breaking overnight, shockwaves over the abrupt resignation of defense secretary jim mattis. public scolding preside trump on his way out with an extraordinary rebuke of the commander in chief and his policies. this as the government hurtles .towards a shutdown today critics saying it is up to the president and his party to break ndckidgr . >> white house. get a grip and learn how to govern. >> we are live at the white hous and capitol hill. a very messy christmas. dangers storms are causing major problems at the start of a holiday travel rush. heavyain and high winds lashing the entire east coast from florida to maine. accidents and delays quickly

adding up. this morning a firsthand look at what you will face at the aiorts and on the roads. pl, al's updated forecast. shop.ady, set, with christmas just four daws ay, stores brace for last-minute shoppers. more than 130 million americans ready to search for gifts on panic saturday. what youd to know before heading into the weekend. all that, plus to evil.g up the parents of otto warmbier fighting back demanding north korea pay for tir son's death. a $2 billionon holiday bus awaiting the nation's e-cigarette maker. oh, what fun. we look back at the laughs and lighter moments we shared thi year. today is friday, december 21st, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hodkotbive from studio

1a in ckefeller plaza. hey, everybody, welcome to "today" on this fridamorning. we are so happy you are here. we are happy willie is here. you are filling in for savannah. you picked a yucky day. >> iorad to wear a wet suit the commute. boy. we have a big crowd in the rain. iwe will visit with the a little bit. travel will be tough for people. >> people trying to get the last-minute christmas gifts u first, theeaval in washington. defense secretary jim mattis quitting amid a rift with the presidenthile the clock is racing for a shutdown. from the capitol hill ho the whitse. we get started with nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: good morning to you. the magnitude of this moment still reverberatinghi morning. james mattis's departure marks the first time ever a secretary has resigned in protest. that's according to presidential historians. the trump administration has allies plunging further into

crisis. former defense secretary leo panetta warning the constant state of chaos mayis s the president's need for attention, but it's raising hell with the country. this morning new concerns following james mattis' abrupt resignation in protest of a series of policy disagreements with president trump. >> this decision to resign isll virt our worst nightmare. >> there is chaos now in this administration. a reporter: republican ben sasse calling iad day for america because secretary mattis was giving advice the president needs to hear. less than 24 hours after president trump disregarded mattis' n advice to withdraw u.s. troops from syria, the president tweeted general jim mattis will be he resigned thursday, hand living this-- delivering thetter to the president. mattis writing in part, i

believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic iinterests are increasing tension with ours. it is cheer that china and russia want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model, adding my views on treating alliesit respect and being clear-eyed about malign ctors and strategic competitors are strongly held. president trump deselves a iedefense secretary whose are better aligned with yours. tche mitch mcconnell saying i'm particularly disdistrict stressed mattis is resigning. a key flashpoint, afghanistan. ith the white house ordering the pentagon to draw up a troop withdrawal. ecisions made, but president trump wants to see options. initially, touted as o of my generals, by the president, their relationship had soured in

recent months. >> i think he is sort of a democrat, if you want to know the truth. >> mattis slow to embrace severallsrump propo a ban on transgender troops, the launch of a space force, and a controversial planned military parade. his departure certain to alarm allies and national securfiy als who have long viewed mattis as a stabilizing force for an unpredictable president. former defense secretary william cohn. >> the president has taken a wrecking ball to every pilar of stability and security we have erected over the past years.0 he systematically demolishing last ar. >> from republican bob corker. >> secretary tillerson, secretary mattis, and chief of staff kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos. >> reporter: corker's words that much more striking when you consider that all three men he

mentioned will be gone from the administration by next february. mattis setting his last day as february 28. pres tent trump tweetingt a new defense secretary will be announced shortly, but there may be more moves coming. the president is reportedly already complaining about his acting chief of staff mick mulvaney as trump became aware lering the 2015 cam sane mulvaney once c him a, quote, terrible human being. >> thank you. the other major story in washington am the countdown to a tdpotential government sn. this morning with the midnight deadline looming both sides are diing in. nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has more on that. llie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, willie, good morning. here is the shutdown status right now. kind of a mess, to put it bluntly. basically, something's got to give over the next little bit to avoid partial government shutdown at midnight. but at this point there is no an, not much of deal, and not much time to pfigure it out.

overnight the house gave president trump what he wanted. $5 billion foris border wall. on this vote the ayes are 217 and nays are 185. the motion isut adopted witho objection. a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> reporter: it's not enough. while it's on to the senate, as the president tweeted, democrats there don't support it. >> everyonesnows it can't p the senate. it's a cynical attempt. a cynical epattempt. >>ter: this is not how week eople thought thi would end. just two days aseemed open to a solutiongo that did not include border wall money. then. >> quite frankly, time to fight. >> reporter: the pressure intensified from conservatives livid the president seemed to be selling out his base and backing off his wall promises. >> this is a heel we shouhill w willing to die on.

