Transcripts For WCAU Today 20161210

Bitter blast. Most of the country stuck in a deep freeze. 42 states with colder than normal temperatures, from the dakotas all the way to the northeast. The winter storm wreaking havoc on the highways. Pileups in ohio, michigan and pennsylvania. And with 25 million in the path of a winter storm today, it could go from bad to worse. Dylan is tracking it all. And a Charlie Brown christmas. A small tree might be in your future as those lush, green, full Christmas Trees might be harder to come by this year. Theyre all kind of short and not very full, so we had to really look hard to find a good one. The reason behind the tiny trees today, saturday, december 10th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on this saturday morning. Im Sheinelle Jones. Glad to have you with us, im craig melvin. Dylan dreyer still here still plugging along, but this i have been saying goodbye for the last week. This is my final show. Heres the thing, because youre two days behind savannah. She and mike gave birth to baby charlie yesterday, of course. Hes so adorable. Since youre two days behind her, we decided to park an ambulance outside. Just in case. So make sure you watch every moment just in case. Should i stand in a kiddie pool or something . No, we hope it doesnt come to that. A developing story overnight as donald trump takes aim at the cia dismissing the Intelligence Agencys conclusion that the russians hacked the democrats, not just to cause confusion but to help him win the election. Nbcs kasie hunt is in d. C. This morning with more. Kasie, good morning. Reporter sheinelle, good morning. The election has been over for weeks, but this new report is raising questions about how the russian government may have interfered not just in general, but specifically to help trump win this election. Trump is fighting back overnight, but members of his own party are promising that theyre going to keep digging into it. By the way, i dont need the hat either, right . Who wants a hat. Reporter after victory laps in louisiana and michigan friday night, even calling off antiHillary Clinton protesters who chanted lock her up that plays great before the election. Now we dont care. Reporter this morning president elect donald trump is at war with the Intelligence Community. The Washington Post reported late friday the cia thinks the russian government interfered with the u. S. Election to help trump win, by hacking emails from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clintons Campaign Chairman. The Trump Campaign reacting within minutes, dismissing the claims saying, quote, these are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the Biggest Electoral College victories in history. Its now time to move on. But members of trumps own party believe russia did interfere. Theres no doubt in m russians were behind that. Every republican needs to understand this is not about the Democratic Party, this is about america as a whole. Reporter senator Lindsey Graham wants to impose personal sanctions against russian president Vladimir Putin next year, and the Obama Administration has demanded to know more about what happened before the inauguration. The president has directed the Intelligence Community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election. Reporter trump has praised putin. Incoming National Security advisor Michael Flynn once had denner with the former kgb officer but theres december sent among other contenders. Mitt romney is still a potential pick of secretary of state and he once labeled russia americas number one geopolitical foe. Exxon xceo Rex Tillerson is als in the mix and Rudy Giuliani has taken himself out of the running. President elect trump promising hell make a decision for that critical post by the end of next week. More new details out this morning. The New York Times is reporting the russian government also hacked the Republican National committee, but that none of that information was released during the election season. Youll remember we heard a lot about democratic emails leaking out, Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podestas hacked emails leaking just in the weeks leading up to election day, sheinelle. Kasie, were used to the Trump Team Going on the attack, but theyre attacking an Intelligence Agency that will be explicitly serving the president for the next four years. How unusual is this . Reporter its extraordinarily unusual, sheinelle. This is in many ways unprecedented. Trump will be relying on the Intelligence Community to tell him how to interact with the many threats around the world. We do know that trump had an intelligence briefing on wednesday, but hes getting fewer than many president select have in the past and fewer than his Vice President elect mike pence who is getting near daily briefings from this community that donald trump is now seeming to go to war with. Sheinelle. Kasie hunt, thank you. Meanwhile a crisis was averted in washington overnight when the Senate Approved a spending bill at the last minute to keep the government from shutting down. That vote came less than an hour wheth before the midnight deadline. Democrats had been holding out over longterm Health Benefits for coal miners. Tens of millions of people are waking up this saturday morning with one thought on their mind. It is cold out there, a blist blistering chill blanketing much of the country leaving snow, icy roads and a deep freeze. Kristen dahlgren is braving it all in erie, pennsylvania. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you, sheinelle. Yeah, a little break in the know right here right now. Its beautiful out here until you try driving in on it. A lot of the roads here arent plowed in erie. Interstate 90 going about 5 miles an hour right now. Couple that with these cold, cold temperatures and it could be a rough weekend ahead for millions. Bitter cold is the story this morning with much of the country seeing temperatures well below average. Its like alaska. Reporter even bringing a rare snow event to places like texas, where it wreaked havoc on the roads. In seattle some football fans had a bit of fun. But for others in the northwest, it meant headaches when that snow soon froze over. Its a sheet of ice with a thin layer of water. Its pretty much impossible to get out. Reporter from slippery sidewalks in utah to whiteout conditions in north dakota. But for snow removal workers in iowa, theres an upside. As far as the snow removal goes, its 50 of our business. Reporter the Great Lakes Region saw some of the worst of the storm, turning deadly on the roads in new york friday. One man died after losing control of his suv in whiteout conditions. Earlier the same system caused a series of massive and deadly highway crashes in ohio, michigan and pennsylvania. We have a reported 10 to 15car pileup. Reporter snow will continue to be a threat across the Great Lakes Region this weekend. So around here they could see another 5 to 8 inches today before all is said and done. Some places could see up to another foot of snow. Guys, can i just say as excited as i am about dylans baby, i have a feeling we are really going to miss her out here over the winter. What are you trying to say, kristen . Kristen dahlgren. I should apologize to all the reporters and correspondents who will get stuck in the snow because im not out there. How much worse is this going to get . The lakeeffect snow is going to continue throughout the day today because the air is so cold and the lakes are frozen at this point. These bands of snow will continue through the day today with an additional perhaps 2 to 4, 4 to 6 inches of snow possible, but you get into those heavier bands and you can see closer to 8 to 10 inches. Now, we also have another storm system thats already made its way onshore in the pacific northwest. Its going to bring most of the snow to the Higher Elevations which is where we have our winter storm warnings. The grand tetons could see up to 2 feet of snow possible. Then it makes its way to the midwest. As we go through later today and throughout the day on sunday, were looking for that to reinforce some of the lakeeffect snow off of lake ontario and lake erie. Heres this front moving eastward. By the time we get into the overnight hours, the snow starts to fill in across the midwest. Then well get lake ens chancement and that will reinforce the heaviest of the snow. Then it will make it to the northeast and transition into rain. We could see up to 2 feet of snow in some of the highest elevations but well see a widespread 6 inches of snow through the great lakes and where those heavier bands of lakeeffect snow set up, like where kristen is, we could see an additional 5 to 10, 12, 15 inches of snow. Well get your National Forecast in just a bit. It was an emotional day in a South Carolina courtroom on friday as jurors and witnesses heard for the very first time the chilling confession from the gunman who shot nine people to death at a historic africanamerican church there, hoping to start a race war. Heres nbcs gabe gutierrez. I do consider myself a white supremacist. Reporter dylann roof chuckled as he recalled the horror at charlestons Emanuel Ame Church last year. Well i killed him, i guess. Reporter now for the first time a look at what prosecutors show jurors on the third day of roofs federal trial where hes accused of 33 counts, including hate crimes. I think we all know im guilty. Reporter he told agents the Trayvon Martin case woke him up and prompted him to Research Black on white crime. What i did is so minuscule to what theyre doing to white people every day. Reporter this is security tape of roof entering. Minutes before the massacre, prosecutors said roof could be seen in this snapchat video. When the bloodshed was over, he quietly walked out, gun in hand. I was in absolute awe that there was nobody out there. Reporter adding that if officers had been waiting for him, he would have shot himself. Police arrested him during a traffic stop the next day, and he seemed surprised when he was told nine Church Members had died. You were under the assumption you killed four or five people . Right. Yes, thats true. But your numbers were doubled. It was nine. Reporter investigators found a journal in his