ba da ba ba ba good morning. three-peat. >> we're winning, winning, winning. >> donald trump cruises to victory in nevada, his third straight win in the republican presidential race. super tuesday is a week away and he's ahead in nearly every state. does hehink the nomination is his to lose? we'll talk to him live. tornado outbreak. >> it's crossing the road. look at that! >> a string of twisters across the south, entire neighborhoods wiped out. the damage stretching from louisiana to florida. at least three people killed,

there's more dangerous weather today. new cases, new fear. 14 more women potentially infected with zika by their male partners here in the united states. the growing outbreak to the address at a hearing on capitol hill this morning. too accommodating? the opening day at the trial of erin andrews. why did hotel staff agree to let a man who turned out to be her stalker book the room next to hers? >> this is dangerous. you don't go, fine. nothing wrong. 2016. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning.

lawyer lauer. >> we hope he's feeling okay. feel better, matt. win in nevada. >> commanding win. it was a landslide for trump. he dominated every key voting block, giving him more momentum heading into super tuesday next week. >> the race for second place, another nail biter. marco rubio edging out cruz, counted. >> we'll talk to donald trump and senator rubio a moment from let's start with the weather. a powerful storm system spawning tornadoes from louisiana to florida overnight. more is expected today. let's go to nbc's jacob rascon. he's in convent, louisiana, 50 west of new orleans. what's the situation? >> behind me is what used to be a mobile home park.

two people killed here alone, more than 30 hospitalized, 7 critically. now, the search is on for those who may be trapped in the rubble. >> reporter: a desperate search for survivors. hope nearly lost. 150 mobile homes ripped to shreds. trucks twisted like toys. a neighborhood wiped off the map. louisiana governor edwards, stunned. >> this was probably the worst area that that tornado could have hit. it's just -- the destructive power of this tornado is awful. >> have you ever seen anything like it? >> i have not. >> reporter: dozens were injured, many pulled from the rubble barely alive. >> we're asking for calm in this area, for prayers. we need that. the community needs that. >> reporter: 19 million people were at risk during round one of the massive winter storm. from golf-ball sized hail in texas to blinding rain and more

all the way to pensacola, florida, where this neighborhood took a direct hit. >> we just held on to each other and said, maybe we'll make it. maybe we won't. very. >> reporter: there were overturned semi trucks, a gutted gym and howard, who saw it go right past him. nobody is giving up yet in convert, louisiana. in the air and on the ground, wondering if this is survive able survivable. >> some of the mobile homes were thrown blocks from where they originally stood. incredible stories of survival. the seven people critically injured remain hospitalized. the search will continue for the two to three people later this morning. savannah? >> jacob rascon, thank you. now al is here with what you can expect today. the storms have covered a wide swath of territory. >> this is what we were worried about.

instead, you have to go by radar and that's what we were concerned about. this is the certain time this season we have seen this. a winter storm and severe weather. it is all fueled by el nino. the subtropical, stronger subtropical yet, make jet, making for a stormy coast. you can see from georgia and south carolina, all the way to florida, we have tornado watches in effect. for today, we are under the gun for central north carolina. tornadoes very likely here. possible wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. this is going to be pushing to the east. this morning, the southeast is under it. they're going to see the heavy thunderstorm. later this morning, the mid-atlantic gets into the act. we're going to see the winds increasing. the rain, as well. highest threat for the costal areas, the mid-atlantic and the northeast. rainfall amounts, 1 to 3 inches of rain. we've got flood watches for 12 million people at risk from georgia all the way to new

in a bit, we'll talk about the winter side of this. we have blizzard warden nings in effect now. >> thank you. now to the other big story of the morning. donald trump storming to victory in the nevada caucuses on the heels of his wins in south carolina and new hampshire. momentum is clearly on his side. super tuesday, all important, just six days away now. we're going to talk to mr. trump live in a moment. let's begin this morning's coverage with nbc's national correspondent peter alexander. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. donald trump delivering another decisive victory here, fueled by another record turnout. trump dominating among voters looking for a political outsider who tells it like it is. just as striking as what happened overnight, after the results came in. the cruz, rubio and kasich campaigns sent out e-mails blasting each other, not a single one targeting trump. >> we love nevada. we love nevada. thank you. >> reporter: here in vegas,

jackpot. the billionaire cashing in his third straight win. >> if you win to the pundits, we weren't expected to win too much and now we're winning, winning, winning the country. >> reporter: focusing on victories in kedem y demographics. >> we won with young, with old, highly educated, poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> reporter: dueling to be the trump alternative, cruz trails rubio in the battle for second. >> the only campaign that has beaten donald trump and the only campaign that can beat donald trump is this campaign. >> reporter: across nevada, the wild west lived up to its name. the chaotic caucuses coming under criticism before the voting was complete, with complaints on social media. one man saying it was a disaster. another reporting yelling and screaming. caucus workers wearing pro trump swag that party officials say is allowed.

approaching, the trump-cruz feud is intensifying. the front runner pouncing on cruz for his decision to fire a top aide. >> he is like a little baby. soft, weak, little baby. >> reporter: cruz sarcastically praise ing trump for showing grace. >> we have to elect someone who is not just angry but someone who will make a difference and someone who will win. >> reporter: for the establishment, time is running out. march 15th, contests are winner take off. a strong second isn't worth a thing. >> it'll be an amazing two months. we might not even need the two months, folks, to be honest, all right? >> now, the republican race for the nomination excel rate accelerates. 11 states voting next week, including cruz's home state of

the senator simply trying to stay alive, telling supporters it'll be the most important night of his campaign. savannah and willie? >> peter alexander, thank you so much. marco rubio is with us from michigan where he held a rally last night. good morning, sir. >> good morning. >> there have been these four republican contests. donald trump has won three of them. we've seen the field of candidates narrow. yet, this dynamic seems to be the same. you've got you and ted cruz and some of the other candidates fighting each other, and trump sailing to victory. lot of republicans asking this morning, why not take on trump directly? what's your answer to that? >> yeah, first of all, you need to take everything we've applied, the lessons of every other campaign before and throw them out the window. this is an unusual year and an unusual process. the nevada caucuses, by the way, are atypical. i respect nevada very much. last night, that was different than the rest of the country.

vast and overwhelming majority of republicans don't want donald trump to be our nominee. it's evidenced by the fact your poll last week showed if it came down to donald trump and me, i'd beat him by 16 points. we have a dynamic where as long as there are four people running, dividing up the non-trump vote, you'll get results like last night. the sooner we can narrow the race down, the easier it'll be to stop donald trump. >> sorry to interrupt. some candidates dropped out and we've seen donald trump grow his numbers. you say nevada is an outliar er but night. >> mitt romney got over 50% in the last caucus in nevada, with the race. as i said, it's a state that's that, or along those lines. i love nevada. delegates there last night and moved on. one candidate dropped out that's governor bush. i think you'll see more of that happening over the next few days

as that happens, i think we're only going to get stronger. you've seen a growing number of people joining our effort. we're the only ones in the race that can unite the republican party and grow it. it's how we'll win in november. >> i'm channelling republicans and conservatives who like you and support you but are frustrated you're not specifically going after donald trump, and you seem more focused on ted cruz. their concern seems to be by the time you get rid of ted cruz, if that is the strategy, it'll be too late. donald trump will have too many states and too many delegates. why not go at donald trump right now? >> first of all, i haven't heard that. i talk to people all day. i go to rallies all the time and don't have voters begging me to attack anyone. second, i think it's a media narrative. a lot of people want to see republicans attacking each other because it makes for good television. i'm not in the race to attack anyone. >> forgive the interruption, but you've been going after cruz. >> i'm responding to ted cruz. if i'm attacked, i'm going to

straight. in the case of ted cruz, he's repeatedly made things up about me and we've had to clear the air and point to the fact he's making things up. if you recall in the last debate, donald trump said george w. bush is responsible for 9/11. i corrected him in a firm way in front of the entire nation. s s like that arise, i won't hesitate to point out our differences or things i disagree with. i didn't run for office to tear up other republicans. i'm going to tell people who i am and why i'm running. i'll give them a choice. if they elect me, they'll have someone who unifies the party, grows this party, governs this country responsibly, deals with our challenges, and i will be a president for all americans. even the people that don't agree with us. i'll try to bring the country together as best i can. >> senator marco rubio, always good to get your time. thank you. >> thanks, senator. >> thank you. now we have donald trump on the phone. he, of course, won the nevada caucuses last night. congratulations on your win, sir. >> thank you very much. >> you came kind of close to

nomination last night. you said, it'll be an amazing two months and might not even take two months. clearly, you're feeling good. is this nomination yours to lose at this point? >> i don't know. i can't answer that question. i can only say we're doing really well. we have tremendous numbers out of the different states we're going to this coming week. if you look at georgia and texas, where we have a real good shot. you look at some of them down the line, i think we have amazing numbers. i think we'll do very well in ohio, tennessee, arkansas. we're looking at really great numbers. i hope we do well. >> mr. trump, we just talked to senator rubio. he's criticized for not going after you more directly. it strikes me he's the one guy you haven't really gone after. you've gone after many of the others in the field and many aren't in the race anymore. when it's time to go after senator rubio, what will be your line of criticism with him? >> i wouldn't want to tell you. so far, he's been very nice and

we haven't been in that mode yet, but probably it'll happen. if it doesn't happen, that would be a wonderful thing. it would be very nice. there is a possibility that will happen. >> as you look at his record and the things he's done as a united states senator, what are your impressions? >> he's somewhat inexperienced, young, nice guy. we'll be talking about it at the right time if it comes up. so far, really, it hasn't come up. i've been accusing senator cruz of doing pretty bad things, namely, lying. i've never seen anybody like this. i've dealt with much, much tougher people over my lifetime, but i have never dealt with anybody that will lie like he lies. >> why go after cruz if rubio is the one who seems to be doing better in the polls and getting closer to you? granted, not close if you look at nevada's results last night. >> that only happened last night. really, cruz was second. it looks like rubio is now looking like he's going to be second, based on last night.

