that exchange with matt lauer which is so telling does it do anything to his legacy? >> i think it does. when it comes from someone like matt lauer who is kind of an easy going interviewer. he is not the most con frn tationnal he bit into al gore in my opinion and showed the hypocrisy that is al gore. i do think al gore has devastated his legacy. when he was someone thought of in american history as walking away. remember back in 2000 what happened? he came within 500 points of winning the election. people thought highly of him and how he dealt with it and i think he has destroyed that. >> i wonder if he was expecting that. he may have got more than he bargained for. matt lauer gave people a hard time unexpectedly in some cases but al gore got it today. >> a wounded warrior lost all four of his limbs while fighting in iraq. we have an amazing update after he received a double arm transplant. one of the most powerful anti gun groups is calling on the president to use the epa, doj, ajf and sweeping new executive orders to beat back the gun industry. show you the plan th

i'm savannah guthrie, alongside matt lauer, natalie morales.hat's right. we talked about our new year's resolutions, pedestrian ones. nobody is going out for anything really big. whether you decided to lose weight, exercise more or kick a bad habit in 2013, what you can do to see your resolution through this year. we'll have some real advice on that. >> all right. this is going to be a big year for robert downey jr. we'll predict that right now. he is reprising his role as tony sparks in ironman 3. one of the superhero flicks coming out in 2013. we'll get a box office preview. >>> plus we'll break down the bold new trend in fashion for the new year. and two big names in music, colbie caillat and davin mcgraw will stop by to perform for us. >> let's get a check of the weather and top news stories from andrea canning. >> happy new year, everyone. an air of hope after the senate approved legislation to block the impact of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect today. we have details on the deal from kelly o'donne

i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. just a terrible story out of brazil. that country is declaring three days of national mourning now for the victims of that deadly nightclub fire as the investigation gets under way. >> it's a huge tragedy. consider the loss of life. it was apparently started, that fire, by some kind of an on-stage stunt. some kind of pyrotechnic device, many victims under the age of 206789 this morning we have new details on that tragedy, including reports that the bar was well above its legal capacity at the time of the fire. we'll get a live report on that, straight ahead. >>> also ahead, a cia officer se celebrated for helping to bring down one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. now he has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for leaking classified information. is he a hero or did he betray his colleagues? he is with us for an exclusive interview. >>> also new information in the jon-benet ramsey case. reports that a grand jury actually indicted john and patsy ramsey in connection with the dea

i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm matt lauer. we'll get to that severe flooding in northeast australia in a couple of minutes. more rescues there over the last 24 hours. al will join us and tell us about a powerful storm system right here at home that could be spawning some tornados in the coming days. >>> also ahead, strong signals from the boy scouts that it will end its nationwide exclusion of gay scouts and leaders. at least one major group is saying that may force it to move its support to other boys' organizations. >>> new questions this morning about the death of country singer mindy mcready's boyfriend as she opens up about what happened the night he died. we'll hear from her. it's an emotional and candid interview. >>> first to that deadly flooding in australia. sarah james is in brisbane for us this morning. s sarah, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. the floodwaters here in brisbane -- and i'm on the banks of the river, have peaked and are starting to recede, but the crisis here in queensland, australia

i have to say that is it is first time i have ever seen matt lauer come out like a pittbull. >> it isjazeera is funded by quatar, al gore got the money. you took $100 million of dirty, oily money. let's talk al jazeera. a news gathering organization? >> they don't have terrorist training talk shows anymore? >> that's good nice. >> what do you think? >> it is okay if you don't live an environmentally conscious life, but other people want to. that sounds like standard al gore to me. >> i just love -- i love that response. i am using that. i understand your criticism, but i am disagreeing with it. it is like what difference does it make? >> it is up there with was anybody offended? if you said to someone in 2002 if they said i bet al gore sells his tv network to al jazeera people would have rolled their eyes saying now you are exaggerating. now that it is here it goes to show, and i wish this was something where my liberal friends would know that when you start waiving money principals go out the window fast. >> go ahead and waive. >> is it as dead as your soul? >> i never had a soul to

