Making a big mistake. All that, plus Meghan Markles sister firing back at prince harry for saying this about his fiance and the royals. Its the family that i suppose shes never had. A power outage at disneyland leaves voters at the happiest place on earth not so happy and lottery fever, the power ball that megamillions jackpots now at nearly 700 million combined after another night without a winner. While in South Carolina, a computer glitch dashes the dreams of players across the state as they walk away empty handed. Today, thursday, december 28, 2017. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And welcome to today. We appreciate you joining us on this thursday morning. Savannah and hoda both off. 15 degrees on the plaza. And the folks are still smiling. Especially brie. I have to tell you, once we go below 25, i kind of lose track. Its just freezing. It is freezing. Just uncomfortable. Literally. And we are far from alone, as we said, extreme cold gripping much of this country, shattering nearly centuryold records in some states and its not going away any time soon. Weve got it covered for you this morning, including the impact on your new years eve plans. But lets start with nbcs ron allen. He remains on duty for us in snowcovered erie, pennsylvania. Good to see you, buddy, how are you holding up . Reporter good morning, guys, yeah, erie is hoping to catch a break today. The snow has stopped falling, the snow emergency has been lifted. Now its time for the cleanup and digging out after what can only be described as a historic recordbreaking holiday storm. Here, like in much of the country, now theyre also facing bonechilling cold temperatures. The ice on the front of my house is so thick. Reporter this morning, much of the country has frozen over. Homes encased in ice or buried under feet of snow. This is what fell, all of this. A big chill just in time to ring in the new year. Its good for the slopes but bad for the roads. Were kind of over it. I wish i could go on vacation already. Reporter temperatures plunging to minus 37 degrees in international falls, minnesota, breaking a 90year record. And in erie, pennsylvania, 65 inches of snow in just four days. It seems everyday theres a new record. We have broken one record after the other after the other. Reporter county executives called in reinforcements. Now we have with us the National Guard unit. Reporter the National Guard digging out this nursing home. Its entrances and exits blocked by snow. Plows working around the clock to clear the streets. Driving by, it looks like a winter wonderland, but its Serious Business inside this Emergency Operations center where crucial decisions are being made to keep residents sa safe. On the tarmac in erie, pennsylvania, signs of progress, planes finally taking off after siends signs of a standstill and Deirdre Walsh is finally on her way home after being stranded for days. On tuesday she told us her christmas meal was reeses Peanut Butter cups from a machine. I want a salad. Reporter did she ever get the salad . No, but when my sister picked me up she made spaghetti and meat balls. Reporter sounds like a rehabilitated christmas miracle. She was one of the lucky ones. She got out of here on the first flight out to detroit. Theres still a long backlog of passengers. The airport was shut down for several days. Just in case you thought it was over well, think again. Theres a winter storm watch in place for this region. Up to a foot of snow headed this way this coming weekend if you can believe that. Guys backs to you. My goodness, lets turn to dylan for a look at whats to come. Good morning, guys. If the cold styx around, the great lakes freeze then it shuts off the lakeeffect snow snow machines. So it takes a while, its a slow process. Im trying to look at the positive side. The frigid cold weather is going to be the story for the rest of this year going into the start of 2018. We have windchill warnings, windchill advisories, some Higher Elevations where its windiest you can see windchills at 40 degrees below zero. Thats dangerous cold if youre outside for too long. This dip in the jet stream allowing the cold air to set until from the north. Minot, north dakota, the windchill 30 below. Feels like 12 below in minneapolis, feels like five in chicago, so not much wind there. Cincinnati the windchill makes it feel like it is zero. In the northeast were looking at record low temperatures, up in watertown, 31 degrees below zero. Thats the air temperature. It feels like three in new york, atlantic city, feels like zero. Were going to get a reinforcing shot of cold air. Sunday in chicago we start off the day at one degree. In fargo, 27 degrees below zero sunday morning, all the way down through little rock into charlotte were looking at temperatures in the teens and 20s. Monday morning in the northeast ing to feel the chill, bangor, maine, will be 25 degrees below zero when you factor in the windchill. Its just stay inside cold and if you have to go inside make sure you have to hat, gloves, scarf. Bundle up. Reporter lets get to the breaking news in afghanistan. Dozens killed in a tragic suicide bombing attack in kabul. The countrys president calling it a crime against humanity. Nbcs matt bradley has the latest on that. Matt, good morning to you. Morning. There were at least three blasts in this complex attack, craig, and the first, a suicide bomber, blew himself up in a baseme mem lecture hall. Multiple bombs then struck rescuers and people trying to escape. Today carnage among afghanistans most vulnerable. Unknown gunmen bombed then stormed a Shiite Muslim Cultural Center in the capital, kabul, leaving at least 40 dead and nearly 60 wounded. Ali reza witnessed the attack. I saw many dead in the area he said. I looked for my cousin but i couldnt find him. An isis affiliate claimed responsibility. The group has made false claims in the past but its recently turned its cites on afghanistans shiite minority. Its part of the rising wave of violence posing a fresh challenge for the 15,000 u. S. Servicemen and women still in country. S President Donald Trump has ramped up the pace of bombings on fighters and narcotics production. Just a week ago Vice President mike pence here on a surprise christmas visit pledged a glovesoff approach to terrorists. This commander in chief has empowered our battlefield commanders with the freedom and flexibility you need to win. Reporter as americas war here enters its 17th year with no end in sight. Isis attacks arent new to afghanistan but as the group faces defeat in the middle east, many worry fighting between isis and afghanistans shiite minority could open a dangerous new front in this already lengthy conflict. Craig . Matt bradley for us there, matt, thank you. Theres much more to get to, including the ongoing confusion created by the new tax law, and this morning the irs is out with new advice for you. Nbcs chief white house corps opinion is dent ha correspondent has the latest. Reporter heres the bottom line on the irs guidance. It may not pay off for you to wait in line for your property taxes now with that new tax law on a lot of peoples minds this holiday break and that includes President Trump himself making a rare public appearance here in West Palm Beach. This morning in florida, the calm before the storm of work waiting in washington in the new year. How are your 401 k s doing . Pretty well . Reporter but before 2018, President Trump is talking 2017 at a surprise stop at the West Palm Beach fire house near his maralago resort. A lot of legislation passed. The country is really you have a big, big beautiful ship were turning around and a lot of good things are happening. Reporter now to help sell the new tax law the president is proudly promoting a flurry of e opeds by gop lawmakers in newspapers this week. And new guidance from the irs says you could save money by paying next years property taxes now. But you should check with officials in your town first since it all depends on how taxes are assessed where you live. The gop tax plan also eventually gets rid of the individual mandate, thats the part of obamacare which requires everyone to have insurance or else pay a fine. We have essentially repealed obamacare. Reporter but republicans did not repeal obamacare, everybody as the president hints hell push for a new Bipartisan Health care plan. Thats just one of the tweets he sent on his working vacation thats seen him online and on the links. Like other president s, barack obama in hawaii, george w. Bush in texas, President Trump takes holidays where he wants. Unlike other president s, Donald Trumps selections happen to bear his name. As his first year in office comes to a close, he spent nearly a third of it at a trumpbranded property, whether in florida, new jersey, or in washington where, besides his own hotel or golf club, he rarely branches out. I love the food in the white house. The white house is the greatest restaurant. Its the most beautiful. Reporter the Associated Press describing him as the homebody president in 2017, though there seems to be a new president ial resolution for 2018. I was accused the other day, well, when i leave the white house which is seldom i always go to my hotel on pennsylvania avenue and they say he should go to other places and i never thought of