good morning. breaking overnight. new upheaval in chicago over that deadly police shooting of a teenage suspected. >> the firing of the city's top cop not satisfying protesters. so could mayor rahm emanuel be the next to go? rubio rising. senator marco rubio vaults into second place in the republican presidential race with ted cruz now tied for third as ben carson slip. the major shake-up revealed in a new national poll just out this morning. baby surprise. mark zuckerberg announced the

with a promise, to give away 99% of his facebook fortune. the $45 million going to make the world a better place for his baby and other children. and let there be light. the world's most famous christmas tree just hours away center today, wednesday, december 2nd, 2015. >> 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 wednesday morning. big day here in rockefeller center. going to be an even bigger night when about 300,000 people pack the streets behind us. thing. that's al roker's forecast for tonight, hoping there won't be rain when that beautiful tree al? >> going to be nice. >> we're hoping that it is. >> oh, not good. >> uh-oh. >> you know what happens if that

>> yeah, a lot of disappointed folks. >> we'll check in with al to get the forecast in a little while. let's start with our top story on a wednesday morning. days after the head of chicago's police department said he had the support of the mayor in the wake of that videotaped police killing of a teenage suspect, mayor rahm emanuel has now fired him, and protesters say emanuel should also step down. nbc's stephanie gosk is in chicago. steph, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. well, the attorney general for the state of illinois says that the trust between the chicago police department and the public is broken. she is calling for a federal civil rights investigation into the entire department. among the questions she wants answers, is there a practice here of discriminatory policing? the mayor fired the head of the chicago police, but overnight protesters still stood outside police headquarters not satisfied, wanting more to be done. >> the mayor needs to resign, now.

week after the release of this video. laquan mcdonald. the cop who fired the gun is out murder charge. his lawyer says he fired in self-defense. in a letter to the justice department, the illinois attorney general calls the shooting shocking and says it highlights questions about the historic, systemic use of unlawful and excessive force by chicago police. asking for a civil rights investigation, the letter lists five cases. among them the police shooting of 25-year-old ronald johnson, eight days before laquan mcdonald. police say he was armed with a gun. his family says there is a dashcam video that proves he wasn't and that the officer shot johnson as he ran away. >> they are still seeking to hide this video. they are still denying justice for ronny. >> reporter: on tuesday mayor emanuel announced the creation of a task force to look into police abuse.

part to making sure that people have trust and faith in the police department. >> emanuel fired police superintendent garry mccarthy claiming he had become a distraction, but the mayor's fiercest critics are calling on him to resign, too. mr. mccarthy had become a distraction. there are a lot of questions in office. have you become a distraction as well? >> well, you'll make that judgment. i think i'm doing my job, and i try to do it every day and do it in a professional way. >> reporter: mayor, who served as president obama's chief of staff, is scheduled to travel to paris tomorrow for the climate talks. when he was asked about that trip, he said he's still thinking about it. guys, back to you. >> all right, stephanie gosk in chicago, stephanie, thanks very much. big shake-up this morning in the republican presidential race. according to the newest national poll donald trump is still leading, but senators marco rubio and ted cruz are surging. nbc's hallie jackson is in new hampshire and has a closer look. hallie, good morning.

even as new reports describe establishment republicans as getting more and more worried about donald trump actually winning the nomination on the gop side, those new polls, that new national poll shows that he's not just still in the lead he's actually increasing support, but a couple of other candidates are also picking up momentum. just the latest shift in this republican race. this morning a shake-up of sorts in the standings. still dominating the republican race, donald trump, but the newest national poll shows marco rubio edging out ben carson for the second place spot and carson tying ted cruz, up three point to third. goals? >> reporter: all smiles in alabama, rubio faced a fired-up crowd, one of his biggest yet coming off his best fund-raising month yet according to a campaign aide who tells nbc news rubio is on track to raise 15 million by the iowa caucus.

office that has scored victories against obamacare. >> reporter: promoting health care but his rivals see him vulnerable on a different topic, immigration. donald trump taking target practice. >> you look at rubio very, very weak on illegal immigration, i mean, extremely weak. you look at his stance on amnesty. he wants amnesty for everybody. >> rorter: trump, campaigning in his ninth state in the last two weeks, still hammering home his now widely discredited claim that thousands of new jersey muslims cheered 9/11. >> and things are all of a sudden materializing. >> reporter: and now new fallout after some black religious leaders came out in support of trump. one telling nbc news he's being crucified by african-americans for endorsing the front-runner. now in, that new poll, democratic front-runner hillary clinton would beat donald trump in a head-to-head matchup and every other republican, guys, but it's marco rubio who comes closest. >> hallie jackson, thanks so much. let's turn to nicolle

former white house communications director for president george w. bush. nicole, good morning. >> good morning, guys. >> this is the first national poll we've seen recently where there's a real change. i mean, trump is still at the top so that hasn't changed. >> of course. >> and now we're seeing rubio rising and cruz rising and carson falling. for rubio, this has got to be -- he's got to be thinking this is his moment. >> this means that the republican electorate has internalized the tragedy in paris and the dire importance of selecting someone as our commander in chief who can make those sorts of decisions about not just counterterrorism measures which chris christie talks about a lot but about the intricacies of foreign policy and rubio has that experience and is benefiting from it. >> ben carson was on the show yesterday and saying paris was a commander in chief moment and voters are looking at him saying we're not so difficult with him

these difficult times. do you. >> voters internalizing paris. we won't get other that between now and election day. what we understand now is the nature of isis and the strategy now is to wreak havoc along what they did to the innocent people in paris so we're not going to let go of a feeling of the importance of experience and the importance of strength and dealing with isis. >> you don't think he can rebound on that side of the equation? >> i think as long as his opponents for the republican primary vote, allow us to like him. we want to be able to like ben carson and respect his career as a physician and sort of honor the civility with which he's carried out his race but we don't want to choose him with the nominee. >> the problem with that argument you is still have donald trump at top of the polls and he has the exact same foreign policy experience ben carson has which is to say none. >> almost worse. i mean, he brags about getting all his military advice from sunday shows.

i don't want him to get their foreign policy advice from the show. people are attracted to strength, his attraction to the truth, the straight truth and nothing but the truth, as he sees it is what people love about him. his opponents for the republican nomination don't learn that lesson, that people want to hear it straight, want to hear exactly what's wrong with washington and they will shake it up, trump will continue to thrive in the polls. >> 15 seconds left off topic a little bit. rahm emanuel in a tough time right now out in chicago as mayor there, firing the chief of the police department. can mayor emanuel survive? >> well, listen, we know him as a political figure, somebody that's been on the political scene for decades. there's an editorial in the "new york times" today that basically alleges he's involved in a cover-up, that a cover-up about that tragedy there goes all the way to his office. i don't know how as a political question you recover from that. >> all right. nicolle wallace, thank you very much. >> thank you, guys. in other news this morning, the pentagon says it is unleashing u.s. special forces

intelligence on isis in iraq and in syria. critics say far more needs to be done to defeat that terror group. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more on that. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. depending on specifically said u.s. troops will be carrying out raids in iraq, but critics say it's just more of the same, and today british lawmakers are expecting to hold what could be marathon debates about that country's role in the war on isis. after the u.s., france and russia have been bombing isis strongholds, today the uk decides if it, too, will bomb isis in syria. this following new tough talk from defense secretary ash carter saying that of a paris more needs to be done to defeat isis. >> we're at war. tens of thousands of u.s. personnel are operating in the broader middle east region and more are on their way.