rubio hasn't gone after you? many republicans think somebody has to take you on. this has to become a one on one race. we talked to him about it. he hasn't done that. why do you think? do you think he's -- he fears takes you on? >> maybe because 14 people went after me and 14 people now officially are gone. i don't know. i mean, i seem to have a good track record when they do go after me. he's been very nice, and i think i've been respectful to him. we'll see what happens. it could always change. it's changed on a number of occasions. other people have been that way and we go at it. track record. i'm not sure. you'll have to ask him that question. >> we heard you in a piece a few minutes ago calling ted cruz a little baby. you talked about wanting to punch a protester who was events. you said when you become president, you'll change your tone and temperament. doing. how your life has gone with the

why would you change that if it's working so well for you? >> i have to tell you, maybe i shouldn't be changing it too much. the protester was out of line. he was hitting people, screaming during the speech, and everybody wanted to hear what i was saying. he was screaming horribly. the cops were so gentle, how they took him out. he had a big smile on his face, waving to the people. they were booing him. he should have been out on a stretcher but they couldn't touch him. it's disgraceful. nevertheless. >> that style has worked well for you in your life. why change it when you become president? >> i think i might tone it down a little bit. i was against -- we had a total of 17 people and now we're down to 6. i may very well change it. right now, it seems to be working pretty well. >> donald trump, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. while republican voters caucused across nevada, hillary

taking part in a town hall in south carolina. ahead of saturday's democratic primary there. nbc's kristen welker is in columbia for us. good morning. >> good morning to you. senator sanders is trying to blunt secretary clinton's momentum. on tuesday, they traded sharp jabs at the town hall here. one of the most heated moments came when clinton was asked about transcripts on the speeches she gave to wall street. >> why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else? >> reporter: tough questions tuesday night. hillary clinton, again, pressed about releasing transcripts of her paid goldman sachs speeches. >> if people are going to ask for things, everybody should be on a level playing field. >> reporter: clinton vowing to release her transjipts s cripts when others follow suit. giving sanders an opening. >> i am happy to release my paid speeches to wall street. here, chris. there ain't none.

a federal judge, her top aides should be questioned about the e-mail server. >> it's not going to have any lasting effect. i am not at all worried about it. >> reporter: for his part, sanders challenged about controversial comments he made in 1974, saying he wanted to abolish the cia. >> the cia plays an important role. have they done things which they should not have done on behalf of the united states government? absolutely. >> reporter: both candidates used the night to court critical african-american voters. clinton asked about beyonce's super bowl halftime show, which angered some police departments, by paying tribute to the black lives matter movement. >> we have to figure out how we're going to lift up the good practices, reform policing, provide more support. >> reporter: sanders slammed the movement against the president, including donald trump. >> my dad came from poland. i'm running for president and no

certificate. maybe it's the color of my skin. >> reporter: clinton brushing off her fumbled response to a question about lying to the american public. >> i don't believe i ever have. i don't believe i ever will. >> say no! just say no! >> is that a question that you would like another shot at answering? >> i'll just say no. >> both candidates also expressed their support for president obama's plan to close guantanamo. today, clinton will campaign in south carolina, while sanders will hold a news conference here and then go to super tuesday's stage, where he may have a bigger shot at winning. >> thanks so much. now to washington. new developments in the ongoing battle over the u.s. supreme court. senate majority leader mitch mccome mc mcconnell said his party won't meet with the nominees presented by president obama.

right to nominate, but the senate has rights, as well. al has the rest of the forecast. >> we'll fruit. nuts. silky smooth dark chocolate. revel in the pleasure of new dove

>> we'll look at the winter side of the storm in the next 15 minutes. >> thank you very much. ahead this morning, the emotional start to erin andrews' $75 million lawsuit, after she was secretly recorded behind closed doors. did the hotel ignore red flags that put her stalker in the room next door? more signs the zika virus is spreading in the u.s. the cdc investigating 14 potential new cases this morning. what they all have in common.

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good morning everyone. i'm leigh spann. it is 7:27. and i want to keep you updated on the deter youring weather condition. and now you can see the rain is coming down in citrus and hernando counties and now rain in pinellas over the bay bridges and into hillsborough county and tampa. the tornado watch is for citrus, hernando, pasco and sumpter until 10:00 a.m. again, that's the red shaded areas. this is a part of a much larger storm system that goes all the way up into the carolinas and extends well out off the coast of sarasota and manatee county. now i will give you -- show

even when you're not dealing with the storms. winds right now already out of the south at 15 to 25 miles per hour. now let's go to that forecast. so this is starting at 8:00. so another half hour from now. still dealing with rain, mostly north of i-4. that's going to continue till 8:30, 9:00. and notice after 9:00, we start drying out from north to south as the rain makes it down into manatee and sarasota county along i-4. during the lunch break, we could see some of the most widespread storms. may want to take the lunch to work. by 3:30, rain is exiting. highs at 76.

7:30. it's wednesday morning, february 24th, 2016. kind of that day here in new york city, actually all across the country. high winds, heavy rains, al is saying he has winter to talk about. doesn't sound good. >> no, it's not. >> we'll hear more about the storms coming up. let's look at the headlines. three in a row for donald trump. cruising to victory in nevada last night. picking up nearly half of all the votes cast. >> of course, if you listen to the pundits, we aren't expected to win too much and now we're winning, winning, winning the

soon, the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. >> senator marco rubio edging out ted cruz for second place. another day of severe weather across the south. overnight, at least three people were killed. more than 30 others injuries when tornadoes touched down in louisiana and mississippi. more were reported in florida. a small passenger plane that went down in bad weather in nepal has been found. it was still burning when located. all 23 people on board were killed. sports reporter erin andrews is back in court today after an emotional opening to her $75 million lawsuit against a hotel and the man secretly filming her in her room. >> reporter: you can see it on erin andrews' face, sitting in court, reliving the experience, when she got the call her lawyer said she'll never forget. >> erin, you're on the internet.

do you know that? she just totally comes apart. >> reporter: now, eight years later, she's suing michael barrett, the man who stalked her and took the video, along to the national marriott and local management at the time. for $75 million. claiming the hotel was nej gligent and could have present vented it from happening. barrett called the hotel and asked if she'd be staying there. >> first red flag. >> reporter: then the lawyer says, barrett called the reservation center, which abbreviates a note. guest request next to erin andrews. >> why is a person making a request like that? it's dangerous. it's a red flag. you don't go, fine. >> reporter: but he got the room next door. according to the complaint, barrett removed and altered the peephole of andrews' hotel room door and reported video of her changing and/or getting dressed without her consent or knowledge.

clients, who were trying to provide a hotel room to their guest, to a criminal stalker. and they're not. >> reporter: the lawyer for the hotel company told injury yours s injury jurors what happened to andrews was terrible but not the hotel's fault. barrett is responsible. >> these people did not take a phone call from some stranger wanting to be in a room next to erin andrews and put him there. he deceived. he connived. he stalked. that's what mr. barrett did. >> reporter: barrett pleaded guilty to stalking and shooting the nude videos and served 30 months in prison. now free, he will testify in this civil case by video. andrews is expected to take the stand to tell her side of the story. for "today", morgan rad ford ford, nbc news. al is busy tracking strong storms this morning. >> we'll talk about the winter

i mean, we've got winter storm warnings, advisories, blizzard warnings, stretching from northern arkansas all the way up into michigan. 20 million people at risk. wind gusts, 50 miles per hour. snowfall amounts, 1 to 2 inches per hour. let me tell you, the distance of this track, 50 miles either way is going to affect the snowfall. weather is getting into chicago now, st. louis, all the way back to almost arkansas. what we look for as far as snowfall amounts. upwards of a foot or more north of detroit, saginaw. south bend, illinois. also, parts of illinois are going to be looking at this, as well. st. louis, 2 to 4. chicago, 2 to 6. flint, 8 to 14. south bend, 10 to 16 inches of

that's what's >> that's your latest weather. willie? >> al, thanks a lot. the cdc is investigating 14 united states. that's leading to a new warning for anyone who has traveled to s s for the virus. tom costello has more. >> so far, only two definitive cases have been confirmed but the cdc says 14 suspected cases involve men who had traveled to zika areas and spread the virus came home. >> reporter: the cdc's announcement raising the level of concern, whether the zika virus might find new victims

nationwide so far, health authorities report 82 cases in 21 states, plus d.c. now, 14 new reports of a zika virus possibly transmitted through sexual contact. >> in each of the episodes, a man was traveling to a zika-affected area, developed symptoms that were consistent with zika, and within two weeks of the man's symptoms, the female partner developed virus. >> reporter: the cdc reports it's working to determine exactly how long the virus can remain active in a person's system and still be transmitted to a sexual partner. worldwide, more than 30 countries are on the cdc's list of zika-infected areas. women who are pregnant or might become pregnant should avoid the areas. the cdc is urging all men who have been to zika areas to abstain from sex when they

condoms, especially if their partner might be pregnant. >> take the appropriate precautions so that they don't zika infection and they might be pregnant at the same time. that would be tragic. >> reporter: as nbc saw firsthand in brazil, families are coping with caring for their children diagnosed with microaccept micro microcephaly microcephaly, the birth defect associated with small heads and brains, thought to be linked to the virus. it's causing anxiety for the athletes preparing for rio this summer. some athletes said they might avoid the games altogether. latin america and the caribbean in a race to stop the spread, while no vaccine leaves more people potentially at risk. >> again, the big warning this morning, if you have travelled to a country on the zika warning list or your sexual partner has, the stakes here could be very high. you may want to talk to your doe doctor or health care provider.

