good morning. wintry mess. powerful storm set to bring snow, sleet, and freezing rain to 100 million people from colorado to new england. major cities, chicago, new york, boston, all in its path. al will tell us what to expect. state of chaos. >> i'm not goi anywhere. >> virgin's embattled governor refusingo resi in his first interview since the scandal that rocked his state, while virginia's second most powerful leader faces another allegation of sexual assault. so what's next? r borwall breakdown. with the next shutdown days away the negotiations hit a wall. president trump taking his fight

directly to the border today while 2020 democrats line up to take him on. >> thi the first full day of my campaign. >> i have hig expectations for this country, andha that's wt we need. all that plus lawyer on the lam. the hunt is on for a attorney accused of jumping bail and killing his own >mother. abloid talks. the lawyer for "national enquirer" is saying about where hey reay got those racy text messages from jeff bezos. ladies night. women take center stage at the grammys. a surprise appearance from michelle obama. >> music has always helped me take my story. >> alicia dazzles on the keys. and tributes to two legends, diana ross and dolly parton. ♪ jolene >> the sweet sound of music's big night today monday, february

11th, 19. 2019. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb. live from stuo 1a in wckefeller plaza. good mornincome to "today" on a monday morning. i stayed up a lot later thand i bleary eyed. could you believe th dolly parttribute? >> that's what had me staying up. i couldn't stop watching. the wgrammye so special last night, incredible performances. >> alicia keys was crazy on the keyboard. she was an incredible host. i thought it was the best one in years. itas awesome. >> we're going to talk about some of the moments of the night in a minute. first our top stories, a big winter storm is set to sweep across the country.it starts to. it will bring snow and o ce t 100 million people and al is all over this one. hey, al, good morning. >> good morning, and thank you for getting your first weather from us. take a look. this is the twin cities in

minnesota, and we are talking abouteavy snow rea y roads that are tangled and snarled, lots of accidents and this isng cots way for over 100 million folks stretching from the dakotasnd also iow across to chicago up into the northeast in new england. we've got 100 million people under winter weather advisories, watches, and storm warnings. heavy rain to the south. snow to the here's how it times out. we start this afternoon, snow and sleet rapidly heading east. heavy rain from ohio back into arkansas. then we get into tonight, snow and ice from minneapolis, green bay, also into o. we've got soaking rain and a flood threat increasing. tomorrow mning for the morning commute, heavy rain from washington, d.c. into cleveland. up into detroit it's an icy mix fromni western pennsyl and philadelphia. heavy snow for new york city and austin, up to burlington, snow,

scrant scranton, back to state college, foavy rain down to the south. here's what we loo we start off with snow back e rough the midwest, anywh from six to nine inches of snow through the upper mississippi and ohio river valleys. then we make our way into the northeastith really significant snow, six inches to a foot in new england, anywhere from three to six inches, new york, back into will yals port, isolated power outages and haefr flooding down to the south. west plains, memphis, bowling green,nashville. 20 million people at risk for heavy rain anywhere from four to five inches in western tennesse guys. thank you so much. in the meantime, there is new turmoil inirginia with the state's top lawmakers embroiled in scandals. the governor and lieutenant governor are speaking out. geoff bennett is in richmond. he's been covering this story from the start. good morning. >> reporter: good morning,go rnor ralph northam says his black face scandal serves aer hipurpose. he says he's learned from it ask

he wants to spend the rest of hisime in office focused on racial issues. at the same time northam says justin fairfax, lieutenant governor should step down if the sexual assault allegations against him turn out to be true. in his first tv interview since becoming engulfed in a black face scandal, virginia's governor says he is not going anywhere. >> i've thought about resigning, but i've also thought about what virgin needs right now and i really think i'm in a position twhere i cane virginia to the next level. >> as natio politicians pile on. >> he should resoin. >> i think he should resign. >> today new sign of support at home. a washington post poll finding a majority of african-american jorginia residents want northam to stay on the >> it happened years ago so i think he's changed and i don't think he should resign. >> the polls find virginians overall evenly split. >> i don't think there's any estion that the governor needs to resign. >> as he fights for his own

political future, the governor now putting pressure on his number two, lieutenant governor justin fairfax who stands accused of sexual assault b two women, dr. vanessa tyson and meredith watson. >> if these accusations are determined to be true, i don't think he's going to have any other option than to resign. >> fairfax denies both allegations calling the intera aions consensua in a new statement calling for an investigation of his own, writing i o call all appropriate and impartial investigatory authointies incl the fbi, to investigate fully and infrastructuthoroughly the allegations against me by ms. watson and dr.tasyson. an attorney for watson responding saying there was nothing consensual about the >>counter. nd geoff these two accusers are now b saying they wou willing to testify if impeachment hearings were to come against the lieutenant governor? is that right? >> reporter: that's right. they both say they are willing

to share their story publicly. a democratic stateegislature plans to drop articles of impeachment against justin fairfax as early as today. in order for that to move forward, the virginia house tpeaker would have to approve it. riow it's not clear that he will. >> geoff in richmond, tha you. the next government shutdown is potentially days away, and tas overorder security have apparently broken down again. this as the president takes his push for a wall directly to th border today. we've got two reports this morning. we'll start with nbc white house correspondent kristen welker in el paso, texas. give us a sense of what the president is hoping to achieve today. >> reporter: hi savannah, gd morning. this is president trump's first campaign style rally of the new year. he's going to be making a hard sell for his border wall. the focus is going to be the fencing here in el paso, about 16 feet high. it stretches about 40 miles long, and this event is coming

at a critical moment. over the weekend, we learned that talks have stalled between lawmakers who are aiming to avert a second government shutdo, the key sticking points of course border wall funding, but alsoow many detention beds there should be for folks who have been arrested by i.c.e. agents. o nor the weekend, the acting chief of staff, mickmu aney didn't rule out a second government shutdown. >> you cannot take a off the table, and you cannot take 5.7 off the table. >> reporter: now, remember, president trump has said if lawmakers cannot reach a deal he'll go around congress and io declare a natl emergency. his visit, though, does come with a bit of a cloud looming i over because of something that he said about this fencing here in el paso during the state of t union address. he said that the fencing made el so safer. well, the fact checkers pounced and in reality crime actually decreased in the years leading up to when this fencing was ut built in a 2008 to 2009.

still, expected to be front and center tonight for president trump, savannah and hoda. >> the president isn't the only one having a big evt. one o his 2020 challengers is supposed to be there as well, right? >> reporter: it's going to be quite a split screen, hoda. there's no doubt about that. beto o'rourke, who is mulling a poteial 2020 bid, is going to be holding a counter rally here tonight about a mile away and about the same time. remember, he's the former congressman who failed in his bid to take on senator ted cruz, but he became a rising star ira the demc party. tonight he's going to be holding an event.ta it's going to with a march. the theme of the march is going to be stop the lies, stop the , wa and celebrate el paso. you're going to have two very different events, two different messages, and potentially a preview of what we could see in 2020. hoda and savannah. >> kristen welker at the border. that segue brings us right

to 2020 and the field of potential democraticle chers. it's getting more crowded by the day. hallie jackson is on that part of the story. good morning. >> good morning to you. that pbeto o'rourke texas event is prompting speculation he gght end upting into the 2020 mix. he has not made it official yet, but plenty of other democrats have. that includes two senators now getting into the race, both targeted by president trump. >> with the weather hardly minnesota nice, a snow covered senator amy klobuchar stormed into the 2020 field making her announcement. >> i have grit. >> and making the list of democrats looking to win the longer.ouse even klobuchar has not signed on to a medicare for all plan like her more pgressive competitors but does champion less expensive health care and climate protections. she's defending herself from reports she's mistreated some staffemrs. >> i' have high expectations fo

