Decorated skier on sochi, his rivals and his highprofile custody battle today, thursday, january 9th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today. With matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on a thursday morning. Im matt lauer along with al roker and willie geist. The special edition of the show this morning, a split edition. Were here in new york and savannah is out in arizona to bring us a fantastic story. Savannah, good morning to you. Reporter good morning to all of you guys. Im here in eliy where just yesterday Gabby Giffords did something truly extraordinary to mark the threeyear anniversary from the shootings in tucson. She went up in an airplane, and she took a sky dive. It was an incredibly exhilarating moment for her and for those of us close and getting to see it as she did it. We also talked to her about her recovery, how shes doing three years later. Well have some major milestones to tell you about, some things shes really accomplished. And matt, guys, a skill she 12i8 has thats incredible that shes still able to do even after suffering that terrible brain injury. So lots to bring you from here in arizona. Just looking at the footage, i get chills. Looking forward to continue well get back to you in just a little while. Todays top story, the firestorm brewing around Chris Christie. The focus is the George Washington bridge that connects new york and new jersey and some lane closureback in september that led to some major backups. Did governor christie know they were ordered as a form of political retribution by some of his top appointees . Nbcs Stephanie Gosk has the latest on this. Steph, fill us in. Reporter good morning, matt. Governor Chris Christie will be holding a News Conference in about an hour to address the bridge scandal personally. All of this may feel like a local story, but state politics, but everything the governor now does plays out on a national stage. I won. Reporter the question this morning is who will in christies words be held responsible . The governor promised to take action after emails and texts were released by state officials suggesting at least one of his highest ranking Staff Members deliberately orchestrated a nasty traffic mess. Shocking and outrageous. Reporter last september, two of three vital lanes leading to the George Washington bridge were suddenly and inexplicably closed in the town of fort lee, new jersey, just across the river from new york city. Several weeks earlier, christies deputy chief of staff, bridget ann kelly, emailed david wildstein. Time for some traffic problems in fort lee. Wildsteen, an appointee and High School Friend replied got it. For four days commuters, school buses, even rescue vehicles were snarled in traffic. They compromise public safety. Reporter Democratic Leaders accuse Christies Office of political retribution against the mayor of fort lee because he was unwilling to endorse christie, a republican, during the governors reelection campaign. Not something i ever anticipated, especially from the group under the direct control of the highest elected official in the state of new jersey. Reporter when local reporters first started asking questions, governor christie defended his office and said they had nothing to do with the traffic mess. Even sarcastically denying his own involvement. I worked the cones, actually, matt. Unbeknownst to everybody, i was the guy out there. Reporter since the news broke early wednesday, governor christie canceled his only public appearance and has only commented in a written statement. What ive seen today for the first time is unacceptable. Not only was i misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. Barbara buono who lost to christie during the election is calling for a federal investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing. As for christies aide and the transportation official, neither has commented since the story broke. Matt . Stephanie gosk, stephanie, thank you very much. I want to bring in chuck todd, nbcs political director and of course our chief White House Correspondent as well. Chuck, good morning to you. Good morning, matt. In the last 24 hours, we have learned the answer to one very big question in this situation. Yes, those lane closures resulting in that massive traffic jam were some form of political retribution. The emails prove that. The other big question, did Chris Christie know about it, and did he order it . How will the answer to that question impact his political future . Well, i think, look, if he didnt know about it, its a survivable scandal. If he knew about it and was part of the decisionmaking process, then this is unrecoverable. He will no longer be taken as a serious president ial candidate. So that is the bottom line when it comes to this story. Hes got this press conference hes going to be holding later in a couple of hours. He needs to sit there and answer every question. I just spoke with john mccain, and i asked him for his advice to christie. He said if it takes you three hours to answer every question on this thing, sit there and do it and release everything. If you dont, the drip, drip, drip will end up becoming a bigger problem over time. You say one of the versions is survivable, the other isnt. Its not survivable if it turns out he lied to the press and public on this. The other one is no picnic either because it means he really didnt have managerial control over key members of his staff and his friends. You know, his best asset, when people talk up the idea of christie for president , they talk up a few things. Number one, he seems to be a nob. S. Guy, no nonsense. Two, hes willing to work in a bipartisan way. And three, he really knows how to control things. He looks like hes a ceo, a