senator pulls ahead in iowa and gains ground in a new national poll. cruz laughing it all off on media still calling trump his friend as the field gets set for another debate tomorrow night. too hot to handle. a popular holiday gift even harder to find this morning. some hover boards yanked from amazon amize growing safety concerns stemming from a series of fires. and hey, baby, it's warm outside. dozens of record-breaking temperatures across much of the country, making it a banner weekend for millions, but don't tell that to the people in kansas today, monday, december 14, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. how about this weather. you know what's fun to do in the spring, go down to washington and check out the cherry bless somes.

right now. >> december 14th. >> you said hey, baby, it's warm outside. can't believe you called america baby. >> amazingly warm throughout much of the country. al will have a forecast to tell us how long that's going to last. first on a monday morning, a breaking story overnight in egypt where investigators say they have yet to find any sign of an act of terror that brought down that russian jet over sinai back in october. here at home, president obama heads to the pentagon today to tackle the issue of isis. we have two reports beginning with nbc's keir simmons and that crash investigation. keir, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. this is a vaguely worded brief statement, but it is stunning. >> reporter: it is a brieff sometime, but stunning. it garners the agencies around the world. egypt played down terrorism if the beginning. now officials appear to say an isis bomb may not have brought down the russian passenger jet that crashed back in october.

across the sinai. there is no evidence of terrorist action. egypt's officials announce from cairo this morning. no evidence even of illegal intervention causing the crash of the russian passenger plane that killed autdll 224 people on board. russian and western governments said airbus 321 was likely brought down by a bomb. the plane operated by metrojet lost control with air traffic after passing sharm el sheikh. and previously, egyptian officials were focusing on critical cockpit recordings pointing to an explosion. an isis affiliate last month sent this picture showing the homemade explosive made from a soda can. now the head of the egyptian committee.

what they think brought down the plane which is not a bomb. privately, british security officials are convinced it was a bomb. britain reached that conclusion. since then, the tourism industry in egypt has been devastated. >> keir, a story coming out from paris that a teacher on her way to school was attacked by a man that claimed he had ties to isis. what do you know? >> reporter: matt, nbc news is learning this has been part of the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office. a hooded man anttacked the nursery school teacher in the same area where they were tracked down in an apartment. the man grabbed a box cutter from the table of school supplies and slashed the teacher's neck and stomach area.

from daish or isis. it is too early to draw conclusions so far, matt and savannah. >> keir simmons, thank you. the strategy to defeat isis is on the president's agenda. he is making a trip to the pentagon with his national security team. we have kristen welker with that part of the story. >> reporter: he is going to the pentagon to calm fears ahead of the christmas holiday and show he is ramping up on the fight against isis. this is his first visit since the paris attacks and attacks in san bernardino. the vice president will update the president on the campaign to defeat the terrorist group. mr. obama who had come under fire for not being tough enough against isis is hoping to put the criticism to rest. the pentagon recently stepped up air strikes and sent in additional special ops forces to fight in syria.

says additional steps are under additional consideration. the white house cautions the president will not announce a change in strategy. in the weekly address, the president argued american air strikes, now more than 8,500 are taking out isis leaders in recent weeks. expect the president to highlight that again. he will hold a similar briefing later this week. savannah. >> thank you, kristen. let's turn to the presidential race. new numbers from the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. they are stacking up how the republicans are doing against hillary clinton. we will break everything down with chuck todd in a moment, but first, peter alexander is in las

peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. ben carson has dropped presipitiously. ted cruz was risen among voters. can cruz knock off trump? this morning, donald trump and ted cruz are the duo dominating the republican field. the new nbc news poll shows trump leading nation wide, but cruz gaining steam up 12 points since october. in iowa, cruz up ten points over trump. trump is blasting the freshman senator tweeting, i was disappointed that ted cruz would speak behind my back and get caught and deny it. well, welcome to the wonderful world of poll tibiticpolitics. >> you look at the way he has dealt with the senate where he

like a bit of a maniac. you can't walk into the senate and scream and call people liars. >> reporter: cruz is embracing trump's maniac. tweeting the music video of the 1980s hit "maniac." quote, in honor of my friend donald trump and good hearted maniacs everywhere. >> i'm not looking to be politically correct. i'm doing this to do the right thing. >> reporter: rubio says the motivation is clear. >> i think he made them to recapture the lime light. >> reporter: and as ben carson's numbers plummet, down 18 points in the last month. >> is taking more of a politicians experience. i have healer's experience. >> reporter: carson a ripe target for "saturday night live." with will ferrell.

i tell you something, that's not going to work when you have to go to china or ajerbazjan. where you have to talk loudly so they understand. >> reporter: and the wall street journal poll shows that hillary clinton would trounce donald trump in a head-to-head match up. it is closer with clinton and cruz. one other note tomorrow night, a new man on the main stage. chris christie after all the gains he made in new hampshire. matt and savannah. >> peter alexander, thank you very much. >> let's turn to chuck todd. moderator of "meet the press." >> good morning. >> we have the huge surge for cruz. it seems like this is carson cratering. >> this is not everybody wants to somehow say trump is falling. he has gained in the iowa poll.

cruz is the traditional christian conservative candidate. what we normally see when it is a breakdown between two lanes in the republican party. trump is his whole other entity. >> what do you get for a surge? you get attacked by donald trump. cruz is careful not to criticize trump. he got caught doing it behind the scenes. is his strategy make sure the trump supporters like him enough so if trump craters, he will get their support? >> his only path through the nomination is with trump supporters. you look at this as three sections of the republican party. cruz and evangelicals and establishment lane with marco rubio and donald trump supporters. cruz has a better shot of the trump supporters. you talk to trump supporters. their second choice a lot of times is cruz. in fact, i thought it was an odd decision by trump attacking cruz.

by attacking him by going hey, this guy cannot work anybody in the senate. trump is really shaking things up. that will be appealing to trump supporters. >> i would say, that is just surprising method of attack. it allowed us to use the "flash dance" video. >> we should thank him for that. >> i guess the question is are these trump voters transferrable? will they only go to the polls for trump and stay home or might they go and vote for cruz? is that the question? >> it is. nobody can answer that question. these appear to not be frequent voters in primaries. when they vote, they vote republican. it is not clear they will show up. trump got them involved. it is not the environment. it is trump that got them involved. trump's not there, they will not show. >> at the debate. if trump throws the first punch at cruz, can cruz sit back and

>> he has to counter-punch. he is trying to win over trump supporters. trump supporters want tough. if cruz is not tough, that will hurt him. i will be surprised if the two of them decide to pounce on rubio. that is what cruz might do. get rid of the other guy in your way. rubio. then postpone your fight with trump. >> it will be interesting. chuck, thank you so much. let's turn to the weather. it is dividing the nation. a blast of winter out west. record-high temperatures in the heat. let's start in washington state. treacherous driving conditions at stevens pass. accidents and spinouts kept crews busy. sleet and heavy snow. it is a completely different story in other parts of the midwest and the east. according to noaa, at least 574 record daily highs were tied or

the first ten days of december. that was before the past weekend which saw temperatures soaring into the 60s here in the northeast. you can expect more of the same today with temperatures expected to be up 30 degrees above average. i have just done al's job. i will throw to him. >> i should talk. we have the jet stream way up to the north. spring-like warmth hanging out. big area of high pressure funneling this up. we have patchy dense fog in the northeast. there could be airport delays. by wednesday, it cools down. 72 in raleigh. 53 in pittsburgh. charleston will see a temperature of 72. as we get into the midwest, just as warm with temperatures from 10 to 30 degrees anbove normal. we have much colder air funneling down from canada. plus a big low pressure system.

start to make its way further and further to the east. what we see for today is as the secondary storm comes out, look for intensification of the snow. we are talking in the rockies anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow or more before this is all over. we are watching this system as it makes its way east. the good news, guys, we are not going to see a big, big drop in temperatures here throughout much of the country. al, thank you so much. we have new information this morning on the san bernardino shooting investigation and the warning signs that may have been missed. this as another survivor is speaking out today. nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer is in san bernardino. miguel, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the regional center where the shooting took place is a focal point for investigators. this as they piece together what happened in the hours before and after the bloodshed. as the fbi investigates the mosque that was fire bombed and another vandalized over the

for a hard drive at the lake say the work here is over. investigators believe tashfeen malik and syed rizwan farook had ties here. jenner jen stevens was shot twice. >> and i hit the ground. you don't see the bullets, but you can hear them. they are really loud. >> reporter: with farook and malik radicalized in 2010, investigators fear warnings signs were missed. the new york times says malik posted on social media saying she wanted to be part of jihad before she came to the u.s. today, federal agents are building a timeline with the shooting and shootout with police. in all, four and a half hours

what did the gunmen do before they were killed? >> i saw them putting on what i believe to be bulletproof vests. >> reporter: sergeant andy katz. >> we could not let them get way from there. it is apparent. they were going to fight with us. they were going to hurt more people. we cannot allow that. >> reporter: another focus of the investigation is enrique marquez. syed rizwan farook's long time friend who bought the assault rifles. as he continues to work with investigators, he may be one of their best leads. matt and savannah. >> miguel almaguer, thank you. sad anniversary now. flags at half staff in connecticut to mark the third anniversary of the mass shooting at sandy hook in newtown.

this is the first time since the 2012 shooting that the anniversary has fallen on a school day. counselors will be on location at every school. there will be no mention of the shootings at those schools. and welcome news on the economy. gas prices are dropping lower. they may stay low through the holiday season. we have tom costello with more. >> reporter: look at this gas station. $1.94. my photographer paid $1.71 last week. this is a few penningtonyiesyies below average. tis the season for gifting. americans are getting something extra in their pockets. gas prices lowest in years.

kansas at 1.77. california pays the most. $2.65 on average. gas is now cheaper than a gallon of milk at $3.34. >> on inflationnflationinflation, we are looking at the cheapest since the 1970s. >> reporter: last month, $2.1819. the highest was july of 2008 when gas hit $4.10 a gallon. the top reasons for the plunge, the u.s. is swimming in oil. producing more than it imports. saudi arabia keeps pumping more hoping to drive out iran and the u.s. it is good for car sales. 16 million new vehicles have rolled off dealer lots this year. 59% of them light trucks and suvs. >> as long as gas prices stay on

consider bigger vehicles more. >> reporter: that's what brought this woman in to buy an suv. >> the gas is below $2. that's pretty good. >> reporter: and gas prices likely will lower in the coming weeks. although most experts say we should stick around $2 a gallon more or less hugging that level for the next several years. by the way, look at heating oil prices. inn unlikely to affect out the west coast, but down a dollar from a year ago. if winter does return to parts of the country, it is likely cheaper to heat homes. in northern virginia, 63 degrees on this december day. guys, back to you. >> tom costello bringing good tidings. >> hard to talk about heating your home with the temperatures in the 60s. a lot of places, it is just around the corner. >> people are saving money on the heating bills. that is good news. we will get to what is going on

30 seconds. matt. >> thanks very much. too hot to handle. amazon puts some brakes on hover boards after a series of fire. >> plus on rossen reports, kids, car seats and a big mistake many parents make in the winter months. what you need to do. this is a really important

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fort dodge police are also investigating why a man was found dead in the grass between two homes. someone called police about the body around 8 a-m yesterday. authorities found the man in the 1- hundred block of 8th street. police are calling the death suspicious. they have not released the man's name yet. students in the waukee school district will soon learn where they're headed to school next year. the

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7:30 now on this monday morning, december 14th, 2015, and it does not feel like it. it's an unseasonal warm day here in new york city and all across the eastern seaboard. we actually hit 67 on sunday, record. it felt pretty good. we're going to talk more about that with al in a investment more about stories making headlines. our new national nbc news/"wall

cruz cutting into donald trump's lead in the republican presidential race, now just five point behind the front-runner. marco rubio is now in third place, followed by ben carson who has dropped 18 points after leading in that same poll in late october. >> president obama is making a rare visit to the pentagon today. on the agenda, he'll discuss the fight against isis with his national security team. >> and the postal service says today is the busiest mailing day of the year. officials recommend sending packages by december 21st if you want them to arrive in time for christmas. usps expects to deliver more than 1.5 billion pieces of mail this holiday season e coming up, what you could be doing that morning that puts your kids in danger. what jeff rossen shows why their kids should not wear winter coats while strapped in their car seats. >> we'll get to the that and new fallout this morning regarding the hover boards and some well-publicized incidents of

so right in the middle of the holiday shopping season amazon has decided to yank most of those devices off its site. overstock.com has dropped them all together and natalie has more on this. >> yeah. supposed to be the hot gift of the holiday season, but now the consumer products safety commission is assessing the risks associated with these motorized balance boards and recognizing their popularity. the agency says the investigation is at the top of their priority list. suddenly the host gift this holiday season has turned into a product too hot to handle it's on fire. >> because of growing safety concerns that some hover boards catch fire, amazon is removing most brands from its site and overstock.com is no longer selling them at all. this hover board caught fire causing thousands of dollars in damage. >> the hover board ignited while it was being charged and actually rolled over to a bed andig nate the the bedding in the bedroom. >> fortunately no one was hurt

are considered to be the culprit, more than a dozen airlines are now banning hover boards from their flights. amazon is asking sellers for documentation demonstrating that all hover boards you list are complaint with applicable safety standards. but because they don't fall into a product category such as toys, hover boards aren't regulated and quality varies widely. >> i think it's a legitimate question to ask, if i buy a higher end version, am i getting a safer one and the answer is we don't know. >> one of the largest manufacturers is swagway. ellen degeneres gave one to justin bieber as a gift. in a statement swagway says it puts safety above anything else and exceeds government regulations and to date has no reports of any issues of batteries catching fire or explosions of any kind. we applaud amazon for taking these steps to weed out the low quality boards. >> experts say consumers should

>> read all the manufacturer reference material and make sure that they are not charged unattended and do not leave them on charge overnight. >> that's a goodity. also, the chief says look for the ual label that says the product has been tested and meets laboratory's safety standards. >> thank you very much. >> to the weather, al. >> all righty. wet weather is making its way towards us here in the east and we're also expecting to see more heavier showers and thunderstorms moving through chicago hand maybe some airport delays. atlanta seeing some rain. this is part of a vigorous storm system that's dumping all that snow out to the west. showers through the midwest and into the northeast today and on into tomorrow and as we move to the north of this system colder air will get its way into northern main where we may see some icing conditions, but rainfall generally going to be about an inch to half an inch of rain as we watch this system make its way and its exit on

>> don't forget. get your weather any time you need, it weather channel on cable and weather.com online. >> all right, al. we will. coming up, first it was the red cup and now a cooker that's become unbearable for certain starbucks customers and it's become popular on trending. >> and a warning for parents. >> coming up, the common mistake parents make in the winter. how you put your child in the car seat could mean the difference life and death.

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kids and turns out i make this mistake every winter and i had no idea. i'm in the boat with you. talking about putting kids in the car seats while wearing their winter jacket. you think you're strapping them in and keeping their safe but you're really sweating them up for possible danger this. morning new crash test video that will help us all save a life today. >> this child dummy just went flying out of her car seat and watch this one, the little body violently tossed forward. she was happaned in, all looked good so what went wrong? here with sue from kids and cars and this my 3-year-old son blake and you say i've been making a mistake a lot of parents make about how i put blake in the car seat. >> i think you r.show me what you do. snap, snap and this feels snug to me. >> looks like it's tug and let's take him out and take the jacket off. so i do it. take blake out and remove that puffy coat and put him back in. snap, wow.

>> this is unreal. >> isn't it? >> it's actually dangerous. >> reporter: to show you what can happen we're at this official crash test lab here in michigan. climb up here for a moment. we have, as you can see, a child dumby in a winter jacket strapped into a car seat and to meet straps feel pretty tight. simulate a crash down this track at 30 miles per hour. let's get it going. three, two, and right over here, one. >> the child dummy whipping forward and just watch when we runt test again. he goes flying out. even her jacket sliding right off. look at this, so scary to see up close. miriam runs the lab. what should we do. >> see a nice fit of the harness to the child's body, shouldn't be able to punch any webbing and this should at armpit level. >> reporter: an interesting tip and no puffy winter jacket in the car seat. >> that's right. >> reporter: and it makes all

this time child dumby is properly restrained. no winter coat, straps snug against its body. look at, that dummy stays right in the seat. come this way, it wonchlt that's the proof right this. >> and if you're worried about your child being cold in the car. here's the best advice >> instead of putting the coat on him, put the coat over him to keep him warm or use a blanket like this. does this work, buddy? >> yeah. thank you. a simple move to save your child from this. >> thank to you my son who had no idea what he was a part of in that car. no question, by the way, use the car seat is the best way to keep your kids safe. just remember strap them in without the winter coat on and by the way, this is interesting. the same advice goes for adults, too. don't sit behind the wheel and don't strap yourself in with a winter coat because the seat belt will not fit against you, the same exact thing. >> wow, eye opening. >> what are you doing tomorrow?

