we'll look back at 2015. plus the most buzzed about ads of the year. the commercials that had everyone talking and clicking. and some cocktail hacks and downloadable apps that will have you ringing in 2016 in style. coming up now.ng up from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> sing it, dylan! >> this is the sing that will keep me awake until midnight. party across the entire world. >> everywhere. >> ring in 2016. australia, right? >> already rang it in about an hour ago. that's right. welcome to "today." it's girl's hour on this thursday morning. >> yes, it is. >> woo! happy new year's. >> what's with the mug? switch over to caffeine. >> we demand champagne glasses from here on out.

>> let's start right now. why not? >> it's going to be a long day. might as well ring it in now. welcome, i'm natalie along with dylan, willie, tamron and al, enjoying -- willie and tamron enjoying time off. al getting ready for the rose bowl parade tomorrow. >> is this his 19th time? it's incredible. >> i know. >> he's an amazing man. anyway, beautiful tradition. we will be watching al tomorrow morning, if i can pry my eyes open. >> that's not going to happen if you start drinking champagne now. >> that's right. come on. recount. we demand champagne. obviously, one of the big stories everybody is talking about this morning, and i think we were talking about a little earlier, somewhat surreal that it's finally come to this. but bill cosby has been charged now -- criminally charged. he walked into a courtroom yesterday to face a felony charge of aggravated indecent assault. he was set free on $1 million bail. he's now at his home.

university employee, andrea constant from 2004 at cosby's pennsylvania home. she says she agreed to take pills and drink wine but then felt frozen and paralyzed as cosby allegedly performed sexual acts against her wishes. so there are no criminal charges at that time. she did file a civil suit back in 2005. it was later settled a year later. earlier, we had cosby's attorney on, one of his attorneys on, monique pressley, and she spoke to savannah. take a listen. >> a lot of people will say, if he's not guilty, why would he have settled a case with her? obviously there is a difference between a civil case and a criminal case. but a person just watching at home thinks if you think someone is lying, why do you pay them money? why do you settle? >> you know, i don't really think that that's what people at home think. i think that the people at home are much more savvy than that, and they have to deal with situations in their own lives, where they have people who are threatening them, who are

homes or their lifestyle or their work or their reputation or their career, decades of whatever it is they have done in their own capacities. and they know there are times that it's wise to settle claims rather than fight them, especially if it's something where you believe that everything that you're working for will be lost. so this may have been one of those times. >> obviously a big story in 2015, and it's going to continue to be in 2016. the preliminary hearing, january 14th. if he is found guilty, he could face up to ten years behind bars, and in a statement to nbc news, cosby's attorneys also said they intended to mount, as you heard, a vigorous defense against what they call unjustified charge, and they expect cosby will be exonerated by a court of law. >> you talk about how surreal it is. i think for our generation, it's hard for us to remove what we know, as -- >> dr. huxtable.

for so many years, for so long. and then to see this story play out, and -- it's hard to remove the view you had of him, and hear all the stories that are coming out and to see him trip when he walked out of the car. >> i think a lot of people felt that, as you said, when you saw him sort of trip and stumble. and you wanted to feel compassion. obviously, he's innocent until proven guilty. but, you know, i think everybody -- i think at that moment felt somewhat sad. >> right. for the whole story. we feel sad for the alleged victims as well. so we'll see what happens. it's going to be an ongoing story in the new year, for sure. >> that's for sure. on a lighter note. >> the fun stuff. >> commercials. >> i love this. i love commercials. i think i was one of those frustrated -- if i could have been an ad executive in a previous life, i probably would. "mad men." so many things. >> there are so many commercials you actually like seeing. we had barbara lippord on

her favorites, the favorites across the board. natalie, you love the amazon commercials. >> i did. i love this whole idea of amazon prime, obviously delivering right away. but they have this lonely horse commercial. take a look. adorable. little man when you stand by my side >> i love it. that's sonny and cher, by the way. and then the horse is lonely. so what do you do? you go on amazon prime and you order a little companion miniature horse. >> the horse looks a lot smaller outside in the field than in her living room. >> it's great. i love that commercial. >> and actually -- it's right on. amazon prime, you can pretty much find anything on amazon and it comes to you the next day. >> and it's right there. >> i love, you know -- there are so many ads online now that you

five seconds before you can -- but geico's genius advertising department came up with the unskippable ad. take a look. >> don't thank me. thank the savings. >> you can't skip this geico ad, because it's already over. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. on car >> skip it. you don't want to look away. >> you watch the dog eat the whole plate of mashed potatoes. and then i was watching to see, like, who would twitch or if the kids would get out of character. >> and they don't. >> i would be cracking up. i don't know how they -- >> slopping up. >> it goes on for three minutes. i've actually watched the whole thing a couple of times because you can't skip it. >> genius. and then we also loved google android's "friends forever." take a look. robin hood and little john walking through the forest >> cute animals.

>> what could go wrong? adorable. i love it. i don't know what it's for, but i love it. google. >> i believe it's google android. but there are so many things that people send you or you see on facebook or new hot video, and they all happen to be associated with baby animals. so -- >> if they're baby animals -- exactly, i'm watching. i'm in. a lot of people are playing -- have you played this emoji game? >> i have, and i realize -- >> predict your new year. >> i used all my emojis wrong. >> i'm not an emoji person, so i'm surprised what came up. there are some there that i swear i never used. >> you take your top 12 most-used emojis and you'll match them to all the months in 2016. it's supposed to predict how your year will go. >> okay. >> yours -- you were skeptical. but yours is very -- >> very skeptical. okay. so here we go. january -- >> you're winking.

sassy. >> i don't know if you're camping in february. >> no, that's a purse. i have never in my life used a purse emoji. but i am looking for a new purse. maybe i'll get it in february. >> march is just weird, because you -- >> march i'm mixed up. >> but can we take a look at august? >> uh-huh. >> what happens in august? >> well, obviously, we've got the olympics in rio. so the brazilian flag. so that kind of is true. i think i was doing it -- i'm half brazilian so i use that emoji a lot. >> a little eerie. >> it is. what about yours? >> my first january is going to start off not so good. i didn't know that was a crying emoji. i thought it was i'm laughing so hard -- >> it is. laughing so hard -- laughing so hard you're crying. >> exactly. i'm being told it's like you're devastated crying. >> really? okay. >> so i don't even know what october is. swimming in december? i don't -- i don't know. i still use a colon and closed paren sees.

there's no science to that whatsoever. just another bogus thing. >> fun, though. >> have fun with it. >> it's fun to do. >> all right. you're going to do the weather too. double duty. >> i'm just trying -- to squeeze in. >> everywhere. you're everywhere. >> they're letting me do it all on the last day of the year. we are still focusing on some of the flooding that's going on through missouri and eventually the focus shifts to arkansas. it takes a while for all of the rain we saw the past couple of days to filter through the smaller streams and make its way to the mississippi. we are going to see more of a flooding threat near arkansas as we go through the weekend. there are now 43 locations with major flooding, and this is going to be an issue for a while, because not only do you hit the crest, but then you have to wait for all of that water to recede. down in the southeast, falling rain creating flooding problems. moisture streaming in off the gulf of mexico, could see some flooding because of the heavier downpours and that could lead to flash flooding, and that will continue to shift down into northern florida as we go into new year's day. that's a look at the that's a look at the

that's a look at the that's a look at thegreenville, spartanburg, anderson will be mostly cloudy with just a few showers left, high of 65. north winds at 5. the mountains will be mostly cloudy, patchy fog until 11 am, high of 55. cooler temperatures will b forecast. >> all right, dylan, thank you. coming up, we're going to that was. all the news makers and celebrities that defined 2015, after these messages. >> made it through the whole year. hey sweetie, it's time. eye of the tiger >> champagne! tv anncr: good afternoon everyone.

