good morning. winter's here. snow and ice slamming the northeast right now making a mess of the morning commute as the deadly storm that's hammered other parts of the country moves east and nearly 40 million americans wake up to their first real taste of the season. breaking overnight, captured. the so-called affluenza teen missing for several weeks after breaking his probation detained in mexico along with his mother. his hair dyed black. both now facing possible time behind bars. this morning how investigators caught up it with them. not backing down. on the heels of the documentary accusing peyton manning of doping the reporter who made the allegations joins us live as the

controversial claim. and aloha oops. a man flies a drone too close to the presidential motorcade in hawaii forcing the secret service to spring into action, today, tuesday, december 29th, 2015 >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with mate lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm savannah guthrie along with carson daly in for matt. any scarier words than winter mix? >> winter is here. >> and with a vengeance. >> and anybody outside gets a taste of that. the northeast is seeing a dangerous storm. it's brought snow, flooding and tornadoes to the midwest and south, and now we're about to get it. we'll get to al's forecast and the misery being caused at the airports in a morning. let's start with nbc's ron mott

ron, good morning, what's it like there. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. light snow falling at the moment. this is going to be the start of what people think is going to be a big winter of snowfall here, so it's coming down, and it's going to be coming down all day. had much this morning the northeast and new england getting hit with snow and sleet ile millions of americans elsewhere are digging out and drying out from the deadly mess left behind over the past several days. in iowa, whiteout conditions, wind and ice making for treacherous travel. in missouri, major flooding and record-breaking rainfall, claiming at least ten lives, the going tough to say the least. >> it has been a very difficult several days, and this threat is clearly not over. >> reporter: next door, a school bus was swept away in floodwaters in illinois. emergency responders rescuing all the teenagers aboard. a state of emergency in oklahoma after freezing rain, ice and sleet left nearly 200,000 without power. >> we're doing okay. it could be worse.

hit by the tornadoes like they did down in the dallas area, so, you know, you have to count your blessings. >> reporter: and in texas a better look emerged at the devastation of at least nine tornadoes that killed 11 people n.garland, udora barnes is picking up the pieces after riding out saturday's tornado in her bathroom. >> all the damage is just unbelievable. it's heartbreaking, you know. you've been here so long, so to lose, i mean, practically everything, is just -- it's the stuff you s s on tv. you don't think it's going to happen to you. >> reporter: elsewhere around the state record snow. lubbock saw blizzard conditions, stranding motorists, closing roads, the mayor declaring a state of emergency set to last all week, and some areas of new mexico buried under two feet of snow. now, for folks in and around boston, the hope is that this is not the start of what we saw last season. set an all-time record for snowfall, more than 110 inches. guys, just to put this into perspective, the average

inches. that was a lot of snow, so here we are. it's winter. back to you. >> wow, hopefully not a start that have kind of season again, ron. thank you very much. >> and al's here with some good news hopefully. how long is this going to last? >> can we keep ron mott up for a sec. you can hear, hi, ron, you can hear that bouncing. you're getting some sleet right now, right? >> reporter: yeah, it's a little wet mix, al. we're expecting it may be to turn over later in the morning so the morning commute is g gng to be a little slick here. just out getting the streets cleared off for the folks heading into downtown today. >> in fact, we're going to get some radar verification of that. thank you, ron, so much. stay safe. you can see the areas of pink. look at the temperatures, boston 34, and you can see the pink. that's the icy mix. it's pushing on up. the snow is moving to the north, and you're getting that icy mix coming in. that blue line is the freezing line. new york city at 40 and albany at 29 so we're looking at snow there. right now 37 million people in the path of winter weather. scranton, albany, hartford,

all being affected by this. so for today that wintry mix will start to push to the north. staying snow up into central and northern new england so dangerous travel, low visibility, and look at the snowfall totals. upwards of a foot or more in parts of northern and central new england, but here's what we're really concerned about, the icing. look at this, from utica, new york, all the way into central maine. we're looking at upwards of a tenth of an inch. that's where you lose traction. a quarter of an inch though in parts of massachusetts and on into new hampshire so we're going to be looking at some big problems as far as the roads are concerned right on into this evening for parts of new england. it's going to be a real mess, and when we come back a little later, we're talking about major river flooding on the mississippi which unheard of this time of the year. >> you mentioned the roads. there's always the skies, and we have soree the second straight morning flight cancellations and delays tied to these storms. they are mounting this morning. nbc's kristen dahlgren is at laguardia airport here in new york along with my mother who is awaiting takeoff this morning.

give us some good news. >> reporter: good morning. i'll say hi to her, yeah. this is not how you want to start the morning for your mom or for anyone out here. already cancellations and delays. nationwide, we're already looking at 659 cancellations, 374 delays, and that's where we're starting. the most delayed flights in laguardia along with atlanta and detroit. the most cancelled flights so far this morning are at newark, chicago and dallas. think about it. it's like a domino effect so what happens in a place like dallas or chicago, definitely doesn't stay there. the weather has really thrown a wrench into the entire system. by last night after all of that weather, we saw 5,100 delays, saw almost 3,000 cancellations nationwide. all those people on cancelled flights still have to get where they are going so expect another very, very busy day as this savannah? very much. meantime, the manhunt for a

controversial affluenza defense to avoid prison time for a deadly drunk driving crash is over. ethon couch was detained in mexico last night. nbc's gabe gutierrez has that story. what can you tell us. >> reporter: carson, good morning. the so-called affluenza teen and his mother had been on the run for several weeks. now the district attorney's office here confirming overnight that the pair is in mexican custody. this morning the search for affluenza teen ethan couch and his mother tonya is over. mexican officials say the pair was picked up by immigration authorities around 6:00 p.m. monday in the popular resort town of puerto vallarta. couch's hair apparently dyed black. two weeks ago the fbi and u.s. marshall service launched an international manhunt offering a reward after the 18-year-old failed to check in with his probation officer in fort worth, texas. >> it's our number one priority right now for our task force. >> reporter: couch's case drew worldwide attention after he killed four people while driving drunk in 2013.

it's bad. we flipped and, oh, god. >> reporter: his blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit. during sentencing his attorney claimed the teen did not understand the consequences of his actions because of his affluent upbringing. a judge gave him ten years anger. kevin mcconnell's then 12-year-old son lucas was seriously injured in the crash. >> i think he was never taught that actions have consequences other than the easiest way out. >> reporter: earlier this month cell phone video of this party surfaced on social media. a spokesperson for the tarrant county district attorney said investigators interviewed witnesses who claimed couch was there. alcohol use would violate his probation though couch is not seen drinking in the video. >> i think that was the trigger of what forced him to run. i think they ran because that video was released and the fear that he would now finally be locked up.