scramble.r: now the senators who thought they were clear to head home for the holidays are heading back like hawaii's brian shock. he got to honolulu before turng around after 17 minutes with his family. the white house just hours from the midnight shutdown deadlined gging in. >> if democrats don't want the government to shut down, support border s murity. how maore innocent people have to die in pursuit -- >> calm down a minute. we don't have to yell. >> reporter: last week the president said he would prodly own a shutdown. >> i will take the mantle. it will be the one to sh it down. >> democrats remember. >> any effort to blame the democrats will such bleep ]. >> reporter: what are the options now? something has to change. either the president's stance or lawmakers. and right now there is no compromise in the cards. >> the republicans areha ine and so the shutdown is on us i we can't figure this out. >> reporter: so even given that

reality, president trump this morning is tweeting abouthi words, a dem sratictdown if it does happen. now, if the government shuts down. the press secretary sayshe president will stay here in washington. this is not a full shutdown, so things like the tsa, the mail delivery still happens, but you are going to have about 750,000 federal workers who won't be getting a paycheck the thought they'd get over the holidays. >> just in time for the holidays.ry thank you much. >> let's turn to chuck todd. good morning. >> good morning. on in trump's washington is the shutdown not the lead story. it just sort of -- i had to think about that for a minute. >> we will get to that in a second. you see all these people departing. secretary mattis, chief of staff kelly, r tillerson. on the crazy scale, how crazy is his? >>a, it's a shame that there

has been this sense and i think some people that watch "the todashow" sometimes they think, you know, you say it's a crisis. it's shame people might be so numb to this and some of us are so numb. i can't undersco how serious things are right now. i can't underscore the break between senate republicans and this president. i mean just thi about this fact. about secretary mattis and thees ent's decision to pull out of syria, vladimir putin cheered him and the president's secretary of defense resigned. that's sort of the stark reality. you could just see the republicans in washington inhi particular i feel as if they have been smacked in the face. th water -- whatever you want to, metaphor you want to s pick, tha the feeling have now. >> secretary mattis is number one on the list of people around

the president who can be a buffer to his impulses. now just about all of those people are gone. t what doet mean for the future of this white house as we turn the corner to >> the president believes he knows what he is doing now. i think the president believes he doesn't need the approval of these other folks, that he knows betternd, if anything, he is better off i fighting. hink what this means is there aren't going to be other people and i think those that are left in this west wing, those that are left in this administration, if you have made the decision to stay, you havem the decision to essentially fall in line. so i think that means this idea thqu there are, e, people that are the guardrails, that idea is no longer operational. >> meanwhile, chuck, the clock ic mkiid tnigh tt. do you ghink theernment will be open come midnight tonight? and if so, does pretdent trump he wall or some version of the wall? >> right now it doesn't look ke it is. i think that on december 21st

everybody feelss if they ca dig in their heels. let's see what happens on monday mornecg when it'sber 24th and the reality that these folks to bee they are not going where they promised they would be. the president is tired of this crummy weather. heay be fine not going to mar-a-lago tonight. inill be curious where he is 48 hours >> a lot more on "meet the press" on sunday. appreciate you coming on. now to that messy weather facing tens of millions of holiday travelers. a massive storm causing major travel delays from coast tot. coas our team is spread out to bring you the latest from the roads and airports to the fal shopping and shipping scramble. al is up first with the forecast. f >> thank you getting your first weather whether you are a prt or plain feks like us. it is a mess. youan see how bad this rain is in florida. besides tornados, they had their second wettest december dayn

orlando. wettest day of 28 in tampa. the most rain since hurricane irma. and then look a this. just one more -- sorry, dave. look what's happening right now. i threw our john, our camera guy. heavy rain making its way up intonortheast. there is another band that will get in here later this afternoon. that's going to cause problems at the airports. then this secondary low pushes up. looking for floing rain into the northeast, gusty winds throughout the day. so the winds and the rain combined making for a real mess. then on the back side of this system we have got strong winds and lake-effect snow. here are the impacts of these storms. heavy rain and flooding, rainfall rates a half-inch to an inch per hour. flooding at the passaic river in tow jersey. onhree inches into the northeast and new england and damagi winds downed power lines, power outages from the southeast all the way into the nort fast. look wind gusts of 50 to 60

miles per hour, especially you get into new england. if that's not enough, back bend it we are talking snow along the spine of the appalachians, upwards of six inches, guys. a lot of impacts really right through saturday. back we will pick up there to the storm's impact on your holiday travellans. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in atlanta inside one of the nation busiest airports. hey, gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hi, hoda, good morning. things are hopping in atlanta this morning. thankfully, the running smoothly. the biggest disruptions in the northeast as to be expected. laguardia, newark seeing minor delays so far. yesterday we saw seven how delays and 250 cancellations. today already we have seen several hundred delays and more thanns 100 cancellatio so far. tsa is expecting screen close to 2.7 million travelers through tomorrow. if you look at the big board here in atlanta, we can see n major delays so far.

everything seems to be on time. the major airlines are not offering to waive change feesor except jetblue in florida yesterday. it's a good idea to anticipate any travel headaches. check with your airlines. as al mentioned, this bad weatheg most mov out through tonight. so through the weekend air travel is expected to getbe muc er. back to you. >> all right. gabe, thank you. >> now to the situation on the roads. dylan is braving the always crowded i-95 in the rain, the holiday rush. dylan is slow going out there. >> reporter: hey, willie. you know, it's hard to top being stuck in traffic onsh the georg gton bridge in the pouring rain on a friday morning commute. but we are doing it. aaa says 102 million people are expected to take to the roads thisholiday, up 4% from last year. combine that with a commute on this friday before christmas, we

are expecting tons of gridlock it is a gridlock alert d here in the new york city area. the heavy rain is going to lead to ponding on the roads and the ial for flooding. on top of that winds will guso up t 45 miles per hour, which means high-profile vehicles need to keep their speeds down. so that is all going to make it very slow going on the roads today. ur best bet is to leave after this morning's commute or before this evening's commute, which give you a very small window to travel if you do need to travel make sure you download those traffic appsike waze. remember, everyone else is going to be using that as well. so thesi is a plity there is no avoiding the traffic today. if i'm being totally honest, the best bet is to wait until tomorrow. the weather clears out across a good portion of the country and it could be just what you need to stay in the holiday spirit. >> good a advice c you wait. >> christmas came early for employees of juul, the popular

e-cigarette maker. they got a $2 billion bonus coming their way split among the 1,500 employees which break down t $1.3 million each. >> oh, my gosh. >> wow, that bonus comes thanks to tobacco giant altria who spent $13 billion for a 35% in juul. that's a christmas bonus. wow. >> back to al. >> as you take a ok, we have got that heavy rain in the eastern third of the country. we have also got mild weather in the rockies. we are also talking s aboute snow back through the northern rockies and wet weather in northern california. we will get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 sonds.

