the bay. we are back at 7:25 far live look at your local news. >> you can join us at 11:00. we'll be here for the midday newscast. we'll see you here at noon. good morning. breaking overnight. too close to call. ohio's critical house race comes down to the wire. >> can you believe how close this is. >> this morning the candidates less than 1% apart. the democrat within striking distance in a district the president won big last time around, and it's gone republican for the last four decades. we're live in ohio where the very last votes are being counted. on the attack, at the trial of trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort's attorney rips the star witness. he admits years of lying, stealing, even cheating on his wife. is the prosecution's case in trouble?

monster fire. new problems in california as crews struggle to gain ground on those out of control wildfires. in the east severe storms create a dangerous display in the skies overnight. >> wow, did you see that? >> now, tens of millions set for yet another day of extreme heat. those stories plus gloves off. angelina jolie accuses brad pitt of failing to pay child support. what he's saying this morning. brushing up. a new warning about your toothpaste. what you need to know before picking up that toothbrush this morning. and some gals have all the luck. >> i can't believe you're letting us do this. >> i can't believe it either. >> how we ended up on stage at madison square garden with the one and only rod stewart today wednesday, august 8th, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news,

this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. morning, everybody. welcome to "today." nice to have you with us on wednesday morning. anything interesting last night? >> oh, my god. i'm still recovering. >> my heart is pounding. we went to a sold out crowd for rod stewart's concert and he let us sipping and dance with him. >> i don't know why he let us. there was a moment when we were on stage looking around saying oh, my god, this is a real deal. this is happening in this moment. it was awesome. >> we thought about wearing those dresses this morning but we went in a different direction this morning. we have a lot to talk about in politics. >> the top story. it could be weeks before we know the winner of that closely watched special election in ohio. >> take a look at where the results stand right now. republican, who president trump campaigned for is leading but it's a razor thin margin. this race is seen as a crucial test of the president, the republican's strength heading

into the midterm. we'll get chuck todd's take. first garrett haake in ohio. >> republicans appear to have dodged a bullet in ohio, just barely. this is a race that shouldn't have been close. this morning only about 2,000 votes separate these two candidates and they are still counting with that republican holding the narrowest of leads. nownow both parties are scrambl to learn whatever they can from this race before november. >> tonight i'm going to promise to you that i'm going to work relentlessly -- relentlessly for this 12th congressional district. >> republican troy balderson delivering a delivery speech in ohio last night without a clear-cut victory. >> over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america great again. >> when all the votes are counted the ohio senator will likely head to congress continuing republican party's

three-decade long hold on this seat but just barely. he's currently sitting on a lead less than a point. a race too close to call in a district the president carried by 11. this weekend the president stumping in ohio. >> i'll tell you what, we're going to have a tremendous victory for troy, troy balderson. >> in a tweet last night, the president claiming his visit pushed balderson on the top. after my speech, there was a big turn for the better. troy was a great victory during a time of year for voting. this was supposed to be safe territory for republicans. but like the rest of the country attitudes are shifting. webs in columbus tilting towards democrat in the rural counties swelling support for president trump and his agenda. they hoped to flip voters like jim greer, turned off by president trump. >> i almost feel like the president feels as if he's an

autocrat instead of an elected official. i don't like that. >> the republican firewall held in the face of fired up democrats who aren't giving up just yet. >> can you believe how close this is? >> democrat danny o'connor promising to continue to fight into november when these two candidates will face off again. >> we went door to door. we went house to house. we made our case for change. we're going to make that case tomorrow. we're not stopping now. tomorrow we rest, and then we keep fighting through to november. >> democrats believe if they can put a district this reliably red, if they can make it this close, there are potentially dozens of other less republican districts they could really compete in in november. that's a theory they will test even if their only victory here ends up being a moral one. savannah and hoda. >> thank you. let's bring in chuck todd. >> break that down, a reliably red district, has been for years and years.

what does it mean it was that razor thin. >> not only was it that razor thin, look at the amount of triage the republican party did here. the democrats weren't targeting this race. the special election popped up when the member decided to leave to take a job. they spent $3 million on a single race, sent in the president at the last minute. when you think about it, this is a district, as garrett noted, hasn't been in democratic party hands since ronald reagan was president. if it took all of this to tensionally get to a tie in a district that the president carried by double digits, they can't do that in 435 districts at the same time in november. you can do it a special election at the time and bail out water and triage and maybe save a district here and save a district there. when they are all on the ballot at the same time, most of these don't go that way. this is why democrats i think are now heavy favorites to take control of the house. i think the question really is the size.

is it 30 seats, 40 seats, 50 seats. they have a night like this, like they did in ohio, they could win 40 to 60 seats. >> what about the president, chuck? he, of course, came in at the last minute. he in his own tweet said he was the deciding factor that's allowed this republican to apparently hang onto the seat, although by the hair of his chiny chin chin. is the president a factor in the races. >> it's interesting. the republican governor john kasich thinks the president did more to turn out suburban voters against the republican candidate. if you look at the turnout in the district, the more affluent areas, the areas closer to columbus garrett was describing in the piece, those voters turned out at a higher rate than more rural areas, trump country. here you brought the president in for the sole reason to stir up his base. the anti-trump vote turned out higher than the trump vote. if that is a harbinger for

november, watch out. >> it's going to be an interesting one. chuck, i know you're counting down the days. thank you very much. >> less than three months. >> you love election day. >> yes. >> chuck, thank you. also this morning more fireworks are expected at the trial of the president's one-time campaign chairman paul manafort. his defense team going on the attack against the star witness. that's manafort's former protege. justice correspondent pete williams at the >> reporter: good morning to you. it was tough cross-examination and rick gates, paul manafort's former partner is admitting that he's been lying and stealing for years. manafort's lawyers hope now the jury won't like him but that may not be enough to get a not guilty verdict. it's day three on the witness stand for rick gates, paul manafort's former right-hand man. his trusted aide who now admits stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former boss during the years they worked together. some of that money, he said, helped him carry on an affair in

london that he hid from his wife, a secret life manafort's lawyers called it. he said he created false financial documents to help a las vegas investor friend. gates said he repeatedly embezzled money from manafort's overseas bank accounts to pay his bills, asked why, he said, i was in essence living beyond my means. after a day of aggressive questioning, manafort's lawyer kevin downing in a rare public statement seemed satisfied. >> had a great day. >> reporter: expecting to paint gates with the villain. on a case built by tax records, muddying up gates may not work. >> not enough to tank the case. there are enough documents put into evidence that corroborate what he had to say. >> reporter: prosecutors disclosed after manafort left the trump campaign, he continued

staying on saying a banker who helped him get a loan should be considered for secretary of the army and e-mailed against later to say the banker and his son should get tickets to the trump inaugural ceremony. >> pete, you mentioned, manafort's lawyers seem to think they've hurt rick gates' credibility. how does the jury see it? >> reporter: we'll know when we get the verdict, but i remember that the defense strategy here was to stay that it was rick gates who was really responsible for all the things that the government is blaming paul manafort for. and after yesterday, and again today, it's very possible that the jury may think, yeah, he's the bad guy here, but on the other hand, there's all of those paper documents. >> that's exactly what i wondered, pete. 23 t if the case turns on gates and werther the jury likes him, if he's been dirtied up to the point where it's a wash and the defense has taken bites out of him is there enough on paper?

is there enough on paper, is a case that stands alone on paper that can lead to a conviction? >> reporter: i think that's the point. we called gates the star witness here. he's the one that everybody has recognized. he's sort of the linchpin of making all these documents come alive, but it's certainly theoretically possible the government could win this case without him at all, with just the strength of the documents, and certainly that's what the government is hoping for, savannah. >> all right. pete williams. pete, thank you. now to what has quickly become one of the worst wildfires seasons ever in california, including that record setting blaze north of san francisco. those out of control flames threatening thousands of homes. nbc's national correspondent miguel almaguer on the scene again for us. hi, miguel, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this has become the largest staging ground in the country for firefighters. more than 4,000 are here on the ground. they have come from across the nation and the world. still, they are outnumbered. this blaze is on the move. firefighters have never faced a monster like this. the mendocino complex fire, the

largest in california's history is blazing a path of destruction like we've never seen before. after destroy be dozens of homes the inferno is threatening 11,000 structures. the northern california blaze larger than the cities of san francisco, oakland, sacramento and san jose combined. smoke seen from space is drifting as far east as salt lake city. >> it's very challenging. in this area just getting to the edge of the fire, as well as firefighter safety. >> reporter: exploding for nearly two weeks, the mendocino complex fire has overtaken the thomas fire, which last year destroyed more than 1,000 structures, burned for six months, and cost more than $2 billion. >> wow, look at that. >> reporter: across the state, more than 2,000 structures have been destroyed. 619,000 acres scorched. >> it's a loud roar.

the loudest roar i've ever heard. sounded like a jet taking off. >> reporter: firefighters here say the struggle is a year-round battle. fires getting bigger, faster, causing more destruction. >> i think this is the new normal we'll see in california. >> reporter: according to the national interagency fire center, wildfires today burn nearly twice as long as they did in 1990. the average number of acres burned has doubled. the reasons, scientists point for poorly maintained forests, more people moving into fire prone areas and climate change. >> you take epic drought, you combine it with high temperatures. you've got all the ingredients for unprecedented wildfires. >> reporter: this morning, california is cooking. a view of history nobody wants to see. because the mendocino complex fire is burning on drought conditions, firefighters here say this blaze could burn through september. savannah? >> all right. miguel, thank you. and here in the east, tons of millions facing another day

of that extreme heat. a possible new round of severe storms. al is here whey we can expect. good morning. >> good mornings guys. last night quite the light show in queens, three people struck by lightning. this was a vivid light show and we've got more on tap for today along with the heat. take a look. 40 million people up and down the eastern seaboard at risk for se. watching this. the swelters heat continues. take a look. this high pressure, pumping up all this moisture, bringing it in, bringing in oppressive humidity. heat index values into the 90s and 100s. there's a cold front behind this that's going to bring dryer, milder canadian air but not that much dryer. it's like a wet sponge when you twring out -- wring it out it's still warm and moist. boston, 91, the front moves through and heat indexes drop a little bit but they are still going to continue to hang on. in fact, you look at this weekend. we're talking about temperatures

in the 80s and 90s from st. louis, orlando, norfolk, boston. the humidity levels, though, are going to stay relatively high. look at boston. on friday 67. into the weekend it's into the mid-80s, relative humidity. it stays high throughout the southeast and right on into the northeast. no real relief coming up into the weekend. guys. >> lots of sticky weather out there. al, thank you so much. the embattled president of usc, university of southern california, has officially resigned in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against a longtime campus doctor. nbc's gadi schwarz is on the story this morning. hi, gadi. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is the biggest shake since allegations shook the school to its core. hundreds of women accusing a everyone came us doctor of sexual misconduct and harassment going back years. now the search for a new school president is under way as the school promises to change. >> please be seated. >> reporter: university of

southern california's embattled president c.l. maxima keyous stepped down after months of criticism over his handling of explosive misconduct allegations against a former campus gynecologist. >> it's definitely rocked the campus. >> reporter: in a letter, the board of trustees writing they are committed to ambitious agenda for change. he first announced he was stepping down in may, but didn't leave the post until this week. he's not actually leaving the school, instead he's president emeritus. not sitting we with some. one saying, this is inexcusable. nikias has no place at usc. giving him this honor makes a mockery. a mockery of the university. this, after a growing list of sexual allegations against hundreds of women saying they were abused by george tyndall, the school's only physician for

30 years. >> he took pictures of me during the exam. >> while i was up in the stirrups he told me i was beautiful. >> reporter: in lawsuits filed against usc and the doctor, former students accused tyndall of forcing them to strip naked groping their breasts and invasive examinations for no legitimate medical purpose. one suit claims usc actively and deliberately concealed his sexual abuse for years. ultimately the school struck a secret deal with tyndall, wasn't fired, suspended with pay in 2016, retiring the next year with an undisclosed payout. >> it's painful to know that, like, our collective voices ultimately meant near nothing to usc. >> reporter: the school says independent investigators have interviewed more than 100 witnesses and collected more than 4.5 million documents since may. usc also created an office for professional ethics and hired a new medical director. >> my job is to make sure that we learn from this.

that we do not repeat these mistakes here or anywhere. >> reporter: overnight we received a statement from doctor tyndall's criminal defense lawyer who tells us dr. tyndall takes all allegations seriously and continues to believe when all the facts are noern and experts in the field of gynecologist are consulted it will be concluded his examinations of students while a doctor as usc was always for the stated medical purpose and consistent with the standard of care for such examinations. meantime, usc board member wanda austin will take over as the school's interim president as it searches for a prem nement. >> thank you. >> al, missed you. national fast? >> what we have, across the country, hot and dry. continued out west. strong storms making their way through the midsection of the country and some strong storms into the mid-atlantic states in the northeast as that cold front pushes in. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30

seconds. it's not four walls and an address. it's you. and all the things inside you weave together. things that tell a story no one else could tell. because you're not cookie cutter. not just one thing. home is a tiny slice of earth that's all your own. so fill it with things that make it say, this is me. pier 1. good morning. smoke still lingers over the south bay. we'll have unhealthy air quality as well as inland east bay. not only do we have smoke but we also have high ozone levels for today. as you get ready to head out expect temperatures the start out nice and cool. 85 in san jose. it is 93 in antioch. san francisco reaches 64 degrees for this afternoon. .

you know sitting next to you guys makes me realize some guys have all the luck. >> we're the lucky ones. >> this guy showed up at madison square garden for rod stewart situation. >> didn't know. >> you were awesome. >> came to see rod, too. >> and cyndi lauper. >> coming up, brad pitt accused of not paying child support as his divorce battle with angelina jolie heats up. what he is saying this morning. but first this is "today" on nbc. xfinity mobile is a new wireless network designed to save you money. even when you've got serious binging to do. wherever your phone takes you, your wireless bill is about to cost a whole lot less. use less data with a network that has the most wifi hotspots where you need them and the best 4g lte everywhere else. saving you hundreds of dollars a year. and ask how you get xfinity mobile included with your internet. plus, get $300 back when you buy a new smartphone. xfinity mobile. it's simple. easy. awesome.

