al roker is here with the latest forecast. plus who is getting a white christmas. >>> a singing rebuke at the u.n. as the world nearly unites against one of trump's major moves. >>> a staggering look at the opioid crisis. after years of living longer. americans are living shorter lives, and health officials say a growing epidemic is to blame. >>> a neighborhood rocked by a deadly explosion, blowing apart a home. a tragic new alert as you turn on the heat this winter. >>> the future of airport security. 3-d scanners that digitally unpack your bags. cutting-edge technology to find hidden bombs. >>> and a little boy and his best friend. >> i love you. >> we've got a heartwarming happy family update for the holidays. >>> this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. thank you for being here on this thursday before christmas. tonight, as millions are set to begin their holiday journeys, storm systems threaten to disrupt holiday travel across several portions of the country over the weekend and into christmas includ

al roker. 44 years? >> 44 years. >> you've never had a fight? >>> good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." glad you're with us. it is thursday. >> is it? >> 21st of december. >> here we go. >> four days until christmas. >> it's knocking on the door. >> it is. let's get right to the news at 8:00. >>> an suv slammed into a crowd of holiday shoppers in melbourne, australia today. it injured at least 19 people. police aal one, as well. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. this happened at the start of melbourne's evening rush hour, right in the center of australia's second biggest city. police say a 32-year-old driver deliberately rammed into dozens of pedestrians. witnesses say he accelerated through a red light and made no attempt to brake or to swerve. so this was no accident. video taken minutes afterward shows a man, believed to be the driver, being handcuffed by police. at one point, an officer slaps his face. police say he is an australian citizen of afghan origin w

. >> when it have al gore, then al roker, then you have weird al yang vitch, >> he's upset with al frankenof news media outlets are calling al franken the new weird al. weird al yang vitch, wait a minute, i coined that name, copyrighted it and you can't do that as a result he's getting a lot of the nasty tweets >> but he's getting attention >> that's what it is. >> there's a new christmas angel that apparently has a lot of republicans saying not so fast. what's this one about >> 17 days until christmas i think i know what i'll get you guy, the hillary clinton none other than angel for the top of your >> my gosh, look at that >> there it is. >> a lot of >> with a white pantsuit. >> hold up, wait a minute. a british this for 108 bucks if your tree is short than ten feet. if it's taller, $943 for this >> that much more? >> come on >> go figure. >> it's about rich versus poor. >> can i see that for christmas >> right. i'm fine, i like the family star we have. >> i'll stick with the star. >> people online are talking about this >> it's funny, conservatives are saying, hey, it's not an angel, th

al roker is here with the latest forecast. plus who is getting a white christmas. >>> a singing rebuke at the u.n. as the world nearly unites agnst one of trump's major moves. >>> a staggering look at the opioid crisis. americans are living shorter lives, and health officials say a growing epidemic is to blame. >>> a neighborhood rocked by a deadly explosion, blowing apart a home. a tragic new alert as you turn on the heat this winter. >>> the future of airport security. 3-d scanners that digitally unpack your bags. cutting edge technology to find hidden bombs. >>> and a little boy

say al al al. roker let's. let's. say. and i see that a good shape on that i was going for a little closer to what you must be to the case in which we can thank you so much the good can you protect the civil division because you have to close the. gates i suppose what i'm getting is just peace in the west i believe it is unity must be a bitch but i must must acquit the way of still plenty of situations even school in the water which the new ship is for it's a visible need that would be to make sure that they never get sick or just kowtow she was going to that was needs. that are. the device and you want to buy them by the way but it's that way. banks guys are financial survival they say money the bellatrix plan to use it this is a central bank support via cummins called the club and right now it's a stop to. hey everybody i'm stephen baldwin task hollywood guy suspects every proud american first of all i'm just george bush and r.v. i'm going to suggest this is my buddy max famous financial guru and she's a little bit diffe

and the only person left is al roker. have thought that al roker would be the last person in that family. to the panel, thank you all for being here. and a quick plug. we sent out a special edition of our newsletter, when the news break. our six-night a week recap of all of the day's media news. >>> next here on the program, one of my next guests says it's a badge of honor that he was not invited to this white house christmas party. so find out who was there, and what happened, right after this. paying less for my medicare? i'm open to that. lower premiums? extra benefits? it's open enrollment. time to open the laptop... ...and compare medicare health plans. why? because plans change, so can your health needs. so, be open-minded. look at everything-like prescription drug plans... and medicare advantage plans from private insurers. use the tools at medicare.gov. or call 1-800-medicare. open to something better? start today. ♪ (avo) but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c,

