and homestretch. rokerthon 2 hits the final phase. 38 states checked off the list so far. >> utah, colorado, new mexico, arizona, the four corners! kentucky. and we're here at the honey island swamp in slidell, louisiana. >> 12 more go putting al on track to make weathercasting history today, thursday, november 12th, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i hope al is feeling strong this morning. he's got 38 states down and a big weather forecast to talk about. >> his energy has been great throughout the week. it's been fun to watch. although someone with inside

morning. >> hmm? >> that person clearly was right. we'll check in with al in a check. also, today, the weather is our top story. damaging winds sweeping east after a rough wednesday for tens of millions of people. nbc's ron mott is in chicago this morning, hawaii, ron. how are you? >> reporter: good morning. a rough night in the midwest, especially in chicago, which is living up to the nickname today. it is very breezy. you can see the flags behind me dancing. this wind is expected to gust today 50 to 55 miles per hour, and it won't go away any time soon. they will blow all day today into tomorrow. in chicago overnight, stunning lightning lit up the windy city as the nearby suburbs had to dial with downed power lines and massive downpours. the storm moving east after nine suspected tornadoes touched down in iowa wednesday, destroying homes and overturning a semi

the roads. uprooting trees and lifting this parked car into the air. in iowa city, wind gusts combined with rain and lightning. causing flooding. over 700 flights cancelled across the u.s. on wednesday with 175 at chicago's o'hare alone. along with more than 4,000 delays. the weather system wreaking havoc in the skies and on planes still grounded. wind in des moines pushing a stair car straight into a plane. in denver it was snow that caused a headache for air travelers and motororts with winter arriving a few weeks ahead of schedule. now, meteorologists in this area call this fall storm a november witch, which is fuelled in part by the great lakes.

the storm movies east, it's running into stable air. that should calm the threat for tornadoes and severe weather, but you'll have to deal with the rain and wind. it goes without saying, air travel is going to be affected today. back to you. >> ron mott on this. thank you very much. >> let's get more on what you're expecting today, al. >> yeah, it'll be a mess. we could see more downed trees, more power outages. we'll show you what's happening. this low pressure system is still winding itself up. the good news is not a lot of rain with it. we'll be looking at showers and thunderstorms through the great lakes from the midwest to the interior northeast. we've got about 50 million people at risk from this intense low pressure system. we have severe wind watches stretching from the dakotas to the carolinas. we look for this to push through from iowa to western new york state. the wind gusts could be over 60 miles per hour as this pushes to the east. we are looking for, during the day, wind gusts in detroit, buffalo, indianapolis, des moines to minneapolis. over 40 miles per hour winds.

more widespread outages. the good news is it'll die down as we get into the later part of tomorrow. gu, back to you. >> al, thank you very much. we'll check back with you in a little while. meanwhile dangerous laser strikes are back in the news with two incidents in two major cities overnight. take a look at this. here's what happened right here in new york. a man aiming a laser right at the news helicopter for our nbc station wnbc. a stunt that ended in his arrest. nbc's tom costello covers aviation. tom, what happened? >> yeah, good morning. you know, it's a federal crime to point a laser at an aircraft. in new york, also in dallas, by the way, but in new york, it happened with our nbc affiliate on assignment over the city when it was targeted. police moved in, and all of it was caught on camera. the incident took place wednesday night when a chopper pilot for wnbc was flying 1,500

>> don't look at it. >> suddenly a green beam of light. >> getting lasered. just did it again. >> reporter: a laser nearly blinding the pilot and his reporter. >> you get hit in the face like that in the eyes, and you can go temporarily blind. >> he then spotted a group of men who appeared to be targeting not only the nbc chopper but also a police department chopper called in to investigate. >> you think this is a joke, huh? >> nbc cameras catching the police arresting at least one man and detaining two others. it comes after a string of similar incidents at new york city airports earlier this year. >> experts say the problem is growing at airports across the country. in 2010, more than 2,800 reports. last year, nearly 3,900. while the suspects appear to think it was all a joke, those inside the aircraft say it's no laughing matter. >> we're talking about a

two tons. imagine that coming down on your house because the pilot's vision is impaired. even more serious if this was a jetliner. >> three aircraft were targeted in dallas overnight. two commercial jets and a private business jet. you know, these lasers are very serious. they can cause temporary blindness, even permanent eye damage. the penalty for targeting an aircraft with a laser, up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine. i can tell you the faa and fbi are taking this very seriously. guys, back to you. >> as they should. tom costello, thank you very much. to politics now. donald trump is at the center of controversy again. this time after trump vowed to use a deportation force to carry it out. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is following this story. peter, good morning. >> hey, savannah. good morning to you. immigration is going to be a real flash point among republicans and in the general election next fall. trump has taken the toughest position of anyone in the field.

this morning, his latest comments are coming under fire as trump revealed how he proposes getting millions of undocumented immignts out of the country. >> how can you have a -- >> donald trump defending his plan to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants by inhumane force. >> you'll do it humanely. >> from his rivals, criticism. >> it's a silly argument. it's not an adult argument. it doesn't make sense. >> it's just not possible. there's a better approach, a practical, conservative approach that solves thisis hillary clinton blasting trump. the idea of tracacng down and deporting 11 millili americans is an suchch inhumane, and un-american. no, trump. one think k nk estimates removing all undocumented immigrants would cost $400 billion to $600 billioio

even invoke president's eisenhower's's massive deportation of moving undocumented immigrants 60 years ago. >> moved them beyond the border. they came back. again, beyond the border. came back. didn't like it. moved them way south. they never came back. >> but many consider that program, with the derogatory nickname of "operation wetback" to be a stain on american history. trump didn't use that phrase. >> i don't like the term. >> critics slammed him for making comparison. >> they'd drop immigrants in the middle of the desert and they'd die of heatstroke. how would yours be different? >> it's called good management. od management practices. >> so the bottom line, trump hasn't explained exactly how he'd track down those living in the country illegally or how he'd determine who are the good ones, as he's described them, that he'd allow to later return

to the u.s. >> have a very big price take. peter alexander, thank you very much. major offensive launched in iraq today backed by u.s.-led air campaign to try to retake the isis-held town of sinjar. >> isis overran that town last year. it was an onslaught that caused tens of thousands of people to flee. u.s. defense officials are telling nbc american war planes have carried out 20 air strikes against targets there, and some 7,500 kurdish fighters are closing in on three different fronts, aiming to reclaim control and cut off a strategic supply line used by isis fighters. all right. to russia now where president vladimir putin is ordering an investigation into allegations of widespread doping among his country's athletes, acandal that has russia facing a possible ban from next year's olympics. nbc's keir simmons has more on putin's first comments on this

keir, good morning to you. >> good morning. whether president putin's athletes can compete in next year's olympics may be determined by russia's response to the doping allegations. that response must be filed tonight. while a decision to disqualify russia medalists from the london 2012 olympics could see american athletes awarded medals instead. russia athletics now has just a matter of hours to respond to allegations ofof ss ofstate-sponsored doping, , ceit, and corruptionon prprident putin himself declaring,g,ussia must do everything to rid itself of this oblem. thth week's damming report says agents working for putin's security service were presenenin a moscsc lab where athletes' samples s re tested. the report suggests the lab's phones were bugged. putin's sports minister fighting back, going after international officials saying drug testing at the 2012 olympics was worse than russias. police are investigating officials from the international athletics body, the iaaf, over allegations of a complex

the athletic community, claims referred to them by the author of this week's report. >> we certainly do not think that russia is the only country with a doping problem. >> reporter: the question now, will russia be banned from rio's 2016 olympics? tomorrow, the iaan and international committee will weigh in. >> you will see medals being withdrawn. you will see athletes being sanctioned by the iaaf. >> reporter: if that happens, an american who competed in the london olympics 800 meters may be awarded a medal, three years after she finished fifth, behind two russian athletes, now accused of doping. but there are so many questions. the report says russian officials repeatedly failed to implement improvements they were told to make before the sochi winter olympics. the former president of the organization that must decide russia's fate, iaaf, say is under investigation by french prosecutors suspected of taking

a million dollars in bribes according to the a.p. matt and savannah, it ooh tess reputation of the world itself that's on the line here. >> thank you very much. >> a lot of people will be watching what happens over the next couple days. keir, thank you very much. at home, investigators are trying to get to the bottom of what caused this deadly house explosion in a new jersey neighborhood. national correspondent craig melvin is here with the story. good morning. >> good morning. the home you just saw was leveled. several surrounding houses were also badly damaged. the explosion itself triggered a frantic search for more than a dozen people who were inside at the time. >> reporter: the surveillance video captures the shocking moment at the top of the screen. a massive explosion destroying the two-family home in elizabeth, new jersey, wednesday morning. debris shooting into t t air. street. >> w wre getting that the second floor roof collapsedednd ere's pepele trapped on the sesend floooo >eporter: one man was killed, 11-y-yr-old who is now in

critical condition. most of the people e re in the rear of the building. some wereractually still sleeping at the time of the explosion. >> reporter: the mayor said a gas episode likely triggered the dead employ explosion, but the local gas company says a preliminary investigation found no indication the blast was gas related. 30 people from the neighborhood are now living in hotels. >> it's bad. we probably lost everything, except each other. >> reporter: wayne shepherd lived next door with his wife and child, all of them shaken but okay. >> went to sleep and woke up in a nightmare. >> reporter: earlier this year, a gas explosion obliterated another home in stafford township, new jersey, injuring more than a dozen. one month later two people were killed when a gas explosion rocked a manhattan neighborhood. now, in elizabeth, investigators are trying to figure out exactly what went wrong here and how to stop it from happening again. union county officials say the

force of that explosion was so strong it blew out windows and actually knocked people out of their beds. some residents told emergency responders they actually smelled gas before the accident, guys. >> scary. craig melvin, thank you very much. we are learning more this morning about the nine people who died when their small plane crashed into an apartment building at akron, ohio. investigators are looking close at new video that shows the flight's final moments. here's nbc's john yang. >> reporter: look closely at the highlighted portion of the screen. that's the doomed jet just seconds before a fiery explosion. >> i can see it burning right now. >> reporter: as the ntsb begins its first full day at the crash site, this surveillance video is a crucial piece of evidence. it shows the plane in its final moments, flying extremely low behind the trees before banking to the left. >> looked like something from my afghanistan days. just a bomb. >> reporter: raider lives next door to the apartment building

