good. but we'll leave you with a live picture of san mateo will things are moving along nicely particularly for those folks on the bikes. we're back at 7:25 with more local news. have a great monday. ♪ good morning. breaking overnight, another package bomb rocks the city of austin, texas, injuring two people at least. the fourth mysterious explosion this month as police issue a direct plea to the perpetrator. >> we hope this person or persons is watching and will reach out to us before anyone else is injured or anyone else is killed. >> we're live with the latest on the investigation and the urgent new warning from police. heading for a showdown? the president attacking robert mueller by name for the very first time. the white house insisting the special counsel won't be fired as a key republican senator delivers this pointed warning. >> if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the

end of his presidency. triple threat, dangerous storms coast-to-coast. millions across the south facing severe weather today. including possible tornadoes. much of the east coast bracing for yet another potential nor'easter. while out west, the most powerful storm of the system set to slam southern california. and al is tracking it all. those stories, plus, facebook under fire. the growing outrage of the misuse of data from 50 million users. the whistleblower who says he was part of it speaks out to us live. what went wrong? a performer plunges to his death at a cirque du soleil show in florida. multiple investigations now under way. and brackets busted. >> it's good. >> xavier the latest top seed bounced from the ncaa tournament on a day filled with big upsets and historic comebacks. >> the ball is loose and that is it!

nevada pulls off a miracle! >> giving new meaning to the term march madness, today, monday, march 19th, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today," with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning, everybody. welcome to "today." nice to have you with us on a monday morning. we start with breaking news out of texas. and it's disturbing. the city of austin on-edge this morning once again after what appears to be the fourth package bombing there just this month. overnight, an entire neighborhood was told to shelter in place as investigators comb the scene. we're going to have complete coverage this morning. we'll start with nbc's jay gray who is there. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. let's start with the condition of the two victims here. both men in their 20s, doctors say they're being treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries. police and federal agents

continue to search for answers here. this morning, a community in austin is reeling once again after another explosion. >> not a lot happens here. it's a family neighborhood. yeah. it's concerning. >> reporter: concern after the fourth package bomb in less than a month explodes, injuring two men in their 20s as they were passing by with their bicycles. investigators say unlike three previous explosions, which detonated after the victims tried to pick up packages left at their homes, this package was left on the side of the road, possibly triggered by a trip wire. >> it is very possible that this device was a gudevice that was activated with someone coming in contact with a trip wire. that's important for this community to understand, so that we all remain safe while we work through this investigation. >> reporter: it comes less than a week after a package bomb severely injured a 75-year-old woman. that blast just hours after

another bomb exploded five miles away. >> there was a backage th apack exploded inside of the home. >> there will be two patients. >> reporter: a 17-year-old boy was killed, a woman wounded inside their kitchen. police linking those bombs to an initial explosion on march 2nd, that killed 39-year-old anthony house. investigators say all three of the packages were average sized, not mailed or sent by a delivery service. but instead, the boxes were quietly left by someone at the front door. it's unclear whether any of the bombing victims were targeted. police continue to urge residents across austin not to handle unexpected packages. >> we now need the community to have an extra level of individual lens and pay attention to any suspicious device, whether it be a package, a bag, a backpack, anything that looks out of place and do not approach it. >> reporter: families are told to stay inside their homes until daylight. federal agents and police have fanned out looking for

suspicious packages and also now getting a closer look at the device that exploded overnight. savannah, hoda? >> jay, thank you so much. let's turn to nbc analyst, clint van zandt. he's a former fbi profiler. clint, good morning. >> good morning, ladies. >> we're hearing that this particular explosive could have been set off by a trip wire. what does that tell you about the sophistication of the bomber? and if it is connected to the other, does that mean this person is evolving in his or her approach? >> and i think you have the right wording, evolving. this is something we see with serial offenders, serial killers, serial bombers, arsonists. unfortunately they learn as they go on. they watch the news. they're probably watching you and i talk right now are the individual who did this is and they're wondering, what does police know so they can change, so they can continue to do this. evidence of the evolution of course is they moved a bomb from

the front porch to the street with a trip wire. this is new, but this also suggests some level of sophistication on the bomber's part. >> this comes after the authorities made a direct appeal to the bomber. they said this. we assure you, we are listening. we want to understand what brought you to this point. we want to listen to you. what are they trying to get across? and what have they got and cross? >> i think the police are being completely honest with the individual responsible for this. we are trying to understand what is the motive? what's the connection, victimology is we're looking at. the various victims in these bombings connect them back to the bomber? what connects them to each other and to the bomber. but the honest message is just like me looking at a camera and saying, you have our attention. if you want to say something, if you want to make a statement, now is the time to convey it. you can't get our attention anymore. so convey that message, give police, give the community a chance to understand while

you're doing this. >> and in the 30 seconds we have, clint, you're a former profiler. what is the profile of somebody who would do this? be bold enough to place package bombs on someone's doorstep? >> i was involved in the unabomber investigation. i did the initial analysis for ted kaczynski's brother david in looking at the various communications that were out there. motivation can be a lot of different things. it can be racially directed. it could be someone angry at the community. we've seen things done like this because a person doesn't want to pay his or her taxes. right now, police have enough avenues to go down. they have to send enough investigators down every avenue to make sure they didn't miss anything, but now we see the bombs have started to increase. it was originally ten days between episodes, now it's only been eight days between the last two. the frequency is increasing. >> it is. we'll find out if the fourth one

is related, as police suspect. clint van zandt, good to get your perspective. thank you. >> thank you. also this morning, there is some fast-moving details in the russia investigation. it started with president trump calling out robert mueller by name on twitter over the weekend. and it's led the president's lawyer to insist the special counsel will not be fired. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with all this. hey, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. president trump is slamming this special counsel yet again this morning, tweeting a total witch hunt with massive conflicts of interest. mr. trump's attacks seem like a new strategy after his lawyers had long convinced him not to engage with mueller. all of it creating a growing political fire storm today. this morning, tensions mounting. president trump training his sights on special counsel robert mueller. over the weekend, calling out the russia investigation by name for the first time. tweeting, the mueller probe should never have been started. and that there was no collusion

and there was no crime. and in another asking, why does the mueller team have 13 hardened democrats, zero republicans? while most of the team does have democratic ties, mueller and his supervisor rod rosenstein are republicans. >> it's odd the number of democrats he has on his team. that does raise some flags in some sense there. >> reporter: on saturday, john dowd, trump lawyer, called for an end to the mueller investigation. mr. trump's tweets have some wondering if he's considering firing robert mueller. >> if you have an innocent client, mr. dowd, act like it. >> if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. >> reporter: white house lawyer ty cobb saying overnight the white house confirms that the president is not considering or discussing the firing of the special counsel robert mueller. all of it coming after andrew mccabe was fired late friday, stemming from his decision to let fbi insiders talk to a reporter about the clinton foundation investigation. mccabe, who was let go a little

