get the latest news, traffic and weather. have a great friday, everybody. try to stay dry this weekend. good morning. to the streets. the protests over excessive force grow more massive, more widespread and more organized. this morning, a new case of a police officer killing an unarmed man in phoenix. is this system broken? we'll ask the governor of new york in a live "today" exclusive. it's official. president obama will tap former pentagon number two, ashton carter, as his next secretary of defense this morning. while the man he is supposed to replace rejects claims he was forced out. larger plot? the woman arrested for killing an american mother inside an abu dhabi mall accused of using her home as a base of operations for a terror cell where more attacks on americans stopped just in

time. and flying high. the much-anticipated "peter pan live" soars into prime time. did it fly with critics on social media? "today," friday, december 5th, 2014. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. matt has the morning off. we've got carson here. who was up late watching "peter pan"? >> i was. >> i watch aid little bit. >> 8:00 is late for us. >> allison williams. >> so good. >> she really pulled it off. the all-important social media critics seemed to like it. it was not peter panned. we'll have the latest on that. >> well done. >> yeah. we'll get to our top story. the demonstrations are expanding coast to coast over that grand

jury decision not to indict the new york city police officer whose actions led to the death of eric garner. stephanie gosk is at the brooklyn bridge where protests were held for a second straight night. steph, good morning to you. >> hey, good morning, savannah. you said it earlier, these protests were bigger, more organized and more disruptive, including here at the brooklyn bridge, which was shut down for several hours. the nypd says more than 200 people were arrested last night. part of that anger fueled by the fact that very few details have been released in this case and many are still asking the same question. why was there no indictment? protesters in new york city out in bigger numbers overnight, storming the brooklyn bridge, one of several shut down across the city, and flooding times square. in chicago, lake shore drive shut down. one of at least a dozen other cities where massive protests

took place. still demanding justice for eric garner, whose death was caught in this video after police officer daniel panteleo allegedly used a choke hold while trying to arrest him. >> i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> reporter: patrol guide says officers will not use choke hold described as any pressure to the windpipe that prevent breathing. standing behind his actions saying he did not use the move. >> the police officers and ems did what they're supposed to do at that time. if you're speaking, you can breathe. >> reporter: one of four shown to the grand jury. according to a document released by the staten island d.a.'s office which disclosed only limited details. the grand jury sat for nine weeks, was given 60 exhibits of evidence and heard from 50 witnesses, including 22 civilians. after no indictment in both the eric garner case and the michael brown case in ferguson, many are

asking why no indictment? the data is limited, a study shows more than 6,500 law enforcement officers were arrested over a six-year span, roughly one out of every 1,000 officers nationwide. >> i think the main thing is they heard from the officer, who was obviously well prepped. and he expressed remorse. so, through that process, perhaps, he was able to persuade them that if they were in his shoes, it might have been the same thing. >> reporter: another police officer may be facing similar scrutiny in phoenix after an unarmed black man, suspected of selling drugs, was shot and killed tuesday. overnight, protesters demanded that the officer be held responsible and calling for an end to police brutality overnight. bill diblasio has called for retraining of police.

>> we'll talk to governor andrew cuomo of new york, about what he says should be done. first, history is about to be made. tom costello, what could you tell us? >> we're launching right now. this is orion lifting off right now. this is an unmanned craft. let's listen in. >> new era of american space exploratio exploration. >> engine control in the first stage. passing 25 seconds. velocity 1441 feet per second. passing 31 seconds. still looking good. good engine control. good chamber pressure in all three boosters in the power mode. >> tom, let me bring you in here, as we watch this and

marvel at what human engineering is able to accomplish. tell us what the hopes are for this spacecraft eventually. >> reporter: this is a brand new era for nasa. you're going to watch this mission today accelerate. look at that shot. that's amazing. accelerate to 17,000 miles per hour. the idea here is this is the next -- turning the page for nasa, the next page for nasa, going beyond lower earth orbit, and eventually this is the vehicle, they hope, will bring astronauts to the moon, asteroid or even mars. that could be 15, 20 years away or so. this vehicle looks an awful lot like apollo, you'll recall, from 40 years ago. essentially, that's what's goth happen today this mission will see orion lift off to 3,600 miles altitude, orbit the earth twice, come back to the earth and plunging in the pacific ocean, much as apollo did. the images are spectacular.

>> how long is that supposed to take, this whole process? >> the entire mission is 4 1/2 minutes. listen to this. when it finally begins the reentry, it will be at 20,000 miles per hour. when it comes through the earth's atmosphere, it will exceed a heat shield, come up to 4,000 degrees, then it plunges in the pacific. goes from 20,000 miles per hour to 24 miles per hour. we have never seen these types of images. one important note, this space shuttle or bits at 20,000 miles above the earth. they're going to 600,000 miles above the earth. >> wow! >> something to marvel. we want to get back to our top story, again, those protester demonstrations. thank you, governor cuomo, for waiting. they're designed to send a message to people like you,

public officials in power. what's the message you're receiving? >> the message is, savannah, that they believe we have a justice system that doesn't represent all the people in the country. and i think that is a much bigger problem. that's beyond eric garner. that's beyond ferguson, missouri. it's been a long time coming. it's a long string of events we've seen in this country that suggest that the justice system, which is the bedrock of democracy, justice for all, justice system that is color blind. you have a large number of people in this country who don't believe that's the case. >> let's put a fine point on it. we were showing a sign that says "black lives matter." essentially there are two justice systems in this country, one for african-americans and one for everybody else. do you agree with that? is it about race? >> i agree that is the perception. if that is the perception, you

have a problem anyway, you know. we've been discussing whether or not it's a reality, grand jury, if they found guilty. if people don't trust the justice sfm, you have a problem. the justice system is two-fold. one, to do justice but second, to instill the confidence in people that they are represented by that justice system. and it's been eric garner, it's ferguson, it was the bell case here in new york. it was trayvon martin. these long series of cases where people have seen the same type of repeat problem. and they're saying enough is enough. and i actually think we have to reframe this problem and pull back the lens to understand it's not just about eric garner. the problem is bigger. >> you have expressed outrage about it. when you looked at that video,

along with everyone else who saw it, did you think there should be an indictment? there would be an indictment? >> i think like every other new yorker, like every other american, when you saw that video, your instinct was, this is not right. they went too far. i'm sure if the justice system is working, that it's going to address this. and then it didn't. and i think what makes the eric garner case, in some ways, powerful, is you had the video and you could watch the video. now technically, we don't know what was said in the grand jury room. we don't know what they heard. but in some ways, it doesn't matter. the perception is the problem. and that's what we want to start to address here in new york. people have to believe they're represented by the justice system or we have a fundamental societal problem. >> well, there certainly has been a conversation started. new york governor andrew cuomo,

we know you will be part of that. thank you, sir. >> thank you savannah. president obama announces his nominee for defense secretary. ashton carter will replace chuck hagel. this as hagel opens up about his resignation. kristen welker is at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carson. if confirmed, carter will be president obama's fourth defense secretary in six years. carter's nomination comes at a time of deep uncertainty while a course of critic say the administration has been slow to respond to a series of crises. this is a move by the president that his foreign policy needs a reboot and a change at the top. a former deputy defense secretary with a long history at the pentagon. later today, 60-year-old ashton carter is expected to become president obama's latest pick for defense secretary. white house officials say carter was tapped because he's not afraid to challenge the

president. recently disagreeing with mr. obama's decision to withdraw most u.s. troops from iraq. instead of leaving a strong residual force. jeremy bash is advising carter on his nomination. >> he knows the job of the secretary is to give his best strategic device to the commander in chief. he won't hesitate to give that advice. >> reporter: if confirmed, he will face steep hurdles from the escalating campaign against isis to looming budget cuts. outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel stepped down from the post last week amidst reports he was too passive in the face of those new charges. he pushed back on reports he was forced to resign. >> this was a mutual decision, based on discussions that we had. >> reporter: there was largely bipartisan praise from capitol hill, but republican senator ted cruz slammed the administration for having four defense secretaries in almost as many years. >> at a time when the threats are this grave, we shouldn't see

more turnover at the defense department than one has at a typical burger king. >> now the fact at the heart of this is publicly criticized the president for trying to micromanage decision making. one key test for carter is whether he is able to work with the national security structure here at the white house. both sides of the aisle say barring something unexpected, carter will likely be confirmed. >> kristen welker at the white house. thank you. the american teacher in abu dhabi. >> that's right. and the suspect who is now in custody. now a warning for other americans there. nbc's keir simmons is in abu dhabi with more. keir, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. the arrest of a suspect is being welcomed here. people tell us there is still

deep shock that an american could be targeted in a country considered relatively safe. at gunpoint, police arrest a woman accused of killing american mom, ryan. they say the 47-year-old kindergarten teacher was stabbed because of her nationality. on her facebook page, her ex-husband wrote "your beauty and pure heart will live with us all forever." fellow teachers say the same about the mother of twin boys, who moved to the united arab emirates, hoping to do good. >> she was a great mom. our kids would have sleepovers together. >> on twitter the #thank you ibolya ryan. we will fight terrorism for you, one message says. >> 30,000 u.s. nationals who live here, this has been a dramatic and frightening week, beginning at this upscale mall. >> reporter: on surveillance video a veiled woman is seen calmly entering the mall monday.

police say she stabbed ibolya in the bathroom, leaving a trail of blood. then accused of maple making a primitive bomb with materials found at her apartment, to target an american doctor. the aim, officials say, is to spread fear. over concern that is increasingly innocent americans may be targeted in this region. >> keir simmons and abu dhabi. thanks, keir. the deadline set by the yemen al qaeda branch is two days away. his mother pleaded with the captors to free him. >> he's a good person and only has been trying to do good things for the yemeni population. >> show mersi and give us an opportunity to see our luke again. is he all that we have.

>> luke somers was kidnapped more than a year ago. he apparently had been moved recently, days before a rescue attempt. massive manhunt under way in florida this morning. police say a man killed his wife and another woman in bradenton and the pastor of the church where his wife worked. they're looking for 33-year-old andreas avalos. no word on a possible motive. new jersey finds no evidence that governor chris christie was involved in the traffic jam at the george washington bridge but two aides act ed without safety when they ordered two lanes closed. heading back to burlington after it struck a bird and shattered the plane's windshield. the pilot was able to see well enough to land the plane safely. the crew of a sailboat is

okay this morning. during the race their 65-foot boat smashed into a coral reef in the middle of the night, forcing the crew to hang on, eventually to abandon ship. when the sun came up, they got a closer look and you see how much damage is there. a lot of it, as you can see. another sign of the times. last night in the nation's capital, take a look. >> three, two, one! >> the first family pushed the button to light the national christmas tree near the white house. later, the president got into the holidays, showing off some festive dance moves with santa. >> sweet fancy moses! >> oh, yeah. >> any president dancing is fun to watch. >> isn't it? >> all right, natalie. >> this is where he lives. >> right here. keep it in here. let's get a check of the weather. >> all right. all the rain that we saw out in california is making its way into the midsection of the country. we're talking heavy showers and thunderstorms making their way into the midwest.

st. louis looking at rain all day today. temperatures hanging out into the 40s. as we watch this system, it pushes through friday afternoon into the upper midwest, eventually into the northeast late tonight, into tomorrow. tomorrow morning, along the i-95 corridor, a lot of wet weather generally speaking from memphis on into cincinnati and charleston. about an inch of rain. some pockets up to two inches. and that spreads all the way into the northeast in the colder air up over new england, we're looking at basically one to three inches of snow. looking at basically one to three inches of snow. we're going to get to your ♪ looking at basically one to three inches of snow. we're going to get to your ♪

♪ i'm first alert meteorologist britntney shipp. temperatures will stay below average and then we'll see the possibility of late showers turning to light rainfall heading into our overnight hours. now, tomorrow night that's when the heavy rainfall is going to start. temperatures at 55 degrees milder and we're dealing with the rainfall. by sunday as we're heading into the second half of your weekend, temperatures at 47 can degrees and clear out the cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. weathe >> al, thank you so much. coming up, bill cosby's legal team fights back for a woman suing him of sexual battery. is the comedian a victim of extortion? we'll hear what the lawyers have to say. the arrival of the duke and duchess of cambridge.

tamron? peter pan lives and why this picture was trending heavily last night. first this is "today" on nbc.

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so you can use less with every go. plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. charmin ultra mega roll. good morning, i'm vai sikahema. 7:26 on friday. let's get our forecast from brittney shipp. >> cloudy skies to start and a chance of rain as we head into the rest of today and light rain heading into tonight and heavy rain expected by saturday afternoon into the evening. here's a look at our satellite radar. you can see some of the rainfall moving closer and our current temperature 36 degrees as you head out the door and toms river and 36 in philadelphia and 29 in allentown and 25 degrees in mount pocono and 38 in dover. today our temperatures will stay in the mid-40s with a chance of showers starting for the city as we head into the evening hours. by 9:00 a.m., 32 and 43 by 6:00

p.m. let's get a check on the morning commute with first alert traffic reporter jillian mele. some septa delays out there? >> multiple delays. the norris line delayed up to 15 minutes outbound. inbound, 15-minute delay on the thorndale line and route 101 and 102 trolley delayed 15 minutes. in phoenix an accident, a truck that is stuck under a railroad overpass. that is blocked off. crews will once again looking for the missing college student who disappeared more than a week ago. he was seen leaving a bar in manayunk the night before thanksgiving. also today rocksborough hospital will hold a bake sale to raise awareness for the case. another update in 25 minutes, now we'll send you back to "today" show.

