find everything you need online. have a great day. >> we're in agreement. new outbreak. another round of powerful tornadoes tears through nebraska. >> oh, my goodness. >> as we learn more about the young victim of that rare double twister that leveled an entire town. daring raid inside the special forces mission to capture the alleged mastermind of the benghazi attacks. while in washington, the president ponders the next move in iraq and summons congressional leaders to the white house. "today" exclusive. jim mcmahon, one of the toughest quarterbacks of all time, speaks out for the first time about his lawsuit against the nfl. did the league sacrifice the health of its players for profit? we'll talk to him live. and on the mend, after

severing her spinal cord in an accident, six-time gold medal winner amy van dyken-rouen speaks with us. >> i just want to thank you guys and everyone who watches the "today" show for all of your support, all of your prayers, your positive vibes. >> as she begins the next phase in her recovery today, wednesday, june 18th, 2014. >> 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 wednesday morning. and how nice is it to see amy van dyken-rouen's smiling face after all she's been through. >> and her spirit is intact. we'll show you that special message in just a moment. by the way, you've never looked better. oh, wait, al and natalie are down in orlando this morning. how soon you forget. >> we're going to cast a spell on you. >> oh, yeah.

>> they are down in the wizarding world of harry potter. we'll see their newest attraction down there in just a couple of minutes. our top story, those dangerous tornadoes in nebraska, dozens reported overnight, but thankfully the damage was nothing like what we saw from those twin tornadoes on monday. nbc's john yang has the latest. john, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt, that's right. more nebraska communities showing the battle scars of tornadoes overnight. this morning, we are learning more details about the deadly twin tornado. >> oh, my goodness. >> reporter: overnight, a new outbreak of tornadoes ripped through nebraska, hitting hard in farmland communities in the northeast part of the state. the national weather service tracked two large tornadoes near the towns of coleridge and laurel, nebraska. these latest twisters striking just 30 miles from the ef-4 tornado that devastated the tiny

village of pilger on monday. >> i just came back through the town. in my estimation it's 75%, maybe even 80% total destruction of this village. >> reporter: 5-year-old calista "cali" dixon was killed when the rare twin twisters touched down. she was with her mother, kandi murphree, and 4-year-old sister, robin, inside a mobile home. murphree was critically injured. robin escaped with a few scrapes. the family moved from alabama just four months ago. cali's grandmother released a statement saying "cali's dream was to be a doctor and help people when she grew up. maybe god has a job for her now." a 74-year-old man was also killed when winds of up to 200 miles an hour hit. those who survived say they feel very fortunate. >> that's where they told us to go with the cooler probably saved our life. >> reporter: levi and a dozen other people took shelter inside this milk cooler when the tornado struck.

>> when we opened the cooler door, the roof was gone. >> reporter: most of the town is now gone, but residents here say they're determined to begin the very long road to recovery. and this morning in pilger, heavy equipment is brought in to literally pick up the pieces. matt. >> john yang in nebraska for us this morning. john, thanks very much. we're going to get to al's forecast in a couple of minutes. but now to the capture of the alleged ringleader of the benghazi terrorist attack and the lingering fallout for then secretary of state hillary clinton. nbc's andrea mitchell has all the latest on that. andrea, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. the capture of the benghazi suspect was haled as a victory by the white house, but it has opened old political wounds for hillary clinton, still defending her handling of the benghazi attack. >> reporter: almost two years after the benghazi attack that killed ambassador chris stevens and three other americans, a daring nighttime raid at a beach

resort near benghazi. without notifying libyan officials, delta force commandos with drones overhead grabbed abu khattala whisking him off to a navy warship to be interrogated and brought back to the u.s. for prosecution. >> it's important for us to send a message to the world, that when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible, and we will bring them to justice. >> reporter: a much-needed foreign policy victory for the white house, but an issue that won't go away for hillary clinton. when asked about the administration's contradictory explanations for the attack on fox news -- >> this was the fog of war. you know, my own assessment careened from, you know, the video had something to do with it, the video had nothing to do with it. >> reporter: on cnn, clinton pointedly described her disagreement with president obama's decision not to arm syria's rebels. >> we pushed very hard but as i say in my book, i believe that harry truman was right, the buck stops with the president. >> reporter: it was also the

chance to try out some potential campaign themes like appealing to women supporters. >> i used to complain to the men i was running against. we would be meeting before debates and i'd say, you know, it's really unfair. you guys get up, you take a shower, you shake your head and you're ready. >> reporter: and legalizing marijuana. >> i want to wait and see what the evidence is. >> do you want to wait and try it? you said you've never smoked. >> no, that -- i didn't do it when i was young. i'm not going to start now. >> clinton and the white house hope that the capture of the alleged benghazi ringleader who will now be interrogated for as long as a week before arriving on u.s. soil will silence critics. they insist that it is far more effective to try him in u.s. courts which have a good track record of convictions in these cases than sending him to guantanamo as some republicans have been demanding. savannah and matt? >> andrea mitchell in washington, thank you. in the meantime, president obama is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders today to talk about the u.s. options in iraq. this as al qaeda-inspired

militants step up their assaults across that country. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in baghdad again. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the militants from the al qaeda offshoot isis are continuing their campaign to try and topple the iraqi government. now focusing on key economic targets, roads, oil, the airport. kurdish troops are battling to keep militants away from iraq's northern oil fields in kirkuk. the radicals from the al qaeda offshoot isis are trying to cripple the government with a reign of terrorism and attacks on key infrastructure. they have attacked iraq's biggest oil refinery. nbc news cannot verify this latest video, but reportedly the militants have taken control of most of the plant. security officials tell nbc news the militants' next target may likely be baghdad airport. the officials say the extremists are not strong enough to hold the facility but could close it

by firing rockets and mortars. ♪ iraqis are enlisting thousands a day to fight the extremists who are radical sunnis. "we will destroy the terrorists who represent no one but themselves," said this man who, until yesterday, was studying to be a shiite cleric. i asked them why they're fighting. they quickly started to dance. they are shouting what are shiite religious songs. they are fighting for iraq but also for their faith. as they danced and cheered for shiite ayatollahs and shiite martyrs from 1,000 years ago, it was clear the battle lines in iraq are once again drawn in faith. and matt, just as shiites are enthusiastically joining up for the army here in iraq, in neighboring iran, which is also a shiite country, today the president said volunteers there are also signing up to come fight here in iraq.

the iranian president said that the country will not hesitate to defend shiite holy sites. matt? >> richard engel in baghdad, thanks so much. let's go to savannah. as president obama weighs his decision, dick and liz cheney are out with a new op-ed this morning blasting the administration's decisions during wartime saying, quote, rarely has a u.s. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. we also have a new nbc news/wall street journal poll out. and for that we turn to chuck todd. nbc's chief white house correspondent. chuck, i know you've got some information about what options the president is considering with regard to iraq. >> well, there's one option that's off the table at this point, and that is airstrikes, and here's why. they just don't have the targets. this is not a big army that you're going after in isis. this is more like targeting al qaeda in yemen which means this is going to mean special forces. this is going to mean drones. very tactical strikes. there's no way they can somehow bring in fighter jets.

>> let's get to nbc's poll because foreign policy which for many, many years was a strong suit of the president's. it's now suddenly tanking. >> it is. it's cratering. if you think about it, let's go back to september, syria. then the crisis in ukraine and then the situation with the bergdahl trade, then the iranian negotiations, the middle east flaring up and now the situation with iraq. everything is a negative, and these are now creating a situation, lowest ever, lowest job rating, lowest approval rating among foreign policy. >> show competence that people who think the president competent, 50, incompetent, 50. >> well, this is the situation of the v.a. and compare it to president bush. he's actually in a worse situation. the obama administration is seen as less competent than the bush administration was post-katrina. that's v.a., health care and foreign policies. >> let's show the poll number. you call it the dagger. can the president lead and get the job done? 54% say no. >> this is what's amazing. this is as if the public is saying hey, buddy, your presidency is over. you may not believe it is, but your ability to lead and convince us that you have the right policies anymore, we're not listening.

that's what that poll question says. that's the most dangerous poll question in this survey. >> so does this spell success for republicans in the midterms coming up? >> well, it's not been a seesaw. the president's numbers are worse now than they were four years ago, right before the republican tsunami of 2010. but republican numbers are worse now than they were four years ago. it isn't translating. the public really is angry at both parties. we saw it with eric cantor. that's one of the reasons he got tossed out. this isn't an automatic translation. it's mildly good news for democrats. maybe they can separate themselves from the drag that president obama is. >> do you still see a non-tea party split in the gop. and let me ask you about hillary clinton. you took a poll, would you vote for hillary to a general electorate? and the numbers were saying yes, 38%. no, 37%. and maybe, 23%. >> and this is a reminder, she's not -- you know, some in the media treat this as if it's a coronation. that president clinton is an automatic in 2016. this is the voters saying no, she's not. she's an automatic with

democrats. her numbers with democrats are better now than they've ever been. much better than they were eight years ago. with the rest of the public, it's another question. >> chuck todd, thank you very much. by the way, tomorrow we will sit down with secretary of state john kerry to talk more about these u.s. options in iraq. the possibility of cooperating with iran and much more. for now let's go over to craig melvin for the other top stories of the morning including two executions overnight. craig, good morning. >> good morning. breaking overnight, the first executions since a botched lethal injection in oklahoma two months ago. in georgia, 59-year-old marcus wellons was executed by lethal injection just before midnight. wellons was convicted for the 1989 murder of his 15-year-old neighbor. also overnight in missouri, 46-year-old john winfield was executed for a double murder in 1996. authorities say the executions went smoothly with no complications. and lawyers for some of those acrobats injured during a circus stunt last month say they plan to file a lawsuit now. four of the acrobats took part

in an emotional news conference in boston tuesda the women were hurt during a performance of the ringling brothers & barnum and bailey's circus when the apparatus fell to the ground. the women said they wanted to thank the world for all the well wishes. >> i'm so thankful to god and to many angels for giving me my life back and to still live my dream. >> lawyers for the performance said the women have had at least two dozen surgeries combined. for the first time, a california teenager who stowed away on a flight from san jose to hawaii in april is talking about his amazing journey. 15-year-old abdi says he still cannot believe he survived. he says he hopped into the wheel well of the first plane that he found that was heading west. he covered his ears as it took off and remembered peeking out to see that he was above the

clouds. he says that contrary to some reports, he did not run away because of trouble at school. he says he wanted to get away from his stepmom and find his mother living in a refugee camp in ethiopia. now to a terrifying crash on a kansas highway caught on camera. take a look at this. a disabled truck with a trailer parked on the side of the road there on the side of the interstate when a jeep cherokee slams into the trailer and completely flips over top of the vehicle. the driver of the jeep is injured, taken to a local hospital. the accident is still under investigation. at this point police believe that the driver may have been impaired. and in thailand, it's kind of like the running of the bulls, only it's ducks. tens of thousands of ducks. and they seem pretty incredible, captured by a driver who had to stop in his tracks to let all the quacking birds go by. wave after wave, the parade of ducks never seemed to end there. no word on where all of those

ducks were going. >> i'd be just as scared of that as bulls. >> i think i had a nightmare about that last night. >> creepy. thousands of ducks. going along and all of a sudden -- >> i had a golf ball by a goose. /i was terrified by the goose. it landed next to the goose. i did not want to get my golf ball. >> you had a golf by by a goose? >> and that was just one. >> supposed to keep the golf ball on the fairway. >> with all those ducks, we need an al roker duck joke. i hope you're ready, al. >> well, you know what? if it ran into a cheese truck, you would have had cheese and quackers. >> thank you. >> yes! yes! i know, it was a fowl joke, but what do you do? we are here at universal orlando resort's new themed attractions, the wizarding world of harry potter diagon alley. if you are a fan of harry potter, even if you're not a fan of harry potter, you get here,

you will be. you travel on the hogwarts express, you step inside gringotts bank. you have people waving at you the whole time. it's unbelievable! we do have some serious weather to talk about. we showed you the severe weather going on in nebraska. we've got more again today. we've already got severe thunderstorm watches out. milwaukee, you're going to be looking at severe showers and thunderstorms today. already threatening. here's what we've got. i mean, this system is going to be pushing its way slowly to the east. these upper-level disturbances bringing strong storms again. the same area that's gotten hit over the last two days, hit again. look at the risk of severe weather today. stretching from nebraska all the way into the northeast this time. and down into texas with the risk of isolated tornadoes, some of them could be strong with damaging hail. we've got flash flood watches

coming from the dakotas into the upper midwestment. rainfall amounts anywhere from three to five inches of rain over the next 24 hours. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. really? what's wrong with trying new things? you feel that in your muscles? yeah...i do... drink water. it's a long story. well, not having branches lets us give you great rates and service. i'd like that. experience a new way to bank where no branches = great rates. ally bank. your money needs an ally. good morning to you. 7:17 on wednesday. comfortable start to the day. chilly half moon bay, 58 in san francisco. good-looking start, nice and clear over at&t park. beautiful, sunny day shaping up

in the city. hit 69 degrees. meanwhile a beautiful foggy breeze in san francisco. choice spot to be today around the bay or at the coast. hottenland, 85 for the peninsula. >> all right, al. thank you very much. back to business for the u.s. world cup team in brazil as they prepare for this weekend's very important match with portugal. but can anything top the drama and the excitement of monday's victory? nbc's bill neely is in sao paulo. bill, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. they are battered and they are bruised, but they are front-page news. the u.s. team training here last night, or at least some of them. two of them getting treatment in the hospital, and the captain, clint dempsey, of course, nursing that broken nose after that dramatic win over ghana, a win that has the players buzzing but not the coach. it was back down to earth for

america's newest sports heroes after their flying start. put there by their coach. >> there are certainly things we need to improve. we know that we didn't play to our best capabilities, but we still won this game. >> what about that? >> reporter: a game of ecstasy and agony. >> the way that happened. now, that is a problem. >> reporter: jozy altidore carried off. captain clint dempsey's nose nearly taken off. >> that was a jolting blow. >> reporter: in the next game, he may have to wear a mask. >> it was tricky during the game. he barely could breathe. he struggled with that. once it's broken, it's broken. >> reporter: team usa now takes on the fourth best team in the world, portugal, who were humiliated 4-0 by the second best team in the world, germany, who the u.s. plays next week. they don't call this the group of death for nothing. support for the team in brazil

and at home is inspiring the players to believe soccer's time has come. >> it's awesome to see this, you know. we're part of this movement, i guess, growing soccer in the states. it's really cool. >> it was just an incredible feeling, the support we had from the fans in the stadium along with the fans in every corner of the country. we felt that. >> payback for the usa! >> reporter: and they say they want more of it. roll on sunday and more soccer success. so for the u.s. on sunday, the man with the broken nose, captain clint dempsey, will play, mask or no mask. the man with the broken ego, or maybe it's just bruised, the portuguese superstar, cristiano ronaldo, he's still smarting after that humiliation, and he's got a point to prove. portugal's other great star, pepe, he tried to break a

player's head. he misses the game. he'll be suspended. so both teams missing players. remember, if the u.s. wins, it's through the knockout stage and portugal will be out. matt and savannah. >> bill neely, that means it's out of the group of death. >> you love that, don't you? >> i do. bill, thanks very much. >> very dramatic. meantime, we talked about this at the top. so happy to share encouraging news on the recovery of gold medal-winning swimmer amy van dyken-rouen, just two weeks after a terrible atv accident that severed her spinal cord. she shared this special message with us. take a look. >> hey, matt and savannah, it's amy van dyken-rouen. i just want to thank you guys and everyone who watches the "today" show for all of your support, all of your prayers and your positive vibes. it's definitely helping. i am now off to denver, colorado, to craig hospital to begin the next chapter in my life, doing some rehabilitation. so we'll keep everybody updated on my instagram and twitter, as

always. thank you again for your support, and i will see you later. wheels up. bye. >> good to see that smile. >> remarkable, remarkable lady. we wish her the best. >> absolutely. well, coming up, is he part of the problem? dr. oz turns to capitol hill for help but then gets grilled about his own stance on those popular diet products. we're going to hear from him. plus, did the nfl push risky painkillers on players to keep them on the field? super bowl-winning quarterback jim mcmahon speaks out in an exclusive live interview about the disturbing claims in a lawsuit that he's involved in. dylan? and what does a golfer do without his clubs? the travel woes faced by one of the greats of the game. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, meet the man who noticed a 15-month-old baby crawling along a busy road and

rushed in to save her. and why the thought of those messages is now striking fear in the hearts of millions of messages is now striking fear in tif you have moderate to severe rheueys anywhere? i'll help you look. maybe you left them in the bathroom again. it's just the strangest thing... the warning signs of alzheimer's disease, may be right in front of you. it's alright baby. for help and information, call the alzheimer's association or visit alz.org/10signs let's show 'em what a breakfast with whole grain fiber can do. [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, a medium macchiato, and two espressos -- one with a double shot. that's not the coffee talkin'. [ female announcer ] start your day with kellogg's frosted mini wheats cereal. it's a delicious way to get the nutrition you want. turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother.

