good . good morning. bring it on. resident trump pushes for the public release of the mueller >> let it come out. let s peopleee it. >> this morning anticipation building in the nation's capitol. could the results of the independent counsel's investigation be handed overe t attorney general in the next few da? we're live at the white house. breaking ns overnight, new zealand announces a ban on all assault rifles. >> the time for the easy availability of these weapons must end, and today they will. >> the swift action taken by the prime minister less than a week after that country's worst terror attack. demanding answers. the fbi joins the investigation

into how boeing 737 max suite was certified to fly. just ahead, the new scrutiny facing t p world's largestne maker and the faa andew the n information surfacing about those deadly crashes. those stories, plus out of the public eye. what patriots owner robert kraft is doing to stop the video of his spaer encou from being releasedre the biz story behind this massive feball in the skies over l.a. feeling lucky? with no winner overnight,he powerball jackpot sky rockets. today aythursd march 21, 2019. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "today" withe savannah guth and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaz >> welcome to "today." thank you for joining us on this

thursday rning. if you checked your numbers and you didn't get them -- >> rolls over, closer to a lillion. >> that we this weekend. story.begin with our top president trump backing the release of the mueller report. our team has it all covered. we're going to start with nbc white house correspondent peter alexander. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. from this end ofni pennsyl avenue to the other, this town is anxiously awaiting speobal counselt mueller to deliver his final report to the attorney general. this couy happen v soon. there is obviously a ton a stake. with the investigation over shadowing the trump presidency since its early days. this morning president trump's >> no collusion, no collusion. i h we no ideahen it's going to be released. >> reporter: with anticipation growing that special counsel robert mueller could wrap up his report any day now, tid prt now says he wants it made public. >> i think it's ridiculous but want to see the report.

let it come out. let people see it. >> reporter: the mueller instigation was authorized two years ago by the president's own justice department. its mission, to investigate russian influence in the 2016 election andsi pe collusion between the trump campaign and russian officials. mueller's team has already indicted or received guilty pleas from at least 34 people including former personal lawyer michael con, former national security adviser michael flynn, and his former camignhairman paul manafort. theat allegions wide ranging, from making false statements to campaiance violations. so far there have been no charges alleging coordination betwn the campaign and russia. the president is accusing mueller of personal bias without offering any evidence. >> i know that he's conflicted and i know his best friend is comey who is a bad cop. >> reporter: despite president trump's relentless attacks,

majority of americans, six in ten, say the have confidence in the fairness of the investigation according to a new associated press poll. once the president receives the confidential report it will be up to william wab to decide how much is made public. house democrats have already signaled they may subpoena the report and possibly mueller, ar too, should decide to keep the report private. other focus of the investigation, did president trump obstruct justice? no matter what robert mueller finds, the white house is facing a series of looming investigations from capitol hill to the southern district of new york. the president insists that he is under attack trying to turn these relentlessnqries into a political advantage heading into his re-electioncampaign. >> peter alexander at the white house, thanks. joining , nbc legal analyst ari melber. >> we know the report csing

out eventually. i guess the question is in what form? is it goingo a multipage thing, a one-sheeter? what do we expect. >> there are four options here. the first options usikely further indictments. the second is no report at allo and indictments. they don't have to release anything. i think the third option i short report. that's the most likely thing, not giant boxes and boxes people may remember from the clint investigation, but something really spare. the fourth option would be a longer report. the starr report wased hun of page, iran contra was hundreds of pages. it's unlikely under the rules. there's talk of having mueller come and testify. once he says i'm done with my work which people expect to happen any day now, any moment o how does any of the material, the underlyingn investigatecome public if at all? >> it's such a great question

and one i think the country is going to get reallyte inter in. the rules don't require that anything go public. the rules only require that he tells congress through the stice department that he's done, and if they disagree on any big cls -- for example, if mueller wanted to charge someone and overridden by doj, congress would know and itight leak. anything else is going for the doj to decide. >> what is mueller actually looking for? >> they are investigating three things that we know about. was there a conspiracy in the election between russians and americans trying to help donald trump? was there obstruction or other crimes arising out of that investigation? number three, whatlse did paul manafort do to break the law? when mueller found that, he carefully went back to doj and id i found thesether crimes. should i handle them or someone else.

they said you go ahead. >> there have been other things mueller has comeac ss, his investigative team has come farmed out they have to other offices. maybe it belongs in the southern district of new york or elsewhere. >> exactly. those probes could continue. most of the country is divided into where the crime happened. bob mueller -- his jurisdiction eventually ends and he'll farm erything else remaining to those locations. >> you said something interesting. you think the indictment phase of this is over, you don't expect further indictments? >> as i like to say, i have no idea. >> i was going to hold you to it. >> but we have not seen in the clues, the grand jury required for indic has not been active. if there are no more indictments, we're talking about reports and information, not a higher escalationf what he's

found. >> ari melber, we'll be needing chu. thank you very meantime the president is facing new criticism from both sides of the aisle after unleashing fresh attacks against late senator john mccain. nbc's kristen welker has that story. good morning. >> hi hoda, good morning to you. there is a growing course of repuicans who are criticizing president trump for escalating his attacks against the late senator john mccain. overnight the mccain institute releasing this list of mccain's accomplishments. the top of the list his service in vietnam. for his past, president trump remains dunfa despite the fact he's having a one-sided argument. president trump digging in in his attacks against the late senator john mccain. >> i endorsed him at his request and i gave him the kind of funeral he wanted. i don't care about this. i didn't get thank you. that's okay. >> reporter: nearly seven months

from his death from anor aggressive of brain cancer, the president unleashing a five-minute rant o wednesday, zeroing in on giving the fbi the unverified steel dossier which allegedly links predent trump russia. >> john mccain got it and heal didn't me. he turned it over to the fbi hopingut to me in jeopardy. >> reporter: again lashing out at his no vote to repeal and replace obamacare. >> mccain didn't get the job done g for oreat vets at the va. >> reporter: overnight the mccain institu firing back, listing mccain's accomplishments, arguing he fought to improve health care for american veterans and voted macare bill o

because it failed to have a replacement. >> he would think it was hilarious that our president was so jealous of him that he wasna doming the news cycle in well.as >> reporter: now a growing number of those within the president's own party a saying enough. >> it's deplorable what he said. it will be deplorable seven months from now if he says again and i will continue to speak out. >> reporter: democrats werehe scathing in criticism. >> to have a president, a commander-in-chief over so many courageous soldiers serving for us, to see the way he talks about a war hero who is dead now, to me that is almost repugnant or unacceptable. >> reporter: it is worth noting a number of republicanrs lawma up for re-election have stayed silent. overnight, the senate's top democrat chuck sumer tweeting out he plans to introduce legislation that would rename a

