this is "today" with lester holt and jenna wolfe. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. waking up to breaking news. >> they arrested these men also checking out their homes in new jersey. the men were apparently preparing to board separate flights at jfk airport, the ultimate destination, according to authorities, was somalia. there's no immediate threat in the u.s., but they say the men were preparing to join an affiliate of al qaeda overseas. coming up, what investigators suspect they were up to. we'll head to the gulf of mexico. officials say the gaap cap placed over the gushing well captured about 250,000 gallons of oil in just its first day of operation. that could be about one-third of the daily flow of oil, but bp says it hopes to collect more over the next couple of days. we'll have an update coming up. plus important medical news this morning. a breakthrough in treating the most deadly form of skin cancer. it is extending life with those with advanced melanoma. in some patients it's making the cancer disappear. it's truly a remarkable breakthrough. we'll have the details you need to know. >> you had this amazing opportunity. you sat down with one of the world's great, great comedians, carol burnett. >> for years she kept a lot of us glued to her living room sets watching her cast of characters on saturday nights and she shares memories of that including the remarkable path she took to get on that show. we have that coming up. first, we want to give you the latest on the arrest of those two men on terror chargest. jonathan dienst of w nbc in new york joinsous the phone. this was part of a four-year surveillance operation. that's a lot of patience authorities put into this. how did it begin to unravel? >> it's our understanding that the nypd was in with these two men in an undercover fashion and were able to track them where they made arrangements to travel overseas and had some intention to fly overseas to the middle east and on to somalia to hook up with al qaeda operatives. that according to law enforcement officials who felt it was time to move in and make the arrests as they headed to the airport to begin that travel overseas. do they believe they were simply going to somalia for training or that this was the beginning of an operational mission to target americans. >> the fear is there would be a mission to target americans or troops overseas, but no specific plot here. the two men are from new jersey. they are single males and american citizens and one identified as muhammad blasa and the other carlos eduardo. they are in custody, the fbi, nypd and port authority police making the arrest last night in an operation, arabian nights is what it was dubbed. the concern, that these americans based here, were going to travel overseas to hook up with somali extremists and al qaeda operatives overseas. >> jonathan dienst, thanks for checking in on that late word. we are joined by nbc terror analyst roger cressey. roger, good morning to you. >> good morning, lester. it was just this past week another somali man was hauled off an airliner before it entered u.s. airspace. he was accused on a u.s. warrant being involved with al shaab ab. is the u.s. becoming a recruiting ground for this particular group. >> it has been for different reasons than we normally talk about an al shahban. and a couple of dozen americans have gone overseas to fight there. principally the driver has been clan, nationalistic reasons. somali-americans, the relatives are in somalia. they're engaged in this fight and they volunteered to defend their family. what we're seeing now is an evolution where al shabab is attacking targets outside of somalia and their targets have become more pronounced. there was a case where al shabab be on rattives were interested in conducting attacks in somalia. it might be projecting a threat otherwise. that's where the evolution is going and that's what's most disturbing. >> there is a disturbing trend here. let me run through the list. you have a couple of americans, young, single living in suburbia, new jersey, they come on the heels of faisal shahzad, remember the connecticut man arrested in the times square attempted car bombing. jamie ramirez, the colorado mom planning an attack. najibullah zazi, the man arrested after attempting the bomb plot on new york city subways, major nadal hasan. that's a lot going on. how are they reacting to the trend of either americans or those living in this country allegedly plotting these attacks? >> lester, this is the trend that's most disturbing to the counterterrorism authority. you see it becoming a number one priority and right behind the threat of afghanistan and pakistan. all of those cases are cited by different circumstances, different sets of -- different scenarios, but the bottom line is still the same. these are americans either naturalized americans, native born americans or people here in terms of green cards all of whom are now being recruited for terrorist activities. so the fbi especially, but even new york police department are looking at this as a growing priority and the question is if they're being radicalized for different reasons how do you come up with underlying circumstances to identify new potential recruits and that's what makes it so difficult. these are people who don't appear on anybody's database, so identifying them before they become operatives is very tough. >> it's all very troubling. roger cressey, thank you. >> you bet. >> now here's jenna. >> thanks. now to the ongoing story in the gulf of mexico where the sheen continues to spread. it has people on edge in pensacola, florida. mark potter is there for us this morning. hi, mark. >> reporter: good morning to you, jenna. the government says engineers are slowly traying to increase the amount of oil captured by the containment cap. as of yesterday it was 6,000 barrels a day, with so much oil still escaping the effects are spreading with tar balls on florida beaches and officials spotted a light sheen of oil right here, just a half mile off pensacola beach. >> park service workers are busy picking up tar balls. gooey clumps of oil continue to wash ashore. >> it's an ever-changing situation. the tar balls are right where the waves break. along the florida panhandle from west of pensacola beach to the town of navar beach, noorly 300 cleanup workers are on the shoreline in barrier islands with angry residents also helping out. >> i got a pillowcase out of the car and took a waffle house cup and started picking up tar balls and it was a ridiculous response, but it was my way of getting the oil out. >> charlie crist. >> it breaks your heart to see wild life impacted that way is just tragic. >> joining the governor is jimmy buffett who is opening a hotel on pensacola beach. >> just try to get involved any way you can. i'm not here to point fingers. i'm just here to lend a hand. >> potential damage to their beaches. >> nothing has been done about it. this is our home and our community. >>. >> reporter: on the beaches, though, many sunbathers are still enjoying the water, but others are starting to worry about potential health risks from oil. >> as far as the shores here they won't be able to go in the water, not until they clean this mess up. >> reporter: so far, florida beaches are still open with no plans to close them yet. on the water, southwest of pensacola beach, boaters discovered a light sheen of oil. >> which way is that oil sheen heading? >> to me it looks like it's in lines running north and south. >> heading toward shore? >> yes, sir. it's headed that way. >> reporter: in pensacola bay along estuaries and marines booms have been set up to catch oil and fireboats are standing by to decontaminate any arriving boats that went through the oil. meanwhile the oil threat continues to move east along the panhandle and here in pensacola today government and health officials will be talking about whether to close the beaches or keep them open as they are now. as for bp, it's draw something criticism for its apologetic ad campaign featuring its ceo tony hayward who promises to fix the leak and compensate all of the victims, but president obama has said rather than spending that money on pr, the company should be concentrating on cleanup and recovery. also, newspapers in britain are reporting that hayward sold about a third of his company's stock a month before the disaster. there is no suggestion that he did anything wrong or had any advanced knowledge, but in the sale he did avoid the losses felt by so many stockholders now. jenna? >> mark potter. mark, thank you. john harwood is chief correspondent for cnbc. good morning. >> good morning, jenna. >> this is top priority for president obama. he made his third trip to the gulf on friday. he's trying to fight this perception that he's just been out of touch on all of this. has the white house corrected itself and gotten this message out the way it wanted to at this point? >> they're doing everything they possibly can, jenna. they send out so many alerts on the administration efforts. the president by going back there commanded the news for the day, even the unfavorable jobs report was coming out. we've seen the president has not had his approval rating change much one way or the other. so some of the fallout is within the news coverage of the president rather than the public's perception, but he's got to try to get on top of that by showing that he's on top of the cleanup as well as the effort to cap this well, but the head wake is not going to go away until they had more progress on stopping the flow of oil and they're hopeful they can do that. >> what about the president's decision to put a moratorium on drilling. a lot of state and local officials are saying hold on. this is going to affect our economy and it will get jobs away from us. did this administration have any other option, any other choice at this point? >> they didn't have any choice, but they're confronting as you suggest, jenna, some of the contradiction within their own policy. that means the president before this blowout had advocated increased drilling with tighter safeguards. that's part of the legislation he's pushing on capitol hill and that's part of his administrati administration's stance and those states that are on the gulf get a whole lot of revenue from the royalties of that drilling. so there's only so far they can go in reversing course and saying this activity that we thought was safe and we thought was acceptable a few weeks ago no longer is. so trying to strike the right balance between what's the appropriate amount of new regulation going forward while permitting this actye big political challenges that hasn't gotten a lot of attention so far. >> john harwood. thank you so much. >> you bet. >> a program note this tuesday, matt lauer will have an exclusive interview with president obama. let's get a check of the headlines. at the news desk is lynn berry. >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. we'll begin in t, in illinois, twister was caught on tape near peoria late saturday. a tornado watch is now in effect from since nat toe pittsburgh. investigators in illinois searched a muddy stretch of land saturday for the remains of drew peterson's fourth wife. police received a jailhouse tip, but will not comment on the investigation. stacy peterson has been missing since 2007. the former police officer is currently in jail charged with murdering his third wife. that trial begins next month. the fbi is searching for a 7-year-old oregon boy missing since friday. kiron horman was last seen at his school's science fair and never made it home. police will resume the search today and speak with parents and students for any information. and finally, was there no triple crown stake, but it was still a dramatic finish in the belmont stakes. in an upset, drosselmeyer came from behind to beat fly down. first dude came in third and drosselmeyer's odds were 13 and good sunday morning to you. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. sunshine on sunday morning. temperatures in the steamy mid-70s. even a few spots in the upper 70s already down towards calvert and t mary's, 78 degrees down there. thunderstorms in western pennsylvania and eastern ohio. part of the weather front coming through here between noon and 6:00 p.m. as a result increasing clouds today, a risk of a shower, maybe even thunderstorm. keep you posted on that. cooler tomorrow. city with a chance for severe storms this afternoon. washington, d.c. with a high of 91, 93 in miami. now here's jenna. >> janice, thanks. up next on "today," a dramatic breakthrough in treating a deadly form of cancer. that's right after this. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. we helped keep your skin clear. now we have a solution for wrinkles. neutrogena anti wrinkle with retinol sa smoothes even deep wrinkles. it works...beautifully. neutrogena. women preferred the softness and scent of concentrated snuggle blue sparkle to the leading brand. and snuggle costs less, too. so go on, buy snuggle today. it is the most deadly type of skin cancer, melanoma. last year there were more than 68,000 new cases in the united states and almost 9,000 deaths, but this weekend researchers at a conference of the american society of clinical oncologists reported the results of an exciting study, a breakthrough in treating advanced melanoma in helping people live longer. nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell has the story. >> reporter: rick will key is back to resuming his hobby, he's resumed as a commercial airline pilot. he was facing eminent death. melanoma had spread through his body. he thought of his wife and their two teenagers. >> he needs help with them. i just couldn't believe that it was happening. >> all these little dark spots are the melanoma. >> reporter: dr. stephen odeh shows how much cans her permeated wilke's body. >> melanoma is a devastating disease and traditionally we've had no treatments that have successfully improved survey offal. >> reporter: until now. dr. odeh and others have been studying a protein which stimulates cells in the immune system to attack the melanoma. >> the cancer is just melting. >> reporter: after a few treatments, scans show that wilke's cancer was gone. >> the staff, the nurses. >> everybody was jumping up and down. >> everybody came into this tiny little room to give us the good news. >> any new symptom at all. >> reporter: across the country, other patients were getting similar news. >> as someone who has been treating melanoma for a long time and seeing a lot of failures. does this excite you? >> absolutely. you can feel it in the waiting rooms of melanoma centers, the patients are energized. our waiting rooms are becoming fuller because patients are waiting longer. this is producing excitement both for the clinical researchers both in the battleground of the horrible disease and the patients and their families. >> there are drawbacks. the drug works in only 20% to 30% of patients and doctors cannot predict which ones. in some patients it set off auto immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and colitis. >> any new problems? >> reporter: treating those does not stop the drug from treating the cancer. for patients like wil keshgs, the drug is a lifesaver. >> we're getting the kids ready for college. >> reporter: for "today," robert bazell, nbc news, los angeles. still to come on "today," joran van der loot and the young woman he was with right before she died, but first these woman he was with right before she died, but first these messages. even carrots and peas.beef, you love the smaller-size, easy-to-chew kibbles, and i love the carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. whoa! wait for me! ha-ha. you only think you're getting spoiled. [ woman announcing ] new beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. >> and still to come, it's been six months since this utah mom disappeared and her husband is still a person of interest. we'll have the latest coming up. changing gears, what makes carol burnett so funny with her tarzan yell? we'll find out. sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. brings your child's fever down faster and keeps it down longer than children's tylenol®. not even children's motrin® is proven better. for relief you can trust, look for children's advil® in the cough/cold aisle now. good morning, 7:26 on june 6, 2010. police need your help locating a lexus stole frighten a former police officer. the car was stolen from a citgo station in the northeast. the officer attempting to stop the carjacking was shot three times in the arm. 4dmd 80 is the license plate. a water main broke last week in northeast washington will be creating problems again this morning. the 12 inch line broke on new york and montana avenues. we're told repairing the damage was more difficult than originally expected because of bass and electric lines in the area. two lanes shut down so crews can fix the road. she should be open this afternoon. for anyone driving in tyson's corner expect delays there. crews completing a traffic pattern on leesburg pike. shifted between spring hill road and route 23. about 40 feet. it's a permanent shift to make room for the silver line that will head to dulles airport. your weather is next. stay with us. looks like a good day to head to the park to support the montgomery county humane society for paws in the park. what do you think, chuck? a little sticky for the dogs? >> definitely. they are going to be wearing a fur coat. i wouldn't recommend people wearing fur coats if you're outside. plenty of heat and humidity. give your four-legged friends plenty of water if you bring them to the park or wherever you're taking them. outside temperatures in the mid to eye 70s across the area. already plenty of heat and humidity to deal with. here is a check of radar. you can definitely get a sense there is a line of showers with some thunderstorms that is indeed coming in our direction. so we have rain in the forecast for late this afternoon up to about 6:00, 7:00 this evening. so the sunshine now becoming cloudy this afternoon. scattered showers and thunderstorms likely. some of them may reach severe limits. highs close to 90 degrees. tomorrow clouds on monday morning. afternoon clearing but cooler and lower humidity by tomorrow afternoon. that will be a pleasant change. another chance rolls in wednesday. heat and humidity of summertime will be back by next weekend. kimberly. >> thank you, chuck. our scheduling is a little different. we have a full hour of local news, weather and sports coming up at 8:00. then the french open will start at 9:00. but for now we'll send you back to the "today" show. here we are on this sunday morning, june 6, 2010. it's a steamy sunday morning in new york city. we thank the folks on the plaza who decided to spend part of their morning with us. back inside studio 1a, jenna wolfe along with lester wolf. still to come, joran van der sloot. >> he was brought back from peru where the murder of a 22-year-old young woman took place. van der sloot with the victim on what was the last night of her life. >> where is susan powell? it's been six months since this utah mother of two disappeared. her husband josh was the last to see her on the night of december 6th. he still remains uncooperative with police and now he's left utah with his two sons. we'll have the latest on the investigation. we'll talk with susan powell's best friend coming up. we'll switch gears and talk about the ultimate queen of comedy. for years, carol burnett brought us to tears with her laugh out loud skits. i recently caught up with the funny lady and talked about the trademark tarzan yell. >> did you ask her to do that or did she do that after a bad question? >> yes, did i ask her. >> she's a true veteran. >> looking forward to sharing that later in the program, but first, joran van der sloot remains in a peruvian jail where he is a suspect in the brutal murder of a young woman. michelle kozinski is in lima and has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. getting this 22-year-old back into peru and in custody was quite the operation. they had dozens of police and a s.w.a.t. team out here. he's accused in such a violent crime against a young woman who was virtually a stranger. police released a surveillance video of joran van der sloot with the victim in what would be the last few hours of her life. joran van der sloot with bulletproof vest and handcuffs would say not a word, would not look at the jostling hoard of international press. peruvian police, though, he walked him three times for the cameras have not minced word, calling him a serial killer with a face of stone. the 22-year-old, though, looked worried. eyes misty and this, police say, is van der sloot with 21-year-old student stephany flores early sunday on what they believe was the last night of her life. they had just met at a casino in lima. the surveillance video shows them in van der sloot's hotel going to his room. police say four hours later he left. according to local papers he told the front desk not to bother his girl. had left the tv on so loud housekeeping staff did not enter the room until two days later where they found flores, daughter of a one-time presidential candidate here, beaten so badly her neck was broken, murdered five years to the day that alabama teenager natalee holloway disappeared in aruba. also last seen with joran van der sloot. they, too, had met in a casino. the once promising college-bound son of a judge is now persona nongrata in at least six countries. over the years he's told different stories about what happened to natalee holloway, some of which he later said were lies. now again, he's five years older, but barely out of his teens, the world watches joran van der sloot accused of a brutal crime that he again, denies. a judge has extended van der sloot's detention for a week while the investigation continues. police say they've started interrogating him almost immediately, but they wouldn't say what, if anything, he's telling them, lester. >> michelle kozinski. thank you. now we want to get another check of your sunday forecast from janice huff. vegas, tucson and even into albuquerque, new mexico, above 100. and if you want to keep track of the weather all day just tune in to the weather channel on cable or logon to weather.com. now here's jenna. >> janice, thanks. it's been six months since susan powell, the utah mother of two disappeared from her home leaving her two young sons behind. her husband josh is still a person of interest in the case, but the question still remains where is susan powell. nbc's janet shamlian has more. >> reporter: those two little boys were the love of her life, friends say. so they believe they know for certain susan powell did not leave willingly. the 28-year-old stockbroker disappeared last december and was reported missing when she didn't show up for work. at her utah home, police found her purse, her cell phone and something that aroused suspicion. two fans aimed at a wet spot on the rug, but there was no sign of susan. >> the more time that passes may not be in her favor. josh powell later returned with the kids telling a story many found hard to believe. he said he'd gone on an impromptu camping trip with the 2 twroeld and 4-year-old just after midnight in below-freezing temperatures in snow-covered woods the day his wife went missing. a month later he left utah with the kids moving to washington state where his parents live. josh powell who's been uncooperative is the only person of interest in the case, one they're still pursuing aggressively. >> we still have eight detectives assigned and they're still working hard on it and we're following up on leads and following other information that has been generated. >> reporter: friends say the marriage was troubled and that susan was the victim of domestic violence and had talked about possible divorce. they held vigils and searches and set up a facebook page and are anguished she hasn't been found. >> it's been a really long time, and i never thought back in december that it would have gone on this long. six months is a long time without mom ney a case that's seemingly gone stone cold. janet shamlian, nbc news, los angeles. kirsey is one of susan powe powell's close friends. kirstie, good morning. in good morning. >> thank you for being with us. it's been six months since you last saw your friend susan. the police say this continues to be a missing person investigation and her husband josh is still a person of interest in this case. what do you think happened to susan powell? >> there's only two possibilities in my mind. she was either kidnapped or she's been killed. >> that's all you think. less than a month after susan disappeared josh powell moved their two boys from utah back to washington state. when was the last time that you spoke with him? >> probably the second week in february. he came back to utah to get his house ready for leasing and so we saw him a few times that week, but ever since then he's cut off all contact with us. >> have you asked him why he was planning on moving or why he decided to move? >> he told us back in january that he couldn't afford to stay in his house which is kind of strange because i know the community would have -- the church would have helped him and the friends and neighbors would have helped him so he could have stayed here if he wanted to. >> you were one of susan's closest friend. it's been reported that they had marital issues. did she mention anything to you? was she happy in this marriage? >> we talked about it a lot, yes. she was very unhappy. she felt josh changed very much as a husband and she wanted the man she married back. >> she made mention of the fact that she was thinking about leaving him. do you know anything about that? >> in the summer of 2008 she did go talk to a divorce lawyer secretly and she started a bank account on her own and was talking about possibly moving back with her parents in washington, but after that they worked harder -- or at least she did and she thought things were a little bit better. >> you last saw susan on the morning of her disappearance. can you tell us a little bit about what her demeanor was like that morning? >> we went to church together, and we walked home from church, and she seemed completely normal. she was happy about the church service. she was happy that her little boys since she always had to go to church alone that her little boys were behaving well enough that she could enjoy the service and she was completely normal. >> police say josh powell remains uncooperative in this case. we did reach out to josh's attorneys, but he did not return our phone calls. how frustrating is this for you and how much involvement do you think josh had in this? >> i think josh has everything to do with it because if he's innocent and he has nothing to do with it then why run away? why hide from the police? why hide from the public and from the media? why not reach out to everybody and do everything he can to find her? it's extremely frustrating because he's the one person they believe knows everything about this and he won't talk. >> i know this period has been so difficult for you and for susan's family. we want to thank you, kirstie, so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we are back right after these messages. build your better breakfast at subway! for only $2.50, get a western egg white muffin melt, made-to-your-order, and add a 16-oz. cup... of freshly brewed seattle's best coffee. try the new $2.50 breakfast combo at subway. ♪ and we've got some huge rollbacks. 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[ zing! ] i got a cart full of big rollbacks in here. mr. rollback just saved you over 25 bucks. my name is darrell, and i save people money so they can live better. hi, jay bush and duke here to introduce new bush's black bean fiesta....whoa... you can't tell everyone about new black bean fiesta. but it's perfectly cooked black beans, in a zesty "south of the border" chipotle sauce with red and green peppers, onion, and crisp corn. a bold new taste. i know. but i want people to think i'm a great cook. so hide. delicious! can i have your recipe? your secret is safe with me. hello... new bush's black bean fiesta. and try new texas ranchero, along with our other grillin' beans flavors. summer is right around the corner and people are getting ready to make their plans, but no matter where the destination, many travelers are looking for bargains and gabe from travel zoo has some of those bargains. good to see you. >> lester, how are you in. >> you guys did a survey and found that when people travel they're price conscious. >> a lot of people are traveling more than last year. people eliminated or curtailed it in the summer. they travel industry has been throwing our way some amazing deals and people will be looking for them again this summer. >> there are still some and those are the ones you've chosen about. the first one is the bahamas. >> winter is the peak season for the bahamas. it was a disappointing peak season. to make it up with the best pricing we've seen in luxury results including the all-inclusive and all-adult resorts and great cruise deals as well. it's only 50 miles away from florida where other domestic fares are going up for the summer, here's an area where the fares are going down so you can get good deals as well. >> orlando has always been a top family pick. >> certainly a kids and family sort of destination theme park mecca, but a lot of adults are going there solo because a lot of the luxury resorts are offering amazing pricing. you have the waldorf a storeia, the crown plaza universal. some of the four and five star resorts offering under $80 a night with an upgrade and breakfast and you're right across the street from the resorts should the kids be with us. with convention business down, greater room availability means better room prices. >> in las vegas, they've had their challenges in the past. this has been an uptick in vegas in the last couple of months and major volume needs to be seen, and it remains the number one domestic value as far as traveling goes. we're looking at overnight stays right on the strip for as little as $20 a night. four-star resorts like the hard wok and the monte carlo for under $50 a night. your five-star beautiful, gorgeous resorts in some cases between $100 and $150 a night. all of the shows on the strip to the phantom of the opera to lion king, 40% to 50%. >> you also mentioned colorado. we could spend a whole show on things to do in colorado. >> this is it, more than 40 state parks, river rafting, mountain climbing, mountain biking, hot air ballooning and certainly because of its central location, many people in the sort of center part of the country can easily access colorado. the big story here is some of the four and five-star resorts charge get 400 to $500 a night in winter are charging under dollar 00 a night in the summer. >> we were talking affordability and i was surprised when i saw australia and new zealand and then i saw the airfares. >> that's the big story with going down under. it is winter down there when it's summer here. we're looking at win tter temperatures in the mid 50s. >> i'll take it. >> from the west coast $400 and under $500 from new york city and you would have paid more than that to head down under. great vacation packables as well. gaiter airfare than we've seen in a long time. >> thanks so much. now here's jenna. >> lester, thanks. among a cornucopia of things the late princess diana was a style icon in her own right. she modernized the idea of how to dress as a princess. this week dresses worn by the people's princess will go on sale in london and as nbc's nina deroy reports these eye-catching numbers document her transition from darling d ito daring di. >> it was a dress that shattered royal etiquette and left little to the imagination, with its plunging neck line, the gown princess diana wore after her engagement re-wrote the royal dress code. it also transformed the shy 19-year-old into a fashion icon revered to this it day. >> she came to our studio and she was looking for an evening dress for this event. when she wore t of course, the press went absolutely crazy. she looked like a superstar. instead of flattering his bride-to-be, prince charles had questioned diane's choice of color. >> the fact that it was black was against protocols. in our family we only wear plaque for mourning. diane's dress will, along with her other clothes and memorabilia. this will include the final toil of her wedding gown. he recalls how the princess shed the pounds before her big day. >> she'd never been fat, but by the day of the wedding she had the figure of a model. >> it is unlikely the dresses will ever be worn again. the designers are hoping a museum will buy them with the hope that the memory will live on. >> they fetched attractive sums, too. a charity auction of 79 combarmentes raised $3.6 million in 1997 while the dress she danced with john travolta raised $a quarter of a million alone. it is to bring in a modest $240,000 with diana's black gown estimated to go for $75,000. you don't have to be rich to buy a piece of the action. some of the items in tuesday's sale may sell for as little as $150. these include sketches, dress patterns and pet i coats fit for a princess. for "today," nina deroy, nbc news, london. >> up next. carol burnett uncensored. lester goes one-on-one with the legendary queen of comedy. that's right after these messages. every time we use o. 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( gasps ) what's in your wallet? wait up! ♪ >> that music will bring back memories to a lot of folks. carol burnett has been making us laugh for the better part of 50 years with her wit and trademark tarzan yell. she's captivated a generation on saturday nights and is still cracking us up years later. her new book "this time together, loster and reflection" is already a best-selling memoir. i had a chance to meet with her and it's clear carol burnett still hasn't lost her comic touch. >> say something, captain! say something! >> it almost didn't matter what she was saying -- somehow, carol burnett always got the laugh. >> madam says everything with her face. anger, fear, passion, jealousy, hate! >> for more than a decade, her quick wit along with her cast of odd characters, captivated a generation on saturday nights. >> i loved the idea of music. i loved the idea of guest stars. i loved the idea of having the dancers and singers and our regular group of performers. >> i think we might have to spend quite a bit of time together on this. >> oh, that would be too bad! >> carol burnett's show lived up to her intension, but it almost never happened and wouldn't have happened if not for an unprecedented contract and a bit of bad luck. >> i had signed a contract with cbs for ten years in 1962. the first five years, if i chose to push the button, they said, they would have to put me on for 31-hour variety. >> 30, one-hour shows. >> 30 one-hour shows. we were in the fifth year and my husband and i were not doing that well and we looked at each other and we thought maybe we'd better push that button. >> cbs executives begrudgingly put the show on in 1967 and expected it to be cancelled that first season. burnett surprise said even herself, growing year after year with unforgettable skits like her pair deif gone with the wind. >> that gown is gorgeous. >> thank you. i saw it in the window, and i just couldn't resist it. >> that was one of the longest laughs we ever got on our show. i hadn't shown the dress to the crew until we were going to be taping. the audience was hysterical. the band was screaming. i mean, it was just great, and i had to bite my cheek because i was afraid i was going to lose it. >> you waddled up to me. >> burnett's unpredictable style was the key to her success right along with her trademark tarzan yell that on one occasion even scared off an armed robber. >> can you still do it? >> oh, yes. >> you want it? >> we've got sophisticated audio here. [ tarzan yell ] >> after 11 successful seasons, 280 shows, 2500 sweches and 22 emmys burnett had decided her show had run its course. ♪ i'm so glad we had this time together ♪ >> it was a tearful good-bye, but one she doesn't regret. good night, thank you. >> i'd like to say good night before they knock on the door and say, bye, you're out of here. >> could you hear the footsteps coming? >> no. they wanted us back for a 12th year, and i thought we've really done it. >> do you want to give me something to remember you by? >> i certainly do. >> is there anything you haven't done in showbiz that you would like to do? >> george clooney. >> that's not a show. >> oh, oh! >> there is a facebook campaign to get burnett to host "saturday night live" just like betty white. burnett says she'd consider it if she could come back with some of the members of the old cast. she was trying to cachet check at some point and didn't have i.d. on her and said this would do? >> and it worked. the women that are funny translate to funny off tv and she seems she's hilarious. >> delightful, comfortable. >> that's great. >> we'll be back after these messages. woman: i just joined extracare advantage for diabetes at cvs/pharmacy. i'm taking the right steps to manage my diabetes and my budget. extracare advantage for diabetes is a new program that helps me save money and earn double bucks on over 100 items, so we can stay a step ahead of... all: our diabetes! join extracare advantage for diabetes today and receive a free gift when you enroll. only at cvs/pharmacy. still to come on "today," terror arrests. the latest on the two men arrested before they could board flights for somalia. what investigators say they may have been plotting. and day 48. the latest on the gulf oil spill continues to wash ashore across three states, but first, these messages. new today, police arrest two men in connection with a plot to kill american troops. we're tracking the overnight development. a violent carjacking in the district leaves a retired police officer in the hospital. this morning police need your help finding the men responsible. a medical breakthrough in the fight of the deadliest form of skin cancer. we'll show you the revolutionary treatment of melanoma. good morning, welcome to "news 4 today." i'm kimberly suiters. it's june 6, 2010. the news ahead but first a check on the forecast. it's going to be another hot one, already 80 degrees. just now n