nightmare and keeping people inside and wondering will this winter ever end? dylan is caught up in it all. and red, white and blue bayou, a huge day for team usa on the ski slopes, with american bode miller attempting to become the oldest alpine skier ever to win an olympic medal. while the u.s. men's hockey team is back in action, a day after that huge win over russia. >> score! >> thanks to a breakout hero, who has quickly become a household name. >> ochie, ochie, ochie! >> "today" sunday, february 16th, 2014.

>> good morning, welcome to "today" in sochi on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt alongside natalie morales. erica is in new york and dylan is keeping an eye on the horrible weather in massachuset massachusetts. >> hey, ladies. i was at the hockey game last night, it of incredible, i am feeling the team spirit from head to toe. too much? even my fingernails. >> she will be regifting a lot of this. >> even my fingernails have the stars and stripes on them. so there you go. >> it's a good look and you might notice we are wearing jackets today. the balmy warm spell is slowly coming to an end, a little cooler today. >> ten degrees but we're not going to rub it in, dylan, don't worry. we do ahahave a lot to get to t morning. high hopes meryl davis and charlie white will bring home the ice dancing gold as they kick off their competition tonight. we'll meet their biggest supporters their moms who have been the driving support from mind their children's success. >> tonight's ice dancing event

will feature another pair who keep it in the family brother and sister duo, alex and maya sh shibutani, i had the chance to meet them at rockefeller center not too long ago so we'll introduce you to them. >> matt antwan mingling with our crowd. we'll talk to him what it feels like to bring home such a big prize. the wrap wrup of a controversial trial in florida. erica? >> this is capturing headlines across the country this morning. florida man facing the real likelihood of spending life in prison after being convicted on four of five counts in what's come to be known as the loud music murder trial but it's the jury's inability to reach a decision on that fifth and most serious charge that is really fueling the controversy. kerry sanders was there when the verdict was read and joins us from jacksonville this morning. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

erica. none of the jurors of the 12-member jury has commented on why they were deadlocked on that top charge of first-degree murder. they had the options to come back with a guilty charge of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, of manslaughter or not guilty. after four days of deliberation on that charge of first-degree murder they couldn't reach consensus so the judge declared a mistrial. >> no peace, no justice! >> reporter: with protesters gathered outside the court, the 12-member jury couldn't agree if michael dunn was guilty of murder. >> as to count one i would declare that mistried. >> we sore very happy to have just a little bit of closure. >> reporter: while deliberating the jury repeatedly asked the court questions and closely reviewed 20 minutes of security videos from where the shooting took place a year and a half ago. >> he's shooting, somebody's shooting out the car. >> reporter: dunn said he felt threatened by 17-year-old jordan

davis, who he said pointed a gun at him from inside a car, after dunn says he told him to turn down the loud music. deputies never found a weapon. in all, dunn fired ten shots, nine hit the car. >> to expel one bullet you've got to pull the trigger one time. >> that should give you an idea how much of a panic i was in that i was able to pull it ten times. >> reporter: inside that vehicle three of davis' friends which is why prosecutors also charged dunn with attempted murder. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty of attempted second-degree murder -- >> reporter: the jury agreed dunn was guilty of those charges and of firing a missile into their car. >> do i like their verdict, absolutely not. do i agree with it? absolutely not. >> he's looking at 60 plus years on the attempted murder charges and 15 years on the shooting into a car charge. he's 47 years old, so he will be locked up for the rest of his life. >> reporter: but michael dunn has yet to actually be

sentenced, that will happen at least a month from now when the judge has him back in the courtroom for that. prosecutor angela corey says that she will retry dunn on the first-degree murder charge by impaneling another jury. erica? >> kerry sanders live for us, thank you. we'll send it back to sochi to natalie for a look at today's olympic highlights. >> all right, thanks, erica. team usa is rising up in the ranks in the medal count thanks to some big wins this morning and keir simmons has been following all the action for us. >> natalie, good morning. this is getting emotional now, after last night's tension, bode miller started crying after a medal win. he later tweeted i miss my brother. he lost his brother last year. it all seems to be going team usa's way but not without controversy. breaking the slump in the alpine

