very nice hanging out with all three of you this morning. back to you. >> that will do it for us. we hope you have a great weekend. and here is a live look at the vaccinations happening. "today" show starts right now. good morning. unanimous decision. an fda panel gives an enthusiastic go ahead to moderna's coronavirus vaccine. millions of doses expected to head to the front lines and not a moment too soon as hospitals coast to coast teeter on the edge. >> they're not upstairs in the i.c.u.

>> california ordering extra body bags. some forced to turn parking lots into patient wards. this morning we go one on one with dr. anthony fauci. racing the clock. congress now set to work through the weekend to reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief bill. just ahead, the lawmakers pushing back against checks for millions of americans. we're live with the latest from washington. grave risk. an ominous new warning on the damage from that suspected russian cyberattack against the u.s. government. >> a cyber hack of this nature is really the modern equivalent of almost a russian bombers reportedly flying undetected over the entire country. >> so how did it go undiscovered for months? and are the russians still deep inside the government's networks right now? the big dig. millions in the northeast begin cleaning up from the record setting winter storm. will all that snow mean some of your gifts will arrive in time? with the post office and major shipping carriers want all customers to know. all that, plus tiger's cup. >> i just think that he has this opportunity to, you know, enjoy it and

he's doing that. >> tiger woods and his son charlie set to play in a tournament together for the very first time. a match made in golf heaven. today friday, december 18, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to you "today" on this friday morning. >> okay. check your calendar, because one day from today, it is christmas and as people are ready for the holiday, the country is in a dire situation the covid crisis. >> it is a mixed crisis and as we said, we set another daily record, and more than another 23,000 americans infected. >> and more confidence

in the vaccines as vice president mike pence rolled up his sleeve and received the shot live in front of cameras. >> and we will talk to dr. anthony fauci about where we stand with the virus and headed into the holiday. and we go tom kos tecostello with the green light for the moderna coronavirus vaccine. millions expected to be headed to the front lines in days. not a moment too soon as hospitals coast to coast teeter on the edge. this as they say that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

the panel recommended that they give an emergency use. >> we go ahead to issue an eua. >> and next week, we anticipate 5.9 million doses of moderna. >> and the logistics should be easier unlike the pfizer vaccine that must be kept in the arctic temperatures, the moderna's can be kept room temperature, and it is 94% effective and may prevent the spread of the virus and asymptomatic spread of the virus may be with one shot, but two shots are for maximum protection and can be minor side effects including headache and muscle

aches and they won't last long yet two medical workers in alaska suffered two allergic reactions to the pfizer reaction and guidelines will be re-examined. but they say that it has been cut including iowa reporting 30% decrease in the allocation, but the trump administration calls that incorrect saying that the states will receive vaccines at different sites through the week. and yet millions of health care workers are receiving the pfizer vaccine and most of them like dr. ca cathlina marquez hopes this is the beginning. >> i believe in vaccines, and we are only going to get past this if enough people get vaccinated. >> reporter: also this morning, pfizer is offering the people who were in the trial but got the placebo

and not the real vaccine to now jump the line and get the real vaccine. in a statement overnight, pfizer says that participants who courageously volunteered to make a difference in the pandemic will have the option to get the vaccine while continuing to be a part of the clinical trial, and this is a ethical part of the trial is if you continue with the clinical trial and keep the people on the placebo when you know that you have a vaccine to work and the risk is if they have a placebo and they contract covid, it is serious. >> it is interesting that they want to keep the integrity of the study, but you have participants who are on the placebo and a sugar pill basically and they are entitled to the vaccine. thank you, tom. >> and the urgency can be seen in the numbers because thursday was a record day for cases and in hospitals across the country and including parts of california, there is

an alarming number of shortages for beds and staff. miguel almaguer is in california with the latest. >> thank you, hoda. the stats are staggering in california. well over 100,000 confirmed cases and the deaths are spiking and so are the sick who need a hospital room, but now the intensive care units have exceeded the capacity in the very area where they are needed the most. >> reporter: this morning california's covid crisis crippling the health care system. for the first time the southern region of the state, home to 23 million people in cities like los angeles now officially out of icu beds. >> all of these patients throughout this section of the e.r. have covid, and they are seriously ill with covid. they are not upstairs in the icu, because we have run out of space upstairs. >> reporter: this is what it looks like inside of overrun medical centers. >> we are getting so many covid patients that we have to take over a part of the emergency department to take care of them.

>> reporter: outside, parking lots have become field hospitals. a grim but familiar site. in l.a. county two people are dying of covid every hour. hospitals are now ordered to stop sending ambulances to other facilities. across the nation, another day of record infections and deaths. >> we know that the morgues are full, and the coroner is full. >> reporter: in colorado, funeral homes are overwhelmed and three times the as many people are dying in the u.s. compared to three months ago. top health officials are pleading with the public to stay home for the ohholidays. >> otherwise what we will see from december to the end of the month, new year's and into january, we may yet see again a surge upon a surge. >> reporter: but upwards of 85 million still plan to hit the road, and the surge is taking a toll across the health care system impacting the patients

with other emergencies, and in madison, wisconsin, tracy fine says that she spent 13 hours lying in an emergency room hallway in agony from a serious case of shingl shingles. >> it was full, and chaotic. >> doctors and nurses are overwhelmed. >> absolutely overwhelmed. it was a really scary, and i was afraid that i was not getting the care they needed, and i was afraid they would get covid. >> reporter: this morning the very place that americans turn for help now facing a crisis of their own. worried about their own hospitals the city of san francisco is requiring everyone who comes into the county from outside of the bay area to quarantine for ten days and that is including residents of the city returning home from somewhere else. the order leading up to christmas is an indication of just how grave the situation has become. savannah. >> miguel, thank you very much, and joining us now is dr. anthony fauci, the director of the national institute

of allergy and diseases of nih and, dr. fauci, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. >> we will talk about the hospital situations in a moment, and first talk about the vaccines. the nih oversaw the trial for moderna vaccine and now approved overwhelmingly and how soon will we see the shots in the arm? >> i anticipate, savannah, shots in the arm by the early part of next week and i hope monday or tuesday, but we have to wait to see for the final decision, but very soon and literally within a few days. >> one of the things that we learned in the hearing is that moderna's vaccine apparently not only prevents disease, but prevents infection. now, first of all what is the distinction between the two thing, because i thought that all vaccines do that and why is that important and why is that significant? >> well, when you are protect against

clinical disease, that is the primary end point of the vaccine trial and prevents you from not only being infected but symptomatic disease. you could theoretically and in reality get infected, but be protected against any clinical manifestations. so if you are protecting against clinical disease, that is very good. but if you prevent the person from getting actually infected, that would mean that you are preventing someone from passing the infection on to someone else. that kind of interferes with the chain of transmission. >> that seems hugely significant. yeah. >> yeah. well, yes. that is. what we need to know as we are going through maybe more months of following up is just to what the extent of that is. you would like optimally to not only prevent against disease, but prevent against infection which is the ultimate goal. >> this one of the times when we need to flood the battlefield and get as many vaccines out there as

