Movie making a massive hit online with stars seth rogan and james franco live tweeting it all today, monday december 29th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in Rockefeller Plaza. Morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a monday morning. Im Savannah Guthrie, alongside willie geist, Sheinelle Jones and dylan dreyer. Matt and natalie have the morning off, al is out in los angeles. Did you all have a Merry Christmas . I havent seen you. Happy birthday and Merry Christmas. How was baby vails first christmas . She had a great christmas. Were going to tell her she had a great christmas. Reindeer pajamas by grandma. Chewing on the wrapping paper. Yeah. Missing for more than a day and a half officials now saying it and the 162 people on board are likely quote, at the bottom of the sea. Nbcs katy tur is following this for us from singapore this morning. Katy good morning. Reporter good morning, sav an a. Day two and no official word on the state of that plane. Unconfirmed report earlier today that debris was spotted. It was quite a distance from the lastknown location from the flight. If we learned anything from mh 370, its to take all these initial report with his a fwrangrain of salt. The head of the indonesia search and rescue team is preparing people for the worst. Our evaluation of the coordinates that we received suggested it is under water. Our presumption now is that the aircraft is under the sea. Still that is only an educated guess. Teams in the air and at sea are scouring the area around the island near flight 8501s last known location. The island is halfway between serbia and singapore. Malaysia and singapore are assisting in the effort. Maritime patrol aircraft that helped in the search for mh 370. In indonesia, another day of waiting as relatives hope for a miracle. As the hours pass without answers, eerie similarities are being made between this flight and malaysia 370. Unlike mr 370 which flew undetected for hours, air Traffic Control immediately noticed when this flight went missing. Mh 370 investigators have been combing a vast area of the indian ocean in the deep sbest most deserted waters in the world. 8501 is most likely in the java sea, shallow and heavily trafficked. He was experienced with 27,000 hours in the cockpit. Our focus now from air asia is to help and support the next of kin of passengers. And also our crew to go through these very very difficult times. Times. Reporter the weather is only getting worse out here. The wind is picking up. It was cloudy today. It will rain for the next few days. Not ideal conditions for searching. It could, in fact hamper or potentially suspend the search the next few days. Well see what happens as the weather shows us what its going to give us. Savannah . Katy tur, thank you so much. Nbc news analyst and ntbs investigator good morning to you. Good morning. How difficult a search do you expect this to be . It all depends f were expecting to see lots of floating debris unlike with mh 370, it could be difficult because were going to have to try to pinpoint exactly where that airplane and the bulk of the wreckage went into the water. And if there is any floating debris of course that has moved over the next 20 to 30 hours. Well have to backtrack or pinpoint and try to identify where the main impact may be. Still early but indications are that four minutes after or before the plane vanished the pilot had requested to climb higher to presumably get around the weather. What do you make of that . There are times you can go above the weather. Knowing the weather types in that area aul of these pilots are very familiar that these thunderstorms blossom up to 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 feet. He thought maybe he would climb to get a smoother ride. They may have been in turbulence as they got closer to that line of thunderstorms. He thought he may be able to deviate and climb to smooth the ride out. What do you make of air Traffic Control saying no you cant fly higher . Traffic separation is their main duty f they had crossing traffic at higher altitude they have to have a certain separation. They probably said you cant go right now. Youve got an airplane coming over the top of you. Take your deviations. Well climb you later. Youre talking about monsoon weather, lightning strikes reported in the area. Are you surprised the plane was permitted to fly this flight plan at all given those conditions . Thats the question for investigators. Typically before the pilots leave the ground theyre doing a weather analysis. Giving the deteriorating weather conditions those thunderstorms had been building up for quite some time and they blossomed even larger as the airplane approached. Thats going to be a question there as to what kind of information the crew had to make a decision to conduct the flight and why the airline released the airplane for that flight. You bhaer lightning strikes, these planes are designed to withstand this weather and some lightning. Absolutely. Airplanes can take lightning strikes. If you have multiple lightning strikes or an issue with what we call bonding where you have to make sure all the electronics are bonded you could fail some or all of the electronic equipment. And this is an electric airplane thats got backup computer ss. Integrity of the system. So many questions this morning. Absolutely. Thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Lets go over to willie. Ongoing effort to rescue passengers from a ferry that caught fire off the italian coast. During freezing temperatures rough seas and heavy smoke as they await to be plucked to safety. Nbcs keir simmons has the latest on this story for us. Keir good morning. Willie good morning. Rescuers are, as we speak, air lifting people from the ferry. Some are suffering from hypothermia. They had to stay on the ferry overnight. Their shoes melted on the lower decks if they tried to get down and escape. A terrifying rescue operation. A ferry on fire. Hundreds of passengers on the top deck. They are air lifted one by one while two jets of water are visible, pouring from another ship to control the flames beneath those still stranded. 