had previously said that couch faced up to ten years in prison for violating his probation. now he could be in even bigger trouble, and his mother could also face charges, and we've reached out to their attorneys. so far we've not heard back, and right now it's unclear when they might be extradited back here to the u.s. savannah? >> all right, gabe, thank you very much. we turn now to politics, the presidential race where donald trump is launching new attacks against fellow candidates and the largest newspaper in a key battleground state. we'll talk to mr. trump live in just a moment. first, let's go to nbc's hallie jackson on the trail this morning. hallie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. so far this campaign donald trump has spent the least amount of money of any republican candidate, but that's about to change. trump now announcing he'll start spending big in january, taking no chances, he says, ahead. iowa calk yougses. it's just one of the highlights with trump back on the campaign

in person after a long christmas break -- >> all i could do was treat. >> reporter: and in his element donald trump letting loose on chris christie. >> you know, the people in new jersey want to throw him out of office. they say why isn't he running new jersey. >> reporter: on hillary clinton. >> what she did with the e-mails is criminal. >> reporter: and without mentioning clinton's husband at his rally overnight trump is hitting him hard on twitter after news the former president will campaigig next week in new hampshire writing bill clinton was terrible, failed badly and was called a racist when he hit the trail for his wife in 2008. clinton's campaign insisting now she won't be bullied or distracted by attacks trump throws at her and former president clinton, promising she will challenge trump. under fire for what clinton has called his penchant for sexism. this morning trump's daughter is defending her dad as one of the great advocates for women. on the cover the "town & "town & country" but it's the front of a different publication

new hampshire paper ripped him as crude blow hard comparing him to the bully biff from "back to the future." >> sit down! >> reporter: the paper, which endorsed christie, quickly called out by trump. >> because you have a very dishonest newspaper up here. >> reporter: along with the publisher. >> he's a low life, i'm telling you. >> repepter: and while republican rival jeb bush looks ready to mix it up. >> donald, i'll take you on one-on-one in a debate any time any place, you name it, and i'll do it. >> reporter: it's trump still leading in new hampshire, by double digits, now reminding supporters to vote but fumbling to remember when. >> it's so important that on february 8th, 9th, what you should do on february 8th, stand there. and on february 9th, you get in and vote. >> reporter: donald trump loves talking about his poll numbers, but there's one poll he hasn't mentioned yet. a new one from gallup showing him in second place for title of

tied with pope francis. savannah, number one on that list, by the way, president obama. >> hallie jackson, you just teed up mr. trump quite well. he's on the phone. mr. trump, good morning. good to talk to you as always. >> good morning. >> let me start with the latest tweet you have talking about bill clinton. you say he had failed baldelli in the 2008 gain when he acted as a surrogate for his wife, and you added he was called a racist i know you choose your words carefully. are you yourself calling him a racist? >> no, he was called that by the obama campaign. he was called it loud and clear. he was extremely insulted. >> why did you put it in your tweet if you don't believe it? >> they said it. i didn't say it. i didn't call him a racist. >> you circulate it had to 5.4 million followers so that would suggest you approve of it. >> all i said is what they said, savannah. that's what they said, called him a racist. i don't believe he is a racist, if you want to know the truth but they called him a racist. it was a miserable campaign. they did very poorly, and they are bringing him out again. he's being wheeled out, and

but frankly he did very, very poorly. he was not good forler, and obviously she lost to obama, and that was the end of that, but they brought him how the before. >> you also said that he has -- this is a different tweet, quote, a terrible record of women abuse, and i wondered if you could get specific about that. what do you mean and what are you referring to in particular? >> well, if you look at the different situations, of course, we can name many of them, i can get you a list and i'll have it sent to your office in two seconds. but there were certainly a lot of abuse of women, and you look at whether it's monica lewinsky or paula jones or many of them, and -- and that certainly will be fair game, certainly if they play the woman's card with respect to me. that will be fair game. >> you mentioned monica lewinsky. are you saying an alleged extra marital affair, that, of course, he's now admitted, is that fair -- >> it's not alleged. i don't think that's alleged. >> he's admitted it. >> well, if he's admitted it you don't have to use the word alleged. >> right,ics actly.

affair by bill clinton is fair game and something that you think should be talking about in the campaign? >> what i'm saying is very simple. if she is going to play the woman card because i'll do more for women than hillary clinton is going to do for women, including the safety of our country which is good for everybody, but if she's going to play, which she started about a week ago, talking about oh, he mentioned and, you know, the whole thing, playing up the woman's card very, very strongly, and if she's going to play that game and if he's going to be out there campaigning, then he's certainly fair game, and i think just about everybody agrees with me on that. this is a person who, you know, he's going to be out, and i like the fact that he's campaigning for her. he failed in 2008. he failed really badly. he frankly did a very poor job in campaigning, if you want to know the truth, and p phaps he'll do well or perhaps he'll do poorly, but go she's going to play the woman card it's all fair game. >> you mentioned the monica lewinsky issue. in 2008 on cnn you called the

for that nonsense and totally unimportant. do you still feel that way, or have you had a change of heart? >> well, you know, i they will this to everybody. i got along as a what they -- i'm dubbed as a world class businessman, which frankly that's what i am, and i got along with everybody. i got along with the clintons. i got along with the republicans, the democrats, the liberals, the conservatives. that was my obligation. as a businessman i had to get along with everybody, and i'll be able to do that as president. i'll be able to bring people together, but i got along with the clintons and got along with everybody virtually because that was when i needed approvals, when i needed something from washington, i always got what i want the, and that's because i was able to get along with everybody, so -- >> you got along, but did you secretly not feel that way about them? >> let me just tell you. when i was a missman, i had an obligation to myself, my family, my company to get along with everybody and i did that probably better than most. >> all right. mr. trump, i'm out of time. we'll have to leave it there. hope to talk to you again soon.

>> thank you very much. >> in other news this morning, police arrested two people overnight sumted of planning terror attacks in belgium on new year's eve. the arrests came after a series of raids in brussels and other locations. searches turnene up military-style training uniforms and isis propaganda material but no weapons or explosives. prosecutors say the alleged targets were symbolic locations in belgium and say the investigation was not tied to the paris terror attacks in november. now to the story we told you about at the top of the show, president barack obama's motorcadad was stopped beliefly on monday after a drone was spotted flying above its route in hawaii. the secret service says the operator was completely unaware that the presidential motorcade was in the area and immediately grounded that recreational craft after being confronted by the agents. you can see there's the man with the drone. he sat on the bench next to him. there's the drone right there. no charges have been filed. the president was on his way back to his vacation home after a round of golf. >> all right. let's get back to the weather. mr. roker? >> that's right.

about as we show you currently, again, we're watching this storm system making its way up into the northeast and new england. we've got wet weather along the southeastern atlantic coast, and we'll be looking at another system coming up. we'll detail that coming up in the next half hour. more rain and snow moving into the pacific northwest. windy and sunny down in southern california. that's what's going on around the country. we'll get to what's happening in yogreenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early,

high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday >> that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you. coming up, the nfl launching a review of the stunning doping allegations against nfl star peyton manning. this morning the reporter behind that bombshell documentary speaks out live. and a pregnant news anchor passes out live on the air. what she's saying about that frightening moment and how she's

first, this is "today" on nbc.