ones we know about. is the cdc worried this may be the tip of the iceberg? >> absolutely. that's certainly the case. thousands of people travel to and from the caribbean and latin america every day. of men who travel there, if they're bitten by the mosquito, their spouses or partners back risk. as we've reported, in most people, the zika symptoms are no mild, they might never know they were infected. but the risk for unborn babies is very significant. >> tells you something, the cdc went public with this to begin with. thanks so much. coming up, a rare interview with donald trump's wife. does she think her husband has gone too far on the campaign trail? a florida woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband. she testifies for the first time and why she says it was all an act. binge eating disorder, or b.e.d.,... ...isn't just overeating. it's a real medical condition. and while the exact cause is unknown... ...certain chemicals in the brain may play a role. b.e.d. is also the most... ...common eating

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defense. the two-hour long questioning centered around this undercover surveillance video, allegedly showing her in 2009 hiring a hitman to murder her husband michael. >> reporter: dippolito's defense, she thought it was a taping for an unnamed reality tv show. >> that's what mama told he told you to say, right? >> yes, he told me to say it. >> 5,000% sure? >> i needed to project confidence. he told me i needed to make it look believable. >> reporter: the hit man was actually an undercover police officer, filming the whole thing as part of a sting operation. >> i'm sorry to tell you, man, he's been killed. >> reporter: also caught on

crime scene at the couple's home. di be, dippolito's reaction to her husband's staged murder seen here, as she's led away for her eventual arrest. >> we received a call related to a woman who wanted to hire a hit man to kill her husband. >> reporter: she stands by her story. >> you made that up? >> yeah. >> it was part of the script? >> yeah. >> reporter: in her 2011 trial, dippolito was found guilty and has been under house arrest ever since. now she's gearing up for another trial, as it was determined the jurors had been tainted. >> i don't care what you saw in the video between dalia and the undercover informant. the fact of the matter is, any criminal investigation requires integrity. this was not a criminal investigation. dalia dippolito was set up, trapped. >> reporter: in response, the

behind the principled work our detectives did on this investigation. we trust in our state attorney to successfully prosecute this case. and we're confident we have given his office sufficient evidence to meet the state's burden. her ex-husband is staying quiet for now. for him, this is no act. it's a real-life drama, giving new meaning to the words, "until death do us part." >> dippolito's attorneys are urging the judge to dismiss the case. a ruling is expected in the coming weeks. it's intriguing. >> thank you. just ahead, love it or fear it. the most advanced robot in shouldn't mess with it. >> i'm going to go fear it, right away. carson has an exclusive

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coming to facebook's like button. ladies and gentlemen, that day is finally here. this morning, we are proud to announce exclusively the reaction buttons are available right now worldwide. over the next few days, they'll roll out to all facebook users. i'll show you what this means here. you can like a post. well, now you can love, ha ha, wow, sad or angry. that's right. make sure your app is up to date. here's a video that shows you how easy it is. gently touch the like button and the other reaction buttons pop up. select the one you want. by the way, this reminds me, al, i was on your page and loved diego zoo. i'll show you how it works. i'll go to like, over here to ha ha, boom. >> boom! carson. i'm on your page. >> what did you like? >> you have a little crock-pot action. >> chili. >> i'm going to go with wow. >> well, thank you.

>> i love it. how they dance and move around. >> i like that, yeah. it's animated. >> head to today.com to find out how they landed on the six reactions. in honor of wrangler wednesday, which i've got here somewhere, here it is, we're going to go ahead if you go to the today show page and like that, because it is wrangler wednesday, you'll see wrangler live streaming. that's the action this morning. that. >> come on, wrangler, do something! >> we've got new reaction buttons. you have to get excited. >> come on, wrangler. >> wrangler has one reaction button. >> show us your wow, wrangler. >> huge news for facebook users today.

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we have a big update. the tornado watch has been extended. it's still until 10:00 this morning but now includes pinellas, hillsborough, sarasota and manatee counties. so all of the areas shaded in red under the tornado watch. we are getting a break between the hernando and pasco county communities but i will zoom up here into citrus county around crystal river, downpour, lightning, strong gusty winds and of course right through the heart of the metro area. all of pinellas, over the bay bridge, into tampa and out into eastern hillsborough county. heavy downpours. there are some lightning strikes. and a few gusty winds. i do see that the strongest storms still well out in the gulf of mexico, off the coast of sarasota and manatee counties. and again, all of this is going to continue to the push down to the south and east. very windy ahead of it. we are seeing wind gusts 25 to 30 miles per hour right now. and watch the forecast, as the day goes on, rain will end

rain will continue to push south of i-4 through the afternoon. and we clear out during the overnight hours. it's going to be much cooler behind the front too, a high of 62 on friday. and let's check in with leslee lacey. >> thank you. what a mess it. is away from plant city, here's what's going on, activity the median eastbound. but westbound, you can see that the left lane is taken away. the is right near mcintosh. look at the back up, nasty there. again, very, very heavy coming away from plant city, about a 35 minute extra on the commute

you're hot and you're cold yes then you're no in then you're out 8:00 on "today". coming up -- secrets to successful sleep. how the temperature of your bedroom could be costing you a good night's rest. we'll have the do's and don't's to catching the best zs. plus, ready for takeoff. >> i'm ready. >> you're ready? let's do it. >> inside carson's internship at the airport. >> going to the lounge and maybe have a cocktail? >> no, you're not. >> will his new career get off the ground? kevin spacey in the house.

started destroying it. >> back at it as the commander in chief that everybody loves to hate in the highly anticipated new season of "house of cards." today, wednesday, february 24th, 2016. hey, y'all >> hey! >> first time in new york city. >> from ft. worth, texas. years. show. >> we've been fans for 50 years. good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today". a little bit of a drizzling morning out here on our plaza. a rainy one all across the northeast today. willie is here for matt.

years? >> not like this. >> i had this flu a couple weeks ago. i was in bed for four days. i hope he gets better. >> sending him a hug and hopefully he can come back tomorrow. ready, pal. >> exactly. you do. coming up in honor of this gentleman, wrangler, we'll help you pick the right pet for your family. >> first, a check of the top stories with natalie. >> good morning. the battle for second place providing the only drama overnight after tuesday's nevada republican caucuses. donald trump easily claims victory. hallie jackson is in las vegas for us. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. right now, it's marco rubio leading ted cruz for second in a race we now know had record turnout, giving donald trump the momentum. >> reporter: it's yet another trump triumph. >> we're winning, winning, winning. >> reporter: and a sweeping one.

with men and women, with every age group, with evangelicals. >> we won the evangelicals. we won with young. we won with old. we won with highly educated. we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> reporter: a three-peat for trump. time running out for his rivals to stop him. >> you look at some of them down the line, and they have amazing numbers. >> reporter: at ted cruz's campaign, the alarm going off. literally. not lost on them, he's under pressure to perform on super tuesday when 11 states cast ballots. cruz doing nothing to down play the day. >> one w week from today will be the most important night of this campaign. one week from today is super tuesday. >> reporter: that's when cruz needs a victory in texas to add to his first-place finish in iowa. his argument? he's the only one who has beaten donald trump, as his campaign

doing the same. rubio speaking out this morning on "today" on the state of the race and how to beat the front runner. >> this is an unusual year and a very unusual process. the sooner we can get the race narrowed down, the easier it'll be to stop donald trump. >> reporter: the florida senator hoping his home state gives him the win he needs but hasn't had on the campaign trail. often looking past his republican rivals to hit democrats locked in their own fight, sparring over hillary clinton's speeches. >> why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else? >> reporter: clinton promising to release transcripts of her past remarks to big banks when others do, too. sanders taking her up on it. >> i am happy to release all of my paid speeches to wall street. here it is, chris. there ain't none. i don't do that. heated tomorrow night, too, at their debate in texas. with donald trump previewing one potential line of attack against

morning, very nice, natalie, but young and inexperienced. >> hallie jackson in las vegas for us, thank you. this morning, in an exclusive interview on msnbc, melania trump, wife of the republican front runner, defended her husband's controversial statements about immigration. >> what about people who feel he is, let's go down the list because the campaign started and many felt he insulted mexicans. >> no, i don't feel he insulted the mexicans. he said illegal immigrants. he didn't talk about everybody. he talked about illegal immigrants. and after few weeks, like after two weeks, giving him hard time and bashing him in the media, they turn around and said, you know what? he's right. he's right, what he's talking about. and he opened conversation that nobody did.

