this is getting jammed. >> we are going to keep an eye on that. we'll be back in a half hour at 7:25 with a live local news update. good morning. good morning. round three. a fresh blast of arctic air today. bitter cold stretching from the midwest to the deep south, and moving east. buenos días, tercera ronda. al's here to tell us how long this will last. una nueva ola de aire ártico. días los quiero mucho, bye chao one last gasp. a desperate last-ditch effort to deny donald trump the presidency. as the electoral college meets across the college today, protesters encouraging members to change their votes. but, is there any real chance of changing the outcome? remembering zaza. >> hello, darling. i'm zaza.

>> zsa zsa gabor, tributing pouring in. dallas does it again. the cowboys hold off the tampa bay buccaneers for a key win on sunday night football. america's team back on a role celebrating the season, today monday, december 19, 2016. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. ezekiel elliott jumps into the salvation army kettle. everyone in the spirit except the referees. >> is that a penalty. >> you can jump in the stands in green bay but not in the kettle in dallas. >> we have another baby at the today show. >> should we tease that along? >> we'll tease that along. >> a lot to get to on monday morning. let's start with an icy cold start.

one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. al says have a little patience. we'll get to his forecast in a minute. but first blake mccoy is in chicago. good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. 10 below as people wake up here in chicago this morning, even colder with wind chill. it's the coldest temperatures we've seen here all season. frostbite and hypothermia are serious concerns as people head off to work and school this morning. one last burst of arctic air this morning. after a weekend that left roads in many states with a fresh coating of snow and ice. >> are we sick of it? yeah we are. >> we're bracing for the next four months. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, this driver had been trapped in his suv for 12 hours after skidding off an icy highway. state police eventually found and rescued him by pinging his cell phone. >> just happened to notice faint tracked.

looked and there was the vehicle. happened to see me. happy to see my flashlight. >> cold in there. >> reporter: football sunday was left to die-hard fans. one degree at kickoff for the kansas city chiefs. tying the record for their coldest game ever. >> usually the weather's a little bit more you know, accommodating. >> we stayed in the car and had our coffee with irish bailey. >> reporter: 11 at kickoff for the chicago bears. >> that guy's got the right idea. >> reporter: they hosted the packers. >> this is football weather at its fine ets. >> reporter: minneapolis saw a low of negative 20 sunday. so cold that tailgaters had to warm their beers by the fire. with christmas week now upon us, it felt like the north pole for this 5k santa run in indy and looked like the north pole in st. joseph, michigan where this stunning drone footage shows the town lighthouse encased in a blanket of ice.

the weather over the weekend led to hundreds of flight cancellations, check out the scene at denver international airport. this was the baggage claim this weekend. after the flights were canceled people were told to go and find their bags. it took hours for some of them to sift through all of that. that's quite a nightmare as we begin this christmas travel week. matt, hoda and al. back to you. blake, thank you. >> a lot of people here wondering how long this will last. >> a couple days and i think good news as far as travel is concerned. as folks get ready for the holiday weekend. so, here's the deal. big change from 24 hours ago. up and down the eastern half of the united states. chicago right now, blake mentioned, minus 10. that's 19-degree drop from this time yesterday. new orleans, 32-degree drop. new york city a 27-degree drop. and you look at these temperatures right now.

i mean this is brutal. 14 degrees right now for monday's highs, going to be 16 degrees below average. 39 in raleigh, the endegrees below average. pittsburgh, 7 degrees below average. but the good news is even though you've got these lows once again in the northeast, single digits to mid teens, here we go. the relief. yes. new york city, mid-40s by the time we get to the midweek period. atlanta to 60, little rock, 53. dallas, back to 63 degrees. even chicago will be back in the mid 30s. and after a couple of storms in the pacific northwest, early this week, by the end of the week we don't see any problems as far as air travel or road travel due to weather. now the people you travel with i can't do anything about. >> thank you very much. let's move to politics. members of the electoral college meet to validate the results of the presidential election. typically it's a ceremonial

event of it this time it comes with an unusual amount of attention and even controversy. nbc's hallie jackson is in. fla. good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt, good morning to you. as donald trump gets ready for more meetings at his property the latest twist in an election that's been full of them is unfolding around the country. a push to try and convince members of the electoral college to in effect reverse the election, moves that would be unprecedented and frankly, unlikely to work. today, the last, last ditch attempt to try to reverse the election of donald trump, protests planned to persuade electors around the country not to cast votes for the president-elect. as 538 electoral college members meet in all 50 states. 37 would need to flip to stop trump temporarily, as he tweets quote if my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are

doing, they would be scorned and called terrible names. it's a hail mary even with star studded support from one famous fictional president. >> our founding fathers built the electoral college to safeguard the american people from the dangers of a demagogue. >> reporter: some electors pointing to assessments that russia interfered in the u.s. election, as reason enough for electors to defect. >> what i want is the information to be out there so that the american public and electors know who has been involved and make sure we protect the integrity of the american democracy. >> reporter: electors will not be briefed on russia despite a push by the man whose e-mail was hacked, john podesta. >> they have a right to know what the answers are if the u.s. government has those answers before the election. >> reporter: to donald trump's aides something else. >> entire nonsense about the electors trying to use the russian hacking issue to change

the election results is really unfortunate. i think that actually undermines our democratically more than any other conversation we're having. >> the incoming chief of staff flatly denying interactiontion between the russians and team trump. >> each this question is insane. of course we didn't interface with the russians, this whole thing is a spin job. >> reporter: trump at his mar lago property for the holidays but not before a final stop on his thank you tour in alabama where the president-elect who four years ago called the electoral college a disaster, praised the process. >> the electoral vote, i never appreciated it until now. how genius it was, what they had in mind. it's genius. i'm telling you. >> reporter: trump silent so far on this weekend's edition of "saturday night live." spoofing today's electoral effort. kate mckinnon reprising her role as hillary clinton, alec baltimobaldwin as donald trump.

>> we're so happy that you are u.s. president. >> unk that. >> we think you are the best candidate. >> sure. >> the smartest candidate. >> no doubt. >> the manchurian candidate. >> i don't know what that means but sounds tremendous. >> reporter: through it all some electors facing pressure to try and change their vote. one member in wisconsin told the associated press he's received smd 50,000 e-mail from people. still a new poll out this morning shows that more people believe that electors should vote for the person who won the state as opposed to the 34% believe they should not be bound to vote for the winning candidate. >> hally, how does it go down today? how does the voting take place? >> reporter: so when you break it down, 538 electors are heading to usually the state capitols across the country to cast their vote. 29 states do have laws that

require electors to vote for whomever won their state. but there is nothing in the constitution that explicitly requires that they do so. one elector in texas, for example, has publicly said he will break with his state not cast his vote for donald trump but historically that break is really rare. since 1948, it's only happened with nine people. so you can tell how sort of unprecedented that would be. ultimately on january 6, it's the vice president who presides over congress to count the votes and announce the results. and let's game it out. let's say that enough electors do flip to prevent donald trump from getting to 270. what happens, the election goes to the house of representatives which as you know is majority republican meaning there's virtually no chance donald trump does not end up in the white house. >> well explained. thank you very much. >> now to a delicate situation playing out in syria this morning. thousands of people are still waiting to be evacuated from aleppo. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely is there.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning. in the chaos of the city that's fallen to president assad's forces, civilians are finally being freed after six months under siege. these buses behind me are evacuating thousands of civilians from east aleppo. but even freedom will prove tough for them. escape from a deadly siege to an uncertain future, buses crammed with desperate people, left the ruins of aleppo taking them to safety. dozens more buses lined up around 30,000 people are waiting to go. among those freed 7-year-old bana safe in the arms of a doctor. four months on twitter she's been telling the world of the suffering of her city and her fears she'd die in the bombing. also unconfirmed reports that dozens of orphans who tried for days to escape, have finally

reached a safer area. but for these new refugees, safe doesn't mean happy. they are now enduring winter at a syrian army camp. they have come from rebel held aleppo where hunger was never far away. so when food suddenly arrives they chase it. men, women and children in a crush to eat. this is what desperation looks like. these people haven't had access to proper food for years. the syrian army had tried to starve them to surrender. the food is being thrown from the back of the vehicle. and people are fighting to try to get their hands on it. proud people reduced to beggars by siege warfare. rebel aleppo has fallen to its president's army almost literally. the damage to buildings is clear.

the damage to its people incal cue labl. this evacuation could signal the end of the siege warfare that's been so cruel, so brutal to civilians on both sides. especially for children, many of them orphans, who have known nothing but war. matt. >> bill, thank you very much. breaking overnight, russian defense officials say one of their military planes crashed in northeast siberia with 39 people on board. it was apparently trying to make an emergency landing near a soviet era military base. 32 people had to be air lifted to local hospitals, local officials say high winds may have played a role in that crash. corpus christi, texas has lifted a ban on the drinking water after test results showed no contamination due to a chemical leak. the mayor says that residents can resume using the city water supply for drinking, bathing and cooking. the water ban had been issued late wednesday out of concern

that a chemical leak at an asphalt plant could have contaminated the city water. >> we're hearing everything is back to normal at l.a.x. after a power outage. this happened around 7:00 last night. no flights were canceled but some were delayed up to an hour, the outage also impacted baggage handling stemgs, computers and quip president in the central terminal. the cause of that outage is still unknown. the world is mourning the loss of another hollywood icon. zsa zsa gabor died from a heart attack on sunday at the age of 99. here is miguel. >> lowell darling. i'm zaza. >> reporter: no one could say it like zsa zsa gabor. >> you'll just be there in the room. you and the champagne. >> that unforgettable accent, her string of husbands, and jewels, and that wit. >> i always setd that marriage should be 50-50 proposition. he should be at least 50 years

