is a gift like no other. and barnes & noble is like no other book store in the world. with so many books to discover and the new nook by samsung now a full featured tablet. a book is the gift they'll remember long after the holidays are over.

(together) it's got grains, which i like. i like the little bunches of oats. what i like is actually the flakes. it's got crunch, which i love. mmm. it's really good. honey bunches of oats. yay! fresh step extreme lightweight litter isn't just light. it's also the best lightweight for eliminating odors. amazing, right? for superior odor elimination try fresh step extreme... lighweight. up to 27% more brush movements. patented sonic technology with get healthier gums in two weeks. innovation and you philips sonicare save when you give philips sonicare this holiday season.

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or they hit you up for some outrageous number of miles. switch to the venture card from capital one. with venture, use your miles on any airline, any flight, any time. no blackout dates. and with every purchase you'll earn unlimited double miles. now we're getting somewhere. what's in your wallet? if everyone is coming to your house tomorrow on christmas day, you may have all of the food and the gifts but have you thought about how you're going to decorate your dinner table? >> ah, no! with inexpensive, last-minute ideas, here is katie brown, editor in chief of yahoo! diy. you're going to teach us. >> i am. >> how to diy? zblrch has old bottles. take your old wine bottles, can of spray paint and go to town. spray adhesive on the candles and roll it in glitter.

>> love the decor. >> silver and gold. glittery and fun. i took a cork, and staner stampstamp ed it on. >> i made that. >> how did you know natalie and i would have leftover bottles? >> somehow i had a feeling. take a little bit of this glue. you can use any kind of glue. >> you already spray painted these? >> i have. it doesn't take long to dry. paint all the way around. >> who doesn't love some glitter? >> do a little dip. check it out. >> the kids would have fun doing this. >> mess with glitter. >> do it outside. >> exactly. >> and there we go. right? >> cute. >> adds shimmer and sheen to a fancy table. >> this is more traditional? >> a little more traditional. we embraced red and green here, little bit of white. isn't that fun? just take some ribbons and use those as runners and go all the way -- kind of around the place

setting, down the center. >> and the white, which is nice. >> nice and crisp. >> these flower arrangements. >> we're going to get to those. you'll see how easy it is. >> easy for the diy expert. >> no, no, easy for everyone. i swear. i'm so proud of my candy canes. >> so cute. >> candle and dime store candy canes. >> genius. >> tie it with a ribbon. >> piece of styrofoam. stick it right in there. >> oh, it's really not that hard. >> how easy is that? >> you can do this with just flowers from the grocery store? >> take apart one of those grocery store bundles they do and go to town. tie it up with a big old ribbon. >> that really is easy. although one of my flowers fell off. >> we won't tell anyone. there you go. >> like a present. >> tie a big bow like a present. such a great thing to give your

guests at the end of the dinner and say thank you for coming. >> even pretty without the bow. >> i love the ribbon because it makes it festive. >> unique. >> little kids table here. >> you can't ignore the kids table. you have to carry the decorations. i took a big piece of any kind of craft paper. >> brown paper. >> i wanted the kids to have some fun. solo cups, made it into santa's belly with duct tape right there. put the crayons in it. >> what i want for christmas on the table. >> get them writing. then i took a little bit of felt, cut out a tree and put slits for the silverware. check this idea out. these are just mason jars. took balloons, cut them up and you can stripe them so you get a real candy cane look there. >> you are genius. >> easy. >> is it not easy? >> these are pretty cool, too. >> aren't those fun? rice krispie treats, melt white

chocolate, dip it in. put the candy cane at the end, crush it up, make googly eyes and pipe cleaner for the reindeer. >> i wish i could be this diy savvy. >> come over for christmas. we'll do it all again. >> okay. >> when you get your kids table, i did all those with a hot glue gun, which make it is sturdy and easy. if you want fun with your kids, take this and do some frosting there. >> we have to do this pretty quick. >> flying peppermints. stick them on. this is fun to do with kids, too. >> and you can eat it. >> and you can eat as you're doing it. >> thank you so much. >> isn't that fun? >> thank you. coming up next, unwelcomed guests for the holidays. dry skin, dry nails, dry hair. >> ooh! >> quick winter fixes after this. if she could, she'd rescue every dog on the planet. and, by some miracle...