>> do you ever think he's gone too far? >> i follow the law. i follow a law the way it's supposed to be. i never thought to stay here without papers. >> and you can watch that full exclusive interview with melania trump on msnbc's "morning joe." no secret that airline passengers have gotten larger over the years. while the seats on the planes seem to be shrinking. air bus might have a solution. bench seating. the manufacturer filed a patent for a an adjustable bench seat. it can accommodate obese passengers as well as small children. no word on if or when we might see the benches on a plane. back over to willie now. >> thanks a lot. if you're pouring yourself another cup of coffee to wake up, it could be your thermostat that's costing you precious hours of sleep.

as that of the wall street journal. more. good to see you. >> good morning, willie. >> cooler is better? >> yeah. don't throw out everything you ever learned about rhythms and too. research has been indicating that the temperature you're sleeping in at night is very, very important. naturally, what happens to us during the 24-hour period is our core body temperature does drop a couple degrees at night and it helps to initiate sleep. what's the magic number? around 65 degrees. >> whoa. that's cold. >> normally, people keep their ambient temperature in the home higher during the day. it's recommended to keep it lower in the nighttime. >> we talked on this show a lot about the battle of the thermostat. >> yes. >> some like it hot and some like it cold. >> yeah. >> what's the middle ground? >> probably to keep it cooler and layer up with blankets. we'll talk about socks. want to hear about socks? >> yeah. >> apparently a lot of people

my mom said to let me feet breathe at night. i don't know what that means. in any event, if your feet are cold, it's good to put socks on. it causes the blood vessels in the feet to open up and let the core body temperature drop. the warm blood circulation is going to the feet. that, in turn, initiates sleep. wearing socks at night if your feet are cold are okay. don't's. consistent. >> try seven days a week, wake up at the same time, go to bed at the same time. it's mainly for the sunday night syndrome. you've been sleeping in all weekend and try to go to sleep on sunday night and you can't. you wake up monday morning feeling hungover. >> don't toss and turn. if you can't go to sleep, get up? >> if you're not asleep after 20 to 30 minutes, don't lie in bed and stare at the clock. get up, read, do something soothing, listen to music. when you feel tired again, go

>> this one, we're all guilty of, don't check your phone right before you go to sleep. >> hugely important. this primarily has to do with blue light. it basically goes into your rhett ka, retina, the back of your brain and impedes the secretion of mel toen ne -- melatonin. according to the national sleep foundation, you need 7 to 9 hours. too little or too much can have adverse health effects. >> at 65 degrees. sounds like a recipe for something. >> i'll try it tonight. first, a stroll through the snow. next, global domination. the ground-breaking robot that's remarkable and, let's be honest, a little frightening. plus, on pop start, ellen times two. the surprise appearance that will have you seeing double. if your bag does not arrive, blame carson. carson interning at jfk airport in new york, discovering what it

uh huh. yeah...sorry about that. think about it there must be higher love down in the heart what do you think? and in the stars above hi ted, glad you could join us, r we think you' re going to like these numbers. bring me a higher love i could rise above this is sheldon whose long day setting up the news starts with minor arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

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oh, i love your style we're back at 8:13, time for what's trending. this story is going to raise a lot of eyebrows, i think, in a certain generation. breakfast favorite. an article in the "new york times" says eating cereal is nostalgic but sales have plummeted 30%. here's the line getting all the attention. quote, almost 40%ostomy lennials s -- millenials surveyed said it was an convenient breakfast choice because they had to clean up after eating it. >> come on. >> washing the bowl takes time. apparently, they'd rather have a yogurt or sandwich, energy bar you can throw out, or don't eat breakfast. >> it's not to go, necessarily. >> you all want to judge. let's judge. doesn't seem that hard. >> they wake up, sit down, read the paper, pour themselves

the world moves fast now so you have to get something on the go and make it more convenient. >> i'm generally against being the old people bashing the millenials. we love a lotostomy of the lot of the millenials. >> there's our resident millennial, cleaning out her bowl. >> how was the cereal? >> they make those cereal to go things in a plastic bowl. toss it away. >> back when i was in my 20s or whatever, i'm often eat cereal for dinner because i was too lazy to make actual dinner. somebody was probably saying that about my generation. >> full-blown breakfast now. we just did cereal. >> what about the boxes of cereal you stole out of the dining hall? >> a lot of the millenials are cooking at night. in the morning they don't want to.

options like they did, the burritos, we would have done it, too. >> let go my ego. >> froot loops. >> captain crunch. we know robots can do incredible things. what happens when a robot is bullied by a human? look at this video released by boston dynamics. an engineer takes a long pole. more than bullying. beating him up with a pole. uses it to shove this humanoid robot to the ground, atlas. how does he respond in he's back for more. he uses the sensors in his bodies and legs to come back up for more. >> wait till he learns to punch back. >> wait till see he sees "iron man."

>> "matrix." we have kate doing ellen's impression to her face. >> we'll start with celine dion returning to her stage for the first time since the death of her husband. the crowd giving her a standing stage. presence. >> he is the only man that i have known all my life. he always made me feel that we were on our first date. we were one. and nothing has changed. we will always be one. >> celine joked that he'd tell her to zip it and start singing. that's what she did. she belted out her hit "where does my heart beat now." elizabeth taylor and never before seen photos. her hidden life, based on a new

written by photographer and her close friend. he said taylor loved to cook and hitchhike. she once again unnoticed after leaving andy warhol's house. that hits s s news stands this friday. kate mckinnon is known for her impressions of hillary clinton and justin bieber. don't forget about her take on ellen. on ellen's show this week, they come face-to-face. >> she exaggerates, saying, i'm ellen. i'm ellen. i don't know what that is. i don't say, i'm ellen. [ applause ] >> feels nice. i'm ellen. >> that's how you say it. i'm ellen. >> no, i'm ellen. i got this, blondie. >> so good. no impression would be complete without the dancing. >> wow. >> you can see more of kate's impression on today's episode of ellen. i'm sure it'll be awesome.

she's a chameleon. >> huge talent. carson, thanks a lot. al, check of the weather? >> first of all, we still have this severe weather going on. we have a tornado watch for a good portion of florida. also on into southern georgia as the thunderstorms race across. we've also got the risk of severe weather today, especially in raleigh. a few tornadoes possible. we'll be watching that. other side is, we have wet weather pushing to the east with some icy conditions up in the northern new york and parts of northern new jersey. mixed precipitation in new england. expect delays from boston to washington. rain and thunder. wind gusts of 45 to 55 miles per hour as it pushes on today and into tonight. rainfall amounts, 1 to 3 inches of rain. 26 million people under some sort of flood watch, stretching

that's what's going on around savannah? al, thanks. we have more of our special series, "up for the job." we all started our careers with internships and decided, let's do it again. carson, you chose a good one. >> it was a lot of fun. we all fly a lot. thought it'd be cool to see what the process is and what it takes to get the planes off the ground and into the air. not from the bar in the airport. i became an intern at jfk airport here in new york.

there are hundreds of men and women working hard on the ground. these below the wing employee rs s are the backbone of the business. chris nunez was my supervisor for the day. >> top priority is safety at delta, so we have safety gear. knee pads. >> i'm wearing a cup already. safety is important to me, as well. >> safety is important. >> ready to go? >> i'm ready. >> we're going to load this plane right here. this is going to vegas. you like vegas? >> love vegas. can you load me? >> we'll take the customers' bags, put them on a conveyer belt. >> nice and gentle. what if that was my bag? that one is heavy. might be a body in there. >> how do you feel about stacking the bags in the aircraft holder? >> i'm ready. >> let's do it. >> what are people packing? they're going to vegas, for the

>> carson, how does it feel? >> it's a lot of work. >> a lot of work? >> it is. it reminds me of packing my car with my family in the trunk. it's small in here. you have to pack it artfully. >> what are you doing? >> what? >> you can't use a cell phone out here. >> i'm on a break. you called a five. >> no, i did not. you always have to be aware of everything. >> all right. i'm sorry. >> no photos, okay? >> it's for my mom. >> we'll take the baggage over. >> where is the radio? >> listen to some music. >> there's no radios out here. >> get a little drake, j. cole, little hip hop, little something. >> ready? >> i'm ready. >> you'll have enrique teach you the loading stuff. >> first, the platform is controlled by this joystick. >> like a video game.

fit it perfectly to the aircraft. bring it right? >> there a little more, right in there. >> the first was 3500 pounds. >> this is 3,000. >> almost 7,000 pounds in cargo alone? >> yeah. >> what's next? going to the lounge to maybe have a cocktail? >> no, you're not. no drinking. you'll be moving an airport. >> really? >> yes. >> like the tow? >> you'll tow an airplane, the super tug. >> all right. >> ready? >> let's do it. >> you'll drive. >> driving, driving? oh, boy. greatest day of my life.

i towed that! don't tell chris. >> i won't say nothing. i promise. >> stop talking to chris. we have a plane to move, man. ready to roll? >> okay. 1605 pad 88 requesting pushback. ladies and gentlemen, this is your intern speaking, carson daly, hope you enjoyed your brief move to pad 88. chris, i took 243 selfies and you can't do anything about it. >> finally, the moment i had been preparing for all day long. >> luke, i am your father. i had to do it. >> carson, let's go! we have to park an airplane. okay. nice job. >> perfect. thank you so much. >> nicely done.

piece. really, you don't realize -- or i didn't realize and feel guilty for it, hundreds of men and women, not just delta, everywhere, who work hard to get our stuff in the planes. it's more than just the pilots. it was a great experience and eye opening. >> when it's cold and rainy. >> the weather, freezing there, it was like 40 in the spring and we had a nice day. huge thanks to delta airlines and the below the wing employees, especially chris nunez, my supervisor that day. and henry, he was awesome, made the internship possible. delta hires student interns and there are opportunities to work seasonally part time and in the winter and summer as ready reserves in the gate or the ramp area. go to delta.com to apply. i would. i premd recommend it. great experience. >> you towed the plane out. it was amaze ing. >> the plane i brought in was coming in from montego bay, it was amazing. >> this is your captain speaking routine. >> you were there all day.