events andrew weibrick took siller and bode bronze. terrific morning after an incredible night. the tension. >> oshie gliding on in. no! bobrovsky extends the time for his team. >> reporter: the triumptriumph. >> oshie and bobrovsky duel again. score! team usa wins! >> reporter: the elation. >> usa! >> such a satisfying win. >> unbievable! >> best game ever. >> reporter: but now the russians questioning the outcome, due to this no goal. >> the americans catch an absolute huge break, the net had been dislodged. >> reporter: a senior russian lawmaker tweeted "the puck was in the goal, cheating in front of the whole word, disgusting" saying one referee was american, "this was a stolen victory, the u.s. bam $for michael mcfaul

tweeted "come on ing for the if the skeleton what a debut. >> it's a bronze medal at least to team usa's matt antwan. >> incredible. >> reporter: not so for julia mancuso. >> she's making up time, 0.3 back. >> reporter: ended up eighth in the super-g and hopes dashed for team usa in the speed skating even after changing a suit that seemed to be slowing them down. >> needs to move. >> reporter: still couldn't do it. today dramatic scenes in the women's snowboard cross, two riders taken off on stretchers, helen olavsen with a knee injury and american jackie mer nan dez knocked unconscious but appeared to be okay after a 23-year-old skier broke her back during training, got a visit from president putin after successful surgery. we've been saying all week the conditions are difficult, we're not saying these things are connected but it's tough out

there. >> absolutely, keir, thank you. and hooer a's where we stand with the medal count, sorry about that. the u.s. and russia are tied with 16 medals apiece, four golds, a three-way tie for second between canada, the netherlands and norway. in the moment after the u.s. versus russia hockey game social media erupted with hundreds of thousand us of tweets celebrating america's win and the man who helped make it happen, t.j. oshie. in a sudden death shoot-out it was this shot from the united states t.j. oshie that is today the talk of the hockey world. >> score! team usa wins! >> reporter: his fourth goal in a thrilling climax that sent fans across the country -- >> yeah! >> reporter: -- going wild and bringing back memories of the miracle at lake placid. >> five seconds left in the game. do you believe in miracles, yes!

>> unbelievable! >> reporter: the u.s.'s stunning victory over the then soviet union in 1980, an iconic sports moment immortalized in film. >> 34 years ago was a real special time and this team has a lot of work to be able to capture what that team did, but it's certainly a good start after beating the russians on their home ice. >> fortunate enough to put a couple in the net there. >> reporter: since his clutch performance, the 27-year-old oshie who plays in the nhl for st. louis has become the darling of social media, scoring more than 100,000 twitter fans in just the past 24 hours, including a shout out from president obama himself, even u.s. troops watching in afghanistan posting their pics. oshie spoke with a man who called miracle on ice 34 years ago, nbc's al michaels. >> it was intense. it felt a lot like a rivalry game, having them have their whole crowd behind them and them

being loud and you can barely hear your buddy next to you. >> reporter: a thrilling victory that brought back memory answer made a young hockey player from minnesota one of the biggest heroes of the games so far. i was sitting in my hotel last night watching the russian evening news, of course i don't speak russian but you didn't have to. you could see the coverage, you could see a lot of video of the controversial goal that was taken away from russia and interviews from fans you could tell, we're coming back. >> being there i didn't understand what it was about and i guess apparently the net moved off the mooring. it was confusing. >> international rules there's no goal. if it of nhl it would have been. that's how it came down. only a preliminary match. >> i know let's see where this goes. that will be one big grudge match. >> want to send it back to new york, erica there with more bad weather hitting the northeast. erica? >> thanks, lester. starting to feel like a broken record here. parts of new england waking up

