nbc news exclusive. new intelligence directly linking vladimir putin to that russian campaign to interfere with the u.s. presidential election. officials telling nbc news it all began as a vendetta against hillary clinton. question this morning -- how will the u.s. respond? kids' table. three of president-elect dump's children, and his son-in-law, sit in on a meeting with giants of the tech world, but no room for twitter? why they were denied a seat. and former governor arnold schwarzenegger weighs in on the political landscape when he joins us live in our studio. "today" exclusive. the father of the nevada teenager shot by an officer after he lunged at classmates with knives speaks oor

first time. >> they say, oh, he got lucky, he tried to shoot the -- no, he didn't. he shot my son in the chest. >> and shares the first image of his son fighting for his life in the hospital. and cold snap. bone-chilling arctic winds sweeping across the entire country. 50 million people coping with temperatures up to 30 degrees below normal. adding to the misery, a new winter storm. >> look out! look out! >> just beginning its cross-country trek "today," thursday, december 15th, 2016. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. we talked about the approaching cold here in the east. it hasn't arrived here yet but it is on the way. >> i had the puffer coat on early but i know it is coming. it is definitely on the way. >> we'll get al's forecast in st

our top story this morning is that bombshell tied to the presidential election. as nbc news first reported, u.s. intelligence officials now believe with a high level of confidence that russian president vladimir putin was personally involved in a covert campaign to interfere with the presidential race. nbc's senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden has the latest on all this. cynthia, good morning. >> good morning. senior intelligence sources tell nbc news that what started as a feud with hillary clinton quickly became an effort to damage the political process in the united states. at the center of it all, the russian president himself. >> reporter: this morning, nbc news has learned from senior intelligence officials that russian president vladimir putin was personally involved in the campaign to yuundermine the u.s election. officials tell us that new information derived from diplomatic sources and spies working for u.s.

directly to the russian president. with one high-level official saying that putin's role was to direct how the hacked material from democrats was used. his objectives, multi-faceted. it began, one official says, as a vendetta against hillary clinton after the former secretary of state criticized russia's parliamentary elections back in 2011. >> we do have serious concerns about the conduct of the election. >> reporter: but trying to hurt clinton's presidential chances soon morphed into an effort to show corruption in american politics, attempting to split off key american allies, hoping to prove the u.s. is not a credible global leader. this stunning revelation comes after the cia's recent assessment that the russian government wanted to elect donald trump, a view that the fbi and other intelligence agencies don't fully endorse. and neither does the president-elect. >> there's great

nobody really knows. >> reporter: trump calling the cia's assessment ridiculous. >> they have no idea if it is russia or china or some body. it could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. >> reporter: this morning, the russians seem to agree, telling nbc's richard engel "western media have gone beyond the reach of reason." now with evidence against the russians mounting, the question is will president obama respond before he leaves office. president obama has already ordered a full intelligence community review of foreign efforts to influence the recent presidential election. once the review is complete, intelligence officials will be ready to brief the congressional leadership. but the material is highly classified and what, if anything, will be shared with the public is unclear. also unclear, what, if any, effect the russian plan had on mr. trump's win. that intelligence assessment has yet to be made. >> going to be fascinating to see i

coming days and weeks. sint si cynthia, thank you. yahoo! has exposed a massive breach of more than 1 billion user accounts. the largest theft of data at an e-mail provider ever. it actually happened in august of 2013. hackers made hoff with names, phone numbers, birth dates, e-mail's dresses, security questions and answers. yahoo! believes that clear text passwords, bank account information and debt and credit card data were not stolen. the company is still trying to identify the perpetrators of the breach. yahoo! is notifying potentially affected users and encouraging them to change their passwords. this comes on the heels of a second breach revealed just three months ago where 500 million users had their account data stolen. there is a lot of talk this morning about president-elect trump's meeting with top executives from the tech world. three of mr. trump's adult children, and his son-in-law, were also there. that is raising more questions about their

his administration. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is over at trump tower. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. this is the day that donald trump had promised he'd announce how he'll separate himself from his business interests. that announcement is now put on hold until next year but he is already raising red flags for the attendees in the room for his face-first major summit where 20% of those at the meeting w 20% of those at the meeting were members of trump's own family. from amazon to apple wednesday -- >> i'm here to help you folks do well. >> it's the other trumps at the table raising eyebrows, and his children all actively involved in their father's transition, but their attendance is raising new interest about potential conflicts of interest, and trump said hiss

family business before he moves into the oval office. >> they will announce that. aren't you happen you have the openness and transparency of seeing them in the meeting. of a president-elect. this morning sources familiar with ivanka trump's thinking say a seat is reserved in the west wing, usually reserved for the first lady. as for that tech summit -- >> we're going to be there for you and you'll call my people. you'll call me. it doesn't make any difference. we have no formal chain command around here. >> reporter: trump met with industry icons, many who were fiercely critical of him as a candidate. last year amazon ceo jeff bezos joked about sending trump into space. >> i have a rocket company. the capil

>> reporter: but bezos now calling wednesday's meeting very productive. noticeably absent -- a representative from donald trump's favorite mega phone -- twitter. the social media giant clashed with trump's team during the campaign over its refusal to create an emoji for the hack hack crook-- hashtag crooked hi. one more stunning stat about that summit right now. companies in that room had a combined market value of more than $3 trillion. that's more than the gdp of most major -- of most countries, including the united kingdom, france and india. if you turn that conference table into its own country, it would have been the fifth wealthiest in the world. >> peter alexander down the road at trump tower, thanks. wow. now to that brutal cold we've been talking about all week. it is now to that brutal cold we have been talking about all week, it's expanding. and there's a new winter storm to worry about. ron mott is in chicago where

hey, ron. >> hoda, good morning to you. to say it's bitterly cold out here seems like a giant underestimate, and it's raw and awful and this misery is about to get a whole lot more company. a wintery pounding from coast-to-coast. in oregon this school bus lost control, and crashing into other vehicles with students onboard and nobody was seriously injured. buffalo and in between, michigan bluster, and bone rattling cold in the windy city. >> it's brutal. >> i have six layers on, so i'm good. >> not so good, chicago's dangerous windchills dipping over night between 15 and 30 degrees below zero in some places, and ramping up frost bite fears and making outside work an ordeal. >> just keep

>> and a 12-year-old boy died after becoming trapped while playing in the snow with a friend. >> i watched grown men when they unearthed these two boys cry tonight. >> and then in the northeast and new england, please don't use your stove to stay warm. >> safety and survival. >> it's a dangerous time of year and a time to step back and insure that your home is fire safe. >> fans attending the game on sunday may want to sit in the coldest day here since they were tracking the temperatures in 1963. freezing, but not cold here yet, but it's on the way, right, al? >> we have two rounds of this cold air, one to reinforce, and the other you can see 55 million

people under some sort of windchill advisory or warning today go into the weekend, and eight degrees windchill in west kheer, and 17 whitlow is what it feels like in chicago. and the second one comes in. as we look into friday, windchills are going to be rough and then as we go into saturday, sunday, it will feel like 21 below in chicago, and 14 below in dodge city, and minneapolis, it will feel like 40 below, and then by monday, new york's windchill, 18, and cleveland, 5 below, and davenport, iowa, 28 degrees below, and then another storm system coming in. flood risks for california, but as it makes its way east, look for rush hour snow on friday for chicago in minneapolis, and saturday, early morning snow in the northeast, and it will change over from snow to rain, and d.c. to boston, and look at the snowfall amounts, we are looking for minneapolis, six to nine inches, and chicago, 3 to 6 inches, and by the time we get into

around the tug hill plateau, we will look at this in more det l detail. they could have two feet of snow before it's all over. >> you will be a very busy guy? >> yes. thanks very much. now to the ongoing crisis in aleppo and the collapse of a deal to end the brutal assaults there. nbc's chief global correspondent has more on that, bill neely. ae some of the wounded. but fears are still growing for the lives of at least 50,000 civilians still trapped there. they had hoped to leave but there is no real sign of a lasting truce. and for one group of children, there is just terror and a desperate appeal to the world. >> translator: i'm yjasmine and i'm 10, she says. "we're scared." she says, "we can't believe because of the mb

it is a heartbreaking appeal filmed at their yoorphanage and posted by a human rights group. "we want to live like everyone else," he says. "maybe this is the last time you'll hear my voice and see me." they are just some of the 50,000 civilians trapped in what's left of rebel-held aleppo and have posted desperate pleas. bombs exploding nearby. caught live on camera. some seem resigned to their fate. >> death will be a peace for us. >> reporter: there is talk of another cease-fire, but no sign of a lasting one. and no mercy. with no help from outside, aleppo's civilians fear executions, a massacre. it's something they are powerless to stop. a really pitiful scene there. all war, of

but this one in aleppo, a terrible siege, now a final onslaught, is pricking the conscience of the world. it is a battle in its final days but you really do fear for the lives of so many civilians, so many children. back to you guys. >> bill neely covering what is a tragic story for us, bill, thank you very much. >> hard to get those images of those kids out of your head. closing arguments are being held today at the trial of the admitted gunman in that deadly shooting at an historic african-american church in south carolina. this after the jury heard a chilling 911 call from a survivor of the massacre. nbc's gabe gutierrez is at the courthouse. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. we've covered many trials but this was among the most disturbing 911 calls we've ever heard. 1 of 3 survivors of that church massacre showing remarkable strength on the witness stand as she recounted the rampage. >> he shot the pastor. he shot all the men in the church. please come right away. >> reporter: this morning the clearest account yet

church where polyshepherd saw nine of her fellow worshippers and friends massacred. >> he's still in here. i'm afraid. he's still in here. >> reporter: her 911 call just released after being played in court. >> oh, god, please help me. please help us, lord. >> reporter: shepherd told the jury how church members had welcomed dylann roof into their bible study, but he opened fire while they were praying. >> he's a young 21-year-old white dude. please, i mean we got some people very hurt. please. >> reporter: she testified that she dove under a table when roof asked, did i shoot you. no, she responded. he said, "i'm going to leave you hooer to te er here to tell the story." the 911 dispatcher urged her to stay quiet. >> are you able to get yourself to safety? >> no, i'm staying under the table. >> reporter: then came more gunshots and moaning. >> what's going

>> reporter: before the phone call abruptly ends. her broth her brother was in the courtroom during the it many. >> how difficult was it to listen to that 911 call? >> it was chilling. it's heartbreaking. it was necessary pain because i think we have a moral obligation to put racism and discrimination and hatred on trial. >> reporter: instead of cross examining her, roof's attorney simply walked up to the witness stand and said, "i'm so sorry." meanwhile, roof says that he will not testify and the jury's expected to get the case later today. matt and hoda? >> all right, gabe gutierrez, thanks so much. we are hearing now from the florida woman accused of hiring a hit man to kill her own husband after a judge declared a mistrial in the case against her. here's nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: dalia dippolito walks out of court with new hope. >> at this time i am now declaring this case mistried. >> r

of deliberations, the jury deadlocked forcing the judge to declare a mistrial. dip l the defendant caught on camera with an undercover police officer making a deal to kill her husband in 2009. also played at trial, dalia dippolito becoming hysterical after informed her husband was dead. she spoke with "dateline nbc." >> it is always going to be he said/she said and it shouldn't be that way. >> reporter: she says she never intended to go through with it. her lawyers argued police misconduct, saying they broke the rules to get sensational video for the show "cops." >> just manufacturing all of these things and creating all of these scenarios and putting me in these situations that look horrible. >> reporter: this was her second trial. >> we find the defendant guilty. >> reporter: in 2011 she was found guilty of solicitation to commit first degree murder and sentenced to 20

overturned on appeal. this time around jurors were split with three votes for guilty, three for not guilty. prosecutors say they'll try this case for a third time. boynton beach police stand behind their investigation. as for dalia's alleged target, her now-ex-husband, mike dippolito -- >> i wish them all well. i don't have any ill feelings towards these people. i'm trying to move past this. >> reporter: for "today," kerry sanders with be nbc news, west palm beach. >> "dateline" will have much more on that mistrial tomorrow night at 9:00, 8:00 central on nbc. al roker is back again for al roker is back again for the third time, talking cold, baby. >> that's a warm suit. >> let's show you. we do have lake-effect snow to talk about, and heavy snow up through the cascades, and plenty of sunshine through the gulf

states with temperatures that are fairly mild. we will get your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. good morning, clear skies overhead but don't be fooled, it's very windy and cold outside. the temperature now 29 at national airport, and this is as warm as it's going to be for the rest of the daylight hours. northwest winds averaging 28, gusting to as much as 40 miles per hour at times, and windchills now in the single numbers for

western suburbs, and it will be windchills near zero by later on this afternoon, and staying in the deep freeze through tomorrow, too. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks so much. coming up in the wake of alan thicke's heart attack, dr. oz will tell you five things you need to do if somebody you know shows signs of having one. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, an exclusive interview with the father of that knife-wielding high ♪ so my kids don't have to forage, ♪ ♪ got two jobs to pay a mortgage, ♪ ♪ and i've also got a brain. ♪ life's short, talk is cheap. ♪ i'll be working while you sleep. ♪ ♪ still don't think i've got a brain? ♪ ♪ i took two bullets in the chest. ♪ ♪ got three kids, i never rest... ♪ ♪ so yeah, i've got a brain.

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on toys at target. you guys rock! yeah!... whoaaa! >> announcer: this is a "news4 today" news break. >> 7:26 is your time now on this thursday, december 15th, 2016. good morning. i am eun yang. >> i am erica gonzalez. they say men found a dead early this morning and it's not clear how he was killed and so far police have not released his name. in montgomery county two people expected to survive a shooting, a 22-year-old man and 36-year-old woman were inside a car when somebody shot them early this morning and they are looking for a male in his late teens or early 20s who they say ran away. let's check the roads with melissa mollet. >> good

before central avenue a crash there causing a little delay, and 66 and 95 looking quite typical right now, taking a live look, 270 southbound at father hurley, just after father hurley we have two lanes blocked because of a crash. we will get a check of your forecast coming up next.

sunny, cold, and very windy all day long today, and windchills are down near 15 degrees now and will near zero later this afternoon, so everything you got, if it will keep you warm put it on on your way out the door, including thick socks and scarf and hat, and temperatures will fall during the day, so we will be, like, 23 or 24 degrees by 5:00 this of a noon.

tonight, a chance for wintry mix and no early saturday before it comes all rain and more cold next week. we'll have another news update for you in 25 minutes. >> back to the "today" show.

7:30 now on a thursday morning. 15th day of december, 2016. chilly out there, only getting colder. when we came in, it was like 32, 33 degrees. 27 now. dropping. winds picking up. we'll go outside and say hi to those brave people in just a while. if the cold wasn't enough, a new storm is causing major problems. that's what's tops our today's headlines. snow brought portland, oregon to a standstill last night. it took some drivers baltimore than three hours just to travel a few miles. number of crashes were caught on camera. al will have the latest on that sto storm.

a high level of confidence that vladimir putin was directly and personally involved in a russian campaign to interfere in the u.s. presidential election. they say new intelligence shows putin personally directed how hacked material from democrats was leaked and used. in a move we told you to expect, the federal reserve is raising a key interest rate. the .25% increase to the federal fund rate is just the second in the past ten years. it will mean borrowing for things like cars and credit cards will become modestly more expensive. for the first time we are hearing from the father of a nevada teenager who was shot by a campus police officer after he plunked at his fell co-students with knives. the boy in a medically induced coma right now and the officer on leave as the incident is being investigated. natalie morales talk to the boy's father exclusively. >> good morning. this is it a tough one, a tragic story. no matter how you look at it, with so many unanswered

justin clark does not claim his son is perfect but he says the high school freshman was a vic trim of severe bullying by fellow students. he believes police used unnecessary force by shooting his son as a first line of defense. we want to mention that justin gave us permission to show his son's face in this story. >> my son wasn't just some knife-wielding psychopath. he wanted to make sure that he wasn't beat up and robbed. >> he was being bullied. >> absolutely. >> reporter: cell phone video posted online shows the troubling scene as it unfolded last week at the high school in reno. students scattered as 14-year-old logan clark wielding two knives lunged at classmates. another video shows a campus police officer arriving and firing a single shot. the boy drops to the ground, writhing in pain. >> you've got to remember that he just got hit two or three times in the face by a kid that's three years older than

>> reporter: according to logan's father, his son was a victim of bullying saying logan was punched by a student right before the incident. his bloody mouth visible in the video. >> he just doesn't want to be attacked anymore and that's what happened. do i think that the officer -- i think the officer could have evaluated that if he would have just paid attention a little bit. >> so you can understand how looking at it at different angles, that perhaps he could have been perceived as a threat and that the police officer had to make a split-second decision? >> it is easy to see on the video. he's like this. that's a defensive posture. that's not an attacking posture. he's bleeding from the mouth. obviously something's happened before this -- before the video. none of that was taken into account. >> reporter: clark says his son had been previously suspended for fighting, a result he says of a previous bullying incident he reported to the school. so far, school and police officials have not commented on

investigation. but on the day of the shooting, the school superintendent praised the officer's actions, and authorities say the officer's use of force was appropriate. >> the officer gave verbal commands for the student to drop the knife ultimately firing his service weapon to stop the threat. >> they say, he got lucky. he tried to shoot to wound. no, he didn't. he shot my son in the chest. you know? he didn't shoot to wound. >> reporter: this is the first image released of logan in the hospital where he remains in a medically induced coma. what would you like to say to the school district and to the police officers about how they handled this incident? >> i'm upset that he didn't have another alternative or he didn't spend more time trying to talk my son down or any of that. for me it would have been hard to shoot somebody's 14-year-old son so easily. >> justin says his son will never shall the same again. again, logan remains in a coma in extremely critical condition.

and he suffered a stroke on friday. now other parents in the community are also questioning police procedure and the decision to shoot logan instead of perhaps using pepper spray or even a taser, matt. >> natalie, thank you very much. let's move on to mr. roker. you have a check of the weather. >> that's right. folks around the folks around the great lakes looking at some lake-effect snow, and not just some, a lot. we have blizzard warnings from western new york and lake-effect snow warnings and advisories, and before all is said and done by late tomorrow we are talking about anywhere from 6 to 12 to 15 inches of snow, and locally up to two feet in parts of upstate new york. we also have the cold hard facts. minneapolis, your forecast, sunday's low, 19 below. that's the coldest day since january, 2014. chicago, monday your temperature, 8 below, and that's the coldest day s

