>> and you have a good dau we'll be back at 7:25. we'll look thank you for starting your morning with us here. >> bye. good morning. summer scorcher. extreme heat on both coasts as tens of millions struggle to cope with record setting temperatures. the hot weather causing twin wildfires to explode in california. now the largest in the state's history, consuming hundreds of homes and nearly 300,000 acres. courtroom fireworks. tense moments at the trial of president trump's former campaign chairman. the star witness telling jurors he committed crimes with paul manafort. what does that mean for the case, the president and the special counsel's investigation. new twist. the father of that missing university of iowa student now says he believes his daughter is alive.

>> i think mollie is with someone that she knows that is in over their head. >> this morning his desperate new plea as the reward skyrockets. those stories plus under fire. a bombshell lawsuit against celebrity chef rachael ray's popular line of dog food. does it actually contain a dangerous chemical used in weed killer? serena struggles. the tennis superstar opening up about her postpartum battle. why she felt she wasn't being a good mom. lookout below. >> holy -- >> a great white shark close to shore off cape cod suddenly flies out of the water just inches from a man on a boat. >> came out right at my feet. >> the story behind the big scare tuesday august 7th, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb.

live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today." thank you for joining us on this fine tuesday morning. >> fine and a little bit hot outside. actually the heat is the big lead story this morning. extreme temperatures on both coasts. >> and we are also waking up to the largest wildfire in california's history. for perspective, the area that's burning is now bigger than the cities of new york and philly combined. >> flames fueled as mentioned by high temperatures. we are feeling it in the east and they are feeling it in the west. >> we're going to get a live report from california in a minute. first, let's say good morning to mr. roker. >> good morning. huge dome of high pressure jet stream is up to the north for a good portion of the country so we are dealing with 33 million people at risk for extreme heat. heat indexes of 95 to 102 in the northeast. we're looking at heat indexes 102 to 107 in the southeast.

this cold front slowly pushing to the south is still ahead of this. we've got this warm, moist flow of air for today, so heat indexes in boston, 101, 98 new york city. 92 rehoboth beach. back in pittsburgh it's going to feel like 88 degrees as this front slowly pushes to the south relief to the west. in the meantime along the coast we're looking at heat indexes again tomorrow into the mid-90s. as we look out west with temperatures approaching triple digits throughout much of that area, the mendocino complex, 283,000 acres burned, it's the largest fire in california history. it's only 30% contained. they don't expect containment until august 15th. so that's still a longways away. again, that 383,000 acres, to give you some idea, it's bigger than the city of los angeles itself. it covers a wide swath and it continues to grow fueled by winds, low humidity and high temperatures. miguel almaguer is right now in

los angeles and he's got the latest. miguel. >> hey, al, good morning. it's called the complex fire. as mentioned, in this case it's actually twin fires burning so close to one another, they are threatening the exact same region. right now thousands of homes are in jeopardy and this historic blaze shows no signs of slowing down. >> the largest fire to ever torch california is today raging out of control. overnight the mendocino complex fire blazing its way into the history books scorching 443 square miles. a burn zone larger than philadelphia and new york city combined. >> how dangerous can these fires get? >> really dangerous. this year has been a deadly year already for us. >> a wall of flames ripping over homes. the conditions here are getting worse. we were on the front lines as mountain tops turned into blowtorches.

>> we've heard the air attack overhead but fire so thick, crews might not know where to make water drops. they are losing more structures every hour. with at least 169 destroyed, more than 11,000 structures are still threatened. fires exploding for 11 days in wine country. nearly 20 major wildfires are burning across the state. these satellite images show the thick smoke billowing east into nevada fueling the flames, including this new fast moving blaze outside l.a. is soaring triple digit heat. today where the largest fire in state history is on a tear, the only thing in the forecast is more destruction. with tens of thousands of people evacuated, the disaster has been declared in california. this as the president ignited a political firestorm claiming the state's strict environmental laws resulted in a lack of water to fight the fires. but top fire officials on the

ground shot back saying they have plenty of water. what they need is more boots on the ground. savannah. >> they have got this work cut out for them this morning. thank you. also this morning another explosive day of testimony expected at the trial of president trump's former campaign chairman paul manafort, this after his longtime right-hand man admitted he committed a range of crimes with mr. manafort. we have coverage with nbc national correspondent peter alexander. hey, peter, good morning. >> hey, hoda, good morning to you. rick gates, that is donald trump's former deputy campaign manager is due back on the stand today after a dramatic day of testimony pointing the finger at paul manafort saying they are both guilty. this morning rick gates becoming the first campaign official to confess his crimes on the witness stand. gates, long time deputy and right-hand man asked, were you involved in any criminal activity with mr. manafort. his reply, yes.

did you commit any crimes with manafort? again, yes. special counsel robert mueller's star witness in the case admitted he and manafort hiding millions of dollars from the irs in 15 offshore bank accounts all done at manafort's direction insisting both men knew they were committing a crime. manafort, trump's former campaign chairman has pleaded not guilty to tax charges. another stunning confession, gates also admitting he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from manafort while working for him. inside the courtroom tense moments. manafort, his arms crossed, staring directly at his protege. nervous, talking fast, never meeting eye contact with his mentor. for the white house, gates testimony packs punch as the investigation picks up speed.

the president's lawyer, rudy giuliani telling nbc news he's preparing to respond to an interview in the coming days. president trump remaining out of sight at his new jersey golf club. on twitter increasingly agitated. lashing out at the russia inquiry, new questions he ignited at the trump tower meeting between his son don junior and a rusch yan lawyer tied to the kremlin. the eldest son deflecting, blaming the media. >> they have gotten plenty of mileage out of this thing and they are going to keep milking it as long as they possibly can. >> as for the scrutiny of that trump tower meeting, don junior said it was quote, essentially a waste of time. as for paul manafort's trial, we're told the president has been watching, recently dismissing the case as a hoax. the charges against both men largely predate their time on the trump campaign. if convicted palm manafort could spend the rest of his life behind bars. savannah and hoda. >> thank you. stay on the trial, rick gates returns to the stand.

justice correspondent pete williams at the courthouse watching all of it. seems like rick gates is the heart of the case for prosecutors. is that right, pete? >> i would say so. i would say so for three reasons. first, he was paul manafort's right-hand man. he managed many of the financial details of their business. also of manafort's personal accounts. secondly, this is a financial fraud case. it's built mainly on paper, tax returns and bank records. gates will help bring those documents alive for the jury. third, he provides the best evidence of paul manafort's state of mind, whether manafort intended to commit the crimes the government says he did in the indictment. >> and gates clearly has some incentive to testify against his former friend and boss. right, pete? >> right. he has been used by the prosecutors to bolster their case against paul manafort. he pleaded guilty in february to lying to the fbi in exchange for leniency.

now we've learned he was actually embezzling money from manafort. he could face prison time but not nearly as much if he decided to fight these charges instead of cooperating with the government. >> he doesn't exactly have a clean record as you mentioned there, pete, seems like a wide opening for the defense to really go after him. >> yes. undoubtedly the defense when their turn comes maybe later today, maybe tomorrow, they are going to say that he's damaged goods. he comes to court a convicted felon. he was convicted of lying to fbi when they were managing ukraine. because he cut a deal with prosecutors he would basically say anything to save his own skin. he turns out for the defense lawyers and prosecutors who will use them to undercut the case against paul manafort. >> he's the heart of it for sure. pete, thank you very much. meantime president trump's

influence is being put to the test in ohio. voters are heading to the polls in a key election ahead of the november midterms and democrats are hoping for a major upset. nbc's hallie jackson has that story. hey, hallie, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. this is a race clearly on the president's mind this morning. he's up and tweeting about it trying to boost the republican here. but democrats who didn't expect it to be so competitive are hoping democrats can pull it out in the last minute in a very close race putting the trump factor to the test. in a district that hasn't elected a democrat since the '80s where republicans outnumber democrats two to one and where donald trump won by 11 points last election -- >> are we ready to increase some doors for danny -- >> reporter: danny o'connor, a democrat, thinks he has a shot. >> who is ready to win? >> reporter: he's pulled within a point of his opponent.

even though president trump is rallying for the republican outside columbus. o'connor with nbc's garrett hayes. >> one thing i love to ask families is what are you worried about and what keeps you up at night. it is my social security going to be cut? >> reporter: by troy balderson believes donald trump could be the x factor. the president's approval rating has slid in the moderate you bu bourbon district. -- suburban districts. it is partly why republicans have directed big money and big names here. president and vice president and ohio governor. >> troy balder san. he -- balderson. he is the guy.

>> reporter: when it comes to picking candidates, donald trump is on a winning streak within the last nine primaries coming out on top. it is another thing to help it's another thing all together to help those candidates beat democrats in a general election, with today a key test of the president's power to pull in votes. it's not just ohio where they're running to replace that congressman stepping down. keep an eye on kansas where there's a republican primary for governor. president trump has decided to back a controversial candidate, somebody who has been a loyal ally. that is going to be a tough primary. savannah and hoda, maybe another indication whether the president's hot streak will keep up in primary cases. >> hallie jackson, a lot to watch. >> thank you, hallie. the u.s. reimposing economic sanctions against iran, sanctions that had been eased after that landmark 2015 nuclear accord the president has decided to exit. the president tweeted this

morning, these are the most biting sanctions ever imposed on iran and added that anybody doing business with iran will not be doing business with the united states. the first group of sanctions targets iran's automotive, precious metals and steels industries. restricts purchases of civilian aircraft. the second set of sanctions will go after iran's oil industry. the president says he wants to pressure iran to curb nuclear program and stop supporting up risings in the middle east. now to a crackdown in silicon valley. some of the biggest social media platforms booting alex jones, one of the country's loudest, most controversial voices. gadi joins us with details. hey, gadi. >> reporter: hey. alex jones has been spinning conspiracy theories for years. youtube, apple banning him removing his content, citing violations of their user agreements. in the free speech world of the internet, tech giant's youtube, apple, facebook drawing a new

line when it comes to hate speech. taking on one of the biggest conspiracyists we've seen. alex jones, he said 9/11 was a cover up, the sandy hook sandy d now banned from facebook, youtube, spotify for hate speech and other violations of their standards. facebook where jones pages had 2.5 million followers says his professional content was removed in part for glorifying violence and using dehumanizing language to describe people transgender, muslim, immigrants. jones spoke out on monday on his show info wars. >> mainstream corporate media fake news for people like the president said and now they are coming after everybody. >> reporter: for years jones courted controversy. >> it took me about a year with sandy hook to come to grips with the fact the whole thing was fake.

>> reporter: in 2017, megyn kelly pressed his claims that sandy hook was a hoax. >> alex, the parents one after the other devastated. the dead bodies that the coroner autopsied. >> they have locked all that, haven't released all that. >> all the parents decided to come out and lie about their dead children? what happened to the children. >> reporter: jones since acknowledged that sandy hook is real, but that hasn't stopped death threats. this family had to relocate seven times. they are suing jones for defamation. still jones' controversial views have earned him high praise from high places. candidate trump appearing on his show in 2015. >> your reputation is amazing. i will not let you down. you will be very, very impressed, i hope. >> even though his presence is still found on other pages, jones maintains this is all a left wing conspiracies. >> expose true espionage of

chinese infiltrating every level of our country ultimately pushing for patriots to be silenced and censored. that is outrage. >> gadi, what about twitter? what are they doing about jones? >> that's a question a lot of people want answered. we just checked. no, it's still up. looks like it's grown yesterday with twitter saying accounts don't violate rules. while apple has banned jones on their podcast, they still allow users to download his info wars app. savannah, hoda, back to you. >> thank you. we're going to switch gears. mr. roker is back with the weather. let's look at what's going on around the rest of the country. strong storms firing up as the cold front pushes eat. hot dry weather, severe storms in the rockies. some video coming up in the next half hour of a pretty good hail storm in colorado. we will get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. eve, illy believe th♪

♪something's got a hold on me, yeah♪ ♪oh, it must be love ♪oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child♪ ♪oh, it must be love ♪let me tell you now, oh it must be love♪ good tuesday morning. i'm consider -- kari hall. it will gradually cool off throughout the week. san francisco patchy fog during the morning hours. drizzle clearing for the afternoon hours. upper 60s for most of the forecast. >> and that is your latest

weather. >> thank you so much. >> all right, al. thank you so much. coming up an urgent message overnight tied to the search for that missing university of iowa student. why her father says he's still hopeful she is alive nearly three weeks after she vanished. his reason coming up. plus a startling lawsuit. does rachael ray's natural dog food actually contain a harmful

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because people don't like that. come here to buy a car. dr. whiskers won't pounce. nobody will. ♪ one of the people who escaped an early morning house fire in daly city says he knows who started it - and it involves a dispute over money. >> good morning. 7:26. he said he knows who started a suspicious fire. firefighters and police so far are only calling that fire suspicious. it started a little after 3:00 a.m. on bay bridge drive. that fire burned the front of the house and burst tlau window. no one was injured. an update on the pen -- mendocino wild fire. it is now 34% coffin taned. we want to look at what we have

weather wise. air quality in the south bay will improve but we'll have the drifts of smoke for inland. parts of east bay as well as north bay. antioch reaching 102. san francisco upper 60s. more smoke throughout the next couple of days. as dangerous heat continues temperatures going up a few more degrees. looking at drifts of smoke. let's get an update on the commute. the east bay is an absolute mess. we have four crashes causing heavy delays at washington avenue. the middle lane was blocked. we have one up ahead and we also have another crash. that is blocking one of the lanes. i would say jump off of washington avenue and take

surface streets through. southbound 880 is 23 minutes. we'll have another local news update coming up for you in 30 minutes.

it's 7:30, tuesday morning and we have liftoff. that's an overpass rocket launch at cape canaveral. this is the first time spacex relaunched its newest reusable booster. and the company is hoping to do it again and again. it's actually designed to make 100 trips to space and back. >> wow. >> speaking of being back, looky looky looky, craig melvin. >> i missed you ladies. >> you're refreshed. >> i'm refreshed. >> you look very relaxed. >> thank you. it's good to be back. sort of. >> not too relaxed for the headlines. >> start with a check of the headlines. extreme summer heat will be putting people in danger at both

ends of the country today. heat advisories in the northeast stretching from new york city to boston. add in the humidity and it's going to feel like temperatures are in the triple digits. utility companies bracing for heavy demand. meanwhile firefighters in northern california are getting absolutely no help from the weather. temperatures there are soaring as they battle what is now the biggest wildfire that state has ever seen. two fires merge burning 280,000 acres. that's roughly the size of los angeles. >> a traffic camera captured the moment when a tanker truck exploded into a huge fireball on a busy highway in northern italy. the tanker filled with flammable liquid hit another truck slowing down in heavy traffic. that explosion killed 2 people, others hurt. it caused part of a highway bridge to collapse. when you a shark researcher, you've got to be ready for anything, even this. check it out. a marine biologist trying to tag a great white off the coast of

massachusetts, zeroing in on the shark when suddenly it zeros in on him, flying right out of the water, his teeth just inches from his feet. that was the captain speaking. the white shark conservancy video reminder to everybody great whites are unpredictable even for experts. you should be vigilant when you're in the water. that's exciting. >> he won't forget that. >> no, he won't. >> also this morning the father of missing college student mollie tibbetts is making a new plea about his daughter's disappearance. nbc's blake mccoy has the very latest on this story. hey blake, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. in a new interview, that father is giving his theory beauty what happened to his father. it's seemingly different than a theory mollie's mother told us over the weekend. her reward has topped a quarter of a million dollars as the search for the missing college student continues. >> i'll be honest with you,

early on i wasn't as hopeful as i am now. >> in a new interview the father of mollie tibbetts says he believes his father is still alive. >> the longer we do without finding mollie's body, the more hopeful we are she's alive somewhere and going through something that very can survive. >> rob tickets says he believes his 20-year-old daughter is with someone she knows two weeks after vanishing from the small town of brooklyn, iowa. >> it's totally speculation on my part, but i think mollie is with someone she knows, that is in over their head. there was some independent could of misunderstanding about the nature of that relationship. at this point they don't know how to get out from under this. they don't know how to resolve this. they are probably terrified. >> those words setting a different tone from mollie's mother who told nbc news she believes mollie was abducted

while on her nightly run and police found a computer, wallet and drmivers license at her boyfriend's house where she was staying. still not found her iphone, fitbit and earbuds. mollie was last seen on that jog and disappeared from the neighborhood she was staying on the night of july 18th. searches of corn fields and pig farms have so far turned up no sign of the missing college student. police had been focusing last week on wayne cheney searching a pig farm near his home. he has a history of stalking. >> job what they asked me. it was a waste of my time. i know that. >> authorities not saying why they went back to cheney's home a second time on sunday. rod tickebbetts says the fbi ha agents on the ground and utilizing resources around the country as part of an effort to find his daughter, part of a large, sophisticated effort, a desperate plea from a father who does not want to give up hope. >> mollie come home and hold

your self accountable so far but don't escalate this where you can't recover your self. >> we understand the police had scheduled a news conference and canceled it, so what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. a press conference that was scheduled for today has been canceled. the next one is not until friday. no explanation was given for that cancellation but police have been very tight-lipped not releasing any new detail in weeks now. they won't even say if the pig farmer who we've seen searches around his property is a person of interest. the only person early on was the boyfriend. they say he was not a suspect, was working a construction job 100 miles away in dubuque. that lack of information has created a vacuum to fill. guys. >> thank you. now to a new lawsuit making startling claims about what exactly is in a line of pet food from famed celebrity chef rachael ray. nbc's morgan radford on that one

this morning. good morning. >> good morning. in fact, that lawsuit has thousands of pet owners worried after it claims the dog food contains a chemical used in the well-known weed killer round up. the country that makes noutrish denies it. she markets it as natural inspired by her own recipes with meat, fish, vegetable. no by-products. >> real recipes, real ingredients, real good. >> reporter: a new $5 million class action lawsuit is challenging that, claiming noutrish uses a chemical used in round up. the suit was filed by this man here seen with his dog aria. it claims consumers were deceived thinking it was natural, instead not natural. instead, the products contain possible carcinogens.

according to complaints, tests conducted by an independent laboratory revealed the chemical. >> the scientific evidence in this case will be critical because it will go to the issue of whether or not the company made false or misleading representations. >> rachael ray has often said there's nothing in the dog food she wouldn't eat. >> i literally eat the food myself to show them there isn't anything in these products that i literally wouldn't put in my own body. >> the manufacturer of the products was bought by j.m. smucker company for nearly $2 billion. in a statement smucker says in part, we strongly stand behind the quality of our products, ingredients and sourcing practices. as animal lovers and humans, it goes without saying that we do not add pesticides to our products as an ingredient. we plan to aggressively fight these claims. ray is not named personally as a party to this lawsuit. a spokesman for ray wrote nbc

news, rachel herself has always championed great lengths ainsworth pet nutrition and now the j.m. smucker company take to create and provide the highest quality and safest pet food on the products on the market. that is why she feeds it to her pet and extended family. >> a lawsuit like this can be devastating to a brand which has to defend these allegations in open public court. >> ray says she cooks with love, whether it's for people or for animals. >> i wanted food that people could trust. >> that trust may now be tested in court. the man who files the suit writes in his complaint if rachael ray's nutrish were formulated without that weed killer in there, he would consider buying it again. while the smucker company says they are reviewing the claim but they plan to aggressively fight it. as for donations at the end of march, ray has given $27

million. that's to organizations that do really good for animals, guys. >> keep us posted, morgan. >> mr. roker, how about a check. weather good sir. >> craig, thank you. looking at storms firing up in the rockies. in colorado, the zoo, look at the hail. it looks like a hot tub going on. listen to the sound of that, look at the size of those golf ball-sized hail, softball-sized hail taking out windshields and back windows. what a mess. this storm system is pushing to the east. as it does, we're seeing strong storms firing up for nebraska, on into missouri, illinois, indiana. it's going to be pushing to the east as the front makes its way through the west looking at scattered storms developing today. those strong storms will fire up wednesday as it moves into the east. more storms later on wednesday into thursday with heavy rain, strong wind gusts, rainfall amounts. the heaviest will be from northern texas on into much of oklahoma, anywhere from 3 to 4" of rain. as we move east looking again rainfall amounts

good morning. i'm kari hall. cool temperatures for san francisco. upper 6 e 0s today and low 70s for oakland. eating heating up for the inland valleys. santa rosa looking at a high of 91 and 89 in san jose. livermore expect high of 94 degrees and still poor air quality from the drifts of smoke. . >> and that's your latest weather. guys. >> two superstars getting candid. what beyonce is revealing about her life as she makes history on the cover of "vogue." >> plus why serena williams is sharing her struggles with postpartum emotions. >> your first look at the hollywood star taking on the role of sharon tate in a new quentin tarantino blockbuster.

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pier 1. we're back 7:45 with in-depth today. this morning a growing trend when it comes to how stores target your business. >> more retailers are for going -- foregoing celebrity endorseme endorsements and going for traditional celebrity investments by turning to social media inn flew especial-- influ. it's led to a major toy deal to youtube's youngest and most popular stars. six-year-old ryan is an internet sensation. >> stuffed animal. >> we're at walmart. >> and now he's also a pint-sized pitch man for walmart. >> i'm so excited to see my toys at walmart. >> the wildly popular ryan toys review makes an estimated $11 million a year from his youtube channels by simply reviewing all

kinds of toys. now he's teaming up with walmart launching ryan's world, a toy and t-shirt line created by the first-grader. ryan's mother telling us every toy produced holds a special place in ryan's heart. >> all these toys are what ryan grew up liking. so slime and putty and giant eggs. >> a giant egg with my face on it. >> his enthusiasm and his billions of views are appealing to the world's biggest retailer. >> we've been watching ryan for a couple years now. we know how big a success he's been and how many kids love him. >> millions of eyes on social media translate to millions in sales. companies are eager to cash in by collaboration. >> youtube has been such a huge trend with influencers. >> research shows 40% of shoppers say they have bought an item after seeing an influencer use it on social media. and 70% of 18 to 34 years old would rather by a product endorsed by a noncelebrity who feels more like a peer. that's according to collective bias.

little ryan isn't the only star benefiting from this new phenomenon. >> this is a paid advertisement for toys. >> other channels like hobby kids tv and evan tube hd, each with millions of subscribers now feature sponsored content paid for by toymakers. >> wherever toys are sold. >> companies can pay up to $200,000 to have an influencer feature a toy in a video, according to bloomberg. >> there's been such a rise recently on these self-made youtube stars. we know ryan really leads the way on that. >> a social media superstar and mini millionaire all before his seventh birthday. >> yeah. what were you doing when you were six. >> i know. trying to get more cake. >> it's interesting, my son, he will watch these videos like we're talking 10, 15 minutes of other kids playing with toys. i say to him sometimes, you've got that toy, you can go play with it yourself.

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test test test test te good tuesday morning. we have hazy conditions. a live look in dublin as we head out the door. it will be heating up reaching into the mid-to upper 90s. san jose expect a high of 89 degrees. it is 88 in palo alto and 66 in san francisco. north bay mostly in the 90s and poor air quality. it will get hotter on thursday into friday reaching the upper 90s. wouldn't be surprised if a few spots hit the triple digits. it comes done a few degrees into early next week. no changes here in san francisco. looking at 60s throughout much of the forecast. let's get an update on how roads

are moving. >> it is busy out there. we have a crash along 101 and 280. this one along 280 is definitely a multi-vehicle crash causing back ups through the 87 interclaninte interchange. we have one at washington avenue. it continues to block one of the lanes. you can see it through san leandro. the number one lane has been cleared. we are seeing residual delays. back to you. happening now within the last hour we got an update on the mendocino complex fire. it now burned about 290,000 acres. no new reports of home destroysed. as for the carr wild fire, that grew about 3,000 acres since yesterday. containment is unchanged at 47%. link to both of those fires on our twitter feeds. we are learning about a man shot and killed on the bay

bridge. the local sections of hour home page, more news for you in an hour. as california experiences some of the worst fires in modern history- the message wildfire survivors will send tomororw to lawmakers. plus- our crews will be on the lookout for breaking news while you sleep. today in the bay. tomorrow from 4:30 to 7.

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it is 8:00 today. coming up fire and fury coast-to-coast. this morning millions of bracing for record setting temperatures feeding the flames of the largest wildfire in california's history. >> how dangerous can these fires get? >> really dangerous. this year has been a deadly year already for us. >> we're live with the latest. plus serena's battle off the court. the tennis star speaking out about postpartum emotions one week after the worst loss of her career. what she hopes other moms will take away from her honest words.

beyonce opens up to "vogue" offering a rare glimpse into her private life. what she's revealing about marriage, motherhood and more as she makes history again today tuesday august 7th, 2018. >> i cycled over 3,000 miles from seattle to be here does. >> from st. joseph, louisiana. >> my birthday trip with grandma. >> mack from houston, texas. >> we're here to celebrate. >> my birthday. >> shout out to friends and family in texas. >> i'm turning 18 today. welcome back. a little "uptown funk." >> your favorite song. >> doesn't it put you in a good mood. we have a beautiful crowd, good looking crowd outside.

we're going to head out and say hey. >> good morning, everybody. nice to have you with us. >> a lot going on, right to news at 8:00. tens of millions on both coasts set to face heat. california's worst wildfire ever. al is here with a look at the situation. hey, al, good morning. >> good morning. we are looking in the east at 33 million people who are under some sort of heat advisory or heat watch. 90s to 100s in the southeast, all the way to the northeast. look at the temperatures next couple of days in the 90s. air temperatures. heat indexes will be in the 100s, atlanta, memphis, mobile and jacksonville. we go out west. mend sinnono complex right now 283,800 acres. this now, we've got 100 active large fires out west. 1.6 million acres burned, 5 million acres burned this year

alone. mendocino complex, 283,800 acres makes it the largest california wildfire ever. to give you a sense of the size of this thing, it's actually bigger than the city of los angel angeles. so as two complexes come close together, they say they are not going to see any kind of containment. right now 30% contained but not completely controlled until maybe august 15th. that's assuming everything goes well. guys, back to you. >> all right, al. thank you so much. we turn now to the paul manafort trial and bombshell testimony from manafort's longtime right-hand man rick gates who admitted to a range of criminal activity involving the president's former aide. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is in new jersey. the president is on a working vacation. peter, good morning. lots of eyes on this courthouse in virginia. >> including apparently the president's eyes. rick gates due back on the stand today. already the first 45 minutes on

monday proven to be a dramatic showdown. you have donald trump's former deputy campaign chairman testifying against his former campaign chairman saying the two men were literally partners in cri crime. this morning rick gates becoming first campaign official to confess his crimes on the witness stand. gates, former deputy and longtime right-hand man asked by the prosecution, were you involved in any criminal activity with mr. manafort? his reply, yes. did you commit any crimes with manafort? again answering yes. star witness in the manafort case admitting he and manafort conspired to falsify manafort's tax returns hiding millions of dollars from the irs in 15 offshore bank accounts. all of is, according to gates, done at manafort sz direction, insisting both men knew they were committing a crime. manafort, trump's former campaign chairman has pleaded not guilty to tax and bank fraud

charges. another stunning admission gates admitting he stole from manafort while working for him. in tense . but gates, seemingly nervous and talking fast, never making eye contact with his mentor. mueller's investigation picks up speed. the president's lawyer telling nbc news he's preparing to respond to mueller's request for an interview with the president in the coming days. the charges against both men largely predating their time with the trump campaign. speaking of president trump, here it is bedminster property, the president staying out of view again. no public events on his schedule today. however, tonight he is supposed to have a private dinner with major ceos in the business community including the heads of pepsi, johnson & johnson and fedex. savannah. >> peter alexander. thank you. >> chicago police have yet to make any arrests in the

shootings of 70 people over the weekend. at least 11 of those victims died. police blame the violence on gangs, access to illegal weapons and warm weather bringing more people outdoors. chicago's police chief says dozens of people have been taken into custody on gun charges. a new study reveals that women who suffer heart attacks do better if they have female doctors. researchers looked at two decades of records from emergency rooms in florida and found women are less likely to survive a heart attack than men but their chance of survival goes up if they are treated by a female doctor. women suffering from heart attacks are also more likely to wait before getting medical treatment. they also often have symptoms that are overlooked. researchers believe women may feel more comfortable sharing symptoms with female doctors more likely to connect those dots. >> all right. that time of the morning, kids. >> boost us? >> i'm going to boost you. a beloved teacher makes it her mission every week to pay the tab for a person in need.

this time she picked a good one. you're at a situation. at a convenience store, short of cash. ruth reed stepped in to help this stranger out. turned out stranger was country singer and superstar keith urban. he thanked her for generosity, introduced himself. she didn't believe him and then she had to take some convincing from keith and his bodyguard. it was keith urban. they sealed it with a sweet picture. the kind gesture made her town celebrity. she's like, no, you're not. he's like, yeah, i am. >> showing i.d. >> she picked the right one. >> love it. just ahead, a very candid beyonce opening up like never before about a serious health scare and her journey through what she calls hell and back. >> plus serena williams revealing her postpartum struggles. what made her feel like she wasn't being a good mom and her message to all moms out there right after this. mother...nature! nothing smells greater than the great outdoors...

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it's a journey and petsmart is with you every step of the way. we're back with "today's" talker and candid comments from serena williams and what exactly she's saying. hi, guys. >> after suffering the worst loss of her career last week she decided to pull out of this week's tournament citing personal reasons. now the mother of 11-month-old alexis opening up in an emotional instagram post. here is what she said. this is obviously her daughter alexis. she said last week was not easy for me. not only was i accepting some tough personal stuff, mostly i felt like i wasn't a good mom. she goes on, i read several articles that says postpartum emotion are can last up to three years if not dealt with. i'm not around as much as i'd

like to be. most moms do the same thing. if you're having a rough day or week, i am, too. there's always tomorrow. of course social media lit up with support of the star. thank you for sharing as always. this will help so many people out there. you are the best mom alexis olympia could ever ask for. nancy posts i love how honest serena is. seeing the greatest of all time makes it easier for others to acknowledge theirs. this isn't the first time serena into out about the challenges of motherhood. just last month she said she cried after missing her daughter's first steps. williams expected to compete in the u.s. open at the end of the month but that could actually coincide with her daughter's first birthday. >> so many people talking boult what serena wrote we want to focus more on it with natalie azar. first of all, serena is amazing. she made it to wimbledon final 10 months after giving birth. we have to give her show much

for that. i thought it was interesting, is it true postpartum feelings can continue for three years after birth? >> if untreated, yeah. i think probably one of the most shocking things, the symptoms can occur any time within the first year. that's probably one of the things that's going to hit home for a lot of women maybe at nine months, ten months, their child is nine-month-old, why am i suddenly feeling this way, it still can happen. >> how do you know what you're feeling. sometimes there are moments you feel crummy and you call those baby blues, then something far more serious situation. >> that is more serious. the baby blues is something experienced by 80% of women. that usually lasts for two weeks. that's to be expected. your hormones are dropping, there's a huge life change. you might be moody, exhausted. but if it starts to last longer, if the symptoms are more frequent and more severe, something more specific to postpartum are these feelings of

insecurity about taking care of the baby, am i going to make a mistake in addition to just the classic symptoms of depression. if those start to happen, bring it up especially at that six-week postpartum visit with your health care provider. >> serena wrote she had complications after giving birth. does that make women more susceptible. >> certainly complications during delivery, a problem with the newborn, especially, too, medically, women who have a history with depression prior are at a greater risk. but anybody technically can experience this. >> at wimbledon when she said i'm doing this for all the moms out there, i remember how touching it was. you can tell she's trying, like a lot of moms, trying to divide their time between the profession and being a mom. >> one of the things that hit home, i had postpartum with both my kids. i remember i was reading books about it at the time is that making it more public with social media, she's really done a public service, because

there's a lot of people who are going to hear her story and think about what they are experiencing and hopefully can get help. >> i know. she's done a lot of good. >> it's not easy to talk about, not easy to talk about. >> you can look like you're doing everything right on the outside and still be hurting on the inside. >> exactly. normal. >> thank you. >> dr. azar, thank you. let us go over to al, he's the man of the morning. the weather is hot. >> we've got weather plus around much of the country. the hot, dry weather continues out west. no help for brave firefighters out there and first responders. severe storms firing up in the rockies. strong storms in the upper idwest and on into the mid mississippi river valley, also moving into the northeast, wet weather in the gulf coast, heat and humidity continues in the ea tsterhinrd of that's what's going on around the u.s. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. it's still going to be hot in the valleys today. seeing a lot of smoke over the bay area. and that will gradually clear as

our westerly winds pick up throughout the day and bring in some fresh air. we're still going to have cool weather for half-moon bay and san francisco, staying in the 60s. 73, oakland. some upper 80s for the south bay. upper 90s for the trivalley, through the delta and north bay. also looking at some low 90s for santa rosa as well as napa. >> if you're heading out the door, don't forget catch us on sirius channel 108 today live at 1:00 p.m. off the rails with dylan dryer. >> is that the theme song? >> off the rails and dylan goes -- >> it's catchy. >> not so much but we like it. >> play along. >> we like it. >> dylan, take us to "pop start." >> let's move over to that. first up carrie underwood. the country singer graces the september issue of redbook and opened up whether her husband, hockey player mike fisher would like to grow their family.

she said i'm 35 so we may have missed our chance to have a big family. we talk about adoption and may do it when our children are over. her focus on her sixth album, "cry pretty." pick up the issue when it hits news stands august 8th. >> and she's coming on the "today" show. i'm thrilled. up next will smith, the actor shared his epic family vacation where they spent time off the coast of italy. his wife and three kids came along for the trip and kicked things off with an ambitious hike climbing an active volcano. it was a long hike up but the group eventually made it. take a look. >> all right. we are at the top of volcano island. the sulfur smell is really bad, hence, the facial cover. it burns your eyes just a little bit. >> it's hot.

>> yo, that's a volcano. yo, that's a volcano. it's a volcano. no, it's like hot, it will burn your shoes. that's crazy. >> so will seemed to be the most excited of the bunch to be so close to an active volcano. the family then took their trip from the top of the volcano to the depths of the sea scuba diving off the coast. safe to say we'd like an invite to that trip. i guess they travel with a drone. >> an entire production company. >> an orchestra. >> music, soundtracks. >> of course, they can. in other news, a look from the set of quentin tarantino's "once upon a time in hollywood" has been revealed. we first saw brad pitt and leonardo dicaprio dressed in character back in june, now a glimpse of margot robbie playing actress sharon tate. shared the photo on instagram.

what do you think? is there a resemblance? awesome. "once upon a time in hollywood" will hit theaters july 26, 2019. lester holt up late last night. the anchor sat down with seth meyers. turns out lester has been holding a bit of a grudge for the company you worked for. >> so you wanted to do this for a long time and you've been at nbc the first time but your first efforts to join national broadcasting company did not go great. you applied for a job and saved the letter from 1977. >> still just a little bitter. >> i guess if you still have it. >> here you see right here it's very -- dear, mr. holt. thank you for your interest in wnbc, i was impressed by your credentials. however, it's not exactly what we're looking for at this time. but then good luck with your career. that was very nice. >> that meant a lot to me. >> so lester was quick to point out that he did apply to wnbc when he was only a few months out of high school so that could be the reason why they didn't

think he quite had what it took to make it in this business. we're so glad it worked out for lester. >> at this time. >> good luck with your career. >> amazing he has the letter. i hope it's framed somewhere. >> notice how he blacked out who signed the letter. >> and his address. >> dylan dryer, thank you so much. now to the reason why more people than usual are talking about beyonce this morning. natalie in los angeles with that story. hey, nat. >> good morning to you. the queen bee is famously private but she's opening up about her private life in a very raw and revealing way. this morning beyonce in her own words discussing motherhood and issues with her own body, opening up like never before making history in the "vogue" september issue. the singer hiring the first

african-american cover photographer in the magazine's 126 year history. 23-year-old tyler mitchell behind the lens. beyonce who chose a more natural look for the shoot revealing struggles with body image following birth of her first child blue ivy who is now six years old. i believed things society said about how i should look. i put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months and scheduled a small tour to ensure i would do it. looking back that was crazy. >> but the 36-year-old mother of three says she now embraces her curves attributing the change to complications during her pregnancy with twins. beyonce explain, i was 218 pounds the day i gave birth to rumi and sir. i was swollen with toxemia and had been on bedrest for over a month. my health and my babies' health were in danger so i had an emergency c-section. the star said she took six

months off to recover. during that time she accepted what her body wanted to be adding, i have a little mommy pouch and i'm in no rush to get rid of it. i think it's real. whenever i'm ready to get a six-pack i will go into beast zone. right now my fupa feel like we're meant to be. beyonce discussing how her marriage to jay z survived infidelity. jay z opening up about his unfaithfulness last september. >> the hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face you love and having to deal with your self. >> the need to know are you cheating. >> what good is a menage a trois when you have a saul mate. >> both performers used art to work their their problems she looked to her family's complicated past. i come from a lineage of broken male, female relationships, abuse of power and mistrust. only when i saw that clearly was

i able to resolve conflicts in my own relationship. connecting to the past and knowing our history makes us boston bruised and beautiful. >> natalie, beyonce is famously private. she doesn't do a lot of interviews, so how did this "vogue" one come about? >> it's reported beyonce was given unprecedented control over "vogue's" september issue. it's important to note the article is written, as we said, in her own words. she did not do an interview for it. guys, what i love about it, we can embrace our mommy pouch or daddy pouch for that matter. >> that's what he always said when i was pregnant, he was eating for two as well. >> see you, guys. >> we have time for dilly clicks, dylan. >> this is an interesting. fans at eastern electric music festival knew they were in for a party but not quite like this. take a look at the rest rooms. at first, looks like a typical festival setup. when you open one special door you walk your self right into

port ai a-party. these went virals and have people looking at port-o-potties differently. >> i bet that party smells back, stunk. >> how did they do that? it's like a magic trick. >> i don't know how to feel about that. >> like a tent behind it. >> solving problems. >> i love it. dylan, thank you. yesterday we had spike lee on talking about the movie "blackkklansman." one of the stars is here. you know him from that '70s show, topher grace. >> topher. >> hi, topher, good morning. do you really watch this show every day. >> when i'm not partying in a bathroom, yeah. >> exactly. he said good morning, hoda. i was like, no, it's savannah. >> no, i watch every morning, i promise. >> we're excited to talk ti )m

one of the people who escaped an early morni good morning. it's 8:26. i'm kris sanchez. one of the people who escaped an early morning house fire in daly city says he knows who started it and it involves a dispute over money. firefighters are only saying this is a suspicious fire. it started a little after 3:00 in the morning on bay ridge drive. the fire burned the front of the house and burst through a window. fortunately, no one was injured. a cal fire just issue add new update on the mendocino complex fire which is now the state's largest wildfire ever. the two fires combined have now burned more than a little more than 290,000 acres. that fire is 34% contained. we want to get a look at your traffic picture.

as you head out the door. >> it is busy in the south bay but also in the east bay as well. we're seeing some cldelays alon westbound 8 and university avenue, the right-hand shoulder is blocked. that's causing delays to carlson boulevard. recovery along 880 due to two earlier crashes. a crash across 280 northbound. is also causing delays. that shoulder is blocked as well. expect slowing along southbound 880. you're looking at about 18 minutes. as of right now, the metering lights have been on since 5:30. the typical wave along the bay bridge. >> we have more local news coming up for you in just a half hour.

>> it's 8:30 everybody, tuesday morning. it is the 7th of august, 2018. it's a steamy one here in new york city. it's going to get hotter. there's so much great music coming up. i know, it's steamy. the windows are steaming up at 30 rock this morning. one of the biggest fans of all time, no exaggeration, will be here wednesday aerosmith. >> can you stand it. >> come early and often. >> it's crazy. this friday, jason mraz taking over our concert stage, if you're in the area, come on

down, he's like the perfect concert purchase it's amazing. >> his music always puts you in a good mood, always puts you in a good mood. coming up topher grace has an interesting role in this spike lee movie. we're going to talk to him about this role and also life away from the cameras. >> he's good in that movie. >> too good. >> we talked about this movie yesterday. he's so good. creepy in a good way. >> two other good things in a different way, pasta and wine. ali roczen is here to combine them in one dish. >> before that, good morning. >> good morning. i have this gal down here, hoda. >> klg has her wine glass and she's ready. >> i have a surprise for her, too. i'm just going to put it like this, i was doing something before i came to work and i was surprised by kathie lee gifford and i'll show you how when you come on over. >> that's a tease.

>> >> that's an awesome tease. >> we'll have catherine oxenberg to talk about whether her daughter is out of this controversial group. is she in or is she out and the lawyer who heads up this group. women get branded, it's crazy. the lawyer comes down for are a spicy interview with me. >> thank you. mr. roker, okay, it's steamy and hot. >> and moist. >> stop. >> all sorts of things. hold on a second, first this. no, not that. not that. the billboard. sorry. all righty. up and down the east coast, that's why it's going to be moist out east. out west, hot and dry. that's not going to help those firefighters out there. continues again tomorrow. monsoonal moisture in the extreme southwest. heavy rain in the central mississippi river valley. impressive through the southeast. look for severe storms making their w 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. it's going to be hot inland today. a lot of sunshine and hazy with some drifts of smoke, especially for the north bay, where it reaches into the low 90s from santa rosa to napa. 102 in ukaih. half-moon bay, 62. in palo alto, 88. inland valleys reach into the upper 90s with some hazy conditions. if you have breathing problems, may be a good day to limit your time outside. so we mentioned our fun concerts earlier. there's another one you need to put on your calendar. the global citizen festival returning to central park september 29th. our partner citi bank is

partnering with the festival for the sixth time hitting the stage this year. get ready for this, our big announcement. janet jackson, the weekend, shawn mendes, cardi b, plus hugh jackman and his wife will be hosting and john legend will be stopping by. the best part you don't have to buy a ticket, you have to help others. clean water, education, whatever it is you care about start taking action and you can gain points toern entry to the concert. check out today.com for details on that. for "today's" crowd moment we want to thank our sponsor citi. there are lucky folks getting vip tickets to attend this year's festival. i want to know where are jazzel and stewart. is it your birthday? >> yes. >> for your birthday you don't have to unwrap it. here are tickets to the global citizen festival.

>> thank you. >> who are you excited to see? >> i'm excited to see everyone that's coming. >> janet jackson. >> janet jackson. janet jackson? >> well, happy birthday, i hope you guys have so much fun. >> thank you so much. >> hi mom. >> hi, mom. if you can't take it to new york watch it live on msnbc saturday september 27th. how fun is that. savannah. >> love it. thank you, dylan. coming up next i'm sitting with the man of the moment. topher grace has a pivotal role in spike lee's movie, we want to hear all about it. don't you want to tell us about that. >> not yet. >> first thi iss

welcome back tuesday morning. director spike lee was here yesterday telling us about his new movie, the "blackkklansman,"

unbelievable but true story about a black investigator who went under cover for the klan. topher plays the wizard at the center. >> the true white american race, the backbone from whence came our great southern heritage. and i want to thank you. i want to thank you so much for never putting your country second. america first. america first. america first. >> topher, good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of our viewers are going to know you from the '70s show. this is about as far away from that as you can get. >> slightly more racism. >> yeah. was that intimidating to take on, to think i'm going to play this controversial picture, these words are so ugly and they are coming out of your mouth. that must have been kind of terrifying.

>> it was. it was one of the great days of my career to get this call from spike lee. he says i want you -- you're my guy. i was so excited. so that was a great day. then i realized, oh, wait, the next month is going to be the worst month of my life. i had to end up doing the worst research ever. >> you're researching, you read his book, had to be watching speeches. >> to say i read his book, it's a door stop. it is so overwhelmingly negative. i watched a lot of film interviews. he was actually on do nnahue a couple of times in the early '80s. that's what was great to see him with a crowd, they hated him. that's what is so evil about him, he's even good with that crowd. >> what's great about your portrayal, i got to see the movie, in a weird way it's understated. he says these incredibly hateful and awful things but you kind of present him in this kind of

understated kind of dare i say likable way. >> this is what's so evil about him and continues to be so evil about him is that he at this period of time in the '70s put a new face on racism. he kind of rebranded it and made it more palatable. so kind of the nicer he is, i felt like that made him more evil. >> did you ever reach out to him or did he reach out to you. >> no, i did not reach out to him. people are asking now if i want to talk to him. oh, my god, no, not now. i know he called ron stallworth, the man who the film is based on. >> it's ron stallworth's true story. >> he called him i think two or three nights ago. i feel like i might come off bad in the film. too late now, buddy. >> that's interesting. >> not getting ahead of it now, it comes out friday. >> what's also interesting in the film, it's also kind of funny. it's not a comedy, i wouldn't call it a comedy but there's

humor, a lightness to its touch. >> this is what's so brilliant about spike lee is he is able to take this subject matter that's so heavy and kind of open it up to more people so his message gets out there. it's more -- it's a fun movie and more devastating at the same time. >> i heard you had an unusual way of destressing. >> this got a little bit too much press. >> it's too late now. you've got to tell us. >> in my free time sometimes, this is only the geekiest hobby to have, but i will edit films -- not films i'm in. i have no want to be an editor. i work with great editors who are much better than me. i thought you could edit together the whole hobbit movie. it's stupid. >> it's adorable. you take the whole six hours -- >> there's a lot more than that. there's like nine hours of hobbit.

it was so depressing, this research -- you've got to ask my wife, i was tough to live with. we actually just had our baby, our first. like, i was practicing my lines around the house. she was like, hey, can you cool it on the hate speech, we just had a child. so i had to find some way to just kind of like go into the basement and like just relax and kind of detox. it was fun. when we shot it, it was really fun. it was all the research you have to do to become the person. >> you have to internalize stuff. >> i'm not a method actor. i don't get so into my work and take it home with me. but this one, it's overwhelmingly depressive, the ideas. just being in his head is not a place you want to be. >> you talked about your baby, there's nothing that can put a smile on your face like a new baby. she's almost a year? >> nine months. that was actually very therapeutic to have a baby that was born right at the beginning

of filmmaking -- making this film. it's a confusing time to bring someone into the world. to be able to be part of a film like this where you're able to kind of -- it takes place in the '70s but way more to do with the current climate right now. >> well, i'm sure you're hugging that baby hard. thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. i actually watch the show. >> that makes me so happy. >> i'm excited to be here. >> he's like i watch the "today" show. i'm like, no, really, you do? >> i used to tivo and watch it when i get up. now i wait sboabout two hours f it to come on because i have a kid. >> topher grace, thanks for being here. "blackkklansman" coming up in theaters. new twists on pasta. we'll make it two ways. one calls for red wine. first, this is "today" on nbc.

we are back with "today" food. two easy pasta dishes that will impress your guests and leave them wanting more. look who is here, the author of "bring it!" the ultimate guide to dinner party ideas. you were actually a page at "today" show. you started here. >> best job i ever had. >> if you can make it into the page program at nbc, you've already made it. it's so hard to get into the program page program is harder than writing the cookbook, my tv show. that's the best job i ever had. i learned so much. i worked at "nightly news" after i was a page. i have so much love for nbc. >> we're happy to have you back. you're cooking up a couple of pasta dishes. >> today we're making red wine pasta, which is so exciting. people look at this pasta, we're

going to cook it right in the red wine. >> what do we do? >> we chop up a little garlic, throw it in the pan. this has been cooking for a few minutes with butter, sauteing with the butter. then we throw the pasta right into the dry pan. put an entire bottle of red wine. we should have been doing this with kathie lee prosecute of what kind of wine is that. >> this is a beaujolais. a light wine. you want to use a wine you drink. the wine will soak up -- it will taste like the wine you use. don't use too bad of a wine. >> it should cover the pasta all the way. >> then add about a cup of water as well and let that cook for about eight to ten minutes. you might need to add more as it cooks down, cooks down. >> it's on a high boil. you should be boiling that up.

>> you let it boil and let it simmer and it looks like this. to end you're just going to throw some butter in here and finish it up. you can see this is just the wine. >> how does that red wine taste. >> i'm a big fan of eating a bite of food and taking a sip of wine. this takes out a whole step. it gets into my mouth faster. >> if you ate a lot would you get a buzz? >> no, you're boiling it, the alcohol burns off. >> asking for a friend. >> garnish it up. >> what's beautiful about this, we just put some basil and some feta. what's great here, if you're someone who doesn't eat cheese or whatever, you can make this without the feta as well. >> pine nuts. >> people love pine nuts. >> do you toast them. >> it's about easy. >> i've learned things on the show. >> have you toasted pine nuts. >> i think we all know i haven't. >> doesn't mean you don't want

to. >> serve it up. you love it. >> so easy, beautiful, and you can serve it cold. it's perfect. >> okay. i'm going to try it. as we move onto the next you have a pesto. >> this is a pesto vinegarette. one of the issues people have with making fresh pesto, pine nuts can be expensive. this uses almonds, makes it easier on the budget. we're going to add ingredients. this is basil, almoston, parmesan, raw garlic which gives it a really nice kick and also some dijon mustard here which we'll just scrape it in there? >> that's pesto. >> technically if you're a purist, this isn't a real pesto. >> olive oil. >> olive oil in here and add a little bit of salt and pepper. >> okay. then grind that up. >> yeah.

that's it. just do it. >> all right. so there's your pesto. now what? >> pouille some pasta. this is so easy. the whole point of "bring it!" is recipes you can make ahead and are easy. half the book is 30 minutes or less. it's really just easy. >> bathe it in that pesto. >> this pesto is also great, i like to put it on chicken. i like to put it in like salad. it makes for a great doctorsing dre -- dressing. >> it seas well. >> you can freeze this in an ice cube tray and throw it on your pasta. >> that's a clever idea. >> smart. >> have it always. >> toast the pine nuts always for savannah. >> so did you give -- you talked to some of the pages, did you give them advice on how to make it once they finish up? >> cook a lot. no, i just said you have to work hard. i think the biggest piece of advice i can give to any young person, ask for help, look for

mentors and keep going. i was so lucky when i was at nbc, i just asked for help. that's how i got my next job and next job. >> we're so proud of you. we're happy to claim you, ali. >> thank you so much. >> for all the recipes head to today.com/food. click on "bring i" t! california phones offers free specialized phones... like cordless phones, - (phone ringing) - big button, and volume-enhanced phones. get details on this state program. call or visit

and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program call or visit all right. who is in the mood to celebrate. >> always. >> i am. >> break out the birthdays and the smucker's jars. birthday time. first up happy 100th birthday to arline lass kin from florida, a big fan of italian food, always ready to grab a slice of pizza. max from new jersey, 101, served as a lieutenant during world war

ii. we thank you for your service. look at that jaunty cap. happy 103rd birthday to mary buck, hard worker from ozark, missouri. did not retire um she was 85. saul beck from new york city celebrating 102 years. age just a number for this guy. he still runs a trade publication for the frozen food industry. he's still making cold hard cash. cora jones 100 years old, entrepreneur from durham, north carolina. opened up her own beauty shop where she trained aspiring beauticians. happy 100th birthday to fred of wichita, kansas. in addition to his big day, fred and his wife, get this, are celebrating 75 years of marriage. >> wowser. >> congratulations. happy birthday. don't forget. you know somebody celebrating milestone birthday tell us all about them today.com/celebrate. >> we're missing hoda. >> she's across the street.

>> the eagle has landed. hoda and kathie lee are going over to hang out with megyn at the top of the hour. that's going to be lit. >> are they drinking wine? >> kathie lee is there, she probably brought some gift wine and brought it on over. >> then they will come back and do their show at 10:00. >> going to be lit. listen to you. >> she ran away because we all have really badi )m - -...

a short time ago .. cal-fire gave us good morning. it's 8:56. eye sho a short time ago, an update on the mendocino complex fire, now the largest in california fire history. it's burned more than 290,000 acres. there are no new reports of homes destroyed though. as for the carr wildfire, that fire grew by about 3,000 acres

since yesterday. containment is unchanged at 47%. also, we're learning more about the man shot and killed yesterday on the bay bridge. he's identified as daryl stenet from mesquite, texas. friends tell us he was once an aspiring rapper and he was in the bay area promoting his music. happening now, pete suratos is digging deep near those developments. he will have a live report in our midday newscast at 11:00. you can also link to our homepage for the very latest. bart police are supposed to be beefing up patrols in an effort for safety. this comes in the recent spike of violence on trains. why even more safety measures may be in the works. also, the trump administration may be on the verge of the most significant changes in years on immigration and it may make it difficult for legal immigrants to become u.s. citizens. as california experien

some of the worst fires in modern history- the message wildfire survivors will send tomororw to lawmakers. plus- our crews will be on the lookout for breaking news while you sleep. today in the bay. tomorrow from 4:30 to 7.

good morning, everyone. welcome to the show. i'm megyn kelly. we have a bunch of topics making the rounds today from beyonce and her alleged mommy pouch to the first male cheerleaders in the nfl. joining me now to break it all down from the fourth hour booze cruise, please welcome kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb.