one big step. a successful launch and landing for a spacex rocket. a stark contrast to the last mission that ended in an explosion. this time the booster returning safely to earth, an event spacex founder elon musk is calling revolutionary. miss-taken universe. more fallout for the miss universe pageant and the blunder that crowned the wrong winner. does this video show it wasn't all steve harvey's fault. and whiteout christmas. much of the west pummeled with snow making driving treacherous but skiers very happy, while here in the east it's a very different story, today, tuesday, december 22nd, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. so, welcome, everybody, to "today" on a tuesday morning.

vacation time. how about this weather? >> look outside to the crowd. some people don't have jackets on. i say break out the thong in new york city. >> i was afraid you were going to say that. >> anyway, we'll talk more about that great in the east, a little snow out west. we'll talk about that as well. let us get to our top story on this tuesday morning. presidential candidates donald trump and hillary clinton bypass their immediate competition entering what seems like a general election grudge match. last night at a rally trump spewed venom towards clinton who refused to back down from her claim that he has become isis' best recruiter. nbc's katy tur is in grand rapids, michigan. katy, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the rhetoric on this campaign trail, particularly with this candidate, has never been mild, but donald trump took it to another level last night when describing hillary clinton, begging the question what if anything is surprising when it comes to donald trump anymore.

festive, donald trump and his crowd of thousands monday night were anything but merry and bright, at least when it came to protesters. >> really are a loser. >> reporter: the press. >> by the way, i hate some of these people but i'd never kill them. i hate them. no, these people, honestly. i'll be honest. i'll be honest. i would never kill them. i would never do that. ah, let's see. no, i wouldn't. >> reporter: and above all, hillary clinton. >> she's terrible. >> reporter: with supporters cheering him on the billionaire lasered in on the former secretary of state for claiming that his rhetoric is being used as a recruiting tool for iies. isis. >> and it turned out to be a lie. she's a liar. >> reporter: intelligence experts say isis hasn't used donald trump videos to

but the clinton camp isn't backing down saying hell no to trump's demand for an apology. >> the person that needs to apologize in this matter is donald trump for his hateful bigot the rhetoric towards muslim-americans. >> reporter: trump even mocking clinton for using the bathroom during a break in saturday's debate. >> sorry. >> what happened to her. i'm watching the debate, and she disappeared. i know where she went. disgusting. >> reporter: and recalling clinton's 2008 primary loss with a vulgar term used to describe the male's anatomy. >> she was going to win and she was favored to win and she got [ bleep ], she lost. >> reporter: five weeks to the iowa caucus and it's already starting to feel like the general election. a general election, as matt said, in the sense that both of the front-runners are focusing in on each other and ignoring their immediate competition. add another twist to this rivalry. as you know, ivanka is pregnant with her third child and now chelsea clinton is pregnant as well, announcing her second pregnancy on twitter, and she's due sometime next summer. back to you. >> katy tur, thank you very much. mark halperin is managing editor of bloomberg politics.

>> you've been covering politics a long time. have you ever seen anything like this, a candidate, these are not slips of the tongue who goes out of his way to be outrageous, demeaning, degrading, sexist, juvenile and continues to gain support? >> never seen anything like it. in the trump campaign they say let trump be trump. that's trump being trump and as we've seen that's worked for him. as we get down towards voting in a nomination fight, as we head towards the general election if he's the nominee, this version of donald trump i don't think has as good a chance of winning as some other versions we've seen. >> i hesitate to say this because i've asked the same question to you and others so many times but was there a misstep? he scored some points on this show yesterday demanding an apology on hillary clinton for his remarks about him being an isis recruiter? after that rant last night, i don't hear anyone talking about that potential apology anymore. >> i think both of them, you

grandchildren. neither of them want to look back on this grandchildren and have their grandchildren hear about how they ran and have the last 48 hours of it. this country needs a high-minded debate. will this hurt him, every trump supporter even when he says crude things, we'll take that. along with the things we like about him. >> you talk about a high-minded debate. this is anything but. when you talk to the people behind the scenes of the clinton campaign, do they think she can benefit from this short dialogue? >> in the short term they want to show she will stand up to him and make him the face of the republican party so that the images he's leaving behind will carry over to the general election. that's a short-term benefit. you hear some people saying this may be a little out of control. this is not the kind of thing we want to deal with day in and day out from a guy, donald trump, who will say what it -- what he thinks it takes to win. >> you also have contacts in the republican party, so when you

scenes in the republican party, how do they feel this kind of a debate or rhetoric is going to impact their party in the long term? >> well, this is a nightmare for the republican party between now and iowa and new hampshire and this shows that trump could dominate more clearly than ever every day between now and the beginning of the voting and he's got a lead so a guy with a lead who is dominating is hard to break. long term, this is not the image the republican party wants to, have but it's not the image the democratic party wants to have or anyone serious in public life or national tents to have being discussed. >> trump has a lead. he has a lead in the national polls. he's behind ted cruz in the polling coming out of iowa. i talked to him on the show yesterday. i said why does it appear that you're using kid gloves when referring to ted cruz and you're bashing all. other candidates and he said, you know what. there will come a time when the peace has to end and he'll have to go after ted cruz.

>> trump versus cruz will be an interesting fight because we've seen very little of it. mostly about personality. we saw trump talking about -- when he went after cruz for a little bit, talked about him as a maniac and how he couldn't get along with people. trump will put himself forward, if the two of them do end up as finalists as the guy people like and say they don't like ted cruz. there will be issue fights but trump and cruz are happy now with the status quo, happy facing off against each other as finalists rather than worrying about anybody else and if you look at national polls, most of the state polls, those two guys are head and shoulders above the rest of the field. >> mark halperin, always good to see you. >> happy holidays. >> you, too, thanks. all right. now to space history. it was made overnight as the private company spacex managed to launch and resupply a mission to the space station and land the rocket back to earth. nbc's tom costello covers space. good morning, tom. >> reporter: yeah, good morning. the pictures were dramatic and exciting, but what spacex managed to pull off is truly extraordinary, and it now opens

of doing business in space. spacex making history overnight with the falcon 9 rocket launching 11 satellites and then returning safely to earth. >> that is the first stage coming back down to land. >> reporter: it's the first time an unmanned rocket has returned to earth successfully using a vertical landing, and it was spot on! >> the falcon has landed. >> reporter: the gigantic 23-story rocket lifted off from cape canaveral air force base at 8:29 p.m. a live webcast from the company's california headquarters captured it all. its main mission, to supply the space station but also create reusable rockets to save on launch costs and make space more widely accessible. spacexed is the brainchild of elon musk, the 44-year-old billionaire mogul also behind tesla.

six months after a failed attempt in june with a massive explosion. shortly after launch, the rocket on its way to deliver supplies to the space station disintegrated. last night redemption and triumph with elon musk tweeting, welcome back, baby. nasa weighed in, too, tweeting congratulations spacex on your successful vertical landing of the first stage back to earth. you know, as you know, several companies are competing for a piece of the pie to resupply the space station and eventually carry astronauts to the station. competitor jeff bezos, the ceo of amazon.com achieved a similar success, and couldn't help but gloat when he tweeted congrats on landing falcon sub orbital booster. welcome to the club, a little ribbing there. >> their reaction in the control room. >> oh, wow. >> the pressure on those people to have that happened successfully was enormous. >> euphoria. >> absolutely. let's talk about new developments in the sandra bland case, the chicago woman found

days after being arrested in a routine traffic stop that went dramatically wrong. five months after the incident drew national protests the grand jury on monday declined to indict anyone, including the jailor in connection with her death. grand jurors will reconvene in january to consider remaining issues. bland's family says they have no confidence in the grand jury investigation. and there are new details today about the deadly hit-and-run crash on the las vegas city. today, lakeisha holloway will be in court for a bail hearing. she's the 24-year-old woman who is accused of plowing into pedestrian with her 3-year-old in the back seat. one person was killed and 35 others were hurt. jessica valenzuela was killed. holloway faces murder and attempted murder charges. investigators say she did not appear distressed when she was arrested. she had apparently been in las

money. today sergeant bowe bergdahl will be arraigned facing a court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. he's accused of leaving his post back in afghanistan in 2009 before being captured by the taliban. 29-year-old from idaho was held for five years and then freed in a very controversial prisoner swap for five prisoners held at guantanamo bay. bergdahl faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted. the taliban is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on u.s. troops in afghanistan. six troops were killed and one hurt on monday when a suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle loaded with explosives into a foot patrol. it happened near bagram air field, the largest base in the country. among victims, a new york city

duty, a 15-year member of the nypd joseph lemm is survived by his wife and two children. and federal health officials are looking into another handful of e. coli chases linked to chipotle restaurants to see if they are part of a larger outbreak that started back in october. the cdc says five people in kansas, north dakota and oklahoma got sick about a week after eating at chipotle outlets late last month. chipotle believes the cases are related to the earlier outbreak that sickened 50 people in nine states but the cdc says early evidence shows a different strain of the bacteria may be involved. chipotle's stock hit a 52-week low on monday. a police officer in michigan got a surprise after the driver of a car he had stopped for erratic driving on saturday night made a getaway. the incident was captured by the cruiser's dashcam but the driver didn't very far, losing control of the car and careening into the oncoming traffic. that's when the driver, a 13-year-old boy and his

sister, got out and made a run for it. no one was more surprised than the pursuing officer. it turns out they took their dad's girlfriend's car out for a joyride. look at that kid running. >> i think the sister was 8, still, 13 and 8. >> wow. >> ridiculous. >> yeah. >> all righty then. >> let's get a check of the weather with dylan dreyer who is in while al is taking a vacation. >> it's officially winter. 11:49 last night. >> not out there. >> if you forget what snow looks like, take a look. lots of? lots of snow. out in the high elevations of california, out neither sierra and up across oregon and into washington statement lots of folks enjoying the snow out there. this is much-needed snow pack that they need this time of year to get through the later months. it did cause some delays on the road. travel was very treacherous. the roadways were very slippery, besides the slopes were obviously slippery, too, always

also a lot of rain along the coast of oregon. winds so strong it knocked over some the semis. they were gusting up near 65 miles per hour, downing trees and power lines and there are some power outages, one of many storms that has been making its way into the pacific northwest so we've got this -- we've got this moisture streaming in off the pacific, and you can see some of the heavier rain still falling across central california right now. we've got the mountain snow which will continue to accumulate as we go through the next couple of days. great news for the ski resorts and higher elevations. out east we've got the ridge in the jet stream. we're looking at record high temperatures possible across 30 states over the next three days. we're looking at temperatures to run about 15 to 30, even 40 degrees above average. take a look as we go through the day today. temperatures will continue to warm into the 50s, 60s, even some 70s up and down the east coast. it's not going to be nice and sunny. does come with a lot of rain with a slight risk of stronger storms in southeastern texas. some areas threats of large hail. that's a look at the weather across the country.

