good morning. thanks for starting your weekend with us. with queen elizabeth's funeral two days away, mourners are waiting day and night to pay their final respects. >> tens of thousands lining up to say farewell. it is september 17th. this is "today." standing by her side. king charles and his siblings keep watch over the coffin as the public streams in. with prince william and harry and the rest of the grandchildren expected to do the same later today. we are live in london. bracing for fiona. final preparations now under way

in puerto rico where massive rain and high winds from the latest tropical storm are expected this weekend. will the storm hit the mainland u.s.? we'll have the full forecast. caught in the crosshairs. the venezuelan migrants sent from florida to martha's vineyard by republican governor ron desantis now on a military base in cape cod. the political theater sparking backlash, but desantis is promising to do it again. what will happen next? ageless wonder. >> 698. albert pujols. >> 42-year-old st. louis cardinals slugger albert pujols blasts the massive home run as he tries to reach the elusive 700 homer mark before he retires. all that, plus the end of an era. ♪♪ >> "the phantom of the opera," the longest running show on

broadway, ready to close its doors forever, as fans rush out to see it one last time. today, saturday, september 17th, 2022. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >> welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. it is so good to be with you and peter, i was sad to learn "phantom of the opera" is coming to an end. it is the longest running show on broadway for over a beck cade. i saw it as a kid. i loved it. it's part of who we are. >> it will be 13,925 performances when all is said and done. i was thinking you'd break out a little music of the night. >> save it for later. >> save that for the third hour, as it were. several stories this morning we're covering. including tropical storm fiona. puerto rico bracing for up to a foot of rain that could trigger dangerous flash floods and mudslides. it is the last thing the residents need.

still rebuilding after two major hurricanes demolished the power grid in 2017. also, the families of brittney griner and paul whelan are holding out hope as president biden works to release the two americans behind bars in russia. we want to begin with the top story, the final farewell to the queen with her children and king charles standing vigil by her coffin late friday, and her grandchildren expected there later today. >> overwhelming out pouring of support with people waiting up to 16 hours for their chance to say good-bye. nbc's senior international correspondent keir simmons is in london with the very latest for us. keir, good morning to you. >> reporter: kristen, peter, good morning to you. we keep saying it, don't we? king charles with a truly kingly schedule. we've just seen him in buckingham palace. he is due to meet with prime ministers where he is also sovereign.

there were dramatic moments at westminster hall. a man tried to rush the queen's casket and brought down by police officers and taken away. it hasn't stopped the people coming here at westminster abbey. this morning, rehearsals for the queen's funeral as thousands line up with warnings of an almost 24-hour wait in plunging temperatures overnight. >> you have been waiting ten hours? >> we have been up since 4:00 this morning. >> better to have a long, tiring day today and not have regret in the future. >> reporter: there is something british about enjoying yourself while standing in line, right? as we say, standing in a queue. >> we british do it best. >> reporter: westminster hall preparing to witness an extraordinary scene. some of those in line on the street for their personal moment with the late queen, set to stand close to her grandchildren as they commemorate her.

the monarch's four children, king charles, anne, edward and andrew, in his uniform on this occasion, held a second, silent vigil by their mother's casket. today, her eight grandchildren, including william and harry, also in his uniform this one time, will do the same. >> queen elizabeth ii was one of the greatest monarchs. she is up there as one of the top monarchs. this is a truly a truly remarka historical moment for us >> reporter: this british queue stretching nearly four miles world famous soccer star david beckham lining up like everyone else for 13 hours. >> we all want to be here together we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of our queen. ♪ >> reporter: king charles determined to visit every country in the united kingdom

this week, went to wales and met lawmakers in a ceremonial reg regimen, even its goat mascot. he also attended the service for his late mother and handed over the title of prince of wales, which he handed over to his son, william. >> that ancient title dating from the time of those great welsh rulers, i now pass to my son, william >> reporter: prince william and his wife, kate, met commonwealth troops as they prepared for queen elizabeth's state funeral on monday. but first, for the new prince of wales, that private moment of respect for his grandmother. alongside his brother and cousins in this very public and historic hall. guys, while thousands of folks like you and i are lining up for that moment with the queen's casket, leaders from around the