old, and have at least $50 million. >> late sunday zaza's long time husband frederic von anhalt wrote she had a heart attack in her house. i am grateful that she died with no pain. her film career began with "lovely to look at" in 1952. she followed that same year by perhaps her most famous film, "moulin rouge." >> i see them as i want them to be, not as they really are. >> reporter: she appeared in over 40 films and television show, from horror films to comedy. >> i take the limousine. born in 1917, zaza was the middle of three. their mother dreamed they would all marry kings. she did go to the altar nine times. conrad hilton was her second

husband and the father of her only child. zaza made headlines for legal trouble. in 1989, she was convicted of slapping a beverly hills police officer in a traffic stop. and spent three days in jail. >> how is jail? >> overnight friends and fans remembered the actress, larry king tweeting, there will only be one zsa zsa gabor. actress joan collins writing sorry to hear that zsa zsa gabor has died. she was such fun. even miley cyrus instagrammed, what a long and beautiful life, i have been beyond inspired by her style and grace. in recent years, medical problems plagued the actress, but the star known simply as zsa was royalty. >> you know, gabor had quotes. i love this. i'm a marvelous house keeper. every time i leave a man i keep

his house. and how about this. i want a man who is kind and understanding, is that too much to ask of a millionaire? >> a different era. >> it was. she'll be missed. >> absolutely. >> mr. roker back with the forecast. >> we show you what we've got going on across the rest of the country. wet weather making its way through the southeast as the front pushes through. look for high winds in the plains. we're going to look at that coming up in the next half hour. plenty of sunshine through southern california, into the southwest and that really chilly air here in the northeast of it we're going to get to your local forecast coming up. (tea kettle whistling) (sighing) hey mom, can i help? yeah, i'd love your help. (grunting) awww... (announcer vo) the real magic of the holidays

is when we all give a little more. good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall very cold air all across the bay area. in some spots getting just above freezing like now in san jose, 33. still below freezing for morgan hill up to livermore, concord, napa and santa rosa. san francisco begins the morning at 38. as we go into this afternoon, expect highs in the mid 50s. mostly sunny skies and a light wind. it will get warmer through the work week with highs in the sibts by wednesday. that's your latest weather. 6 by wednesday. 0 by wednesday. >> i did not. >> i missed that. >> the sound of music was on. >> i'll be telling you this for the first time then. another big game last night. anybody stay up? >> yes. >> the season is winding down so we got playoff spots on the line. second quarter. dallas, tampa bay, tied at 3.

until the cowboys' running back elliott goes in from two yards out. to celebrate jumps in the salvation army kettle. donates himself in effect. we're going to tell you more about that in a second. to the third quarter, take a look at this catch by adam humphreys. the ball is tipped by a defender. humphreys concentrates, pulls it in for the touchdown. the cowboys hold on to win 26-20. the game closer to securing a number one seed in the playoffs. back to the kettle. apparently you know, it was a penalty and ezekiel elliott says if he is fined he will match the fine and donate to charity. the big winner, salvation army. >> it looks like they are having a good time. i don't understand all of the fines. that's not for me. >> ringing a bell. >> have been someone there. exactly. >> coming up on rossen reports, head cakes with travel. new ways to save time and money

on luggage fees on hotels. >> and hardbreaking tragedy out in california, a massive tree falls on a wedding party taking pictures. killing at least one person. dramatic images. first on a monday morning this is "today" on nbc.

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we're following some breaking news right now in the south 7:26. i'm sam brock. following breaking news in the south bay. chp is at the scene of a deadly accident where we just learned a man in a wheelchair was struck and killed. this happened within the last hour on southbound lawrence expressway in santa clara. so far we don't know if the driver did or did not stay at the scene. we have a camera crew on the way and will keep you updated throughout the morning. mike takes a look at the traffic impact of that accident. >> here is a wider map. i'll circle where that crash is. we are keeping well clear of that. don't know whether lanes are blocked. still more details. the rest of the bay looks good.

south 680 recovering from earlier crash at 84 that has cleared. we still have two lanes blocked by the crash involving the truck carrying packages from the postal service. overall, look how much lighter this has been your typical monday. how that is weather? >> it is very cold. we have freezing temperatures across many of the inland areas in the tri-valley. down to 30 right now. 33 in the south bay. 41 in san francisco, north bay at 28. it will get milder as we go in through this afternoon reaching the mid 50s for most of us. a lot of sunshine and light wind. for san francisco, up to 54. into the next several days, we'll see highs in the 60s so we'll keep an eye on that and also another look at the forecast later. >> thank you.

that's going to do it for us now. we'll see you in 30 minutes. 7:30 now on a monday

morning, the 19th day of december, 2016. six days to go until christmas. that christmas tree shining brightly. got a great crowd of people outside. they've been here since the wee hours of the morning. >> are you done with your shopping? >> no, i have a couple left to go. let's get to a check of the headlines. going to be another bitter cold day across a large section of this country after a weekend of record low temperatures. today's highs are expected to be about 10 to 20 degrees below average from texas all the way up into the great lakes area. but al says warmer weather is on the way. his forecast is coming up. the electoral college

legislated to formalize donald trump's election as the 45th president of the united states today. the 538 members will meet in all 50 states to cast their official votes. while protests are planned, the results are not expected to change. senator john mccain adding his voice to calls for a special committee to investigate russian interference in our presidential election. he says we need to find out exactly what was done and its implications. president-elect trump calls reports of russian hacking ridiculous. meantime, a popular park in southern california is closed today after an enormous tree fell on to a wedding party taking pictures. at least one person was killed, several others hurt. nbc's gadi schwartz has the latest from there this morning. >> good morning. this unusual tragedy happened in a park known for its picturesque trees. wedding party had been waiting to take pictures under this specific eucalyptus tree. when it was their turn, the tree unexpectedly came trashing down.

in whittier, california, the sound of chainsaws as frantic emergency crews pulled victim out from underneath huge branches and toppled tree trunks. >> i heard the crackling and i'm looking up because it was just an odd sound. >> reporter: moments earlier witnesses say they were under the same tree taking photos. when they finished, a large wedding party gathered around the giant ike lip tus treucalyp. >> they tree started to fall and they started running straight but the tree got most of them. >> reporter: video shows from all over the park strangers ran to help. >> there was a lady with this little baby and i didn't know what to do but she was screaming so i hold the baby and i put it down. she had some very big bumps on her head. it was bleeding. they both were bleeding. there was blood all over. >> reporter: firefighters pulling out victim after victim trapped and crushed by the tree

while a small child prayed with his family nearby. in the middle of all the chaos, witnesses describe seeing the bride. >> they had the bride in their arms. there was limbs in the way of them getting out, so me and another gentleman and my husband went and we yanked a huge chunk of the tree off. >> reporter: overnight a family member confirmed that the mother of the bride was killed. five others taken to the hospital, including a 4-year-old girl in critical condition. the entire park now closed off as investigators wait for an arborist to determine why the tree fell with no wind. the question, whether any more trees in the park could pose a danger after a wedding celebration turned to unbearable grief. we are told the 4-year-old girl had an injury to the head but she is expected to recover. now it did rain heavily in the area on friday. the accident happened saturday afternoon. experts are now looking into whether that may have contributed to this tragic accident. hoda? matt? al? >> a horribly sad story.

he just mentioned rain. got rain in the pacific northwest. >> we don't see this getting all the way down to southern california but there's been a lot of rain in that region over the last couple of weeks. we're going to be watching that very closely. inland we've got snow right along the coast. it's rain and there is going to be a lot of it. we watched today on in to tomorrow a series of storms. we've got avalanche warnings in the cascades. all that heavy snow. we're looking at rainfall wise anywhere from two to three inches. puget sound all the way into central coastal oregon, but we could also be looking at upwards of five inches of rain before it

>> get that weather when you need it, check out the weather channel on cable. >> all right, al, thanks have much. take a look at this. something you don't want to find in or under your tree. can you spot it? >> i don't see it. important tips before you hit the road for the holidays. >> reporter: good morning, i'm jeff rossen. coming up, the big holiday travel week is here. but don't worry, we have three simple hacks to save you time and money from lost luggage to and money from lost luggage to luggage fees, to great hotel so, how much longer do you think this will take? i'll over-explain the process, then give you an unrealistic timeline. i'll nod in agreement so my wife thinks i understand what you're saying. i look forward to questioning your every move. okay, well i'll leave your house in shambles and disappear for six months. wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi® double cash card does.

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back now at 7:39 with an all-new "rossen reports" as one of the busiest travel weeks of the year gets under way. >> today national investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here with how to save time and money. >> good morning. so many of us are hitting the road this weekend. it can get expensive, the hotel, airline fees. then they lose your bags. but don't you worry. this morning we've got you covered with three new hacks. simple tricks you can use right now and you need to see before you head out. >> reporter: it's the holidays, and we're out of here. one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. the hassles are endless. but now these three hacks to save you time and money. let's start the way most of us start our trip, sitting in our living rooms on our couch planning it on a computer. there is a really cool app can you download right now. called hotel tonight.

you can get great cut-rate deals on hotels across the country, including luxury hotels, as long as your trip is in the next week. the hollywood roosevelt hotel, the cheapest room is $300. but here on the hotel app i can get a room in the same hotel for just $200 and doing nothing but down loloading the app. check out this hotel in boston. on the site the cheapest room is $299. but the app finds a room for just $195. at this houston hotel, $349. but on the app, just $171. so now it's time to get packing. but is my luggage too heavy? those overweight bag fees can cost you a fortune. now you can realize how heavy your bag is in your bedroom before you even leave for the airport. it is this thing, a little

portable luggage scale. costs just $25. you clip it right on to your luggage just like that. then you pick it up like this and just hover it above the ground. wait for the beep. there it is. 50 pounds right on the money. but we need to know if it is accurate. so i'm lugging my heavy bag right to the authorities. this is armando from the new york city department of consumer affairs. the weights and measures division. you weigh stuff. you are the guys who do this. this. >> this is what we do. this is our scale we use. load the bag right on there. >> lug that on. there it is. here it the official readout. 50 pounds right on the nose. okay, now you're ready to check your bag in at the airport. but what if the airline loses it? this device called the lug loc

can tell if your luggage never left or ends up in a different airport in a different city. let's give this a shot. this is my producer, lindsey. you are going t ing on a trip. >> i'm going to chicago. this is my big purple bag. >> this is the device, the lug loc. small and thin, smaller than the size of the phone. stick it to the luggage. >> it is paired to the app right on my phone so if my luggage gets lost, i'll know. >> we're giving you lindsey's bag. you're going to d.c. technically when you get to chicago and your bag is not there, you should be able to know where it is. >> it should tell me right on the app. >> let's see. >> reporter: and they're off, traveling hundreds of miles away from each other. >> okay, made it to d.c. >> just touched down in chicago. >> i know baggage claim and my big purp tle bag is obvious.

but does my app know where it is? i'll pull it it up. there it is right at the d.c. airport. >> reporter: the app is right. >> lynn is indsey's bag is here. with me. >> reporter: there you have it. simple hacks to save you time, money and headaches. we have the links to those devices and the prices. >> hoda just asked, you have to convince the people at the luggage counter that -- >> i promise you, this is where my bag is? >> yeah. i'm looking at it right here. it happened to me several times, by the way. >> they'll listen to him. they won't listen to you. up next, the baby boom rolls on. carson's in the orange room to help dylan introduce us to the newest member of our team. >> is she live?