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great. discover for yourself why more people find their perfect car at carmax. carmax. start here. we're not just selling the at famohottestwear, shoes of the holiday season. we're selling straight up "i'm going to kiss sara marcus under the mistletoe" confidence. this year give them converse from famous footwear. victory is yours. well, in case it snuck up on you, winter is officially here, perfectly illustrated by this fake snow and wind. >> oh, there it is. okay. you need to protect your hair and skin by using product that is rehydrate. beauty expert and co-founder of dobop.com, jodi patterson. good to see you. >> thank you. >> jenna and i were just talking. both of us suffer from dry skin. >> and dry hair. >> by the time you crank up the

heat, no humidity at home. >> walking in freezing cold in new york city. >> i love december because of the holidays. i hate dry skin, dry hair, dry nails. all of this will help you hydrate. hydration is the biggest topic in beauty. i wear more makeup in the winter time but that means i'm washing more and dehydrating my skin. wipes are great. you can do one swoop. they grab everything. >> this is for taking makeup off. >> they have vitamin b5. it's hydrating. >> from philosophy? >> after you wash, you have to replenish. this is a face oil. it feels like a gel. it's light. it has something called hyuralonic acid. it sounds crazy but it holds water in your face. >> hydration. >> love the smell. >> we brought in tara. >> yes. >> from gone with the wind. >> how are you? >> you feel warmer in here? >> i do. i do. >> adorable. >> thank you. >> we're going to take your makeup off, i guess. >> petroleum jelly is a multitasker.

it does multiple things. fingers, cuticles, lips, toes. that's like vaseline but safer and healthier. it doesn't clog your pores. >> lips, everywhere. >> so a lot of people often think petroleum traps. >> feels good. >> it does clog your pores a bit. it's not the healthiest. this is the healthier version of that, vitamin e and beeswax. >> are you single? >> i'm married, yes. >> that's great. he's going to look at your glossy lips. >> absolutely. >> thanks, tara. >> this is like the olivia pope of lotion, amlactin. chicken bumps, dryness, flakiness. >> i use it. >> you do? >> yes. it's in my dressing room now. what's this african black soap? >> oils infused. it helps to soothe your skin with oat and helps to protect your skin with vitamin e. >> it looks cool.

>> it does look pretty and chic. >> i've been wanting to purchase this. i didn't know what to expect. this is popular right now. >> inspired by a salad. so rosemary, avocado oils and grapefruits. light reflecting particles to illuminate your limb. >> who doesn't love the name pretty potion? >> right and you can use it all over. >> in your hair? >> great little conditioner. >> awesome. >> now to the hair specifically. >> if you're on a budget, it doesn't matter. make room for a hair mask. you can do a splurge, omega 9. infuses into your hair and hydrates or you can do the less expensive one, the hair mask by super fruit. also infuses oils and shea butter. >> you believe in this, right? >> you have to get rid of the cotton and flannel. >> not just so you can look like erica kane?

>> now i know what i want for christmas a little late. >> you took all the other stuff. >> you gave me that! >> jodi patterson, thanks. head to today.com for more. go ahead, take it. >> oh, yeah! >> got it. >> hey.

>> got it. >> hey. >> hi. >> we're using all your products. >> all lubed up. it's great. >> did you say all lubed up? >> we're greasy. >> now on this christmas eve eve, we have an awesome show. we're going to talk about gifts that you can still get in there

well, good morning, everyone. the weather looking better than it did. dense fog had been covering the bay area in the morning, but here's a live look at san jose, where things are looking much better. here is how it looked early this morning. low visibility making a

challenge for drivers on the road. of course it's been pretty light. other parts of the bay area were completely clear. mold causing firefighters to work out of the parking lot. crews were looking to sfll clean station 16 near king. firefighters are not allowed to sleep inside the nation. coming to an end in concourt. bruce has put up extravagant displays for 36 years, but he said health issues are making this his last year and neighbors came out to say thank you last night. let's check your weather this morning. well, this morning we're waking up for dense fog, but it is burning out rather quickly. we're seeing sunshine across the entire board. 67 for the peninsula, but you'll be at 68, even san francisco 65 degrees in the north bay clocking in at 71 for today. so rain does return. showers expected for tomorrow,

and they move out of here for christmas morning, leaving a dry start to our christmas day. let's check on the roads and see how we're shaping up with mike. >> well lit roads. the fog has burnt off, but this is a big slowdown, the biggest we've seen all morning. west down 580 coming out of livermore and dublin. west 580 had a crash that had you backed up. that will start to clear up. 680 will seeing more slowing through pleasanton. peninsula an easy drive, and those metering lights were turned off at 7:20. we're seeing a few more folks heading into the city for midday. back to you. >> surprised to see that many. we'll have an news update in half an hour. we'll see you then.

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from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, everybody. >> yes. >> hoda's excited. she loves christmas. >> i do. >> it is booze day tuesday, december 23rd. less than 48 hours to get the shopping done. >> we have madelyn back, she'll tell us how to cut the creep with the two brave ladies who have been weighing themselves on the air every week. >> last time they gained a little, like half a pound each. so we'll see. we'll see. then our friend squire rushnell is here with a god winks story that will give you goosebumps