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lots of nice people out thereto on a warm morning. temperatures are a hot topic on social media. let's go to tamron in for carson in the original room. >> good morning, guys. coat or no coat. what a thema to have. many cities saw record high temperatures this weekend, as al reported earlier. some places are expected to reach as high at 30 degrees above average. so, of course, we took to social media asking you to share us how you soaked up the unseasonable heat, and you replied. amy tweeted out water skiing santa in buffalo, new york. that looks friend and danny posted from albany.

t-shirt but where's my snow? it's coming, i'm sure. mike put this one out. mowing the grass, washing the car, 70-degree day in indiana. who would have thought on december 12th. putting that to work and msnbc's joe scarborough tweeted out this little ditty. christmas in connecticut feels more like l.a. in december, so keep your warm winter photos coming as we, guess, should embrace them because sooner or later, al, we won't be washing the car and wearing t-shirts and santa would have been frozen on that lake for sure. >> and out west it is very snowy and very winter-like. >> all right. >> enjoyable. i did see a dog with a sweater on yesterday. that seemed wrong. a little hot. coming up, how the warm weather could save you some cold hard cash during your next trip to the mall. >> also ahead, a very big week for our friend tina fey, a new

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a union county man is behind bars for his role in the deaths of two people... police announced the arrest of 37 year old jerry dillinger over the weekend. dillinger faces two counts of first degree murder. he's the former brother in law of 37 year old loretta dillinger... whose body was found in a pond near lorimor earlier this month. authorities say additional remains were discovered nearby. they have not been identified. police say a man who opened fire in a fort dodge bar is still on the run... officers are looking for 23 year old jordan foy. police say he's a convicted felon... who should be considered armed

they say foy fired shots into the air at the "dodger tap"... on north 12th street... sunday morning. it fight with another person. no one was seriously hurt. foy will likely face two

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, warm weather hot deals y.this month's record breaking temperatures could mean big savings for shoppers this holiday season. plus, shaking it off. how taylor swift made up with apple and is now teaming up with them to bring her concerts to you. and it's a star-studded morning in studio 1a. kurt russell stops by to talk about his ruthless new role. >> no offense, cowboy, fella.

>> while the one and only tina fey brings the laughs as she talks about starring in "sisters" with her best buddy amy poehler. >> congrats on your wrestling championship. >> it's ralph lauren. >> is that how you say it? >> yes. >> do you get good wi-fi with that? >> "today,"",," december 14th. >> from texas, we're loving our neck of the woods. >> here from san diego to get a hug from savannah. >> happy holidays from south carolina! >> merry christmas from santa clara on the "today" show. >> we're back now. 8:00 on a monday morning.

2015, and if you would have told us that on december 14th we'd be out here with thin jackets we probably would have told you you're crazy. a nice start to the day. >> it's gorgeous out here. >> i don't even know why we're wearing coats. very exciting, tina fey is here, absolutely one of our favor ritz and has a new movie called "sisters" with amy poehler. aim here the other day and now tina's side of the storey. >> she and amy will be hosting "saturday night live" and that puts tina in an extremely exclusive club. talk about that coming up. >> first inside to natalie with a check of the top stories of the morning. nat, good morning. >> good morning to you, and in the news this morning egypt saying today it still has no evidence of a terrorism link and the downing of a russian october. russia is standing by its own finding that the plane with 224 people on board was destroyed by a bomb and an islamic state

saying it was to avenge russian air strikes in syria. russia has escalated those strikes in response to the incident. president obama and his national security team are meeting at pentagon this morning to fine tune their isis strategy. it's the president's first trip to the pentagon since the terrorist attacks in paris and san bernardino. in his weekly address the president said american air strikes are having an impact on isis leadership, fighters and weapons. a deadly police shooting in southern california sparked a public outcry this weekend. nbc's blake mccoy is in lynnwood, california, with new video. blake, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. to you. this is not chicago. that is the message clearly on display here in los angeles this morning with the quick release of the surveillance tapes. authorities believe the tapes show the public was in danger and the shooting justified. >> no justice, no peace. >> no justice, no peace.

>> why do you keep on doing this? >> reporter: other this cell phone video showing l.a. county sheriff's deputies opening fire shooting nicholas robertson as he walked away, firing 13 times, even as he crawled on the ground. it's unclear how many bullets hit robertson, but this video only shows part of the story. says the sheriff's department snow see the suspect entering the frame. weapon in hand. >> these surveillance clips released sunday just 24 hours after the shooting showed the man holding what appears to be a gun. deputies say they were called after he shot the weapon in the air at a residential neighborhood and briefly went into a pizzeria, gun in hand. >> he's handling the gun in an odd sort of way and seems to be agitated. >> reporter: even after falling to the ground, robertson still appears to be holding the gun. deputies believed they were in danger and so were two women and three children just feet away at the gas station.

of public sentiment across the country surrounding police shootings. that's have he's being as transparent as possible so quickly, but critics say police cannot police themselves. they want an independent investigation. natalie? >> blake mccoy in lynnwood, california, thank you. now to some incredible video from san diego of a community coming together this weekend to help land a struggling hot air balloon packed with a gondola full of people that was coming ghoub a neighborhood. the balloon got caught in a tree on a roof and then on a car. eventually neighbors were able to pull its lines and guide it to a safe landing. and some holiday magic on display in england. builders were remodeling a house and they found a christmas wish -- list that was written 70 years ago. it was tucked inside the chimney and asked for things like a pair of slippers, a tie and a pencil box. the build efforts tracked down the boy who wrote it. he is now a 78-year-old grandfather brought him some of the presents that were mentioned on the list.

>> that's a great christmas wish answered. >> love it. >> better late than never. >> natalie, thank you. winter officially arrives in what, eight days, but with unseasonably warm temperatures it hasn't felt that way across much of the country. >> but that's good news, could save you a bundle if you want to prepare for the dheeld will inevitable come. nbc's olivia sterns is we are that story. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. can you believe it was 70 degrees at jfk. that's wild. the last thing it makes you want to do is run out and buy a coat. the warm temperatures certainly chilly news for retailers as cold weather gear is pile up on shelves, but the good news for you, stores are looking to unload merchandise at a big discount. >> reporter: from coats to boots and hats and gloves scores are all geared up for the cold winter. the only thinged is the weather isn't cooperating. >> guess what? it feels like march out there. we are going to see temperatures that are way above normal. >> reporter: so far this season it's warmer, a lot warmer.

to 6 degrees above average and 5 to 8 degrees higher in the midwest. and when it comes to winter clothing, all that sunshine means major markdowns. >> we have a great assortment within outerwear and we're offering really great values so it's a good time for customers to shot. >> a big bust for retailers stoktd up on inventory based on last year's cooler than normal weather. many this year blamed disappointing seasons on higher temperatures. unseasonably warm weather has really put a damper on coat sales and sales of boots and that's combined with the unusual mark downs you see this time and equals the huge savings bonanza. how bad is it? tweter sales down 3%, boots 2% and blankets plummeted down 10% compared to last year. what's bad news for retailers is

warm temperatures mean hot deal, up to 50 boston off or more. >> typically we don't see really heavy discounting until after the holiday. because inventory is so far they are trying to unlow merchandise 1z mace''s, j. crew and the gap, experts say, and if you're bargain hunting this is the year to pounce. >> now is the great time to give the gift of warmth, gloves, coats, hats, scarves. you're going to get great deals on these gifts and after the holidays you can buy some goodies for yourself. a couple of things to consider before you run out to the mall though or perhaps click checkout online, yes, coats and other winter gear are marked down right now, but the deepest discounts will actually be the week before christmas as steve

wait, the bigger the sale. worries they swroent your size or color left. some of the best deals at t.j. maxx, marshall's and main street retailers will have merchandise to unload and the discount stores will make out. not every brand, looking for high popular items like uugs or canada goode, as you know none of these go on sale. >> many used last winter as their guide. >> no polar vortex in sight. >> coming up, move over, maria. what conde-throned her song in stores? and never mind a dog. it's turkeys now tormenting your postal air year. >> and look who is here, miss tina fey to talk about her wild side and she will talk about

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all right. we're back now. 8:12. good time for what's trend and here's a study that turns over an assumption a lot of people have about those who curse a lot. namely, that they are not very articulate and that they use four-letter words as a crux. we've all thought, that right? >> why are you looking at me? >> you're not that bad. people who swear frequently it turns out actually have larger vocabulary. scientists say those folks tend to be careful about using foul-mouthed language reserving the words for the right times, so we brought an exer in the on this topic because in her new movie "sisters" tina fey, it would turn out has one of the most extensive volk bris anyone has ever had. tina, you buy this? >> yeah. i think -- yes, i think there's a lot of beauty in curse words and when used perfectly they are elegant >> the a half fame cursor in

>> thank you. >> probably more than you had in your career. >> you see on camera. >> they have bigger vocabularies. all of those extra curse words. >> we'll talk to tina about that movie coming u. >> what is a typical work day for you? you do not have to face anything like this guy. take a look. >> every day. >> that's right. he fends off a flock of turkeys. he has the pole to keep them at bay. they do not like the mailman. >> there is a lot more to this but it's hilarious. >> we made it past thanksgiving. we're coming for you. >> next up, the latest starbucks controversy as if they needed another one. the coffee chain became the target of social media for red cups, some say it wasn't

now they are trying to kill polar bears according to some. look at this cookie. wearing that red scarf. right. anybody see anything else? >> well, some online it's not a scarf, it's blood around the bear's neck. >> come on. >> really? >> a post about this went up last week, it already has more than 3 million views. renewing calls of a war on christmas. >> may be a war on polar bears. >> why christmas? >> it's a christmas cookie. the cookie was discontinued in 2010, starbucks saying part of a rotating holiday tradition. >> old cookies? >> no. >> the pictures of former cookie. >> they brought them back. >> they brought them back. >> they are back now.