2014. oklahoma city, 9 above, since december 2013. and dallas, 22 degrees on sunday and that's the coldest day since march of 2015. that's what's going to around the country and here's what is happening in your neck of the woods. >> the winds are howling and a 43-mile-per-hour gusts in the last hour in hagerstown and around the city, and winds are gusting over 30 to near 40 miles per hour, and that has the feels like factor into the single numbers and teens, and feels like 7 in gaithersburg and 21 the feels-like factor, and layer up and stay outside as little as possible for today and tomorrow. >> you can always get that weather when you need it. go to the weather channel on cable. >> all right, al, thank you so much. just ahead, amazon's very first drone delivery. are you not going to believe how fast it went from order to arrival. >> when you need your popcorn,

and another all-new "rossen reports." >> i'm jeff rossen. coming up, we're trying out products for your bedroom. oops, i spilled wine all over my carpet. there is a product that now says it can get that right out. what about that classic mattress commercial that says you can literally jump on this mattress and that wine g

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your life. >> been loving this series. jeff rossen is "today's" national investigative correspondent. jeff? >> we are talking about sleep. we are talking about a good night's sleep, something we all need more of. it's all we want. but we have been there, the person we're sleeping next to, they're moving around, twisting and turning keeping you awake. what about those mattresses claiming you can't feel your partner move next to you? you know the commercls where you can jump up and down on the mattress and a glass of wine won't spill? is that really true. >> hoda is worried about the wine! >> hey. >> hoda's like -- protect the wine! you're going to see what we do in a second. what about all the guests coming over, they stain everything? a new stain remover now promises to get rid of those stains from your holiday guests. no problem. does it all work? hoda, watch this. we're trying it out. >> i'm watching. >> reporter: just in time for the holidays. tempur-pedic making bold, new promises. just watch this ad on their

can you backflip, body slam, do yoga, even take a sledge hammer to their mattress. and this glass of wine won't spill a drop. this can't possibly work, can it? okay. we're going to try this out doing all the same things they do in the commercial. it all starts with, as you know, a glass of red wine. unfortunately, this is not for drinking. this is for our test. i'm going to put the red wine right down on the bed just like in the commercial. start with the sledgehammer. shall we? the old sledgehammer test. oh, boy. it's not moving. it is shaking a little. i'm really putting some muscle into it. no? okay. sledgehammer test -- pass. let me jump um hep here. jumping on the bed. oh, my god, the glass isn't really moving. this is insane! doesn't come over here at all. nope, nothing. in the commercial they show falling on to the bed. let me try

here we go. it doesn't move! hold on. lindsey, come over here. on the commercial, they have a second person. go for it, lindsey, jump. >> not moving! >> this is nuts! it works! >> as that perfect night of sleep won't come cheap. mattresses cost thousands of dollars. so you want to protect it. this mattress protector from sky bedding says it can shield your pricey purchase from all kinds of spills. just watch the ad. >> here to help me find out is a bottle of glue juice. the cotton absorbs the spill to help from getting flu the mattress. >> and when he pulls the mattress cover back? >> no damage. >> let's try it out. i have blue juice. we'll see if it soaks through the mattress or not. here goes nothing. pouring it out. there is our blue juice. take the mattress cover up

look at this. it is completely dry. completely dry. that's incredible. still not coming through. nothing. it corks. >> but let's be honest, you can't always avoid a spill. holiday parties, guests staying over. there's bound to be a mess. >> this is whip it. >> reporter: this stain remover called whip it claims it can blast away new stains, old stains. >> all you do is spray and watch whip-it blast the stain away. >> i'm going to bring the wine back and pour this wine on this carpet. then it says to blot it. you blot it first. get as much of it up as you can. okay. done that. then, i'm going to spray this stain remover on it. okay. now, i'm going to rub.

it is actually coming up. look at this. the red wine is completely out! the stain remover works. it got it out. and it is red wine. it doesn't get worse than red wine on your carpet. >> reporter: they all work. so you can rest easy. >> and something surprising if you plan on purchasing a mattress. in many cases, if you return them, the return policy is actually opposite than what you are used to. you actually have to test the mattress out in most places for 30 days. you can return it for at least 30 days because they want you to sleep on it and give it a shot. >> that was just shocking. you wasted a lot of red wine which i'm a little concerned about. but everything else was amazing. >> the mattress doesn't move when someone else -- was it comfortable? >> it is a little firm for me. but a lot of people like that mattress and it is comfortable. if your partner is keeping you up at night, i'll sleep on a hard mattress if you don't wake me up. >> all right, jeff. thanks a lot. still ahead, we'll try out something else. people are curious about this thing -- a new

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imy moderate to severeng crohn's disease. i didn't think there was anything else to talk about. but then i realized there was. so, i finally broke the silence with my doctor about what i was experiencing. he said humira is for people like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b,

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7:51. this voice is getting on my nerves because it keeps carson away from us. >> oh -- the show "the voice." >> me, too! do something about that, matt lauer. >> great to have you back. >> great to be back. ""new york" magazine put together a list of some of the more memorable memes. the start of the year, you remember this? if a dog wore pants, how would he wear them? on the hind legs? president obama settled this debate by choosing just the hind legs. saying

be too conservative. remember this? this vessel. this is the internet's favorite way of name offing anything basically. to the rio olympics, lots of memes. the greased-up flag bearer. usain bolt mugging for the camera as he was racing to gold. 2016 a big political year. didn't get much bigger than this guy. ken bone, the man who became a social media sensation during that third presidential debate. i'm sure we'll see many more memes on these, the final days of 2016. >> thank you, carson. coming up, dr. oz will show you what to do when someone near you suffers a heart attack. and arnold schwarzenegger stops by studio

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7:56 is your time now on this thursday, december 15th, 2016. good morning to you. i am eun yang. it's super cold out there, and more on your weather in a minute but first let's check in with melissa mollet and your first 4 traffic. >> and 270 before father hurley, two lanes taken up and it's slow because of a crash, and still seeing delays through georgia avenue and 66 and 95 overall pretty normal, and 95 after woodbridge is your toughest spot. we will take a break and check that forecast next. stay with us.

good morning, everybody. the long-awaited cold snap has officially araoeufd and temperature 29 degrees now and we'll be back in the low 20s by late this afternoon and into the teens by tomorrow morning. and windchills down or near zero for most of the area plans, and checking a chance for wintry weather on saturday before it becomes nasty rain. chuck, thank you, and for now back to the "today" show.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, how to save a life. in the wake of alan thicke's unexpected death, dr. oz joins us to explain how to recognize and respond to someone having a heart attack. plus, winter blast. as the brutal cold blankets much of the country, bitter temperatures and dangerous winds threaten millions. so where is the storm headed? and when will it let us? al has your forecast. and -- he's hired. >> i'm the new boss and i plan to be tough, but fair. >> arnold schwarzenegger stops by studio 1a to talk politics, the president-elect and becoming the new face on

december 15th, 2016. ♪ >> from south carolina! >> good morning, huntsville, alabama! >> merry christmas, arkansas! woo! >> all the way from portland, oregon. birthday bucket list! merry christmas! >> today is my high school sweetheart's --birthday! we're back now, 8:00 on a thursday morning. the 15th of december. you know, you can start to feel that wind picking up. temperatures starting to go down. we dropped a degree in the last few minutes and it is getting chilly out here. >>

it is that time of year. >> i got a question for you. when you aren't with us, do you miss up? >> you have no idea. >> you think about us? >> i don't miss this chill because in california -- >> you can't even speak in this! >> it is a little chilly here but it is going a great morning, always is in studio 1a. ina garten has a mouthwatering recipe for a delicious lemon chicken. let's start with the top stories, "the news at 8." >> reporter: we begin this morning with this bitterly cold air sweeping across the northern united states from coast to coast. i'm ron mott here in chicago where temperatures this morning are hovering around three or four degrees. we expect to climb up to around 10 with windchill values well below zero. the silver lining today here in chicago -- clear skies. so no snow today. a different story come tomorrow, because the same snow s

that dumped on oregon yesterday -- we saw that scary scene with the school bus sliding down the road. fortunately, no one was hurt. that same system makes its way here tomorrow. we also saw snow in buffalo yesterday. a quick burst of lake-effect snow. here in chicago that snow will start to fall tomorrow afternoon. and sunday, bears hosting the packers, game time temperature expected no more than 1 degree about he low zero. if that holds, that will be the coldest temperature at soldier field since the bears started keeping track. senior intelligence officials have learned that russian president vladimir putin was personally involved in covert efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. it began, one official says, as a vendetta against hillary clinton, but quickly became an effort to expose corruption in u.s. politics

america's international credibility. the stunning revelation comes after the cia's recent assessment that the russian government wanted to elect donald trump, a view not wholly shared by the fbi and other agencies. president-elect trump has called the cia assessment ridiculous. california's dmv has ordered uber to stop picking up san francisco passengers in its new self-driving cars. the state calls the program just launched wednesday illegal. california has issued permits to 20 companies to test autonomous cars on public roads, but uber is not one of them. still, the company says its cars will keep rolling. uber maintains the vehicles are not really autonomous because there's a human sitting in the driver seat ready to take control if there happens to be a problem. just ahead, in the wake of alan thicke's death, important information from dr. oz. how you can recognize, then respond, to signs of a heart attack. and then, better than the real thing? on "tr

bite into the new meatless burger. we'll see if we can tell the difference. and arnold schwarzenegger lilly. she pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. but once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it.

