chill in the air and lots of sunshine. >> dave, you said looking for thursday for thanksgiving, like 54 degrees. >> very warm, very pleasant. >> nice. >> nice for the parade. >> lovely. >> good balloon weather. >> good balloon flying weather. >> the "today" show is coming up next. >> that's what's happening today in new york. good morning. did they get their man? conflicting reports today on whether the alleged ringleader of the paris attacks was killed in the massive raid. new raids are carried out in belgium overnight. killing video emerging of friday's assault on a cafe and the harrowing moment one survivor got away. new york city officials hold a rare late night news conference to insist, there is no specific threat here, after isis releases this video with images of times square and promises more violence.

>> the people of new york city will not be intimidated. >> the latest on the threats and the response today, thursday, november 19th, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> morning, everybody. welcome to "today." disease a thursday it's a thursday morning. we have a lot to get to. >> more than 24 hours after the chaotic police raid targeting abdelhamid abaaoud, investigators are trying to figure out if he was killed in the raid or still at large. >> here in new york city, officials are saying people can feel comfortable coming into the city even though there was this

isis video showing footage from is the the city. let's start with the developments. bill neely on the story again. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. more police raids going on as we speak. half a dozen in belgium. more than 400 in france over the last four days, including that deadly assault. huge crackdown on isis supporters. here, of course, is the scene of the deadliest attack. some extraordinary new video has emerged. video of the moment one of the attacks began. >> reporter: it was one of their first targets and just after 9:30 when cameras inside the restaurant caught the moment the first bullets were fired. the video from daily mail.com shows a woman bursting through the door. she's been shot in the wrist. she hides behind the bar, comforted by a waitress. a man rushes in, his two friends have been shot. then outside, the first sight of

he turns and sees another target. he takes aim at the head of a woman, but she says later, his gun jammed. three clicks. he was out of ammunition. bullets are still shattering the glass. there was more than one shooter. as the killing continues outside, those inside peek from their hiding place, then one by one, escape to the cellar. it all took less than a minute. remarkably, no one inside this restaurant died. five people were killed here on the streets before the gunman drove off to murder dozens more. police still won't say if this is the body of the man who organized the massacres. abdelhamid abaaoud was the target of the police raid on an apartment. the police fired 5,000 bullets. a woman suicide bomber blew herself up. it looked like war. the u.s. says it is.

american public that there is, indeed, a strategy and that the leadership role america is taking in the fight against isis fully addresses the threat it poses? >> we have to defeat isil. we will defeat isil. you see the barbarianism associated with this. it is something that must be defeated. >> so you agree with the french president, that we're at war? >> yeah. >> with isis. >> i think francois hollande said it well. i'm glad the french are joining the fight. >> reporter: inside the restaurant, some tables are still set. outside, the flowers and the question, why? >> here in paris, the french prime minister is asking the question, what if? what if terrorists use chemical or biological weapons? he says, there is, always that risk. the question the police are asking is, who exactly is that body? whose is it? is it the mastermind behind these attacks? they say they haven't yet

identified that body. matt, savannah? >> bill neely in paris, thank you. in new york city, officials are vowing they will not be intimidated by a new isis propaganda video that features images of times square and other landmarks here, and threatens more violence is to come. square. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. the images of times square in this video aren't new. they've been used before in other isis propaganda. this is about the message. it is a call for new recruits. suicide bombers in the wake of the paris attacks. once again, new york city is named a target. >> reporter: just hours after isis released a new propaganda video using images of times square, police commissioner bill bratton stood in the square and held a late night press conference. >> we can't be intimidated. that's what terrorists seek to do. >> reporter: the video looks

as polished as past pop ropaganda. an apparent attempt to take advantage of the paris attacks. the video shows explosive belts and a car bomb. nbc news has chosen not to show all of the images. nearing the end, the child con congratulates the attackers in france and vows more violence is to come. followed by the images of times square, a direct warning to new york city, days after a warning to washington, d.c. there are 900 active investigations into homegrown ex extreme ist extremists. the vast majority connected to isis. in a year in new york, the nypd thwarted three plots inspired by the terror group. including one in june. two men allegedly researched how to construct pressure cooker bombs, while also scouting tourist locations in the city. in a statement, the nypd said it

is not surprised that new york is, again, named a target. on monday, the department announced a new strike force it calls the front line against terrorism. part of a new plan to confront an evolving challenge. >> this city places great importance on the safety of new yorkers and the almost 60 million visitors who come to this city. >> officials reiterate that there is no credible threat here. new york is not the only place listed. so is the uk and france. throughout this video, there is an eery song playing in the background, calling on followers never to retreat. >> stephanie gosk in times square in new york. thanks very much. don miller is the deputy commissioner of the new york city police department. good to see you. >> good morning. >> the sentiment is not new, the footage is not new, and i assume the nypd is constantly presuming

is the danger of the video out recently, might it be the nudge for anybody like-minded? >> isis has these organized plots, which we've seen with the plane down, the beirut attack and now the paris. their bread and butter has been recruiting people online. the have you had owes s videos are part of the cheerleading section. that's one audience. the other part is fear is the focus of the terrorist's mill. we operate on a high state of alert normally. >> you got the police commissioner and the mayor going to times square last night, standing out in the open saying, we will not be intimidated. do not change your lives. but it's the timing, john, on this video more than the content. in the wake of the paris attacks and the raids yesterday, that prove there were more terrorists, perhaps, waiting to cary carry out attacks, it doesn't seem farfetched.

>> one thing that isis understands almost better than terrorism is marketing. what you saw last night was a commercial. it's meant to sell a product. the product is fear. could it happen here? of course it could. but that's because it could happen anywhere. are we better prepared here than most, if not all other places, the answer to that is yes. >> one of the unfortunate parts of your job is you're a consumer of a lot of the isis media, including the online magazine, "dabiq," which includes an image that isis says is a bomb that brought down the russian jet liner. is that credible? also, why would they give that away? obviously, propaganda is key. >> it raises the question, can you accept their claim of responsibility? let's say for the purposes of this discussion, they are. savannah, what you mentioned is the "dabiq" magazine which came out yesterday. i am a regular consumer of "dabiq" magazine. this was a quickly put together issue.

the attacks on friday, they put together an issue and wanted to possible. our bomb squad, as well as the fbi, are looking at that diagram saying, what they have here, said? >> one of the things that was startling after the raids in saint den saint-denis, a woman said she thought she saw one of the chief suspects the day before on the street but they didn't dare tell police. they were too afraid. i know it sounds cliche, but the message to new yorkers and people in cities all across the country that we've seen, if you see something, say something. >> that's not a problem we're having. we've had people identify sightings of people that looked like people in these photographs and suspects around new york. one was identify ied on a plane in mid flight the other day and met at the airport by the fbi. when we tell people that we're on a heightened state, those

calls increase. >> happy to hear that. nypd deputy commissioner, thank you so much, john miller. we'll have more on this isis propaganda machine the deputy commissioner talked about, coming up. more on the photograph that savannah just talked about. what isis claims is the homemade bomb that took down the russian passenger plane. explosives, they say, they were hidden in a soda can. tom costello is at reagan national airport. good morning to you. >> good morning. we still don't know if the photograph is legitimate. u.s. intelligence sources tell us they have no reason to doubt it's legitimate, but they also point out, as john miller did, this is isis. if it is legit, this opens a whole new host of security questions overseas and here at home. >> reporter: this morning, aviation investigate ors around the world are concerned, scrambling to figure out if isis found a way to put a bomb in a soda can, smuggle it past

jet liner, bringing it down and killing 224 people. isis claims in its online propaganda magazine, this is it. a soda can, detonator and switch connected to a battery. it appears the can was cut open, packed with plastic explosives and put back together. small but potentially enough to blow up a plane. as this faa test shows. >> could one can take it down? if it's strategically placed and if the explosive is very efficient, yes. >> reporter: it's still not clear how it got on board the plane, but security experts say at home, the tsa checkpoints and explosive detection systems should have caught a similar device. the gap here, catering carts and cargo that are not all screened. the trusted shipper program is designed to plug the hole, but experts warn there's no way it can be totally fail safe. >> if it's an insider, somebody

an area that could be close to a fuel line, or in some other area they knew it would be catastrophic, that's very troubling. >> it's that insider threat that really has security experts concerned. what many security pros are now calling for is more random police and tsa moving checkpoints through the airport. not only checking passengers but also airport workers constantly. every day. if addition, they want to see every airport worker screened. as we reported last week, only about a handful, i mean, less than five airports, screen every airport worker every day. back to you. >> tom costello for us this morning. thanks. all of this is sparking a raging debate on capitol hill and the campaign trail, as well, over the obama administration's strategy for dealing both with isis and also the handling of syrian refugees. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is at the white house with this part of the story. good morning. >> savannah, good morning. the french president is vowing

to keep his commitment to take in 30,000 refugees over the next two years with security checks. white house officials say the u.s. should be able to muster the same courage to take in 10,000, again rejecting the need for a pause in the process. >> announcer: the united states of america, president barack obama. >> reporter: the president in the philippines and pushing back on the issue of syrian refugees. >> the idea that somehow they pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the united states every single day just doesn't jive with reality. >> reporter: on capitol hill, top homeland security officials privately brief senators on the latest intelligence from the paris attacks. now, heating up the fierce debate over the administration's isis strategy. >> the president of the united states words matter. >> reporter: josh earnest blasting the president's paris

response as aloof and cavalier. >> just as much time focusing on the president's actions as you do his words. >> his words matter, josh. i have to stop you there. i will stop you there. >> reporter: also under fire, secretary of state john kerry after contrasting last week's attack to the charlie "charlie hebdo" massacre months earlier, seeming to suggest the terrorists targeting the satirical magazine. >> it was a particularized, focused and legitimacy, in terms of -- not legitimacy, but a rational that you could attach yourself to somehow and say, okay, they're really angry because of this or that. >> reporter: the 2016 republicans are teeing off. ted cruz challenging the president for dismissing his proposed ban on syrian muslim refugees. >> i would encourage you, mr. president, insult me to my face. let's have a debate on syrian refugees right now. >> reporter: donald trump accusing president obama of being dangerous.

