Flips and slams into a truck. Eight people are dead and dozens others injured. What the driver said moments before the crash. And search for answers. What happened to the new york city mother found murdered in turkey . Well talk to her mother today, monday, february 4th, 2013. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a monday morning. Im Savannah Guthrie. And im willie geist in this morning for matt. We have the backup generators all gassed up just in case. Super bowl xlvii will be remembered for a long time. Yes, for the games dramatic finish but perhaps more so for that power outage. If the ravens had not held on to win that game we would be talking conspiracy theories. Apparently the game got very exciting toward the end of it. When the lights went out etook it as a personal hint and went straight to bed. Ive been briefing uhuh on the outcome of the game all morning long. Well be live in new orleans. And the ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, will be here to join us to tell us what it was like to beat his Brothers Team in the biggest game of both of their lives. Well be talking about those commercials, some of them popular, some of them not so much. Well tell you which are some of the viewers favorites. 40 million gas platform sinking into the sea. The crew was forced to hang on for dear life. Well have the story behind that accident. And on a much lighter note, were starting our yearlong countdown to the olympic winter games in sochi, russia. Take a look the what is going on out on the plaza this morning. This is freestyle skiing, practicing their moves on trampolines. Jenna wolfe is in new orleans for us this morning. Good morning to you. Reporter savannah, good morning to you. What a game last night, complete tale of two halves. The guys in back of me were diehard ravens fans. They couldnt stop screaming the whole first half. The guys in front of me, diehard 49er fans. They couldnt stop screaming the whole second half. In between me, beyonce, a blackout and a little game known as football. Half the power in new orleans stadium, the superdome here, is out. Reporter just taken a commanding 286 lead with a kickoff return when suddenly out went the power. Local officials said the outage happened after a piece of faultsensing equipment detected an abnormality. Fans, players and a worldwide tv audience waited for 34 minutes and waited and waited. When the lights came back, so did the 49ers. And a touchdown, San Francisco. Reporter once looking like a snoozer, the longest super bowl in history became a nail biter that came down to the very last play. But in the end the ravens held off San Franciscos furious comeback. It hasnt sunk in yet. Crazy. Unbelievab unbelievable. Reporter ravens quarterback joe flacco nabbed the games mvp award. And while he helped court with the media, we took the field with his teammates. That game was a lot closer than either team would have liked. In the end the ravens did what the ravens came to do, picking up the firstever ravens super bowl win. How much did the blackout bother you guys, mentally . It didnt really bother us. Weve been through a lot worse than that. Reporter you look war torn and beat. Every fiber that i had. Reporter that belongs to you guys now. That thing is so beautiful. What are you feeling now . Im feeling great. Reporter how much did that blackout stop the momentum you had going . 30minute break. Beyonce, her halftime show, killed it, absorbed all the energy. Reporter oh, yeah. About that beyonce, singing live as promised, she lit up the superdome with all her Single Ladies and the destinys child reunion many were hoping for. On this night, beyonce left the National Anthem to fellow diva alicia keys. O say can you see reporter while Jennifer Hudson joined the choir from sandy hook elementary with emotional rendition of america the beautiful. At the end of the night, though, it was the ravens who were the better team with older brother, john harbaugh, besting his younger brother, jim. Its never pretty. Its never perfect, but it is us. Reporter their parents celebrating a bittersweet victory and players soaking up a tough win in the big easy. Amazing. Phenomenal. Listen to them baltimore, were champions reporter here is the deal, guys, as far as the blackout goes. It lasted about 34 minutes. I got a chance to walk around a little bit. Nobody panicked. Nobody was overly concerned. Nobody rushed the field. For the most part everybody was calm. There was a bad attempt at a wave that went around. It was refreshing to see everyone wait this whole thing out. As a payback for them, they had an amazing second half. There you go. Willie . Jenna wolfe in new orleans for us. Thanks. For more of this socalled blackout on the bayou and what it was like to be in the superdome at the time, lets bring in mike lipka. The lights go out, youre sitting in the press box. What is the first thought in your mind . I dont know how it works at your house, but i cant even fix a Circuit Breaker in my house. When it got dark there i immediately being a trained reporter said this is not a good thing and only a sick and twisted person would hope it had something to do with the half time show, but youre wondering as a sports writer, is this going to change the game . Jacoby jones had turned out the lights on the super bowl. If somebody had told you here is what is going to happen in the next hour and a half, the 49ers are come back and have the ball in the air to with a chance to win the game, you would have laughed. Clearly something changed during those 34 minutes. What do you think the real impact was on the players as they stood there and waited for lights to come back on . Reporter going into the super bowl, you always hear the twoweek layoff is going to affect one team or another. You knew somehow there