7:25 with live local news. >> here's a live look of what is happening from coast-to-coast. the fires in the lake tahoe area, as well as the east coast flooding there. we will continue to monitor those, and we'll have much more on that as well as on the "today" show coming up. good morning. breaking news. states of emergency. ida's remnants tear through the northeast with catastrophic results. at least eight people killed. an entire month of rain in just a few short hours turning roads to rivers, trapping drivers. thousands still stranded this morning. new york's subway system flooded and shut down. the storm spawning damaging tornadoes in new jersey and maryland, and this morning, the problems are far from over. with millions set to face a

brutal commute. we've got complete coverage. far from over. that fierce wildfire in california closing in on lake tahoe. flames threatening vacation spots as firefighters report their first progress from the front lines. we're there live. breaking overnight -- a divided supreme court declines to block that controversial new law in texas banning nearly all abortions, the most restrictive in the country. president biden insisting it violates the constitution. so where does the tense showdown go from here? those stories, plus -- covid controversy. podcast host joe rogin testing positive for the virus. an influential voice who's expressed doubts about the vaccine. just ahead, what he's saying about his recovery. >> immediately threw the kitchen sink out. all kinds of medicine. >> that's raising more eyebrows. and broadway revival.

18 months after shutting down from the pandemic, the great white way bouncing back in a big way. ♪♪ inside the popular shows ready to reopen that have theater fans everywhere rejoicing. today, thursday, september 2nd, 2021. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. thank you so much for joining us with savannah and hoda off, we've got sheinelle in studio 1a. i'm working from home because that storm was so brutal, new york city actually issued and overnight travel ban, sheinelle. >> a lot of people watching this morning who can relate. it is the big story of the morning. extreme weather stretching from

coast to coast and we start here in the northeast. >> that's right. the remnants of ida unleashes historic amounts of rain in just a few hours, leading to chaos all over the region. people being rescued from flooded homes and stranded cars. in fact, the first-ever flash flood emergency was declared for new york city, and here's a live look at the flooding in philadelphia, where more than one river, as you can see, has spilled over its banks. >> my goodness. take a look at this. water gushing over subway platforms and trains here in new york city. nearly the entire system suspended overnight along with a temporary ground stop at all three of the city's major airports. the storm also spawned a stretch of tornadoes in new jersey and several other states. >> meanwhile, the south still recovering from its slashing by ida.

nearly a million people still without power in louisiana, many of them in new orleans where a heat advisory has been issued for today, adding to the problems there in the bayou. >> out west, that dangerous wildfire near lake tahoe still raging and look at this as it races east. crew are hoping for better weather today will help them gain the upper hand. >> we're covering it all this morning with our team of correspondents on the front lines. dylan is standing by with the very latest on the forecast, but we're going to start with stephanie gosk this morning. steph is surveying the damage and flooding in queens, and she is standing in what appears to be what's left of an exxon gas station. >> reporter: yeah. that's right, craig. it about 10:00 last night. the rain was coming down so hard, so fast, that it brought the roof of this gas station crashing down, and check out what it crashed down upon. that car. thankfully the owner of the car

was inside. no one was injured here. the national weather service doing something they very rarely do. first issued a flash flood warning here in new york city and upgraded that to a flash flood emergency. they only do that when the situation is life threatening. this morning, the east coast pummeled by deadly storms fueled by the remnants of hurricane ida. tornadoes, flooding and heavy winds throughout the northeast. in new york and new jersey, historic rains causing one of the wettest septembers on record, and it's only the second day of the month. new york city's infrastructure devastated. roads and parkways quickly submerged. residents needed rescues from rising waters. the national weather service posting, "this is a life-threatening situation. seek higher ground now." new york's governor declaring a state of emergency, captured on video, floodwaters pouring into subway stations, submerging vehicles. in queens, heavy rains causing this exxon station to collapse

on to a vehicle. on staten island, firefighters rescued an mta bus driver and supervisor, as workers from a nearby cvs jumped in to help. in westchester county, high winds and heavy rains making driving conditions dangerous. >> how bad is it out there? >> it's pretty bad. >> cars are stuck, people that get stranded, people that are taking public transportation if they have to. >> reporter: in new jersey, governor phil murphy also declaring a state of emergency. one mayor, hector laura, asking residents to stay off the roads. >> water has risen so high we have up to four to five vehicles stuck in the middle of the street. we're presently trying to help individuals come out of the road. >> look at that tornado! >> i've never seen anything like this, especially in south jersey. >> reporter: multiple homes were destroyed. >> winds, maybe five minutes, and then -- just everything was

decimated. >> reporter: here's a remarkable statistic from last night. in central park roughly between 9:00 and 10:00, 3.15 inches of rain fell, shattering the previous record, which was 1.94, and that record, craig, was set just a week and a half ago with hurricane henri. >> goodness. stephanie gosk starting us off there. steph, thank you. joining us now is the mayor of passaic, new jersey, hector laura. his town hit hard overnight. he spent much of the night surveying the damage. mayor, thank you so much for your time this morning. we just saw you in steph's story. you and your team out trying to rescue folks from those flooded cars, from flooded homes as well. what's the status of the search and rescue operation there? >> our firefighters are preparing to go into the passaic river this morning. we received reports two young adults may have been swept into the river.

last night, unfortunately, the city of passaic had a tragic loss of life of a 70-year-old gentleman who was trapped in his vehicle. through the heroic efforts of our fire department and police department, family members rescued and countless lives saved throughout the state of new jersey. unfortunately, the impact of the storm resulted in loss of one life and potentially two more as we continue to investigate. we're dealing with the aftermath of the storm right now in passaic. we have 60 individuals we rescued and evacuated that are in city hall right now and hoping to get them back into their homes, and we're going to continue assessing the damage throughout the city. obviously, vehicles can be repaired. property can be replaced, but life lost cannot be returned, and we are so grateful for our emergency responders and police and fire who went beyond, above and beyond, in heroic efforts throughout the night to respond

to every single call, alarms, of trees that came down but specifically rescuing individuals as we say abandoned vehicles throughout the city that is the evidence of the hard work of police and fire to rescue individuals stuck out in the storm. >> mayor, you were obviously expecting remnants from ida, but 3 inches falling in central park in an hour, a half inch reportedly falling at newark airport in six minutes. it seemed as if the speed with which this storm hit caught a lot of folks by surprise. were you guys caught off guard a bit? >> believe just like every other municipality in the state as a whole and the tri-state area, we were caught by surprise. obviously we took the pragmatic approach of cleaning our storm drains monday, ensuring we had enough resources in terms of staff, bpw, police, fire, but no one could have predicted the

storm would have taken such a turn for the worse. intensity of the rain and you already mentioned how quickly the rain came down, it caused and wreaked havoc throughout the city. there were certain areas in our city where streets under six feet of water. we had firefighters swimming in the road as if they were in a river. we were grateful to receive a call from the governor, phil murphy, extending help and assistance if needed and right now the priority is to ascertain whether missing individuals are in hospitals, whether we can find individuals who weren't in their vehicles, and unfortunately, again, our concern is that there may have been additional loss of life. >> okay. passaic, new jersey, mayor, hector laura. best of luck to you and those firefighters who are working so hard right now. our thoughts and prayers are

