Serious charges. And not so far, far away the opening of star wars the force Awakens Opens just hours from now. And one member of our team may be too excited. 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 on this thursday morning. Spoiler alert. Okay, the Storm Trooper its not the Storm Trooper we were looking for . No. Welcome back, buddy. You want to take that helmet off . Hello, everybody. Its carson boy, i could use a nice, hot cup of coffee. Excited for star wars. Great to be back. The revelation that defense secretary ashe carter used his personal email for work related matters and he was doing that after Hillary Clinton came under while she was secretary of state. Lets go to Jim Miklaszewski at the point gone. Reporter given the uproar, its hard to imagine secretary carter would use personal email for government business but thats exactly what he did. Senior defense officials tell nbc news secretary carter began posting official emails on his personal account shortly after being sworn in as defense secretary in february. Only a month later it was revealed that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton used her personal emails exclusively for official business, sparking a scandal that overshadowed her president ial campaign. Despite the scandal, secretary carter continued using his personal email for at least two this morning secretary carter told cbs he takes full responsibility. Sfli have to hold myself to absolutely strict standards in doing things that are appropriate. I didnt in this case. Its a mistake and its entirely my own. First reported by the New York Times, the white house discovered secretary carters email use in may and contacted the Defense Department to ensure that he was following all federal laws and regulations governing email use. Even though the emails con contained no secrets, it does raise questions about the secretarys judgment. A lot of those questions just unfolding now. Jim, thank you very much. We have new information tied to the San Bernardino shooting. Federal prosecutors have decided to bring criminal charges against the man who purchased some of the rifles that were actually used in that attack. Lets turn now to nbc justice correspondent pete williams. Tell us more. Several federal Law Enforcement officials tell nbc news that the first criminal charges to stem from the San BernardinoMass Shootings could be filed as early as today. Officials say the charges will be brought against enrique marquez, a longtime friend and former neighbor of farook. They say he bought the rifles two and three years ago that wound up being used in the shooting. Marquez told them he did this as a favor so farook would not have to go through a background check or be on record as a purchaser. He told the fbi he and farook talked about some kind of attack in 2010 but called it off. Agents have found no connection between farook and the people arrested back then. Comey also said despite reports to the contrary, investigators have found no social media postings by Tashfeen Malik in the months before she came to the u. S. That means the state department who reviewed her background before giving her a fiancee visa did not miss any publicly available social media postings. All of her statements in support of jihad, comey says, were in private messages or emails. As for marquez, Officials Say he did agree to be interview by the fbi for several days without a lawyer, even though its been clear almost since the beginning that he could be charged with a crime at the very least for buying the guns for farook. Pete williams on the story for us. Thank you very much. By the way, president obama will travel to San Bernardino tomorrow to meet with the families of the victims. The president will stop in Southern California on the way to hawaii for the first familys annual christmas vacation. In the wake of the San Bernardino attack, the department of Homeland Security is adding a third warning level to the terror alert system, the bulletin level will allow the public to be aware of any potential terrorist threats. It will include action the government is taking and suggestions about what the the former system had two levels, elevated and imminent. Officials say this change has been in the planning stages for months, it is not in response to any specific or credible threat. Lets turn to politics now. In the president ial race, Donald Trumps debate feud with jeb bush has spilled over on to the campaign trail. But during the late night show, the frontrunner appeared to have a change of heart and new message for his party. Peter alexander has more. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. Donald trump is picking up where the debate left off, again swatting at jeb bush, insisting he doesnt want bushs endorsement because he said nbc news bush does not represent strength, power and stamina, qualities he says the country desperately needs. Donald trump marking six months in the race, almost all of them atop the gop field, the same way he spent much of that time on tv. Overnight with jimmy kimmel. I would like to see the Republican Party come together, divisive in the sense ive been hitting people pretty ardhard. A little bit, huh . Trump dismissed critics who insist hes just a showman. Somebody said trumps a great entertainer. Thats a lot of bull [ bleep ]. And this is a tough business to run for president. Youre a tough guy, jeb. I had jeb come at me. Low energy. He said it just the way his pollster told him to say it. Still bush is confident hes finally cracked the trump code. I dont think hes a serious candidate. I dont know why others dont feel compelled to point that out but i did. The battle to be the antitrump may be once again up for grabs with jeb bush and Chris Christie delivers Strong Performance and marco rubio that hes too moderate on