before. miraculously no one on the ground was injured. on wednesday investigators recovered the bodies of all nine on board the ten-seat jet. >> we want to make sure we understand all aspects of the weather and the conditions and the ground conditions. >> reporter: it was foggy and misty when the jet crashed into the busy neighborhood. visit ikt neighborhood. visibility, 1.5 miles. the cloud ceiling, 40 visibility, just 1.5 miles.0 the cloud ceiling, 400 feet. nbc news learned one of the co-pilots was andres chavez. also among the dead, diane smoot, one of the employees of pebb enterprises looking at properties across the midwest. >> it's not real yet. i'm just heartbroken. >> reporter: as both grieving families and investigators look for answers. for "today," john yang, nbc news, akron, ohio. >> the ntsb has now recovered the flight data recorder. it's sending it to washington

for evaluation. >> all right, matt. thank you so much. now, rokerthon 2. after a week of non-stop travel, al is nearing the finish line of his record-setting quest to hit all 50 states in one week. let's do a recap. it started in hawaii before al headed north to alaska and then made his way across the northwest. then on monster monday, he knocked out a whopping 13 states with the help of a stop at the four corners. on tuesday he zig zaiged across the south covering ground in the midwest. wednesday, al raced across the gulf coast, crossing eight states off the list, for a total of 38. let's count the miles. well over 16,000 so far. al delivered 90 weather forerests, snapped 38 selfies and, yes, greeted 24 goats along the way. this morning, al is in the nation's capital. al, i'm exhausted just reading that. >> it just doesn't sound right, i'm just going to say. i'm going on record to say it just doesn't sound right. well, we are in the nation's capital, and we are here at the amtrak station. union station.

so excited. regional number 172 to boston, ladies and gentlemen. we want to check off the district of columbia. and, of course, we have our fabulous ipad pro we've been using all week. there's air rokerthon. suppose. in any event, washington, d.c. partly sunny skies. overnight low tonight, we're looking at 45 degrees. hey, mat. give me the flag so i can put on washington, d.c. yeah, that's what's going on. we'll get to your local forecast

seconds.siouxland into tonight wind aisory in effect for parts of siouxland late tonight and thursday it was a messy day of weathefor veterans day! we had everythihi from severe storms producing gusty windndand decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western n ouxland during the afternoon. a aain and snow mix could continue into the evening hours ananeven the early overnight bbfore this syytem moves out of our area. ththwind isisgoing to become one of thee biggest t sues as gusts over 50 milee per hour arr going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still gust between 40 and 50 miles per hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with >> i am so excited. i have to tell you, i am a train guy. we are getting on. we are going up. we're going to kick off 12 more states. i'll get on this train and kick off a lot of people. whoo hoo! here we go. >> al, get the quesadilla. get the quesadilla. >> yes. good advice. i will be in the quiet car.

get on the quiet car. >> see you in a little while. thank you. >> get the deathly stares on the quiet car. >> safe trip. speaking of trains, we have a frightening near miss. a brazilian man inches away from getting hit by anion cominge ing oncoming train. >> it h!ppened in rio. the man aparptparently had no idea the train was coming toward him. he cleared the tracks with no time to spare and never looked up. the other angle shows -- i mean, it brushed his back. apparently, he kept on trucking. one lucky guy. and he'speechless. coming up,he easy way ththves can take control of your computer. holding y yr private information

unarmed man dies after being tased repeatedly by police in virginia, even after he was retrainre restrained. his sister speaks out. first, this is "today" on nbc. if you work hard, and you do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead. but the republicans... they want to go back to letting the super wealthy call the shots. they don't stand up for equal pay for women. they don't support paid family leave.

we've got to get this economy working for the vast majority of americans, not just for those at the top. that's what i intend to do as president.

coming up, does getting a flu shot every year make it less effective? i'll get my shot live. fries, burger and with the pain and swelling of my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ordinary objects often seemed... intimidating. doing something simple... meant enduring a lot of pain. if ra is changing your view of everyday things orencia may help. orencia works differently by targeting a source of ra early in the inflammatioioprocess. fofomany, orencia providid long-term relief of ra symptoms. it's helped new ra patients and ththe not helped enoughh by othth treatments. do not take orencia with

another biologic m micine for ra due to an increaead risk of serious infection. serious side effects can occur including fatal infections. cases of lymphoma and lung cancer have been reported. tell your doctor if you're prone to or have any infection like an open sore, the flu, or a history of copd, a chronic lung disease. orencia may worsen your copd. if you're not getting the relief you need... ask your doctor about orencia. orencia. see your ra in a different way. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like order equals pretending to know wine.

there are a lot of hairy facess at the woodbury countytyheriff's office. it's the third year r at

taking part in no-shave november, totoaise money and cancer awarenessss the women are also taking partrt wearing jeans. it's a personal cause for sheriff dave drew. twelve years ago, his son josh was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 16. he underwent surgery and chemotherapy and today, josh is cancer-free. he and his wife are also expecting their third child next spring.

now, he's a conductor. 7:30 on this thursday morning. it's the 12th day of november, 2015. there's al on the rails, riding amtrak. >> his fourth grade d dams are coming through this week.. >> f fm our nation's capitit to bostst, all part of rokerthon 2. we're going t t check in with al in a couple ofofinutes. >> there he is, pretending to read the newspaper. we'll give you the headlines. you don't need to do it. >> i'm reading the comics. >> okay. here are the stories making headlines on a thursday morning. powerful storms racing east today after hammering the midwest. at least nine tornadoes reported in iowa. today about 50 million are under wind advisories and high wind warnings as well. we've got the faa investigating new laser attacks

that targeted our new york station's news helicopter overnight. the crew guided the police to the scene, where one man was arrested. in dallas three planes were hit by laser beams as they approached love field. a natural gas leak is suspected of causing this multi-family home in new jersey to explode. at least one person was killed. 15 others were injured. also several nearby buildings damaged by the blast. and our no-shave today campaign is in swing as guys put away the razors for the month of november to draw attention to men's health issues. if you'r'rafraid of going to t t doctor, thick about this. heart disease iss the leading cause of death for men in the ununed states, killili a aut 300,0,0 every year. in 2015 more than 220,000 new cases of prostate cancer and 8,000 cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed. so if you're a man or there is a man in your life you care about,

age group. coming up, we're going to show you what happened when i recently got a full body scan. >> in full tie, i noticed. >> they said you don't even have to get undressed for this. >> that's a powerful scanner right there. by the way, at the end of the month, we'll host a shave- shave-off for the guys taking part in our campaign. head to the today.com to rsvp. share your photos with the the #noshavetoday. most importantly, remember the public health message that underscores this. >> it's not just about fuzzy faces. that's for sure. we'll look at troubling video obtained as part of an msnbc investigation. unarmed virginia man tased repeatedly, restrained and tased again, before dying in police custody. nbc chief legal corrrrpondent ari melber broke the story. ari, good momoing to you. >> good morning.g.

duringnghe investigation, we obtained both police and hospital surveillancncvideo of the incident. we'll warn you, some of the images are disturbing. lawyers will be in the court for the civil case brought against the officers. police say lynwood lambert was hallucinating and acting paranoid when police arrived. >> we're not going to lock you up. we're going to take you to the emergency room. >> once at the hospital, lambert is seen kicking out the police car window and running toward the e.r. they tased him at the doorway, and then they tased him to the ground. >> every time you get up, i'm going to pop you. >> i didt do nothing. >> i'm going to light you up again. roll over. >> instead of bringing lambert inside the hospital, police take him back to the squad car. arms and legs cuffed, he's slsmped, when they tase him again. the squad car then takes lambert to jail, where officers find he's unresponsive.

back to the same e.r. where he's pronounced dead on arrival an hour after the incident began. lambert's sister just recently saw the tatas. a coururordered police to provide them after she sued the ficers for $25 millili. >> i got up and went to the grave site and i talked to my brother. and i said, i'm sorry. i'm so sorry for what they did to you because i didn't know. >> the police deny ifthe family's allegations and say the tasings were appropriate and necessary because lambert's behavior put persons at risk. but federal guidelines say repeat tasings may increase the risk of death or serious injury. law enforcement experts note force is only allowed on combative suspects. >> there's no possible justification to taser a man shackled and restrained like this in the back of a police car. >> lambert's family is calling

sings caused his death. the autopsy notes tasing wounds but lists the cause of death as cocaine intoxication. gwendolyn small says nothing will bring her big brother back, but she hopes his story will spur action. >> you said you want justice. what would justice look like here? >> jail time. jail. while that civil caca has a hearing in federal c crt today, the local prosecutor also tells me the criminal inquiry remains open and will go on n long as it takes to determine what happened that night. >> it's stunning. this happened in may, and yet this video never came out after his death. it only came out because of the civil trial. >> that's right. under court order, that's when the family got the tapes. so for two years they never knew what happened that night. >> wow. >> the videos certainly takes this in a new direction. ari, thank you very much. let's get a check of the weather as al checks off another state from his rokerthon list. hey, al.