car with a swastika scrawled inside and this entry. I would love for there to be a race war. The fbi agents asked him what he would tell the families of the victims. I probably couldnt even look at them. Reporter roofs defense team is not disputing the facts of the case. Their goal is to avoid the death penalty. On the witness stand an investigator said after roofs confession he told the then 21yearold that his plan to start a race war did not work, and the people of charleston were coming together. His last words to roof, you failed. For today, gabe gutierrez, nbc news. Turning overseas now, a humanitarian disaster is looming today in syria where the city of aleppo is close to falling to government forces. This as u. S. Diplomats try desperately today to find a way to stop the bloodshed. Matt bradley is in london with more. Matt, good morning to you. Good morning, craig. Russian officials saying today that 50,000 civilians have fled eastern aleppo in just the past two days. Its not enclosure clear if thas true but many of those civilians will be jumping from the pan into the fire. Take a look. Syrias largest city is about to fall. Government forces say they have retaken more than 90 of aleppo. An ancient city now nearly levelled by years of war. Just this week tens of thousands of civilians fled the rebelheld east to the relatively calm of the governmentheld west. Their nightmare isnt over. The United Nations has reported claims that hundreds of men and boys disappeared once they crossed into west aleppo. Human rights workers warn that the harsh treatment of civilians could get worse. What is the worry among human rights workers once aleppo falls completely . You would have a huge number of people who may be exposed to reprisals of different kinds, including being picked up and held in detention centers, interrogated and tortured. Reporter far from syrias horror, negotiations continue. Theyre struggling to save the estimated 100,000 civilians still trapped in the citys east. What is happening in aleppo is the worst catastrophe, whats happening in syria is the worst catastrophe since world war ii itself. Its unacceptable. Its horrible. Reporter so far talking has accomplished little. Syrias government and its russian allies say theyre determined to see a full military victory in aleppo. That victory will come at an even greater human cost. Aleppo is a problem that donald trump will inherit when he takes office next month and its one in which u. S. Troops have been increasingly involved. The outgoing secretary of defense announced today that hes nearly doubling the number of american soldiers fighting isis on the ground near the syrian city of raqqah to 500 special operations troops. Matt bradley for us this morning in london. Matt, thanks. Breaking overnight, at least five people were killed today when a tanker train derailed and exploded. It happened in bulgaria. 150 firefighters raced to the scene to search for survivors. 20 buildings have also been destroyed. Police say the train was carrying propane and butane. The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in texas last july was taking medications that should have disqualified him from flying. Thats according to federal investigators. The balloon crashed into power lines near lockhart, texas, killing the pilot and 15 passengers. The ntsb that pilot, alfred skip nichols had at least a half dozen prescription drugs, including oxycodone, in his system at the time of the crash. He also had four convictions for drunk driving and served time in prison twice. High drama is playing out in a florida courtroom in the retrial of a woman who was accused of hiring a hit man to kill her husband. At the center of it all, this hidden camera video of an undercover officer trying to catch her setting up the hit. But was she the victim of a Police Department looking to make a big splash on tv . Nbcs scott cohen has more. All right, counsel, you may be seated. Reporter its a case thats testing the line between reality and reality tv. How soon could you do it . I could do it wednesday morning. Wednesday morning at the house. Reporter police have Dahlia Dippolito on video seemingly casually taking out a hit on her new husband with an undercover cop. I was going to get 3,000 from you today. Reporter so juicy, boynton beach, florida, police shared the story with the tv show cops and staged this crime scene to make her think her husband really was killed. Her lawyers say the Police Departments quest for publicity, including posting the videos on youtube compromised her rights. The departments Public Information officer grilled on the stand friday. Do you believe that is good police practices, yes or no . I cant answer that. Reporter the defense says the police set dippolito up to make the department famous and that she never really intended to have her husband killed. Im positive. Reporter they accused the Police Department of corruption. This case is bigger than Dahlia Dippolito. Its about Holding Law Enforcement nationwide accountable for following the rules. Reporter but prosecutors say the undercover video speaks for itself. Whats great