about a wife who prayed for a christmas miracle to save her husband and she got it. >> a lot of people praying for christmas miracles this year. if you need last minute gifts for neighbors, we'll have that for you too. look at this. look what we have on our desk. okay. we had bottles of wine here before, but none quite like this. >> this is jazzed up. >> this is all blinged out. this is a nice little christmas gift from our friend jennifer lopez. >> jennifer lopez. all blinged out like she is. >> we don't want to drink it, because it is so huge and beautiful. but we decided to have big huge glasses of wine, like fishbowls, to drink in honor of j. lo. >> that was very sweet of her. >> remember when we danced with her. >> the booty dance. >> that was almost something that shouldn't have been on television. >> no, no, no. okay. and -- >> a lot more fun. >> we made it. j. lo -- that was just sad. >> you know when you're dancing

like that, you're not realizing certain things, that this is flopping, you're not realizing you should have worn a different bra. you're not realizing you don't have extra spanx support in your stomach and this is gone forever. >> but hot. you're, like, i've never been hotter than right now. >> right now. by the way, she is sheer perfection. >> she is. >> it is hard to talk to j. lo, because when she's here -- >> you're staring at her. she's been here a lot because she has a book and video and all kinds of stuff. >> big year. >> big year. so here is a question for you. have you been naughty or nice? santa wants to know this stuff. >> there is a way to check. >> santa sent us a video about us. >> directly from the north pole. >> hello, kathie lee and hoda. i received a letter from your producer, joanne. what a charming person. she was anxious to know if

you'll be on my nice list this year. your facial expressions are priceless. it looks like you both had a bit of a naughty year. santa thinks it's naughty to have wine before 9:00. >> wine will be flowing. >> kathie lee and hoda, if you try really hard, i think you could still get the present my elves are preparing for you. i don't know yet if i'll stop by your homes, but if i were you, i'd tidy up the place. >> i love that. >> isn't that sweet? >> that's the cutest thing. >> we don't drink wine before 9:00. >> before 10:00, santa. hello. >> you can make someone you love a personalized video from portable north pole.com. what a great -- that's so cute. >> joanne. >> always going the extra mile. >> sweet girl that is joanne.

yes. she's under the table. >> i've been hoping we would get to this for a couple of days. perfect christmas impersonations. this is christina baunko, an actress, singer, impressionist, a new christmas video on her site. we have been dying to see it. check it out. >> hello, it is me, celine diond dion. we decided to give a special gift to our biggest fan. 'twas the night before christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, and me in my louis vuitton slippers -- ♪ yuletide carol fa la la ♪ ♪ deck the halls

with boughs of holly ♪ >> she's good. >> she's good. >> a lot more on there. you can go to christine bianco.com. >> christina. >> christina bianco.com. >> yes. >> fine, fine. so have you -- >> another thing you got to do. you need a laugh, just go on and stream family guy, just straight through. >> we watch it in the makeup room. >> have yourself a merry little holiday. >> there are some rules when it comes to regifting. we all probably have done it at some point or another, somebody brings you a gift and you give it to someone. there are rules you should follow if you are regifting that are very important. >> three out of four of us do it and it is socially acceptable. i always tell somebody if it is possible. >> how do you do it? >> i tell the truth. usually, when i get something that is not particularly for me, it is for me but isn't my style

or something like that, i immediately think of the person that it would be good for and i say that, you know what, someone gave me this, but the minute i saw it, i thought i have to give that to you or so and so and then it goes from being a bad thing to, oh, you thought of me, thank you. >> that's actually a good way to do it because i've done it the other way, which is just take the gift from somebody and then give it to somebody else and say here's your present and then that can back fire because -- >> tell how it did on you, hodi. >> it back fired one year because jill martin gave me a purse, which i liked fine, and then i -- then christmas came around later and i gave the same purse to jill again. and she -- she looked at it and she's like, i think i gave you this purse, which she had and i said i liked it, which i did -- >> but not that much. >> because i gave it to her. >> and not that long. you know -- >> i forgot. you got to keep track. you have to be careful.

if you give gifts in your own circle, then you risk everybody knowing. and you have to be careful if someone puts a card inside that has your name, but also check for any initials. don't give purses that say hk when it's not their initials. >> don't regift right away, make sure some time has lapsed. but not as much time as you had let -- >> you forget who gave it to you and then you give it again. >> and it was all done on camera. i loved it. don't regift with immediate family members. >> right. >> has to be the right -- >> if you're busted, just say you did it. >> yes, just say it. >> okay. >> and be honest at the very beginning. why not? >> here is a crazy topic. there is this woman -- we all experienced road rage, you're in a car, someone cuts you off, you get upset, glare at them, curse at them, whatever you do. this woman in california was

arrested because i guess someone -- she was tailgating somebody, right? and the young girls in front of her, either tapped the brakes or did something, this woman went crazy and started chasing them. she rammed them as you'll see here in her pickup truck off the road, she approached them in the car, she came up to the window, slashed some kind of i.d. and said she was, you know -- some kind of authority, right. and she really bumped their car. that's how mad she got. mad enough to bump someone's car. she had just been let out of prison for something else. >> that morning. >> here is the funny thing -- >> not funny, but she thought she was going to have a good day. but the rage was still in there. >> here's the thing, i -- you feel protected in the car and i've done it, i've yelled, you go crazy, you can do what you want -- >> you flipped someone off one time on the way to rehoboth. >> yes, i did. yes, i did. i did it one other time, only one other time when i was late