we can get, and just realistically, when you are surveying the scene, you know what is come down the pike, how many people will be able to get vaccines do you think ultimately? >> several of them have completed phase three clinical trial or are well into the phase three clinical trial and the reason of which i think that you mentioned correctly, you want to get as many out there as possible, because you want enough doses to vaccinate everybody in the country and even to make a contribution to the global effort to contain this virus by getting companies to make investments so that not only the united states, but the rest of the world. that is just us six candidates and you china, russia, the u.k., and they are all making vaccines which is very, very good. there is no competition here, savannah, and we want as many successful candidates as we possibly can. >> we had secretary azar on the show

monday. and he said that he thought the vaccine, some vaccine would be available widely to the general public as early as late february or march. do you agree with that time line? >> you know, the answer is in many respects yes. i have been saying end of march, beginning of april. it really is going to depend on how successfully and effectively we rollout the higher priorities. because as you know, the advisory committee on immunization practices with the cdc has put together a priority list. once you get through the priority list, then you could say it's sort of open season for anyone who is not necessarily on a priority list like the normal man or woman on the street who has no underlying condition. that likely will be somewhere march-ish. i said february, march. it's going to be a close call on that. >> the vaccine is the bright spot. everything else honestly seems very, very dark. we just saw what happened in california. they're ordering 5,000 extra body bags.

some hospitals are having to put patients in parking lots because they're reaching their capacity. i feel like you and i have been talking about this armageddon moment for health care system for months. are we there yet? >> we've been talking about vaccines which is such a positive thing. but all of this is bittersweet, because at the same time as we're moving ahead with what will ultimately be the answer and the final solution to this, we're living through very, very difficult times. i mean, if you look at the number of new infections between 2 and 300,000, the other day we had 3,565 deaths in one day. we are still in a serious situation which tells us as we are proceeding with the rollout of the vaccine, we absolutely have to adhere to the

public health measures that we're talking about all the time. the wearing of masks, the physical distancing, the avoiding crowds in congregant settings. we can't just say, well, there's vaccine on the horizon so let's forget about everything else. we're in a difficult situation, so we've got to do both. we've got to proceed with the rollout of the vaccine, but we've got to make sure we stay with the public health measures. >> vice president pence is going to be vaccinated a little later this morning. speaker pelosi, senator mitch mcconnell going to get the vaccine which raises the question. when might you get the vaccine? i know a lot of folks will feel better if they see you do it. >> i'm ready to go, savannah. we're waiting for the supply to come into the nih, and we have not gotten our supplies yet. we hope it comes in a couple days. if it does, i'll get vaccinated as soon as i can. it will be the first few days to early part of next week. >> forgive me you're turning 80 christmas eve. maybe that will be your birthday present. merry christmas. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, savannah. good to be with you. >> also this morning with a deadline looming, congressional leaders are set to be

putting the finishing touches on a new coronavirus relief bill. nbc correspondent kristen welker is at the white house. hey, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda, good morning to you. lawmakers and negotiators are working urgently to get a deal to both fund the government and provide covid relief. the government runs out of spending authority at midnight tonight. so they are barrelling toward a weekend session. all sides are close, but there are still some critical details that are being hammered out. as it stands, this bill would be roughly $900 billion. it would include direct payments to americans likely around $600, weekly unemployment insurance benefits of $300, and billions of dollars to fund struggling businesses and vaccine distribution. so what's not in it? direct aid to state and local government set to impact thousands of businesses like restaurants. and there's no liability protection for businesses. overnight, the washington post reporting white house

aides intervened thursday to prevent president trump from issuing a call for larger direct payments to millions of americans for at least $1200 per person instead of that $600, but negotiators convinced him that doing so could derail these very delicate talks. we did reach out to all sides, and so far no response. the bottom line here, the pressure could not be greater to get a deal with millions of americans in desperate need of help. hoda? >> you can say that again. all right, kristen welker for us live at the white house. kristen, thank you. >> if you live in the northeast, you are probably waking up to the sounds of shoveling and snow blowers this morning as the region digs out from that powerful winter storm. parts of this region buried under record-setting snow and officials say the storm is to blame for at least seven deaths. thousands still without power this morning. let's head over to al for the very latest. al, it's moved out, but there is an aftermath. >> that's right. and that aftermath is going to be the cold air. so, we are looking at temperatures and wind chills that are brutal right now. feels like 4 below in burlington, 14 in

boston, 17 here in new york city, out in pittsburgh it feels like 21 even though the air temperature is 29. look at how far south this goes. atlanta, you've got a wind chill of 22. cincinnati 30. charlotte 27, though in air temperature 34. and temperatures today for highs are going to be anywhere from 5 to 12 degrees below average. the good news is things will start warming up as we get into the weekend. out west we've got another system that's going to start heading east. it starts with snow into the rockies and as we move into tomorrow, we're going to be looking at great lakes snow showers. rain and storms from memphis all the way to houston. and then as we move on into sunday, scattered snow showers here in the northeast and new england. but a lot of rain down through florida as low pressure develops down there. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds.

♪ so let it snow, oh, say you won't go ♪ this holiday, share the sweetness with a gift from edible. good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a live look outside in san francisco. it's a beautiful start to our friday morning. as you step out the door you'll notice how cold it is. we've had temperatures in the 30s and 40s, but this is where we're headed. we're going to see the highs reaching into the upper 50s and low 60s. and more of this weather in the forecast going into the weekend. it's going to be dry even into next week. we officially welcome in winter on monday and christmas eve also looking sunny. latest weather guys >> all right, al, thank you. >> thank you, al >> coming up, alarming new details on the suspected russian cyberattack on key u.s. government agencies. even the nation's top nuclear lab. how did this go

undetected four months andrea mitchell has a closer look at what happened, what was accessed, and the risk posed to national security as we speak >> plus, new warnings about holiday shopping and shipping, and the impact of that massive storm. as we head into the final weekend before the holidays all right, but first, this is "today" on we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of,

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your way to stay closer together. click, call, or visit an xfinity store today. just ahead, like father like son, charlie and tiger woods in perfect sync gearing up for their first tournament together >> carson has the details after the local news the perfect gift up until the last minute. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ let's end the year nailing it. cue rachael ray. hey friends! today we're whipping up some delicious recipes. so? who's hungry? pets love rachael ray" nutrish® and its kitchen-inspired recipes. with real meat, poultry or fish. rachael ray" nutrish®. real recipes. real ingredients. real good.®

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but with walmart's low prices, you still know how to do it up. and keep costs down. let's end the year enjoying more. ♪ you are all i need baby baby to get by ♪ good morning to you. 7:26. i'm kris sanchez. new this morning, firefighters are still on the scene of a big warehouse fire that burned overnight in the east bay. you can see in the video there were flames shooting out of what we believe is the everline service building on wright avenue in richmond. no word regarding injuries yet. firefighters will remain on scene to make sure everything continues to be under control and to look for the cause of the fire. and moderna's covid vaccine now on the verge of approval, but the next round of pfizer vaccine shipments to california are expected to be smaller than we anticipated. according to "the chronicle" the

state is expecting to receive 233,000 doses of pfizer's vaccine next week, which is 40% of what was first promised. pfizer says it is not experiencing production issues on its end. the feds say the number of doses are not being reduced but that deliveries are being spaced out at different sites over several days, so we'll watch and see. now we want to check in with meteorologist kari hall. it is chilly in the house this morning. yeah, it's cold and at least it's sunny, so that sunshine will help us out as we go into today, and we're going to see more of these cold mornings. we'll have to crank up the heater and try to stay warm as we are looking at our morning start here in the low 40s and in the south bay we've seen a few spots dipping below freezing like we've seen in the south county. as we go into the next several days once again sunshine. cool mornings and some mild afternoons.

kris? all right. thanks. we have more local news coming up for you in just a half hour. don't forget we have our midday news at 11:00 this morning.

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♪ back now 7:30, it's a friday morning. it's december the 18th where will you be one week from right now? probably, i don't know, a lot of people gathering around the christmas tree take a look at our beauty right there sitting there looking at us from across the street. looks pretty with a little snow still on it, doesn't it >> yeah, i was looking at the forecast. some people are going to have a white christmas. let's check your 7:30 headlines. members of purdue pharma who make oxycontin talk about their role in the

crisis a couple appeared before a house committee before zoom and the family who was behind the oxycontin crisis. they apologized for oxycontin's role in the crisis but said they didn't do anything illegal or unethical. >> i'm not sure i'm aware of any family in america that's more evil than yours. >> our opinion of purdue pharma and the actions of your family we all agree are sickening. >> will you apologize for the role you played in the opioid crisis >> i have struggled with that question there is nothing that i can find that i would have done differently. >> purdue has reached a settlement in bankruptcy court, but the family is still in negotiations over how much they will pay david and kathy said they intend to provide resources to fight the opioid epidemic. >> dr. jill biden is reacting for the first time publicly to a

recent op-ed in the "wall street journal" that suggested that she should drop the "doctor" title fro her name here's dr. biden on the stephen colbert show. >> that was such a surprise you know, it was really the -- i think -- he called me kiddo. one of the things i'm most proud of is my doctorate. i mean, i worked so hard for it. >> jill biden did receive a doctoral degree in education from the university of delaware in 2007 she said she was overwhelmed by the support she received in the wake of that op-ed controversy. >> now to the nfl, charges quarterback justin herbert to win rookie of the year may have just cemented it. >> we're going to try to get there herbert. going to take it and got it, touchdown! chargers win it. >> there he is scoring the game winning touchdown in overtime as the chargers beat the las vegas raiders. sorry, carson. 32-27. >> moving now to the threats posed by that

massive hack targeting federal agencies and some fortune 500 countries. >> this is really disturbing experts say all signs point to russia, but how did that country pull it off? how did it go unnoticed for months and are the russians still there? nbc's senior washington correspondent andrea mitchell taking a closer look this morning. andrea, i'm glad you're looking at this because we haven't focused on it as much as we need to. >> reporter: exactly right, savannah, good morning. that hack believed to be from russian intelligence was much worse than originally thought. so bad it could be months or years before we know the full damage homeland security is now warning of a grave risk to the nation's infrastructure as federal investigators only begin to scratch the surface of one of the largest hacks in history, american intelligence officials say there is little doubt russian intelligence is behind it among the targets, treasury, commerce, state, homeland security, along with the energy department agency that maintains america's nuclear weapons. and possibly the pentagon >> this is a chilling example of how aggressive russian cyber activities have

become >> reporter: federal investigators say the attack dates back at least to march the culprit, malware embedded into an update for software used by 300,000 customers, including the federal government and top fortune 500 companies. once installed, it allowed hackers to tunnel into unclassified systems and read government emails >> the software that they managed to back door introduce essentially a trojan horse inside of the software is one of the most widely used i.t. management software out there. >> reporter: the cyber defense system called einstein, government agencies did not detect the malware until alerted by a private cyber security firm earlier this month. >> reporter: how could this go undefected for as long as nine months by the u.s. government >> what is remarkable about this is it wasn't detected sooner our biggest problem in

america is we have too much to defend and too few people to defend it >> reporter: our homeland security bulletin says the intrusion poses a grave risk to the federal government, and identifying and removing it will be highly complex and challenging. in a "the new york times" op-ed, former homeland security adviser tom bossert, we must take control when joe biden takes control of the office, he has to a accumulate communication is read by russia and government email could be falsified but as vladimir putin's government denies responsibility. president trump has said nothing about the hack or russia's likely role. now a growing number of lawmakers, including republican senator mitt romney are demanding a response >> what i find most astonishing is that a cyber hack of this nature is really the modern equivalent of almost russian bombers reportedly flying undetected over the entire country not to have the white house aggressively speaking out and protesting and taking punitive action is really, really quite

extraordinary. >> andrea, this will no doubt be a continuing challenge for the incoming administration how does the biden administration plan on addressing this with russia >> well, the president-elect's statement says that he is going to make cybersecurity a top priori priority, savannah. throughout the government, including dealing with this breach right from the moment he takes office he says they need to disrupt and deter our adversaries and he'll work with america's allies most immediately, of course, he's going to have to replace all those top pentagon homeland intelligence officials who have been purged by president trump including chris krebs, the top cyber official you interviewed who was fired for saying the election results were honest, and not faked. his biggest problem is to replace them and also to figure out what is vladimir putin reading while they're trying to find out how much the damage is how much of his plans are they actually seeing because they're in our systems >> they're in there,

and by this time, you know, they have their own ways back in, unfortunately. andrea, thank you very much appreciate it. >> coming up next, the record-setting winter storm adding to holiday shipping problems and if you're worried about your gifts arriving on time, you may not enjoy the new message from the postal service and big carriers coming up after this

