Time to fit in all the stars. We will talk to the man behind it all, friday february 13th 2015. From nbc news this is today. With matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning and welcome to today on friday the 13th here in february. How would you like to be lord michaels gearing up for the 40th Anniversary Special fitting all those stars. Telling the cast members sorry, you didnt make the cut. They added a half hour because there is so much there. The weather outside has soared to 9 degrees already. This is our top story. A dangerous plunge while the northeast braces for a valentines weekend blizzard. Al is out on the plaza. What can we expect . More of these temperatures. A wind chill of about 5 below. Lets look and show you whats happening. This is bitter cold. High pressure builds in this arctic express and pushes in. We have wind chill advisories and warnings from new england down to georgia and back to the great lakes. It feels like 12 below in cleveland and 7 below in new york city. 13 below in boston and look what happens as we get into monday. Can we go back to the map . I want to show that. 27 below in boston and minus 11 in washington. 3 in own oak and 25 below in buffalo. Lets go to boston and show you what they are dealing with ahead of this storm. They have enlisted volunteers snow melters, plows, anything they can do to get snow off the streets and off the roofs before this next storm hits. Heres whats happening. We have a blizzard watch in effect from new england to massachusetts, winter stormwatches to rhode island connecticut, long island. This is going to be dangerous. By saturday afternoon, the snow starts in earnest. Saturday night it gets going. Heavy snow from long island to new england. Blizzard conditions and snowfall at to two inches hear hour. Dangerous wind chills. By sunday night, maine is in this. Look at the snowfall totals. Two feet of snow from portland to bangor. Boston is talking about another 12 to 15 inches of snow. Even new york city will see three three to six. The blowing and drifting snow will be a problem. Air and road travel and everything will be a mess. Later on jeff rossen will talk about the danger of the snow on the roofs. This will cripple the city. Its on the weekend and hopefully folks can hunker down a little bit. February is not 23508ing around. Thank you so much. Breaking overnight, a major offensive launched by isis. Carrying out raids and attacks in iraq near a u. S. Base. The u. S. Led coalition is striking back. Andrea mitchell has all the developments. Good morning. The u. S. Is hitting isis with more air strikes as the terror Group Advances towards the base used by u. S. 34i8military advisers. They said the u. S. Is not doing enough to find their children including paying random if needed. The last known american hostage in syria, austin ties. A law student and former marine kidnapped 2 1 2 years ago. They believe not being held by isis. His parents want the administration to do more to find him. What we want our government to do is engage in a dialogue with the syrian government. How can we have this fantastic state department and global diplomacy if we are not speaking . There needs to be someone made accountable directly for the safe return of hostages. We think someone reporting directly to the president. There have been no ransom demands, but his parentss frustration echo other families. This familys son james was beheaded last fall and they said it would be illegal to pay ransom and president obama said we wont change that policy. We dont want to make other citizens targets for the organizations like this. The white house refused a visitor trade for kayla mueller. They wanted to trade a convicted terrorist known as Lady Al Qaeda for their daughter. The white house wouldnt. Her boyfriend even went back to syria to rescue her and failed. Now he posted a picture of her writing im sorry i didnt hold on to you with so much strength that even god couldnt take you away. The president ordered a review of the policy but saying paying ran som would encourage more hostage taking. A tough method for the grieving families. Absolutely. Thank you so much. A new development on a story we have been talking b. They are approving hormone treatment for Chelsea Manning. The former analyst serving a 35year sentence sending classified documents to the wikileaks website. Good morning. This is a huge breakthrough and bigger step for the army. There were very few here in the pentagon or military who thought they would see this day. When the army would not only permit, but pay for treatment for Bradley Mannings transition to a woman. When sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking thousands of documents to wikileaks, he was private first class Bradley Manning. In a Statement Read by savannah here on today, manning dropped a bombshell. I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Mannings lawyer said chelsea wanted to begin hormone therapy immediately. The goal is to be comfortable in her skin and be the person she never had an opportunity to be. For a year and a half officials denied chelsea the hormone therapy to transition to a woman. She sued the federal government and last week the commander approved the treatment. As an army private, she passed secrets to licky leaks including video of the helicopter attack in baghdad that killed innocent civilians. Even then manning had a secret of his. Seen in a womans wig and lipstick manning was dealing with gender identity disorder. He could be pardonened in six years and hormone therapy could begin any day. Chelsea manning is not seeking sex reassignment surgery that we know of. The army didnt do this willingly. They were forced into it. There is no pressure on the military and pentagon to allow transgenders to openly serve in the military but nobody thinks thats going to happen any time soon. Matt . At the pentagon thank you very much. Anger over another deadly policeinvolved shooting. The suspect allegedly was hurling rocks at cars and officers and video of the incident shows the man running away as he was shot and killed. Halle jackson has