fire it up right now tracking that incoming rain. nbc bay area to know what to expect from all that rain coming our way. we'll have more for you later during our midday newscast. until then, have a great weekend. we'll see you back here monday morning. good morning good morning. smashing records. the u.s. logs the most lethal y week yet of the pandemic. more than 16,000 deaths in the last seven days and it's about to get worse. >> probably for the next 60 and 90 days we'll have more deaths per day than in 9/11 or pearl harbor. >> hospitals around the countr overwhelmed and on the brink. >> what i'm worried about is we can't keep up. >> with the christmas holidays still upon us, the new pleas from the desperate front line workers. ready to go, the first

vaccine prep kits can delivered to all 50 states this morning after the fda panel clears the way for pfizer's final approval. >> the light is at the end of the tunnel. >> just ahead, when will the fda issue the go-ahead and when will the first doses go out. we're live with the very latest. battle lines. more than 100 house republicans throw their support behind a last-ditch lawsuit to overturn the results of the election. but attorneys general in four swing states blast the case as meritless and dangerous. straight ahead, the ongoing fight with the final electoral vote just days away. breaking overnight, a rare federal execution during a presidential transition. the u.s. supreme court rejecting a last-minute appeal despite pleas from activists and even some jurors who convicted in the original case. weekend trouble. a cross country storm set to blanket the midwest in snow and bring rain to the south and northeast and there's another one right behind it. al's forecast to make your plans by just ahead. all that, plus friday night heights.

>> is everybody here ready to play in a state championship? >> the inspiring story of the texas school for the deaf getting set to play for the title, today, friday, december 11th, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hi, everybody. good morning. we got here. friday morning. good to have you along with us. >> it sure is, guys. we're going to start with our top story. the coronavirus. help will soon arrive in the form of a vaccine, but the situation remains dire from coast to coast. >> the numbers are staggering. take a look. thursday, yesterday, saw daily records yet again. nearly 230,000 cases.

3100 deaths in one day. the nation now reporting 300,000 deaths overall since the start of the pandemic. so the vaccine cannot get here fast enough. we have complete coverage, including a conversation with a former acting director of the cdc, but let's get started with tom costello and that decision by an independent fda advisory committee recommending approval of pfizer's vaccine. tom, you watched that entire hearing. there were concerns expressed just before the vote, but it was approved to go forward. >> and listen, that's their job. they always go through any and all issues. any potential concerns. they want more information about 16 and 17-year-olds and how they react to the vaccine. they want more information about pregnant women, more information and more research about folks who had some sort of allergic reaction in the uk. but with 3,100 people dying every single day, the committee felt here that benefits far outweigh the risks. >> reporter: this morn, pfizer's covid vaccine appears to be on the fast track for the emergency

use authorization after the panel spent eight hours thursday reviewing the safety and efficacy data. the committee said the evidence is overwhelming. >> if you can prevent this disease safely and effectively, we have clear evidence of a benefit. i mean, all we have on the other side is theoretical risks. >> the fda could now decide today or over the weekend to follow britain and canada in approving the vaccine. >> the light is at the end of the tunnel. we know how this pandemic is going to end. >> once the fda does approve, operation warp speed will shift into high gear. using a network of fedex and u.p.s. cars and planes. cargo planes given priority and marshals protecting the distribution process. in louisville, u.p.s. has begun delivering vaccine kits to health care providers. it's a first step before distributing the vaccine itself. the bigger the population, the bigger the vaccine shipment. california getting 327,000

initial doses. texas getting 224,000. while smaller states get less. north dakota starts with 6,800 doses at first. vermont, 5,800. pfizer's vaccine must be kept at arctic cold temperatures. in iowa, pharmacy technicians are preparing to receive the first shipments. >> we do have a freezer ready. >> like many states, for the rollout, colorado authorities are preparing for the arrival. at the airport in denver to the back of an suv, a 120-mile from the airport to vale to a clinic's deep cold freezer all ideally in four hours. in metro detroit, hard hit by covid, beaumont health's eight hospitals are also preparing. >> we believe this will be a turning point for our community and our country, so the doses that will be distributed to

beaumont are the people's vaccine of the united states. >> those vaccine doses could be arriving in just a matter of days. as that taped report was running, i just got an email from the fda. an update on how quickly this is going to go. i'm going to read it. it has the fda has informed the sponsor, pfizer, it will rapidly work toward finalization. the issue has told the cdc and that committee within the agency and operation warp speed so they can begin executing their plans in a timely manner for vaccine distribution. they're not saying how soon, when, but they say they're very quickly and actively moving on this. back to you. >> tom, you read washington bureaucratic language better than i do, but what i heard is they're going to approve it. >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. the fda commissioner has essentially said that already. yesterday, we had admiral giroir saying help it on the way. the question is whether it's today, tomorrow, or sunday. i think it's coming fast. >> tom, thank you. let's move to the growing crisis at hospitals. two weeks after thanksgiving, so many are overwhelmed with icu

units filling up, and in some cases already at max capacity. frontline workers struggling to cope with a record-shattering number of cases. nbc's erin mclaughlin is in austin, texas, with more. good morning. >> good morning. texas is one of those states with the lowest number of icu beds available. here in austin, all over the lone star state, and across the country, there's concern. situation is only getting worse. this morning in texas, doctors say they're battling a forest fire of infections. hospital icus reaching capacity across the state. >> what i'm worried about is that we can't keep up. and in some cases, you may end up denying care to people who aren't likely to make it. that's a real tough one. >> reporter: in austin, thursday, patricia perez's

family held her funeral. the 70-year-old grandmother believed she was infected with covid while volunteering as a poll worker during the election. >> she was so passionate about working the polls. she just wanted to get out to vote. >> reporter: when you hear that people say this pandemic is a hoax, what do you have to say to them? >> people don't take it seriously until it hits their family. >> this crisis is now coast to coast. since thanksgiving, 20 states have seen covid deaths surge by more than 50%. health experts worry with a hodgepodge of regulations state to state, there's still no uniform response to this crisis. >> we are in a timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days we're going to have more deaths per day than we had in 9/11 or we had in pearl harbor. >> in michigan, six hospitals have reached capacity this week. in california, icus in ten rural counties have no available beds. the same is true in many city hospitals. like in silicon valley, and in providence st. joseph near los angeles. the exhausted staff here say it's personal. >> i don't get to see my mom because i'm scared they might get something from me. >> some hospitals having to

choose between caring for covid patients and those with other serious health conditions like utah mom laurie terry. in october, her heart suddenly stopped. doctors say the icu beds she needed all were filled, many were covid patients. lauri's family now left heartbroken. >> because she could not access medical care, she died. if one less sick person had been in the hospital that day, she would be here right now. >> back in texas, over in hard-hit el paso, doctors tell me the situation is improving and the people are following the rules and doctors say that in a strange way that they were lucky that the first wave of the surge hit in el paso and they were able to pull the resources from all over the state. the doctors and the nurses traveling there to help. as the virus spreads like wildfire across the state, the concern is that other locations