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carson, why don't you do the honors? >> let's get right to it. our very own dylan dreyer and her husband, brian, had a beautiful baby boy. calvin bradley fichera who came in to the world weighing a healthy 8 pounds 3 ounces. we wanted to congratulate them on live tv. here they are now by the power of it all. congratulations, guys. dylan, let me just start with you. is brian in the room, by the way? >> he is. >> congratulations, brian. dylan, how are you feeling and how is the baby?

>> child birth is a lot harder than i ever thought it was going to be. wow. it hurts. the baby is -- oh, my gosh. he is just so precious and so wonderful. he sleeps, he eats, and he doesn't really cry. so i think that's a good combination. >> bottle that up. enjoy that. >> how did it all go down? take us back to saturday morning. >> well, it's funny because he was due on december 17th and a couple days leading up to it, i'm like where is he, he's never coming. sure enough, 11:00 friday night my water broke. we ran to the hospital. he was born on december 17th right in the middle of a snowstorm. we had to hail a cab. which i assumed you would do in new york but it was funny to actually be sitting in the back of a cab going into labor. i pushed for about three hours. he was a big guy and he didn't quite fit so he got stuck. we ended up doing a c section

anyway. >> watching dylan hold that baby, it looks so natural, dylan. it's hoda. but wow. it looks like you're taking to it beautifully. >> well, it's funny because i didn't have a natural bone in my body when it came to holding a baby. it actually does kick in. there are instincts there. >> how you doing, brian? >> i'm doing good. >> you grabbed your camera and put an instagram video up in that cab saturday morning on way. how did that go over? >> that's the best hailing of a cab ever. it was great. one time. one arm. just -- boom! >> is there a family history db just give us a little bit on the name, calvin bradley. >> here's the history with the name. brian and i were sitting on couch watching tv and i think someone's name was calvin. we're like, i kind of like that. it just kind of hit us both at

the same time. same with bradley. it just sort of -- we're trying to set him up to be a cool kid and we thought calvin bradley was a good start with that. >> you did that. we're so happy for your family. dylan, brian, congrats. >> guys, thanks so much. christmas coming early for our own ♪when you've got...♪

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good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. as head out the çdoor, it is vy cold with many spots below free freezing. in the tri-valley down to 30. north bay upper 20s. upper 20s for morgan hill. san francisco 38 degrees. no wood burning today as a spare the air alert has been issued. air quality will be unhealthy in the north bay and moderate for the east bay peninsula and south bay. highs reaching the mid 50s with a light wind, a lot of sunshine. it will be a nice day. up to 55 in palo alto. 56 in san jose. livermore 53. gets warmer as we go into the next couple of days. we'll have updates on that. let's get an update on the roadwa roadways. >> we are looking at a height volume of traffic around the bay. approaching the bay bridge, only about a half hour, 35 minutes from highway 4 to the bay bridge

toll plaza. we've been following this all morning long. 680 we have about a 90-minute drive. that's the worse for the bay. a crash blocks two lanes. deadly crash as a result of a crash early morning. a truck went off the roadway and hit a pole there. south bay with light volume of traffic. lawrence expressway restricted because of a deadly crash there. >> let's get into both incidents. happening right now, we are staying on top of that deadly accident in santa clara mike just mentioned. a woman was pushing a shopping cart and she was killed. go to our twitter feed for updates on the investigation and traffic closures there. we are following another deadly accident in danville where a contract workers for the u.s. postal service crashed on 680 killing the driver.

♪ it is 8:00 on "today." coming up, it's 8:00. coming up, arctic blast. more than 20 million people waking up to bone chilling temperatures. dangerous cold snap moves east. al has the forecast. plus, do you believe? >> i literally went from inside my body when i shut my eyes, the next second i was on the ceiling looking down at the entire room. >> natalie introduces us to people they claim have seen the after life. describing in detail near death experience. >> i was in the premise of my creator. it's a wonderful right knee union. >> look daddy, teacher says every time a bell rings, an

angel gets his wings. al sits down with the actors who starred as the kids in the holiday classic. >> merry christmas! a homecoming 70 years in the making. today, monday, december 19, 2016. >> merry christmas to our family in north carolina. [ cheers ] we're back now 8:00 on a monday morning.

it is the 19th day of december 2016. little chill in the air, but take a look at the size of the crowd we gathered out on the plaza. by the way, we're playing holiday music all weekend long. that is one of my favorite holiday songs. carol of the bells. >> this crowd, by the way, is amazing. we are just ahead. our friend katie here has a prime rib dinner she promises that even an amateur could master. >> just as good as the prime rib, mashed potatoes. >> love mashed potatoes. first let's get a check of top stories of the morning. here's the news at 8. >> we begin with a bitter cold gripping much of the country this morning. good morning, i'm blake in chicago where it is 10 below as

people wake up here. frostbite and hype thermia both serious concerns. you can see ice warming on the water behind me. coldest temperatures we've seen here yet this season. places like indianapolis and st. louis also waking up in single digits, even dallas is below freezing. >> bone chilling weather once again this morning for much of the country. roads are slick in placines lik ohio where snow and freezing rain from the weekend has turned to ice. two people killed in baltimore when this skidded off the highway and exploded causing a massive pileup. airlines are working to rebook passengers this morning. many trying to get home for the holidays. after hundreds of flights were cancelled in places like denver and indianapolis. >> missed our flielght. i mean, the roads were horrible. >> extreme cold did not ice out die hard fans on football sunday. >> cold in there.

>> kansas city one degree at kickoff tieing a chief's game day record. hundreds of tickets priced online for just $2. >> jumping around in chicago to stay warm. >> in chicago, bears fans braved a kickoff temp of 11 degrees against the packers. minus 4 with windchill. >> games like this in chicago when it gets really cold, you get amped up for, you dress for the element and it's like any other sunday. >> we just have to get through today. just one more day of these cold temperatures beforehe warm up of most of the country starting tuesday. very good news at the start of this busy christmas travel week, matt? >> thank you very much. let's talk about a critical vote taking place today. 538 members of the electoral college will vote in state capitals around the country. expected to officially elect donald trump as the 45th president of the united states.

protests are planned in some places. that in an effort to persuade electors not to vote for trump. some tell the associated press they have been getting a lot of calls, e-mails and letters urging them not to support trump. >> coming up next on trending, that is not tinsel. one woman shopping discovery in her christmas tree. do you believe? people share their remarkable stories of near death experiences. then oscar winner denzel washington on starring and washington on starring and directing powerful new ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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8:08. let's trend, okay? you guys were young, did your parents ever, when you were a little baby, teeth fell out, did they save the teeth or did the tooth fairy save the teeth? >> never. >> no. >> no? really? all right. i don't know where to go with this then. >> keep going. >> there is a new product that makes collecting those baby teeth easy. it is a wooden box and it is shaped like a child's face.

by the way, it is in stores now. it also has spots for a little bit of the child's hair, and umbilical cord. >> oh, okay. >> amazon now for about $16. hoda, you're laughing. >> it just seems a little bizarre, strange things to keep the umbilical cord. >> a little creepy. a lock of his hair, and here is some umbilical cord. it is weird. >> you think it is creepy also? >> yeah. >> tooth part is okay, but -- >> maybe the hair. >> you use the dna to create a new you or something. i don't like it. >> a lot of duplicate babies running around there. >> want to talk about a christmas surprise? one family found. okay, they're not going to forget this. take a look at a photo. looks like a normal christmas tree, right? see anything unusual? zoom in. upper right. upper right. that's not a piece of tinsel up there. that is a tiger snake slithering around up there. tiger snakes, by the way, are

among the ten most toxic animals on the planet. the snake catcher, barry goldsmith, he tells us they aren't dangerous unless you try to poke them n 20 minutes, though, that guy had the snake in the bag, christmas crisis avoided. >> i don't want any snakes -- >> remember the -- what is that from? >> snakes on a plane. >> snakes on a plane. >> remember the snake in the toilet? we had that? i haven't forgotten that. >> and the snake on a plane. >> snakes everywhere. >> baggage compartment. all right, this is a great story. little boy who stole the show at a recent hockey game between the red wings and the ducks. all right, you know how they go around the arena with the camera and they put those images up on the jumbo screen. so they took a picture of this little 2-year-old boy, and let's show you what happened when they put him up, all right? the crowd goes crazy, right? they cheer. but every time they go to

someone else in the crowd, the crowd revolts. until they put the kid up again. this went on and on. we kept showing it over and over again. >> little mason reese. >> he does. >> he does. what was the commercial -- >> what was that commercial? >> that was underwood deviled ham. that's a long time ago. >> from another era. >> remember the mike douglas show? >> carson. pop star. >> we'll go with "star wars" fans gone rogue. it sold out in theaters all across the globe. nearly impossible to get a ticket. the movie opened with a massive following. $155 million, second biggest december opening in north america, right behind last year's "the force awakens". expect more "star wars" spin-offs in the future including the movie they're saying about the early years of hans solo. cee lo green saying he's

okay. a video showed him sitting in the studio, talking on a smartphone, but then the phone seems to explode in his hands and he hits the floor. but relax, it was all staged on facebook. admitting it is part of a project he's working on called gnarly davidson. and reassured fans he is alive and well. that was a scary image to see over the weekend. finally, celebrities getting into the holiday spirit showing off their christmas trees. beyonce posed with her towering tree. look at that. beautiful there. some other shots take on instagram. this massive tree lighting up the home of kim kardashian. neil patrick harris gives fans an extended look into his new york apartment, he and his husband david taking part in the latest episode of vogue's 73 questions. but, this next tree may be our favorite one of them all. >> rockefeller center christmas tree. are you ready? three, two, one. joel! yea! >> that's hoda's tree. >> our very own hoda.