u.s. special ops to iraq. >> these special operators over time will be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather leaders. >> reporter: but will it change the battlefield? it's not really different from what washington is already doing. special ops were operating in iraq in october. commandos from the top secret delta force joined kurdish fighters to raid an isis prison and freed dozens of hostages. one american was killed. what's new now is that the iraqi government, which complained it wasn't informed, is supposedly on board. >> raids in iraq will be done at invitation of the iraqi government and focused on defending its borders and building the iss and capability. this the force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in syria. >> reporter: but only a tiny force will be carrying out those raids.

critics say is too slow and underestimates the isis threat. and after downplaying isis as a local group, u.s. intelligence officials now say that isis has international ambitions, yet there remains no coordinated effort to fight the group. matt, savannah? >> all right, richard engel on this story, richard, sorry. thank you very much. >> now to what's become an epidemic across the country, laser strike. it happened overnight and this time in arizona. nbc's tom costello has been covering this story for us. what can you tell us about the latest incident. >> reporter: hello, savannah, good morning to you. police say it's a constant battle, last night they had a regional jet, a cessna and a helicopter and piper. police went looking but was unable to find whoever is responsible. this morning the faa is investigating a series of laser strikes across phoenix late tuesday.

unauthorized laser, one mile east of phoenix sky harbor. >> reporter: in all four small aircraft were hit. there were no injuries reported. the incidents come a day after a coast guard helicopter on a training mission near port anglos, washington was ground after a bright green laser blazed the aircraft, heading the pilot in the eyes and forcing the crew to immediately change course. >> they were flying over fairchild airport when one of the crew members spotted a laser beam shined at them. >> reporter: as of mid-october faa reported more than 5,300 cases of laser strikes nationwide, from a washington state ferry captain and first mate injured when a laser was shined into their eyes to an nbc news chopper in new york city. >> don't look tat. >> reporter: pilots across the country say they are under attack. >> american 1472. we've got a green laser shooting at us right off of the left wing about a mile out. >> they are literally flying blind in this sort of situation so that's why it's so important to make sure they get to ground

>> reporter: police and the fbi use the same term over and over to describe the suspects, knuckleheads, usually young men or teenage boys playing around with a laser. they don't know what they are doing, but they face up to 20 years in priss owen, a quarter million dollar fine. it's very serious. guys, back to you. >> yeah, consequences all around. tom costello, thank you. we now know oscar pistorius will learn tomorrow if he'll be sent back to prison for the killing of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. "today" national investigative correspondent jeff rossen has been covering this case from the very beginning and is in pretoria this morning. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. oscar pistorius is here on house arrest inside of his uncle's mansion behind me, and when he must be thinking right now. in less than 24 hours the appeals court here will deliver the final ruling. was it murder when he shot and killed his girlfriend reeva steenkamp in the lower court said no, involuntary manslaughter, but some legal experts say the case against him

enjoying his final days out of a cell. this morning our first look inside oscar pistorius' prison cell. this is where he spent a year before his early release, and he could end up in the very same cell again if the appeals court convicts him of murder tomorrow. a small cell with a bed, a sink, a cabinet and even drapes on the bars, and this is the bathroom he used. in south africa's appeals court, the prosecutor trying to send him back. he says pistorius should have been convicted of murder all along, that the original judge got it wrong. >> the court misapplied the principles regarding circumstantial evidence. >> reporter: pistorius shot and killed his model girlfriend reva steen camp, steenkamp, it was an accident. he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. her mother showing compassion to

>> i don't want him to be thrown in jail. that won't bring reva back in. my heart i don't want revenge towards him. i'm past that. >> reporter: today, pistorius spends most of his time inside his uncle's luxury compound on house arrest. in this rare photo, pistorius is seen smiling when family and friends came over for his 29th birthday party. in this picture he's outside, reporting for a court-mandated community service, but legal experts say his relative freedom may come to an end tomorrow when the appeals court finally rules. >> in my opinion the judges are going to overturn his conviction and convict him of murder? >> reporter: why? >> one look at what the judges said during the appeal hearing. they basically found oscar knew what he was doing when he pulled the trigger and had intent to kill whoever was beyond that door. >> reporter: not necessarily reva, murder here whether it was reva behind the door or an intruder. he intended to kill somebody. >> exactly. that's what our laws say.

that the appeals court ruling south africa tomorrow morning. because of the time difference right now between us, this will actually happen overnight tonight your time, so when you wake up tomorrow and flip on the "today" show we will know if or not. if he is, guys, he faces at least 15 years back in prison. >> jeff rossen on this story for us, thank you very much. let's turn to the mysterious death of juninho, alaska's newly elected mayor. >> police have not decided whether greg fisk died of natural causes or whether foul play was involved. they have tentatively ruled out gunshots, drugs or suicide. the 70-year-old was found dead with injuries in his home on monday. police have not given any more details. they are hoping that a state medical examiner will have more answers in a couple of days. let's take a turn now. mr. roker joins us at the desk. misting? >> yeah, exactly. >> think of yourself as a fern. >> yeah.

>> well, it depends, you know. are you a happy fern? think you'll be happy. if you like showers we've got a big slug of moisture right here that is making it way northeast. we'll continue to watch that as we push through. basically this thinks sem it going to be making its way slowly into the east. rain moves from south to north. we're going to see more airport delays again from atlanta, washington, eventually into new york. low clouds, fog and mist will impact that air travel. as we get into tomorrow that rain will push offshore. it will end up having some accumulating snow for our friends in northern new england and look at rainfall, the heaviest rainfall from down south from alabama to northern virginia. talking anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of rain before it's all over, and there's snow on the other side of the system. we'll look at that coming up in

in the meantime we'll goat your >> jeremy: good morning. clouds, drizzle, mist, fog and some showers. so you do need the rain gear today, but it does not rain the entire day. you can see the latest wave of rain shower activity marching through new england. then back toward new york and pennsylvania. there's a break. more rain back through central pennsylvania. 30s to around 40 in boston at this time. plymouth at 44. bedford at 37. through the day, temperatures upper 30s to the middle 30s with on-and-off rain. rain showers this evening. clearing tomorrow.

ending i think just before the tree lighting. >> before the tree lights that we actually flip the switch? >> right. >> or the beginning of the show. >> flipping. switch. >> during the show eh. >> thanks, al. facebook founder mark zuckerberg announces the birth of his daughter max and a stunning announcement and why he's committed to give away his fortune. >> she was stealing holiday deliveries right from under your door. what you can do about it if you're not at home. the new way to protect your packages, but, first, this is

jeb bush: here's the truth you will not hear from our president: we are at war with radical islamic terrorism. it is the struggle that will determine the fate of

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you can see the low clouds there, the fog hanging over the zakim bridge. what's the forecast looking like for the day, jeremy? >> jeremy: much like that, jadiann, with scattered showers. here's a batch of light shower activity, worcester hills. it will be in metro boston in the next hour. then there's a break, and there are more showers back through pennsylvania. on-and-off rain through the day. cool and raw. 30s to 40 in the city at this time. as we look down the road for the remainder of the week, windy tomorrow with partial sunshine. >> jadiann: thank you, j.r. patriots' tight end rob gronkowski tells fans he will return to the field as soon as possible. gronkowski says he's week to week after getting injured in sunday's loss to denver. the tight end suffered a bone bruise/sprain of his right knee. the biological father of bella bond is celt to appear in court today. joseph amoroso was arrested for shoplifting more than $200 worth of merchandise from a home depot. the arrest comes just days after amoroso buried his two-year-old daughter. bella bond was found washed up on deer island last summer.

