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exposed to a foreign language. i was dying to crack the code. did someone hold? what is offsides? but the real addiction started in high school. you see, i was on the cheerleading squad and our team was great, as in our star running back, walter henderson, went top to play for the green bay packers and win a super bowl. great. and when you're in a town like mine that loved football and your team is fantastic, it's hard not to just go and give yourself totally to it and love everything about the game. and i do i love it all. the satisfying crunch of a brutal tackle stopping an opponent in his tracks. the thrill of an unexpected interception shifting the energy of a contest. the beauty of a perfect touchdown rush and the sheer abandon of these gladiators as they celebrate their victory in dance. i am addicted to football. and i know it's an addiction, because i just can't quit it even though i know it's bad for me. even though i am fully aware that indulging in all of football's highest highs comes along with the consequences of some very low lows. like the one-third of those gladiators who devote their lives to the sport only to see their lives diminished and sometimes cut short as a consequence of their devotion to the game. last year "the new york times" reported on the rates of brain damage among retired players are materially higher than those expected in the general population, and the players will develop these diagnoses at notably younger ages than the general population. i know this is happening even as i celebrate the collisions that start the ticking time bomb that could one day explode in those players' brains. but i keep coming back. i keep coming back for the violent, physical aggression that is so thrilling between players when it happens on the field. even, as i know the nfl fumbled its response to violence when players have turned it against more vulnerable people off the field. i can't shake that football monkey off my back even though there is plenty of evidence that the product is not pure because today, on the high holiday of football worshippers everywhere the integrity of the sport has been tainted by the scandal of deflategate. when the seattle seahawks face off against the nogew england patriots it will be in the shadow of an ongoing investigation into whether or not the pats underinflated footballs to their advantage in the afc championship game. and, no not even that scandal will stop me from cheering on today's exhibition of football at its best. the camaraderie, the courage and the leadership that we see exemplified on the field. and although i always very much am aware of how football falls short of those ideals every time the washington team plays with its dehumanizing and offensive name and logo i'll still be there in front of the tv ready for some football. because on gameday, football just brings out my inner addict. it just calls to me. i've got no control over it i've just got to go to it, even though i know that this addiction of mine ain't cheap. this habit helps line the pockets of my main product pusher, the nfl, to the tune of almost $11 billion, making it the most profitable pro sports league in the united states. and some of those billions are coming directly from my and your wallets, thanks to taxpayer money that supports hometown teams and the hundreds of millions of tax breaks enjoyed by the league the teams, sponsors and corporate fans. in fact we are so sought in the t. r -- thrall of this sport they can guarantee a captive audience. the super bowl is television's highest rated event. and today marketers counting on all of us to keep watching through the commercial breaks are shelling out a record $4.5 million for every 30 seconds of our attention, pausebecause they know that when it comes to football we just can't turn away. which is why i'm ready to admit it. i have a problem. joining me now, dave ziron, sports editor for "the nation" magazine and author of "brazil's dance with the devil, the world cup, the olympics and the fight for democracy." wade davis, former nfl player and executive director of the you can play project. kavetha davidson and chris valetta, author of "team works, the gridiron playbook for building a business team." thanks to all of you for being here to share my addiction with me a little bit on this super bowl sunday. i want to start with you, chris, on this idea that football is a uniquely american sport. you know soccer is played globally basketball is played globally, but this crazy game is just ours. so i guess part of what i'm wondering is whether that's part of our almost irrational attachment to it as a people. >> it's interesting. the first time i was in new zealand and told somebody i played american football, they said isn't that the one that you've got to put pads on for? i thought that was pretty funny, knowing the popularity of the sport here. but it is an amazing spectacle here in the united states. i am a former player. i'm proud that i played the game and proud to represent the game. i like to represent it for not just the sort of gladiator mindset on the field, which i believe has some benefits but i also like to represent it for what it can take off the field and i think that is actually a tremendous bridge that can be created. and i do think that the nfl is in a power position to better build that bridge. i think it's been tarnished, it's been beat up especially this year but there's certainly some opportunities to take advantage of the pr sort of nightmare that we're under. >> i was looking back kind of digging back into this obsession. teddy roosevelt is kind of thinking through manhood and american identity at the turn of the 20th century. his own son playing for the team, this was 1905. there is teddy roosevelt's team is injured, right, playing for his ivy league team and in that same year 1905 19 deaths caused by intercollegiate football. but we didn't stop. i mean that's 1905. including the president's son. we were like well yeah but this is our sport. is there -- should we be reforming it? should we be fixing it or should we be abandoning it. >> i think we need to come to the realization that there is no such thing as safe football. there can be such a thing as safer football. the fact of the matter is the organization, the nfl and the ncaa as well has not taken enough steps to make it safer and has actually taken steps to deflect from the ways that can make it safer. i think what chris said is absolutely true that there are redeeming qualities in having football. there are great effects of athletes coming off the field and everything. those of us who criticize the game and criticize the way that the power has corrupted the game as much as it has just want to make it better i think. >> and it's always interesting to me that your response in part to what you see as challenges in the game in the nfl around issues of bigotry or pushing back make you want to open up the game to more people right. the you can play isn't about let's get rid of it it's about let's expand it and make it possible to get the kind of benefits that chris talks about of teamwork of camaraderie, of individual sacrifice. so how do you square that circle? here are the challenges i clearly see in it that you were part of it and yet a desire to open it up to more folks. >> i would say america without the sport of football is like breakfast without bacon. >> oh well what would be the point? >> exactly. so why even keep living. but as chris said we're both biased. the sport of football has brought me so much. i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that so i think we just have to focus on the positive and really also think about what some of the other benefits that the nfl can do. i think they could move from like this one-time types of giving to more of like a philanthropic type of model where it takes on the form of like the ford foundation and creates kind of an institutional model where they say, hey, we have these issues of domestic violence, of addiction, of brain injuries, right, and really start to invest in doing some systematic changes that now we can say this sport isn't just about greed but it's actually about doing some work to reform our entire world. >> so dave i have to say i know what's going to happen this evening. we're all going to tune in. when we tune in to watch the game, we'll also be watching on social media. for the first quarter or so, you will not so much be watching the game on social media, is that right? >> for the first 20 minutes i'll be live tweeting an episode of "the facts of life." it's my act of civil disobedience as everybody tunes in to watch the super bowl. it's also a way to say as much as i am a fan of this game that if we lived in a sane world this sport would not exist. this is brain damage for profit that's what it is. science is not this sport's friend. the more we learn about it the more we have to reckon with the fact that it is dangerous. if you prohibited football in this country, it would be like prohibition in the 20s times 100. there would be speak-easies in texas of 10-year-old children playing football. you have to know the secret knock to see them play each other. it would be nuts if you tried to ban football. >> and also if it would be like breakfast without bacon, with all due respect to my vegetarian and vegan viewers, it might also be like less -- i mean that smnome things that are not safe in life are also worth being part of. >> but it's worth it for us to watch as opposed to play. i was watching the game the other day. every sunday i practice what homer simpson calls the practice of ass horizonology on my couch. she said would you let jacob play this? i said no jacob is not playing it. she said how can you watch it? i said you need to leave. i want to pause. up next how a billion here and a billion there start to add up for kwautquite the haul for roger goodell's nfl. and how nicki minaj likes to pregame for the big game with our guy, craig melvin, when we come back. major: ok fitness class! here's our new trainer ensure active heart health. crowd: yayyyy! heart: i'm going to focus on the heart. i minimize my sodium and fat... gotta keep it lean and mean. pear: uh-oh. heart: i maximize good stuff like my potassium... and phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. major: i'm feeling energized already. new delicious ensure active heart health supports your heart and body, so you stay active and strong. ensure. take life in. you're clean. bam! charmin ultra strong cleans so much better it meets even the highest standards of clean. with a soft duraclean texture, charmin ultra strong is 4 times stronger. and you can use up to 4x less. charmin ultra strong. the k [ male announcer ] take zzzquil and sleep like... the kids went to nana's house... for the whole weekend! 