that's a beautiful tree there. >> lovely. >> someone said it looked like someone lopped the top off a tree and stuck it in a little stand. >> sometimes little trees are the best. >> charlie brown. >> your pop start. >> carson, thanks so much. now to a new series we're launching called "do you believe," touching the after life. >> natalie is out in los angeles, she'll get us started on all this. natalie, good morning. >> hey, guys, good morning to you. more than 90% of people believe there is an after life according to our today.com poll. what exactly is it? some people claim they know because they have actually experienced it. they share incredible stories like reconnecting with deceased loved ones or learning the meaning of life. the accounts are vivid and dramatic, but are they imaginary or are they a true glimpse into life after death? >> it is transformational. it is awesome. >> pure love. pure joy. pure bliss.

>> peace, ecstasy, harmony. there was no fear, no hierarchy. >> it was just so wonderful. >> it was amazing. >> the accounts are remarkable and widespread. >> i knew instantly i was in the presence of my creator. >> it changed me as a person. >> this life is not all there is. >> from the young to the old, transcending language, culture and geography. >> it was really life changing to have that near death experience. >> it redefined barbara bartolemy's journey at age of 31. you were going into the hospital, you were having a surgical procedure. what happened? >> i was having a milegram, injecting dye into the base of my neck. >> the dye accidentally went into her brain, she says, and within moments consciousness was gone and she was flatlining. >> i literally went from inside my body and when i shut my eyes i was then just the next second i was up on the ceiling looking

down at the entire room. >> the feeling, like nothing she had ever known. >> there was this feeling of a presence that was next to me. it felt like it was god. it felt so loving and so accepting and so eternal. i literally looked down and said, if i'm up here and my body's down there, then i think i must have just died. >> so you just felt a presence, an aura, but didn't see anything? >> i didn't look -- i was just watching everything happening below me. >> but she wasn't ready to die yet. barbara recalls. >> i just began calmly talking to it and saying how much i wanted to go back into my life because my baby daughter was only 5 months old at the time. and my son was 8 years old. >> pledging to make changes in her life, barbara says she was suddenly back. >> i shut my eyes up on the ceiling and reopened them and i was looking right into the orthopedic surgeon's face.

>> it was striking. from that moment on, she was filled with love, peace and purpose. >> the loss of fear of death is so amazing. >> it really doesn't matter if we prove this phenomena exists or not. what is skral central is what t patient in front of us is experiencing. >> lauren bell is a critical care physician and author of "near death in the icu". >> we know they're clinically dead and whenever they are revived, they will actually explain to us what they saw in sometimes ex-qukwi skis exquisi. >> she estimates 50 patients firsthand who recounted a near death experience. >> they may have encountered with loved ones that have gone before them or spiritual beings that fit their belief system and extreme reluctance to come back to their physical facility after experiencing the sense of intense love and peace. >> for many years, barbara didn't openly discuss her near

death experience until she began seeking out others. she became involved with the international association for near death studies, a large organization dedicated to research, support and education. more than 15 million americans may have had a near death experience, the group estimates. >> this organization helps experiencers with acclimating to their near death experience. >> is it a gave tha gift? >> it is a gift. >> she now runs her local chapter. >> i realized talking about my near death experience is what i'm supposed to be doing. it is the peace i'm supposed to give. it is the gift. >> for somebody who is possibly facing death right now, what do you want them to know? >> that they don't need to fear it. >> in completing her purpose, she is also spreading love, hope and understanding. >> doing your best to be a good person, i think, through your life here is all that you're really being asked to do. >> now there are many skeptics who believe these accounts are

imaginary or hallucination or simply made up. barbara and those in thor in death community just dismissed the skeptics, saying it is their truth and they know that it is real. so you may be wondering what the science says about it all. is there a way to prove it? well, in fact, there may be. doctors and scientists are conducting new research in the field and we're going to take a closer look at that tomorrow. guys, back to you. >> fascinating. really is. >> yeah. and if it makes that woman feel at more peace -- >> sure. >> then who is to argue with that. natalie good seeing you. thank you. >> take care. happy holidays. >> you too. mr. roker? >> all right, let's show you what we have going on today. again, one more day of really cold air and then things get better. but look at what we have got right now. highs today in chicago, only 14. that's 16 degrees below average. dallas, you're going to be 37, 17 degrees colder than normal. atlanta sat 48. raleigh at 38 degrees, but then

we get in the mid to latter part of the week, temperatures normalize out. chicago by thursday, 34. 48 in louisville. on wednesday, 60 in atlanta on wednesday. new york city by the latter part of the week, into the mid-40s. rest of the country for today, we have wet weather moving into the pacific northwest. high winds in the plains. plenty of sunshine through the southwest and southern california. frigid air continues in the northern tier of states, and few clouds around the gulf good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're still below freezing in spots like morgan hill and tri-valley and up towards the north bay. san francisco now at 41 degrees and some upper 30s for oakland. later on today, we'll get all of the sunshine warming temperatures up into the mid-50s. up to 54 in the tri-valley, also for san francisco. east bay 55 degrees and expect some warmer air for the rest of the week. >> and that is your l

>> and that is your forecast. >> but wait, there's more. >> we have knives. you're going to launch a special series where -- fall to catch up with three of the actors who claim george bailey's. it's been seven decades since the christmas classic. it's a wonderful story of george. >> merry christmas. >> a man giving up his dream to help others. saved by a guardian angel when he needs it the most. >> i said i wish i had never been born. >> the 1946 classic starring james stuart and donna reid, actors carol, and jimmy hau kins playing three children in the feel m. >> why is this movie so important to people? why has it held on to people's imaginations for so long?

>> it sent out a message that people needed because you watch george bailey, he just went through life. he didn't think he was doing anything for anybody special. he just did the right thing, and then he gets to see what life would have been like if he had never been around. >> the interesting thing, when it was released, it didn't do that well. it was, your honor, critically acclaimed. had five oscar nominations, but wasn't this great hit. why do you think it resinated with people more. >> i think one of the reasons it wasn't a success when it came out was because it was marketed as a romantic comedy. >> it's funny you say that. even though it's on christmas, was it supposed to be a christmas movie. >> no, it was supposed to be released many march. >> didn't have enough color copies to -- right after the war. so they needed to rush a film out and it's wonderful life was

ready. >> when you saw it for the first time, what did you think? >> it was an emotional roller coaster. you go up and down with your feelings and end up with the tears running down your face, but they're happy tears because you see what this man has gone through and you look at how he's affected so many lives and you identify with your own life and you realize that this was a masterpiece. it's wonderful. >> it is a wonderful life. >> it is. we've had a wonderful life. we are three really good friends. young kids, grow up and just really admire each other and love each other. >> that sounds like the secret to longevity. good friendship. >> it is. >> true friendship. >> really like brother and sister in a lot of ways. >> squat down and talk to us one-on-one saying to us, this man is your daddy and he was explaining what we were to do. >> could you give us the line, it's what everybody remembers.

>> daddy, teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. >> do you ever get tired of -- >> never. because i believe it. >> merry christmas, daddy. >> kids. >> do you think people are looking for what this movie says now more than ever? >> absolutely. >> every wants to feel that maybe there's a little george bailey in them. maybe things they do every day does mean something. they can make a difference if they want to. that's the message to people. you are important. >>. ♪ ♪ ♪ claims when frank visited town in 1945, he was inspired to model the fictional town after it. celebration of the films 70th anniversary, paramount picture is releasing a platinum

anniversary edition of the classic. interesting thing, after it was released, it didn't really get popular until the copy copy wright expi-- copyright expired >> pretty amazing. sounded just like she did in the movie. >> now that it's so famous, back in the theaters this time of year, which is a fun thing. >> if you're watching tv and you flip past it, you have to stop. just to see what part of the movie it is. >> please, don't forget the money. oh, come on. coming up, denzel washington, been in some pretty good movies as well. talk to him about his flewest o newest one called fences, but first your local weather. i'm ...

==topvo== authorities in the santa clara are at the scene of deadly ac good monday morning at 8:26, i'm sam brock. authorities in santa clara right now are on the scene of a deadly accident where a woman was struck and killed while pushing a shopping cart. this happened about 6:30 this morning on northbound lawrence expressway and cabrillo avenue, a short distance from camino real. they are on scene investigating. witnesses say the woman was crossing on a red light. let's go to mike inouye for how the accident is affecting traffic flow. >> northbound side is restricted. do have one, maybe two lanes getting by. two big roadways are options to avoid expressway for time being

north of el camino. look how the roadways are in silicon valley. around the bay following this big jam here. southbound 680 in danville, making progress. still have two lanes blocked -- two right lanes blocked. two left lanes open here. northbound distracted there as well. again, try to remove that from the early morning deadly crash, 242 out of pleasant hills. look at bay bridge toll plaza. no metering lights. this is what happens with holiday traffic. remember, light traffic flow. >> holiday light, a very good thing there. thank you, mike. we'll see you in 30 minutes.