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there she is, the 2nd of december, 2015. close-up. it will get lit tonight. the world's most famous christmas tree will be set aglow during a star-studded celebration right here on nbc. >> go ahead. >> make the joke. >> tree gets lit and then we get lit. >> thought we might retire it. >> no, never. that line is going on. >> looking forward to it. >> me, too, fun, and misty. >> yeah. we'll all be misty. inside studio 1a a look at stories making headlines.

presidential race out this university. now on the republican side donald trump remains in first place, about ten percentage points ahead of marco rubio who has jumped into second. ben carson dropped to third, where he's now tied with ted cruz. as for the democrats, hillary clinton widened her lead over berens. >> more u.s. special operations forces will be sent to iraq to launch raids against isis targets in both iraq and syria. defense secretary ash carter made that announcement while testifying on capitol hill saying we're at war and must act to defeat the terror group at its core. chicago mayor rahm emanuel is facing growing calls to resign a day after he anouned the fire of the head of the city's police department. critics angered over the shooting death of a teenage suspect and the year it took to release video of that incident. they say replacing chicago's top cop doesn't go far enough. let us begin this half hour with facebook founder mark

morning for a couple of big reasons, the birth of his daughter and a pledge to eventually give away 99% of his shares in facebook. now worth an estimated $45 billion. hoda has more on this story? >> what? did you read that and go? is that definitely with a "b." max chan zuckerberg the first child of the facebook founder and his wife only a week old and already having a profound impact. the couple is starting a multi-billion, $45 billion initiative to make strides in the area of educates, medicine and connectivity for a generation that's just getting started. it's a facebook share worth $45 billion. one week after becoming first-time parent mark zuckerberg and his wife dr. priscilla chan are pledging to donate 99% of the stock in the social network during their lifetimes, all towards make the world a better place for their

>> having this child has made us think about all of the things that should be improved in the world for her whole generation. >> reporter: tuesday zuckerberg posted a letter to our daughter announce is the launch of the chan-zuckerberg initiative dedicated to advancing human potential and promoting equality to all the world's children. >> we need to make sure that there are investments in programs that ensure that the future isn't going to be like today. the future is going to be better than today >> reporter: new organization plans to emphasize education, community building and medicine. the parent posting to their daughter we will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation. the two have championed philanthropy before donating $120 million to san francisco area schools and another 100

that endowment came under fire when the results were not immediately evident, criticism chan pledged to work through when she spoke exclusively to savannah. >> is that frustrating for you and for him to watch? >> we've invested in newark's children, the schools and teachers, and those are long-term bets that need a number of years to really pan out. >> reporter: this investment is also for the long haul, the letter says, to fully overcome the challenges it may take over 25, 50 or even 100 years. zuckerberg is taking two month of paternity leave to spend time with max, a week after announcing he would offer four month of parental leave with pay to all facebook employees. >> i'm just so grateful to have the opportunity that i've had to serve so many people, and i really think that the best is yet to come. >> the and this baby, i mean, very open about how difficult it was to conceive so it's

bloomberg said 30 is the new 80s and people in their 70s are donating all their dough and a guy and his wife who are donating a lot. >> what a great couple, no doubt about it. >> now some news from jetblue, the company planning to hire pilots no previous experience. how will this work and what's behind the move? let go back to nbc's tom costello covering this move. good morning again. >> reporter: the airlines want pilots with plenty of experience, military if they can get and a lot of private pilot experience, jetblue is saying they can do a better job of training the next generation of pilots really done the right way from the start. >> this is your captain speaking. >> reporter: in the cockpit on jetblue soon the crew could be you. the airline looking for two dozen highly qualified applicants to eventually put

jet, no experience necessary. >> speed check. >> reporter: instead, taking firsttime flyers through the basics of aviation all the way to high-tech simulators. >> reporter: like this jetblue sim i visited in orlando. how real is it when it's the first time in the sim? >> it's very real. when you're in this device. when you walk out after a stressful experience you're sweating into new pilot candidates would take four years to complete all aspects of training before ever flying a paying passenger. jetblue tells nbc news the first class of gateway 7 pilots is estimated to start their training with jetblue in the third quarter and won't become considered for hire as first officers until 2020. poor training and pilot inexperience were cited in the that killed 50. that forced the faa to increase the minimum flight experience required of new commercial pilot from 250 hours to 1,500 hours,

salaries at regional airlines, some carriers have complained the best candidates are not signing up. >> the jetblue proposal can train pilots that will be just as good or even potentially better than the majority of the training programs that are in use today. >> reporter: jetblue believes its training will be superior, but the airlines' own pilots union is opposed saying thousands of pilot with higher qualifications are already available. you know, there's a lot of talk about this looming pilot shortage. it's one reason why the regional airlines want the faa to roll back that requirement of 1,500 hours from the cockpit for new pilots. the regionals are arguing that that's excessive and it's simply not possible to achieve that many hours on a qualified pilot in advance of getting that job. guys, back to you? interesting. tom, thank you very much. let's turn and get a check

>> with the wet weather already seeing delays in the northeast at airport, laguardia, philadelphia, newark and now degrees. half mile visibility. expect delays to start at o'hare as well. so this morning we're going to be looking at snow making its way across the midwest. heavy snow early in chicago. we're not looking for major accumulations but enough to cause problems during the morning rush and then during the day the light snow moves across the great lakes. heavier snow by tomorrow morning. look for lake-effect snow into cleveland and western pennsylvania and the rest of the country, wet weather up and down the eastern seaboard. gorgeous weather through the plains and the beginning of a pacific northwest. we're going to look at that in the next half hour. we're talking some places could pick up two feet of rain. that's what we're going to have. that's what's going on around the country, the rain. >> two feet. >> two feet. >> mist? >> no, rain. >> rain in the pacific northwest.

has to actually get on the floor there. >> hi, frank. what are you doing down there? >> like we're doing "the muppet >> jeremy: i like the muppets. clouds out there with drizzle, mist and fog. there are scattered showers back through the worcester his on the move. that will be your weather through the day, on-and-off showers. you need rain gear, but it won't be raining steadily all day long. chilly, raw, 30s to around 40. boston at 40. bedford at 37 through the day. on-and-off rain with temperatures crawling into the low and middle 40s. showers wind down overnight tonight. clouds tomorrow morning. some sun in the afternoon. a windy day tomorrow. >> and that's your latest weather. >> frank loves you. >> i know. >> all right. we've got something we want you to consider for trending this morning. think about this question. which is more annoying to you, political ads or never-ending christmas music. >> huh.

