arsenal this morning in celebration of that country's founding ruler. it comes as vice president mike pence gets set to head to the region where tensions are extremely high after a warning from the rogue nation saying they're prepared for an all-out war with the u.s. we're live in seoul. executions halted. >> what do we want? >> mercy! >> protesters including actor johnny depp pleading to spare the lives of seven inmates scheduled for death after 11 days. delighted after the judge sided with the condemned. but the legal battle isn't over yet. panic at penn station.

[ screams ] mass hysteria at one of new york city's biggest train stations after an incident involving a taser sends commuters fleeing fearing a terror attack. the stampede leaving scores injured and shaken this morning. ♪ and "the last jedi." the force is strong for "star wars" fans celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film franchise. a bittersweet celebration as fans remember one of their favorite princesses, "today," saturday april 15th, 2017. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. i'm sheinelle jones. >> glad to have you with us. i'm craig melvin. dylan dreyer with us as well. a lot of folks on this easter weekend concerned about the weather. >> most years easter doesn't end up being that great weatherwise. this year, across the country, looks pretty nice.

>> good news this morning. we'll talk about that coming up in just a bit. first, let's get to our top story this morning. in north korea a show of military force was on full display during the parade celebrating the birthday of that nation's founding ruler this morning. it comes as tensions rise across the region and jitters grow over the rogue nation's nuclear plants. we go live to seoul. janice, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. there is still mounting tension here after north korea had promised to mark the most important day on its calendar with a big event and today it delivered. with anxiety simmering, the weaponry rolled out in pyongyang. a showcase of missiles and military hardware. some of it, according to experts, not seen before. looking on with delight, kim jong-un and a warning from the man who is said to be the second most senior official.

that the u.s. faces all-out war and annihilation if north korea is attacked. for weeks now the concern that north korea will carry out another missile test or sixth nuclear test or make good on a threat to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the united states. >> north korea is a problem. the problem will be taken care of. i will say this, i think china has really been working very hard. >> reporter: china urged an end to mutual provocation cautioning it could spiral out of control. with an character carrier strike group headed to the korean peninsula and other missile equipped u.s. destroyers said to already be in place. the uncertainty loomed at this 105th anniversary of the most important day of the year for north korea at a most crucial time for security. experts say some of the military

hardware that was on display was new. some of it had just been modified or repainted but on whole that it shows how committed the regime is to building its arsenal. back to you. >> janis, thank you. >> just as north korea displayed its military might this morning, president trump is promising action after a string of military strikes overseas. this morning we're learning new details about that massive attack on isis fighters in afghanistan with the death toll rising. this as president trump wakes up to the backlash over another controversial move reversing a white house policy put in place by president obama. nbc's kelly o'donnell is live in west palm beach with that. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. the president has talked about the advantages of unpredictability when it comes to foreign policy. today the white house is projecting caution and reassurance when it comes to north korea. kim jong-un's ambitions could pose the greatest challenge to president trump, and today a

long-planned trip to asia for mike pence comes at a critical time. today the vice president heads to seoul, south korea, part of a four-country trip. pence intends to deliver a message of unwavering support to the u.s. ally most vulnerable to a nuclear strike. >> really, the president's message and vice president's message is to show support with allies and the fact that we are there with them and confront this threat together. >> while president trump has a new friendship with his counterpart, chinese prime minister urged calm. in less than two weeks, president trump deployed american firepower against syria and isis in afghanistan with the pentagon's first-ever use of what it called the mother of all bombs. >> we are so proud of our military, and it was another successful event. >> reporter: the white house made use of an old washington play releasing a controversy stirring document on a holiday

weekend. this time the trump administration announced visitor logs, secret service records showing who gets inside the white house, and therefore who might have influence, will be kept secret citing grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. critics argue the decision undercuts transparency and the president's pledge to drain the swamp, but what is clearly visible, the president's d.c.-to-palm beach commute. this easter holiday marks the seventh of 13 weekends in office president trump has spent in florida at his home. while the trips to palm beach have become routine, what is different this weekend is the president does not have his most senior staffers with him during this easter holiday. also today, updated figures on the result of the u.s. strike on afghanistan. afghan officials now put the number of isis fighters killed at 94. craig?

>> kelly o. for us in florida this morning. thank you. as we just saw, today is an important day in north korea's history, and a weapons test could come this weekend in a show of military might. it's one of a string of critical international issues facing the trump white house this morning. jeremy bash is an nbc news national security analyst and former chief of staff at the cia and pentagon under president obama. jeremy, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's talk about this military parade. did you see anything surprising? we didn't see a launch, do we expect one in this 13-day celebration period? >> what's much more important than a nuclear test, which they've done five times previously going all of the way back to 2006, what's more important are capabilities of missiles that could hit japan, south korea and of course the united states. at this parade today we saw a couple of familiar weapons that we've seen before. some paint jobs on old weapons.

