inland. >> that is what's happening today in the bay. we are back with you live at 7:25 with more local news and an update on that traffic. good morning. breaking news, the strongest hurricane to ever sit mexico's baja peninsula hits landfall with winds of 125 miles per hour. thousands of tourists in cabo san lucas trapped by winds and heavy rain. how will that impact the u.s. southwest? al's tracking it. taking on isis, to fight the terror group days after the brutal execution of yet another hostage. will our allies put boots on the ground if we don't? should goodell go? women's groups launch a growing campaign for the resignation, this as he deals with domestic

violence scandals and ray rice gets set to appeal his indefinite suspension. there she is. >> it's a three-peat. >> the title of miss america goes to the empire state for the third year in a row. why people can't stop talking about the winner's talent monday, september 15th, 2014. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on monday morning. i'm matt lauer along with hoda ko kotb, al roker. >> hey. >> it's great. how are you? >> excellent. glad to be back. >> you were here last week with kathie lee. we've done this in the past

before >> she refused to come back. >> what i love is we do all of this preparation and we have note wees take. and this is what hoda prepares for the show. that is it right there. >> that's all you need. one piece. >> my favorite moment was somebody said frame up on hoda and one of our guys said hoda kotb? like we've got a bunch of them. >> the other one. >> we're happy to have you. also coming up in the next half hour we'll talk with greg norman injured in a chain saw accident. lucky he didn't lose his left hand. we'll talk to him, find out how he is doing. >> hurricane odile lashing the resort area with 125 miles per hour winds overnight. this could bring flash flooding. >> into the southwest especially. odile, category 3 storm. they never had one hit in cabo before so we're watching this.

let's look at some of the video. this is folks driving through heavy rain. you can see the winds pushing through. this is before the hurricane hit. then this is the next video we've got is from an nbc audio guy, this is some of his video showing the heavy surf as odile is getting ready to get closer. now there are 30,000 tourists in cabo right now. they are hunkering down in shelters. you're looking at some of this damage. they hunker down, they are pretty safe, however, we've gotten reports that there's a lot of damage and we're going to continue to track this. let's show you where we are right now. there are the folks in shelters. 164 shelters set up currently. right now 65 miles north-northwest of cabo san lucas, 115 miles per hour winds moving north-northwest as it does it hugs the coast. the closer it hugs the worse for the southwest in the united states. you can see it takes this curve

heading to the southwest where we've seen flooding from norbert. rainfall amounts generally six to 12 inches of rain, some areas could see 18 inches of rain. that's flash flooding. all this moisture making its way up into the southwest. we could look at from three to five inches of rain over the next 72 to six days. you can see 3 to 5 inches. that doesn't seem like a lot, in this area where we've already seen a lot of moisture from norbert there could be bad flash floods. >> al, thanks. your local forecast in a couple of minutes. the president's plan to take down isis. key allies join the fight. even as that terror group released a new video showing the brutal murder of a british hostage. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in istanbul, turkey. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. secretary kerry says dozens of nations are joining a coalition against isis but in many ways

bombing isis is the easy part. the hard question which is still unanswered is what happens next? the administration is building a war coalition. secretary kerry in paris today. he is sounding increasingly optimistic there is a broad consensus to take military action against isis. the administration plan is a three-pronged attack. build a coalition, strengthen the iraqi army and syrian rebels, then weaken isis with air strikes. isis doesn't seem concerned. in fact, it is goading the world into a fight releasing a video sunday of the beheading of a british aid worker david hayes. his brother michael honored his life. >> my first reaction could be one of hatred. my brother's life wasn't about hatred. it was about love for all men. >> reporter: ten arab countries pledged support for the u.s. attack plan and a state department official says some are willing to participate in

direct military action. the king of saudi arabia said isis if unchecked could attack the united states in months. some experts say the group's most effective weapons are its thousands of foreign fighters. >> with the army it's building inside of iraq and syria it can launch attacks not merely on neighboring countries like saudi arabia and jordan but international targets in europe and the united states. >> reporter: not everyone agrees bombing isis is the solution. isis is born of a much larger conflict between shia and sunni muslims, a conflict that u.s.-led air strikes won't resolve. >> this is not a problem of terrorism directed at the u.s., it's a problem of an arab world in total war for religious reasons. >> reporter: how much of a threat isis poses to the united states is disputed. so is its size. estimates range from 10 to 30,000. also disputed, the long term effectiveness of the

administration's plan. despite those unanswered questions as coalition is moving ahead, france said it has flown its first surveillance missions over syria. >> richard engel, thank you very much. >> nfl commissioner roger goodell remains in the hot seat facing more calls to resign as the league deal with a growing number of domestic violence cases. one group flew planes reading goodell must go. peter is here. good morning. >> good morning to you. citing muscle pell sources nbc sport reports that ray rice will appeal his indefinite suspension. there is another game set for tonight and the league is dealing with four high profile domestic abuse cases that are tarnishing the image of an image conscious game. >> he will kick off as the 49ers won the toss.

>> with the san francisco 49ers debuting a new billion dollar stadium sunday night. the team stood by ray mcdonald despite being arrested for allegedly beating his pregnant fiancee. he has not been charged with a crime. the nfl's embattled commissioner promised in 2012 he would attend the game but was a no show. nbc news check of the irs filings show the league rewarded goodell with $97 million from 2008-2012. $44 million in 2012 alone. this weekend a reversal by the carolina panthers who benched greg hardy. hardy didn't play but he still got paid $772,000. also out minnesota vikings star adrian peterson accused of

injury to a child while disciplining his son. his attorney defended him as a loving fat who deeply regrets unintentionally injuring his child. social media like this image after an ad by cover girl photo shopped on twitter knocking the brand's tag line get your game face on. ray rice who sparked this scandal showed up at his high school football game in suburban new york saturday accompanied by his wife and daughter. among the voices questioning the nfl's integrity in light of the video, espn's hannah storm. >> if the nfl and the ravens had the see that video to be moved to significant action then shouldn't the league demand the same to see action, to see change. before believing. >> the outrage has not received before tonight's game that women's group hired another plane to fly overhead with a banner reading goodell must go. they tell me they will fly more planes next weekend. >> peter, thanks so much. we're going to have more on the

adrian peterson case. >> let's turn to politics. hillary clinton returned to iowa sunday for the first time since the 2008 presidential campaign. she brought her husband along so a lot of people asking the question, is she going to make another white house bid? nbc's andrea mitchell was there and joins us. hi, andrea. >> good morning, matt. hillary clinton gave broad hints she is planning to run again. teasing a large crowd of iowa democrats in the first caucus state. >> hello, iowa. i'm back. >> returning to the state that many say dashed her white house hopes in 2008. hillary clinton came back for an iowa tradition, the harkin stack fry adding fuel to the speculation she will run again. >> it is true i am thinking about it. but -- but for today that is not

why i'm here. i'm here for the steak. >> last time clinton was trounced by a freshman senator named barack obama. >> let me tell you, he sure loves iowa. >> she didn't say she loves iowa. describing her third place finish in the state's caucuses as excruciating in her new book clinton needs to prove she can run a different kind of campaign. a former obama supporters like senator janice peterson. >> it needs to be more ground up. >> than top down. >> clinton organizers say they learned their lesson. bussing in volunteers from all over the country. >> where are you from? >> california. >> austin, texas. >> washington, d.c. >> clinton knows coming here will make it harder to turn back. >> feel good to be back out here? >> great. it was a great day. couldn't have been better. >> her husband is not making predictions. >> if she wants to can she do it this time?

>> i have nothing to say. it's not my decision. >> i think i know which way you would vote. >> no you don't. i don't know which way i would vote. >> so they say. bill clinton is not expected to make it official after the year knowing the political risk of being an early front-runner. >> andrea, nice to see you. >> let's turn to natalie. growing concern over wild fires in california. >> right. good morning. hundreds of people in california are waking up wondering if their home survived new wild fires spreading across the state. and a heat wave isn't making the job easier for firefighters. hally jackson is in silverado, california. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. firefighters here at camp received their morning briefing and are heading out to battle flames carrying heavy equipment with no shade in potentially triple-digit heat. it's the start of another long

day for crews here at the silverado fire and beyond. air drops came too late to save this burning building at the courtney fire in central california. but crews hope to keep the flames from spreading today, near one of the gateways to yosemite national park, about 1,000 people have been forced out of their homes here. >> what can you say. what can you do. i'm hoping it's there. i'm praying it's there. it's just too much. it would be too much of a heart to break to lose it. >> reporter: further north residents packed a shelter, just outside smoke billowed from the king fire southwest of tahoe. >> if you want to get out now is the time. >> reporter: flames are threatening 500 homes and torched 2500 acres so far. more than 50 fires are burning in the west right now with no relief in sight. a heat wave and devastating drought have crews battling blistering conditions. >> in the valley we have 100-degree temperatures. >> reporter: the heat smothering

the region is making it already dangerous job more difficult. >> what's it like to be in these conditions carrying all of this stuff? >> it's like super hot. the hottest place you've been in and then add another 10, 20 degrees to it. you think you can go faster you're slowing down. >> reporter: there's a concern the wind could pick up today in parts of california. for the heat, firefighters here tell me they are trying to drink plenty of water and take as many breaks as possible but with wild fire season in full swing, crews here still have weeks to go. natalie. >> seems like it's been in full swing all summer long. >> a man hunt is under way for the person who shot two state troopers in pennsylvania friday, killing one and critically wounding the other. police say someone opened fire on the two men outside the barracks in blooming grove during a shift change. troopers set up a check point on sunday, stopping drivers in the search.

they also spent part of the day scouring woods. >> they say good things come in threes. >> it's a three-peat. miss new york. >> for the third year in a row miss new york taking the crown in the miss america competition. kira kazantsev received the crown sunday night. in the talent competition she sang "happy" sitting on the stage banging a red plastic cup. you know that routine. snet when i'm gone." >> a whole different thing. break up new york. how about that. a dynasty. >> amazing. three in a row. >> natalie, thank you. mr. roker. >> let's show you what we have going on around the rest of the country today. look for wet weather to the southeast. gorgeous in new england and the northeast. the heat continues, we're going

to detail the heat in the southwest and southern california as well. look at all the way into portland oregon, a high of 94 degrees. we'll get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. we have some low clouds to start the morning off. to the north bay today, highs in the low 80s. mid 80s closer to polileasanton

where we'll see these temperatures throughout the week and then a chance to see stray showers. the numbers warming as high pressure builds in approaching next weekend. weather.3 f2 tiempo. >> thanks so much. carson's here from the orange room. you have information on that photograph from 9/11. >> have you heard the story. touching story about a photo making quite an impression online. elizabeth stringer keith, her friends found this picture at ground zero, gave it to elizabeth, said do something meaningful with it. the past few years every september 11 she has been posting it and writing this. i northeast photo hoping to return to owner found at ground zero world trade center. for the past years maybe she got a couple of comments, retweets, finally this year it went viral and after a day and a half got the return message she has been looking for. i know the people in the picture. i was at that wedding.

there's fred, the one on the far left. and he goes on to say it is my picture that was at my desk on the 77th floor tower 2. the picture has been kept safe for the last 13 years. people were following this on twitter. fred didn't go to work that day and confirmed everybody in the photo is alive and well. it was a moving story online that katelynn writes in, so very touched. it's unbelievable what humanity is capable of once we have come together as one. >> love it. >> social media too. how much that caught fire. >> good side of social media. thank you. coming up, golfing legend greg norman recovering from a chain saw accident that could have cost him his left hand. >> plus, a star claiming she was accosted by police and detained for showing her husband affection. first, this is "today" on nbc.

her husband affection. first this is "today" on nbc.

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i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. good morning. 7:26 on your monday. an update to breaking news. some lanes of 880 are both back open after a fiery crash involving a big rig. stephanie chuang has been on this story since it broke. steph, some good news for drivers now. >> reporter: chp reopened a second lane on northbound 880. it is crawling through. southbound lanes all open except for one. we understand it started after 3:00. unclear what started the chain reaction but a big rig crashed

through the central divide, ended up in the northbound lane. the driver is at a local hospital. nine injured in all, three critically. two lanes reopened northbound, all but one southbound and everything should be open around 9:30 this morning. >> and now from standstill to a crawl, right, mike? >> it is an improvement. we see the chopper shot just a few feet north of where stephanie is. they reopened the two lanes northbound. just two of your middle lans. and that fire cleared from the area. that will be a while more, maybe another hour we're looking at, maybe more. oakland 830s sourt done, 92

around the san mateo bridge caused a new crash. other than that, relatively light. >> and the sea breeze keeping temperatures in the upper 60s around san francisco, low 80s around the north bay, mid 80s through the tri-valley today and even a slight chance of a few showers, especially in the north bay for thursday. >> so 880 coming back to life. we'll see you again in 25 minutes.