about this case is it is based 100 on miss dippolitos words, her actions and her intent. Reporter this is Dahlia Dippolitos second trial. Convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 20 years, the verdict thrown out on appeal. As soon as monday shell have to decide whether to take the witness stand or leave the jury to decide the tale of the tapes. For today, scott cohn, nbc news, miami. At this hour nobel prizes are being awarded in oslo, norway. The peace prize is going to colombian president for his efforts to end that countrys civil war. The prize for literature, you might remember its being awarded to bob dylan, a songwriter, but dylan wont be there. He says he has, quote, preexisting commitments. What would that be . Its bob dylan. Its bob dylan. I would have been stunned if bob dylan ld been there. All right. Lets talk about the forecast. The northern half of the country is dealing with most of the snow and miserable weather. Heavy rain falling through northern california. You can see the dividing line south of the center of the united states. We are enjoying lots of sunshine. Temperatures, though, are going to continue to cool off the next couple of days. This morning it is bitterly cold with windchills down to 25 to 30 degrees below zero across the dakotas. Its only 13 for a high in minneapolis st. Paul today, 20s across chicago but the coldest is still to come. Next week the siberian express is moving in and thats going to bring us the coldest emperatures w good morning, i am first alert meteorologist krystal klei. Heres a look at the weekend forecast into monday. Big changes. Cold for philadelphia. Sunday, cloudy most of the day. Moving into the night, well see snow in the Lehigh Valley valley, berks county, maybe a mix stretching close to philadelphia, more likely near the suburbs. That will change to rain into the overnight hours into monday. We stay cold through sunday. Temperatures will be up a bit for monday afternoon. Your latest latest forecast. Dylan, thank you. Still to come, our look back on the weeks most talkedabout stories, including one dads ingenious idea to make sure he never loses his daughter in a crowd. Thats really creative. And up next, why so many comes trees look like they should be in a Charlie Brown holiday special. But first, this is today on nbc. Back now on a saturday morning with the towering Rockefeller Center christmas tree, thats beautiful behind us. If your weekend plans including a trip to pick up your familys tree, be forewarned. A lot of them look smaller this season. Jolene kent is here with more on why this seasons crop doesnt appear to be as nice. Weve got in Beautiful Tree behind us but you they may look a little like a Charlie Brown christmas tree. Those Drought Conditions plaguing tree farmers everywhere, killing off a centerpiece of the Holiday Season. Its a Family Tradition for millions of americans, buying the perfect christmas tree. I want this one. Reporter but a punishing drought across the country is making it a lot more difficult to find one that will look good for santa. Theyre all kind of short and not very full, so we had to really look hard to find a good one. Theres quite a few trees out there that look like Charlie Brown Christmas Trees. What kind of a tree is that . You were supposed to get a good tree. Cant you even tell a good tree from a poor tree . Reporter its no joke at miracle acres tree farm in milford, new hampshire. Owner dave wheeler is bracing for a tenyear impact on his 65acre f farm. We planted 1,000 trees this spring and 1,000 trees are dead. Whats the Financial Impact for your family . Were talking from the baby trees and losing years of growth here and there, were talking 60,000, 70,000 loss of crop. Reporter tree farms across the country are suffering too. In california, prices are going up. In maine and north carolina, a shortage. In louisiana and alabama, dry weather slowing growth. And in new york, connecticut, massachusetts and florida, theres concerns about trees planted this year making it to next. I havent seen a drought this bad in my lifetime. Weve had some droughts, but not this extreme. Reporter so you just think even though you hit this rough patch, its still worth it financially to go forward . Yeah. I mean we have to. This is our retirement plan. Reporter as you go shopping for your tree, no matter how scrubby it might look its not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love. Reporter the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Now, if you already purchased your christmas tree, the tree may be drier than usual and tree farmers say make sure you water it and keep it away from those heating vents. If youre about to go get your tree this weekend, experts recommend buying a more mature ever grown that has been less vulnerable to those Drought Conditions in its early days, so a lot to think about as you head out to go tree shopping. Its all about how you love the tree and how you take care of it. Exactly. Do you have a tree yet . Were doing it today. Did you just lie on television . Mine is in the basement, prelit, i just have to set it up. Still ahead here on today, Holiday Gifts and decorations that wont break the bank. Theyre all 50 bucks or less. Plus its one of the hottest toys of the hall days, the hatchimal. How can you get your hands on one . Stay tuned to find out, but first these messages. Good morning. I am rosemary connors. It is just a few minutes before 7 30 on this saturday. We have frigid weather outside. Bundle up. More on the forecast with meteorologist krystal klei. Starting with a look at Camelback Mountain in the poconos. Theyre making snow. Beautiful sunrise out there. Wont need to make snow, theyll have snow in the forecast by sunday night into early monday. Thats the first alert. Not for these conditions but tomorrow. This morning is very cold. 19 degrees the feels like in philadelphia. 