to as much as a foot of new snow. the winter that feels like it may never end delivered another pounding storm to millions. dylan dreyer is in the middle of it, joins us from chatham, massachusetts. dylan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. don't let the sunshine out here fool you. it is absolutely freezing out here with windchills well down into the single digits. it was a nasty day yesterday, parts of the western cape ended up with about 15 inches of snow in areas like sandwich. here in chatham we didn't pick up as much snow because we had a lot of ice and it was a wind-swept ice. look at these poles. you can see one side of the pole is totally coated in snow and ice, and that is now just the latest danger in what has been an epic winter. >> it's crazy. we've had so much this year already. and we're getting another blizzard. >> reporter: blizzard conditions pounding the northeast coast overnight with heavy snow driven by winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour. it's the second major snowstorm to hit new england in 48 hours.

before it's over a fresh, heavy wet blanket on top of layers of packed snow from an endless winter. >> i feel like it's siberia. >> reporter: know fall at three inches per hour challenged even the veteran new england road crews. >> under these conditions, it really isn't possible for us to keep the roads clear and safe, given the rate of snowfall. >> reporter: the massachusetts governor asked drivers to stay off the roads for 12 hours starting last night. several thousand customers have lost electricity in massachusetts. the powerless will suffer through subfreezing temperatures as they dig out once more today. and this storm system is long gone now, it's actually moving up into new foundland, wind gusts up to near 100 miles per hour. the biggest concern is salt. some areas will have to pay double to triple what they would normally pay for salt because we're just starting to run out. erica? >> dylan, thanks. we'll check in with you in a few minutes for a closer look at the

national forecast. meantime breaking news out of south africa this morning, rescue crews are scrambling to reach more than 00 miners reported to be trapped underground happening mere johannesburg. duncan has the details to are this us, good morning. >> good morning, erica. this rescue is happening right now at an abandoned gold mine in a suburb near pretoria in south africa. emergency services there say they've been able to make contact with about 30 men who are trapped below ground, reportedly those men weren't meant to be down there. the men say they became trapped by falling boulders and they say that 200 more men are trapped even further below ground. heavy lifting equipment and cranes are there trying to clear away. so far no reports of casualties, but sadly, people being hurt and people dying is nothing new in south africa's abandoned mines, where men go down into the shafts, the incredible risks apparently outweighed by the

potential rewards. erica? >> all right, dun tcan golestan thank you. in central colorado rescuers will scour the mountains looking for two people missing after an avalanche, with a group of skiers in lake county when the avalanche struck saturday evening. so far this winter 12 people across the country have died in avalanches including six just this past week. the storm-soaked uk is now bracing for ice. forecasters issuing a nationwide ice warning as floodwaters continue to rise across much of england and wales. at least three people have been killed in weather-related incidents. if you've ever used the popular crowd funding website kickstarter, it's time for a new passboard. the site was hacked last week. its ceo said no credit card kdaa was stolen but user names, passwords, e-mail and mailing addresses and phone numbers were compromised. let's end on a high note shall we? turns out you've got another shot at powerball.

no one won the $330 million jackpot saturday night so the pot now grows to an estimated $400 million. you have until the drawing on wednesday to get your ticket. let's go back to dylan with a closer look at some of the rest of the weather across the country. dylan, maybe it's time to buy a lotto ticket for you. >> thank you. i would love that. we are looking at some snow and rain, a lot of it in snow and r. a lot in the pacific northwest. it's a big storm hitting that area where we could end unwith several inches of rain and snow in the mountains could result in avalanches as it accumulates up to two to four feet. we're going to see that system linger in the area before it does start to spread east. we're looking at the chance of more snow in the midwest. that's a look at the weather across the country. now here's a peek out your

window. >> good morning everybody. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a quiet start. breaks of sunshine this morning. we'll see more in the way of clouds this afternoon. along with clouds i can't completely rule out a passing snow shower or flurry. temperatures below freezing now with wind chill miss the teens and low 20s. it's cold for out the door weather. later today, little >> and that is your latest forecast. lester? >> all right, dylan, thanks very much. up next on "today," olympic athletes and their day jobs. you won't believe what some of them do to pay the bills. that's come up after this. [ ambient street noise ] ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ welcome back to sochi. if you ever wondered what the olympic athletes do when her' not competing we have the answer. >> it's hard to ma'am them doing anything but their sport but believe it or not many of them have regular day jobs to pay the bills. we'll let them tell you what they do when they're not on the slopes or the ice. ♪ >> when i'm not competing at the olympics, my day job is a junior high science teacher. i'm teaching sixth, seventh and eighth grade science now.

