You have ever interviewed. That i can tell you. This, as the war of words intensifies over what the president did and did not say about haiti and africa. All this, plus panic in the cabin. The terrifying moment a passenger jet skids off the runway and nearly plunges into the sea. The driver lucky to be alive after his car goes airborne and slams into a secondstory building. And miracle in minnesota. Pass is caught, sideline, unbelievable. The vikings shock the new Orleans Saints with one final play. A stunning ending and stunning heartbreak for saints fans on this monday, january 15th, 2018. From nbc news, this is today, with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today, everybody. Thank you for joining us on this Martin Luther king day. Craig is in for savannah. Good morning, craig. We thought of you as we watched that game at my house. For saints nation. But what an incredible game. I want to redo the last ten seconds. Everything else was perfect. Congratulations to the vikings. Well get to more on all that in a minute. Lets start with the frightening scene in florida, a boat bursting into plaflames, people forced to evacuate, some into the water, on the coldest day of the year. Kerry sanders has the latest on all this. Good morning. Reporter good morning, hoda. Sadly a spokesperson at Regional Medical center said one of the passengers on the boat has passed away. This was a shuttle boat that was headed out to a casino cruise ship that inexplicably burst into flames. This morning, dramatic video showing the island lady casino shuttle engulfed in flames. The terrifying scene happening sunday afternoon, just off the coast near tampa. Were coming as fast as we can. Reporter Authorities Say just minutes after setting sail, flames started shooting out of the engine room. The captain turned the boat around, moving the boat closer to shore. We almost ran ashore. Reporter the passengers could jump into the chilly water and wade ashore. There were people that were just offshore, crawling on their hands and knees. Reporter nearby residents raced to help with blankets, towels, dry clothes and coffee. People were cold, wet, scared. We took two people into our house and let them shower and, like, kind of get better. Reporter this is what the island lady looked like before it burned. A shuttle boat that would ferry passengers to the Tropical Breeze Casino boat. A similar boat caught fire in 2004, and only three crew members were onboard. This time, 15 people were transported to area hospitals, one in Critical Condition. The rest, suffering minor injuries. It is that one patient who was in Critical Condition who a Spokesman Says did pass away. A fire chief at the scene is crediting the boat captain with actually saving some lives, making that immediate decision to turn the boat around and get closer to shore. Had he been a quartermile out from where the fire began, says the fire chief, it could have been a much different story because the water there is much deeper. That quick thinking paid off. There are new developments this morning with the investigation into that false Missile Warning that set off panic across hawaii. Jacob z jacob was inside that bunker just hours before it happened. Good morning. We happen to be here looking into what a potential response to a Nuclear Missile attack on the Hawaiian Islands would be. Nothing could prepare officials here, residents, tourists, particularly us, for what that false alarm would be like. This morning, the investigation is under way how human error triggered a false Emergency Alert throughout the Hawaiian Islands, warning of a missile attack. The alert was sent to phones and broadcast to televisions. A missile play land on land or sea within minutes. Reporter residents ran for cover, scrambling. It took 38 minutes to issue a correction, twice as long for a missile to reach hawaii from north korea. When it was realized that it went out, a cancellation button was pushed. That just stops the message from going out anymore. The initial ones already went out. Reporter the fcc chairman, ajit pai, is calling the false alert unacceptable. And members of congress are demanding answers. Those responsible for this happening need to be held accountable, making sure this cannot happen again. Reporter President Trump was at his Florida Golf Club when the false alarm was sounded. He said on sunday that the federal government would look into the incident. Were going to get involved. Reporter the mistake was the result of a flaw in the Early Warning system, put in place amid tensions between President Trump and kim jongun. Hours before the mistake, we were given access to the bunker where the alert was accidentally triggered. David hafner works for the hawaii Emergency Management agency. This is where a call comes in that tells us if a Nuclear Missile is launched. Reporter this is where you find out . Thats right. Reporter they drill constantly for when the call comes in. Whats it like when it comes in . Were prepared to addresses. Reporter but the exercises couldnt prevent the human error. The military never gave the signal to alert the public. But it happened anyway. An erroneous doubleclick that sent hawaii into a panic it will never forget. New consequences on the island of oahu. The worker who pushed that button has been reassigned. The tests of that Early Warning system have been suspended, pending an investigation. The real question is, how badly has this damaged the publics faith in this Early Warning system, particularly if next time it really isnt a drill. Back to you. Legitimate concerns. Jacob, thank you. Were going to bring in jeremy bash with the latest on this. This had to be a terrifying 38 minutes. For a lot of parents, we saw parents putting children in manholes, that kind of thing. Lets go from a National Security perperspective. This was a mistake. But could a mistake lead to an act of war . This was a huge wakeup call, hoda. This is not the system that would detect an inbound missile or trigger the pentagon response. Im worried that north korea could see an alert like that, think that we believe an attack is imminent, they can undertake a military move and you have the sparks that could ignite a larger conflict. What do we know about north koreas country to communicate in a moment of crisis with us, or with their own citizens, as well . North koreas capability is very poor. If you think of the United States has the Gold Standard in terms of our systems, our capabilities, our technology, and even we made this critical mistake, think how much of a mistake could happen on the north korean side. When we are at hairtrigger alert and the tensions are so high, thats when mistakes happen. Thats when you can have an accidental conflict. A lot more to get to this morning. Including President Trump defending himself after being accused of using racist, vulgar language to describe haiti and african nations during a recent meeting on immigration. That controversy not going away anytime soon. Peter alexander is at the white house. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. This is a stunning National Conversation on the Martin Luther king holiday over whether the president of the United States is a racist. After three days of fierce criticism from around the world, President Trump is denying he made the inflammatory comments and attacking democrats for threatening key issues like efforts to protect hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. President trump defending himself. No. Im not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That, i can tell you. Reporter the president publicly pushing back in an escalating war over his words. Can you see what various senators said about my comments. He was amazed. Reporter President Trump talking about two republican senators in an Oval Office Meeting where the president was said to have used a vulgar term to describe two nations. Its a gross misrepresentation. I didnt hear it. I was sitting no further away from donald trump as dick durbin was. Perhaps we shouldnt be surprised by that. Reporter a durbin spokesman hitting back. Credibility is managsomething t built over time. Senator durbin has it. The senators remarks contradict their initial reaction, last friday, saying they did not recall the president saying these comments specifically. And they seem to dispute lindsey grah grahams account. Where he said, the headlines were basically accurate. Its reopening the debate about the president s views. I think he is a racist. Reporter rand paul disagr disagrees. You cant have an immigration compromise if everybody is calling the president a racist. Reporter sunday night, the president out to dinner, blaming his opponents for the lack of any immigration deal. I dont think the democrats want to make a deal. They dont want to help the daca people. Reporter the daca people, presumably a reference to d. R. E. A. M. Ers. President trump demanding more money for boarding protection, including his longpromised wall. Jeff flake, with msnbcs kasie hunt, not backing down with his criticism of the president. Giving a preview of a speech that he called the enemy of the people. He used that phrase, popularized by joseph stallen, used by mao, as well, enemy of the people. Reporter the president s rhetoric is being adopted by autocrats around the world. No Public Events this Martin Luther king holiday. He returns home tonight just five days until a government shutdown, unless lawmakers can come up with a spending deal. Hoda and craig . Peter alexander from the white house. Thank you. North and south korea have resumed what have been historic talks between the rivals the and this latest round could lead to history being made at next months Winter Olympics. Bill neely is in seoul, with the latest. Hi, bill. Reporter good morning, hoda. A second round of talks today, narrowly focussed on music. One of the four north korean delegates is the leader of an old female pop band, that was wildly popular in north korea. And they discussed popular concerts during the olympics of that band. Theyre all members of the north Korean Military and they sing songs in braise of kim jongun. I dont know how well that will go on here. They did agree that a north korean orchestra of 140 will play here at the olympics. On wednesday, there will be a third round of talks to talk about the athletes and the de delegation and a historical idea, a united womens ice hockey team. Other issues, how theyll cross into north korea, into south korea, how theyll be accommodated and so on. These talks are at a delicate stage. And north korea annoyaned at th message from south korea. North korea making a statement, were here of our own free will, not because of american pressure. More talks on wednesday. Thank you so much. Tens of millions are dealing with the return of much colder temperatures and a threat of dangerous Winter Weather. Dylan is in for al this morning. You should be happier when you see me. Lets look at the snow moving through chicago right now. Its a clipper system thats fast moving. It will introduce a messy morning commute and will move eastward quickly. We have Winter Weather advisories and winter storm warnings through texas. Its very cold. The bridges and overpasses will be slippery. We have this threat of possibly sleet through central texas. Heres the front. You can see how quickly its moving eastward. It exits chicago, hoomoves into pittsburgh. We have sleet possible in san angelo and into houston. That fizzles out. In the northeast, a lot of snow on tuesday, again. Up across new england, we could see four to six inches. Through most of the midwest, were looking at one to two. Just enough to make it slippery on the roads. On this busy monday morning, there are few fears over the flu. The virus is now widespread in every state except hawaii. This season is shaping up to be threetimes worse than last years. Gabe gutierrez is at the cdc in atlanta. Good morning. Reporter good morning. This years dominant flu strain is dangerous for children and the beelderly. Theres been sixtimes as many pediatric deaths this flu season compared to the same period last year. This morning, the flu epidemic is hitting children especially hard. Jonah near dayton, ohio, was just 4 years old. One of the most difficult things ive ever had to do was tell my other children on saturday morning that their little brother was not coming home. Reporter the cdc is reporting 20 pediatric deaths so far this season, compared to 3 at the same time last year. In houston, texas Childrens Hospital saw 17times as many flu patients last month as it did the previous december. This womans son got sick even though he had gotten the flu shot. The flu hit him so hard. Reporter the cdc says the flu is widespread in 49 states. Alabamas governor has declared a Public Health emergency. In mississippi, 100 Nursing Homes have declared fluo outbreaks. You can tell we do not have the staff to keep up with the volume. Reporter to protect ourse yourself, avoid contact with sick people. Take antiviral drugs if your doctor describes them. Most importantly, get that flu shot. We know about 70 to 80 of children that die arent vaccinated. Vaccine really has been proven to prevent 50 of flu deaths. Reporter some states are reporting spot shortages of the antiviral medication tamiflu. But the cdc says theres enough supply to go around. Doctors say the flu season is peaking right about now. But theres 11 to 13 weeks left. Craig and hoda. Gabe, thanks so much. Now, to the incredible finish in that nfl playoff game between the vikings and the saints. Are you okay . Im okay. The party is still going on in the twin cities. The saints, down by two. They take a onepoint lead on this field goal. That left just 25 seconds on the clock. Not much time to do anything. The games pretty much over. Take a look at what the vikings did on the last play of this game. Steps into it. The pass is caught. Sideline, touchdown. Unbelievable. Vikings win it. Unbelievable, it was. Case keenum finding stephon diggs. They will face the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend in the nfc championship game. Congratulations go to the Jacksonville Jaguars who beat the steelers on sunday. They will play new england in the afc championship game. I dont want to say it was your tweet at 25 seconds that may have jinxed it. I started to get congratulatory texts like we cant wait for the super bowl. What say you . Im not going to talk about the patriots. Im going to the weather. Lets take a look at whats going on across the rest of the country, with the wintry storm across the middle east. Behind it, bitter cold temperatures. Dangerous windchills will pour dangerous windchills will pour in, feeling like see ya. Take care. So probably take it at night. And if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. Gracias. At walgreens, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. Good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. A cold day today, cloud, some breaks of sunshine. Its 20s for the suburbs after temperatures starting in the teens this morning. Well see a nice warmup at the lee high valley. Upper 20s with clouds and some breaks of sunshine this afternoon. A dry day in new jersey and delaware and the shore, just a little bit warmer. Up to 34 degrees. Have a great day. Latest forecast. Dylan, thanks so much. Still to come, golden globe winner aziz ansari speaks out. And a crowded passenger plane dangling off of a cliff after skidding off the runway. After skidding off the runway. Images from inside that j introducing clorox with cloromax. After skidding off the runway. Images from inside that j cleans and help protects. Easier cleanup is the beginning. What comes next is everything. Still ahead, the perfect run that landed shaun white think of the happiest things. Its the same as having wings. To the stars beyond the blue. Theres a never land waiting for you. When you leave the world behind, you can fly. You can fly. You can fly. 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