emajor senate off building after the late senator john mccain, a man he called an american hero. hoda and savannah. >> kristen welker in d.c., thank you. craig joins the table, breakin news overnight. the federal aviation administration is placing a high software upgrade that boeing is expected to annoue on, this mail fies are suing the aircraft facturer. nbc's tom costello has been following this story. tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. 387 boeing max planes remain grounded worldwide. even when boeing pushes through the upgrade you just discussed, that's not going to get this plane in the air. we have multiple investigations on how the faa approved this plane for flight. congress is launching thhearing. morning the relationship between the faa and boeing is

der intense scrutiny. the fbi, a federal grand jury, congress and the o.t. al inspector genre investigating because it's understaffed and underfunded, congress allowed the faa to delegate somets of own inspection authority to boeing itself. the southwest airline pilots union which flies more 737 maxes than any airline says it, too, ha concerns. >> we feel with all the visibility with the governmental investigations as well as the investigations on capitol hill, that will lead to wherever it needs to lead, and we fully elpport these investigations. >> investigatorsve a single sensor on the lion airplane that crashed in innesiaed bad data, it forced the nose of the plane down as pilots fought to pull it ba up. that plane crash shows similar

characteristicsing in ethiopia. u.s. airlines continued to fly the plane until last week. the airline insist they were looking at hard data, not profit issues. americanays during 46,000 flight hours and 18,000 flights, it never experienced similar problems. united says the data showed the planas safe and united pilots agree. the ceo of southwest says r the onl factor we were thinking about was safety. >> i think right nowoth the faa, boeing and possibly even the united states a world leader in aviation have all taken a hi credibilitiwise and reputationwise. boeing under scrutiny, attorney brian cav tech represents 12 families suin boeing a u.s. courtroom. >> my clients a pleaing with

not only boeing but the u.s. government and the international air not ticks community not to put the plane out until we know it's 100% safe. >> there's apparently a news conference just this morning about the lion aircraft. what did we find out? >> reporter: indonesian authorities are saying they went to the faa and tong bo went into a simulator to recreate the doomed flight to figure out what wa going on. they acknowledge the pilots were soonfused about what was happening, they were pulling out a pilot's flight manual to look for answers. the day before, the exact same plane involved in a veryimilar incident but the pilots were he e to figure out what problem was and deactivate the computer system called mcas. they sayhe investigation will take many more months. >> tom costello at reagan national. >>tenew zealand's prime min taking swift action following terror attacks on two mosques

there. she's announced a ban on almost all semi-automatic assault r fles. nbc's kmmons has more on that. >> folks are truly stunned by how quickly new zealand is moving to change its gun laws. th overnight announcement getting attention from both sides of the gun date in the u.s. some insisting the two countries are just not the me. 36 minutes of terror that changed new zealand's history. now the country's prime minister promising overnight laws will change. time for the mass andas availability of these weapons must end, and tayhe will. 50 lives lost. the gunman heavily armed with semi-automatic weapons, killing indiscriminately. less than a week later, new zealand planning to ban the guns he used. >> new zealand will ban all

military style semi-automatic weapons and all assault rifles. will ban all high capacity magazines. >> reporter: the new law will take effect i just three weeks and includes a buy back scheme that could costou thery $138 million. but there's widespread and bipartisan support. >> i hope the gun laws can stop it from happening again. >> you can't control the people so you've got to contr the law. >> mass shootings have sparked intens debate for years but nothing like new zealand's acti congresswoman nra spokeswoman tweeting the u.s. isn't new zealand. while they do not have inalienable right to bear arms and self defend, we do. overnight, more of the 50 funerals were held amidrars

and grieving and tough action. here's more of that dramatic new zealand plan. amnesty for folks to han i all military-style semi-automatic weapons and all capacity magazines. perhaps theost impactful part is how quickly this law will come into force, april 11, three weeks from now. >> keir simmons in t london,nk you. if you're waking up and hope ou won that massive powerball drawing, we've got bad news for you. thu still have to go to work today. 's because nobody hit the big prize. the good news, jackpot for saturday's drawing has grown to $625 million. we here lines at the convenient store on saturday could be a real doozy. >> as the number goes up, we all want to get in and reduces your

chances. daily daily is in for al. good morning. >> we have spring to fill in across the northeast. we have winter storm watches in effectoss upstate new york, vermin and new hampshire. flood watches and f coastalod watches in effect as the rain moves in from the south. heaviest rain falling across virginia and north carolina. this is going to strengthen into a decent coastal storm that will produce significant winds on the back side of it, too. the rain fills in through virginia, maryland, delaware, washington, d.c., new york and neiajersey, into pennsylv boston heavier rain closer to midnight. the snow will arrive through upstate new york and into central and northern new england later tonight into early tomorrow morning as well. lo at the winds on the back side of this, we could see gusts as high as 35 to 45 miles per hour. the reason we have the flood watches, we' looking about two to maybe three inches of rain if it falls really quickly in short period of time, that could

lead to brief flooding. coastal flooding because of the giant moon out there, that will affect the high tides. the winds will increase ock the ide of the storm. once the rain and snow ends, that's when we could see the gusts from 35 to 45 miles per hour. that could cause airporton dela saturday. as for the snow, most of the it will fall in the higher elevations. we could see a foot up to two fe over 6,000 feet. that's a look at the weather across the country. g we'll to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds.

good morning everybody. i'm stormeam 4 meteorologist chuck bell. an area of low pressure near raleigh,na north caro that will bring a tremendous amount of rain over the next 12 to 18 hours. already pockets of hea rain along i-66 in northern virginia. rainfalltotals, one to two inches of rain today. a flood watch is in place until midnight tonht. temperaturewise in the low to mid 40s. highs in the low 50s. a lot of wind and aew more showers tomorrow. >> that's your latest forecast. >> thank you, dylan. coming up, the latest on the prostitution sting involving patriots owner robert krhit. move to block the videos from becoming public as the spa's formers owner i speaking out for the first timo c news. how the university of southern cal's new president is responding to the admissions scandal and what we're learning about the accused mastermind behind the scheme. first this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, ellen puts david letterman in the hot seat. and craig goes back to school, literally, top soak u the march mad -guys, i want you to meet someone. this is jamie. you're going to be seein a . -i'm not calling him "dad." -oh, n-no. -look, [sighs] i get it. some new guy comes in helping your mom bundle and save with progressive, but hey, we're all in this tother. right, champ? -i'm getting more nuggets. -how about some carrots? you don't want to ruin your dinner. -you're not my dad -that's fair. overstepped. -that's fair. wolfs, the wild ancestors of your dog. they share many traits like a love for meat. so grain free blue wilderness is made with more of the meat they desire. try blue wilderness, because he's wild inside. forget injections and look up to 5 years younger in 12 weeks with no7 laboratories new line correcting booster serum.