>> i think he's a threat to our country. >> reporter: and from jeb bush, a proposal that could make him the third president bush to send u.s. ground troops to the middle east. >> america has had enough of empty words. of declarations detached from reality. of an administration with no strategy. or no intention to win. >> later today, the house will vote on a plan to toughen the screening process for syrian refugees. the white house already said it would veto that. 18 to 24 months is long enough, they argue. existing security, screenings are already so tough in the country, less than 9% of syrian refugees who apply are allowed in. matt and savannah? >> peter alexander, thanks so much. tensions reached a new level in minneapolis overnight between protesters and the police over the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old black man. >> the two sides traded volleys of rocks and pepper spray, after protesters surrounded the police.

police released the names of the two officers involved of the shooting death of jamar clark. the union said clark was trying to take one of the officer's guns. the fbi is investigating the case. frightening video of a helicopter crash near san diego. this happened at a small airport. the pilot was trying to land when the aircraft started spinning out of control. >> this went on more than a minute. the tail then broke off. both people on board were killed in the crash. the faa and ntsb, still trying to figure out what went wrong. in another scary scene on camera, this is happening last week in san francisco. a run away tour bus hitting nearly everything in its path, as it raced toward a busy shopping district. >> the bus is seen out of control, eventually slamming into an apple store under construction. 20 people were injured in the crash. officials believe mechanical failure was to blame. just in time for the

holiday, travel season, airport workers went on strike at seven of the busiest hubs, including new york, boston, chicago and philly. >> union leaders say the strike is expected to last thr ough today. workers are seeking a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to join a union. the airlines don't expect travelers will be impacted. the weather often impacts the travel. we'll turn to al. you have storms to talk about. >> we may see airport delays in the northeast in a little bit. first, let's show you what happened. this is in georgia, 30 minutes southwest of atlanta. you can see they had a possible tornado move through, causing a lot of damage. we had a lot of severe weather reports overnight throughout the southeast. this is all part of the system that is pushing to the east. we're going to be watching this now. we have rain, in fact, stretching all the way from western new york down into the southeast. it's all part of a front that's going to be pushing in and bringing with it some severe weather. in fact, we've got that front pushing in later this afternoon.

starts in washington and makes its way to the northeast early friday morning. behind it, cooler air. we're also looking at a decent amount of rain. we'll see airport delays from d.c. to new york city, upwards of 2 inches of rain before it's over. we'll get to y 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... guess you'll just have to see a movie... ...then get some dinner. what a pity. we are getting our own piece

of that front al was just talking about. for us we get it at noon. a consistent day with gusts. 64 degrees should be the high. the next seven days look terrific. >> that's your latest weather. coming up, first big snowstorm move ing across the midwest. >> where, al, where? >> you'll have to wait and see. coming up, the business of isis. we'll have a closer look at the terror group's propaganda machine. the videos, magazines, the tweets that are being used to draw in recruits. also ahead, charlie sheen's father speaks out for the first time about his son's hiv revelation. we're going to hear from martin sheen. first, on a thursday

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live, this is "news 4 new york" now. good morning, everyone. 7:26. 59 degrees looking at the queensboro bridge on a thursday morning. i'm darlene rodriguez. city officials are telling new yorkers not to live in fear following the release of a new video by isis. news 4's tracie strahan is in times square to tell us more. tracie. >> reporter: darlene, they're calling it a vague threat. they say images of the city have been seen before. that video shows about 19 seconds of images including times square, harold square and the park. it has no specific threats towards either country. city officials maintain there is no credible threat against new york city either. back to you. >> tracie strahan, thank you. let's take a look at the morning commute. here's lauren scala. >> an accident northbound on route 18 in new jersey. then very heavy delays because of an accident on route 9 northbound after ernston road.

over on the turnpike northbound in the car lanes still have an accident before interchange 13. head over to the truck lanes if you can. watch out for a disabled vehicle eastbound on the gowanus. back to you, darlene. we will be right back with dave's forecast. all right. temperature through the area today up to 64 degrees. much warmer than normal. as we take a look through this afternoon we're going to see windy conditions. the rain is going to become consistent at about the noontime hour.

flooding but it is going to get sloppy with winds gusting up to 30 miles an hour. 50 degrees throughout the overnight. rain comes through breezy and cool and over the next seven days a nice stretch weather. everyone rolls in our direction as we take a look at the weekend we get down to the 50s with sunshine. darlene? coming up on the "today" show, big announcement on a new parental leave policy. stay tuned. the centers for medicare and medicaid services recently asked patients to rate the quality of over 3,500 hospitals. t fewer than 10% received 5 stars. r

among them was cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia. cancercenter.com/eastern. 7:30 on a thursday morning. it's the 19th day of november, 2015. al says, rain on the way here this afternoon, new york. actually, a good amount of rain. >> up and down the eastern sea board. >> it says snow but in an undisclosed location. >> he's not saying more right now. >> we'll find out later. stories making news now. the fate of the alleged mastermind of the deadly paris

wednesday's raid on an apartment in the district of saint-denis. at least two suspects were killed. one a woman who blew herself up with a suicide vest. the other is a man but yet to be identified. the u.s. house of representatives voting today on a plan to increase screenings for syrian and iraqi refugees before they enter this country. president obama vowing a veto. thousands of workers at some of the nation's busiest airports, chicago, boston, new york city, are on a one-day strike this morning. they're pushing for higher wages and better medical benefits. airlines don't expect travel to be impacted. coming up also, the new call for paid leave for all parents in the wake of a mom's heartbreaking story. let us begin this half hour with more on the fight against isis. that terror group's tactics are brutal. their media savvy is sophisticated with videos like the ones we've seen in recent days. even magazines and a presence on social media.

keir simmons is in paris with that part of the story. good morning to you. >> matt, good morning. this is the isis online magazine. you were talking about it at the top of this show. one of the articles in here is entitled "listen and obey." for years now, isis has been publishing online lies, glorifying violence and pretending islamic state is some kind of paradise. >> reporter: after the massacre in paris, isis launched an internet onslaught, with question fa gnat nat fanatics speaking in french. after the airliner was downed, isis posted another video, advertising death. this latest propaganda video showing images of times square is the islamic state's sophisticated 24-hour news operation, at work again. according to one report, isis puts out 900 pieces of propaganda a month, aiming to

recruit new killers and suicide bombers. here in a behind the scenes video, fighters show viewers around their apartment. even the laptop where they edit their poisonous propaganda. >> isis issues magazines in english, french and arab. it caters to a global audience. >> reporter: the magazine is modelled after al qaeda's, but it's more advanced. online, they encourage similar young men without a purpose in life to come die for isis. and it's not just men. come be a jihadi bride, it says on the twitter and tumbler accounts, which appear to be owned by young women. any girl who answers is moved on to instant messaging apps for privacy. 10% of western recruits are women. as for those who actually join up with isis, they say the operation is not as advertised.

complaints range from bad food to wife beating. by then, it's too late. >> intelligence officials believe isis may now be trying to put together a group that can hack online western interests. meanwhile, the anonymous group of hackers say they will go online and talk down isis. matt and savannah, the online war may just be beginning. >> keir simmons in paris, thank you. another aspect of the terror raids starting tooget attention. a french police dog was killed and he's being honored all around the world. >> diesel, a 7-year-old belgium shepherd can be seen in this photo, a few minutes before she was killed by a suicide bomber. she had been sent in to sniff out explosives. tributes to diesel still pouring in. the hash tag which means, i am dog, is still trending. a dog handler said, it is like losing a colleague. you can understand why.

>> absolutely. now let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. the number one jewelry store in america. every kiss begins s s with kay. we have a storm bringing a lot of rain and mountain snows, as well. this is not a typical clipper, but it is very clipper-like. coming across the plains, into the midwest and the upper midwest. it moves fast. by the end of the week, it'll reach the midwest. you can see the rain/snow line just to the west of chicago. we have winter storm watches, winter weather advisories from duluth to rockford, illinois and milwaukee. four to six inches from des moines, cedar rapids. milwaukee, 8 to 10 inches. the border of illinois and wisconsin, 10 inches of snow.

chicago, you'll pick up three to five. could all right, al. no snow for us but we've got plenty of rain coming in our direction. we have scattered showers, consistent rain afternoon. winds kick up and we could see gusts higher than 30 miles per hour during the evening commute home. 64 though should be the high temperature. clearing out and cooling down tonight to about 50 degrees. the breezes stick with us. nice weather ahead. seven day forecast looks good. cool and pleasant weekend and chilly start for next week. >> that's your latest weather. savannah? >> al, thank you so much. coming up, why it's the time we wake up on the weekends and not during the week that could actually be hurting our health. next, what does charlie sheen's future in hollywood hold

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save your coffee from the artificial stuff. switch to truvia. great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. 7:41. we're back on a thursday morning with breaking news out of paris. nbc news learned that abdelhamid abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the terror attacks, is dead. >> we'll go to keir simmons in paris. this came from the french prosecutor this morning? >> that's right, savannah. this is big news. the french prosecutor telling us that abdelhamid abaaoud was identified by his fingerprint. we knew that a man had been

saint-denis, in the area of paris, but we didn't know who he was. the french have been trying to aident a a aidentify him since then. a woman died when she detonated a suicide vest. she was his sister. they were trying to figure out who the man that had died was. we were told by the french prosecutor it is him. this is important. he has been described as the mastermind by some, the linchpin by others. whatever word you use, they believe he directed the massacre here in paris. intelligence services thought that he was with islamic state in syria, until very, very recently, when they got intelligence information, communicatio , we think, that suggested he was staying in that third floor apartment here in paris. they moved in with those 110 police. the police raids, 5,000 rounds fired. they were determined to get him.

now, they will be attempting to figure out how it is possible a man so wanted before the attacks managed to get himself into the heart of europe and launch these attacks. at the same time, they will be working through the evidence in that apartment to see who he was connected with. it will be very, very valuable, the kind of intelligence they can gather, now that they know how important that raid was. and, of course, we heard from the french prosecutor previously that they think that that cell was preparing to launch another attack. this man was not finished yet. he was looking to try again. he assume paris again. the french moved in, and they now believe that they have killed him in the raids. >> keir, we should mention the delay here coming because of the condition of the body. police officials described it as being mangled, perhaps as a result of the explosions that took place in the apartment, or the massive number of rounds

that you described being fired into the apartment. they wanted to be sure. they ended up looking at fingerprints on the body. they have now confirmed that this alleged mastermind is dead. keir, thank you very much. >> quite extraordinary, as keir mentioned, that this is somebody who apparently was able to get right back into the paris. this is someone who was the target of french air strikes in syria before the attacks in paris. there's going to be a lot of questions going forward, of course. we'll continue this is more than just a town. this is our home. and small business saturday... is more than just a day.