with you and the rest of the folks in new jersey, and all over the northeast this morning. mayor, thank you so much. >> absolutely. a tough time for so many this morning. bring in dylan in for al tracking where ida's been and what's next. good morning. >> good morning, guys. remember, ida at one point was a category 4 hurricane. so it had a lot of water with it. it had a lot of intensity with it, which is why we saw tornadoes in places we don't usually see large tornadoes, like southern new jersey. watch as the track of this storm brought a lot of rain to eastern pennsylvania throughout most of the day yesterday. york, pennsylvania, nearly 6.5 inches of rain, but then as it moved eastward it brought 8.44 inches of rain to newark, 7.2 in new york city and then continued to move through connecticut. so just to put this into perspective, this is something we've never seen before. in newark, 3.24 inches in just one hour. in new york city, 3.15 inches. that is the most rain ever received in a single hour. now let's put it in perspective

as far a six-hour rainfall totals. newark, 6.78 in six hours, new york more than 6.5 inches. more than 1 in 500 year rainfall event. that is something we have never seen before. the good news now, rain cleared in the tri-state area now will bring most of the heavier rain through new england and winds increased a bit. looking at gusty winds, but as far as additional rainfall for new york, new jersey, connecticut, that is not going to happen out of this storm. craig? >> all right. dylan, thank you, and, of course, much of louisiana still reeling from ida. four days after the storm crashed ashore, as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the united states, and this morning the problems are mounting. the white house announcing president biden will travel there tomorrow to survey the damage firsthand. nbc's morgan chesky joins us now from new orleans after flying over some of the hardest-hit areas with that state's governor. morgan, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, craig, good

morning. unfortunately, the governor no stranger to these post-hurricane flights or the damage that covers the majority of this entire region. he told me that restoring power remains an absolute top priority, and after flying over louisiana, it was clear help can't come fast enough. this morning struggle and heartbreak in the wake of hurricane ida. >> utter devastation. like a bomb went off. >> reporter: towns like laplace, with entire streets completely under water. we joined governor john bel edwards wednesday on a black hawk tour of the devastation as he visited parishes left reeling. as we headed south flanked by the governor's chopper, damage from the category 4 hurricane becoming more apparent in size and scope. powerful winds responsible for knocking down eight transmission lines causing a catastrophic power failure across much of the state. >> in st. charles parish, this

damage, absolutely heartbreaking. this is one of the places that they say people may not get power back for more than a month. >> reporter: on the ground, the governor sharing his message to those so desperately in need. help is coming. when you fly over and see the scope of the damage, how did it hit you? >> well, it's a gut punch, and the people of louisiana really are reeling, tremendous devastation. this is a really tough storm, but we're going to recover. >> reporter: meanwhile, in towns thrashed by the deadly storm, lines of cars waiting to stock up on gas and other essentials. some drivers forced to push their vehicles to the pump. >> do what you got to do. >> reporter: in new orleans, the national guard handing out vital meals -- >> here you are, man. >> reporter: water -- and ice. >> i survived, man. i'm good. >> reporter: as some communities see small signs of progress. >> when i realized the power was on, there was a blessing. >> reporter: nearly 1 million homes and businesses still without electricity. >> yeah! >> reporter: now residents

cheering on the crews. >> when power comes on, it comes on. >> reporter: working together to get the entire region back up and running. >> no telling how long before we get power back. >> reporter: and the governor was quick to credit the levees for working as they should but did acknowledge the failure of the state power grid saying there needs to be investment to reinforce that because they always know in louisiana that the next hurricane is never far off. craig? >> morgan chesky for us this morning in new orleans. morgan, thank you. turning now to the growing fire emergency out west as we welcome in tom lamas. tom, good morning. >> reporter: extreme weather nearly every corner of the country this morning with flames from california's caldor fire pushing dangerously close to lake tahoe. crewings are racing to save thousands of structures in its path. making matters worse, some now battling covid. joining us with the latest, steve patterson. good morning. >> reporter: tom, good morning.

no doubt a victory for crews on the ground. the red-flag warnings in place for days expired overnight. the danger still remains. the fire is still burning dangerously close to south lake tahoe. thousands of homes still a threat in this danger and it's nowhere near over. this morning, firefighters trying to battle an onslaught of flames to save homes in a popular resort community. some ski resorts using snow blowers to fight the fire. how close it the fire to south lake tahoe? >> really close. right behind a certain road that outskirts the community. >> reporter: now some firefighters also battling covid. a strike team of at least 16 firefighters now sidelined sparking fears the virus will affect even more critical front line crews. >> how much more can californians take of this? >> if you don't believe in science, got to believe you're on ice. come here and experience the

smash-mouth reality of climate change taking shape in realtime. >> reporter: just 23% contained the caldor fire already burned over 200,000 acres, despite over 400,000 firefighters trying to contain t. panic in three days. panic and anxiety attacks. >> reporter: more that 53,000 people forced to evacuate. hundreds heading to safety in neighboring nevada. >> i'm very concerned. i don't want to lose my home and everything i have. >> reporter: the caldor fire now so big, it looks like a threatening storm from space. and this is what crews are dealing with. forests of flame. all it takes is one pocket of embers and a strong wing gust and you can have these all over south lake tahoe. that's what firefighters are trying to prevent and they're up against it. what's the overriding fear, the intel about the erratic nature of this fire and what it could do to south lake tahoe? >> mother nature the most powerful force on the planet.

it will determine the future of south lake tahoe. >> reporter: firefighters have been battling this thing for weeks and still less than 25% contained. the estimate is that it will take until mid-september for full containment as it now burns east and threatens nevada. tom? >> mid-september. all right. steve, thank you for that. craig? lots more to get to on this thursday morning including breaking news from the supreme court overnight. the high court declining to block that restrictive new abortion law in texas that sparked nationwide protests. so what does that mean for the ongoing legal battle? what does it mean for abortion rights nationwide? nbc's senior washington correspondent hallie jackson has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, craig. this is significant. the supreme court psi loent no longer wanting them to step in and block the law on an emergency basis. overnight the court in a split 5-4 decision said it would not do that, at least not right now. here's what the law does

it effectively bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks into a pregnancy, before some women even realize they're pregnant, and no exceptions for rape or incest the law tries to make it harder to challenge in court. instead of tasking state officials with enforcing it, it gives incentives for people to file private lawsuits against anybody considered to be helping with an abortion even somebody who, for example, drives a patient to the clinic at the court, conservative justices and majority arguing they aren't addressed complex procedural questions but left the door open to challenges. chief justice john roberts joined the three more liberal members of the court in dissenting with justice sonia sotomayor calling it stunning accusing fellow justices are burying their heads in the sand. what does this mean more so a lot of eyes on this a lot of eyes on the court to see what steps happen next here, craig.

