r-r-r . good morning. farewell to a princess. contributes to carrie fisher pour in from around the world as co-stars and friends remember the woman born into hollywood royalty who will be forever known as princess leia. we will look back on the life of the actress, comedienne and author. >> president trump and his picks after an vax at trump plaza. who did it? police in arkansas demanding access to murder suspect

the online giant refusing and could it be the key to cracking the case? drifting away! we'll take you behind the scenes and behind the wheel of the new technology design to keep you and your family safe like never before, wednesday, december 28th, 2016. from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm tamron hall alongside carson daly. matt has the day off and savannah on maternity leave. we have been talking about carrie fisher and memories last month. >> and 2016 appears to be the year of we feel like we're being bb

>> and the actress and best selling author, carrie fisher. her legend extends beyond that legendary franchise. good morning. >> good morning. many of us of a certain age, like mine, knew princess leia long before knowing anything about carrie fisher. interesting as people around the country reflect on her life, how much of the fearlessness and toughness of princess leia came from the actress herself. she wasn't just a princess, she was a hero in one of the most popular movies ever made. when news came that actress carrie fisher had died four days after suffering a heart attack on a flight between london and l.a., it's not surprising a large number of fans felt princess leia and a bit of their childhood died with them.

great and powerful princess, feisty, wise and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think. leia struck out the plans to the death deflecting hans solo. >> you half wit fluffy looking -- >> on facebook, her co-star, mark hamill said she played such a crucial role in my professional and personal life and both would have been far emptier without her. fisher couldn't know at the age of 19, the role would follow her for life. >> nobody recognizes you? >> just one guy that has seen it 12 times. >> reporter: her appeal spanned four decade, her i-conic role being a pop culture staple. >> did i get the hair wrong? >> reporter: "from friends to "30 rock." >>

debbie reynolds. on facebook, thanks for everyone who remembered the talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. fisher appeared alongside warren beatty in shampoo. after a brief marriage to paul simon in the early '80s, fisher moved beyond acting and became a prolific writer, "made in america" and "sister act" and many more and also an author including "postcards from the edge" made into a movie from meryl streep and her most recent memoir, "the princess diist" where she admits to having a three month affair with harrison ford. just last month, she told hoda and kathie lee -- >> i think it was improbable i think because we weren't like holding hands on the set or

anything. >> harrison writes carey was one-of-a-kind, brilliant and original, funny and emotionally fe fearless. she lived her life bravely. she often wrote about her dem demons, depression, bipolar d disorder, substance abuse, her strength in battling them as apparent as the strength of the famous character she portrayed and she returned to "to the force awakens" on-screen with her daughter, billie lourd," returning to the role that made her famous for generations. >> it seems there will be one more chance to see carrie fisher repricing the now 40-year-old role of princess leia, she reportedly wrapped up shooting her scenes for the next movie in the next year. >> we have to stop meeting like this. monday, talking about george michael and here we are, carrie fisher. as you read some of the remenc

wars" family and fans globally, what strikes you about those things? >> just how big of a loss this is for everyone, fans but really the people that knew her so well. you saw harrison ford, george lucas, all speaking about losing a friend and someone who was so real and down-to-earth and was brave at the same time. she never really let hollywood change who she was on the inside. that's a vocal talented brave woman. >> as stephanie pointed out, the role of princess leia changed her life. she was only 19. you look at the totality of her career from writing to other role, how do you think she would want to be remembered? is it truly just about leia? >> it's not just about leia, although she came to love that role and what it did for her. screen writing and movies people would never knowh

wedding singer, sister act, so many across behind her. it super seeded even a lot of her work on-screen. you look at the totality of what she did, she had a really prolific career in hollywood. >> i was watching the coverage last night and one of the quotes that stuck out most from one of her books, george lucas and talking about getting hired in the role of leia, ruined her life. and she did have a wit sometimes she loved it and sometimes loathed it, how did she feel in the past four years. >> in hollywood, the worst thing is to be pigeon holed. most actress doesn't want to be known for only one thing. but princess leia was so beloved. she came around to the idea this was a piece of the american fabric and she embraced that. she knew the role

back to her role as a teenager and "the diary had the notes she wrote while filming and this was so important to so many people and to her. >> harrison ford said she was emotionally fearless. she talked about mental health issues and talked about drugs and decided to expose that part of her life. what was the motivation? >> that's how she would want to be remembered, someone who br e bravely spoke about all of the trappings of hollywood. she was a child of hollywood, famous parents, had grown up seeing so many things, falling victim to so many things. she was very very open and brave about it. she even took the cause of mental health, having dealt with bipolar disorder herself. putting the truth out there. i really think that's what she would want to be known as. >> well said. thanks. a security scare at trump tower led to nervous moments

president-elect is getting back to business, working on his inauguration and his cabinet. hallie has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hey there, good morning to you. a senior official tells nbc news today the president-elect will meet with ike pearl mutter, marvel ceo and long-time trump backer and someone who has experience in the agricultural department, an agency that still doesn't have someone appointed by donald trump. the president-elect get back to work after the holiday as back in midtown manhattan, a security scare at trump tower created a few frightening moments. >> out! >> running and yelling. >> everything is fine. >> reporter: terrified people rushing out of trump tower, inside a suspicious package triggering an evacuation. outside, chaos. turns out false alarm,

package, just a bag of children's toys. a senior law enforcement force tells nbc news, donald trump thousands of miles away in south florida surrounded by this is national security team announce agnew advisor on homeland security, thomas boss seert, a cybersecurity specialist who served under george w. bush. while he made no public appearances since saturday he's publicly going after president obama for a second day in row saying if he ran again, tweeting president obama campaigned hard and personally in the very important swing states and lost. the voters wanted to make america great again. president obama, in hawaii, making history with japan's leader at the pearl harbor memorial. without mentioning trump, seeming to take a subtle dig. >> it is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of

we must resist the urge to turn inward. >> prime minister shinzo abe joining president obama, the first to visit the site. it's a different prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, over the international drama of the u.n. council security resolution and the speech of a top official, john kerry saying the secretary of state will candidly respond to accusations that the u.s. orchestrated that resolution, claims the obama administration denies. away from the world stage, this stage now getting set for january 20th, when donald trump will take office, inaugural planners insisting it's all about unity, not razzle-dazzle. >> we're not planning woodstock, we're planning an inauguration. >> reporter: rather than a bunch of inaugural balls, this time, just three

some performers, like the ro rockett rockettes, facing backlash for participa participating. >> the higher you are on a-list scale the bigger the risk. >> reporter: 23 requests for protests permits have been applied for. the trump team seaming unphased, pointing out those protesters have a prerogative to be in d.c. on january 20th, too. >> thank you very much. breaking overnight, two powerful earthquakes rocking california, a 5.7 magnitude hit southwest of hawthorne, nevada, a few minutes later, another one with the same magnitude recorded in the same area, another one felt in reno and parts of california. they were reported after a series of aftershocks and no reports of injury or damage. reports turkey has reached a cease-fire agreement on syria. russia hasar

intense air campaign in support of rashad and turkey backed the five year rebellion of the regime. it would include so-called terror organizations which could include rebel groups backed by the united states. more than 400,000 syrians have been killed in the conflict. >> in michigan, an already massive sinkhole is getting b bigger this morning. the mayor describes it as a triage situation and residents call it a disaster. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. we all like to think our houses are sitting on solid ground. folks here know it's not solid ground and officials fear this giant hole will cave in completely. this morning, a grim prospect for residents threatened by this massive sinkhole the size of a football field and growing. >> the ground is unstable. it is going to collapse. >> reporter: more than two dozen

families evacuated from their homes maybe for weeks or longer. authorities are working with residents to remove items from their homes, for now, it's too dangerous. >> a lot of moving parts and they will continue moving. >> reporter: they are making progress but an uphill battle for officials trying to contain the damage. authorities believe it started when an 11 foot wide sewer line burst triggering raw sewage and the sinkhole and an emergency crew hit a gas line and power had to be cut off to the entire area. >> everybody is sitting inside here trying to keep warm and talk to each other with flashlights. >> reporter: authorities have stopped dumping raw sewage into the clinton river to keep it from backing into basements and now faced with the task of cleaning it up. >> everyday there will be progress. >> reporter: there was break in 1978 and again in 2004. that one resulted in

that took 10 months to fix with a repair bill estimated at $55 million. this time, the hole is much bigger and officials say the cost will be much bigger, too. the line was built in the late '60s and last inspected 7 years ago, not often enough say some officials. >> we've had two breaks here already. why would we not inspect it much more often? >> reporter: crews are back at it today. 15 mile road here a major thoroughfare through this neighborhood could be closed for mon months. back to you guys. a story we've been following for several months. russian officials for the first time admitted to mass doping in the country's sports system. that's according to a report in the "new york times," the national doping agency called it a conspiracy and said top officials were not in

