20th, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to "today." it's friday morning. we've got willie here for matt and a really busy news day. once again terror is our top story. there's a hostage situation unfolding right now mali's capital. this is after gunmen attacked a radisson hotel that is popular with foreigners. we know that president obama who is in malaysia right now on separate travel has been briefed by his national security adviser on this situation, and, of one week after those attacks in paris. we want to get right to nbc's ron mott following developments. ron, what can you tell us? >> reporter: hey, savannah, good morning to you. details are still thin at this hour but here's what we know. the hotel is on lockdown. some hostages have reportedly been freed. the malian military is on scene and setting up a security perimeter around the hotel and may have already entered and the u.s. embassy is telling its staff and all americans in the area to shelter in place. nbc news has learned at least 150 people were taken hostage today at the radisson blu hotel in mali's capital bamako, according to a hotel spokesperson. according to reports, there are at least ten gunmen and at least three people have been kill. on its website the hotel said 140 guests and 30 employees were locked in a room by hostage-takers. it is unknown whether any americans are among those being held. it's also unclear which terrorist group is behind today's attack, the latest of them in a series of them this year in central and northern mali. in august at least 12 people were killed during another attack on a hotel used by united nations staff. this one about 400 miles northeast of the capital. french forces backed up the malian military in ending that assault which lasted 24 hours. now, according to the "new york times," the gunmen asked hostages if they could recite a declaration of muslim faith. let grow. mali has grown increasingly volatile in the past couple of years as civil unrest has spread with its mick militants gaining a foothold in that region. president obama was briefed by national security adviser susan rice and told his team to keep him apprised of his developments and we can also tell you there were two airlines who are crew members in that hotel, one a turkish airlines, some of their crew were able to escape the hotel so this is still a very unfolding situation in mali this morning. savannah. >> i know you're keeping your eye on it this morning, thank you. we want to bring in richard engel, nbc's chief foreign correspondent. good morning to you. richard, ron just touched on the backdrop of mali. what strikes you about this attack? >> reporter: well, there are many different islamist groups that operate in mali. in 2013 an al qaeda-backed group that was operating in northern mali almost took over the country, and that prompt the the french military to launch an invasion, and just yesterday french president hollande was praising french troops for restoring order in mali and trying to draw the islamists back. there was supposed to be peace talks to begin at this very hotel between the islamists and government factions and a variety of other factions in the nation. mali has seen problems with islamist groups in the past. not just isis, al qaeda included, so this may be in some way related to that. >> all right. a lot going on. richard engel, thank you very much. this drama in mali is taking place exactly one week after the attacks in pairs. overnight french officials revealed that a third body was found in the apartment raid that killed the alleged ringleader. while here at home the fbi says it's on alert for potential copycats. we've got it all covered beginning with nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely in paris. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. it is exactly a week since the worst massacre in france since world war ii. they are not marking it formally here in any way. authorities don't want to dignify what isis has done, and as you say from the rubble of that police assault on an isis cell, a third body has now been found. in the debris of an apartment hit by 5,000 bullets, forensic teams found the remains of a third person, a woman. it's not known who she was or whether she, too, blew herself up. this woman did, hasna aitboulahcen, her handbag and passport also found. friends say she loved life, loved to party and that she was brainwashed. her final recorded words, telling police the man she's with is not her boyfriend. and this is the moment she detonated her suicide vest in video obtained by abc news. police say it almost destroyed the apartment. her mother and brother were led away by police from the paris home she left just three weeks ago after showing no sign of being radicalized. she was with abdelhamid abaaoud. he was identified by dna, the ringleader of the massacres who evaded police across europe. >> it's a good thing they found him. >> reporter: there's no satisfaction for the grieving parents of natalie laurent killed at the concert hall. it means nothing, her mother told me. my daughter is dead. for french police, the killing of abaaoud is a success, but the fact that he was able to get on to these streets all the way from syria without being stopped by any european country is an intelligence failure. we have to waken up, said one french minister as europe met to discuss the crisis today. >> we cannot say today that this is an end. we think we're just in the middle of the storm. >> reporter: isis have threatened more attacks on italy and washington in a video called paris before rome. after the unthinkable here, it's and police have now recovered cctv footage of that ringleader abaaoud as attacks were taking place. he was filmed at a metro station in central paris, so the man who organized the attacks also clearly directed them from the ground. willie, savannah. >> so much has happened, so much a week. bill neely in paris, thank you. >> and with isis now threatening attacks on the united states, security and intelligence officials here are, of course, on heightened alert. the director of the fbi says his agents are keeping a close eye on dozens of people they fear could be inspired by the terror group to try to do something like what happened in pairs. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams in washington with that. pete, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the fbi says what it's most worried about is home grown extremists, people in the u.s. responding to isis recruiters on social media and willing to carry out attacks here at home. the fbi's top priority is keeping watch on people in the they might be interested in carrying out an isis-inspired attack here. the fbi director puts the number of such cases at dozens. intelligence officials say it's about 50. >> that is very hard work, but we are very fortunate to have the help of our state and local partners around the country. >> reporter: fbi director says despite the relentless isis propaganda videos, the latest including a threat to attack white house, he sees no sign of any credible threat here of a paris-style or any kind of terror attack. >> isil and its supporters put out all kinds of propaganda like video or magazines and that's not credible intelligence. of course we investigate all of those propaganda threats. >> reporter: comey for the first time gave an estimate of the number of people believed to have gone from the u.s. to syria associated with isis and then come back to the u.s. that number, he said, is in the teens, a huge contrast to the estimated 5,000 people from western europe who have been to syria and back overwhelming european efforts to track them all. but that figure has some in congress saying the u.s. must do more to screen travelers from european countries who don't need a visa to come to the u.s. >> regarding the visa waiver program this, program is important to the business community and the tourism industry, and i have supported it, but i also believe it is the soft underbelly of our national security policies. >> reporter: fbi director comey said he's seen no indication that isis terrorists have attempted to come to the u.s. from overseas in the past days or weeks. savannah. >> all right. pete williams in washington, thanks. let's turn to shawn henry who served as assistant director of the fbi and now with crowdstrike. good morning. in light of what happened in paris what, changes for the fbi? presumably they have their eyes on a bunch of individuals. do they change what they are doing now to kind of say, hey, we are watching you? >> they absolutely do. following people involved in investigations, people this they know are sympathetic to the jihadi cause and pose a threat here to the united states, on the heels of what we saw in paris they will be more aggressive and be more proactive and go out and shake the bushes. there's issues where people are aspirational and may cause harm here versus though who become operational. the fbi can't wait for somebody to become operational right now. they have to go out and let them know that they are under investigation. >> how do the fbi decide who to track more closely or surveil more closely, looking at social media, wire tapping? how do they find this group. >> a whole range of things that put somebody up as a priority. it's who is moving closer to becoming operational. are they talking about obtaining weapons? is their rhetoric becoming much more violent? are they associated with others who maybe have traveled overseas? the fbi wants to make sure they are focusing on highest priorities and the reality is there are too many of these people and they don't have all intelligence to focus you. >> talked a lot about the part that the public has in this in reporting anything that seems out of order or suspicious. i'm thinking about this female suicide bomber in france who not that long ago had a totally different life, was not devout, was out partying, according to reports and then one day she shows up and she's suddenly changed. is that the kind of thing people should be reporting? >> that's absolutely right, savannah. what it goes to show you can't profile who a suicide attacker is or a terrorist might be. what you've got to do is look for this anomalous behavior, someone making violent statements, their behavior has changed. they are looking to associate with others or they are talking in a much more violent way or, again, seeking to go out and obtain weapons or something of that nature. they are looking for that those are the people who are coming up on the priority list and are going to be more clearly focused on. >> i think a week ago when we first saw these attacks in paris, a lot of americans' reaction was my goodness, if it can happen there it can happen in any city here in the united states. what should the american people glean from listening to the fbi director yesterday? is something like this coming down pike for the united states? >> what the american people need to know is absolutely there is a risk, but be aware. be alert, don't be afraid. >> shawn henry, always good to talk to you, thank you. now to the fierce debate of syrian refugees coming to the united states. defying the president the house voted on thursday overwhelmingly to impose stringent new screening rules while on the campaign trail donald trump is under fire this morning after calling for the creation of a national database to register all muslims living here in the u.s. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is covering the political piece of that this morning. peter, good morning. >> reporter: hi, savannah. americans clearly have real fears after the paris attacks. doesn't matter which party you belong to, but on the topic of syrian refugees, it is republicans on the campaign trail who have really gone on the offensive with some of the toughest language yet. in the fight over syrian refugees, more fearmongering and heated rhetoric. we can't take them. >> reporter: donald trump cheered on by supporters in iowa thursday night, telling nbc news he'd support a government database to track muslims living in this country. >> there should be a lot of systems beyond database. we should have a lot of systems. i would certainly implement that, absolutely. >> reporter: later trump ignored a follow-up question. >> mr. trump, why would a muslim database not be the same thing as requiring jews to register in nazi germany? >> who are you with you. >> i'm with nbc news. requiring muslims to register and jews? >> reporter: in alabama calling for tough screening ben carson compared some refugees to mad dogs. >> if there's a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, you're probably not going to assume something good about that dog and you're probably going to put your children out of the way. >> reporter: criticized for those remarks, carson criticized reporters. >> so what is the news media do? rabid dogs. >> the bill is passed. >> reporter: on capitol hill 47 house democrats joined republicans defying the president's veto threat passing a bill that would shut the door on refugees coming to the u.s. from syria and iraq, setting an impossible bar requiring the nation's top three security officials at fbi, homeland security and national intelligence, personally certify that each refugee is not a threat before they are allowed in. >> it's a security test, not a religious test. >> reporter: on its instagram page, the white house blasted out images of desperate young refugees, unveiling her aggressive strategy to defeat isis, hillary clinton attacked the uproar. >> that is just not who we are. >> reporter: and new this morning, the results from the latest nbc news surveymonkey online poll taken after the paris attacks, here what they are, among republicans trump remains firmly in the lead. he's at 28%, but you can see ben carson, had the biggest drop falling into a tie for second now at 18% with senator ted cruz, cruz grabbing some of carson evangelical support. marco rubio at 11% and jeb bush well behind. on the democratic side hillary clinton still holding the lead just shy of 50%, but note this, bernie sanders posted his highest level of support in our polls yet at 33%. savannah, willie. >> all right. peter alexander, thank you so much. we're going to take a closer look at some of the numbers on the refugee issues. of the 69,000 refugees who have enter the 12,000, about 18%, are from iraq and about 1,600, less than 3%, are syrian. >> and that syrian number could grow next year as president obama remains committed to his plan to accept at least 10,000 more syrian refugees. new this morning, nearly 30 years after his arrest, convicted spy jonathan pollard has been released from a federal prison in north carolina. >> the former u.s. navy selling classified documents to israel in 1985. the case, one of the most contentious issues between the u.s. and israel over the past three decades. pollard is now 61 years old. he'll be on probation for at least five years and won't be time. a spirit airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing last night due to a bomb threat. passenger took this cell phone video of a man being taken into plane. >> the flight from ft. lauderdale to minneapolis was in the air for 15 minutes when the crew was forced to turn around and return to ft. lauderdale. the plane was taken to an isolated area at the airport and swept for explosives. nothing was found. officials say two men are being interviewed by police and the fbi. >> busy morning here. how is it in the weather department? anything shaking? some snow. >> really. >> you want to see some video of snow. it happened in fargo, north dakota. happened yesterday, blowing snow at that. reduces visibility, especially when gusts are up to 40 to 60 miles per hour. not a lot of snow but enough to make the roads slippery and the overpasses were a little bit icy. temperatures have been very cold and it doesn't look like much here, but this will turn into the first big snow storm for the midwest, including chicago as we go into this weekend, especially tonight and tomorrow morning. right now we're seeing a steady snow from rapid city, south dakota, stretching into northeastern parts of nebraska and there are winter weather advisories in yellow and winter storm warnings across parts of iowa into northern illinois and also central wisconsin. michigan is under a winter storm watch. here's an area of low pressure. it will approach chicago and will start as rain as we go into tonight and tomorrow morning and then it ends as some snow and that's where we'll see most of our accumulation and gusty winds could reduce visibility as well and then lifts north and rain showers through erie pennsylvania. how much snow will we see? go north of chicago and that's where we could end up with 8 to 10 inches of snow and south of chicago lesser amounts and right in chicago itself we should see about 2 to 5 inches and this pink area right in here is where we're looking at our highest totals because it should start and say as snow. elsewhere across the country, eastern half looking good. temperatures slightly cooler and temperatures topping out in the mid-50s. that's a look at your forecast. the local forecast coming up in just 30 seconds. the first fridge with a keurig brewing system. only in the ge caf\ series. made for everyday and extra special days. get up to 40% off select major appliances. $396 and more. >> and that's your late forecast. >> dylan, thank you. coming up, how did a so-called party girl become an isis suicide bomber? what we're learning now about the woman who blew herself up on the raid on the alleged mastermind of the paris attack. plus, could they sell a million drones this christmas? why the government's push to crack down could be a whole lot "today" on nbc. coming up, a controversial first from the fda clearing the way for genetically modified animals to be sold in the supermarkets. >> and big news oni'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. my psoriatic arthritis caused joint pain. just like my moderate tosevere rheumatoid arthritis. and i was worried about joint damage. my doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. he prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. enbrel may lower yourability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events includinginfections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervoussystem and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if you're prone toinfections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have beentreated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever,bruising, bleeding, or 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neighbors are saying she had a troubled childhood, and it's even difficult to understand, they say, how she turned to islam. she was a party girl with a penchant for cowboy hats, friends say, photos like this one, obtained by dailymail.com show the female suicide bomber hasna aitboulahcen and one said the 26-year-old smoked marijuana and she appeared a month ago in vul veil. joking she wasn't committed to religion, doing this for a laugh and becoming a jihadist and police in belgium say she posted this video to social media and she was born six miles from the saint-denis apartments where she blew herself up in a police raid wednesday morning. a neighbor captured her chilling the final seconds of her life. >> reporter: the man they were searching for was her cousin, so-called ringleader of the paris attacks, abdelhamid abaaoud who authorities believe recruited aitboulahcen to isis, the same as he did his 13-year-old brother. authorities are not certain of the full scope of their relationship. thursday police searched her mother's home in a paris suburb, leaving with at least three bags of evidence. that a woman would kill herself in the name of jihad shocked many in france, but the phenomenon is nothing new. everyone and in saint-denis, one of the suicide bombers in nigeria was an 11-year-old girl widows who killed 40 commuters on the moscow metro in 2010 and a female suicide bomber in 1991, even assassinated the prime minister of india. and the picture emerging of jihadists who operate like gang members with women drawn in by family members or boyfriends. willie and savannah, one said the boyfriends act more like pimps seducing women to isis with false promises. >> keir simmons with that part of the story. >> fascinating. >> let's turn now to dylan ant the weather. >> and it's going to start feeling like fall everywhere across the eastern half of the country, even stretching all the way down into the southeast. by the time we go through this weekend the we've got this the cold air surging down from the north. look how chilly it is through casper, wyoming. saturday the colder air works into areas like chicago and kansas city. that's why we'll see any rain turn over to snow and we could see, again, several inches of snow in the midwest. then on sunday temperatures in atlanta drop all the way down to a high of 52 degrees but it takes until monday before it starts to work its way into new york city. by monday we should see a high of only 45 degrees. seven degrees below average. today again we're watching lighter snow through the northern plains and it will move through the midwest as we go into tonight. that's a look at weather across the country. >> and sunday night is football night in america. the cincinnati bengals are headed out to glendale, arizona to take on the arizona cardinals. we are looking at temperatures to be on the mild side, 74 degrees, but it's a retractable roof there anyway so that won't make a lot of division. both teams number one in their division so should be a good game. first that's sunday night "football nig this sunday night football weather isht brought to you by verizon. >> if you have verizon, you have football in the palm of your hand. >> watch sunday night football on nfl mobile. included only on verizon. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> and that's your late forecast. >> coming up, is it . coming up, is it okay to put secret monitoring apps on your kid's iphone? getting into that in trending. >> that's a good conversation. and drones set to fly off the shovels in large numbers this holiday season and the government wants to register every one. will that lead to bigger problems. we'll have that story right after this. 