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good morning.. i'm mike mccormick. it's 7:27. roads are blocked in asheville right now.. all because of flooding. firefighters even had to rescue two people. this is a live look at the swannanoa river in asheville. firefighters say they had to rescue two people from a miniman in the river.. off of swannanoa river road. fire officials say there are barricades up throughout biltmore village because of flooding in the area. sweeten creek road flooded from i-40 into biltmore village. the 280 block of lyman street near 12 bones is another flooded road in the area. fire officials are asking people to avoid the flooded areas. and a reminder.. don't drive through standing water. now let's get a look at traffic with richard edmund.

on interstate 85 and we are watching traffic start to slow down from 385 back toward pelham road in the southbound lanes right now it's a couple of minutes delayed to get to your destination if you're taking that route report of a tree in the roadway in the roebuck community of spartanburg county on carolina country club road near mcabee road. in anderson county cruiser still trying to clear the roadway it is blocked concorde road it harris bridge road this morning or travel times at western north carolina or still looking pretty decent considering the amount of rain we've had in that area overnight. how long does rain continue? dale has the answer greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday, another to an inch of accumulation. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 50 overnight, the upstate will drop to 56. highs on wednesday of 61 to 66 in the region. a few showers early thursday, then drying and cooler

we are back now at 7:30. it's tuesday morning, the 29th of december, 2015. there's worcester, mass. a live look at the conditions there. they are starting to see a little bit of snow. what did you say, it was bouncing? >> sleet. >> sleet has a beat says al roker this. big storm system that hammered the middle of the country. guess what. now it's here targeting the northeast. folks on the plaza have their umbrellas out and their smiles on, and we'll tuck out to see them in a couple of minutes. >> and that weather tops our look at the headline. the death toll over the last week caused by tornadoes, floods and slippery roads has climbed to at least 43 people in 7 states. on monday alone more than 6,600 flights were cancelled or delayed nationwide. the manhunt is over for the texas teenager who used the so-called affluenza defense to get probation for a deadly drunk

18-year-old ethan couch and his mother were detained in mexico last night more than two weeks after couch failed to show for a meeting with his probation officer. and two people have been arrested in belgium for allegedly planning terror attacks. one of the targets, the city's main square on new year's eve. and the growing controversy surrounding nfl star peyton manning and the shocking allegations that he received human growth hormone while recovering from a neck injury in 2011. we'll talk exclusively to the reporter behind the al jazeera documentary in just a moment but first let's turn to "today's" national correspondent craig melvin who has the latest and has been following this case. >> reporter: good morning to you. peyton manning insists he never took banned substances while at the guyer institute but overnight a new audio tape released by al jazeera is calling into questions one of the statements made by the clinic's founder. this morning peyton manning is finding support from an unlikely

>> he's been one of the best players to ever play the game. nobody has more respect for peyton than i do. >> reporter: still, fighting back against allegations on al jazeera that he used hormone growth hormen in 2011 telling nbc sports he'll likely sue. >> it's completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage. >> reporter: monday manning retained former white house spokesman and current crisis manager ari fleisher to help control the growing controversy. fleisher says they are reviewing al jazeera's reporting, weighing a decision to take legal action after the network aired a documentary alleging the quarterback received shipments of hgh from the guyer institute in 2011. the hormones allegedly mailed to his wife. >> nothing has ever been sent to her that my wife has used or i ever taken. i have my treatments that i do and she may hers and that's her business. >> reporter: the source of the allegations charlie sly is

a documentary, statements made by hidden camera. the institute's founder says charlie began working at the clinic in 2013 two years after manning sought treatment for a neck injury, but overnight al jazeera released a phone call made to the institute last month apparently confirming sly started as an intern in 2011. >> the start date we have, where we signed for him was 10-17 of '11. for years peyton manning has been an icon, hosting "saturday night live." >> only directv -- >> reporter: and appearing in commercials for directv, gatorade and papa john's pizza. according to "forbes" manning earned $27 million last year. now one of the game's greatest quarterbacks finds himself playing defense, trying to protect his name and legacy. this morning the nfl says it is now reviewing the matter. according to one report charlie sly sent a letter to al jazeera saying that his original

was mourning the death of his fiancee. sly claims he was badgered into talking and was, quote in, no state of mind to be making any coherent statement. guys? >> thanks so much. let's turn to deborah davies, the reporter behind the exposy. good morning, good to see you. >> what an explosive documentary and the primary source has now recanted and the clinic founder denied this happened and peyton manning himself said this never happened. do you stand by your reporting? >> let's make clear what the allegation is. the allegation in the program is very simple. when charlie sly worked in the guyer during part of his training, his rotation for pharmacy, the clinic was sending out notot one shipment but repeated shipments of growth hormone to ashley manning in florida. that's it. that's the allegation. >> if he was an intern, how would an intern -- >> he wasn't an intern. he was doing his phd in

>> only had been there a couple months. how could someone who had been there such a short amount of time have access to such sensitive information with high pro-file people. >> working in the pharmacy and is seeing shipments being sent out. when you say he's recanted, we spoke to him over something like 12 days, seven meetings and 27 hours of footage. he was consistent. he was calm. he was absolutely not badgered. in fact, he was actually quite wary bit by bit as the information came out. >> deborah, you say the suggestion that's in the documentary is simply that human growth hormone was sent to the wife of peyton manning. >> that's what charlie sly says in the program. >> but aren't you trying to suggest something larger, that it was sent for the purpose of giving it to peyton manning, and isn't that something he has specifically denied? he says nothing that's ever been sent to her have i ever taken, absolutely not.

hormone has been sent to her. i have not seen a denial. >> it's an allegation against her. she's not an athlete? >> if you look at the status of growth hormone, first of all, it's an incredibly banned substance in the nfl. no one has ever tested positive for it. one of the experts i smoke to it said you would actually have to be phenomenally stupid to test positive for the nfl is not talking about peyton manning. he's talking about the nfl testing system, so on the one hand you have a banned drug being sent to the wife of one of the most famous football players in your country. on the other hand you have a drug that it is actually illegal to prescribe to a patient for anything other than one of three incredibly serious illnesses, so if growth hormone is being sent to ashley manning over what period, in what quantities and forr what purpose ss don't reveal your medical condition, that's very private, but confirm that

the things for which it's legal to prescribe it. >> that sounds like a documentary that's an indictment against ashley manning. >> no. >> it doesn't seem to put any case against peyton manning if that's all it is. >> this is an hourr long documentary about doping in sport. within that documentary there is a very short section at the end. 's a section that everyone has picked up on, but what that section polls a very long journey charting our investigation into banned substances, one of which is growth hormone.e. >> two quick things. let's assume that it was sent to mrs. manning. aside from the recanted statement of charlie, do you have specific evidence that peyton manning himself has ever taken hgh? >> we have not said that in the program. >> you're not even alleging peyton manning took these substances? >> the only allegation in the program from charlie sly is that growth hormone was sent repeatedly from the guyer to ashley manning in florida. >> so it sounds like your dock

>> we're not making the allegation against peyton manning. >> deborah davies, thanks for being here. >> thank you very much. >> let's get a check of the weather now with al. >> all righty. thanks very much. we've been talking about this flooding, and we could be seeing record-setting flooding, especially in the midwest. we've got some in florida, in the southeast, going to get itself together in the northeast. 38 million people at risk, atlanta, asheville, chicago, st. louis, tulsa, little rock all under the gun. we'll start with the southeast, and we've got one area of rain, storms lingering in the panhandle and then a second system will be developing and bringing in another round of rain so a lot of flooding on top of already saturated soil, and here in the midwest, along the mississippi river, 445 river gauges above flood stage. look at this, possible record crest in illinois and cape

this in mississippi, major flood stages on thursday, crest at 34.8 feet and close to the record level of greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwewet breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday, another to an inch of accumulation. >> get your latest weather, check on the weather channel on cable and weather.com online. savannah. >> all right, al. coming up, on-air scare, the well wishes pouring in for a pregnant anchor who passed out on live television.

