seen everything except sunshine. we'll see that today. >> good note to end on. thanks for joining us. we'll have live updates throughout the morning. good morning. round three. a fresh blast of arctic air today. bitter cold, stretching from the midwest to the deep south, and it is moving east. al is here to tell us how long this one will last. one last gasp. a desperate last-ditch effort to deny donald trump the presidency as the electoral college meets across the country today. protesters encouraging members to change their votes. but, is there any real chance of changing the outcome? remembering zsa zsa. >> hello, darling. i'm zsa zsa. >> zsa zsa gabor. dead at the age of 99. known as much for her eccentric life as her many roles in film and television. this morning the tributes are pouring in. dallas does it again.

the cowboys hold off the tampa bay buccaneers for a key win on "sunday night football." america's team back on a roll, and celebrating the season "today," monday, december 19th, 2016. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. ezeal ye ezekiel elliott scoring the touchdowns, jumping into the salvation army barrel. >> stis that a penalty? >> you can jump into the stands in green bay but you can't jump into the kettle in dallas. the other big head line, we have another baby at the "today." >> you want to tease that along? is. >> let's tease that along. let's start off with an icy cold start. one of the busiest travel weeks

of the year. al says have a little patience. we'll get to his forecast in a minute. but first, nbc's blake mccoy is in chicago. blake, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. one final morning of this bitter cold. it is 10 below at o'hare right now. here in chicago, these are the coldest temperatures we've seen yet. frostbite and hypothermia, serious concerns as people head off to work and school this morning. one last burst of arctic air this morning after a weekend that left roads in many states with a fresh coating of snow and ice. >> we are bracing ourselves for the next four months practically. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, this driver had been trapped in his suv for 12 hours after skidding off an icy highway. state police eventually found and rescued him by pinging his cell phone. >> looked over the embankment and there was the vehicle. >> we just happened to see him.

he happened to see my flashlight. >> cold in there! >> reporter: football sunday was left to diehard fans. just 1 degree at kickoff for the kansas city chiefs tying the record for their coldest game ever. >> usually the weather is a little bit more -- you know -- accommodating. >> we stayed in the car. we had our coffee with irish bailey's. >> reporter: 11 degrees at kickoff for the chicago bears. >> that guy's got the right idea. >> reporter: as they hosted the packers. >> this is football weather at its finest right here. >> reporter: and minneapolis saw a low of negative 20 sunday, so cold that tailgaters at the vikings game had to warm their beers by the fire. with christmas week now upon us, it felt like the north pole for this 5k san today run in indy, and looked like the north pole in st. joseph, michigan, where this stunning drone footage shows the town light house encased in a blanket of ice.

over the weekend we saw hundreds of flight cancellations. i want to show you images out of denver international airport. take a look at baggage claim area when folks had to go back in and collect their luggage. they had to sift through hundreds of bags to find their own after their flights were canceled. we are toll it took people several who yours to find those bags. what a nightmare. that will leave you with nightmares as you start this christmas travel week. >> blake, thank you very much. lot of people around here wondering how long this cold snap's going to last. >> only a couple more days. i think we have good news as far as travel is concerned as folks get ready for the holiday weekend. so here's the deal. big change from 24 hours ago, up and down the eastern half of the united states. chicago right now, blake mentioned, minus 10. that's a 19-degree drop from this time yesterday. new orleans, a 32-degree drop from 24 hours ago. new york city, a 27-degree drop. you look at these temperatures right now, i mean this is

brutal. 14 degrees right now for monday's highs. going to be 16 below average. 39 in raleigh, 10 degrees below average. pittsburgh, seven degrees below average. but the good news is, even though you got these lows once again in the northeast, single digits to mid teens, here we go. here is the relief. yes, new york city, mid 40s by the time we get into the midweek period. atlanta will get to 60. little rock, 53. dallas back to 63 degrees. even dallas will be back into the mid 30s. paf by the end of the week we don't see any problems as far as air or road travel due to the weather. people you're traveling with, i can't do anything about. >> all right, al, thank you very much. let's move on to politics. members of the electoral college will meet across the country today to validate the results of the presidential election. typically it's a ceremonial event. this time around though, it

comes with an nausunusual amoun attention and even controversy. nbc's hallie jackson is in florida with the latest. hallie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt, good morning to you. as donald trump gets ready for more meetings this afternoon at his mar-a-lago property, the latest twist in an election that's been full of them is unfolding around the country. a push to try and convince members of the electoral college to, in effect, reverse the election. moves that would be unprecedented and, frankly, unlikely to work. >> reporter: today the last last-ditch attempt to try to reverse the election of donald trump. protests planned to persuade electors around the country not to cast votes for the president-elect as 538 electoral college members meet in all 50 states. 37 would need to flip to stop trump temporarily as he tweets, "if my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned and called

terrible names." it's the hail mary, even with star-studded support from one famous fictional president. >> our founding fathers built the electoral college to safeguard the american people from the dangers of a demagog. >> reporter: some electors pointing to u.s. intelligence agencies' assessments that russia interfered in u.s. election as reason enough for defectors to defect. >> what i want is for the information to be out there so american public and electors know who was involved and make sure we protect the integrity of the american democracy. >> reporter: electors will not be briefed on russia's involvement, despite a push by the man whose e-mails were hacked, john podesta. >> the electors have a right to know what the answers are if the u.s. election has those answers before the election. >> reporter: to donald trump's aides is something else. >> the entire nonsense about the electors trying to use you the russian hacking issue to try to change the election results is

really unfortunate. i think that, actually, undermines our democracy more than any other conversation that we're having right now. >> reporter: the incoming chief of staff, flatly denying any interaction between the russians and team trump. >> even this question is insane. of course we didn't interface with the russians. i mean this whole thing is a spin job. >> reporter: trump now at his mar-a-lago property for the holidays. but not before a final stop on his thank you tour in alabama where the president-elect four years ago called the electoral college a disaster for a democracy, praised the process. >> the electoral vote -- i never appreciated it until now. how genius it was, what they had in mind. it's genius, i'm telling you, it is genius. >> reporter: but trump silent so far on this weekend edition of "saturday night live" spoofing today's electoral effort. kate mckinnon prerisreprising he

as hillary clinton. >> we think you are the best candidate. >> sure. >> the smartest candidate. >> no doubt. >> "the manchurian candidate." >> i don't know what that means, but it sounds tremendous. >> reporter: through it all, some electors are facing tremendous pressure to try and change their vote. bun member in wisconsin told the associated press he's received some 50,000 e-mails from people about his role in today's electoral college vote. still, a new pole just out this morning shows that more people believe that electors should vote for the candidate who won the state 46% as opposed to the 34% who believe electors should not be bound to vote for the winning candidate. >> hallie, how does it actually go down today? how does the voting actually take place? >> reporter: okay. so when you break it down, matt, 530 electors are heading to usually the state capitols in the state where they live all across the country to go ahead and cast their votes. 29 states do have laws that require electors to vote for

whomever won their state, but there is nothing in the constitution that explicitly requires that they do so. one elector in texas, for example, has publicly said he will broke with his state and instead not cast his vote for donald trump. but historically that kind of break is really rare. since 1948. it's only happened with nine people. you can tell how unprecedented that would be. ultimately on january 6th, it is the vice president who presides over congress to count the votes and then announce the results. let's game it out, right? say enough elector do flip to prevent donald trump from getting to 270. what happens then? then the election goes to the house of representatives which as you know is majority republican, meaning there's virtually no chance donald trump does not end up in the white house. >> well explained. hallie jackson, thank you very much. now to a delicate situation playing out in syria this morning where thousands of people are still waiting to be evacuated from aleppo. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely is there.

bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. in the chaos of a city that's fallen to president assad's forces, civilians are finally being freed after six months under siege. these buses behind me are evacuating thousands of civilians from east aleppo. but even freedom will rprove tough for them. escape from a deadly siege to an uncertain future. buses crammed with desperate people left the ruins of aleppo taking them so safety. dozens more buses lined up. around 30,000 people are waiting to go. among those freed, 7-year-old bana, safe in the arms of a doctor. for months on twitter she's been telling the world of the suffering of her city and her fears she'd die in the bombing. also unconfirmed reports that dozens of orphans who tried for days to escape have finally reached a safer area.

but for these new refugees, safe doesn't mean happy. they're now enduring winter in a syrian army camp. they've just come from rebel-held aleppo where hunger was never far away. so when food suddenly arrived, they chased it. men, women and children in a crush to eat. this is what desperation looks like. these people haven't had access to proper food for years. the syrian army has tried to starve them to surrender. the food is being thrown from the back of the vehicle and people are fighting to try to get their hands on it. proud people reduced to beggars by siege par faiwarfare. aleppo has fallen to the army. the damage to its buildings is clear, the damage to its people

uncalculable. the siege warfare has been so cruel to civilians on both sides, especially for children, many of them orphans who have known nothing but war. matt? >> bill neely, thank you very much. breaking overnight, russian defense officials say one of their military planes crashed in northeast siberia with 39 people on board. it was apparently trying to make an emergency landing near a soviet era military base. no one was killed but 32 people had to be airlifted to local hospitals. local officials say high winds may have played a role in that crash. corpus christi, texas has lifted a ban on the city's drinking water after test results showed no contamination due to a chemical leak. the mayor said sunday residents can resume using the city's water supply for drinking, bathing and cooking. the water ban had been issued late wednesday after concern that a chemical leak at an

asphalt plant could have contaminated the city's water supply. we hear everything is back to normal at lax this morning after a power outage impacted several flights around 7:00 last night. flights were canceled, but some were delayed up to an hour. the outage also impacted baggage handling systems, computers and other equipment in the central terminal. the cause of that outage is still unknown. meantime, the world is mourning the loss of another hollywood icon. zsa zsa gabor died from heart attack on sunday at the age of 99. here's nbc's miguel almaguer. >> hello, darling, i'm zsa zsa. >> reporter: no one could say it like zsa zsa gabor. >> you'll just be there in the room. you and the champagne. >> reporter: that unforgettable accent. her string of husbands, and jewels, a jewels. >> a man should be at least 50 years old and have at least $50

million. >> reporter: late sunday zsa zsa's long-time husband, frederick prince von anhalt wrote, she had a heart attack in our house. i am grateful that she died with no pain. her film career began with "lovely to look at" in 1952. she followed that same year by perhaps her most famous film, "moulin rouge." >> i see them as i want them to be, not as they really are. >> reporter: she appeared in over 40 films and television shows, anything from horror films to comedy. born sari gabor in budapest, pun hungary in 1917, zsa zsa was the middle of beautiful sisters. their mother believed they'd all marry kings. zsa zsa never married a king but did go to the altar nine times. hotel magnet conrad hilton was her second husband and the father of her only child.