>> i would have stayed longer. >> i don't know how i can beat this. i go tomorrow, but i have to say, that was awesome. >> great. >> tomorrow, i see your ramp agent job and raise you an amy schumer internship.

i'm leigh spann.

this is a live look from the hoola bay restaurant over tampa bay. already .20 fall and the tornado watch from citrus county down that goes until 10:00 this morning. look what's happened in the areas where we saw the rain first, citrus, hernando and pasco, things are quieter for you. and you may see more showers but things continue quiet through the rest of the morning. and now things are very active over the tampa bay. we just saw that live picture if hah loo bay restaurant right about there. heavy downpours, strong wind gusts and right over macdill air force base, southern pinellas county. heavy rain and lightning strikes in eastern hillsborough county and now finally spreading into western polk county. strong storms extend into the gulf of mexico. and i'm watching a few wears some rotation. i'm just going to point those out to you. they are well offshore, 20 to 40 miles at this point but i will keep an eye on it so keep

8. even if it's not rain, winds are strong out of the south at 15 to 20, gusting up to 30 miles per hour. as the day progress, the rain, the storm, all push to the south as the cold front comes through.

8:30 now. it is wednesday morning, february 24th, 2016. starting to come down. starting to get a little bit drizzling here on our plaza. it's a sign of things to come, right, al? >> yeah, when we're going to even see messier weather, wetter weather, stormier up and down

>> oh, man. we have to thank all the good people for coming out and hanging out with us on the plaza. >> thank you! >> it is not pretty out here. coming up this half hour, the president is here. president underwood. kevin spacey. we'll see what secrets we can get him to spill about the highly anticipated new season of "house of cards." first, don't forget about your chance at a great trip over the long leap day weekend. be here on our plaza on friday. have your bags packed before. already. and a poster of how you'd like to spend the extra 24 hours. to l.a. stay at the line hotel, take a bike tour, have dinner and more. all courtesy of our friends at discover los angeles. if you plan to be here friday, rsvp at today.com/visit for that. >> l.a. sounds good now. al, what's shaking in the weather? >> we have the risk of strong storms along the southeastern and mid-atlantic coast.

nightmare. eastern third of the country, sunshine sunshine, texas and southern california. 69 in san francisco. tomorrow, warming up to 81 in l.a. nice and warm up and down the west coast. windy, snowy through the great valley. wet and windy in the northeast. sunshine returns to the gulf coast with a little calm.

got some nice friends here from savannah. what are you guys doing here? >> we're here visiting. we went to tour the memorial, the new museum for 9/11. >> terrific. you want savannah to visit savannah. good idea. savannah, what do you think? >> love the idea. i'm kicking kevin spacey with my good foot. >> al, thanks. the presidential race is in full swing in real life and the brand-new season of "house of cards." >> kevin spacey, his president underwood character, locks horns with his greatest opponent yet, hi wife, the first lady. take a look. >> till you started destroying it. >> you wouldn't have listened otherwise. >> well, all right, claire. i'm listening now. what is it you so desperately needed to say?

mr. president, good morning. >> good morning, sir. >> nice to see you both. it was supposed to be with matt but it takes two of you to replace one. >> he insists on two people replacing him. really half a person because i have this boot on my leg. you're at odds with the first lady. this can't last in season four, can it? they have to be a force together. >> you know, it's so exciting to be able to not talk about this >> come on! >> i love being able to come on. i can't be the spoiler in chief. i can say this, that when we left them in season three, they were in the middle of an argument. that argument picks up when we come back with season four. >> she's always been, quite literally, an accessory to the crimes of the president and his allies. >> lovely accessory, by the way. >> no question about that. how do they work as adversaries?

we explored in season three, and i think to some degree, continues in season four, is these two figures, who have had such success in working in the shadows, in the dark alleys, to suddenly find themselves in the office. and how does that change them? how does it change the way they try to achieve what they're politically, as well as personally? those are things we'll explore. >> but won't talk about now. >> i've gotten good at dodging >> i was going to say. >> you should run. >> you have a natch i was looking at the first interview we did with you, season one. >> right over there. >> the transcript was, what was this thing called binge watching, that you could watch all the episodes at once. >> the ancient years of 2013. so long ago.

>> look, i think we might have made it a little more prevalent. the truth is, people were binge watching before that. box sets proved to us, one of the reasons why the ultimate decision to release the entire series at once was made, is we could see the evidence that people were staying home on the weekends and watching five or three seasons of a show. it seems the public was saying they want to be in control. they want to be able to watch it when they want to watch it. >> you spent the first part of the show this morning talking about another donald trump victory. he won nevada by more than 20 points. is he the kind of guy that president underwood would endorse? >> to shove him. >> he would not endorse donald trump? >> i don't think so, no. >> you think frank underwood could take him? >> it's been interesting. as we've gone along, and we're in the middle of a presidential election in our show and, obviously, we're in the middle of a real presidential election, i'm going to try not to blend fact and fiction. i'll avoid that question.

at being a politician, my friend. >> rubbed off on you. have to ask about the smithsonian. they unveiled a portrait of president underwood the other day. this is the first fictional president featured in a portrait. so no "west wing," no martin sheen, harrison ford in air force one. what does it say, that they've represented president underwood? >> it was an incredible night. we did it as if it was a real, genuine presidential unveiling i was in. i came and showed up as president underwood and gave a speech. everybody thought, who is the actress playing the executive director, but it was actually the executive director. this wonderful portrait who had done me before when i played richard iii did a remarkable job. there's a shot of it.

in the entryway as people walk in. it will be there for six or seven months. then they hope to get someone to buy the painting and then donate it to the smithsonian so it can stay there in the collection. >> really cool. >> smithsonian is like and all, but you're nobody until you have a good luck hoodie. the florida panthers, the nhl, this is their good luck charm. it's the spacey in space. first place in their division and owe it all to you. >> they give this out at every game, to the most valuable player. >> it's spacey in space. >> one of the players there. yes, i've become their good luck charm. i'm very pleased they've been doing incredibly well. >> disembodied. it's just your floating head. >> spacey in space. i'm very excited for them. i'm glad they're doing really well and hope we can help them keep winning.

4th and he will not speak of it until then. >> get your hoodie now. up next, how to choose the pet for your family. first, this is "today" on nbc. take a mountain of beads, an ocean of screaming fans,

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>> announcer: wrangler wednesday is brought to you by petsmart. >> everybody, it's wrangler wednesday around here, and in honor of our pup with a purpose, who brings us so much joy, we're doing something different. >> if you're looking for a pet companion, we'll help you choose the right one for your family. we have animal planet's pet expert, andrea. great to see you. >> good morning. >> i drew, i think, the good straw and got the puppies here. a lot of people want a dog. kids ask their parents for a dog. what's the first thing to think about when you go in to buy one? >> i think the most important thing when you're choosing to adopt a dog is consider that you really want to look for personality, not so much looks. like choosing a mate. >> right. >> it's the most important thing. unfortunately, people see a cute

i'll take it home. they don't think about the future and what the dog's personality might be like, their family. >> also how big the dog will get right? >> it's not always true a large dog can't fit into a smaller home or a smaller apartment. sometimes, the small or medium energy. it's about taking the time to essentially test drive a dog, get to know if it fits your family. >> do research. i'll hand you off to natalie. >> over to the cats now and kittens. one of the biggest misconceptions -- i have a cat, lexi, and one of the biggest misconceptions and people think you don't have to give them a lot of attention. not true, right? >> not true. you don't need to walk your cat like you do your dog. for some people, it makes them a more appropriate pet. they're social creatures. they thrive on social interaction. people need to understand, you can't get a cat or kitten from a leave it. you need to spend time getting them adjusted to your family. one of the most important things

behavioral problems is thoroughly clean their litter box multiple times a week. if not, it can result in marking in the house. >> they like it clean in there. >> yeah. >> over to the parrots now. >> we don't have pets at home, but sophie will turn her head and is eyeing me. i think she's about to attack my throat. dangerous at all? >> they can bite, like all animals. certainly, make sure you're careful with any animal and respectful of their space. i respect you for respecting sophie. understand a bird like sophie -- >> stink eye. sophie, what did i do? >> she does talk. i'm not sure she's in the mood to talk now. >> i'll speak to her. hello. hello. >> she's not feeling it. >> what's going on in your neck of the woods? >> with parrots, there are different species and they all have different needs and nutritional requirements. one of the important things to

willing pets. they live such a long time, that you need to make plans for them when they pass, potentially. >> no kidding. >> sophie is nine years old but will probably live to 70 or 80. >> what'd she say? >> yeah. >> you need to make sure you understand, this is an animal that requires a long commitment. >> and like the talking thing. >> right. >> i used to have guinea pigs when i was a kid and they were easy to take care of. >> one of the easiest to take care of. they do best when bonded with another guinea pig. the one thing about guinea pigs is you do want to be careful with them with children. they're not as fragile as hamsters and gerbils but they're small. kids need to handle them carefully. >> and they can bite. >> all animals can, yeah. >> last but not least, fish. i had many fish growing up. many, many, many. >> what does that mean? >> many goldfish. by the way, they're not that easy to take care of, fish. >> they can be.

unfortunately, people sometimes think they can go to a store and get a goldfish or some other just -- it'll thrive. it's not the case. you need to give them an appropriate environment. make sure you test the water to make sure that it has the right levels of salt in it. not too much ammonia. obviously. i'd say some of the easiest fish for beginnings are swordtails and gum by ies. even those, talk to somebody to get more details. them. it's more complicated as you go >> yeah. >> thanks so much. thanks for bringing our friends over. we appreciate it. pigs. >> i'm a little scared. i'm embarrassed to say that. just a little bit. coming up, junk food to joy comfort foods. first, this is "today" on nbc. p

from dunkin' donuts. r let hand-crafted layers of espresso, milk, p and a caramel-flavored swirl uplift your mood. indulge in a hot or iced macchiato today.