158 people were reportedly still on board. Some were winched to safety in groups. A mother and two children and apparently very young child in her arms wrapped in blue. She smiled. Were okay. The ferry was headed from greece to italy. Most of the 478 on board were greek. Its thought the fire broke out on the car deck before spreading. Here a burst of flames. One person has died jumping from the ship. Now cold is causing hypothermia. 329 are safe. Some left from a container ship this morning that had reached the ferry to help before rough seas, high winds and the intense fire made rescue by sea impossible. There was no alarm, nothing, this man says. Everything was blocked. It was freezing cold. No help. The ferry had passed a Technical Inspection according to its owners. One passenger called his wife from on board and told her they had been left to burn. And that one dead may increase willie. One passenger has told local media he saw many bodies. Were also hearing from italian media that there are now 70 people left on board. I earlier checked in with al on the weather. He says there are still rough seas rain even sleet. Temperatures in the 30s. Just below freezing or around freezing willie. Very difficult out there still. Terrifying scene. Keir simmons, thanks so much, keir. Millions are being hit with the coldest air of the year this morning. Up to 45 degrees below normal in the midwest. Al is also tracking some nasty storms at the start of this week. He is in los angeles this morning with all of that. Hey, al good morning. Good morning. Good to see you, savannah. Merry christmas. Happy new year. You, too. Not so much a great end to this year with all this cold air. Big area of High Pressure dominating. It is going to push south. I mean it is going to get as far south as parts of texas. We have windchill warnings and advisories from the Pacific Northwest all the way into northern texas and as far east as minnesota. Here is what were looking at. Temperatures that are, today, right now feels like 3 in idaho falls. 8 in denver. Garden city feels like 3. Feels like 9 below in minneapolis. Those are current temperatures. High temperatures today, its not going to feel much better. Denver will be 6 at 38 degrees below normal. Lexington, kentucky 5 degrees below normal. Tomorrow that area expands out and to the east. As you can look at this. New york city, high of 33. 7 degrees colder than normal. Kansas city 26. Dallas will see a high of only 42 degrees. Thats 13 degrees below normal. Theres a big storm out of the west. Could you believe were talking about three inches of snow or more in las vegas . On new years eve . Bet on it. Guys, more in just a little bit. I was going to say cozy up inside that casino and dont leave. Thanks al. Sheinelle jones is in for natalie with an update on former president george h. W. Bush. Good morning. Good morning. Former president george h. W. Bush could be going home soon after spending yet another night in the hospital. Jacob rascon joins us with the very latest. Reporter doctors have not decided yet but they are now talking of when to discharge the former president , the most optimistic theyve been since tuesday when he had trouble breathing and was taken here by ambulance as a precaution. At 90 he is the oldest living former president , suffers from parkinsons disease. He spent two months at the same hospital last year at this time suffering from bronk sbiets a persistent cough. This time around his condition, were told is far less serious. Going on seven days in the hospital. As we now know he will be going home very soon. Sheinelle . That will be very good news. Thank you, jacob. Putting republicans on notice saying he expects to use his veto pen more often in 2015. With republicans set to control both chambers of Congress Republicans will have more obstacles passing legislation he doesnt like. After a deadly threealarm fire near san antonio, five people were killed ten others injured after the fire broke out sunday morning. Residents are not required to check in or out. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Dramatic cell phone video shows a 3yearold child jumping from the second floor during a Christmas DayApartment Fire in alabama. Jump come down. Your mama right here. Your mama said do it. Oh, god come on. 3 years old. Thankfully another resident was able to catch the child. Six people were hurt in the fire. Four of them children. Four apartments were destroyed. Investigators say the fire was started by food left unattended on a burning stove. Surfers are recovering after a great white shark attack off coast of central california. Were hearing from a fellow surfer who watched it happen. Here is nbcs miguel almaguer. Reporter what many might consider their Worst Nightmare in the water, coming face to face with a great white shark, reality for surfer Kevin Swanson sunday morning. Both witnesses i spoke to said it was an eight to tenfoot great white. Reporter the attack took place off a beach in central california. Andrew walsh was out in the water, next to swanson, when it all unfolded. When it happened he come up hit him from below, obviously. And the whole body just twisted, took him under the water. He popped up with his head in the up position yelled shark reporter air lifted to the hospital with a bite on his hip. Doctors say the injury is not life threatening. Miguel almaguer nbc news los angeles. And everything coming up roses in Southern California today. With just three days to go until the tournament of roses parade in pasadena volunteers will be busy again today, putting the finishing touches on more than 40 flower covered floats. Parade goers may need a sweatshirt. More than 20 degrees below last years high. All right. I have to say, al is out there, covering the parade rose bowl right, al . Hi. Thats right. Doing the rose parade. This will be my 18th year. Im doing it with hoda caught bykotb. Its going to be about 38 degrees in the morning out here. Were going to need more than a sweatshirt. Midatlantic state noots southeast, more rain. Chilly conditions as you make your way into texas. Snow this is part that have storm