it and im going start doing that. So well see if the president does come 2018. Hes mostly been laying low here in south florida so far but his secretary of state is now out with a new high profile oped writing in the new york times. Rex tillerson, of course, has been dogged by rumors that he may leave the state department some time in 2018 but this morning he is defending the administrations diplomacy saying he is proud of the work its done. Hthank you. The cold is not all that the new years eve crowd is going to have to face. Theyll encounter unprecedented security. Stephanie gosk is in times square with that. Steph, good morning. Reporter good morning, craig. As you mentioned at the top of the show, the temperatures out here are in the teens. Thats the forecast for new years eve, making it one of the coldest on record. Those people who are brave enough to be out here in this cold are thinking of two things cold and security. As crowds gather in new york citys times square, biting winds and an arctic chill will grip those looking to ring in the new year. New years eve in new york, you have to. You have to. Id stay no matter how cold it was. Its been on my bucket list for many, many years. It would be the experience of a lifetime. The cold wouldnt stop me. Reporter some arent willing to suffer the bitter conditions. No, i would not. Reporter and the frigid temperature already hitting the northeast isnt making it easy on those preparing for the ball drop. The iconic sphere is loaded with over 2,000 crystal pieces. Workers are installing many of them by hand without gloves as the mercury drops. This year its honestly brutal. Its been worse. A couple years ago it was cold but we have to do what we have to do. Layers of clothing, you know . Reporter the global tradition is expected to draw more than one Million People into the heart of new york city and police already on high alert arent taking any chances, posting heavily armed officers and barricades throughout the area. Today the nypd is expected to detail their plans for this years festivities and the amount of security will likely be unprecedented. This coming after an attempted suicide bombing earlier this month and a number of attacks throughout the year, both home and abroad. Out west, las vegas celebrates with a massive fireworks display on the trip, but following the countrys worst mass shooting at a Music Festival last october, security is on everyones mind. The numbers are going to be doubled. Reporter police say theyre putting more officers on and above the streets . In previous years we had elevated position spotters, this year theyll be accompanied by snipers. Reporter as americans gather with their loved ones this year, Law Enforcement will be working overtime to ensure everyone has a safe and happy new year. So though it will be bitterly cold here on new years eve night, its not going to break the record. That was set in 1917. It was just one degree in times square. Guys . Lets hope were nowhere close to the record. Steph, thank you. Meantime, were learning more about last weeks deadly amtrak derailment near seattle. Authorities are releasing recordings from the day of that tragic crash. Gadi schwartz haas ts the lates. Good morning. Reporter people were thrown from the train, others were pinned inside and all the while, dispatchers working to keep calm while surrounded by utter chaos. 911, what are you report . Tons of people are hurt. Reporter among the wreckage of amtrak 501, voices trembling with fear as people frantically call for help. Were all security. Is anybody in the car that youre in hurt . Yes, a lot. Reporter a woman trying to keep calm with her 14yearold son by her side. My son is hurt, my head is bleeding. Reporter all across the highway, inside mangled train cars and up on the tracks dozens of wounded trying to help others or save themselves. The aftermath of a massive derailment when amtrak 501 took a 30 mile an hour curve at what investigators say was nearly 80 miles an hour on its inaugural run sending passenger cars careening off the bridge. I thinks been a mud slide on i5. My car got hit. Reporter ntsb investigators say cameras inside the cab showed the engineer appeared to realize the train was going too fast six seconds before the crash but never pulled the emergency brakes. Amtrak 501, emergency, emergency, emergency. We are on the ground. Reporter as the calls to 911 continue to flood in, dispatchers worked to keep those hurt from panicking. And how old are you . I dont know how old i am off the top of my head; thats okay. The amount of injures staggering. How many patients are you do you think . I see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, probably a dozen. Reporter all told, police say nearly 100 people were taken to several hospitals. Three people killed, including friends jim hammery and zach hoyt. Ntsb investigators are working to figure out why the engineer failed to slow the train down before the curve and reviewing everything that happened in hopes of preventing another tragedy on the tracks. As for answers, the ntsb says a full review could take one to two years. Part of that review could include a look at whether an automated safety feature called positive train control would have prevented this crash. That system is supposed to be in place on all tracks by the end of the next year. Back to you. Gad i, thank you. There were no winners in last nights massive Powerball Jackpot, sending the big prize soaring to 384 million. The next drawing is saturday night, but if you cant wait that long, theres always megamillions. That jackpot right now standing at 306 million. The next drawing tomorrow night. And some more news on the lottery front, a computer glitch led dozens of South Carolina residents to think they had won the lottery when they actually had not. The mistake caused machines to generate an overabundance of Winning Tickets worth 500 bucks. People lined up at the lottery headquarters to cash in the tickets only to be turned away. Officials advised them to hang on to their tickets. The South Carolina lottery says theyll make a decision on what to do by tomorrow. Everybody gets 500. Yeah. Well, thats a lot of folks. Was your family part of the team thinking they won . No, but there are a lot of angry folks down there. Dylan is back with the rest of the forecast. Across the country we have another clipper system trying to move into the upper midwest and that will bring a brief one to two inches of snow. It races through the great lakes, reinforces lakeeffect snow into the weekend. Its sunny and dry in the southwest, messy in the Pacific Northwest and watch out for freezing fog across parts of northern texas this morning. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Your local forecast is coming up in the next 30 seconds. Happy new year and welcome to the family. The chevy family. The chevy employee discount for everyone ends soon. Good thursday morning, im meteorologist kari hall. Its az take a live look outside in San Francisco. Chilly temperatures, make sure you are bundled up as you step out. We have dropped below freezing in napa. San jose at 42 degrees now and 37 in oakland. As we go into this afternoon a lot of sunshine, highs in the upper 50s in San Francisco and low 60s for tomorrow. We will have some upper 60s for the inland areas. And thats your latest forecast. Thank you. Coming up, prince harry stirs up controversy saying the royals are the family Meghan Markle never had. What her sister is saying about that this morning. And we are going to reveal times most powerful images of the year and the story behind those pictures. First this is today on nbc. Toyland, toyland little girl and boy land while you dwell within it you are ever happy there daddy, its christmas childhoods joy land never let go of your dreams. The mercedesbenz winter event is back. Lease the glc300 for 449 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. Still to come this morning, the controversial push of to get rid of your kids love on the best of today hodas touching surprise of an aspiring woman who waged a battle against breast cancer. First your local news. With formulas infused with handpressed moroccan argan and camellia oils, garnier whole blends illuminating haircare indulges hair with moisture. For luminous shine. Garnier whole blends argan camellia oils. Find every blend at walmart. Achoosnap achoo snap achoo achoo snap snap achoo achoo feel a cold coming on . Zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45 . Shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam. So we sent that sample i doff to ancestry. I was from ethnically. My ancestry dna results are that i am 26 nigerian. I am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. I put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. Because its a hat, but its like the most important hat ive ever owned. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Even if you dont buy one from us. Because maybe youre already buying a car somewhere else. Or maybe you want to shop around. Or, maybe you dont want to drive a car at all anymore. Like, maybe you want to ride a camel into the dessert and take a deep hard look within. Just figure some stuff out for awhile. Thats cool. Whatever your plans for buying a car, carmax is the place to sell your car. Okay, lets do this, tina, tchicktchick. Here we go, tchicktchick. I believe in ya tina. Cmon now. Ah, we can just hang out here. Therbottle of tropicana pure oranges squepremium. O each and absolutely no space for added sugar, water, or preservatives. Tropicana. We put the good in morning. Weland you look amazinglyes youcomfortable. When your vneck looks more like a uneck. Thats when you know, its halfwashed. Add downy to keep your collars from stretching. Unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth and. Strengthen fibers. So, next time dont halfwash it. Downy and its done. A very good thursday morning to you, its 7 26, im laura garcia. Happening today, the man accused of plotting a Christmas Day terror attack at pier 49 in San Francisco is due in a fresno courtroom later this morning. Everitt jameson is charged with attempting to provide Material Support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was arrested after investigators say he communicated with an fbi informant who he believed was an isis leader. Now San Francisco is beefing up security for new years eve. Lets check the forecast right now with meteorologist kari hall. Some coworkers went outside and they said its cold. Of course. Its really cool in the trivalley, even colder there where its 35 degrees. We have had some temperatures just above freezing in some of the north bay now, 34 degrees, watching out also for patchy fog. Even though we do have a cool start its going to be a really nice day, highs reaching into the mid to upper 60s in some spots, upper 50s for San Francisco and halfmoon bay, 64 degrees. We will have updates on what else to expect as we go into the rest of the forecast. Minutes. Lets head over to mike for an update now. The drive is easy like a sunday morning, but its not sunday. Its the bay bridge toll plaza right here, a smooth easy flow of traffic as traffic gets over here from the maze, no major delays. Our maps arent showing any slowing on our sensors, although in oakland we do have an issue im sorry, san leandro southbound 880 at marina a side. No slow there. At the split there is an earlier disabled vehicle which should be cleared from lanes but theres activity where the warren freeway moves off there so be careful. The south bay no delays except for a tiny blip north 101. See if you can spot it. Back to you. I will be back with another local news update in about half an hour. Back at 7 30 on this thursday morning, december 28, 2017. The Rockefeller CenterChristmas Tree shining bright on really another bitter cold morning. In fact, just 14 degrees here in manhattan right now. That big chill is being felt all over the country this morning. That is where we start our check of todays headlines. America the frozen. More than 200 Million People waki waking up this morning to below freezing temperatures. Arctic air blanketing much of the nation. Ice on the front of my house. As the National Guard is called out in pennsylvania after more than 5 feet of snowfalls since christmas eve. Deadly attack. Dozens dead. Even more hurt. Isis now claiming responsibility as officials search through the rubble looking for survivors. Still fighting. Roy Moores Campaign launches a last minute challenge over his defeat in alabamas special senate election, moore claiming potential fraud was behind his loss to democrat doug jones. Not playing around. The World Health Organization set to recognize excessive video game playing as a Serious Mental Health disorder. And this 18yearold pint size pooch is caught on camera fending off a coyote in a yard and lives to tell about it. That little chihuahuas name is paco. He may be pint sized but he has all right. Also toothless. And still scared him off. Now to a remark from prince harry about Meghan Markles first christmas with the royals thats not sitting well with members of his fiancees family. Kelly, good morning. Reporter sheinelle, good morning. All families have their quirks and the royal family is certainly no different. Prince harry shedding some light on the royal family christmas when he ran britains flagship morning radio show interviewing his dad and also talking about how meghan is fitting in. Her future brotherinlaw, a future king, a fatherinlaw first in line to the throne and a queen for a grandmother. Prince harry says its the family Meghan Markle never had at christmas. Its fantastic. Great fun staying with my brother and sisterinlaw and running around with the kids. Shes done an absolutely amazing job just getting in there. Its the family that shes never had. Reporter meghans reportedly estranged half sister hit back at that. She has a large family who are always there with her and for her. Our household was very normal and when they divorced we all made it. It was like she had two houses. No one was estranged. She was just too busy. Meghan already an activist at 11. You can make a difference not just for yourself but lot of other people. Reporter she talked about her own family christmas in 2015. Her dad building a special barbie doll family to put under the tree. A black mom doll, a white dad doll and a child in each color. My dad had taken the sets apart. Her mom, a social worker and Yoga Instructor and dad a Lighting Direct nor l. A. Divorced when she was six. Meghan famously close to her mom. Harry called her amazing. She spent time with her dad on the set of married with children. Harry still hasnt met him. Hes talked to my dad a few times. Hasnt been able to meet him just yet. But its been worth every effort. In an interview with his own father, a prince talking to a prince but also a son talking to his dad. It makes me very proud to think you understand. Reporter prince harry and Meghan Markle are rewriting royal rules as the couple gets set to bring their two families and nations together to celebrate their union. And so many questions still about that may wedding at windsor. Will meghans dad walk her down the aisle . And of course who will be on that guest list . Craig and sheinelle, you bet on just about any famous name you can think of. You can actually place a bet here. Not surprised i guess. Dylan dreyer standing by. You got your invitation in the mail. Yes. I should go check my mail to see if its there. Tell us about the forecast. Lets focus on this. Weve got a clipper system thats going to move through the upper midwest. Weve got some light snow falling across minneapolis. Its a clipper system, a fast moving system. It will produce a quick amount of about 1 to 2 inches of snow as it races through the great lakes tonight and then on friday well start to see this reinforce some of the lake effect snow, especially off lake erie and lake ontario. As we go into saturday we will see spotty snow showers you but no significant accumulation unless youre in those great lakes areas where we could end up with about 6 to 9 inches of snow. Thats just that system thats moving through the upper midwest. Elsewhere we dont really have too much going on. Sunny across the northeast. Down through the south minus the fog this morning. We do have another system making its way to the pacific good morning, im meteorologist kari hall. Its going to be a cool start as you head out the door, but a nice warm afternoon. Even warmer than it was yesterday by a few degrees. Livermore expect a high of 63 degrees and 64 degrees in san jose. Halfmoon bay 64 there, also 64 in santa rosa. Over the next few days it continues to warm up with mostly sunny skies, as we start out the new year, more clouds and each a chance of rain in the forecast by the middle of next week. And you can you can find your full forecast on the Weather Channel on cable. Dylan, thank you. Still ahead, we are revealing time photos of the year and the incredible stories behind them. Plus luke bryans christmas surprise for his wife. Wait until you see what was in that bag. Then a brave family carrying on the legacy of a remarkable woman who touched hoda and actually touched all of us with her fight against breast cancer. And we have some fancy yet simple ideas for your party. First these messages. But why go back there, when you can stay home, with Neulasta Onpro . Strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. In a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17 to 1 , a 94 decrease. Applied the day of chemo, Neulasta Onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. Neulasta is for certain Cancer Patients receiving strong chemotherapy. Do not take neulasta if youre allergic to neulasta or Neupogen Filgrastim . Ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. Report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. In patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. The most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. So why go back there . If youd rather be home, ask your doctor about Neulasta Onpro. Thats the new rockstar. Hurry in to old navy for up to seventyfive percent off storewide thats up to seventyfive percent off with all jeans on sale from fifteen dollars for adults and twelve dollars for kids at old navy. Pain from chest congestion can make this. 