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be hapap, it's glad. did we just, start looking for a house? oh did you see that listing on zillow i sent you. you see that bathroom? did we just decide to buy house? i think so. yay! find your way home. zillow. weight watchers has changed. our all-new beyond the scale program puts the focus on you and not just the number on the scale. lose weight while eating healthier, with all new smartpoints. and move more by including fitness in ways that work for you. see how good you'll feel with the new weight watchers beyond the scale program! join for free now and lose 10 pounds on us. 2015 saw its fair share of highs and lows, especially in news stories that grabbed headlines.

year that was, joe levi, "rolling stone" and host of incoming on spotify. good morning. >> good morning. >> let's start with bill cosby. >> we were just talking -- you were just talking about it moments ago. here is the story we were talking about this time last year. 're talking about it today. he's free on bail. charged in second degree assault. in a pennsylvania courtroom. this is a story we'll probably be talking about this time next year, as well. >> absolutely. all right. >> and such a sad year with all the shootings and the gun violence. >> unfortunately, we had far too many shootings to talk about. far, far too many. in charleston, south carolina, nine killed in a church. on live tv in virginia, a cameraman and a news reporter killed. just -- >> san bernardino, most recently. >> san bernardino, of course. colorado springs, three killed there. the paris attacks, as well, both in january and then recently just this month. >> sadly, it seems it's not

>> no. >> moving over now to -- actually, a symbol of peace. the pope's first visit to the united states. >> the pope's first visit to the united states. he stopped in washington, d.c., where he described himself as the son of immigrants. he was here in new york, celebrated mass at madison square garden and then on to philadelphia where he talked about america as a land of religious tolerance and freedom. that's great. >> that was a moment we needed. >> absolutely. uplifting moment in our news. >> so a lot of politics. a shy man by the name of donald trump took some headlines. >> i'm unfamiliar with who you mean. he did indeed take headlines. remember, he annououed his candidacy descending on an escalator. we didn't take it seriously, waited for it to end. still ahead in the polls. a recent cnn poll of republicans puts him ahead of it ted cruz, 39% to 18% for cruz. we'll see what happens in february when we finally get to iowa and new hampshire. >> who could have predicted this a year ago?

one. it's going to be fabulous. >> huge. also, hillary clinton. looking pretty good as she is putting her husband, former president bill clinton to work on the campaign trail. will head out and do a couple >> that's right. and guess who had something to say about that. donald trump! >> of course. >> hillary has said recently that donald trump has a penchant for sexism, he insulted hillary and donald trump has -- i'm rubber, you're glue kind of philosophy. he's turned that around and saying, well, you're married to bill clinton. i'm not quite sure what it all means, but let's look for this to heat up in 2016. >> even more. so absolutely. now on to pop culture. >> lighter moments. >> this is a huge year for girls. >> we love that. >> and women, i guess. we should call them women. >> let's call them women. let's call them women. let's call them powerful women on television, in the movies, in music. we're talking about jamie

"blind spot." melissa benoise on super girl. "empire." and, of course, amy schumer jumped from the small screen to the big screen on "train wreck" and an unknown singer named adele made an impression this year selling breaking records, shattering records. it took her three days to have the biggest-selling record in 2015. that's amazing. >> and it's going to be her year in 2016 with her concerts, as well. >> one of the hottest tickets out there. yep. and -- >> finally -- >> a little movie called "star wars." >> i've already seen it twice. i'm ready to go back a third time. i'm obsessed with it. >> well, you're part of the reason it became the fastest movie to earn $1 billion at the box office in just 12 days. everyone loves this movie. >> and it's girl power, too. >> it is. >> girl power story. >> love her. >> everyone in this movie except george lucas. >> really? you're kidding me. >> he complained recentlyy he saw

soap opera and disney made it into a movie about space ships. i like space ships. >> i thought it was awesome. and quickly, we have to mention caitlyn jenner. >> of course, a big year for caitlyn generaljenner on "vanity fair," a break through moment. at the espys said a few monthth ago i had never met a transperson and was giving the opportunity to a lot of america. it was wonderful and maying. >> and a fascinating 2015. we'll see what 2016 looks ke. >> all right. it's going to be a good one. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next, what to download so you can have an appy new year. get it?> first, these huh. introducing centrum vitamints. a brand new multivitamin you enjoy like a mint. with a full spectrum of essential nutrients...

i see you found the vitamints. new centrum vitamints. a delicious new way to get your multivitamins. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their family's delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. thank you boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas! i'm jerry bell the second. and i'm jerry bell the third. i'm like a big bear and he's my little cub.

