. good morning. bone-chilling, bitterly cold temperatures whipping through the country this weekend. in some places it could feel as cold as 40 below zero today. and with the cold comes the snow. 150 million people under some sort of winter storm advisory this weekend from the rocky mountains all the way into the northeast. the nasty weather leading to accident after accident and showing no signs of letting up any time soon. we'll have your full forecast. talking tough. president obama in his final news conference of the year defending his administration's response to russian hacking around the election. >> our goal continues to be to

send a clear message to russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you. >> the president now asking the trump administration to investigate after he leaves office. how will president-elect trump respond? a terrible encounter caught on camera. video of a star college running back knocking out a woman in a restaurant more than two years ago is released overnight. he apologized and was suspended for a year, but now he is playing a bowl game and hopes to make it to the nfl, but with the league taking a hard line on domestic violence, will this video scare teams away? skblienchts a skbliench a true champion. a jeopardy contestant shows us all what it means to persevere. snoo what is the beach state. what is budism? >> winning game after game all while battling stage four cancer. her spirit, her winning attitude, and her opportunity to fulf

melting hearts around the world. today, saturday, december 17th, 2016. >> from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. >> speaking of dylan, no baby yet. >> it's -- i'm beginning to wonder. the whole thing may have been a ruse. >> there's nothing like waiting. i mean, this woman, she's been baking, making holiday treats. >> she can't sit still. >> we'll keep you posted. >> we will. >> let's get to our top story, though. that unbearable cold and snow across the country. the cold is really the worst of it. check out some of the temperatures. negative 42 with the wind chill in billings, montana. 34 below in bismarck. negative 32 in cheyenne, wyoming. thos

are not expected to get any alberta as we go through the weekend either. there's also some snow to contend with. many parts of this country waking up to the white stuff already and a whole lot of it. nbc's morgan ratford 30 miles northwest of where we sit here in manhattan. she's where the snow has been falling for a few hours. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: craig, good morning. 150 million americans across the country waking up to this snow, this ice. it's also this dangerously cold wind chill that's sweeping the country. some places seeing temperatures dip 30 degrees below zero. >> reporter: a winter white-out. blankets of snow barrelling across the great plains sending sheets of ice and howling winds through america's heartland. slamming the northeast this morning. >> it is brutally cold. >> i don't know if you can ever be ready. >> i hate winter. >> out west, neighbors in wyoming race against the clock to clear

>> even though it's 9 degrees out right now, the temperatures are still supposed to keep dropping. >> reporter: hoping to avoid accidents like this in minnesota where icy roads caused hundreds of crashes in less than 24 hours and sent this tractor-trailer sliding off the highway. a similar scene in utah. bumper to bumper traffic at a stand still. while hail pounded the ground. and this arctic blast is just getting started. temperatures across the country dipping below zero this weekend set to break record lows in cities like minneapolis, bismarck, pierre, and chicago where the high for sunday is expected to be negative 2. the first time the windy city has seen a high below zero in 33 years. next in those snow-covered crosshairs, the northeast where firefighters in boston wrestled flames friday while battling

>> we've had significant issues around freezing. ladders are frozen. >> now facing more of that bone-chilling freeze, residents are taking matters into their own hands. >> stay inside. don't go outside. >> up to eight inches of snow expected to hit the northeast. already hundreds of flights have been canceled, and this is why people are being asked to exercise extreme caution, so they're taking to the roads today. especially as this snow turns into freezing rain. back to you. >> all right, morgan. thank you. >> be careful. dave, what more can we expect from the storm? >> a lot of people want to know when it all ends, and the problem is we've got a good road ahead of us before we can say it's over. let's walk over and take a look at things right now. as can you see, as we begin and take a look at the wide map from the northeast to the midwest to the upper plains and all the way into the rockies, we have bad weather, which is affecting so many people. morgan mentioned, 150,

