stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >>> laughing babies, doesn't get any better than that. that's all we got. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> right now at 6:00 the flu hitting families hard across the bay area. emergency rooms seeing more cases. what you can do to protect your family. good evening to you. i'm peggy bunker. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. alarming news tonight from the cdc about this flu season. it may be reaching epidemic levels. four adults from the area have died from the flu. victims in san francisco is, san mateo and sonoma counties. marianne favro has more. >> doctors here at kaiser permanente santa clara say they are definitely seeing more people coming into the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. the spike started last week and continued for thisr(e week. we have not seen the peak of flu season yet. kaiser santa clara infectious disease specialist dr. 5q!b&um says he is seeing more patients that need to be ho

our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> just heard a loud thud, and the house shook. it felt like an earthquake. >> real big boom as if something like maybe had exploded. >> reporter: the 911 call came in at 10:30 at night, a distraught construction worker. >> listen ma'am, listen. send the cops now. the bridge has collapsed all along the expressway. >> reporter: the overpass crashed down on to i-75 southbound in ohio. >> are there any vehicles that have been -- have any vehicles been hit? >> yes. yes. >> how many? >> i don't know. it looks like a semiand some cars. >> reporter: the driver of the semi narrowly escaped with minor injuries. 35-year-old construction worker and father of four, brandon carl, was crushed and killed. >> after they completed their investigation, their on-scene investigation, we used air bags to basically lift the backhoe up and remove the victim at that time. >> reporter: dozens of emergency vehicles responded including nearly 50 firefighters, but it could have been much worse. just a few hours earlier, this stretch of road would have been pa

our report on all of it tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> north ready to deploy. >> reporter: the nypd's counterterrorism response is constantly adapting especially after attacks like those in paris. how quickly did you re-deploy? >> within an hour. >> reporter: today one of the hercules units, new york city's elite heavily armed special forces to guard at a jewish museum in manhattan. james waters is the chief of counterterrorism. >> there's no credible threat to new york city right now, however we remain the number one terrorist target and we're well prepared. >> reporter: on saturday an isis supporter renewed a threat made in the fall calling for attacks on police officers, soldiers and civilians in the u.s., france, canada and australia. the nypd issued a bulletin instructing police to be on alert while on patrol. while stopped, at least one officer must stand outside the vehicle, pay close attention to approaching vehicles and anyone getting out, look for their hands as they approach you. attorney general eric holder worries about lone wolf attacks. >> that is the thing i thi

our report tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> a loud thud and the house shook. it felt like an earthquake. >> real big boom as if something ex ploesed. >> reporter: the call came in at 10:30 at night. the overpass crashed down onto i-75 southbound in ohio. the driver of the semi narrowly escaped with minor injuries. 35-year-old construction worker and father of four brandon carl was crushed and killed. >> after they completed their investigation, their onscene investigation, we used air bags to basically lift the backhoe up and remove the victim at that time. >> reporter: dozens of emergency vehicles responded including nearly 50 firefighters. but it could have been much worse. just a few hours earlier, this stretch of road would have been packed with rush hour traffic. while the cause is under investigation, the $91 million construction project meant to improve traffic is on hold. the crumbling overpass was scheduled to come down. just not like this. stephanie gosk nbc news new york. >>> and just as the president prepares to talk about his recent opening to cub

stephanie gosk nbc news new york. >>> laughing babies doesn't get any better than that.s "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good nig >> oscar nomination surprises and snubs. no jen. no angie. inform diversity. hi everybody inform diversity. hi everybody. welcome to "access hollywood". weekend edition i'm shaun robinson. oscar sun is a few weaks away and one of the big match up will be the veteran michael keaton versus one of the newcomers the just married and red hot ed. >> what a wonderful wonderful kind of honeymoon surprise. honeymoon gift for you. >> yes it is. yes. honeymoon. >> newly married for exactly a month the theory of everything star now newly oscar nominated he and his wife disappointed when the extended honeymoon to l.a. for the globe and had no sunshine. >> sun coming back out. so that we want to kind of, you know, kind of welcome you to. sunshine. >> back to sunshine. >> the couldn't get any better. >> also this is a basket of. >> ve