broadly? experts say this texas model, texas law, if not successfully challenged could be the model for many other states looking to put similar kinds of laws in place. so a lot of eyes on this a lot of eyes on the court to see what steps happen next here, craig. >> our senior washington correspondent hallie jackson for us hallie, thank you. and check in with dylan for the full forecast. what a morning. >> certainly is, but ida is departing heaviest of rain across new england another area the northern, plains watching could see the next round of severe storms this afternoon. bro, one more time. worth of drip but i'm cut from a different cloth. tell my competition lay low. jif peanut butter. that flow crazy. it's that jif'ing good, ludacris changed his flow for it. good morning. i am meteorologist, kari hall. you can see the smoky sunrise

over san jose showing the smoke is back and we have an air quality advisory in effect. we are looking at highs in the upper 70s for the south bay and low 80s for inland east bay, and along the coast in the mid-60s this afternoon. for the forecast, sunday into labor day we are looking at valley temperatures reaching into the mid-90s. and that's your latest forecast. craig? >> all right, dylan, thank you. still ahead this morning, popular podcast host joe rogan who's faced criticism over the plus a miraculous journey of survival. >> i just screamed, "run." made it right out of our bedroom, maybe a couple steps

out of our bedroom and then the floor just started to cave. >> our exclusive and emotional conversation with a family who lived through that deadly condo collapse in florida. bu

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good morning. it's 7:26. i am kris sanchez. breaking news. firefighters still hoping the weather is more favorable today in their fight against that caldor fire now threatening south lake tahoe. that's where sharon katsuda is live. sharon, what do you see this morning? >> reporter: well, we have seen good news, the firefighters just had a new conference and they are saying now the caldor fire is 25% contained. overnight they made progress. can you see behind me how smoky

it is, and there's ash falling from the sky now, and overnight there was a lot of back burning going on and firefighters were able to make progress to light a fire and create a line to protect homes in the riverton area. right now a lot of people have evacuated in the north lake tahoe area or other areas spread out around the bay area just hoping this gets under control. back to you. >> thank you, sharon. we want to take a look at our weather forecast, because that's a big factor in the firefighting effort. >> absolutely. the winds are calming down, and we are seeing the smoke settling in and we can witness that as we look out in the walnut creek area as you step out the door this morning. the next couple of days we are getting ready for hotter temperatures in the labor day holiday weekend. low 80s for highs in the valley to mid-90s, and that's going to stick with us until labor day.

cooler for wednesday, but we are not go to go see a significant warm-up in san francisco or along the coast. we will have more local news coming up for you in half an hour. we hope your morning is off to a good start.

this is what folks are waking up to as we're back at 7:30 now this is the scene in philadelphia this is the scene in philadelphia this is the scene across many cities here in the northeast on this thursday morning. devastating flooding after the remnants of hurricane ida swamped the region with record rain, guys. >> it is a challenging time for so many families waking up this morning. we'll have much more on the flooding and where the storm is heading next throughout the morning. but right now your other 7:30 headlines one student was killed after a shooting yesterday at a north carolina high school

it happened around noon at mount haber high school in winston, salem. the school immediately went into lockdown the alleged shooter has not identified but believed to be a fellow student that suspect was taken into custody last night after an extensive search no word this morning on a possible motive. first pfizer, and now moderna seeking approval for its covid vaccine booster. the company says a third half-dose shot significantly boosts immunity, including against the delta variant. the new data was just submitted to the fda so far the agency is only recommending a third dose of the moderna and pfizer vaccines for people with weakened immune systems. regulators will meet in about two weeks to talk about whether boosters are needed for everyone. in sports, the new orleans saints will not play their home opener at the superdome september 12th as originally scheduled. instead that game moves to jacksonville, florida, due to

the ongoing recovery due to hurricane ida. the superdome had no damage but hundreds of thousands of people in the region remain without power and it could be several days before electricity is restoerped joe rogan revealing he tested positive for covid. >> the 54-year-old has been dismissive about the covid vaccine and says he contracted the virus while on the road for a comedy tour. >> nbc's anne thompson is here with more and a lot of people talking about this one. >> they certainly are, because joe rogan is a controversial host known for his podcast "the joe rogan experience" and very vocal about the covid vaccine in the past now as he shares his own experience with the coronavirus, he's stirring up even more controversy with the drugs he says he took to get better. >> reporter: he's been one of the loudest covid vaccine skeptics. >> a completely new kind of

vaccine. the idea that people shouldn't be skeptical or nervous about that is kind of hilarious. >> reporter: now this morning, joe rogan, the mega popular podcaster and ufc commentator, says he tested positive for covid. >> i got fevers and sweats and -- i knew what was going on. >> reporter: telling fans on instagram he got back from taking his show on the road saturday night reportedly he was in florida where covid cases are setting records. it's unclear whether the 54-year-old has been vaccinated. rogan also sharing with over 13 million followers that he's taking ivermectin, meant to treat parasites in horses and other animals. >> we threw everything at it monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin. >> reporter: despite unproven treatment and dangerous in humans in high doses it's

received a recent boost from online misinformation prompting warning from the fda and other health officials the fda tweeting last month, you are not a horse. you are not a cow. serious, y'all stop it. with millions of listeners and a $100 million licensing deal with spotify, rogan has influence, setting off a firestorm earlier this year suggesting healthy, younger people didn't need the vaccine. >> if you're a healthy person and you're exercising all the time and you're young and eating well, and, like, i don't think you need to worry about this >> reporter: savannah asked dr. anthony fauci for his take on rogan's comments. >> well, that's incorrect, savannah. >> young, healthy people should get vaccinated >> absolutely. >> reporter: vaccine proponent prince harry who also has an exclusive deal with spotify took rogan to task. >> stay out of it. if you have a platform -- with a platform comes responsibility. >> exactly. >> reporter: rogan quickly responded to the backlash. >> i'm not an anti-vax person. i'm not a doctor i'm a [ bleep ] moron and a cage

fighting commentator i'm not a respected source of information, even for me. >> reporter: no argument there doctors warn people can overdose on the drug and experience a slew of ills such as nausea, even death rogan thanked modern medicine for pulling him out of it so quickly and easily and he says he's been getting better every day since sunday. when nbc news reached out, he declined any further comment. >> a lot there thank you. >> thank you, anne. when we come back here on a thursday morning, a "today" exclusive. a family who survived the deadly condo collapse in surfside, florida, sharing for the very first time their harrowing story and long road to recovery.

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that vacant space over my shoulder is where the champlain tower south once stood it was 12 stories tall firefighters were able to pull 98 bodies out of the rubble, but they were also able to rescue three people, and this morning for the first time we're hearing from two of them a 16-year-old and her mother, who were still asking the question, "why did the building collapse?" >> who ever thinks a building's going to collapse on you i'm sorry. >> half the building's gone! >> reporter: in just 12 seconds around 1:30 a.m. the 136-unit condo collapsed. >> i remember mom yelling, run, and dragging me out of bed. >> reporter: angela, devon and her father edgar had been watching a late-night horror movie in the master bedroom. all laying in the same bed when -- >> it just felt like an

earthquake. >> reporter: angela, 45 years old, says, a split second before the floor began to give way, she heard what she thought was thunder. >> i just screamed -- run! we made it maybe right out of our bedroom, maybe a couple steps right out of our bedroom and then the floor just started to cave. >> reporter: their condo was on the ninth floor. devon fell with the building five stories, her mother under debris slightly above. devon's right leg crushed, her femur snapped but she was able to scream for help. >> is anybody down there injured? >> reporter: rescue teams eventually reached devon and then her mother, who had been knocked unconscious. older sister taylor had been out and rushed home to find a cloud of concrete dust and chaos. >> they told me that if they were on that side of the building there wasn't going to be any survivors so -- that was a very difficult night.