world are on their way justin trudeau, prime minister of canada, boarding a plane. the emperor of japan making a very rare trip you do see him boarding that plane in tokyo a very rare trip abroad for that funeral on monday. the president, president biden and first lady, expected over the weekend. guys >> keir simmons, thank you all of those extraordinary images to mark the historic moment we appreciate it nbc news will have live coverage of the queen's funeral on monday starting at 5:30 a.m. eastern time tropical storm fiona is barrelling toward puerto rico this morning residents and tourists are bracing for potentially deadly flash floods and mudslides. we'll have the latest on fiona's track in a moment. first, george solis is on the ground in puerto rico where it has been raining for hours george, good morning >> reporter: good morning, peter. you are looking at the calm before the storm there is growing concern in puerto rico that tropical storm

fiona could intensify to hurricane strength before it reaches the island conditions in ponce and across the island are expected to deteriorate in the afternoon and evening hours. some of the biggest concerns in puerto rico, the island's already fragile power grid this morning, puerto rico under a hurricane watch. the island of enchantment is dreary and dark as tropical storm fiona barrels closer >> yes, it's alarming. >> reporter: tourists and residents alike now bracing for fiona's wrath. >> it looks like it will hit pretty good here >> reporter: fuelling and stocking up. >> find some food and candles. >> reporter: the sixth named storm of the season expected to bring whipping winds up to 60 miles an hour and dump up to 12 inches of rain, resulting in considerable flood impacts >> are people more cautious with

the storm approaching? >> people are more cautious than a couple years ago >> reporter: officials going door-to-door urging people to evacuate, including in this town 20 miles outside san juan which suffered the deadly floods of hurricane maria. do you have a place to relocate to during this event, asked a town official. it has been five years since hurricane maria, the power grid remain vulnerable. >> oh, yeah, it is >> reporter: this is a long-term care facility for children with disabilities across puerto rico. officials here spent years planning for worst-case scenarios. >> we have solar panels, batteries, two generators. we're pretty sure we're good to go >> reporter: guys, power outages remain a rampant concern here on the island with alerts going out for power companies. at the gas stations, we saw people not only filling up their

cars but gascon containers to pr their generators >> dry for the moment. hunker down, george. the storm is on the way. appreciate your reporting. thank you. >> the last thing that region needs. sa somara theodore is tracking tropical storm fiona how bad is it going to get >> this is looking like a dire situation. the big impact that will be a cause for concern is the flooding for now, let me bring you up to speed. the tropical storm fiona is located 125 miles to the west of guadeloupe we will see the track continue to move toward the west. the impact on puerto rico, anywhere between midnight saturday and 2:00 a.m. as we see it move to the dominican republic, it could strengthen to a category 1 hurricane. looking at the d.r. getting impact at monday at 2:00 a.m after that, moving off northwest and maintaining the category 1 strength we will talk about the impact on the u.s. in a moment

for now, i want to focus on the impact in puerto rico. we are talking 12 to 15 inches of rain. you couple that with the storm surge of 1 to 3 feet we are looking at a dire situation. one of the big concerns in both of the dominican republic and puerto rico is mudslides that is what they will deal with tonight and monday morning following that, this is just a trajectory we will see this move out to sea. it could have a secondary impact along the eastern seaboard we'll talk more about that around 8:00. for now, back to you, kristen. >> we know you'll continue to track it thank you. we'll get the rest of your forecast in a minute now, the latest in ukraine and the discovery as troops take back parts of the homeland which had been under russian control for the last several months. meagan fitzgerald remains in ukraine again for us this morning. what is the latest >> reporter: peter, good morning. the world has been shocked by the discovery of this mass