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♪ make u say oh my god my drop drop ♪ ♪ make you're jaw drop make u say oh my god ♪ 7:26 is your time now on this thursday, march 21st,2019. good morning everyone. i'm eun yang. >> i'm aon gilchrist. developing this morning, a 3-month-old girl is dead after bein found unconscious in a southeast washington home over the weekend. d.c. police say she suffered blunt force trauma to thehead. the medical examiner is calling her death a homicide. no arrests have been made. a forme bristow, virginia preschool teacher will be sentenced for sexually abusing his students. bureau chief julie carey will be at the hearing.s leheck with jack taylor and your first 4 traffic. good morning, jack. >> good morning, eun. we've had accidents. it's wet, not good.

95 northbouns the del out of daley t city moved over tohe shoulder. 395 in a delay northbound after king street we had a crash. slow all the way to the 14th street. accident cleanupnl has two lanes getting by on iound 14. it's caused an early delay. not a great morning rush. tonight on news 4, the diagnosis no one is ever prepared to hear, cancer. doreen gentzler will show a new free app that will show tfficult and confusing questions fromhe comfort of your own home. >> we'll check your forecast next stay with us welcome to fowler, indiana.

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mo the afternoon and evening hours. the afternoon commute today will be a rainy oone. lo wind around here for tomorrow and blustery wther lasting through saturday as well.

ght ♪cing in themoon good song. ♪ dancing in the moonlight >> how pretty is that? the super moon. the third one and the final one the year, the first time a full moon has landed this close to the first day of spring. how beautiful i that. >> a hittalst king harve singing to us. a greatsong >> a spring moon. >> we'll begin with a collect of today's headlines. anticipation is building in washington as the nation awaits the release of robert mueller's report when that times, president trump says he wants it made public. the mueller investigation was authoriz nearly two years ago by the justice department. its mission, to investigate russian influence in the 2016 election and possible collusion between president trump, that

campaign and russian officials. mueller's team has already indicted and received guilty pleas from at least 34 people including personal lawyer michael cohen and former national security adviser miael flynn. > residents in deer park, texas, have been told toin sheltelace once again today over concerns about air quality following a four-day chemical fire there. that fire reignited on wednesday sending a massive ball of flames of smoke into the air. the fire is out but now officials are a concerneder detecting the chemical compound benzine in the air. officials continue do monitor n. the situat it was the talk of the town in los angeles, a mysterious bright light streaki across the evening sky. there it is there. social medit lit up pictures and video of what appeared to be ame or. this lasted longer than the typical celestial event. it turns out the whole thing was

a stunt by the red bull air force. the team j frpd a helicopter 000 feetbove the city and dove down in w customg suits. the los angeles police department took to twitter to ease fea saying psa, a meteor did not crash into downtown los angeles. and no, it's not an alien invasion. patriots owner robert kraft and other defen fighting to keep a key piece of evidence out of the public eye, this as the woman who once owned the spa speaks out. nbc's kerry sanders joins us with more on this story. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. billionaire nflatriots owner robert california hkraft has da teal. his lawyers arguing his the

deos taken allegedly of the encounter should remain secret. this morning new england patriots owner robert kraft and other men arrested in a prostitution investigation are asking a florida court to block the release of hidden camera videos and othervidence in the case. attorneys for craft and more an a dozen defendants filing a motion seeking a protective order wednesday in an effort to prevent any public access to the evidence gathered during the investigation. authorities rigged surveillance cameras inside the day spa in jupiter, dozens of men last month. the court filing saying certain videos depict the defendants engaged in allegedexual acts and should not be made public. kraftac f two counts of misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution. he pled not guilty and denied any illegal activities.

he's bee offered a deal to avoid prostitution. kraft's attorney won't comment on whether or not the 77-yeaouold billionaire w accept a plea deal. sources close to the state attorney's offic says they haven't heard from kraft's lawyers but add it's common for prosecuto listen to counteroffers on plea deals. meanwhile, the former owner o the ohids of asia day spa. lee cindy yang sold the spa seven years ago. she's not been charged in connection with the prostitution acvestigation and denies any involvement in illtivity. but she's making headlines after this selfie with president trump at a super bowl party recently surfaced yang sat down with nbc's cynthia mcfadden. >> you're a devoted donald trump supporter. >> yes. >> reporter: she said the last few weeks have been anightmare, about whether she was selling access to the president.

yang created a company that appeared to offer access to the president's mar-a-lago resort and maybe t even president himself. yang says flon of it is true and denies she even knows the president. the white house has said the president does not know yang. >> i'm proud of america. i love. americ i love our president. so i don't do anything wrong. >> so kraft, kerry, is trying to bloc release of the hidden camera videos. the question is what does florida law say? what do you think a judge will do in this case? f> reporter: florida has some the nation's strongest public record laws. typically evide would eventually become public. craft's lawyers are arguing thae the pol illegally placed those surveillance cameras inside the day spa toeg with. so this is sort of a fruit of the poisonous tree and the videos themselves, if the cameras were illegally there, should be erad and never

released. ultimately, as you noted, it judge. up to a >> kerry sanders inpa weslm beach, florida, thank you. for t weather, dylan is in for al roker. >> good morning. rain on both coasts. more rain starting to move into the san francisco area. this will move onshore as we go through the day also in the southwest. we have areas of heavier rain downx.ear phoe this will move eastward. as it moves into the middle of the country tomorrow, it is going toean a lot. even though we're still dealing with the flooding throughka nebrnd into iowa, that will continue to remain an issue. e additional rain should not exacerbate the problem too much. it's still t snowmelt and everything falling into the rivers. heavy rain through virginia will make its way into the northeast, moving into the boston area by the time we get to midnight night. lake-effect snow will become a big issue on the back side of lhis storm. and it w continue to weaken as it moves into the plain states. that's a look at the weather across the country. here is a peek out your window.