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don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. on friday nfl commissioner roger goodell went before the press to deliver comments and take questions in his annual state of the league news conference. about seven minutes into his opening statement, he dropped this shoutout to one of the nfl's media partners. >> finally, on steps to grow the game and serve the fans we are excited about the success of thursday night football and the extension of our agreement with cbs. we have the best partners in media, and together we will continue to develop new platforms, expand fan interaction and deepen fan engagement. >> now according to a report in "gq" magazine during goodell's time as commissioner he has been able to boost total league revenues about 65%, and he's told his team owners that he wants to see those revenues jump to $25 billion over the next 12 years. the reason he's able to be so confident in those estimates is due in large part to that fan engagement and those media partners he mentioned. you see, unlike the latest episode of your favorite show nfl games are often considered dvr-proof because while you may be able to wait a day or two to find out just how olivia pope manages her scandal of the week we generally want to know whether our favorite team won or lost in realtime which means nfl games are the one televised event where we likely won't be fast forwarding through the commercials, and that makes the games very valuable for the networks that host them. so much so that they're willing to pay the nfl these premium prices each year for the privilege. $950 million from nbc, $1 billion from cbs, $1.1 billion from fox, $1.9 billion from espn and a $1.5 billion deal with directv which all adds up to more than $6 billion each year no roger goodell's nfl. so i know i have a football addiction, but i'm just saying my employer may be jonesing particularly hard. is there anything trouble about -- i mean is this just good ole free enterprise? people want to watch it we want to broadcast it everybody is making money, here we go. or is there something that should make us go oh i feel a little icky about those billions. >> i think there's nothing wrong with feeling icky about these billions rolling in. part of the "gq" story was the description of bob kraft, owner of the new england patriots saying hey, wait a minute we've got a problem with domestic violence and calls up the head of cbs and get us in front of us, get us a woman to interview commissioner goodell. so the idea that it's all stage managed because professional football is now the tent pole. and him bragging about thursday night football when that's the number one complaint of the players association and the players shows how little roger goodell has learned because of the extra injuries because of the lack of preparation. so he says he's listening and that to me is proof positive roger goodell hasn't lenders a thing. when i saw his press conference all i could think of was talk about deflated balls. >> dave zirin for the win. let's back out of whether the nfl is a good partner to communities. if in fact players are saying hey, thursday night problem is a problem for us. we need our week-to-week we need those full seven days because of the kind of physical game this is. is there an argument to be made that that's actually bad labor practice even if it brings big money and an additional partner? >> the nfl is the worst of the four professional sports leagues when it comes to its labor practices. pack a few months ago richard sherman did a mock press conference where he made fun of the impetus for players to give media statements in the marshawn lynch example and one of the major things he mentioned was you want us to talk to the media but you don't want us to voice our displeasure with thursday night football games. you want to talk about player safety but you don't want to talk about the damage this is doing to our bodies to have these extra games. >> i would say that as a player you may agree or disagree but in games, in weeks that have shorter weeks because of thursday night football or what have you, the practices have changed dramatically in the nfl since -- within the last five years. >> they're taking off the pads. >> pads are off, you're wearing shells, it's not nearly as physical as it once was. two-a-days or three-a-days that used to happen back in the day, those are almost gone for the most part. so i would say that practices are adjusted to the type of schedule. >> let me ask real quick on the two-a-days and three-a-days is that gone just at the professional level? because i swear i see in the kids in the high school level doing the two-a-days. >> even at the high school level coaches, athletic trainers and municipalities are becoming much smarter about the game the safety implicationing of being out in the heat. kids are out in shorts and t-shirts for the first couple of days to get acclimated to the weather and then graduate to shoulder pads and graduate a little further. so monumental steps have been taken in terms of player safety during practice. but i would say that look this is a -- the league has every right to make money, and it's clearly in high demand. there's certainly no argument about that. i would say that there's separating the issue of the nfl and its ability to be a gigantic business and also the issues of the day facing the nfl. domestic violence murder with aaron hernandez and you've got child abuse. emotionally charged, aggressive intense subjects that are certainly addressing major issues within the nfl, but these are also major national issues not just nfl issues. >> stick with us our guests are all hanging out with us throughout the day today, but up next fans and celebrities are all flocking to glendale. we're going to take you there for a live report and a glimpse of the party scene. super bowl sunday in nerdland. ♪ welcome to the most social car we've ever designed. the all-new nissan murano. nissan. innovation that excites. oh yea, that's coming down let's get some rocks, man. health can change in a minute. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable with walk-in medical care, no appointments needed and most insurance accepted. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything. quickoff is still more than eight hours away but the party started days ago. fans have been ramping up to game time with pregame filled by selects and pregame performances. some people are in phoenix only for the parties. joining me now from glendale a man who has attended some of these preparties nbc's craig melvin. craig, what's going on there? it looks kind of foggy. >> reporter: you know what melissa, let's start there. you're right, it is very foggy. this was not in the forecast. this is a fog that is so thick it's actually stopped air travel into sky harbor international airport. that's the big airport in phoenix. ground stoppage right now. we expect that to be lifted at some point soon and we also expect this to burn off as well. the forecast for game time this evening is supposed to be just fine, mid-60s, the sun is supposed to be out. in fact the dome here they're going to have the roof back so it should be quite nice once the seahawks and pats take the field at 6:30 eastern, 4:30 here. you mentioned the parties. there's been a lot of them melissa harris-perry, a whole heck of a lot of parties. and here's the thing. you know we have to get up for these live shots on the east coast but obviously the parties are in local time so every night we've been getting like two or three hours of sleep, and i'm not a young man anymore so it's going to take me about a week to recover. >> you should be totally used to two or three hours sleep at this point, right? this is not such a big deal. a year of that at this point almost. >> reporter: he started sleeping through the night and it threw me off. six months ago i would have been fine. >> let me ask you about nicki minaj because i loved seeing the two of you together. she posted a picture on social media with the two of you together saying that you are dope which i concur about. >> reporter: really? that's nice. >> tell me what's your party experience been so far? >> reporter: nicki minaj is performing at the bud light party friday night. bud light had this big party at the house of whatever but folks had to demonstrate they were up for whatever so you have a thousand folks that show up for this concert not knowing who was going to perform. it was nicki minaj. so we sat down before the concert and she could not have been more gracious. she is one of the biggest names in rap right now in america. she's about to kick off a big tour. and i asked her whether for her the super bowl was about the game or whether the super bowl was about the parties. here's what she said. >> the super bowl weekend itself is it about the game is it about the parties? >> for me it's about the parties. of course, duh. >> reporter: at least she was honest at least she was honest. >> i have a question for you. if you had to pick which is the best watching the game at home alone so people aren't talking over it attending a super bowl party at a friend's house or actually attending the super bowl? >> reporter: i know this is going to sound odd, but i -- like at a friend's house watching the game with people who want to watch the game. there's nothing worse than going to a super bowl with folks who don't want to watch the game and just want to eat and talk. this is the second one we've been to it's a fantastic experience, love being inside. but you don't get to see the commercials, you can't drink as much as you want you can't eat as much as you want you're a bit restricted melissa harris-perry. >> all right. so just in case our bosses are listening, craig doesn't want to go to the super bowl next year. >> reporter: that is not what i said. >> i'll go i'll go. all right, nbc's craig melvin in glendale, arizona. thanks for showing up and hanging out with us a bit. >> reporter: good to see you, my friend. while temperatures at the stadium in glendale will be in the mild and even enviable 60s tonight, winter storm line us is headed to the northeast with widespread snow and freezing rain. the storm is moving away from the great lakes, but they're not out of the woods just yet. a snowstorm has been upgraded to blizzard status by the national weather service. some parts of the area could see 17 inches of snow. joining me now is nbc news correspondent kevin tibbles in chicago. kevin, are the winds really picking up there? >> reporter: the winds are blowing the snow sideways. i just want to point out that we really loved listening to craig melvin coming to us from sunny glendale arizona, as we were waiting to come and deliver this remarkable shot from the shores of lake michigan which looks this morning like a giant super gulp slushy at this time. temperatures are just below freezing. they're going to plummet as soon as the snow stops blowing sideways. i have no idea how many flights have been cancelled at o'hare airport, but i can tell you that there's probably more than a handful. and the city of chicago has more than 350 snow plows on the streets today trying to keep the roads open but my had aadvice would be just curl up on the couch, light the fire and wait for the game to start. don't go outside, take it from me. >> kevin, i just made a plea to get to the super bowl next year but i'm pretty sure you're the one that deserves it. that weather looks rough. >> reporter: save me a chicken wing out there, craig melvin. >> kevin tibbles in chicago, please try to stay warm. coming up head injuries in the league and among our smallest little pigskin players. but first, my letter of the week with a twist that i'm telling you you are not going to want to miss. good job! still running in the morning? 