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we are never having another kid. i'm pregnant. i am never letting go. for all the nevers in life, state farm is there. and we're back now at 7:44. a frightening moment for a news anchor and her viewers that unfolded live on the air. morning. >> yeah, we all know anything can happen on live tv, but for pregnant cnn anchor poppy harlow ten minutes of monday morning's broadcasts left concerned viewers wondering what they had just seen. >> absolutely, becky. >> thank you very much. >> a frightening moment on live tv. back here on american soil, bad news for the obama administration. >> poppy harlow heard slurring her words over an on-air graphic. >> quite a -- quite a turnaround -- >> followed by heavy breathing. and then a cut to black before commercials.

speculation from viewers asking what just happened? one viewer sounded like harlow is having a stroke. halow took the anchor desk ten minutes later and for all of you on twitter who asked. i got a little hot and passed out for a moment. i am fine. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be right back. >> the cnn anchor did not return to the air after the break but headed to see her doctor tweeting an update later from the hospital. our little girl due this spring is doing just fine. was a scare, but we're both okay. thank you all so much. now, of course, messages of concern on social media quickly turned into relief. scott posts thanks for the updates, poppy. glad you're both doing fine and jodi tweets every woman who's ever been pregnant knows this is so frightening. pope, feel good. we're so happy to hear that her and her babe redoing okay. >> definitely.

>> she's been working a lot. watching all weekend and seemed like she was all over the place. >> hope she's getting some rest. >> wish you well. >> we do. coming up, a very personal pitch from owe perhaps her inspirational new message to people who share her struggle to lose weight. jane didn't like restrictions. not in life. and not when it came to watching her calories. why settle on taste? jane thought. that's why jane loves light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. bursting with rich creamy awesomeness and 12 grams of protein. all for 80 calories. no settling here. what else does jane love? that you could win a fitbit flex from light & fit. learn more on specially marked packs. light & fit. feel free to enjoy. (music) woman: i'll never remember all the projects, presentations, or meetings i gave up my nights for. (music's drums intensify)

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coming up on "pop start," with so many choices how do you pick? see if you can guess the world's favorite beatles song. >> so many to choose from. and we're revealing buzzfeed's list of top beauty products of the year. we'll goat that after your local to the couple wondering what a good deal looks like... no. seriously? we'll give it a 6 for composition. scary. wow, what about just putting a fair, no haggle price on the window? not zany enough? sometimes the best deals

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many times you look in the mirror and you don't even recognize your own self, because you got lost, buried, in the weight that you carry. nothing you've ever been through is wasted. so every time i tried and failed, and every time i tried again, and every time i tried again, has brought me to this most powerful moment. to say, if not now, when? i feel that way, and i know millions of other people feel that way. are you ready?

good morning... it's 7:57. flooding led to rescues and evacuations in asheville.. this is a live look from swannanoa river road. the road there flooded... causing a family in a minivan to climb out of their vehicle and onto the roof. firefighters threw them lifejackets.. and helped get them to safety.

on anderson valley trail is trying to get out-of-the-way before the tree was in the roadway carolina country club road as you travel near mcabee road in the roebuck area travel times still looking prey gooespecially in westerville despite the rains and flooding we had overnight to where you're going today allow some extra driving time to get to your destination how long will this weather last let's go to dale an inch of accumulation. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 50 overnight, the upstate will drop to 56. highs on wednesday of 61 to 66 in the region. a few showers early thursday, then drying and cooler for the latter part of the week. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning,

-18. the mounta it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, oprah gets candid. >> inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. >> the media mogul opens up in a revealing new campaign for weight watchers, but will her personal message about keeping off the weight pay off for the company? then you winterize your homes and cars but what about your body? tips on how to stay healthy as the weather gets colder. and a rare treat. meet the grateful young boy who is overjoyed by a delicious gift. >> and i'm not going to share this. >> today, tuesday, december

>> happy new year from louisville, kentucky. >> here from south carolina to celebrate the new year. >> i'm celebrating my 40th birthday on the "today" show. >> celebrating six years ago in new york. >> good morning, al. people think i'm your twin. >> al, make the rain go away! >> good morning, everybody. it's 8:00 on "today," december 29th. it's a tuesday morning. i just waved so wildly to someone my rain just flew off the plaza. coming up this morning, want better skin? who doesn't? want to erase those dark circumstance many under your eyes, sure. this morning buzzfeed's list of best beauty products of 2015.

list to come out. >> i brought my shopping bag. are you. >> what took so long. bring it. i have it inside and more on our "today food" last hurrah series. we're going to carb load up. wait until you see this recipe. stove top mac & cheese that your entire family will love. >> it smells delicious. first a check. morning's top story, good morning. >> almost 40 million americans are getting a big taste of winter this morning with warnings and advisories in effect from the midwest to new england. nbc's ron mott is in worcester, massachusetts. ron, good morning. >> hey, natalie, good morning. beautiful scene here in worcester this morning. usually the first snowfall. season is cause for celebration, but this one is going to be muted because of this deadly path the system carved out as it made its way across the country arriving here in the northeast overnight. we saw the devastating deadly tornadoes down in texas. there were floods in missouri.

the weekend here in those two states alone, and as we get the morning commute off here in this region, it could be a bit of a white-knuckler, especially in places getting frozen rain which, of course, can lead to black ice and the dangerous driving conditions. now, fortunate lit accumulations aren't expected to be all that great. we could see upwards of a foot further north into new england, up in northern maine especially, but this snow may be only around a day or two in the worcester area, expecting a little bit of a warmup into tomorrow and thursday. natalie. >> stay warm in worcester, mass, thanks. the search for so the called affluenza teen is over this morning. 18-year-old ethan couch and his mother were taken into custody monday in mexico. they had been on the run for almost three weeks after the teen failed to check in with his texas probation officer. couch got ten years probation for killing four people in a drunk driving accident after his attorney claimed the teen didn't understand the consequences of his actions because of his affluent upbringing.

central oklahoma for country singer craig strickland, the lead singer with the group backyard anthem. he and a friend didn't return from a duck hunting trip. the friend's body has been found and the search effort has been hampered by bad weather. new developments in a story we first brought you last week about a boy squat leader mauled by a bear in front of a group of his scouts. now the harrowing 911 calls have been released revealing the actions of some surprising calm, cool and collected young boys. >> 911, where's the emergency? >> my scout master went into a cave and a bear is in the cave with him. >> reporter: an urgent 911 call from one of three young boy scouts after their scout leader confronts a black bear while on a hike. >> is he like he can't get out because of where the bear, is or is he too injured to get out? >> i think the bear's on top of him.