15 in lancaster. Only 10 in mount pocono. We are under that first alert for rain, snow potential. Snow in Lehigh Valley, berks and the suburbs, looking at that from sunday evening into early monday morning. We could see accumulating snow change to a wintry mix for the morning commute. Today in wilmington, loved ones and comrades bid fair well to ardy hope. A public viewing at the chase center begins at 10 00, followed by the funeral at 1 00. Heres a look outside chase center from earlier this morning. Firefighters and their engines arrived overnight for the final tribute to their fallen comrade. Ardy hope passed away after months in the icu. She was one of three firefighters that died battling a row home fire in department. Captain christopher leech and jerry fickes died at the scene. To catch a peeping tom, thats what Philadelphia Police are trying to do. They need your help. Look at the man in this surveillance video. He snapped a photo of a student outside her apartment bedroom Near Temple University monday night. The young woman told us her boyfriend chased after the man but he got away. Thats it for now. I am rosemary connors. We will send it back to the today show. We will see you for another update in about 25 minutes. King of president bush awe. We are back on a saturday morning, december 10th, 2016. Youve got to love shaq finding his inner beyonce. A little lip sync action there. Much more coming up in popstart. Meanwhile, check out this fantastic crowd. A lot of folks came to town just to see the tree and to see if dylan was going to give birth during the actual broadcast. Lets give you a look at whats making headlines today. Donald trump is taking on the intelligence communities. The president elect responding to a Washington Post report about a secret cia meeting back in september claiming the russians were working to help trump win the election. Trumps campaign completely dismissing those claims, even though other members of the Republican Party believe that russia was involved. In tennessee, some welcome news to visitors of the resort town of gatlinburg. Theyre just now being allowed in two weeks after those devastating wildfires in the area. Most of this resort area was spared from the fires, but 14 people died, about 2500 homes and structures were destroyed nearby. And hows this for an early christmas present. An anonymous secret santa paid off 46,000 worth of they could just pick up what they had on layaway without having to pay for it. In all 194 people had their gifts paid for. It has been a busy week since the aftermath have the warehouse fire and the battle regarding sofia vergaras kbree yoes. Those are just some of the stories in this weeks download. The city of oakland still grappling with the aftermatht r whats known as the ghost ship. I looked over and could see an orange glow coming through the window. The death toll now stands at 36. The man who leased the warehouse and has been blamed by some to allowing it to become a fire trap speaks out exclusively on today. Im only here to say one thing, i am incredibly sorry. I didnt do anything ever in my life that would lead me up to this moment. Meanwhile survivors in a devastated Community Try to cope. Hundreds paying their respects. Unlit candles and flashlights. Its man who shot former nfl player joe mcknight to death in an alleged case of road rage was arrested this week. Ronald gasser now charged with manslaughter after initially being released this week. He was somebodys son. A decision that sparked public outcry. Shame on these folks. As the sheriff of louisianas Jefferson Parish lashes out on those criticizing his handling of the case. I cant believe it. Mcknights family spoke to nbc over the weekend. My child is gone. President elect donald trump struggling to walk the line of real estate mogul and soontobe president. Hes promised to put a wall between his business interests and the countrys interests, but this morning the New York Times reporting donald trump may not fully divest. Meanwhile the transition picks keep coming, scott pruitt for epa. Trumps choice to lead the epa is currently suing that agency. General john kelly for homeland security. I think hes got a real knowledge of the issues. And Linda Mcmahon for the Small Business administration. Its the battle of the billionaire. Shes the former wwe head behind wrestle mania. A bizarre legal