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steal them before you get to them? nbc's morgan radford has more on that story. doesn't sound good. >> reporter: that's right, it doesn't, matt. more shopping this cyber monday means more shipping and thanks to so-called porch pirates you may not be the only one waiting for your package. video surveillance shows thieves all across the country snatching boxes right off the front porch. a new survey out this morning shows hundreds of people have had their packages stolen before they even get a chance to open then. the most common targets, people who live in suburban households, especially out west or in the south, so what can you to about it? >> i'm pretty sure she's home here. we went the day with ups driver scott pedrick. >> if she wasn't home i'd probably put this in the backyard. >> reporter: do you want to go knock. >> something this big, if the

leave it not a bush box. >> so a potential robber, you really couldn't see it. >> reporter: with 640 million packages shipping this holiday season traditional tricks might not work. >> if you're expecting something, be looking because people are out looking to steal your packages. >> reporter: ups is taking it one step further, rolling out a access point. >> you could sign up for access point at ups.com and your packages can be left at a business in a local neighborhood. >> reporter: this way you can choose to have your packages delivered to a secure location. >> reporter: are all of these going to the same house? >> i always put them behind the pillar. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: it doesn't mean you'll miss your package. >> happy holidays. >> reporter: that's cool. >> that's my thing. cheer and everything. we talked to all the major carriers and we said there are a few tips. first, you can customize your delivery time and secondly if you realize you're not going to

and then you can have your package redirected even if it's already on the way. finally, they say you should treat your package like you should your purse so don't leave it unattended than any longer you would leave your bag or wallet. >> good advice. morgue answer, thank you very much. coming up. force to change. what carrie fisher has to do to reprise her role as princess leia. >> and coming up, the controversial christmas ad that

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[elf] here's one of our best elves, hard at work... [kid] what's back there? [elf] nothing... [santa] touchdown. come on... [elf] santa, the davidson's are here to see our workshop... [santa] oh... well...hello! uh, this is my sleigh! it's how i deliver all the presents by myself! [team member] santa, you got anything else going to albany? [santa] by myself! [santa](muffled noises) [vo] ship with fedex ground at fedex office. it's how the

grandma is so happy to be here for your very first christmas. i hear you' re quite the expert at waking people up in the morning. let me show you how grandma does it. your daddy made this when he was a little boy. this is your dad at my house, where he had his first christmas. thanks for making the coffee. well look who' s up. i' m really glad you' re here mom. me too. look who' s here! back at 7:50. dylan is in the original room for carson with something that has everybody talking. >> reporter: this holiday ad by a german supermarket has racked up more than 19 million views on youtube and created quite the buzz online. shows an elderly man finding out that none of his family will

and breaks my heart and then sadly he passes away and we see each of the loved ones learn of the heartbreaking news, all gather in their honor to pay their respects and receive even more shocking news. you've been on my mind all the time and i'm missing you the truth is that home means nothing without you >> papa. >> don't forget. this is an ad for a supermarket. this is pretty involved.

>> wow. >> all right, grand a. >> right? >> yeah. >> and you're all cut out of the will! >> that is the worst thing i've ever -- >> i love that guy. >> -- seen. >> oh, man. >> wait. >> the dying part was like the high moment and then it's the only way to get you and your ungrateful children here. >> and don't forget, 20% off soup so act now. >> and you didn't like the can-can commercial. >> dylan, take us through the rest of it. >> what's the reaction been? >> well, the reaction is kind of exactly what you guys just said. they can't decide if it's wonderful or morbid. either way it's great. i'm with you on morbid and then we have georgina writing thanks to your commercial i changed my flight so i could spend more time with my family. got you thinking. would you fake your own death to see your family member?

>> we're back with big news from sandra bullock. let's just end it there. worst commercial ever. >> she's alive. your daughter can have sleepovers. your son can hang out with friends. your kids can play... and drive you crazy. you don't realize how lucky you are that you're children are healthy...until they're not. the laboratories at st. jude

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andrew: the one thing about soccer that i like the most is when i put my uniform on, the age just leaves me. the ages leave all of us. we simply become kids again. for that very reason. the child we once were. the years just glide away, and i'm back to where i was. you are that little andy guy who used to be down in me, all over again. my name is andrew, and bluecross blueshield has me. so how ya doing? enough pressure in here for ya? yeah...just wait 'til we hit ten thousand feet. i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max.

take off. these dissolve fast. they're new liquid gels. and you're coming with me... wait, what?! you realize i have gold status? do i still get the miles? new mucinex sinus-max liquid gels. dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. >> this is 7news now. >> jadiann: good morning, everyone. it's 7:57 with a hazy or foggy view of the skyline. you see the zakim bridge. j.r., how is the day shaping up? >> jeremy: much like, that on-and-off clouds. showers through the day. showers metro west and the worcester hills. then it backs away a little bit, hudson river valley. more showers pennsylvania. so on-and-off rain. 30s through the low 40s. this afternoon low to middle 40s. rain overnight tonight winds down tomorrow. windy tomorrow with a mix of clouds and sunshine. >> jadiann: thank you, j.r.

after falling on a work site in allston. emergency crews say he fell about four stories from a cherry picker. the man was taken to mass general with serious traumatic injuries. today jurors in philip chism's murder trial will visit danvers high where prosecutors say he killed his math teacher, colleen ritzer, two years ago. chism's grandfather testified yesterday and said there is a history of mental illness in the family. family friends told jurors chism was a good child but he had

if you're doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, you're not alone. while our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1%. my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message because together, we can make a political revolution and create an economy and democracy that works for all and not just the powerful few. what if the holidays were about people again? and the four-letter word that defined the season was l-o-v-e, and not s-a-l-e. that' s the world t.j.maxx, marshalls and homegoods stores live in. where there' s no need for sales because we offer amazing prices on thoughtful gifts everyday. let' s put more value on what really matters. this season, bring back the holidays.

it's 8:00 on "today" and coming up a massive hack attack exposed the accounts of more than 6 million americans, most of them children. why some experts say photos and videos posted could be compromised. what every parent needs to know. plus, first on "today," pig news for sandra bullock. in a "people" magazine exclusive the oscar winner reveals she's expanding her family, adopting a little girl. we'll have all the details. and feel the force. the one thing carrie fisher was told she had to do in order to

new "star wars," today, wednesday, december 2nd, 2015. >> i've waited 25 years for today! >> good morning, buffalo! >> aloha from hawaii! >> we came from baltimore, maryland, to see the tree! >> all the way from shelby, north carolina to light up! >> oh, my gosh, wow. >> we're back now 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it is the second day of december, 2015. rain falling here this morning in new york city. probably going to continue

it's not going to make a difference. a little later tonight we are going to all help flip the switch on that beautiful tree right there and usher in the holiday season across the country. >> this is the misting. >> that you spoke of. >> a little bit more than misting right now. >> i think that this is rain. >> thank you, dylan, for your candor. >> a meteorologist duel here. >> al is spin. coming up "tom chef" hosts are here with no-brainer recipes perfect for this busy time of year and kind of exciting, too. tom making mussels. >> show them your mussels, tom. >> show them your mussels. >> cute. >> tamron is in the studio in for natalie this morning. she's got the top stories of the morning. tomorrow ron? >> that's right, everyone. good morning. pressure is growing for chicago mayor rahm emanuel to resign one day after he fired the city's police superintendent over his response to the death of a black teenager who was shot by a white

