be a second crash there. >> they are slick that's what's happening "today in the bay." we're back at 7:25 with more live local news. >> and a shot of beautiful san francisco. thanks so much for starting the day here with us on "today in the bay." good morning. dangerous deep freeze. bitter good morning. dangerous deep freeze. bitter cold temperatures blanketing much of the country this morning. warnings stretching all the way down to florida. al will tell us how long this cold snap will last. at it again, satellite images first obtained by nbc news reveal north korea is rebuilding a key nuclear facility days after that puck here summit. r. kelly speaks. >> i didn't do this stuff. this is not me.

i'm fighting for my [ bleep ] life. >> how he answers the disturbing charges, ahead. all that plus, break overnight, new pro.s erupt in sacramento over the decision not to file charges against police in a fatal shooting. the mother of stephane clark speaks out in an exclusive interview. taking on the hill and mom, the ohio teen who defied his anti-vaccination mother with facts as popular social media sites face pressure to crackdown on the anti-vaxer misinformation spreadi spreading online like a virus. and horror on the high seas. the terrifying moments extreme winds hit a cruise ship, injuring passengers and sending furniture and glass flying. the aftermath today, wednesday,

march 6th, 2019. >> from nbc news, this is studio 1a. >> i was like, are we in march? because it feels like the middle -- >> the calendar did not get the memo. it is really cold out there. so top, it is our top story. we're going to start with this bone chilling cold gripping the country. >> hey, guys, thank you, and we appreciate you getting your first weather from us. we're used to the cold weather here in the northeast, new york four degree windchill, minus seven in buffalo. minus three in minneapolis. stretching from texas to florida, 61 million people under windchill advisories or freeze warnings. we're looking at 31 windchill in houston. the windchill in tampa, 37 degrees, 43 in fort myers. tallahassee 29, and it's going to stay cold, at least another 24 hours. growing warmth in the southwest, but frigid highs in the eastern

two-thirds of the country. oklahoma city ten degrees below average, 55 in new orleans, new york city will only get to 29 today. and then as we look toward thursday, 27 in boston, 16 degrees colder than usual. houston 69, tallahassee minus six. the good news is though, by the weekend temperatures rebound nicely. greenville, 69 on sunday, 77 in mobile, st. louis 50, philadelphia 53. we've got another storm system coming across the country on saturday, possible blizzards in the high plains from the dakotas into wisconsin. severe weather threats for the southeast. we're looking anywhere especially down into lower mississippi and then saturday this continues to push to the east bringing snow to chicago, the u.p. of michigan and into the northeast and parts of new england. we'll be watching this very closely. hoda. all right, al, thank you. another major story this morning, troubling signs that north korea is renewing activity at a key missile launch site just days after the breakdown of president trump's second summit

with kim jong-un. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell broke that story. she joins us with the latest. >> reporter: this is new evidence first obtained by nbc news that north korea is rapidly rebuilding a key missile site, possibly in preparation for a test, and it comes despite promises from kim jong-un to president trump in hanoi. experts say this commercial satellite image taken only 48 hours after the collapse of the hanoi summit shows north korea is rebuilding a site for a long-range missile banned by the u.n., missile that could reach all the way to the west coast of the u.s., even as far as denver or chicago. contrary to what president trump says, kim jong-un told him at the summit. >> chairman kim promised me last night regardless he's not going to do testing of rockets and nuclear, not going to do testing so, you know, i trust him, and i take him at his word. i hope that's true. >> reporter: for months, the

site appeared to be shut down, but two days after the summit, new signs of activity, a vertical test engine, a testing stand, a crane, movement on the railway for transporting a missile indicating north korea may be getting ready to test for the first time in 15 months. according to one of the authors of a new report. >> they basically opened the shutters. the environmental shelters basically exposed the missile pads. this is not just random maintenance activity. you know, this is clearly activity that is designed to send a message. >> reporter: all this raising questions about why president trump keeps praising kim. >> he's quite a guy and quite a character, and i think our relationship is very strong. >> reporter: while the test site was being rebuilt, the president was also giving kim a big concession canceling annual joint u.s. military exercises this spring with south korea. the pentagon has long viewed them as critical to maintaining readiness. >> we know you reached out to the white house.

how are they responding? >> in response to this report, white house press secretary sarah sanders said we never comment on intelligence. north korea is clearly a growing challenge for this president and now john bolton, the national security adviser has said in an interview if they don't give up their nukes, if they don't dismantle, that the u.s. is are prepared to toughen the economic sanctions instead of lifting them as north korea wants. >> andrea mitchell in d.c. thank you. now to the long road ahead when it comes to the 2020 presidential race. more big names on the democratic side are bowing out, raising the question just who will it be to take on president trump. kristen welker has more on that. good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning, to you. while the democratic field seems to get more crowded by the day, michael bloomberg has announced he's staying out. it removes one of the richest men from the race and could have ripple effects for some of the candidates still on the sidelines. this morning michael bloomberg is bowing out.

the billionaire former new york city mayor announcing he won't join the rapidly expanding 2020 democratic field ending months of deliberations about a white house bid. in a column for bloomberg news, the three-term mayor acknowledges his path to the nomination would have been narrow writing i believe i would defeat donald trump in a general election, but i am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the democratic nomination in such a crowded field. now bloomberg says he'll devote his energy and vast fortune to defeating the president with a focus on battleground states and issues like combatting climate change and gun violence urging democrats to rally behind a nominee who can beat mr. trump. bloomberg's decision could clear a wider path for former vice president joe biden. last week biden suggesting he's inching closer. >> there's a consensus that i should -- they want -- they, the most important people in my life, want me to run. >> and while speculation has swirled afternoon the democrat's

nominee in 2016, hillary clinton saying in her most definitive terms yet tuesday she's not joining the race this time. in an interview with new york station news 12. >> i'm not running, but i'm going to keep working and speaking and standing up for what i believe. >> reporter: president trump wasting no time pouncing, crooked hillary clinton confirmed she will not run in 2020, rules out a third bid for white house. aw shucks, does that mean i won't get to run against her again? she will be sorely missed. >> clinton firing back with a gif from the classic movie "mean girls" tweeting why are you so obsessed with me. >> all eyes are on former texas congressman beto o'rourke. both have said they'll make a decision soon. former starbucks ceo howard schultz is now mulling an independent presidential bid. he said bloomberg's decision shows just how little room there is for centrist candidates. >> let's talk about the house investigation, democrats have announced the sweeping request

for documents of president trump and people in his orbit. how is he responding to that? >> reporter: it's interesting, the president seems to be shifting his tone, savannah, about thions swirling around him. on monday mr. trump said he would comply with the house judiciary committee's sweeping document request which targets 81 people and groups in his orbit. on tuesday he signaled he may not turn over those documents. take a listen. >> there was no collusion. that was a hoax. there was no anything, and they want to do that instead of getting legislation passed, 81 people or organizations got letters. it's a disgrace. >> reporter: so defiant there, but the president also making comments suggesting the white house could invoke executive privilege or take other steps to shield those documents from democrats. we did reach out to the white house for clarification. so far, though, officials here just aren't commenting. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. and craig's with us with some breaking news this morning. >> good morning.

the city of sacramento has become the scene of heated protests after it was revealed two police officers who shot and

death. craig. >> miguel almaguer there for us in sacramento. thanks miguel. now to around the clock recovery efforts still going on in alabama in the wake of the e in ala nation's deadliest tornado in n nation's deadliest tornado in nearly six years. nearly six years. the search for survivors is the search for survivors is still ongoing. still ongoing.

we're learning more this morning we're learning more this morthe. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in beauregard. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. the coroner here says seven members of one extended family are among the dead and about half a dozen people are still unaccounted for. from the air you really get a sense of the scope of this disaster. so many homes obliterated, and inside this neighborhood lived a state trooper who was among the more than 90 people who were injured. this morning after that massive ef4 tornado cut a mile wide path of destruction through alabama and georgia, crews are scouring the debris in hard hit beauregard searching for survivors. >> we haven't given up hope. >> reporter: and we're learning more about the 23 people who died. the victims range in age from 6 to 89 years old, the youngest was a.j. hernandez. >> yeah, i'm going to cry, but somebody's going to cry with me. >> his grandfather bobby is devastated telling us how the boy's father hid inside the

closet with his two sons. >> the house just exploded and he said both the boys were sucked completely out of his arms. >> reporter: the oldest victim, jimmy lee jones was one of seven people who died from one extended family. his wife of more than 60 years, mary louise and their son emmanuel are also gone. the largest twister was on the ground for a staggering 70 miles. this surveillance video showing the moment of impact, david mcbride feared for his life while the bar he owned was torn to shreds. >> it was very scary. it was terrible. >> reporter: more than 90 people were injured, among them sergeant rob burroughs who was at home with his wife. now he's in the icu while his damaged police cruiser sits outside his ravaged house. emily ray thought she lost everything. she showed us the pickup truck where her father rode out the storm and somehow survived. >> when you first came back here and you saw all of this

devastation, what went through your head? >> honestly shock, you know, like it doesn't seem real. it's crazy. >> reporter: but overnight she found what she'd been looking for two days. her cat bugsy alive under the rubble. this morning this devastated community hoping rescuers will find others missing amid all this heartbreak. >> reporter: and to give you a sense of how huge this tornado was, it was on the ground for 70 miles. the average length of a tornado on the ground is usually just three miles. now, president trump has approved already an emergency disaster declaration for this area, and he is scheduled to tour the devastation here on friday. hoda and savannah. >> we put some ways to help the tornado victims on our website, today.com. we do have a lot more to get to, including r&b singer r. kelly. this morning he is speaking out for the first time since being arrested on sexual abuse charges. nbc's stephanie gosk is here with what he's saying.

>> this is a remarkable interview. r. kelly is facing ten counts of sexual abuse in chicago, but he's been accused of much more. many women coming forward in that explosive lifetime documentary. now in his first interview since the arrest, the singer gets emotional and angry denying the accusations. >> anybody famous can get accused of so many different things. >> i'm a man. i mistake mistakes, but by no means am i a monster. >> r. kelly's soaring voice brought him endless fame. this morning he's using that same voice to defend himself speaking out for the first time in an emotional interview with cbs news. >> this is what they're saying about you. >> not true. >> reporter: when asked about accusations he held women against their will, the three-time grammy winner got angry. >> is this camera on me? >> yes. >> that's stupid! use your common sense. don't -- forget the blogs. forget how you feel about me, hate me if you want to. love me if you want, but just

use your common sense. how stupid would it be for me to -- with my crazy past and what i've been through, oh, right now i just think i need to be a monster and hold girls against their will. stop it. you all quit playing. quit playing. >> robert. >> i didn't do this stuff. this is not me. i'm fighting for my [ bleep ] life. >> reporter: r. kelly is charged with ten counts of sexual abuse . >> there's real young girls out there being abducted, being raped, okay. >> i don't want you just ranting at the camera. >> i'm just telling the truth. and the reason i'm emotional, and i apologize for that, is because this is the first time i was able to say. i've said nothing. >> reporter: he pleaded not guilty in court and has been released on bail.

in 2008, the pop star was acquitted on child pornography charges. beyond the criminal charges, the 52-year-old has battled rumors of sexual misconduct for years. the recent documentary "surviving r. kelly" shining a light on the alleged abuse. >> robert is a master manipulator. everybody knows it now. >> how do you feel about how how people view you in the industry? this defies logic to me. >> all you have to do is push a button on your phone. if you get any traction from that, if you're able to get a reality show, then any girl that i had a relationship in the past that i -- it just didn't work out, she can come and say the same exact thing. >> kelly categorically denying the accusations made geragainst him. >> have you ever had sex with anyone under the age of 17? >> no. no.

>> so the big question is why on earth did he sit down to do an interview when he has a trial coming up? there's a lot of issues, obviously, there. >> yeah, i know. it's anl extremely risky strategy. you have to wonder whether his defense attorney recommended it. but his defense attorney in the past said he had concerns about finding an impartial jury. perhaps he and/or kelly believe the singer is his best spokesperson. but as you can see, he really comes undone in this interview. >> if you're trying to prove that you're not unhinged, terrifying, scary, perhaps that was not the best example. >> if he does go to trial, if that goes to trial, could that end up being shown? >> yes. yes. it will probably be litigated, but i think it comes in because usually statements from the defendant will come in. >> you can't imagine the prosecution leaving that aside during the course of the trial. >> no. they'll try to get it in, that's for sure. let's bring in al once again, the man of the morning

with all those cold temps. >> thanks, guys. sierra, snow and heavy rain there. sunshine in the plains. bitterly cold again. firing up around the tug hill plateau. morning freeze down through the gulf. we're getting to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. up in the next 30 seconds. with audible, you get more. two audible originals- exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. plus a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. all with our commitment free guarantee and always ad free. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. the best place to listen. download audible and start your free trial today. good wednesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. our microclimate weather alert continues with waves of rain in

the bay area. it's raining in san francisco and that will be pushing off to the east into emeryville as well as oakland and some very heavy rain moved through san jose now pushing into south san jose. we are going to see the rain off and on and even a potential of some thunderstorms going into today. and then the rain tapers off tomorrow with our temperatures cooling down behind the cold front. and a break in the rain on friday. >> and that's your latest weather. hoda. >> all right, al, thank you. still ahead, the first lady's fight, melania trump using her tour to take on the opioid crisis, and what she just revealed about her parenting choice and then the new push to get social media platforms like facebook and youtube to crack down on anti-vaccination content as the teen who defied his own mother so he could get vaccinated takes his message to capitol hill. but first this is "today" on nbc.

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and if the middle school dance group was down one member and you'd step in and lead them all the way to glory... yes! then carmax is for you, because helping people is what our people are all about. i )m - -... we )re in a microclimate weather alert. a live look in san francisco and good morning. 7:26. i'm kris sanchez. we are in a microclimate weather alert. we are looking live at san francisco there on the left and on the right beyond the rain drops you can see san jose. both cities getting a healthy dose of rain this morning. the north bay though is mostly dry. meteorologist kari hall is tracking the conditions for all of us. >> we can see that right now on storm ranger as we start to see the rain becoming more scattered and that will be the trend into the afternoon. not all of us seeing the rain at the same time. it will be very hit or miss. even some breaks in between with the sun coming out. but where we do see the rain, there will be a chance of a few isolated thunderstorms going into the evening commute as well

as we see more rounds of showers passing by. we need to be prepared for quickly changing weather and into tonight as well as early tomorrow before this storm system moves out of the bay area. as we look at our seven day forecast, we'll finally catch a break from all of this rain on friday. we're looking at mostly sunny skies but it will be cool behind the cold front moving through. on saturday, another quick moving shower or two in the forecast and then drying out as we spring forward and set our clocks one hour forward early on sunday morning. we'll be tracking that and more updates throughout the day, but mike has a look at the morning commute. >> oh, yeah. northbound routes the arrows show you where you see most of the red, but many of the crashes scattered around the south bay they're countercommuting, causing extra slowing, insouthbound 280 around meridian. slicker conditions as the rain eases off in many spots. you still have to watch those roadways. slicker roads.

880 through oakland, and recovering out -- and jammed up out of the walnut creek interchange. back to you. >> more local news coming up in half an hour. what's better than having fast,

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click, call or visit a store today. 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, march the 6th. check that out, that's the annual mardi gras celebration wrapped up with a bunch of parties, celebrations, parades. i'm sure a lot of people who are recovering this ash wednesday. >> those are your people. >> those are my people. >> by the way, did you see who stole the show at one event this year? there they are right there. those are the robin refs. an entire marching group dedicated to -- >> just when she was starting to get over it. >> the people of new orleans will never get over it. >> they won't. >> we'll be talking about that for years to come. >> all right, let's get a check of the headlines this morning. new evidence first obtained by

nbc news that shows north korea is rapidly rebuilding a key missile site. experts say this commercial satellite image, which was taken only 48 hours after last we can's hanoi summit shows north korea is rebuilding a site for a long-range missile rocket that could reach the west coast of the united states, even as far as chicago. this development comes days after the president told reporters that kim jong-un had promised him not to conduct missile tests. when asked for a response, white house press secretary sarah sanders say we don't comment on intelligence. a racetrack has suspended racing indefinitely after the deaths of 21 horses. they need to check the track's surface. the latest fatality came during a training when a 4-year-old filly was injured and had to be euthanized. now to some frightening moments at sea when a powerful

wind gust slammed into a cruise ship in the atlantic ocean. that massive ship started to tip just hours after leaving new york city on sunday. norwegian cruises described it as an extreme gust of wind. several guests and crew were treated for some minor injuries. officials say there was some interior damage but the ship itself remained fully operational. on tuesday it docked in port canaveral florida. >> can you imagine how strong the wind would have to be. to first lady melania trump's first cross country tour. she has hit the road to promote her be best campaign, and tackle a new issue. morgan radford is here with the latest on this. >> in her whirlwind two-day tour mrs. trump visited an elementary school in oklahoma and a tech company in washington state to talk about kindness and online safety, and now she's turning her attention to opioid

addiction, speaking out about the crisis in one of her longest speeches since heading to the white house. this is her final pillar of her be best campaign. >> the first lady stepping into the spotlight in nevada to deliver one of her most high profile public appearances, among las vegas royalty as she held a town hall on the nation's opioid epidemic. >> it is the worst drug crisis in american history. >> reporter: speaking to former fox news host eric boling whose son died of an overdose, mrs. trump revealed she's warned her own son about the dangers of addiction. >> i teach him. i try to explain how drugs are dangerous, it will mess up your head. it will mess up your body, and nothing comes positive out of it. >> reporter: during the 30-minute discussion, mrs. trump also blasted the press chiding the media for not covering the epidemic more. >> i challenge the press to devote as much time to the lives

lost and the potential lives that could be saved is by dead ka -- dedicating the same amount of coverage as you do to idle gossip or travel stories. >> reporter: the first lady has championed the battle against opioids since her first year in the white house putting the spotlight on an addiction that affects more than 2 million americans and kills more than 130 people nationwide every day. tuesday's town hall, the final stop in her inaugural be best tour focused on keeping kids healthy and protecting them against online bullying. >> there are people dying in this country of opioid abuse. there are children committing suicide because they're being bullied. those are the things that we stho should be focused on as a country over some of the nasty political rhetoric. >> critics have slammed mrs. trump's campaign calling it ironic and hypocritical citing the president's own penchant for bullying his political

opponents, but her supporters say mrs. trump is using her platform to save lives. >> i do believe we can be known as the generation that ended the opioid epidemic. >> when asked towards the end of the interview when parents should talk to their kids, the first lady said they should talk to their children about the dangers of drugs when they are 8 years old. that was her advice. >> thank you, morgan. mr. roker standing by for a check of the weather. what are we looking at al? >> we're looking out west where we're seeing a lot of rain coming onshore. more heavy rain probably going to cause some major problems. santa barbara, 1,200 lightning strikes last night as this system came onshore. we're going to be looking at this system pushing in. flooding rain risk for california today, and snow from the northwest all the way into the rockies as this system pushes in. rainfall amounts, we're talking about anywhere from one to three inches of rain possible around southern california. thundershowers, that rainfall could amount to an inch per hour

falling, and we're also talking about heavy snow back >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. so we have seen widespread rain this morning but now it's becoming more scattered. that means we are seeing more breaks in between. we are not seeing the heavy rain in the north bay but it's moving through the south bay. we are going to see more scattered showers throughout the day and even a slight chance of some thunderstorms. all of this rain will be winding down gradually tomorrow and a break on friday. on saturday, we'll see another quick round of showers moving through. >> and that's your latest weather, savannah. >> all right, al, thank you so much. still to come this morning, an exclusive and eye opening look inside the world's most dangerous country for children where survival is a daily strugg struggle. and there's something you can do, something simple, to help them. plus, luke perry's heart of gold, the random acts of kindness that could be the actor's greatest legacy.

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an ohio teenager defied his mother and decided to get vaccinated. he went to congress and he told congress that she received bad information on social media sites. nbc's kristen dahlgren picking up the story from there. good morning. >> good morning, guys. the world health organization now calls vaccine hesitancy one of the top ten threats to global health, and ethan lindenberger says he saw firsthand how misinformation put him and the people around him at risk. >> my mother would turn to antivaccine groups online and on social media looking for her evidence and defense rather than health officials and credible sources. >> ohio teen ethan lindenburger blamed social media for his mom's views on vaccination. when he turned 18 he defied her doing his own research and getting vaccinated. >> where did you get most of your information? >> not facebook, world health department organization, scientific journals and cited information from those

organizations. >> i'd love to be a guest at thanksgiving at your house. >> reporter: health experts say it's no laughing matter. so-called antivaksers have blanketed social media with misinformation campaigns and hundreds of anti-vaccine websites designed to scare families. >> the only science that's settled is that vaccines harm. >> parents will say i don't remember getting a lot of vaccines when i was a kid, and the truth of the matter is you didn't. >> by the time we got home, i saw a difference. his demeanor changed. his face, his eyes. there was an emptiness, a blankness to his eyes. >> reporter: and drown out real science and information. >> those anecdotes can tear at your heart, but they don't bring you to the part where you learn the science behind the safety of vaccines. >> some worry antivaccine campaigns may be to blame for measles outbreaks in 11 states, mostly among unvaccinated children. in the first two months of 2019 the cdc has reported more cases of measles than in all of 2016

and 2017 combined. >> it's a public health nightmare, actually, because children are actually getting the diseases that were eliminated from our country years ago. >> reporter: right now most states allow religious exemptions to vaccinations and 17 states allow personal belief exemptions. under growing pressure to combat misinformation, social media companies are taking action. youtube now posts educational links about vaccines below all anti-vaxx videos. facebook says it tries to fact check vaccine posts and those with inaccuracies rank lower in people's feeds than truthful articles. as for the lindenberger's ethan's siblings still are not vainated. >> for my mother, her love, affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress. and these sources that spread misinformation should be the primary concern of the american people. >> ethan's mom says she respects his decision as an adult, and

she is extremely proud. facebook told us it's working on additional changes to combat vaccine misinformation. those will be announced soon. >> thank you. >> spreads like wildfire on those social media for sure. we are going to bring in nbc news medical correspondent dr. john torres to talk to us about all of this. >> i was talking to you in the break and asking if people who get -- they say if you don't get vaccinated you're threatening others, and i always wonder why is that? because the others do have the vaccine, so why should they be at risk? >> there are some kids that can't get the vaccine. they have immune issues to begin with. no vaccine is 100% effective. if it's 70 to 90% we're very happy. that means if you get a vaccine, if there's enough people that have that same infection, let's say measles, then there's a chance you could get it if you get exposed enough to it. it can spread to ones without vaccines and others as well. >> let's talk about some of these myths. one is they think that the vaccines will bring on autism. what are the facts on it? >> that's the one that started

the whole thing back in the '90s. there's a study that has been disproven, a bad study. multiple studies have shown there's no connection. denmark released a study this week, 600,000 children they followed them for ten years, they looked at their vaccine schedule and whether they developed autism. they found out no connection between the two. in the study those who received the mmr vaccine were 7% less likely to develop autism. it means there's no connection. >> all of us have small children. we've taken our kids in for these vascular nationccinations. it can be a bit alarming. there are a lot of folks who think an infant's body can't handle that many vaccinations. >> and they talk about the immune system. infant's immune system isn't strong enough. they have very strong immune systems to begin with you've seen your kid run around, they have a temperature of 103, and they look like they're normal. they're very strong. they can take these shots.

they get exposed to thousands of germs every day. these shots have a few germs in them. it's a small pranl ercentage of they get exposed to. >> there are people who say the human immune system is better than any vaccine. >> if you get exposed to it it is better. measles has a 1 in 500 death rate. the vaccine has a 1 in million chance of getting an allergic reaction. you have to look at the balance there. you have to be exposed to daily diseases to be protected from deadly did zs. >> -- deadly diseases. >> vaccines work with your immune system. an nbc exclusive this morning, cynthia mcfadden taking us to africa for a firsthand look at the civil war that's ravaging one country, its impact on children there, and the on children there, and the heroes who will stop at n if your mouth is made to amaze, let philips sonicare give its care a raise. if your teeth chew beyond their limit, then they've earned 62,000 movements a minute.

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now in 6 bold flavors. right now it's 7:56. our microclimate weather alert continues with waves of rain in the bay area. we can see break right now in san jose after some heavy rain moved through. it will be off and on going into the afternoon as well. looking at storm ranger we can see that not all of the bay area is getting in on some wet weather. after we had some widespread rain earlier this morning we are going to see it hit or miss into the afternoon. even a possibility of a few thunderstorms as we go into late morning and early afternoon with some heavy downpours. but there will be at times the sun coming out so be prepared for quickly changing weather into tonight and then the storm will be tapering off for tomorrow. then our seven day forecast shows that as the rain moves out on thursday, it will be cooler. and on friday, we are going to see mostly sunny skies. saturday another quick round of

rain moves in. then after that we dry out once again. let's get an update on the commute from mike. well, we have crashes around the bay air what, many are spinouts. no major incidents blocking the freeways but a slower drive look at 24 still dragging through walnut creek. lafayette, into orinda and then westbound 80 is slow. here's the bay bridge, soupy conditions. the conditions are the factor right now. the traffic flows nicely. there's the berkeley curve, to the south slick through oakland. brighter roads across the bay. happening now, not a lot of rain in the north bay but there are concerns following last week's flooding along the russian river. there's a health emergency over the fear of contamination. you can find details on the home page. also, chevron confirmed flaring this morning at the richmond refinery. the flaring is meant to relieve pressure and is the result of the power outages there.

chevron is not anticipating a public health impact. an ambulany caused a heart attack for a mom once she got the bill. we investigate. plus a lot of rain today. but will these showers linger around for your morning commute? kari is timing everything out before you hit the road. join us tomorrow from 4:30 to 7. good morning, it )s 7:26...

it's 8:00 on "today," coming up, bundle up. millions bracing for record low temperatures as an arctic blast blankets much of the country, and could another winter storm be on the way? al's got our latest forecast. plus, on the brink, we'll take you to an african country facing a massive humanitarian crisis with children caught in the cross hairs. >> where is the world? how are we letting this happen? >> the shocking firsthand look at a place seldom seen on camera. and luke's life lessons. celebrities and fans sharing stories of like perry's kindness from coming to the aid of a former co-star to helping out his neighbors during a flood. how the actor is being

remembered for his big heart, today, wednesday, march 6th, 2019. ♪ >> good morning to our parents. >> in north carolina. >> and new hampshire. >> we're the saltari family from gosh goshen, indiana. >> good morning to everyone in new orleans! ♪ >> celebrating 25 years together. >> from michigan. >> watching "today" show with my sister alley. >> it's luke's birthday and i'm turning 12. >> happy birthday, luke. >> happy 12th birthday. welcome back to "today" on wednesday morning. 20 degrees out there. >> is that what it said? >> luckily we're not going -- oh, yes, we are going out there. if they can be out there waving and smiles, if you're cozied up in your house, do your my today shoutout. put it on twitter, put it on

insta. you have your mug of coffee, you're on tv. >> all the cool kids are doing it. >> all the cool kids. >> we love it. we've got a lot to get to. winter is just apparently in no hurry to hand it off to spring. millions of americans are facing icy temperatures as they head to work or school this morning and al's all over it with what we can expect. good morning. >> good morning, guys. as you can see we've got a lot of cold air stretching really from the north all the way down to the south. windchill feels like six degrees in new york city, minus seven in buffalo. kansas city, minus eight. 61 million people under windchill advisories and wind and freeze warnings from corpus christi, texas, all the way to tampa where it feels like 37 degrees. well, for today we are going to look at those frigid highs in the eastern two-thirds of the u.s. our high today of 16 in pierre. atlanta 16 degrees colder than normal. tomorrow tallahassee, you're at 66. that's six degrees colder than usual. indianapolis 32, midland, texas, starting to warm up, but you'll

see it's a fast-moving system that brings in much warmer air, so greenville by sunday, 69, philly 53, mobile 77. however, we've got another storm system that's going to bring snow and severe weather this weekend. heavy snow from the dakotas into minnesota and parts of michigan and wisconsin. strong storms down through the south on saturday. sunday this pushes up into new england, bringing snow. heavy rain down into the mid-atlantic states through noon, and then that moves through rather quickly. we'll continue to fine tune this as we get on later in the week. guys. thank you so much. evidence first obtained by nbc news shows that north korea is rebuilding a key site for missiles capable of reaching the u.s. mainland. satellite images were taken days after president trump's failed hanoi summit with north korean leader kim jong-un. the president said kim had promised to refrain from any new missile testing. in sacramento, california, the outrage continues over a controversial police shooting that was caught on camera.

