we have a live look out there in the wet weather from our san bruno camera. i hope you have a great thursday. good morning high stakes as the u.s. and iran pull back from the brink. >> iran appears to be standing down >> new concerns over how the white house has handled the crisis and the intelligence behind the killing of iran's top general. >> probably the worst briefing i've seen. >> so is this showdown really over, and are americans safer today? we'll ask vice president mike pence in a live interview. breaking overnight, new details on the deadly plane crash in iran. officials reveal the jet did erupt in flames in mid air with no call for help from the crew so was it a mechanical issue, or was it shot down we'll have the very latest

war of the windsors. reaction pours in after the stunning decision by prince harry and meghan markle to step away from royal duties the queen reportedly blind-sided and shocked. the move raising questions about the futures of the couple and the entire royal family. a live report from windsor castle just ahead. those stories, plus new fire fears. overnight, more evacuations in australia amid growing concerns those historic wildfires are about to get even worse. winter's wrath a powerful storm takes aim at tens of millions over a nearly 2,000-mile stretch from the south to new england al's got the forecast. what is evening the score? >> evens the second match in our greatest of all time "jeopardy" tournament >> a dominating performance by "jeopardy's!" james holzhauer kicking the "show of champions"

into high gear, today, thursday, january 9th, 2020. >> from nbc news, this is "today," with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hi, everybody. welcome to "today" on this thursday morning we're happy you're joining us. we have another busy news day. we'll get right to our top story, the unfolding showdown between the u.s. and iran, the two nations trying to back away from conflict after exchanging dangerous threats and attacks. >> this morning we're happy to have vice president mike pence with us live from washington a lot to talk to him about including the intelligence that led to the u.s. strike on soleimani, iran's retaliation and where things are headed next. >> first nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us from iraq good morning >> reporter: good morning, hoda. here in the region there's a feeling that the showdown between the u.s. and iran is more paused than over. the administration says it taught iran a lesson in

deterrence and then wisely pulled back from the brink critics say it started a cycle of violence that is going to be very difficult to stop sirens over baghdad overnight as rockets were fired at the green zone, home to american troops and the u.s. embassy the small, unguided rockets caused no damage, but that, in part, was just luck. it's unclear who fired them, but what is clear is that tensions remain extremely high after iran fired ballistic missiles at bases in iraq housing american forces in retaliation for president trump's order to kill iran's top general outside baghdad airport. president trump gave his response on wednesday. >> we suffered no casualties all of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. our great american forces are

prepared for anything. iran appears to be standing down which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world >> reporter: he seemed to be looking for an off-ramp. >> u.s. armed forces are stronger than ever before. the fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. we do not want to use it >> reporter: his comments coming as the administration gave classified briefings to select senators about why the president decided to kill the iranian general now in iraq. the administration says he was plotting imminent attacks against americans. even some members of the president's own party were unconvinced the administration made its case. >> probably the worst briefing i've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years i've served on the united states senate. i walked into the briefing undecided. i walked out decided, specifically because of what happened in that briefing.

>> our duty under the constitution is for us to debate when we go to war. we, for one, are not going to abdicate that duty. >> reporter: those senators announcing they'll support a democratic effort to force the president to get congressional approval before any escalation with iran. most republicans, however, seem to be sticking with the administration, while others including now even the pope are weighing in about the dangers of this iran-iraq tension sa savannah, back to you. iran-u.s. tensions. >> richard, appreciate it. joining us from the white house is the vice president, mike pence. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> let me start with the iranian strikes against u.s. air bases some say they believe iran was shooting to miss, in other words, not kill anybody. do you think iran deliberately avoided u.s. casualties? >> the ballistic missiles fired

at american bases outside erbil, we believe, were intended to kill americans we have intelligence to support that was the intention of the iranians frankly, thanks to the excellent work of our military personnel on the ground, the forced protection that president trump directed, measures that were taken and our intelligence, there were no american casualties, no coalition casualties and as the president said yesterday, we continue to believe that iran is standing down and the most dangerous terrorist in the world, qassem soleimani, is gone. >> let me ask you about that you said something remarkable, that you believe iran was shooting to kill, trying to go after u.s. forces. you also said in previous interviews that the u.s. had some warning that the missiles were coming, presumably intelligence was it incredibly risky for the u.s. to allow iran to take the shot i know the personnel at these

bases were told to hunker down shelter in place the u.s. has the capability to stop a ballistic missile in their tracks was it risky to let them take that shot? >> not at all. we have the same threats that -- frankly, iran was making the same threats over the last week. remember this all began on december 27th when iranian-backed militias killed an american citizen, injured four american personnel. the president ordered air strikes on five militia bases saying we would not tolerate violence against americans we had information of an imminent threat of a larger attack being organized by qassem soleimani, the president took action, and all along the way we've heard the threats. we've been prepared. frankly, the action that we took wasn't simply hunkering down, savannah let's be clear our military personnel repositioned people, we repositioned assets.

>> could you have stopped the ballistic missile? >> to make sure we were as safe as we could be, but we also made trump said in his tweets and his statements, that any loss of american lives would be met with strong repercussions, strong military response. i give the credit to our military personnel and our planning on the ground that thankfully there were no casualties again, where we stand today is the most dangerous terrorist in the world is gone and no american casualties in iran is standing down. >> no question you talked about the imminent attack the secretary of state has said that iran talked about it as a big attack you talked about how soleimani, this notorious terrorist, iranian leader, is off the battlefield. as for this imminent attack that you and the administration say was hours, days, weeks away, is

it totally eradicated now? in other words, soleimani wasn't going to be the one strapping on a suicide vest or pressing go on a missile. now that he's gone, is that particular threat gone >> well, the threat of soleimani's leadership is gone make no mistake about it for the last 20 years qassem soleimani led the quds force the irgc, the terrorist arm of iran. >> but that imminent threat. >> -- violence all across the region look, the president has taken military action here -- look, the iranians always knew we had the ability to use military force. what they know now, thanks to the president's decisive leadership, is that we have a commander-in-chief who has the will to use military force we hope that has restored deterrence we hope that iran's efforts to stand down will continue, but

make no mistake about it we are ready for any eventuality including the ongoing threats from iranian-backed militias in iraq. >> i was going to ask you. foreign minister zarif said in a tweet that those missile attacks concluded its actions with regard to this matter are you confident that iran is really done with this? don't you think they're even more hungry for revenge now, if this goes underground? >> we're watching it very closely. the public statements as well as our intelligence i can assure all of your viewers that iran, by all information we have, continues to stand down. but our readiness level continues at the same level before that being said, the president said yesterday we hope for better things in our relationship with iran if iran will abandon its long history of sowing terrorist violence across the region, abandon its nuclear ambitions, we can have a fresh start with

the iranian people and the iranian government we do not seek regime change, but we seek for the regime in iran to change its behavior and join the family of civilized nations and bring an end to this violence and the threat of nuclear proliferation that they've been pursuing in the region. >> i'm short on time on this issue of intelligence, as you know, the congressional leaders had a briefing yesterday on what it was, this imminent threat that was posed that justified the killing. senator mike lee, a republican, left that briefing and said it was demeaning and insulting, saying it was the worst briefing he ever heard and he didn't get the information he needed. why not in a classified setting can our briefers from this administration share what it was, this threat you talk about, in a classified setting? >> well, some of that has to do with what's called sources and methods, savannah, that if we were to share all of the intelligence -- in fact, some of

the most compelling evidence that qassem soleimani was preparing an imminent attack against american forces and american personnel also represents some of the most sensitive intelligence that we have it could compromise those sources and methods. >> even in a classified setting? >> i have tremendous respect for senator mike lee i recognize he's had a difference of opinion with our administration over self-defense measures the president authorized in yemen. we'll welcome those debates going forward, but i can assure your viewers that those of us that have seen all the evidence, that saw the evidence in realtime know that president trump made the right decision to take qassem soleimani off the battlefield. america is safer the world is safer now, even after the iranian response, no american casualties and iran is standing down. >> just one final question because we're talking about the evidence, the strength of the

evidence, the intelligence that you have seen but that is not available to the public. the president, as you well know, has been vocally dismissive of our intelligence agencies. in a tweet earlier this year he called our iran intelligence in particular passive and naive and said perhaps they should go back to school. he now says he wants the u.s. public to trust the intelligence does he, himself, have a different view now of our intelligence >> well, i can tell you, in president donald trump, the american people have a leader that is always going to ask the tough questions, whether it be military personnel or intelligence personnel but i can tell you, i was ther every step of the way, savannah, and we were gathering intelligence in realtime that was brought to the president that qassem soleimani was planning imminent attacks in response to our air strikes on five iranian-backed militia bases.

he was planning imminent attacks that were larger in the region against american forces, and president donald trump put american lives and american protection first he made the right decision and america and the world are safer today as a result. >> vice president mike pence from washington this morning, thank you, sir we appreciate your time. >> thank you, savannah >> fascinateing conversation we'll turn it over to craig. >> craig's got us what this morning? let's turn to th investigation to the plane crash in tehran just hours after iran's missile attack. all 176 people on board the flight died. this morning questions are mounting about the case and whether an iranian missile may have mistakenly taken down that plane. nbc's tom costello covers aviation for us. tom, what more do we know? >> iran insists again this morning some sort of technical problem caused the crash ukrainian officials say they're looking into whether a russian-made missile bought by

iran might have been fired at the plane just hours after iran's late night attack against those u.s. bases >> reporter: this morning, investigations in iran say the crew of a ukrainian jetliner that crashed in iran never made a radio call for help and were trying to turn back for the airport when the plane went down that according to an initial iranian report released thursday, suggesting a sudden emergency struck the boeing 737 800. what caused the sudden catastrophic failure that brought down ukrainian airlines 752 hours after the attack against u.s. bases was it mechanical, or did an iranian missile misfire and target the passenger plane as it took off from tehran's airport officials from iran's civil aviation organization offered no explanation. the plane's black boxes have been turned over to iranian investigators. the plane left tehran airport at

6:12 a.m. local time less than two minutes into flight, the plane suddenly disappeared from radar at 7,900 feet cell phone video shared by a news agency run by iranian students not confirmed by nbc appears to show the plane on fire, shedding pieces as it streaked across the sky, then exploding and crashing to the ground >> in my mind it has all the earmarks of something like a missile exploding because it was shortly after takeoff, it was at 7,900 feet there was no time for the crew to report anything, and it was a massive fireball as seen in that video. >> reporter: of the 176 people on board, 138 were headed to canada, including 63 canadians prime minister justin trudeau. >> your loss is indescribable. this is a heartbreaking tragedy. >> reporter: while boeing and the ntsb would normally assist in an investigation, u.s investigators say that is highly unlikely given the recent hostilities and sanctions

against iran the tehran crash bringing back reminders of malaysia flight 17, shot down over eastern ukraine in 2014. all 298 people on board died investigators blamed pro-russian separatists for the attack russia denied any connection >> the faa reiterated a notice to u.s. pilots to avoid flying over iran, iraq, the persian gulf, and the gulf of oman now the world airlines are following the u.s. lead. look at this live image from flight radar 24. it shows all the air traffic over the region. look at the hole over iran with the exception of a few domestic flights, most international flights are going around the region, skirting iran. guys >> that's a striking image tom, ukraine's involvement, what could it mean for the investigation going forward? what could it mean for the release of those black boxes >> ukraine is a party to the investigation, they have their own people on the scene, but this is an iranian investigation. the question really remains will iran send the black boxes to

outside investigators maybe in france iran isn't saying other than saying they're not going to go to the u.s. >> tom costello in washington, thank you. al is here for a first check of the forecast, including a big threat of severe weather you have your eye on, al good morning. >> this really is more of an early spring pattern, eight states, 28 million people for friday afternoon into the evening, tornado, hail, damaging winds. on saturday, in six states, we're talking 18 million people moving from louisiana all the way into georgia and on up into tennessee. this system is going to be pushing east warm air pushing ahead of it, flood watches from texas to ohio tomorrow, heavy rain for texas up to springfield, missouri. strong storms in the south with tornadoes, hail possible we'll watch this carefully back side of the system, snow, ice, wind in the midwest with severe storms likely in the gulf here is what we're looking at as far as rainfall is concerned look at this a wide swath from oklahoma all

the way to michigan, three to four inches of rain. locally could be up to five. behind the system we're talking about anywhere from four to nine inches of snow stretching from oklahoma all the way up into michigan and parts of wisconsin. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. all we see in you, is a spark. we see your kindness and humanity. the strength of each community. the more we look the more we find the sparks that make america shine. ♪ good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. the rain moves through the south bay but it will be clearing out as the morning goes along. we will see some off and on showers for the next hour or so,

but then the rest of the day is looking nice and sunny once this moves out. we have sunshine tomorrow and then a new round of rain early saturday morning. by sunday we're seeing some sunshine. we're also expecting more showers in the forecast by early next week. >> that's your latest weather. hoda coming up. a big story. blind-sided. new reaction overnight from inside the royal family. the stunning decision by prince harry and meghan markle to step back as senior royals. keir simmons is live at windsor castle with more on that if you have smart tvs for the days, stick around for this. every time you watch that thing, it could be gathering information about you, about your habits. vicky nguyen is going to show us step by step how to make it stop

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coming up, a special story. >> miguel almaguer sat down with golf star jason day to talk about a wrenching experience they share mothers diagnosed with lung cancer their emotional story and what all of us need to know about it after your local news ♪ ♪

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are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. a very good morning to you. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia. a b.a.r.t. board vote late they are morning could lead to a more hands-on approach during the busiest hours b.a.r.t. believes that will boost rider safety. the directors are looking into funding a pilot program utilizing b.a.r.t. ambassadors. it would include a team of ten people who would act as community service operators onboard trains. they would not be armed. but b.a.r.t. says they would be trained to diffuse potential conflicts. the meeting is supposed to get under way in 90 minutes. here's meteorologist kari hall. a soggy start to the day. a look at your drive. watch out for those puddles, it

may be wet on the roads. down to the south bay this is moving fairly quickly and will clear out for the rest of the day. the rest of the day is looking nice and we'll continue on with dry weather tomorrow. we're starting out before sun rise seeing this rain quickly moving in but it does tape earp off as the day goes along. clearing up just in time for the 49ers game. we're dry on sunday and will be watching more rain next week. mike, how are the roads moving? >> 87 at the bottom of your screen jammed up from 85 and split northbound. the expressway takes up the volume. not a great option anymore. north 85 sees folks bail out instead of 87 up to 17 and that crash north 87 causing that jam. the recovery westbound still slow on the flat section. a lot better after the earlier

crash cleared. you see the wet roads there. back to you. >> i'll be back with another local news update. david: "life is complicated. choosing a health care provider doesn't have to be."