after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. very good morning to you. 7:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. firefighters walking along the brush and ash in oakland hills checking for hot spots from the suspicious fires. the two were ahalf mile apart. earlier, crews were using flashlights to check the thick vegetation. the fires were sparked within two hours yesterday afternoon. there wasn't much wind, adding to suspicious nature of the fires. they broke out close to where the oakland hills fire burned 23 years ago, putting residents in the area on edge. this morning, state regulators will talk about how to keep power substations safe. it it comes in response to an

attack on the pg&e metcalf substation last year. there, someone cut fiber-optic phone lines and fired 1,000 shots at the station. state regulators plan to talk about the investigation into the attack and what happens being done for security at other substations. the weather department, let's check in with christina. >> feels nice, laura. good morning to you. we've made it to wednesday. as you're making you're way over the hump, closer to the weekend. just a bit of cooling tomorrow. significant cooling into the weekend. high pressure, firmly in control for today. heat's on for today and tomorrow. that means 90s, hot spots. more 80s inland valleys today. 60 and 70s at the coast around the bay. 69 for the bay. mike has the day off. we'll talk about your drive. into the weekend, temperatures will cool off and san jose's

looking good, 80 on sunday in the south bay. we have a traffic collision in south bay. 101 northbound ramp to 280 two-car crash has been here for the past half hour. significant backups now. all the way down to the 85 split. 101 northbound, we have serious crash reported as well. vehicles off the roadways, clearing. delays through here. >> sounds great. another local news update in a half hour. hope to see you then.

7:30 on a wednesday morning, the 18th of june, 2014. it is a pretty morning there in kansas city, missouri. the sun is rising there. if the sun is rising where you are, and we hope that it is, you sent a picture, you used the #todaysunrise. let's take a look at what's making headlines. a strong tornado caused minor damage in nebraska. that's less than 24 hours after a tragic double tornado in pilger, nebraska. 5-year-old calista dixon died when her family's home took a direct hit. her mother is being treated and in intensive care. the alleged mastermind of the benghazi attacks is now in u.s. custody. he was captured by special forces in libya over the weekend, is now being held on an

american warship in the mediterranean. president obama is expected to meet with congressional leaders at the white house this afternoon to discuss u.s. options in iraq. meantime, al qaeda-inspired militants have now surrounded iraq's biggest oil refinery. coming up, one of the biggest names involved in a class action lawsuit against the nfl alleging that the league illegally provided players with painkillers to stay on the field. well, jim mcmahon is speaking out to matt in an exclusive live interview coming up. also this morning, a chilling sign of the times. what a growing number of parents are now giving their children for peace of mind in the wake of so many tragic school shootings. and can you believe it's been 25 years since the classic "field of dreams"? kevin costner and some of his co-stars recently returned to that famous site out in iowa. bob costas was there as well, and we're going to have that story for you tomorrow right here on "today." >> looking forward to that, yeah. we begin this half hour with the fallout from what was a tense capitol hill visit by dr.

mehmet oz. it was supposed to be about internet scammers who peddle diet pills and supplements. senators quickly turned the tables on dr. oz who they accuse of contributing to the problem. here's tom costello. >> reporter: with his syndicated tv show, magazine and website, dr. oz has become one of america's most trusted docs. but on capitol hill tuesday, he was on the hot seat. >> i am second-guessing every word i use on the show right now. >> reporter: the trouble, at times dr. oz has sounded like a pitch man for diet products. including raspberry ketone, garcinia cambrosia and coffee bean extract. >> this little bean has scientists saying they found the magic weight-loss cure for every body type. could this help melt away unwanted pounds you've been waiting for. >> reporter: those words magic and miracle have been used of makers of diet pills and supplements to market their

products. >> why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that? >> i'm not going to argue that it would pass fda muster if it was a pharmaceutical drug seeking approval. >> the only study that was out there was the one with 16 people in india that was written up by somebody who was being paid by the company that was producing it. >> reporter: dr. oz insists he believes in what he discusses on tv but admits his language has at times been over the top. >> is it an intent to engage viewers. i use flowery language. i used language that was passionate but ended up being incendiary. >> reporter: he says he's never endorsed a brand name. he this ises he's the victim of online marketers who use his name to sell their diet products. just as the government cracks down on weight-loss scams. >> the question is how do you talk about things that you think make a difference and not give these hucksters ammo to use against the american public. >> reporter: for his part, dr. oz says he's already toning down his flowery language. for "today," tom costello, nbc

news, washington. >> he says he believes in a lot of these products, but the senators clearly had an idea that he has gone above and beyond in terms of promoting them and saying they absolutely work. >> yeah, sounds like his lesson is tone down the rhetoric a little bit so they don't have that opportunity. let us go down to orlando where we find mr. roker this morning. hey, al. >> that's right, still here in diagon alley. we've got some friends here. they've got a bunch of these magical windows. so you can kind of control the weather thanks to this one. who wants to get wet? come on over, guys. here, you guys stand right here. stand under that umbrella, okay? all you have to do is say the magic words, mediolojinx. let's say it again. mediolojinx. oh, i thought i could make it rain up in here. oh, well. maybe i have to get closer. medolojinx. oh, well.

can you help me there? boom, boom, boom. ah! ooh. oh, so close! yeah! there you go. where's a weatherman when you need one? let's show you what's going on as far as your weather's concerned. oh, my gosh. so we're going to have the heat continuing for at least another day today. big high-pressure ridge dominating. and what it's going to do is bring those temperatures way up again from macon, georgia, on into atlanta, new york, then into parts of washington, d.c. temperatures feeling like over 100. but then that front drops down, and temperatures will start to drop back to where they normally should be. that 7:35 now. welcome back. a live look at san francisco. you see a little layer of haze there, just makes its way to the top of the golden gate bridge and a clear blue sky above. hot as a result of that warm start to the day.

a lot of sunshine coming in already. upper 50s this morning. live look at campbell, wind has calmed down overnight. and we're going to see calm conditions today. highs in inland valley 90s. oakland 72. and that's your latest weather. now i've got to go to the bathroom. guys? >> al, thank you. coming up, whatever happened to the young star of the cult classic "raising arizona"? well, we will catch up with that box office baby three decades later. and next, an exclusive live interview with jim mcmahon, the legendary quarterback involved in a massive lawsuit against the nfl. the price he says he paid to stay on the field right after this. replace your laptop? start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch.

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have filed a lawsuit against the league. in a moment, we'll talk exclusively to one of the biggest names involved in that suit, super bowl-winning quarterback jim mcmahon. but first, his story. >> reporter: jim mcmahon was the quarterback for the 1985 chicago bears, considered one of the best nfl teams ever. winning super bowl xx in a blowout. mcmahon was one of the first eight plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit that's grown to over 750 former nfl players. mcmahon claims he played one season with a broken neck he was never told about. teammate keith van horn says the name about a broken leg. the suit filed last month in u.s. district court alleges that the nfl illegally and unethically supplied serious pain medications to its athletes and that it did so for money, placing league profits over players' health, charges the nfl denies. two of the players making those claims appeared recently on "today." >> we had medication to go to sleep before a game.

>> right. >> we had painkillers before the game. we had painkillers at halftime. painkillers after the game. >> jim mcmahon is with us now. he's joined by his girlfriend, lori, and two of the attorneys behind the lawsuit. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> jim, let me start with you. you played, i think, 14 seasons, 2 super bowl championships. the game was good to you. it put food on the table. was it hard to join this lawsuit? >> not at all. you know, when they asked me to come aboard on the lawsuit, i was very happy to do it. i was involved with a lot of these, you know, allegations. they're not allegations. they actually happened. i'll tell you a quick story. in 1984, i was -- i actually broke my hand in the game. when i came off the field, you know, the doctors always tell youi it's a bruise or a contusion. i finished the ball game, i went home that night. my hand was killing me. so i ended up going to the hospital on my own.

the doctor took an x-ray and said your hand is broken. so they casted it. i went back to work the next day, and i was told i had to cut the cast off. and nobody was able to know that my hand was broken. so they just started shooting it up. >> you're a tough guy, jim. i've known you for a while, and no one's going to tell you to do something you didn't want to do. do you think, in some ways, the league or doctors or trainers preyed on the egos of players like you who wanted to be the star on the field? >> well, i think back then, i mean, that was the culture. i mean, everybody thought you had to be this tough guy. you can't let anybody know that you're hurt. but, you know, it's taken its toll now. a lot of these guys that are in this lawsuit have bad kidneys, they've got bad hearts. you know, we just don't know what all these medications were doing to our bodies. >> the question, though, was it a leaguewide problem? was it policy? there was a book written about the 1985 chicago bears, and your former coach, mike ditka, had this to say about you. "he had no regard for his body,

but i couldn't change him. it would have ruined him." so in some ways are you saying that the league should have saved you from yourself? >> well, i mean, ultimately, the decision is up to the player. but when you're getting information that's telling you there's really nothing wrong with you, that we can just -- we can hide the pain by shooting, you know, whatever area is affected, i mean, that's the big problem here because we got a lot of misdiagnoses, telling us there was really nothing wrong, it's all in your head. we can deaden it for the game and you can worry about it later. >> we reached out to the league and they did send us this comment, although they would not comment on specific cases, they said we're very confident that the professionalism and commitment of our team medical staffs, combined with the protection of an experienced labor union, ensures that nfl players receive timely, expert and appropriate care." what's your response to that, jim? >> i think it's a bunch of b.s. you know, we didn't get timely

and appropriate care back then. i don't know what -- i don't know what it's like now. i've been out of the game for 17 years. hopefully it's gotten better over these years. >> lori, this is a tough question to ask you with jim sitting right next to you, but you spend more time with him than anyone else. what has been the physical and emotional toll the game has taken on him? >> it's challenging. with being him on a daily basis is very challenging. his body hurts. he's in pain every single day. mood swings. he's just -- he's not the same as he used to be. >> and phil or steven, it seems as if the strategy here you're employing is a little bit to up the pressure on the league each given week, almost a drip, drip, drip approach. obviously jim is the biggest name now to speak out about this lawsuit. at some point to prove your case, aren't you going to have to have a former team doctor or a former team trainer who was involved in this sort of thing speak out on your behalf?

>> well, matt, it starts with over 1,000 players now that are prepared to swear under oath consistently to the type of conduct that jim is talking about. in addition to that, one of the biggest problems the nfl faces is they're required under federal law to document the procurement of all the controlled dangerous substances that they've received. >> right. >> but the problem is there's no records of the distribution, which would also be a violation of federal law. so they're their own worst enemy in their failure to keep records, and they're basically operating an open-air drug market in the training rooms across the united states. >> let me end with you jim, once again. what's your feeling about the game today? do you still love it? >> well, i don't -- i don't follow it hardly at all. i mean, i check espn like everybody else, check scores. i check to see how my old teammates are doing. a lot of them are coaching. you know, i'd rather be out on a

golf course than watch that. >> jim mcmahon, lori, thank you very much. steven and phil, thank you as well. coming up, we're going to hear from a hero who prevented a potential tragedy. what happens when an airline loses the golf clubs of a superstar? not that superstar. right after this. what makes a good cup of coffee great is quality beans. my name is lori. i am target's coffee buyer.

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let's head over to the orange room where dylan is following the travel woes of a big golf superstar. >> you know, losing your luggage is the worst, but imagine being rory mcilroy heading from the u.s. open in north carolina to the irish open in dublin, and the airline losing your golf clubs. naturally, he took to twitter to get to the bottom of it. hey, united, landed in dublin yesterday morning from newark and still no golf clubs. sort of need them this week. can someone are help? united responds, we understand how important your clubs are to you. please follow and direct message us. we'll follow up with you. then it turns out that, you know, his tee time is tomorrow morning at 7:30, but he did get his clubs today. and they said that your clubs will be in tomorrow, meaning today. they said this yesterday. and we'll deliver them to the tournament for you. so he is good to go. he has his golf clubs. he's ready for the irish open. guys? >> he could have rented clubs. >> oh, yeah. >> jam them in the overhead

compartment at an angle. >> can you imagine the united rep inside the twitter headquarters? rory mcilroy lost his golf clubs! coming up, what happened when jimmy fallon tried to help ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] fresh, local milk, real cream, and no preservatives. from the farm to our fridge in just six days. philadelphia® cream cheese. ♪ so rich, creamy, and delicious. only philadelphia®. bananas... rice cakes... raspberries... toast! [ kelly ] jif hazelnut spread makes anything your new favorite thing. spoons!

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good morning to you. 7:56. i'm laura garcia-cannon. a state audit says investigators are not doing enough to ensure safe of passengers aboard limos and charter buses. five women died last year, unable to escape. the safety leaders are not trying hard enough to make sure carriers are complying with requirements. the state public utilities commission is taking too long to open investigations and resolve complaints against carriers. let's see if there are complaints in the weather department. i doubt it on this bay area morning. >> you can't please all of the people all the of time, one will probably complain it's too hot. we are going to hit 90s in the extreme east bay. it's not a prolonged heat event. through tomorrow and the next couple of days we'll cool you off. sunny over san francisco right now. beautiful shot, now looking at the city from san bruno.

you can ehaze here, but fog-free. that foggy breeze has dissipated. a nice day at the coast but 69 degrees as your high there, we're going to see 90s in the east bay. 87 degrees right here in beautiful san jose. let's switch gears, talk about the drive. north bound delays stacking up significantly on 101 in palo alto. this is due to a crash. vehicles off the road but a ramp blocked in the area. another crash, that's blocking the media, significant delays. we told you this earlier, causing delays in the south bay. 101 northbound ramp to 280, two-car crash, one lane blocked. take 87 this morning. back to you. >> thanks so much. we'll be back with another update in a half hour. no rush, andy.