30 seconds.still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most of us are doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although they have moved very much from yesterday... mainly in the low 30s with mid 20s to the west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become southeast and breezy today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain

and that's your latest forecast. dylan, thanks so much. turning now to the privileged 18-year-old convicted drunk driver who is now on the run. ethan couch dodged jail time in this case after his attorneys argued that he was too wealthy to understand the consequences of his action. this morning investigators say that controversial affluenza defense is now driving tips. nbc's kerry sanders is in texas with the late on this story. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: well, good morning, hoda. this morning the fugitive task force is checking flight manifests at the airport to see if ethan couch may have come here, hopped a plane and fled. with what they know right now they say it's just as likely he took off behind the wheel of a car or a pickup truck. >> this morning deputies are searching for a harley-davidson edition ford f-150 like this that ethan couch's mother tonya drives.

she went missing the same day as her son, authorities believe she may be helping him. >> he comes from a wealthy family. if you're wealthy in this country, can you continually elude law enforcement. >> i don't know about this country but not in tarrant county. >> reporter: in 2013 ethan couch driving drunk killed four people and injured nine in a horrendous accident. his defense, that he didn't know right from wrong because he grew up affluent. that led to probation instead of prison time and outrage. investigators believe this video apparently of couch as a beer popping party is why he's on the run. others told the d.a. couch was there and even though he's not seen drinking alcohol it could be a violation of his probation. tarrant county sheriff anderson finally says what was wrong, couch's probation, can now be made a right. >> i would really like for him

inside workings of the adult skrl justice system and maybe, just maybe for the first time in his life, learn something. >> reporter: the family members of those who died in the accident have chosen in the to talk, but the sheriff says when ethan couch is captured, if he's sent to prison, those family members, those victims' family members may finally see some justice. hoda? >> all right. thanks. so much. more fallout for steve harvey as miss universe crown confusion raines supreme online. and yadda, yadda, yadda. president obama teaming up with jerry seinfeld as he dabbles in

"today" on nbc. coming up, a new study for the ladies. what's the one characteristic in

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paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money. bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. it's time for our next president to get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock.

a state report links complaints at the iowa veterans home to the facility's former leader. the report found lawmakers received complaints due to former commandant david worley's managerial style -- though there's no evidence worley's management changes adversely affected residents. worley resigned in 2013. the iowa veterans home in marshalltown offers care to more than 550 residents. a celebration of a huge building project. the final beam of the new c-r-s-t headquarters in cedar rapids is now in place. the 11 story tall building will change the city skyline. it's a 37-million dollar project. after being signed by those involved with the project, an american flag and christmas tree went up on top of the beam to complete the structure. now, let's go to eileen with a look

breezy and cloudy today with rain likely on wednesday. while we stay mild, temperatures will likely fall tomorrow afternoon as winds turn to the northwest. will cool us a bit more. we'll be back in 30 minutes, be sure to check kwwl dot com for

7:30 now on a tuesday morning, 22nd day of december, 2015. got to put a little more water in that tree because it's a warm one here in new york city. going to go up to 16. >> but it is going to rain. >> oh, so good. we don't have to water tree. >> don't have to go over there with watering cans which is good. another warm day here in the east. we'll have dylan's forecast coming up in just a little while. >> here are some of the stories making news.

between presidential candidates donald trump and hillary clinton. trump gets personal with some harsh comments about his democratic rival as she refuses to apologize for her claim he's become isis' best recruiter. monday's taliban attack in afghanistan that killed six u.s. soldiers marks the deadliest assault on international forces since august. the bomber rammed a motorcycle packed with explosives into a joint nato afghan patrol. among victims, a 15-year veteran of the new york city police department. and a grand jury decides no felony crime was committed by the sheriff's office or jailers in the treatment of sandra bland, the black woman who died in a texas jail last summer. grand jury will return in january to decide whether the trooper who arrested the 28-year-old woman should face charges. and coming up, christmas with a bang as gun sales soar this holiday season. we'll take a look at why firearms are topping wish lists across the country. let us start this half hour

universe pageant and the mistake that caused the wrong winner to be crowned. willie is here with more on that. hey, willie. >> reporter: good morning, guys. steve harvey took the blame saying he failed to read the ballot card correctly but this morning a new snapchat video showing an offstage conversation raising new questions about harvey's teleprompter. >> i have to apologize. >> reporter: this morning the fallout over the miss universe debacle is growing. host steve harvey saying he misread the ballot card, accidentally awarding miss clomiat top prize, but a snapchat video recorded moments after the flub may tell a different story. the audio is difficult to hear, but the caption on the snapchat reads teleprompter said miss universe, colombia, a claim gaining some traction online with even miss america contestant meg mcguffin describing the video on twitter. in its official statement, the miss universe pageant said human error came into play with harvey

>> it was my mis. >> reporter: facing mounting criticism online the comedian and talk show show of the finding support from celebrities urging critics to ease up. magic johnson tweeting steve harvey made a mistake tonight. we've all made mistakes and comedian mindy kaling said you couldn't have paid me to care about miss universe competition before this. i love steve harvey, and both contestants too, now actually. miss colombia's reign as miss universe lasted an agonizing four minutes. >> thank you. >> the bizarre sequence of events began when harvey declared her the winner. >> colombia. >> reporter: for a full two minutes she was on stage alone, basking in the glory of her apparent victory until harvey returned to the stage. >> i have to apologize. >> reporter: four and a half minutes after being announced as winner miss colombia's crown was awkwardly removed and placed on

>> despite the mistake viewers in the philippines were thrilled turning sunday night's gaffe into a strange but thrilling moment for viewers around the world. >> even our own al roker tweeted his support for steve harvey writing, quote, live tv is tough and mistakes happen. steve harvey took responsibility and nobody better. harvey responded to thanks man, al. always appreciate your support. we said it yesterday he made a mistake, owned the mistake immediately. obviously a big deal on a big stage but he knows he's squeezed up. >> have a solution if anyone watched "mean girls" and no one can remember there but there's a scene when lindsay lohan takes her crown and snaps is into a piece and gives it half to this person and half to that person. >> that's the donald trump solution. >> and we do think steve harvey should host next year, huge, huge. >> and every year after that. >> willie, thank you. carson is over in the original room with more on how the internet has reacted. must is been really quiet.

expect them to ask swift and without mercy. felt so bad for steve harvey. hosting "the voice" i know exactly what that feeling is like and a great guy and let's get back to the internet. a few memes being generated. steve harvey announcing the winner at westminster dog show. ryan writing in, you know, obviously "family feud" host so show me miss colombia. >> a little kanye joke, always appropriate taking the crown off of taylor and putting it on beyonce, no doubt. you got them all here, guys. right. justin bieber re-tweeted one. steve harvey should host the nfl drafts first round. should be doing the whole thing. justin bieber, too late now to say sorry? he re-tweeted this one. no disrespect but it was too funny to pass up so there you go. >> carson, thank you very much. let's get a check of the weather from dylan in for al. talking about the warmup so much for christmastime but it does come with a lot of rain,

the heavier rain down across the southeast. we'll see a couple of days of heavy rain, heaviest through carolina and stretching into the panhandle of florida where we do have thunderstorms, too, lots of lightning right in through here though a lot of activity is right out over the gulf. we do have a chance of stronger storms later on tonight. the largest hail possible across northeastern texas and southeastern oklahoma and western louisiana. this does include dallas though any tornadoes would be few and far between. tomorrow we have a better risk of larger tornadoes, especially across western and central tennessee. northern mississippi and northwestern alabama. this is the area we need focus on tomorrow afternoon because some of these storms could be strong. keep in mind we've got warm air streaming in from the gulf of mexico and it feels more like springtime than winter. that's why we're looking at a chance of stronger storms and a possibility of as much as five to six inches of rain. could see basketweave flooding and a lot of rain in a short period of time and also snow out

wind up and down the east coast and rain will continue to maketomorrow. there are still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most of us are doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although they have moved very much from yesterday... mainly in the low 30s with mid 20s to the west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become southeast and breezy today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain to the area late few areas may even hear thunder. as the and that's your latest forecast. >> all right, dylan, thank you very much. coming up, the pros and cons of giving cash as a holiday gift. we'll tell you about that. all right. a look at what's triggering a boost in gun sales this holiday season all coming up after these messages.my sister raves about her toothpaste and mouthwash all the time. i'm like, huh? aren't they all the same? you know, i had to see for myself. so i went pro. with crest pro-health advanced.

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even greater surge. >> it seems firearms are topping holiday wish lists amid fears of terrorism and also the perceived threat of changing gun laws. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in smyrna, georgia, with more on this. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. the manager here at adventure outdoors says business has nearly doubled since this time last year. the holidays are typically busy, but gun shops haven't seen a surge this big since president obama's re-election. at this gun range outside atlanta, business is booming. >> i'm here to promote safety for my grandchildren. >> reporter: just in time for christmas. >> actually a semiautomatic. >> ever since the paris attacks a lot of customers have been coming in buying first guns, buying guns to protect their homes, their families and themselves. >> reporter: louis cole is on the hunt for the perfect gift for his wife. >> this is her. like any good husband, ask for the list of christmas items that you would like to have, and one

>> reporter: last month the fbi ran more than 2.2 million firearm background checks for potential buyers, 24% more than the previous november. generally gifting guns within your own state is allowed under federal law and in many states the person receiving the gift is not required to get a background check. >> what kind of ammo would you like? >> a lot of people just don't understand firearms and, you know, if you don't understand something, it's easy to be afraid of it. it's a large piece of american culture, especially growing up in the south. i don't even think twice about guns. >> reporter: it's not just weapons sales that are soaring, but accessories. this arizona company, well-armed woman, is aiming for a different demographic this holiday season. >> it is a significant gift of love to arm the people that you love with the tools and the training to protect themselves.

space under ashley's christmas tree is crowded with a rifle for her husband. >> i just pulled the trigger on it and picked it up for him. >> reporter: a gift she hopes is right on target. so much for the christmas surprise, if he's watching this morning, and by the way, when it comes to gifting guns, so-called straw purchases, of course, are illegal, meaning the exchange must be a gift, and the recipient can't pay you back. matt, a simpler option might be a gift card. >> gabe gutierrez down in georgia for us on this story. gabe, thank you. coming up next, the tables have turned. sarah palin spoofs tina fey. >> pretty good there. >> and carson in there with the not so jolly encounters with santa. all of that and more coming up after this. >> what do you think about this, johnny? how about a little video for you. how does that feel? you didn't tell me aunt alice was coming. of course. don't forget grandpa. can the test drive be over now? maybe just head back to the dealership?