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>> i think the education needs to be in place to educate people on how to use it better. not necessarily regulate every single piece of machinery. >> reporter: and could registration backfire creating a black market. >> like getting your hands on a gun, same kind of a deal. is it heavy-handed government or common sense regulation amid the first attempt to at the same time wild west of the skies. yeah, the faa's drone task force made up of representatives of the industry, government, airline pilots, that's due to present its recommendations as soon as today right before the big black friday rush. back to you. how to register your drone, go to faa.gov. don't pay somebody to do it for you. it won't be that difficult. >> glad you kept control of that drone. worried it might get away from you. >> got a little close. >> it's on my list, know you've got them around your house, a big gift this season. >> it is, and also a big problem. seems like tom is doing a story every other day about issues with drones. >> the price has gone down so it makes it more appealing for people who want to buy one. >> that's right. coming up, an entire airport terminal just for celebrities. we'll tell you where that could happen. >> i might have a guess where that might happen. and facebook's new plan to help your break-up a little easier to take, okay, right how you doing? 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now teeth-whitening is, with the colgate optic white toothbrush plus whitening pen just brush, whiten, and go! no waiting. no rinsing. it deeply whitens for whiter teeth in 2 days. optic white toothbrush we're back on a friday morning with a new plan to fix an issue, shall we say, that a lot of people have faced on facebook and sheinelle is in the original room with that. >> yes, an issue. when we think of facebook, we think of friend and a place to share big moment in life and, unfortunately, break-ups are big moments, too, so facebook is now testing a tool to help manage the aftermath of changing the whole relationship status. can you customize how much you see of your former flame whether in their post or they like something, for example, you can limit what you see of your ex and can control what they see about you, perhaps helpful if you're moving on a little faster than expected and it will help you untag yourself from some or together. maybe you don't want people to see that. this is funny. julie calls this the digital equivalent of darting into an alley to avoid running into your ex, guilty of that. unfortunately, facebook can't help you with self-control. there's nothing keeping you from searching your ex's page and going directly to it, so here's the deal. we asked our viewers how often do you visit an exx' page on 73% say never. >> lying. >> 27% say regularly. that means that you guys have done it. >> oh, my gosh. i can facebook stalk with the best of them. that's what facebook is for. >> i never. >> tamron. everybody. >> come on. i have never, never done it. >> what? >> think about it. 20 years ago you weren't able -- i don't know, but i've never done it. 73%, i'm with them. >> more than curiosity, right in the. >> this is about us, exactly, exactly. surfacing this. >> coming up, the faa proves the first genetically modified salmon grows tries as fast fori love you. love you too. one minute. hi. hi dad. we need to do this, yes. you be good. alright. letting go... don't say a word. it's a little easier when you'vesaved for college, with state farm. earning unlimited cash back on purchases. that's a win. you can with the citi double cash card. it lets you earn cash back twice. once when you buy and again as you pay. it's cash back then cash back again. and that's a cash back win-win. the citi double cash card. the only card that lets you earncash back twice on everypurchase with 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay. with two ways to earn, how do they make starbursttaste so juicy?they use wicked small xfighter jets to shoot the juiciness into every starburst. [ pilot ] it's about to get juicy. whoo! i feel so aliii... it takes guts. [ female announcer ]starburst. unexplainably juicy. i'm here at my house, on thanksgiving day andi have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're notindestructible anymore. give your home the gift ofbig savings this year at lowe's. hurry in to your neighborhood store today for a ton of great black friday deals. (laughter) eat up, buddy. you'll get itthis time. yeah ok not too quick don't let go until i say so. i got you... start strong with the lastingenergy of 100% you're doing it! america's never been a country of quitters. it's not who we are. we don't ignore threats like climate change. we face our problems head-on. with american-made clean energy, we can end our dependence on foreign oil... spark new innovation... and create millions of new jobs. solving our climate crisis starts with 50% clean energy by 2030. it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, safe to eat in the fda approved genetically engineered salmon that could be coming to your local supermarket. the latest on the backlash and what you need to know. >> plus, hoda strikes again. hoda! >> hoda takes an unseth suspecting birthday girl for a wild ride. >> oh, my gosh. >> with surprises at every stop. and a feast to remember. the countdown to thanksgiving begins as we whip up delicious fall dishes your family will love today, friday, november 20th, 2015. >> it's our birthday from tennessee! >> celebrating 60 in nyc. >> from mississippi, celebrating our 9th birthday on "today"! >> good morning, hole wood! go browns! >> and good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." beautiful friday morning out here on our plaza. i don't even think you need a coat. >> look at you. >> i might be a little sorry i didn't wear a coat. okay. you were right, dylan, should have listened to the weather forecaster. matt has the morning off. >> very brave this morning. >> you're not wearing a coat. >> great crowd out here on the mazza. a lot of news to get to. let's go inside to tamron for a check of today's top store i. good morning, everyone. terrorists have been holding hostages overnight inside a radisson hotel in mali, a popular destination with westerners at hotels. nbc's ron mott is following developments from london. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, tamron. dramatic scenes inside and outside this radisson hotel in the capital city of bamaco. we can tell you that it is still ongoing and the information conflicting. what we know is there are at least three people who have been killed. there are reports that that number may be at this hour three times as many. we can tell you also that the hostages may have come in one vehicle, that they may only number between two and four people and that they may have breached security at this hotel by driving a vehicle bearing diplomatic plates and once inside witnesses say they were screaming allahu akbar and then ran into the hotel and started collecting hostages. at one point the hotel confirmed there were 270 people taken hostage and then a number of them were let go after the gunmen asked if they could rekritd a muslim islamic declaration and a number of people were able to escape the hotel. we can tell you an air france crew of 12 has escaped a hotel and they for security reasons had been moved to a different floor in this hotel and perhaps at this point they have been the official target of all of this, we still don't know. president obama has been briefed on all of this. tamron. >> ron, thank you very much. the body of a second woman where french commandos killed the leader of last friday's paris massacre and abc news has obtained video of a moment when another woman inside detonated her suicide vest during wednesday's siege. officials are still hunting for an accomplice who was mistakenly allowed to leave france. at an emergency meeting of european ministers this morning, france urged quick action to beef up borders. the director of the fbi says there are no known connections between the paris attackers and the u.s. james comey also says that despite isis propaganda videos threatening the white house and new york city, he sees no sign of a credible threat. however, comey says the fbi has stepped up its surveillance of dozens of potential home grown terrorists who might be inspired by isis social media to carry out copycat attacks. the former subway spokesman jarred fogle was sentenced to 5 years in prison for dealing in child pornography and paying underage girls for sex. the 38-year-old father of two wept as he told the court in indianapolis thursday that he had become addicted to pornography and alcohol. fogle became an advertising pitchman for subway after he lost more than 200 pounds by eating its sandwiches. a competitive kayaker is reconsidering from a broken tailbone and fractured vertebrae after a rescue that was caught on camera. take a look at this. kayaker nick fielder was thrown from his boat during a race in north carolina and frightening one of the train volunteers posted along the riff. jumped over the capsized kayak to grap fieldler and pull him to safety. that part of the course is so treacherous they call it the you hear the people cheering. terrifying. >> what an effort by the rescuer. long into the river. >> training. >> gosh. >> thank you. now too a first from the fda. >> after years of review the agency has ruled that genetically modified salmon are now safe to eat but not everyone is convinced. here is miguel almaguer. >> this is what they call genetically engineered in hatchery the fish grow twice as fast. now it will likely become the first genetically altered animal to hit tables in the u.s. fda sighing the modified fish are safe to eat giving the all clear to be sold in supermarkets. >> there is not any substantial risk. and we need to have alternative sources of healthy and fresh food other than wild fish caught from our oceans. this presents a very attractive alternative. >> using different species to grow the salmon the fda says there is no health risk for consumers. dietitian carriy glassman urges caution. >> i don't recommend consuming foods that are genetically modified. we don't have long term studies what that may do to our food supply and to our health. >> with critics calling the research inadequate, they also say the fish could harm the environment if they were ever released into the wild. right now, when sold, the fda would not require the salmon to be labeled genetically engineered but issued guidelines for manufacturers who choose to do so. >> there are unanswered questions about human health impact, about environmental impact. at the least all consumers should be able to pick and choose. >> many americans eat genetically modified food but this is a first for animals. the take away say experts, ask questions, find out if your salmon is wild, farmed or down the road it's genetically altered. store likes whole foods and trader joe's have declared they won't carry