♪ 7:30 now on this friday morning, december 5th, 2014. it will be a royal welcome to new york just two days from now, as william and kate make their first trip here. natalie will follow them wherever they go. their packed schedule coming up. are you ready, nat? >> i'm ready. >> they better pack some bad weather gear. >> really? >> snow. >> new york welcome for you. >> you have to get ready for snow, too. >> that's right. first a look at what's making headlines this morning. history in the making for nasa, new orion launched at the kennedy space center just after 7:00 am this morning. it will loop around earth twice before it makes its reentry into

the pacific ocean. night of protests in new york and across the country over the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer in the death of eric garner. largest demonstration saw thousands march across the brooklyn bridge. heavy days of rain have sent mud flowing and people trapped in their cars had to be rescued. maria shriver introduces us to the woman at the head of youtube, juggling a family of four and number five on the way. you know you own one. why ugly christmas sweaters have suddenly become a fashion must. scandal surrounding bill cosby and the strongly worded response to a civil lawsuit against him that he sexually molested a woman at the playboy

mansion when she was just 15 years old. craig melvin is following the story for us. craig, good morning. >> good morning. we've been hearing one accusation of sexual abuse after another against bill cosby since he settled the case in 2005, the first lawsuit. and now the cosby legal team has responded. just two days after judith huth filed a civil lawsuit accusing bill cosby of sexually abusing her as a minor, cosby responded calling the lawsuit meritless and unsupported. a strong denial of the allegation, citing extortion attempts and seeks to dismiss the suit and sanction the plaintiff for failing to include a certification from a health practitioner to support her claims. the motion also states cosby's name was illegally included as a defendant in violation of court rules. >> throwing down the gauntlet saying even if what you say is

true, you still can't sue me. >> reporter: the first time since the most recent wave of sexual assault allegations that we've heard a significant response from cosby's team. >> i think mr. cosby is using a very smart strategy, making the statements he would want to make but it's coming through his lawyer so they can't be used against him. >> reporter: huth's lawsuit was followed up the next day by three women who also claimed that cosby sexually accused them. simply standard operating procedure. >> mr. cosby's representatives have often attacked many of the alleged victims who have come forward. >> reporter: and used the comedian's wealth and power to deter women from making claims. >> scared to death. my family is scared to death that he will end their careers and their lives. i am scared to death of mr. cosby. >> reporter: nonetheless, in the case of judy huth, legally, experts think mr. cosby may have the advantage. >> there's a very serious statute of limitations issue. >> reporter: in order to follow claim, huth must argue that

although the alleged abuse happened 40 years ago, her psychological injury or illness had been repressed and was only discovered within the last three years, something cosby's attorney says is not clue, claiming nearly ten years ago she tried to tell her story to a tabloid magazine. >> a huge problem for her, the fact that she spoke of her injuries ten years ago. >> reporter: he has never been charged with a crime even though now more than 20 women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. saying his department is, quote, willing and prepared to investigate any and all accusations brought against bill cosby. regardless of any statute of limitations. >> craig melvin, thank you. >> thank you. let's get a check of the weather now from al. >> announcer: "today's" sunday night football weather is brought to you by nfl mobile, exclusively from verizon. >> all right. let's get started. go out west, where they have been getting dumped on with rain. guess what, another big system

getting itself together and will be pushing onshore late tonight into tomorrow. we're already seeing showers out ahead of this system, bringing rain. as this moves in, we'll be looking at heavier rain in the pacific northwest and northern california with some significant snows in the mountains. that rain will continue to dump in here. i mean, we're talking about some areas picking up one to two more inches, locally up to four inches of rain. that could lead to some more flooding out there. as we move across the country, we're looking at wet weather. this was that area that brought all the rain to california earlier in the week. it is now making its way into the midsection of the country and on into the midatlantic states and the northeast later hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head through the rest of today, temperatures will stay below average between 42 and 45 degrees and then the possibility of late showers turning to light rainfall heading into our overnight hours. now, tomorrow night that is when the heavy rainfall is going to start.

temperatures at 55 degrees. milder but we're dealing with the rainfall. then by sunday as we're heading into the second half of your weekend, temperatures at 47 degrees and we clear up but cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. all right. here we g this is a big one, tom brady and the new england patriots are going to the qualcomm stadium taking on the chargers, partly cloudy, mild. 63 degrees. this is a big one. it's on sunday night, football night in america! you know you want it. >> ooh. >> dream sequence. but i'm back now. >> al, thank you for that. there is growing excitement surrounding the duke and duchess of cambridge's first visit to new york. giving all the hours she logged in on baby watch, we turn to our

resident royal follower, natalie. >> from charitable events to glitzy galas to even an nba game, will and kate plan to take a big bite out of the big apple. get ready, america. another british invasion is coming. in just two days, the duke and duchess of cambridge make their first visit to new york and already the big apple is getting ready for the big arrival. for now, tourists at madame tussaud's have to settle for these reproductions. but they will arrive, attend a private dinner. then monday william heads to the nation's capital while kate visits with kids at a child care center in harlem. the royal couple then reunites in brooklyn to see nba royalty king james, lebron james, that is, taking on the nets that night. then on tuesday morning, will and kate will pay an emotional visit to new york's 9/11

memorial museum. >> there really is such a deep connection between the people of the united kingdom and the people of the united states and this visit reflects that to a tremendous degree. >> in the afternoon, william will get in an empire state of mind, atop one of new york's most iconic landmarks. then a night of glitz and glamour at the metropolitan museum of art in honor of the 600th anniversary of st. andrews, the school where will and kate first met. will, along with tom hanks, whose daughter is an alum, and the school's principal, louise richardson, are all set to speak. >> all our graduates have real affection for the place and this would be an opportunity to celebrate the university, to celebrate the link with the united states and bring together a lot of people who are united by their affection for this university. >> this isn't the first visit to the states for will and kate. they ventured across the pond in 2011, taking in the sights on

the west coast, meeting celebrities and adoring fans. one member of the family we won't see this time around, prince george. all eyes will be on his mom and any signs of the latest royal on the way, just four months and counting. sav annah savannah, very disappointed that prince george isn't coming. >> arranged marriage with baby vale. devastating for our little girl. >> they'll meet eventually. coming up on trending, why mark wahlberg is asking for a pardon for a crime he committed 26 years ago. coming up next, reviews are in, what social media thought of the "peter pan live" extravagan the "peter pan live" extravagan aj green? the "peter pan live" extravagan he's just like you. except .... he's in a commercial. he got hands like glue... and just bought... a 10,000 gallon salt- water fish tank. otherwise... he do what you do. drives to work, listens to his music, ...get's caught up in a wire-based headphone situation.

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at the same time. tamron, you did that. >> i did exactly that. #peter pan live. wow, they have been practicing for months and last night all of the hard work paid off in a big social media way. ♪ i won't grow up i won't grow up ♪ >> peter pan flying high for a new generation. the musical was live in living rooms thursday night with plenty of live tweeting. allison williams' performance as the boy who never grows up -- ♪ you can never never grow old ♪ >> garnered plenty of praise for the hbo star, including from teenage dreamer katy perry. the singer tweeted "i believe new, allison williams." >> how do you do? >> christopher walken was very christopher walken. >> this seat is hot!

♪ >> as bucaneer baddy captain hook, mia farrow tweeted "christopher walken equals gold no matter what." this production based on a play performed way back in 1904 featured a brand new song. ♪ is it just pretend >> and an updated number. bringing the performance of tiger lily into the 21st century. >> hook's men are tracking you. >> reporter: pandemonium so swift, a message for anyone who thought anything otherwise. gator's gonna gate. and who wore it best? brian williams or his daughter? america voted and the winner is

allison. >> yes, she did. the twitter traffic was interesting. people, i find, on social media are the extreme. either they love or they hate n this case, you had a mixed bag of things. i do, however, think the backup dancers and pirates for christopher walken got a lot of social buzz out of this. people were quite fascinated with the dance moves. unsung heroes or unsung stars. >> and that little dog. they use a little dog. >> that was incredible. >> and the guy in the gator costume. lot of bacon in the pot. >> where was brian williams? >> he was off "nightly news" and near enough at the end he would be able to go in and hug her, which probably meant he was under the stage in one of the scenes. >> the guy in the gator. coming up, we have all heard it. is it really true, that men go for younger women when they remarry?

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let me ask you this. do you remember the excitement you felt for new toys on christmas morning? >> yes. >> what a great feeling. tamron is over in the orange room and she has a look for us. >> we went into the holiday vault to see what holiday toy we were all talking about 31 years ago today. take a look. >> these are called cabbage patch kids. you can see they're cuddly, soft, very vulnerable. almost a little bit homely. >> homely? really? guess who still owns their cabbage patch dolls. >> do you? >> these are mine. >> that's pretty cool. >> yes. these are my actual dolls. i have the original, his name is michael, but he's in texas with my mom. here are a few other viewers who have sent in pictures of their cabbage patch dolls.

mary smith. so cute. adorable. what gift did you want to have as a child that you didn't get? carson, waterproof walkman. nice. we'll get you one. savannah, guess jeans. it's not a toy. >> in junior high i wanted guess jeans. >> natalie, barbie dream house. >> never got it. >> al, what is this machine? >> a robot you put together and build and away you went. >> big wheel was for me. i didn't get one. but i got these dolls. #flash back friday. >> what are your dolls' names? >> narnia and charlene. >> what are your dolls' names? >> narnia and charlene. >> we wrap

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i'm vai sikahema. good morning, 7:56 and let's get our first alert forecast and meteorologist brittney shipp. >> it is a cloudy and cold start to the morning and also watching for a chance of showers as we head into the rest of today, but minly for the evening overnight tonight and once again on saturday night. our current temperature is at 25 degrees in the poconos and 36 in philadelphia and 39 in wilmington and 38 degrees in dover. if you plan on staying out late this evening, grab your umbrella before you head out the door. here's how your day will break down. expect temperatures by noon to be in the 30s or 40s, actually. 43 by 4:00 p.m. and 42 with showers by 9:00. >> thank you, brittney. there's a problem on 95. here's traffic with jillian. jill? >> right near cottman avenue.

not sure why penndot just moved that camera. the disabled truck is beyond this camera's view and blocking two lanes. we're seeing a slow down in that area and also seeing some delays when it comes to mass transit. 15-minute delay outbound and inbound on and delays of up to 15 minutes on the 101 and 101 trolley. vai. ? a group of educators and clergy will discuss the impact of recent grand jury decisions in ferguson, missouri, and new york city. help issue a joint message of deaths of michael brown and eric garner at the hands of police. last night more than 100 people gathered at a church in north philly to form strategies. also investigators are looking for the cause of this row home fire in west philadelphia. the fire broke out around 3:30 this morning. took firefighters less than an hour to bring it under control. we're told a neighbor who complained about the smoke will be okay. i'm vai sikahema.

another update in 25 minutes. we'll see you then.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, maria shriver introduces us to the ceo of youtube as the silicon superstar gets ready for her fifth child. >> could you feel like you're setting an example for other women? >> it's okay that you can have a family. ♪ and let me kiss you plus, kiss and tell, what our own jenna bush hagger is telling us about hanky panky on the white house roof. ugly christmas sweater fen phenomenon is only getting biggbi

bigger "today," friday, december 5th, 2014. mother/daughter trip from lubbock, texas. >> good morning! >> howdy from waco, texas. i'm 30 today. >> it's my sweet 16 in new york city! >> good morning, virginia. i'm the birthday girl. >> happy birthday! good morning, everyone. welcome back to "today." beautiful day out here, friday, december 5th, 2014. we have a nice, boisterous crowd out here. >> 50th birthday party. i feel like they're celebrating already back there. >> i think they've opened a few. monopoly, by the way, which is pretty cool. we're going to round out our week of holiday reviews with fun games for the entire family and

high-tech gifts your kids are clamoring for. i'll sit down with angelina jolie, talking about her married life, and future in hollywood. and "time" magazine's person of the year next week. let's get a check of the top stories from natalie. nat? >> good morning to you guys once again. good morning, everyone. hundreds of people were arrested overnight in new york city as they disrupt ed after the grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the death of eric garner. stephanie gosk, good morning. >> reporter: more than 200 people were arrested last night. it wasn't just here in new york. these protesters were bigger, more organized.

in cities around the country, including chicago, with r they actually shut down lake shore drive. part of this anger has been fueled by the fact that there have been very few facts in this case released. many are asking the question, why was there no indictment? since 1993, the new york city police have banned use of a choke hold. many believe that's exactly what the police officer used on eric garner that led to his death. but the police officers union in this city has said that that is not the case. there is an obvious disagreement of his assessment and there will be more protests today in new york. natal natalie? >> nbc's stephanie gosk. in phoenix thursday night, demanding officials release the name of an officer there who fatally shot an unarmed black man tuesday. police spokesperson says 34-year-old brisbane was pulled over because his suv matched the description of a drug dealer's vehicle. after a foot chase and struggle,

the officer fired two shots because he thought he felt brisbane's hand on a gun in his pocket. the object turned out to be a bottle of pills. the orion spacecraft lifted off at sunrise. nasa wants to test the heat shield, parachutes and other component bfs sending it up with people inside. the goal ultimately is one day to use the spacecraft to carry people to mars and back. major new study finds that for women younger than 65, the benefits of taking low-dose aspirin to curb the risk of heart disease and colon cancer may be outweighed by the downside. the aspirin regimen can increase the risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding, enough to send a woman to the hospital. at the white house today, president obama introducing his choice to replace chuck hagel as defense secretary. ashton carter is a nuclear

physicist and former number two man at the pentagon. he was chosen, they say, because is he not afraid to challenge the president. price of gas has fallen another eight cents in less than a week. national average for a gallon of unleaded is $2.71, the lowest it has been in four years. could this be a sign of things to come? one service station in oklahoma city dropped its price on thursday to, look at that, $1.99 a gallon. that's believed to be the cheapest gas in the nation. so, fuel up. what looked like a very unusual car accident was actually a malfunction at a portland trailblazer's game. this promotional balloon shaped like a ford escape crashed into the stands. nobody was hurt. the balloon was eventually squeezed through a tunnel and out of everybody's way. 8:05 right now. time for another check of the weather with al. hey, al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by edward jones. a big financial services firm that doesn't act that way.