video of that 2014 shooting was finally released last week under a court order. emanuel also appointed a task force to look into police abuse, but the illinois attorney general is now asking for a federal civil rights investigation into the police force. black lives matter chicago is among the organizations calling now for rahm emanuel to step down as that city's mayor. and there's been a shake-up in the republican presidential field. accord fog a new national poll out this morning, donald trump is still at the top in a quinnipiac university poll, but florida senator marco rubio has moved into second place. dr. ben carson who was virtually tied with trump a month ago has dropped into a third place tie with texas senator ted cruz. the pentagon is sending more special operations forces to iraq to conduct combat, ground combat raids against isis in both iraq and syria. their mission will be to gather intelligence, free hostages and kill or capture isis leaders. american special forces are

and conducting joint operations with local forces, but the new american unit will be able to conduct unilateral operations into syria. there's a new reason for women to be concerned when they are getting screened for breast cancer the researchers say a new study found that false-positive results on a mammogram could mean a higher risk for developing breast cancer later in life. nbc news medical contributor dr. natalie azar is with us to explain a lot of women, including myself, got a false-positive and biopsy and fall into this gray area of trying to understand what this means. >> i know. it's an unsettling headline for sure, tamron. a couple of points i would like to make. number one, this isn't the first study of its kind to draw these conclusions, number one. number two, i don't want to get mired in the statistics but it's important when you're interpreting a result like this or a study like this, the relative risk numbers seem to be a little bit more frightening than what's called the absolute risk which is your individual

you have a false positive is actually quite modest. this i think is the take home from what i can see experts interpreting the results. there is some data to suggest that false-positive mammograms do confer a higher risk for cancer but this needs to be taken in the bigger context of one's risk factors and what are the risk factors for breast cancer? age over 55, a genetic mutation, personal or family history, dense breasts, and that's not even an exclusive list, so if you have a false positive mammogram result, your doctor in all likelihood is going to recommend further imaging and maybe, you know, more intense surveillance, but you need to take it into big picture when you interpret these results. >> as always, excellent information behind the headlines. thank you so much from dr. natalie azar. the e. coli outbreak originally tied to costco's chicken celery has expanded to more stores.

company has expanded the investigation. it includes foods sold at walmart, safeways, albertson's and starbucks. britain's prince harry has released a collection of personal photos and videos documenting his summer visit to south africa to work on animal conservation projects. the collection highlights challenges faced by workers trying to protect rinos and elephants from poachers. the animals are killed for their tusks and horns. and a battle of green giants had golfers affording the fourth hole. take a look at the south carolina golf course t.pitted goliath, well known into the smaller and lesser known challenger. guy yatd claimed his victory and sent the other one with no name limping away. >> david maybe? >> didn't work out. >> little david would have won, i didn't want to -- okay. >> the and you thought your golf stories were good.

again of the missing grandfather on the holiday. >> all right, tamron. thank you. let's turn now to what's being called the largest known hack targeting kids. >> a cyber attack on a popular digital toy-maker v-tech and exposed the data, photos and video of millions of children and "today's" erica hill with what parents need to know. really disturbing. >> yeah, it is. when news broke that v-tech toys were falling victim to hackers many were wond earning how safe their children are and also how to protect these personal moments down the line, so we called in the experts to find out. >> learn, create and correct. >> reporter: toys offer a bit of kid friendly technology for what grown-ups do every day, selfies, video, recording, moments captured and now exposed for anyone to see. >> i don't no why v-tech would be storing this data, especially the video and audio recordings with their children. it's a big surprise to me.

of more than 6 million children and close to 5 million parents on its kid connect servers was compromised. in a statement the toy-maker says it is taking this matter very seriously and currently conducting a thorough investigation. the breach first exposed by motherboard reporter who spoke to the alleged hacker saying it, quote, made him sick that he could get that stuff. >> yes, there is underground markets out there that disseminate underage children's photos and information. if the data from vtech were to be released it would a gold mine for pedophiles. >> connecticut and illinois say they will investigate the data breeches as security experts warn hackers are likely to strike again. to protect your family experts say if your child has an online profile, don't use real information.

by -- buy divisive with reputable data protection like apple or android and make sure security settings are activated. >> parents spend time in investing and understanding and implementing child security controls before they hand out devices to their children. safety starts at home. >> vtech says no credit card information was stolen. officials in hong kong where vtech is based said the person who sold data could face up five careers in prison and a fine of $130,000. we're learning more about the hack their brought this to light so a new reporter with that reporter was posted. the hearing went to a reporter specifically because he was afraid the company wouldn't take seriously. he was very clear that he who wants to remain anonymous doesn't want to profit from the information but hacker tells the reporter that he was concerned how this could potentially be misused that that's in fact why they got in touch with them? to shine a light on it. erica, thank you very much. coming up next, which annoyance you the most, campaign commercials or constant holiday music this time of year?

>> coming up on trending. and the big news that sandra bullock is revealing to "people" magazine this mosh. she's just adopted again. an exclusive look at what the oscar winner is saying about her growing family, but first the pursuit of healthier. it begins from the second we're born. because, healthier doesn't happen all by itself. it needs to be earned every day. using wellness to keep away illness. and believing a single life can be made better by millions of others. as a health services and innovation company optum powers modern healthcare by connecting every part of it. so while the world keeps searching for healthier

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holiday bonus cash on select vehicles. see your local ford dealer. give extra. get extra. 8:14 right now. good time to start what's trend. we're starting with a one revolutionary device that, poof, is rapidly disappearing from american homes.

telephone. >> sometimes. >> no, yes, yes, yes. rarely. this baby is quickly going the way of the cell phone. >> blender? >> what? >> i don't know. >> the crock pot again. >> you're not a kitchen person, are you? do you even know where the kitchen is? new numbers from the cdc show we're reaching a tipping point when the land line gives way to cell phones. right now more than 47% of u.s. households only use cell phones. 8% only have land lines but we're very quickly approaching that time where land lines no, cell phone yes. >> my cable package is usier to have the land line lumped in. >> is that really a land line? >> may not technically be a land line and the problem is if there's power disruptions, big problems in your area.

>> those phones won't work. your cell phone doesn't work. the actual phone system has a little emergency charge in it. >> right. >> that allows it to continue to move. >> and matt has an operator who plugs in. >> hello, test, connect me to savannah. >> give me doc brown. >> 85% of the calls i get on my land line, robo calls, sales calls, terrible. >> guys, you may not be able to relate to this but, girls, last time you were at hair salon, told you it wasn't a story for you. >> either of them. >> so funny. >> anyway, you know when you're at hair salon and you feel like you have to have a big chat and all that have and the hairdresser, how is the family and blah, blah, blah. a salon in the uk has a new solution called the quiet chair. you sit in that chair and you don't have to have -- >> i wish we could get one here. >> could you see that coming? >> after that hair joke, sory

>> you know what, i had it coming. anyway, the salon owner says a lot of customers -- why aim the only one talking. do you like it? >> i like it. >> i sometimes run out of things to say. i can only ask how is your thanksgiving so many times? >> your hairdresser like the bartender, the stereotype, you know and you have the relationship and they are in charge -- >> yeah. >> at the barber you say a couple of things and pipe down and he cuts your hair. we're in and out of chair in four or five minutes >> you remember your smile in your yearbook photo in high school. >> all braces. >> yeah. >> when we were young, actually i did the serious face. i think most people did -- >> can you do that now? >> researchers at uc berkeley wanted to study the evolution of the smile through year book photos and starting with the 1900s. don't say it.