million people. the i-95 corridor right now -- boston, hartford, new york -- all seeing snow. as we head down to philadelphia and washington d.c., frozen precipitation. freezing rain and sleet. stretching back to the west, there we have another batch of problems. now, we go to the midwest and into the northern plains, and there we see so many people affected by icy conditions and heavy snows. the area around minneapolis getting a lot of snow yesterday. now all of that moving eastward through sections of illinois, into michigan, the ohio valley, icy conditions to keep track of. as we head into the next 24 hours, snow turns to rain in the northeast and we see storms developing across the southeast. sunday a big warmup. it is going to be a tough go as we head into the beginning of next week because a lot of folks are going to be getting another blast of cold weather after that. >> right. >> we start to travel. president obama and the first family are escaping the cold. they have just arrived in hawaii

christmas vacation in honolulu. before they took off, though, president obama held his final news conference of the year, and he had some tough talk for russia now that both the cia and the fbi say they try to interfere in the election to help donald trump win. nbc's hans nichols is at the white house, and we have more on that. >> reporter: before leaving for town president barack obama spent most of that press conference explaining, defending his own administration's response to their own intelligence assessment that russia was indeed interfering in the u.s. presidential election. he shared this story of how personally warned vladimir putin, and he hinted that a more forceful response could come. >> reporter: in his year-end press conference president barack obama revealed his warning to vladimir putin about interfering in the 2016 presidential election. >> there are going to be serious consequences if he did. >> many in his party are frustrat h

obama's explanation offered little comfort to aggrieved democrats. >> i want to make sure that everybody understood we were playing this thing straight. we weren't trying to advantage one side or another. >> reporter: facing the press that the fbi now agrees that the cia that the russian government by hacking into democratic emails tried to elect donald trump. but the president referring to go that far where. >> we have not seen evidence of machines being tafrp ampered wio that assurance i can provide. rinc . >> reporter: all but confirming that the russian president himself approved the cyber attacks. >> not much in russia happens without vlad peer putimir putin. >> reporter: a hearing was announced into the hacks, defended by representative bird whose analysis has been questioned by president-elect trump saying, "unlike many in washington, though, they check politics at the office door and focus on their mission." be

mostly defensive president, but a hint of offense. >> so at a point in time where we've taken certain actions that we can divulge publicly, we will do so. at times there is message that will be directly received by the russians and not publicized. zoo that was the longest press conference of obama's presidency. he declined numerous opportunities to criticize his successor giving donald trump a lot of leeway. even declining to criticize him for taking that phone call from taiwan's president saying that the entire foreign policy everything needs to be "subject to fresh eyes." >> hans, thank you. what do the russians think about president obama's tough talk? our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in moscow. what's the reaction there? >> well, they seem to be brushing it off, frankly. there have been no comments from any top officials,

vladimir putin. when it is brought up at all, it is only described as more hysteria from the intelligence agencies, more hysteria from the united states who are still upset that hillary clinton lost the election. one somewhat angry note by a commentator on a state broadcast here in which he said that there is a contradiction in what the president said. on one hand he said that russia is poor, it's weak, it doesn't produce anything that anyone wants to buy, and yet, russia is also accused of using high-tech hacking weaponry to impact the u.s. election. at this stage russians are trying at least at an official level to brush it off and not give too much credence to this, an allegation that they have in the past said was ridiculous. >> richard, thank you. meanwhile,

donald trump did not bring up russian hacking at his latest thank you tour stop on friday night. it's a subject he has repeatedly denied and downplayed in the past week. today, though, he will make the final stop on his tour in alabama wra alabama. that's where we find nbc's kelly o'donnell this morning. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. unlike some of the other campaign style stops on his post-election tour, this is not one of the surprise victory states for donald trump, but it is a place that is home to one of his most loyal supporters and his choice to be the next attorney general of the united states, alabama senator jeff sessions. at these events donald trump has been talking about his ideas on domestic and foreign policy, but he has been sticking with a script that does not include russia. ♪ proud to be an american >> reporter: back in rally mode. >> merry christmas, everyone. merry christmas. >> reporter: the president-elect took his thank you tour to orlando, florida, friday night. >>