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important information following the sudden death of actor alan thicke. >> someone in the united states suffers a heart attack every 43 seconds. here is a question -- would you know what to do if you or someone near you was experiencing one? dr. mehmet oz is the host of "the dr. oz show." he's here to fill us in. >> good morning. >> there are a lot of things that people don't know difference between. i didn't know the difference. we are talking about the difference initially between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. two different things. >> heart attack is when the big blood vessels are supplied nourishing oxygen to the heart shut off. the heart feels like there is a punch on it, it has a big bruise after a heart attack oftentimes. sudden cardiac death is because the heart stops beating because it short-circuited out. they are related. you could have a heart attack with that damaged tissue, that broken wiring on the surface of the heart and it can short-circuit the heart and lead to this defibrillation which is when the heart turns to a bag of

but that sudden dysfunction is what leaves people lying in the street. >> we do know the situation with alan thick followed playing hockey so there was exertion. we know he was conscious and alert and even talking to his son before he passed away. of all the things you want to tell people, the first thing you tell them -- call 911. >> 911 have high-dose oxygen, medications, and tools and devices and know how to use them. but you have to tell 911 sometimes where to take you as soon as you are conscious. right now as soon as this segment is over find the closest heart and stroke center to your home. if you collapse at home, tell people take me to this place because they can help me. not every emergency room can open your blood vessels and save your life. ideally you want a place that has interventional ability to open up a closed blood vessel. >> you call 911, you're there on the scene with someone. what's the second thing you should do? >> you can do tons of things. i always have an aspirin by

side. make sure you are on the ground. if you're standing and you collapse, you hurt yourself. take stress off the heart. if you're lying down, the rt ha doesn't have to pump so much against gravity, the body is not consuming energy. sit the patient up a tiny bit so they can beat more readily. >> let's get to the aspirin now. you want somebody to be given a full dose of aspirin and not the way we normally take aspirin. >> no. you want 325 mill greeigrams. adult dose. chew it. it doesn't taste good but you can absorb the crumbs in your mouth. you don't to have to your stomach function. you need that stuff in your blood stream immediately. within seconds of chewing aspirin the beneficial benefits of aspirin are in your blood stream. that's all you need to keep you alive. >> you take one aspirin a day. >> i personally take an air

every day. a baby aspirin. i think it makes sense for a lot of folks. but i can't give it as an official recommendation because people do have some side effects but always carry it with you. this is really important. the person whose life you save will probably be someone you know. we drop dead in front of our relatives. carry the aspirin in a pouch. >> we should all be trained in cpr. it would be nice if we know where those electronic defibrillators are located. >> a study compared 6 year-olds to adults and they can use the cpr as ready as you can. find out where they are. you'll save a life. it will be someone you know most likely. >> dr. oz, thank you so much. see more of dr. oz weekdays on "the dr. oz show." check your location. listings for that. al has a quick check of the we have got a lot going on. this is a storm that is coming into california now and we have got flood watches and warnings up, and the reason for that? we could see anywhere from one-half to three inches of ra

could pick up eight inches of rain before it's over. the flood risk for california, snow move into the rockies, and rush hour snow on saturday for chicago and minneapolis early morning snow in the northeast anywhere from three to 12 inches of snow making its way across the country. it's windy and cold outside this morning. these are the current wind gusts. it's gusting to near 40 miles per hour across parts of northern and western maryland and even wind gusts in and around the city are well over 30 miles per hour this morning. that has the feels-like factors down in the single numbers and teens, and that's where they will stay all day long today. temperatures will fall between now and 5:00 this afternoon, all the way down into the low 20s, and teens by tomorrow morning. >> and check us out on our sirius xm channel. trending today at

scrambling to get your christmas gifts delivered on time? next year your presents could quickly and easily be delivered by drone. that's after amazon completed its first ever customer delivery by drone. ceo of that company, jeff bezos, announced the news himself on twitter. it happened in the uk. the customer ordered a streaming device and, of course, a bag of popcorn. guess how long it took for him to get his delivery? had two miles away -- 13 minutes. dropped in his yard. it helps if you have a wide-open yard like that. >> not manhattan. you guys want to see the sweetest video you're going to see all day? it shows a pair of 2-year-old twins who until last week were conjoined at the sternum. the risky surgery took the medical staff of 50 people. it lasted 17 hours. but things are looking very good. the girls have been recovering from separate beds but on monday they were reunited placed in the same about ed you know

off each other. their mom called the moment a real thrill. this happened at lucille packard children's hospital in stanford, california. >> our best to that family. one thing everyone at this table wants to remember today. what happens at the office christmas party -- which ours is today -- does not always stay at the office christmas party. here's the problem. lot of times things go down at the party and they can create real problems. here are some tips from the "new york times" how to keep your office holiday party from going off the rails. pretty straightforward. watch your alcohol intake. >> never thought of that! >> wraatch it go down your thro. >> what's the limit? three drinks? >> one? >> three? >> i think you can do one an hour. >> the other thing, make sure there are adults in place. in other words, meaning -- not necessarily age

i always think you shouldn't stay too long. >> i leave early. >> i always like to find out where the bosses are, then i go on the other side of the room. just keep an eye on them. >> had now to the reason why we have burgers in front of us, you guys. people have been talking about these. they're called beyond burger. al, you'll love this one. one is a meatless patty that used a mix of plant protein. supposed to taste like the real thing. we're going to taste each of these. >> one's real and one's not. >> who doesn't do ketchup on yourbu your burger? >> it will mask the taste. >> that's close but you can tell it is not. >> i have the answer key right here. >> what do you think, carson? which one is beef, which one isn't? >> this is the non-beef. >> i go the same

i put too much ketchup on it. >> they're getting very, very close to be able to pull this off. >> by the way, it is delicious. >> you've had these? >> i have. >> is this does not taste like a vegan burger. >> usually they crumble. they're not great. nice. >> this has a little bit of a salty aftertaste though. they need to work on that. carson? "popstart!"? >> first we'll get to leonardo dicaprio offering his own touching tribute to alan thick. in the final season he played a homeless teen, he was just 18 years old. he writes on facebook, i will be forever grateful for the opportunity i had to work with alan early in my career. i've seen him a number of times over the years. when alan thicke walked in the room, quite frankly, no one was cooler. i miss him already. finally, steve

added yet another gig to his already busy schedule besides hosting a talk show, radio show and daytime and prime time version of family feud. steve will be back to host the miss universe competition next month. sound familiar? yep. well, last year steve mistakenly gave the crown to miss colombia instead of miss philippines. he took on full responsibility for the viral moment. a lot of people will be watching to see who he gives the crown to this year. steve, you're the best. that's your quick "popstart!" today. >> carson, thanks so much. everyone is enjoying the burgers. time to go over to mr. matt lauer. >> thank you, hoda. when the "celebrity apprentice" returns next month, there is going to be a new leader in the boardroom. former california governor arnold schwarzenegger. he's taking over for president-elect donald trump who is an executive producer on the show. by the way, it is a program owned and produced by mgm. that airs on nbc. governor, good to see you. >> good to see you. >>

there would be so much attention around extra drama around this show? >> no, not at all. a year ago i didn't even think -- more than a year ago i didn't even think i watched apprentice that i thought trump would ever leave that show. i used to think, darn it, why don't i have a show like that. that's the kind of thing i would like to do, reality tv. i've never done it before. all of a sudden, bang, he announced for presidency, off the show. i immediately called mark burnett and said, hey, what about me? i would like to replace him. >> you seem like a great pick. he's announced he'll retain his executive producer credit. after january 20th he's going to be president of the united states and executive producer of the "celebrity apprentice." does that sound right to you? >> what was great about it was that he was part of the negotiation. so i mean i get millions of dollars for hosting the show but nbc doesn't have to pay for it. trump makes mexico pay for it. isn't that great? it was the best deal -- >> i set you up

that's my fault. he said he would spend zero time on the show, focusing on the presidency. would you be surprised if you got a call mid season and said, look, arnold, i have a couple of tips for you? >> i always like to get advice but i don't think that he will have time. i think it is perfectly time that he is executive producer credit because he created the show with mark burnett together, so why should his credit go. he made it very clear he has no interest in being involved. it is now my show. i am the host. i am the new boss and i am going to run this show. any time he is advisor -- or any one is advisor, if you could add so and so as a celebrity, i would take your advice. >> what's your relationship with him like? famously during the campaign you said you could not support him. after that now-infamous ""access hollywood"" tape surfaces, you tweeted, "for the first time since i became a citizen in 1983 i will not vote for the republican candidate for president," and you encouraged other republicans to put country over party. have you

on anything you've seen during the transition? >> well, what changed was that now he is elected. now it is very important that we all support the president. that we all come together and we stop whining and it becomes one nation. because it is -- as obama said many years ago, it is now blue states and red states, it is the united states of america. that's a great letter that i just dug up the other day that president bush, the first, wrote to president-elect clinton. he said, i just want you to know that i respect this office and i respect that you won and you are my president. and i want you to be very successful because if you are successful, then the country is successful." this is exactly what i feel about trump. that's what i felt about obama or anybody. when someone is elected, then you go 1 00% behind them and you help them and to help them -- >> that's not how washington works.

work like that and it is very hard for people to do that. but that's the effort that we all have to make. i am 100% behind him and i want to do everything that i can to help. but, as you also know, i am an environmentalist. to me it is very important that at the same time -- and it was one of the reasons why i couldn't go with trump is i want to make sure that we are going into a clean virlenvironment, ia clean future because that's what we did in california and we proved in california that rolling back our greenhouse gases 25% and going green we still have a better gdp growth than the whole united states. >> you still speak like a politics. during the campaign you said, were you eligible, you might have run. do you think you could have won at least in the primaries? >> you never know. i mean you saw what happened this last year. everything that people predicted didn't happen. it turns everything upside down. look, i ran in california and i won easily. beca i

time and they looked for an outsider. the same happened with trump. they looked for an outsider. people are very upset at what's going on in this country, that both of the parties cannot come together. and they hope and pray that this guy, this trump, can bring both of the parties together and hopefully does not run it as a republican administration but run it as democrats and republicans coming together. because it is the only way -- >> you think he's a true republican? >> it doesn't matter. you have to be the public's servant. i hope he sees himself serving democrats and republicans. that's important thing. and important thing also is that every press conference he holds, very important here, matt -- that he talks about the "celebrity apprentice" and what arnold schwarzenegger, the new host, he is a stud. he is fantastic on the show. that is what is important thing. >> he may actually