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an ominous new milestone this morning - for a record-setting wildfire. just a short time ago cal-fire updated the mendocino complex fire burning in good morning. a record setting wild fire. they updated the fire burning in mendocino and lake counties. it became the largest in state his rhode island history. also this morning the number of homes destroyed went up from 75 to 116. thousands more homes remain threatened. there is a silver lining here. containment now is up also at 47%. it is up from 34% just last night. difficult weather conditions and very smokey conditions for the

rest of us. it. >> is unhealthy. limit your time outside. it will be the worst in the inland east bay. moderate elsewhere across the bay. if you can make sure you car pool or also catch public transit. it will be slightly hotter for the inland valleys. a little bit more of air flow and san francisco looking at smoggy conditions with mid-60s for the high. let's get an update on the commute this morning. >> the commute has gotten a lot better in the south bay. we are still seeing slowing. it is due to an earlier crash. the left hand shoulder was blocked. it has been cleared from northbound 101 from highway 85 about 30 minutes northbound 280

to highway 85 about 13 minutes. you're looking at about 28 minutes. in the bay bridge it is very much still on. back to you. >> okay. thank you. more local news coming up in about half an hour.

♪ >> back now 7:30 august 8th. you know that song. you know that iconic house. the old stomping grounds of the brady bunch. guess who bought that, hgtv. we're going to let you know on "pop start" what they are planning to do with that classic song. >> when i hear that song and hear that house, i want a twinkie. i want a twinkie or zinger or '70s snack. a ding dong. anyway, back to us, our iconic studio. >> i'm so excited about seeing you dance later.

>> it's something. >> first let's get to the headlines this half hour. key race in ohio district where president trump won big is too close to call this morning. republican troy balderson has less than a 1% lead over democrat danny o'connor in the state's congressional district but thousands of absentee and provisional ballots for this election still have to be counted. republicans have held held that seat for nearly four decades. both parties spent big on the race. president trump carried the district by 11 points when he won the white house. man hunt is underway for the gunman who ambushed and shot two police detectives in camden, new jersey near philly. officers sitting at a red light in unmarked car. gunman walked up and fired as many as 25 shots. the suspect drove off in a white van. the shooting took place near a national night out event to promote cooperation between police and the neighborhoods they protect. billionaire entrepreneur elon musk has stunned wall

street. suggesting that he might take his tesla electric car company private again. musk announce on twitter tuesday he was considering what would be the biggest buyout in history. it would cost him more than $70 billion to buy back all the shares of tesla stock. mock says he's got funding for the deal lined up. didn't provide anymore details. there was enough interest in it to drive up tesla shares by 10%. other investors reacted with skepticism noting tesla has yet to turn a profit. police in florida got unsuspected help corralling a suspect after stolen car chase there. check this out. helicopter footage from the sheriff's office shows the car crashing into a ditch sunday night. capture the driver before he can run. meanwhile a heard of yous goes after the fleeing passenger. >> south and east of you. actually large group of you cow following her. >> really fast and really slow woman. the cows rushed in heard of the

woman. nearby dirt road. deputies were waiting to arrest her. >> searched for her until the cows came home. >> i'm sorry. roker is proud of me. >> never a good sign when he's proud. also in the headlines this morning, the ongoing divorce battle between angelina jolie and brad pitt becoming even more contentious with accusations raising eyebrows. joe friar has the latest on the >> good morning. new court documents filed by angelina jolie now a little brad pitt, her ex and alleged father of five children has not been paying enough child support. it's the latest wrinkle in a nasty custody battle between two of hollywood's biggest stars. it's the latest bombshell in the brangelina divorce. nbc news first to obtain court documents filed by angelina jolie tuesday a littling her estranged husband brad pitt hasn't paid any meaningful child support. the filing, which doesn't define what meaningful support means,

said the company had informal arrangements around the payment of the children's expenses that have not been regularly sustained by pitt for over a year and a half. a representative for pitt had no immediate comment but a source familiar with the conversation disputed the allegations saying pitt has fulfilled all his commitments. this is the latest skirmish in the two-year divorce battle between the mega stars who fell in love in 2003 on the set of mr. and mrs. smith. >> you think this story is going to have a happy ending? >> happy endings are stories that haven't finished yet. >> after six adopted and biological children together they married in 2014 and separated just weeks after their second wedding anniversary. pitt was accused by an unidentified witness of being rough with one of their children on a private plane. authorities later cleared him of any wrongdoing. in her divorce filing jolie cited irreconcilable differences with the couple eventually reaching a temporary custody agreement. the children would stay in her

care with pitt granted supervised visitation. speaking about it to the bbc, jolie got emotional. >> i don't want to say very much about that except to say it was a very difficult time. >> in an interview with "gq" last year pitt opened up about his struggles with alcohol and how it affected his kids. i was boozing too much. it's just become a problem. it's hit me smack in the face with our divorce. i gotta be more. i gotta be more for them and i haven't been great at it. this spring new friction erupted when jolie wanted to move their kids to europe so she could film a movie there. pitt, who lives in l.a., went to court to stop it. the the judge granted pitt shared custody for the summer ruling not having a relationship with their father is harmful for the children and it is critical that each of them have a healthy and strong relationship with their father and mother. according to "people" magazine, the source with knowledge of the situation says pitt has paid far more than any informal agreement would stipulate.

we asked jolie for comment about her new court filing. her rep told us, the aim is to promote closure to the marriage inch a ways that clears the path towards the next stage of their lives and allows her and brad to recommit as did evoted co-paren >> what's the status with the kids. >> they are living in london with her. this summer they spent time had him in london and l.a. the custody agreement orders jolie to bring the kids back to l.a. this weekend. >> all right, joe, thank you. >> 7:36, it's roker time. >> not to be confused with hammer time because i don't have those pants. anyway, we've got a stationary front bringing showers from oklahoma to the upper midwest. we're going to watch that. it's part of a slow moving front. really the air is not that much cooler and dryer behind it but it's enough to bring gusty winds through tomorrow.

the front will linger down into the south. strong storms from new orleans all the way to atlanta. this threat last into the end of the week. generally fairly light amounts but we could locally see 1 to 2" in a few hours in the northeast and mid-atlantic. as we travel down along that boundary, you can see the heaviest precipitation down through all right. this morning we are going to see temperatures in the low 70s in oakland this morning. it is going to reach into the mid-80s for san jose. low 90s for the inland valleys. we will have drifts of smoke. you're seeing it outside and air quality unhealthy. dangerous heat continues for some of our inland valleys. we should see improved weather conditions with breezy winds and san francisco stays in the 60s. >> that's your latest weather. and that's your latest weather. guys. >> al, thank you so much.

coming up, i know we haven't mentioned it, but last night we performed on stage at madison square garden with rod stewart. we'll tell you all about it. >> then "blackkklansman" star john david washington, what he's revealing to us about his breakout role and why he's so proud to be a mama's boy. >> plus why your toothpaste could be missing one key ingredient when it comes to fighting cavities. >> first nbc news investigation, are people staying at trump national hotel to win favor with national hotel to win favor with the president and the it's the ford summer sales event and now is the best time to buy. man: (on tablet) preparing classic campfire trout. say what? trout. trout. alright. you don't think i need both? why does he have that axe? make summer go right with ford, america's best-selling brand. now get 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash on a great selection of suvs. during the ford summer sales event, get our best offer of the season: 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash.

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. this morning on in-depth, the trump national hotel in washington, d.c.. >> that's right. it's been in business for two years now. critics call it the president's biggest conflict of interest. what really is the issue. nbc senior investigative and legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden with a closer look. hi there. >> good morning. >> from a legal point of view, the legal flash point comes over foreign governments that spend money at the trump hotel and 200 members of congress who say that is unconstitutional. it's the place to be if you're a trump supporter. if you had to sum up what the trump international hotel represents to washington, what would you say? >> i think it's style, elegance, and glamour. a place to be seen and see people. >> onsort of clubhouse for trump

supporters. >> yes. >> nicole decocdecoco is a grou women called trumpettes. >> who doesn't want a chance to see the vice president or secretary of treasury or kellyanne conway. >> or for that matter ivanka trump, jared kushner, rudy giuliani or maybe even the president himself. this is the washington suite. it costs over $3,000 a night and it is beautiful. critics worry those who spend big bucks at the hotel are really trying to curry favor with president trump. the trump organization is a private company. who spent what here is hard to come by. nbc news did analyze federal election commission filings and found that over the last two years pacs and republican campaigns have spent over a

million dollars at the hotel. >> what an exciting night. >> reporter: but it's the money spent by foreign governments that have ethics watch dogs reeling. nbc news also reviewed thousands of pages of registration rms ms for foreign agents. they show vague spent $270,000 at the hotel. a few months later president trump took his first foreign trip there. >> i am deeply concerned about the payments made to the hotel by saudi arabia. >> that's not all richard blumenthal is concerned about. he's on one of 200 members of congress suing the president for violating the constitution by accepting foreign payments without the consent of the congress. >> 200 members of congress is very impressive. they are all, however, democrats. is this just a political manipulation to try to tear down president trump.

>> i'll be very blunt, i wish we had some republicans who would stand up and speak out and join us. many have said privately, go for it. they are unwilling to defy the president of their overnight party. >> reporter: kuwait doesn't see any problems, its embassy held a glamorous party two years in a row, costing tens of thousands of dollars. bahrain, too. all over the hotel from lebanon, jordan, and even the russian ambassador to the u.s. there's no question that foreign governments have spent a lot of money here. the question is how much of that money the trump organization has turned over to the u.s. treasury. you'll remember president trump pledged to give to the treasury all profits from foreign governments at his 37 properties around the world. but the total tally his company actually gave in 2017, only

$151,000. >> it's a pathetic sham. >> $151,000 doesn't sound like very much when you consider how many properties he owns around the world. >> that donation is pathetically inaccurate and inadequate. >> it is clear the trump international hotel has been a good business for the trump family. the president's latest financial disclosure forms show $40 million in revenue from the hotel last year alone. ivanka reports $3.9 million. the trump organization declined to be interviewed. in this statement they provided to nbc news, they strongly maintain there is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a foreign government paying for a hotel room. what his lawyers call a routine business transaction having nothing to do with his presidency. they also say the $151,000 donation to the treasury accurately reflects their profits from foreign

governments. >> if you watch "house of cards," power is a lot like real estate. it's location, location, location. the closer you are to the source, the more power you have. so i think d.c. being a power culture, everyone wants to be in and around the trump hotel stwg. >> and it's not just the trump hotel in washington that has critics concerned. earlier this year the trump hotel in new york got a huge boost from saudi crown prince according to a letter from the "washington post." there's another lawsuit charging the hotel violates the constitution, it is moving forward in federal court. so two points of view, it's just business. >> gotta stay somewhere. or it violates the constitution. two different options there. >> we have judges to make those decisions. >> thanks. just ahead this morning, is your toothpaste putting you at greater risk of cavities? greater risk of cavities? what you us.

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the mendocino complex wildfire good wednesday morning. i'm kari hall. it's a spare the air alert day. we will have unhealthy air quality. we have moderate air quality for the south bay, the bay and the coast and the north bay. drifts of smoke and high levels of ozone today as temperatures reach into the low 90s for some of the hotter areas. it will be up to 89 in livermore and 84 in santa rosa and napa. we will have poor air quality and stagnant air most likely for the next couple of days. for the weekend high temperatures reaching into the low 90s. san francisco will stay in the mid-to upper 60s. as it clears on friday we'll be up to about 70 degrees. what's happening on the roads?

>> if you're driving on southbound 880 trying to recover from earlier crashes and also on northbound 101. we have this crash that popped up along northbound 101 before university avenue. it appears the right hand shoulder the blocked. we are seeing delays all the way backed up before university avenue. definitely take extra time there. westbound 80 to the bay bridge looking at 14 minutes. back to you. all right. happening now the mendocino fire. as of this morning more than 300,000 acres are burned. the number of homes destroyed is 116 homes up from 75. thousands of homes are still under threat. we are posting updates at the top of our home page. a deadly house fire. a mother and her twin daughters died early sunday. police are calling this a

homicide. you can go to our twitter feed. it is at nbc bay area.

it's 8:00 on today. coming up. nothing, but the tooth. what a new article is revealing about the connection between your tooth paste and cavities. this morning, the one ingredient you should be checking for to protect your smile. plus, some gals have all the luck. >> i'm freaking out. >> couple of girls going to come up on the stage. you see every day on the "today" show. hoda and i hit the stage at madison square garden performing as backup singers for music icon rod stuart. we'll take you inside our unforgettable night. and rising star. craig sits down with john david

washington to talk about his breakout role in black clansman. >> how did you get this gig. i was on location for another film in cincinnati and i get a text saying, it's spike. call me. >> what he's revealing about the highly anticipated film and the lessons he learned from his famous parents. today, august 8, 2018. >> from st. louis. >> debby from d.c. is turning 60 ♪ >> here with my sister. >> and our two kids. >> we always start our morning off with the "today" show, but today's extra special. it's my birthday. >> celebrating 54th birth. >> i'm here for my awesome daughter ella. >> that's cool. how lovely is that. >> we like having you with us on

wednesday morning whether you're right there on the plaza or own personal plaza sending in you video. >> hashtag my today plaza. my today plaza. >> that's the hashtag to get on tv. >> every time we see those, we get so excited. send them in. we want to see you beautiful faces. a lot to get to. here's the news at 8:00. votes are still being counted in nail biter in ohio. special election, congressional race and still too close to call this morning. get right to nbc garrett in columbus with a look at where the results are at the moment. garrett, good morning. >> hey, good morning. savannah. republicans appear to have dodged a bullet in ohio only just barely. this race wasn't supposed to be close and this morning, it really couldn't get much closer. only about 2,000 votes separating the two candidates, they are still counting with the republican holding a narrow lead. now this morning, both parties are scrambling to learn whatever they can from this race before november. >> republican troy balderson

delivers victory speech in ohio last night without a clearcut victory. >> over the next three months, i'm going to do everything i can to keep america great again. >> ohio state senator currently sitting on a lead of less than a point. race too close to call in a district president trump carried by 11. >> can you believe how close this is? >>danny o'connor promising to continue the fight. >> we're not stopping. we keep fighting to november. >> this comes after major push from president stopping in ohio over the weekend. >> i tell you what, we're going to have a tremendous victory for troy. troy bolderson. >> in a tweet last night, mr. trump claiming his visit bushed balderson over the top. after my speech safturday night big turn for the better. now troy wins great victory during a tough time for voting, he wrote.

this was supposed to be safe territory for republicans, but attitudes are changing. >> i almost feel as if the president feels he's an autocrat instead of elected official and i don't like that. >> reporter: savannah, it's voters like that that give democrats hope here. if they can turn a district this reliably red and make it this close, there are a lot of other districts around the country less republican friendly that they can make very competitive in november. even if this one they couldn't quite get over the line. >> all right. garrett, thank you. paul manafort trial continues. rick gates returns to the stand. government witness admitting to stealing hundreds of thousands or dollars from former boss and using the finances to cover up extra marital affair. manafort's team calling today a good day after tuesday's aggressive cross-examination. second fraternity member is expected to enter guilty plea in connection with 2017 fraternity

hazing that led to death of penn state student timothy piazza. 19-year-old sophomore was served 18 drinks over 82 minutes. later died from trauma to head and abdomen. his expected guilty plea comes a week after another former fraternity brother ryan berg was? sentenced to three months house arrest. other fraternity brothers face charges in the case. this morning, california's largest ever wildfire is burning out of control. only 50 percent contained. just one of many blazes that could make this the worst fire season in california's history. 18 fires ravaging the state. record setting temperatures and winds and years of drought made it a catastrophe there. 40,000 firefighters have been called to front line. some coming as far as away as new zealand. thousands of homes threatened in

california. 11 days to burn an area that is as big as los angeles. all right. would you like to switch gears and do a morning boost. >> hump day boost. you know when you love a song and it comes on the radio and you get lost in the moment. a little girl knows all about this. getting attention online for smooth moves. might be a little young, but check her out. gets going and then wait. yes. uh-huh. uh-huh. she's feeling it. okay. i can't handle. >> i love here. >> we cannot handle her. anyway, she opens up her eyes and realizes people are watching. >> here's the thing, she's doing that, she has seen mom do that and dad do it. >> excellent. >> the music is in her. i love it. coming up, have we all been using the wrong tooth paste after all these years. new debate of what is best to prevent dreaded cavities.

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where the sun soaks the leaves with 4000 hours of sunshine before we pick them at the peak of freshness for a smooth refreshing taste and aroma in every cup of lipton. we are back with "today's" talker, all about a crucial part of your morning routine. we're talking about your toothpaste. dylan is in the orange room. there's a debate about this? >> kind of. a debate. throughout our life we've been told to brush our teeth, it prevents cavities. a new article in the dental journal says brushing alone may not be enough. you need to brush with fluoride. the journal's primary conclusion is without fluoride, oral

hygiene efforts have no impact on cavity rates. the dental association says it's important to debunk the idea that brushing teeth stops decay, you need fluoride. researchers recognized it as a cavity blocker but they haven't always agreed. amazon says two of the top four chltsz sellers are fluoride-free. my dentist asks what i do to keep my kids teeth white and clean. i use fluoride-free toothpaste. i switched to fluoride free, three cavities. switched back, no cavities. it's been linked to health issues. experts worry people are missing the most important ingredient in cavity protection. >> thank you. we're going to break it down a little more nbc correspondent dr. john torres is here with us. now, you look at those tubes and

they say all natural, they say organic. you think, wow, i'm doing something right for myself. by getting nonfluoride toothpaste are you harming your self? >> turns out you are. you're harming your teeth. part of a healthy mouth, getting that fluoride in there. what dylan was talking about. without fluoride, toothpaste and toothbrush mechanical delivery device, gets in there, takes care of food and tartare, but doesn't take care of cracks and crevices. that's what fluoride does, builds up enammal, helps areas we can't get with toothpaste. >> all natural organic, if they aren't effective, what's the point of using them. >> that doesn't mean fluoride free. they have nat ra with and without. fluoride doesn't protect from cavities. the others clean and refresh your mouth. >> what about kids, are they supposed to have fluoride for

their two teeth. talking about charlie. >> as soon as teeth erupt you want to use fluoride toothpastes on them. the amounts differ. from 0 to 3, just a small sliver. a grain of rice size on there. 3 to 6, a pea size. >> my pediatrician says make sure your daughter drinks water from the tap, there's fluoride there. >> tap water is the main one for people with municipal water that has fluoride in them. some people don't have that and you can get fluoride. >> we're having the debate, floss or not to floss. >> floss. >> does it help with cavities. >> it does if you do it the right way. >> boom. >> next time you're at the dentist ask about doing it correctly. >> just saved you cavities. >> al, where are you? >> all the way over here. hard to find but so good when you do. 40 million people at risk for heat advisories here in the

east. we've got this frontal system that's going to bring a little relief but not a lot. 85 in chicago, the heat index but 97 in new york city. charlotte 98 the heat index. springfield 89. not that much of a difference. out west we've got heat advisories in the southwest, southern california into vegas. we've also got them in the pacific northwest. big dome of heat dominating. that continues to bring the heat and the low humidity. 103 in redding, phoenix 107, billings 93. and we've got hurricane hector, category 3, moving to the south of hawaii. it may bring a few tropical force winds tomorrow, late tonight into tomorrow good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. a layer of smoke over the bay area actually keeping our temperatures down. and it will be up to 85 degrees today in san jose. but a little hot for antioch

into the 90s. and morgan hill today, 92 degrees. napa and santa rosa 84. and 64 in san francisco. inland area, still looking at highs in the 90s, and it will be hot with high ozone levels. slightly improved air quality for the weekend. >> and that's your latest weather. >> mr. roker, thank you so much. a little "pop start"? >> huge "pop start" today. let's first talk about the "brady bunch" house. it has a new owner. the home served as the exterior shot of the house used in the iconic show. it was recently put up for sale in california. former 'n sync member lance bass was interested in buying the house but expressed his disappointment when he learned he had been outbid. discovery ceo announced hgtv had actually won the bid for the house. >> wow. >> the cable channel is known for its remodeling shows and plans to restore the "brady bunch" home to full 1970s glory.

when lance bass heard the news, took to twitter to say. i'd be pretty upset if it it were anyone else. how can you be upset at hgtv, my channel is stuck there. i know you'll do the right thing with the house. >> they should hire lance bass to do the show featuring the house. >> coming up with ideas. up next kelly clarkson, last night the singer shared a sweet video of her daughter going to bed. she couldn't help but profess her love for her favorite singer. no, it's not her mom. >> i like chris martin. i like him. >> you like his song. >> i like his song, and i want to kiss him. >> what's the song. >> what's the song that you love? can you sing it? ♪ the stars shine for you

♪ everything you do >> singing runs in the family. >> that is river singing the song by coldplay. she's apparently seen the video. she tweeted, she wants to marry the boy in the video, which i informed her he's not a boy anymore. he has kids older than her. seth rogen sat down with jimmy fallon to talk about his film "like father." the two read funny dad texts. >> phone dying, just letting you know in case it dies. still on but low, fyi. 5%. 3% now. dying any second. call mom if you need me.

mom's phone at 46%. mom is now at 41. now upper 30s. back home now. charging. >> just seeing this now. omg. >> can you guys relate to that? >> absolutely. oh, yeah. >> finally a big exhibit, oil sketches of prince harry and prince william on display at prince and patron exhibition at buckingham palace. previously a part of prince charles private collection, this is the first official double portrait of the duke of sussex and the duke of cambridge dressed in regimental uniform. done in 2009 by artist nicky phillips. that's your "pop start." thank you. now to special series, try it today. in a story we've mentioned 1 or

2,000 times this morning. >> last night the two of us got a chance to be back-up singers for the legendary rod stewart, and we're not kidding, at madison square garden. it was sold out. it was epic. before we roll it, we want to apologize to any of you at home who have ears. >> or eyes. >> back stage at the rod stewart concert. >> we can't believe it. >> and we're in the show. >> in it. >> where is our place? >> that's right. the one and only sir rod stewart, a hitmaker for almost half a century sold records to millions of adoring fans called hoda and me into duty to serve as back-up singers on his latest tour. we were up to the task, kind of. >> hey. >> but first we had to pass the test with rod's more experienced back-up singers. >> want to learn to move? >> yes. >> wait a minute. ♪ forever young

>> yes. the universe. >> it was times like this we hoped the universe wasn't listening. >> six, seven and hips, and hips. >> or watching for that matter. ♪ forever young >> point to the audience when we get out there. ♪ forever young >> has anyone ever just died on stage. >> they still throw undergarments. >> what if you catch one? throw it back. >> okay. beware flying undergarments. check. but back to the hips. >> that's it. >> speaking of rocking, weather watcher officially ready to rock. >> yes, yes, yes, we have it. >> all in. one, two, three, forever young! >> we just needed to check in with a certain rock star. >> oh, my gosh.

>> do you understand this is a thrill of a lifetime. >> is this really happening? >> have you ever danced on the stage of madison square before? >> no, we haven't. >> don't mess it up. >> i can't believe you're letting us do this. >> i can't either. >> what's your fear? >> one of your will fall off the stage and i did see earlier you were knocking the wine back. this isn't my outfit, this is just for you two. >> this is not our show outfit either. we got dressed just for you. >> at 73, rod is releasing blood red roses, his 30th studio album. as far as tour performances, almost too many to count. but one thing you can always count on, that legendary hair. >> rod, your hair looks fantastic. >> i haven't even done it yet. >> feels so good. >> don't mess it up. >> can i touch it, too. i just want to see what it feels

like. it's very soft. >> okay. >> thank you for that. rod, knock 'em dead. we'll try to do our best. >> sing along, do what you want. just don't fall off the stage, i'm not insured. >> okay. >> next tip. don't fall off the stage. hopefully don't fall out of these dresses. >> rod, are you ready for this? >> to be honest, i don't think anyone was ready for this. but soon it was showtime. ♪ may you never love in vain in my heart always remain forever young ♪ ♪ forever young ♪ forever young ♪ forever young >> it was thrilling and terrifying and everything we

dreamed it would be. ♪ forever young >> please, big round of applause for the girls from the "today" show. they polished off all the wine in my dressing room. >> oh, my gosh. >> did that just happen. >> thank you, rod, we love you. we're available for your next record. >> he's not answering. >> oh, my gosh. >> you made us proud. >> how about it. >> you made us proud. >> you know who was in the audience? al roker. >> that was some roker footage we had in the piece. >> they had the seats on the floor but you have to stand the whole time. when you buy a seat you want to sit down, so i had a nice angle. >> it was really fun. >> for all of us who have never been on stage at madison square garden, can you see the crowd? do you see them looking at you? >> you do. i didn't know where to look. i kept looking at hoda.

we thought we got to stand together when we came out they separated us. we were like no. >> there was a lady, i was watching her because she was like all hands in the air. you know when you feel like you're having a moment out there. it was wild. >> you see the front row and it's kind of dark. >> yeah. >> when i came out, the first thing was like, rod stewart it's right there. that was a shocking thing. >> our hearts were seriously pounding. >> guess who we ran into after we came off the stage? >> al roker. >> just as exciting, cyndi lauper. there she was. >> she was just there. she opened for rod stewart. >> which was terrific. >> she said, hoda, why didn't you text me? >> you know who else was watching you? >> who? >> legendary producer clive davis. that's right. so he may sign you guys. >> or not. highly unlikely. >> don't know about that. a huge thank you to rod stewart, to madison square garden. we also want to mention rod's new album "blood red roses" will

be released september 8th. >> maybe he'll do a concert for us. >> going to have to hire back-up. >> there's your invitation. i )m ... an ominous new milestone this morning - for a record-setting wildfire. good morning, it is 8:26, i'm marcus washington. an ominous new milestone for a record setting wildfire. a short time a complex updated in mendocino county. two days ago it became the largest wildfire in history and this morning it surpassed 300,000 acres burning. also the number of homes destroyed went up from 75 to 116. thousands of homes remain threatened. now, this is a bit of a silver lining for us. containment is up 37%, up from last night.

and now we're following it in the bay area. >> let's get right to it. this is the south bay where we see very heavy delays. northbound, two lanes remain. pretty much bumper to bumper. you want to avoid the slowdowns through that area. not reporting on an estimated time when that is expected to reopen, following that crash. look at the rest of your drive. 85, you're looking at 32 minutes. i'll send it back toy. >> all right. thank you. of course, we have news going for you at nbcbayarea.com. we'll have more local news coming up in 30 minutes. welcome to the xfinity store.

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hey, everybody. welcome back. 8:30 now on this hump day, wednesday morning august 8th, 2018. look at our awesome crowd hanging out. by the way, savannah, a couple of people at the concert last night. >> really? >> i talked to people over there at the rod stewart concert whipping it up. >> i can't believe it. that's amazing. speaking of concerts, we've got some big ones coming up.

get out your calendar. 48 hours from now, grammy winner jason mraz will take over our citi stage. on wednesday, it's a biggie. aerosmith will be here. actually going to do something special. instead of performing on the plaza, aerosmith live across the street at the rock center rink. how cool is that? >> skalting? >> no ice skating now. it's going to be awesome. >> a crowd moment. i'll take this one. i'm looking for gina and angela. you guys are actually from. >> alexandria, virginia. >> that's home of savannah guthrie. >> one of you went to high school. >> i did, class of '80s. >> i wasn't going to give them all that. >> you remember her in a different way? >> yes, i do. she served me ice cream at scoops in the holland hall ice cream. >> can i tell you something?

i actually got fired from that job. you know what -- >> i had nothing to do with your being fired. >> there was a whole kids soccer team, i was giving it out because i couldn't handle it and somebody was watching from the parking lot. >> thank you. >> go feds, baby. go federals. >> how about that. you both got fired from ice cream jobs. >> i can't believe that. >> for eating inventory. >> it happens. >> coming up, one of hollywood's rising stars, his name is john david washington. he's got the leading role in spike lee's new film "blackkklansman." he also happens to be the son of denzel washington. coming up our conversation about the movie, getting the acting bug from his dad and all the lessons he learned from his mom. >> pauletta. >> oh, yeah. he's a mama's boy. >> another young star emmy nominee issa rae, her hit show

"in secure." what she's doing to give other women a boost in hollywood. >> we are cooking up a recipe for a farm fresh summer meal that will knock your socks off. >> before all that, mr. roker, another check of the weather. >> let's start up and show you what we've got for today. strong storms mid-atlantic, northeast, back to upper midwest, hot and dry weather in the pacific northwest into southern california. for tomorrow, record highs in the plains, the northern plains and northwest. a flood threat in the southwest. heavy rain through the lower mississippi river valley, showers through the southeast. look for some sunshine returning to the upper good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. it's a smoky start again as we take a live look outside in san jose. it's an air alert day. it's going to be unhealthy to be outside in the inland east bay

as well as the santa clara valley. temperatures heading up to 85 degrees. 90s inland. and 84 degrees in santa rosa and napa. san francisco, 64. and expect the air quality to continue to be unhealthy. don't forget, you can take us with you any time you leave the house, just go "today" sirius exxm, channel 108, a hug contingent from cleveland. cleveland rocks. way to go. nice to see all my friends from the greatest location in the nation. now back inside to you guys. >> al, thank you. we've been catching up with spike lee and stars of his movie the "blackkklansman" all week long. you got to meet the main guy. >> john washington, a lot of buzz around his performance in particular. he happens to be the son of oscar winner denzel washington. we sat down with john david and talked about his breakout big screen role and what it was like

growing up as the son of a hollywood icon. >> we think you might be the man to open things up around here. >> sometimes the role of a lifetime comes via text. >> how did you land this gig? >> so i was on location for another film in cincinnati, and i get a text saying spike was calling me. >> spike, as in legendary director spike lee. the filmmaker wanted john david washington to play the lead in "blackkklansman," a movie based on real life story of colorado detective ron stallworth who infiltrated kkk. >> over the phone and in person, a combined john stallworth. >> can you do that? >> i believe we can with the right white man. >> what was it like for you. >> seeing a group of people help this african-american man acleave the goal to execute this mission. they believed in the case, they

believed in him, and they did not look like him at that time in colorado springs. >> the movie is funny, relevant, and at times tough to watch. most difficult scene in the movie for you. >> banquet scene. >> the true white american race, the backbone from whence came our southern heritage. >> the banquet scene felt the most authentic, all those hoods and celebration of this institution, institution of hate. talking and hanging out with fellow actors playing clansmen, we had to joke around between takes to get out of it and shake it out because of how real it felt that day. >> black clansmen isn't the first for ai into spike lee film. at nine he appeared at malcolm x. co-starring with a certain other actor with the same last night. >> we didn't land on plymouth rock, plymouth rock landed on us. >> john david washington is denzel's son.

lest you forget, the son of pauletta washington. >> as you got started in this business, being the son of denzel washington -- >> and pauletta washington. >> thank you. >> earning more money than he was when they married, before they got married she was on broadway working. she paid for the first date, paid the bill, paid the cab ride. so classically trained pianists, went to juilliard. she's a great artist in her own right. i learned a lot from her. make i father taught me how to hunt. my mother taught me how to love. >> seeing dad act on one of the toughest stages hooked a young j.d. >> my father did shakespeare in the park when i was 5 years old, richard iii. seeing him up there limping, it was sort of like a mullet going on. i thought it was the coolest thing ever. i wanted to do that. >> instead of running po' into that same spotlight john david initially ran from it and onto the football field. >> as he started becoming successful, people started changing around me.

it gave me a little anxiety, resentment, anger. so all those emotions that were happening to me, i filtered them through this outlet, football. >> football carried him through college and briefly into the pros before an injury closed the door on the game and opened another for acting. playing ricky in hbo's ballers. >> you didn't leave us to help me, you left because you are a coward. >> now with "blackkklansman," john david is set to make his own mark on hollywood. if the standing ovation at the cannes film festival is any indication, washington is well on his way. >> the reaction when the film stopped. >> like winning the super bowl. i never won anything when i played. that felt amazing. >> one of the things i really enjoyed about him is you get the sense that he's still very much

appreciative of all of this. authentic and all that stuff but he's very blessed. he knows that he's blessed. there are times -- you guys have both seen the film. you close your eyes and it's like oh, it's denzel washington. he sounds just like your dad. >> al said your first reaction. >> sometimes if you just listen to it, he's got those intone asian. >> not real in the film. >> really? >> it premiers this friday, "blackkklansman" opens in theaters this friday. it opens -- it's coinciding with the first anniversary of charlottesville. >> thank you, craig. speaking of young stars, check her out. the fabulous issa rae is here. we're going to talk to her. but first this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back.

the very funny and talented issa rae. she's creator and star of hit series called "insecure." it returns. we find issa trying to get her life together after a breakup with her ex-boyfriend and living with her on-again, off-again fling daniel because of course she wants to save money. >> focus on getting money so i can get up out of there. you know, it's been two weeks already. >> you should have just stayed with me. >> no, girl, remember when i stayed with you back in '05? >> just broke my vase. >> this show i love. you -- first of all, everything is happening for you. can we point out for one second, number one starting off-season 3. number two, you got your very first emmy nomination for a leading lady in a comedy. tell me what that felt like. where were you when you got that call? >> i was working with marseille

martin on "black-ish" and will packer. he came in, said i've got an announcement to make. i didn't have my phone on me. when i work i work. i just forgot it. he came in and said i want to make an announcement. congratulate for the "black-ish" nomination and for the very first time -- i was like, shut up. it was amazing, an incredible feeling. the whole crew was there. the whole crew was there and i got embarrassed. he got my video and it looks like just another day getting the emmy but i was really mortified. >> can you believe, you wrote this thing, you star in it, you produce it. this is really your baby. not only that, your lead character you is named issa. what is that about? that's got to be hard to separate in real life? >> it was about not putting any thought into it. the script was called "untitled" the show was called "untitled" a

long time. i'll figure out the name later. let me just make it my name. you don't imagine at the time of shooting the character's name was issa. i said, fine. >> fine. tell me what it's like when you walk down the street? >> it's a lot of people thinking they know you, know your life, know the decisions you made. it's hard for people to separate. >> because it's your name? >> because it's my name. even when people talk mess about the character, it's still me and my name, so it's hard to separate. it's the worst decision i ever made. >> your boyfriend -- former boyfriend lawrence in the show is not -- i noticed in three we don't see any signs of him. your fans are mad. they are telling you they are mad. >> they started a petition, an online petition. it hasn't aired yet. they have over 10,000 signatures for us to bring him back on the show. it's like, we finished it

already. >> sorry dude. >> sorry. it's like if the petition works, they are going to bring us to hbo. hbo is going to be like, guys, 10,000 people -- forget your creative vision, 10,000 people want this character back. are they going to pay for it? >> speaking of fans, is it weird barack and michelle obama like this show. how did you know about that and what does it make you feel like? >> weird but also the best thing ever. on two separate occasions i got to go to the white house with my mom in december. barack obama told me, he complimented the soundtrack, he complimented yvonne who plays molly, about being creative, black women. a year later i went to go see michelle obama speak in boston. me and tiffany haddish stand in line. hey. had to tell me she did not

approve of how the finale made her feel. terrible misdirect. she told me sasha and malia put her onto the show. >> that's crazy. you've got other projects in addition to this? >> i'm working on a couple of projects with hbo, working with other creators. i'm just excited to see what's next. >> we are so happy for you and your success. congrats on the emmy nod. can't wait. a long run, more to see. >> i hope so. >> new season of "insecure" kicks off on hbo. farm to table meal kicking off the tastes of summer

>> announcer: "today" food brought to you by hipton, picked at the peak of freshness, naturally smooth taste. this morning on "today" food, a farm to table meal that

everyone will love. chef cassidy is here to show us how it's done. executive chef at barn at blackberry farm. it's down in tennessee. i've heard great things about blackberry, what's it like this time of year? >> the garden is covered in vegetables, mushrooms in the wood. >> what are we going to make this morning? >> today we're going to make cast iron steak and creamed corn. i didn't see it so much in new york but we have pickup trucks on the side of the road just covered up with corn. >> that's tennessee. they don't do creamed corn like that in new york. what are we working with? >> beef, oil, butter, garlic, oil. >> how do we do it? >> quickly how to get the herbs off, give it a go. hold it at the top and push your finger down. >> that's easy. >> it's that easy. >> we're using rosemary. >> rosemary, thyme and garlic, throw it in the blender, fill it

up with oil. >> all of it? >> sure. >> put it all in. >> then we'll blend it. >> all right. you can typically gauge how -- >> trust me, we blend it. >> here it is. >> you can typically gauge how well a dish is received by the silence at the eating table. >> chowing down. >> i like that about you guys. let's put that on the steak. it's important to pull your meat out an hour, hour and a half before you cook it because you want it to be room temperatures so it retains juiciness. >> pat it dry as well. >> pat it dry and season liberally. you're going to lose a lot of that salt. >> that is liberally. i like that. >> don't be afraid of the salt. >> no. >> do you use all the sauce on the beef? >> no. you can keep it in the frig. >> how hot is the pan? >> it was in a 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. this is super high heat. so we're going to cook it for

three to four minutes on one side, flip it over, throw it back into our oven and let it rest. >> how long do you let it rest? >> i would say five minutes. you want all those juices to go right back into the steak instead of the cutting board. >> i see you have butter. is that regular butter? >> i like european butter with higher fat content. >> higher fat. >> also you can see what's happening here is you've got those meat juices and butter. that's where you're going to want to put your bread. >> to sop it up. >> i love it. >> so give it a cut. >> that's beautiful. >> i can just go in and order this from my butcher. >> you can. some people call it deckel and some beef rib-eye cap. >> corn. >> you know how to take it off the corn. >> i'm from south carolina. >> that doesn't mean anything. >> yes, bam. bam. boom. >> man.

all right. >> we've got the corn off the cob. >> brought the heat. >> scrape it. >> she's going after you, then she's going after your family. >> all right. so we're scraping, we're scraping. we've got onions cooking. we're going to dump in corn and thyme. we have all of our scraped bits, a little bit of water. >> a little bit of water. >> you want to cover it with water. >> how long do we let that cook. >> reduce it by half, about 10 minutes. >> i'm going to do my part and stir. they do teach us to stir in the palmetto state. >> bless your heart. >> the ultimate putdown. >> man, threw in a bless your heart. >> we blend it for how long? >> we blend it until it's pureed, then dump it in here. >> we've run out of time. >> there you go. >> now, we've got all the time in the world. >> what a debut here on the "today" show. thank you so much. for more on the recipe head to

today.com/food. c cassidy, thank you so ch >> thismu. i

welcome back. savannah left a little early. she's joining megyn kelly at the top of the hour of her show. >> before wreh go, we want to tell you about a campaign nbc cable universal is launching. it's called a race to hate. it addresses issues of bias and hate in america. >> music producer with princess nokia to create a song and video to serve as an anthem for the campaign. here is the first look at erase the hate. >> here is the people who work every day who make the world better, stronger and great. now is the time, time for a change, join hands together and erase the hate. we need artists play with passion, rap and sing and stand into action, we need leaders to speak to the youth, bringing up

quality, courage and truth. we may start over, begin as one, erase the hate and stand for a cause. >> erase the hate. >> catchy catchy. i like that. >> i was tapping the whole time. see the whole thing and learn more about the campaign, head to today.com. >> all right, guys. in the fourth hour we have a lot coming up. kathie lee and i are going to get busy with how you pay i )m a deadly weekend house good morning, 8:56 right now. i'm marcus washington. a deadly weekend house fire in vallejo is now turning for the search for a killer. the 14-year-old twins died with their mother after the sunday morning house fire. their 11-year-old sister escaped that fire. the police are calling it a crime. so far, they're not saying

whether there are potential suspects. police are not confirming and not telling us if they considered him a suspect. >> happening now, a memorial is growing outside of that home where those family members died. and reaching out to vallejo police speaking to people who knew the victims. you can learn more on our twitter feed. and the mendocino fire surge has passed an ominous milestone. more than 300,000 acres have burned. and it's 116 homes burned and up to thousands of more homes threatened. at midday, we'll have the impact on air quality and also go to our home page at anytime for those updates. we'll have more local news coming up in an hour.

keep you safe on crime with the rash of recent crimes. plus, a local delivery did not pan out.

good morning, everyone. welcome to the show. i'm megyn kelly. today is wednesday, or as we like to call it savensday. help me welcome savannah guthrie. >> hi. >> i like your dress. >> likewise. >> good morning. >> savensday. >> i just ran over here. >> the test will be if she will still do this for me in the winters. >> put the coat on, actually go across the street. >> the fas