good morning. feeling blue. bitter cold temperatures blanketing nearly every state in the u.s. more than 200 million americans impacted as a powerful winter storm gains strength, setting the stage for a weekend travel nightmare. tough talk. president obama vows the u.s. will respond to russia's efforts to interfere with the u.s. election. >> we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing. >> but with only 34 days left in his presidency, what will that response look like and what will it mean for america's delicate relationship with moscow? dessert disaster. a canned whipped cream shortage right in the thick of the holiday season. this morning what's behind it

shelves are stocked again. and seeing green. the seattle seahawks clinch another division title, dominating the l.a. rams with an impressive win. but it's those bright neon uniforms that are being called an epic fail. today, friday, december 16th, 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 friday morning. am i the only guy that didn't mind those uniforms? >> you needed sunglasses to watch the game, but okay. >> how about this weather? that cross-country deep freeze is where we're going to begin this morning. 18 degrees right outside our window on the plaza, 18 degrees as well down in washington, d.c., our nation's capital. >> if you head to chicago, even colder. we've got 14 degrees there and can we checkut

maine, for a second. minus 1, but it feels like minus 22. >> but it's beautiful. it doesn't matter. we'll get to our forecast and al's forecast in a moment. first nbc's blake mccoy all bundled up in the windy city. blake, good morning to you. >> good morning. it is once again painful to be outside this morning. i have two layers of gloves on and several layers of clothing. we are right in the middle of a 1-2 arctic punch that will stretch into the weekend. this morning for so much of the country, the arctic temperatures are brutal and sticking around. >> this is cold! >> it's just terrible out here. >> that frigid air will combine with more snow today and into the weekend for the northern half of the country. millions bracing for another messy morning commute. in pennsylvania, i-80 is back open after whiteout conditions led to this 59-car pileup thursday. in cleveland, demands to clear

>> we pay our taxes. we deserve service. >> while in portland, oregon, already crippled by snow and ice, they're trying to thaw out. >> look out! >> after this school bus was sent sliding this week, kids used their snow day to take out sleds and slide past it. ♪ christmas is just over a week away, with more bad weather coming, shoppers in chicago are not deterred. >> what in the world are you thinking doing your christmas shopping tonight? >> it has to get done sometime and i won't sleep if i don't get something done, so it's panic. it's called panic. >> reporter: heating centers are open here in chicago this morning and you can see that snow on the ground behind me. we're about to get even more of it. temperatures will warm up just a bit later today. snow is going to fall before we dip back down for that second arctic punch. long story short, it's going to be a miserable weekend for a lot of the country.

very much. outside walking my dog this morning, freezing cold. we've got dave price in for al roker to talk all about it. >> hey, dave. >> hey, dave price. >> it's a rough morning through a lot of places all across the country especially right here in the northeast along they. 95 corridor. you want bad? how about a windchill of 86 below zero at the mt. washington observato observatory. it's going to be a tough go. windchills and advisories, warnings for 25 million people across the country. and the temperatures are just awful, but it's the windchills that are worse. 28 below in places like caribou, 7 below in detroit this morning, 2 below in minneapolis, and that's just the beginning of what is going to be a stretch of bad weather. we also have a storm system beginning to work its way across the country stretching from the rockies all the way into the plains, working its way towards the east coast. a possibility of some severe thunder shower activity as we head to saturday in the lower mississippi valley. we'll keep an eye open f

head into the northeast through the weekend. keep in mind we could get up to 6 to 10 inches of snow in places like minneapolis. it's going to be a rough 72 hours. send it back to you. >> all right, dave, we'll see you in a couple of minutes. thank you very much. also this morning president obama is vowing to take action against russia after u.s. intelligence determined vladimir putin had a direct hand in an effort to disrupt our presidential election. we have complete coverage starting with nbc's kristen welker at the white house. hi, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, matt, good morning to you. president-elect trump hasn't yet said how or if he will respond to mounting evidence russia intervened in the u.s. presidential election but the current commander in chief is set to hold one of his final news conferences here at the white house today and is now rebuking russia in his strongest terms yet, even promising action. overnight, president obama vowing to retaliate against russia. >> i think there

that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action, and we will, at a time and place of our own choosing. some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be. >> reporter: those strong words coming one day after nbc news first reported u.s. intelligence officials believe vladimir putin was personally involved in russia's attempt to interfere in the presidential election, a putin spokesperson calling it laughable nonsense but in an interview with npr, president obama suggesting this is no laughing matter. >> mr. putin is well aware of my feelings about this because i spoke to him directly about it. >> reporter: meanwhile president-elect trump for the first time isn't directly disputing russian involvement, instead training his fire on the current administration, tweeting before the obama announcement if russia or some other entity was hack, why did the white house wait so long to

hillary lost? the administration noting it did sound alarms about russia's involvement in october and slamming mr. trump for seeming to encourage russia to hack clinton's e-mails as a candidate. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to finding the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. >> reporter: while mr. trump later said he was being sarcastic, white house press secretary josh earnest took aim thursday. >> i don't think anybody at the white house thinks it's funny that an adversary of the united states engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy. >> reporter: trump firing back last night during a rally in pennsylvania. >> although this foolish guy, josh earnest, i don't know if he's talking to president obama, you know, having the right press secretary is so important because he is so bad the way he delivers a message. >> reporter: also this morning new questions about potenti

surrounding trump's children. trump aides hinting ivanka trump and her husband could join the new administration, telling nbc news ivanka is already calling republican members of congress to get the ball rolling on legislation for child care and paid family leave. while anti-nepotism laws prevent presidents from appointing family members to virtually all federal government jobs, a top trump advisor said there may be an exception for staffers. >> the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking. >> reporter: also thursday president-elect trump named david friedman as his nominee for ambassador to israel. friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, has represented trump in the past and has been an advocate for policies aligned with the far right that break with decades of foreign policy there. as for trump, he will end with another rally. >> so how are the russians and vladimir putin responding? nbc's ch

in moscow this morning. richard, hello. >> reporter: good morning. this is an escalation from president obama. he's not just accusing president vladimir putin of being involved in the hack, but saying that there will be some sort of retaliation. and if obama is going to oversee that retaliation, he doesn't have a lot of time. but here in moscow, officials don't seem to be taking it very seriously. president vladimir putin is in japan. his spokesman, however, said today that the u.s. either has to present its evidence, stop talking about this or else it all just looks very incent. a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry told nbc news that the threats from president obama are against international law and american law. and i must say that here in moscow, while no one is admitting that russia was involved, officials at the kremlin do seem to be quite satisfied that there is all of this anger, all of this confusion as the ci

struggling to make its case and now these comments from president obama. >> all right, richard engle in moscow. thank you. let us bring in this deguy right here, chuck todd. ben carden said whether you attack us with a mig or a mouse, it's an attack. president obama said we will respond at a time and place of our own choosing. some of it may be explicit and publicized and some of it may not be. what are his options? >> he doesn't have a lot of options. some of them are to do something very public, which is either show the evidence, have the great moment where you show almost like a perry mason moment and prove the connection there. the other is to expose him financially. you know, show how enter connected he may be with maybe dirty money and there's a lot of people we've been talking to that indicate that certainly the united states is looking at that. but i have to tell you, i think he's got to do something big and public if he wants it to have an impact be

>> i got lost for a second. >> does it have to be a response in kind? does a cyber attack warrant a cyber attack in response? >> well, this has been what they have been debating for three months, matt. they have been wringing their hands because they have been worried about a tit for tat. do they do cyber, do they respond in an equal way and does that okay the idea of cyber. during the cold war this was this acceptance that, okay, you're going to spy on us a little bit. if this is an accepted form of espionage now going forward, it becomes more dangerous. so there is a hesitation on the u.s. part not to use cyber. so it's a -- handcuffs is an understatement. >> it's close to the end of the obama administration's time, so whatever president obama does is going to wind up on trump's plate. do these two guys need to powwow and get together before anyone makes a move? >> donald trump has to accept the intelligence

look, there is some political pressure that can be exerted on trump to essentially conform to this or believe the intelligence, and that is if he wants to get a secretary of state confirmed, rex tillerson. the more he sort of avoids or pushes back against this evidence, the more you're going to have a john mccain, lindsey graham republican saying what are you doing and they'll use tillerson to punish trump. >> for the whole campaign he said it's going to be america first, we're going to be tougher on our adversaries. you can't now get this kind of information, this kind of intelligence and do nothing about it. >> no, it would be extraordinarily weak. so that's why trump simply not believing it then, you know, that pushes back a response maybe months, maybe longer than that. so i do think president obama feels pressure to do this. i just don't know if he can do anything that has an impact that donald trump essentially won't rescind. >> chuck, thank you. good to see you

this from president obama during an afternoon news conference. you can see coverage of that on most nbc stations. meantime a federal jury took less than two hours to convict the man behind a deadly shooting at a church in charleston, south carolina. dylann roof found guilty on all 32 counts he faced. this morning families are seeking out and preparing for the next phase of the trial. gabe gutierrez has the latest there. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. this case is not over. in a highly unusual move, dylann roof now says he wants to represent himself during sentencing coming face to face with these families again. this morning dylann roof is facing a possibility of the death penalty after a jury wasted little time finding him guilty of 33 federal counts, including hate crimes. >> i wasn't expecting anything less. i knew it was going to be guilty, guilty,

>> reporter: felicia sanders is one of the three survivors. she testified how she watched roof murder her son as she clutched her granddaughter under a table. >> not too many mothers ever seen their son come in and leave the world, so that was very painful for me. >> reporter: for her husband, the anger against roof is even more raw. >> my thoughts were if i can get to him, what would i do? but the lord kept me from charging or attempting to charge at him. >> reporter: during closing arguments, the prosecutor raised his voice in anger, calling roof a man of tremendous cowardice who shot his victims while they parade. >> he's still in here. i'm afraid he's still in here. >> reporter: as another survivor called 911, other victims tried to stop the carnage. these nine people exemplified a goodness that was greater than his message of hate, the prosecutor said. the defense never disputed the

horrific details but tried to bring up roof's mental state. for the son of reverend daniel simmons who was shot six times, roof's motivation means little. >> he thought he was starting a race war. look at what love conquered. look at the unity and how charleston came together. >> reporter: the judge warned dylann roof that it was a bad decision to represent himself during sentencing, but the 22-year-old decided to do it anyway. he has until january 3rd to change his mind. matt and hoda. >> gabe gutierrez. gabe, thank you so much. the red cross is now saying the evacuation of aleppo will take several more days. overnight new convoys of ambulances, vans and buses were seen leaving that war-ravaged city. nbc's chief global correspondent, bill neely, has made his way inside syria. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. another dramatic day here in syria and more heartbreaking scenes. but right from the start and for the most

that evacuation didn't go according to plan. as they fled aleppo's ruins, one final trauma. children shot at. it was meant to be a cease-fire, yet still gunmen targeted them as they left the rebel-held east. their terror was clear. their mothers close. nearby more children escaping with no parents. these are orphans of the war. 47 of them evacuated after pleading with the world to let them out. and they were defiant. we're leaving aleppo, he says, but when we grow up, we'll be back to liberate it. from their orphanage, they begged for their freedom, led by 11-year-old yasmeen. we're scared, she said, get us out. nbc news has been following their ordeal for months. in august, two months into

syrian army's siege of aleppo, yasmeen is playing, but her teachers told us she was traumatized. her parents killed by an air strike. the following month she told us when there's bombing, i hide under the blankets. i'm scared. i want to have my father to see my mom. when i put my head on my pillow, i read my father prayers. inform october it got worse. the orphans forced to hide underground. the siege tightening. now after six months it's over. yasmeen and all her friends leaving aleppo and their bullet-ridden orphanage. gunfire as they went. the orphans were part of a huge convoy. thousands evacuated as the city fell to president assad's forces. the biggest rebel defeat so far. but not the end of a war that for some of its youngest victims has lasted a lifetime. the orphans are safe

morning, but they are now in another rebel-held area which president assad has vowed to recapture. so their trauma may not be over yet. back to you guys. >> bill neely reporting on this story for us. bill, thank you very much. tributes are pouring in for legendary sportscaster craig sager known for his vivid personality and flamboyant wardrobe. he died thursday after battling cancer for more than two years. sager spent much of his career on the sidelines of nba games. players honored him by sager strong t-shirts and other colorful attire. teams also paused for a moment of silence. in oakland, steve kerr who actually worked with sager for a decade before going into coaching wanted something different. listen. >> we thought it would be more appropriate given the way craig lived his life and the joy that he brought to so mny

have a moment of joy instead, so i'd like all of you to join me in an applause for a great man and a life well lived. thank you. >> sager was inducted into the sports broadcasting hall of fame just last week. he was 65 years old. he is survived by his wife and five children. >> what a beautiful, beautiful tribute. that little moment. wow. beautiful. dave price -- >> our condolences by the way to his family. >> dave is in for al. hey, dave. >> hi. >> how are you? >> i'm freezing. so are many people all across the country. let's go to the maps. it looks like snow is spreading across from the rockies all the way to the great lakes and headed towards the northeast. it's cold in the northeast with windchills in the single digits to below zero. good time to be in the sunshine state at del boca vista where there's lots of sun and temperatures are 10 degrees above the norm. that's a quicko

we'll get to your local weather in 30 seconds. good morning, everybody, temperatures are in the teens all across the area. 19 in washington, 17 in lorton, 17 in fredericksburg and 18 in leesburg. it's going to be cold at those bus stops early this morning. not a lot of wind but that tiniest breeze has windchills down close to see owe this morning. nothing to worry about precipwise. still

>> and that's a look at your weather, folks. >> tweets pouring in from del boca vista. coming up, why president-elect trump is facing calls to give up his glamorous new hotel in washington and the new twist in his legal battle with the celebrity chef who bailed on that project. and coming up on rossen reports, can this device sniff out the freshness of meat, poultry or fish in your fridge? we are going to try that out, but first this is "today" on nbc. fridge? is we'll check it ou but first.t,

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7:26 is your time now. it's friday, good morning. >> it is dangerously cold out there and we've got some breaking news because of it. prince george's county schools just announced vansville elementary school will be closed today. we're told the school has limited heat. the rest of the schools in the county are opening on time. crews are responding to a water main break in northern virginia. stafford county says there is a significant break around route 1 and coal landing road. a lot of people are without water. we don't know exactly how many. traffic is not impacted. speaking of traffic, let's check in with melissa. >> good morning. we ended the show telling you the outer loop had

down at the toll road. all lanes have reopened. it's a little slow and the area had a little ice from an earlier car fire that they had to put out. that water just froze because of these temps. southbound fairfax county parkway at lee chapel there's a crash. also one southbound at terminal road. a live look 270 at montrose road, no major problems. typical volume southbound. >> all right, melissa, thank you. it is a weather alert day today. >> we've got your forecast coming up next. ♪ i got to tell you girl you drive me wild ♪ ♪ i've never known no one with quite your style ♪ ♪ i'm going crazy, thinking baby this may be my chance ♪ it's going to be like this all night long!!

give the gift of garth. baby let's lay down and dance ♪ garth brooks the ultimate collection. 10 cd's just $25.49 when you use the target cartwheel app. only at target. baby let's lay down and dance ♪ well do you mean friday morning, everybody. layer up before you head out the front door. the feels-like temperatures are down in the single numbers. down to 2 below in martinsburg. sun is coming up, clouds will be on the increase. it will stay dry today with temperatures in the upper 20s to around 30. after midnight up to 9 or 10 tomorrow morning. we could have a period of sleet

careful if you need to be outside early saturday. if you can wait until later in the day it will be well above the freezing mark. >> we'll have another update in 25 minutes. >> now back to the "today" show.

7:30 now on this friday morning. 16th of december, 2016. it is just about 18 degrees out on our plaza. feels even colder because there's a breeze in the air, so we just want to turn around and say thank you to all of these people who got here early. i got some nasty stares back, they're not happy. we'll get outside and say hi in just a little while. the brutal cold starts our check of the headlines. 25 million people across the country will be temperatures at or below freezing today. another concern is that winter storm that's hammered oregon already, it's pressing east with significant snow expected in the

the u.s. will take action against russia for its suspected interference in our presidential election. he didn't say what that response would be, but he said it would come at, quote, a time and place of our own choosing. the president is also wasking intelligence agencies to conduct a full investigation of the cyber attacks. and tributes for astronaut john glenn are being held today. his body will lie in state at ohio's capital building this afternoon. a public memorial service will be held tomorrow at ohio state university with vice president joe biden and former president bill clinton expected to speak. also this morning, president-elect trump is facing more scrutiny over his brand new luxury hotel in washington. mr. trump is now being ordered to appear at a deposition in a lawsuit he's filed against the celebrity chef. there are also questions over whether trump can even keep the hotel once he's president. nbc's tom costello

>> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. mr. trump is actually leasing this hotel space from the federal government and now he is suing the celebrity chef, jose andres, who was supposed to have a restaurant inside the hotel but pulled out after mr. trump's comments about mexican immigrants. just as there are questions about whether mr. trump can continue to lease the hotel space if he is both the landlord, the president and the tenant. it's the biggest in the nation's capital, a $200 million makeover with the president-elect's name all over it. >> it's an amazing. probably the best location. one of the most sought-after projects. >> reporter: but the president-elect is in a legal battle with celebrity chef jose andres. he's suing andres for reneging on a deal to open a restaurant at the hotel after trump made these comments about mexican immigrants. >> they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're

and another chef for pulling out of the deal. andres counter sued. the trump team wanted to postpone a january deposition, arguing trump's too busy preparing to take office, but a d.c. judge has denied that request, saying he must appear. meanwhile another problem. the hotel is actually the historic old post office pavilion owned by the federal government. the question now, can the president lease the hotel from himself? >> the 60-year lease will be breached the moment he steps into the oval office unless he completely divests his ownership interests. >> reporter: house democrats say officials at the general services administration says trump will breach the terms of the lease until he divests, but the gsa tells nbc news it hasn't yet taken a position on whether trump would be in violation because they're waiting for details on how trump plans to handle all of his business dealings. still, democrats point to the lease itself, which reads for

government of the united states shall be admitted to any share or part of this lease. but trump wasn't an elected official when he signed the lease. documents filed with the federal election commission show trump has a 76% ownership stake. documents obtained by buzzfeed show three of his children have a 7% stake. just this week his daughter, ivanka, was promoting the hotel on instagram. among the concerns, will foreign diplomats feel compelled to stay at the hotel. >> if foreign governments want to stay there, now they have a pipeline to enriching the president of the united states and currying favor with him. >> reporter: the trump team has not yet commented about this controversy involving the lease. meanwhile, the chef involved in this dispute, jose andres, has suggested that he and trump drop their lawsuits and instead donate to veterans, but the trump team has not yet responded to that particular offer as well. guys, back to you. >>

tom, thanks so much. >> why do you say we get another check of the weather from dave price who's in for al. >> we've got relatively good news. go to the west coast and take a look at what's happening there. this is not a drought buster but it is some rain and that will help out. it's much needed. keep in mind where there's good, there's bad. there are some watches in effect, particularly around flash flooding issues. that's in burn scarred areas where you had so many forest fires. we could see rainfall rates up to half an inch an hour. doesn't sound like a lot but when the land can't absorb that rain, you have some trouble. just keep in mind some areas what you may see. as far as the rest of the country snow spreads from the rockies through the great lakes. we have much warmer than normal through sections of the southwest, texas and new mexico. florida is looking good and the northeast is locked in a freezer. that's a quick look at the national maps. here's an early look at what's going r

i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a very cold start this morning. temperatures are in the mid to upper teens all across the region. now 19 at national airport, 19 in leesburg, 19 in annapolis. planning out your day today, don't plan on much of a warmup. increasing clouds. our frigid start will stay cold, afternoon high only up around 30 degrees. tracking a concern for freezing rain or sleet early tomorrow morning. eventually we'll be well above freezing tomorrow and 60 on sunday with lots of rain sunday. >> and that's a quick look at your national weather. don't forget, saturday night football action. it is the jets and the dolphins in east rutherford, new jersey. cloudy, mild, 45 degrees. don't forget you can catch all the action on the nfl network. it should be a good game. guys. >> all right, dave, thank you very much. just ahead, your favorite holiday cakes and pies but without that great whipped cream on top. the shortage c

and how about this, how fresh is your food? >> good morning, i'm jeff rossen. you're in your fridge wondering how long has this meat been in here, is it still good? this product says it can tell you just by sniffing your food. we're trying it out on fish and poultry and ground beef, next.