>> hey, good morning, guys. we're on an amtrak northeast regional 172 heading toward boston, and we're pulling into the new care ol'ton station. in the meantime pulling into the pacific northwest there's a massive stern. we'll show you what it's going to look like. we're going to be looking at pacific moisture pushing on in. as it does, rain is going to increase. we're also2going to see winds increasing, well. so the futurecast for today in the pacific northwest, we have a flood watch from thursday to sunday. high wind warnings, costal areas, washington state, wind gusts of over 55 miles per hour. as that front pushes in, heavy rain, windndand snow. look at the rainfalllle're talking about. through saturday, the cascades and olympics, 6 to 8 inches of rain. upwards of 10 to 12 inches in the olympics and northern n cascades as well.. up to a foot or more in parts of the pacific northwest. that's what's siouxland into tonight wind advisory in effect for parts of siouxland late tonight and thursday it was a messy day of

weather for veterans day! we had everything from severe storms producing gusty winds and decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western siouxland during the afternoon. a rain and snow mix could continue into the evening hours and even the early overnight before this system moves out of our area. the wind is going to become one of the biggest issues as gusts over 50 miles per hour are going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with us into the weekend. the coolest of da >> announcer: rokerthon on "today" is powered by netjets. travel with the worldwide leader in private aviation. >> i have to tell you what's been wonderful about this trip is the people we have met who have waited for us and have been thrilled to be part of a record that we're trying to set on rokerthon. we talk about one of the other importanan things about thiss trip a little l ler on. in thehe meantime, ladieieand

gentlemen, planes, trains and automobiles, we e e in the homestretch.h. >> we're here at the honey island swamp in slidell, louisiana louisiana. >> reporter: out of the bayou and into the wignnebago to rolled out for rokerthon. >> happy veteran's day. >> reporter: we were honored to have a sergeant behind the wheel getting us to massachusetts. >> the hurricane hunters are based here. good to see you. thank you so much. >> reporter: then it was all to alabama for a special veteran's day celebration. >> we are here at the uss alabama. historical park. their 50th anniversary. what better place to be on veteran's day? >> reporter: once again, on the road with yours truly behind the wheel, heading southeast to the next stop. when i noticed -- >> hold on. >> reporter:e were running on

>> we can roll into the gas station. we're good. if we don't -- >> reporter: just in the nick of time. >> we were a little close to empty, but we made it, baby. on to pensnsola. >> reporter: in pensacola, florida, it was nothihi but blue skies and mighty bluee angels. >> they're so im, y y know. if i had that jumpsuit on, it'd be like, does this make me look fat? because it would. next stop, my favorite co-anchors name, savannah. that's where we're headed. yeah, baby. >> reporter: we got a heap of southern hospitality. savannah, look what i found. it's your name. >> reporter: next stop, beautiful hilton head, south

bird's eye view of team roker jr. thon thon in action. our next stop, elizabeth city, north carolina. >> welcome. >> reporter: we were welcomed by more of the country's brave men and women in uniform and their families at coast guard air station elizabeth city. then back in the air for the last stop of the day, charleston, west virginia, where i checked off someone's list. >esterday was really special. especially taking a look at all the veteranan and allll our military installation.. by the way, we want you to go to today.com/rokerthon. there's a spot there, feeding america. we're doing this also to help raise money to feed the hungry, especially in this holiday season. feeding america, for every dollar, donates 11 meals. we'd love to get millions of meals to feed america for the holiday.

today.com/rokerthon and donate. guys, we're moving pretty fast. our next stop is bwi airport station. oh, man, i love me some trains. >> al, can we go back to the winnebago that nearly ran out of gas? would that have been sean reese's job, to keep that fueled up? >> no, no. sean was actually not in the winnebago. it was not big enough to get sean in the winnebago. but that said, for folks who don't know, he's about 7'18". >> one of our "today" show producers. >> buddy, good seeimg you. great trip. >> sean was racking up the charges on the nbc credit card. coming up, a major mistake in packaging o o birth control pills lead to unwanted pregnancies innp to 100 women. a scacahat lets criminals get ahold offour computerrnd thee contenen, and hold thatt

hostage until you pay. we'll have that story right after this. (music plays throughout) here's to more good cheer. buy one holiday drink at starbucks and get one free to share

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one, two, three, four can i have a little more? five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten i love you sail the ship chop the tree skip the rope look at me all together now vo: everything for entertaining everyone. kohl's. back now at 7:46 with our ongoing series, the hacking of america. this morning, a growing problem that even the fbi says can be very difficult to trace. >> it's called ransom ware.

tom costello has been talkiki to theeexperts about it. >> how many times h he you gottenen p-up messages sayinin your computer hasaseen affected by wallmalware? don't click on the link. it could cost you big time. >> reporter: the latest cyber crook strategy, lock up your computer and hold ransom everything you hold deal, family photos, health records, financial documents, and demand you pay up to get them back. among the experts on ransom ware, james. becoming a victim is as easy as a bad mouse click on a pop-up window, e-mail or web link. >> we have this help restore file web page, saying all our files were protected by a strong encryption. >> reporter: the message, if we can pay, we can regain our access. >> we try to open this up. first warning sign is the computer doesn't recognize it.

encrypted non-sense. >> gibberish. >> every document on the system, wherever they were, has been found by this malware and encrypted. >> reporter: to unclock our files, we must pay up.. it happened to valerie, who was locked o of her computer. patient informationonnd tax documents, out of reach. >> i was reaeay scared and not sure whahawas the right thingng to do. i felt violated. >> reporter: to unlock the files, cyber criminals demanded $500 paid in an online anonymous currency, and gave her 24 hours with a clock counting down on her computer. >> pressure, lots of pressure. >> reporter: intel security has seen a 127% jump in ransom ware cases in the last year. >> because it's an anonymous currency, it's easy for the -- easier for the criminals who are delivering ransom ware to kind of get payment and do so without, you know, being tracked through credit card accounts. >> reporter: the going rate to

buy back your digital life, $300 to $500, show some criminals demanded $2,000. one tactic, sending the computer owner a message that they've downloaded illegal material and they'll be turned over to authorities if they don't pay up. >> it's an unbelievably clever scam that plays to people's natural paranoia of their computer. and, of course, the fact that people have important data that theyeyaven't necessarilyacked up. >> reporter: how can you avovo getting attacked by ransom ware? sophos adviceslways use up to date anti-virus software, enable your pop-up blockers, back up your computer regularly and be careful what you trust. don't click on suspicious e-mails or web links. in the end, valley deueerie decided not to pay. she'd rather lose her files than pay a fee. >> what should you do if your information is hostage? many cyber security pros say it's best to pay the ransom.

probably not going to be able to track down whoever is behind the ransom ware, especially if they're overseas. i don't know about you, but i've been getting phone calls saying they detected that my computer has a virus. that's a scam. nobody is going to call you and say they've detected suspicious activity on your computer. hang up. back to you. >> disconcerting even to get a call like that. thank you so much. coming up, we pose the question, who needs a nap more, shia labeouf,ive now --

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i have a resident t med joyce, and she kept complaining abobo all her aches ananpains. and i said "come to class, let't'start walking togethth" and i sasa "and i bet you money you'll be able to do that senior walk". that day i said "ok it's me and you girl, me and you!" i said "if you need to stop, there's a bench we'll just hang out in the shade." she said "absolutely not! we are going to finish this race!" and we were the last ones in, but you know what? . .

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time for the morning club quiz. joining us on the phone is butch glover of cherokee, iowa. you are playing for a cookie jar from drilling pharmacy on morningside avenue in sioux city. of what country is vladimir putin president?

a) georgia b) russia c) slovenia d) uzbekistan russian president vladimir putin told his country's sports leaders that russia needs to conduct its own investigation into whether it systematically dopes its athletes. the world's anti-doping agency accused russian track and field athletes of doping... with the help of the government. so, putin wants russia to investigate itself to find out if it's doping its athletes. putin also visitit the russian wrestling team at a training center in sochi yesterday. siouxlanders paid tribute to dear future, please help. the present is kind of a scary place. i have no money, no job, no clothes. i feel completely helpless.

like i'll have hair, and friends, and books and music. i can't wait to meet you. k hard, and you do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead. but the republicans... they want to go back to letting the super wealthy call the shots they don't stand up for equal pay for women. they don't support paid family leave. they don't even really support refinancing student debt. we've got to get this economy rking for the vast majority of americans, not just for those at the top. that's what i intend to do as president.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, flu shot confusion. can the vaccine be less effective if you got one last year? we'll get answers and vaccinated live. menus based on the weather? the new push to make one fast food restaurant smarter. >> and when matt met billy. >> yes, yes. >> i'll have what he's having. >> matt shares a central park bench and a few laughs with the legendary billy crystal today, thursday, november 12th, 2015. i look just like buddy holly >> we're in new york city! >> i'm working. thanks for watching the kids, >> we came all the way from

iowa. >> shout out to our people in lincoln, nebraska. >> hi, everyone in buffalo. >> good morning, everyone. welcome back to "today." it is 8:00 in the morning. great morning on our plaza. having a great day. selection for throwback thursday. >> i forgot the pick. "buddy holly" by weezer. one of my favorites. >> do you recognize this hat? >> i gave you this hat. >> this is from the matt lauer collection. thank you. i really like it. >> i feel a little left out. >> i'm sorry. i'll give you one for tomorrow. >> everyone gets a hat from matt lauer today.

toward the end of rokerthon 2. somewhere probably in maryland still, is that about right? i think so. >> that's right. baltimore. >> cool. this has been an epic journey. you'll end up in boston a little later on. we'll check in with him in a moment. with natalie on assignment, tamron has the morning's top stories. tamron? >> good morning, everyone. a storm system that unleashed tornadoes in the midwest is moving east with high winds and heavy rain. nbc's ron mott is in chicago for us. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. wind is the word of the day in chicago. we're expecting gusts 50 to 55 miles per hour today. this follows a rough and tumble night last night. look at the scene downtown chicago. we had a little lightning thrown in the mix last night. that made things interesting. it was quite interesting next door in iowa. as you mentioned, a suspected nine tornadoes touching down. most of them in rural areas. the property damage was at a

the system, as it moves east, is running into more stable air. the threat from tornadoes and severe thunderstorms is going to be diminished. but, you will have to contend with the wind and the rain today. obviously, air travel is going to be affected. we've already seen delays and cancellations at o'hare. we expect they'll grow throughout the day. wise to call the airline before you head out the door. >> thank you very much. a laser strike on a television news chopper in new york ended with a dramatic arrest. wnbc's chopper 4 was hit by a green laser while covering a story wednesday night. it's a federal crime because it can temporarily blind or damage a pilot's eyes. the helicopter crew stayed airborne and guided police to the laser source. they recorded officers making at least one arrest. more than 100 women who became pregnant after taking what they say are mispackaged birth control pills are suing the companies who made the pills.