it' s our day... to shop small at the places we love... with the people we love. for stuff we can' t get anywhere else. and food that tastes like home. because the money we spend here... can help keep our town growing. on small business saturday, let' s all shop small. for the neighborhood, the town, the home we love. on november 28th, shop small. americans. we try to live healthy. but many of us don't know there are nutrients that can help support our metabolism. take new one a day healthy metabolism support multivitamin with chromium to help use carbs from food and b-vitamins to help convert food to fuel. one a day. >> announcer: this is an nbc news special report. here's matt lauer and savannah guthrie. good morning, everyone.

we have breaking news out of paris. the suspected mastermind behind the attacks in paris last week is now dead. >> this comes rom the paris prosecutor this morning, confirming that man right there, abdelhamid abaaoud did perish in those raids yesterday. nbc's global correspondent bill neely is on the scene. how were they able to make this confirmation confirmation? >> good morning. we've been waiting for some time to get that body identified. we filmed it exclusively yesterday as it emerged from the apartment that had been targeted by police. the paris prosecutor saying this morning they can confirm now that abdelhamid abaaoud is that body that they -- the delay was due to the fact the body was mangled, riddled with bullets. they had identified the body through fingerprints and dna. remember, they went to the apartment because they had a tip-off that abaaoud was there.

the morning, at 4:30, and were immediately repulsed by the terrorists inside. a woman suicide bomber who blew herself up. then there were 5,000 bullets fired by police, and the apartment was partly destroyed. as i say, they removed the body, but it's taken them some time to identify him. remember, he was the target of the raid. it had been thought that he was in syria. either this is a huge success for the french police or it is an intelligence failure. yes, they have removed the so-called mastermind, the coordinator of these terrible attacks in paris that have killed 129 people, but how on earth did this man, the best-known jihadi in france, slip through the net and get into paris in the first place? both failure and success here in paris. matt, savannah? >> bill neely, thank you very much. again, the headline, abdelhamid abaaoud, the alleged mastermind

of the paris attacks, has been killed. this has been an nbc news special report. rice krispies treats, the fun doesn't stop - how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop? there's a bazillion ways to make the holidays a treat with kellogg's rice krispies. how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop? we're back on "today." we're hearing from charlie sheen's father this morning for the first time since the son revealed to matt he is hiv positive. >> there's new questions raised

natalie is here with that. >> charlie sheen's motivation for going public was to head off shake downs. the star says he's already paid up to $10 million in hush money, and more lawsuits may be in the future. >> i am, in fact, hiv positive. >> reporter: shortly after char charlie sheen opened up about his diagnosis, his father, martin sheen, spoke out, telling an audience in florida, i couldn't believe the level of courage i was witnessing and that it was my son. i hope this day is the first day of the rest of charlie's life as a free man. it comes amid talk that sheen could face lawsuits over possibly exposing others to hiv, and new questions about the star's financial security. during the show's heyday, sheen was reportedly making around $2 million an episode for "two and a half men. "hundreds of millions more through syndication.

famously parted ways in 2011 -- >> winning. >> reporter: sheen hit it big again thanks to "anger management." >> sheen was making an estimated 40% off the show's revenue, which brought in for him anywhere from $75 million to $200 million just for two seasons of the show. >> reporter: as sheen revealed to matt, with five children and three ex-wives to support, that much money can only go so far. >> it's not great. it'll be great again, you know, if i'm a survivor. i've been up, i've been down, rich and poor. it's another chapter in my life. >> reporter: the question now, will this latest chapter include new acting roles? some industry experts say that studios may not see sheen as less of a risk than before. >> i think charlie sheen is more employable than he has been in years because he says he's been taking care of himself for four years, while he's known he's been living with hiv.

hollywood community are expressing sympathy, at least one of sheen's co-stars isn't supportive. jenny mccarthy now speaking out. >> i feel like in playing a love interest, you would think that there would be some type of, i don't want to say, criminal issue, but i don't even know how to feel about that. >> he may be free but not necessarily debt free. charlie sheen reportedly selling two of his los angeles area homes. one estimated at $6 million and the other 9 $9 million, raising more questions about how much of his fortune he has saved. >> he may be compiling some find of a fund to prepare for dealing with the lawsuits that seems to be destined to face. >> ripple effect. coming up, a new push to give all new parents mandatory paid leave. the fight went to the white house.

this time, as a wedding crasher. you won't believe how far she went to make one couple's big day unforgettable. >> she jumped out of the wedding cake? >> she did. amazing. first, these messages, your local news and weather forecast. you see this look on my face? sfx: growling that's not anger, that's hunger. so i'm gonna have a snack to make me feel better and once i do you will see a look of satisfaction and contentment blossom across my face. see, now i feel better. make your tummy happy mmm

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live, this is "news 4 new york" now. good morning. it is 7:56. looking at the grand central parkway. 59 degrees out on thursday morning.

police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who killed a woman in brooklyn. the 66-year-old victim was crossing ccrospy avenue when she was hit. so far police have only described the vehicle as being dark colored. it happened around 7:00 last night. about three hours later just five blocks later a man died after being hit by a livery cab. 291-year-old cab driver was arrested for driving with a suspended license. repairs are underway following a massive water main break on long island. a 12 inch pipe broke last night. hawkins avenue is closed southbound from school street to portion road. let's take a look at the rest of the roads. here's lauren scala. >> thanks, darlene. accident on 684 southbound before golden's bridge road. very heavy delays here. heading over to the george washington bridge. an accident under the apartments. 45 minute wait for the upper level, 30 to the lower. you have a 50-minute in bound

back to you, darlene. >> thank you. let's check the weather. today beginning at noon continues into the evening. 64 is the high. tonight rain tapers off. 50 degrees. tomorrow bright and breezy with a high of 57. 51 degrees. partly sunny, temperatures near 50. coming up on the "today" show, matt sits down with academy award winner eddie redmain to talk about his new role in the film "the danish

my name is 127 willow lane. and i've had some work done. in '62 they put in a conversation pit. brilliant. in '74 they got shag carpet. that poor dog. rico?! then they expanded my backside. ugh. so when the nest learning thermostat showed up, i thought "hmmm." but nest is different. keeps 'em comfy. and saves energy automatically. like that! i'm like a whole new house! nest.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, fighting for family leave. >> as a society, we should be encouraging women to stay in the work force, not doing everything we can to make it nearly impossible for them. >> how one mom's battle for more time at homemade it all the way to the white house. plus, kl h khloe gets candid. >> it was an emotionally stressful time in my life.

new life and her new look. i think i want to marry you wedding crasher. hoda gives a deserving bride the surprise of a lifetime. shocking her at the alter with the wedding of her dreams today, thursday, november 19th, 2015. i get knocked down but i get up again, you're never gonna keep me down >> we take new york. >> good morning, buffalo! >> sister vacation from minnesota. >> happy birthday, katrina. >> celebrating my 16th birthday on the "today" show. >> from maryland, celebrating our 40th birthday on the "today" show. >> and welcome back to "today." it's thursday morning, november

19th, 2015. you know, normally when we have a throwback thursday song, i often say, turn it up. turn it up, everybody. in this case, natalie, are you there, natalie? >> oh. now liking my song, huh? >> can i just say that this is like -- >> we're not going to criticize this. we brought carson back from california to criticize it. >> i'm leaving again tomorrow so i don't want to harp on it. it is an interesting call. >> two you criticized me on now. >> on the heels of, "we built this city," natalie, i don't know if you're allowed to pick the songs anymore. >> no, no, no, come on. >> come on. >> we look forward to your -- >> '97 classic. >> we look forward to your next throwback thursday song in eight months. >> one making a comeback in "star wars."

>> that's chewbacca. >> sorry. >> dr. oz is going to help us take the stress out of the holiday season. no wonder, he's going to get us plastered. take two of those and call him in the morning. >> exactly. first, let's go to natalie for the top stories. >> good morning. we are starting with breaking news from paris, where prosecutors are confirming that the suspected ringleader of last week's massacre is, in fact, dead. keir simmons joins us from paris for the latest. good morning. >> natalie, good morning. this is big news. abdelhamid abaaoud is now believed by the french prosecutor to have been killed in those raids yesterday. he was 29 years old. he is described as the mastermind, the linchpin, whatever word you use. he is the man that french authorities believe was behind the attack in paris. the massacre that killed 129 people. yesterday, they raided that third floor apartment. two people were killed. a woman and a man.

the man because his body was so badly damaged by the fire fight. they had to use fingerprint identification to establish that it is, they believe, abaaoud. it is a very, very important development. not least because the french believe that terror cell was planning another attack in paris. at the same time, they will be stunned that he had managed to make his way here to the center of europe. prior to that, natalie, the intelligence services believe he was with isis in syria, and that he perhaps planned this plot from there. instead, it now appears he had managed to make his way right to this capital city of france and, himself, orchestrate those attacks. abdelhamid abaaoud, french prosecutor says, they believe, killed yesterday in those raids. another attack on paris foiled. natalie? >> keir simmons in paris for us, thank you. meanwhile, we're getting a look at newly released video

it shows the scene inside a pizza restaurant, as dozens of shots are fired through the windows. a woman who had been shot in the wrist husz tles inside. customers and employees take cover while shattered glass flies around them. the video online also shows one woman who had a gun aimed at her head run to safety after the weapon jammed. five people outside the restaurant was killed. everyone inside survived. the house is voting today on a republican pla to tighten the screening process for syrian refugees trying to resettle in the u.s. president obama in the philippines defended his position again today, that the u.s. has a moral obligation to take in refugees. >> america has always been open to allowing people from war-torn countries who are subject to incredible hardship and repression and violence to find

