good morning. tornado alley. more than two dozen twisters touching down across a wide stretch of the country. millions taking cover from minnesota to louisiana. the storms bringing damaging hail and heavy rains. today, dylan is following more severe weather in the forecast. person of inrest. police in washington, d.c. looking for this shadowy figure caught on camera near the scene of that suspicious fire. four people killed in the tragedy, as a mystery into who is behind their murders deepens. two down bun to go. but american pharoah is all by himself, five lengths in front as he comes to the wire and american pharoah and victor he is pin nose za have won the

preakness! >> now, only the belmont stands in the way of american pharoah and racing's elusive triple crown. we will speak live this morning with his train and the jockey who rode him to victory. and ready to ride. matt lauer now just homes away from setting off on the ride of his life. five days 225 miles, one red nose. and it's all for a very good cause. "today," sunday may 17th 2015! ♪ bicycle, bicycle ♪ >> from nbc news this is today with lester holt and erica hill. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to today on this sunday morning, i'm erica hill. >> hi everybody, i'm thomas roberts in for lester alongside chenille jones and dylan dryer. red nose ready. in solidarity with matt. >> out at femme way a nice crowd behind you.

at fenway park. yeah got nice people here, it is very hard to in these red noses, as we were saying, but a nice crowd, perfect, perfect day for a bike ride. we will tell you more about that when i see you in a couple of minutes. but it's all for red nose day, a great cause. >> s looking intoed to chatting with you more coming up. we want to begin with our top story and it is about the weather, another weekend of severe weather bringing ominous scenes like this one to the city of oklahoma oklahoma city. twisters across the country caught on camera and nbc's john yang is there in oklahoma city this morning. john good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, thomas. for the second straight weekend, thousands of people across the midwest are waking up this morning without power after a night of violent weather. at least 19 tornadoes reported from texas as far north as minnesota. another tense night across tornado alley, a rare look at a tornado forming southwest of

oklahoma city. >> oh my god! less than a quarter mile away. >> reporter: with debris flying through the air. oh my god, these cows are sitting right here. >> reporter: and livestock seemingly in the lip of fire. ne of fire. images blanketing social media. this lightning over mustang oklahoma posted on facebook with storms also forcing the major league soccer game in kansas city to be postponed. and in texas, remarkable pictures of hail covering roads and paralyzing traffic on saturday with heavy rains and flooding as well. it all comes on the heels of relentless storms and tornadoes in recent weeks. >> yeah it's across the road. on the other side now. >> reporter: as this morning, millions of residents again brace for more severe weather. despite all that havoc from the skies overnight, so far, no reports of fatalities.

thomas? >> nbc's john yang in oklahoma city. john thank you, sir. >> dylan is tracking these storms. dylan, at this point, could we be through the worst of it? >> the worst of it is yesterday but looking now at an additional threat moving into the upper midwest that will see -- redevelop later on today. look at what we saw yesterday. we had 28 reported tornadoes, even one in louisiana. we had 105 wind reports of very strong wind gusts and also had torrential downpours. here is the line of rain. dallas has been getting slammed for the last couple of weeks with torrential downpours, so all of this heavy rain could lead to more brief flash flooding. today, the threat is going to lift off into minneapolis and into madison, wisconsin, it is in this orange area right here bev our best chance of large hail damaging wind gusts and also that dangerous lightning, but in this entire yellow area stretching all the way down into southeastern oklahoma we do still have the chance of some stronger storms. we can't rule out an isolated tornado, but the tornado threat was really more for yesterday than it is for today. that as we go into monday

anywhere across the eastern half of the united states we are looking at the potential of some stronger storms that will produce the dangerous lightning and the possibility of flash flooding. they will redevelop out ahead of this cold front this afternoon, then again monday afternoon and finally, start to see this exit to the east. we are still looking at the chance even though you don't have those tornado warnings issued you still have the danger of the wind gusts, damaging hail and dangerous lightning. you need to be indoors when these storms hit. tough stuff. all right, dylan, thanks. now we want to move on to the biggest story in sports right now, american pharoah, just one win away from the triple crown after a dominating victory at the preakness stakes in some very nasty conditions saturday in baltimore. the 3-year-old colt was never seriously challenged running away from the field and winning the race by five lengths. american pharoah's jockey and his hall of fame trainer, are at the pimlico race course this morning. gentlemen, con grad layings to you both. victor let me start with you, seemed as we got the riders up