i always liked helping people so i thought education would be a great field to go into. >> when i'm not training for the olympics my day job is a physician assistant. i see patients of all ages and take care of their primary care needs. >> patrick meek is one of the hardest workers out there. >> when i'm back home in park city, utah, my day job is a valet and kons yermg at the waldorf astria. as a valet you're trying to get them there and concierge you make reservations. some people recognized me because of the olympics and speed skate so long that's been kind of cool. >> a smile there from schultz. >> when i'm not training for the olympics my day job is a physical therapist assistant. i get to work with post surgical and sports med patients. it's a fun job and it kind of transfers over to what i do on

the ice. >> when i'm not bobsledding i'm in the 1156 engineering company out of kingston, new york. >> i belong to the new york headquarters in latham. >> i'm part of the kentucky national guard. >> it's a way for me to have something outside of athletics and way for me to compete for my country and serve my country at the same time. >> the wcap program is a special unit for soldier athletes, the mission in that unit is to go to the olympic games and represent your country and ultimately bring home a medal. >> i love that. we learned a lot about some of the athletes and how they get along when they're not doing what they do here. anyway, still to come the most important job of all, being a mom. >> that's right we'll talk to some of the moms of two of the olympic athle

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stories. today the family of a slain virginia police reservist will finalize the deat as for his memorial set for tomorrow. kevin quick disappeared two weeks ago. his car and body were found miles from his home. four are charged in connection with his death. police are looking for a man that resimilarabl bells this sketch. four women were approached. the attacker pulled out a gun and demanded their wallets. metro closed farragut north and dupont circle stations. tomorrow metro opens at 5:00 a.m. and closes at midnight. we'recould see more snow today.

let's get the forecast from storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. >> hey richard. you could see a couple of snowflakes. shouldn't add up to too much. couple of flakes this afternoon. temperatures below freezing for sure. mid-20s with wind chills back to teens and 20s. a bundle up factor this morning. clouds thickening and chance of snowflake this is afternoon. no accumulations expected. back to work and for many back

to school tomorrow. another cold day. starting off temperatures teens and 20s. tomorrow, highs in the mid-20s. we'll talk about the late week warm up at 9:00 a.m. >> we have 90 minutes of news and weather coming up in 30 ♪ when you get your shine on we're rocking on this sunday morning, february 16th, 2014. it is a somewhat cooler day here in sochi, overcast skies, even a little drizzle. we have a great crowd of team usa supporters out here with us. we appreciate them stopping by between events. i'm lester holt along with natalie morales in sochi. erica hill is back in new york and dylan keeping an eye on the awful weather that continues to grip the northeast and new england. first erica has some news headlines. a mistrial was declared on

the murder charge in the so-called loud music trial in florida. defendant michael dunn was found guilty on four other counts. new england residents as lester mentioned digging out today from yet another winter storm, that snow came down so fast that at one point people were told to simply stay off the roads. and team usa picking up two medal this is morning in the men's super g, andrew weibreck got the silver, bode miller tying for bronze. there's no sibling rivalry for two of the nuttest athletes part of team usa in 2014, they're a team on and off the ice and have been their entire lives. i'll introduce to us the shib sibs. you have a lot more from sochi as well. >> i love the shib sibs, we talked to them earlier this week, such great personality. we'll catch up with one of team usa's newest bronze medalists, matt antoine. he brought home a big win saturday on the skeleton winning the bronze.