the story for us. Good morning. Good morning, savannah. We learned the fbi is monitoring the situation where overnight a few signs have been placed at the site of the shooting. All of this sparked angry protest already and more on the way. First, gunshots then the chase caught on camera by a witness who posted the video online. You can see police running after a man who raises his arms above his head and turns around. Thats when three officers opened fire a second time killing antonio montes. Anybody who downloads it on you tube will see it was not justified. Police point to the moments before when montes was throwing rock hitting two officers and ignoring commands to surrender. They are promising a full investigation. We are not here trying to cover up but to try to get the right information. His officers are helping them prepare for the hundreds here on saturday. The second demonstration since tuesdays shooting which the state calls very disturbing. We have a situation here out west in this town that doesnt justify a scene like that. You dont have to go as far as they did. Its the fourth deadly officerinvolved shooting in six months where he was arrested for trying to grab a policemans gun. Experts warn even with the video, the investigation into the officers use of force may not be easy. When i look at a flat, onedimensional picture, i am acutely aware that reality may differ. Reporter there a lot of questions to be answered about what happened like what the victims mental state was at the time of the shooting. Nbc news learned the coroner may open a separate investigation and inquest to look into the facts of the case. Heal, thank you very much. Natalie is here with the deadly shooting in north carolina. The fbi is joining in the investigation and the murders of muslims killed by a neighbor. A selfdescribed guntoting atheist is facing firstdegree murder changes. Tuesdays killing mask over ingn over a parking dispute and they motivated it in any way. The Senate Approved president obamas pick to lead the pentagon. They approved Ashton Carter making him the fourth secretary of defense in six years. He succeeds chuck hagel who announced his resignation in november. Defeating isis is the top priority. The busiest sea ports shut down due to an ongoing labor dispute. They will be partially closed this Holiday Weekend and contract talks broke down. It could cost 2 billion a day and thousands could lose jobs and it could lead to higher prices on food. David carr died on thursday and reportedly collapsed in the newsroom. His wife and daughters were with him when he died in the hospital. He had two other daughters. Dean mckay called him the finest media reporter of his generation. He was 58 years old and wellknown to all of us here at today. We are sending condolences to his family. Incredible video of the moments a snowmobiler in wyoming is buried by an avalanche. A man riding up the side of a mountain when a wave of snow comes down on top of him. His friends sped off to get themselves to safety but they came back to save him. The top of his head was sticking out and thankfully they were able to dig him out thanks to the heroics of snowmobiling friends. Proof of the unbreakable bond between a dog and his owner. In ira, a miniature schnauzer escaped from her home and walked nearly 20 blocks on her own into a local hospital lobby. It happened to be where her owner nancy frank was recovering from surgery. Hospital workers tracked down nancys husband at home but she was able to visit nancy for a while before going back home. That is just the sweetest story. Amazing. Amazing. It really is. Thank you, natalie. Now that we all feel warm and fuzzy. You have to feel warm and fuzzy with whats going on outside. This is the calm before the storm. Not much going on. Temperatures nice and warm through the southwest and Southern California. The only warm spot down in miami is the by 1914 the Dodge Brothers quit the Ford Motor Company and set out on their own. They believed in more, than the assembly line. They believed driving was a holy endeavor. A hundred years later, the Dodge Brothers spirit lives on. Good morning, im meteorologist bill henley. Temperatures are very cold and gusty winds are making it feel even colder. Cold tonight, back down to the teens, but light snow during the day on saturday. An inch or two followed by another round of frigid wind sunday. 8 00 in the morning, 18 degrees. Record cold temperatures on monday morning. Then a chance for rain and snow on wednesday. Have a great day. Thats your latest weather. The countdown for a major eechblt event on nbc. Saturday night live will have an extravaganza. We have a red carpet special and if you think the oscars are star studded, wait until you see the guest list. Willie good morning. The real feel out here is i cant feel my face. Lets see how it goes. As you look at the iconic sign there resolving doors. The very biggest names in comedy and the biggest names in the world. A lot of them will be back live from new york. Good evening. Im chevy chase. Created by lord michaels in 1975 its the experiment that became an institution. Live from new york its saturday night. Four decades celebrated in a 3 1 2 hour special and all of it of course live. A show that broke new ground will welcome back five cast members like chevy chase, dan aykroyd and jane curtain. Where do you come from . France. Those pioneers were followed by other big names who will also be here like steve martin bill murray and billy crystal. Back for the first time in three decades, eddie murphy. Other beloved cast members including to 30 rock are dana carvy, chris rock adam sandler and will ferrell. Two of the funniest women, tina fey and amy poehler. I can see russia from my house. Palin will be here too. They launched the careers of jimmy fallon and alec baldwin, tom hanks, christopher walk in members of the fivetimers club back at the studio. We dont know if timberlake will sing on sunday but paul simon and sir Paul Mccartney will. They are two of the musical acts appearing. We started the anniversary a few months early with our own Halloween Tribute to