>> and good morning, everybody. huge crowd out here today. i mean, lots and lots of folks. that's obviously a big, big, big, big holiday crowd. let's see what we've got. weather that matches, big, big -- oh, that was so dangerous. anyway, watch this, toward chicago. there's probably going to be some airport delays today as we watch what's going on in chicago. afternoon temperatures, it's staying nice and warm down through the southern tier states. chilly in the plains with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. more wet weather now making its way into the midatlantic states later today. but before that, rain down through the mid mississippi and ohio river valleys. icy conditions in the pacific northwest. sunshine through the southeast with temperatures starting to get a little more mild. let's continue our walk, shall we? that's w

hi, i'm meteorologist brittney shipp, as we head into the day, temperatures day below average. and then we see showers turning to light rainfall heading into the overnight hours. tomorrow night temperatures will be 55 degree, so milder, but dealing with the rainfall. on sunday, as we head into the second half of your weekend. temperature 47 degrees. we clear out but cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. >> and that is your latest weather. >> all right, al. thank you so much. >> oh! i was wondering where you were. >> jumped the barricade. >> there's a little bell on my ankle so i don't sneak up on you. we're going to pin jenna bush hager down on this admission of hers that she had a little hanky panky at the white house. >> ooh! >> we're going to ask her about that. >> inquirying minds want to know. maria shriver catches up

with the woman behind youtube and how she balances work and home with not her third or fourth but fifth child on the way. next holiday gift together, cookies and cocktails! but first these messages. they're going to love you. at famous footwear we're not just selling the hottest shoes of the holiday season. we're selling "here comes your future daughter-in-law" confidence this year give exclusive carlos santana boots. only from famous footwear. victory is yours. [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... oh hey, neill, how are you? [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do.

it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. to tell us all about the season's hottest toys. who else? kids. this is kj. kj, how are you enjoying leaptv? hmm? j-j-just say it-it's...just for kids...it's educational...and... melissa? julia is playing with the go go my walking pup. what do you think, julia? good puppy. good puppy. ok, well there you go. clearly they're excited that walmart has the hottest toys. get special financing when you use your walmart credit card. more ways to christmas joy. walmart. ♪ vicks nyquil severe. helps relieve your ugliest, nastiest, roughest, toughest cold symptoms. vicks nyquil severe. with maximum symptom fighting ingredients. ♪ it's the purple pill, the #1 prescribed acid blocking brand, available without a prescription for frequent heartburn. get complete protection.

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100% taste, 0% artificial preservatives. made with a blend of delicious oils, purified water, and just a pinch of salt. two please, and spread on some extra. i'm here all day. new and improved i can't believe it's not butter. it's time to believe. we're back at 8:12 with what's trending today. that old stereotype about men. >> which one? >> nice. >> good one. >> let me be more specific. when they remarry, they always go for the younger woman. this morning there's actually new research. scientific study. actually, what it says is, yeah, exactly that. they do go for younger women the second time around. pew research says in the first marriage, men tend to marry women around their age but in the second marriage the wife is often ten years younger, at least.

>> wow! >> from the files of not shocked. >> ten years is a lot. >> at least ten. i'm surprised ten years. >> my mom is my dad's third wife. she's 25 years younger. they had a beautiful love. i guess it also depends on the individuals. >> interesting. >> so does that mean mike's second wife is in sixth grade right now? just kidding. >> so you remember markie mark? >> sure. >> the bad boy that starred in the calvin klein ads. he grew up to become mark wahlberg. but he was charged with assault for attempted robbery. now he is asking the state for a pardon. receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that i am not the same person as i was in 1988. it would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive

official public redemption if he devotes himself to a life of publ public. >> i don't know what the legalities are of getting a pardon but he's saying i want to break with that past and say i've live aid life that's different and use it as an example. >> it would be nice if that opportunity was afforded to other people as well, that other people have turned their lives around as well. >> like savannah. >> i know. all that dirty laundry. >> so she boosted a car. >> at law school. >> exactly. >> mug shot. >> speaking of things in our past it's not often you hear the words white house and hanky panky in the same sentence. thanks to one of our own, it is a top trending story this morning. jenna bush hager was on bravo's "watch what happens live." one caller had a question and asked, quote, if jenna had ever fooled around at the white

house. here is what jenna had to say. >> am i blushing? >> did you ever bring a boy back to the white house? >> a lady never talks. >> nice. >> i was engaged to my husband. i was 19 years old when my dad became president. i knew him for a long time and, you know, maybe there was a little hanky panky. there was like maybe a kiss on the roof. >> kiss on the roof. >> you weren't blushing, jenna. you were sweating. nothing happened in the lincoln bedroom. jenna, are you ready for "meet the press"? >> is it weird that my hands are clammy? >> let's just go through this. >> is that strange? >> on the roof, talk slowly. what happened? >> no. okay. first of all, i have to say, i was shocked by the question. and totally humiliated. >> oh. >> come on. >> okay. but, but, my husband and i did have our first kiss on the white house roof. >> how sweet. >> romantic. >> i'll just say two things. one, it's not a "fifty shades of gr grey" that people want it to be,

for the innocent. but really lovely. now, ten years later, here we are, with a child. so, it's a pretty special thing. and then, second of all, i think i single handedly brought back the word hanky panky. >> i was going to say, jenna, you did say hanky panky. >> yes. >> yeah. >> so embarrassed. >> i want to know if the snipers on the roof of the white house gave you some privacy. >> well, i mean, maybe there was no privacy. there probably was no privacy. but in our minds, we were the only two people there. >> ahh! how sweet. >> but you did not cross into canoodling. >> there was not canoodling, thank you. there was not heavy petting. >> oh! >> romantic and sweet. we'll leave it at that. >> too late. >> hanky panky. >> sweet and innocent like i am. you all know me very well. >> yes, we do. >> that's why we're calling. >> that's why we'll get the real story at happy hour tonight. thank you. >> thank you very much.

>> that is good. >> i love it. >> he's no allisex at target, b because of a pep talk he gave to his employees take a look. >> brothers, sisters, hear me now. they come here with bargains in their heads and fire in their eyes. and we shall give those bargains to them. this is a team! this is a family! this is target! >> great. >> yeah. >> his name is scott and works at the target in maryland. a lot of people drawing comparisons toward him and george butler's character. >> i can see that! >> and that's what's trending today. >> adorable. >> i love him. what we do in trending is on youtube. more than a billion people logon to youtube every year. maria shriver sat down with the

woman in charge there and has a great story. good morning. >> good morning. her name is susan wojcicki, one of the most powerful women in tech and also a mother of four and eight months pregnant with her fifth child. how does she do it? we sat down with her to get her take on motherhood in a male-dominated business. it's the site that puts you on the internet. every day 40% of people online are watching youtube. >> we have 300 hours of video uploaded every minute. >> 300 hours? >> it's a lot of video. >> reporter: and this is youtube's unexpected ceo, expectant mom susan wojcicki, the 36-year-old already mother of four. >> there's a video i saw. i think you should know about it, my children will say.

>> reporter: we met with her in san francisco where she says being a mom makes her even better at her job. >> actually having the limitations of needing to be home, only have a certain number of hours in the day have really forced me to prioritize and focus on the things that are the biggest impact, which in the end have had the best results for youtube. >> i've read that you say you go home every night at 6:00 for dinner. is that still standing? >> i try. because i found that if i'm home for dinner, i can get the scoop from my kids on the day. after my kids go to bed, i check e-mail. it's about having that balance. >> reporter: as a woman in tech, wojcicki is a pioneer. 16 years ago, she and her husband rented their garage to two young computer scientists, larry page. there, they founded google. wojcicki became their 16th employee and the first one to get pregnant. your kids get something from your career and your career gets

something from your kids. >> reporter: wojcicki helps to recruit more women, now 36% of their staff and also launched made with code, inspirational website to draw more girls into tech. >> we're going to have all these jobs in technology and then we say not that many of them will be held by women. that's a problem for society. i am trying to communicate how technology is creative. it's actually really social. >> reporter: and there are a lot of men in it. >> and there are a lot of men in it. >> reporter: wojcicki hopes to retain more women, too, with flexible work hours, special parking for expectant mothers and paid maternity leave of 18 weeks, one of the best in the country. >> it's really important to take time off. i found sometimes you get really good insights by taking time off, too. >> reporter: she's due to give birth again this month and facing new pressures as a ceo. when yahoo!'s marisa maher, she

was vilified. >> what happens if i get to that date and i find i need an extra week or extra two weeks? >> reporter: do you think you're setting an example for other women, that women who are interested in tech will look and see, even though they say they offer this more family-friendly culture, they don't really condone it. >> i want people to realize it really is okay, that you can have a family. i don't feel like i'm a perfect mom. and there are times at work where i feel like maybe i wasn't perfect here because of constraints on my time. but have the sum of both of those things in my life makes me a better mom at the end of the day and i think it gives me a really important perspective in the workplace as well. >> so true. her due date is on christmas day. and the business world will be watching closely to see just how much time she takes off. we also talked to her about her

advice for young women and that is posted today on today.com. savannah? >> hardworking woman. >> impressive all the way around. >> in awe. maria, thanks so much. now to part of the holiday season that used to be frowned upon. now it is all the rage. lifestyle and fitness correspondent jenna wolfe has more. jenna, i wonder what we're talking about. >> no idea, carson. none. ten years ago, i would be the "today" show laughing stock if i decided to wear this here. but the ugly christmas sweater has turned the corner in the world of fashion. big ugly sweaters are now big lucrative business. >> three, two, one! >> reporter: so rumor has it it's the most wonderful time of the year. lights, pines, giving, the beauty of christmas. but christmas has an ugly side, too. >> i want it! >> reporter: no, not that. this, this and this and this and

this, and this and this. as sure as eggs is eggs, there's the ugly sweater come christmastime. ♪ i am never ever ever wearing ugly sweaters ♪ >> it's become so popular over the years that the christmas sweater is the new little black dress. >> hey ya, jill. >> uh, no. >> see ya, jill. >> or maybe not. >> reporter: what's better than the sweater? not much if you're looking to make money this holiday season. company born out of the tacky and tasteless are projecting sales of $8 million this year. how about the nba? they're getting in on the sweater game. then there are do it yourself kits. these festive frocks even have their own holiday, december 12th, national ugly christmas sweater day. the aesthetically challenged sweater dates back to the early '80s. it was taboo to wear something so ugly. these days, people display their ugly for all the world to see.

>> u-g-l-y. >> why? because we can. and they're no longer just a theme at a holiday party. this year, in 21 cities, more than 65,000 people have signed up for the great ugly sweater run. don't read too far into that. these people are literally just running a race in an ugly sweater. >> this sweater's ugly. >> this sweater is ugly. >> reporter: because these sweaters don't discriminate, young and old, we can all agree, ugly sweaters are so ugly. am i right? today.com has rounded up pinterest's most popular ugly sweaters. who knows, you might be inspired to whip out the glue -- oh, that's mine. i thought that sweater is super ugly. people applaud you for it. >> the rebirth of the ugly christmas sweater goes back to colin firth in bridget jones.

>> bridget jones diary. >> a long way. >> think of all the joy you're bringing when you wear that. >> that's what i do. i bring joy with my clothe. >> your baby's ashamed right now. >> no! >> get that off! i can't stand it. >> it's an ugly world out there. jenna, thank you very much. let's send it up to carson. >> savannah, thank you very much. perfect combination, cookies and cocktails. can you imagine that? we'll indulge in just a little bit. something for the entire family to enjoy. we'll have that coming up. it looks good, it will taste good. you're going to learn how to make it. we're going to get some real help in a second. first your l

good morning,s it t is 8:26 this friday. this weekend is in sight. we have wet weather on the way. let's get the weather from brittney shipp with the forecast. >> rain is ahead for the weekend. we have a cloudy and breezy start for the morning with temperatures in the 30s. a close look at satellite radar shows light showers, a chance to move in for the rest of the day, but the light rain is expected later this evening and once again another round saturday afternoon into the evening. 30s in mt. holly, 39 in wilmington, 25 in the poconos and for the rest of today,

expect temperatures to be slow to warm. 39 degrees at 9:00 a.m. by noon, 42, a chance of showers by 6:00. >> let's check with our traffic reporter, a delay on 76, jill? >> yes. this is a live look at 76 westbound. you can see crawling around. let get you updated on mass transit. good news the trolley is back on time, but as you can see we still have delays in manayunk/norristown. >> this morning, a new report found no evidence chris christie was involved in the scheme to create traffic problems. said two former aides acted with little regard to public safety and said there's questions yet to be answered. we'll have another update in about 25 minutes. we'll send you back to the "today" show. see you in about a half hour.