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total of $83,414 and evens the second match in our greatest of all time "jeopardy" tournament >> what a performance by "jeopardy" james holzhauer tieing things up with ken jennings on night two of the quiz show's showdown between the biggest money winners ever. >> so great to see the guys wearing the purple ribbons in solidarity with alex true trebek first one to three >> yeah. >> we'll see what happens. we want to tell you about a morning show exclusive for

tomorrow senator bernie sanders live in studio 1a, the first contest in the presidential race less than a month away he's surging in the polls. we'll talk to him about his campaign, the fight for the nomination and a lot more tomorrow morning on "today." a check of the 7:30 headlines. two republican lawmakers are voicing their outrage over the white house's handling of the showdown with iran it comes after the administration gave classified briefings on wednesday to select senators about why president trump decided to kill iran's top general. senators mike lee and rand paul announcing they will be supporting a democratic resolution limiting president trump's war powers against iran. residents in the path of wildfires burning in australia have been urged to evacuate as hot and windy conditions will escalate the conditions the next couple days. officials told fire weary communities that winds will once again drive flames towards the coast. the unprecedented fire crisis has claimed at least 26 lives in september and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. we have sad news from

hollywood. buck henry, the oscar nominated screenwriter behind "the graduate" has died he was the co-creator of "get smart. in 1978, he received an oscar nomination for directing the warren bay batey "heaven can wa" he hosted "saturday night live" ten times, a record held until 1989 he died last night in a los angeles hospital after he suffered a heart attack. buck henry was 89 years old. now to that bombshell announcement the whole world is talking about. prince harry and meghan markle revealing they intend to step back as so-called senior members of the royal family. >> as you would expect, it's dominating the front pages across the uk this morning check them out a big focus on the queen's reaction one even labeling the royal split megzit get it, like brexit?

international correspondent keir simmons joining us from windsor. good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda good morning to you. can you believe it since that wonderful wedding at windsor castle, you and i spoke on the show about the tensions in the royal family. this is a bombshell. those front pages, again, "the sun" saying brexit the daily mail, harry and meghan say "we quit." the irony, of course, is tabloid coverage like this is one of the reasons harry and meghan say they're walking away a rift in the royal family not seen for a generation. prince harry, the most popular royal after the queen and his american wife meghan issuing what amounts to a declaration of independence. >> going it alone, the duke and duchess of sussex. >> the queen did not know. >> intend to step back, >> unhappiness with their current royal roles. >> harry and meghan quit, say the british newspapers this

morning. the bombshell announcement taking other royals by surprise, saying they plan to split their time between the uk and north america. we intend to step back as senior members of the royal family, their statement says, and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support her majesty the queen. there was no advanced warning for the queen, prince charles or prince william buckingham palace doing a terse response, discussions with the duke and duchess of sussex are at an early stage. we understand their desire to take a different approach but these are complicated issues. >> they really are the global royal couple them stepping back as senior royals is such big news because it is the end of harry and meghan as a central part, a core part of the royal family. >> reporter: some reports over night suggesting the couple may have been pushed out at christmas in the queen's speech, there was no picture of harry and meghan beside her,

unlike the previous year the recent focus on the future monarchs, charles, william, and george in an interview on britain tv last year, harry hinted of a fallout with his brother. >> we're brothers, we'll always be brothers. we're on different paths at the moment i'll always be there for him i know he'll always be there for me. >> reporter: this from meghan, perhaps as a lack of support from her new royal family. >> thank you for asking because not many people have asked if i'm okay >> reporter: on a slick new website this morning, harry and meghan setting out how they think the arrangement will work, even calling out tabloid newspapers they will no longer work with. prince harry's fury with the media which he blames for the death of his mom, princess diana, another big factor. >> every single time i see a camera, every single time i hear a click, every single time i see a flash, it takes me straight back >> reporter: how the break will work is still unclear. will the couple keep their royal titles even if they live overseas would harry still be in line for the throne

>> i think inevitably they'll have to give up their titles they can't be his and her royal highnesses after saying they're stepping back as members of the royal family >> reporter: without royal funding, they'll need to make their own money, but could be accused of profiting from their royal connections. this battle inside the royal family fully exposed is now far really is a crisis for the royal from over. >> it's no exaggeration to say

this reall bradley, everyone knew that harry and meghan were struggling for a while. we were expecting some kind of shakeup. what surprised me was the finality of the statement, the suggestion that, yes, we're going to step back from our roles, we want to live abroad. we want to keep a foot in each camp that's never been done before. how it plays out remains to be seen. >> if they want to go live on their own, great but why didn't they bring the queen into the loop? that's one of the big things why did they leave her out >> that's the million dollar question. >> was she blind-sided >> i think she was when they got back, they had a discussion with the queen, prince charles, prince william, saying we want to do something different here i don't think any of this information listed on their website was shared with the senior members of the royal family that's where they were blind-sided.

what makes this incredibly difficult is that all these details need to be ironed out on a public platform. >> the term financially independent, what does that mean for a duke and duchess how are they going to make their money? >> this is where it gets very complicated, craig companies will be lining up to throw money at them. in north america, the speaking circuit can be lucrative trying to maintain a foot in the royal camp, they'll be accusations of them cashing in on the royal status, commercializing the royal family prince edward tried to continue the commercial side of his life, and it didn't work civilian life alongside a royal life just doesn't work in harmony. i think that's an optimistic idea. >> what about the security detail, travel are the british taxpayers still going to pick up the tab for that >> at the moment, according to the website, which is a wish list of what harry and meghan are expecting to play out, they say they'll maintain their royal

protection that gets incredibly difficult officers do two-week runs with harry and maeg han and are flying back and forth. they need to be fed, paid, housed >> is the bottom line that it's up to the queen? this response from them, she didn't know about it and she's like, we'll sort it out, could she just say no? >> there's a number of people to be consulted will it be u.s. or canada? what's the host country? my money is on canada. they need to address the canadian government. are canadian taxpayers going to be liable for anything prince charles, prince william will have a say. the british government, as well. that's why the royal family was blind-sided because all of this should have been done before any statement was made >> this is going to make for a great season 8 of "the crown." >> maybe meghan can play herself. >> we're not done with the royals we'll have more and the unprecedented chaos that faced the queen recently in the next half hour. first, we're going to show you how to outsmart that

smart tv. >> i'm vicky nguyen, our tvs are getting smarter and more connected than ever. they know a lot about us, what we're watching, how long we're watching, what we're saying into our remote controls. i'll show you simple steps you can take right now to protect your privacy that's ahead on "today." token female, i'm here to help us win. the surface pro helps me get what's in my head and get it out on to the field. i would want to tell this little girl to keep pushing herself, your dream's coming.

