good morning. mass shooting tragedy. >> attention, all police, aurora does have an active shooter. >> five innocent victims killed, five police officers shot and wounded as a man getting fired from a manufacturing company in aurora, illinois, started gunning down his coworkers. >> this response by law enforcement from federal, state, and local agencies did not surprise me, but it still overwhelms me. >> the gunman, dead. the questions, swirling this morning. were there any warning signs and how can future attacks like this be stopped? we're live on the scene. national emergency backlash. president trump preparing for a fight this morning one day after declaring a national emergency to pay for his border wall, even

as he admits he didn't have to take this ruoute. >> i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. >> did the president torpedo his chances in the courts? questioned and released, the two brothers who had been in police custody in connection with the alleged attack on "empire" actor jussie smollett are free this morning. so where does the investigation go from here? all that plus breaking overnight, an ex-cardinal defrocked by the vatican amid an ongoing sex abuse sandal. "hamilton" scare. mass chaos as people run for the exits during the "hamilton" show in san francisco. what happened to set off the panic. and the show will go on as planned. the academy makes a major reversal just days after saying it would cut four categories from the oscars live broadcast. how hollywood's biggest stars helped make it happen. today, saturday, february 16, 2019.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with sheinelle jones, peter alexander, and dylan dreyer. live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. good morning and welcome to "today" and thank you for joining us on this busy saturday morning. >> yeah, and sadly, on this saturday, it's another morning that we wake up to another senseless tragedy, this time a mass shooting in illinois. police there revealing new details overnight. we want to get you caught up on the very latest. five people were killed inside the henry pratt company plant. the gunman, also taking aim at police officers who stormed the building to try to take him down. five officers, in total, were injured before the suspect was eventually shot and killed by police. investigators say the gunman had been fired from his job just hours before he started shootsing. >> overnight, police searched the shooter's home looking for evidence of why he may have plotted third-degr

plotted this awful attack. ron mott is in illinois with more. >> reporter: investigators are trying to figure out just how much planning went into this shooting. they say this employee showed up at work with a gun on a day he was being fired and when it was all over, lives were shattered and yet another american town dealing with bloodshed and tears. >> attention, all police, aurora does have an active shooter. >> reporter: this morning, a community, stunned. >> requesting as many ambulances as possible for an active shooter with many injuries. >> reporter: police say a 15-year employee, 45-year-old gary martin, who was in the process of being terminated, opened fire at the henry pratt company plant in aurora, killing five coworkers, shooting another, wounding five officers who responded to the scene. all the officers suffered non-life threatening injuries, the chief says. >> i saw hundreds of uniformed officers ready to assist. this response by law enforcement from federal, state, and local agencies did not surprise me, but it still overwhelms me.

we still lost lives today, and it cannot be overstated that those people did not deserve this. >> reporter: the chief said the first officers who arrived were immediately fired upon as did a subsequent group of police. >> they got the shooter neutralized. >> reporter: authorities say police shot and killed martin, his home surrounded by law enforcement late into the evening. the workplace mass shooting prompted a flurry of lockdowns at neighboring businesses and schools. one student stayed home sick but was too close for comfort. >> i was in my room and i laerd a lot of gunshots so i got down on the floor and peeked out the window and saw a lot of cop cars pulling up. >> it was very traumatizing. >> you rushed toward danger. >> reporter: illinois governor offered condolences to affected families and praised first responders. >> there are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, and their futures. >> reporter: as the investigation unfolds, the state's second largest city asking a new familiar question

posed around america, why us? officials have yet to identify the five people who lost their lives here yesterday. they have planned another media briefing for later this morning hoping to provide at least some explanation for why this has happened yet again. >> sean henry is an nbc secure analyst, also a former top fbi official. he's in studio with us this morning. >> ron just asked that question, why. obviously the investigation is still new at this point but here we are less than 24 hours later. what are investigators looking for at this hour? >> i think they're looking at what the motivation was. i think originally people will suspect that this was a disgruntled employee, recently fired or about to be fired but they'll looking for writings. we know they executed a search warrant, looking at his social media or any computer devices, talking to relatives and his coworkers to find out what may have set him off. >> it's another day to be

grateful for the heroics of these law enforcement officials who rush in on days like this. we know police arrived on the scene about four minutes after the first calls came in. law enforcement appears to have done something right here. is this the tactic, though, to rush in on an occasion like this. >> law enforcement officers do things right every day. when you see how they put themselves in the line of fire, absolutely, when you've got an active shooter, it's very different than traditional law enforcement techniques, when you're executing a search warrant or looking for an armed fugitive, it's slow, it's very deliberate, you might be using shields. in a case like this, where you've got an active shooter, who is going through a building, the primary objective is to save the lives of the people inside, and law enforcement change -- trains for active shooters by going towards the shots. they give up concealment. they give up their safety to get to the shooter as quickly as they can, to neutralize that threat. in this case, we see five officers who were shot, putting their lives on the line. these are officers, heroes, and

they likely saved lives. >> you used the word training and here's my question. we always talk about red flags. the mother of this man said he was stressed out, he was set to be fired yesterday. are there red flags, perhaps, that we missed? >> there often are red flags but not always. sometimes people are distraught, they're quiet, they're not out actively speaking about what they're about to do. but i think when we're looking at incidents like this, we want to know if there were clear targets, and to let people know, alert them that when they see certain signs, they need to bring them to law enforcement, they need to bring them to their supervisors, to let them know that somebody might be on the edge. >> sean henry, thank you so much, another day to celebrate the heroics of those who went in and think about the families of those who lost lives. let's turn to another big story that's still developing this morning, the president's decision to declare a national emergency to pay for the border wall. the president says he's ready for a fight but so are his opponents. kelly o'donnell is traveling

with the president, near his florida estate. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. the white house is defending the president's ability to, on the one hand, take what congress gave him by signing into law that compromise border security funding package but at the same time going around congress by the white house looking for what they called pots of money approved by lawmakers for other purposes and diverting that to build a border wall. the president himself says he knows his action will set in motion a legal fight. with his border wall national emergency declared, the president is taking a long holiday weekend in palm beach. >> hi, everybody. >> reporter: after amping up the alarm. >> because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people, and it's unacceptable. >> reporter: congress approved enough money for 55 miles of new border barrier, $1.375 billion. the president plans to divert another almost $7 billion, much of it previously approved for

other purposes, including military construction projects. but as he tests this executive power, he appeared to undercut the core urgency of this declaration. >> i could do the wall over a longer period of time. i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. >> reporter: the president let his frustration show that congress failed to fund his campaign promise when republicans had control. >> i'm very disappointed at certain people, particular one, for not having pushed this faster. >> are you referring to -- >> who? >> speaker ryan. >> let's not talk about it. >> reporter: but he did open up about the influence of conservative media stars. >> sean hannity has been a terrific. rush limbaugh, i think he's a good guy. ann coulter, i don't know her. >> reporter: he insists those voices don't direct his actions. >> they don't decide policy. >> reporter: but as he boasted about democrats approving some

barrier funding to avert another shutdown. >> he's not going to get $1. well, i got $1.4 billion. >> reporter: the president lamented the expected court challenges. >> i think what will happen is, sadly, we'll be sued. >> reporter: friday, democrats on the 2020 campaign trail denounced mr. trump's use of a national emergency. kamala harris in south carolina. >> it is playing politics with taxpayer resources. it is about creating a crisis of his own making. >> reporter: and despite this being a core promise of his 2016 campaign, the president said this is not about his reelection and said democrats want the border wall to be a fight. he claims that he's already done enough on a border wall to convince his voters to stick with him. sheinelle, peter. >> kelly, thank you. several states and civil rights groups are already ling up to challenge the president's plan in court. nbc's pete williams is our justice correspondent.

pete, what power does a president have to declare a national emergency? >> well, it's pretty wide. it comes under a 40-year law and it gives him power to declare an emergency even for something that's not really a crisis. opponents of the declaration are saying there isn't any actual emergency on the border and they point to what the president said in the answer to the question yesterday that he could do the wall over a longer period of time and didn't need to do this but the lawsuits will undoubtedly cite that comment as proof there isn't a crisis, just as the lawsuits against the travel ban cited the statements during the campaign that what he really wanted was a muslim ban. the real meat of this fight is going to be what he wants to do with that emergency declaration authority. >> what are the likely legal challenges that he will see ahead? >> the first one is the constitutional argument, that the president is spending money that congress didn't approve for something congress opposes but some legal scholars are saying

that argument was actually undercut this week when the congress gave the president more than a billion dollars to work on the wall. a lawsuit has already been filed. the aclu is saying it will argue this next week, that what the president is doing is illegal. this is the statutory argument. because he wants to use the pentagon's money for a non-military purpose, given that troops are not allowed to conduct civilian law enforcement like border patrol but the president says this is national security. the courts tend to defer to the white house on such things, but you can be sure, however, that plays out, this is going to go on for at least a year in the courts, probably ending up in the supreme court. >> pete, of course, no lack of news in d.c. these days, some new developments as they relate to paul manafort. what more is there to tell us there? >> so, two new things this morning, peter. we now know that the judge in the washington, d.c., case where he pleaded guilty said in court this week that he told so many lies after pleading guilty when he was questioned by the special

counsel and the grand jury that it raised questions about where his loyalties lie, whether he was trying to protect this man, constantine, who is suspected of having connections to russian intelligence and then in a separate virginia case, the trial where he was convicted, the prosecutors say he should get a harsh punishment because his bank and tax fraud was so brazen, peter. >> nbc's justice correspondent pete williams, pete, thank you. let's bring in nbc news analyst robert costa, a national political reporter for the "washington post" as well as the moderator of "washington week" on pbs. >> the president clearly traded a fight in congress for a battle in the courts. the democrats already pounced on this national emergency declaration. chuck schumer, nancy pelosi saying it amounts to a crisis that does not exist. for the president, was this more of a political crisis or was it, in fact, a real crisis at the border that he's reacting to? >> reporter: the data out there does not back up the president's

claims that there is a crisis at the border. is there a humanitarian crisis? certainly at some level, there is. but in terms of border apprehensions being escalated in recent years, that is just not the case. what we see for the president is a political challenge mounting as well as a legal challenge on capitol hill, democrats are already talking about moving legislation to disapprove of the president's decision and that could be taken up at one point by the republican-controlled senate. >> you and your colleagues at the "washington post" wrote about the drama inside the white house on thursday with the president threatening not to sign, essentially, the legislation that would keep the government up and running. give us some perspective here. why was he so upset and how close did he come to really just blowing up the whole deal? >> quite close. this was his signature campaign promise, and by only getting 55 miles of wall and border barrier money, he was very disappointed, according to his confidantes. he wanted more. he felt his core voters deserved more. he rallied his voters in el paso, texas, earlier in the

week, and it took senate majority leader mitch mcconnell making phone call after phone call to the president to finally get him to sign it, a disappointment for many inside the west wing. >> and robert, republicans haven't entirely been behind this thing either. even mitch mcconnell was against it before he was with the president on it this week. we also heard from ann coulter, the popular conservative commentator who was fiercely critical of the president's declaration. here's what she said. >> the only national emergency is that our president is an idiot. >> the only national emergency is that our president is an idiot, from someone that's popular from some within the president's base. i kweguess the question is doese president's new act have impact on republicans and his base. >> it does. if you think about 2018, the midterm elections, the president used the immigration issue to try to rally his voters. as he looks ahead to 2020, what was on the arena side when he rallied in el paso? a new slogan, finish the fall.

immigration is, again, a motivating tool as well as a policy issue for this president. he's trying to make sure the ann coulters of the world, that conservative base, is with him as he faces many challenges. >> finally, we've learned that a white house press secretary sarah sanders was interviewed by special counsel robert mueller in the office late last year. what's the latest on the thought on when this investigation will be wrapped up? >> that will be a decision in part by, of course, robert mueller, but it will be something that the new attorney general, william barr, confirmed this week, will have to now oversee. attorney general jeff sessions acting attorney general matt whitaker, they're gone and it's now for barr, a two-time attorney general, to try to handle this very delicate political and legal issue. >> handled a lot of topics there. robert costa, thank you for your time this morning. dylan here -- dylan, i should say, is off this morning. here instead our friend dave price from wnbc. >> lot to talk about in the weather department so let's get

to it. winter storm along the eastern seaboard beginning to bring some snow and rain from kentucky and west virginia to virginia and rain to the carolinas. this is the same system, by the way, that brought all of that rain and that mountain snow out in california, racing across the country at 150 miles per hour, so snow and ice, it begins to work its way out into the atlantic as we head into the rest of the day and as the weekend wraps up. winter alert, though. for another storm system, rolling to the west, 17 million people under warnings or advisories right now, so watch it, you could have some travel trouble as you head up to the pacific northwest and rolling into the northern plain states. let's talk about where this system's going to go. it's going to begin to push on through and eventually snow's going to develop for the plains. travel impacts likely but nothing particularly serious as we roll into sunday, it works its way through the midwest. rain will develop for the south with that warmer air beginning to come into play. that's a quick look at our

we still have plenty of showers pushing through the bay area. we have that low-level snow. we are expecting a wintry mix in the mountaintops. stormranger is scanning rain, pushing through south san mateo fremont area. the santa cruz mountains, expect to keep diminishing this afternoon with a chance to pick up later this evening. >> and at 18 minutes past the hour, that's a look at your weather. >> nice to see you, dave. >> thank you very much. still to come right here, new twists and turns overnight in the alleged attack on "empire" actor jussie smollett. what police are now saying after two men who were in custody were released. plus the incredibly sweet moment a toddler met the nfl player who is just like him. we're back after this. >> sweet story.

test.

we are back on a saturday morning with the weekly download, our look back at the week that was. >> the headlines were dominated by the back and forth over the border wall but there were a lot of stories that we covered as well, beginning with another huge dose of winter. >> whiteouts and wipeouts. a massive winter storm pounded tens of millions in the eastern half of the country, causing treacherous travel conditions, leading to mass power outages and making life just plain miserable. >> let me make it safely to where i need to be. >> got to be careful out here, can't go too fast. guilty. mexican drug kingpin joaquin "el chapo" guzman convicted. crimes spanning a quarter century. >> this conviction is a victory for every family that lost a

loved one. el chapo now set to spend the rest of his life behind bars. alongside some of the most notorious criminals of the world. a small plane crashed in kenya. killing all five on board. >> a witness told kenyan media a woman tried to jump out of the plane but was tangled in her seat belt. amazon cancelled plans. to build a second headquarters after fierce backlash from lawmakers and unions. critics praised the decision. lost in space. >> even though it's a machine and we're saying good-bye, it's still very hard. >> nasa finally declared the mars opportunity rover gone forever after it vanished during a dust storm last summer. it marked the end of a 15-year mission to the red planet. i was just kind of screaming the whole time, doing my barbarian yell as best i could. the colorado man who was attacked by a mountain lion while jogging spoke out this week, describing the moment he realized he had to kill the

animal with his bare hands to survive. >> it really clicked after i hit it in the head with a rock and it still didn't release my wrist that more drastic measures were necessary. all hail the king. >> he's best in show. >> this wire fox terrier named king won best in show at the westminster kennel club dog show. some of the week's most memorable moments caught on camera. this was a high speed police chase you don't see every day, the fugitive leading officers on a wild ride across a florida golf course. stunned golfers scrambling for safety. mom, it's escaping. >> a chimpanzee used a branch to escape a so enclosure in northern ireland, eventually returning on its own. 76ers star joel embiid chased a loose ball into the stands, leaping over actress regina king, who was sitting court side. fortunately, no one was hurt. take a photo? let's do it.