burial site i ukrainians feared when they managed to push the russians out just this. 400 bodies exhumed from eastern ukraine. civilians, children and families are being discovered, along with the mass grave of ukrainian soldiers investigators believe the majority of people were tortured 30,000 war crime investigations are under way and 20,000 of 20 those those being civilians. this comes as russia's president, putin, is coming under increased pressure because of this invasion what we saw yesterday, friday, from india's prime minister, modi, he said to putin, quote, today is not an era of war putin told him that he will do everything he can to try to end this war but blamed the ukrainian government for refusing to negotiate. this is one day after putin publicly acknowledged china's concerns about the invasion, as well meanwhile, ukraine's military continues to sweep past the

russian front apturing the enti northeastern part of the country, kharkiv, down in the south. they are closing in on kherson in the last two weeks, ukrainian officials say they have been able to liberate some 3,200 square miles of territory. peter and kristen. >> president biden delivering a warning to putin not to use nuclear weapons. meagan fitzgerald, appreciate your reporting thank you. and speaking of the president facing pressure, mr. biden met with family members of brittney griner and paul whelan on friday. both detained in ruscharges and whelan convicted of espionage. monica alba is at the white house with more on what happened inside those meetings. monica, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president biden had spoken to brittney griner and paul whelan's families before, but this is the first meeting. meant to convey the united states commitment to continue to bringing both americans back.

there has been little progress to show for the talks so far. this morning, a nation holding out hope. that's the message president biden shared with griner's wife along with paul whelan's sister. in back-to-back private meetings at the white house friday. the wnba superstar is serving a nine-year sentence in russia for drug possession. the former businessman sentenced to 16 years in prison for spying in 2020. a charge he denies. the white house saying the president appreciated the opportunity to learn more about britnay and paul from those who loved them most. every minute they are being held is a minute too long. the biden administration considers both wrongfully detained and trying to get them home for months. >> we are working on it every day. just because we don't say something or you don't see something, it doesn't mean it is not happening.

>> reporter: offers to swap with viktor bout. >> we have made a serious offer to get brittney griner and paul whelen back home. the russians have not responded to that offer. that doesn't mean we're not still in negotiations and we're not still trying. >> reporter: two u.s. officials tell nbc news the kremlin wants an additional russian prisoner turned over in exchange for the two americans. seeking an even trade. the diplomatic discussions continue as former governor bill richardson, who has been involved in past detainee negotiations, traveled to moscow last weekend, but did not coordinate his trip with the u.s. embassy according to the state department. >> our concern is that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to hinder the efforts that we have undertaken to see the release of paul whelan and brittney griner. >> reporter: overnight, griner's wife released a statement thanking the president for meeting with her and for the administration's efforts to secure brittney's release,

saying she's felt every minute of the grueling seven months without her. she looks forward to the day her wife is back home safely. >> monica, the families are trying to keep the focus on bringing loved ones home. meanwhile, there is also news on another front at the search of former president trump's mar-a-lago home and the classified documents taken by the fbi. what do we know about that? >> reporter: the justice department is appealing parts of the florida judge's decision to appoint a special master to review the classified material recovered from mr. trump's mar-a-lago estate. this would allow the fbi to regain access to about 100 of the most sensitive documents. the government arguing they need those to continue the critical national security investigation. the filing comes one day after the judge appointed another federal judge, raymond dearie to serve as the independent reviewer in the case. he is set to hold his first meeting president trump team and doj on tuesday. peter and kristen. >> monica alba, thank you.

residents of alaska are preparing for a major storm to hit the western coast this weekend. forecasters warn it could be the strongest storm in a decade with hurricane-force winds and 50-foot ocean waves. up to 5 inches of heavy rain is expected, likely to causekely t coastal flooding officials say the flooding could be the worst in 50 years >> somara theodore is back tracking the storm in alaska, as well what do you know about it? >> it will have a big impact on the marine logistics this is rare in the month of september, to see a post-tropical cyclone in the region as far as the rest of the country, we are looking at showers and severe weather out toward the northern plains we've got our eyes on very nice conditions along the east coast. plenty of sunshine out west. the other thing we're keeping a close eye on is the tropics. we have tropical storm fiona impacting puerto rico and dominican republic

we w and we are waking up to pretty comfortable temperatures right now in the 50s across the bay area. current skies right now showing mostly clear, but we've got the clouds moving in, and this is ahead of a storm system that is expected to make its approach. starting tonight, especially for those folks who live in the north bay, you'll be the first to see the rain. overnight into sunday we'll see that rain begin to spread southward becoming widespread by sunday afternoon with gusty winds. and that's your local forecast peter and kristen. thank you. still to come, maggie vespa with the latest on the big immigration battle between republican governors shipping migrants to democratic strongholds. >> reporter: dozens of migrants on the move after the martha vineyard's surprise trip this week republican governors say more is

coming that's coming up on "today." plus, the army facing one o the biggest challenges in decades with fewer people signing up to be new recruits. we'll tell you what the military is doing about it. we're back right after this. bo kevin: i've fought wildfires for twenty years. here's the reality we face every day. this is a crisis. we need more firefighters, more equipment, better forest management to prevent wildfires and reduce toxic smoke. and we need to reduce the tailpipe emissions that are driving changes to our climate. that's why cal fire firefighters, the american lung association, and the california democratic party support prop 30. prevent fires.

cut emissions. and cleaner air. yes on 30. i hated sticking my fingers, then i got the dexcom g6. i just glance at my phone, and there's my glucose number. wow. my a1c has dropped over 2 points to 7.2. that's a huge victory.

we're back on saturday morning with the weekly download. the look at the other big stories. >> nbc anchor joe fryer is in new york with that. >> kristen and peter, good morning. a lot of headlines this week, including a last minute than late night negotiations to keep the country's trains moving. crisis averted. negotiators reached a tentative

deal to avoid a nationwide rail strike. >> the backbone of the supply chain. everything you rely on. i want to thank you all for getting this done both business and labor. thank you. thank you. former independent council ken starr died at the age of 76 after suffering complications from surgery according to his former employer, baylor university. his investigation of bill clinton re vealed the affair with monica lewinsky. >> he denied any criminal wrongdoing. the nba suspended phoenix suns and mercury owner for a year and fined him $10 million. the suspension comments about sex to employees. >> he apologized and said in

part, i disagree with the report, but take full responsibility for what i have done. could there be signs of life on mars? nasa announced the rover found some rocks that could show signs of ancient life. >> these are the most valuable rock samples that have been collected. >> the samples come from the ridge, a rock formation created when a lake evaporated. and tennis great roger federer announced he is retiring at the age of 41 after battling a series of injuries. >> tennis treated me more generously than i have dreamt. some of the wildest moment caught on camera. a 4.4 magnitude earthquake in california followed by the strong aftershock. no injuries or damage. the blue origin rocket

suffered a malfunction after liftoff. no humans were on board. these folks fishing off the coast of maine hooked the 7-foot mako shark that jumped inbo. > finally, nothing like a home comes. cardi b surprised her middle school in the bronx. >> this school is my home. make sure you remember where you want to be a couple of years from now. >> she surprised the students with a big donation. >> i will be donating $100,000 to the school. >> can we go back to the shark? i don't know about you two. i don't think i would ever, ever, ever go back in the water again after that. >> i have to agree with you,

joe. i would absolutely just fainted. i'm so impressed how quickly the fishermen responded. they posted a once in a lifetime day. >> you said this came to you. okay the boat would be problematic enough. that is impressive. joe, i appreciate it. still to come here on "today." how much will you be willing to pay to go to a college football game? you will not believe it. live from new york. a new cast. who is getting ready to join "saturday night live" this

good morning, thanks for joining us on this saturday, september 17th. i'm kira klapper. >> a bay area community is mourning the death of an 8-year-old boy hit and killed in a crosswalk. jacob was a third grader in campbell. according to witnesses, jacob and his baby-sitter were in the middle of the crosswalk when a car turned left and hit them. both were rushed to the hospital. that's where jacob died. his baby-sitter is being treated for significant injuries.

jacob's aunt tells us he was loved by everyone who met him, describing him as a boy with an infectious smile and playful personality always dressing up as spider-man. >> always a very happy boy, smile all the time. >> police say it doesn't appear speed, drugs, nor alcohol were factors. police add the driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. turning now to b.a.r.t. service is restored after a deadly crash involving a motorcyclist. it happened around 4:00 yesterday near the 19th street station in oakland. investigators say the motorcyclist hit a b.a.r.t. right-of-way barrier and landed on the tracks below right as b.a.r.t. was approaching. he was hit and killed. tracks were closed for some time for the investigation. service resumes normally today. meteorologist vianey arana

has a quick look at our micro climate forecast as we welcome the weekend. and kira, it's going to be quite a change from what we're seeing now to what we're going to be seeing tomorrow, right around the same time. current conditions right now across the bay area in the 50s. notice san jose 57, up through concord 58, around the coastline in the 50s as well for san francisco, but by this time tomorrow, we are expecting for a system to move in starting late tonight. if you live in the north bay, you'll be the first to see the rain. then it will begin to spread southward really becoming widespread for your entire sunday. let's attack a look at the views before the rain moves in. by tonight the cloud cover will move in, and then by tomorrow, well, we're going to track that rain, but also gusty winds. i'll talk more about the timing of that and how much rain coming up at 7:00 a.m. thanks, also coming up at 7:00 this morning on "today in the bay," a stanford student giving back to his community. we'll tell you what he's doing to make science accessible to all students in one bay area

school district. we'll have that plus all your top stories and vianey's full forecast coming up at 7:00. we hope to see you then. right now we'll send hi, i'm debra. i'm from colorado. i've been married to my high school sweetheart for 35 years. i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

we are back on saturday morning, september 17th, 2022. there is a live look at london. you can see the queue for the king and there is king charles to greet supporters of the queen and royal family and all paying final respects with the opportunity to say thanks and expression condolences to the new monarch. >> trying to cast himself as a king of the people. thought moments are important. we want to begin this half hour with a look at the headlines. former trump white house press

secretary sanders is cancer free after thyroid surgery. sanders had the surgery on friday. afterwards, she said the procedure successfully removed the thyroid and lymph nodes. she is the daughter of former governor mike huckabee. a massive fire engulfed a skyscraper in china. flames poured from the building that houses the largest telecommunications companies. several hundred firefighters rushed to contain the fire. fortunately no injuries are deaths happened. there is no word what caused the fire. and the cardinals star albert pujols is two home runs away from immortality. clubbing the 698th home run in front of the hometown fans last

night. >> the first pitch. albert unloads. deep left. and this game is tied! >> it is out of there. the 42-year-old first baseman's two-run blast sparked the win over the reds. later, his teammate helsley earned this save in the ninth. he struck out three cincinnati batters in nine pitches. remarkable game. the battle over immigration is heating up with florida's republican governor now saying he will send more migrants out of his state to democratic states instead. the move is being condemned by president biden as inhumane and unamerican. nbc's maggie vespa is outside the red cross facility where my grants are getting assistance. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: peter, another round of migrants continuing to

come this morning. a group arriving in the last couple hours outside vice president's washington, d.c. home. at the same time, in massachusetts, more than 100 national guard troops have been activated to assist. we should say people are showing up saying they're confused about where they have been sent and how they found themselves in the middle of the political war. this morning, floated by ferry from picturesque martha's vineyard and carted to cape cod. dozens of migrants are waking up at the center of the american immigration battle. it was like pretty weird, this man says, because they put us on the plane. the plane was private to here on the island. here on the island, we were like so now what do we do. this latest wave, nearly 50, including children, spending

last couple nights inside the church after flying from florida on two private jets chartered by governor desantis. the state set aside $12 million to fund the trips to the sanctuary cities to the north which should expect more. >> when the wealthy enclave said they didn't have the resources to deal with 50 people, how do you think some of the border tows feel? >> reporter: desantis following the lead of abbott and ducey who sent thousanrongholds to chicag york and in reckless and under american. all this as border crossings continue to climb. more than 2.2 million so far this year. the plight at the center of the heated political battle. this is a country for us.

we see that. a real country. there are many opportunities to progress.