al roker is here with the latest forecast.s who is getting a white christmas. >>> a singing rebuke at the u.n. as the world nearly unites against one of trump's major moves. >>> a staggering look at the opioid crisis. after years of living longer. americans are living shorter lives, and health officials say a growing epidemic is to blame. >>> a neighborhood rocked by a deadly explosion, blowing apart a home. a tragic new alert as you turn on the heat this winter. >>> the future of airport security. 3-d scanners that digitally unpack your bags. cutting-edge technology to find

they announced it on the "today" show. [ light laughter ] [ laughter ] al roker was like, "here's a aat the elephant in your neck of the room." [ laughter and applause ] >> steve: hey! >> jimmy: and following more allegations of sexual harassment, 30 democratic senators called on al franken to resign as senator of minnesota. but he's already got a back-up plan. he's going to run for senator of alabama. >> steve: oh. [ applause ] >> jimmy: that's an interesting move. you know? >> steve: you never know. >> jimmy: this is interesting here. i read that none of president trump's twee m the year's most retweeted posts. [ light laughter ] but trump took the news in stride by creating thousands of twitter accounts and retweeting himself. [ laughter ] he was like, "just a million more to go. a million more accounts." [ applause ] today, trump announced that the u.s. will recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. he mentioned all of the nations affected. but he had a little trouble pronouncing one country's name. check this out. >> god bless you. god bless israel. god bless the palestinians. and

meet al roker. al, i've got the check mark. that's close enough, i think. >> thank you, sweetie, very nice. are you happy. >> check your list. >> all right. >> over here taking calling. there we go. are you throwing a holiday party and need some help? we are solving all your hosting problems with simple hacks from our friends at buzzfeed. >> but first, mr. roker, a check of the weather. >> let's start off with the week ahead. we're looking at a lot of snow up through the upper midwest. windy conditions ahead of this front. santa ana winds out west. east coast looks good. by the mid-week period, we've got some wet weather moved to the east, becomes blustery and cold around the most. gulf showers, plenty of sunshine into the pacific northwest, and into the rockies. and the end of the week, coastal showers, an arctic chill. the western third of the country looking pretty good. you know how i say, that's what's going on around the country -- >> that's what's going on around the country. >> here's what's happening in your neck of th

wow, you came to meet al roker. >> yeah. >> wow. you need to set your sights higher.on the list. say last. ♪ when they try to get to you, baby, i'll be the fighter ♪ >> you know each other? >> yeah. >> i like a sign that tells you what to do. look at me! look at you. >> look at me. >> you're 50. all you want for christmas is an ambush makeover. all right. get her! >> she needs no makeover. she's so beautiful. >> she will never get chosen. not to break your heart. >> too ty. >> welcome back to "today." shining faces the plaza this morning. >> good morning. >> we want to get to your news at 8:00. waves of fire are sweeping across southern california at this hour and forcing new evacuations overnight. nbc's natalie morales is in bel air this morning where officials are fearing the worst is yet to come, nae.s right, savann. i want to show you a picture not that far from me 45 miles awaou'r seeinghe rial footage her of the thomas fire. i santa paula area. that, again, is an area of major concern right now. it's about 95,000 acres that have caughtire there right now. that i

al roker to give us a weather. >> that's right. we're looking at -- this is one of the reasons we're looking at these massive fires right now in southern california. you can see how green the satellite image is. this was back in march. record rainfall in the winter increased vegetation growth. then we had a very dry summer. i mean, it was bone dry. so the hottest summer on record dried out all the vegetation, so add to that the fact that southe california rainfall has averag than 5% of what it should for this time of year. we have wildfires. and the winds continue today. they'r going to be at their peak morning. that's where the most danger will be. wind gusts 35 to 60 miles per hour. and so we do have today 20 extrem critical fire danger and that lasts right on into tomorr we're to get to your loc i'm meteorologist chuck bell. depend where you live, you either have clear skies or clouds tower camera looking east. washin today. out towards the bay and southern maryla curren temperature, 43 in washin even upper 20s this morning down