>> better call him and remind him. >> you know what it is like to make the transition from business and entertainment to politics. so offer him a piece of advice. you talked about advice in the other direction. what's the most important thing he needs to know about the world of politics that he might not know? >> i think the most important, as i said, is to keep working with the other party to bring democrats and republicans and independents, all the people together, because in the end you do not want to just take from the pool of republicans. you only get 50% of the brain power of the united states. if you take people from both parties, then you get 100% of the brain power. let me tell you something, there is so much brain power in united states. this is, by far, the smartest country in the world and the best country in the world. now the trick of it is to go and make it even better. >> what an optimistic take on things. he had a famous line at the end of the "apprentice" every night, "you're

that. have you thought what your famous line is in the boardroom? >> it could be, "you're term nart inated, or hasta la vista, baby. or consider this a divorce. >> what do you do when he looks you in the eye, says "i'll be back." "celebrity apprentice" premiers monday night, january 1n 2nd, right here on nbc. we've got girl power. first, your local news. hello, ladies!

>> announcer: this is a "news4 today" news break. >> good morning, everybody. we are just a few minutes shy of 8:30 on this december 15th. let's check the roads for you with melissa mollet. i think she's having an issue with her microphone, and she noticed. are you there? >> i'm here. >> let's try it again. >> taking a look at 270, no problems northbound or southbound this morning, and 66 at cedar lane just fine, headed into town and out of town near the beltway. we will make sure chuck has his microphone on, and we'll check in with him in just a second.

good morning, everybody. we have a very windy and cold day. these are the current windchills now, down in the single numbers to near

here in washington, and later this afternoon windchills falling below zero after the sun goes down tonight and staying very cold through tomorrow as well.

thundershowe morning, 8:30 now, december the 15th. look who we have collecting toys as part of our annual toy drive? he of course is doing the honors. you don't have to come down here to donate. you can go to our website,

today.com and find out how you can contribute. >> he's not wearing a coat! also, we are very, very excited. guess who's going to be here singing for us? a great song called "shout out to my ex." >> we'll talk to the ladies in just a little bit. elle fan somethining is ope about her role in ben affleck's new movie. and ina garten is here cooking up her new favorite meal. before he freezes, the aforementioned nick krull. did you not watch al's forecast? >> i didn't. but now i will. i feel like i look great. >> you look fantastic! >> thank you. you sound great in the movie "sing." getting a lot of buzz, that show. >> yes. it's really beautiful. it is a beautiful, funny movie. we're having a great time doing

>> also, "you're loving." that movie is getting a lot of oscar buzz as well. it is an important project. >> it is. it is a really beautiful movie, the story of an interracial couple that was married and brought their case to the supreme court to overturn the ban on interracial marriage. it is a really beautiful story. >> is that very rewarding, getting a chance to show a different side of you on film? >> yeah, it really is. i feel really lucky right now being in a movie like "sing" that i think is so funny and sweet, and then a movie like "loving" telling a really important story of civil rights in our history. >> what else do you love about being in new york at christmas time? >> broadway! >> i bet you do. >> thank you so much. >> it's great, we got these little pocket er

>> this is from our sister company, universal. al a check of the weather? >> let's show you what we have got. by the way, your weekend outlook looks like this, heavy snow across the plains into the northeast on friday, and sunshine in the pacific northwest, and then on saturday, the snow changes over to the northeast, and then we have more snow and bitter cold back through the plains. sunday, sunday, rain along the eastern seaboard, and dangerous windchills back in the plains and the midsection of the country and rain and snow moves back into the pacific northwest. good morning. it's very windy outside. these are the current wind gusts in miles per hour. winds are gusting between 30 and 40 miles per hour right now, and with temperatures below freezing, we have windchills down in the single numbers, so it's going to be a bitterly cold and windy day, and windchills down near or below zero b

evening, and another cold day tomorrow and a chance for snow very early on saturday, eventually changing over to all rain on saturday afternoon. >> thank you. course, we got football tonight, the weekend starts early on thursday night, "football night in america." the rams coming in to play the seahawks at centurylink field. seattle, washington. cloudy, cold, 33 degrees. on thursday night football. rams versus seahawks. it all starts tonight at 7:30 here on nbc. hoda. >> all right, al, thanks so much. i am very excited. at just 18 years old, el fanning has already worked with some of the biggest names in hollywood. in her new movie, "live by night," she stars alongside ben affleck playing a young preacher wh

uncovered by affleck's character. take a look. >> why do they hate you so much? >> i'm a crook. you're the chief of police. >> no. you like to. you said you were the mayor. >> is that what i said? what did you say? >> we had two autographotograph. >> i showed them to him? >> i showed him two. >> elle fanning, welcome. i'm looking at that clip and this movie and i have trouble believing that you're just 18 years old playing this role. >> yes. >> when you read this script, did you say to yourself, i have to do this? >> i did. at first i thought the script was also written by ben, i knew he was going to star in it and direct in it. he can really do everything. but after i read the

movie but i just really -- it is a very intense part. i knew it would be really challenging. >> she's a preacher. she turns into a preacher. there is a scene in there, elle, where you have to give a sermon. it is not like a quick little thing. how daunting was that during that scene? >> i was nervous because i wanted to just learn my lines pretty much the night before and look over it so it is fresh. but for this one, the sermon when it was written out, it was three pages long. >> hello. >> and i was like -- oh, like immediately when i got the part, i can't do this, i don't know, i'm stressing out. i had to learn it like a couple weeks in advance. it is not like theater when -- i've never done a play before but when we had that sermon scene it felt like it was very theatrical like a monologue or something which i've never done. >> ben is the writer, the director, he's in it.

there must be a lot there. >> i was nervous about it because i've never obviously had a scene with the director before. most of my scenes are with ben. but honestly, when you're in a scene with him, it doesn't feel like he's judging or critiquing you as a director. he did it, he did it as a character, joe, that he's playing. he had his actor hat on. he'll say cut, then go to the monitor, and like -- >> you star opposite a lot off big-shots. in another little movie called "20th century women" opposite annette benning. >> she is the coolest lady in the world. >> let me brag on you for a second. just look at your resume. starred with ryan reynold. matt damon. angelina jolie.

naomi watts. is there anyone who you still want to work with? you look at it and say, wow, i would love to work with that person? >> whoa. well, i want to work with my sister in a movie because we've never actually -- >> dakota fanning? >> yeah. definitely, yeah. i think that that would be a dream. >> what's in the water at your house, by the way? >> man. i mean i guess our parents are still -- i still live at home. i just graduated high school. yes. >> i just followed you. i don't know if we have it, but there was a funny little bit of you roller skating that you posted. it got like 8,000 hits. >> my friends happened to be filming me but i think that i fell because you get self-conscious, then you go do

elle fanning on instagram. i know your two films are competing against one another. may the best one win. it opens in select theaters on christmas day, nationwide january 13th. our taste buds are in for a street because ina garten is here. but first, this is "today" on nbc. my guest list just tripled.

mine too. i want to go really big with my appetizers. we can do it without blowing our budget. oh yeah, this is great! my family really needs to be wowed this year! standing rib roast! wow. everything for the holidays. that's my giant.

>> announcer: "today" food is brought to you by walmart. find gifts, groceries and more this season. 8:41. we're back with "today food." christmas has come early around here because the barefoot contessa herself is back. her new cookbook, "cooking for jeffrey," is already a best seller filled with her husband's favorite recipes. today we are making one of the ones at the top of his list. can i say something -- i mean it -- we have

on the show. but you make us live pavlov's dog. we hear your name, we start salivating. >> thank you. i'm always looking for remembered flavors but they taste better than these things. i think they are familiar. not like octopus eyeballs with chili sauce or something. >> why does jeffrey like this dish so much? >> it is chicken but with a great flavor, lemon and onion. it's just a very simple dish and it is so easy to make at home. >> what kind of herbs? >> fennel, thyme, lemon, onion, garlic. that's it. first thing i want to do is make an he shall oil. fresh thyme is in here, fennel seeds. little salt and pepper. lots of salt and pepper actually. then just grind them together and put them into here. blend them together. just put them into this oil. we

it. >> you're infusing the oil. >> yeah. with great flavor. that goes on to the chicken. >> are we marinating this chicken? >> no. cooking in it. next thing, i have a skillet, black skillskillet, cast iron. i'm going to cut up a lemon and put it right in the bottom. >> you're going to cook the chicken on top of the lemon? >> on top of this. it's already done. we have the lemon. next thing is onion right on top. this is like so easy. garlic. you let your fingers smell like garlic the rest of the day. >> then i'll just put the whole chicken on top. i had the butcher butterfly it. it is very easy to cook when it is like this. >> are you going to be able to get some kind of a crust on this chicken? >> yes. >> because this is going to create steam, isn't it? >> what's going to happen, it creates the sauce with the juices from the chicke

high temperatures. >> guys? >> extra special. >> and the broccoli rabe. >> can't wait until you get to that. >> i'll take this herb oil and just brush it on the chicken. >> butterfly side up. >> yeah. brat tomorr bottom side up. then turn it over. just right on top of the onions and garlic. >> do you need more of this? >> i do. pat dry because that's the way you get it battlegrounrowned. if it is wet, it just gets steamed. i'm going to after 30 minutes pour wine around the pan, back in the oven for 15 minutes. voila. >> it smells fantastic! >> is it's like so easy to do. the lemon

sauce. >> except for the little blender here, we've done everything in one pan. >> in one pan. exactly. >> al mentioned the broccolini. i love to roast vegetables. it is so simple. olive oil, salt and pepper, into the oven, high temperature. just like that. pepper. i do squash like this. i do tomatoes like this. everything. >> how long? >> i hear schmacking. licking their lips. >> for how long? >> 20 minutes, 30 minutes. this is the way it comes out. chicken comes out like that and the broccolini comes out like that. >> hoda, just in case i end up with a mouthful here, will you read the tease? >> i will. by this broccolini tastes like potato chips. crunchy, delicious. >> it is