the cost of delivering and raising children who resulted from the unplanned pregnancies. for the pills in 2011. according to the suit, the recall was triggered when one woman noticed that the way they were packaged, the pills would be taken in reverse order, improving the chances to become pregnant. there's no evidence the reoccurred. a jury awarded more than $21 million to an illinois businessman hit in the head by an automatic sliding door on a holland america cruise ship. it was captured on security video. his attorneys say the 61-year-old suffered a minor brain injury resulting in memory loss, vertigo and seeizuresseizures. the attorneys produced evidence that dozens of other passengers had been injured in similar incidents across the holland america fleet. only once in a blue moon does a beauty like this go on

a 12 carat gemstone was sold in geneva wednesday night for $48.5 million. that's said to be an auction record for any gemstone. the hong kong billionaire who bout it promptly renamed the gem to the blue moon of josephine, after his 7-year-old daughter. she has a lot to look forward to. let's go to savannah now. new questions about flu shots. just how effective they are. dr. natalie azar is an nbc medical con trub you tor. doctor, good morning. >> good morning. >> we've been reading these headlines that if you get the flu shot every year, somehow, it is less effective. >> right. >> that makes me think, am i supposed to get my flu shot or not? >> i know. the flu has gotten bad rap this year. we absolutely are recommending the flu shot every year. the study raises questions about immunology of flu vaccination. meaning, could you have

antibodies that last year that neutralizes this year's vaccine. it raised interests questioning from the biological point of view. even the study authors and we recommend the flu shot to be gotten every year. it is the best protection against influenza. >> get your flu shot, bottom line. but don't they change it every year? >> they do. >> the flu changes every year. >> exactly. it's important to remind people the strains chosen for the next year's flu virus are chosen in the spring. that leaves six to seven months while the flu shot is being made for all those viruses to drift or mutate. it's not always a perfect fit. last year, we had a lot of news about how it was a bad year and a mismatch. but this year, the strain that's circulating appears to be well matched to the vaccine. really encouraging. >> who should not get a flu shot? >> children under the age of six months, absolutely. people who have a severe egg allergy or have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccine in the past shouldn't get it or speak

to your doctor. there are egg-free options available. >> i see you brought your needle with you. i decided if you were convincing, i would get my flu shot. >> right. we practice what we preach. i got mine about two to three weeks ago. my arm was a little sore for a day. >> okay. >> i had zero reaction. i should also mention that it does take -- >> i hope i do, too. >> it does take about two weeks for your body to create the antibodies. >> ahh -- just kidding. >> i knew you were going to do it. >> no, it's fine. >> for protection. you definitely want to do it as early in the season as you can. >> okay. >> usually early to mid october. i am going to dispose of this needle properly. we don't recommend recapping. >> put it in matt's office. >> yeah. >> i brought that for you, too. >> thank you. it's not too late to get a flu shot? >> never too shot. >> thank you. celebrity flu shots, thank you. coming up next, is he going to make it? we're going to check in not on al, no, on shia labeouf, and his

unusual marathon of watching all of the movies over the course of three days. plus, two guys, one bench. matt chats with billy crystal. their little "when harry met sally" moment. al motors on to his next stop on the rokerthon 2 tour. first, these messages. the first fridge with a keurig brewing system. only in the ge caf\ series. made for everyday and extra special days. get up to 40% off select major appliances. $396 and more.

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money, right? mcdonald's may have found a unique method. they'll begin installing so-called smart menus nationwide. here's what happens. the digital displays will make food recommendations based on the weather outside. let's say you walk into a mcdonald's. it's cold outside. the menu, the digital menu, will highlight hot drinks and heart heartier meals. in the heat, it'll highlight ice tea. business insiders say the menus were tested in canada. guess what? when used, customers tended to spend more money. >> i bessguess the proof is in the pudding. i would say, don't you feel the weather? >> it's the power of suggestion. all the menu items are up there. when it says to buy the hardy male -- meal -- >> what weather is good for an egg mcmuffin?

>> i knew you'd get it right. earlier, we talked about starbucks and red cup controversy, or red cup gate, as i call it. the company is accused of waging a war on christmas because it has a simple red design. no festive stuff. call it good timing. call it savvy marketing. here's the holiday cup from dunkin doughnuts. doesn't say christmas. but you see, "joy." >> they probably wouldn't have done this high profile rollout if not what's happening across the street. >> they're red, green, they both look like christmas. >> both gives me good joy, especially when i see what's in it. >> all are empty now. >> what time do you normally wake up here? >> 4:00. >> 3:00. >> 4:00. >> what time did you wake up today? >> 5:45.

>> savannah overslept by two hours and 45 minutes. can you imagine that? >> you seem wide awake. >> that's because i got a good night's sleep. >> you should have seen her when they rolled her into the makeup room this morning. here's a way to make sure you never oversleep again. the clock that smacks you to wake you up. >> come on! >> we are installing this right now in your home, on your headboard. this is a lady who invented this. added a more torretor and rubber arm. oversleeping. be here on time. you'll be bruised but up on time. >> i needed that this morning, so bad. they called mike, who is in washington, d.c. why are you calling me? >> not my problem. why jennifer lawrence says she can't get a date. shia labeouf's marathon.

jennifer lawrence, what does she want now? a date. jennifer opens up in the latest issue of "vogue." saying she can't wait to get marryied but she likes spending time with her neighbors, ashton kutcher and mila kunis. who is her ideal guy? i need to have a guy who doesn't know who i am and what i've done. next to billy joel and great news for his fans. he's extending his residency at madison square garden. he's been holding a concert every month since early last year. billy will great two records. the longest run of any artist and the most number of performances by any artist. billy will continue the concert as long as there is demand. i have a feeling demand will be

>> we saw that show. fantastic. >> i want to see it. it's always sold out. >> i haven't seen it. we'll get with them later. >> i need to cash in on it. al isn't the only one in the middle of a marathon adventure. move over, rokerthon. here's shiathon. we told you about the stunt by shia la shia labeouf, watching all of his movies. this is a live shot of the theater now. shia is in front. almost done. supposed to finish the movie marathon tonight. he's been through a range of emotions, just like al. everything from smiles, tears, boredom and, yes, some sleep. i don't know if he's watching "charlie's angels:full throttle." >> look at the people behind him. they're not moving. >> they look like watching the

it's strangely mez myrrhsmerizemesmerizing. just ahead, we have a big announcement from justin bieber. more from al's rokerthon 2 adventure right after this. that's a side of matt greenfield we haven't seen. >> poor, matt. >> they're making fun of you. >> great. pain from your day can haunt you at night, don't let it. advil pm gives you the healing sleep you need, helping you fall asleep and stay asleep so your body can heal as you rest.

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we are back with our no shave today campaign. >> once again, we're growing our beards to raise awareness for men's health issues. one way to take care of yourself is a full body scan. that along with other tests can give you a baseline for your overall health. take a look. >> 34 seconds, a guy like this can detect something that might save your life. >> reporter: two years ago, al and i had prostate exams live on the air. last year, willie and carson had testicular exams. this year, we're taking a full body approach to preventive care. we went to new york presbyterian men's center. >> take everything metal off. >> right, there you go. >> reporter: i got into the lunar body composition scanner. >> what exactly are you looking for? >> just a picture of how you're built and where it's distributed. >> reporter: that's dr. alex. the scanner uses low dose

radiation to map out my muscle, bone and fat. it doesn't just look at the belly fat right below the skin. it also measures the fat closer to the organs, which can be an indicator of serious conditions, like type 2 diabetes. where a man stores his fat can also be an important predictor. those who are apple shaped have more fat in the waist, putting them at greater risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. for those who are pear shaped with fat in the hips and thighs, the risk is lower. the scan takes seven minutes but generates a wealth of information. you see it all there on the screen. >> all the bones appear to be in the right place, right? >> look good. >> when it comes to fat. >> your numbers are low. they're in great shape. >> reporter: the hospital also drew blood, quite a bit of it. >> you took ten, ten viles of blood from me. what did you learn from them? >> what we do when we take ten

viles of blood is to get a complete picture. >> reporter: that picture includes testing my lipid levels, including cholesterol, to see if i'm at a greater risk of heart disease or stroke. >> in terms of the lipids and stuff, i'm on a statant. how am i in the area? >> you're good in that area. >> reporter: other tests look at my thyroid which regulates metabolism. >> fatigue is a big thing in my life. am i more prone to that than other people? >> your thyroid function is normal. >> reporter: further testing looked at how my kidneys, liver and hormones are functioning. the resultsw all are fine. as we continue the no-shave tra diction of getting poked,

prodded, it's nice to see a good bill of health. >> everything else is fine. of course, it's important to exercise and eat right. that's the most important information we can give you. the scanner though is a good way to get a snapshot of your overall fitness at one particular moment in time. in fact, it's used by a lot of nfl teams to help their players train better. the scan can cost over $1,000 and is an elective procedure. you'll need to check with your insurance provider to see if it's even covered. >> fascinating. it's a snapshot of your overall health, if you can afford to write the check. it's worth doing it. >> ten viles of blood before the show one morning. that was fun. >> how whoozy were you? >> exactly. >> we're doing no-shave november for men's health. let us check in another big event around here, rokerthon 2. al, how are you doing? >> we're doing great.