>> you'd be 2 for 2. >> go all the way to present day and here's what they came up with. composite images of what year book photos look like through the decades. researchers say how much the years. one possible reason, better dentistry urging people to smile more and the other reason all the selfies where people are beaming in their smiles. >> practicing their smiles. >> well, i don't have anything to say about this. the silent chair. anyway, people at "huffington post -- >> weirdest trending ever. >> why is it so weird? mostly because of me. >> no, it continues. >> we'll be talking about this question all morning. which is more annoying, the holiday music all the time that we hear right now or campaign commercials, okay? so it's a battle of have a hole jolly christmas versus i approve this message. what do you think of this? >> campaign commercials.

do you think is more anoise, campaign ads or christmas music? >> 91% said campaign ads are far more annoying. 9% voted christmas music. >> kind of a no-brainer. >> just have your campaign ad on a loop. >> local television stations, cha-ching. now to the most liked instagrams of the year and what carry fisher had to do to return to "star wars." dylan, let's "pop start." >> starting with instagram giving us the first look at most liked photos of the year. mine nowhere on the list. beyonce's beautiful portrait with her doubty blue ivy. that photo got 2.3 million likes finishing ahead of kiley jern's high school graduation photo, not smiling, just saying. next was 2.5 million likes. taylor swift's picture with boyfriend calvin harris and in second place taylor again, this time showing the flowers kanye west sent her after she presented him with an award at

with 3.2 million likes kendall jenner's hair. users seemed to love the model's heart arrangement and this stands as the most liked photo on instagram ever. >> wow. >> that's a cool picture, but, i don't know. next to carrie fisher. diehard "star wars" fans are looking forward to her return as princess leia but in order to reprise the role she was pressured to lose more than 35 pounds. >> what is. >> she told "good housekeeping" uk, they don't want to hire all of me, only three-quarters. i'm in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and that's so messed up and nothing has changed since she wore the iconic gold bikini in 1983. that's a lot of years to go by and then to be asked to lose 35 pounds. >> doesn't seem right. >> no. >> finally public enemy, music ledge eshds known as the pioneers of hip-hop with "don't

was abandoned by their taxi driver in england. a fan stepped up and offered to drive them instead. just 45 minutes before a start time kevin wells got them to the show on time. he called the whole experience surreal. and that's a pretty cool selfie at that. that's your "pop start." >> thank you. >> mr. roker, a check of the weather. >> we've got a big storm system and a series of them getting ready to pound the pacific northwest coast as we watch this. it's going to be rather interesting to see what happens from today until saturday. we're waving the first two storms start to make their way in, and then as we move today. heavy rain will cross the coast and snow for the mountains and freezing rain in the lower elevations. through thursday snow as far south as the sierras and another storm coming in over the weekend. dylan will be talking about this one over the weekend and more systems into next week. rainfall amounts, anywhere what we're predicting for the next seven days. 15 inches or more. some areas could pick up two

the good news, snow levels 5,000 to 6,000 feet. what a difference a year makes. this is the sierra last year, a snow depth of 0 to 12 inches, equivalent of water they need and look at it this year. snow depth 6 to 30 inches and 125% upwards in some area of percentage of water equivalent of average so that's good news, especially with warmer weather coming so the snow won't be quite as plentiful as we hea >> jeremy: good morning. clouds and showers and drizzle and mist. pockets of fog, as well. doesn't it? day. pennsylvania. this heads up into new england this afternoon. 30s and 40s. cool, raw. boston 41 right now. bedford at 38. so we'll have on on-and-off rain tonight. it's gone by tomorrow. but winds will take its place with some sunshine. a lot of clouds. middle 40s.

lo guys? >> al, thank you so much. now to big news about oscar winner sandra bullock, one of our favorites. >> in an exclusive interview with "people" magazine bullock reveals she mom again, finalizing her second adoption, an adorable high-spirited 3 nfl-year-old daughter lila. jess is here with us. good morning. >> good morning. >> congrats on the storey. >> nice news. >> has been in the works for a while. >> she revealed now because? >> revealed now because it's finally done. the adoption is finally done. she adopted lila through the foster care system. she's 3 envelope and a half years old and she kept it very under wraps and it was very difficult for her to do so. >> loved reading the article. she was really open about the whole process and i thought it was so cute how she really involved louie, her older son, a family decision.

years ago when he was a tiny baby and it really started one day when she was sitting around with friend and talking about their kids and louie who she said was, you know, had a little towel around his waist and his belly hanging out and put his arms back and said i don't have any daughters, and -- and at that point she started to realize that it was time for a sibling for louie. sandra is very close to her sister and i think she understands that -- that bond between siblings. >> did she take this on with the intention originally of adopting a little girl, or was louise comments what caused that? simply did, she have the intention of adopting a 3 or 3 and a half-year-old pause as you baby. >> she knew she wanted to go through the foster care system time. she did not necessarily think it would be a boy or a girl because she knew either could come their way. in fact, until lila came along

in the adoption process, and of the kids that sort of came into her orbit at that time, lila was the only girl. the only thing that louie said was i want a baby who is brown. i want a sibling who is brown like me. >> it's interesting to hear sandra talk about it because lila was older and she adopted her through the foster care system and she didn't get through the details saying lila had been through a lot and went through the process of making her know that this is your home. it's permanent and you can feel safe her. >> foster children are nearly 10,000 kids are in foster care right now waiting to be adopted, and it is a challenge. they bring a lot of things with them, but, you know, the rewards obviously, especially in sandra's case, are beyond >> you say she doesn't get into details and she does. telling "people" magazine her family looks like nothing she

full of loved and poop jokes congratulations to her. >> and she finally knows all the words to "frozen" as if that was on her bucket list. >> thanks so much. we'll send over to dylan. guys, thanks.

- >> this is 7news now. >> jadiann: good morning, everyone. it is 8:27. traffic off to a slow start today, maybe because of this wet weather we're dealing with. how is it look, j.r.? >> route 9, metro west, drizzle and light rain. that's with us on and off through the morning hours. steady rain here in pennsylvania. this will work up into new england this afternoon. so you never really get out of the threat of rain at any time today. but no heavy rain. cool and raw. 30s and 40s this morning. temps this afternoon low to mid-40s. >> jadiann: thank you, j.r. the buy logical father of bella bond is set to appear in court today. joseph amoroso was arrested for shoplifting at home depot.

amoroso buried his two-year-old daughter. bella bond's body washed up on deer island last summer. patriots tight end rob gronkowski tells fans he will return to the field as soon as possible. in the video posted online, gronk says he is week-to-week after getting injured in sunday's loss to denver. the tight end suffered a bone bruise/sprain of his right knee. also the red sox making history with this our to pitcher david price. his $217 million contract sets a new record for major league pitchers, and it's nose the sox have ever paid a player. it works out to be $31 million a season. today"today in new england" returns at 9:00.