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Paul moakley is times Deputy Director of photography. Good to have you. We should note your list includes pictures from around the world but this morning well focus on the domestic pictures and this was the first image. From august. A white nationalist. A domestic terror incident down in charlottesville, virginia. Tell us the story behind this photo. Sure. I think that august morning we all woke up to images from the night before of this protests. They were terrifying, and all of the protesters came out and it was just an insane day. This was the culmination of all of that violence from that day, all that hate, and this picture is fascinating. You could look at it forever. Theres countless Little Details of shoes, cell phones flying through the air, and its just an image that i think will was instantly iconic this year from all the images we saw, and i also think it will just go down in the long line of unfortunately in history as one of the long the images from the civil you know, in the long line of civil rights imagery. You know . The cops with the dogs, you know you indicated the photographer didnt even know hed had this picture. Right . No. He said it was an instant reflex and he went with his instincts and found this image later, and it just it captured it you a. Next we have an image that became iconic from the worst mass shooting at the Music Festival in las vegas . Yes. This photographer, david becker, was actually working. Filing, finishing his work for the night and heard the gunshots. This image was taken right after the second round of shots and he just walked in to the whole scene and it was chaos and he was shooting in the dark, could hardly see anything and the amazing thing about it is he went back to file his images and he saw just horror on his, in his files, and the amazing thing about his persistence, he got the image out and we all woke up to this. It was on every home page. On social media. All the newspapers that morning. Number three, this is puerto rico. This is back in september, of course. Hurricane maria and its aftermath. Yes. This image was taken by a photographer in a helicopter. She was looking at the skyline in san juan. Its a surreal image she happened upon of a couple in their living room. Sitting there with their dog. Actually looking at the photographer carolyn cole, and its it just shows you that were all vulnerable to Mother Nature no matter where we live and where we are. Sure. This next photo in the news. Chris christie instantly became a meme. Sitting on a beach over fourth of july weekend. A lot of the public ones, obviously shut down. The weekend the beaches were shutdown in jersey and its Chris Christie hes at the beach when no one else could be and resulted in what we now know at beachgate. The image that day was taken, and then a couple hours later, Chris Christie was at a press conference saying he didnt get any sun, and later this image came out and proved otherwise, but within two days, christie had to sign a budget and everyone was back at the beach for fourth of july. A great gotcha image. And this is not the picture i thought would come up. I thought it was the Solar Eclipse. But talk about this one. The wring ling brothers picture. Theres the Solar Eclipse picture. The Solar Eclipse picture we love this. Its one of the more joyful pictures of the jeer and an image of everyone coming together under the hollywood sign. One of the more unifying moments, i feel like, of the year. A moment we could all come together for something bigger than all of us, really. Yeah. Usually in los angeles you see people gawking at movie celebrities. Here just coming together to look at the wonder in the skies. A beautiful moment from this year. Look at the nfl. This was huge this year. The nfl national anthem. The protests which sparked a lot of dont this year. Tell us about this picture. This picture was taken about a month after the president was talking about the players at a rally and i think it spurred more protests and this was taken in october. We love this image. It looks like theyre soldiers kind of kneeling down in a very solemn moment. You see the weight of what theyre protesting in this moment, i think, and just with the smoke in the background, all the corporate logos. You see the risk these players are taking and its a very solemn moment. And this is the image, this next one that sort of helped us start the year. Yes. We were at the inauguration. We were all in our positions. All morning. This one photographer spent hours just waiting for the departure of the president. I love looking at this picture. Theres such different body language between obama and trump and its a little bit of a rorshach test depending how you see the image but its just them isolated in, you know in a setting where there were tons of people around them and they were set on these cold, wet, stone steps. It looks like a cloudy sky and just a very interesting moody image from that day. Seems like so long ago. Doesnt it . It does. One year. What a year. And head over to carson. Whats coming up in the orange room . Guys, thank you so much. Chaos at the happiest play on earth after a power outage hit i love you, basement guest bathroom. Your privacy makes you my number 1 place to go number 2. I love you, but sometimes you stink. 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What . as long as sloths are slow, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Disneyland a lot of visitors would rather forget. Carson will explain. Disneyland in california didnt feel like the happiest place on earth. Plus, kids are out of school. No injuries reported, a power outage around 11 00 a. M. Sarah writes, hows disneyland going to have a power outage on the day we paid about 154 per ticket. Disney responded, we are very sorry for todays outage. During the power outage about a dozen attractions affected. Imagine on a ride, power out. Escorting kids and families off of these rides. Dana tweeting, stuck with 30 minutes, three small kids. Backup generator let one speaker turn on. Darn song, really stuck. Kids cant stop singing it. The small rides going to die. I dont trust those dolls, another one. Reached out to disney about refunds and did not hear back but are told it will be handled on a daysbycase basis. Guys, back to you. Now i have that song in my head. Its a small world carnes, thank you. Still ahead here this morning, what u2s bono is revealing about neardeath experience recently. Then the business of youtube. Then the business of youtube. How the biggest i just finished months of chemo. Then the business of youtube. How the biggest but i dont want to talk about months. I want to talk about years. Treatments have gotten better, so. Im hoping for good years ahead. Thats thanks to Research Funded by the american cancer society. The same folks giving me free rides to treatments, insurance advice, and a place to stay during chemo. I need that stuff like you dont know. And now that you do, please give at cancer. Org. When a achoo alls. Answer it. With zicam cold remedy. It shortens colds, so you get better, faster. Colds are gonna call. Answer them with zicam zicam. Get your better back. Now in delicious fruit drops. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] for tim and richard smucker, giving a gift of their familys delicious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. We forgot to put our names on them richard, i think theyll know who its from. Thank you boys. Youre welcome. Youre welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. I love christmas from our family to yours. Ho ho. [pillsbury doughboy] hmm hmm. Ho ho. [pillsbury doughboy] hmm hmm. Ho ho ho ho. [pillsbury doughboy] hmm hmm hmm. In this home. We believe. Whole blendshair by garnier. Ishing care. Legendary olive haircare. Infused with Olive Oil Olive leaf extracts. It softens and shines for naturallybeautiful hair. Garnier whole blends legendary olive. Find every blend at walmart. 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Not for patients with uncontrolled Blood Pressure, seizure history, anorexia, bulimia, drug or alcohol withdrawal, on bupropion, opioids, maois, allergy to the ingredients, or pregnant. May cause nausea, constipation, headache, and vomiting. Reduce hunger, help control cravings with contrave. Now you an talk to a doctor online and get Free Shipping at getcontravenow. Com. Good thursday morning. Right now at 7 56. We head out the door to some Cool Temperatures and some sunshine. As we are taking live look afternoon. It will be up to 64 degrees there for the High Temperature oakland, expect a high of 61 there andph÷ 64 in santa rosa. n; . Weatheru6 ; we go into the res of the week into the weekend and more clouds moving in and also a chance of rain by wednesday of next week. Inland areas will be as warm as 67 degrees tomorrow with more sun. Lets head over to mike for an update on how the commute is rolling. Still very light commute obviously around the bay, but this issue would normally set off alarms during a normal commute, west 580 just getting to the shoulder, but, look, the Speed Sensors no slowing. The live look shows you westbound your commute, easy, good spacing through the cars through dublin approaching the dublin interchange. The bay bridge toll plaza shows you the reason we continue to have no metering lights, we have good sunlight there, the clouds are burning off and a smooth flow down the east shore freeway, a great drive across