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(announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. so this is the moment of the program each week when i send a letter to someone whose actions or words have made me just have to respond. but today a first. i am yielding the floor to nerdland favorite, dave zirin. this week it is dave who really has something to say and a letter to send. dave. >> don't you hate it when a self-righteous pundit gets in front of a camera and says to someone in power, sir or madam, if you have any decency, you would resign. allow me to join their ranks. the person in power i'm addressing the person i'm asking to break out the want ads and find new work is nfl commissioner roger goodell. dear mr. goodell, it's me dave. after the scandal-plagued year that the league just suffered through when everyone from bob costas to the folks in vegas assumed you'd be fired, it would be better for all of us if you just resigned. no amount of spin no number of media people rushing to your defense, no series of public service announcements featuring nfl players saying "no more" can hide a simple fact. 55 times since you became commissioner in 2006 a player in your league was arrested for domestic vieolence and 55 times you did next to nothing. if not for a certain leaked videotape, ray rice would have been the 56th time you sat on your hands. when you wipe away the lawyer speak about whether you saw the tape or didn't see the tape or didn't not see the tape the fact remains that you are now connected to dozens of cases where a woman or child was beaten by one of your employers. not only have i seen you do next to nothing to curb this problem, you have chosen to say next to nothing about the links between head injuries the violence on the field and the violence that can visit the families of nfl players. yes, the overwhelming number of players do not take part in violence against women and, yes, domestic violence exists in many families where head injuries are not an issue, but the connection is still real and the league has done nothing, zero that i can finding, to educate nfl families on looking for the warning signs. yet you continue to praise your league and really yourself for making domestic violence quote, part of the national conversation, end quote. this is outrageous kind of like praising goldman sachs for making corporate greed part of the national conversation. that's why that's miko grimes the wife of brent grimes basically broke twitter last week with a too profane for tv rant against your league. i'm going to read some of her tweets anyway. ms. grimes said the nfl is the bleepiest, shadiest, disrespect disrespectful sport in the world and as long as i breathe air i will talk bleep about them. you have these campaigns going on about domestic violence and sexual assault when we all know that you don't gaf about women. i have friends that were beaten, thrown downstairs while pregnant, guys arrested and the nfl suspended them one bleeping game? now y'all care? ray rice clocked his now wife on camera, then all of a sudden no more? get the bleep out of here nfl. i'm not being quiet about this bull bleep no more. miko grimes is right and clear. no one should be quiet about this. if nothing else this last year we have all learned that the continued profitability of the league means that nfl owners will protect and defend you no matter the moral cost. be better than your employers, mr. goodell. show the country that despite all popular opinion to the contrary there is still such a thing as shame in this world. say that the league needs to get serious in how it discusses domestic violence and head injuries, that the league needs to work in partnership with the players association to figure out a new approach rooted in educating current players and caring for those who have retired. make clear that your resignation is a precondition for making this partnership a reality. and most of all, be honest in your resignation speech that when it comes to issues of violence against women and head injuries, you have been profoundly ignorant. be honest that you're now damning quote when punishing the new orleans saints that ignorance is no excuse should apply to you as well and then go out and find a new job. i would recommend seeking work at the walter reed hospital ward that deals with traumatic brain injuries. if the tragedy of your tenure as commissioner has been ignorance, i garrendamntee that will clear it up pretty quick. sincerely, dave zirin. of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... but apple cinnamon is my favorite too... and fruity... oh yeah, and frosted! okay, but...what's you're most favorite of all? hmm... the kind i have with you. me too. if you're running a business legalzoom has your back. over the last 10 years we've helped one million business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. you know i tried one of those bargain paper towels but the roll just disappeared. bounty is 2x more absorbent so one roll lasts longer. bounty. the long lasting picker upper we reported yesterday that concussions were down 25% this past regular season. continuing a three-year trend. >> that was nfl commissioner roger goodell during his annual state of the league address on friday. but it's worth digging into the statistics on concussions a little more. the commissioner noted that concussions were down 25% during this past regular season but toss in practices and preseason games and the decline is a bit less dramatic. 12%. and while any decline in this statistic is welcome news the nfl still reported 202 concussions. no matter what happens with head injuries in the future we must also contend with the past. more than 4500 former players have sued the league some claiming the nfl actively hid the dangers of head injuries. now, even the nfl admits that it expects one in three retired players to develop long-term cognitive problems. and just this week researchers at boston university found that retirees who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 had an increased risk of memory trouble and related problems. clearly none of this is good news for football players or the league itself. but the implications may reach even further, to the next generation of players. a new nbc/wall street journal poll found that 37% of americans say they would steer their kids away from playing football because they are worried about concussions. we love football and we love our kids. does all this mean that those two loves are in conflict? joining our table, dr. anthony assisi who is a sports neurologist and medical director at the university of connecticut neurosport. i want to start with you, doctor. this new report about 12-year-olds will undoubtedly lead at least some people to look at the small ending study and say, hey, all we need to do is keep the peewees from playing and if they start middle school high school, it will be okay. is that the right conclusion to draw? >> melissa, you have to understand that throughout time mothers were always kind of against their children playing football really. let's face it. but fathers have always won the argument until now. with this discussion about concussions coming up mothers are starting to win and more and more kids are getting lacrosse sticks and they're playing soccer. >> is lacrosse safer? >> it's not as much immediate contact. when you think of linemen, you know you're going to get hit on every play so there's a big difference in the frequency of concussions. so you're seeing fewer people. as a matter of fact, pop warner said this year they have lost 25% of their participants. so we've now empowered mothers and their argument and fathers are starting to lose the argument. >> so if this is -- it's an interesting case. my husband and i were chatting a little bit about it this morning as we were prepping for the show. now, we have two daughters, but i asked so you know if we were talking about our nephew or if we had a son, would we want him to play. look, the reality is again, i know so many guys who were some of my favorite people in middle school and high school in part because they were kids who played on the team and because they played on the team for example, they didn't get into drinking in high school. they were like you know special collective sweet, nice kids but i don't know would i want my kid to play? how do i balance that? >> you know melissa, i think what vince wilfork said is like the shirt, it's kind of all in the game yo. you know, to be honest that it's just a part of the game. and we both know that it's a risk that you take but you fall in love with the game. i really think that once you start playing the game of football there's something psychological that really happens. the nfl will always have a market for this -- for players because of poverty. that your marks are right there. that there are people who truly believe that if my son plays a sport that they can take me out of poverty. >> all right. so that -- i have to say that's kind of when i popped up when you said moms don't want their kids to play football because i thought actually in many of the communities that i'm from where i've worked in actually moms do in part because there is a perception that there may be opportunities at least to get to college. maybe not to the pros but as a track man. so does this mean wealthy kids opt out to lacrosse sticks and poor kids end up with head injuries? >> what do russell wilson and tom brady have in common? they both come from middle class families and stable homes. i think that will be the pipeline that we see sever in the years to come. >> but brady's dad kept him out until he was 14. >> as did archie manning. archie manning did the same thing. so i understand that youth football is not necessarily a ticket to the nfl. >> sure. >> as a matter of fact, many players didn't play youth football. so there has to be another reason to play youth football. that's why i'm not against abolishing youth football but we need to work with information and that's our problem. >> and science is not the league's friend. the more science we learn, the more dangerous the league looks. >> it depends on how you define science. because a lot of the stuff out there is not true science. let's face it when you think of it, most of the research we've done has been at the nfl and ncaa level. nobody has really looked at high school athletes. certainly no one has looked at youth athletes. the brain is different at that level. and yet when you look at the pyramid, there are 3 million youth football players at grade school. >> we're not doing research on those kids at that time. >> absolutely not, so we don't have enough information. so it's hard for a mother and a father to make any decision without information and we don't have it yet. >> i've got a 2-year-old little boy. i wish i had a dollar for everyone that asks me are you going to let your son play football or not. my answer is emphatically that it will be his decision but the life lessons learned in that game far outweigh the risks. >> let's talk about saying it's going to be his decision. there's all kinds of things we don't let kids make decisions about because we don't think they can adequately address that sort of now cost versus the long term. heck, there are states where a teenage girl can't even get an abortion without her parents' consent. >> but the landscape is different today. think about the landscape of youth sports today even when i was a kid. you have today -- when i was a kid we played every sport there was to play. baseball, soccer basketball we played football we played everything, right? it was go do it all. now you have a single sport culture amongst 8-year-olds. so you've got kids that are playing baseball 12 months out of the year. >> because they're trying to specialize. >> that's the professionalization of youth sports. they want their kids on that track in a way that i think can be very destructive for many families. not all the life lessons from football are good. it actually depends on how the family processes those lessons and talks to their kids. it can be very ugly. >> people can me this all the time, should i let my child play youth football. as you said melissa, you need to meet the parentcoach. if the coach is a knucklehead, get them out of there. >> thank you, doctor for your comments and also the rest of my panel for sticking around. coming up, who wants in. bets on everything from the hair toss to katy perry's hair color during the halftime show. just how much money is going into gambling this weekend. that's up next. so much on super bowl sunday in nerdland. katy. a go odime to sell my car. well, we make it pretty easy. in fact, your appraisal should be ready, let's pull it up. now, how long do i have to decide on this offer? 