i love the people. >> reporter: but donald trump ignored the controversy over vladimir putin and russia's cyber attack on the u.s. election. hours earlier president obama urged trump to publicly support bipartisan investigation. team trump shifted the spotlight back to hillary clinton. >> this wouldn't have happened if hillary clinton didn't have a secret server. >> reporter: however, the hack hit the dnc and the top aide's g mail account and not clinton's home server. in a speech to her campaign donors, clinton said her past criticism of putin's illegitimate election made her his target. >> vladimir putin himself directed the covert cyber-attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy apparently because he has a personal beef against me. >> reporter: clinton blamed putin and the fbi letter about

defeat. >> i happen to believe this, that that letter most likely made the difference in the outcome. >> reporter: preparing to leave the white house, first lady michelle obama hinted at her disappointment over the results in an interview with oprah winfrey. >> see, now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. you know? hope is necessary. it's a necessary concept, and b barrack didn't just talk about hope because he thought it was a nice slogan to get votes. he and i and so many believe that what else do you have if you don't have hope? >> reporter: and the current and future first families do have something in common. we saw that the obamas already in hawaii for their holiday. the trumps will be spending the rest of the holiday season based at their home at palm beach, florida, and from therehe

president-elect will continue working on his new administration, but, craig, no idea yet when he will address more fully this issue with russia, vladimir putin, and the hacks on the dnc and our u.s. election. craig. >> kelly in alabama for us. thanks. now to a heartbreaking scene playing out in syria. thousands of people desperately trying to get out of aleppo safely. many parents and children who were turned away and told to go back home on friday because of gunfire as they tried to leave. nbc's bill nealy is inside aleppo. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. good morning, chanel. the level of destruction in the city is really quite extraordinary. this is what four years of war has done to aleppo. this area was under rebel control just a short time ago. al the fighting in the city isn't over yet. there are war planes in the sky as i speak, and civilians are still paying the price. >> reporter: smoke

rebels still hold ground. it's bombardment hasn't stopped. caught in the middle people who thought they were about to escape. they've been gathering to leave the besieged east when militias loyal to president assad opened fire. everyone fled. the cease-fire shattered yet again. desperate people driven back to what the u.n. calls hell. among them 47 children, orphaned by the war. initial reports said they had escaped two days ago, ut about the gunfire forced them back. also, still trapped are 7-year-old banna and her mother fatimah. in desperation appealing to michelle obama. >> i talk to you as a mother. >> reporter: they are surrounded by syrian troops and militias like hezbollah, who handcuff dozens of men leaving yesterday under a

for many who did get out emotional reunions with families they hadn't seen for years. escape from a city in ruins. the prize of the president. the victor in the long war here. there is no sign that those tens of thousands of civilians still trapped will be freed any time soon. no relief for those children just yet. gunfire in the background. craig, chanel. >> so sad. bill, thank you. overnight a disturbing vid was released involving a star football player for the university of oklahoma. we want to warn you, though, this video pretty tough to watch. restaurant surveillance footage showed university of oklahoma football player joe mixon in a confrontation with a female student. after she pushes him, he knocks her down and fractures her cheek bone. oklahoma spbded him for

season. he was charged with a misdemeanor, reached a plea deal that included a suspended sentence, and 100 hours of community service. the video was given by the woman's lawyer to mixon's legal team after a media outlet sued. he apologized to the victim, the team, and the university. he is playing in a bowl game, and he hopes to be drafted by the nfl. now some shocking video of the moment a car plowed into a crowd of people at a bus stop in san francisco. take a look. a busy intersection was plunged into chaos on friday. ten people were injured, including two critically. police are investigating what caused the car to lose control and have not released the status of the driver. if you are trying to get away from the snow, if you are trying to get away from the cold, where would you go? >> florida is the place to go. getting there may be the problem. especially from the northeast and many locations hampered by snow right now. let's take a look at the national maps. frigid blast. yet another one comes our way. the third and most powerful sweeping into the northern plains and upper