they put two extra cars on the back of this train. not so much because -- anyway -- look radar. the storm system is bringing the wind into the plains. we'll be looking at those showers and thunderstorms. wet weather, big storm moving into the pacific northwest. afternoon highs will be chilly. 30s, 40s and 50s. 40s and 50s in northern new england. only warm spot around the gulf coast of florida. we do have windy conditions in the pacific northwest. windy through the great lakes. airport delays will be a problem. later today, showers in the northeast and new england. lots of sunshine through the southwest and down through the siouxland into tonight wind advisory in effect for parts of siouxland late tonight and thursday it was a messy day of weather for veterans day! we had everything from severe storms producing gusty winds and decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western siouxland during the afternoon. a rain and snow mix could continue into the evening hours and even the early overnight before this system moves out of our area. the wind is going to become one of the biggest issues as gusts over 50

miles per hour are going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still gust between 40 and 50 miles per hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with us into the weekend. the coolest of days will be thursday and friday with >> are we at 39 now, 39 states? we just checked off maryland. i got this from the u.s. navy. it's the naval academy. my own football jersey. i think they're being generous. i can't fit into this thing. >> looks good though, al. check in with you in a little while. thank you very much. coming up, we have big news from justin bieber. we're going to go one-on-one on a bench in central park with comedy legend billy crystal. we have mary-louise parker

letters to men who impacte siouxlanders paid tribute to america's military veterans wednesday. at west sioux community schools in hawarden,

iowa, students heard from local veterans about the importance of the men and women who serve in the u.s. armed forces. the hawarden american legion color guard took part in the ceremony. the school choir sang the national anthem, then as the concert band performed, veterans were asked to stand when the melody of their branch was played. legion members spoke about their war experiences and students were reminded to thank veterans for their service. here's meterologist ben dorenbach.

weekend with highs we're back now. 8:30 on a thursday morning. it is the 12th day of november, 2015. big crowd out on the plaza. you know what? we hope to have an even bigger crowd here tomorrow morning when we welcome al back from his rokerthon 2 adventure. if you're in the area, come on down. we want to have a big celebration to mark the occasion of him doing weather live from 50 states in seven days. >> so classic. which charger goes where?

>> he's the most organized person. you've traveled with him, he has his case and all the wires. this is all acting. >> when he's not here, the wires look just like that. they do. by the way, al has a little ways to go. we shouldn't prematurely celebrate. we'll check in with him. he has 11 more states. >> did you just jinx him. >> no, no, no! i was just trying to keep the suspense going. i'm sorry, al. >> little earlier, we promise add big announcement from justin bieber. next week, the music superstar kind of taking over "today." take a look. >> matt, i'm looking forward to sitting down for an interview, dude. we have a lot to talk about. this wednesday, the "today" show, biggest concert i've ever done. >> looking forward to that. justin is here monday, tuesday, wednesday. interview, monday. tuj huge concert on tuesday. fun surprise. >> can i call you dude? >> absolutely, dude.

>> we'll have a big concert on wednesday to celebrate the release of his new album "purpose." can't wait to welcome him back to our plaza. justin bieber week next week on "today." still ahead this morning, we're kicking off something new with the help of comedy icon billy crystal. plus, what would you want to say, good or bad, to the men in your life? savannah, we were discussing that on our break. >> it's a fascinating concept. >> we're going to talk with mary-louise parker about her revealing new book, tackling just that. we're taking your kitchen to the next level with a special today's food club edition of the stuff we love. >> the little lids, brilliant. first, let's get a check of the weather with al. >> hey, guys. thank you so much. okay. we just rode into baltimore ten minutes ago. we've made our way through virginia, washington, d.c. earlier this morning. we're at a total of 39 states

we're hitting nine later today. we wrackracked up over 16,000 miles so far. we've used 12 different modes of transportation. i've done the weather 93 times and taken 38 selfies. there you have it. all right. your forecast looks like this. for the weekend outlook, here's what we got for you. for tomorrow, heavy rain in the pacific northwest. snow in the up of michigan. showers down in florida. on saturday, the eastern 2/3 of the country looks spectacular. more rain in the pacific northwest. chilly conditions there. as we move into sunday, sunday, big storm system bringing snow and rain into california. the kas nadscascades, inner mountain region. more rain in texas, eastern third of the country looking spsiouxland into tonight wind advisory in effect for parts of siouxland late tonight and

thursday it was a messy day of weather for veterans day! we had everything from severe storms producing gusty winds and decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western siouxland during the afternoon. a rain and snow mix could continue into the evening hours and even the early overnight before this system moves out of our area. the wind is going to become one of the biggest issues as gusts over 50 miles per hour are going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still gust between 40 and 50 miles per hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with us into the weekend. the coolest of days will be thursday and friday >> that's your latest weather. today.com/rokerthon for our itinerary and we're asking you to donate to feeding america to help us stamp out hunger during the holiday season. guys, back to you. >> al, thank you so much. this morning, we are starting a new series. it's called, chat with matt. there's even a central park bench dedicated to this. >> yes, there is. who better to help us kick it off than comedy legend billy crystal? we sat down in central park to

talk about comedy, honoring his dad and the big performance that billy has lined up later tonight. >> welcome to the matt lawyeruer bench in central park. >> look at this. we are now two jews sitting on the bench. we are those guys. >> i've always wanted to be the source of that line. okay so -- >> two jews sitting on a bench. one goes, oh. the other goes, i thought we weren't going to talk about the kids. >> how much of these areany of these are there? >> a lot. >> you're going to do the new york city festival. >> they asked me and i said, it'd be great. >> it's not standup. >> it is and it isn't. the great comedian stein bergdavid steinberg is going to interview me. >> why david? >> he was one of the greatest ever.

he hosted the "tonight show." >> is this off the cuff? >> most is off the cuff. there are a couple things i want him to lead me into. >> 700 sundays is his stage show that earned him a tony in 2005 and later became an hbo special. focused on the 700 sundays he felt with his father, jack crystal, who died when billy was 15. >> love music. >> yes. >> had a music store. he organized jazz concerts called the sessions. he was, at a time when the country was segregated, extremely color blind. >> mm-hmm. >> for someone who didn't know him, how would you describe your dad. >> humanitarian. he was very shy. >> wasn't he the guy who stood up in front of the room during those jazz sessions and kind of -- he was the mc? >> it was part of his thing. he loved presenting this music to the world.

may be, they come out of the woodwork and say, he was such a nice man. i loved him. from people like woody allen. >> what did he say? >> he was so nice to me. i was 17. i didn't have proof of age because there was liquor there. he let me stand in the back. he'd do that for me. >> now 52 years later, the ballroom, which is a theater at new york university, is being named the jack crystal theater. >> this is a special place. something great happened here. i didn't want it or my dad to ever be forgotten, and now he won't. >> can you imagine how he would feel, to see his name on that? >> i think he'd go, oh, no, no. i don't deserve this. no, no, no. thanks, anyway. >> how will you feel, knowing that for the next however many years, young people, whenever there is an event that they need to go to, they'll be using your dad's name. >> it's amazing that every day, someone will say his name now.

at the jack crystal theater. the show? jack crystal theater. the fact that young artists will be in the same space and find their own jazz, their own music, that's kind of perfect. >> we started by talking about new york, so let's wrap it by talking about new york. we're here in corralentral park, which makes me think about "when harry met sally" in the deli. >> yes, yes, oh, oh! >> i'll what have -- have what she's having. >> look at the size of these. what's your preference? >> you can work out with these. look at these. >> cheers. >> cheers. >> to all your success. >> hmm, yes, yes, yes. yes, yes. >> i'll have what he's having.

>> charming. >> what a good guy. >> nice man. >> the way he's honoring his father is so sweet. >> goes in the hall of fame of "today" show guests over the years. >> he does. >> you can catch billy at town hall here in manhattan. part of the new york comedy festival. >> love him. up next, the stuff we love in the kitchen. she's with mary-louise parker,

first, this is "today" on nbc. we are back now. it's 8:41. mary-louise parker, the famous actress, is here. she's conquered the screen and the stage. including "fried green tomatoes." and her roll on "weeds." now, parker is out with her first book. it's called "dear mr. you." mary mary-louise parker, good morning. >> good morning. >> it's an honor to meet you. i'm a big admirer.

>> thank you. >> i didn't know you were hiding this literary talent. this was your first book. you've written before, but you are a real writer. >> thank you. david granger really -- i have him to thank for believing in me. >> your agent. >> no, he's the editor in chief of a"esquire" magazine. he let me write for a number of years. >> i mentioned your agent. he did something that is really cool. when he sent out this manuscript, he didn't attach your name to it. >> right. >> he didn't want people to think, oh, it's a celebrity memoir. >> right. >> it's something else. i think that's a courageous thing to do. >> it was really great idea, unless he's lying and said that to make me feel better. but no, it was really brave on his part. it was something he wanted to foster, the idea that people meet these letters, you know, as something other than an expose story. >> there's a little bit of

confusion about that. it's called "dear mr. you." some people have shorthanded it, that this is, i don't know, a dishy tell-all. >> there are no dishes. >> tell us what it is. it is a collection of letters to >> yeah. well, i really wanted to write something, most of all, that was positive. i think of it as, you know, a e epistilary. it's on the gender itself and my love of things male and men in general. i've had, you know, amazing, heroic men in my life, starting with my father and brothers. it's little moments that impacted me where someone -- i might not even have known their name, or they might have not lingered in my life for long, but they impacted me in a way that was positive. >> one of the most powerful cap chapters i thought was the

letter to the orderly in the hospital room where you delivered your little boy. >> right. >> it wasn't about the orderly so much as it was about that moment and you wanted to hold on to the baby. >> yeah. it was something i really had waited for all my life. i say in the story that i was a baby -- i'd wanted a baby my whole life. i was a little girl who wanted a baby. they wanted to take my son to the nursery. i just, you know, hadn't slept and had an actual childbirth, and i was like, there's no way you can have this little boy right now. >> i think a lot of moms will relate to that. for better or for worse, one of the most infamous parts of your life is you had a famous breakup while you were seven months pregnant. to be clear, you are not really writing about that in this book, but there is an interesting letter where you write to a cabdriver. in the moment, it's a powerful moment and a way that you talked about it without talking about it. can you explain? >> i think it's less about whatever was going on in my

to me and will always remain so, is that this was a complete stranger who met me at a low moment. had i been in touch with, you know, sort of a higher self or something and been forgiving of him, it would have been heroic. but i was so attached to my own unhappiness that i was unable to sort of rise above feeling persecuted. it just created this dynamic with this perfect stranger, where this naked, you know -- it was almost like he held up a mire -- mirror in my face. he haunted me because i didn't consider him or his life. i've subsequently gone on to really consider what was going on with his that day. all i could think of is what was going on with myself. that's how that letter came to be. >> well, it's really thought provoking and revealing, and i

i'm lucky enough -- i'm friends with mary carr, and we're going to do events together. we just wrote "the art of the memoir." she's sort of like a mentor to me and has taught me so much. her books have impacted my life. she's helping me. >> congratulations, again. >> thank you so much. >> the book is "dear mr. you." mary-louise parker, thank you so much. >> thank you. the stuff we love. we scoured the country for the coolest kitchen items around. is that tacopedia? yes, it is.