back at 8:47. imagine eating enchiladas, pizza, brownies and more, but they help you lose weight. >> it can't be true. but joy bauer says it is possible. in her new cook book, "from junk food to joy food," she transforms hundreds of dishes. today's menu, buffalo wings and mack mac and cheese. >> mac and cheese is the ult mall -- ultimate comfort food. one bowl can be 1,000 calories. we can do better than that. check it out. mac and cheese. skim milk, soy sauce, onion powder, paprika, black pepper and hot sauce. mix skim milk with cornstarch. bring to a boil. add reduced fat cheddar with butter.

stir in macaroni. cover for ten minutes to let it firm. the junk food version, 1,310 calories is out. the joy food version at 419 calories is in. that's a savings of 891 calories. next up, fiery buffalo wings. a typical order with the blue cheese dip costs you 1,200 calories and more fat than you want to know about. instead, enjoy the same, yummy flavor for less. buffalo wings with blue cheese dip. chicken tenders, hot sauce, paprika paprika. bake at 375 for 15 minutes. blue cheese dip. add non-fat greek yogurt, blue cheese crumbles, onion powder and garlic powder. mix.

calories is out. the joy food version at just 170 calories is most definitely in. that's a savings of more than 1,000 calories. worker. >> you like everything? >> delicious. >> i love the buffalo chicken. it is amazing. to make? >> tastes like wings. >> i have to say this, this is our book because all of the recipes within the book have pretty much come from our viewers. they challenged me to make things over. barbecue ribs, pizza, cheese burgers, chocolate milk shakes. i have a chocolate peanut butter cup in there. >> what's on the cauliflower? >> this is a bonus recipe. it's on the website, if people go to today.com. all i do is take cauliflower and dip it in flour. i roast it, douse it in hot sauce and roast it a couple more minutes. >> so good. >> mac and cheese, tell me about that.

>> isn't it? >> you don't notice a difference. >> i didn't want to mess with mac and cheese but throwing vegetables in. i kept it straight forward. i had a lot of out of the box, flavorful ingredients. >> like the soy sauce, onion powder powder. it augments the flavor. >> even the bay leaf brings it to life. my ultimate compliment was my daughter, who is a mac and cheese addict, and she gave it a two thumbs up. that's when i knew it was okay to bring it on the show. >> all these things in their junk form, brought it to the healthy form. >> the idea is people can indulge in their favorite goodies any night of the week and still lose weight, lower blood pressure, up their energy. >> we love you. >> we love you the truth. when we don't like it, you hear it. this is delicious. >> oh, yeah. >> so happy for you. congrats on the book.

get these recipes at the web exclusive for cauliflower and buffalo wings on the website. first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're back at 8: 53. still freaking out about how good this is. we have birthdays. >> many reasons to celebrate. we'll celebrate all the folks

starting off, 100th birthday to jean from new york. i love that she's known to family and friends as toots. her secret to long jetty evity longevity, eating junk food and dancing. 102 years old, served as an auto mechanic during world war ii. thank you for your service, mcwaters. 100th birthday to miller from florida. she loves collecting porcelain birds. marry from minnesota. 105 years old. she says the secret to living longer, just don't think about it. well said. happy 100th birthday to fred randall from new york. the vet played the drums for 88 years. want to be in a band with him. mary hastings from south bend,

happy anniversary to the schultze. the secret to a long marriage, discuss any problems and work it out. 75 years later, it is working for them. congratulations. if you want to honor someone on their milestone birthday or anniversary, 75 years or more, head to today.com/celebrate. send a photo, as well. coming up, what's next hour? >> viola day vis is in the house. >> big deal for us. also, live performance from ov>> after your local news.

time for weather now. and updated on the tornado watch until 10:00 this morning. still for the red shaded county, citrus, hernando, hillsborough, manatee, sarasota hernando. the southern portion of pasco, you're starting to get the rain but the heaviest a rot of you calling it on facebook and twitter, talking about the rain from pinellas over the bay bridges into downtown and south tampa. and now lightning right along i- 4, all of eastern hillsborough county through that known -- through polk county. and it's stretching toward winter haven and lake whiles and now heavy downpours at the

and drying out closer to sarasota but notice, stronger storms out in the gulf of mexico at this point. and there may even be a secondary line right where the cold front is that's developing at this point. after that, cool and dry. this morning on "today's take," donald trump scores his third straight win. is there any stopping the republican front runner? then from the hit show "how davis. you'll be loving life with a locash. all that and more coming up now. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is today's ees"today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning, february

one of those days we can admit, it's miserable out there. happy inside staud owe 1 studio 1a. i'm willie and there's natalie and al. >> you're saying we're happy to be inside and i'm playing "stressed out". >> great song. >> it is. as i'm driving my kids to soccer in the traffic, i'm like, i'm stressed out. >> it's the theme song for marco rubio and ted cruz. >> donald trump, we wake up another morning after a primary him. >> great victor speech. >> third straight victory. he's rolling through new nevada. won by more than 20 points. donald trump at 46% of the vote. marco rubio, 24%. ted cruz at 21%. with momentum on his side firmly, mr. trump celebrated his winning streak at a rally in nevada. >> if you listen to the pundits, we weren't expected to win too

winning, winning the country. [ applause ] and soon, the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. we won the evangelicals. we won with young. we won with old. we won with highly educated. we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> there it is. funny sound bite, but his point is taken. he won almost every category last night. >> he did. >> highly educated, latino, incredible what he's doing now. >> interesting given the comments he's made in the past given immigrants and, specifically, mexicans. >> super tuesday now six days away. that's next tuesday on march the 1st. he just keeps rolling through. marco rubio, ted cruz or john kasich has to do something quickly to stop the train. >> other than kidnapping, i don't see it. >> it'll be tough. you know what, tuesday nights at my house, i've been

>> lasagna night? >> well, taco tuesday. i've been obsessed with this fx series "the people versus o.j." unbelievable. doing really great with the ratings. 12 million. the thing is, everybody knows how it turns out, but it's interesting to go back in time. those of us who kind of lived through that and were fascinated by the trial then. to sort of re-watch and see all the evidence and everything come together during the trial. the series, of course, features all the main players in real life. simpson. david schwimmer is his friend and lawyer, robert kardashian. kim, and the other kids are featured. you also have john travolta. talking. some brought up the fact you see

than a lot of people were expecting, especially the children in there. khloe apparently setting the record straight on some of the family scenes in the show. take a look. >> oh, my god. it's daddy. >> daddy! >> daddy! >> that's daddy. >> can you please spell that? >> k-a-r-d-a-s-i-a-n h-i-a-n. >> not all the facts were ak accurate accurate. they're sensationalizing the kardashian name in it. there was a scene of the kids chanting, kardashian when my dad was reading the potential suicide note. i called kim. i was like, did that happen? i don't remember any of this happening. she goes, absolutely not, did that happen. >> i mean, it would have been weird if that did happen.

of it. >> it's not a documentary, right? >> no, it's not. i mean, it's american crime story, is the name of the series. they built it as, you know, the making of. but it's fascinating to watch. it is sort of like watching a "dateline," but you're getting a little more of the hollywood, fictionalized version, as well. >> without keith morrison. >> yes, no, it is. really good. you have to start watching it. >> check it out. >> go back and re-watch. if you haven't been watching, i encourage you to watch. >> "house of cards" season three, it's behind that. >> i have a lot to binge watch. have you intervened when it comes to having your kids, having their friends over, maybe they're misbehaving a little bit? how do you talk to a stranger's child? do you have any problem disciplining? >> no. >> i don't either.

>> especially if the child is in danger. >> right, exactly. >> risky. >> that's exhale what happened. actly what happened. a woman said she was intervening in a situation where a young boy was apparently poking at his little sister while his mom went into the cafe to get a cup of coffee. poking to the point where he was about ready to hurt his younger sister. the boy -- the woman saw this all playing out and she was like, i have to -- i can't let this kid hurt his sister. so she stopped it and said, you know, i wouldn't do that. you could hurt your little sister. she said though, like a couple of the other ladies next to her were like, i'm glad you did something about it. they didn't know what to do. one lady said, they're not your kids. you shouldn't be -- >> i don't know the argument against stepping in that. somebody is hurting another child, you stop it, regardless. >> there are situations sometimes -- i did have a parent -- or somebody on a plane once say to me, my kid was being well-behaved, but the woman

child to be quiet or should i? i was like, he's just talking. then i take issue with that. if somebody is telling me to parent my child when i'm sitting next to them, and i don't think they're doing anything terribly wrong. >> i think if it's in your house, it's your rules and you have no problem telling your kid what to do. in that case if the parent isn't hurt another one. >> absolutely. children. that's sort of -- you're negligent leaving your children out there. >> things happen. let's not judge. if you like the facebook like button, you'll love this. they've added new reaction buttons. in addition to liking a post, you're now able to show love, ha ha, wow, sad -- >> add the sound effects? >> angry. that's right. like "inside out." buttons will roll out to all users over the next few days. facebook also launching birthday video cam.

seconds of videos for your friends. all that stuff is out. >> i love they're animated. the happy one is really happy. >> you put your finger on them and they come to life. >> they make that sound? >> yeah. >> speaking of facebook, we want to check our facebook button. day 21 of our 25 days of give aways. we've got a great one today. a facebook surface, microsoft surface pro 3, worth almost $500. you want to register to win, go to facebook.com/"today's take." like us. yesterday, we said we wanted to get 300,000 or more. let's see where we are. boo-yah! 300,000. please go to facebook.com/"today's take." like us. register for the microsoft surface pro. in the meantime, you can check your weather on the pro. we're checking it for you. we do have a tornado watch between cedar key on tampa today. heavy showers and thunderstorms.

of tornadoes. over five states. today, we have the risk of really strong winds and damaging hail and tornadoes possible. especially southern virginia all the way into eastern north carolina. we're going to be watching that closely. also to the north, as you can see, we have snow is and ice y mix. 26 million people at risk today from georgia, north to delaware and on into ohio. and we have winter weather, the backside of the system from chicago all the way down into southern missouri. heavier snow developing. we have winter storm warnings, watches. blizzard watches out. chicago, 2 to 6. 8 to 14 in flint.

that's what's going on around >> that's your latest weather. let's see what we've got. people are signing up. facebook.com/"today's take." register to win that microsoft surface pro. don't go anywhere because we've got, that's right, one of the biggest stars on tv today, "how to get away with murder" star viola davis. we'll be talking to the emmy and tony winning actress about her history making moment, hit show and newest passion project after this. with advil, you' ll ask what backache? what sore wrist?

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viola davis is, of course, one of hollywood's biggest stars, known for her academy award winning performances like the 2011 film "the help" with octavia spencer. >> now, she's fresh off her historic emmy win from the series "how to get away with murder." >> in a sneak peek of this week's episode, a new video threatening to tear the team apart. take a look. >> hold a grudge right now. >> no? because you all said things. >> you want me to shoot you. i think we're even. >> you ran away like you tend to do. interesting that you're the only one not in this. >> you think i sent it?

>> viola. >> one of the many twists and turns over the season. i think you said you're at episode 12 right now. >> wait till you see it. it's all i can say. >> are we going to be shocked by what happens? >> you're always shocked on this show. it should be "how to get away with shock," you know? pete really pushes the buttons on this, which i said, that's why i signed up. i don't want to be just warm and fuzz l y and likable. i want to push the button. some times, i'm like, hold up, hold up, pete. >> you also never know what's around the next corner. i imagine this is one of the shows where you get the script and look to make sure you're still around at the end of it. >> seriously. advance. when you're number one on the call sheet, you get less than that. >> wow. >> something in there makious es you uncomfortable, guess what? you have to dive in there.

scenes, you know. >> oh. >> is that kind of fun, that part of it? >> absolutely not, al. no, it's not, you know. >> another day at the office. and that emmy win of yours, not just the win but the speech, was really an amazing moment. we've got a clip of it. take a look. >> let me tell you something. the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. [ applause ] you cannot win an emmy for roles that are simply not there. >> which was really what echoes the oscars this year. i mean, the call for more diversity debe hind behind and in front of the camera. >> one of the things that people misunderstand is you have to separate opportunity from talent.

aren't there, that means there is no talent out there. that's not true. what's true is that if you create those narratives, then those roles can open up to people who are waiting in line. listen, i always say that meryl streep would not be meryl streep without "sophie's choice," without "devil wears prada." you can't be a meryl streep if you're the third girl from the left in a narrative with two scenes. you write it, and we will come. we'll show up. studios? who needs to do better in hollywood right now? >> that's it, the people in positions of power. people who have the green light vote. people who can say nay or nay. that's it. they're out there. they have the imagination. the thing that stops us a lot of times is fear. fear of doing anything different. but i have to tell you, i think that when you put talent out there and narratives that are

they want to see it. they want to be moved. they want to feel less that's why i'm an actor. >> viola, this is a conversation we've had two years in a row now. they're already talking about next year, according to some articles i've been reading, that doesn't look like a lot of the roles out there will have much more diversity, or the scripts out there now. do you think hollywood is conscious of that and are they really trying to change? >> i don't know about that. but i do know this, i do know that especially women out there, i'll just say that they're not comfortable with just sitting they wan to play a more active role. i know taraji p. henson, kerry washington, halle berry, they're walking and stepping into their power as producers. they're putting the narratives out there they want to do. that they want to see other women of color in. my whole thing is, step up to the plate. when you are in the position of

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jane' s always on the move. luckily her light & fit proteinp smoothie can keep up with her. packed with 12grams of proteinp and no added sugar. so she can watch her caloriesp and where she' s going. plight & fit feel free to enjoy. we are back now with the great viola davis. we want to ask you about the vow removal. we talk -- renewal. you've been married 12 years? >> almost 13. >> you've done it a couple times now. i love the idea. >> i love the ritual of weddings. what can i say? i love -- it's a time in my life that i feel the most alive. that's the thing. i don't always feel that way. i mean, i love what i do, but

sound stage for 17 hours a day tired. i'm hot. you know. but with -- it reminds me of what's beautiful about my life. i think that that's worth it. and the mango juice and tequila, which i recommend, that was at our ceremony. >> i want some of that. >> your other passion is the vaseline healing project. with that and why it matters. >> well, i got involved in it because it was just presented to me, like many things are presented to me lately. it's the vaseline healing project has partnered with direct relief, which is an international medical aid corporation. what they do, what they have done, is they have contributed

medical supply kits, medical care and helping people in places of disease. syria, even the u.s., flooding areas and with people who are suffering from poverty. the whole idea is 84% of health care workers in areas of crisis and disasters say the biggest issue is skin infections. if they just had petroleum jelly, how much that would help. people going back to work or going to school. people suffering from psoriasis, eczema, left untreated turns into open sores. i got involved because i love the word "healing." i love feeling like there is a simple solution to bigger problems. i have a special connection to vaseline. my sister got a huge burn on her face cooking sugar cane on the

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i'm leigh spann. 9:27 and it is coming down at the hula bay restaurant in tampa. the big raindrops, about .33 of rain here. and there's the tornado watch. but citrus, hernando and all of pasco, you're dry actually. most of pinellas now is dry.

here into tampa. this is where the hula bay restaurant is so it's about to come to an end there. you can see heavy rain, eastern hillsborough county, plant there's lightning and strong winds in this. and not as much lightning in polk county but a solid shield of rain there. and even some heavy downpours along with lightning to parish and man teen county. out. and i want you to pay attention right here. that's where the cold front is. all of the storms are ahead of the cold front itself. so when the front starts pushing through, that's when we will start to see the wind shift and get more of a northwest wind. right now, winds are strong but per hour. behind the cold front, obviously much colder, highs in the 60s for the rest of the

ba da ba ba ba investigating 14 n reports of the zika virus here in the united states. they all appear to be cases of sexual transmission. several of the cases involve pregnant women. the virus has been spreading rapidly in latin america and is strongly suspected as the cause of severe birth defects. the cdc advices expectant mothers to use condoms or abstain from sex for the duration of their pregnancy if their partners have traveled to areas where zika is spreading. a jury has ordered johnson & johnson to pay $72 million to

who blamed a powder for her ovarian cancer. fox was 62 when she died last fall. in recorded testimony, she recalled using the company's products, including baby powder, for personal hygiene for decades. her ovaries were inflamed which contributed to the cancer. johnson & johnson is expected to appeal. air bus may have a new problem on airplanes. bench seating. the manufacturer filed a patent for a reconfigurable bench seat. the idea is the benches can be adjusted to accommodate larger or obese passengers, as well as small children. no word on when we might actually see the benches on a plane. from the airplane to the automobile now. volvo wants to replace car keys with smartphones. according to the auto maker, bluetooth enabled smartphones can become digital keys, eliminating the need for an actual key.

unlock the doors and trunk. a limited number of cars will be 2017. a baby gorilla said to be doing well after being delivered by a caesarean section. at a zoo in england, the gorilla was born early, weighing in at 2 pounds, 10 ounces. doctors performed a c-action after her mother showed signs of the potentially dangerous condition preclampsia. doctors are cautiously optimistic for mother and baby. so tiny. so cute. al, take over with the weather. >> thank you very much. i like the handoff. for today, we have a slight risk, strong risk along the southeastern atlantic coast for tornadoes. we're watching that down to florida. back to the west, windy conditions, snowy conditions, some places, blizzard watches. west, gorgeous.

for tomorrow, we're looking for 62 and sunshine in seattle. again, here in the northeast, mid-atlantic states, it'll be a mess. rainy, windy, snowy. ai >> that is your latest weather. >> thank you, al. did you know that tax season, also the busiest time of year for the debt collectors? the collectors are federally mandated to uphold certain standards.

>> what a surprise. today national investigative correspondent snef ross jeff rossen did some digging and has tips on what to do if we're on the receiving end of the aggressive calls. >> you don't pay your bills, they're allowed to come after you and try to get you to pay the bills. that's fine. the law is clear about what debt collectors can and cannot do. the law is incredibly clear. today, i brought you guys three real-life examples of phone calls. to play them out, we'll play the calls. you'll hear them and we'll give you tips about what they can and >> okay. >> cue the phone ring. i think that's for you, al. >> hello. call. this is a recording that experts say -- >> you don't even make a payment or even get this debt taken care of. >> wow. >> they're threatening if you don't make the payment -- >> it's a threatening call. here's the tip, debt collectors cannot harass you or threaten you. even if a debt collector calls

if they do, tell them to stop. get their name. get their company. you can report them later. >> what's the line of harassment? what constitutes harassment? >> that's the problem with it. it's a subjective line. you know. experts say that would be a threatening call. >> okay. >> the next call i want to play for you talks about police activity. the phone is ringing again, natalie. it's for you. about threatening police action. >> we need to get some type of payment in right now. as soon as we can get it. or else i will have to send local authorities to your up. >> can i just hang up the phone? >> you shouldn't hang up the phone. call again. >> they've gone over the line. >> they are not allowed to say you're going to be arrested if you don't pay your debts. they can't threaten legal action unless they actually intend to sue you. i brought one more call. this one could be embarrassing.

they're at work. they call the nbc switchboard, like this. >> she either comes to the phone or she'll have someone bring her out for questioning. we're trying to do it by the phone. >> she's in a classroom now and i can't -- >> really? how would the principal feel if somebody from the parish came out there and pulled her up because she's under investigation for committing fraud, in front of the students. >> wow. >> threatening and nasty. >> and illegal. >> the person who got the call is a teacher at a school. obviously, they're telling the secretary, the person at the front office, we're going to pull her out of class. they cannot call you at work if your employer forbids it. if your employer doesn't allow calls, send the debt collector a certified letter informing them of that. tell them on the phone, you are not allowed to call me at work. >> what happens? you get the aggressive calls. what do you do? >> number one, ask for written notice about your debt. send me a letter in the mail. let

i want the exact details about that. number two, you want to send them a certified letter saying, i'm being harassed, threatened and i want it to stop. the third is, if you actually feel like you're being harassed or threatened, report it to the federal trade commission. >> great advice. all on the website. and jeff's facebook page. up next, they've written songs for the biggest names in country music. now the boys of locash have a mega-hit song of their we brought you here today

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you can't turn on the radio without hearing the song "i love this life" by locash. the single has been on billboard's country air play chart for 49 weeks, went to number two. >> the guys will perform the hit live in a few minutes. first, a look at how it all started for locash. i love a small town world jury trial i love a country girl >> reporter: chris and preston's journey started more than ten years ago when they met in nashville and performed under the name locash cowboys. let's go >> reporter: it wasn't until 2013 they released their first full-length album. during that time, the boys also co-wrote chart-topping hits for other country artists.