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>> look we know prohibition doesn't work but it's a problem when, going back to your idea of alcohol, your spouse goes to work on thursday comes home on friday. the paycheck is gone and it's past midnight and all the money is gone. so a family knows immediately if there's a financial problem as a result of an alcohol or drug alcohol. the same creeps in with gambling for sure. one of the troubles with gamblers though who are gambling addicts is they show up at the point where they really need help and they have blown all their money. so sometimes the ability to get somebody treatment is just based on the financial considerations of the family. i can't tell you how many times i've had that call of hey, we've spent all the money, can you help. have you ever known anybody that's lost big and really gotten into financial problems because of this thing that the rest of us consider no big deal. like gambling is not my thing. give me a drink or drug and i have problems with it but gambling is not my thing. >> i had a beloved close family member who had a gambling problem. i guess part of what i'm wondering, though is as a public policy right, we recognize we're in this kind of social culture milieu a lot of people will be betting on everything from what's going to happen on the next play so is there a responsible way to recognize, hey, folks are going to have a couple beers, but some folks near them may be alcoholics. folks are going to be making some bets but there may be folks near them who have a gambling addiction. what is the socially responsible way to engage here? >> well i'd love to say that we can trust the government to end prohibition, tax it and then spend the money in responsible ways so that people get treatment who have trouble with it but we've seen pot legalization has rolled out and the government the state is not spending money responsibly as they promised to help people who struggle with it. i'm not for prohibition. i think that the prohibition creates even higher stakes for the person who's struggling with gambling addiction. but boy, we sure have trouble when the government tries to spend money responsibly to help people who are dying from it. melissa, i have to tell you, you look super cute. they just turned my feed on here and i just saw your uniform. >> thank you. >> i am tickled by it. >> it's not every day that i can do my show you know in nerdland like basically in pads. thanks so much for joining us today. i really do appreciate this point. especially your point here about the public policy. i know john mccain has actually been calling for exactly the thing you're talking about, liberalizing the laws taxing it potentially spending it but it does continue to raise additional issues for all of us. brad lamm out in los angeles who finds my outfit adorable. and here in new york i want to say thank you to wade davis, who is heading off at this point but is going to -- is going to be working with me on another big project i can't wait to tell you about soon. also, dave kavetha and chris are coming back in our next hour. once you go football you can't go back. coming up next the league and its 50 million women fans including one woman who cannot who will not forget. there's more nerdland at the top of the hour. ♪ welcome to the most social car we've ever designed. the all-new nissan murano. nissan. innovation that excites. 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[ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ ♪ how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40 $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ ♪ welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry and it is super bowl sunday. more than 1 million people are expected to watch the game tonight right there in the stadium in phoenix, arizona. there will be as part of this game including more than 50 million women who will be watching. the nfl has realized in recent years how important its female fans are to the game and to their bottom line. and they started actively marketing to women who want more than tiny pink t-shirts with their team logo. but it wasn't so long ago that articles like this could be found in your mainstream men's magazines. "make her a football fan, our four-point plan to get her into the game and put an end to those inane questions once and for all." my favorite part is how to explain the huddle such as esoteric football phenomenon that can only be explained in words that women can understand. huddle, explain that this is identical to female group trips to the restroom. once there, women decide on the play for that evening, whether it's calling dibs on the guys they find attractive or cup concocting a plan to ditch their dates. whew. for real things are getting a little bit better in that regard. that "men's fitness" article is from a few years ago and a few months ago when "men's health" tried to do a similar thing, the twitter backlash as swift and severe. and wouldn't you know, the original article is now nowhere to be found. people have gotten wise to the fact that women are fans themselves. not the fall widows are dim-witted girl friends or other stereotypes out there. women make up about one-third of the millions of viewers and nearly half of those watching the super bowl. spending on nfl women's apparel increased more than 75% from 2010 to 2013 partly because the league got wise and started offering a more diverse set of options for their women fans. in fact the nfl owes women viewers a lot. the league's overall viewership has increased only because a record number of women are watching. men have actually fallen off. if the nfl has a future it's probably wearing a pink jersey. and yet this year when you think of the relationship between the nfl and women, it is one woman who comes to mind. janay rice. the mangled management of the incident of violence purpose traited by ray rice against his now wife is the definitive nfl women's moment of the season. the league initially suspended rice for only two games after video surfaced of rice dragging his fiancee's unconscious form out of a hotel elevator. the punishment was less than other players received for using illegal drugs. it was only after the public saw the full video of the incident including the sickening image of janay hitting the elevator floor after being struck by ray rice that the league was pressured to suspend him indefinitely. when they did take definitive action, they ran afoul as what most folks see of fair labor practices. the league couldn't punish rice for the same transgression twice and a judge didn't buy the nfl's claim that rice had somehow misled commissioner roger goodell about what had happened in that elevator. that goodell could have possibly thought it was anything but rice lashing out in a moment of brutality. rice was reinstated to the nfl in december. he's now a free agent and can be signed. it was a hard year for janay rice. the violence she suffered compounded by the intense media scrutiny of her and her family and the potential loss of her now husband's livelihood. it was a hard year for all women who love football to see gender-based violence so poorly addressed by the league they generally love and gender-based violence was just one issue that plagued the league to prompt a question to commissioner roger goodell about how tough the year had been on him. >> it has been a tough year. it's been a tough year on me personally. it's been a year of what i would say humility and learning. we obviously as an organization have gone through adversity, but more importantly it's been adversity for me. and that is something where we take that seriously. it's an opportunity for us to get better. it's an opportunity for us -- for our organization to get better. so we've all done a lot of soul searching, starting with yours truly. >> i just can't. joining the table now, dave zirin, sports editor jill flippawich, kavetha davidson and chris valletta. jill it was a hard year for the commish. he's been soul searching. >> he's been feeling really bad for himself. >> just -- really? >> yeah. it's pretty offensive for him to really center that entire conversation on himself. i think the nfl has a real opportunity here or maybe had a real opportunity to make a difference in the conversation about domestic violence one in four women will experience in her life. it would have been nice for them to look back and do a real reckoning on how they went wrong to realize they will not be the first or the last institution to screw this up. to make some sort of public effort to show how they're actually really going to change going forward and i don't think we saw that here. >> and yet it is worth noting that despite sounding just strikingly like the guy from bp -- actually i want to play him for just a moment. remember bp where people died on the platform and then i don't know you know the oceans were polluted and people were living with -- remember this moment? >> the massive disruption it's caused to their lives. there's no one who wants this thing over more than i do. i'd like my life back. >> so he wants his life back and the commissioner has had a hard year. so i'm sort of disgusted. but you know what i'm going to do this evening? i'm going to watch the super bowl. >> i think all you really need to know about the nfl's capacity for reform and goodell's impetus from reform you can get from that one press conference. he leads off in a year where we've dealt with domestic violence and sexual assault and pain killers, he leads off talking about the extra point because that's what really matters. he never once explicitly said domestic violence in that press conference. she kept referring to it like these issues and i think it's really hard to see that they're actually taking this seriously. they're going to run this very powerful domestic violence ad today during the super bowl. while it's nice to see that they're giving public attention to it it also just kind of looks like the nfl is throwing money at the situation. >> i want to pause and listen just because -- in folks haven't heard i want to listen to the psa that you're talking about. let's take a look at it. >> half pepperoni and half mushroom. >> you know that you called 911. >> do you know how long it will be? >> ma'am, is everything okay over there? do you have an emergency or not? >> yes. >> and you're up able to talk because -- >> right, right. >> is there someone in the room with you? just say yes or no. >> yes. >> can you stay on the phone with me? >> no, thank you. >> so i was part of the former player committee that met with commissioner goodell in order to advise him on restructuring the personal conduct policy. i had never met him before in person. we were not paid for this. it was literally he brought people to say what can we do. when he sat down at the table, i will say he addressed the room in a manner that acknowledged the fact that there's been a major screw-up that occurred and he put it on himself. he also surrounded himself with people and a group that could offer major revisions to the policies. he recognized that it was a failure. and do it in a way that is going to make the most long-term generational impact possible. when we realize that 83 -- there was an 83% increase in call volume to the national coalition for domestic violence hotline after the ray rice video was released, we can acknowledge the fact that the nfl and this issue with ray rice has put the issue of