>> delicious. so simple and delicious. so good. ina garten. >> ina's going to be with kathie lee and myself a little bit later. we can't wait for that. >> wait until you see what i'm going to make for you. >> what is it? >> fresh figure preserve bruschetta. >> get out. >> i'm going to be stopping by. >> find all of our recipes on the website, today.com/food. up next,

>> announcer: the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to ow by citi. we're back, everybody, with the big success, they're called little mix. they sold more than 23 million records all around the world. hello. >> they got a brand-new record called

the single from it has been viewed over 100 million times. >> jade, perry, jesse and leeann. hello! >> congratulations, ladies. >> thank you. >> welcome to the states. >> thank you for having us again. >> congrats on the record. >> you miz must be feeling really good. >> we can't believe the success. we're so happy to be back in the states. be back again next year. >> shout out to my exes is such a great single. >> whose ex is this about? >> or what is the selective message to exes in general? >> we just wanted to write a song that could relate to everyone in the world, everyone who's got a bit of a crappy ex. this song empowers people. >> don't feel sorry for yourself. >> congrats on your tour. you guys are hitting the road with ariana grande. very excited about that? >> yeah. i think we are just excited to be in america for threeon

out to my ex." little mix, take it away. ♪ shout out to my ex ♪ heard he in love with some other chick yeah yeah that hurt me i'll admit ♪ forget that boy i'm over it ♪ i hope she gettin' better sex hope she ain't fakin' it like i did babe ♪ took four long years to call it quits forget that boy i'm over it ♪ ♪ guess i should say thank you for the hate yous and the tattoos oh baby ♪ i'm cool by the way ain't sure i loved you anyway ♪ go ahead babe i'm live my life my life yeah ♪ ♪ shout out to my ex you're

you made my heart break and that made me who i am ♪ here's to my ex hey look at me now ♪ well i'm all the way up i swear you'll never bring me down ♪ shout out to my ex you're really quite the man ♪ you made my heart break and that made me who i am ♪ here's to my ex hey look at me now well i'm all the way up i swear you'll never ♪ you'll never bring me down ♪ oh i deleted all your pics then blocked your number from my phone ♪ ♪ yeah yeah you took all you could get but you ain't getting this love no more ♪ cause now i'm livin' so le gidget even though you broke my heart in two baby ♪ but i snapped right back i'm so brand-new baby ♪ boy read my lips i'm over you over you

♪ guess i should say thank you for the hate yous and the tattoos oh baby ♪ ♪ i'm cool by the way ain't sure i loved you anyway ♪ go ahead babe i'm live my life my life yeah ♪ shout out to my ex you're really quite the man ♪ you made my heart break and that made me who i am ♪ here's to my ex hey look at me now ♪ well i'm i'm all the way up i swear you'll never bring me down ♪ shout out to my ex you're really quite the man ♪ you made my heart break and that made me who i am ♪ here's to my ex hey look at me now ♪ well i'm i'm all the way up i swear you'll never you'll never bring me down ♪ ♪ whoa whoa oh oh ♪ whoa whoa oh oh

♪ oh oh oh oh oh you'll never bring me down ♪ >> woo! that is how you do it! congrats, ladies. little mix. we're back in a moment. but first -- you know what? this is "today" on nbc. >> take that. y'all killed it.

why don't we celebrate a few

we've got some amazing folks to tell you about. happy 100th birthday of doris goll. celebrating is e ining 100 year world war ii veteran is from spokane valley, washington. happy 101st birthday to mildred from new york. james hughes, 100 years old. houston, texas. served in both world war ii and the korean war as a chief petty officer. a happy 100th birthday of merrill holt from grace, idaho. plays golf twice a week. going to play with carson and matt. hit her very first hole in one when she was 93. head to

you know someone celebrating a milestone birthday. make sure to include a picture. we got jane lynch co-hosting, eric mccormick's going to be there. will smith is stopping by. it is huge! it is going to be fantastic, huge, >> announcer: this is a "news4 today" news break. >> 8:56 is your time now, and it's december 15th, 2016. i am eun yang. we want to check on your traffic with melissa mollet. a crash on the left side here on i-95, and then suitland

parkway, beltway overall looking typical, and a rough spot across the american legion bridge right now. we will take a quick break and check your forecast when we come back. stay with us. you might call patricia washington lucky. after all, not only did she play a dc lottery game once and win. she played another game and won that three times. and then she tried a different dc lottery game and won that, too. so, how is patricia doing with her bowling? well, let's just say she does better with the lottery. ♪

good morning, everybody.

per hour at andrews, so hold on to your kids and hats. windchills down in the single numbers and will be likely be falling below zero after 5:00 or 6:00 this evening, so dangerously cold to be outside for any extended period today, and tomorrow another freezing cold day with temperatures staying below 30 degrees, and a chance for snow flurries on friday night, and could have an inch of snow on saturday before it changes to rain. get your news or weather anytime in the nbc washington app.

this morning on "today's take," hollywood mega star will smith getting personal, eopenin up about his new movie, "collateral beauty." and co-host jane lynch. and last-minute christmas gifts that will arrive just in time. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today's take," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. it is thursday, december 15th, 2016. we've got -- we're so thrilled. our co-host is golden globe and emmy winning star, jane lynch. let's play a little music. >> oh. >> a little christmas music,

>> new don't recognize that -- >> that's the voice of an angel. >> swingin' little christmas by our fabulous co-host, jane lynch, from her new christmas album from the same title. we have downloaded it as part of the roker holiday rotation. it is prolific! >> i love it. >> what made you go retro? >> i've been touring with this band, the tony guerrero quintet. they're very retro. they do big band stuff. we've been together two years. we do those really nice tight harmonies. we have a blast doing it. >> that's terrific. it is a lot of fun. >> thank you. >> it is throwback thursday. we found a little clip of jane. >> let's look, everybody. >> i'm steve, this is kathy. >> we just love kellogg's frosted flakes. >> we come here every day just hoping he'll make an appeara

excuse me, could you send out tony when you see him? >> tony, who? >> oh, come on. frosted are about so much more than great taste. there's that, then there's tony. then there is the frosting. then there's tony. >> got it. he looks different. >> i think -- i think that's a woman. >> you're right. >> they're grreat! >> directed by christopher guest. that's where i met chris. i did like a year later "best in show." >> what year was this? >> '98. '99. >> you know that's my favorite cereal. >> oh, really. >> you brought up christopher guest. "best in show." now you are part of that ensemble. what's that like? because those movies are so amazing. >> thank you. >> just seems so terrific. >> well, i was very nervous the first time because i loved "waiting for duffman." i thought it was the best movie ever made. when i was invited to join "best in

we continued to do them. we just did something on netflix with the same group of people. we're all friends. we all love each other. >> you have a dog. >> i do! she'll be 17 on the 17th. >> what's her name? >> olivia. >> "best in show" -- >> yes. as soon as i wrapped "best in show," we were in vancouver. i went back home to my home in venice, california. i went to a pet shore. shame on me, i guess. but i think that dogs need to be rescued from pet stores as well. i picked up olivia. she was in this big window on venice boulevard. tiny little thing. she's going to be 17th on the 17th. >> are you prepared for the cold here, jane? >> i'm from chicago. i live in l.a. now but i'm from chicago. so i know my way around cold. i've got all the

i lived in chicago for ten years. i still can't take it. >> we underestimate how cold our bottom half gets. so that's something that i always know. >> you like how we say -- hmm. >> i've been working with him too long. >> i believe when it is cold you go cold. i brought in -- do you like -- >> i do love coffee, i love iced coffee. i love cold brew. they say you're supposed to drink cold stuff when you're cold. i don't understand. >> is that science? jane, this has become our gift for our co-hosts. >> oh, wonderful! >> you can't buy this anywhere. >> is this your special blend? >> this is my special blend. >> it's gone viral. >> it is so sweet and delicious. is there any sugar in this? >> yes. >> but i was going to say was that cold brew coffee is sometimes a little sweeter. >> this is a fresh batch.