myself. i have highon expecta for the people that work for me, but i have high expectations for this country,e and that's what need. >> reporter: the president clearly paying attention to his potential challen jabbing at klobuchar's position on climate change, tweeting by the end of her speech she looked like a snow man or woman. and he's takgim at another democratic candidate formally e runninzabeth warren. president trump using an offensive nickname for her,nd pocahontassking will she run as our first native american esidential candidate or has she decided after 32 years this is not playing so well anymore, see you on the campaign trail, li >> every day there's a racist tweet, a hateful tweet. >> the massachusetts senator har apologized f any harm caused by her past claims of native american ancestry. in iowa focusing not on that but on the fight she faces with donald trump turning her fire on the legal questions that have

dogged his campaign and administ ttion. >> by time we get to 2020, donald trump may not even be president. in fact, he may not even be a free >> reporter: dpcompare that to w jersey senator cory booker making his first stop as a candidate in iowa with a raspy voice pushing unity. >> they're going to say gosh, more candidates talking about love and hope. oh, my gork, how are you going to beat donald trump on that. >> i thi a lot of people are also wondering about another name, joe biden. is the any word when that may or may not happen? >> it is a big question, hoda. here's what we're learning from our reporting. folks close to joe biden say they expect a final decision ybe in early to mid-march. we've seen deadlines like these come and go before. biden's been apparently working the phones constantly, feeling allies out about 2020 and offering percentages about how

likely it is he will get into the race. right now it's looking he's more likely t run than not. a big grain of salt here, the former vp had an announcement speech all geady to ahead of the 2016 campaign, one that he never gave when he ultimatelyd deciot to run. bottom line, it looks like democrats areoing to have to it maybe a month longer before they know for sure. >> hallie,>>hank you. craig joins the table. we have a lot more to get to. >> good mornin we talked about at the top of the show, music's biggest night, the grammy's. huge night for women as well, d many of the award show's top category. natalie morales in los angeles with the highlights. >> reporter: good morning to you, craig. remember after social media dubbed lastyear's grammy award's #grammysomale, whatff a ence a year makes. this year's show struck a much different chord from start to finish. it was definitely ladies' night. ♪ >> from grammy host alicia keys

to dozens of female grammy winners, and even a surprise appearance byormer first lady michelle obama. [ applause ] >> who stole the show from some ha music's biggest stoouperstar >> music shows us all of it matters. >> the night was all about women power with current stars andy legendar icons strutting their stuff and honoring their past. ♪ and here i go >> paying tribute to country legend dolly parton who performed with a group of young stars includingau her godghter miley cyrus. ♪ jolene >> diana ross who celebrated her 75 birthday and a powerful performance remembering the queen of soul, aretha ♪franklin ou make me feel like a natural woman ♪ >> as for the night's big winners. >> and we got to take care of

each other. >> lady gaga won three grammy's including best pop duo or group performance for "shallow." the smash hit from the movie "a star is born" w ach iso nominated for an oscar ♪ we're far from the shallow now ♪ >> cardi b turnedeads on the red carpet and on the stage with an electriing performance. ♪ >> she also became the first solo female artist to win a grammy for best rap album for "invasion of privacy". >> thank you so much, everybody. >> and it s didn'tp there, singer her won best r&b album, while country starve kacey musg won for country album and the coveted album of the year. unbelievable to be even in a categoryith such gigantic albums. >> some of the guys who walked away with awards, drake winning best rap song for "god's plan". >> you've already won if you have people who are singing your songs word for word. you don't need this right here,

i promiseyou. you already won. >> and c a no-show but won four tatues including record of the year for "this is america." >> and jennifer lopez gave a stunning tribute to mo town with a littlem help f host alicia keys, super star ne-yo and icon smokey robinson. >> ariana grande skipped the show, but she did win her first grammy for best pop vocal, and the late singer chr cornell won posthumously for best rock performance. it was a great night all around, lots of incredible performances. >> we couldn't have stopped talking about, that dolly parton medial medley was like off the chains. >> she still is singing so great, sounds amazing and then to see these incredible performers. >> here's todolly. >> ♪ i can easily understand how you could easily takey man, but you don't know what he means to mee jol ♪

♪ jolene, jolene, jolene, jolene ♪ stop. we need more, more. >> another great moment, alicia keys, that medley. pianos. >> just the concept, the songs i wish i'd written. that's crazy ♪ >> how about darne monet, alicia keys, i thought in terms of performing a hosting was the best. >> i loved her whole vibe. >> right? >> it was like not -- she just was reallind of mellow and happy to be there. >> it's fun to watch an awards show and fl happy afterwards. it felt so good last night. >> best one in years,te abso. >> and the sets were so gorgeous. >> and the costumes. >> we liked the show.ov we ap >> loved it. >> hey, al, what's going on in the it almost seems like it

should be on nbc. it doesn't need to be on that other fonetwork. today snow is developing. we've got heavy rain in the mid missisppi river lley. next half hour taking a look at the pacific northwest. they have been getting hammered. another storm there. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. ients good morning, everybody. i'm storm team4 meteorologist chuck bell.sk cloudy s, mix of rain and snow in washington, temperatures barely above the freezing mark.

a little more snow mixing in especially across montgomery ann loud county up to the pennsylvania border. be on the lookout for slushyness and slipperiness early this morning. temperatures are at or just slightly above the freezing mark around the metro area. just a littleit colder across northern maryland where there impact.e more of an same story again tomorrow morning. coming up half hour take a look at the pific northwest. coother big storm that's going to make its way t-to-coast. storm that's going to make its way coast to coast. just ahead, a new twist in the jeff bezos "national enquirer" extortion what a lawyer for the tabloid is saying about those r y text and banking on a big tax return this year? not so fast, why millions are getting hit instead with big tax bills. we'll explain, but first this is "today" on nbc.

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you're marrying her and her whole world shop neil lane diamond engagement rings... ...at kay. 7:26 is yourime now on this monday february 11, 2019. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. it is a storm team4 weather alert. snow, rain, ice all fell across the region. be sure to take your time. >> the winter blast is causingna er of schools to be closed or delayed today. th full list is in the nbc washington app. now let's get a checkn ur commute with melissa mollet and first4traffic. >> a lot ofelays around town. washington southbound 295 after pennsylvania avenue, have crash. seeing some real delay inbound. eastbound, two lanes getting by, seeing slowdowns. northbound loudoun county

parkway we have an accident. take a look at that radar re showing you w we have snow and ice falling around the area. >> melissa, thank you. new at 5:00, the medical technique tt can correct your child's eyesight without surgery. >> we'll explain they revolutionprocedure. we'll take a break now. stay with us. at havertys we know d 's hard to get a gght's sleep... havertys mattress sale is here to help. with our wide selection of top brands and our price match guarantee - you can find the perfect mattress for everyone in the family. and right now ve up to $500 on tempur-pedic sets.

it's time everyone got a good nht's sleep. havertys. life looks good. good morniny. everyb a planner for today. a little mix of rain and snowor thisng becoming primarily rain during the day today but there's a chance that could switch back over to a rain snow x this evening. by tomorrow morning we could have minorccumulations of snow in northern maryland. stay up to date with the forecast. future weather, rain and snow persisting through much of the day inortheastern maryland. again, overnight tonight likely to have tt rain/snow line toward the metro area. could get a couple of inches.

not much of a snow impact around town. cold and wet for today and tomoow, sun is back on wednesday. >> all right. looking forward to that. >> chuck, thank you. another local news update in 25 minutes. >> for now back to the "today show do you think this is fun for me? you think i'm having fun? inan on other line] it cer wasn't much fun to..... do you have eyes on the target? is it her? [man on other line] i can't tell from this photos... ...i need better shots. thank you for flying tuish airlines. taxi! you waiting for someone? no. just... looking.