>> and shaquem griffin, the first one-handed player ever to be drafted in the nfl embraced a toddler who was born without a left hand of his own. the meeting melting hearts worldwide. >> he's adorable. we had him on the third hour a couple days ago, just as adorable as he could be. we surprised him with another little girl whose mom they met on facebook with the same condition, and they were saying with guys like him, it shows the sky is the limit. there's no limitation on what you can do. he's playing in the nfl with one arm. >> it's amazing. he and his twin brother on the same team in the nfl. he was not defined by his disability. that was a story with the highlight of the week. >> that's what you need on a day like today. >> tell me about it. still to come on "today," an about face at the oscars after an uproar by some of hollywood's biggest stars. then your burning tax questions answered, what are the big changes this year. we are back after your local news. we are back after your local news. take a live look outside -

oakland good saturday morning to you. it is 5:26. here is a live look outside in oakland. wow. lots of rain coming down in the northern part of the bay area right now. we hope you are home and warm. thank you very much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast. as i drove further south, the rain wasn't as bad. >> we are seeing some decent pockets of rain right now. we have plenty of moisture out there. if i zoom in you can see we have a couple of cells moving in. as a matter of fact, just passing through san francisco, now moving into san ramon and

the east bay and the fremont area. expect some light to moderate rain within the next couple of minutes. this is what will continue throughout the morning hours. we're getting a good downpour in san jose. the santa cruz mountains always a stuff commute, especially during these conditions. we have already seen low elevation snow. we will continue to monitor that wintry mix this afternoon. there are no active flood watches or warnings or wind warnings in place. there is a closal flood advisory forcoastline. as far as flood warnings and wind warnings, there is that potential. i'll break down the timeline coming up at 7:00 a.m. >> good news. it was a chaotic at the ending of last night's performance of hamilton in san francisco. hundreds rushed out of the

theater thinking there was an attack. the musical played to a full house at the orpheum theater. people reportedly heard there was someone inside with a gun. they all started screaming, leading others into a panic running out of the theater an sending the hamilton cast back stage. what audience members thought was an active shooter was a medical emergency. a boy reportedly had a seizure at the same time there was a gunshot sound coming from the play. confusing the crowd. >> people in the crowd got scared. they thought maybe someone had a gun, so everybody started to run out of the theater. ended up there was no one with a gun. no shots fired. just a medical emergency. two other people had to be transported to the hospital with injuries to their head and leg. both are expected to be okay. now back to the weather. more traffic headaches on highway 37 this morning as crews work to fix a levee breach that has part of a north bay artery

closed. water is rushing next to highway 37, the swollen novato creek broke through a levee on thursday. several inches of water is flooding the westbound lanes in novato. that part of the highway is closed. drivers say the closure means more cars on side streets. >> it took me twice as long to get to work and to school because i drop off my brother. >> crews started working on the fix last night closing one lane of 37 eastbound. work is expected to continue for several days. caltrans says it can't reopen the flooded lanes until the breach is fixed. coming up this morning on "today in the bay" at 7:00. we hope to see you then.

we are back on this saturday morning. february 16, 2019, a chilly one here in new york. we thank everybody for being here. we'll have a bit of a warm-up on friday. sadly many of those folks will already have been gone by then. we begin this half an hour with a check of the today's headlines. a man who had just been fired from his manufacturing job went on a shooting rampage in aurora, illinois. five people there were killed. five police officers also were shot and wounded. the suspect was killed. investigators raided the gunman's home overnight to try to figure out how much of his attack was preplanned. vice president mike pence spoke at the security conference in munich just moments ago, slamming america's closest

allies for what he calls their coddling of iran. >> the time has come for all of us to act. the time has come for our european partners to stop undermining u.s. sanctions against this murderous revolutionary regime. >> the vice president also said the u.s. will keep a strong presence in the middle east and will keep up the fight against isis. some breaking news overnight, the vatican has defrocked, graced ex-cardinal and the former archbishop of washington, d.c., theodore mccarrick. the move comes just days ahead of the gathering led by the pope that brings together bishops from around the world to discuss the sex abuse crisis affecting the catholic church. and a road show of the hit musical "hamilton" in san francisco turned into chaos overnight. look at this. audience members scrambled for safety when they mistakenly thought there was an active shooter in the theater.

it turns out an audience member was having a medical emergency. a boy had a seizure and then another patron had a heart attack. >> frightening scene there. another story that we are following this morning, new developments in that alleged attack on "empire" actor jussie smollett. chicago police now say that the two men they'd arrested in connection with the case have been freed without any charges being filed. nbc's cathy park is here with more on where the investigation stands this morning. good morning. >> peter, good morning. police say one of the two brothers from nigeria worked at as extra on "empire" but overnight, both were released and are no longer considered suspects. this morning we're still no closer to finding out what exactly happened to smollett. overnight, new evidence in the reported attack against "empire" actor jussie smollett set two men free. >> innocence prevailed, all right? my guys are walking home, they're not charged, they are not suspects in this case. >> reporter: the latest twist comes just hours after chicago police arrested the brothers

from nigeria. investigators searched their home, finding a black ski mask, bottles of bleach, and an "empire" script. police sources tell nbc that one of the suspects worked as an extra on the tv show. the release of grainy surveillance photos from the night of the alleged attack raising more questions, which smollett tried to address in an interview with abc. >> i don't have any doubt in my mind that that's them. >> reporter: throughout their investigation, police have described the incident as an alleged assault and battery, finding no evidence of a crime after screening hours of security video. smollett, who is black and openly gay, stood by his account, saying his attackers shouted racist and homophobic slurs and became violent. >> he said, this maga country, [ bleep ], and punches me right in the face so i punched his ass back. >> shortly after speaking out, his story faced more scrutiny

with growing speculation from local media that it was staged and part of a narrative to keep his character from being written off the show. police dismissed those reports while producers called the claim, patently ridiculous. >> i want them to stop being able to say alleged attack. >> reporter: a star fighting back. this time, trying to bring closure to a case that has captured the nation's attention. and smollett has stayed silent since friday's arrest. chicago police never released the identities of the men they took into custody. detectives say they have more investigative work to complete. so, still a lot of questions out there. >> lot of people trying to get to the bottom of this. also this morning, big news at the oscars. last night, the motion picture academy reversed its controversial decision to cut certain categories from this year's live oscars broadcast. the decision came after a huge backlash from some big hollywood stars. nbc's morgan chesky is in los angeles to explain.

>> it's been a rough year. this will be the first oscars without a host after the kevin hart controversy and late on friday after some serious pushback, the organization said its plan to cut certain categories is now officially out of the picture. it's the oscar drama deserving its own screen play, a plan originally pitched to save time now leaving the academy trying to save face. on friday, a major reversal. the academy saying it will no longer cut four categories from the telecast. film editing, make-up and hair styling, live action short, and cinematography. >> as a director, without my cinematographer, without my editor, without hair and make-up, there is no movie. >> director spike lee, far from the only celebrity speaking out, in a letter to the organization, other a-listers were critical, calling it nothing less than an insult. in return, the academy responded, saying they heard the feedback from its membership. all academy awards will be presented without edits in our traditional format.

>> i think the academy is struggling to try make sure that this show not only is entertaining but also gets ratings. >> the move follows a year that's left the academy back pedaling. in august, the group announced a new category for popular achievement, but dropped the idea before even explaining what it entailed. then, in december, host kevin hart announced he would be stepping down following a series of homophobic tweets that surfaced from years past. >> the oscars are in the news more than they ever have been so you actually could have people tuning in to see what's going to happen. >> the academy stresses come next sunday the show minus its host will still go on as planned. as it has for the past 90 years. so, tune in to witness the joy of an oscar-winning cinematographer or make-up artist. best picture will come soon enough. now, entertainment critics say the big question now is if this year's no host show model will actually work. if it does, they say don't expect a host come next year

either. peter, sheinelle. >> who knows, maybe with all this controversy, people will, like he said, tune in to see what's going to happen. >> standing ovation for the cinematographer. dave price is back with another check of the weather. >> well, peter, sheinelle, as we take a look at west, another storm system begins to roll on through. this one not as strong as what we've seen over the past couple weeks but keep in mind some of the highest peaks have seen 200 inches of snow and of course we've seen, in some locations throughout california, upwards of a foot of rain. so more coming your way. so, it's not affecting a large swath of population, probably a couple million people under advisories and warnings, but enough that it is important to note yet another storm system rolls out west. so it begins to meander, working its way slowly, rain and snow continues, heavy snow for the sierra nevada and kind of meanders out west and winds up in the southwest as it works its way through the workweek. let's see what we can expect with respect to rainfall and

snowfall. looks like we're going to see probably anywhere from a quarter to a half inch widespread up to an inch in some locations but remember, this is on top of record setting flooding and more snow and in some sections where we see mountainous conditions, we'll see upwards of a foot or more. that's a quick . we still have plenty of shower activity on the radar. you can see the sierra seeing some heavy precipitation along with some heavy snow. there's a winter storm warning for that sierra mountains. not a good day to travel up there. stormranger right now is scanning a couple pockets of showers pushing through san francisco and moving into san jose. we have some rain moving into san ramon. the fremont area, if you're driving along 880, slow it down. >> and that's a quick look at your weather picture, folks. still to come, colin kaepernick reaches a deal with the nfl after his kneeling