for graduation that i was supposed to be saying some words at, i was late, i was freaking and somebody cut me off and i just leaned on the horn and i did it. i did it. and i was mad. and he looked at me, and he unrolled the window, and i said, oh, my gosh, he goes, hey, i just started working at this new television station, and he mentioned mr. irly, the general manager of our station, he said, i know mr. irly and your days are numbered. i was, like, oh, my god. the wrong person to flip off. but you get -- but you feel so angry and you can let it -- >> what did mr. irly say? >> i never said anything about it. i walked around -- maybe the guy was just messing with me. but i didn't hear another word about it. >> how about your trash compacter? >> what? >> remember when you broke the trash compacter? >> why are we talking about all the things i'm going to get in trouble. >> you've had a naughty year. all right, moral of the story -- never mind.

okay. >> now, this -- we're not sure if this is true, or real, but who cares, because we love it. if you have a puppy or you know one, just look at this dancing puppy video and it will put you in a good mood. doggy day care. waiting for his owner. there she is. >> oh! >> there has to be some jumping going on. >> there are skeptics out there and scrooges who say if you look closely, it is not real. >> like he's wearing a sweater or something. >> you think it's been done graphically or electronically. i don't care. >> it's adorable. >> this will make you happy too. the perfect pet pig story. >> these two young guys, steve and derrick, thought they were adopting one of those tiny piglets. it started off as a couple of pounds. >> named her ester. >> they thought how cute.

well, that pig grew from that little baby to 670 pounds. >> we said this morning, that happens -- >> look. no, in the house with the dogs. 670 pound pig. >> it couldn't cut the creep. >> look at the cats, the dogs and the pig. >> oh, my gosh. >> oh, my gosh. >> i love pigs. not sure i'd love them on the bed with me. >> and how did they learn -- >> now that i think about it. once or twice. >> oh. >> how do we do it day after day? >> okay, so some good news you guys. remember the good gifts, one year in the heart of the home book that i did for my shine the light. it sold out as we said rapidly, but we have -- we are reprinting 2,000 more books, which will

probably be available sometime after the beginning of february. >> if you want to order -- it is a great, great book. go to goodgiftsbook.org. >> and thank you to all of you. i'm hearing from so many of you who received it now and are loving it. i'm so glad. it was a real labor of love. >> it is a beautiful, beautiful book. i knew you would need more. >> i never published before. it is a scary thing. you don't want to sit around with 10,000 books you can't move. >> good for you. >> sad news, joe cocker lost his battle with lung cancer i believe it was. and everybody has a favorite joe cocker song. he died in his home in colorado after a valiant fight. >> remember his song, the beatles sang "with a little help from my friends." he was at woodstock and that's -- >> he was my favorite, the one with jennifer lawrence. can we hear it? >> beautiful, beautiful. ♪

>> beautiful voice. >> our best to his family. >> do you find the holidays far from jolly? >> we have strategies to help you cope with loneliness. you know who you are. after this. [ kevin ] this is connolly, cameron, zach, and clementine. we have a serious hairball issue. we clean it up, turn around, and there it is again. it's scary. little bit in my eye. [ michelle ] underneath the kitchen table, underneath my work desk, we've got enough to knit a sweater. [ doorbell rings ] zach, what is that? the swiffer sweeper. the swiffer dusters. it's some sort of magic cloth that sucks in all the dog hair. it's quick and easy. pretty amazing that it picked it all up. i would totally take on another dog. [ kevin ] really? ♪ who's been using walmart savings catcher, now is the time to redeem your savings on holiday stocking stuffers. so you can use that to get this? yup. or this? yes. or this? yeah - or that, or this or this or this or that. redeem your savings catcher savings on last minute gifts at walmart.

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for many, the holidays are a time of joy and fun, going to party to party and getting together with friends and family. >> for others, they may feel like they don't have a lot to celebrate. christmas can seem kind of lonely, kind of like this opening scene in "bridget jones' diary." ♪ all by myself don't want to be all by myself anymore ♪