zsa zsa also made headlines for legal trouble. in 1989, she was convicted of slapping a beverly hills police officer during a traffic stop and spent three days in jail. overnight, friends and fans remembered the actress. larry king tweeting, "there will only be one zsa zsa gabor." actress joan collins writing with being "sorry to hear that zsa zsa gabor has died. she was such fun." even miley cyrus instagramed -- what a long and beautiful life. i had been beyond inspired by her style and grace. in recent years, medical problems plagued the actress, but the star known simply as zsa zsa was always hollywood royalty. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> you know, go bore always gave some unbelievable quotes. i have a couple of them. i love this one. i'm a marvelous housekeeper. every time i leave a man, i keep his house. and how about this one -- i want

a man who's kind and understanding. is that too much to ask of a millionaire? she'll be missed. >> absolutely. mr. roker, back with the rest of the forecast. >> all right. as we look and show you what we've got going on across the rest of the country, some wet weather making its way through the southeast as a front pushes through. look for high winds in the plains. more wet weather coming to the pacific northwest. we'll look at that in detail in the next half-hour. sunshine through southern california into southwest and that really chilly air here in the northeast. (timer beeping) she needs our help! ♪ (tea kettle whistling) (sighing) hey mom, can i help? yeah, i'd love your help. (grunting) awww... (announcer vo) the real magic of the holidays

is when we all give a little more. good morning, i'm first alert meteorologist krystal klei. cold morning, cold afternoon. we don't see a lot of warming. mid 30s around philadelphia. center city 32 degrees. 32 for landsdale and 30 for winchester. freezing even through the afternoon. because of that cold air and a northerly flow of winds. lehigh valley 30 degrees. allento allentown. and for the jersey and the t's your latest weather. mr. roker. stay up last night? >> i did night. >> sill's be telling you this for the first time then. it was a big game on sunday night last night. anybody stay up? the season is winding down, so we got playoff spots on the line. second quarter, dallas-tampa bay, tied at 3.

until ezekiel elliott goes in from two yards out. so he celebrated. he jumps right in the salvation army kettle to donate himself, in effect. we'll tell you more about that in a second. let's go to the third quarter. this catch by tampa bay receiver adam humphreys. humphreys concentrates, pulls it in for the touchdown. cowboys though hold on to win it 26-20. their game closer for securing a number one seed in the playoffs. back to the kettle. apparently it was a penalty and esquea ezekiel elliott says if he's fined for doing that and he'll match the fine and donate it. the big winner -- salvation a y army. >> coming up on "rossen reports," avoiding headaches that come with holiday travel. new ways to save time and money on those luggage fees on hotels

and a lot more. and a heartbreaking tragedy out in california. a massive tree falls on a wedding party. taking pictures, killing at least one person. dramatic new images from the scene. but first on a monday morning, this is "today" on nbc. just ahead, did you see that

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"nbc 10 news" starts now. >> good monday morning. i'm tracy davidson. 7:26. meteorologist krystal klei has the forecast. >> feels like temperatures, it is a cold start out there this morning. back to reality after yesterday's warm start to the day. 2 degrees what it feels like now in mount pocono. the rest of us fairing a tiny bit better. 11 in pottstown and 13 in northeast philadelphia. in philadelphia at the airport, 16 degrees and 19 in millville. so it is a cold start out there no matter where you're looking. first alert radar, the rain has moved off. staying dry today. we will see some clouds but also some sun mixing through. as we move throughout the next several hours this is what we're looking at. temperatures just barely climbing. 27 degrees at 9:00 a.m.

by noon 30. high today 34 degrees. >> checking the roads as you're ready to head out. jessica boyington has you covered. >> schuylkill expressway, cameras around city avenue looking like a good drive for the most part because there's no accidents or anything reported. pretty typical that we're watching. 23 minutes westbound from the vine street expressway to the blue route. watch for disabled vehicle out in limerick road. today is the last day to sign up for health insurance under the affordable health care act. people signed up on thursday which was the original deadline. president-elect donald trump and republican congress have vowed to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law. i'm tracy davidson. you can always stay updated with news and weather and traffic with the "nbc 10" app. it's a free download. 7:30 n

morning, the 19th day of december, 2016. six days to go until christmas. that christmas tree shining brightly. got a great crowd of people outside. they've been here since the wee hours of the morning. >> are you done with your shopping? >> no, i have a couple left to go. let's get to a check of the headlines. going to be another bitter cold day across a large section of this country after a weekend of record low temperatures. today's highs are expected to be about 10 to 20 degrees below average from texas all the way up into the great lakes area. but al says warmer weather is on the way. his forecast is coming up. the electoral college legislated to formalize donald

trump's election as the 45th president of the united states today. the 538 members will meet in all 50 states to cast their official votes. while protests are planned, the results are not expected to change. senator john mccain adding his voice to calls for a special committee to investigate russian interference in our presidential election. he says we need to find out exactly what was done and its implications. president-elect trump calls reports of russian hacking ridiculous. meantime, a popular park in southern california is closed today after an enormous tree fell on to a wedding party taking pictures. at least one person was killed, several others hurt. nbc's gadi schwartz has the latest from there this morning. >> good morning. this unusual tragedy happened in a park known for its picturesque trees. wedding party had been waiting to take pictures under this specific eucalyptus tree. when it was their turn, the tree unexpectedly came trashing down.

in whittier, california, the sound of chainsaws as frantic emergency crews pulled victim out from underneath huge branches and toppled tree trunks. >> i heard the crackling and i'm looking up because it was just an odd sound. >> reporter: moments earlier witnesses say they were under the same tree taking photos. when they finished, a large wedding party gathered around the giant ike lip tus treucalyp. >> they tree started to fall and they started running straight but the tree got most of them. >> reporter: video shows from all over the park strangers ran to help. >> there was a lady with this little baby and i didn't know what to do but she was screaming so i hold the baby and i put it down. she had some very big bumps on her head. it was bleeding. they both were bleeding. there was blood all over. >> reporter: firefighters pulling out victim after victim trapped and crushed by the tree

while a small child prayed with his family nearby. in the middle of all the chaos, witnesses describe seeing the bride. >> they had the bride in their arms. there was limbs in the way of them getting out, so me and another gentleman and my husband went and we yanked a huge chunk of the tree off. >> reporter: overnight a family member confirmed that the mother of the bride was killed. five others taken to the hospital, including a 4-year-old girl in critical condition. the entire park now closed off as investigators wait for an arborist to determine why the tree fell with no wind. the question, whether any more trees in the park could pose a danger after a wedding celebration turned to unbearable grief. we are told the 4-year-old girl had an injury to the head but she is expected to recover. now it did rain heavily in the area on friday. the accident happened saturday afternoon. experts are now looking into whether that may have contributed to this tragic accident. hoda? matt? al? >> a horribly sad story.

he just mentioned rain. got rain in the pacific northwest. >> we don't see this getting all the way down to southern california but there's been a lot of rain in that region over the last couple of weeks. we're going to be watching that very closely. inland we've got snow right along the coast. it's rain and there is going to be a lot of it. we watched today on in to tomorrow a series of storms. we've got avalanche warnings in the cascades. all that heavy snow. we're looking at rainfall wise anywhere from two to three inches. puget sound all the way into central coastal oregon, but we could also be looking at upwards of five inches of rain beforet is all i good morning, i'm meteorologist krystal klei. forecast today, cold morning, cold afternoon. we don't see a lot of warming. going to stay around the mid z 30s. center city philadelphia. some of us may be at or below

freezing even through the afternoon. because of that cold air and a northerly flow of winds. lehigh valley at 30 degrees. for alan town, looking at low to mid 30s for new jersey, the shore and delaware as well. >> get that weather when you need it, check out the weather channel on cable. >> all right, al, thanks have much. take a look at this. something you don't want to find in or under your tree. can you spot it? >> i don't see it. important tips before you hit the road for the holidays. >> reporter: good morning, i'm jeff rossen. coming up, the big holiday travel week is here. but don't worry, we have three simple hacks to save you time and money from lost luggage to and money from lost luggage to luggage fees, to great hotel so, how much longer do you think this will take? i'll over-explain the process, then give you an unrealistic timeline. i'll nod in agreement so my wife thinks i understand what you're saying. i look forward to questioning your every move. okay, well i'll leave your house in shambles and disappear for six months. wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi® double cash card does.