twist. Sofia vergaras own embryos are suing her as part of an ongoing battle with nick lobe. The suit sasks for lobe to receive full custody. A trust was created for the fertilized eggs in louisiana which has laws that allow an embryo to sue a person. A louisiana judge could very well say im going to protect the lives of these two embryos. One dad shared his holiday parent hat for keeping track of his daughter at the mall. He ties a red balloon to her belt loop so when she wanders off, he knows exactly where shes going. Hes posting all kinds of parenting solutions. An nbc production of hairspray live had viewers everywhere shaking and shimmying along with the starstudded cast. Everyone is talking about the powerhouse duet between Jennifer Hudson and arianna grande. I loved it. They are so talented. Are you going to when you have junior here, are you going to put a balloon on him to keep track of him . I do think the balloon idea, its genius. But his thumbs up were the best. One of our producers said what if everybody starts doing that . I parents used to use one of those little kid leashes for my brother, my younger brother. Really . I dont know how i feel about those. It makes sense to me are you saying my mom is a bad mom. Not at all. You are a wonderful person. He turned out okay. Well, the jury is still out. Lets get another check on that forecast, please, maam. Lets talk about the cold because it is going to get so cold as we go into next week. This morning were starting off with windchills well below zero but look at our highs. Windchill in bismarck later today, 12 below zero. Chicago only hits 25 but that wind will make it feel like its 19 degrees. Tomorrow morning its going to be chilly, but again the coldest is still yet to come. Tomorrow morning were bottoming out in the Single Digits and 20s. Its all about the siberian express. Why is it called that . Well, the cold air originates from siberia and settles in across the northeast and even back through the midwest. So watch as it turns around and pours into the continental united states. This area of low pressure keeps it pumping in here and thursday will be the coldest day well see next week. Bismarck a high of only 3 degrees below zero. Chicago makes it up to 5 degrees. Nashville only hits 35 by thursday. Even in new york temperatures wont get would haabove freezin certainly is some of the coldest air this season. Dallas will only hit a high of 50 degrees. Today were looking at another storm system making its way into the pacific northwest. This will blanket the midwest with more snow and the lakeeffect snow will continue with some areas picking up alert meteorologist krystal klei. Heres a look at the weekend forecast into monday. Big changes. Today cloud and sun mix. Cold. Upper 30s for philadelphia. Sunday, cloudy most of the day. Moving into the night, well see snow in the Lehigh Valley valley, berks county, maybe a mix stretching close to philadelphia, more likely near the suburbs. That will change to rain into the overnight hours into monday. We stay cold through sunday. Temperatures will be up a bit for monday afternoon. And thats your latest forecast. The siberian express is officially my favorite map. There were swirls and dips. Wait until youre freezing on thursday. I dont want to feel it, i just want to look at the map. When we come back, do you have trouble saying no . This is something you both struggle with. True. Well, weve got some help for you. And up next, Holiday Gifts i have asthma. One of many pieces in my life. So when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my longterm control medicine. I talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. Oncedaily breo prevents asthma symptoms. Breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Breo wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. Breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Do not take breo more than prescribed. See your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. Ask your doctor if 24hour breo could be a missing piece for you. See if youre eligible for 12 months free at mybreo. Com. Its so delicious. I cant believe it has 40 fewer calories than butter. I cant believe its made with real, simple ingredients. I cant believe were on a whale. I cant believe my role isnt bigger. Oh, its real. Real ingredients. Unbelievable taste. Go ahead, enjoy. Real ingredients. Unbelievable taste. Jack knocked over a candlestick, onto the shag carpeting. And his pants ignited into flames, causing him to stop, drop and roll. Luckily jack recently had geico help him with renters insurance. Because all his belongings went up in flames. Jack got full replacement and now has new pants he ordered from banana republic. Visit geico. Com and see how affordable renters insurance can be. toilet flush if you need an opioid to manage your chronic pain, you may be sooo constipated it feels like everyone can go. Except you. Tried many things . Still struggling to find relief . You may have opioidinduced constipation, oic. Its different and may need a different approach. Opioids block pain signals, but can also block activity in the bowel. Which is why it can feel like your opioid pain med is slowing your insides to a crawl. Longing for a change . Have the conversation with your doctor about oic, and ask about prescription treatment options. Made on behalf of those living with chronic pain and struggling with oic. This morning in todays takeaway christmas and hannukah are just a few days away. If you dont want to overspend, we have some great gifts for under 50. Dana johnson, good morning for you. Good morning. We have some good stuff. Lets squeeze this in. I like this, a personalized rolling pin. Thats one of the great things about working with independent makers is that you can customize as much or as little as you need. This is cute. This seller here, the humble elephant made this especially for you guys here at the today show. It says the today show. So its a great way to personalize your pie crust and your cookies. And youll see it, obviously. Thats right. And then this mobile mug. Look at this. When you put your cookies on it. This is great for the soup lover, you can put crackers on the side or its great for cookies and milk. I think its a great option to leave out for Santa Christmas eve with the cookies and milk. This is cute for adult beverages. Mixology, a dice set. This is made my two sisters with a shop named two tumble weeds. This is great for holiday interviente entertaini entertaining. You shake it up and figure out what the cocktail will be. Its 1. 5 million different cocktail combinations that can come from this. This is rum and thyme. Yes. This is awe huge trend right now, decorate your bottles. This is just one example to make your bottle a little more festive while youre holiday entertaining with your guests. When i think of personalized gifts, lets talk about this. This is from wood life prints. This is super special because youre able to send the seller your picture and also a customized message like shown here on the bottom. Oh, thats cute. And i think its a great way to elevate that Old School Family portrait. And you can print whatever you want . Print whatever and its ready to hang. Another good one thats popular, the customized ornament. This is from paper case studios. Really, really fabulous because, again, you can work directly with the seller and figure out how to personalize it. I think this is great for newlyweds. You can get mr. And mrs. Smith, 2016, or even a new baby. Dylan, are you listening . You can get a personal i sized ornament. So tell me about this chalk. This is the great alternative for apartment dwellers in case you dont have extra space. What do you do . You shade in the christmas tree. You can color in the bulbs. Great way to get the kids involved. Where do you put it . You can hang it on the wall. And what are we, 15 days until christmas . Is it 15 . I havent started. So you can have the kids involved to do the countdown. If youre celebrating hannukah, you can ask the kids to shade in the flame each day for hannukah. Thats nice. Dana, thank you so much. Coming up next, the crowd has spoken. Well answer their questions. Youll have to see this, thats youll have to see this, thats coming up after these me well this heres a loadbearing wall. Well go ahead and rip that out. Thatll cause a lot of problems. Hmm. Totally unnecessary and it triples the budget. Well be totally behind schedule, right . laughschedules. Schedules. Great, okay. Wouldnt it be great if everyone said what they meant . The citi® double cash card does. It lets you earn double cash back 1 when you buy, and 1 as you pay. The citi double cash card. Double means double. What we want for christmas on the count of three, ok . One. Two. Barbie town house . Three. Sorry, got a little excited. We noticed. Buy one, get one 50 off all barbie dolls, play sets and more toysrus. Awwwesome mone hundredts thousand times a day, sending oxygen to my muscles. Again so i can lift even the most demanding weight. Take care of all your most important parts with centrum. Now verified non gmo and gluten free. Give your home the gift oright now at lowes. Like up to 30 off select holiday items. Plus get fresh cut Christmas Trees starting at only 29. 98. Save big on everything you need to make your home happy, right now at lowes. Impressive linda. It seems age isnt slowing you down. But your immune system weakens as you get older increasing the risk for me, the shingles virus. Ive been lurking inside you since you had chickenpox. I could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. One in three people get me in their lifetime, linda. Will it be you . And thats why linda got me zostavax, a single shot vaccine. Im working to boost lindas immune system to help protect her against you, shingles. Zostavax is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults fifty years of age and older. Zostavax does not protect everyone and cannot be used to treat shingles or the nerve pain that may follow it. You should not get zostavax if you are allergic to gelatin or neomycin, have a weakened immune system or take high doses of steroids are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. The most common side effects include redness, pain, itching, swelling, hard lump warmth or bruising at the injection site and headache. Its important to talk to your doctor about what situations you may need to avoid since zostavax contains a weakened chickenpox virus. Remember one in three people get shingles in their lifetime, will it be you . Talk you to your doctor or pharmacist about me, single shot zostavax. Youve got a shot against shingles. Back now with one of our favorite parts of the show, he says with sarcasm. Ask an anchor. We have a fish bowl here, we have questions from the plaza, we have 90 seconds on the clock. Ladies, you ready . These are giant note cards. Lets see, my question here is what is the strangest thing that has happened to you since you started at today . I hear from people who claim that were friends. That ive never known before. They want to visit. How late will you sleep in on your time off, more sleep or less . I would i deally like more sleep, but i have a feeling its going to be less. A lot less. Who was your idol when you were a kid . Two people probably. Janet jackson, i used to have the key on my ear and then a news anchor in chicago named allison payne. Never met her but if youre watching, i love you. Janet jackson, huh . Oh, my gosh. Miss nasty. I have the whole thing. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why . Ive always loved the giraffe. Which make that face. I niefind that so random. You have a great view. Id want to fly. What is the worst thing you were ever dared to do . Keep it clean, network television. Probably skydiving. Did you do it . I did it twice. Oh, this is hard. Name one thing that you cannot live without. My kids . Dont make that face when you say it. Thats such a cheesy answer. I dont know what else to say. What is your pet peeve . Oh, were out of time. What is it . Oh, i hope its not something we do. I have a list. Still ahead on this saturday morning, a hot gift this Holiday Season y these backpacks are becoming so popular these days. First, this is today on nbc. No, really whats your pet peeve . Still to come on today, donald trump taking on the cia. Why he says he doesnt believe a report that the russians tried to help him win. Also ahead this morning, this will be their last white house christmas. Our first look at the obamas final christmas card. Well get that and Sheinelle Jones will probably give us a little bit more on Janet Jackson walgreens presents, a holiday mini miracle. Hey hey this is for you. Did you really . Didnt have too getting the gift you almost kept for yourself . Now thats a holiday mini miracle. And its easy to create your own at walgreens. With 40 percent off canvas prints, just around the corner. Walgreens. At the corner of happy and healthy. Im not a customer, but im calling about that credit scorecard. Give it. Sure its free for everyone. Oh well thats nice and checking your score wont hurt your credit. Oh im so proud of you. Well thank you. Free at at discover. Com creditscorecard, even if youre not a customer. With ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, nutella adds a smile to any morning. One jar; so many delicious possibilities. Nutella spread the happy its so delicious. I cant believe it has 40 fewer calories than butter. I cant believe its made with real, simple ingredients. 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Tomorrow, cloudy most of the day across neighborhoods. Late day into the night we start with snow mixing near the Lehigh Valley, possibly the suburbs. That could stretch to philadelphia briefly before shifting to rain overnight and look at the temperatures sunday. Also only in the 30s. Cold weather certainly didnt do firefighters any favors putting out a house fire in philadelphias overbrook area. Flames broke out in the basement of melbourne avenue before midnight. Those inside were able to get out safely. Investigators will be looking for the cause of the fire later today. The funeral for trooper Frankie Williams is set for thursday. All flags will fly half staff monday. The viewing begins at 8 00 monday at boardwalk hall. His funeral at noon. Officials expect a large turnout from officers across the state. Trooper williams died monday when a driver going the wrong way crossed over the median and crashed into the troopers cruiser in melville. The other driver also died in the collision. Thats it for now. I am rosemary connors. We will be back for a full hour of news at 8 30. See you then. Good morning. Donald trump versus the cia. The president elect taking on his own spies after a new report about a secret cia meeting in september claiming the russians did interfere in this years election to help him win. But this morning, trump is dismissing those claims and taking a shot at the spy agency. Plus, bitter blast. Another morning of freezing temperatures shocking millions from the dakotas into the northeast. And with the cold comes snow. 25 Million People in the midwest under a winter storm watch this weekend. Dylan has the latest forecast. And hatchimals for sale. Some great news this morning for parents who have yet to find the elusive toy. The hottest holiday item