won't have access to the same resources. savannah. >> thank you, erin. now we will turn to dr. richard besser who led the nation against the h1n1 pandemic. he's also president of the robert wood foundation. let's go back to the vaccine because it's all but official now that it will be approved by the fda based on what tom costello just reported. did that panel hearing play out more or less as you expected? any surprises, any concerns? >> it did play out as i hoped. i was able to watch several hours of that. in particular, the discussion. and it was a frank and open scientific discussion. there was disagreement among members of the committee. they were asking challenging questions. in particular, questions around safety and what studies might need to be done that they would recommend after an eua is issued. an eua is a starting point. you can move forward, you can

start to vaccinate people, but in all likelihood, the fda will request the company continue to do additional studies. there were questions whether there were enough participants in the 16 to 18 year range to approve for that group. but there was an overwhelming feeling that this is a very safe and effective vaccine and that the fda should approve it. >> it certainly exceeded i think most researchers' and scientists' dreams when you talk about how effective when you're talking about 95% effective. that's the top line, safe and effective. there's still a lot we don't know about this vaccine. >> oh, yeah. you know, this is -- we have never had a vaccine approved this quickly. and that will raise a lot of concerns for many people. and those concerns have to be addressed. you're not going to be able to address those concerns by just putting out ads saying everyone should get this vaccine. it's going to take federal dollars so that communities and states can work with everybody to understand what are people's concerns, who are the trusted leaders in each community, what is it that needs to be done to insure that as this goes forward, they're continuing to

collect safety data. this is being approved based on two months of safety data, which isn't a lot. as we already saw in the uk, they were detecting issues in people who have severe allergies. everyone is going to want to be certain that as it goes forward, they're not stopping looking. they're continuing to study this so that if there are longer term problems they'll be detected. >> let's just spend a moment on logistics. when i think about the task of trying to inoculate 200 million americans or more at the least with a shot that requires two doses over a period of weeks, it's hard to even fathom how they're going to pull this off. how confident are you we're going to be able to get this done? >> well, i'm confident we'll get it done. i'm also pretty certain there are going to be a lot of speed bumps along the way, so there has to be transparency around that. people have to understand how challenging this is. i serve on the seven-state regional commission for the northeast, and our call yesterday, states were talking

about how challenging this is. as a general pediatrician, i'm used to vaccines coming to me. so that i can give them to the kids in my clinic. here, with these requirements of such cold temperatures, it's really going to be an effort of getting people to where the vaccines are, and in rural communities and communities where transportation is an issue, these are logistical issues that local health departments and governments are going to have to address. >> to be continued. we'll be watching this unfold. dr. besser, as always, thanks for your time. >> a pleasure. we turn now to politics.n n. and the legal fight over the legitimate results of the election more than 100 house republicans are now backing a challenge to overturn the president's loss, but a group of states attorneys general are fighting back this morning. nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has the latest. good morning >> good morning to you that's right, the president's efforts to try to overturn the election results are dividing republicans this morning, while more than 100 house members, as you say, are backing a recent texas lawsuit to reverse results

in key battleground states, other top members of the gop are expressing serious misgivings and this morning, democrats are blasting the entire effort casting it as a threat to democracy. this morning, president trump and his republican allies are ramping up their last-ditch effort to try to invalidate the 2020 election. more than 100 house republicans have now said they support a long shot texas lawsuit also supported by the president, asking the supreme court to overturn the results in four swing states biden won now, over two dozen states are firing back at the texas challenge, filing their own supreme court briefs thursday. pennsylvania's democratic attorney general called the suit a seditious abuse of judicial process. overnight, democrats blasted the texas suit including the michigan's attorney general on cnn. >> texas has absolutely no standing to disenfranchise the 5.5 million voters in the state of michigan and our 10 million

residents. >> and even some republicans are taking aim, including nebraska senator ben sasse, who told the "washington examiner," i suspect the supreme court swats this away, adding, the suit looks like a pr stunt rather than a lawsuit. but vice president pence campaigning in georgia ahead of the state's two senate runoff elections in january, praising the lawsuit. >> president donald trump deserves his day in court. the supreme court. and all i can say is god bless texas. >> it is virtually impossible for the texas challenge to derail president-elect biden's electoral college victory, and monday will be pivotal that's when 538 electors convene in their home states and officially cast their votes, with biden projected to win 306 votes to president trump's 232 it is a big step toward making the results official three weeks later on january 6th, congress will count those electoral votes, with biden

expected to be sworn in as the 46th president at noon on january 20th now, overnight, a source familiar with the matter telling nbc news the white house chief of staff and white house counsel emailed staff on thursday reminding them the president's agenda does remain a priority, but also calling on them to make preparations for a smooth transition it is yet another sign that even while the president refuses to concede, some of his closest aides are facing the reality there will be a new president soon hoda >> all right, kristen welker for us at the white house. thank you. now to that breaking news overnight. a death row inmate executed in indiana despite an 11th hour push by advocates to stop it the u.s. supreme court denied a last-minute appeal nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has the story. good morning, pete. good morning. >> savannah, brandon bernard was a teen at the time he committed his crime, so he was eligible

for the death committee, but putting him to death aroused strong protests, because the nation has been moving away from executing youth offenders. 40-year-old brandon bernard was executed by lethal injection at a federal prison in indiana. 11th hour attempts for court intervention including those from criminal justice advocates and celebrities like kim kardashian west were unsuccessful bernard was 18 when he took part in a 1999 double murder in texas. he and four other teenagers kidnapped, robbed, and murders todd and stacy bagley on their way for a sunday church service in killeen, texas. the case drew national attention in recent weeks and sparked a debate about executing offenders who were young when they committed their crimes bernard was the youngest offender based on his age at the time of the crime to be put to death by the federal government in nearly seven decades. his last words sought forgiveness. he said i'm sorry. i wish i could take it all back, but i can't. that's the only word i can say that completely capture how i feel now and how i felt that day. members of the victim's family

said they accepted that apology. >> the apology and the remorse that was shown to the family and the fact that they regretted their acts at that time helped very much to heal my heart and i can truly say i forgive them >> protesters gathered outside the prison hoping the supreme court would grant a stay of execution, but the court denied it by a vote of 6-3. president trump ignored pleas from celebrities and politicians to halt the execution. kardashian, who has championed criminal justice causes tweeted overnight, he was such a reformed person, so hopeful and positive until the end bernard had asked president trump for clemency and five of the original criminal defense lawyers supported that.

>> thank you very much it is 18 minute past the hour al has his eye on another storm. where is it headed >> this one, it started in the southwest. it's making its way east we have winter weather advisories, winter storm watches and warnings from iowa all the way to michigan, and the system now starting to push its way we have heavier showers and thunderstorms through missouri snow back through the plains, and as this moves east, the snow from the plains to the upper midwest today, as the system moves saturday into the midwest, it brings rain, wind, on the backside, snow showers making their way into the east coast sunday, wind and rain for the northeast. a few northern snow showers up into new england here's what we're looking at as far as precipitation one to three inches of rain from the gulf coast all the way up into michigan and then to the north and west, we're talking up in parts of traverse city and parts of northern michigan, five inches of snow upwards of three to four inches of snow as you get back into the central plains, and winds are going to be a big problem through saturday for minneapolis, nashville, all the

way to boston. wind gusts of 10 to 30 miles per hour we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds oh, i will rescue you good morning. we have anticipated rain expected for this afternoon into the evening hours and also for the weekend doppler radar showing that system just off the pacific to the north. we're going to see that rain start before becoming widespread for this evening. microclimate highs this afternoon in the upper 50s so definitely cooler for today and more scattered rain heading into saturday and sunday with a return of dry weather expected for monday and tuesday.

and that is your latest weather. >> thank you just ahead, an inside look at the new covid surge in asia, where the virus was thought to be contained what people there are now asked to do to bring things back under control. >> also this morning, one of the most inspiring stories we think you'll see all day meet the remarkable students from a high school in texas, a school for the deaf, playing in the state football championship tonight. i'm looking at your mri. your shoulder seems to be healing nicely.