immigration. Ive always been at the right, ive always been a consistent conservative that happens to be ted cruzs campaign, consistent conservative. But have i been for longer than just two years in the senate. It doesnt mean that i supported the other aspect of the bill, which was a terrible bill. Insisting his position hasnt changed. I categorically oppose amnesty. My First Priority is securing the borders. So the more the next tier republicans fight amongst themselves, the more trump just steams ahead unscathed. Even he seemed to be taken aback by his support, several thousand people in the crowd in the middle of the day saying something is going on and its beautiful to see. Thank you very much. Big news in the economy. The historic move by the federal rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Chairwoman janet yellen saying that marked an historic period. The economic recovery has clearly come a long way, although it is not yet complete. But when the economy performing well and expected to continue to do so, the committee judged a modest increase in the federal funds rate target is now appropriate. Olivia stearns is here to explain what all of that means. It means its going to get a little bit more expensive to borrow money. The fed raised their interest rate, which so many loans in our economy are pegged to by just one quarter of one percentage point. They were wide lively expected to do that and they were doing it because they say the economy is finally ready to stand on its own two feet after seven years of 0 Interest Rates. One sign that we were actually ready for it, wall street rallied on the back of this news. The dow jones shot up more than 200 points and thats a signal that even investors think we can cope with slightly higher rates. The question is will we see more hikes . All eyes on the next fed conference coming up in march. The question is will janet yellen move to raise Interest Rates again . She said only if we continue to see the economy improve and will move gradually. On the flip side, if we see the labor market or growth start to accelerate and inflation start to pick up, shes more likely to raise rate and do so at a quicker pace. She said she expectstso raise rates at about 1 over the next two years to be at 3. 5 in two years. Streets of baltimore last night hours after a mistrial was declared in the freddie gray case. Demonstrators remained peaceful but at one point they tried unsuccessfully to block the interstate. On wednesday the judge announced a hung jury in the manslaughter trial of william porter, the first of six baltimore officers to stand trial in connection with freddie grays death while an video showing an axwielding student at the university of north texas. Good morning. The shooting happened on sunday. The trainings are released dash cam video of the incident shortly after University Officials named unt Police Officer steven bean as the officer involved. Police dash cam video shows an north texas fatally shooting a student on sunday. The shooting happened at around 1 30 a. M. When the officer responded to a call about a man smashing car windows inside a parking garage near the campus. Sophomore ryan mcmill andan can be seen walking toward the officer with a small ax in his hand. The officers repeatedly tells mcmillan to back away while mcmillan says shoot me over and over. Nbc news has paused the video so it does not show the video. This is the audio. Hey, back away, back away. Shoot me. Shoot me. Shoot me back away from me now shoot me the officer then radios the station. Ive got a white male down with a hatchet in his hand. The 27yearold officer has been on the u. N. T. s police force for four years. Hes been placed on routine leave as investigation into the incident get under way. Ryan mcmillan was a he turned 21 last saturday. Some students say they dont believe lethal force was necessary. If youre given a gun, you should be trained to know how to use that gun in a way that youre not just going to kill people without absolute necessity. The medical examiner is still conducting the autopsy. Among the question is whether Ryan Mcmillan was under influence of alcohol or drugs when the hootshooting took place. Thank you very much. We have news tied to the pharmaceutical ceo who was making headlines not long ago. Several reports say that mart Martin Shkreli was taken into custody on securities charges. The fact that he was under investigation had been reported this apparently stems from his time as a manager at msnb Capital Management and chief executive of bio company retrofin incorporated, this was not related to him jacking up by 5,000 the price of a lifea saving aids drug. And take a look and watch the middle of your screen. You can see a 17yearold boy hit Prime Minister of spain. The blow left a big red mark on his face. His attacker was quickly detained. Its scary that they got so close to him. Christmas eight days away. The Holiday Travel rush is about to take off and new numbers show u. S. Airlines are headed for their best year ever with big profits. But what does that mean for you the next time you fly . Nbcs tom costellos at Washingtons Reagan National Airport with more on this. Hi, tom, good morning. Good morning. All those low prices were paying at the gas pump, theyre helping to pump up the prices and the profits for the airlines. Best year on record. Even if youre a procrastinator, you can still find a good deal if youre flying home for the holidays. Profits are taking off for airlines that once flew for peanuts, up 75 in just one year totaling more than 20 billion. Per passenger profit soaring almost 60 . Airlines now make more than 20 for each person on the plane, thats up from 13 last year. Add in 56 million more in bag and change fees this summer over summer 2014 and for profits it it seem excessive, hundreds and