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changes in the tax laws. some payers who say they always got a refund are now learning they have to pay. >> so, why do there seem to be so many changes and is there anything you can do about it at this point? kristen o'keefe her merrick is a financial adviser. always pleasant talking taxes here but this time around is a doozy. we asked folks on twitter to send in some of their key questions and cathy donahue hit on what a lot of americans are asking right now. why are so many people getting less this go around? what are some of the key changes this year? >> the withholding tables change with tax reform which essentially means that if your employer or you did not adjust your w-4, you were probably incrementally getting slightly more money in your paycheck. that could have gone unnoticed maybe because an insurance premium went up or just because you didn't notice an extra $50 or $75 a paycheck and so what happens is over time you accumulated more money in your paycheck and as a result now your refund could potentially be

lower. >> people want that check. here's another e-mail from coach 71. he asks, what is the status of the healthcare mandate penalty for not having insurance? is it still in effect? what is the penalty? >> lot of confusion here because the administration has been so vocal about this going away. it's going away in 2019. it's not going away in 2018. so, it still exists. so, of course the government has -- >> 2019 tax year meaning it won't affect what you're paying next year. >> you're filing now for 2018 so what you have to consider is there's a formula that the government provides. it's a $695 penalty per adult, $347.5 per child or 2.5% of your income, whichever is higher for a maximum of about $2,000. it could be very costly. >> this is always a lot to put on people's plate right now and the deadline comes up a lot faster than anybody would like. so as it comes for help out there, are there affordable professional options that people can lean on? >> the irs actually has a really cool -- cool site that you can go to, pop in your zip code and

it can provide you with some places that you can go for free tax help. unfortunately, you have to kind of fall under a category of you have to be -- make less than $55,000, et cetera. >> it's a lot of people. >> it's a lot of people, but i would recommend that if your situation is complicated, seek help through some of the turbo taxes and h & r blocks of the world. >> so many people still think they can. give us some overall best practices that we should walk away with. >> it's february and it's cold and it's saturday. do it today if you have to. your refund will come quicker. the irs says that 90% of the filings you will get back 21 days or less, you'll get your refund. >> really? >> yeah. so i mean, do it now. don't wait anymore. that's number one. if you're filing an extension, extension does not mean that you get more time to pay your taxes, just means that your official filing is extended so you still have to prepay an estimate. so, keep that in mind to filing

an extension. if you owe money and you cannot afford it, there are options. the irs provides you with a lot of different ways that you can pay over time. note that you probably will owe some kind of interest on it. >> especially this year if you didn't realize you're going to have to pay. >> i think that's going to be a reality for a lot of americans. >> kristen, thanks. we're going need you this year. >> good to see you. still to come, one mom's fight after her daughter was seriously injured in a scooter accident. but first, these messages. essential for pine trees, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma have happened.

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thank you. ♪ you guys hungry? ♪ ♪ ♪ we are back this morning and we're taking you in depth about a mother's crusade to get justice for her daughter after a scooter accident left her

unconscious and in the hospital. >> tammy lightener is in ft. lauderdale with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. we're talking about scooters just like these. you can rent them with an app on your phone and you don't need any special training to ride one. but some are warning they can be dangerous and now a florida woman who rode one is fighting for her life. >> i love you. >> reporter: this morning, a florida mother holding out hope her daughter will wake up after an accident on an electric scooter. >> she had bleeding in the brain. fractured ribs. respiratory issues. she's on a vent. she's comatose. >> reporter: 27-year-old ahanti jordan normally got a ride home with coworkers after her shift as a security guard at broward medical center but one day in december, she hopped on a lime electric scooter instead and collided with a car. >> do you blame lime for what happened to your daughter? >> i do.

>> reporter: now her mother has filed a lawsuit against lime. >> ashanti has suffered a horribly devastating injury as a result of this company telling her to do something in violation of the law. >> reporter: attorney todd falzone says the app instructed ashanti to ride on the street, which is against the law in florida. according to lime, the safety of our riders and the community is our highest priority and we're committed to making our streets safer. lime is cooperating with police in their investigation of the accident. they're also looking into whether ashanti adhered to a stop sign at the intersection. >> if she was on the sidewalk that day, this accident wouldn't have happened. >> reporter: scooter sharing services have popped up in cities all over the u.s. and emergency rooms have seen an uptick in scooter injuries. a recent study found that 249 people were admitted to 2 l.a. hospitals during a 1-year period with scooter injuries. roughly 40% of them had head injuries.

31.7% with fractures and more than 27.7% with sprains, cuts, or bruises by ashanti's injuries are much more severe. >> i'm just going to be patient. one day at a time. >> reporter: ashanti's doctors are waiting for the swelling in her brain to go down before determining the next step in trying to save her life and you know, one thing that really makes these scooters so confusing is that the laws differ from city to city and state to state. peter and sheinelle. >> i underestimated how popular they are these days. >> i live in washington, d.c., and they are everywhere. i haven't driven one, but they're on the street. they're on the sidewalk. i don't know what the laws or the rules are. >> anybody can just hop on? >> when you drive yourself, you better be looking around. still to come, the college freshman who's getting paid to hack the pentagon. some of the nation's biggest kpaep

companies, even his own school. we're back after this.

still to come, big news from payless as the iconic shoe company about to go under? and what happened when kevin hart and pete davidson teamed up to help an unsuspecting family move. move. but first, these messa when you find yourself in a strange land... discover your inner hero. and unlock the power... to speed through everything... in the blink of an eye. hertz fast lane powered by clear... in select airports 2019. hertz. we're here to get you there. marvel studios' captain marvel. in theaters march 8th.

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. good saturday morning. it is 5:56 on this february 16th. taking a live look outside. we have some rain drops on our camera in san jose. good morning. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast. a little bit of rain out there. definitely slick roads. >> yes, we're seeing those slick roads. it's cold out there, too. you probably heard rain if you live in downtown san jose, we just had a cell that passed over. san francisco, about 44 degrees. this is what satellite radar looks like. an active sierras.

what we experienced on wednesday and thursday has made its exit, but there's still plenty of instability in the atmosphere. that's why there's showers out there, also low elevation snow. a bit of a cold front swept in dropping temperatures down. right now rain is pushing in through the san mateo area. we were seeing rain move through san rafael. the fremont area, you're up next. a couple of downpours. we have more rain approaching san jose now as we speak. as far as accumulations, we're not expecting heavy accumulations or an increase in those river levels. i'll have an update on the river reservoirs at 7:00 a.m. >> we'll see you then, thanks. it was a chaotic at the ending of last night's performance of hamilton in san francisco. hundreds rushed out of the theater thinking there was an active shooter attack. the musical played to a full house at the orpheum theater. people reportedly heard there

was someone inside with a gun. they all started screaming, leading others into a panic running out of the theater and sending the hamilton cast back stage. what audience members thought was an active shooter was a medical emergency. a boy reportedly had a seizure at the same time there was a gunshot sound coming from the play. confusing the crowd. >> people in the crowd got scared. they thought maybe someone had a gun, so everybody started to run out of the theater. ended up there was no one with a gun. there was no shots fired. it was just a medical emergency. >> two other people had to be transported to the hospital with injuries to their head and leg. both are expected to be okay. heads up for marin county, there will be more traffic headaches this weekend. crews will be continuing work to fix a levee breach that has one north bay artery closed. this is on highway 37 where the swollen novato creek broke through a levee on thursday. several inches of water is

flooding the westbound lanes in novato. that part of the highway is closed. crews started to work on the fix last night closing one lane of 37 eastbound. work is expected to continue for several days now. caltrans says it can't reopen the flooded lanes until the breach is fixed and water can be pumped off the highway. at 5:59, coming up this morning on "today in the bay," a health scare at a bay area mall. the troubling discovery that has health officials warning shoppers. we'll have that and your top stories and a lot of weather happening. that's coming up at 7:00. right you to back to the "today" show.

good morning. mass shooting tragedy. >> attention all police, aurora does have an active shooter. >> an illinois community in mourning today after five innocent people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside their workplace. five officers who rushed in to stop the shooter also wounded. >> this response by law enforcement from federal, state, and local agencies did not surprise me, but it still overwhelms me. >> the gunman who had just been let go from his job at the plant where he opened fire also dead this morning as community members there struggle to come to terms with how this could happen to them. national emergency backlash. president trump ready for a fight just one day after declaring a national emergency

to pay for his border wall but the president admits he didn't have to do it this way. >> i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. >> will that admission make it harder for him to get the money? and what a hack! a college freshman who's been hacking since he was 15 years old is so good, he's making enough to pay for his college education. >> how much money have you made hacking? >> i'd rather not talk about it. >> why he's being tapped by stanford, big companies, even the department of defense. today, saturday, february 16, 2019. ♪ >> we love the "today" show. >> 12 years in the making but i'm finally here. hey, dallas! >> girls trip 2019. >> first time in new york city.