>> i'll take you on a tour of the local spirits. >> okay. >> that's team spirits. i said the local spirit, vodkas here in sochi, tried six of them. i remember the first two and after that, it all gets a little foggy. actually i'm not a big vodka drinker. there is quite a range of tastes and quality. >> i love how you were patting your head. had to be pretty powerful stuff. >> it was kind of a burn that went down to my toes over a series of hours. we got that coming up and what else have we got coming up here? we begin with a big night ahead for the dynamic figure skating duo of meryl davis and charlie white who have a lot of support aening lo the way from two very special people, meryl and charlie say they wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for their moms who have been behind them every step of the way. affectionately knowns the moms, cheryl davis and jackie white are as much a team as their kids, gold medal favorites, meryl davis and charlie white.

>> we're with each other 24/7 and sometimes it's eight to ten days out of every month. >> we complement each other. >> she can read up close and i can see far away. so when i'm nervous i take the scores down. she'll help me out. >> i can read them off the board and she can write them. >> it's one of the many routines they've developed over the 17 years their kids have skated together. what about superstitions, do you wear the same jewelry? >> same earrings on for years. >> another thing if it's working i don't want to change it. >> reporter: beyond the superstitions and routines cheryl and jackie say it's their children's dedication to the sport and to each other that truly sets them apart. >> we really are always, how they're able to get along so well day in and day out. >> they have a very special bond. >> do ty fight? >> no. >> reporter: no? >> never fight. >> reporter: have you two learned something just from watching your kids? >> i think they've made us

better people. we've watched their paositivity their dedication and focus and you see them so young being able to do that it inspires you to have a better attitude about life. >> reporter: but competing at this level has taken over much of their own lives, too. >> it's so meanful. they haven't missed a single competition in our lifetime. >> reporter: the ice dancing duo who won silver in vancouver are still at the top of their game sochi, helping team usa win bronze in the new team category. >> it's impossible for us to think of anything we may have accomplished without the help of our moms. they're just amazing. >> reporter: and if the moms have their way, their next short dance performance will be as good as gold. >> it would just thrill me to see that look on his face when he holds up that gold medal, it would just thrill me. because i know the happiness that they will feel and that's what it's really all about. >> our kids are lucky enough to at this point in their career to be where they are, is, it's

pretty special. >> oh. and they are the ones who beat for sure. meryl and charlie compete today in the short dance followed by the free dance on monday, and of course their moms you can always count on their support, they'll be in the stands in their usual positions watching and cheering them on and you can see meryl and charlie compete in prime time tonight on nbc starting at 8:00, 7:00 central. >> right now we want to get a final check of the weather, dylan is in chatham, massachusetts. dylan? >> hey, good morning, guys. you know as we are stuck in the ice box in new england, let's talk about a warmup. we are going to see one move in this week as the jet stream finally moves north, that's always a good thing when you want to talk about a warmup. we are going to see this dip in the jet stream finally start to recede further to the north, allowing some of that warmer air, some of the record-breaking temperatures you're seeing in the southwest move eastward. we're not going to break any records but any

look at the snow cover across the country. as it melts, flooding is going to be a huge possibility with ice jams in a lot of rivers. potholes are going to be absolutely treacherous on the roadways. keep that in mind. the warm up is a good thing. snow cover is going to melt, and we're going to see the effects through the week. that's a look at the weather across the country. now here's a peek out your window. >> good morning everybody. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. once again off to a cold start. temperatures back down into the 20s. ere is sunshine this morning but a little bit of a northwest breeze has wind chills back down to teens and low 20s. for now, breaks of sunshine this morning becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon. can't rule out a stray snow shower or two. no accumulations today. another quiet day tomorrow. another chance of an inch >> and that is your latest