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>> millions were sold over the holiday season the bargains, though, they come with a price here to explain, nbc investigative and consumer correspondent, vicky yguyen. those smart tvs. >> there is a cost to that convenience. this morning, brace yourselves i'm going to take you to where no one really wants to go, deep into your smart tv settings. we'll take the journey together so don't worry you need to see what your smart tv knows about you if you don't want it to be quite so smart, here is what you can do they're a big-ticket item for millions of people nearly every tv sold these days are smart tvs, meaning you can stream from netflix to hulu to disney plus. if you're not using a smart tv, you might plug in an amazon fire stick, roku or google chrome cast all these devices are grabbing a lot of information about you, what streaming services you use, what shows you watch, when you're watching and how long even your voice if you do something like this.

>> play star wars. >> according to the terms of service, the smart devices use that information for a range of reasons including analytics, marketing and targeted advertising. they can share that data with countless third-party firms. >> they are monitoring what you do, monitoring what you watch. >> "consumer reports" director of product testing maria rerecich says your smart tv is basically a computer. >> these are connected, collecting data and sending data that is a lot different than how you think of a tv. >> she says many smart tvs use what's called acr, automatic content recognition. >> that is the technology that the tvs use to identify what you're watching. >> you think most people are aware that this much information is being collected about them? >> no. i don't think people are aware of it. i don't think people are aware that they can actually do something about it >> so what can you do? maria shows me the steps on a samsung, one of the most

popular tvs out there. >> on this tv, we'd go down to settings you then have to go down to support, go over to terms and policy and go to viewing information services then there's this "i agree." we'll uncheck that. >> what does that do >> what that does is it will actually stop monitoring what you're watching. >> look for interspace, settings, privacy notice it's a mouthful. >> you can turn off the ability to get targeted ads. >> this is not that easy or intuitive for a normal user. >> right >> others like roku are not as complicated. >> from the home screen, go down to settings, you go over to privacy, go to advertising this one, limit ad tracking. we want to check it. smart tv experience, we want to uncheck that. >> another popular device, amazon fire tv go to settings, preferences,

privacy settings and device usage data. >> we would like to turn that off. >> finally disable collect app and over-the-air usage and interspace ads some good tips to help you outsmart your smart tv. >> okay. i know there's a lot of menus and steps to follow. if you missed any of that, go to today.com. we put the step-by-step instructions there. >> i'm like what settings and then what what about the microphones on a lot of these smart tvs are they listening to you? >> they are, absolutely. according to the terms and services, they are only actively listening when you use the microphone, ask them to change the channel or search. in the case of privacy experts, they say that's another piece of information the companies can keep by the way, they keep those recordings in a lot of cases as you see there, they can do anything they want with third party companies. good idea, if you don't need to speak to your tv, turn it off. >> seems like it would make more sense that you'd have to opt into that stuff, if the default was --

>> totally that's what security experts have been railing about for years. the funny thing is, when we go back, to turn the settings off -- or back on, it is one or two steps. to turn them off, it is, like, eight steps. >> vicky, thank you. mr. roker, how about the weather? >> the good old days when we had rabbit ears. the u.s. weather and climate impacts for 2019, second wettest year on record for the entire country, wettest for the states of michigan, minnesota, dakotas and wisconsin. by the way, we had $14 billion-plus disasters in 2019, 44 deaths, $45 billion in losses if you don't think climate change is not having an effect on our weather, look at this it's the fifth straight year with 10-plus billion dollar events starting in 2015 we continue to track this. for today, snowshowers, chilly in the western plains. warming up in the center of the country. winds diminishing.

plenty of sunshine along the easter good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. scattered showers still moving through areas mostly in san francisco, over to the east bay, down to the south bay. this is quickly moving from north to south and we're already getting some clearing in the north bay. as we go into the rest of the morning into the afternoon we'll start to dry out and the sun peeking out for the afternoon going into tomorrow some sunshine in the forecast. we will see some more rain coming in on saturday. we will get some sunshine by the end of the weekend. >> that's your latest weather. hoda >> all right, al thank you. coming up, the powerful conversation between pro golfer jason day and our own miguel almaguer their moms were diagnosed with lung cancer despite never smoking. what they want everyone to know about this disease, coming up after these messages quiet frankly, eating them plain in their own seasoning

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good thursday morning. right now at 7:56 we are seeing some heavy rain moving through parts of the tri-valley but it's clearing up just off to the east. we'll be watching our rain clearing out as we go throughout the day. most of the north bay now seeing that rain moving out and the rest of the bay area still dealing with some light showers as you step out the door, so it's cool and soggy but the rest of the day won't look like that. for the afternoon some sunshine and some mild temperatures and then for saturday our next round of rain comes in early in the morning and clears out for the rest of the day. on sunday we have sunshine and also more showers in the forecast early next week. by monday we'll be tracking a new storm system moving into the bay area. san francisco we'll see temperatures in the mid-50s and also those king tides will be here by tomorrow morning.

let's head over to mike for an update on the commute. looking at the commute, also on the lens, wet roads. slick conditions and the building commute are the story for the south and most of the bay here. this is 280 coming at us northbound. the big problem is at the bottom, north 87, still jammed. the earlier crash has cleared. now a lot more traffic heading up into downtown san jose. north and southbound 101 slow heading up past third. a crash in san mateo. recovery for the san mateo bridge. back to you. thank you, mike. happening now b.a.r.t. board members are about to meet and they could decide on a new addition. this one has nothing to do with the trains or a new station. instead it would be a new team of what the agency called b.a.r.t. ambassadors. team members with be trained to diffuse potential problems on trains. you can link to the story on our home page. uber riders take note, major changes only in california. it includes an end to up front pricing. on our home page the full story

including why the changes are only happening in the golden state. another update in a half hour.

it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, iran outrage. two republicans speak out after an intelligence briefing on a strike that killed a top iranian general. >> i walked into the briefing undecided. i walked out decided, specifically because of what happened in that briefing. >> vice president pence defending his boss' decision to us this morning. >> there were no american casualties, no coalition casualties as the president said yesterday, we continue to believe that iran is standing down >> we're live with what you need to know. plus raising awareness pga tour golfer jason day opens up about his mother's fight

against lung cancer. >> i'm like why? why does this have to happen in general, but why does it have to happen to my mom >> what he and our own miguel almaguer want you to know about the disease and their families. royal mess prince harry and meghan markle's stunning decision to step back, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the royal family what does the crown chaos mean for the future of the royal family we'll break it all dawn today thursday, january 9th, 2020. >> i'm here with my mom for lacey's 30th. >> my dad's 46th birthday. >> today debby is turning 70 >> coast to coast, from camino island, washington. >> from san antonio. >> to the "today" show >> we've got a beautiful crowd outside, happy everybody is here joining us on this freezing cold thursday morning.