>> reporter: taylor eventually found her sister and mother in the hospital angela was in a coma for five days she came out of it on her birthday and then learned her husband edgar had not survived. >> he was my best friend he was my person >> i didn't get to say good-bye, but a lot of people -- sorry -- have said that -- saying good night and i love you, and i'll see you in the morning, was a lot better than a good-bye because it's like, i'll see you later. i'm glad i have that. >> reporter: the family lost all their possessions except the edgar's wedding ring, recovered from his body. >> we have this thing that every week each of us get it i got it for the first week of school it's going to be taylor's turn on monday, and then after taylor it's mom, and we all just wear it. each week, we just, we share it,

yeah. >> reporter: angela faces a ong road but doctors say she should walk again the gonzalez hopes federal investigators can determine why this happened. >> i want to know why my husband lost his life. i want to know why they don't have their father. i have my daughters, so i have -- i have something to look forward to, but i know there's other mothers that have lost you know, a husband or a child, and it's just not okay it's not okay. >> reporter: you may have noticed 16-year-old devon is on crutches she's a stand-out volleyball player and this is her playing volleyball before this happened. and she says getting back with her teammates is a big part of what's driving her in the debris field and in this rubble the family lost everything, but their pet cat binks somehow also survived the collapse and has now been reunited with them, which is giving them some sense of

comfort. guys >> kerry, such a remarkable story. so much strength there. >> uh-huh. >> in that family. do keep us posted, kerry thank you. thank you so much for that. >> all right let's switch gears now and get a check of another big story this morning. the weather. dylan? >> good morning again, everyone. the heat down south is still going to be an issue down along the gulf coast, 14 million people under heat advisories including the new orleans area where so many are still without power and the humidity is going to make it just brutally uncomfortable. new orleans will feel like 105 today. lake charles will feel like 106. galveston feels like 107 going through the next couple of days high temperatures staying in the low to mid-90s with humidity making it that much more uncomfortable good morning. i am meteorologist, kari hall, taking a look at our temperatures today. it will be nice and cool, and the sky will look hazy. a air quality advisory in

effect. napa today heading towards 75 degrees, and livermore reaching 82. going through our forecast for the inland areas, mostly low 80s today. mid-80s tomorrow and it's going to continue to heat up heading into the labor day weekend. 90s in the forecast for monday as well as cooling down on tuesday. >> dylan, thank you. aig? >> all right, dylan. thank you. sheinelle, what's up next? >> up next, a big moment in new york city's recovery from the pandemic the popular show is reopening on broadway tonight as we take you inside the great new revival, right after this. after taking care of them, i knew that i really wanted to become a nurse. amazon helped me with training and tuition. today, i'm a medical assistant and i'm studying to become a registered nurse. in filipino: you'll always be in my heart.

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>> a lot of people are >> bruce springsteen brought his musical back in june now "passover" hit the stage 15 shows plan to start performances again now. ♪ >> reporter: tonight marks the return of a musical that takes its audience to the underworld ♪ why is it so hot down here ♪ >> reporter: a more hellish journey than a welcome. you found out broadway was coming back, what was your reaction >> thrilled. meant not only me but the people i cared about would have a job again. ♪ >> reporter: even once again the same role playing in march of 2020 when broadway suddenly went dark. >> it looks beautiful. >> reporter: during the pandemic, she hunkered down with reeve carney, her co-star onstage and partner off. what went through your mind when you would see just broadway quiet? the marquees dark? >> did you get a chance to see that >> reporter: yeah. >> we were like, what the heck is going on? >> reporter: so what got you through? >> oh, god hope and a full glass of gin

♪ >> the remembrance and being surrounded by theaters, i went, i must be here for a reason. ♪ >> reporter: that reason a different kind of broadway revival. the production reuniting and rehearsing ♪ hello, hello ♪ >> reporter: the cast of "waitress" to "the music man" with hugh jackman. this month, "lion king" and "wicked" all slated to hit the stage along with "moulin rouge the musical. and saying his show has a new energy, feels like putting on broadway 2.0 production of "moulin rouge. >> reporter: do you see this show in a different light? >> this show at its core a group of artists fighting for the opportunity to practice and share their art. >> reporter: now all these casts

will finally share their art, for crowds, they must bring a mask and proof of vaccination. broadway's reopening night. >> to hear that group of people laugh or cry or celebrate, getting goose bumps. it's like nothing else ♪ >> reporter: the big question, whether the delta variant will keep some fans away. that might be the case for some overall. the broadway league says september sales are strong so far. good to hear. >> i can't wait. >> i was going to ask you. i would love to take calvin to broadway obviously just watched "hamilton" on disney plus. how can he go? vaccine. a negative covid test and specific rules online. kids under 12, a chance to see the negative covid test. >> all the rules great. >> a special coming up monday at 7:00 p.m. streaming, taking a whole look at the return to broadway super excited. interviews with sara bareilles

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good morning. it's 7:56. i am marcus washington. here's what is breaking and happening now. >> i'm sharon katsuda along highway 50 where you can see the fire still burning here with huge plumes of smoke kicking up from the fire. this is near christmas valley where you can see along the hillside there are structures here and homes also threatened. of course, firefighters are trying to keep this fire from spreading to south lake tahoe. so far the caldor fire has destroyed more than 500 homes and has burned over 200,000 acres. a look at the forecast for you today, meteorologist kari

hall, she's been tracking numbers for us. how is it looking today? >> hopefully we will get more containment on the caldor fire with the wind calming down, and an air quality advisory in effect. not too bad today in terms of temperatures. nice and cool, low 80s. it will be heating up going into the next several days as the inland valleys heads towards the mid-90s, hot for labor day and then cooling off. san francisco, not too many changes here. looking at smoke and temperatures in the low 50s and 60s. we'll have another local news update for you in 30 minutes. see you then.

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it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, washed out. deadly storms hit the northeast bringing tornadoes, record rain, and historic flooding. new york and new jersey declaring states of emergency. subway stations under water. roads turned to rivers triggering new york city's first-ever flash flood emergency. crews working to rescue those caught in the rising waters. we're live with the latest and where the storm's headed next. match made in heaven.