we've got snow through sections of the midwest and great lakes. severe thunderstorms a possibility through the lower we have treacherous icing on area roads, streets and sidewalks on this saturday morning. it is recommended stay off roads here for another several hours. we're seeing all this area in pink, that is rain that's falling in freezing on untreated surfaces. going to be this way across northern virginia, maryland, west virginia, shenandoah valley, eastern shore as well as for another few hours. zbloon and that's a quick look at the weather. >> thank you. now to a story of true courage. a woman battling cancer who knew her time on this earth was short, but wanted to make a dream come true and that was t

her shows were taped months ago, and she's currently on a four-day winning streak. sadly, though, she didn't live to see these episodes air, but she's inspired a legion of fans. here's nbc's gotti schwartz. >> this is "jeopardy." >> reporter: in each "jeopardy" introduction cindy kept a straight face and a slight smile. >> from auin, texas, cindy stowell. >> reporter: then she would rattle through daily doubles. >> what is the peach state? >> what is red dawn? >> that's the movie wrrkts. >> reporter: never letting her competitors or audience know about her internal battle. cindy had stage four colon cancer and was in the last months of her life, always intending to donate her final winnings to cancer research, but on the show she joked with alex trebeck over what she did for a li living. >> you write homework questions for -- >> i write homework questions

physics. it's this horrible cosmic carmick joke because my mission was to avoid homework as much as possible. >> reporter: her boyfriend of 20 years says cindy always wanted to help others and loved trivia. >> she just kind of had one of these brains that just sort of absorbed everything. >> reporter: she died early this month, just over a week before her first episode aired. pricers of the show honoring her memory on the website saying when she interviewed to be a contestant, she told them she didn't have much longer to live but playing "jeopardy" was a life-long dream. >> it was something that, you know, was really meaningful to her and also to the sort of great to see her kind of have something to fight for. >> reporter: now viewers watching as she fulfills her dream on a "jeopardy" winning streak. >> she wins $22,000. >> reporter: every correct answer raising money so that others with cancer may find a cure. for "today" gotti

news, los angeles. still to come, we'll recap the week's most talked about stories, including a dangerous close call in the middle of a yacht race in australia. >> up next, we all know the airport can be a zoo during the holidays, but this is a little ridiculous. we will explain what's going on, but, first, this is "today" on nbc.

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>> if you are flying over the holidays, might notice unusual creatures roaming the terminals. >> these therapy animals are there to help travellers out during the stressful holiday travel season. nbc's janet shamliyan has more. >> reporter: in the passenger unloading area this probably isn't what they had in mind. >> i was, like, what are they doing here? >> reporter: at the cincinnati northern kentucky airport the

>> they're beautiful. >> reporter: and they walk the terminal like celebrities. >> i know. it's adorable, right? it's the holidays, and they look so cute with the antlers and everything on. it's really cute. >> reporter: in a season of over sold flights, short tempers and long lines, miniature horses are the airport's designated stress busters. >> therapy animals help to ease those anxiety levels, put smiles on faces, and we are in kentucky, after all, so we thought why not give horses a try? >> reporter: trainer lisa moad saw how happy they made children at cancer centers she took them to and thought she would do the same for harried travellers. >> were you surprised when the airport said, yeah, bring them in? >> honestly, yeah, yeah. they were so enthusiastic. it's, like, whoa. i wasn't ready for that. here we are. runcht >> reporter: moad says the horses are gentle and they become supper a hit you can find them all over social media. >> does this mean he likes me or he thinks i have food? >> a little bit of both. >> reporter:

crazy, the san francisco airport has gone whole hog. it's got a therapy pig. >> i see an animal, and i just -- my spirits are lifted automatically. >> reporter: barnyard animals in the terminal. giving new meaning to calling a busy airport a zoo. >> what a beautiful holiday spirit. you go, cincinnati. >> reporter: for today janet shamliyan, nbc news, cincinnati. >> how about that? >> it is a great idea. >> there are times when i'm traveling in the airport with three kids, and they're running all over the place and it's so stressful, but i imagine a miniature horse -- you go, you know what, let me just slow down and just enjoy this for what it is. >> huh? >> i like it. >> still ahead here on a saturday morning on "today." >> guess he doesn't agree. >> i'm glad your kids are hanging out with horses in the airport. a santa mall experience like you've never had. why just getting your picture taken with the big fellow doesn't seem to be good enough