forecast. natalie and lester, i am so sorry it's a little bit cooler out there today. >> oh, i'm sure you are. really feeling the sympathy there. thanks, dylan. team usa added another medal to its count saturday thanks to this man, matt antoine who picked up the bronze medal in the skeleton. >> he and his teammate john daley were neck and neck for third until daley slipped off the track on the final run clearing the way for matt to slide down the course and land the medal. congratulatio congratulations. >> thank you. >> i know it's tough you see john daley slip off the tracks. how does that impact your mind-set? >> we have to keep a clear mind when we head out there. i did not see what happened to him. when i walked out to the line i heard the groans. i knew what happened without having to see it and it's unfortunate. we've trained together the last ten years, pushed each other to be where we are and it was fitting we were fighting it out 'til the end. it's upsetting it ended that way

for him. >> during your race was there a point you thought i've got this. this is mine. >> nothing is every secure in our sport. it can go from great to horrible in ap. instant. in the final run i knew had a great position. the last couple of curves i thought i had it but you never know until you see the clock. i was ek stat pick. >> for any kid told you can't do it, you were told you didn't have what it takes to be in skeleton. you almost made the team in vancouver and things fell apart and here you are walking out of sochi with a bronze medmedal. >> my first tryout in skeleton i was sent home. i didn't believe it. i came back a year later, it went much better. i got on to the development team and it's been a progress or process getting up to this point. definitely a huge disappointment in vancouver but made me better over the last four years, pushed me to improve, find my faults and how i can fix them and

everything really came together for me this season and it's been a phenomenal season and capped off yesterday. >> it's very clear where you come from, seeing you during your race, all the cheeseheads, cheeseheads from wisconsin, a lot of football love in wisconsin but what's it like having this great family here supporting you and all your friends? >> it's amazing. i couldn't be here without the support i've had with everyone. they pushed me over the years and kept me going and it meant so much to cross the line and see them all down at the bottom and the emotion that they had and just to be able to share that with them is unbelievable. >> matt antoine congratulations and thank you for being here and bringing the crowd. >> thank you for having me. erica meets the shib sibs, the brother and sister duo hoping to take the ice dancing world by storm, we'll have that after these messages. what can your fidelity green line do for you?

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we're back on a sunday morning new york with today's athletes to watch. pair of skaters representing team usa in the ice dancing competition. brother/sister duo who may be two of the sweetest people i've ever had the chance to interview to say that they are excited and enthusiastic about their first olympics would be a gross understatement. but it turns out they didn't always share the exact same quest for gold. every olympian starts their journey with a dream. for ice dancer maya shibutani it began at age 4. >> i fell in love with it right away, i think i wanted to go to the olympics pretty much from the beginning. >> her brother, alex, however, had different plans. >> i wanted to play in the nba, that was my little kid dream. >> reporter: despite his hoop dreams, maya managed to get alex out on the ice. >> i saw how much fun maya was having, it only made sense for me to give it a try. >> reporter: 22-year-old alex and maya, age 19, have been

skating together for ten years now. they're affectionately known as the shib sibs. there's something cool about saying i was skating with two olympians today. do you like being called olympians? >> it hasn't really sunk in yet. >> it's so cool. >> reporter: news they were sochi bound came via text. >> it's very modern. >> very modern. we're always on our phones anyway so it just seems right that we would find out that we were going to sochi that way. >> reporter: their interaction with fans and fellow skaters is also thoroughly modern. active on twitter, facebook, instagram and youtube where they launched a shib sibs channel in 2012. ♪ it's always a good time >> we're inspired by comedy, and before we go to a competition to skate, the best thing for us to do is to watch something funny. nothing really gets the nerves or the jitters out of the bay than watching something that kind of eases the mood. ♪ whoa, whoa, whoa >> reporter: their strong

brother/sister bond is a big advantage at the rink. >> before we even skated together we were dancing around in the living room. we just have a really close relationship. at the same time when you're siblings, we're normal siblings, we fight occasionally, sometimes more than occasionally but we're both so driven that as people and as athletes that it's so easy for us to overcome those moments. >> reporter: when you're doing something with the teams, too, it can be a very emotional sport, these routines can be incredibly involved. >> um-hum. >> reporter: is it ever awkward you're doing this with your sister or your broether? >> being a brother and sister team means we take a different approach but in a lot of ways being forced to have that creativity has made our programs even more special and stronger. >> reporter: the shib sibs are also remarkably grounded and determined to enjoy every movement of their hard-won journey. have you let yourselves think about the possibility of coming home with a medal? >> i think it's a dream. >> yes. >> every aspiring olympian has.