52-year-old suggested them to get food to get the bear away. >> they were hiking off a trail in slitrock, new jersey and to help the rescuers find them, they said do you want us to make a signal fire. >> yes, start a fire. >> they called for help. >> 911, where's the emergency? >> slitrock reservoir. blue trail. i was mauld by a beer. where are you bleeding. >> let arm, left leg, neck and head. >> authorities assured the boys that searchers were in the area. >> guys, on three, everyone's going to yell hello, can you hear us. >> can you hear us? >> i see the helicopter. i see the helicopter! >> he sees the helicopter. >> we'll make it out of this alive. i love you guys. >> the scout master was airlifted to an area hospital and his injuries none life-threatening. because the scout leader was unaware of a bear into the cave intruded into the bear state and

protection has spared the bear's life but great thinking by those young boys. some anxious moments above the ground in alberta, canada, when a chair lift carrying skiers and snowboarders broke down at sunshine village ski resort so one by one more than 100 people had to rappel down to the ground from 30 feet up in the air. some were stanned for more than an hour. and it was batman to the rescue last night in san antonio when a bat got inside the at&t center just before the spurs/timberwolves game. the spurs mascot, a very wiley coyote wearing a batman shirt then flew into action, and as you see here saved the day. >> wow. >> with nothing but net right there. you see how he got there, congratulations. >> eventually. >> all right, natalie, thanks. perfect.

oprah fans feeling empowered. >> using her star power to make a pitch for weight watchers and when it comes to branding no one quite has the pull that oprah has. nbc's stephanie gosk is here with that. good morning. >> good morning. that's for sure. oprah says she's never been paid to endorse anything, but this is actually a first. she told weight watchers she had to try out their famous points system first, and after losing 15 pounds she was in. >> nothing you've ever been through is wasted. >> call it the gospel of oprah win friday. inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. >> reporter: billionaire media mogul is now a spokesperson for weight watchers. >> hey, oprah. >> reporter: but this is no typical celebrity endorsement. this is oprah. >> i feel that way and i know millions of other people feel that way. are you ready?

>> reporter: when oprah announced her 10% ownership stake in weight watchers last october, it sent the stock up 105%, more than doubling her $40 million investment in a single day. >> i have lost as of this morning, as of this morning, 67in pounds. >> reporter: winfrey's own roller coaster struggle with weight played how the publicly for years. >> i am one of those people who has dieted and gained and dieted and gained. >> reporter: now weight watchers is hoping that oprah brand will reinvigorate its flagging business. companies lucky enough to become one of oprah's favorite things saw their sales skyrocket. the oprah book club land unknown titles on the best-seller list. but is the oprah effect as powerful as it once was? >> no one builds other brands better than oprah winfrey. she can help rebuild re-brand weight watchers in a way no other celebrity could.

for oprah this pitch is personal. >> every time i tried and failed, every time i tried again and every time i tried again has brought me to this most powerful moment. >> reporter: with oprah on board, weight watchers says it's going to expand its mission beyond just weight loss to include happier, healthier limping the ad campaign has already launched in the uk. you can expect to see it here early 2016, guys. >> weight watchers believers. >> yeah. >> exactly. i think she will be quite a powerful spokesperson. >> for sure. >> stephanie, thank you. coming up, we'll do trending and we'll tell you the keys to the perfect selfie. plus, we'll introduce you to a guy who seems to have mastered that already. from skiing to snow removal herman cain the right ways to

first these messages. fact you won't find the brand pharmacists recommend most for cold and flu relief at the shelf. advil cold & sinus is only behind the pharmacy counter. ask your pharmacist for fast, powerful advil cold & sinus. relief doesn't get any better than this. phil! oh no... (under his breath) hey man! hey peter. (unenthusiastic) oh... ha ha ha! joanne? is that you? it's me... you don't look a day over 70. am i right? jingle jingle. if you're peter pan, you stay young forever. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. you make me feel so young... it's what you do.

so spring has sprung. but grandma, mommy says we don't have to wad to get clean. cause we use charmin ultra soft. charmin ultra soft gets you clean without the wasteful wadding. it has comfort cushions you can see that are softer and more absorbent, and you can use up to 4 times less. enjoy the go with charmin. mmmm mmmmm mmmm (laughter) mmmm, mmm, mmm mmmm, mmm mmm, mmm! mmmm, mmmm mmm! milk, fruit, cultures mmmm, yoplait all right.

time for "trending. ing"trending." who besides carson when has to is going to stay up new year's eve. >> the kids want to so i have to. >> thanks for watching. >> i'll record it and watch the next morning. >> the hoda and kathie lee count down the new year. >> great program lined up for you folks. >> that's right, that's right. >> we'll watch, carson. >> i think hey lot of people who have little kids kind of wish that they didn't have to stay up until mid negotiate and netflix has come to their rescue releasing a number of countdown videos, five minutes long and the videos are meant as a way to trick the kids into going to bed early. in a survey run by netflix, they found 41% of parents would jump at chance to put their kids to bed before midnight on new year's eve. it tricks them that it's already midnight. >> i like having my kids trying to stay up to midnight. if i can get them to do it, it's fun.

>> a little sparkling cider. >> i stay up but by 12:01 i'm asleep. >> we're in l.a. for the rose parade and we count it at 9:00 p.m. >> that's even better. >> pretty wild. >> that's cheating. >> the short content netflix video idea though is a good idea in general for kids. >> yeah. what was the other one? >> truncated version ss. >> let's move on. jeb bush was at campaign stop and the former governor took a moment to educate people on taking selfies. >> young people do it better than older people, we'll do a little training class. it's cooler to do it diagonally rather than straight up, remember that? better to do it higher than lower because you look skinnier. >> i'm writing this down. >> higher hand lower. >> absolutely true.

as the 11th amendment as the bill of rights and that he takes great joy in the selfie. >> it's true. will it's the new autograph. >> out on the plaza. there's different age groups. i'm like it's crooked. >> so i learned last week from the young people i was hanging out with. >> the young people. >> the young people, now it's cool to just show half of your face, not your whole face. >> that makes you look thinner, too. >> good point, counsellor. >> taking on the subject of of selfies, take a look at these. the man in the photo is alan dixon originally from ireland and travels all over the world and takes selfies with animals, which is fun and look how cute they are. >> until one attacks. >> way to bring us down. look halt that. is that a kangaroo. >> that looks like a llama. >> these are great. >> these have gone viral. thousands of likes. they did not just happen though. he sometimes spends hours with the animal before approaching it for a picture.