. 7:30 now on a 7:30 on a monday morning. there is the sun just coming up in indianapolis. pretty day hopefully on tap there and where you are as well. i'm matt lauer along with hoda kotb, al roker. >> what's making headlinings, hurricane odile made landfall overnight with sustained winds of more than 125 miles an hour. coastal areas were evacuated ahead of the storm and could bring torrential rain to parts of california, arizona and new mexico later on this week. >> new wild fires are raging out of control in california. in all more than 530 homes were evacuated over the weekend including 400 near the resort

town of bass lake. >> hillary clinton is stirring speculation she will run for the white house. during an appearance in iowa over the weekend. clinton said she was thinking about it. >> coming up, damaged but not down and out how golfer greg norman describes his current state after he almost cut off his hand. we'll talk to greg and how this happened. >> prince harry is turning 30. we're going to tell you how he marked the occasion and even better, the massive inheritance he is entitled to. it's good to be the prince. >> cha-ching. cha-ching. let's begin this half hour with a troubling complaint against the los angeles police department from an actress who appeared in the movie "django unchained." >> daniel watts claim that an officer mistook her for a prostitute when she was actually with her boyfriend.

this morning an investigation is under way but new audio may reveal that there is more to the story. actress danielle watson handcuffed and in tears after police say they were responding to an indecent exposure call on thursday afternoon. watts who had a role in "django unchained" wrote "i was handcuffed and detained by two police officers after refusing to agree that i had done something wrong by showing affection fully clothed in a public place." officials told nbc news that a caller complained that a male and female were engaged in a sexual act with an open door. when police arrived, they located watts and her boyfriend, brian lucas, who they say matched the description. while lucas complied with officers and provided identification, watts refused to show her i.d. and walked away. that's when the couple said

officers stopped and cuffed her. overnight tmz posted video unverified of the incident. >> somebody called, which means it gives me the right to be here. gives me the right to identify you. >> do you know how many times i've been called, the cops have been called just for being -- >> who brought up the race card? i said nothing about you being -- >> i have every right to say no. >> the police if they have reasonable suspicion that that person committed a crime could detain that person until they could discover the person's name and identifying information. so, it's a difference between an arrest and detaining someone. >> no arrest was made in this case and police said that upon further investigation it was determined that no crime had been committed. an internal investigation has been launched into this incident. hoda and matt? >> all right, ann, thank you very much. let's take the turn now and get a check of the weather now from al.

>> today's weather is brought to you by white house black market and whbm.com, distinctive style. >> well, not only wildfires to worry about in california, we have record heat that's potentially going to be building big massive area of high pressure and excessive heat watches and warnings for much of southern california today. in fact, look at this, los angeles going to see a high of 94, that's 12 degrees above average and san diego at 92. that heat continues and it doesn't really cool off and as we move on into wednesday, more heat, lower humidity. so, fire danger going to be a big problem. we're going to continue to watch this situation. that's . the heat in southern california makes you appreciate the fog and the sea breeze across parts of the bay area this morning. low clouds in san francisco, temperatures in the 50s and 60s

as we head toward the afternoon. near 80 in san jose and toward the tri-valley, temperatures staying in the mid 80s, the trend toward the middle part of the week staying fairly cool, a slight chance of showers in the north bay on thursday, warmer for the weekend. . thanks so much. now to more on another troubling case involving an nfl star. minnesota runnings back adrian peterson is out on bail in the wake of child abuse charges. he is accused of using a switch on his young son. craig melvin has the latest on that. >> adrian peterson one of the most proliffic players in the nfl and law enforcement officials say in texas he beat his 4-year-old son with part of a tree branch and now faces charges of injury to a child and reckless and criminal neglect, allegations that are restarting an old debate over corpal

punishment. according to law enforcement, adrian peterson's 4-year-old son was left with cut and bruises on his back, buttocks, ankles. peterson admits to using a switch or tree branch to administer what is called a whooping. what his attorney called in a statement the same kind of discipline that peterson experienced himself as a child in east texas. adding, it is important to remember that adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury. >> i'm from the south. whipping, we do that all the time. every parent in the south is going to be in jail under those circumstances. >> reporter: prompted reaction on both sides of the debate. from forther a former athletes. >> my mom did the best she could, but she was wrong about some of the stuff she did. you can't beat a kid to make them do what they want to do. >> reporter: and from fans like this one who replaced peterson's name on his jersey with a child abuse hotline number. >> there are residual effects in

which the ways we were raised and we tend, in a cultural fashion, to gravitate to that which was familiar to us. >> reporter: in 19 states it's actually still legal for teachers and principals to paddle students with much of the divide falling along geographic lines. in a ever state, it's legal to hit a child, as long as the force is reasonable. but what qualifies as reasonable varies from place to place and even murkier is the difference between discipline and abuse. >> the lesson shouldn't be based out of fear, but should be based out of respect. >> again rb i, it's important te that peterson admits he did nothing wrong. depending on race and culture, geography, as we just saw there. but i remember the folks that we talked to, you look at the charges here. if these charges are accurate, it's hard to see how this would be considered discipline. >> look at the photos. >> look at what charles barkley said about sort of blanketing

african-american southern parents. >> you leave marks and break the skin on a 4-year-old. >> that goes beyond corporal punishment. >> acknowledged that he may have gone too far. >> all right, thanks a lot. coming up on trending, was it a mistake or intentional. the popular retailer facing a backlash after this vintage kent state sweatshirt. a close call with a chain saw over the weekend that nearly cost greg n nearly cost golfer greg norman his hand. he will tell us about it in a live interview right after this. . no mirrors. everyday they wash with dove beauty bar but can only feel what's happening. on the seventh day beautiful skin is revealed. dove is different. with one quarter moisturizing cream it helps skin feel more firm and elastic.

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those unlimited breadsticks. kristen dahlgren is outside olive garden here in manhattan. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. who knew there was such a thing as too many bread stisticks, ri? this major investor in olive garden thinks so, the investor group ripped into the company for everything from soggy salads to tasteless pasta, unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. >> reporter: olive garden may be known for never-ending salad and all you can eat breadsticks. >> it's delicious. the food is really good. >> reporter: a major investor says what the restaurants really has are endless problems. a hedge fund, starboard value, now trying to take over for its parent company lays out its criticism in a 300-page manifesto. it calls the salad over dressed and often wasted. it compares the breadsticks to hot dog buns, saying servers dole out too many that are never

eaten. it claims not enough alcohol is served to push profits and in what would be a dangerous insult to hurl at most italian cooks, it calls the pasta mushy and unappealing. >> an italian restaurant when they say your pasta is terrible, they might as well say we're not even italian. >> reporter: darden restaurants, which owns olive garden along with other chains, like longhorn steakhouse and capital grill say it will carefully review its menu and many of the brand and cost optimization statgys are will be being implemented. darden told investors it was getting back to basics and urged them to vote against starboard's takeover bid. outside olive garden, the chain still has some customers with unlimited loyalty. >> the pasta dishes, all of it is really good. >> the overall experience at olive garden was a plus. and i'm an english teacher, so i know my grades.

>> reporter: the question really is, do they have enough of those loyal customers? shareholders vote is next month to see which side will control the board and, matt, what will happen to those unlimited breadstick. >> kristen, thank you very much. unscientific survey here at the desk -- >> we like the breadstick. >> love them. >> warm, delicious and garlicky. >> and in a pinch you can use them to entertain the kids and make lincoln logs. >> there were so many. coming up, could we be any happier? "friends" turns 20, complete with the real-life central perk. we'll take you inside for a sneak peek. and celebratie ining two medium cappuccinos! let's show 'em what a breakfast with whole grain fiber can do. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. make one a double. she's full and focused. [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte,

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7:48. we're back with a very frightening moment over the weekend for hall of fame golfer greg norman. he is recovering from surgery after injuring his left hand after working with a chainsaw. we'll talk to greg in a few minutes. first a closer look at what happened. greg norman, seen in a picture he posted days ago was cutting trees at his south florida home when he says he was cut by the chainsaw he was using, barely missing an artery. on saturday, norman posted this photo on instagram, seen recovering from the hospital with a message, always be respectful of the unexpected. i was one lucky man today. damaged, but not down and out. still have left hand. norman is one of golf's most recognizable figures. in 2001, he was inducted into the world golf hall of fame and

he often dominated the sport in the '80s and early '90s. despite the accident, his sense of humor is shown intact. seen with protective covering all over his bandaged left handwriting thank you for all your concern and good wishes and continuing. at least i can still play tennis. greg is on the phone with us now. greg, how are you doing? >> hey, good morning, matt. pretty good, my friend. pretty good. yeah, an interesting saturday afternoon, to say the least. >> yeah. i mean, you were using this chainsaw, you described it to me on the phone yesterday. you went to grab a limb with with your left hand but the blade or the chain was still running and you were holding it in your right hand. what happened? >> exactly. i was just about finished trimming the trees. i love doing it. i do awe a lot of chainsawing at my ranch in colorado. ta's not like i'm a rookie with this thing but it started to fall straight down instead of falling away from me and i went to grab the limb with my left hand and i took my chainsaw in

my right hand, took my finger off the trigger. the weight of the limb was heavier than i anticipated, so as i was pulling the chainsaw away, the limb came, took my arm right down on top of the blade and i could feel it just crunch on threw and said oh, this is not a good situation. >> this hit you like where your watch -- that part of your arm? >> yeah, exactly. just about where you would have your watch on your left hand. i was very, very lucky, you know. number one, the blade was slowing down. number two, i missed my main artery and tendon by micromillimeters. my first phone call is to my wife, kiki, get a towel and tourniquet and meet me in the backyard. she said what's wrong? i said nothing. then i called my son and said get here and get me to the hospital. and i called my doctor friend, call the e.r., i'm going to be there in 15 minutes. i just had a chainsaw accident.

>> they patched you up. greg, you told me something interesting. while you were ready to do this, get the saw and gas and oil, you had a premonition about this? >> i did, matt. it was actually very, very scary. not scary, i suppose, but spooky in a way. i was putting my chainsaw on the back of my cart to go down there and do it and this feeling came over me and said something bad is going to happen. and i paused and i said, no, you know what? let's just take our time. i'm a very positive guy. so i said, no, let's just play out through this. lo and behold, moral of the story is trust your premonition. if i ever have that feeling again, i'm not going to be doing what i'm supposed to be doing. >> i guess i don't get strokes on the golf course anymore, but heal well and we'll talk to you soon, okay? >> thanks, matt. >> take care. >> ♪

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you're watching "today in the bay." good morning, i'm sam brock with an upday now the. a story we've brought to you all morning long. intersaturday -- interstate 880 in san leandro, self lanes are open now. several hours ago all lanes if both directions were closed for hours this morning. traffic backed up and snarled. it all started when an suv t-boned a big rig, causing that truck to crash into the divider. at least two helicopters had to land on the interstation to take

the victims to local hospitals. nine were injured and three of them critically. we'll bring you updates as soon as we get them 37. >> i have a piece of video that looked very much like what happened earlier today. let me just take you, northbound we have three of the five lanes open now. look how jammed you are through san mateo. and the traffic shows you the traffic is jammed weekend. what do you have? >> we have low clouds and to the north bay we'll see highs in the low 80s. mid 80s toward the tri-valley.

sam? >> we'll have an update for you in 25 minutes. see you then. shopping a new way. start maximizing at the place where you always get more than you pay for. t.j.maxx. brands you love, prices that work for you. you deserve it. maxx life at t.j.maxx.

♪ it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, making sense of it all. >> i need to do everything i can to make up for my loss. it was like a way of fighting back. >> the young woman living life stronger than ever despite her daily battle to keep her sight and hearing. still friends, we celebrate 20 years of that hit sitcom with a fresh take on a familiar place. and this girl is on fire. ♪ this girl is on fire >> grammy winner alicia keys is here to talk motherhood, music and to perform live "today," monday, september 15th, 2014.

♪ >> visiting from mississippi. >> hi, hoda. so excited you're co-hosting today. all i want to do is have a glass of wine with you. >> our 2-year-old back in georgia. >> sisters-in-laws having fun. >> it's my 13th birthday! we're back now, 8:00 on a monday morning. it's the 15th day of september, 2014. i'm matt lauer, alongside hoda kotb, who is here, while savannah continues on maternity leave. we're joined by carson daly and al roker as well. happy monday, everybody. >> bright and early with you guys. getting the hang of it. >> none the worse for wear.

you wake up early, come into the studio and one of the things you get to see is alicia keys rehearsing before a performance. out here on the plaza right now, shaking hands with some friends. >> selfies. >> giving a lot of hugs. she's due pretty soon, huh? >> besides everything else, she's here to celebrate the first anniversary of the orange room. >> we're going to blow it out tomorrow, stream live on today.com a big one-year anniversary orange room party tomorrow. take the cameras behind the scenes. you can vote on the concepts for the show. go to today.com and choose that. it's going to be awesome. we'll have musical surprise guests, webcast going on. join in on the celebration. send pictures if you're inspired by orange using the #orange all that and more on "today" tomorrow.