>> the obama administration has vowed to veto any house legislation that puts up new barriers for syrian refugees. leave it to the bicycle-loving dutch to set the guinness world record for the world's longest two-wheeler. more than 117 feet long. it uses aluminum to connect the front to the back. it has to be operated by two people. riders have to avoid tight turns. i'd like to see al commuting on that to work. >> as long as you're with me. >> we'll work together. >> natalie, thank you. now, we'll talk about another story that's going to impact you. one mom's heartbreaking story, bringing new attention to a push for paid parental leave. >> that's right. sheinelle jones has the story. good morning. >> good morning to you. amber's infant son died on his first day of day care. for amber, the issue at hand

another larger concern faced by many new moms and dads. >> reporter: one woman is turning her catastrophe into a public crew cade usade crusade. later today, she's getting help from the white house. her five month old son carl died in july after dropping him off at day care for the first time. >> there's no words to describe the horror and just the disbelief. >> reporter: like many parents, amber was hesitant of handing her infant son over to the care of strangers at such a vulnerable age. >> when the child is that small, especially, in the infant stage, they almost feel like an extension of your body. >> reporter: amber says her employer's policy of three months of paid family leave is generous compared to what many americans receive. that's the problem. the united states is one of four countries in the world with no

the other one is papua new guinea. 87% of private sector workers receive none whatsoever. >> many of the countries had paid parental leave, not just for women, but for men, for decades. it certainly hasn't broken the bank. businesses have not gone out of business. >> as a society, we should be encouraging women to stay in the work force, not doing everything we can to make it nearly impossible for them to have children and stay in the work force. >> reporter: the issue even campaign. >> you're opposed to any mandated paid maternity leave. why? >> for the government to tell others how to do things, when the government hasn't gotten its basic house in order, is not only ineffective, but hypocritical. >> we need to recognize the incredible challenges that so many parents face, particularly working moms. >> reporter: as for the current residents of the white house, michelle obama was so touched by

amber's tragic story, she sent a letter of condolence. now, the nation's highest office is calling for change. today, obama's senior adviser is teaming with spotify and announcing a push for states to legislate mandatory paid family leave, hoping to avoid future stress for families or even heartbreak. >> amber shared her full story with the "new york times" parenting column. parents complain about this all the time. she was just saying she wants the option for more time. she wants her job protected. >> she's a strong voice in this. >> very strong. heartbreaking story. >> sheinelle, thank you very much. for more on her story and the discussion it's sparked, head to today.com. >> get the conversation going. coming up, dr. oz is here. he has some warnings tied to your health and the holidays. pop start, how we ended up in what is sure to become a highly-watched holiday video. >> for the wrong reasons. get ready to smile.

hoda's surprise for a bride on her big day. seconds before she said i do. we'll have you reaching for the save your coffee from the artificial stuff. switch to truvia. great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. feel a cold sore coming on? only abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. it penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells..

don't tough it out, knock it out, fast. abreva. there are 16 fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each bottle of tropicana pure premium. and absolutely no space for added sugar, water, or preservatives. tropicana. we put the good in morning. this is more than just a town. this is our home. and small business saturday... is more than just a day. it' s our day... to shop small at the places we love... with the people we love. for stuff we can' t get anywhere else. and food that tastes like home. because the money we spend here... can help keep our town growing. on small business saturday, let' s all shop small. for the neighborhood, the town, the home we love.

to the car that just survived hours of reconditioning... sorry, we know that was a bit... invasive. but, if we didn't hoist you up in the air and poke around a little, we wouldn't be carmax. we expect a lot from our cars and we need to make sure that you'll make the grade. you have to admit, you're looking awfully nice. oh just relax. it's gonna be a long time before anybody peeks at your undercarriage again. i'm thankful for helping hands... and for this wonderful time of year that brings us all together. where all it takes to become part of the family is to sit down, give thanks, and share a beautiful meal together. share the wonder of the season and a meal you'll be thankful for.

we're back. it's 8:12. time for trending. carson is back. all is right with the world. >> no question about it. >> we have weird hours. we all wake up early, like 4:00 in the morning. on weekends, show of hands, who wakes up about the same time? >> no. >> you do? >> i do. i can't shake it. >> i do, too. within an hour. >> me, too. >> i'm comatose on the weekends. >> a new study highlighting the risks of constantly changing when you sleep and when you wake up. example, if you wake up early for work and then sleep in on the weekends, researcher call it social jet lag. they found links to bad things, like increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, bad cles cholesterol levels and a larger waistline. if you wake up 6:00 monday through friday, try to on

saturday and sundays. >> kids are the equalizer. they'll keep you on a schedule. >> we get up at a stupid early hour. we get up at 3:00. >> within reason. >> we have all this stuff on the table now. i'll explain why. this morning, "time" magazine is out for its best inventions of 2015. cool things on the list. among them is the hoverboard scooter. this is a hot holiday gift. several brands on the market. this is the p-h-u-n-k-e-e duck. sells for $1500. >> wow. >> you can't use them in new york. >> that's right. some states banned them. >> they look fun. >> super fun. >> they're a little dangerous though. >> i was going to say. >> it's not easy. >> if you don't like that, here's some other intentions. a pair of nike sneakers that can be tied with one hand. >> like in "back to the future."

>> isn't it velcro? >> it has a lace system. >> how much are those? >> probabl expensive. >> probably. >> here is a product that is re-inventing pasta. it is called bonza. made from chick peas instead of wheat. double the protein and fewer cash s carbs. this is made and invented by the husband of one of our best producers, lexi rudolf. we're not paid to say this. it's really good. i have tons of banza in my house. >> it is good and fewer carbs. >> it is really good. >> not march madness, but it is this bracket that's the talk of the interet. a blog called mommy shorts help a chubby baby cheek-off, the

elliott versus kors. elliott versus callie. >> elliott. >> elliott might take it off. >> the winner, the second baby elliott. but might she face, or he face -- is it a he? >> yeah. >> face a challenge from our very own? >> versus her mom. >> me on the left. >> hence the black and white photo. >> yeah. >> those cheeks have thinned out a little bit. >> a little. >> val evgs e versus elliott would be great. >> you couldn't even see the neck. >> elliott has us all beat. now to carly simon putting an end to music's guessing game. who is vain? the new "today" show holiday song and video, courtesy of leann rimes. remember this? >> i do. we'll start with carly simon. she's revealing one of music's

biggest mist ystery ies mysteries, about the song "you're so vain," about a self-absorbed lover. who is it about? james taylor, mick jagger? she reveals the song's second verse is all about warren beatty. she joked he probably thinks the whole song is about him. carly will join us in studio on wednesday. >> love it. moving on to the next item of business. right there, michael phelps. congratulations. he's about to become a father. the most decorated olympian and his fiance announced instagram with that photo. expecting a baby boy. >> interesting article on him in "sports illustrated." he'll be interesting to watch in rio. >> why? >> he is back in shape, in a big way. >> wow. >> great to see. finally, grammy winner leann rimes wrote a special holiday song just for us here at "today." it's called "

today is christmas." here's your first and hopefully not the last look of the video, due to the special backup singers. roll the tape. today, today is christmas." >> come on! >> sing along, everybody. >> i like that. it's like a bad sitcom. >> look at willie. jingle, jangle matt lauer wanted a solo. he got it. >> natalie played a practical joke and made me do a solo.

>> is that the story you're going with? >> finally, he got him. >> meanwhile, the song is like an earworm. >> catchy. i had just gotten it out of my head. >> leann rimes looks amazing. that'll be confirmed when you watch the entire video. >> of course she does. >> great singer. >> if you're not singing jingle, jangle, all day, you're not trying. >> we put up the video at the website. leanne's new album is "today is christmas." she'll be here december 1st to perform that. >> she needs her backup dancers. >> you stay for the caboose with leann rimes. >> there's your all right. we've got a little rain, more than a little rain headed in our direction. it comes after the noon time hour. scattered showers before that. the winds pick up during the

could be a real sloppy commute home. gusts to about 30 miles per hour later on today. tone, the rain gets out around midnight. it is breezy and cool. here's your seven-day forecast. fantastic early next week. although a little on the chilly side. that's okay. >> that's your latest weather. matt? time for day two of our special series, make your today. today's holiday crash. hoda's holiday crash. hoda's crash. >> whatever it is. >> she's surprising fans as they celebrate milestones. she's shocking people. it's awesome. >> this is fun. watch what happens when i tiptoe into a wedding and give one deserving minneapolis bride a day beyond her wildest dreams. >> reporter: misty has planned every detail of her wedding day. but nothing about her day will go down as planned. we are going to blow her mind.

but first, why have i spent all day sneaking around a minneapolis embassy sweet uites for misty? >> if you know somebody getting married or celebrating an anniversary. a while back, this groom wrote us about his fiance. >> she's the most caring person i've met. takes care of everybody like they're her best friend. >> reporter: as a family therapist, misty gives services for the mentally ill and homeless, quietly helping those in need. >> she always has time for everybody, and i'm so lucky to be the one she has the most time for. >> begin ordination now. >> reporter: to help chris give back to the woman who gives him everything, i become certified to perform a wedding. chris won't be the only person meeting misty at the alter. >> act like you really are -- >> she gets so excited when she talks about hoda.

she doesn't get like that with anybody else. >> reporter: chris tells misty he hired a camera crew for her wedding gift, to document the day. >> this is chris' surprise for me. >> really? >> reporter: she has no clue they really work for us. as they film her getting ready -- >> what are we doing? >> i'm upstairs in her honeymoon suite. >> so fun. >> most of misty's besties are on hand to share the day. one friend, rebecca, couldn't swing the trip from california, or so misty thinks. >> memorandum is um is the word. see you in a few minutes. >> reporter: it is two hours until wedding bells. as chris gets the first glimpse of his bride. >> oh, good. >> reporter: i coordinate all the last-minute details. >> misty, i take you to be my -- >> reporter: from practicing with their pastor. >> we'll have you guys standing here in the corner. >> reporter: to hiding a

>> we know there's a friend she hasn't seen in a while. check. last, she's a huge fan of music. triple check, check, check. >> reporter: as the ceremony begins, i'm not sure who is more nervous, me, misty or chris. >> i don't want to make misty cry, but these are going to be the wildest tears of joy. fingers crossed, she doesn't faint. >> i hear my cue. >> chris invited someone you adore to be a part of this ceremony. >> okay. >> what? >> hi, misty. >> oh, my gosh! thank you so much for coming. >> misty, i fell like i know so much about you. one night when you were asleep, chris wrote us about you. >> wow. >> chris asked me if i would

help officiate your wedding. >> wow, oh, my gosh. >> is it okay? >> yeah, definitely. >> reporter: after a moment, we collect ourselves and focus on why we're here today. then those magic words. >> i now pronounce you husband and wife. you can kiss the bride, chris. [ applause ] >> reporter: our first surprise goes off without a hitch, but we have a few more things in store. >> i love it! >> that's your reception room. >> ben & jerry's? i love ice cream so much. >> your wonderful now-husband came up with your own flavor. i think you have a friend, a friend of yours who couldn't what was her name? >> rebecca. >> rebecca. >> ahh! oh, my gosh, i love you. i would like to announce for the first time, chris and misty. come on out.

