1. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics are only two weeks away, and on Thursday morning viewers got a close look at U.S. athletes' festive wardrobe. The TODAY anchors got into the Olympic spirit, dressing up in the official Team USA uniforms as Ralph Lauren's David Lauren made the big reveal.
2. Six months after a terrifying ordeal caught on home video nearly killed Alexis Fairchild, the Indiana teen is trying to piece her life back together.
Doctors feared the 17-year-old would never walk again after a parasailing accident last July in Panama City, Fla. “I remember a lot,” Alexis told TODAY’s Kerry Sanders in her first interview since the accident. “All of it, actually. I mean to a point where I blacked out, but I don't know.”
3. On Thursday, TODAY investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen reported on a drink with a funny-sounding name — “sizzurp”— that young people are using to get high. Doctors are warning that the drug, which is made by combining soda, candy and prescription cough syrup with codeine in it, can be deadly.
4. For more than a decade, U.S. ski jumper Lindsey Van spearheaded the fight for the inclusion of her sport in the Olympics — and her dream will become reality in just a few weeks when the first women’s ski jump competition will be held in Sochi.
“I’m pretty overwhelmed and excited,” Van told Savannah on Thursday.
5. Be sure to tune in Friday morning, when Mitt Romney will join Savannah Guthrie for an exclusive live interview. The former presidential candidate will share his unique perspective on security concerns at the Winter Games in Sochi, and he’ll also discuss "Mitt," the new revealing documentary on his two runs for the White House.
And that’s TODAY’s Takeaway!