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still ahead, if you have holiday gifts to buy and mail, you have to get on it. >> we'll break down the key deadlines including the one you need to meet today, and yes, we're playing the new taylor swift album. first, your local news ... ... it's looking kinda chilly out today. what am i gonna wear? i think i'll go with... ...cardigan.

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or it might just warm your heart. your next memory is out there, it's just waiting to be made. to new memories. hilton and our family of hotels. and a good morning to you. 7:26. i'm marcus washington. here are today's top stories including bay area icu bed availability reaching a critical stage. >> reporter: i'm jackie ward in burlingame where the situation is becoming more and more dire with icu bed availability in san mateo county. the state says 31 icu beds avaable in the county. the county's website says only seven. the numbers are starting to plummet. a quick look at how icu bed availability is across the region. san francisco has the most at 81. alameda, 75. santa clara 45. napa, solano and marin counties

less than six beds available. >> reporter: i'm sharon katsuda in contra costa county where leaders are pushing for changes to get the vaccine soon to help reopen schools. the fda has to give the final approval as operation warp speed moves into high gear. the early doses expected to go to frontline medics. supervisor hillary ronen with advocates are calling on the governor to make teachers a vaccination priority so kids can get back to school. all right. right now it's time to get a look at the forecast. vianey with a look at the rain coming our way. that's right. we're tracking rain and doppler radar and satellite. you can see it there. we are going to be enjoying seeing some rain out there after we've had a very dry year, and we can certainly use anything we can get. the hour-by-hour outlook and what to expect. the rain moving north to south in the ukiah santa rosa first.

marcus? >> thanks, vianey. another local news update in 30 minutes. see you back here then.

♪ working 9:00 to 5:00 what a way to make a living ♪ ♪ barely getting by it's all taking and no giving ♪ >> don't you want to move now? get up off the couch that's dolly parton rocking 9:00 to 5:00 at last night's billboard women in music awards. great show carson will fill us in on that >> she was here and she said she scribbled the words to 9:00 to 5:00 while they were shooting the movie, like on breaks. she would figure out what it was. >> she's unbelievable. the other person who is

unbelievable is j. lo. she is getting the icon award. carson is here and he is going to cover it all. >> you can text j.lo and say congratulations. let's get to the 7:30 headlines. a search is under way off the coast of southern california for a possible sailor overboard. navy officials say a lookout on the "uss theodore roosevelt" spotted what may have been a person in the water. that initiated a search. ship command later discovered one sailor was missing during a roll call. the ship deployed a boat and three search and rescue helicopters. the coast guard and several other ships have responded to help now to "time" magazine's person of the year we revealed the nominees yesterday. this morning, we can tell you who the winner is. it is president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris "time" says every elected

president since fdr has been person of the year at some point, but this is the first time the publication has also bestowed the honor to a vice president. they were honored for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world. turning now to the nfl and the los angeles rams looking for a little revenge from super bowl liii, taking on the new england patriots on thursday night football >> the same ball game, that's an nfl record on second down, newton trying to set up a screen. he's picked. back the other way and down the sideline is kenny young. he makes a move and ends up in the end zone with a pick six >> you think that felt good? kenny young intercepting the cam newton pass, taking it 79 yards for the touchdown. the rams went on to win it 24-3. meantime, the u.s. is far from alone in the fight against covid. parts of asia where the virus first hit and the first to exit lockdowns, they're now experiencing alarming new spikes kelly cobiella joins us with more hey, kelly good morning >> hi. good morning, hoda parts in asia, cases are as high as and sometimes higher than they were back in january when the virus first hit that area.

and some health officials there are worried that won't be able to contain it this time. this morning, a worrying sign in seoul. building makeshift hospitals out of shipping containers icu beds are filling up with covid patients and new daily cases are closing in on an all-time high. south korea disaster officials calling it the country's greatest crisis since the start of the pandemic. baseball stadiums are empty again. restaurants told to close early. paul raider lives in seoul with his family >> a little bit discouraging, i think, because we have been pretty on top of things as far as the social distancing guidelines and masking >> when i was there in may, the virus was virtually under control thanks to testing and tracking and tracing and putting visitors abroad like me into

strict two-week quarantine, but across asia, cases are now spiking in countries that managed the pandemic well. in south korea, nearly 700 cases three days in a row, the highest since late february. in japan, a new record high today of nearly 3,000 covid infections the virus also spreading in hong kong, malaysia, indonesia, taiwan, and vietnam. cold weather and pandemic fatigue causing this new winter wave people tired of wearing masks and staying home >> in the winter, because of the low humidity, the virus will transmit easy. and also people tend to stay indoor that also facilitates the transmission >> hong kong partied in the streets on halloween now schools are closed and they're lining up for tests. officials pleading with people to stay home in japan, military nurses have been called in to help struggling hospitals across asia, they're tightening

social distancing rules to avoid the economic pain of lockdowns and preparing for mass vaccinations with the clock ticking on the olympic games, japan wants the entire country vaccinated by next summer. in south korea, this supercold warehouse used for tuna now emptied out, ready to store the pfizer vaccine, but the government says the first doses won't arrive until march >> now, kelly, one of the big concerns there in asia is this wave for some reason appears to be harder to control than the past ones. what's going on? >> well, a couple things are going on, hoda first of all, health officials, particularly in south korea, say this is not just one cluster that they can then trace and isolate. they're dealing, they say, with more of a widespread cases of the virus. and also, they're also seeing this in asymptomatic young people they believe that these young people who don't have symptoms

are going out, not abiding by some of these social distancing measures, and spreading the virus. those asymptomatic cases are nearly impossible to track and trace. so this is what has health officials so worried also, hoda, all of these countries, like so many countries, are trying to balance the health of the population and the health of the economy. hoda >> just like what's going on here kelly cobiella, thanks >> coming up next, your favorite story of day a huge milestone for a high school football team gearing up to play for the state final tonight. morgan chesky introduces us to the incredible student athletes for the school for the deaf right after this. ♪ ♪ just one look at you. ♪ and i know it's gonna be... a lovely day. ♪

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it is 7:40, with a team sure to inspire you. >> absolutely. a high school football team in texas will be playing for its first state championship tonight. their road to the title game historic in more ways than one nbc's morgan chesky is in austin with the story hi, morgan good morning >> hey, savannah, hoda good morning to you. nothing quite like texas high school football playoffs and the rangers have been pulling long hours this week getting ready for the state championship game tonight, and this team unlike any other team in the state has a unique opportunity to shine on one of football's biggest stages. huddled up and ready to roll, the tsd rangers are hoping that

practice makes perfect. the practice is in nearly complete silence and no whistles or yelling, just football. that's because everyone on the field from the players to the coaches, is deaf or hard of hearing. >> is everybody here ready to play in a state championship >> for me, i'm just happy. i think it's great experience for us we have worked for it. we have arrived. >> the texas school for the deaf, one win from making history. in a season almost sacked by a pandemic >> it's just amazing because i seriously considered canceling the whole football program this year >> superintendent claire bugen says the team faced two foes, covid-19 and a depleted roster, without enough players for an 11-man team. the solution, drop divisions and play six-man football.