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. 4:30 now. it's wednesday morning. it's the 2nd of december, 2015. it's a beautiful morning out here. the rain and mist stopped for a moment and we hope it stays that way. getting ready to light the christmas tree. we have sir iaen mk n mckellen, acting

toy drive. >> that is a coat, a great looking coat. >> we'll talk to him a little later on. >> by the way, if you want to give, don't have to be on our plaza to do so. go to today.com and it will give you date tails on the website. don't forget the beautiful norway spruce behind us will be all athrow tonight as we take part in the ceremony to light that famous christmas tree. people like sting and james taylor and andre bocelli. >> what a night. >> very cool. >> really nice. coming up, something we all need to worry about this time of year, credit card debt, and we've got some no-fail strategies to conquer it because we're all so tempted to buy all the great gifts for the people we live. >> and want know noh-fail strategy, top chefs tom colicchio and padma lakshmi. they will take some of the stress out of our holiday season with some easy go-to recipes and we'll get to taste them.

>> and it smells garlicky delicious. and the food team is searching for the best cook toe showcase in the holiday cookie swap and head to today.com/holidayfood to vote. >> now a check of the weather. >> what's going on starting with the tree liking ceremony forecast. 6:00, rain likely. about 56 degrees by 9:00. still warm, 15 with some scattered showers hanging around, and as we check out your december outlook, look at how warm it's going to be. above average through the great lakes into the northeast. much of the eastern half of the country below average through the southwest and above average out west, and as far as precip is concerned, looking very wet from the mid-atlantic states, southeast, gulf coast into the plains. more wet weather making its way into the pacific northwest and below average conditions as you make your way into the northern plains. >> jeremy: good morning. scattered showers around the metro at this time. as we look back into pennsylvania, another batch of rainfall inbound into new england.

cool and raw sometimes. upper 30s and the low 40s. you do need the rain gear, but it doesn't rain all day long. it will be batches of steady rain and then in between the rain we'll have some drizzle and mist. temps this afternoon middle 40s. rain this evening, winds down overnight tonight. some sun tomorrow. a windy day tomorrow and a chilly >> that's your latest weather. what's your name? >> i'm meteorologist michael phillips celebrating 25 years of weather boy. >> good for you. >> all right. i wish i could be doing this for 25 years, all right. now let's head back inside. >> go, tigers! al, thanks so much. on today's hassle-free holiday day two of our season savings and tuesday we spoke about bad spending habits and getting ahead of your debt. $891 billion, how much americans have in credit card debt and the

and it's sure to rise with 47% of parents saying they will use the credit cards to pay for holiday spending. today today's "today's" financial editor jean chatzky is here with tips. >> you need to focus and make a few pointed moves to set yourself in the right direction. >> talk about what you like. first, make some of your payments with savings. that goes against what a lot of people think. >> i know, and people feel safe when they have savings in the bank and on your savings you're earning one-half of 1% on interest and on your credit card you're paying 15%. just by taking a few dollars and paying off the credit card, you're putting money your pocket. >> check your interest rates and consolidate. >> the rates are going to go up and lock into the longest term

cards, go on cardhub, you'll find them. transfer your balances and pay them all off at lowest interest rates. >> we talk about how to do this. you look at highest interest rates first, like avalanche theory. >> starting from the top of the mountain and you're working your way down. take every extra dollar you have and throw it against the card with the highest interest rates and make the minimum payment of the rest. once the next card is cleared interest rate. >> okay, great. >> so on and so on. >> what do we need to know in the next one. >> pay the balances down under 30% of limits. >> if you try to transfer your balances to one of those great cards and they say no dice, it's because your credit score is not good enough. >> what's a good score? >> for this purpose anything over about 700, 720, 740 is good interest rates. if you don't have it, you can move your score in the right direction by making sure that

30% of your limits on all your cards together and on each card individually. make sure you always pay your bills on time. >> this one sounds counterintuitive don't close cards once you've paid them off. >> those open credit lines actually help you maintain a higher score so while you're working on your score, just leave them alone. eventually you get down, you've got a good score, you can close them. >> once you start to make progress on these things, the last thing you want to have happen is slip up and get back in trouble. >> oops, excuse me. you all right? >> or hit yourself in the tree. >> not nice on our part. use debit or cash. >> psychologically, you are going to spend more with credit than you are with debit and more with debit than you are with cash because credit is not real. you're using somebody else's money and you know it. psychologically also you carry big bills, you don't want to break them. it's like the kid with the silver dollar. you don't -- so put 50s and 100s in your wallet instead of 20s and you'll be less likely to

>> get help if you need it. it is available. >> there's a financial counsellor that doesn't get talked about very often. they help people with things like budgeting and credit card debt, an organization called the afscp, and i'll tweet it out. >> and can also help with you christmas gifts that sneak up behind. >> exactly. >> jean, thanks very much. for more way to keep your debt in check head to today.com and tomorrow, super savers will save their secrets. >> rachel mcadam is here along with the reporter she plays in her new movie, but, first, this

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>> the real sasha and the one we see in the movie. i have to tell you i did never do. i watched it twice. it is that good. that captivating and we know how it ends. when you read the script, were of it? >> yeah. it felt that way initially. it was a story that i kind of knew, you know, my way around it a little bit, but i just didn't know how deep it went and the details and just the work that the team, the spotlight team put into it and the real unsung heros behind it and that was a real eye opener for me and why i wanted to be a part of it. >> i can only imagine your reaction, sasha, when you hear they are going to make a movie about it and when you think about what investigative is. it's about the least hollywood

>> exactly. looking through documents and talking on phone and thought they could never make an interesting movie about our daily lives and once the hollywood machine has a way to fictionalize your life it's not a really good thing but they did a nice job of being true to what the jobs are. >> you didn't say i want rachel mcadams would play me. never seemed possible a move would be made. >> you're playing a real person, a blessing and a curse, here's the source material and also a chalen. did you research and were you calling her up and say, okay, what would you do in this situation? >> yeah. i stalked her kind of. i stalked her online as you and i were talking about. it was great because sasha was doing boston radio at the time and even when i was getting ready and brushing my teeth i could listen to her interview from the day and get her voice in my head and i know that's really creepy for you, but, yeah. but then, yes, the pressure to

to, know, be as authentic as possible and -- and as honest as possible, you know, especially when it's based on the truth, so, yeah. there was equal parts excitement and anxiety about it, but -- and then we spoke for about an hour and a half the first time we talked and she was just so gracious. >> and no detail was too small for rachel. >> i mean, it was amazing. the first phone call was an hour and a half and then walks and dinners and constant text messages and e-mails to ask questions, everything from what i wore, to the color of my bag and did i cook dinner with my husband? it was almost like everything physical and everything psychological and it was amazing to watch her do that much research because most people don't get to see how hard they work to be as good as we are and we got to see that. >> was there any trepidation about delving into this really dark and disturbing chapter of the church's history saying oh, my gosh, we're taking on something big here? >> i mean, yeah. how did you feel about that?

keep the church vigilant, right. the problem -- we don't know if the problem is fully addressed. certainly the church has done things to correct it but it's important for people to be reminded always ask questions, even of authoritative institutions because that sort of keeps them honest in a way. >> michael keaton was here a couple weeks ago talking about the film and i mentioned the producers had done something that i thought was really cool. they submitted all of you for awards season so that there's not any single actor that stands out more than the other, that it's truly this casting and ensemble, and i thought that was pretty unusual and pretty neat. >> right. that was -- i mean, it's very, very nice and lovely of them. i feel very privileged to be part of that ensemble and -- and to get to tell the story of this ensemble of the real reporter. one of my first questions of sasha was how was it being the only woman on the team and the youngest member of the team and you said you never felt -- felt like equals. >> right, exactly. >> an ensemble cast with an ensemble team that did this

thank you. >> and the movie is called "spotlight" in theaters now. >> matt, over to you. >> thank you, i think of creative and crafty i think of you and the tips we're going to share for a christmas tree this career with elizabeth mayhew, but first on a wednesday morning this is "today" on nbc. my name is 127 willow lane. and i've had some work done. in '62 they put in a conversation pit. brilliant. in '74 they got shag carpet. that poor dog. rico?! then they expanded my backside. ugh. so when the nest learning thermostat showed up, i thought "hmmm." but nest is different. keeps 'em comfy.

like that! i'm like a whole new house! nest.