>> all the way from maine. >> we took mom to new york for christmas. >> that's me. >> can we take a selfie again, please? >> how nice is that. >> i'm up for that. of course. >> we appreciate all these people who come out to the plaza on a saturday morning particularly because it's chilly outside this morning. >> no doubt. we're going to get things started here on this saturday morning. we welcome you back to "today." another busy morning for us. >> very busy. in fact, we'll start with today's news and the illinois community still reeling this morning after a gunman walked into his workplace and shot his colleagues on friday. five people were killed during his rampage and this morning, investigators are poring through evidence to try and figure out the question everyone is asking. why? nbc's ron mott is in aurora, illinois, this morning. ron, good morning. >> reporter: sheinelle and peter, good morning to you both. investigators are trying to figure out just how much planning went into this shooting. they say this employee showed up at work with a gun yesterday, went in and started shooting people. he kept the building under siege for an hour and 35 minutes and

when it was all over, another american town dealing with bloodshed and tears. >> attention, all police, aurora does have an active shooter. >> reporter: this morning, a community stunned. >> requesting as many ambulances as possible for an active shooter with many injuries. >> reporter: police say a 15-year employee, 45-year-old gary martin, who was in the process of being terminated, opened fire at the henry pratt company plant in aurora, killing five coworkers, shooting another, wounding five officers who responded to the scene. all the officers suffered non-life threatening injuries, the chief says. >> i saw hundreds of uniformed officers ready to assist. this response by law enforcement from federal, state, and local agencies did not surprise me, but it still overwhelms me. we still lost lives today, and it cannot be overstated that those people did not deserve this. >> reporter: the chief said the first officers who arrived were immediately fired upon as did a subsequent group of police. >> they got the shooter

neutralized. >> reporter: authorities say police shot and killed martin, his home surrounded by law enforcement late into the evening. the workplace mass shooting prompted a flurry of lockdowns, at neighboring businesses and schools. one student stayed home sick but was too close for comfort. >> i was in my room and i heard a lot of gunshots so i got down on the floor and peeked through the window and i saw a lot of cop cars pull up. >> it still was very traumatizing. >> you rushed toward danger. >> reporter: the illinois governor offered condolences to affected families and praised first responders. >> there are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, and their futures. >> reporter: as the investigation unfolds, the states's second largest city asking a now familiar question posed around america, why us? now, officials have yet to identify the five people who lost their lives here yesterday.

we perhaps will get that at a media briefing scheduled for later this morning. as you just heard there, people in this community and perhaps around the country want to know why this has happened again in america. sheinelle, peter. >> heartbreaking. ron mott in aurora, illinois. president trump and the white house are bracing for a fight after the president on friday declared a national emergency to pay for his border wall. the president's opponents already making plans to challenge that declaration. nbc's white house correspondent, my colleague, kelly o'donnell traveling with the president today. she is near his florida estate. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. no indication yet from the white house how quickly we could see actual construction of the new border barrier. the president, of course, has got a goal of having up to 234 miles of new border wall or barrier. congress only gave him enough money for 55 miles and so they're hoping to make up the difference with the power of the national emergency. with his border wall national

emergency declared, the president is taking a long holiday weekend in palm beach. >> hi, everybody. >> reporter: after amping up the alarm. >> because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people, and it's unacceptable. >> reporter: congress approved enough money for 55 miles of new border barrier. $1.375 billion. the president plans to divert another almost $7 billion, much of it previously approved for other purposes, including military construction projects. but as he tests this executive power, he appeared to undercut the core urgency of this declaration. >> i could do the wall over a longer period of time. i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. >> reporter: the president let his frustration show that congress failed to fund his campaign promise when republicans had control. >> i'm very disappointed at certain people, particular one,

for not having pushed this faster. >> are you referring to -- >> who? >> speaker ryan. >> let's not talk about it. >> reporter: but he did open up about the influence of conservative media stars. >> sean hannity has been a terrific. rush limbaugh, he's a great guy. ann coulter, i don't know her. >> reporter: he insists those voices don't direct his actions. >> they don't decide policy. >> reporter: but as he boasted about democrats approving some barrier funding to avert another shutdown. >> he's not going to get $1. well, i got $1.4 billion. >> reporter: the president lamented the expected court challenges. >> i think what will happen is, sadly, we'll be sued. >> reporter: friday, democrats on the 2020 campaign trail denounced mr. trump's use of a national emergency. kamala harris in south carolina. >> it is playing politics with taxpayer resources. it is about creating a crisis of his own making.

>> reporter: and when we were in the rose garden together, peter, of course you pointed out that the president was critical of barack obama, his predecessor, who had used this same kind of national emergency for other matters. the white house also saying that it is going to take part of one of the obama national emergency declarations related to drug cartels and use that authority as well so the president, who had been critical in the past, now trying to use this power knowing there will be legal challenges and it's unclear how quickly we'll see any action, but it's expected to take quite a bit of time to work its way through the courts. peter, sheinelle. >> quite a rose garden event and now the next fight begins. kelly o'donnell with the president. thanks. several states and civil rights groups are already lining up to challenge the president's plan in court. pete williams is nbc's justice correspondent. give us some perspective here, pete. what power does the president have to declare a national emergency? >> well, the law gives him a wide latitude to do that even

for something that's not really a crisis. opponents of the declaration are saying there is no actual emergency on the border and they point to that comment the president made on friday, to the question about peter, about how he could have done the wall over a longer period of time and really didn't need to declare an emergency. the lawsuits will undoubtedly cite that comment as proof that there isn't a crisis just as the lawsuits against the travel ban cited mr. trump's campaign statements that he wanted a muslim ban. but the real meat of this legal fight is going to be over what he wants to do with in emergency authority. >> well i was going to ask, if we zoom in, what are the likely legal challenges ahead, then? >> so, one will argue that this is unconstitutional, that the president is spending money that congress didn't approve for something congress opposes. el paso county has already filed a lawsuit making that very claim. but some legal scholars say congress actually undercut that argument this week by giving the president more than $1 billion to start working on the wall. another claim will be that this is illegal, because the president wants to use the

pentagon's money for a non-military purpose, given that u.s. troops are not allowed to conduct civilian law enforcement like border patrol. the president, though, says this is a matter of national security and the courts tend to defer to the white house when those claims are made, and that legal fight will last probably at least a year and almost certainly end up before the supreme court with a decision probably right in the middle of the 2020 campaign. >> oh my goodness. all right, finally, pete, there are some new developments as it relates to paul manafort. what can you tell us? >> so, two new things here. first of all we now know that the judge in the washington, d.c., case said in court this week that manafort told so many lies after pleading guilty, especially about his former employee, konstantin kilimnik, suspected of ties to russian intelligence, that it raised questions about where his loyalties lie and then in the separate virginia case, the special counsel's prosecutors said that he should get a long prison sentence because his bank and tax fraud was so brazen,

sheinelle. >> good information this morning. pete williams, thank you. a new development in the wake of quarterback colin kaepernick's national anthem kneeling controversy. this morning, a deal has been reached between kaepernick and the nfl. we get the very latest from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: ever since he ignited a national debate about racial injustice and kneeling during the national anthem, colin kaepernick hasn't been able to find a job in football. his grievance with the nfl filed in 2017 along with former teammate eric reid claimed owners were colluding to sideline them. now in a joint statement, the nfl and kaepernick's lawyers say the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment. >> it's possible that he realized this was going to drag on and on and on so maybe he just thought, i've made my point. it's time to move on with my life. >> believe in something. even if it means sacrificing everything. >> reporter: while kaepernick had gained a national following,

becoming the face of nike and a target of president trump. >> fired. >> reporter: an intense legal fight had been under way with kaepernick's lawyers confronting nfl owners and league officials. at this year's big game, the commissioner denied teams had targeted kaepernick. >> i think if a team decides that colin kaepernick or any other player can help their team win, that's what they'll do. >> reporter: kaepernick and reid reportedly had been seeking years of lost earnings, which could total tens of millions of dollars. reid has been back on the field, but kaepernick hasn't played in an nfl game since the 2016 season. and despite the settlement just announced, it's still unclear whether the athlete turned activist will ever play in the nfl again. for "today," ron allen, nbc news, new york. some other headlines this morning, a terrifying scene in the midwest caught on camera. take a look at this. a 47-vehicle chain reaction crash that left one person dead on friday. video of the accident just east of kansas city, missouri.