nbc. jeb bush: leadership means you've got to be all in. it's not about yappin'. it's not about talking. it's about doing. i know how to do this because i was privileged to serve in florida for eight years. and we turned the systems upside down that weren't working. 1.3 million new jobs were created. we cut taxes every year. income rose in people's pockets. people were lifted out of poverty. children started to learn.

i will solve problems. announcer: right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. 8:48. time for a special edition of "stuff we love, world trade center as-- as we celebrate the kitchen.

you'll want in your kitchen. good to see you. >> good morning. >> it's been a parade of people stopping at this spot. they want to know about these lids. >> they're littlesilicone lids. you can use it for anything you'd use a plastic wrap or foil for. it feels things fresh, hot or cold. >> once you put it on, it makes this incredible seal. >> isn't it incredible? >> expensive? >> starting at $7.50. we are obsessed. >> we love these. plaid is hot. >> we love these plaid accessories at target. starting at $10.50. who doesn't need a plaid rolling pin? >> exactly. functional and fashionable. >> we love. >> my kids are addicted to tacos. you have a book i want you to tell me about.

everything to know plus hubndreds of recipes. taco thursday, matt. we're bringing it back. this is from blue ribbon general stores, $15. >> you love the towels/aprons. >> it is linen, oversize and had you can fashion an apron out of it. >> really smart. >> this is from snow home. $25. a time. >> innovative. press by bobble. you can take this thermus, wait three minutes and you have fresh press coffee to go. >> really smart. >> these cutting boards, this is an index cutting board. >> color coded for different foods. >> exactly. for your meats and for your fruits and vegetables. this helps with kitchen safety and cross contamination. >> no more raw poultry or meat and on to fruits and vegetables. >> exactly.

they're designed to put in the wash. these are from amazon starting at $24. >> when you're baking something, you want to know, is it done? instead of cutting it apart, you have this little tester sample. >> this is the nibble pan. if you're baking the cake for nibble. >> does something in a small quantity cook at the same rate? >> we're not concerned about times. we want to know how it tastes. if your boss is going to actually eat it. $19. >> if we want to know how things taste, you have great samples. >> thank you. >> customized ice cream. >> this is from ecreamery. it is custom and personalized ice creams you can order online. beautiful selections were made for you. just for matt mint, which i believe is right here. >> this one here. >> yup. how delicious is that? >> nothing wrong with that. that's fantastic. >> isn't it good?

espresso with pumpkin and spices. >> special packaging and flavors. expensive? >> $74 for four pints. they say to send it instead of flowers. for al, a chipotle maple bacon ice cream. >> glad that's for al. these are gourmet marshmallows. >> we love a marshmallows. these are incredible. we have a set with bourbon marshmallows. these have 24 karat gold in them. these are from wonder made. >> give me the name. >> these have barnacles. >> pigs in a blanket. sa vanvanna -- savannah, come here. >> these have original spicy chicken and veggies. >> is there hot sauce in the ice cream? >> might be a little spicy. you might be trying al's.

one of the best things ever. they are sausages made in the european tradition. no filler or addadditive. >> they come frozen. $24. >> those are good. >> these are the best gadgets in taste things ever. thank you. join the today food club. go to today.com/food club. while you're there, enter for the chance to win an all expense paid trip to studio 1a. $3,000 worth of cook ware and cutlery. come back here with those. we're back in a moment.

save me some. we are pigging out right now. >> we can have another one, right? >> these are unbelievable pigs in a blanket. >> try the hot sauce ice cream. crazy. >> wash it down with this. >> what's coming up next hour? tell us. >> tell us right now. >> curtis stone and lindsay price will have more food. the hilarious craig robinson. dylan is sticking around. who let the dogs out? the baha men in throwback

military members past and present were honored at the norfolk veterans home on wednesday. retired navy chaplain mike moreno was the guest speaker. he served eight years on active duty, and still serves in the reserves. "we don't fight because we hate the people in front of us, we fight because of the people behind us that we love and that's you guys." moreno says we can all honor the veterans who died by following our dreams. and, students in mrs. klinker's third grade class in cherokee, iowa sent veterans day wishes via this video to her son. he's serving with the navy aboard the uss cape george in the pacific. here's ben with weather.

reach the lower 50s this afternoon. diminishing winds tonight will allow our lows to hit the middle to upper 20s tomorrow morning which will give way to a much calmer friday and much warmer weekend with highs near 60! our next rain chances should hold off until early next week when temperatures return to the 50s. see graphics. >> . >> if you think there's no solution to the climate crisis, think again. in iowa, wind energy is already producing enough power for over a million homes, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and supporting six thousand jobs. i'm tom steyer. with bold leadership and an endless supply of wind and sun, we can do that across america. the goal is 50% clean energy by 2030.

this morning on "today's take," who let the dogs out? the baha men sing their hit song live for throwback thursday. find out what curtis stone and lindsay price stone are cooking up as our guest co-hosts. from the "office" to our office, the very funny craig robinson. coming up >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> a very excited crowd on the plaza. they know we have phenomenal co-hosts with us in studio. foodie and beauty. we have it all. welcome to "today" on this thursday morning, november 12th, 2015.

dylan is here. nat nat, al and willie are on assignment. we brought in curtis stone and actress lindsay price stone. this is your morning jam. tell me about it. >> we have family dance parties. it's a good way to burn off some young boy energy. >> oh, yeah. i have two young boys, and i'll play jennifer hudson and iggy azalea. >> this song is called "trouble." >> good intention. we had dance parties before the kids. >> just mommy-daddy dance parties. >> you can do both. mommy mymy my mommy-daddy date nights. >> we were in our pajamas in the kitchens for our dance parties. >> your boys are how old? >> hudson turned 4. emerson is 1. it is trouble.

>> having fun touring around new york with the family? >> it's a dream. >> it's a cool city to be in with the kids. we went to the theater, the rock circus. >> burn off the energy. curtis just opened his first restaurant here in the u.s. >> yeah. >> mod. i love the name for many reasons. >> it's fairly successful, right? getting a lot of reviews. >> it's a tiny place, only 24 seats. i wanted a little joint i could cook instead of being in meetings all day. >> it's named after your grandmother. it's very successful. 24 seats. i hear you really have to babysit your boys, donate something like bloodwork work, i don't know, to get a table. how do we get a reservation? what's the secret, the golden ticket? >> look, we open the

resignations on the 1st of the month for the next month. we switched to an online system. we were selling the entire month in a couple hours. now, you go online and book it there. >> best restaurant in los angeles according to the "l.a. weekly." last year, the best new restaurant in l.a. >> we take one ingredient and cook a dozen courses out of the one ingredient. it changes each month. >> you could have brought food for us. when they say chef curtis is coming on, i was like, great. >> later on, right? >> we'll make something for you. we have your lunch. actually, one of lindsay's dishes. she's a good cook, too. >> i can't teach him much, mr. winning awards and stuff. we'll do korean flair on one of his ideas.

we've seen you on any show that you can name. but your -- we have a bond in a way. my first job, 14 years old, texas, toys "r" us. >> you're kidding. >> toys "r" us. i hear while i was selling plush stuffed animals -- >> you advertised? >> i was at the cash register. i let my dad lie with me. i was 14. but you were the face of toys "r" us. >> i was one of the faces but, yeah, the huge, i'm a toys "r" us kid campaign, i somehow, at 5 years old, ended up on that -- >> would you like to see it? >> okay. >> yeah. uh-huh. >> roll tape. there are a million toys at toys "r" us i can play with >> which are you? >> the far right corner there. so funny. >> did you get sick of the song? >> i did.

also, in that shot, it was jaleel white. >> that's jaleel white? >> uh-huh. jenny lewis. >> curtis and you met on a blind date. did you know her credentials, as a toys "r" us face? >> that's what sealed the deal. >> got asked by a mutual friend, would we go on a blind date. she was like, absolutely not. i said, of course not. then i saw a photo of her -- >> i didn't think i needed to be set up, but i clearly did. my picker was broken. >> i saw a photo and i was like, i'll go on that blind date. >> can you call it a blind date when you're both famous? >> he's an amazing, amazing man, but he doesn't know very much about, like, pop culture. the other day, he said to me,

>> yeah. >> was it an accent? >> no, which is amazing and refreshing. >> i'm not great. >> you didn't watch "90210" when she was on it. >> i did and i didn't know it was her. it was interesting. >> did you google her? >> i did, yeah. once i saw the photo, i was like, who is this girl? then i googled her. linds is also a singer/songwriter. i saw her sing, and i'm like, i'm doing everything i can to make this happen. it worked. i'm sitting next to her. >> that is sweet. >> when they sat down, they took a selfie together. you guys are so adorable. >> we're happy to have you. >> thank you. happy to be here. >> since you are familiar with the restaurant business, there is an interesting article that a man wrote to the "washington post." he says that his wife has a habit of asking for a bite of his food when they go out to dinner, and he said no, if you want it, order it yourself. i am one of the people that loves to sample off of other

people's plates. wants mine. i'm in a good situation. how do you feel about that? >> we love to share. don't we, babe? >> uh-oh. >> we have learned that sharing is the nice thing to do. and the way to enjoy many different dishes. >> we have a rule. the audience, they can tell when we're not being honest. we have a rule, when willie, natalie and al, we've committed ourselves. before we start the show, we go, go team truth. >> i'll be honest, i'm not a sharer but, you know, at heart, but i really -- >> why? >> because -- because -- i think when i sit down to eat, i'm so hungry, and i get into what i'm doing. if you have your plate and you're eating it, and someone wants a bite, maybe you're still in your moment, you know? that's why i feel that way. >> it probably has something to do with occasionally, my fingers running through her sauce. she'll hit me with her fork.

>> don't even use you till sillutensils. >> when you're married to a chef, we go to the most amazing places and he cooks amazing meals. truly, sharing is the best. >> he got you in the restaurant with 24 seats. >> i carved her name into the concrete under a seat. she always has a seat there. >> so sweet. something else sweet, al roker, still rolling along the east coast by train for rokerthon 2. al, how is it going, buddy? >> we have added delaware now to our tally. we are at 41 states and the district of columbia. i just want -- we are in this amtrak train. amtrak train northeast regional 172. it's amtrak thursday on the program. we've got -- they put two extra cars on this train. this is our audio setup. this is bob. he's the most handsome audio man in the world.

this is kate, our unit manager. these are our witnesses, witness witnessing us getting these. i don't know who you are. >> susan. >> somebody we picked up. i don't know if you realize this, a couple years ago torks do, we'd have had to had a satellite on the roof. this is all done by these called live you. it's basically an array of cell phones in there that broadcast the signal. it's amazing stuff. i've got to tell you, we have had such a great time doing this. i know i didn't do the weather, but i wanted to show you what we have going on here. then we have more -- hey, for those of you that don't know, this is matt greenfield. if you saw the piece, what was it, on tuesday, matt was the guy changing the tire.

>> did his best imitation of a plumber when he turned around. it was fantastic. >> as always, thank you. >> the new orleans time said he was butt-crackinglysiouxland into tonight wind advisory in effect for parts of siouxland late tonight and thursday it was a messy day of weather for veterans day! we had everything from severe storms producing gusty winds and decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western siouxland during the afternoon. a rain and snow mix could continue into the evening hours and even the early overnight before this system moves out of our area. the wind is going to become one of the biggest issues as gusts over 50 miles per hour are going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still gust between 40 and 50 miles per hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with us into the weekend. the coolest of d >> by the way, this is sean reese. this is him normal size. the sam size as me. stand up, sean. we actually had to raise the roof of the train.

>> just for sean. that's crazy. al, we are rooting for you. we know you'll be heading to -- >> on a moving train! >> incredible. keeps getting better, al. up next, someone that al loves and loves al. a love fest. the comedian and actor who doesn't mind being called nasty delicious. the very funny craig robinson is here and he has a lot going on. he's g going to talk with us right af the way i see it, you have two choices; the easy way or the hard way. you could choose a card that limits where you earn bonus cash back. or, you could make things easier on yourself. that's right, the quicksilver card from capital one. with quicksilver you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. so, let's try this again.

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cayman islands, and you didn't call me. we're having a lover's quarrel. he's handsome, forgets your birthday birthday, funny and funky. that's why audiences love craig robinson. you know him best for his breakout role as darrell in the "office." >> now, he's in town as part of the new york comedy festival.

he'll be performing with his band that has the best name in show business, the nasty delicious. craig, nice to have you here. >> great to be here. thank you for having me. oh, i see that. that was nicely done. thank you, everybody. >> we bring out the best for you. we had a hot tub once. now we have the logo there. >> yes, always something wonderful at the "today" show. >> what do you have going on in brooklyn? >> we're doing the new york comedy festival. we're closing out this weekend at the brooklyn bowl. sunday night, 7:30. i hope you all will come out. >> can we come? >> absolutely. comedy, jokes and dancing. >> and bowling? perfect. >> yes, apparently. have you never been there? >> i haven't. >> i didn't know that's what it was, the brooklyn bowl. it's a bowling alley. >> they can't bowl when you're performing. you're nasty delicious. tell us about the name.

what's the back story? let's acknowledge -- >> let's acknowledge it. >> craig is -- >> i ran here, like four blacks. i had to just come in. that's what's going on. >> you have a portable fan with you. >> can i hold that for you? >> you're melting like a chocolate hershey's kiss on us. maybe that's the next band, chocolate hershey's kiss. it's currently the nasty delicious. >> it's the nast w doe thattmean, craig? >> okay. so -- >> it's self-explanatory. >> it's all about the funk. hmm, you ever eat something and it's delicious but you make the face like, oh, you know what i mean? >> yes. >> curtis, as a matter of fact. >> that's exactly the face i was talking about. right on. yes, yes. >> it's such a brilliant name. it's sort of describing the style of the music. you do soul, funk, rock.

>> we mess around, you know. we do covers, get the crowd going, jumping and dancing. i like to say we're funk mixed with fank. >> one of my favorite songs was this is the end, sang tory ry rihanna. is that your style? >> that'll be here sunday. >> i love that. >> thank you very much. >> we have to remind people, you're from a family of musicians. >> yes. >> you guys jam it out at the robinson house. we have the piano upstairs, downstai drums, bass guitar. everything was in our house. we had our pick to see what we could figure out. always on the keyboard. >> your brother, chris. >> my right-hand man. >> we have a quiz. >> okay. >> we have names of bands and you'll tell us if this is a real name or a fake name. >> okay. >> here we go.

quiz him out. >> the first is called one bad pig. >> real. >> the way you say it, it's real. >> believe it to r notor not, it's a christian punk band. a little strange, one bad pig. >> as a mom, i can relate to this, take your vitamins. >> fake. >> is it? >> fake. >> but it's for real, you have to take your vitamins. >> you can get craig to make you a song for the boys, take your vitamin fufu song. >> i love it. >> the va. >> real. >> british punk band. >> we'll finish this at the commercial. new york comedy festival on sunday. he stars in "orange is the new black" and "how to get away with murder."

after this. i think when people hear about memory care they're scared, they think that it's sad. i think it's important for everyone to know that there is so much more to memory support than the stigmas you hearabout. that these residents still have lives and their lives still matter and that they are still living their lives. that they're not locked away and that they still have a lot to live for, you know, that they have people that care about them and they have people that love them and i love them, so their lives still matter. that is what i do this for. when we go to the store, i find my box of honey bunches of oats and i'm checking to see if i packaged it. best cereal in the world right there. if the last 3 letters were p22, that's me. i am your father. no, no, no! i am your father. campbell's star wars soups. that's gotta be the worst vader ever.

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it doesn't get much b bter than this for an actor. matt mcgorry is starringn not e but two hit tv shows. >> what a dream. he plays a corrections officer on "orange new blackis the new black," and he's asher millstone on "how to get away with murder." >> how did you fit us into your schedule? >> you're important to me. it's been great. it's incredible. you're lucky to have one show that works well as an actor. having two shows is very bliss ed -- blessed, you know. >> how is it emotionally trying to prepare for two different roles? the characters are different. >> it helps they're that different. there's never a moment i'm like, this feel more like ben or asher. delineated in my mind.

if it was ininhe middle, it they're different. >> i'm in a taxi and i think to myself, am i in melbourne or new york? do you get into an argument between the two characters for breakfast breakf like pancakes. sometimes i go hungry because i don't know what to do. >> do they shoot at the same time? >> a little concurrently. >> crazy. >> it's been a lot. >> who would you say you're more like. >> good question. people ask me that. i have qualities of both. i'd like to say they're both empathetic, which i think is a quality that i have. clearly, not humble. i'm kidding. but, you know, i don't know, there's parts of asher's humor that i kind of i intify with. though i like to think i'm a little more aware and lessig less ignorant than he is. a little of both. >> that's why you do the roles so well. tell me about this career as a

the neighborhood you grew up in in new york. >> i did street magic when i was -- >> like card shark on time square? >> no. wow, been a while since i lived in new york, apparently. yes, people would pay me, but it was donations. i wasn't swindling them. from the age of 10 years old, my parents would let me -- i had this box i would roll out and it unfolds into a table. >> adorable. >> i would do magic on a street corner. >> how old are you? >> 10. >> so it's still cute. >> scary though. for 10, i mean, no supervision. ii turned out okay. i'm alive. >> i'm sure they're proud of yoyo congratulations on that. >> thanks so much. >> we love watching you on all your shows. coming up, you don't have to give up chocolate to lose weight. is that true? >> dark chocolate. >> joy shows us our 16 to 16 team. guilt free sweet treats. first, your local news. matt, you can stick around if

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there are a lot of hairy faces at the woodbury county sheriff's office. it's the third year that department personnel are taking part in no-shave november, to raise money and cancer awareness. the women are also taking part by wearing jeans. it's a personal cause for sheriff dave drew. twelve years ago, his son josh was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 16. he underwent surgery and chemotherapy and today, josh is cancer-free. he's a member of the 185th and after being told he only had a 10-percent chance of becoming a dad, josh and his wife are expecting their third child next spring.

that will stick around from yesterday is the wind which will be at 20-30 miles per hour and gusting to around 40 from the northwest. we will get the sunshine back though which will help temperatures reach the lower 50s this afternoon. diminishing winds tonight will allow our lows to hit the middle to upper 20s tomorrow morning which will give way to a much calmer friday and much warmer weekend with highs near 60! our next rain chances should hold off until early next week when temperatures return to the 50s.

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taking a look at the headlines. 113 women who became pregnant after taking what they say were mispackaged birth control pills are suing the companyny that made and packaged the contraceptives. some of the women are seeking e costs of delivering, raising and educating children who resulted from the unplanned pregnancies. the fda issued a recall notice for the pills in 2011. according to the suit, the recall was triggered when one woman noticed that the way the pills were packaged, they'd be taken in reverse order, increasing the odds of getting pregnant. there's a warning from the national retail federation that some holiday gift items are already in shoft suprt supply. 40% of holiday shopperss started buying gifts before halloween. among the things hardest to fifi, l.l. bean boots are limited.

other big sellers are lego products and paw patrol products and "star wars." experts say if there is a toy your child wants, buy it as soon as possible. apple is in talks with several big banks to create a person-to-person mobile payment service. it could complete with paypal's app. the service would let mobile phone users transfer money from their checking accounts and be linked to apple pay. apple could launch the service next year. now a near miss caught on camera. a brazilian man inches away from getting hit by an ancomeoncoming train. the man had no idea, never looks up. inches to spare. another angle shows how close. a good reminder to stay present and watch where you're going, i guess. that is terrifying. let's get a check of the weather from someone on a train, but safely, headed up the east coast.