7:30 now on a monday morning. it's february the 11th, valentine's day on thursday. that's a little public service announcement, and we're here to help you share the love. check it out. look at this thing. we've got a huge board on th plaza. their are pinning up messages of love and hope. there's actually a special purpose behind this. we're going to tell you more on how you can get involved. it's a nice time to write a little love note to someone. >> we have a whole week of stuff planned tha will mak you feel good. there's no end to the political storm in firginia. in hst television interview since becoming engulfed in this scandal, governor ralph northam says he's not going anywhere. a pollhows a majority of african-american virginia

residents want northam to stay on the job. joer a the pressure is mounting meanwh governor, justin fairfax to quit. two women now accuse him of sexual assault in the 2000s, and willing to y ar testify against him if impeachment plans proceed. fairfaxedne dens those accusations. >>a second government shutdown is looming after bipartisan talks on border security stalled. white house chieof staff mick mulvaney said he cannot rule out thef possibility new furloughs and laffs. democrats are demanding a limit on the number of migrants authities can detain,nd there's no agreement on funding for president trllp's border the president will rally supporters today during a visit to el paso, urxas. sy is under review urter a chimpanzee escaped from its encl at the belfast zoo this weekend. they used it as a ladder to reach t top.

>> mom, it's escaping. >> he was escaping. most of the chimpi s stayed on th he returned on his own. no one was hurt. zoo officials call it a highlyl unusuaevent. >> aangerous one, too. now to the very latest on that very public dispute between thenq "nationalrer" and jeff bezos after he accused the tabloid of blackmail and extortion. miguel almaguer has the very latest on this one. >> good morning, in a statement friday, american media inc said it was investigating the claims from the world's richest man, it that acted lawfully. pecker er for ceo david doubling down on that over the weekend insisting his client didn'tth do anyg wrong. >> reporter: this morning has the jeff bezos leaker been revealed? the brother of bezos's alleged mistress lauren sanchez is denying reports he leaked explicit texts to the "national

quirer." a lawyer for the tabloid's ceo david pecker, is refusing to confirm or denywa if it michael sanchez who also a reported supporter of president sump. the lawying the source was someone close to the couple and had given information to the inquirer for seven years. michael sanchez denied his involvement to "the washington post" which is owned by bezos. it comes as pecker's attorney is pushin back on claims jeff bezos made an extraordinary blog post l e lastweek. >> it absolutely is not extortion and not blackmail. >> reporr: the amazon founder wrote that representatives for american media inc. tletdenhrea to release intimate texts and b photween him and his alleged mistress lauren sanchez if he didn't publish what he called a false pubc statement ying he didn't think ami's coverage was politically motivated and end his investigation into how they got previous texts, which they

ublished shortly after bezos announced his divorce. nbc news has not independently reviewed the e-mails in bezos's post. bezos had pointed to ami's connection to the saudi government as well as president trumer pe attorney stressing. >> i think both bezos and amid nterest in resolving their differences. >> since bezos's post others have comehe forward saying too were victims of the same practices. actor tgry crews tweet that ami tried to silence me by fabricating stories. investigative journalist row nad fair rowhe former editor of the associated press investigative team detailing similar efrforts against this morning a tabloid known for its salacious headlines is today making its own front page fodder. >> pecker's lawyer says he's not

il attempts black by ami employees. meantime, according to a source miliar with the matter, federal prosecutors are now looking intohether the company violated its non-prosecution reement over alleged hus money payments during president trump's campaign. guys, back to you. >> miguel almaguer in l.a. thanks. let's get another check of the weather, mr. roker we're starting off in the pacific northwest where they have been getting hit hard. some folks taking advantage of the snow in seattle causing si prereq traffic delays and problems and it just keeps coming. take a a look what they have been seeing in seattle. february so f 14" of snow. third snowiest on reco. if they get another 3.2" of stho, it will make it the snowiest ever. moving onshore in the pacific northwest, flooding, heavy rain for california this is a coast-to-coast storm. by saturday the midsection of the country, f snowm the rockies into the plains.

strong wi ss, lake-effectw develops by saturday chag aetroeten ininvolvedg.. ese strong winds will continue and bringing rain to the east. as we make our way to saturday night, we get icy conditions into the northeast, strong lake-effect winds and snow and that heavy c rain for the northeast. that's what going on around the good morning, everybody. monday is an ugly wet mess to get your work and school week started. a lot of delays and postponements around the area, use your nbc washington app to stay ahead of e weather. there's a lot more where this came from as well. we're marginally on the rain/snow line. the only place with significant amounts of snowun is a maryland. rain/snow mix around for the morning, rain for the afternoon, another mix tomorrow morning and afternoon but a lot of rain at that. >> and that's your latest. >> and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, thank you. a>> still ahead, meghan markle's heartbreaking ple to her father in ante intimate let just

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you should have gotten more iyo paycheck last year, less money withheld. if less money is being withheld for your taxes and you don't overpay, you'll get less money in a refund. >> we passed a massive taxut for working families. >> president trump touting his middle and working class tax cuts duringhe state of the union address, but this morning, some acans who have filed their taxes early are getting a rude awakening. >> i was planning on vacation that i'm now going to have to postpone. me some early returns suggest manyricans aren't getting the refunds they e ected and sounexpectedly owe money to the irs. >> i might have to take money out of an ira to pay my taxes thanks to the trump administration. >> some t tter users venti their frustrations online. my tax refund is half of last year and i last year got a $750 federal refund. this year i owe $5,000. according to the irs, the average tax refund last year was

$2,035. in the first week of tax season this year, the average refund was 1865, down 8% with a number of people receiving a refund at all dropping nearly 25%. the discrepancy lies in the new tax law which doubled the standard deducti for most middle class americans. that gave workers more money upfront in their paychegs, somethhat may have gone unnoticed. as a result the irs tellsbc news some may receive a smaller refund or even pentially owe tax, especially if they did not checnd adjust their withholding. tax experts caution a smaller refund or owing moneyoesn't necessarily mean you are paying more taxes. >> i've seen ant analysis t said 65% of households will pay a lower income tax after the changes. most people will be paying less. >> in all, 30 million americans ie expected to owe the irs this year. you're surprised by your

bill this yeerk ar, thet important thing you can do is go back to your employer, change your withholding so thatis mone ctually coming out of yourhe paycck in the right amount every month, and you're not paying a big chunk of money at tax time. >> so tom, as w understand it, higher income people living in higher tax states are still the ost likely to owe money in taxes this year.do break that . >> the amount of local and property taxes you can deduct on yourederal taxes is capped at $10,000, so if you pay more than that, you can't deduct any more than that on your taxes. most experts say getting a big refund is usually not a good thing because it means you have been overpaying yr taxes and giving the government an interest free loan. as she said, the best option, talk to your employer about adjusting your withholdings so you don't get a big refund or a big tax bill come tax day. >> probably good to check those withholdings periodically anyway. skiing legend lindsey vonn