more than 24 hours before he was eligible to receive his pension, says he's being singled out for supporting former fbi director james comey after he was fired. former cia director john brennan lashing out at the president, tweeting, when the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude and political cooperation becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. you may scapegoat andy mccabe, but you will not destroy america. america will triumph over you. >> mccabe, a frequent target of president trump called his firing the effort by the administration and the president himself to ruin his reputation. sources close to mccabe says he gave the special counsel his notes on the meetings with the president. mr. trump calling those fake memos, saying mccabe never took notes in his presence. hoda, savannah? >> kristen welker at the white house. thanks. the president will be in new hampshire to unveil his plan

iction crisis. it calls for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers. including the death penalty where it is a appropriate under current law. the plan consists of three parts, raising awareness, cutting the elicit drug flow and expanding proven treatment options. the president will be accompanied today by first lady melania trump. to russia now where vladimir putin notched a landslide re-election victory to keep him in power for another six years. not only did putin win again, he won with 77% of the vote, that's the largest ever by an elected russian president. they say the election was a sham. they suggest opposing candidates were hand picked by putin himself. and these videos appear to show voters depositing multiple ballots. verified by the a.p. and an election official casually stuffing a ballot box. it's unclear if the irregularities were widespread. another big story, the severe weather that is sweeping across the country and will impact tens of millions coast to coast.

al, you are busy today. >> i got to tell you, guys, we have so much going on. let's start off with what could be our first tornado outbreak of the year. 19 million folks in danger for tornadoes, damaging winds, hail. some of these could be very strong, especially this evening. then tomorrow, that shifts into the southeastern atlantic coast and parts of florida for 11 million people watching this very closely today. here is how it starts shaping up. complex system coming out of the plains. it has plenty of warm hair to stain these storm's growth. the super cells formed this afternoon and into tonight. then that system starts to continue to push its way east, transforming its system and its energy to the east coast. a coastal low develops tomorrow. wet snow slowly advancing ahead of the system. and then as we move into wednesday, you can see now it becomes a nor'easter, moving up the coast, an increased threat for wet snow.

the american model and the european model take similar tracks. but as you watch the european model through time, you can see it becomes much more aggressive about the snow along the coast and inland as opposed to the american model. let's look at the snowfall totals we have right now. you can see the american model not much. the heaviest snow is back through the appalachians, but here the european model shows anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snow, washington, d.c. all the way up into new england. it's still too early to tell. is it both of these? is it somewhere in the middle? we have to continue to watch. hoda? >> al, thanks so much. also this morning, the victim of last week's catastrophic bridge collapse in miami have now been identified. this as we led if warning signs were missed. gabe gutierrez is in miami with us with the latest. in

and fiu is planning a moment of silence at 1:47 p.m., the exact moment of thursday's collapse. this, as questions are swirling about a crack an engineer noticed days before the tragedy. this morning, all six victims of the bridge collapse of fiu have been identified. they are alexa duran, brandon brownfield. katrina was pulled out of her half crushed car through a translator she spoke to her church on sunday telling them she was grateful to survive. >> translator: i don't know why so many others did not survive. >> reporter: as federal investigators scour the scene, there are more questions about warning signs that may have been missed. the florida department of transportation released a voicemail an employee received from one of the bridge engineers, two days before the catastrophic collapse. >> i was calling to you to share with some information and the fiu pedestrian bridge and some

cracking that's been observed on the north end of the span. >> reporter: the engineering company f.i.g.g. says the evaluation was based on the best available information at that time and indicated that there were no safety issues. fiu officials say they met just hours before the collapse to discuss the crack. and the company told them it did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge. >> we have a sense of urgency about getting to the bottom of this accident. >> reporter: according to senator marco rubio, engineers were working on the bridge the day of the collapse. >> there were these rods that go inside like cables and they were being tightened. >> reporter: for the uncle of alexa duran, grief turning into anger that more wasn't done. >> this is a colossal failure of the system. and this is complete incompetence from the top-down. i want to find out what happened here. >> reporter: investigators from the national transportation safety board will be here at the scene again today. fiu is planning a campus vigil memorial service on wednesday.

hoda and savannah? >> gabe, thanks. last week, we talked about a airline mixup that had an oregon family's dog accidentally shipped to japan. well, it's happened again, this time it was two idaho families. they say mixups at delta airlines had the dogs criss-crossing the country. on saturday the plane was supposed to take the puppies from virginia to minneapolis and then on to boise, but instead they went to detroit where they stayed overnight and then the two puppies went to los angeles and salt lake city before finally landing in boise late sunday evening. delta apologized to the families and refunded those shipping costs. it's time to turn to the ncaa tournament this year you guys, march madness has been blowing everyone's minds. the top seeds are blown out. >> like you said at the top of the show, march madness for sure, people writing this year off, ripping up their brackets. the sweet 16 set minus big-time favorites including defending champs north carolina.

here is what you need to know about the crazy weekend that was. last night, xavier was upset by florida state, the nine seed. that final, 75-70. the musketeers were the second number one seed to fall during the opening weekend. there was other big upsets on sunday, nevada knocked off cincinnati. the wolf pack were down by as much as 22 points in that game. came roaring back to win in the final seconds. that final was 75-73. and how about syracuse? the 11-seeded orange squeaked into by winning a play-in game. last week, barely making it into the top 68. last night, they upset michigan state, the three seed, 55-53. the dance is over, the university of maryland baltimore county fell to kansas state last night. 50-43, retrievers of course shocked the world by beating virginia on friday night. it was the first time a number 16 seed beat a number 1 seed. lot of people talking about that game. and now let's go back to saturday for just a second.

the 11th seed loyola chicago still dancing, the rumblers snuck past the volunteers. the team's chaplain was all smiles as they are trying to keep their cinderella story alive. >> wow. sister jean is the hit of the tournament, come on. >> she is. let's see how we're doing on our brackets. let's put them up on the big board. thank you, al, for letting us use the big board. >> 35 points. hoda with the new suntan. savannah and i just a point behind. al, with the selections coming up for the elite eight, you have some work to do. >> i have no idea. >> neither does anybody in the country. this is a nutty march madness. >> this is crazy. >> that was a fun weekend. we had sports. now, weather. >> let's look at what is going on around the rest of the country. you can see severe storms in the southeast. out west in the next half hour, big, big storms coming there and fire danger in through texas. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds.

♪ good monday morning i'm meteorologist kari hall. we have a beautiful sunrise but it's a cool start. 40 degrees in the peninsula and south bay and 36 degrees in the north bay. as we go into the afternoon it's going to be nice and warm and about the best date of week. up to 68 degrees in san jose and morgan hill. 65 in concord, oakland. in ukiah expect a hive 64 degrees and the rain arrives tomorrow. we'll be tracking rain not only for tomorrow but much of the workweek.

>> what could be the most powerful storm hitting the weekt, causing big problems, we'll detail that in the next half hour. coming up, facebook, under fire and under investigation over a massive breach that may have helped the president with his election efforts. the whistleblower that took part in it, speaking out in a live interview. and chilling video as a cirque du soleil performance goes tragically wrong. first, this is " thertoe's only one word for the all new together forever-a pixar night time spectacular. ooohhhh. ahhhhhh. okay, maybe two. celebrate friendship and beyond at pixar fest. staring april 13th at disneyland resort. coming

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good goes around and around. good goes around and around. the road out of alameda is slow . good morning it's 7:26 i'm marcus washington about the road out of alameda is slow and will be getting slower a little later this morning. that's where our sinkhole near posey tube is creating big problems for drivers. had is video from nbc bay area sky ranger flying over that problem about an hour ago. it first 'peered on saturday. that's when a ruptured storm pipe created that sinkhole on the oakland side of the tup leaving alameda. crews keeping one lane open of the tube until 10:00 this morning when work resumes. at this point both lanes will be closed until around midnight. that work will take up to one week to complete. and for those who are driving in that area, traffic may be a problem, but weather certainly not one this morning. not for today, but tomorrow that all changes. we're going to enjoy a little

bit of sunshine to start out the day but the clouds will move in as the day goes along. temperatures reaching into the mid to upper 60s. it's going to be a warm day, especially compared to what we have coming our way. here's the storm system, we can see the swirls of clouds over the pacific. this will top into some pineapple express type moisture. it will be a while since we've had heavy rain but it will be targeting mostly southern california but we will have heavy rain moving into the bay area. starts out late tomorrow morning and continues for much of the rest of the week. let's see how the roads are moving with mike. not so bad except for the south bay does continue to deal with this crash northbound 101 just about mckeea. we're looking at a jam up approaching allen rock right now. four vehicles were involved, about 40 minutes ago this crash occurred put still see the slowing northbound. i think they still have one lane blocked. 87 where the arrow is hasn't fared as badly as we thought. we do have a build for the east shore highway, 40 phi minutes to

the bay bridge and then the backup at the toll plaza. back to you. thanks, mike. we'll have another local news update coming up for new half an hour.

7:30 on a monday morning. it is march 19th, 2018. >> we're going to start with the breaking news. another powerful explosion in austin, texas. >> austin on-edge. >> reported explosion. >> a late-night explosion rocks austin, texas, injuring two people. the fourth package bomb to explode this month. >> we want everyone within a half-mile radius to stay inside your homes until we have had a chance to deem this neighborhood safe. trump targeting mueller? the president calling out special counsel robert mueller by name for the first time in a weekend tweet, deeming the

russia probe a witch hunt. as top republicans warn the president not to interfere. >> if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. >> a white house lawyer saying mr. trump is not firie ining mu. missed opportunity. three deputies recommended nikolas cruz be forcibly committed before last month's school shooting. rare glimpse. meghan mccain shares a new photo of her father, john mccain, as the 81-year-old senator takes a break from treatment for cancer in arizona. not smooth criminals. a particulburglar breaking into bookstore before tripping on an escalator before leaving with the safe. >> he got away. >> he sure did. also this morning, facebook is under fire and facing growing outrage over the misuse of data

from some 50 million users and its possible impact in the 2016 election. the whistleblower who brought this to light is with us for a live interview. first, we go to peter alexander for the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that whistleblower, a former insider at the british-based company, is revealing details how his firm fueled support for the donald trump campaign. he said the company secretly accessed personal information from the 50 million facebook users, many of them americans, turning their profiles into what were unique political weapons. now, facebook is trying to make sure that data is never used again. this morning, this whistleblower says he is pulling back the veil, revealing what he calls the secret campaign trat ji to use facebook users. >> it's coersive.

>> reporter: he says his company, obtained personal data of facebook users without their consent. the goal, to help republican presidential candidates. >> we were able to get upwards of 50 million-plus, facebook records in the span of a couple months. >> reporter: how did they do it? beginning in 2014, many facebook users were paid to take a personality test, funded by cambridge analytica. what they didn't know at the same time the company was scooping up all of their friends' private information, too. a survey that started with 270,000 people, ultimately collected more than 50 million profiles. for political profiles, like steve bannon, who became a director at cambridge analytica, all of that data was a gold

mine. >> steve wanted weapons for his culture war. that's what he wanted. and we offered him a way to accomplish what he wanted to do, which was change the culture of america. >> reporter: facebook learned its data was being shared in 2015 and asked cambridge analytica to delete the data. but he says facebook never checked to make sure that happened. now, congress wants answers, with one senator demanding that mark zuckerberg testify. these damaging headlines dama damaging for facebook. the company telling nbc news that it remains committed to vigorously enforcing policies to protect people's information. facebook has suspended cambridge analytica and blocked wily until his suspension is lifted. for its part, cambridge analytica calls wily a

disgruntled former contractor who is trying to damage the company, and says it complies with facebook's terms of defense. nbc news reached out to steve bannon but has not heard back. cambridge analytica says the data has been destroyed. but "the new york times" says it's seen a portion of the raw data. christopher wily is with us from london. thanks for being with us. >> hi. >> it's good to talk to you. as we just saw, you said that facebook obtained, improperly obtained data for 50 million facebook users. and the purpose of this was to create profiles and target to them. my first question is simple. to your knowledge did the trump campaign in 2016 use that improperly accessed data? >> well, let me be clear i left

cambridge analytica before it joined the trump campaign. what i do know is that the company had been in talks with trump before trump had announced his candidacy. but you'll have to ask cambridge analytica if they were using the misappropriated data for donald trump. i know this was the foundation of cambridge analytica. cambridge analytica was founded on misappropriated data on thousands of facebook users. i want people to know that that their data is being used by this company, that has also been in talks with russian oil companies, that was using a psychologist who was going back and forth between london and russia, who was also working on projects that were funded by russian funds, in russia, on

profiling people and their personalities. i think it's important for americans to know what this company has been doing with their data. it's really important to find out, was this data used to elect trump? >> there's a lot to unpack there. you left in 2014. you don't know if the data was used by the trump campaign. let's talk about what it was used for -- >> what i do know is that cambridge analytica was meeting with corey lewandowski in 2015 before trump announced and offering the services that i am talking about right now. >> can you explain? you were one of the founders of this research. can you explain how it was used? i think you used the term weaponized data. how? what would it be used to do? >> i think what's important for people to understand is that cambridge analytica was birthed out of a military contractor

based in london. this data was used to create profiling algorithms, that would allow us to explore mental vulnerabilities of people and then map out ways to inject information into different streams or channels of content online so that people started to see things all over the place that may or may not have been true. this is a company that really took fake news to the next level by pairing it algorithms. >> it's different than political advertising because it seems to me any good political messaging trying to predict, guess out what might appeal to voters and design a message to that. you say this went further by gettiget ing the personality profiles and delivering fake news messages? >> yeah. you have to understand that this is based on an ideal called informational dominance. the idea that you can capture every channel of information

around a person and inject content around them, you can change the perception of what's actually happening. the fundamental difference between what cambridge analytica has done and standard political messaging is when i saw you an ad for a candidate, it says, i'm so and so and i approve this message. it is apparent that they're seeing political messaging. what cambridge analytica does is works on creating a weapon of disinformation online so people start going down the rabbit hole of clicking on blogs, websites, et cetera, that make them thing that certain things are happening that may not be. >> let me mention because cambridge analytica says you are a former contractor, involved in a blatant act to hurt the company. they have a restraining action against you. >> that's not true. sorry. >> do you have a political agenda? the cambridge analytica was

funded by conservative interests. you worked there. is there a political reason why you're coming forward now? >> i think what's really important for people to understand is that this company misappropriated data of upwards of 50 million people from facebook. they misused that data. that data was processed by psychologists who were going back and forth between london and russia and working on projects for russia, for russians, that the company was using his data. as it was talking to the second-largest oil company of russia, sending work that i was doing to the ceo of lucoil, which has known links to the ska state security services. we need to depoliticize this. this is about the safety of americans and the integrity of the american democratic process. if this data was misappropriated

and mishandled by this company. and i think they need to be investigated for that. >> and it seems like that is going forward and certainly facebook is answering some questions, as well. christopher wylie, thank you for your time. >> cheers. thanks for having me. we'll take a turn and get the weather and al's forecast. >> we'll look at what's going on out west. we have moisture streaming from hawaii all the way to california, 2,500 miles. this is a potent system, the strongest of the year coming in. several days of torrential rain. snowfall in the higher elevation of the sierra. as this pushes in, we're worried about debris flows, mud flows and flooding, stretching from central california's coast all the way to los angeles. elevated

. good morning i'm meteorologist kari hall. we'll be watching in incoming storm. meantime we are seeing some sunshine as we take a live look outside in san francisco and we're going to have a chilly start this morning as you head out the door. we're at 48 degrees in san francisco, only 35 now in napa and 35 also in morgan hill. our high temperatures today will reach into the mid to upper 60s. last dry day before the storm arrives. we'll be targeting southern california with some heavy rain but also bringing rounds of showers to the bay area. that i weather. >> mr. roker, thank you. still ahead, what do your kids buy with their allowance? you should see what blue ivy tried to buy. and ways to keep your kids entertained and engaged in spring break. and parkland students emerging as voices of a generation. and what went wrong? new information on a performer's fatal fall. it was caught on camera during a

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on a tragic accident over the weekend at a cirque du soleil show in florida. >> that's right. an experienced acrobat felt to his death. it happened in front of a shocked crowd and was caught on camera. this morning, investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong. kerry sanders has the story for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the federal agency known as osha

is investigating this accident here. a high-flying acrobat who initially survived the fall but later died at the hospital. it happened in front of an audience, a horror that some were repocording on their cell phones. it is hard to watch. authorities are examining this video for cluineclues. opening to shot why an experienced acrobat,i iayann ar naud going to the ground. >> is he going to be okay? >> he had been with cirque du soleil for 15 years. but saturday was the first time he tried this new routine in front of an audience. his final instagram post,

chilling. after so much work training and staging, our straps duo act, is finally in the show tonight. it's time to go for it. >> when the performer fell and hit the floor. you heard a loud gasp and then it was just quiet. >> reporter: the circus saying, the entire circumstancque du so family is devastated by this tragedy. our focus will be on supporting yann's family and our employees. this is not the first time tragedy has struck cirque du soleil. in 2013, an acrobat was killed after falling 90 feet during a show in las vegas. and in 2009, a performer died after falling from a swing while training. >> what we do is extremely dangerous. >> reporter: nik wallenda, who does not work for cirque du soleil, but had his own near-death falls, says the risks are very real.

>> freak accidents can happen. you can slip and use yolose you. it's raw and it's live. it's one of the oldest forms of entertainment. >> reporter: cirque du soleil is cooperating with authorities, gathering as much information as they can to find out what went wrong here. guys? >> kerry, thank you. just ahead, the young survivors pushing for change in the w can i have a peanut butter sandwich? can charlie have one, too?

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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? just ahead, we're sharing some our our favorite things, starting with al and a tour of new york. and a woman who took things into her own

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i thought i was managing my moderate to severe crohn's disease. then i realized something was missing... me. my symptoms were keeping me from being there. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

. good monday morning. right now it's 7:56. we start out with cool temperatures and clear skies. today we'll reach into the mid to upper 60s, it's going to be a beautiful day. this is the last nice day before a storm system moves in. it brings us some rounds of rain. starts out by late tomorrow morning, especially for the south bay. and we continue to see that rain spreading in off and on rain throughout tuesday, wednesday, thursday, as well as friday. and then it slowly tapers off on saturday. so we are going to have several days of some rain. we're look at the potential of 1 to 3 inches of rain all across the bay area. and some very heavy sierra snow. we are going also have our temperatures cooling off going from 65 degrees today with some gusty winds and cooling off tomorrow. the rest of the week mostly some upper 50s for san francisco. and for the inland areas also cooling off as well. let's see how the commute is moving with mike.

kari, just tweeted out that the road work continues as they prep for that next storm. keep that in mind. over here closer to the bay things are movely nicely but the south bay we continue to have this prosh problem northbound 110 near allen rock. earlier crash leaves an oil spill one lane still blocked. now we have the build for the bay shore freeway but 87 has not seen a whole lot of extra traffic. prepare for that possibility. still slow down the east shore freeway highway 4 to the berkley curve and stlo through oakland heading out to the east bay as well. happening now commuters head facing big did he lays, because it could get even worse for them. one lane of the posy tube in oakland is closed due to a sinkhole on the oakland side. when that work resumed at 10:00 a.m. both lanes in that direction will be shurt down. link to more details on our twitter feed. later today mourners will celebrate the lives of the victims who died in that yount

ville shooting. you'll bea able to watch the live feed on comcast as well. so. kari tracks a new round of rain as it moves in. your morning drive may be foggy, kari is tracking a new round of rain it's moving in and a local singer back on the voice after brett hunter's journey. my conversation with limb and his message to fans. >> tomorrow 4:30 to 7:00.

. it's 8:00 on "today" coming up austin rocked by another package explosion. four inless than a month. two men seriously injured. police on edge as police investigate the trunl and deadly pattern. >> we now need the community to have an extra vigilance. >> we're live on the scene. a massive rally in washington. we'll talk to students leading the rally on gun violence. ♪ some of hol woods's biggest

names pitch in to help the cause. and al aboard. >> this is the enrique fold. this is how you eat pizza on the go. >> mr. roe cur kick off one of our themes by taking on a tour to new york city. "today" monday march 19, 2018. >> from missouri. >> shout out to nbc 5 in st. louis. hi grandma. >> our kids are skipping school today to watch us on the "today show." >> came all the way from florida to see our favorite anchor. hi savannah. >> he made to to "today". >> hello from the cast honor society. go kansas.

>> crowds are getting out of control. >> i know. rolling spring break because somebody's on spring break some where. right to your news at 8:00. two men recovering from yet another misteruous explosion happening in austin, texas. an over night blast that was the fourth one this month. nbc's jay gray is in austin this morning. good morning. >> reporter: hey there, good morning savannah. let's start with an update on the two victims. both men in good condition right now. treated for injuries doctors say are serious but not life things. i want to show you what's going on in the neighborhood where the blast occurred. right now it's still blocked out as federal agents and police search for agents. this morning police in austin, texas issuing a warning to

residence after a fourj package boxing explosion. >> to not pick up packages, or disturb packages. >> the bls injuring two men in their 20s as they were passing by on bicycles. >> it's a family nand, it's concerning. >> reporter: invefrlgts say unlike the other explosions which detonated after the victims tried to pick up packages left at their homes, this package was let on the side of the road possibly triggered by a trip wire. >> that's something that's important for this community to understand so that we can all remain safe while we work through this investigation. >> it comes less than a week after a package bomb severely injured a 7 a woman. another one miles away killed a 17-year-old boy and wounded a woman inside their kitchen. >> there was a package bomb exploded inside of the home.

>> police linking the bombings to another one 11 miles away back on march 2nd that killed anthony house. explosiones are keeping this texas community on edge as detectives ask residents to hunker down. >> we're asking the residence to say inside so becan do our best to ensure there are no other devices and be sure of that once we open the neighborhood back up. >> and with daylight investigators and federal agents are panned out across the neighborhood looking for orr suspicious packages and getting a look now at the device that exploded over night. >> jay gray if austin for us. thank you. a white house lawyer insisted over night president trump is not considering firing special council robert mueller despite a tweet storm against his investigation. for the first time president called out mueller by name.

he tweeted the mueller probe should have never bumper started in that there was no collusion or crime. he one on to ask why does the mueller team has 13 hardened democrats and no republicans. andrew mccabe, who was fired on friday has reportedly given mueller his notes of his meetings with the president. the landscape in ft. worth, texas was transformed this weekend and all it took was 12 seconds and 300 pounds of dynamite. folks turns out in bunches to watch this. this 12-story building was imploded. it became an assisted living facility and sat vacate last summer. once it's cleaned up it's expected to draw interest from developers because it's in the crime location downtown.

it's a huge thrill to see your own words printed in a magazine especially if your a little kid. watch what happens when they got to the section with the riddle sent in by readers. >> what do parents give they're -- this is my jokes. >> what? >> this is my jokes. >> he was so proud he started crying tiers of joy. he was so excited wen he saw it. here's the whole joke. what does parents dip their crackers in? squawk moe le. >> oh my gosh that's amazing. lots more to get to ahead this morning including the parkland students that are using the tragedy that happened at their school to try and change the world. >> plus what beyonce and jay-z's

daughter just tried to buy but left her parents' speechless. >> but first let's look we'd with me gain kelly. >> do you believe you can increase your base level of happiness? our guest says it comes down to three things we'll tell you what they are. joy boward here with joyful food swaps. all that and more when we see you at 9:00. al's taking dillon and she nell on a tour of hi favorite thing right here in new york. first these messages things here in new york. but first these messages. rst ths a real emergency, i'd be freaking out. but thanks to cigna, we can do more than just look heroic. we can help save lives by getting you to a real doctor for a check-up. nurse, this thing's defective. please don't touch that. we are the tv doctors of america. together with cigna reminding you... to go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses! cigna. together, all the way.

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welcome back. students at marjorie stone nan douglas saw their lives change forever when a gunman opened up on campus. >> this saturday, they've organized a march for our lives rally. we're going to talk to two of the students behind that effort in a moment. first, here's nbc's gadi schwartz. ♪ have you ever felt like nobody is there ♪ ♪ have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere ♪ ♪ have you ever felt like you could disappear ♪ >> enough is enough. ♪ like you could fall and no one would hear ♪ >> reporter: as students nationwide prepare to march on washington, a powerful new anthem to support their cause. ♪ tomorrow there will be more of

us ♪ >> reporter: broadway stars paying tribute to the students of marjory stoneman high school. these are teens that lived through the shooting in their classrooms. >> as a journalist, i wanted to make sure that even if our souls were left behind on that classroom floor, our voices would echo in the halls of congress. >> reporter: the students found their voice, questioning those in power. >> can you tell me you will not accept a single donation from the nra. >> i'm confident you will do the right thing. >> reporter: a month after parkland's massacre, the students leading a nationwide walkout. so far, florida raised its minimum age for gun purchases to 21, and some stores have stopped selling ar rifles. bonus conspiracy theories

accusing the kids of being crisis actors. but for the kids that were shot at, the insults had little effect. the teens inspiring some of the biggest names in hollywood. george and amal clooney donating to the cause. oprah matching that. >> been inspired by the leadership of the parkland kids. somehow in the midst of their grief, beginning a movement. ♪ you will be found so, let the sun come streaming in ♪ >> reporter: high school students with more followers on social media than most in congress. speaking directly to millions, ahead of what they are calling the march for our lives. ♪ tomorrow there will be more of us ♪ >> reporter: for "today," gadi schwartz, nbc news. ♪ the story of tonight

>> we are joined, now, by camera and jackie, who are students at marjory stoneman douglas high school. good morning, guys. you were listening to that song, which was released in conjunction with this march that you guys helped organize. what does it mean to you? >> the song is a mixture of two songs, one of which is giving a message of nobody being alone and everybody being able to find support amongst them. and another being about the movement that started the revolution. and the two of them coming together. it speaks so much for our message. it's such a strong song. and listening to it, it's hard not to tear up. >> a lot of things have changed in the last three weeks. your efforts have changed laws in florida. there's a national conversation going on. i was wondering if you were to grade yourselves on how well you've done so far, what grade would you give yourselves? >> based off of the training we

have, an "a." >> i give jackie an a-plus. with us, it's different for us. i would give us a different grade than i would give congress because the change we've seen from them on some small scales, we've seen some great things. we've seen some great first steps. but we haven't seen the change that we need. the stop school violence act that they just passed, that doesn't say the word gun once. at the end of the day, what's the one weapon all these tragedies have in common? this isn't just about school violence, this is about everywhere. >> this is a debate going on for a long time. there has been action. the florida legislature passing a law, the governor signing it. everybody agrees that is change that hadn't been seen up to now. what is has it been like for you personally? now, it's in the political realm and it's about policy. but it's about your school, and students and classmates and teachers you knew. it has to be difficult to have both of those things happening

at the same time. >> it is definitely difficult to balance. we've seen a horrible side of our country that i wasn't aware that existed. i mean, we're here to change that. and the march that we're creating is a visual representation of how many people are here and with us for the changes. a visual representation of how many people will be voting those people out. >> absolutely. obvious, while there has been a dark, twisted, pathetic side of our country that we've seen, the most we've seen is support from people everywhere. people, all walks of life, people reaching out to us, victims. people who have lost family members in shoots. and there's a unity here. everybody is saying, this isn't about politics. this is about being able to leave your house without worrying about being gunned down. >> you want your message to be pure. that's important to you guys. but you get donations from different types of people. how do you make sure that stuff doesn't influence or change what you guys want to be doing?

>> i think we're very clear. when people donate to us, they are donating to the march and they are donating to our movement. and we don't accept influence. we appreciate everything we hear and anytime someone offers their help, we love to hear from them. but at the end of the day, the second we let corruption, greed and money get involved in this in the wrong sense, we lose track of where we're going. >> and politicians have tried to endorse us. we're here to say, you can support us, but we're in it for ourselves. we don't want adults to take over because we are kids that created this and we don't want adults to change that. >> they have asked for our endorseme endorsements, too. at the end of the day, this is people taking to the streets to say, we're afraid of getting shot no matter where we go. movie theaters, churches, airports. this happens everywhere. >> we know you will be out on saturday. thank you for being here. we appreciate it. we will take a turn and go

back to al to get a check of the weather. >> we're looking at severe weather for 19 million people, especially in the southeast, nashville, birmingham, on to west of atlanta, all the way to jacksonville. tomorrow, that shifts along the southeastern atlantic coast, including orlando, up into charleston, for 11 million people. plus, we have the possibility of this nor'easter pushing in. both models kind of bring that snow in here. but when all is said and done, the european model, a little more aggressive, about the snowfall totals. we're talking about in the european model, the new york area, down to washington, back to pittsburgh, 6 to 9 inches of snow. and heavy rain out west, through thursday, upwards of 5 to 7 inches, could cause flash that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. the heavier rain across southern california, but we are also going to get in on some heavy rain starting tomorrow. right now, as you get ready to

step out the door, it is cool and clear. we're at 36 degrees in the trivalley. also the mid-30s in the north bay. after this cool start, we'll warm up into the upper 60s. up to 68 degrees in san jose. 63 in santa rosa. 65 today in san francisco. we'll be watching that rain that arrives by late tomorrow morning. >> and that is your latest weather. hoda? >> al, thanks so much. what would you do if someone took something that was important to you? carson is in the orange room with what one woman is doing. it's lighting up social media. >> riveted stories. riveted by my orange room hit today. amanda noticed her bike had been stolen. she decided to go bold with her response. with the help of some cardboard and yellow paint, she put together a sign and posted it in front of her home, nearby here in brooklyn. here's what it read right here. to the person who stole my bike, i hope you need it more than me. it was $200 used and i need it

to get to work. i can't afford another one. a few days later, several people stopped by to offer some support. among them were two boys who generously gave her their mountain bike, which was fit for a teen. an art dealer showed up at the door and bought the sign for $200, the amount she needed for a new bike. sarah says, what i love it. what a great way to inspire kindness. anita adding, there is good in the world. amanda responded on instagram, amazing things happen when you put yourself out there and have some yellow paint to back it up. amanda continues to pay it forward. she ended up bringing that mountain bike to a shop in brooklyn, saying this book coikd be yours for grfree. i had my bike stolen when i was 16. i was crushed. i didn't make a sign.

>> my bike was stole. and my dad found the two guys that did it. >> a strongly-worded letter, right? what's coming on in "pop start." >> we teased it a lot. blue ivy carter was at a wearable art gala along mom and dad. and during an action, blue proved she has some fine taste, bidding on a piece of art of sidney pointier. her bidding had the crowd going nuts. take a look. >> excuse me. we have 17 with the young lady down in front. we have 17. >> there you go. after she raised the bid to $19,000, you see her dad giving her a bear hug trying to keep his daughter from bidding any higher.

tyler perry would win that artpiece. while "will & grace's" new season hasn't even finished, they are approved for a third season. they're all returning. before the reboot kicked off, the season was green lit for a second season. check out the third season of "will & grace." it will air in 2019. you can watch it here, thursday at 9:00 p.m. and chrissy teigen, the supermodel proved she is just like us, posting some fails in the kitchen. it started when her delivery request for five limes turned out to be five bags of lime. with a little tequila there. when life gives you limes you make key lime pie. whatever. she's in trouble in that department. some mishap occurred with the cheesecake. she ended up serving this dessert in mugs. that's not bad. >> that looks like a crumble or something. >> look at that.

>> that's not how you start. it's how you finish. >> strong. >> love it. >> strong move. you have a click? >> "a daly click." two animal videos starting with this brave cat. you see the cat on top of the cabinet, the leap town to the counter. goes for its own magic carpet ride. >> wow. >> man, like a magic carpet. >> isn't that good? moving on to an equally entertaining gorilla at the philadelphia zoo. here's lewis. he chooses to walk around on his two legs. just walking around. >> oh, my god. like a saunter. >> what's going on? >> good to see you. >> that's it. >> all right, carson. thank you. just ahead, spring break brain boosters. the apps, gadgets and gamgood m.

i )m ... tonight mourners will good morning. 8:26. tonight, mourners will gather in yountville to remember the three women shot and killed at the veterans home there, ten days ago. jennifer, christine and jennifer gonzalez all lost their lives that day. they died working to help change the lives of veterans battling post traumatic stress. tonight's celebration of life will happen at the napa valley performing arts center at lincoln theater. it is open to the public. doors open at 4:30. you may want to get there early. it is expected to be well attended. when the service begins at 6:00, we will carry it live on cozi comcast digital 186 and also stream it online. now, let's take a look at your traffic. >> thoughts for those families.

we're here in the south bay where we continue to follow this crash. the commute looks standard for a monday. north 101 continues to struggle despite a lighter volume overall for the south bay. that crash with the oil spill 101 at rock right there, still block the south lanes. we have a clean-up crew. sounds like we're going to get an update but so far nothing new from chp. recovering north 880 at davis street. the earlier crash involving a big rig did clear. a lot more folks heading north. back to you. >> all right, thank you very much. more local news coming up in just a half hour.

should i be making motorcycles? yes, you like motorcycles. should i start a motorcycle company? yes! you really like motorcycles! should i make a squarespace website for it? yes, they're very good websites. but why am i in the desert talking to myself? don't ask me. ♪ ok. [motorcycle revs away] ♪ music fades

welcome back, everybody. 8:30 on a monday morning, march 19th. how is everybody doing? we've got a big and beautiful crowd. a lot of people made their way down here. there's a lovely lady here who's tried three times to come here but because of unforeseen circumstances she couldn't make it. she tried to come to celebrate her 70th, 71st, 72nd.

73rd, she was first in line. hello judy from idaho. how are you? >> thank you. i'm going to try. >> thank you for sharing it with us. >> where are you from in iowa? >> spirit lake. >> glad you finally made it. happy 73rd. >> third time's the charm. happy birthday. your little hands are cold. it's cold out here. just ahead, we're starting something new. we're going to share a few of our favorite things. al is going to start us off. he is leading a special tour of new york city. he brought dylan and sheinelle along. don't let everything the kids are learning at school go to waste over spring break. sometimes that happens. we have gadgets and games. look what olivia taught

sunny, to sit on this platform. here you go, sunny. little treat. one for you. one for me. >> yum. >> speaking of treats. >> we have treats coming up. a celebrated chef selling his secrets of his cookbook. he is whipping up a steak and veggie feast. al, how about the weather? >> let's get the steak and veggie feast first. let's show you what's going on. severe storms in the southeast. critical fire risk through the southwest. wet weather, pacific storm moves onshore from southern california to the pacific northwest. east coast storm on wednesday. everything looking good. heating up down through texas. a wintry mix through the plains. rain and mountain snows in the that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. a lot of sunshine right now. as we take a live look outside in san jose. it is a chilly start and it will

be a nice and warm afternoon. so as you start out, you want to make sure you have on the layers. we're only at 36 degrees right now in livermore as well as napa. our highs for today reaching up to 65 degrees in san francisco and oakland, san jose, 68 degrees, and 64 degrees in antioch. our storm will be arriving tomorrow so enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. >> that's your latest weather. dylan and sheinelle have joined the crowd because we're kicking off a new series called "a few of my favorite thing sth" >> we are highlights what we like to do and see. and al gets to start us off. ♪ rain drops on roses and whis kers on kittens ♪ ♪ bright copper kettles and wool winter mittens ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ >> there's others right here in

new york city. i wanted to share them with two of my favorite ladies. i think i want to surprise you guys with these clues. >> can i open mine first? >> you go first. >> island. aren't your folks from the bahamas. >> this is exciting. >> we're going to -- >> staten long island. >> that's where we're starting my favorite things. ♪ this is the new york fold. this is how you eat pizza on the go. you need practice. let's go. got to catch the ferry. it's 5.2 miles from here to lower manhattan. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ♪ it's like dinner and a show. that's what's great about new york. ♪ 22 million people a year on this thing. >> all 22 million people going on right now.

>> the new york staten island ferry, baby. and it's free. >> sing us a song, al. ♪ it's up to you new york, new york ♪ >> all right. take a look. there she is. >> oh, my gosh, this is great. >> isn't she pretty. >> this never gets old. this is great. >> my parents took us as a kid over to see the statue of liberty. >> we're reliving your childhood. >> i have a map of my favorite things. >> this is fancy. >> this shows you what we're going to do. we've taken the staten island ferry. then, we're going to take the subway, to 59th street. we're going to take a bus and the roosevelt island tram, which is another fantastic way to see new york. >> we're going to the 4 and the

5. >> express train uptown. >> ooh, baby. >> give me a whoop whoop. yeah. i love new york. thanks, guys. thanks for your service. >> we made it to the subway. ♪ >> time to swipe. >> yours expired. sheinelle can't get in. >> you can ride the almost 275 miles of track for 1 fair. >> you were in "seinfeld" on a subway. >> he's not my boyfriend. >> he's not? interesting. >> you think about it, new york city is almost all islands with the exception of the bronx. >> i never thought about that. >> full of fun facts. >> i'm full of dead facts. we're going to take a new york city transit bus.

>> is this one yf one of your favorites? >> my dad drove the city bus. and my dad would let me sit on his lap and i would drive the bus. >> we have a special treat for you. >> oh, my gosh. a yoo-hoo. >> my dad would get us a yoo-hoo. ♪ the wheels on the bus go round and round all over town ♪ >> thank you so much. >> i've never been in this part of town. >> you're almost giddy. >> that's the yoo-hoo. >> we covered a lot of new york. >> we have. we are about to go to roosevelt island via the tram. you see that scene from "spider-man" when they fight on the tram. >> what happens? >> the cable snaps, and spider-man uses his spidey weapwebs. >> that web comes in handy.

>> it does. >> one more time. >> this is so cool. >> and now, we're at roosevelt island. >> that was quick. >> that was cool, al. one of the best field trips, ever. >> there you go. favorite things, anytime for my favorite ladies. >> thank you, al. >> that is awesome. >> you know, so much of new york you can see for so little money. the ferry is free. the tram. >> first time i've been on that. >> sometimes you live in a city and you never see it because you think, i'll go when my friends are in town. >> when al roker is your tour guide, people are hanking the horn. they stop and take pictures. sheinelle and i are like, hello. >> al's tour of new york. >> that's a good idea. >> thanks, guys. just ahead this morning, toys and tech to keep your kids engaged and busy over the long spring break. first, this is "today" on nbc. i was in my third tour in iraq

when my vehicle was hit by an ied. i looked down and i knew i was out of the fight. but playing for team usa has been a second chance to represent my country. i get to show my children and the world that, yeah, i might have been knocked down, but i'm up, and i'm honored to be able to represent the flag. comcast is grateful to all who have served our country, and we're proud to bring the 2018 olympic and paralympic winter games home to everyone.

welcome back. spring break season is upon us. kids are anxious to relax and have some fun. >> but as parents know, we want to keep them from avoiding the dreaded brain drain. we have a few gadgets to satisfy that. >> katie is here. >> this is virtual reality. >> look what is happening. >> it shows the inner workings of the body. you can see how everything works. and you have different options, like, there's a voiceover. you can see how the blood flows and how the hart woeart works. >> that brings them into what they're living 4 ho24 hours a d. >> you need the t-shirt and the app. >> and we go to carson daily.

>> this is nintendo. this will be out in april is. there's a robot kit and the variety kit. he gets to build this little robotic suit and he gets to step inside of it. >> if i lean, it moves. >> yes. he has become the robot. >> go back the other way. let's see. >> that's amazing. >> it looks low-tech because it's cardboard. >> it's the most fun with cardboard you'll ever have. the robot is one of the items. >> how much is this guy? >> $69.99. >> that's awesome. that's so much fun. >> are you getting it? >> totally. >> these are a couple of things that your nephews and nieces love. >> these are two options under ten bucks. this retigvitalizes the buildin

blocks. you can put this tape on the colors. and you can stick right to it. let the creative imagination run wild. no residue. you can stick it and restick it, so fun. play tape. this is from inroad toys.com. all those little cars and micromachines, build your own track around the house. >> pretty cool. easy, breezy. come on down to the -- what is this? >> i started coding when i was 12. we didn't have things you could cold, like a lady bug and a grass grasshopper. >> these are buildable robots. they come to life with basic code. and what is fun is, you get to see my grasshopper going crazy. these are robots and the number of options available. they dance, they attack and they play. >> hit the button again.

>> go into disco dance mode. >> how cool is that? there's a little remote control with that, as well. >> if your kid likes da s dinosaurs -- >> i did it dinos, one of my favorite stem technology companies. and this is hours of fun, by the way. parents are going to love it. minerals, you have dinosaur fossils. you can have a glow in the dark t-rex. who doesn't want to grow and play with their own dinos. >> for the musician in the family. hi, sweetie. >> this is maddie. this is so fun. this is simply piano. you're playing the piano, right? >> yes. >> you just follow along with the notes. >> follow along with the app. i am friends with maddie's mom. she can play the notes along with the app. it listens to what she is playing. you get to play songs in a matter of minutes. >> and you have the headset on

to hear everything that's going on. maddie, you're awesome. >> thanks. >> by the way, this is for kids and adults. we both play on this app. i've been playing it for two years now. >> you can learn. >> all about learning. >> play away. good job. >> last but not least, a bluetooth connected ukulele. >> why would you need a bluetooth connected one? >> it takes you through step-by-step. it is listening to you play. pick it up. this is awesome in terms of being able to learn music in a fun and connected way. this was a huge hit on kick starter. who doesn't want a bluetooth ukulele. and the app pairs with it. it gives you tu ttorials and it shows you which springs to play. >> don't you want everything on this table? >> yes. i have bought everything on this table. >> thank you so much. up next, we're cooking up

some goodies, recipes that are sure to please you any night of the we ek

and we're back with "today food." he learned to cook from his mother and grandfather in philadelphia, where you were raised. you know that. he was cooking throughout italy before settling in new orleans. now, the two-time award-winning chef has added author to his list of accomplishments. his debut cookbook called "shaya." it's not just a cook book. it seems like a journal. >> it's really a culinary memoir. it's a series of short stories. it goes through my life. and it touches on moments when food made a big difference in my life. and changed the path from one concept to another. >> what a great thing to have.

>> and it talks about wrestling with identity. i was an immigrant child comiei from israel to philadelphia. and i was frying to find my place. and i did that through food. the book takes you through the steps where i was like, what should i call myself. what should my accent be? and how should i pronounce my name? and how did food make that difference for me along the way? >> and family a big part of the story, obviously. it is a meal that's a correlation to your grandfather. >> this is the last meal i cooked for my grandfather in las vegas. i wanted to show off. and i said, hey, saba, i'm going to make you a steak. i roasted a ribeye steak in a cast iron skillet. and i felt like it was a special moment for us. >> thanks for re-creating that.

you have a beautiful ribeye. garlic, lime. >> i have seasoned it with some salt. it has to go into a cast iron ban, nice and hot. >> get a little oil in there. >> once it sears, you flip it over. and that's what is great about the cast iron skillet. >> will it cook completely here? >> you can cook it completely here. medium rare, i do the whole thing in the pan. if i want to cook it more, i go in the oven. >> three of four minutes on each side? >> yeah. >> how is the steak? >> you love it. the ribeye is the best cut. >> it's not a bad thing to eat. now, what i'd like to do on top of that steak is i make a chi y chimichur chimichurri. but i put zatar in it. i have scilantro and parsley. olive oil and lemon juice.

that gives it a bright flavor. and i have garlic, zatar. >> is that hard to find? >> you can find it in a lot of middle eastern grocery stores. and then, i have chili flakes and salt and mix that together and stir it up. that's as easy as it is to make chimichurri. and i think it's a balance to the steak. >> is zatar in chimichurri? >> that is the twist. the book is full of great israeli recipes. and you take that and drizzle it on the steak. >> a beautifully sliced steak. you let the steak cool off before you lice slice it. >> you let it rest. >> there's the steak. what is the veggie? >> the veggie is brussels spr t sprouts. you can do it with cauliflower,

broccoli, tomatoes. i have olive oil and caraway. some clove, lemon zest, chili flake and salt. i'll pour that into the oil. i'll pour that on the brussels sprouts and toss it all around. that will go into the oven on the broiler setting. >> right. high heat. >> that giets it nice and golde brown. and then, i'm making tahini. the book is full of these really great recipes that bring together all of these middle eastern ingredients. tahini is like middle eastern ketchup. it's so good. >> this is the dip for the brusle sproudbrus brusle sprouts. >> i'll mix the tahini and lemon juice. >> the sprouts are killer. >> i have soaked some garlic in the lemon juice to get the flavor. all i do is stir that together. it comes together into this

beautiful tahini. and that gets nice and thick. >> what a combination? the crisp of the brussels sprout and the steak. >> that's what i love about the book. all of the recipes are healthy and easy to make oop . it's a quick process to make a great meal. >> these are two things that people have eaten a lot of. just middle eastern spices, a whole different ball game. >> his restaurant in new orleans is spectacular. >> we're opening saba restaurant in new orleans. >> thank you. >> go to today.com/food. go to today cl.com/shop and picp the cookbook. this is "today" on

sheinelle went to visit the

new nbc show, "wise." >> it was great this weekend. the mooch was unbelievable. >> i have to see that. "megyn kelly today" is coming up next after a check of local news and weather. have a good day. i )m - -... the road out of alameda is slow good morning. it's 8:56. i'm chris sanchez. the road out of alameda is slow. a sinkhole near the tube is creating problems for drivers. you can see video from sky ranger overhead. it's a sinkhole that first appeared on saturday when a ruptured storm pipe created that sinkhole on the oakland side on the tube leaving alameda. crews are keeping one lane open

of the tube until 10:00 in the morning. at that point, both lanes will be closed until midnight. that work could take up to a week to complete. we have a crew talking to cal transportation and with commuters. we will have a live report coming up in our midday newscast at 11:00. you can link to details right now in our twitter feed. also, later today, mourners will celebrate the lives of three women who died in the shooting rampage at the yountville veterans home. on our channel cozi you can watch a live feed. ceremony at 6:00. do doors open at 4:30. and facebook shares are now down more than 7%. the stock was the worst drop in years in the concerns about the sharing of your user data. more in our midday newscast. sog.

kari tracks a new round of rain as it moves in. only on )today in the bay ) - a local singer - back on the voice. before brett hunter )s journey continues... he talks to us. my conversation with him... and his message to fans. tomorrow - 4:30 to 7.

does this map show the peninsula trail? you won't find that on a map. i'll take you there. take this left. if you listen real hard you can hear the whales. oop. . lets us see the world. sometimes in ways we never imagined. (avo) get 0% apr financing on

all-new 2018 subaru outback models. now through april 2nd. [ applause ] good morning, everyone. good morning and welcome. i'm megyn kelly. we begin this morning with happiness. yes. i will say it again. happiness. do you believe that you can increase your base level of happiness? do you believe that? >> yes. >> we're going to be exploring that question all week with our new series, "come on, get happy." our first guest is a happiness expert. his name is dan buettner. he says it is possible. he agrees with you. he says the secret comes down to pleasure, pride and purpose. and it's not only how you live but where you choose to live that makes a big difference.