>> i am so grateful. >> we're bringing together a b transplant recipient and donor in staudey 1a. both say the other saved their life. >> help people when they need help. do what you can, and that's it. >> watch the meeting face-to-face live for the first time, just ahead. plus -- better basics for fall. expert tips to refresh your home this autumn. the gadgets we picked to help start your season right. and throwback thursday. elton john announces new music with some of pop's top artists. while the spice girls reunite for a 25th anniversary. people around the world checking what year it is. "today," thursday, september 2, 2021. ♪ i can't help it, i can't stop ♪♪

>> good morning "today" from charleston, south carolina, and a big happy birthday to my grandma who's turning 101 today. have a wonderful day, mama. >> hello from colorado. we're celebrating eddie's 16th birthday. happy birthday! ♪♪ >> we're celebrating caroline's 11th birthday from seattle, washington. >> happy birthday, caroline! >> we love you. >> all: and we love the "today" show! >> yes. >> and we love you back. welcome back to "today." we are so glad you started your thursday morning with us. savannah and hoda are off. i'm working from home. sheinelle and tom, they're in studio 1a. how's it going, guys? >> we can't complain. that's still my favorite part of the show. a crazy morning but people still have birthdays and milestones to celebrate. glad you're with us. >> be honest, weren't so happy with the picture just showed. >> man, i look -- very cranky. >> but you're not. >> not cranky at all today. everyone is looking forward to

the holiday weekend, and we'll have you covered tomorrow on "today." the weather, the travel forecast, plus answers to the other labor day questions and concerns people are searching for online. >> all right. we'll get that for you tomorrow, but right now let's get to your news at 8:00. ida's remnants drenching the northeast with record rainfall overnight. so far at least eight people are dead. states of emergencies have been declared in new jersey and new york where floodwaters gushed through the streets. subways, homes as well. nbc's stephanie gosk is in queens with the very latest on all of it. steph, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, craig. you know, it's remarkable looking at the damage at this gas station. no one was injured, thankfully. new yorkers are waking up this morning to major disruptions, including the subway line that is almost completely shut down right now. it is going to take a long time for this city to bounce back

from the storm. this morning, the east coast pummeled by deadly storms fueled by the remnants of hurricane ida. tornadoes, flooding and heavy winds throughout the northeast. in new york and new jersey, historic rains causing one of the wettest septembers on record. and it's only the second day of the month. new york city's infrastructure, devastated, making streets impassable. roads and parkways quickly submerged. residents needed rescue from rising waters. the national weather service posting, 'this is a life-threatening situation. seek higher ground now." new york's governor declaring a state of emergency. captured on video, floodwaters pouring into subway stations. submerging vehicles. in queens, heavy rains causing this exxon station to collapse on to a vehicle. on staten island, firefighters rescued and mta bus driver and supervisor as workers from a

nearby cvs jumped in help them to safety. westchester county just outside of the city, high winds and heavy rain making driving conditions dangerous. >> how bad out there? >> pretty bad. >> cars stuck. people stranded. people that are, you know, taking public transportation, if they have to. >> reporter: in new jersey, governor phil murphy also declaring a state of emergency. passaic mayor hector laura. >> what's the status of the search and rescue operation there? >> we're dealing with the aftermath of the storm right now in passaic. we have 60 individuals that we rescued and evacuated last night that are in city hall right now and we're hoping to get them back into their homes and we'll continue to assess the damage throughout the city. obviously vehicles can be repaired, property replaced, lives cannot be returned. >> reporter: the numbers from this storm are truly jaw-dropping. we've been talking about them all morning. one that stands out to me in particular in new jersey, in newark, they set a one-day rainfall total record with 8.41 inches, craig.

>> hmm. it was just crazy. so much rain falling so fast. steph, thank you. we'll get to dylan's forecast in a few minutes, sheinelle. meantime following new developments in a controversial case out of colorado. in a rare move both police officers and paramedics charged in the 2019 death of elijah mcclain, a young black man restrained and injected with a powerful sedative. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in aurora just outside denver with the details. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. legal experts say not only unusual for police officers to face charges in this type of case but extremely rare for paramedics to do so. two officers, one former officer and two paramedics are charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. four of the five also facing assault charges. in august of 2019 elijah mcclain was walking home from a

convenience store wearing a ski mask when he was detained by police responding to a call about a suspicious person. after struggling with officers he was placed in a carotid hold and paramedics injected him with ketamine. at first the case brought no charges even though protesters were demanding it. but it was renewed after the murder of george floyd last year. the aurora police office claimed they did nothing wrong saying he died to violently resisting a rest and a previous heart condition. now, separately, colorado's attorney general has continuing a civil rights investigation looking into whether this police department's actions were part of a pattern. city officials here say they are cooperating. sheinelle? >> gabe, thank you. and the faa's investigating whether virgin galactic celebrated space flight may not have been so picture-perfect after all. according to the new yorker,

richard branson's rocket actually veered off course in its dissent on july 11th. pilots saw a red warning light as the craft flew outside of its designated air space more than a minute and ultimately landed safely. a spokesperson said the crew was never danger and the change in trajectory was caused by high-level winds. >> all right. >> yikes! >> yeah. we got the news covered here. how about a little morning boost? give it a shot. >> okay. >> 3-year-old cousins. 3-year-old cousins, they're also best friends, guys. they even live in the same building. so they had never been apart fort for very long. tough when one of them spent several months in europe visiting family, but that made it even sweeter when they were reunited as the airport in san francisco. >> oh! oh -- >> how sweet

>> and, of course, after the screams and hugs, out came those friendship bracelets of course, of course another reason that these two are so close, by the way they're fathers are twin brothers. >> oh, that's cute. >> makes sense. >> add another layer there. >> all the best twin bracelets had those growing up fun. >> me and craig have those. >> you have one, craig has the other? >> keep it in their pockets. up next, a hidden part of the housing crisis college students struggling to pay room and board we'll introduce you to a man on a heartwarming mission to help, right after this.

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(girl 1) feeling lost...help? (man) do what moves you. (girl 2) put yourself out there. ♪let's take a journey♪ ♪to a place where worry, is a-♪ (person) it's ok to be lost. ♪just can't comprehend♪ ♪let's take a journey♪ ♪let's take a journey♪ ♪take a journey♪ we are back wit we are back with a look at a covid -- or prices tied to covid happening in cities across the country. college students facing homelessness in the light of the pandemic. >> yeah. it's an issue that one nonprofit in los angeles is looking to combat head-on nbc's erin mclaughlin joins us

from los angeles erin, good morning to you. >> reporter: guys, good morning. across the country, three in five college students are experiencing basic needs insecurity, unsure how they're access food or even a place to live we met up with sam, an extraordinary man who's fighting this hidden part of the housing crisis, leasing a former sorority house to open new doors for homeless college students. beside this mansion on the west side of los angeles, opportunity is knocking. the 53-bed home called "the opportunity house. it opened its doors to college students facing housing and food insecurity, a problem only made worse by the pandemic. one survey finding nearly half of all college students face housing insecurities this year, unable to make rent or pay bills, and in l.a., one in five community college students are homeless.