it's what pushes you on those difficult challenging days, those rainy practice days where things aren't going quite as well. the aim is to be at our best at the olympic games and if we can put out performances we're really proud of, that will be the biggest takeaway for us and something we'll remember for a long time. >> two of the nicest people you will ever meet. we are rooting for them. the shib sibs will be on the isolator today. just ahead this morning lester is tasting some of rush why's finest vodkas. he doesn't remember all of it but he'll share some of that that he can recall with us. honestly? this deal was way too good to believe. instead of paying too much for an ipad, i got the surface 2. first of all, it comes with office and outlook. then, with free skype calls to phones in over 60 countries, i can talk to my cousins any time. and then, i got 200 gigs of cloud storage -- free -- so i can get my photos and stuff almost anywhere. others charge for that. surface is such a great deal. i feel like i should tell somebody. hey!

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♪ ♪ because i'm happy ♪ clap along if you know what happiness is to you ♪ we're back on a sunday morning here in sochi with are ushia's favorite drink and that of course would be vodka and lester, yesterday you said eat something always your favorite thing to do, but i think this assignment probably tops it. >> well, not sure. i haven't had vodka probably since i was in my 20s. >> sure. >> but it is very russian and i wanted to try, so i tried six different vodkas from the really expensive premium stuff to the cheaper cuts. take a look.

vodka, it's the national spirit of russia, named after the rush word for water, voda. but the people here certainly don't guzzle it down like water. >> people think we brink vodka for the lunch, for the dinner, for breakfast but actually it's not because it's a strong drink. >> reporter: a really, really strong drink. as i'm about to find out over the next hour. at the restaurant in theville annual, elena is about to introduce me to a range of russian vodkas starting with the pricey stuff. >> this is beluga, imported all over the world so it was actually made for russian czars. >> reporter: a good vodka is supposed to have soft herbal spicy bread notes. what's a traditional russian toast? [ speaking in russian ]. >> reporter: that's what i was

going to say. it's very smooth. vodka is usually consumed with food, elena had a series of appetizer pairings prepared including pickled vegetables, cabbage, even bacon. i'll try this again? >> you can. but we have five more, five more bottles. >> >> reporter: you're telling me to pace myself. next russian standard. little more firm. vodkas are usually made from grain or poe day tows. white birch is made from birch juice. this almost goes down it feels like honey, something thick. >> yes, yes. >> reporter: the cocktail culture is creeping into russian society, so flavored vodkas and vodka juice mixes are not uncommon but that, says elena is not how a real russian man enjoys his vodka, which brings us to siberian husky vodka.

[ speaking in russian ] >> which means for man. >> reporter: yes, very manly. vodka is not for the weak of heart or weak of palate. >> economy russian vodka. >> reporter: is that another word for cheap russian vodka? >> it's not cheap. it's economic class. >> reporter: and thankfully for me, a one--wway trip. >> try to drink in russian way like whole shot is the last one. [ speaking in russian ]. >> reporter: here we go. [ laughter ] >> look at that face. oh my gosh. >> oh my goodness, tough assignment. >> that was very strong. are you a vodka drinker? >> i am not. i've tried it since i've been here because i feel like you have to. >> i thought all of it was like that. there are ranges. the favorite was this white birch and made from the sap of a birch and that gives it that smooth flavor. >> i've had that one.

that was good. >> would you like to try it again? >> okay. >> here answer the deal. i notice most of those i sipped which is not the way they drink it, what you saw in the end they pound it down. >> you're going to pound it? >> i'm asking you. >> apparently it was the manly thing to do was to pound it but i don't think it's the feminine thing to do. >> i'll make a toast for friendship and it's [ speaking in russian ] pound it down. >> go, lester, go. >> very nice. you can do it nat, you got this one. >> erica, do you one. >> i have a shot glass but it's bad luck to toast with an empty glass. >> i didn't think you would do it. >> she it it. don't dare her, lester >> she did. >> come on! >> i'm going to bring some back for you, erica. all right, here we go. >> somebody locked up the drinks for hoda and kathie lee so i couldn't get any vodka. >> we'll bring this back for you, erica. >> my glass is ready.

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good sunday morning here in new york. earlier this week mitt romney criticized the high price of the sochi games an estimated $20 billion in an opp ed, david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning. >> there's talk about the opp ed and also he's been making himself much more available lately and inviting questions as to whether or not this new push for more public access could in fact be the precursor to something else, could he think about another run in 2016? >> there are people making that

suggestion and he is downplaying it. it is certainly something i'll ask him about this morning and the olympic movement is an interesting topic, certainly for him and he's been critical as you mentioned about these cost overruns in russia, paying $50 billion for the games. how do you sustain that kind of investment for a country or for a city and it's top of mind for a lot of citizens in the united states who are vying for future games. is it worth it and what do you do after the games leave? it's one of the questions we'll pose this morning. >> we'll look forward to that. he's not your only guest. what else is coming up this morning? >> we'll talk about the urgency around climate change. you heard the president in his extreme weather moment pushing hard for action about climate change. will it change the politics at all? we'll have the debate coming up. >> we looked forward to. thanks for checking in. lester and natalie are in sochi where it's chilly. the sun is going down, head someplace warm, grab the vodka, get the hand warmers.

>> i'm done with the vodka. thank you, erica. we'll check back with you in new york later throughout the week. tune in tomorrow on "today" for our own anchor olympics, when team "today" takes on nbc's team nbc sports. >> we have a lot are former owe lichi i limpian s owe lichians workin with us. things got a little competitive, we had a little fun and we won't tell you who won. >> no, i think actually we're going to see all of this tomorrow how it unfolds but there was an advantage on the sports side. >> we can tell you there was no vod vodka drinking, maybe after. >> we kept it clean. >> tomorrow on "today." what's that? >> it would the bedazzling on t uniform. >> we looked like we were about to do some motorcycle act. >> team uniform i guess. >> i don't know who came up with that one but. >> we were inspired. anyway, we'll have that for you tomorrow on "today."

meanwhile we leave you with some of the highlights from sochi and some of the olympicss here today. ♪ . new this morning, a nation reacts to a controversial case of a florida teen killed after an argument over loud music. a jury failed to reach a decision. now the man accused is facing backlash. why lawyers say this case isn't over yet. it's the winter that won't go away. we're track more chances of snow moving in right now. hey everyone. good morning. i'm richard jordan.

>> i'm angie goff. welcome to "news 4 today." >> chuck bell is tracking that. >> good morning richard and a angie and everybody. teens in the 20s, winter coats required today. we have the chance of seeing snowflakes later this afternoon and evening. here it is on storm team 4 radar. that puts it in here after 2:00 this afternoon. keep an eye out for increasing clouds. the clouds will seal the temperatures just a bit. we're in the upper 20s now. wind chills in the teens. we're starting out 5 to 10 coder than yesterday. with the chilly wind chill, you're definitely going to need the winter coat. 30 by 10:00 and 35 by 2:00. our best chance of snowflakes by

3:00 to 5:00. don't away. we'll talk more when i see you next. a memorial service for the police reservist found dead more than a hundred miles from his home. kevin quick's family will meet today. his car and his body were found days after he went missing in richmond. four people are charged in connection with his death. in loudoun county deputies are looking for a man linked to a series of robberies. robberies date back to december. officers think this man held up at least four women in the sterling area. authorities say each woman was alone when they were approached. the attacker pulled out a gun and demanded they hand over their wallet. d.c. police have two men in