>> demonstrators disrupted a city council meeting last night to protest police tactics at a march the night before. more than 80 people were arrested during monday's protest. anger was reignited tuesday when california's attorney general announced that two officers who shot unarmed stephon clark last year will not be charged. that followed a similar decision by the sacramento d.a. officers shot clark seven times while responding to a vandalism report. the officers thought clark was armed but clark only had a cell phone in his hand. the fda has approved a new treatment for severe depression. it has the same active ingredients as the illegal street drug known as special k. the nasal spray contains a variation of the pain reliever ketamine which was widely abused in the '80s and '90s. drug makers say it can help many patients who have not responded

to standard treatments such as antidepressants. the spray would have to be administered in a doctor's office. i got a little morning boost for you two. no parent can resist giving their baby kisses, but watch how that baby girl reacts when she sees her parents kissing each other. >> muah. >> you know what? that's it. she loves seeing sweet affection between mom and dad. she gives them a smile every time they smooch in front of her. maybe that's a reminder. >> i heard you and kath talking about this on your show the other day. she said she once saw her mom and dad give each other a real embrace and how good that made her feel as a little girl. >> she said she had never seen that kind of affection, and it was like wow, they're in love. >> it's a good reminder. i remember seeing my dad grab my mom in the kitchen. i'll never forget it. it makes the child feel so good. so moms and dads love each

other. a powerful nbc news exclusive, opening our eyes to a massive humanitarian crisis. >> this is the most dangerous place in the world for children. harder than syria? >> the most dangerous. >> cynthia mcfadden travels to africa and a country on the brink. we want to show you what children there are facing and more importantly, how you can help. also, the random acts of kindness from actor luke perry that are only now coming it ♪ ♪ i can do more to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its own insulin. and i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like it's supposed to. trulicity is not insulin. it starts acting in my body from the first dose and continues to work when i need it, 24/7. trulicity is an injection to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. don't use it as the first medicine to treat diabetes, or if you have type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis.

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we're back with an nbc special investigative report on a humanitarian crisis unfolding right before our eyes. most of us didn't know about it. >> it's happening in a remote african country, nearly 2 million children fighting for their very survival. without help from the outside world, many will face starvation. >> that's right. a violent civil war has made it difficult to send aid and nearly impossible to even tell this story until right now. legal correspondent cynthia

mcfadden is just back from the central african republic to bring us an nbc exclusive. it's hard to hear, but it's important. >> thanks so much, and good morning. the children you're going to meet this morning are caught in the middle of a brutal man made disaster that much of the world has heard very little about. about the size of texas, the central african republic has some of the richest deposits of natural resources in the world, gold, diamonds, uranium, but the ongoing civil war there has left its children among the poorest and hungriest. as we discovered on our recent journey, there is a way for all of us to help save lives. >> reporter: the central african republic is in shambles. the result of a brutal civil war that's killed tense of thousands of people. this is the first time in five years a u.s. television network has gone in. it requires heavily armed guards as the fighting between muslim rebels and christian militias for control of this mineral rich nation still rages throughout nearly 80% of the country.

>> we have this line of vehicles here. two of them are armored. we are going with blue helmets, guys with the guns. >> reporter: looking through the bullet proof glass, a precaution that people who live here do not have, it's obvious not everyone is happy to see us. except for a war zone, this is as dangerous as the assignment gets? >> yes. this is just the reality of life here. >> carol stern, the ceo of unicef usa says the lawlessness and violence of fueling a massive humanitarian crisis that is only getting worse. 1.5 million children are at risk of starvation. >> where is the world? how are we letting this happen? >> reporter: the danger has driven some aid groups out of the country, 396 attacks on humanitarian workers just last year. >> the jeep that we've been driving around in, there's a bullet home in the window. it's a very scary place.

>> reporter: the young children here have never known peace. >> this is the most dangerous place in the world for children. >> harder than syria? >> the most dangerous because the conflict and violence here prevent supplies from getting through. they prevent people from having any kind of normalcy to their life. there is an alarming rate of malnutrition in the country as a result. >> reporter: the u.n. ranks the central african republic the worst country in the world when it comes to hunger. >> two of every three children in this country are in need of humanitarian assistance right now. >> in the country's capital, she takes us to meet some of those children. >> we are in the only pediatric hospital in the country. in the country. >> reporter: it's where we meet the head nurse here for more than 25 years. >> how many ambulances do you have? >> one. >> how many children? >> we have 300 beds, but depending on the time of year, we can have two or three kids

per bed. >> two or three children per bed? >> many of them have lost parents. they get lost from their families. their whole security has been undermined. >> okay collette is one of those orphans. >> this 7-year-old weighs how much? >> she weighs 14 kilos, which is 28 pounds roughly, and she's 7 years old. >> you're worried. >> we meet vincent, a 1 1/2-year-old who is so malnourished he can no longer eat. >> the child's stomach is now shutting down. with no intervention you will lose this child. >> 6-year-old majalee is also running out of time. >> you look at the color of their hair, which changes with severe malnutrition. it turns a more orangey color. >> do you ever turn a child away? >> no. >> there is nowhere else to go. the ultimate irony, beneath the

ground here in the heart of africa where so many have so little lies a wealth of riches. >> underneath this ground diamonds, gold, i mean, they're living on a treasure-trove that they will never benefit from. the most dangerous place for children, and yet, here it is. >> it doesn't have to be. >> it doesn't have to be. >> reporter: we climb aboard a small u.n. plane, our only way to the front lines as the few roads here are too dangerous. 14 different war lords control most of the country. >> we were originally going to go over here, but we've been advised it's not safe for us to be there today, so we're going to go up here instead. >> reporter: we touch down on a dirt runway surrounded by a makeshift camp. in the past few years, over a million people have had to flee their homes. >> apparently this village grew up in six hours, 20,000 people a

cluster here tried to figure out a place where they would be safest in the airstrip. that's the most security in the area. >> reporter: this woman tells us she and her children ran for their lives when rebels attacked their village. >> what did you bring with you? >> they couldn't take anything, only the clothes they had. nothing. >> nothing. >> the factions don't attack each other. they attack citizens, civilians, families are afraid to go out of their homes. they're afraid to send a child to school. >> and afraid to farm the land. no one and nothing is safe her. >> we leave the plane unguarded, we may not have a plane to come back to. >> reporter: and we've learned this place has been given a disturbing name. >> the nickname is the death triangle. that's how security described it to us. >> we are going with security, and yet we're still supposed to check in every 20 minutes. >> every 20 minutes. and we will. >> reporter: but even in a place called the death triangle, there is reason for hope. at this outdoor clinic, we witness what stern tells us is a life saving miracle in a small

packet. >> so these are about under $0.50. >> under $0.50 apiece. this really is. this is life or death. >> it's called plumpy nut, a paste that tastes like peanut butter but is filled with a day's worth of nutrients. >> all of these women are feeding their babies plumpy nut. these two little twins are loving this. no refrigeration. things that were created in the past were powders. they needed to be mixed with water when you couldn't find water. it had to be easy. no preparation. moms just rip it open. babies can feed themselves. they're thoroughly enjoying this. >> reporter: nearby an unexpected sight, in a country where almost no one feels safe, children singing, playing a traditional tribal game based on trust. >> you prepare yourself for the pain and the horror, but boy, there's no preparation for the

joy. >> this is what they do have. they have each other. >> unicef has not been able to raise the money that you want to raise for the central african republic? >> so the overall budget last year $56.5 million was needed, and less than half of that was raised. >> so what happens if you can't raise the money? what happens to the people here? >> children die. that's the answer. unicef will stretch and do as much as it can in every corner of this country, but we can only do what we are funded to do. >> reporter: but look at what that money is doing. remember those kids we met a few days ago? stern and her team show us that tender care and plumpy nut can make a world of difference. >> much better. >> little vincent now healthy enough to sit up on his own. >> his mother's doing better, too. >> reporter: and look at maja lee the girl who stared silently and couldn't eat. >> she's sitting up.