and the only thing that potentially could stand out are their ability to launch from a road mobile launcher, basically drive a missile around so that we can't predict where it will from out from, and also they showcased some of their cold launch solid fuel capabilities. that means they can launch in a hurry. that's potentially destabilizing. >> a lot of tough talk between washington and pyongyang. president trump saying that north korea is a problem that he's going to deal with. we heard from north korea two days ago saying that they would ruthlessly ravage the united states should we launch a preemptive attack. where are we on a scale of one to ten, where are we in terms of tensions? >> i would say about an eight. this is a very heightened state, and these things have a cycle. sometimes it's provocation. sometimes it's accommodation. but we're in a provocative state right now. what i worry about most, craig, is that if we threaten preemptive military strikes on

their nuclear facilities, which would be a terribly destabilizing idea, they could retaliate by raining artillery down on seoul 40 kilometers from that border. there are 10 to 15 million people that live in the seoul area. it is a tinder box. a very tense situation, that's what i worry most about. >> it's interesting you mention that. president trump appears to be trying to leverage his relationship with china's president and they've said, listen, both sides need to reel it in and put their swords back in so to speak. do you think trump will be successful in convincing the chinese to intervene? >> i think he'll be successful if he does it quietly through quiet diplomatic channels. i worry about destabilizing effects of his own thumbs. using twitter to call out chinese. if you don't do it, we'll take care of business ourselves. that's a very dangerous move. >> jeremy, really quickly on this visitor log story. the white house citing grave

national security concerns, privacy concerns as well in trying to explain why they are no longer going to make that information public. should those concerns outweigh concerns about transparency? you dealt with a lot of secrets in this country. >> i'm not aware of any national security concerns that would prevent transparency of those visitor logs. i'm aware of no intelligence and no national security information that would justify such a move. adlines on this saturday morning. thousands of tax day protesters will take to the streets in nearly 200 cities and towns from coast to coast. demonstrators say they want to show president trump that people do care about his refusal to release his tax returns and demand he do so. today, april 15th, traditionally the last day for filing your taxes but this year you have until tuesday the 18th. the debate over capital punishment is heating up in arkansas. beginning monday seven inmates were set to be executed over the

next 11 days but a new ruling temporarily halted all executions frustrating officials and delighting protesters including some big names in hollywood. nbc's jacob rascon has the story. >> reporter: the state of seven executions in arkansas are in doubt this morning after a busy day for activists and attorneys. >> what do we want? >> mercy. >> reporter: protesters gathered asking for mercy including state judge wendell griffen later ruling to block one of the drugs halting all planned executions. arkansas's attorney general promising to file an emergency request to overturn the order. in a separate decision, the arkansas supreme court granted bruce ward the first of seven men scheduled to be executed over 11 days a stay of execution. for the damian, they are more

than death row inmates. he spent 18 years on death row, one of the west memphis three convicted of killing three boys in 1993 in what prosecutors at the same described as a raitual before dna evidence showed they didn't do it. >> i'm proud to be here and proud to stand in absolute solidarity. >> reporter: the arkansas governor scheduled the seven executions together so they could be carried out before a key lethal injection drug expires at the end of the month. both sides await more possible last-minute developments. jacob rascon, nbc news, little rock, arkansas. chaos and fear for commuters during friday's busy rush hour in new york city. a power failure left a train stuck inside a hudson river tunnel with more than 1,000

passengers trapped for nearly three hours and then an incident involving a taser at new york's penn station had the place erupt in panic with fears of a terror attack. nbc's morgan ratford this morning. >> reporter: mass hysteria last night at the start of the evening rush hour. a stampede broke out after tourists and commuters heard popping sounds which they mistakenly took to be gunfire. >> everyone was just running. happy now that it's a false alarm but everyone is just really nervous. >> reporter: the panic started when the police used a taser on a man who had become belligerent in the amtrak waiting area. that man was led out in handcuffs. >> we were able to quickly review the 911 calls and determine there were no actual shots fired. >> commuters hid behind garbage cans and ran for their lives

leaving everything behind. >> high heart is still racing. sweaty. i'm shaking. it was just, like, no one knew what was going on. >> some ran down the street to a nearby macy's fearing an active shooter was on a rampage. >> people started running out of the store again and running out the floor like crazy. >> reporter: 16 people had to be treated for minor injuries. a frightening start to the holiday weekend. a heartbreaking story out of atlanta this morning. a 5-year-old boy killed at a popular tourist attraction. the boy and his family were visiting a rotating restaurant with 360-degree views of the city when he got caught in the tiny space between the moving floor and the wall. staff and diners at the westin hotel jumped to the boy's aid but couldn't save him. a closely guarded secret apple computer is out this morning. the tech giant will start testing a self-driving car.

the california dmv issued apple a permit friday to put three autonomous lexus cars like this one on the road with backup drivers onboard. apple has never before confirmed that they are working on this technology, but it's long been suspected. as of today, if you get bumped from a delta flight, your compensation just jumped now up to $10,000. passengers on that united flight this week where the screaming man was dragged off of the plane, they say they were only offered $800 to give up their seats. delta's new rules as of friday gate agents can offer you 2,000 but a supervisor can go to just short of $10,000 to satisfy a bumped passenger. this morning we're getting our first look at the next installment in the "star wars" story during this week's 40th anniversary celebration in florida fans came face to face with some of the franchise's biggest starts and gs and got a