>> i felt fired up about it. honestly right? i mean, we're -- we're a better country than that. >> reporter: dr. sam prater, a founder of los angeles room and board, the nonploft that transformed this former sorority house into a dream home for those in need. >> i finally feel like i am walking in my purpose. >> reporter: his desire to help the young and homeless, from a shared story of adversity. born in detroit to a family of 14 children, sam dropped out of high school and became homeless at the age of 18. >> i got evicted twice, and couch surfing thing, and rough that period between 18 and 23. >> reporter: you lived this problem? >> i lived it. i lived it >> reporter: what was that like? >> i don't have the language to describe what that was just survival. >> reporter: he would eventually thrive >> i am keenly aware of the power of higher education to transform lives. if i can get these students

through college, the opportunity that will unfold before them, i just, it's limitless. >> reporter: today, 32 full-time community college students live in the house, enjoying a full kitchen, study, and even a game room you have a lot of artwork. >> yes a lot of artwork. >> reporter: many of furnishings donated all to facilitate the typical college experience many wouldn't be able to afford beyond getting a place to crash and free meals, tutoring is offered to help with financial literacy and skills ensuring their opportunities now and beyond. >> we're not just a housing program. we're a cleej completion program. i firmly believe that education is the way out >> it's a little bit of everything and something i've always wanted. like a little dream of mine or something. >> reporter: they were offered rooms after becoming homeless. juan lived paycheck to paycheck,

couch surfing in homes of family and friends. >> the impact it had on my life was really negative. i was sabotaging myself, my educational goals. it was just a really big distraction. >> felt, like, trapped, scared. >> reporter: after precious moved to california to attend college, she says she was soon left without a place to live >> i had my car at the time. so living in my car wasn't an option. >> you were looking at possibly moving into a homeless shelter. >> yeah. so i could continue going to college. >> reporter: since moving in, juan and precious say the opportunity house has given them a second chance. what do you think? what do you think people need to know about kids in your situation? >> i became homeless in ways that i couldn't control, and i still wanted my goals, but i just -- my life didn't pan out where it was easy to get them. >> reporter: sometimes you just need a helping hand? >> yeah. >> you know, these are students who are thriving through

college. so we shouldn't feel sorry for them, we should be rewarding them and celebrating the fact that nevertheless, they are persisting >> reporter: and, guys, sam prater says the opportunity house is just the beginning. l.a. room and board is looking to expand to other projects and also working with universities to potentially open up dorm rooms in what otherwise stood vacant for students facing housing insecurities and homelessness. >> such a good idea. i think a lot of people underestimate the problem really all over the country erin, thank you. and tracking weather all morning and dylan has another check. >> yeah. we will finally seeing remnants of ida continue to make its exit off of new england you can still see some heavy rain, though, still falling, especially through down east maine, but that moves away within the next several hours but could still see three to five inches of rain. the next area we focus on, the northern plains, where you can see the heavy rain falling and some of those storms could be severe

temperaturewise, heat mostly down south along the hard-hit gulf coast temperatures in the 90s. it will feel like it's in the triple digits. for the fires out west a good thing, temperatures dropped and winds should ease. not seeing increase in humidity and rain at least we'll have the lower temperatures and thein w ndsot good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. with winds calming down today, we are going to see more smoke settle into the bay area. oir temperatures are still nice and cool with many micro climates cooler than normal, reaching into the upper 70s, low 80s for inland east bay and north bay, 60s near the coast. san jose headed to 77 degrees. inland temperatures are heating up. for the labor day holiday weekend, we'll see highs in the hottest spots reaching into the mid 90s. don't forget, also check us

out on "today" show radio, sirius xm channel 108. all right, dylan carson daly also working from home not just doing "pop start" but running the graphics department as well. what's up? >> got to do it! >> and graphics department opting to go to elementary school rather than making h hard-earned cash from the old man. what a mistake but i'm here anyway. so we'll get to it first up, we've got a new music doubleheader kicking things off right here sir elton john yesterday the rocket man announce add new album is in the works called "the lockdown session. 16 new songs and features, collaborations from all-star artists including miley cyrus, dua lipa, and others what he said about making the new album. >> got a 16-track record which i'm so excited about i got to meet charlie booth, play piano on miley cyrus' "metallica" cover and decided to go to los angeles and work with andrew watt and came out with a

list of people i wanted to work with the track with nicki minaj eddie vetter, stevie nicks and stevie wonder. couldn't get a better bucket list than that, and i'm thrilled and can't wait for it to come out. >> if i'm charlie, every time my cell phone rings it's a snippet of sir elton john saying, "i got to work with charlie huet. pretty incredible right there. lockdown session sounds great, available october 22nd check this out music icons the spice girls celebrating their iconic spice album, the 25th year ginger posh and baby spice, all reunited for "spice 25." it channels the '90s going to be released as a two cd set. people still have cd players bonus tracks and unreleased recordings from the spice archives how will you play this

8 track. released october 29th. next up this morning for you, "seinfeld." the classic nbc sitcom about nothing headed to netflix. all 180 episodes of "seinfeld" on the streaming service and in a statement jerry joked, larry, david, and i are enormously grateful to netflix for taking this chance on us. looking to recoup how many millions, it must have take ton do it was reported in 2019 netflix paid upwards of $500 million for the streaming rights to the "seinfeld" show and guessing that board meeting might have going a little something like this >> i think i can sum up the show for you with one word. "nothing." [ laughter ] >> nothing >> "nothing. >> tell me about the stories what kind of stories. >> oh, no. no stories. >> no stories? >> so what is it >> what did you do today >> i got up and came to work, there's a show that's a show. >> and the rest is history

>> that's right. yes. 500 million bucks worth of nothing. "seinfeld" hits netflix october 1st. one more quick thing a little food controversy to cover this morning about cold cereal you might remember, yesterday on the show mike tirico and collin morikawa on. yesterday we confronted with his viral video showing how collin prepares a simple bowl of cereal, the pro golfer passionately defended the fact he pours milk into the bowl before the cereal goes in causing a big stir around here we couldn't let it go and took to the polls to find out how many out upi there are part of this milk-first community. here are the results 23% of voters agree with collin. >> wow >> totally a normal thing to do. but 77% say that practice is totally insane. >> someone help me understand why one would put the milk first? >> a good argument he knows how much cereal he's

going to put in the milk and this way more milk -- >> doesn't get as soggy. >> all right there you have it. >> strong in that direction. >> okay. the buzz will continue. >> 23% >> i know. meantime, carson, you have a great story for us. >> there's no hope for this country. >> yeah. we do, we do have great story for you coming up. good morning. it is 8:26. marcus washington. breaking this morning, the caldor fire is burning to the edge of lake tahoe. it is 25% contained. total number of acres burned has pushed past 210,000, with 622 homes destroyed. some good news, firefighters on the frontlines, conditions are expected to improve today. some 32,000 structures still burning. meteorologist kari hall is

monitoring. winds are dying down in that area. >> yes. some great news. hopefully we get more containment on that. while wind calms down, it will cause smoke to settle into the bay area, even though we are enjoying cool temperatures. if sensitive to smoke, limit time outside. it will heat up going into the holiday weekend with temperatures inland going from low 80s to mid 90s by sunday, still hot on labor day. cooling off a little bit heading to tuesday and wednesday. we're not going to see a significant warmup in san francisco, upper 60s here. >> thanks, kari. another local news update in 30 minutes. see you back here then.