call the weather got more ominous. what was going through your mind and how were you prepared to get american pharoah in a winning position in these horrible track conditions? >> well it's always different. the weather changed, everything changed, but my -- my -- my mind it was just all about american pharoah. focus on him, they go to the race happy and it was a lot of raining there, but seems like he likes it. he was in good condition to go into the gate and gave me a a lot of confidence for the race. >> bob, i know this had to be a little nerve wracking for you and your wife and your son. they were all with you as you were walking on to the paddock to watch the race from a little more dry of an area. and i know your son, bode day said dad, just win. what was going through your mind when you saw the weather conditions change and how you know this horse might respond to a muddy track? >> well he actually ran on a very muddy similar track in

arkansas. and he just floats over mud, floats over anything. he has got a beautiful stride and his sire's name is pioneer the nile. so it was like running through the nile with him. so it was -- it was pretty exciting. but i was a little bit leery about -- i thought maybe they might delay it or something because of the thunder and that rain -- i have never been involved in a race where the rain was coming down that hard. i know when the jockeys came back we had foam pads on the horses and i -- one of the jockeys, gary stevens was saying he weighed 135 pounds with all his stuff. they were soaking wet. so those horses were actually carrying a lot of weight yesterday. >> they were. and victor i know that you definitely crossed the finish line the cleanest, although maybe the wettest, all the jockeys behind you and the horses were completely covered in mud. so the black eyed susans they looked good wet or dry, on american pharoah. what is going through your mind now as you prepare for the

belmont stakes? >> as of right now, not much. i mean just having fun and enjoying my winning from yesterday. and all up to bob, how he is going to train him for the belmont. so for me just go out there, this race went well and we win the preakness. >> well congratulations to you both and you have made the belmont stakes appointment tv must see tv for all people at nbc. so bob baffert, victor espinosa thanks so much and congratulations once again. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we were saying too, yesterday after watching the race, my husband said and the tickets for the belmont just went through the roof. >> through the roof. meantime this morning, wither learning new details about that top-secret mission to take out a senior member of isis. nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in istanbul this morning with the latest for us. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this was a very risky mission. whenever you consider launching an operation of this kind you

have to consider as u.s. officials were considering, what's the possibility, what happens if it goes wrong? what happens if these men, these commandos, are stranded with no friendly support, no way to get them out? in fact this was only the second time that u.s. special operations forces have launched missions inside syria, deep inside isis territory. isis has gotten used to fighting u.s. troops when they attack from the air. for months washington has led an air war against isis in iraq and syria. but this was very different. a bold raid into syria into an isis stronghold with u.s. boots on the ground. u.s. officials say american delta force commandos took off from northern iraq in black hawk helicopters and osprey plane helicopter hybrids like there and flew deep into isis territory in eastern syria, into

derazor. no allies on the ground. if u.s. forces were captured they risked unthinkable horrors. a jordanian pilot captured by isis was burned alive in a cage. u.s. officials say the americans' target abu sayyaf was a top isis money man who managed isis' oil and gas income and was personally close to the isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi. the fact that the united states was willing to mount a capture mission to grab him shows that he was a really important person in the infrastructure itself. >> reporter: the target did not go quietly. there was a gun fight, even hand-to-hand fighting. abu sayyaf was killed along with a dozen or more isis fighters. u.s. commandos left unharmed taking with them abu sayyaf's wife known as umm sayyaf. u.s. officials alem she helped manage hostages taken by isis.