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before fibromyalgia, i was active. i was a doer. then the chronic, widespread pain slowed me down. my doctor and i agreed that moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. for some patients, lyrica significantly relieves fibromyalgia pain and improves physical function. with less pain, i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica.

until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. fibromyalgia may have changed things. but with less pain, i'm still a doer. ask your doctor about lyrica. so in the past comedian jerry seinfeld has gotten pretty big-named web siries "comedians in car getting coffee" and the latest gift might be the biggest get yet. >> president obama and jerry seinfeld take a spin in a 1963 corvette before they sit down

the episode isn't out yet but one of the many pop culture appearances for the commander in chief. >> white house. >> yes, may i speak with the president, please. >> speaking. >> the president doesn't take just anyone's calls. that voice on the other end of the line belongs to jerry seinfeld, the president afreeing take part in the legendary comics's "comedians and cars getting coffee," a popular web series that shows seinfeld sitting down for a cup of joe with hollywood heavyweights and now president obama has come along with the ride. the conversation focuses on the lighter side of the presidency providing an opportunity to pull back the curtain. this took place on a day after the president delivered an address on terrorism leaving some to question the optics.

glove knackias on "between two ferns" to talk about the affordable care act. >> do you go to dotcoms or doe net and do you use dot gov. >> reporter: his use of the "known" word during the interview sparking some controversy and just last week he trekked through the alaskan wilderers in with bear grylls on nbc's "running wild" voicing his concerns about climate change. >> it's so important for us to pay attention to climate change and understand that there's something that we can actually do about it. >> reporter: president obama's upcoming each sed on the web series doesn't appear to have any political agenda but as many americans concerns over tear terrorism grow. you've seen the video recently,

40-yard chip shot, lines left and boom and right in the hole. >> look at that. >> watch the club, drops the club. that's like dropping the mike. >> nice to be caught on camera. >> there you go. >> there you go. >> all right, guys. >> carson, thank you. coming up, how to avoid holiday travel fails as you make the trip to grandma's house this year. >> hotel rooms half price but it will mean sleeping next to a

others call it paying it forward. we call it share the love. during the annual subaru share the love event, take home a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. 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

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firefighters say the woman they found inside a burned cedar rapids mobile home was unidentifiable. an autopsy is scheudled for later this week, a neighbor believes it was the body of the woman who lived in home, because she says the woman lived alone. record numbers of people are expected to hit the roads this holiday season. holiday travel will top one- hundred million drivers for the first time -- that's according to triple "a." experts say it's because of the low gas prices...the national average below two dollars a gallon right now. experts say for a safe trip -- you should make sure your tires change, good wipers and check the car's battery. now, let's go to eileen with a look at weather. breezy and cloudy today with rain likely on wednesday. while another system tracks in friday night and saturday with a third we'll be back in 30 minutes, be sure to check kwwl dot com for the

you're watching k- w-w-l, we've

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, show me the money. we'll tell you why giving out cold hard cash for christmas never goes out of style. plus, turning the tables. >> this is my space. >> look who is taking on tina fey in a brand new spoof of her hit show "30 rock" and the one and only giada de laurentiis is cooking up a feast for a hungry holiday crowd with a little bit

tuesday, december 22nd, 2015. rocking around the christmas tree at christmas party hop >> merry christmas from south carolina! >> happy holidays from hattiesburg, mississippi. >> here from new mexico. >> merry christmas from california. hi, mom! we're back now, 8:00, on a tuesday morning. it's the 22nd day of december, 2015. and we've got another enormous holiday crowd out on the plaza. hopefully not dodging too much raindrops on a beautifully warm day here in new york city. really great weather is crazy. hoda is over there taking selfies with people. everybody is in a festive mood. it feels like spring break

sort of -- feels like that as well. just a huge, huge crowd. how are you? good to have you here. >> matt, where's your picture, of the one back of you -- oh, we've got it the. >> those were the days. >> is he here. oh, that's him right there. >> hi, how are you. it's nice to see you. great to see you again. wow, that's all i've got to say. >> we were in las vegas when that happened apparently well, remember what they say, it should stay in vegas. welcome back, everyone. the new year quickly approaching. awards season is going to follow. around here we're looking forward already to the golden globes. >> and that's because this year, get this, we want to take one lucky viewer with us to the party. so we're launching a special contest, and it's called "today's" golden ticket. all have you to do is go to today.com and post a picture that shows you are a huge golden globes fan and tell us the reasons why we should pick you to come with. >> and wait until you hear this.

>> we've brought out the big guns courtesy of discover.com. we will be flying you and a friend to the entertainment of the capital entertainment capital of the world. this is so fancy i'm not sure but you'll get your hair did and makeup did and spa there and $500 shopping spree at the amazing beverly center. >> but there's more. the hollywood foreign press association is also going to have you have your turn at red carpet so nbc entertainment will have your exclusive tickets to the golden globes viewing party. i mean that's a great ticket, right? >> it should be a great weekend for one of our viewers. >> golden ticket, wasn't that willy wonka's whole thing? are we stealing that. >> don't miss your chance to join us in historic los angeles, sunshine and fun. go to today.com to enter. all right.

from tamron hall. good morning, everyone. trump's attacks on democratic front-runner hillary clinton are getting very personal. he mocked her for taking a bathroom break calling it, quote, disgusting and used at a crude term for the male anatomy describing her 2008 primary loss to barack obama. >> she was going to beat and she was going to win and she got [ bleep ]. she lost. >> trump has been demanding an apology from the clinton campaign claiming his fiery rhetoric is being used by isis as a recruiting tool. but a clinton spokesman says there will be no apology. today sergeant bowe bergdahl will be arraigned facing a court-martial on charges of desertion and behavior before the enemy. bergdahl is accused of leaving his post in the afghanistan in 2009 before being captured by

he was held for five years and freed in a controversial prisoner swap for five detainees held at guantanamo bay. bergdahl faces a maximum life in prison if he is convicted. and now to the latest in the sandra bland case. she is the chicago woman found dead in a texas jail cell three days after being arrested in a routine traffic stop that went dramatically wrong. five months after the incident drew national protests, a grand jury has declined to indict anyone, including the jailor in connection with her death. grand jurors will reconvene in january to reconsider remaining issues. bland's family says they have no confidence in the investigation. and police say the driver who intentionally ran down dozens of pedestrians on the las vegas strip sunday did not have any alcohol in her system. 24-year-old lakeisha holloway faces a bail hearing today.

32-year-old arizona woman, jessica valenzuela and injuring five other people by driving on to the sidewalk. holloway's 3-year-old daughter was in the car with her. prosecutors say they were homeless and living in that car. history has been made again at cape canaveral. spacex launched a falcon 9 spacecraft carrying small satellites last night and then the 15-story booster returned for a vertical touchdown on landing. that, by the way, a first, the success triggered a lot of cheering as you hear and see at mission control. a store security camera was rolling as a customer and a clerk teamed up to tackle a man who threatened to shoot anyone who didn't hand over their money. this happened this weekend near the university of miami campus in coral gables, florida. the suspect, 47-year-old javon reddick, was pinned to the ground until police arrived. he tried to tell them he was joking, but officers say he did have a gun in his pocket. it's a scary scene out there. the people jumped into action. don't know what would have

with the numbers of travelers expected to top 100 million for the first time on record this holiday season, a lot of people will be taking to the skies, and they will encounter some rules that may cramp their christmas style. >> "today's" erica hill here with a story of a mother who found herself at center of a controversy for trying to bring breast milk on a plane. hey, erica. >> hey, guys, good morning. always a little bit of hectic as we head to the airport and first full disclosure, i did once cry at security when i was told i could not bring my milk with me. one text as mom's recent battle which she posted on social media and that got us to thinking about all the hinges we need to know before heading to the airport no matter your age or stage in life. >> vanessa did everything by the book before heading to the airport with two weeks worth of breast milk. >> i tried to make sure, that, you know, i did my due diligence and checked with delta. >> reporter: she says the customer service agent told her

with dry ice so she could check it with her baggage. when she arrived at the airport the message was much difference. >> out of three agents, no one could tell me what to do and basically said you can't take this cooler on the plane. >> after plenty of confusion and frustration, vanessa threw out the dry ice and carried the frozen breast milk with her on the plane. next time she will have the advice from delta in writing. >> if someone isn't educated as were these desk agents, if they don't know their own company's protocol, then at least you can show them what the correct procedure is. >> reporter: for vanessa the issue wasn't the milk but the dry ice. travel expert and mom samantha brown says a hard copy could have helped. >> she did everything right. a lot of times it's just a miscommunication between customer service and the clerk who you are having face time with.

milk, formula and baby food, like medicines, do not fall under the 311 guidelines. they can be carried on and the amount isn't limited to three ounces or less. with some 5.8 million americans expected to travel this holiday season, there's no shortage of stress at the airport. bringing gifts, wrapped present are not encouraged in the cabin and even in a checked bag experts recommend you wait to wrap until you arrive. brown also suggests doing a security line run-through with the entire family, especially if you don't travel often. >> my top three tips for families traveling during the holidays is, one, arrive in plenty of time. two, bring food so you don't get hungry, and, three, smile, breathe. everybody is in the same boat. or plane. >> reporter: at some airports across the country united airlines has created an oasis of happiness, therapy dogs ready

holiday stress. as for vanessa, delta contacted her to apologize and offered to reimburse her for the cost of preparing her breast milk for travel. in a statement to nbc news, the airline says it's," working directly with miss oranga." >> i just hope that they use this as a lesson. >> the tsa website is a great resource, it lays out regulations for carry-on luggage. doesn't hurt to check with the airlines and print the recommendations if there's any question. it never hurts to pack a little patience. >> what happened when that happened at the engagement? >> when kate and wills got engaged, i said can i bring my breast milk back, no problem but the rules were different at heathrow, i didn't print anything out and the gate agent said you can't bring it and you have to check it and i didn't have any dry ice so i cried. >> erica, understandable.