genetically modified fish. this morning it's unclear when the salmon will reach market or if consumers will be eager to buy. for "today", miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. we have the same reaction watching that. at the least label it so people know what they are eating. >> educate themselves. >> how many calories in starbucks. >> imagine asking how's the frankenfish? >> not that appealing. >> no, it isn't. coming up next, pop star and "american idol" news, are simon, randy and paula returning to the shows they made famous? >> could your memory use a boost? i'm heading to boot camp for the today. don't miss it. >> on make your today what hoda did this time to give another today super fan the surprise of a lifetime.people think californians live in our own reality.with our heads in the clouds. like a bunch of space cadets. huh? what? i've drawn a blank. what's my line? [director]: reset! maybe we do live in a fantasy... ...in our own little bubble. just hangin' out! as if we're not completely down to earth. but just a bunch of dreamers? no way! we're just like everyone else. you know, average joes. start dreaming big at visitcalifornia.com the first fridge with a keurig brewing system. only in the ge caf\ series. made for everyday and extra special days. get up to 40% off select major appliances. $396 and more. two million, four hundred thirty-four thousand, three hundred eleven people in this city. and only one me. i'll take those odds. there is nowhere i'drather be than right here.where all it takes to become part of the family is to sit down, give thanks, and share a beautiful meal together. walmart. this is more than just a town. this is our home. and small business saturday... is more than just a day. it's our day... to shop small at the places we love... with the people we love. for stuff we can't get anywhere else. and food that tastes like home. because the money we spend here... can help keep our town growing. on small business saturday, let's all shop small. for the neighborhood, the town, the home we love. on november 28th, shop small. we're back now at 8:11. time tore what's trending today. number one question is it okay to read your kids' diary? i've got a little key. we would say, no, it's not okay but the updated question is in the new digital age is it okay to install monitoring apps on your kids' phone without telling them. an app that would show what the kids are up or apps that lock their phones until you answer the text. what do you say? >> i paw for all my three nieces and nephews and pay for all their phones and have all their information information. >> do you tell them? >> they know now. >> out you mention the key with a diary. could i look my diary when i was little but i was only riding. i wasn't accessing. >> a diary is not dangerous. i have a friend -- she says to her kids when i drop you off on the worst corner in a big city at 2:00 a.m. and leave you alone and i'm not going to sent you out on to the internet without watching what you're doing. >> good point. >> i'm going to borrow that line in ten years. >> and the diaries, stranger can't get into your diary, but this is a dangerous weapon and we know that every day. we report on it so why not to your point protect your child. >> we want to know what the viewers said d.a survey the. 80% of the parents said it is okay to secretly install control apps without your kids' knowledge. kids were not surveyed for that. >> 100 kids disagree. >> all right. how about this one. air travel, of course, can be a real headache but it's about to get a lot easier in los angeles, as long as you're a world famous celebrity. l.a.x., the city's international airport got approve to open a special celebrity terminals, movie stars, famous athletes and if you've got a bunch of money laying around get to arrive in style away from the public and pratzy. the government, at least 1,500 per trip. l.a.x. says the new terminal will benefit everyone because it keeps the rest of us, the regular people away from that media circus that comes with a kardashian going through the airport. calls the paparazzi because now the people choose not to take the private terminal they know. >> now that they know, there's one place that celebrities are. isn't that a tmz magnet. >> actually stream lines the process. >> exactly. >> i think we're all going to like this next story. feast your eyes, the world's second largest diamond was just discovered in botswana. >> oh, goodness. >> a stone with 1,100 carats. this is actually the largest diamond found in more than 100 years, and if you had into this sort of thing, it's been a pretty big month for diamond collectors. just last week the so-called blue diamond was bought by a billionaire in hong kong spending $48 he gave that and another pink diamond to, wait for it -- his 7-year-old daughter. >> added her name. >> wear it and play with it? >> what do you do when she's 16? the person who proposes one day? >> the bar is high. can't go to zale's after that. that's a problem. all right. there are so few sure things in life. one thing that's certain, put together cute furry animals it's going ging viral. this was just declared the most shared ad of all time. >> "robin hood" and little john running through the forest jumping fences dodging trees trying to get away. contemplating nothing but escaping making it. what a day. >> that's an ad for google android. it's been shared more than 6.4 million times. >> i think i said aw 16,000 times. >> you got me with the little furry. we're like what animal is that? >> can't go wrong. >> news from "american idol" and gwen stefani about blake shelton. >> first up "american idol", the show will launch its final season. to say good-bye it will bring back all of its judges, both past and present throughout the season. that means the original trio, simon, paula and randy and ellen in season 9. season 10, steven tyler and nicky and mariah. ryan seacrest, a matter of figuring out what to do with everybody. >> gwen stefani about her romance with blake shelton. she is having fun on the voice. ellen has the photo. gwen made a confession. >> i did not know this about him because i didn't even know who >> before i was on "the voice" i never heard of him. he is a musical juke box. he knows everything about anything. crazy. >> he is a good kisser or no? >> you're so awesome. >> didn't fall for that. that episode of ellen airs today. and finally speaking of ellen her show is famous for two things, her dancing and scaring celebrities. to celebrate her 2,000th episode ellen put together a montage of all of the times she startled the stars. >> getting roasted. >> yes. >> you have to be nervous. you have to be scared. right? >> oh, my god. >> that's it. i'm not going on your show again. >> ah! >> oh, my god. what the [ bleep ]. >> we curse and we stay in place. notice that. ellen estimates that she scared celebrities more than 120 times, guys. >> she came after me with a frog. absolutely terrifying. i'm still recovering from it. >> findshat weakness. >> then we all ha, ha, ha. >> i'm terrified. google is insane. >> thank you. dylan, the weather. >> yes. we're taking a look at the weekend forecast. which for the eastern part of the country looks all right. but we are going to see the chance of some snowy weather especially back through the midwest up through here, tonight into saturday morning including chicago. might start as rain, then change over to snow. chicago should end up with 2 to 5 inches of snow. even higher amounts to the northwestern suburbs. we'll see rain showers through the eastern great lakes, then on sunday as the colder air settles in you'll have lake-effect snow develop across northeastern ohio, near ashtabula, erie, pennsylvania could see some. but the rest of the country on sunday actually looks okay. the southeast, though, a few scattered showers, temperatures only in the 40s and 50s so you are below average temperatures will work in. it's going to be a little bit tricky through the midwest this weekend. that's a l >> and that's your latest forecast. >> all right, dylan. thank you. now to our special series of spreading kindness, hoda's party crash. >> she has been busy all week starting on a cruise ship near i giving a fan a heart attack. and hoda surprised a bride at the altar and actually officiated the ceremony. what could be next? >> so today i deliver a baby. no, i surprised this morning's fan here. the sweetest lady from ohio who is in new york. she was celebrating her 60th birthday and i got to go along for the ride. you may be wondering why i'm sitting shotgun in a super stretch limo. attempting to disguise my voice. well, it's all part of a master plan to give one special fan the ride of her life. >> are you kidding me. >> vicki is the nicest person you would ever meet. she is always doing things for other people. >> a loving wife and devoted mother of two. >> that's it. >> vicki is also a home economics teacher who spent the last 36 years inspiring her kids to dream a little bigger. >> she alone was the first person to ever push the right direction. >> and here is that tough kid today. a chef in ohio owes it all to vicki. vicki's family asked us to help her celebrate her 60th birthday. she thinks she's meeting them in new york for a weekend away. >> vicki is the biggest fan of the "today" show. you would think she was one of the co-hosts, she talks along with hoda and kathie lee. >> i have never seen her without a crown. >> hi, my name is abby. hi, vicki. >> though i sound like a weird southern hoda, there is hope. hickey won't be able to see me from her seat in the limo. but we'll see her since our covert ops crew rigged cameras all over her surprise limo. here is milton, our real driver. i'll play the role of his assistant. >> how are you? >> i said hodawho hoda? >> minor details. with our chase team in place we are on the move to pick up the couglers at their hotel. >> you'll introduce me as your trainee. right? all vicki knows is that hubby mark has a few things planned. >> going to freak a little? >> freak. she's going to freak. >> mark's wired for sound and will act as our accomplice on the inside. >> vicki is like in the bottom of a coal mine without a light about this weekend. >> oh, my god. are you kidding. >> hello. >> hi. >> i'll be your chauffeur today. i have an assistant with me, abby. hope you don't mind. >> hi. >> i'm just learning. her. >> is it somebody's birthday? >> well, it's going to be mine tomorrow. >> well, happy birthday. >> thanks. i could get used to this. >> drive you around all day long. >> i managed to keep my identity under wraps for long enough. >> we talk about a bucket list for vicki. vicki's jaw is going to drop. >> are you kidding me? hoda! oh, my gosh. what are you doing. >> i was your limo driver. >> happy birthday. >> little did vicki know we stopped just outside of sacks where vicki a shoe junky is headed to a shoe store so big it has its own zip code and going home with any pair she wants. >> my gosh. >> she's in heaven. want to go. >> hello. >> how could you choose one. >> the orange with the fringe. >> we zero in on the hottest pair. >> can i borrow them? do they come in a 10? >> pack them up. after you, birthday girl. >> next stop another item, hotel. come on, girl. ladies and gentlemen, your lunch is served. yet, a suit she hasn't seen in more than 20 years. >> so the staff wanted to say hello. >> hi. >> are you kidding me? are you kidding -- will. oh, my gosh. >> will was one of my former students, hoda. >> she took an unruly rotten kid and turned him into a chef. i love you for that. >> for our last surprise we tell vicki no trip to new york is complete without a view of the city or better yet, this. this is your suite for the weekend. >> the royal plaza suite at over 4,000 square feet it's one of the most exquisite hotel rooms in the world. >> she makes other people better around her. possibly deserve this more than vicki. >> yeah. enjoy. >> a fun week. >> well done. >> gosh, what a fun job. i wish i could do that forever. >> i love how everyone who sees you immediately hugs you. the most natural thing. hoda! >> really a lot of fun. >> i thought they were surprised by your hat. the outfit. >> a large mellon. >> we have like a 12-month calendar. i think we have an idea. >> how to make simplei owe about $68,000.i owe $44,000 in student loans. my plan, the new collegecompact, says you should not have toborrow money to pay tuition if you go to a publiccollege or university. and you ought to be able torefinance student debt. and i don't believe the federalgovernment should be making a profit off of lendingto young people who are borrowing to be able toget their education. we have got to make collegeaffordable. 