the bay. A little fog in the north bay without any problems. Back to you. Thank you very much. Happening now, security is being beefed up for new years eve events in San Francisco. In light of the foiled terror plot at pier 39 last week. This year the city is allowing nonresidents to sign up for emergency text alerts just for new years eve. Plus the Powerball Jackpot now up to 384 million this morning after no one won last nights drawing. The winning numbers were 3, 9, 16, 56 and 60 with a powerball number of three and a power play of 3. There was one five plus power play winner for 2 million but that happened in georgia. Another local news update coming up in half an hour. Hope to see you then. Also join us for our midday newscast at 11. Eve celebrations. The new tool now available in the south bay to report illegal fireworks. Plus kari has specialized forecasts for your holiday destinations across the state. When you join us tomorrow its 8 00 on today. Coming up, bitter cold. More than 200 million americans bundling up as below freezing temperatures sweep over the country. While pennsylvania digs out from a record snowfall. Were kind of over it. Is there any relief in sight . Weve got your forecast. Let me go plus, cashing in. Put the button over there to subscribe. Youtube stars bringing internet stardom to retail. We built a physical business out of a virtual business. This morning, the clever ways these digital celebs are making some cold, hard cash. Yeah, thats my kind of night and hoppy holidays oh, my gosh what . The wild gift country superstar luke bryan gave his wife that has fans swooning, today, thursday, december 28, 2017. [ cheers ] so here i hear jackson wants to be a meteorologist . Give the forecast . Its freezing cold out here. You traded 81 for 18. Why . Because we are today what are you checking off your bucket list before 2018 . Rockefeller plaza thunder, thunder hows this . Both twins turning 21 on today. Who do you want to say hello to this morning . We love you this is your first trip to the plaza. All all the way from the bahamas [ cheers and applause ] and welcome back to today. Thanks for being here. Im craig melvin along side sheinelle jones. Savannah and hoda are both out. It is 14 degrees out on the plaza right now. Were going to put on our coats and go on outside. A couple from the bahamas . Are they sure this is what they wanted to do . Goodness. We begin the half hour with your news at 8 00. Were not alone. More than 200 million americans are battling bonechilling temperatures this morning. The worst is yet to come. Ron allen is in erie, pennsylvania, where the snow finally stopped falling. Ron, good morning. Reporter yes, it has stopped falling sheinelle and theyre hoping this is a break in the action to get to work cleaning up and digging out of all the snow thats here. A historic recordbreaking holiday season. I think at last count there were 65 inches of snow. Thats 5. 5 feet that fell in a fourday period. A snow emergency in effect, but now thats been lifted. Again, theyre hoping to get to digging up and out and cleaning up all of this snow. Just like much of the rest of the country, they will be doing it in bonechilling, cold temperatures. We are in the teens and Single Digits here. Just when you thought it might be over well, yeah. Think again. Theres now a winter storm watch in effect. Perhaps as much as a foot of snow coming this way for this weekend, if you can believe that. Guys, back to you. All right. Ron allen, thank you. Dylan is standing by. Again, roughly twothirds of this countrys waking up to subzero temperatures, and our understanding is that its going to be here until next year . Huh . It is. Sounds so far off. Just until monday. Seeing frigid temperatures pouring down from the north. On saturday heading into the weekend, we are going to see some scattered snow showers in and around erie, pennsylvania, as a clipper system races through and turns on the lakeeffect snow machine again. On sunday, most of the country is quiet, but its that area of High Pressure that keeps the clear skies around, and clear skies at night allow temperatures to tumble. Thats why were going to see such frigid temperatures sunday morning into sunday afternoon. Could be a little icy through arkansas. Something well key an eye on. The details of that storm ironing themselves out. Could see a little ice. At midnight, lakeeffect snow falling off the great lakes. Brutally cold through the Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest. Also only in the 30s. Then at midnight, 11 degrees in new york city. If thats the actual temperature, that will be the top two coldest new years eves of alltime and then record morning lows as we kick off the new year. Sunny and frigid in the Northern Plains. So, yeah. It is going to start off cold in 2018. Sheinelle . Thank you, dylan. Breaking overnight, attackers stormed a shia Cultural Center in kabul afghanistan killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens of others. Officials say suicide bombers set off an explosion outside the center before detonating more explosives inside. The crowd was gathered to commemorate the 1979 soviet invasion of afghanistan, and an isis affiliate claimed responsibility for todays attack. Afghanistans president called the bombings a crime against humanity. Here in new york city, more than two dozen people rescued wednesday night after a ferry hit a sandbar and got stuck. Passengers were left stranded about five hours in subfreezing temperatures. Late last night pulled off the ferry and taken back to land by Fire Department boats. No injuries reported. This is the second such incident in a month, though, for the citys newly expanded ferry service. When a basketball coach calms timeout most nba players are busy trying to find out what the next play is. Last night, irndianas damian ad his fiancee had Something Else to worry about. The gender of their baby. Were about to find out together. What is it . What are they having this spring . Its a boy congratulations boomer, the pacers mascot on hand to help give the couple the news. Took him a couple seconds to figure it out, what the sign said. Teammates there to congratulate him and eventually attention was turned back to the game. He did a double take. Much more ahead on today. A controversy, and then sharing the nicest things that happened in 2017. And hoda cooked up a meal for a family that empowers the spirit of today. And what you can learn from a new generation of youtube millionaires. Planning a Big New Years Eve Party . Creative ideas for fancy yet easy to make appetizers that are sure to leave your guests impressed. Fi hows your cafe au lait . Oh, its actually. Sfx short balloon squeal its ver. Sfx balloon squeals ok can we. Sfx balloon squeals goodbye oof, that milk in your coffee was messing with you, wasnt it . Try lactaid, its real milk, without that annoying lactose. Good right . Yeah. Lactaid. The milk that doesnt mess with you. Hey, guys. Where are the cookies for the. Bake sale . Bake. Bake sale . Need to bake in a hurry . Use new country crock buttery sticks with sunflower oil. Theres no softening required. So baking is delicious and easy. Ooh, cookies ah, ah, ah laughter a shift without a disaster. To get through ooh, cookies my bargain detergent couldnt keep up. It was mostly water. So, i switched to tide pods. Theyre super concentrated, so i get a better clean. I mean, i give away water for free. Im not about to pay for it in my detergent. 1 trusted. 1 awarded its got to be tide. And for a plantbased clean, try tide purclean and carmax will hold it for you up to seven days, for free. You come in when its convenient i know this because im from seven days in the future. Now dont be frightened, seven days in the future is a glorious place. After all you had two good hair days in a row. Perfect. Right out of bed. And this car you reserved on carmax. Com is still being held for you, for free. Pretty sweet. Or as we like to say from seven days in the future. Ah. We still say pretty sweet. Its basically the same. Frida is a work appof art. The arts. When its time to eat, frida enjoys the culinaryinspired taste of meow mix bistro recipes. Made with real chicken, salmon or tuna. Its the only one cats ask for by name. christmas marching band music drumsticks click we are back at 8 10 with whats trending today as 2017 um cans to a close, we are starting to reflect on the year that was. Rounding up a list of nice things that happened this year. We wanted to share a few. Nice things. Yes. Amen to that. First up, who can forget april the giraffe . How many that baby doing . A giraffe pregnant like half the year . It was half the year. Millions of folks watched that live stream event, showcased letter pregnanher pre. April gave birth to a son in april. Tough, watching a giraffe six months, when thats the best thing very good point. Another nice animal moment. Remember our very own Kerry Sanders did this . Rescued that dolphin during Hurricane Irma . Or did the dolphin rescue kerry . We dont know. And another thing that happened. Harry styles performs on the plaza, in that bright, pink suit. Favorite moment of the year. They picked that moment. Huh . I remember that moment, being downstairs when he was here. He is one of the nicest guys i mean, right . Very