meet al roker. he has to peel that off.nk you, sweetie. very nice. are you happy? >> we checked your list. >> list is checked. >> dylan is over here taking selfies. >> well, al looked busy. >> exactly. >>> also ahead -- there we go. are you throwing a holiday party and need some help? we're solving all of your hosting problems this week, with simple hacks from our friends at buzzfeed nifty. >>> mr. broroker, a check of th weather? >> all right. the week ahead, a lot of snow in the upper midwest. windy conditions. santa ana winds out west. by the midweek period, we have wet weather in the east, blustery and cold around the great lakes. gulf showers. plenty of sunshine into the pacific northwest and into the rockies. at the end of the week, coastal showers, arctic chill around the great lakes. you know what i say at the end? that's what's going on aund thero >>> good morning. i'm meteorologist bill henley. a frosty and foggy morning. but the cold will ease and the fog will disappear as the temperatures climb into the low 50s

al roker is here with the latest forecast. a white christmas. >>> a singing rebuke at the u.n. as the world nearly unites against one of president trump's major moves. >>> a staggering look at the opioid crisis. after years of living longer, americans are living shorter lives. and health officials say a growing epidemic is to blame. >>> a neighborhood rocked by a deadly explosion, blowing apart a home. a tragic new alert as you turn on the heat this winter. >>> the future of airport security. 3-d scanners that digitally unpack your bags. cutting edge technology to find hidden bombs. >>> and a little boy [001:00:59;00]

we all just wished each other a nice december while al roker sadly pointed a flashlight at a fern. [] christmas didn't go anywhere, you oaf. [ laughter ] "also, the sun's coming up and going down." [ laughter ] and somehow that speech wasn't even close to the most incoherent thing trump did yesterday. he also woke up, bright and adderall, to retweet a series of racist anti-muslim videos from an extremist hate group in the u.k. called britain first. it was so shocking that even many of trump's allies condemned him like u.k. prime minister, theresa may, who is such a close ally of trump's that they famously held hands at the white house earlier this year. may criticized trump for his anti-muslim saying, it is wrong for the president to have done this. not the strongest wording, but remember, she's british. it is wrong for the president to have done this is equivalent to, "bitch, have you lost your mind?" [ laughter ] that naturly response from trump who lashed out at america's oldest and closest ally, tweeting, "theresa may, don't focus on me, focus on the destructive radical islamic t

we all just wished each other a nice december while al roker sadly pointed a flashlight at a fern. ( ♪ ) this time of year is all about family. and we'd like you to be part of ours. so our chevy employee discount is now available to everyone. this holiday season, you pay what we pay. and not a cent more. we're so happy to share this with you. hey, mom and dad deserve some toys too. it's our way of saying happy holidays. and welcome to the family. the chevy family. get the chevy employee discount for everyone today. >>> welcome back, you're watching msnbc. i'm stephanie ruhle. i'm quoting the one and only flo rida, it's going down for real. ex-national security adviser michael flynn, guess what he's doing today, pleading in the mueller case. the court has scheduled add plea hearing for lieutenant general michael t. flynn age 58 of alexandria virginia at 10:30 a.m. today. that is going to be serious. we have to break this down. this news is just coming out. i have midwin charles, so glad you are in the building to join us. max, what's your take? >> this is huge. it's hard to exaggerate

al roker, why don't we celebrate some birthdays. >> i think that's a capital idea.r ii. happy 100th birthday to luke pesane. this yankees fan is from syracuse new york. in addition to his milestone birthday luke and his wife celebrating 75 years of marriage. congratulations you love birds. odessa qualls a proud grandma from chicago, illinois. 11 grandkids and 7 great grandkids. mr. ken anderson west minister colorado. he starts his day off with a slice of pizza and a cold one. >> every day? >> every day. that's my kind of guy. and last but not least, happy 100th birthday to joseph grigg from virginia. didn't retire until he was 80. you've got someone to celebrate, let us know. head to today.com/celebrates. make sure to include a photo. >> we love the photos. >>> we have a lot coming up in the fourth hour with klg. she's upstairs in curlers. renee russo is going to be here. and we're going to dig into the lives of the superrich. we like to know the details. >> what does that mean? >> i don't know. >> we're going to -- >> you've been hiding in their closets? >> in the