>> it's a chilly one >> al says there's a storm coming, too. we'll hear about that and say hello to everybody good morning good to have you along with us on a thursday morning. here is the news at 8:00 americans in iraq facing a new threat overnight, and the trump administration is providing new details about its showdown with iran and its intelligence. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us with the latest on all that richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah interesting interview with the vice president here in the region there's more of a feeling that this crisis with iran is paused rather than over the administration insists that president trump taught iran a valuable lesson in deterrence and wisely pulled back from the brink. others say he started a cycle of violence that's going to be very hard to break. sirens over baghdad overnight as rockets were fired at the green

zone, home to american troops and the u.s. embassy the small, unguided rockets caused no damage, but that, in part, was just luck. it's unclear who fired them, but what is clear is that tensions remain extremely high after iran fired ballistic missiles in iraq housing american forces in retaliation for president trump's order to kill iran's top general outside baghdad airport. president trump gave his response on wednesday. >> we suffered no casualties all of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. our great american forces are prepared for anything. iran appears to be standing down which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world >> reporter: vice president pence talking to savannah earlier this morning on "today." >> you've also said in previous interviews that the u.s. did have some warning that these

missiles were coming, presumably intelligence but the u.s. has capability to stop a ballistic missile in its tracks was it risky to let them take that shot? >> well, no, not at all. we have the same threats -- frankly, iran was making threats over the last week i give the credit to our military personnel and our planning on the ground that thankfully there were no casualties >> reporter: his comments coming as the administration gave classified briefings to select senators about why the president decided to kill the iranian general now in iraq. the administration says he was plotting imminent attacks against americans. but even some members of the president's own party were unconvinced the administration made its case. >> probably the worst briefing i've seen, at least on a military issue in the nine years i've served in the united states senate i walked into the briefing undecided. i walked out decided, specifically because of what happened in that briefing. >> our duty under the

constitution is for us to debate when we go to war, and we, for one, are not going to abdicate that duty. >> reporter: those two senators say they will now support a democratic effort in the house to try to limit president trump's ability to wage war with iran most republicans, however, do seem to be sticking with the administration savannah, hoda, back to you. >> richard engel, thank you. more questions this morning about wednesday's crash of that passenger jet in tehran and whether the jet could have been shot down accidentally by iran the ukrainian jetliner vanished from radar about two minutes off after take-off all the people on board including 63 canadians were killed it came hours after iran launched missiles at u.s. troops in iraq. cell phone video, not verified by nbc news yet, appears to show the plane suddenly bursting into flames in mid air. iranian officials say the pilots never made a radio distress call. the number of electric scooters on american streets and

sidewalks has skyrocketed. there's a danger hospitals are seeing a dramatic rise in e-scooter injuries they find it quadrupled between 2014 and 2018. one-third of those are head injuries 222% increase. researchers at uc san francisco also found that men are much more likely than women to be hurt by e-scooters they say one of the biggest problems is that most e-scoote riders don't wear helmets. >> things are everywhere >> see them all through the streets. 8:06 that's boost time. >> boost time it is. when utah got hit with a recent snowstorm, one dad knew the time had come he had to teach his toddler a lifelong lesson, how to make a snow angel they went out in the front yard. bundled up first a tutorial standing up this is how you do it. once he thought he was ready, he laid him down, got ready to do the real thing his son wasn't quite getting the hang of it he said he kept waving straight up in the air. that went on for a little while.

the video ends and we never really know if he passed the test there are more months of winter coming he'll have time to perfect it. >> not how i thought that'd end. >> just like that. he's got time. >> adorable. still ahead on "potstart," what justin bieber revealing about a health battle. golfer jason day and our miguel almaguer connected on a shared experience, watching their mothers fight cancer >> a sense of feeling incredibly unlucky and also lucky >> yes, unlucky that it hit you -- >> their powerful and really important conversation right after this

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♪ we are back with your health at 8:00. according to a new report from the american cancer society, the cancer death rate in the u.s. has fallen for the 26th year in a row, including the largest year-to-year drop ever recorded. >> that's the good news. >> it is fueled in large part by progress against lung cancer, this country's leading cause of cancer death lung cancer can be difficult to detect early and often strikes otherwise healthy people. >> among them the mother of pga tour golfer jason day, who has become an advocate for more information and awareness. nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer talked to him. this wasn't just another story for you. this was a real personal one. >> a tough one to do jason's story resonated so deeply with me his mother, like my mother, wa diagnosed with lung cancer after living a very healthy lifestyle. unfortunately for many people living with lung cancer, that's often the case

for their caregivers, understanding the disease and how deadly it is is terrifying >> reporter: golfer jason day overcame poverty and the childhood loss of his father to reach the pinnacle of his sport. >> hole in one from the australian >> reporter: in 2017, when his life and career seemed to be on par to reach his wildest dreams, everything changed >> i get a phone call from my sister and she's crying. mom has lung cancer. what is going on i get off the phone and start balling my eyes out. >> cancer doesn't care whether you're an athlete, wealthy, whether you're poor, where you live it just kind of hits you and destroys you. >> yes. >> reporter: day brought his mother to the states from australia so he could care for her. the news was devastating for day. it forced him to step away from golf in the middle of a tournament >> i walked over to the media center and got into, my mom has lung cancer and i don't know what to do. >> my mom's been here for a

while, and she has lung cancer at the start of the year, she was diagnosed with 12 months to live >> i'm like why. why does it have to happen in general? but why does it have to happen to my mom who has never had a drink in her life, never smoked in her life, been pretty healthy the majority of her life >> reporter: day, who lost his father to stomach cancer when he was just 11, says his mother worked and sacrificed so he could chase his dreams. >> i'm sitting there going, i haven't had enough time to sit down and spend time with you i wish i could take it back. >> reporter: fortunately for the days, her prognosis was wrong, and her condition was upgraded is there a sense of feeling incredibly unlucky and also lucky? >> yes, unlucky it hit you. >> yes >> yes, but it brought everyone closer together. it's been kind of a blessing i know your mother had lung

cancer as well what were you feeling? >> it just hits you like, you're at home, doing whatever you're doing, and you find out. you go from living this normal life to like upside down. >> reporter: like jason, my mom clementina was healthy and fit our family had no idea anything was wrong until in 2013, she picked up a cough that wouldn't go ahead stage three non-small cell lung cancer is often fatal. by the time it was detected, the disease spread through her lymph nodes. through surgery, radiation and six rounds of chemo, she never lost hope and never complained she's been cancer-free for six years. many aren't so lucky lung cancer claimed more than 142,000 lives last year, but luck also found day's mother through aggressive treatment, she beat the odds. for both of us, the memories are still vivid. >> i remember my mom literally holding her up as we walked.