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jimmy tonight, professing love >> stealing from the post office >> and bts with butter and biden's emergency hotline with china. >> usually at biden's age your emergency hotline is hanging around your neck >> tonight ♪ 8:30 now on a thursday morning. the second day of september, 2021 we are here in studio 1a craig and carson are working from home this morning and carson, just ahead a story we've been waiting for all week. >> yeah. we do, guys. incredible glad the weather is cooperating enough to get this on the air today.

i hope the story helps a lot of people we'll introduce to you a transplant recipient who searched for a long time for the donor who would save her life, and then you'll see tia jensen meet her donor face-to-face for the very first time. something she's wanted to do for a long time. we're doing the meeting live in studio 1a. >> can't wait. i've met them both separately. can't wait for them to meet face-to-face. >> wow, carson looking forward to that one, buddy. also ahead, our pal jenn falik will be sharing simple ways to organize and refresh the busiest areas of your home and just in time for fall. there's jenn. >> perfect timing. coming up on the "3rd hour of today," chatting with lady gaga's mom, updating us on the mission to help kids deal with mental health struggles as we emerge from the pandemic. >> speaking of music icons, tomorrow on "today," platinum-selling country superstar keith urban is here. we are all looking forward to

this it is part of our summer concert series rockin' the plaza with songs from his new album new stuff, old stuff always look forward to that. >> a lot ahead. how about a check of the weather, dylan >> when we have a concert on the plaza we want the weather to be good looks fantastic. going into labor day weekend, weather take as turn for the better seeing lots of that september sunshine, cool, humidity's low temperatures mid-70s, although we'll see a slight risk of stronger storms through the middle of country, but not all that widespread. saturday still nice up and down the east coast, hot on the gulf coast with humidity on the high side it will be hot in the southwest as well. still no rain in sight even into sunday out west, although with temperatures not as hot, could help a little. not a lot going on on sunday in fact, a great beach day, and then look at monday. i mean, can't really find showers out there. mostly sunny for most of the country. temperatures comfortable, in the 70s and 80s for most, except

good morning. i am meteorologist kari hall. we take a look at temperatures for inland areas. it will be nice and cool today, just more smokey as an air quality advisory returns. we'll continue to see more smoke settle in for the weekend. as winds calm down, temperatures heat up. labor day weekend forecast brings inland valley temperatures into the low to mid 90s for labor day. we are up to 95 degrees. meanwhile, san francisco keeps it cool. upper 60s and low 70s into next week. and that's your latest forecast. and that's your latest forecast carson >> dylan, thanks so much so we are moments away, guys coming up, tia jensen, who's with you live in studio 1a, excited to finally meet the man, her donor, who saved her life by donating his bone marrow he's also in studio 1a but another part the twist, the donor says she saved him as well. their incredible sto

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we are we are back with milestones we missed, our ongoing series where we help people come together to celebrate life's special moments and landmarks that have been impacted by the pandemic. >> yeah. sheinelle, a great one this morning reflecting the best in humanity tia jensen and gage taffy didn't know each other a few months ago yet saved each other's lives and their reunion has been a long time coming. first, a quick look how they got here. ♪ >> i thought i just maybe had bruised ankle and my blood work came back really awful. >> reporter: back in 2018 tia jensen discovered she was in a fight for her life. >> they pretty much diagnosed leukemia pretty quickly. >> what went through your mind when you got that diagnosis? >> i had lived with multiple

sclerosis for 20 years i was sad but just another thing i had to face. >> reporter: tia needed a bone marrow transplant to save her life she started chemotherapy and waited for a match around the same time, just a few hours away in idaho, gage was fighting his own battle with depression >> it's been a struggle my entire life. at that point, i was at an all-time low in a new state kind of living on my own had my youngest daughter with me half the time and really, really hard >> reporter: when he saw a video for "be the match" a national donor program, he signed up and a few months later got a call. he was a match. did ever think about opting out? >> no. the way i was raised help people when they need help. do what you can and that's it. >> reporter: within months tia received the transplant she desperately needed and a success. not only is leukemia in

remission, so is her m.s. >> by undergoing a transplant and getting a new immune system, it in theory should eliminate that underlying disease process as well. for tia's case, because she got this new immune system, the hope, kill two birds with one stone. >> reporter: in an effort to thank her donor, made numerous letters in hopes of reaching him but none made it to gage until two years letter got the letter anxiously she waited for. >> screaming running through the house, oh, my gosh i have my donor information. >> reporter: they were in toucch but they never met face-to-face. you obviously helped save tia's life but in turn a lot for you, too. >> i gave myself a chance to put some value to my own life by trying to help somebody extend theirs it gave me just a sense of value to myself, something that i didn't have previously have. >> reporter: tia's overcome with

gratitude for his generosity and sel selflessness i truly love a person i've never met. >> i am so grateful that my donor was willing to be brave and take that step and share his kindness and give me a second chance at life. >> and because of that kindness, here we are today. tia is with us now good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i know this is overwhelming people at home should know the pandemic has delayed this meeting between you and gage can you talk about a moment why it was so important to fly all the way from the west coast to have this face-to-face meeting >> i had been wanting to meet gage for so long when you put on a call for milestones i wrote in and i missed meeting gage because of the pandemic, and i realized, well, because of gage, there were a lot of milestones i won't miss i'm alive. i'm here i'm going to get to be with my

family i'll get to be in the memories, and i wanted to share that with the world. >> i know gage wants to meet you too. we should mention before gage comes out, tia is considered immunocompromised. out of abundance of caution keep some distance. of course, eventually you'll be able to grab and squeeze each other. for now, at least, you can lock eyes with him. here we are finally. are you ready to meet him face-to-face >> i am so ready. >> all right gage, my friend, come on out. >> open, door! oh -- yes! [ applause ] gage. >> there you are >> hi. >> hi. >> oh, my goodness so great to see you. >> we'll let you have a moment. >> yeah. it is. it's been -- wow wow -- it's a journey. >> long time coming. >> yeah, yes. >> can either of you find the words to describe how you'reble

here, feeling in this moment >> i feel so blessed to be here, and just so happy to see you. >> i'm grateful to finally get the chance to meet you, and -- yeah yeah just grateful and happy that we're here >> your gift to me, gage -- >> wow. >> -- you're just a great kid. i'm so glad to know you. >> you said he's a great kid take me back when you first found out you were told you were a potential match i read you were only told her gender and age she reminded you of someone with just those few facts talk to us about that. >> reminded me of, like, soon as they told me gender and age i instantly thought of my mom, and just kind of my mom was in that position, and if she needed help, i'd hope somebody would help her simple as that. >> you've been very open about the fact you suffer with anxiety and depression tell me, or take me back to when

you decided to make this decision to do this and volunteer? >> there was a video on facebook and i was talking about a little girl who needed a donation, and, of course, get to end of the video and she didn't make it, and, of course, at that moment, that kid was the same age as my youngest daughter, and i, crying, signing up on the internet probably 1:00 in the morning, and -- next thing i know i'm getting the packet, and like, oh, yeah that's right i did this swabbed my cheeks and sent it off. >> little did you know you'd save someone's life. i want to bring in carson here very close to this topic carson, no question about it this story will change lives >> oh, my gosh i'm so bummed i couldn't be there with the storm today i literally couldn't get in there, like many of us this has been so incredible to watch, tia and gage, thank you for allowing us to share this moment one thing did stick out, gage, when we spoke. you have a lot of great female