is breaking up harder to do if the man you're breaking up with has a great sense humor? >> plus, our friend meredith vieira asks kids which stars have been naughty and nice. >> that should be good. >> and spiritual leader, find out how they find peace in these troubled times, but, first, these messages. it's that night of the year you come here. looking for gifts so there won't be tears. eleventh hour shopper...that's you.

they're loaded up with gear. an xbox for the children. and a mixer for your dear. no need to shop around for present you've missed it's all here. you're off the naughty list! eleventh hour shopper... that's you! see you next year, buddy! get low prices on all your last-minute gifts. walmart. here in vineland, home of progresso, we figured out how to get rich ingredients like bacon into 22 light soups, so if you want 100 calories or less per serving without giving up rich flavor

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all right. it's now 8:14 and time to do a little trending. >> oh, good. a couple days left until christmas so you've got a gift you still need to buy for a very picky person. anybody fit into that category? >> i'm not picky, but i know people like that, yeah. >> if you run out of ideas, would you give that person cash? >> no. >> i would -- >> yes. >> i would probably give a gift

which seems classier than cash. >> my nieces live on the other side of the country, i don't know what they are into. just cash. >> who would want 20 bucks? i don't know to get you, here's 20 bucks, get yourself something you really want. >> would you do that to an adult or just kids? >> i would do to an adult. >> i would. >> that's the spirit. >> cash is king. >> i give my niece and nephew, they are 19 and 16 cash but i wouldn't give a 30-year-old friend of mine cash. >> i give cash to people that you would tip but not to people who are friends. >> that's a good rule of thumb. some people it's tacky to give cash. in a new article published on yahoo! here's what "consumer reports" says. cash is always a good gift. the magazine argues money is a safer bet, especially for picky people and one etiquette expert says cash is a gift that's rarely returned and one size fits all. >> if someone handed me $40 and that's what i was going to

gift, i'm not sure of your alcohol choice, go get what you want. i'd say thank you very much. >> and you would say, by the way, it's pabst blue ribbon. >> get a lot of that. >> asked you on twitter, is cash a tacky gift? 81% said no, it isn't. 19% said yes, it is. >> now we know. >> next christmas cash. >> speaking of cash, new startup is giving you a chance to book a hotel room at half the price. it sound perfect, right? >> what's the catch? >> well, yeah, you know there's a catch. you have to share the room with a complete and total service. the service is called the winston club, invitation only and members can get screened and set to launch next year. hotel rooms will be available in various cities and this is how it works. you book a room and the club

approve or reject and if you approve you split the cost. >> the that's a great idea until it isn't a great idea and something goes wrong with that room. >> could anybody sleep in a hotel room with a perfect stranger, even if they seem nice. >> yes. >> gender. >> is it a hookup site? >> it will be. >> not today. >> carson is going what was the website? >> exactly. >> i just changed my mind. >> cash is king. >> safe to say we've all been through break-ups at this table, right? >> yeah. >> but ladies, a new study says women have a harder time recovering from a break-up if her ex has a certain quality and we now know what it is. >> a sense of humor. >> do you agree with that? >> absolutely. >> i agree. >> why, what is it about a humor? >> if a guy is mean or edgy it's easy to say good-bye and you think about the nice guy and funny moment. it's harder. >> what if the hilarious guy cheated on you? >> not so funny, huh? >> he made me laugh, but you

friend. >> and carson's reality has checked in. >> oh, gosh. >> such a funny guy. >> you know what's funny, when they said that they took all the research out of the prompter, it's not even worth going into. >> here's a good one. sarah palin is getting her revenge on tina fey, and which celebrities are on santa's naughty or nice list. carson. >> first to sarah palin turning the tables on tina fey on saturday. tina once again playing the former alaskan governor on "snl" and now in a new video sarah palin takes a whack at playing tina fey, a spot of a hit show "30 rock" a trailer for a fake show called "31 rock" and see what you think of palin's impression. >> when it begins this january, america will meet lynn melon. >> this is my safe space. >> a tv writer who left a small town for the big city. >> no snow flakes?

a cast and produce a hit show? >> where's the new page? >> or will the writers ruin everything. >> nerds. >> and force her old friend -- >> even a cameo from her former running mate john mccain. >> spent some money on this. >> this is not a real show, by the way, won't be coming to tv, just a spoof from a conservative website. >> amazing how interchangeable they are, pretty crazy. our dear friend meredith vieira on her show monday talked to a panel kids and asked them which celebrities would make santa's naughty or nice list. naughty or nice list. >> nice. >> naughty. >> naughty. >> naughty. >> do you know who that is? >> no. >> why are you saying naughty? >> because she just looks like it. >> how about this person. >> i don't know. he's -- >> naughty, naughty, naughty. >> he looks weird!

>> oh, my gosh. he doesn't look. >> i feel bad for you. >> i got over it, honey. it took a lot of therapy. >> a double whammy for matt. >> not only do the kids not know who he was, they thought he was creepy based on looks alone you. >> you see, i'm not having trouble breaking up with her because of that sense of humor one bit. doesn't bother me one bit. love you, my dear. >> that was awesome. >> really good. >> carson, thank you. dylan, how about a check of the weather. >> big travel day on wednesday. it's not going to be so great around the country. we've got a chance of heavier rain up and down the east coast, and we are also looking at some severe storms down across the gulf coast and that could create some delays at airport and also out west we're looking at a lot of mountain snow and that lasts into christmas eve into the eastern half of the country. that's a look at the weather still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most

doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although they have moved very much from yesterday... mainly in the low 30s with mid 20s to the west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become southeast and breezy today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain to the area late tonight and much of the day and that's your latest forecast. >> all right. dylan. thank you very much. time now for our series do you believe. this morning an interfaith discussion about peace. hoda has more of that. the stories of terrorism and intolerance almost everywhere you turn these days. some of the problems brought about in the name of religion, so with that in mind we talked to some influential faith and community leader for their thoughts on whether peace is possible. first of all, i'd like to start off by saying girl power. our panel boasts three amazing women, the reverend dr. jackie lewis of new york city's middle

bouddahl of central synagogue and peace activist sahar el salani. do you believe there can be peace? >> absolutely. we see it in the microcosm of people finding peace through themselves personally and i think that it just keeps spreading out. we have the possibility of peace and aspire to that. >> i find myself taking a deep breath in saying, okay, i am the beginning of peace. i think we're all called to be peacemakers, and the source of the peace is a kind of self-love that acknowledges that we're beautiful and wonderful. i think violence comes through self-hatred and peace comes from love. >> islam means peace and all of our scriptures which are very much intertwined are road maps to justice and peace and finding salvation in this world. >> but what do you think the

often it doesn't? >> it's one of the barriers that the sense god belongs just to me, that i own god. god is not christian, god is not christian, god is not jewish. god is love. >> can you believe exactly what you believe as strongly as you believe it and yet acknowledge that people on either side of you believe with equal conviction in their faith, and i think if more people could nod their head and say, yeah, can i do that, it would work. >> i think there's a sense that god wants justice and love in the world and each of our religions have a different way of saying it, but we recognize that really at base is the same and we can work together, that's also one of the ways that we make that kind of peace. >> when you see what's been going on, you know, in san bernardino and what's been happening and people say we want to bar muslims from coming into the country and all that sort of stuff, what do you tell people of your faith and when do you share with them? how do you explain what's going

>> i remind our youth that we are told to strive for unity and for harmony and nonviolence, and a core principle of islam is nonviolence and is interfaith cooperation. >> it seems like the biggest barrier to peace is ignorance. it's like you don't know somebody, right? >> so true. >> you don't know what they are about. >> so many people think they don't know muslims and i'm saying, yes, you do, yes, you do. that's your teacher. that's the pta president. that's the shopkeeper. of course, we do. >> what would your message of peace be during this season? >> peace in our tradition is not just not having war. you cannot have wholeness and perfection unless it includes all of humanity. we are all one whole and we seek out that peace. >> up of my favorite verses from the koran god does not change the condition of the people unless they change the condition within their hearts. take time and remember that there are many ways that you can

one of the best ways to love god is to serve of others. >> i believe that there's more than one path to god. i celebrate all these paths, but i'm a christian, i choose this path because i'm captivated by this story. i'm captivated by the story that god comes all the way down to earth. each of us embodies love in our best day and then just go out and do love. >> wow. >> i think, you know, i'm a believer that peace can work, and if you've ever lived in new york city or been here and you watch people of all different faiths or no faith living in such close quarters and it works, like if you think that new york city can work, if you're an optimist you believe the world can work, because we work when we're all intertwined like this on top of each other and somehow the city, you know, makes it happen. >> we should run that piece every day at end of the show, the same piece over and over again to just get this into people's minds. it doesn't seem like it should be as difficult. >> those three ladies make it very simple. should be just like that. >> but you also point out learning about others.

city where you come in contact with such a diverse range and with the internet and social media it can be a positive platform to interact with people not like us. >> thanks. coming up, giada is in the kitchen and is showing us how to cook for a crowd in holiday season with a bit of italian flair. >> a bit of italian. >> can i just say we're making

>> get ready.the top democratic presidential candidates are both in iowa today. hillary clinton is in keota, fairfield and bettendorf. bernie sanders will be in storm lake, carroll, harlan, and council bluffs. three students in keota pleaded with clinton to visit their school as part of a project for their sociology class. they used social media, in-person pleas, and t-shirts to convince the former secretary of state to visit their school of about 80 students. they plan to talk about the challenges rural schools face. an upcoming republican debate will be hosted here in iowa. the seventh g-o-p debate will be caucuses. now, let's go to eileen with a look at weather. breezy and cloudy today with rain likely on wednesday. while we stay mild, temperatures will likely fall tomorrow afternoon as winds turn saturday with a third

will cool us a bit more. sure to check kwwl dot com for the latest news you're watching k- w-w-l, we've

all i want for christmas is you. we're back, 8:30 on a tuesday morning.