8:30 now on this friday morning, the 5th of december, 2014. a bright, chilly day here in new york city. and our toy drive is under way. we've got celebrity help this morning, collecting some of our donations. 50 cent, curtis jackson, spreading some holiday cheer, picking up toys. he's also donating, by the way, some toys. headphones from his own line. we'll catch up with curtis in a

moment. hello, everyone. welcome back. coming up, we'll wrap up our naughty or nice gift reviews with high-tech gadgets and gizmos that your kids are probably asking for this year. this morning, keys to the cookie swap with friends, including some tasty cocktails. now we're talking. >> all right. >> we want to catch up with 50 ce cent. where is he? >> fifty! >> this is someone who knows how to make an entrance. >> there you go. >> good morning. >> nice to see you again. >> happy holidays. >> so we're so excited. you, of course, actor, producer, recorder, recording artist. back together since 2008. how is that? >> it's been great, working together, having an opportunity to get in, collaborate.

carson was there from the beginning. >> i know it. i know the story well. i was an original g unit member. what does the music sound like? >> it's interesting. everyone is kind of leading different songs. everyone has had the opportunity to be on their own as independent artists and bringing all this different energy into the room. >> what's going to come first? >> my solo album will come at the top of the year. we have been recording so much music. >> besides a mathmetician, new season of your show is coming out. >> that's exciting for me. on different networks, sundance network i have "dream school." and on comedy center, animated comedy show.

hbo, comedy show. >> fifty has all the gigs. >> jake gyllenhaal, "southpaw." you should see the pictures of jake. >> i'm excited to be part of it. integrity connected to it. definitely something that people will take note of. >> getting together next week. >> yeah. >> man of many talents. thank you for being part of our toy drive. >> and we should mention the headphone donation, too. >> yeah. >> all right. let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. okey dokey. as we look toward saturday, wet weather along the eastern seaboard. western two-thirds of the country looking pretty good as you get west of the mississippi river. then sunday, sunday, we're expecting that rain to move out pretty quickly. wet weather moves back into the pacific northwest. i should say into northern california. and just a little preview, we may be looking at a nor'easter

in the northeast late hi, i'm meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into today temperaturing will stay below average. then we'll see possibility of light showers turning into light rainfall heading into the overnight hours. tomorrow night that's when heavy rainfall starts. temperatures 55 degree, so, milder, dealing with the rainfall. sunday, as we're heading into the second half of your weekend, temperatures at 47 degrees. we clear out but cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. weather. tamron? all right, al, thank you very much. listen, we partnered with feeding america for "today's" million meals by christmas. digital food drive where for every dollar donated between now and christmas, feeding america will provide ten meals to people in need. a generous donation of entire truckload full of stuffing.

15,000 bags has brought our total donation to over 200,000 meals. we added a city challenge. meteorologists from the place that donates the most will get to come to our studio and do the weather with al roker. so far, these are the cities at the top of the list. the top three. washington, d.c., gladstone, michigan, and st. louis, missouri. so, keep those donations coming in to us. you can learn how to help. just go to today.com. carson, back over to you. >> all righty. thank you very much. we're wrapping up our special series, naughty or nice. kids put toys to the test with a two-fer, high-tech toys and fun family games. we partnered with toy portfolio.com to review the season's hottest gifts for kids. joining us once again stephanie oppenheim, co-founder of toy portfolio.

>> good morning. >> remind us again of the criteria. >> the packaging, quality of the product, the instructions, were they clear and eligible, the assembly. how easy it was to put the toys together and then we wanted to know overall, was the toy fun and engaging? you know that high-tech gadgets are big for adults. that trend has made its way to toy land, which brings us to our first toy, digit al analog as well. >> this is a wearable trend for adults? >> right. but this one is for 4 to 7-year-olds. take your picture. there we go. and there we have your picture right there. >> wow, that's cool. >> parents thought this was fun and engaging. they liked the voice recorder that also comes on it. because it's so bulky, they thought their kids weren't going to stick with it for a very long time. it got an overall score of 22. >> what's the scoring range again? >> perfect score is 30.

>> not too far from that. >> this is the leap band from leap frog. it's not a watch. it's an activity band for kids. it encourages kids to move. it takes them through lots of game that is they can scroll through here and play the game. but with this one, again, parents felt while it was easy to take it out of the packaging and easy to set the toy up, they felt that the games weren't that engaging and that the watch was bulky. this is a pretty big watch for a preschooler to have. which tablets should we buy? we sent out the two leading tablets to our testers. >> this is the leap pad three. >> leap pad three, that london is using over there. >> how do you like it, london? >> this actually got highest score of the day with a 28. and our parents really liked the graphics, the games. and it did very well.

the inno tab from v-tech got a good score as well. i like this art game you can use as well. harrington is very busy. >> they're about the same. >> here is the take away. all of our kids loved having tablets of their own but still wanted to use their parents' ipad. >> of course. >> our recommendation is set some limits on how much screen time your kids have. moving away from screens on to family games, which i love. it makes kids active. build some family time together. this is their first game, disney plane sky race. give it a try. >> these are actually -- >> from the movie, right. try one. you're flying these little planes to locations all over the house. and it's kind of like a toss. the person who gets closest to the location wins that round. it's a fun game for mixed ages

while active. that got a 25. it did well. our next game is mustache smash from spinmaster. the watkins family is playing. you're looking for attributes on the card. you have to be the first to smash. you have to be quick and use visual discrimination. our testers loved this one. they liked the fact that it was fun. it did very well. it got a 27. this is my monopoly, which is now personalized. >> that's a good idea. >> our testers loved the idea of it. they did want me to say loading it up to the site, you put your own pictures on. we have one of you here and another of you there. you have studio 1a. >> so you would go and do that for your own family? >> exactly. that got a 25. nice game to try with older kids. and this is a relay race.

okay, girls. get going. ella and chloe here with their family. what i love about this game, it's active. it's fun. you can play it with mibsed ages. >> pancake pile-up. >> good game for your kids in the zone. >> absolutely. >> i love what the roth family did. they made it on the second floor of their house so it's very active. >> eat pancakes and do that after. >> there you go. >> stephanie oppenheim, appreciate it. can you find all this week's toy reviews at today.com. quick and easy cookies and cocktails. first this is "today" on nbc.

we're back at 8:42. throughout our series "together we make football" with the nfl, we've brought you stories of how football has shaped the lives of so many.

our finalists that could win a trip to the super bowl. mid western family that shares a passion for the gridiron. here is josh elliott. >> deep in the cornfields north of indianapolis lives the first family of indiana high school football. >> my oldest brother, kevin, is the varsity football coach at caramel high school. >> we've got to take the mojo back. >> my brother, ken, is the head football coach at lebanon high school. >> yeah! yeah! >> my brother, travis, is at frankfurt high school, assistant football coach there. >> my sister, sherry, is athletic director at sheraton high school. >> my dad is larry bud wright, his 49th year at sheraton high school. >> you did a good job. >> doesn't look like the typical football coach. he's 5'4". >> go, go, go! run! >> with his stature, people might look past him until they know what he has accomplished.

>> won more games than any high school football coach in the state of indiana. >> he has coached two, three cousins. >> sons, cousins. >> i was a cheerleader. dad had my signed up, ready to play football but mom put the halt on that. >> fought for years with depression. in 2003, my mother took her life. >> we didn't see the signs. i mean, we knew she had depression. but we didn't see the signs. >> dad will be talking, it looks like, to himself, but he's talking to mom before every game. >> it helps me keep going. and it helps me to remember. >> the one thing that kind of kept us together as a family was football. >> football is a game but it's also relationships. >> you're going to have adversity in football, adversity

in the family but you're there to support each other. >> head coach chuck pagano beat back cancer with the help of his own football family. >> better than any medicine that the doctors could give me. >> they share a common bond. now coach pagano had one more thing to share. >> come on, wright family. >> you're the famous one, bud. coming from a football family myself, my dad coached high school football coach. my little brother is coach at san diego. i have some good news. i'm holding a football here. there's only six of these footballs and they are for the finalists for the "together we make football" contest. and you're in the running to go to this year's super bowl. congratulations. >> thank you. >> absolutely. >> congratulations. yeah. that's a big deal. >> to get to meet coach pagano and hear from him, it's very special. >> am i going to sign this ball here?

>> yeah. >> aka chuck strong. >> there you go. >> appreciate it. >> best of luck to you. >> great to meet you, sir. it's an honor and a privilege. >> another great story. >> it is a great story. >> if you want to know more about the finalists go to together we make football.com. you get to vote on your favorite, who gets to go to the super bowl. by the way, speaking of football -- >> and we were. >> -- i really want that sound effect you get, al. football night in america. >> you sounded like you were questioning. scalpel? >> football in america? anyway -- >> a lot of plans on that. >> no shall no, i think it's fan of cours fantastic. we have to work ton a little more. >> someone got into the cockt l cocktails a little early.

>> announcer: "today's" kitchen is brought to you by new and improved i can't believe it's not butter. it's time to believe. all right. we're back now at 8:49. "today's" kitchen. holiday season can be a hectic time. that does not mean you can't make some room for assortment of goodies with some friends. editor in large at southern living magazine, timely book out called "christmas all through the south." kimberly, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> good morning, kimberly. >> carson has his manzier on again, bra camera. >> i'll bring you images. make sure my angle is good. so we can walk through here and learn how to make these goody. >> what are you looking at? keep the camera on the food. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry.

sometimes in california -- go ahead. >> this is one of my favorites in the book. minted white chocolate ball. i brought it for you, savannah. it's no bake. >> no bake. >> what does that mean? >> i know, right? >> we'll add corn syrup. there we go. powdered sugar. chopped pecan, toasted. some peppermint schnapps. >> if you wanted to make it without alcohol, you could? >> sure but that's where we get the peppermint from. but that's okay, we'll have peppermint later. stir it and roll it into a ball. if we stirred it really, really well -- >> the camera's in my way. >> i know, right? >> then we're going to pick up one of these. >> this is what they look like, right? >> yeah. >> pick them up. drop it in here. >> do i chill it or anything? >> we let them sit. that's okay. now this is melted white chocolate.

>> are you sure? let's make sure. >> you better double-check that for us. >> yes, it is. >> cover it with the white chocolate. scoop that one out with a fork. >> happily. >> if we can find it. it's like fishing, right? put it down here on the parchment. >> what if it gets gloppy? >> that's okay. after they dried we can -- add some peppermint. that's what they'll look like. >> unless i made them. >> great thing to take to a cookie club party. have you ever been to one? >> no. >> have you been to one? >> no. >> you bring one type of cookie that you've baked in your home, a couple dozen, whatever your hostess asks you to make. you set it on their table at the party. the hostess will give everyone a tin. we started one for you. carson can fill this one up. then that one's for you.

>> oh, i see. >> as you go to the party, everyone has their cookies out and you fill it up with a little bit of everything. by the time you go home, you can make a beautiful cookie spread with tons of varieties of cookies. when you have company there's a lot to eat, a variety. carson, would you like to make this, gingerbread linzer cookie. add powder sugar to the top. >> like this. >> you can just buy these, right? zblukd. we made these. the recipe is in the book or on the website. add a little bit of lemon curd. take this, add it to the top like a sandwich and add it to our cookie tray. >> does it have to sit, go in the refrigerator? >> there you go. >> we have a cocktail over here. >> because we're at a cookie party, right? this is a cranberry cider spa sparkler. we're starting with a frozen can of cranberry juice. we've melted it down. we've added cinnamon stick here.

we've added ground cloves, little bit of orange zest. and some ground ginger. stirring it up. you melt it down until the frozen cranberry juice is melted. you let it cool for a little while. >> these are excellent. really good. >> great job. >> here is what we have. add a splash of rum. >> keep going. yeah. >> you want to add some sparkling cider. >> yes, love to. >> i like it, double fisted. >> you've done it before. >> if you're going to go to the swapping party. >> that's right. >> plus -- >> carson? >> what? let's go. come on, girl. >> i just got it. >> that's not southern living, okay? >> thank you, savannah. >> we have some to taste. i have some without the rum for you, savannah. >> wait. why didn't i get rum? i'm not pregnant anymore. >> here you go. >> garnish it with cranberry.

fun time with friends and family. >> it's delicious. >> glad you like it. >> thank you so much. thanks for putting up with us. >> kimberly, thank you. >> thank you. we're back in a moment. first this is "today" on nbc. >> cheers.

look at those cookies. let's check in now with willard scott.

no, no time for that. >> you know who you are, you're 100 years old and god bless you. >> someone else take over. what's coming up this hour? we'll be showing you one of the most epic home sale tools ever. roller coaster in a house. >> really? >> and that's how you sell a house. >> straight no chaser performs, speaking about alcohol. >> >> announcer: nbc 10 news starts now. good morning i'm chris cato, let's get your first alert forecast with meteorologist brittney shipp. >> good morning. big changes as we head to the rest of week end. we'll see a chance of showers throughout the day. a better chance for us tonight and once again saturday even. for civil, 39 degree, mostly

cloudy siky, wind east-northeas. and temperatures remain below freezing for parts of the poconos, we could see possibility of wet snow, sleet, winter weather advisory in effect from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. the rest of the area, temperatures between 42 and 45. news this morning. upper darby police say a man who raped a 12-year-old girl is in custody. 21 yearly turned himself in last night. the chief said on november 19th. the girl ran away from home who met gatling, who convinced h imto go to his house when weather he assaulted here. and this morning a fire broke out on con saratoga street. investigators stay, squatters were using the partity. a neighbor is treated for smoke

inhalation but is expected to today. today, grand jury cases will be discussed on two cases regarding african-american men. people talked about holding more protest over the deaths of michael brown and eric garner at the hands of white police officers. today in philadelphia, educators, youth leaders will educate people. we'll be have another update in 25 minutes. have a good morning.

this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall live from studio 1a, rockefeller plaza. >> wow! >> busy friday morning. look at the crowd outside. >> like that. >> december 5th, 2014. lots of signs, lots of energy. great group out there on the plaza. willie, al, natalie and tamron. we just had some grammy nominations. >> hot off the press. >> let's run through these as we get them in. record of the year, this is a single, "fancy" by iggy azalea featuring charli xcx.

chandelier, stay with me, sam smith and shake it off. any favorites? >> sam smith or meghan trainer. >> you can't necessarily bet against taylor swift. >> i would have thrown in drunken love with beyonce or bang, bang, your theme. >> bang, bang. >> your song. >> your song's not on here. >> they know they're in our hearts. they're record of the year in our hearts. >> arianna grande. they should be on there. >> i don't know why, i have a sam smith feeling this year. >> certainly a breakout artist of the year. absolutely. >> they're doing this over the course of the day. >> right. >> we got some of the announcements of the nominees and they'll put some out on twitter, snapchat. >> album of the year. >> big deal. >> another one they released, best country album, i'm totally

biased, "riser," dierks bentley. >> because he has been on our show. >> they're all great. >> how about best pop vocal album? "ghost stories" by coldplay. you love coldplay, natalie. "bangerz." >> solely based on the spelling of bangerz. >> arianna grande, multiply by ed sheeran and, of course, sam smith. >> all of those are great album. >> i guess that's why they all got nominated. >> oh, okay. >> bang bang is a great song and it didn't get nominated for -- >> i was just saying. >> do you want me to comfort you? it's a little early. >> ooh! i could feel the chill in the air right here. wow! >> i know your children. >> wow! >> rally the troops against you.

>> what? >> it means whenever i see his kids, they love me and they're on my side. >> everybody was like, whoa! >> dark tamron. >> just because everybody on that side is dark. >> everybody over there had the same reaction, too. and they all were like, wow! >> what i meant was the kids love me and they would be on my side. come on. let's get back to the list, please. thank you. >> best urban contemporary album. sailout, beyonce is there. >> and she has been on our show as well. that's a great combination there. probably between pharrell and beyonce. >> we'll see a lot more of these nominations throughout the course of the day. >> obviously, earlier this week, with rockefeller center christmas tree, now they lit the tree at the white house. >> the national tree. >> he gave us a gift, though. >> what did he give us?

>> besides lighting the tree, the president gave us the gift. the gift of dance. >> oh, my gosh! >> take it away. >> uh-oh. >> there you go. >> extended thumbs. you have to get a ride home. >> right. >> that move. >> this kind of reminds me of a seinfeld episode, those moves. there you go. here we go. bust it out, elaine! yeah. >> got the thumbs. >> little bit. >> and here's george's line, my favorite line in there, sweet fancy moses. get down. that's where you live. >> right here. >> that's where you live. >> al roker approved move? >> oh, yeah. >> you would tell him to stick with that? >> go with that. he's rocking that. >> i like the thumbs out. >> santa's doing it. santa started it. >> did santa start it? >> i think -- >> i don't know. >> roll the tape. who hit the thumbs first? >> who hit the thumbs? we can only run it once, okay. >> we have to pay to air it

again? >> we do. >> the president dancing? >> and, listen, santa claus doesn't have thumbs. his hands are in. >> owning that all alone. >> in the president's defense, at least he's on the beat. bad dad dancing is worse. >> i've done bad dad dancing. dumb dad dancing. if you listen to my kids, they'll tell you it's true. if i still have them. >> she knows where they live. >> they're on my side. >> they have to be because you have them hostage. >> oh, my! >> so rude. so mean. >> terrible. >> speaking of terrible, this is crazy. a fedex -- we do this story at least once a year. it's always around the holidays. >> more than once a year. >> fedex delivery man caught

throwing a package -- >> hey! >> whoa! >> fast delivery. >> wanted to make sure he got the guarantee. >> so the package apparently was not breakable but he didn't know it. it was a t-shirt. >> here you go. >> fedex statement says we are very disappointed to see this video. the behavior falls short of our policy. >> do you think? >> we deliver thousands of packages safely every day. blah, blah, blah. >> blah, blah, blah? >> well, you know. kate, do you want to come over and defend your stance? we were in the dressing room and kate said have some sympathy for him. they're very busy. and i said yes but how about the person who purchased it? >> he's a professional. he knows it's not breakable. >> it might abe t-shirt that your grandmother made. it means something to you. you don't want it thrown. >> oh, for god sakes. your grandmother made you a

t-shirt? >> maybe. so you think it's okay for them to throw packages? >> no, but i don't think we should -- >> i don't think he should be fired. >> dispel his character over -- he's probably a great guy. >> because we named him, found his children -- >> no, you're talking about al's children. >> i'm saying, i don't think he should be fired but i don't think that's excusable behavior. >> noch. i think he shouldn't have done it but if it were a big, shaky package, he probably wouldn't have done it. >> remember last year we saw the guy throw the big tv over? it starts with a t-shirt -- >> you would think right now that a lot of these u.p.s. and fedex drivers know that there's cameras all over. if the package is broken, they can do a little investigating. >> what's your sense plrks ro, ? >> he should know. and with all the eyes that are

watching -- >> i just hope he doesn't get fired that's all i'm saying. >> even if the eyes aren't watching your heart should be in the right place. >> you know about tamron. you know there's a camera watching. tamron gets her ways. >> i've never seen anything fly so high. >> speaking of flying -- >> and peter pan flying so high -- that was my segue. >> that was good. very good. >> take a look. all of you probably watched it last night. allison williams took flight as "peter pan." it was a great night on television here on nbc. "peter pan live," christopher walken as captain hook. take a look at allison taking off ♪ i won't grow up i won't grow up i don't want to go to school i don't want to go to school just to learn to be a paragraro and recite a silly rule ♪ ♪ i'll never grow up never grow up never grow up

not me ♪ >> and let's take a look at christopher walken as captain james hook. ♪ ♪ captain hook captain hook ♪ >> i love it! amazing. ♪ >> oh, here we go. yeah. >> tap dancing. everybody was talking about on social media last night. everybody weighing in. overall, very positive feedback, i think, on social media. of course, there are always going to be haters in the world. >> i think people were genuinely entertained, christopher walken and the backup broadway dancers. >> and the flying. >> pirates. incredible production. my kids, unfortunately, went a little too long, late. >> it was very long. >> we have it on the dvr and will watch it later on tonight. it's interesting, too, they show

this had photo. you talked about it, too, in the orange room, the brian williams photo, it was on buzz feed, comparing the old brian williams photo alongside allison williams. >> who wore it better. >> the side part better. who wore it better. it's pretty clear. but you see huge resemblance there. >> brian doesn't have that hair but he still wears that tie. >> he does. >> very nice. >> cute. >> somebody tweeted last night that christopher walken is doing a great job playing christopher walken playing a pirate. you can't get away from the walken. >> the walkenness. >> so good. >> that vacant stare the whole time. >> it was amazing. >> allison did a great job. >> they tell me i've got to go walkin' over here. no, i'm only kidding. >> need more cow bell? >> i believed him. >> you bought into it, right? >> not sure just what happened there. >> i don't know either. >> check it out, folks.

>> it's live. >> only ten minutes into the show. >> remember that time we were talking about tv, how you used to change the channel? >> yeah. we didn't need a remote control. my dad would just go, change -- >> you started a conversation on fashi facebook. your musings of rabbit ears. jackie patten, god bless texas, wrote this to us. we wanted al to know that rabbit ears still work and sometimes can always be the best when everything went digital we bought a converter box and continue to watch the "today" show on our very old tv, continuing the use of the rabbit ears. >> and no cable bill. >> here is the thing. they e-mailed us from the ipad. >> the tv doesn't have e-mail. >> they can stream us on their ipad.

>> i'm just saying, we're staying authentic, keeping it old school. >> it's that kind of mix. some people like the digital and the analog. >> i'm not criticizing. they're from texas. we don't criticize other texans. >> now you're walking. >> i was having a christopher walken moment earlier. look at that face. >> what? that's terrible. he pointed at me and said look at that face. >> look at that face. it was like, i'm going to kill you, al roker. >> don't say that. >> hey, you already got my kids. it's only a matter of time before i'm next. you just know it. anyway, we are looking at a lot of wet weather making its way into the midwest. the same system that drenched california. it will make its way into the east and later on will be drenching new england in the midatlantic states and the northeast coast. wet weather into the west coast. another big storm will push in, bringing anywhere from another one to two inches of rain

generally from northern california and on further south hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head to the rest of the day temperatures stay below average between 42 to 45 degrees then the possibility of showers turning into light rainfall heading into the overnight hour. tomorrow night, that's when the heavy rainfall will start. temperatures 55 degree, milder. dealing with the raef. then sunday, as we're heading into the second half of your weekend, temperatures at 47 degree, we clear out, cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you very much. we've been asking you for the past couple of weeks if you have a delicious homemade holiday cookie recipe. enter for a chance to win "today's" holiday cookie contest. three finalists will come to the show to make their cookies. the winner gets hands-on cooking

classes at sur la table. >> ooh. >> speaking of -- >> we're the judges, right? the christmas tree that took a month to build. can you guess what it's made of? a month to build. can you guess what it's made of? we'll tell you when we take before larry instantly transferred money from his a month to build. can you guess what it's made of? we'll tell you when we take bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america.

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this is when a gift bag comes in handy! well now, an amazing kitchenaid stand mixer. stumped you on this one, didn't i? nope. you're good. it's a gift. get to walmart for the top 100 gifts at unbeatable prices. or, order online for free shipping by christmas. more ways to christmas joy. walmart. question, what does a 150 million-year-old ptsegasurus have in common with a christmas tree? >> what do you think this is? this is the world's largest human christmas tree. >> i love that. >> 2,945 hondurians gathered together in -- you have no idea how long i was practicing that

backsta backstage. >> it's a hard one. >> 2,945 stood like this 6 1/2 minutes trying to break the world guinness record held by argentina. they did break it. they are now the record holder. >> next up? >> this is from london. right? >> the lego christmas tree at the lego windsor resort outside of london. entire christmas tree, 26 feet tall, made up of about 300,000 lego pieces. just in the star alone, there's like 2,700 -- almost 3,000 lego pieces. it weighs about six pounds. it's pretty incredible. it's at the lego land resort. check it out. >> hope they used the super glue. >> it took four weeks, actually, to put together. >> and a shot of our very own christmas tree outside being lit the other night. >> that's true. tell me all about this tree, guys. >> beautiful. >> gorgeous. >> no, it's amazing. it's 13 ton and 85 feet high.

there's 45,000 led lights, energy efficient led lights. important to stress that. and it's a 90-year-old norway spruce for all you christmas tree nerds out there wondering exactly what it was. >> let's talk about the gorgeous photo we saw this morning, nasa's orion rocket launching hours ago. >> absolutely incredible what nasa is doing with this. it's a test launch. they'll be testing this 2021 when they actually man it up. the hope is that they can use this for deep space exploration. i don't know if it can go into worm holes like interstellar. the idea is to be able to land on asteroids, put astronauts on asteroids, astronauts on mars and moons surrounding mars. it's totally incredible and goes 20,000 miles an hour, shoots up

36,000 miles. >> ocean tsunami museum. >> in indonesia. the memorial set to open for the 26 on the ten-year anniversary. these are workers putting up all of the names. this tsunami, caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake killed 300,000 people in several different countries. more than half of that number were in indonesia alone. indonesia was totally devastated by this ten years ago. it's clear they're still trying to remember the loss. >> let's go back to london and the museum of natural history, complete ptsegasaurus. >> it consists of about 300 bones. it was actually found in wyoming, i believe. >> cool. >> kind of cool. found in 2003 and moved to the

natural history museum. it's not a woman even though it's named sophie. it's actually named sophie after the head fudge manager's daughter who paid for the acquisiti acquisition. >> interesting. >> thank you. >> still to come, did you know that you could actually bring stale bread back to life by adding argument and popping it in the oven for a few minutes? al, did you know that? >> i did not. >> we'll show you mor

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taking a look at the headlines, a new study finds for women under 65, benefits of taking a daily regimen of aspirin may be outweighed by the risks, gastrointestinal bleeding enough to send a woman to the hospital. the risks and benefits are more balanced for women over the age of 65. as always, consult with your doctor before changing any aspirin program. an epidemic of whooping cough in california. cdc says almost 10,000 cases have been reported in that state so far this year and most of the cases were among infants too young to be vaccinated. health officials recommend expectant mothers get a booster vaccine. home foreclosures are down again according to the data form

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♪ good morning, i'm chris cato. let's get your first alert forecast now with meteorologist brittney shipp on what is a chilly friday morning. brittney? >> that's right. it's a cold start. you want to grab your umbrella. as we head to the evening we'll i have achance of rainfall. which will continue and another round expected saturday night into the evening. 47 degrees in millville. 40 in wilmington and 44 in coatesville. temperatures today below average and we're waiting for showers to move into the rest of the evening. here's how today will break down.

temperatures by boon at 42 degree, 4:00 p.m. 43 with a chance of shower, 9:00 p.m. shower, expected. today family and friends are once again looking for shane montgomery a college student who disappeared more than a week ago. the 21-year-old was last seen leaving a bar the night before thanksgiving. also, the fbi and police are collecting surveillance video from businesses in that area, hoping to turn up new clowes. also, today, rocksboro hospital will have a bake sale to raise money for his family and hand out green ribbons. a 9/11 statue honoring first responders will go on display today. it will include a statue of five, police officfiv firefighter, police officer, and k-9 officer, a ceremony will be

held on the boardwalk in st. james place. i'm chris cato, we'll have another update in 25 minutes. have a great friday.

welcome back to "today," friday morning, december 5th, 2014. big holiday crowd out on our plaza. i'm willie, along with al, natalie and tamron. we've got something just crazy to show you right now. >> amazing. >> this is real. >> people go to great lengths when they're selling their homes. >> you had you. >> shown in its best light. okay? >> uh-huh. >> but would you ever entertain the idea of putting a temporary roller coaster in your house? >> this is the best. >> so people could travel through the who us? could this be real? we're told it is. home for sale in the netherlands and they put in a little roller coaster so you can actually go through the home and view it. >> this is the best part. and you hear the --

[ clicking noise ] >> it's a little pricey. >> it's in the netherlands, by the way. >> how great is this? >> i don't know if i could buy this. >> you don't think it's real? >> why would you put in a roller coaster? >> these are the extremes we go to, to get traffic into your home. >> my concern is -- >> look at that one. >> real roller coaster. >> the exterior of that house doesn't seem to match the interior. >> here is the thing. >> you don't care. >> i don't care. >> we're overthinking it, aren't we? >> they put a roller coaster in a house. >> do you really think it's a roller coaster in the house? >> i don't care if it's for sale or not. just the idea that they did that. >> it is an advertising agency or the realtor using an ad agency to try to drum up traffic. >> doesn't matter. he's got a roller coaster in a

house. >> okay. you won us over, al. >> how about a check of the weather, mr. roker? >> it's almost anti-climactic. >> we are getting snow here possibly. >> monday or tuesday. for the weekend, wet weather in the northeast, midatlantic states into the southeast. sunshine through the southwest. some rain moves and snow moves back into the pacific northwest. then sunday, sunday, look for sunshine back along the eastern seaboard. we've got a nicer day, temperatures tend to dry out in the pacific northwest. gulf coast looking good. rain in central and eastern texas. th hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head to the rest of the day, temperatures stay below average between 42 to 45 degrees then we see the possibility of light showers turning to-to-light rainfall in the overnight hours. tomorrow night that's when the heavy rainfall starts. temperatures 55 degrees and

milder but dealing with the rainfall. sunday as we're heading into the second half of your weekend, temperatures 47 degrees. we clear out but cold and windy conditions expected for the eagles game. >> and that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. pretty soon, friends and family will be coming over for the holidays. there is nothing worse than being in the kitchen the entire time. >> we have some great food hack that is will make your life easier and impress your guests. justin chappel is the senior editor at food and wine magazine. good to see you. >> your first act, the way to be able to poach a dozen eggs at once. >> yes. so, a little hint about which tool are we going to use? bingo. muffin tin. >> that was pretty tough. there's 12 of these. >> you're in charge of the eggs. >> okay. >> i'm going to pour a spoonful of water into each of these cups. crack the egg. when you get all 12 filled we'll

pop it in the oven for 350 for 13 to 15 minutes and the big reveal, voila. >> they pop out easily? >> scoop them out. put them on an english muffin. >> how much water? >> table spoon. >> the secret to perfect roast chicken, you say, is a bunt pan. >> we all love chick sben. and we all love that browned skin, crispy skin. put vegetables around. pop it right on top. >> like beer can chicken. >> exactly. make sure you wash your hands. you end up with this beautiful chicken. >> crispy all the way around. >> but you don't have a beer to drink. >> you can keep that on the side. >> carving the turkey. >> yes. the trick here is most people

carve it this way. you want to take the whole breast off and carve neck to the breast bone. i'm going to let willie get out his knife skills. you want to carve it this way. >> i'm so proud. this is exactly what i did on thanksgiving. >> everyone will get a piece of skin, keep it juicy. but tamron -- >> last but certainly not least. >> natalie, come over and join me. we have special music for this. >> oh! would it be shake it off? >> we're going to shake it off. >> whipped cream, right? >> heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla and you get shaking. shake it like you mean it. >> shake it like you mean it. >> come on. shake it. >> shake it. >> shake it, natalie. >> i can see there's going to be

some great jokes out of this. i can see that. >> call it a mixer. >> i wasn't going down alone. >> what's so great about this, shake it. pop it in the fridge. at dessert time, you come out and serve it right out of the ja jar. >> listen to the sound it makes. >> all right. al, i think you need to do it. >> mine is almost done. >> justin, thank you so much. up next, he said he would be back and he is. sneak peek at arnold schwarzenegger's newest terminator movie. this is a pretty good one, i think. we'll get you caught up on pop fix and we have hot love to

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on our mugs. we're working on it. channing tatum, the best husband ever. >> what did he do? >> you know your man is good if he goes to the nail salon with you. spotted getting a pedicure. tatum captioned the photo, it's my birthday and hubby does what i want him to. she also said she woke up with this, channing and their 18-month-old daughter. tweeting a message saying happy birthday to the best mommy and wifey in the whole world. have you gone for pedis with your significant others? >> my husband came with me once and never again. >> i went for a manicure/pedicure with leyla. father/daughter one. >> i've never had a manicure. christina made me get a pedicure before our wedding.

i have the feet of a guy who played sports his whole life if that makes sense. >> were you getting married in sandals? >> yes, actually. we were in puerto rico. >> that makes sense. >> so we have two good husband with his us as well. terminator fans, sneak peek of genesis. now, as promised, 67-year-old arnold schwarzenegger is back as the famed cyborg in the first of three new films. 27-year-old amelia clark as sarah connor and we hear, the best part, that arnold will battle his younger self. >> really? >> that's amazing. >> that's pretty cool. >> that's going to be a big hit. >> isn't it? >> yeah. >> he's getting like ripped for this. >> i'll be back. no, i'll be back. no, i'll be back. i'll be back. >> you know the saying stand by your man, right? stand by your woman, in this case. patrick schwarzenegger, standing

by their women in a big way. miley cyrus with patrick, who is dressed -- look at the mismatch of clothing there. among her looks, hot pink mesh number. schwarzenegger seems unfazed as he checks out his phone. then she was topless and they posted with provocative miraball pasties to cover her up. rob pattison, she's huge in the uk. pattinson there, supporting his woman, but look again, the nose ring. he's like in gap and she's in edgy. this is what she wore during her performance. so these edgy girls with these kind of straight-laced guys. i like that combo. big congratulations, puff puff cigars all the way around to our buddy, tyler perry. new dad.

45-year-old actor had a baby with his long-time girlfriend. baby boy sunday. according to "people" magazine, baby named aaiman tyler perry. he was on and we asked him if he would be in the delivery room and he said i wish i could be. he can't take blood. up next, a song that went viral overnight, "text me merry christmas" by straight no honey bunches of oats!

it's got grains, which i like. i like the little bunches of oats. what i like is actually the flakes. it's got crunch, which i love. mmm. it's really good. honey bunches of oats. yay! i'm hhey... ...dinner! ♪ of all the things that happen on your wooden surfaces, disinfecting has to be one of them. clorox disinfecting wipes. wwithout the time and money to wash all this stuff separately. so we wash it all in cold water with tide. even sara's shorts. those are mine.

seriously? throw it all in... really? because tide cleans better. even in cold. get swith late friday and early saturday savings at kohl's. plus, visit kohl's dot com for a friends & family pass, and take an extra 25% off when you spend $100 or more! you'll earn kohl's cash too. find your yes. kohl's. new and improved i can't believe it's not butter! 100% taste, 0% artificial preservatives. made with a blend of delicious oils, purified water, and just a pinch of salt. two, please. new and improved i can't believe it's not butter. it's time to believe. up to 27% more brush movements. patented sonic technology with get healthier gums in two weeks. innovation and you philips sonicare save when you give philips sonicare this holiday season. ladies, we need to talk... ... about haircolor. it's garnier nutrisse nourishing color creme. rich, radiant... ravishing color! nutrisse nourishes while it colors.

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♪ mm. you know what's gone? kevin? the aspartame in yoplait light - they took it out. oh yeah, it is gone. what's wrong with kevin? vo: yoplait light with 90 calories. smooth, creamy, and now aspartame-free. >> announcer: the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. >> if you're looking for a warm, fuzzy tune this holiday season about jingle bells and sleigh

ride. >> that would be great. >> this isn't it. >> straight no chaser under their holiday edition, here today with two-time award winning actress laura, singing the female part. after this song hit the airwaves it pretty much went viral. a million hits. what did you think? did you know you had an instant christmas classic here? >> just like we expected. exactly as we planned it. no, we were just really excited. we think it's a fun song, as you say, christmas song for the digital age, poking a little fun at how we all find ourselves staring down at our phones 95% of the time. >> okay. here we go. "text me a merry christmas." >> take it away, guys. ♪ this holiday you'll be far away and i'll be all alone so please remember

this december to fully charge your phone and ♪ ♪ text me merry christmas let me know you care just a word or two of text from you will remind me you're still there ♪ ♪ you don't have to add much to it one smiley face will do baby text me merry christmas cause i'm missing kissing you ♪ ♪ text me merry christmas make my holiday complete though you're far from me say you'll brb that's a text i'll never delete ♪ ♪ choose just the right emoji one that makes me lol and if you text me something naughty i promise i won't tell ♪

♪ could care if you spell things right i just want to hear from you tonight stroke those keys with your delicate touch and type those little words that mean so much ♪ hi hey how are you okay miss you miss you too. >> christmas sucks without you. >> i know. lo lol. >> love u. >> love u2. >> kthx bye. ♪ a face book message isn't quite as sweet i need more from you than just a tweet a snap on snapchat doesn't last ♪ ♪ and voice mail that's from christmas past ♪ ♪ send a selfie too

if you do i'll go neath the mistletoe and pretend my screen is you show me that you love me text xo to kiss and hug me i'll be right here waiting for my pants to start vibrating ♪ ♪ baby text me merry christmas and i will text you too this christmas it's the least that we can do ♪ >> straight no chaser, thanks, guys. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

>> our good buddy, erica hill, is here with a preview of what's coming up on "weekend today." >> willie geist is going to love this story, too. you all will. i just kind of was thinking of

him. a great piece from joe friar on the museum of banned toys. these are actual toys that were sold, some of them with warnings like "could be fatal." >> what? >> in the '50s, there was an atomic energy lab. >> yes! >> that came with not one, not two, not three but four jars of radioactive material, cabbage patch doll that ate things, including children's fingers and the good old lawn dart. >> lawn dart. >> there's a guy who has actually created a sort of museum to the banned toys, all behind glass so no one will get injured. it is hysterical. such a great story. >> awesome. >> radioactive lab. >> awesome. >> i'm going to find you one on ebay. >> kathie lee and hoda catch up with rosario dawson. >> kathie lee and hoda catch up with rosario dawson. >> plwhat's possible today?ers. wi-fi access in more places then ever before. all your favorites in the cloud and on every device.

a home you control with the touch of a finger. news and entertainment that informs and delights in ways you never thought possible. comcast nbcuniversal bringing media and technology together for you. good morning. i'm chris cato. it's 9:56. time to get a check on the first alert forecast with brittney shi. brittney no rain in the future, right? >> not yet but that's going to change this evening. grab your umbrellas if you plant to stay out late. the flags are blowing on boat house road. temperatures 40 degrees, we have

a winter weather advisory in effect for the poconos from 4:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. the possibility of sleet an even freezing rain, as some of the rainfall moves in and temperatures hover just above freezing. for the rest of the area. 42 to 45 degrees with late rain expected. >> investigators are looking for the cause of a row house fire on conestoga street. fire fighters had it under control in less than an hour. investigators say squatters were using the property. family and friends will gather to remember three children who place say were killed by their mother. funeral services will be held for nicholas alexander and nadia. their mom shot them inside their home and killed herself. so far new jersey state police have not released a possible motive. we'll have another update for you in about 25 minutes. remember, you can always get the latest news and weather at nbc10.com.

now we go back to the "today" show. i'm chris cato. have a great friday.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> it is try day friday, december 5th. only 20 shopping days left until -- can you believe it? we're thrilled you're here with us today. 20 days. have you done it all, hoda? i know the answer to that. >> i like to feel a little more heat, a little more pressure coming up. we have a great show, actress rosario dawson is with us. she's in the great new comedy that chris rock is directing, called "top five". >> doing it all, the trifecta. >> that will be very cool. if you're wondering what to get

your girlfriends for the holidays, sometimes that's tough to do, bobbie thomas has the go-to gifts that would make the excellent stock stuffers for your friends. bobbie looks radiant. >> bobbie. >> she's doing great. >> and jeff kinney is behind "the wimpy kid" series and now he's going to tell us his inspiration behind the beloved character. >> we're in the holiday spirit. sometimes you see a great commercial and you go, that was so beautiful and so perfect, well, coke and walmart have teamed up to make a holiday commercial called a eed earn it. and it is about how a young boy -- a young boy and old-fashioned values. take a look. >> okay. >> thank you. >> hi.