at the next movie "the last jedi." >> reporter: it won't come out until december, but for fans, the force is already strong for the new "star wars" movie "the last jedi." >> of course there's a trailer. >> reporter: "star wars" fans giddy after the film was reve revealed during the celebration of the 40th anniversary drawing stars from the most recent films as well as icons from the series original cast including ma mark hamill who plays luke skywalker. >> i'm always stunned at the passion that's lasted all these years. >> reporter: and fan favorite harrison ford, otherwise known as hans solo. >> it was a brilliant invention of a metholoythology that has

sustained interest for over 40 years. >> reporter: the celebration bittersweet as co-stars and fans alike paid tribute to the late actress carrie fisher who embodied princess leia. >> when carrie came in, she was that character. she was very strong, very smart, very funny, very bold, very tough. >> reporter: "the last jedi" is the first movie since fisher's unexpected death in december and fisher's last appearance as princess leia. >> we will see a lot of her, which is great. >> reporter: her daughter in costume honoring her mother's iconic role. >> nothing about her was a performance. she loved you. she loved these movies. >> reporter: movies that will carry on with a new generation of actors to the delight of fans of all generations.

>> you know, my husband is one step away from going to one of those things and dressing up and everything. he was very, very excited that the trailer is out. >> who would he dress as out of curiosity? >> that's a really good question. i'll have to think about that. i don't know the answer to that. >> it's not surprising these fans are taking that trailer and dissect every little piece of it to try to figure it all out. >> a lot of thought goes into releasing the trailer because we know the fans will do that. >> often they put things in the trailer that don't make the cut in the movie. >> they did that with "the force awakens." >> figuring out the plot of the movie before it comes out. >> we should probably talk about the weather, i guess. >> moving on from "star wars" talking about the weather where we saw significant storms yesterday. this is castro county, texas, to the southwest of amarillo. you saw that funnel cloud in the sky. we did eventually see some of

those funnel clouds reach the ground making them tornadoes and they stayed on the ground for quite some time. it was a very slow moving system that produced several inches of rain in some areas across northwestern texas and of course we also saw those tornadoes too. there were no injuries but there were reports of two of those causing some building damage, so we are going to see more storms today although not that widespread. most of the activity we're seeing this morning is up near sioux city and stretching into minneapolis, so if you have any early morning flights, check with your airlines. we could see that slow things down a little bit. this cold front is moving to the east and as it does so it will trigger storms. you see how it hangs out through the plains today and even into tomorrow, so while we will see some scattered showers and isolated stronger storms, the largest threat will be for perhaps golf ball-sized hail and also straight line winds. tornadoes shouldn't be that widespread with this system. here you see on easter sunday it's that small area across texas and into oklahoma where we co

good morning. we are kicking off this saturday with some pretty chilly temps right now in san francisco. 48 degrees. we can expect to see high clouds in the forecast through the early morning hour. right now all across the board. we can see 40s in the forecast. san jose 44 degrees and all along the coast will remain in the 40s until about 9:00. we'll be climbing nicely into those upper 60s and 70s across the bay area for a mostly clear saturday. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> that's a good looking easter forecast. still ahead, a man who survived being shot at pointblank range speaks out exclusively to nbc. what it was like staring down a barrel of a gun. queen bee and jay-z aren't the only ones thinking about what to name their baby twins. a well known scientist has ideas out of this world. we'll have that coming up in

"pop start." first, this is "day" on nbc.to

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♪ >> still to come here on "today," a touching photo that's melting hearts this morning. how an expectant mom managed to keep her husband in the picture while being worlds away. there's the picture. >> amazing what technology can do. this is a heartwarming story. >> how beautiful is that? we'll talk about that. plus, promise seas season is he it's all about the dress. beware, if you're looking for a bargain, they're not always the real deal. our jeff rossen has reports on how to escape the scammers. we'll get into that. >> first, these messages.

kira/2shot good morning, i'm k good saturday morning to you. 5:56. a live look looking towards san jose. it really does look beautiful and clear right now, but boy, is it chilly. we really appreciate you joining us. i'm kira klapper.

it will warm up today, right? >> it will warm up nicely now. a good saturday but we're tracking rain on the way. likely in time for easter. overall if you're waking up and heading out the door, you will notice that temps remain in the 40s, san jose at 45 degrees along the coastline also in the 40s. then in the east bay at oakland 46 degrees. the temperature trend is looking pretty good. if you have plans to be outside, it's definitely going to be great weather for that by about 12:00 san francisco will already be at about 63 degrees. and in san jose also expecting to climb quite nicely by 12:00 at about 65 degrees, expected to hit a high in the 70s. then if we take a live look right now at that doppler radar, all that cloud cover you see off shore is that incoming system that's expected to bring some rain into easter sunday. now, i'll have a closer look at that timeline, of course, during the 7:00 a.m. hour. >> we'll stay tuned for that,

thanks. a problem with b.a.r.t. is disrupting service for thousands of east bay commuters. a mysterious propulsion problem is back. it started yesterday morning. the last time this problem happened was in march of last year when power spikes took out more than 60 b.a.r.t. cars. it meant weeks of bus bridges and big delays. around 10:00, a lot of b.a.r.t. cars were experiencing that propulsion problem in a section of track near the north concord and pittsburg bay stations. by afternoon b.a.r.t. decided to switch to shorter trains, but the damage was already done. 22 cars had to be taken out of service. they say riders should check the b.a.r.t. website or twitter feed for updates on service this morning. an update to a story that our investigative unit broke last year. a longtime san francisco firefighter is under arrest accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of fire fighting equipment. the investigation began last

year after firefighters responded to a fire at a business owned by mitchell lee. that's where they discovered more than $7,000 worth of hoses and brass fittings. when asked about it, lee told investigators he found the equipment at a flea market or just pick pd up pieces left behind at fire scenes. he admitted he'd neglected to return the equipment. coming up this morning on "today in the bay" we'll show you the surging industry that's producing thousands of jobs right here in the bay area. we'll have that plus all your top stories and weather, of course, coming up at 7:00. right now we'll send you back to the "today" show.

> ♪ >> we are back on this beautiful saturday morning, april 15th, 2017. a lovely easter crowd joining us on the plaza outside enjoying the warmer weather. we are going to hop out there and join them in just a bit. like what i did there? back here in studio 1a, let's look at what's making headlines this saturday morning. vice president mike pence getting set to head to south korea where tensions are high where north korea gave an ominous warning say they are ready for an all-out war. protesters are delighted after their pleas have been

heard. two judges ruled in favor of seven inmates scheduled to die within 11 days sparing their lives at least for now. >> the chaotic commute has left a lot of folks shaen shaken thi morning after an incident involve a taser in one of new york's busiest train stations. the scene caused mass hysteria. scores of people hurt in that stampede. >> let's look at the week's biggest headlines. >> united airlines pr scandal to early birthday surprise for this special lady. those are some of the stories that caught our attention. >> the white house starting the week on a high. officially swearing in judge kneel gorsuch and filling the final seat of the supreme court. but then white house press secretary sean spicer created a firestorm by comparing syrian leader bashar al assad to adolf hitler. >> someone as despicable as

hitler that didn't sink to using chemical weapons. >> obviously i expected that everyone understands that we all make mistakes and ask for forgiveness. >> tension over attacks in syria playing out with president trump turning the page on putin. >> right now we're not getting along with russia at all. >> that was followed by head snappi inping reversals on long positions trump held on the campaign trail. >> china, a currency manipulator. >> a week after a u.s. air strike in syria, the pentagon confirmed the most powerful nonnuclear bomb in the american arsenal was dropped on an isis target in afghanistan, but the president refusing to say if he personally approved its use. >> what i do is i authorize my military. we have the greatest military in the world. they've done the job as usual. >> let me kiss that left ear. >> a scandal forced alabama's

embattled governor to step down following revelations he used state funds to cover up an affair with a top little aide nearly half his age. >> i have let you and our people down. >> a shocking video and a public relations disaster for one of the nation's biggest airlines. >> my god. look at what you did to him. >> a doctor forcibly removed from a united airlines flight simply for refusing to give up his seat. >> after being dragged from the plane, he suddenly returned appearing disorientated and distraught. the video of dr. dao. >> the airline's stock went into free fall. an exclusive interview with a real life hero. >> i saw a man having a girl in a choke hold. next thing i knew i was out of the car. >> peter gold recalling a night

in new orleans that began with him saving a woman's life and ended with him staring down the barrel of a gun. >> he told me i'm going to kill you. >> gold is shot. the gunman pulling the trigger again and again aiming for his head but the weapon jams. >> he survived. his shooter sentenced to 50 years in prison and gold now working as a doctor giving back as the founder of a program for underserved youth. and on the lighter side, an australian news anchor's on air day dream went viral. >> now to sports. >> it led to an yooutpouring of support on twitter with users sharing they're embarrassing moments on air and a surprise visit on set had sheinelle gushing enjoying an early birthday present. >> one day i'll make a play and

she will say okay because i plan to be a cool kid. >> my goodness. >> when you surprise someone, you never know their reaction. that was the best priceless reaction i've ever seen. >> everybody listening, i want you to think about when you were in sixth, seventh grade if there was a celebrity that you just adored. that was it for me. >> we could tell. >> on the "today" facebook page there was somebody who responded from my seventh grade class who i'm not in touch with anymore, she said i signed her middle school yearbook mrs. campbell from seventh grade. >> we didn't want your birthday to go uncelebrated on your saturday morning so we have some treats. these are some fantastic treats. >> happy birthday. >> we're not going to sing. >> when is your actual birthday? >> not until wednesday. i'll be 39. the last of the 30s.

>> you just put it out there. >> i'm all billiabout that. i'm 39. it is what it is. >> happy birthday, friend. >> thank you. >> happy birthday. >> you have to do the forecast. >> i just had to taste it. i can't put food in front of me and not taste it. >> you do the forecast, i'm going to eat. >> don't touch that. >> i'll touch the rest. >> hands off the buns, melvin. let's take a look at the weather that's coming this way where we are looking at really warm temperatures. temps running 10 to 20 degrees above average as we go through the next several days. so it's going to be a really nice mild easter across most of the country. let's get through today. st. louis, 82. charleston, 82. myrtle beach, 78. gainesville northern florida 85 degrees. sunday, 84 in new york. cools off a bit in st. louis but still looks very pleasant.

temperatures in the mid 70s. we are going to see some cooler air try to settle in as we go into the end of next week. the bay area is waking up to 40s across the bay. we can expect to see high clouds but overall expect clear conditions, 45 degrees for the south bay right now. 40 along the peninsula and the tri-valley at a very chilly 40 degrees. the north bay as usual is waking up to some 30s, san francisco 48 and the east bay at 46 degrees. the temperature trend is showing highs for today will be in the upper 60s and the 70s by mid-afternoon, making for a very nice saturday. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> these are really good. >> did you do that with food in your cheek? >> it was a small bite. i mastered eating and doing my job. >> you should have birthdays more often. >> as dylan mentioned, easter weekend and for many that means lots and lots of candy especially if you're a child that lives in my house.

not all candy is created equal though. some better for you than others apparently. we tiwill tell you which ones. >> prom night. glitz and glamour. how do knockoff designer dresses compare to the real thing. we have a special rossen reports update for you in just a moment. first, these messages. according to some, there's a place where coca-cola tastes, like, so good. go ahead, do a google search for "that place where coke tastes so good." yeah, right now. i'll wait. ♪ got it? it's crazy right? when's the last time anyone on the internet agreed on anything? that was a rhetorical question. the answer is never. ♪ statake an extra 20% offl's easter looks for you and your family. that's an extra 20% off girls' dresses an extra 20% off spring polos for him and an extra 20% off

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i had a wonderful time tonight. me too! call me tomorrow? i'm gonna send a vague text in a couple of days, that leaves you confused about my level of interest. i'll wait a full two days before responding. perfect! we're never gonna see each other again, will we? no-no. wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi double cash card does. it lets you earn double cash back. 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay. the citi double cash card. double means double. the toothpaste that helps new parodontax. prevent bleeding gums. if you spit blood when you brush or floss you may have gum problems and could be on the journey to much worse. help stop the journey of gum disease. try new parodontax toothpaste. ♪

this morning, a new warning for high school girls and their parents. >> scammers targeting teens and ruining their big night. today national investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here on how to protect yourself. jeff, good morning. >> guys, good morning to you. we told but scam artists selling fake electronics and fake handbags but now they are targeting the prom fooling teenage girls with fake designer dresses charging hundreds of dollars for gowns that literally fall apart in your hands.

we first exposed this a couple years ago but experts say it's still happening today so we want to get back on the air, issue this new warning so before your kids go dress shopping, you have to see what we found. it's prom season. and for the girls it's all about the dress. >> prom is the oscars to a high school kid. >> high end labels sell for hundreds of dollars. a ton of money for most high school kids and their parents. >> i like it. >> which is why they're always looking for the best deal. >> is this your dress? >> that's my dress! >> now scammers are cashing in on their excitement. check out these websites. a teen girl's dream. designer gowns at deep discounts. these sites look real but designers say it's all a scam. >> at least three to four times a week we're faced with girls who have been scammed by online websites.

>> it just happened to these teenagers. one of them looking for this gorgeous red ball gown online. found it on a site for 75% off but take a look at what showed up. a red hot nightmare. the other teenager thought she was buying this stunning pink prom dress scoring a huge discount on a website offering big bargains on designer names. but here's what she got. a sad imitation. not at all what she was expecting. >> the dress is a hot mess. >> and that's alexandra. she just wanted a sheri hill dress. >> i was working for months to save up the money. >> she found the perfect dress in the store it cost $400. alexandra found it online for 25% off and ordered it on the spot. >> my immediate reaction was my gosh, this is awesome. the dress that i love is beautiful and it's at a great price so it will make mom happy

too. so here's the dress. >> but just a week before prom, what she got in the mail was misery in a box. a cheap knockoff mailed from china. remember, this is what the real dress looks like. and this is what she got. wrong color. >> it was supposed to be all blue. >> wrong fabric. >> the lining is so itchy. >> sloppy stitching and way too big. >> the dress feels cheap and i feel like i look cheap in it. >> in the photo, look at those pretty beads. instead, her dress came with a baggy of beads and a sewing kit. >> i took a step back and said do they expect me to sew this on? i'm a teenage girl. i do not know how to sew. >> all her money gone now scam artists are shipping impostor prom gowns to girls across the country. look at this shoddy stitching. the dress is falling apart and this beading looks like an arts

and crafts project. dusty hill is the son of the real sheri hill and president of the company trying to intercept the fakes. >> it's a huge problem and growing. >> so huge the company hired investigators to hunt down the counterfeit sites. >> this is a fake website. >> this is a fake website but they use authentic pictures. they take it off google images and upload it to their site friendi i pretending its our dresses. >> you knock one down and another pops up. >> this is not a problem we're going to be able to fix. this is an ongoing fight. >> the federal government has shut down hundreds of these sites but scammers are tough to catch. many of them based overseas. good luck getting your money back and those priceless prom memories. >> when i put the dress on, i didn't feel beautiful. you're supposed to feel beautiful at prom. >> alexandra never got her money

back. at the last minute she had to spend a new dress and spend hundreds more. how do you protect yourself? call the company that makes the dress. i'm on the website. is this an authorized dealer? they are happy to tell you. this helps many of the top prom dress designers have posted a list of authorized retailers on their own websites so you can check there as well before you go shopping. happy prom to all of the kids out there. >> happy prom indeed. thank you so much. useful information there for all of those young ladies going prom dress shopping. dylan is in the orange room with a preview of what's coming up. >> we've got a story behind this touching photo that has gone viral melting hearts around the world. how this expectant mom managed to pull this off while being worlds away. i have the sto when you have type 2 diabetes, there's a moment of truth. and now with victoza® a better moment of proof. victoza lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill, which didn't get me to my goal. victoza® works with your body to lower blood sugar in three ways:

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♪ one way or another,♪ ♪ one way or another, i wanna ♪ ya', get ya', get ya', get ya' ♪ ♪ ♪ one way or another, we're back on saturday morning with a special story for you. spouses in the military know the challenge of missing your partner in some of life's pivotal moments. >> one woman in texas decided distance wouldn't stop her from capturing a beautiful moment with her husband and unborn child. >> one month after nicole found out she was pregnant, her husband was deployed overseas. he had been abroad since november and has missed his wife's entire pregnancy so nicole wanted to capture it all for him. she hired a photographer but with one special request. she wanted to get wesley in a maternity photo with her from 7,000 miles away. the photographer came through.

she took a beautiful photo of nicole among the blue bonnet flowers in texas and married it with a photo of wesley abroad. she says she used blue bonnets to emphasize how they were many miles away but were waiting for their baby girl piper together. one person on social media commented absolutely breathtaking. another user saying the photo brought her to tears and one woman adding this is the best maternity picture i have ever seen. nicole had the baby and wesley was able to come home for the delivery so we wish them all the best with baby piper. >> a sweet story on this saturday. thank you, dylan. if you thought your pooch was smart, wait until you see this. coming up, the james bond style escape this clever canine pulled off. first, this is "today" on nbc. - grocery outlet - grocery outlet is the home of 'wow' savings. wow means you save 50% or more. there are three stages of wow. denial... - is this price right?

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ahhh. try listerine® zero alcohol™. also try listerine® pocketpaks for fresh breath on the go. good saturday morning to you. it's 6:26. here's a live look outside. it look s beautiful as we look t one car on the golden gate bridge and pink and blue skies as the sun begins to rise over

the bay area. thanks so much for joining us. vianey has a look at the forecast. >> it will warm up. we're also expecting big changes on the way. but at least for today we're kicking off the weekend with some pretty good weather. yes, you're right. we are seeing 40s along the peninsula, 40 degrees in the tri-valley. we can expect to see a nice combination of sun and high clouds in the area, but san francisco right now, that gorgeous sunrise coming up at about 48 degrees in the north bay very cold at 39. definitely one of the mornings where you want to pack a nice jacket. then you're not going to need it throughout the day because the temps will be warming up very nicely into the upper 60s and then the 70s also expected along the south bay. even in napa area and santa rosa also expected to climb into those 70s. if we take a live look at the doppler radar, we are tracking an incoming storm system that's expected to bring rain through

toim. so you definitely want to tune in for the 7:00 hour. >> easter showers, we'll stay tuned for that. a problem with b.a.r.t. is disrupting service for thousands of east bay commuters. it appears the mysterious propulsion problem is back. it started yesterday morning. the last time this problem happened was in march of last year when power spikes took out more than 50 b.a.r.t. cars. it meant weeks of bus bridges and big delays for passengers. around 10:00, a lot were experiencing that propulsion problem between the north concore and pittsburg bay stations. by 1:30 in the afternoon b.a.r.t. decided to switch to shorter shuttle trains but the damage was already done. 22 cars had to be taken out of service. b.a.r.t. officials tested the trains throughout the night and they say riders should check the b.a.r.t. website or their twitter feed for updates this morning. an update now to a story that our investigative unit broke last year. a longtime san francisco firefighter is now under arrest

accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of firefighting equipment. the investigation began last year after fire firefighters responded to a business that mitchell lee owned. that's where they discovered $7,000 worth of brass and hose fittings. he said he picked the pieces up at flea markets or picked up at fire scenes and admitted he neglected to return the equipment. an industry that's producing thousands of jobs right here in the bay area. we'll have that coming up at 7:00.

good morning. military might. north korea showing off its arsenal in celebration of that country's founding ruler as mike pence gets set to head to the region where tensions are high after an ominous warning from the rogue nation. this morning they say they're ready for an all-out war with the united states. we're live in seoul. executions halted. >> what do we want? >> mercy! >> protesters including johnny depp delighted this morning after the lives of seven inmates scheduled to die within 11 days are spared after two judges rule in favor of the condemned but the legal battle is not over yet.

and full throttle fly through. a spectacular sight for the san diego skies today as some of the world's best pilots get set to compete in the red bull air race championship. what's it like to fly these planes through an obstacle course. we'll take you aboard today, saturday, april 15th, 2017. ♪ >> sorry casper college. we're not coming in today. >> we made it to "today." >> hello, cape coral, florida. >> hey, d.c., what's going on? >> a good saturday morning to you. welcome back to "today." what a fantastic crowd we have here on the plaza on this easter weekend. they swung by to say hi.

thank you, guys. your sign is upside down. you have an upside down sign. >> everyone is in such a good mood. thank you for coming. let's start this hour with our top story. north korea where a show of military force was on full display during a parade celebrating the birthday of that nation's founding ruler. it comes as tensions rise across the region and jitters grow over the rogue nation's nuclear plants. nbc's janis mackey frayer is live in seoul. good morning to you. >> good morning. with tension high here, there was a massive military show in pyongyang of missiles and military hardware. the regime had promised a big event to mark an important holiday and it certainly delivered. experts believe the showcase might have included as many as three new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles. jim jong-un threatened they're close to having one close to reaching the united states.

kim was watching center stage with delight and a warning from the regime that the u.s. faces all out war and annihilation if north korea is attacked. there's been speculation for weeks north korea may be carrying out a sixth nuclear test or missile test. there have been provocations for the past couple months. what is different from this escalation from past crises is the emergence of china as a broker. china has influence with north korea as its main ally and economic lifeline. china urged both sides to back down before this spirals out of control. neither side for now appears willing to end the standoff and there is another important anniversary being marked in north korea at the end of the month. craig, back to you. >> janice, thank you. just as north korea displayed its military might, this morning president trump is promising to deal with the rogue nation. he calls "a problem." nbc's kelly o'donnell is live in west palm beach with the latest

on that. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. so far no reaction from the white house after that display of military pageantry in north korea and the reports about potentially some new weaponry in its arsenal. today we expect that the president is still looking for shake north korea with the u.s. power but also looking to china for help and the president has raised the stakes by suggesting that if china does not work in partnership with the u.s., the u.s. will handle it on its own. also critical now, vice president mike pence is headed on a four-country ten-day trip that will take him to seoul, south korea, today. that is critical because he can deliver in person that show of u.s. solidarity and to discuss strategy with respect to north korea at a time when it is such a critical issue in that part of the world. as we talked about, the u.s. may not be within the range of north korea's capability to send a

nuclear payload here but those doesn't ris countries are within range. the president is here celebrating the easter weekend and so far no public events on his schedule for the day. >> kelly o'donnell for us this morning down in florida. thank you. let's look at other stories making headlines this morning. new word today on the damage from a massive bomb dropped on an isis position in afghanistan. an afghan official on the ground says 94 isis fighters were killed. four of them important commanders. no civilians died. the so-called mother of all bombs is america's largest nonnuclear weapon and unleashes a mile-wide area of destruction. a highly controversial plan to put seven inmates to death in 11 days is on hold this morning. an arkansas judge issued a temporary restraining order friday to stop the state from using one of its lethal injection drugs. anti-death penalty activists have been protesting the

accelerated capital punishment plan. arkansas plans to file an emergency request to overturn the ruling. the state was trying to rush through the execution before the lethal drugs expire at the end of the month. a scary seen in toronto. a foul tip hit the umpire in his facemask. the 95-mile-an-hour pitch knocked the mask off the 57 eyer old. he was later diagnosed with a concussion. baseball officials announce that scott will be unable for the rest of the weekend series between the orioles and blue jays. >> we hope he's okay. dylan dreyer hanging outside with the crowd with another check of the forecast on this easter weekend. >> yes. while it's chilly right now, it will warm up nicely. are you guys ready for easter? fun crowd out here this morning. let's look at what we can expect across the country starting down in florida where we don't have a lot of rain, but we have drought conditions. we have this onshore flow that's going to continue to produce dangerous rip currents. if you're vacationing or living

down in the florida area especially eastern beaches. that's where we could see dangerous rip currents with wind gusts near 30 miles an . good morning. we are waking up to some pretty cold temps that will be climbing nicely for a very lovely spring saturday across the board. but right now along the peninsula we're seeing hazy skies. tri-valley a very cool 40. south bay a nice combination of sun and clouds. san francisco right now already at 48 degrees. and we are expecting to warm up into the 60s for the coastline and 70s for the north bay and the south bay making way for a mostly clear saturday. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> thank you. still ahead on this saturday morning, if you thought chocolate was the only way to eat an eater egg, you have another thing coming. we're going to taste some delicious egg concoctions for

easter after the break. easter after the break. >> and your broadway before fibromyalgia, i was a doer. i was active. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. woman: for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica.

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we are back on a saturday morning, and it is time to trend. this is a good one. easter is tomorrow. a special treat in our studio. take a look at this. >> we've been eating all morning here. i love it. >> you see they come from the american egg board who is excited about easter. what is it? it's called an egg pop.

you guys dig in and i'll explain. take a look at what's on the bottom of the devilled eggs. it's a hard boiled egg on a pretzel stick with yummy toppings. you have devilled egg, blue cheese and bacon. smoked salmon with cream cheese and caviar. if you want to try these recipes, head to incredibleegg.org. >> very hard to talk with egg in the mouth. >> eat an egg and then read. easter also one of those holidays where you can find yourself eating lots of candy as well. nbc news got you covered here. we looked into which candies are your healthier options coming in at number one, the crowd favorite. peanut butter eggs. the least amount of sugar. stunned by that. number two, tootsie pops.

number three, coconut cream egg. nbc also found out which we should be staying away from. apparently tiny jelly bird eggs and gold money and m&m milk chocolate eggs. >> surprised that jellybeans are the worst. >> all sugar. >> at least the other one has peanut butter. >> the key, of course, is moderation. my advice is easter is to enjoy all of the candy that you want. just not the whole bag. >> thank you, dr. melvin. >> it's what i'm here for as i stuff my face with eggs. >> everybody is talking about this video. look at this. show your dog this video. this is general. a 10-year-old dog who pulled off a james bond escape from the hospital. he didn't want to be there. looks around to see if the coast is clear. opens the door with his mouth. walks down the hallway and look

at this. finally finds the exit walking out of the hospital and right into the parking lot. this all happened in the middle of the night after 15 hours of freedom, he was spotted safe and sound in a yard nearby just lounging. animal control was called and he was brought back to the hospital unharmed but he had to go back. >> impressive. >> not a quick exit. >> you know danny devito has a broadway show where he eats a hard boiled egg and has to talk after he eats it. pop start appetizer for you. let's kick things off with janet jackson in five, four, three, two, one. almost. as you might know she announced last year she was pregnant for the first time at age 50, and we are finally getting a look at her baby. jackson posted this adorable

picture with the caption my baby and me after a nap. so cute. sweet guy was born in january. speaking of babies, you know how it is. everyone has an opinion when you're expecting like it or not and that includes the world's most famous scientist who took to twitter to give beyonce and jay-z a whole bunch of baby name suggestions for their twins. the internet can't get enough of this as you can see from this tweet his suggestions are inspired by the universe. they started out good and took an interesting turn. case in point, terra and luna. latin for earth and move. castor and polluk and here come fun ones. >> spirit and opportunity. oblate and prolate and my favorite, aster and roid.

he said he was losing ideas fast so he's going to stop there. #namesforbeyoncetwins. >> we have blue ivy. it has to be something. it won't be, like, jane. >> got to be funky. >> more than 13 years after we had to say good-bye to ross, rachel, monica, chandler, joey and phoebe, everyone's favorite "friends" will be there for you again. not the actual cast and not on tv. this time it will be on stage. there's an off broadway show "friends the musical" in the works. it will debut in the fall and it will be a parity of the hit tv show. writers say there will be a smelly cat, janice, fat monica and original songs included in the production. not only do they poke fun and celebrate the show. they promise to get jokes in about the actors including their hefty salaries. the question now will we catch jennifer, courtney, david, lisa in the audience. >> do you know how huge that would be if they attend?

>> twitter would explode. >> if they went together and went for coffee afterwards. >> too much there. all right. thank you. still ahead, the red bull air race. say that 20 times. it's finally here. we'll give you a front row seat at some of the unbelievable stunts these pilots pull off to win the world championship. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

so for the first time in eight years, the red bull air race has returned to san diego. >> part of a world championship series all across the globe. it's one what some call nascar in the sky as pilots rip through a track twisting and turning and racing against the clock over open water. now, three americans are hoping to clinch a win at home. nbc's gadi schwartz has the story. >> reporter: a full throttle fly through. these are practice runs over san

diego bay. and life couldn't be better for kevin coleman. >> beautiful. 75. blue skies. ready to pull some g. >> reporter: this weekend pulling gs is in his job description. at 26, he's the youngest pilot in his class to be flying in the red bull air race finding a mentor in a flying legend who has wowed millions. >> one of those guys i looked up to since i was 5 years old. >> reporter: high octane objective, roar through a set of pylons at 220 miles an hour and zip through an obstacle course pulling as many as 12 gs. a former navy pilot turned race pilot. a plane is going to go through that? >> absolutely and hopefully not hit the pylon. >> reporter: when the pylons are hit, there's a three second penalty. the racetrack is 3-d. >> it's a little bit different than say a formula 1 track where

they have to stay on the pavement. there's no pavement i have to stay on. i have to go between these gates. >> reporter: the only way to fully understand what they do is to climb onboard and try to keep your breakfast down. >> this is for the omelet this morning, right? all right. here we go. >> my god, i hope we don't hit that thing. >> how fast? >> 200 knots. >> all right. yea! whoo! beautiful! >> reporter: for "today," gadi schwar schwartz, nbc news, san diego. >> he had a good time. >> that sounds like pure joy for him. >> could you ever do it? >> i've flown a couple times. not with these guys but in

similar circumstances. thunderbirds and things like that. >> he's not throwing up so that's good. >> that's a thrill. >> i'm too scared. i don't like roller coasters. i've sky dived a couple times. >> that's why it surprises me. >> thank you, guys, so much for coming. >> happy easter. >> thank you. that will do it for us on this saturday morning. tomorrow on "sunday today" willie sits down with julia dreyfus to talk about what it's like doing political satire during the trump era. >> hoda is back from maternity leave on monday. we very much look forward to her returning and hearing all of those beautiful stories. >> so sweet. enjoy your weekend. fun in art class. come close, come close. i like that. [ music stops suddenly ] ah. when your pain reliever stops working,

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♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - save upto 50 - 80% during our wine sale. coming up next, on today in the bay .... vo a rough start to the weekend for bart riders. the mysterious problem that forced them off bart trains and good morning. i'm kira klapper. a rough start for the weekend that forced them off b.a.r.t. trains and on to buses. supporters of president trump and opponents of president trump set to face off today in berkeley. what the city's doing differently to try and present another violent clash. and the weather takes yet another turn this weekend. vienna aran na will have a look at our easter forecast.

good saturday morning to you. it's 7:00. here's a look at the sunrising over the clouds in san jose. it's a chilly morning out there, but we have a really nice saturday to look forward to. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at the forecast. one day like this and another day like that. >> the timeline always seems to fall on the weekend. i know it's easter weekend so there's a lot of people anxious to find out what the