she's got strength. she's got sparkle to her. she's eating by herself, not being forced to eat. she has an appetite. >> these kids would die if you, this hospital, unicef wasn't here? >> in the morning when we have the staff meeting and they tell us no baby die overnight, thank god. >> without the plumpy nut the doctor tells us these kids wouldn't make it. >> they wouldn't make it. this is giving them really a full day's nutrition. >> and a chance at a life. >> complete chance at a life that wouldn't be there without it. >> man. >> wow. >> and this is it. this is a little packet of plumpy nut that does its job so well and costs under $0.50. >> can we see them? >> people want to help, what do they do? >> yeah. you can go it our website at today.com. it links to unicef if you want to help, and i know people are generous. and i know people will. >> there was so many profound

moments in there, but when you said you prepare yourself for the pain, but the joy is what gets you. i mean, and watching how just the smallest thing healed those children that you saw in the beginning. i mean. >> it really is true, though, you know. to see the joy that these kids can find in the most difficult of circumstances and to see some of the adults who are suffering so much themselves, you know, create these little class rooms where they're working with the kids. i mean, i know all of you have been in these kinds of places. the joy is what gets me every time. >> it's hard to get your head around two out of three kids needing humanitarian assistance. it's hard to fathom. >> unicef, people i know, we have such generous viewers. people are going to be right online wanting to help. at $0.50 a pack, and it can bring the light back to a child's eyes and literally revive them. are they going to be able to get it there because of this terrible civil war? >> they're determined and they are very present there now. they're willing to take the risk. these are the kind of

assignments where the aid workers go in, you can't bring your families. you sacrifice and do it. unicef and others are very much present in the country. as i say in the piece, nearly 400 attacks on aid workers. three journalists murdered last summer, three russian journalis journalists. aid workers and journalists are targets. the people who are trying to do the bad stuff don't want foreign eyes. >> they're doing god's work over there. thank you. >> thank you for bringing that to us. >> much more reporting tonight on "nightly news" with lester holt. and today.com, we put the information up. a quick look, show you what's happening around the country, and we do have a lot of wet weather out west. that's where the predominance of the bad weather that you can see on the radar is showing up, and we're also looking at temperatures that are way below normal from the plains all the way down into the gulf as that pushes in northeast as well. we do look at lake effect snow around the great lakes today. that sierra snow, heavy rain, possible flooding. central and southern california.

snow into the rockies good morning. i'm kari hall. we've seen waves of rabe moving through the bay area and starting to see some of the showers tapering off. we do still have some rain moving through parts of the east bay as well as the south bay. we're going to see the rain scatter, even a few thunderstorms going into the afternoon into evening hours. we're seeing coming in waves into the afternoon before it moves out early on tomorrow. and then after that, we catch a break with some more showers possible on saturday. >> and that's your latest weather. hoda. as tributes to luke perry pour in, we're learning more about his legacy and the impact that goes way beyond his work on camera. nbc's gadi schwartz joins us with that story. >> good morning, hoda. at some point everyone learns the golden rule, whether you're 5 or 105, the principles are ever lasting.

treat others the way you want to be treated. as the world reacts to his shocking death, story after story is surfacing of perry doing just that, leaving his mark on the world he helped entertain and improve. when it was time to shine, luke perry delivered. >> and why are you in oz jim burns. >> diving head first into characters. >> i like to fix things. >> reporter: and filling the screen with charisma. >> as the world mourns his passing, perry's daughter sophie sharing a sweet photo on instagram expressing her thanks for the outpouring of support as stories flood social media highlighting her father's kindness and generosity to friends, neighbors and even strangers. 90210 co-star shannen doherty revealing perry reached out to her in 2015 when she went public with her cancer diagnosis opening up to people about his heart of gold and never ending well of integrity and love. >> none of us are up here today without shannon. >> a year later, perry defended

dougherty whose reputation and behavior dominated tabloids during the show's heydey. >> she's a very big part of the success of that program. >> for perry kindness was anything but an act. one twitter user recalling perry was the nicest customer we had at our blockbuster. another witnessed the former teen idol pitch in during flood relief in tennessee. riverdale co-star haley law revealing in a heartfelt instagram post that that perry offered to cosign for her car when a dealership wouldn't let her finance it. actor collin hanks pending a tribute of his own remembering the first and only time he met perry. on a flight from mexico hanks overheard two young brothers fighting. a man comes from first class, hat, beard, sunglasses. he ties it off, hands it off like he's holding out a sword to a king, kneeling, head down, arms up. kids calm down in milliseconds.

plane damn near burst into applau applause. he realized the hero was perry, writing he tells me he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason. hanks adding i'll be damn ed if i don't start traveling with balloons a life full of warmth and compassion. >> if you know it's the right thing to do, even though it's tough, even though it might cost you, you got to do it. >> reporter: both on and off camera. and perry was one of those icons that spanned generations. to so many he was that teen heartthr heartthrob, but above it all, it now seems his larger legacy was living a life full of kindness and humanity. guys, back to you. >> man. >> gadi, thank you. so many of those stories that come out after his passing. >> isn't it nice to hear people are doing kind things when no one's watching or so they think. we are going to help save you money on this wednesday morning, the secrets to finding

the best summer tral deavel dea >> jill's here, she's got steals and deals. it's all about rest and relaxation and getting a good night of leap as we get ready to turn the clocks ahead. first on a wednesdaygood mornin. i )m ... we )re in a microclimate weath and good morning to you. 8:26. i'm marcus washington. we are in a microclimate weather alert. here's a live look at sfo and dublin still seeing some wet weather this morning. meteorologist kari hall is tracking conditions for us. >> the rain coming in in waves. we're getting breaks in the north bay and a break in san francisco. it has moved into parts of the east and south bay. this is what we'll see going into the rest of the day. the rain kind of tapering off in some spots, but we will keep a chance of rain in the forecast as it becomes a little bit more hit or miss. we could also see a few thunderstorms possible going into the afternoon. and even the sun breaking out at times. be peopled for quickly changing weather. this all starts to wind down

tomorrow with a break empty rain on friday. and a few more spotty showers on saturday. let's see how the roads are moving with mike. >> slow on the south bay. 101, we see another crash north of 286/80. flowing in that direction all the way from the split with 101, 85, 87 into mountain view. rest of the bay slippery. it will be slick. watch coming out of walnut creek. 24 still slow. another crash in the morning west 88. there's oakland. the camera shakes with the wind. >> thanks, mike. more local news coming up for you in 30 minutes.

♪ >> hey, everybody. it is 8:30 on this wednesday morning. what an awesome crowd out here march the 6th. if you're counting two days and counting to our special citi sponsored live event right here on the plaza ch. e we're going to mark

international women's day. as an added treat, on friday we will have a live concert from country music superstar maren morris. >> jenna's so excited. she's here already. >> yes, i'm gearing up for friday. i'm getting ready. i'm always gearing up for friday. >> who's got the crowd moment? >> i got the crowd moment. sirius xm channel 108. >> we're not going to lose you in that coat, brother. >> afterwards i'm going to be on 5th avenue as a traffic cone. it's going to be great. we've got a fan of "today" show rodeo. this is jody from florida. >> hi, al. >> hi. you called into our show. >> last week. i said i was coming. here i am! >> and you're also a big fan of "today" show confidential? >> yes, love it. >> would you like to meet them? >> yes! >> we're going to take you in. you're going to go downstairs to our control room and meet libby, tom mazarelli and pete breen of the brain trust behind our show. thank you for listening.