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with more fda-approved uses for advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. and welcome back, we're back with a fitting end to olympicle nd lindsey vonn's historic skiing career. capping it off with one last race and one last trip to the winner's podium. >> one final time lindsey vonn. >> reporter: out of the gate she was as good asnn . >> lindsey vonn going 62il mes an hour. >> reporter: reminding the world of just how she became thete greast female skier in history. >> she is t greatest glider in the>> world. reporter: lindsey vonn delivering a clean run as she meed toward the finish line one last ti >> for the final time in her storied career, vonn to the line here in sweden. >> reporter: ending an illustriousareer spanning nearly two decades with l oneast

win. vonn all smiles as she tookhe bronze medal in the world championships downhill sunday. the win comes a little more th a week after vonn announced she'd retire because of another serious knee injury. >> i'm going to put this next to the gold medals becse this to ed me was an incrible race. i fought with my heart the whole way down. >> reporter: the victory marki a final comeback for vonn after she crashed during last tuesday's super g. >> she goes down hard. >> reporter: vonn escaping the dramatic spill with a black eye, some sore ribs and a stiff neck, but she hasn't always been s luc lucky. while vonn has said sheeroesn't want list of career threating injuries todefine her legacy, you can't help but think about her remarkable ability to overcome them, turning after each setback stronger, her fearlessness

unfazed. >> i accept theisk thatt any time i could get in an accident and end my career, be paralyzed, kill myself. i mean, there's -- ski racg is a very dangerous sport, but i love it. >> reporter: vonn retiresith 82 world cup victories, just five shy of beating the all-time record held by swedish skier ingamar stmark. >> a show of support for lindsey vonn, a decorated daredevil now looking forward l to here off the slopes. >> what are you going to miss from this life, from this world? >> rorter: i tell you one thing i'm not going to miss, being cold. [ laughter ] >> i always wondered about that, maybe they don't feel cold like we all do but sey do. >> eith a sense of humor. >> she's amazing. we've gotten to know her over the years, and she's going to come by our studio next week. we'll get to sit dn with lindsey, see how she's doing,

how she feels about all of it 2next thursday februaryt. >> looking forward to that. just ahead, the touching s story of a spo power couple with dreams of starting a family and stopping a crippling disease. plus, mor on the grammy's and that big win for "a star is born." >> i wish bradley was here r wi ht now. >> so where was bradley while lady gaga was there accepting another big award for their hit movie? that's where he was. that's where he was. 're going to fi when you find yourself in a strange land... discover your inner hero. and unlock the power... to speed through everything... in the blink of an eye. hertz fast lane powered by clear... in select airports 2019. hertz. we're here to get you there. marvel studios' captain marvel. in theaters march 8th.

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56 is your time now on this monday february 11th, 2019. good morning, i'm eun yang. n's a storm team weather alert day. ber of schools are closed or delays. the list is in the nbc washinon app. let's check on the commute with nbc 4 mollet and traffic. >> quite a mix across the area, you see pink and green. beltway okay, because of the delays, the commute has shifted. fairfa chapel road crash with the right side blocked. taking a look 270 montrose looks good. northbound and southbound just wet. >> thank you, melissa. we'll take a break now and then check your forecast. stay with us. this presidents day,

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good morning,er ody. we have a cold rain across most of the d.c. metro area.er are wet snowflakes mixing in in montgomery and howard counties. it becomes mostly snow close to the pennsylvania line. temperatures just above freezing around ttown. no much in the way of road problems downtown. they are all wet so slippery from the raifalling. there's very little improvement for today. a chance for slushy snow accumulations tonight especially in northern maryland. so tomorrow will be another weather alert today.

it's 8:00 on today coming up, winter weather watch, a powerful storm set to blanket much of the country bringing snow, ice, and freezing rain. 100 million people from the midwest to new england in its th. so just how bad will it be? al's got our forecast. faplus, mily, fertility, and the future. how a power sports couple is turning to treatments in hopes of starting a family and putting an end to ariling disease. >> with huntington's disease specifically if you hav children without it, it's gone from the family line forever. >> forever? >> yes, it's amiracle. it's a version of the cure. >> this morning, their personal story and what they're doing to help othercouples. and meghan's message, the heartbreaking letter reportedly

sent to meghan markle's father by thet duchess herself j months after the royal wedding. what it could reveal about their relationship, today monday february 11th, 2019. >> today's 60th birthday. >> from dallas,te s! birthday 14th >> to our granddaughter caitlin in san antonio! ♪ >> bucketist on the today show. >> hi mom. >> good morning from cleveland! >> here's what's happening in your old neck of the woods. >> we're twins turning 10 on "today"! >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." it's monday morning. it it's the 11th of february,ar and we so happy to see you >>t on our plaza or watching at home. e're also so happy to see sopl many my todaa messages we're getting.

we're greedy, we want more of them. you can send thoseo us by usin the #mytodayplaza. >> aast moving storm is making its way across the country today. already dropped temperatures, snow and ice across the west and midwest, and now it has the east coast in its sights. >> good morning, guys, we've gor winter wea advisories, warnings, and watches stretching from the dakotas all the way into the northeast, 100 million people. you can see to the south there's rain. to the north there's snow. in fact, so much heavy rain we've got at least0 million people under flood watches from arkansas all the way to ohio and the virginias, so we're going to be watching that as well. here's what we look for, travel impacts for today, loo for major impacts for cincinnati's airport,sa kcity, memphis, nashville and st. louis. the0 roads iomaha, to new york, i-64, kansas city to baltimore, and i-55, chicago to

memphis, now for tomorrow, it moves into the east. so chicago, detroit, cleveland, new york, boston, c., and philadelphia all major impacts, and on the roads ti-75 detroit atlanta, i-80, chicago to new boston,-90, chicago to and i-95 from richmond all the way up to portland. it's going to be a big mover, but it's going to move o quickly. . wednesday things hopefully get back to norm thank you so much. in virginia there is no end in sight to the political storm engulfing the state for ten days now. nbc's jeff bennett is in richmond and has the latest the controversies involving governor ralph northam and lieutenant goverusrn fairfax. >> reporter: virginia governor ralph northam says his black face scandal serves a higher purpose. he says he learned from it and wants to spend the rest of his me in office focused on issues of racial equity. at the same time, the governor is now saying that his number two, lieutenant governor justin fairfax, should step down if the

sexual assault allegations against him turn out to be true. now, over the weend, fairfax issued yet anothere tatement wh flatly denied the allegations. he is now calling for a full, independent investigation. shis two accus released a statement of their own saying they be willing to testify publicly if impeachment proceedings againstax were to move forward. there is now a new development on the front. the virginia state legislature, the one who threatened to drop those articles of impeachment against justin fairfax, he says he's holding off. time to to have more have conversations about next steps. hoda. >> geoff, thank you so much. now tthe growing threat of a new government shutdown. friday is the deadline to reach a deal, but talks broke down overke the wee again over border wall funding. lawmakers are also fightinget or her to limit the number of migrants i.c.e. agents can detain. tonight president trump will travel to el paso, texas, to again, make his case to build a wall. that border city is democrat

beto o'rourke's hometown. o'rourke will be holding a risly ofwn against the president's plans about a mile away. now to aan nationwident for a disbarred georgia attorney convicted in atring of crimes and now accused of committing even more. nbc's kristen dahlgren isth on one. >> crazy story. richard merit was due to turn himself in lt week for a 15-year prison sentence for theft, forgery andlder exploitation. instead he's now on the lam and police say he's added to his crimes allegedly killing his own mother. >> this morning the manhunt intensifying for a disbarred georgia attorney accused of murdering his mother. >> she's veryer das. my biggest concern is he could help someone else. >> richarder was once owner of her own law firm. >>ashe response i've gotten been great so far. >> merit was disbarnstead 2017 after pleading guilty to theft, forgery andlder exploitation. a judge sentenced merit to 15 years in prison, but approved

his request for time to get his affairs in order and turn himsel in to the court by february 1st. he never showed up. instead, last week ahorities believe merit cut off his ankle monitor in cobb county and drove to dekalb county where he allegedly stabbed his mother shirley to death, left his car at the scene, and took off in her 2009 lexus. >> we've got, you know, a who family that's concerned and frightened. >> merit's own brother is stunned. >> had they taken him into custody immediately, you know, she'be alive day, and he wouldn't be a fugitive. >> in a statement, richard ne merit's att tells nbc news mr. merit sounded upbeat and h optimistic abo chances for parole after serving just ve i simply cannot believe this has happened, nor can his brother who has a message for him. >> you know, you need to man up. you need to turn yourself in, and you need to account for what you've done. >> authorities say merit may an shaved his head in attempt to change his

appearance. he's considered armed and dangerous, guys. >> keep us posted. thank you. we've got our news covered. how about a littleorning boost, shall we? >> we could use it. >> one of the big winners at last night's grammy awardsas the artist known as her. the 21-year-old was nominat in fi categories. she won two, best r&b album, and best r&b performance. she also performed at the show last night in l.a. ♪ little known fact, turns out we know h.e.r. better than most. she performed the alicia keys no one right here on the "today" show in 2007. old.was just a child of 9 years take a listen. >> yeah, gabby, hi, honey. gabby is with us. ♪ i justant you close where you can stay forever ♪ >> how about that. icia keys hosted.

she won a grammy. she's singing alicia back in 2007. >> that's cool. >> i mean, that is and you were right there. >> she was like a child prodigy then, and look at her now. >> what was her -- >> gabby. >> but now she says h.e.r. >> what does that mean? >> having everything revealed. >> that's . we just revealed her appearance "today" show. really cool. >> she should come back. >> she should come back. >> open invitatig. comin up, a really touching story, this power couple in sports, their challenges starting a family, and how they'resing fertility treatments to try and defeat a debilitating disease. >> it's a version of the cure. if everyone were to do this to have a child, we could eliminate the disease. >> their emotional and fascinating story just ahead. butfirst, meghan markle's l deeply personater to her father revealed what she reportedly wrote to him after the royal wedding coming up after this live from the starlite lounge. ♪ one plus one equals too little too late ♪

m- ♪ a sock-a-baom ♪ who's in the room? ♪ love is dangerous ♪ but driving safe means you pay less ♪ ♪ switch and save ♪ yes, ma'am excuse me, miss. ♪ does this hea ♪ would you like it anyway? [ scatting ] e ri ♪ would you like it anyway? hey! you still thinking about opening your own shop? every day. i think there are some ways to help keep you on track. and closer to home. edward jones grew to a trillion dollars in assets under care, by thinking about your goals as much as you do. it's easy to lose sight of what we should love and appreciate. milk is for a lot of things that really matter. for our bones and bodies, sure, but also to build us up when we need it. and for those real moments and connections.

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for 100% touchably beautiful hair. since one conditioner doesn't fit all. dove ultra-care conditioners. morning, sheinelle jones joining us for today's talker. meghan markle's anguish over a rift with her father. ai it'sng beid l b reportedly wrote to him and sent to him. >> the deeply personal letter was handw and allegedly sent by the duchess in the months after herdd g, a wedding her father missed after it was exposed he was paid to give interviews and pose fores pict. >> in public, pregnant meghan looks her usual poised self attending a charity awards evening last week with her husband prince harry. b i'm so, so grateful to be back. underneath her calm and graceful demeanor, private anguish. your actions have broken my heart into a millices the letter published by "themail"

on sunday. meghan's father released the letter she sent him. he says meghan sent the letter in augt last year following the royal couple's wedding in may. mr. markle was supposed to have walked her down the aisle, but in the days leadingp to the wedding, it came to light he had pbeen paid toose for tabloid photosf him preparing to travel toan en he subsequently had aeart attack and prince charles had to step in as chaperon. you've told theresshat you called me to say you weren't coming to the wedding. that didn't happen because you never ca, the letter says. ghan's dad has claimed she won't answer his messages but in the letter meghan reportedly writes you haven't reached out to me since the week of our wedding and while you claim you have no way of contacting me, my phone number has remained the same. nbc has not independently confirmed that the handwritten letter is meghan's. she is known for her lovely penmanship. in december meghan helped nursing home residents with holiday decorations writing

merry christmas love meghan in a swooping prince harry attended a rugby match sunday in his first public appearance since the detailset ther were revealed. concerning her new husband, the letter says to hear about the attacks you've made at harry in the press who is nothing but patient, kind, and understanding with you is perhaps the most painful of all. last week five of meghan's friends opened up to "people"zi ma in support of the woman they adore. >> as meghan's closest friends they're in ctact with her daily. they're the ones who see best the effects that the mistruths and the rumors are having on her, and so they felt that now ishe time for them to speak out. >> although it's not reprecedented for the royals to brief the via friends, diana and charles did it all the time when their marriage was eaking down, it's not necessarily recommended because it just opens the floodgates. the more you give bad publicity, it just gets worse and worse. >> reporter: a royal source told

nbc they quote, won't deny that the letter is genuere and that is more to the letter than has been published. the official response from kensington palace, no comment. c news reached outo thomas markle. he referred us back to the mail on s sunday articleing he wants to bepe rful of his daughter, especially while she is pregnant. he says he wanted to address rumors being sprisd about him. hole thing is messy. >> it is really messy. >> basically doesn't deny giving the press thattt. >> and that last clip was true. this whole thing, when you give it oxygen, i keeps going. >> you're right. >> it will be interesting to see where this goes. the fact that they're having a baby, i don't think it's going away anytime soon. >> we've got ms. dylan dreyer. lots to get to in pop start. everyone is ously still talking about the grammy's this morning. earlierd we mentio lady gaga two fome three grammys, the song "shallow." lay later in the evening gaga

performed the piece making it e most tweeted about songf the nigh let's take a look ♪ ♪ i'm off the deep end, watch as i dive'l in ♪ ♪l never mt the ground ♪ crash through the where they can't hurt us ♪ ♪ we're far from the shallow now ♪ >> giving it 100% every time. she's crinible. >> i also like the savannah guthrie version. your version's amazing. >> you need to just settle down. >> she does have a great version. >> that's just for you all. >> you need to share that with the world. >> no, i don't. >> come on. ofit would be like the sound televisions cracking everywhere. [ laughter ] >> okay.

anywho. >> we'll have a singoff at some point. >> there you go. >> while lady gaga was doing all that, her co-star bradley cooper was also winning across the pond. last night in london, he took home an award for best original music in a film. here's a little bit of his speech. g>> well, i to fulfill a dream that i never thought would ever happen, to compose and arrange music, and i got to do it with the greatest musicians in the world, lady gaga and lukas nelson who i share this with tonight. most of all i have to thank arenaor putting up with me, for all the music i was trying to make in our basement this year. thank you have very much. >> overall, a big night for "a >>ar is born". on saturday jennifer aniston had an epic birthday bash hosted at the sunset tower hotel in west hollywood. everyonerom courtneyox to singer katy perry was in attendance. amal and george clooney also made an appearance looking stunning as always, of course, and gal pals kate hudson and

gwyneth paltrow had fun in the photo booth. when hudson shared the photos ot ram, perry was quick to call out the actress for breaking the rules commenting no social media. hudson applied and confirmed she got permission. ellen degeneral ris and even ex-husband brad pitt slipped into thevent. aniston's birthday is actuall today. andy cohen appears to be djusting to fatherhood seamlessly. he shared an image of son benjamin's first flight and ngding he was dighe dad poar. just yesterday hed ooanother photo of little benjamin. cohen simply wrote heaven. got timely for a d clip? >> yes. >> this is our daily clip. when it comes time to sell his use d car, this creative canadian putogether a commercial to remember it.