♪ i said i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside

♪ i have to go away ♪ baby it's cold outside ♪ i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside! you never know who you'll meet at barnes & noble.

♪ joy to the world 8:30 on a monday morning, 19th day of december, 2016. that is a great elf, that's nia vardalos collecting toys. we're going to catch up with her in a couple of minutes. >> also ahead, another extremely talented actor, denzel washington is here. we're going to talk to him about this new movie that could keep him very busy during awards season. >> always good to see mr. washington in studio 1a. how are you doing with your holiday shopping? >> not great. >> we got you covered. chelsea post is here with some of the latest last minute ideas you can have for your family, friends and pets. >> i recognize the sneakers. >> that's right. >> oh, yeah. >> natalie's. >> uh-huh.

>> and katie -- i was mesmerized by the meat. a show stopping holiday dinner your guests will be talking about for days. it is beautiful. >> we bring in nia vardalos. "my big fat greek wedding ." she has a new show called "tiny beautiful things." good to see you. tell us about the show. you play sugar. >> i play sugar, based on the book by cheryl strait called "tiny beautiful things." i adapted the play and we are doing it at the public and it is the best place to work ever. >> it is a tough ticket to get. this thing -- people are lined up to see this, right? >> it sold out. i have a tiny beautiful stash of tickets. >> i didn't realize "my big fat greek wedding" started out as a stage play. >> i had written a screenplay and couldn't get an agent. i got on stage and did it as a play. >> is that your first love? being on stage? >> it is true. i do like it a lot. and musical theater, as you know. >> what are your plans for the

holidays? >> i'm coming to your place. >> perfect. >> broadway, you have that one day off basically, right? >> i have one day off. but that's the theater schedule. i love it. it is fun. >> nia, thank you. we'll have more of nia today. nia is going to co-host our 9:00 hour. mr. roker, first, a check of the weather. >> love these. let's see what we have for you. starting off for the week ahead, wet weather in the pacific northwest with heavy rain, showers along the southeastern atlantic coast. midpart of the country, snow around the great lakes, wet weather in the northwest. and a latter part of the week, sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard, snow in the rockies. chilly throughout much of the country to start the week. but as the week wears on, that warmer weather comes up making its way throughout much of the country. especially along the eastern seaboard, great lakes, and into the southwest. good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall.

a lot of sunshine but it is still chilly out there. many spots below freezing. san francisco 41 degrees but heading up to 54 later on today. no more of the freezing temperatures in the forecast for the rest of the week. in fact, we start on a warming trend. we'll be in the upper 50s by wednesday, this weekend, tracking our next round of rain that looks to arrive on thursday. inland areas more of the same up to 62 on wednesday. get that weather anytime you need it. check out the weather channel on cable. matt? >> all right, mr. roker, thank you very much. denzel washington is a two-time oscar winner. three had-time golden globe winner, picked up another golden globe nomination for his brand-new movie. he stars in and directs "fences" based on the play by august wilson. plays a sanitation worker living in pittsburgh in 1957 with his wife and son. take a look. >> i latched on -- i don't want to marry, i just want to be your man, rose told me, tell them

what you told me. >> i told him if he wasn't a mankind, move out of the way so the mankind could find me. >> that's what she told me. in my way, you're blocking the view, move out the way so i can find me a -- i thought it over two or three days. >> you were back the same night. >> came back, told her, okay, baby, but i'm going to buy my a rooster and put him in the backyard and when he seize a stranger come, he's going to flap his wings and crow. >> welcome back. good to see you. i've known you long enough where i don't think i need to flatter you. is that fair? >> fair. >> the first time i ever saw an actor completely disappear in a role was you playing malcolm x. i never saw denzel washington. i only saw malcolm x and i watched this last night and i got that same kind of a feeling. i watched you disappear into troy maxson. fair? >> fair. >> why did you like him so much? >> we had the luxury of 114 performances on broadway. august wilson is one of the

greatest writers in american theater history, so the characters are rich and full, and once you find them, and even when you find them, there is always new things to discover and it is just a testament to his great writing. >> even with your career, and with your resume and all of the incredible movies that you have been in, and i can go through the laundry list of them, you have said this is the best material you have ever worked with. >> period, with a possible exception of a soldier's play, which became a soldier's story, also a pulitzer prize winning. i had great roles that i've had to sometimes doctor scripts and things like that, but raw material, if you will, this is by far the best. >> the word raw say good word. i'm watching the movie last night and troy maxson is a raw character. he can go from being jovial at one moment to being incredibly bitter at another. it is right below the surface with him. give the audience a sense of why that bitterness is there. >> he's frustrated because he

didn't make it to the major leagues. he happens not to mention at least early on that it was because he was -- he got locked up. but his frustration for him not making it is taken out on his son and everybody else around him. >> and when i watched you go to that place of bitterness, i'm thinking you must be able to connect to that, to portray that. so how do you even get yourself in that mind set as a guy who lived a wonderful life. >> that's the brilliance of the writing. it is all there. it is like shakespeare. it is called american shakespeare. it -- that emotion, that psychological situation is all in the words. if you play it, it is there. >> scott rudin, i guess, came to you a long time ago and talked to you about either acting in this, or directing or both, and you hesitated. i'm curious why, if the material was so rich and august wilson's words -- >> i didn't hesitate. i read it. and i realized i hadn't read the play. i had seen the play in the '80s

with james earl jones, courtney vance. i saw it more through courtney's eyes because i was closer to his age. when i read the play, i called scott and said i want to do the play. you want to do the play? i said, yeah. let's do the play. he said, okay. give me a couple of days. raise the money and -- we, i think we were one of the most nominated dramas in the history of the tonys, won all the great awards. and so then i knew -- i already knew it was a great play. then i knew, okay, i can play the part. >> it's been said that august wilson, when it was -- he was approached and said maybe this would be a great movie, one day he had one requirement, and he said i would like an african-american to direct it. after directing it, and starring in it, do you know why he said that? >> culture. i've said this before, scorsese could have directed schindler's list. spielberg would have done a great job, probably, on good fellows. so easy to just say race. it is actually culture. both white, i think. it is about the cultural

differences. i know what hair -- a woman's hair smells like when it is being hot combed or what do you call it, with the hot comb, or hot iron on a sunday morning. there are cultural differences and you have to understand those really know those cultural differences to approach this. >> unfortunately, i didn't get to see you in this on broadway. but i watched this last night. i can tell people, go see this. >> yeah, you know, because it is great, great writing, maybe a little -- i won't even say tougher, but you have to listen, you know. he's a wordsmith. and to be honest, i need the audience. because i have a nine picture deal with hbo and i am planning to produce them all. but this one is first. so we have to put our best foot forward. >> if word of mouth counts for anything, count me in. >> fair enough. >> denzel good to see you. happy holidays. "fences" opens on christmas day. up next, last minute holiday

gift ideas for anyone who is left on your list. first this is "today" on nbc.

we are back now at 8:41 with a stress-free holiday edition of "stuff we love." christmas is only six days away. this morning style expert kathy post is here with some fun, last-minute gift ideas. is there still time? >> yes, but you got to get cracking. if you order today, everything you see here can get there by christmas. >> one of my favorite parts about this segment with being we brought people from the plaza, elves, to help us bring in some of our gifts. start off with london and lane. >> london and lane -- they've got gifts that put the fun in functional, hoda. first we've got the mighty purse. this is a purse that charges your phone! >> genius! >> it's got a little battery that's slim.

it's got enough battery to recharge your phone twice. these are by h. butler for $99, so cute. lots of colors. another genius tech idea. these are wireless beanies. >> no, they're not. >> hoda, you can rock out in the morning, connects to bluetooth. you can do your exercising, any device that is bluetooth compatible and they have speakers in the hat. >> that's so for me. >> isn't that so cool? >> thank you so much. >> get these at amazon. >> thank you so much. you can wheel yourself off. you know who is coming next? lane and anna from our plaza, warming up. >> fabulous. you know what, you have just pushed in probably the coolest gift for any teen or adult, i have to say. i would love these. >> what are these? >> these are cat ear headphones, hoda. they light up. and so you can use them as headphones but see in the little ears here, it can also become party headquarters because they act as speakers, if you push a

button. >> yes. >> from brookstone, they have an arianna grande limited collection. >> hit of the party. if you like the outdoor life what do we have here? >> show everybody this. >> what do we have? >> this is for the person on your list, who wants to be the coolest person on the snow hill. this is a snow tube. it is from always fit.com, $30. it is giant. they have snow cones and polar bears. >> would you love that? all right, kids. thank you, guys. >> all right, take the -- >> wheel this one straight on over. i think i see evan coming in. >> you do see evan. >> warm from the plaza. good job. >> he's bringing this -- >> great job. >> great job. he's bringing us the gift of grub. when in doubt, give some great food. so, hoda, i don't know if you had jenny's ice cream, but it is so delicious. and they deliver straight to your door. they got two holiday collections. they've got the sugar and spice collection. they have the splendid holiday collection. and -- >> are these ice cream

sandwiches. >> do you want one? you kind of do. are you sure? are you positive? all right. >> you can get these at shop jenny's.com, lots of flavors, one spiked with a little rose, hosa. >> hosa? >> hoda. >> it is this this is from mout purveyors. this is for the person who refuses to to stop eating bacon jerky and fluffer nutter. >> i'm so in. thank you, sweetie. thank you, evan, for all you did. janelle. hi, gorgeous. >> isn't she? and check out her leggings. okay. these are your very own custom leggings. >> stop it. >> yes. these are from zazzle.com. you can send in any photograph, jpeg drawing and they can create a set of leggings. these are from lulu dk, the love

code charm necklace. we have b-roll that will show what happens. there is a hidden message on here. when you spin, hoda, you can see the beautiful hidden message, they say blessed and peace and love and they're gorgeous. you can get these from nordstrom.com for $68 or on luludk.com. >> do we have an entire family coming out? come on. let's come on. >> in their pjs. >> i love it. i love it. >> just -- we have milli, marty, this is a holiday party. these are from the company store.com, starting at $19. flying off the shelves. so if you want a family holiday pajama moment. >> we have two more. you were awesome. come here. come on. so these matt and natalie had great gifts to give back. >> that's right. these are the today's original.