i've actually tried a -- i put some cocoa mix in it. >> what's that? >> from cocoa beans, along with some chicory. >> is that all in this? >> that's all in this. do you sell this stuff? >> no, i don't sell this. i'll make you some more. >> do you know what the hatchimal is? like the number one toy in the country? it is an egg. >> no. >> do we have anymore? it hatches out. the hardest thing in the world to greet? this is the adult match hall. >> i'm glad you enjoy. talking about hot google searches. out with their list of things that we were all googling obsessively. since you are the game show queen here -- >> yes, i know my way around cards. >> that's why you'll fit in here. >> at home, play with us. like a this or that kind of thing. number one, powerball or pokemon go. >> i would say pokemon go. >> pokemon go. >> i go

need money to buy pokemon go. the robinson family were 1 of 3 winners. their agent contacted the show and said we have the winners. no one believed it. they showed up. >> they came here first. then went to the lottery. >> how much? >> $1.6 billion. >> oh, my gosh! >> they don't even call us anymore. they used to call. >> they bought their own country. >> most searched movie. "finding dory" or "suicide squat." >> "finding dory." >> i'm going "suicide squad" because there was so much controversy. remember people were complaining about it. so i think people often go for negative. >> a lot of haters. >> jane, this is al's favorite. most searched musician. kanye, your buddy, or beyonce. >> i

>> yeah. because he's nuts. >> and the answer is -- beyonce! >> thank you, america! thank you! thank you! >> beyonce. >> atta girl, beyonce. >> i find this one interesting. marion cottilard. >> meghan markle is prince harry's girlfriend. and marion cottilard with brad pitt. >> the announcement of their divorce -- >> i'm going with meghan markle. >> let's see who it is. >> meghan markle. >> we reference both of these women to the men they're with. >> the reality of it -- it is not fair. i'll stand up for it. i did. because -- >> i didn't.

wonderful actress. she was wonderful, a remarkable talent. why they were googled. it is because of the guys they are associated with. just saying, they are wonderful women in their own right. >> most searched recipe. >> green bean casserole or guacamole. >> green bean casserole. >> i'm going green bean casserole. >> is it because there's no such thing as a good one? >> i love green bean casserole. >> girl! surely you're not a girl from the south! how could you be a southern girl and not like a good green bean casserole? >> i'm not even southern. you're not into it. what do you put on the top? >> french fried onions. durkee french fried onions. >> and guacamole's been done. is there a more creative way to make guacamole? >> frosted

>> oh, wow. >> will there be a "will and grace" reboot? >> i hope so! >> feind out if those rumors ar true. our buddy, eric mccormick. he's enjoying himself! chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound.

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about your enamel. helping to protect your enamel. "today's take" and jane lynch did not leave. she's still here. despite the green bean casserole controversy that almost separated us. earlier today, governor arnold schwarzenegger was in the studio. he's going to be the new celebrity a "celebrity apprentice" host. he was on jimmy fallon. >> they get fired. you could easily say, asta la vee vista, baby.

you won't be back. okay. i think i got the last one here. ready? you're fired. get to the chopper! >> which one do you think? >> i'm not sure. you've been term nafinated. >> i like, "you won't be back." >> can i say this on nbc? >> when you're jane lynch, you can do anything. >> i was in a movie with arnold schwarzenegger called "collateral damage." many years ago. it was numb-- i was number 66 oe call sheet. i played like an fbi person and i got my neck brokenn the bathroom. >> by arnold schwarzenegger's character? >> no. by the girl he was protecting. who was like this tall. i was about 150 poundse

on my back and broke my neck. >> but you sold it. >> of course i did! i'm an actor. >> when you do that kind of thing, kind of -- because you are not a stunt person. >> there was probably a stunt person. >> it wasn't you? >> i will say about arnold. i just saw him out in the hall. he doesn't like it when women are taller than him. i think it throws him off and it also makes him giggle a little bit. he went like that. >> how tall are you? >> i'm 6'0". >> let's go back to arnold. >> he giggled a little bit. >> is it kind of like a -- >> yes. exactly like that, al. >> do you find that men are intimidated by your height? i think you are the perfect height. >> well, thank you so much. there is a person kind of reaction i get sometimes from guys. which is -- and then they have to like -- man

other times guys don't even notice it. like mr. roker never notices. >> no. truth be told, i will say there was a point when i first saw you on camera, i had a little crush on you. >> you did! well, do tell. >> all right. speaking of the perfect body type, what about the rest of the body? you've got the perfect height.

>> ellen's personality. let's see what the person looks like. i don't know how you shape personality. >> okay. >> i want a close-up. i can't see. >> why is she posed like that? her body is kind of crooked. >> and chris pratt eyes, and george clooney's teeth, and david beckham's hair. you want his hair? his whole face is beautiful. >> how do you shape personalities. >> the guy is jack. >> here's the results, ladies and gentlemen. >> oh, that's hideous. >> that's freakish. >> it's like an experiment gone wrong. you know in five minutes it's

>> where is ryan reynolds personality. >> again, here's a palate cleanser for you, the weather. let's show you what we have going on. that's just weird. 55 million people under some sort of windchill advisory and warning and stretching into the dakotas and new england, and then we have got come into the cold air, a big storm system, flooding possible for much of central and southern northern california, and we have snow making its way on friday from minneapolis, green way and chicago, and by the weekend it makes its way on saturday here in the northeast, and you can see the rockies over a foot and a half to two feet of snow, and upper great lakes, we are talking nine inches and then in western new york we look for anywhere from 6 to 15 inches of snow. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> in our neck of the woods it's windy and cold outside. these are the current wind gusts within the last hour. we had

per hour in parts of prince georges county, and across all of the shenandoah valley, 39-mile-per-hour gusts there in martinsburg. plenty of sunshine, but don't the sunshine fool you. it will stay dangerously cold and windy day and frigid tonight and tomorrow and a chance for a wintry mix on saturday. >> that's your latest weather. coming up, jingles with jane. a little musical trivia game we called how the lynch stole christmas. later, will smith and the au coming up on "look! famous people!" we catch flo, the progressive girl, at the supermarket buying cheese. scandal alert! flo likes dairy?! woman: busted! [ laughter ] right afterwards we caught her riding shotgun with a mystery man. oh, yeah! [ indistinct shouting ] is this your chauffeur? what?! no, i was just showing him how easy it is to save with snapshot from progressive.

and it gives you a rate based on your driving. does she have insurance for being boring? [ light laughter ] laugh bigger. [ laughter ] come on r2! we gotta go! ♪ woohoo! the best place in the galaxy for everything star wars. walmart. pain from a headache can when make this...old, feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol® owith new flavorfilled pairingss freshly filled pastas

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cleaning up pet hair and debris for up to 2 hours. which means your floors are always clean. you and roomba, from irobot. better. together. we're back with our amazing co-host. spin around, jane. she has a new christmas album out called "a swinging little christmas." we're going to play something called "how the lynch stole christmas." >> the joke is over. >> jane is going to sing a christmas carol but she's purposely add a

the last line and we have to ring in to say the real line. kelly is from atlanta, georgia. and on tamron's team, emily from portland, oregon. love the wines there. >> i'm going to sing this. then you have to finish it for me. ♪ jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way ♪ oh what fun it is to ride so you better get out of my way ♪ al roker. ♪ on a one horse open sleigh. >> i'm going to pick knnits wit you. it is "in." but i'm going to give it to you. moving on. ♪ silent night holy snnight alls hot all is not ♪ ♪ all is calm all is bright

ringling jing jing jingling too ♪ >> ♪ on a sleigh ride together with you ♪ ♪ when you're dry and ready a bagel we will slay ♪ ♪ ♪ han hanukah ♪ >> no. >> i will play. ♪ and dradle i will play i'm going to give it to you. >> 3-1. >> it is a competition. >> i'm going to be much cleaner about my scoring. ♪ chestnuts roasting on an open fire ♪ ♪ jack frost nipping at your nose ♪ ♪ yuletide carols being sung by a choir ♪ and this next line that no

knows ♪ >> i can't concentrate with you two. oh. >> she got it. 3-2. ♪ i have no gift to bring pa-rum-pa-pum ♪ ♪ then why did you even come yes, tamron. >> no, it's a line. it rhymes with "i have no gift to bring." >> to you. ♪ to give a king >> that is it. three points, al roker. not the cleanest. but look what you get? >> you're getting some gifts. . up next, eric mccormack

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crest whitestrips are the way to whiten. >> announcer: this is a "news4 today" news break. >> good morning, everybody. almost 9:30 on this thursday, december 15th. i am erika gonzalaz. we could get major metro news today. the board is set to vote on plans to cut back service hours every day of the week. the proposed cuts would end service at 11:30 on weeknights, and 11:00 p.m. on sundays, and the system would open an hour later on sundays with trains starting after 8:00 a.m., and that change would take place next summer. and giving out warnings with a 30-day grace period, that's over.

be mindful of those. we'll get a check of your forecast coming up next.

dangerously cold and windy outside, and temperatures are below freezing now and

for eight years we all watched eric mccormack in his emmy winning role as will, the gay lawyer, that gained life in new york state with his roommate, grace. it won a whoppingemmys. >> now eric is back on the small screen playing a time traveler who ventures back to the 21st century to save humanity. >> as eric and the rest of the team soon find out, making the leap back to 2016 doesn't always go so smoothly. >> i thought this was going to be a simple handoff. >> probably didn't know about the pills. >> what pills? >> probably a failsafe. >> cause of

the head. >> there wasn't anyone from his team there to meet him? >> no. we looked around. >> eric is with us. when you started off, "what pills," you know you're in trouble? you know it is going to be a rough ride? >> big trouble. there's always trouble in the 21st century. >> tell us about your character. it is kind of a character within a character. >> hard to talk about a show like this and not give too much away. basically the future of america -- i know this is hard to buy -- is leaked. we have very little but we have technology to come back not as ourselves but our consciousness and inhabit the bodies of people living now. you, al roker, could be a time traveler. it is like a spy show, espionage deep undercover show more than anything. >> how much do you go back and fo

is dead. i don't want to give too much away. >> he would have been. he would have died. we know this because we're 300 years in the future and we know from gps and social media -- literally we know the where, longitude and latitude of people before they die. then we live their lives. it is a one-way ticket. we're not going back to the future. we live their lives -- >> you're note going back. >> -- supposedly for eight or nine seasons. >> not being too specific. but giving some guidance. >> it is going to be on netflix. >> it drops next week. all 12 episodes. i am so excited about it. >> i'm going to binge that baby. >> i like the sound of that. i'm going to binge that baby. >> anything with eric's face on it, i'm going to binge that baby. >> this is more like