presence in your life. you did, at a young age and do now with two daughters and brought one of your daughters to one of the procedures that you did and i wanted to share with people why you did that and what you hoped she would learn from that >> yes so i -- i brought my youngest daughter sophia with me, and when i was getting my injection, and that's just to boost your stem cell production within your bone marrow, and i just wanted her to be able to be with me during that time, not just for my own comfort, but for -- just to have her meet other people, because we've got to sit with other people undergoing treatment, and get to know them, and explain what i was doing, and i'm explaining what they were going through, and -- yeah. >> a powerful experience she'll hold on to we want to let you guys have a moment to connect. there's no question about it you have changed lives, and for people dealing with anxiety, you've shown you were able to

push through that and do some good one day you'll get there, get to grab each other. >> do i get to say anything? >> absolutely. sure. >> one thing i wanted to say, gage you inspired me, and you did such an amazing thing for me and my family, and i wanted to honor you and i reached out to be the match and we put together an online event, and in your honor. it's "be like gage," and hopefully we can save some more lives, you and i. >> oh, my goodness god bless both of you guys, and for anyone watching, we're sure your story will leave a mark if people want to learn more about donor registration, we have it for you. website @today.com thank you both for coming in carson, what a great story. >> thank you >> love it thank you, guys, so much, thank you, thank you, thank you. >> you guys can bond

while we go on with the show absolutely a lot more ahead for you at home including our friend jenn organized for the fas to get you ll

we are back with "better basics." heading into labor day weekend time to refresh and reorganize your home for fall jenn falik rounded up products to help us start the season with a clean slate. good morning. >> good morning. how are you? >> great i read through all the items i feel like you've been spying on me. so many families like mine who need these products. dig in here. this is a big one. a way to keep our cords in the house from tangling? >> cord clutter makes me crazy i trip over it looks nasty. $9.99, you guys. comes in a pack of three and cord clutter saver it sticks onto the side of the desk you can hone up to 11 cords.

just open it up and stick your cords right through and so easy to use and it will change your life put it right outside your desk behind your table. everything looks neat and tidy. >> i should mention a qr code, screen if you want to purchase these items or just go to today.com. next, an affordable way to organize your office >> i think is genius, i think. looks like expensive you can get one to match your desk black desk, white desk, a bookcase, expand or contract as much space as you need. instead of taking up horizontal space, you can go up vertically. looks like an expensive piece someone made for you in reality, under $40. >> got our desk-top organized. talk laundry something to keep the detergent from going everywhere? >> you know a problem we all have and never thought there was a solution for it.

i actually just posted a demo for this on my instagram i love showing how these things work it's called the tidy cup put it on your laundry detergent dispenser around the nozzle. it catches all the drips did you know detergents, they always drip and end up on the floor, on your hands catches it keeps your laundry floor completely clean and keeps the cup clean. the cup gets sticky. >> absolutely. >> this is like, it's underneath and therefore any detergent, not in the bottom of your cup. >> $15, can't beat it. move on to the kitchen a lot of families stocking up the fridge with lunches and what have you talk about what we can do in the kitchen. >> for me like, if you don't see it you don't use it. you feel bad getting rid of it i love these clear containers to put in your fridge this is a best seller for a reason it comes as a set with all the

sizes you need you can put your cans, your eggs, larger for produce makes it easy for kids to serve themselves snacks in a bin. they know what's off limits for them and again, easy to wash. they make everything look neater part of the it, getting the clutter sorted so you know what you have. >> absolutely. i can't tell you how many things once in the fridge, they die especially in the back you don't see them now let's take a look under the sink one of the hardest places to keep organized what do you have >> keeping things under the sink organized is so annoying for many reasons and also pipes come into play and things on the back, don't know they're there countertops, you can see it, mine was always stuck in the back this is on wheels. this is a drawer don't need hardware. always thought about putting in drawers under my sink but sounded expensive. this has the wheels on it already. customizable sizing and

compartments this way you can go under the sink, pull it out. see everything you have and roll it right back in when done see what you've got, adjust it, and there are handles on it. if you want to take everything out, clean it, put everything back. >> i love it ooh! last, not least. pet peeve in my house, family of five there are shoes are everywhere, and everybody has more than one pair of shoes. a mess all the time. >> i am in the same boat our mud room is like a sea of shoes. >> yes. >> this is super smart i've not seen these before looking for stuff for the segment, an adhesive shoe rack that goes on your wall even on your nightstand for i would trip over my slippers when i got up middle of the night. put your slippers in it, running shoes, put anything in there stack them up. easy to adhere to the wall it looks neat. and hold a pair of sneakers, heels, whatever it is. organize this way. ertical space

for your shoes keep your floors clean >> looks more organized. i guess that's the whole point of the segment, which is why you're here this morning home run for you, thank you, jenn >> my job is done. >> exactly i remind you to shop these products, scan the qr code or head to our website today.com/shop reminder, "today" works with affiliate partners and makes a commission on purchases made through our links.

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hey guys. hey guys back, dylan, time to celebrate birthdays. >> i love this time of the show. let's spin around the smucker's jars, a lot of beautiful faces to look at this morning and wish a happy birthday to. so first up, happy 100th birthday to helen joyce barclay from bloomington, illinois

still a college basketball fan and never misses a big 10 game. >> nice. >> next, gordon schultz from frederick, maryland, turning 101 with 7 grandchildren -- wait, 7 children, 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren i think gordon has a big enough crew to celebrate this special milestone. happy birthday to him. happy 100th birthday, newport, rhode island, james b. robinson. proudly served during world war ii and is a recipient of the purple heart of course, we thank you for your service, sir and leora peterson from des moines, iowa, turning 100. her secret to longevity, staying busy knitting hats and making quilts for those in need wonderful. and hello to wilbert, world war ii veteran married to the love of his life mary lou more nan 71 years, and we thank you for your service. and happy 100th birthday, from the bronx, new york. daisy loves spending time with

grandkids and great-grandkids and we are hoping she gets plenty of time with them today happy birthday. >> all right. coming up on hoda and jenna, the tiktok pizza trend with millions of viewers, i don't know anything about it. >> me neither. we'll find out. >> ah, before that, though, guys coming up in a few minutes on the "3rd hour of today." back-to-school snacks to keep the kids going all day, and we're going to get the snacks from a "top chef" finalist first, your local news, and a check of the weather. check of the weather good morning to you. 8:56. i am kris sanchez. breaking this morning, finally good news for firefighters on frontlines of the caldor fire on the edge of south lake tahoe. conditions are expected to improve with the red flag warning no longer in effect.

still, some 32,000 structures remain threatened. cal fire is out with new numbers this morning. the fire is now 25% contained, but at least 622 homes are destroyed with total acres burned at more than 210,000 acres. happening now, today in the bay has been on the front lines, a full report on the midday news. meteorologist kari hall is tracking conditions. we are monitoring historic flooding on the east coast.

majestic mountains... scenic coastal highways... fertile farmlands... there's lots to love about california. so put off those chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm when less clean energy is available. because that's power down time.

live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the "3rd hour of today". good morning, and welcome to the "3rd hour of today." >> and good morning. welcome to the "3rd hour of today." i got -- on this thursday. september 2nd. >> you're not here and i apologize. i decided -- >> i don't get that -- >> there is sheinelle, there is dylan. as you can see, they're in the studio, paying close attention this morning. >> well, i just -- >> we have a busy thursday morning.