he's always hanging out with his friends. you've got to be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat and be ready to get up. there's no "deep couch sitting." definitely not good for my back. this is the part i really don't like right here. (doorbell) what's that? a package! it's a swiffer wetjet. it almost feels like it's moving itself. this is kind of fun. that comes from my floor? eww! this is deep couch sitting. [jerry bell iii] deep couch sitting! to the woman in the mid-90's showstopper... you're right. it's time to set this bird free. hot blooded, check it and see... got a fever of 103... feelin' hungry? how 'bout a donut? i'm hot blooded..i'm hot blooded! whether it's 30-years old or 30-days old, carmax will appraise it in as little as 30 minutes. and then your only concern will be how to spend the cash.

with 2016 just hours away, we're all thinking hard about the changes that we want to make in the new year and whether it's getting in shape, saving money, learning how to decress, allstress, all things i want to do, there's an

>> we've called in the founder of cool moms tech to narrow down the list and have an appy new year. good morning. >> hi, guys. appy new year. >> we'll use that as much as we can. >> we'll say it over and over again. >> so many people's resolution is to stay fit, be healthier. there is an app for that. >> unless you're bob harper. what does he have on his list? >> right. >> i love lark. the free app for ios and android. what's different about it, it acts like your friend. the virtual companion. you cananalk to it. >> it's texting you? >> gives you support. i walked here to the stud oweio and it's saying, good job. it uses the sensors. look how much sleep i got. ten hours. >> amazing. >> all my activity. >> how does it monitor your sleep? >> when you put the phone down, it's assuming you're sleeping or binge watching netflix.

not nitty getty with the calorie counting. >> finance, i need this app. who doesn't love to save more, spend less? >> we've done a lot of mother apps but what's different about level money is it taps into your spending. when you safely sync about your bank account, it's going to show you exactly what you've been spending your money on. i'm an amazon fan. if you've been spending hundreds of dollars on coffee every month, you might not have known that. it'll show you. it taps into all of your bank account and your bills and gives you a spendable amount. it's kind of like a goal that you want to stay under, whether it's daily, monthly or weekly. >> level money. download it now. >> one of my biggest problems is my e-mail. i have signed up for so many e-mails, it's like 20% off here, 30% off here. it fills up and i lose track of the good e-mails.

i need unroll.me. it's been around a while, but they just launched their iop app. it is fantastic. so you sync your e-mail. i use our pod cast, and it brings up our news and e-mail subscriptions. it lets you swipe left to unsubscribe unsubscribe. >> i love it. >> kind of like a dating app for e-mail. >> amazing. >> breaking up with you, bloomingdales. >> it lets you roll up, the button in the middle, gives you a daily digest of everything you want to keep. >> great. >> we have time for one more? nope, we don't. >> real quick. it helps you destress. >> it's a medication app, stop, breathe, think. it gives you custom meditations based on how you're feeling. >> amazing. thank you so much. >> happy new year. coming up, automated voice: to file a claim, please state yoururame. carnie wilson. thank you. can you hold on? hold on for one more day really?

why do you lock yourself up in these chains? this would be so easy if you had progressive. our mobile app would let you file a claim and help you find one of our service centers where we manage the entire repair process. things will go your way if you hold on. [ sighs ] someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. say goodbye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye ye 10:27 now ..happening now..a press conference. anderson police chief jim stewart is

man who tried to kill a police officer. around 2 am november 16th the officer came across a man on edenbrook drive. according to the report, the man attacked the officer when she got out of her vehicle. reports say he tried to stab her then ran off into the woods. kristi lynn hendricks arrived at the scene and told police officers she was told to meet her boyfriend there. hendricks identified her boyfriend as bryan keith gary and said he was hunting rabbits with a bb gun in the woods. gary was arrested and charard with manufacturing meth. officials are still investigating whether hendricks and gary are connected to the attack on the officer it's new years eve and law enforcement all over the upstate is stepping up security for big celebrations..another big event today.. the orange bowl in south florida. we're counting you down to the game between clemson and oklahoma... we'll have complete coverage today. our live wire on wyff 4 dot com and our wyff 4 app... brings you a collection of the latest tweets about the

our sports team down there for the game. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be mostly cloudy with just a few showers left, high of 65. north winds at 5. the mountains will be mostly cloudy, patchy fog until 11 am, high of 55. cooler temperatures will be felt tonight. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 38 overnight, the upstate will drop to 47. highs on friday of 46 to 55 in the region under mostly cloudy skies. coolol, dryer weather moves in for the weekend, saturday morning lows in the upper 20s to d 30s,highs in the4 to 50 range osaturday. dry, cool weather will

you want to feel connected. informed, included, inspired. so, when important things happen, we're here. your local tv and radio broadcasters. america's number one source for news, weather and information. on every screen in your life. we are broadcasters, always here for you, wherever here may be. text "tv" to 52886. tell washington local stations matter. taking a look at the headlines.