8:30 now on this friday morning. it's the 0th of november, 2015. air, but still pretty out here. nice fall day here in new york city, and we are getting ready for the holiday. you've got thanksgiving next week. you've got the rockefeller center christmas tree. gettg it all gussied up. the big tree lighting on december 2nd. hope you tune in for that. >> such a nice time around here, thanksgiving, parade, right into the holiday. it's great. speaking of the holidays about to turn a seasonal treat pumpkin into some delicious treats and definitely will want to try out these recipes for thanksgiving. >> think, plus you can spot a scam e-mail? >> i feel like i could. >> don't be too sure about that. we'll put a test out there to see if you can coming up and teach you how to protect your private information pause we'll all be doing a lot of online shopping. that's where i do most of mine. >> speaking from experience, let's head inside to sheinelle. >> with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it's important to support your local community and small businesses. here's what andy cohen has to say. >> i love shopping at small businesses. i think they are the fabric of what makes new york city and our country great. i love the village den which is my favorite diner in the west village, and it just is really homey, and the same waiters have been working there for years and years and years. i absolutely love it. >> so we want you to join in online and share a positive review for a small business you love using the #shopsmall. >> thanks, sheinelle. a great crowd out here on the plaza. i'm loving all the great jackets. where are you girls from in. >> missouri. >> you having fun in new york. >> yeah. >> the weather is perfect and a major cooldown as we go through the weekend. everyone wants to know what's going on for thanksgiving. an early look at your forecast, not so great across the rockies and northern plains. looks like we'll see some snow start to work in with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. we've got some rain through the upper midwest down into texas. we could see some strong storms on thanksgiving day through kansas into hockey hockey and into north central texas. also look at that snow working its way into nebraska and even into minnesota and then on friday, big travel day, too. we're looking for kind of a maas mess right through the middle of the country. the east coast is okay and temperatures should warm into the upper 50s to lower 6s and th >> and that's your latest guys? >> all right, dylan, thank you so much. our no-shave today is in full effect and being worn on all the faces of the men around here and we're raising issues. you checked out a really good program. >> there's only one of us, missing carson and matt and al. the cleveland clinic is renowned for care of our bodies and now it's getting attention for our ground breaking treatment of our mind with a program that brain. here at famed cleveland clinic, doctors want you to think of your brain like you do your body, as something that needs to be exercised, toned and maintained. remember the game memory? in a minute they will put me to improve. that's what they do at clinic's brain health and wellness program where small groups gather every other week working out their minds with mental games and test. after a series of health problems 67-year-old bill and his wife worried he had lost a step so they signed up with an eye to their future. >> at some point we're going to stop work and we should have some things in our back pocket to try to do some of these preventive measures to curb any game loss. >> the program includes specially designed board games and, yes, druc circles. doctors said focus of the rhythm of the drum helps the brain. participants also learn that the right foods can make the food stronger. nutritionist kristen kirkpatrick says that list includes nuts, yogurt and you'll be glad to know wine and chocolate, in moderation. she also wants us to keep an eye >> color serves everything because in the plant world color represents high anti-oxidants and things that we though will decrease inflammation. >> the entire program is the brainchild of dr. rex an sukol. >> i'm riveted and fascinated to preventive medicine. >> it was my turn to try. the program's occupational therapist asked me to remember quickly. cotton ball, pickle, computer, tree, solar panel, handkerchief, horse, laundry soap, car and song. >> how did i do. >> cotton ball, pickle, song, laundry soap, solar panel, that's all i've got at the moment. >> michael taught me a technique called the memory palace, an association strategy where the patient attaches each object on a list to a familiar place in their lives. my memory palace was my new york apartment. i mentally walked through my home and placed each item into a room. in the span of just a couple of minutes i had the list memorized forward and back wards. >> in your closet you have -- >> sglong in the washer drier you have a -- >> car. >> in your daughter's bedroom. >> laundry soap. >> son's bedroom there's a horse. >> in your dining room handkerchief. >> ex-length. >> and kitchen. >> solar sglanl in your master bedroom. >> tree. >> living room, computer. >> in your hall, pickle. >> and in your door. >> cotton ball. >> congratulations. >> you did it. >> no, did you it. >> welcome to my memory palace. >> amazing. the doctor who you saw in the piece there said there are simple things you can do at home to help challenge your mind and she suggests standing on one foot when you brush your teeth. that improves balance and concentration and says if you get really good do it with your eyes good. your teeth. >> i thought you were going to say no feet. say floss. >> it's a remarkable place, not for people already experiencing comment yeah, for young people who want to keep their minds family they have alzheimer's or something else and head it off. >> almost like exercising your brain a little bit. >> a workout for your braintree same way you would work out your body. don't forget, we want to see photos your beard. share them with the the #noshavetoday and go to the rsvp for the big shavoff live on the plaza. >> your beard is looking good. >> don't patronize me. >> they have eyebrow pencils that they can fill it in. >> you suggesting i need that. >> like a little bank robber. >> dylan, save more about that. >> coming up next, no phishing. how to avoid falling for the bait of scammers online. nbc. we are back at 8:40, if you're being scammed online do you think you'd know it, more than 150 million so-called fbiing e-mails are sent each day trying to trick you into revealing personal information. how do you protect yourself? jean chatzky is here with more. i guess the phishers will do it. >> 882,000 will work with their identifying information, personal detail as well as money. these are companies that you mention with everything that makes people susceptible. >> you get an e-mail and you think it looks legit. you puts one on the screen. let look at this one right here. looks like it's coming from amazon. what do you think? >> i mean, it looks like this is amazon's logo, confirm your -- i would probably look to see what does the actual e-mail say. >> that's exactly what you want to do. you want to make sure that you know the logos this. logo is a little bit off. also, follow the e-mail. that's going to amazon.net. >> i could see falling for amazon.net so be really careful that you make sure that you are looking at e-mails and that you hover over those links and while you're online be very careful not to share too many identifying information, too many details on your social networks because the phishers are incorporating your details into their pitches and makes us more susceptible because we sound more real. >> feels more real. >> give us another example here. tell us if it's a real or a fake. >> this one is coming up. this one is from paypal supposedly. what do youuthink? >> this looks big-time fake. >> it is big-time fake. >> and it is big-time fake because of all the typos and spelling and grammatically. unable misspelled. >> seems generic,@service.com. >> to look at text of the message, it's imperative to update your information or your account will be disabled. a thinly veiled threat. any time they are pushing you to take action walk away and if you need to get in touch with paypal you go to their website and get in touch with them that way? just so people understand as we move to our next one, if you click on these links sometimes that's it, you've got this malware installed and they can watch everything you're doing. >> right. >> and you'll see an example of that here, so this one is coming from home depot. they ask you to open this link to see full information about your order. >> i would say no. but i have to say if i had order something from home depot i might fall for it. >> and they might know that you depot. the problem is you open a link, it could put malware or a virus on your computer and they can be watching and gather access to your computer that way. be very, very careful and they really good. hey, you won a contempt hey, we've got a free gift for you. any time it sounds like something you probably don't walk away. >> okay. just don't click on those links that you don't recognize. >> absolutely. >> the and have a phishing quiz. >> more on e-mail scams and the affirmative action quiz. go to today.com and check it out. coming up next, one mom's tough love for a teen on the "today" on nbc. people are sick and tired of establishment politics,vand they want real change! [ cheers and applause ] bernie sanders -- husband, father, grandfather. that keeps in place a rigged economy. bernie's campaign is funded byover a million contributions -- people like you, who see the middle class disappearing and want a future to believe in. i'm bernie sanders,and i approve this message. >> we love 8:46 with our ongoing series with the nfl "together we make football." >> they say it takes a tough man to play offensive line in the nfl, but in the case of san diego chargers guard orlando franklin the secret to his succession has been a tough mom. this story starts in toronto with a boy named orlando, his mom and a promise. >> june 10, 2003. dear mom. i love football, and i want to play all the time so i, orlando franklin, promise to change. >> i remember sticking a key in this socket right here and it shocked me. i remember turning this on. got in a lot of trouble for that. i was a product of my environment. i probably had ten childhood friend and out of the ten probably seven of them had been arrested. >> at 15 orlando was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. his mother took a brave but risky stance. >> i got arrested on a friday, got bail on a monday and this wonderful lady right here is not coming to get me. >> yes. that's called tough love. i believe in tough love, because he knows that i'm here and i can go steal car and my mom would come get me monday, no problem. well, he's going to go steal a car every day. >> about five weeks goes by and she shows up. she finally sits me down and she's just like what do you want to do with your life? that's when we wrote the letter. >> i promise to stop getting in trouble and do better in school, and i will do everything i can to go to college and play football. your son, orlando. >> his mother moved the family to florida to help fulfill his dream. orlando turned his life around, got a college scholarship and is now an offensive lineman for the san diego chargers. that letter changed everything. >> orlando really shows that you don't have to give up. it gives kids up here hope. >> i think about it each and every week, like what she sacrificed and how different my life could have went. >> there's a lot of y'all. 83 good. >> he launched the orlando franklin foundation for underprivileged and at-risk children. >> good. >> what's going on? >> and every year he returns to toronto as a mentor for his former youth league. >> i've been in trouble. i've been through everything. i'm here to assure you guys no matter what the person is telling you, you can be successful, you can make it. i've got to introduce you to the reason why i'm in the nfl, this is my mom right here, sylvia. >> hi, guys. >> let me get a real thunder roll out for you, one, two, three. >> roll, thunder, roll. >> sylvia still has that letter for orlando. when orlando played in the super bowl a few years ago she brought it along as a reminder of just how far her son was come. >> love that. >> isn't thee great. >> now you understand why the player is like always i love you mom. >> exactly. two first place teams playing on cardinals and cincinnati bengals battling on "sunday negotiate football" right here hon nbc. >> meals and deals. how to turn inexpensive canned thanksgiving treat. this is "today" on nbc. 1z back at 8:51 with "today food" with our countdown to thanksgiving. less than a week to go, folks. if you're head together store to stock up, lots you can do with simple and cheap pumpkin. you're a proponent of canned pumpkin. you're going to show us how to do it. >> totally a proponent. everyone says i make my own. this is better than what you make at home, i'm promising you, and it's so's. >> like that. >> these are our ingredients. ingredient, aside from the flakes. >> why? >> and you're going to think, she's crazy. >> it makes it soft and tender and moist. everybody's favorite word, and interalso use instant yeast which allows you to put the yeast straight into -- usually you have to make it nice and wet and get it bubblingy. you can add this straight into the dry ingredient, whisk, whisk, whisk, that's all you have to do before you add it to the wet. >> dry ingredients first. >> i whipped that together and the instant yeast can go straight into the dry, eggs and milk and maple syrup for sweetness, right, and this is a pumpkin dough that is so lovely that you can use it all year round. not one of those things that is so holiday-oriented that you think -- >> it's not super pumpkiny, not overpowering. >> not overpowering. >> all right. >> and since there are eggs in here i like to whisk this a dry. here's a trick. if you works carefully pour that middle. >> i will shu you a trick. >> don't feel uncomfortable. >> sorry. >> it's unorthodox. >> it is. >> so what you do is lift this and make a little spout. >> and that's much better, easier to handle. the hour on my body so this is a lovely way of doing it. >> unless you need powder and go for it. >> that's illegal what i just did. let it go for a little bit to produce gluten and then you add butter. if you add the butter too fast it will coat the flour. flour tends to bloat. >> i do, too. have that in common with butter. >> you add the water and flour first and add the butter so it doesn't bloat the flour. otherwise fat coats everything. >> room temperature. >> nice an in -- nice and incorporated. >> then cover it and let it the double its size. >> i would say our gang is downstairs getting a sneak preview. >> yeah. >> amazing. >> you're interrupting us. >> this is heavenly. >> still haven't seen the whole knife and fork thing. >> doesn't matter as long as we're eating it. >> getting a lot of good reviews here. >> delicious. >> what are you doing with this dough? >> i use my fingers because you is. >> learning a lot about you. >> well, you know. and i roll it into a rough rectangle about 14 x 18. sometimes i do have a ruler there because i'm anal retentativor you can eyeball and then you'll take the butter and you're going to smear all that butter? smear it, go for it. >> hold it. >> this seems is up fun. >> it's a happy thing. >> really is. >> i like to put this much butter o >> this is just glue but it's really the best glue ever. so then we have brown sugar and cinnamon and a little bit of salt that we mix up. >> yes. >> and that will be the topping. you could put fruit, raisins but why be so healthy when you can add sugar and cinnamon. like had fruit. >> okay. >> was that smered enough? >> and you would sprifrpgle all of this lovely stuff on here. and we would spread it out. and then roll it up. >> this is what i want to see how you do that. >> i start at the very edge first. i do my practice, i call it my practice and then i start doing tighter and tighter. then you roll it up. and you can use the palms of your hand to make it nice. >> show our finished product. only a few seconds left. did you bake this? >> this is done and baked. and what i like to do is have my icing in a zip log bag so i can do lovely swirls. and this dough is so great you can make donuts action dinner rolls out of it and pumpkin is so lovely you wan make ony pies it's not just for pumpkin pie. >> all from a can, people. >> all from a can. >> thank you so much. py the way find all of our at have your next burger with aside of awesome. the one-of-a-kind, creamy blend of sweet and tangy. miracle whip and proud of it. at kraft we start with qualityingredients. all expertly blended to makeour mayo. so you can take whateveryou're making from good to amazing. this morning on "today's take" sofia vergara prepares to say i do to joe manganiello this weekend. we've got the details. and then the navy s.e.a.l. dogs are truly's man's best friend. and camila alves cooks up a bacon-wrapped turkey that's all right, all right, all right. coming up next. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on a friday morning, november the 20th, 2015. i'm willie along with tamron, natalie on assignment and al is off today. so much going on in the world, and we want to start with the news here in the united states. the house passed a bill on thursday that would suspend a program allowing syrian and iraqi refugees into the united states until key agencies certify that those ref views don't pose a risk. 47 democrats voted for the bill. that creates a majority that could overwide president obama's promised veto. comey said while there are no connections right now between the paris atea, and the united states, no credible threats against the u.s., the fbi is intensifying investigations and surveillance of dozens of potential isis suspects. the latest isis propaganda video includes a threat to attack white house. on the campaign trail yesterday, candidates weighed in, including ben carson, talking about the refugee crisis. >> if there's a rapid dog running around in your neighborhood you probably are not going to assume something good about that dog, and the you're probably going to put your children out of the way. >> there should be a lot of systems, beyond database, a lot of systems. oh, i would certainly implement that, absolutely. >> why would muslim databases not be the same thing as requiring jews to register in nazi germany in. >> who are you with? >> i'm with nbc news. is there a difference between requiring muslims to register and jews? >> by the way, the united states holocaust memorial museum released a statement saying we're acutely aware of the consequences to jews who were unable to flee nazism. the united states holocaust memorial museum looks with concern about the current refugee crisis while recognizes security concerns must be fully address the. we should not turn our barks they said, on the thousands of legitimate refugees. this is obviously such a hot topic, hot button issue and that bill last night passed in the house and see if it keeps moving forward. certainly complicates things for people who want to see more refugees here. >> interesting a tweet yesterday, the "new york times" points out this tweet went viral. usa january 20th, 1939. should u.s. government permit 10,000 mostly jewish refugee children to come in from germany? it was tweeted out by historic opinion, and what they linked you to were a number of articles and the tone and tenor of the debate around the depression and holocaust and some of the very same language that we are seeing now, they point out lawmakers it's an incredible article. you should check it out but the language from lawmakers to even everyday people wondering how it women pact their lives, exactly the same. there have been people who said this is not comparing apples to ales, but the article lays out actual quotes from individuals from today and fascinating. >> politicians who support that had bill yesterday saying we're not against families and refugees coming here. we just want to stop for a minute and make sure that we're looking at these people strictly to which the fbi and other groups have said, boy, that's going to be a very difficult case. >> when you hear, for example, chris christie, who is running for president say he would not allow any 3-year-old orphan, people would say is that really about safety when you say a 3-year-old orphan. >> or about politics. >> about