here's nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: is the wild alcohol-fueled college party a right of passage or the root of a larger problem? this week dartmouth banned hard alcohol on campus part of a broad plan hoping to bring an end to binge drinking and sexual assault. >> we are not alone in facing them but we will lead in saying no more. >> reporter: some students at the ivy league school seemed to embrace the goal if not the message. >> it's probably not a popular decision but it's probably in the best interest of student health. >> reporter: an estimated 40% of college kids binge drink. for women that's four beers. and for men it's five in under two hours. the dartmouth decision came just days after 16 national sorority leaders banned their university of virginia chapters from going to fraternity parties this weekend. in a letter the sorority presidents wrote, we believe the activities present significant safety concerns for all of our members. the mandate sparked criticism. >> i think it sends a message that women are weak. and i think i'm better than that. i think i'm smarter and mo

stephanie gosk nbc news new york. >>> laughing babies doesn't get any better than that.s "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good nig >> hi, everyone. i'm courtney thorne-smith. don't change the channel because in the next few minutes, you're gonna learn about a breakthrough product that could help take years off your appearance. but here's the thing -- you don't put it on your face. want to learn more? stay with us. >> announcer: next, a paid presentation from perricone md for cold plasma sub-d, the first-of-its-kind treatment for the area of your body that can actually age you most -- your neck, hosted by network television star courtney thorne-smith and featuring some of the most dramatic before-and-after photos you've ever seen, brought to you by guthy renker. when you look at yourself in the mirror, does your neck look older than your face? >> the texture just looked like

nbc's stephanie gosk tells us why. >> reporter: comedians eat your hearts out.us. effortlessly, hilariously, surprisingly funny. >> can you sit on the rainbow mat with me. >> she's our constant source of entertainment. she can entertain herself and any adult. she's really fun. >> reporter: beyond making our lives brighter, researchers now believe humor is an important part of a baby's cognitive development. some say we have underestimated how serious being silly can be. >> infant humor can tell us a lot about what infants know and about what they know about us. the play starts with parents being the clowns. babies as young as three and four months old begin to appreciate the ridiculous. and then a switch flips. as early as 9 months old, the realization they can make us laugh, too. >> he's definitely performing for me, trying to make me smile. when i smile, he smiles right back. >> reporter: the high chair is the classic stage. peekaboo the universally funny gag. and then there is the tease, which my daughter has mastered to perfection. >> sneaky monkey, you snea

stephanie gosk is in times square tonight. stephanie, how's it going out there? >> reporter: hey, kate. happy new year's eve from me and hundreds of thousands of my closest friends. many of whom have flown in from around the world to enjoy these temperatures and take part in events that date back to 1904. now, security on the ground is about what you'd expect for this event. thousands of extra police officers, counterterrorism units and bomb squads. while today the new york governor announced that there would be extra national guard on hand at airports and train stations. and additional challenges are going to have in dealing with protesters calling for police reforms, they're going to have a difficult time here in times square just being heard. this crowd is loud and it's only getting louder. kate. >> thanks, stephanie. you can get your party started early with the "today" show kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. they're hosting a star-studded toast to 2014. it starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern 7:00 central. >>> if you're in a resolution making mood, the language police

nbc's stephanie gosk is live outside gillette stadium in foxbore ro mass.e does this go from here. >> reporter: there's going to be a press conference with quarterback tom brady at 4:00. this was a previously unscheduled press conversation he was supposed to talk tomorrow and instead coming out today. a lot of way coach belichick teed him up. i didn't know anything about it and have no explanation of it. and when he was asked by the press in the room if any players had a preference, specifically tom brady had a preference, well you'll have to ask tom brady that question. the press will have an opportunity to do that later this afternoon. it will be interesting to see how he addresses that very specific question. >> stephanie, what are the ramifications here? because first round draft choice is not an issue certainly for the patriots. is anything going to happen before the super bowl? and is there some way this could -- whatever the results of the super bowl are, ten days from now? >> reporter: we're waiting for the report to come out and the nfl to say what

stephanie gosk for us live there in foxborough. stephanie thank you and quick reminder. patriots head coach, bill belichick, the evil genius himself, expected to take the podium bottom -- not bottom. half way. 9:30 we're thinking. he will know doubt be asked about the scandal off the top. we're going watch it. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. >>> just getting started on this thursday edition of "the rundown" here. up next sanctions against iran are driving -- what's driving d.c. today, getting complicated between lawmakers in capitol hill and between congress and the white house as well. live reports from tehran and the hill straight ahead. >>> also at the capitol, republican lawmakers pull a controversial abortion bill after some female members express their opposition and it comes a day before the anniversary of roe v. wade. all of the angles covered on that one, and this massive fire at an apartment complex, just across the river here in new jersey. it is still smoldering as i speak to you. more than 16 hours after it began. we'll go live to the scene a lit

