>> there's not a good place to be. the fire hasn't comtae over the hill yet. >> reporter: with two small towns evacuated, the deadly blaze is racing across drought-stricken fields. police escorted some right through the flames. more than a thousand fleeing for their lives again. this the second dan rous fire here in just as many years. >> it's very hard. especially after last year. it brings all back. >> reporter: with 15 wild fires burning out of control in washington state, more an a quarter million acres here is torched. w tho forecast calls for more erratic wind as firefighter risk their lives to help others, the community in the path of the blaze is praying for everyone to come home safely. >> reporter: this morning the one firefighter who was seriously injured remains in critical condition. the governor and the president

calling the crews here on the front lines heros. matt and is a mchatt, i want to give you a snapshot of how many fires are burning across the country. 80 large wild fires burning across the west. there are thousands of firefighters spread out across six western states. they'll face dangerous conditions today. the firefighters on the front lines fighting with a heavy heart. >> miguel, thank you very much. turn o the presidential race and the salw down in new hampshire between republican rivels donald trump and jeb bush squaring off in dueling town hall meetings. they didn't hold back on how they feel about each other. kristen welker was watching closely. good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning. the candidates are back on the campaign trail in nut hampshithre again today, and it comes on the heels of those fireworks you mentioned between jeb bush and trump trading jabs on everything

from iraq to their conservative credentials. it's face off in new hampshire with jeb bush and trump squaring off in simultaneous town halls wednesday night about 15 miles apart. it? >> i don't see how he's electable. >> trump questioned bush's ability to lead. >> you know what is happening to jeb's crowd as you know down the street? they're sleeping! they're sleeping now! >> reporter: at a press conference where e slammed bush over his stance on iraq. >> for him to say that we have to show them that we have skin in the game is one of the really dumbest statements. >> reporter: during a late night cable news interview. >> he has low energy. it's okay. it's good if you want to lead a long life. >> bush fired off attacks of his own painting trump as a democrat in republican clothing. >> mr. turn

rump was a democrat nger than a republican. >> it was trump with a bigger crowd. showing him within striking distance of hillary clinton whom he also attacked. >> i think hillary wild have a hard time beian in the election based on what is happening with the e-mails, the servers, maybe the speeches. i think it will be a hard t ing for her to overcome.e>> reporter: still, trump said his main focus is winning the primary. >> the only thing c stant is trump. i mean, all of them in the boe ttom are going up-and-down like yo-yos. i hope ish going to be tdere for a long time. >> reporter: trump has no public events today but many of the gop rivalsa ill be out on the stump. >> we're looking at the e-mails that triggered ter fbi investigation into hillary clinton's personal e-mail serve servers and whether there was

classified information in the e-mails and it was mishandled during her time of secretary of state. >> reporter: that's right. two e-mails one sent to clinton in november of 2012 about possible arrests in benghazi, and a second one sent by her close aid which details deteriorating conditions in benghazi. clinton insists know mails were marked classified at the time. these two e-msils prove them because they had no initial classification markings. they emphasis the debate has come to light after the fact only because the state department is in the process of reviewing and releasing her e-mails to the public. still, this is an ongoing political problem for clinton because with an fbi investigation underway, there's really no end sight. clinton ho is taking few days to relax said she's not worried, still her campaign is clearly ramping up the damage control mode more aggressively reaching out to supporters and allies trying to reassure them. >> kristin welker, thank you very much.

we mentioned at the open of the show donald trump is on the cover of time magazine. it hits newsstands today. the headline? "deal with it." >> he poses with an american bald egg until the new york city office. he talked about how he plans to deport all undocumented immigrants. >>, i mean, if they choose not to go. saying no, i'm not going. >> typically all work out. it's called management. politicians can't manage. all they can do is talk. it's called management. we'll do an expedited system. i agree with you there are people here illegally but they are here illegally. >> the issue hits stands today. we're learning more about jimmy carter. addressing his battle with cancer for the first time since revealing the diagnosis last week. hallie jackson is in atlanta. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie.

later this morning president carter may address two of the biggest questions related to his diagnosis. what kind of cancer it is and how he might treat it. president carter already said he would work with doctors at emory in atlanta. he revealed his cancer was discovered after an operation on the liver earlier this month. the former president does have a family history with pancreatic cancer. his father, his two sisters, and his brother died from it. carter has been open about his regular medical screenings because of that family history. carter is considered one of the most active ex-presidents. after revealing his diagnosis he was out and about in his hometown. he attended church on sunday and his niece told me he looked really good. he is set to teach sunday school this sunday. >> hallie jackson, thank you. a night of unrest in st. louis where at least nine people were arrested as demonstrators gathered to protest the fatal

police shooting of an 18-year-old man hours earlier. police say the suspect found with stolen guns and drugs was shot when he pointed a gun at police. that prompted protesters to take to the streets chanting and throwing rocks, bricks, and water bottles at officers. surveillance video shows a dramatic moment when an explosion destroyed part of a motel 6 tuesday night in washington state. the blast was captured by multle cameras from several angles. as you can see a gas company worker was critically injured. thanks to a quick thinking motel manager, the occupants had been evacuated before because she could smell a gas leak. they're looking into whether a person leaving the motel could have damaged a gas line. a massive sink hole in tampa opened up, again, in the same locatinn where the ground caved in t wo years ago killing a man. the latest hole about 17 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

the lot vacant with a metal fence around it. two years ago, you'll recall a man was swallowed as he was asleep in his bed. i guess we're up to date on the news now. thank goodness it's now just a lot and nobody is allowed near it. >> natalie, thank you. where is al? where in the world is al? he's off on an epic adventure! wharat i it like in abu dhabi this morning? >> reporter: it is stunning. we >> landed, guys, about an hour ago, and we are now at the one of the largest mosques in the world in abu dhabi. it's breathtaking. over a thousand columns. 82 domes, 83 if you count this one. it is amazing. we'll give you a tour in a

little bit, but right now it is 108, 109 degrees here. it feels like with 20% or so relative humidity feels like 117 118 degrees. it's in the shade. it's cool here. let's show you what is going on right now as far as our country's weather is concerned. we've got severe weather that possibly popping up in the midwest on into the northeast and mid atlantic states. some 30 million plus people almost 34 million people are going to be affected by this as the front makes the way through. we're looking at showers and thunderstorms that will be firing up during the afternoon hours, and we look for rainfall amounts some areas may be picking up up to 5 inches of rain in the northeast locally. this is going to be a very, very dangerous situation over the next 48 hours. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up i me and you, and you and me. tossed the dice.

t had to be. the only one for me is you. . and you for me. so happy together! now there' s a rewards program that lets you earn points at one place and e e them at another. introducing plenti. discover lots of ways to earn points fast and join for free at plenti.com. muggy morning again and a warm one, upper 70s in the city, low to mid-70s central new rsey, same thing for hudson valley and long island. everybody feeling very sticky early on this morning. but notice on storm tracker, nothing in tere of any rain. that's the good news for the time being. a couple of pop-up showers could develop later on this afternoon. the high temperature getting back into the throe middle 80s, 84. showers and storms late tonight. some could be heavy, 81. a spotty shower, saturday and sunday, highs low to middle 80s.

more from abu dhabi coming up. >> i mean, al, you wanted a hot time for your birthday, you got one! >> i mean, happy birthday. >> thank you oscar pistorius due to be released tomorrow ten months into his five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend reeva steenkamp that has been put on hold. we'll talk to steenkamp's mother exclusive in a moment. first, jeff rossen is in pretoria, south africa. >> reporter: it's taken everyone surprise. i want to show you the morning papers twat came out. look at at this one "oscar's false start" "oscar to stay behind bars."

officials were on the record that pistorius would be released tomorrow. the plan was set. now with a last minute the justice minister dropping the bombshell putting the release on hold. we have you covered. why it happened and what's next. >> reporter: if you thought the oskicar phstorius murder trial took bizaure turns, it just happened again. miss pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for shooting and killing his model girlfriend reeva steenkamp. so far he served just ten months. but prison offic ls decided to let him walk and serve under house arrest instead at his uncle's sprawling mansion. but hours before his release, south africa's minister of justice saying the parole board had no right to release him. here is why. south africa law said inmates must serve at least one sixth of his or her sentence before being considered for release. but the parole board decided to

release him on june 5th, prematurely, said the minister, with no legal basis. >> i've never seen this happen before. with two days before oscar being released and now saying he shouldn't be released. >> reporter: what does it mean for oscar pistorius? >> for now he's remaining in prison and the parole review board is going to review the decision to release him on parole and whether it was the right decision. >> reporter: how long does it take? >> fourteen days to consider it. >> reporter: and reaction is pouring in. one of oscar's relatives telling reuters they're shocked and disappointed that oscar won't be home this friday. the pistorius family adding we're considering our options. this latest development coming on what would have been reeva steenkamp's 32nd birthday. her parents and friends marking out indication on wednesday throwing flowers in the indian ocean celebrating reeva's life.

her mom telling us pistorius staying in prison is a positive sign. it shows the system is moving in the right direction, but on the shoreline she told me it's not about oscar. it's about her daughter. >> think of her today while this unfolds. she was a person who loved her life and how wonderful she was and what she could have done for other women if she had longer. >> reporter: the question now? how much longer will her killer remain in prison? so close to getting out. waking up again today behind bars. no closer to an answer. by the way, it is women's month here in south africa. a women's right group has been vocal protesting his release, this month specifically, calling it, quote, an insult to victims of abuse. the group petitioned the justice minister to block it, and it appears it may have worked, matt. >> jeff rossen, thank you very much.

reeva steenkamp's mother june is with us. good morning. i know you had written a letter to the parole board and strongly opposed the release of oscar. you received word it was being delayed on what would have been reeva's 32nd birthday. what was your reaction? >> i'm shocked. it's an important thing for other people, other women to believe the justice system is coming through for us. >> the way i read it and understand it, this is less about whether the justice minister thinks it's right or wrong for oscar pistorius to be released and more about a legal technicality that the parole board made the decision too early. they should have waited a couple of months longer. are you worried this is a just a short delay and he'll be released in the near future? >> i'm not worried about if it's

a short delay. it's being said now he must wait until the time is right. we struggle in this country for women and i think there should be justice for reeva. if she could have lived longer she would have done more. >> i know that since the trial you and your husband -- >> she had such a short life but she did so much. >> i was going to say i know since the trial you and your husband have said you would like to have a face-to-face meeting with oscar pistorius. do you think in a face-to-face meeting he would fill in the blanks for you, mrs. steenkamp, he would give you answers or tell you something he hasn't said while on the witness stand during his trial? >> all i wanted to say to him

what he did is destroyed our lives and taken away the most precious things in our lives and taken away her future. there are massive pieces of the puzzle missing and i don't think he'll ever say anything about that. >> finally, you do not believe he has told the truth about what happened in his apartment in the night your daughter was killed, and yet you have said you have managed to forgive him. i'm curious how you forgive someone if you still believe is lying to you. >> you have to -- if you are a christian you have to forgive. otherwise it is poison that sits in your body to destroy you. now i have to use my good energy to try to help other women instead of wondering what is going on with oscar. i'm not really interested if he stays.

i'm happy about this because it will be good for other women in south africa. that is my opinion. >> june steenkamp, mrs. steenkamp, thank you very much for your time. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you, june. >> obviously a lot of people going to wait for the legal process to play out and see if or when he'll be released. coming up another legal case we're following. the accuser at the trial of the former prep school student facing tough questions from the defense. we'll be live from the courthouse. plus, fall out from the release of a massive list of users from the cheating website ashley madison. government employees, executives, even staffers at the vatican. but, first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up harmless or taking things a bit too far? "over the top" office pranks

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>> announcer: this is breaking news from news 4 new york. 7:26 on this thursday morning. i'm pat battle. we're following some breaking news that's going to affect your commute if you live in new jersey. nj transit has suspended some service after a vehicle was struck by a train. laura scala is here with the latest on that and the rest of your commute. >> we have the service on the pascack valley line is suspended. and we have 30-minute delays on the gladstone branch from earlier problems. new jersey transit buses will be cross-honoring those tickets, so you will be able to get around, but take you a lot of time this morning. if you're getting on the roads, route 22 eastbound out between westfield road and glenside avenue, still just the shoulder getting by as they make repairs from yesterday's flooding. we'll also head over to the george washington bridge, where we have a disabled tractor-trailer, outbound heading to the upper levels. that's in the right lane, but the good news is no delays

inbound into the tols. we have a 20-minute delay or 30 minutes, the only delay we have at hudson and heading over to the long island expressway eastbound, an accident breaks the hov and left lanes. back to you, pat. >> my goodness, lauren, a lot. right back with a look at chris's forecast. a muggy day out there, temperatures starting off in the 80s, 84 should do it in the city. watch out for an isolated shower or two.

late tonight, heavy showers and thunderstorms. half of the day, soaking rain on friday. the weekend, not too bad. sun and clouds both saturday and sunday. temperatures in the low to middle 80s. pat? >> all right, chris. thank you. and coming up on the "today" show, al's epic adventure is underway. he and two lucky viewers join us live from abu dhabi. see you back here in half an hour with another local update.

it's 7:30 now on a thursday, august 20, 2015. you're really, really, really going to like the cancer tomorrow -- concert tomorrow morning. carly ray jepsen stops by. >> yeah. and here is my number, so there you go >> don't leave me hanging on that one! >> you say that a thousand times. >> we'll have carly here tomorrow looking forward to that. here is making headlines this morning. the raging wild fire in

washington state claimed the life of three firefighters. officials say the men died after their vehicle crashed and the flames likely overtook them. it was a night of unrest in st. louis following the police-involved shooting death of an 18-year-old black suspect. protesters clashing with officers and setting fires leading to at least nine arrests. officials say the suspect pulled a gun on the officer trying to serve a search warrant. trump and jeb bush exchange harsh words. trump describing bush of low energy. an inconvenience worth the peace of mind? we'll tell you about the major changes being put in place today by the nation's largest movie theater chain. it's going to be an interesting conversation starter. we'll start with the accuser back on the stand today at the

striel trial of a former student accused of sexually assaulting a younger classmate. gabe gutierrez is at the courthouse in conquer. >> reporter: good morning. so far the testimony has been heart wrenching. the young girl telling the jury she stayed friendly with the popular senior at first because she didn't want to make a scene during saint paul's graduation weekend. this morning owen labrie returns to court. his accuser faces more questions after days of testimony. we're disguising her voice and not showing the 16 year-old's face. jane w. carney showed the facebook and e-mail messages suggesting the 16-year-old met up with labrie the night she said he raped her. >> it was your choice, right? >> in the end, it was my choice. >> reporter: in one exchange

after the allegation ed assaultly brees . carney questioned her why it was important for the girl to keep the meeting a secret. >> i didn't want any misconstrued ideas. i didn't want any falsifications. i wanted him to keep it as a secret. >> reporter: the tense cross examination and effort by defense ofof labrie didn't have sex. it was called the senior salute. >> it's important the jurors know about this and the fact it's been a tradition for so long at saint paul school that it would be entirely unfair to put the blame on a single

student for engaging in it. >> reporter: earlier wednesday the accuser told the jury when she agreed to meet labrie she on the expected kisses. >> i didn't want to come off as an inexperienced little girl. >> reporter: then she said he went too far even though she said no three times. citing a police affidavit the defense asked the alleged victim whether she discussed with a friend what she planned to do with labrie. the young girl responded saying she didn't recall having that conversation. >> thank you, gabe. perhaps a things to come. let's turn to ari melber.

it's whether or not the jurors credible. how did she do? >> she did well in terms of explaining her state of mind during and after what she said was the traumatic attack on her. that allowed her to put into context some of the statements that on first blush many people went along. >> it was an interesting prosecution tactic. they know the messages are out. they want to neutralize it and put it out front. >> that's right. if someone walked in and heard parts of the testimony they might think it was the other side leading this because there were so many things that sounded like inconsistencies. that's the prosecution trying to get it out of the way. hear it first from her in her own words before the cross examination began late yesterday. >> the cross started. we're getting into it. the defense attorney spending a lot of time on this senior salute tradition that allegedly

takes place at this school. obviously, feeling this is central. what is the argument he's trying to set up? >> the key argument is not simply to blame the culture broadly but rather go to the state of mind of the accuser as she entered the intersection. they want to sow doubt and suggest she wasn't just meeting up for coffee or questions. but rather the nature and repetition of what the tradition involved suggested someone should know it involved sex. >> they're trying to say she knows what she's getting into it. this is a tricky situation. any time someone is cross examining and alleged rape victim, let alone 16, doesn't the defense attorney have to walk a delicate line? >> a very delicate line. under new hampshire state law the age of consent is 16. she was 15 when this occurred. she is a minor. she has been emotional on the stand and discuss what she said was a trauma for her. trying to

ing to ing to poke holes in her story or credibility has to be done with a great deal of care so the jury doesn't think it's bullying. >> of course. but he has to defend his client. thank you. the let's get a check of the weather. mr. roker is on an adventure in abu dhabi this morning. you know, the stone pushes the heat back under your chin. >> reporter: it's a white reflective stone. it just does a little bit more. i'm going to make chicken out here. i may become a chicken out here. i'm not complaining at all. it's pretty exciting! just to remind you, it's part of the travel channel's new show "50/50." 50-hour $50,000 vacation. the clock started ticking yesterday when our two fans were picked out of our line and we got them -- they had to pack.

in fact, alex had to go to h & m because they didn't have anything. they had their passports. we got on a great flight for 13 hours. boom! we're here. what is great there's choice. their first choice was to come to the mosque the grand mosque, which we're going to show you around. it fits 50,000 worshippers at any one time. amazing stuff. of course, these wild fires out west just a really heartbreaking with those three firefighters killed four more injured, and we've got more on the way more rough weather coming for them even though it's cooler. you can see the red flag warnings, the heat advisories, and the smoke warnings. we're looking at winds starting to pick up late tonight into tomorrow. that is not good news for that area. and then we've got tropical storm danny about 1200 miles of

the lesser antilles. it b will probably become a hurricane over the weekend. but then hit some shear as it hits the al, thanks very much. checking our weather headlines for today, more humidity, feels like florida out there this morning. temperatures, upper 70s. humidity stays high all day. the bulk of the day is dry. some heavy rain heading our way very late tonight and through the first part of the day tomorrow. here's your seven-day forecast. 84 today, but it's a sticky 84. heavy thunderstorms and showers first half of the day friday, possible at 81. and over the weekend, sun and clouds both days. the slight chance for a pop-up shower or storm. maybe a late-day storm on monday and drier by wednesday next week. guys, coming up in the next hour we'll be going inside where, a. it's air-conditioned, but b. we'll show you the largest persian rug in the world. it will blow your mind! >> okay. al, thank you so much. coming up trending jennifer

aniston opens up for the first time since her wedding. what she's saying about keeping the event top secret. who is on the list? new fall out this morning from the huge data dump by hackers exposing e-mail addresses everyone loves their iphone. and now, with the iphone forever from sprint, you can always get the latest iphone so you never have to wait to upgrade. no more waiting and no more being jealous of that guy who always has it. join the iphone forever revolution. now, get an iphone for $15/mo. and you can bring it back to us and upgrade to the latest anytime again and again. that's forever. it's included in your monthly rate. only from sprint. trouble hearing on the phone, visit sprintrelay.com shopping for a used car is so intimidating. i mean, you feel like you have to be this expert negotiator to get a fair deal. i hate to haggle. when you go to a restaurant you don't haggle over the chicken parmesan. why can't car-buying