competitors were involved in a conspiracy to conceal positive drug tests to competitors for a period of 5 years. airlines will allow crew members to use stun guns to stop passeng passengers. it comes after a passenger he helped control a passenger. he was criticized afterwards and they will allow tasers and put on male attendants on all flights. an out of control car narrowly misses him. then, the car crashes into a patrol car parked on the shoulder. tha thankfully no one was hurt. >> that's terrifying. >> our station in los angeles, for al, what's the weather looking like? >> we are seeing

right ahead of that snow, we have watches in place. you can see all the pinks and blues of snow warnings for the next couple of days and the northeastern will impact the east coast tomorrow and friday. we will see rain down south and possible hail for memphis, jackson, and your front moves through thursday and looking at the low forming boston area. new york city may be getting a little bit of rain but not too heavy here. it is going to be snow for the interior northeast and we will track that snow to friday. thursday to friday is that bullet point where we will see the snow. here you go. in terms of the snow, how much you will get, nir from anywhere to 18 inches. the northeast looking at the most snow by the time it is

at the northeast, another beautiful day outside and your weather in a second. unseasonably mild for the midwest. thunderstorm activity in tennessee and mississippi ohio vall valleys, in the mountain northwest lots of sunshine and dry conditions but that's about to change. a look at your local weather in the next 30 seconds. good morning, everybody. clear sky out there. a little bit of northwest

morning. up up -- 40 degrees right now, up to 45 degrees and compared to the 68 yesterday it will feel oh so cold. you'll need your winter hat and scarf. the winter forecast calls for rain tomorrow and might have a little ice in the northwest but not a big deal. >> that's what's good in your neighborhood. coming up, an alexa whodunit? the center of a murder investigation, why police are hoping the device could actually be a star witness. > >> a crazy story. a look behind the scenes of a wild ride as a new technology is put to the test!

coming up, could it coming up, could

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this is a "news4 today" newsbreak. >> good wednesday morning. 7:26 is our time right now on this december 28th. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm angie goff. in the news this morning. >> crews are on the scene of a water main break. closed near duke street. a pipe broke there and left 15 homes without regular water service. no word when that break will be fully radar. >> alexandria police are investigating a robbery right now. two men robbed a store an carlisle street. we don't know how much cash, but police say the man had a gun and nobody was hurt. >> to jack taylor with a look at the morning commute. >> good morning. in old towne

the accident on north washington street northbound near madison street. it was a truck on its side. they righted it, back on its wheels and lanes are once again open. otherwise we have a lot of green conditions. a new reported crash on the freeway going westbound just past the turn way causing only a minor delay. be aware if you're headed in that direction. back to you. >> thanks. next a change in your weather. next.

good morning. it's seasonably cold outside. in the 30s and 40s. not going to get as big a warm-up as we saw yesterday. afternoon temperatures only in the mid-40s, back to chilly 30s by 7:00 tonight. overnight, scours like li

couldn't rule out freezing rain. in the 40s, it will be dry as we ring in 2017. >> we like to hear that, chuck. thank you. another local news update in 25 minutes. >> back to the "today" show after this break.

7:30 now on a wednesday morning, the 28th of december, 2016. a holiday weekend. look at the big crowd there on the corner of rockefeller plaza where it's been unseasonably warm the last couple of days. a great crowd and we will join them in a half hour. >> can't wait to do that. studio 1a. a look at the world's headlines, the world is saying good-bye to yet another legendary figure, carrie fisher died tuesday, 4 days after suffering a heart attack on a plane. she will always be remembered as princess leia. she was a best selling au

promoting her new out tautobiog. a tribute to her coming up. a scare at trump tower and a suspicious bag that turned out to be filled with toys. president-elect trump was not there at the time. search teams have now recovered a second flight recorder from the military plane that crashed in the black sea. experts are now analyzing their data to hopefully figure out what caused the plane to go down, killing all 92 people aboard. to an unusual murder investigation in arkansas, ra e raising new questions about privacy and technology. police want amazon to turn over data from the suspect's echo virtual assistant but the online giant is refusing. gabe gutierrez has that story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. many of you may have g

police want to tap into one of those devices to potentially help solve a crime. the suspect's attorney says her client has nothing to hide but that investigators are overreaching. this morning, a murder case is testing the limits of privacy inside your home. the amazon echo, better known as alexa. >> alexa, what's the weather? >> reporter: was a best-seller this christmas. but police in arkansas have filed a warrant for assistance to help solve a murder. >> consumers can listen to their alexa requests and can delete them. >> reporter: what's not clear is how much relevant data is on the device or amazon servers. prosecutors say 32-year-old james bates murdered his co-worker, victor collins, found strangled in his hot tub, he has pleaded not guilty. >> did anybody think when this

to alexis or gave to the am son echo would be used outside your home and used to have you arrested for a crime you didn't commit? >> reporter: investigators say this new technology is just another piece of the puzzle. >> we have establish eed probab cause and obtained this device the same way we search a person's cell phone and home. >> reporter: amazon says it will not release customer information without a binding legal demand and amazon objects to broad or inappropriate demands as a matter of course. >> when we give companies data the big problem is not only how will it be used today and combined with other data in the future and used against us. >> reporter: amazon has turned over some account data but not the electronic data, some account details i should say but not the electronic data. it's important to note while the i

not always recording until someone says the trigger word. this is raising new questions about police work and technology and this murder case is set to go to trial next year. >> good point. thanks for that. where are those trigger words where it starts recording. >> it's fascinating. i have one. the other night it played the song, i did not say alexa and the artist or the song. it was one of those creepy moments. let's get a check of the weather. shauna is in for al. >> across the east we have another day of still warm weather east of the rockies. you can see the warm weather from the south and temperatures 15-20 degrees above average. chicago, about 14 degrees warmer, 43 degrees here, raleigh at 59, 42 in boston, 7 degrees warmer and we start to get cooler heading to thursday and the development of the northeastern will help cool thingsow

temperatures in the orange and red. a 10 degree warm-up in mississippi at 30 degrees. you're still above average at 30, and tallahassee, florida in the 70s. 42 degrees and yesterday it was in the 60s and this will feel cooler and you will definitely notice the difference. nationwide we are looking at unseasonably mild conditions and some snow in the pacific northwest, and highs in the 30s and 40s and you have fun to start off in the morning along the gulf and should last to 9:00 clearing off to afternoon sun. that's a look atnals weather. to your neighborhood. our neighborhoods are in the cool 30s and 40s this morning. 30s at the international airport and 36 in beautiful frederick, maryland and 32 in fredericksburg, virginia. it will stay in the 40s with plenty of sunshine early. clouds tonight and rain likely tomorrow morning.

the sun is up, might have fre e freezing rain in the shenandoah valley. shouldn't be a big issue but we will be here to keep you ahead of that and dry for new year's weekend. >> that's your weather. >> thank you. coming up, why a lot of parents are saying the hatchi l hatchimals, the popular gift, they're having some trouble it's not living up to the hype. >> but, first, we're hitting the test track for a rare glimpse of the newest advances in car safety. right after this. (man my dad and i have the same eyes. same nose. same toughness. and since he's had moderate alzheimer's disease, the same never quit attitude. that's why i asked his doctor about once-a-day namzaric. (avo) namzaric is approved for moderate to severe alzheimer's disease in patients who are taking donepezil. it may improve cognition and overall function, and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. namzaric does not change the underlying disease progression. don't take if allergic to memantine, donepezil, piperidine or any of the ingredients in namzaric. tell the doctor about any conditions including heart, lung, bladder,

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>> good morning. i'm in a lincoln continental. it is a beauty. you look at this technology of this era compared to what we get today, there is no comparison. automotive engineers spend so much time in the lab they don't get to test the technology. but sometimes they get to take it out for a test and engineers at ford motor invited us for a test run. if you're commuting on roads like a farmer on this dirt road or paint a to point b, this is where automative engineers go before it goes off the assembly line. a playground where they ask but one question. what if the way hollywood stunt drivers drifted in the movie "fast and furious," could be

track by anyone. >> oh, my god, i lost track of where we are! >> reporter: what if an onboard computer allowed you those sxext skills. >> it allows the novice to do it. >> reporter: i get to feel where my 14-year-old lives. fun? yeah. but why engineer something we should not and do not do on an open road. >> take the technology you have developed with that computer, how does it apply on the highway on the side roads? >> when i'm going along and a dog runs out in front of me and i have to turn the car really quick, we can overpower the wheel to help the car turn. >> all the technology you built into this fun we're doing actually has application in real life? >> that's exactly it. >> what if you had to drive down a steep mountain but didn't have the confidence. >> i can't see where

going. >> reporter: an algorithm calculates 200 pieces of data a second. >> nice. >> this is a like a roller co t coaster ride. >> reporter: an autonomous computer calculates it. and some on the case are literally rocket scientists. >> you look back, you can see how the box is moving in this event. >> i can't see much. my head is bouncing around. >> what was once man's world, no longer. >> you look for shake. >> reporter: engineer, chrissy rodriguez' focus, prevent carsi carsickness. >> everything is about minimi minimizing the input to the driver. >> reporter: what if a standard production car were as fast as a race car? yes, that's a 6-speed ford mustang gt350. >> 5,

>> reporter: how does topping out at 160 miles an hour apply to everyday driving. >> slam on the brakes now. >> oh, my goodness! >> no swerve or skid, in 4 seconds, full stop. so we did 9 laps on that five mile track and had to quit. any guesses as to why? >> i don't know. got pulled over? >> reporter: ran out of gas. >> all that data and you didn't know you were running low on fuel? >> you didn't see the little -- meanwhile, kerry, we decided around here. >> i was not looking at that. >> we decided you look like danny zuko hanging onto that ride there, you look pretty cool. >> good looking car. we have to get him a greaser's jacket. >> i love it. >> go back and gas up. pretty

this has been a topic of discussion all morning long. music's new power couple, is this real? a photo of j.lo and drake. it is trending this morning. >> and in the orange room, many more tributes to the legendary carrie fisher, after this. triples the budget. we'll be totally behind schedule, right? (laughschedules. schedules. great, okay. 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.