snl. And sunday night this is going to be the hottest ticket in town. The show is kind of under a cloak of secrets and we dont know what they have planned, but if you look at the list of names of people who will be here. We dont know if they will perform or be in the audience its an incredible collection of stars. Rolling stone celebrating 40 years has a list of the best cast members. One through 141. They have john belushi at number one. You have a favorite . That would be a good place to start. That does start a lot of debate. Willie thank you. It kicks off on sunday. We are hosting the snl red carpet central. Leading up to the Anniversary Special which starts at 8 00. We will have more on this including our interview with the man who created the show and remains the executive producer. Interesting to hear from him. The president did an unusual video. I was thinking about snl and how many candidates and lawmakers have shown up on the stage. Comedy chops from snl to the president to boost health care enrollment. He paired with buzz feed creating the video. The clip cuts back and forth between the president and a buzz feed employee showing both of them doing things that all of us do when no one is watching. You get to see the president wearing the mirrored sunglasses that belong to the Vice President and he got his hands on a selfie stick and got milk and cookies and a cute picture of his crush, the first lady. The video by the numbers, already on facebook 20 million times and counting. It has been viewed. Brittany told me two million this morning . In the last hour. Two million hits. It will be interesting to see if it leads to health care enrollment. The two with zack gal phi nabbingis. Theyre going for the younger audience. Two million in an hour coming up on rossen reports, dangerous problems tied to the record breaking snow where another blizzard on the way. Roofs collapsing under the weight of the snow. Does it help the prosecution or the defense . The dramatic video of the chase and arrest of chris kyles killer. We will have more on that but first, this is today on nbc. At chilis, fresh is now. Now chicken smoked inhouse, and no more waiting for the check. New smoked chicken quesadillas on chilis lunch combo menu, starting at 6 bucks. Fresh is happening now. What 8 grams of protein looks like when youre holding your own. Start your day with the power of protein. Milk life. All your life youre told to tame your curls. When you try to tame my curls, it feels like you want to tame me. Dove wants you to unleash the beauty of your curls. Thats why we created new dove quench absolute. This system deeply nourishes curls to quench dryness for 4 times more defined natural curls. New dove quench absolute. Good morning, usher hey did you know bees communicate through dance . Me too. Were practically twins 7 26 im vai sikahema. Bill henley is here with the brutal forecast. Bill . The brutal wind is making temperatures feel even colder. We have bright sunshine but look at the flags atop the aramark building in center stip. Thats a strong gusty wind with winds over 40 miles an hour. The camera is shaking at the adventure aquarium. Right now in philadelphia the temperature is at 10 degrees. But with the wind blowing, it feels like 7 degrees below zero. You will find similar conditions around the area. Single digits for reading and pottstown, 6 degrees. 7 in trenton. Mount holly, 8. Feels like 5 below zero in wilmington and 10 below in trenton. A blustery day with sunshine. Well see temperatures climb only into the low 20s this afternoon. Thank you, bill. Well get a check on traffic and delays on 76. Jill, what do you got . Its crawling along in the normal spots of 76 westbound at city avenue barely moving eastbound near the coshocton curve. And also really heavy near montgomery drive. Glassboro near ellis mill road watch for restrictions due to an earlier accident. Stick to 47. Vai . New this, morning, the driver in this accident was injured and the medics in the medical helicopter took him to the hospital. Well try to get more information on this accident. Im vai sikahema. Now back to the today show. 7 30 on this friday morning, february 13th 2015. Friday the 13th. There will be three of them this year. Dont ask me which. Thats as far as my knowledge goes. The headlines we are talking about, it is a bitter cold day across much of the east. Wind chill advisories from georgia up to maine. And to rub a little salt in the wounds a blizzard set to hit the northeast. The okay for the army private sentenced in the wikileaks scandal. Hormone treatment for gender reassignment. Bradley manning known as Chelsea Manning will make the transition to a woman. 22 marines will be treated to exposure for a noxious gas in california. It happened in a training accident and was caused by equipment malfunction inside an assault vehicle. A remarkable young girl whose battle with cancer touched millions. Leah was featured in the truly brave video received a special honor and will be here to tell us about it. We look forward to seeing her. Another dramatic day of testimony after jurors were shown footage of Police Chasing and arresting the man who shot and killed former navy s. E. A. L. Chris kyle and a friend. Heres nbcs jacob rascon. The video shows Police Chasing a black ford f350 for 10 minutes belonging to chris kyle but behind the wheel is his killer. A patrol car slams into the truck, but it only speeds up for miles before coming to a stop. When outcomes former marine surrendering and confessing to killing kyle and chad littlefield. He said he had taken a couple souls and had more souls to take. You okay . You are my hero. The movie american sniper depicts four in iraq and how he coped with post Traumatic Stress something he was trying to do at the lodge gun range. Photos make it clear that he shot dozens of rounds before prosecutors say he turned on the other two, shooting them repeatedly in the back and elsewhere. Both men were found with loaded pistols in their waist bands, the safeties still on. They argue ralph was in the grip of a psychosis when he killed even fearing for his life. After