>> thanks, al roker. >> thank you, al. >>> still to come this morning, it's rossen to the rescue.l you meet the deserving families he's surprising with the year's hottest toys. >>> and inside william and harry's night at the london premier of "star wars," and what the director is telling us about their rumored cameo. >> do they play storm troopers? >>> and then we chat with hugh jackman about the greatest show and his new movie and why it almost wasn't made. >>> next, the 6-year-old boy making millions just for playing with toys. this. ♪ so... you like it. little bit. nothing gets a reaction like a gift from kay jewelers. where everything is 25% off. save 25% off all rings, all necklaces, and all bracelets. that's 25% off everything! december 14th through 18th. at kay, the #1 jewelry store in america. dad? ♪ every kiss begins with kay (i wanted him to eat healthy., so i feed jake purina cat chow naturals indoor, a nutritious formula with no artificial flavors. made specifically for indoor cats. purina cat chow.

al roker. fire out west we're watching this very closel we're already seeing -- we saw pa o we now have winter weather adviso winter storm warnin lake effect snow englan as far south as beckly, west virgin it makes its way to the high and drifting snow, lakes. the second storm dives south midwes a cold blast and behind this an great lakes of about but places could pick up to 18 inches of snow to 20 inches. we're to get to your local foreca coming up i bright red sky over us early and it's going to be mostly but it is also going to turn be prepared. temper in the upper 30s briefl be near 50 degrees today. temper will be in the 30s so bring your heavy coats. wind chills will be falling in >> al, thank you so much. >>> coming up, sexual harassment allegations rocking nfl and the food network this morning. >>> and soul searching. the platform he helped create is ripping society apart. first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> so, here's a question -- is the so-called man flu a thing? why guys may not be o

. >> a line from al roker there himself. that's your "pop start." >>> do you have a "daly click"?ant decided to make the boarding take a look. ♪ i'll be home for christmas if only in my dreams ♪ >> wow. >> everyone can sing. southwest flight attendant sherrice miles got applause from passengers after that amazing rendition of "i'll be home for christmas." she has a single on itunes. if you want to hear more of that soulful voice. >> you never know if quincy jones is on your flight. >> on christmas day. >> dylan, thank you so much. >>> to a special series called "the best of today." this is where we share some of our favorite stories in 2017. >> in march, i teamed up with george olyphant. the struggle, was to have condition left them in a tight spot. it's been a tough year for this family. but 4-year-old audrey has defied the odds. >> it's inspirational. we learned audrey had microcephaly. i was at a friend's house. she was sitting next to my friend's daughter. my friend's daughter head was quite a bit larger than audrey's. i called the appointment. he measured her in the bottom fi

." >> al roker is no fun to play with because you get every one right. night." >> final one.mamma mia 2, the sequel. the trailer has been released. have you seen it? it's buzzing. >> i'm pregnant. but i don't know how to do this by myself. >> your mother is the greatest person we ever met. >> look at my baby. >> let me tell you how she did it. >> the bravest person we ever met? past tense, right? social media is wondering if meryl streep's character was killed off. in a throwback sequence, lily james plays a young donna. we're tryin t we'll have to watch. you know who joined the star-studded cast? cher. >> whoa. >> let's get the party started. >> grandma, you weren't invited. >> that's the best kind of party, little girl. >> "mamma mia" hits theaters on july 20th. >>> oprah is known for showering her fans with gifts. but due to scamming, oprah has been asking for cash? no. she shut that down immediately. >> i want you to know that somebody out there is trying to scam you, using my name and my avatar on social media, asking for money if you sign up for an own account on instag

al roker. fire out west and snow in the northeast? >> moving into new england and the great lakes. we're watching this closely. we saw some heavier snow moving from cleveland, pittsburgh, and buffalo. now, making its way to upstate new york and new england. we have winter weather advisories and malake-effect sn warnings. from the u.p. of michigan to new england. but as far south as beckley, west virginia. we'll watch this clipper come across. that's the first round of snow that makes its way in the northeast and new england today. high winds and drifting snow around the great lakes. then, a second storm dives south into the great lakes and the midwest. a cold blast. behind us and cold windchills. low visibility, and snowfall amounts around the great lakes, the eastern great lakes of about a foot to a foot and a half. some places could pick up to 18 inches of snow to 20 i >>> good morning. i'm meteorologist bill henley. a chance of a few light rain showers this morning and clouds this afternoon. what we won't get during the day is cold. that comes in tonight. 45 this afternoon in ph