>> reporter: including keith urban's "you're gonna fly." locash has dropped cowboys from their name and released a new ep last year. their single "i love this life" continues to climb the charts, hitting the top five for billboard's hot country songs. and making "rolling stone" best country songs of 2015. with all their recent success, the boys of locash really are loving this life. as they rock the nation on tour. preston and chris are with us now. good to see you. >> good morning. >> thanks for having us. >> we'll continue our discussion of nashville social life after you perform. we have to pick up where we left off. >> the social life. not so much the -- >> it's a vibrant scene. >> people who followed you a long time, you were locash cowboys and dropped cowboys. what was the decision? >> it was a tough redelaware

we didn't make the decision. i wish we had a better story. we were looking for a logo. preston is a graffiti artist. we wanted to do something with an '80s vibe. he drew it on a napkin and i said, it's amazing. he was like, it didn't say cowboys. >> he said, i love it like that. >> when we turned it in, the label was like, this is a great idea. we'll change the change. after 11 years, it worked. >> you haven't changed who you are. what i love is hearing your story, you've written songs for tim mcgraw, some of the great country stars. what makes you decide when the song is yours though? >> i think when tim mcgraw calls, you pick up the phone. when he says he wants to record the song, you say, okay. it's a big deal. and keith urban.

more blessed with such class acts to record our songs. kind of give us a lot of integrity in the song writing in nashville. it's a song town. that was real important for us. >> it's a difficult decision now, now that we have a hit of our own. it's hard to say, man, we know somebody could sing this song and they want it, but do we keep it for ourself at this point? >> we did it with "i love this life." we have other ones on hold. >> it was on hold for somebody else. at the last second, we said, you know what? this is our shot. we took it off hold, like you said, and kept it for ourselves. >> boy, did it work out. >> the fellas will perform "i

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show us what they've got. performing their hit single "i love this life," locash. i love my boots broke in, i love my camo hat don't mind a little paint on my jeans, yeah, i roll like that i love driving my truck across the railroad tracks if you hit them too quick, they'll hit you right back i love a fresh cut field with a first frost on how it shines like gold when the sun turns on i love the sound of them wheels, my baby singing along when "the boys of summer" comes on

i love a country girl i love a friday night man i love this life the sound of an old dirt road rolling through my mind man, i love, man, i love, man, i love this life i love that county line bar where they all know my drink the way she throws her hands up when that cover band plays i love the taste of her lips when she's been sipping that wine i still get drunk on her every time i love my small town world i love a country girl i love a friday night man i love this life the sound of an old dirt road rolling through my mind man, i love, man, i love, man,

oh-o-o-oh man, i love this life oh-o-o-oh man, i love this life yeah, i love this life man, i love this life i love that ragged old barn that my grandpa made it was my whole world back in my innocent days i love that little white church, out on 109 it's where i hit my knees and i thank the lord for this life of mine i love my small town world i love a country girl i love a friday night

the sound of an old dirt road rolling through my mind man, i love, man, i love, man, i love this life oh of h of -o-o-oh man, i love this life oh-o-o-oh man, i love this life thanks for staying with us. we have an update, that's why we're breaking in early. we know we have the tornado watch all morning but moments ago, the national weather service did issue a tornado warning. that means not only that the conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes but that one could possibly be developing right now. it goes until 10:15 for the

not a large area but if you have friends in this area or live in this area or work in this small area, the far eastern portion of pasco county, that's east of 98, well east of dade. and also the far northwestern portion of polk county. heres acathleen and up in the northwest corner there, getting under the tornado warning. and now here's a wider look. we have seen things drying out from north to south. but it was this area sort of right in here that the national weather service just made a tornado warning for. again, well north of lakeland. it's in the area, again, a very small portion of our viewing area. so i'm sorry if i have to break in for the rest of the area but we knew this was a possibility because we have been under a tornado watch all morning long. and we have been doing just rotation. and now the national weather service has again just issued a

here, east of zephyrhills, east of dade city, northwest of polk city in polk county at this point. now, again, a lot of the area, things are quite dry at this point. here's i-75 out of pasco county. and look how quickly this is pushing toward the north and east. again, the tornado warning, meaning the area that we're most concerned about, goes until 10:15. that's another 20 minutes from now but i wouldn't be surprised if they actually canceled that a little early because of how fast this is moving. and again, you look at this storm relative levosities -- relative velocity, that's where you look for rotation and that's what the national weather service used in order to get that tornado warning issued. only doppler-indicated. no one saw this tornado. but we look into the computer system and can watch the rotation of that. so what i'm going to do now is step out for a little bit.

tornado warning is, the bright red area there, the tornado until 10:15 -- tornado warning until 10:15. going to use the computer here behind the scenes for you and show you where that storm relative velocity that we were just talking about. oh, sorry, going to look a little strange. behind the scenes with you. here is the storm relative velocity. you may have seen this a good bit when you look at -- we do the cut-ins or tornado cut-ins, what we're looking for is the green and red or the two colors coming together. because what that means is, winds are moving in opposite directions right next to each other and that gives you the spin or the twist in the atmosphere. so look around to the north and east, around rock ridge, this is an area where they may be, again, seeing this rotation that goes up into the atmosphere. so you have an entire column of

going one direction. right next to it, winds going in the opposite direction. and again, that gives the rotation in the atmosphere. so this will not be in our viewing area very long, because again, it's coming out of polk county and into the north of that and out of pasco county, to the north and east of. that and this is moving toward the north and east or east, northeast actually at this point. so it will hug along the polk county northern border at this point. so that tornado warning goes until 10:15. this is a loop back. and you can see coming out of basically the far northwest portion of polk county, it traveled to the east, northeast. and it will continue to do so, pushing out of our area. but again, that tornado warning officially goes until 10:15 this morning. we do have that tornado watch. it was expected to go out in effect at 10:00 this morning. we've had some areas that had rain earlier than we expected

little later than we expected. so we're waiting to see what the storm prediction center in oklahoma, they are the ones that issued the watches. brian, did you remove that or is it -- the watch is still in effect. that will go for another three minutes anyway. i didn't see it on the map and i was wondering if it would need to be removed. we will wait to see what they did with this watch at 10:00. we are more concerned with the tornado warning. that's the difference, a watch means conditions are setting up that we could see it and a warning means it's happening or at least it's been indicated by doppler radar. and that's what happened here. we those winds rotating when you go inside the storm, inside of the storm. and you analyze that, that's where you see how the rotation kind can occur and that's why you get issued a tornado

again, in this area, very heavy rainfall right now, very strong winds as well. this is all well north of i-4 in the northwest portion of polk county. right a98 actually, so clipping the area in that far, far eastern portion of pasco county, right around 98. and then heading up toward, again, the northwest portion of polk county. not a large county. this is why we have the watches. just says, hey, everybody stay on alert and have your weather max radar and app ready so that if something is issued throughout the day, you're on watch and you're on alert. that's what happened throughout the morning hours and now we have this -- the actual event that's happening, the tornado warning. a lot of you have seen a lot of heavy rain. some extremely strong wind wasn't raining yet.

kind of setting the stage for when the cold front came through that you could see the stronger winds up into the atmosphere and they begin to twist and that's happening here tornado warning. if we can go back to showing where the tornado warning is. i'm not sure where we are on the graphics back there. meteorologist brian bennett helping me out there. here's 98 out of pasco county and into the northwest portion of polk county and extending north and east and the cell itself drifting relatively quickly to the east, northeast at this point. this tornado warning goes until 10:15. a lot of the area drying out as we speak. let's see, what can we -- what information do they -- let's see, this is all morning -- let's see, how fast is it moving? oh, moving very quickly at 35 miles per hour. that's what i was looking for. it's moving this way. about 35 miles per hour.

communities very long but we are still keeping a close eye on it. here's a better look at where the rain is. there it is. obviously things are dry for citrus, hernando, pasco. most of pinellas although st. petersburg, another batch of rain here. all right, i know it's 10:00 this morning because all of the watches just went away. so that just shows thaw the system is keeping up with things at the exact 10:00 on the nose. the watches went away. the moment. we will wait to see if the storm prediction center in those. but at the moment, we are more concerned with the tornado shaded area here. away. let's see if -- yep, as i told you a little bit ago, i expected them to cancel iter and that's exactly what happened. that's really good news, they warning early.