it's 2015, and that dylan dreyer knows how to predict the weather. she said we're about to get some rain about a half hour ago. and guess what? the rain is here. >> right on cue. >> that's right. look who else is here. that's brian darcy james, our elf this morning for our toy drive which is just about to come to an end. >> oh. i can't believe it's winding down now, but he's going around and collecting gifts from the kids. we have had such a successful toy drive. the second biggest year ever. if you add it all we have raised $440 million and betting millions of smiles too. we want to thank everybody. we'll talk to our elf, brian darcy james in a bit. >> hats off to the people who worked so hard on organizing that toy drive every year. >> absolutely. also ahead, giada de laurentiis has a short rib lasagna.

you can perhaps make it at home. >> yeah. exactly. also this morning, we have illusionists taking things to a whole new level. in just a minute. >> jeff hopson, he's very funny. you saw him as santa's helper, but when brian darcy james isn't on the plaza collecting toys he's a big man on the big screen. good morning. >> hi, everybody. >> the guy stars in an amazing movie called "spotlight" all about "the boston globe's" investigation into the catholic church. are you happy with the reaction? >> it's an incredible reaction and the film and i'm lucky enough to be in with it rachel mcadams and the list goes on and on. i'm pinching myself i'm in it. >> and you play a journalist who exposes the whole catholic church. did you get to meet him? >> i got to meet matt carroll, a wonderful reporter, who works

all of the reporters, the spotlight came at "the boston globe" as a former team. they do extraordinary long lead investigative journalist work so matt and i -- i took a crash course in his job. >> any holiday things, i love your scarf. >> thank you. i'll have christmas eve off so that's good. whatever is happening in any particular -- like the year is what i do. >> usually working on something. >> by the way, the name of the show doesn't -- >> a disclaimer. >> it's true. it will be a little bit of a break for me. i have a show on christmas night. so, yeah, i'm lucky to be working on the holidays. yes. >> happy holidays. thanks. >> thank you. thank you. >> merry christmas.

screen in "spot light" and "something rotten." >> dylan, with the weather. >> it's starting to rain here, and i'm getting used to the warmer weather and we sent bob radel up to the north pole to find out what's going on up there. how's santa holding up up there? >> reporter: merry christmas to you. there's only three days to christmas eve. time is running out here in the north pole. santa right now he's taking a nap, resting up before the big night with the sleigh here. each year we try to get into a top secret operation he doesn't want to let anyone -- hold on. we have leaked security cam footage from inside santa's toy thing. we were just talking about this. this is so -- this has never been seen before, you guys.

that's one of the "star wars" light sabres. the hottest toy that the elves have been putting together. i don't know if you realize they test each individual toy before sending it out. make sure they work. i'm -- i'm not sure that that guy should be testing those toys right there. i counted three osha violations stuff now. >> well, they have three days to kind of figure out how that thing works. [ laughter ] >> reporter: quickly, i'm getting some word inside, that was an isolated incident. that the toys will be fine and ready for the sleigh on thursday night. >> what a relief. thank you for getting the latest tomorrow. there are still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most of us are doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although they have moved very much from yesterday... mainly in the low

west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become southeast and breezy today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain to the area late few areas may even hear thunder. as the system tracks >> and that's your latest andfo that's your latest forecast. guys? >> all right, dylan, thank you. the red carpet will soon roll out for awards season and there's talk that eddie redmayne may get a nod for "the danish girl." >> and we're joined from london by keir simmons. >> hey, good morning. transgender rights have been front and center this year but it turns out the fight for those rights have been happening for a hundred years. as you mentioned i sat down with the cast and the director of the danish girl to talk about that fight and in this movie the

>> the first time we met, she propositioned me. she seemed so sure. >> i was sure. >> incredibly powerful love story. >> that's something you'd like to tell me. >> something you'd like to not? >> i'm your wife. i know everything. >> a marriage of two artists that changes as the husband played by eddie redmayne discovers the person he truly is. what was it like in this movie, guys? because it's a beautiful, beautiful movie. >> clearly, carefully crafted. what were the challenges? >> i think everyone who's seen the film realized that it's a very emotional ride that the two women go on. >> we should go out tonight. give them something different. >> you're exquisite. >> oh, the shock. >> reporter: you, for example, are a fun -- i think a really important piece of the puzzle i feel like.

case because when you play characters that just see the people for who they are. they're people. >> who's your friend? >> matthew plays an art dealer and long-term friend of the character. >> i think being an art dealer, it's -- it's always looking for beauty. >> reporter: i was rereading caitlyn jenner's "vanity fair" article and she said the entire time she was bruce jenner she was lying. you don't get the sense from lilly or do you think that's what's happened? >> i think it's always there, because it is the same person in the end. >> the fact is, i think it's time to be a woman. >> i believe it too. >> lilly was one of first people to attempt sex reassignment surgery.

her and loves her. >> it could kill you. >> it's my only hope. >> the film is unconditional love. >> and that love is not defined by body, gender. it's about souls. >> it raises some questions about how we articulate and define love. >> reporter: right. one of the ways it does that, you can define it and i don't know how anyone can't watch it and not have tears rolling down the cheeks. >> i love you because you're the only person to make sense of me. and make me possible. >> reporter: to the folks back at home, who have seen what movie already, matt. i think you have seen it. if you like eddie redmayne, there's another -- there's a scene in it that might be a reason to go see it. matt, i'm guessing you would have watched this scene with your hand over your eyes like that. no other way to describe this --

referring to, but i will say, yes. i will say, yes, some amazing scenes in the movie. i recommend people see it. it's an extraordinary film. thank you, keir. >> what was that about? >> i know what he's talking about. see the movie. >> okay. we have a live performance from the illusionist. but first, this is "today" on nbc. >> hello.

impressive. for lynn's family, the big stress is paying four hundred dollars a month in medical and drug costs for aidan. for other families it's higher deductibles, premiums and co-pays that keep adding up. that's why we've got to crack down on price gouging, cap out-of-pocket costs, and fast track approval of less expensive generic drugs. because we've got to get health care costs under control for lynn's family and for yours.

going to be asking how on earth did they do that which is exactly what i was wondering when i caught a show called "the illusionist" on broadway with my family. >> we've invited the magical troupe here to show us what they can do. jeff hobson is the host of the show and joined by adam trickster and add am trent as the futurist. >> why do i need to stand by the trickster. so much fun. do you play cards. >> oh, good. >> few jokers, don't need it.

>> you'll figure it out. >> pick a card, quick, quick, quick. >> i want your signature, if you don't mind, hoda. right across, so we can identify. >> houda. >> matthew broderick, got everybody here. >> oh, look. >> look, look, look, look, you're card right in the middle of the pack, take a looky, there it is. see it, see it, see it, shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, go, go, go. >> take a look. >> you make those dealers in the casino pop their pants, that's right, don't ever do that again, that was awful. i'll place the pack of cards inside my mouth and locate the card with my signature three times. watch. >> is this your card. >> no. >> is this your card. >> is this your card.

>> somewhere in the middle. >> no, that is not the card. >> oh, no. >> you feeling okay. >> no, no. how long has that been in there? >> i got it. one card, one folded once. >> why are you wiping my slobber on me? >> take a look. it's going to be -- >> yeah. >> that's amazing. >> right there, right there. >> yeah, thank you so much. >> very nice. >> i appreciate it the. >> that's awesome. >> let's move over. >> come on over here, guys. >> this is great. >> hoda, let's have you over here. very, very important. you are on bag duty. okay. nothing enters or leaves the bag. >> carson right here you're on knife. you said adam, i've got one and matt i need to borrow your phone.

>> need to borrow your phone. >> out of the case. >> somebody asked me to take it out of case. >> a lot of famous people in there. >> we take matt's iphone and place it inside one of these envelopes like this, very important that we know this has your iphone because i have three more envelopes that don't have your iphone, a little piece of aluminum plastic, same size and weight as your phone. a little bit of a marking like that so we know that one indeed has your phone in it and the ones that don't have it we place an "x" on it so we know you don't have t.hold that one finger like that. touch an envelope, that right there. here's the way the game works, matt. you chose that based on intuition. you did not choose. oh, wow. this is good. >> i have an industrial strength blender here. >> don't screw this up. >> you'll have my phone in my

for destroying iphones. made my microsoft. >> here we go. >> i can't even look. >> there is metal in there. >> that's metal, matt. >> wow. >> please be my phone. >> this is good. >> matt, take that envelope out, rip it out and show to to the audience. >> this round of applause is all for matt. >> oh, no. >> not his phone. >> you better have a good explanation. >> you may want -- >> commercial break time. >> hoda, the bag, the bag, this is good. pass it over here. >> his phone was nowhere near that bag. >> this is a special moment, matt, something very rare and hard to find here, in a honey dew, hard to find and i take the knife. you have the knife. >> you missed that part, i cut

and smell the juices. a real honey dew. >> i'm going to cut it all the way open. >> no way. >> there's something inside the melon. it's a phone, but it could be any phone. is that indeed your iphone >> the greatest trick i've ever sgleen yes, it is. >> that's mine. >> that's unbelievable. >> that's a miracle. >> how did you do that? >> this is a real melon. >> you're the one who saw the show. >> didn't do this at the show. >> that's amazing. >> that's a little something, something. >> can i say, and i don't do this often. it's fantastic, go see the show on broadway, limited time only. get soon. >> wow, that was awesome. thanks, guys, terrific. up next, giada delaurinaitis is in the kitchen with crowd pleaser. nothing is going to be better

>> nicely done. we're back now with "today food." chef and "today" contributor giada delaurinaitis has an italian favorite with a little bit of a twist. happy holidays. welcome back >> i love lasagna. >> don't i know it. >> love lasagna but you're beefing it up a little bit. >> beefing it up and adding a little bit of kale as well. ground some short ribs and season them with a littlealt d pep remember? before we get to the browning. >> not that many, in the that complicated. >> okay. >> you know the thing about lasagna, it's intimidating because there's several steps. the great thing about lasagna u can make one towo days in advance. >> it's better as leftovers. >> absolutely. >> took your short ribs and brown them in a pop. >> season them salt and pepper, brown them in a pot each side, don't worry about cooking them through. take them out and then you add theonsions, chop onions in a

then we add rosemarie and garlic first. >> healthy amount of garlic, too. i like it. no, it's great. >> look, we didn't chop the garlic, just smashed it, always take it out if you want to and it's not as potent because we didn't chop it. the do you smell the rosemarie. that's why you want to add it had before the liquid. it's more potent. add the wine, pinot noir. use beef broth. >> how long is this going to cook down for? >> this is going to cook down for about two and a half hours, and then we'll take the meat and put it right pack in and make sure that there's enough liquid to cook the meat and you're going to took it for two and a half hours and it will reduce down and once the smaet cooked, then lid on, really important to put the lid on. >> okay. >> then you've got the short ribs and let them cool. >> this is going to basically fall right off the bone you. >> want to do it. >> no, do you it.