>> any more hints? >> food. >> sold millions. >> by the way, my favorite orange room moment was go sleeveless and show us the guns. >> yeah. >> love that. let's head inside and get the top stories from natalie. >> good morning to you guys once again. thousands of tourists took cover overnight as the strongest hurricane to ever hit mexico's baja peninsula made rainfall, hurricane odile came on shore with 125-mile-an-hour winds. tourists spend the night in emergency shelters. it could bring heavy rain and flooding to the american southwest. stopping isis is gaining new momentum this morning. secretary kerry is in paris, where they are plotting a unified strategy. surveillance flights. stoked further outrage by releasing video of british aid worker david haines.

the king of saudi arabia warned that isis could attack the u.s. in a matter of months if not stopped. pressure is growing on nfl commissioner roger goodell. he was a no-show sunday night in san francisco, even though he promised two years ago to attend the opening game at the 49ers new stadium. and a women's advocacy group hired planes to fly over stadiums before several games with anti-goodell banners. mean meantime, ray rice, suspended indefinitely, only after incriminating video has surfaced, is planning to appeal his video today. britain's prince harry marking a milestone today, his 30th birthday. where has time gone? kelly cobiella is at kensington palace to show us how the fourth in line is celebrating. good morning. >> reporter: big, lavish dinner parties for harry's 30th, but the truth is harry was playing host to athletes and rock stars.

this is how a royal rings in his 30s. >> special thank you to prince harry for putting this together. good job. >> reporter: concert for thousands and a speech. >> i just want to read a short message from granny. >> reporter: a message from the queen to 400 wounded warriors invited here to compete. it was prince harry's idea, a huge success, and the start of a legacy. >> but, no, i don't feel too old. i think i'm always young at heart. >> the little prince, once known as the spare to the heir, the boy mourning his mother, the teen making headlines for all the wrong reasons. today a prince hosting charities. >> prince william and sister-in-law kate planned a birthday bash but it was harry

who called it off. >> i'm sure he partied with rock stars last night. that's more harry. >> reporter: what does the most eligible bachelor in the world want? >> i think he has been look at his brother's setup now and thinking that could be quite nice. i'm 30 now. i wouldn't mind settling down. >> reporter: the prince perhaps this year wishing for his princess. harry inherits more than $15 million from his mother's estate today. and there's talk that he would also like a country cottage and a dog. natalie? >> all right. whatever prince harry wants, he can get. kelly cobiella, thank you, at kensington palace. another check of the weather once again with al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by jimmy dean. it's not just for breakfast anymore. shine on. i smell -- i smell pringles! somebody's got pringles from

racine, wisconsin. oh, yeah. what kind is this? >> wisconsin with cranberries. >> have you ever seen a kringle, folks? i'm here to tell you, it's just the best thing going. >> let me help you out. >> it's the kringle, baby! like the cracken, only tastes much better. oh, it's a cringle. odile, 40 miles west of la paz. it is going to make its way up along the california big is your as we watch this thing make its way inland. a lot of wet weather into the southwest. in fact, between now and friday, we could see up to three to six inches of rain. a lot of it within a few hours. we are watching for flash flooding. the rest of the country today, look for rain in the southeast. beautiful day here in the northeast and new england. plenty of sunshine.

86 in seattle today. 94 in portland. the cringle. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's h san jose right now, overcast skies, some patches of low clouds into the santa clara valley. we'll see temperatures later on close to 80 in san jose. mid-80s south of downtown. mostly the 60s to near 70 closer to san francisco today. low 70s near oakland. and for the north bay, highs in the low 80s. mid-80s for the tri-valley, and the temperature trend through about thursday, slight chance of seeing some showers, too, especially the north bay on thursday and then skies clear into friday and temperatures warm up again heading into next weekend. and that's your latest weather. we are planning for spectacular weather sunday, september 21st for the boston marathon's jimmy fund walk. >> friends from the jimmy fund

right over there. >> posse. >> yeah. >> they're a lot of fun. up next on trending, from reservations bringing your kids thing to things you probably shouldn't do at a restaurant. can you believe it's been 20 years since "friends" took us by storm? we'll head inside the central perk and see why the tv phenomenon remains as popular as ever? >> jada a chico's jacket makes a statement -- your statement. fabulous. glamorous.

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are missing out on the milgood things in milk.icans but your small donation will get milk to their local food banks. you'll fill glasses with milk and hearts with hope. donate now at milklife.com/give sweets become salaries. an oven heats up a community la cocina, a small kitchen that kick-starts the careers of 41 entrepreneurs. they bring the talent. we help fund the tools. it's a small way we help that's been huge for the community.

little by little we can do a lot. because... small is huge. visit www.wellsfargo.com to see how big small can be. my son is going to wash the family prius. he insisted on using the rain to save water. fourteen years ago, i insisted on buying our first prius. because like toyota, we both know there's a way to do things, and a way to do things even better. the prius. toyota, let's go places. we're back with 8:12 that's trending today. urban outfitters is causing a stir with a new clothing item. according to the urban outfitters website this morning,

the now sold-out shirt is a vintage kent state sweatshirt with red splotches that are reminiscent of blood stains. it seems to be in very poor taste, considering the four college students that were killed on the kent state campus on may 4th, 1970, during protests of the vietnam war. >> and this is not the first time urban outfitters have faced backlash with a clothing item, including a depression shirt later pulled from shelves. we reached out for comment but haven't heard back. it's so horrible. you might think some of the kids buying don't remember kent state, they don't remember -- >> they didn't know anything. no link between the two events. >> right. >> they shouldn't have the opportunity because it shouldn't be on the shelves. whoever looked at this -- >> here is a great idea. let's do that. >> no. >> not a good one. we put the kids to bed, get back to work as usual. >> does candy crush count as

work? >> in your case, yes. that's research. good news is that that may not be such a bad thing. if you have the choice and decided to logon to make for maybe an easier day tomorrow, your work/life balance may be less impacted. some employees may use these late-night log ins with a trade-off to leave early and finish up that project a little later on that night. however, be warned. looking at e-mail without saying before you go to bed can keep you up later because of the glow of the life but also it gets you going, gets your brain going. >> sometimes i'll be lying in bed and hear the iphone buzz and it's different than deliberately logging on. i'll reach over, say maybe it's important. >> but you're in a unique position. >> always have to kind of be on. >> i figure they'll call if it's really important but to hear a buzzing iphone, you pick it up and then you're done. >> a rule on our show is we don't read anything.

>> hasn't hurt you. >> so, you go to a restaurant. bon apetite is out with a list of what not to do at a restaurant. first of all, don't be late. call ahead. you may wouldn't to lie, it's harmless. you're not fooling everybody, because everybody else got there on time. i guess traffic wasn't a problem for them. don't wear out the welcome. if you're sit tlg an hour after you finish your meal and your server comes in packajamas, you know that you probably have been there a little bit too long. it's time to get up and take the party to another location. >> you know you've been there too long when the waiter comes over and tries to do the table cloth trick. >> get out. >> think twice about bringing your -- i did this last night. just because a baby is allowed in restaurants doesn't necessarily mean you should bring them. if you do, give them a courtesy call and say, hey, we're bringing our baby. they said could you put that

baby a little further under the table? this is a high-traffic area right here. >> safety tip. >> this one is for you, hoda. don't get intoxicate zblud know what? that was unnecessary. >> tell kathie lee, know your limit. the tequila shots, save those for the dive bar. >> that's not true either. hoda comes drunk to begin with. >> you know what? >> you have two weeks of this. >> all right. and that is what's trending today. meantime, can you believe it's been 20 years since "friends" debuted here on nbc? lifestyle and fitness correspondent, first day at school, jenna wolfe, has made her way to a place that fans of the show will recognize. what are you brewing up? >> oh, hey, good morning, hoda. i'm just going to play a little diddy for you this morning. it's cold here in new york. i thought i would warm you up. it's a complicated song. so bear with me. here we go. ♪ smelly cat smelly cat what are they feeding you ♪ >> perfect.

perfect. >> here is the -- thank you. thank you very much. that took all morning to rehearse. we are at central perk. it's a corner coffee shop for six 20 somethings in the late '90s who had so-so jobs but lived in amazing apartments. we'll figure that one out later. it's a replica of central perk. if you were a fan of the show "friends," this is a place to come to. props, memorabilia, scenes on the wall, pictures, everything to relive the show. next month starting wednesday, these guys will be giving away free coffee to celebrate the 20th anniversary -- thanks, gunther, of one of the most popular shows of all time. it all started here, six friends, a runaway bride and a cup of joe. >> can i get you some coffee? >> decaf. >> friends, the sitcom that dominated and helped define the '90s. for a decade, we lived with

rachel, ross, chandler, phoebe, monica and joey, as they sang -- ♪ i don't need your charity thank you. >> joked. >> could i be more sorry? >> and joey'd. >> how you doin'? >> how you doin'? >> their way into pop culture history. central to their world? the coffee-scented cocoon of central perk. >> i know! >> the hang out with the orange couch. of course, guchlt nther. >> so i guess rachel had your baby. >> yep. can you believe it? >> nope. >> it's been ten years since "friends" said farewell, but it still strikes a chord in popular culture. >> what is this? what is this? >> this is an exact replica of the kitchen. >> even though they all moved on to other things. >> i can't believe i'm going to be 41 on saturday. >> how can they do this? you're joey. >> right? >> i'm telling you, this could

be the san diego zoo. >> we all remember where they started. >> would anybody like more coffee? >> of course we would. >> so, if today, but some chance, if this isn't your day, your month or even your year, this is the place to be, right here at central perk. i am joined by gunther. believe it or not, that's not his name in real life. james, thanks for being here. you can talk now. >> okay. thanks for having me. >> i know you didn't say that much in the ten years. does this bring back memories for you? >> surreal. it looks pretty close. it's bigger than our set. >> bigger? >> yes. >> that's interesting. >> i want you to take a walk over here with me. i heard an interesting story. you only had an opportunity to sit on this iconic orange couch one time, is that right? >> yeah. it was an episode where -- >> have a seat. >> -- phoebe had a cold. so, she had a really raspy voice

and wanted her sexy voice back. she lost her cold but gunther caught her cold. she recaught her cold by kissing gunther on this couch. >> highlight for you? >> it actually was. >> i'm sure it was. were these guys friends on the air and off the air as well? >> they were, a tight-knit group. >> you had a good time with these guys? >> fantastic. ten unforgettable years. >> that's so great. so glad to have you here. for the next month, gunther will be here at some point. you can come down to central perk, relive this entire experience. >> our bowl of coffee here. >> i have a fly doing the backstroke in here. >> we should donate our orange couch to that place. up from our extended family. we're back in 15 seconds. family

time to go back to peter alexander. a two-fer from peter today. he has a personal and inspiring story to share. >> i'm so proud to share my sister's story today, one of the funniest and most caring people you will ever meet. she's also my best friend. her world is rapidly changing because of a cruel disorder that's causing her to go blind and deaf. to me, becky is the true face of courage. >> don't stop, rebecca. let's go. >> this is my sister, rebecca, 35 now and the most impressive person i know. >> faster. >> reporter: looking at her, you would have no idea she has a disability. >> can you see my hands right here? >> yeah. >> can you see my hands right here? >> no. >> when becky was only 13, she was diagnosed with a rare and devastating genetic disorder called usher syndrome type

three. >> it finally hit you in college, i'm going to lose my vision and hearing, go blind and deaf. what does learning that feel like? >> i felt like as soon as i got that diagnosis, well, i need to do everything i can to make up for my loss. it was like my way of fighting back. >> becky is fearless. a tornado of energy. she is an extreme athlete, leaving the rest of us in her dust. >> pick up your speed! >> with her hearing almost gone, last year becky received a cochlear implant, surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound. >> your outfit is so much cuter than mine. >> only becky passes the time before major surgery like this. i came to see her the day before she got the implant. as you like to joke to me, i'm getting a hole in my head. as i come to terms with this, even as a brother, this is the last time i'll ever look at you without a device on you. do you know what i mean? >> yeah. >> which for me is hard, too. >> yeah.

>> does that worry you, in the way people will view you? i'm sorry i'm crying. i love you so much. >> it's nice to know that the people around you do care and have an emotional response to it. >> now a year and a half later, becky hears much better but her vision is limited to this like she's looking through a straw and that window is closing. still, my sister remains upbeat and undeterred. >> it's incredible how in the last, you know, 15 years, how much my life has changed. and it's actually better. i mean, it's funny that i could have a lot less vision and a lot less hearing and be a lot happier. >> and rebecca alexander is with us now. her story is told in the new book "not fade away: a memoir of senses lost and found." peter, good morning to you again. becky, good morning. you said i'm happier now than i was before i got this diagnosis. and i think a lot of people watching say how can that be so?

why are you happier now? >> i think when i first got this diagnosis, i was incredibly overwhelmed with the idea of going deaf and blind. and it was all i could think about. and it made me not want to live my life. and, you know, in hopes of not sounding dramatic, i thought i would rather die than be deaf and blind. now in coming to terms with what i have, and being out there and being so much more comfortable with myself, it's made a world of a difference. and i think that more importantly, we focus on so much on all the things we don't have rather than what we do have. and to be so grateful for what i do have now and what i still can use. >> i'm sitting here, listening to you and i'm thinking amy van dyke, who i talked to a few months ago, there are people who find a way to inspire others despite the challenges they are facing. peter, not to embarrass your sister because she's sitting right here, is it in the dna, is there something in her childhood that prepared her for this?

what do you think? >> i'm glad it's becky, not me. i don't think i could deal with it. she is beyond impressive. she's blessed to have family that loves her, friends that embrace her. beyond that, the message she has taught us and that i've been inspired by, the people in the community that may feel alone and she's taught them they are not alone and others share those challenges. >> socially, in terms of a social life, you're single. when it comes to dating, is it hard to explain to someone you might want to date or who might want to date you that you do have this challenge facing you? >> you know, there's good things and bad things of social media and the internet. now, as soon as someone knows my first and last name they can google me. the first thing that comes up is deaf, blind. if we make it past that round i probably have a better chance of moving further with it. but, yeah, who wants to have all of their kind of, you know, stuff out there? and we all have something. >> let's be very clear. it's not a question of you moving past the next round. if anybody gets my sister first they have to get through some family members.

>> you have a pretty strong wing man over here. >> they will be playing way out of their range. >> the book is " good morning to you. it's 8:26. the flames are now out after an early morning playground fire. it's a fire that started at hill view park at the intersection near capital expressway. fire crews finished mopping up within the last hour or so. right now, the extent of the damage is unclear. but the cause of the fire is still under investigation. meanwhile, another big traffic snarl, a big accident on highway 880. let's go to mike with the latest on that. >> we'll take you over here. first, i want to show you the big crash on the peninsula and we'll give you the update. 101 northbound, there's a big

crash going on. not a big crash, a big slowdown. a dog reported running around the freeway. first on the southbound, then on the northbound side. there was an earlier crash just north of the area in toward menlo park, as well, causing more traffic jamming up, adding to the congestion coming off the dunbarton bridge. after an earlier north at hillsdale, as well. from the oakland side where we had a big backup, again, as chris talked about northbound, still had two lanes blocked, north 880 at washington. a residual from the early morning crash continues there, chris. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. more local news coming up for you in half an hour.