domestic violence front and sglernt center. >> no, no, no. tmz put it front and center. >> here's what i'm saying. the issue of domestic violence is a major hot button in the nfl, like it or not. and the nfl is in a power position to take lead on social change. >> i agree with that entirely but it's not roger goodell. he's not going to be the person to do it. he's not going to lead people out of the wilderness that he brought people into. what i was noticing during his press conference was frank luntz, the republican spin meister who told us we should call global warming sunshine time. the one time he broke from script was to show nasty shade at rachel nichols, the woman in the audience an amazing reporter, who asked him about the conflict of interest in these cases. that's when the mask slipped a little bit. he's up there talking about integrity and all that he has learned but when you get to the end of the day, it's about is the register moving and everything is a reactive pr race. >> given that so we reported earlier in the show about how many billions have come in. that if you're a business and looking at the bottom line yeah, there's been a lot of scandal, there's been a lot of problems, but the bottom line this guy is doing the job you brought him to do. he's made it more profitable and more money coming into the nfl. so when he's asked, do you think you should resign? he's like no. >> and that's what it comes down to. i think we need to remember going back to the ray rice thing it was when sponsors started to speak out about this that the league actually felt the need to address this in some somewhat meaningful way. i think that that's really important when you talk about female fans and female dollars. >> so it's tmz and sponsors as opposed to women fans or the nfl actually doing it. >> he's a 19th century commissioner in a 21st century world. he does not realize that we are now an open media and that people are going to be talking about these things and circulating videotapes and you can't do this authoritarian spine meister approach to running business. >> so i'm wondering if i go back to wade davis saying we have to change the model of how we respond to these questions, i keep thinking about the october pink wash that happens in the nfl and the kind of breast cancer narrative and we care about women and whether or not that starts ringing hollow to women fans in the context now of what we see. >> yeah i think that there's obviously something to be said for awareness raising campaigns but they have inherent limits limitations and i feel like the domestic violence ad, it's nice to raise awareness. aware ngsness is a very important first step but we're aware of domestic violence we know it happens. so what is the nfl going to do next? where are they investing resources? what are they doing about all the other sexist ads that create this culture of misogyny around professional sports. how are they paying their cheerleaders? >> i'm going to stop you right there because we have an answer to the question that you just put how are they paying their cheerleaders. in fact, we are going to talk about that when we come back. the cheerleaders they share the field performing alongside the pro football players and yet, according to a lawsuit, some are paid less than minimum wage. also still to come why prod papa-to-be richard sherman, is not the only dad getting all the attention today. i will light up every room i walk into. olay presents the regenerist luminous collection. renews surface cells to even skin tone. in just two weeks, see pearlescent, luminous skin. regenerist luminous. olay. your best beautiful. i ha with a runny nose. 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[ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. for anyone who's never been to an nfl game live for those of you who only watch it on tv know this all that time during the time-outs, the commercial breaks the debates over a call on the field, there isn't much to watch on the field. but just off to the side is one of the most fun and entertaining parts of it all, the cheerleaders. the nfl cheerleaders make the atmosphere what it is. they rev up the crowd, they look pretty on camera and actually they work pretty damn hard. and yet many cheerleaders who are paid by their respective teams, not the league say they are paid close to nothing. the oakland raiders quietly started paying their cheerleaders minimum wage this season for the first time ever. that's $9 an hour. minimum wage in california. and that's a raise. a 156% raise. because before this change cheerleaders who have sued the team say they were paid just $125 per game for ten games, paid in a lump sum at the ending of the season. that's it. they claim they were not paid for any of the myriad other duties of the job, including practicing appearing at a required ten charity events a year and posing for the team's swimsuit calendar. the cheerleaders say they were in effect paid less than $5 an hour. and in september, the raiders agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought by its cheerleaders and will dole out about $1.25 million in back pay. but some of the radariderettes rejected that settlement and are pursuing their own lawsuits. one of them joins us today, caitlin and her attorney drexel bradshaw. so nice to have you both. >> thanks for having us. >> you are not only suing -- >> my lawsuit includes the entire nfl because there's cheerleaders on close to 32 teams and we all need to be paid according to the law and treated with respect. and i want to make sure that i'm not just helping my own teammates but all girls across the nfl. >> let me just pause for a moment. i have much more to talk about with you but i do want since you are suing the nfl itself let me just show you this statement by the nfl. i'll read it here so that we can see it. the clubs determine if they want to have cheerleaders and their role. the league has no role in their selection, duties hours or wages. so the nfl is saying this is a team matter this isn't our issue. >> right. they are. but it is. i mean i believe in their constitution they say something of that nature. >> the question whether the nfl is a joint employer with the teams is a legal question and i think the evidence pointing most directly to that is on the face of the nfl constitution where it directs what cheerleaders can and can't do off the field. we haven't even begun to begin the process of learning all of the internal membetween the nfl and its member teams, much more than the conduct that happens on and off the field. >> i think that's fascinating. let me ask you, caitlin. what is it that you are being told as a raiderette about what you can do, can't do. this idea that it's not just when you're in your uniform. help us to understand that. >> so being a cheerleader you have to keep up your appearance you have to stay in shape, you have to keep up your dance skills. we are role models in our community so there's a lot that they expect of us. >> hold on for me just one second. jill, i want to come out to you because this has hit the california state legislature at this point. a california state lawmaker seeking to grant some basic labor protection saying look these are people who are working. talk to me. why don't we see cheerleaders as -- look i was a high school cheerleader, i take this very personally. why don't we see them as workers, as laborers as people who are part of the game. >> i think we see them as acute meants to the players. we don't look at them as athletes. when you watch what they do on the field, they are incredibly impressive athletes. they dedicate an enormous amount of time. they're also expected to behave a certain way off the field like the players themselves so they really do have this year-long set of expectations but then they're getting paid pennies. i think there was this perception that they should feel lucky that they are the pretty girls and the cool girls and they're cheering for the boys. and, you know that should be some sort of exalted status and that should be enough payment. it's not. i'm glad to see this is finally becoming a labor issue. >> i also wonder if part of it is many other sports it keeps showing up in the ncaa too. there's a men's and female version. you can play men's soccer or women's soccer. we can have arguments about whether they are equally resourced but at least the sports exist so we can talk about but there isn't a women's football alternative. so the only role for us if we're not allowed to be the athlete is to be the athletic supporters. and so i'm wondering if part of it is we just don't see an equality there. >> i think that's true. i think the purpose of cheerleading and also ice girls in the nhl, it's another issue where we've had some lawsuits about their treatment and their compensation. it kind of just reinforces that these sports are by men and for men and women only exist as the accessories of the even the female reporters only really exist on the sidelines. the women executives only exist in ancillary roles so i think that's a really big part of this. >> caitlin, let me come back to you and just ask, so in the end what is a win for you? what kind of change are you hoping to effect with this continued suit? >> i hope that we see leaguewide change across the entire nfl and all nfl cheerleaders are paid according to the law and treated fairly. >> thank you to caitlin y. and to drexel bradshaw in san francisco. there is still more to come this morning. the mvp of super bowl press conferences and trash talk. naerd nerdland style. ♪ there's confidence. 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>> i think -- i'm not sure seattle is ready for new england. >> we have another colleague from seattle. you would trash talk to that colleague? >> that's not trash talk. this is truth talk. do you want to know the difference between boston and seattle? >> i do. >> boston we got "cheers." seattle, they got the spin-off. >> i think i'm going to go talk to our colleague about this right now. >> i'd like you to do that. >> ari melber. >> nice to see you. >> nice to see you. i was just having a little conversation with our friend and colleague, steve kornacki. he said to me that this tells you everything you need to know about the super bowl. boston had "cheers." seattle had spin-off. >> first of all, "frazier" was a great show. if anything it was more gentle than cheers. >> so what do you think of boston as a city though? >> i would say boston is the nicest horse and carriage you've ever seen. but it's still a horse and carriage. and seattle is a fast eco-friendly sports car. >> i'm going to ask corekornacki about that. nice shoes. >> i had a little chat with ari melber about your spin-off point and he says well basically boston is a spin-off of europe. it's old, it's musty, it's basically, he said like a really nice horse and carriage. >> well first of all, by old i think you mean historic. if you want to know where this country started, where it got its start, where all these things we learn about in school come from you go to boston. if you go to seattle, you get really pretentious coffee, a useless landmark called the space needle. oh this is going to get tourists. they're all going to come see this big building and it's the 58th biggest building on the west coast so nobody ever goes to that. what do you get? you get rain. tell him this i don't even want to talk to him until he apologizes to all of america for grunge. >> there's basically no part of your city that kornacki did not just come for. >> is that his thing, to come with the really original stuff, the seattle rain joke? that is tough. that is just -- gets me right there with rain. >> and then the final thing was he said he doesn't even