might be a momentum shift. You just didnt know. It looked like, willie, it was going to be one of those blo blowout super bowls out of the pass. Instead it turns into one that will be memorable in 9,000 ways. It started the resumption of mardi gras a little early in new orleans last night. For all the planning, all the preparation that goes into these super bowls, all the rehearsal not just in new orleans but in any city the question a lot of people are asking is how could that have happened . Do we have any more information about what happened last night . Reporter the company is called en techlt tergy. Theyre still calling it an abnormality. Which, by the way, we were able to figure out for ourselves. This was such a comeback week for new orleans. Great american city. This is a celebration of the city and everything went so great until there were about 13 22 left in the second half of the super bowl. And then we got a good game after that. I dont think anybody will blame the city for that one. Mike lupica, surviving in the dark in new orleans last night. Thank you so much. Reporter well have a touch Football Game. Sounds good. Well have a lot more on the super bowl, commercials, halftime show coming up a little bit later. For now here is savannah. To that tense hostage drama in alabama entering its seventh day. This morning, police say they are still communicating with the suspect, holding a 5yearold boy in an underground bunker. Gabe gutierrez is covering the story for us in midland city, alabama. Good morning. Reporter savannah, good morning. The little boy, ethan, is supposed to turn 6 years old very soon. That means theres the haunting possibility that he could spend his birthday as a hostage. Police are choosing their Public Comments very carefully, because the suspect might have access to television. You raise me up reporter South Alabama is in mourning. Bus driver charles polands funeral sunday, friends and family remembered a man who died, protecting children. His actions spoke louder than any word that is could ever have been said about him. He laid down his life for the kids on that bus. Reporter police say his alleged killer, jimmy lee dykes, boarded a stopped school bus and demanded two kids. When poland refused, police say dykes shot him to death and took a boy named ethan with a mild form of autism hostage. I wish i could just hug him and hold him and tell him its going to be all right. Reporter dykes has kept ethan in an underground bunker allowing him crackers, coloring books and medicine. As the standoff enters the second week, theres no telling how long it could last. Psychologists say the toll on ethan could be significant. The over dd riding thought in his head is that he wants his mother, that he just wants to be out of that situation. Reporter the ordeal brings back eerie memories of another kidnapping in 1976. Three men with guns abducted 26 children, ages 5 to 14 from a school bus in chalchilla, california, the kidnappers forced them underground. They spent 16 terrible hours there, clutching each other in tears. The kids and their bus driver, also hailed as a hero, managed to escape. But 37 years later for many, the scars remain. The longterm effects are very deep. To this day, im 46 years old and i sleep with a nightlight. And thats not normal for an adult. Reporter in that case, the motive was ransom. Here in alabama, the reason is still a mystery. At this point little ethan has been trapped underground for more than 134 hours, savannah. Gabe gutierrez in alabama for us. Thank you. Natalie morales is at the news desk with this mornings other top stories for us. Good morning. Good morning, willie and savannah. Good morning, everyone n. Southern california, at least eight people have been killed overnight when Officials Say a bus carrying tourists from tijuana, mexico, slammed into the back of another car on a mountain road. 40 other people were injuried in the collision. The u. S. Company operating the bus had no crashes in the past two years, according to federal records. The president heads to minneapolis today to meet with local leaders on the issue of gun control. In his annual presuper bowl interview last night, the president addressed a range of other issues, including the risk of brain injury in children playing football. I want to make sure that were doing everything we can to make the sport safer. And that means that the game is probably going to evolve a little bit. President obama also addressed the boy scouts longstanding policy of excluding gays and lesbians saying that they should have, quote, access and opportunity, the same way everyone else does. A new york icon is laid to rest today at the funeral for former new york city mayor ed koch. Former president bill clinton speaks at the Manhattan Service and kochs favorite subway station will be renamed in his honor. Leon panetta defended the use of unmanned drone strikes to target potential terrorists who are a threat to the u. S. In an interview on meet the press, he says the decision to strike doesnt come lightly. Lets head to wall street with cnbcs kayla toshi. Good morning. Hiring in december, wall street hopes the rally will continue. Two specific stocks today, cbs, host of the super bowl, and entergy, the Company Responsible for the blackout. How much will it cost them both . Interesting. Thanks. An iranian natural gas platform sank last week in the persian gulf. Workers are scrambling along the rig as it simpgs but iran has not commented on the number of injuries or fatalities in the sinking. It has been in jeopardy since sanctions have caused western companies to withdraw. Dramatic faceoff outside of Buckingham Palace during a changing of the guard when a man burst through a security barrier, wielding two large knives, holding one to his throat. Police moved in and