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certainly. low prices. every day. on everything. for whatever you put your heart into. back at 7:44. the story still got them talking. the fbi investigating a massive breach of a website dedicated to helping spouses cheat. tens of millions of e-mail addresses belonging to ashley madison customers available to see on the internet. among the surprise, a number of them seem to belong to mens of the military and government. nbc tom costello has more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there's a big caveat here. we don't know how many of the e-mail addresses are legitimate. it's entirely possible that ashley madison customers used somebody else's e-mail when signing up for the service and

some of the addresses are very obviously fake because ashly madison never verified the addresses. but millions of marriages could be at stake this morning. >> 3 7 million it's how many e-mail addresses hackers may have released that belong to ashley madison customers. the website that encourages customers to cheat on a spouse. >> life is short. have an affair. >> reporter: in an online statement, the hackers calling themselves "the impact team" write find yourself in here? it was ashley madison's parent company that failed you and lied to your. learn your lesson and make amends. >> help me find a discreet lover. >> reporter: kim has gone through the massive data dump including customer profiles. soon anyone could be able to search through it. >> a lot of people have

downloaded it, and you can probably imagine that in the next couple of days someone is going to create a searchable website for this data. >> reporter: perhaps most surprisingly 15,000 addresses allegedly belonging to military or government employees. including do mains like.dhs.gov, house.gov, senate.gov many are obviously fake including president@white house.gov. white house e-mails use a different do main name eop.gov. other linked e-mail addresses include vatican staff, members of the u.n. and british government. a member of parliament said her address was stolen and used without her knowledge. online a lot of angry reaction. i hope gets what is coming to them. but also this "cheating is

wrong, but also hacking personal information is wrong." already some have asked security pros for help. >> i've had people confess to me they have various felt fetishes, i guess they're concerned their information will be found. in some cases maybe their spouse will find out about it. >> reporter: the hackers claim their mission is to shame ashley madison and the customers. in a statement the command anadian parent company responded. the company has said in the past it believes somebody who had a prior connection to the company is behind this, but data was dumped on a part of the internet called the dark web. it is ripe with criminal activity like child porn, drugs, and stolen credit cards. it's very difficult to police because the browsing activity is difficult to trace. what is the next shoe to drop? it could be employers or spouses demanding answers from people

whose e-mail addresses are on the list. as many as 90% are thought to be men, but ashley madison insists it's not shutting down regardless of what people may think of it. back to you. >> when you reported the story the other day and actually people mentioned dark web, we sat here looked at each other. we haven't heard of this. now we understand it's a lot bigger than anyone realized. >> reporter: so yesterday i spent much of the day trying to figure out how to access the dark web. part of the problem is, if you work for a company like nbc there are firewalls that don't let you do it. you have to use a special browsers and you go in. once you're using them you're bounced around multiple servers around the world which makes it impossible for the police to trace you. you can then go and engage in illicit activity. >> i can see why law enforcement has the work cut out for them. >> like a hackers world out there.

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it is 7:56 on this thursday morning. and we are following breaking news in new jersey. an accident involving an nj transit train and a car. here are some live pictures from

the scene as we speak. this is near the westwood station in bergen county. no word yet from nj transit on whether anyone was injured or exactly how that crash happened, but the accident is causing some service disruptions. right now, the pascack valley line is suspended in both directions. as we take a live look there at the nj transit train involved in that accident. for more details on how it's affecting the morning commute, let's go to lauren scala. >> that's right, pat. as you said, service is suspended on the pascack valley line. in addition to that, we have unrelated delays on the gladstone branch, 30 minutes there. but new jersey transit buses will cross-honor those tickets for pascack valley and gladstone commuters. if you are getting on the subways, we have some delays and service changes ton e, f, m, and r lines, ongoing for the morning commute and evening commute. and delays on departures at laguardia. >> and checking your weather,

muggy today, some sun. a chance for a shower here and there. humid tonight, and tomorrow, heavy rain likely for your morning commute. a high of 81. going into the weekend, some clouds and more of the same in the 80s. coming up on the "today" show, olympic swimmer kate ledecky stops by studio 1a and back here with another local update live in half an hour.

it's 8:00 on "today." coming up drinking a small amount of alcohol increase your risk of cancer? the surprising new study that may have you rethinking your habit. then, offsce pranks gone too far? the elaborate ways workers driving their colleagues crazy. it's al's epic adventure. he plucked two strangers from our plaza, and whisked them off dab dhabi.

we'll check in with them live "today" thursday, august 20, 2015. >> goo morning, wisconsin! go packers! >> hood morning columbia, south carolina! >> iowa state seniors first time in new york city! go cyclones! [ cheers and applause ] >> we're from jacksonville. >> virginia beach in nyc! [ cheers and applause ] on the plaza. hello! did you see what just happened? >> what you miss when you're away. a random gust of wind just -- >> i would like to apologize to all

whf you for that viy ew. >> good morning, everyone. >> taping qua ers under your dress acts as a weight. really? >> you have quarters there now? >>sn not today but i learned from that mistake. >> that was terrifying. >> i love, love, love your throwback thursday song. "freedom 90" by george michael. >>li i love hat song. i use that on the bike. >> you do? >> absolutely. we have al in abu dhabi, happy birthday! >> oh! there's his traveling com tnions that met on our plaza yesterday. now they're on the epic adventure. she looks so chic, doesn't she? for someone that had to pack less than 24 hours. >> carly

concert tomorrow. next week next week is darius rucker. he's a big country star now got his start from hooty y hootie in the blow fish. >> what was he like in school? >> awesome. the kindest person you ever met. >> we'll get you a free ticket. >> everyone gets in free. good morning, everybody. we begin with tragedy in washington state where three wofirefighters were killed on wednesday in a fire that is threatening thousands of homes. miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: good morning. the three u.s. forest service firefighters were killed when their vehicle was involved in the an accident and flames overran that vehicle. four other fir ighters were also injured. one was critically burned durin thg a wild day on the fire lines. a tra c day. fire officials describe the co itions as erratic and aggressive.

flames moving in multiple rections, feeding on drought conditions fuelled bymthe wind to the back. officials are trying to determine exactly what happened here. their top concern is for the thousands of other firefighters across this region who are battling at least 15 fires in this state alone. they are also trying to worry about firefighters who are fanned out across the nation. thousands of them as they battle over 100 wild fires across the west. >> miguel almaguer in washington state, thank you. dueling town hall meetings last night it 15-miles apart in new hampshire. donald trump dismissed jeb bush as low energy and unelectable. the former governor criticized trump for his past contributions to democrats. the mother of reeva st nkamp said she's happy now th hat the early release of oscar pistorius has been put on hold. pistorius had been set to leave a south africa prison and be placed under house arrest

tomorrow after serving ten months for killing steenkamp. earlier on "today" june steenkamp spoke with matt and called the decision "justice for reeva." >> i'm really, really pleased about that. it's an important thing for other people, other women. at least the justice system is coming through for us now. >> south african justice officials called the plans to release pistorius premature. the ice bucket challenge took the world by storm last summer, as you'll recall. social media was awash with videos of people pouring cold water over their heads. not only did it raise money and awareness for als, but scientists say it lead to an imyortmnt discovery. it has helped them to understand more about a dysfunction protein that one day could be fixed. they say the money came at a critical time when they needed it. good news.

who needs an open i do you recall if you can dance your way throug you can hear the expecting mother say her ater a is breaking i'm not sure how well it worked but the nurses seemed to appreciate the entertainment. i'c sure it worked out well for them. >> let's turn it over to savannah. thank you so much. now to important health news for anyone who enjoys a glass of wine or alcoholic beverages at the end of the day. acco ing ko a new study in the british medical journal neh drink a day can increase your risk for a certain kind of cancer. dr. natalie azar is an nbc medical contributor. it has a lot of people worried because it showed the risk for men. >> it showed the risk for women. i think even more interesting or concerning about the findings it showed the increase risk with

what we consider light to mo derate alcohol consumption within what is considered an acceptable daily amount. so specifically breaking it down what they found was there was a statistically significant association with light to moderate drinking in women with a history of breast cancer. there was also an association with other cancers that are thought to be alcohol-related such as liver, throat, mouth, those were not statistically. >> isn't one drink a day falling within the guidelines we're supposed to be using? >> yeah. and, you know, the flip side is one drink a is thought to be healthy for us in terms of cardiovascular health. they weren't negating that accepted ideology, but, you know, the idea that alcohol s related to cancer is nothing new. i have to point out the biggest limitation from this study is it had really the data was all what we call self-report. this is what patient subjects

were saying how much they drank. a little anecdotally, there's not a medical student told when a patient tells how much you drink you automatically double it. >> you don't want to acknowledge how much you drink. especially to a doctor. >> right. we're using this data which, of ld be a confounding -- >> what is it about alcohol specifically that increased a cancer risk? >> i so the thought is so alcohol when you take it in it has to be metabolized, aka broken down into different things. e first break down is known to be a car sin again. and the other idea is certain cat ncers, walhich a st est are estrogen. >> there's another study that suggests working long hours, think is defined as 55 hours a week or more could lead to stroke. another worrying headline. >> exactly. there is some previous

information and data that suggested long hour increase risk of heart attack. this is the finding to look at it for stroke. the large number of patients is is from europe, australia, as well as the united states cos,nfounding variable here they use a lot of data from published and unpublished data. one thing that is important they don't describe what kind of work. there's a thing called job strain that is if you have a lot of high demand in your job but very little control. that can lead to something called job strain which can lead to high blood pressure which can lead to stroke. a lot of critics say i'm not sure that the data is that robust we can draw major conclusions from it. >> maybe i tht's not just hours but ste ress. >> high blood pleasure, heart disease, risk. >> thank you so much. over to tamron in the orange room for a big change coming to the movie theater. >> that's right. regel entertainment group will

search bags and backpacks before stomers eceer the cinemas. people have been sharing signs like this from outside theaters. the increase in security follows two movie theater attacks just this summer, and then the tragic shooting in aurora, colorado in 2012 where 12 people died and 70 others were injured. th..ey h.ve the policy on their website they posted. so we want to know what you think this morning. if you think this change is wonrth the peace of mind or do you see it as an inconvenience? should bags be searched before entering a movie theater. head to today.com. a lot of people talking about it online. we'll have the results coming up. >> that will be interested to see how people feel about it. >> i don't usually predict those things, but i think it's going

to bewfavorable. i really do. coming up next need a laugh? on trending we have over the top office pranks. we'll discuss. plus, what jennifer aniston is saying about pulling off the top secret wedding. al's epic adventure with two strangers plucked from our buying a used car can be a scary proposition. you walk onto that lot and immediately you are surrounded, like a guppy in a shark tank. it just feels like, car salesmen want to sell whatever car is best for them, t best for me. there's gotta be a better way. i as long as people drive cars carmax will be the best way to buy them. welcome to the sleep revolution. all new emergen-zzzz. a natural way to power down. with melatonin, plus vitamin c and other antioxidants. to work their magic while you sleep. don't just sleep, revitalize. new emergen-zzzz,

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we're back now. what is that song? do you know that song? >> no.

>> i've never heard that song. how about a story that exploded about everywhere this week. the new york times takedown of amazon and the work culture there. the paper quoted anonymous former employees who described it as bruising and sometimes abusive. the story generated more than 5200 comments. by the way, that's the most ever for a "new york times" story. now the paper's public editor is taking issue suggesting it might have been overhyped. margaret sullivan says -- the paper's top editor is extremely proud of that story, he said. >> the report interviewed over 100 employees. so i guess they don't build a case around the stories they're getting. >> how do you get irrefutable proof with peoples who don't

want to their name with the allegations. >> someone was fired after -- you know, specific things like that. >> the story continues to generate a lot of interest. do you think it's sweet or creepy? the photo bomb shop image of the royals. it shows princess dianna looking over her granddaughter, charlotte, at her christening. charlotte is held by her mom. somebody photo bomb shopped dianna in there. we don't know who created the image. it's been shared on facebook more than 268,000 times on facebook. when i first saw the picture, i thought it was weird. i thought it was a little inappropriate somehow. >> yeah. >> i contradict on this. i think it's a little weird, too. it's not something i like. but remember when natalie coal did -- cole with gnat king cole.

her father passed away years before that. she used his video but that's different. this one is not great. >> i think that's different. it's merging two incredible voices and talent together. it's her own father. i don't know. >> that's why it's different for me it's natalie cole teaming up with her father's voice. this is a picture, by the way, when dianna was meeting with mother theresa. >> yeah. the original picture. >> yeah. >> what is the best prank you've ever played? >> how much time do we have, my friend? >> i like pranks. >> yes, you do. >> but good office gags. what about putting out a box of doughnuts and then filling the box with veggies? oh! >> how about finding seeds in your -- >> wow. >> like a keyboard chia pet. or turning a filing cabinet into a fish tank. putting a sign on the toaster in

the company kitchen that said it is voice activated. >> toast my bagel! >> it could work upstairs, actually. >> you have a long and troubled history of pranks around here, matt. we've all been burned. >> someone spilled a big thing of milk in the stairwell here right outside our studio and i heard savannah coming down the stairs. i was where the spill was. i went like this and savannah came up like, oh, my god! >> are you okay? >> i don't know. i'm like a 3-year-old. >> we were talking about that. >> i'm the most gullible when it comes to pranks. >> you are. now to an emotional kelly clarkson is letting big news slip and jennifer aniston making her first public appearance since tieing the knot. >> congratulations. a beautiful way to start pop start this morning. kelly clarkson was performing

last night and unexpected announced something. >> i didn't plan on announcing this. i'm totally pregnant! [ cheers and applause ] >> she's totally pregnant! kelly saying she's not planning to making the announcement but announced she's too hormone al hormonal. already parents to river rose born last june. now to jennifer an store making her first public appearance since her surprise wedding. justine was away working so jen walked the carpet solo at the premier of her new movie. all eyes zeroed in on her gold and diamond wedding band. told access hollywood how she kept everything so hush hush. >> there was just a great will there's a way, man. it can be done. >> jen later said she is going

to be selfish and keep the secrets private. you wonder sometimes when the press pops up at a location and you see celebrity photographs were they called? if you can keep a secret. >> you mean when they're in full hair and make up? thank you. let's get a check of the weather from al in abu dhabi. mr. roker! >> reporter: hey, guys. thank you so much. let's first show you what is going on today around the country. we have wet weather making the way eventually into the northeast. we've got about 30 million people and a slight risk for severe weather, marginal risk. we'll be watching that. heat continues in the pacific northwest. cooling down from the plains all the way down to the northern texas. temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below average. and look for the heat continuin al, thanks very much. clouds out there. breaks of sun. future tracker, playing out this afternoon.

most of shouters stay west of us. everybody runs the risk of a spot shower. heavy stuff further west all day. later, a line of showers and thunderstorms from 2:00 in the morning through about 6:00, 7:00 in the morning. heavy downpours possible and things dry out tomorrow afternoon. 84 the high today. muggy. 81 tomorrow. weekend looks okay. mix of clouds and sun. high, low to middle 80s. and that is your latest weather. as we mentioned, we're helping travel channel with a new show called "50/50." we pulled two viewers off the plaza to give them a trip of a lifetime. lucky fans are touring the magnificent building. joining me right now is one of the cultural guides here omnina. good to see you. >> thank you. good to see you. >> this is an amazing architectural wonder. what did it take to build this? >> a great effort, really.

workers. they spent about 11 years to build this construction. >> and it took from '96 to 2007. >> exactly. >> what does it take to take care of this? i mean, i notice it's so pristine. >> there is a numerous group of cleaners, about 400. they work 24/7 to ensure that cleaning and maintenance is up to the quality. >> the design of the mosque -- the night sky has something to do with this? >> yeah. there's the unique lightening system of its kind. it works to the cycle of the moon. so every day the lightening appears a little different as the moon commences to be a fully moon it will be even more brilliant. >> it's at full capacity there are 50,000 worshippers. about the capacity of the yankee

stadium in america. yet people can hear the call to prayer from miles away. >> this is a new technology recently abu dhabi connected. so the system is where everyone can hear it. >> it's one of the largest mosques in the world. we'll be going inside the next half hour. give me a sense what we're going to see. >> we will see the largest carpet in the world. one of the largest chandeliers, and much more elements of architecture. >> this is an amazing building. pictures don't do it justice. thank you so much. >> it's my pleasure. >> thank you. guys we'll go inside, if you think this is amazing, a thousand columns like this. wait until you see what we will show you coming up. >> it's stunning! let's go to tamron. >> we have star power in the

orange room. record-breaking katie

it is 8:26 on this thursday morning. i'm pat battle, and we want to bring you the latest on that breaking news we've been telling you about this morning. that accident involving a nj transit train, nj transit says that a train struck a car in emerson. that's near the westwood station. still unclear exactly how the accident happened and whether anyone was hurt. those detail ames still coming in. we'll bring you information throughout the morning. for more details on how the accident is affecting the morning commute, lauren scala. we have the pascack valley line suspended in both directions and delays on the gladstone bridge up to 30 minutes. a bus service cross-honoring rail tickets. how to get around today. service changing on the e, f, m and r. headed to the airport, a 45 to 60 minute delay of landings out of la quad yar. and weatherwise, muggy today. some sun, a chance for a shower here and there. tomorrow, heavy rain is likely

in the morning for your commute. a high of 81, and the weekend, stays in the 80s. maybe some showers. and coming up on the "today" show, actor tony haile from arrested development and "veep" talks about his new movie "american ultra." another update coming your way in half an hour.

8:30 now on a thursday morning, august 20th, 2015. we've got a nice crowd out on the plaza. but you know what else? we've got some real star power out on the plaza! and tomorrow we're going to have star power, as well.

we have "call my maybe" carly ray jep -- carly rae jepsen. >> we have quite a few stars out here. including record-breaking katie will ledecki. and the new thriller. and fuel for school. you're trying to prepare meals to give your kids a boost on the way back to school. adam richmond will share an easy and healthy one for spaghetti pie. >> i love that! >> it looks good. >> i think it could become a go-to recipe in my house. >> hey, tamron. jill martin is here in the orange room with me. we're in the final count down for submission for the next big thing for "today"! we need music for that. our collaboration with q vc and

jill is the creative force behind gili. >> we are looking for the next great product invention. we're calling it "today's next big thing." we want you to submit your product idea. these are the three categories. home, household, pets, apparel accessories, and gadgets. it ends tomorrow. so go on today.com. is there something you wish you invented? >> pillow pets. why do i think of pillow pets? i bought plenty of them for my nieces. >> let's go to al in abu dhabi! >> thank you so much, tamron. let's show you what we've got going on. your weekend planner starting off with tomorrow and we expect to see more wet weather making the way toward the east. you'll see showers and thunderstorms up in the northeast, parts of florida, also midsection of the country. the temperature cools down along the west coast. as we move to saturday, again,

showers northern new england, risk of strong storms in the upper mississippi river valley. sunshine continues in the upper northwest. sadly the heat continues as well. sunday more heat in the pacific northwest, rain in the northern great lakes, showers making the way from the central plains to al, thanks very much. clouds out there. certainly low clouds. not the rain-producing type of clouds now. some sun this afternoon. 48 the high. watch for a pop-up shower. heavy thunderstorms by morning. low 74. seven-day forecast. tomorrow, heaviest rain elf iest rain in the morning. 81. monday, late-day storms and drier by wednesday. and that's your latest weather. we're live here in abu dhabi at the grand mosque. it's amazing to see. we've been here for about a total of three hours.

there's so much more to see here in this amazing city. the fans we plucked off the plaza david and alex are joined us, joined by the host of the travel channel show "50/50." good to see you all. >> good to be here! >> has it settled in yet where you are? >> no. >> no. >> it's slowly settling in. the beauty i'm surrounded by is impressive. >> you've had a chance to look around, alex. what are your impressions? it's amazing. the architecture. the heat is really -- [ laughter ] just a little bit. we're thankful you are able to put two words together. you've been on a lot of adventures. now that you see this, what are you thinking? >> it's unlike anything we've seen in our life. it's unlike what we're used to back home in the states. it's marvel louse. >> 50 hours, i don't think anybody will get a chance to sleep.

they get to choose from some options. >> we've got an option for you right now to pick from. you can either take a camel ride or get a 24 carat gold facial. that's your choice right now! you have to tell us. >> right now? >> so you to decide right now and tell us. >> facial or camel ride? >> camel ride. >> camel ride. >> the camel ride. >> done! >> all right. so why not the facial? >> i would sweat the gold off. >> in 50 hours, how much do you really goat see of et to see of an area? >> we try to see as much of the real culture as possible. what is unique to this region and state and island that we're on. >> we're looking forward to it. alex and david, thank you so much. we'll be going inside, matt, coming up in the next half hour and taking peek.

it's unbelievable. >> i can't wait, al. thank you very much. let's talk to an olympian aiming for more gold in rio at 15 swimmer katy ledecky was the youngest member of team usa's entire delegation. she won the 800-meter freestyle. she has been dominating in the pool ever since. just this month, katie won five gold medals and broke three world records at the world championships in russia. katie, good morning, great to have you here! >> thank you. >> congratulations on your win, your win, your win, and your win! >> thank you. >> did anything go wrong in russia or was everything perfect? >> i wouldn't say perfect, but it was pretty much the best week i could have asked for. >> you did something that no other swimmer has ever done. you won gold in the 200, 400, the 800, and the 1500. you u broke the world records in

property excess. -- process. no male or female swimmer from any country. >> it feels special. it's not every day you can say you have done something that nobody has done before. i've been enjoying it but also, at the same time, looking forward to the next year. >> for a lot of reason i read a lot of articles for you. we'll talk about uncle john in a second, who send me a lot of articles. the articles i'm reading say you are, at this moment, the best swimmer on the planet. "usa today" had an article why katie will ledecky is 2015's top athlete. do you worry you're peaking now and a year before rio? >> i don't think about that. i maintain the same mind set in 2012 is whatever happens happens. i enjoy working hard every day. >> can you keep up the pace? it takes an enormous amount of time in the pool.

can you keep it up? >> i think i am. i'm looking at new ways i can improve with my coach. every day i come to practice ready to work hard. i think hopefully i can continue it. >> is there a life that goes along with it? you just turned 18. >> right. >> is there any sense of normalcy for you? can you have time to do the things your girlfriends, who are 18 are also doing? >> yeah, i just graduated from high school. i've had a blast with them, and i have great family and great friends that support me through this all, and it's just really great to have their support. >> you've been accepted at stanford. you'll take a gap year and go there after the olympics. i want to put up a couple of pictures. describe what we're seeing here. this is michael phelps. >> i think i was 9 or 10 years old there. i went to some autograph session with a bunch of swimmers and met michael phelps. it was pretty surreal, three years ago to be on an olympics team with him.

i looked up to him and to be at so many international meets with him. >> we have another one we have an interest in as well. take a look at this picture. tell me what is happening there. >> that's me with my brother and my mom at the "today" show. i think my dad took the picture, and visiting my grandmother up here in new york, and had to go to the "today" show! i think we actually got on tv with al, at one point. >> and now you're back all the years later with all the gold medals. i hear so much about you, because i went to high school with your uncle john. he's one of my best friends. i used to kid you saying please make him stop texting me about everything you accomplish. i'm into it now. keep it going. >> thank you. >> great to have you here, katie. what a pleasure. we'll see you in rio. >> thanks. up next. the star of "selma" david oyelowo.

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back now 8:41 with the ridiculously talented david oyelowo. why he dazzled as martin luther king in "selma." he plays an escaped killer who takes a woman hostage in his new thriller. >> i've got use the bathroom. >> go for it. everybody has to use the bathroom. the bathroom. we all got to use the bathroom. use the bathroom. >> what are you doing? >> i can't go with the door open. [ breathing heavy" ] i'll turn around. >> i can't -- >> i don't trust you, ashley. >> david, good morning. it's good to see you. >> thank you. >> we last remember you playing dr. king and now in the next two movies you're playing the bad guy. was that on purpose? >> i like to mix it up.

no, in playing brian, even though like you said he did bad things. the amazing thing for me about that story you have a murder and he took a meth addict hostage and somehow good came out of it. >> it's an incredible story. i think our viewers will remember it as it happened on the today show. brian nicoles shot four people and takes the woman hostage and she gets him to turn himself in. what attracted do you this role? >> the fact that it was two broken people and, as i said, a miraculous outcome. ashley smith has never touched meth since that night. she was captive to that drug, and something about that night switched something for her. >> it's interesting because you want people to relate to your character. you don't exactly want to make him sympathetic. how do you balance that? >> that's a tricky thing in playing him. i have no interest in exonerating brian for what he did, but i feel like he was an instrument for good on that

night for ashley smith. there are people whose lives have been broken. but i'm a big believer that light shines brighter than the dark. >> let's talk about nightengale it's another dark movie but challenging for viewers and certainly for the star. you're basically alone for the whole movie. >> yeah. it was a challenge. when i read the script, one of the reasons that i did it -- it was a dare to myself. i said can you be the only person in a movie for 90 minutes? and here is a story of a veteran -- >> yeah. >> who kills his mother. >> yes. >> and then you really just see the break downright there on camera. >> yeah. yeah. that was a tricky thing, you know, he has done the hideous thing then you have to make him empathetic. >> we have to end on a high note. i don't know if you're sick of telling the story. i think this is funny. when you were playing dr. king, i read you stayed in character

and tried to stick with the accent the whole time of shooting. >> yeah. >> and really drove your wife crazy. [ laughter ] >> well, you could imagine what it was like. >> yeah. >> i stayed in character the whole time. with dr. king, yes, my wife felt like she was having an affair with dr. king, which is a little strange. >> she's like "pass the salt." >> and your response? >> "can you pass the salt"? >> set's like, stop. i have to leave. when you're done i'll be back. >> it's for a good cause. david oyelowo, thank you so much. "captive" opens on september 18th. healthy food for your kids. stay for the spaghetti pie, david. we're making it in the kitchen. it should be delicious. first, this is "today" on nbc.

all right. we're back with "today." food and more fuel for school to keep your family energized all day long. this is adam richmond. this season kids go head-to head-with experienced chefs to win big money. take a look. >> i'm going to do a roasted pepper salsa. the pepper adds a nice touch to the dish. >> how does it feel to be cooking? >> oh, my gosh. it's the coolest thing in the world. >> all right. well, i bet it would be cool if you beat them. go for it! >> adam, good to see you. welcome back. >> thank you very much. >> i was reading the recipe you're making this morning last night and i was thinking this would be something to put on the menu about once or twice a week. >> how about it, man. >> it's spaghetti pie. >> let's start with the ingredients. >> it's simple. it came from a fraternity brother of mine.

ground turkey, salt, onion, tomato paste, mozzarella. >> what kind of fraternity -- never mind. >> it wasn't our main focus. something i am -- this is a great recipe to make with kids and for kids. i was blessed with a mom who was a great cook but could rub two nickels together to make a dollar. >> you can use any pasta. we have cooked down spaghetti. you want to save the beautiful starchy water. we'll put the pasta in here. you can use left over pasta, pasta that came with a dish. so we set this aside for a moment and take a measuring cup and keep some of the starchy water. >> okay. we have the tasters downstairs, i want to mention, they're about to dig into this. >> oh, my god! >> i'm in love. i love it. >> we have the medium sized onion with a little bit of olive oil.

when it gets trance lou s s trance -- tran clear we'll add the turkey. fortunately the amazing folks here at the "today" show already got us a little bit more advanced. we have the turkey and the onions combined. we'll throw in about 3/4 cup of tomato paste. we want to use tomato paste a little bit more intense flavor wise. you don't have to use as much. and the cans aren't that expensive. hand me the pasta and the pasta water. yes, it's water it's going thin out. because it has the starch and salt from seasoning it, it's going to bind ultimately resulting in a thinner kind of sauce. >> quickly now. >> okay. we throw in parmesan, mozzarella, about three cracked eggs, and another little bit of tomato paste. we'll mix it up and layer it in

the pan. you can toss it together. you can do it with your hands. layer it and ultimately we have the finished product right here. >> coming out of oven. >> exactly. >> layer of turkey on the bottom. layer of beautiful cheesy pasta in the middle and turkey on top. >> how does it taste? >> oh, my gosh! i could eat the whole pie! >> i love the crispy ends. >> it's the best thing i've had in a month. >> really? >> seriously! >> i have a ringer on my phone from matt lauer. >> thank you very much. i'll continue to eat up here. you can catch "food fighters" tonight at 8:00/7:00 central. we're back in a moment eating on "today" on nbc.

rave reviews. >> it's so good. you brought your food down here. >> all right, we're back with a thing off the coast of hawaii. coral dying off. nbc's kerry sanders has the story. >> reporter: in the crystal waters off hawaii, divers aim a torpedo camera snapping images

in every direction 360 degrees. partnered with google, they're creating a google street view of the world's coral reefs. we joined the divers in the exact spot where they'll return in five years to compare the health of the corals. reefs are where much of the seafood begins life. >> the technology allows do you take a picture with this? >> absolutely. it allows us to see the same choral. and see how they perform over time. >> reporter: already biologists say some corals are dying bleached white. a sign of the first stage of death. >> it's an event similar to the rain forest of the world turning white over a short period of time. everyone will be jumping up and taking notice wondering what the hell is happening. in is happening underwater on a massive scale. >> reporter: scientists blame the warming waters.

usually in the upper 70s the ocean temperatures are forecast to hit an unprecedented 90 degrees in the next few weeks. one cause? el nino. >> biologists say it's not just the warming waters of el nino that has them concerned. there's another threat with the unscientific name the blob. the blob is a patch of warm pacific water. to best understand the impact, a smartphone coupled with a $5 google card board box. a headset that lets anyone take a virtual dive to where the 360 pictures were just found. >> it seem so real. >> connecting students to coral reefs. >> it's huge! it's so big! it's like this tall! >> reporter: where it all now makes sense.

>> is that a sting ray? >> i don't know what that is? >> it's a sting ray. >> reporter: for "today" kerry sanders nbc news. wow. if you would like to take a virtual underwater tour, grab your smartphone and go today.com. >> all right. so you one of your favorite guys back. >> we have john cena. there's something that is going to happen in the next hour -- just get ready! >> better than spaghetti pie? >> it's a different feeling. it will hit your heart. this is hitting my tummy in a

good way. good morning. 8:56 on this thursday morning. new information about this morning's accident involving a car and an nj transit train. we learned one man was k led when he drove his car on to the tracks, was hit by the train near the westwood station inner er emerson. he was in his 80s. his name not released. nj transit buses and private carrier bus are cross-honoring tickets. weather, muggy, some sun. a chance of showers here and there. 84 the high. tonight, humid. 74, spotty shower. saturday, clouds and sun way

slight chance for a shower. 82 the high. more of the same sunday. 84 degrees. just ahead on the "today" show, you just heard it. wwe star john cena, marking a wish come through for a young boy living ith cancer. another update in 30 minutes. in the meantime, enjoy your morning.

this morning on "today's" take wwe champ john cena grants his 500th make a wish surprise to a deserving kid. emmy winning actor tony hale and elizabeth moss. all that and more coming up now. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "take's take" with willie geist, tamron hall, and natalie morales. live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome!

now we can really say welcome to "today"! the music to all of our ears on the thursday morning, thursday, august 20, 2015. we have john cena with this pick. >> thank you for letting me pick the music. summer slam is coming up this weekend. and you pick music that tries to amp everybody up. i figure when i get free tie i like to sit with the one i love, crack open the red. >> you smack down peopl and you cuddle up to sinatra. >> i love it. >> thank you for letting me pick the tunes. i appreciate. it. >> of course! willie is off, by the way, and al on the epic adventure in abu dhabi. we'll check in with him in a moment and find out how david and alex are doing. >> and celebrating his birthday.

>> he's got a birthday! >> happy birthday, handsome guy. >> 61. >> 61. >> and you look great, al. >> i said in the last hour at the end of the show we have something so special for you in this hour. john has reached an extraordinary milestone with a make a wish fo ndation. he actually about to grant your 500th wish. you've been at hospital rooms, you've visited people all around -- children all around. >> the charity, i think, is phenomenal. i see the charity people donate tirome or resources it's a little speculation. i'm at the finish line. i get to see the families, the joy. the hope we get to bring. this is something i got involved with early on in my career and i lllbe involved with make a wiesh for as long as they have me. >> john is the most requested celebrity. you have a list of many amazing people who are willing to give

want to meet? >> i'll say that differently. i've been fortunate enough to be involved with a wonderful charity over time and i'm thankful. >> you don't brag on yourself and we will. that's what your friends do. we're not just saying this because he's here. that's a fact, you know, when the kids have an opportunity to meet someone they look up to, someone they see as an inspiration, and in large numbers they say john cena. that's special! >> my night job is very interesting. at the end of the day, we get to do a lot of cool things for cool families and regardless of what you think about what i'm doing in a ring, i think the end product is providing great hope and memories that last forever. >> you'll make a memory for an awesome 8-year-old today. >> you've meet him already. >> i have. he's very interesting. >> he doesnet know why he's really here. he's in our green rtom. he can't hear us and he doesn't know you're here. >> i have to do a little clark

kent i'm going to try to change clothes quick. >> you're coming out as john cena as a wrestler. >> clark kent will disappear and superman will disappear! >> it's just a tear away suit. >> there are no phone booths here anymore. >> we've brought in a phone booth. we had to get it on ebay. you'll never see it. it's off set. >> what about if you jump out of our coworker's cake? >> that would be a different outfit. >> that depends on what -- [ tw laughter ] >> i didn't see that coming. he's witty, he's got it all, and a heart! stick around for the big surprise coming up. >> rocco was diagnosed with leukemia. >> but he's a fighter. >> he's a fighter. >> it's going to be great to have him on the show. >> you're the perfect hero for him. i want to show you the incredible soon-to-be developed building. i want to find ou how john feeth about this.

as tough as john is, super man has kryptonite. >> and fear of hits. as much as a marvel of engineering this is, there's no chance i'm getting in the human aqarire of people. i'll stand up on the street and look up at the weird things. >> this is incredible. it's a project in development. it's a building the sky diving, i guess, pool there is between the two buildings, as you see. it's going to be developed in london. >> yep. ten stories up. >> ten stories up. >> eight inch glass, so apparently it won't break. i don't trust it at all. >> i can't imagine james bond swimming through it. >> it's between two buildings. i know, there are some people who find a way to access this. somebody will go skinny dipping in that. >> somebody? everybody! >> and there will be people passing by on the street that

won't be able to unsee what they see. >> you won't see anything. >> it's too many stories up. . what are you going to see? >> i'm just worried that someone will do something. >> you need binoculars. >> i'm worried it will be burned in there forever. >> that's not your fear. your fear is heights. >> the fear of being in water and looking down and seeing the ten stories. that hits me like a ton of bricks. >> would do you it? >> absolutely not! >> sign me up. . >> you said it's in london and dam said we need you to go to london to shoot something. it better not have anything to do for this. in t's an interview for a movie, he said. >> it's not going to be done until 2018. >> sorry. no. okay. good. my heart started racing when you said london. we want to mention, al is in abu dhabi on the epic adventure. he's joining forces with the

travel channel with show called "50/50." they send them on a 50 hour $50,000 vacation. we did it with visitors here on the plaza. we gave them a chance to compete to travel with al on the adventure for the premier episode. alex and david won the challenge. so they jump order the plane with mr. roker on a little adventure to abu dhabi. al, how is it going, my friend? and david and alex. >> let me ask alex and david. how h it been going? >> awesome! like life changing. >> yeah. >> and you guys you don't know each other until now. you met waiting in line for his yesterday. >> yes. >> we did, yes. >> and both your moms played a role in this. ttoell me. >> they did. well, i hadn't been back in 'vw york for a couple of year is. ve been traveling, ironically.

i heard you say bring your pass port. something epic could happen. she said do it! you don't know what could happen. in had no idea. >> and you were with yourumom. she's going through something right now. >> she's going through chemotherapy. so i go down every time she has a treatment and sit with her and, you know, be with her and take care of her. we were, of course, were watching the "today" show and you came up and broadcast it and she said you should do it. here i am. >> why don't you say hi to your moms. >> hi, mom! >> miss you! >> love you! >> we love that you are with us and sharing the 50 hour adventure. i'm so excited. we'll show you around the inside in a second. let's give you your -- well, guys, i'm sorry i jumped the gun. you guys have to say something. >> we do. it'seood to see yau, john. >> thank you very much! >> we wanted to wish you a wonderful, wo erful happy birthday. we know today is a big day for you and you're in a mosque now.ou don't want to get too over the top. we're going to get over the top for you.

we have a cake set up for you. we're going to truly wish you a happy birthday. we wish you're here but we're glad you on the 50 hour vacation. it's a spectacular thing. we want to wish you a happy birthday. >> we're going to cut it for you and save a piece. >> we'll eat a piece for you and save a piece. > i appreciate it. >> it's a two-fer. >> it's vanilla. it looks good. >> all right. >> we love you. happy birthday! >> thank you. thanks, guys. we're having a great time. >> can you check the weather for us? >>to announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by yoplait. and let's take a look show you what is going on as far as your weather is concerned. first of all, we're taking a look, again, at what is going on in abu dhabi 105 right now.

relative humidity 32%. it feels like it's 115 out there. whoa! i'm glad we're inside where it's air-conditioning. we're watching the front pushing through bringing showers and thunderstorms making their way toward the east. we have a risk of strong storms today. as the afternoon and evening wears on heavier thunderstorms moving into the northeast and new england. it sweeps offshore. we have the risk of strong storms, a marginal risk in the northeast. up to 33 million people at risk. 34 million get damaging winds, isolated tornado threat as well. rainfall amounts we're talking anywhere from 2 to 3 inches. some areas locally could pick up 3 to 5 inches of rain. we're watching tropical storm danny off the atlanta. right now it's about 1200 miles east of the lessor antilles probably becoming a hurricane sometime this weekend.

low clouds out there this morning. some clouds at times. muggy, though. a warm day. high of 84. could be a spot shower here or there. most of the time not raining today. evening spotty shower. otherwise muggy tonight. 74. towards morning, heavier shower and thunderstorms move in. tomorrow's commute could be a soaker. 81, drying out at nice. mix of clouds and sun for the weekend. low to middle 80s. spot shower possible each day. late-day showers come monday. and right now we're standing in the sheik grand mosque. joining me right now is cultural guide. this is an unbelievable -- world's largest rug. >> it is. >> tell me about the colors. >> the colors dominantly used is green. however, there are different colors like the beige ones which we can see at the boarder. personally i see it reflects the achievement where 50 years ago

we were only a country with dessert then we jumped into paradise. >> there is so much here. 50,000 worshippers can be in here at one time, and illuminating them the largest chclandelier in a mosque in the world. >> yeah. it's 4 tons and has more than 14 million crystals. >> that is unbelievable. thank you so much. this is really unbelievably beautiful. i hope folks get to come see this. it takes your breath away. >> sure. thank you. >> it is really a thing of beauty to behold. it's actually a gift from the chic sheik to his people. it's one heck of a gift. >> it's beautiful. al, thank you. coming up mmmm yoplait! i am needing to tell you something about yogurt. there is now 25% less sugar in yoplait original. poofs!

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actor and author tony hale caught our attention on "arrested development" and on the critically acclaimed "veep." now tony is playing an fbi agent. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> this character slightly neurotic, slightly edgy sound very similar to other characters hat you've played. >> yeah. >> you're nothing like that. >> i do defeat it and emasculate it really well. or something like that. [ laughter ] >> this character allows do you channel into a person. >> the whole thing jesse eisenberg plays the stoner kid. she's a he's a sleeper agent. i kind of work with the cia and we've been using him as a puppet. it's a really fast-paced crazy fun movie, but you should catch it. it's fun.

>> you got a nomination. >> yeah. >> for "veep." >> yeah. >> congratulations. >> crazy. >> where were you? what was going on at the time you got the call? >> we were in the kitchen and we were, you know, my manager called me and just, you know, freaking out. the thing is, if anybody gets used to something like that, they need to be slapped. it's a crazy overwhelming experience. and my sweet daughter came in and said you need to take me to camp. we need to go. [ laughter ] >> realty checks in. >> come on you signed me up let's go. >> snap out of it, dad. >> she's a sweetie. >> is it true what actors say, it's nice to be nominated or all about getting the prize? >> i never thought i would be invited to the party. it's humbling and exciting. >> it's a recognition of your hard work. >> thank you. what humbles you more? it's throwback thursday and we found -- >> okay.

>> you know what throwback thursday is? >> my hands are immediately sweating. >> that's the reaction we wanted. we found are a little video from 1999. it's a volkswagen commercial. you recognize that handsome fella? >> i reck new that hair -- recognize that hair. let's listen in. >> there we go. >> oh, okay. >> look at that! >> that kind of made your career. >> that was fun. it was in like 2000. and they let us go crazy. >> do you do this? >> maybe. >> yes! >> i was just listening to you. >> we're trying to -- >> only on "today." john cena singing.

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the corolla. toyota. let's go places. elizabeth moss has been acting for over 25 years even though she's only 21. picking up a golden globe along the way. >> best known during the feisty and fashionable peggy in madmen" she's taking on a different role in the film "queen of earth." a psychological thriller of a woman's mental break down after losing her father and being dumped by her boyfriend. so lovely to see you. >> the movie is a little bit

different for you and hollywood, right? >> yes, it's very different. it's pretty out there. it's one of those things i feel i'm extremely proud of and i love it, but i sort of have no idea if anyone else will. >> so you put and your soul into it? >> yeah. >> that kind of came about because i was so involved in the process when you make a movie that this is this small. everybody has such a big part. i became producer by accident. >> congratulations. it sounds like an interesting story. the character goes through a tragedy and unfortunate set of sirksds s circumstances. eventually ends in a break down. interesting to see. we all have those moments as if we feel we need attention. it seems like your character takes it to a different level. >> yeah. sometimes we feel like we're losing our minds. but i was interested in pushing that as far as we could. >> what is it like to have a chance to actually go insane?

[ laughter ] >> did you ever think you pushed it too far filming? >> no. >> just walking the line of -- >> that's up to alex in editing to figure it out. i can push as far as i want. it's up to him to figure out what is real. i think it's fun. don't you like it? >> being able to get the green light to do all the emotions it's very interesting. we'll see how it plays out. i can't wait to see it. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> in honor of throwback thursday. it's my role to embarrass the guests today. elizabeth moss' throwback thursday. it's from a lifetime made-for-tv movie called "midnight child." do you remember this? >> of course! >> how would were you? >> seven or eight. >> that's incredible! look at you. look at the bangs. >> wow. >> oh!

>> you're working it. you're into that role. >> nothing has changed. >> nothing. we miss "madmen." >> well, thank you. i loved it. >> thank you. >> in select theaters august 26th. coming to the battle of the band-ers, and the behind the scenes crew, to the fashion bloggers, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah and the skaters true, be yourself. kohl's if your purse is starting to look more like a tissue box... you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec is different than claritin . because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec . muddle no more .

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mini babybel. snack a little bigger. good morning. we have breaking news. services just restored now on the nj transit pascack valley line, four hours after a fattal accidents in emory. one of its train hit a car that drove on the tracks mere the westwood station. the driver of the car, a man in his 80s, was killed unfortunately in this fiery crash. 110 people onboard the train that hit the car. nobody hurt. everyone safely evacuated and

put on buses. service resumed and running in both directions. weather, sunny, 84 the high. tonight, humid, spotty shower. 74. heavy rain tomorrow. coming up on the "today" show, two ladies from the plaza getting an ambush makeover, and back with yore local update in 30 minutes. see you then.

taking look at the headlines. an intriguing clue that could lead to a new approach in the treatment of obesity. researchers figured out how a gene linked to obesity makes people gain weight. a faulty version of the gene causes energy to be stored as fat rather than being burned off. they think it may be possible to one day reverse that. the study in the new england journal of medicine. fascinating. working long hours could shortchange your health. a new study finds people who work 55 hours or more each week have a 33% greater risk of

having a stroke and a 13% greater risk of heart disease than those who work normal hours. researchers say the risk went up regardless of gender, age, or economic status. the study looked at data from more than 600,000 people. a new kind of cancer study is offering an alternative to traditional treatment. in a new clinical trial called basket study thousands of patients whose cancers have the same type of gene mutation are grouped together and treated with the same therapy even though they have different types of cancer such as lung, brain, or colon. dr. david said they're starting to see responses in patients they've never seen before. the nation's biggest movie theater chain is starting to inspect bags and backpacks. raeg l entertainment group admits the searches are a potential inconvenience but it is making the move to ensure the safety of theater guests and employees. the new policy comes after recent theater shootings in tennessee and louisiana.

two women who made history by passing army rain range -- ranger school will tomorrow. the families say the women are exceptional soldiers and strong teammates. the women completed a 62-day gauntlet of exhausting tests of physical endurance. their families say the women are happy, their relieved, and ready for good food and sleep. we can only imagine. congratulations to them. let's get a check of the weather from al in abu dhabi ab by habi dhabi. hey, al. starting with tomorrow we're looking at showers in northern new england, also, wet weather southern texas and central plains. looks decent in the pacific northwest but the heat and winds will continue. wet weather into the gulf on saturday. western third of the country sunny. sunday look for more rain gulf coast into the mid mississippi

river valley. out west unfortunately the heat continues breezy conditions not great news for the firefighters. eastern sea board looking more clouds around early, low. warm, muggy day. not rooting on the sun. high 84 degrees. could be a spotty shower as well. best chance for the concentration of showers today wealth to the north and west. even into the evening hours. tonight same thing. 74 the low. thunderstorm threat is late tonight or towards morning, and we could see heavier thunderstorms first half of the day tomorrow with a high temperature generally in the low 80s. back to the low to middle 80s for the weekend with a mix of sun and clouds saturday, sunday, nothing more than an isolated shower each day. that's your latest weather. that's it from here from the sheik grand mosque. we'll see your tomorrow morning. we're going to be literally on the beach and i cannot wait! back to you. >> thank you, al. great job. see you tomorrow.

each year e than 13,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the u.s. that's roughly a classroom of kids every day. >> for rocco a leukemia diagnosis meant a long summer full of grueling treatment. luckily he found a hero in wwe super star john cena. more on the brave little boy's story. >> my name is rocco and i'm eight years old. i love t ball. i even earned my high blue belt in taekwondo. i always wanted to play never wanted to sit still. in january i got bad news. i found out i was sick. the doctors told my parents i have leukemia. i've been in and out of the hospital ever since. i haven't been able to play at all or ride my scooter. sometimes the chemo makes my body feel weak. what brings up my spirit is

watching wrestling. my favorite super star is john cena. he's nice and strong and inspirational. he reminds kids to never give up. when people visit me in the hospital, they remember to bring me lots of wwe stuff. they know it makes me happy. the nurses even made a wwe sign with my name on it to cheer me up. make a wish is a special foundation. they asked me what my wish was and it was to meet john cena. john cena came to visit me in the hospital when i was there for treatment. i wasn't feeling good. i didn't get a chance to talk to him like i wanted to. i hope someday i can meet him again. >> oh. rocco and maria are with us. >> good morning. >> you are feeling well. you look good now. you look strong and happy. what was that like to meet your

hero? >> you're going to make me cry. was it fun? >> exciting. >> exciting. >> yeah. >> maria, what changes have you noticed in rocco since he had an opportunity to meet john? >> once he met john, his outlook changed. he was better understanding theic the ic sickness and stuff. it made his outlook change with everything. it was a short time we saw him, but he was great that day. he really lifted his spirits. that whole day everybody told him, rocco, you have such a smile on your face. he did the whole day. the doctors were like if we can bottle that smile for you, it would be great! >> and what a smile he has there. you got a lot of good things. when you said you didn't have a chance to talk to john and i would have loved to say other things.

what would you say to john if he were here? i love you man? [ laughter ] give him a hug? a high five? >> yeah. >> a high five. >> and a hug. >> and a hug, right? >> we may help you with this, because we just so happen to have a surprise, once again, for you. come on out, my friend! oh! >> oh, my gosh! [ cheers and applause ] >> it's great to see you here. >> that's right. >> i don't know if you know this, but i did go to see rocco in the hospital. he's a very brave young man and a true fighter. last time i came to see you, i brought you a bunch of stuff, right? since then i've kind of changed my outfit. >> yeah. >> i want to make sure i give you the latest and newest. >> wow! >> and new wristband, of course, you and i both enjoy this saying here.

i got you a new towel. [ laughter ] got you a new tee. and i know i have a big match coming up that has to do with this, but i wanted to make sure that i let everybody know the real champion here. >> oh! >> wow! >> give him a high five. give him a hug. >> put your hat on! got to get your new hat on. >> when i came to see you in the hospital, we talked about you maybe coming to see me. is that still something to be interested in. you wouldn't mind coming to a wwe show and hanging out a little bit? >> mind? >> i just happen to have -- >> oh! >> a bunch of tickets to come see us in brooklyn. >> wow! [ laughter ] >> they are absolutely yours. >> what do you say? >> thank you. >> you're going to be very close! i'll be able to see and talk to you from the ring. i cannot wait! >> you're going to have sweat

hit you! >> si i know it's a long time coming. we talked about you being able to go on it makes me so proud you have fought so hard and you're going to be there on "monday night raw" so we can enjoy some cool time together. >> and the new colors look great on you. >> so great! >> thank you. >> thank you so much! >> maria and rocco, thank you so much. >> thank you so much, guys. >> thank you, john. >> i know rocco is soft spoken but he has a huge hero. >> all heros are soft spoke en. you're soft spoken. >> you can't be this quite at monday night raw. we have to cheer. >> who are we cheering for? >> you! >> nice! [ laughter ] >> you can cheer for who you want but i would appreciate it. >> we'll be right back. awesome! that is so neat! visa checkout is such an easy way to pay online. enter your username and password. a few clicks. and check out.

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a lot going on here this morning. you might recognize this great guy. jake johnson from the hit comedy "new girl" or from this super's smash hit "jurassic world" ." now jake is starring in "digging for fire" a film that was almost completely improvised. he plays a man who just discovered interesting items that were buried in his backyard. good morning. >> good morning. nice see you guys. >> it's an interesting film because it's about the dynamics in a relationship. tell me about the discovery of the items. i understand it comes from a true story? >> yes, the origins in the movie are based in truth. my wife and i were digging in the backyard not doing weird stuff. we were putting in a garden. >> good. you're not hiding anything. >> we ended up finding weird stuff. we found a rusted gun, we found a bone about that big, we found

license plates, i found a plastic bag with bones chopped up. >> where do you live? >> in the worst neighborhood in the world. no, this is water village, california. a nice neighborhood. >> did you report that? >> of course! i called the l.a.p.d. >> they said is not our job to dig up somebody else' garbage. if you find a body they'll come back. all of that is in this movie. we have the call with the lapd and everything. i pitched that to the director of "drinking buddies" he said let's make a movie about it. we make it about the relationship of the husband and wife. >> you mentioned it's almost a next chapter to "drinking buddies." the movies he makes are naturalistic and improvised. that movie was about people in their late 20s and this is about people in the mid 30s. >> you didn't even have to write anything. >> oh, yeah! and i get writing credit.

>> you said this guy here, john cena, our little guy rocco said hello to you he was like yeah, i'm friends with john cena. >> he didn't care. i was so excited about rocco. he was like, hey. >> i know john cena. and you're a fan of john's work in wreck". >> you killed it, man! >> stop it. >> it's so funny. >> the funny thing there was a lot improvzation. it gives people to go for broke. i can't wait to see the movie. i like to see what people have when they're able to truly -- >> yeah. >> you have a little project coming up. >> yeah. it would be easy to write. let's make a movie! >> [ laughter ] >> thank you so much. by the way, "new girl" is coming back in the fall new season.

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>> we have a solution. we have trendy looks to keep everybody happy. >> hey! >> run through quickly. >> elementary school. this is my daughter, by the way. >> oh! >> come on out! >> come on out! you want to make sure it's important to layer. you can turn around this way. it's important to layer because it can be so cold outside and then hot in the classroom. i gave her the come fy tunic and leggings and i added the fun cardigan and reversible vest from lands end. >> cute. >> and adorable head band from bouquet gifts you switch out the clip. >> it's hard finding jeans that fit. these were under $15 from t.j. max. they have the adjustable waistband and a belt. slouchy and comfy.

i added the button and the cool fedora fedora. >> i have the same problem. tons of junk in the trunk. >> that's what his mom said! >> middle school. >> we have sixth grader and eighth grader. >> they wanted to look cool but age appropriate. >> okay. >> denim skirt is a classic and a cute little tee. i added a light sweater and a quilted jacket. these are under $25 each from beyondtherack.com. trendy options. zion loves to be comfy and slouchy in his hoodies and jeans. gave him the jeans. these are from pac sun. dark wash jeans. we added on a plaid button down, and then a hoodie from the school one piece for $79. he can wear it every day. >> are kids doing the single strap or double strap? i can never figure it out. >> with the backpack.

>> what's the cool thing? >> i know. >> now high school. >> the ninth graders. >> i transitioned a summery dress from old navy but the fall plaid. that's a dress. i layered on this cool tee that says something cool on it. i forget what. >> the graphic tees are in now. >> the denim vest. >> and chinos from the children's place. great alternative to jeans and a cool bat manatee tee and corduroy. >> great! we're back in a moment.

this is an awesome day. we brought in a couple of brothers from our plaza that are two fans of john cena. they're getting autographs. >> very awesome.

>> john, thank you so much. congratulations on your 500th make a wish. >> thank you.

>> you're an awesome co- thursday morning. breaking news. nj transit restored service now to the pascack valley line hours after a fatal accident. nj transit train struck a r. the car had driven on to the

tracks near the westwood station ,about 57:30 this morning. the driver of the car killed. his name not released. he was a man in his late 80s. nj transit says the car entered the track some distance way from the accident scene. was driving alongside the tracks before the accident happened. meanwhile, nj transit trains on the gladstone branch, delays due to a power line that fell earlier this morning. weather, muggy, sun. chance of a you shoulder here and there. 84 the high. tonight humid spotty showers. 74. tomorrow heavy rain likely in the morning. up to 81 degrees. coming up on the "today" show, kathie lee and hoda share a webtastic video guaranteed to make you smile. another update in 30 minutes. see you then. ah, this lucky boy... he has no idea what's coming. my taste - so huge, yet so unexpected. i'm like a boxer in a ring. a small boxer. you don't expect much... and then, wham! i hit 'em with a whole lotta creamy goodness!

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>> both done individually. everyone has a stor they're singing a duet today. they're just great. amazing singers. kelly clarkson had big news at her concert in los angeles last night. >> it's funnyas how sometimes big news comes out in weird ways. >> shealidn't intend to give the news but she was very emotional

and for very good reason. let's see. >> i put off announcing this. i'm pregnant. >> yeah. >> she started crying while she was singing her song "piece by piece" and she was saying she didn't know -- the crowd thought she was crazy so she decided she was going to announce it anyway. she also apologized to her husband because i get they hadn't told their families. >> oh. but, you know what, it's always great to get a head of the narrative and you control it. why is she crying? is she on drugs or something? maybe they're breaking up. >> everything is great. i haven't vomited yet. that's a win you-all. i love her. >> adorable.