day when michael phelps and his beautiful bride nicole said "i the time is 7:26 on this saturday december 17th. it is a storm team 4 weather alert day and we're following breaking news on the roads. there are multiple crashes and accidents throughout the region because of the icy and slippery conditions. we know that hazmat crews are on the scene of a overturned tanker crash. that vehicle is leaking fuel. traffic going east on route 50 being diverted. this is a fairfax county fire engine overturned down an embankment. nobody was hurt. it wa o

another call. police warning people to

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good morning. we have treacherous icing occurring right now. it's been going on for the last couple of hours. all this area you see in pink on radar, that is rain that is falling and then it hits surfaces that are below freezing and that includes all of northern virginia, shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, maryland, the metro area. this is icing up. we have a glaze of ice on all untreated surfaces on this saturday morning. it's going to take another several hours before we get above freezing. temperatures will hover below freezing until 10:00 and then 11:00 get in the 30s and in sunshine later this

we are back with another hour of news at 8:30, but we'll have . ♪ ♪ on a rise to the top we're book this saturday morning, december 17th, 2016, with "ellen's" take on "home alone." you can see here some christmas classics with dancing, of course. wo we'll show you more. meanwhile, it's a bitter morning here in new york city. also, bitter in so many parts of the country. our thanks, our huge thanks to that great crowd that's outside braving the temperatures, braving the wind and snow. we're going to get outside to say hello in just a bit. the weather, they'rto

on this saturday morning. 150 million people under some sort of winter weather advisory today. temperatures dropping to 20 below in some places and feeling like negative 40 with the wind chill. there's also snow and icy conditions to contend with. the northeast getting hit this morning. dave will have that forecast in just a few moments. president obama and the first family have landed in hawaii for the final christmas vacation of his presidency befo. before leaving for the trip the president held his final news conference for the year where he told reporters about the warning he gave to vladimir putin about interfering with the 2016 election. the president telling russia to stop or there would be serious consequences. the memorial service will be held today at ohio state university for astronaut john glen. vice president joe biden is among those scheduled to speak. friday mourners from across the country stopped by to honor the american hero at a public viewing inside ohio's statehouse. now to the download. our recap of a busy

saw a controversial pick for the secretary of state and the cia insisting russia was involved with hacking to affect the election, and stranger things that children are getting as an early holiday present. >> reporter: the u.s. election under attack. nbc news can report that vladimir putin was personally involved in the russian attempt to disrupt the u.s. election. the stunning revelation comes after the cia's recent assessment that the russian government wanted to elect donald trump. an assessment the president-elect has rejected. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just another excuse. i don't believe it. >> reporter: filling out his cabinet. mr. trump's pick for secretary of state exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson drawing a mix of support and opposition. >> the pick of the exxonmobil ceo praised by republicans, including condoleezza rice, who has business ties to exxon, but also others like bob corker. still, some key gop senators wary of tillerson's tiesit

russia. marco rubio saying he has serious concerns. >> reporter: a dramatic day in a south carolina courtroom with a guilty verdict for the man accused of the charleston church massacre. >> fuelled by racism, he walked into their sanctuary and opened fire. this afternoon a jury found dillon roof guilty of 33 federal counts, including hate crimes. >> i knew it was going to be guilty, guilty, guilty. >> reporter: felicia sanders, one of just three survivors that awful night, who testified during the trial how she watched roof take her 26-year-old son tuanza. >> reporter: an incredibly close and scary call during a yacht race in australia. >> watch this closely. the yachts, these are big yachts, speeding through a harbor, but nobody told these other pleasure bolters that this race was happening. >> oh, my god. >> that's a ferry that first body. look how close this is. >> it looks like battleship. >> i know. >> reporter: a huge day for all of this year's golden globe nomine nominees. with oneas

shows is "stranger things" on netflix. the sci-fi series is led by a young cast. when their show got nominated, they did not hide their joy. >> "stranger things." [ cheering ] >> reporter: and an incredible moment in louisiana when high school senior brendan gosche finally heard from his college of choice. >> when it came time to open the e-mail from cornell university, they gathered up family, friends, and even classmates all together athe his side. here's what happened. [ cheering ] >> reporter: and no downtime for dylan whose husband is keeping her on her toes. >> she's supposed to give birth any day now. well, she's not the only one who is ready for that little baby to come out. her husband, brian, is too. he tried this, you guys. he tried to scare h

into labor. >> go into labor! >> oh, my god. you can't scare me like that. >> did it happen? did it work? >> no. >> no. >> they need their own reality show. >> i checked in with her last night. i asked her is baby -- no baby. >> did you see on instagram she's posting, like, these corn flake holiday treats with marshmallows and corn flakes. i'm, like, really, dylan? a little red hot on the top. >> there are a certain kind of cream cheese they think can induce labor. >> send that to her. >> she's tried everything. power walking, peld cudicures. >> there are all sorts of things -- >> it's today. >> it's today. >> now is the time. now is the time to do this. >> lots of cold. lots of snow. >> oh, man.

stay off area roads. we have a glaze of ice. all this area in pink includes the metro area, our nearby suburbs and just about all of maryland, northern virginia, northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. we're going to stay below freezing until mid to late morning and temperatures will get above freezing about 11:00 this afterno >> that's a quick look at the weather. >> 23 below? >> tough to get your head around that. >> that's tough to get your head around. >> stay inside and bundle up where. >> that's right. >> thank you. >> up next on his 80th birthday, exploring how pope francis became the man he is today giving millions of catholics renewed faith. that's right after this. , that'. so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless...

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it's his 80th birthday. the man who has really changed the face of the papacy had an unusual rise. he came from a working class family in argentina. mark shriver wrote a new book called "pilgrimage, my search for the real pope francis." good to see you again. >> thank you for having me. >> why a book about the pope, and why now? >> there are so many interesting questions about him, right? i mean, you just said he was an unusual rise to power. here's a guy who became head of at 36, and a little over a decade later was exiled. had a great interior crisis. a guy who is the first jesuit ever elected pope, and jesuits make a commitment to never rise to higher office. how did he become bishop, cardinal, and then pope? it's an amazing story. they're supposed to rat each other out, as one jesuit told me. if you want to have a better job, you are supposed to report that guy. i dug in, talked to people. not the big shots. not cardinals and government

and some of miss his detractors. >> what thing surprised you most about this pope? >> that's a good one. there are so many amazing stories. you know, people like the trash collector who was invited to sit in the front section of the papal mass when he was made pope. i think the thing that surprised me the most is the fact of how committed he is to god. i mean, that may sound obvious to the pope, but he is often pictured as the guy that you would like to invite over for thanksgiving -- that uncle you would like to invite for thanksgiving dinner, but he is deadly serious about it. he wants you to have a more intimate relationship with god. that is clear. that is the focus of his life. >> you had dinner with some priests at a college where he was a rektctor many years ago. he said when folks come back at the end of the day with clean shoes, that would really bother him. why? >> because he wanted you to get out and get the mud on your shoes. that meant he wanted you

were supposed to be pasturing, and he wanted those young jesuits to go out and walk through the potholes, get the mud on their shoes, and if they came back and they didn't have mud, that meant that they were upstairs taking a nap or they were studying. he said you don't fall in love with ideas or philosophies. you fall in love with people. he wanted those novices to learn that. >> he was during the presidential campaign once or twice we heard from the pope. he was critical of donald trump at one point as the president-elect spent some time talking about building that wall. he said in part, "a man that is saying that this is not a christian." do you think that pope francis is going to be critical of a president trump? >> i think pope francis is -- you can't put him in a box. he is not a democrat or republican or a liberal. he is not a progressive or conservative. he is really talking about the says message of jesus christ, and i think if you don't want to do that, if you want to build walls, he is going to criticize th