. >> taking a line from al roker himself. that's your "pop start." >> good. >> that was fun.all the travel this year, one flight attendant decided to make the boarding process festive. take a look. ♪ i'll be home for christmas ♪ if only in my dreams >> wow. >> wow! >> wow. [ applause ] >> everyone can sing! southwest flight attendant charise miles received a round of applause from passengers for that amazing rendition of "i'll be home for christmas." >> wow. >> apparently, the singing flight attendant has a single called "messiah revealed" available on itunes, if you want to hear more of that soulful voice. >> you never know, quincy jones could be on your flight and you get signed. >> on christmas day. >> that was great. >> dylan, thank you so much. >>> to a special series now called "the best of today" where we share some of our favorite stories of 2017. >> back in march, i teamed up with george oliphant from "george to the rescue," the project renovating a home for a deserving family whose struggle with finances and their daughter's medical condition left them in a tight sp

al roker. we're talking fires out west and snow in the northeast. >> that's right. moving on into new england. also, the midwest and great lakes. we're watching this very closely. we're already seeing some -- we saw some heavier snow moving through cleveland. pittsburgh, along into buffalo and now making its way into upstate new york and parts of new england. we right now have winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings and lake-effect snow warnings for 20 million people from the u.p. of michigan all the way to new england, but it's far south as beckley, west virginia. we're going to be watching this clipper come across. that's the first round of snow. it makes its way to the northeast of new england today. high winds and drifting snow especially around the great lakes. then a second storm dives south into the great lakes and the midwest. a cold blast and behind this we're going to have bitter cold wind chills. in the meantime, low visibility, and we're talking about snowfall amounts. especially around the great lakes. the west and eastern great lakes of abo

. >> way to go, al roker.he's such a fan favorite, fat amy. heart and soul of the bellas. this time, rebel not only sings but adds action star to her resume. check it out. >> that's the ladder that will take you up. do not focus on what i'm doing here below. >> distraction coming up. are you sure about this? >> have i ever let you down? >> dozens of examples spring to mind. you're very unreliable. i don't think we have time to unpack that right now. >> shh. i'll just see you up top. >> nobody is going to die tonight, right? >> yeah. yeah. >> that doesn't help. >> okay. >> are you ready? >> i got my serious face on now. it's time. >> let's do it. >> i love you. you're one of those people when you show up, i just want to crack up laughing. hi, rebel. >> hi, hoda. how is it going? >> awesome. i know you can sing and dance. what i was unaware of, miss action figure. >> was my hidden ninja skills. don't attack me in the streets. i can throw down if i need to. >> and you're no joke. >> no joke. >> you trained, right

roker who has a check of the weather. hey, alnowfalling now, but last night, we saw some stars. the planes were landing over the airpor unfort we're seeing sky southern california. sparks from those wildfires. santa firing up. upper low with cold air being wildfi so for today, 11 million people stretc santa barbara and we've also got red flag 20 to 30 mile per hour sustained winds. gusts of 55 miles per hour and we to watch this sua weeken that's going on around >>> temperature feeling around freezi nowher nearly as frigid as it actualtemperatures 37. we have a few flurries out there this morning. we had more earlier this mornin but a lot of that come to an south, 40 degrees now in quanti chilly >>> it's thursday night, so come on, let's saddle up. that's right. we've got two teams with horse names in em. yeah. giddy up. we're going to be talking about the broncos coming in to play the colts. ride em, cowboy. catch the colts/broncos, right here tonight at indianapolis lucas field stadium. it has a roof so the corral is all inside

roker who has a check of the weather. hey, alng now, but last night, we saw some stars. the meteor shower was over new york city before the clouds moved in. the planes were landing at laguardia airport. a neat show in the sky. unfortunately, we're seeing different kinds of lights in the sky in southern california. sparks from those wildfires. santa ana winds firing up. upper low with cold air being drawn in. then the high pressure, the difference between the high pressure and the low, the winds funnel through the canyons and kick up the problem of wildfires. 11 million people at risk for critical fire danger, from santa barbara down to east of san diego. we also have red flag warnings for the strong winds. 20 to 30-mile-per-hour sustained winds. gusts of 55 miles per hour. such low humidity that fires, anything that starts or anything that's going now is going to quickly spread. we have to watch this situation ca smiley. i'm meteorologist kari hall. a lot of sunshine today, cool temperatures to start and warming up as we take a l