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we are back with more of the tributes we're seeing to we are back to tributes we have been seeing for author and actress, carrie fisher. >> carrie fisher passed away tuesday morning, a funny actor and writer and mental health advocate who gave us so much through her work. tributes pouring in, peter mayhew saying there are no words for this loss.

and george saying maher soul rest in peace as we return her to a galaxy far far away. in recent years she traveled with her bulldog, kerry and he twe tweeted, i'll be right here, mommy. we couldn't confirm it as an official account. and rip carrie fisher, you'll always have the best buns in the galaxy because apparently everything is a branding opportunity these days, cinnabon did apologize but not before incurring wrath. my mom actually worked with carey. just like everyone who did, said the best things about her. she was as close as we had to a modern dorothy parker, a raise or wit, role model for young women and for all of us. she said of dying if i was going to do it i'd w

me around and i will be her and her legacy will be there a long long time. parents tweeting photos of their daughters as princess leia. >> sin no bon came back and apologized. that wasn't cool. >> i was looking at all the little girls dressed like leia. it is very very touching. >> she will leave a long lasting legacy. >> thank you very much. coming ahead, science and what you can do to live longer and nothing to do with eating or exerci exercising, right? and undercover as a meter maid, hoda's mission to hand out tickets these drivers were not expecting. staying in for new year's, fun and simple idea s to make your night at home one to remember. helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be

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this is a "news4 today" newsbreak. >> good morning. it's 7:56 on this wednesday morning. i'm angie goff. we want to get straight to jack taylor with your first 4 traffic. jack. >> a couple good news pieces. eastbound at baron cameron avenue. the early crash cleared from the right lane. the tow truck did get there and travel lanes once again open. same on the freeway. westbound near 7th street, the roadway has eased and nothing wrong downtown. >> thank you, jack. your forecast is next. stay with us.

sunny, breezy and cold for your wednesday plans. temperatures in the 40s. showers likely tomorrow. 80% chance for rain tomorrow. a slight chance for iciness first thing in the shenandoah valley. not expecting a big problem. windy and very cold friday and clouds around especially for new year's day. >> back to you after this break.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, the passing of a princess, tributes from co-stars, families and friends pour in for carrie fisher as we look at the life and career of the actress born into hollywood royalty. plus, that's the ticket. hoda goes under cover as a meter maid to hand out fake parking tickets and a chance for a little kindness while she's at it. >> you've got two tickets to see the knicks. >> it's not a parking ticket? >> no, sir. have a good day. >> good boy. >> it's time to meet our puppy. >> our puppy with a purpose turns 6 months old and

way, december 28th, 2016. celeb "t >> i'm from louisiana, be brave! >> new york city! ♪ >> happy birthday, daddy! >> happy anniversary, grammy and pap pappy! "today"! >> charlie's birthday. >> charlie's birthday. >> >> hi, . >> hi, charlie! >> charlie's half birthday -- i have my mike -- >> we're going to celebrate ch

>> also ahead we have last minute ideas. we're doing new year's eve celebration at home. we have very very easy ideas. >> you broke our set. >> i am going to help you out in a little bit. >> you break it you buy it. come here. >> take it as a souvenir. >> carson's the only thing holding us together right now. literally. >> let's get a check on "today's" headlines here. your news at 8:00. >> we begin with the stunning loss of kerry fisher. i'm stephanie. in interviews, she said she never shout sthought she would actress but always thought she would be a writer. she turned out to be prolific at both. >> what are you doing? >> reporter: a force on and off the screen. at just 19 years old she drew on her own fearlessness and wit to give life

>> would somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way? >> reporter: fans now in mourning over the sudden death of their hero. before fisher traveled to galaxy far far away to achieve superstardom as the princess, she was already considered hollywood royalty, the daughter of pop singer eddie fisher and actress debbie reynolds. she appeared at 15 alongside her mother in the 1973 revival of "irene" and she went on to appear in a long list of tv s w shows and movies including the 1989 romantic comedy "when "harry met sally."" >> that was incredibly brave what you did. >> reporter: more recently she reprized her iconic role in the "star wars" franchise directed by a.j. aabrams. >> i'm trying to be helpful. >> when did that ever

need to meet carrie fisher to understand her power that extended far beyond the stage and screen. she wrote several books including her most recent memoir, "the princess diist idi" where she spoke about her romance with harrison ford. >> one thing you won't get in this book is a bunch of steamy sex scenes. >> thank god. >> i don't know if i feel that way. >> look at you. you have had your own steamy sex scene, look at you. >> and she spoke about her tumultuous relationship with her mother. >> she took us on every journey she went through all through her life, all the ups and downs and in addition to princess leia is why she has such a special place in people's

>> reporter: she recently reconciled with debbie reynolds in a documentary for hbo. this morning, saddened by their loss and her therapy bulldog, gary, who has his own social media accounts which tweeted out i was always by your side but best of all, you were always by mine. after spending the last day looking at her interviews and appearances over the years, one of the things that really pops out is how funny carrie fisher was. you saw a little bit of that through savannah like laugh out loud funny. >> thank you. to tuesday's security scare at trump tower in manhattan, videos show people running through the lobby running for the exits after a suspicious bag triggered an evacuation order. turned out it was a false alarm, a bag of suspicious toys. the president-elect was not home. meantime for the second day,

against president obama saying if he ran again he could have won. he tweeted president obama campaigned hard and personally in the swing states and lost. recording a second flight data recorder from a military jet that crashed in the black sea on christmas day found about a mile off sochi. the fist flight recorder was found tuesday. a russian news agency revealed the black box revealed the plane's wing flaps were not working properly. all 92 people on board were killed including many members of the military choir. tesla predicts their cars can predict the future, too. this dashboard cam shows the out to pilot sensing something in bad in the road ahead. the car beats to alert the driver of the problem. immediately hits the brakes before the high speed

fortunately the two drivers involved in the accident escaped serious damage. >> that's incredible. next up, the lure of the live animal cam. we're on bald eagle hatching watch this morning. the real hatching watch. then, the growing complaints from parents and kids their toy hatchimals aren't actually ha h hatching. hoda dressing up as a meter maid to spread some unexpected cheer. first, these messages.

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could not look away from wat watching two bald eagles hatch in washington, d.c. remember that? now, two new pairs to watch, to fort myers, florida. parents are in their second season of mating and about to become parents to two baby eagles. the eggs were laid november 22nd and november 25th. they're expected to hatch sometime between right this second and new year's. >> new year's babies. >> the anticipation is causing thousands of people to watch the live stream, you can go to youtube and watch it. doesn't look like a whole lot is happening right now. we can move on. as we go through trending today, we move back. >> something is happening but we can't see it because it's northeast her. >> and -- underneath her. >> they will be feeding a cat to those

hottest toy of the holiday season is in hot water. match malls the interactive toy that hatches from an eag -- egg. and parents saying it never did. hatchimal did not hatch after 14 hours. now, all lights have gone off, my 4-year-old is gutted. others on the road struggling to get in touch with customer service. the toy company, spin master took to facebook and said they are committed to responding to customer inquiries as soon as possible. in anticipation of the busy holiday season we have increased our capacity with our consumer care team and working to respond. they did not immediately response to cnbc's request for comment. >> you're breaking it down right now. >> we had a hatchimal at our house. itnt