delicious. >> good. >> they are not back. people reacting to old photos. >> cookie war. >> their outrage is also misplaced and dated. >> all right. now to big news from adele and taylor swift and big honor. cameron. >> first to adele. the news she announced this morning next year she will launch her first north american tour in five years, it kicks off july 5, st. paul, minnesota. see you in. wraps up on november 15. if we're lucky see you there. phoenix, l.a., nashville, miami, atlanta and dallas. mark your calendars, tickets go on sale this thursday. at 10:00 a.m. set your alarm. and to get an idea of what you can expect, watch adele's

tonight at 10:00, 9 central on of course nbc. next "sports illustrated" honor of the sports person of the year. there are worthy candidates. who is joining the ranks of mohammed ali and michael jordan? this year the honor goes to the great serena williams saying this year serena proves to be a force on and off the court winning three major titles and completing her second serena slam. >> kind of shy. >> also fighting for racial justice and gender equality. serena saying she is beyond honored for the recognition. congrats to her. i saw on al roker's page. he hung out. next to taylor swift. at one point she threatened to boycott apple -- why are you laughing? >> i was -- sorry. go on with your report.

with this without you doing this for me. >> would be to look. probably the instagram. >> let me go back to my script. where are we. taylor swift. she's back. at one point she threatened to boycott apple. she is now doing business with them. taylor inking a deal with apple to stream what is from her world concert tour which wrapped on saturday. the film will be available starting next week to subscribers of apple music. taylor turned 26 on sunday. happy birthday. happy belated one. and mariah carey thanks to her hit all i want for christmas is you, it was the most played holiday song across the country. the play list provided by play network and that company now says that for the first time

favorite, it's the cover of paul mccartney's song wonderful christmas time. that is your pop start. >> your kids will be impressed. >> thank you. >> check of the weather. >> let's get to it. show you what we've got going on. we're looking at a big storm system right now out west -- here in the east, you can see snow throughout parts of nebraska and iowa, we're looking at wet weather through chicago, the good news is we are going to be looking at temperatures that are staying mild in the eastern two thirds of the country. no big changes there. the cooler weather is going to be banked out west, eventually makes its way to the east. look at this, 80s in florida, 70s along the mid-atlantic coast. wet weather making its way from the upper midwest all the way into the northeast, patchy dense fog in the northeast as well. could be airport delays. lots of snow out west, and another big storm system moving

that's what's going >> that's your latest weather. matt. >> al, thank you. one of the most entertaining teams getting together, tina fay and amy poehler. playing sisters determined to throw an epic party before their parents sell their childhood home. >> danger. walk away. let the black diamond flow. >> why aren't you partying?

i'm keeping everybody safe. you have kids? >> i'm sure i do. >> doesn't seem like your type. good morning. nice to see you. >> how are you? >> i'm good. back to the cursing for a second. sometimes you watch a movie and listen to an actor with a lot of cursing. they don't seem that comfortable. this was not one of those cases. >> no. this is like an old swaddling blanket from my baby time. it's very comfortable to swear. amy and i, it's r rated. it's not all real swearing it was fun having done broadcast tv to be able to curse a little bit. >> the dialogue between the two of you is very, very funny. you guys get back together. you play the wild older sister, she is more good-hearted -- >> caretaker sister. >> art imitating life? >> in real life i would say we are both the good sister but it

play the out of control wrecking sister with the situation lifted up. and it was just so fun to be with mia and very good times. >> when you do an "snl" reunion with maya and amy and bobby moynihan. do you approach the movie differently in terms of the shooting process because you have familiarity? >> you do because paul who has been a writer for many years and many thing she knows us so well so she wrote the script. she would write more jokes while we were shooting and hand them in to us. then also you trust everyone to improvise because you could turn maya on and roll on her for like an hour. >> you throw this party and you invite all of the kids that were part of your group or sometimes outside your group in high school. and anybody watching the movie can check off all of those people. we all had those people in or lives, which takes me back to you as a teen.

>> i was like a high functioning nerd. like editor of the school paper, so we had our own subset of friends but we were not cool. >> wait. >> no drop of alcohol. >> i told your friends in high school you would go on to become this tina fey, they would say or have said? >> they would say but she only has one eyebrow, how is this going to work out. >> this would be surprising. >> i would think so, yes. >> going back, you're going to host "snl" with amy. >> yes. >> that puts you, the names, in an extremely exclusive club, here they are here. >> yes. all my boyfriends. >> the five-timers club. >> yeah. when lauren called and said -- we want to host together, yes, but i have to ask you a serious question. if we host together does it still count in getting me in the five-timers club.

>> it counts because alec once hosted with kim basinger. so like major league baseball. >> and i'm noting funny, in career highlights, that would rank where? >> that -- that would be like third behind lighting the christmas tree once with you and then this interview right now. >> that's good. so you've been doing publicity for the movie. >> yes. >> let me fact check on a couple of things that have come out. amy poehler sometimes calls you betty. >> yes. my first name is elizabeth. elizabeth tina so she's one of the people that knows that. >> is betty a term of endearment or like when my mom would call me matthew because i angered her. >> i think endearment. >> you met amy at improv class she reportedly admired a joke you told about kathryn the great. >> oh, yeah, probably. again, so good at swearing, not a joke i could tell you right now.

rin the zblaet. >> yes because of my high swearing vocabulary. >> there is another one that you apparently one one thing for christmas. >> take a nap. >> pot holders. >> i do. because my pot holders are worn out. i'm turning into my mom. like i don't want anything. i understand it now. you get to be like when you're a mom, i don't want anything. >> are you that big of a cook? >> matt, you blew christmas and gave to the me early. thank you. i will seriously use these. >> put them under the tree and pretend. >> i do that a lot. >> this is fun. sisters from our sister company universal, opens on friday, and you can catch tina and amy back on "snl" this coming saturday night. congrats. >> thanks, matt. thanks for these. i'm pumped. >> our pleasure. >> thank you so much. coming up look who is here, kurt russell. his new movie the hateful eight.

>> eight bad guys. one very bad girl.

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. we're back now. it's a monday morning, the 14th of december, 2015. 384:30 in the morning. pretty day out here on our plaza, huge crowd and huge happy

holidays, and by the way, a golden globe nominated series star "fargo" is the our little elf. we'll talk to kristen coming up. that's a good find. >> oh, my gosh. >> look at this bear. >> pigger than her. >> good morning, everybody. nice to have you on our plaza. >> also ahead as we just told people kurt russ sell here. >> wrangler. >> we'll have a little talk with wrangler after that. kurt is here and starring in the new quentin tarantino film called "the hateful eight" including the epic stash that he had to grow for the role. >> all right, and we put out the call for sweet treat and the highlight in today's holiday cookie swap and this morning we finally get to sink our teeth into our first delicious batch. >> that's right. >> and, folks, don't forget. we are throwing our good friend

we'll get you ready for it with a look back at some of our favorite willard moments. >> looking forward to. a lot to get to in this half hour starting with the weather. >> looking at week ahead. start off with a flood threat in the northern plains in the early part of the week and wintry in the northern plains and heavy snow back through the rockies that. snow continues in the pacific northwest and mid-week heavier rain making its way into the northeast, mid-atlantic states and storms along the east coast and the latter part of the week, sunshine for the eastern two-third of the country with mountain rain and snow and hangs around. you can see it stays warm here in the east and cold out west and mid-week still toasty in the east. much below normal through the rockies and then the latter part of the week things start to

that >> don't forget check your weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. well, this morning we're launching a new make your today series called "pay it forward. ""all of us picked a special person or organization that's meant something to tus and tried to do something special for them. >> today it's my turn and this one is close to home for all of us because i picked someone from our family, our "today" show family. >> welcome to "today" on a busy

>> over the course -- >> when you turn on the "today" show in the morning, this is the view you're used to seeing, but this is my view of the dozen of people working furiously behind scenes to get us on the air every day. eric hill is one of those people. eric has been a production assistant on "today" for almost 30 years and is someone i always look forward to seeing, and i'm not alone. >> every time you walk past eric, he's got a smile on his face and a chuckle in his that's right. >> eric is one of the greatest guys i've ever known. >> eric goes above and beyond to make sure that everyone who comes into his life feels special. >> but for the last six months we've been missing eric because he's been in his hometown of pittsburgh, pennsylvania, being treated for stage four colon cancer, and even though right now he's in the in the studio every morning, we wanted him to know that we are right by his side and maybe one small thing

time-test trade digs. >> here it is, 929th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> for the last 24 years eric has been with us at the macy's thanksgiving day parade, taking his annual christmas card photo with us, his cohorts. from his very first photo in 1990 with katie and willard. >> doesn't seem like thanksgiving though without a picture of you, me and matt, eric, and i miss, that and i miss you. >> it's always something we look forward to. >> it was very, very special, because you saw in him the true meaning of the holidays. just like a little kid. >> as the years progressed and so did the themes and costumes from a christmas carol to a christmas story, from rudolph to ghost busters and elf. we've always been happy to be eric's elves, and this would have been his 25th anniversary at the parade, but eric's health didn't permit him to be there, so we didn't want him to miss a

>> look at this. >> with the help of a cardboard cutout and several wacky costumes we tried to do what eric would have wanted. >> eric, we wish you a speedy recovery. we miss you, pal. we love you. have a really happy holiday, doctor's orders. >> come back soon. >> take two of these and call us in the morning. >> as we snapped our photos for eric we knew that mailing this card wouldn't do. we wanted it to be a special delivery, a surprise special delivery. we sent one of our camera crews to pittsburgh. all we told eric was that we were shooting staff holiday greetings. he had no idea i was there. >> it's been incredible journey because it's -- it's family. we joke sometimes like i'll see andrew and a couple other people, joanne, like who are the lifers, who -- who survived, but you meet some great people coming back and forth. >> did you say family? >> family. >> hello, good buddy. >> my god. >> how you doing?

>> we feel the same way. >> i love you, i miss you. >> we miss you too. >> doing good. i'm great now. >> are you. >> we wanted to come out here and you just said family, 28 years. >> mm-hmm. >> for 24 of those 28 years you have come to the thanksgiving day parade with your crazy costumes and your wacky props. >> mm-hmm. >> and you've dressed us all up and we've taken those amazing pictures for your holiday card. >> you've been great sports. >> and i know you, eric, were disappointed you couldn't be there to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that. >> yeah. >> and we were disappointed, too. we really were and we didn't want you to think that we wouldn't let that milestone or would let that milestone go by without stopping to do something special. so after the parade we got together. >> yeah. >> and we took some liberties. you were there in spirit. >> and the i want to show you that we didn't forget the 25th.

>> a cardboard cutout and there in herald square we said 25 years, happy holidays. >> that is -- >> i'm lost for words. that is awesome. and you dressed up. >> so it's our way of saying having a happy holiday, doctor's orders. >> we miss you. >> you're the best. i miss you guys, too. >> and we really do miss eric hill. we're hoping he's watching this morning and getting better and recovering than he can be back to the 26th macy's day parade. >> not the same without you, eric. we miss you so much. >> miss. >> you and we love you, and i hope to see you soon. >> tomorrow i'm going to pay it forward a little bit, too, with some kids going through a tough time that i can definitely relate to, and we'll tell you about that. up next, kurt russell on his new golden globe nominated move "the hateful eight" but first on

"today" on nbc. we're back now at 8:30 with kurt russell who stars as one of the despicable characters, and we mean that in the nicest way in tarn tarn's highly anticipated movie "the hateful eight." take a look. >> you ain't got mixed emotions about bringing a woman. >> by woman, you mean her? no. i do not have mixed emotion. >> so you take in. >> you bet. >> you going to wait around and watch it? >> you know i am. >> i want to hear her neck snap in my own two ears. >> good lines, and i actually think you're the facest of the hateful eight. i actually think you're like the sweetie of the try. >> of course, so do i. >> tarantino hand picked you for

i checked with our censors and can use what we said about you and says you're aad ass and he wants everyone to see that. >> he does, i guess, enjoy putting me in these roles. had a great time with him and this one was fantastic. the cast is the -- they are just a great group of people they are fantastic at what the they do, and quintin's just unique. there's only one of him. >> the script is so clever and got nominated for a golden globe, by the way. >> let's just talk about what we have to talk about, the mustache. >> that took a little while. >> like its own character in the film. >> that's true, true. >> so many questions. is it real, was it real? >> yeah, yeah, took about four months to grow. >> no, no. >> i did a picture just before this and i went of the went to the halfway house with more of a mustache and shaved the beard and let mustache keep going. it's like a mustache wearing a man. >> really is.

for the mustache you would get it there, would be no competition. >> a lot of people said that deserves an award. >> how did the mustache go over at home? >> not real gooded. >> how did goldie like it? >> ears ago when i had "tombstone" i had a pretty decent sweeper going and i learned then that goldie wasn't a big fan and actually neither was i and she understood we would have to muscle through it and it was real nice when it came off. >> by the way, it looks like -- nice shoot in the sense that you like everybody, but the conditions looked incredibly grueling. you're in a plies ard for most of it. >> well, you know, in the process of shooting it and where we shot it, turl i'd only four hours from or place in aspen. i'm very used to that. i love that part of the world. i love being there and being in that environment, so it wasn't bad. it really wasn't bad. we had a pretty nice winter and had as much snow as we needed in all of that, but, yeah, your feet get cold.

set that i personally could not live by. one no, electronic gadgets and, two, no nap. what is he, a sadist? that's terrible >> you really don't want to go here. >> really, why? >> because -- >> that just makes me want to go there more. >> i lost -- be careful what you say here, you might get what you wish for. you know, he doesn't let -- nothing is turned on or off which everybody loved. >> yeah. >> but other one, napping, i've grown up on sets and love napping, and he just doesn't like it when you go to sleep so if you do go to sleep there's a thing called big jerry that's going to be snuck in beside where you are taking and they will take a picture and you will go on the wall of shame and i'll leave big jerry alone. >> going tele. >> little early in the morning for big jer. >> i shouldn't, have i forgot about the second part of story. kurt rils, thank you so much.

select cities christmas day. up next, sweet treats are kick heart disease. asthma. diabetes. 7 out of 10 americans take prescription drugs. but in the last 7 years drugs prices have doubled. hillary's going to take on the drug companies. require medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. let people buy their prescription drugs from countries like canada at half the price. and cap monthly prescription costs for every american. the drug companies have been over charging long enough. it's time to fight back. i'm hillary clinton

back now at 8:46 with a kickoff to today's holiday cookie swap. >> all this week we're going to get into the spirit of the season with our favorite seasonal treats. >> it's the most wonderful time of the year. made of sugar and spice and everything nice. >> when i bite into my favorite cookie, it makes me feel like a kid again. >> when i think cookies, i think deliciousness. >> when cookie searches are at an all-time high and three-quarters of americans consume more cookies than any other month of the rear. >> nothing beats the perfect moist, soft, yet still somewhat gooey cooky. >> sugeary, chocolate chip and

>> when i think cookie, i think chinese almond cookied with the chocolate in the middle. >> america, we asked you to tell us your favorite. >> my favorite cooky is from helen's kitchen in charlotte, north carolina. secret is it's a great cookie and then she sprinkles a little sea salt on top, mwah. >> and give a shout-out to the bakeries that made them. >> my favorite is lavanes dark chocolate peanut butter chip. >> when i think cookies, i think happiness. >> and you answered. today's great american cookie swap, georgia, you voted for the toffee cookie and ohio the buckeye, and california, persimmon cooky. >> it takes gooded. >> this is like a blueberry muffin if it were smashed down into a perfect little cookie, just like in a. >> so go ahead and indulge and take a bite out of holiday season. >> we are such dorks.

nationwide hunt for great cookies and asked you to number nate an awesome bakery in your state. >> submissions poured in and we picked the bakers that rose to the top and our first match from michigan, texas and colorado starting with chill mcclear fretom's mom cookies in harbor springs, michigan. cheryl has worked there for 20 years and owned the company for 20. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning. >> people say franchise this out and you say no why? >> i say no because if i keep it small i'll keep it good and i want it good always. >> your cookie res see what is. >> white chocolate with pupper sglint what makes it special? >> a lot of peppermint. >> so i'm going to add some white chocolate chips in here and peppermint sticks, a little more white chocolate and peppermint extract and you have got to add a lot of that. there's already some in the dough and i added that.

>> roll it out in a loss, cut it and bake it. >> delicious. >> oh, my -- >> mm-hmm. >> a mouthful and you have to introduce our next baker. caly ann buck, amazing, also a college student and has her own bakery and making beautiful chocolate chip cookies and you -- you're a student. i don't understand how you have time to do all this. >> yes, actually, when i started the company i took a semester off from school and now that i'm back in school in boston and i have two texas a&m students that continue the business and we run it together. >> what's the name of your company, caly-in cookie. >> i like that. >> we like to pull them out of the oven about three minutes before and the edges will be a little bit crispy and when you pull them out you leave them on the pan for 10 to 15 minutes and let them continue to cook and from there you take them off and boda-bing, they are done. >> so you're take them a little

>> usually like three minutes. >> great. >> like them soft and chewy. >> last but not least, representing denver, colorado, danon moore from cake crumbs. she opened her bakery eight years ago and people come from all over for the cookies. good morning. happy holidays? what was >> most of all i live in the neighborhood where we are, and i really wanted to create something that could be designed for our community. >> i think that's great. the cookie is an oatmeal cranberry cookie. what is the secret to it? >> the cranberries. >> fresh? >> no, we don't. we use dried cranberries because i don't like raisins. really, you know, huge. growing up as a colorado skier, i loved giant cookies at the end of a good ski day. so big or go home. >> you use the ice cream scoop

>> you got it. >> thank you, danon, thanks for all of the recipes. by the way, if you want to learn more about these you can head to today.com and more bakers in a little while. >> up next as we get ready to celebrate the great willard scott tomorrow we'll look back at one of his signature moments on the show. first, this is "today" on nbc.ere awesome.

nbc. >> today's thank you willard is sponsored by smuckers. >> this morning we have to say how bittersweet it is after 35 years here at "today" willard is retiring tomorrow. we have a huge party planned. >> over the years we calculated willard helped wish more than 40,000 americans happy birthday as they reached 100 years old. he is not only famous for birthdays. one of his most iconic moments came when he dressed up on a dare for charity as carmen miranda long before there were viral moments there was willard scott. >> long before matt started cross dressing willard was. >> carmen miranda. >> here is carmen miranda. >> what a privilege to have been

they are still talking about it. >> that was one of those moments on television that became a phenomenon. >> i'll never get that image out of my head. >> everybody was blown away. >> there was a heart felt reason for doing it. >> i'm a big fan of uso. >> it was for charity, to help people. >> if you didn't think i had fun, you are crazy. >> if the internet had existed when willard did carmen miranda he would have broken the internet. >> so great. amazing. >> talking about that for weeks. >> one of the first things people mention when they say his name. we'll have a proper send-off for willard tomorrow to cap his remarkable run here at nbc. >> a legend. >> i love it. >> he's -- really has done it. >> you carried that tradition on proudly. >> thank you.

>> we'll have a lot more tomorrow, much more on a monday morning, what's up next hour? >> we have our cookie swap. >> and we get to sink our teeth into yummy cookies. >> delicious. lots more.

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

roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun.

fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. this morning on "today's take," "sisters," the countdown is on to the comedy of the year. we've got one of the stars and then hollywood shopping scam, by the gift card you just bought may not be worth anything and three of the most delicious christmas cookies you'll ever eat. all that and more coming up now. >> announcer: from nbc news. this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall live from studio, 1a in rockefeller plaza.

monday morning. it's december 14th. it's 2015. there's a great holiday crowd on plads ashe. inside i'm willie along with al, willie and tamron. my morning jam "express yourself" by n.w.a. i interviewed ice cube. >> yeah. >> last week. >> hanging with him. >> and been in that n.w.a. mood, that and sinatra and his 100th birthday, that kind weekend. >> that's good. >> great mash-up. >> am, let's talk about the weather. >> yes. >> did we head 72 in new york? >> jfk got to 70 degrees sunday. >> incredible. >> it's -- it's been nuts. temperatures. in fact, according to the national oceanographic administration, national centers for environmental information, at least -- the first ten days of december, this is before this weekend, 574 record daily highs have been tied or broken. >> wow.

>> that graphic is ominous. that looks like an apocalypse. >> in fact today some places could be 0 degrees above average. >> come on, wow. >> is it true that this is going to continue potentially through christmas? >> well, it's going to moderate, but right now brutally cold, unusually cold weather is still banked up in canada. seeing below normal temperatures out west which we'll get into a little bit and cherry blossoms in washington, d.c. popped out again, and you can see buds on your freeze, it's not going to be a problem because they will re -- reblossom. >> right. >> once they go back into hibernation. >> crazy to see. >> it is. >> last week, first great class at an elementary school in new york tossed their coats into the air to celebrate unusual -- >> that's who you want to hang out with. that's the crew you want to hang out with.

decided to get in on the action, in the niagara river in buffalo hanging ten. >> oh, come on. >> you don't see that. >> don't see that every day. >> remember this time last year, buffalo was like in a state of emergency. they were buried. >> doesn't seem christmassy enough though. out in short and t-shirts. >> other parts of country, florida, california. >> generally. >> i need a little cold. >> you need snow, really? >> yeah. >> i need like the scarves and mittens and put if on and walk around. >> i don't mind this. >> al, here's my theory based on absolutely nothing. >> okay. >> it's a setup. get the mild weather and then we're going to get slammed with a horrible winter. >> in the northeast -- that's the what happen, we have fairly mild weather in december and boom. we're in an el nino year right now which means colder, wetter out west and a little drier, warmer here as we get into january and february, a little wetter and then a little colder. >> yeah.

winter, but we are in the middle what have could be a record el nino which means warmer than unusual temperatures. >> comparison to your point about last year, remember dylan all over boston. >> i mean. >> by this time. >> i was talking to dylan about this on friday. by this time last year she was already literally burnt out. she had been on the road for weeks covering brutal weather. >> and the people in the northeast burnt out. >> dylan, keep sleeping in. >> natalie mentioned some of us can't get into the christmas spirit without some snow around and christmas music, that should be able to help a little bit. >> yes. >> so the university of illinois has set up a 24/7 service, get this. you call in and you choose a song, and a student will sing it to you live. it's the whole new meaning to rent party. >> we've been doing this for years, since 1960s. >> just got in on the party. >> that's good to know. >> better late than never. >> we just -- somebody told me it was trending. >> well, in 1960.

>> a slow long trend. >> a slow build. >> "washington post" did a story on it. >> okay. both of my parents went to the university of illinois and this pre-dates them. this is a long tradition. >> wow. >> but it's a great tradition. >> and just now catching on. >> so, do we check it out. because they have been on hold since the '60s just for you. >> your call will be received shortly after this message. please have your name and location from where you're coming from. >> what song do we want to hear? >> it make take us a few moment to get you your song. >> thank you and happy holidays. >> what song do we want? >> "last christmas." >> she goes right to wham. my that's right. >> that's sad. >> gave the heart and then she tore it apart. >> the they are on the phone. >> they are on the phone. >> happy song.

sing." >> the "market herald" is that the name of it. >> hi, university of illinois, we'd like "hark the herald the angels sing." >> the what is your name? >> my name is sharon. >> hi, sharon. >> runt in the middle of finals right now? >> my name is sarah. >> hi, sarah. how are you? >> so you're ready. >> we're ready. >> three, two, one. hark the herald angels sing glory to the newborn king peace on earth and mercy mild gott god and sinners reconcile the joy full all ye nations rise join the triumph of the skies with angelic hosts pleau claim christ is born in bethlehem

glory to the newborn king >> nice. >> fantastic. >> nice. >> are you in the christmas spirit now? >> i'm much better now, thank you, university of illinois. >> that's amazing. >> you guys are terrific. >> let me ask them one more thing to make sure they are illini. i-l-l. >> i-n-i. >> that gets you in. >> don't sound like you've been singing sin oat 60s and bless your hearts. we're so happy. >> do you have a tip jar. >> we should give you something. >> what do you guys get out of it? >> we'll send you "today" show mugs. >> that's the christmas spirit. they don't get anything out of it other than bringing christmas joy to others. >> we'll send you guys "today" show mugs. >> signed "today" show mugs, not the ones from the gift shop. >> you might not want the signed ones. >> erasing names every day. >> you know. >> it's your choice, but i would go with the plain ones.

that's awesome. >> have a little thing called a computer in front of them. >> but they didn't know our song. >> i'm impressed. >> i think that's amazing. >> great job, guys. >> thank you. >> well done. they are in the middle of finals right now, too, so. >> that's good. >> all staying up 24/7 to sing to us. >> how about the christmas lists with the hover boards. >> here, josh my son wanted -- wanted is the key word. >> uh-oh. >> and maybe the biggest gift of the holiday season or at least it was, but even santa apparently had a little messup on a hover board. take a look at this the. >> oh, no. >> merry christmas. >> ow. >> well, you remember that video, i guess it went viral. >> that still hurts no, matter how many times he did that. >> could have been worse and caught on fire. >> is that the hover's board? i feel like that it was santa's fault. >> steer issue. >>the door should have been made wider.

>> i just want to say one thing, please. >> let's top calling these hover boards. they are not hovering. they are not hovering. they are wheels. they are on the ground. it's not marty mcfly time. >> what are they called? >> they are not hover boards so start -- stop calling them hover boards. >> they are more of a rover board. >> your turn. >> okay. >> anyway. as you've heard by now, no doubt seen hover boards, mono rovers, whatever you want to call them, they have become safety concerns because the lithium ion battery inside of them are causing some to catch fire and now amazon has pulled some of its brands from its sight. overstock.com is not selling them at all, and amazon is asking for some sellers to provide documentation that they comply with the safety standards. so bottom line is because they are not a toy they don't fit into the toy category. they are not really regulate. >> hmm. >> so a lot of kids i think are going to be upset. >> santa doesn't deliver that

batteries. >> when you say santa doesn't bring it because of safety, there's no reason to be upset. >> i tried it on the plaza and nearly fell off of it and i'm pretty good on skates and skis and whatever so it took some figuring out and now that's not even the risk anymore. >> to al's point. so many different ones and even my neighborhood a couple of pop-up shops have started selling them. >> a lot haven't been through testing or complaint the standards. >> not a good idea to ride through your neighborhood on fire. >> probably not. >> speaking of on fire, look at warmth that we've got here in the east. there's that high pressure pumping up and the jeemp is way up to the north, so today we'll see a high of 64 here in new york city. by wednesday it cools down to 63 and charleston tomorrow 75 degrees and look at this. 54 in chicago by wednesday and 61 in evansville and 42 in

air is really banked out west. the jet stream has dipped down and so with this low pressure moving through you can see that swirl. we're seeing snow making its way from kansas on into parts of illinois and iowa, i should say, and we've got a deets ent amount of snow coming in with that cold air, upwards of a foot and a half or more through the rockies and cascades and great news for the skiers. the christmas gift there for anybody who lovers to ski.