nbc's stephanie gosk takes a look behind the giggles. >> reporter: comedians, eat your hearts out.rtlessly hilariously, surprisingly funny. >> can you sit on the rainbow mat with me? >> she's our constant source of entertainment. she can entertain herself, and i'm convinced she can entertain any adult. >> reporter: but beyond making our lives brighter researchers believe humor is an important part of a baby's cognitive development. some say we have underestimated just how serious being silly can be. >> infant humor can tell us a lot about what infants know and about what they know about us. >> reporter: the play starts with parents being the clowns. babies as young as 3 and 4 months old begin to appreciate the ridiculous. and then a switch flips. as early as 9 months old, the realization they can make us laugh too. >> he's definitely performing for me trying to make me smile. when i smile, he smiles right back. >> are you wiggling? >> reporter: the high chair is the classic stage. peek-a-boo the universally funny gag. and then there is the tease, which my daughter has mastered to p

. >> the always impeccable stephanie gosk is following this one for us. to be blunt, what are sources telling you about how convincing belichick was today? >> reporter: sources in the league aren't saying much. they only say the investigation is ongoing and when it's concluded they'll let everybody know how they feel whether or not the balls were inflated enough or not and certainly what they think about bill belichick. you might taking it into the wider public you would say there are many who believe that bill belichick has something of a credibility problem. and it goes back to 2007 when the patriots were caught spying on the coaches from the new york jets team and they were forced to pay a fine. $500,000 and the team $250,000 as well as first round draft pick. that has colored everyone's opinion and certainly in this case. and they are dealing with that -- basically boils down to a p.r. problem for them in some ways. >> stephanie, we're going to be looking forward to more news on this. stephanie gosk inflated with quality reporting, always. the next bi

stephanie gosk nbc news, new york. >>> my little one like to tell me no.nks it's funny. >> it is this forgotten language or hidden language that brings us closer.

nbc's stephanie gosk joins us live now from the scene of bill belichick's news conference there, gillette stadium in foxborough massachusetts, and stephanie, coach belichick insisted this morning that he's learned more about the nfl's rules for inflating footballs in the past few days than he ever knew. >> reporter: that's right, he does that, and then he outlines very simple police i had no knowledge of it and i have no explanation for it and he said that repeatedly when he was asked multiple questions by people that are there in the room about what he knew and how it could have possibly happened. interesting to point out about this press conference that's happening later on with tom brady, the quarterback for the patriots. he was scheduled to have a press conference tomorrow so this is essentially an unscheduled press conference to talk about these charges, and one of the things each day that belichick did this morning is make it very clear that it would have had to have been somebody on the patriots, not him, that had any involvement of this. that would immediately draw attention to th

nbc's stephanie gosk takes a look behind the laughs. >> reporter: comedians, eat your hearts out. the truly funny are the smallest among us. effortlessly hilariously, surprisingly funny. can you sit on the rainbow mat with me? >> no. >> she's a constant source of entertainment. she can entertain herself and many adults. she's really fun. >> reporter: beyond making our lives brighter, researchers believe humor is an important part of a baby's cognitive development and some say we have underestimated just how serious being silly can be. >> infant humor can tell us a lot about what infants know and about what they know about us. >> reporter: the play starts with parents being the clowns. babies as young as 3 and 4 months old begin to appreciate the ridiculous. and then a switch, as early as 9 months old the realization that they can make us laugh, too. >> he's definitely performing for me, trying to make me smile and when i smile, he smiles right back. >> reporter: the highchair is the classic stage. peekaboo, the universally funny gag. >> i'm so hungry. >> reporter: then there is th

nbc's stephanie gosk is in hartford. she spoke to the girl's mother. natalie. right now the 17-year-old in this case is in hartford being treated for hodgkin's lymphoma against her will. it's treatment to potentially save her life. today lawyers will argue she is mature enough to make that decision on her own. >> cassandra has always said if she has cancer she would not do cheem mo meaning because it's poison. >> reporter: the doctors say it would increase her survival by 85%. one doctor said refusing treatment would be akin to suicide. in december a judge concluded, kassan zra's mother has engaged in a palsive refusal to follow reasonable medical advice for her mortally child and handed all the decisions over the department of children and families. >> this is her body she should be able do whatever she wants to do. >> reporter: including rejecting cheem mo therapy. what if it knocks out chanceer? >> cancer is not curable is what i tell people it's a treatment. it's not kurable. >> but if she lives longer because of it. >> but this is her choice. >> r