managed to the 44yearold with a taser. He appears in a london court today. Researchers in england say they have found the skeleton of king richard iii. Dna results show that the battle scarred bones found under a parking lot are beyond doubt those of the king killed in battle from 500 years ago. Richard iii was immortalized by William Shakespeare as a brutal tyrant who delivered the famous lines now is the winter of our discontent and my kingdom for a horse. The king will be reburied at a nearby cathedral early next year. It is 7 15 right now. You are uptodate. Lets turn it over to savannah, willie and roker, the soontobe raven. Natalie won the sbet you will be donning a ravens costume. Something like that. What we could conjure up. Well try to get the mascot costume in. We have a few with that. Thanks so much. Yes. Well, we are talking about a lot of snow throughout the great lakes. Got a clipper system, one of two, pushing through. Snow from milwaukee into buffalo and upstate new york. The system will move quickly. Dump about three to six inches of snow over the next 24 to 48 hours. It will also have a secondary system back behind that. So we are looking generally at one to three inches, widespread area of three to six. In the traditional lake effect areas and erie, jamestown and upstate new york, six to nine inches of snow, as mauch as a foot. Beautiful sunrise under way. Good morning, im tom kierein. Live view from the nbc 4 hd city camera. Now 7 17. The sun has been up for six minutes. Sunrise at 7 11. 27 at Reagan National with a northwest breeze and the dew point 10. Late tonight after inkreezing clouds this afternoon between 8 00 p. M. To 2 00 a. M. And thats your latest weather. Willie . Al, thanks very much. To texas, search for the motive of a u. S. Navy s. E. A. L. Another iraq war veteran is charged in that case. Lester holt has the latest on the investigation. Lester, good morning. Willie, good morning. I get to meet and spend time with chris kyle last year for the release of his autobiography. He was the most lethal sniper in u. S. History. He and a friend were gunned down at a shooting range in glenrose, texas. A sad twist of fate for a man who became a hero on the battlefield. Americas deadliest military sniper who, over four it tours in iraq, made over 160 confirmed kills, a number chris kyle told me a year ago was not the one he focused on. Every person i killed, i have a clear conscience of. They were actively trying to harm americans, military or civilians. Reporter he and his friend, chad littlefield, were shot to death. The alleged killer, Eddie Ray Ralph, former marine, arrived at the range with the victims. After killing them with a semi automatic handgun at close range, he drove to his sisters house and confess ed to the murders before returning home. He was apprehended without any scuffle or fight. And then early this morning, he was arraigned and brought to our jail here where he is now. The sheriff says his understanding is that ralph may suffer from mental problems related to his military service, but offer nod specifics or possible motive. I dont think anybody knows why. They all went out there together. Reporter much of kyles time in iraq was spent providing sniper cover for troops. Insurgents nicknamed him the devil of ramadi. It gave me pride, knowing i was doing my job enough to get into the minds of the terrorists and make them fearful of me. Reporter back here in the states he started a company in his native texas and raised his public profile with projects like the nbc reality show stars earn stripes which paired celebrities with soldiers to carry out militarystyle missions. Tap, rack, bang. Reporter kyle said he was raised to be patriotic, but also had a strong faith in god. That faith especially saw him through his last combat tour, when he was shot twice, one bullet stopped by his body armor. The other, deflected off his goggles. I had a Guardian Angel out there and im sure he hates me, because i would come home and i would break my toe going up the stairs. But every time i went overseas, he kept me safe. Reporter chris kyle leaves behind a wife and two children. According to officials, Eddie Ray Ralph has been arraigned on two counts of murder. And our thoughts are certainly with his wife and those two kids. Lester holt, thank you so much. New details on a mysterious death of a new york mom killed in turkey. Her mother opens up in an exclusive live interview. First this is today on nbc. I watched the super bowl for the Power Outages but a lot of people liked the commercials. Like the clyesdale. A boy and his horse. Works every time. Works every time. Uso commercial with oprah. Very patriotic, and pulled at the heartstrings. There were funny ones. I have a favorite but i was up so late, i forgot it. Well show you some of our favorites and your favorites coming up. And what people are saying about bean beyon beyonces performance after your local news. Youre shoveling ice all day long. Its rough on the back. Its rough on the shoulders. I get muscle aches all over. Advil® is great. Pain and soreness is just out of the picture. [ male announcer ] make the switch. Take action. Take advil®. And for sinus congestion, now you can get advil® combined with a proven decongestant. Breathe easier with advil® congestion relief. Made with milk, cream. A touch of sugar. And pure, natural flavors. 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This is a news 4 news break. Good morning. Its 7 26 on monday, february 4. Im aaron gilchrist. A problem on the roads in Montgomery County where a school bus has been involved in an accident. Danella has more with first 4 traffic. Good morning. Here is the update. Earlier the crash was on eastwest highway westbound at connecticut. If you were southbound on connecticut two of the right lane