i'm matt lauer, savannah guthrie. you're in for good music, we have that in spades. sounds great. we will get a song in just a few moments. >> he does a scene from the a-team. >> you wish. >> no, he doesn't. >> it's called the a-team. >> all right. dr. oz with join us. he's got some new ways to fight the fat and boost your heart health. he's been hanging around all morning. >> all right. we have our friday field trip kicking off. tomorrow, natalie will be in balmer and i will be in san francisco, a preview of the super bowl, boothe teams of the harbowl going on. jenna. hey. >> hey, guys, good morning. we are three days away from the biggest football game of the year. no one is really talking xs and o's. the big story is the big sibling rivalry between the harbaugh brothers and when the harbaugh parents decided to sit down and brag about their did kids a little bit, you can bet, we were all ears. >> wow! >> with that one word, jack and jackie harbaugh said it all, the proud parents of two nfl head coaches who happen to

matt lauer, your take?deo only because -- how old can this baby be, 8 months, something like that? that's a hardwood floor. >> yeah. >> she falls over backwards on that thing? that's the overcautious parent in me. >> i see with the hardwood floor. >> though now she's ride iing a dyson. >> very good. >> she's moved on. and she started wearing a helmet, just in case. >> next up, a music video with more than 1.5 million hits on youtube. ♪ i knew you were trouble when you walked in shame on me now flew me to places i've never been ♪ >> so why does that have 1.5 million views? canadian group with acapella version of taylor swift's "trouble." >> i think it's in trouble. >> maybe this will do better. trending on today, exuberant angela dancing around the baggage claim at l.a.x. >> i love this. >> like nobody notices. >> i mean, no one is even looking at her. says something about l.a. >> it does. >> it also tells you, this is how happy you get when the airlines actually deliver your luggage. >> she has done this ki

i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. this is a confession years in the making. did you watch lance armstrong interview? >> i have to say i did. and even though we all expected, we all thought we knew what we were going to hear, when you heard those blunt answers to direct questions, it was still somewhat starting. >> a lot of people had been waiting to hear what armstrong would say, the disgraced cyclist using everything from human growth hormone to testosterone. maybe not the answer some people wanted to hear. >> for years, cyclist tyler hamilton, that man right there, accused armstrong of doping and he faced armstrong's fury as a result. we'll find out what he thinks, after watching the interview. >>> later in the show, the question everyone is asking, can the live strong charity go on? we'll ask the ceo. >>> have you noticed you didn't make quite as much as you did before the new year came? of course, you are not alone. what is behind this sudden cut in pay and give you ideas of what you could do to offset that loss.

i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm erica hill in for savannah this morning. there is good news for secretary of state hillary clinton. she plans to return to her office next week after she was, of course, hospitalized for a blood clot in her head. # >> that is good news. she's not going to be doing a lot of traveling, though, because the doctors have asked her not to do that. her daughter, chelsea, has been by her side through the entire episode. they clearly have a very special mother/daughter bond. we'll talk about that a little bit later on. >>> then if you're looking for a little extra motivation, maybe stick with that new year's diet resolution, believe it or not, there are some new websites where you can win money, cold hard cash, by wagering on your weight loss. are they legal, though? >> a lot of people don't think it's a good idea to stake money on the ability to lose weight. we'll talk about that. >>> remember ted williams, the homeless man who was addicted to drugs? two years ago when this video came out, it brought him to overnight fame. now the m

let's have matt lauer refocus.> the critics jumped and they said here is the guy who just sold current tv to al jazeera, which gets an undetermined amount of funding from the country of qatar, which gets its money from oil reserves. isn't there a contradiction in that? >> i certainly understand that criticism. i disagree with it. because i think al jazeera has, obviously long sense established itself as a really distinguished and effective news gathering organization. and, by the way, it's climate coverage has been far more extensive and of high quality than any of the networks there. >> from a country that bases its wealth on fossil fuels and fossil fuels are the enemy. you targeting climate change. isn't there a bit of hypocrisy in that? >> i get the criticism. this network has established itself. >> letterman and lauer could have knocked him out. they rattled him. i gave them credit. they like him. just like you leslie. not as much as do you. could have knocked al gore here. is he not going to sit here and promo

i'm matt lauer.

i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm erica hill in today for savannah. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. this is our first day -- tech nknick ally, we were here yesterday, but this is our first day back together. >> everybody was here yesterday. >> technically. happy new year to you. >> a lot going on. in the briefing room after that vote in the house, passing the fiscal cliff legislation. >> in the end, the president got most of what he wanted including higher taxes for families making over $450,000 a year. there were things left out of this bill that have angered a lot of republicans and set the stage for some contentious debates down the road. we'll have a live report from capitol hill, straight ahead. >>> also ahead, a papparazza taking pictures of justin bieber's car was hit and killed in los angeles last night. >>> and some gadgets and gizmos designed to help you get fit. the free flexor, body blade and hyper whole body vibration machi machine. we'll check them out. >> laughter and hilarity will ensue. >>> kelly o'donnell now is live on cap

i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie, natalie morales and mr. al roker. >> beautiful sunrise in washington. no matter who you voted for, this is an historic day for the country. little cold in the capital, but all along the country, people are starting to gather along the parade route this morning. >> the president and his family have a very full day ahead. so do we here at nbc news. 8:45 eastern starts off, the celebration does. the obamas and bidens will attend a private prayer service at st. john's church. to there back to the white house for 10:00 coffee with congressional leaders. if you were to be a fly on the wall, that may be the event to attend this morning. >> absolutely. and then they'll start to make their way toward the capitol. the inaugural ceremony begins at 11:00, with his swearing in at 11:55, followed, of course, by his public address. this will actually be his fourth time taking the oath. he took it sunday at the white house in a quiet ceremony. four years ago, you may remember the oath was botched a bit on the capital steps

the daily tell graph telling harry toy muscle himself and this from matt lauer and his nbc.talks about his missions. the missions he went on where he was fired upon by the taliban and returned fire killing some members of the taliban and he takes it kind of matter of m factually. i know you have heard the interviews. what do you think abouty. it? is it okay? >> i was really confused why the palace would permit the prince to give such an interview. why do you need to antagonize the taliban. >> i thought he jumped the shark when he was shown playing video games and oh my god we killed people. >> prince harry has not had an easy time with the press, you know. some of it his own doing. considering he puts his life on the line to protect us from those hospital to

i saw you launch a spirited defense of matt lauer. i thought quite rightly. brilliant broadcaster. he is taking a pummelling. in your broughtal morning battles. >> what sells more papers or more clicks online than the negative? that's -- they have to -- look, there is a lot of schadenfreude. for 17 years, they had the right, we were number one. now we're not. okay. fair. good on gma. the fact of the matter is i've known matt lauer since 1990. i've worked with him in local news. and he is a terrific human being. he is a great person. he had nothing to do with anything that happened on our show. was it a great thing that anne left? no. we were all heartbroken about it. but the fact of the matter is she is still at nbc news, contrary to what people are reading about her coming over here. she is still at nbc news. she has a unit, a whole unit to do the stories that she does best. so, you know, at the end of the day, it's not the worst thing to get a kick in the slats. >> i was going to ask you that. you've been there a long time. do you feel it's got you all ener

this morning on the "today" show matt lauer will talk exclusively with one of armstrong's former teammates and the "today" show will have an exclusive interview with the livestrong foundation. >>> the second part of oprah's interview takes place tonight. >> he was kind of disconnected and cavalier as far as i'm concerned. >>> the new bay area exhibit opening today that will get you up close and personal with the sun. >> sounds good to me. plus how superstorm sandy was behind this scary escalator mishap. >> yikes. looking at the decline or the incline depending on how you head across the san mateo bridge. clear here. we'll show you what has popped up on the reports for the south bay coming up. >>> new this morning, the white house announcing a cool honor announcing who will dance with president obama at the inaugural ball. a medical technician was deployed to afghanistan and currently serves in washington. she's going to have a blast on that. three other listed men and women will also attend the ball to dance with the first lady. all of them served in iraq or afghanistan. >>> the inaugurati

the daily telegraph telling harry to muddle himself and matt lauer and his guests on nbc. >> he talksissions, the missions he went on where he was fired upon by taliban and he returned fire killing members of the taliban and takes it kind of matter of factually. i know you heard the interviews, what did you think? okay? >> i am confused why the palace would be permitted. >> i thought he jumped the shock when he was playing a video game and oh my god we killed people. >> he put our life on the line from the people who want to kill us maybe the media would think about showing

. >> i'm matt lauer. let's get right to this story in washington, the decision to allow women in combat roles, a watershed moment being praised by a lot of people and others starting to wonder how it might impact the capability of other forces. >> we all know women have been putting their lives in dangerous war zones for many years. what does this change really mean for a practical matter? this straight ahead. >>> also, are you sitting in a room with your computer on right now. take a look because some 1 could be spying on you at this moment, coming up how criminals can hack into your webcam and pull off an alarming invasion of privacy and some ways you can block them. >>> a few details this morning on beyonce's performance on the national anthem at the inauguration. what the "wall street journal" uncovered and what big stars think about it. we will let you decide for yourself. >>> why this super bowl ad already has 3 million hits online, it's still 10 days before the big game. >> i might have a few guess

>> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie featured on the cover of "time" this week told matt lauer this morning, a broader approach is needed. >> why do we have such a stigma about mental illness treatment, why aren't we dealing with substance abuse treatment. >> reporter: the president will meet with a number of gun rights advocates, including a representative from the national rifle association. brian. >> kristen welker from the white house. on this white house effort in the post newtown era and now to one of the tragedies that prompted this entire debate over gun control to begin with. preliminary hearing for james holmes went on today. he's accused of murdering 12 people, injuring 58 others in a shooting rampage in that aurora, colorado movie theater. tonight there has been a surprise move by the defense, and it's pointing the way toward the end game in this case. nbc's mike taibbi was in the courtroom. >> reporter: a lone gunman shooting rampage that killed and injured so many so efficiently was long in planning, as shown by the evidence revealed this week. an arsenal for mass

i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. weather is the story again this morning. severe storms moving east, packing heavy rain, high winds. al is tracking this for us. we'll get to him in just a moment from now. >>> also ahead, bill gates is considered one of the great visionaries of our time. for example, take a look at what he said to tom brokaw in 1992. >> one of the big things over the next couple of years will be getting the computer on enough desktops that we'll actually communicate through what's called electronic mail and it's surprising to me it's not happening a little faster. >> ooh, electronic mail. i think we call this e-mail. i guess he is a visionary. >> any other crazy predictions you want to make? >> it's amazing how fast technology is moving. if you go out 20 years, you'll be able to talk to the computer. it will be kind of pervasive, your walls, your white board. it will see what you're doing, be able to write on it. the next 20 years will be more amazing. also, we'll use it to do better education and put

matt lauer, pledge chairman. darn glad to meet you. matt lauer, pledge chairman. a lot of cold air. everybody got their way in? >> packing it in. >> is it better inside than outside? >> that's what's going -- no, deutsch, you don't get in there. >>> we've got a mild start to the day here in beautiful bay area, california. temperatures are going to be mild for today. we'll end up in the upper 50s. we do have showers to deal with mostly up in the north bay. they'll start to move south as we progress throughout the day. we're eight minutes away from steady rainfall in the aled me da area. 60 degrees in santa cruz. comfortable temperature wise. even warmer for tomorrow. a few more clouds. but we'll hold off on showers for thursday. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks very much. >>> just a show of hands, how many people here have constant battles at home or the office on the setting of the thermostat? see, it's popular. we have it here at the studio as well. the great thermostat war at home and at the office. it is raging also between the sex sexes. we'll

here is matt lauer with a look at what is coming up next on the "today" show. >> good morning.the late-night vote on capitol hill to avert the -- fiscalliff cliff. will 2013 be a good year for your bottom line? should you invest in stocks? we will ask warren buffett and the creator of spanx. we will test out some of the at home fitness gadgets. psy wants to retire the gun and style as we get started on it wednesday morning. >> we cannot get enough psy. >> we will be gangnam style if we go to the super bowl. 34 degrees at the airport. coming up, we'll look at your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> we'll take a last look at weather and traffic together before you head out to start before you head out to start your day. ♪ over the river and down the road ♪ [ female announcer ] at nature valley, we know nature comes together in amazing ways. that's why we bring together natural ingredients, like dark chocolate with toasted oats, or sweet golden honey. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ ♪ i was thinking that i hope this ne

i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, natalie morales and al roker. we are live in anchorage, alaska. >> could be. >> it's colder in los angeles than it is in new york city. >> we thought what a great idea? let's sit outside in the garden with the night breeze coming through. >> it's 38 degrees here. >> oh, my goodness. >> it's 49 in new york city. the good news is with the windchill, it feels like 32. >> we've got these monster heaters on both sides of us. it's breezy as well. >> look at that right there. if they turn that up just a little bit, my head is going to explode. >> keep us warm. >> it will warm you all up. >> who had the most fun last night? who the least sleep of anyone? >> we did the one on one and i took giada de laurentiis out for some partying. >> and then what about work? >> it happened to be a camera crew. >> we got to attend the ceremony. that was a first for me. >> like real people we sat at one of the tables surrounded by all the stars as they were winning and not winning. we were there to watch the reactions. >> i did a little b

obama and disagree with the previous president bush what did bush say well at his interview with matt lauer he said well you know i authorized i'm proud to have. authorized because the lawyer told me it was legal so i missed mcgovern are we talking about basically that it's the bearer of bad news that is used as a scapegoat here because ultimately as we all know post nine eleven security has been paramount for america i suppose some might argue can indeed afore afford to let former agents run loose with secrets. well the instructions were to get people to confess confess to i confessed to the existence of weapons of mass destruction in iraq jane fester the existence of operational ties between al qaeda and saddam hussein it was all a crock they had to make this stuff up and you can't get rid of liable information from torture but you know what torture works beautifully if you want unreliable information and so they kind rid of not only tires to not only weapons of mass destruction but ties between iraq and an al qaida and when we invaded you it is the u.k. and u.s. invaded iraq sixty nine p

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and morning, everyone, welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm matt lauer. >>> this story out of notre dame is astonishing. we are talking about one of the top college football players in the country, manti te'o. he was the runner up for the heisman trophy. >> we talked about what happened here. he had been using his girlfriend's death as inspiration throughout the season, he said. but now, after she was exposed as a fictional person in an online article, te'o claims he was the victim of somebody's sick joke. others aren't so sure. just ahead, we are going to talk to the reporter who broke this story coming up. >>> then president obama set to launch a campaign-style push to gain public support for his sweeping new gun control efforts. the national rifle association is vowing the fight of the censure troy block them. we are going to talk to the nra's president. >>> and an inside look at scientology. in an exclu

matt lauer confronted the hi pock analysisry of selling out to operation financed by big oil money.the guy that just sold current tv to al-jazeera which gets undetermined amount of funding from the country of qatar, which gets its money from oil reserves. isn't there a contradiction in that? >> i certainly understand that chris schism. i disagree with it, because i think al-jazeera has long since established itself as a really distinguished a effective news gathering organization. by the way -- >> get funding from a country that bases its wealth on fossil fuels. and fossil fuels are the enemy, you targeting climate change. isn't there a bit of hypocrisy is in that? >> i get the criticism, i just disagree with it. >> dana: interesting the producers of "60 minutes" are watching that this morning saying wow, that's how it's done. you have missed al gore so much. >> greg: definitely. al-jazeera is really respected. that is one al respected. he's become a depressed exjock who sits at bar and just ruminates over his past. i figured out why he is depressed. i have a chart. the world stoppe