>> how did you get the hatchimal? >> i work at the "today" show. >> she pulled strings. >> what do you do to hatch it? >> you hold it and we hatched one. dylan was here before she actually had her baby and held onto it with harry connicker. it hatched here. speaking of hatching, let's see harriet, has she had her -- i said again egglets earlier and matt said eaglets. >> they say kindness can go a long way but can it help you live longer? that's what a new study is suggesting published, correla correlating behavior of people who helped care for others versus people who didn't. results found those who looked after and cared for family members were more likely to live their life a lot longer. researchers say this pattern suggests there is a link not only between helping and beneficial help effects but also

long story short, it pays to be kind. you will live a lot longer. >> doesn't it feel good when you do something for a loved one, even a stranger? from the inside-out. >> nice to know there's science from the idea if you do something nice you benefit. >> built into the species. finally good news. let's look at the eagle cam. anything? >> nothing. all right. we know these gatorade panara and i think it's pronounced -- do you know -- >> no. >> how did they get their name. first, i'm the one who has the answers. gatorade, where did that came from? >> gai for aid came from the -- gatorade came from the uf. the football players were having trouble with hydration. >> it was developed as a sports drink and created for them. >> gap. >> there was a market gap between the loweren

higher end stuff and they're kind of in between. >> a generational xwgap. adult and kids. give you half. >> panera. >> pan is bread. the era of bread? >> that's why you're a genius, like a rhodes scholar here. and asos. what does it mean? >> no idea. >> as seen on-screen. that's what it was an abbreviation for. before we go to "popstart," let's check one more time to eagle's nest. you don't have to log onto your computer. >> there's motion there. >> what's that? >> why is everybody so fascin e fascinated enamored watching them hatch? >> it represents berth there. "popstart," it's not quite the new year but there is a new hollywood power couple in our midst. rumors artist drake, 30, and jen

drake posted this picture superstar, however she said drake was just checking out her show and people wondered maybe they're working on new music together, while there is no word they are officially dating, perhaps this picture speaks for itself, the talk of town. j.lo and drake posting this photo on their instagram pages early this morning, tamron, help out here which seems to indicate the two might be more than friends. if you look at the picture, they look very very cozy. tamron, are they a new couple? what are your thoughts? >> i've been trying to process it. can we put it back up? why is he looking at the camera with that one eye? if you're into someone, aren't you looking at them? why is he looking at the camera. j.lo is reasonably private. would she go public with her relationship like that? >> there is

unfollowed j.lo over the weekend. the ultimate today. >> where is jeff rossen? i need to know. >> and dralo was the hashtag. >> dralo. really? >> to orlando and bloom, vis visiting as stan. on instagram, they dressed down. playing pie face. first, katie went up against her sister, angela tuttle. look at pie face. >> i love this! i love this. >> no, no, no! >> no! >> love that. >> a fun game. katy did not win her round but did orlando win his round. have a look at what happened when katy went against orlando's brother, david. have a look.

>> doesn't look like that was fair part of that game. orlando having some fun. >> we need one of those. >> fun to watch those two. they seem to be having a lot of fun. there's your "popstart," guys. >> another check of the weather. shauna is in for al this morning. >> i played that game. bring it on in. >> a look at your national maps right now. we do have snow lingering in the northeast. through the upper plains where we're seeing lingering showers, not much accumulation at all. otherwise very quiet throughout the country, dry conditions through california. warming up a little bit. 76 today, unseasonably mild temperatures for the midwest, lingering snow in the pacific northwest causing things to be chillier in the 30s for you. a chance of thunderstorms through tennessee, mississippi and ohio river valleys and fog to start off with in the gulf. we'll watch that for you. a look at your national weather. here's what's good

neighborhood. >> outside in our neighborhood, it is noticeably cooler, back to 30s and 40s, a little bit of northwest wind, to keep it feeling a lot more like december, only in the mitt 40s. tomorrow, includes skies, sho r showers likely, most rain chances in the morning. a small chance early tomorrow morning, we could have is i -- iciness in northern maryland. not a big issue and dry weather for new year's. >> that's your latest weather. >> thank you so much. now for more of the best of today, revisiting some of our favorite stories for the year. >> near the top of the list, hoda's day in disguise for our campaign. south orange, new jersey, a quaint suburb, is about to get hit with a host of undercover ki kindness. >> let's start this thing. >> change the temple a

>> i'm opting for the unibrow. >> my new look is so convincing no one will recognize me all day. >> scoot up, scoot up. >> the employee that i'm impersona impersonating, a meter maid h d handing out tickets for a ridiculous parking violation. the catch the tickets are much better tickets to the hottest events around. >> against the laid chin fist car. >> reporter: we've outfitted the block with hidden cameras and i'm even wearing a strategic button cam. >> excuse me. >> this will transmit to the ear. >> you're 6 inches from the curb. i'm sorry, you get a ticket. >> are you going to talk in your regular voice? >> talk to the judge! >> that's better. >> talk too the judge! >> with that settled, i am officially on duty. >> they are expired by the way. >> i soon forget. >> this guy has one minute left on his meter. >> that this is not my

>> yes, i'm helping citizens left and right. that's nothing compared to the joy i'm about to spread. >> sorry, you guys, sorry. >> you're too far from the curb and your meter is not set. >> are you serious? i just parked the car. >> read your ticket. >> and we're off. >> ma'am, you have to open your ticket. >> what? >> you have to open your ticket. >> what? is this a joke? why are >> why are you doing this? >> just for you. >> i feel so bad, i just yelled at you. >> it's okay. have a good day. >> thanks! >> you're welcome. >> you're too close to the curb. this has to be m

take to it the judge, okay? >> from the curb? >> too close. too close to the curb. oh, god, this is turning into a nightmare. she finally opens to it find -- you open it? >> what is this? >> a random act of kindness. enjoy yourself. enjoy yourself. >> thank you! i was really going off, how are you supposed to be too close to the curb. thank you! >> oh, god, i'm exhausted. people might want to kill me. >> some folks have no idea what to make of the situation. >> you read your ticket, right, sir? >> i'm trying to understand it, really. >> looks to me like you've got two tickets to see the knicks. >> oh, yeah? >> looks like you're in section 112, row 22, seat 6. you have two tickets to see the ks

>> no, sir. have a good day. >> thank you very much. >> some get it right away. >> oh! >> wow. >> i just have to give you that ticket. that's the ticket for you. >> this lucky lady scores orchestra seats to the radio city christmas spectacular. she seems pretty cool with that. luckily, after they figure it out, all is forgiven. >> oh, my god. >> thank you. >> thank you, who ever this is from. >> hello. >> why are you ticketing? >> the best exchange is with a guy who was already having a really bad day. >> hello, i'm talking to

>> please read -- okay. okay. >> open it. oh, my god. oh, my god! i'm so sorry. i apologize. oh, my god. >> it's all right. >> he even comes back to find me, vowing to pay it forward. >> i am so upset. >> don't be upset. >> i'm going to give it to somebody. i am. >> a little mischievous, maybe. but in the end, i hope it's a reminder that it pays to be kind and feed the meter. >> that was the sweetest thing done in a long time. >> you got it. >> thank you. >> so cute. thank you. >> does nbcuniversal or bravo do that? i would watch that show. >> that's a great show to watch. they're all so angr t

ticket and just like that, the giants tickets, they're so happy. >> it shows you, you have this edge up and something happens. >> hoda is the perfect host for it. >> i want to take a second to thank ticketmaster and live nation and madison square garden for providing most of those tickets. coming up, diy ideas for throwing a new year's eve bash at your home and the big milestone in charlie's life. >> charlie! >> he's 6 months old. can you believe it. more after your local news and weather.

this is a news for "today" newsbreak. >> good morning. it's 8:26, wednesday, december 28th. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's get a check on the roads with jack taylor. jack. >> good morning. the trouble spot this morning is on 66, eastbound as you approach the exit to get onto nutley street. a car slammed into the guardrail. it is blocking the ramp to nutley street and only two lanes getting by on 66 east. all the breakdown before the crash at nutley is gone. back to you. >> a check on your forecast when we come back. stay with us.

good morning, everybody. temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s. tomorrow, showers likely especially in the morning and before the sun is up we might see ice in the north and

windy and cold on friday and clouds increase through the weekend. we should be dry as we ring in 2017. >> thank you. another news update in 25 minutes. for now, back to "today."

we are back. 8:30 now, wednesday morning, december 28th, 2016. a good looking crowd here in the plaza. t minus three days and counting to new year's eve. the gaings all here. bundle up. the birthday boy. >> countdown to new year's eve. a girl there with a sign saying she's looking for new year's plans for new year's day. we're hoping to help that as you're hosting new year's eve. charlie, our puppy with a purpose, turns 6 months old and we're celebrating

milestones. >> that's a big one. if you think the best way to spend new year's eve is at home we have a ways to make things a little more festive. >> speaking of 2017, the new list of must visit vacation destinations in the new year. >> jenna catches up with one of the most famous fashion desi designers in the world. and what the new lady chose as her first dress to wear for a very big speech. everyone's excited to be on the plaza, right? [ applause ] >> it will be a beautiful day before the storm in the northeast. do enjoy this cools with. we will be seeing a cooldown for new year's eve. >> and heavy rain in the southeast. as you head out west, possible rain for saturday. new year's day looking dry out west. temperatures cooling to the 20s and 30s and seasonably mild temperaturer

a little bit of rain continuing through the southeast portion of our country. florida beautiful at 80 degrees in the northeast. looking drier there. temperatures cooling down to the 40s. we were in the 60s yesterday so it's a little bit cooler out here. that's a look at the weather across the nation. here's what's happening in your neighborhood. >> outside, it is a december cold morning. 31 at dulles airport. 36 in gaithersburg. 39 in leesburg. 40 in washington, 77 in prince george's count -- 47 in prince george's county. nowhere near as that nice 68 yesterday. a chance of showers very early before the sun is up and might be freezing rain to give you the heads-up on that. not expecting big troubles and rain will taper off by late in this day. >> get your forecast any time on the weather channel on cable. back to you, carson. >>

if you're looking for a place to vacation, your search is over. travel and leisure just publi published the best destinations for the new year. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> what went into this list for the top spots? >> we talked to our contributors and said what places have something exciting going on, maybe a new cultural attraction and tons of hotels opening and we compiled this master list. consider it your cheat sheet where to go in the new year. >> let's start with the u.s. nashville. >> nashville has been getting more and more popular over the past few years. honestly, there's so much to do there. in 2017, a couple anniversaries. the reiman auditorium turning 25 and this cafeteria, 50 and beyond that the food, so many restaurants. fast gem has 24

pinewood social, an amazing bowling alley open all hours of the night and 20 hotels opening in the spring. the public can come and tour and see all the incredible art. >> i 2350feel like people think have to be an aspiring country musician to move to nashville. i know a lot of people who live there and a lot going on there culturally. >> it's totally hot. >> the next is not in the mainland. let's talk about what you're calling america's next cultural hub. >> honolulu. you want to sit and enjoy the surf and on the beach of waikiki. other than that, so many cult e cultural events. they're having the first bi-annual artists on march 8th from the pacific rim and panel installations and this specific area have these incredible mu l murals done by this company, beautiful, colorful on re

sites. and the surf jack hotel about local arts and custom paradise wall paper and graphic at the bottom saying "wish you were here" actually in the heart of waikiki. >> and people go to the beach assuming there is more happening there. >> obviously you want to sit in the sun but the cultural attractions happening. >> this spot on the east coast, i don't know if many people think about it, i've been there, bermuda. >> a 90 minute flight from new york city. for 2017, they have a lot of big things going on. they will be hosts to the 35th america's cup, the 35th international sailing regatta, 20 teams from around the world will be there. they're excited about that. a lot of hotel openings. hamilton princess, a beautiful hotel just went through a 1$100 million renovation and added a marina and pool and added a

marcus samuelsson. if you want international travel and want to be biggest conscious about it, montreal is one of my favorite cities and you say you can do it without breaking the bank. na the . >> the exchange rate is great now. and the city is so excited. >> a quick flight from the east coast. >> you have culture and the air festival one of the winter's biggest festivals and igloo fest and symphony performances, a brand new hotel called the william grey contemporary rooms, in two new buildings and they added a whole new wing called the pavion for peace, 750 works by the contemporaries and old masters. >> great restaurant. the restaurants turn into -- they play music at night, a real fun fun town. >> toes get to. >> another international city people might not think about ta

>> you might think belfast going to europe. belfast, a lot of new things opened the past few years, galle galleries, restaurants, shops, and over nine interactive galle galleries. and to say you have the bullet hotel inspired by the iconic film and cuisine and great cocktails. >> how did you remember all of this? my goodness, i have a teleprompter, you don't. >> thank you. >> from the runway to the red carpet. opening up to jana about what it's been like to be the designer of the year. first, this is "today" on nbc.

afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me. back now at 8:39. noes

eventful year and it has been a good one for certain fashion desi designer. >> it has been for christian siriano. >> he has dressed celebrities and ladies and red carpeters and got married in january. christian siriano might call 2016 one of the best years of his life. oprah, gwyneth paltrow, and others, cristiano caught an eye on the hit show "project runway." his amazing designs charmed the audience. he became a star winning the competition. >> it's been a lot of fun. >> very very exciting. >> it's been great. >> reporter: reality tv wins don't always guarantee life success. his instant fame skyroe

into the world of high fashion. >> was it overwhelming at the time? >> it was. i kind of launched in this pop culture craziness. my biggest goal was to make sure the clothes were fabulous and always amazing. >> siriano sets his brand apart by creating clothes for all shapes and sizes. >> you in some ways have stepped up as a designer that dresses all women, all body shapes, all type of women. >> it's way more fun. >> way more fun. >> way more fun. >> funny because it is an a simple thing, dressing all women yet it's something not everybody is doing. >> i like to embrace all women because i think that's what the business is. we're here to sell clothes, make women feel great and beautiful. why not do that in every size? >> fashion for everyone inspired by his own family. >> my mom was a size 16. shopped at lane bryant. that was her world. my sister was a ballet dancer and me and her were size zero, tiny. it was a fun mix.

clothes. i was in the full spectrum of the world. >> at this summer's democratic convention when michelle obama wore a cristiano dress, it was his mom who shared the news. >> i heard you actually found out she was wearing your dress via text from your mom. >> my mom was right, i'm pretty sure that's yours. she looks good. thanks, mom. >> you must have been proud to be part of it. >> yeah. it was more of like the dress was civile and great in general. something people will remember forever, i think. >> when "ghostbusters" star, leslie jones, lamented on twitter, no designer would dress her for the premier, siriano came to the rescue. >> we wanted to give her, her cinderella moment as every woman does. wants to look beautiful in a dress. >> siriano also got married, created a collection for lane bryant and even set a r

donned his designs at the emmes. >> who would you love to dress? >> there's a lot of people. we dress so many amazing fabulous women. i'm a big fan of julianne moore and cate blanchett. i try not to think about it too much because that's the key to when it usually works out. >> when you think back on this year, what was the high for you? >> the bigger message is the best part, the whole idea of just celebrating women in this world, wherever they live, wherever they're from, whatever it is. that's like the best part. >> it was a crazy year for sure, but christian's definitely a designer in demand. expect 2017 to be just as busy and exciting. >> pretty cool. mom texts you, first lady is in your dress. >> huge fan of his designs. up next, we will add you and some

fun to your new year's eve bash. we won't but she will. this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back this morning welcome back this morning on "today's" stress-free holiday. neef id new year's eve ideas. >> if you're staying at home and having a few friends over we have tips to add spark toll your celebration. we have j.j. here with ideas. a lifestyles expert. thank you for the hat. >> i'm so glad. it will be saturday night. there is no excuse, we brought you so many great ideas so you can get going at home. let's start. say you have a store bought cake you pick up, don't have to bake it yourself, pick it up. these are craft store numbers, you ckacan plop them in. and with a ribbon.

stickers. you have your champagne glasses you already have. you can make them festive for the occasion, 2017. drop the ball cupcakes, silver cupcakes and edible glitter. >> look how elegant they look. gorgeous. y >> yes, we made the hat. this is just black felt paper from a craft star and you can cut out a party hatem platt. i just downloaded this. cut it out, fill it up, leftover boas and tinsel. these are craft store numbers you can put on and you have your own customized party hats. >> i love we have leftover boas at the house. >> who's getting kissed at midnight. midnight kisses. hershey kisses in a clear craft store box. >> this is an

of party. >> there's plenty of activity still. >> they come over before the ball drops. let's move on. >> our favorite, right, the bar party. >> how much fun. we can't forget about our champagne this evening. this is a do it yourself champagne bar. i will hand you a glass. >> like sunday for adults here. >> go ahead and -- >> what do you put in the champagne? >> gold gummies, how yummy is that? sugar flowers, pomegranate seeds. you can fill that up. it's like a customized diy champagne bar. i love these glasses from world market. there's flutes, tulips and kutes. >> i love these. >> cookie dough shots. how much fun is that? it's baileys in there. >> what do i do with that? >> take it down and eat it. take off the cherry here. >> is th

>> yeah. it's bailey's. >> really? >> santa's best shot. >> that's delicious. i didn't get what that was exactly. >> frerch toast skiers, breakfast after midnight to soak up the chol. >> that looks good now but better at 1:00. >> and chips and gac. >> i feel like gene wilder and willy wonka, drinks a thing and takes a breath. >> okay. >> so then what we're going to give if we're doing the bar party, a party favor, these are glitter donuts, how fun, edible glitter on these. buy store bought edible donuts and have breakfast for the morning. >> what a classy move, give them a favor to go out the door. this is the more

>> here you go. our formal fancy new year's eve. >> sit down. >> this is a kissing ball. these are burgundy carnations. you can get in here and see how this is done. >> difficult to make? >> no. a floral sphere. 8 inch. buy burgundy carnations and stick them in. if you want to do a cake, how about buy a store-bought cake, all about making it easy. >> dress it up. >> dress it up, chocolate sauce, chocolate covered strawberries and dress it up and put them on top. this is for the napkin. this is a white dinner napkin and we made it a tuxedo and all the instructions are on today.com. the clock plate, if we can look i want to show you guys, this is just a silver charger. then, this was -- i downloaded this an cut it out. clear plates are so fantastic because, boom, that's so easy. and you can also change that out. say, you want to write something

someone's birthday, it's just a printable and you can make a clock plate. >> great ideas. >> happy new year, guys. here we go on saturday night. >> can you believe it's already saturday? one more. >> one more idea really easy, a black napkin. you can make this into a black tae bo tie. put it through the napkin ring. here we go over here. >> you can also watch our show on nbc if you like. mel b will be there, jennifer lopez. starts on nbc. i have to work in a plug there. these are great ideas. thank you. >> cheers. big moments of charlie's life in honor of our puppy's 6 month birthday.