huhureds of dollars to move from a 4 00 flight to a 1 00 flight. Were going really light so we didnt have baggage fees. It turns out airlines are passing the buck back to consumers. Lastminute deals for christmas, chicago to new orleans for only 187 round trip, 257 from d. C. To dallas, miami to vegas just 241. But you dont have to wing it. Want a deal . Book now. Airfares for the last three weeks of january and most of february are at fiveyear lows. Destinations and those threeday weekends. Fly on the cheapest days, tuesday, wednesday, saturday and youll always find a decent deal. Giving airlines a lift, all those extra fees and falling fuel prices. This year they paid 45 billion less to gas up those planes. And the airlines argue theyre reinventing their profits just like other big companies, apple or starbucks. Airlines are doing the same thing with no planes, new seats, new apps for for your phone. On an inflation adjusted basis airfares are lower than thats what the Airline Industry says. That doesnt include all the extra fees we pay today. Im one of these people who want airlines to make a profit so they can reinvest in better planes and better service, if they do that. For years they couldnt make a profit. So in terms of an economic story, i think its good they are making money finally. You may remember this story, a child who was described as too rich to have to pay for his actions. Two years ago he killed four people in a drunk driving crash. Instead of time behind bars, he received ten years probation after his attorneys coined the infamous term affluenza. Now it seems he has disappeared. An arrest warrant was issued for ethan couch after he failed to appear for a probation hearing that would have tested him with drugs and alcohol. It also coincided with a controversial video that appeared online. The hunt is on for ethan couch. His case gained world wide attention when after killing four people while driving drunk near fort worth, his attorney claimed the teen didnt understand the consequences of his actions because of his familys affluence and amid widespread anger, he was given probation. But recently ethan missed a required meeting with his probation officer. Authorities now believe hes on the run, possibly with his mother. Sheriff anderson said he isnt surprised. Hate to say i told you so but di. The crash was horrific, he was 16, driving with an alcohol limit three times the legal limit. Eric boyle lost his wife and daughter. There are just some things that even today are just too difficult to talk about. Two weeks ago ethan may have surfaced again. A video was on twitter showing someone who looked like ethan playing beer pong. Investigators say they are unable to make contact with ethan or his mother and they are investigating whether he has probation. But outrage is growing. Part of the world, well find him. But ive got a bad feeling that hes gone and i dont think hes gone a short distance. If authorities find ethan and determine he violated the terms of his probation, he could find himself in jail for up to ten years, guys. Natalie, thank you very much. Well get a check of the were talking about a christmas coming up that could be the warmest in living memory. I mean, it is going to be brutally warm for a lot of the country. In fact, this is the temperature departure. Christmas day anywhere from 15 to 25, even 30 degrees above average. Overnight christmas lows, record lows washington, raleigh, charlotte, indianapolis and atlanta. You can see weve come very close to those. Moving into the northeast, record warm lows look like we for Christmas Day well probably see record highs in portland, boston, philadelphia, and chicago, washington, raleigh, atlanta and memphis, all most likely seeing record highs for christmas. Thats whats going on. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. So there wont be tears. Eleventh hour shopper. Thats you. Its ok because they know you. Theyre loaded up with gear. An xbox for the children. And a mixer for your dear. No need to shop around for present youve missed its all here. Youre off the naughty list Eleventh Hour shopper. Thats you see you next year, buddy get low prices on all your lastminute gifts. Thats your latest weather. Savannah . Al, thank you so much. Coming up, yahoo ceo should she have thrown a multimillion dollar party for employees as her Company Struggles . Plus, even as al talks about recordhigh temperatures, what do if youre stranded in a winter storm . Jeff rossen on what you can buy for 30 that could be the difference between life and death. Nbc. Coming coming up, tonights the night. Carson gets us ready for the new star wars. Plus, the good times weve shared in 2015, right here on today. First, your local news. Just head around the corner to walgreens when youre searching for that Perfect Little something. Walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts, and its all just a hop, skip, and a bark away. This week, save 30 on photo gifts. I decided to tell the story of our life together. Spoiler alert we live happily ever after. At jared, we only sell one piece of jewelry. The pandora bracelet you had created just for her. And its waiting for you. Dana good morning on this thursday, it is chilly out there. Kim baby it is cold outside. Kelly many locations in the valley still have temperatures below freezing. Downtown is at the freezing mark, 32 degrees and sunrises at 31 degrees. We will warm up now that the sun is up, but only 251, still below normal above normal for this time of year. Tomorrow, 56 and 50 on saturday. Tom we have an accident at the spaghetti bowl interchange from u. S. 95 north to 15 south, it is east charleston, right in front of the college of southern nevada, it looks like a accident. Dana two baseball stars getting the keys to las vegas today. These are not just any