this operation is unlikely to change the course of the overall war against isis but it does send a very strong message to the group that even its safe havens respect entirely safe. back to you. >> richard engel for us this morning. richard, thank you. chuck todd is moderator of "meet the press" and joins us from washington. chuck, good morning. >> good morning, erica. >> so we see this sort of mixed bag when you look at the battle against isis this week. so we have all the details that richard just gave us of course on this successful raid in syria but then at the same time the key iraqi city of ramadi fell privately. how is the obama administration characterizing this fight against isis? >> well look it is -- it is i think in this case they would like to say it is two steps forward and one step back in this case. look the importance of the raid as richard points out, is the fact they were able to do something successfully in syria without it being from the air. the fact that it was on the ground. what this can tell you and what the administration is having is

hey, look we have really improved our intelligence gathering. in fact it's so improved we can now do raids into syria, go after isis leaders and get them and that they believe this is a, you know almost like a test case. this worked. now watch out now they will be able to do this more frequently and perhaps truly be disruptive to isis leadership. find that as we go forward. we have to shift gears a little bit and talk about the road to 2016 here for a minute so much going on this week. i'm going to go out on a limb and say jeb bush would probably not characterize this as his best week when he goes and look back. the question of whether or not he would have authorized the invasion of iraq based on what he knows now. initially he said yes and spent the week trying to back pedal s this the kind of thing that eventually goes away or does it haunt him throughout the campaign? >> i think haunt him because it is just the biggest reminder of his last name radioity? he is trying to to be a candidate of the future his last name was always going to be a bit of a burden for him on the best of days. but iraq sort of encapsulates

his problems more than any other. in fact it is connected to the story we are talking about now. you know this shift inside the republican party. that to me, was the bigger development of the week. wasn't just that jeb bush was struggling with this just the rest of the republican field so was comfortable saying oh yeah iraq war, mistake. erica, just two years ago, most republicans would say, no well we got rid of saddam hussein, that's good thing. now, because of the rise of isis, the story reporting on with richard engel, you have republicans joining democrats saying that was a mistake and that's what i think is going to make jeb bush's -- this week that's not going to be able to put in the rearview mirror very quickly. >> i imagine that's one of the things you will tack this will morning. we know you will have much more on "meet the press" one of your guests includes rand paul. add few things to say about that this weekend as well. we will see you in a little bit. >> great. we have new developments this morning in that deadly amtrak derailment and chenille is following that for us. good morning. >> federal officials ordered

amtrak to immediately install speed drolls at the site of tuesday's derailment that killed eight people. the automatic braking system is currently in the use -- in use on the southbound rails near the curve where tuesday's derailment happened. the train was going more than 100 miles an hour before it flew off the northbound tracks. this as passengers aboard a southbound amtrak train say their train was also hit by something just minutes before the derailment. >> we heard a loud noise in the car and immediately, i looked over and there was a -- the window had shattered and apparently there was a rock thrown at our car. >> amtrak says it hopes to resume limited service between philadelphia and new york tomorrow. now to any developments in the investigation into a mysterious fire in an upscale washington, d.c. neighborhood not far from the vice president's home. four people were killed and now, police are releasing surveillance video. nbc's kristen welker has the

latest. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. well police say the man in that surveillance video is a person of interest and they are asking for the public's help in finding him this morning. police released the video last night. in it you see a man dressed in dark clothing wearing a hoodie and moving quickly behind a building. you see him right there. according to authorities, he may have been operating a blue porsche that was initially seen parked outside of that house that burned. the car was later found torched and ten miles away. police are calling this an arson and homicide investigation. they say on thursday, a fire ravaged this home which is not far from where the vice president lives. four people were found dead. corporate ceo sava salve vap poe louse, his wife amy, housekeeper and their son. three of the victims were attacked and found with blunt force trauma. so far, no arrests in this case making this all the more tragic the family has two older

daughters who were away at boarding school when this all occurred. back to you. >> so sad. all right, thank you, kristen. a texas teenager taken from her mother nearly a decade ago is back in the u.s. this morning. dorte garcia and her 13-year-old daughter arrived in houston saturday after dna tests confirmed alandra is her daughter. alandra was in mexico with her father who allegedly took her without her mother's concept eight years ago. the case gained international attention last month when the wrong child also named alandra, was torn from her family in a case of mistaken identity. and finally it was putin on ice in sochi saturday. the 62-year-old russian president scored not one, not two, not three, but eight goals at an exhibition hockey game with former nhl players. yes. and no surprise here putin's team they won. wow. >> amazing. >> 18-6. not without a scuffle. putin, known for his love of judo only recently took up hockey. some say in an effort to promote the sport.