so you go to today.com, you can still get these as great last minute gifts. matt's shineola passport cases, all for charity. these go for the detroit edison public school academy and these reeboks that natalie designed, boys and girls, and these go for box, which stands for bringing our kids success. and they'll help to put physical activity before school, free, for kids. it is fabulous. >> love every single thing you brought. love the jammies. up next, she has even more -- by the way, you have even more ideas on our website. check those out. in the kitchen, our friend katie lee will cook up a classic. y" o nbc.

we are back with "today food," and we're counting down to the holidays with stress-free easy entertaining ideas. our good friend, katie lee, is here with prime rib that anyone can make. good morning, happy holidays.

let us start -- you had me at prime rib. but -- >> i think every man who works here is going to be in the kitchen. >> our mouths are watering already. >> we've got our prime rib. the key here is to ask your butcher to cut it off the bone for you, but then tie the bone back on. that way you get all the benefits of cooking on the bone but it is a lot easier after you cook it to slice it. super simple. then garlic, salt and pepper. that's all you need. for gravy, flour, beef stock, cherry vinegar, herbs and dijon mustard. >> aforementioned prime rib. >> you're going to make little slits on the fat side and put little slices of garlic. you just need a few pieces on each side. what happens is when it goes into the oven and the fat starts to cook, it kind of bakes itself in this garlic flavor. >> if you did this so my fingers will smell like garlic all day -- is that the reason? >> yes.

next, make a salt crust. this looks like a lot of salt but this meat needs it. salt here and pepper. that's it. mix it all together. then put it all over the prime rib. you want to make this crust around it. this is going to sit for about 30 minutes. >> that's important, isn't it? you need to let it rest in this position. >> you can salt it a couple hours before, if you like. but take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, let it sit on counter and kind of start to come to room temperature before it goes into the oven. >> you put it in a nice, big roasting pan here with room around it. rye? >> that way the air can circulate around it and you'll have even cooking. let's put it in the oven. the oven is at 450 degrees. that gives it a really nice sear on the outside. but as soon as it goes in, down it down to 350. >> as we make our way up front, we have professional tasters. >> oh, my gosh! >> so good. >> all it needs is the salt and

pepper, man, this is crazy. >> got a little garlic! >> al, here we go. >> it's come out of the oven. 15 minutes a pound. take the thermometer, make sure it is about 120 degrees and let it rest for about 20 minutes. let's make the gravy. the brown fits and quarter-cup of the drippings from the pan. cook until the flour flavor cooks out. pour in your beef stock. you can never have too much gravy either. everybody loves gravy. you just want to really whisk this and get all that flour mixed in. then stir in some dijon mustard for me. the dijon is going to give it flavor. it is also going to help it to thicken up. then put in a garlic clove and some thyme and some rosemary. then this is going to thicken. should be like this.

then we'll take out our herbs and our garlic. >> you don't have to strain it or anything like? >> no. but add in a tablespoon of sherry vinegar at the end. that will cut through all the fat and make it taste good. >> may i do the unveiling? >> look at the crust on that! how's the gravy, guides? >> it's just -- >> oh, my god. >> the best party is hoda is putting down a base layer for the fourth hour with the red wine. >> slice it thick or slice it thin? >> i like it a little thin because this is a really rich cut of meat. you really don't need a lot. >> you are serving it with mashed potatoes. a little vreservoir, the gravy goes right in there. katie lee, fantastic prime rib dinner for the holidays with mashed potato. go to today.com/food for the recipe.

welcome back, everyone. our good friend, lester holt, is up early this morning to tell us about a special series he's got this week on "nbc nightly news" called "inspiring america." boy, couldn't we use that. >> you maic it sound like i sleep in until 9:00. "inspiring america" become a popular franchise on "nightly news." we're going to do it for two weeks straight. tonight i kick off on a great story about a librarian in the

bronx who every wednesday packs up his suitcase with kids' books, he walks to a local homeless shelter and reads to the kids. we have another story about an entrepreneur who donates his air miles to help families reconnect. and we'll visit some stories we've done along the way. as i said, very popular franchise. cool thing, we invite people to offer ideas, logon to the "nightly news" facebook page. we really do need to be uplifted. >> i know later in the week you have a great series on curing the common cold? you sound like you're suffering a little bit. >> i was hoping you guys had that. >> we will have it next week probably. great. >> happy holidays, lester. catch it on "nightly news" with lester holt. just ahead, jenna bush hager and nia vardalos are helping matt o al

out in the next hour. >> we're going inside some celebrity i'm ... ==topvo== we're still waiting for word on what caused a deadly crash on interstate 680 this morning... involving a g good monday morning at 8:56. i'm sam brock. we're waiting for word on what caused deadly crash on interstate 880 involving big rig stocked with packages for u.s. postal service. sadly the truckdriver died this. happened about 3:30 this morning in the southbound direction. the driver's identity has not been released. as you can tell the crash left packages strewn across the

roadways an closed down lanes throughout the commute. mike inouye said the back-up, especially southbound continued 60, southbound, two lanes still closed now. pete suratos at the crash talking with investigators and he'll bring a live report on our news day forecast. meantime whether or not for developments on the twitter feed. we're monitoring another deadly accident. this one in santa clara. a woman was pushing a shopping cart across the street and was strukd and killed. learn more about what the chp said happened on our home page. >> more than sports fans buzzing about touchdown celebration. ezekiel elliot ended up jumping into life size salvation army kettle bucket. details in 30 minutes.

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at your local mercedes-benz dealer. this morning on "today's take," opa! nia vardalos is our co-host. inside celebrity homes. wait until you see how chris n jenner does her home for the holidays. from nbc news, this is "today's take," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to a monday morning, december 19th, 2016. tamron is off so we've got jenna bush hager around got a big holid hollywood star with us today. the woman, writer, producer star behind "my big fat greek

wedding" and "my big fat greek wedding 2." nia vardalos. you've been such a great friend to the show. you're on broadway at the public theater starring in "tiny, beautiful things." >> directed by thomas kale. based on a book by cheryl strade. she wrote "wild." and "tiny beautiful things" book and i got to adapt it and do it as a play at the public. the one and only. >> my sister was at opening night. it was a tough ticket. she's like why didn't you come? i was like, well, i have two kids and you didn't invite me. she said you were so terrific. >> thank you. >> i understand in the show you get tattoos. >> yes. my nails are a mess in the show. i get to have tattoos all over. it is fun. >> do you have tattoos in real life, not to be too personal? >> you'll know soon, al, because you and i will be naked one day.

>> why am i left out of of this? >> because you have kids and you weren't invited. >> no, in real life i do not have tattoos. julia put some on me. see here? this is none. this is to show what julia does. see? she puts it on me every night for the show. that's what i get to wear in the show. basically pajamas. >> that's what i get to wear in my real life. >> thomas kale directed hamilton as well. he's heavy. >> not in weight. >> no. he's slight. no tattoos, either. i can vouch for that. and he decided on the look and approach to the show and gave me the book. cheryl strade has been a part of our process. i got to adapt it and here we are on stage. >> that's really great. what are you doing for christmas? got a big fat greek christmas planned? >> we're going to be in new york for the first time ever. it is going to be really nice. snow, we're hoping for it. >> doesn't look like much.

>> no? >> you're asking the right person. i always ask al for weather. the only person. >> we only have one day off from the theater. it's probably the first year i'm not cooking at all. >> kind of refreshing. >> if you want to bring something over, i'm open. >> you posted a picture of your mom who sent you some christmas cookies? >> my mom was horrified i would not be home and able to cook. she sent me greek christmas cookies in this giant feta cheese container! >> i have to say, were you baking with feta or you knew there would be cookies with cheese added? >> we call that greek tupperware. at any point you can open your mom's freezer. you'll be like, oh, my gosh! ice cream. no! it's -- >> we had margarine containers growing up. and various things like that that were repurposed. my mom would save meat trays. what are you doing? >> or they give you something and go, now i want that back.

it's a margarine container! all right. >> all right. let's get caught up on the weekend. dylan dreyer and her husband, brian fichera, had their baby boy, calvin bradley fichera. they are so beautiful. 8 points 3 ounces. very fitting, cal vain wvin wasn the middle of a snowstorm on saturday. >> i'm going to go visit her. >> ironically here meteorologist at the "today" show, don cinekas. >> we love you, dylan. >> i saw the picture you posted with you and charlie. >> savannah had a baby and i got to meet him this weekend. y'all, i just held him for an hour. we totally overstayed our

welcome. henry came with me but he is the cutest. i really thought about kidnapping him. i want him so badly! that's all i want for christmas. >> just -- listen. you're good friends. just go over there and go, savannah, you have another baby. >> i actually said, my son is so hand some and when they sent tht picture, "j.b. and her son." charlie, you can be my son any day. first, it makes me want another baby. >> have you mentioned this to henry? >> no. but if he's watching or if he wants to watch online maybe -- >> he just spit coffee. >> look out, henry! >> this is what blushing likes like. anyway, also -- you're cracking me up today. vail is savannah's other child.

who i am not going to kidnap pendant vail and mila were in a pageant. they told mevy i have to show on my phone because the video is really bad quality. there is mila in the green dress. there is vail. she's about to do something her mother used to do in a minute. >> drink? >> come on, al! wait. i think she is about to. ready? one, two, three -- y'all, is this like -- maybe it is the wrong video. don't you love watching other children's videos? >> yes. >> it's very cute. >> you can't even see vail. and the whole point of the video is that mila lifts her skirt. and it wasn't in that video. >> but we loved it! >> we loved it anyway!