takecharge kind of guy. Well, the best defense for him right now is that he wasnt in charge of his own office. That there was some sort of culture of retribution that was in his office that he didnt know about. Thats his best defense, matt. Then that undermines one of his chief strengths at becoming for why some people think he is president ial material. And so the inability of looking like a solid manager of his own team i think is a big problem for him going forward. Again, recoverable if he really didnt know about it. And just in the 30 seconds i have left, christie is not your average politician. Hes thought of as a likely candidate for president in 2016. Hes the head of the republican governors association. So democrats are going to work this story for a while. Oh, not just democrats, matt. Ive been hearing from potential republican primary rivals. A lot of people are enjoying this on both sides of the aisle. Remember, hes got to get through there are a whole bunch of other republicans who think they should be the next nominee in 2016. So theyre stoking this fire, too. Hes got to deal with incoming. Welcome to the nfl, as they say. No question about it. The governor will face cameras and questions from members of the media in a little less than an hour. Lets turn to willie now whos got the latest headlines. Willie . Willies here for natalie this morning. Natalies off on assignment, and youre following a military accident. Yeah, another bad one. A search is under way this morning for a u. S. Navy crewman after a Helicopter Crash off the coast of virginia. Two sailors were killed. Two others rescued. This is video from a norfolk hospital where the crew members were taken. The chopper went down about 18 miles east of cape henry during a training exercise. Its the Second MilitaryHelicopter Crash in two days. The u. S. Air force chopper went down in england tuesday, killing all four airmen aboard. Former basketball star Dennis Rodman apologizing this morning for comments he made about kenneth bae, the american imprisoned in north korea. Nbcs ian williams is in beijing with the latest this morning. Ian, good morning. Reporter good morning to you, willie. Well, in the cold and sober light of morning, rodman seems to have recognized that he simply went too far, even by his outrageous standards. In a written statement today, rodman said, i want to apologize. I take full responsibility. He said hed been drunk and stressed when he suggested in a barely intelligible cnn interview that kenneth bae must have done something wrong to be imprisoned in north korea. Kenneth bae did one thing, if you understand. I got it. If you understand what kenneth bae did. Reporter comments that shocked and appalled baes sister. This is not a game. You know, Dennis Rodman can play a basketball game, media game all he wants with his own life. But this is about a mans life, and thats on the line here. Reporter bae from the seattle suburbs has been held for 14 months and is said to be in poor health. Rodmans in the north for an exhibition basketball game to mark kim jonguns 31st birthday. Happy birthday to you reporter before the game, he had given a raspy and surreal rendition of happy birthday followed by an awkward boy to the young dictator. His performance quickly becoming the butt of chat show jokes. Please accept our gift of Dennis Rodman. No returns. Reporter and of course, kenneth baes family dont see it as a laughing matter. Rodman will be coming back through beijing here tomorrow after his latest round of what he calls basketball diplomacy that turned out to be anything but, willie. Ian williams with a strange story that keeps getting more strange. Thanks so much, ian. President obama will introduce a new plan today to drastically reduce poverty in five specific yeareas, san antonio, philadelphia, los angeles, southeastern kentucky and the choctaw nation of oklahoma will be announced as the first five promised zones, areas where local communities will partner with business, the white house says, to create jobs and increase economic security. Sandra bullock was the big winner at last nights peoples Choice Awards in los angeles. She picked up four trophies including Favorite Movie actress and comedic actress. Other winners included Ellen Degeneres for favorite daytime tv host and Justin Timberlake who took home three awards and, of course, theres only one place to go to celebrate a big night at the peoples Choice Awards, taco bell. Look at some of these photographs. J. T. Posing with workers at this taco bell after the show, posting the picture on instagram, grilled stuffed nachos for everybody. I love that. I like the doritos taco shell. I dont know how you guys go. I love celebrating that way. Hell celebrate the way he wants. Willie, thank you very much. Were warming up a little bit, but youve got some nasty weather to talk about as well. Absolutely. And this brutal cold changed so many situations. For example, hudson river, an unoccupied new york waterways ferry got stuck in the ice. They had to get a tugboat to cut through the ice and lead it to safety. So thats good news. But we do have a warmup. Check this out. Houston today, 56. 24 hours ago, it was six degrees colder. Savannah is 44, 20 degrees warmer today. Charlotte, 12 degrees warmer. As we head up into the midwest, washington, d. C. , northeast, 14 in washington. New york city at 22. Were warmer. However, we are looking at an icy mess in the midsection of the country. You can see from little rock on into memphis, heading on into nashville, weve got the risk of some really icy weather moving in here. Were going to see those temperatures as this moisture moves in. Snow starting to form into missouri. And this is going to head into the east, causing some rain and some flooding possibly by the weekend. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Good thursday morning to you. Were tracking a warehouse fire in san jose. You can see the fire is viz in from 101. Well have a live report from the scene in about five minutes from now. Temperatures today are going to be cool. Were tracking steady drizzle in the forecast and were going to climb out of the 40s and the 50s into the 60s as we head throughout day today. But it will be cool and cloudy. Pretty good chance for rain on saturday afternoon. Thats your latest weather. Lets head back to savannah. Now to a looming crisis a world away. Near that be 100,000 People Living in a makeshift refugee camp trying to escape the rising violence there. The United Nations says it could quickly turn into a humanitarian disaster. Ann currie is there. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. Weve come here because of a level of violence that has gotten so out of control, so who are tisk that u. S. And u. N. Officials fear it could turn into genocide. As one relief worker put it, this is like darfur and anarchy, now both sides live in fear. The violence has forced nearly a Million People from their homes. The vast majority of them children, including this 8yearold walking alone in a camp full of displaced people. Her mother, father, brother, sister and grandparents killed. Are you the only survivor of your family . I am. She tells us, she watched as her mother was shot. I raised my hand to god like this but they didnt listen to me, she said, and finally they killed my mother. She said she couldnt stop crying when she woke up today. She drew a picture of the life shes lost, her momenhome, the in the river behind it, the flowers that were near the front door. Today she lives in camp on the ground of the mondastery with only one of the relatives she has left, her great aunt. Sheep said she has no words for the men who killed her family. Instead she put her hands together to offer a prayer, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And she added, bless me and keep me safe. One sad story among so many here. Meantime numerous reports that the president of the Central African republic could soon step done are yet unconfirmed but already thats increasing tensions here. Savannah . All right, ann, thank you very much. Coming up, the reason we are here in arizona, three years after the shooting that nearly took her life, Gabby Giffords decided not to remember that shooting but to celebrate her recovery by doing something truly remarkable, she jumped out of a plane. Her partner, a navy seal she has jumped with before. Well have more but for the moment well send it back to you. Carson is over in the orange room with what hes following this morning. Carson . Big news this morning. Savannah is in arizona. By the look of this photo, im excited to see if she makes the jump. Shes got some gear on here, guys. I dont know if thats going to happen or not. But a big day for Gabby Giffords, tons of well wishes for her on all platforms. This is one from nora who writes gabby is the poster girl for perseverance, courage and serving her country, go gabby. Were going to show you the jump and have more on this in the next half hour. Coming up, the most decorated u. S. Skier of all times, bode miller on his goals in sochi and a headline making custody dispute. And then on trending, would you pay 10 for a night on the town with George Clooney . Yes, willie . Indeed. This is [ wind howling ] [ female announcer ] it balances you. [ water crashing ]. It fills you with energy. And it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. In a convenient two bar pack. This is Nature Valley. Delicious granola bars made with the best ingredients in nature. Nature valley. Nature at its most delicious. Coming up, a live interview with billie jean king. On what she hopes to olympic r accomplish as a member of the u. S. Delegation in sochi. Savannah . Then from here in arizona, a today exclusive. Gabby giffords leap of faith three years after she was shot with one courageous step. Shes decided to reclaim a solemn day and make a new memory for herself. Weve got the incredible video and her story right after your local news. Almond breeze almondmilk makes everything good even better. From the bowls of cereal you make. To all the delicious recipes you bake. Because inside every carton is the goodness of blue diamond almonds. Almond breeze. Almondiciously good if yand youre talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. This is humira, adalimumab. This is humira working to help relieve my pain. This is humira helping me through the twists and turns. This is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. Doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. Humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. For many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. Blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure have occurred. Before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. Ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. Tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. You should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. Ask your doctor if humira can work for you. This is humira at work. [ male announcer ] old el paso frozen entrees. Now in freezers. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. Alphahydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. Pores. Shrink em down to size [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. Neutrogena®. [you go, turtle er ] pore refining cleanser. Winner milk more protein. More victory. Got protein. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat . Campbells healthy request soup lets you hear it in your