>> this is my superbly average 2005 chevrolet cobalt. if you have no intentions of ever getting laid again, buy this car now and start driving it. carmen boasts some remarkable features, an offcolored driver's door handle, left and right turn t work. t you'll be thrilled with after market front speakers and a radio system because 17-year-old me thought that was a smart ci on. [ laughter ] >> the two-minute ad points out other features like the manual window and broken air-conditioning. if you're interested he's asking -- i think this is high, $799or this beauty. >> that seems low to me. if it drives. f>> myst car cost me $300. >> $300? >> howong ago was that? >> it was a 1983 toyota supra that i drove in '99. >> a couple of friends.

>> a couple of friends and aix pack. let's see what w got for you, taking a look around the country. another storm in the pacific northwest. beautiful weather in hawaii, lots of clouds through alaska. heavy rain in mid mississippi river, snow developing through the plains that's going to be pushing into the east over the next 24 to 48 thhours. 's what going on around the country, here is> good morning,. i'm storm team4 meteorologist chuck bell. cold and wet and cloudy outside. raining with snow around d.c. metro area. no problems on the roads locally. a little more issues across parts of northernmost maryland where temperatures are at or below freezing. most of the metro area have seen 32 and 35degrees. it won't warm up much but ilmid-30s keep everything in the form of rain today. chance of slushy snow in northern maryland tonight and another day with col >> and that's heur latest we guys. guys. >> thank you. now to a power couple in

sports facing a scary a significant obstacle when it comes to starting a fa houston astro's pitcher joe smith and his wife allie lafor e laforce. >> joe's family carries the gene for huntington's disease, a cr plcure. g >> this is a very inspirational story. this is a couple who came together in the most mod n of ways. he saw her reporting on tv, he direct messaged her on twitter, and the rest is as they say modern history, and now they're hoping modern medicine holds the key tong them have the family they desperately want while making sure their kids will be healthy. >> theirs may look like a charmed life. >> joe smith, a big league pitcher for the houston astros. >> for this team to play its best basketball in the fourth quarte >> and alley ie laforce, a basketball reporter and a tv host. for them there's just one thing they say they're missing, thepa

er of little pitchers. >> how many kids do u want? >> , four. >> four kids? >> at least, yeah. >> what say you, joe? >> i got noasing. >> at one and see how you feel after that. >> that's what he always says, i'll have one first. >> daddy day care. >> that dream tempered by aen frigg reality. huntington's disease runs in joe's family, a hereditary sease with no cure that's been described as a mix of r' alzhei parkinson's and als. it causes patients to lose memory and motor skills and usually hits in the prime of life. >> i never thought about him having it or, you know, our kids potentially having it until w t actualed to get pregnant. >> joe's mother struggles with it daily, and now lives in a nursing home. >> allie did my nails. >> and who filedm. t >> joe filed my nails. >> now with me and my sister, we both have a 50/50hance of getting it. >> have you ever gotten tested to see if you carry the gene?

>> no. you'd rather not know. >> i have yet to hear of somebody getting tested being told they will inherit this gene will express itself and like haven't gone through like a certain depression phase. >> more than 30,000 americans suffer from the disease, but doctors believe upwards of 200,000 people may be at risk. >> it's really aamily disease, individuals that are at risk or that have huntington more often than not, have seen a parent or a grandparent live and die with huntington's disease, so it's aerfying process. >> reporter: which is why joe and allie want to make sure their future children don't have it. they've turned to a cutting edge type of in vitro fertilization known as pgd ivf, a technology where embryos are genetically tested beforehey're implanted to ensure they're free of the disease. >> basically you all decided to have kids. you said look, i may or may not carry the gene for huntington's, and so we want to make sure that

we don't have kids that this disease. is that correct? >> yes, and the biggest reason isecause with huntington's disease specifically, if you have children without it, it's gone from the family lineve fo >> yes. >> forever? >> yes. >> it's a miracle. it's a version of the cure. if everyone were t have a child, we could eliminate the disease. >> what about critics who you're playing god? what about critics who say every child deservd, to be loven if you have a child who has huntatgton's? >> gquestion. we get it a lot. >> i inree. i don't i'm necessarily playing god. i think i'm just taking out a 50/50 chance, we're not genetically modifying our child. eyean, i don't want to pic color, hair color, height, weight, you know what i mean? i don't want nothing. t gone. ant t >> the couple now using their ood fortune to start a foundation, help cure hd. the goal to help other couples at risk ohuntington's afford the exact same procedure, which can cost around $35,000.

>> but do you think it's worth it? >> no doubt. >> yeah. i mean won't have to worry about it. >> and when you get emotional, what do you think about? >> i mean, everything you know. my mom, dad, my sister, you know, her kids, allie, our future kids.ly ultima we want to help, and we want to give back. >> we're trying to save one baby at a timerom this disease, and it can be done. >> through their charity, joe and allie have raised more than a million dollars. help cure hd is also working with clinicsationwide to cut the cost of their procedure. i just spoke to allie this morning and yesterday she nished her egg retrieval process, it's one of those critical steps, so we're watching the best for her family. >> yeah, we are. >> such an inspiring story. straight ahead, we are launching something specia for

valentine's week, how we're helping youhare the love. plus, jenna gets a lesson on writing the perfect love letter. good morning, everybody, it is a weather alert day. a number of schools are closed or delayed. e list is in the nbc washington app. let's go to melissa mollet with a lk at the traffic. >> inner and outer loop looking good. this shows where the moisture is falling this morning. etty much just wet. arlington westbound washington boulevard 2nd street crash with theight lane blocked. 270, you can see the sw on the side of the road but the wet this again, just morning. >> melissa, thank you. we'll have a look at the forecast when we come back. stay with us

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good morning, ybevy. cold and wet outside. a combination of rain and snow across the area this morning and a lot more rain back to our west. so what will be mostly rain

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♪ >> back now, 8:30 as we say hello to jenna bush hager and our crowd, too.e' vales day is coming up on thursday, so we started thinking about ways that we could help people share the love in a big way, and i think we got it figured out, don't you? >> i do too. look how cute this is. we're collecting notes from our crowd all week, and we're going toin them on our big love board. we are about sharing, the l-o-v-e.

this could be to your valentine's by thursday we want to have this b all filled up with love, right dilly? >> that is absolutely true, and we are getting -- it started here wh kelly and her daughter abby. you guys are from upstate new rk? yes. >> have you ever been this cold writing a love letter? >> no. [ laughter ] you guys, who are you writing yours out to? >> my husband pete, it's our fifth anniversary on thursday. >> on valentine's day? >> yes. >> oh, fun. and is it your birthday, also? >> yes, it's my 17th birthday. >> my goodness, this is so exciting. i'm going to write them a love letter since they're my new friends here, right? i guess that works. here we g dear kelly and -- i'm not going to be that creative so y guys can go on. [ laughter ] >> by the way, you don't have to be here to take part. tweet us using the share the love today hashtag. we're going to actually deliver

those messages to the ronald mcdonald house here in new york. >> with that hat, you look like yo you should be deliver yg papers. like that? >> that's very sharp. some of our nbc stations and affiliates are joining like wcau in philly, wkyc in cleveland, and wvid in detroit. thanks to them and thanks to w minted paid the production costs for our big old wall of. >> before we go on, can we peek at this young man over here? come on! let's go! >> sydney. happy birthday, happy 100th. >> thank you so much. i can't express words. i was here a long time. >>ou have been and you served in world war ii. i think you're our oldest livg world war ii vet, so thank you so much. you've been here before. this is great for you to be here on your 100th.