>> there's nothing more torturous than showing other children in videos. >> being a parent -- okay. do you -- are your kids old enough to be in recitals? when your child is like the first or second person in the recital, but then you have to stay for the rest of the children. your child isn't that great to begin with. then the other kids -- >> yeah. >> are just as bad. >> you know what happens to me, too? people will say, well, you're an actor, let me show you my kid because i think that they should be an actor. i'll have to sit through -- >> it was sort of like what i just did. >> no, no. you're in the trying to get her an agent. >> well, that's true. but i was a crazy stage mom. both savannah and i were like this. >> my face hurts from smiling when i see my daughter do anything. yeah. >> this weekend we took our holiday photo -- which is now going to be our christmas card. i got permission from deborah and from lela.

in the middle, courtney. it is from "christmas story." "home alone." deborah arranged all the ugly christmas sweaters. >> i didn't even know that it was a tradition. my family just wears them. >> just natural. >> just naturally. >> also, our church is part of this group that there is a foundation called the osbourne foundation that mentors, children whose parents are incarcerated. so i was a santa's help eer thi weekend giving out gifts and my son, nick, was my elf. we had a good time for that. >> do people recognize al roker in a santa outfit? >> that's not al roker in a santa outfit. >> who is it? >> just for anybody younger who might be watching. but, no.

a lot of people don't. >> they don't. >> would not put the two of us together. >> i would recognize him. what but? >> well, basically because we watch you every morning. >> with the beard and the bangs and -- >> yeah. and so what do you do? you take presents to -- >> we bring -- these kids had asked for specific things. so santa has those presents. so many of those children are just terrific. it is a nationwide organization, osbourne foundation. look it up and donate if you can. as we mentioned earlier, nia is playing an advice columnist in her in you show, "tiny beautiful things." we want to get some advice questions that our people on plaza had. let's reach in. nia, you grab a question. >> okay. let's see. there's two. this one, here's the question. what do you do when you get a gift you absolutely don't like? from ashley in goose creek,

south carolina. okay. here's what you do. "oh, my god! where did you get it?" and then you can take it back. >> there you go. >> okay. here's the next one. what do you do when the friends who you agree not to exchange gifts with get you something y anyw anyway, susie in virginia. you know, i guess if this person just -- it's all about giving and they want to give you something, i say just take it and you can regift it back to her next year. when you make that agreement. >> there you go. all right. thank you very much. appreciate it. up next, ho ho holy secret santa, batman. wait until you see what one wait until you see what one cehey there, hi. why do people have eyebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think...

try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. i'and thanks to target, i got to the after party - this nice little outfit just in time using order pickup. stay fresh! get last minute gifts with order pickup at target. the holidays don't officialy begin, until it's time to make: flaky, delicious, piping hot things. golden brown and sticky things. fresh out of the oven, why can't they cool things? new things, old things. and blink and they're gone, those went fast things. . . . . it's baking season. warm up the holidays with pillsbury.

the things that i consume a lot of it is very acidic. the enamel on my teeth was actually weakening. the whiteness wasn't there as much. my teeth didn't look as healthy as others. my dentist said that pronamel would help fight against that erosion that foods and drinks were causing. so it was really important to start using the pronamel. it'll be one less thing you have to worry about. pronamel is now giving me the confidence to know that i'm doing the right thing. so it's nice to know that it's as simple as that. ♪

i'and thanks to target, i got to the after party - this nice little outfit just in time using order pickup. stay fresh! get last minute gifts with order pickup at target. we are back with "today's take." and, my gosh, can you imagine having bill gates as your secret santa? >> okay. this is a readit user. they learned that the multi-millionaire bill gates isn't a bad secret santa, as you may have guessed. in 2009 they posted what they considereding to the biggest secret santa exchange in the world and it is open to anyone online. >> so they recommend $20. okay? $20 gift. mr. gates sent a package of gifts, including an xbox, three wireless xbox controllers, an nintendo classic, a cookbook, and a framed photo of himself.

that, my friends, is pretty good. and the dog. >> i think when i first heard that this morning, do we know that it is "the" bill gates? could it be bill gates from minnesota, perhaps? >> i think all the microsoft stuff gives it away. >> well, or the framed picture. if it's not bill gates, somebody went to a really great length to pretend to be bill gates. >> i think that's amazing. >> i love the dog just sitting off to the side. like huh? >> but who pulled bill gates? and what do you think they got him? >> framed picture of themself. but it is hard to get bill gates a present. what would you buy bill gates? >> picture of me. i don't know. get him a mac. get him an apple product. >> maybe -- maybe not that much. so, today is the busiest shipping day of the year. if you haven't ordered your christmas gifts yet, you are officially running late. this is the busiest day for the

u.s. postal service. 750 million packages delivered this holiday season. that's up 12% from last year. >> okay. so have you done your holiday shopping? >> i got it done early because of the play. i started shopping in october. so everyone-o'-lanterns this year. no, i really t lly to get going. my husband, i just gave him a weed wacker which is an ear trimmer. same thing. he breaks it, i buy him a new one. >> it is multi-purpose because i've seen my husband use it in the o nose as well. >> right now your husband and my husband are going -- >> the difference is your husband didn't say -- you didn't say to your husband, you want another child. >> i thought that was in the last part. >> but i just -- just wanted to make sure -- have you changed your mind. >> no, i still want one but i'm pretty sure he changed his mind about the whole marriage. >> no! >> you went a little far on that

one. >> hopefully now. >> let's get hank on the phone and see if we can find out. i'm going to do weather. let's see if we can get hank here on the phone. >> all right. >> let's check it out. first of all, look at the difference in temperatures here in the east from 24 hours ago. new york city, down 26 degrees from this time yesterday. atlanta, 36 degrees colder. it is 34 right now. memphis, 16 degrees right now. that's 10 degrees colder. but good news is we are going to see warmer temperatures. right now they're cold but as we get into midweek, things warm you were and that will be much, much better. and even better news for all of you folks traveling other than the pacific northwest early this week, rest of the week weatherwise should not be any problem as for as your travel weather is concerned. i can't speak to who you're traveling with but

good morning, i am meteorologist kari hall, we are slowly making it above freezing and now in palo alto it is 41 degrees, oakland and 43 degrees at morgan hill and 37. highs reaching mid-50s. i won't be cooler than average in many spots. light winds, warmer than yesterday. 50 degrees in san francisco. >> and that is your latest weather. coming up, lifestyles of the rich and famous. we'll take you inside some fabulous homes of the biggest stars. wait until you see how chris jenner went all walgreens presents, a holiday mini miracle. hey! hey! ♪ this is for you. did you really? didn't have too! ♪

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yep, got tno, no, no,ll she wantebe right home. ♪ (squirrel screeching, birds chirping) (squirrel chittering) hey! hey! (tires screeching) hey! is this yours? yes. thank you! happy holidays. (vo) the real magic of the holidays is when we all give a little more. (man) thank you! my swthis scarf all thatsara. left to remem... what! she washed this like a month ago the long lasting scent of gain flings

sure, you could sit around all night waiting for a pizza to be delivered. but wouldn't making it yourself be a lot more fun? it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. testinhuh?sting! is this thing on? come on! your turn! where do pencils go on vacation? pennsylvania! (laughter) crunchy wheat frosted sweet! kellogg's frosted mini-wheats. feed your inner kid ♪ "don't you forget about me" ♪ by simple minds ♪

if you ever wanteded to know how the stars lived, get ready for a serious case of house envy because we're going to take you inside some incredible homes. >> here to take us on an open house tour, the editor in chief of architectural digest. >> get started with the kardashians. kris jenner went gonzo. >> she has a professional team of 20 people who decorate her house. >> team of what? >> 20 people. pros. we took an exclusive sneak peek for "arc digest."

the theme was candy land chic. three evergreens here, 10,000 lights are being strung. massive peppermint balls and three-foot candy candidacy. eight nutcrackers. >> wow. why am i not surprised? how about marc anthony. >> this is a case of house envy. this is his compound in the dominican republic, it is a massive property. it sleeps 24 people. it has guest bungalows and cabanas. two swimming pools. it is his own personal resort. has a man-made beach, an outdoor movie theater. swim-up bars. everything. he has a sports bar pavilion. an art studio. how did jimmy johnson?

>> jimmy johnson's family lives in north carolina but this is a sneak peek at their home here in new york that they live in here in the city with their two kids. and race cars. here is a little video. he has a charming family, beautiful kids. >> pretty in pink bedroom. >> bunk beds. very new york, right? one bedroom for the girls and it's cute as can be. >> you also profile the home of actress jessica chastain. >> this is old world glamour, a very new york apartment. rich, luxurious with six fireplaces. kind of a dream apartment for a new yorker. she has a juke box. six fireplaces. it belonged to lauren bacall back in the day. beautiful upper west side new york apt with a beautiful copper tub in her bathroom. just super glamorous there. >> that reflects jessica

chastain. elegant. glamorous. >> i agree. it is a fantastic house. >> she gets one more tub next to it, she is do a cialis commercial. just ahead, have yourself a stress-free holiday with a four-ingredient slow cooker recipe your guests will devour.