>> a sci-fi premise. some of the missions we are here to take care of -- some of what we have to do, we don't even know why it is going to better the future. we are just following orders, meantime we're also living the lives of these people whose bodies we've inherited. sometimes the job is kind of dull. but in the meantime we're taking care of their children and -- >> right. >> i find myself in a marriage. >> you have a hot wife, too. >> that works out. he also is clearly having an affair with somebody. >> you said you didn't want to give too much away! >> binge that baby! >> we have something from your past. can we show you? >> great segue. i'm learning so much from you. >> will and grace. >> i just wanted to say hello to my former co-star, eric mccormack. he and i were married in a secret ceremony in vancouver, canada yesterday. hi, darling. >> i said i wouldn't cry. >> see you toni

could see see -- after we saw the mini episode during this political season which was really funny, could we see a reboot of "will and grace"? >> we're talking about it. >> he didn't give us eye contact. >> we -- the four of us are game. it's a matter of everybody else. >> who is everybody else? >> i don't know. write letters to the network. >> jane? >> start the letter writing campaign. >> absolutely. i'll be binge that baby and then start that letter campaign. >> are you a binge watcher? do you like o binge watch? >> netflix. december 23rd. >> are we done? coming up, will smith opens up about his new role in "collateral beauty" after this. but you can stay, eric. say hi to xiidra, lifitegrast ophthalmic solution. the first eye drop approved for the signs and symptoms of dry eye.

common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and an unusual taste sensation. do not touch the container tip to your eye or any surface. remove contacts before using xiidra and wait for at least 15 minutes before reinserting them. if you have dry eyes, ask your doctor about xiidra. ( ♪ ) ♪ you gotta to be cool, calm, collected ♪ ♪ look your fear in the eye ♪ you gotta be shaking off the pressure ♪ ♪ gotta be taking your time ♪ had my ups, downs, run-arounds ♪ ♪ my dark and despair ♪ but the best stuff came ♪ when all the sweat wasn't there ♪ ♪ you gotta say ♪ hey-y ♪ ho-o ♪ hey-y ♪ ho-o

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will smith, helen mirren, keira knightley. why couldn't they get a fun cast? >> "collateral beauty" is about finding dark even in tlight eve darkest places. will smith plays a successful executive who is overcome by grief after his young daughter passes away from cancer. he writes letters to the universe, love, time and death and gets an unexpected response. >> who did you write the letter to? >> i wrote the letter to death. >> only helen mirren could make death seem approachable and charming. >> makes you sort of long for death. >> could i die and have helen mirren in my arms? what was it like for you, helen? >>

people write letters to the universe all the time. most don't get a personal response. >> it made me think about it. absolutely. and it's something that we all have to confront, either with our friends and family or, eventually, with ourselves. it is absolutely as much a part of our lives as anything else. >> reporter: will had to confront mortality recently when his father got sick. he passed away just last month. did it make you think about time, the time you've had with him? >> this has been the most impactful film on me as a human being that i've ever worked on. the people you love are the only thing that are going to matter when you're about to say good-bye to this existence. >> did you watch it with your family members? >> i watched it with willow. we make a specific date to watch the movie. she falls completely apart over movies like this. >> i fell completely apart, too. i'm like

kleenex commercial. it was disgusting. from sloppy tears to laughter on s set, the one challenge for the cast, how to shoot on the streets of new york city with will smith. >> there's like 100 people behind us. it was like we're doing street theater. as soon as we cut they start clapping. that was incredible! >> were there parts where you had to clap because people would go will smith -- >> yeah. all of the fight scenes. >> even when it is just a scene with me and keira. that's sort of annoying because he's not even here. >> be sure to notice the collateral beauty. >> what does collateral beauty mean to each of you? >> for me it just means finding that light at the end of the tunnel. like total darkness doesn't really exist. >> it is a very eternal idea to achieve balance day to day instead of pushing it all off until later. >> to me it is finding my

morning. >> it sounds like a brand of mascara. >> collateral beauty. >> you don't understand. no one understands time. >> you have to spend your time wisely because any moment can be the moment that you no longer have something. you can sit and stop right now in this moment. i have everything i need. i don't have anywhere near everything i want but i have everything i need. so to be grateful because there will be a time when i don't have everything i need. >> can we please do a series called "motivational speaking with will

let's find out what is happening in your neck of the woods. ? >> good morning, i am storm team 4 meteorologist, chuck bell. winds are up near 40 miles per hour around most of the metro area, and 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts at andrews and 40-mile-per-hour gusts out along shenandoah valley. hold on to your hats today, and bitterly cold, too, and temperatures falling after the sun came up, and windchills below zero tonight, and limit your time outside and protect your people, pets and pipes. >> al, take a look, we are on the price is right table, and we have great gift ideas, and we are told they will arrive in time for the holidays, and it's not a trick, these things will be at your door, and coming up next, we wi

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male order food gifts are very popular this time of the year, whether you're giving them as gifts or berringing a basketo someone else. or you need pre-made goodies to serve your guests. we have all kinds of delicious items that we are assured will arrive on time. good morning. >> hanukah. for the sweet tooth, the savory, even a little weird on our list. starting with hanukah, this is from matz.com. high-end chocolates. there is something for each night of hanukah. there are eight little presents. this year hanukah and christmas eve start at the same time. >> this is $78.50. a sweet for each night. >> it arrives on time. >> the chef here really does an amazing job with flavors. there's 12 days of christmas ice cream

it is something really fun. also for the sweet tooth, a delicious maple syrup. one of my favorites. beautiful package and beautiful bottles. can you buy individual bottle or as a gift set. >> oh, that's delicious. >> this is for the honey loverer on your list. >> let's head over to jane. she's got something savory. >> so nice to meet you! >> ready to eat, right? is. >> absolutely. >> we have a tenderloin here. this is -- comes already precooked. this is for the person on your list who is a foodie who wants something very high quality and delicious. it is in a deep smoke. it has a nice crust on there. you basically just defrost it. you look like you are a professional. >> indeed. beautiful. now my favorite combination is pasta and

this is all truffles. this is a truffle pasta package. this company is out of brooklyn. they make some really beautiful hand-cut pastas through the old traditional style. then there's truffles. foodies love truffles. nothing beats a nice warm bowl of soup. >> yes! >> a spoonful of love. comes in these adorable packages. the rolls, the chicken noodle soup. and also something extra. >> cookies! >> there is a lot of soup that comes with this. >> hello. >> al, we saved the best for last. >> yes, ma'am, i love this idea. that could have been ugly. but you stuck the landing! >> this is the one that's perfectly weird. it is spicy so be pred

spice, for foodies who really want something different, unique gifts. $12 a jar. >> specialty almond butter. >> this is so beautiful. all organic. almond butter made with coconut. you can have three different flavors. my kids love asteztec, chocolat. and finally, good things come from the south. holiday joe. three bags. comes with this adorable burlap sack and tag. >> maureen, thanks so much. merry christmas. we are back in a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

good morning. >> good morning. >> it's

>> hug me, somebody. >> oh, my gosh, it's december and it's snowing! i'll alert the media. >> we want to thank everybody who donated. it's such a great donation you are doing for us? >> the corporation is a leading provider of laundry home care and beauty products, and we are proud to be donating everyday products, persill laundry deterg all free and clear. we are donating 12,000 . >> who doesn't love snuggle. it's something for the parents and kids. that's awfully nice. thank you so much. you can donate on the plaza every morning until december 23rd, or

you are back! >> you are my heroin out there with the people. our hearts. >> again, your album -- >> "swingin' little christmas." >> we love it. download it. coming up, kathie lee and hoda will be here after local news and weather.

>> announcer: this is a "news4 today" news break. >> 9:57 is your time on this thursday, december 15th, 2016. i am eun yang. today a high school student will speak before the school board and last week he had an opt ed about the upcoming redistricting, and there will be three changes in the county and he said it could lead to racial and socio

how are the temperatures falling, chuck? >> losing a degree per hour for the most part over the last couple hours and that downward trend will continue even in the middle of the afternoon, and temperatures between 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00, continuing into the teens by 9:00, or 10:00 tonight with windchills at or below zero for your evening walk. another freezing cold day tomorrow. and could have snow early saturday changing over to all rain saturday afternoon and sunday not expecting a big problem, but we're watching it for you. coming up on "news4 midday," justin finch will have a report on how people are dealing with the cold weather. see you at 11:00.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody, welcome. we're so happy youe spending a snowy thirsty thursday with us. >> look at it, it's really coming down. >> that's called "crave" by pharrell williams because he's craving a little bahamas right now. >> wow, by the way, it's biting cold outside. it's going to get colder as the day goes on. >> we're going to go to our holiday party today. all the nbc "today" show group. >> we do it at noon. >> because we've all b