i'm willie geist along with al roker and natalie morales.om. look at that. number one, and it has been for the last 24 hours. come on back here, john. i want to show the good folks something. so they're saying, a -- >> some are saying. >> some are saying that, a, we've created this phrase to hype it and to create hysteria and that we have made it a political issue by linking it to either climate change or global warming. >> okay. >> i will give anybody who can prove that i have ever linked this with global warming or climate change, i will donate $1,000 to your charity. all right? first of all, do that. but secondly, i broke out my college -- my college textbook, the glossary of meteorology from the american meteorological society. guys, what's the copyright on that? >> 1959. >> when is the second printing? >> '70. >> 1970. okay. let's take a look here. as we go to the definitions, okay. and right here, polar vortex, also called polar cyclone, polar low, large scale, cyclonic circulation centered generally in the polar regions. so there's --

i'm willie geist along with al roker and natalie morales.. >> the incredible plane landing, captain chesley "sully" sullenberger, who's become an icon since then. the flight just took off from laguardia airport here in new york, a flock of geese disassembled the engine with bird strikes and sully guided the plane on to the hudson river miraculously and incredibly, all 155 passengers and crew members rescued. >> still when you think about it five years later, it's still remarkable. >> incredible. still to this day that he was able to do that, amazing. >> i actually knew this morning we were going to talk about this. i listened to the cockpit audio again on youtube, and his cool and his calm? >> wow. >> he said, i can't make it to newark or teterboro, i'm going into the hudson. and it wasn't with panic, like i'm going down! i'm going to put it in the hudson. >> amazing. >> i can't remember who the stand-up comic was, you must not like new jersey. notice teterboro, you know what, i'd rather go into the hudson. >> they did gave him two choices,

i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales.son and al are out in los angeles with a little golden globes hangover. guys, good morning. >> yep. i think we're downright loopy. >> i don't think anybody in here slept last night. >> i had about four hours, maybe, which is a lot. >> i don't want to brag, but i got like three. >> it's like hibernation. >> we got one night's sleep between the three of us. >> i got about an hour, but i'm not complaining, it was fun. >> and we have a lot more to tell you about. but coming up, are you planning for a big event? and like you saw in the red carpet last night, we'll show you where to find a-list looks at prices you can afford. >> plus, we're going to catch up with the cast of "12 years of slave" that took home the coveted golden globe for best drama. >> and from here in new york, she has the perfect name for an olympian, gracie gold. over the weekend, captured the women's title as the u.s. figure skating championship. >> and she was pumped up about it. coming up, we'll talk about her chances

. >> and i'm carson daly alongside al roker, natalie morales. matt has the morning off. >> you have a problem with the new 50? >> i think 60 is the new 50. >> i'm glad we have something to look forward to. >> it's far off in the distance. >> oh. >> very far. >> coming for you. >> before we know it. >> well, let's get right to our top story this morning, the dangerous wildfire in california that's damaged or destroyed two dozen buildings and forced some 3,700 people to evacuate. >> this morning, nearly 700 firefighters are working to contain those flames. let's get to nbc's miguel almaguer, who is in irwindale, east of los angeles. miguel, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. fire season here in southern california is year round, but a blaze in the middle of january this size is unusual. this winter fire has destroyed already five homes and firefighters across the region are joining the firefight. >> reporter: overnight, fueled by wind chewing the bone-dry terrain, the so-called colby fire threatened to again go out of contro

i'm willie geist along with natalie morales.ident. >> 11-year-old robby novak, youtube sensation, he's interviewed president obama and beyonce. now a message where he offers life lessons to newborn babies. >> today over 360,000 babies will be born, and you are one of them. welcome, this is the world. it's a pretty cool place. there's lots to see, smell, there's corn dogs. i'm getting ahead of myself. there's so much to do. singing and dancing. oh, and rapping. rapping's the best. it's great when you laugh and milk comes out your nose. >> it is great when the milk comes out of the nose. he's right. you're right. has almost 2 million views on youtube right now. >> he's adorable. robby novak. that's a great state of the union right there. >> it is. great message. talk about forgiveness and everything. >> and corn dogs. >> and corn dogs because we all love corn dogs. let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. you love a good corn dog too, right? >> let me tell you. there was no higher praise, indeed, as far as a joke was conce

