an explosive claim by president trump, accusing former president obama of wire-tapping trump tower before the election. it comes as pressure over russia builds steam. we have the latest details. winter's last gasp, a nasty cold front sweeping into the east coast this morning. the storm causing pile-ups on the highways and forcing people everywhere to bundle up. temperatures more than 50 degrees colder than earlier in the week. this morning, how bad will it get and how long the big chill will last. and survival of the fittest. my life is on the line as i take part in a simulated plane crash into the water. the lessons learned and the

bonds formed with my producers. today, saturday, march 4th, 2017. ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> married 45 years ago today! >> hi to my brand-new grandson mikey, in rochester, new york. >> one more thing off the bucket list. >> hi, from st. croix, u.s. virgin islands. >> congratulations, craig. >> happy 40th little brother. >> retired after 32 years of service, so we came to new york! my favorite part of the morning, good morning to you, welcome back to "today" on this saturday morning. it is a very chilly one here in the northeast. temperatures dropping to the teens today. that's more than 50 degrees colder than earlier in the week. >> that's not stopping our friends from the plaza to waving to everyone back home. we're going to get there in a moment. we'll have more on the cold weather as well.

before we bundle up and head out. let's start with the breaking news, president trump up early with a series of shocking tweets, accusing former president obama of wire-tapping trump tower. nbc's kasie hunt is following it all. good morning to you. >> craig, sheinelle, good morning, this set of explosive new allegations, president trump over the course of about half an hour this morning, tweeting six times the russia investigation into trump campaign and aides, and potential contacts with the russians, clearly on his mind. he first tweeted -- terrible! just found out that obama had my wires tapped at trump tower just before the victory. nothing found this is mccarthyism. then he again tweets -- how low has president obama gone? to tapping phones during the very sacred election process, this is nixon/watergate. now nbc news has reached out to

former obama administration officials to try to get more details on what they have to say. and president trump often reacts to reports in conservative media outlets. so we're trying to take a look at that. there was a conservative radio host who focused on this issue during his show. and on fox news last night, brett baier asked house speaker paul ryan about whether there were so-called fisa warrants granted to allow the government to look at communications in trump tower. there was "new york times" reporting around this. the house speaker said that he wasn't sure about anything along those lines. although of course we should note that the speaker does get high-level intelligence and is often careful about what he reveals in public. but "the new york times" at one point did report that they, the government officials were allowed to look at a server that was in trump tower. at this point, no definitive reporting on any wire-tapping of phones or listening in on conversations. obviously we are looking into this as much as possible. and it's all taking place as the

house and senate intelligence committees are both investigating what happened between the trump campaign and any potential contacts with the russians. and we know that democrats, particularly are increasingly frustrated that the fbi has not given them more information about any investigation that they may be doing into these contacts. the top democrat on the house intelligence committee saying that he only knows a fraction of what the fbi knows about this. so again, this very rapidly developing story just this morning, craig, sheinelle, an explosive twist here. >> west palm beach, kasie hunt, thank you. let's turn to the dangerously cold weather gripping the east coast. indra is here with more. >> right now it's freezing, i'm sure you guys can see my breath it feels like 11 degrees in new york city. but it's been this huge sling-shot or flip-flop of temperatures, so very cold air has made its way in.

look at the arctic cold air that's made its way in straight from canada. you're seeing the temperatures drop significantly. just on wednesday, we were seeing highs, look at this record-breaking heat. richmond was 81 degrees, new york city was 70. temperatures were a good 35 degrees above normal. and now this is what it feels like. look at that. bangor, with a wind chill, 18 below. seeing single digits towards rochelle. as we turn towards tomorrow, look at the highs today, 15, 22 degrees through the entire weekend. temperatures going to be staying chilly. it's almost hard to talk it's so cold. baltimore, 21 degrees, as we go in through tomorrow morning. the wind chill is going to be feeling like it is 16 degrees. here is the good news, it is not lasting, we've been spoiled. that's going to be returning, d.c., we're looking at temperatures 40 by the time we go through sunday. monday, 58 tuesday. back to 60.