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it's 8:00 on "today." and coming up, at the right place at the right time. >> a baby is on the highway! >> we'll introduce you to the good samaritan whose quick thinking helped save a toddler's life. plus, to your health, from medicine to mouthwash, we'll reveal the top over-the-counter products recommended by pharmacists. and raised right? >> oh, honey. >> don't you come back here without a baby. >> we're wrapping up our special series, "box office babies," with nathan jr. from the '80s cult classic "raising arizona" today, wednesday, june 18th, 2014. ♪ >> today will be a good day.

>> look, we're on "today"! ! >> our cousin, ellen. >> and nbc dallas-ft. worth. >> thanks for the photo, dylan! >> good morning, st. thomas, pennsylvania. >> wisconsin on "today"! >> mom for your birthday! it is 8:00 on a wednesday morning. it's the 18th day of june, 2014. we've got a nice day here in rockefeller plaza, but we're missing a few players. nothing against you. >> i know. >> we've got al and natalie down in orlando. coming up, they're going to give us a special preview of universal studio's newest harry potter attraction, diagon alley. we've got willie and tamron there now, too. >> here along diagon alley, there's all sorts of lovely

things to try like butter beer. have you ever had butter beer? >> it's nonalcoholic, like cream soda. >> hoda and kathie lee. >> beer for everyone. thanks for sharing. all right, guys, we're going to check in with you in a little while. natalie is in florida. craig melvin is at the desk with the top stories of the day. craig. >> good morning to you. a new round of tornadoes struck overnight in the same part of nebraska hit by a double twister just one day earlier. nbc's john yang has the latest now from coalridge, nebraska. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. as you can see, this part of nebraska still showing the scars or also showing the scars of those overnight tornadoes. of course, this area, as you can see, much less populated than pilger, nebraska, which is about 40 miles south of here which, of course, got wiped out by those twin tornadoes. and this morning we're learning more about that 5-year-old little girl who was killed in

pilger. her name was calista "cali" dixon. she was in her family's mobile home with her mother, kandi murphree. she is in critical condition. she has severe head trauma. her grandmother, cali's grandmother released a statement saying that cali wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. now she hopes that god has a job for her now. and in pilger, today heavy equipment is coming in by the national guard and the state emergency management officials start literally picking up the pieces. craig? >> all right, john yang for us this morning in coalridge, nebraska, thank you. president obama is briefing congressional leaders today on his response to the worsening crisis in iraq. overnight, militants attacked iraq's largest oil refinery about 150 miles north of baghdad. the president has said that he will not commit to any new military intervention in iraq unless the government in baghdad enacts political reforms.

back here, an ex-convict made the most of his second chance in life after finding something quite unusual crawling along a georgia highway. a baby. here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: this morning little emily pickens is safe after a very close call. >> a baby is on the highway! >> reporter: on the line, bryant collins. in his arms, 15-month-old emily. his first thought? >> what the hell is going on? a baby? >> reporter: she had crawled 300 yards from home in madison county, georgia, through the woods, down an embankment, just inches from the highway. just as collins was driving by. he told our atlanta affiliate wxia how he comforted her. >> i turned my phone on, let the baby listen to some gospel music. >> reporter: for collins, now an auto repairman, it's been a long road to redemption. >> i did ten years in the federal institution for manufacturing cocaine.

and while i was in prison, i made a very conscientious effort to change. >> reporter: police charged emily's father with negligence. >> we did not neglect our children. we just stepped outside for a few minutes. >> reporter: still, both parents are thankful collins found emily before she got hurt. >> i don't believe in coincidences. i believe everything has an appointed time. i think that was my appointment to be looking to see that baby. >> reporter: gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. it turns out somebody has been living in pablo picasspica the blue room. a portrait of the bearded man beneath the 1901 masterpiece. experts have known since the '90s that there was some other image under the painting. it's known that picasso like other struggling artists back then painted over it to save money on canvas. now art historians will go through archives to see if they can find out who that mystery

man was. it is now 8:05. let's get a check on the weather with al. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by advil. the pain reliever that's built to be as fast as it is strong. >> we are here at the wizarding world of harry potter, diagon alley, in the main branch of gringotts bank. i mean, this is really amazing. i've got a bunch of cash, gringotts notes. i want to open up an account. could you help me -- okay. maybe you could help me open up an account here because i've got all this cash. i've got -- okay. i'd really like to open up an account. it's like i'm in -- am i speaking english? i don't understand it. sir, can you please help me open up an account? hello? hello? >> here to open an account? >> am i speaking english? yes, i am. i'm going to open this up. here, you hold my big bag of money while i give you the forecast. nice.

here's what we've got. so for today, we are looking at our pick city which happens to be -- what a shock -- orlando, florida. look for hit-or-miss showers and thunderstorms right through friday. temperatures will number the mid-80s. you're going to see we've got rough weather moving into the upper great lakes. in fact, we've got a risk of severe weather. detroit, you're looking at showers and thunderstorms today. it is going to be a mess all day today with temperatures getting up into the low 80s. that risk of strong storms from texas into the plains back into the northeast. we're also looking at more showers and thunderstorms making their way out west. all bunch of folks from diagon alley checking i would love to make a deposit there. good morning to you. we're going to get paid in sunshine for today. 62 degrees. these are your current conditions at santa rosa right now. meanwhile, 48 in half moon bay. beautiful, clear sky to start. that is the one pocket of cold air we have working right now. otherwise, it's going to be

rather warm out there today. we're going to bypass your seasonal averages by about 5 to 10 degrees. a lot of sunshine in san francisco, same for san bruno. and we have a little bit of haze out there, but overall, hot, hazy, and cooler as of tomorrow. 90 today in the east bay. hey, if you open a new account here, do you get a magic toaster? guys, back to you. >> all right, al. thank you very much. up next on "trending," how did they do it? one of the wildest music videos you've ever seen. plus, whatever happened to little nathan jr. from the coen brothers classic "raising arizona"? well, we'll catch up with one of our favorite box office babies coming up. and a special steals and deals including jewelry and candles, up to 76% off. but first, these messages. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain.

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i'll help you look. maybe you left them in the bathroom again. it's just the strangest thing... the warning signs of alzheimer's disease, may be right in front of you. it's alright baby. for help and information, call the alzheimer's association or visit alz.org/10signs we're back at 8:13. time for "what's trending today." i don't know if you guys know this, but there is something that apparently strikes fear in the heart of millennials everywhere. are you still a millennial, dylan? >> i don't know, am i? i think i'm right on that borderline. >> well, we are not. so are you afraid of this? take a listen.

>> your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. >> savannah is not available. at the tone, please record your message. when you have finished recording, you may hang up or press one for more options. >> my heart's racing right now. i didn't know what to say. >> why? >> it comes out wrong. hey, savannah, it's dylan. >> you're doing fine. >> how about hey, savannah, it's dylan. call me. >> okay, dylan, you might be a millennial. many millennials are so testing and e-mail that the mere thought of leaving a voice mail gives them stage fright. get this. some are now getting lessons in the art of voice mail. it's called the matt lauer etiquette school here in new york. >> no, it isn't. >> honestly, you love voice mail. >> i don't love it, but if i call you, for example, and i want to talk to you about something and your voice mail picks up, of course i'm going to leave a brief message. i'm not going to hang up, go to my other part of the phone and start texting you. >> do you listen to the message?

>> never. >> i never listen to the voice mail. >> you actually have to listen to the message and return the phone call. >> what happens, i'll call him back and say hey, what's up? did you hear my message? no, i saw you called so i called you back. >> shows no respect whatsoever. one of the top videos on facebook this morning comes from the band okay go. remember them? they wowed fans back in 2006. remember the dance routine they performed entirely on treadmills? cool. they definitely mastered the art of the optical illusion. now they go back with a trippy new video to their song "the writing's on the wall." ♪ ♪

>> it's very, very cool. i think it was shot in, like, one continuous shot, although it took three weeks to do 50 tries to get it right. >> that's it? >> if i want to see the entire video, we're going to post it at today.com. i like their stuff. >> it's so cool, like a painting. very cool. whenever you head into a public restroom. i know you guys spend lots of time in public restrooms. there's always that burning question. do you hover or do you cover, which means do you even bother with one of these? >> i don't even know which way it's supposed to go. >> i thought it was a bib. >> is that how you use it? >> i hate to break it to you, that toilet seat cover probably completely useless. why? take a look. >> first the species of bacteria typically found on toilet seats are common skin microbes that most people already carry, meaning they pose little threat unless you're immunocompromised. chances are microorganisms are

already over everything in the bathroom. seriously, simply flushing a toilet creates bacteria meaning that that toilet paper itself is likely contaminated. >> disgusting. in other words. thanks to asap science for that video. one doctor says that the cover is more about just setting your mind at ease than it is about preventing actual infection. >> it's not anymore. >> never mind. >> i guess we don't really need to know what everyone does. >> you told us everything in that story. >> we're good. earlier we mentioned that natalie, al, willie and tamron are down at universal orlando resorts. we have a suggestion for a ride they should try. it's called the hollywood rip ride rocket. and last night on "the tonight show" jimmy fallon use it had to help comedian kevin hart overcome his fear of roller coasters. first they had to overcome one small hurdle. >> we'll be good. >> are you -- are you serious right now? >> i am serious. you're good. >> i'm a grown man.

>> all right, kevin. >> oh, god, no! no! ah! >> that's not an act. >> i'm frightened for him. the ride goes up to 65 miles per hour. at one point jimmy even swallowed a bug. of course, when it was all over, he had a surprise for kevin. they were going for a second trip. >> and then he gave him one of these. he gave him a toilet cover. >> he's not hovering after that one. >> i've been on that ride. it's a killer. all right. that's what's trending today. coming up, today's box office baby. the young star of "raising arizona" nearly 30 years later. we're back in 30 sec

back now at 8:19 with a new way that some parents are hoping to keep their kids safe in the wake of so many tragic school shootings. nbc's stephanie gosk is here with that story. steph, good morning. >> good morning, matt. as a nation, we are divided over this question. how do we stop those school shootings? but some parents aren't willing to wait for a solution. instead, they are literally attempting to bulletproof their kids. >> reporter: 8-year-old anthony isn't exactly sure how the backpack works yet. >> i like it because i like guns

being safe. >> reporter: his father will teach him before he goes back to school in the fall. the bag isn't just for books and lunch. it also stops bullets. >> bulletproof panel right here. >> reporter: a ballistic shield sewn into the back with protect against most handguns. >> it gives me a little bit more peace of mind than it did before, with him not having it. better safe than sorry. >> there is an active shooter on campus, and there are injuries. >> reporter: the odds of being killed in a school shooting in this country are still very low, but scenes like this one at reynolds high school in oregon last week can raise the perception of risk. and for some parents, that is all it takes. >> it can happen anywhere. that's what i've seen. >> reporter: the company bullet blocker tells us business for the packs is brisk. the anxiety for parents is high. >> the anxiety is monstrous. >> reporter: hundreds of the backpacks sell weekly for $200 to $400. their business is up 50% since the shooting at sandy hook. >> so whether it's held up,

blocking the gun, or if you're going to put it on your back and take off and run, it could potentially help. >> reporter: founder joe kern admits a backpack can only do so much. his company offers other protection. there's an ipad case, a bulletproof white board, or a portable shield. this is a kind of research and development center for the company. they take special requests from some of their customers. one of their recent requests was from a parent who wants this coat lined with a bulletproof vest. the bullet blocker school safety kit is also for sale. a $400 pack stuffed with first aid and survival gear. when we went to school, all we worried about was whether or not we forgot our peanut butter and jelly. doesn't this disturb you on a fundamental level that we have to think about this? >> it does. it definitely does, but technology is there, and technology has given me personally the ability to help protect my children.

>> some security experts say the backpack only provides a small amount of protection, especially because kids rarely have them in hand. but as that father told us, this is also really about a parent's peace of mind. >> but how much more anxiety do you create in the minds of your children by getting this thing and giving it to them, and is that outweighed by the possible safety benefit? >> you don't want to scare them. >> or do you got enough anxiety based on what we've had to cover. thank you very much. let's go over to savannah. we are wrapping up our special series this week called "box office babies." for our final installment, we turn to the cult comedy classic "raising arizona." >> reporter: while the '80s saw a plethora of feel-good movies starring babies, no one could have predicted that this movie about an ex-con and an ex-cop kidnapping a baby -- >> don't you come back here without a baby. >> reporter: -- would go on to be one of the most popular cult classics of all time. >> what, are you kidding?

we've got us a family here. >> reporter: "raising arizona" starred nicolas cage and holly hunter as the husband and wife struggling with fertility issues. >> hi, i'm barren. >> reporter: they had planned to take just one of a famous set of quintuplets. >> you get me one. they got more than they could handle. >> reporter: surely the parents wouldn't mind. >> which one you get? >> i don't know. yasen jr nathan jr. >> reporter: they would return home to begin their happily ever half. >> that there is the kitchen where ma and pa chow down. >> reporter: soon the bounty hunter from hell is after them. >> i'll be taking these hug guys and whatever cash you got. >> reporter: they soon realize sometimes the best way to show someone you love them -- >> we don't want no reward. we didn't bring him back for money. >> reporter: -- is by letting them go. what a cutie. well, let's meet nathan jr. come on out.

t.j. kuhn, good morning to you. >> hi. >> you haven't changed a bit. good morning. >> nice to meet you. >> we've got your parents, tom and diane. was it fun for you to look back and see old footage of you when you were, what, 1 years old at that time? >> yeah, it's surreal to watch this, yeah. >> we've been doing "box office babies" all week. you're the first solo act all week. mom and dad, is that because he was such an easygoing baby? >> he was so laid back. i think during the auditions, he just didn't care. they passed him all around. >> he'd go to anybody. >> he'd do anything. >> easygoing baby. tom, what's this i hear that i actually heard about the casting call while you were in jail. >> well, yes. >> okay, clarify. you were working at the jail. >> i was working in the jail, exactly. >> you saw this newspaper ad. >> yes, yes. it was just -- i was just reading the newspaper and thought it would be a fun thing to do, take him to be interviewed. and four or five times later after the different things they

did with him, they picked him. >> put him in a car seat. put him next to a motorcycle. see how he would react. >> test him out? >> test him out. >> you seem to still have that kind of laid back personality. >> yeah. >> you're a real estate agent in phoenix. >> yep, real estate agent. i did a few commercials, i guess, after "raising arizona," but that's pretty much it. i don't know if i could do this full time. >> kind of overwhelming, right? >> very overwhelming, yes. >> better to be 1 year old, then you don't even notice. rhonda, what was the experience like? do you consider it a positive experience? >> it was. it was -- sometimes it was hurry up and wait. >> yeah. >> get to the set. and sometimes. some days they would never even use him. we were just sitting there, waiting. >> now, tom, be honest. how many times have you seen "raising arizona"? >> hundreds. >> hundreds. i hear you even give out dvds still for presents. >> i do. we have plenty of copies. >> t.j., i bet you love that.