. >> and i'm matt lauer alongside natalie morales and dylan dreyer in for al. 11 states including righthere in new york, take a look at central park, 16 degrees at this hour. dylan's going to have more on the cold weather coming up. >>> we'll also have the latest on some breaking news overnight. justin bieber has been arrested. police held a news conference just moments ago. we'll have more on that in a moment. >>> we begin on a thursday morning with the olympic games. the opening events are just 14 days away now, and mounting security threats are becoming a growing concern for athletes, their families and spectators alike. nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, is in sochi for us. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. you can imagine what an agonizing choice this must be for many of these athletes, they've been training entire years for their families, this is the dream of a lifetime to see their sons and daughters compete. now they have to weigh the risks whether coming to sochi is worth it north. after years of dedication, competition and training, ameri

al roker and natalie morales. i am tweeting out sound tracks of a generation.think the best sound track of all time, "saturday night fever." >> is that yours? >> the year was 1977. my suit was white, white flare on the legs and i stood against the wall because i still couldn't dance back then. >> a lot of hits came off that album. >> i wake up to the sound track every morning for the past 13 years. it's my wake-up. that's my alarm. >> and their sound still today carrying into the music that we're hearing and listening to. >> we'll talk to barry gibb later on. also more on those overnight terror arrests seven days away from the olympic games. >>> but let us start with our top story today. below-freezing temperatures ushering in another i da of potential problems across the south. this as officials in georgia face a lot of criticism over their handling of that storm. nbc's tom costello's in atlanta. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. 19 degrees here in atlanta. i've been on the highways and the byways, if you will, the other roads, and we'

alongside dylan dreyer and natalie morales. matt and al have the morning off. super bowl xlviii, the stage is set here in new york. >> and now that the polar vortex not come back. >> i know. hopefully we're in the clear from that. >> 49ers/broncos, everybody happy with the match-up? >> no. >> patriots lost, i'm not happy at all. >> trying to make dylan cry. >> congratulations, seattle. >> rivalry. >> yeah. more on this big game coming up, today's top story. and it's a video that's surfaced from a terror group vowing to strike during the winter olympics in sochi. with 17 days to go now, is russian security ready? and why are u.s. officials complaining about a lack of cooperation? let's get right to nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel in moscow this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. russian officials say they have security under control. but this latest threat does seem credible. and russian security forces are searching for one woman in particular who's gone missing whom they worried could be involved in an attack on the games.

i'm savannah guthrie along side al roker and natalie morales. happy new year everybody. this year i'm going to be open about my drinking on the set. >> okay. >> we apologize if you're tuning in right now and you can't bare to see another glass of champagne. we'll talk quitely today. did you have a nice night? >> yeah. it was fun. >> i'm not even here. i'm in pasadena getting ready for the rose bowl parade. i'm a hologram. >> coming up we're going to look ahead and gaze into our crystal ball when it comes to politics and the economy. can president obama turn around sagging poll numbers? will stocks keep growing in 2014. we'll get into that with chucked to and jim cramer. >> and we're not quite done with 2013 just yet. you don't want to miss a look back at all the fun we have had. >> it's been a lot. >> remember that fun, savannah? >> how could you forget it? >> we will begin with a check of the top stories of the morning with natalie here. we'll . >> it will be on nbc later on. i hope people there will be all bundled up to watch the detroit red wings and the toronto maple

matt lauer alongside al roker and natalie morales. one of the other stories we'll be talking about is an advancing of the story we brought you yesterday. this is great. it's touching people around the world. a sister letting her twin take her spot on team usa headed to sochi for the olympics. and tracy and lanny barnes are both with us live to talk about what really is a remarkable sacrifice. >>> right to today's top story, the biggest cheating scandal in air force history. this is tied to officers who work every day with nuclear missiles. and the key tests they must pass to hold their jobs. nbc's jim miklaszewski has the story from the pentagon. jim, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. their jobs in the military could not be more critical. after all, they're the ones who have their fingers on the nuclear triggers. now, 34 of those nuclear missile launch officers are being investigated for possible cheating on an exam. these are the very proficiency exams that they have to take every month to prove that they're u

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales and willie geist live frome. so about five degrees here today. >> yeah, the old record was six in 1896 in new york city. >> yay for us. not. >> we've got it good by the standards of the rest of the country. >> minneapolis right now. my goodness. >> temperatures across the country here. you go -- pick your city, they're setting a record, al. >> yeah. it's really tough. in fact, a lot of these temperatures in the upper midwest are challenging temperatures in the north pole. some place in the north pole. >> my goodness. >> 13 below. you look at minneapolis, the windchills make it even worse. >> look at that. minus 34. >> our temperature here is five degrees, but with the windchill and everything, it's below. >> there was a pretty remarkable demonstration. i want to start by saying, do not try this at home. don't deal with hot water like this. but this is a meteorologist out of wisconsin demonstrating what happens when you toss a pot of boiling water into the record cold. >> minus 51 windchill, temperature 21 below

i'm willie geist along with, look at this, al roker, natalie morales.f us have been here. >> december 20th was the last time we were all together on the air. >> you were skiing last week, right? >> yeah. had a great time in vale, fresh powder out there, kids had a blast. i heard you dragged your kids to a bowl game, though? >> i didn't drag them. we went to see vanderbilt play. >> with your children? with your children? >> the compass bowl. >> what does that mean? >> learn, al. bank or something. i don't know. we won. >> vanderbilt won. >> we beat houston, 41-24. >> more importantly, you dragged them through a snowstorm and you had to fly back when? >> we flew back saturday night. but friday was a tough day because friday was the snowstorm. we go to laguardia, christina's like, are we really going to do this? >> yes, we are going. >> vanderbilt fans, you owe him. >> face it, it was the bvbbb compass bowl. >> but we had a good time. it was tough getting there. saw our friends in birmingham. put on a great show. >> what about you, al? >> i've been working

alongside al roker and natalie morales. two weeks from today, opening ceremony in sochi. and yet, we continue to hear about these new threats. >> it's like a drip, drip, drip. and governor romney is here. we'll be talking about that with him. he is the guy who had to handle the games in salt lake city which came shortly after 9/11. he knows a thing or two about security and we'll talk to him in a moment. this is our top story today. that newly discovered threat against the winter olympic games in sochi. let's get right to richard engel. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. this threat was actually first posted online earlier this month but gaining traction now. it's from a group with a proven track record, and it's part of a growing trend where islamic militant groups are adopting sochi as their cause. and that's a problem. >> reporter: the terrorist threat appears to come from a known branch of al qaeda with fighters from russia, the caucuses, central asia and pakistan. the tone is smug and mocking. saying the olympics have already been tarnished, tha

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is today's take with al roker, natalie morales and willie geist.the 3rd of january, 2014. brave folks. the snow has let up a little bit but it's been a long night. i'm willie geist with al roker. in for natalie this week our good friend brooke shields. al, this is your day my friend. how does it look out there? >> let's go to the radar and satellite and give you an idea. basically, you can see we've got activity moving out of philadelphia. it's just about moving out of new york and just moving out of boston. we have got live pictures here. first of all, we're going to start off, philadelphia, even though the snow has stopped and you can see i-95, we have traffic now starting to finally pick up and the sun is starting to come out. so that's good news wechlt . we go to new york and craig is getting ready to do a report for msnbc. you look good. and boston, the snowplows moving along i-93 and just pushing it there. >> convoy. >> yeah, it's pretty impressive stuff. we'll be k look at this for the next day or two we'll be looking at this snow. but the g

comcast nbcuniversal >>> from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales and willieary 27th, 2014. i'm willie geist along with al roker and tamron hall, natalie is out on assignment this morning. >> you know what happened? >> what? >> we had an emergency happen. tamron, you had a wardrobe malfunction twice. your skirt and then back here. come take a look at this. >> okay. really? >> literally. >> really, okay. so i just bought this outfit, by the way, saturday, online, and i rushed it, $27 shipping. >> who made that? >> i'm not going to out the designer. but i will if i knew the name. okay. so i got in the car, my skirt ripped in the front, swear. >> he's the worst. i have no idea who it is. >> the amazing people here fixed my skirt. which i get why the skirt split. >> why? >> baby got back. the skirt split, but the shirt is a -- what in the tarnations? >> who are you deputy dog? >> and i've got to go to msnbc with this busted shirt on. >> news nation. >> i can't look. can we describe the skirt thing. >> in the south what we call this is casket ready. meaning you loo

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales and willie geist.ary 22nd, 2014. the snow has stopped falling, but, man, it is cold outside. i'm willie geist along with al roker and tamron hall. natalie is out on assignment today. it was as bad as advertised yesterday. >> yeah, we saw this -- really saw this one coming. and it lived up to all of our expectations as far as snowfall, as far as the winds, as far as the severity of it. it was really, really rough. some folks, it took them, i know carson lives out on long island. he said it took him three hours to get home. >> yeah. three hours plus. >> three hours plus. >> he sent out a tweet. >> our sister station wnbc was tracking a school bus that had been on the road for over three hours and had only been half way home. jackknifed tractor-trailers, interstates closed from indiana to ohio to illinois. it was a mess. go ahead. >> i was going to say, that picture we showed you there, if you were driving around manhatt manhattan. chaos. some people to go one block, it took an hour. but there were proble

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales and willie geist.ing a snowy tuesday morning, january 21st, 2014. i'm willie geist along with al roker. natalie out on assignment. so our guest cohost, very excited about this, the one, the only mary lou. >> i'm so excited. so neat. >> it's getting a little whacky outside. >> the streamers have already started, it's going to pick up. we're going to be looking at blizzard-like conditions here in the northeast into new england on into tomorrow morning. a lot of schools already closed in the northeast from washington, d.c., virginia, all the way up into this area school delays. over 2,400 fligschools canceled delays. and tonight's flight coming home new york into boston is going to be terrible. >> i missed that because i've been in l.a. i came in town just in time. >> there it is. okay. so the vortex returns. although, it's the snow first and then behind it will be the vortex. >> okay. what's the other term we learned this morning? bobmbo? >> bombo genesis, the low pressure system intensifies very rapidly

. >>> from nbc news, this is "today's " w al roker, natalie morales, and willie geist, live from stuo roker and jenna bush-hager here again. welcome back. the chris christie press conference and apology yesterday headline news everywhere. not just the new york area but across the country. >> no doubt. >> didn't go over so well with the tabs. "the new york daily news" calling it pathetic. >> this one is tough. >> "the new york post" says ignorance is chris. the governor speaking for almost two hours at a press conference. >> hour and 48. >> that is pretty lengthy. >> it is. he said i'm embarrassed and humiliated by some of the people on my team. i had no knowledge in the planning or execution and stunned by the abject stupidity shown here. ultimately i'm responsible for what happens under my watch, the good and the bad. he fired his aide, brid jet kelly. >> he said he fired her without talking to her. just fired her. if somebody did that, if i was, you know, the governor, i would want an explanation. i would want to know, a, why did you do it. b, who was in on it? was there anybody els

. ♪ >>> from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, and willie geist, livecross the country, it's january 28th, 2014, i'm willie geist along with al roker and tamron hall. and, again, this morning for natalie, no holes in the clothes as far as we can tell. >> no. >> we've got it all together. >> for some reason, i woke up with elvis on my mind. not sure why. >> his birthday was a couple weeks ago. >> maybe that's why. >> a little bit of a delay, but you're wearing them. >> you can wear those whenever you want. you have our permission. so, al, this weather, deep south, midwest. >> you're from texas. >> i am. i was a reporter for four years for cbs when i started out in the business, and i remember one thanksgiving it just being brutal. so that would have been 1990-something, but i talked to my mom, of course, and i have three nieces and a nephew. i always feel for them. they don't really have coats. i didn't get a big coat until i moved to chicago. i got to call them and see. i don't think they're out of school, but it's ice, which is dangerous. >> there's li