>> good morning. m storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. clouds have rolled in overnight. rain moving in as well. pockets of heavy rain are expected from lunchtime through the evening commute. going to be a day-long deluge on heaviest of which is along interstate 66 towards front royal. more moderate across southern ryland as well e. flood watch until midnight tonight. temperatures low to mid 40s. barely above 50 today. very windy tomorrow. >> that's your latest forecast. thank yo dylan. coming up, new concerns over the nation's opioid crisis. we're going to meteorologist some of the incredible people working on the front lines right w in the fight against fentanyl. also ahead, important information for families on an alarming n risk tied to commo adhd medications for teens. on pop start, the burning questions that ellen had for late night legend david letter,n. neust who is william singer? new insight this morning into

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story. good oomorning. >> morning. some who know william singer describe him as acharming, charismatic guy. others tell a story about thema who prosecutors say is the mastermind behind a widespread scheme of cheating and fraud. years befor he became the face of operation varsity blues, he wa a sacramento area consultant helping local kids like kim perry prep for thes.a.t.s, she's stunned he's accusedor of straightening the multimillion dollar scanned. >> k whow because he never struck me as the type of person ine or uld ever cross a break a rule, let alone a law. >> reporter: prosecutors say singch paid off c and crooked test proctors to help wealthy parents get their kids into elite schools, all while running hisbusiness. tmz captured this video.

game.is is a just realize this is a game. hae thing i see on a daily basis are amazing,s going on in people's homes across the country. >> reporter: calornia high schooleacher carlgrubau says singer's program was popular but raised a lot of eyebrows, with one parent rejecting singer because he wanted $50,000. >> i think he could take anybody's money if he could get them in what he calls the side door. the ends justify the mean. he's morally bankrupt. > reporter: singer is now cooperating with authorities, even wearing a wire to expose dozens of ove like isakson whose oldest daughter got into ucla as a soccer player even though prosecutors say she neder pl competitively. so far the isaksons have declined to comment. one of the schools is the university of siathern

califo plagued by scandals on wednesday, usc welcomed a new president who promises t tackle the school's challenges. >> this is going to be all our , un when you get down to admissions trust is so important. everybodyants to believe that we are doing the right thing, bringing people to our universities. >> we know rick singer pled guilty. likelihood that others do the same? >> legal experts say prosecutors might om offering deals to of those charged right now in the window for accepting those deals might be a small one. many of those named i indictment are expected back in court next month. coming up next, our guide to march madns. we are going to reveal our bracket picks becausee are experts -- well, maybe one at the table might be. >> no, you are. >> coming up right after this. ♪ werk it now

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carson joins our table. the ncaa tournament kicks into high gear today. it's time when we get to reveal our picks. >> that's right. let'ousee. who do guys have winning it all. savannah? >> every year i pick the university of arizona. >> you won last year. >> well, they're not in the tournament. i pickedn wofford i solidarity with craig. >> i got hokey, hokey, hokey eye, tech, tech, vti. i think they're going all t way, baby. >> i have vt and wofford in the final. >> al has duke beatingofford the final. >> you convinced everyone. >> apparently not >>everyone. ick of doing this whole bracket thing with my heart. i want to win it. i'm going duke. obvious.

>> sorry, craig, i have wofford iavirst gounro withd. seton ha. i have lsu going all the way. >> why lsu? >> i don't know. it seemed to be what was left when my brain stopped circling things. >> lsu was my second pick. >> because of new orleans. >> yeah. >> seems le the less you know about babt the more likely you areno do well the brackets. >> last year, we were looking at our stats. savannah won the bracket based on points. she out performed everybody at the table. >> what ds that mean though? >> your strategy was? >> emotion, pure ikotion. i l this, that has pretty flowers. ind of thing. >> i hope that serves us well. if you won last year and picked the tiriers last year. >> but my team didn't win. >> do you pick yrorses that way? i like that pretty horse. >> like they pre names. i always pick west. what about you?

>> i have my teams from heart, louisiana teams, virginia tech. >> belmont won. st. johns is out last night. more on trn tent just ahead. if i had known you were sh a wofford fan -- >> wofford terriers, i went back on pop start, amy schumer gets personal. what she revealed to seth meyers. first a check of your local news and weather. nt that is connected to each person in your family tree. i learned that my ten times great grandmother is george washington's aunt. within a few days i went from knowing almost nothing to holy crow, i'm related to george washington. this is my cousin george. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com

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7:56 is your time on this thursday, march 21st, 2019od orning everyone. i'm eun yang. let's get right to wtop's jack taylor for a check on your commute in first 4 traffic. good morning, jack. >> hey, eun, good morning. a wall of traffic coming out of edsel road on 395 to the 14th streidge. you see traffic moving across the bridge. that's good news. the crash cleared t from two left lanes. getting there 95 northbound, the accident at 644 is on the shoulder. delays back in dale city. l locales near 295 and national harbor, crash on the shoulder but we'till slow. eun, back to you. >> jack, thank you. we'll take a break and check your forecast next. stay with us.

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very busy couple of days inh the wea department. heavy rain today. as this storm pulls by tomorrow, very strong winds expected for friday afatrnoon. blustery weather lingers into saturday. today it's all about the rain. one to two inches expected today. flood watches have been posted, going until midnight. mid 40s. temperaturewise we'll stay in the low 50s for highs today and tomorrow.

it's >> 8 it's:00 on "today." coming to a close? as anticipation grows over the release the president is saying he wants it to be made public. >> i think i want to see the t'report. let it come out. let peoeee it. operation hope, how one community is working together to help stop the rise of opioids in their city >> people are dying every day. so it's like an active shoner situathere this is taking lives, ande have got to take action. >> and why they'll s at nothing to help those battling addiction. and hoo dreams. march madness revs up today with 64 teams battling it out to bust

some brkets. we'll get a firsthand look at how the madness is already takingco over one ege campus as craig heads back to school. >> can you lead us in a woffo cheer. >> say what? >> hey, go woffor >> i like that. >> today march st, 2019. ♪ >> from napa idaho, go horned frogs! >> grandma is turning 80. >> on the "today" show. >> kpiking off my bucket list. >> celebrating two years of marriage on "today." >> changing trio from maine. >> -- from iowa. >> we have a winner.

>> welcome back to "today" on this thursday morning. a little wet outside. but our crowd is hanging tough. howe cut was that group? >> it's raining outside where you do your az#mytodaypla, on instagram or twitter.'l we find you. we want to get right to your news at 8:00. ne focus is the finish line for special counsel robert at mueller's mn russia investigation. nbc correspondent peter alexander joins us with thehi latest on one. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. washington anxiously waiting for special counsel robert mueller toinally hand over that final report to the attorney general. that could happen any day. reen as he blasted it as ridiculous, thedent is calling for it to be made public, but also still trying to discredit mueller, suggesting

the president's election in 2016 disqualifies an investigation. this comes as a growing chorus of repubcans is criticizing the president for his unrelenting attacks on the late senator johmccain, the latest that he was never properly thanked for mccain's funeral. oneal leading republicanng the president's insults deplorable, arguing the country deserves better. hoda? peter alexander on the white house lawn, thank you. less than one week after the country's deadliest mass shooting, new zealand announcing a ban on semi-automatic and es assault ri she expects the new laws to be in place by next month. the st week's terror attack killed 50 people at two mosques. high capacity magazines also will be band. the prime minister promised a gun buyback program.