>> al, thank you very much. coming up next "rossen reports live," yeah, live, baby, from gift cards that are empty before you use them to fake websites. just got a warning about three common skaks and how to karl, don't you have friends coming over? yeah, so? it stinks in here. you've got to wash this whole room are you kidding? wash it? let's wash it with febreze. for all the things you can't wash, use... ...febreze fabric refresher whoa hey mrs. webber inhales hey, it smells nice in here and try pluggable febreze... ...to continuously eliminate odors for... ...up to 45 days of freshness pluggable febreze and fabric refresher... ...[inhale + exhale mnemonic]...

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we are back now with another installment of "rossen reports live" and today we're exposing holiday scams. >> national correspondent jeff rossen did some digging to uncover three of the biggest cons that are happening right now, and how you can protect yourself. >> good morning, guys. >> start off with the gift cards right beside you there. >> you were saring you're saying you are scared of gift cards. why? >> my fear is always that you'll buy it and then you'll give it to someone and it wasn't activated there. he's no verification. >> this is along those lines.

popular gift cards on my hand. you go to the store and buy them for somebody and what the thieves are now doing is going tonight racks of stores and they are turning the gift cards over, have this one right here, zoom in that camera on it real quick what, they are doing is they are scratching off, took a freeze-frame of it, see that little number on bottom right at the bottom of the card, scratching off the number and putting it back in the rack so when you go bite card most don't look to make sure it's not scratched off and when you go to activate it they keep calling the number to see when the thing has been activated and they have that code and they spend it before you can spend it. >> wow. what should you do then to protect yourself? >> when you go to the rack and bite gift cards, make sure you're buying it and it's like this. it's sealed up. if not a lot of stores sell them loose, flip it over and make sure it is not scratched out, and a lot of stores keep it behind the counter. that's always the best advice to you. >> okay. >> make sure nothing is scratched out. >> a lot of us love online shopping and thieves are getting in on that as well when your package is left. >> this is huge. >> yeah. >> we talk about this on the "today" show every single holiday season and this is when the thieves go to doorsteps and know a lot of gifts are being delivered and they steal them

we actually have some video to show you of this in action. i think we do. >> we do. >> there we are. these thieves walk up. how heartless is that stealing these gifts. actually a case of a woman, a mom, who stitched together a bunch of t-shirts of her killed in action soldier son and there she is right there. it was delivered to her, a company do it, and a heartless thief stole it right off her doorstep and police got the thief later on but there are ways to avoid this. >> are these thieves cruising the neighborhood looking for -- >> they follow delivery trucks and will find a ups truck and fedex truck, any one of these delivery service and actually run to the doorstep when the guy takes off because most people aren't home during the day and know the critical hours during the day that you're probably not home. >> what do you do? >> ways to avoid it. number one, manage your deliveries in most cases. what you want to do is click on that box where you get it delivered at a certain time and want to know when it's being

how easy is that, they give you the number. i like this one, too, if your employer allows it, have it delivered to work and that way you know there's somebody there, you can actually take it. and the other way do it, the best advice, set up the shipping address to your local fedex or post office and then you pick if up how you want to. >> if there's a business like you frequent, dry cleaners, some of them will let you if you're a good customer since someone is usually there 9:00 to 5:00 kind of hours. >> third scam has to do the website you're shopping on. make sure they're authentic sites. >> there are so many fake sites out there, and when we do, the counterfeiters have figured out a way to make themselves come up high in the google search. when you type in ray-ban, for example, if you want sunglasses, you may get a fake website that comes to the top. we actually have a side by side to show you. can you guys tell which one is fake and which one is real. which one is fake?

open is fake. i think that's the fake one. >> yeah. yeah. >> believe it or not, that's the real one on the right. the fake one on the left. real quick, piece of advice, when you go to the url at top, make sure it says https, the "s" means secure. and don't go through google. type in rayban.com and go there yourself. >> thanks, jeff, keeping us hot days. >> the holiday hassle already stressing you out? next what will save your sanity. that's coming up up. fortunately, many have found a different kind of medicine that lowers blood sugar. imagine what it would be like to love your numbers. discover once-daily invokana . it's the #1 prescribed in the newest class of medicines that work with the kidneys to lower a1c.

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save when you buy the most loved rechargeable toothbrush brand in america. don't let bad odors escape. continuously neutralize them with glad with febreze. the only bag with the irresistible scent of gain. between decorating, shopping and wrapping you may seem a little stressed by now but we'll try to make things easier with holiday hacks from life-style expert and today.com contributor. here we go. first of all, tape. >> yes. >> trying to keep tape from getting stuck to itself. >> there's nothing more frustrating than not finding the edge of a tape. super, super quick and easy trim

on there every time you're done or the bread clip interest your plastic bag so you can reuse it. >> all the scraps of paper, missing a bow. you have some quick hacks for this. >> take a bow and take your scraps and cut little vertical lines and then you take your scissors and you just curl it like you would a ribbon, curl, curl, curl and that way you can quickly make little bows and not only could they coordinate but they look cute. >> when i'm making bows with ribbon they always come out uneven. >> with a fork. take a string. >> right. >> and what you do is you're going to tie it like this, tie it like this. >> so you're going in between the tines. >> and over like that. >> and when you're all done, you

and then what happens is that it looks like this. >> looks just like that. >> so the idea here, i didn't finish it properly but it's a little, little ribbon that you can put on an envelope and it's a cute little way to decorate. >> stick a fork in it, it's done. >> it's done. >> that's true. >> i was pressed for time. >> thank you. >> this one is perfect for any decorating or any fall table settings that you may have. take ice coupes. >> right. >> add some cranberries and a little bit of water on top and pop in the frears and then when you're serving your little drinks, you have a tasty, festy little drink with cranberries and it looks beautiful. >> very festive looking, i like that. >> this is terrific. >> this is really cute as far as table settings go. buy these little stockings. >> mm-hmm. >> and take your little fork and knife and spot and pet them in there. >> wrap it up with a bow and

>> you hate homemade containers and i love this. take the chip thing. >> finish the chips, clean it out with a paper towel. eco-friendly, super cute and just stuff it in there and you give all of your friends tasty cookies. >> put them in gently. >> thank you so much. >> a big weekend for to the couple who set aside the whole day to sell their old car and buy a new one... oops. nana's got the kids til 9... but it's only 2. guess you'll just have to see a movie... ...then get some dinner.

fort dodge police are also investigating why a man was found dead in the grass between two homes. someone called police about the body around 8 a-m yesterday. authorities found the man in the 1- hundred block of 8th street. police are calling the death suspicious. they have not released the man's name yet. students in the waukee school district will soon learn where they're headed to school next year. the school board will vote on a new

tonight. the change is in an effort to reduce overcrowding in many of its elementary schools. it's also in preparation for the opening of "grant ragan elementary school" next fall. more than 500 students will be impacted. for lynn's family, the big stress is paying four hundred dollars a month in medical and drug costs for aidan. for other families it's higher deductibles, premiums and co-pays that keep adding up. that's why we've got to crack down on price gouging, cap out-of-pocket costs, and fast track approval

because we've got to get health care costs under control for lynn's family and for yours. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough.

taking a look at headlines, more evidence is emerging that officials missed warning signs about the couple who carried out the san bernardino terror attacks. the fbi has already said the two developed extremist views before they met. well, now the "new york times" reports that the wife, tashfeen malik, had spoken openly on social media about violent jihad saying she wanted to be a part of it and yet passed several immigration checks before moving from pakistan on a fiancee visa.

post office today, best of luck to you. usps officials say today is the busiest mailing day of the year for cards, letters and packages. officials recommend sending pack packages by december 21st for christmas arrival and estimate over 15.5 billion pieces of mail will be sent this holiday season. a warning today about the dangers of putting young children in car seat while they are wearing their winter jackets. crash tests at 30 miles per hour show us just how dangerous it can be. in one test you see the child dummy goes flying out of the seat with the jacket sliding right off. an expert says the harness should fit nice and tight to the child's body and should be at armpit level and if you're worried about the child being cold lay the coat over them after the harness is already buckled. you've hearded about the dangers of not getting enough sleep but did you know that getting too much sleep could also be bad for you. new research from australia shows that sleeping more than nine hours could put you at risk

the study says people who spend most their days sleeping and sitting around are four times as likely to die young. experts recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep a day. and still champion. "the hucker games the mocking jay part 2" was still number one for the fourth straight weekend. ron howard "in the heart of the season" debuted number two and" the good dinosaur" was third. carolyn and andrew will get married in the "star wars" right outside of the chinese theater and they have been camped out there since they flew in from last week and carolyn will wear a wedding gown decorated with star fighters and darth vader will walk her down the aisle and the ceremony will be conducted by a friend of the couple named obi, of course.