[ applause ] >> okay. we know how much you guys love music, right? >> yes. >> love. >> i heard a rumor you were going to go to a concert this weekend. >> yes. >> we knew you couldn't go to the concert. >> yeah. >> so we decided, we would bring the concert to you. bride and groom, we have the goo goo dolls. [ applause ] >> did you know about that? >> no. i'd give up forever to touch you >> misty? >> yeah? >> i love you so much that i will do everything in my power to make your life as unbelievable as it possibly can be. >> i always wanted this to happen to me. i always wanted to be on tv, and i wanted it to be me.

it's me! >> yeah. >> misty, i want to give you events. i want to give you moments. for the rest of your life. >> wow. >> aww. >> there's a few more surprises you didn't see. one, we got to give them a honeymoon. they're heading to the secrets resorts s

good morning, everyone. 8:26 on november 19th. i'm darlene rodriguez. police say a man approached a 72-year-old victim after she stepped out of an elevator at her apartment building. he sprayed her with an unknown substance, took off with her purse. he has a tattoo on the back of his neck. accident on 684 just before goldens bridge, still out in the left lane. over the tappan zee bridge, rockland county, a disabled vehicle in the right lane. a bit of a slow ride here. upper level of the george washington bridge, 50 minutes at the lincoln. 30 at the holland.

okay, lauren, thank you. rain beginning at noon. continues into the evening. 64 the high. tonight, rain tapers off. 50 degrees. tomorrow, bright, breezy, high of 57. sunday, partly sunny, temperatures staying near 50. coming up on the "today" show, harvey caye tell talks about his new movie "youth ".

if i got locked away, lost it all today, tell me honestly, would you still love me the same we're back, 8:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 19th day of november, 2015. miles mild in midtown manhattan, but the lain is rain is on the way. >> thanksgiving is almost here. it's the beginning officially of the holidays. dr. oz is going to help us keep our holiday cheer in check. this is more of a table of

whatnot to do. we'll talk to dr. oz about that. >> i'll join the segment, even if i'm not supposed to. also, eddie redmayne is getting oscar buzz again, this time for his movie "the danish girl." >> so good in that movie. plus, my conversation with khloe kardashian as she opens up about lamar, her relationship with caitlyn and how she's lost almost 40 pounds. check out the kitchen. katie lee is here with a twist on sweet potatoes, just in time for your thanksgiving table. >> oh! >> looks like marshmallows. >> speaking of sweets, the today food team on the hunt for the country's best cookie to showcase in our today food holiday cookie swap. cast your vote for your state's most delectable treat. today.com/food. don't forget to join the today

>> by the way, siri, your beautiful siri, won't share her rookie recipe with me. >> why? >> i don't know. she won't share it with me. she has the best possible chocolate chip cookie recipe. >> i'll steal it tonight. >> great. al, let's get a check of the weather. >> tomorrow, windy conditions, snow spreading across the plains into illinois. sunshine here in the east and west. rain in new england. on saturday, we've got more snow in the great lakes. sunny skies up and down the east coast. on sunday, sunday, rain in the northeast and upstate new york, could be snow. rain down in florida. western two thirds looking good. how about your thanksgiving outlook? you'll make the plans. first off, on wednesday, eastern half of the country looks good. on thanksgiving day itself, watching the parade, from texas to the plains, we're looking at wet weather, snow through the northern plains. sunny on the east and west coast. on friday, your travel day,

the snowy said as you make your way through the upper mississippi and lower mississi al, the sunday sunday thing always gets me. nice to see everyone. clouds gives way to rain. winds kick up in the afternoon. gusts to 30 miles per hour during the late day. 3/4 to an inch out of the system. out of the way by midnight tonight. breezy and cool. seven-day forecast looks terrific. once we get through the weekend, chilly start to next week. plenty of sunshine. nice seven-day stretch all in all. that's your weather. >> that's your latest weather. happy birthday, 70 years old. you look fantastic. >> thank you very much. >> happy birthday. let's go back inside to matt. >> oscar winner eddie redmayne is back on the big screen, getting an awful lot of attention for a role in "the danish girl," based on a true

story. redmayne plays a prominent artist in the 1920s who is transitioning into a woman named lili. >> my husband, can you get him? >> i can't. >> i need to talk to my husband. i need to hold my husband. i need him. can't you just get him? can you at least try? >> i'm sorry. >> eddie redmayne, welcome back. good to see you. >> lovely to see you. >> how have you been? >> good. wonderful. >> spencer tracy, tom hanks, eddie redmayne. do you know what the names may have in common? >> what's that? >> i'll get to that later. we'll let it simmer. this is an embarrassment of

riches. some actors go an entire career without getting one to die for juicy role, and you come off of playing stephen hawking to this role. >> i'm a lucky man. the extraordinary thing was is i was first offered this part by tom hooper, when i was making another film. he gave me this script and said nothing about it. he said, just have a read. i read this amazing, beautiful love story. unfortunately, it took several years to get made, but it was -- >> i'm glad you say that. this is a love story. at its base, this is, first and foremost, a love story. it'll get a lot of attention for some of the other elements of the love story. real person back in the 1920s. this is a complicated character. tell me about lili. >> lili was born as an artist. she was living at a time in

which there were no predecessors. there were no examples or vo vocabulary with which she could understand what she was going through. when she was living as a man, she was an artist. her paintings were sort of restrictive and intense and small. versus gerda, her partner's work, which was flamboyant, strong and vibrant. really, it was about -- i always saw the paintings as a route in. it was as if she needed to shed some of that restriction to find who she was. >> i was thinking about you accepting your academy award last year, standing on the stage, knowing that you were in the process of bringing this other role to the screen. you must have been thinking to yourself, this is this glorious moment, and i've got another one. i've got another one coming up that could land me back on a stage like this. >> i think whenever you -- what

the privilege of playing interesting people, our dream is to -- our dream, firstly, is employment. >> paying the bills. >> exactly. >> that doesn't always happen. >> seriously. then to get to play interesting people. i've had my -- by playing stephen hawking, i thought i had my lot. the idea i got to play lili was a gift. when i was preparing to play lili, i met many women from the trans community who were generous and kind. almost everyone would start the conversation going, there is no question i won't answer. the transparency and the need to educate me was, by opening their hearts, was amazing. >> i open the interview unfairly by saying spencer tracy, tom hanks and eddie redmayne. what they would have in common, the three names, is those would be the only three people who ever won best acting oscars back to back.

>> oh, my god. >> sorry about that. it is something a lot of people are talking about already. >> well, this fill m has been 15 years in the making. our producer and writer have been -- lots of different directors and actors. nicole kidman was attached to it at one point. the fact that i am the person who was there when the film got its financing and got made was a gift. the fact it's now making it to the big screen for us, all of us involved, because it's a passion project, it means a great deal. if there is any good buzz, encourage people to see it. that'd be great. >> to say you're on a roll would be an understatement. >> thanks so much. >> good to see you. >> you, too. >> "the danish girl" is in theaters in new york and los angeles november 27th.

dr. oz is helping us avoid

we're pack at: 8:40. the holiday season is almost here. sometimes stressing. we'll help you out with us. dr. mehmeh oz is here. this is timely, goes for the whole year. first, talk about how much we should be drinking optimally, the maximum amount, for women and men. >> you're the women, over here. i'm the guys over here. men can drink about 14 drinks a week. it actually might still be healthy for you. women get half of that. you don't metabolize the alcohol and it goes into your bloodstream. the maximum in a day is four shots for a man and three for the woman. if you get more, it's binge drinking.

>> three a day. seven a week. >> my wineglass might be more full. >> regular beer, you get 12 ounces. malt beers, because they have more alcohol content, eight. wine is five ounces. it's not a bottle of wine. a serving size is five ounces. hard alcohol is an ounce and a half. you can have, for women, seven of these in a week. men, 14 of these in a week. it's a reasonable amount to have. if you do more than, for a women, three in a day, i'm concerned. >> that's about health. but there are issues of addiction, obviously, that are raised. people think of alcoholism and then think of social drinking. there can be this middle ground you talk about, problem drinking. >> looking at problem drinking, 26 million americans. huge number. how do you know if it's a problem drinker? if you're worried about your drinking, you're a problem drinker. if you're a problem drinker, you have to make the lines of

communication stay open. tonight is iconic and which is why we're doing the show today. we're asking everybody in america, the player players in addiction, which is the number one cause of accidental death in our country. we have a conversation this evening. we want the parents to talk to the young people. the adult children they have. ask the question, how are you coping with life and are you using alcohol or drugs to do that? here's the favor. everyone is going to post a picture of an empty plate, simple to do, signifying the meal is not about the food, it's about the conversation. >> you want people to talk about addiction. it doesn't have to be these dramatic cases. if you're worried about it, it's a conversation worth having. >> with the holidays, you have to talk to each other about it. the federal government is involved, celebrities, medical groups, faith-based organizations. the society we have has always been held together because we bond together and talk about stuff that matters. let's not ignore that. >> we have a minute. let's do the take aways here. >> important issues. first off, you have to make sure you ask the host, what's in the drink?

>> the punch. >> right. truly a problem because you don't know how much alcohol is in there. it changes how many you can have in an evening. you want to alternate alcohol with water. avoid the hangovers in the morning. hangovers are primely because your brain is shrivelled up like a walnut in the cocoon head of yours and the brain is bouncing around. doesn't sound or feel good. mixing alcohol with water allows you to slow down, which is why it's impactful. you're at parties to shake hands. keep one empty all the time. the other can slowly drink. if you're not sure, write it down. then you'll know for sure. >> writingmassier ier -- mess kwer toward ier toward the end of the night. >> will you take a picture with me at the end of the break? >> absolutely. coming up next, khloe kardashian opening up to natalie about her relationship with caitlyn jenner and lamar odom's recovery. first, this is "today" on

we are back at 8:46. between the emergence of caitlyn jenner and the near death of lamar odom, this has been an emotional roller coaster for the kardashian family. natalie talked about this with khloe kardashian. >> has been a year for her. she was preparing to go on the road to promote her new book, ready to start a new chapter in her life, when he learned odom had been found unconscious. that is where we started our conversation. >> announcer: now at 11:00, breaking news. >> lamar odom is fighting for his life. >> former nba star lamar odom found unconscious at a nevada brothel. chloe khloe kardashian rushing to his bedside. >> did you think, he might die? >> they told me he had four hours. it was a horrible call to get. getting to the hospital and

knowing he's in a coma, having to run these tests and make medical decisions, i -- it's terrifying. you have to make risk and reward decisions. there's an 80% chance if we do the operation, he might pass away, but also, if we don't do it, there's a 90% chance he'll pass away. just having to make these executive decisions is really hard, i think, on anybody. it was definitely probably one of the most emotionally stressful times ever in my life. >> reporter: for two weeks, khloe stayed by lamar's side at a las vegas hospital before doctors moved him to los angeles to start his long road to recovery. >> how is he doing? >> he's okay. every day is different. the great thing is, he's off of medical machines that will keep him alive. >> what's the long-term prognosis for him? >> he is learning how to walk again and learning how, like, cognitive therapy and speech therapy. they think within a year and a half to two years, he might, you

know, mentally, he might be fully recovered. they don't know. >> reporter: this all comes at what was supposed to be an exciting time for khloe, with the release of her new book, "strong looks better naked," the story of her transformation to a healthier, happier life. a journey that started three years ago when she was struggling in a failing marriage. >> you really talk about shedding the pounds is about shedding some of the emotional baggage that you were carrying around, as well. >> right. for me, when i started going to the gym, it wasn't about, oh, i'm going to get skinny and i was to lose this weight. it was, i was having a hard time in my marriage, so i started going to the gym for really a stress reliever. >> reporter: when she's not at the gym, khloe is active and avoids mindless eating. the result, a 40-pound weight loss, along with an increase in muscle mass. >> how often are you working out? what do you like to do? >> well, typically, i work out five days a week.

it's my healthy obsession. >> reporter: earlier this week, as khloe was making her physical transformation, she and the rest of her family were confronted with an unexpected emotional challenge. >> were you planning on not being bruce any time soon? >> that's possible, yeah. >> when he did finally say it to us, we did feel like we were the last to know and we find out on camera for the first time. i think like your emotions are real and raw, and i can't apologize for them. >> i'm not lying, khloe. >> you were until we got it out of you. >> did you handle it, do you think, the worst of your siblings? >> probably vocally, verbally. i'm so honest, i'm just so like aggressive with the way i talk. i'm always the one to be the bad guy, which i'm also okay with. probably i took it the hardest. >> let me see your purse. >> you're close to caitlyn now? >> now that i've separated the two and we all know and understand what's going on, i love seeing how happy caitlyn

seeing how this is where her soul really feels like this is her best person. i love that. >> i love you. >> while khloe remains close with caitlyn, the status of her relationship with lamar odom is scrutinized since she rescinded their divorce paperwork. in our next hour, khloe tells me why she made the decision. she also reveals the simple changes she made to her diet to help transform her body. she looks incredible. she's that much stronger emotionally, as well. >> amazing she was there during the first tough couple days. coming up next, we'll take a turn and talk about saving time and money on your thanksgiving feast. katie lee has delicious ideas. matt will help her in the kitchen.

>> announcer: meals and deals on "today" is brought to you by walmart. stop by a store or visit us at walmart.com to share wonder every day. back at 8:53 with today's food, creating the ultimate thanksgiving. it's a week away so we're stretching your budget with sweet potatoes. katie lee is co-host of "the kitchen." good to see you. >> you, too. >> they're economical. >> yes, they are. right now, there is a local store that has them for 49 cents

>> buy them in bulk if you store them in a cool, dry place. they'll keep for a long time. >> what's the name of the dish? >> sweet potato casserole, thanksgiving classic. tried and true. it's brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pecan, butter and cream. >> you'll take the sweet potatoes, cube them and cook them a little bit. >> what you want to do is put them in a pot with cold water, bring them to a water and reduce to a simmer. if you put poe pay tatoes in the boiling water, the outside cooks but the inside doesn't. >> got it. >> i've got some milk, heavy cream and butter here. we're going to put that right in and mash them. >> all right. >> just like that. >> mash them or use the blender like this? isn't it going to get all over the place? >> no. you're all right. >> yes, it is. >> maybe a little. >> let's pretend we've mashed our potatoes.

>> i'll do it a little. >> that's why we're wearing the aprons. >> mash those potatoes up. >> you want these warm because it'll incorporate into your potatoes more. >> look what you've done. >> we made a nice little mess. >> you have pre-greased this. >> now, this should be nice, creamy and mashed. what we're going to do is make a little topping. if you want to make this in advance, this can go into the freezer at this point. then you thaw it before you make the topping. >> what do we have here? >> this topping is cold butter, salt, brown sugar, flour and pecan. you can substitute other nuts if you'd like. mix it together. we'll put it on top of the casserole. if you're not a nut person, you can leave this topping off and just do marshmallows. >> this is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven. how long does it cook? >> 25, 30 minutes at 350 degrees until they're golden brown. >> this is my favorite part. leftover sweet potatoes.

simplest pancake recipe. eggs and leftover sweet potato casserole. from the blender to the hot griddle. >> take a look downstairs. they're digging in as we speak. >> i love the pancakes. great idea. >> healthy, too. >> cottage cheese. >> really healthy. >> how was the casserole? >> huge hit. >> you can take your casserole topping and put it on top of the pancakes, too. >> double duty. >> yeah. crumble it on top. little maple syrup. >> smells great. katie lee, thank you very much. >> happy thanksgiving. >> you can catch the recipes and

sign up for our food club at 8:57. it's thursday morning, november 19th. looking at the queens pore row bridge, i'm darlene rodriguez. new york city officials are responding to a new propaganda video by isis. mayor de blasio and police commissioner bratton say there is no specific or credible threat against new york city. the nypd is working with other agencies and it is crucial that

rain begins a at noon, continues into the evening. 64 the high. tonight, tapering off. 50 degrees. bright, breezy, 57. sunday, partly sunny. temperatures near 50. coming up on the "today" show, the 16 to '16 series continues with healthy options for your

this morning on "today's take," khloe kardashian opens up about lamar, caitlyn and her famous family. then a new movie that's getting a lot of award season buzz. we'll cut the calories from your favorite thanksgiving dishes in our 16 to 16 challenge. 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

>> welcome to "today." it's thursday morning, november 19th, 2015. i'm willie along with al, natalie and tamron. we begin again this morning in paris with major news about the alleged leader of the attacks last friday. keir simmons is there in paris for us. what's the latest? >> good morning. abdelhamid abaaoud, this guy was a ruthless terrorist, a poster boy for isis. he'd post pictures of himself online with dead bodies in syria. he took a 13-year-old relative, allegedly, with him to syria. he is the mastermind behind, the linchpin behind the series of terrorist attacks, including the massacre here in paris. it took the french authorities until today to confirm they had killed him. they had to use fingerprints to be sure because of the scale of that fire fight in the third floor apartment yesterday in the

5,000 rounds were fired. it's clear abaaoud did everything he could to try to not be taken alive. we know that he had bragged in the past about being able to get to europe, willie. he's said in the isis magazine earlier this year, my name and picture was all over the news. still, i was able to stay in the homeland and plan attacks against them, then leave safely. what is really, really going to worry the security and intelligence services, willie, is that if he did manage to do that in the past, it looks as if he managed to do it again, despite being a wanted man. how did this man travel to the capital of france and launch this attack, despite the fact it was known he was an isis fanatic and murderer? >> more questions in this investigation. keir, thank you very much. new video from daily mail.com. video from cameras inside one of the cafes that was targeted in

friday's attack. it's a difficult piece of video to watch. we don't show you the worst of it, but you get the idea. isis also has released a nearly five-minute long propaganda video that shows images of times square. they were not recent images. videos. bill de blasio saying no credible or specific threats to new york. macy's say extensive security will be in place for the parade. millions of people will be watching around the world. you'll see more security around that parade a week from today. >> as keir brought up the point, what's become an ongoing concern here in this country and abroad, as well, is the syrian refugee crisis. also, because he mentioned that abaaoud, the mastermind, had gotten into paris as a known mastermind of these kinds of attacks from syria, he had

new nbc news surveymonkey poll shows 56% of the american public disapprove of allowing more syrian refugees here into this country. one of the terrorists, as we have known and talked about since friday, had a syrian passport on them, which has sparked a lot of the backlash it it -- and the number of governors refusing syrian refugees refugees into their state has grown. we're hearing more and more about how this alleged attack was carried out and learning more about the details. there is a photo that has surfaced, as well. this is isis publishing in their own propaganda magazine. a soda can and a detonator. they claim it's this kind of device, this homemade bomb, that took down that russian plane last month, killing 224 people. it's impossible to validate the photo, but it appears it's a

reported earlier, that was cut in half, packed with plastic explosives, and put back together again. all security experts say, looking at that, those are the components, the detonator and the triggering mechanism, that would be components that could be capable of being a bomb. experts here at home say the tsa checkpoints, explosive detection systems, could have caught a similar device. you check your bags, scan them through. the scanners at the parpt airports would be able to detect explosives. however, what they can't detect, one of the big security gaps, if this is a soda can, the real concern is, people internally working at the airports, catering on those carts. if something like that could get through the system, that's the real concern now. i always say, when i come out of the baggage claim area, nobody is checking bags. you see people come up -- drivers coming in to get rides. they come right into airports and nobody is checking who these people are as they're coming in

