We were here when it arrived and now were hours away from setting the worlds most famous Christmas Tree aglow wednesday, december 3, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on a wednesday morning. Gangs all here early and will be late tonight for a great event. Yes. Getting lit as usual this time of year, a lot of stars going to help us light up the Christmas Tree. Goes on and on. I was saying our rendition of joy to the world. You havent lived until you heard it. Should be fun. Lets start with our top story this morning. Its that dangerous situation in california, caused by one of the strongest storms to hit that state in years. Nbcs jacob rascon is east of los angeles. Good morning to you. Reporter matt, good morning. Its a rain california desperately needs but not like this. The fear is that at any moment the rain and the mud on the hillsides behind me that have been scorched by wildfire, it could come down at any moment which they know all too well has happened before. Its what many in california have come to expect when it finally does rain a decent amount. It does this. More than six inches fell tuesday in Southern California. And across the state, many daily rainfall records washed away, some of them set more than a half century ago. Many Southern California cities have done this before. The fact of the matter is when the mountain does cut loose they are not going to be able to get out then and youll be stuck. Its going to be very difficult for us to get to you. Reporter in a city where they havent finished cleaning up after the last storm. Its extreme. Weve have mandatory evacuations. Reporter sand is their best present. Hundreds of flights delayed, highways were blocked, power was lost including at Bob Hope Airport in burbank. In the first wave of what meteorologists say may turn out to be the strongest storm system to hit Southern California in many years. And weve got a wave of rain of course on sunday, we got the biggest one yesterday. And were expecting yet another one at some point today. No mandatory evacuations in place right now, but many, al, are choosing to leave their homes anyway just in case. Jacob rascon, thank you so much. So weve got winter storm warnings, flash flood watches, from Northern California all the way into Southern California because weve got more heavy rain pushing in. They need th i mean, it is rough, especially in Southern California into central california. Look at these deficits. Threeyear deficit. San francisco, they are almost 28 inches below where they should be. Los angeles, 25 inches below where they should be. San diego, almost a little more than a foot below as far as the rain is concerned. You can see more heavy rain coming in this afternoon, heavier as you get into the evening rush hour. Into tomorrow morning it starts to let up. Rainfall amounts generally 1 to 2 inches but we could see heavier amounts in the mountains just to the east of los angeles. We could see up to 5 to 6 inches of rain, guys. The good news is, it is finally starting to let up within the next 48 hours. Thank you. Bill cosby facing a new lawsuit from a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her at the play boy mansion 40 years ago when she says she was just a minor. Kate snow is here with more on this story. Good morning to you. Good morning. For weeks talking about one allegation after the next, allegations cosbys attorney has refuted but the latest allegation is the first civil lawsuit to be filed against cosby since one was settled out of court in 2005. This new stoot accuses cosby of childhood sexual abuse. Yes, i saw what you saw. And dont be worried. This is 1974, and bill cosby was starring in movies. The woman filing suit says she was 15 with her 16yearold friend when they saw a film set 18 park near pasadena. They walk over to see what was going on and were approach bid cosby who invited them to sit in a directors choir. Judy huth says cosby invited him to his tennis club. And then he brought them to the play boy mansion. Cosby allegedly told the girls if any of the bunnies asked their age they should say they were 19. Late ter suit alleges huth found cosby on a bed. He asked her to sit beside him. And proceeded to sexually molest her. This isnt a criminal case. This is a civil case where its all about money. She is seeking compensatory damages. An attorney for cosby had no comments about the suit. Cosby has never been charged with a crime. In the past his attorney said other allegations were unsubstantiated saying it makes no sense none of these woman who came forward asserted a claim at the time they alleged they were assaulted. Huth says the incident 40 years ago at a tender age caused psychological damage and significant problems throughout her life, cosby she says, abused his position of trust. As for why she is filing this now, the lawsuit suggests huth did not recognize the connection between her injuries and the sexual abuse until recently. Kate, thanks. Lets turn to lisa bloom. Good morning to you. And thats the real question here. How does a lawsuit like this get past the fact there is a statute of limitations in california . Good morning, savannah. California has an extended statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. I litigated a lot of case myself under this. She has three years from the time that she connects the dots between her psychological injuries and the sexual abuse she is alleging f. That only happened in the last three years and she can prove it she gets in the court house door. She has to prove the case. Put on your analyst hat. Is that a claim likely to prevail . As i say she still has to prove her case. One of the things that jumped out she said she had a friend with her during most of the incident. The friend was 16 then. Is that friend still around . Is that friend going to corroborate her story . I think that will be very important for her. Isnt also the issue