>> back to al. forecast coming up in the next good morning. cloudy and incredibly mild outside this morning, but ra wy. l get a little break in the action over the next few hours. more rain later on in the afternoon and evening hours. take your umb with you, though it won't rain every minute of the day. it could rai at any time. flood watches remain in place for the remainder of the day mild indeed. low 60s around town right now, colder in the shendola valley. after the rain today dry from there after. that is your latest weather. >> thank you. the family of otto warmbr seeking justice for their son with l $1 billionsuit against

north korea. why they had to, quote, stand u to evil. the last-minute holiday shopping rush. if you can deal with the crowds, why you might find the season's biggest savings this weekend. first, thiis "today" on nbc. savings this weekend. firs this is "today" on nbc.

♪ coming up, how great isis one of hollywood's funniest duos will ferrell and john c. reilly decide to turn the story of sherlock holmes into a comedy. harry smith sitsown with them. then can you tell what we love to do? oh, yeah, a look back at the fun we had in 2018 after your local news. ♪ ♪

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and get kohl's cash! short on time? buy online - free store pird-up! most oers ready in two hours! give joy, get joy... newsbreak. >> 7:26 is your time now on thid , december 20th, 2018, good morning to you. i''meun yang. >>aron gilchrist. in the news this morning, a noreau virus outbreak in fairfax county. 60 childrenissed class on wednesday. a letter went home reminding parents to keep their children home until 24 hours afterto the sy disappear. montgomery county police want to talk to a person of interestnvn a caseving a 5-year-old girl would was groped at the rockville memorial library o saturday. it's december 21st. i had that wrong. now wtop's dave dildi in your first4 traffic. >> 270 southbound through gaithersburg a crash involving a

vehicle fir south of 124 beyond the clopp road overpass. the activity is on the right shoulder. look at the traffic jam on 270 southbound. all lanes have just reopened. that'she latest. back to you. >> thank you. later today on news4 at 5eh get ad-the-scenes look at one of the most spectacular christmas services. >> the national cathedral to show you how they prepare. that story is on at news4 at 5. a look at our forecast next. get crazy good deals at the kmart semi-annual blowout event it's a blowout! we're makin' room for more! up to 60% off on clothes. blow out! plus, shoes are buy one, get one for $1. blow out! shop awesome deals before they're gone at kmart's biiiiiiig semi-annual blowout event! blowout? get out!

it's a blowout! we're makin' room for more! up to 60% off on clothes. blow out! plus, shoes are buy one, get one for $1. blow out! shop awesome deals before they're gone at kmart's biiiiiiig semi-annual blowout event! blowout? get out! good morning everybody. it's cloudy and kind of rainy outside this morning, but it's incredibly mild. temperatures mostly in the 60s around the city. flood watches remain in place. be on tt look for high standing water today. a little colder in the venandoahley. around the city here low-to-mid 60s. it will be a mild day toy, b a 100% chance for more rain later on in the day today.

a gusty northwest wind dries us outomorrow. we stay dry through christmas. back to "the today show" after this short break v great day. . v great day. v great day.hv great day. av. . . .

♪ ♪ the rising of the sun and the biding of the day ♪ ♪ the dream of the mighty beautiful thi friday morning, the 21st day of december 2018. beautiful because of the people in our studio. that is the st. thomas choir. >> yeah, they comere in newor y.

they f will be providing us wit holiday music all morning long. i was mesmezed listeni to them. great job, guys. >> like angels i the studio. a check of today's headlines.ar defense secrjim mattis is stepping down after clashing with president trump over the abrupt withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria. matt hand-delivered his resignation letter to the president at the white house on thursday writing, inpart, my views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held, adding the president deserves a secretary who is, quotet views arer aligned with yours. the clock is ticking. a partia could be hours away. overnight the house gave president trump what he wanted, a $5 billion award for his border wall, but the bill is expected to be rejected in the senate without resolution by midnight, more than00 800 federal workers will be facing furloughs or forced to work

without pay. fmer new orleans saints standout steve gleason will be the first nfl player to everon receive theessional gold medal. that is the highest civilian honor awarded by congress. eason is being honored for his work as an advocate for people with als, also known as lou gehrig's disease. he was diagnosed in 2011. he sphere headeou efforts t the gleason foundation to help provide technology to help als patients live longer and more fulfilling lives. morent develop in the death of american otto warmbier. >> his parents are suing north korea. today senior international correspoent keir simmons is here with that story. good morning. >> goodth morning. family of otto warmbier says they are suing north korea to stand u to evil in the wrongful death of their son. they appeared in court this week

for an emotional hearing saying they want closure and justice. video of american student otto warmbier paraded in front of a north korean crtroom in 2016. replayed this week in federal court in the tion'sit c. back then warmbier broke down after learning he would sve hard labor for stealing a poster. now his family and friends cried as theyrelived the emotional ordeal. in a legal declaration his father said otto's forced confession w like nazi show trial. we don't fear north korea anymore, he told the court. a year and a half o ter, o warmbier was returned to america in a coma. his father telling the u.n. -- >> they used him as a political pawn when he was of v noue to them. they essentially sent him home to our family in a body bag. >> reporter: his father's moving testimony describes meeting the plane carrying him. there was a horrible howling. it sounded inhuman.