polite. Really like him. Last, not least 2017, the year of twins. Beyonce and jayz, amal and george clooney, and ma ddonna a well. A lot of twins. Something in the water. Go around the table. What was your nice moment of 2017 . I would have picked my twins kidding. My oldest. Something besides that . Right . I picked this moment. When i reenact add scene from scandal with tony goldman. Right in front of me. This came on the 9 00 hour. You were into it. This was my moment. Shes more into it than he was. This was my moment, carson i love Kerry Washington i was into it. We googled the scene. You want to do a scene . He was like, sure. Was that on youtube . I need to go back and watch t. I smell an emmy. Shell send it 0 to you. Shes got it on the ready. Whats yours, craig . Family vacation. Went to hilton head. Started what we hope to be a tradition. Theres me, my dad and my brothers. Smoked cigars. Thats a good hang right there. The highlight of the year. Down about a week at hilton head. You, d. . On my birthday. Brian brought in calvin and surprised me on the show, dressed up as superman with dean cain, a k a superman right next to me. The ultimate surprise and wasnt expecting it at all. It was very, very sweet. Calvin looked like he had a good time, too. Hes such a cute baby. For you . Carson . Hate to be a downer. Hurricanes, lost a lot of people. My parents passed away. Greatest moment of 2017 this. This sunday night. The final ten seconds of 2017 will be my favorite part of the year, because i, and i think so many of us, desperately are waiting to usher in a new year, a fresh start and thats what 2018 feels like sunday night at midnight. Start again, put this year behind us. Absolutely. Cheers to you. And dont have a mug, do one for you. There you go. Cheers. Happy 2018. Shall we pop start now . Start. Do it. Forbes reveals highest grossing actor and actress. 2017s global ticket sales determined the top spot. Guesses for male actor . Highest grossing. Think about tickets that sold. Movies roughly raking in 1. 6 billion with the help of xxx return of zander. Vin diesel. Actress . Wonderwoman. Is that right . Gale gadat. Congratulations to them. And crazy. Bonos latest interview making headlines. U2s singer sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss his latest album. He revealed making his album he suffered a neardeath experience. Didnt want to get into the particulars about what happened. It worried him. Didnt want the topic to become tabloid and experienced, it had a direct impact on the album. The theme of the album focuses on mortality. Shocking to read and glad hes okay now. Finally, christmas may be over. Many sharing the gifts received over the holiday including luke bryans wife. Making sure his wife caroline had an extra hoppy christmas. We have carolines gifts. This is the bretts barn gifts. Heres your purses. Your two purses. Take your blindfolds off. Oh, my god what . [ laughter ] oh, my god thats right two . Luke gifted not one but two baby kangaroos to his wife. Does he realize how big they get . I dont know. Tell him. Caroline posted on instagram named them margo and todd and they are adjusts perfectly. Are they wearing diapers . I hope so. Maybe getting that blue bber massage we did yesterday. And double clicks of daily a dad testing out his sons hov per board. The wife is saying, this is not a good idea. Oh oh, no. Almost crashed told he and his son are whipping around the neighborhood in that. Eventually he figured it out. How about the p. J. S. Seconds before, his wife going, please, dont. I dont foley like going to the hospit hospital. And theres dad. And next, a golden retriever with a special christmas surprise. Take a look. The dog unwraps the gift and gets his very own puppy. Look at that. A new friend for cash. Watch how excited cash gets. Ah pumped up there. Ah thats cool. Its like a kid who opens up a toy, like, i love it oh, my god an xbox. Thats so sweet. That was worth two today. Cute puppy present. Guys . Thanks for leaving u. S. With a smi smile. The forecast not making us smile so much. Im sorry. But its december, its cold and just happens to be extra cold. Take a look at what we can expect on new years eve in times square. Mostly clear. Those clear skies allowing temperatures to drop down to 11 degrees. The windchill will be around zero. So thats right at midnight. So it is going to be cold all night long, and how does this stand and compare to some of the previous new years eves . Well, the coldest its ever been was 1 degree in 1917. 1972, 11 degrees. If we hit 11, ties for the top two cold new years eve on record. Windchill, as cold as 21 below. I dont think well break a record as far as windchill is concerned but pretty brutal for all of those folks standing outside in new york city on sunday night. We do have some snow that will move through the western great lakes. Its a clipper system, and as it races through the great lakes into the weekend, we are going to see more lakeeffect snow especially in areas like erie, pennsylvania. Its chilly this morning down through parts of texas. Sunny and dry in the south west and all the way down in southern florida, its 81 degrees. So one of thats a look at the weather across the country. Now heres a peek out your window. Good morning, im meteorologist kari hall. We also have some really nice weather here in the bay area. A lot of sunshine. That will help warm our temperatures up a few degrees over yesterday. Well be up to the low 60s for the inland areas. Livermo livermore, 63 degrees. 64 in morgan hill and san jose. Well be up to 59 degrees for the high in San Francisco. Over the next few days, we keep the dry weather. Mostly sunny skies. Well start to see clouds on new years day. Well be followed by some rain by the middle of next week. Now to this weeks special look at the best of today. Some of our most memorable stories of 2017. For pink power today, hoda introduced us to erin ludwig a courageous woman battling breast cancer. Sadly, she lost that fight earlier in the year. Hoda showed us erins strength and love live on in her husband and children. Yeah yeah good job. Reporter theres no question 35yearold jason ludwig is an amazing dad. He knows how to play in the yard. You want to have a race to get the ball . Reporter make his kids lafr and even make a hurt feel better. That feel better . Yeah. Okay, good. Reporter but just a year ago, the last time we visited with the ludwigs he was not doing this alone. Jason was raising these precious girls with his beloved wife erin, battling an aggressive form of breast cancer. The difficult talks theyve been, you know, been difficult, and so weve talked about, you know, like the future and everything like that, but not not too much. We treat it more as, you know, tomorrow is not promised. Live every moment, in the moment. Reporter wheres erin . Whew yeah reporter getting to meet erin hi, erin. Hey, hoda. Reporter and experiencing her courage and her familys courage is something ill never forget, and i will never forget her simple wish a family portrait, and to be surrounded by those she loved. Just a few short months later, our beautiful erin passed away. But erins legacy of love is everpresent. Aubrey is now almost 3. Savannah, just turned 6. And jason is finding strength in the memories of his wife. Even as he learns a few new skills. So i learned how to braid by watching youtube videos. Reporter like braiding hair. There we go. Reporter or cooking spaghetti. Realizes lifes moving on whether youre ready or not. Either jump onboard or get left behind is the way i look at it. Reporter and some mile stoermilestones are especially bittersweet woo. Happy and sad. Accomplished this milestone. Its like erin never got to see that, really. It feels like since march its the time has gone by very fast, but it feels like forever since she passed. You know . Reporter one thing is for certain, jason and his sweet girls are doing the best they can. And i couldnt wait to see them again. Youre okay. Come on. Ah ooh. What is that . Bears. Are those big bears. Hoda hi come here whos that, aubrey . Hi hoda hi, aubrey. I remember can i hold you for a second . Here, daddy what a surprise. Look, i want to show you one quick thing. On the bottom of the feet, this one says aubrey and that one says both savannah thank you. Reporter watching you with those girls just melts my heart. How are you doing . Um, its a struggle, every day. Just getting into our routine now instead of, you know, when erin was here. How often do you talk about erin . Every day. Every single day. Well just be doing something, a little thing will remind me of her. Just like mommy used to do, or thats what mommy liked. We love your girls so much and you know that. We wanted to do something to help. We know a couple things are heavy on your heart. You have to cook and youve got to keep the house clean. So blue apron, an outfit that helps with meals will provide feels more you guys for a year. Wow. And metjets, the group that flew in your entire family last time i was here, agreed to donate 10,000 to help with all of that housework. So dont worry about the mops. Dont worry about the vacuums. Dont worry about any of it, its taken care of for you. That is awesome. Thank you so much. Reporter walking along the beach it was so incredible to see the girls be their happygolucky selves. A wonderful tribute to jabe jasd to erin. Reporter watching your girls. They seem carefree, what are your hopes as they grow up . That theyll follow in erins footsteps and be strong, opinionated and be themselves and have the same values that erin has. Reporter it is clear they already do. Yep. Goodness. One of the strongest stories we did all year. Seeing it the first time and for all of us who have kids, seeing the resilience and strength in jason in a World Without erin and how hes been able to just cope. So heroically. Gives me chills. Wasnt a dry eyes in the house when we heard that story. Those girls hit the parent lottery, too. They did. Coming up, a look at some of the legends lost in 2017. Also, the youtube stars cashing in on their online fame as we count down to the new year. We have some lastminute appetizer ideas as well for your night of celebration, but first, your local news. I m. Continuing coverage this good morning. Its 8 26. Im marcus washington. Continuing coverage this morning of the hayward chp officer who was killed in the line of duty. A Public Memorial Service is now being planned for saturday, for officer andrew camareli. It will be held at the Christian Life center in stockton. An end of watch ceremony was held for the officer in West Sacramento at chps training facility. A donation site has been set up for the family. We posted a link on our website nbcbayarea. Com. For your morning commute, mike has a look at whats going on traffic wise, not much. Not a whole lot at all. Weve been searching for last three mornings for anything major to report. We dont have anything major to report. At the bay bridge, there is a crash reported there. A look at the live shot. No meter lights and no backup. There was a fender bender reported over here. But theyve all cleared as well. Thats great stuff. Another live look, this time in san jose. Great sunshine so maybe the sunglasses is what you need heading south across the peninsula and the east bay. The sunshine slowdown might be an issue. An even light drive through the curve. Back to you. Smooth sailing. Wish it could be like that every morning. Ill have another local news update for you in half an hour. [ cheers and applause ] good morning 8 30 now on this thursday morning, december 28, 2017. Weve been talking a lot about the extreme cold all morning. So finally, it was our time to step outside and experience this. 14 degrees man this is a real anyone can come to the plaza in may or june or july, were ut it takes real today show fans to show up when its 14 degrees. Its cold thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so we have someone we want to highlight this morning. Okay. A special birthday on the plaza. All the way over here. I hear wheres haley . Haley its your 14th birthday . Yeah. Who all do you have here with you . All of my friends. Nicole, kiley, cheyenne. And your dad. Yeah. I love this. I woke up at 4 30 for this so how was it at 4 30 this morning in 14degree weather with a whole bunch of girls . Theres not enough coffee in the world we hope you have a very wonderful birthday. Thank you. And good luck to you. Thank you. I hope you get more coffee. I will. Thank you. Happy birthday, haley happy birthday so fun. Thank you, dylan. Coming up here, modern day moguls turning their internet fame into reallife fortunes and what we could all be learning from them to perhaps cash in. Ill take notes on that one. Then what are you serving guests for new years eve . Great ideas and recipes that will be like gourmet and you can do them in a few minutes. One of the best to show us how to do it. First, dylan a check of the weather . Yeah. Cold and more cold for most of the country, too. Really no place except southern florida that is enjoying anything other than the cold. So we are looking at windchills down in the teens, below zero. Marquette, 17 degrees below zero. Chicago is only a 5 degree windchill, actual air temperature, too. Also looking at syracuse or part my mouth is so frozen. 82 below zero. Does anybody know what that feels like . Outrageous. We have snow thats moving through the western great lakes. A quick clipper and then moves eastward tomorrow through the great lakes. Well see more snow develop in areas like erie, pennsylvania, already buried under feets of snow and see more lakeeffect snow. Pacific northwest, more snow and ice especially across the rockies. And northern florida, temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and its going to remain very much below average in the thats a look at the weather across the country. Now heres a peek out your window. A lot of sunshine and a nice cool start as our temperatures are in the mid30s. 35 degrees right now in the north bay. Weve also had some patchy fog. Were going to see a little bit of fog rolling across the bay near San Francisco. 47 degrees now with our high of 59 degrees later today. Some low 60s for the inland area. And we will continue on with this kind of weather even as we go into the weekend, staying dry and maybe a slight chance of rain early next year. And thats your latest forecast. Sheinelle and craig . All right, dylan. Thank you. Now to the very big business of youtube. Entrepreneurs using the site and the fame it can bring to make millions. Heres nbcs Business Correspondent jo ling kent. Reporter from rachael ray its so beautiful. I love this. Im obsessed. Reporter to ellen degeneres. Theyre so, so soft. What i love about them. Reporter celebrities long used their fame to hawk their own line of products. Now the next generation is taking a page from the same playbook. Youtube stars cashing in. Finally, we arrived at this formula. It smells clean and smart. And funny. Reporter over a billion hours of video are watched on youtube every day according to forbes, the top ten youtube stars earn a combined 127 million this year, from ad revenue alone. On top of the list, daniel middleton, evan phuong and dude perfect. [ cheers ] and now some influencers are leveraging their fame in the real word branding their own merchandise to sell to millions of followers. The smartest influencers know that their fame has an expiration date, and if they want to have a career out of this, they cant just be an influencer, have to be bigger than that. They have to be a brand. Reporter between homecoming and gymnastic classes, these two document their every move and song on their youtube channel. We are here today with the today show. Jo interviewed us. Reporter they are putting their own line of products branded with a double b in front of their 4 million subscribers. I call it an everyday line. We have tshirts, wallets, pencils. Reporter was merchandizing something your followers were asking for . Anytime wed post an oo tv they would want the outfit we were wearing. The outfit of the day. Yes. And we were seeing they were wanting the things we were wearing and decided to create something of our own to feel more connected to us. Reporter they did not say how much theyre pulling in, other than the line is doing well. Theyre saving all of that money they make for college tuition. On the weekdays we go to school. Its very normal. We have math homework, too, but at the same time live a totally different life. Going to business meetings. Reporter another youtube star cooking up a success story. Hey, guys. Welcome to another nerd. Reporter baker rosanna panxeno. Just arrived reporter caught up with her on a road trip across america promoting a new line of kitchen tools. It feels surreal. It is the only word i can think to describe it. Reporter fans anxiously waiting in line to get their hands on aprons, mixing bowls, cookie cutters and sprinkles. This is the first time ive ever made a baking line. So i learned so much about the process. Theres so much work that goes into it. Reporter you built a physical business out of a virtual business. I knew it was possible to have a career online, and make a living creating content fulltime, but i do know that i didnt know it wa happen for me. Shes amazing. Reporter why . Shes like the coolest person in the world. Just to watch her. Reporter turning virtual fame into a real world of fortune. For today, nbc, los angeles. Crazy, right . What can i come up with to be a star . Youre too late. My 5yearold daughter, if i let her, she will watch youtube all day long. She watches other little kids play with dolls all day. Or toys. My kids, videos, and what are these videos . Can you put them on youtube . No my kid would rather watch other kids their own age play with the same toys that they have and could be playing with. Its weird. It is weird. Like, you have that toy five feet away. You dont have to watch nor kid play with it. Up next, sure to class up that new years eve party. Were going to eat. Apparently at 8 30 in the morning. Tequila, too. But first, is is today on th all right. Finally. Back with today food. This morning, appetizers for new years eve, fancy enough for your guests yet super easy to make. Executive chef of a brand new restaurant here in new york, the loyal, received rave rue vievie tuesday. So many restaurants, lucky to be reviewed. And to get a great one, like you did. Right. Walk us through appetizers. People are coming over, want to step it up but no idea where to begin. Right. A couple things going through this morning, things to eat with your hands. Number one. Number two, super easy to prepare and can be ready for when your guests arrive. Okay. Right . Were going to start with the shrimp toast. Its something you would see typically on, like, a chinese menu. Something i would never attempt to make. Look at the ingredients. Its really not that complicated. Its not. Its yesterdays toast, basically. Rock shrimp. You hear the noise, its our oil. Serrano chilies, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, egg and you can preprep this in the morning, chopping it all up and just dump it in . Were doing this yesterday. Right . Were going to sweat this. The vegetables in the pan. Basically take them into soft. Right . What do you have in here . Aromatics . Right. What are they . A lot of oil. Bloom the oil with the heat. Right . Then soften the vegetables. Vegetables mixed in with our shrimp. How long do you sweating this stuff . Five minutes. Take it out. Go into the refrigerator. Happens yesterday. This also happens yesterday. When you go to make this, youre making this this whole thing is done in ten minutes if youve done the prepep. The idea, you have time for your guests, yes. Aromatics in here. Using rock shrimp. Could use whole deveined shrimp. Fresh or frozen . Fresh is better. Go into this with eggs, sesame oil and soy sauce. This is really screaming here. Getting hot. See what this does. Okay. Not going to puree too much. The right thing here. Yeah. And were going to pulse this. Right away. Right . Not to a complete puree just so you know its still shrimp but its going to spread easily on to toast. You still know its shrimp. We have some preprepped here. What do you have for toast . Any old toast . I like wonder bread, but use whatever you want. Push it into the bread. Youre actually going to fry that whole thing . Exactly. Some here. Drop it straight into the oil. How hot is the oil . About 350. It will take five or seven minutes, Something Like this. Youll know its done, pick it with a knife and it comes out a little warm. Have you had the shrimp . So good. I finished the shrimp toast and the tater tots. How do you know its done . When you pick it with a knife are and it comes out warm. Hmm. Surprised that the shrimps adheres to the bread. The eggs. Epg eggs of the magic glue for that. Come out of the fryer. Garnish it with something green. Made a little slaw with avocado, celery and applish finished with cilantro. Get it on there. And set up the next one. Youre going to do we have tater tots. Serve those with caviar and sour cream. Thats delicious. Obviously, tater tots, all had them as kids. Nostalgic and a grownup garnish with caviar. This is sour cream. Push in a little bit. Is that your watch . Yeah. Sorry. Nice work. Lemon juice. Load it into a squeeze bottle so its nice and easy to throw on to the plate. Sour cream and lemon juice . Yes. And tater tots, already cooked an on skewers. Exactly. Easy to handle. You dont have to get sour cream all over your fingers. Go with caviar. What do you prefer . Red, black. I prefer the black. Cavern jaiar, sturgeon. American caviar has come a long way in the last five years. Thats where i would go with it. How do you like the caviar on the tater tot . I have a happy plate. What a great combination. Who ever heard of that . And that goes on top of that. The way to do it. Really the only thing i cook. Get in on that, too. Last, not least, reward ourselves. Right . Weve got a cocktail. Cocktails going to be made with tequila grapefruit juice. Unbelievable. Not bad, right . This drink is amazing. So good. Pace yourselves its only 8 45. And stir this up. Whats in that again . Repasato tequila, grapefruit juice, sugar and bitters. Okay. This is not a champaign drink . It is. It is . Exactly. Doesnt that make it a Long Island Iced Tea somehow . It all goes back to that. Doesnt it . Exactly. Strain this in here. Okay. Im going to have you top that with champaign. Oh. At the end, just a little wow. This is nice. You got it. This is like a fancy shall we do a little cheers . Snakebite. Cheers. Cheers. Appreciate it very much. Happy new year. Happy new year to you. How about that . Step up your party, go to the website, do all this youll look good at today. Com food. Much more ahead on this thursday morning. Eat up, guys. So good. Appreciate it. First, this is today on nbc. Happy new year welcome dylan, lets set brailcelebrate birthdays. Turn around the smuckers jars. And this lovely lady from hoboken, new jersey, celebrating his 100th birthday. Ed thoems, somerset, kentucky, 101, worked for Ford Motor Company climbing his way up the ladder more than 60 years. Happy 100th birthday to Elizabeth Nimmo of willoughby, ohio. Loves to dance and produced many musicals and dance pageants. Good for her. And mr. Matt watley, celebrating 100 years from minneapolis, minnesota. Didnt retire until he was 99. Wow. And from runville, minnesota, this woman is 101 years olds has 33 grandkids and 48 greatgrandkids. Getting a lot of birthday cards this year. And a retired teacher from iowa. She says the secret to longevity is having a fantastic sense of humor. Love to have a nice meal we with her and hear some jokes. If you no someone celebrating a 100th birthday, send them to us and dont forget that picture. Were back in a moment. This is today on nbc. Back at 8 51. From actors to activists to moguls and musicians we said good guy a number of legends this year. And this morning wanted to pay tribute to some of those we lost in 2017. Hi, guys who can turn the world on with her smile i never dreamed id ever get to do Something Like this. I wanted benson to embody the american dream. An especially nice touch, clarise. Go, johnny go, go johnny b. Goode aint that a shame my girl fell like rain thats what i do. I laugh at life. Jerry lewis good evening to you. Welcome to the muscular dystrophy telethon. [ applause ] like a Rhinestone Cowboy riding out on a horse ive got to run to keep black hole sound wont you come it doesnt even matter roy holliday has thrown a no hitter and denver recovered. Oh, my hi. And welcome to playboys penthouse. My name is bond. James bond. Oh, yes, im thankful for this Beautiful DayShazam Batman these days im going to tell mom on you i think i love you i think i love you no she was an American Girl and im free, free falling, now im free falling free falling free falling, im free falling yeah, im free we lost a lot this year. Hmm. Yeah. A lot of big names every year, obviously. You look at that, seems like a generational change. Names, icons people grew up in our generation watching from happy days to the original batman. You watch a spot like that and feel emotions with each person that comes through. Roger moore. All the memories tied to them. Absolutely. Quite a year. Quite a year indeed. Thats all the time we have. Megyn kelly is straight ahead, but first, your local news. I m. The man accused of plotting a good morning. Its 8 56. Im marcus washington. The man accused of plotting a Christmas Day terror attack at the popular tourist spot is due in court later this morning. Charged with attempting to provide Material Support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was arrested after investigators say he communicated with an fbi informant who he believed was an isis leader. A Public Memorial Service is being planned for saturday for fallen chp officer andrew camaleri. At the Christian Life center in stockton. Yesterday, an end of watch ceremony was held for the officer in West Sacramento at chps training facility. Happening now, security is being beefed up for new years eve. Events right here in San Francisco. In light of the foiled terror plot in pier 39 last week. This year, the city is allowing nonresidents to sign up for emergency text alerts just for new years eve. Plus, the power ball jackpot is now at 384 million this morning. After nobody won the drawing last night. The winning numbers were 3, 9, 16, 56 and 60 with a power ball number of 3 and power play of 3. There was one fiveplus winner and still a lot more to go. Eve celebrations. The new tool now available in the south bay to report illegal fireworks. Plus kari has specialized forecasts for your holiday destinations across the state. When you join us tomorrow my wish was a clubhouse, but we call it the wish house. People visit National Parks from all over the world. Food tastes better when you dont have to cook it. He was just supposed to be my dog. I dont know why. vo were proud that, on behalf of our owners, the subaru share the love event will have donated over one hundred fifteen Million Dollars in just ten years. Get 0 financing for 63 months on select models. This morning on Megyn Kelly Today a hopeful holiday. Meet the chef who warms hearts and fills stomachs with the help of 9 red kettle brick gad. Then, how to break the new year without breaking the bank. Uncorking the truth whether in a bottle of wine is worth the big bucks. Plus, sultry and smoking looks for yo eyes from one of magazines most influential people on the internet. All that and more on Megyn Kelly Today right now. Hi [ cheers and applause ] hello . Hi, everybody. Hello. Hello, and welcome to the show, everybody. Im megyn kelly. We have a great show for you today including how to make your eyes hot and