>> love that movie. >> here with some strategies for coping with loneliness are dr. sue varma, clinical assistant professor. >> and aarp contributor barbara hannah grufferman who is celebrating her birthday today. happy birthday. >> let's talk about the causes of loneliness. i think the holidays just sort of underscore anyway. some people aren't close to their families physically or emotionally. >> it is a time of joy for anybody, really, but when you have the added pressure of wanting to be jolly, holly and party ready 24/7, that adds another layer of stress. >> and things really slow down. businesses close down, there is no restaurants that you can go to on christmas day if you're looking for a place to go. >> chinese restaurants. i like chinese food. >> and there are so many expectations. >> you probably worry this a lot of people are busy because they have friends and family. if you don't, it seems weird to reach out during this time of

year. >> and people just assume that you're -- one side of the family assumes you're taken care of by the other but nobody knows you might be alone, that's why it is so important to be out there and let people know. >> or if you lost somebody too within the last year or years and you're facing a holiday with an empty chair, and -- >> not only that, but about 50% of people over 50 are single by choice or circumstance, so you've got a lot of people who are lonely for the first time. >> adopt people during the holidays. >> yes, absolutely. i'm a big believer in that and letting people know -- there is so much shame and stigma associated with being lonely, but all of us feel that way. >> there is a difference between loneliness, a time that happens during the holidays and depression, like a real thing that you're talking about, right? >> yes. >> loneliness is circumstantial. >> loneliness and depression can go hand and hand but don't have to. if you're not going to do something about loneliness, it can lead to depression. depression is a constellation of symptoms.

loneliness is one part of it. >> when you're feeling crummy, whatever your circumstance is, you seem to feel better when you reach out to somebody who is feeling crummier than you are. >> every time, go to a soup kitchen, volunteer, take some soup down to an elderly person. >> take the focus off yourself. >> off yourself. >> that's a true holiday spirit after all, isn'tzsgit? >> yes. >> it is. >> and loneliness really draws you inward. this is not about you. i think if you can recognize that really as human beings we need to be in a support system, we need a community, we're not -- no man is -- >> let's get people out of the rut. that was one of them. you say make a gratitude list, which things you're grateful for, right? >> i do this every day. i do something called aye eed e day and share it on facebook. no matter what is going on in the world or your life, there is always something you can yea about. if somebody has impacted your life in a positive way, send them a letter --

>> tell them. >> call them. >> get them on the phone. >> three things, three accomplishments you had, if you want to do it in a day, in a year, and three people you're grateful for and christmas card is the best way to do it. >> be generous, you're saying, too. >> as kathie lee was talking about, the soup kitchen, call up a friend, get together for coffee, come to my apartment and forget about being a perfectionist. >> don't wait for your phone to ring. >> really reach out to other people. there are a lot of lonely people through the as we were just saying. a study in 2010 of people over 45 and the vast majority of lonely people in their 40s and 50s, for the reasons that i think we have been talking about. >> hoda and i hosted the city meals on wheels luncheon and you would be amazed how many elderly home bound people there are who don't get meals on weekends, who look forward to that one person. all day long. >> yes. >> and it is about the quality, not the quantity. studies have shown. >> you have the most soothing

voice. >> i know. >> did you ever cut somebody off. >> i don't drive. >> happy birthday, again. >> if you would like to know if loneliness is impacting you, take a quiz on our website, at klgandhoda.com. >> dreamed of a white christmas and they got it. an incredible god winks story that will warm your heart. first, these messages. "we can climb the highest mountain, reaching up to catch our dream together there is nothing we can't be. dive into the deepest oceans, dance upon the rolling seas, make a moment, keep the memory." "you'll lift me up, for we are free, v/o: "wherever life takes you, take it with you." pandora: unforgettable moments.

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may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. ask your doctor about tamiflu and attack the flu virus at its source. rich, chewy caramel rolled let me know if this gets too hot rolo. get your smooth on. you're doing okay, mom. i can call you "mom," right? i know we haven't known each other very long, but you seem like a real keeper. you're not perfect. but you're trying. anyway, i want you to know how much i appreciate you. you know, right? how much i love you. you're doing okay, mom.

to make your signature christmas dish.rt has everything you need mine is mouthwatering mashed potatoes. i mix my russets with milk, butter, and cream cheese to make them super creamy. mmmm... and yours? sock-it-to-me spiral cut ham! whoa! you made this? yep. i just take a sam's choice super premium spiral cut ham from walmart, bake it flat side down, tent the foils so all the juices can mingle... who are you? ham man! walmart has everything you need for christmas dinner at unbeatable prices, guaranteed by savings catcher. walmart. we're back on this brain teaser tuesday when we put your minds to work provided by our friends at brain games on nat geo channel. here it is. what is as big as you are and yet doesn't weigh anything? what is as big as you are and doesn't weigh anything? >> besides your ego? >> we'll have the answer in a

few minutes unless someone already had it. whatever. home made sweet treats that taste delicious. >> what is it? >> going to help cut the creep. why do i cook for the holidays? to share with family to carry on traditions to come together, even when we're apart in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and more, swanson® makes holiday dishes delicious! choosing is half the fun.. because there's a little something delicious...

for everyone. hershey's miniatures, choose your own delicious. check out one of the hottest gift idebeats pill xltmas: now available with special financing when you use your walmart credit card. they're bluetooth enabled. so you can stream a song to one beats pill. and pair it with another beats pill for huge stereo sound. woah! dance off. whut? whoa! what? nothing. wooh, is the room spinning? no, just you. and now get special financing when you use your walmart credit card. more ways to christmas joy. walmart. well, good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. "the interview" is back on. the movie will be released christmas day after all. sony a short time ago confirmed a limited release. independent movie theaters all over the united states have

announced they will be running that movie. today's the last day for some of the largest tides of the year called king tides. seasonal wave that is bring higher sea levels due to gravitational pull. this return again in about 28 days during both january and february. we'll take a look at weather and traffic coming up after the break. ho ho ho... we'll all have hot cocoa! ma'am, need a strong pot of joe. the all new keurig 2.0.

well, you know this morning we are waking up to some fog. the fog is burning out of here, and we're looking at sunshine across the entire bay area.

6 for the peninsula today, 68 for the east shore, and san francisco right at 6 a degree. you know what? the rain will be with us for tomorrow, starting in the north bay tomorrow morning, working its way down to the south bay to tomorrow asp, leaving for a dry christmas morning, with very cold temperatures. let's talk about that drive. over here we like this as well. a lot better as far as the flow for west 580 comes over towards tasahara. taking a while for this to sort itself out. there's some slowing in the backup right there, but still that's about it for the bay. a look at the rest the the bea i very easy. the metering lights, yeah, they were turned off as we take a live look at 7:22 this morning. we have a few cars, and no problems for the rest of the lanes. shapes up to be a beautiful day. we'll send it back to you. thank you. make sure you join us as 11:00

for a big show. that's our newscast. see you then. we're back with more of "today" on booze day tuesday. we've got the answer to that brain teaser riddle we asked you before the break. >> the question was what is as big as you are yet does not weigh anything. >> i said ego. >> i looked. i'm going to confess that it's shadow. your shadow. >> i like ego better. >> i knew you were going to say that. if you got the answer right, you may be feeling pretty good because your brain does love finding solutions to problems. you are rewarded with a hit of dopamine. >> standing in the shadows, our viewers who are trying to -- cut

the creep. today it's all about that munching and sampling in the kitchen that can add up to an extra pound a month. >> hey, madeleine. >> so our ladies are really doing great. remember, last week andrea was up half a pound. so she has been redoubling her efforts. today -- >> what happened with andrea. >> she is down 2.5 pounds. >> wow. >> you really worked on it. >> does that surprise you or does that sound right? >> no. it was more drinking and less eat this week. [ laughter ] >> so nicole, also she was up half a pound last week, so she redoubled her efforts. she is down 1.5 pounds. >> that means she lost 2? >> from the beginning. she's already done 2 pounds. not just cutting the creep, they are down a bit. >> let's play our game.

>> go with your teammates. >> i'll go down with the lasagna. >> we all have mindless anybody nibbles we call mindless eats, but they can add up. we're going to start with some cookie dough. you can see better if you're here. >> i'll stay on the end. >> what we have first, we all make some cookies. here is cookie dough. >> a tablespoon, half an ounce, a couple of nibbles. this has 40 calories, true or false. >> false. definitely false. >> true just to be contrarian. >> team kathie is right. >> i thought it would be more. >> you like to decrease rate a pie or cake with fresh whipped cream. here is about two tablespoons worth.

you're going to be licking here and there. tell me is it true or false. this two tablespoons has 50 calories. is that true or false? >> what do you think? >> it's false. it's only 20. a lot of air whipped into this. >> true. >> that was actually 20. >> okay. now we go to everyone's favorite. tiramisu, that lovely creamy desert. just a little taste has 35 calories. true or false. >> false. >> that is true. how can that be true. >> 35 calories? >> because a serving is going to be about eighth these things. think about this, this is only a little taste. >> still, i'm surprised. that's so rich. >> a little, a lot. >> it's fun to have a little taste of it. >> if this is your taste for desert, that's good. if you're nibbling while cooking, that's not good. you're making macand cheese. your kids say they want something before christmas dinner. just a taste, a tablespoon, 25

calories. >> got to be more. >> false. >> it would be true. it's just a tablespoon. okay. taster. >> everything is less than i thought. >> a bite of all of these is 600 calories. >> you get the point. exactly right. then we have mashed potato, tasting it for milk and butter. true or false, this has about 50 calories. true or false. >> false. >> and were the first one to say false. that's false because it's only 20 calories. it's mostly potatoes. >> butter. >> you're not putting all that in. you're tasting for a little butter, a little milk. all in moderation. now you're in big box store sampling things. people come with the tray and say, would you like this? you have one boneless chicken wing and one swedish meatball. together, 60 calories, true or false. >> the two of them together.

true or false. >> false. >> it is false. it is 90 calories together. 50 and 40 calories. have one of them. >> but they look so good. >> now we're going to be making -- >> that is something i cannot say no to. >> you're cooking lasagna noodles. you want a taste. is it too soft? if you take half a noodle. >> the tiebreaker. >> true or false. that half a noodle has 45 calories. >> false. >> we're going to go false. >> true. >> that would be true. >> i saw that. she saved you. she saved you. >> good girl. >> for the ladies, we have a little pull on microskirt. you go to the gym, you want to pull something on for coverage. >> let's dig into the lasagna.

true christmas miracle that can only be skrifd as a god thing. >> a story that will give you chills coming up right after this. god dove invited women to a makeover with a difference. hi ma'am hi would you like to have a free makeover? yeah, why not? who doesn't love a free makeover? there you go. it's a shower. it's a shower. but it's a shower with new dove body wash, with its new breakthrough formula all it takes is just one shower for softer smoother skin. want to feel? feels really good. really silky smooth. it's awesome. i love it. new dove body wash. softer, smoother skin after just one shower.

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three years ago in spin class, katy's starin' at this studmuffin, so i did a little cyber-snoopin' and... the dude had way too many selfies on instagram... uh oh! but he passed my inspection... and the rest is history! to katy and ryan! vo: make us part of your family. look for nutritious dairy brands with the real california seals. cow: now about those selfies...

break the ice, with breath freshening cooling crystals. ice breakers. a little more snow.♪ ♪a couple more reindeer. ♪a couple more bows. ♪another dozen cookies. ♪just in case the neighbors show.♪ a little more joy for christmas!♪ ♪just a bit more garland. ♪so my stairway looks divine.♪ ♪another nutcracker, so the kids don't fight this time.♪ ♪why stop at three wise men, when the mantle fits nine?♪ ♪a little more joy for christmas!♪

every once in a while you hear a story about people experiencing what seems to be a miraculous event or divine coincidence. >> squire rushnell calls them god winks and he collected countless stories from all over the world for his book series. he's here with a special story about having hope for the holidays. >> good morning. merry, merry, merry to you. this is an amazing christmas story that is absolutely true. david espinoza and his wife toni live in mccounsewan, texas, on mexican border where the winters are tropical. david had just been given some terrible, terrible medical news that his heart was only operating at 10% capacity.

>> the doctors said if i didn't have a heart transplant, as soon as possible, i was going to die. at the heart institute in houston, they gave us hope but also no guarantee. they told us the transplant list was long and i might not make it to the top in time. my dear wife toni rallied our family and friends to pray. toni prayed and prayed. but something just didn't seem right to her. praying for someone to die in order for her husband to live. so she began praying for a complete healing. and on top of that, she asked god to give her a sign that her prayer was going to be answered by making it snow in mccowan, texas, on christmas day. toni shared her prayer with our friend crawford. but he said, toni, you've lived here all your life. it hasn't snowed in mccowan in

109 years. and never on christmas. but my dear wife, with great faith, she remained resolved. at 11:45 p.m. on christmas eve, the skies opened up and it began to snow. she ran outside and looked up and all she could say was thank you, lord, thank you, lord. she just knew my heart was going to be healed. and the next day, kids of mccowan ran outside, they made snow men and the newspaper headline said, first white christmas ever. three weeks later, we went back to the hospital for a regularly scheduled appointment. the doctor looked at my chart and he said, david, i can't explain this, but you're going to be around for a long, long time. >> are you kidding? >> merry christmas. >> oh, my gosh. >> that amazing story took place

ten years ago. and david is wonderful. he feels wonderful. and you know what that shows? it shows if you have faith and pray, god winks happen. >> okay. >> that's an amazing story. you always have great ones. but this one for some reason, right? >> yes. >> it is in this book, divine alignment, and it is absolutely true. >> one of my favorite segments we do. >> yes. everybody loves them. thank you, squire. >> merry christmas. >> love it. something else sweet for the holidays, homemade goodies. >> make them today. they're going to love you. at famous footwear we're not just selling the hottest shoes of the holiday season. we're selling "here comes your future daughter-in-law" confidence this year give exclusive carlos santana boots.

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advanced time release formula for all day or all night relief. bianca! [cheering] delsym. silence is relief. to make your signature christmas dish.rt has everything you need mine is mouthwatering mashed potatoes. i mix my russets with milk, butter, and cream cheese to make them super creamy. mmmm... and yours? sock-it-to-me spiral cut ham! whoa! you made this? yep. i just take a sam's choice super premium spiral cut ham from walmart, bake it flat side down, tent the foils so all the juices can mingle... who are you? ham man! walmart has everything you need for christmas dinner at unbeatable prices, guaranteed by savings catcher. walmart.

. something's happening. >> oh, now she makes it -- >> wait, whose song is that? ♪ a beautiful sight >> i love that woman singing.

>> holiday kitchen if you're headed to someone's house for hanukkah or christmas, why not give them a gift from your heart and your home. >> everybody loves homemade goodies. here with fittive id ifestive i make is chef craig. >> we're excited you're here. what are we making? >> i wanted to do some things that maybe you had a bunch of times, but probably haven't made yourself. >> okay. >> the first one is marshmallows. >> making your own marshmallows. >> it is easy. >> all right. >> let me show you how it goes. it is gelatin rehydrated with a little cold water. and you put that into your mixer like this. >> okay. >> put that in. >> and then -- >> that looks like my thighs. >> that's gelatin, all right. then we have sugar and corn syrup that has been cooked to soft ball stage, 230 degrees.

carefully pour it down the sides so that it melts the gelatin. >> okay. >> and really that's it. all you have to do is whip it up, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes. >> and then what happens? >> it will get light and fluffy like this. let's switch over to this one that is already done. and -- >> look at that. >> that's after 10 or 15 minutes. really easy. you flavor it with whatever you want. we'll put a little vanilla, a little orange zest, and grand marnier. >> oh! >> let it whisk in there. >> this might be the first time i like a marshmallow. you either love them or you don't. >> yeah. >> all right. >> then you need to prepare this by greasing it. and then this is a mixture of powdered sugar and starch. helps it from sticking. >> a little sweetness. >> take your little marshmallow

mix out. >> that looks good to me. >> kids will love making this. >> yeah. easy, right? grease it up. so it doesn't stick. >> grease up that, okay. >> and then pour it into the pan. >> i can't believe this. >> this is the way it is made apparently. >> nobody knew. >> you can flavor it with -- or you can turn it into mocha with a little bit of coffee and cocoa powder. >> what do you do with it now? >> once it is set like this, you put a little cornstarch back on top and you let it sit for four hours or overnight is better. then you can take a little pizza cutter. >> that's it? >> what? >> look at that. >> look how cute. >> that's adorable. >> chocolate. >> hoda, for you. >> that's so sweet. >> kathie lee. >> it is in the cup. you give it like this. when people are enjoying it, they think of you the next morning. >> that's a great idea. let's come around back. >> okay.

>> okay. >> excellent. >> now we're going to do some caramel popcorn. >> oh, good. >> i love popcorn. my wife is a popcorn aficionado. she thinks it should be one of the major food groups. >> yes. >> so here we have a little brown sugar, some butter, and a little corn syrup, you cook it for like four minutes. >> okay. >> and little bit of vanilla again. >> okay. >> i'll have you help me by stirring it. when i pour it on top. the secret is a little bit of baking soda. so when you put the baking soda, it will make it frothed up and turn into, like, a mousse. >> uh-huh. >> and that allows you to pour it easily on to the popcorn. >> okay. >> so we're going do it like this, ready? you first. stir, stir, stir. >> making me nervous. >> don't burn yourself. >> sorry. >> all right, ladies. >> this does look really good, though. >> gosh. >> oh. >> and you eat the stuff you --

>> stir it up. so if you want it to be soft, you're going to leave it the way it is. sprinkle some of these candy canes on it. it is going to be a little holidayish. >> if you want it to be -- >> if you want it to be firmer, what you want to do is bake it in the oven. put it on a sheet pan and stick it in the oven at like 250 degrees, takes about half an hour. >> all right. we're going to run, but you got some great ideas down here too. >> yes, over here, i love giving it in a bowl like this. now this is your -- >> you still have that. >> exactly. >> all rest you can find on our website. thank you so much. >> awesome. >> we have got a special delivery for our fans. this is "today" on nbc.

now it is time to shine our fan spotlight on a few of our viewers waiting some special deliveries. >> you sent in some creative

holiday themed pregnancy announcements. they were so clever, we wanted to share them. >> look at this one from amy. santa is promoting me to big brother. oh, june 4th, 2015. >> check out this one from a family adding a third child to the group. why not add one more to this hot mess. >> how sweet. >> is there a june trend? here is a cute one from the bloom family. the gifts don't come under the tree. >> look at this precious ornament from the singer family showing a snowman family with baby 2015. >> precious. >> here is a cute one from the jordan family. a wonderful time of year to announce that our family is growing by two feet. look how teeny the little slippers are. >> i love that. >> finally, the hundleys, dear santa, i've been a very good girl this year. for christmas, i would like a tea party set, check, a doll, check, and to become a big sister, check.

how awesome. >> i'm like a mess today, emotionally. >> i know. >> everything. congratulations to all the expecting families out there. to see more holiday themed pregnancy announcements you sent in, head to klgandhoda.com. >> tomorrow, creative last minute gifts because there's still time. >> hoda, you'll see hoda out there. and how to keep yourself from getting too overwhelmed. >> and christmas eve seafood feast with fun cocktails. >> we'll see you back here tomorrow. god bless, everybody.

good morning, everyone, thank you for joining us on this christmas eve eve. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm vicky wynn. we begin with breaking news. we have a live helicopter picture over the lands end area where there has been a mudslide. the dog better not get too close. nbc bay area's mark matthews is live on the phone. mark, what can you tell us? >> scott, it looks like a slope about 50 yards long. in most places, not very deep. maybe three, four feet that has slid away on this very edge, the coastal tr