>> back now at 846 with more our hassle-free holidays, don't need a fresh cut tree or even the fake one to bring the holiday spirit into your home. "today" contributor elizabeth mayhew is here with great alternatives. happy holidays. nice to see you. >> growing you, did you do christmas trees? >> we did have a christmas tree. >> real one or fake one? real. my mom was creative and was thinking about other ways to decorate the house and that's what we did today. >> you've got some great ones. this one is kind of -- it's

>> but it's a combination, a whimsical version. >> what you do is take an artificial tree and comes in three ports, the two bottom parts and leave the top one off and if you have a mannequin lying around, mannequins usually have clamps so you usually clamp this to the top of the mannequin tree and decorate it and what's great about the artificial tree it's pre-lit so you're almost good to go. >> not sure why you would have a mannequin lining around. >> a great idea with what to do with the scraps of wrapping paper. >> all i did is you know how you get to the ent of a wrapping paper. cut it to the length that you need it an it's basically graduated pieces that i then glue guns, need a clue gun and you can mount that and honestly.

space, extra ornament around after you've trim the tree. >> perfect for small spaces. living in the city or have a little studio a way to get a tree. you can use tape and the little sticky glue things or any kind of -- >> we recommend that you not staple that to your door. >> make sure you're near an outlet and plug it on and something festive on a wall or door. >> this is kind of fun and amazing for kids. you've got the 25 days of christmas. what are the boxes? >> get them anywhere, order them online, container stork you name it. you just glue gun them together and use any kind of scrapbooking, any kind of trend you want. number them. today is the 2nd. i think an elf might have left you something in there. >> you leave a little gift. >> a chunky bar. >> some elf told me that was your favorite. >> i love it.

because otherwise my kids would open every one them at once. >> one a day, it's an advent calendar. >> maybe for your kids. >> might want to do that nicely. >> and by the time you get to the 25th. green tree stacked, easy to do. >> do it all sglogt why don't you feel well? >> because i wait 25 chunkies, that's why. >> this is a great idea. a felt christmas tree. all the experience you decorate the christmas tree with your little ones. love them to be involved. >> what's the matter? tree. >> it's okay. >> let's show her. >> right here. >> this is a felt tree and what's great about that, felt does not break so your kids can be decorating a felt tree and basically you can use cookie shapes. you just trace them on to felt and cut them out and really nothing else is needed, and you

this is so that you string the lights so that it goes like this. you can use a piece of string and attach it, and the kids can have fun decorating their tree while you are decorating yours and nothing will get broken. >> that's a great idea. >> all of these are great ideas. you okay? so nice to have you. elizabeth, happy holidays. >> thanks so much. >> and you can find these tips and more holiday decorating ideas at today.com/home. up next, recipes to make your life easier from top chefs padma lakshmi and tom colicchio and,

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a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. and try puffs softpack today. all right. we're back at 8:51. all week on "today" food we're sharing no-brainer recipes to get you in and out of kitchen quickly so you have more time to season. >> tom colicchio and padma lakshmi are hosts of the hit show "top chef." good morning. i'm a hit of the show. what are you doing? >> it's great. >> going u a bunch of everywhere. a real jam packed season. >> really great chefs. >> good talent. >> so we're divide and conquering here. >> i'm taking tom. >> padma, come on pack with me. >> we're making mussels. >> that seems intimidating to me.

muscles. everything on the grid, onion, original, gutter, butter, wine, chorizo, fennel. the first thing we have to do is wash this. >> yes. >> really important, get all the grit off the outside. >> do you have a trick? >> yes, take them to the sink and rub them together. >> get your hands in there and rub them all together and getting the sediment off. >> okay. >> bring them back here now. >> pretend that was a good washing. >> yeah. >> we'll start recipe with a little olive oil in there, garlic and some fennel, and then okay. >> once we get the chorizo. we'll cook this for five to six minute until everything gets really soft, and then after that we're going to add our mussels. >> when you buy the mussels, you store them how? is right in the refrigerator. clean them first and store them in the refrigerator. the great thing about mussels,

great source of protein and really flavorful. toss the mussels, add some wine to this and put the lid on it. >> peanut gallery really likes it. >> i'm waiting to eat it. >> and steam them until the mussels open and then we'll add a little bit of butter and parsley and original, and finish that with olive oil. >> gang downstairs is already eating? >> fantastic. >> so much green stuff in my teeth. >> that can happen. don't say we didn't warn you. >> padma and matt. >> i was feeling very confident and i hike that recipe also. >> this is great, really easy and good about it you can get your kids to help. at the holidays we want something easy and pretty and delicious. pomegranate. pomegranate leaves, mint leaves,

mozzarella. cube these, lime and salt and pepper, that is it. you'll mix all these ingredients. >> a little time consuming to get the seed out of the pomegranate. >> i think it's a great way to keep kids busy in the kitchen. like, i have a 5-year-old, so she's doing this. hour. have kids wear a shirt that you don't care about or like an old t-shirt because it does stain if hard to get off. >> let's say i did a whole bowl. >> and it looked like this, exactly. put the mozzarella in here. i'm going to have you add all these ingredients as i store. two cups of mozzarella and two of pomegranate seeds and half a cup of mint leaves, leave that out, that's for garnishing. >> quarter cup of olive oil. >> sorry about that. >> and two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. you can use any vinegar you have.

>> a tablespoon of lemon juice and serrano chilies with heat. if you're cooking with kids, leave them out or on the side. >> salt and pape pepper. >> and that is it. >> arrange this on a matter where you just do rings of the red and white and it looks beautiful for holiday, that's it. >> absolutely perfect for the holiday season. let me try that. savannah. you want a bite? >> tom? >> sure. >> i don't want to get your cooties. hand me a fork. >> how is it, guys is. >> amazing. >> phenomenal. >> so fresh and just the pinner. >> make it evy coconuhas a drm. toome out its she. tohow all e worlds trueinner bety.

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had to say about the girl known as baby doe. >> the jury philip chism jury trial leaves the courthouse today. we'll explain. >> a drone scare at road race. a person getting hurt when it suddenly falls from the sky. rob grownkowski with a message. making promises about his comeback. on and off rain, drizzle. mist and fog. i'll let you know when the sun