we really appreciate that. >> that was awesome. >> i love it. that's so cool. guys, i'm just hanging with all these folks. they all have savannah signs, and i'm like wow. but it's for savannah, georgia the great southern city. >> you've never been? >> i've never been to savannah, i got to come, right? >> we got to fix that. >> it's a great city. >> okay. we're going to come. just decided. just ahead, jill is about to make getting out of bed harder with this new batch of comfy, cozy steals and deals. >> our travel expert is standing by to reveal his secrets for big savings on your family's next vacation including how you can actually negotiate better prices. >> oh, good, we can get our trip to savannah. plus, i've got some exciting news to share, and i need your help, so look out for that announcement. >> and coming up on the third hour of "today," we've got another great story from our influence-her series. we're going to meet the

entrepreneur who's trying to create a new way for women to work, and it is catching on. >> all right, but first, al, let's get a check of that weather. >> but first. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by marvel studios "captain marvel" discover what makes her a hero, in theaters everywhere friday. >> let's check your weather out starting with today. we are looking at a lot of wet weather out west, especially central and southern california, mountain snows, morning freezes through the gulf, lake effect snow in the great lakes area. that's going to continue and push through the northeast and new england. much colder through texas, mountain snows through the rockies. sunshine through the southeastern atlantic states with rain in the mid-mississippi and ohio river valleys and some snow moving into the pacific good morning i'm meteorologist kari hall. as we look at the heavy rain shifting out of the bay area off toward the east, scattered

showers the rest of the day. some of those scattered showers may bring a few norms. we'll have the chance going into the afternoon. but there will also be more breaks in between. we keep the rain chances in the forecast through the overnight hours into early tomorrow. and then we get some clearing as we catch a break from the rain. but another round of scattered showers in the forecast on saturday. >> and that's your latest weather. let's head back inside, mr. melvin. thank you, sir. now for our next trick, magic. people have been baffled and amazed by tricks and illusions for centuries, but now a brand new group of magicians is using the internet to revolutionize their craft. nbc issa vanna se nbc's savannah sellers is here with more . it's a whole new world of magicians. >> reporter: they're not your parents' magicians. >> you guys are part of an underground magic society where the members get tattoos to show

their allegiance. i mean, is there anything cooler than that? >> at least nothing that's happened to me yet. >> ian fresh and chris ramsey are part of new group of magicians called the 52. it's a secret society of cutting edge magicians determined to modernize magic in a digital age. >> i saw, you know, very early on how they were really changing magic, using the internet and social media and changing the brand of what a magician is. i thought that was such a powerful shift in one of the world's oldest art forms. >> reporter: fresh as a freelance journalist who was writing an article on magic, so fascinated by the group he learned magic himself and joined them. he details his journey in his new book. it's invite only and only ever has 52 members. each magician in the secret society has their own playing card identity and their own tattoo to prove it. ian the 2 of clubs and chris ram

sow, t sooe the 4 of spades. they're determined to make magic come alive in a whole new way. >> what's social media meant for you as a magician? >> i think it's great. i think it shows magic in a way that people have never seen it before. it's always been this untouchable, unreachable thing only done by a few people. and the internet brings people to something they've been learning for for a long time. >> do you guys think magic can sort of help in real life in a lot of ways? >> definitely, it has. i receive a lot of letters from whether kids being bullied and now they're not being bullied anymore or a veteran using magic for rehabilitation or to take his mind off things. >> everyone, especially people who fall into magic, are kind of searching for the best version of themselves. magic is a great tool to be able to do that. >> reporter: this magic is innovative, but more importantly it's accessible and intimate. >> magic is not really about the

move or the mechanics but it's about sharing -- sharing an experience. >> reporter: like the one i got from chris. >> i'm going to take a playing card, and i'm going to run it down the side of the book, and i want you to say stop whenever, and we're going to choose a page. >> stop. >> right? >> yeah. remember the first word on the page, but also remember the page number. can you do that? >> mm-hmm. >> have a look. >> okay. you got it? is the word media? what page was it on? >> i should tell you? >> yeah. >> 86. >> go to page 86. we've not set anything up because, look. >> what the heck. >> so look. savannah, have a look behind that glass over there. >> oh, my goodness. >> so the future of magic is in very good and probably tattooed hands. >> i think progression is important for magic, that's kind of the whole point of the book. it's up to us to keep it alive.

>> there's one more member of the 52 you may be familiar with, shin lim. he just won "america's got talent." he's the queen of spades. when ian was with him when he got his tattoo and he writes about that in this new book. >> did he show you how to do the tru trick? >> he did not show me. >> how did that paper get over there? >> it's been there since i got there. what if i picked a different page. i said i don't like that one. can i do it again. he said yes. >> not only did you play violin but you were a magician, too, right? >> i took a couple of years of magic classes. >> a couple years. >> it's very expensive to get into. that's one reason why my father encouraged me to stop. >> do you still have any tricks? >> a couple if i had the right supplies. >> savannah sellers, thank you, and thank you, too, al roker. you can see more of her on stay tuned, nbc's twice daily show.

>> you guys celebrated a milestone. >> yesterday was our 1,000 episode. >> there are a bunch of savannah signs out there. prepare to be amazed by the steals and deals that jill has lined up to improve your sleep. but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ [baby crib musical mobile] millions are still exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. and some of them can't do anything about it. but you can. protect your family.

visit tobaccofreeca.com. welcome back, this morning on steals and deals some help getting a little extra rest because daylight savings time is hitting this weekend. that's when we turn the clocks ahead. we lose an hour of sleep. "today" contributor jill martin is here with some items that may help us sleep and save. we're in bed, what's happening here? >> yeah, good morning. usually everyone's so bummed, you lose an hour. >> so what, yeah? >> we thought we'd work everybody up a little bit. this is the nine space sheet sets, they retail 290 to 310. it's an organic cotton sheet set. >> okay. >> you get the fitted, the flat, two pillow cases. it comes in eight colors. they retail 290 to 310, the deal

$59 up to 81% off. >> really soft we should say these are, too. >> and as you go through this, you'll see how you can also splice in, i'm always up for a makeover, how you can like splice in makeovers into rooms for a pop of color. this one is awesome. now, i think you are still a big fan of the scrunchie right? >> i love a scrunchie, yes. >> and jason ma mow omoa rockedt the oscar. these are our sleep set, they retail $63. >> you put these in your hair before you go to sleep? >> it comes with the pillow case, the eye mask, and the scrunchie. what i love about this whole situation is the retail i said is $63. satin will not put dents in your hair. it will not put imprints on your face. it helps with your overall appearance. there are studies that say this does work. i sleep with a satin pillow case. now it's taking it to a whole new level with the scrunchie. the satin scrunchie will not leave dents in your hair.

a guy needs a scrunchie too if you have long hair. >> it comes with the eye mask, same deal, and it will protect your eyes and protect it from wrinkles that you would get on a regular pillow case. the retail 63, the deal $19.99. 68% off, even if you don't believe in this stuff, this is great way to try it out to see if if works for you. >> i love a cozy blanket. >> this is great. >> your mini me, too. retail 175. it's faux fur with a satin border, so we can just attest to that it's very soft. it's 45 by 59 are the dimensions. celeb fans include jennifer garner, jessica alba. that's 61% off. >> it's like a throw on your couch if you wanted, something to throw over you. >> and again, like a pop of color, something you wouldn't normally buy in a different color. and now. >> by the way, it's kind of a good time of the year. sometimes you do need to replace towels. you keep them forever and

forever. they're threadbare. >> you're like the kind of person who says maybe now this will motivate me. it's about starting your day right, even when you open your eyes and everything a ten, you want your day to be better. that starts hopefully with a shower. we've got all these towels retail 136. it's turkish cotton. it's a six-piece touwel set carried in neiman marcus and bloomingdales. $39 for the whole set. that's 71% off. >> 39 bucks? >> for the whole thing. and also great colors. absolutely. all right. cozy up into some like jammys. they retail $120. i only have two looks. it's this and very dressed up. there's no medium look. if you're like that too and athleisure wear is so big. this is a great way to wear your pajamas all day and still like which i can. they retail 120. the deal, 48. that's 60% off.