♪ ♪ let's talk about your love israel let's talk nigeria and the mass h hysteria ♪ >> that's a nice image, alicia keys and jada pinkett smith. we get to talk to both of those extremely talented ladies "today," monday, september 15th,

2014. natalie morales, hoda kotb, carson daly and al roker. >> new york before there was batman before there was cat woman before the riddler, the joker. she plays a sneaky, evil character in "gotham." i'll talk to her in a bit. >> alicia keys who has won 15 gr grammys. we'll get a performance from alicia. >> such a great message behind it. she'll tell us how she came up with it. the best of beauty products for under, get this, 30 bucks. >> linda wells there. first, mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> first of all for today, we've got a lot of wet weather through the southeast, gulf coast, rain in the upper great lakes, western third of the country going to be very toasty. exception being san francisco. tomorrow, we're going to be watching remnants of odile

making its way toward the southwest. the heat continues in southern california. 94 in l.a. cooling down a bit, the pacific northwest. looking at a few scattered showers some low clouds around for this morning. kind of a mild start to the week ahead. those temperatures will hold steady probably through the middle part of the week with the upper 60s out toward san francisco. and 80s closer to saratoga and los gatos. we'll see those numbers warming for the second half of the week as the high pressure begins to build in. highs today in the north bay. mid-80s out toward the tri-valley. and the interesting part of the forecast toward thursday, slight chance of seeing a few showers, especially for the north bay. and seeing those temperatures warming up as we finish the week. that's your latest weather. got north dakota sisters over there! all right. now let's go back inside.

>> announcer: small acts, big impact on "today" is brought to you by wells fargo. together, we'll go far. al, thanks so much. guys, quickly, do you know somebody who is helping to make their community better, somebody who does volunteer work at their local hospital or help out the neighbors in time of need or goes above and beyond to help out others? if you do, we want to hear about it. nominate them for our small alcohols, big impact contest sponsored by wells fargo. submit your nominee. you have until thursday. your generous friend could win a trip here to new york to tell their story on the plaza. hoda? >> all right, carson, thanks so much. jada pinkett smith co-stars in one of the most anticipated shows of the fall season. it's a batman prequel and it's called "gotham." take a look. >> where have you been? >> where haven't i been?

>> who is the friend? >> detective james gordon, ma'am. >> well, aren't you a cool glass of milk? >> ma'am, was that screaming we heard back there? >> yes. my boys are watching a scary movie. >> really? >> no. actually, one of my staff has been stealing money from me, so we're beating his punk [ bleep ]. >> hello. jada pinkett smith, good morning, girl. >> good morning. >> we've got to set the stage. first of all, i'm terrified of your character. >> good. >> she is scary but she's also a seductress. >> yes. >> you can't figure out whether she's going to devour you. >> devour you. >> kill you, love you. >> exactly. >> tell us about your character in this. >> she's part of the mob world of gotham which really hasn't been explored yet. you'll get to see how all the mob bosses kind of work together during this time of gotham. >> this is before there was batman? >> this is before.

>> before the riddler, the joker, all of them. >> this is the beginning. this is the origin of how batman came to be, the joker, riddler and catwoman came to be. >> your character, tell us a little bit about her. who did you take from to come up with this woman? >> you know, it's interesting. i did a combination of griselle deblanco, pretty notorious female gangster. she was pretty bad in a, you know, gangster way and norman desmond from "sunset boulevard." >> that's a good combo. >> yeah. >> you look like you're having fun playing this role. >> i'm having a blast. i am having so much fun i get paid to play evil. that's awesome. >> were you always into batman and that whole genre before this? >> yes. always. always loved batman. the thing i love about this particular project, i've always

been intrigued with with gotham, right? even as a fan to come on board and get to know more about gotham and how gotham came to be and about the city itself, i was really excited about it. >> what about the red in the hair, where did that -- >> that's just her signature. >> little style? >> it's red with -- it's usually pretty spiky. it was just to remind you, you know, what these nails can do. >> having a flashback from the show. you're so hot and fashionable. i saw you a little bit at fashion week. >> yes. >> that was so much fun. you went with your mom, whose also a looker. >> thank you. >> your mom is gorgeous. we might have a picture of the two of you. that was us before. that was a great show. >> there's my mommy. >> who is that? >> that's my mommy. >> no, it's not. may i ask how old your mom is or she doesn't like you to say? >> she's 60. >> she looks -- >> amazing. >> gorgeous. >> i told her she better pass that to me, i swear. >> what's your relationship with

like with your mom? >> she's my best friend, as you can see. she's a young mom so we're like sisters. we always have been. >> does she watch all of your projects? what will she think of "gotham"? >> she's going to love "gotham." she loves movies, loves television. she named me after one of her favorite soap opera star. >> she did? >> yes, she did. my mother loves hollywood. >> jada, you are so sweet. thank you for coming to see us. >> thank you for having me. >> "gotham" deday bus ne-- debut friday. and a performance from our

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come out every year. how in the world do you know which ones are the right ones for you and which ones are worth the price? our friends at allure did the work for us. linda wells, the magazine's editor in chief is here. how are you? >> i'm really well. >> i love how you break it down. there's nothing more intimidating than walking in a store and seeing thousands of products. i'm going to get my little shopping basket. why not kill two bird with his one stone? >> do shop. >> this is the $10 table. >> the winning mascara is revlon bold lacquer. black shiny fibers. dove makes a great dry shampoo. >> how often should you use it? >> once every three days. it comes out clear. it isn't powdery. it's a really good one. if you want to have a crazy hair color, garnier color styler. you put it on with your finger and it washes out in three -- if

you wash it three times, it's gone. >> blues, pinks and purples? >> let me just get one of those. hold on. don't leave me. >> for $20. >> this is a maybelline nudes palette. every single one day, night, weekend, all skin colors. >> this is my palette, by the way. really good one. >> olay and cover girl came together to make this under eye concealer that has skin benefits to make skin depuff and under eye circles get better over time. and this neutrogena sun screen changed my life, my summer. put it on like deodorant. and it goes on. it's not sticky, it's not messy. it's not white. it's perfect. >> is this something you should be using all year round anyway, right? >> spf 70.

you may not need that every day but it's a really good one if you're going to be out in the sun. >> so far i spent almost no money. >> that's good. >> getting a little more expensive, the $30 table. what items did you find for 30? >> l'oreal age perfect face oil, put it on under moisturizer or makeup. it smells so good. it has eight essential oils and it is beautiful. face oils are a big thing right now. >> people who like to look dewy, but not oily -- >> it's not too dewy. you look really dewy at the beginning and then it gets right in there. >> by l'oreal. >> clinique makes these blushers, dot them on your cheek and rub them in. it looks like carayons. >> just for cheeks, not for lips, right? >> everything we do to our hair ruins it, the sun, the heat. and this is a deep conditioning mask.

you can put it on. it takes five minutes. you suddenly have this beautiful shiny hair. >> linda, these are the breakthroughs. >> this is jergens bb cream for the body. not enough to make it look like you have to put it on carefully. it gives you a perfect looking body. >> look at all the wild color. >> gel manicures you can use at home. you don't need to have a salon. they last two weeks. no special equipment. >> they're safe? >> they're safe. >> is that it? >> that's it. >> wait a minute. let me get these. i'll take that color. lindha great. excellent. you can find all of these on our website if you want to go through them all again. good news. guess who is coming up. alicia keys will be singing a song the first time with us.

back with 15-time alicia keys, best selling author, philanthropist back with a brand new single called "we are here." i love the message of this song and the questions it makes you ask yourself. thanks for being back. >> good to be here. >> you're expect iing your seco child in december. how are you feeling? >> i'm feeling so good. i have to say, really strong and also inspired. >> you have a son, egypt, who will will be 4 at the time of this new arrival. is he excited or is he like that boy in the video that says it's exasperating. >> i saw that little boy. >> egypt is cool?

>> he's cool. >> why are we here? why are we on the planet? what's your answer? >> it startd with the conversation i had that that question was asked to me. that really opened up a whole conversation and dialogue and with the backdrop of everything that's going on in the world and that frustration that we all are feeling as people, what can we do about it? we all have a voice. how can it be used ? i really want this song to be the dialogue that starts to ask ourselves, why are we here? what are we here to do? >> you are asking people to go on twitter and complete the line. jimmy fallon wrote i'm here to help you forget your problems for an hour and also i'm here to valet park brian williams car. you answer this question how?

>> for you. we are here for all of us, to be here for each other. >> you meant for me in the general sense. i was going to say, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. are you going to sing it for us now? >> i will. >> ladies and gentlemen, alicia keys. ♪ ♪ we are here we are here for all of us we are here for all of us that's why we are here why we are here we are here ♪ ♪ bombs over baghdad

tryin' to get something we ain't never had let's start with a good dad so real but it's so sad and while we burnin' this incents we're gonna pray for the innocent cause right now it don't make sense right now it don't make sense ♪ ♪ let's talk about chi town let's talk about gaza let's talk about let's talk about israel try now with israel let's talk about let's talk nigeria in a mass hysteria yeah our souls are brought together so that we could love each other brother ♪ ♪ we are here we are here for all of us we are here for all of us that's why we are here why we are here we are here ♪ ♪ no guns made in harlem

but yet crime is a problem he wanna shine they wanna rob him single mother where they come from how we gonna save the nation with no support for education cause right now it don't make sense right now it don't make sense ♪ ♪ let's talk about our part my heart touch your heart let's talk about let's talk about living had enough of dying not what we all about let's do more giving do more forgiving yeah our souls are brought together so that we could love each other sister ♪ ♪ we are here we are here for all of us we are here for all of us that's why we are here why we are here we are here ♪

♪ oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ♪ ♪ we are here we are here for all of us we are here for all of us that's why we are here why we are here ♪ >> alicia keys. aleisurea thank you very much. she'll be back in our next hour to talk about this great project. remember, #we are here. we'll be back in a moment.

this is "today" on nbc.

>> beautiful. love that song. >> we get to listen to alicia keys and now she joins us. you asked us to do the why i am here. >> raise healthy, happy children. >> beautiful. >> i wrote to laugh and love.

>> that's nice. >> we'll get you some cards. >> you're going to get a lot of response on this. >> people are just so responsive to this. they want to talk about why they're here. they want to think about it. a lot of people have said man, i never even thought about that. >> so true. >> isn't it nice when you can make music that gets people singing and dancing, but also gets them to think? >> thinking. >> it is the biggest blessing. i think that's what so much of us as artists work so hard to do, is come up with something that connects all of us, you know, in that way. >> you do that so well, though. that line in the song, you need to give and forgive, the way that you work your poetry with your words offers that inspiration to us as fans. >> just the positivity makes such a difference. >> thank you. >> we'll be back at 9:00. alicia, you're sticking around? >> oh, yeah! >> there's more. >> she should be back in prime time on nbc as an adviser on "the voice" this year, which

we're thrilled to have. how was that experience? >> really fun. really fun. and those talents, really talents. really good. >> alicia, thank you so much for joining us. we have a few birthday wishes coming from willard scott. ♪ new york new york what a heck of a crowd ♪ you guys are beautiful. beautiful. st. charles, missouri, on the old mississippi. alyce gould is 100 years old today. we wish her a very happy birthday. tilly auerbach, 100 years old today. she swims and does the yoga bear. hey, boo boo. yoga is big with older folks. they love it. this is clifford lee, 108 years old, strawberry plains, tennessee. clifford lea from tennessee. mechanic and farmer. that is his trade. eating strawberries is his past time. and marvin fisher. how about old marv?

100 years old today, philadelphia, pennsylvania. what does he say makes him young? a daily shot of crown royal. for those of you who don't know, that's a town. that's it, folks. we sing, we dance, we have fun. so do they in new york. here they are. >> yes, we do, willard. thanks so much. much more with alicia keys in our next hour. first, a loo good morning, a few minutes before 9:00. with a single vote today, palo alto city council could approve new punishment for people who waste water. the council is set to vote on whether to begin fining people and businesses $100 if they ignore water restrictions put into place in august. meteorologist rob mayeda is here with a look at your forecast.

>> close to 80 in san jose, upper 60s closer to san francisco. and notice the temperatures in the north bay, low 80s. mid 80s out toward the tri-valley. and the numbers actually staying mild through about wednesday and a slight chance. we could see a few showers, especially for the north bay. come thursday before those numbers rebound approaching the weekend. we'll have another local news update coming your way in 30 minutes. here's an idea.

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>> announcer: from nbc from nbc news this is "today's" take with al roker, natalie moralous, willie geist and tamron hall. live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> good crowd outside. welcome to "today" on this monday morning, september 15th, 2014. i'm natalie moralous along with tamron hall, al roker. we had alicia keys in here. >> she's going to be coming up. >> she's going to come talk to us a little bit more about her new song, we are here and the great message behind it. we're all encouraged to get on social media and #weareallhere. >> and new baby on the way. >> baby. >> threw her husband an epic

birthday party last week. >> that's -- >> i've got to find out how she planned is the coming to america theme party with you know the movie with eddie murphy. >> we'll talk to her about all of that. >> mean time the nfl, boy, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse we've got this story to talk about, as well. the vikings star adrian peterson has been deactivated from the team. he's accused of beating his 4-year-old son with part of a tree branch, a switch. now this happened while the boy was visiting him in may. peterson is facing charges of injury to a child and reckless and criminal negligence. negligence. peterson admits that he used this switch on the child. he said he gave the boy, in a text, a whooping. >> quote. >> as he called it. and his attorney said it was the same kind of discipline that peterson himself had experienced as a child growing up in texas. his attorney also saying, quote, it's important to remember that adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the

unintentional injury. >> you look at the pictures, which we are not going to show. >> yes, we are not going to show. >> they are so deeply disturbing. >> bruising, welting, broken skin. >> blood. >> throughout the legs, buttocks, his back. i mean, there's one thing to discipline your child. it's another thing to?-- >> yeah, injure. >> injury your child. >> that's a weapon. you go out and you get a stick, switch, and whatever you want to call it, that's a weapon. >> yeah. >> that you're using on a 4-year-old child. and it was, according to the reports, over an altercation that the child had with a sibling over a video game. >> it's a 4-year-old. >> it's a 4-year-old. and then you say, this is how i was raised. that is the lamest excuse. >> charles barkley tried to, you know, move that forward yesterday saying that if you

arrested him you'd have to arrest every black parent in the south. not true. >> not at all. >> not at all. so, you know, it really is -- just a really disturbing situation. and yet there are those who say well, it may go to culture or how you were raised or whatever. but you don't continue, if, in fact, you were, you don't continue that. >> maya angelou says you do better when you know better. surely by now adrian peterson, a young man who has been exposed to a lot of things, i would think, but apparently not, would know that you don't beat a child where that child is bleeding, and can you imagine the shared custody here with the child. the child goes back home to his mother in minnesota, and she starts to unpack his things, and then -- >> she got a text message saying -- >> it's one thing to get the text message. it's another thing to see it. so she's there with her child. and now there are scars all over his little body. it's -- >> it's tough.

>> unbelievable. >> there fact to the point chris carter yesterday gave a just a really raw emotional speech about his own childhood on espn's "sunday's nfl countdown." i mean so moving. take a look at this. >> my mom did the best job she could do, raising seven kids by herself. but there are thousands of things that i have learned since then that my mom was wrong. >> yes. thank you. >> this is the 21st century. my mom was wrong. she did the best she could but she was wrong about some of that stuff she taught me. and i promised my kids i won't teach that mess to them. you can't beat a kid to make them do what they want to do. >> that's correct. thank you. >> thousands of things we have learned since then. and now we're to the point, the only thing i'm proud about is the team that i played for, they did the right thing. >> yes. >> take him off the field! >> i was on my feet when i saw this, clapping for him.

i'm happy as a man he spoke up, as a black man. because again there are people who were hiding behind culture with this. that he took that stand, was absolutely -- and i've always been a fan of chris. he's a super good guy. but that was powerful. >> it really was. no matter who you were. you were moved by that. >> that was from the heart. >> absolutely. >> there's a generational question. i know how many of us got hit or -- or you know, but nothing to that extent. >> no. >> again --. >> smack in the butt, that's a legitimate conversation as to whether your child is running out in the middle of the street, you grab them to get their attention, swat on the behind. that's a legitimate -- some people i had a conversation with a friend who has a daughter who is now 19. she said i never touched my daughter, never spanked my daughter ever. i said that's your journey and you can have that conversation. but a weapon, a switch, stick -- >> i could probably count twice my dad may have used the belt, the belt. but never broken the skin. it was a couple of swacks. and it was more the idea of it. >> absolutely.

>> and my dad whenever he went for the belt it was the same thing. like i can count maybe three or four times. but at the same time, i can remember those incidents, and the fear that i had. and i don't want my kids -- >> you would never -- >> no, i don't. i have on occasion swatted my own son once because he ran out in front of a -- >> sure, we've all done that. >> in front of a car. so to teach him a lesson. >> in 19 states it's legal in school to paddle? >> they have the paddling in school. >> we talked about this before. my growing up, my school had a paddle with the holes in it. >> oh, yeah. >> perfectly fine. >> it was either the ruler or the paddle. >> times have changed. >> different time. >> my principal, who was a nun, had a paddle that said the rule of law. rule of law. and that was considered -- you know. >> words. you can teach so much more using your word. >> people are going to say what was wrong with that? you know what? you're never going to change minds. >> still can't convince people to wear a seat belt. there are always outliers but i

hope renal minds who say that this child and saw the photographs and know that it was a switch not a swat, not the circumstances you've described, i cannot imagine reasonable minds look at a 4-year-old child and say, that's okay. because you can't -- it's a 4-year-old child. you can't say no more video games, go to your room? there's no way to manipulate a child? you're supposed to be the smarter person in addition to being the bigger person. physically. another thing that's caught our eye! we pass with the cover girl? >> greg norman. >> this morning on with matt after a crazy accident with norman over the weekafter a cra norman over the weekend. very close -- i actually saw the pictures online yesterday. had no idea the extent of these injuries. he was injured with a chainsaw accident while working at his florida home t barely missed an artery. this morning he is recovering from surgery. greg called in earlier and told us he had a premonition -- this

is so spooky. he had a premonition about this accident. take a listen. >> this feeling came over me and i said something bad is going to happen and i paused and i said, no, you know what? let's just take our time. everything is going to -- i'm a very positive guy. i said oh, no, let's just play out through this and the moral of the story, trust your premonition. if i ever have that feeling again i'm not going to be doing whatever i'm supposed to be doing. >> he is an experienced chainsaw user. >> and you would think very careful, after having that premonition. >> i am so deathly afraid of chainsaws because i've seen them kick back with people, you know. it just -- for him to have that happen, somebody who makes their living, basically, using their hands. >> i have to tell you, my husband once -- >> premonition is crazy. >> yeah. i was going to say, my husband, i went out to the backyard at our house in connecticut and he's out there with the chainsaw on, the motor is going and he's

trying to put the chain back on because it came off. i. >> what? >> i was like, are you crazy? thank god i caught him in time. i was like, turn that thing off. >> and that is why you -- >> not smart. >> but that's not a premonition. >> what gets me, have you ever had that feeling, should i go left, should i go right? >> all the time but then i wouldn't go anywhere. i can't go anywhere today. i have a premonition it's going to be a bad day at work. >> natalie has a lot of talk going on in her head. >> that's what i sound like, little voices in my head. >> that sounds like elmo. you're not elmo in your head. >> ventriloquist. >> voices in your head. miss new york, kira kazantsev won the miss america pageant last night.

three-peat for new york. she performed that song "happy." remember, from "pitch perfect," she was fantastic. >> let's listen. ♪ clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth clap along ♪ >> amazing. >> you don't have to have a talent? >> that's a talent, to sing and do that at the same time. >> that was her point behind doing it with the cups. >> the performance that caught some people by -- miss ohio's mckenzie bart performed with a ventriloquist dummy. al has a thing for ventriloqu t ventriloquist, they sang supercalifragilist supercalifragilistic- expialidocious. ♪ supercalifragilistic e-

expialidocious ♪ >> wants to take my job. >> could she do the weather with her -- >> sure she can. come on in. miss ohio, miss bart, come on over to the show. we would love to have you here. >> actually good. >> you know what it's like to work with a dummy. >> i wasn't going to say it. >> i know. that's why i thought i would say it. i don't know who the contestant was. she was playing piano and the fun fact came up, she was attacked by a cheetah in zambia. >> what? >> that's a fun fact? >> that's a fun fact. >> you've got to be kidding me. >> attacked by a cheetah. no, i don't think so. i think it was in a hotel. >> oh, my gosh. >> escape a situation like that. >> ridiculous. >> all right, mr. roker. >> all right. anyway, let's show you what we've got going on. we've got a big hurricane that's affecting mexico, odile, 40 miles west of la paz, mexico.

category 2 storm moving northwest. it will hug the coast all weekend -- i should say week long on into tuesday. wednesday it makes a turn and the gulf of california and starts to head toward the southwest. that will bring a lot of rain to mexico, obviously. anywhere from seven to 12 inches of rain, as much as 18 inches as well. but as that system makes its way in -- look at all this moisture starting to push its way into southeastern california into arizona and new mexico. we're going to be looking not quite like we saw last week with norbert but we could see anywhere from three to five inches of rain and locally two to three inches in a few hours, which could cause major flash and we're seeing hazy sunshine right now in san jose on our way to near 80 degrees this afternoon, mid-80s south of downtown. upper 60s closer to san francisco. and for the north bay, highs today in the low 80s, mid 80s

out toward the tri-valley. and oakland, about 72 degrees. these mild temperatures should stick around through about wednesday. notice the slight chance of seeing a few showers early on thursday and high pressure builds in and temperatures will climb up in the mid-80s on friday. and likely low 90s come next weekend in the tri-valley. our producer, adam miller, who watches pageants constantly, say she was robbed. >> the ventriloquist? >> yes. >> we love miss new york, too. >> we do. >> but we want miss ohio to do the weather. >> our producer, adam miller, is from ohio. so, this is a dream come true for him. she may wear her tiara. >> she's going to be here tomorrow, we hope. anyway, coming up next, if there were ever a girl on fire, you all know it's 15-time grammy winner alicia keys. all know it's 15-time grammy winner alicia keys. she has the answer to treating your dog's fleas and ticks is staring you right in the face.

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alicia keys burst on to the music scene "songs in a minor." >> five grammy awards and one of the most successful songs and most covered, i think, ever. "fallen" which alicia wrote and produced. >> 13 years later, the 15-time grammy award winner is out with her newest single. we love this. "we are here," spreading an important message. ♪ let's do more giving do more forgiving yeah our souls are brought together so that we could love each other sister we are here ♪ >> thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. i'm really appreciating y'all support and good energy. >> has it seemed like it's flown by for you as much as it has for us? >> definitely flown by. everything is a new chance, opportunity. i felt like i haven't even really gotten started, to be

honest. >> you really have -- it seems like every time we hear you sing, there's always a powerful message behind t i think more so with this song. what inspired you to write the words? >> this song absolutely more than ever have i started to really recognize my purpose and desire to really probe deeper, to find out what it is that we're all going through. i think we're all going through so much. specifically with this song "we are here" like i said before it was a question asked of me. someone said to me why are you here? no one asked me that question before. i started throwing that question to everybody that i came in contact with. what came back was so powerful, the backdrop of everything that's going on in the world, all of us, we just feel -- some of us are frustrated. some of us feel afraid, concerned. we all want to know what we can personally do. this song gives us the opportunity to have that dialogue to talk about what are we here to do for each other? what are we here to offer? i think that dialogue starting

alone in ourselves begins the bigger conversation of how we can start to -- >> you mentioned in answer to your al's question, energy. you have a zen. pregnant with your second child. you even asked your son why he was here. his answer was so good, to be a superhero. >> so good, huh? you can say anything that you're feeling. to be a superhero is incredible inside your own self, to find your super human powers and give them. that's a beautiful statement. >> you talk about your son, egypt. you have a baby on the way. has that, in a sense, changed you and the music you make? not that you have to have a child to have the feelings you have. >> no. >> but that it really has changed how you do what you do? >> it has. i mean, it has changed. just because as a mother you start feeling things on a way -- just a level -- i think you

start feeling a fierceness, even a more empathetic energy. i've always been an empathetic energy. i've always related to what we've gone through as a humanity. when you start seeing your kids in the mix, what they're going to grow up in, what they're going to be part of or how they're going to change it, you get fiercer about it. >> speaking of fierce, your husband's birthday party, before we go, coming to america. i think we have a picture of t how did you plan this? we want to do this for al's 61st. this is the birthday party. that's alicia in the gown. how long did it take? >> actually, it didn't take that long. the vision was clear. it's one of his favorite films. whose isn't? it's so great to have a good time. >> who had to get all the feathers? alicia keys #we are here. >> we all wrote -- >> hold ours up as we go into the break. #we are here. >> we're back right after ♪

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good morning, 9:26 right now. i'm kris sanchez. new details on that 880 crash that crippled the morning commute. chp says the suv that caused the crash lost control and hit a guardrail. the big rig, which was carrying construction equipment then tried to swerve out of the way and ended up smashing into the center divide. this is new video of the big rig getting ready to be towed away. we were originally told the suv t-boned the big rig causing that crash. at least ten vehicles got caught up in that snarl and one caught fire as you can see right there. nine people were hurt, three of them in critical condition. at one point, all lanes in both directions were shut down, but right now, all but one northbound lane is open again. today, thousands of ferry

riders will find out if they will soon need to find another way to work. golden gate bridge unions are set to announce whether they'll go on strike to protest rising health care costs. the unions are disputing the terms of a proposed three-year contract which comes with a nearly 3% raise. the sticking point, the health care premiums that would cost 2% in wages. the coalition includes iron ferry captains, bridge mechanics and steel workers among others. and we have a look at weather and traffic coming up after the break.

welcome back. starting to see sunny breaks from the clouds there around san francisco where afternoon temperatures closer to the upper 60s today. all-day sea breeze near 80 in san jose. notice the tri-valley, those temperatures in the mid-80s. and we're going to see this mild trend take us through the middle part of the week. and even a slight chance of seeing a few showers there on thursday, then high pressure builds in and our temperatures climb as we approach next weekend. with an eye on your morning commute, here's mike. >> slow commute on both sides of the bay, rob.

we're looking at 101 through palo alto, northbound, up toward menlo park. we have a slower drive. my maps, we'll show you. an issue reported, a signal problem. off of 101, tying up traffic on the southbound side. and it's tying up traffic, perhaps, getting off the northbound side. that's the pattern we see. meanwhile, across the bay, we still have a slower drive as chris told you. all but one northbound lane are open. but that's still enough to be a big distraction. north from basically union city. the commute starting to ease off a bit. well, the traffic flowing a little bit better, but it's still slow there as well as the tri-valley. >> thank you very much, mike. more local news coming up for you in half an hour.

welcome back to "today" on a monday morning, september 15th, 2014. i'm natalie morales, along with tamron hall and al roker. willie is taking a long weekend. how many of us text and walk? i've done it. i've come close to smacking into a pillar. >> you haven't learned yet? >> it gets in my way. it just happens. you know it can be dangerous, of course. take a look at what a chinese city is doing. they have separate cell phone lanes for pedestrians, as you see. there's a stretch of sidewalk with signs in chinese and english, warning citizens to walk in the proper lane. >> if they're texting they

probably don't know. >> i love the idea. >> i think it's a good idea. >> i consider my body to be a vehicle since i don't have a car. when i'm walking down the street i'm like, let me pull over and text so i don't have any signals but -- >> the person that they wrote, those lyrics -- >> like a cadillac. thank you, al. >> here is the thing -- >> he wasn't even going there. >> oh, no, he was. >> oh, i was. >> exactly. >> here is the thing. there's bad behavior, so let's encourage it. >> no. let's find rules and order. >> but it's not everywhere. so people are going to -- they're just encouraging -- just don't walk and text. >> yeah, but -- >> come on. >> you know what? >> you go walk and text. >> don't trip over the cord. >> or the camera. >> that's not funny. >> it's not the best thing to do. >> no. >> oh, ow!

>> your physical humor is so wrong, al. >> it is. >> anyway, as we look at "today" -- ah! >> great. look what we've started. >> showers through the gulf coast. wet weather through the great lakes today. beautiful day in the northeast. look for a gorgeous day, if you like heat in the pacific northwest, 94 in portland today. same as in los angeles. how crazy is that? as we look toward tomorrow, we'll see plenty of sunshine again throughout the northeast. although, a few hit or miss showers, northern new england, wet weather along the gulf. we'll be watching what happens to odile and the moisture that comes out of that. hundred degrees and we're going to see temperatures running a bit more mild inland over the next few days. highs eventually in the mid-80s, closer to saratoga and los gatos, the trend holding steady through about thursday. then the numbers warming up as we approach friday. about the same trend, too, for the peninsula. and san francisco, we'll see temperatures in the upper 60s to

near 70. warmer heading towards next weekend. one thing to watch, though, middle part of the week, more clouds start to spill in. that's going to keep our temperatures down, but also bring a slight chance of a few light showers especially in the north bay for thursday. >> and that's your latest weather. >> little bruised? >> i'm okay. >> good? >> you know zachary quinto from his leading roles in "star trek" and "american horror story." but for his latest project he stepped behind the camera. >> zachary served as mentor to a pair of young filmmakers vying to win $250,000. zachary is here with us. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning. >> you were a little impressed with al's physical humor there. >> that was really -- >> is it worth the $250,000 prize? >> no. he's talented but not that talented. >> you're the judge. because this is your idea. this show is amazing. it's not a reality show. it's a documentary series. it's a great idea. what inspired it for you? >> we were approached by chris

moore, the creator of the show, who also created project greenlight a few years ago. i was drawn to it for a number of reasons. it's set in my hometown of pittsburgh, p.a. i have a big soft spot for pittsburgh. and i love the concept, giving two first-time feature directors an opportunity to navigate the road of directing their first feature with the same parameters and the same source material and seeing what each of them does with it. i'm a huge supporter of first-time filmmakers. it had a lot of components that spoke to me personally and creatively and my company ecos. it was cool to be involve friday the beginning. >> you really take this producer role very much to heart, as we hear you say. being back home in pittsburgh, what was that like? >> i mean going home, and then going home and bringing jobs to the city, and utilizing the amazing architechitecture of thy and supporting that. the people of pittsburgh are so

incredible. it was a huge draw for me to be able to go home in that capacity with something that i believe in and i'm really excited about was even more exciting. yeah. >> the last part of batman was shot there. >> a lot of stuff. >> doing this series, you have been a producer, but has this inspired you to maybe start directing? >> it does. i've got to be honest. watching how each of these directors evolved through the process and being privy to that experience from that perspective, i've been on a lot of sets and certainly have been around enough. to see first-time directors do it, it was pretty inspiring. i definitely want to direct. just need to find the right story. >> al roker, comedy story. compare him to chevy chase. al roker to chevy. >> oh, i knew that -- >> talk about shane and anna, the two filmmakers? >> he has been at it for a

while. and shane is a more traditional filmmaker in that she studied screen writing and has her degree in screen writing and has worked a lot on feature projects and film projects. so they come from very different backgrounds. you see that, i think, as you watch them deal with the different obstacles and challenges. how each of them handles it. the tone of each of their films is drastically different. the most interesting thing about the show for me is that it comes from the same original script. so, they were each able to do a rewrite of it and make whatever movie they want. there's a lot of overlap and things about each of the stories that are the same. the voice of the filmmaker is the thing that ultimately determines the journey of the film that gets made. >> the whole premise. it's amazing. got to ask you about "star trek" any new news? >> well, you know, on the horizon. >> nicely put.

on the horizon. i have a feeling we'll be back in production sometime in the next six months. >> nice franchise. you guys do such a good job. anthony quinto -- or zachary quinto, thank you. anthony -- anthony --! >> airing now on starz. up next hollywood's number one bachelor, george clooney, gets ready to tie the knot. do we have wedding details? do we have wedding details? >> we've got wedding details. >> maybe. >> hottest google searches. check out all these airline seats. lots of them, right? but when you try to get one by using your travel rewards card miles... those seats mysteriously vanish. why? all the flights you want are blacked out. or they hit you up for some outrageous number of miles. switch to the venture card from capital one. with venture, use your miles on any airline, any flight, any time. no blackout dates. and with every purchase you'll earn unlimited double miles.

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wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. is it baby number two for beyonce and jay-z and will brad pitt be george clooney's best man? >> these are the questions you wanted answered over the weekend. so here to break down the hottest online searches is google technologist latoya drake joins us. good to see you. >> good morning. >> beyonce, big baby buzz. something jay-z, he changed the words to a song?

>> that's right. on the run tour, he had fans buzzing when he changed the lyrics to a song and it had people believing she might be expecting another baby. >> what did he change, what did he do, what did he say? >> he changed the lyrics and said she is pregnant with another one, something along those lines but did it in a very, very clever way. >> take a listen. here it is. ♪ >> i didn't understand. >> i couldn't -- >> could we put subtitles because i don't know what -- i can't -- >> pregnant with another one. ♪ >> i heard it there. >> it was quick. >> very, very quick. everyone was buzzing about it. >> if you know them, when they do have news to announce, they're going to announce it big, like last time around. right? >> certainly will. we reached out to beyonce's people, so far we have not heard anything.

but i'm sure we will -- >> we'll find out. >> the last time she announced -- >> at the vmas. >> very dramatic way. >> there you have it. >> let's talk about big birthday party and prince harry turning 30. but i love the way he's marking his birthday. he's giving back in meaningful ways. >> for sure. today is his actual 30th birthday. over the weekend he spent it at a charity event called the invictus game. he has a reputation of a partier. he spent it giving back to service men and women. a bit of a departure. something nice to see from the prince. >> he is so conscious of that wounded warrior that is his his real passion really great to see. >> we reported earlier that i guess prince william and kate had planned to have something bigger but ended up scaling down the plans a bit. >> almost giving back -- taking the attention away from himself. >> and up for the 15 mill from his grandmother. >> yes, and princess diana he got a bit of that inheritance, as well.

>> if he weren't most eligible already. >> he's doing okay. >> let's talk about perhaps another man off the market soon, george clooney. his wife-to-be, big spike on google over the weekend. >> yes. >> what were people looking for? >> people were searching for her name, amal alamuddin. with the wedding of this magnitude, it obviously has a lot of attention, lot of eyes on it. people were searching around for details about the wedding. we're hearing people reporting that brad pitt might actually be the best man, which is quite exciting, two beautiful men on one stage at once. it's interesting one of the most popular related searches to her name is what is her age. >> interesting. >> she is 36. >> lastly rob ford turning his turning the mayoral thing into a family affair. he has dropped out but his brother is running? >> yes. rob ford the very colorful mayor of toronto is dropping out of the race. his brother doug ford is stepping in. people were curious, who is

doug, wanted to learn more about the family. rob dropped out for health reasons he says. in the family. very political family. they're looking to continue that tradition. >> canadian version of the kennedys. >> there you go. camelot even. >> they look so much alike, too. la toya, thank you very much. >> thank you. should you grab the burrito or taco salad for lunch today? we're playing which one is healthier with some of your favorite restaurant foods. >> i'm going burrito. oh, yeah.urant fo sweets become salaries. an oven heats up a community la cocina, a small kitchen that kick-starts the careers of 41 entrepreneurs. they bring the talent. we help fund the tools. it's a small way we help that's been huge for the community. little by little we can do a lot. because... small is huge. visit www.wellsfargo.com to see how big small can be. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover

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we are going to plant our little flags. >> we want to make it clear here, we are not saying either of these are good for you or you should order them -- >> what's the lesser evil? >> beef burrito or taco salad? >> do we know what's in the burrito? >> cheese, beef. >> i'm going to go with the taco. >> one and one here. and the actual answer is the burrito. do you know what kills you? fried taco shell. that's the killer right there. that alone can have at least 400 calorie. >> sour cream. >> if you ate all of this, you would save 200 calories and eight grams of fat. >> shell makes a difference? >> huge difference. >> i did not know that. >> this is a tricky one. chicken pad thai and lo mein. which is the healthier of the two options? >> place say pad thai because i eat it at least once a week. >> unfortunately, this one.

the lo mein. it generally has more vegetables, lower calorie sauce, less oil in it. this is a difference of about 450 calories and 55 grams of carbohydrates that you save if you go with the lo mein. these take-out containers hold about three servings. >> oh! >> when you get that, you don't want to sit down and eat the whole thing in one sitting. >> when you take out, you can't get out. >> that's a good one. >> that's great. >> here we have a couple of slices of veggie pizza versus a dish of pasta with sauce and little bit of marinara. >> both pieces? >> both pieces. >> pizza. >> you are correct. it is definitely the pizza. this is automatically portion controlled by having the slices here. this pasta, serving of pasta is half a cup cooked and most restaurants give you at least six time that is amount. the sauce can be a hidden source of extra sugar. you're definitely better off with a pizza. you can load it up with veggies, ask for light cheese, go with

thin crust, whole grain crust. definitely go with the pizza. >> pizza sounds good now. >> this is bar food. you're at a bar, had a couple of drinks, looking for something to eat. you guys are right on track. it might be obvious with the portion size here. >> there is that. i mean -- >> chicken wings. >> you could just burrow in there. >> if you had these with the celery and the bleu cheese, 850 calories versus 1440 for the nachos. >> portion is key here. never will you go somewhere where they'll give you six. >> yeah. you can order a dozen with someone else here. now a cobb salad versus a quiche. couple of smarties here. >> bake on, cheese. >> all those toppings will get you. this actually has about twice as much fat as the quiche and double the calories. split that with someone, get a take-out container, take the

rest to go home. moderate your portions whenever you're eating this kind of stuff. these little tricks can help you avoid the pitfalls. >> i am so hungry now. thank you so much. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. can we warm up that pizza since it's the best choice? i'm totally hungry.

where is kathie lee? >> she is making her way. we've got jada pinkett smith. >> yes. >> we've got mindy kaling, hot hollywood scoop and it's never been easier to find a dentist.

watch. dentist. at 1-800-dentist, we've helped over 8 million people find that right dentist. we can do the same for you. so don't put it off. call 1-800-dentist. good morning, everyone. new this morning, police say one person was shot in san francisco during an early morning robbery in the city's mission terrace neighborhood. happened about 7:45 this morning on camilla avenue between silver

and castle manor avenues. investigators say one person hurt, we have not been told how badly. they say there were two suspects who took off in a dark car before police arrived. arson experts will be examining part of a playground burned overnight in san jose, hill view park. now the fire wasn't that big, but crews did have to come and spray the tan bark down with a hose. it caught fire. it's unclear how much damage was done before crews arrive. but you see a lot of it there. well, let's check your weather this morning, good morning. >> we're still watching low clouds around the bay area and cooler temperatures in the forecast, especially inland, close to 80 in san jose, around the north bay, highs in the low 80s. 85 degrees in pleasanton. actually staying mild through the middle part of the weekend. there is that chance that we could see a few showers, perhaps as we head toward thursday, temperatures rebound as high pressure builds in approaching next weekend. now, for another check of your monday morning commute, here's mike. >> and a tough drive it was.

for many people. we're looking at the bay bridge toll plaza where there's a good amount of traffic here. i was expecting a bigger burst. let's talk about why. look at the maps, we have the recovery started over. northbound 880 all lanes are open at washington street. that's where we had the earlier crash and fire and all the cleanup that was going on from the earlier crash there. that has cleared all lanes in both directions. that burst of traffic then headed up past the coliseum. but didn't cause much slowing. they were able to disperse up toward that bay bridge toll plaza. nothing dramatic. the rest of your bay looks pretty smooth, though, very slow north 101 and getting off that dunbarton bridge where there's some sort of disabled signal or some problem there on surface streets causing congestion. back to you. >> thanks. we'll have another local news update for you in half an hour.

from nbc . >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello everybody. by that we mean you. it's fun day monday. i have my hoda now all to myself. matt wouldn't let her go on time this morning. >> it's time for us, baby, where i belong. >> you'll be doing this for two weeks because somebody had a baby. >> somebody had to go and get pregnant, thank you, savannah. >> i want you to know i'm here for you. but don't call me to help. >> we'll talk with jada pinkett smith who is stunningly

gorgeous. >> gets more beautiful all the time. >> mindy kalin, a doll, who gets funnier and funnier all the time. all the hollywood buzz is with us. hoda, busy weekend or nice quiet one? >> i had an in-between one. i had some funs. lee bryce is one of my faves. lee bryce was per forming at madison square garden friday night. luke bryan was performing, too. he was getting a huge award. the only country artist to have a platinum single record so far this year. >> good. >> more than luke. >> more than miranda, more than anybody? >> all of them. lee bryce. so i had to do a sneak attack on stage and interrupt his set at the garden. who wants to have some girl giving an award to someone. >> you're not some girl. you're hoda woman. >> anyway, let's see what happened.

>> here is what's happening. i'm doing a sneak attack on lee bryce. he's about to get an award. he knows nothing about it. i love surprises. >> i'm hoda from the "today" show. >> listen how they love you. >> i love, love, love me some lee bryce. [ cheers and applause ] >> i came out today because lee bryce is going to get a huge award and what better place to give him this award than right here at madison square garden. >> good girl, you milked it. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's so nice. >> he was totally shocked. >> he was totally -- >> by the way. rarely do people get shocked. he was so surprised.

he got teary-eyed because he couldn't believe he was the only guy to win it. >> a labor of love. i'm sure you made up for it. thanks for asking me about mine. i'm kidding you. >> i got on a plane and flew out to the west coast. it's that time of year in a certain business which is known as harvest time. >> when stuff grows. >> when stuff, like my stuff is harvested. i tell you, i went to the schide family place where they grow my stuff and that is heidi. i was picking the grapes that eventually become stuff. >> i love your hair, by the way. >> you have to. it's hot out there. boy, is it gorgeous in monterey county. beautiful this time of year. i was on the tractor -- i was stomping stuff if you know what i'm saying. >> by the way, you looked so cute. you were in the -- >> i was driving. it was fun. >> go on her twitter or my

twitter because i always retweet what you tweet. >> frank at the giants game was honored. doing the coin toss. there's frank, number 16. still the record for p the most touchdowns ever of any giant player. the giants didn't win but frank came home a winner f you know what i'm saying. last night my friend sam haskell was a winner because the miss america pageant which he brought back -- all the casinos are closing, but sam -- from vegas he brought it back to atlantic city where it originated. anyway, kirakazensev. >> from new york. the third year ms. new york has won. she freaked out screaming excited. she had such a unique talent. she sang "happy" by playing a cup. if you remember anna kendrick from "pitch perfect," here is

her talent playing "happy." >> clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth ♪ ♪ clap along if you know what happiness is to you ♪ ♪ clap along if you feel like that's what you want to do ♪ >> she's adorable. >> she is so cute. i'm sure there were great opera stars and great ball rinnas, but that's a crowd pleaser. >> every now and then they were putting up things like she enjoys hot dogs and different things. >> she's going to be doing that for the next year all over the country. >> that is very catchy. "pitch perfect" is coming out with "pitch perfect 2." >> there was a young lady from idaho that inspired a lot of people. a type i diabetic. she wore her insulin pump during the swimsuit competition. look at this.

good for her. >> she's gorgeous. >> that's one of the alternatives to giving yourself multiple daily injections. >> she gets it 24 hours a day through a catheter. that is fantastic. >> that really is great. >> first of all, it takes so much courage to put on a bathing suit and parade around in high heels. but to do it like that is such a statement of strength. >> they inspire a lot of people. jimmy fallon had some fun with glenn close. you know how he can get actresses to do -- >> he can get anything to do anything. he had brad pitt yodeling. >> glenn close wanted to do a face stuffing contest. she wanted to eat on the air. they had to eat different foods but with weird utensils. they ate spaghettis with whisks, nachos with sal long tongues and a blue berry pie with their face. >> take a look. >> go! >> ten seconds, seven. >> she knows what she's doing.

>> they're on scale so you know how much they're eating. what is she eating? >> nachos. >> you know what? i'm sorry, but she practiced. >> i bet she practiced for a week. she's very adept with these things. >> oh, no. >> stick it in there. >> eyes and everything. she didn't even care. >> she doesn't come up for air. >> one, two -- >> oh, my gosh. >> it's in his eyes. >> okay. you can't do that if you wear contacts, but wow. >> just so you know, she had to win. jimmy ate the most spaghetti and nachos but glenn ate the most pie. >> that so reminds me of all those summers in nantucket when cassidy, who was about this big, went up against people twice her size and always won the pie ating thing. stuck her face in those pies and

did not come up until it was gone. >> she's so teeny. >> you know what that's called? that's called dedication. something that's getting a lot of attention, calling them the ugliest design ever. >> these are the columbian women's cycling team. >> oh, my gosh. >> the middle part looks naked, but it's really like a spanks kind of -- like a flesh colored -- >> it looks -- >> who thought that was a good idea. >> that's a hoochie problem there. wow. >> anyway, cycling fans are all over social media. they call it the worst design ever. >> they have some sort of thing down there, right, in the netherworld. that's for cycling and stuff. >> i can't take my eyes off this man. >> they told us about this drink when he came back from mexico. >> a gentleman walking on right now named alejandro rojas.

remember i said i with went to one of my favorite resorts, but they had incredible tequila, but they had a great chaser kind of thing, right, alejandro. >> this is sangrita, is the way you're supposed to drink tequila, with tomatoes, citrus juices, chilies. >> are my eyes gone or is that at an angle. >> take a tiny sip. >> i don't drink anything but -- >> just put lips to it. now the chaser. >> the whole thing? >> no, no. >> just a sip. >> doesn't it have like -- right? >> it's like, this is like a really spicy v8 juice. >> exactly. >> it's like a bloody mary.

>> there's something about that, and you don't even taste it. you're not a huge tequila fan. some people are, some people aren't. you take a tiny sip of the tequila and this you don't realize you're drinking tequila which becomes a problem. you can cheers twice, you can go -- i like that. it's friendly. >> alejandro. >> thank you alejandro. very nice of you. i'm going to give this to jerry. >> of course you are. >> thank you so much. >> what have you got? my friend janice dean who is a weather caster, she's written her second children's book "freddy the frogcaster," everybody, it's adorable. lots of people love the weather channel. they just watch it constantly. this is a great idea. and then our friend jill, i'm so excited for her. high performance 400w hand and stick valium, 43 bucks on

qvc.com, introducing it tomorrow. it's either a dust buster or it's a little teeny vacuum that you keep in your office. >> or for your apartment. >> you can take that off and put that on and do stuff. i'm so happy for her. >> it's cute and little and compact. >> i'm taking her and you out today to nearry's pub for land alcohols. today is our friend jimmy leery's 84th birthday. on the phone -- i wrote this song on the plane on the way out to california. we were waiting for just the right story. jane anderson from blufton, south carolina, she wants us to honor her husband bill of 33 years. she was diagnosed with pash parkinson's disease, 2003. bill has supported her the entire way. she is on skype with us -- oh,

on the phone. hi, jane, how are you? >> hi, ladies, good morning. >> can we hear you? can't hear you, darling. she continued working as a high school speech, drama and english teacher until the symptoms became so bad. i read this letter from her and i sobbed. it's a beautiful, beautiful -- what a man. what a couple. >> can't wait to meet both of them. >> jane, are you there? >> can you hear me. >> you show up late, but when you do, boy. good for you. so excited to honor your husband bill this thursday. i wish you could hear me so i can sayey! >> you're an amazing lady. we have a song for you called grooving the the music oovps. >> i love it. i love you beautiful ladies. hoda, you're probably ready for a nap, aren't you after your morning gig and after alejandro's treat, you're

probably ready for a nap. >> she's actually red i do hear a good song. >> safe travels to you. >> thanks, ladies. see you thursday. >> god bless. coming up, another kanye controversy. paris hilton lands herself a mr. amazing. >> something fishy going on with jada pinkett smith. >> find out what it is when we talk to tv's newest naughty girl. age perfect cell renewal with the powerful anti-oxidant natecium dhc. the results are impressive. surface skin renewal is accelerated. every day, millions of new cells rise to the skin surface faster than before. [ moore ] i can feel it working. skin looks fresher, full of life, as if reborn. [ male announcer ] age perfect cell renewal from l'oreal paris. [ moore ] you're worth it. [ male announcer ] age perfect cell renewal from l'oreal paris. here's something fun to do with hot dogs. make easy crescent dogs.

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ma'am. >> aren't you a cool glass of milk. >> ma'am, is that screaming we heard back there? >> yes. my boys are watching a scary movie. >> really? >> no. actually one of my staff has been stealing money from me, so we're beating his punk [ bleep ]. >> that is a role of a lifetime. >> yes, it is. >> good to see you. >> you're so tiny, petite, but you can whoop some -- >> i can whoop some. >> you do some whooping in this show, don't you? >> absolutely. >> you take a swing at this guy. you had a bat in your hand and it looked sort of real. >> that was the penguin. yes, yes. penguin and i are not very good friends. >> you have a friend in this world? >> not really. >> before batman, before catwoman, before the joker, the riddler. >> this is where it all happens. this is where it all takes place.

this particular television show is basically the origin story of all of the famous villains we know about, and, of course, the infamous batman. >> you will have bruce wayne there. >> definitely. >> he realizes -- >> young. this is right after the murder of his parents. yes. >> and your character is every way we described it, evil, sneaky, sexy, scary. >> yes. >> you love playing her. >> i do. it gives you -- you feel safe to dance with your shadow a little bit, you know? that's right. >> and still go home to papa. >> that's right. used be to be a bad girl on set, a good girl in life. >> your skkids, are you scaring them? >> oh, no. they've seen worse than that. i'm sure they've seen worse than that. >> mommy plays a nice lady. >> i think of you in that particular role, there is something special about this role. >> i think they're going to be excited. as a family, we love comics. we really do. so, you know, i think they're

very excited about it. >> it has meant a big move for you here, in a different kind of gotham here in new york, the big apple. how is that going for you? you're from baltimore, originally. >> i'm from baltimore, maryland. i'm used to being on the east coast. it is always lovely being in new york. >> well, it isn't winter yet. >> i know. i know. trust me, i'm definitely trying to get it together, getting all my coats and hats and scarves. >> taking care of everything. are the kids going to be here in new york. >> everybody is back and forth. >> how do you do school and stuff like that? >> they're home schooled. >> that's right, that's right. >> now, this thing -- there is a lot of hype for gotham. >> great reaction. >> getting terrific reviews. >> of course. >> is that going to make you feel good or does that make you feel a little worried because of expectations and things? >> you know, i've been in this business a long time, you know? and thank goodness i'm here just as a -- as an actress playing a role. it is my job just to do the best i can do. you know. i'm not producing. it is one of those projects that

i'm not producing, i'm literally just acting. >> that's a long time since you've just done that. >> a long time. and i'll tell you something, i'm enjoying it. >> people have no idea. my daughter just got off a film set today, been there a month, the most unbelievably hellish conditions. nobody sees that part. >> it is a lot of work, trying to act and produce and especially as a family, producing things with the family. >> you're never off the clock. >> you're never off the clock, never. >> did you have to stay in good shape for this one, jada? >> because she has gone to pot. >> you do your own -- there are stunts that come up in other episodes. >> absolutely. >> you did your own? >> yes, mm-hmm, definitely. unfortunately first episode, the guy i hit with the bat in the alley, i hit him for real. yeah, i did. i felt so bad. >> workers comp. >> i felt so bad. it had been a while, you know. i missed -- i missed.

>> oh. >> it happens. it happens. >> he wanted to be in show business. it happens. >> i love doing my own stunts. and i try to stay -- >> life is doing your own stunts. >> honey, keep it real. >> we love you, jada. give our love to the family. give will a smooch for us. gotham premieres september 22nd on fox. >> she's an emmy nominated actress, writer and producer. >> hilarious. >> stick around for fun with mindy i had ongoing pain. a deep ache all over. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of what i love. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away

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a human one. and it's time to fight it. quaker's good energy is just what you want. it's how we help keep go-getters like you, going, and getting. one bite at a time. make it with milk for a boost of protein. quaker up. what are we doing? >> i good morning, everyone. interstate 80 in both directions back open this hour following this scary crash that crippled the morning commute. investigators say an suv lost control, hit a guardrail, a big

rig which was carrying construction equipment, tries to swerve out of the way, ends up smashing into the center divider. and then this car caught fire. nine people hurt, three of them critically. all lanes in both directions were closed for hours. but, again, they have since reopened. new this morning, police looking for two people who robbed and shot someone in san francisco, happened about 7:45 this morning on camilla avenue between silver and castle manner avenues in the city's mission terrace neighborhood. investigators say one person was hurt, but we have not been told so far how badly. we'll take a look at weather after the break.

seeing some low clouds starting to break up around san francisco with a strong sea breeze which will keep our temperatures down from the heat we had last week. and there you could see the low clouds on the coast. take a wider angle view of this. a weather system offshore that will toss showers toward the north today and another system behind it on wednesday night and thursday that could bring a chance of seeing some showers for parts of the bay area. but today, fairly mild, breezy at times, close to 80 in san jose, upper 60s closer to san francisco, and through the north bay, highs today in the low 80s, mid-80s in the forecast around pleasanton and livermore. and the trend here, next five days, we'll start to keep our temperatures fairly consistent through the middle part of the week. not too mild or not too hot, i should say for the inland spots. but thursday, more clouds, slight chance of showers and high pressure builds in. temperatures rising as we head into the start of next weekend. scott? >> all right, rob. thanks. more local news coming up. the big show in half an hour at

11:00. we'll see you then. we're back with more of "today" on this fun day monday, filling you in on all the hollywood news you may have missed over the weekend in "today's buzz." the editor of koz politan.com, amy o'dell. welcome >> we're going to clear up a few rumors. that's what we do on this program. at beyonce's concert, there was a rumor there was a man in the front row with a sign that said, something like, beyonce can't sing or you can't sing or something. >> this is a very sort of rumory story. this video is old, more than a year old and it resurfaced because the guy in the video posted it on 9/4, beyonce's birthday, 9/4/81, like superfans

like myself and cosmopolitan.com readers know. can't sing. beyonce said something amusing, went over to him, held the mike to his face, she does often, to sing. he sang the same ditty, didn't do it very well and she goes, exactly. another version of the story goes, she just went over, held the mic in his face, she does it a lot, let her fans sing to her, and she goes, exactly. >> so what's the truth? no sign. >> we don't know the truth. >> oh, okay. >> if you paid $1500 for a front row seat, would you do that? >> i don't think so. but who knows? now there is all the speculation is beyonce pregnant. jay-z sang some lyrics at his concert that everyone said made it all very clear she is. >> you heard -- >> i heard -- can we listen. i don't know if we have it. let's listen to the video. >> we don't have it. >> because it sounds -- it is muffled. >> what is he supposedly saying? >> so during his song "beach is

better," they were on the tour in paris, final show in paris over the weekend, very big deal. he changed the lyrics to say, cuz she's prag nant with another one. >> let's hear if you're right. here's the video. ♪ there it is. clear as day. thank god. so glad we have the video proof. let's move on. >> oh, my gosh. >> let's talk about kanye west. >> every one of these stories is upsetting, i'm telling you. >> kanye was on stage and he wanted a standing o, apparently. tell us what happened. >> when you're at a concert, performers stand up and dance with me. kanye was performing in australia over the weekend. he tried to get everyone on their feet while he was performing. he noticed a section of people sitting down and they were sitting because they're in

wheelchairs. >> they're handicapped, in wheelchairs, exactly. >> the rumor has it kanye sent security into the audience to try to get them to stand up and when he found out they were sitting in wheelchairs, he said, okay, fine -- >> how about i'm sorry? >> he said how about you, up there, you in a wheelchair too, okay. if you're asking everyone to stand up, it is not a real -- >> you earn a standing ovation. was it to get people to move? that, too, people should do on their own. >> once you yell to everyone in the crowd, get up, get up, get up, you're in a wheelchair, you're in one too? >> i think he was trying to get the crowd freaked out. i think people on twitter freaked out because that's what people on twitter do. a lot of fans at the concert said it was blown out of proportion. >> we were just at joan rivers funeral and hugh jackman sang and no one had to be told to stand up. that's what the pros do.

when you earn a standing ovation. >> as opposed to ask for one. cecily strong, we like her, one of the anchors for "weekend update" and she will not be an anchor but still on "snl." >> yes. love her. so she was replaced by michael che, the first time we'll have two men hosting that segment. >> how do you think that's going to work? two guys? >> it is going to be interesting. it is going to be interesting. we love cecily. our readers love cecily. she's hysterical. she'll still be coming on "weekend update" and doing her impressions. she'll be freed up now to do some other things. >> she sounded like she's happy about it. like this will be cool. >> it will free her up. >> michael che is hilarious. great he's joining the cast. >> paris hilton got a pooch. >> or a man. >> mr. amazing. a dog or a man? >> it might not even be a dog. it is so tiny. the world's smallest pomeranian, right? >> allegedly the world's smallest pomeranian, 10 to 12

ounces in weight. >> my gosh. >> it is only 2 1/2 inches high. so it fits in the palm of your hand. >> we tried to find out if that's true. >> she supposedly paid $13,000 for it. >> that's an hors devour, not a dog. >> thank you so much. speaking of hollywood stars, hers has been rising fast. >> get ready for some laughs. mindy kaling is here, coming up right after this. grapes and so is my family. over three generations have taught us about growing the best tasting fruit. our grapes ripen on the vine so that the flavors can fully develop. and only the most experienced hands harvest them to bring quality fruit to your table. that's why we work with walmart... ... together we guarantee you only get the freshest grapes available. backed by their 100% money-back guarantee. picked by farmers. guaranteed by us. ♪ hello! three grams daily of beta-glucan... a soluable fiber

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>> could it be? mindy kaling. >> yes, it is. "time" magazine's one of 100 most influential people in the world. star of "the mindy project," returning for its third season. >> and mindy picks up where she left off, with a drink in her hand and romance with her fellow doctor, with who she shares love and a love of gossip. take a look. >> i saw lauren and jeremy alone in the conference room and he was rubbing her. he was rubbing her neck. >> whoa, nelly. >> there is something going on. peter is not delivering in the bedroom and they're planning this charity thing together. i would never let my woman plan a charity event with some guy. i would never do it. >> i would never plan a charity event. that was really good interpersonal chitchat. >> really good interpersonal chitchat. mindy loves gossip. >> you are so hysterical, by the way. >> you are hysterical and you

look gorgeous today. >> thank you. >> you keep slurping your margarita. >> i have a few drinks here. >> wanted her to try the sa sangrita. how you to like it? >> i've never really drunk something and not liked it. >> third season, this show -- tell us why -- >> i feel like the rat pack. how many drinks in a day. i'll do it. >> she's game. she came to play. >> she did come to play. did you think we would be talking about your third season when you first started this show? >> i hoped so. i got a lot of ex-husbands i need to pay for. and a lot of kids. no, kids are enjoying life. i would love to pay for -- >> you do start a project like that, to her point, you have -- you never know. it is a crapshoot and you have so much riding on it, being the

producer and the writer and the star. a lot of hats to wear. >> that's how you have job security. put your name on the show. they can't fire you. and then you guys, the illustrations, you're, like, oh, i'm in. >> yeah. you're right. they have made an investment. >> you have to. >> tell us about your love interest, in real life. >> on the show? >> he's so dreamy. he's such a great actor and he has, like, a -- he's italian, has nice -- he's just a great actor. >> were you involved in the casting? >> oh, yeah. that's the perk of the job, yes. we used to be kind of sworn enemies, grew closer as friends and now dating. and it is good, because they're completely different. >> is he your kind of guy if you were to pick somebody if you were on a dating website, would he be your kind of guy? >> he's an old-fashioned guy. he hates e-mail and doesn't know how to use the phone. >> he's perfect for me. >> he rants about stuff. he's very manly and who wouldn't

like him? >> what about dating in real life? >> dating in real life? >> now she shuts up. >> it is fun. i like -- who doesn't like going on a nice date. i like guys. it's fun. >> your idea of a perfect date? >> buying a drink, whether it is on your show or going on a date, that's a nice -- >> a good beginning. >> yes. eye candy, like you guys, whether a handsome man. >> you're a happy woman. >> this is a great experience for me. >> it takes very little to make her happy. >> money, good looking people and lqalcohol. that's it. >> so deep and so happy you came to see us. >> thank you, guys. >> i'm a role model. >> you are. you are. do you hear from anybody who says you're taking it too far, missy? >> we're on network, so we can't show -- we can't do the hbo -- >> if you could, would you do all the nude scenes like they do on "girls"? >> no, i like to be covered up

and taken care inform those ways, no. yeah, for sure. my whole lifestyle would be different. i would have to get up and run five miles a day and learn how to do push-ups and stuff. network tv helps me a lot. >> you're such a blast. >> thank you. >> i love you. i love seeing you two. >> you're returning with -- >> tomorrow night on fox. >> we're going to meet a remarkable woman. >> she's incredible. she's resilient. we'll meet her, her brother, coming up right after this. oh, there's an energy crisis happening alright. a human one. ♪ and it's time to fight it. quaker's good energy is just what you want. ♪ it's how we help keep go-getters like you... going... and getting. one bite at a time. try quaker warm & crunchy granola for the crunchy side of oatmeal.

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all right, get ready to get inspired. you're going it meet an incredible woman. >> she just happens to be the sister of "today's" national correspondent and our pal peter alexander. >> hi, kids. >> thanks for hosting my sister and i here today. i'm so proud to share becky's story. she is one of the funniest and most caring people i promise you'll ever meet. also my best friend. but as you're about to see, her

world is rapidly changing because of a cruel disorder causing becky to go blind and deaf. to me, she is the real face of courage. >> don't stop. let's go. >> reporter: this is my sister rebecca, she's 35 now and the most impressive person i know. >> faster! >> reporter: looking at her, you would have no idea she has a disability. can you see my hands right here? >> yeah. >> can you see my hands right here? >> no. >> reporter: when becky was only 13, she was diagnosed with a rare and devastating genetic disorder called usher syndrome type 3. it finally hit you in college. i'm going to lose my vision and my hearing, go blind and deaf. what does learning that feel like? >> i felt like as soon as i got that diagnosis, well, i need to do everything i can to make up for my loss. it was, like, my way of fighting back. >> reporter: becky is fearless, a tornado of energy. she's an extreme athlete, leaving the rest of us in her dust. >> pick up your speed! >> reporter: with her hearing almost gone, last year becky

received a cochlear implant that provides a sense of sound. only becky passes the time before major surgery like this. i came to see her the day before she got the implant. you like to joke to me, i'm getting a hole in my head. as i come to terms with this, as a brother is, this is the last time i'll ever look at you without a device on you. you know what i mean? >> yeah. >> which for me is hard too. >> yeah. >> does that worry you in the way people will view you? i'm sorry i'm crying. i love you so much. >> it is nice to know the people around you do care and do have an emotional response to it. >> reporter: now a year and a half later, becky hears much better, but her vision is limited to this. like she's looking through a straw and that window is closing. still, my sister remains upbeat, and undeterred. >> it is incredible how in the last, you know, 15 years how much my life has changed.

and it is actually better. i mean, it is funny i could have a lot less vision, and a lot less hearing, and be a lot happier. >> oh, my gosh. >> becky alexander is with us now. her story is in this great book, please go buy this book called "not fade away", a memoir of senses lost and found. >> so nice to welcome you here today. >> my gosh, we're so excited. >> and peter, from the first day i came here and met peter, that's all he talked about was you. >> true. >> he loves you so much. >> i think i met you the first time in a spin class. and i remember you were on that bike leading the class rocking it, and when i heard about your -- some of your disabilities, i had so much trouble believing that that was you. because you don't lead with your disability. some people will tell you right away, i have this and i have that. that's not your way, is it? >> no, it is not. i think that it is something that people sometimes notice about me first, and sometimes they don't notice about me

first. but it certainly doesn't define me, yeah. we all have something, we all have -- we're all dealing with something, whether you can see it on the outside or whether it is emotional, physical or psychological. so, you know, most importantly with my book, this is not just to let people know that they're not alone, but to know that we all struggle with something on a daily baseis. >> are there still things yet to do on that list that you have not yet done? >> not a bucket list. >> no, i didn't say that. i didn't say that. you're not going anywhere. >> i hate the idea of a bucket list. >> i didn't say that. >> i know. >> i want you to do everything you can. what is left for you to do? >> i appreciate you making that distinction, but, anyway, so -- well, next summer i'm climbing mount kilimanjaro. >> that's what i wanted to hear you say. >> of course you are. >> i think it is genuinely what i want to do. i'm living my life.

>> you learned to sign. >> i learned sign language when i was in college at the university of michigan. so i work with the deaf community. >> did you know -- when -- it started happening at 13? that's when you started knowing it and then did you go right in and diagnosed right away or how -- >> so kind of -- my memory is probably different than how it actually happened. but when i was 12, i went in to get glasses, could see the black board at school and the optometrist saw something some the back of my eye and said i need to see somebody more specific. when i was a sophomore in college, i had a difficult time hearing. when you go to a really loud concert and you leave and your ears are ringing and you're like, that's what it felt like for, like, all the time. so, yeah, i went to an at larut

laryngologist. >> you love your sister so much, it is obvious. i'm sure you would rather it was happening to you than to her. >> i said to my wife, i said the day our daughter was born was the happiest day of my life, but right now it is like the proudest time of my life because when it is your own personal story, i tell stories for a living, but when it is your own and you get to do it for an audience like this, you can't afford to screw it up. it matters so much to you and i love her so much. she has -- everybody has something. only about 1500 people in this country have what becky has. it is crazy. it is rare. it is not fair. but i love her to death and i'm just beyond proud of what she's written, but it is not inspiring just to people who love her, it is now inspiring others and that's the biggest -- >> you're an amazing woman. >> you are. >> a great brother. you are terrific. >> thank you. >> get the book. it is so great. and don't go away. we'll be right back. >> first, this is "today."

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a fiery crash involving nearly a dozen cars shuts down 880 in san leandro turning the freeway into a parking lot during this morning's busy commute. good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm kris sanchez. >> the crash injured nine people, three of them critically, it happened around 3:00 this morning on 880. but the debris field was so widespread both directions from marina boulevard to washington avenue had to be closed for hours. right now, all lanes are back open. nbc bay area on scene. she's been on scene all morning. and stephanie, walk us through how this happened. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, scott. we do have new details on that. but first, you can see