this notion that she only discovered that her psychological injuries were connected to this incident more than 40 years ago, recently . Is that going to be a high hurdle for her to cross . Listen. The California Legislature has understood in passing this law back in 1990 that many people who are molested as children take years to connect the dots between lets say depression, post traumatic stress, anxiety and the abuse. It recognizes child sexual abuse is different from other injuries and why there is this expanded period of time to file. Bill cosby is say one, i didnt do it. If he did do it, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, there is some statement from her he hopes to find where she did connect the dots and cant get in the court house door. If you are cosbys side do you fight this, settle it . Settle it out of the court as hes done. I expect this would too. Thank you very much. There is a new investigation tied to last weeks violence in ferguson, missouri. Police are now considering whether to charge Michael Browns step fwaert inciting a riot. Ron allen has the latest on this. Good morning to you. Authorities say the investigation is focused on emotional remarks browns step father made after the grand jury decision captured on video and circulated. The issue is whether those and actions taken that day helped insight a riot. Moments after the grand jury cleared Darren Wilson in the death of michael brown, browns mother and her husband louis head were captured on video venting anger and grief. Ferguson officials in an email confirmed that louis shed being looked at as part of an Ongoing Investigation into the activities around november 24, pertaining to the rioting, looting and arson. On today Leslie Mcfadden talks about her husband and the video. Just emotional. I dont feel that he stirred the crowd. The crowd was already stirred. Its been stirring since august 9. The day her son was killed. Outrage over the grand jurys decision not to charge wilson poured onto the streets, at least a dozen businesses destroyed by fire, others vandalized. At least 125 arrests during the next five days. Everyone who is responsible for taking away peoples property, their livelihoods, their jobs, their businesses, every single one of them needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Authorities added browns step father is not being singled out as a sole focus of the inquiry but again is part of the Ongoing Investigation. Officials say the findings of the investigation will now go to the st. Louis county prosecutor, which means the same prosecutor whose vigorously defended the grand jurys decision may soon decide whether to charge browns step father with a crime. Adding i was wrong and for that i humbly apologize. Matt, savannah. All right, ron, thank you very much. Meantime, a student conduct hearing involving one of College Footballs stars could wrap up. Jameis winston was charged with assaulting a student in 2012. While criminal charges were not filed he is facing an investigation by the school. Gabe has the latest from tallahassee. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The allegations that swirled for two years and through his attorneys Jameis Winston has denied them but on tuesday for the first time a former Florida StateSupreme Court justice brought in by the university began hearing the allegations here on campus. Today Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is back in a hearing to face allegations of sexual assault. And we are confident that Justice Harding when he hears her multiple lies and jameis truth will find as every other entyty has to this point that she is lying. Reporter a former student says the star quarterback raped her in december of 2012. There was a long time where she felt she had no voice and nobody would listen to what she had to say. Reporter the woman said she was drinking at a bar when a man took her to an apartment. She reported the assault in hours but did not identify winston until weeks later. This hurt the reputation. The prosecutor decided it new file criminal charges. We did not feel like that we had a reasonable likelihood of a conviction. Reporter its one of 90 schools the government is now investigating for handling of Sexual Violence complaints. Need to see campuses put in place prevention programs where they are educating about Sexual Violence. Reporter fsu says it is doing that and cooperating with the investigation. Last night winston was on the field hoping to lead the defending National Champion seminoles to another acc title saturday. Winston still has a lot of support among students here on campus. In this hearing he could face penalties from a written reprimand to expulsion. Proceedings could wrap up as early as today. After that the judge has ten school days to announce his decision. Gabe gutierrez, thank you. Natalie is here, the latest on a massive autorelated recall. The story were following, the japanese air bag maker takata defied u. S. Regulators ignoring a midnight deadline to expand a recall of driver side air bags. The Company Faces fines up to 35 million and legal action. Takata insists that the air bags are more likely to malfunction in high humidity areas but regulators insist the recall should be expanded to all states. The Senior Vice President is expected to testify today during a congressional hearing on the air bag recall. Some disturbing news from the middle east. An American Teacher and mother of young twins was stabbed to death in the bathroom of an abu dhabi shopping mall. Police say the woman reportedly was attacked with a sharp tool following a fight in the public restroom on monday. Police released a Security Camera image showing the veiled suspect there on the right as you see. An investigation now is under way. Still no official word this morning on the man believed to be president obamas choice to lead the pentagon. Nbc nuls learned that Ashton Carter will likely be picked to succeed chuck hagel. Carter curved both hagel and leon panetta. On tuesday the white house praised carter without confirming that he is the leading candidate. Some troubled waters for a 21 million mega yacht. Take a look at this beautiful yacht as it crashed right into the draw bridge in the miami area on tuesday. The rock star yacht belonging to the Rock Star Energy company was attempting to pass through when a section of the bridge collapsed on top of the boat creating a large hole. No one was hurt. The yacht is currently listed for sale. Not sure what that does to that. Ticket price. Its a steal now. And take a look at this rescue caught on camera after a womans car plunged off of a roadway in a canal in eastern china. Watch as the car veers off the road, knocks down the lamp pole and crashed into the water. Witnesses came to the drivers rescue. They used clothing to pull her to safety after about 20 minutes. She was shaken up but is otherwise okay. And hollywoods superstar tom crews famous for his own stunts. He may want to consider a stunt double after a close call on a london street. Take a look. Yeah. Thankfully he saw that doubledecker bus just in time and retreated back to the curb. Cruise is filming for a movie. You get used to traffic coming from your right and you get to london and forget to look to the left. They tell you on the street, look right, look left. Still. Happened to me. Walking across the street. It was driven by tom cruise. Fluff about your dream life. Mr. Rokers back. All right. Lets show you what weve got around the rest of the country. We are looking at icy wintry weather moving out of the new england area, were going to look at that in the next half hour. Gulf coast, temperatures mild, sunshine, morning fog will burn off. Well get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. 7 17. Good morning. The rain continues to stream into the bay area. Were going to keep heavier pockets in the forecast until about noon. Everything is going to start to let up and well see a nice finish to this evening. Still have a fair chance for thunderstorms to develop as we get into this evening. Overall, temperatures will be cool. Mid 60s for today. Bring your jacket, bring your umbrella. Ditch it for most of tomorrow. Weather. A and thats your latest weather. Thanks. Tamron is here for carson. Sad news. Absolutely. But a wonderful life to celebrate. Lets look at it that way. Take a listen to this song. Recognize that solo . Absolutely from rolling stones, played by long time band member bobby keys. Absolutely. Mr. Keys passed away at the age of 70, he played on tour with the stones, guys, for 45 glorious years, making beautiful music for all of us. There has been reaction throughout social media. This one absolutely touched my heart. This is a handwritten letter from keith richards. Bobby, ive lost the largest pal in the world and i cant express the sense of sadness i feel although bobby would tell me to cheer up, my condolences to all that knew him and his love of music. Isnt that touching. You dont see that often on social media. Hand written from the great keith richards. This also from the stones. Bobby made a unique musical contribution to the band since the 60s. And ringo starr, thank you bobby keys for the time we spent the together. God bless you peace and love to your family. But again, sad news, the legacy, the music will live on. That sax solo, maybe enjoy it on the way in to work. I might go up and play a little. Thats cool. Coming up, are women at greater risk . A look at depression in america. And Garage Door Repair men put to the test. Youre not going to believe how much some of them charged for a simple problem that should take about 60 seconds to fix. First this is today on nbc. Coming up on trending, yes, theres another taylor swift mustsee parody. And jill martin is here with what she says is a super sized holiday steals and deals what she says is a super sized holiday steals and deals including a yknow what my business what she says is a super sized holiday steals and deals inclphilosophy is, reynolds . No. Not exactly. To attain success, one must project success. Thats why we use fedex one rate®. Their flat rate shipping. Exactly. It makes us look topnotch but we know its affordable. garage door opening sighs honey, havent i asked you to please use the. We dont have a reception entrance. Ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® for as low as 7. 50. Were not just selling the at famohottestwear, shoes of the Holiday Season. Were selling straight up im going to kiss sara marcus under the mistletoe confidence. This year give them converse from Famous Footwear. Victory is yours. Our hearty allnatural turkey chili is back in season. Slowcooked with turkey raised without antibiotics, tart tomatillos, chilies, carrots, edamame and more. The savory spice of the chili pairs perfectly with the black bean hummus and the fresh crunch of napa cabbage blend in our southwestern chicken flatbread. And it all comes together in a you pick two made just for you. Only at panera bread. You can get a great deal during toyotathon. Ah, the bold new camry. I love the new look. And its a blast to drive. Oh, so youve driven it . [motor racing] woooooooo yeah, ive taken it for a spin. Toyotathon is on, get low 1. 9 apr financing for 60 months on the bold new 2015 camry. Offer ends january 5th. Plus every new toyota comes with toyotacare, toyotas no cost maintenance plan. I know a great place for a drive. Soft holiday music ] can you help me up . [ snow intensifies ] [ sleighbells ring in the distance ] aleve. All day pain relief with just 2 pills. Get back to being you. And were new to the pacific northwest. The rain, the mud babam its there. The outside comes in. Its kinda nasty so you start the towelmop shuffle. Where are you sun . [ doorbell rings ] oh, wow, its a swiffer wetjet. This puts my towel m