yet for 2016, but the irs is already thinking about next year's tax returns. the 2016 tax season will kick off on january 19th when the irs will start accepting individual returns. it expects more than four oututf five taxpayers to e file their returns. the deadline for most americans is april 18th. microsoft says it will warn customers if it suspectses a government is trying to hack into their accounts. the policy change came after two employees concluded china had been behind a hacking campaign a few years ago, and said the company decided not to tell more than 1,000 users whose accounts were hacked. it follows similar recent moves by facebook, twitter and yahoo. at&t plans to stop offering two-year contracts early in the new year. starting january 8th, at&t customers will only be able it to get new phones by paying the installments.

wireless contracts a few months ago. if you are counting calories while you celebrate tonight, why would you do that? and drink. experts say it would take 35 minutes of racquetball to burn margarita. drink it anyway. and nonalcoholic drinks can put on the pounds too. it would take 45 minutes of moderate intensity e ercise to burn off a medium peppermint mocha. we still have several hours to go before we ring in the new year here in the u.s. but in other parts of the world, the celebrations are under way already. take a look. this is a scene in automatic land, new zealand, one of the first countries to usher in the new year. and in australia, the party started early. a special fireworks display held at sydney harbor at 9:00 p.m. local time, aimed at families who couldn't stay autopsy up. and a second show at midnight. beautiful display as always.

for a checkf the weat a check of the weat a check of the weat a check of the weat a check of the weat a check of the anderson will be mostly cloudy with just a few showers left, high of 65. north winds at 5. the mountains will be mostly cloudy, patchy fog until 11 am, high of 55. cooler temperatures will be felt tonight. asheville, hendersonville will drop to 38 tonight is the big night. but if you dropped the ball on planning your new year's eve party, no need to panic. justin chapel, host of mad genius tips is back to pop the cork on a night of fun. justin? welcome back. >> fun indeed. thanks for having me. >> i love this idea, first of all. beautiful cotton candy, champagne that i'm already -- >> two amazing things. we're going to combine them into

it's going to be a champagne cocktail. what you're going to do is take some of that cotton candy and lay it right in the glass. stuff it right in. >> okay. >> a little more. >> all the way. >> there you go. and then we're going to pour some champagne right on top. >> this is going to dissolve. >> it dissolves. >> i feel like you want to pour that in front of people. >> it's a magic trick indeed. and is you can garnish the glass and it adds this beautiful pink hue. >> cheers. >> we have been waiting all day. >> you can also pretend you're serving rosettes, because it changes in color. >> adds sweetness too. >> and next we have a neat way of shaking a cocktail. because a lot of people don't have shakers. so you just add your little booze in here, some lemon juice. we're making a side car. and some ice, of course. and then you pop the top on, make sure it's nice and tight. >> so any sort of portable bottle would work. >> yeah. anything with a lid that has a nice, tight seal.

because then it has the sound. >> check it out. clearly not enough booze in here for me, but -- >> we'll work on that. >> exactly. >> this is a fantastic idea. >> of course. you were telling me you're making sangria. >> and you're going to show us how. a lot of people think sangria is a summer drink, but winter as well. you're going to freeze the fruit? >> yeah. we're doing a winter one. and the reason we're able to do that, citrus is so abundant in the winter. put it on a baking sheet, freeze until nice and firm. and then we're using rose. and you're going to add your brandy and mixed citrus juice. grapefruit juice, tangerine, lime juice. add it in. simple syrup. the best thing is you see all this frozen fruit here is going to keep nice and cool. all throughout the night. and it even works as a beautiful garnish. >> ooh. love that. >> keeping with the whole frozen garnish theme, for a martini, so

long time to drink a good martini. >> it does. it's a zipper. >> you freeze. so you freeze the garnishes. >> exactly. so you skewer them, you can do olives, onions, both. just like there. pop them on a plate in the freezer until frozen, just like the fruit. and then check these beautiful -- >> great. frozen cocktails. >> i could bite into all of them and lose a tooth. >> fantastic. >> we'll keep them cold. justin, thank you so much. happy new year to you. and before -- sorry. >> coming up next -- >> the champagne. >> go for it. of. >> here are the befores and the afters when we reveal the transformation of three "today" show viewers who spent the last 16 weeks reshaping their bodies for 2016. keep drinking, dylan. after these messages. my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis made a simple trip to the grocery store anything but simple. so finally, i had an important conversation

he explained that humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. 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. ask your dermatologist about humira.

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followed three "today" show viewers on their journey to fitness to 2016. >> how far have they come? today. they're going to ring in a happier, healthier new year, thanks to their lovely coach, joy bauer. good morning. >> good morning. >> they've been a remarkable dream team. >> get ready. you won't believe it. >> transformation is amazing. let's start off with mary jean. 16 weeks ago, 196.5 pounds, starting weight. that was her before picture. mary jean is now down to 159.5 pounds. a total loss of 37 pounds. mary jean, come on out, girl! [ applause ] >> incredible. >> wow. >> look at that waist, right? by the way -- >> look at that dress. >> -- she's lost 20 inches from head to toe. >> walk the carpet mary jean. >> look at your waist. >> incredible.

who, in the beginning of this whole thing, weighed in at 173 pounds. just 16 weeks ago. now, she's down to 143 pounds. total loss of 30 pounds. rochelle -- >> incredible. >> -- come on out! >> 16 weeks. >> wow! [ applause ] >> oh, my goodness. >> by the way, rochelle also has lost 22 inches from head to toe off her body. >> look at you. >> look at the muscles. >> wow. >> finally, ken started out at 221 pounds in the beginning of the journey. now, weighs in at 189.5 pounds. he lost a total of 31.5 pounds. ken, let's see how you're looking. come on out. [ applause ] >> look at that. >> handsome. he has trimmed 28 inches off of his entire body. >> oh, my gosh. >> high-five! >> whole new suit for you. >> unbelievable. >> by the way, you hear a lot of

their families are here. big support system. >> wow. >> clearly, it comes to good coaching, as well. joy, what was the secret to this incredible success? >> i think, first off, they were psychologically ready. 50% of it is really a can-do attitude, and they had that. secondly, you all trusted me. i told you what to do, and you followed through. i think that you can validate to everybody that you don't have to exercise five hours a day. they were eating delicious food but learned how to prepare it in better for you ways. they were sneaking in exercise when they could. they lost significant amounts of weight and dramatically enhanced their health. i'm so proud of you. >> mary jean, you seem emotional. >> i am. >> it's been an emotional journey. long and hard, but so rewarding for you, right? >> very rewarding. i'm thrilled. i can't believe that it's here, today is here, and that we've all been so successful. >> yeah. >> you're going to continue on the path?

>> more to go. >> what were some of the challenges that -- are you surprised you passed through them and have gotten to this point? >> i think the important thing for me was, and i mentioned this to joy, we all think we know what we know, and i confessed i didn't know anything. the moment i completely trusted joy, this happened. >> amazing. >> joy! making us all cry. >> ken, what was it for you that worked, and what do you think would help viewers at home, struggling with their weight, too? >> for me, it was consistency. finding a routine, sticking to it, day in and day out. resolving to do this. i was ready to make the change. >> consistent. >> all your families. >> 2016, what better time to inspire people? everybody watching can do this. >> with all the weight you guys have lost, the "today" show promised to donate food to families in need, and we are now going to donate more than 17,000 meals.

>> to feeding america. [ applause ] >> whew! >> a little warning would be nice, guys. >> well done. >> happy new year! >> congratulations. happy new year. >> you all look amazing. i have to give you all hugs. >> final look back at the fun we had, including with these guys. >> wonderful. >> you did it! >> thank you, joy. [ applause ] i don't have like a pair of jeans i'm trying to get into; i've been down that road honey child. and i don't have like a dress or some big red carpet thing i have to do. im really just looking at 2016, as the year of my best body; that's what i want for you too.

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new year's eve is a sober time to reflect on what it is we hope to accomplish. our goals, aspirations, dreams for the future. >> it can be sober. or to look back at a bunch of the ridiculous things you did this past year. i had a great time in 2015 with al, tamron, willie and, of course, dylan. she filled in often. here's a look at some of the laughs we shared. >> driving! >> birthday. >> this is a trump wig. >> wow. >> i felt it. hold on. >> we made it. looks like we've made it >> there was a lot of fun. >> chaos. sweet, wonderful chaos. >> uncertainty was the buzzword. >> oh, no! >> every day, something epic happened. holy moly. >> i have my two sisters. tamron and natalie.

>> this year, we got our groove on. where do we begin? >> tamron likes to think that she's a good dancer. >> we callhis the choo choo train. >> as does natalie. willie and i both know we're not good dancers, and we don't pretend to be. >> we love to dance. >> you have to be willing to laugh at yourself, make fun of yourself. >> she's good at the salsa. then this other dancing comes out, and you're like, what is going on there? >> fudge brownies. >> wow me week with three cool haled the gas. >> yeah! >> my voice drops down sub james earl jones' darth vader. >> that t unbelievable. >> it was as though i were out of my own body. if you watch the clip, i generally scare myself. >> you need to howl at the moon.

>> i want to you imagine and believe it's possible to take the dents out of the can. >> tap on it. >> no way. amazing. >> that is crazy. >> i'm a sucker for a magic trick. clearly, the viewers saw it that way. >> i swam with sharks. sort of. from behind a wall. they swam and i watched. >> the rokerthon this year was daunting. 50 states in a a week's time. it was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. every place we went -- >> i got the goat! >> -- people had goats. like, really? air. only one thing to do, and that competition. >> how does that happen? baby! >> you're mean. >> there you go. >> for the first time in my life, i see the love.

>> we did a little audition for john cena, what it takes to be a wwe star. >> looking at the headlines, you're all about to be in a rld of pain, because dark natalie is coming for you. >> i was born to brawl, i'm the belle of the ball, i got the guts. >> the forecast for today, pain. i feel a cold front coming in from the east. >> i'll take it, drive it to the canvas, get on the top for the splashdown to finish it. >> i can't get down. help me. >> i'm sorry you had to see this. >> spinning image. >> we were scary. >> wow. >> the feet. >> wawa wawa. >> i love my life! >> the "today" show has evolved. you can't do the same show we do from 7:00 to 9:00. at 9:00, it's a more conversational program. put my weather to the test. good times.

>> what usually happens at the end of an hour is you get something delicious. >> willie, get this. >> they win, they got it! >> and something that's hopefully fun, hopefully you'll learn a little something. >> the majority of our job is to report the news. if we can smile and laugh together, it means a lot. >> the one person -- >> oh! >> i'm waving our "today's take" flag. >> what i've learned, as i think our team dunk crew, is we're better when we work together as a team. the "take" team. >> and that's just 2015. >> wait until next year. >> wait until 2016. it's going to be huge.

this is "today" on nbc. we want to ring in the new year with traditions. did you bring pickled edd herring? >> on january 1st, you have to have it. >> why? >> it's disgusting. you are allowed to hold your nose and swallow. >> what kind of friend are you? >> it's supposed to bring good luck. disgusting. >> awful. >> drink. drink. >> that was awful. >> have some grapes.

12 grapes in a after trying brookside crunchy clusters, @carlybeyar tweeted: at this point, i should just be a brookside chocolate ambassador. well, i am sorry, carly... it's something you earn. brookside.

10:57 now.. he clean up continues today-- after yesterday's flooding all over the upstate. in greenville...cleveland park and the swamp rabbit trail was closed,but we have learned have been re-opened this morning. barricades were put up yesterday, but have since been removed. breaks in the rain... allowed people to venture out to the reedy river at falls park. the water rose to about seven feet during the day there. that's not flood stage... but it is higher than usual... happy new year's eve. law enforcement agencies are stepping up security all across the country for the big celebrations. this is a live look at times square in new york city.. at least a million people expected to crowd that area tonight..showing up in the next few hours.. for the famous ball drop. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be mostly cloudy

high of 65. north winds at 5.

test. >> today on meredith mere mere.

and amazon launched the first