>> this is not the bride you're looking for. anyway, early week, rain and windy conditions in the mid-atlantic states and flood threats around the region. mid-week period, pacific northwest and heavy rain here in the northeast. we could actually use some of it. heavy showers and thunderstorms through the southeast and the latter part of the week look for mountain rain and snow out west. eastern two-third of the country looking pretty darn good. lack at how hot. more record warmth here in the northeast and mid-atlantic states and much below normal out west and through the mid-week period. stays warm and it's not until

things start to norma >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. for the past seven years bobby main han has been make us laugh every week as a cast member of saturday saturday and he's keeping the laughs come in the new tina fey and amy poehler comedy "sisters" and plays that old high school fan, alex, that guy that one wants to invite to the party. >> no, knock, who's there? duane, duane here, duane the bathtub, i'm drowning. >> you still got it the. >> may i please have a beverage. >> thank you. wow. welcome to "jurassic park.

>> he's immediately exhausting. >> bobby is with us. we would invite you to any party or alex to any party. >> i would destroy your house, yeah. >> i love these characters because as we said earlier each one is someone that you know, that you're familiar with. what was it like filming this with the great tina-free and amy poehler. >> it's like being back at work. pound for pound they are the funniest women in the world and maya and everybody, having everybody around, two months in a house, warehouse somewhere, destroying a house and having a blast and improvising a lot. it was -- it was a blast. most fun i've had. >> tina was talking to matt a little bit earlier and there's kind of a shorthand between you guys on "snl." know how to read each other. >> no when to let someone else go and they will get that take

responsible for 90% of the classic characters on "snl" and would run up to you with a post-it note and read it and it's the funniest thing i've ever read and the best. >> new use for post-its. >> yeah. >> how do you shoot without breaking character or how often do you break character because i would imagine there's a laugh per minute on the. >> laughing and then getting back into it. trying not to waste as much time but it was fun. i'm sure there's a lot of outtakes of us crack up. >> i'm sure you figured you would have a fight scene in a movie. >> with john cena? >> fought him a couple of times just for the he can of it, in the streets. >> a little ww sgle he was terrified. >> was me. >> he was terrified. >> look at me. i'm very menacing. >> you are. i would be afraid of you. you look like a coiled spring ready to go. >> i'm ready to go. >> careful, roker, careful. just kidding. it was the best. the weirdest feeling in the

lifted by another grown man. >> he carried me around the set like a baby, and it wasn't -- i haven't had that feeling in a while. >> frightening and comforting. >> quite comforting. he's a kind and gentle soul. >> and can you do us a favor, bone, and show us your shirt and willie has -- >> out myself. >> yeah. >> my nice sultd with my "star wars" t-shirt. >> request see "sisters." >> is there a battle. >> a little disturbing actually. >> very disturbing. very nerdy t-shirt. "sisters" is out the same day and you can see both. >> yeah. >> how are you approaching this? >> i'll see -- i have many tickets for "star wars" and i'm going to get some for "sisters" today. >> great answer. >> good answer. >> thanks, movies. >> whoa! >> the battle. >> out of nowhere. >> so random. >> surprised the jedi like that.

course, "sisters" from our sister company universal opens friday. there's room in our hearts for both, "star wars" and "sisters." go back and forth. >> tina and amy are comedy jedi. >> please, pick me up and carry me around. >> next, the star of three dame toosh golden globe [barks] are those... you there... stormtroopers! halt! turn here. go go! follow them! bb-8! beep, beep! this way! where'd they go? they went that way! that way, they went that way! i can't believe that worked! of course it worked! beep, beep, beep!

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everything sparkly for everyone. kohl's. kristen is known for her work on stage, tvs and films and known for the wife on "in the wolf of wall street" and also as the mother on "how i met your mother". >> and now see her in the golden globe nominated series in "fargo can the "and tonight she plays the wife of a state trooper and she's battling a life-threatening illness. kristen, good morning. >> good morning. >> and you bring a bright smile to your face. >> oh, yeah. >> we'll see. >> you are doing so much right now, so busy, let's talk fargo first. nominated for all the golden globes. >> what's it like to be a part of this. >> amazing to be a part of it.

show and everyone involved and it's amazing to then see them celebrated in the way that i think they should be celebrated. >> yeah. >> the accents on this show are so terrific. >> how did you come up with your midwestern acsglent had a great dialect coach and i date a midwesterner. >> that helps. >> which also really helps and he's from wisconsin so it's a little different from minnesota and i loved it. they just told me that it was. >> take it at face value. >> i just trusted them i.love that accent. i would go too full twilt that accident. constantly bring it back. >> what are dates like with your midwestern trend when you are practicing. >> i would say things like oh, yeah, oh, that's pretty good, huh, and he'd like ah, yeah, sure, okay. and then the dialect coach was always -- a lovely guy and he would always be kristen, if you could just tone it down.

offensive cartoon. >> but i'm like my boyfriend loves it and my boyfriend says i'm good. >> offensive cartoon, that's high wheelhouse, where i really live. >> i expect you give a lot away, betsy unconscious on the floor. where is this headed? >> i'm not going to tell you. i'm not telling you anyone. >> i have to wait to watch is that what you're telling me? >> i do have a background in mime. >> you have a pc ground in mime. >> cut it out. >> i was a mime in high school. >> al has done the forecast in mime. >> you go first. >> okay. >> that's a classic. >> trapped in a box, that's good. >> that's what i was going to do honestly, to be honest. i was going to be trapped in a box. >> you've got one thing. >> you've got one. >> but it's good. >> but it's solid. >> let's compare yours. >> i used to have to pick flowers.

oh, it was in high school, a while ago. >> bravo, bravo. >> if i had a rose i would throw it at you. >> a lot of walking in the wind and i remember you had to clap like this make noise. >> doing jazz hands. >> jazz hands. >> oh, my gosh. >> another viral moment brought to you -- >> back to mime school. >> and we should point out "lazarus" is incredible, too. >> thank you. >> once you were hall of fame performance there and back with "lazarus." >> nice to have you back on broadway. >> oh, my god. >> look at you. >> amaze sgliging. >> i didn't own know. >> like mime with sound? >> what do we call that? >> interpretive dance. >> thank you. >> catch the season finale of "fargo" tonight on fx so you'll know what happens to her character. >> yes. >> maybe. >> i can't tell. they will fire me somehow. >> do i like cookies? >> yes.

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to order your christmas arrangement visit your local store or go to edible.com today. irwin, california. >> good morning to you. >> already sampled the cookie. >> the biggest part of the cookie is the dark brown sugar and the butterscotch chip. >> i love that. >> a lot of people go to chocolate chips. >> i agree. >> what's the first step? >> we're going to cream the butter and sugar and we're going to add egg, vanilla, and dry ingreedin

>> as you cook i love the story how these cookies came to be. >> i baked them for my husband and the soldiers loved it and made a business out of it. >> they became so popular and said they could be a business. >> just blossomed. >> they taste amazing. >> go right in there. >> and we've got the dough already made and then we scoop. >> okay. >> and i roll in even more brown sugar. >> more brown sugar. that's what i'm tasting. >> love it. >> and while you do that. >> i'm going to taste yours, too. equal opportunity here. i've got tina here with her t-rex cookies. >> look at size of these cookies and you'll see. it's the perfect name, t-rex cookies. >> sea salt caramel chocolate chip. >> yes, they are. >> ingredients. >> we have our chocolate chip cookie ingredients and put caramel in it and i actually weigh the cookie and all the

are all half a pound. >> oh, my gosh. >> essentially looks like a hamburger patty by the time i'm done with it and the key is putting the flake sea salt on top. >> i love that combination. >> a lot ask me how i get them to be chewy and soft in the middle and still crispy on outside and my secret is to make sure you freeze the cookie doe right after you mix it. >> how long do you freeze it for. >> totally frozen. >> and then you go right from the freezer into the oven. >> i'm going to give this a try. >> go ahead, al. >> chs your shothd shop in utah, chocolate chip cook we german chocolate frosting. >> i go ahead and make the german chocolate frosting and once it's heated up you have the coconut. >> right. >> and your vanilla. >> and -- and two cups of pecans, have to make sure those are toasted. >> you mix it all up and you threat chill. >> right. >> about two hours, three hours

consistency. >> and how do you get that on the cookie. >> that's easy, just put it on there like that. spoon it on there. >> tuft it with a little more nut. >> and then drizzle it with chocolate. >> of course you do. >> if it wasn't cold. >> and then that's it. >> great cookies. to get the recipes head to

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>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good point. >> who is better than them? >> h nobody. >> that girl can sing.

>> and happy fundayday, everybody.