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i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. we are back, 7:41, rounding out our week-long rossen reports series. does it work. >> this one is a kitchen gadget getting a lot of attention. i think we talked about this on trending one morning. jeff rossen has more on it. >> that's where we got the idea from. you guys were talking about it. it is america's favorite guessing game. you go into your fridge and wonder if that meat or fish or chicken is still good or is it spoiled. is it going to make me sick, going to make the kids sick? when in doubt, most of us throw it out. matt still cooks it, most of us throw it out. it's a huge waste of money. but this morning a gadget claiming to tell you whether that meat is good in seconds

but does it work? before you buy it, we're trying it out. >> introducing food sniffer, a breakthrough this modern food safety. >> it sounds great. >> it's an electronic sensing advice that can advise you instantly if the meat, fish or poultry you're about to serve your family is safe to eat. >> after hearing about it, we even got excited here at "today." >> it's called the food sniffer. >> if it works, i mean that's good. >> well worth the money. >> savannah, you wondered, so let's find out. i'm going grocery shopping. >> salmon, right from the seafood counter. >> buying fish, meat, ground beef, and of course poultry. let's grab some chicken too. okay, i'm just back from the grocery store. i have had footd sniffer right here. i put each one into its own container because that's how it works. the gases from the meats build up inside the conin

so we're going to start right over here with the meat. there's an app you download on your phone. we've calibrated it. i'm going to open the container up, hover it right here and it's sniffing. and we have the results right here. it came out as fresh. we know that's true because we just bought it from the store. our chicken and salmon come out fresh too. the sniffer nails it. but now the real question. how will the sniffer do when the food has been sitting out? the usda says raw meat should never sit out for more than two hours, because bacteria may grow and produce toxins that can make you sick. so we let our meat sit and sit and sit for just over two hours. and try it again. >> i'm going to put it in here and take our sample. we have a verdict. the sniffer says the ground beef is fresh. but remember, it's not fresh, it's been sitting out here for

fresh too. nbc medical contributor dr. john torrez says no, you definitely shouldn't eat it. >> two hours unrefrigerated, after that time no matter what it says throw that meat out. >> but what about that salmon? >> it's saying the salmon should be cooked well. sample analysis indicates that the spoilage process in the fish has already begun. if you choose to eat the fish, ensure that it is thoroughly cooked. >> but the usda says that's a no-no too. toxins that are heat resistant can't be cooked out. so what will happen if we leave everything out for five hours? here we go. this meat is coming back as fresh. it's been five hours. it's saying the chicken is fresh too. this is nuts. as for the salmon -- okay. it's saying the fish is spoiled. happy to see that. the fish is officially spoiled. the company that makes the

factors affect how quickly food spoils, and the usda provides guidance on how consumers should behave in most common situations with extra precaution, but it's not a holy grail. but many doctors disagree. >> the food sniffer is a fun gadget to play around with but those guidelines are there for a reason. by the way, the food sniffer not cheap, it sells for about $130. when we left the meat out overnight, came back the next morning, it stunk to high heaven, but everything did come back spoiled. >> after five hours did it smell? >> it was yucky. >> if you left something out for two hours -- >> you know what, if you go grocery shopping, you throw it in the car, run some other errands, oh, my gosh, you get home. thanks, jeff. coming up on popstart,

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nfl, they have a color rush campaign where players are sporting a single signature color for select games to create a much more vivid look on the field. we think vivid might have been a bit of an understatement as the seahawks wore them last night against the rams. social media quick to pounce. let's take a look here. wendy writing in live look at the seahawks huddle? jim posting this saying behind the scenes, homer simpson there. even sunday night football team getting in on the action. in case the lights go out, we are good to go. uniforms sparking comparisons from everything to highlighters and double mint gum to even the riddler here. it happened before if you remember the dolphins wore their orange and they got compared to creamsicles and jim carrey's character with "dumb and dumber." our eyes will get a break. this sunday night the uniforms go back to normal as the buccaneers take on the cowboys right here on nbc.

green, right? >> i think for one game, i like them. >> i'm with you. i thought it was fun. >> it's a tough color to pull off. i think we have a story coming up just for you about your raiders fans. >> okay. we're fine people. >> just ahead, a star-studded hour. reese witherspoon, matthew mcconaughey and -- >> alicia keys. first your local news. a giant wooden tiger. well, the answer is that a real one would maul me. i've crafted dr. whiskers here as a visual aid to show you that should you visit the lot, carmax associates will not pounce like tigers because people don't like that. come here to buy a car. dr. whiskers won't pounce. nobody will. ♪

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we have breaking news right now on metro. there was a fire on a train near the landover station. prince george's county fire says everyone was evacuated safely, but the orange line trains are single tracking right now. let's check in with melissa, more with your first 4 traffic. >> good morning. as you said orange line single tracking between new carrollton and cheverly. it should pick back up to normal in a little bit. northbound connecticut at university a clash blocking the northbound lanes and southbound left lane is blocked. midcounty at shady grove road, a crash reported and southbound fairfax county parkway at terminal road, still a crash hanging around there. >> thank you. we will take a quick break and check your forecast next.

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temperatures are in the teens right now with windchills down close to about 5 to 10 degrees above zero, so plenty cold today. still a chance for sleet or freezing rain early tomorrow, then just a few showers saturday afternoon. a lot of rain likely on sunday but it will be milder with highs up near 60 on sunday afternoon. >> chuck, thank you. another local news update for you in just 25 minutes but for now back to the "today" show after this short break.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, the frozen states it's 8:00 on today. coming up, the frozen state of america. bitter cold temperatures and a powerful storm blanket much of the country. more than 200 million people feeling the effects, so when will it end? we've got your forecast. plus, santa's little helpers. >> 1, 2, 3. >> merry christmas! >> hoda enlists the help of kids to make some very special holiday wishes come true. and the stars are out in studio 1a. >> yeah! going to spice things up on stage. >> you want us to sing together? >> oscar winners reese witherspoon and matthew

mcconaughey swing by to chat about their new animated movie you'll be singing along to. and 15-time grammy winner alicia keys treats us to a special live performance, today, friday, december 16th, 2016. ♪ >> merry christmas, canton, michigan! >> we love you. >> getting a selfie with hoda. >> we're here to celebrate a birthday. >> happy holidays from the "today" show! it's 8:00 now on this friday morning. it is the 16th day of december and it's feeling like the 16th day of december.

our plaza. this is one of those times where we walk out and we say, you know, it's not all that bad, but these people have been standing out here since about 5:30 this morning. >> you guys are awesome. >> and they're fired up. >> we've got some marshall fans from west virginia over here, thundering herd. >> and over here -- >> the big easy. >> that's right, the big easy, baby. >> well, guys, as we mentioned, alicia keys, our friend from "the voice" is here and getting ready to treat us to a live performance. we're excited about that. >> you're shaking. >> i'm freezing. i need a hat, boots. your series in the kitchen with recipes to warm us up are ideal for a weekend of staying inside, cozying up and watching football. >> delicious. >> we've got a lot to get to. let's get a check of the morning's top stories. here's the news at 8:00. >> reporter: much of the country in the middle of a 1-2 polar punch. d

mccoy from chicago where actual air temperatures are in the teens. it feels closer to zero this morning. these temperatures, though, are not stopping salvation army bell ringers as we're just over a week away from christmas. folks are braving these temperatures to finish their holiday shopping. as this arctic air moves east, even places like new york and washington, d.c., waking up to temperatures in the teens this morning. when you couple these cold temperatures with snow, you get messy conditions on the road. i-80 has reopened after a 59-car pileup yesterday. this is northeast of pittsburgh. there were several injuries, thankfully no deaths, though. and more snow is expected today for the upper midwest. ohio and cleveland, they're going to be seeing more snow after they're still working to dig out from the snow they received yesterday. and that snow is going to continue into the night before we get that second blast of cold air later this weekend.

can't feel my face when i'm with you. matt, this morning, i cannot feel my face when i'm with you. >> don't even try to sing it, blake, thank you very much. in other news, president obama holds his final news conference of the year, most likely the final one of his presidency. it happens at the white house today. russia's alleged cyber espionage of the 2016 presidential election probably going to be a hot topic. speaking to npr this morning, the president vowed the united states would retaliate, quote, at a time and place of our own choosing. u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news that the hacking directed by president vladimir putin began was a vendetta against hillary clinton and then expanded to create chaos in the election process. the kremlin calls the accusation laughable. now to close calls for passengers on two jet liners. a southwest airlines flight from chicago to las vegas had to return to midway airport thursday after it struck a bird and the pilot declared

emergency. and an allegiant air flight from illinois to florida made an emergency landing in rockford, illinois, after a bird strike forced its pilot to shut down an engine. one passenger called it very scary and said she grabbed her daughter and started praying. passengers and crews on both planes were okay. very scary. coming up, what facebook is doing to fight fake news. >> and then sharing kindness and spreading holiday cheer. hoda and her elves making christmas wishes come true. it's a great story you'll want to see. and we have movie music stars lining up in studio 1a, we'll catch up with matthew mcconaughey, reese witherspoon and our girl,alicia keys will perform live.