today's your actual birthday, right? >> should we sing? >> we have to. ♪ happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday dear, sydney happy birthday to you ♪ >> we love you, sydney. >> born right here in new york city. thanks so much. thank you. >> thank you for your service. ss.thank you, god b thank yo >> thank you for being here. >> just want to hold that hand. >> talk about love. >> ma >> exactly. >> so special. is.he best love there the best love, hoda. >> how about that? >> speaking ahead, my trip to a workshop to learn about the art of writing love letters and why putting pen to paper can be the best gift you can give the special person in your life this year. plus, how abong coo up a romantic wheel for your sweetie. anthon scato is here, he's some delicious recipes that are

not quite what you expect when you think of ant.talian fe a good example of trusting sur gut, we'll meet a cancer researcher whodenly began to lose her sight. she took action and helped solve her own medical mystery. we could use a little glow right now. a little on the brisk side here. let's look at the week ahead. heavy rain mid mississippi rivea ey, next storm pacific midwest, snow in the plains by wednesday. snowy and windy northeast, milder temperatures midsection of the country. heovy rain into coastal and interior sections of central california. rainnnd mount snows by friday in the pacific northwest. rainy and windy along eastern half of the country with no in the midwest. that's what going on around the good morning.is wha

just enough snow to whiten the ground across most of th area. there will be not much of a warm-up today and a big push of moisture all the way back to the ohio valley promises us zero sunshine todow or tomo just a rain/snow mix around town. nothing sticking on the roads here. a little more of an issue expected across northern maryland. again tonight that rain may changeo mostly snow. slushy 2" or 4" near pennsylvania border. not expecting troubles around town but will be weather alert tomorrow. >> one more look at sidney. happy birthday, sir. let's go back inside. back insi >> happy birthday indeed. thank you. there are new signs this morning that chipotle is moving past the pr nightmare that plagued the food chainye few s ago. how have they done it? nbc's joe fryer got an inside ok. hey, joe. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morn cg. since 201potle has been on a roller coaster. business plummeted following a seri of foodborne illness outbreaks. in the past year, the chain has seen a huge turn around with

sales way up. >> straight from the farm, and burrito. o your >> it's a look behind the scenes or as chipotle calls it, behind the foil. >> the guac asher. >> the company's new tv ads and digital videos profile employees and shine a light on the a company's foo how it's prepared. >> our chicken comes in fresh. we grill it all here every single day. >> chris i brandt chipotle's chief marketing officer, a job he took on nearly a year ago. >> when you have a campaign that focuses on h you prepare the food, it's inevitable that people are going to think abo the foodborne illness outbreaks from a few years ago and make a nnection. is this at least in part in response to that? >> i don't think it's in response to it. we have a zero tolerance policy for any violation of our food safety protocols. >> reporter: starting in 2015, chipotle was rocked by a string of food safety scares including a multistate e. coli outbreakor thatd the chain to temporarily close 43 stores. inspse, the company made

od changes creating a new safety advisory council, increasing training, and strengthening its food handlin procedures. >> there's a lot of hand washing protocol, there's a lot of temperature checks. >> reporter: brandt says the company offers employees paid time off for sick days ithout anyquestions. >> we hope people don't take advantage of that, but we want to make sure if you're sick you stay home. >> reporter: the changes didn'tf stop withood safety. nearly a yea ago thehain broughew at f c nroeom e ll. the stock has man doubled as the company pushes digital orders and new items like so-called lifestyle bowls geared towards keto, paleo and whole 30 diets. >> you'reot pulling it out of a box, you're making food. >> reporter: it's doubling down on what originally broht the company's success, fresh ingredients. >> we're just trying to be as transparent and honest about at we do as we can. >> reporter: chipotle had a

strong earnings report a few days ago beating analysts' expectations. as for what's next, the chain has been testing a loyalty program, which it plans to roll out to more customers this year, and in a small number of restaurants, the company says it will try drive-thru lanes for picking up mobile orders, craig. >> all right, joe fryer for u in l.a. thank you. let's head back outside. >> coming up just in time for valentine's day, our resident pert onromance, jenna bush hager is going to give us a lesson on the art of love letters. but first this is "today" on nbc. >> we're like lenny

everyone's got to listen to mom. when it comes to reducing the sugar in your family's diet, coke, dr pepper and pepsi hear you. we're working together to do just that. bringing you more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all. smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels and reminders to think balance. because we know mom wants what's best.

more beverage choices, smaller portions, less sugar. balanceus.org y you. anthony s we are back to kick offlur specalentine's day series. it's called share the love today. we do have ann lot of fun p for this week. >> we're going to start with what some call a forgotten artf in the world romance. but jenna, she's all about romance. good morning. >> i am.

i love that i am the person here. i sat in on a workshop to learn about t art of putting pen to paper and why writing love letters matters. >> from writers earnernest hemmingway to celebrities marilyn monrove and en to presidents. > you give me joy that few men know. i've climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candl to being barbara's husband. >> writing love letter was the easiest way to share love. but in the agendf text emojis, is there still room for the old fashioned pen to paper? >> why do you think it's so important to put youlings onto paper? >> if you take the time to really think about it and literally put it down onto paper, we think that that just makes adifference. >> reporter: writers amy oplverman and debbie sessman teach writing work >> write a list of ten things

you love about this person. >> i took their class how to write a love letter at the changing hands bookstore in aoenix. >> writing gives y chance to express things in a way that is maybe a little bit more whole. >> the rain is a broken piano, playing the same notes. >> debra and amy start the class with a poem and a letter from amy's daughter to inspire us. >> happy mother's day, momma. thank you for being in my life. >> , some writing exercises. >> we play some games with e writing, h them do lists and things like that. so i guess the first thing you need to do is get in mind who you want to write your love le ter to. >> are any keys to writing a good love letter? >> drafts. taking notes. >> being vulnerable to yourin >> being vulnerable, sure. >> being honest. >> reporter: it was time to get to work. then we shared our love letters about all types of love in

heclass. one tewrote a letter to her preschool students. >> each morning i revenue to a dark empty classroom awaiting your sticky faces and tiny hands to enter and fill it with your laughter and joy. your smile, yourhands, your voices are unique. tinyumans you're so incredibly loved. you are truly the loves of myli . love you always. >> , wow. [ applause ] >> do y see that there's this kind of renaissance where people are coming bac to this art that really brought people together? >> i hope so. >> and it's something that you can have forever. >> and it's >> i shared my letter to my husband henry. >> your love is like the post ie ith stick figured drawings of ships you left passing for me on the bathroom mirror when i returned home late. i had been flying most of the day and i was dehydrated, thirsty for home, and for you too. i wanted to cry too, i'm very emotional. your love is like that note, it is simple and a solid

thoughtful. >> there were emotional moments. ha>> i have to dos best for me as i slip into the silent sleep. >> and letters full of devotion and commitment. >> the way your hand feels in mine, it's just a perfect fit. thank you for taking my hand in yours and slipping a ring on it 25 years ago and never letting it go. [ applause ] >> why is it so important that we share love? >> i think we go throu life so bombarded by things and so quickly that we forget to sto and valentine's day is a lovely time to do that, but there are 365 days of theyear, and it's really never a bad time to stop d say thank u. there's something about a letter that's forever. >> when i watch you ce home to a quiet house, the girls tucked in,ro just a peek in theis waking them, throwing them into the air until sleep is long gone that you, too, miss being home.