i'm matt lauer. >> and good morning, i'm savannah guthrie. nearly one month after the newtown, connecticut, tragedy, the vice president is taking on gun violence today, meeting with victims groups and gun safety groups at the white house today. tomorrow he sits down with the nra. >> this is just one of the very big issues facing the white house as we approach president obama's second inauguration later this month. as we mentioned, we'll catch up with a guy who will likely have a big voice in republican pop tix over the next four years. he is new jersey's governor, chris christie. we'll talk to him live in a couple of minutes. >>> also ahead, a warning about those metal water bottles. they're popular with children. it turns out there is a risk of kids getting their tongues trapped inside. very serious. can lead to a trip to the emergency room. so what, if anything, is being done about it? >>> then a strange phenomenon off the coast of southern california. we're talking about massive squid. they are being spotted and caught in record numbers. w

i'm matt lauer. >> i'm erica hill in for savannah guthrie. students from sandy hook elementary school. >> classes held today in a school in a neighboring town in monroe, connecticut. classes in that school have been recreated to look just like the rooms in sandy hook and parents are being allowed to join their children. more from connecticut on that story straight ahead. >>> also, secretary of state hillary clinton back at home after leaving a new york hospital where she's been treated for a blood clot. how much longer, though, will she remain secretary of state? more on that coming up. >>> the paparazzi killed while trying to get a photo of justin bieber. >>> then an unusual fight for a sperm donor in kansas. he helped another couple have a child, signed away all parental rights, now three years later the state wants him to pay child support. we'll share his story. >>> we begin this thursday morning with the staff members and students of sandy hook elementary heading back to class for the first time this morning since the tragic shooting las

i'm matt lauer. >> i'm erica hill. this is obviously a difficult morning for students at sandy hook elementary. >> classes are being held in a neighboring school of monroe, connecticut. to make it's easier, classrooms in that school have been recreated to look just like the rooms at sandy hook and parents are being allowed to join their children. more from connecticut on that story. >>> also secretary of state, hillary clinton, back at home after leaving a new york hospital and treated for a blood clot and she gets back to work. how much longer will she remain secretary of state? >>> and we learn more about the paparazzi killed after trying to get a shot of justin bieber and bieber and the stars hope this will lead to change for stalking of celebrities. >>> and a sperm donor in kansas, helped another couple have a child, signed a way parental rights. th three years later, the state wants him to pay child support. >>> we begin this thursday morning with staff members and students at sandy hook elementary heading back to

if this happens and they have to not drink during "today" does that mean matt lauer has to stop doing doing the show and the people on fox and friends have to stop doing acid and strangling children on the morning show? it is an important part of it. >> i think you call that the domino theory, right? >> yes. actually i don't think i have ever seen "the today show" in this hoda-kathy lee era. this is like national alcoholism. he is not able to not drink. >> it is pretty impressive. >> isn't this kind of sad? isn't this disturbing? >> it might be but i can't stop laughing. >> people will send in pictures across the nation of them enjoying the show with them and they have a glass of wine. somebody like california it is like 6:00 in the morning and i'm like, what are you doing? >> they are deep in the disease. >> here is the thing that drives me nuts, besides the fact that hoda wrote a book and wasn't invited to the book party and neither were you, bill, but "red eye" we didn't even think about doing this. we assumed you couldn't do it. we are on at 3:00 a.m. and we have water on our tabl

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm willie geist in for matt this morning. before we get to the weather, savannah will be conducting a legal seminar this morning on the squatter in the mansion called adverse possession. >> yes, the legal concept of adverse possession. it has a long and storied history. it's so good we have this three-hour show. i'll be able to explain all of it. >> our legal analyst, savannah guthrie, will be with us in a moment. >>> a winter storm stretches over a broad part of this country. >> hovering around zero with the windchill here in new york city. we're the lucky ones. we'll get to al's forecast straight ahead. very important if you're traveling today. >>> a dramatic rescue of a young boy pulled to safety after he was caught in a flash flood. we'll show you what happened. >>> for the very first time we're hearing voice mails from the person who pretended to be manti te'o