all right. we are back celebrating a very special birthday. charlie, our puppy with a purpose, turned six months old on christmas day and marked the occasion with a big event, his very first plane ride. he traveled home with his america's vet dogs puppy raiser olivia and that milestone got us thinking in honor of charlie's six-month birthday, let's run through our top six charlie moment playing with matt. this is a new morning ritual around here, matt and cha

making new friends. there you go. charlie visiting a lot of celebrities that come by the show here. charlie's halloween costume. a '90s theme, beanie baby there and charlie visited the u.s. naval academy and met members of our military. number 2, charlie's first steps we first met charlie at studio 1a. number 1 is all the great training and milestones charlie has been doing. let me bring in olivia here. what have you been working on with charlie. fist, how was the flight home? >> it was awesome. a total pro like he's been doing it his whole life. he has been working on one of the foundation service dog ta tasks, learning how to push things with his nose. eventually that will bishe handp plates and licenses. >> how do you do that? >> we used buttons similar to this. charlie, let's show off. stand.

ready, push. >> great job. really, right on it. >> he's got it. >> how has his training been overall in six months? >> he's such a pleasure to work with. such an incredible experience. >> we have a little something for charlie. there you go. doggy cupcakes. happy birthday to charlie. >> tamron, back over to you. >> what a good dog. >> absolutely. >> it's that time we do our smuckers birthdays. happy 103rd birthday to ang lincoln stan tin of new jersey. she enjoys traveling on the beach. 103 years old. from huntington, west virginia. rumor has it she makes the best pound cake you will ever taste. happy 100th birthday to anjay cobson. and joseph celebrating 100 years from in

city. and mr. stoddard, 100 years old, volunteered as a boy scouts leader for 30 years. look at this couple, 75th anniversary from illinois. they say the secret to a long and happy marriage is to learn how to compromise. i've been a journalist for years and i haven't been the most nervous ever. this is a "news4 today" newsbreak. >> hi, good morning. 8:56 this wednesday, december 28th. i'm angie goff. jack taylor is here with more tying up traffic on i -66. >> unfortunately we had a van slam into the wall.

nutley. and your delay is solid back toward the 50 swrrng binterchan the tow truck is on scene, hopefully will get the back up cleared quickly. >> your forecast next.

sunny skies again today but feeling a lot more like december, in the 30s to 40 degrees right now. we'll stay in the 40 all day long with plenty of sunshine. tomorrow, 80% chance of light rain early in the morning before the sun is up. might see a hint of freezing rain well west and north of the city. doug will be updating that at 11:00 tonight. windy and cold for friday and dry for new year's. >> get the latest news and weather any time by downloading our nbc washington app. back to "today."

this morning on this morning on "today's take," why leo's lucky number was 6 and other notable numbers as we highlight 2016. a new year's challenge, two designers plan a small party on-plan a party on a small biggest. and cam newton, all coming up now. this is "today's take," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. [ applause ] >> good morning. december 28th, 2016. a lovely crowd of people hanging out with us. i'm tamron hall with craig melvin. good to have you

>> good to be here. >> absolutely. i'm rarely late on a weekday because we start so early. i walk out at 6:30, i'd never seen so many people in my life, just packed if you ever get a chance and fortunate to visit new york, try to come around christmas. the scene, it's chaotic but it was ec sill rating. >> i said the same thing yesterday and it makes perfect sense. folks are off this week, come to the city and do after christmas shopping and everyone stops, get their pictures and line up for their selfies. >> here's what happened to me last night, i'm sure i photo bombed people because you walk through the crowd and walk through pictures by accident. it's beautiful if you get a chance to come by. we've been remembering all morning long and last night, carrie fisher, who died of

l.a. and reflecting on what she meant to that franchise of "star wars" and her fantastic career, women empowerment. princess leah. stephanie gosk has been covering this, she was one of the original bad a characters out there. >> she was. even beyond that, in addition to being one of the first feminists to a certain extent on the big screen, she did more for mental health advocacy in this country than a lot of folks realize, talking about her battles with addiction, talking about having bipolar disorder and bouts of depression as well, not just talking about it but writing about that as well. we've been going through a lot of the tweets and remembrances. one from her dog -- she had this 4-year-old dog. >> he was with her. she was here last month and savannah interviewed here and gary was right at her side. he's been on television, "late nigh

this was not like a prop dog, this was her companion, this was her -- they call them dog children. that's the person or creature, i should say, who was with her all the time. >> he looks like he has as much personality as she does. someone set up an account for him and he tweeted, saddest tweets to tweet. mommy is gone. i love you, carrie fisher. reportedly her daughter is going to be looking after gary. >> they had a photo of gary and he is like looking out in the distance. i have to think quite naturally you think of debbie reynolds, her mother and family and sister and children. i did think of this pet who's been by her at her side. harrison ford released a statement. this was so interesting. he said carey was one of a kind brilliant, funny and emotionally fe fearless. she lived her life bravely. it goes to what you were saying about her being so open. when you're in tv you, of coursent

the people at home and the people who support your career and you want to have a level of honesty and you also want to protect your privacy. when something has happened in your life you feel can empower and help other people like when i first started talking about what happened to my sister, i was so on the fence how open should i be about domestic violence, there was this call i could not ignore in my head. carrie fisher, as you said, dealing with bipolar disorder and fame and pressures, even being estranged at some point from her mother, debbie reynolds, and telling people, i have this issue with my own parents. >> she was doing it before a lot of actors and entertainers decided to become advocates for anything. she will be greatly missed. >> we love her so much. >> there's a guy in iowa, i believe it's iowa, he runs a cabinet company. he might be the best boss in america. >> this is the story. gary birch is his

we've read mr. birch is taking all 800 employees, all of them, on a 5-day caribbean cruise. yes, gary has charted a plain, taking them to miami, putting them up one night, 5-star hotel no less before they boarded the carnival cruise ship. the challenged them one year ago and offered them the cruise incentive. what has been the best thing from a job, not just this incentive but the best thing? >> we got nice blankets. >> i didn't get a blanket. >> you were at the holiday party. we got blankets. >> i didn't get a blanket. >> did you guys get a blanket? >> i got a blanket. you may have left early. >> no one got a blanket. >> there were blankets. they were very nice, these silver blankets. >> christine got, 3 out of the 15 people got one? >> they may have run out of

a blanket. bottles of wine occasionally. i've never had a boss take me on a trip. how about you? >> no. we in the past have done raffles or things. i think at toys "r" us -- >> you worked at toys "r" us? >> i worked my first job in texas, i think i got a plush animal or something. i figure i'm not working hard enough. >> tamron hall at toys "r" us. >> i worked -- like a moment of pride for me. i started off in the plush section, stuffed animals and then i worked my way up to cash shir. it was the most incredible -- i remember getting my very first paycheck and you see all these acron acronyms -- >> who's fi ca? >> then i went to work at sears. i probably have 46 -- i think i have at this point -- i've been a journalist nearly 30 years. prior to that i sold

an office i basically licked the stamps and sealed stuff, seven or eight jobs, and none provided a cruise ship. congratulations to them. have fun, don't drink too much on the cruise. >> he said the last time they did something like this they ran out of booze. >> be careful on the cruise. >> this story caught our eye. a mom discovered she's been charged 2$250 for pokemon gifts on amazon. she initially assumed like we all she had been hacked. turns out her 6-year-old daughter, ashland, had used her thumbprint while she was asleep, to unlock her mom's phone. picture this, you're sleeping and the little cutie -- >> sleeping hard, too. >> when i go out, i go out. she sneaks in, takes her mom's thumb, so that cute child with you right now with you while you watch us, imagine, put your fingerer on the phone. she told

shopping and everything ordered was coming straight to the house. she had to return 4 out of the 13 items, the rest used as christmas gifts. that was the culprit. >> that's creative. >> creative? >> pretty creative, yes. >> some level of diabolical -- >> is it petty larceny as well? probably. but my son, he's only 2 1/2, he'll be watching something on the ipad or iphone and the screen will lock. he'll come over and like, touch you and want you to put your thumb on. >> when is he going to up his theft game? probably 4. >> and read the credit card in? i am impressed. i feel like i'm 90 when i say this. the technology with kids. i see 2 year-olds, i know how to do it, like your kid, ta-da da, i don't need you. they can go parentless, new home alone with the computer. coming up, nfl superstar, cam newton. you a fan of cam? >> huge fan. >> i'm a fan of his wardrobe.

beyond what you see on the outside, this guy apparently has a big heart. wait until you see this wish he granted. it is right up there with the best moments. >> tear you up. >> tear you up, after this. i will never never wash my hair again now, i fuel it new pantene doesn't just wash your hair, it fuels it. with the first pro-v nutrient blend, making every... ...strand stronger don't just wash your hair fuel it fuel your hair. because strong is beautiful. a farmer's market.ve what's in this kiester. a fire truck. even a marching band. and if i can get comfortable talking about this kiester, then you can get comfortable using preparation h. for any sort of discomfort in yours. preparation h. get comfortable with it. with all the rush in the morning, i don't have time to hashtag my breakfast.