the country's main opposition party supports theban. > many people rely on stimulants to treat their adhd. a new study ingl "the new d journal of medicine" links two common amphetamines with a higherf risk psychosis in teenagers. dr. natalie azar is here. this is a scary headline. what's the biggest concern here? >> it is a scary headline, but there's a lot of usefulio inform people can take away. since 2007 the fda has required a label on these drugs, that they may increase the risk of psychosis. what we don't have a lot of information in on is comparison between different kinds of stimut stimulants. lad a group taking the amphetamine group, adderall, for ample, and the other group prescribed ridlin and they found the rate was higher with the adderall group, about two times higher than the rate in the

ridlingroup. a small difference, 0.2%, 0.1%, it'sll but still meaningful. >> mostly affected teens. if you're a parent who hars been advised to have your child start taking these medicines, what should you ? >> importantly, you raise a good point. the study group was teenagers and young adults, so between the ages of 13 and th25. were new prescriptions. that's the key take lohome. for those doing well o ntheaemsg them. we can't understatement how beneficial these drugs are. >> if making a decision tay and your kid would go on it, would you say no?ld >> i wot say no. what it does is opens up a line of t communication betwe health care provider and the patient to say, look, the risk is there, it is small. we can't predict who is a greatest risk for having this happen. but awareness of it and isntially looking for sig

very important. dr. natalie, thank you very much. heavy rainfall is causing an invasion of toxic t onchtoads ih florida. when they feel threatened, get this, they secrete a toxic substance tha can irritate skin, be lethal to pets. everyone knows i do have a fea of frogs. >> i was going to say, why are you doing that story. >> i could barely g through it. remember when you were a kid und got the present you deems of. ere over the moon. here is exactly how it went for one little girl. >> her second birthday, she got elmo sneakers. elmo, of, course is her

favorite. when she saw those bright red sneakers. when she sawnhe logo the side, the little eyes, she went crazy. that is happiness right there. >> nice boost. just ahead, ellen putting david letterman in the hot sea with som burning questions for the late night icon. >> first kate snow with the story of healing and hope from a man helping others bea opioid addiction. a struggle he knows all too well. >> why are you so emotional? i see it. >> i had a lot of help. >> is it that you feel like you might not be here without them? >> yeah. >> a story you don't want to miss. but first, these messages. ♪ make u say oh my god my drop drop ♪ ♪ make you're jaw drop make u say oh my god ♪

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oh...i needed this. no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on our car insurance with geico. we could have been doing this a long time ago. so, you guys staying at the hotel? yeah, we just got married. oh ho-ho! congratulations! yeah, i'm afraid of commitment... and being boiled alive. oh, shoot. believe it. geico could save you 15% or more on car insurance. that guy's the worst. we are back with our series badly add ic we're backith o series battling addiction. the rise of the deadly drug fentanyl, the death rate from overdoses started doubling every year. by16 more than 18,000 americans died because of this one powerfuldrug. >> nbc senior national correspondent kate b snow hasn covering this story. she's here with what one community is doing. >> fentanyl is a synthetic drug,

50 times more potent than heroin. it's the potency that draws people to tanrous opioid. in some communities fentanyl has really taken over. we went to portland, maine, to meet a dedicated p group ofple trying to beat it. >> this isn't the first time vaughn hanson has fnd himself in a police station answering questions. >> are you still on probation or anything? >> no. >> reporter: he's 51 years old, just out of prison. this time he's gone to the ain, police headquarters voluntarily, there to get help throu operati hope. it allows anyone with substance abuse issues to c te in get assistance without having to worry about going to jail. >> i've od'd a few times. it's part of my addiction. i'm not proud ofow it. >>any times? >> five, six. i don't know. very vaughn used torame houses. now he hops from one friend's couch to the switched from heroin and

fentanyl. >> became addicted to heroi and you want something different. >> the next strongerthing. yes. people say people are dying from that. that's when you say, well, it must be good. >> reporter: chief robby molten's department launched force he says he's never seen anything like fentanyl. >> people are dying every day. shootere an activ situation where this is taking lives and we have got to take action. we can't sit bac and pla and talk about what we're going to do. we've got to take action. >> reporter: crime analyst jamie higgins spearheads operation hope. personal.e mission is her brother devin had been in recovery in the fall of 2016 when t siblings attended a rally for recovery together. er>> we super excited to be celebrating. he died the next ght. >> the next night. from>>entanyl? yes. we got his toxicology --

>> must have been crushing for you. >> i was here writing thank you notes for operation hope when his friend called and that's how i found out. >> reporter: jamie is devoted to helping others avoid similar heartbreak. she helpsn connect vau with a detox facility. one of the centers she works with is in nearbynd po, mile has only 16 beds, and unti recently was the only non-profit facility in this state tot acc people without insurance. bob fowler is the executive director. >> not unusual for us to turn away 100 people in a given month because our beds are full. >> reporter: dr. mary dowd also rks atmilestone. >> most of what we're getting at maine is fentanyl even though patients they it's heroin. i think about % of the overdose death in maine due to opiates are due to fentanyl. >> just the

anxiety, danger. >> reporter: bobby was addicted to fentanyl, clean for two years and works atto mil as a peer counselor helping others put their lives on track. >> how much times did you come here? >> 22. >> he's lost his father and brother to opioid addiction. he found people who care about m, an adoptive family that bears the burden together. >> why are you soemotional? i see it. >> i had lot of help zblp is it that you feel you might not be here without them >> yeah, yeah. sorry. >> i'm so glad you're here. >> so is dr. dowd. for her, bobby's success is a miracle. at one point she wrote a poem about his struggle. >> 22, fourth overdose, narcan five times before they got him to the er. his chest still hurts from the

cpr. he knows how lucky he is. >> lucky to be back, to be upright, sensible, safe now fve days, maybe seven. then what? back to the res, back to the shelter, back to the dealer, back to the shadowlands. >> that was your life. >> yeah, was. bobby is so strong. i'm crying here. things arehanging in maine right now. the new governor signed an executive order to distribute 35,000 doses of that overdose and dote narcan across the state. they're hiring hundreds of recovery coaches. vaughn, the man we introduced you to at the beginning of ouro we mentioned him when he was just getting help. he's in recovery, staying at a so sober living facility. he even sent a thank you card to operatio>> hope. you need places where someone can go without fear of being arrested andtanow they can the rehab process.

>> really making a difference in a lot of communities where there's that no judgment, we're just going to help you. >> 50 times stronger than heroin. my dad was dying of bone cancer. he wore a fentanyl patch on his back for pain. >> the legit plat use. >> i wear gloves. they say take that sticky that it comes on, put it in the crash and tak the trashout. >> police are having to wear gloves when they deal with fentanyl. if the touch it without protection, they can overdose. >> kate, thata you forng on this story. >> good work. dylan, we'll send it over to you. >> yes. the rain is startinge ut her new york city. we are going to continue with rain throughout the day. we have flood watches in effect. youoarther north, we have winter storm watches because it will be cold enougia espy in the higher elevations for significant snowfall. the heaviest of the rai falling across virginia right now,

moving into maryland. delaware will see theea rain shortly. we'll likely see airport delays because of this heavy rain especially new york, philadelphia. boston you don't get going with the sto l untiler tonight. winds will be extremely strong on the bac side of this storm. so friday into saturday, that's where we could see gusts u to 25 to 35 miles per hour through the mid atlantic. farthe north up across new england, we could end uph w 45-mile-per-hour gusts. as for snow, especially above 6,000 feet, we could end up with two feet of snow. elsewherend across central northern new england, looking at nine to 12 inches. that's a look at the across the country. here is a peek out your window. >> rain moving into the area already. some of it very heavy from frederick, maryland, leesburg, virginia to winchester. more moderate to heavy rain in southern maryland. flood wates up until midnight tonight. temperatures only in the mid 40s around the city right now. afternoon temperatures will be

inhe upper 40s and low 50s. again, plan on a lot of rain for today. a passing shower tomorrow, but the biggest issue for tomorrow will be a very strong wind. >> if're heading out, don't forget to check us out on our u ihatricarson, nt time of the morning. >> "popstart." red nose day is coming up. kate mckinnon is taking part in the event toai fun money towards ending child poverty. we'll get a look at what the "snl" cast member does best, tell jokes. the video isd inten to be a tutorial to teach them how to tell jokes and make people laugh. >> an example of a joke that might work, forinstance, is -- i'm a comedian and i can't think of a joke. iot one. what creature is smarter than a talking parrot? a spelling bee. whoo, thank god.

i can go on. at do you call a fish with no eye? any guesses? it's fsh. what about this? what do you call two bananaex peels to the bed?rs slip whoa. >> classic jokes there tant the kiddoslearn. schools across the country participating in the joke-a-thon. the annual red nose day airs on nbc, always a great night, on may 23rd. amy schumer made a big entrance on "late night with seth meyern" shef sat dporting an abnormally large baby bump. she evnotually made it it was fake and changed outfits. when she returned seth asked out her newest netflix special and why she decided to open up about her husband, chris fisher's recent aism diagnosis. take a look. >> we both want to talk about it because it's been totally positive. i think a lot of peoplet res getting diagnosed even with

their children because of theom stigma that along with it. you're not diagnosed and they throw you out. hopelly you can get help, the tools we've been given have made hi life so muc better and our marriage and our life more manageable. i just wanted to people to not be afraid of that stigma. >> you talk about how he's -- he's incaple of lying which makes such a great quality for a >> yeah. he's here, and i came out right before, because i changed outfits. i was like, does this look okay? he's like, well, it's too la. >> a blessing and a curse. >> great they're being so open in sharing that experience. finally an episode airing today, david letterman joinsle degeneres on her talk show. for the first time ever lettman talking about how retirement is going and his son harry. during the game, burning questions when the formeralk show host really started to open up. >> who was your first crush?

>> a girl named suzy frakes. >> how old were you? >> eighth grade. >> have you seen her since? >> no. i have spoken to her. i was such a dumb [ bleep ] -- can i say that? >> yeah. >> i ruined it. i loved her all the way through high school. >> awe. >> i've done all right. besides your face, what body part do you look at most in the mirror? >> i tell youwhat, when you get to be my age, you get stuff on yourskin, especially out here av california. i more stuff taken off me than the discount tab at ralph's. >> tell us a lie you recently told. >> the guy at the hotel said, so, are youna taking and i

said yeahou >> can watch the full interview. eck your localin li. time for the clip today? here we go today. beenaiting for this one. while out for a walk, some people noticed as suspici creature lurking in the woods nearby. roll the tape. what could be there? branches starting to russell around. what could that possibly be? look at that? after an intense battle with the bushes, a dog emerges carrying what appears to the largest stick. he makes a run for it. claims it as hisown. is ing his exit he hits owner with the giant stick and charges forward keeping his eye on the prize. >> awesome. >> there yougo. glad that aired finally. >> me, too. it's >adorable. >>our ultimate guide to healthy knees at any age.

craig's triumphant return to wofford to check on his be loved in before tonight's opene the ncaa tournament. the team's head coach will be here. before the game? >> yes!

good morning everybody. 8:26 on this thursday, march 21st. gilchrist. >> let's take a look at the roads with jack taylor with our affirst 4 c. >> aaron, thanks. if you're heading out of old town towiod reagan nl airport, stick with route 1. nohbgw parkway closed. all traff is opped. 66 westbound, because it's in the 8:00 hour, 8, new cra blocks the right lane. 7 eastbound at hamilton and route9, a crash there blocks the left lane. back to you. >> jack, thank you. we'll have aou check on forecast when we come back. stay with us.

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heavy rain today. f they joinces tomorrow and intensify, we'll have a few more showers this afternoon. t it's goingo turn very windy around here. winds up near 50 miles per hour tomorrow. two inches of rain possible today.

t> we are back a 8:30. it's thursday mo rning, the 21st it's 8:30 on thursday morning, the 21st of march, 2019. this is world down syndrome day. something very special isg happenight now. two days ago, 21 runners from the nationan dndrome society embarked on the run for 1, a 250-mile run starting in washington, d.c., coming all the way here toew york city. there they are, in the home stretch as we speak. we wert to che them on as ty cross the finish line. this is about bringing awareness to down syndrome, to this community of people who are making such great strides. welcome home.

you've got runners, family, friends, supporters all here.t jamie jus finished her run. we are so happy to have you hereal first of how do you feel? you're not even out of breath. >> a little bit, but i'm too excited. >> congratulations. this is so incredible. i know you ran for your daughter. what did this effort mean to you? why aree ou htoday? >> i'm here to celebrate down syndrome and the opportunities that they deserve, my chd, my teammates' children, everybody out there. due to the inspirati of the ndss and sarah our ceo and president. >>alen gave you a big kiss. she's so proud of you. >> i missed my girl. >> i bet you have. you have to tell me logistically, it's a 48-hour run, you start in d.c., you come to new york.

how do you sleep? >> in intervals. it's not easy. in a bus. at any given moment you'll get back up and go out and run. >> jalen, i knoro you're of your mommy. she's amazing. thank you so much. today is down syndrome day. we've got more including an essay i wrote about my uncle pierce on today.com. thank you, sarah. greatjob. >> a cause near and dear to savannah this morning. ve>> cool. o finish the race in the rain. >> pretty cool. way to go, guys. coming up in a few minutes, march madnessas officiay arrived. it has absolutely taken over the city of spartanburg, south carolina, home of those be loved wofford terriers, getting ready for tonight's game. i went bac to my alma mater,

spent more time in the library than i d all four years at wofford. we'll send some good vibes, talk to head coach and the teep's star who was just described by "usa tay" this morning as this year's steph curry. >> really can't wait. >> when is their game? >> tonight, 9:40. >> y wanted to wake them up at the crack of dawn. av they're going to take a nap. if you h problems with your knees, great dr. jordan metzel will go over problems you might have at any age and offer lief. superstar mckayla shiffrin is here. she's opening upom about sething very personal to her. ouble st, dylan doing duty. a check of the weather? >> chilly, rainy, not aspice ng day. that's for sure. we are going to continue with some of that cooler weather for the weekend. on saturday we are looking at very strong winds, especially

across new england where they could gust0 to 45 miles per hour. tempertlures will be a le below average, but the sun will return. rain moves into the central plains. it doesn't look like we'll s a lot of rain. more or less showers, isolated m thunders mountain snow on sunday through the rockies. those showers and storms will slowlyove east, keeping temperatures on the cooler side. it does look nice and mild up and down the east coast. close to 60 in new york city, per 60s and lower 70s across the southeast. now here is a pee out your window. >> right here at home it is cloudy and raining routside. thn is heavy in places line winchester, virginia, toward fredricksburg, up towards waldorf and la plata. flood watch in place untilig mi tonight. it will be a chilly one outside today. low to mid 40s through most o the area. even 30s across parts of the shenandoah valley. afternoon highs today,pper 40s and low 50s. one to maybe as much as two inche of rain possi today and strong winds will be blowing

tomorrow. >> so spring has officially sprung. we're celebrating with a sneak peek atnn macy's aual flower show. get ready. this year's show is out of this world.ic macy'spresid producer of the flower show is here tell us about it. last year we were whisked away into thi magical fai tale. this year we're going into space. >> going into outer sace. this a fun time, a fantasy world. that's what the flower show is all about. we gathered inspiration from a planet afar and brought it into the store. we've24th to april 7th got it in three different cities, chicago, new york and san francisco. so we're really excited. >> this reminds me of little shop of horrors. we have a huge venus fly trap herend it's interactive, right? >> it is. we have these photo opportunities i the store. really celebrate spring. >> this one doesn't move, right?

>> no, it doesn't move. >> i w get out anyway. we've got these awesome pods. what is going on here? >> we have a fantastic partnership with f.i.t. in new york as well as columbia in the other markets to really work with some students to come up with designs that really play off of the flor show theme and marry that fashion and flower show which is what macy's is all about. thes are f.i.t. students done with beautiful fabric. itamazing, quite exquisite. >> they're beautiful. and all the flowers at the tase of i go along. >> you'll see these in the store in new york. there are actuallm eight of t that are done. really quite beautiful. >> i love this infinity mirror thing going on. >> yes, another photo opportunity. you can come inside, take aot ph and get a sense of it going on forever and ever. >> which is so fun. un course, you need the instagram oppoies. if it didn't happen on instagram, it didn't happen. >> exactly. the whole show is a photo

moment. a lot of beautiful flowers. a lot of people coming to visit. we have to celebrate ouring. >> if had to put a number on it, how many flowers or just plants are involved in this flower show? >> hundreds of thousands of flowers andividual bulbs, so many. too many to count. >> in new york, chicago andan francisco? >> yes, absolutely. >> susan, thank you so much. you can catch the macy's flower show starting this sunday. it lasts through april 7th. the rain picked up just in te for t end of this. >> dylan, thank you. up next, a firsthand look at how march madness has absolutely taken over thes camf our alma mater, wofford college. a w of the fighting terriers will join us live ahead of our school's biggest game ever. first this is "today" on nbc. [ ding ] show me the crown.

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it's it's 8:39. if march madness is wrg, we

don't want to be right. >> ncaa tournament round of 64 tips off in a few hours. as craig has mentioned on more than one occasion, he's alln on his wofford terriers. >> a small school, about 1,600 stunts students. the basketball team is mighty. we're going to talo wofford's head coach and star. i went back to campus to check on things ahead of tonight'sig game. >> when the wford n's team marches onto the hardwood tonight, that won't be alone. i've made no secret ofy support for the mighty terriers. >> the only team in the country undefeated in conference play. >> don't get cocky. >> i've gotten the whole family fired up about mylmmater. small colleges have captivated the country before in the remember butler, bcu, don't

forget about davidson, they had a guy name stephcurry. loyola chicago, headr sis jean. >> does it boost admissions, applications? >> our applications haveeen increasing dramatically ove trht to see the same trend next year. >> we fou a lot of true believers on d'woff campus in south carolina. >> you cry at the game? >> ty want it s badly. they work so hard. i know h badly they want this. >> you're a cheerleader. >> yes i am. >> lead us in the cheer. >> hey, go wofford, get up and yell go wofford. >> i like that, yeah. for most of wofford's 1,600 terms, midterms have become a real distraction. >>here's a movement afoot on

campus tol can classes on thursday. i talked to the president of the college. the movement is not going well. >> while on campus, i took a stroll downemory lane. >> this is marsh hall, this is where i lived, freshman dorm. it w it's co-ed now. >> hello. >> is this your room? >> yes. i've been waiting on you. not creepy at all. this used to be my room. this was my side. this is socool. this is a lot nic actually. i left a message for her roommate who is in cl as. right, perfect. >> headed to the gym to catch the team last practice before heading to cksonville. fletcher magee is the team's star sharp t shooter,ee baskets away from breaking the college career record for three-pointers. >> how aware are you of the

>>citement that surrounds this team? think you're pretty aware of it just because the students and the community have bn so supportive.>> coach mike young c cameron jackson one of the best centers wofford has ever had. >> what is it about thi particular squad that makes it so special? >> we're so close. we love being around each other. practices are fun. we look forward to coming in and just working out, being around r.ch ot i think that makes -- the chemistry shows a lot onhe court. >> when schools like ours make it to the big dance and get to shine on that national stage, what does it mean? >> itn gives us opportunity to tell a great story, you know. we've gotigh character guys and they all graduate. they just happen to be really good basketball players. >> reporter: they say you can ever go home again. but for me,ry time i return to wofford, it's a homecoming. >> ne job. let's go to jacksonville. >> there's that terrier.

joining us now from jacksonville, a few of the wofford terriers including head coach mike young, seniorua fletcher magee. good morning, guys. >> good morning, guys. hope you all are well. >> coach, let me start with you, and thanks forg wak up. carson is concerned that this is going to affect you guys on the court, wak up so early. >> don't worry about that. i told these guys they'll be in the starting lineup for helping me out here. >> coach, wofford is very small, looking to make a big splash in the tournament. for schools l,e ou schools that are so tiny, what does going to the big dance, what es it mean? >> it's a he deal. it's the greatest tournament of them all in my opinion. to have the pportunity to compete against a team like seton hall, wisconsin, as we have in the past, is important to our school, and we're really looking forward to tonight. fl

>> cher, we're excited about your team, excited about you. just three three-pointers away from making that record. you think that's going to happen tonight? >> if it happens, it happens. i'm just s consumed in doing whatever i can to help us win the game. if that's driving the the rim tonight, if that's more energy running and playing defense, that's what i'm going to do. yeah,f the record mes, that will be great. i don't want to gth caught up or k about it at all. >> coach, this is not your first trip to the big dance. a craieady told us that. but it's a big deal. how do you get the nerves calmed in yourself, but more importantly in the players? >> i'm notonrned about the nerves. weave had ar num of big games throughout the year. this is a different animal in theaa tournament. i'm more concerned about the start time. we won't throw the ball in the

air until 9:50 tonight and that lmakes for ag day. >> especially since you got up with us. >> they're takingnaps. "sports illustrated" says about the mighty terriers, most potent mid major offense in the field. how do you not get ahead of yourself. you have seton hall, kentucky. how do you not look too far down the field? >> carson, i've been doing this a long me. you start looking down the road andou're going to get in trouble. seton hall is terrific very wellached. we've got our hands full tonight. >> we're proud.ro we're fof you guys. >> we're pulling for you. >> that kid on the far rit, his name dylan, storm murphy. >> if bastball doesn't work out, a meteorology career for you. >> thanks, guys. >> go get some sleep fletcher. >> thanks, guys. >> i never -- >> you have to take your phone tonight and put it on you.

iant to s you. rr you're goi to be bleary-eyed tomo. the exercises at every age o keep your knees healthy for years tocome. first this is "today" on nb'v >> ie never been more excited.

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we are back with today wellness. were back with "today wellness," this morning thede ultimate g to healthy knees. >> dr. gordon metzel has teamed up with "the new york times" to hings the guide to all knees. >> to go along with this rollout, he's here with us to go over the most common knee injuries. so many people complain about their knees. u'll miss them when they're gone is the old saying. >> this time of year, but a year, knees are a common complaint. we want to give people information on how to recognize and prevent-

>> how do you know whether to put some ice on it or go see somebody. >> we tell people if pain ist limiting wou can do, you have to come see a docto to see what's up. >> we'll start with gabriel. >> a teenager like gabriel, kids have developing growth plates in their bones. there's a picture right s theren theen of what's called the tibial tubercal. i'll point to the same area which is his growth plat we see a lot of teenies with painhere as they grow. called osgood slaughter. >> did you change languages. >> named after the two doctors, british and german. he's going to lay on his stomach and sta foam rolling. he's really happy doinat >> is gabriel a real patient? >> everybody, yes. he's great. we do that. the other thing we do with him.

go ahead and stand up, gabe. we get tm to use something called the knee strap. this goes just t abovet area where the knee is hurting. it teams the tendonng from pul on the growth plate. >> wear that all the time or when working out. >> during sports. >> that's our tea knee. >> thanks, gape. >> brittany o the orange room >> in this group we commonly see something called runner's knee. there's a great picture on the screen of an iitation underneath the kneecap. patients coming in saying myts kneecap h a lot. we start working, first of all, on strenhening the muscles. brittany is holding something -- this is called a what she's doing is utilizing her muscles to start strengthening the muscles. >> that works the knees. >> thisooks like a core thing. >> strengthens the butt muscles and hamstring muscles. then we can challenge her by

putting one leg in the air. she's working on strengthening those muscles around her knee. that can help a lot. >> she's very strong. >> that's strengthening thepo te knee. >> strengthening the leg on the groundment then she'll hop up. the other thing with runner's knee, we help keep them active. >> brittany, ashe going along, as she's striding along and something we have people working on, she'soing to take smaller steps. you might think why would that make a difference? what's happening, she's hitting th ground less hardnd putting less load on your knee. >> you like that stride? >> that's great. >> should she go on a 25-minute run? >> i keep my stride short by not doing it at all. >> that's a different ise. >> this is dale. >> we see sething called

arthritis in the knee. you can see a nice picture of a normal knee on the left. on theight you can see the s wornhere the cartilage down and getting arthritis. as i talk about in the knee guide, if you havearthritis, you can sit at the table and feel sorry for yourself. that's the worst thi you can do. start by getting on the bike, moving the joints, the knees and the hips. that's the first thing. and work onstrengthening. dale will hop down. >> d metzel does not believe in sitting around. >> absolutely not. >> that's why i don't go to you anymore. >> don't say ithat. >> just kidding. >> this is good -- muscles arou the hips and knees, takes the preure off the knees. >> thanks to all of our athletes. we have more on knee pain on today.com. we're back in a moment. this is "today" nbc.

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that about does it for this rticular hour of "today." we have a lot more well, that about does it for this particular hou of "today." more great stories at y. m/allday, including review of ice cre that promises to help you sleep better. we have country music star tricia yearwood. >> third hour straight ahead. t dylan's tripo the library after your local news. >> who doesn't want to see that? 8:56 is your time now on this thursday, march 21st, 2019. good morning everyone. i'm eun yang. let's start with a check on the commute now with wtop's jack taylor. >> thanks, good morning. our tro hle spot been the northbound lanes of the george washington parkway temdrarily stop before reagan international airport. route 1 is a mess because of it.

395 northbound mainline at the pentagon, accident activity blocking the right southbound on i-295, a large pot hope opened up. stay alertn the left side. >> jack, thank yo 'll check your forecast when we come back. stay with us. why are all these business owners so excited? we're going to comcast. it's ahead of the game, ahead of the curve. it's going to add to the productivity of our business. it's switch and save days at comcast business. right now, get fast, reliable internet for $49.95 a month and save $600 a year. just one more way we take your business beyond. but hurry, switch and save days ends april 7th. internet that's reliable. internet that's fast. that's super important. i just want to get it right now. call today. comcast business. beyond fast.

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good morning everybody. rain is already here and it's going to rain hard through the remainder of the afternoon and into the early parts of this evening. one t two inches of rain is a real possibility. be ready for a soaker of a day day. temperatures in the upper 40s to around 50 degrees this afternoon. ve windy tomorrow and blustery for the weekend, but at least it will be dry. ve

>> announcer: li from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of "today." >> good morning. happy thursday. welcome. sheinelle here with craig and dylan. al is off, but we h his voice. >> where is al? >> i don't know. i think visiting his daughter. we hear his voice, so he is with us in irit. if your oice feels less productive today, there is a good reason. march madness. you've been talking about it. it ts off around noon today. essenti essentially, this time tomorro, the thought most brackets will probably be busted. >> not all of them. >> this is how little i know about baetball. i enjoy doiy doing a bracket an seeing how far i can get. iergoogled, there games last night? it didn't even s >> st. jo