the rain is coming. make sure you pack the umbrellas and your coat. thank you for starting your day with us here on "today in the bay." good morning. trump, trudeau and trump, trudeau and the truth. overnight the president caught on tape admitting he made up facts during a meeting about trade with canada's prime minister. >> i said, wrong, justin, you do. i didn't even know. i had no idea. >> this as the president faces a tough fight on capitol hill from both sides over his picks to run the state department and the cia. game over. toys "r" us, one of the nation's most iconic retail chains revealing plans overnight to close all of its stores across the country. so what do you do if you have a gift card or returns? we'll let you know.

and say it ain't snow. all eyes on a potential fourth nor'easter for the winter weary east coast. al's got what you need to know about the big storms sweeping across the country. those stories, plus new investigation, new outrage. the feds get involved in that controversial death of a puppy in the overhead bin of a united flight. weird science. nasa reveals after his year in space, astronaut scott kelly's dna no longer matches his identical twin. and holy scare batman. some passengers trapped upside down for nearly an hour when a six flags roller coaster suddenly malfunctions. the ride they can't wait to forget. today, thursday, march 15th, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and welcome to "today." thank you for joining us on this thursday morning.

we cover a lot of interesting stories, but that twins story may be the most fascinating. >> cue the twilight zone music. here we have two twins. they spend a year apart in space. they're identical twins but apparently not anymore if you look at their dna. >> i can't wait to get to that story. >> a year in space changed their dna. wow. we want to get to our top story in the white house this morning. there are a number of developing stories there. among them that newly obtained audio about president trump boasting about sharing made-up facts with canadian prime minister justin trudeau. nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has the very latest on this story. hey, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, hoda, good morning to you. president trump's trade policies have long been a lightning rod. he's consistently attacked major u.s. trading partners for ripping off the united states. but now new audio obtained by nbc news overnight from mr. trump's fundraiser in st. louis, missouri, could heighten tensions with one of america's closest allies, canada. overnight at a fundraiser in st. louis, president trump seeming

to admit he made up facts in a meeting with his canadian counterpart justin trudeau. nbc news received an audio recording from a republican donor. >> this guy, good-looking guy comes in. donald, we have no trade deficit. he was very proud. everybody else we're getting killed. >> i said, wrong, justin. you do. i didn't even know. josh, i had no idea. i just said you're wrong, you know, because we're so stupid. >> reporter: in fact, the united states actually has a trade surplus with canada. the president also blasting nafta, calling the trade deal between the u.s., mexico and canada a disaster. nbc news has reached out to the white house for comment on the president's remarks but has not heard back. meanwhile another possible link surfacing between the president and a porn star. according to documents first reported by "the wall street journal" a second lawyer with ties to the trump organization was involved in the legal effort to prevent adult film actress stormy daniels from talking about her alleged affair with

mr. trump. the documents appearing to link the trump organization and a private llc, the president's personal lawyer, michael cohen, set up to pay daniels $130,000 before the election. the white house says the president denies any allegations of an affair with daniels and mr. trump was unaware of any payments. also at the white house, the dust is still settling from the president's latest administration shake-up with new nominees for secretary of state and cia director. a new chief economic advisor, cnbc commentator larry kudlow, and the possibility of even more staffing changes looming. facing new scrutiny this morning, the president's pick to lead the cia, gina haspel, a highly respected agency veteran who would be first woman cia director. but as the former head of covert operations, she is likely facing a brutal confirmation battle with questions about the extent of her role in carrying out bush administration orders to waterboard detainees in secret prisons overseas, which many

call torture. republican senator rand paul taking on both the president's nominees. >> i will oppose both pompeo's nomination and haspel's nomination. >> reporter: reserving his harshest words for haspel. >> to really appoint the head cheerleader for waterboarding to be head of the cia, how could you trust somebody who did that to be in charge of the cia. >> reporter: general michael hayden, who headed the cia under george w. bush insists the agency is not going to repeat the past, defending his former colleague. >> gina did her duty. gina was asked to go do hard things on behalf of the country, asked to do that by her director, by her country, and with the sanction and validation of the department of justice at the time. >> as for the trade issue today, president trump is up and tweeting about it writing wreh do have a trade deficit with

canada, as we do with almost all countries. pm justin trudeau, very nice guy, doesn't like saying canada has a surplus with the u.s., but they do. they all do. that's how i know. a fact it check, according to government services, there's a surplus overall. new rhetoric around poisoning of russian spy. u.s. backing british officials in blaming russia for the nerve attack. moscow is reporting. keir simmons. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, a message from u.s., uk and germany. this use of a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war. it threatens the security of us all.

russia accused of deploying a chemical weapon the streets of britain so deadly it is banned even in war. the u.s. stands with its closest ally president trump's spokeswoman now says. this morning russia's foreign spokeswoman telling nbc moscow wants to know what happened. >> this is our question, what happened to them. >> reporter: it follows strong words from the u.s. at the u.n. security council. >> the united states believes that russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the united kingdom using military great nerve agent. >> reporter: words a russia spokeswoman branded -- >> ridiculous. >> reporter: it's clear many more could have been hurt. military seizing vehicles that transported cars that may be contaminated. sergei skripal and his daughter in critical condition ten days after the attack. a police officer first responder still hospitalized. the investigation now focuses on skripal's car, mystery around

how the nerve agent called novichok, was deployed and the identity of the assassin. britain expelling 23 diplomats. this morning the wife of a spy murdered more than a decade ago calling for tougher action. >> i think they should have done something more. it's not enough. it's not enough. it's stronger than it was in the case of my husband but still not enough. >> russia's response accusing british investigators of failing to let moscow help the investigation, branding britain's words propaganda and threatening diplomatic retaliation. that russian retaliation is likely to involve the expulsion of british diplomats from moscow. what we're seeing here are the russians trying to discredit british claims saying it's just a joke. the west saying, no, no, no. this is very serious. guys. >> keir simmons outside downing street in london for us. thank you, keir. >> let's turn to florida, surrounding last month's shooting at margerie douglas

high school, suspected gunman nicolus cruz and in a courtroom one month after the deadly shooting and was formally arraigned on 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. he declined to enter a plea so the judge entered plea of not guilty on his behalf. >> meantime house of representatives passed a bill that would authorize $50 million in grants annually to train students and teachers to identify the signs of school violence before it occurs. the bill does not include provisions to arm teachers. >> all this happened on the same day that more than a million students took part in a nationwide walkout in over 3,000 locations across the united states at 10:00 a.m. in each time zone. students gathered for 17 minutes, one minute for each life lost in the florida high school shooting. places like the white house and the u.s. capitol, students using the motto "enough is enough" demanded an end to gun violence and called on lawmakers to pass legislation that will protect

them at school. a navy fighter jet crashed off the coast of key west, florida, wednesday and killed both crew members aboard. it happened during a training flight as the jet was making its final approach into the naval station in key west. both crew members were able to eject but were pronounced dead at the hospital. their identities are being withheld until their families can be notified. the cause of the crash is still under investigation and the president tweeted his condolensces on wednesday saying please join me with your thoughts and prayers for both aviators, their families and our incredible u.s. navy. also breaking overnight, we've learned one of the country's most iconic stores will be closing its doors. toys "r" us was a go-to for generations for kids and parents, but overnight the chain made a new move that could spell the end of an american institution. nbc's business correspondent jo ling kent has more on that. hey, jo. >> hey, hoda, good morning. it was a deal that went down to the wire, toys "r" us filing to liquidate its 735 remaining u.s.

stores at midnight last night putting all of its locations and 30,000 some employees at risk. ♪ i don't want to grow up >> reporter: this morning, that iconic jingle, soon to be a relic of the past. in the age of amazon, it's good-bye geoffrey giraffe and toys "r" us and babies "r" us prepare to close up shop. the retailer announcing it filed to liquidate and close all of its 735 stores nationwide. the toys "r" us ceo staying in a statement, this is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years. >> a lot of kids like going to toys "r" us because there's a lot of wonders. >> toys "r" us had some sort of magic. >> knowing that it's not going to be around anymore, it's disappointing for him and for us adults, too. >> toys "r" us implies 30,000 >> reporter: toys "r" us employs more than 30,000 people and accounted for 20% of all toy

sales last year. it's the latest in casualties of retailers across the country even after a strong holiday shopping season. toys "r" us, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year, was already closing 180 stores and laying off workers in 41 states. on social media, shoppers with registries at babies "r" us are already moving on. one tweeting, i started my registry with babies "r" us, with all the extortion closing, i guess i've got to do target and amazon instead. chuck schumer urging federal trade to give cash for cards. >> no word when they begin closing 735, but toys "r" us said gift cards will be honored for 30 days and returns no longer accepted once those liquidation sales begin. guys. >> kind of a sad day.

jo, thank you. now to the stunning downfall of a woman once hailed as silicon valley's next big thing. at just 19 years old, elizabeth holmes started up theranos, promised to revolutionize the way we all get blood tests. now she's been charged with massive fraud. nbc correspondent kate snow is here with more. we've been following her story for years. >> we have. you guys might remember this was a company as you said it was supposed to make blood tests quicker and cheaper with just a prick of the finger. the company made big deals with walgreens and a national grocery chain, but since then those deals have ended. theranos has now shut down its labs, voided out nearly a million test results, and now the company's founder is accused of pulling one over on investors. she was called the next steve jobs, a silicon valley wonder kid. >> do everything you can -- >> but this morning elizabeth holmes is accused of massive fraud. >> authorities are saying to these companies in silicon valley, we are still going to

police you and we are still going to hold you accountable. >> a new securities and exchange commission filing accuses holmes and her coo of deceiving investors, including making false and misleading statements to the media and hosting misleading technology demonstrations. it details how holmes promised walgreens and a grocery store "the wall street journal" identifies as safe way, that theranos could conduct hundreds of blood tests with just a few drops from a finger brick prick rapid timeframe at a reasonable price. two years ago she said similar things to maria shriver. >> it's affordable. that means it's transparent in terms of pricing. that means it's available to people as a basic right early, before they're sick. >> the problem was the s.e.c. says it was all a gross exaggeration. >> what the s.e.c. is now coming out and saying is this was a fraud. the technology did not work.

it did not have the capabilities that she claimed it had, and she lied to investors and lied to the public. >> john who first exposed problems at the company for "the wall street journal" is now writing a book that will be the basis of the movie with jennifer lawrence starring as holmes. holmes dropped out of stanford at 19 to start theranos. investors loved it. by 32 she was the youngest female self-made billionaire in the world. former senators, secretaries of state and defense joined the theranos board, including defense secretary james mattis, who served on the board until he joined the trump administration. then the bottom started to fall out. a government report raised questions about the california lab. >> i feel devastated that we did not catch and fix these issues faster. >> the company's labs in california and arizona were shut down in 2016, but the company is still operating. in a settlement with the s.e.c., theranos says holmes will pay a

$500,000 fine and will not be eligible to serve as a director or officer of a publicly traded company for ten years. she's also returning nearly $19 million shares in stock but is still ceo. theranos independent director said in a statement the company is pleased to be bringing this matter to a close and looks forward to advancing its technology. in 2016, holmes was resolute. >> i've spent my life building this, and i'm going to spend the rest of my life building this. >> we reached out to an attorney for elizabeth homes and we were referred to the company's statement which says as part of the settlement theranos nor holmes admitted nor denied any wrongdoing. this may not be the end of holmes trouble. we know the department of justice has launched an investigation of theranos. "the wall street journal" reports that investigation is still very active. >> we'll see if there's another shoe to drop. kate, thank you very much. let us turn to mr. roker with a

first check of the weather. al, are you still talking about another storm? >> yeah, in fact we're talking a coast-to-coast storm that starts in the west and makes its way to the east by early next week. we've got rain down in southern california, but this is the culprit that is going to be causing all the problems coast to coast. here it starts off bringing in heavy rain and snow to the pacific northwest. northwestern california 1 to 2 inches of rain. snowfall of 1 to 3 feet, about 3,000 feet and higher up to 5 feet of snow. as this system moves to the east, we've got a risk of severe weather for tomorrow, damaging winds, hail possible, potential for tornadoes from central louisiana all the way on up into arkansas. the system will move east with rain and snow bringing strong storms to the lower mississippi river valley, continues east into saturday, causing heavy rain down south. here's where it gets interesting. we're calling it #foureaster. we've been seeing this online in social media.

the system moves to the southeast, then transfers its energy off the coast of the carolinas and pushes its way up the coast by tuesday into wednesday. it's still a little unclear what's going to happen. the european model actually slows this up by a day but we're seeing some activity along the coast. still too early to tell whether it's a heavy snow event, a heavy rain event, but we'll have to watch it. #foureaster. we'll get to your local forecast coming up, #inthenext30seconds.

and war seeing a chilly yet quiet start to the morning. our storm ranger mobile doppler picking up the next wave of rain in the north bay. you'll notice offshore some thundershowers in the mix. some of the showers move north to south. we'll see temperatures in the mid to upper 50s, and more showers, probably not as intense, for friday into saturday. midway through the weekend we begin to dry out for sunday into monday, temperatures trending warmer early next week. >> and that's your latest weather. guys. >> all right, al, thank you so much. still ahead, the new federal investigation into the death of a dog placed in the overhead bin at the request of a united flight attendant. plus the new incident involving pets and that very same airline. and out of this world findings from astronaut scott kelly's historic year in space. how is it possible that his dna no longer matches his identical twin? but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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police in oakland right a very good morning to you. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia. police investigating the area around lake merritt where authorities discovered a woman's body in the water early this morning. video from nbc bay area sky ranger just a few moments ago show that heavy police presence and the divers on the scene. when first responders arrive they quickly pulled a man from the water. he's now at a hospital. authorities later recovered the woman's body. witnesses tell us they heard a loud altercation between the man and a woman before they called 911. at 7:26 this morning, rob mayeda is in for kari. you'll want a jacket as you

head outdoors. you need the umbrella still as you can see on the mobile doppler radar. more showers dropping out of the north bay and some of this may involve a chance of thundershowers today which could include some small hail or gusty winds. so be prepared for everything at times today. rain at times continues into friday and then as we head into the weekend saturday looks like we'll see showers and then as we head into sunday a bit of a break as things dry out as we head into the beginning of next week. there you see next tuesday and wednesday more rain on the approach midway through next week. now for another check of your morning commute here's mike. we're fortunate with a break in the weather we have a break for most of the commuters. we do have a problem. not on this map. this map pretty predictable through the bay. we do have a big slowdown for highway 12. a crash around railroad avenue really jams up traffic. i'm still trying to get more detail. i-80 is okay there and down to the east shore freeway. 880 slows. right through san mateo, south

of sfo. back to you. thank you very much. another local news update in half an hour. i was in my third tour in iraq

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good morning, everybody. we're back at 7:30. it's thursday morning, the 15th of march, 2018. >> we're going to begin with a check of the headlines including a headline-making admission from president trump. >> truth and trudeau. president trump recorded at a fund-raiser saying he made up a claim about trade deficits during a meeting with canadian prime minister justin trudeau. >> i said, wrong, justin, you do. i didn't even know. josh, i had no idea. i just said you're wrong. you know why? because we're so stupid. from moscow to mars. overnight vladimir putin reveals plans to launch an unmanned mission to mars next year kicking the new space race into

high gear. driving into trouble. a problem with loose steering wheels forces ford to recall nearly 1.5 million cars including fusions and mkz sedans produced over the past four years. >> h2 no. that bottled water you're drinking could contain tiny particles of plastic after a new study reveals that bottles from the top brands around the world may be contaminating what's inside. and left hanging. >> they're really stuck. >> a roller coaster at a six flags in texas comes to a screeching halt mid-ride after a safety sensor malfunctioned, leaving the passengers dangling in the air for nearly an hour. thankfully nobody has hurt. today, thursday, march 15th, 2018. all right. also this morning the outrage is really growing over a story we first told you about on wednesday, the death of a puppy that was placed into an overhead luggage bin on a united flight at the request of a flight attendant.

now the department of transportation has launched an investigation. nbc's tom costello is covering it for us. tom, good morning. >> good morning. so united has apologized again and has accepted full responsibility. the airline says the flight attendant didn't know a dog was inside the bag but now the dog's owner says that's just not true, insisting she pleaded with the flight attendant not to put the puppy in the bin. this morning catalina robledo is contradicting united's claims that a flight attendant didn't know that her puppy named kokito was inside a carry-on bag. she had paid $200 to bring the black french bulldog onboard and placed the dog carrier underneath the seat in front of her. but a flight attendant insisted the bag needed to go in the overhead luggage bin. she was telling telemundo, i said to her how am i going to put my dog where the luggage goes. it's going to suffocate.

no dog goes there. she helped put it up there because the dog was heavy and she closed it. united says we have learned that the customer did tell the flight attendant there was a dog in the carrier, however, our flight attendant did not hear or understand her and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin. but nearby passengers said they did understand. >> it was very clear to me that she was articulating that there was a dog in that carrier. >> kokito stayed in the bin the entire flight, which encountered heavy turbulence, at first barking and then silent. once on the ground the family founding the puppy had died. >> she took him out and she's like kokito, wake up, and she didn't. >> that's ridiculous. >> at chicago o'hare, shock among some united passengers. >> i'm a big animal lover. a frequent united flier. so it's upsetting. >> i'll be looking for other transportation. >> meanwhile, yet another incident involving the airline

and pets. united says it mixed up two dogs on tuesday, sending 10-year-old irgo, a german shepherd, to japan rather than kansas city. >> on a big adventure. >> kara swindle says she's waiting for her baby to get home. >> honestly i don't know that i'll ever fly united again. i think i would rather drive. >> back to kokito, it appears no one got up to help the dog or get the dog because the turbulence was so bad. to prevent this from happening again, united says it will now issue brightly colored bag tags to customers traveling with pets to help flight attendants identify those pets inside the cabin. guys, back to you. >> what a shame. tom, thank you so much. so what could and should you do if you ever found yourself in a situation like this? in our next half hour we'll take a closer look at that and look at your rights while you fly. now let's turn to mr. roker and get a check of the weather. >> we start off in the southeast where, boy, is it chilly this morning. 25 million people in a frost

advisor y to freeze warning. we're going to see temperatures really start to roller coaster, depending on where you are today. we're looking in the northeast. it's going to be chilly in philadelphia. look for 46 degrees. but you go from north platte down to jackson, temperatures anywhere 4 to 12 degrees above average. for this weekend, it stays chilly in buffalo, philadelphia, bangor. temperatures only in the 20s. but we make our way into the mid-section of the country and look at these temperatures, 85 in orlando on sunday, 74 in atlanta, 84 in houston. usually where it's nice and warm out west, it stays chilly throughout san francisco, salt lake, las vegas and on into portland. the rest of the country today look for mountain snows around the rockies, fire danger for texas where it's been sunny and dry. plenty of sunshine, temperatures a little on the cool side up into the plains and mountain snows back through the and right now partly cloudy skies in san francisco.

to the north storm radar picking up the next band of rain that will pass through midday today. in addition to that a chance of seeing brief thunder as well. so plan on a little bit of everything today, you need your sunglasses, your coat and an umbrella at times. temperatures mid to upper 50s and a chance of hail with the stronger showers. snow levels up to 4,000 feet in friday and saturday, midway through the weekend we finally catch a break and dry out sunday into monday. >> and that's your latest weather. hoda. >> all right, al, thanks. up next, what's next for billionaire innovator elon musk. wait until you hear about the top-secret project he's involved with. and ditching driver's licenses. one state's new plans causing a big stir. plus a hollywood icon live in our studio. we're talking about burt reynolds and why his movie hits close to him. and identical twins that no

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fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. ♪ seed to the oat. ♪ ♪to the oat is the good that we do.♪ ♪put in the good ♪and the good will come back you ♪ ♪this circle of good. makes the whole world better too.♪ ♪ good goes around and around and arou♪d ♪good goes around and around. we're back at 7:41 with a head-scratching case of weird science. >> you're going to recall that nasa astronaut scott kelly spent a year in space. well, this morning we are learning that he didn't come back the same. nbc's gadi schwartz is going to explain it to us. this sounds like a sci-fi thriller, gadi. >> that's right. astronaut scott kelly had an identical twin brother when he ventured off into space and set the record for most consecutive days spent in orbit, but not anymore. in a ground-breaking new study, nasa scientists found that kelly's dna had been altered

when he came back down to earth. twin astronauts mark and scott kelly, their dna identical for their entire lives, until, that is, one of them spent nearly a year in space. the kelly brothers were studied to determine the effects of long-term space travel during and after scott's time on the international space station. this morning the first results from that ground-breaking study revealing that 7% of scott kelly's genes did not return to normal following his return to earth two years ago, suggesting that now the identical twins are no longer completely identical. according to nasa, scott's 340 days in orbit may have activated what scientists are now calling space genes, altering the astronaut's immune system, bone formation, eyesight and other bodily processes. >> probably almost half the time i've been here between sleeping and working on the computer, i've spent in basically a box the size of a phone booth. >> reporter: the study finding that scott's chromosomes

lengthened in space, making his two inches taller, decreasing his body mass and changing his gut bacteria. all of this as scott's brother mark remained on earth as a control subject. scientists say increased exercise and reduced calorie intake could also be possible causes. while most of these genetic changes reverted to normal following scott's return to earth, that 7% of his genetic code that was altered hasn't and may stay that way. what happens to the human body in space has until now been the stuff of science fiction. from "2001, the space odyssey." to the simpsons. >> maybe we should finally tell him a big secret, that all the chimps we sent into space came back super intelligent. >> no, i don't think we'll be telling them that. >> now scientific proof of a real-life space oddity, two brothers born the same, now redefined by outer space.

and that might not be all. now more than 200 researchers in 30 states are helping to analyze the kelly brothers' test results looking for more space-induced changes. nasa researchers plan to release more complete findings from the study a little bit later this year. savannah, hoda, back do you. >> we'll be talking about this one. >> space genes. >> who knew? >> genetics, and the taller thing. >> the whole deal mind blowing. coming up next, let's stick with a theme. elon musk's secret new project. why it's something you'd probably never expect from the billionaire. ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) you can pass down a subaru forester. but you get to keep the memories. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. (avo) get 0% apr financing on all new

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be right there baby. unlike ordinary diapers pampers is the first and only diaper that distributes wetness evenly into three extra absorb channels. they stay up to three times drier so babies can sleep soundly all night wishing you love, sleep and play pampers today, right now, you have more power at your fingertips than entire generations that came before you. think about that. that's what technology really is. it's possibility. it's adaptability. it's capability. but in the end, it's only a tool. what's a hammer without a person who swings it? it's not about what technology can do,

it's about what you can do with it. you're the voice, and it's the microphone. when you're the artist, it's the paintbrush. we are living in the future we always dreamed of. we have mixed reality that changes how we see the world, and ai empowering us to change the world we see. you have more power at your fingertips than entire generations that came before you. so here's the question, what will you do with it? - there's a common thread i see every time i'm in the field. while this was burning, you were saving other homes. neighbors helping neighbors and strangers alike. - this is what america's about. - sometimes it's nice to see all the good that's out there. bringing folks out, we have seen it in community after community. welcome back, everybody. with his innovations and vision for the future, elon musk always

has the world asking him what is next. >> yeah. well, the answer now may surprise you. willie is here with the details. >> good morning, guys. good to see you. take a look at a few headlines on space and technology news. nasa celebrates 60th anniversary of launching first moon into orbit earth. nasa launches first cordless satellite. and elon musk wanted to buy the onion. now his team is hiring its staffers for a secret project. only two of those stories are satirical headlines and it's not the one about elon musk. the man who's trying to conquer mars and dreams of making travel here on earth much faster is once again venturing into new territory. >> mars should really have great bars. the mars bar. that's all right. i love that. >> it might not have been comedy gold exactly, but elon musk's dad joke at this week's south by southwest festival could provide

a hint of what's next for the billionaire investor. it appears the man who launched the world's most powerful rocket and his tesla convertible into space could now be setting his sights on comedy. according to "the daily beast" several former top staffers and writers of the onion are now working on a secret project financially backed by musk. >> elon musk has been a really long-time superfan of the onion so he's always shared their social media links. we kind of expect him to be doing something a little bit similar to what they were doing at the onion, probably with a little bit more creative freedom. >> red monster introduces you wood grilled mermaid tail. >> one of the onion staffe working on the project is cole bolton, the editor in chief who i spoke with in 2016. >> what's the next big thing for you guys when you think strategy? >> sure. i'm sure you know that the onion is the largest media company in the world. >> yes. >> we have 12 billion daily

readers. so i think we'll continue to dominate the media landscape. >> bolton and ben berkeley left the onion last year. they say we can confirm that a new comedy project will be released shortly, pending fda approval. musk quiped, it's pretty obvious that comedy is the next frontier. so if you're wondering what this new venture will be called. musk tweeted that its name will be thud. >> that's a joke, right? >> he went on to say the exclamation point is optional. so they haven't been totally clear about what it's going to be but you're taking two great minds from the onion, it's going to be something comedic perhaps to compete with the onion. you've got elon musk, the guy bank rolling the operation. is he going to walk into the meeting and drop a few jokes,

suggesting they put them in? mandatory laughter. >> see elon doing a couple of sets on the comedy store. >> he's got to work on the material. just ahead from gift cards to final sales, what you need to know about the overnight news that toys "r" us is closing all of its stores. and from the orange room, what if you never had to carry a driver's license again? >> you did it again. >> it's so much better when you do it. but you've got a big finish here. >> we're going to talk about what if we didn't physically have a driver's license. it's a big debate we'll chat about in the orange room. >> you today, we're out here with some surprising facts about type 2 diabetes. so you have type 2 diabetes, right? yeah. yes i do. okay so you diet, you exercise, you manage your a1c? that's the plan. what about your heart? what do you mean my heart? the truth is, type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. and with heart disease, your risk is even higher.

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good morning to you. we're waking up to partly cloudy skies and a chance of thunder later on. numbers in the low 40s around emeryville, breezy, too, with a wind at 14 miles an hour. 45 degrees. a nice sun rise. 42 in san jose. partly cloudy skies. as you're about to see on mobile doppler radar around marin county beginning to see another band of showers push north to south and this will have chilly air aloft. you'll notice the lightning strike on the north coast. this is an interesting mix of weather headed our way, you're going to want to keep the jacket on all day. temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. a chance of thundershowers increasing from about lunch time into the early evening with more rain at times as we get into friday and saturday. the second half of the weekend looks better for the outdoor plans. to see how your morning commute

is shaping up here is mike. rob, a break in the weather. we're watching for those changes but right now the commute moves pretty well. we have a traffic alert northbound 880. your left two lanes are blocked at whipple road north out of fremont and then in towards the southern border of hayward. once you pass that you're okay. you can take the boulevard past that scene. still a slower but better drive through oakland. 880 over to the bay bridge. back to you. thank you very much, mike. happening now more developments in the disturbing story we covered this morning during "today in the bay." in the last 15 minutes oakland police confirm that a second person has died after being pulled from the waters of lake merritt. a chaotic scene. they called 911 to report some sort of altercation involving a man and a woman. rescuers discovered a man in the water first. they transported him to the hospital. they later found a woman's body. the last few minutes we learned the man has now also died. on our twitter feed you can link

to additional details. the bay a needed rain. i )m tracking more wet weather for your friday áand i l give you my forecast for your saint patrick )s day weekend. join us tomorrow from 4:30 to 7.

it is 8:00 on "today." coming up caught on tape. >> i had no idea. >> president trump admits to making up facts in the meeting with trade and the prime minister. and the white house grapples with the latest cabinet shake ups and braces for the possibility of even more to come. plus the not so friendly skies. after the tragic death of a puppy on a united flight airline passengers want to know when the law is on their side. insuring a smooth ride. and butter's back.

>> don't tell me your name. let me guess. >> burt reynolds is live in studio 1 a to tell about his incredible career, ups and downs of stardom and why his latest movie brought him to tears. today march 15, 2018. ♪ in the middle of the night ♪ >> two and a half thourts get to the today show. >> and be on it have. >> hello all my coworkers in myrtle beach, south carolina. ♪ . >> from the university of texas. >> we love savannah country. >> journalism students from wooster ohio. and. >> we love today. >> can't wait to go out and see you guys. all the signs you made for us.

we can't wait. thank you for joining us on this thursday morning. newly obtained audio caught president trump admitting he made up facts during a meeting with canada's prime minister. christen walker joins us with the latest. hey christen. good morning. >> reporter: hi dio. those controversial remarks came overnight. remarks that couldn't heighten tensions with canada and other allies. overnight in st. louis president trump seeming to admit he made up facts in a meeting with his canadian counterpart justin trudeau. nbc news has obtained an audio recording of those remarks from a republican donor. >> comes in. we have no trade -- because everybody else getting killed with him. so he's -- i said woe justin. you can. i didn't even know. josh i had no idea.

i just said you were wrong. >> reporter: nbc news has reached out to the white house for comment on the president's remarks but has not heard back. meanwhile another possibly link surfacing between the president and a porn star. according to documents by the wall street journal a second lawyer with ties to the trump organization was involved in the legal effort to prevent adult film actress stormy daniels from talking about her alleged affair with mr. trump. the documents appearing to link the trump organization and a prooi private llc set up to pay daniels $130,000 before the election. the white house says the president denies any allegations of an affair with daniels and that mr. trump was unaware of any payments. in the meantime the president confirming in a tweet this morning that larry kudlow will be my chief academic advisers. comes of a new white house

nominees for secretary of state and. gene has kikell facing new scruy with questions about the extent of her role in carrying out bush administration orlandos to water board detainees in secret prisons oversea which, many call torture. >> to promote the head cheerleader for water boarding to be head of the cia. how could you trust someone who did that to be in charge of the cia? >> she did her duty. he was asked to do hard things on behalf of her country. by her direct, by her country and with the sanction and validation of the department of justice at the time. squl as for trade today president trump tweeting we do have a trade deficit with canada. as we do with almost all countries. pm trudeau of canada a very good guy doesn't like saying that canada has a spark plugs versus the u.s. but they do. they almost all do. and that is how i ohno. but according to the federal

government the u.s. has a spark plugs, hoda. >> christen thanks. estimated 1 million students took part in the school walk out about gun violence. demanding congress and state lawmakers do more to restrict access to guns. the locket lasts 17 minutes in memory of the students and teachers killed at the high school in florida last month. and a follow up event scheduled for later this month in washington d.c. a college campus on edge this morning after a frightening coyote attack, wednesday night at cal state los angeles. the child was bitten in the leg. his condition is unknown this morning. later the same animal aggressively approached a woman who flagged down campus police. an officer fired at the coyote. it rarn away but police don't know if it was hit. they are asking for the community's help to track down the wild animals. generations of america

shopped for a baby birthday at toy's r us stores. but this morning that chain is on the verge of shutting down in the u.s. we learn what that mean for customers and all or of us. >> toy's r us says it is a profoundly sad day for the company after it decided to liquidate the remaining stories last night putting some 30 sand jeopardy. >> like magic. >> like a candy store. >> really sad. i don't know where i'm going to pie presents for my friends anymore. >> toy's r us and babies are us prepare to close up shop.

every store has different return policies and restocking fees. and you've got to retailers deals. >> toys "r" us is expected to appear in bankruptcy court this afternoon. the company is not saying when the stores will begin closing, but toys "r" us is telling me overnight that the gift cards will be honored for the next 30 days but the returns will not be accepted once those big liquidation sales begin. >> thank you so much. 8:08. let's see what hoda has cooked up for the morning boost. >> i've got this for you, hoda. you might think there's no crying in professional hockey, right? take a look at what happened at the rangers game right down the street at madison square garden. this is during the warmup that the skaters do. he spotted a young fan in the crowd wearing his old european league jerseys. so he slides his stick over the

top of the glass and the boy who's just 12 years old, overcome with emotion. much like you right now. not afraid to show up. he's going to have to find a very special place for that stick. if that doesn't warm your heart, i don't know what will. >> you warm our hearts. there is much more to come this morning, including a controversial new push that could mean you will never have to carry a driver's license. then with outrage growing over the death of a puppy stowed away in an overhead bin, we'll take a closer look at your flights when you fly. but first a look ahead at "megyn kelly today." >> you've heard about those clinics that compromised couples' frozen embryos, one of the couples is here with reaction. and five astronauts will be here on whether there is life in outer space. see you at the top of the hour. >> all that and how cool is this? the legendary burt reynolds, he's here. >> i think carson will do that interview. >> first, these messages.

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entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. this condition has not been reported with entyvio. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. if your uc or crohn's treatment isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. entyvio. relief and remission within reach. we want to turn back to a sad story, the that heart-breaking death of a puppy on a united plane. >> what would you ever do if you were faced with that situation? what are your rights? joe fryer has that part of the story. joe, good morning. >> reporter: savannah and hoda, good morning. the death of a puppy that was forced into an overhead bin has sparked a lot of anger.

it's also sparked questions about passenger rights when it comes to flying with or without an animal. this morning we're taking a look at some of those rights in the sky. what was the family supposed to do when a united flight attendant told them to put a pet carrier in the overhead bin, even though the mother said a puppy was inside. >> she was like it's a dog, it's a dog. she said we have to put it up there. >> united says our flight attendant did not hear or understand her and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin. the family paid an extra fee to bring the dog onboard, but they had to obey the flight attendant or they could have been thrown off the plane. >> are you serious? >> reporter: cell phones have captured other incidents between cabin crews and passengers. they point to a combination of oversold flights, tight schedules and not enough flight attendants. >> the airline through its flight attendants has the obligation to protect the safety of all the passengers. and if they feel one passenger

is going to be disruptive and they're directed to get off the airplane, that's what's going to happen. >> reporter: when it comes to traveling with pets and comfort animals, passengers are advised to check each airline's rules. what types of animals and breeds are allowed, and be prepared to show papers or letters from a doctor. for human passengers, one of the biggest issues is getting bumped from flights involuntarily. that's what led to this dramatic moment last year when dr. david dow was dragged off a flight to make room for crew members who needed to get to another assignment. united apologized and reached a settlement. for the everyday passengers who are bumped, while they do have to leave the plane, the federal government says they are entitled to dpengs compensationy cases. but airlines do not have to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled. when is comes to the treatment of pets on flights, the

department of transportation says it does not have specific regulations, those are largely left up to the airlines. some are saying maybe it is time for some new rules when it comes to pets and flying. savannah. >> joe, thank you. as we said the story is generating a lot of reaction. now perhaps even a new law. louisiana senator john kennedy tweeted that he will be filing a bill that would prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins and violators would face significant fines. he adds pets are family. we'll see what happens here. mr. roker, why don't we spin it and see what you've got going. >> we're going coast to coast. we're starting off with a storm in the pacific northwest bri bringing heavy rain to northern california, throw 3 to 5 feet i mountains of california. it makes its way on friday into saturday bringing big storms. could be some severe weather down through texas on into arkansas, parts of louisiana, pushing to the east with a scattered storm threat. and then monday morning the rain moves into the northeast,

transfers its energy along the southeastern atlantic coast. tuesday a coastal low potential. we'll have to watch this and track it, the impacts uncertain, but tuesday or wednesday with rain or snow along the coast and inland snow all the way back to chicago. we will be tracking this very closely as that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> 42 degrees right now in san jose. partly cloudy with some sunshine. our storm doppler radar picking up more rain moving out of the north bay and heading south and a chance we could see some thundershowers today. a very chilly air. good for snow levels down to near 4,000 feet at times. even with the sun, we'll have highs in the mid to upper 50s. chance of thundershowers with more showers likely for fright into saturday. sunday looks like the dryer day. it's a little warm-up early next week. >> don't forget heading out the door, you can listen on today show radio sirius xm channel

108. why don't we spin over to the orange room and see what carson has got. >> do you want to come over? guys, here's the deal. the state of delaware could become one of the first states to adopt mobile driver's licenses for its 800,000 licensed drivers and i.d. card holders. the delaware division of motor vehicles has launched a six-month pilot study to test user experience and features that can only work with a digital driver's license. those features include security systems like requiring a pin code or possibly facial recognition to access the license on the app. it will allow law enforcement officers to ping a person's smartphone to request their license during traffic stops. go to social media. jim says i hope this program works out well. i would also like to see it roll out throughout the country. i love it. chrissy adding i like this as a backup plan for forgetting your license while driving but not as a replacement for a traditional license. nikki says, nope. not down for this at all. so we asked you on twitter what

do you think about a mobile driver's license. pretty split but a lot of people like the idea. 58% saying yes. disapproval at 42. the governor of delaware did release a statement sega cross state government we remain focused on innovation to connect delawareans with new technology and finding new, more efficient ways to deliver services to delaware taxpayers. this program is a great demonstration of that effort. so i'll ask you guys what you think about it. other states have tested similar programs before. iowa did it, virginia, maryland, louisiana. none of them have fully implemented it. >> can you put up that license again, the one than demonstrated it? no, new york city to, the licen lady. hoda says what if that's a real lady? >> will the airport accept that? >> you can get on planes now using the app on your phone. >> but you have to show your license. >> right. it will be on your --

>> maybe if it had a code or something. >> it's all fun and games until after a long, hard day at work you go to a bar to get a drink and your phone is dead. that's the problem. trust me, i was born in the '70s. >> i haven't been carded in 20 years. >> you've got popstart? >> i do. we'll start with steve harvey. nobody can forget that gaffe at the 2015 miss universe pageant. he announced that miss colombia was the winner of the event. only seconds later realizing he made a mistake. miss philippines had actually won the competition. harvey criticized for that mistake for weeks after that. he apologized to gutierrez who has since forgiven him. yesterday they reunited on the steve harvey show to reflect. have a look. >> that night right there was so crazy, man. we became friends. her family is really kind to me. her mother is who i really wanted to be cool with.

anybody that did this to my daughter, i would be looking for that for a long time. >> gutierrez said that changed her life forever and she got to do a movie with vin diesel. francia raisa talked about her surgery with selena gomez. she donated a kidney to selena who was in desperate need for that transplant. she opened up about advice that her social worker gave her before the surgery. >> and she told me, it's going to be hard. the recipient is going to glow and she's going to recover a lot faster than the donor is because she's receiving something she needs. you're losing something you don't need to lose. it's going to be hard, and it was very hard. selena and i both went through a depression. she had some complications with hers and she has bigger scars than i do that wasn't expected. >> thank goodness that surgery was a success, but the recovery process was indeed hard. she couldn't pick up her dog let

alone shower herself. she is back to being active and said the surgery has made her appreciate her next chapter in life. finally will ferrell, yesterday the comedian attended the indian wells masters tennis tournament out in california. your buddy, roger federer, and jeremy shardy went head-to-head. he crashes the broadcast booth and take a shot at commenting on the game. >> he'll psych out his opponent by sitting in the back. no eye contact whatsoever. jim, the critical coin toss. shh. let's watch the pageantry. wait, what happened? jeremy and i were talking about that last night when we were facetiming each other and i go don't forget rome. he's still thinking about it. >> for sure. for sure. >> in fact in the middle of his toss just yell out rome. >> he was commenting on the

match. >> that's good. >> in case you were wondering, federer did won that match. >> what a surprise. >> you got a click for us. >> i do have a daily click for you. burt reynolds is in the orange room, it's very distracting. mr. reynolds, what a pleasure. i'll try to get through the click here. this is good. a group of swimmers in scotland wanted to do something special to raise money for their community pool so they decided to hold a friendly race in the snow. >> oh! >> they swam. just wait for the turn if we can wait for it. this is on the grass. 24 degrees fahrenheit, no big deal. they're doing back strokes. they showed off their swimming technique. you can see them struggle with the backstroke. eventually got a little tired and they crawled their way to the finish. but the group raised almost $3,000 for that community swimming pool, which was a great idea. >> that is a sum. all right, kids, carson, you

said it. come with me because it's not every day we have a legend in the house. it is the one, the only. he's right here. hi. how are you? >> better now. >> he's better now. we're going to talk to burt reynol reynolds. you've got a new movie out. we've got a lot to discuss. >> yeah.i )m ...

more developments .. in a disturbing story good morning, everyone, 8:26. i wanted to bring you more developments in a disturbing story we covered this morning on today in the bay. in the last hour, oakland police confirm a second person is dead after being pulled from the waters of lake merit. witnesses reported a chaotic scene there early this morning. they called 911 to report some kind of altercation involving a man and a woman. rescuers discovered a man in the water first, transported him to hospital. they later found a woman's body. again, police now saying that man has died. we're still trying to learn the identities of the two people involved. well, mike's taking a look at some trouble in hay wward. >> good morning. the south bay shows a little build and that's what i'll talk about. but we're looking over here for

880 northbound. look everything's cleared up. chp has not cleared that traffic alert from their system but the speed sensors do show that things must have cleared up over last few, so i'll bring you any other alerts on twitter of course. south bay, north 85 towards freemont, we do have a lot of slowing. this is about when the commute comes through the area. and also there's a high school just off that freemont area, two high schools so there may be some wait. the rest of the south bay moves well. typically slow spots through san jose. approaching the bay bridge, things start to move better. >> we'll have another local news update in half an hour. see you then.

hi, everybody. it's thursday, it's march 15th at 8:30 in the morning. happy crowd out here on our plaza. a lot of cuties. it's just about to burst onto us and let us out and burst our bubble. we're talking about foureasters. >> not easter eggs, we're talking snow. >> we've got so many people on the plaza it was hard to choose, but i met a young lady yesterday and her name is ella. and she set -- hi, sweetie! how are you? >> hi, good. >> i'm so excited. so ella says this. ask me and i will do an aerial.

she said she watched people on the plaza, you saw some people doing some tricks. >> yes. >> what were they doing? >> jump rope and double ditutch. >> so she said can i do something and we said sure. where's her mom. is it okay? you do you. you do you. >> come on, ella, ella, ella. >> just have fun. go ahead. >> you got it. >> whoa! wow! >> omg. >> high fives for everybody. high fives for everybody. >> way to go. >> that was awesome. how do you feel? >> good. >> that was a big day for you. >> thank you. >> and a big day for us. thank you for coming. >> do you want to meet our puppy? >> oh, sweet. >> thank you, ella. you're awesome. >> are you so relieved? i'm so relieved.

>> good stand here with us. >> i'm going to do it now with sonny. here we go. ready, watch. let's not joke around. in the building, hollywood icon burt reynolds is here. he's got a brand new must havy coming out. this one is personal. he'll tell us why he had to make the last movie star. and then on meet the boss, a woman whose devotion to her dogs grew to a multimillion doll pet food company. they laugh, they eat and tell us which dishes are worth shelling out for. the buzzfeed guys behind worth it. they let us in on the making of one of their viral videos. >> megyn, can you do an aerial? maybe a round-off? >> if i didn't have a stomach cramp i would have it. today we've got five astronauts, five real live astronauts talking about, among other things, whether there's life beyond earth. and what it may look like.

>> you've got some fun shows. >> and you heard about the fertility clinics where the embryos were unfrozen. there's a couple opening up about how it has affected them. this has to stop happening. it happened twice in the past couple of weeks. anyway, they'll tell their story. >> we'll look for you at the top of the hour. how about our weather? >> friday much colder in the northeast, severe storms down through the gulf. heavy snow and rain out west making our way to saturday, we expect to see cold in the northeast, in new england. more wet weather spreading out west and sunday, sunday, warming up in the midsection of the country, chilly out west, northeast into the midatlantic states b that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> by march standard, a little chilly start to the morning. the sun in san jose, 42 degrees. mid-40s in san francisco. now 48 and plan on addition to

seeing sun, a chance of showers and a chance of thunderstorms as the cool air aloft mixes with day time heating below. mid-50s today. a chance of a few more showers friday. saturday, the showers wind down. the second half of the weekend looks drier and warmer as we head into in the week. >> and that is your latest weather. don't forget, you can get us any time you need us, just go onto our today sirius xm channel 108. all right, it's your first time from h-town. where's h-town? >> houston. >> houston, all right. i should have known that. now, let's head back in to hoda and mr. reynolds. >> it's a big, big day, al. thank you so much. very few movie stars have had more influence on the industry than the man you're looking at right now, burt reynolds. the award-winning actor has appeared in nearly 100 films,

spanned two decades as hollywood's number one box office star. in his newest project, "the last movie star" he plays an aging actor who travels to nashville for what he thinks is a prestigious award celebrating his career. take a look. >> oh, man, i can't tell you how excited we are to have you here. i'm doug mcdougal. we spoke on the phone. >> yeah. >> we're such fans. let me introduce you to my partner. we have been best friends since birth so the first time i saw any of your films, it was with this guy right here. >> really? wow. >> mr. edwards, sir, your films have influenced be greatly. your performance was a revelation of gradation and dynamism and nuance? >> it sounds like a law firm. >> burt reynolds, good morning. >> good morning. >> how are you? >> well, great since you left

me. it was about an hour ago, wasn't it? >> it was probably about that. >> you got home all right? >> your timing, by the way, you're known for everything, your comedic timing is among them. so, first of all, i walked in here, here you are sitting here. i'm looking at this backdrop of everything burt. when you look back at these images -- >> these are all in my bedroom too. >> right. >> and i don't have any pictures of anybody else but me because it makes me happy. >> you like to -- if you look at any of these images, which one, if you were going to pick one that you would keep forever, which one? >> that one. >> smoky and the bandit? >> throwing the ball. >> that's your first love, right? >> yes. if i could do that, i wouldn't want to be an actor. >> is that right? >> yeah. >> your dad was a world war ii vet. >> yes. >> he was a tough guy, and he was a police chief. when you said to him after

obviously football wasn't going to work out, hey, dad, i'm going to be an actor, what was his reaction? >> he threw up. >> for real? >> no, but he was very -- he wasn't happy, you know. he wanted me to be something that he could talk to the guys down at the force about. not that he's working for candy bergen, which for me it doesn't get any better than that. >> was there ever a point where he saw you doing one of these wonderful things and said, wow, i'm proud of you, son. >> he did to other people but not to me. i even gave him straight lines like, you know, what did you think of the last picture, dad? and he went, what picture? >> oh, really. >> yeah. >> that had to be an ouch a little bit. >> it was an ouch, yeah. he arrested me once for fighting. threw us all in this drunk tank.

and he came down and he went you can go home your father is here, you can go home, your father is here. he looked at me and said your father didn't show up. it was a tough, slow, but i loved him beyond -- >> yeah. we're going to talk about the movie in a second, an incredible career. so many great roles and so many great loves. but i always wonder when i think about the women in your life, who would you consider the love of your life? >> you're naughty. you really are. i mean i'm dead in the water no matter what i say. well, she was 7 when i fell in love with her. she stayed 7 for about 11 years. i would say sally. >> sally field? >> no, sally wolfergosh.

yes, sally field. >> i thought maybe there was another sally. sally field, wow. >> yeah. she was -- well, she is still, you know, i wanted her really bad for smoky. they said she's not sexy. i said you don't get it. talent is sexy. and she's got that. >> wow. this movie that you're -- this movie that we're going to be watching soon, you actually sat down and watched a screening of it. and i heard, and tell me if this is true, got really emotional when you watched yourself on the screen. why was that? >> it was very close to me, this picture, because a lot of it that's happening on the screen was happening to me now. >> like what kinds of things? >> well, you should retire, you

should get out of the business, and then going to, you know, a tribute to you, and it's in a bar. >> yeah, you think it's going to be some big thing. >> i thought that kirk would be there, you know, and all the guys. it was a disaster. >> are you happy -- are you happy that you played this part in this movie? >> yeah. >> you are. if someone were to do a movie, burt, on your life and someone would play the role of you -- >> george clooney. >> without hesitation? >> yeah. >> that's the guy? >> why not? >> exactly. >> he's not quite as good looking as me but he's still got a lot of other things. >> well, burt, we love you. you are a legend. it's an honor. when we were talking to different people and saying you were coming, everyone had the exact same reaction, they were just like, wow. >> i am so proud of you for not having your lips larger.

>> all right, burt. thank you. the movie "the last movie star" is available on directv now and opens in meters on march 30th. we're back with much more on a thursday morning, but first thi is "today"s o does this map show the

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we are back with more of our special series called meet the boss in honor of women's history sglo month. >> we're hoping to inspire everybody to dream big with the success stories of remarkable women with big ideas. jenna has more. >> who doesn't love their pets? americans spent nearly $70 billion on them last year, inspired by rescue dogs, maureen started what is now a popular food company. >> i always loved animals. when i started this, i didn't know it would look like this. >> marie moody founded stella and chewy's in 2003, a pet food

company she named after her two rescue dogs. the idea came to her after receiving devastating news from her vet. >> chewy was one of those once in a lifetime dogs, your soulmate dog. when i first got chewy, i was working in the fashion industry. he was sick and the vet said this dog is not going to make it. i had this epiphany and started doing research on pet food because even though we've domesticated them, their dna is still like 99.9% wolf. it made a lot of sense to go back to how they used to eat in the wild. >> marie went back to the basics. she fed chewy a raw food diet. meat, fish and vegetables. >> how did chewy respond? >> he got 100% better. not even slightly, but 100% better. he lived to be almost 17. >> when did you realize, okay, this is something that other people want? >> i think i started to realize that when i saw how much better chewy got. i felt like if you really love your dog, the single most

important thing you can do is to feed it a high quality diet. >> she spent six months drafting a business plan, drained her savings account and launched her new company in her new york city kitchen. >> what were the early days like? >> i had like freezers, industrial freezers in my living room for like four years. in the beginning i delivered it by taxi. i did eventually get a used minivan and turn that into a delivery vehicle. >> so when the used minivan came you were like we really made it. >> this is the greatest day. >> producing healthy pet food proved a smart business move. sales took off and soon marie's kitchen-run business needed a new base. she moved stella and chewy's headquarters to her hometown, milwaukee, where 300 employees now work and where bring your best friend to work day is every >> this makes it a pretty fun place to work. >> yes. and you can see they can smell the food. >> the pet food is made from raw meat an organic vegetables and freeze dried, all done in the

factory next to the office. >> this is where the magic happens? >> this is it. >> in 2010 marie stepped down as ceo but remains chairwoman. >> talk to me about that transition and why it was so important. >> i think a lot of people have difficulty sort of giving up titles or delegating and that's never been an issue for me. >> and part of it was so that you could spend more time with your son. >> by the time i was able to step back from the business a little bit was when he was really going into first grade, second grade, third grade. >> do you have advice for other women who are starting their own companies? >> i think it's about you have to really want it. i mean for me, i felt like i really didn't have a choice, like i had to do this. i wanted to do this. >> her determination paid off. today stella and chewy's is sold in 5,000 stores nationwide and it's now a multimillion dollar

pet food company. >> this is a great industry to be a part of because it's a really happy industry. like people love their dogs. >> what do you think it takes to be a good boss? >> i think if i had to say, i mean certainly some degree of compassion and empathy while also being very strategic and able to drive your team. >> so get this, last year the pet food industry grew three times as fast as the packaged food industry so it's a good place to be. those dogs in the office are having a blast. they like the treats. also the owners, it was kind of like therapeutic in there. everybody was calm. we should get a dog around here. >> great idea. >> sonny. >> thank you, jenna. that was inspiring, i like that. coming up next, al is behind the scenes with the "worth it" guys. how they're changing the food world one video at a time. first, this is "today" on nbc. t.

narrator: public education has been valued for centuries. man: the direction in which education starts a person will determine their future in life. woman: the highest result of education is tolerance. woman: it's the road to equality and citizenship. man: education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. narrator: brought to you by the california teachers association. woman: because we know quality public schools make a better california for all of us.

we're back, 8:50. "today food." >> al is taking us behind the scenes with the guys from the buzzfeed wildly popular "worth it" series. >> when you think of food explorer chefs like anthony bourdain come to mind. now three digital food stars are emerging as a force to be reckoned with. if you're over the age of 25, chances are you've never heard of them. in a quest for the best priced delicious dishes -- >> you want to try it? >> three youtube sensations have taken the culinary world by storm. >> this is like what mcdonald's burgers look like in the commercial but never in real life. >> meet andrew, steven and camera guy adam of buzzfeed's "worth it." >> ready, go. you have right now adam. >> it's one of the most complex things i've eaten. >> the team came together while working on other popular food videos with one simple goal.

>> we try one food at three price points, so low, medium, high, to find out which one is the most worth it at its price. >> the next time you see us, we will be in australia. >> that search has taken them around the globe and fans have followed. with more than 400 million views on youtube. >> are you surprised at the success of this thing? >> what really surprised us was how many people were going to these restaurants we were covering. >> you chose sushi because five words i never want to say is all you can eat sushi. >> that's the beauty of it. we're finding these gems of places that have really good sushi or really good cheap fried chicken. >> it's so good. >> chef marcus samuelson met the "worth it" guys when they tried fried chicken from his red rooster restaurant in harlem. >> if it is delicious, they're going to respond.

if it's not, they don't care. >> you're here to give us the secret. >> we brought the team back to red rooster to make the same dish. >> i put it in our house flour blend. look at that color. i want to make sure that the chicken is still crunchy. >> all right, let's go in. then tasted it to see how these experts analyze food. >> i want a fried chicken that i can sink into, get the crunch but then just like fall in love with it. >> you're also looking for a little bit of personality and individual character. this fried chicken definitely has that. >> this week the boys are back, returning for their fourth season. >> is there a favorite episode you guys have done? >> do you have a favorite kid? >> you're comparing my child to your show. >> oh, man. >> i would say our ramen episode was my favorite. we got to go to japan and show people the origin of that story.

>> we covered pasta. it's not inexpensive food. it doesn't have to be relegated to fine dining. >> we did an episode on eggs. i have one word to describe this omlette. pillow-heaven. >> did you follow that with chicken? >> chicken came after. >> wow! i hate how good this is. >> where do you guys go next from here? >> we really love making the show. you would think that you'd run out of food, but there's so many foods and so many different stories to tell. we're just excited to continue to do it. >> i'm starving. starving. >> you watch this stuff and what's great is they really do make it accessible. and the price point really -- most of the stuff they say, whatever they're eating, it's worth it. by the way, catch a season of "worth it" proud by buzzfeed starting this sunday on youtube. all right. we'll be back in just a minute, but first this is "today" on nbc.

a big hour coming up at 10:00. ambush makeover.

and we're doing this, there's something called the secret lives of the super rich where we dig into everybody's business. we get up into people's -- >> i like to see how they live. >> up in their grill? >> it's a $5,000 grill. >> megyn kelly is straight ahead, but first on this i )m - -... ing, a check of students at san jose state are good morning, everyone. 8:56. students at san jose state warned after police say a student there was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting another student. investigators believe there may be more victims. they're hoping those victims will come forward. here's what police are saying. the suspect is a fourth year student named louis venegas. he's expected in court later today. he lives in the campus village. they believe he and the victim that they've interviewed know each other. the first assault occurred march

3rd. happening now, our bob riddle is talking with campus police getting more information. bob's going to have the latest in a live report on our midday newscast. also, a surprise announcement from toys are us. they're now planning to close all 735 locations next month. the longtime retailer declared bankruptcy. today's announcement caught people by surprise it tens of thousands of workers have been told to find new jobs. and the chp now says the suspect they believed to have gotten away after a car chase crashed into several cars and a fire hydrant in san leandro. the full story and images from that crash scene on our twitter feed. we'll have more weather coming for you in half an hour. we'll see you then. the bay area

needed rain. i )m tracking more wet weather for your friday áand i l give you my forecast for your saint patrick )s day weekend. join us tomorrow from 4:30 to 7.

[ cheers and applause ] good morning, everybody. good morning and welcome, i'm megyn kelly. we begin with the latest in a shocking systems failure at two separate fertility clinics on the very same day. the facilities, one in ohio, the other in california, suffered malfunctions with the containers that house frozen eggs and embryos putting hundreds of people's dreams of having a child in jeopardy. are you imagi can you imagine? can you imagine this? kate snow has the very latest on this story. >> in both clinics a tank filled with liquid nitrogen failed. thousands of frozen eggs and embryos may no longer be viable