you see this here. shows car after car slamming into the pile-up at high speed. the highway patrol is blaming whiteout conditions for the carnage. >> terrible scene there. and payless is the latest to join the list of iconic retail giants set to close up shop here in the u.s. the discount shoe chain is reportedly planning to shut down all 2,100 of its remaining stores in the coming months. the kansas-based chain that opened up more than six decades ago will begin liquidation sales tomorrow. >> iconic for sure, right? >> i was going to say, i remember my folks being like, you need shoes? you're going to payless. >> absolutely. my daughter still goes there. dave price is out on the plaza with another check of the weather. >> nice to see you. we got a great crowd out here. what's your name? >> kim. >> where you from, kim? >> maryland. >> it's my favorite christmas present. kim, it's february. nice to see you guys. we got friends from north dakota

and atlanta and pawly's island, south carolina. you're going to see some rain. let's check the weather all across the country and see what's happening, shall we? as we go to the maps, we are looking at some very cold conditions. windchills, 10 degrees below zero in bismarck. minneapolis at 0, 0. it feels like zero, it is zero, and single digit windchills in chicago. as we head through the rest of the day today, look at this. much of the country well below normal temperature-wise, 22 degrees in rapid city, 27 in kansas city, and cold for dallas at 46 degrees. and that chilly wealther continues as we head into the end of the weekend. that's a quick look at the na we're waking up to 45 degrees in san francisco right now. we already had some rain push through san francisco, now we're seeing rain over the south bay. satellite radar, plenty of showers moving from the north bay down to the south bay. let's zoom in to our stormranger. we had a good cell that just

trekked through the san rafael, napa area, as well as heavy rain in san jose. saw some heavy downpours push through. expect scattered showers throughout the morning. >> and that's a quick look at the weather picture. we'll send it back inside to you. >> got to get me some of those shades. >> cuties. >> they're mine. >> i wondered about that. i wasn't going to say anything because i wasn't sure, but i thought so. >> yeah. >> those are your mini-mes. >> we'll see you in a couple minutes. >> love those sunglasses. >> thank you very much. still to come, could be the dutch chess -- could the duchess of sussex be coming to a big screen near you. >> but up next, why the carlton dance can now be done

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and skip the line... ...or have your prescriptions delivered. so you never miss a day. walgreens. trusted since 1901. text joinrx to 21525 to stay on track. oh no. are you okay, mike? yeah, had a pretty big fender bender here. don't worry, state farm's got you covered. [helium voice] ahhh, that's great to hear...robyn? what's going on? are you sure you're okay? yeah, yeah, i think so. ahhhh... ahhhhhh... we're gonna get you a tow truck, mike. thank you. real fender bender going on. fender bender. ♪ fender bender everybody remain calm! there's no reason to panic! go with the one that's here to help life go right. state farm. we are back with some news about a dance made famous on the fresh prince of bel air. >> it's been almost 30 years since the show debuted, you

know, will smith. this morning, it's making headlines again. dave is in the orange room to show us what the dance looks like. david. >> hey, guys. >> do you have your carlton sweater on? >> i do. and i want to announce the official end of my career today. all right. are you guys ready? >> we're ready. are you going to do the dance? >> cue the music. ♪ >> here it comes. i'm ready. ♪ now this is a story about the carlton dance, went to court, oh, wow ♪ ♪ i'd like to take a minute so just sit right there and i'll tell you how we can channel the fresh cousin of bel air ♪ >> none of that rhymed. >> oh, good. >> that was awful. >> wait, this is so good. >> this is fantastic. >> okay. now that my side hustle as a middle aged rapper is out of the bag i have news to tell you about. alfonso ribeira. >> you had back surgery or we'd be holding you to this. >> i'm substituting and this is

my job today. so, carlton banks, the character on fresh prince of bel air, also had that iconic carlton dance. well, it became iconic. he performed it time and time again on the show. he did it on "dancing with the stars," occasionally on the golf course. his dance has now been at the center of a lawsuit and last year, he sued two video game makers. he sued them, including the maker of "fortnite," claiming they used his dance without permission or compensation. and now the ruling is in. the u.s. copyright office says he can not register his famed carlton dance, calling it a simple dance routine. >> what? >> in other words, it's free for all of us to use any time. it is not complex enough to clear the copyright bar. you can do it. i can do it. we don't have to pay royalties to anybody. >> okay. >> cue that music. >> no, no, that's not it. >> do not.

>> no. wait, that's not it. >> this is a problem. >> wait, that's not the move. no. ♪ >> what are we going to do? i don't even know. whoa. easy there. >> you be all right? >> not copyrighted. >> you know, i'm actually surprised about this. i thought he would win that lawsuit. >> interesting. >> now you're out of breath and you have to do pop start. pop start, let's kick things off with the -- this is scary to look at. the duchess of sussex. before harry, meghan was a working actress. now she's returning to the big screen, sort of. tv movie she filmed back in 2010 just picked up for distribution and it will be re-released here this year. the film portrays the pre-royal duchess in a movie entitled "the boys and girls guide to getting down." the queen is going to love that. the self-described tongue in

cheek look at 20-something singles, partying, and clubbing in l.a. i'm out of breath. i'm out of breath. i need [phone ringing] remember the way we used to do things? hey man...

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still to come, is now a good time to pick up some new furmg and electronics or should you wait for later? >> also, grab the kids, get close to the tv. we're going to meet some of those favorite "sesame ♪

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good morning. it is saturday, so that was a test to see if you were awake. apparently i'm not. it's 6:26. a live look outside in san francisco. good morning to you. thank you very much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana can take it from here, she knows what's going on. >> it's early in the morning. it's rainy. people are like when is this rain leaving us? not just yet. current temperatures dropping down. 40s in santa rosa. probably a couple 30s within the next half hour as we dip down to the morning lows. hayward, 46. yesterday it was very cold.

so much so we got mountain snow. satellite radar showing plenty of rain activity, but we are seeing those cells kind of push through. if i zoom this in closer, using our own stormranger, we have light to moderate rain moving through san mateo, approaching san ramon. just passing san francisco right now. we had a good amount of rain move through san jose. you can see that cell off to the south. we have another round of showers pushing into san jose right now. you'll hear the rain again. i am also monitoring the reservoirs and rivers and creeks. that's big a big concern. we'll talk about the storm totals for today and tomorrow as well. >> all right. we'll see you at 7:00. thanks. it was a chaotic at the ending of last night's performance of hamilton in san francisco. hundreds rushed out of the theater thinking there was an active shooter attack. the musical played to a full house at the orpheum theater. people reportedly heard there

was someone inside with a gun. they all started screaming, leading others into a panic running out of the theater and sending the "hamilton" cast back stage. officials say what audience members thought was an active shooter was a medical emergency. a little boy reportedly had a seizure at the same time there was a gunshot sound coming from the musical and that confused the crowd. >> people in the crowd got scared. they thought maybe someone had a gun, so everybody started to run out of the theater. it ended up there was no one with a gun. no shots fired. just a medical emergency. >> two people had to be transported to the hospital with injuries to their head and leg. both are expected to be okay. heads up for people in marin county where there will be more traffic headaches this weekend because crews will be continuing to fix a levee that breached one north bay artery. this happened on highway 37,

where the swollen novato creek broke through a levee on thursday. several inches of water is flooding the westbound lanes in novato. that part of the highway is closed. crews started working on a fix last night closing one lane of 37 eastbound. work is expected to continue for several days. caltrans says they can't reopen the flooded lanes until the breach is fixed and water can be pumped off the highway. coming up on "today in the bay," a healthcare at a bay area mall. we'll tell you the troubling discovery that has health officials warning shoppers. we'll have that and all your top stories and weather at 7:00. we hope to see you then.

[ cheers and applause ] we are back on this saturday morning, february 16th. time is just flying. 2019. what a great crowd out here on the plaza. thank you for coming to see us this morning. >> thank you guys. >> it's freezing and they're still here. still to come in this half hour of "today," some of our favorite "sesame street" characters are here this morning and they are larger than life. we're going to tell you what they're doing in studio 1-a and how you can catch them on the road. and a little bit later, there is nothing like a big plate of chicken pot pie and we're coming up with some comfort food that is going to keep you warm on those cold winter nights. >> sounds pretty good on a cold

winter morning. first, though, an incredible story. a college freshman who is such an expert hacker the pent gon and stanford turn to him to help them. >> nbc's tammy leitner has more. >> reporter: jack cable looks like any other freshman on the stanford university campus except he's paying for college by hacking into companies. how much money have you made hacking? >> i'd rather not talk about that. >> reporter: it's a lot? enough to pay for four years at stanford. >> yeah. so, yeah. >> reporter: it started by accident when he was just 15. >> i was looking at an online cryptocurrency website and noticed that you could send a negative amount of money to someone else that would effectively take the money from your account -- from their account and give it to you. >> reporter: you could have taken hundreds of thousands and put that in your account. >> yeah, for me, it was always just the easiest route to work with companies instead of stealing it. >> reporter: now, jack is considered one of the elite, an ethical hacker who's worked with companies like google, facebook,

uber, and yahoo to find their tech vulnerabilities. you're the youngest person to have security clearance at the department of defense. >> yes, so this past summer, i worked at the defense digital service. it's called basically the s.w.a.t. team of nerds. we come in and help improve the state of technology because as we all know, technology has to be improved in our government and our military. >> he loves to go in and not only break things but break things for good. if we don't find these things, if we don't find these vulnerabilities in our systems, then we leave them open for our adversaries. >> reporter: alex keller coaches some of stanford's brightest, including jack, on the applied cyber security team. we're hearing about cyber threats more than we've ever heard about them in the past. so, how vital is it that we teach our young people these skills to protect from these? >> it's absolutely paramount importance. our -- this is not just about information security anymore. it's about protecting our financial systems. it's about protecting our

political institutions. the stakes now are extremely high. >> reporter: which jack already knows. and this military grade hacker is also strengthening security right here at his own university. >> stanford reached out to me if i wanted to help them start a bug finding program and that was just a really exciting thought because, like, in the past, people maybe have been punished for hacking into their school systems. >> reporter: do you have any concerns? >> of course. as the chief information security officer, i do have concerns. again, i think we are taking a measured risk here and we have a lot of safeguards in place. >> reporter: for jack, those safeguards are a welcome challenge. why do you hack? >> there's something really cool about doing something that you know you shouldn't be able to do. >> reporter: for "today," tammy leitner, nbc news, palo alto, california. >> i guess if he has the urge or the itch to do it, hopefully we can use it in a positive way. >> he's getting hired by the

pentagon and stanford and i can't get the printer to work in the office. >> he's doing something right early. final check of the weather, my friend. >> little bit chilly out here on the plaza but sunny and that's nice. let's take a check of the weather, see what's happening all around the country, shall we. to the maps we go. satellite and radar picture, another storm system brewing out west, it's going to work its way to the east and we have another storm system exiting the east coast as we head through today. it's going to bring some snow showers to sections of kentucky, west virginia, and virginia. and rain to the carolinas. but as we head through the rest of the day, keep in mind we're also going to see some heavy snow in sections of the northern rockies and the cascades. let's take a check of what we can expect tomorrow, rain and mountain snow, more of it, working its way east, light snow through the northern great lakes and heavy rain through the sections of the mid south and southeast. the bay area waking up to 40s now. santa rosa, 40 degrees.

napa, 42. oakland, 46 degrees. san jose, 43. we still have showers moving through the area. so it may be another day where you need your rain boots. we expect to keen the showers and rain activity for the entire day on and off again with periods of light to moderate rain in through the afternoon and getting heavier by tomorrow. and you're up to date on the weather, folks. >> thank you, dave. >> thank you very much. coming up next, president's day weekend is known for being a great time for sales, but are there some things that you should wait to buy? then, look who's here. we're so excited for this special visit from our friends from a new show hitting a town near you. we'll find out what elmo, cookie monster, and everyone else is up to. call the kids a little bit later. but first, these message

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blooming with flavor and naturally caffeine free. new pure leaf herbals. that rocking chair would look grahh, new house, eh?e. well, you should definitely see how geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. nice tip. i'll give you two bucks for the chair. two?! that's a victorian antique! all right, how much for the recliner, then? wait wait... how did that get out here? that is definitely not for sale! is this a yard sale? if it's in the yard then it's... for sale. oh, here we go. geico. it's easy to switch and save on homeowners and renters insurance. we're back now on a saturday morning with another edition of our favorite games here. buy now or wait for later. so, president's weekend is a great time for big sales, but how do you know if now's really the best time to buy certain items? we have this woman here. she's a savings expert with coupons.com. good morning to you. >> good morning.

>> i'm ready to dig in with the game. >> let's see how you do. >> i think this one is a little tricky because i don't know, president's day, what does that mean? summer's right around the corner. i don't know. so for electronics, i'm going to say, later. >> all right. well, you're not off to a great start here, sheinelle. sorry, but it is actually buy now. >> why? >> tricky question because you think electronics is like holidays, which is true, but here's why. in january, they had the consumer electronics show. they launched all the new products for electronics so what do stores need to do? they need to clear the shelves to make room for the new things. so you will get great deals and here's a little secret. it's right after the holidays, right? we're still in the period where people are making returns. ask for an open box item, you could save even more. so it is a buy now. >> our next one is furniture and i genuinely have no idea. i feel like i see commercials for furniture and mattresses so buy now. >> see now you're back. all right. so it is a buy now because once again, january's when manufacturers, they launch new

furniture designs. ask for floor samples. you'll get an even better deal. great deals if you buy something off the floor. and i'm going to give you a little tip. always measure your doorway into the entrance of your home because if you're biography buying a big piece of furniture, you have to be careful. >> we had to cut a couch. i had to call the couch doctor here in new york. snow blowers. later? >> good girl. it is later. because you don't want to buy it during the peak of the season. you want to buy it right before the season starts. october is the best time. >> october. yeah. because i thought they would want to make money and they know we need it so they're not going to help us. >> they'll help you out before. >> this one is interesting. cruises. if it's cold outside, you want to go warm, but i'm going to say, later? >> it's a now. but it is wave season. january through march is wave season. president's day weekend, specifically, cruise deals, you will find.

and >> really? >> even though they know we have to plan for spring break right around the corner. >> they're trying to fill the rooms and book all the cruises so this is something, buy it now and cruise later. that's the trick. and one other little tip. if you're going to be flying into a port that you're going to be docking from, try to fly in the day before because you don't want a delayed flight and then you miss the boat. >> all right, last but not least, luggage. what the hey. buy now? >> well, close. march. okay? you're doing pretty good here. march is when you want to buy luggage because it's called in the travel industry, it's called shoulder season. so, it's in between the busy holiday travel and summer travel so it's kind of like the in between. this is when you want to buy. i will tell you, you can find great deals. look for closeouts, look for coupon codes, look for all these ways you can save big time on luggage in march. >> but wait. >> yes. >> next month. >> a couple weeks.

>> thank you. we're back right after this.

there are moments in life that leave a lasting impression. like the feeling of movement as a new journey begins, or the sight of soft fur, warmed by the morning sun. you might remember new flavours, the sound of an old friend's laugh, or a view that defies all expectations. these are the memories that stay with you, long after the moments have passed.

we are back on a saturday morning. check out who is here with us today. >> yeah. >> we have got your "sesame street" favorites with us. we've got elmo, grover, cook koo monster and the chef not to be missed. >> we're so happy they stopped by before heading to the stage for their new show, "sesame street" live. >> these characters are joined by the performance director for the show. good morning, everyone. >> thanks so much for having us. we're so excited. >> i was just about to say, tell us about the show this year. when i was a kid, this was the highlight of my year every year, going to "sesame street" live. >> it's such a tradition. >> what's new this year? >> celebrating its 50th year. this year, abby and elmo take our audiences down the streets

and they discover the power of yet. which is the lesson learned that with practice and perseverance, nothing will stand in the way of your dreams. so it's yet to happen. >> i love that. >> if there's anything we've learned from the years of watching "sesame street," there's always a message. what do you hope the kids -- we brought some here to enjoy with us. what do you hope they take away from this experience? >> feld entertainment and the sesame workshop have worked hand in hand for over a year developing a show that coincides is the sesame workshop mission statement of developing smarter, stronger, and kinder kids so we hope people walk away with their hearts full and big smiles on their faces and feeling a little bit smarter, stronger, kinder. >> you got a little performance and a little magic. >> elmo has been practicing his magic trick and he these your help. he's going to show the handkerchief like this, put the handkerchief over his hand and say the magic words. repeat after me, okay? sesau, sesame. >> oh, i get it. whoa!

>> amazing. >> for you, sheinelle. >> thank you so much. >> thank you very much, elmo. let's take it away. >> let's go. >> good job, elmo. ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ ♪ oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "c" ♪ ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ ♪ oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "c" ♪ ♪ oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "c" ♪ ♪ oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "c" ♪ >> yeah. you want to clap for them? >> wow. >> so cute. >> you were terrific. >> yeah. she just said, can we get up? you can get up. >> come on, guys. come say hi.

let's go say hi. >> thank you guys. they've been waiting to do this all morning long. thanks, you guys. ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ >> come find out more about the show whether it's coming to a town here you, head to our website, today.com. ♪ c is for cookie, that's good enough for us ♪ >> coming up next, we're going to the kitchen, everybody. stick with us. we got some comfort food. we have the whole family who will be a part of it. first these messages. (baby crying) ♪ ♪hold on, i'm comin' ♪hold on, i'm comin' ♪hold on don't you worry,♪ ♪i'm comin' ♪here we come, hold on♪ ♪we're about to save you i'm comin', yeah♪ ♪hold on don't you worry,♪ ♪i'm comin'

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well you could try that before you buy it. what if the car and i just don't get along? whatever the reason, carmax will give you a full refund. that is good to know because reggie is very opinionated. i'm sure he is. you won't find relief here. congestion and pressure? go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritin-d relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. claritin-d relieves more. this morning on today food there is nothing like a comforting meal to get us through the cold winter days like these. david vennable from qvc's in the kitchen with david is here to show the ultimate winter comfort food shortcuts. david, at 6'6", nice to see you, brother. >> we see eye to eye on things. >> you're a big dude with good food options for us today.

pot sticker soup. >> pot stickers are my go to. i keep them in the freezer all the time and i usually saute them but i thought, why not make a winter soup, but do it from prep to table in 30 minutes. 10 ingredients here, beef stock that you buy in a carton, cooking oil, soy sauce, fresh vegetables that you're going to prep ahead of time, and then some frozen pot stickers. what we're going to do first is heat some oil in the stock pot and i have that same vegetable cooked up. when you're doing some asian cooking, make sure that all of your vegetables are cut small and the same size so they cook more evenly. we're going to get these into the pot. you'll hear them start to sizzle. these only have to season or soften about five minutes. >> sheinelle didn't wait. she's already enjoying it. >> sheinelle's a good eater, i understand. sheinelle and i know each other from way back. she's a good eater. but you know what? this is fantastic. because what you're going to do is just let these sautee for

about five minutes because you're going to spend more time cutting vegetables than you are making the soup. that's what makes it so great and perfect for the weeknight. >> your book is called comfort food shortcuts. >> i understand you have two girls, right? >> two girls, that's why i'm playing -- paying close attention. >> exactly because you know what? this becomes kid friendly. all the recipes in the book are ten ingredients or less, kid and family friendly, really simple. beef broth, soy sauce, and then finally a little black pepper but here's the magic. go to your freezer, grab your frozen pot stickers. >> that's the takeaway. a lot of people see the frozen food aisle and they're like, i don't know about this. >> prepackaged food is a better quality now than it's ever been before. 25 years ago you couldn't find pesto in the supermarket worth eating so this is going to be something that's easy to find in the market, super, super great quality and now it's really gourmet. simmer for five to seven minutes and you've got soup finished up. isn't that crazy.

you don't even have to defrost -- >> because the frozen pot stickers will warm in the broth. >> fantastic. >> that's why we brought david venables. >> and because they are not pre-crisped, they'll be tender. >> let's talk chicken pot pies, can we? >> of course we can. >> i'm going to eat. i'll help you out. >> this is a biscuit topped chicken pot pies, classic comfort food but the big problem with traditional pot pie is you have to make trust and you have to make the filling and all that kind of thing. we're going to really shorthand this. first thing we're going to do is buy ro rotisserie chicken, add frozen mixed vegetables, chicken stock and cream of chicken soup. so peter, give me a hand will. pop that bowl of frozen vegetables, mixed vegetables. >> this is really good. >> nicely done. >> the truth is, this is easy, just go through the frozen aisle, literally it's one supermarket run and you're done. >> these are full of supermarket shortcuts. the book is full of supermarket shortcuts, helping you get things done in record time. pop in that soup. add in chicken stock.

and then peter if you want to just give me a couple twists of the pepper mill. >> this is so good. and so simple. >> now, here's a little tip i'm going to tell you. if you heat the filling first, and then put it in the casserole dish, your biscuits won't burn in the oven. if we put in the filling cold and put raw biscuits on top, the biscuits would burn so you warm it first, then put on the biscuits. we've put on the casserole. what we're going to do is just layer these on top. grab those out. your girls can help with this. >> we've got friends. >> we do? >> who is it? >> who's at the door? >> chef gomer. >> celebrities in the kitchen. >> celebrity chefs from "sesame street." >> i love it. i love it. hi, guys. >> hi, guys. >> come on in. are you guys hungry? well, i know. silly question, right? >> of course. >> well, i tell you what, this is 30 minutes in the oven. >> can't beat it. >> and then you've got a kid friendly, family friendly, wonderful comfort dish. >> and the cost is near nothing.

>> it's, well, so easy and these are all ingredients you have on hand or buy in the market. >> thank you for this. >> thank you, cookie monster. >> thank you for joining us. >> david, thanks. if you want these recipes and you want to see what it's like behind the scenes with david at qvc, check out crazy kitchens on today.com/food. >> i'm going to eat hi pot pie. that will do it for us on saturday morning. tomorrow, willie sits down with liam hemsworth. the australian actor talks about his rise to fame and his marriage to miley cyrus. >> i'm going to keep eating here. enjoy your day. have a great weekend. >> hcoming up next, on today in

bay .... new video of a chaotic scene at "hamilto good morning. i'm kira klapper. coming up next on "today in the bay." new video of a chaotic scene at "hamilton" the musical in san francisco last night. we'll tell you why the audience and actors all ended up outside. and a traffic headache expected this weekend. where crews closed a local highway because of flooding from a broken levee. and another wet day across the bay area. a live look at the golden gate bridge. vianey is monitoring the latest.

good saturday morning to you. it is 6:59. here's a live look outside in downtown san jose. the tech museum. it is february 16th. it's wet out there. thank you very much for joining us, i'm kira klapper. vianey has a look at our microclimate forecast. we were talking earlier about it was really wet in certain areas,

other areas were not seeing it. we're all going to get it at some point. >> we're seeing a couple cells move through, then it clears out, it pauses. look at this shot of walnut creek. this weather made it extremely difficult to be productive the last couple of days. nobody wants to be out on the roads driving. the roads are terrible and it's cold. 38 in santa rosa. we had that cold front come through that brought mountain snow, hail, a wintry mix to the bay area. i kept hearing people on the streets talking about what's going on in california? this is satellite radar now. that atmospheric river event that swept through wednesday and thursday is out of the area. the thing is we still have a lot of instability out there. what's going to happen is we'll continue to see that shower activity at least through midmorning. things will taper off this afternoon. there are no active flood watches or warnings. no wind advisories in place. i'll go over the possibility of changes cin