>> hi. ♪ >> hi. i'm looking to make a -- ♪ >> is this for me? >> jerry, thank you. >> oh, my god. >> i love that. >> that was beautiful. >> that's the son of one of our local anchors, darlene

rodriguez. >> how beautiful is that? you're knocking yourself out. can i tell you what my brother did for me one time? here's what happened. i needed a car for my first job. he worked at popeye's fried chicken all summer long and i couldn't buy a car unless i had a down payment and he wrote a check for a thousand bucks. every penny. >> why are you doing this to me? >> i don't know. he gave me his entire salary so i could buy that car. i'll never forget it. he wrote the check. >> 16 years old, years and years ago, and his mom was taking care of five kids, father left, he worked and worked and worked and bought his mom a car. >> anyway, you know what, by the way, that is really the whole holiday spirit. >> yeah. >> i know you're sprinting around trying to make sure you get enough gifts and do everything, but those kind of commercials make you remember. okay. >> let's talk about melanie griffith and "50 shades of grey," a nice natural segue. >> her daughter is the female role in "50 shades of grey".

melanie griffith told tmz she will not see 50 shades of grey. her daughter dakota johnson does not want her to see "50 shades of grey" and i guess melanie says it would not be appropriate. i cannot even imagine being either the mother or the daughter -- >> you read the books. >> i read the books. >> several times. >> look, that was unnecessary, that extra bit, but i can't even watch sex scenes in a movie if my mother is sitting next to me. i feel awkward and weird. >> what about when i'm with you? >> that's fine. hello. >> i got to tell you i feel weird with you. >> you do? anyway -- >> it is so funny. >> let's say it was cassidy. picture how awkward -- >> cas would never do the role if it was offered to her, we're just different that way, but melanie griffith did appear nude in one of her first films, 1975's "night moves," she was

only 17 at the time. when it is your daughter -- >> right. i'm sure she didn't want her mother going to "night moves". >> you know who her mother was? >> tippy he py headron. >> oh, well maybe tippy went. i don't know what if tippy saw her -- >> somebody google please. >> we love when you google. so scarlett johansson, she has a great life going, doesn't she? she's in the new issue of "marie claire." >> she's so pretty. >> she's beautiful. one of those 20 question things. what three people she would like to attend her ideal din party alive. she chose betty davis, david bowie and bono. >> who would you? >> who would i choose? >> i would probably -- you know who i always -- i wish i would have ever known was anwar sadat, president of egypt. back when things were calm and he went to israel and went to the knesset, i would have him, i

would have kate middleton because i just -- i have never -- >> they would get along well. >> you never know. and maybe beyonce. okay. who would you have? >> i would have the dear departed joan rivers. >> oh, yeah. >> because i miss her. i would have regis and jesus. >> what? >> regis and jesus. >> regis and jesus and joan. >> and egis. >> no, regis and jesus and -- >> we got it. kanye is on the way. is it possible to change after the age of 30? there is one of those polls out that after you're 30, you are who you are you say you'll change, you won't, your personality is in stone. >> i think you can change certain things about you that you want to change, but they're talking about your basic overall personality, is it pretty

much -- that's an interesting thing because i never really felt like i knew who i was until the age of 30. >> yeah. >> i changed a lot since 30, but the essence of you is pretty much developed, i think. >> i saw a thing that said -- i thought it was 40. a fool at 40 is a fool forever. i remember i read that and thought you keep making repeat mistakes at 40 -- this study says it is impossible to change, you know, your personality at 30. >> i think it would be tough. you know what is not tough? >> what. >> time for my friday funny. a woman was arrested for shoplifting. the judge asked her what did you steal? a can of peaches, sir, replies the woman. after a moment of thought, the judge replies, how much peaches were in the can? five, replied the woman. okay, i'm going to give you a day in jail for each peach you stole, so you will serve five

days total. the judge was about to officially pronounce the sentence when a hand shot up in court. it was the woman's husband. sir, can i please speak before the court, asked the husband. of course, said the judge, what do you have to say? the husband replied, she also stole a can of peas. i like that. she's got some time coming. >> that's excellent. it is time for today's johnson's baby announcements. we celebrate new moms and adorable new additions to their families. >> our first johnson's baby of the week is lincoln james mathny. he was born in council bluffs, iowa, on october 20th. his parents say talk to the baby as much as you can. they spoke to their baby when he was a tiny baby. >> our next baby of the week was born in california. his name is bryson chiu. he makes funny facial expre

expressions, especially when he sleeps. >> it could be gas. >> now to graham morrison harder, born on october 17th, weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces. his parents say their son always -- >> our final johnson's baby of the week born less than a week ago, kensly cheyenne suarez born in florida on november 29th. her parents say they're enjoying every moment with their newborn and had had she's awake, they can see she has bright blue eyes. >> congratulations to all our babies. >> if you want to submit your baby for johnson's baby of the week, go to klgandhoda.com. >> am i right about elvis? >> i think so. here it is. you can hear us on sirius radio. >> you can. we're on channel 108. if you're on sirius, there we are. okay. we're haunting you. >> and we have some shoutouts for our holiday shows. we're doing a special holiday edition of "ambush makeover."

yes. so if you want a makeover or know someone who needs one, bring them to the plaza at 6:30 a.m. this monday. >> don't forget. we want to know what the christmas season looks like in your house also. post a photo on your facebook page and that will help. these are cool. these are gifts that give back. ann taylor partnered with st. jude children's hospital to create limited edition elephant charm jewelry. elephants are believed to bring good luck and live for a very, very long time. >> also, they live in close families and if something happens to one family member, the elephants come together to care for them. >> symbolic. st. jude's tries to take care of families. 15% goes to st. jude's, available in stores. >> that adds up. what is next? >> you made it through thanksgiving. >> will you survive the rest of the holidays? we'll show you how to get through the family drama. >> and she gives us the scoop on chris rock on screen and off. >> rosario dawson right after this. [ man ] i think this is a good time to tell you:

you're doing okay, mom. i can call you "mom," right? i know we haven't known each other very long, but you seem like a real keeper. you're not perfect. but you're trying. anyway, i want you to know how much i appreciate you. you know, right? how much i love you. you're doing okay, mom. delsym helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours with an coughing can really how be disruptive.u. advanced time release formula for all day or all night relief. bianca! [cheering] delsym. silence is relief. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ladies, we need to talk... ... about haircolor. it's garnier nutrisse nourishing color creme. rich, radiant... ravishing color! nutrisse nourishes while it colors. plus it has avocado, olive, and shea oils. garnier nutrisse. nourished hair, better color hey guys...guys! pillsbury cinnamon rolls, with cinnabon cinnamon, are an irresistable sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. make breakfast pop!

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imagine how much fun you'd have if you could run around new york city all day with chris rock. >> sounds like fun. that's what actress rosario dawson does in the new comedy "top five." she plays a journalist profiling an actor played by chris rock and she's more than ready to go toe to toe with the star. take a look. >> you know people are more accepting now and thank god for that because this is rough for women, okay? but i am hopeful because people

are changing. okay. things are changing. you need to wake up and smell the -- >> no, no. you need to wake up. nothing changed. some things never change. >> they change. >> black man trying to get a cab in new york city. watch this. black man trying to get a cab. look at this. taxi, taxi. taxi, taxi. >> progress. >> yes. >> wake up and smell the progress. >> you're a delight, by the way. >> thank you. >> we loved talking to you in the hall before. >> we love your character in this movie. you don't play a girlfriend. you don't play a wife. you don't play a typical leading lady character. >> nothing. >> you're a strong lady. tell us about your character. >> chelsea brown, she's a journalist for "the new york times." she follows andre alan, chris rock's character, around for a

day, which is unusual. he's the comedian turned serious actor and he's, you know, no one is really profiling the movie in a positive way. she gets him because he's so desperate to have the movie be a success that he agrees to have her shadow him all day. you get to know about him and a lot about her. she's a real fan of his, but also she's not going to let him go. not going to be an easy interview. >> she asked him the worst question a comedian wants to be asked, which is -- >> why aren't you funny anymore. >> why aren't you funny anymore. that's so hard. >> he's, like, give me a good question. she's, like, okay, she jumps right in. >> she believes he's not funny anymore. >> he's trying not to be anymore, especially in that world, he's really notorious for hammy the bear movies, him dressed up in a bear suit. so absolute hilarity. >> now taking on hamlet or something. >> he's trying to take on all these really serious movies and

she's, like, yeah, no. >> this is his baby. he had you specifically in mind for this particular character. >> yes. >> you have a long history together though, right? this wasn't out of the blue. >> we have been friends since i was 19, so we go back a long time. this is the first film he actually even approached me on. i mean, i've always gone to his shows over the years, i love his documentaries, brilliant. and then he approached me about this and i read it and i was like this is funny. you're going to have a lot of fun with that. he was like, no, you have to be in it. i was, like, i don't know. he's, like, you have to trust me on this. i'm, like, yeah, but you're the writer, director, producer and i feel like this character needs some work. he said, i promise to be collaborative with you. we sat down and met nine times.

i'm, like -- >> really? >> i'm not used to doing comedy. just in general, i felt -- not that the character felt like a vice, but wasn't all there. he said that's the reason i wrote her with you in mind and i want you to flush her out, she's you, so make her yours. and it ended up being one of the most incredibly collaborative awesome experiences ever. he pushed me. he challenged me. i trusted him on all the comedy stuff, which was very unnerving at times. but he really got me to be funny, which is awesome. >> did you like that? >> really good. i'm very proud. i've known him a lot of years, this is a special film. i think he knocked it out of the park. >> we wish you great luck with it and chris too. thank you so much. >> have a great holiday. >> the top five opens next friday, december 12th, at a theater near you. >> still to come, bobbie is all abuzz with her go to gifts for the holidays. >> and madelyn fernstrom is

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it is time for bobbie's buzz. >> don't know what to get your bff to show her how much you love her or at a loss for her daughter and her friends. >> with holiday season in full swing, bobbie thomas has the buzziest go-to gifts of the year. >> you look beautiful. >> this gift season, so lots of b buzz worthy things on my radar.

this is an nbc news special report. here is savannah guthrie. good morning. as we come on the president's about to speak live, he will be announcing his new defense secretary, it's ashton carter who is of course the former number two at the pentagon, someone who worked for decades in different presidential administrations from clinton to bush to president obama. let's turn to chuck todd, the moderator of meet the press. good morning. what can you tell us about ash carter, someone those in washington know well. >> washington folks do know him very well. he is not a household name, not a former elected official as the current secretary of defense is. ashton carter somebody who served as deputy secretary of defense, just over a year ago, very hands on guy. knows how everything works in that pentagon, the white house expects him to be a big force at the pentagon, they want him to

be -- they claim they want him to be more confrontational with the white house. the national security team of course as we know, that has been a problem for the three defense secretaries in the obama years, gates, panetta and hagel, all of whom complained they have not been able to break that tight circle around the president. i have aides tell me they want ashton carter to be a bull in a china shop and be that person. >> as we interrupt you. let's listen. it is wonderful to be able to announce not the creation but at least the filling of one new job. but before we do i wanted to make a somewhat broader statement about the economy and ash, is willing to indulge me. last month america's businesses created more than 300,000 jobs.