>> excuse me. i've just been watching you watching me wondering if you want to take a selfie. >> lock at that. >> adorable. >> cute. while christmas is over the gift-unwrapping videos keep coming. this is a video of anthony. made a simple request from santa for christmas, and he got his wish. take a look. >> and my own a1 steak sauce. >> yeah. >> you really like a1. >> i'm not going to share this. >> that's yours. >> well, it's very special for me. >> that's great. >> i love him. >> sign him up for a commercial, a1. >> future bloody mary maker right there. >> key ingredient. >> the way i feel about guacamole. now to pirated tv and the beatles song everybody is streaming. carson, let's do "pop start." >> data compiled by public bit torn trackers, it's science, go with it. a list of the most pirated

bang they're," the show in its ninth season with an estimated 4.4 million downloads, pirateded. coming in at two, amc's "the walking dead" with 6.9 million downloads but not even those combined to beat this year's winner for the fourth year in a row. the show with the most illegal downloads is hbo's "game of thrones." the show has been number one since the second season, an estimated 14.4 million downloads of the season five finale this year. there you go. >> illegal. >> yes, illegal, al. up next, from millions of downloads to billions of dollars for fun, artificial intelligence researcher decided to analyze all of matt damon's movies in which the actor's character needed rescue, quite a few of thth, 1989 "saving private ryan requeses a search party for a single soldier would have cost around $100,000 and from "the

"titan ae" those could all cost up to $500 billion. a total sum of all the movies put together it would have cost over $900 billion. >> did they count "goodwill hunting?" because he needed emotional rescue. >> we'll get into that in "pop start" tomorrow. finally last week we brought you the news the entire beatles library would be available to stream not only in the u.s. and the world can agree on what the favorite beatles song is and any guess? >> "let it be" maybe. >> it is "come together." playing right now. what a great song. let's go to our favorite beatles songs. al, starting with you. >> "with a little help from my friends," ringo starr on the lead will. >> that's a good one. >> carson. >> i went with "revolution." you say you want a revolution

>> i went for -- not surprise, a little more slow and depressing, "something in the way she moves,". >> love that that's beautiful. >> kind of like singer/songwritery. >> how but, nat? >> i went with "hey, jude >> just love the message. >> very inspiring. >> you explained it to me earlier. >> well, i was wrong in how i explained it. i was told i guess paul wrote it for julian lennon, for john lennon's son. >> dylan, "lucy in the sky with diamonds." >> you know what that means, don't you? i just like the beat. >> like a '70s kid so i wanted to make sure you know the whole back story. >> yeah, i heard a few things about that. >> there's your "pop start." >> al, a check of the weather. >> a whole new generation getting into the beatles. the weather that we've been watching this system make its way up through new york and on into new england. we've got some freezing precipitation on up to the

city, snow into england hand 11 in bangor and boston 36 degrees. providence 34, so there's still some frozen precip there. south of new york city it's all rain, so as far as the snowfall is concerned, upwards of a foot or more in maine and on into northern new england. the big concern is going to be ice. power lines could be coming down, especially northern massachusetts. central new hampshire and we're watching this very closely. central new york state as well. ork state as well. ork state as well. ork state as well. orkgreenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5 5. heavier rain expected overnight

an inch of accumulati >> and that's your latest weather. carson. >> all right, al, thank you very much. now to our special winter tune-up series. we took care of your home monday. today we're focusing on how to take care of your bodies as temperatures dr. dr. scott weiss is a here. we've got winter sports, what kind of injuries? >> everybody is h hting the slopes so be that as it may, skiing-based injuries and, snowboarding-based injuries and people are not taking the proper time to warm up. >> what should we do? >> got to stretch, a little bit before, a little bit after and a ten-minute warmup does a good job and helps prepare the body for exercise. >> interwither weather, not great. especially here in the east. snow is coming. >> absolutely. >> you'll be removing a lot of snow. >> like me i grab my shovel hand go for it.

>> besides sports injuries people do get injured a lot with shoveling, and shoveling -- >> where do you see it? >> and basically shoveling -- people get injured sometimes in the low back and spine. not shoveling properly some of these discs that you see here can actually bulge and touch some of the nerves. >> i fractured my t-12. >> had a little higher. >> in a snowmobiling accident and my back gets terrible. let me take the shovel. >> let me see. >> tell me how i should be. >> i would normally go up here but i feel like i should have a deeper bend. >> this is an ergonomic shovel show this takes 20% of the lean off your back. >> the shovel you purchase is important. >> the same price as any other shovel. you were doing it right, bend with the niece and lift with your body and legs. you don't want to the flex and rotate at the same time. that's how you jam the back up. as were you doing, it do that nice bend, lift with your legs and dump it out towards the side

the right technique. >> what about just getting the snowblower, a little extra spending cash. >> nothing wrong with that, keep your body upright. >> what's the technique there? >> hold hot coffee and walk and push. >> exactly. >> let's move on. exercise this time of the year, people, you know, maybe they don't want to get in the car to go to the gym, it's cold out. what are some things we can do? >> there shouldn't be a barrier to exercise outside in the cold weather whatsoever. i so if you dress properly you can run outside. >> how many layers should we wear? >> what we like to see is making sure you cover the head. >> oh, wow, hello. >> got a model here. our model alex wears the hat which covers his head and ears. it's really important. when you look at his core, we have three layers. we have a wicking layer which is kind of the first layer to get rid of moisture and an insulation layer which is what i like, fleece and finally an outer shell and the shell is great because it's waterproof,

against the elements. as we work our way down, wearing leggings, wisking away sweat. the shoes are good. are they waterproof. >> they should be. >> you're not going to make a personal record in these shoes. they have a thicker grip and heel count and no doubt that will protect you from all the elements. >> it's okay to go outside and run in the wintry mix. >> should not be a barrier. the temperature should not be a barrier to exercise if with the proper gear. >> how do you feel? >> i've been wearing it all morning and it's warm. you want to run around a little bit. >> we can talk about that technique. >> might be a little knee injury there. >> must be busy this time of year from all the injuries. >> slip and falls, shoveling injuries and people being more active and with all that in mind we stay pretty busy. >> be active and get out and ski and warm up before you ski, shovel snow but get the right shovel, right technique. you can run but get the right gear. >> got in, it carson. >> thanks so much. dr. scott weiss, we appreciate it.

>> thank you so much. coming up we'll have the top beauty products of 2015. we've got our guest from f-buzzfeed. you've got a lot of good

>> yeah,good morning... i'm mike mccormick. it's 8:27. duke energy is now reporting nearly six- thousand outages across the carolinas. we've heard of only one canceled flight out of gsp. and in asheville.. firefighters say they've gone on eight different water-related rescues. swannanoa river road flooded in asheville.. stranding a famimi in a minivan. they had tclimonto the roof of the minivan. firefighters helped get them to safety. now here's dale. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday, another to an inch of accumulation. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 50 overnight, the upstate will drop to 56. highs on wednesday of 61 to 66 in the region. a few showers early thursday, then drying and cooler

>> thank you. welcome back to "today," it is tease morning, december 29th. 2015. of of. >> dylan is greeting her fans. >> looks good. good picture, good selfie technique right there, miss dylan. dylan dreyer, come on down. >> i didn't know we were back on. >> resolve to eat better in 2016, all this w wk we're getting in a few last hurrahs, a mouth watering recipe for mac & cheese.

>> and savory monkey bread. >> dylan claims she's never had homemade mac & cheese. >> only had kraft in the box which i love. >> you'll remember today for the rest of your life. >> i'm excited. >> get ready for a harry met sally moment. >> i'll have what she's having. >> and hand picked and tested. grab your shopping basket because we're revealing buzzfeed epicks for the best beauty products of the year. >> but first a check of the weather. >> we found my twin, i'm told. here in the plaza. what's your name? >> my name is mike. >> where are you from, california, rockland. >> do you get mistaken for me. >> quite a bit. >> you poor guy. >> y're much better looking. >> thanks. >> you've got a bigger melon than do i. >> i do, i do. big head. >> all right. let's show you what we've got going on. if i go down, mike. you're going to step right in. new year's eve day rain in the southeast and snow in western new york.

chilly in the plains and then for new year's eve night fairly decent weather throughout much of the country. a few scattered showers and snow showers around northern new england and then new year's day, again some wet weather in the southeast. rest of the country looking pretty darn good. that's what's going on around the what's going on around the what's going on around the what's going on around the what's going on around the what's going on around the what's ggreenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday, another to >> hand that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you so much. so as we wrap up 2015 the folks over at buzzfeed have put together a list of the year's

their health and beauty editor joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> you know i love these segments because i put everything in my pocket as we go. we're starting with lipstick. >> yes. >> and you have found the perfect red lipstick. >> i have. 2015 is all about matte lipsticks and the best one we found is mac cosmetics. the thing to consider is to match your undertones and your skin. >> how do you know? >> put silver or gold jewelry up to your arm and depending on which looks best, if you look best with silver you're cool undertones and if you look best with gold you're warm undertones. >> is this the cool. >> this is you. >> this is ruby lu, a bluish tone so best for cool undertones. >> i'll put this on soo you can put it on without me. >> i can do it without a mirrors. >> okay, perfect. >> and if you're a warm undertone, this one wouldn't necessarily be for you. there's chili with the undertones in the lipstick are more original.

wet and wild, a gloss or something. >> so this wet and wild is a balm stain so what i like to call my lips but better which is just a little touch of something for you. so it looks like a stain but it feels like a balm on so it's nice -- >> try it on your arm. >> it's nice. >> and a good price. >> just over $2. >> i love that. >> i skipped one. we should do lip contouring. >> this is by make. this is a matte lip pencil so if you want to get that matte lipstick finish actually put this over whatever lipstick you're wearing and it will make it matte. >> really? >> go ahead. in. >> let me test it out. >> perfect. >> and then it actually makes it. >> then it makes the thing all red which i hate. >> just get a tissue and wipe that off. >> okay, great. >> i'll take two of those. >> mascaras. >> moving on to mascara, this dior mascara, super fancy, it's actually purple. >> whoa.

that's not a crazy purple though so if the light catches it you'll be able to tell it's purple and you'll get tons of compliments from people, amazing. >> if you do purple mascara, do you do the rest of your makeup kind of neutral? >> i would say go with the browns and taupes if you're going to do a purple mascara so it's not too much but it's a really nice subtle look. >> okay. >> and then ere's another mass cara, i like your thinking, this is good. >> so this trish mcavoy is jet black and it's high volume so it's perfect if you have, you know, thinner or shorter lashes and you want to really amp up the size. >> okay. >> tiny little wand so you can really get into the little crevices and into the corner. >> i like that. >> and it's water resistant but not waterproof so if you're outside and walking around in winter and the wind is coming the at your face and tearing up, it won't smudge horrun down your face. >> you can tear up but not sob. >> exactly. >> like a light crying scenario. >> okay. >> a light cry. okay.

have to speed it up. now about brows. >> glossier boy brow just calm out and it's a palm aid and brush up on your natural eyebrows wherever your natural hit is and fills out your eyebrows and the other thing you can use is this anastasia beverly hills pencil so one side is a pencil so you can do shaping, if you want to do a higher arch or need to fill in, something you've tweezed a little too much and then there's a brush on the other side. >> kind of brush it out to make it look good. >> makes it look super natural. >> and let's do the lightning round. >> okay. >> this concealing elixir, put it under your eyes, reflects light and no dark circles and over time works on fine line and wrinkles. this ultra facial moisturizer with spf 50 in it and it melts into your skin. >> not real greasy. >> no grimey or slimy on your skin, amazing. >> i like that.

dim lighter, dim is not that exciting but if you put it anywhere on your face where the light naturally hits it acts as a highlighter and gives you an instagram filter in real life. >> take the big brush and put it all over. >> even use your finger if you want and put it anywhere where the light would naturally hit, the top of your cheek bones, the center of your nose, center of your forehead and it's like instant stroke. >> i know. take one of those, too. >> seems like a good spot. >> and the last one is the bare minerals gel cream like a light bb cream. put it on with your fingers and run out the door and it doesn't look like you're wearing makeup. >> one of my favorite segments. >> perfect. >> i'll take everything and just bill the "today" show. coming up, what is oscar nominee alan alda teaching the

scientists? all right. we're back now at 8:40 with famed actor alan alda lending a helping hand to science. >> and sheinelle jones is here to explain that. >> good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the topics scientists can work on can be so technical and some find it too technical and a bit boring and now students are turning to acting and improvisation classes to help them become better communicators. think science and it probably sounds like this. >> we see a fashion anyification of the dna in this band. >> reporter: when it comes down to sunsing what everything means even the scientists admit most can't figure out what they are doing. >> i talk about mechanical properties. >> the perception of sciences is people who are really, really smart and isolated in their own world. >> reporter: and actor alan alda is trying to change that.

haven't spent your life studying science to understand what quantum physics is about, and the tendency of the people who have been studying it all their lives is speaking the terms that they understand. >> reporter: in 2009 he helped launch sony brook university alan alda's center for communicating science. >> ergonomics, always worried about back pain. >> reporter: there students enroll in acting and improvisation classes, an unusual approach with the clear goal, help current and future scientists explain the importance of their work in a way that everyday people can understand it. >> all right. >> reporter: who is taking this course. >> biologists, chemists, even engineers. trying to teach scientists to get across the beauty of science to talk the big picture. >> reporter: close to 600 students have completed the program and faculty and students at cornell and dartmouth and cornell and boston university

>> the biggest thing i learned from improv class was the idea that communicating something with somebody requires you to understand where they are coming from. >> it's like a broadcast. if you're tuned into a certain station and that's the only station you're going to get information on, i bert get into your channel and communicate with you on that channel and that's what we train people to do. >> we should also note supporters of the program stress that if scientists can develop the communication skill it can help them for raising money with research. the thought people are more likely to give if they understand where their money is going. i think this program is fantastic. my husband is a computer guy, and there are times when he talks to me about his projects and he said i'm not listening to you. >> no, no, no, i hear what you saying, i have no idea so it kind of works on the other side of the brain, so i think that's brilliant. >> really cool, sheinelle, thank you. all right. coming up next, want to make your new year's eve a family affair? some kid friendly ways to ring

"today" on nbc. and we are back at 8:45 this morning on "today's" "hassle-free holiday, turning new year's eve into a child's playground, if you will and if you've got kids why not avoid the cost of a babysitter and host a party fun for all ages. showing us how is editor at large for "southern living" and author of the new book "monograms for the home." great to have you here. hello, kids, great to have you here as well. this is a really great idea, kimberly, because you have new year's eve broken down into the hours. >> yes. >> and within each hour is some sort of a craft and some sort of a food. >> we want to keep it moving and keep the kids a little bit out of trouble and entertained just like the grown-ups, so you can

involved every hour giving them something fun. accent of play. >> compartmentalize it for kids and make it simple. let's walk people at home through it. it's 8:00 p.m. >> it's 8:00. we've set up play doeoe for the kids and they can add glitter to it. >> hello. >> to give it a little bit of sparkle to newyears. need to add tons of glitter. >> it will get a little messy. >> messy and glittering are two different things. it's sparkling everywhere. you can make homemade play doe. add in, just keep kneading it in there and it will be so beautiful by the time show's done kneading it together. >> great. >> at the same time give them something a little bit savory to snack on. >> start with the little popcorn. >> popcorn bar. >> popcorn bars. so we have emade a popcorn barn and used leftover wrapping paper to make the cones and add whatever topping. what's your name, young lady in. >> elizabeth.

>> m & ms. >> and for fames we have dill and rock salt. >> put dill on your popcorn. >> so good on popcorn. >> skittles in there, too. >> raisins, apricots. >> some like salty and sweet. we've got pretzels. never heard of a popcorn bar. >> use the leftover wrapping paper to make the sererng cones. >> got the popcorn bar, the glitter dough. what's the 9:00 hour? >> we'll prepare them north big celebration and now they will be sec berating matter hats so we've got basic party hats. >> that's fun. >> instead of using lots of glue and mess. >> some bling here that you can put on them. >> look at what a beautiful design. >> doing a great job. >> love that. that's fantastic, a fun way to show their personality. make it crazy and wild and make a beautiful design. whatever they want to do. >> that's great. >> glitter pen, lots of thing

cute way it makes it feel more festive. >> this is fun. i've got three kids at home. we grew up with our parents just bailing on us and maybe make a beats yeah, watch mtv and this but to have this much thought into it is awesome. >> simple little things. >> not expifns or crazy. >> and putting thought into it beforehand makes the night move on much more smoothly. >> cookies going. >> made a little clock here with the cookies, and it's 9:00 now and he's added all the numbers here and is helping me make the cookies which i really appreciate. >> what's your name, young man? >> argin. >> you pre-made the cookies. >> we pre-made the cookies. >> and you can get the kicks making the numbers and make their own little clock. just don't let them eat all of them. keep them up a little bit and not go too wild. >> 10:00. >> we want to calm them down, find them a seat.

>> it does but it's a little bit more fun. think about making the memories from 2015, the best parts and making some resolutions and goals. >> what did you write for 2015. >> skateboard. you learned to skateboard at camp, is that right? >> very cool. gog to harry potter. >> i like it. >> and wants to be better at math. >> and the trick is to guide them by asking some questions, so giving them a blank piece of paper and write down resolutions is hard for children so ask them some questions. >> have simple answers. >> making pizza bars. >> we've got black eyed peas mixed in with the pesto. >> for good look. >> we're going to fast forward. >> manned now down to it, 11:00. >> that's right. >> we're getting there. >> hi, guys. >> we'll put the kids and make them busy making stir sticks so they know when they make their mocktail which drink is theirs as they set it down. each child can make their own stir stick flags using tape and molding it over and she's

so much fun. >> quite the mixologist there. >> instead of handing them a drink, let them get involved in what's inside of the drink and have a good time with it. >> natural sugar at end to hold them out. >> is everybody going to stay up until midnight on new year's eve? >> yes. >> going to try, with the help of cookies and great meal and great arts and crafts. this is you a sglom do a countdown any time. count down to 11 or to 10:00, whatever time you need to feel you need to doo it. >> really good idea. >> kimberly, we appreciate it and for more on these and other kid-friendly new year's eve ideas go to today.com/parents. coming up next, a delicious twist on mac & cheese to serve

this is "today" on nbc. we're back. it's 8:52, hello, "today food." so excited. been smelling this all day. look at you right behind me. >> i can't wait for this. >> i can't either. this week we're indulging in savory dishes before our new year's resolutions and diets kick in. alejandro ramos is here with some great comfort food recipes to try. good morning. >> good morning. >> i w wt to say the mystery science theater bunch is downstairs tasting. >> yes. >> there they are. >> hi, guys. >> we'll check in with you.

>> mac and cheese. >> boxed pasta, milk, cayenne mustard powder, two kinds of cheese and fun topping, too, bakion and onions. >> what's in? >> butternut squash. >> okay. >> interesting, put that in the mac & chose. >> carson knows what he's doing. >> start by making the pasta. using elbow noodles. use any kind of small pasta, penne, whatever. get some salt in there, too. really important to make that nice and salty, so, you know, follow instructions on the box. >> okay. >> and then we're going to start our cheese sauce. so we're making a basic white sauce as our base. got some butter in here already flour. >> why the flour? >> this is going to thicken the sauce this. makes a roux. don't want to get fancy. >> oh, okay. >> that will make that real creamy, cheesy, delicious.

on pasta it will be gross so you make this sauce and it's milk thickened with flour and butter. >> this is not a diet recipe. >> no, no. >> this is the last hurrah. >> exactly, yeah. >> got to indulge. get that going and that will start to thicken up. kind of like a pudding texture. >> okay. >> and then we can spice it up with the cayenne adds a little heat, dry mustard powder which adds a little bit of tang but if you don't have that use regular yellow mustard and smoked spanish paprika. >> i like that. here. spices. >> exactly. >> this is your base and then once this all thickens up we get our cheese, two kinds of cheese. i'm using the cheddar because creamy meltiness. >> and the kids like that, too, more times than not. >> and the parmesan makes it a little bit -- >> you can kind of use any cheese you wanted really.

fancy cheeses and make it gourmet. >> like the guyier. >> i think of fancy cheese i think guyere. >> one it's all incorporated we get our pasta in there. >> you add the pasta to this sauce. >> should we do a little check-in with the gang downstairs. >> dylan never had homemade mac-and-cheese. >> i have been non-stop eating the mac & cheese. >> are these topping in front of us for the mac & cheese. >> good segue. . just getting to, that al. >> and here's the finished beautiful mac & cheese, stove top so you can eat it right away. and diy the topping. >> the monkey bread. >> we're not going to run out of time. >> apparently we are.

>> don't listen to him, keep going. >> do you know we're on the air, carson? >> egg, all this stuff. >> eggs and olive oil, lots of herbs, really simple. kind of mixing up our sort of base for the monkey bread, and you really just whip up the egg. like ten seconds. >> the mac & cheese sun believable. >> recipes on today.com.good morning... it's 8:57. flooding led to rescues in asheville.. and the weather is

across the carolinas. a live look outside from our woodruff road sky cam.. shows traffic moving smoothly.. on wet roads. as of right now.. gsp reporting a cancelled flight that was supposed to come from chicago at 10. check with your airline.. just in case. here's dale. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be foggy early, showers likely this morning, high of 69. southwest breezes 10 -18. the mountains will be foggy early, showers before noon, high of 66. southwest breezes at 5-9. heavier rain expected overnight through wednesday, another to an inch of accumulation. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 50 overnight, the upstate will drop to 56. highs on wednesday of 61 to 66 in the region. a few showers early

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