when we went into the plane, otto was jerki violently. i knelt down and hugged otto. i oaw terro his face. the family releasing this disturbing imagef their comatose son. he had, they say, unexplained injuries including a scar on his foot. describing a north korea claim that otto warmbier had been in condition as ridiculous north korea has previously denied he was mistreated and tortured while in their custody and has not responded to e $1 billion lawsuit, money the family may never see. the warmbiers' lawsuit might bee to mak a point. >> reporter: theirto aim? highlight the regime's cruelty. fred warmbier told nbc's lester holt. >> this is the true character of ene kim regime, their trea of otto. >> reporter: otto would call me a couple of times to talk, the father's statement says. we never hung up without telling each other we loved each other, how incredibly difficult and

bittersweet it will be to see our other children grow up and become adults while otto will be frozen in time. >> so sad to see that. so is the family just trying to ayep the story sort of out there, peopleg attention to it? is that why the lawsuit has been filed? >> i think that's one of the crucial purposes of this court case. remember, the north koreans pay close attention to this stuff. it's liklly that they watch this broadcast. remember that they have called these allations baseless slander. this is the family's opportunity o reply to kpee their son's name in t the publi eye. >> keir, thank youo ch. let's head over to al now for the all-important and all-rainy holiday forecast. >> that's right. we are looking at, you know, the old song "i'm dreaming of a white christmas?" since 1970 the average temperature for christmas has wrizen. minneapolis almost 5.5 degrees above average ovsince 1970.

1.5 degrees in ccago. 3 degrees new york. and atlanta 3.3 degrees wwamer than i back in 1970. this christmas day it's actually going to beooler in burlington, new york, and pittsburgh, but warmer than average for raleigh, atlanta, chicago, st. louis, and minneapolis. all-time warm christmas days, minnealis's record 1922 at 51. chicago in 1982, it was 64. new york city not that long ago, 2015, 66 degrees. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in you neck of the woods. nice and mild outside this morning. temperatures in the 50s and 60s around the city. we are getting a little break in the rain for the next couple of .hours. enjoy it will stay mild and rain free from about 9:00 or t 10:s chance of rain. flood wates. probably another.25 inch to half-inch of

40s in the shenandoah valley tomorrow. dry weather tomorrow and hangs around through chrisveas. we lot more ahead, including a fun look back at our favorite ments from 2018 here in studi1a and all around the world. then some brand new laughs. harry smith hilarious h will ferrell and john c. reilly as they team up once againn the big screen. plus, jennifer lopez opens >> to willie about what saved her. the wife of the utah mayor and major the nat was killed recently while serving in afghanistan. how she is carrying on his legacy. that's right after this. ♪ (volunteer) hey. (old man) come on in. (volunteer) you taught me the ro (vo) you dre than feed seniors when you share the love. you feed souls. get a new subaru, like the all new forester,

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we're w we are bach b "in-depth today." a story that captured the country's attention. >> brett taor, a major in the national guard and the mayor of north ogden, utah, was killed in action in afghanistan last month. now his wife is speaking out.

nbc's kristen dahlgren sat down with her. good morning. yeah, i am just in awe of jenny taylor's strength and grace in the wake of such incredible loss. instead of withdrawing into grief, she is choosing to spread her husband's message, showing their seven children and the rest of us what it truly means to l life of service. >> he proposed to me on a saturday and the following tuesday we both went into the national guardit ring office. >> reporter: from the beginning, major brent taylor was about service and what h wife jenny saw back then is surely why soe many hav been touched by his ory now. >> it just keeps coming back to serviceo god, family, and country. they are one to him. >> reporter: he was major and a mayor serving the town of north og dep, utah. on his fourth deploymentwa whene killed in afghanistan last month. leaving behind jenny and seven children. >> ellie, who is 5, i told her, i said, lie, sometimes d is in iraq, sometimes dad is in

afghanistan, sometimes dad is just at a meeting and not always home, but he is still your dad. and she thought for a moment and said, and heaven is way better than afghanistan. >> christmas morning. >> reporter: so this christmas ey are chudsing to focus on brent's >> i love you, honey. stay strong. >> and ifhe i think too far shall the heartache is overwhelming. i call a minute will this anything other than a sacred honor for us to now be a part of this great price that is paid to preserve the freedoms. >> reporter: taylor was proud of what he was doing. >> there are ways around us to brighten someone's day, toift another's burdens. >> reporter: his children, like 13-year-old meghan, now carrying theat mantle. are you going to carry on from your dad? >> i am going to want to look ou for people like if i see someone sitting alone at lunch or anything, i just want to help

everyone. >> sometimes i'm sad that he is gone, but i'm proud that he was able to >> reporter: you must be really proud of him? they also remember the f times. stories they will tave tell 1-year-old carine about her dad. what will you tell her? >> everything. he touched so many lives. that's where i think we as a family are hoping to take this grief and turn it into somethint biggn us. we are in this together to help each other a t then accomplish what others might say is unaccomplishable. just find a way and do it. >> reporter: in this season of giving, is there a greater gift than that? >> this is about sharing, remember? >> it's all about family. >> if you want santa to come. it is aboutamy. good job, lady. >> the community really embraced this family. she said that is such a blessing for them. she knows chrisas will be hard, she knows they won't be

going through it alone. she cries a lot, but she also laughs and she calls that a victory. >> anmazing lady. >> what a life of service. four tours, going back again and again out of the national guard. when he is not there,vi s as mayor of north ogden, utah. what a life. >> how about that child where she said heaven is much better than afghanistan? yautiful. thanou, kristin. we'll be right back. risten. >> we'll be right back. ♪ t-mobile believes, it's better to give than to receive. some may disagree. others won't believe it. and some just won't have the words. join t-mobile and get the samsung galaxy s9 free. right? but hurry offer ends soon. ♪

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welcome wcome back. outside the plaza, a little rainy weather. we will check in with them in a bit. first, the final weekend of shopping before christmas. >> you know what that means. it means the stores are going to be packed. ile you have to pay a little extra to mail some of those gifts, there is some goodyo new. could be scoring some of the season's best deals. nbc's kerry sanders has more

from a mall in miami. hey, kerry. >> reporter: good morning, guys. we are hitting the final stretch. if this were a sporting event, you could say that we are in the fourth quarter on the 50 yard line and time is running out. >> ho ho hoor >> rr: this morning it's holiday shopping crunch time. but thanks to this year's calendar, christmas falls on a tuesday, giving you extra time to shop. >> we are just starting. >> reporter: the national retail federation says 134 million people will be known out on what's known a panic saturday. almost as many shoppers as all of black friday weekend. >> we wait until the last minute. we are running around. >> reporter: some hoping that waiting this long, they wie sc better deals. >> right now we just wasn't into one of the storefronts and they had 50% off. >> reporter: online savin website retailmenot says now is the perfect time to get a gre deal on toys or clothing like these cute twin holiday hats for

my 8-month-old great knees anei nev view. $34. $34.90 to ship with the postal service. $75 with ups. $80 with fedex. but they are worth it, even if that's up t sevenimes the cost of a hat. >> merry christmas! >> reporter: at this lat date relying on santa or showing up in person -- >> $85. >> reporter: may your bet. i, mallsthe mall in mi across the country, it is going to be packed this weekend. it's estimated 134 million americans will head out to the malls to continue shopping to try to beat that dea ine. >> show up can kerry. >> thank you. fm epic concerts to unforgettable guests, lots of laughs. we will talk about the fun moments we had in 2018.

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this is a news4 today newsbreak. >> 7:56 is your time on this friday, december 21, 2018. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. right now we want to check onte your com with wtop's dave dildine in your first4 traffic. dave, good morning. >> good morning. it's ane tough southbound on 270. you can see the delay froman gewn to gaithersburg. a vehicle caught on fire earlier in the hour south of montgomery village. all the activity was moved to the right shoulder. slow going southbound through germantown on i-270. that is the latest. back to you go thank you. we will check your forecast next. stay with us.

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>> so yesterday we looked back t the biggest stories of the year. this morning we are going to celebrate all the fun that we shared togetherun here a studio 1a and around the wld in 2018. ♪ ♪ >> hi, guys! >> we are kicking off the year right because hoda is officiall the co-anchor of "today"! let's give her a round of applause. >> our first weekend! come on. keep it going! >> tee, two, one. oh, my gosh. al? >> back to you. >> welcome to benihana. i'm your chef. woo!

>> yeah! >> i made my own perfume, which i never felt more like j.lo one day of my life. always wanted to learn t daps from you. >> okay. >> do you think you could teach two dorks how to cut a rug? >> we know ssannah i a huge roger federan stalking. savannah has bn invitedo play in an exhibition tennis match. >> hey, roger. see you on the court. >> yeah! ooh! ♪

>> this is how youak ♪ >> the usa skaters. >> you have lit up the olympics ino many ways. >> gold looks so good on you. >> it's your color. >> we did it for the u.s.! frm i feel like you both need to try this on. >> this is pretty cool. >> history waso waiting be bitten. >> you know what'ter than a gold medal? 23 gold medals! >> usa! >> is someone holding me up? >> no, that's you. >> wow! >> yes! that was amazi! >> i have never been quiet that long in my whole life. [ music ] ♪

♪ >> oh, my gosh! this is unbelievable! i am actually here where i'm from. that's good. >> put down your tea, hoda. >> i am ready. we arell heading to england to bring you the excitement of the royal wedding! >> i cannot stop eating this cake. >> it's almost super bowl day. when you care enough to send your very best,nd you send al craig to minneapolis. >> they are there. >> the new york staten island ferry, baby! >> in the city of brotherly love. >> so much going on in boston. fire! all right, let's get o of here!

>> stop! we are going to fall. we may be drifting out to sea. this might be the last time s.u ever sea u this could be a great day for dylan dreyer. >> before we getrt s, you don't know this, but my friend savannah is a huge fan of yours. >>ny morac >>ha in i are the here? >> you can do that, actually. go for it. >> so good. >> you didn't cut any corners here. >> no. y a cucumber is like a pickle, right? , it's a pickle. >> yes! >> let me finish my drink. >> you've got to put a lot into it. >> apple wjam. >>l be wearing a different shirt on "nightly news" tonight.

♪ >> huge crowd today! >> anyone want to trade for this "today" show umbrella? >> w it important for you to be here? hy because i haveas w a crush o him. >> to meet more of your inspirations? who are they? >> savannahnd a my gosh.ha >> w a cutie. >> i don't know what it say. >> sini am a great hugger. >> you are? are you sure? >> ready? we like to hug. >> one, two, three! >> youe hav made my world. oh!an >> we to say that we ready. ready!, ready, help us welcome former first lady michelle obama.

♪ >> had you ever met priscla until this morning? r well, we are on tin together >> you are going to sing a song? >> yes. >> what is it called? >>. ♪ turning me on ul♪ >> you ssee hoda's face right now. ♪ >> i'm as mad as hell and i'm not going to take this i just pinched something in my back. >> thank you. a lot going on. >> you are my kind of woman. >> and you're mine. cheers to that. >> you're my family, you know? you brought me luck. >> one, two!

one, two! >> sittop the fur ♪ottom jeans boots with ♪ t w her ♪ >> oh, my god! ♪ got low-to-m, low, low ♪ ♪ raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ♪ ♪ brightopper kettles and warm ♪woollen mittens ♪ take it from an old man ♪ time is slipping past >> irean't believe you letting us do it. >> i can't believe it either. ♪ forever young >>. ♪ jolene, jolene, jolene

♪ and thisil christmas be a very specialhrtmas for me ♪ >> y! >> whas up! it's liberation day today! what's up? ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ sometimes i feel like giving up ♪ ♪ but i just can't get it in my blood ♪ ♪ can't get it in my blood ♪ ♪ ♪ you know i need you ♪ you know i love you ♪ hey get it in there ♪ get it in there ♪ you know i love you snoz

better than that ♪ >> i can borrow this? better than that ♪ >> i can borrow this?better than that ♪ >> i can borrow this? >> go back and get remarried, this is what i would wear. >> you guys look different now. >> why the come hither look? >> so much better now. >> the dinner table, the napkins went with you. >> clothing brand partnered wit ploc to create luxury plastic bag inspired looks. we know th hoda, you are way ahead of this trend before this ever fappened. >>hion. ♪ wake me up before you go go l ♪ keep itging on the line for yo yo ♪ u ♪ make mep before you go go ♪ i don't want to miss it when

you hit that hh ♪ >> good morning, my neighbors! ♪ wake meefpe you go go ♪ take meci d tonight ♪ >> what are you doing back there? >> hiding. >> for men and wen,his is really light -- >> oh! >> all good. nothing to see here. >> well, thank you, al, so much. e and now i don't know wh there you are. well, i'm not really known for my sense of direction. >> mr. davis has that -- or mr. daley. i'm so sorry, carson. >> mr. david? >> i'm sorry >> careful. >> sheinelle or shania, savannah, whatever. >> oh, my gosh. h just a senior moment. i have no idea. >> more tips on ourk fac page at today.com/faceinok or some like that. anyway, just sayin'.

>> a little surprising story maybe. maybe. >> well, it was a surprise. >> y nh,>>ever you know what? ve vail keeps a secret bettern tha you. >> more midwest snow. i think it's time for a new monitor, jim gaines, our director. >> today a florida state softball team won their first championship. it's all right. just walk on ng to find herme w will ferrell and john c. reilly. harry smith has that pleasure, and they had him cracking up. >> and then a chefsric rye pert the number one restaurant in the world. he will share a delious recipe. >> and coming up on the third hour of "today," two girls who are going above a beyond to spread smiles as we get a wide gust of wind here. >> the third hour, we will introduce you to two teens going above and beyond to spread

smiles. first, mr. roker, you have a check of the weather. >> announcer: this sunday night football weather is brought to you by the unlimited plan you need on the network you deserve. >> all right. ll, if you can s it's raining out here right now. let's see what is happening for christmas weekend. stormy in the pacific northwest. tomorrow gusty winds in the northeast. quiet inhe midsection of the country. sunday, sunday! another weak clipper iutn west.e rockies snow on christmas eve. snow showers western new york. sunshi elsewhere. on christmas day, widespread now through the northwest and northern rockies. sunny skies along the east coast. wet weather through texas. that's what's goi the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. i'm storm steteam4 meteorologis chuck bell. one two pokes of blue sky out there. otherwise a mostly cloudy day. we are getting a break in the e more rain comes

back in later on in the day today. so don't be t fooled t little peek of blue sky. mild the rest of the day. we are in the lowhe 60s around area now. we will stay in the 60s today. rain ending about midnight tonight. we will bery through the weekend and the christmas holiday. >> that's your latest weather. of course, time to give you the greatest gift of all. sunday nightl footbal night in america! that'sight. we got the chiefs flying on ito seattle. oh, boy. centurylink field. it's an outdoor stadium. chance of rain, 46 degrees. it's a good one. it's all coming up. sunday night football. the coverage starts at:00 right here on nbc. of course, don't forget you can alwayse "the today show" our you. friends at "today" sirius xm channel 108.

oh, hoda! >> oh, al! thank you. now to a new movie that features two incredibly legendary duos. >> "holmes & watson" is ahu rous take on the mysterious feature -- on the myste featuring sherlock holmes and his devoted sidekick dr. watson. it stars the great will ferrell and john c. reilly. >> harry, we have been looking forward to this all morning. >> you got it? >> yeah. it's a friday. >> it's not a fair fight when you sit down with the two of them. it's not fair. you'll see. >> sherlock holmes and dr. john watson. >> reporter: sherlock holmes, not ectly like no one's ever done it before? >> well, we have decided that the most beloved scharks -- >> i'm not familiar with any otherersionseally. this was new territory for me. i w like, let's do something

fresh. >> yeah. >> and i knew the kids are going to love it, teght? >> repor as for the blot? >>kingham palace. >> the stories are so perennial and favorite. favorite -- what am i trying to say? this is our first ierview together, harry. i don't have my sound bites together yet. give me a second. breakfast. about >> yeah. an allegory. >> we thought let's do "holmes & watson watson.". >> reporter: it's the pulling apart and coming back together again? >> yeah. >> reporter: holmes was a genius an a one-of-a-kind skricrime helver. >> something about you present -- it's like when you lose your glasses or so ithing, whic sure you do at least once a day, haright? >> reporter: right. >> you are not satisfied until you find the glasses. and otwill's them. >> you want to see something really cool? >> whoa!

that's amazing, right? >> middle-aged cool guy. >> all right. >> i walk into a restaurant, peop are like right this mr. first laerrell. >> reporter: we laughed for a better part of a half hour and i thndered, so when you are working togeer, who breaks up more on set? >> we pride ourselves on hanging in there as long as we can. there is a moment in the film where the first selfie is taken. "holmes & watson" create the first selfie. >> hey there! >> and we don't know -- we think we've killed her, and we don't body.hat do with the and it turns into a very slapstick moment whereng we are tr to -- >> stuff the body into a trunk. >> reporter: a dummy int a trunk. >> i started punching from behind. i was serious i wasot trying to get a laugh. i was thinking what would he do in a moment of panic?

>> of course, punch her in the butt. that's wha you do to get meone into the trunk. >> and so that -- i got john on that one. >> reporter: these two have done this before. in "talladega nights." >> you're my best friend! >> reporter: and stepbrothers brothers. >> i never asked you, do you like guacamole? d wporter: with dialogue many r word . ch >>mu they lnow thees better than we do. >> people seidel up at airports and go,o you like guacamole? what? yes, i do. movie? right, right. >> i had a woman pull up next to me and go, why are you so sweaty? i had just gone on a bike ride. i was on a bike ride. she goes, no! that's stepbrothers. you are supposed to say you were watching cops. she got mad. she accosted me. >> love those movies.

>> reporter: as for "holmes & of?n," did we mention it's a >> i wish you had a musical number. >> it's a love letter to these characters, to relationship. >> yeah. >> another fantastic moment. >> it's a real left turn in the movie, too. you know, you're going along. it's a period correct victorian comedy and then! left turn. great musical number. >> shot at the tower of london. the actual tower olondon. >> the actual tower of london where people died. >> people were hung. they were on their vacation. ot was shut down yesterday because we haveing our musical. >> thank you, lady queen. >> the queen herself. my gosh >> that's a question? >> thehi is more of interview. there is 20 minutes we are putting online that is just the unedited kind of insanity of sitting downh wthem. >> watching them be that way

makes you want to see the movie. >> i he seen it. it's terrific. it goes in their pantheon. you think about every time it's on cable, one of those classic talladega or , stepbrotheu watch it. t-shirt, beer, and come to bed! the best part is coming up. no! >> for the 100th time. >> at least. as >> great. >> "holmes & watson" is in theaters on christmas day. coming up next, therecipe fo a world-class holiday meal from a chef. eric ripert. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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it's a blowout! we're makin' room for more! plus, shoes are buy one, get one for $1. blow out! shop awesome deals before they're gone at kmart's biiiiiiig semi-annual blowout event! this morning on today food, a very special holiday treat.

eric ripert is here. >> already hailed a o onethe best restaurants in the united justs, get this, it received another big honor. it's declared the best restaurant in the world by la liste. they reviewed more than 15,000 contenders. eric, we thought you won every award imaginable. what did that mean to you in your restaurant world? a lot for t team. it's a great reward. it's a great motivation becau a so passionate. every day we create experiences for the guests. of course,ha the footo be delicious. it's much more than the food. everything we do for the clients. and to get rewarded by la liste which is so prestigious, it's really, really something big for us. >> your incredie raunlt had the three star michelin rating for four conservative years, whh is the highest rating michelin gives out. how do youai mai that excellence and not get complacent?

>> it's int to have rewards, you have to completely forget about that and focus on yourly du are going to avok delicious foot food. you will a beautiful dining room. the service is going to be amazing. when you forget about all oawdsr yo jt go to work and you are firm and the team is excited to come. it way it works. potentially, you get the rewards. cheou are an incredible anthon we felt like we knew. but you actually knew him, one of your closest friends. i feel like w don't know a lot about him. what are some things we don't know about this man you loved so much? >> anthony was a very loyal noble. very generous with his fans. i have never seen someoneo generous and spend so much time with them, signing bks, taking pictures. everywhere on the street, when

he was doing book signings, you see au line, a thousd people. and until the last one, he would stayehere. and h was very curious. he brought us, i mean, we were with him on television. he was taking us on his ips. d his curiosity was contagio. we travele the world with anthony. >> well, you could cooked a lot of dishes. you have a dish you are going to cook with us. >> let's do it, absolutely. >> what do you have for us this rning, eric? >> snapper. i am goingut to do it with coc milk, tomatoes, and pucurry. here we are. some ginger and shallots. and we are doing that because soon it's going to be the caymat cookout i cayman islands and we have a restaurant there. we do the food and wine stival. >> oere, too? >> i have been to that restaurant. fab loose. >> really? >> yes. >> a bit tropical. so i have the tomatoes.

i am going to put coconut milk in it. and we have some curry. >> you have red snapper as your fish ofouhoice. couldse any fish? >> you can use any whitefish. >> okay. >> so we are going to u a little bit of -- >> oh, you spice it up? >> yeah. a little bit. that's going to cook for about five minutes. then, of course, we have the snapper. snapper needs to be seasoned. so salt and pepper on the fish. >> that's just it. sosic, right? >> very basic because you don't want to put too muchs. ingredie then you lose the flavor. it's very delicate. you want to make sure that it's -- >> okay. do you have a philosophy on cooking? keep it simple? what do you tell yourselfn the kitchen? >> have beautiful ingredients.pe then cook withct which means don't t put many things.

keep it very simple. it's going to go here. then weover it. it goes in the oven for five minutes. when it comes>>ut -- wait, did you say five minutes? that's it? >> that's it. ? wy then w hen it comes out you have something like that. i am going to finish this one. so a bit of korean d julia like that. >> i can't believe we are about to eat . umon torig here. >> hello? >> hello? and, of course, some lime. but go ahead. >> we are going to share it. >> oh, yes. absolutely. >> and then you have all the flavors coming from the caribbean and the qualities of the snapper. i made the fried race with mangoes, apples, some almonds, scallions. >> eric, it's no wonder you are the number one in the world. wow. >> great see you. happy holidays.

to get this delicious recipe and more, check out today.com/food. coming up next, willie sits down with j.ennifer lopez to tak fame, insecurities, and anniversaries. first, this is "today" on nbc. thanks. it's like a smart thing. what's the weather? [cowza device] sunny, perfect chicken eating weather. how'd you get in here? [cowza device] it's time for chicken. what's the traffic like? [cowza device] rerouting you to chicken. okay. hey cowza, order pizza. [cowza device] ordering chicken. no, pizza. [cowza device] chicken. moooo okay, chicken it is. it's chick-fil-a catering season. [cowza device] now that's smart.

s ha tand, our adult children are here. so, we save by using tide. which means we use less. three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. those are moms. anybody seen my pants? nothing cleans better. put those on dad! it's got to be tide. ♪

8:50, you get some goodon intervis our show. you have one i love. you sat down with jennifer lopez? >> yes. j.lo herself. e is on screen, on stage, in her videos. but jennifer stopped for just a moment toalk with u about her rise from fly girl dancer on "in living color" years ago to international superstar and just how scary that was at first. in 1999, lopez released the album on the six powered by the number one single if you had my love. it went platinum in two weeks.

worldwide success brought lopez lots of attention and criticism. like i was kind of like known with the selena thing. but when i put out my record and that hit, it takes youo another level in music. >> reporter: right. >> and then i really started -- they really started going for me then. and then i was like, oh, i'm scared. why are they saying allgs these th about me? >> reporter: this is critics, tabloids? >> everything. the media. it is.w, it is what you are famous. you're fair game. they break down. >> it became a different thing. down was many like up and moments, but it's hard. it took a long time and a lot oh fighting thrinsecurities. o ♪ tonig >> reporter: june 1st of next year is the 20th anniversaon of the six. >> oh, my gosh. i hate you for that. >> reporter: i thought you might hate that. >> i love it, actually. >> reporter: and that's really when you'rr life exploded?

>> yeah. >> reporter: you have also talked about fame, being a crazy thing and a scary thing sometimes in. > >>? yeah. >> reporter: when you look back on those years, do you say, like, who was that person? >> oh, yeah? >> reporter: what was i doing? >> oh, yeah. i look bac at who i was in my 20s, it's like feigner. it's like what were you doing, you know?ye and i always sthe course. what saved me is i was a hard worker and i was a good person. >> reporter: you have interviewed jennifer a bunch. she is so fun to talk to. she talked about her life bro e blowing up in 1999. people were saying you are not a good singer, you're not a good actor. she said i took that personally until i got the confidence, no, i am a good singer and actor. wasn't t that long at she final l finally realized charges. >> she is soou revealing in

interview. >> yes. you could hear i had no voice. we sat down and she said, i'll do all the talking. so, thank you, jennifer. see the full interview with jennifer lopez this sunday on "today."th first, is "today" on nbc. a moment. but first, this is "today" o nbc. hey, batter, batter, batter, batter. [ crowd cheers ] like everyone, i lead a busy life. but i know the importance of having time to do what you love. at comcast we know our customers' time is valuable.

that's why we have 2-hour appointment windows, including nights and weekends. so you can do more of what you love. my name is tito, and i'm a tech ops manager at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome.

welcome back. we told ye wil has more of his interview with j.lo on unday today." >> what's ahead tomorrow? peter alexander has a rpreview orter: we will have the latest on what's looking like a partial government shutdown and the fallout from jim mattis' resignation. three days to go to christmas. the stores will be packed weekend. we will tell you where you can get the best last-minute tdeals and get the packages there by chrimas. at, plus your holiday forecast with dylan when we see you tomorrow. a lot going on. see you then. >> thanks. > the third hour of "today" is up next with remarkable stoees

of hust in time for christmas. first, your local news. ha >> bye-bye.ekend. this is a news4 today newsbreak. >> 8:56 is yourime on this friday, december, 21st 2018. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. neur morning commute with wtop's dave dil and your first4 traffic. hey, dave. >> good morning. southbound on 270 getting better. delays easing towards 370. more drama in virginia. let's go to 395 southbound. traffic is jammed due to a multi-vehicle pileup south of duke. one right lane is getting by. 95 is moving well through the getaway. for the latest, back to you. >> thank you. we will take areak now. we will check your forecast when we come back. stay with .

good moing everybody. it's breezy and mild outside. the rain has come to an end for a little while. there is more rain to the south west. don't stray too far from your

umbrel justet. temperatures in the mild zone for sure. uch of the 60s for day today. a gusty northwest wind brings winter back tomorrow. >> thank you. at get the lt news and weather anytime in the nbc washington app. live from studio 6a, this is "today."

>> well, thank you. good morning, everybody. i'm carson daly here with al, dylan, jenna and keir simmons, who survived eating the world's hottest pepper tomorrow live on television. milk came out the nose. it was an unbelievable moment.o glad see you're still alive. >> we love you. >> you wouldn't know it. >> i'm on a flight tonight. it may all go wrong tonight. anyby else ohe flight -- >> if you survived yesterday, you're okay. >> theood news i christmas is four days away. tomorrow is panic saturday. panic saturday is, as you can imagine, pa ac.