>> yeah. >> great to have you all here. nice to meet you. thank you so much. c a very good wednesday morning to you. 8:26 now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. this morning, investigators in oakland say a bullet that went through a federal courthouse was likely a stray from over the weekend. safety and security procedures are under review after the unexpected discovery at the federal buildings in downtown oakland. the bullet went through a second-story window and ended up in the wall of a jury deliberation room. fortunately, the building was empty at the time. let's check that morning commute with christina. she's in for mike this morning, kind of pulling double duty. how's it looking out there? >> we've got a good-looking drive for some parts of the bay area. other parts, we really want to make sure you're aware of. let's start with the bay bridge toll plaza, this has your metering lights on, you see that typical backup here. they should be turning off over the course of the next half hour. everything stays standards.

we want to tell you about a crash, northbound 85. this is in cupertino as you approach fremont. it's a multi-car crash, left lane blocked, count on some significant backups here as we head throughout the next 15 minutes. and i want to save you 15 minutes, if you're waking up with us in san jose and headed the northbound. right now, you're going to get a 15-minute drive if you take 87 over 101 from the 85 split up to montag montague. >> thanks so much, christina. we'll with back with another local news update in about half an hour. hope to see you then. in the meantime, have a great wednesday morning.

8:30 on this wednesday morning. it's the 18th of june, 2014. we have a great crowd outside. hot day. >> 80-something degrees early in the morning. what am i saying? you should be telling us this. 90s today. coming up, a very colorful edition of steals and deals, including designer bracelets. craig, you're going to love these, 75% off. >> wow! look, it's my color.

what sunscreen should you be using? plus, recommendations on everything from toothpaste, cough medicines and lots more. and it's all about the laughs with marlon wayans. we'll talk about the new show and going on tour with his brothers. >> fun show. and al and natalie holding down the fort in miami. >> d the iagon alley. >> self-knitting needles. magic. of course this is the area where young wizards come and shop for supplies before they head to hogwarts. you have to buy books before heading off to wizarding school. they actually growl. scary. >> let's check your weather and see what's happening for today. we are looking at a wide area of

strong storms and thunderstorms texas to the plains. . and the pollen forecast rough in the northern plains. some of the areas there, not so bad because of all the strong storms. it has washed out the atmosphere. storms stretching into texas and the northeast. decent day in the pacific northwest. tomorrow, more of the same. more strong storms. good news, the area shrinks down a bit. we have showers and thunderstorms in the northeast. sunny. nice and warm. in this case seeing showers and storms. sunny and hot in the southwest. one of the best things about visiting is you never know who you will run into. for example, here we have james and oliver phelps. you may know them as the weasly boys. we're outside your character jesting school. everything you need for practical jokes. >> it really is.

it's fantastic to be able to come here. when we filmed it was just like this to scale and everything. to see it fully built, it's amazing for us to see it. >> isn't it odd for us to be walking in this emersive are ii immersive film set. no matter where you look, it's diagon alley. >> we are going around and knocking on the walls. because when you're on the set, it's hollow. this is all real brick. >> what is your favorite part? >> mine would be the 15-foot version of myself. good-looking chap. >> fantastic. thanks so mu 8:33. good wednesday morning. i'm meteorologist christina loren. your temperatures are already reflecting that warm-up we promised you. right now we're running anywhere

between 1 to 6 degrees milder than 24 hours ago. and we're going to end up on the hot side, inland for today, with a lack of fog at the coast. look at that, a lot of foot traffic on the golden gate bridge. hazy sun over the south bay. watch out for this, a little backup 101 headed northbound as you approach 280. otherwise, a nice day. 69 in san francisco versus 90 degrees in the extreme east bay. and that's your and that's your latest weather. savannah? all right, al. thank you so much. to a special bright edition of steals and deals. here to take us through the bargains is jill martin, contributing editor for "people stylewatch." bright and bold. we fit the theme. >> this looks like makeup. >> let's start with the very colorful polish. retail $84. everything from polish to exfoliator. you can go online and see what

you get. the retail, $84. the deal, $19.99. >> oh, it's great. >> 76% off. >> they are polishes. so cool. >> they fit in your cabinet perfectly. shelf space saver. >> i love these layers bracelets. >> these are awesome. they come six in a pack. take three for you and three for your friend and split it up. pure life. it's the law of the land in costa rica. retail, $80. each pack, as i said, has six bracelets. each with a gold or silver charm. karma, dream, love in all different colors. rihanna is a fan. retail, $80. $20. >> do you slide them on?

>> there's a thing on the end. you might need a friend. phone a friend. i do mine on my phone. >> frames. these are cute and bold. >> bold frames to spruce up any room or a gift. 5 x 7 handcrafted frames in three colorways. $58. the deal, yes, $17. 70% off. >> this is 5 x 7? >> it looks bigger but it is 5 x 7. >> it is sturdy. these gorgeous candles. >> these are major. i don't know if you can spell them. pregnant, i don't know how they will smell. >> they smell great. >> nature botanical candle, retail $110. 250 hours of burn time. >> wow. >> so you can have a lot of fun with the candles. retail $110. the deal, $33.

70% off. you see how pretty they are. >> they're sturdy. heavy. >> okay. let's take a seat. >> are we selling a couch today? >> pull my dress down and sit like a lady. pillows, retail, $84. now, you get two. indoor/outdoor. 20 x 20. seven different patterns. a variety of colors. water and stain resistant. made in the u.s. the deal, $25 for two. >> so you can leave them in the rain? >> absolutely. the products are the manicure/med-cure set by julep. pure vida. picture frames from north rodeo. candles from nature candles. and majestic home goods pillows.

>> i'm going to sit close to you because of the sun. >> let's snuggle. >> head to steals and deals on today.com. top picks of pharmacists neighbor wide. but first this is "today"

back at 8:40. pharmacists play a key role in your health. they make 80 million recommendations to customers every month. now, u.s. news and world report and pharmacy time have collaborated highlighting the top pharmacist recommended health products. here with the results is an assistant professor of medicine at nyu school of medicine. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, matt. >> we agree pharmacists are underappreciated. >> 100%. they hear the feedback. what works, what doesn't work.

so they have great insights. this year this list will be available on a mobile app. it can be confusing to see all the choices out there. >> you talk about the feedback. when they recommend a product, they know customers like that product. >> absolutely. >> some of the ones on these tables won their particular category with more than 80% of the vote. >> these were really top winners. the pharmacist like the products. a lot of people will talk to their pharmacists more than their doctors about the over-the-counter medicines. >> let's move on to the categories. sunscreen is very important this time of year. >> yes. >> this one in particular, the pharmacists like this. >> nuetrogena is great about uva and uvb protection. it should be at least 30 spf. don't be fooled to think 60 is twice as protective as 30. it's not. as long as you're over 30, you're good. use it properly, use enough and make sure you re-apply every

couple hours. >> cough and cold products for daytime use. which did the pharmacists like? >> they liked advil and vick's dayquil. this is one of the most confusing. there is no cure for the common cold. even though it is over-the-counter medicine, it can interact with medicines you're already taking. you especially want to talk to the pharmacist or your doctor about is it safe given your medical condition. >> as parents we worry when our kids get colds and coughs. this one won. dimetapp. they liked this one. >> for under 4 years old, the american academy of pediatrics does not recommend any. but over 4, yes, this was a top choice for pharmacists. it is frustrating with when your

child is coughing all night. look at the dosing carefully because you don't want to overuse. >> i will use one farther down the list. but based on this i will try that recommendation. tums did well. you want to remind folks that a lot of people are overusing them. >> occasional heartburn due to acid reflux is common after a rich or heavy meal. if you find you are taking these two or three times a week or more, you may need to talk to your doctor. sometimes acid reflux can lead to esophageal cancer. over-the-counter medicines work temporarily. >> how many times have you gone to the pharmacist saying what do you recommend for a headache? now we know what the pharmacists prefer. >> they like advil, tylenol. but they want to make sure you are figuring out what's causing your headaches. if you are taking it several times a week, it's not good for

your stomach. many cause damage to the lining of your stomach. tylenol, we have to watch out for your liver. and you're not getting to the root of the problem. if this is the worst headache of your life, go to the emergency room >> and toothpaste. they have a pharmacist recommended toothpaste? >> they do. it was a tie. colgate and crest did very well. you want to make sure you are brushing along enough. flossing is very important. these days some have anti bacterial properties. we do know oral health is connect canned to overall health. >> congratulations to all the winners. the top recommendations from pharmacists. don't forget to thank your pharmacist. they provide an important service for all of us. dr. raj, good to see. >> you you too. >> by the way, you can find full survey results on today.com. >> up next, marlon wayans on his search for the funniest person

in america. we'll talk to marlon. but first this is "today" on nbc.

we're back now at 8:47 with comedian and actor marlon way s wayans. >> he headlines "funniest wins" where contestants must perform challenges to keep their spot on the show. take a look. >> you guys are going to get a chance to perform your brand of comedy to a bus full of tourists. there's real stakes involved here because the winner of this challenge gets an advantage in the next challenge, all right? so i'm going to go around and sit and have some facetime with each one of you guys and figure out what you want to do. are you ready to do this? >> all right. marlon wayans, good morning. >> that was probably the worst clip you could have chosen. it's just, like, what is it? he's on a bus. i almost hit my head, by the way. it was behind me. they kept going, duck.

i was, like, okay. >> overpass. >> so, i mean, we can't tell from that clip because as you say, maybe it wasn't the best clip ever, but you're kind of mentor, kind of judge, kind of host. what exactly is the role on the show? >> we don't have a big budget. it's tbs. it's not like the big budget. i play every role. i do hosting. i do the judging. i cater. craft service. everything, whatever you need. basically, the show is trying to find the funniest person out there. and it's not just for stand-up. it's somebody that's a 360 comedian. somebody that can stand up, sketch, viral videos, funny tweets, funny vines, characters. it's just testing them in all the different disciplines of comedy. we do a roast of ray j. it's absolutely hilarious. every week there's something different. it's a great show. >> you don't need a clip. you're better than the clip. >> camera here! >> all right. so we have to talk about

something. this show is going to air on the same night and the same time. >> does it? >> as another show called "last comic standing." >> are you serious? >> and i believe someone you know is on that show. i think it's your brother. >> this wayans dude, yeah. >> did your agents not talk? >> i had no idea. kenan, you don't want none of this! no, there's no competition. i love that guy. that's like my hero. i mean, it's crazy. but the shows are so different. "last comic standing" is about stand-up comedy. this one is about comedy in general. look, to me, i look and go, my brother's on that network, making his money, and i'm over on this network making my money. both of us got to take care of my mama. >> but aren't y'all going on tour together? >> yes. >> will the old family dynamic come up when you guys are on a bus together? >> absolutely. i will be going to get them water. no matter how old i get, my brothers are always, like, marlon, go get some water.

and i'll go get the water. first, keenan will tell damon, can you get me water? damon will tell shawn, will you go get me some water? then marlon, go get us some water. we're going on tour this summer. we're going to start our tour in california at the fantasy springs casino. that's june 21st. and then we're coming out here to new york in july. so you guys got to check out the wayans brothers tour. >> is this humor in your dna, or did you all learn from listening to one another? >> no, it's being raised a wayans. it's our point of view. we don't cry much. we are crazy people. we're at funerals in the back going, do you see his shoes? we're talking about the person in the coffin. like we're always thinking what's funny. instead of crying, it's how we look at things. my kids are the same way. they're really funny. they don't think i'm funny. you know what? i'm funny. you want to go to public school?

>> marlon wayans, thanks. you can catch the premiere of "funniest wins" friday night on tbs. good to have you here. >> follow me on twitter, facebook, instagram, @marlonwayans. peace. >> we'll follow you anywhere. >> you tell me when my baby's born. we're back. this is "today" on nbc.

it's 8:52. we've got al, natalie and tamron. willie's down there, too, getting ready for a magical hour from ufniversal studios, the wizarding world of harry potter diagon alley. looking forward to that. first we have special birthday wishes from mr. willard scott. hey, willie. >> a little birthday cake and ice cream. dorothy & joseph ackerman. they are from boca raton, florida. they love to play golf together. they're very good and they play in a part of the world where they have 10 million golf courses. 75 years they've been married. how about that? dorothy johnson-shepard from evergreen, colorado. 100 years old. today wish her happy birthday, and she loves to read. she can read three novels a week. a.j. reeves. isn't that a great name? sounds like an actor.

god bless you from rocky mount, virginia. 100 years old today. the secret so longevity is good, clean country loving. we have the lovely clara van woert from fort murray, new jersey. how about that? 100 years old today. i love new jersey. george clowes. george is a nice man from birmingham, alabama, that is. 100 years old today. he's an outdoorsman. unbelievable. he sleeps outdoors, eats outdoors, all outdoors. leone halverson krug from friendswood, texas. the great state of texas. 100 years old today. pretty as a picture. she likes a little bourbon at night. maybe in the morning. it's good for her. makes her happy. with all those birthdays and bourbons and singing happy birthday, baby to new york. >> willard, thank you so much. let us check in with

natalie, al, tamron and willie down in orlando. hey, guys. what's coming up? >> good morning. >> hello. >> lots of magic happening here at diagon alley. >> we shopped a little early. >> and we've got great friends with us. >> a great crowd here. >> we're going to make them disappear. >> i don't know what that can do. >> i don't know my own power. they're still here. >> we've been having a lot of fun here. of course there's so many great new features to diagon alley. in fact, the dragon securing the vault above gringotts bank, it actually blows out fire. >> look at that. who's got marshmallows? >> that's pyrotechnics, my friend. exciting stuff. everything here has really come to life, and we're excited. we've got a big announcement coming up next hour. >> have you guys ever played whi whirlyball? >> kind of like bumper cars and lacrosse? >> meets basketball meets bumper

cars. >> polo in bumper cars. >> easy for you to say. al sat out on the sidelines. >> he sat out. >> but we were in the a very good morning to you. 8:56 now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. santa clara fire department and several other agencies will set a fire this morning between 10:00 and 11:00. crews will set a fire os of san jose. each department hopes to give its firefighters some practice putting out fires in a regulated environment. the plan was approved by several fire experts and planned for a day with what they considered to be favorable weather conditions. the department says smoke from

the fire will probably dissipate before it actually reaches san jose. christina will have a look at our forecast coming up in just a few minutes during the "today" show. and i will be back with another local news update for you in about half an hour, about 9:25 or so. have a great wednesday morning. you used to sleep like a champ.