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re of us are surviving cancer than dying from it. give now to the american cancer society. back with more of "today's back with more of "today's take," we're still investigating the christmas party for the "today" show. this guy, craig melvin, sweetest guy in the world, got blanket. >> i only took two. >> sal got a blanket. >> how long have you worked here? >> five. >> there have been people who worked here 20 years. >> dave looks so angry. >> our colleagues standing like this. >> there's a story that's

gotten under your -- >> not gotten under your skin? >> i woke up this morning, didn't see this news, carson daly slides his phone under my nose, did you see this? this picture of j.lo who i adore and drake. they both put this picture out on their social media account. >> they're can noodling. can noodling. >> last week, drake popped up at j.lo's concert. they were at a concert. now, this picture. there's a report that rihanna has unfollowed j.lo. it was just earlier this year drake was on stage presenting an award to rihanna saying she's been the love of his life for 20 something years the only one he's ever loved. i get it you move on. j.lo was with kaspar. >> i was going to say -- >> is this real? >> no, it's not real. they're going to put out a song together. >> what's the give-away that

kanoo kanoodling? >> she's 46 and he's -- the age thing does not bother me at all. what makes you feel it's not real? >> those are two people in the past who have shown a capacity to manipulate social media to get people to talk. they probably have a song coming out at some point. >> they're both, i think single. >> you think they are? you think this is an again love? i don't think jake was around for living color. >> when she was a 5-year-old? i don't know what to think anymore about social media and relationsh relationships. i just don't think they would both put the picture out there if it was a real relationship. this is the other thing, ladies, take a look closer. why is he looking at that camera and not her with the one eye?

the moment. he's got the one -- >> who's taking the picture. >> you know what? he's looking up for rihanna. >> i don't think ri-ri is the one that scored. this is a great story out of north carolina. a 10-year-old boy named austin has advanced pulmonary hypertension. he had one christmas wish he wanted to meet carolina quarterback, cam newton. and spreading this picture on facebook asking to spread the word hoping newton would hear about it. yesterday, wouldn't you know it, newton shows up and surprises austin for the hospital for children in atlanta. >> watch the hug. oh, my gosh. >> you know who this is? >> look at that hug! you can feel it. >> cam newton said he thought his phone number was unlisted but he had gotten roughly 100 calls frope

meet this kid. >> they found his actual phone number. >> i guess people who knew him got to cam and said you have to get down to atlanta. he has a fantastic teacher who put that out there. >> i love that. that hug, you can see it and feel it in your soul there. ions to cam for being a good guy. we have this amazon challenge. amazon had its best holiday season ever. they shipped 1 billion items, 200,000 of those to my house. coming up shortly we will have a new year's eve party decorating challenge. all items purchased on amazon prime for just 2$250. the segment is created with our sponsor, amazon. we have two designers who will go head-to-head and show their stuff and best of all, we can steal some of the ideas. >> can we just steal the items? >> you already stole a blanket from the christmas party. >> there you go. >> we will have that challenge

ideas. meanwhile, time for a check of the weather. a look at it in your neck of the woods. i can't get it right. here you go. >> i like that it keeps on st p stumping her every morning. beautiful day outside in washington. it's in the upper 30s and low 40s in the area right now. not going to be a big warm-up today. afternoon temperatures will hold in the mid 40s today. clouds will come back and a pretty good chance of rain showers. only the slightest chance north and west of the city before the sun is out. freezing rain, not expecting a big impact for that. windy and cold for friday and dry for new year's. >> we have some of the most macho guy on the show and i love, who's taking that picture? do you think rihanna was there? >> i'm curious. >> who is taking the picture? probably one of j.lo's employees. please, let us know. is it okay to leave a party without saying good-bye? >> you do it all the .

>> i do. >> hoda, calls it the houdini. she sneaks out. playing the etiquette game. i don't like saying good-bye because i think it's rude. s ac ross america. and no family pays st. jude for treatments, travel, housing or food. because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. so if you have health kids, give thanks. give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not. go to stjude.org or shop where you see the st. jude logo. it's a really big deal. and with fever, aches, and chills, mom knows it needs a big solution: an antiviral. don't kid around with the flu, call your doctor

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on new year's eve, there's so many social questions like when someone seas annoying what do you do? how long do you stand around? what's okay to post online. enough to make you mad and stay at home. >> etiquette expert and found of social skills for success, author of social skills for success, going to help solve all your party predicaments, a little game called the dos and don'ts of new year's eve etiquette, we're playing for points. >> stakes are high. >> if i were at party right now i would say, that's a beautiful top, i mean it. that's how you break the ice, right? >> if it's again. here's how it works. let's cut to the chase. i will give you a do or don't scenario. when you know the answer, be the

first to chime in with your squawker and place your bets. you have your squawker, do they work? >> mine works, i just tested it. >> they all work. blow your squawker, if you get a point you get it right. the most prized, the person who gets the most you're the winner. wait until you see the prize. ready? >> there's a prize. >> do or don't. come empty-handed to a party if you know-craig. >> you never show up empty to a party. >> you got it. your momma taught you well. >> i'm from south carolina. >> my momma taught me well and i was waiting for the question. >> she said you shouldn't come to a party empty-handed, i knew that was lowrong. >> never show up empty-handed. imagine all the work someone put into this party. it can be as small as a token gift. >> i agree. >> thoughtfulness, attach something that has your name on it so your gift doesn't go

of people forget to put their names on it. you have to make sure. >> ready? do or don't. you're at a big party. can you leave without saying good-bye if you don't have -- >> you should probably wait to hear the end of that one. >> getting aggressive here. tamron. >> i will tell you what i do and you tell me if i can sneak out, especially if the person is talking i don't want to distract them from other guests. i think you can. >> tamron you win a point. >> she got so lucky. you got so lucky. >> it's all about numbers. it's a numbers game here. if the party has more than 50 gue guests, don't worry about it. your departure is likely going to go unnoticed. however, if you're talking 20 or less guests, you will go noticed. so give your good-byes. >> you're validating her rud rudeness right now. >> leave early. leave when there's a high number of guests. >> that's exactly what i'm hearing. >> called the irish good-byes and french exit. question numb

bring kids to the party where there won't be any other kids. whoa, i don't know what to do here. craig. >> please don't do that. >> i don't mind it. >> no other kids? >> my house is not the most kid friendly but i love -- i don't mind it, i don't. >> craig is the winner here. if i showed up with my 1 and 4-year-old, let me tell you the whole dynamic of the party would change. >> here's my deal, if you tell me in advance, i have had friends say, can i bring over -- i say, it's okay. i do say my house is not the most kid friendly, don't want anybody falling on the coffee table but i don't mind it. >> if you're the party goer, don't bring your kids no matter what. that's the host perspective. >> send a text, can't make it. >> we're out of time. who won? >> i hate to say it but i think craig won. >> all right! >> so, craig, your prize is your new year hat. >> your wiwi

that one! >> your life will be very special this holiday season. >> thank you. >> that was good. i learned something new. >> next up, two top designers go head-to-head. >> we go head-to-head to create the best new year's eve bash on a budget. this is a nice hat. i like this. this is your tax return. ok. now, there are many right ways to fill out this tax return. and the irs will accept them all. one of them gets you the most money back. isn't that the one you want? that's the one i want. that's the one you want. mmm... you touched all these. don't just get your taxes done, amy. get your taxes won.

amazing, you made these? >> hey, guys. cheers. good morning. 9:26 this wednesday, december 28th. i'm aaron gilchrist. look at your tv screen. d.c. police are looking for people who saw this man, adrian dwayne johnson, now the man charged with killing a popular yoga teacher and actress, tricia mccauley found dead after the 46-year-old was missing christmas day. road crews working on adding another lane to ji davis highway in woodbridge and adding another bridge over the creek. it will last through next friday. a look at your forecast right after this.

good morning, everybody. sun is shining. it will stay chilly and breezy owd. temperatures hold in the 40s. showers likely tomorrow, mostly rain showers. there could be a little freezing in parts of the shenandoah l

windy and cold on friday as you say good-bye to 2016. >> you can get news and weather any time on the nbc washington app.

one holiday weekend down but another one right around the one holiday weekend down, another around the corner. we put it up as a challenge. >> and sponsored by amazon. it took two days. we can't wait to see what they've done with it. good morning, guys, ladies and gentlemen. i love them both already. francesca, we will send you over to yours. >> that's okay. >> it's a competition. >> game on. >> i am a sucker for black and white. >>

welcome to my black and white ball. i looked up friends for 2017, black and white is huge in home fashion and clothing fashion. >> show me what you did. >> first, i chose a statement piece that will continue for cohesion. i have feather garlands and feather photo-op wall and feather console. >> this is your feather op wall. >> take your selfies. you have this amazing background where it really pops. >> i love this. >> the budget friendly tip is reusing your current couch cushions but covering them. i went on amazon and got covers and tied them with a bow. >> will it take time to recover? >> just put them over what you have. >> one of my favorite tips is buying in bulk. rather than buying a lot of stuff, buy three items but get tons of them. i got 120 feathers and

of fabric and 30 yards of ribbon and went a long way. i have so much left over. >> what did you do with the fabric? >> it's in the drape, the mom p poms, what didn't i do with it. >> tell me what you did. >> details are not just for your wall. i love them in glass furniture, coffee tablets and end tables and even on your windows. you apply it with a credit card or swiper and it comes right off and you're done. >> this is phenomenal. you stayed around 2$250? >> this is 2$247. >> this is great. you have your work cut out for you. >> let's start with these. >> when you have a dining room, think about moving your chairs outside up against the wall. i found a pack of stools, i can use them afterwards. they also double as a table for party decor. >> how much? >> under $50 for a set of them. it gives

>> colors are nice, too. >> quite colorful and cheerful. that's before midnight and this is after. think of your table in a different way. i double-dutied my centerpiece, champagne and party favors. it makes a beautiful centerpiece, easy and you save money on floral and other things. those plastic table cloths, easy. it's new year's, cover it up and do beautiful mylar shiny rain drop curtains and throw it over. you have to have clocks for each time zone. >> how much were those? >> a couple bucks each, about 10 bucks. and you could literally toast every time zone and face time with your friends or whatever. taking a step further and use buckets for your balloons. make it festive. it's supposed to be chiefly and inexpensive to do as well. >> all for under 2$250. that does not include

and booze? >> just decorations. what are these? >> these are ribbons instead of party streamers, you can reuse it again. what i liked about this challenge you can reuse again and again. it takes no time another. this time of the holiday season, i'm done. it's okay to use plastic, this time of the holiday season, throw everything on the table. literally take this plastic -- >> in the trash. >> trash and you're done and january, clean and simple. >> and come new year's day, all done. >> i've done fancy at thanksgiving. no offense, betsy, all beautiful. >> i do feel like betsy's creation fits my style. craig and the kids, this is more in line with your style. i do. i think you're both winners. >> i think so, too. >> cheers. happy new year to all of you. >> happy 2017 to all of you. >> you had too many already. p

i love it. it was the year of beyonce and lemonade. i guess other things did happen. i don't know what. a look back at the stories of 2016 beginning with the unforgettable super bowl performance. that was a moment, after these messa messages. you guys did a great job. run away! [ grunts ] leave him! leave him! [ music continues ] brick and mortar, what?! [ music continues ] [ tires screech ] [ laughs ] [ doorbell rings ] when you bundle home and auto insurance with progressive, you get more than a big discount. that's what you get for bundling home and auto! jamie! you get sneaky-good coverage. thanks. we're gonna live forever!

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dicaprio. >> why? >> after six oscar nomination s throughout the course of his career he finally took home an oscar win. a huge moment on twitter, over 440,000 tweets per minute the most in telecast history and ellen degeneres with the tweeted selfies and stars behind her. 325,000 tweets per minute. >> i would have never guessed that. >> he really threw himself in this role a long time in the making. he has nominations for many others. his work has been phenomenal. >> number 5 for 2016. >> number 5 is michael phelps. we love him in these parts. he won five goad m-- gold medal. the most decorated in all time. 28 gold medals. had a huge move in his personal life, baby named boomer and you might have

you saw his wife, nicole, holding boomer. so cute. he has his own instagram account, over 700,000 followers. >> he stayed in the same motel we were in rio. boomer comes into a room, his mom comes in, all eyes on boomer. >> his photos are adorable. >> the wedding photos -- >> they got married a month after she had a kid and they looked amazing. >> the chicago cubs world series. this is the biggest sports story in 2016, 108 years in the making. who doesn't want to watch this? i shouldn't admit this, i was at home cheering for the cubs, i wanted to see history. >> we're pulling your card. >> i think my happy ending is to see them do a film, mayb

moment, it was so big. >> i love that! >> loved it. absolutely loved it. >> number 3 in our sweet 16. >> it's pretty sad. we lost a lot of celebrities this year. david bowie, george michael, prince, released that year for celebrities lost, 69, prince, 57, george michael, 53, passed away this past christmas day. in reaction to fans, it's been an overwhelmingly heartfelt emotional reactions. if you are a big prince fan you can go to his home in paisley park, now a museum. no more death of celebrities next year, we have had way too many. >> what's at number 2? >> queen bee, beyonce. at the super bowl half-time show, her second time performing at the halftime show, absolutely amazing, a huge surprise. this has been a year full of surprises for beyonce. she came out, no on

she released her visual album in april and racked up nine grammy nominations this year, the most she's ever garnered for one album. this will be a huge year for her coming up. >> i've forgotten how much of a super bowl performance that was. >> she was not the headline. coldplay. it was not her year, coldplay. >> i was at home screaming on my couch jumping un and down. >> and the world stopped brea e breathing for a second. number 1. >> we have a new president. number 1, we have one new president in 2016. we all voted for donald trump. he's become a pop culture phenomenon. "saturday night live," 8 million viewers tuned in this past october. a record number watched in 2008. >> to hear him tell it, no one is watching. alec baldwin delivered and amazing performance as donald trump and kate mckinnon had a star's born moment this year as hillary clinton. she was honored with "usa today"'s entertainer

big surprises of 2016 and even more surprises next year. >> you look back at some of these, i still think the cubs win. >> i think mine is this super bowl performance but i'm surprised at lemonade. my whole life stopped for lemonade. >> i'm still not quite breathing yet. >> thank you, chris. chris is with our sister company, fandango. a time for a check of the weather. i will get it right this time, in your neck of the woods. >> she got it! sunshine no temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s and breezy and chilly start to the day for sure. we'll get temperatures back, only a couple more degrees from where we are right now. much much colder than we were yesterday. clouds come back tonight. pretty good likelihood of light rain showers tomorrow. could be the tiniest of freezing rain, northern shenandoah valley and northern maryland, not looking for a big impact

saturday and new year's. >> that's your latest. al roker will be back tomorrow. i can't do it. i can't do that neck of the woods stuff. next up, i can do this. we will go to a nice trip after this. we'll be right back. ♪ how is this possible? it's a light soup and yet it's real food? carrots, celery, and now 100% antibotic and hormone free white breast meat chicken? it boggles the mind!

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"today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> we are so happy this morning to be joined by one of our favorite organizations, the uso. we are so happy this morning to be joined by one of our favorite organization, the uso,

entertaining u.s. personnel all over the world. we have them in for a special acapello performance. paul with the uso. welcome to the show as well. tell me about holiday for heroes. >> my gosh. we're on this mission to connect service members back to their families and home and country all year long. at no point is it more important than the holidays. we partnered with fedex to get packages out to people far from home. they're down in the middle east. we get a holiday in a box for them to make sure they're here with us in spirit. >> i see antlers and elf hats. what's in the packages? >> everything from your basic toiletry kits but also holiday treats and decorations and games and movies and anything, raw materials you need for a great holiday experience. >> my dad was in the army for 30 years. you think about the families and military men and women away from their loved ones. what's your message for them this holiday season? >> we're here

that this is goal of the uso and any american who wants to help with that, come to uso.org and we will show you how to help them and you support them. >> thank you and i can't wait for this performance. ready to take it away? here we go! ♪ sleigh bells ring are you listening in the land snow is glist glistening, a beautiful sight we're happy tonight walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ gone away is the bluebird here to stay is a new bird ♪ ♪ he sings a love song as we go along walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ in the meadow we can build a snowman snowman and pretend he

is parson ♪ ♪ he will say are you married and we'll say no man but you can do the job while you're in town ♪ ♪ later on we'll conspire as we dream dream by the fire the p n plans that we made walking in a winter wonderland ♪ ♪ walking in a winter wonderland walking in a winter wonderland ♪ >> my gosh, that is wonderful, thank you so much! thank you so much. congratulations on everything and happy holidays! >> happy holidays. >> what a blessing to have you here. what a moment. this is "today" on nbc and thank you to all the men and women serving this country and their families. this is great. i need one of each.

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melvin. >> hi. i'm monica, happy holidays to all the service members out there. >> i'm amanda. hi to my husband, sean. >> happy holidays to my family. >> and we already know you. kathie lee and hoda are up next!

hi, everybody. good morning. it is 9:57 this wednesday, december 28th. i'm angie goff. take a good look at your screen if you can, d.c. police are h e hoping you can find and locate this suv, the car they say hit and killed jacqueline at 14th heights. police say she was crossing the street in the crosswalk at the time of the

now, let's get a check on the forecast with meteorologist, chuck bell. >> good morning to you. nice and chilly outside. temperatures stay in the 40s today and in the 40s tomorrow. we get sunshine today and rain showers especially in the morning hours tomorrow. there could be a little chance for freezing rain north and west of the city before the sun is up tomorrow. doesn't look like a big issue. heads up on that. windy and cold friday and dry weather bringing in 2017. >> join us for the latest news and weather at 11:00 a.m. on news4 midday. you can get it any time on our nbc washington app.

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can. >> announcer: from nbc news, from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. ♪ >> we love our wines-day wednesday. >> it's december 28th. >> who is that? >> kenny chesney taking a trip around the sun. barefoot. >> very exciting show we will be playing games with two of the stars of the netflix series, white rabbit. they claim they can control your every move. you will be hooked up to something and they will give you