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it is now 8: all right. it is 8:09 which makes it a good chilly time to trend. are you ready? here's something you're going to see popping up on your facebook feed soon. after catching a lot of flak for the rampant spread of fake news, facebook thinks it has a solution. users will now be able to flag links in their feed as fake news. now, if a particular item is flagged enough, it will then be checked by a third party site and eventually tagged with an alert saying that it is disputed. some people are raising issues with this method, questioning whether it will affect free speech. and also how satire sites are going to be affected. do you like the first step? >> something has got to be done because people are believing everything that they read. how will they differentiate

highly editorialized. if somebody doesn't like the tone of an article -- >> and when you the onion or something that you know is spoofing as you get it, but i think sometimes people are confused. >> my dad believes everything he reads. >> everything. >> you want some cute video? >> yes. >> watch what happens when parents make a little girl's christmas wish of turning her stuffed dog into a real dog come true. >> keep your eyes shut, baby. keep your eyes shot. >> oh, that's adorable. >> mommy, thank you so much. thank you so much. he is so cute, mommy. he is so cute.

>> someone get me kleenexes. >> my children did not just see that. >> isn't that amazing? tears of joy, baby. >> until she has to walk it on a 9-degree day. finally, are you ready for this? the reddi-whip might be missing this year because there is a serious whipped cream shortage gripping the nation. it's traced back to a shortage of nitrous oxide, which as we all know makes the cans of whipped cream function. so we're going to show you how to make your own whipped cream at home. siri is here joining us. >> fear not, america. >> people probably think it's impossible to make. >> it's easy to make. we make it at home all the time. >> and the nitrous oxide is only what propels the whipped cream

whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. >> that's the whole thing? >> come on. >> and it helps to have the bowl sort of cold so put it in the freezer for a second and then here we go. >> before you do that -- >> are you nervous? >> can i remind people what happened the last time we put a blender of any tiekind in your hands? i ended up walking home with that soup all over he. >> this is why i'm right here. >> let it go, siri, let it go. i like it, i like it. >> you know, it will take a few minutes. >> you almost need more toe that things don't -- go a little deeper in there. we get soft whipped. >> what happened to all the nitrous oxide is the question? >> i don't know. what are your theories? >> i don't know. >> here we go.

>> i think i had need a little more speed, don't you? >> yeah. >> don't get any ideas. >> what can we kill this time with? >> look, it's getting that? >> how long does it take about? >> a couple minutes. >> it is better, though. it tastes delicious. >> it tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. >> oh, my god, matt stuck his finger in it. siri, you're going to be back to cook. >> yes. >> carson, you have popstart. >> let's get to it. ryan reynolds and blake lively turning a hollywood event into a family affair for his star on the hollywood walk of fame. reynolds was not the only celeb there with his wife, he had photos of his two daughters as well. we are seeing the whole family out in public. during his speech at the ceremony, reynolds giving a special thanks to lively. >> i want to thank my wife,

there, who is everything to me. you are the best thing, the best thing that has ever happened to me. second only to this star on the hollywood walk of fame. the hollywood walk of fame. you make everything better, absolutely everything in my life better. you have given us two of the most incredible children i could ever hope to have. you've made me the father of my dreams when i thought i only had fun uncle potential. >> lively gave birth to the family's newest addition just two months ago. denzel washington has a new movie "fences" where he reveals some embarrassing things during his ask me anything session. washington was asked what he would be doing if he wasn't acting. he said probably working with children, talking about his time as a counselor at a ymca. he was also asked what movies he would recommend to someone that has never seen his work. he said "fences"

classic "man on fire." he was asked what's the weirdest situation you found yourself in? denzel said probably being something to do with not finding a bathroom in time. we've all been there. my mind reels. finally, tony bennett is 90 years old. he's been in show business nearly 70 years and you can expect him to keep going. bennett saying it's sicmply, quote, too late to retire. he has yet to sing with beyonce so that is now on his bucket list. we'll be lucky enough to chat more with mr. bennett when he joins us in studio 1a on tuesday. tuesday night tony ben bennett celebrates 90. dave, you've got a check of the weather? >> i sure do. we've got another siberian express. it's a byproduct of the polar vortex. none of that matters. what you need to know is i

cold. look at these morning windchills and temperatures through the area. this is a real thermometer reading in bismarck. sunday morning 28 below. minneapolis 23 below. and in chicago, by the time we get to monday, it's going to feel like it's 14 below. we could break or tie some records as we head through the next several days. this cold air coming and this could be the coldest of those three arctic blasts we've seen over the last week or so. now let's take a look and see what's happening around the rest of the country. it should be real nice in florida, the gulf states look good with temperatures in the 70s. texas and new mexico look nice. a little bit of windy condition there. and as we take a look this morning through southern california, you're going to see some rain showers. meanwhile from the rockies all the way to the upper midwest and into the great lakes, we're looking at snow, which continues to spread toward the east. that's going to create a sloppy weekend here in the northeast through the i-95

temperatures. that's what we're going to be dealing with. a real tough go as you walk out of the house and try to head to work. now, we are looking at the possibility of some severe weather as we head through sections of the lower mississippi valley as we roll through the weekend, but all in all by the time we get through the next 72 hours, things should look a little bit better. that's a quick look at our national maps. here's a look at what you can expect right where you are. good morning, i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. temperatures are still in the mid to upper teens and clouds are starting to move in as well. that will seal out much of a warmup. afternoon highs only up around 30 degrees. the forecast for tomorrow, a chance of sleet or freezing rain from about 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning up to 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning and then tapering off to light rain showers. not expecting a lot of rain tomorrow, just a little iciness early is the main concern. heavier rain on sunday but much warmer with temperatures near 60. >> that's a quick look at your national

matt, over to you. what happens when you combine award-winning actors and musicians with top animators and a soundtrack that is packed with hits? the answer is a great and fun new movie called "sing." it stars matthew mcconaughey as a koala and reese witherspoon as a singing pig. seriously, take a look. >> a great set of pipes. >> i knew it. >> so what should i do? i could partner you up with gunter. >> yeah, yeah, this is me. >> yeah! gonna spice things up on stage. >> wait, you want us to sing together? >> yeah, the two of us together, you joking me? we're going to be spicy, no? >> hey, guys, good morning, how are you? >> good. >> good to see you. what are the chances by the end of this interview, and we've got five and a half, six minutes, that i convince you to sing a couple of lines of c

>> reese is a great singer. >> that's the song you tackle in the movie. let it percolate and wash over you. i'll get back to you on that. who wants to take a shot and the explaining the story line here, the plot. >> the plot? >> yeah. >> okay. the plot. the show must go on. buster moon, this guy who grew up in the theater, wants to keep the theater alive, the theater is dying. he comes up for an idea for a singing competition to keep the theater alive. all animals come together and they're pretty good at it. when they do it for the money, it doesn't work but when they do it just for the love of what they do, everything goes well. >> and well done, by the way. you play a mom. >> yeah. >> a singing pig. >> mm-hmm. >> what i like about rosita is that she's one of these people who's let her dreams go off to the side and this singing brings them back to her. >> well, she's

now this singing competition gets her out of the house. and remembering that she had a life beyond having kids. i think it's a really touching story. i think a lot of moms will relate to it and i think a lot of kids will appreciate their mom more. >> the director of the movie said he liked you for your role of buster moon because he was looking for someone who cheerily with a voice being optimistic. >> i heard optimistic but not annoying, so if i fell in the middle, that's good. >> what's your history of singing? >> my history of singing? >> yeah. showers and car drives and to myself. >> you do sing a little in this movie though. >> in this movie? >> yeah. >> what are you talking about. >> what do you sing? >> the carly jepson "call me maybe." >> watch the movie. it's a much better version. >> turn the sound down. how's that song go, matthew.

>> i think there are words. >> no, i just do the lower -- >> now, you can sing. >> yes. >> you can really sing because you played roles and have won an oscar for a little movie where you actually did a lot of singing. was it different doing country music for a role than singing pop hits like by taylor swift and katy perry? >> i definitely like -- the country music is much easier for me. this was hard. singing taylor's song "shake it off" is really hard. i happened to run into her while i was making the movie and i said i have a new appreciation for how hard you work. she's like, yeah, i work really hard. it's really hard. >> what was the song he sang again? >> "call me maybe." >> come on. >> it's really a better version in the movie, i promise you. >> 8:22 a.m. version is not good. >> is there a bo t

kids can go check it out. >> i think between the two of us, our kids have seen it like 16 times. >> what did they think? >> loved it. and you know what, they come out and have a favorite character and every time they come out they have a different favorite song. it happens for me too as a parent. i've got a different favorite character when i come out. >> there's so many great mess ams in the movie about believing in yourself and learning to love your family members and loving what you do and having hopes and dreams. >> while i'm on the subject of kids, holidays are here. it's a fun time to have kids, especially the ages you guys do. what are your plans? >> our plans, we're going to go to brazil to see camilla's side of the family, her father's side and mother's side. we'll head out, leave new york here shortly and have a brazilian christmas. >> how about you, reese? >> just going to stay home and maybe go to the beach and just enjoy ourselves. >> you know what, you both have been on this show a lot, but when you get

you really do. you bring it out in each other. is that something you've noticed? >> no, i didn't notice it. >> we bring out a lot of things in each other. >> yeah? do you do any singing over the holidays with your kids? >> only carly jepson songs. >> why do you tease me like this? by the way, congratulations both, golden globe nominations, you know. >> oh, yeah, that's exciting. >> isn't that great? >> yeah. >> do you have two? so are you competing against yourself? >> i mean they're both in the midwest featu best feature, i guess. >> so which one are you rooting for? >> i'm just rooting. they're the first two animated films have been a part of. >> it's good to see you guys. >> good to see you, matt. >> i can't believe i failed to get him to sing. >> i did the bass line to it. >> one last chance. >> how about everyone in the back. i'll do the bass

it. it's not working. >> i'll do it. >> reese and me will do it. >> hoda will sing anything. >> you know who else is coming up, you guys? you're going to love this. alicia keys is going to be singing for us in just a little bit, she'll be here. but first your local news.