this keeps a pace so far this year that we have not seen since the 1990s. so far this year over the first 11 months of 2014 our economy has created 2.65 million jobs, that's more than in any entire year since the 1990s. our businesses have now created 10.9 million jobs over the past 57 months in a row, and that's the longest streak of private sector job growth on record. we also know that the pickup in the pace of job growth this year has been in industries with higher wajs and overall wages are rising. a welcome sign for millions of americans. so we've got an opportunity to keep up this progress if congress is willing to keep our government open, avoid

self-inflicted wounds and work together to invest in the things that support faster job growth in high paying jobs, that means exports, infrastructure, streamlining our tax code, immigration reform, giving minimum wage workers a raise. it's been a long road to recovery from the worst economic crisis in generations and we still have a lot more work to do to make sure hard working americans, wages are growing faster. but the united states continues to outpace most of the world. over the last four years we put more people back to work than europe, japan and all other industrialized advanced countries combined and we're going to keep at it until every single american who is willing and able to work can find not just any job but a job that pay as decent wage and allows them to support their families. it's worth once in a while reflecting on the fact that the american economy is making real

progress. and if we can continue in this trajectory, if we can continue to grow robustly, and if we make sure that those companies who are seeing profits probably higher any time in the last 60 years, that they are also making sure their workers are sharing in that growth, then we can get a cycle that's going to make a difference and be a critical component of strengthening our national security because national security starts with a strong economy here at home. now, i know that some people think that i announce cabinet positions on fake twitter accounts. this is not the case. a year ago when ash carter completed his tenure as deputy secretary of defense secretary

hagel took to the podium and looked automatic the military leaders and said i've known ash carter for many years. all of us benefitted from ash's hard work, his friendship, from his inspiration, and from his leadership. and chuck then went on to express gratitude to his partner for what ash has done for this country and will continue to do in many ways. couldn't have said it better myself. i'm pleased to announce my nominee to be our next secretary of defense mr. ash carter. now, with a record of service that spanned more than 30 years, for public servant, scholar, ash is recogarded as one of our foremost security leaders. with our pentagon team for the first five years of my presidency, he was at the table in "the situation room," is by

my side navigating complex security challenges, i relied on his expertise and i relied on his judgment. i think it's fair to say that ash in your one year attempt at retirement from public service you failed miserably. but i am deeply grateful that you are willing to go back at it. ash, some of you know brings a unique blend of perspective and know-how. as a student of history he understands the united states and i'm quoting him t single most provider of security in the world, and he play add key role in devising our defense strategy to advance that security. he's also a physicist, which means that he is one of the few people who actually understand how many of our defense systems work. and that is also allowed him to serve with extraordinary breadth and depth in a range of work

that we've had to do. in one way or another ash has served under 11 secretaries of defense, he's an innovator who helped create the program that is dismantled weapons of mass destruction, around the world and reduced the threat of nuclear terrorism, he is reformer who has never been afraid to cancel old or inefficient weapons programs, he knows the department of defense inside and out, which all of which means that on day one he is going to hit the ground running. ash is also known by our allies and our friends around the world. having served both republican and democratic secretaries he's respected and trusted on both sides of the aisle, he has been a close partner with our military leaders and he's admired by civilian leaders across the department because he is mentor to so many of them. there's one other quality of ash's service i think often gets overlooked, that is his true reguard, his love, for the men

and women in uniform and their families. his relentless dedication to their safety and well being. when he cut outdated, unneeded systems, he did it because he's trying to free up money for our troops, make sure they have the weapons and the gear that they needed and the quality of life for themselves and their families that they deserve. when our troops in iraq and afghanistan were struggling to defend against roadside bombs he moved heaven and earth to rush them new body armor and vehicles. no exaggeration to say there are countless americans who are alive today in part because of ash's efforts. when our forces sat down for thanksgiving dinner far from home, or as our wounded warriors recovered in the hospital or when our fallen heroes returned to dover, ash was there. often on his own time, without any publicity or fanfare. and i know that ash will be there for them now as secretary

of defense. we face no shortage of challenges to our national security. our combat mission in afghanistan ends this month and we have to transition to a new mission,s advising and assisting afghan forces and going after remnants of al qaeda's core. we have to keep degrading and ultimately destroying isil in iraq and syria, build counter terrorism partnerships and new platforms, we have to continue to fight against ebola, in west africa, we have to continue to strengthen our alie yajss including nato and continue to rebalancing our defense posture in the asia pacific. going forward our forces are going to need to be leaner but as commander in chief i'm going to make sure that we have a military that is second to none, that continues to be the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. that means, though, we're going to have to bolster some new capabilities, our cyber defense,

how we deal with our satellites and how we're adapting our military and investing in new capabilities to meet long term threats. we're going to have to work with congress on a more responsible approach to defense spending, including the reforms we need to make to the department more efficient, that's how we're going to preserve readiness, how we're going to keep faith with our forces and families, how we're going to deliver world class care to our wounded warriors. and ash is going to be critical to all of these efforts, when we talked about this job, we talked about how we're going to have to make smart choices precisely because there are so many challenges out there and we're going to have to squeeze everything we have out of the resources we have in order to be as effective as possible and i can't think of somebody who is more qualified to do that. his career ash has been confirmed by the senate three

times, if it were entirely up to my friend carl levin sitting here, i suspect it would happen really quickly. because that's the kind of guy carl is and carl i know has had a chance to work with ash in the past. my hope is that in the new congress we get similar speed and dispatch. by the way, we'll miss carl levin i wanted to mention that. [ applause ] one last piece of critical information that may have tipped the scales in me wanting to promote ash. ash is a big motown fan. and one of his favorites is a classic by the four top, "reach out i'll be there." so ash, i'm reaching out to you,

you have been there for us, our troops, our families, our nation. i also know that he's been there for his lovely wife stephanie, sometimes by skype because he's been traveling. but the sacrifices that stephanie has been willing to make, this is a team effort as it is true for our military families so we're very grateful to stephanie. she joined ash on a lot of those thanksgiving trips to see our troops and at the bedside of wounded warriors. she knows the sacrifices they are going through. stephanie, we thank you for your service. we thank will and ava who couldn't be here but we know that they couldn't be prouder of their dad, and with that i want to let hopefully our soon to be new secretary of defense say a few words. [ applause ] >> president obama at the white house announcing his pick for

number two at the pentagon, experienced washington hand now of course it's up to the senate to confirm the nominee. we'll have more on nbcnews.com and nightly news with brian williams, most of you will return to "today." williams, most of you will return to "today." i'm works differently than over-the-counter remedies. attack the flu virus at its source with prescription tamiflu. and call your doctor right away. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. ask your doctor about tamiflu and attack the flu virus at its source.

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madelyn fern symptstrom. >> she grabbed a couple of people from the plaza to help us. i have pam, she's celebrating her engagement. congratulations. >> and tara is from lexington and is celebrating her 30th birthday. >> happy birthday. >> 30, wow. >> we're ready. today for the holidays, we all love sweets. we'll have a little quiz to test your knowledge. so i'm going to read the question, look at the answers. when you confer with your team, ring your bell. ring your bell. so let's go to the first question. >> ready. >> today, which of the desserts has the lowest number of calories. apple pie -- >> who rang it? >> she was louder. but she's engaged. go with her. >> what? >> hoda rules. >> she gets the first one. >> we'll remember that. >> okay. which of these desserts has the lowest number of calories, a, b

or c? time is ticking. >> okay, she says a. >> and she would be right. >> good girl. >> that's about 300. the others are closer to 400. that's a great choice. >> great one. >> that's a good one. on to the next, we'll talk about sugar. which of these candies has the least amount of sugar. you're first, ribbon candy, chocolate almond kisses or peppermint bark, least amount of sugar. >> c please. >> so nice, but you would be wrong. you get to counter. >> okay, the chocolate kisses. >> she would be right. >> this is not fair. >> very smart. >> she lost because i gave her the wrong answer. that's not fair. >> it is fair. you're a team and you are the captain. next. >> next we have only one of these holiday cookies contains more than 100 calories, which

one? >> she got it. >> which is going to be more than 100 calories. only one of them. >> you got it. >> which one has more than 100. >> she says b. >> she would be right. >> she's genius. >> knew that one. >> knew that one. it has much more -- >> three people over there said so. >> no, you know what, she's got this. i'm so excited. >> the woman in love. >> good feeling about the next one. true or false. a six inch candy cane has fewer than 100 calories, true or false. >> i'm going with true. >> you would be right. that was a good job on that one. >> okay. >> now back to -- >> she's winning. >> chocolate desserts. which of these desserts has the fewest calories? which is lowest? brownie, chocolate mousse or flourless chocolate cake. which one do you think is the lowest? >> b. >> b. >> you would be wrong.

>> lowest. >> we'll say brownie. >> no, you weren't. >> we were going to say it before it came up as the answer. >> you were going to say that. >> yes. >> okay, you get that -- >> wait a minute. that's the definition of cheating. >> no. >> just the way it is, hoda. it is the inconvenient truth. >> i can't believe what just -- you never cheated before until right now. i'm shocked. i'm appalled. and shocked. okay, so -- >> all right. >> tiebreaker. >> okay. we have two good ones left. but this is a frozen dessert that does not contain any dairy. >> we have it. >> c. >> what? >> c, sorbet, correct. >> i know nondairy. >> hoda knows nondairy. >> double or nothing. >> ring it, ring it. >> which one has the lowest number of calories. lowest calories. >> you know it. it is not the eggnog and it is

not the wine. it has got to be -- probably the wine. i don't know. >> i think -- >> she thinks it is the wine. >> she would be right. >> yes! >> next time i want you standing over there. >> wait, wait, wait. >> oh. >> she'll take back after the show, trust me. >> thank you. >> congratulations. jeff kinney, the man behind "di "diary of a wimpy kid" tells about his latest adventure right after this. dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep with a cold, medicine. [coughing] hey amanda, sorry to bother you,

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jeff kinney is the brain behind the best-selling "diary of a wimpy kid" book series about a middle schooler named greg trying to just survive

boyhood. >> he made the jump to the big screen with the 2010 "diary of a wimpy kid." take a look. >> i know what's on the cover. my mom had to buy the thing, i told her not to buy one that said diary on it. this proves that mom doesn't understand about kids my age. the only reason i agreed to write in this thing is because when i'm rich and famous, i'll have better things to do than answer people's stupid questions all day long. were you always so smart and handsome? here's my journal, now shoo, shoo. >> a family vacation gone awry is at the center of the ninth book "diary of a wimpy kid: the long haul". >> i love your whole back story. congratulations on all your success. number one book in the country right now. >> my nieces and i and family were at the parade and what went floating by. >> what went floating by? the wimpy kid, amazing. did you think you would reach this iconic status with your book? >> no way. i never thought it would get

published. i spent eight years working on "diary of a wimpy kid," wrote it for adults who i thought would like to look back on their own childhood. so strange to me everything that has happened. it feels like the truman show to me. >> it changed your life. >> right. it was one of those lines where you've written a children's book but you didn't do it on purpose, that happened to me. >> this is so true too. for years you tried to make it as a cartoonist. tell us what people said to you. >> i spent three years trying to get syndicated. i wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist. i was told they weren't good enough. in truth, they weren't. i had to decide to start drawing as a seventh grade boy and pretending, masquerading as a seventh grade boy. >> we should point out very obviously you're a famous author, but you have a job, another job. >> a real job. >> i have a job. i work for a virtual world called pop tropica. it is what i do in my typical

9:00 to 5:00. sometimes i sneak out into the world and play this author role. >> you go on a book tour that takes you all around the country. and fans -- little fans everywhere. now your two boys are about the same age as the readers of your books, right? >> my boys are 9 and 11. with this book, i got to read to them and i read this book and knew this moment won't last forever. the kids will age out of the books and, but this moment was really special. >> what do your kids think -- do they give you ideas? help you out or does it all come from your own imaginetion? >> i think they hope and pray they don't make it into the books, really. >> well, you are a cartoonist. contrary to what some people believe. you're going to give us a lesson in cartooning? >> yes. >> i love that. i can't wait to see hoda's. >> that's uncalled for and unkind. >> no, i can't wait. >> tell us how we draw the wimpy kid. >> we're going to draw greg hefley. i start with the eyes. two eyes, just two dots. >> two dots. >> i love cartooning because

cartooning -- >> far apart too, aren't they? >> i drew them too small on the page, but -- >> you drew them too big, but we'll see where it goes from here. >> mine are probably just right. >> of course they are. >> the nose right under the eyeball, right -- >> the nose is like a -- it is like a c. >> yeah. this is so easy. >> that's interesting. okay. >> mine looks like snoopy. >> then the perfect circle. i'm not so good at it myself. you go right under the nose and go up -- >> it connects around where? >> up over the eyes. >> okay. >> i did okay. you're quick. >> i don't waste time. >> oh, my gosh. i need a protractor. i'm exhausted. >> oh, good one. >> that is pretty good. >> not that good. >> what else? >> he got hit on the head. a little swollen. >> greg has three strands of hair, right? three strands of hair. there are lots of boys in

cartooning who are bald or nearly bald, like charlie brown, right? for some reason. then an ear, which is just a c also. >> a little bulbous ear too. >> a backwards c. and then a frown or a smile, whatever mood you're in. >> that is offset in the middle of his -- >> right, just a simple line, right? pretty good, right? >> i love mine. >> greg is sort of curved, right? so you can see he's shaped like a banana almost. >> i'm confused. which is the nose? >> you're out of room. you're in trouble over there. >> no, i'm not. i am not. >> he's sort of curved. and in fact, in -- >> that's his arm? >> that's his sleeve. >> in brazil, it is called giarao banana. he's called the banana boy in brazil. >> how many languages are you in now? >> 44. >> curved arms there. right.

>> all right. you're going to have to give us a quick tutorial, i think we have to scoot. >> there is -- >> all right. we're going to roll. as you continue to draw. and you can grade us if you'd like. okay. >> little pants on. of course he does. >> oh. >> okay, well, we think you're amazing. thank you so much. >> this was fun. >> this really was. >> i'm going to sign it in case somebody wants it. >> all right. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

we got a deal for you. if you want kathie lee's drawing of the wimpy kid. >> or hoda's -- >> go to our facebook page. we'll pick somebody randomly. >> that does it for us this week. >> back next week. carrie underwood, ricky gervais, melissa joan hart. >> and from the hobbit, martin

freeman. have a great weekend, everybody. >> nice talking to you. i like yours. >> thank you.

right now at 11:00, cloudy skies to start off the day as we take a live look at center city philadelphia at the aramark building. he wou we are tracking rain. a live look at the radar showing rain moving from west to east. it will be soggy for a good chunk of the weekend. brittney shipp is here with the forecast. what can you tell us? >> as wera: head into the rest today, we will see a chance of showers moving in. our chance increases as we head into the rest of the evening. tracking rainfall and dry conditions heading into sunday. but it's going to be cold and windy for the eagles game and a ea