system were talking about. More detail in the next 15 minutes, bringing snow across the plains. Another nice day, although cool here in Southern California. Well get t this is my butt my butt and i came into this world together. We were a great team then we grew up. And things werent as easy. After twelve years, seven diets and six sizes i finally realized my relationship with my butt had nothing to do with my butt and everythying to do with my brain. Good morning. Im bill henley. Cloudy start, but rain showers moving out. Partly sunny, but only in the 40s this afternoon. And Colder Weather arrives tomorrow, 31 in the morning, just 40 tom afternoon. And then colder for the end of the year. 20s and 30s for wednesday and thursday. Cold start to the new year. Temperatures will moderate over the weekend, but the chance of rain and snow late sunday. And thats your latest weather. Here is a question. If you put your tongue on the frozen today logo does it stick . I dont know. Try it al. Lick the screen. Do you doubl dog dare me . Yes. Triple dog dare you. Go for it al. Hell do it. See you in a little bit. Dylan is covering the orange room for carson this morning. What are we looking at . You traveled for the holidays. Yep. Did you bring along any wrapped presents in your luggage . No. Did not. The tsa says you cannot. If you do, theres a good chance theyll open them. Put together a nice little compilation of the presents that the tsa not so subtly unwrapped. Jordan says well at least the tsa made an attempt to rewrap the present they opened. The jar made it. Thats good. Katie, who basically says she thinks the tsa might have tried to open up her present here but shes not so sure. I appreciate theyre trying to rewrap the whole thing. This one maybe not so much. He brought us a present and tsa was nice enough to wrap it up for us. I like how the string was piled right back on the present. They always stick on their security tape. We reached out to the tsa. We recommend that travelers travel with unwrapped gifts and wrap them at their destination. At times unwrapping a wrapped gift is required by policy. They give some advice saying Holiday Travel tip, use gift bags instead of wrapped gifts to the checkpoint. Sometimes its hard to travel with a big roll of wrapping paper. I understand why people take the chance and wrap it. Not so nice when you get the present and its covered in tsa wrapping paper. Thank you for those tips four days after christmas. Remember next year. Exactly. Always looking ahead, dylan. Coming up has hollywood found a new way to produce a hit . Historymaking success of the interviews online release after all that controversy and the stars live tweeting during the film. Has it been worth it . Colorados governor on the highs and lows of the legalization of marijuana one year later. First this is today on nbc. Wow something sounds sweet in here need a little honey in the bowl. Yeah badabopbopbopa no . Must be the honey coming up, madonnas weird rant on social media in the wake of her new song being leaked online. Most daring let me get this straight. [ female voice ] yes . Lactaid® is 100 real milk . Right. Real milk. But it wont cause me discomfort. Exactly, no discomfort because its milk without the lactose. And it tastes . Its real milk come on, would i lie about this . [ female announcer ] lactaid®. 100 real milk. No discomfort. And for more 100 real dairy treats youll 100 enjoy look for lactaid® ice cream and lactaid® cottage cheese. Colourists know roots take colour one way, and previously coloured hair another. New Vidal Sassoon salonist. First, brush roots then, blend through lengths. Our most advanced system outside the salon. Its more than colour. Its a work of art. Ok. Well start looking for an suv. Fire by firenze sir . Start your Search Online with over 35,000 carmax quality certified used cars. Carmax. Start here. This is an allen family production. And heres why we love chex. One, choices like chocolate, vanilla and honey nut. Two, no artificial colors or flavors. Three. Its gluten free. Chex. Full of what you love. Free of what you dont. Behold, the subway steak egg white and cheese start your day with the most beautiful breakfast this side of daybreak. The toasty flatbread foundation will smooth out mornings ups and downs. The juicy, sizzly steak is stacked high enough to see well over any morning fog left in that noggin of yours plus its loaded with proteinpacked egg whites, melty cheese and whatever else you love, like jalapenos or spinach. The subway steak egg white cheese is as great as the sunrise itself. Subway. Eat fresh. Good morning. Time to get your first alert forecast with bill henley. Still a few raindrops, but its very light. Ud3rp you can see the clouds. Showers will end this morning. Steadier rainfall is far to the south. Wont be affecting our area. So a few raindrops to start with and then drying out. Already chillier north and west. Allentown 29 while 41 at philadelphia international. By lunchtime, 43. Middle 40s with more sunshine this afternoon. Jillian mele has an update on an accident in vine land. Thats right. Its been out there for about 45 minutes. We just got word that it cleared, but you can still expect volume on 55 northbound near exit 35. So keep that in mind. Drivers in Delaware County looking pretty good. Is this a live look at baltimore pike. Pockets of volumeovgcn but no significant sdwladelays. 202 is clear. Investigators say a house fire in burkes county that killed two people does not appear to be suspicious. The fire broke out at a home on spruce street around 8 30 last night. It took a long time to get it under control. This morning authorities are, working on identifying the victim. Neighbors tell us and the der elderly couple lived here. Well be back in 30 minutes. Get real time information at nbc10. Com. 7 30 now on this monday december 29th, twourp. A look at Rockefeller Plaza christmas tree. Get a look at it before its gone. Fun time of year around here. Lets take a look at whats making headlines. Searchers spotted objects in the java sea overnight. Officials admit the plane and people on board are likely at the bottom of t