>> wow. >> got in a fight? >> and that's the thing -- i was like i just took a knee. if i'm goalie, go ahead. just go right on in. >> dylan said was there even a goalie? >> yeah. >> a high-scoring hockey game right there. good to be vladimir putin. he was wearing a shirt, good for the rest of us. dylan is back with a check of the weather for the rest of the country now. >> yes today across the northeast, going to be very similar to how it was yesterday, kind of muggy, sort of warm be in and out of some spotty showers. we do have heavier pockets of rain down near southeastern ohio we are going to see these storms become more numerous and fire up later on this afternoon. as we go into monday, start to see some improvements unsettled back through pittsburgh and eastern pennsylvania across the day today, best chance of strong storms right up in here through the western great lakes and a good sunday. i'm meteorologist michelle grossman. well, warm and humid once again today.

very summerlike. may see another round of showers and storms. 83 to 86. keeping an unstable monday and tuesday. chance for showers on monday. 79, so not quite as warm. tuesday, back up to 80 thunderstorms, and then we dry it out on wednesday. we'll be windy with lots of sunshine, 74. looking beautiful thursday and friday. by friday we kick off memorial day weekend. nice, sunshine 75. saturday, mostly sunny, 76 low humidity, just perfect. have a great day. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> dylan, thanks. >> thanks. coming up next on "today," going to check in with matt about to embark on this epic bike ride for a very important cause. is mr. lauer ready? >> he looks ready. >> he looks ready. we will find out right after this. in this moment your baby is getting more than clean. your touch stimulates her senses and nurtures her mind. and the johnson's® scent lather and bubbles help enhance the experience. so why just clean your baby when you can give her so much more™? (dog) mmm, beneful healthy weight is so good... and low-calorie.

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york. check out this countdown clock we have. all prepared for. this. >> somewhere. >> matt's kicking off our weak of red nose day coverage there is the countdown clock. >> in a red nose. >> culminate in a three-hour telethon thursday night on nbc. if you are not fam with red nose day, it a british charity event now making its u.s. debut and raise money for children living in poverty. >> matt outside fenway park friends lined up with him. you are ready, matt to pedal like there's no tomorrow correct? >> yeah. yeah. i am. just want to remind people it is not a race. i can go at my own pace, as long as i finish somewhere around thursday morning in new york city. i also want to say right off the bat, i have invited dylan to join markers a lot of people come up with great excuses but actually going to get your hand operated on just to get out of a bike race that is crazy. i know. i know. dylan, you should be here and erica and thomas and shen nell, some point along the route, low to have see you guys.

it is going to be great. it is a long ride. it is about 50 to 60 miles every day. i'll leave here from fenway in a couple of minutes, as you mentioned, hopefully be sleeping tonight in providence rhode island. and along the way, just trying to remind people there are millions of children living not only in this country but all around the world in poverty and the charities that will be benefitting from red nose day directly help to live those children out of poverty. we hope that a lot of people will see you on that ride and maybe a red nose because each one does help with the cause. matt we will check in with you a little bit. as mentioning you don't need to have a bike, although you could join matt on his ride the more the merrier. if you would like to make a donation head to our website at today.com or text today to 80077 and you can donate $10 right now. and as we said be sure to tune in thursday night, nbc's star-studded red nose day special airs right here at 8/7 central. still to come right here

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we want to update you on a building fire in montgomery

county that's been burning for hours now. nbc 10 is on the scene on conwell lane in conshohocken. the building houses a flooring company and some other businesses. firefighters tell us that they have contained the blaze, but it's not under control just yet. nbc 10 has been following this story since the flames broke out right around 3:30. it went to three alarms. environmental concerns about runoff brought haszmat crews to the scene and pico shut off power to the neighborhood as a precaution. there are no reports of anybody hurt. we'll continue to say on top of this. you can use the nbc 10 app or go to nbc10.com for updates on this breaking story. now let's get a check of the weather with meteorologist michelle grossman. good morning michelle. >> good morning. we're mild. we're looking at temperatures in the 70s. a little gray outside, mostly cloudy skies with that humidity and haze outside. and we're going to be humid all day long. here's a live look outside, and temperatures, yep, 72 in philadelphia. 68 in allentown. 70 in wildwood. as we go throughout the time

here we'll see temperatures right around 84 degrees later on this afternoon. another warm one on monday before we cool it down for the middle of the workweek, by wednesday. lots of sunshine, 74. >> i'm rosemary connors. we'll see you in about 30 minutes for more news at 9:00. now back to the "today" show. have a good one.

who doesn't love maya rudolph doing a little beyonce, broke into song at her commencement address at tulane university at the super dome in new orleans? going to have more of that coming up in pop start. meanwhile, back here on a sunday morning, may 17 2015 on the plaza plaza! listen to these fans having a good time. it was a little overcast sun popping back out, we had an awesome group of people who stopped by to say hello, who have made signs. we have a birthday over here. yes. >> this is really like -- >> fun. >> you guys are amazing.

we walked out. this crowd has energy. >> a group from south carolina over here. >> yes. >> eighth grade field trip. >> maryland california. >> all the matching shirts is an eighth grade field trip from south carolina. how cool is that? >> so fun. look sharp. >> wither happy we are part of your eighth grade field trip. nice to have you. >> we went bowling. >> we do begin this half hour with the morning's headlines, get you caught up on our top stories. more than two dozen tornadoes touching down on saturday spanning from minnesota to louisiana. plenty of people picking up its pieces this morning, trees fell on homes, power knocked out to thousands. police in the nation's capital are looking for this person who may know something about a deadly house fire that's been labeled as suspicious. police are looking for a blue porsche as well. and as the investigation into that deadly amtrak derailment continues, federal officials say amtrak must immediately install speed controls near the crash site. and sometime to come in this half hour wither going to talk to this whiz kid about how he was accepted into all eight ivy

league schools. now, guess which one he picked. none of them. we are going to ask why he decided to go in a different direction. also ahead this morning, the kardashians are opening up about how they are dealing with bruce jenner's transition to living as woman. you will hear this morning from his daughters, kim and kendall, about how the family is handling the transition. also ahead, what toward believe that tonight will be the last time we hear from don draper as "madmad men comes to a close. not the only show ending its long run on tv letterman to "american idol", we will look at how these shows have a lasting impact. a lot of pomp and circumstance matt 27 minutes away from taking off for his 200-plus-mile bike ride for red nose day. going to check back in with matt who is at fenway park. >> what better way to start than with a fife and drum corps. >> very patriotic. >> he couldn't have more perfect weather for a bike ride. just watch out for the traffic in connecticut. it gets a little slow in connecticut. good suggestion. >> but anyway, let's take a look

at the weather going on across the country, where we are looking at just scattered showers and storms. it is going to be a little bit muggy, best chance today of seeing some storms will be through the western great lakes, we have a chance of possibly severe weather, not so many tornadoes, but still looking at some hail and damaging wind gusts. we also have the threat of some flash flooding possible especially down through texas and the southeastern oklahoma we could end up with another two to up to three or four inches of rain within some of those heavier downpours that is an area we need to watch out for. had a lot of rain in that area lately, any more is only going to make problems. temperatures today well into the 80s eastern and a good sunday. i'm meteorologist michelle grossman. warm and humid once again today. very summerlike. may see another round of showers and storms. 83 to 86. keeping it unstable monday and tuesday. chances of showers monday. 79, not quite as warm. tuesday, back up to 80 thunderstorms, and we dry it out on wednesday. we'll be windy with lots of

thunderstorms, 74. looking beautiful by thursday. nice sunshine 75. saturday, mostly sunny, 76 low humidity. just perfect. have a great day. >> and that's your latest forecast. back to you guys inside. all right, dylan, thanks so much it would appear that the kardashians are as close as ever as they deal with bruce jenner's transition to living as a woman and sheple has more on that for us a lot of people talking about it this morning, learning much more about what the family is saying and thinking about this whole experience. in a two-part series airing on e., the show is giving an inside look at the family's struggle to come to terms with their father's transition. >> i was like thinking mom, this is really hard for her. and, like it's so sad, like she cries all the time and it like makes me really sad. we should really appreciate all the things that she does for us because she does a lot. as bruce jenner transitions to become a woman, his famous family is now telling their side in the two-part special airing

on e. keeping one the kardashians about bruce. >> he is the most amazing person i know i couldn't ask for a better dad. like he fault me how to ride a bike and be the tom boy that i am. >> a turn. >> comes after gold medal olympian sat down in a much talked about interview telling diane sawyer for all intents and purposes i'm a woman. >> i have had secrets all my life it is tough not to have secrets. >> the patriarch has seen an outpouring of support from his family on social media. jenner's ex-wife tweeting "not only was i able to call him my husband for 25 years and father of my children i am now able to call him my hero." and from stepdaughter kim kardashian west, "love is the courage to live the truest, best perversion of yourself. bruce is love. i love you, bruce. #prouddaughter." the kardashians saying viewers should anticipate a very raw,

incredibly rough look into an entire family in transition. >> i have these memories of this life and i feel sometimes like it didn't exist. you can see much more tonight when part one of "keeping up with the kardashians, about bruce" airs on e. at 9 eastern. >> fascinating as america starts to learn more about this and about gender and sexuality. the difference here is who bruce jenner wants to go to bed as not who he wants to go to bed with and i think we are all going to learn much more. >> and it started a really important conversation in the country, which is great. and on the heels, too i know i keep bringing it up, kate snow's phenomenal series she did on transgender children also so important as the entire country really embarks on this journey of understanding a that happened conversation. a lot more to be talk bending cationally as we all learn as a country about this and interesting to see the kardashians are doing -- leading the way on it. >> maybe not what you would have expected. >> no. >> tomorrow is going to be an extremely special day for one high school senior who almost never made it to this day.

when you look at him now, would you probably never guess she had suffered such a severe injuries doctors ready to take this young lady off life support at one time. nbc's jacob rascon has the story now of her incredible recovery. >> reporter: nearly four years ago inside an iowa hospital the family of 14-year-old taylor hail gathered to say good-bye. the former volleyball player and cheerleader was horsing around with friends when she fell hard on the pavement suffering a traumatic brain injury and fractured skull followedby a brain hemorrhage. >> we were starting to talk about funeral arrangements organ donation. >> reporter: but when doctors removed her from life support, taylor started to breathe. defying expectations again, she relearned how to walk. and the next year went back to school. >> i'm like out of the hospital and happy to be out doing normal stuff. >> reporter: and now the girl who doctors declared brain dead

will graduate on time. >> you never know when life is gonna take you or your loved ones so you need to keep them close to you and spend as much time with them as you can and just keep fighting. >> reporter: taylor can't spend much time looking back. >> i don't remember anything before the accident. i don't have any memory of my childhood. i want to study event management and be an event planner so i'm happy that i can do that. >> reporter: family and friends credit god for a medical miracle. taylor hale starting high school in a coma now going to college. for "today," jacob rascon nbc news. >> beautiful story. remarkable recovery. >> we learn how fragile life is and how amazing life can be at the same time. >> how strong someone's spirit can be. true. all right.

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imagine your child being accepted into harvard, yale brown, talking all eight of the top ivy league schools and a few more for good measure. how would you help them make the decision where to go? amazing. ronald nelson, jr. was faced with this choice and instead of picking any of them went with the university of alabama. roll tide. good morning. you got harvard, yale princeton, every other ivy, also johns hopkins, why go ahead with university of alabama? why was that your pick? >> it was really a variety of

personal and financial reasons much i originally applied to so many schools because i didn't want to close any of my doors off. i really didn't want to short sell myself so when i got into all those schools, it was, of course an incredible surprise but ultimately, i ended up choosing the university of alabama not only was i accepted into their top honors program, which is the university fellows experience i also received generous amounts of scholarship money for national merit finalist, things like that and also my act scores and something i didn't want to pass up because i was looking toward my long-term education and not so much my short-term goals really. and i plan on going to medical school and i figured that i might as well just save that money now and hopefully spend it in the future. >> smart. >> yeah. smart. all of the parents watching right now, not only i would love for my kid to get into that many schools but love him to have the vision you have at this point in your career. we know you want to be a doctor following in some family footsteps with that bun and eventually maybe work with doctors without borders. are you most excited about your college experience, 'cause this

is a big step for, a freshman in college? >> yes. um what am i most excited about? >> yeah. >> i definitely have to say what i'm most excited about is definitely working with the university of alabama, they are going to give me invaluable experience working with the assistant dean and the dean of the honors college there working with so many different like-minded and progressive student there is and incredibly excited to work with those stunlds that both share my academic interests and completely don't share my academic interests and having that kind of diversity of minds there i think will just develop me throughout my college experience and i'm very very excited about it >> ronald last question did you have a safety school? [ laughter ] a backup a backup plan? >> well yes definitely. i made sure that i had safety schools, you know, schools that i might get into and also reach schools, of course so it was really important to me, but you know with regard to the safety school question, it was important to me i did have

safety schools but making sure i was reaching for the stars in my college applications what i would recommend to anyone who is aplaying coming up. great advice. the reach worked. talk about -- talk about an awesome outcome for u and good luck. we have -- we have a feeling we are going to be hearing lots more from you in the future. >> well thank you so much. thank you for having me. >> all right. say it once again, roll tide. >> yeah. >> roll tide. >> ronald nelson, thanks. coming up louie ck under fire after "saturday night live's" season

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all right, so about two hours away one of tv's most beloved shows air the final episode, talking about "mad men." that is not the only show ending a very long run. here's nbc's halley jackson. >> reporter: it's the end of an era. >> who are you? >> i'm peggy ol stone, the new girl. >> reporter: not just the one popularized by "mad men" a slew of shows are saying good-bye starting tonight. >> it's over when i say it's over. >> reporter: when amc's hit drama about an advertising agency set in the '60s and '70s signs off. ♪ >> not just a television show

it is an iconic show that infiltrated the culture, the way people direction the way people talked the way people carried themselves. >> does it all come down to sticking the landing? >> i think because it happens on a human scale and it's related to people's real lives, she should expect the story to be in that vein. >> reporter: while "mad men's" fin nal may may make friends cry, lack for laughs in letterman's last week. >> what is wrong with me? [ laughter ] >> reporter: after more than three decades of memorable moments on the air -- [ laughter ] >> reporter: the late night icon will say good-bye wednesday. >> you have beautiful eyes. >> thank you. >> reporter: taking his top ten list with him. >> things that sound cool when said by snoop dogg. >> let's go to the gap and buy underpants. >> reporter: and leaving big shoes to fill. as if the finales in the next week weren't enough get ready for next season when "csi" ends its long run after spawning several spinoffs and teaching america what forensics means.

and "american idol" just announced its curtain call with plans to end the show after 15 seasons of the good -- ♪ last forever ♪ >> reporter: the bad. >> bangs. >> reporter: and the really bad. ♪ touched for the very first time ♪ >> it does feel like there is a seismic shift of television shows going off the air now, i think executives are recognizing they want to bring in new talent. >> reporter: before we welcome what's next a bitter sweet good-bye to some of tv. 's most beloved. for "today," halley jackson, nbc news los angeles. >> set your dvrs. pop start, bring you what you've been missing in the world of pop culture. >> we have a look at the season finale of "saturday night live" and big news for "pitch perfect 2." we have it all for you. good morning. >> good morning, my loves. last night, all eyes were on "snl", of course the show wrapped up its 40th season. rihanna returned as musical guest and comedian louie ck

hosted for a third time. you no three was no way the season could end without one last hillary skit. >> i love your sand castle. >> thanks it's our dream house. >> oh neat. this is my dream house. [ laughter ] >> you're on the beach in a wool suit jacket. are you hot? >> yes, i'm hot for america. >> the election's next november. so you still have another summer of this. >> no no no no, no no no no. ♪ it's summer summertime ♪ >> in full disclosure couldn't find one louie ck skit appropriate for morning tv and this morning coming under fire for one joke he made specifically about child molestation. we know's controversial come immediaten i can't, people are not happy online. >> with he love your choice of kate mackinnon. that's okay. >> move things along to a much less controversial comedian. how about that? maya rudolph, everybody. >> love her. >> the "snl" alum had a busy day yesterday, delivering -- excuse me guys, a commencement speech

to the graduating -- i cannot speak this morning. the baby. >> it is the baby. blaming it on the baby. to the graduating class of tulane university. she set the tone immediately saying i thank you for having me hear to join you on this special day, in this incredible city. i stand here humbled, gracious and completely naked under this robe. and it only got funnier from there. >> if you would indulge me, since we are in the super dome. would you mind rising one more time for the national anthem? [ laughter ] ♪ . a little beyonce, everything can't get enough of maya. if you have the opportunity i watch the full clip. it is amazing. let's end things off on a high note with the ladies of "pitch perfect 2."

yesterday they stopped by. all of them had a reason to bust out into song. "pitch perfect 2" dominated the box office, not only is it on track to trump the big budget blockbuster, mad max, according to estimates, the film is looking at a $60 million opening weekend. those numbers set it up to be the highest grossing three-day opening weekend ever for a musical. i say that is amazing. you knew where i was going with that so cheesy. pop start for this morning. >> thanks. still to come this morning on "today" the final countdown is on, matt now just minutes away from his ride for red nose day. there he is ready to go. we will check in w in just this one moment, your baby is getting even more than clean. the scent, the lather, even the tiny bubbles of a johnson's® bath are helping to enhance the experience. the touch of your hands is stimulating her senses. nurturing her mind. and helping her development. so why just clean your baby

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ber back now on a sunday morning with a moment we have all been waiting for. in just a few moments, matt is taking off for 226.6, that .6 is very important, like a marathon very important. you limbered up? you ready? you got your water? >> i'm ready. i'm ready. i'm hydrated. a perfect day, this is kelly english from back roads, that's the company that's been laying out the route for me and strategize. what is the best piece of advice since do you this for a living? >> stay hydrated wear sunscreen and make sure you take it easy. >> i'm staying in my zone remembering it is not a race. matt two questions what do you have on your ipod and do you get bathroom breaks? >> i do get bathroom breaks we will take them in the other order. i put a play list together of 221 songs, so that should last me at least till, i don't know, dead ham, mass or something like that. >> almost one for every mile right? minute and a half miles. >> keep you going strong.

>> right. >> how does this compare to you used to have that private jet for "where in the world is matt lauer requests requests? >> this is a little bit more roughing it. there's no question about it. how far the mighty have fallen right? but this is much more fun for me. and again, it's all, you know it's not a bike ride for me it's a bike ride to raise awareness of children living in poverty all around the world and we hope we do some good with this guys. >> red noses all. official countdown now. starting in ten. maybe the crowd on the plaza can help us. five four three, two, one. and he is off. >> thank you for the sendoff, guys thank you very very much. >> 226.6 miles, raising awareness and money for kids in poverty. all part of red nose. >> come on kelly. >> check in with you outthroughout the week. >> put on your red nose in solidarity. like her bit dentist. matt you're looking good looking strong wish you nothing but the best. that is going to do it for us

this sunday morning. >> see you back her

the breaking news we're following is out of montgomery county. no gas and no power for close to 100 homes in a neighborhood where a fast-moving building fire ripped through a business. a live report from the scene is coming up. some progress to report this morning. new tracks are down at the site of the deadly derailment in philadelphia but amtrak must make safety changes before any trains can start rolling on the rails here. another warm and humid day on tap. here's a live look over center city. you may want to keep the umbrella handy, as scattered showers are expected to move in a little bit later on. good morning. this is nbc 10 news today. i'm rosemary connors. it's 9:00 on this sunday. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the weekend weather for us.