>> wow. >> stop it. >> are weerving hearts for breakfast? >> i have to say write a love letter. there's all of this research that say y that if write your emotions to somebody, it makes lsu -- it f you up for a month. >> yeah. >> so anyway, i know, i felt -- i was at least filled up for a couple of weeks. >> because of the letter or because of the cold? it's a little bit of both. >> i love how you were so good with words and that spot on your valentine, you just had a be mine. >> beine works every year. >> it really does. >> and remember, guys, if you visit the plaza this week, you can pin your own note to this board or tweet us a note or phot and use th the #sharethelovetoday. and we' pin it for you. remember that our nextme seg is what? food. >> cooking. >> i i'm going to cook with anthony

scotto. he's going to make a good italian meal. you may a twist on it not expect. but first this is "today" on nbc. this is you shopping. and this is you maximizing at t.j.maxx. you shopping, you maximizing. you shopping, you maximizing. find the brands you love and get more you for your money, every time. it's not shopping, it's maximizing.

start maximizing today! maxx life at t.j.maxx s[ music playing ]oday! ♪ heyou, all of you. how you live. what you love. [ laughter ] that's what inspired us to create america's most advanced internet. internet that puts you in charge. [ chattering ] that protects what's important. that handles everything [ group cheering ] and reachereerhes yw. this is xfi. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome.

this morning on today food, we are going beyond ma cooking a great italian meal doesn't always have to include tomato sauce. anthony scotto has t options. two milanese recipes. where are your side kiks >> i'm okay with it. what is a lase. >> it's basically pounded and breaded. that can be everything. it doesn'to necessarily have be chicken. obviously we have our chicken. we have eggs that we're going to have to door the breading. flour, bread crumbs, the pas we're going to finish with, arugula and tomato.

>> pound it o butterfly a six or eight-ounce piece. open it up and poundt a little bit. >> okay. >> why do we pound it? >> you want it to be thin, that's milanese. >> it's regulnd flour what's this bread crumby thing. >> panko atme it can be store bought or something you make yourself. >> what is that? olive oil? >> olive oil is fine. it could be a sapphire oi it could be whatever you like. you just want not to burn it. >> okay. >> we're goi to saute this until it's brown. when it's brown, it's cooked. >> okay. we're going to keep doing that. i'm going to add garlic to this to start our pasta. >> can you swap outta the p or do we have to use the rigatoni? if you use a string pasta for that, you're going to -- it's not going to pick up the othere innts that are in the dish. >> so that little -- i oee, the flat investovors in there. >> i haveth to cumilanese

differently. >> that's right. you have the reaurant. 're going to add a little more tomato, the olive oil, and we're going to add our pasta. >> dumpt right here? >> all right. and this is cooked? >> cooked. let's add some asoning, a ittle red pepper, a little italian seasoning is great, a little salt, a little cheese. >> i mean, minus the pasta it se >> simple, simple. >> brief follow-up. i know you pound the chicken to make it thin, but why do you want it to be thin? >> as a milanese, you want it to be thin, crunchy. it's more about the crunch than the actual protein. >> you understand that. >> you're going to put this into a bowl, add arugula salad, fresh mozzarella. this is what this is goingo look like. let's go to the soup now. we're going to say the same formats the soup. i've already done some onions, i'm sauteing them quickly. i did vegetables which are here, carrots, celery. >> what's all that? >> just carrots, celery,

zucchini, potato, we're going to add this to this, salt and pepper. we're going to let that cook down a little bit. >> you're making a soup, and you're going to put the chick milanese in there? >> no, not i there. we're going to add a little cheese to this. if you don't mind, would you add now the milanese to the soup beforeve you st and eat it. >> so it's not so soggy. >> bread crumbs with the soup. >> how is that? >> i added a little lemon to that for a little pick me up. >> what's the soup called agai >> chicken milanese soup. it a's vegetable soup. it's very easy it's simple. again, it has to be done at the last minute. >> all right, anthony, thank you. >> what are you guys doing for valentine's day? >> we're here. >> haven't seen anybody in a while. >> no, no, we were just in. >> if you want these recipes,

you know where to findthem. toy.com/food. da

smuckers celebrates today is sponsored by smucker's. with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. >> with valentine's day this thursday, our viewers are sharing photos of the special lovedirnes in t lives, significant others and beyond. slim dial posted this photo with her loving fiancee. he'sho the one always reminds her to be courageous. elaine says that her three kids are the lov of her life, and shawn's adorable grandson jake has her whole heart. you can keep these photos coming at today.com/celebrates. >> we love love here. >> that's righ >> we're getting started. >> all right. byu' the way, while on today.com, go to today.com/allday for even more stories that you'll love. today we've got all the must-see

looks from the red carpet at the grammy's. >> plus one bride's unusual request, why she asked her friends to re-wear their old wedding gowns on her b >> that's kind of cool. >> more on that on today.com/allday. coming up in the third hour of "today," al roker, you went to one of your favorite shows. >> manifest. >> he loves that show, always talking about it. >> behind the scenes of "manifest" but first your local news.

8:56 is your time now on this monday february 11th, 2019. good morning to you, i'm eun yang. n is a storm team weather alert today. ber of skooms are closed or delayed. the full list is in the nbc washington app. now let's y check onr morning commute with melissa mollet and first4traffic. how is it looka?g, meli >> good morning. it is looking pretty wet across the area. the radar showing you w where

have moisture. beltway no problems, 59 maryland, 98 northbound southbound looks good, 66, 95, the delays because of school and work days as well. eun. >> melissa, thank you. we'll take a break and check acur forecast when we come stay with us. i'm mildly obsessed with numbers. the stats regarding my so, i started with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. like how humira has been prescribed to over 300,000 patients.

and how many patients saw clear or almost clear skin in just 4 months - the kind of clearance that can last. humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to symptoms. numbers are great. and seeing clearer skin is pretty awesome, too. that's what i call a body of proof. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? ask your dermatologist about humira. this is my body of proof.

good morning, everybody. cold rain around t d.c. metro area now. just up to the north and west you add a little elevation to this story and it becomes a little more of a rain/snow mix. mostly snow across parts of northern maryland where temperatures are just at the freezing mar or justbove freezing around town. we'll stay in the cold mid-30s today. another chance for accumulating wet snow in northern maryland and panhandle ofin west vi tonight. sunshine finally back. ♪ any any any any ♪ did you know trading in your car at a dealer could cost you money? a recent study found consumers who trade in their car pay an average of $990 dollars more. so don't trade in.... sell it. to we buy any car. learn more and get your free online valuationnow at we buy am ♪ find out how much your car is worth at webuyanycar.com♪

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everyone. hai y monday. >>am. >> i'm sheinelle, al. >> tgim. >> tgim? >> it is now because remember, you say if you're kind of eh just give yourself an uh. nd right.oesn't s nobody says that. >> on friday you said i don't get to go through something, i get to grow through something. >> yeah, but i didn't go eh, ah. >> that's what you meant. >> this is a stellar start to the program. >> it's monday, tgim. >> we got to make it to monday. >> there you go. >> we had a fun sundayght. did you tweet that you enjoyed the grammy's?