we get more tonight from nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: the name synonymous with the team he played for, ernie banks and the chicago cubs. a windy city institution, a power slugger who belted in 512 homers over a 19-year run. >> he did it! ernie banks got number 500! >> sunshine. fresh air. we got the team behind us. so let's play too. >> reporter: that line, let's play too, became his signature. an expression of the eternal optimism one must have to cheer for the cubs. despite the awards, hall of famer, 11-time all-star and the national league's mvp two years running, ernie banks never played one game in the post season. the cubs infamous championship drought is the longest in major league baseball. after starting in the negro league, number 14 came to chicago in 1953 as a shortstop in the team's first african-american player. he never suited up for anyone but the cubs. two years ago banks received the nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. and today president obama famously a chicago white sox fan said this about ernie banks. somewhere the sun is shini

here's nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: bet you can't remember who won the game the past few years,ut who can forget the commercials? for eight years, doritos has had some of the top rated ads. >> use the cleaner. >> reporter: all created by amateurs. this year the contest has exploded. 4,900 entries from 29 countries, now down to 10 finalists. online voters deciding who gets $1 million. a yearlong job at universal studios, part of nbc universal. >> really? >> when that phone rang from doritos letting me know i was a top ten finalist, i almost lost it. >> reporter: ryan owns a gym in tampa. his commercial is about a spelling bee the finalists are trying to lose to get the second place prize -- a lifetime supply of doritos. he says he entered on a lark and shot it in eight hours for $500. >> as soon as i saw it, i knew i had something. >> reporter: whomever wins the cash the big winner is the brand. >> why is it that commercials that involve the public have become the commercials? >> it's about authenticity and it's also about talent. you have very talented people out there with a lo

janet shamlian nbc news houston. >>> up here ...and the wolf was huffing and puffing... kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said.. doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. grandfather: symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. watch out, piggies! child giggles doctor: symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. call or go online to learn m

here is nbc's janet shamlian. >> do your hair. your makeup.dinary spa. it is sassy lola. it caters just to kids. >> what is the kids reaction? >> all the girls want to get their nails done. it is a treat. >> it is nice getting your nails done. i wanted to share it with my friends. >> reporter: on the menu? manis and pedis and facials and fairy dust. it is definitely a trend. there are hundreds of kid spas like this one all over the country. why not? who doesn't want to look just like this? a growing industry. the spa association says 25% of the 20,000 spas now offer services for children. that's up 15% from four years ago. the new york times recently profiled the growing trend, but how young is too young for a spa day? >> i think the idea is a mixed message. if we are doing it all the time it is not going to help them. however, if we are doing it on big occasions, it could be something fun. >> reporter: allison treated her daughter to a spa day for her seventh birthday. some people say i'm not sure. >> i agree. they are young. they are absolut

for "today," janet shamlian houston, nbc news. >>> let's get a check of the forecast with dylan dreyerthe plaza. >> your poor signs are soaking wet. where are you from? >> pennsylvania. >> you guys follow the snow out there too. there are a lot of people out on the plaza. thank you for being here in awful conditions. drizzle around here. snow up in the new england area. on the west coast, that is where we see our nicest weather. mild temperatures. 10 to 15 degrees above average. that looks nice. kansas city 22 degrees above average. in california it comes with some very dry winds. strong out of the east/northeast. santa anas will keep in in the 70s and 80s. watch out for the risk of fire danger. elsewhere across the country, the nor'easter in the northeast. more of a wind storm for cape cod in the massachusetts area. that is where we will also see most of our snow at least for >>> a storm number one moving out. may be a little bit of snow on the back end, but generally speaking we have dry weather coming tonight and into sunday but another storm coming one with more widespread snow . a

. >> repor janet shamlian nbc news houston. >>> nbc 4 is your super bowl station.ook for live reports from our own jim handly all week for full coverage leading to the game february 1st. all week we'll have to find the football contempt on our nbc washington fatebook page. look for that as well. >>> watching several developing stories this north for you. right now the secret service is working to find out who sent that drone on to the white house lawn? it crashed on the south lawn early this morning, and we are there as agents lock the white house down. that lockdown has now been lifted. check nbcwashington.com as we learn more about what the secret service say actually happened out there. >>> also keeping a close eye on the potentially crippling and historic storm that's about to slam the east coast. more than 2,000 flights are cancelled today. more than 2,000 flights already cancelled for tomorrow. we'll continue to follow the storm throughout the day and send any breaking weather alerts to your phone using the nbc washington app. >>> time for a final check on th

nbc's janet shamlian live at huntington beach high school in southern california.you. what's happening here really illustrates the level of concern over the outbreak. there was a student on campus who has measles, and because of that the school is taking the unusual measure of asking some two dozen students to stay away to not come to class until the end of january because they have not been vaccinated. rebecca renfroe is grounded not by her parents but by her school. they told her not to come back for three weeks. >> it is kind of scary and i am kind of stressed out now because i don't know what to do when i get back to school. >> reporter: the 15-year-old among two dozen at huntington beach high school told to stay home. they aren't sick but the school fears they could become ill because none have been vaccinated for measles. >> the child might be at school be contagious no one knows it and is spreading the disease to others. then the disease can take up to 21 days to manifest itself in others who have caught it. >> reporter: experts say people without the vaccin

janet shamlian joins me from huntington beach, california.ther schools follow suit? >> reporter: hard to say, what's happening here illustrates, tamron, level of concern over the outbreak. two dozen students told not to come to class not just for a day or two but until the end of the month simply because they have not been vaccinated against measles. rebecca renfroe is grounded not by her parents but by her school. they told her not to come back for three weeks. >> that's kind of scary, i'm kind of stressed out right now because i don't know what to do when i get back to school. >> reporter: the 15-year-old among two dozen students at huntington beach high school told to stay home. they aren't sick but the school fears they could become ill because none have been vaccinated for measles. >> child might be at school be contagious no one knows it and is spreading the disease to others. then the disease can take up to 21 days to manifest itself in others that caught it. >> reporter: experts say people without the vaccine are 35 times more likely

nbc's janet shamlian is in el paso. janet, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. the clinic here was packed with veterans here for doctors' appointments and other treatments when the gunfire started midday. that's when the warning went out for all of ft. bliss, that there was an active shooter on the post. it was a busy afternoon at the veterans affair clinic at ft. bliss in el paso when reports of an active shooter came in at about 3:00. the va ordered everyone to shelter in place while authorities searched for the gunman. the suspect shot and killed one person before turning the gun on himself. no one else was hurt. neither the victim nor shooter has been identified this morning. authorities continue to comb the clinic overnight for answers. >> this was an active crime scene and shooting incident is under investigation. >> reporter: why did it happen? authorities haven't discussed a motive but say the actions of the gunman inside the building and possibly how he chose his victims will be pieced together. >> make sure that everyone is aware that we have hundreds

here's nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: it was like a movie scene.falls from a massive cruise ship becoming little more than a speck in the water off the coast of mexico. then seemingly impossible. another ship sails by. a young girl and her dad hear screaming and then spot the man and call the crew. >> it was very rough that day, high winds, high seas. it was hard to spot the man in the water. he would actually disappear sometimes behind the waves. >> reporter: david hern was on the "disney magic" and knew the p.a. announcement meant man overboard. he took this rescue video at 6:30 in the morning. he says they lowered a life boat into the water but the weather worked against them. >> i knew i heard mr. mob, mr.>> i heard he was on the starboard side and man overboard. >> the 22-year-old fell from the oasis of the seas. we are grateful for the other ship's assistance royal caribbean said. they haven't released the man's name but he is okay. david kern said it was pure luck. a ship in the right place and persons alert at just the right time. >> it was