sorry that i'm complaining, but let me tell you shocking when we haven't felt this. 70 degrees a few days ago and almost like your lips are stuck together. >> bone-chilling cold, indra, thank you, we'll get to your national forecast coming up. now to other headlines, a man is in custody today, accused of making bomb threats against jewish community centers, the fbi says juan thompson made the threats to get back at his ex-girlfriend. he was fired last year from the online news site called the intercept for allegedly making up sources and quotes. more than 100 bomb threats have been made against jewish organizations since the beginning of this year. thompson is suspected of at least eight of them. but he's only been charged with one count of cyberstalking. a pair of armed robbery suspects are in custody after a wild police chase played out on the streets of houston. here's the hot pursuit. it started friday when police got a call about a bank robbery. the suspects' car careened

through the streets, bounced off other cars and lost a tire. the smoking wreck comes to a stop in front of a father and son and the car lurched towards the father and the son protects the man he loves. disney's new "beauty and the beast" is stirring up controversy for having a gay character in the story. owners of a drive-in theater refused to show the film. the movie won't be released until march 17th. golfers in florida are getting used to sharing the course with alligators. but even the experienced have not seen anything quite like this. a full-sized gator casually strolling across the 10th fairway with a massive fish clamped in its jaws. you can see it, it happened near tampa earlier this week. the hungry monster doesn't look

like he's in any mood to share. >> i wouldn't even ask, actually. wouldn't even bother to ask. let's go out to indra on the pla plaza with another check of the weather. >> we're in it together, right, guys? find me someone, who is from someplace warm? south carolina? okay. do you still happy you came here to new york city today? >> yes. >> no regrets? >> no. >> it is freezing, we're talking about temperatures here a huge drop from a few days ago. we are seeing big drop in temperatures, the wind chills feeling like single digits. one of the big stories, out towards the gulf. looking at flooding conditions. we're actually going to be seeing it spreading into the midwest and the northeast as we go through the middle of the week. as far as totals, we could see heavier areas are flooding. mostly about one to three inches of rainfall. as far as the big picture, we're good morning.

you're waking up now to 40s and 50s. south bay right now at 50 degrees. peninsula 48. trivalley 46 degrees and we will be seeing mostly overcast skies throughout the day as we begin to track rain moving through the bay area. starting off in the north bay. they've already seen a few showers and san francisco 52 degrees and the east bay right now at 53 degrees. over the next couple of hours, we will be jumping in terms of the temperatures in the 50s but should be topping out in the 60s. never thought the studio was so warm before. back to you guys. come on back inside. still ahead, dylan dreyer joining us via face-time today. what's your favorite food? a survey of each state's favorite foods. the results might surprise you. and the special relationship between former first lady (cheering)

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tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate, and is also available in a once-daily pill. ask about xeljanz xr. hey, hang in there. thanks. kleenex. someone needs one. [phhello.ng] hi, it's anne from edward jones. i'm glad i caught you. well i'm just leaving the office so for once i've got plenty of time. what's going on? so those financial regulations being talked about? they could affect your accounts, so let's get together and talk, and make sure everything's clear. thanks. yeah. that would be great.

we've grown to over $900 billion in assets under care... by being proactive, not reactive. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. (singsong) budget meeting. sweet. if you compare last quarter... it's no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with no artificial preservatives, flavours or dyes. we're back on a saturday morning, time to trend. good morning to you. here's the first question, do you remember last week when we told you about a 15-year-old pregnant giraffe named april? i didn't realize she was just 15. the live stream that millions of people have been tuning into. it's still going strong because she hasn't given birth yet. i thought it was so close last weekend.

despite it being 15 months, the new calf is a no-show. her keeper says april has been getting more and more restless, i can only imagine. 15 months is about the normal time for expectant giraffes, but ladies, can you imagine? 15 months? >> no, i can answer that quickly. the labor, i'm not going to complain about 26 hours ever again. ever. >> that letter that she wrote that april wrote? hilarious. you get a chance to check it out. turning 100, a milestone a lot of folks don't get to see. big centennial celebration for this california great grandmother! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> i love it i love it! clearly age is a state of mind. that's the lovely ms. elizabeth, thoroughly enjoying her special day. busting a mood to bruno mars'

hit, "24-karat magic." they posted it to facebook, not surprisingly, it went viral. keep on moving and shaking it, ms. elizabeth. >> you see that move. >> well when you're looking for recipes online, a lot of people turn to pinterest. the site collected data to find out which foods or ingredients are searched for more in each state what do you think people in iowa search for? >> corn. >> corn? >> i know the answer. i read the script. >> well you don't play along at home, the answer? chex mix. how about folks in pennsylvania? >> ooh -- gobs. >> potatoes. >> peach schnapps. >> home states, craig, south carolina, start with you. >> mac and cheese. >> let's take a look. i don't know the answer. >> what is that? >> cupcakes.

>> red velvet. that's key. >> your state, california. what do you think? >> avocados, baby. >> let's see what we got? >> that doesn't look like an avocado. >> pomegranate? >> figures. >> that's funny. >> figs. >> joelle, you're a new york centre. >> i know the answer. >> falafel. >> my household, donuts. >> i'm a kansas girl. i'm going to guess, hamburgers, barbeque. >> what do we have? >> chicken enchiladas. >> searching for the stuff we don't have? >> we don't do the foods of our states. >> want to spend time in sheinelle's home state. what do we have? >> ready for the worst impersonation you've ever heard. first up, he won't be back. i can only be talking about arnold schwarzenegger. the actor turned governor and reality tv host announced he's not going to return for another season of "celebrity apprentice" here on nbc.

the 69-year-old says he loved the experience and would absolutely work with everyone again, just on a show that quote doesn't have this baggage. what does he mean by baggage? in an interview with "empire" magazine he talks about the reality show's association with the president saying when people found out that trump was still involved as a executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people started boycotting it. of course the two have famously gone back and forth on twitter over the ratings decline. we've got baby news to tell you about. academy award winner natalie portman has given birth to her second child with her husband. this time it's a girl for the couple. we don't have a picture yet. but we do have a name, amalia millipied. she was born in late february and we're told that mom and baby are healthy and happy. it's been a busy week for former president george w. bush. he kicked things off at "today" to talk about his latest passion

project. honoring veterans. but when he stopped by the ellen degeneres show, the conversation turned to his relationship with former first lady michelle obama. and if this picture from last year made you go aww, then you're going to love his conversation with ellen about it. >> that surprised everybody. that's so weird about society today. you know, that people on opposite sides of the political spectrum can actually like each other. >> but are you that close, you're closer to her than barack? >> well let's put it this way, he's never given me a hug that way. >> he also said i wrote it down over here, i'm kind of a needler and she handles it. i love that. leave it up to the talk show host to address the elephant in the room and by elephant, i mean the former president's poncho problems. >> first time? >> it looks like it, that's for sure. >> i feel like it runs in the family.

>> it really must run in the family because your mom had an issue with the poncho also. >> you got to watch the full interview, he lost it i should mention tomorrow will be sitting down one-on-one with former president george w. bush right here on "today." >> that was great. stirsll ahead, the moment we've all been waiting for from our very own dylan dreyer, how she's been handling maternity leave. first, this is "today" on nbc.

the moment we've all been waiting for. >> dylan dreyer, baby calvin with us via face time. what's up, guys? >> good morning, dylan. >> good morning, how are you? >> he looks so much older already. >> how old is he now, d? >> he is 10 or 11 weeks. i haven't -- he's just over two

months old. >> well give us the update. everybody wants to know how is he doing, what's he doing? what's the latest? >> he's, he's just amazing, i am so in love with him. he's rolling over. he's smiling all the time. he found his hands. his hands are his new biggest toy i'd say. hands and his feet, he's starting to grab things a little more, he kicks his feet when he's excited. every day is something new. >> you look fantastic, by the way. are you getting some sleep? >> i got a good five hours a night. i'll take it. >> how is brian doing, is he close? >> he is. he's doing good. >> i'm doing good. >> hi, guys. >> brian fisher. >> he looks rested. >> he gets a little more sleep than i do. but -- >> the only thing keeping me up is like guilt. >> that's funny. >> dylan with about 35 seconds, what's the best part of being a mom so far? >> you know, it's, i think the fact that i just -- turned into a mom like this and it's like i

was so worried going into it. i know how to take care of him. i know how to nurture him and love him and make him happy. it just kind of happened. and he looks to me for life, which is amazing. >> i know we were at an event the other night, honoring al roker and i looked at dylan's phone. it's official, every single picture on her phone. >> love it. >> can't wait to have you back, my friend. miss you, thank you, dylan. >> be well, calvin. still to come, i'll tell you how i learned to survive a plane crash, we'll get into that but first, these messages.