>> yes she'd hold like that i'm holding her like this to try to walk her. >> they're so weak. >> they're so weak >> reporter: day is working with drug manufacturer astrazeneca on a campaign to increase awareness about lung cancer and the potential of biomarker testing to help treat the disease early. day's mother is healthy. >> she's loving life and back working. my sister just had her fourth child. so she's busy with looking after the grandkids as well. things are looking up. >> reporter: but like my mom and me and millions of others who have seen loved ones go through a fight with cancer, day says his mother's experience changed him. >> i remember having a phone call with her and i'm sobbing on the call i'm like, i want you to see my kids grow up, i want you to see them get married that was a difficult conversation to have with her in regards to that because you just

never know how long they truly have and how precious life is. >> wow he talked about how that diagnosis changed his life how did your mom's diagnosis change yours >> i remember i was in the field on a story, covering a flood and it just hits you like a flood, all these emotions. you can't concentrate on what you're doing and what direction your life is going everything changes and you're flipped upside down. you're living a life where you're happy and working and everything changes. >> she's doing really well now >> you worked so hard for us you went up every weekend to care for her to be with her hoda was just saying she has a good prognosis now, doesn't she? >> she's cancer-free, made it past five years which is the benchmark. jason is in the zone where he's waiting for more scans and tests to come back i also remember doing that it's terrifying, you wait for the phone call to say the scan is good. the next one is in six months and you've got to keep going through them for a few years. >> dr. john torres joins the table. i think the thing that struck a

lot of us was, and we hear this a lot, they weren't smokers. how does someone who has never picked up a cigarette or in some cases had a drink get lung cancer >> that's the biggest misconception with lung cancer people say, i never smoked how did i get it 15% of lung cancer cases are non-smokers. it happens more in women than men. this is something that happened with miguel's mom. it happens for a variety of reasons. if you live with a secondhand smoker or around secondhand smoke a lot, that can happen environmental factors, the biggest being radon in some houses across the country can cause it there's genetic factors, especially if you have a family history. a person's own genes can make them more likely to have lung cancer as well. >> what are the symptoms, dr. torres you said your mom developed this cough. is that the most common? >> that's the biggest symptom. a persistent, nagging cough. it wasn't anything out of the ordinary sometimes when it's advanced they can cough up blood. they can get shortness of breath, chest pain if they get frequent lung infections, bronchitis and

pneumonia, and can't figure out why they get them so often, that can be a sign. >> not a screening test the way there are for other conditions. is that right? >> screening tests but they only recommend it for heavy smokers it's a cat scan. >> how can we keep our lungs healthy? obviously not smoking. are there other things we can do >> i talked with experts the other day. if you smoke, stop if you don't smoke, don't start. make sure you don't vape don't be around secondhand smoke. do the things we know you need to do, exercise right, eat right. screening is important >> real quick. you said the prognosis changed, they thought it was stage one. it was up to stage three do you have to go in for surgery to figure out how bad the cancer is >> that's exactly what happens it's not uncommon. the stages are based on mris and cat scans. they can only do so much when they go in for surgery, the microscopic staging often changes it sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's better but gives a definitive diagnosis. >> dr. john, thank you miguel, i didn't know this story until this moment. you wrote a beautiful essay about your mom and coping with her health battle.

you can read it at today.com thanks for sharing >> give her our love let's shift gears now. al has a check of the weather. >> that's right. severe weather to talk about tomorrow 28 million people at risk stretching from texas into arkansas and parts of the tennessee river valley for tomorrow -- i should say saturday, that moves to the east all the way on from florida into georgia and parts of mississippi, alabama as well good morning. i am meteorologist carrie hall. we are seeing the sun now shining in san rafael after early morning rain. we're getting rain moving out of the south bay, a little more recently. we're going to see the system quickly pushing off toward the south, and spotty showers left behind, along with cool temperatures. but the rest of the day is looking much better. by noon, getting sunshine across the bay area. tomorrow we'll also be dry. another round of rain comes in early saturday morning and that looks to clear by saturday afternoon.

>> that's your latest weather. enjoys -- guys >> all right, mr. roker. sheinelle jones. i >> i'm in for carson i'll give you this first up, justin bieber had a lot to celebrate in 2019 including getting married to haley baldwin and shooting a new youtube documentary diving into his personal life and takes a look behind the scenes at the making of new music. it's not all been good revealing he's had a string of health issues writing, while a lot of people kept saying justin bieber looked like, expletive, on meth, et cetera they fail to realize i've recently been diagnosed with lyme disease, not only that, but a serious case of mono which affected my skin, brain function, energy and overall health he goes on to say it's a rough couple of years, but he is getting back and getting treatment. he says he'll be back and better than ever. we certainly wish him the best. next up, quentin tarantino, the director behind some of cinema's most beloved movies

"pulp fiction" and "kill bill. some don't realize he's also an actor. tarantino sometimes appears in his own films like "reservoir dogs." sitting down with jimmy fallon he revealed that movie might not have happened if he didn't take another acting gig on, believe it or not, "the golden girls." >> what? >> i made like $3,000, and that kept me going during our preproduction time trying to get "reservoir dogs" going. >> thank "golden girls" for "reservoir dogs. it's a shame we don't have a clip i'd love to show it. oh, wait, we do have it. quentin tarantino as an elvis impersonator on "the golden girls. check this out ♪ ♪ i do love you with all my heart ♪ >> that's what i'm talking about. you got a big laugh. >> i loved "the golden girls." i remember that episode.

there you have it. we might not have had a movie as violent as "reservoir dogs" without something as wholesome as "the golden girls." larry david's "curb your enthusiasm" starts soon. while we love when larry plays the over the top version of himself, we also love seeing him as bernie sanders on "saturday night live." sitting down with stephen colbert, he revealed he's not a huge fan of flying from l.a. to new york to do "snl. if bernie comes president, let's just say, it would be life-changing for larry. >> have you met him? >> yes, yes, i met him if he wins, do you know what that's going to do to my life? do you have any idea i mean - [ cheers and applause i mean, it'll be great it will be great for the country, great for the country terrible for me. >> there you go. sorry, larry people just love that impression too much we'll get more of his brutal honesty when larry joins us live tomorrow morning tune in for that good stuff.

>> thank you, sheinelle. still ahead, from chapped lips to dry feet, check, check and check, new remedies for some common winter skin woes. we'll talk to a dermatologist and have products to tell you about, too first a check of your local good morning. 8:26. i am scott mcgrew. there's a new push to clean the streets. leading the charge for more trash cans, dumpsters, pickup service. it has attracted national attention, not to mention attention of the investigative unit, covering that story well more than a year. city leaders believe some of the litter comes from garbage that was initially dropped in cans and dumpsters. they'll try to device a new action plan. let's check the weather. >> rain is causing issues for most of the morning commute. things are drying out, still

slick in spots. be careful. better news on the peninsula, crash, popular southbound, 101 cleared. had about a half hour for that to happen. better speeds both directions through san mateo. now 92 is jammed over from 280 eastbound. that's typical for this time. south bay, silicon valley, 280 towards wolf, slower drive out of san jose. cupertino, recovery for 87, and wet roads. 101 at the 682 interchange. >> all right. another local update coming in a half hour. see you then.

good morning everybody we're back at 8:30 on thursday morning. i just met al roker. it's the 9th of january. it's a cold one on our plaza everyone is bundled up nice smiles on their faces hello, taking selfies. hokies are here. >> we're represented.