good morning, everyone. 8:26 on this friday, december 16th. i'm erika gonzalez. four people have got to find someplace else to live after a fire destroyed their silver spring home. the blaze happened on sea island court around 1:00 this morning. the good news here is that nobody was hurt. crews are still trying to figure out exactly what caused that fire. we're going to get a check of your forecast in just a minute. stay with us.

he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast.

good morning, everybody. it's a cold start to your day today. it's still only in the mid to upper teens across the area. 17 now in dulles, 19 in warrenton, 18 in fredericksburg so don't expect much of a warmup today. afternoon highs only around 30 degrees. still tracking a chance for light freezing rain or sleet early tomorrow. after 10:00 or 110,

be well above freezing tomorrow afternoon and pretty steady and heavy rain comes our way near sunday but it will be near 60. if you haven't downloaded it yet, now is a good time to get the nbc washington app ahead of this weekend.

8: 8:30 now on a friday morning. it's the 16th day of december, 2016. we've got a really brave, nice crowd out on the plaza bundled up against the cold. it is now 17 degrees. it's dropping. we've got mel d. out collecting toys for us. we always appreciate your generosity and your kindness. thanks for that. you can donate by going to our website as well. by the way, you can catch her on "america's got talent" monday night on nbc. she's sticking around this morning. >> she's going to co-host at 9:00. >> she's my

year's eve also. also ahead, our mission to grant holiday wishes with an assist from some of santa's little helpers, of course. we'll have some fun with these kids. >> and can you think of a better way to begin your friday? alicia keys is here and she will give us an awesome live performance. >> i love her. >> and another good way to spend a friday morning, we've got siri back to cook up some of the daly family's favorites treats to enjoy. we've got cheese involved and bacon involved as well. but first it is time to check in with mr. dave price. you got some weather for us? >> all the time everywhere. let's go to the maps and see what's happening as we head into the weekend. oh, yes, how about that, everybody. got a lot of big fans of saturday and sunday, but if you're in the northeast watch it. saturday it looks like we start out with snow and head into rain. we've got sloppy conditions through the great lakes and into sections of the upper mi

bitter cold. into sunday we'll slowly see some clearing and a real warmup in the northeast. look at much of the rest of the country clearing on out. we'll see some bitter cold temperatures begin to slide into the midwest, negative numbers. as we take that turn sunday into monday, we could be setting some records once again as we are dealing with another blast of arctic air. see, it's even getting me. now you can find your forecast any time anywhere on the weather channel, but right now that's a look at your national maps. here's an early look at what's going on right where you are. >> good morning, everybody. here's a check of our ten-day forecast. cold today, increasing clouds and highs near 30. chance for sleet or freezing rain early tomorrow and then light rain showers tomorrow afternoon. heavier steadier rain on sunday. upper 50s and low 60s sunday afternoon. as the rain comes to an end by early monday morning temperatures will be below freezing. we could have black ice issues early monday. we'll watch that carefully for you.

be dry for christmas eve and christmas day. >> announcer: this portion of share kindness is created with our sponsor, the y. supporting kids, families and communities for a better us. it is time for our share kindness campaign. all month long we're keeping track of the kind acts you do. it's a good time to look outside ato kindness counter. it's unto 87,153 acts. >> donate holiday cards and to kids all across the country. hoda, you've recruited some kids. >> we worked with our sponsor, the y, to gather a few kids from one of the local centers. the idea was to grant holiday wishes for children in need. >> my name is luciana. i'm a good girl and a good student. >> i wish i had presents but my mom is not working to get the

money to buy me gifts for christmas. >> and for my sister, a bike. >> thank you very much, santa. >> thank you, santa claus. >> every year millions of kids send letters to santa but sometimes it's too much for the big guy to handle. >> kindness is love and joy in the air. >> friendship, caring for somebody. >> you give and you get. >> hi, you guys, how are you? >> good. >> are you guys all right? so we are at the post office and we are going to be santa's elves. >> yay! >> the post office's operation santa allows anyone to send gifts to deserving kids. >> pick up letters, look around and then tell me what speaks to you. >> i have five brothers. we have come to an agreement we would like to ask you to help us give our mother the best christmas ever. >> that means all these brothers together, they want no presents. they want us to get something for their mor.

something too, right? what does it make you feel inside? >> sometimes it makes me feel sad because their parents don't have enough money. it makes me feel like i don't want to have a christmas. >> well, you know what's good, we are going to help these kids have an excellent christmas. >> that's for you and for you. but first some more official attire. >> and done. >> perfect and adorable. >> now you need your santa bag. everyone gets a santa bag. >> ho, ho, ho. >> so follow me. but where are we going to find toys? come on, follow me. stop wasting time, elves. ♪ jingle belds, jingle bells, jingle all the way ♪

seeing here? >> hey, honey. i'm so excited. >> oh, my gosh! >> we just brought the toy store to you. this is a toys r us truck and we are going inside. it's time to go shopping. go ahead. everybody up. >> wow! >> everyone look at your list. you guys know who you're shopping for. >> leap frog. let's find leap frog, okay? >> oh, yeah. >> you got a tiara? she's going to love that. let's go! >> i need a ramp. >> someone wanted like lots of toys. i had two bags in my hand. it just was hard. >> guess what. >> what? >> we have some additional elves

helping us from the pirates, so everyone is going to help wrap those presents! >> perfect. >> tape empty middle. >> along with the toys, we sent everyone warm clothes from h & m and a gift card from j.c. penney. >> you know how sometimes there are fake presents? these aren't fake presents. >> dear family, remember, santa is coming to town. i did this for you because you've been good. you are going to love your presents. >> dear hailey, i hope your mom is okay. >> i hope you have a very merry christmas and i want them to stay kind every day. >> as santa's helpers, these elves will never witness the impact of their kindness, but if their own reactions are any indication -- >> i got a scooter! >> oh, my gosh! >> it's a mission accomplished. >> 1, 2, 3 -- >> merry christmas!

>> it's one of those stories -- i haven't stopped thinking about those letters that those kids fulfilled. it was amazing. i like that the kids wrote back afterwards at the end. >> it's nice to see that. >> it was really, really sweet. the u.s. post office received millions of santa letters each year. santa can always use a few more elves so if you are interested, drop in and help. we want to give a big thanks to toys r us because they donated all that stuff and the pirates for helping wrap the gifts. >> thank you for bringing it all together. up next, carson and siri share their favorite recipes to watch a little football in the daly household. first, this is "today" on nbc.

8:40 on a friday morning. we're back with "today food loves football" to get you ready for this weekend's games

>> siri and i are huge football fans so we thought we'd share some of our favorite gameday snacks. this is not a health conscience segment -- >> no, comfort food at its best. >> these are the biggest hit in our neighborhood. >> these are called lucy's ham sandwiches. >> you call them sticky ham sandwiches. >> so it's just hawaiian sweet rolls, swiss cheese, ham and we're going to make the sauce with the rest of the ingredients. so this is butter. >> and we should mention carson has another recipe in a second. >> at ground mustard and poppy seed. >> could you just add regular old jar mustard? >> you could. worcestershire and then brown sugar and we're going to bring this to a boil and then just let it simmer for a little bit. that's your sauce. and it will get nice and bubbly and caramelized from the brown sugar. over here we have our hawaiian sweet buns. this is a little trick that i like to do

to slice them all in half. keep them altogether and take a serrated knife. >> these taste as good as they look on tv. >> and now i'm going to assemble them real quick. you have your ham or you can use turkey. >> you bake these? >> we assemble them like this. >> what kind of cheese? >> that's swiss. you add your sauce on top. i like to marinate it for an hour, maybe overnight. it gets all sticky in the bread and then we became it for about 10 minutes covered and then ten minutes uncovered. >> for football, we have people over. if you have any left, i'll be shocked. >> you might want to check your teeth for poppy seeds afterwards. >> these are unbelievable. >> they taste better than they look. >> all right. now quesadillas. >> i make a lot of quesadillas for my kids at home and so for the football game and adults we k

we'll make the bacon first as you can see. once the bacon is done i'll take it out and ideally, i like to keep some of this bacon grease and use some of it to crisp up the tortillas. we'll take some of that, put that there for now. go ahead and take your tortilla. and just like a pizza, we'll build it with a little tomato sauce. >> i'm going to crumble this bacon for you. >> i'm in heaven. >> i basically just want to eat this, matt. >> just assemble this like it is. add some cheese, thank you, matt, then some oregano. >> and hoda has some with brussel sprouts. >> by the way, these are delicious. >> excuse me, partner. >> throw this down, the quesadilla. >> how long does that take to cook? >> i eyeball it to make sure it gets a nice crisp. butter does help.

here. this thing will crisp up. it will actually look like these. they did a great job in prepping that. >> carson is the quesadilla master in our house. >> it takes a little time. >> i'm in heaven. i've died and gone to heaven. >> these are great. >> these are really. >> >> right? >> and you can fill these with all kinds of things. >> siri has a healthier version. >> i'm not eating the healthy version. >> between the lucy sticky buns and these, just put them out and graze at the game. >> it's great. it's great for football too. >> who are you rooting for? >> the raiders. good luck to these two teams tonight. all eyes are on prescott tonight. >> your football weekend begins tomorrow night on the nfl network with the jets taking on the dolphins. sunday night tampa bay buccaneers against the dallas cowboys. as a giants fan, i say go

nbc's coverage begins with "football night in america" at 7:00 eastern time. up next, a live performance from grammy winner and our friend "the voice" alicia keys. first this is "today" on nbc.