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==topvo== still no word about what caused a deadly crash on interstate 680 this morning involving a big rig carrying packagesor geood morning, it is 9:26, am kris sanchez, still know words on this crash this morning. the truck driver died from the crash which happens about 3:30 in the morning. the driver had not been identified. the crash did leave packages across the road ways and closed lanes throughout the morning commute. the backups especially southbound have continued through the rest of this morning. authorities in santa clara are at the scene of a deadly accident where a woman was struck and kill while she was pushing a shopping cart. this happens around 6:30 on

northbound express way in santa clara, that clara. chp is investigating. we did talk to witnesses at the scene who say the woman was crossing against the red light. the driver stayed at the scene and spoke with investigators. the cardinals taking on north carolina. he's leaving early for the nfl, that we knew, today he says he wants to focus entirely on getting ready for next year's draft. >> we have a look at weather and traffic coming up after the break. weather toss to traffic

traffic ==traffic maps full== a slow drive thru "fremont"... good monday morning, i am meteorologist kari hall, a lot of sunshine and temperatures are finally getting above freezing. in san francisco 44 degrees. the highs today of 54 degrees. we continue the warming trend throughout the rest o f the week. this weekend, we'll be tracking the next round of rain moving in

on friday and another round on sunday and in the meantime, we continue on with dry weather making it up to 62 degrees for the in land areas by the middle of this workweek. lets head over to mike and see what's happening on the road way. >> kari, we still have the vehicle in the road ways and another fender bender and a backup around dakota. traffic is very light and still slow. south 680, we now have only one lane blocked but still a lot of it. coming off pleasant hill and 242 and south 680, a tough drive, back to you. >> more local news in a half hour.

owe're down to the wire so our "today food" team is bringing you stress-free dishes. elizabeth, good to see you. >> oh, honey, it is so good to be here. listen, i woke up this morning in a cold sweat. i could not believe that i'm bringing my meatballs to the "today" show. this is the simplest, most effective way to win a party. meatbal meatballs, grape jelly -- >> are these store bought? >> yes. that makes it that much easier. chili sauce. just take our grape jelly.

put it in our crock pot. these things are as tacky as a christmas sweater. they are. it doesn't get any tackier. but, it doesn't matter. if your party goes to hell in a hand basket and you're serving these meatballs, everybody will forgive you. >> my grandmother always said that. when you open up a safe bag? >> we'll put these in our crock pot for three to four hours. you can leave them -- i don't like to put a crackpot out on my buffet table. i'll want it in a chafing dish. see? that's where we're different, al. this is my favorite ham in the entire world. it is brown sugar and pork. >> you had me at pork. >> this glaze is life changing. we already have our brown sugar in here.

add our coke. a little bit of mustard. spicy brown mustard is wonderful. then we have a little bit of orange zest, orange juice. the key to this ham is we want to baste this. about three times during your cooking process. like overdo it because i want some of that base to really get on the bottom of this pan. it is going to caramelize. so at the end our last phase is almost going to be like we're painting the ham. have you ever? it is the most beautiful ham. >> almost sounds like the "ellen" game, have you ever/never. >> you could get these results at home. this is our jezebel sauce. in the south we call a harlot a jezebel. i don't know why in the world they call this recipe jezebel sauce except maybe this recipe's been passed around maybe as much

as -- >> whoa. >> we have our biscuit. how is it? please, y'all. >> so good! >> what's this here? >> this is happiness. >> all my kids are grown now. i have 13 year-olds who are out of diapers. >> what is this? >> that is a pimento cheese puff pastry roll. roll it up, then you slice it. you bake it off just like you would -- exactly. >> this is a bonus. we said two, there are really three. >> you can do these recipes two days ahead of time. those meatballs, lord, they can sit in the refrigerator for five days and they're fine. seriously. >> elizabeth will help you win christmas! >> i'm serious. >> go to today.com/food for the

recipes. singer tory kelly. we'll talk to her about her acting debut in "sing" after thes i tried hard to quit smoking. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

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>> announcer: the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. grammy nominated singer tory kelly is known for her powerful vocals. these days she's lending that big voice to a animated teenage elephant. her character tries hard to be less fashionable. ♪ happy birthday dear grandpa happy birthday to you ♪ >> aw. >> what? come on, make your wish. >> i wish you'd join a choir! >> in just a minute, tory is going to perform a song from the soundtrack. what's is like to see your voice on the big screen? >> it's very strange. i never thought i would be

playing an elephant but i always wanted to do voice acting so this is like a dream come true to me. >> you say you are a little bit like nina. >> i grew up being really, really shy. i always knew that i loved to sing like mina. i just had -- i would get up there on stage and just be like really stiff and not know what to do. it took time for me to really grow out of that and realize that this is what i love to do. >> what are you going to perform for us? >> i'm going to do the song from the soundtrack, "don't you worry about a thing" with stevie wonder. >> cool. take it awap. . w. a. y. ♪ everybody's got a thing but some don't know to handle it ♪ always reaching out in vain just

taking the things not worth having ♪ but don't you worry about a thing don't you worry about a thing mama ♪ cause i'll be standing off of the side when you check it out ♪ they say it's out of style to drag ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing mama cause i'll be standing on

the side when you check it out ♪ ♪ when you get off your trip don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing ♪ everybody's needs a chance the chance to check out the new yeah ♪ ♪ you're the only one who sees the changes you say you go through yeah yeah ♪ whoa oh oh oh yeah ♪

don't you worry about a thing don't you worry about a thing baby ♪ cause i'll be standing on the side when you check it out ♪ when you get off your trip don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing mama cause i'll be standing i'll be stand iing for you ♪ oh oh don't you worry no ♪ >> my gosh! yay!

you are so good! i didn't think i'd want to see that movie anymore. but i do. al, what do you got for me? >> "sing" is from our parent company, universal. want to let you know that. the week ahead -- it hits theaters on wednesday. by wednesday the weather should be pretty nice around much of the country. we do have some snow showers up around the great lakes. sunshine throughout much of the rest of the country. few showers through the southwest. then by week's end, beautiful weather along the east coast. lot of rough stuff in the western third of the u.s. temperaturewise we start out eastern half the country way below normal. things normalize toward the end of we got a lot of sunshine helping to warm up our temperatures. a live look outside san jose after a cold morning and freezing temperatures. 38 degrees in san jose and 35 in

livermore and concord and 43 and 41 degrees right now in palo. we are not going to see temperatures as cold. highs today we'll be reaching the 50s with light winds and sunshine. >> and that's your latest weather. up next, you haven't had time to deck the halls? we'll show you last-minute decor that will impress your guests when we come back, after these when we come back, after these when we come back, after these it's a shark! it's a cancer-fighting shark... thanks to st. jude children's research hospital. at st. jude, no family ever pays for treatments, travel, housing or food... because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. wanna play? yes i do. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to stjude.org or shop where you see the st. jude logo. why can't i be a shark?

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so if you feel like the holidays snuck up on you this year, like i do, don't worry, there is still a little time to add decor to make your house feel festive. >> some easy diy holiday hacks. good morning. >> start in the kitchen. christmas is less than a week away. >> if you haven't had a chance to get the tree up, downside. this is a small tree. it is faster to decorate, less expensive and this is my kitschy christmas tree. some cookie cutters, spoons, measuring spoons, measure be cups, beads, light, so simple to put up. small trees are great everywhere. kids' rooms. >> i was going to do it in my daughter's room but i didn't get around to it. >> i am thinking of hanging my earrings on a tree. >> improvise. >> i like this.

this is a table scape made from broken ornaments. >> when you group them together is makes a nice bold presentation. no one knows the difference. put on a nice metallic platter, no one knows. we'll use here what we have. simply put ornaments in a low shallow bowl. centerpieces should be low. >> these are ornaments my kids made. that was right from the bag. also just cutting ribbon that has wire in it is the easiest way to dress up a table. >> i am obsessed with this. tell us about these holiday cards. >> i have a really hard time throwing away my holiday cards because they are so pretty. week after the holidays when the

kids are home from school, a great craft to give them. cut the tops of the cards off. i made a nice placemat. this is great for little ones that come to visit who are a little messier. not that expensive, laminate. >> if not, you can also go to kinko's. >> with the lamb flat, they can be wiped off. >> another great thing is to make them into gift bags. >> i am doing this. thank you for that tip. now my merry mantel makeover. these are actually my children. a very simple way to make over your mantel. this is my oldest child. >> i have all gold frames here but you can use a metallic, red.

the simple solution if you don't have all the same color frames, a can of spray paint. here we have a banner that we just personalized. i made this very quickly. these are just very heavy due craft foam. i cut out "today's take." you could use your family name or joy to the world, peace on earth. whatever your holiday saying is. your mantel is completely made over. things are already have. you got the kids involved. >> tu kni hope that you can sho these off. do this one. >> we don't have much time. >> this is a simple snow globe makeover. this is a jar. this is the sticky part. stick it to the bottom.

>> thank you so much. i don't think we have enough time to do this because i am not as crafty as i wish. thank you so much. we'll be back in a moment. first, this is "today" on nbc. thank you!

thanks to the generosity of all of our wonderful viewers and partner companies, we've sent more than $12 million in gifts to children all over the country. our lovely co-host nia vardalos was our celebrity elf this morning. good morning to all of you. we understand you have a lovely donation for us. >> we do, actually. we're so thrilled to be here. we've been participating in the holiday drive now for nine years. we are delivering over 8,000

products with a retail value of $250,000. >> wow. that's so important. we remember the older kids who have needs for this stuff. >> absolutely. we actually sort of select a number of products. select antiaging products for women, for men. plus also these fabulous lip glosses for someone like destiny's which is going to look really beautiful as well as de shawn in terms of the antiaging products. >> you still have time to make a christmas donation to millions of children's in their teens. toydrive.com. >> we want to thank nia for trt: 30

=trx at ck= ck traffic maps we have a lot of sunshine across the bay area and temperatures feeling milder now with a high of 55 degrees. 56 in the south bay and 54 degrees in the north bay.

san francisco also at 54 degrees. the next couple of days will be as cold. we'll start to see highs trend egg in t ing in the 60s by the middle of the workweek. lets head over to mike now for an update of the commute. >> we had a recovery crash early in the south bay. it is still a sticking point, we had one lane still blocked and all the recovery work. southbound 680 and just one block. it is jammed on south on 242 and almost 2 hours at the bridge heading down towards danville. the rest of the bay looking well. no meter lights. back to you. thank you, mike. the academy of art agreed to a $60 million pay out to the city of san francisco. the deal ends a long battle over the school converting its real estate. on auer home page, link to

details and find out what the suit means for the city. more than just sports fans this morning. our buzzing about an unusual touchdown, running back eliot, ends up in a life size salvation bucket, find that on our facebook page.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody! happy fun day monday to you. december 19th. so happy that you're all joining us today. work from home, baby, which i did friday. good harmony. ♪ got to go to work >> love them. making big news today. get to that and much more in "today's buzz" with our stackable. >> if you want a smoky eye or updo for the holiday, does our sh