he criticized the power structure in argentina, and i think he will do that regardless of whether it was president-elect trump or mrs. clinton. he is pushing forward an agenda that's trying to bring us all together, and if you want to build walls, he is going to criticize it. >> mark shriver, a fascinating read. happy holidays. >> same to you. up next, our producers will try to stump up once again with a game of holiday movies. real or so, how much longer do you think this will take? i'll over-explain the process, then give you an unrealistic timeline. i'll nod in agreement so my wife thinks i understand what you're saying. i look forward to questioning your every move. okay, well i'll leave your house in shambles and disappear for six months. wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi® double cash card does. it lets you earn double cash back: 1% when you buy, and 1% as you pay. the citi double cash card. double means double. hey!reens presents, a holiday mini miracle.

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all right. we are back on a saturday morning, and, dave, this is the time of the show that our producers like to test our knowledge. >> this is also the time when she dances like that. >> i love that. >> test our knowledge on everything. since we're in the middle of the holiday season, they put together a game called holiday movies, real or fake? i'll read the description of a movie, and we'll have to know whether it's real or fake. you can play along at home. the first one, this movie title is "the town christmas forgot." the s after their car breaks down in the dilapidated town of nowhere, colorado, the family learns christmas is more than about material possessions. what's the answer? >> that's a real one? >> no way. what? >> we start out on that note? >> next up, a very scary christmas.

during the holiday season, a young boy discovers a ghost living in the attic of his home despite initial fear. the boy and the ghost eventually become friends. >> that's fake. that's fake. >> i'm going to say real. >> real. that sounds like a great -- fake? >> look at that. i can spot a fake. >> third time is the charm. how about this one? holiday in handcuffs. >> that was dave's last week. >> in this movie a waitress kidnaps one of her customers and brings him home to meet her parents at christmas. he agrees to pretend that they're a couple. >> oh, you know, that sounds real. >> brings new meaning to the word real or fake. >> i'm going to say real. what's the answer? it is. >> oh, wow. >> we have to do some movie watching. >> apparently. >> this one just sounded -- >> still to come, the souped up santa experience. malls going high-tech to get you away from the computer and into their stores. first, this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead on "today" the one item that you can eat at lunch that could help you lose a lot of weight. >> i'm listening. plus, the surprise of a lifetime for actress octavia spencer when she went to screen her new movie at the white house. wait until you see what happened. first, these messages.

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the time is 7:56 on this saturday. it is a weather alert day. we are getting a lot of new information about some of the

police in virginia reporting 41 accidents in northern virginia. police warning folks stay off the roads this morning following multiple crashes not only in virginia, but also up in maryland. we've learned that all runways at dulles airport are closed this morning because of icy conditions. no flights are taking off at this points. the virginia department of transportation are warning drivers to stay off the roads until at least 9:00 this morning perhaps later. we know 495 northbound all lanes are closed due to a crash involving 25 vehicles. state police saying one of the accidents on 495 is deadly. we're taking a live look at that backup right now. take a look at this photo tweeted out by fairfax county police. a fire truck sliding off the road responding to a crash. no one hurt in this incident, but it took crews quite a while to pull this

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. this freezing rain will end in a couple of hours, but the damage has been done. we have a glaze of ice across the metro area, most of the maryland area. in this

continuing to fall and if left on untreated temperatures it will freeze. good morning. bone-chilling. a dangerous cold sweeping across the country today. temperatures in the midwest feeling like 40 below with the wind chill. 150 million people under a winter storm advisory from colorado into the northeast. snow and ice leaving drivers in distress and the worst may not even be here yet. pie in the sky. a group of british scientists send this pie loaded with meat and potatoes into space. it's all for the sake of research, but what exactly are we trying to prove? ♪ santa tell me and the new santa experience with christmas just eight days away. retailers are kicking it