>> they're meant to stop above your ankle? >> they're capri. it's actually a flattering silhouette for the body. you wouldn't normally think that, but it really streamlines your body. it gives it a little bit of bagginess in the hip area. >> these are so soft. let's go through these products one more time. the sheet sets from nine space, the satin sleep sets from kitchkich. the pillow, the giraffe throw blanket, peacock towel sets and lounge ware from nation. you can find all these deals and a lot more at today.com/deals. daylight savings time is coming up this weekend. text today at 66886. download our app. >> i like it. i love it. just ahead, more savings. we're sharing the secrets behind finding the best travel deals. but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ no hormones!

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tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock. the redwoods to the redheads. the rainbows to the proud. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything in your power to preserve and protect them. with love, california.

we are back with "today" travel, and the secrets to finding the best savings op your next vacation. some revealing and cost cutting keys to snagging the cheapest deals. get out your pen and paper. you've got some really good ideas. we're doing it by question. the first question is when can you save the most money by using a trafvel agent? when you're flyings, booking hotels or booking a cruise. >> which one do you think? >> well, i read the answer. >> what is it? it's cruises. the reason is you're crazy not to use a travel specialist as we call them now for a cruise because you'll get access to special perks, on board credit, which is really like free money for the ship and better deals. you might pay a little fee when you work with a travel specialist but across four people saving money, that's a great deal. 90 days out from a cruise, double check the prices. >> so some last minute deals happen. >> they want to fill the ships.

>> of course. >> next question, can unused gift cards buy your next vacation? >> what do you think? >> i was going to say false. >> but in fact it's true. when we used to get a gift card we don't want, we put it in a drawer and it got dusty. >> now you can sell it on giftcardgranny or card pool, if you're flying american frontier booking a hotel, you can go onto those sites and buy those gift cards. >> do you get face value? >> if you're a buyer you could save up to 10%. $100 to spend on that flight might cost you 90 bucks. >> and check the expiration dates i assume. >> always check the fine print, use reputable sites. >> our next statement, weekends are always the most expensive time to fly. true or false? i would have said true. for sure true. >> no, it's not. >> it's false. >> you see, there's the thing, i think people assume that weekends, yes, if you're

inflexible friday night to sunday night, you might pay a little bit more. if you can wiggle the dates terrific, but i would also suggest say you've got a family to visit in chicago at some point in the next few months. you know you need to go for a weekend, use travel gam. it will allow you to search weekends only and see the cheapest weekend to make that trip. >> i need to go in the next six weeks, which is the best weekend. what if you're like i want to go somewhere but where should i go? >> the flip side. say you know which weekend you want to be away but you're not sure where. use sky scanner. it has a destination which is everywhere. type that in, and it will offer you all the flights from your origin. look at what appeals. >> that's fun. >> pretty good, right? >> that's a really good idea. >> the next question is or statement, before booking any trip you should negotiate on your flight, hotel, excursions or car. i didn't think you could negotiate anything in this space really. >> you know the one thing you can really negotiate is hotels.

>> okay. so here's the key. do a bit of research in advance. check a hotel price for your room before you negotiate, you know, check it out. and then call the hotel directly. don't call at peak times, not check in, check out. >> are you calling the front desk, like hey? >> call the main line and say could i speak to the duty manager, be polite, be charming, don't berate them. most people seem to stay for a couple of nights. i'm staying for three. could you work with me on price. >> could you negotiate get a better room or something? >> exactly. >> the more you talk the better. >> the best day of the week to purchase flights is? >> well, you know, we're going to talk about -- >> oh, shoot. i missed one. oh. >> this is the best price on the hotel is in dollars. this is a bit of a pro tip. simply if you're traveling overseas, it's false to think buying on the u.s. site will always be cheapest.

look at your country of destination. say china, wherever. >> but isn't it going to be in another language? >> usually there will be a pulldown in english. we're very lucky. you don't have to have language skills. look at those and see whether the local pricing is a better deal than if you pay in dollars. >> just do it really fast. >> there is not a secret day to buy a flight. none of this is true. just plan ahead, sign up for airfare watchdog. >> you always have the best tips. i told you get your pen and paper out. thank you so much. when we come back, jenna's here, she's got a b

welcome back, everybody. we have a very exciting announcement from our pal jenna. >> yes, you all know that i love to read. i've said this probably a thousand times. my mom was a librarian, so it's basically in my dna. well, we wanted to share that passion, so guess what? >> what? >> we're starting a "today" show

book club. yes, we are, and we want everyone at home to join the #readwithjenna. we'll pick a different book and post thoughts and questions about it on today's instagram account. >> you're always talking about books all the time. >> i love to read and i love getting recommendations from people. i say watch out oprah. don't say that out loud. >> and your best tee reece. >> i know. >> i'm coming. so our first pick is this, are you ready to unveil it? >> yes. okay. open it up. >> open it up. go for it. >> already. >> it's magic. >> don't tear the book, though. >> all right. let's see. >> have you already read this? >> i have started it. >> and. >> okay. it's called "the last romantics" by tara conklin. i'm really excited about it, it's about siblings, which is fascinating but coping with the tragedy and how their whole lives kind of unravel and come together. i've already sent a copy to

savannah's mom with a note. >> my mom, first of all, she'll read it in ten minutes. >> and your mom's already read it. she's done. >> she's all over it. >> she likes to recommend books to me. you all read with us. follow our instagram account and be part good wednesday morning right now at:56. we are still tracking waves an of rain moving through the bay area with our microclimate weather alert. storm ranger showing some rain after a widespread heavy rain earlier this morning. it's starting to taper off. we will still have a chance of scattered showers even a few thunderstorms going into the rest of the day. there will be some breaks in

between and we will also see at times brief heavy downpours that will continue. all of this moving out by tomorrow. a break from the rain on friday. then saturday there will be another chance of some rain moving in with our temperatures gradually warming up early next week. we'll be tracking the rain with more updates throughout the day. >> thanks. happening now, not much north bay rain but there are health concerns following last week's flooding along the russian river. the county declared a health emergency over contamination fears. and chevron is confirming flaring this morning at the richmond refinery. they say the flares were the result of a power outage affecting the processing unit and issued what they call a level 1 warning to keep the public informed. chevron does not anticipate health impacts. an ambulance triy

caused a heart attack for a mom once she got the bill. we investigate. plus a lot of rain today. but will these showers linger around for your morning an ambulance trip nearly caused a heart attack for a mom once she got the bill. >> will the showers linger for tomorrow's commute? join us tomorrow morning 4:30 to 7:00.

>> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good wednesday morning, everyone. craig melvin here along with al roker, sheinelle jones also joining us. dylan has the morning off. maria shriver is going to join us in just a moment. we start this morning with what a lot of folks talking about. >> everybody's talking about it this morning. this interview that r. kelly apparently did, his first interview since his arrest. kelly of course charged with ten counts of sexual abuse including four women, three of them minors. r. kelly has pled not guilty. he's out on bail, and this morning he sat down with