head coach john moore. >> everything was new. the rules were new, the field was new. the field is no longer 100 yards. i mean, we're changing down to 80 yards so that changes our whole game >> changes the team took in stride >> we're like, we're in the season it doesn't matter. we're six on six, we'll take it. >> beating high schools all across football obsessed texas and introducing opponents to their sideline drum. >> to make sure no one jumps off side, they came up with a bat, a drum, and a beat count while you can't hear it, you can certainly feel it. >> oh, yeah. everybody can feel it. all of us. the referees hate it because the drum is right behind the referee. and you see them just each time, you see them flinch. so maybe we need to have more deaf referees. >> now with football immortality on the line, team captains ready. >> we want that state championship ring. we need to make sure we don't lose that momentum we need to keep the fire

burning. >> and with a victory tonight, it would mark the first state title in this school's 160-year history, and as a news guy, i know we're supposed to say unbiased when it comes to this kind of stuff, but seeing the excitement and the enthusiasm surrounding this team, and i just have one message for the players and the coaches i had the privilege of meeting, and that is thank you, rangers. good luck. >> absolutely. well said. well done, morgan. thank you. the texas rangers. we'll remember texas for another team hopefully after tonight. that's awesome >> by the way, peyton manning said he's impressed by their innovative coaching and unique style of play. they have gotten a lot of notice for good reason. >> we're going to report back on monday how they did, for sure. how about a check of the weather, mr. roker >> we needed that today. yes, we did. we're going to go a little outside the u.s. today for our first weather video. this is saturn that's right we're taking a look at saturn.

this is video shot from wrc, our station in washington. their chopper, their traffic chopper. >> oh, c'mon are you making that up >> no. >> are you making that up? >> no. this is from the wrc's traffic chopper. evidently, there is a lot of traffic out there. >> that is how clear it is s but that's unbelievable. >> amazing you can really see the rings >> that's how clear it is. in fact, those rings are made up of chunks of ice that average in three feet of size the average temperature, 285 degrees below zero and the winds measured by satellite, about 1,000 miles per hour that's a real windchill. anyway, closer to home, that's pretty cool. closer to home, average temperatures today, anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above average. chicago at 43. rochester, 53. saturday, that warm air moves to the east almost 60 degrees in philly. charleston, 71

houston, 66. louisville will see temperatures almost 17 degrees above average. then we get closer to average as we move into next week new york, temperatures by tuesday about 41 tuesday, 36 in detroit and 48 on monday in nashville. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's good morning. we are off to a great start right now. a live look over san francisco, 49 degrees and, yes, we are monitoring the rain heading our way here in the bay area. doppler radar and satellite showing that rain is first going to make its way into the north bay and evenly becoming wide, slight to moderate. we will be seeing a few spotty showers heading into saturday with scattered rain and more rain expected heading for sunday. and that is your latest weather. >> that was a pretty cool weathercast. >> more planets. >> more planets. >> still ahead, as we head into the weekend, the holiday shopping and shipping deadlines you need to know about, including one that you really kind of should jump on today

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walmart makes it easy with groceries, gadgets, and soo much icing. let's end the year deliciously. ♪ we're so into ♪ the more you say the less i know ♪ we're so into this record. taylor swift bringing us, and carson is working from home. we have that in "popstart. what else? morning. >> how could you be so into it it just came out like a few hours ago. >> i get up early. especially when tay comes out with a new record. >> tay >> i have a playlist, i call it tay all day.

>> that's right. it's her ninth surprise studio album. the video for willow picks up where cardigan left us off with her climbing out of her piano. a lot of buzz on new taylor swift. we'll cover it in "popstart" coming up. all right. speaking of music, mandy moore has a special song for us, a new holiday song but first, your local news it reads your fingerprint. wait, really? that's so cool! [signs in asl.] "i needed this, wow." the design is amazing. it's very thin too. yua, mine's pink! what! it's touchscreen! it's touchscreen? i can't believe you got these for us. hello me!

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with humira, remission is possible. good morning to you. 7:56. i'm marcus washington. here is what's happening now. >> reporter: i'm jackie ward in burlingame where the situation is becoming more and more dire with icu bed availability in san mateo county. depending on what website you're looking at the state says 31 beds available. the county's website says only seven. either way you look at it, numbers are starting to plummet. a quick look at how icu bed availability is. san francisco has the most at 81. alameda, 75. santa clara, 45. napa, marin counties less than 15 beds available. good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. airbnb in his second day of trading moving largely hire. airbnb was up more than 120% on its first day of trading yesterday.

four companies have ipos in the past week. that is a lot coming out of silicon valley. vianey? >> we're tracking showers light to moderate moving in and becoming widespread. around dinner time you should see a little bit of rain activity down to the south bay as well into the weekend. scattered rain for saturday. more rain for sunday. temperatures will remain in those upper 50s. we dry out for monday and tuesday. nice to see some rain. marcus? another update coming up in 30 minutes. i'll see you back here then. every year, we set out to do one thing:

help the world believe in holiday magic. and this year was harder than ever. and yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. it's not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. santa, santa, you're on mute!

just wanted to say thanks. thanks for believing. it's 8:00 on "today."° coming up, hope on the horizon coming up, hope on the horizon pfizer's vaccine moves one step closer to approval from the fda as the u.s. marks the deadliest week since the pandemic began. >> we have never had to treat so many sick patients at the exact same time. >> so when can we expect to see the first vaccine? we're live with the latest then, shopping on a deadline with christmas just two weeks away, what you need to know about getting those presents in time >> a five-day package could take eight to nine days to get there. >> why today could be the last day to use the free shipping option plus, swift move

just months after releasing a new album, taylor swift is back with another ♪ >> we'll take a listen to the top songs that have everyone talking. and a little moore christmas. the one and only mandy moore will join us with a holiday performance you won't want to miss, today, friday, december 11th, 2020 >> celebrating my 11th birthday from gaithersburg, maryland. >> and our triplets' eighth birthday >> in arlington, virginia. yay! >> from our family in south florida. >> wishing our family and friends. >> from deerfield beach -- >> in new jersey - >> a happy, healthy holiday.

>> hi, savannah. hi, hoda help us surprise my husband, our superman, your biggest fan happy 50th birthday. >> a good one. >> surprise. >> hi. >> nice to have you with us. it's friday. we got here. craig has the morning off. hanukkah began last month. we're two weeks to christmas celebration season in high gear. >> we are something we're so excited about. we were looking at those long food bank lines. a lot of people are desperate this holiday season. we thought this would be a perfect time do something about it so many people are impacted in so many ways >> so many people are watching and thinking what can i do we're trying to zero in on that, whether it's the hardship of losing a job, food insecurity. nearly 50 million people are facing this year, and people do want to help especially our "today" show viewers. we want to step up we want to help, and we want to help you do so, too. >> here it comes next week on "today's" season of giving, we're teaming up with feeding america to help make a difference since the start of the pandemic, that incredible organization has

distributed more than 4 billion with a "b" meals on tuesday, across all four hours of "today," our team will be fanning out, reporting live from food drives across the country. chicago, houston, hartford, connecticut, and we're going to share really easy ways that you can help >> yeah, and we're harnessing the influence this show has to try to bring a lot of resources to this. we want to get everybody involved on wednesday, we'll take care of the kids we're teaming up with toys for tots for a special toy drive to make the season brighter we're going to share incredibly moving stories, introduce you to inspiring kids and show you first-hand how one simple donation can make a world of difference. you think of all of the toy drives that would happen in offices and we used to have the toy drive on the plaza, but a lot of that is not happening this year, so we will do our best to make it happen next week

on "today." >> i'm in love with her. that's a great story let's turn to your news of 8:00. an emergency use of the pfizer vaccine could be approved as early as today this morning, the agency is responding gabe gutierrez joins us from pfizer's largest manufacturing plant in michigan. gabe, good morning >> savannah, good morning. there are hundreds of massive freezers here ready to go. we're told within 24 hours of fda approval, the trucks will begin rolling out of here. this morning, we got a new statement from the head of the fda to pfizer saying the ancient will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of emergency use authorization, leaving no doubt this vaccine will be approved the question is exactly when this morning, after the fda advisory panel's vote, anticipation is building here at pfizer's largest plant just outside of kalamazoo, michigan along with another facility in wisconsin, the site is preparing to roll out the historic vaccine across the u.s

>> we expected vaccine rates and rollouts of vaccines and studies to take two to five years in the best of situations this is six to nine months this is like star trek this is amazingly fast >> health care workers will be among the first in line. >> is this the beginning of the end of the pandemic? >> i sure would like to hope so. >> the staff at nearby w. med is preparing these super cold freezers for some of the first doses of the vaccine this vaccine cold. you have to keep it ultracold. >> exactly negative 60 to negative 80 is very cold. we're not talking your household freezer. >> once the fda approves the shot, operation warp speed will kick into high gear. u.s. marshals will escort some of the shipments nationwide. trucks and planes will mobilize. in the first week, pfizer plans to ship roughly 2.9 million

doses. bigger states will get the most. california, about 327,000 initial doses. medium sizes states like maryland and minnesota some 50,000 smaller states, hawaii and wyoming, about 5,000 at first. not just a logistical hurdle it's an unprecedented mountain how does it feel to be part of this now global supply chain >> frightening but pretty amazing. >> brett and samantha run a small dry ice company in michigan, a vital component in the shipping process each of these boxes can ship almost 1,000 vaccine doses this morning, they and many others here are anxiously waiting for fda approval >> that's the uncertainty right now. we have called from tristate area, people waiting for

shipments. they don't know exactly what day they're going to get it. >> the timing of all this is very fluid again, fda approval could come as early as today. could happen saturday, could happen sunday, but we understand some hospitals across the country are preparing to get their first doses of the vaccine as early as monday, savannah >> all right, gabe, thank you. coming up next hour, we're going to get an inside look at the vaccine rollout and what you can expect when the chief medical officer at walgreens joining us live. >> there is no escaping the threat posed by the pandemic as the nba's preseason tips off tonight. but the league is intent on moving forward with some big changes since the last season ended exactly two months ago nbc's sam brock is on that story for us hey, sam good morning >> hoda, good morning. you know, the last time we saw nba games, which as you point out, was not a very long ago, they were playing inside of a bubble and there were no league-wide positive tests for months now the bubble is out, some fans are in, and the league is holding its collective breath. >> that's it it's over. >> just 61 days after the l.a. lakers took home the nba title, king james will have to defend his throne in basketball,

tipping off tonight in the first regular season games on december 22nd to start, most teams will have to play to empty arenas, something lebron james admits is no fun >> it will never be something i'll be fully comfortable with >> after a wildly successful covid-free quarantine zone to finish last season, the nba has decided to burst its bubble. teams will once again be competing in their home markets, traveling to away games by private planes and of course, players, coaches, and refs taking daily covid tests. >> everybody is super excited just to be able to compete against somebody else and play the game we love >> even as the virus spreads as record levels nationwide, coaches are projecting confident. >> i think everybody is glad to be on the court, to be honest. >> as concerns simmer. more than 10% of the entire league tested positive this month.

the nba announcing thursday eight more players tested positive for covid, in addition to 48 cases found in the first round of preseason tests new safety guidelines do not spell out a threshold for calling games or the season, though the imminent arrival of a vaccine is boosting optimism a handful of teams like the hawks, jazz, and spurs are working on plans for fans inside arenas mark cuban's dallas mavericks aren't part of that group, but cuban feels good about what march or april could look like >> i think those last couple months of the nba season are going to be incredible where people are just going nuts at games, fans are going to sports bars to watch games >> basketball's biggest storyline outside of covid is the considerable layoff for some of its megastars kevin durant, donning a nets jersey for the first time, 550 days after tearing his achilles with the warriors. while his former golden state teammate steph curry has hardly seen the hardwood since breaking his hand in 2019 >> for me especially, i want to play five games in the calendar year, so it's a lot of excitement to get back out there.

>> we are excited to see all of those guys come back, steph included there are reports this morning the nba's crafting a covid-19 vaccine policy, but without special access, no jumping in lines. it's also worth pointing out the nba is only scheduled the first half of the season so far with some wiggle room in case they need to be juggling games. >> i have the feeling that may be the case. thank you so much. >> let's get the morning boost going. >> trenton brown is a dad in ohio he just loves to sing. he's also from a proud military family, so when an audio recording of the national anthem just wouldn't play before his son's basketball game, trenton, he stood up, and he gave it his all. ♪ over the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare th bombs bursting in air ♪

♪ gave proof to ♪ gave proof through the night that ou ♪ gave proof to the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh say does that star-spangle banner yet wave ♪ ♪ over the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ >> how can you not clap? the home of the brave ♪ >> how can you not clap? >> oh, the teams clap. both of them trenton said he wasn't jumping up voluntarily his wife judged him and said, just sing it, honey. he hopes the applause was for the anthem and not for him what a great guy >> he sang with a lot of heart coming up next, guys, the christmas shopping and shipping crunch with two weeks to go, the deadline you need to meet today, and your options if you still have more gifts to buy

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♪ i was born right in theof my doorway♪ ♪ i don't know where i am, ♪ i don't know where i've been ♪ but i know where i wanna go we're back with today' we're back with today's holiday consumer, and if you haven't finished your shopping, what are you waiting for >> good question today is the day to get your gifts ordered if you want them to arrive on time without paying extra shipping jo ling kent has everything we need to know hey, jo. >> hey, good morning, everyone we're exactly two weeks away from christmas morning the holiday, of course, looking very different this year and so is the last-minute shopping today really is the day to get your online shopping done. if you wait, you're risking hefty fees for on-time delivery or worse, gifts showing up after santa has come and gone.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas and if you want toys for the girls and boys in your life to make it under the tree on time, time is running out. >> it's just constantly getting busier and busier every single day. >> with many people avoiding in-person shopping this year, staying safer at home, more present purchasing is done online than ever before. >> i don't have any thought of going to any store this year >> this holiday season, $184 billion in sales are expected to be made from the comfort of consumers' couches, and all that online shopping adds up to lots of holiday shipping. 3 billion packages are expected to be shipped between thanksgiving and christmas that's 800 million more than last year. and once you have checked all the gifts off your lists, you better get them wrapped up and shipped out fast >> this year's christmas volume has been unheard of and

unprecedented. >> although major carriers like u.p.s., fedex, and the post office set their official deadlines for next week, experts say the last day for free shipping that will arrive in time for christmas is today. that's three days earlier than last year. after that, it could cost you. and this year, many online retailers are giving shipping estimates, not guarantees. >> a five-day package could be taking eight to nine days to get there. >> more millennials say they'll be using curbside pickup for the holidays it's a good backup plan for procrastinators of all ages. >> erin's team at left coast originals is working around the clock to keep up with orders, but he worries about his custom wood and leather creations making it to customers >> once it leaves our workshop, we have no control over any delays or what happens to the package. you'll dealing with a third party that's taking your thing to the customer, and if they do

their job, great, and if they don't, you're the one they bought from, so you're the one who is ultimately responsible for getting it to them >> how do you think the big carriers are doing >> i think they're doing all they can we're getting multi pickups, more than one time during the day. sometimes they'll send two trucks out >> santa's helpers working around the clock to bring the gifts of this holiday season to your front door. now, if you end up missing the online shopping deadline or you don't want to waste money on all that shipping cost, you don't have to worry. we have last-minute shopping tips for you first of all, i know everyone talks about digital gift cards, but they're a tried and true present, especially for the procrastinators among us, and you can get in on the pandemic trend of an interactive zoom experience like giving the gift of a virtual wine tasting or a cooking class, a cocktail class, even a magic show, which could be fun for the kids. also, you want to remember, you have to be supporting

restaurants and small businesses who are struggling to get through. my favorite thing is to find a local restaurant near your loved ones and prepay for either a gift card or a future meal delivery and of course, independent retailers, they all seem to be operating local delivery curbside pickup. give them a call, go the extra mile to find out their deadlines. you want to support the local economy and deliver some holiday cheer this season. >> really good ideas by the way, jo, i just got word of a delivery that will be right on time in your family >> savannah, i hope it's on time you know, there's certain packages that really can't be rushed this holiday season scott, my husband and i, are so thrilled to share that we are having a baby girl come this spring >> oh, jo. >> and she's got a big sister already waiting for her. >> she does. she does thank you guys i'm going to need all the advice you've got i'm going from one to two because i feel like we're just now kind of figuring this out, and here we go again >> you know, i think it gets easier with number two >> well -- i'll tell you the

truth, jo. call me later. no, it's wonderful >> i'll text you >> you still have man-to-man zone defense two is good. >> that's true >> congrats, jo. >> we love scott, we love you. congrats, guys >> all right, now to a man who always delivers, mr. roker what are you doing >> just making sure you camera was in focus >> thank you >> a little short-handed that's how bad things have gotten that's all due to the covid. for today, we're looking at sunny and mild weather along the eastern seaboard this next storm is causing problems soggy weather through the mid-mississippi and ohio river valleys. snow showers through the northern plains. look for mountain snows out west, and another storm system coming into the pacific >> beautiful view over san jose. 45 degrees right now to start. and we are talking about rain expected to make it through, starting out in the north bay,

eventually becoming scattered through the afternoon and widespread this evening. here's a look at your seven-day forecast. scattered rain for saturday and then two-day rain totals will be higher for the north bay mountains with a little over an inch to under two inches and the rest of the bay area under half an inch into the weekend. and that's your latest weather. time for the best part of the day. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> carson's got a good one time for swift -- i mean "popstart. carson >> hey obsessed you are right, savannah. you're not alone people are fired up. taylor swift gets us kicked off today. only 24 hours ago, she announced her ninth studio album called evermore that dropped overnight, featuring 15 new songs plus two bonus tracks on the deluxe edition. swift describing this as the sister record to folklore. one she put out in july. to go with the new album, she

delivered a new music video for the track called "willow." here's a look at that. ♪ ♪ begging for you to take my hand ♪ one ♪ that's my man >> one thing to note, they had a lot of people buzzing yesterday, is the white dress that she's wearing. since taylor is sort of famous for planting easter eggs in her songs and videos, there's a look at the dress fans online were speculating if that could mean she has maybe married her boyfriend, but one thing is for sure, taylor is bringing us some really good surprises in 2020, and they're much needed. and like you, everybody is talking about that record this morning. >> next up, the billboard women in music awards. they were last night featured some of the chart topping artists we love by beyonce and cardi b. one of our favorites is jennifer lopez who was presented with the 2020 icon award. and while accepting the honor, j. lo took a look back at her long career and gave a special

shout out to her family. >> you know, my mom used to put me on the kitchen table, and there's where she showed me how to do the booty shake. together, we would sing the oldies or whatever was at the top of the billboard charts at the time those were my first performances alex and our four beautiful kids, thank you so much. i love you, everything i do is for you guys and billboard magazine >> it's been a big year for j. lo with her super bowl performance, a lot of new music and the upcoming movie "marry me" and another big award went to another favorite of ours, dolly parton she took home the first ever women in music hit maker award, and used the moment to honor her fellow female song writers >> i'm proud of all of the wonderful women in show business that write all these wonderful songs. of course, i would like to

acknowledge a few, some of them older, kind of back in my day. cindy walker, who wrote some of the greatest songs ever. and this day in time, of course, taylor swift, i mean, she's right up there probably number one. and of course, brandi carlile. >> if you don't know, dolly has written like over 3,000 songs. she wrote "i will always love you" for whitney, for tina turner, sinead o'connor. you name it. speaking of incredible one of our faves meghan trainor is up next on "popstart" and she stopped by our staff yesterday she surprised everybody on the staff. she crashed a team zoom meeting that we were having. let me give you a background it's a tradition that every year throughout the month of december, the "today" show gathers for a daily christmas tree lighting, but like so many things in 2020, it moved to a zoom event, and that made it possible for meghan to surprise everybody as the honorary tree lighter. watch this >> first of all, this is the greatest thing i have ever seen. i have no idea what i was walking into

hi, hoda i love you >> how are you i love you >> i love you. i love you all thank you all for loving me so much, as much as i love you. so let's light this thing up >> let's light it, meghan. >> three, two, one >> get it. >> there she is rubbing the belly. we love her so much. hoda, you made that. i was picking up the kids at school i couldn't get on the zoom, but i was bummed i missed that that looked so fun >> that was great. >> she's so awesome. i can just say, that's like something that our staff does. she wouldn't even have known this is going to end up on tv. she just did it out of the goodness of her heart. chelsea danberg, our adorable producer, her tree is like this big. she lights it by her desk every year

now it's a zoom thing. so thank you, meghan so sweet >> she's got a great christmas album. i should plug it because she helped us out. called a very trainor christmas. it's really good good morning. i'm marcus washington. with the vaccine arrival imminent. bay area leaders are now pushing for teachers to follow health care workers and senior care patients when it comes to priority for receiving the first doses. san francisco supervisor hillary roden introduced that resolution. it calls for the governor to prioritize teachers which would allow more young people to get back to school. leaders from other cities are planning to make similar pushes. let's get a look at the forecast. vianey in with a look at the rain coming our way. >> yeah, right now it's still dry but it's cool, cloudy, comfortable. 45 degrees. over san jose.

doppler radar you can see that system just off in the pacific. we're expecting for this to be light to moderate at times starting out in the north bay and widespread by this evening. a closer look at the next seven days. check out saturday and sunday. scattered rain. two-day rain totals look higher for the north bay. the rest of the bay will get less than an inch but we'll take what we can get. temperatures remain in the upper 50s for inland areas. 60s into monday and tuesday. and then check out san francisco. we're also going to be in those upper 50s remaining dry for monday and tuesday but then we get another system potentially for next wednesday. marcus. we'll have another local news update coming up in 30 minutes. i'll see you back here then. for this multitasking, number-cruncher, time is money.

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8:30 now friday morning, the 11th day of december, 2020 we're excited about this one sheinelle has a great story. it is "today's" season of giving >> i love it i can't wait for you guys to meet a true community hero the head of the detroit rescue mission ministries it's a group doing a lot of good for families in need with a little extra help right now. we wanted to help, too we have a few, let's are just say, a few surprises in store. >> nice. all right. and then we have the grill dads in the house each making a sandwich perfect

for sunday night football. whether you're rooting for the bills or the steelers. >> they're fired up. >> they are excited. >> it's cold where they are, too. plus, we lined up a musical treat. mandy moore performing her brand-new christmas song for us. i love to hear her sing. >> so good and we have star power on the third hour as well jon hamm, jamie dornan live to tell us about teaming up for a new movie. it's an irish rom com. >> i'm in. >> people love it. >> love it >> irish rom com and jon hamm? sign me up >> you just said jon hamm. >> i don't know how you feel about him. >> next week on today -- >> he was afraid to come on this show >> we get to talk with viola davis, and the cast of ma rainey's black bottom, one of the most anticipated movies of

the holiday season she was featured on "60 minutes" on sunday. it was a show shopper. >> right now, mr. roker has a check of the weather >> let's show you what we've got for the weekend. we start off, of course, with showers tomorrow in the northeast. rain down south. snow and wind back through the great lakes. rockies, snow. then on sunday, sunday, it's going to be mild in the east with a few leftover showers and snow showers through northern new england. another southern storm out of the gulf, and unsettled weather wi >> good morning. beautiful start to our friday heading into the weekend. we are tracking rain. 48 degrees in san francisco. a closer look at doppler radar as the rain is set to make its approach. expect light to moderate rain at times for the next three days. scattered rain will continue. and then as we head in towards sunday, we'll see another system move in. our temperatures will remain in the upper 50s. the higher rain totals are likely to be in the north bay around the coastal range mountains as well as into sunday night. that's your latest weather, and now it's time for the best night of the week. sunday night football night in america.

the steelers come blazing into orchard park, new york bills stadium. cloudy, breezy, it's a balmy 36 degrees. as the steelers take on the bills. it's sunday night football night in america hoda >> thank you, al >> i like it when we hang on the shot >> me, too coming up next, we're taking "today's" toy drive on the road to detroit, where one rescue mission is making a big impact on a community that really needs it we cannot wait to spread some holiday cheer and shine a nation spotlight on this al

"today" toy drive. we wanted to highlight incredible organizations across the country hard at work to help families >> that's right. sheinelle is here to tell us

about one group giving back in a big way. >> all month long we're partnering with our parent company comcast to help spread holiday cheer. this morning, we're shining a light on detroit rescue mission ministries take a look at the impact it's had on just one of the hundreds of families they're helping. it is home to some of detroit's most vulnerable. for the homeless in the city, it is a lifeline and a place of refuge >> safe. i would say it's a safe environment. >> this woman and her two daughters have been staying at detroit rescue mission's genesis house 2 shelter for several weeks. just three of the more than 400 people the organization houses anija is 12 years old. >> they fed me, gave me water, bedding. a hat, a scarf, coats if we need them >> it's an organization that started as a small soup kitchen serving the community 100 years ago. it has grown into a sprawling

nonprofit across five michigan counties each day, the mission provides more than 4,000 meals. >> at the end of the day, we're saving lives if we don't do those kind of stuff, people will die >> dr. chad audi is the president and ceo of the detroit rescue mission he heads a team that helps with the basics and leads with compassion for najea, the mission is a safe home during difficult times and she says she has help and hope >> it's tyke a stepping stone, like a push. some people don't need a whole big push some people need a little push >> and that is for sure. and we have a special surprise with us this morning here we are, with us now is dr. chad audi, president and ceo of detroit mission ministries along with ajae and her beautiful daughter who have been staying at the shelter for the past few weeks good morning to all of you >> good morning. >> good morning. >> we're so happy to have you with us this morning

we're going to get right to it doctor, we just heard about the incredible things that detroit rescue mission ministries does what surprise do you have planned for this holiday season? >> well, as usual, every year, we try to make sure that the homeless people have some hope and live a good living like everybody else this year, we decided in partnership with other organizations to make sure that they will enjoy the holidays like everybody else. and therefore, we are going to give them a few gifts today that will be distributed to them. >> oh, that's absolutely fantastic. ladies, is there a message you would like to share with people watching this morning? this is certainly the season of

love and giving. >> so wonderful. >> this has been definitely a very - >> thank you >> this has been a very hard year but we tell people that there is hope we are going to go through it. there's a lot of compassionate people in this country and there is hope. so if you're homeless somewhere, don't panic. don't be upset we are going -- there is a lot of compassionate people out there like here at the detroit rescue mission ministries that they will let you live a good life and hope. >> god bless for you what you do we know the need is strong across the country, and hundreds of families have benefitted from your generosity. thank you so much, and merry christmas, ladies. to all of you guys >> let's remember all of our neighbors in need. we also -- merry christmas to you. we want to give a big shout out to our detroit affiliate for making this happen and our parent company comcast in addition to the toys, comcast is installing lift zones in several of the ministry's facilities including free access to the internet for all of those folks. to learn more about how you can

help detroit rescue mission ministries and similar organizations in your own neighborhood, head to our website at today.com/toydrive. >> that is near and dear to our local affiliate's heart. they have been waiting for that story to air in detroit. i'm sure they're really happy. by the way, gifts were distributed to all of the kids so everybody got to go home with something special. >> you could tell they were holding it close to their hearts >> they're all getting toys. super sweet. >> so happy about that a good reminder, too, in your local town, there's always somebody doing good. you can get involved too >> it doesn't take much. sometimes little stocking stuffers, i'll give my daughters slime. that's what she'll play with for the next year. so it's just one of those things when you're out shopping or if you're online, grab a few things and donate them to someone in your community >> good idea >> absolutely. coming up next, al set the table with his rendition of football night in america, what to expect. but now we're going to put meat on the table we're grilling up something great with the grill dads. ist first, this

and we are back with our favorite friday series, "today food loves football. sunday night's is a good one, a clash of two of the afc's best teams, the steelers and buffalo bills. >> if you want that perfect gameday lineup, we have you covered. the grill dads repping buffalo is mark anderson, who happens to be a lifelong bills fan and he's been waiting for this season, and his counterpart representing the steelers guys, good morning we know you're up early for us it's cold. i should mention you're besties. you do everything together, including being the grill dads, and you're in each other's quarantine pod which is why you can be together like that. >> hopefully that bubble pops soon >> exactly what do you guys got >> all right, so, i am making beef on weck, a really famous

buffalo sandwich it tastes like an afc championship so i'm going to make it. >> what? >> an american wagu rib roast. it's a really simple sandwich. so we're going to go really, really aggressive on the seasoning. a roast this big, you can't overseason and you might even want to do it the night before so it gets a chance to absorb. all right. now, we're going in to the pellet smoker at about 400 degrees. get some good color and then bang it down to 250. >> what's the weck, mark >> that's the bun. it's a kaiser bun with caraway seeds. we also have this horseradish

a little worcestershire sauce. >> what if you can't find any? >> it's really easy. you can get a kaiser bun, do a little egg wash. do the caraway seed and pretzel salt and it's ready to go. check this out all right. this roast came out to a perfect 135 degrees. >> you can see the steam coming off. a little chilly there. >> what's the temp outside >> 19. >> my goodness >> this is a super simple sandwich ready? we take some of the beef so good. sliced so thin it only has one side and then we're going to load it up with horseradish. and then here's the money move we have the lid. i don't know if you can see it here, but we're dipping it in the ju from the roast. >> that's what i'm talking about.

>> roker, what do you think? that looks like a roker sandwich >> that's a division title right there. >> let's go to ryan fay. fay, what you got? >> all right so i'm going do a little homage to pittsburgh. i was going to make a ben roethlisberger with cheese i decided to do something different. you like that, al? we're going to do the almost famous sandwich where you take all the sides. you guys know that sandwich. we take the sides and put them in the sandwich. we start with my favorite bologna, some people say baloney. we're going to put it on the grill. we're going to do something different, grill the bologna we're also going to use provolone and put it on the grill and get it nice and toasted. get some good lines on that. we're going to use some white bread. really simple. of course. put this on the sandwich here. and then what i'm going to do to build it, i'm going to take crinkle cut french fries, a nice big handful, midwest french fries here i'm going to shove them on i'm going to take beautiful coleslaw we have, all sorts of different seeds and vinegar. beautiful. i'm going to top it with

tomatoes and finish it with another piece of white bread shove it down there, and this was a trucker sandwich when these guys were having to get out, grab sandwiches right there, they had to have the entire meal. >> right there and don't even have to go through the squirrel hill tunnel for that >> that's right. there it is, the pittsburgh's almost famous primanti brothers sandwich >> afc championship sandwiches over here. >> mark, he's trying too hard. don't forget, i don't know if you know this, but they have a podcast. it's called bone in. it's on apple podcasts or whenever you get yours mark and fay, guys, thank you. >> good title. >> thanks, guys. >> go bundle up. >> stay warm >> go cuddle those hot sandwiches you can get the recipes at today.com/food >> and of course, catch the big games. bills taking on the steelers sunday night, nbc. coverage starts at 7:00 eastern. >> just ahead, a special holiday performance from the one, the only, and our pal mandy moore,

but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ ♪ i got it all from you ♪ i'm always pushing through ♪ i know we'll make it to the finish line ♪

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the citi music series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> w "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> welcome back. it's been a real big year for mandy moore. she released her first new record in more than a decade, kicked off a new season of "this is us" and she's preparing for her most exciting role yet, a new mom in 2021. >> this morning she's treating us to a special performance alongside her husband, taylor, with "how could this be christmas? here is mandy moore. ♪ moonlight on the snow outside

a frozen window ♪ ♪ lights are twinkling from our neighbor's roof ♪ ♪ i hung out mistletoe left cookies by the chimney ♪ ♪ how could this be christmas without you ♪rd for you ♪ somehow i'm putting on a record for you ♪ ♪ i'm wrapping up a present for you ♪ ♪ at the top of my wish list ho could this be christmas without record for you ♪

♪ i'm wrapping up a present for you ♪ you ♪ ♪ somehow i'm putting on a record for you ♪ ♪ i'm wrapping up a present for you ♪ ♪ at the top of my wish list ♪ how could this be christmas without you ♪ ♪ there's headlights in the street but nobody is stopping ♪ ♪ just another traveler passing through ♪

♪ moonlight on the snow outside a frozen window ♪ ♪ guess this year my dreams aren't coming true ♪ ♪ how could this be christmas without you ♪ >> i have a new favorite christmas song >> easy to love her. >> that was beautiful. thanks again to mandy moore and her husband taylor i mean, they make beautiful music together >> yes, they do. >> and a new baby next year. >> we should keep the good vibes going, don't you think >> i think so. let's get some birthdays going with the help of our friends at smucker's. first up, happy 100th birthday

to lowell renshaw. a fisherman from columbia, indiana. served as a dentist for the army during world war ii. thank you for your service next, edward jang of san leandro, california. a world traveler, at 100, he loves a good vacation. went on more than 50 cruises happy anniversary to bunt nelson of south carolina. taught sunday school for 80 years. andrea garcia is from the bronx, celebrating 100 years. her secret to longevity, never complain maria alfaro of manchester, new jersey, also 100 loves being around her family and if somebody is baking cookies, that's even better. and happy 103rd birthday to mr. william wright, a chocolate lover from north babylon, new york served during world war ii received a purple heart for his service. we salute you, sir and happy birthday >> wow, what a good one. >> happy hanukkah to all of our friends.

>> absolutely. looking ahead to the weekend, willie has a great interview with bryan cranston. he shared how during filming he and his wife tested positive for covid, and bryan then found himself in an interesting competition with tom hanks >> yeah, we were talking to tom and rita, and they had it just about the same time. and after a while, he said he's donating his plasma at ucla medical center, so i called and started donating plasma as well. >> and here i am at ucla donation center. how is your aim, ron >> all right, i guess. after a while, the strength of your antibodies in the plasma weakens. and you know, not that it's a competition or anything, but i said, you know, how many times was tom able to donate plasma? you know, from his antibodies. they said he came in a couple times. only two, huh? i did four but you know, it's not a

competition. >> who's counting? you can see more of willie's interview with bryan cranston, and we're back with more on a friday morning after your local news good morning to you. it's 8:56. i'm marcus washington. here's a look at the bay area county operating under full-time stay-at-home orders. at midnight tonight, sonoma county will join the five other counties in purple and it will leave napa, soleano and san mateo as the only holdouts. this means all indoor/ut door

dining will be banned. bars and wineries have to close as well as hair salons and barber shops. grocery stores will be limited to a max num 35% capacity. happening now, we have a team in santa rosa talking with business owners as they prepare to close. we'll have a live update during our midday newscast. and we're also following developments on a vaccine front. it looks more and more like pfizer's vaccine may ship as soon as monday. head to our home page for the latest.

live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of "today." >> good morning, and welcome to the third hour of "today" on this friday, december 11th happy hanukkah >> yeah. >> everyone, if you're celebrating it i am dylan here with al -- and in honor of craig it's fry-yay >> he'd be so proud of you >> especially because i rib him. we have a good show coming up, john hamm and jamie dornan will both join us live. they're starring in a movie playing romantic rivals in the irish countryside. we'll find out about i