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upgrading over a thousand towers a month with ultra capacity 5g. to bring speeds as fast as wifi to cities and towns across america. and we're adding more every week. coverage and speed. who says you can't have it all? we are back. 7:41 this morning on "today's" holiday consumer, as we head into the final weekend before christmas. >> they hear you panicking. given the unprecedented volume of online shopping this year, there were already shipping delays yesterday's big storm on the east coast, well, that's not helping the situation. nbc's stephanie gosk is at a u.p.s. facility in queens hey, steph, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, savannah, good morning to you guys. shipping companies

like u.p.s. were already dealing with an extraordinary challenge with 7 days to go before christmas. now you add all this snow and ice in the northeast, things just went from hard to nothing they've ever dealt with before. this morning a region buried in massive amounts of snow as millions of holiday packages are in transit, trying to get to where they are going in time for christmas. now some are worried delays could ruin their holidays >> my nephews and niece, yes i always want them to have their gift under the christmas tree it's going to be a little bit hard this year >> reporter: the u.s. postal service and shipping companies like u.p.s. and fedex were already facing unprecedented volume with consumers turning online from toilet paper to pet food. an estimated 800 million more packages expected this year than last. and the vaccine rollout adding to the traffic. now the massive storm in the northeast halted pick ups and deliveries hit hard by the storm. in turn, impacting the whole system nationwide elliott deeters owns a

franchise of small shipping stores in illinois >> shipping delays are a problem normally anyway when there's a weather delay. you're compounding that on top of the pandemic of 2020 >> reporter: u.p.s., fedex and u.s. postal service all warning customers of unprecedented volume increases and delays now adding alerts because of the extreme weather. amazon which says it's had the largest shopping season in the company's history is still promising same-day delivery until christmas eve. small business owner heather parker who relies on the big shippers is frustrated >> we're having to really reevaluate how we get our items in the hands of our customers because we can't really rely on shipping this year >> reporter: seven days left until christmas. if it has to be mailed, take a deep breath and cross your fingers. >> ship early, be patient. there's going to be lines. i encourage people go

to your local store that's in your town because they're a small business, too. >> yes, steph, a lot of folks hoping that their gifts make it there on time. right now people are also trying to ship the vaccine and that obviously takes priority so what are companies doing to make sure that those shipments are not late >> reporter: yeah, hoda, it's only going to grow. now you have the moderna vaccine coming through as well. we reached out to u.p.s. and fedex they told us they have contingency plans in place. >> thank you >> how is the weather? >> not too bad right now. the good news is you look at this storm that just happened and i mean it added some big snow totals for binghamton almost 48 inches of snow that puts them 32 inches above what they should normally have boston had 17 inches of snow. that's a surplus of more than 12 inches. new york city 10.5 inches. that's 8 inches above average.

in fact, you look at new york city's 10 1/2 inches of snowfall we have more snow than buffalo, chicago, milwaukee by a long shot grand rapids, even down into south bend but the storms all of a sudden everybody is saying we have global warming. why are we having these big snowstorms with warmer air and the oceans, that increases the available moisture for these storm systems. plus with cold canadian air, that creates extreme snowfall so while we may have fewer snowstorms, the ones that we do have will be more likely major snowstorms as we get into a warmer climate. in fact, binghamton, 40 inches of snow, albany 22, boston 13 for example, for december, fourth big he felt december storm for boston, 8th biggest for albany pittsburgh the biggest ever for binghamton. with the warming climate they had their top three snowstorms in the last four years in december. that's what's going on around the c good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall.

we're taking a live look outside in san francisco. a great start to our friday morning with cool temperatures and also a clear sky. as we go into today we're looking at highs across the bay area reaching into the mid to upper 50s and a few spots 60 degrees. as we go into the weekend expect more sunshine, chilly mornings and highs in the low 60s. we essentially welcome in the first day of winter on monday. and that's your latest weather. guys? >> all right, al, thank you. up next, seeing double. tiger woods and his son charlie show off identical swings ahead of their first tournament together. and carson, he is all over it. he'll be with us coming up right after this. hing's possible. even fast delivery on the perfect last minute gift from your walmart store. really fast. really perfect. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ your happy place. let's end the year nailing it. find your breaking point.

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competes. add in the star playing alongside his 11-year-old son charlie. well, social media cannot get enough. >> reporter: charlie woods is crushing it. the 11-year-old son of golf legend tiger woods is ready to make his mark on the sport. as the father-son duo warm up for this weekend's pnc championship in orlando, many noting the uncanny similarities. >> i don't know. his swing is any different than mine, but his feels are very similar. hitting shots and creating those shots, i just think he has this opportunity to, you know, enjoy it and he's doing that. >> reporter: woods, the 82-time pga tour winner is sharing the tournament spotlight for the first time with his son charlie, who is already getting attention as a junior golfer in florida. over the summer the golf icon even caddied for him at a youth competition. charlie dominating the kids event winning the nine-hole tournament by five strokes, 3 under par, tallying three birdies and no

bogeys. >> it's been just an absolute blast to go out there and be with him. reminds me so much of me and my dad. >> reporter: many think charlie is a chip off the old block. tiger began playing at age 2 and made his "today" show debut as a 5-year-old golf phenom talking to bryant gum babal in 1981. >> what do you want santa to bring you? >> an iron. >> tiger knows more what it is to be a golf phenom. his father earl nurturing him from a young age. we'll get to see the master and his son and yet another superstar in the woods family. >> for me seeing him enjoying this, enjoying the game, that's the whole idea. >> it's a lot of fun to watch.

it's noteworthy they're paired with the world number 3 golfer, justin thomas, good friend of tiger, and justin's dad mike. not only are tiger and charlie's golf swings very similar. tiger already taught charlie the art of talking trash as an 11-year-old. that will be a lot of fun to watch on saturday. >> that's cute. so, when do we see it? how do you see it? >> yeah, so, yeah. well, you know, you watch it on peacock actually. there's no spectators obviously because of covid. fans can still enjoy it on nbc, of course, the golf channel has it, and it will stream on peacock as well. >> all right, carson. awesome. thank you. coming up, savannah, you're introducing us to somebody special in the world. >> that's right. my pastor michael rancino. a lot of people are looking for guidance this season, and he has a message to lift everybody up after your local news.

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less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. ♪ just one look at you. ♪ and i know it's gonna be... a lovely day. ♪ ♪ lovely day, lovely day. lovely day. ♪ ♪ lovely day. ♪ lovely day, lovely day. ♪ no matter how you celebrate this year, make this holiday extra special with a gift from pandora jewelry.

good morning to you. 7:56. i'm kris sanchez. here is what's happening now. >> reporter: i'm bob redell in santa clara. we're here in the cafeteria of kaiser permanente where the medical personnel have started inoculating with the pfizer version. it looks like doctors, nurses, therapists on the frontline dealing on a day-to-day basis. there's a little lull. we've spoken to some and the message is the vaccine is safe and effective. winter starts monday but i say it starts today, kari.

yeah, it's pretty cold out there this morning. we've seen temperatures dipping below freezing and we'll have more mornings going into the weekend after those cold starts we'll at least have the sunshine and a nice afternoon. as we reach into the upper 50s today we'll see some low 60s through the weekend as well as early next week as we officially welcome in winter. and we're still dry even as we head through christmas eve. kris? all right, thank you, kari. we have more local news coming up in just a half hour. don't forget all the midday news coming up at 11:00 this morning. stay warm, folks. have a great day.

>> as the u.s. tops record cases again, and hospitals from coast to coast reach the breaking point. >> and i have seen people in a dark time, but that is what the message of hope is about. >> and his message of hope for the holidays. and from the er violin. >> and it was transporting me to a different world. >> and how some patients made their way to the world stage. >> this is as close asly get to carnegie hall. >> how these medical workers are taking their bow on this friday, december 18th, 2020. >> today, i finished my masters program at ball state university. >> and today it is her

13th birthday. >> hi, mr. roker. hi, savannah and hoda. >> from new jersey, this is what is happening in our neck of the woods. >> we are the cooks from chicago reminding you -- >> one week till christmas! >> and an adorable reminder. good morning, everybody. it is one week until christmas, and it is friday morning and if you are just reaching for the first cup of coffee, we are happy to be sharing it with you. >> and so, we are still looking at the drives and you can get involved. >> we put up the qr code and feeding america, the amazing organization who are helping those struggling to put food on the table, and it is an amazing nationwide code. >> you can just scan the corner by savannah with your phone and it will take you to the website to show you how to help. >> and now, the second vaccine has to go

ahead from the advisory panel and vice president pence was vaccinated this morning and tom costello was in washington. good morning, tom. >> yes, savannah, good morning a. lot happening this morning. start with the fda expected to approve today the moderna vaccine coming with the advisory panel voting 12-0 to go ahead with the emergency use authorization on the moderna vaccination much as it did last week. it could come as soon as today and we could see doses really coming out of the moderna distribution system within a few days and earlier today on the "today" show, we heard from dr. fauci about the effort. >> how soon do you think that we will see shots in the arm? >> i would anticipate, savannah, we would likely see shots in the arm by the early part of next week and i would hope monday or tuesday, but we will have to wait to see for the final decision. >> reporter: in a show

of confidence for the vaccines vice president mike pence with his wife karen as well as the surgeon general adams, all of them received a vaccine made by pfizer at an event here on the east coast. and the vice president taking great pains to suggest that this is really a demonstration in confidence in the vaccine and also in the american system that has brought the vaccine to bear. >> we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. it is the light of american innovation and creativity, and it is the light of life-saving medicines and safe and effective vaccine. >> reporter: president trump has not indicated when and where he is going to eventually get the vaccine, and therefore he did have covid and may have antibodies. one concern is that multiple states are suggesting that their vaccine allotment has been cut, and iowa saying cut by 30%, and some disagreement by the states and the

federal government and pfizer, and the trump administration says it is not true, and that the entire vaccine allotment will be distributed in the coming week, but right now the states are trying to cut back on what they had planned next week concerned they won't have enough vaccine. busy week. savannah, back to you. >> all right. and tom, that is the first shot of two they will need for the pfizer vaccine. back to you. another big story out of washington, negotiation for a second big covid package. our white house correspondent kristen welker has that story. good morning, kristen. >> yes, time is running out. the lawmakers are negotiating to fund the government and provide covid relief. the government shuts down tonight, and they are likely headed to a weekend session, and they are close, but critical details to be hammered out, and staff worked overnight to try to get that to happen, and as it stands the bill is

roughly 900 billi$900 billion and direct payments to americans likely around $600, and weekly insurance benefits of $300 and billions to fund struggling businesses and vaccine distribution. so what is not in it? direct aid to state and local governments and no direct liability protection for businesses. the bottom line, a deal to get help to millions of americans in desperate need of help set to expire soon. >> yes. thank you, kristen. >> you are caught up on the news but not the boost. >> as any parent with a teenager knows it is not hard to embarrass your kid out in public, but one dad goes all out and he gets into the holiday spirit, and this happens at school pickup. >> oh, my goodness, galena, i know her! wait, wait, have. this i want to sing you a song. i want to sing you a song.

galena i'm here and i love you. i love you. i love you. hello, i love you! i know you. you are on the naughty list right now. >> okay. >> oh, my gosh. >> his daughter is laughing so hard that she eventually says this, "how am i related to you" and of course, the dad is getting the inspiration from "elf" when he thinks that the real santa is coming to the department store and that is what his real dad did there. >> she is going to be remembering that for a long time. the and a concert unlike any other of the year. >> meet the front line heroes using their other talents to help help heal this country. coming up after this. and ford co-pilot360 technology... to help you outsmart some of the things

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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 are back. carson joins us once again. the course of the pandemic, the hard work and dedication of our nation's health care workers have been on full display. >> last night a few of those heroes stepped into the spotlight for another reason, and, boys, was it music to our ears here is nbc's ann thompson ♪ ♪ >> reporter: this is healing of a different kind ♪ for the audience and the musicians themselves ♪ dr. anthony vine trading his surgeon's

instruments for a musical one. >> pulling out my violin was a release, and it was transporting me to a different world. it was a world that had no covid in it >> reporter: these are front line medical workers, doctors, nurses and technicians, playing a virtual concert made possible by new york's carnegie hall. >> i've been in symphony hall in boston haven't done carnegie hall yet >> reporter: is this close? >> this is as close as i will be able to get to carnegie hall >> reporter: along with tchaikovsky, these health care heroes performed mozart beethoven. and winter from vivaldi's four seasons with grammy award-winning violinist joshua bell. >> it was very touching to watch these musicians, medical professionals, some of them in their scrubs, in their offices playing the

music with great seriousness and really touched me very much to see that commitment >> reporter: each performer recorded their individual parts which were then edited together for last night's online concert. >> it's not a normal way of making music as an ensemble. >> reporter: well, it sounds so 2020 >> very, very 2020 ♪ >> reporter: what was your emotion when you heard it >> oh, i got goosebumps i'm sitting in the safety of my home while every day they're going, putting themselves on the front lines every day, and it moved me very much to see it put together >> reporter: all bringing joy to the world. for "today" ann thompson nbc news. ♪ >> are you feeling that >> yes >> and by the way, there actually is science that music is a healer, so they are working both sides of it right there that was beautiful >> we have to put that

on our website >> yes, we certainly do. we will have that happening. >> if i can't find a concert, we certainly will >> carson, it looks like it is pop start time what you got >> it is pop start paul mccartney's newest album is out, mccartney 3. when he stopped by "the tonight show" to talk about the release, mccartney couldn't help bring up the time jimmy fallon once sent him a few song ideas >> i'm still feverishly looking for them because they were good, and i lost them. but they were good not that good, but they were good >> i had a few beverages, i believe, before, and i said, i should send you these songs. and then the next day i go, whew, 30 documents. >> if i can ever find those tracks, we could do something together. i'm not sure i'm going to be able to find them that's the problem >> you're not looking.

you're not looking hard at all. >> that's funny, a couple beers and you think it's a good idea to send paul mccartney some songs while we wait for the collaboration, let's look at the video shot from his home studio, "find my way" in which we see sir mccartney playing in literally every instrument on the track. ♪ ♪ you never used to b afraid of days like this ♪ ♪ and now all you hav is anxieties ♪ ♪ and if you need ♪ly be your guide ♪ and i can help you to reach ♪ ♪ the calm inside >> so good >> it was ringo starr yesterday, today paul mccartney. these two beatles just are great music. next up, now we're getting our first music at the anticipated sequel to the eddie murphy classic "coming to

america. it is called "coming 2 america. it is including most of the original class including shari heebley, seen here. he learns he has a son in the united states which sends him back to new york. james earl jones returns to the sequel of course as the king. it wouldn't be a "coming to america" sequel without arsenio hall. yes, that is a soul globe poster in the background just because. we're going to see our characters return to the barber shop where murphy and hall played multiple characters making for memorable scenes in the original >> damn, boy, that some kind of weave or something? >> it's my natural hair i've been growing it since birth. >> that will be $8 >> "coming 2 america" hits amazon prime

video march 5th. that's great i think of craig now >> absolutely. we'll show that picture coming up in the third hour >> yeah, you have to all right. next up is taraji p. henson one of our faves. she sits down with willie geist for sunday's sit down. she talks with willie about her new show for facebook watch, it's called peace of mind with taraji the show tackles mental health issues in the black community. and taraji opens up about her own struggles with mental health take a look. >> we're gonna heal. we're gonna heal we're gonna heal, damn it >> where did it come from >> the mental health crisis needed some urgency. some way we could reach more people. my hope is that people see that's literally what a session looks like with the therapist. you laugh, you cry the thing about it is everybody that comes on the show -- and i feel so good -- they say they feel safe that's what therapy is about. being in a safe place where you can unload >> that's great work she's doing. can't say enough good stuff about that catch the entire

interview this weekend on ""sunday today"." with the great willie geist. so enjoy that. finally we have to do this quickly we have a winner in our cookie bracket >> yes >> yeah, you've been following this whole thing, right it started with eight cookies qualifying for the top spot there was gingerbread, snowball cookie, sugar cookie, biscotti lindzer, jam, shortbread and it came down to sugar cookie versus shortbread, and with 60% of the vote, sugar cookie is the ultimate cookie challenge winner. >> a throw down. they're so delicious >> all right >> sad >> you can take the easy way out and get those sliced cookies >> pillsbury, slice them up. >> you can't lose. let's check the weather. >> let's show you what we have today. series of storms coming to the pacific northwest. they're going to end up with 3 to 5 inches

of rain before the weekend is out chilly along the eastern seaboard, snow in the rockies, sunshine down in the gulf >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a live look outside in san jose. beautiful, bright sunshine. we're going to start out chilly on this friday morning but warm up nicely for today. we're heading up to the upper 50s and a few spots reaching 60 degrees. a few more 60s tomorrow for the inland valleys but it's going to be cold these next few mornings dipping down into the 30s. we welcome in winter on monday and the dry weather continues through the middle of next week. >> weather. guys >> thank you, al. as we approach the end of this which is the toughest year for a lot of us.

we're reflecting on the challenges we faced and also where we go from here. >> yes sources of comfort and strength can seem hard to come by but a lot of people find them in their faith. and i recently sat down with my own pastor, michael ranchino, pastor of good shepherd new york, for a conversation we hope will inspire in a year of heartache and anger and grief, many have wondered where to find faith and hope michael ranchino is the founding pastor of good shepherd new york, a church like so many that has had to go digital to connect with parishioners and shepherd a community searching for answers in a time when so much has been lost. >> early on i thought about probably the shortest verse in the bible, which is, jesus wept but what i found in jesus weeping was a hopeful way, it's actually okay to face the loss and to cry. and god is okay with

that and i think this is a time to be honest. and if that's grief, that's grief if that's anger, that's anger but we can have confidence that we'll get somewhere through that >> i feel like people want hope. they want real hope, something that they can hold onto. for you, what doubt -- what do you tell the people that are in your church, and in your church community, where should they find hope >> one of the earliest stories that sort of popped for me in the time of a pandemic relates to that, hope. and what i found is that here we have a moment in the story of jesus where he is feeding the multitudes, right? it's like the famous feeding of the 5,000 and everyone is hungry and it's at a scale that is beyond any one person's ability to do something about. and here the disciples come to jesus and they're like, what do we do? and his question of them is, well, what do

you have and it turns out in that story, of course, they have a couple of loaves and some fish, and then there is this amazing miracle where everyone walks away with plenty left over. and i find myself asking the question right now in this time, what is right in front of me that i maybe haven't had eyes to see what can i appreciate? what is a gift, how can i channel gratitude in that? how can i say thank you? >> there are two parts of it. it's so striking to me it's what do i have, and the next part is, and how can i share it >> exactly having is one thing, and appreciating it, that's the first step. but then sharing it is where we get real joy. and i think i've been most hopeful as i've seen the generosity of people during a very dark time. and to me that's what christmas is all about. >> this reminds me of your sermon on sunday which was about joy. but i think what you were saying to all of us in the church was, you don't feel that real joy without sometimes also feeling that sadness >> right >> and when we try to protect ourselves and keep everything even, yes, we think we've

protected ourselves from pain, but we've also protected ourselves from joy did i catch that right? >> i think of it like the human heart has one valve. it's either opening or closing. and a lot of the things that we do to protect ourselves are a tightening of that valve, a closing off of that valve. and i find like the openness required for joy, the openness required to love is also vulnerable. it means you can also let in things like fear and it feels risky and it can be dark at times. but open heart is the only way to live i think that's what the bible calls faith. faith is the open heart. >> finally, just since you are a man of faith, what's a word of love that you have for people right now >> i would love to offer a word of love, but when i think about our community, i think of things like the power of music i mean, to me that has been one of the clearest expressions of love to bless us, with inspiration and to give language to

our anger, to give language to our fear and our panic and also hope >> a song is as good a word as i know ♪ ♪ ♪ we are gonna make i through, love is gonna get us through ♪ >> that's like the church choir, the musicians, the good shepherd collective. they do music. it's absolutely gorgeous if you're looking for a church service on christmas eve, you can come to my church. i will put a word about it online. >> i have to add onto that i follow the good shepherd of new york on instagram that music collective is some of the best musicians i've ever seen i encourage the people as the pastor talked

about music being a way of healing to follow them for some incredible inspirational music. >> you were feeling generous right in this moment don't forget we have a qr code so you can help people at feeding america. they really need it this time of year. >> absolutely. straight ahead, guys, stephanie ruhle with the answers to your questions on good morning. it's 8:26. i'm cierra johnson. moderna's covid vaccine now on the verge of approval. the next round of pfizer vaccine shipments to california are now expected to be much smaller than first thought, according to the chronicle. the state is expected to receive 233,000 doses of pfizer's vaccine next week. that's just 40% of what was first promised. pfizer said it is not experience anything production issues. the feds say the number of doses are not being reduced but the deliveries are being spaced out at different sites over several days. now for a look at our weather, kari? >> we're starting out cool this morning. and we are seeing some sunshine

behind the system that moved through yesterday. we are going to start out with some upper 30s and low 40s as you get ready to head out the door. then we'll go into the afternoon and reach into the upper 50s. 60s in the forecast as the sunshine continues going through the first day of winter. even as we get closer to christmas eve, still no rain headed our way and we'll have these cool mornings and mild and sunny afternoons into next week. cierra? >> thank you. i'll have another local news update for you in about a half hour.

no one has ever seen anything like covid. my best friend's father died of covid-19. then my father caught it. wearing a mask, washing your hands. you have the power to protect the ones you love. to all the businesses make it through 2020... thank you for going the extra mile...

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> is that deceiving us or is that the new york's philharmonic

brass quartet outside on our plaza that officially is our first live music on the plaza since march. doesn't that feel good >> i missed it >> they've been traveling around in a pickup truck playing their music. they drove their red pickup truck which is here we're going to hear from them. >> they're going to get us in the spirit in a few moments in the meantime craig and sheinelle are joining us. now we have a party. we're one week from christmas. if you are still deciding how to celebrate, stephanie ruhle has some ideas how you can do it with your family in a safe, but still festive way. she's ready for the party, too >> yes, indeed also ahead, savannah, i'm looking forward to sharing my conversation with the incredible cast of a new movie just out, "ma rainy's black bottom." we talked about what it was like working with chadwick boseman in what would be his final film and i'm telling you, after having watched this film, it's all but a shoe in come award season time. >> can't wait to hear that conversation. looking ahead to the third hour, we are in for another treat. lesli odom, jr., one

of the stars of "hamilton" will be sharing a holiday performance to you. >> we have a lot to look forward to next week savannah got the chance to sit down one on one with her friend tom hanks. he has a new movie out. it's called "news of the world. and then jenna was busy having a special conversation with oprah. they were bonding over their love of books and sharing some advice on coping in quarantine >> they're besties now. that's happening >> what a shot, oprah has the best-looking zoom ever. >> always. >> of course >> carson, you are going to shine a light on an incredible woman in your digital mind matters. tell us about it >> thank you for that. we have veteran kelsey sheerran. she is so cool. she served in the canadian army four years including a deployment to afghanistan. she like many vets struggle with ptsd when she came home,

looking for a way to cope she started crafting these bracelets from gun shells as treatment. it turned art therapy into a successful business we have her story on today.com. mind matters is our mental health and wellness series, so we invite you to check that out >> look forward to that carson, thanks >> mr. roker, you have a check of the weather? >> show you what we've got. looking at the weekend for tomorrow it's going to be cold in the northeast, milder in the mid-atlantic, storms in the gulf. heavy rain in the pacific northwest. then sunday, sunday look for snow showers in the northeast in new england. nothing too heavy. mild highs through the plains and into the gulf and heavy rain continues in the >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. here's a look at our high temperatures for today. we're going to have more of the same weather we've had recently, but we'll have a lot more sunshine today. expect a high of 60 degrees in palo alto. 60 in napa. and as we go into the weekend, more 60s in the forecast for the inland valleys. we are going to have these cool mornings.

in fact, some of us starting out below freezing or with frosty conditions going into next week. more of the same weather pattern as it remains dry. latest weather but now it's time for sunday night football night in america the cleveland browns and mr. mayfield come into giants stadium, metlife stadium. it's cloudy, cold! there will be a few flakes we'll see who wins on sunday night football night in america we need it hoda >> wait, let this -- >> i like it all right, al. coming up next, guys, steph rhule has ideas for staying connected if you cannot be with loved on

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help for the holidays. don't forget, you can help feeding america by scanning that qr code on your screen right there. >> meantime, we are one week till christmas. nbc's stephanie ruhle is with us to help give us advice on how to celebrate safely with minimal risk. steph, good morning. >> good morning to you. >> we have started with people haven't finished their christmas shopping they knee shipping is no bueno. what's the best route? >> resist the urge to go out there and shop, shop, shop as you said it, you can't do it online but it's the perfect time to shop local in other years your local store, toy store, specialty shop didn't have much of a website. that changed because of the pandemic. you'd be surprised a lot of your small stores now have pretty big e-commerce efforts so you can go online and order and pick it up click and pick with your local shops >> buy online and pick up in store. also gift cards, card for restaurants, you

can help the restaurant industry. stephanie, what about christmas traditions, you're trying to keep the magic alive. a lot of us aren't going to get to see our families this year, extended families >> as joyful as it is, it is stressful and overwhelming i have tried to jamb ten pounds of fun in a bag. it ends up with my kids crying. you need to destress a little bit not just gift cards in, but order dinner in. don't just use a delivery service because they usually charge those restaurants a big chunk. order from your favorite local restaurant, pick it up contact-free and you can go old school get in the car and go out and see some christmas lights in any town or any city, zoos, parks, just your local neighborhood.

we all did it when we were kids. time to bring it back. >> i think be that's a great idea a lot of families, steph, some are going to be gathering, but the question is if you are choosing to go to your aunt's house or whatever, how do you do it safely just break it down what does the cdc say? >> i know the cdc guidance has been confusing. a lot of us are going, i don't really know the guidance if you don't know it, it doesn't mean it went away. watch your distance and wash your hands. as much as you possibly can in any of these gatherings, if it's outside your immediate family, try to stay outdoors do wear a mask even if you are outside and be considered of people who are 65 or older who have preexisting conditions remember, if you are inside the house, direct contact with anyone for more than ten minutes, speaking to them directly, that's when you're at most risk. so try to spread yourselves out >> how about traveling? a lot of folks are going to be getting on planes or cars what's the safe way to do it? >> let's walk through

it if you're getting on a plane, remember, you don't have to think about when you're on the plane. it's when you're in the airport, at a concession stand, at security, in a bathroom take the regular precautions you would and bring an extra mask with you. when i started wearing a mask i realized i had that breath. if you're missing that mask you'll be in bad shape. if you go in the car, you'll have to get gas or go in a rest stop these are things we have to be aware of especially if we're with extended family and our parents. >> by the way, before we let you go, how is your family doing? everybody recovered? we're all okay >> we're all okay. we're definitely pretty tired that is one of the reasons we have been lowering the temperature. for us, i did all of my christmas shopping this year, one-stop shopping i went to times square souvenir shops when we don't have tourists in new york, we're 60% down in tourists everybody is getting everybody is getting a "i love new york" sweatshirt get creative it keep it simple. >> thank you, stephanie. >> up next, an

interview with ma rainy's rock bottom. bringing the famous play to the big screen it is chadwick a drink with friends can turn into a few. stop! it's easy to lose track. and getting a dui is easier than you think. plan ahead, call a cab. share a ride. if you choose to drink, choose a sober way to go. go safely, california. [ sfx: ping ping beep [ beep bloop bloop ]z ] [ sfx: honk ] [ sfx: pop pop pop pop ]

[ sfx: pop ping bloop pop ping bloop ] the day can wait. enter the golden state with real california dairy. a drink with friends can turn into a few. stop! it's easy to lose track. and getting a dui is easier than you think. plan ahead, call a cab. share a ride.

if you choose to drink, choose a sober way to go. go safely, california. welcome back. if you were with us yesterday, you may have seen my conversation with "ma rai rainy's black bottom" star viola davis. >> you have a good one talking to the film's director and other members of the cast. tell us about it >> hey, good morning, guys you know, when you talk about ma rainy's black bottom, hard not to focus on the performance of chadwick boseman because this was his last role before his untimely death at the age of 43. it's a performance that hit me hard because i lost my brother to the same disease colon cancer, 43

this conversation took place when i was traveling home for services i asked boseman, how boseman's presence, rather, on the set affected the cast. >> i got talent. man, this horn, we's tight. if my daddy had known i was going to turnout like this, he would have named me gabriel. >> it's a bittersweet moment when chadwick boseman appears on the screen as a musician in ma rainy's back bottom viola davis plays the mother of the real-life mother of the blues, ma rainy. the film set in chicago in the 1920s is an adaptation of the 1984 broadway play of the same name written by pulitzer prize winner august wilson >> go get the boy a microphone >> directed by george c. wolf, the story focuses on a recording session with ma rainy and her jazz band. a group of talented musicians with complicated relationships played by coleman domingo, michael pots, glen turman and boseman on the trumpet. >> chadwick was playing all the time he had that daggone

horn in his hands every moment when you heard cut, you'd still hear chadwick >> about them songs i give you >> he grabs the audience by the collar immediately with his performance. >> coleman, one of the powerful scenes to me, was that scene in which you and chadwick boseman are going back and forth about god and religion and betrayal and i understand that that was also a scene that you found fairly emotional. >> i won't give so much away, but basically it is meant about faith and about god's will, and why do terrible things happen to good people and in that scene, i think there were some cracks and it touched us all dearly. glen, michael and i. chadwick, we didn't know his struggle, but i feel that there was something on the verge there. and it broke through

but it needed also these other three black men with him to help him with that >> knowing what we know now about what he was going through as he was portraying this character, how did he do it? >> when i tell you, not one person saw it. >> at all. >> at all. the man -- the man, we all say -- can i get one more can i get one more he always wants to do another take, another take he was a consummate professional >> he was having a good time. you have all the super human strength, but you have someone who was truly enjoying the process of doing this and being here it was incredibly important to him >> the way that you managed to bring the stage play to life, george, what was it like bringing this one in particular to life? >> i know everybody says it was a joy because when you go into the room with smart people who are passionate, it's really special and magical.

i have this little saying about collaboration, which is careful who you marry because that's who the child is going to look like and in this case, i married an endless parade of smart, brilliant people >> michael, the music in the film, it rivals the acting did you learn how to play these instruments or -- >> yeah, we did. we didn't have a choice george would not tell us how well we needed to learn the instruments. remember and so we joked that we would hear each other rehearse and then get back to work. because we wanted to make sure we were not outdone. so that's probably why we became as proficient as we did >> many of the film's themes feel relevant today, the screenplay weaves racism, black identity and ambition and how that intersects with the

struggle to achieve the american drive >> here's a film set in the '20s. but it felt like, felt like there were so many parallels in the times we find ourselves right now. specifically, the black lives matter movement >> that's attributed to august wilson and his foresight as a playwright and a human being, and all the questions that he asked, what are we going to do as a people, where is the black man today and all of the questions that are at the nucleus of our universe right now. >> i so enjoyed my conversation with those guys and it really is objectively speaking, it's a phenomenal film, especially when you watch it knowing, again, what we know about where chadwick boseman was in his struggle with cancer, it really is phenomenal by the way, denzel, washington is an executive producer in the film the director told a fantastic story. denzel is a bit of a boxer. chadwick boseman actually had a black belt in martial arts

and one day on set, they just decided it would be fun to spar >> oh, wow. >> gee. >> and i said, who won? and they said, no, no, it was a tie. no one won. >> wow. >> and so "ma rainy's black bottom" starts to stream today. >> i have to watch it. >> thank you, craig. >> that was a great conversation, craig. we'll see you next hour >> coming up next, guess what, guys we a heading out to re

>> announcer: the citi music series on today is proudly presented to you by citi >> here we are doesn't this look good we're back with our citi music series and this is a special treat. we're bringing our plaza back to life with our first plaza performance since march, nine months >> i cannot believe

it i think it was harry styles who was out here before. we're so happy to be back here. maybe a little cold, but we are giving a very warm welcome to the new york philharmonic one thing we've been missing this year all year so far is live music. and as we all know, it's an experience like no other. and when the pandemic forced this iconic orchestra to stop performances, you know what these musicians did? they hit the road. they got in the pickup truck and they took their instruments with them from a grand concert hall in new york's lincoln center, to a pickup truck caravan. the new york philharmonic orchestra is keeping the music going. at a time when most people need it when its doors closed in march, a traveling mini orchestra hit the streets. their red band wagon truck making surprise stops across the city for pop-up performances

>> music is so cathartic. there's a healing in what that's doing. >> it touched me emotionally. and i felt heaven sent >> it has been a while to have music and the ambiance and how powerful it is. >> a moment of comfort and peace. >> we have music and we have love >> as the joy of live music lifts spirits once again [ applause ] >> how thrilled are we these guys, they park their truck, it's right here behind them on the plaza they have a performance of "jingle bells" the new york philharmonic principal brass quintet, take it away ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yes, yes, yes >> i love the big finish, "jingle bells," thank you, guys new york philharmonic principal brass quintet, keep doing what you do. you're lifting spirits. >> we have more holiday music for you ahead on the 3rd hour and hoda and jenna home make overs for military families.

really cool. there's sheinelle. >> they're dancing at a distance >> one more time >> we'll be back after a check of your local news and weather and these messages happy friday >> happy friday, you guys ♪ ♪ good morning. it's 8:56. i'm cierra johnson. we're still awaiting tword from the fda on possible emergency use approval for the moderna vaccine. an advisory board yesterday gave its overwhelming approval. if moderna gets the green light, the vaccine may be easier to

distribute because it can be stored in more standard freezers unlike pfizer's vaccine which requires special freezers needed to store the vaccine at negative 94 degrees fahrenheit. and happening now, frontline workers in the south bay are receiving their first dose of the pfizer vaccine. and it comes as the bay area contends with record number of covid cases with icu beds at or near capacity. we'll have the very latest and take you to one of the hospitals where workers are rolling up their sleeves. 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. we )re tracking the big fears as we head into christmas week. plus.. race for a vaccine. what we know as a second covid-19 vaccination is set to come to the bay area.

♪ we have the power to harness california's abundant solar and wind energy, but it's not available all day long. use less energy from 4 to 9 pm for a cleaner california.

>> announcer: live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza, this is the 3rd hour of today. >> good morning and welcome to the 3rd hour of today on this friday, december 18th. i'm chanel here in studio 1-a with al. craig is working from home. dylan has a deserved day off. once again, we are continug today's season of giving. this morning we'll be doing it, in fact, leading up to the holidays because we're helping so many kids. you can hold up your phone, camera, all morning long to this qr code. i'll show you how to point. it's