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all right, guys, i've got some bad news. >> what? >> the problem is, weather is socked in, all three major airports shut down. can't get in, can't get out. >> oh, no. so what are we going to do? how are we going to get to orlando for the opening of diagon alley? >> yeah, i was looking forward to getting a sneak peek before it opened. >> it is too long to drive. i don't think we can get on a train this early. >> guys, guys, i just thought of something. >> what? >> what if we used flu powder? harry and the gang used? remember the scene in the movie, right? >> yes! >> they just step inside the fire. >> okay. >> a little flu powder and then transport through the flu net. okay, on the count of three, everyone's going to say diagon

alley. grab a nice big handful. we're going to need a lot. are you ready? >> yes, yes. >> one, two, three, diagon alley! ♪ >> it's smoky here in diagon alley. ♪ >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist, and tamron hall. live from universal studios in orlando, florida. >> hey, everybody! >> and welcome to "today" on a very special wednesday, june 18th. 2014. as you can see, we have made it to diagon alley here at universal studios in orlando,

florida. i'm willie along with al, natalie and tamron. the powder worked. >> amazing. >> transported us from new york city to diagon alley. man, are we excited to be here. >> look what i've got. >> what is it? >> it's a party now. >> it's a fishy green ale. one of the specialties her taste it. >> after your hand's been all over it? >> i'll pass. >> the family that drinks together stays together. >> tastes like tamron's hand. listen. >> it's exciting, though. what a great new place. great new feature, right? >> it's incredible. today we're going to give you a preview of the incredible new world we're discovering here today. >> as you enter diagon alley, you leave the streets of london behind you. this is where young wizards come to buy all their supplies before heading off to hogwarts. this is the new addition to the wizarding world of harry potter. and there is an exciting new ride right behind me over there.

gringotts bank. the dragon keeping close guard. there is an exciting ride inside. it's a journey through gringotts vaults, and it's called the escape from gringotts, and really incredible ride, i'm told. it's 4-d, things coming at you, fire and water. and that dragon, by the way, is keeping guard over the lestrange vault if you've read the series. and the dragen is what helps harry potter and his friend escape, ron and hermione escape from gringotts in the final book. those who haven't gotten there yet, sorry. >> nice. hey, we have got a huge announcement we're making here exclusively right now on "today's take." diagon alley, grand opening, july 8th! >> you can travel on hogwarts express and be transported

between the two wizarding worlds of harry potter here at universal studios florida and universal's islands of adventure. so we're all in, july 8th! >> i don't know why they're clapping. they're already in. nothing to worry about. you're good. you're good. >> special treatment for them here. >> yes. >> getting a tour this early on. sneak peek. >> special treatment. >> hey, now. >> dr. oz. >> ooh. what's going on there? >> dr. oz obviously hugely successful on television, dr. mehmet oz. and he was on capitol hill tuesday discussing all of these products that promise weight loss but turn out honestly not to be true. and during his testimony where he discussed how his name and image has been used, in his opinion, inappropriately, some of his own products came into question. let's show you a couple of things that have happened in the past, products that dr. oz promoted or mentioned on his show. take a look. >> you may think magic is

make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they've found the magic weight-loss cure for every body type. could this be the magic weight-loss bean to help melt away unwanted pounds that you've been waiting for? >> so here's the problem. as mentioned, dr. oz was on capitol hill talking about this and his own history some say came back to haunt him when senator claire mccaskill, democrat of missouri, asked oz about his role in promoting these products. look at the moment. >> you cheapen your show by saying things like that. >> i'm not going to argue it would pass fda muster if it was a pharmaceutical drug seeking approval. >> the only study out there was the one by 16 people in india. >> is it an intent to engage viewers, i use flowery language. i used language that was very passionate, but tended up not being helpful but incendiary. >> so he says he used flowery

language. i just want to read this statement from dr. oz. he says in addition to exercising and an abundance of caution in discussing promising research and products in the future, i look forward to working with all of those present today in finding a way to deal with the problem of weight-loss scams. and we spend billions in this country on weight-loss products. and what do you guys think? do celebrity endorsements help? obviously they should be more responsible. >> i watch his show and i do have to say, the times i've watched and he talks about you should eat this with this, a great combination to help you lose weight. he's a doctor. i'm, like, there's scientific proof behind that so i'm taking him at his word. he admitted as well that the show does it for ratings. so i think that's the bigger issue. in a way you're putting it out there saying this is the magic pill. you need to swallow it if you want to lose a couple of pounds. >> no secret, i did gastric bypass, but i was very adamant about telling people i'm not recommending this. it's a dangerous surgery.

1 in 200 people die from it. i didn't want anybody coming to me saying because you endorsed this, my mom died. i didn't want -- and i'm not equating the two with dr. oz here. >> sure. >> but because to me, it's just -- it's a real slippery slope. >> i think there's a difference between a celebrity endorsing something and a doctor. and dr. oz has done a lot of good for a lot of people in his life. but if a celebrity does it, you don't always believe it because they don't carry that weight of being a doctor. when dr. oz says something, as you said, you kind of believe it. >> unfortunately, he's there obviously trying to do good, and the testimony they sort of turned the tables on him. and i think he realizes now you have to be careful with the language you use, especially -- >> especially if you're a doc r doctor, people take you at your word. >> especially saying i'm not a doctor but i play one on tv because people do believe that. there's still a lot of world cup mania. >> yeah! >> are you guys all watching the world cup? it's been so exciting.

but a really sweet moment. there was an australian player. he was caught tying the shoel e shoelaces of a little boy on crutches. this is the chile/australian game on friday. this is before the game started. that went viral, that photo. just very sweet. one of the boys out in the field and the kids who they bring out on the field along with the players. americans, though, have really been embracing the world cup. espn and univision's ratings have been very, very high, about 16 million strong. people have been watching. excited. against portugal on sunday. >> sunday. >> that's the next round for team usa. >> it's one of these events, even if you're not a huge soccer fan -- >> you're going to watch. >> -- and you're following it online if you can't watch it. here's a question. anybody coming down -- did the airline lose anybody's luggage? good. all right. you've got your luggage. we like that. well, guess what? not to call out united airlines, but they lost rory mcilroy's clubs.

>> mcilroy. >> on a flight from newark to dublin. the irish open starts thursday in cork. he tweeted yesterday, hey, united, landed in dublin yesterday morning from newark and still no golf clubs. sort of need them this week. yeah. can someone help? well, united got right on it. @mcilroy, please follow and direct message us your bag reference i.d. we'd like to follow up. united's second tweet, "we have good news. your clubs will be in tomorrow. we'll deliver them to you tournament for you." >> nice. >> the chairman of united is going to caddie for him. >> right. the power of social media. lose my luggage, i'll tweet about you. >> although somehow i think rory mcilroy could have scraped together some clubs for the tournament. >> your clubs are made for you. >> we were talking, these clubs are so valuable. why don't they have their own seat? >> it was like remember when -- >> you can't bring them on, though. >> the cello.

>> the cello in the cab. i left my barometer. i don't know if i can do this now. >> can you do the weather? >> i'm going to try. let's show you what we've got going on. we are talking about more severe weather. unfortunately the midwest and the plains got socked yesterday, again nebraska, another big tornado. fortunately no loss of life. but you can see those strong storms firing through the great lakes. milwaukee, showers and thunderstorms right through the day today. and we've got this system that's going to be pushing through. and as it does, more storms firing up from minneapolis. another area coming through the plains again on through cleveland. that risk of strong storms stretching from texas up into the plains and across the great lakes on into parts of the mid-atlantic states and northeast. that's what's going on a 9:10 now. good wednesday morning. i'm meteorologist christina loren. the heat is going to surge today. then we'll stay hot as we get into your thursday. but the good news is, both low clouds will return as we head through your weekend, nice and comfortable as temperatures drop

back off. but it's a couple days with temperatures in the 90s in your inland hot spots. 69 degrees, meanwhile for san francisco. 88 out in the north bay. and overall as we get into the next couple of days, temperatures are basically going to remain in the 80s, but we'll be in the low 80s by this weekend in the south bay. and that's your latest weather. guys? >> all right, al, thanks a lot. coming up next, natalie and her family go on their own adventure here at universal. they're going to let you in on some of the secrets to saving time and money when you plan your trip to this great theme park. that's right after this. number 1 of my 20 is for chacne. you know, chin acne. uh-huh. not to brag, but i have the chin of a teenager. here you go. dinges for everyone! when i get hangry anything within arm's reach could be part of my number 20. hm, this is potpourri. mmmm. the new amex everyday credit card, with no annual fee. it's not food. make 20 or more purchases in a monthly billing period, and earn 20% more rewards. and a coat. it's membership that rewards you for the things you already buy, everyday. what's your 20?

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fousugar. only six?ns. six grams of sugar? that's really good. excellent, delicious... and yummy! honey bunches of oats. tasty! yummy! fire-breathing dragon. diagon alley here at universal orlando. you've got some new friends. >> what's interesting, you can get either a wand or a baby. >> they give them out? >> look at sawyer. he's got your script, willie. he's taken over. >> take the lead, man.

>> this obviously such a great place to bring families. little sawyer here from reno, nevada, with his family. lots of kids here enjoying diagon alley. i got to get a sneak peek with my own family. we recruited travel mom emily kaufman for our sister company, universal. she gave us the inside scoop on how to save time and money when you hit the theme parks. who's ready for universal? >> i am! ♪ >> reporter: we met up with travel mom emily kaufman. she says there's a tried-and-try theme park strategy. >> the first thing you want to do is print your tickets out at home ahead of time. that will save you from getting into the line and you can get right in and have fun. >> reporter: our next tip, how to get the most value for our vacation. >> the longer you stay, the less you pay. a one-day ticket to both parks cost $136. if you buy a three-day multiticket, you can do that for just $62 a day. that's a savings of 50% a day.

>> reporter: early arrival means less headaches. kaufman says set your alarm. >> when you stay at one of the universal hotels, you get early access into the wizarding world of harry potter. an entire hour before it opens to the rest of the guests. >> reporter: you see the castle? we're in diagon alley! yay! >> there's so much to do here, shops, restaurants, lots of fun stuff including two new attractions. one, harry potter and the escape from gringotts. and there's the hogwarts express which will transport guests back and forth between the two parks. >> reporter: kids can also cast spells. >> theologian. >> you made it! >> it's really amazing, right? >> ice cream parlor. >> hello. >> hi. >> we would like some butter beer ice cream. >> yes. >> reporter: the ice cream tasted sweet, but we were ready for another type of rush.

>> take advantage of the express pass. it allows you to skip the lines at most rides and attractions. and it's complimently when you stay at one of the three deluxe properties at universal, or you can buy one. >> here we go. whoo! ♪ >> reporter: the ride was over, but our stomachs were rumbling. so what's a good way to save money when it comes to diping at a theme park? >> the way you can help stick to a budget is to buy a meal plan. and here at universal, you can do that. there are healthy options and even traditional theme park food. another great tip, there's a brand-new app from universal that allows you to check out showtimes and line waits throughout the entire park. spider-man! >> how are you guys doing today? >> do our web. >> let me see those muscles, big guy. >> whoa! are you related to the hulk or something? >> reporter: and we couldn't forget luke's favorite ride.

>> that one right there. i want to go on despicable me. >> reporter: aww! >> you're now in the minion training ground. ♪ >> reporter: he's got my moves. summer heat in full force, we decided to cool down a bit. ready to get wet? >> yeah. i'm going to get soaking wet. >> reporter: you don't want to get wet? okay. so there's a child swap area. does that mean i'm switching my child out? >> i'm trading your child for my child. >> okay. >> actually, what it means is that the child swap area so mom and dad don't have to sacrifice going on the ride. or they simply don't want to. >> so they can wait to go in the ride next. >> they don't have to wait in the line all over again. >> right. you guys ready? you're going to hang out with emily and we're going to go get on the water ride, okay? i'm ready to get wet.

i think luke was the smart one. give me a big hug! a day of theme park family fun and one great snapshot to capture it all. i look like a drowned rat. this is the ice cream. what do you think? >> our friends are sharing it with us. you like it? >> i got the butter beer ice cream. tamron does. you like it? >> their parents are thrilled we gave them ice cream at 9:00 in the morning. >> we've got a five-pound bag of sugar for you later. fantastic. >> well, believe it or for the, after all of that, natalie was still ready to go, so were the four of us, bumped around town with each other, taking in some of orlando's hottest attractions. it was our night on the town. and let me just say, there were gators involved. after all, this is florida. >> gator country. >> gator country. that's right after this. bill have you seen my keys anywhere?

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once considered full term, but now it's considered early. over a six-year period, it found induction rates declined by as much as 48% in 36 states. it's a big reversal from an earlier trend. and u.p.s. is planning to change the way it charges to deliver packages. starting right after christmas this year, u.p.s. prices will be based on the size of a package and not the weight. and the company hopes the change may result in customers using smaller boxes and perhaps lead to lower transportation costs. honda is getting high marks for cars holding on to their value. edmonds.com has rated 2014 vehicles based on projected retained value after five years and it rates the civic the highest compact sedans. honda also had the highest overall rating among nonluxury cars. it rated acura the best luxury car with the best retained value. and it was a wobbly walk for fans at a world cup match. amateur video shows the stairs

outside of the stadium, it was shaking back and forth under the weight of hundreds of people leaving a match between argentina and bosnia. some and just give them the basics, you know. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. there's a new reason to love activia. when you feel good inside. you live life with a smile. but when you feel bloated, with discomfort, gas, not to mention the rumbling... you feel totally knocked out. eat activia. twice a day for four weeks. it could help you get back to feeling like yourself again. activia may reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues like bloating, gas, discomfort and rumbling.

and when your tummy is smiling, it shows. activia, feeling good starts from the inside. a very good morning to you. it's 9:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. firefighters walking along the thick brush and grass in the oakland hills, checking for hot spots from several suspicious fires. the two biggest fires were just about a half mile apart along park boulevard near highway 13. early this morning, crews were using flashlights to catch the thick vegetation in that area. the five fires, rather, were started within two hours of each other yesterday afternoon. investigators say there wasn't much wind, adding to the suspicious nature of the fires. they broke out close to where the open hills fire burned 23 years ago, putting residents on edge in that area. this morning, state regulators will talk about how to keep power substations safe. the california public utilities mission comes in response to an attack on the pg&e metcalf

substation in san jose last year. there, someone cut fiber optic phone lines and fired about 1,000 shots at the substation. state regulators plan to talk about the investigation into the attack and what's being done for security at other substations. we're going to have a look at weather and traffic right after this break.

welcome back now. happy wednesday to you. i'm meteorologist christina loren. taking a live look at hazy sun over oakland. we've got a good-looking day shaping up, but it will be warmer than yesterday by about 5 to 10 degrees as we get into this afternoon meanwhile, some significant backups here on 101, headed northbound, as you approach 280 in san jose. we had a crash here earlier. it has cleared, but still want to give yourself extra time as you're headed that way. we have residual delays. the heat is on for us as we head throughout the next couple of days. we'll be in the 60s and 70s at the coast and around the bay. meanwhile, 80s and 90s. no triple digits, though, in your inland valleys. 85 degrees along the peninsula

today and 69 in san francisco. more of the same tomorrow. and we'll gradually cool you off as we get into the weekend. your seven-day forecast shows you that trend. let's talk traffic. new crash to tell you about, northbound 880. the right-hand lane is blocked there. to the south, 280, both directions, two serious crashes near route 87. so you might want to go ahead and avoid this area for the next 15 to 20 minutes. we'll keep you updated. back to you, laura. >> good job! pulling double duty today, christina. another update in half an hour. we'll see you then. have a great morning.

♪ like diamonds in the sky ♪ eye to eye ♪ so alive we are here at universal studios in orlando, florida, home of the new diagon alley attraction. and man, it is incredible. right now we're inside the leaky cauldron. this is where the wizarding world comes to take a break, have a little bite to eat and, of course -- >> a libation. >> -- a cup of butter beer. this is the nonalcoholic drink of choice. cheers. oh, you're going down the hatch? >> diagon alley. >> she got a head start. >> the heck with camaraderie. >> wow. >> go for it yourself. that's all that matters. >> do you have a mustache? >> no, they said get a mustache. >> yeah, we were going to toast first.