>> no, come on, matt. >> you just shred this up. >> go, go, go. >> take some of the fat off. >> taste, it it's cooked, i'm promised. >> no one did anything to it. >> your hands are clean, that is. >> that's good. >> mm-hmm. >> then you move over here. we'll put the short ribs over here and we're makingled easiest cream sauce ever so milk and cream, okay. then we add mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, parmesan cheese, chopped kale, basil, garlic, go. you don't have to make a roux or add anything tolls this. melt the cheese and wilt the kale. use baby kale or this kind of kale. >> magic of tv. >> and you've got your sauce like this. >> and now it's a layering job so go, grab. >> flat noodles. >> what was on the bottom. >> tomato sauce first. noodles, a little bit of the cream sauce with kale. shredded short ribs. >> how many layers would you

>> probably three. >> after you've done the layering, in the often. >> tom it with tomato sauce, 400 degrees, 20 minutes. >> may i taste. >> threat cool though before you cut it. >> threat cool for 15 to 20 minutes. >> want it to solidify, otherwise it's liquidy everywhere. you want it to be like that it is guys downstairs. >> what do you think? >> it's delicious. >> carson, with the kale this is actually healthy, right, giada? probably losing weight. >> it's a meal all in one. >> it's delicious. >> delicious, guide a. thank you so much. a little lasagna short ribs. what could go wrong? check out this recipe at today.com/food. coming up, our season of kindness goes out with a bang.

nbc. praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in.

season of kindness on "today" is sponsored by amazon smile. yoyoshop, amazon gives. >> and today is the last day of the season of kindness campaign. 40 days we have celebrated good deeds, both big and small. so many of you got on in the act. over 15,000 uses of shared kindness on twitter and over 11,000 people got involved on social media. our sponsor, amazon smile, sent gifts to "today" fans who tweeted and gave away gift cards

forward. how will you share kindness forward? tweet us and share with us. they support many different organizations and we'll share. over to you. >> my favorite one of the month, when you surprise that woman on the cruise ship. >> yeah.h. she was -- i won't forget her. she was a sweet woman. we did an ambush in her room, it was her birthday. julie the cruise director surprised her. she was a lot of fun. so it's been fun celebrating. >> yeah. >> and just because the campaign is over doesn't mean the kindness should end. we hope that you'll spread love

we're back inan iowa teen who collapsed during a wrestling meet died of natural causes -- according to the preliminary ivnestigation. austin roberts was a senior at spencer high school. hes was wrestling at 220 at a meet on saturday when he collapsed... an autopsy will be performed by the state medical examiner to determine the official cause of death. a consumer alert this morning...a recall of a popular seasonal chocolate. dove ssys about 67-hundred cases

snowflakes may contain peanuts, wheat, or eggs -- which could cause serious problems for people allergic to those items. dove says if you bought this product and have allergy concerns you may return it the store where you nought it for a full refund. now, let's go to eileen with a look at weather. breezy and loudy today with rain n ikely on wednesday. while we stay mild, temperatures will likely fall tomorrow afternoon as winds turn to the northwest. another system tracks monday. each will cool us a bit more. we'll be back in 30 minutes, be sure to check kwwl dot com for the latest news you're watching k- w-w-l, we've

this morning on "today's take" we've got quentin tarantino, kurt russell, the all-star cast of "the hateful eight." ho, ho, ho, three days to go and the ultimate sabtd a challenge and deck the halls with kids' homemade gifts. all that hand more coming up now. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie

studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on a drizzly tuesday morning it's december 22nd, 2015. by the way, the official first day of winter. >> winter at 11:49. >> hear this song. >> many people don't know it. >> yes. >> this is my favorite christmas song. it's billy squier "christmas is the time to say i love you". >> i wilil listen to this song all year long but more accessible during christmas time. >> good choice. >> did you keep the christmas music going, i have it 24/7 now? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. >> think new year's eve. >> hours, just had the music playing in the background. >> i love that. can't stop my ring tone. i have "star wars." >> we're balancing. >> but i need to get a holiday ring tone. >> we have you here as a

>> happiness. >> it's 60-something. it will be 72 here on christmas eve. >> 72 degrees. washington, d.c. will be close to 80 degrees on c cistmas e. isn't that wild? >> that's the record for new york? >> the record for new york i believe is -- >> we're pushing it. >> we're going to crush the record. >> the record i believe is 72. 75. it's going to be -- >> this week it's going to be 75. >> going to be crazy, but it's an el nino year but seen still it tends to be warmer during the beginning o o winter during el nino but this year it's breaking -- it's never been this warm for this long around this time of year. >> when natalie was here last week she said it was difficult for her to get into the holiday spirit because --- i'm quite the opposite. i grew up in west texas so this is winter in many respects and when you look out on the plaza there are rain jackets. >> it's raining. >> a few rain jackets, umbrellas, but like no coats. >> kind of bumming me up.

>> you can have a fire. >> just sweat. >> doesn't feel right. >> sweat out christmas. >> get a snow globe and look at snow globe. >> i say enjoy it now because -- >> yeah. >> winter is coming, end of january, february, i think is when we're going to get -- we'll make up for it. >> winter is coming and not just "the game of thrones." >> very good. >> something else that we're watching. >> comedians and cars getting coffee for my money is the best, i thinky that the best show, web series and jerry seinfeld if you don't know about it picks up one of his celebrity buddies in a vintage car, a big car guy and knows everybody in the world, anybody you would want to sit down with in the world comedy and picks them up in the car and if out and have coffee for 20 minute, 30 minutes, get cool car and great guests. well, he's taking it up a notch. this season we've go the our first look at the new promo and among many guests, will ferrell, a lot of big names, the

is going to be on "comedians in cars cars" and they will drive a '63 corvette stingray and split window coupe and the conversation focuses on the lighter side of the presidency, i would think so and an opportunity to pull back the curtain. it's on crackle available december the 30th and you can catch it anywhere. such a good show. the episodes with people like david letterman and howard stern who don't do a lot of talking in long form interviews. >> it's amazing. >> i wonder if the president will loosen up a little. i know he has his little jabs and has these funny moments but very deadpan. i wonder how the whole conversation. >> ever seen the whours correspondents dinner, his little riff there, he knows how to let itdown. is it wrong that i'm only obsessed with the car? >> did you see the car. >> hilarious and i love jerry seinfeld. i wanted to google like what does that set you back? >> got to have time to have

>> do they make a match box version of that? >> there is a great picture in the promo of that corvrvte, light blue corvette parked in front of the white house, polls up and picks up the president for a cup of coffee, very cool. >> 1963 stingray with a split window coup. >> jerry's got the best car. >> did you bury me. >> he and leno are competing for the best cars. >> we talked about this yesterday, and i don't like calling it the fallout, but the conversation continues over steve harvey's mistake on sunday night's miss universe pageant where he named miss colombia the winner and later crowned miss philippines and i actually saw this the night that it happened but i didn't know if it was real. there's a snapchat video thahas been floating around, and it shows steve harvey talking with some of the stage crew people there. the aio is difficult to hear, but the caption on the snapchat

said miss universe colombia, so people are pointing to this, even though steve got on stage and adad mirabelli said, you know, this is my fault, i got it wrong. there are people who are pointing to this video that you can't hear the audio. on the counter side you have some who said if it was in the teleprompter it means the contestants would see it so it's unlikely they would have had in the teleprompter. >> i know what the text said but how do we know what he said? >> i saw it that nigig and how do we know what he said? >> even if that's what he's saying and not knowing and saying it was a teleprompter issue and he went up there and owned. it didn't throw anybody under the bus. >> not like what we do when the prompter is wrong. why is the prompter not running, team, really, what's going on? that's what we do.. we go low brow. not half the people that steve harvey is. just go and tell them the cards are wrong >> i understand why people are

it was an amazing piece of television, shockingly, but steve harvey a villain, no, no. got the wrong guy. made a mistake and owns it. >> yesterday, of course, stunning. never seen anything like it. day two, i'm like, okay. exactly. >> but he is getting a lot of love. al roker re-tweeted al's tweet and talked about steve saying he's the best guy. live tv is tough and mistakes happen. took responsibility. nobody got hurt. nobody better and steve said thanks, man. magic johnson the night it happened within seconds, magic johnson sent this out. people are having fun with t.justin bieber actually said, like no disrespect, man, but he did a meme of steve harvey's face on his body and said too late to say sorry. >> yeah. >> i've known steve harvey for many years, used to have comedy club. one of the best comedians where he made his living in so many years kind of poking at things like this. in addition to at, he's an incredible philanthropist he and his wife.

live tv. we've all had mistakes on live tv so we've dug some up. >> willie. >> so glad you were able to find them. >> did you know you left quite an impression on amanda siegfried. >> i alwaysay it wrong? great actor. >> what did he do? >> i don't know. take a look. >> amanda from her roles as a little bit ditzy teen -- >> a little bit itsy. >> are you channeling ted? >> willie geist. >> she was very ditzy in that movie, as i said early. >> well, i think you have to. >> you don't have -- i won't explain how that happens and these things happen. >> dylan, funny you bring up that moment with me. >> yes, dylan. >> ten years ago watching wjar in providence, our nbc station up there, which i love and it's a great station and were you doing the weather, and it was great.

>> and, again, we do lose an hour of sleep so turn your [ bleep ] ahead one hour before you go to bed. gusts up to 25 knots. one to two feet except five feet at bay entrance. >> i can'tegain my composure. >> turn it ahead. >> jimmy kimmel when he bleeps out the news. >> huh. >> one of those moment that didn't exist anywhere on -- on youtube or anything, but our amazing producer team seem to find it. >> they find it all. >> thanks wjr. >> not one thing. >> roll the tape. >> you think that's their priority or what we're looking at at that the screen. set. >> just the thought, tamron. >> that is -- we have a new set and clearly couldn't afford -- >> that happened. >> the whole chair, msnbc.

>> budget. >> there you go. >> having like a serious conversation on politics and this chair just goes under. >> you stayed with it. you're a were. >> that wasn't good enough so let's try another one. >> what? >> the biggest located entirely in the united states. >> what's -- the biggest located entirely in the united states. >> great lakes. >> oh. >> they all touch canada, mississippi. >> the mississippi lake. >> the mississippi lake. >> and you're shocked you don't have a point. >> the mississippi lake. >> i think -- i think you guys dubbed that in, the trickery on this show. well, yeah, so we figured we'd show you those moments -- the highlights of our career. our parents are all proud right now. >> go over there, no flubs. >> i don't want to fall. >> don't fall. >> it's not daylight savings time. >> it is winter though. yes, 11:49 last night we

it does not feel like it and won't at all through the christmas holiday. eastern half. country. we'll see a lot rain though. had heavier of pockets of rain down alone panning handle of florida. this continues to be an issue through the day today, and also have a chance of stronger storms from texas, oklahoma into arkansas and northwestern still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most of us are doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although they have moved very much from yesterday... mainly in the low 30s with mid 20s to the west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain to the area late tonight and much of the day tomorrow. a few areas may e >> tamron says it's 99 degrees, your official weather report. >> the i got a tweet are you

>> yeah. >> you can wear white in the winter, especially -- what is winter anymore? >> it's 75 out there. >> all right. coming up next, kurt russell, jennifer jason leigh and quentin tarantino team up for "the hateful eight" and dylan sat down with the cast of [ dog barks ] [ bark ] there it is! [ gasps ] oh no! look, the sky's awake! that. was.

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"the hateful eight" and i got to interview mr. tarantino and seven of the named stars and you can see how much this crew liked working together. >> one of them is not what he says he is. >> "the hateful eight" is not only quentin tarantino's eighth movie but it also focuses on eight characters forced together by a terrible blizzard. >> no way i'm spending a couple of night under a rof with somebody i don't know who they are. >>et? post-civil war wyoming, tarantino's latest labor are love tries to keep the viewers guessing who is working with whom. >> it throws these brutal characters together and tests their loyalty and their principles but it's all set in this fun, funny, snowy western. how do you describe this movie? >> it is definitely a western. there is a comedic aspect to it and definitely a mystery. first time writing a misery >> no, no, no, no.

>> follows a bounty hunty who takes his mistress to justice. >> your characters were attached the entire movie and how does that change the dynamic on set? >> took a while to get accustomed and it was weird to be unattached. >> kind of a crazy abusive honeymooners couple. they are pretty out of it, but they are kind of fun to watch at times. >> and for most of you this isn't your first rodeo in a quintin film and damien and jennifer, your first time. do you feel now that you're graduates of the university of tarantino? >> never heard it put like that before. >> you do feel like you've been on to this set and into this film experience that is have sort of privileged to be a part of. >> he gives you a chance to get bert, and that's the most exciting thing for me. i think we all never knew that

we were in school, trust me. >> so you film this in telluride, and the whole movie takes place in a blizzard. i would assume working in those harsh conditions it would be nice to get back in the studio? not so much. >> the studio was -- was refrigerated basically. >> what? >> we could keep the temperature exactly what we wanted so we got breath every day all day. we're hear the hot tea call. hat tea, guys. hot tea. let's go. >> to capture the sprawling scenery as well as the intimate scenes inside the hab dashry the film was shot using historic 70-millimeter lenses from 1959. >> thought it the would give it a real big look, but they can be quite intimate the. there's always two plays going on in this movie once you're in the haberdashery. there's the foreground play of what's happening with the actors and then there 's the background play so you always know where everybody is and hopefully

>> now we're talking. >> and as all tarantino's veterans can attest there's always one more take. >> there was a famous thing you said, every time you want to do one last take. >> oh, yeah, everybody, everybody. we got it. we got it, but we're going to do one more. why? >> because we love making movies! >> a great cast to sit down and take to. "the hateful eight" opens in select theaters christmas day and nationwide christmas eve. up next, time to don the red suit and find out which of these people know how to be santa the best. the snow is starting to fall... and all the decorations are just right. the presents have all been opened... and our loved ones are gathered all around. so share that extra joy in your heart...

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advil cold & sinus is only behind the pharmacy counter. ask your pharmacist for fast, powerful advil cold & sinus. relief doesn't get any better than this. finally got miss universe sorted out and the next question is who will be crowned america's best santa. the big question santa's in the barn will answer that this week.

>> let's welcome the show host tom galbraith and tammy hall, no relation. >> ho, ho, ho, to you all. >> incredibly excited about this. >> so are we. so are we. early for santas to be up. usually work at night, but i think we'll be able to do it. >> how does the show work for people who haven't steen? >> that's a great question. i hosted it and i'm almost 100% positive how it works. we had ten santas competing for the title of america's best santa claus and a $100,000 grand prize, and they compete in various santa activity that demonstrate, you know, jolliness or kindness or kid-approvedness and kind ran out of nesses there. >> how does an elf qualify? >> i do all the work. >> we make the toys, make the list. we pretty much do it all. santa can't do it without the elf. >> an elf with attitude. >> what are the special skills

>> well, i'm a mom so i know all about the kids, and i'm a military family so we've been all around the world quite a few times? >> and i'm a musical santa. i know every christmas carol written. >> you guys have agreed to break off into teams with us and we'll compete on some of the things santa needs to know and do. >> we'll do like a combination of a bunch of different challenges from the show. we'll do a little relay race. the first station will be eating cookies and chugging milk. >> that got my name on it. >> tommy. >> chugging milk. my old frat boy came out for a minute. >> oh, wait, wait. >> don't start yet. >> we have to follow strict game shaw laws. >> the next challenge is stuffing presents into bags, and that's dylan. >> oh, yes, yes. >> and then you're -- >> am i going now. >> i guess so. >> i don't think this is the way it works. >> i'm going now.

>> and willie, you untangle the lights. >> okay. >> we're all working together or against each other. >> i feel like we just left you. >> i'll just stand over here off camera. >> but i think we're supposed to start and then we tap and go, relay. >> you can high five me. >> let's start the clock. ready, go. >> i'll start us off. we'll go on ho if that makes sense. >> the last hoo are or first one. >> there will be one ho. >> hey, it's a morning show. all right, guys. your teammate, ready, set, ho. >> go, go, go. >> why are you eating -- >> take bigger bites. >> this is cold of tamron to offer to do this on television. >> why aren't you taking bigger bites. >> nibbling like a mouse. >> is that how you eat cookies. >> good cooky. >> tamron, is how you. >> like a little mouse. >> this is going to take forever.

show or not but this is the longest time he's ever gone without talking, a true delight. >> i don't think we have enough time for tamron. >> all right. >> just go for it, guys. >> okay. get them in there. there we go. lauren is a little slow but that's what we love about him. >> dylan, go. >> that's not in the bag. >> there you go. >> untangle the lights and wrap them around. >> who packed these, these are horribly tangled up. >> willie, willie. that's how you untangle. >> willie has a distankt advantage and being tall and long arms to get to coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription...

...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm firefighters say the woman they found inside a burned cedar rapids mobile home was unidentifiable. an autopsy is scheudled for later this week, a neighbor believes it was the body of the woman who lived in home, because she says the woman lived alone. record numbers of people are

holiday season. holiday travel will top one- hundred million drivers for the first time -- that's according to triple "a." experts say it's because of the low gas prices...the national average below two dollars a gallon right now. experts say for a safe trip -- you should make sure your tires change, good wipers and check the car's battery. now, let's go to eileen with a look at weather. breezy and cloudy today with rain likely on wednesday. while we stay mild, temperatures will night and saturday with a third late sunday into monday. each we'll be back in 30 minutes, be sure to check kwwl dot com for the latest news you're watching k- w-w-l, we've got you good morning, it's 8:26...

paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money.

it's time for our next president to get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. taking a look at headlines, federal health officials are looking into new e. coli outbreaks linked to chipotle restaurant. the centers for disease control and prevention says five people in kansas, north dakota and oklahoma all got sick after a week -- a week after eating at chipotle outlets. chipotle believes the cases are related to the earlier outbreak that sickened dozens of people in nine states but the cdc says early evidence shows a different

a new study finds heart attacks may not be so sudden. researchers studying cardiac arrest in portland, oregon, for over a decade found half of patient experience warning signs in the month before suffering their abrupt heart failure. the signs seem obvious, too, including chest pain and shortness of breath. heart attacks claim the lives of about 350,000 americans every-year. amazon's upstart rival jet.com promptsed a better way to order when it took flight last summer, but now that company has hit some delivery turbulence. in a statement posted on its website jet.com is alerting customers if they ordered gift with the exception -- with the expectation that they would be delivered on time for christmas, that it won't half. jet.com has tried to lure customers by undercutting online discounters like amazon and walmart. and the u.s. post office predicts it will deliver more than 15 billion letters and packages this season but not a lot are actually holiday cards. the greeting card industry says sales are falling fast, down

that's this year alone. another concern, they are too expensive, especially when you add 49 sent postage for each one. people find it easier and cheaper to e-mail their holiday hellos. sky high scare at orlando's seaworld theme park b.50 people were stranded high in the air after the park's sky power ride malfunction the. passengers appeared in good spirits waving at maintenance workers were hoisted up in a basket to fix the problem. the double-deck cabin stopped a quarter of the way up the 400-foot pole. three hours later, can you believe, that everyone was on ground safe and sound but i'm sure that three hours, dylan, felt like an eternity. check of the forecast for us. >> certainly did. yes, a messy travel day on wednesday across the country andtomorrow. there are still a few areas of dense fog, too, especially along the mississippi and our northern counties. stormtrack7 live weather network shows that most of us are doing okay, though. and temps are still well above average, although

yesterday... mainly in the low 30s with mid 20s to the west. westerly winds are turning more to the south and will eventually become southeast and breezy today. we also keep the low level clouds as the next system tracks our way. this will bring rain to the area late few areas may even hear thunder. as the system tracks away from us a few snow showers >> and that's your latest forecast. now it's time for christmas confidential where we're helping you make it through your holiday gift-giving list. >> abby larson is the founder and editor of the site style me pretty and style me pretty living and has great homemade ideas for kids. freight to see you. >> you, too. have tons of projects starting with finger painting. nico is helping us paint some ceramic tile coasters. get at square coaster, tiles at the home depot hardware store. nico is going to use non-toxic paint.

painting is for grown-ups to choose the color palets. you choose the colors and let him go to town >> i love it. >> show it how to dress them up a little bit. >> once you have your dried coaster here we'll kind of make it a little bit more giftworthy with some gold leaf so you'll take your adhesive pain, draw a shape, triangle, dots, squares and take your gold leaf and lay it right on top and press it down and when you peel the back off it will look just like that. >> that's cool. >> gold leaf, any craft store. >> and then you'll add some mogge podge like a sealant over it and then some pads on the bag. >> nice job. >> this is fingerpaint. this is so easy. black construction paper. the paint really pops on top and then moms or older siblings can actually trace letters with stens yils. we added gold to it because we

stick it in a frame, adorable. >> a nice joint project for the kids to get started and you finish it up. >> this is for your little east guys. dab your little baby's thumb in the green paint and work your way around the wreath and the pinky for the berries. we have a template on style me pretty so you can get started on that one. >> cool. >> a little more varns than just finger painting. >> one of my favorites. these are illustrated candles so what you're going to do is have your child doodle on some tracing paper, doodle on the paper and actually will late paperer right on to the candle itself. after do you that, you'll wrap it in wax paper here and you'll below dry on a really high setting and when you pulled wax paper off the design has appeared on to the camera. >> cool pillowcases.

>> literally drawing on a pillowcase with a fabric marker. >> lila is doing her own masterpiece. >> if you want to do a phrase, start with some dots and have your child connect the dots. my 4-year-old did this one and that's part of happy accidents that you get. my 7-year-old did this. sleey head. isn't that awesome. >> bar none my favorite gift ever. a photo book mark. how cute the. so you'll -- you're going to take a picture of your child holding kind of a preteebd bureaucrat of balloons, print it on photo paper and cut it out very close and have lam nate, print shop or buy a laminator online for super inexpensive. cut it out and poke a hole at top, add asles, string, ribbon, whatever you want. >> i love it. >> dominoes. >> now the real message here is you can dress up any neutral project to be totally something special.

megan is adding pink painted. used tape to use the geometric pattern and then you have something sparkly and pretty. >> all doing so good. >> i realize why you love the gold so much. >> go commodores. >> little inside vanderbilt thing. >> coming up next, tamron's favorite tuesday trend.

ho dave, i'm sorry to interrupt. i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil severe the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep with a cold, medicine. ow! so you think santa will like these... red and green m&m's? i don't know! i never met the guy! whaaaaa! he does exist! they do exist!

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just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts, and it's all just a hop, skip, and a bark away. right now, save 50% on the gift of the week. well, it's just a few more days until christmas. you feeling the pressure? don't worry. your girlfriend is here to help alleviate the gift-giving stresses. "today's" tuesday trend is all about my favorite beauty products used all year long. weeded out the bad stuff i think and picked out the ones i really like. now, i'm sure you're wondering how does that alleviate your shopping stress at home. let me tell you, the holiday tradition i have with nye girlfriends. what we do we give each other our favorite beauty product and

we've discovered. i brought my good girlfriends with me, willie, you might know him and dylan, my other girlfriend to share them them. this started some years ago, because, you know, you find a mascara, for example and say to your girlfriend, you have to try this mascara. >> right. >> and so that's what we d.okay. i've got my list here. >> this is my -- so i'm going to put it on the table and you decide if it fits someone your life. this is what i gave all of the women that are on our show rk this as a gift, the people who put this show together and make it magic called pretty passion, a skin tightening body lotion. the reason, my legs, all of you who send the tweets about my legs being shiny, it gives you a nice shimmer, but if tightens, body. >> gets rid of cellulite in the. >> no.

it is amazing. it. i swear to you this will last you an eternity. a drop will go a very long way. need that. >> it's all on you. size. >> you get to the winter and may get a little more pale and have a tinted version of it. i swear by this. >> they have a tint in this. >> will this match me? >> dylan, i've got you. people giving gifts. >> i ask a lot of questions. >> a lot of women will want that. i gave that out. >> my other favorite from this season, i do my own makeup every day. i'm obsessed with their mascara. this one is called the fat brush mascara, find it at nordstroms right now. gift it your girlfriend. that's all you give to them. >> can i take this. >> thanks. >> number three, every morning, every single morning of my life, take a shower -- not every, and i use this bodiy scrub. how i scrub my body because i

got to the do an exfoliation first >> every day. >> i do it every morning, and it helps wake me up. this is amazing, exhausting but it byes off. bamford, boom. phenomenal, smells good, it's 58 bucks and it's pricey and i promise you this jar will last you at least six month. i bought all of these things, not like a poyola kind of thing >> is that in addition to the soap. >> in addition. >> that's a long shower. >> this is what i wash my face with every morning. it's a white marble, earno laszlo. $:45. i've had my same bar almost all of this year and keeps my skin clear, i love it. it's a face soap, a cleanser, and you can travel with it because you don't have to worry about -- >> it removes makeup too. >> two more on the list. >> running me out of time. >> have all the time you need. >> real quick. >> sorry. >> i'm obsessed over this. this is a bodiy wash.

>> a scrub, a soap and a body wash. >> pays off, trust me, your husband will like you or me for the ideas. this is the most amazing body wash in the world, $46. >> okay. got to the get this and last but not least because i ride my bike every day, can i show this, got this at the billboard music word, an infinity scarf, amazing, made out of bamboo fleece, live for this and give this to christina. >> we'll put them online.

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at olive garden. innovative sonicare technology with up to 27% more brush movements versus oral b. get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. innovation and you. philips sonicare save when you buy the most loved rechargeable toothbrush brand in america. thank you. thank you, again. pat yourself upon your back. your shopping is done. you ain't no slack. rest at ease it's all ok. you ordered online and got them in the same day. navigate the app at will with incredible digital ninja skills. the holidays could not be better. maybe you have time to knit him a sweater. i don't know maybe a snowman. i could do that. let's get out of here. i'm just thinking. order gifts online and pick them up the same day.

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theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm there are some people you should give underwear to this holiday. and there are some people you shouldn't . people you should. shouldn't. janice! should. shouldn't. yes. no. should. no way. should. no. definitely not. ha ha, nay. you shouldn't give underwear to everybody. but for those you do, give them fruit of the loom. this morning on "mope to it" a special kind of holiday block party. family, friend and neighbors

feeding the hungry. once a year the community of sunset hills in greensboro, north carolina, gets together to create something very cool. >> they are balls -- they are made with chicken wire and then you put them up in a ball and we put lights on it. >> we made a star? really feels leicht spirit of christmas and gets you in the mood for it. >> the tradition started 19 years ago with jonathan smith and his children ally and justin. >> allison came home his sophomore year and i saw these lights, here they are and i have to make them. >> making chicken wire balls and throwing them in the front trees. >> neighbored were intrigued. >> we thought that they were doing a little interesting decorating, and they did that for a couple years, and then another family started doing it, and it just started growing down our whole street, and it game

>> an event where hundreds of giant christmas balls are made and hoisted high in the tree. >> they are trick toe make but it's worth it in the end because they are beautiful. >> but the lights of greensboro have become more than just ornaments. they now also help feed those who are hungry in the community. >> one out of six in the metropolitan area are food insecure meaning they don't know where the food coming with. >> so the town set up a food collection trailer asking those who toured the lights to bring food. >> the vult magical. it's become an annual holiday destination that lights up the sky, illuminating more than 20 block and 30 hundred homes. >> what's amazing is that car after car after car the is stopping and saying i've got some canned goods. >> to help raise money they added a nighttime 5k called

in eight years the combined events have provided one million meals to local food banks. >> i never would have dreamed that making a lighted ball would have the impact it had on this city and on cities around the country. >> other towns have embraced tradition, too, including port huron, michigan and morgantown, west virginia. >> our hope is that wherever they are, that folks are making it about more than just these pretty lights. shining a light on hunger, loneliness and community. >> a holiday event making streets and spirits bright across the country. >> i mean, you take beauty, getting together and doing something for a common good and i think that's what mankind's heart is made for. >> beautiful story and those are beautiful. learn to make those at today.com.

this is "today" on nbc. praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in.

do you believe it's the final day of our toy drive, and melissa brunson is the senior vice president, education and meeting services at the direct selling association. she is here with ethan, jack brunson, charlotte and lila cox, i got it right. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having us today. >> this has been incredible. >> let me swrustdjust say the direct selling association represents more than 170 companies who sell their product pace to face so at a home or in a party with friend. we've been doing this for more than a decade with the "today" show. >> tell us about your donation this year. >> we've had about 17 member companies a have contributed over $15 million this year alone. >> wow. >> yes, and we have several of our companies we're just displaying today we haven't highlighted on the show because i know they have been highlighted throughout holiday

ethan has some lovely soaps from essentials. >> we're almost out of town.

thank you forpresidential candidates are both in iowa today. hillary clinton is in keota, fairfield and bettendorf. bernie sanders will be in storm lake, carroll, harlan, and council bluffs. three students in keota pleaded with clinton to visit their school as part of a project for their sociology class. they used social media, in-person pleas, and t-shirts to convince the former secretary of state to visit their school of about 80 students. they plan to talk about the challenges rural schools face. an upcoming republican debate will be hosted here in iowa. the seventh g-o-p debate will be --ahead of the february caucuses. now, let's go to eileen with a look at weather. breezy and cloudy today with rain likely on wednesday. while we stay mild, to the northwest. another system tracks in friday night and saturday with a third late sunday into monday. each will cool us a bit more. we'll be back in 30 minutes, be sure to check kwwl dot com for the latest news you're watching k- w-w-l, we've

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. our show? >> oh, my gosh, it is boozeday tuesday on desemcember 22 pd. and look at what is happening there.

those two minute tiny people on