>> announcer: the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> alicia keys is a singer, a songwriter, producer and 15-time grammy winner who also finds time to serve as a coach on nbc's "the voice." >> she's contagious. >> she's got a new album that debuted on number one on the pop chart and it's great. >> we are so delighted to have alicia here live this morning. >> hey, good morning. good morning. >> you're going to get to a song in a minute, but you're going to perform this song for the very first time live on national television with us today. >> that is true, the very first time that i've ever performed

>> well, i love you, i love you, america, and i love being here. but i've just been having such an incredible time with this album because it's such an important body of work for me. it's so much fun, it has so many -- so much diversity to it and so many incredible topics on it. things that you can relate to. one of the things i've been enjoying the most is doing different songs in different places. today i wanted to do this song just for you for the first time ever. bam. >> a lot about new york. >> you whole like you talk about new york so let me go off one second. holidays in new york, what's your favorite thing to do? >> my favorite thing to do in new york really is to be in my house out the cold. y'all know what i mean. >> so no outdoor concert today. >> can we ask about blake and why he keeps winning on "the voice." >> the game is obviously rigged. >> you had a great artist. in your first year you made it to the finale. >> i was

she has no limits for her. 17 years old, youngest artist, only female made it to the finale and i'm so proud to be there. i'm very happy for plblake and r sundance. we just play around with each other. >> you're going to come back, right? are you going to sing? are you ready? >> i'll be back. here we go. >> alicia keys. ♪ we are working on it with lots of love ♪ ♪ we've got so much to give ♪ ah baby ♪ i know you and you know me ♪ yeah, yeah baby ♪ that's what makes

♪ darling, many lies are spread about us ♪ ♪ it's the heartache, it's the heartache that makes us build all our trust ♪ ♪ people like to say that the easiest way is to fake it ♪ ♪ but we gonna make it if we try ♪ ♪ you've got to promise not to abuse it, if you lose it, you use it ♪ ♪ because we're gonna make it, you and i ♪ ♪ when they see us coming they're going to say ♪ ♪ when they s

will say ♪ ♪ work on it, work on it, work on it baby ♪ ♪ in our heart there ain't no easy way ♪ ♪ nobody's perfect ♪ oh yeah ♪ if we just love each other through it all ♪ ♪ baby, it can make it worth it ♪ ♪ people like to say that the easiest way is to fake it ♪ ♪ we gonna make it ♪ ah if we try, if we try ♪ we've got to promise not to

♪ if we use it, don't abuse it or break it ♪ ♪ because we gonna make it, you and i ♪ ♪ when they see us coming they can say ♪ ♪ work on it, work on it ♪ when they see us coming they're going to say ♪ ♪ when they see us coming they're going to say ♪ ♪ oh yeah ♪ work on it baby >> come on, come on, come on. >> thank you, guys, very much. thank you. >> that was awesome! that was awesome! >> thank you so much. >> again, that

alicia keys, thank you so much. up next, why him? we'll ask james fraung onco tha. >> that was fantastic.

back now at 8:54 and look who's joining us on the couch, james fraung owe, tfr

meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time and he is not what they expected. good morning. >> great to be here. >> so here's what happened after i watched your character in this movie. i just went home and grounded my daughter for no reason. she will not be dating for a very long time. >> how old is she? >> she's 13. >> okay, yeah. that's good. >> what a fun cast, can we say? >> yeah. >> bryan cranston, megan mullally, billy deutsche. yeah, i really did it when bryan told me that he was going to be a part of it. i think people forget that he started in comedy on "malcolm in the middle," won emmys for it and everyone thinks of him as walter white now. he is like one of the funniest guys around. like i hadn't really dub done a

long time. >> what about the hbo series, what can you tell us about that? you play two different characters? >> i play twins on that. it's with david simon, who did "the wire" and it's sort of about the rise of the porn industry in new york in the '70s. >> well, look at the time. you're going to stick around, right? >> i think so. >> we'll be back after your local news. 8:56 is your time now on this friday, december 16th, 2016. good morning to you. metro's schedule is changing again. the transit agency voted to slash hours to make more time for maintenance. metro rail service will stop 30 minutes earlier monday through thursday and stop two hours earlier friday and saturday and an hour earlier on sunday. d.c. leaders acknowledge these cuts will have

district's economy. we're going to take a break and check your forecast when we come back. stay with us.

let t

national airport has already made it up to 21 degrees now. as the 9:00 temperatures start to come on in, quite a few spots finally crossed out of the teens and into the low 20s. not much of an improvement but we'll be up near 30 for a high today and more and more clouds as the day goes along. maybe a few flurries this evening. our biggest concern in the weather is early tomorrow morning. could have a period of sleet or freezing rain between 3:00 and 10:00 tomorrow morning and a few showers tomorrow afternoon, well above freezing. >> all right, chuck, thank you. get the latest news and weather any time in the nbc washington app. we'll see you in 25 minutes.

this morning on "today's take" it's freebie friday and we're giving away a huge holiday surprise that you can win at home. and it's double fun with mel b and christian slater. how about a little sugar with the ultimate sugar christmas cookies coming up next. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today's take" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on this fabulous friday morning. it is december 16th, 2016. i'm tamron along with, look at this, this is where the magic happens. >> what a trio. >> call grandma, call your aunt, look who's here. we have with us america's got talent judge, the

magnificent, mel b. and golden globe winning star and nominee mr. robot himself. well, kinda. >> sort of, yeah, yeah. >> you are the magic of the show. >> well, thanks. >> christian slater back with us. we have an incredible show planned because it is freebie friday and we are giving away something big for the holidays that would make the greatest christmas gift ever, so please don't move because you can win from home. i know sometimes you think we forget you at home because you're not on the plaza. that's okay because if you scream from home, guess who's going to hear you? we are. and they're going to have something special for you. so you've got "america's got talent" holiday spectacular. >> yes. >> tell me about it. >> it's full of fun and christmas and actually there's a huge surprises in there. heidi does a little bit of a song and dance and we've got the old fan favorites back, we've got the winner, it's just a lovy, fun, christmassy family

show. >> you have got someone. >> the regurgitater. >> do you know about this, christian? >> i've heard about this guy. >> i still don't know how he does it. >> you have to explain. >> there's no explanation. he can put stuff in his mouth and regurgitate it and it has no nothing. >> you've gotten that close to tell? >> yes, yes, i have gotten that close. >> does it make you feel -- >> sick. >> does it bring up the holiday spirit? because it's a unique way. >> you just wonder how he does it. >> can you imagine? >> he travels the whole entire world with this act. we were lucky enough to have him. >> nobody else does it? >> nobody else does it. >> does he regurgitate the whole tree as well? >> he might as well. he can regurgitate salt and sugar.

>> it's appalling. >> it airs monday night 8:00: 8:00/7:00 central on nbc. >> "america's got talent" for sure. >> we have taken it to the next level. >> we have other talents and we'll see it on the broadway stage. >> i hope the talent comes through at some point. >> mel is in chicago. >> when does that start? >> is that the playbill? >> yeah, december 28th, my opening night. >> december 28th is your opening night. >> yeah. >> i want to be a little bit good before anybody comes to see it. >> when did you learn that you'd be doing it? >> well, i actually was in discussions with them months ago and now i finally found my contract, i'm finally in rehearsals and now it's very, very daunting. >> so you've been to rehearsals. >> yeah, i

yesterday. >> what do they have you do, for example, like what? >> i have to talk in an american accent and my kids are making fun of me the whole entire time. >> let's hear your american. >> no. i need to rehearse a little bit more. >> you put her right on the spot there. >> i did get teary yesterday. i did cry a little bit. the play has been going for 20 years and i wanted to make sure that i'm doing my part. >> you're mel b. >> but i want to do -- i want to do it justice. >> you want to service the show as best you can, of course. >> can you stand up for one second and let us see the dress. and if you were roxie right now, what wld she do? >> oh, yes. a standing ovation. the whole place is on their feet. it's amazing. >> the gentlemen have all stood up around

i rose immediately. no, i mean my feet. where's your mind? >> i have to confess to you, you were my white boy crush when i was younger. >> no! >> that's very, very specific. >> i was in a particular category. >> what was it about him that made him the white boy crush. >> the swag that you have. >> oh, man. >> get up and let us see. >> let me see you now. >> now you're challenged. >> oh, i love it, i love it. i'm swaggering. i'm swaggering on feel good friday. >> mel gave us a little extra. let's see your extra. air guitar, what have you have? >> all right, tilt down. that's enough. it's a fun show and there we have it. >> we've got extra swagger because, of course, you were nomite

again. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> does it ever get old being so special? >> oh, my goodness. no, that was a huge honor, great surprise. i couldn't be happier. i'm so proud of the show. i was so proud of season two also. the writing and actually the girls performances in season two i thought were amazing. carly, porsche, grace. >> i was on the airplane with two of them. i was flying back from l.a., i think. but you won last year so this year -- >> yes. >> is there extra pressure with the speech in case you win? >> do we have the photo? i feel good with it. >> where's the globe now? >> it's next to a -- something that my son had made for me about five years ago. he carved this thing in this piece of wood that said out of difficulties grow miracles. i put that up on my shelf and now the award is next to that. so it's a good spot for

and go out to everybody and then we'd all have gooder for t er f >> that would be nice. >> so people might be wondering why we decided to pair christian and mel together but we did research -- >> because we both crushed on each other. >> other than being each other's crush, you guys actually have a connection. the heat that's coming through -- >> can you feel it? >> my body is having all kinds of reactions. >> that's great. >> that doesn't sound right. >> you said earlier you've never met before on tv, looking at each other. so here is the research we came up with. this is why we connected you and why you're here together today and it's not just for freebie friday for the people at home. christian, you were in interview for a vampire with tom cruise and tom cruise was in rainman with dustin hoffman. and dustin hoffman was in hook with julia roberts.

11 with brad pitt. and brad pitt was in fight club with meatloaf. and meatloaf was in spice world with mel b. >> that is the connection? >> that's how we got you together, meatloaf. >> that is the connection is meatloaf. >> incredible. wow. >> that's how -- we went through a list. >> i love meatloaf. i think i still owe him $5. >> why would you owe -- >> because i borrowed -- it was actually eight pounds when we did our movie and i promised him i'd pay him back and i never did. so sorry, meatloaf. another random story. >> check's in the mail, meatloaf. >> that reminds me. yesterday was our holiday party, the "today" show holiday party. i borrowed $20 from one of our producers for the coat check. and i -- >> $20 for a coat check? that's a ripoff. >> new york. that's new york prices. >> that was the tip because i always feel so guilty -- >> that's nice

the tip. can you imagine at a holiday party they were charging employees for the coat check? do we have the pictures from the holiday party? >> are you going to pay him back? >> so this was us at the holiday party. we're going to explain that in a second. but it required a lot of hahn industry. what's your feel good friday before we move to this game i want to play with you. >> i was thinking about that. i guess it's my dogs. my dogs make me feel good. i wake up in the morning, i've got my little dog licking my face to say come on, take me out for a walk. >> what kind of dog is it? >> they're just two terrier rescues. >> what are their names? >> hoot and fish. >> who came up with hoot? >> she came with that name. >> and you kept it? >> i kept it. >> and a dog named fish. >> yeah. people think we named him because of hootie and the blow

>> what's your feel good friday? >> i'm just glad to be here in new york. i've never been in new york at christmas time and it's beautiful. all the christmas trees and the whole vibe, i love it. so that's my happiness. >> we have a little happiness coming up for both of you as well. we have a cookie challenge because i've been in search for the perfect christmas cookie and i've eaten tons and tuons, and i'm just not satisfied. so we have two vwers coming in -- we were supposed to go to their house. they're coming in and they're going to show us how to make these cookies and we're going to size them up. it's not a competition, it's just a challenge. here's another challenge for you, it's not a competition. we played it at our party. never have i ever. so at this christmas party, and there are supposed to be rules for how you behave around co-workers, but yesterday at the "today" show party -- >> the rules went out the window. >> so there was don nash, executive producer of the show,

savannah called in on facetime. >> yeah. >> so we asked these questions. so here we go. you guys answer. >> so we have to right -- >> never or i have. never or i have told someone i loved their movie or album without seeing it or listening to it. never? never? >> i'm too honest. >> well, you're a judge on "america's got talent." >> you have? >> no. >> you've never said you liked someone's work and you really didn't? >> no. >> christian slater. >> i loved everybody's work and always appreciated everything. >> never have i ever used my fame to get out of a traffic ticket. never because i don't have a car. >> you have? >> but it didn't work and he went so

>> i have. >> did you get off? >> i did not -- i did get off, yes. >> so you didn't get the ticket and you got the ticket? >> i did get the ticket. >> that's stunning. >> you should get up and do that move. oh, you couldn't get out of the car. this was an actual question asked at the "today" show party. never have i ever been naked in public. it's naked, without clothes. >> so you haven't been naked -- there's a question from a lady. >> i have. >> you have been naked? >> i have, which i admitted at the party. i was at hedonnism, which is a place at jamaica and they had a water slide -- >> you did a water slide naked? >> it's clear. i was in my

found the lord. where were you? >> i've done it just in my job, i mean for work. >> have you been naked? >> not fully naked. >> come on now. >> you have to keep some little bit of something covered. >> look at you. there's a whole different look about you now. >> water slide. we're imagining this. >> it's called young and impressionable. up next, i'm sweating. mama, i'm sorry. james corden, all he wants for christmas. wait until you see who hitched a ride in his car for karaoke. plus a modern day man, actor, director, artist and teach teacher, james fraung onco. he's going to tell us with his new movie "why him" after this.

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♪ i don't care about the presents underneath the christmas tree ♪ ♪ i just want to call my own ♪ more than you could ever know ♪ make my wish come true ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> that's epic. that's a pretty good edition. >> full on. >> and adele, you noticed london in the background. >> yeah. >> did you know you got a little love when adele did car pool? >> yes. >> did you see it? >> i was so flattered. ♪ >> that was so awesome. ♪

>> i love it. that is so sweet. >> that was a life-changing moment. >> i love it. >> the best ever. >> so you know the song too? >> let's get a look at the weather in your neck of the woods. i got authorized to say that. all right, here we go, your forecast for today. not too sunny out there and not too warm either. clouds are already starting to move back into the area. temperatures are only in the upper teens and low 20s. we'll be lucky if we get all the way to 30 degrees today. light southerly breezes will eventually bring more warm air and moisture in and lead to a little freezing rain or sleet issue. first thing tomorrow morning not looking for a lot of ice but slipperiness and turning over to rain tomorrow afternoon and sunday as well.

it's the best day of the week because it's freebie friday. it's your freebie friday. we're going out on the plaza, we're back right after this. and yes, you at home, you will win too. >> stay warm out there. oh, my goodness. chilly, chilly. ♪ 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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they both smell good. i like b better. i prefer b. b. i would like to smell like this every day. but what was body wash a? ohhhh i love bath and bodyworks. i have this in my bathroom. and what was the one they preferred? ohhhh. this is suave. really? that's quite a bit of smelling good. suave three fragrances preferred over bath and body works.

we're bundled up we're bundled up because it's time. we are giving away free stuff. christian, you've been with freebie friday before. this is mel's first experience. now, explain to mel. >> welcome to the madness. >> it goes crazy. >> this is going to be -- >> we're giving away some dvds. we're giving away dvds, mel, but it's the secret behind these. so you guys at home, the people think they're just getting -- >> big surprise. >> they think they're going to get dvds but we have a major surprise. welcome, people! look at this. here we go

mel b! >> hi, hi, hi. >> okay. >> oh, my gosh. >> just give the whole box. look at that! >> oh, wow. amazing. >> penny. nice to meet you, penny. there, you've got a gift right there. >> you have cds and dvds. you actually are getting, if you're hoegd that basket, an epson home cinema hd projector! >> a home theater. >> yes. >> help me. this is actually what you're

getting, epson hd home projector. >> epson home cinema 740 hd projector online. to find out how to enter, visit our facebook page at facebook.com/todaystake and don't forget to like us. tamron. >> that's really yours. it's an hd projector, we just tricked you with the dvds. >> it's not just a dvd. there you go. >> there you go. oh, man. >> yeah, we're doing it. keep on giving. i love it. >> what a wonderful thing. >> oh, wait a minute, we have more? >> we have more? >> how many more? >> i think that's it. >> we'll figure it out just ahead.

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pennsylvania, so nice to have you here. happy holidays. hi, good morning, everybody. it's almost 9:30 on this friday, december 16th. i'm erika gonzalez. four people have got to find someplace new to live after a fire destroyed their home in silver spring. that blaze happened on sea island court around 1:00 this morning. luckily nobody was hurt. crews are still trying to figure out what caused that fire in the first place. crews are responding to a water main break in northern virginia. stafford county says there's a significant break around route 1 and coal landing road. lots of people without water. we don't know how many exactly. traffic from what we know isn't being impacted by this. and with that in mind because it is so cold, things my ee

we're going to check in with chuck in just a second.

good morning, everybody. forecast for today cloudy skies, certainly going to stay on the coldi

above freezing for today. a chance for a few hours of freezing rain or sleet early tomorrow before it all melts down as temperatures get near 50 saturday afternoon.

yes, james franco never ceases to surprise us as a screen writer, artist, professor, actor and who has appeared in 130 movies and tv shows. >> oh, my gosh. don't look at me today, look at this multi-tasker. >> some of our favorites including aaron ralston in the movie "127 hours." and who could forget his role as sol silver in the hit comedy "pineapple express." >> now he's in the new movie "why him" who plays an eccentric young man who asks his girlfriend's father for her hand in marriage. >> i'm choking up at this scene. he was turned down but is not going t l

>> why don't you give me a few days to win you over, okay? and my christmas morning, i promise you're going to be calling me son. i'm going to be daucalling you . >> i don't think that's going to happen. >> i think it's going to, dad. >> don't call me dad. >> don't call you dad? >> i'm not your dad. >> well, i mean i'm going to be your dad. >> what, dad? >> okay, now you're playing with me. >> all right, dad. >> that is hilarious, i love it. >> the chemistry in this film is amazing. >> it's great. >> the whole time i was thinking who did you channel for this character? was this a friend of yours? where was your inspiration coming from? >> sadly probably a l from me. i don't have any tattoos. >> i hear that you designed all the tattoos, is that right?

there's a big tattoo on my back of the whole family. >> happy holidays. what a surprise. that was incredible. >> i watched it last night. it's hilarious. and some of the artwork in it, riot? is that some of your stuff? >> yeah, there's a bunch of -- >> the cats. >> kind of silly things on the walls. >> did you do the cats? >> there's a fat squirrel. >> oh, yeah, sure. >> you did all of that? >> there's some deer. >> yes. >> triple teaming? >> sure, sure. there were some wonderful, very colorful paintings. >> some of those actually have been sold. they're just replicas of the ones that have been sold. >> how do you find time for all of this? you're a professor and artist. you're like the renaissance man. >> i don't know, i don't know. >> do you sleep? >> no, it's too much. too much. >> sleep is

>> you're starting to multi task. >> that's right. >> i need to stop. >> no, we take little ten-minute naps wherever we can and that's how we get through it. >> the last time you were here christian was filling in and you had a movie together. >> he multi tasks more than i do. >> that was an edgy thing. >> i can't believe the bro love here. i like it. >> when you work with him, it's great because you become sort of part of a troupe of actors because he's always doing something. so it's nice to know that there's going to be an interesting project at some point in the future. >> mel revealed at the top of the show that you were her white boy crush. >> he's mine. >> that's what i was -- >> the cat's out of the bag, ladies and gentlemen. >> he was mine too. >>right, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> you're a trend setter. >> we are gleaming the tube together. >> and did you hear about her naked slide? >> oh, come on. >> yeah. >> fully naked down a slide in jamaica.

>> don't you get an immediate visual? >> no. pau because you're a nice man. tell me this, have you ever been naked in public? not for a movie. >> just naked in public? >> so what moved you to go down that slide naked? >> i'm curious. >> i'm a competitive person, surprise, and someone said oh, you won't do it and i was 20. >> that's all you have to do. >> you have to dare her. >> i bet you wouldn't do it right now. >> james franco, thank you. >> "why him" hits theaters december 23rd. >> do you need some help? >> we ask for your best homemade cookie recipes and boy did you send them in. if we had more time, i'd be naked right now. this is "today" on nbc. >> are there still cameras on?

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last week we did a shoutout for the best cookie creations. i said i'd be willing to come to someone's house, sit on your sofa, maybe baby-sit your kids. we ran out of time but we found two amazing people to come in. nancy from frederick, maryland, and jackie from scarborough, maine, and christian, who's never baked a cookie in his life is there. >> disaster! >> welcome, ladies. thank you so much. now, you said you're a little nervous. but don't be because you're -- >> the captain is at the helm here. >> the captain has two tenilles. >> nancy, this is a betty crocker recipe that you found 30 years ago. >> exactly. >> but over time you have changed and adapted it to make it your own. is that the story here?

so right now booef twe have the powdered sugar and some shortening and we're going to put some eggs in. >> i love that you go old school with shortening. shortening is amazing. people forget how great that is. >> i don't know what that is but fantastic. >> would you like to add the vanilla and almond extract? >> do i drink it? oh, i put it in here. so we're going to blend that thoroughly. >> nice. >> are you making the candy cane ones? >> the candy cane. >> then we're going to add some flour. >> do you make these every holiday? >> every holiday. >> do you give them out as gifts? >> well, i used to but my kids want them all. >> how many kids toudo you have? >> i have four. >> four kids and five

>> you can turn it off. that's christian's fault. >> what's the next step here? >> we're going to take -- >> how did you turn it red? >> you have to dye it red. but you can make it a little pink. so you take the ball and you roll it between your hands. one at a time. you roll the dough like this. >> i'm a terrible chef. >> take two strips together and twist them so they don't break. >> except for its called a candy cane at christmas. >> and you can only do one at a time. >> how do you get the shapes? >> so then you get the cane -- >> and this is the final product. >> how long do you bake it for? >> nine minutes, 375 degrees. >> oh, my goodness, so good. it

>> you're next. >> this is delicious. >> you remember your antijunt j making these when you were a little kid. why do they mean christmas for you? >> she came back making them every year so it's been in the family 55 years. >> the key ingredients? well, first you do the shortening and sugar and then you add the other wet ingredients with the eggs and the vanilla. and then -- >> vanilla is the key ingredient. >> yeah. and then you add the dry ingredients. what makes these oatmeal cookies -- >> she said maybe you shouldn't do it. >> this is my favorite thing. turn it up! let's go! >> your special ingredients. >> the special ingredients are the coconut,th

so you add all that in there. >> so that would go in there as well? >> oh, my gosh. >> and then you have the dough. i used to do it by hand and roll it but then they came out with this nifty little -- >> technology. >> so you flatten the cookies. i want to get to inside of what you have in your cookies. >> so you have to squash it down. >> then you bake it. >> i've got to take over. >> get in there. >> in a double boiler, you would mix the chocolates and cream cheese and sugar. >> and then you make the sandwiches here. >> make the sandwiches. >> you have lived up to my expectations. thank you so much. they're asking me if there's a winner. >> how could you pick? >> it's impossible. you have made christmas great again. thank you,

nancy, amazing. i need some milk. is there milk? >> your families are so lucky. by the way, go to today.com/food to check out their amazing recipes. thank you for your generosity coming in. these cookies are good. >> don't talk with food in your mouth. >> let's get a check of the weather in your neck of the woods. good morning, everybody. here you go, your five-day forecast. cloudy and cold, staying below freezing all day. slight chance for a mix of sleet or freezing rain in the first part of the day tomorrow and a few showers around tomorrow afternoon, temperatures getting near 50. sunday noticeably warmer, quite a bit of rain, maybe as much as an inch of rain on sunday. on monday morning, back into the deep freeze once again. have a good weekend, everybody. >> thank you, again, >> thank you again. merry christmas, happy holidays. up next, the cast of "moonlight." but first these messages.

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"moonlight" is one of the most talked about films this season. it's the story of an underprivileged boy as he struggles with his sexuality. i sat down with the cast to talk about the film. >> what happened, shirone? why you didn't come home like you're supposed to, huh? and who is you? >> nobody. i found him yesterday. found him in a hole on 15th. yeah, that one. some boys chased him, he's scared more than anything. he wouldn't tell me where he lived until this morning. >> with me now naomi harris who plays the mother, her she shell plays the role model. barry jenkins is the writer, director. good morning to you,

barry, this is -- i left shaking. and then i had to look you up and google and where could this have come from. what's the backstory? how did you create what's being called a masterpiece? >> so roman crany wrote this piece back in 2003. when it came to me it was like a baton was passed. i say that because terrell's mom and my mom both went through this struggle with addiction depicted by naomi in the film. so i just took it and ran with it. >> naomi, so much of this is about a young man's development and finding his place, but the women in his life, including your character, are the queens of this film. what was it like to acti, you k have this character struggling with her addiction and seeing what it's doing to her son? >> it was really tough to play. it was really difficult to be so

who were absolutely gorgeous. alex, only 11 years old in this film and such a brilliant performer and having to do scenes where i'm shouting at him and i'm really being not a great mother at all. you know, it was really tough. >> it's amazing, i've never seen anything like this. i've never seen a depiction of a young black male in this way. what was that like for you to present a character that if you've ever been to a neighborhood, you know this guy, but he's never been on film? >> it was liberating honestly to be a part of something that told the story that hadn't been told before. i had the opportunity to kind of bring that to life. it was liberating and it was just a wonderful experience. >> and this is the role model, your character, for this young boy. he's assin perfect as anyone could be, but this is his only guide to manhood. >> right. >> how do you prepare for something like that? do you pull from your past at all and those role models that matter to you

myself pulling from my past and those who i grew up in close proximity to who resembled juan in some ways. but in preparation for this i really focused on those -- the many beautiful qualities that juan has. he has some really wonderful attributes that i aspire to have right now in my life. >> well, as i said around the board people are calling it a masterpiece. i don't want to jinx you, but have you picked out your oscars outfits yet? you know that's important. coordinate. a huge cast, coordinate. >> "moonlight" is in theaters now. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. "moonlight" is in theaters now. ac're bk in a moment.

we would l we would like to give a big thank you to our amazing crowd on the plaza. mel b. was our celebrity elf collecting gifts for deserving

kids. we have delivered over $10 million from all over the u.s. we'd like to welcome ken. tell us about your donation. >> we're so happy to donate over one 50,000 of our most popular science and educational toys including things like the virtual explorer which brings together virtual reality, augmented reality and toys all in one product as well as star wars science the ant farm. >> you've got two celebrity fans of it. we have one more week to donate. come on down to the plaza and donate online. i want to thank mel b. and christian. i don't have a co-host the week of december 26th. >> i'm down. i'm free. >> all right. >> we'll both do it. >> december 26th, they're back. we're back after your local news. thank you, ken.

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with t.j.maxx, marshalls and homegoods. 9:57 is your time now on this friday, december 16th, 2016. good morning to you. metro's schedule is changing again. the transit agency voted to slash hours to make time for maintenance. metro rail service will stop 30 minutes earlier monday through thursday and two hours earlier friday and saturday and one hour earlier on sunday. it is a weather alert day, frigid temperatures out there. chuck bell here now with your very cold forecast. >> got to d

the remainder of today and tonight but it will be dry. even though we'll have more and more clouds today. really the main focus the next 24 hours is the chance for sleet or freezing rain early tomorrow morning between 3:00 and 10:00 on saturday morning. that's our best chance to get some. even the itsest iciness can cause issues. heavy rain on sunday, but much, much warmer. could have refreeze on local roads monday morning so we'll be ready for that too. >> sounds good. we are back with another hour of local headlines and weather on news4 midday. we'll see you at 11:00. have a great day.

sure, you could sit around all night waiting for a pizza to be delivered. but wouldn't making it yourself be a lot more fun? it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury. that sound. like nails on a chalkboard. but listen to this: (family talking) that's a different kind of sound. the sound of the weekend. it's baking season. warm up with pillsbury.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> be thankful you're inside because it's a very cold friday, december 16th, but that hasn't stopped fans from gathering. look outside of our studios, jane. >> those are dedicated. >> they never, ever come when i'm here or kathie lee here, but when you're here the crowd has arrived. jane kirkowski is he