>> can we do a redo? >> yes. >> now that we have our mustache. >> fantastic. >> to diagon alley! >> hey, you know, try it. >> willie, why don't you have a mustache? >> how's that? >> that's a lipsthache. >> i like that. >> a little charlie chaplin. >> that's not the look i was going for. >> so while tamron chugs her butter beer, we'll tell you about -- >> she's really hooked on this now. i think you've got a problem. >> you all right? >> this is from the huffington post. 13 sentences that never end well when they begin this way. here's some of our favorites. if someone says to you, how do i put this jegently? nothing good follows that. how about you're going to hate me for this? no, no, that's not good. >> true. >> i hate to break it to you. that's another one.

and then, no offense, but -- >> it's always the but. >> it's always the but. >> there's always a rub. >> how about can i be honest? >> oh, no. i'd rather you don't. >> don't. >> no. >> down south, we say, bless your heart. >> oh, then it's over after that. >> basically you're a dope. >> bless your heart. >> yeah. >> all right. we're going to finish these beers here in the leaky cauldron. >> the what? >> butter beer. >> butter beer. >> you've had one too many. we've got to cut willie off. >> the butter beer has gone to my head. al? let's show you what we've got as far as your weather is concerned for today. pollen, not going to be that big a problem. there's an upside to the severe weather. it's been washing the pollen out. a lot of areas in the plains not quite as bad. but as we go through today, a risk of strong storms from texas up into the plains and back into the northeast. beautiful weather through southwest into southern california. tomorrow, we've got more sunshine in the mid-atlantic states. more strong storms in the

central plains. that's what's going on around the country. 9:33. good morning to you. we've got a good-looking day shaping up. we are warmer, definitely. in between about 2 to 8 degrees warmer than 24 hours ago. and we're going to continue to warm you up as we head throughout the next five to six hours. we do have a hot day shaping up. already getting close to the upper 60s in most places, in your inland valley spots. we're holding on to the mid-60s in san francisco. fog free over the golden gate bridge, the hazy sunshine over the south bay, and temperatures today, warmer than yesterday by 5 to 10 degrees. 85 degrees along the peninsula, 90 for the east bay, and 87 in the south bay. orlando area, of course, your first stop is universal studios. there's so much going on here. you've got to visit the new diagon alley opening july 8th, but there are a couple of amazing gems close by that you won't want to miss out on. >> in fact, the four of us have had a chance to take in some sights. we've got two words for you. actually, three.

gatorland and whirlyball. ♪ >> welcome to gatorland, alligator capital of the world. >> let's go check it out. >> they're going to go ahead and suit you guys right on up. ♪ >> what am i doing? >> what size gators are we looking at down there below us? >> anything from 6 feet to 15 feet. we're going ziplining over alligators, cuban crocodiles and nile crocodiles. >> and whose idea was this again? >> yours. ♪ >> you know what? if i were a gator, i would choose you over me. >> really? >> yeah. >> i was going to say the opposite. >> you're more lunch. i'm like an appetizer. look at them. they're staring at us. >> yeah, natalie!

♪ >> take that, hungry gator! bye-bye! whoo! >> stand up. >> nice. >> he said hello to the gators. nice. ♪ legs up! ooh! we have to walk across that bridge? that's not good. they couldn't build a better bridge? >> we're going to race. we're going to race. let's do it. >> three, two, one! >> i'm coming for you. >> i am so winning! yes! oh, yeah. >> photo finish. >> i think i won. >> i don't know. whoo! yes! >> i want to see the replay.

>> there they are, in front of whirly dome. >> where you been? we missed you guys. >> i got a little bit of a shoulder injury. how about if i rest the whirly dome games. >> i get carlos? >> that's a winner! >> whirly dome. >> whirly dome contestants, are you ready? >> i broke the ball! >> tamron broke the ball. >> pass it to willie. whoa! nice one! oh! natalie's shooting. oh! red team takes the lead! >> here's one more. get back, willie. >> shoot it. >> whoa! >> i did it! i made one! >> two-minute warning!

and we end in a tie! we're going to take a little bit of a break, and then we're going to come back for sudden-death whirly dome! ♪ >> wow! >> oh, my gosh! >> two minutes. the field! >> come on, carlos. you can make this. >> oh, that's it! yellow team wins! >> yellow team! >> yeah! >> the babe ruth of whirlyball right here. >> tah-dah! >> all right. and the winner of the first whirlyball tournament -- tamron hall and carlos! >> natalie, you won in a photo finish against willie. >> it was a photo finish, and natalie won! zipline! >> definitively shows that my foot touched first.

i think you'll agree. >> the good news is they're not too competitive. >> we could argue all day over who won. but we know who won whirlyball. >> okay, fine. here, take the trophy. up next, the actress we all -- the actress we all love who played in "harry potter," bellatrix, helena bonham carter. >> right after this! you can have it! [ male announcer ] your joints... work hard for you. give them the edge they deserve. new edge from osteo bi-flex with joint shield helps strengthen your joints°. it works as hard for your joints, as they do for you. get the added benefits of joint & muscle, and joint & energy. new edge from osteo bi-flex, so you're always ready for action. find it in your vitamin aisle.

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♪ welcome back to universal, diagon alley. our friends here, certainly no strangers to diagon, whether they were getting their wands or protecting their most valuable possessions at gringotts. >> that's right. helena bonham carter played

bellatrix. robbie coltrane, the lovable hagrid, and then the guy on the end, tom felton. we loathed him, draco. welcome. so nice you guys could be here. >> it's lovely to be here. >> what do you think? >> it's much better than what we had to work with, i'd say. because we had to pretend things were real. now they're just real. and also, i'm going to make the intelligent mark remark -- >> you make the intelligent remark. >> we only had the tops of buildings. and there was always in the dark. and now we've got the sun. >> and also the other thing, when you're working on the film set, it had to be movable. because if you wanted to remount the camera, everything had to be able to be shifted. so it's really held together with scaffolding. this is going to happen on thursday. this is completely

three-dimensional. it's such a job. >> i'm wondering if you guys are reacting to what we see here as diagon alley, how kids react to you. do they recognize you? you are no hagrid in real life. hagrid is -- >> i told you. >> -- how tall? ♪ >> i wonder, do they say, you're from the movie? >> i was very lucky because i was completely made up with all that hair and the wigs and so on. >> yeah. >> he looks exactly like snake day in and day out. he'll be walking through the airport and children would kind of go, "that's him!" and they don't recognize me. the parents do. just as in the frozen fish counter. do you know who that man is? >> are you amazed, tom, at what this has done? not just for you, but culturally. i was just saying i have a 7-year-old daughter who's just

starting to read the books. there will be a whole another generation that comes into harry potter's world. >> it's turning into a rite of passage for youngsters around the world to not only get them into literature but to get them into film and to really sort of open their imagine aations to what's out there. >> and this kind of keeps it going because you bring your kids to this theme park. and they say oh, i want to read these books and understand a little bit more. >> yeah. >> helena and robbie, i know you two have children. have they had the chance -- i'm sure they've come here a couple times. have they gotten to experience this yet? >> they're about to arrive in about two hours. and she just started the books, yet. >> first-time reading? >> yes. and then the 10-year-old is -- yeah, so they're going to come. it's like when you read a book when you're a kid, you get into the book. you want to climb into the book, and in a film. you really are. now you do feel like -- it's the ultimately -- you know, you don't have to imagine much. i mean, we had to act.

>> and a lot of the time -- should i tell them this -- when the kids were younger, the children in the film, the big three, and mr. horrible here, one time after 7:00 at night, and then they had to do school during the day. they all did staggeringly well. >> that's why they're all so clever. >> so what would happen is sometimes they weren't there at all. you'd be acting to a stick. and the ping-pong ball that they were playing with. >> tricks of the trade. >> probably more emotive. >> we've got a little behind the scenes. right now you see it live before us. hele helena, robbie and tom. hele helena, robbie and tom. >> introducing a beauty breakthrough. so bold. revolutionary color. so chic. at the hottest boutique. the new paint studio at ace! surprise.

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an integral part here at diagon alley, the leak with cauldron serves classic british fare. >> lovely. and steven is the vice president and corporate executive chef of universal parks and resorts and the man responsible for creating -- get this -- more than 40 new items of the wizarding world of harry potter, diagon alley. steven, good morning. it smells delicious. >> thank you. >> how much research did you have to do to come up with this menu? >> we had to do a lot of research. everything from the great foods that we've prepared that are good traditional english/british dishes and trying to take

everything we can find within the books and bring them all to life including some wonderful beverages that we have over here. >> uh-huh. >> including our famous butter beer and a couple of other also to set it off. >> we're making the classic shepherd's pie. >> cottage pie, shepherd's pie. a little different, cottage pie is usually made more with just beef. and shepherd's pie is made aa little lamb in it. they're out there in the pastures with the sheep. >> what kind of vegetables do you have going? >> i've got a little garlic and onions and carrots and a little bit of mushrooms in there. >> okay. >> and, you know, can you use really any vegetables you want, but those are, i think, the main staples in it. of course we've got ground beef that we're cooking here. and just to hurry this along, we've got some done. in addition to the meat, once the meat is browned, we would put in a little bit of tomato product. >> nice. >> we would put in a little bit of broth. >> you make me a little nervous when you just say it's tomato product.

>> tomato paste. >> peas in there. >> diced tomatoes. >> and j.k. rowling had a say in all of this. >> all of this, everything. we flew over to scotland, back in the day. we presented a lot of things to her. we work it had all out. >> you cook this down. how long does it take to cook it down? >> this is going to take probably about 30 minutes, simmer it,ab bring all the flavs together. spoon it in that casserole dish, mashed potatoes. nice and simple. if you want to get fancy, you can get a pastry bag and pipe them on real pretty, but this is a nice way to do it. it's got that nice rustic look to it. >> could you put that under the broiler and brown it a little bit? >> you could. the best way is put it in the oven. and then when it's done, you get something like that. >> all right. >> here you go. dig in. >> you must have asbestos hands because this is warm. wow! >> i think that comes along with

it. >> it is warm. >> what are some of the other dishes we have? >> we've got fish and chips, of course, you've got to have. bangers and mash with minted peas. >> no. i'm going to try this. >> there you go. that one is a toad in the hole. pudding popover that you bake a bangers sausage into. and then we have a sampling of pies we're going to also offer. we have a seafood fisherman's pie. and then we have our cottage pie. so you can get a combination. and then a nice stew made with beef and lamb and guinness. here's a version of the cottage pie and a large one. and over there, that's something we're real proud of. that's our plowman's platter. >> i don't know where to start. >> you've got three beautiful chooses from england on there. you've got a beautiful salad. scotch eggs over on the one side. >> you guys can finish up. i have friends over here to share with. see you later, mr. roker.

>> visit today.com. all aboard! we're getting ready to ride on the hogwarts express. first, this is "today" on nbc.

all right. now that we've walked through the wall -- >> yeah, 9 3/4. >> that's right. >> we're coming to the platform here. we're going to board the hogwarts express on the platform. 9 3/4. we're going to board with our winners from our discovery diagon alley contest and make our way back to new york and studio 1a. >> we're taking this thing all the way to penn station, baby. here we go. >> we'll see you. >> diagon alley. yeah.

good wednesday morning. it's 9:56. i'm sam brock. we are following breaking news right now from sunnyvale, where several homes have caught fire. you're looking at a live picture from our camera in palo alto. if you look closely, you can make out a plume of smoke in the distance, although it is, of course, very hazy in general.

there's a fire and it's happening on lantana drive. we're told it would be 900 block of lantana drive. a few blocks away from the lawrence expressway and el camino real intersection. we have crews on the way now. when we have more information about the cause of that fire and how it's impacting the surrounding area, we'll bring that to you. in the meantime, what does this mean for your traffic patterns, let's check in with christina loren. >> certainly going to be a hazard with people slowing down to take a look. we have some delays on 101 through sunnyvale. we'll talk about that in just a minute. first, i want to start with your winds. if it were windier, that would cause a big problem. right now, sustained speeds below 5 miles per hour along the peninsula. nice and fog free here on the golden gate bridge and temperatures are heating up. hazy sunshine in the south bay. 87 degrees for us today, 90 in the east bay. and 59 degrees in san francisco. we're going to cool you off as we get into the weekend. only by a little bit, but, hey, no extremes in the future.

we're looking pretty good to hit the 90s for today and tomorrow. and then we'll start that cooldown. let's get to your traffic. a couple other hazards to tell you about. northbound 101, we've got a crash on the right-hand lane, and it always stacks up there at this time of the morning. if you're going to be leaving right now from the south bay headed up the peninsula, definitely want to take 280. much faster, several accidents earlier this morning, on 101, we have residual delays although most of that activity has cleared. >> to recap, 101, a little bit choked up and we are following a fire or an explosion from the sunnyvale area. we'll have more information coming up in our next update, which will be in a mere 25 minutes. we'll see you then.

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recommended by vets. loved by dogs. from the makers of frontline plus. from nbc news, this from nbc news, this is "today" with kathy lee gifford and hoda kotb in rockefeller plaza. hello, everybody. it is that da some people call it hump day. >> we don't. >> we call it wine day wednesday. it's june 18. >> we have a big show, a big, big show filled with lots of stars. we will tell you later on. >> so here is the question we have for you. when you call someone on the telephone -- [ phone rings ] do you, a, leave a message, or, b, hang up? if you hang up, if you're below a certain age, you never leave a

voice mail because -- >> they're like allergic to voice mail or something. they hate it. why? >> here is the thing, i think younger people -- i left a voice mail for a producer here. you left me a voice mail. that's so funny. so the only two people who leave voice mails are you and matt lauer. they look to see who called and call you back. >> instead of listening to the voice mail, they call you. >> what's the point of listening? >> it might not even need a call. it may not even need a return call. >> we have some young people over there in the corner. the bourgeois family. they are all visit iing. >> nice to see them. >> two auction winners are here. you rock. >> i have no trouble with voice mail because i am of that age.

i don't like it when you have to listen for 40 seconds for the number, 21265 is not here and then a l ittany of things. >> young people don't know how to leave a voice mail. what do i say? under 35 they have a panic thing happening. >> you don't know how to speak and communicate? most people can speak. >> think about this. do you remember the first time you recorded your voice mail, your answering machine. hi, i can't come to the phone right now. let me do it again. hello. you did it ten times. i get it. there's a thing. when you hear a voice, you hate your voice, you're not interested in your own voice. i get it. >> or you love it. >> young people are nervous. they don't like it. >> unfortunately, they text all the time and with texts there's no tone and we've talked about while they're driving or doing

other things. >> be careful, people. >> but i'm excited about this. >> what? >> it is time for the world's ugliest dog. 26th annual world's ugliest dog. it's under way. oot here are the contenders, people. here's monkey. >> oh, he's not ugly. >> yes, he is. >> he just needs a bath. >> look at peanut. oh, my god! >> peanut's demon possessed. >> the name does not fit. >> peanut came from a stephen king novel. >> how about rascal. give it to us. now that looks like -- >> they should co-star in a "buddy" movie. >> how about yoda? >> yoda is kind of -- >> you can't zoom in. it looks like the tongue it coming out the side. usually a sure-fire sign of something else. >> i say peanut so far is winning. >> the judges will pick. peanut has it. congratulations. >> the dogs, all of them, will gather at the sonoma marin fair in california.