politics, yeah. moving on, talking about this earlier, one of those things you've got to see again. this video is from a kayaker being rescued. he came out of his boat. this is in north carolina. >> look at that, wow. >> a trained rescuer leaps in there. kayaker is nick fielder, 20th annual green river narrows race. he was rescued by a trained roll tier who was actually on hand. this is so treacherous, they have on hand monitors to do exactly what luck just did and fielder broke his tailbone and fractured two brert way. apparently the most treacherous part of that course, so as i mentioned the rescuers are standing by. i think they call it like gorilla rapids. >> said it earlier, gorilla rapids or something. >> that jump was unbelievable. knew exactly what he had to do and was going to go get that >> would you do it? at the point i know there are trained monitors there to rescue that? >> exact muhammad ali. let's skip that part. this is very exciting. >> the pies. >> patty's pies. >> have you had the pies. >> i think you're about to have the pies. >> patti labelle has teamed up with walmart. this teaming though happened about a year ago. she's been on our show. she loves to cook. >> she's great. >> an amazing cook, get one of her cook books. sweet potato pie flying off the shelves. last year i guess the pies, people knew about them, but then there was a viral video that a young man posted trying out patty's pies. it's taken over the internet and now these pies are sold out everywhere. a pie has been spotted on ebay for $12,000. >> is that true? >> $12,000. >> what's the regular price of the pie? >> the pie is like $3 on ebail. i got the video sent to me like last weekend by a friend saying you've got to see this guy react to patti labelle's pie. it's a classic. >> instant classic. >> if you haven't seen, it here it is again, it's gone viral. take a look. >> greetings. seen somebody post that patti labelle pie. i love patti labelle. shout-out to patti labelle, honey. i went and bought the patti labelle pie, sweet potato patti labelle, the patti edition. this is "on my own why did it end this way >> ooh, patti! when you've been blessed feels like heaven >> mmmm, mmm, mmm. whoa >> oh, my gosh. >> i swear. >> hissy name is james wright. that is greatness that you're watching. so this has been viewed, willie, 2.5 million times on youtube. reached out to him, thanked him for it, but this story now, it's gone to npr is doing a report. you've got "forbes," all of these money people are trying to analyze how a viral video overnight sends people to walmart clamoring for it. >> oh, no! >> are you kidding me? i got a new attitude >> >> patti labelle, i didn't believe it for a second. >> oh, my gosh. >> oh, my. >> you guys. >> you wanted this to happen, tamron and now it's here. >> here's the back story. >> okay. >> tell the story. >> tell the story. >> get over here, adam. >> well done. >> so our team, we've been talking to patti's team and we want patti to come on the show. please sit down. >> thank you. >> and our team said patti can't come on the show, can't make it complaining. this is the biggest story ever. >> oh, my gosh, patti. >> our executive producer says gotcha. >> we had no idea. >> i know you didn't. >> she and i are bud its but we're not -- well, we didn't know it was going to happen. i found out yesterday, okay, so i'm here, and i brought the pie. >> i'm shocked. >> and i made this pie for you, willie. >> oh, my -- may i try the patti pie. >> the same pie that you can get at walmart. >> thanks for walmart for bringing these pies to us. they are sold out. can't get them anywhere. >> you cannot get them. >> take a bite. >> and you're a spokesperson for walmart and i'm getting right in here. >> get in the there, willie. >> oh, my goodness. on my own once again now >> and that guy james. >> he's so wonderful. just out of the blue. here comes james. the pies had already been selling off the shelves. thank you, jesus, and this wonderful guy from l.a. did this beautiful video and i said let again. >> oh, my gosh. >> it really is good. >> i'm doing the dance. >> what did you think when you started getting calls from people saying this has sold out? >> people wanted to come to my gate and buy pies from my house and i said i don't have. it's like a blessing. like i said. i am so happy, and we're going to do more things with walmart, not just the patti pie. i have many more things coming and then i have to tell you everything i'm doing. the 18th of deerksz i'm at the show. >> great venue. >> and some other people. oprah winfrey comes on master i did that. recipe? >> she hats pie. i sent miss thing a pie. >> you can get the pie recipe at today.com. this blows my mind. i know walmart, first of all, they have to be over the moon because you're one of the nicest people i've ever met in my life. you sang to my mom at a concert in chicago. >> i sure did. >> i think it was like 10, 12 years ago. the most beautiful experience and this is a new life and you can cook. this is not fake patti. >> this is your recipe. >> everything is mine. it's my recipe, my blessing. my mother and father cooked and so it's like passed on to me. my sisters before they died, they cook cook, poor babies, god rest your souls and they contoocook and i cook for everybody and now i'm passing it on. >> do you sing when you're eating your pie. >> no. >> i don't break into anything. when i eat it i just break up into sweat or something, but no, no, no. menopause. >> i just love the fact that it's taking off the way it is, and thank everyone. thank you, james wright. >> and he can sing. >> that heifer can sing. he's a man. he can sing, i mean, really higher than patti labelle. >> can we give a shout-out to our team who pulled this off. >> really good, guys. >> team, adam, jake, putting up with my angry e-mails. >> i like to thank michael for my beautiful outfit, last-minute outfit, michael, thank you. >> almost as good as the pie. >> 9:00 hour, "today" show producing team, best in the business. >> congratulations on the pie. go get it at walmart if you can >> let's go over to forecast, guys. >> really, sheinelle jones running over here trying to get pie. get in line. the. >> they see you guys. patti, patti. only got two slices, walmart didn't have time for a whole pie. >> medical minute is up next. >> how many times a week should you be having sex? 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>> so obviously not the same number for everybody, but the researchers studied a whole gamut of people and what they found is that the magic numbers appears to be once a week. two important things, increasing it to daily did not increase happiness. >> good to know. >> yeah, pretty obvious. and that people preferred to have sex versus money. so that sex in a relationship when it was on a regular basis does. >> who asks you that question? that's an appropriate question. >> researchers ask people these question, yes. >> is there a day of the week that's better? no. across all age groups, even if you were in a short-term relationship or long-term relationship there was a a good number to sustain a happy relationship. >> it's not bad if you do it every day, just for the record. >> it doesn't -- you don't get the benefit of extra happiness. >> natalie, thank you very much. good to see you. up next, the celebrity wedding everybody is talking about in pop fix right after this.it's holiday time,and no fruit is as versatileas our ocean spray cranberries, which is whywe're declaring it "the unofficial officialfruit of the holidays." the fig's gonna be so bummed. 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(off camera): gasp. one, two, three, four, five, six, mmm, yoplait. it's winter. eat winter snacks. freshman. campbell's. made for real, real life. the first fridge only in the ge caf\ series. made for everyday and extra special days. get up to 40% off select major appliances. $396 and more. now at lowe's. hi. where's my club music? it's friday, it's time to party. let's toast weekend, everybody, with a little pie maybe after work. anyway, those wedding bells that i hear? ding, ding, ding, sofia vergara and joe mchottie manganiello have arrived in florida for their wedding this weekend. the couple was spotted at breakers which is an amazing palm beach resort yesterday, the saum hotel where they will tight knot in two days. according to the "miami herald" the ceremony will take place company sunday evening and the guests include jennifer lopez and co-stars ed o'neill, ariel winter and julie bowen and guests will be required to check their cell phones at door, but they will be entertained by the many live acts including marc anthony and gloria estefan. we need to be at that party the congratulations to this happy couple. so happy for then. they look amazing together. duane johnson opened up recently on oprah's master class revealing his battle with depression and how at a certain point it became crippling. >> i wish i had someone at that time who -- who can just pull me aside and say, hey, okay, it's going to be okay. i wish i knew that. >> after his admission went viral the "furious 7" star tweeted thanks, fam. he also discussed his love for his 14-year-old daughter simone out. handshake. on jimmy fallon last night he ran into none other than my look. >> ready, fight. whopper. >> wing, wing. >> hello. >> i love that. so they hope they never run into each other again because saying hello and good-bye is just too long. up next, thanksgiving fun for your local news. you know what, my party? my nightclub is always empty. club. me. >> i'm here, honey. >> the bouncers are -- >> it's patti labelle at my party. >> my club is getting cool. thanks. we've got more fun after your the first significant snowfall is creating a guessing game for some plow drivers this morning... the department of transportation says it decided not to pre-salt the roadways.... that's because they think the warm temps and expected rainfall will wash it away. des moines does think pre-treating the roads will help. their trucks hit the roads yesterday. seven republicans running for president are in des moines today.. carly fiorina... ben carson... ted cruz... mike huckabee as well as rand paul... marco rubio and rick santorum descend upon the metro this morning. they'll gather around one table at a presidential family forum. that's at the community choice convention center... at 6:30 a former lottery worker suspected of trying to rob the iowa lottery out of millions of dollars is in court today... eddie tipton, the former information security director for the multi-state lottery association was convicted of rigging the iowa lottery in an dollars. police say vidgood morning, honey. mmm.honey? so sorry, mrs. parker.so sorry... find a doctor, coordinateappointments, or transfer records withbewell 24/7. one of the many servicesprovided exclusively to wellmark members. call 844-84-bewell. jeb bush: we do not have to be the world's policeman. we have to be the world's leader. who's going totake care of the christians that are being eliminated in the middle east? and support them - our greatest ally in the middle east? the united states hasthe capability of doing this, and it's in our economic and national security interest that we do it. i will be that kind of president and i hope you want that kind of president for our country going forward. announcer:right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. aqua bounty technology's application for a fish engineer to grow much faster than usual. the company will not be required to label its fish as genetically modified. this will be the first genetically modified animal approved for consumption in the united states. the nation's largest health insurance company says it might leave obama care insurances after a year. united health told investors thursday the weak enrollment and high medical costs for exchange members are causing losses the company request not sustain. united health currently covers more than 84 million people, including half a million with obamacare plans, and a new "star wars" movie doesn't hit big screens for next month but it's set to smash box office records. last month online ticket sales fandango sold eight times as many pre-sale tickets as previous record holder, "the hunger games" in 2012. cannot wait for this movie. meanwhile, got to stay in the present with the forecast and dylan is checking it out with us. >> hey, tamron the we're inching closer and closer to the weekend so let's take a look at your weekend forecast where we're going to see a little bit of snow. this could actually be the first big snow storm of the season for the midwest, including chicago and areas just to the north of chicago where we could end up with about 6 to 10 inches of snow. in chick itself 2 to 5. the east coast looks good. a little cool though in the 50s and very chilly in the plains. temperatures only in the 0s and 40s. now on sunday we'll start to see this turn into more of a lake-effect snow event for parts especially northeastern ohio stil >> and that's your late forecast. willie and tamron. >> thank you, dylan. thanksgiving, can you believe it now six days away, and while we mull over the menu, remember long before you sit down for the meal, your table is the first impression. >> that's right. >> our friend yvette rios from "latina" magazine here with thanksgiving decor for your festive thanksgiving feast. good to see you. >> absolutely. >> i like your idea, guests should donate something. >> we're all thinking about what blessings we have. we've got so much abun dance in this country so why not set up a little giving basket at your thanksgiving, people can bring clothes they want to donate and instance. every 23 seconds they create a amazing. >> put it on your taxes as well, can you think about it before the new year. >> that's a great, great point? so i wanted to show you guys a center piece idea. really simple. these are paint cans. you can buy them at any home improvement store, paint them and put tape on them. >> i put some purr lap in there and stuck some different, you know, branches. have the guides go outside and grab branches for you, and those are actually leaves that you can use glue and glue them on to votives and put little -- i use the l.e.d. votives. >> we have those at home. >> switch them on and off and don't worry about fire. >> you glue them right on to the glass. >> super-duper easy. these are cute. little lanterns you make out of your wine glasses. >> a little paper, a shade you can cut out and put right over your wine. >> does that reduce my ability to consume wine? >> no. >> what about the chairs. what did you do here? >> i took a piece of burlap on them give thanks, just a reminder of how important this season is, so much to be thankful for. >> pretty table runner. >> i wanted to share this with you because this is something my aunt does and every year she has a scribble on the runner and then she embroiders it so every year she takes it out. like a time capsule. i started this one and then eventually it will get filled up as people come to my thanksgiving. >> phenomenal, such a cute idea. >> and now we're at kids' table. >> hi, laidies. >> they are kiera and i lexia. a little popcorn center piece because maybe they don't have a turkey at their table. >> a paper bag and fill it in with popcorn or any kind of treat that they want and these are so cute, their little turkeys and put their eight crayons in that. >> this is felt and a glue gun? what do you guys think? good popcorn, guys. >> yes, yes, as long as the popcorn is good. >> good review. >> we'll work on the popcorn. >> shall we play some games. >> after you're done eating go outside and have a little gaming and milania and ethan who are playing turkey tag. these are clothes pins i just painted and put some feathers on. >> try to grab the feathers off of each other. okay, milan yeah, got to run. >> she's like i'm dressed in my sunday best. >> she's going back to the kids' table. >> there she goes. >> look at the hustle. >> so they have to -- >> okay. >> so quickly we're turkey bowling. >> yes. >> which i just learned. >> you encouraged this willie. >> got you, buddy. >> come on. show me how to bowl. >> yeah. let's bowl, you guys. >> so i've got preston and olivia here. >> nice bowl guys, oh, here. >> yeah! >> way to use the rail. >> awesome. yvette, you keep bowling. kid, thank you. >> wow, happy thanksgiving to all of you. for more of these decorating ideas head to our facebook page and -- >> don't fall. >> up next, a hero dog that helped save lives on the battlefield. we'll meet him and his navy s.e.a.l. companion and find out why dogs like chopper are so i think when people hear aboutmemory care they're scared,they think that it's sad.i think it's important foreveryone to know that there is so much more to memory supportthan the stigmas you hearabout. that they're not locked awayand that they still have a lotto live for, you know, thatthey have people that care about them and they have peoplethat love them and i love them,so their lives still matter. that is what i do this for. just fifteen minutes and alittle imagination are all you need to make thanksgiving magic. 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(doorbell) what's that? a package! it's a swiffer wetjet. it almost feels like it's moving itself. this is kind of fun. that comes from my floor? eww! this is deep couch sitting. former navy s.e.a.l. trevor marachek put his life on the line to protect our country when he enlisted in the military after 9/11, and as he was fighting to save lives at home his life was saved on more than one occasion by a special partner, a german shepherd named chop their was part of the navy s.e.a.l. dog program. >> the two are part of a special documentary that will air later this month. we'll speak to trevor in a moment and meet chopper but first this story. >> my name is trevor maracek and i joined the service in 2002 and had the ability to be with chopper who is now my s.e.a.l. dog and he served the life of me and other service members. today chopper continues to the save my life off the battlefield. now i run a nonprofit organization called the s.e.a.l. dog foundation where we help wounded vets and service members acquire service dogs and emotional support dogs. chopper is also my own therapy dog and he's best thing that i have going for me dealing with post-traumatic stress, anxiety, battle stress and traumatic brain injury. chopper really a part of me and a is always there and sits at home with me and hangs out with my family and the helps me raise my newborn baby sash ark. it's hard to describe the relationship and companionship and for me besides helping me downrange in the battlefield, he showed me how to love again and what true companionship is and i hope to express that and help other wounded warriors found that same love with themselves and their family. >> oh, man. trevor, chopper, good morning. >> good morning? what a great story. first of all, sasha is adorable. thank you what, a beautiful little girl. >> yes, she is. >> tell me about the bond that you have with chopper, after war and during war. >> the well, during war, i mean, he was -- him and i are fools for the military and the we actually, you know, he saved a lot of lives, especially mine, and, you know, coming out of battlefield as well, too, as, you know, the military life came to an abrupt stop, he real helped me with the transition as well and that's how i met my wife. hey, can i pet your dog. >> i love that. >> well, he's great. >> and we were talking about the dangers that you faced in france, a part of raid there. diesel, the kay nye dog, which was at its owner side died in the raid. this is serious business. i mean, these dogs are an extension of you and face danger just as you do. >> i would like to say, too, god bless america and new york city and especially what's happened was broken, especially for the handler after seeing what happened to that dog as well. that's not the consequence but honor of being able to provide that kind of a service and sometimes pate ultimate price. >> now you want to take the great experience you've had with your dog and give it to other people with the s.e.a.l. dog foundation. what do you want to tell other this. >> the only thing like this, i guess, having companionship and learning how to love again. a lot of friends dealing with post-traumatic stress. i mean, again, i speak for everybody and being in the service and being able to defend america was probably by far the greatest life's honor, but coming to an abrupt stop and trying to learn how to deal with life on life's terms in the civilian world is very difficult for a lot of guys. therefore, you know, the only thing i can do is share my experience and some of the suffering that i've been through and what's really cushioned that ride is having that companion that i was very blessed to be able to retire him and moving nonprofit that helps other wounded veterans have assistance dogs and emotional supports and companionship. >> chopper is a special dog. thanks for all you've done for this country and continue to do for this country. >> thank you. >> trevor, chopper. >> we're you like pizza. >> it airs tonight and throughout the month on the smithsonian channel at smithsonian panel come. >> coming coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm it's time to play game timegold at mcdonald's.how 'bout them cowboys. 20-piece for $5 bucks and you'll get two chances to win. with millions of instant winprizes and a $500,000 winner guaranteedevery week - who's your team? 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we'll show you these glasses you glasses and people can see colorhundreds of people are breathing a sigh of relief this morning that they won't be on the roads. the impending forecast caused the iowa high school athletic association to postpone tonight's state championship games. the big one would've had dowling fans traveling to cedar falls have your next burger with aside of awesome. the one-of-a-kind, creamy blend of sweet and tangy. miracle whip and proud of it. at kraft we start with qualityingredients. all expertly blended to makeour mayo. so you can take whateveryou're making from good to amazing. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee