to win the masters, falls down a flight of stairs on the eve of his opening round. can he recover in time to play this afternoon? and along for the ride. >> here we go. >> jimmy fallon gives carson a personal tour of his thrilling new universal orlando attraction. >> go! >> we are taking a race through new york with the tonight show host and helping him celebrate the big grand opening today, thursday, april 6th, 2017. from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. is there anyone more perfect we could have sent to go check out the new jimmy fallon ride than carson? thrill seeker. likes to get dizzy. it has everything. >> yeah. you know, it looks like i'm downstairs at 30 rockefeller. that's because they've done a great job of making this place look like our headquarters there in new york, but, of course, we're in orlando for the opening of jimmy fallon's ride, and it is an incredible ride, as you saw. we're going to talk to jimmy today. he had a lot of input into this ride. three years in the making. we've got a big morning for you. it was fun. >> too much fun, right? >> it's our top story. more tornadoes, more flooding rains battering the south. dangerous storms now taking aim at millions more farther up the east coast. al will have his forecast in just a moment. let's start with nbc's carrie sanders. he is in westin, georgia, this morning. hi. good morning to you. >> 50,000 people are waking up across the south without electricity this morning. a result of the tornados. in all nine that touch down across the south. in addition to that, there is a real mess at the atlanta airport. busiest airport in the nation. because of the tornadoes and tornado threats, more than 1,600 flights were canceled, which means a lot of people spent the night on the floor sleeping, and now it's going to be a real backup trying to get out as new flights arrive. meantime, here in rural georgia, let's take a look above from the drone flying over what was ground zero of one of the tornadoes. this was the chicken farm. a total loss. >> this morning in the southeast, a twisted path of destruction. powerful storms reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. at least nine tornadoes reported through wednesday night. >> we didn't get a chance to get scared. it happened in a split second. >> reporter: 61 million people at risk overnight across 13 states. much of the damage is around here in stewart county, georgia. nearby -- >> which house were you in? >> 8-year-old racquia blake was with her mom and two brothers when they heard the sound of a tornado barrelling through the neighborhood. >> when it started raining, we checked out the windows, and everything was like this. >> what do you think of that? >> it's horrible. >> reporter: up the road -- >> this is where my brother lived. >> reporter: she's thankful her brother was not home when the storm tore through his trailer. she was taking cover with her family in a house close by. >> the roof was out the house, and the whole inside of the roof was shaken. >> they all made it out unharmed. a couple hundred miles away, the ominous clouds forcing the masters to cancel its annual par three golf tournament for the first time in 56 years. >> the state that's seen the most tornadoes. 85 twisters in georgia. guys, back to you. >> thank you. al standing over here. it just seems like it's a particularly active period right now. >> we've got more going on. we have more severe thunderstorms making their way from florida all the way on up into the mid-atlantic states where we now have a tornado watch from richmond, norfolk, on into raleigh, north carolina. we're going to be watching this very closely over the next several hours. right now we have an enhanced risk from salsburiy, maryland, all the way down to wilmington. 15 million people at risk for isolated tornadoes. the highest threat is going to be early this afternoon as the system pushes in. look for more strong storms. moving into the northeast as well with heavy rain. rain up to one inch per hour. that's why we have flood watches up for 47 million people in the northeast and new england. heavy rain saturated ground and melting snow all leading to that. plus, we've got wind advisories from chicago where they could have wind gusts of 60 miles per hour all the way down into the southeast. roanoke. 69 million people at risk for high winds, so, guys, not only do we have the heavy rains, the risk of tornadoes, but with these winds air travel and road travel is going to be a real big problem most of the day today. >> thank you. >> we'll check back in in a moment. it is shaping up to be an eventful and busy day on multiple fronts for the. >> in the wake of that horrific -- president trump declaring that that action crossed many, many lines. >> meanwhile, on capitol hill it looks like house republicans are set to leave for a two-week break without a deal on health care. while their senate counterparts are poised to go nuclear so to speak today to approve supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. >> all of this as mr. trump heads to florida for a two-day meeting with china's president. the north korean threat, of course, set to be a major focus of those talks as well as trade. we're covering it all this morning. we'll start with nbc's chief white house halle jackson. good morning. >> good morning to you. the president is right now in the midst of his most serious foreign policy test yet, and she's handling syria with a shift. he is clearly horrified by what's happening there, but not so clear about what he is going to do next as he leaves the door open to possible military action. his team is talking tougher on russia as back in washington a national security shake-up is raising new questions about his wild west wing. >> reporter: this morning new questions about what president trump will do next after condemning the apparent chemical weapons attack in syria. >> that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. my attitude towards syria and assad has changed very much. >>. >> reporter: after tweeting in 2013 stay out of syria, the president is nowak knowledging bashrshir al assad's actions ha him reconsidering. >> the obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. >> now the president says the syrian leader crossed a line with him. >> when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that crosses many, many lines. beyond a red line. many, many lines. >> still, no specifics about how the u.s. might respond. >> i'm not saying i'm doing anything one way or the other, but i'm certainly not going to be telling you where. >> secretary of state rex tillerson calling out the kremlin for backing assad. >> we think it's time that the russians really need to think carefully about their continued support of the assad regime. >> reporter: and in front of the u.n. security council, an emotional moment for nikki haley showing graphic photos of the youngest victims. >> how many more children have to die before russia cares? >> reporter: all this in the wake of a white house shake-up. president trump's controversial chief strategist steve bannon ousted from the powerful national security council. the "new york times" reporting he resisted. even threatening to quit if it happened. bannon, now tells nbc news, "the times" story is "total nonsense." vice president pence insisting it's not a demotion. >> this is just a natural evolution to insure the national security council is organized in a way that best serves the president. >> reporter: it comes as president trump targets someone who played a key national security role in the obama administration. susan rice. accusing her with no evidence of committing a crime by requesting the names of people connected to the trump team be unmasked, but experts say that's actually a routine part of a national security advisor's job. the president yet again making an unsubstantiated surveillance claim telling the "new york times" it's one of the big stories of our time. a spokesman for rice tells nbc, "i'm not going to dignify the president's ludicrous charge with a comment." >> the president says he will explain his claim at the right time, but didn't say when that time would be. he heads down here to mar-a-lago later on today. meanwhile, back home in washington sources inside the administration indicate the divide inside his west wing is seeming to sharpen between the new york-based advisors who want to mold policy and a campaign originals who want to make sure the president keeps his promises. matt, savannah. >> halle jackson in position for that critical meeting today. thank you. as we mentioned, president trump is kicking off a highly anticipated summit with the chinese president today at mar-a-lago. it comes at a delicate time in the u.s.-china relationship. gabe gutierrez has more on that. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. the u.s. and china make up 40% of the global economy, so the stakes could not be higher. especially with the looming threat of north korea. this morning chinese state media is stressing cooperation, but president trump faces many challenges after his tough talk on china during his campaign. >> reporter: this morning president trump set for arguably the biggest meeting of his young presidency. face-to-face for the first time with chinese president xi. their high stakes mar-a-lago summit as the growing threat of north korea looms half a world away. >> we have a big problem. we have somebody that is not doing the right thing, and that's going to be my responsibility. >> reporter: this week's latest north korean missile test ramping up the urgency as the president seeks to lean on china for help against an increasingly erratic kim juong un. a senior white house official telling nbc news all options are on the table. also on the agenda, trade. with china as north korea's dominant trade partner, president trump hopes they'll use it as leverage against the rogue nation even as the president himself as repeatedly slammed china for its trade practices. >> we can't continue to allow china to rape our country. >> they have no respect for us. they think we're a bunch of dummies. >> reporter: complicating the tough talk on china, the vast dealings trump businesses have there. while he has denied any conflict of interest because his sons now run the family business, his ties and other branded clothing have been made in china, along with ivanka's line. dozens of shipments of her clothing have arrived here in china since the election. three in the last month according to customs records. trump's company also doing business with chinese government-owned banks. one renting the 20th floor of trump tower for $2 million a year. another, a lender on a nearly $1 billion mortgage on a trump skyscraper in manhattan. in just five days after trump's election win, the chinese government approved a trump trademark that he had been battling to secure for ten years. two months later more than two dozen other trump trademarks were approved. >> president trump has often said business is about leverage. the concern here is that countries like china will have leverage over him, over ivanka trump, over jared kushner because there's so much money at stake in their deals. >> reporter: some breaking news. congressman devin nunes saying he is stepping aside as the co-chair of the house intelligence committee's investigation into alleged russia ties during the election. president trump set to come here in a few hours. matt. >> gabe, thank you very much. let's talk about all this with the former director of the national counterterrorism center and our political analyst. nicole wallace. so much to discuss. let's start with syria because that news conference yesterday was incredibly consequential in terms of what the president said, what he seemed to signal about his own change of heart, and suddenly it seemed e seems the administration is sailing, well, perhaps military options and increased military action is on the table for us. what would that look like? what can we do? this is something you guysistra thought about. what are the options? >> it's incredibly hard. it's even harder because it is such a stark reversal from what's been said. i think in many ways that gave some emboldening to russia and syria, and the russian president makes deep u.s. involvement very hard. we already doubled the number of troops there, but having a no fly zone with a russian presence is extremely difficult. i think we can get more aggressive, more people on the ground, potentially some safe havens, but more than that it's going to be really tough without russian -- >> to follow, you can't call -- donald trump can't call president putin and say, hey, we're about to do this because putin and assad are working together, so the element of surprise is gone, and the risk of actually attacking an area where russian and syrian troops are intertwined is huge. >> matt, that's exactly right. what we really have is not just assad, but we have a syrian-russian-iranian alliance, and because of that, that makes our geopolitical consequences of any involvement very difficult. this is a red line, and the president is now going to face the same challenge obama did. you draw it. you've got to enforce it, and the choices are bad. >> nicole, wasn't it somewhat stark that rex tillerson blasted russia, and nikki haley, our u.n. ambassador blasted russia, and at that press conference we saw on syria yesterday with president trump, he didn't mention russia once. this adds ammunition to the critics of his who say he has blurred lines and a weird world view when it comes to russia. >> michael is talking about military options. before you get to military options, you exhaust the sort of power of the bully pulpit. he hasn't started to use the bully pulpit to talk about russia having the blood of these children on their hands. he has never said that, and he now has a u.n. ambassador who has made it perfectly clear that that's her world view by holding up those pictures we just saw. he has a secretary of state that says very little, but even this very quiet secretary of state has taken a tougher line on russia. before you sit down and examine your military options, you exhaust the power of the american presidency's bully pulpit to condemn in the harshest terms what russia is doing. >> now we're into the situation about syria. let's turn to north korea, which most foreign policy experts say is even worse. this is where the rubber meets i mean, president trump has said north korea has to be influenced by china. we'll get china to get them in line. if not, what are the options? >> the good news here is the president has been a little bit more consistent on being tough on china on a number of fronts. the challenge, of course, is we've had two administrations, bush and obama, both try to be tough on china to get china to leverage north korea with few results. what trump is now facing is highly enriched uranium program with more and more nuclear weapons and long range missiles. that's tough. the options, when you have an irrationale leader with nuclear weapons are few and far between. >> yeah, there was an article in the "new york times" a couple of weeks ago that talked about the major options we have at our disposal. every one of them came with a horrific consequence in terms of retaliation from the north koreans. >> exactly. we have two of our closest allies -- japan and south korea -- that are very much in the crosshairs. we also have south korean government that has collapsed. our key ally in this fight is not present, and our hope for an ally, china, has proven very intransigent. >> you could dismiss it as gossip. okay, steve bannon, the architect of the president's victory, now shoved out of the national security council. these competing factions in the west wing as we understand it,ing have a real substantive affect in terms have which world view is going to sway president trump. >> right. let me give you good news and bad news. the good news is it looks like the generals -- we have talked a lot about the generals around donald trump. they're sort of the people that allow worried citizens to sleep better at night. he has general mattis at the defense department. he has general mcmaster now heading the nsc. it's a good tisign that steve bannon is no longer on the national security council. it is a terrible sign in terms of people who are worried that this west wing has become a fight club. that he put out a public statement yesterday saying, no, i wasn't demoted. i cannot imagine a political appointee in the obama administration or in the bush administration having done something like that. >> there are, like, five subjects we didn't even get to today. that's what we're dealing with. >> stay after school, both of you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. let's talk now about the showdown over president trump's supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch. the confrontation will play out on the senate floor today as democrats and independents try to block gorsuch by denying republicans the 60 votes needed to proceed. republicans plan to utilize that so-called nuclear option that would change senate rules to remove that 60 vote requirement for gorsuch and future supreme court nominees. if successful, a simple majority of 51 votes would be enough. a northern california woman is expected to survive after she fell off a bridge while trying to take a selfie. officials say the woman and a group of friends were walking on the catwalk underneath the bridge when she attempted take a picture and then fell 60 feet on to the trail below. the woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital. the extent of her injuries hasn't been released publicly. the catwalks under the bridge are now closed to the public. let's get back to that story we told you about at the top of the show. drama at the masters. golf's premier event gets underway today. dustin johnson, he is the world's number one ranked golfer, injured his lower back late wednesday after falling down some stairs at a rental home in augusta, georgia. johnson scheduled to tee off just after 2:00 today. his status now in question. last night doctors advised him to remain immobile and begin a regimen of anti-inflammatory medication and icing. his trainer says he is optimistic the tournament favorite will be ready to go for today's first round. that's not the way you want to start. >> can you imagine? >> no. let's turn to mr. roker. you say you have a very volatile map. kind of changing in front of your eyes. >> very much so as we take a quick look at what's going on around the rest of the country besides the storms here in the east. we've got heavy rain moving into california, and the pacific northwest. we'll look at that in more detail coming up in the next 30 seconds. how's it going? oh, it's going good. yeah? yeah, it's going great. this is my jam. what is that? what? the moment you realize the gardening gene skipped a generation. at lowe's, our grow together planting system takes the guess work out of creating a beautiful yard. all projects have a starting point. start with lowe's. hey, it looks good huh? not bad. now get 4 select 1-quart perennials for only $10 at the lowe's "refresh your outdoors event". good morning, it's 7:20 and we are tracking that storm already moving through parts of the north bay, the south bay mostly clear at 59 degrees, 51 in the peninsula, tri-valley at 53. so a mild start but you could see some spotty rain in san francisco in the next couple of hours and we are still expecting to see spotty rain in the north bay, at least through about 8:30 this morning. here's a live look at that doppler radar. we are expecting rain to increase in the evening hours with strong winds. just ahead, brad ♪ ready. set. go. go. go. ♪ ♪ one way or another, i'm gonna find ya' ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', get ya' ♪ ♪ one way or another,♪ ♪ one way or another, i wanna ♪ ya', get ya', get ya', get ya' ♪ ♪ ♪ one way or another, when you make a pb&j with smucker's, that's the difference between ordinary everyday and exquisitely delicious in an everyday sort of way. because with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. all umm...ed. and exquisitely delicious in an everyday sort of way. you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way, i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. you want this color over the whole house? t. a very good morning to you, 7:26, i'm laura garcia-cannon. we are following breaking news out of washington. a short time ago, california representative devin nunes announced he is temporarily recusing himself from the probe of russia being conducted by the house intelligence committee. nunes issued a statement saying he still intends to hold his seat as leader of the committee but representative mike conway will temporarily lead the investigation. democratic lawmakers called for nunes to step down, but in his statement, nunes blamed his recusal on ethics violations accusations filed by left-wing activist groups. we are still seeing fairly calm weather across the majority of the bay area. mild temps out the door. 50s and 60s already, san jose 59. half moon by a mid to upper 50s as well but don't let these calm skies fool you. we are tracking a big storm expected to make its arrival this evening. doppler radar looking very active in areas along the north bay and spotty showers along san francisco have been spotted so make sure to pack an extra outfit for tonight. skies will change. earliest arrival of the storm is expected at ant 5:00 to become widespread for the entire bay area. big changes ahead. let's look at traffic with mike. we're looking at changes you're talking about. already seeing wet roads in san francisco, look at the top of your screen, the west of the south bay moves well and continued issues, the third crash of the morning through this zone of tupper east shore freeway westbound 80 at highway 4, more slowing through hercules then easing up towards berkeley. there's the san mateo bridge, very slow for a couple minutes on the flat section. no incidents reported though. >> thank you very much. i'll be back with another update in half hour. see you then. - everything we stock at grocery outlet has crazy low prices. do you know how we do it? - how? - bargainomics! say, if california has a bumper crop and produces too many oranges. or a winemaker in sonoma suddenly has 1000 bottles too many. we've got name-brand, top-quality groceries priced 40-70% off every day. bargainomics. that's our business model. and our business model is... delicious. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ ♪ 7:30 now on a thursday morning, sixth day of april, 2017. we are in for a stormy day here in the northeast even though it's the opening of our minor league baseball season. we have mascots out on the plaza. so they won't feel the rain anyway in the big suits. >> but carson is in a good spot down in universal orlando. today is the opening day of jimmy fallon's new ride. carson is excited. we'll get to him in a few moments. another rough night across the south. violent storms once again battered that region. tornadoes caused heavy damage in alabama and georgia while parts of south carolina were hit with flash flooding. president trump welcomes china's xi jinping to mar-a-lago today for the summit between the two biggest economies. it's the first face-to-face. and how to deal with north korea and trade are expected to be two topics dominating those talks. and the military pilot is out of the hospital this morning after a fiery crash near joint base andrews. this is video of the pilot parachuting to the ground after ejecting from the f-16. officials say its engine malfunctioned over a residential neighborhood. the pilot managed to guide that jet to a wooded area away from homes before it went down. now to the latest on the sexual harassment scandal facing fox news star bill o'reilly as president trump comes to o'reilly's defense. kate snow is here with more. hi, kate, good morning. >> reporter: hi, savannah and matt. good morning. bill o'reilly could be facing a career threat that fox news paid $13 million over a dozen years to settle accusations a o'reilly harassed five former employees. now with advertisers fleeing in droves, o'reilly is finding support from the most powerful man in the world. president trump providing backup for bill o'reilly. in an interview with "the new york times," the president addressed the growing scandal involving claims of sexual harassment against the embattled fox news star saying, he's a person i know well. he's a good person. adding, i think he shouldn't have settled. i don't think bill did anything wrong. >> if we're throwing around all these terms -- >> former fox news anchor rebecca gomez-diamond settled a lawsuit with o'reilly in 2011 saying, i'm truly disappointed and vilified all over again. such comments tell women they won't be believed. the president himself no stranger to the kinds of allegations now facing o'reilly. >> hello, how are you? >> reporter: mr. trump has denied sexual misconduct following the release of the 2005 tape threatening his campaign last year. on the tape you can hear him talking about bragging comments called locker room talk. since politics, the president has appeared on "the o'reilly factor" multiple times and is the most high profile defender. see speaking with me on msnbc, now criticizing the president and claiming more female employees from fox news could come forward. >> i've been flooded with calls, by the way, from fox news women all week. i'm happy to talk to them. >> reporter: so are there others out there that want to talk? >> there are many others. >> reporter: fox didn't respond to nbc's request about bloom's claim. congresswoman maxine waters was recently mocked by o'reilly on "fox & friends" which he later apologized for. >> i didn't hear what she said. i was talking about the james brown wake. >> reporter: and telling chris hayes that o'reilly and president trump should be locked up. >> they need to go to jail. bill o'reilly needs to go to jail. >> reporter: all of it as the number of advertisers fleeing o'reilly's show tops 30. >> "the factor" begins right now. >> reporter: as for the host, he's staying silent, not addressing the allegations on air. his only response posted online saturday says in part, i'm vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity. only settling the cases, o'reilly says, to spare his children. so far, the uproar hasn't hurt his ratings. the 67-year-old is still crushing the competition, creating a dilemma for the network about how to deal with the growing fallout. in addition to his soaring ratings, o'reilly's new book, defending what he calls traditional values, has debuted on the new york times best seller list, showing he still has a loyal fan base. kate, thank you very much. >> now to an unusual trend when it comes to people seeking emergency care. nbc's tammy leitner is in miami to explain what sounds like an unusual story. tammy, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. i'm here in an uber with my driver, george. and millions of people take rideshare every day to get to restaurants, the gym, even appointments. but now a new trend is emerging, some sick people are calling an uber or lyft instead of an ambulance to get to the e.r. it's a sign of the times. more and more people calling an uber or lyft for a ride to the emergency room. skipping the more expensive and sometimes slower to respond ambulance. >> you think you might be having a baby. >> yeah. >> and you took an uber car. >> well, i didn't have a ride. >> yeah. okay. >> you don't want your water to break in your own car. >> reporter: drivers say it's becoming a trend. have you taken anybody to the emergency room? >> all the time. >> reporter: all the time? >> all the time. >> reporter: chandra steel knew she needed to get to the e.r. fast. >> i was having some internal bleeding. >> reporter: a new yorker, chandra tried to hail a taxi, but somebody else grabbed it first. so she called for an uber. >> i was anxious about my medical conditionover a overall. i was concerned for the driver as well and didn't want to panic him. >> reporter: they got to the hospital and everything turned out fine, but not all drivers are happy to bring sick people. one wrote about a passenger who wanted to go to the e.r. with a badly cut hand. they didn't want to get blooed in their car so they called an uber. i said, no thanks, and drove off. some doctors warn taking a rideshare to techlt r. could be a risky ride. do you have concerns about patients coming in in a rideshare? >> if a person is having a life-threatening emergency, there's no better care than from a paramedic. >> reporter: uber is not a substitute for law enforcement or medical professionals. in the event of a medical emergency, we encourage people to call 911. but a rideshare to the e.r. worked for chandra steel. >> i, of course, gave him five stars and wrote a nice little note with it. >> reporter: one other benefit, rather than waiting months to get a hefty ambulance bill, patients tell us they know exactly what the trip will cost them to the e.r. and with surge pricing, it's a lot less than an ambulance ride. back to you guys. >> tammy, thank you very much. >> i don't know about that. >> especially if you bleed in their car, they will give you a bad rating. >> it's a one-star ride right there. >> that's not good. anyway, we'll see what we've got. we were talking about all the storms and everything that's been happening. look at the severe storm reports over the last 24 hours. we had nine tornadoes reported, 111 hail reports, 122 wind reports. and we're going to see more of that today. in fact, we've got a severe thunderstorm warning down in central florida to the east of tampa. we're also looking at this tornado watch in effect until 1:00 today from richmond, fayetteville, all the way down to cape hatteras. then out west, another big storm coming onshore. this is going to bring heavy rain, snow and wind into the pacific northwest and on eventually into central california. over the next five days, three to five inches of rain in parts of the pacific northwest we're still fairly calm although that storm system is moving on in for ai can't say along the north bay. san jose 59 degrees. highs for today will remain into the 60s, not just for the san jose area but also san francisco. overcast skies and taking a live look at that doppler radar, we can expect to see this storm system tracking in that rain, becoming widespread by this evening which is why we are anticipating a micro climate weather alert for tonight. get that weather any time you need it. check out the weather channel on cable. guys? >> i'm smiling here because coming up, we're going to talk about a father with a sense of humor, a little child and the pictures you'll be talking about all day. >> does mom have a sense of humor, that's the question there. but first, new concerns over your fruits and vegetables after the proposed ban of a controversial pesticide is ♪ contrary to ancient wisdom... the sun doesn't rise, we do. yet, the more we travel, the more the world pushes back, coralling us and controlling us. so, we seek a place where we're given a choice... ...not just to get up, but to rise. ♪ ♪ it takes two to make ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a 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(husband)mmmm. wouldn't it be great if everyone said what they meant? the citi® double cash card does. earn 1% cash back when you buy, and 1% as you pay. double means double. allergy symptoms doctors recommend taking claritin every day distracting you? of your allergy season for continuous relief. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear. every day. with carson riding rides in orlando, dylan is over in the orange room. and you've got more on that pepsi kendall jenner ad. >> yes, we showed it to you yesterday. and it was pepsi's controversial commercial starring kendall jenner. it shows the model interrupting her photo shoot to join protesters in the street turning the outcry to celebration when she hands a police officer a soda. so critics called the spot tone-deaf with tweets like, that's it. kendall just fixed all social injustices. madonna called out the company by posting this picture clutching a can of coke. and the ad caught the attention of martin luther king jr.'s daughter bernice. she tweeted this photo, if only daddy would have known about the power of pepsi. pepsi responded to king writing, we at pepsi believe in the legacy of dr. king and meant absolutely no disrespect to him and others who fight for justice. but the outcry was a little bit too much. and they couldn't ignore it. the company eventually took action writing in part, clearly we missed the park and apologize. we are removing the content and halting any further rollout. it was jenner's tweet sharing in the commercial in the first place to spark backlash. pepsi did apologize for putting jenner in this position. so it continues, guys? >> 24 hours later, not a surprising result there. thank you, dylan. just ahead, jimmy fallon takes carson on the ride of his life. and he'll join us live after and he'll join us live after your loc i no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c. wondering, what if? i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. it's been prescribed to more than a quarter million people. and is proven to cure up to 99% of patients who have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks. certain patients can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. before starting harvoni, your doctor will test to see if you've ever had hepatitis b, which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after harvoni treatment. tell your doctor if you've ever had hepatitis b, a liver transplant, other liver or kidney problems, hiv or any other medical conditions and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with harvoni can cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects of harvoni include tiredness, headache and weakness. ready to let go of hep c? ask your hep c specialist about harvoni. ♪ ♪ give extra. get extra. save on kitchen essentials kohl's home sale like a farberware cookware set just $49.99 after $30 mail in rebate. select kitchen aid electrics are $39.99 and a fiestaware 5 piece place setting is only $32.99. plus get kohl's cash too. kohl's. what is thit's like a little vanilla tastey thing. a vanilla bean? mmm. they chopped it up in little pieces. like this little dots. i found one! i found one! breyers natural vanilla. milk and fresh cream, and only sustainably farmed vanilla. very simple. mmm! breyers the good vanilla. it's simple. we're proud to use non-gmo sourced ingredients in some of america's favorite flavors. good morning, 7:55 and, yes, a storm is on the way, already moving in just offshore but right now if you're waking up, mild temps across the entire bay area, 59 in san jose, san francisco 58, near the north bay 54, napa, 47 in santa rosa. if we look at the doppler radar we can see the storm system pushing in. the north bay sighing rain, they have been seeing rain since early on and with this incoming storm we're expecting to see several inches of moderate-to-heavy downpours and another thing to keep in mind is a high win watch is now in effect through friday morning, expected to turn into a high wind warning through tonight. that's because we will see incoming winds, fairly strong for 24 miles per hour along half moon bay, if we fast forward to the 6:00 hour, increasing to 20 plus miles per hour and fast forwarding to 10:30 we could see gusting of 40, 50 plus miles per hour. so that's something to keep in mind. let's check in with the traffic with mike. >> that could be an issue crossing the bridges late tonight. keep that in mind, late night drivers. right now drivers are slowing southbound 680 for the third crash of the morning from isuth sunol area. we still have miler slowing over there through hayward and a quick live look shows you traffic northbound 880 bogging down, the northbound commute starts towards the coliseum. back to you. >> thank you very much, vianey and mike. 7:57. happening now, a surprise announcement from house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes. he's recusing himself from the probe of russia and the trump administration. he also says he's stay on as the house chair. you can link to the latest including reaction from other lawmakers on our twitter feed. a missionary rmystery as a goes down an embankment and the driver emerges hours later 15 miles from the crash scene. another update in half an hour. see you then. welcome to maxx you. you are whimsical, vibrant, statement making. we see what makes you unique. so we have something for everyone, at a price that's just right for you. maxx you. maxx life. t.j.maxx it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, bracing for the worst. this morning, more than 100 million americans in the path of a massive storm system that's already left a trail of destruction across the south. tornadoes ripping apart homes and bringing down trees. we're live on the scene. then star-packed studio 1a. kurt russell stops by to talk about celebrating 30 years with goldie hawn. plus, pierce brosnan stops by to talk about his new western in the sun. and road trip. >> oh, my god, you're doing it. >> so crazy. >> carson joins jimmy fallon an universal orlando to celebrate the grand opening of his remarkable new ride, "race through new york." we have your first look, "today," thursday, april 6, 2017. ♪ >> hello, chicago, from new york city! >> from detroit to nyc, spring break! >> hello to you watching the "today" show at home. ♪ >> it's our first time in new york city and we love "today." >> we are from louisville, kentucky. and good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." it's a thursday morning, it's a rainy one. in fact, it's a two-umbrella day out on the plaza for dylan and me. and the guys, don't you want one? we'll go under this one. >> i should have brought a hat. >> exactly. >> what a guy. >> happy first day of minor league baseball season, that's great. as we said, carson has escaped the crummy weather here. he's down in florida. and he's with the man of the morning at universal orlando resort, jimmy fallon as well. hey, guys. >> reporter: hey, guys. from 30 rock north to 30 rock south, this man, jimmy fallon, has recreated our comcast building here in orlando. and jimmy, today is the big day. this is all from -- you created the race ride through new york. >> i'm so excited. i can't wait for you to ride the ride. it's unbelievable. >> we rode it yesterday. the people are pumped up. we'll get the official day of "the race through new york" starring jimmy fallon. you're looking sharp, are you ready to do this? >> i'm so excited. it's like 30 rock here in orlando. >> 30 rock with good weather. guys, thank you so much. we'll check back in in a minute. but we'll get a check of the top stories of the morning. time for news at 8:00. >> reporter: i'm kerry sanders and here's what is happening across the south. a very busy day in the week of nine tornadoes touching down. it has been a very busy tornado season with more than 460 tornadoes. as we take a look at the drone here, you can see here in rural georgia the devastation, while it is widespread, this was a chicken farm. if there's anything fortunate by being hit by a tornado, it is according to the farmer, that no one was here when the tornado hit. an unwelcomed sign of spring. this morning millions across five states are bracing for the worst as a dangerous line of severe weather churns east. the massive system already wreaked havoc across the south spawning a half dozen suspected tornadoes. in cordell, georgia, a men indianapol that's /* -- menacing funnel cloud shown across georgia. thankfully, injuring no one. >> the roof was off the house. >> reporter: residents now left to assess the damage and pick up the pieces. after the violent storm, a moment of peace. the devastation offset by the picturesque glow of the setting sun. >> i'm retired as of today. >> reporter: joseph's days as a poultry farmer also coming to an end after losing half his farm to straight-line winds in january and now the rest lost wednesday to a tornado. >> you know, you do something for 31 years and somebody takes it a way from you, it's a sad day. >> reporter: in henry county, alabama, a similar scene. twisted metal and scattered debris. the aftermath of another likely tornado. >> i saw the sky getting dark. and then i saw the trees kind of like start doing this. >> reporter: the powerful storms also generating fierce lightning, pounding hail and heavy downpours across the region. in columbia, south carolina, rain fell at two inches per hour. the deluge quickly flooding streets. as we take a live look at the picture from the drone here of the debris field, 50,000 people this morning are without electricity. and for those who are flying through atlanta, it is a mess. more than 1600 flights canceled there as a result of the tornadoes and the threats, which means a lot of people had to sleep on the floor last night. this morning, they are now waiting to leave as more passengers are arriving. it's going to be a miserable day for travel through the south today. matt? >> kerry sanders, thank you very much. president trump begins two days of high-stakes meetings today with china's leader. their summit at trump's florida estate comes a day after the latest provocative missile test by north korea. president trump is expected to pressure china to keep its rogue ally in check. he'll also try to make progress on trade issues that he blames for a loss of american jobs to china. in the meantime, the president is weighing his options after condemning the syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons on tuesday in the civil war in that country. a texas teenager is under arrest for leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen ambulance. dash cam video shows that driver making dangerous maneuvers. police say the teen was being treated at a hospital emergency room when he bolted, hopped into the ambulance and took off. the chase ended when he ran into a curb and disabled the vehicle. officers moved in and they have now charged the young man with reckless driving, evading arrest and driving while intoxicated. coming up next, do you ever notice those little teeny holes in the airplane window? what are they for? the answer to the mystery coming up on "trending." carson? thanks, matt. coming up down here in florida, finally, we'll have the official opening of "race through new york" with this guy, jimmy fallon. >> my favorite part was going on the ride with you and we went through times square, and you went, trl! trl! trl! >> we'll be back with you, red line, 20 minute delay. oh, no. 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(announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. all right. 8:12. weav we're back and it's a good time to trend. dylan is joining us at the table. are we ready to go? >> yes. >> are you an inquisitive student, one of the students that looked beyond what they were told to look deeper? >> i did the bare minimum. >> really? you don't seem like that type. >> later i changed, but yes, slacker. >> a little bit. we love this. here's a group of students who really got a bright future ahead of them. they are from pittsburgh, kansas. they're getting a lot of attention this morning for their story in their high school newspaper. they were doing a profile on their school's new principal when they noticed a few inconsistencies in her credentials. in other words, her resumé didn't add up. so what did they do? they dug deeper and found some things that just weren't right about her education and the degrees that she claimed to have. >> wow. >> so they spent about a month looking into this and then published the story on the front page of the school newspaper, which pretty quickly led to the principal resigning. >> wow! >> these are journalism students. >> that's terrific. >> they said they were surprised that in a short period of time, they found things that the school board never found when they hired the principal in the first place. >> wow. fascinating. well, speaking of inquisitive and the fact that i'm not, you've said on airplanes you notice the small tiny holes on the window. it's on every single plane. my head is in the clouds. "time" magazine cleared up the mystery. yes, there's a tiny hole, it's called a breather hole, that regulates pressure between the window's inner and outer panes and regulates temperature between the cabin and the outside keeping the window fog-free. this sparked a debate this morning. where the hole really is, how it works, shall we call -- >> we need an expert. >> we need to call our lifeline. nbc's tom costello is on the phone covering aviation. tom, this riddle is in your hands now. >> reporter: it's called a bleed hole. and there are three window panes on every plexiglass on the plane. there's the scratch window, the inner pane and the outer pane. and the whole is between the inner pane and the outer pane. it equalizes air pressure but most importantly allows the moisture to drain out so that when you're at 30,000 feet or whatever, and the temperature outside suddenly drops to 70 degrees below zero, your windows don't frost over. it's about equalizing air pressure and is about ensuring that your windows are frost-free. >> you're just full of facts, tom, thank you. >> if someone were to allege that the little hole were to be on the outside pane, what would you say to that person? >> that's a problem. >> okay. just checking. >> hey, tom? if a train leaves chicago at 7:00 and -- oh, nevermind. >> go back to work, tom. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and this one is our favorite story of the day. check out some photos that a dad is sharing. this is his 18-month-old daughter hannah driving a car and climbing a ladder, standing on the edge of a drop-off. before you get terrified of his parenting skills, know he has photoshopped all of this. his daughter hannah spent six months in the hospital. thanks to a bone marrow transplant, he was able to take these pictures. he's using the pictures to, a, freak out his family, and b, to raise awareness for the condition she had. look at that. >> they look so real. >> 10 feet in the air, can you imagine if we showed mom those? >> i'm so gullible. how do you keep her so still? dylan, time for "pop starts." >> here we go. let's begin with john mayor. the singer's new album made waves after admitting his song "still feel like your man," is about his ex, katy perry. the video is now being dubbed this year's hotline bling after the dancing went viral. john dances with pandas. take a look. ♪ ♪ i still feel like your man i still feel like your man ♪ >> wow. >> i don't know why, he just dances with pandas. >> where is left shark? >> you might be on to something there. and moving on to brad pitt. he stepped out for the "lost city 7" premier. now noticeably slimmer, he's kept a low profile since the split with angelina jolie. and chris pratt is known for his great sense of humor, particularly on social media. his latest passion project? a series he calls "what's my snack"? he's getting in shape for "jurassic world 2" sharing healthy meals and snacks from his trainer. in the last it post he showed off his rap skills. take a look. >> what's up? it's your boy chris pratt coming back with an episode of what's my snack? last chad and you ain't seen nothing. what's my snack? a carrot cake muffin. because i'm sitting here waiting to eat nothing. eating carrot cake muffin. eating carrot cake muffin. what's my snack? >> and that is your "pop start." >> i like that. >> very good. >> dylan, thank you very much. mr. roker, you're busy. >> yes, we are. so let's show you -- >> whoa. >> you didn't put your blinker on. >> okay. it's dangerous in studio 1a. heavy thunderstorms now rolling through central florida. and we still have this tornado watch stretching from richmond down to fayetteville, also out into the outer banks of north carolina. you can see for today we do have an enhanced risk of thunderstorms. 15 million folks at risk, especially this afternoon. so we'll be watching that very closely. and we've got snow to talk about today into tomorrow. wet snow for the midwest and northeast. heavy snow for the appalachian mountains. as that pushes through, we're generally looking at through parts of eastern michigan, up to four to six inches of snow. but look at the big winner or loser, depending on how you feel about it, down in west virginia. six to eight inches, some places we're tracking that incoming storm in the north bay peninsula, san francisco already seeing light showers. they've been seeing light showers over the past couple of hours since the early morning, but the temperatures pretty mild right now. it may look calm in south bay, but looking at doppler radar, you can see plenty of activity. we can sail twail see the cold front offshore. now, this is expected to move in by about 5:00 tonight, becoming widespread reaching down to the south baby about 8:00, which is why there is a high wind watch turning into a warning. if you're heading out the door, don't forget to catch us on "today" show radio sirius xm channel 108. tomorrow, the donna mad show live. >> so excited. let's head back to carson at universal orlando resort where he's getting the vip treatment with our friend gymjimmy fallon. carson? >> reporter: mad, ittt, it's so. this is an amazing replica of our headquarters in new york city. i was one of the first to check out the ride and met up with jimmy in front of the attraction making me feel right at home here in orlando. have a look. ♪ >> it's jimmy fallon! come on! >> it's carson daly! can you believe this? >> was it not enough to be the king of 30 rock in new york, you had to build 30 rock south in florida? look at this, "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." it's a race. >> it's a whole experience. >> here we are. first of all, i'm right in new york. it's like we are here. there's you. >> the floor is -- >> details, it's important to pay homage to those in front of you. lets walk into "the tonight show" history. it feels like a museum on your way to the ride. >> if it wasn't for these guys, i would not be here. it's a roller coaster simulator. it's like going to "the tonight show" and the best tour of new york city. i swear that you'll ever have, ever. you could be a billionaire and go to new york city and not have this experience. let me take you upstairs. >> okay, let's go. ♪ >> okay. this is -- matt lauer, ladies and gentlemen, matt lauer. that's what he does on the weekend. ♪ ♪ welcome to the "today" show ♪ welcome carson and jimmy >> this is the ride right here. and we'll go through, of course, to pick up the 3-d glasses. >> this is just -- >> i'm so excited. i'm so happy i'm doing this. it feels like you're right in front of me. it's like, oh, my god. oh! it's so realistic. get ready, get ready, oh, my gosh, you're doing it. >> freaking crazy. >> in five, four, three -- >> ready, set, go! >> whoo! ♪ >> hashtag! >> whoa! >> trl! look, trl! trl! go! >> we are in times square, no problem. >> i smell pizza. >> i smell pizza! that's real pizza! >> let's go to the moon! whoa! yea! >> congratulations, guys. you did it. >> that was so sick. that was so awesome. i want to do it again. >> wait a second, i'm coming with. >> and guys, "race through new york with jimmy fallon" offic l officially opens today. you're seeing jimmy on the ticker parade with so many iconic characters here in orlando. we have the roots, steve higgin, and the hashtag panda from "the tonight show." they are all on the float with jimmy. he's about to cut the ribbon here in a second. that will cue the official opening of the ride. he'll walk over here and get a little interview from us. but it's really just so cool. i mean, this ride, i'm not a big roller coaster person, but the technology that they have used was so amazing to fly through the iconic moments of new york, the history that you get of "the tonight show" on nbc going back to 1954. of course, jimmy fallon, this was all his brain child. he pitched this ride back in 2009. and now three-and-a-half years in the making, it's what it took to get this thing up and running. today it's official. we'll watch jimmy now with the official cutting of the ribbon. hi, higgins, how are you? hello, roots. there's the ribbon. hello, everybody. feels good to see you. >> say that two more times. >> save that one for later. we'll get some giant scissors up here in a second and we'll make it official. this is another great part of the ride, guys. you see jimmy with his family. his wife nancy and the girls are actually in the ride. nice little'ser egg the ee east. >> he could be announcing for president right now. >> it does look like that. it absolutely does. are you announcing your candidacy, they want to know? >> this is a big moment. i have to take my time to enjoy this. >> absolutely. >> can you take that out of my pocket? thank you very much. thank you. wrong pocket. there's bob. it's a bigger deal when bob has arrived. thank you, guys, for coming out. i can't believe this is really happening. we have been working on this ride for three years. we have a "tonight show" ride. this is really happening. [ applause ] "the tonight show" -- "the tonight show" is all about fun and positivity and laughter and putting a smile on your face. and that is what this ride is all about. i'm so proud of it. as a kid from upstate new york, i never managed i would be a talk show host let alone have my own ride. it goes to show that if you keep dreaming big anything is possible. steve burke, ryan meyer, tom williams, bill davis, the entire universal creative team, everyone who works at the parks, everyone who works at the ride, the ride operators, the dancing panda, the ride time gals, i see what these guys do behind the scenes, nobody does biggeri'...i it is 8:26. we are following breaking news out of washington. a short time ago, well, i think we're doing a different story. let's talk about this live p picture you see here. this is the tower in san francisco where they're going to put the finishing touches on it. it's been going up on mission street for the past year or so. the structure, it's changed in san francisco skyline, but at 10:30 this morning, crews will hold a topping off ceremony for final beams. sales force claims the tower will become the tallest building west of chicago. 61 stories. construction is supposed to wrap this summer. grad lad we got that cleared up. see how traffic rolling out there. >> a line of traffic we've been talking about as the spring break rolls around the bay. south bay, nothing big, but northbound is slowing. recovering here, the crash all cleared and now, some residual slowing. gets better after that. continuing over the next few minutes there. 880 slower to downtown oakland. this burst of traffic kind of traveling up toward the -- but not a big deal. on the toll plaza, doesn't have a back up and wet around many parts. back to you. >> that's right, a big storm coming our way. another update half an hour. - grocery outlet - grocery outlet is the home of 'wow' savings. wow means you save 50% or more. there are three stages of wow. denial... - is this price right? - acceptance... and boooyah! wait for it. boooyah has three o's. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - right now get a bone-in spiral half ham for just $1.49 a pound. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ imagine if the things you bought every day earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority boarding... and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine where it will take you. [ drumroll ] we're back now, 8:30 on a thursday morning. it's the 6th day of april, 2017. and just moments ago, we watched jimmy fallon and his family cut the ribbon on his brand new ride down at universal orlando. it's called "race through new york. qug "and right now, he's standing by with carson. guys? >> reporter: thank you, matt. jimmy, congratulations, big moment there. >> it's official, everybody! >> let's back up, you had your show down here all week, what has it been like to have "the tonight show" here? >> the best crowds. it's just the happiest place on earth. it's like four times the size of our crowd, so i'm losing my voice just screaming every night trying to do monologue jokes. but it's the greatest. it's a big party. >> one of the greatest thing about the ride is like you're going through to see jimmy's show, you don't feel like you're waiting in line. there's a real history of "the tonight show." you have jay leno on tonight, talk about the importance of the hosts that came before you. >> i just think if steve allen were around, he would be so psyched we are doing something like this. it's like technology meets history and i'm going to see if i can drag jay over to look at the ride. he doesn't like to see himself. he's a very humble guy, but there's a little -- there's a little spot for all the hosts and all their desks and memorabilia from the years they hosted. it's pretty cool. >> and a couple easter eggs in the ride, we saw your wife nancy and the easter eggs, they wave to you. >> if you're a fan of michael jackson, there's a little easter egg in there, a little homage. you have to find that one. but you go from everywhere from new york city in the subway, the east river, there's a shark in the east river, you go to the moon at one point. i moon, what was your favorite part besides seeing you in trl? >> it was so much fun, the experience, it really is an experience. congratulations, buddy. thank you for having us. >> thank you, "today" show. you guys are the best. thank you for being so supportive. >> congratulations to jimmy. and exact replica of 30 rock. do you think that means there's a mouse in the newsroom? >> yes, several. coming up, how lucky are we, kurt russell and pierce brosnan both here. kurt in both of the two biggest blockbusters and pierce making a triumphant reunion to tv. we have a lot to catch up with them about. but first, mr. roker, the drizzly weather. >> we have to take a look at that and your weekend ahead. for tomorrow, high winds through the great lakes with wet weather in the pacific northwest. heavy rain down into california. sunshine through the gulf, which could continue on saturday. we have unseasonably mild weather. we are looking at wet weather continuing into california. sunday, sunday! unseasonably mild weather in the eastern third of the country. snow in the inner mountain regions up into the western and northern plains. and things finally dry out down anticipate a very stormy evening. right now, we are slow zeeing mostly clare skies. south bay, mostly cloudy. they've seen some spotty showers. and sfds and the north bay seeing some rain and we will expect to see periods of rain for san francisco over the next couple of hours. here's a live look right now. we are expecting to e see the heaviest of the storms move ng by about 5:00. pushing south but about 8:00. a little concert breaking out here right now. where are you guys from? >> tipton. >> tipton, all right. there you go, very nice. don't forget, get your weather any time you need it. you go to the weather channel on cable. savannah? all right, al, thank you so much. well, kurt russell joined "the fast and furious team" as the mysterious federal agent mr. nobody. and he's back looking to recruit some extra muscle. take a look. >> what is training wheels talking about? what terms? >> confess to your crimes in berlin, treason, international espionage, massive destruction of property. you do that, we close the case. >> and? >> and the blacklist, germany loves that. officially you'll be a criminal. >> whoa, whoa, you need to work on your delivery, unofficially, you're off the books if you come work with me. >> kurt russell, good morning. >> how are you? >> you are kind of this dodge ji mysterious character in this movie, mr. nobody. >> he doesn't really have a name. we don't know -- >> i'm just watching. >> the press notes describe your character, mr. nobody, as a square that is kind of intriguing. >> he's partially that and someone who did work at the cia, nsa, fbi, mafia, you snow? >> there's a lot of there there. >> some of them were probably good and some weren't. >> i heard the character was your idea. they came to you and you said, this is more interesting. >> just to try to find something that is right for the actor, that the actor can bring something to the screenplay and hopefully something in this case to the franchise that can be of value to it. something new. something that fits. something that's right. so we worked on it together. and we came up with this idea. his name is not mr. nobody. he's just nobody. >> oh, not mr. nobody. >> they kind of refer to him as mr. nobody. >> you don't want to make him mad. >> but where he's going to go with these characters, with vin's character, in particular, becomes increasingly, what is this guy about? >> i smell sequel. do you know if you'll be in the next one? >> what i have enjoyed about the two i've been in, they work to make that movie as good as they can. and then hopefully they see that it deserves another shot. >> speaking of great movies, and i can't believe this, it's 30 years since "overboard." which is a movie i personally have seen 400 times. i love it. it's so funny and adorable. it's you and goldie. it's just one of my favorite movies. if it is on tv, i always watch it. and now i hear they are making a remake. so i ask you, how do you improve on perfection? >> well, there's been a lot of talk about a lot of movies that i did, "escape from new york," and "overboard" i did with goldie together. all remakes face the challenge. and that is, hopefully they can find flaws to improve upon. you can find a reason to make the movie. i understand in the "overboard" they are talking about making, they are talking of flipping the character so that, i guess -- >> when the husband gets dumped? >> i guess, i don't know. when you flip the sexuality that way, a lot of challenges arise with it. so i don't know, good luck. that one was interesting to me because leslie dixon did a great job of writing a female fantasy and a male fantasy and putting them together in the same movie. >> and i have to say, it was also a kid's fantasy, too. >> it was a kid's pant sifantas. as goldie and i have gone through our life together, we have seen thousands of kids. you realize that it's the movie scene one way, by a certain age group, and an older age group takes it a completely different way. >> you and goldie have chemistry, you may have noticed. do yeah, i think sometime we'll work together again. for us we already had careers going and they weren't co-dependent and there was no reason for them to be forced into that position. so goldie did the movies she did and does. i've done the ones i did and i've done. and not very often have they come together. we've never read things that we were dying to do saying you know what? we should do this together. the last one we read was "overboard." sometimes a long time in between. >> i heard goldie is not necessarily a huge fan of the facial hair. >> no. no, no. >> look at this. all the facial hair. look at this. >> the guy in the middle is going to be on next month in "guardians of the galaxy." >> that's the hatefuling eight guy. >> the guy on the left. >> that's a mustache wearing a man. >> did you grow that thing? >> taratino wanted me to have this thing so i let it grow. >> you sure did. >> it's one of these when you get intimate. it's not good. >> say no more. [ laughter ] >> too early in the morning. >> cukurt russell, thank you so much. just ahead another huge hollywood star, pierce brosnan is here but fstir ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ to take advantage of this offer on a volvo s90, visit your local dealer. indid may imagine april showersy bringing her fashionable, flowers at such a sunny price? never but that's the beauty of a store full of surprises. you never know what you're gonna find, but you know you're gonna love it. we are back now, 8:41, with award-winning actor pierce brosnan. he's returning to television in a new series called "the sun" based on a best-selling novel. and he plays a ruthless cattle rancher and spoiling oil tycoon. take a look. >> i've lived all over the west. and this little patch of south texas i've decided to call home. it's good weather. >> yes, sir. >> we got oil, we got gas, we got monster bucks and quail coming out of our ears. so there's a good reason i chose to raise my family here. and i'm honored you all could come down and share with me. >> pierce, good morning, welcome back. >> good morning, matt. >> you start out with a contradiction. i was going to say this was the first western you have done. you have always wanted to do it. you actually did the western, you were just telling me, with liam kn liam niesom a few years back. >> i don't say this is a western, so to speak. it's a wonderful book by phillip meyer. and if people like the book, they will like this show. he's a wonderful writer. it's set in texas 1950. >> without cementing it into the western genre, we were talking during the commercial break, i'm a fan of westerns, i love them. were you? >> i love them. >> what were some of your favorites? >> john wayne we spoke of, anything to do with ford, john ford made magnificent pieces, the searches. definitely growing up on the banks of the river in ireland, there's a young man in the late '50s, the westerns were a staple diet for everyone. >> but that leads into the most obvious topic to talk about today. you don't have a texas accent in real life. you have a little bit of an irish accent. how did you even go about trying to master that texas drawl twang type thing? >> well, it was pretty tricky. i gave myself the grace of being an irishman and play this colonel, colonel eli mcculla. so there are celtic moves to the man's bones. in 1850, there would be second scotts and irish. >> i was listening in the clip and you have a lot of texas in that voice. >> well, good, i'm glad you said that. what did i listen to? i listened to wayne jennings and rick perry. at the end, a wonderful senator, ted poe, somehow he caught my imagination. i loved his voice and listened all the time. and then you're in texas. the job came in at the 11th hour. so for me i was -- >> back to television, how many years ago was "remmington steel"? >> '86 we went off the air. >> television has changed a lot in those years. >> yes, competition is fierce. there's so much content and so many good shows. i've been actively looking to come back to tv because of -- "house of cards," "game of thrones" and seeing the robust quality of writing that is on tv. >> we run into each other every once in a while, not only here, but weirdly in other parts of the world. and i have always thought you have this incredible life. every time i see you, i say, how are you? what have you been doing? you tell me something to make me jealous, do you find the push and the pull and the tug of career harder and harder because you've got it so good in life? >> i don't know about that. listen, nothing comes with nothing. it's all about work. it's all about doing. i've been very lucky to have made a career and to be still at the table as an actor and still employed as an actor. i always have to fight for the stuff i want to do. >> do you really have to fight? >> of course you do. of course you do. sometimes you have choices to act and sometimes you don't. but you have to pay the mortgage. i have responsibilities and children. >> so the look you gave me was to not tell people to stop calling, you were enjoying life so much, with the daggers coming out of your life. >> no, i enjoy life. i have a wonderful life and kids, sons, we have beautiful sons. and she's now back in the workforce. she's made a documentary called "poisoning paradise." she and i together are making movies. >> well, as a television guy, it's good to have you back on tv. >> thank you very much. >> especially in a family saga/western that i love so much. pierce, good to see you. cheers to you. and "the sun" premiers this sunday on amc. and do-it-yourself projects that can add flare to your home. but first, this is "today" on nbc. this morning on "upgrade your home today," the host of hgtv's property versions is helping newbies dive into the real estate business with her new show called "flipping virgins." but this morning she had diy projects. you promise these are easy? >> even if you are not a diy-er, you can do this. here's what we have, shoe bag herb garden. >> so cute. >> you have this at home. if not, buy it at the store for a few dollars. grab your favorite herbs and it's as simple as this and add a little extra potting dirt. this can hang in your kitchen near the window, as long as it gets sun, you can spray water on it. >> do you dump water in there? no. you spray. >> don't use canvas, use a plastic shoe bag so it doesn't hold the moisture there for growing mold. >> okay. great. >> that's number one. >> super cute. now this is fun, this is using your belt. how do you do this? >> you can grab vintage belts, go to goodwill and get them for a few dollars or old belts in the back of your closet. make sure they are extra long, and loop two together. i buckled them in the front and in the back. and added some 2 by 4s. this is just as easy. i used pre-fab. you can get this from ikea. i don't think we paid $30 to put together this beautiful shelf. it's a custom piece and sturdy, as long as you anchor it. >> you have to anchor it up here but not down here. >> you don't have to, but you could if you wanted to secure it. nail, hammer, wood, belts, that's it. >> you've already done the hard part, which was the good idea. okay. now this is sort of to lighten up and brighten up. >> lighten and brighten, trying to get spring-time ready. go in the refrigerator and find old mayonnaise jars, jam jars. i went to the dollar store and bought a few mason jars. all i did was wrap twine around them. you can use yarn or twine. flood white spray paint. spray paint over it. let it dry for a few hours and when you take off the yarn, throw some candles in there. if you line 20 of them on the back porch, so pretty at night. >> a little dinner party out on the patio, something like that. >> savannah, i believe in you. you can do this. >> and use a votive candle in there. that's it. very easy. >> now i'm going to put you to work. we are creating art here. go in your crisper. maybe you have an artichoke. once you cut the head, it creates this beautiful flower. that's exactly what i did. what is your favorite color? >> right here i would say yellow. >> so there we have sunshine. perfect for spring. and if you have an artichoke, you can do the same. >> i have to see this artichoke business. >> i want you to see this one first. so you just push the head and then look at that. you have to push it pretty good. i used pink, but you can use any color you want. >> the stamp pads you get at the craft store. >> grab a frame, some craft paper, your favorite fruit or vegetable. >> your kids can do this. >> this looks more like a hydrangea when it is on. we are camera watching, i'm going to use your yellow since it is open. and just roll it around. okay. it makes a lot of noise. we'll see. well -- not that time. >> this is how it all comes together. >> you can make it as big as you want, as small as you want. you can use grid art. get super creative with it. but this adds a touch of spring to any home. >> it looks cute. each of these are great ideas. catch "flipping versions" on hgtv. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. you're going to be hanging out in here. so if you need anything, text me. do you play? ♪ ♪ use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before. you got next? chase. helping you master what's now and what's next. 8:54 on a thursday. we're always telling you to check out "today" show radio on sirius xm 108. but did the you know there are other ways to listen to it? >> i'm so glad you asked. you can catch it anywhere, any time, in your car, walking around. use the seirius xm app. any connected device works. al, what is the important show to air tomorrow? >> live, live, it's the "today" show confidential with don gnash and tom nazarello. we like to call them tom and naz. >> what time does that air? >> 2:00 p.m. live. and then it's repeated constantly until you finally put your head through a wall. >> have we ever been a guest on their show? >> yes, i was. >> i was on the first live broadcast. >> it got a huge response. >> i know. >> the other only thing more exciting is to be on a smucker's jar. so let's spin the jar and say hello to some nice folks. first of all, happy 100th birthday to jesse halland, a proud grandma from pula, washington. a chief petty officer in the navy for 22 years. and luke tarvin of los angeles, 100. rumor has it she makes the best burger you will ever test. yes! happy 100th president to nick cianci of pennsylvania. a proud owner of a motel and restaurant for 30 years. and ada here. orlan myers of wisconsin, 101 years old and enjoys drinking coffee with pals. and yes, an afternoon martini. and last but not least, edna johnson, ohio state football i'...==im=wee flowg baki ne inwi it is 8:56. we are following breaking news out of washington. just last couple of hours or so, we heard from california representative nunes who announced he's temporarily accusing himself from the probe of russia being conducted by the house intel committee. issued a statement saying he still intended to hold his seat as leader of the committee, but mike conway is going to temporarily lead the investigation. democratic lawmakers have been calling for nunes to step down for weeks. in a statement, he blames it on ethics violation accusations filed by left wing activists groups. our national bureau is following the day's developments in washington. we'll have a complete report. but right now on twitter, you can link to the latest including reaction from other leading lawmaker, including paul ryan, a nunes political ally. and a mystery h morning. after a ups truck goes down an east bay embankment, the driver emerges later from the crash scene. that is going to do it for us right now, but we'll be back with another update in just 30 minutes. send you back to the "today" show. this morning on "today's this morning on "today's take," kurt russell's here ki kicking into high gear with two blockbuster. then, zac efron in tears during an audition. and dreams come true for special kids on one of the world's biggest stages, all coming up right now. >> annncer: from nbc news, this is "today's take," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning on a thursday, april 6th, 2017. listening to the "the lush life" by zara larson. >> what is a lush life, just the good life? like if something is lush, it's -- >> vibrant? >> rich. >> rich. cheers to the lush life on this thursday. >> like the life that we lead. >> yeah. >> for example, our life is so lush, we had bit moji conversation yesterday. >> you know what, so i have discovered, thanks to al roker, bit mojis. >> they've been out for a long time. >> it's like an emoji but with a cartoon character. they turn you into cartoon characters. >> i'm kind of late to the party. so the other day i was texting and i always use the yellow smiley faces which are so 1983, but -- >> closed parentheses. >> so you saw the picture. what i was impressed with, first of all, your first bit moji has the goatee, then you chak it up and go with, this was the day, the second one after you found out you were throwing out -- it do does come with some. so you put "i'm waiting" in the text. so, 48 hours later -- >> i was waiting a long time. >> so yesterday in the middle of the day randomly, i sent him a text, and it was like, "this is awesome." [ laughter ] and we couldn't stop. and here's the problem, all of my friends got this from yesterday. >> what is it? >> i don't even know, but this is sheinelle harassing al roker all day. we couldn't stop. so, today, because i'm so into this, i made some for you, too. >> because i don't have one. >> i know. i created it about ten minutes ago. do you want to see? >> oh, i love it! >> that's pretty good. >> i kind of want that dress. >> that's very cute. >> so, you can make them really look like -- >> you can customize them. >> can we put that up again? i did pretty well. >> you did. you really did. >> and look at the "tee hee, hee." >> okay, am i here? >> there you get. they had to set up the effect. which props to our technical director, because to get that done fairly quickly. >> kudos to you guys. >> how do i get them from you? >> i have no idea. >> you actually have to go on bitmoji and download it and you create your own person. >> calvin is going to be so annoyed because we're about to be doing it all day. >> that's right. >> that was yesterday. i was so happy. i had a apparent-teacher conference yesterday, my 7-year-old. and they split it up. al was teasing me. they have a conference for your gym teacher, your music teacher. >> wow. >> so, yesterday i had the extracurricular. but he's a smart kid, a genius kid, but he doesn't like to lose, so -- >> competitive. >> so competitive. >> where does he get that from? >> i have no idea. actually, not me, his dad. anyway, long story short, the gym teacher -- why are you looking at me that way? >> oh, come on! >> do you think i'm competitive? >> hello. have you ever watched you when we play these games? >> you think? okay, well, then he's doomed because i feel like my husband is -- anyway, point is, the gym teacher said, you know what, it's not a problem anymore. it was like, ahhhh! >> what, he's not competitive anymore? >> well, you can be competitive, but not to the point where you cry if you lose. and the music teacher said, can you sing? because cayenne can sing. >> really? so you're walking around like a proud mama. >> he says he thinks i'm crazy for doing all of the extra conferences. >> i don't think you're crazy, if the school offers it. but in my own defense -- >> don't try to be all nice now because you're on television. earlier, he was like -- >> earlier when courtney was a baby -- see, not competitive. when courtney was a baby and all these things -- i mean, i was right there, all that stuff. by the time you get to your third, okay? and they're like -- or especially like leila, who is going away to college in four months. i didn't even go to this last parent-teacher conference. i mean, she's got good grades, i know she's -- she's pretty much done. >> accepted into college. >> she's done. she's baked, okay? i can focus now on nick. and i go to those parent-teacher conferences. >> what's funny is they're getting all fancy, so calvin will probably have one at like 1 year old or 2 year old, probably say like, oh, here are his drawings. >> when brian starts telling me, dylan, you have a conference with me this afternoon about calvin, that's -- >> exactly. >> that's basically what's going to happen. >> oh, okay! >> and it's great. it's great that they do, but after a point, you're like -- >> i totally get it. >> -- okay, let's move on. >> i'm trying to think, did my mom go to my conferences after seventh, eighth grade? >> how many times did your parents show up at school? >> exactly! >> other than the parent-teacher conference and your year-end assembly. >> you know, i think you're right. never. >> now we're at school constantly! we're choppering in. >> you're right. >> he can sing -- >> i haven't gotten to that step yet. >> you'll be there. >> lots to look forward to. >> that's coming. >> you start with thank-you cards, because that's what you did yesterday. >> thank-you cards are very, very hard to write. >> and you have to do them, i guess. >> and i have to do them. and i feel like now there are so many ways you can just put a picture on something, print it out and ship it off, but i like handwritten, personalized thank you cards. >> which is nice. >> and finally got them all done yesterday. >> i hate the thank you e-mail. no, write a note. >> are these thank-yous for the shower or -- >> the shower ones i actually did. >> oh, you're good! >> well, that was a while ago. calvin's 3 1/2 months old. the picture i put on it was calvin's birth announcement, so he's looking very young in the card, so -- >> people will just be happy to get something with a stamp on it. >> talking about pictures. okay, so -- >> good. >> jimmy fallon's been in orlando all week at universal studios, celebrating the opening of his new ride. they cut the ribbon this morning. well, yesterday, dwayne johnson stopped by with him and they decided to have some fun dressing up as mascots of themselves. >> of themselves. >> those are freaky looking. >> they are. >> so, they ran around the park greeting people and then -- >> would you know that was -- >> dwayne johnson -- no, i mean, the dwayne johnson one kind of. all right! and they photo-bombed -- >> wait, were they in them? >> they were in them, i believe. >> that's funny. >> yes, they were in them. >> when do they -- >> watch this. >> this is pretty epic. watch this moment. >> oh, that's not right. okay. >> do we have a moment? >> well, one of the photo-bombs, a truly epic moment. take a look. >> three, two, one. >> my man. my hero since i was like 5 years old. >> did we get the shot? >> what's up, dude? >> did we get the -- did we get the picture? >> oh, my god. >> no tears, no tears. >> dude. >> dude, he's got a tattoo of you. come over here. stand over here. let's get a shot. >> three, two, one. >> wow. >> that is crazy. >> wow. >> watching a grown man cry. i love it. >> i mean, the tats. >> mascot, i like that. >> did he have a tattoo of him on his leg? >> yeah. >> that's dedication. by the way, dwayne johnson will be here tomorrow with us. >> that's cool. >> and our co-host will be ludacris. >> nice! >> crazy! >> you should put a tattoo of the rock on your body so you can show him tomorrow. >> that's not going to happen. not happening at all. >> are you sure? >> no. >> and ludacris on the other leg. >> there you go. >> i'm putting a tattoo of curt russell on. coming up, zac efron tricked into acting. and kurt russell! he's going to join "the take" table to talk about how he got his start. >> where should he put that tatt tattoo? where would you like it? ♪ ♪ ♪ give extra. get extra. start by taking care of families for 70 years. earn the trust of 32 nfl teams. be there for america's toughest and help, when help is needed america's #1 isn't a status earned overnight. it's earned in every wash, and re-earned every day. tide, america's #1 detergent ♪turn around ♪every now and then i get a little bit hungry and there's nothing good around♪ ♪turn around barry ♪i finally found the right snack♪ fiber one go on, have one. new colorista. from l'oreal paris. a playful new line of hair color. pink hair, blue hair, mermaid hair. 11 semi-permanent shades that last 4 to 10 shampoos. color your way. colorista. from l'oreal paris. big and small. but when i feel my best, i am my best. and it all starts with a healthy routine. that's why i'm taking the activia probiotic two week challenge and enjoying activia yogurt twice a day. activia with billions of its exclusive probiotic helps take care of what's inside so you can focus on being your best no matter what you do. take the activia probiotic two week challenge with me. it works or it's free. ♪ it takes two to makebiotic two week challenge with me. ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ it delivers a whole mouth clean with a less intense taste. zero alcohol™. so it has the bad breath germ-killing power of this... 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[classical music] for a whole mouth clean with a less intense taste... ahhh. try listerine® zero alcohol™. also try listerine® pocketpaks for fresh breath on the go. ♪ hey! we're back with more of "today's take," and we've got kurt russell here. >> yay! >> good to see you, sir. >> thanks for being here. >> not only are you in "the fate of the furious," but you are also going to be in "guardians of the galaxy 2," two of the biggest movies. >> it's funny how that happened back to back. >> that's awesome. we'll talk more about that coming up. but we want your thoughts on this next topic, so we've brought you here to the table. i know you like zac efron, so we find out he was doing -- i just made that up. >> i've never met zac. >> you love him! >> you love that guy. >> i was like, kurt loves him, so now we're going to talk about it. >> these are transitions to al. >> i know, exactly. >> zac is running to the tv right now. >> apparently, zac is your best friend. >> i hate that guy! >> you know what's funny is they got quiet, like, does he really love him? like, i don't even know. >> like crickets all of a sudden. >> okay, tell him about zac. >> well, he was doing a facebook live with fans yesterday. he admitted the reason he got into acting was because his parents tricked him! >> what? >> that's right. that's zac efron. okay, so, here's the deal. his parents told him they were taking him to toys "r" us but instead took him to an audition to a play because they had been watching him sing and dance, had talent. he says he was never more scared in his life, was actually crying but went on to get the part -- >> you're laughing. >> if you had known him, you'd love him! >> starting a business. >> how did you get your start? >> my parents beat me. [ laughter ] >> parents were brutal back then, huh? >> my parents just, they said "you're going to do this." my dad was an actor and i had a paper route. i was 9 years old, i had a paper route. so, i had been on some sets that my dad was working on and i saw all the fun that they were having. that looked like a good thing. i had just become interested in baseball at the time. my dad was an ex-pro ballplayer, so these were the two worlds my dad played in. >> what didn't your dad do? >> so, i wanted to get a bicycle for me and my sister, wanted to get two bikes, and i found out that you could get these new schwinns for 55 bucks, and this was 1961 or something. so, my dad came home one time and said -- he had been talking to these people about doing a picture with roger maris and micky mantle, and the star of the movie was a 10-year-old kid. and i said, does he get to meet them? does he get to play ball with them? he said, yeah, do you want to go in on this? i said, yeah, yeah, i do. >> that's awesome. >> so, it was kind of certain dip douse. i didn't get the job, but i saw what it was. and one day i did get the job and paid for the bicycles, instead of what would have been nine or ten months with the paper. so, i said, hey, i'm your boy. >> there you go! his dad also is a nuclear physici physicist. [ laughter ] that's fantastic. >> that's awesome! >> really cool. >> you're here on one of our favorite days, throwback thursday. we dug through the archives and found you as jungle boy on "gilligan's island." >> okay. can't deny it. >> it's a boy! it's a jungle boy. >> if you say jungle boy once more, i'll -- >> a jungle boy! >> he said it, i didn't. >> you did? >> well, obvious, since there is a jungle boy. >> how about you, mary ann, do you see it too? >> it isn't an it, skipper. it's a boy, it's a jungle boy. >> and i suppose if i turn around, i'll see it, too. i see it! >> it's a young kurt russell! >> otherwise known as jungle boy! >> jungle boy! [ laughter ] >> clearly, you've always had great hair. >> wow! >> do you remember that? >> oh, i remember it like -- see, what's weird about our careers is that we look at them from the inside. for me, that was like three weeks ago, you know? >> yeah. >> still remember some of my lines. i didn't have very many. >> you just had to walk around with the helmet hair and -- >> yeah, well, when you're 13 years old and you've got to do "gilligan's island" in a loin cloth and go back to your public school afterwards, tell you what -- >> good point. >> hey, jungle boy! >> you learn how to handle yourself pretty quickly. >> at least your name wasn't albert and you were a fat black kid when "fat albert" came out. i'll take jungle boy over that. let's see what's going on as far as your weather's concerned. >> you're not scarred at all. >> no, hasn't left me very scarred. severe thunderstorms making their way through the central part of florida. we do have a tornado watch stretching from richmond all the is strong storms pushing their way east again for today. we do have the risk of strong storms. 15 million people at risk for a strong storm or maybe an isolated tornado or two and flooding to talk about from boston to buffalo, philadelphia. heavy ground floods and snow. and high winds and floods possible. chicago today c . expect to see a very rainy evening, but some areas already seeing those overcast skies. mild temps overall. peninsula, san francisco and the north bay have already seen some spotty rain, the north bay still seeing some light rain across the entire north bay area. expecting to keep that rain in the forecast for the remainder of the day. taking a live look at the doppler radar. you can see that incoming storm. sitting offshore, there is expected to make its arrival becoming widespread at about 5:00 or 6:00 this evening. works. a bunch of laughs and then 15 million people are getting dumped on today. maybe we'll see you in a minute. he will talk about being on "the fate and the furious." and the long-time hollywood romance after these messages. you seek audience. yes, wise man. i'm confident in my credit score... just not about protecting it. confidence is a state of mind. find it in the free creditwise app from capital one. by providing your credit report, and alerts to changes, creditwise can give you credit....wiseness. if that's all, i'd like to get back to my chai tea. don't you mean tai chi? you tell me, greg. you tell me. what's in your wallet? discover italy's lighter side, at olive garden with new tastes of the mediterranean recipes that put a fresh spin on traditional italian made with simple, wholesome ingredients inspired by italy's mediterranean coast. indulge in italy's lighter side at olive garden. creamy, crunchy, chocolatey, hershey's. packed with cookies or almond pieces. hershey's has the taste you love in every bite. red line, 20 minute delay. oh, no. 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(laughter) (laughter) then we asked the experts i feel as clean as a little, white tiny kitten. a ah ooh, a twinkling iceberg! that's because only cottonelle® has cleanripple® texture. designed to clean better... ...as clean as a shimmering mermaid. cottonelle® wants everyone to feel as clean as a shimmering mermaid. how cottonelle® do you feel? that just tastes better. fresher. more flavorful. delicious. with more great nutrition. and 25% less saturated fat. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. we are having a great time with kurt russell this morning. he's back once again playing the mysterious mr. nobody in "the fate of the furious." >> he's a federal agent who operates outside the law. when he tries to convince dwayne johnson's character to join his team, he realizes his new protege has a lot to learn. >> what about your daughter? >> if you're not going to do it for your country, at least do it for your kid. >> oh, big mistake, kid. >> hold on. he's still working from the manual. he doesn't really know the rules. come on, give him a break. >> give me a break. >> lou. appreciate it. >> it's good to see you, nobody. >> you, too. >> you know, he's a really nice and interesting guy, dwayne. >> in fact, he's going to be with us tomorrow. >> he's a cool guy. having had -- we had an interesting background, he played pro football in college. if rare conversations you have with an athlete, you usually have them later in life, but the honesty was really impressive and i learned a lot. he's one sharp cookie. a good guy, too. >> your character -- >> i do love him. >> that's official. this is not a knock against zac. >> i just don't know zac. i'm sure i would love zac. >> after watching this movie, mr. nobody, in a sense, even though it's not the -- you're not the star of the movie, you drive this movie. your character drives this movie. >> it does come in and out at the strangest times and sort of, it's like we were just saying, he's a character, that we're similar, when i lean over and say, wait a minute, is this -- i want to catch up to speed. but mr. nobody does that for you. he comes in, it's almost like he turns to you and says, are you confused? he weighs things out for you and says, this is where we are going. it is exposition. it's a challenge as an actor, i have to say. but it's a lot of fun. it's fun to watch how the character fits into the story for the main characters that you're watching. yeah. >> the fact that he actually avoids a lot of the heavy lifting. >> right. >> totally. >> isn't that the plan? you put in that request? >> that's called wisdom. >> smart man. >> you know, i do heavy lifting in "guardians of the galaxy." >> i'm so excited for this to come out. >> and you are chris pratt's father? >> yes. this is a broad character, okay? >> you would like that. >> and he's created his own world. and everything about him is creation. so yeah, it was a great -- these two things back-to-back were really fun to do back-to-back and have the opportunity to try to create characters that people will have a great time with and be memorable. >> how long did it take you to grow that beard? >> not too long. >> that was a head of hair. >> he's jungle boy. i forgot. >> i don't know, a couple months, i guess. but i guess these days, lately, it's just been mustaches and beards and -- i saved that for later in my career. i didn't do a lot of it early on. >> i love it. and can we offer congratulations to you, by the way, we have not mentioned this, but you and goldie hawn celebrating your 34th anniversary. 34 years. >> all that hand goes to goldie. congratulations, honey. i can't believe you did it. >> did you do anything special? >> i have a -- well, what comes with age is alzheimer, i don't remember what i did. no, we had a regular day. so, look, we have a lot of fun in our lives and pulling out special days. i'm sure we did something special but i can't remember what it was. >> you have been such a delight. isn't that great? >> we don't want it to end. our stage manager is like -- "fate of the furious" hits theaters next friday, april 14th. coming up, the don't let dust and allergens get between you and life's beautiful moments. flonase allergy relief delivers more complete relief. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause all your symptoms, including nasal congestion and itchy, watery eyes. flonase is an allergy nasal spray that works even beyond the nose. so you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6>1 changes everything. good thursday morning at 9:26. i'm samuel brock. devin nunes announced he was temporarily recusing himself from the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 elections being investigated by the house intel committee. nunes said he still intends to hold his seat, but that his colleagues will temporarily be leading the investigation. devin nunes said he blames his recusal on left wing groups. president trump supports his decision to step aside. happening in about an hour, san francisco leaders will be converging south of market street to mark a moment that is four years in the making. here's a live look right now at the salesforce tower. you can't miss it anywhere near san francisco. it's been going up on mission street near first and fremont for the last year. it is a structure that everyone can agree has completely changed the san francisco skyline. at 10:00 today, crews are holding a topping off ceremony with installation of the final beam. it will be the tallest building at 61 stories tall. construction is expected to wrap up sometime this summer. you see haze and clouds out there surrounding the salesforce tower. we have more coming up right at this break. good morning. it is 9:28 and we're waking up to mild temps and pretty overcast skies. the north bay and peninsula and san francisco have already seen some rain. san francisco 58, palo alto 59, and this is all ahead of that rain that's already pushing on through. doppler radar right now showing plenty of activity, and as i mentioned, right in you rain mainly focused along the north bay area. we'll definitely keep a close eye on this heading into tonight's biggest changes. mike? your commute is a nice, easy drive for the most part. those wet roads over the san mateo bridge, there may be issues as that goes on throughout the day. more rain over toward sausalito ponding and puddling and slowing through oakland is starting to clear. way over on the right, you see a disabled vehicle. there was actually flashing lights earlier. back to you. mike, thank you very much. that's going to do it for us. news in half an hour. now back to the "today" show. it's been more than six decades since hugh heffner published the first "playboy" magazine. aturned "playboy" magazine into a huge multimillion empire. >> here is "american playboy: the hugh hefner story." take a look. >> every time somebody picks up "playboy" i don't want them to imagine him as a guy who can get the girl he wants. i want to teach him how, how to buy the right suit, the right bottle of wine, how uh to put music on when the girl comes over. i don't want to follow trends, i want to create them. >> and with us this morning, hugh hefner's son cooper hefner. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a ten-episode show about how your father started playboy. did anything surprise you as you did the research for this? >> well, we opened up the archive to amazon and steven david and focused on not just what typically is on the forefront of conversation, which is sexuality and the nudity, but really the civil rights activism and lgbtq activism in the early days of the company. >> and so many people talk about, you know, the joke is -- i read it for the articles, but the fact is that "playboy," besides the photography, really did some groundbreaking journalism, too. and your dad really kind of spirited that. >> yeah. i mean, again, when one takes a step back and thinks about the brand philosophy, the idea was that the company and him would challenge the sexual values but also say, look, this is not something we should consider dirty or taboo. and it is really something that should be, you know, paired next to a sophisticated lifestyle and really quality content. and that was mind-blowing for the time. >> so last year you took over your father's role as "playboy's" chief creative officer. what now? you have the baton now. >> i con sum media and belong to a generation that consumes media entirely differently. i'm on my phone, i'm on digital. so for me, i step in and don't think about our business from the media content perspective as a magazine, i think about it as a digital publishing company. when we talk about the content strategy and media strategy, we are thinking how can we participate in correreating a platform in the social media. >> what is it like growing up next to the "playboy" mansion, did you have parties? >> it was fun. i have stories in my head that are probably better for another time. >> well, i never knew that silk purple pajamas could be hereditary hereditary. >> that is the uniform. >> so you're born like that. >> this is what they put me into. yeah, it was and it is. >> cooper hefner. thank you so much. 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once you open your mouth, it seems like it is healing to some, inspiring for others, what is it for you? >> galileo says this is the language for god's young verse. and to me, music is my universe. it is deep rooted in my soul and my spirit. it's the perfect way to connect one's story to another. >> his inspiring story spreads the message of this organization, to help kids shine. what does this mean to you guys and how important is it to have this? >> i want the team to help kids that have gone through something special in their lives. actually, putting them on a platform, they would have never ever dreamt of performing here at radio city music hall. >> is there any way you can give me a snip-it of it? ♪ make it a better place >> what are your dreams when we talk about dreams? >> i want to inspire people. >> also making her raud odio ci music hall debut is brianna hayes. on the stage, radio city music hall, it doesn't seem real. >> it doesn't seem real. it is like a once-in- a-lifetime chance. you have to do this, tell your story. >> what is your story? what would you they. >> my story doesn't define me, it makes me stronger. i was in foster care 14 going on 15. i remember feeling like it was my fault, like going into foster care was my fault. >> give me a couple lines. >> all my life i wanted to be -- every kid on this stage is channeling their inner beauty. and they are letting it grow in so many lights, it's so beautiful. >> and as these rock star kids stand up and take their final bows, their smiles are a constant reminder of their beautiful dreams. last week the foundation had their garden of laughs event to raise $2.2 million to continue programs like talent show. if you would like to learn more about garden of dream, head to today.com. >> inspiring. >> and to play at radio city music hall. >> for anyone that would be huge, but for these kids -- >> that is one of the biggest stages in the world. >> let me tell you, these kids knocked it out of the park. the way they sing, they dance. >> and he was on harvey's show. >> yes. he is wise beyond his years for sure. >> unlike me. not even close. let's show you what we have going on as far as your weather is concerned. we'll look at the weekend outlook to show you what is happening, starting off with tomorrow, we have some high winds around the great lakes, plenty of sunshine through the gulf coast. heavy rain moves into california, pacific northwest. heavy mountain snows in the sierra. saturday, unseasonably warm through the northern plains, but look at the mess out west, just a bit of a problem. sunshine the midatlantic states, gulf coast into the southwest. sunday, sunday! we expect to see unseasonably mild weather for the eastern third of the country. finally, starting to feel like spring. we've got wet weather through the upper mississippi river valley. things dry out in we are definitely seeing overcast skies across the entire bay area. that temperature will stay fairly mild. we'll head into the 60s. but the big news tonight is that incoming storm. spotty rain along the peninsula and staff sapphian francisco he. the big thing, make sure to strap down that patio furniture as winds are supposed to be gusty, 45 to 50 miles per hour. big when a six-second video of her song "lost boy" changed her life. now ruth b. is back with a new he's a nascar champion who's faced thousands of drivers. she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know. ♪ (singsong) budget meeting. sweet. if you compare last quarter... it's no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with no artificial preservatives, flavours or dyes. my doctor says i havey, what's skittles pox.al preservatives, are they contagious? i don't think so. contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow! living healthy is a balancing act. that's why i love light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. each delicious cup contains 12 grams of protein and 80 calories. it's nutrition that fits my healthy life. light & fit. do what fits you. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. test. if you've got a life, you gotta swiffer the citi concert series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi. >> even in this age of youtube stars and social media, it's fascinating that a six-second video could catapult someone to super stardom. >> that's exactly what happened to canadian performer ruth b. two years ago when she posted herself singing "lost boy" and the internet exploded. >> well, now she's about to release her debut album, "safe haven" with her new single "if this is love." welcome back, ruth. good to see you. >> so good to see you. >> could you imagine when starting to post the videos this could possibly lead to this? >> i think i always hoped. i don't think you can see anything like this coming, but i definitely knew that i loved music and would have been happehappey if it happened to my life. >> a lot of the videos included your fingerson the keyboard and not your face. why did you do that? >> i found if the camera was on my face people were talking about hair and makeup and i wanted it to be about the music. so i thought, if i show the keyboard, this is going to focus on the song. i wrote all the songs myself, so i think it is really a good way of capturing the past two years of my life in 12 songs. >> here we are. "if this is love" ruth b. ♪ it's been a long day and i'm trying to figure it out ♪ ♪ the way the words left your mind out ♪ ♪ i feel broken shattered and new and i'm trying to figure it out ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down noti notice ♪ ♪ it's been a long time since i felt the way that i do now ♪ ♪ like i need you but i don't know how ♪ ♪ it's been a while since i smiled and i meant it for all my heart ♪ ♪ but the idea of leaving this behi behind, it tears me apart ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down ♪ ♪ kiss me now and remind me why i ever wanted to make you mine ♪ ♪ and even though it hurts in this moment i've always known it ♪ ♪ you're the other half of my broken heart ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down ♪ ♪ if this is love ♪ why does it break me down why do you break me down ♪ ♪ even though it hurts in this moment i have always known it ♪ ♪ you're the other half of my broken heart ♪ >> that was beautiful. >> beautiful. and we have to -- do you get mistaken for malia obama? >> i do get that a lot. it's funny, but yeah, it's great. >> i'll tell you, people are going to know you for that mu c music. "this is love" is available now. and the album is out for pre-order on may 5th. we'll be back, but first, this is "today" on nbc. it will be fun, what's wrong with you people? >> we don't have enough time. >> look who is here? >> so exciting. >> we thought he left us. >> we are going to learn self-defense moves. we are going to do a little fashion for easter. >> everything going on. >> everything. >> look how you guys are matchy-match. >> there you go. >> a case of the blues. we're just going to do this for an hour. >> that will be tv. >> a thrilling hour, yes. >> this is the longest tease in the history of the world. >> the one-time we have time and -- >> i have nothing to say. i have nothing to it's 9:56 and we're already seeing some rain in the north bay. we have incoming rain that will turn stormy in the evening hours. overcast skies at about 69 degrees. temperatures will remain the same for the most part. you can actually see that storm system on the doppler radar. this is expected to turn stormy tonight and wind will be gusty and breezy. you can expect to see very gusty winds so be sure to be prepared. mike? >> light traffic right now. things will build during the day as that weather gets worse, so be prepared, folks. let me show you the golden gate bridge shot which may be affected in a similar fashion. that rain having just come through the area, more windshield wipers and that will typically cause slowing on the bay area bridge. that's a slower drive into the city. back to you. >> we'll drive more slowly, too. happening now, house intelligence chairman devin nunes has recused himself from the probe of russia and the trump administration. our national bureau is following today's developments in washington and we'll have a complete report in our everyday newscast. also in our twitter feed, you can link to the latest including reaction from other lawmakers. later today, a truck goes down an east bay embankment. . >> announcer: from nbc from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hod a kobt live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. hoda is off. i have actor and comedian and doctor ken jeong as my co-host, and i'm delighted. i just want to play with you. >> that hurts a little bit. >> that's called "heaven south" by brad paisley. >> it's called the bruise by kathie lee. >> that didn't hurt, did it? >> no. >> i just get very