and the judges are going to select a winner. i'm going to be in california this weekend. i may go to that. the lucky dog receives $1 ,500 n prize money. they might pick me, though. >> you're the winner! >> you're the winner. >> do you guys ever see the movie "forgetting sarah marshall"? it's one of the best movies. there's a scene where jason siegel answers the door and the girl is about to break up with him, sarah marshall is standing there and he's totally naked. watch. he drops -- he drops the thing and there she is. >> i love you. very much. and? >> oh, no, he knows it's coming. >> are you breaking up with me? >> oh. >> pete, are you -- >> i just need a minute. >> okay. >> anyway. full frontal. so here is the point. he spoke to "vanity fair" this week and he said his mother literally cried when she looked

up and saw her son showing his jewels. she was upset. would you be upset if one of your kids? >> i'd be in jail. >> why? >> because of what i'd do to them. yes. so she sent out a mass e-mail to family members. and the e-mail read, i would like to inform you all that jason has chosen to do full frontal nudity. however, it is not gratuitous and is essential to the plot. >> it was a great -- >> she cried. it bothered her. or else he wasn't very impressive and she cried about that. after a certain age you don't see your children naked. you know what i'm saying? it might just have been a huge shock. a shock to her to see her son as an adult. >> okay, okay. >> don't bring up the subject if you don't have the maturity to discuss it. i was going to say something else. >> can we talk about this mayor

in los angeles. >> oh, i'm dying to see this, ho hoda. >> this is so good. there are two guys running for mayor in los angeles. one of the mayors -- >> seas san marino. >> very upset at his opponent. so he had a bag full of bag poop. he was walking by his opponent's yard and threw it on the yard. now it looks like a nothing. oh, look. okay. >> he didn't throw it. he tossed it. there's a difference. >> well, the guy -- this was captured on this camera that happened to be in front of the contender's house. >> there are cameras everywhere, hoda. i told you this. >> the guy resigned. he dropped out of the race because of the scandal of throwing -- look, here's the thing. >> but they throw that stuff in washington, d.c., all day long at each other and nobody ever -- >> here is the thing. when i'm with blake, my dog, and he's already done his business --

>> you think. >> but an hour later we're still walking, he does it again, and i only have one bag. i panic. >> that's why god made leaves. >> i look for one and, oh, i don't see one. >> and how do you walk away? >> i gently tiptoe -- because i'm not quite sure what to do. and you know someone is seeing you. >> do you look around to see if there's a camera? >> i look around to see if there are people. did anyone notice? >> everyone is on to you now. you tell everybody all of your s secrets. now people are going to be watching you when you walk your dog to see where you throw his -- >> i don't throw it. i pick it up. icationally when i don't have a bag, i do that. i just leave it. but not often 0. only when i'm trapped. "america's got talent. "you've been watching this show. it's doing very well in the ratings. there was an opera singer who brought down the house. we haven't seen it but let's take a look. ♪

>> oh, my word. ♪ >> howard and howie just got interested in opera. did you see both their faces? >> okay. >> i don't know how that has to do with talent. she is lovely but that's not talent. her singing is. >> did they move her on? >> i have no idea. yes, they did. >> and mel -- >> i guess they all liked her. >> good for her. shy sounded beautiful. she liked beautiful. but i don't know what that has to do with it. >> she sang beautifully, she just did it in a bikini. she got extra votes for that. >> this i like. i think this is a smart idea.

>> it is. if you are thinking about retiring, and for a lot of people sometimes their spouses passed on and they're living alone, so what do you do? >> or they can't afford to live alone. >> so "the washington post" reports people are doing the "golden girls" thing. these are people living together in a house sharing costs and chores and, you know, enjoying life. you have the can company of other people, et cetera. let me tell you something. you know who can could neve do that? >> who could never live together? >> ever. >> you and i. >> of. >> ever. >> ever. let me tell you what, you'd be a "dateline thursday." you would kill me. you 0 would kill me because i leave stuff everywhere. who is this? >> well, i would know who did it. >> and it would be mine. but we could live -- >> we couldn't even live as next door neighbors because you would not be -- you wouldn't it -- >> you would complain about my lawn and it would be fine. so i'd have to live down the road. >> way down the road.

>> far away from you. >> i still love you, though, hoda. >> you've heard his music on tv shows and commercials. >> artist of the month, eric hutchinson. we have another eric who will be with us. he has a new book. >> were, and from the sci-fi thriller, the handsome actor are from down under. >> and so lots of other stuff, too. not sure what. i'll figure it out as we go along. >> that's how we do it. [ male announcer ] applebee's believes better choices for lunch, like their crisp and fresh strawberry & avocado salad, make for a more invigorating afternoon. ♪

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without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com eriq la salle one of hollywood's most versatile talents spending time behind the camera as a writer and producer and directing episodes of tv shows like "crisis," "the night shift" on nbc. >> most of us remember him playing dr. peter benton for eight great seasons on the hit drama "er". >> eriq has written his second book called "laws of wrath." >> yeah. >> which best-selling author james patterson called all thriller, no filler. >> that's not too shabby. >> that will sell copies.

you don't need the "today" show when you have james patterson. >> the funny thing when i got the word he was giving the blush, i said let's put his name bigger than mine. >> he's only written over 80 books or something. >> he sold -- he and steven king are the most prolific writers in history. they've both sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 million books. >> that's amazing. >> wow. >> so him being the godfather of this genre and give me that kind of endorsement was -- >> your book is terrifying. is an understatement. >> i'm afraid to sit here with you. >> we are scared of you. >> set here in new york. tell us a little bit about it. it's a serial killer situation. >> it's a serial killer situation. it's similar to the film "seven." it's in the vain of "seven," "silence of the lambs". >> which was so terrifying. the follow-up to -- >> follow-up to the first book called "laws of depravity" and focuses on two cops in new york

who are the best at closing these high-profile, heinous crimes, but the cool thing about it is, the protagonists have their own issues and demons that they're dealing with. >> one of the victim's happens to be well known to one of them and i don't want to give stuff away. >> anything pped from the headlines or all come from your imagination? >> it's imagination. >> that's frightening. >> the first book dealt with a serial killer who was killing fallen priests and pedophiles, et cetera. so that, of course, was -- >> right. >> was very topical. this is, you know, it's imagination. >> let's talk about your directing. you are very -- >> busy guy. >> prolific is the word. >> "night shift," "crisis". >> i just got in town yesterday after doing "under the dome". >> do you enjoy that? >> i really do. >> you like to mix it up? >> yeah. bottom line is all of these people say which do you like better, acting, directing, you know, now an author? it's all storytelling and i love telling stories. i'm still at, you know, silly

little 8-year-old boy running around making up games. as an artist, if you can keep in touch with that part of you. >> yes. >> then i can scare people like you. >> yes, you can. >> but it's imagination. >> not in the picture anymore, do you not enjoy that anymore? >> i love it all. >> you still want to do that too. >> one of the things i said you're not acting anymore at all? >> no. that's like, you know, it's like right now my directing card is -- >> full. >> very full and i love that. but yes, i will be going back to acting at some point. but, you know, obviously it's the directing and the whole purpose of this franchise to create a literary franchise that turns into a film franchise. >> of course. >> we remember you from "er" and "coming to america". >> here we go. >> we have to. >> and then talk about transcript to spain. ♪ ♪ buckle up ♪ go

>> hey, take care of this for me, will you? >> i love the gerry curl. remember the gerry curl. >> hoda still likes that. >> we don't have time for the story about spain and george clooney and noah wiley. >> next time. >> next time i will. >> all the best with the book. >> congratulations. already. elvis duran gets ready to tell the world about his artist of the month, eric hutchinson. >> we're getting ready to out with with "defiance" star. >> we're getting ready to out with with "defiance" star. >> and also here joanna a woman who loves to share her passions. grandma! mary has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke. rome? sure! before xarelto®, mary took warfarin, which required monthly trips to get her blood tested. but that's history. back to the museum? not this time! now that her doctor switched her to once-a-day xarelto®,

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if you're a fan of sci-fi thrillers or actors from down under set your dvr because this show is for you. >> in the season two premier of "defiance" the year is 2047. >> wow. >> the earth is in turmoil. it is already. grant bowler plays joshua nolan, a former lieutenant in the earth military coalition. >> and he's trying to get to the bottom of a conflict with ex-mayor amanda rose water. take a look. >> bradley been in yet? >> he usually comes in around 5:00, around 3:00. >> he stole two cases and didn't show up to work together. >> keep an eye on him together. >> so, kenya?

>> she's gone. >> what do you mean, gone? >> i have a lot to catch you up on. >> you are steamy. >> and then it gets really good. >> oh, yes, thank you. >> do you have a beard? >> i -- well not right now. but i can grow it instantaneously. i'm a professional. so if you ask me, i can push really hard. >> how hugh jackman got his. >> like face rogaine. it pours out of me. >> tell us about your character in season two. you develop over time. >> i'm hoping i develop over time. that's what mum said would happen. he's been through a lot in season one so he's a little darker. >> yeah. >> a little more world weary and less faith with society which was difficult because he was already, but he starts off here in season one a very unhappy camper and not prepared -- >> give him a place to go. >> yes. it's interesting, because he's lost his daughter and he can't find her. >> yes. >> and they're very, very close.

it's the best father/daughter relationship i've ever played which is strange because she's an alien in the show. it is, it's this beautiful -- >> a little -- >> now you're talking my language honestly. the funny thing about being an actor on a show like this there's 15 pas asking me what i need and then i wake up on saturday morning come down the stairs and hear, daddy, hungry. it's so -- >> yeah. role reversal. >> how old is your child? >> i have two. my daughter is 11 and my son is 9. >> either one of them want to go into the arts? >> every time they mention it, i put them in the cupboard and won't let them out until they want to become an accountant or cpa. >> on your twitter handle for those who follow you, you say you know a little a lot. >> a little about a lot. >> that's my goal. >> what do you know -- >> fascinating at cocktail parties. >> give us something. >> there you go. something topical. >> trivia, basically, right? >> how about the vakuna.

>> god bless you. >> a part of a llama that occurs in south america, mainly in bolivia is the rarest breed, there's three different breeds, and it's a felony to kill it. it will get you like 15 years in jail. >> where do you read this stuff? >> i backpacked through south america. so i find all this stuff out. >> does that thrill people or does it make them -- make you weird? >> it helps the kids to sleep at night. >> you have a little present for us? we've got to see it. >> i do. i didn't come empty handed. >> what is this? >> now this is basically. >> can hoda have it? >> this is a cultural experience. >> thank you, jerry. >> thank you so much, jerry. you're a good man. >> what is that? >> this is a pavelova. actually three. the plural. this is an australian/new zealand dessert. >> it's like you. >> a natural dish. >> it's a mix like me, yes. there's an argument --

>> solid sugar. is that honey on the top? >> that's everything. that's passion fruit on the top. this is a meringue, sugar based meringue. >> we have to go to break as we're eating. >> "defiance" airs ♪ yoplait whips! it is so good for whipping up a little treat.

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expressway in el camino real intersection. a very busy area. no doubt you can see the thick, black smoke, pouring into the way area skies this morning from many vantage points. firefighters have been trying to attack this fire from all angles, as we've been watching it burn for close to 30 minutes now. the thick flames that you see in the middle there, along with the black smoke, firefighters, in fact have evacuated some of the surrounding homes in that neighborhood, just trying to get people to safety. earlier, we actually saw some homeowners on top of their own roofs, nearby, trying to wet down the roofs, trying to do what they can to keep them dry as well. we don't know of any injuries at this point, we do know that there were several agencies responding, just to help out right now. we also know that nearby ponderosa elementary school has not been evacuated. there you see the photo we were talking about a little earlier. that is a homeowner nearby trying to water down his own roof with a hose. certainly probably not

recommended as that smoke is billowing very close to where he is as well. once again, this is happening on lantana drive, just a few blocks away from lawrence expressway, in el camino real intersection. thick, black smoke. we don't know how this fire started or if there are any injuries to report. we have the captain with the sunnyvale fire department on the phone this morning. jeff, can you hear me? >> yes, i can. >> what can you tell me? this thing looks huge. >> so this morning, at about 9:25, we received a report of a structure fire on lantana drive here, and crews got on scene and found fires and flames on one side of the residence. it was impacting another residence next door. crews attempted some interior firefighting activities, and based on the amount of fire we encountered inside the residence, they had to fall back and are fighting the fire from the outside now.

>> yeah, looks like they're really trying to attack it from all around. do you have other agencies responding as well? >> i'm sorry? i couldn't hear you. >> do you have other agencies helping you out on this one? >> i'm sorry, you're cutting out. >> okay, i would assume there are other agencies helping you out. do you know of any injuries? was anyone rescued from this home? >> all the residents are accounted for, for both addresses and right now we don't have any reported injuries. >> okay. now, it looks like firefighters are actually try to now go to other adjoining homes. you've evacuated some of that area, we understand? >> i'm having a difficult time hearing you, i apologize. >> okay, we understand, because you're at the scene of the fire as well. we're wondering for there are any additional evacuations. we understand there were some of nearby homes in that area. >> i'm still not able to hear you. i apologize. >> okay, we'll try to work that problem out as well. that was pio jeff hunter, captain with the sunnyvale fire

department. they arrived on this fire, getting a call at about 9:25 this morning, just going to one side of the house. but as we can see, this structure has gone up very, very quickly. in fact, an adjoining home nearby on that lantana drive has also gone up. you can't even almost make it out with all the thick, black smoke coming from this fire, but you can see the waves of water that firefighters are pouring in. i want to bring in christina loren as we continue to take a look at these live pictures. earlier, the smoke was going up, indicating not a lot of wind. what do you think now? >> the wind not playing a huge factor, but it is going to dictate where that smoke plume ends up. let's take it out here live. 900 block, lantana drive, if you're just join us, this is in sunnyvale. a big fire has been burning for about an hour now. and i can give you a little indication of what the weather is doing. your temperature is warm, 77 degrees, winds out of the northeast at 5 miles per hour, humidity very low at about 28%. and all that smoke now is

drifting towards cupertino, saratoga, and also los gatos. the wind is not that fierce. we can show you that smoke plume. this is something that could become problematic if the winds do pick up. and as we know, they are scheduled to do so later on today. so as you can see, they're working hard to get that fire knocked down, but it's going to take quite some time and it's growing fast. back to you, laura. >> it certainly is. thank you so much, christina. once again, we do know that so far, it sounds like the people that were in those two homes on lantana drive have been accounted for. we just spoke to moments ago the pio from the sunnyvale fire department telling us that. that is the good news, but they're still having a struggle fighting these fires. michelle roberts is joining us on the phone. she's a reporter live on the scene. michelle, i understand you just talked to neighbors. >> reporter: i did. i talked to one neighbor who said she got a call from her friend, saying the fire broke out this morning in her kitchen, which they had just renovated. now that home is completely

engulfed in flames. i can no longer see a roof, it has caved in. there are dozens of firefighters here on the scene right now. i'm looking at about six or seven fire trucks. the smoke is actually really intense at this point. and the neighbors did say that their dog is lost. so they're hoping somehow the dog was table to escape. other than that, this has the only word i've heard of injuries. on the other hand, the neighbor is standing on his home, he has a hose, and he's got to be about 15 feet from this blaze. he's trying to protect his home. i understand that the fire department has warned him to get down for his safety, but he is watching this fire closely and it appears that, you know, he's okay right now, but if it does take a shift, his home could be in danger. these homes are pretty close together, so the fire department is having a tough time keeping this contained to just the two homes, but right now it is a really intense scene. there are dozens of people watching this fire and everyone is really concerned and the

smoke is so intense, i have to turn my back to it, because it's tough to breathe out here. we'll certainly have more details as the morning goes on. >> just from the pictures we're seeing from our chopper overhead on these homes, this smoke can be seen throughout the, at least the south bay this morning. now, you spoke to a homeowner, so did they give you indication of if that person was in the house when it started or any indication of how it could have started? >> reporter: you know, i'm not exactly sure about where they were when the fire began. it was just a neighbor who said that, you know, she got a frantic call from a friend saying, you know, their house is burning down, and by the time they arrived at the scene, they were already out of the home. that's it has good news. but at this point, it's so early to tell, no word yet on how this started or where, exactly it started, but it is clear this home is severely damaged if not fully destroyed and engulfed in this fire and it's really an incredible scene. the good news is, so far, we

haven't heard word of any injuries, except for that dog that right no is unaccounted for. >> and hopefully the dog is just running and hiding. michelle, thanks so much. she's gathering information from the ground as we take these live aerial pictures from above. you can see kind of the ashy remains of that house right now, as firefighters continue to tackle it. we're talking about two homes on lantana drive this morning, just a few blocks away from lawrence expressway and the el camino real intersection. that is a very busy thoroughfare, no doubt this smoke billowing into the air there. christina mentioned the smoke can be seen as far as cupertino, saratoga as well. i want to tell people, if you have students at ponderosa elementary school, most likely they could be out for the session, but we do know that it has not been evacuated. but though doubt some of those surrounding homes have been evacuated as firefighters are just now trying to make sure that this thing doesn't spread anymore. they did get the call at about

9:25 this morning, going to the site of one house, but quickly it has gone out. that kind of gives you a better stretch out view there of the area that we're dealing with. these are close-together homes, side by side, very, very close, valued at about $1.4 million, not surprising in the bay area. christina, the wind, certainly at least in that factor, kind of helping out a little bit. >> yeah, well, there's two things that we are concerned with when it comes to the wind. of course the wind is helping, because it's not causing that fire to spread, laura, you're right on. one thing it's also doing is keeping that smoke plume right where it is. so if you're joining us this morning from sunnyvale and likely you're television is on, if you notice this fire is out, opportunity to close your windows. if you're going to be traveling through the area, you definitely want to make sure you have that ac going. you don't want to be breathing in this air. and we showed you what it looked like from the air. let me show you grand pictures from our reporter. this is from damian trujillo, he

just tweeted this out and you can tell it's really thick, it's dark from the actual surface as you look at this fire. this is from michelle, we just talked to her on the phone. and throughout the day, we'll see those winds pick up. that is something we're concerned with as we head throughout probably the next couple of hours in particular. it's been calm out there. once again, taking you life now. this is chopper 900 block of lantana drive in the sunnyvale area. you can see they are working hard to get that fire under control, but it has, burning now for an hour. and your conditions not great when it comes to temperatures. it's warm out there, 77 degrees. your humidity is down to 28%. only thing is, that wind is not fanning the flames at this point. we're watching for that, we'll be checking for it every single minute. right now, back to you, laura. >> look at the plume of smoke, just going up. we can see some of it is turning white, which is good, meaning they're getting a handle on it, but you can see flames in the center of your picture right there, in the heart of that home, no doubt. our own reporter, michelle roberts is on the ground.

she gathered information from some neighbors on the scene who said they barely escaped the fire. it was actually a home that had just recently been renovated. the good news is we know there have been no injuries so far and that most of the people or the people that were inside of that home actually did manage to get out safely. to give you an idea, it is close to rolls road in el camino real, a big thoroughfare there in the sunnyvale area. it is an offstreet -- this map gives you an idea, lantana drive, very close there 82 el camino real and not far from lawrence, kind of bordering there with wolf road as well. our chopper is live overhead. and what's interesting is that we've noted, even nearby homeowners trying to take precautions for their own home w, when they saw this fire leaking, jumping on to the roof, grabbing the garden hoses, just trying to put it out. firefighters cautioned that man to get down. he's very close to that fire,

but he was doing what he could to try to preserve his home. our reporters on the scene have told us how thick this smoke is. it's making it hard to breathe, but most likely, nearby homes are evacuated right now. if you happen to live in that area, probably just good advice to close your doors and windows right now, because the smoke is thick out there. they've been fighting this now for about an hour and we've seen them go surrounding the house now. they're in the backyard now. you can see the firefighters on the grass of that two-story home. the one of the left, i believe, is the one that initially caught fire. the one that has the sheds in the backyard as well. and you can just see how it just really charred that home. our own damian trujillo is live at the scene as well. he joins us with more information. damian? >> reporter: laura, i just got information from the captain. the fire and police department, they act as both throughout the year. so far, they have the damage

area, but no injuries, fortunately. there are some firefighters who are having to take breaks intermittently, but it looks like they've kind of knocked this down for the most part. i don't see any flames coming out of this immediate build at this point. i saw one neighbor, he was watering down the roof up there of his home. it seems like his home is actually okay. at this point, firefighters are still pouring water on to the building. [ inaudible ] once they got in there, they encountered heavy smoke and fire. they have since pulled out and are fighting the fire from the outside. [ inaudible ] i don't have that information

right now. [ inaudible ] >> until we get a chance to get inside and see what kind of materials are inside, i won't know. >> okay. i'm going to interrupt that there, what they're doing is trying to gather some information from the public information officer, that is live on the scene. we'll let damian continue to do that, but because it's hard to hear, we're going to break up here. but he did say the firefighters did go in to fight this fire when they got the call of the home on lantana drive, but it was burning so hot, they had to make the decision to try to just fight it from the outside. and it is clear from the remains of the home how hot and fast it was burning inside of there. as they try to tackle it now from outside as well as the adjoining homes wi, the good ne is there have been no injuries, everyone in those homes have

been accounted for. it's on lantana drive, you can see it from wolf road, el camino real as well, nearby ponderosa elementary school was not evacuated. just nearby homes as a precaution for some of these people, because these homes are just backed up to each other there on lantana drive. very, very close. and it was interesting, we mentioned that one homeowner took to his roof to wet down his roof. not recommended, but looks like it help. we apologize for the chopper breaking up. we want to continue to stay on it as much as we can to give these very live pictures. you can see it's still burning a i little bit in the home, but we've seen that thick, black smoke dissipate. so precautions if you live in this area. if you see the smoke in the area, the winds seem to help a

little bit, as christina was mentioning earlier. looks like it's moving it around a little bit. >> you know what, it's really great. we have this perspective to show you. it de they're making quite a bit of progress. i'll show you that in just a minute. but the smoke itself getting a lot more transparent at this point. if you're joining us, one more time, we're tracking this fire, 900 block, lantana drive, sunnyvale. let me talk about the wind right now. our wind is actually coming from the northeast, moving to the southwest very slowly at 5 miles per hour. we showed you the smoke plume about 15 minutes ago and now you can barely make it out. that's a definite sign of progress being made in the area, but it's still going to take quite some time for them to get this knocked down. we'll stay on top of it. >> we've got the reporters on the scene, gathering information from neighbors. we've just found out from neighbors who live in that area on lantana drive, day don't have power. it's completely knocked out to that area. we'll keep those crews on the scene right now, keep our

chopper overhead as we continue to gather more information about these massive home fires on lantana drive near lawrence expressway, wolf road, and el camino real in sunnyvale. looks like they're tackling that right now. the good news, no injuries, people inside have been accounted for. still looking for a little dog out there as well. we will have a full update and the rest of the day's news on our midday show, coming up in just a little over 15 minutes, that's at 11:00 a.m. this morning. as well, you can always turn to nbcbayarea.com for the very latest information online. we'll continue to update reports on twitter as well, if you can follow nbc bay area, at nbc bay area. we'll do our very best to continuously give you updates on this huge house fire that's been burning in sunnyvale for now over an hour. sunnyvale fire department remain on the scene this morning. thanks for joining us and please join us at 11:00 a.m. we've handpicked foour tomatoesars, to ensure they'll be at the peak of flavor when they're eaten.

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time for our series beating the odds and the story of a teenage girl who has been doing just that since the day she was born. >> 17-year-old taylor skrug was born extremely premature and has cerebral palsy. none of that has ever stopped her. in fact, she just graduated high school a year early. >> her mother calls her her hero and you'll understand why after hearing taylor's story in her own words. take a listen. >> on january 3rd, 1997 my sister jordan and i were born at 27 weeks. we were barely 2 pounds. we both had extreme complications, but mine more so

than hers. i suffered a severe brain hemorrhage. doctors told my parents that i would never walk or talk. i was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 3. at 5, i took my first independent step. though i've endured hours and hours of physical therapy and i've had more than ten surgeries in my life, my parents have never allowed me to think there was anything i couldn't do. i took dance and gymnastics at an early age and i skied. i started to read when i was 3 and have almost always made all as on my report card. in april, with the help of my school counselor, i was able to find a way to complete my final two requirements in night school while simultaneously staying enrolled in high honmy honors classes during the day. >> graduating magnum comla da taylor skrugs.

>> i was able to graduate with the class of 2014 a year early. i'm proud of my accomplishments. i've defied the odds. >> we're all crying here in the studio. >> i love her. >> wow. >> taylor and taylor's twin sister jordan are here with us. congratulations. >> you're unbelievable. >> thank you. >> congratulations the whole family because it takes a family to -- >> yeah, sure does. >> to create the environment for her to do so well. >> you're right. >> talk about defying the odds. what the doctors said and what you were able to do, you really showed everyone, didn't you? >> yes. >> how hard did you have to work to get where you are? >> really hard. people don't realize, like, what a struggle it really is. >> i bet. >> every day. >> every single day. and to watch you walk across the stage, mom, to watch her walk, must have been one of those moments where you just looked at your daughter and said, oh, my -- did you know that she had that in her? >> well, her initial prognosis was that she would never walk or talk, so for my daughter to walk

across the stage. >> yeah. >> to the cheers. >> and grab that diploma early. magna cum laude. >> kind of making us feel stupid. >> yeah. >> forget about that. >> what was it like with your twin sister? you gave such a helping hand to your sister throughout, throughout your high school years, didn't you? >> right. yeah. i think anyone in my situation would have done the same thing. i mean i was just doing, as her sister, what i needed to do to help her be as successful as she could be. >> i hate to ask the question, but did you graduate -- >> no. no. >> i mean it's the elephant in the room. >> you know what you're doing without even knowing, there are people at home struggling with things and when they watch you do that, they think if she can do that. >> right. >> i can do this. do you realize sort of the reach you have with your success? it's not just about you, is it? >> no. it's not. and that's like -- i mean, it's

awesome to just know all the people that i've touched. >> do people tell you? do you hear from people? >> oh, definitely. >> what do they say? >> they just tell me how awesome i am. >> i like that. >> everybody would like to hear that, right? >> well, there's a young woman in vancouver that is tweet with all the time and you're going to be a great blessing to her today. she struggles with the same thing you have. >> we just want to give you just a little something. it is from best buy, and it's a little gift card. it's going to help you with, you know, a little bit of things that you might need. a $500 gift card for things you might need after graduating high school and to move on with your life. just a little token from best buy. >> proud of you, sweetie. >> you guys are awesome. >> all the best to you, jordan, next year when you graduate. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> new summer page turner by author joanna philbin. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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beach this weekend looking for a fun read we've got just the summer page turner you'll want to pick up called "since last summer." >> it's the sixth novel, that's right, by author joanna philbin. if her name sounds familiar it should. she is the daughter of our good friends regis and joy. i'm so -- i feel like your crazy aunt. i'm just so proud of you, sweetie. >> we've known each other like for so long. >> yeah. i cut the umbilical cord. >> you were there. >> in the beginning. >> i know your mom and dad are insanely proud of you both, both you and jj, but tell us about this particular book. >> well this book is actually a follow-up to a book that came out last summer called "rules of summer" and they both take place in east hampton where i spent a

lot of time when i was growing up. >> sure did, yeah. >> it's about two girls who are very, very different from very different worlds, one of them is sort of the rich, privileged, beautiful, popular girl who's miserable. >> she met a surfer. i like she's miserable. >> she's miserable. >> and the other girl is the niece of the rich girl's family's house keeper and she's working for the family for the summer and she naive from a small town and very new to the east hampton world. >> you can identify more with the small town girl. >> as a matter of fact. >> how come? >> we moved here from los angeles when i was 10 years old and it took a long time to really get -- >> you guys did not want to move. >> we didn't want to move. we started getting into the -- this whole new york city world here and living uptown and i would go away with friends to east hampton and it was such a -- >> magical. >> magical and sort of casually

glamorous world of everyone had the right flip flops and the right beach cover-up. >> you capture that so well. what she didn't tell you the girl rory who worked in the house the summer before, now comes back as a guest the next summer because she's having a relationship way too young as far as i'm concerned, but with the son of the rich family. >> yes. and she -- >> seedy. >> really trying to fit into the east hampton world. >> in your life, you have a beautiful child. >> yes. >> when do you have time to write? >> oh, my god. >> this is annabell. she's 13 months old. >> oh, my gosh. >> that's me and annabell and her dad. >> her cheeks and everything. >> she -- i mean she's just adorable and i'm so in love with her. it's very hard to write, though. >> because you're both -- >> i want to play a game with you too. you both know regis. let's see who knows regis bet r better. >> i'm nervous.

>> which branch of the military did regis serve in, navy, army, marines or air force? >> navy. >> navy. >> i had forgotten. >> you didn't know. >> same as my dad. >> number two, what was regis' first album called? >> "it's time for regis". >> kathie lee got that. >> here is the tiebreaker. on his 2005 christmas album regis did a duet with -- >> with me. >> that was not the question. >> "rudolph the red nose reindeer" quit tony bennett, donald trump, kathie lee or mariah carey. don't look at each other. what's the answer, one choice. >> tony bennett. >> donald trump. >> you're right with donald trump. >> you know what you get? you get kathie lee and regis' cookbook. >> i still have this. >> never mind. >> tomorrow, rocker and actor mark mcgrath stops by. >> everyone has a story and this time it's a love story you will not believe. >> we're going to have ambush make-overs. it's all about thirsty thursday.

>> have an awesome wines day wednesday. >> you know what tomorrow is. >> i just

right now at 11:00, breaking news. flames rip through homes, forcing people out of a sunnyvale neighborhood. crews still dousing the fire at this hour, trying to save neighboring homes. good morning, thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> and siam kris sanchez. the flames started on lantana drive, about 90 minutes ago, just a few blocks away from lawrence expressway and the el camino real exchange. nbc bay area's michelle roberts is there with the latest. and michelle, you've watched neighbors try to save their homes, but at the very least, no one is injured at this point. >> yeah, that's the great news. so far, no injuries have been reported, although one of the homes that is currently still being engulfed in flames, they tell