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it is 6:26 on your saturday morning. a live look outside from san francisco. the transamerica pyramid and you can't even see the golden gate bridge in stockton by all that fog this saturday morning. thanks so much for joining us. vianey look at our microcast forecast. it was so dark outside and now it's bright. >> not a lot of sunshine yet. waiting for sunrise. we're not expecting to see a lot of sunshine all day long. so, yesterday was your last day to enjoy mr. sunshine. but, of course, we are waking up to temps in the 40s along the peninsula and 48 degrees and 46 for the tri-valley and overcast skies in the south bay at 50 degrees and in san francisco right now at 52.

the rain is expected to hit the north and then timing wise after 4:00 it is expected to move south of the golden gate bridge. so, if we take a look right now at that doppler radar, you can see we do have those overcast skies and lots of clouds in the forecast and right now the majority of that rain is sticking to the north. but we will have a period of some pretty steady rain during dinnertime. as far as rain totals and the possibility of strong, gusty winds, we'll have all of that coming up at 7:00 and also there is a severe storm on the way. also an update on how much snow. >> getting more snow. all right. thanks. and because of those scattered showers this weekend, we'll be keeping a close eye on anderson reservoir in morgan hill and the spot where it spills over into coyote creek. the reservoir is currently 99% full this morning and they don't expect the creek to flood,

again. but after last week's miscalculation, the water district has hired a prominent crisis management specialist who now speaks for the water district. >> we don't think that there is any concerns right at the moment, but given that there is just a flood and so many people have been devastated or affected by it, we're keeping an extra eye on it this weekend. >> the water district says they are in close contact with the city of san jose monitoring the water levels this weekend. as this next storm rolls in, you can keep track of it all day with our nbc bay area app. you can even access our live doppler radar. some of the victims of the san jose floods are facing a new problem this weekend. they're dealing with more rain on its way, mold and thieves. robberies are spiking in the flood zone and as a result more police are patrolling the area. this comes just days after those days were allowed to return back into their homes to assess the damage. thieves are posing as volunteers trying to take what is

salvageable from yellow and red tagged homes. >> when i looked. i had seen that they had my daughter's playpen full of jackets, shoes and a shopping cart with my kids' bikes. >> they coordinated a neighborhood watch to try to protect themselves. coming up on "today in the bay" usually they're doing the helping but today firefighters need you. we'll explain what happened and what was taken and how you can help. we'll have all the top stories and weather coming up at 7:00. we hope you join us. right now back to "today" show. e 50% or more. there are three stages of wow: denial... - is this price right? - acceptance... and "boooyah." wait for it... "boooyah" has three os. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪

stop by our bar bonanza event and save up to 80%! we are back on this saturday morning. march 4, 2017. >> anyone can show up for this show on any saturday. we always welcome guests, but this is a special crowd. because it's so cold -- >> you know what, kudos to you guys, it is cold outside. >> they accept it and endured. still to come, i'll learn the skills of survival as i take on the challenge of a lifetime, a simulated plane crash. >> you can't talk, so cold. and i'll talk to a successful hip hop violinist who is making quite the comeback after losing everything. and we bring you the southern secrets of a delicious chicken sandwich recipe.

i can't wait to warm up and eat that. this is pretty cool. just made the cover of your hometown magazine "columbia" i love how everybody goes aww. congratulations, that's definitely an honor when your hometown does that. >> they airbrushed that picture. >> a nice picture. >> thank you very much. let's get a final check of the forecast miss peterson. >> it's cold, let's start there, right? i think we all know that the biggest thing it's been this huge shift. we have these very warm temperatures on wednesday and now the significant temperature drop. you can hear everyone is giggly out here it's so cold. we're talking single digits in the northeast. enough about them, you in the south we're going to be looking for showers around the gulf. we'll see rain making its way in as we go through the week. it spreads into the midwest and the northeast. pacific northwest, you will have more showers, even a chance of snow. the lips are going

good morning. it is 6:32 and we are seeing overcast skies over san francisco right now. 52 degrees. we are tracking rain across the bay area expected to move from the north through the south over the next couple of hours. here's a live look right now at that doppler radar. mainly cloudy skies but over the next hours, we are expecting a big change coming up ahead. steady rain into the evening overnight hours into sunday morning. i think we all have the cold weather dance down, right? we got it. >> it's the iconic backdrop of england's capital. you've seen it everywhere in post cards, now big ben is about to undergo some restorations. nbc's lucy cavanaugh is live in london with a look at the life and times of the great bell. lucy, good morning to you. >> craig, good morning. well we often think of that entire clock tower when we think