>> hey, tamron, we are having a great time. rokerthon, we just did pennsylvlvia. we're at . oh, my sh! oh,,y gosh. >> what are you doing here?? >> my man! >> how you doing? >> i'm riding the train. what's going on? how are you? >> what's going on, big boy? >> i came to surprise you. >> first, you're back with liz, and now you're here. >> yeah. >> my gosh. >> yeah. >> wow. >> i think i have an alarm buzzing. someone has an alarm buzzing. >> everybody, look who is here! >> hey there. >> who are you? >> are you exhausted? what's happeninin > am punchy at this point. i have no idea who i am. no idea. >> i can remind you. >> yes. >> you're al. >> yes. >> you're on a mission. >> yes. >> to get all 50 states in one week.

it's pretty od. >> wow. >> pretty good. >> my gosh. so good to see you, my friend. >> you, too. i have to do the local. that's what's going on around the country. >> that's what's happening around thesiouxland into tonight wind advisory in effect for parts of siouxland lala tonight and thursday it was a messy day y weather for veterans day! we had everything from severe storms producing gusty winds s d decent sized hail to rain turning over to snow in western siouxland during the afternoon. a r rn and snow mix could continue into the evening hours and even the early overnight before this system moves out of our area. the wind is going to become one of the biggest issues as gusts over 50 miles per hour are going to be possible. if snow is coming down with that kind of wind, visibilities are going to be an issue. a high wind warning is in effect into tonight with a wind advisory taking over for thursday as winds could still gust between 40 and 50 miles per hour. the sun returns on thursday and will stay with us into the weekend. the coolest of days will be thur >> from "blacklist." i couldn't remember who you are. my brain is gone. mush, completely gone. >> that's a a right.

>> so nice of you to do this. >> happy to be here. >> how far will you come with us? >> all the way. i'm not getting off -- >> going to boston. we'll get some tea. >> yeah. people can throw it off the boat. >> you are good at keeping secrets. >> yes. we love ryan. have fun, guys. all the way up to boston. meanwhile, now to week nine of our series 16 to 16, where we challenged three viewers and you at home to get healthy by 2016. for every pound mary-jean, roroelle and ken lose, we'llll donate to feeding america. we donated more than 9,000 meals. >> incredible. dieting doesn't come without its temptation. one of them is chocolate. of course, we brought in "today" nutritionist joy bauer to help them indulge in their sweet tooth. >> it's possible. >> we have a lot of chocolate in here. talk about temptations. >> let's put it into perspective.

in the spirit of chocolate, they have lost this much chocolate in pounds. 55 pounds of chocolate! >> d dicious but i can't look at it. >> that't' before this week. in additioio to thiss 5555 pounds of chocolate, mary-jean lost another four pounds, down a total of 25 pounds now. >> yay. >> rochelle stayed the same, which is still a huge feat. she's down 16 pounds. ken is down 22 pounds. >> incredible. >> i'm going to add eight pounds of chocolate on top of this. >> that's he have viavy. >> total of 63 pounds. >> this is temp ingting. you'll have a little challenge withthit. >> we have three different stations. we're going to make this int a game. fact or fiction. i'll say a statement. if you all think that it's true, you haze your paddle and it says cocoa cocoa, which means true.

loco. chocolates? >> they have to work for the chocolates. >> cocoa or loco, dark chocolate is loaded with vitamin c. >> are they right? >> the answer is loco. >> i i switched. >> rochelle gets the point. >> here's the deal, dark chocolate has a lot of compounds that could enhance cardiovascular health. it also has a few grams of fiber, which helps with digestion. it does not have vitamin c. you still earn frozen goodies. i'll show you a few things you can indulge in that will not derail your diet. this is from good pop, chocolate pop that's delicious. 120 calories. this is from dole, dippers. they havee frozen fruit covered in dark chococate. 60 to 100 calories.

these are diana's bananas. 130 calories. >> we have to do lightning round. >> cocoa or loco. one tape lblespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder provides 12 calories. cocoa is right. >> yay. >> how cool is this? an ounce of dark chocolate has 150 calories. a tablespoon of unspeetenedweetened cocoa powder is only 12 and has more of the health perks than regular chocolate. you can add a tablespoon into your coffee, some milk and a bit of sugar. you can add aittle cocoa powder into a low fat vanilla yogurt. or you can add some into your oatmeal for dark chocolate oatmeal in the morning. >> nice. >> these are great do it powder. >> we're out of time, unfortunately. we'll get to that and all the delicious snacks over there. thank you so much. coming up next,urtis and

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part of the show. we lucked out having curtis stone and lindsey price with us because of course -- >> we get to eat, which is what we like to do best. >> so it's tacko time. it's sort of a korean taco. let's start making it and we'll explain. >> typically in korean cuisine, the steak is always a sweet and salty. go ahead, babe. >> jalapeno, cilantro, black pepper, and coriander. so that goes into a bowl. then you add some sauce. what have we here? >> soy sauce, sesame oil and -- >> canola oil. >> and your boys love this meal? >> they do. they love it.

it's something they can eat with their hands and they can put it together themselves. >> and you're both so busy, it sounds like it's something that you can whip up in a pretty short amount of time at home. >> we'll never tell them where this great recipe actually came over because lindsey's mom was over and she cooked this beautiful korean food and we woke up with the worst hangover in the world. >> honey. >> and we were like korean tacos and it worked so, so well. you can marinate this overnight but even if you just get it on real fast, it will still give a real flavor. this is a big juicy flank steak. we're cooking on a hot grip. the way you tell that it's done, use your index finger and press the meat like this. if you put your first finger o o your thumb and you feel it, that

rare, next finger medium well done and the next finger well done. >> we've already started eating. it's fantastic. >> growing up in southern california, i've had so much exposure of mexican food. having ausband that's a chef, he does something like this for me is like the equivalent of a musician writing you a song. >> oh, you never explained it to me like that before. >> that's so great! >> so what is the slau that goes on top? >> we have napa cabbage and. >> green onions. >> what's the secret to your guacamole? >> i developed this for my whiff when she was pregnant.

wants something when she's pregnant, you just figure it out. >> the recipes will be on today.com/food. we're going to make thanksgiving pies next hour. up next, it was the question on everyone's mind 15 years ago. you know what i'm talking about. who let the dogs out? who? who? >> do we know the answer yet? >> if we don't after all these years, we're in trouble. we're just going to jam to it, we don't care. oh, it's a party with tacos and guac! first get the food and peel baby. you could win instantly... i won $50! or text the code and watch the game to see if your team is picked. you may win one of the guaranteed $500,000 weekly prizes. maybe ticketetto super bowl 50. so, grab your gear and get your butt in here. it's game time gold at micky d's! introducing kisses deluxe chocolates.

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...no calorie sweetener. splenda lets you experience... ...the joy of sugar... ...without all the calories. think sugar, say splenda >> announcer: the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> it is throwback thursday. let's go back to summer of 2000. when -- who let the dogs out >> yes, that was the question. who let the dogs out was an infectious tune that turned a band from the bahamas into stars. they call themselves baha men, and their hit single took home a grammy for the best dance recording. wrangler is in the mood. 15 years later, baha men consist consists of one dog. they just released a new record,

we know the one in our hearts, the song about the dogs. the song that gets us grooving, even in studio 1a. who let the dogs out. the party was nice, the party was bumping and everybody having a ball until the fellas start the name calling and the girls respond to the call i heard a poor man shout out who let the dogs out, woof, woof, woof, woof who let the dollsgs out who let the dogs out, who let the dogs out what's up, everybody

i'm gone ma tell to any girls calling them canine, tell the gummy, hey, man, it's part of the party you put a woman in front and herrmann behind, her bone runs out now who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out say, a doggy is nothing if he don't have a bone all doggy hold ya bone, all doggy hold it wait for y'all my dogs, the party is on, i gotta get my girl and i got my mind on do you see the rays coming from my eye, what could you be a friend that benji man that's breaking them down me and my white short shorts and i can't seek a lot, any canine will do

caca me faithful, cause i'm a man of the land, when they see me they do who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out >> 2015. let's go. >> if the cops going in, they'll shut us down there ain't no way we're going back who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out who let the dogs out >> here we go.

this is "today" on nbc. what a show. thank you, baha men. thank you to curtis and lindsay. our dance party crew. craig robinson in the house. good luck hoda and cath thee lee.

who let the dogs out if you think there's no solution to the climate crisis, think again. in iowa, wind energy is already producing enough power for over a million homes, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and supporting six thousand jobs.

with bold leadership and an endless supply of wind and sun, we can do that across america. the goal is 50% clean energy by 2030. so, what are we waiting for? siouxlanders paid tribute to america's military veterans wednesday. at west sioux community schools in hawarden, iowa, students heard from local veterans about the importance of the men and women who serve in the u.s. armed forces. hawarden american legion members spoke about their war experiences and students were reminded to thank veterans for their service. "they hear about it," said ken berke, american legion 9th district commander. "all of us here have experienced it in one way or another. we'd like to impart to them some of our thoughts and what they have to be

the commander of the sons of the american legion reminded everyone to say thank you to veterans for their service. here's meterologist ben

rai >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. it's thirsty thursday. it's november 12th. that's called "house party." you love that song. >> if you crank this up on the weekend, it will get you in the best mood. >> if you crank it up, you won't get cranky. trying to put us down if you wanna be a home body your wanna have a house party >> didn't you have this as your i-hoda? >> i did. sneaking in two. >> two, baby. >> our good friend curtis stone and his beautiful lovely wife actress and mother of two lindsay price stone are here

with two dessert ideas for