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back now at 7:39 with an all-new "rossen reports" as one of the busiest travel weeks of the year gets under way. >> today national investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here with how to save time and money. >> good morning. so many of us are hitting the road this weekend. it can get expensive, the hotel, airline fees. then they lose your bags. but don't you worry. this morning we've got you covered with three new hacks. simple tricks you can use right now and you need to see before you head out. >> reporter: it's the holidays, and we're out of here. one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. the hassles are endless. but now these three hacks to save you time and money. let's start the way most of us start our trip, sitting in our living rooms on our couch planning it on a computer. there is a really cool app can you download right now. called hotel tonight.

you can get great cut-rate deals on hotels across the country, including luxury hotels, as long as your trip is in the next week. the hollywood roosevelt hotel, the cheapest room is $300. but here on the hotel app i can get a room in the same hotel for just $200 and doing nothing but down loloading the app. check out this hotel in boston. on the site the cheapest room is $299. but the app finds a room for just $195. at this houston hotel, $349. but on the app, just $171. so now it's time to get packing. but is my luggage too heavy? those overweight bag fees can cost you a fortune. now you can realize how heavy your bag is in your bedroom before you even leave for the airport. it is this thing, a little

portable luggage scale. costs just $25. you clip it right on to your luggage just like that. then you pick it up like this and just hover it above the ground. wait for the beep. there it is. 50 pounds right on the money. but we need to know if it is accurate. so i'm lugging my heavy bag right to the authorities. this is armando from the new york city department of consumer affairs. the weights and measures division. you weigh stuff. you are the guys who do this. this. >> this is what we do. this is our scale we use. load the bag right on there. >> lug that on. there it is. here it the official readout. 50 pounds right on the nose. okay, now you're ready to check your bag in at the airport. but what if the airline loses it? this device called the lug loc can tell if your luggage never

left or ends up in a different airport in a different city. let's give this a shot. this is my producer, lindsey. you are going t ing on a trip. >> i'm going to chicago. this is my big purple bag. >> this is the device, the lug loc. small and thin, smaller than the size of the phone. stick it to the luggage. >> it is paired to the app right on my phone so if my luggage gets lost, i'll know. >> we're giving you lindsey's bag. you're going to d.c. technically when you get to chicago and your bag is not there, you should be able to know where it is. >> it should tell me right on the app. >> let's see. >> reporter: and they're off, traveling hundreds of miles away from each other. >> okay, made it to d.c. >> just touched down in chicago. >> i know baggage claim and my big purp tle bag is obvious.

but does my app know where it is? i'll pull it it up. there it is right at the d.c. airport. >> reporter: the app is right. >> lynn is indsey's bag is here. with me. >> reporter: there you have it. simple hacks to save you time, money and headaches. we have the links to those devices and the prices. >> hoda just asked, you have to convince the people at the luggage counter that -- >> i promise you, this is where my bag is? >> yeah. i'm looking at it right here. it happened to me several times, by the way. >> they'll listen to him. they won't listen to you. up next, the baby boom rolls on. carson's in the orange room to help dylan introduce us to the newest member of our team. >> is she live?

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carson, why don't you do the honors? >> let's get right to it. our very own dylan dreyer and her husband, brian, had a beautiful baby boy. calvin bradley fichera who came in to the world weighing a healthy 8 pounds 3 ounces. we wanted to congratulate them on live tv. here they are now by the power of it all. congratulations, guys. dylan, let me just start with you. is brian in the room, by the way? >> he is. >> congratulations, brian. dylan, how are you feeling and how is the baby? >> child birth is a lot harder

than i ever thought it was going to be. wow. it hurts. the baby is -- oh, my gosh. he is just so precious and so wonderful. he sleeps, he eats, and he doesn't really cry. so i think that's a good combination. >> bottle that up. enjoy that. >> how did it all go down? take us back to saturday morning. >> well, it's funny because he was due on december 17th and a couple days leading up to it, i'm like where is he, he's never coming. sure enough, 11:00 friday night my water broke. we ran to the hospital. he was born on december 17th right in the middle of a snowstorm. we had to hail a cab. which i assumed you would do in new york but it was funny to actually be sitting in the back of a cab going into labor. i pushed for about three hours. he was a big guy and he didn't quite fit so he got stuck. we ended up doing a c section

anyway. >> watching dylan hold that baby, it looks so natural, dylan. it's hoda. but wow. it looks like you're taking to it beautifully. >> well, it's funny because i didn't have a natural bone in my body when it came to holding a baby. it actually does kick in. there are instincts there. >> how you doing, brian? >> i'm doing good. >> you grabbed your camera and put an instagram video up in that cab saturday morning on way. how did that go over? >> that's the best hailing of a cab ever. it was great. one time. one arm. just -- boom! >> is there a family history db just give us a little bit on the name, calvin bradley. >> here's the history with the name. brian and i were sitting on couch watching tv and i think someone's name was calvin. we're like, i kind of like that. it just kind of hit us both at

the same time. same with bradley. it just sort of -- we're trying to set him up to be a cool kid and we thought calvin bradley was a good start with that. >> you did that. we're so happy for your family. dylan, brian, congrats. >> guys, thanks so much. christmas coming early for our own ♪when you've got...♪

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"nbc 10 news" starts now. a few minutes before 8:00. good monday morning. i'm tracy davidson. let's get right to your first alert neighborhood forecast. meteorologist krystal klei has that. >> what we're looking at with the temperatures, cold one this morning. 26 in wilmington, mount holly the same. 27 now in philadelphia and low 20s for allentown. mount pocono only 11 degrees. that's the actual temperatures. now we're looking at what it feels like outside. 19 in vineland, 17 mount holly, 16 in trenton. alan town only feeling like 11 and zero right now in mount pocono. so it feels very cold out there to start. here's the good news though. as we move through today we do stay dry. the rain has moved out. we're going to see some clouds and sunshine for today's forecast as well. if you are heading outlets satis -- out, let's check the roads.

delays on 422 and trooper road showing that. looks pretty normal for right now. eastbound towards the schuylkill is 19 minutes from 29 to the schuylkill expressway. checking in with mass transit. regional rail dealing with in bound delays. up to an hour. 60 minute delays with inbound service from center city to jenkintown station. today the electoral college will cast votes in all 50 state capitals formalizing donald trump's election as president of the united states. protesters are ready to greet pennsylvania's 20 electors and try to get them not to vote for mr. trump. most analysts say it's highly unlikely the results of the election will change. inauguration is january 20th. today is the monday before christmas, traditionally the busiest day of the year for shipping and mailing. the postal service expects today to be busier. tomorrow is the deadline for first class shipping. more news in 25 minutes. have a great day.

♪ it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, arctic blast. more than 20 million people waking up to bone-chilling temperatures as that dangerous cold snap moves east. al's got the forecast. plus, do you believe? >> i literally went from inside my body when i shut my eyes, i would then just the next second i was up on the ceiling looking down at the entire room. >> natalie introduces us to people who claim they've seen the afterlife and describe in detail their own near-death experiences. >> i knew instantly i was in the presence of my creator. and, it's a wonderful reunion. >> look, daddy! every time a bell rings, an

angel gets his wings. >> al sits down with the actors who starred as the kids in the holiday classic. >> merry christmas! >> kids! >> a homecoming 70 years in the making, "today," monday, december 19th, 2016. ♪ ♪ >> merry christmas! >> merry christmas to our family in north carolina! >> celebrating christmas on "today"! woo! we're back now, 8:00 on a monday morning. it is the 19th day of december,

2016. little chill in the air with be but take a look at the size of the crowd we've gathered up out on the plaza. by the way, we're playing holiday music all week long. that is really one of my favorite holiday songs, "carol of the bells" by the transsiberian orchestra. >> this crowd, by the way, is amazing. speaking of holidays, just ahead, we're going to have a prime rib dinner that katy lee promises that even an amateur could master. >> she's got mashed potatoes. first though, a check of the top stories of the morning, here is "the news at 8." >> reporter: we begin with that bitter cold for much of the country. good morning to you, i'm blake

mccoy in chicago where people are waking up to 10 below zero. our coldest temperatures yet this season. you see the marina behind me icing over. even places like dallas, though, are waking up to below freezing temperatures this morning. bone-chilling weather once again this morning for much of the country. roads are slick in places like ohio where snow and freezing rain from the weekend has turned to ice. two people were killed in baltimore when this gas tanker skidded off a highway and exploded. causing a massive pile-up. airlines are working to rebook passengers this morning, many trying to get home for the holidays after hundreds of flights were canceled in places like denver and indianapolis. >> we missed our flight. i mean the roads are horrible. >> reporter: extreme cold did not ice out diehard fans on football sunday. in kansas city, 1 degree at

kickoff, tying a chiefs game day record. hundreds of tickets were priced online at just $2. >> they're jumping around in chicago to stay warm. >> reporter: in chicago, bears fans braved a kickoff temp of 11 degrees against the packers. minus 4 with windchill. >> games like this, man, in chicago when it really gets cold, you get amped up. you dress for the elements and it is just like any other sunday. >> reporter: as far as this cold is concerned, we just to to get through this morning. then the warm-up will begin for most of the country starting on tuesday. good news is as people start this christmas travel week, it looks to be a pretty good weather week going forward. >> blake, thank you very much. let's talk about a critical vote taking place today. 538 members of the electoral college will vote in state capitols around the country. they are expected to officially elect donald trump as the 45th president of the united states. protests are planned in some

places, that in an effort to persuade electors not to vote for trump. some republican electors tell the associated press they've been getting lots of calls, e-mails and letters urging them not to support trump. coming up next on "trending" -- that is not tinsel. one woman's shocking discovery in her christmas tree. and, do you believe people share their remarkable stories of near-death experiences. then, denzel washington on starring and directing his starring and directing his powerful new mo ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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8:08. let's "trend." okay? when you guys were young, did your parents ever, when you were your little baby teeth fell out, save those teeth or did the tooth fairy save those teeth? >> never. >> never. >> no. >> really? i don't know where to go with this then. there is a new product that makes collecting those baby teeth easy. it is a wooden box and it is shaped like a child's face.

by the way, it is in stores now. it also has spots for a little bit of the child's hair and umbilical cord. sel sells on amazon right now for $16. >> just seems a little strange to keep the umbilical cord. >> a little creepy. >> do you think it is creepy also? >> yeah. yeah. the tooth part is okay. and the hair. >> then they use the dna to create a new you? >> a lot of duplicate babies running around there. one family found this christmas surprise. take a look at a photo. looks like a normal christmas tree. right? zoom in. zoom in. upper right. upper right. that's not a piece of tinsel up there. that is a tiger snake slithering around up there. tiger snakes are among the ten

most toxic animals on the planet. snake catcher, barry goldsmith, tells us they aren't dangerous until you try to poke them. in 20 minutes though that guy had the snake in the bag. christmas crisis avoided. >> i don't want any snakes! >> what is that from? >> "snakes on a plane." >> you remember the snake in the toilet? i haven't forgotten that. >> and a snake on a plane. >> in the overhead baggage compartment. this is a great story, okay? a little boy who stole the show at a recent hockey game between the red wings and the ducks. you know how they go around the arena with the camera, then they put those images up on the jumbo screen? so they took a picture of this little 2-year-old boy, and let's just show you what happened when they put him up. all right? >> boo!

[ cheers ] >> every time they'd go to someone else in the crowd, they'd boo. until they put the kid up again. and this went on and on. we keep showing same one over and over again. >> he looks like a little mason reese. >> what was the commercial? >> underwood devilled ham. >> from another era. >> smorgasbord. >> "star wars" fans gone rogue at the box office this weekend. rogue one sold out all across the globe in theaters. movie opened this weekend with a massive haul, $155 million. giving it it the second biggest december opening in north america right behind last year's the force awakens. expect more "star wars" spinoffs in the future including a movie about the early years of hans solo. next, cee lo green letting fans know he is okay.

a video made the rounds online showing him sitting in a studio talking on a smartphone. the phone seems to explode in his hands. he hits the floor. it was all staged. he reassured fans he is alive and well. celebrities getting into the holiday spirit showing off their christmas trees. beyonce posed with her towering tree. other shots taken on instagram. then this massive tree lighting up the home of o kkim kardashia. kneel p neil patrick harris. but this next tree may be one of our favorite one of them all. >> rockefeller center christmas ready? three, two, one -- yay! >> our very own hoda.

that's a beautiful tree there. >> looks like someone lopped the top off the tree. >> little trees are the best. >> there you go. that's your "popstart!." now to a new series here launching called "do you believe?" touching the afterlife. >> natalie is out in los angeles. she'll get us started on all this. natalie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. more than 90% of people believe there is an afterlife according to our today.com poll. but what exactly is it? some people claim they know because they've actually experienced it. they share incredible stories like reconnecting with deceased loved ones, or learning the meaning of life. the accounts are vivid and dramatic, but are they imaginary or are they a true glimpse into life after death? >> it is transformational. it is awesome. >> pure love. pure joy. pure bliss. >> peace, ecstasy, harmony.

>> there was no fear, there is no hierarchy. >> it was just so wonderful. >> it's amazing. >> reporter: the accounts are remarkable and widespread. >> i knew instantly i was in the presence of my creator. >> it changed me as a person. >> this life is not all there is. >> reporter: from the young to the old, transcending language, culture and geography. >> it was really life changing to have that near-death experience. >> reporter: it re-defined barbara's journey at the age of 31. you went in to the hospital. you were having a surgical procedure. what happened? >> i was having a mile gram which is injecting iodine dye into the base of my neck. >> reporter: dye accidentally went in to her brain, she says, an within moments consciousness was gone and she was flat-lining. >> i literally went from inside my body, when i shut my eyes, i was then just the next second i was up on the koreceiling looki

down at the entire room. >> reporter: the feeling like nothing she'd ever known. >> there was this feeling after presence that was next to me. it felt like it was god. it felt so loving and so accepting and so eternal, i literally looked down and said, huh. if i'm up here and my body is down there, then i think i must have just died. >> you just felt a presence, an aura, but you didn't see anything. >> i didn't look -- i was just watching everything happening below me. >> reporter: but she wasn't ready to diet. barbara recalls. >> i just began calmly talking to it and saying how much i wanted to go back into my life because my baby daughter was only 5 months old at the time and my son was 8 years old. >> reporter: strive aring to make changes in her life, barbara says she was suddenly back. i shot my eyes back up on the ceiling and re-opened them and i was looking right into the orthopedic surgeon's face.

>> reporter: it was striking. from that moment on, she was filled with love, peace and purpose. >> the loss of fear of death is so amazing. it really doesn't matter if we prove this phenomena exists or not. >> reporter: the author of "near death in the icu." >> we know they are clinically dead. whenever they are revived they will actually explain to us what they saw and in spims explicit detail about the process of resuscitation. >> reporter: she estimates seeing at least 50 patients firsthand who recounted a near-death experience. >> they may have encounters with loved ones that have gone before them or spiritual x that actually fit their belief system and an extreme reluctance to come back to their physical facility after experiencing a sense of intense love and peace. >> reporter: for many years, barbara didn't openly discuss her near-death experience until

she began seeking out others. she became involved with the international association for near death studies, a large organization dedicated to research, support and education. more than 15 million americans may have had a near-death experience, the group estimates. >> this organization helps experiencers with acclimating to their near-death experience. >> is it a gift? >> it is a gift. >> reporter: barbara now runs her local chapter. >> i realize that talking about my near-death experience is what i'm supposed to be doing. it is the peace i'm supposed to give. it is the gift. >> for somebody who is possibly facing death right now, what do you want them to know? >> that they don't need to fear it. >> reporter: in completing her purpose, she's also spreading love, hope and understanding. >> do your best to be a good person i think through your life here is all that you're really being asked to do. >> now there are many skeptics who believe these accounts are

imaginary or hallucination or simply made up. barbara and those in the near-death community just dismiss the skeptics. they say it is their truth and they know that it is real. you may be wondering what the science says about it all. is there a way to prove it? well, in fact there may be. doctors and scientists are conducting new research in the fields. we'll take a closer being loo at that tomorrow. guys, back to you. >> that's amazing. >> if it makes that woman feel more at peace -- >> sure. >> -- then who's to argue with that. natalie, good seeing you. thank you. >> take care. happy holidays. let's show you what we have going on today. again with be one more day of really cold air. and then things get better. look at what we've got right now. highs today in chicago only 14. that's 16 degrees below average. dallas, you're only going to be 37, 17 degrees colder than normal. atlanta, just 48. raleigh, 38. but then the mid to latter part of the week and temperatures

normalize. chicago, thursday, 34. 48 in louisville on wednesday. 60 in atlanta on wednesday. new york city by the latter part of the week, we're into the mid 40s. the rest of the country for today, we do have wet weather moving into the pacific northwest. high winds in the plains. plenty of sunshine through southwest, no southern california. frigid air continues in the northern tier of states. a few clouds around the gulf coast. that ... >> and that is your latest

weather. >> but wait, there's more! >> oh, yes. >> you're going to launch this special series, "where are they now." >> the holiday classic, "it's a wonderful life," premiered almost 70 years to the day. so we traveled to the museum dedicated in seneca falls to catch up with three of the actors who played george daily's children. it's been seven decades since the christmas classic, "it's a wonderful life" shared the story of george daily, a man giving up his dream to help others. saved by a guardian angel when he needs it the most. >> i said i wish i'd never been born. >> reporter: the 1946 mono chro chro chromeatic film. >> why has this mfb held on to people's imaginationses for so

long? had. >> it sent out a message that people needed. you watch george bailey, he just went through life. he didn't think he was doing anything special. he just did the right thing. then he gets to see what life would have been like if he had never been around. >> the interesting thing is when it was released, it didn't do that well. it was critically acclaimed, had five oscar nominations, but it wasn't this great hit. why don't you think it resonated with people when it was release? >> i think one of the reason it wasn't success when it came out is because it was marketed as a romantic comedy. >> funny you say that. a even though it ends on christmas, was it meant to be a christmas mfb? >> no. it was supposed to be released in march of 1947. >> they didn't have enough color copies, this was right after the war. so they knneeded to rush a film

out and "it's a wonderful life" was ready. >> when you saw it for the first time, what did you think? >> it was an emotional roller coaster. you go up and down with your feelings andnd up with the tears running down your face but they're happy tears because you see what this man's gone through and you look at how he is affecting so many lives and you identify with your own life and you realize that this was masterpiece. it's wonderful. >> "it is a wonderful life." >> we've had a wonderful life. we are three really good friends. young kids, grow up and just really admire each other and love each other. >> that sounds like the secret to longevity, friendship. >> it is. it is true friendship. >> we are really like brother and sister in a lot of ways. >> frank capra sat down and talked to us one-on-one saying this man is your daddy. he was explaining what we were to do. >> could you give us the line, "it's what everybody remembers from the movie.

>> daddy? teacher says every time a bell rings -- >> -- an angel gets his wings. >> do you ever get tired of people asking you that? >> never. because i believe it. >> merry christmas, daddy! >> kids! >> do you think people are looking for what this movie says now more than ever? >> absolutely. >> everybody wants to feel that maybe there is a little george bailey in them. maybe things that they do every day does mean something. they can make a difference if they want to, and that's frank capra's message to people. you are important. ♪ aur auld lang syne >> seneca falls claims that when frank capra visited their town in 1945 he was inspired to model the fictional town of bedford falls after it. in addition, the celebrations of the film's 70th anniversary at the museum, paramount pictures is releasing a platinum anniversary edition of the

classic. the interesting thing is, even after it was released, it didn't really get popular until the copyright expired and television stations could run it for free. and that's why it regained its popularity. >> we wait every christmas for this one to pop back up. l listening to her say that line again, sounded just like in the movie. >> now that it is so famous, back in theaters this time of year which is a fun thing to do. >> but if you're watching tv and you flip past it, you have to stop. >> just to see what part of the movie it is. coming up, denzel washington. he's been in some pretty good movies as well. his newest one is called "fences." but first your local news and

8:26 this monday morning. good morning i'm tracy davidson. let's get right to your first alert neighborhood forecast. meteorologist krystal klei has that for you this morning. >> hi tracy. temperatures have dropped across the board. we're at 26 degrees in philadelphia, 24 in the suburbs, new jersey the same and lehigh valley down to 21 degrees. delaware sitting at 26. still a cold, cold start to our day. we're going to stay cold in the afternoon as well, light to low end breezy wind. some clouds mixing in but our live cameras plenty of sunshine and look at the highs just 34 degrees in philadelphia, 32 in the suburbs and 33 in new jersey. the lehigh valley at 30 and delaware at 34. temperatures really don't

rebound much today, they will pick up more tomorrow. power problems are slowing down a septa regional line this morning. we get the report from jessica boyington. >> tracy, we are watching the regional rails, we were earlier dealing with 60-minute delays, 30 minutes for inbound service on the regional rails from gen kintown station to centre city. plan accordingly there. half hour could mess you up on your morning industry. schuylkill avenue westbound really slow, 23 minutes from the vine. new jersey lawmaker also vote today on what some are calling the revenge bill, it would hit the newspapers that hounded governor christie where it hurts their bottom line. another bill would allow the governor to profit from a book deal while in office. more news in 25 minutes. see you then.

♪ i said i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside ♪ i have to go away ♪ baby it's cold outside ♪ i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside! you never know who you'll meet at barnes & noble.

8:30 on a monday morning, 19th day of december, 2016. that is a great outfit. nia vardalos collecting toys as part of our holiday toy drive. we are going to catch up with her in just a couple of minutes. also ahead, another extremely talented actor, denzel washington is here. we're going to talk to him about his new movie that could keep him very busy during awards season. >> always good to see mr. washington in studio 1a. how you guys doing on your holiday shopping? >> pretty much done. >> we got you covered. some of the latest last-minute ideas that you'll have for your family, friends and even your pets. >> i recognize those sneakers. >> that's right. >> natalie's. and, katie lee.

i was mesmerized by the meat. a show-stopping holiday dinner your guests will be talking about for days. ooh, it's beautiful. can we bring in nia vardalos. you've got a new show called "tiny, beautiful things" at the public theater. good morning. tell us about this show. you play sugar. >> i play sugar. it is based on the book by sheryl strade called "tiny, beautiful things." >> this thing is the toughest thicket to get. >> i have a tiny, beautiful stash of tickets. >> i didn't realize "my big fat greek wedding" started out as a stage show. >> i couldn't get an agent so i just got on stage and did it as a play. >> is that your first love? >> i do like it a lot. >> what are your plans for the holidays? >> i'm coming to your place.

>> perfect. >> bring beer. >> broadway, you have one day off basically. >> it's true, i have one day off. but that's the thee ker schedule. i love it. it is fun. >> we'll have more of nia today because nia's going to co-host our 9:00 hour. >> love these. fantastic. let's see what we have for you. starting off for the week ahead. wet weather in the pacific northwest with heavy rain. showers along the eastern west coast. mid part of the country, sunshine and snow around the great lakes. latter part of the week, sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard. snow in the cascades and rockies. chilly throughout much of the country to start the week but as the week wears on, the warmer weather comes up making its way throughout much of the country, especially along the eastern seaboard, great lakes and into the southwest. that's wt's going onha >> good morning, i'm first alert meteorologist krystal klei. look at our forecast today, cold

morning, cold afternoon. we don't see a lot of warming. we're going to stay right around the mid-30s in philadelphia, centre city at 34 degrees. 32 for lansdale and 30 west chester. some of us may be a little at or below freezing through the afternoon. because of the cold air and northerly flow wind. allentown looking at low to mid-30s for new jersey, the shore and delaware as well. et that weather any time time yu need it. check out the weather channel on cable. matt? >> all right, mr. roker, thank you very much. denzel washington is a two-time oscar within nner, three-time golden globe winner, just picked up another golden globe nomination for his new movie, he stars in and directs "fences." he plays a sanitation worker living in pittsburgh in 1957 with his wife and son. take a look. >> i latched on to her and toll her, baby, i don't want to marry, i just want to be your man. rose told me -- tell him what

you told me. >> i told him if he wasn't a mankind, then move out the way for the mankind to find me. >> you're block being the view, move out the way so i can find me a husband. i tho you the it ov i thought it over two, three days. >> you came back the same night. >>py came back and told her, okay, baby i'm going to put a rooster in the backyard. >> denzel, welcome back. i've known you long enough i don't think i need to flatter you. is that fair? >> fair. >> i will tell you this, i tell a lot of people this, the first time i ever saw a actor disappear in a role was "malcolm x." i watched this last night and i got that same kind of a feeling. i watched you disappear. fair? >> fair. >> why did you like him so much? >> we had the luxury of 114 performances on broadway. august wilson is one of the

greatest writers in american theater history, so the characters are rich and full and once you find them -- and even when you find them, there's always new things to discover. it's just a testament to his great writing. >> even with your career and with your resume and all the incredible mvli incredible movies that you've been in, you said this is the best material you've ever worked with. >> with the possible exception of "a soldier's play." i've had great roles that i've had that sometimes doctor scripts and things like that. but raw material, if you will, this is, by far, the best. >> the word "raw" is a good work. troy matson is a raw character. he can go from being jovial at one moment to incredibly bitter at another. it is right below the surface with him. give the audience a sense of why that bitter in es is there. >> he's frustrated because he

didn't make it to the major leagues. he happens not to mention at least early on it was because he got locked up. but his frustration for him not making it is taken out on his son and everybody else around him. >> when i watched you go to that place of bitterness, i'm thinking you must be able to can ske connect to that to portray that. how do you even get yourself in that mindset given that you've had a wonderful life? >> that's the brilliance of the writing. it's shakespeare. in fact it's called american shakespeare. that emotion, that psychological situation is all in the work. if you play it, it's there. >> scott ruden i guess came to you a long time ago and talked to you about acting in this and directing it or both. you hesitated. i'm curious why if the material was so rich and august wilson's -- >> i didn't hesitate. i read it and i realized i hadn't read the play. i had seen the play in the '80s

with james earl jones. i saw it more through cory's eyes because i was closer to his ainge. when i read the play, i called scott and said i want to do the play. he said you want to do the play? i said, yeah, let's do the play. he said, okay, give mecum days. raise the money. we -- i think we were one of the most nominated dramas in the history of the tonys. won great awards. so then i knew -- already knew it was a great play. then i knew, i can play the part. >> it's been said that august wilson, when it was -- he was approached and said maybe this would be a great movie one day, he had one requirement, and he said i would like an african-american to direct it. after directing it and starring in it, do you know why he said that? >> culture. culture. i said this before. scorsese could have directed "schindler's list." "it's so easy to just say race. it is actually culture.

it is about the culture differences. i know what hair -- a woman's hair smells like when it is being hot combed or what do you call it -- with a hot comb or hot iron on a sunday morning. your cultural differences and you have to understand those, really know those cultural differences to approach this one. >> unfortunately, i didn't get to see you in this on broadway. but having watched this last night, i can tell people, go see this. >> yeah. because, it's great, great writing and maybe a little -- i won't even say it is tougher -- you do have to listen. he's a wordsmith. to be honest, i need the audience because i have a non-picture deal with hbo and i have pledged to produce them all but this one's first. >> if word of mouth counts for anything, count me in. >> fair enough. >> denzel, always good to see you. happy holidays. "fences" opens on christmas day. up next, last-minute holiday

give ideas for anyone who's left on your list. but first, this is "today" on nbc. don and i met because i'm a volunteer for meals on wheels. we had an instant connection. what was that? i said, "delivering to you is always a special treat." oh. company, companionship, food... we all need those things. when we get in that spot in life, it's kind of nice to have 'em there. (avo) through the subaru share the love event, we've helped deliver over one point four million meals to those in need.

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we are back now at 8:41 with a stress-free holiday edition of "stuff we love." christmas is only six days away. this morning style expert kathy post is here with some fun, last-minute gift ideas. is there still time? >> yes, but you got to get cracking. if you order today, everything you see here can get there by christmas. >> one of my favorite parts about this segment with being we brought people from the plaza, elves, to help us bring in some of our gifts. start off with london and lane. >> london and lane -- they've got gifts that put the fun in functional, hoda. first we've got the mighty purse. this is a purse that charges your phone! >> genius! >> it's got a little battery that's slim. it's got enough battery to

recharge your phone twice. these are by h. butler. $99. another genius tech idea -- guys, these are wireless beanies. hoda, you can rock out in the morning, connect to bluetooth. you can do your exercising. any device that is bluetooth compatible. they've got speakers in the hats. isn't that so cool? in. >> london and lane, thank you so much. >> you can get these at amazon. >> thank you! you know who's coming next? lane and anna have arrived from our plaza. hi, guys. >> you have just pushed in probably the coolest gift for any teen or an adult, i have to say. i would love these. these are cat ear headphones, hoda! they light up and you can use them as headphones but see in the little earpiece, can also become party headquarters because they act as speakers if you push a button.

yes! from brookstone starting at $99. they even have an ariana grande limited edition. >> what is this? stop it. >> this is for the person on your list that wants to be the coolest person on the snow hill. $30. it is giant! they've got snow cones and polar bears. awesome! >> thank you, guys! wheel this one straight on over. i think i see evan coming in. evan is all warm from the plaza. good job, evan. >> he's bringing us the gift of grub. when in doubt, give some great food. i don't know if you've had jenny's ice cream, it is so delicious. they deliver straight to your door. they've got two holiday collections. they've got the sugar and spice collection, the splendid holiday collection. and ice cream sandwiches.

you want one? are you sure? >> you go get these at shopjennys.com. one is even spoked with a little rose. this is a great gift collection called the new near's unresolution. it is from mouth.com. for the person on your list who refuses to stop eating bacon, jerky and whiskey, hazelnut whiskey, sandwich cookies and fluffernutter. >> thanks, evan. janelle, hi. gorgeous. >> isn't she? check out her leggings, hoda. these are your very own custom leggings. >> stop it! >> yes. you can make anything for $59. from zazzle.com.

now these are a love code charm necklace. there is a hidden message on here. when you spin, you can see the beautiful hidden message. they're gorgeous. nordstrom.com, they're $68. >> thank you. wait. do we have an entire family coming out? is come on, family! >> we've got jeff, millie, marty. this is a holiday party. these are from the company store.com starting at $19. these are flying off the shelves. if you want a family holiday -- >> do you love them? >> yes. >> -- pajama moment. you got to get cracking. you guys were awesome. we have two more. so these -- matt and natalie both had some great gifts to give back. >> these are the "today's

original." you go to today.com, you can still get these at great last-minute gifts. matt's shinola pass bookcases. proceeds all go to charity. these go to the detroit edison public school. and these reeboks natalie designed, boks stands for bringing our kids success. >> we love every single thing you brought. up next, she has even more -- by the way, you have even more ideas on our website. in the kitchen, our friend katie lee will cook up a classic. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

karen has 459 friends. but none of them made sure she got home okay. none of them suggested she skip the next drink, try a glass of water, or maybe just call it a night. karen has 459 friends. but tonight, what she really needed was one good one. we are back with "today food," and we're counting down to the holidays with stress-free easy entertaining ideas. our good friend, katie lee, is here with prime rib that anyone can make. good morning, happy holidays. let us start -- you had me at

prime rib. but -- >> i think every man who works here is going to be in the kitchen. >> our mouths are watering already. >> we've got our prime rib. the key here is to ask your butcher to cut it off the bone for you, but then tie the bone back on. that way you get all the benefits of cooking on the bone but it is a lot easier after you cook it to slice it. super simple. then garlic, salt and pepper. that's all you need. for gravy, flour, beef stock, cherry vinegar, herbs and dijon mustard. >> aforementioned prime rib. >> you're going to make little slits on the fat side and put little slices of garlic. you just need a few pieces on each side. what happens is when it goes into the oven and the fat starts to cook, it kind of bakes itself in this garlic flavor. >> if you did this so my fingers will smell like garlic all day -- is that the reason? >> yes.

next, make a salt crust. this looks like a lot of salt but this meat needs it. salt here and pepper. that's it. mix it all together. then put it all over the prime rib. you want to make this crust around it. this is going to sit for about 30 minutes. >> that's important, isn't it? you need to let it rest in this position. >> you can salt it a couple hours before, if you like. but take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, let it sit on counter and kind of start to come to room temperature before it goes into the oven. >> you put it in a nice, big roasting pan here with room around it. rye? >> that way the air can circulate around it and you'll have even cooking. let's put it in the oven. the oven is at 450 degrees. that gives it a really nice sear on the outside. but as soon as it goes in, down it down to 350. >> as we make our way up front, we have professional tasters. >> oh, my gosh! >> so good. >> all it needs is the salt and

pepper, man, this is crazy. >> got a little garlic! >> al, here we go. >> it's come out of the oven. 15 minutes a pound. take the thermometer, make sure it is about 120 degrees and let it rest for about 20 minutes. let's make the gravy. the brown fits and quarter-cup of the drippings from the pan. cook until the flour flavor cooks out. pour in your beef stock. you can never have too much gravy either. everybody loves gravy. you just want to really whisk this and get all that flour mixed in. then stir in some dijon mustard for me. the dijon is going to give it flavor. it is also going to help it to thicken up. then put in a garlic clove and some thyme and some rosemary. then this is going to thicken. should be like this. then we'll take out our herbs

and our garlic. >> you don't have to strain it or anything like? >> no. but add in a tablespoon of sherry vinegar at the end. that will cut through all the fat and make it taste good. >> may i do the unveiling? >> look at the crust on that! how's the gravy, guides? >> it's just -- >> oh, my god. >> the best party is hoda is putting down a base layer for the fourth hour with the red wine. >> slice it thick or slice it thin? >> i like it a little thin because this is a really rich cut of meat. you really don't need a lot. >> you are serving it with mashed potatoes. a little vreservoir, the gravy goes right in there. katie lee, fantastic prime rib dinner for the holidays with mashed potato. go to today.com/food for the recipe.

welcome back, everyone. our good friend, lester holt, is up early this morning to tell us about a special series he's got this week on "nbc nightly news" called "inspiring america." boy, couldn't we use that. >> you maic it sound like i sleep in until 9:00. "inspiring america" become a popular franchise on "nightly news." we're going to do it for two weeks straight. tonight i kick off on a great story about a librarian in the

bronx who every wednesday packs up his suitcase with kids' books, he walks to a local homeless shelter and reads to the kids. we have another story about an entrepreneur who donates his air miles to help families reconnect. and we'll visit some stories we've done along the way. as i said, very popular franchise. cool thing, we invite people to offer ideas, logon to the "nightly news" facebook page. we really do need to be uplifted. >> i know later in the week you have a great series on curing the common cold? you sound like you're suffering a little bit. >> i was hoping you guys had that. >> we will have it next week probably. great. >> happy holidays, lester. catch it on "nightly news" with lester holt. just ahead, jenna bush hager and nia vardalos are helping matt o al out in the next hour.

>> we're going inside some celebrity good morning i'm katy zachry. let's get to right to your first alert neighborhood forecast with krystal klei. >> hi katy. can you believe yesterday 50s and 60s through our morning. >> no. and now feels like temperatures in the teens. as you get out the door it is cold. ten degrees in pottstown, philadelphia feeling like 14. mt. holly the same, atlantic

city and millville at 17. mt. pocono 3 degrees outside. temperatures cold throughout the entire day. good news is we stay dry. rain off to the east of us now and will not move in for the rest of today. instead we should see some sun mixing through the clouds. we have some breaking traffic news, big delays to septa this morning. first alert traffic reporter jessica boyingtons had the details. >> that's right, a lot to talk about really quickly, too. the regional rails are dealing with inbound delays up to 90 minutes due to equipment problems for the inbound service from gen kintown station to centre city. from west trenton, doylestown and airport line is affected and mel rose park outbound service doling with two-hour delays. road closure on the p.a. turnpike back to a tractor trailer eastbound side. route 100 southbound to 30 southbound, route 202 northbound to the schuylkill and hop back around valley forge.

beginning today in cam ben you can enjoy free meter parking through january 2nd. the annual freebie is a courtesy to try to encourage shopping and visits to the city. today's expected to be the busiest mailing day of the year. the postal service says this year figures to be even busier than last year. i'm katy zachry. we'll have another update in 25 minutes. get the latest news and weather with the nbc 10 app. back to the "today" show. (my hero zero by lemonheads)

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this morning on "today's take," opa! nia vardalos is our co-host. inside celebrity homes. wait until you see how chris n jenner does her home for the holidays. from nbc news, this is "today's take," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to a monday morning, december 19th, 2016. tamron is off so we've got jenna bush hager around got a big holid hollywood star with us today. the woman, writer, producer star behind "my big fat greek

wedding" and "my big fat greek wedding 2." nia vardalos. you've been such a great friend to the show. you're on broadway at the public theater starring in "tiny, beautiful things." >> directed by thomas kale. based on a book by cheryl strade. she wrote "wild." and "tiny beautiful things" book and i got to adapt it and do it as a play at the public. the one and only. >> my sister was at opening night. it was a tough ticket. she's like why didn't you come? i was like, well, i have two kids and you didn't invite me. she said you were so terrific. >> thank you. >> i understand in the show you get tattoos. >> yes. my nails are a mess in the show. i get to have tattoos all over. it is fun. >> do you have tattoos in real life, not to be too personal? >> you'll know soon, al, because you and i will be naked one day.

>> why am i left out of of this? >> because you have kids and you weren't invited. >> no, in real life i do not have tattoos. julia put some on me. see here? this is none. this is to show what julia does. see? she puts it on me every night for the show. that's what i get to wear in the show. basically pajamas. >> that's what i get to wear in my real life. >> thomas kale directed hamilton as well. he's heavy. >> not in weight. >> no. he's slight. no tattoos, either. i can vouch for that. and he decided on the look and approach to the show and gave me the book. cheryl strade has been a part of our process. i got to adapt it and here we are on stage. >> that's really great. what are you doing for christmas? got a big fat greek christmas planned? >> we're going to be in new york for the first time ever. it is going to be really nice. snow, we're hoping for it. >> doesn't look like much.

>> no? >> you're asking the right person. i always ask al for weather. the only person. >> we only have one day off from the theater. it's probably the first year i'm not cooking at all. >> kind of refreshing. >> if you want to bring something over, i'm open. >> you posted a picture of your mom who sent you some christmas cookies? >> my mom was horrified i would not be home and able to cook. she sent me greek christmas cookies in this giant feta cheese container! >> i have to say, were you baking with feta or you knew there would be cookies with cheese added? >> we call that greek tupperware. at any point you can open your mom's freezer. you'll be like, oh, my gosh! ice cream. no! it's -- >> we had margarine containers growing up. and various things like that that were repurposed. my mom would save meat trays. what are you doing? >> or they give you something and go, now i want that back.

it's a margarine container! all right. >> all right. let's get caught up on the weekend. dylan dreyer and her husband, brian fichera, had their baby boy, calvin bradley fichera. they are so beautiful. 8 points 3 ounces. very fitting, cal vain wvin wasn the middle of a snowstorm on saturday. >> i'm going to go visit her. >> ironically here meteorologist at the "today" show, don cinekas. >> we love you, dylan. >> i saw the picture you posted with you and charlie. >> savannah had a baby and i got to meet him this weekend. y'all, i just held him for an hour. we totally overstayed our

welcome. henry came with me but he is the cutest. i really thought about kidnapping him. i want him so badly! that's all i want for christmas. >> just -- listen. you're good friends. just go over there and go, savannah, you have another baby. >> i actually said, my son is so hand some and when they sent tht picture, "j.b. and her son." charlie, you can be my son any day. first, it makes me want another baby. >> have you mentioned this to henry? >> no. but if he's watching or if he wants to watch online maybe -- >> he just spit coffee. >> look out, henry! >> this is what blushing likes like. anyway, also -- you're cracking me up today. vail is savannah's other child.

who i am not going to kidnap pendant vail and mila were in a pageant. they told mevy i have to show on my phone because the video is really bad quality. there is mila in the green dress. there is vail. she's about to do something her mother used to do in a minute. >> drink? >> come on, al! wait. i think she is about to. ready? one, two, three -- y'all, is this like -- maybe it is the wrong video. don't you love watching other children's videos? >> yes. >> it's very cute. >> you can't even see vail. and the whole point of the video is that mila lifts her skirt. and it wasn't in that video. >> but we loved it! >> we loved it anyway!

>> there's nothing more torturous than showing other children in videos. >> being a parent -- okay. do you -- are your kids old enough to be in recitals? when your child is like the first or second person in the recital, but then you have to stay for the rest of the children. your child isn't that great to begin with. then the other kids -- >> yeah. >> are just as bad. >> you know what happens to me, too? people will say, well, you're an actor, let me show you my kid because i think that they should be an actor. i'll have to sit through -- >> it was sort of like what i just did. >> no, no. you're in the trying to get her an agent. >> well, that's true. but i was a crazy stage mom. both savannah and i were like this. >> my face hurts from smiling when i see my daughter do anything. yeah. >> this weekend we took our holiday photo -- which is now going to be our christmas card. i got permission from deborah and from lela.

in the middle, courtney. it is from "christmas story." "home alone." deborah arranged all the ugly christmas sweaters. >> i didn't even know that it was a tradition. my family just wears them. >> just natural. >> just naturally. >> also, our church is part of this group that there is a foundation called the osbourne foundation that mentors, children whose parents are incarcerated. so i was a santa's help eer thi weekend giving out gifts and my son, nick, was my elf. we had a good time for that. >> do people recognize al roker in a santa outfit? >> that's not al roker in a santa outfit. >> who is it? >> just for anybody younger who might be watching. but, no. a lot of people don't.

>> they don't. >> would not put the two of us together. >> i would recognize him. what but? >> well, basically because we watch you every morning. >> with the beard and the bangs and -- >> yeah. and so what do you do? you take presents to -- >> we bring -- these kids had asked for specific things. so santa has those presents. so many of those children are just terrific. it is a nationwide organization, osbourne foundation. look it up and donate if you can. as we mentioned earlier, nia is playing an advice columnist in her in you show, "tiny beautiful things." we want to get some advice questions that our people on plaza had. let's reach in. nia, you grab a question. >> okay. let's see. there's two. this one, here's the question. what do you do when you get a gift you absolutely don't like? from ashley in goose creek,

south carolina. okay. here's what you do. "oh, my god! where did you get it?" and then you can take it back. >> there you go. >> okay. here's the next one. what do you do when the friends who you agree not to exchange gifts with get you something y anyw anyway, susie in virginia. you know, i guess if this person just -- it's all about giving and they want to give you something, i say just take it and you can regift it back to her next year. when you make that agreement. >> there you go. all right. thank you very much. appreciate it. up next, ho ho holy secret santa, batman. wait until you see what one wait until you see what one cehey there, hi. why do people have eyebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk,

without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. i'and thanks to target, i got to the after party - this nice little outfit just in time using order pickup. stay fresh! get last minute gifts with order pickup at target. the holidays don't officialy begin, until it's time to make: flaky, delicious, piping hot things. golden brown and sticky things. fresh out of the oven, why can't they cool things? new things, old things. and blink and they're gone, those went fast things. make the oven one of the things they're most excited to open. it's baking season. warm up the holidays with pillsbury.

the things that i consume a lot of it is very acidic. the enamel on my teeth was actually weakening. the whiteness wasn't there as much. my teeth didn't look as healthy as others. my dentist said that pronamel would help fight against that erosion that foods and drinks were causing. so it was really important to start using the pronamel. it'll be one less thing you have to worry about. pronamel is now giving me the confidence to know that i'm doing the right thing. so it's nice to know that it's as simple as that. ♪

i'and thanks to target, i got to the after party - this nice little outfit just in time using order pickup. stay fresh! get last minute gifts with order pickup at target. we are back with "today's take." and, my gosh, can you imagine having bill gates as your secret santa? >> okay. this is a readit user. they learned that the multi-millionaire bill gates isn't a bad secret santa, as you may have guessed. in 2009 they posted what they considereding to the biggest secret santa exchange in the world and it is open to anyone online. >> so they recommend $20. okay? $20 gift. mr. gates sent a package of gifts, including an xbox, three wireless xbox controllers, an nintendo classic, a cookbook, and a framed photo of himself.

that, my friends, is pretty good. and the dog. >> i think when i first heard that this morning, do we know that it is "the" bill gates? could it be bill gates from minnesota, perhaps? >> i think all the microsoft stuff gives it away. >> well, or the framed picture. if it's not bill gates, somebody went to a really great length to pretend to be bill gates. >> i think that's amazing. >> i love the dog just sitting off to the side. like huh? >> but who pulled bill gates? and what do you think they got him? >> framed picture of themself. but it is hard to get bill gates a present. what would you buy bill gates? >> picture of me. i don't know. get him a mac. get him an apple product. >> maybe -- maybe not that much. so, today is the busiest shipping day of the year. if you haven't ordered your christmas gifts yet, you are officially running late. this is the busiest day for the

u.s. postal service. 750 million packages delivered this holiday season. that's up 12% from last year. >> okay. so have you done your holiday shopping? >> i got it done early because of the play. i started shopping in october. so everyone-o'-lanterns this year. no, i really t lly to get going. my husband, i just gave him a weed wacker which is an ear trimmer. same thing. he breaks it, i buy him a new one. >> it is multi-purpose because i've seen my husband use it in the o nose as well. >> right now your husband and my husband are going -- >> the difference is your husband didn't say -- you didn't say to your husband, you want another child. >> i thought that was in the last part. >> but i just -- just wanted to make sure -- have you changed your mind. >> no, i still want one but i'm pretty sure he changed his mind about the whole marriage. >> no! >> you went a little far on that

one. >> hopefully now. >> let's get hank on the phone and see if we can find out. i'm going to do weather. let's see if we can get hank here on the phone. >> all right. >> let's check it out. first of all, look at the difference in temperatures here in the east from 24 hours ago. new york city, down 26 degrees from this time yesterday. atlanta, 36 degrees colder. it is 34 right now. memphis, 16 degrees right now. that's 10 degrees colder. but good news is we are going to see warmer temperatures. right now they're cold but as we get into midweek, things warm you were and that will be much, much better. and even better news for all of you folks traveling other than the pacific northwest early this week, rest of the week weatherwise should not be any problem as for as your travel weather is concerned. i can't speak to who you're traveling with but your travel ather will be okay.

>> good morning, i'm first alert meteorologist krystal klei. look at our forecast today, cold morning, cold afternoon. we don't see a lot of warming. we're going to stay right around the mid-30s in philadelphia, centre city at 34 degrees. 32 for lansdale and 30 west chester. some of us may be a little at or below freezing through the afternoon. because of the cold air and northerly flow wind. lehigh degree to degrees. allentown looking at low to mid-30s for new jersey, the shore and delaware as well. >> and that is your latest weather. coming up, lifestyles of the rich and famous. we'll take you inside some fabulous homes of the biggest stars. wait until you see how chris jenner went all walgreens presents, a holiday mini miracle. hey! hey! ♪ this is for you. did you really? didn't have too! ♪

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yep, got tno, no, no,ll she wantebe right home. ♪ (squirrel screeching, birds chirping) (squirrel chittering) hey! hey! (tires screeching) hey! is this yours? yes. thank you! happy holidays. (vo) the real magic of the holidays is when we all give a little more. (man) thank you! my swthis scarf all thatsara. left to remem... what! she washed this like a month ago the long lasting scent of gain flings sure, you could sit around all night

waiting for a pizza to be delivered. but wouldn't making it yourself be a lot more fun? it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. testinhuh?sting! is this thing on? come on! your turn! where do pencils go on vacation? pennsylvania! (laughter) crunchy wheat frosted sweet! kellogg's frosted mini-wheats. feed your inner kid ♪ "don't you forget about me" ♪ by simple minds ♪

if you ever wanteded to know how the stars lived, get ready for a serious case of house envy because we're going to take you inside some incredible homes. >> here to take us on an open house tour, the editor in chief of architectural digest. >> get started with the kardashians. kris jenner went gonzo. >> she has a professional team of 20 people who decorate her house. >> team of what? >> 20 people. pros. we took an exclusive sneak peek for "arc digest."

the theme was candy land chic. three evergreens here, 10,000 lights are being strung. massive peppermint balls and three-foot candy candidacy. eight nutcrackers. >> wow. why am i not surprised? how about marc anthony. >> this is a case of house envy. this is his compound in the dominican republic, it is a massive property. it sleeps 24 people. it has guest bungalows and cabanas. two swimming pools. it is his own personal resort. has a man-made beach, an outdoor movie theater. swim-up bars. everything. he has a sports bar pavilion. an art studio. how did jimmy johnson? >> jimmy johnson's family lives

in north carolina but this is a sneak peek at their home here in new york that they live in here in the city with their two kids. and race cars. here is a little video. he has a charming family, beautiful kids. >> pretty in pink bedroom. >> bunk beds. very new york, right? one bedroom for the girls and it's cute as can be. >> you also profile the home of actress jessica chastain. >> this is old world glamour, a very new york apartment. rich, luxurious with six fireplaces. kind of a dream apartment for a new yorker. she has a juke box. six fireplaces. it belonged to lauren bacall back in the day. beautiful upper west side new york apt with a beautiful copper tub in her bathroom. just super glamorous there. >> that reflects jessica

chastain. elegant. glamorous. >> i agree. it is a fantastic house. >> she gets one more tub next to it, she is do a cialis commercial. just ahead, have yourself a stress-free holiday with a four-ingredient slow cooker recipe your guests will devour.

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good monday morning. i'm katy zachry. just a few minutes before 9:30. it is cold outside if you haven't stepped outside yet. meteorologist krystal klei is here with the details on what you can expect. >> you need quite a few layers before you get outdoors. feels like temperatures just keep falling here. we're now at 12 degrees the feels like in northeast philadelphia and 14 what it feels like in philadelphia. 10 for pottstown, 15 reading and 16 in lancaster. new jersey not faring better at 17, a pair for atlantaic city and millville and dover, wilmington the same, feeling like 17 degrees. look at the trend, as we get into the afternoon low to mid-30s for forecast high temperatures around philadelphia and much of the region and we start to fall back down into the

20s as we move overnight. some breaking traffic news this morning are morning, jessica boyington has more on that. >> we're watching a road closure on the papike due to a tractor trailer fire. big alternate being suggested is taking rutd 100 southbound to route 30, back to route 202, taking you further up northbound so you can access the schuylkill expressway westbound and enter the turn around valley forge. all of the traffic is diverted off. power plans inbound service from gen kintown station to centre city two-hour delays, all other regional running with 60-minute delays. christmas is creeping up. here are some shipping deadlines you need to know if you use ups today is the deadline for

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owe're down to the wire so our "today food" team is bringing you stress-free dishes. elizabeth, good to see you. >> oh, honey, it is so good to be here. listen, i woke up this morning in a cold sweat. i could not believe that i'm bringing my meatballs to the "today" show. this is the simplest, most effective way to win a party. meatbal meatballs, grape jelly -- >> are these store bought? >> yes. that makes it that much easier. chili sauce. just take our grape jelly. put it in our crock pot.

these things are as tacky as a christmas sweater. they are. it doesn't get any tackier. but, it doesn't matter. if your party goes to hell in a hand basket and you're serving these meatballs, everybody will forgive you. >> my grandmother always said that. when you open up a safe bag? >> we'll put these in our crock pot for three to four hours. you can leave them -- i don't like to put a crackpot out on my buffet table. i'll want it in a chafing dish. see? that's where we're different, al. this is my favorite ham in the entire world. it is brown sugar and pork. >> you had me at pork. >> this glaze is life changing. we already have our brown sugar in here. add our coke.

a little bit of mustard. spicy brown mustard is wonderful. then we have a little bit of orange zest, orange juice. the key to this ham is we want to baste this. about three times during your cooking process. like overdo it because i want some of that base to really get on the bottom of this pan. it is going to caramelize. so at the end our last phase is almost going to be like we're painting the ham. have you ever? it is the most beautiful ham. >> almost sounds like the "ellen" game, have you ever/never. >> you could get these results at home. this is our jezebel sauce. in the south we call a harlot a jezebel. i don't know why in the world they call this recipe jezebel sauce except maybe this recipe's been passed around maybe as much

as -- >> whoa. >> we have our biscuit. how is it? please, y'all. >> so good! >> what's this here? >> this is happiness. >> all my kids are grown now. i have 13 year-olds who are out of diapers. >> what is this? >> that is a pimento cheese puff pastry roll. roll it up, then you slice it. you bake it off just like you would -- exactly. >> this is a bonus. we said two, there are really three. >> you can do these recipes two days ahead of time. those meatballs, lord, they can sit in the refrigerator for five days and they're fine. seriously. >> elizabeth will help you win christmas! >> i'm serious. >> go to today.com/food for the

recipes. singer tory kelly. we'll talk to her about her acting debut in "sing" after thes i tried hard to quit smoking. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

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>> announcer: the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. grammy nominated singer tory kelly is known for her powerful vocals. these days she's lending that big voice to a animated teenage elephant. her character tries hard to be less fashionable. ♪ happy birthday dear grandpa happy birthday to you ♪ >> aw. >> what? come on, make your wish. >> i wish you'd join a choir! >> in just a minute, tory is going to perform a song from the soundtrack. what's is like to see your voice on the big screen? >> it's very strange. i never thought i would be

playing an elephant but i always wanted to do voice acting so this is like a dream come true to me. >> you say you are a little bit like nina. >> i grew up being really, really shy. i always knew that i loved to sing like mina. i just had -- i would get up there on stage and just be like really stiff and not know what to do. it took time for me to really grow out of that and realize that this is what i love to do. >> what are you going to perform for us? >> i'm going to do the song from the soundtrack, "don't you worry about a thing" with stevie wonder. >> cool. take it awap. . w. a. y. ♪ everybody's got a thing but some don't know to handle it ♪ always reaching out in vain just

taking the things not worth having ♪ but don't you worry about a thing don't you worry about a thing mama ♪ cause i'll be standing off of the side when you check it out ♪ they say it's out of style to drag ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing mama cause i'll be standing on

the side when you check it out ♪ ♪ when you get off your trip don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing ♪ everybody's needs a chance the chance to check out the new yeah ♪ ♪ you're the only one who sees the changes you say you go through yeah yeah ♪ whoa oh oh oh yeah ♪

don't you worry about a thing don't you worry about a thing baby ♪ cause i'll be standing on the side when you check it out ♪ when you get off your trip don't you worry about a thing ♪ don't you worry about a thing mama cause i'll be standing i'll be stand iing for you ♪ oh oh don't you worry no ♪ >> my gosh! yay! you are so good!

i didn't think i'd want to see that movie anymore. but i do. al, what do you got for me? >> "sing" is from our parent company, universal. want to let you know that. the week ahead -- it hits theaters on wednesday. by wednesday the weather should be pretty nice around much of the country. we do have some snow showers up around the great lakes. sunshine throughout much of the rest of the country. few showers through the southwest. then by week's end, beautiful weather along the east coast. lot of rough stuff in the western third of the u.s. temperaturewise we start out eastern half the country way below normal. things normalize toward the end of the week. that's what' >> good morning, i'm first alert meteorologist krystal klei. look at our forecast today, cold morning, cold afternoon. we don't see a lot of warming. we're going to stay right around the mid-30s in philadelphia, centre city at 34 degrees. 32 for lansdale and 30 west chester. some of us may be a little at or

below freezing through the afternoon. because of the cold air and northerly flow wind. lehigh valley at 30 degrees, for allentown looking at low to mid-30s for new jersey, the shore and delaware as well. >> and that's your latest weather. up next, you haven't had time to deck the halls? we'll show you last-minute decor that will impress your guests when we come back, after these when we come back, after these when we come back, after these it's a shark! it's a cancer-fighting shark... thanks to st. jude children's research hospital. at st. jude, no family ever pays for treatments, travel, housing or food... because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. wanna play? yes i do. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. go to stjude.org or shop where you see the st. jude logo. why can't i be a shark?

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so if you feel like the holidays snuck up on you this year, like i do, don't worry, there is still a little time to add decor to make your house feel festive. >> some easy diy holiday hacks. good morning. >> start in the kitchen. christmas is less than a week away. >> if you haven't had a chance to get the tree up, downside. this is a small tree. it is faster to decorate, less expensive and this is my kitschy christmas tree. some cookie cutters, spoons, measuring spoons, measure be cups, beads, light, so simple to put up. small trees are great everywhere. kids' rooms. >> i was going to do it in my daughter's room but i didn't get around to it. >> i am thinking of hanging my earrings on a tree. >> improvise. >> i like this.

this is a table scape made from broken ornaments. >> when you group them together is makes a nice bold presentation. no one knows the difference. put on a nice metallic platter, no one knows. we'll use here what we have. simply put ornaments in a low shallow bowl. centerpieces should be low. >> these are ornaments my kids made. that was right from the bag. also just cutting ribbon that has wire in it is the easiest way to dress up a table. >> i am obsessed with this. tell us about these holiday cards. >> i have a really hard time throwing away my holiday cards because they are so pretty. week after the holidays when the kids are home from school, a

great craft to give them. cut the tops of the cards off. i made a nice placemat. this is great for little ones that come to visit who are a little messier. not that expensive, laminate. >> if not, you can also go to kinko's. >> with the lamb flat, they can be wiped off. >> another great thing is to make them into gift bags. >> i am doing this. thank you for that tip. now my merry mantel makeover. these are actually my children. a very simple way to make over your mantel. this is my oldest child. >> i have all gold frames here but you can use a metallic, red.

the simple solution if you don't have all the same color frames, a can of spray paint. here we have a banner that we just personalized. i made this very quickly. these are just very heavy due craft foam. i cut out "today's take." you could use your family name or joy to the world, peace on earth. whatever your holiday saying is. your mantel is completely made over. things are already have. you got the kids involved. >> tu kni hope that you can sho these off. do this one. >> we don't have much time. >> this is a simple snow globe makeover. this is a jar. this is the sticky part. stick it to the bottom.

>> thank you so much. i don't think we have enough time to do this because i am not as crafty as i wish. thank you so much. we'll be back in a moment. first, this is "today" on nbc. thank you!

thanks to the generosity of all of our wonderful viewers and partner companies, we've sent more than $12 million in gifts to children all over the country. our lovely co-host nia vardalos was our celebrity elf this morning. good morning to all of you. we understand you have a lovely donation for us. >> we do, actually. we're so thrilled to be here. we've been participating in the holiday drive now for nine years. we are delivering over 8,000

products with a retail value of $250,000. >> wow. that's so important. we remember the older kids who have needs for this stuff. >> absolutely. we actually sort of select a number of products. select antiaging products for women, for men. plus also these fabulous lip glosses for someone like destiny's which is going to look really beautiful as well as de shawn in terms of the antiaging products. >> you still have time to make a christmas donation to millions of children's in their teens. toydrive.com. >> we want to thank nia for

good morning, i'm katy zachry. few minutes before 10:00 on your monday. let's get right to your forecast with meteorologist krystal klei. >> what we're looking at are temperatures that are very cold out there this morning. 27 in philadelphia and 28 in wilmington. mt. holly at 26 and mt. pocono only 15 degrees. look at what it feels like outside, single digits for mt. pocono, 15 mt. holly and 17 atlantic city, philadelphia feeling like 16.

today we'll stay on the try side throughout with the sunshine as well. thanks, we have some breaking traffic news. jessica boyington will tell us more. >> what we have right now is sky 410 over top of a tractor trailer fire. you can re-enter after the massive delays, diverting traffic off around the valley forge area. the big delay on the eastbound side, also watching mass transit for regional delays. we have a power problem, up to 60 hsk minute delays for all regional rail service and inpound from gen kinsville to centre city delays as well. i'm katy zachry. we'll have another live update in 25 minutes. get the latest news and weather with the nbc 10 app, the free

download, see you shortly.

hello, peco. hi. can you help me save on my energy bill? old appliances. like a hot water heater? it's around here somewhere. nope. nope. what is this thing? sir, have you looked in the basement? huh. oh, yeah. no wonder. it was hidden behind all of my free weights. if you're not an expert, peco can help. we have lots of ways to help you save energy and money. peco. the future is on.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody! happy fun day monday to you. december 19th. so happy that you're all joining us today. work from home, baby, which i did friday. good harmony. ♪ got to go to work >> love them. making big news today. get to that and much more in "today's buzz" with our stackable. >> if you want a smoky eye or updo for the holiday, does our ambush makeovers, here to show you