of big ben but that name actually refers to a very special bell at the top. ahead of those restorations, we're learning new details about what makes it sound different from all the other bells in the world. the sound of london since 1859. >> big ben, the world's most celebrated timepiece. >> for 160 years, big ben's iconic bongs have kept this city running on time. surviving the second world war, less lucky in hollywood. providing the dramatic backdrop in the nailbiters, and our favorite comedies. >> kids, big ben. >> it may be a timeless timepiece, but it's only now that scientists are uncovering the secret behind its chime. for the first time ever, researchers from leicester university have mapped out vibrations from big ben's bell

to find out how it makes that distinctive sound. the bell itself, 13 1/2 tons of copper and steel. after climbing all 334 steps, you can't just glue sensors to a national treasure so researcher martin dock rel and his team turned to cutting-edge laser technology. analyzing the bell simulated here as a chart to map its unique vibrations. >> in terms of other bells that we've measured before, it's much larger and slightly different tuning to normal bells. >> this shows big ben's lowest frequency, 95 hertz. but at the high eer frequencies it vibrates in complicated patterns. dramatic, iconic, punctuating london's routines for generations past, and those to come. and that clock has been work sog hard for so long, that no

surprise it needs a few repairs. so unfortunately, big been will be falling silent late they are year as part of this tower restoration effort. but not to worry, if you're planning a visit to london and you're dead set on hearing the world-famous chime in person, big ben will be ringing in the new year. craig? >> lucy cavanaugh for us in london, thank you. up next, sheinelle jones putting her life on the line, plunging into the water, learning how to survive a simulated plane crash. some life-saving advice that really could help you some day. you don't want to miss this. but first, these messages.

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we're back on a beautiful, but chilly saturday morning. ever wonder how to bond better with your colleagues or friends? try taking water survival training. >> i took one for the team and stepped inside a simulated plane crash. and let me tell you it will strengthen your relationships in a heartbeat. having problems with your boss? >> if i had a gun with two bullets and i was in a room with hitler, bin laden and toby, i would shoot toby twice. >> co-workers a little crazy. >> i tried to make water in the coffee pot and i broke everything. >> you could tackle a paintball course together, but maybe it's time to go extreme. that's where survival systems

comes in. the connecticut-based company teaches people to survive accidents in the water. their idea of team-building? a simulated plane crash. no, that's not a joke. so i decided to give it a shot with two weekend "today" producers, joelle and hannah. john was our instructor. >> the first person in wants to clear the obstacles out of the way. >> are we going to be going upside-down today? >> oh yeah. >> now i feel like i'm shaking in my boots or my suit. >> panic isn't the word, but is this normal to feel this anxiety? >> absolutely. >> first task? life vests. >> can you start now. >> not yet. >> i thought we were supposed to do this! >> we move to the 13-foot platform jump. >> is everybody ready?

>> no. >> i'm terrified. >> three, two, one -- [ scream ] >> if this wasn't "the today show," it would be a wrap. >> the next step, boarding a life raft. >> one, two, three. >> they failed to mention the approaching rain storm. together we blocked the storm. progress on our part. >> but no rest for the weary as i found my way to an air rescue. our bond was growing stronger. >> we did it. >> i already started to feel closer to you. >> we're a team! >> it was time to board our flight. >> ladies, we got this this is what we trained for. >> now with our plane about to

crash. the real test. >> first thing, we're down. use a reference point to locate your exit. >> once you've operated the handle. then you relocate your hand to the emergency exit. >> divers ready?