>> what's going on >> you and roker running for office that's a ticket i'd support. >> you'd be in the cabinet, guys >> crowd moment. i'm looking for kristen and michael. right there. right behind me. hello. >> how are you >> someone is having a birthday. >> i am. >> big 2-1 >> absolutely. the big 4-0. >> that is a big one happy birthday where are you all from >> mechanicsville, virginia. >> came up to celebrate the birthday >> absolutely, yeah. >> how long have you been coming up to new york >> first time. >> the cold is freezing my brain. i want you to come inside and enjoy the rest of the show and celebrate your birthday. >> thank you so much. >> thanks for coming up. you work at honeywell? >> transition. >> i'm going to stop this thing because now it's weird but happy birthday and come on

inside >> come inside for really bad coffee. >> happy birthday. we'll head back to windsor castle we have more questions about harry and meghan's apparent split from the rest of the royals just ahead, simple solutions to the most common complaints of the season if you're going dry in january but missing margaritas savannah guthrie >> i'm not. >> we'll shake up creative mocktails that hit the spot. first a check of the weather. it's not dry in the forecast, is it >> no, it's not. let's look at the weekend ahead. for tomorrow, flooding rain, violent storms through the lower gulf mountain snows in the pacific northwest. as we move into saturday, record highs in the atlantic states snow out in the plains and ice and snow back behind that storm. on sunday, record high as along the northeast coast. snow in northern new england

another pacific storm moves in on sunday, much colder in the midwest and back into the central planes that's what's going on around the country. >> i was going to show you something. >> i have to show you this little one what's her name? >> lola. >> that's good morning. i am meteorologist carrie hall. we take a live look outside in belvedere towards san francisco, you can see clouds hovering overhead. rain is moving away. we'll see some clearing going into the afternoon. by tomorrow, expect some sunshine, up to 59 degrees. then on saturday there will be some showers moving through early morning, clearing out for the rest of the day. sunday is looking nice. tracking more rain in the forecast by early next week. savannah. >> all right, al thank you. coming up next, a lot more on prince harry and meghan

markle's controversial break from the royal family. the latest in a string of recent troubles for the royals. keir has that part of the story. rst this is "today" onfi n looking to get your business off to a fast start in the new year? it's go time! switch to comcast business and get fast internet on the nation's largest gig-speed network. plus, complete reliability with 4g lte backup. and, cloud-based security to help protect the devices on your network. greenlight your business in 2020 with fast internet and voice for $64.90 per month. switch now and get a $100 prepaid card when you add comcast business securityedge. call today. comcast business. beyond fast.

we're back, 8:36 today's talker prince harry and meghan markle's sudden exit as senior royals. >> the latest bump in the road a rough few months for the queen and buckingham palace. what does this mean for the monarchy keir simmons is back with that part of the story. keir, good morning >> reporter: savannah, good morning. i know you love "the crown." what that show tells us is quite often the things that rock the monarchy are the tensions between the duty and responsibility of being a royal and just trying to be happy. of course, you see in that show how margaret wasn't allowed to marry the man she loved, how charles didn't marry the woman he loved

most famously king edward walked away from the monarchy to marry the woman he loved harry and meghan saying they want to walk away. meghan in a previous interview saying what's the point if you're not happy it's hard for people who don't live in a castle like this to understand the truth is, living in castle like this, being a royal quite often isn't a happy life. >> a divided royal family now on display for the world to see prince harry and meghan, officially distancing themselves from the palace and the queen. the couple saying this year they'll step back as senior members and carve out a progressive new role within this institution. >> it's the kind of thing we knew that they were unhappy, knew they were going to try to forge a new path, but nothing like this has ever happened in the royal family. >> reporter: meghan and harry's abrupt exit rocking a family already plagued by internal strife and public scandal.

late last year the queen's son, prince andrew, forced to step away from his public duties, his office kicked out of buckingham palace after a disastrous interview about ties to jeffrey epstein. >> the path is not always smooth and at times this year felt quite bumpy. >> reporter: the last time a royal officially cut ties, it caused a crisis that threatened to bring down the monarchy in 1936 king edward viii became the first english monarch to abdicate the throne, all to marry a divorcee, wallis simpson. illustrated on "the crown. >> a few hours ago i discharged my last duty as king and emperor. >> reporter: while a marriage drew one royal away, it was divorce that allowed prince harry's mother, princess diana, to escape royalty. during her separation from prince charles, the people's

princess was not shy about the tension behind palace walls saying i don't think many people will want me to be queen actually when i say many people, i mean the establishment that i married into because they have decided i'm a non-starter. like his mom, prince harry is a royal rebel, uncomfortable when bound by rules his unhappiness in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the british press never more apparent than when he had to walk behind his mother's coffin, age just 12 years old. telling "newsweek" in 2017, i don't think any child should be asked to do that under any circumstances. he does not want his new family to suffer the same pressure. but there are many questions about what their next chapter will look like can they work outside the family and still represent the royals their fairy tale wedding just a couple years ago had looked like a chance for the royal family to reinvent and appeal to new

supporters now they are walking away, some say forced out but like any divorce, the months and years ahead can either be deeply painful or liberating >> the whole thing is so puzzling, keir what does the future look like for harry and meghan what perks, if you will, of royalty could they still enjoy >> reporter: i don't think we know i think we know what they want, but we don't know what they're going to get let me give you one example of the issues here. will they still get royal protection even if they live overseas, when they live overseas remember harry's mom, princess diana, did not have royal protection after she left the royal family some years later, craig, she was in that fatal accident in paris. many people said if she had royal protection, that wouldn't have happened. that's how serious these issues are. that's why there will be so much concern inside the royal family. >> i wonder if they move to north america half the year, is that really going to resolve

these issues she's been having in particular? i know the british press has been brutal. it's not going to let up, is it, just because they move part of the year >> reporter: i don't think so. i think they'll still be in the spotlight. i think they want to have a different relationship with the press and frankly deal with the journalists they want to you know, savannah, i don't think in the royal family they realize potentially how damaging and serious this may be. just think about this. harry is the second most popular member of the royal family inside his circle there have been complaints that royal courtiers have been briefing against him. this announcement came after a leak to a tabloid newspaper. they have been very unhappy -- i think there's been some jealousy of the fame harry and meghan have had after that wonderful wedding here you've got to ask, what will it do to the image of the royal

family if harry, princess diana's son, and meghan say, you know, we can't put up with this, we don't like this, we're not enjoying this, we don't want this >> keir simmons there in windsor, thank you >> a royal mess. >> they're here for six months out of the year. maybe that means keir is also here six months. >> silver lining pack your bags. >> we could use a lifestyle contributor. >> meghan. >> used to do it on our show all the time >> would be most welcome. >> a good ask, al. drugstore finds and diy solutions for your winter skin woes first, this is "today" on nbc. what'd we decide on the flyers again? uh, "fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance." i think we're gonna swap over to "over seventy-five years of savings and service." what, we're just gonna swap over? yep. pump the breaks on this, swap it over to that. pump the breaks, and, uh, swap over? that's right. instead of all this that i've already-?

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on today's consumer, something a lot of us are dealing with right now, the winter skin woes >> there are products and do it yourself hacks that can give you relief they can reduce the risk of the dry stuff. joining us is board certified dermatologist deborah

wattenberg doctor, good morning this is the time of year we're feeling yummy and our face feels dry and crinkling. >> we want help. >> how do we start >> we get really dry because there's no humidity, cold air, dry heat, long showers love those but they're really not great for our skin you need to change up your skin care routine i like to start with a cleanser. if you switch up your cleanser a little bit and take out things that contain alcohol, all the free gerrans -- fragrance, the things that dry out your skin, your skin will do better maybe switch over to the micellar water this takes off your makeup, mascara, leaves a thin film of oil that takes away the grime. >> what about coconut oil? >> love coconut oil. we have some do-it-yourself products down there. >> can you still exfoliate. clarisonic or whatever >> clarisonics are great

great to get off the dry dead skin, but then you want to add a serum. they contain hyaluronic acid you can put them right on your hands, use them on your face they act like a sponge they pull water into your skin and hydrate your skin, put it on clean skin with moisturizer over it >> serum, then moisturizer >> face cream. >> switch your moisturizer if it's the middle of the winter and your skin is drying out, don't use oil free it may not be the right product for you. switch from a lotion to a cream. stay away from fragrance. >> does this stuff build up? >> it doesn't necessarily build up you can exfoliate your skin and then apply these products onto fresh, dry skin. >> they glue it down so we don't steal them. >> this is morning routine stuff. >> all right >> you then want to get out of the shower and use a moisturizer directly on to your skin these are great that you can put directly onto your body when you're a little wet from the shower inexpensive. you can find them at the drugstore.

and if you want to do it yourself - >> eat breakfast next? >> exactly you can mix up a little paste. this is a combination of olive oil and oatmeal. >> cooked oatmeal. >> cooked oatmeal. you take the oatmeal and use it on dry patches you don't smear this all over your whole body. if you have one of these really dry patches that's itchy andtor uncomfortable. anti-inflammatories and vitamin e. the olive oil leaves a thin film of moisturizer on your skin. it's fabulous. >> take us to crackly lips >> you have no oil glands in your lips, people lick your lips hard to cover. you can't wear a hat, gloves you're not going to walk around with a face mask you want to hydrate. prevent. these are great examples that contain oils this is a fabulous one, contains an olive oil, safflower oil. >> burt's bees >> this is a little thicker which works well if you want to do it yourself, this is a mixture of a little sugar and honey. you can exfoliate your lips to get the dry, dead skin off

take a tiny bit of coconut oil, smear it on your lips. it tastes good and feels good on your skin. >> i love the coconut oil. >> all right >> one of my all-time favorites are these new hand gel gloves. put your hands in here they contain oil almond oil you can sit at home. they help hydrate those dry cuticles you can put them on your feet. >> watching tv and you put them on >> exactly >> oh, i like. >> it doesn't crack. if you don't want these reusable ones which you can wash and save, there are disposable ones that you can put your hands in. >> could you sleep in them >> you can sleep if you want to, but don't have to. you can put your hands into these. they're really fun, contain all kinds of oils to make your skin feel fabulous. >> do you like baby foot, th stuff that peels the layers off the bottom of your feet. >> as long as you hydrate after. use moisturizer. >> all right >> hair masks, everybody is using blow dryers, curling irons, all things to dry it out. buy a hair mask, let it sit for

a little bit makes a huge difference. if you want to do it at home, you want to eat it and wear it, do a mixture use coconut oil, avocado and banana mix it up in the blender smear it on your hair. put a cap over it to create heat go in the shower, rinse it out, shampoo and condition after. it's fabulous. >> thank you dr. wattenberg. we appreciate you. for more on these products, head to today.com/shop. softer already al ahead, some mocktails that are so good you won't miss the booze. jordan salcito's tasty recipes for anyone trying to cut down on alcohol. alcohol. first this is "today" on nbc

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this morning a whopping 33% of respondents to a recent survey say they don't drink alcohol at all. that's why we invited wine special events manager and ramona founder jordan salcito to show us how to mix up some festive drinks this is a growing trend, isn't it >> it is more and more people are opting out of drinking in january and even beyond. >> let's dive in you have something this migh take the place of a margarita. >> this is for the margarita lover that doesn't want tequila. very simple. we'll start with simple syrup, equal parts, a sweetener, we're using sugar. you could use agave or honey we've added lime zest as well to give an extra layer of flavor. we're going to add some fresh squeezed lime juice. >> that is dangerously yummy. >> what do you think >> that is dangerously yummy

>> tequila would make that -- oh, sorry. >> i think you missed the point of the topic >> we're pouring in. >> soda water, sparkling water >> it's really good. >> there's no reason to compromise on taste here. >> is this salt? >> this is a salt, of course optional if you want a salty rim. >> terrific. very nice. >> really good >> if you like something spicy, what do you have >> we have the spicy mule for the moscow mule lover of which i'm one. this is a simple syrup 2.0 instead of water we're using fresh ginger juice and lime juice and turbinado sugar. you want to make a simple syrup out of that. add a little bit >> everything has a little seltzer in it, gives it a little fizz. >> a little effervescence. this is a personal preference. if you want to use something like water or just lime juice, you can really make this -- >> this is so good it's so good

the problem is you could drink so many of them because they're -- >> you can there's no downside. >> you can adjust the sweetness or the spiciness, less sugar, more sugar. >> absolutely. >> this is our juniper and tonic for the gin and tonic lover. june juniper is a botanical. we have seeped some juniper tea, you can get it online or at a target or wherever, brew it hot. make sure you chill it down before you use it. you pour that over ice this is a spanish style, if you ever go to spain and order a gin and tonic, it's really an event. the garnish, you use the biggest glass you can find it's citrus season. >> lovely. >> are you doing dry january, al >> i am. >> you are >> i am. >> are you i feel like i don't know you anymore. >> i don't drink that much to begin with i'm just doing dry january so, you know. >> we're doing wet january >> don't put your stuff on me.

>> we just wanted to know. >> we don't have to listen to these philistines. just finish up. what do we have? >> this is for the grapefruit sprits. >> are you okay, craig >> wow >> what am i thinking? god don't like ugly. >> excuse me i'm good. >> we'll start here. we have fresh grapefruit juice, touches on the bitter and the sweet notes. >> i know where the bitter is. >> grape juice, a little soda water as well. we'll use the extra dry ginger ale here i like to add a little bitters which, of course, does have a little bit of alcohol in it. if you want to be a dry january -- >> cheers. >> really good cheers everybody >> jordan, thank you so much this was wonderful we've got these recipes and more on today.com/food.

just ahead on the third hour, we'll take you to the future of farming, try to change the way we eat our food and grow it. and on hoda and jenna, tiffany haddish, rose burns, selma hayek, billy porter and jennifer coolidge all that and more. i'd drink to that. first, your local news and weather. good morning. 8:56. i am scott mcgrew. board members are supposed to vote on a plan that could lead onto more hands on posts, looking to fund a pilot program with what they call b.a.r.t. ambassadors, including a team of ten people that would act as community service officers on board trains. b.a.r.t. believes it will boost

rider safety. the ambassadors won't be armed but trained to diffuse potential c conflict. the meeting is supposed to get under way at any moment. we'll have a report on the midday newscast and more on nbcbayarea.com. uber riders, big changes are coming, only in california, ending up front pricing. on nbcbayarea.com, the full story, including why the changes only happening here. following new developments in washington. lawmakers debating the growing u.s. crisis with iran. house lawmakers planning to vote on a measure that would limit president trump's ability to take action. on our twitter feed, a link to the full story, including reaction from house speaker nancy pelosi. a local weather update is coming in an hour and see you at 11.

live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. this is the third hour of "today." good thursday to you. welcome to the third hour of "today." craig here with al, sheinelle. if you see the big mug, that meets sweet willie g. >> we didn't plan that. >> dylan remains on maternity leave. she posted this adorable new picture. a side by side of oliver and his big brother calvin. >> beautiful. >> we'll get a live update from lv