to get their pick-ups. they could easily place something on a carousel. eye-opener. looking at the last point of entrance or exit from the airport is right there, the baggage claim area. it scares me every night. >> security experts all say you can do everything exactly right. it right one time. >> exactly. >> that's what we've seen in paris, sadly, on friday, multiple times. they were able to. i hate to use the word, get it right, but that's what they did. it takes one. when you see the can, the catering and other avenues, going back to jeff's report, they had a box cutter, producer from nbc, got on a box cutter, knife. while the tsa says it would have been detected, it's not 100%. we saw that yesterday in jeff rossen's report. >> you see the cargo areas, also the catering, people who work at the airport. >> the missing -- we had the

report last week on the number of employees whose badges are missing, 1,000, floating around somewhere for an individual to do dubious things with. >> how rudimentary these can be. if this brought down a plane. it's a soda can. 9/11 was box cutters. doesn't take a lot to bring a plane down. >> all it takes is having that device right near sort of the fuselage area. once you create a crack in an airplane, the whole thing goes. >> man. we're going to change gears right now. this is interesting. we always like hearing about homes that are for sale, unique homes. there's a privately owned underground bunker that just hit the market in georgia. >> how much, al? >> $17.5 million. >> wow! >> willing to negotiate? >> not much of a view there, right? . it's not a room, it's a view. >> listed by harry norman realtors. built 45 feet underground on

underground so you can't see it. it was built in 1969. >> renovated a couple years ago. >> modern kitchen. >> 12 bedrooms, 12 baths. here's the selling point, can withstand a 20 kiloton nuclear blast. three foot thick walls. >> the family living underground and comes back up -- >> with brendan frazier. >> right. >> blast from the past. >> not bio dome but it's like that. >> similar. >> underground. >> zombies are coming after us, i know where i'm going. >> $17 million. >> we all chip in, you know, get a bunch of people. >> in georgia, right? >> it's where they filmed "walking dead." >> if the zombies are coming. something to bring a smile to your face. jimmy fallon has the whisper challenge. the guest says something to them and they have to guess what

you're saying. they have on headphones with blasting music. one couple tried it with their parents. they had some -- i don't want to give away too much. just look at it. >> watch. >> hyper. >> i'm pregnant. >> keep saying it. keep saying it. >> you're going to be -- yeah, you're going to be grandparents. >> keep saying it. >> you're going to be a grandparent. >> shorts? shorts? >> you're going to be a grandparent. >> do you want me to what? you are going -- >> to. >> to. >> be. >> be. you are going to be -- >> you are going to be an -- >> be a. >> and what? >> you are going to be a -- >> i'm going to behave? >> grandfather. >> i'm a father? >> grandfather. >> great father. >> grandfather. >> grandfather! >> yes. >> i'm going to be a grandfather! >> yes. >> i'm going to be a grandfather?

i'm going to be a grandfather? we're going to be grandparents! >> she got it right off the bat. >> she knew. she was letting him have his fun. >> adorable. >> great. if you haven't seen that, they're pumping music in their ears and trying to read the lips. >> amazing. >> very nice. >> i love it. al, how about a look at the weather? >> we have a storm system that's going to be very interesting to watch. coming in from the pacific northwest. as it does, it's going to be meeting a lot of cold air comes out of canada. as it does, we are going to watch this system make its way across the plains starting tomorrow, on into saturday and sunday. it's a fast-moving storm. very clipper-like. we'll be watching this. this will be the first significant snow through the midwest and plains. we already have winter storm watches for milwaukee, des moines, rockford, illinois. look at the snowfall amounts.

as you go to omaha, cedar rapids, west of chicago, some areas could pick up a foot of snow. we're going to be watching this very in our area, we're in for a sloppy afternoon. rain rolls in consistently at about the noon time hour, through the rest of the day and the winds kick up too. gusts 30 miles per hour and a very sloppy rush hour. that's what we are in store for today. tonight we begin to see all of this dry out. 50 degrees is our overnight low. seven-day forecast looks like this. a nice day tomorrow. cool temperatures over the weekend and we stay dry into next week. >> that is your latest weather. >> thank you very much, al. coming up, one of the all-time greats is here. harvey is in a new movie about growing old and finding youth.

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harvey keitel has been entertaining and indim timidate ing audiences for decades with memorable characters. >> did i do something wrong? i want it my way. >> reporter: harvey keitel first made his mark in the '70s classics, including "mean streets" and "taxi driver." >> i'm clean. waiting for a friend. >> reporter: later scoring an oscar nomination. >> 100%. no morals. >> reporter: even showing his lighter side in the musical comedy "sister act," alongside whoopi goldberg. >> i want us to be an honest, decent couple. >> reporter: in the '90s, he was a go-to actor, appearing in "reservoir dogs and "pulp fiction." >> i need you to act fast if you want to get out of this.

piano" and "national treasure, book of secrets." the last two wes anderson films. after 40 years on the big screen, keitel has definitely found the fountain of youth. >> wow. >> "youth" is harvey's greatest film. he plays an agent director on vacation played by his bud, michael caine. good to see you. >> thank you, al. >> just before we started, you were talking about growing up in brooklyn and stealing pigeons. >> is there a -- i can't get arrested now, right? >> no, you're safe. >> this film is interesting because it's basically kind of an ode to aging and what it means to get older. not necessarily worse, it gets better, in a sense. >> well, i feel strongly about some of these wonderful themes that was written about i

not so much for me about aging, as about the mind and if you want to have a youthful mind, you can have it until the end of your days. represented by the five writers, the five young writers helping nuclear mick to write his final script and final an ending to his story. that's a mythological search to find the end of your story. so -- >> you got to work right alongside with michael caine, playing his best friend. his character's best friend. friends for 60 years. how did you guys go about building that bond? >> well, michael and i had a back story. him being a cockney and me being from brooklyn. he served in the british army. i served in the american marines. we sort of had a language of our own. we shouldn't share either with you or -- >> colorful language. >> cursing involved. >> how do you do it, harvey?

how do you stay young? not just physically, but of mind, as well. what's your secret? >> well, i'll speak fast here. there's this middle eastern poet that has been a guardian light for me. her name was lala. she asked four questions. one was, what can you offer to god? she answered, the only offering you can make is your increasing awareness. that's been my guiding light. >> beautiful. >> always try to increase awareness. >> that's beautiful. >> amazing. >> we have just a few more seconds but we wanted to get to questions. what's your favorite word? [ laughter ]. >> one probably comes to mind right now. >> he got it. >> oh, gosh. >> brooklyns think alike. >> what turns you on creatively?

these were written for me to ask. >> the research, to find the moment of truth that you can bring into the character and offer to the audience, you can share it. >> like the "today's take" guru. stay with us. >> i'm glad you mention td actor's studio. it's one of the most important institutions we have. it's a group of people dedicated and that houses a standard of the work that's been existing since the method first began in america, with the group theater. i have a great regard for my colleagues there. the presidents continue work there. >> they do great work. >> thank you so much. >> thank you all. >> december 4th, "youth." >> we're book after this. this is more than just a town. this is our home. and small business saturday... is more than just a day. it' s our day...

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that scene, who were you channelling? did you watch great speeches? that's the moment that you're inspiring. >> well, you know, i think of great speeches, martin luther king. obviously, that guy could hold down a crowd. my mother is a minister, and i group up around preachers and ministers and people like that. to hear them speak and see them sort of command a stage, and to have people listen to them, i channelled that. i was off the heels of another lead, and i took all those influences into it. >> is this only your second movie? >> well, yes. my second film. i went straight into the biggest franchise ever, doing my first film. >> unbelievable. >> help low lo, pressure. >> for "hunger games" fans, she's a huge broadway star. won the tony for best actress in a musical a couple years ago.

>> that's you. >> amazing. >> you started on stage and won the tony for "pippen." that had to be a surreal moment. >> "pippen" for people goes back, people remember it from such a young age. to be able to bring it back and put my own spin on it. the cast is female. to have the opportunity as a woman to take on an iconic role was a big, old challenge, but i was up for it. >> amazing. from broad kaye way to film, i have to ask about this little fact we read about. you met your husband online? >> yes. >> i love that. >> was it on purpose, like match? >> it was eharmony. >> sweet. >> it works. >> do they use you in an ad? >> no. >> he was the first guy i met. >> is that your dog or his dog? >> what?

>> met the dog online. >> amazing. >> first person you met online. >> yeah. >> it worked. >> it's like he -- >> wow. eharmony, call her. >> that's right. >> patina, congratulations on eharmony, on "pippen," "hunger games," everything. right when you feel a cold sore, abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. without it the virus spreads from cell to cell. only abreva penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. you could heal your cold sore, fast, as fast as two and a half days when used at the irst sign. learn how abreva starts to work immediately at abreva.com don't tough it out, knock it out, fast.

there is a place where the sky is always blue. and the kids always eat their vegetables. because the salad there is always served with the original hidden valley ranch. sometimes, we all need a little help. today, you helped her plant a garden, and you want to be there to help her with all

her tomorrows. if you're trying to quit smoking, you may need a little help. medications to help you stop smoking... including nicotine patches, gum and other medicines, are available to medicaid members. call your doctor today to get the help you need to quit smoking... so you can always be there for her. a massive water main break on long island. a pipe broke last night and flooded a parking lot on hawkins before crews could shut off the main valve. hawkins remains closed southbound school street to portion bound.

the rain will continue into the evening. 64 for the high. tonight, rain tapering to 50. bright, breezy, 57. saturday, some clouds, 51 degrees sunday. partly sunny, staying in the 50s. monday, mostly sunny, high of 45. coming up on the "today" show, hoda makes somebody's day. she crashed a birthday celebration yesterday. now she is going to officiate a wedding.

taking a look at the headlines. just in time for the busy holiday travel season, thousands of airport workers went on strike wednesday night at some of the busiest hubs in the country, including here in new york, boston, chicago and philadelphia. union leaders say the trike is expected to last through today. workers are seeking a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to join a union. the airlines say they don't expect travelers will be impacted. a state judge in san francisco ordered a woman to honor an agreement she signed

married to destroy five frozen embryos if they got divorced. the ex-husband says he is worried, in part, that his former wife could use any children resulting from the embryos to take financial advantage of him. the woman, a 46-year-old cancer survivor, argues that the embryos are her last chance to have biological children because the cancer made it risky for her to become pregnant. more evidence this morning about how changing sleep schedules may affect your health. researchers from the university of pittsburgh monitor the activity of 450 adults one week. those whose sleep schedules that were different on workdays versus free days were more likely to have diabetes and poor cholesterol. this is a day when smokers are encouraged to kick the habit. a combination of headcations s medications and counseling with help.