>> we all survived. now a stronger team. let's hope we never have to use these skills. >> as far as the team building, we have something. >> it's time to get out. >> it was quite the bonding experience. each task seemed overwhelming at first, but we all gained more confidence step by step. and you better believe the next time i'm on an airplane. i will sit at least in an exit row or close to an exit row and i will listen to the safety announcement. i do,s because i've flown several times since the story. i've learned so much, not only how to survive a plane crash, but more about myself. i'm afraid of the most, people were thinking the plane crash and all that i was afraid about holding my breath. because -- >> you see the water it's coming up, coming up and you know, i'm trying to take the last breath. >> you also said there's something else that you discovered in terms of like

wearing the seat belt. >> so here's the thing, god forbid you're ever in the car or in the water. your first instinct is to unbuckle, especially when you're on a plane. but then you lose your -- your bearings, so when you wait we flipped over, you wait for yourself to feel like you really stopped, then you unbuckle and you can feel around and remember you know, you kind of get your bearings, if you unbuckle early. which happened in our, when we tried it. we were lost. you can't get out. >> and you're always picking your seat now? >> that's one assignment i would have refused. >> you know what, i feel like i conquered something. never again -- but i feel like i conquered it. >> all right. if you would like to see what she was really thinking when she went through that experience -- there's a great web extra, at todayshow.com and we didn't beep out the language. >> and shout-out to hannah and joelle, our producers, it was a team effort.

>> i have anxiety just watching it. what happens when you lose everything. we'll talk to a successful violinist now chasing purpose instead of paper. first these messages.

imagine gaining fame and fortune and losing it all? >> that's what happened to hip hop volunteer inist damien escobar, today he's made his comeback. we caught up with him on the set of his latest video, "get up and dance." ♪ ♪ >> 30-year-old damien escobar describes his life and music in one word -- it's also the name of his upcoming album. >> "boundless" a coming of age album. it embodied freedom. freedom to create and do what i want as an artist and a person. >> it seems to me you could have called it "comeback."

>> that would have been the easy way out. >> there was no easy way out for damien growing up with his brother on the tough streets of jamaica, queens. it seemed that he had found his calling. the child prodigy who played the violin like no one else. >> 13, graduated from juilliard. >> i went through my moments, i got arrested for a gun charge when i was 14. i made some poor choices, but i found my way back. i picked up my first love. me and my violin got a love affair. she pays my bills, she takes care of me. >> every now and then you have a falling out? >> isn't it marriage? >> damien and his brother were featured here on "today" 11 years ago. they went from playing in the subways of new york city -- to performing at the white house. winning two emmys, appearing in commercials and gaining fame and fortune. >> it was all about money, it wasn't about the message or the purpose. >> when he split with his brother, damien became depressed and stopped playing. soon, the hip hop violinist who

first started performing in the subways was sleeping in them. >> e train, a train. i didn't want to burden anybody, i didn't want to go to anybody's house, i didn't want people to know i was homeless. >> his daughter helped inspire his comeback. >> she said daddy, what are you going to do now? i depart know how to answer that. i hadn't played violin for about ten months. when i first picked it back up, it was more so for my kids. but as i started creating, and started seeing the lives i was touching and finding my way and music and finding myself. it became something for me. >> what's up, caesar? >> now his mission is to give back to his fans. like 7-year-old caesar. >> i want to hear you. >> a violin prodigy who has sickle-cell anemia. >> he's had two strokes by the age of five. he has to get monthly blood transfusions and he wakes up every day and smiles and plays his violin. >> if i can use my platform to bring awareness to you, to raise

money to get this huge operation he needs, i'll do it. >> today, damien's music is his motivation. >> i can't imagine doing anything else. i found my purpose. once you find your purpose, you find yourself. >> and he says that he found his purpose again. he found his purpose and he felt like he kind of gotten off the path and now he's rediscovered that love affair with the violin. he's currently on tour, performing for packed audiences here in this country. his album "boundless" scheduled to come out in march 21st, if you would like to find out more about the tour, head to our website, todayshow.com. >> you don't want to practice your violin? take a look at this show. go to todayshow.com to show your kids. you could be this cool. >> he's a good guy, too. wow, he's incredible. coming up even though we're up north we're going to get a little taste of the south with this delicious spicy buttermilk

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i like it start your used car search at carfax.com oh, we're in for a treat this morning. welcome back to "today." we've got a great southern meal this morning. in "today" food, this is chef lazarus lynch, sharing the secret to this spicy buttermulk fried chicken recipe. along with other mouth-watering

classics as well. so good to see you. >> so good to see you, i'm honored to be here. >> what goes into this spicy chicken sandwich. >> we'll start out our chicken by creating a bath for our thighs. we've got eggs in the bowl, i want you to give that a whisk and we're going to use buttermilk because it is a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich. the buttermilk is going to tenderize our chicken. we're going to use our favorite kind of hot sauce, whatever you like. >> it feels like spicy chicken or hot chicken is all the rage right now. >> it is, but mine is a little different and i'll show you why. i'm going to add the seasoning mix in here, we have our seasoning blend and we just add a little inside there. now we're going to add our chicken pieces. hello chicken thighs. >> why the thighs? >> this is a boneless chicken thigh. skin on. you can also use skin off. we're using it because it's a dark meat and because it's very tender. you can do it with chicken breasts, but i love the thigh.

we like dark meat in my family. >> how long are we going to keep it in the fridge? >> that gets covered for about 30 minutes, all the way to overnight. you have some that's been marinating already overnight. what we're going to do now is create the dredge. so this is some all-purpose flour, cornstarch and baking powder. >> all three? >> here's the thing, the cornstarch will create this nice crisp texture on our chicken. now what i want you to do, is add about two ladles of some of our liquid marinade. >> to the dredging? >> to the dredging. >> and i added my sizening mix. >> what's in the seasoning mix. i noticed how fast you went there. >> my seasoning mix. >> he just threw that out. >> we're going to take our chicken here it's been marinating. we got some cayenne pepper in there, too. loving it. >> drop it in the pan there, how hot should the pan be?

>> about 360 degrees. really no more than that. i'm us a a cast-iron skillet because in the south that's what we do. >> that guess fried. >> how long? >> ten minutes total. >> i finish it in the oven. >> why is that? >> we want color on the outside, we don't want to overcook it. we finish that in the oven. we have some prepared right there. >> that looks beautiful. >> can i touch you, maybe your skill will rub off. >> this is the best chicken i've ever tasted, ever. >> that's a huge statement. >> in my 38 years of living. this is the best chicken i'm ever had. >> put it on your website. i'm not kidding. >> the spicy chicken sandwich and we've got some sweet potato fries. >> our mayonnaise mix. lather your bun.

america's best condiment. >> all of this is optional. do whatever you want. i like lettuce, tomato, cabbage. this is fun food this is brunch food. i call it soulicious food. it speaks to your soul, speaks to my heart. i got this upside-down. who cares. i was preparing this with some sweet potato fries. >> we don't have time to get to the fries. >> and peach cobbler. my dad inherited the recipe and i inherited it from him. >> the recipes will be on todayshow.com/food. lazar lazarus, a big thanks to you and that's going to do it. a sit-down with former president george w. bush. you can dig into it. >> you can come over to my house any time. >> i love you. >> shout-out to my sister, it's her birthday.

>> what's her name. >> lauren. >> are ygood morning, i'm kira . ming up nt, on today ithe ba.... vo two jail deputies arrest. what side of the law.vo plus ... as if san jo flood vic what landed them on the other side of the law. the san jose flood victims haven't suffered enough, now they're being targeted by thieves how robbers are getting in. a live look at the transamerica pyramid. wet and cold weather returns to the bay area. how much and how long it will stick around. where do babies come from?

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good saturday morning to you. it is 6:59 and here's a live look outside. cloudy skies but still beautiful little pink tinge there as we look at san jose from communications hill. we appreciate you joining us, good morning to you. i'm kira klapper and a look at our microclimate forecast and we had a nice break and the rain is returning. >> it is returning, but at least it's not going to be heavy and we're not expecting a lot of it. so, that's the plus side to it all. we are expecting scattered showers throughout the day. if you had any birthday parties and plan to be outside, pick up

a tent on your way home or run some errands, do it now. south bay now at 49 degrees and peninsula 48 and tri-valley 46 degrees. still chilly and definitely overcast. san francisco 51 north bay. expect to see scattered showers moving in over the next half hour to an hour. we are going to see the scattered showers stick to the north bay through the early morning lunch hour. now, the peninsula area pacific could start seeing some showers at 8:30 and then as far as the south bay goes, it will move in later this evening. but at least over the next couple of hours, we are expecting to warm up ahead of a cold front. as that cold front sweeps in tonight, we are expecting a pretty big drop in the temperatures for today and tomorrow, as well. look at the overcast skies in san francisco. 51 degrees right now and expect to see the rain moving around the lunch hour. 11:00, 12:00 light rain near that area and steady rain through the evening and, of course, i will have an hour by hour outlook and i'll also h