Sideline. The nfl network dsuspends three analysts and one hall of famer, as the food world reacts to disturbing accusations against celebrity chef mario batali. All those stories, plus, a passengers threat on a jet. I will kill everybody on this plane. The heartstopping moment a woman on her honeymoon is attacked by a shark. And the truth about the socalled man flu. The new study that shows guys really feel sicker than women. December 12th, 2017. From nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. And thank you for joining us on a Tuesday Morning. Tuesday election in december. Its unusual. Weve been talking about this election for so long. Its finally here then . Finally here. Finally, the voters will get their say. Our top story. The day has come, in the alabama special election to fill the senate seat that was held by attorney general jeff sessions. It is a buiitter race between embattled republican, roy moore, and his democratic challenger, doug jones. And this morning, voters are now heading to the polls and the eyes of the nation are upon them. Gabe gutierrez has the very latest. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. The polls set to open here in a short time for what is the tightest Alabama Senate race in a generation. Its now being seen as a referendum on trump and his policies. One that could set off shock waves ahead of next years midterms. This morning, its anyones guess who will win alabamas crucial special election. The latest polls are mixed, with republican roy moore trailing Democrat Doug Jones by ten points in one. Leading in others. The verdict rests on the voice of alabama. Reporter protesters atore r. I want america good. And she cant be good until we go back to god. Reporter he once again denied allegations of Sexual Misconduct with teen girls decades ago. Kayla moore, accusing the media of trying to portray her husband in a bad light. Make news will tell you we dont care for jews. One of our attorneys is a jew. Steve bannon. Reporter former white house strategist, steve bannon, firing up the crowd, ripping into republicans who said the former judge should drop out. Theres a special place in hell [ applause ] for republicans who should know better. Reporter mr. Moore, why wont you answer questions . Moore not taking traditional questions. He did give an interview, to this 12yearold girl. What are the voters in alabama wanting . Reporter doug jones sees things differently. The majority of the people of alabama say its time, we put our decency, our state before political party. Reporter experts say turnout will be crucial. Jones calling on former nba hall of Famer Charles barkley to get alabama out to vote. The native having harsh words to his home state. At some point, we have to stop looking like idiots to the nation. [ cheers ] at some point, i listen, i love alabama. At some point we have to draw a line in the sand so were not a bunch of damn idiots. Reporter moore evan leljeje cals, they will be key. All of this bull crap going on is nothing but bull crap. Reporter in a final push, former president obama and Vice President biden, recorded robocalls for jones. This after trump recorded his own message for roy moore. Despite all this attention, officials in alabama expect the turnout to be about 25 . Gabe, thank you so much. And more on whats at stake today, we turn to steve kornacki. Good morning to you. Cant believe were talking about an Alabama Senate race this close. The polls are literally all over the place. Why . Who is up . Who is down . Nobody knows . Nothing to compare to. No competitive races in alabama in forever. The state is so republican. Is there an issue in these polls of people being afraid they might vote for a democrat . Is there issues in these polls of people that might be afraid to vote for moore. You had ten, nine, a tie. Pick your poll. The real poll is today because its election day. To say that a democrat in alabama faces headwinds is the understatement of the year. What would doug jones have to do to put together a coalition to win. Two major things have to happen for him today. Its not a question of black support. It ees question of black turno. Is it going to turn out . The numbers you saw for president obama . In a state like alabama, its a polarized state racially. You have to win over white voters. Around huntsville, birmingham and mobile. People in alabama do not like to be told what to do. They dont want washington telling them how to vote. How does that play when it goes to the poll . Thats what roy moore has turned this into. This is the establishment out to get him. Before the allegations in the primary, he was running against mitch mcconnell, the republican establishment. Trying to turn it into the Media Establishment out to get him. Its interesting to hear that Charles Barkley line last night. I can see that playing two different ways today. One, it could play into moores hands. It could rally folks for jones. The whole nation nation is watching alabama and how alabama Voters Decide to deal with that. How much does trump have riding on this . The president has stuck his neck way out for moore. Hes out there with phone calls and everything on his behalf. Its an embarrassment if he loses. Weve seen before when his candidates lose, he pretepnds i didnt happen. He campaigned for moore in the primaries. Steve, thank you. We have a lot more to get to, including new information on mondays terror attack in the new york city subway system during the busy morning commute. The suspect saying he did it in the name of isis. Stephan Stephanie Gosk is just a few blocks south of us. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you. As you can see, traffic here outside of the Port Authority, basically back to normal. Meanwhile, senior Law Enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, tell nbc news, that the bomber was inspired by threats to carry out attacks during the christmas season. And he detonated those explosives right in front of a christian mass dismplay. Now, new yorkers are on high alert. New details about the man police say attempted a suicide bombing during new york city rush hour. A senior Law Enforcement tells nbc news that 27yearold akayed ullah, an immigrant from bangladesh, said he exploded an improvised device, targeting the Port Authority bus terminal. The suspects actions allegedly in retaliation of u. S. Bombings of isiscontrolled territories. Ullah said he watched propaganda online. Read extremist writings and learned to make the device. He apparently orchestrated the attack himself. Multiple senior Law EnforcementOfficials Say the bomb included a pipe. 9 volt battery, matches and Christmas Tree lights. Neighbors are in disbelief. Im very shocked. You know, hes a religious person. You know, very quiet. Reporter but the wouldbe suicide bombers plot, didnt go as expected. We have a report of an explosion. And some sort of suspicious device. The perp has wires on him. Reporter investigators say ullah detonated the bomb on his body. Three people suffered injuries, while the attacker could be seen on the ground with burns on his body. Later hospitalized in serious condition. These Port AuthorityPolice Officers are being hailed as heroes, immediately rushing into harms way to restrain the suspect. While there was minimal damage, the explosion forced the morning rush to come to a stand still, causing a flood of commuters out of the subway. It just went off. It knocked people down. And people got up and started running. Reporter the suspects family say they feel under siege and are outraged how the nypd is interrogating some relatives. We are heartbroken by the vie hence that was targeted at our city today. And the allegations being made against a member of our family. Reporter mondays brazen attack comes in the middle of the Holiday Season. And nearly two months of an uzbek man plowed a truck into a new york city bike path on halloween, killing eight people. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced enhanced security of bridges, tunnels and mass transit points. There will be more police at large public events. And you know, here in new york city, during the Holiday Season, we have jokers, apparently. You also have lots of events, almost every, single day. Back to you. Thanks, Stephanie Gosk in times square. In the meantime, more democrats aring for the president to resign, after a group of women doubled down on their Sexual Misconduct allegations against him. Kate snow with the latest on that. Good morning. Reporter in the wake of those accusers speaking out. A group of more than 50 Democratic House members will call for a congressional investigation. A partisan but growing chorus. New York Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand was the first to call on al franken to resign. Now, she says congress should investigate allegations against trump, too. I think he should immediately resign. If he doesnt, we should have the investigation. Reporter the call coming after several women who accused the president about bad behavior before he was elected, are coming out again. Speaking for the first time on Megyn Kelly Today. For us to put ourselves out there to show america how he is and how he views women and for them to say, we dont care, it was it hurt. And so, you know, now, its just like, all right. Lets try round two. Reporter jess isica leeds s trump groped her on a plane in the 1970s. He lurched on top of me. He was like an octopus. His hands were all over. He was kissing me and molesting me. Reporter rachel crooks, a former receptionist at trump tower, said when she was 22, trump kissed her without permission. He shook my hands, kissed my ne cheeks normally. He held my hand and kept drawing me back in to kiss me. Reporter on the cheek . Kept kissing my cheeks, which, obviously, became weird. And then, he kissed me on the lips. And so, i was stunned. Reporter Samantha Holvey competed in miss usa in 2006, and said mr. Trump made her uncomfortable, when he came backstage where women were dressed in robes. A woman who competed alongside her has a different memory of events. He is a very kind individual. Very sincere. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate at all. Reporter the White House Press secretary, again, dismissing the accusations. Look, the president hazarded these accusations directly. And denied all of these allegations. And this took place long before he was elected to be president. Reporter in a statement, the white house said, the timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them. All three women who spoke monday are democrats. On capitol hill, one republican senator says, democrats calling for investigations are just using the metoo moment. I think its nonsense. I think its just political rhetoric. Reporter there was an a. P. Report that the president was furious with u. N. Ambassador nikki haley after she was asked about his accusers and said the women should be heard on sunday. Overnight, Administration Officials pushing back on that one source said the president told haley she did a good job. Literally, in the last few minutes, the president just tweeted about this issue. The president writing on witter. Despite thousands of hours wasted and millions spent, the democrats have been unable to show any collusion with russia. Now, they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who i dont know and or have never met. Fake news. Thats just from the president now. All right. Just as your report was coming on. We have some sad news this morning. San Francisco Mayor edwin lee has died at the age of 65. He passed away overnight, surrounded by family and friends and colleagues. Hes survived by his wife and two daughters. London breed is becoming the citys active mayor immediately. Firefighters are hoping to gain control of a wildfire burning in ventura county, california. The thomas fire has burned over 230,000 acres. Its the fifthlargest blaze in state history. Its about 20 contained right now. Red flag warnings were extended on month, due to relentless wind gusts and bonedry weather conditions. That fire has burned more than 800 structures. Time to bring in mr. Al roker. Fire out west and snow in the northeast . Moving into new england and the great lakes. Were watching this closely. We saw some heavier snow moving from cleveland, pittsburgh, and buffalo. Now, making its way to upstate new york and new england. We have Winter Weather advisories and malakeeffect sn warnings. From the u. P. Of michigan to new england. But as far south as beckley, west virginia. Well watch this clipper come across. Thats the first round of snow that makes its way in the northeast and new england today. High winds and drifting snow around the great lakes. Then, a second storm dives south into the great lakes and the midwest. A cold blast. Behind us and cold windchills. Low visibility, and snowfall amounts around the great lakes, the eastern great lakes of about a foot to a foot and a half. Some places could pick up to 18 inches of snow to 20 i good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. A chance of a few light rain showers this morning and clouds this afternoon. What we wont get during the day is cold. That comes in tonight. 45 this afternoon in philadelphia. The suburbs, 43 degrees. Look at the skies brightening at the shore. 50 degrees this afternoon. The lehigh valley, a few sprinkles this morning. Mostly cloudy this afternoon. 44 degrees. Up to 46 and showers this morning, done this afternoon in delaware. Have a great day. And that is your latest weather. Guys guys . Al, thank you so much. Coming up, Sexual Harassment allegations rocking nfl and the food network this morning. And soul searching. Why a former Top Executive says the platform he helped create is ripping society apart. First, this is today on nbc. What do you think . Hey, think ben will like it . Yeah, was i the only one hearing the angelic music . Im serious, i never know what to get him. Just tell me you got him fios too. Sigh. Mrs. Layne, fios is a 100 fiberoptic network. That, plus this sick console, hell be like whaaaaaattt. Your new tech is best on the 100 fiber optic network. So get fios. Now just 79. 99 per month with a 2year price guarantee with a 2year agreement. 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