the health benefits begin immediately. 12 hours after quitting, the carbon monoxide level drops to normal. two weeks later, lung function increases. after one year of quitting, the excess risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half. an lek electric eel is the star in japan. the current it produces is just enough to light up a christmas tree. electric eels capable of generating brief bursts of currents measuring more than 800 volts. they release especially strong volts when being fed. how about that? let get a check of the weather now. al, stay away from the electric eels. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by soma boutiques and soma.com. endull indulge in gor douse geous gifts this holiday. we have snow across the plains. sunshine in the east and out

west and through the gulf coast. moving into saturday, that snow makes its way into the central great lakes. we're looking at sunshine along the eastern sea board. texas. beautiful out west. then sunday, sunday, leftover england. lots of sunshine elsewhere. your thanksgiving travel outlook now looking like this. basically -- this is wednesday, i should say. snow out in the plains. lots of sunshine in the east with rain in texas. on thanksgiving day, a little snowyi snowy in the plains and wet weather for the gulf coast to well, on the plus side in our area, warm temperatures well above our normal high of 53 degrees. we get to 64. negative side, clouds, scattered showers this morning, and a keuf epbt rain this afternoon with winds kicking up and gusts higher than 30 miles per hour potentially during the evening

tonight, down to 50 degrees. we'll dry on out into the next seven days. much better weather. we cool down and stay sunny into next week. >> that is your latest weather. >> thank you so much, al. now to our 16 to 16 series, where we have challenged three viewers and you at home to get into shape by the new year. >> with the big thanksgiving feast a week away now, mary jean, rochelle and ken are understandably worried about ruining the diets. joy bauer is here to help. good morning, everyone. happy happy early thanksgiving. joy, want to give us an update on how they're doing? >> mary jean lost an additional one pound. she's down a total of 25.5 pounds. >> wow. >> incredible. >> unbelievable. rochelle lost three pounds this week. last week, she stayed the same. she certainly has caught up this week. down three pounds for a total of 19 pounds. >> all right. >> wow.

>> good job. >> ken has lost another two pounds this week. you're down a total of 24 pounds. >> that's amazing. >> unbelievable. >> every time you come in, you can really see it. you look great. i hope you feel good, too. >> we do. >> chiselling out. great. >> let's talk about how this is going to work. one item on the plate is healthy holiday, one that's fatty feast. >> what i've done is first, i'll say that thanksgiving is thanksgiving. i don't think anybody needs to be counting calories. because we love our precious sides, i took a stab at lightening up some of the very favorites. each one of our participants has one of the favorite sides in front of them. they have a fattening version and my lightened up version. we'll start with you, mary jean. you'll taste both. you're going to tell us by placing the cards in front, which you think is the fattening feast and which is my joy food version called healthy holiday. >> this is sweet potato casserole.

>> they're both really good. this one is really good. but i think this is the healthier one. too sweet. >> you're exactly right. let me first say that traditional sweet potato casserole is, for a cup, 350 calories. my version is only 160 for a full cup. here's what i did. i got a little sneaky. i took half sweet potatoes and mashed it with half karat s carrots. i didn't add any sweetening so i drove down the calories and carbs. it's still deliciously sweet. marshmallows on top. bright orange. >> not a big difference? >> no. this is actually too sweet. this is absolutely delicious. >> mix the carrots in. that's the lesson. >> they're great. next up we have pumpkin pie. take two tastes. the original is 300 calories per slice.

my healthy one is only 188. which do you think is the held thi? -- healthy. i think this one. i like this better. maybe i can roll half as much crust? i need my crust. >> there's a thin graham cracker crust. for the same calories, you can use your traditional crust. i took a graham cracker crust. >> it's really good. >> i reduced the sugar significantly. instead of what it calls for, the condemned evaporated milk, i used a light unsweetened almond k. >> love the cream spinach. >> the fattening one, 240 valley s -- calories. mine is only 110. >> it's really tasty. i think it's healthy. >> he mixed it up! whoa, you rock!

>> this tastes -- >> he thought my healthy one was the fattening version. >> no kidding. it's so much creamier. >> i sauteed garlic and a big bag -- two bags of the baby spinach leaves and added light cream cheese. it gave it a velvety feel. you'll taste a boxed version of stuffing. >> they'll tell us during the commercial which is which. >> i can look and tell you. >> well done. keep up the good work. happy early thanksgiving. >> go to our website, today.com. coming up next, khloe kardashian gets candid, opening up to natalie about her husband,

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friday through sunday at kohl's... take an extra 20% off with your friends & family savings pass! and save on everything for the kid in everyone! kohl's. this is not a job for me, this is, this is my life. this is my family. being a part of helping people in need is who i am. working at brookdale for me is not just a job, it's a life for me. i love it. i formed many connections with the residents. i feel like i am part of their family and they're part of mine. if you can get up in the morning, ya know, shake the dust and go up there and make somebody happy, when i go to sleep, i did my job. khloe kardashian spent much of her life in the spotlight. in her new book, she reveals what happens when the cameras aren't rolling. struggling with a failing

to go on a book tour when her husband lamar odom was found unconscious at a brothel. khloe and her family rushed to a las vegas hospital to be by his side. >> we were there for two weeks in the vegas hospital. they kept saying he's not out of the woods. you're so positive. we're nowhere in the clear. i was like, you told me he was going to die a few days ago. >> reporter: today, odom is in a los angeles hospital where khloe says he's breathing on his own, going through speech therapy and learning how to walk again. >> you've rescinded the divorce proceedings for now. why? >> i was expediting the divorce prior. i'm still separated with him, but i'm just not expediting them anymore. there's no reason for it. also, just in his will, i'm always the medical adviser. he had no one else to make these decisions for him. >> reporter: it was the stress surrounding her failing marriage

that kick started khloe on a lifestyle. a journey she chronicles in her new book, "strong looks better naked." three years ago, khloe started going to the gym to relieve stress and, soon, it became her favorite part of the day. >> do you go every day? >> i try to go five days a week. if i don't go, i feel like my day isn't as fluid as it should be. when you work out and start your day in a healthy routine, you kind of keep the routine for the rest of the day. >> reporter: that routine includes hikes with her sisters and the family dog. >> i will do any workout. i'll try new things at least once. i lost ve boxing. i circuit train with my trainer. >> reporter: once khloe had a exercise routine in place, she turned to her eating habits. cutting out dairy, cutting out ice tea and no carbs after dark. >> you don't diet, it's sort of

take in? >> yeah. i was a juice drinker. cutting that out was huge. the non-dairy thing was major for me. i still need my sweets sometimes. >> me, too. >> reporter: those simple changes paid off. with khloe losing 40 pounds. while adding muscle mass. thoughing ing showing off her new body in the season premiere of "keeping up with the kardashians." khloe says the changes are more than skin deep, building a stronger emotional core, helping her handle a roller coaster year that started with a stunning announcement from her stepfather stepfather. >> we were never told he was going to fully transition and become a woman. >> reporter: and ended with her husband's brush with death. >> what has life in this past year taught you about yourself? >> well, it's taught me, you could never guess what's going to happen tomorrow. it's taught me how strong i

also, ngw great and supportive of a family i have. i don't know how i'd live my life without my family. i have the best support system in the world. >> get in here for a hug. >> okay. >> while the turbulent year took another turn for khloe, she announced she postponing book signings because of illness. she's on bedrest until further notice. we do wish her well. coming up next, crafts to keep the kids entertained and out of the kitchen on thanksgiving, after this

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how you doing? hey! how are you? where are we watching the game? you'll see. i think my boys have a shot this year. yeah, especially with this new offense we're running... i mean, our running back is a beast. once he hits the hole and breaks through the secondary, oh he's gone. and our linebackers and dbs dish out punishment, and never quit. you didn't expect this did you? no i didn't. the nissan altima. there's a fun side to every drive. nissan. innovation that excites. got your uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews coming over next week. if you need ideas to keep the little ones entertained, we have you covered. >> "parents" magazine lifestyle director is here with cutis in the house. they're doing thanksgiving crafts to keep busy. good morning to you. good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> it's wonderful to have you. during the break, we had a

caroline is happy because these crafts are so good, it kept her from crying. proof. >> proof in the craft. i can help you. we're going to talk about gisele gisele's craft. starts with a two inch wide band of wood veneer. decorate it with whatever, feathers, circles. then the kids can have them for dinner time. >> hi, nathan. >> nathan and blake are working on cut and glue crafts. nathan that has the fall wreath, adding paper leaves to the craft. start with a card board circle. when they're assembled, they look like this. great for kids to work on together as a group. >> cut out a bunch of things and let them go to town. >> here, we have a pretty classic thanksgiving craft. we have thanksgiving turkeys made from hand prints. >> the hand print. >> you trace the child's hand, cut them out and use those for

as you can see, blake is adding on googly eyes and otherturkeys. >> the hand print has stood the test of time. >> pearce rsonalized crafts. this is an interesting technique. you are drawing on coffee filters with a washable marker. then spritz them with water so the colors start to run and look like feathers. >> tie-dye. >> kpalkt exactly. >> then the pipe cleaners have been wrapped around the pencil to give them that shape. >> mom and dad don't have coffee filters. >> all out. >> this is a super quick craft. walnut shells. the parent is going to crack them. diana is putting play-doe inside. you make it out of a tooth stick. you can put it at everyone's place setting at the table.

>> working on a weaving craft. for this, the mom or dad is going to cover a piece of paper in yellow duct tape, both sides. cut out a corn cob shape. >> mom? >> caroline is going to weave these papers into to get the corn effect. >> i like this. this is a distraction. we have to focus? >> i don't think i can do that. >> i don't think so either. >> we good? >> feeling extra crafty, you can add the husks on at the end. >> phenomenal kids. >> nicely done. >> great job, guys. >> these guys are super crafters. we are ready to take them? >> awesome. thanks. laura, thank you. back in a moment. in the "today" on nbc. are you trying to escape from

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