really want to talk to you ever again until you apologize to the whole country for grunge. >> that's fair. >> it's implied in the current news cycle that it may also be true that seattle has bigger and firmer balls. than boston. have you found that to be true in your experience ari? >> this is what i will say about football. the patriots got caught cheating before the super bowl. seattle didn't. >> ari there, of course is referring to spygate, the investigation into the underinflated balls is still under way. my thanks to ari and steve for participating in that little bit of very nerdlicious fun. up next nearly naked ladies and dads who shop. how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40 $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ ♪ [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ ♪ i'll never look back, i will just look younger new olay total effects with more vitamins than the leading prestige moisturizer to fight 7 signs of aging. in just 4 weeks, skin looks up to 10 years younger. from the world's #1. olay. your best beautiful millions of eyes will be glued to the tv screen tonight for the gridiron action the commercials and of course the halftime show. after weeks of rehearsal katy perry will perform sharing the stage with lenny kravitz and another star reported to be a surprise guest. joining me now from glendale, arizona, nbc's craig melvin. craig, what's the latest scoop on tonight's performances? >> reporter: here's the thing. the surprise perhaps has been ruined a bit because it was revealed yesterday or the day before missy elliott, the grammy award-winning hip-hop star rapper will be joining katy perry as well as lenny kravitz for what has become the biggest 12 1/2 minute performance every year for the entertainer lucky enough to get chosen. here's the thing, here's what folks don't realize about the halftime show at the super bowl. it hasn't always been this blockbuster spectacular that we've grown accustomed to. >> i remember when it was bad. >> yes! marching bands and like seedless performers and thengdsings like that. in 1993 when michael jackson brought the house down that changed the game. since then we've seen prince beyonce, last year bruno mars and the record sales for these artists who perform at halftime historically skyrocket right after the performance. for instance bruno mars last year up 90% in the days after he performed. beyonce was up as well 60%. so in the past you know the nfl used to pay these folks to show up. used to pay them big money. now it's not the case. the nfl pays for -- or the advertiser, in this case pepsi will pay for the production costs, but the artist gets the free pub and they like to think that makes it more than worth it. >> oh, so they work like the cheerleaders, just not for a lot of pay. nbc's craig melvin in glendale arizona. let's hope that fog burns off soon so you guys can have a good night out there. >> it's supposed to burn off around noon. >> good. very good. richard sherman may end of having a very very big night tonight, and i'm not just predicting a seattle seahawk championship. richard sherman is also due to become a daddy any day now. now, his coach has given him the okay to skip the super bowl in favor of the delivery room. >> if he's faced with that decision, we'll support him and we'll see how that goes. wish him luck and i can't wait to see little petey. >> and sherman hasn't said which he would choose. >> i think he's going to be a disciplined young man and stay in there until after the game. >> so media and social media have been offering a lot of opinions about what is the right thing to do. but sherman is not the only father getting attention this super bowl sunday. advertisers are celebrating dads in a big way in a trend that's being dubbed dadverdtising. that's a thing now. honestly it's kind of heart-warming. >> daddy! >> daddy! >> dad! >> i hate the when the commercials make me cry. of course advertisers can't completely abandoning the adage that sex sells. look at this carl's jr. spot that already has people talking. >> nothing between me and my 100% all natural, juicy, grass-fed beef. >> introducing the all natural burger. the first ever in fast food with no antibiotics, no added hormones and no steroids. >> all right. so that one made me cry too, but for a different reason. look on the one hand diversifying reached a larger group of men. i assume there are some dads who appreciate being portrayed as hands-on loving parents and not just sex-craved consumers. but 75% of women say they are the primary shoppers for their households and we know that the super bowl audience is pretty equally divided between men and women. so ultimaty is dadvertising the newest way of marketing to women? i watch the dad commercial with my husband this morning when i was prepping. he was not so moved by that ad but i was like oh i wanted to go buy dove products right? and i wonder if the dadvertising is momvertising still trying to get women to purchase the products. >> i think that's certainly a part of it. i just watched that ad too and was like ohhh. but i do think it reflects changing family dynamics in the u.s. that dads do spend more time with their children than they ever have before since we actually started studying these things. that's very real. so i think advertisers are probably latching on to two different but overlapping trends. one of which is this change in what dads do in the home and the second is the fact that women do still sort of dominate when it comes to family consumer spending. >> i wonder if we could get the two dad. i'd like to see advertisers go out on a limb for what modern families look like which is increasingly not just a dynamic of one man, one woman and their bio kids but far more diverse. >> and all these adds are pro found ly heteronormative. as far as the carl's jr. thing, first of all, if you're bragging that your hamburger doesn't have steroids there are bigger problems in this country than that. and super bowl and sexism goes together like bill belichick and skirting the rules. it's what happens as part of the package of super bowl sunday. and my experience of it is that when i'm at a super bowl party, progressive-minded men and the women, they roll their eyes and that's when they find time for the bathroom break. so if the nfl is actually serious about having a broader audience, a more diverse audience, they need to mind their ads a little more. >> do they really? what the progressives do at my super bowl party is they hate watching, right? so they're like oh my gosh what is -- now what is going to happen? what is going happen now? but they're certainly watching it. >> they're absolutely watching it and that's the point but i think what you see in both of these points is when are we going to have paula abdul doing the halftime show because it's one step forward, two steps back. >> we come together because opposites attract. >> you see in this dad ad an actual attempt to combat in hypermasculinity that has plagued the league and contributing to all of its problems with domestic violence and you see that completely thrown out the window with the ad like carl's jr. and the way cheerleaders are treated and the way that women on the sideline and reporters are treated and the fact that we're really just hood ornaments when it comes to the games. >> recent reports have shown depending on what your goals and objectives are with these ads that some advertisers are pulling out because you're either going after your brand or you're going after results. if you want actual sales out of a super bowl ad pull out because it doesn't work. >> so this -- one of the reasons i really wanted you at the table was to talk about this godaddy ad. they have been criticized because of their sexism but this new ad that got yanked was making people angry because of what seemed to be an animal cruelty narrative. here's this poor little dog, it makes its way all the way home. it seems like it's going to be a heart-warming moment but when the doggy gets home it turns out that they're just going to sell the dog, right? people were livid. they yanked it. do you know why i know this whole story because i've seen it 40,000 times on all the morning shows. i'm thinking godaddy just won because they didn't have to pay, right? they got all this free -- we're doing it for free right now. >> i mean if that was their objective, clearly it was a brilliant move. i actually did see that ad when i saw the little dog i kind of caught it out of the side of my eye. when i saw the dog running down the side of the highway and a car go flying past i was like oh, my gosh this isn't effective, it didn't work for me. clearly it is a big, massive business and it's either in the business of building a brand or building a response. >> and haven't we learned that america loves dogs hates people? hasn't that lesson been pounded home a lot? >> a little bit, yeah. like a little bit. and given that the godaddy had been in some other, oh what's the right words for it real serious problems around animal cruelty issues you had to believe that they knew this that it was actually the pulling of it that was the thing that was planned. >> godaddy in the past several years has released a series of incredibly sexist ads so it's striking that we have ads that treat women like objects for add advertising internet access which you think would be a gender and neutral thing. those sexist ads get some outrage but godaddy isn't pulling them but as soon as it's a dog, then we care. >> i do love the like a girl that is also going to happen tonight. that's the sort of fun counter is this idea that because there's an expectation of going together, you know sort of sexism and super bowl going together, if you do the like a girl piece, that also gets attention because here is this idea of you know young girls empowered, running like a girl throwing like a girl like being empowered. >> right. but i think it's still kind of notable that despite the fact that female fans are on the uptick and the fact that we've agreed that women do make the purchasing decisions and are active, we need to be activating those dollars, the predominant line in most of these commercials is still courting men. we are still talking about football in the context of male fans and largely ignoring women and their money. >> we've got a little bit more on our football sunday. up next we're going to play a little game so get ready. and you can join my panel in guessing which lynch is which after the break. you show up. you stay up. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready start with us. doing the right thing has never been easier. legalzoom. legal help is here. ♪ go! go! go! he's challenging the very fabric of society. in a post cannonball world! was it grilled cheese? guilty! the aquatic delinquency is a larger issue to this ♪ you did it again, didn't you? yup. ♪ they're coming. what do i do? you need to catch the 4:10 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable. stamps.com is the best. okay. this week the united states senate and the american sports media had a lot in common. really, they did. let's start on capitol hill where members of the senate confirmation committee finally got their opportunity to put the tough questions to a lawyer named lynch. loretta lynch. the president's nominee for attorney general. then we can pop on over to arizona, where members of the american sports media finally got their opportunity to put the tough questions to a player named lynch, marshawn lynch, the running back of the seattle seahawks. both q&a sessions ended up being quite memorable and allows us to stage our very own competition right here in nerdland. which lynch is which? now, all of my guests have a paddle. on one side there is a photo of attorney general nominee loretta lynch. on the other side a photo of seahawks running back marshawn lynch. here's what i'm going to do. i'm going to ask a question and my panel is going to hold up their answer and it's going to be a little harder than you might think at home. after all, both loretta and marshawn have been invited to the white house because of their success on the job and both have been commended for work in their fields. i have faith in our panel they can figure out which lynch is limplg which. at some point, one of our lynches said this. i don't know what story you're trying to get or what image you want to portray me as. was that loretta or marshawn? >> got to be about that action boss. >> right? we're going with marshawn. anybody else? that was a marshawn? >> i'm going loretta. >> i am too. marshawn doesn't like to say anything flippant. >> we got a split decision. the answer actually was marshawn. let's listen. >> i don't know what story y'all trying to get out of me. i don't know what image y'all trying to portray of me. but it don't matter what y'all think, what y'all say about me. >> it would have been gangster if loretta lynch had said it though. i would have loved to have her -- and you did, moments, kind of feel that with her in the senate. here's the second one. one of our lynches faced questioning about what we're going to call a teammate. a teammate who's got into trouble for being a little outspoken in recent years. was that marshawn lynch or loretta lynch who faced tough questioning on that? >> that was loretta lynch. >> oh accident, okay. i get it. i can totally get why you think it would be marshawn. >> between all the people speaking out about important issues. >> right. last year it was all about richard sherman saying way too many words, right? >> and this year michael bennett was very very forthcoming about talking about the ncaa and all of the problems that go into college sports and richard sherman has been as well and has been very outspoken about marshawn lynch's right to not speak, actually. >> but that said i just want to say, it actually was -- you guys were right. it was loretta lynch. let's just quickly take a listen to her talking about her teammate. >> the attorney general refers to himself as the president's wing man, suggesting that he is not -- does not exercise independent legal judgment as the chief law enforcement officer for the country. you wouldn't consider yourself to be a political arm of the white house as attorney general, would you? >> no senator, that would be a totally inappropriate view of the position of attorney general. >> so i loved it right? it did feel like at certain ways -- you know we heard in the kind of land of football, are they talking about the wrong things? but here we were in the land of american politics, you know, are you blocking for your team here basically. >> absolutely. and she got high feet as marshawn might say. so there you go. >> all right. one of the lynches used repetition as a way of kind of keeping the questioners from getting what they wanted out of the press conference. which lynch was that? >> this is a pretty easy one. >> i'm going both. >> that's true right? >> i'm going both. >> actually i think that we can go both. let's listen first to marshawn lynch doing his repetition. >> so y'all can sit here and ask me all the questions y'all want to. i'm going to answer with the same answer. so y'all can shoot if y'all please. >> what's the answer? >> i'm here so i won't get fined. i'm here so i won't get fined. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i'm here so i won't get fined. >> it was classic. what did you guys think ultimately? >> i mean look he signed a contract, okay. contractually, he's obligated to be in front of the media and speak to the media. i understand through some friends and the like that marshawn lynch has an issue speaking with the media. he doesn't like it he's not good at it he's uncomfortable. i get that. he should have voiced that opinion when he was signing the contract. he could have potentially negotiated that. that's number one. number two, i truly believe that the skills of presenting yourself well and actually representing yourself and speaking in public and communicating are actually highly transferable to the rest of the world and the rest of your life. the nfl could actually help him media train, give him some skills so he can learn how to do it. but that was a mockery. >> and yet it was ultimately a classic. i think we could say both because loretta lynch did keep repeatedly telling people i am not eric holder. thank you, everyone. that is our show for today. thanks to you at home for watching. i'm going to see you next saturday 10:00 a.m. eastern. don't forget you can watch the super bowl showdown between the seattle seahawks and the new england patriots tonight on nbc at 6:30 p.m. eastern. right now, time for a preview of "weekends with alex witt." >> how could we forget? only unless you've been living under a rock. anyway, a dangerous snowstorm is hitting the midwest, moving east at a time when people are going to be on the roads. what happened to whitney houston's daughter? the latest as she remains in a georgia hospital. plus, what could be the most alarming commercial you're going to see during the super bowl tonight. don't go anywhere. i'll be back. in life, it's how you get there that matters most. like when i found out i had a blood clot in my leg. my doctor said that it could travel to my lungs and become an even bigger problem. so he talked to me about xarelto®. >>xarelto® is the first oral prescription blood thinner proven to treat and help prevent dvt and pe that doesn't require regular blood monitoring or changes to your diet. for a prior dvt i took warfarin, which required routine blood testing and dietary restrictions. not this time. while i was taking xarelto®, i still had to stop racing, but i didn't have to deal with that blood monitoring routine. >>don't stop taking xarelto®, rivaroxaban, unless your doctor tells you to. while taking xarelto®, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious bleeding, and in rare cases, may be fatal. get help right away if you develop unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto®, 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. before starting xarelto® tell your doctor about any conditions such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. xarelto® is proven to reduce the risk of dvt and pe, with no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto® was the right move for me. ask your doctor about xarelto® today. good job! still running in the morning? 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[coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine. oh yea, that's coming down let's get some rocks, man. health can change in a minute. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable with walk-in medical care, no appointments needed and most insurance accepted. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything. another blast of winter is headed to the northeast after it sweeps through the midwest. we're going to tell you where, when, and how much will hit. >> go pats go go, go! >> countdown to the big game. everything you need to know before you settle in to watch super bowl xlix with more than 110 million other americans. 2016 scramble a wide-open field of candidates for the gop in the early run for the white house, but a new poll today may give
New-yorkUnited-statesOaklandCaliforniaTexasBrazilBostonMassachusettsGeorgiaNew-zealandWashingtonDistrict-of-columbia good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. we want to get right to that deadly tornado outbreak that began in the midwest and has now ravaged north carolina and virginia with dozens killed in seven states since thursday. >> we know it's spring, it's tornado season, but i can't recall seeing anything like this in quite a while. an eyewitness called it a hell of a storm, an understatement as the pictures show total devastation from the twisters. 24 people have been killed in north carolina. another four in virginia. you look at this past wednesday, a total of 45 lives lost in seven states and what they are calling these super cells going through. we have complete coverage of the storm's path and devastation. we'll begin with kristen dahlgren live in raleigh, north carolina, are for us. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, lester. while we were standing here getting ready we noticed this hill is actually smoking now so we have a call into the fire department. just take a look at this. this isn't the driveway. this is actually the garage of this home. this is where the door was so that shows you just how far this house moved and how powerful these storms were. they came fast, furious and without warning. >> tornado right on the ground in front of me. >> reporter: the violent rash of tornadoes and flash floods tearing off roofs, toppling trees and pushing the three-day death toll to over three dozen. >> very scary. very scary. i've never been in nothing like th this. >> reporter: by saturday afternoon lewis, north carolina, was directly in the bull's eye. more than twisters reported across the state as the ferocious storm system started in oklahoma thursday, barrels east with unforgettable fury. governor beverly purdue declared a state of emergency after fatalities in at least four of the state's counties. >> we are beginning to recover from what we believe is the most widespread tornadoes we've seen since the mid-'80s. >> reporter: at least 24 will dead in north carolina and the toll could rise again as searchers probe through shattered homes and businesses. this is all that's left of a lowe's home improvement store in sanford, north carolina. the front of the massive building flattened in the middle of a busy saturday. incredibly no one was injured. catastrophe prevented by employees who pushed customers to the back of the store after seeing what they described as a wall of churning debris baring down. while in south carolina this church collapsed with six people inside and all walked away. their church torn to pieces but this morning their faith stronger than ever. now there are thousands who are without power this morning. the red cross has opened up shelters for those who have been displaced from their homes. lester, this is the worst spring storm to hit north carolina in more than two decades. >> kristen dahlgren for us, thanks. as we said, the deadliest storm of the year so far. the weather channel's mike bettis is in raleigh. mike, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you, when you take a look at the devastation it's hard to believe there were people in this neighborhood that actually survived, luckily for this home this used to be a two-story home it's collapsed and the family was not home at the time it was lifted from its foundation and into the backyard. there's debris strewn all over the front yard from this home. other homes that are across the street in the neighborhood. one thing very interesting about this home that's been pretty much completely destroyed is if you look in the driveway, there's a vehicle right there nearly untouched. this family had to have been home at the time and got their vehicles, they don't have a basement so it's good to know they weren't home at the time. we know now 105 tornado reports across the carolinas yesterday at least 24 people have lost their lives. damage like this indicative of ef-2 ef-3 damage. they tell us it's the worst tornado they've seen. they've gone through multiple tornadoes in the raleigh area over the past couple of years. >> mike bettes, thanks very much. let's take a look at this tornado outbreak. this all started thursday and has moved its way east and even north. let's go to janice huff. dare i ask could we see more? >> not today, lester. the severe outbreak has died down for today. what's left of the storm has been producing some heavy rain across northern new england but yesterday and last night the heavy rain extended from new york city all the way down the coastline. you can see where that line developed across north carolina, virginia with some severe storms that produce add tornado. that's all offshore now. we still have residual warnings for flooding and for wind across parts of the northeast, from new england all the way down to washington, d.c. we have flood warnings and high-wind warnings that includes areas around new york city, pittsburgh, syracuse. the weather is dry now and the sun is out in new york city and parts of the northeast. however, there could be another severe weather outbreak coming up by wednesday. we'll be tracking that for you. jenna, back to you. all right, janice, thanks. we're going to switch gears and head to politics thousand with president obama gearing up for the next budget battle with republicans. he gets an earful from two possible white house candidates, donald trump and sarah palin. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" joins us this morning. >> how are you? >> we haven't had a gop candidate to talk about about yet and now a couple names floating out there. i guess the flashiest at this point would be donald trump. he was the headline speaker at a tea party event in boca where he talked recently that he's going to make an announcement about whether he'll run or not in june. in the meantime, he's really racking up a lot of support. a poll shows donald trump as the favorite among other republican potential candidates so i guess the question would be how electable is donald trump at this point? >> i don't think he's being viewed very seriously at this point, but he is making some headway in the polls as you point out. he has name recognition, he has money, and he's talking in a way that is attention seeking and attention grabbing. whether he's talking about the president's birth certificate which is a settled issue or talking about him being the worst president in the united states. so he's going to reach some of those extremists who don't like the president and will be able to grab some of that attention. i think that puts him in a separate category than a mitt romney who is also getting closer to getting in the race, who is being taken more seriously within the white house as the republican front-runner. >> i want to ask you about mitt romney but first let me throw sarah palin's name out there. she is also making the rounds. she was at a tea party rally in wisconsin on saturday. any word yet on what her potential presidential plans might be? >> you know, jenna, a couple of things. one, she seems to be fading a little bit both in terms of her popularity and her relevancy. again, she can also make a headline and she can get plenty of attention. she has that grassroots support. but you see it even in that poll that she's falling down a little bit. she is still not doing the kinds of things you would expect if she was positioning herself for an actual run. a lot of work that you're doing in the grassroots, a lot of favorites that you're doling out that you can call back during the course of a campaign, fund-raising and all the rest. you have these two tracks. who are the people who are equipped for the long haul of a primary process and those like a sarah palin who will -- whose voice will be heard, whose impact will be felt because she can garner that kind of attention. >> you look at number two and three on the poll we just put up, that graphic, mitt romney and mike huckabee, how do they wage a successful campaign while still at the same time competing with other gop members, with tea party candidates? >> well, there's always going to be two tracks here. you're going to have what you might call a front-runner track, a management track within the republican field. a mitt romney, a tim pawlenty. hawk huckabee may not get in in the end. does he back somebody like haley barbour but you'll have those two finalists, in effect, who go into a crowded field and will get the closest scrutiny and romney is poxing himself to be able to draw this out and to win kind of through somewhat a default as he goes deeper and deep earp in the primary process. >> david gregory, thanks for your insights. >> thanks. melissa francis has the top stories for us. good morning. good morning, jenna and lester. good morning, everyone. we begin in miami where another air traffic controller fell asleep on the be job. nbc's michelle franzen has more. >> reporter: another air traffic controller asleep on the job. this time during the midnight shift saturday at the miami air route traffic control center. and now the federal aviation administration is planning to make changes to air traffic controllers' work schedules to combat fatigue. >> the fatigue we're seeing in the control tower is the result of too few qualified controllers in the nation that can fill in so they're working double shifts, four and five nights in a row. >> reporter: the reports started coming in late last month when two passenger planes landed on their own at washington's reagan national after a controller fell asleep. then a string of more reports of sleeping controllers in knoxville, lubbock, then outside seattle. in miami there were is 12 controllers on duty at the time and the controller who fell asleep did not miss any calls from pilots. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. overseas now to japan where the tokyo power company has released new pictures showing the enormous damage to the fukushima daiichi plant. the company says it could now take six to nine months to bring the crisis under control. this as secretary of state hillary clinton is visiting with japanese officials in a show of support. pope benedict celebrating palm sunday mass a day after his birthday. a crowd packed the square and the start of the christian holy week. and finally a new commercial puts the comedic spin on what the royal wedding might look like. t-mobile unveiled this with actors portraying prince william and kate middle ton dancing their way down the aisle. queen elizabeth, prince philip, charles and ka mcamilla also da down the aisle as well. the cardinal there could use a few dance lessons. he has everything but t the ais there. the cardinal could use a few dance lessons. back to you, lester, jenna, janice. >> you have a pretty good shot of it looking exactly like that. >> how do you know they won't do that? >> absolutely right. janice is back with another check of the weather. >> good morning. it's a lot quieter across the country in terms of the weather after a devastating last two or three days with severe weather. there will be a small outbreak of thunderstorms across the northern and high plains and the central rockies today around salt lake city and parts of wyoming, into montana. there will be thunderstorms on the north side of that, snowing across the northern rockies, rain in the pacific northwest. meanwhile, sunshine and 80 degree plus temperatures from los angeles all the way to miami today. that's what's going on around the nation. now here's your local forecast. >> good sunday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a nice change from yesterday. the sun is shining. it's going to be a very windy day today. with the sunshine out, moods should improve. temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees at this point in time. looking for highs today up into the mid and upper 60s with plenty of sunshine. again, it's going to be very windy today. winds out of the west at 20 to 30 miles per hour. could gust over 50 miles per hour at times. so watch out for the possibility of falling trees and branches. now here is jenna. >> janice, thanks. authorities in tennessee continue their search for 20-year-old holly bobo, a college student abducted from outside her home. good morning, tom. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is the church holly attended since she was a little girl and services will be dedicated to her and her family. it's been five days and still no sign of her. sunday may be considered a sign of rest but there's no time to stop. back into the brush for a fifth day search parties will sweep for any trace of holly bobo. >> the county has pulled together. we just are hoping, believing for something good. >> reporter: tim is part of the army of volunteers looking for holly and wants her family to know this. >> we've got your back. we're going to find her. that's what we do. we just want them to know we are out here. we're for them. we're going to be out here until we fall. >> reporter: authorities say a man dressed in camouflage kidnapped holly outside her home as she was leaving for nursing school. several of holly's belongings have been recovered including her lunch box. one volunteer says it it was found near this creek. >> we've also getting a tremendous amount of leads from all over the country, throughout the united states. >> reporter: there is no person of interest at this time. holly's brother, who called 911 after witnessing part of the abduction, has been ruled out at a suspect. so has holly's boyfriend. >> we're continuing to ask people to call in, give us information on this case because we want to bring holly back. >> reporter: with each day the search for holly is expanding. john, a marine reserve from cincinnati, came to help a family he doesn't even know. >> this girl is out there somewhere and she doesn't have her family. she is all alone. so we really want to try to bring her back to her family. >> reporter: and the service here starts in a little over an hour. once they're done praying, jenna, they'll put their boots back on and head into the woods. >> it tranh, what's the mindset about how this investigation is goi going? >> reporter: you ask anyone and they say they're hopeful. we did ask the question to the investigators whether this is still a rescue operation or a recovery operation and they said bluntly this is a rescue operation still. >> all right. thank you so much. up next on "today," nicolas cage arrested in new orleans. we'll tell you what happened right after this. 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"nominated for two academy awards he nabbed a best actor for a suicidal alcoholic in "leaving las vegas." >> i think you know i'm serious. >> reporter: but his latest film "drive angry" flopped. >> i am going to get her back. >> reporter: grossing just $10 million at a time when he needs the money more than ever. last year the actor revealed he owes the irs approximately $14 million in back taxes, just one of many problems for a star who has certainly seen brighter days. >> nicolas cage has had money troubles, legal troubles now, and a lot of perm troubsonal tr and it's piling up and is very bad for him. >> reporter: cage's first case is may 21st. for "today," mara, schiavo. the dog tried to get cage released from jail. kate middleton joins us live in the studio. really. yeah, there's a twist. but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there. but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then my company partnered with unitedhealthcare. they provided onsite screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping. 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[ male announcer ] take the scott naturals 4-week test drive. if we all did it we'd save over 2 million trees. start your test drive at scottbrand.com. still to come, fighting a food addiction. will this woman seek help? find out as her family stages an intervention. plus, boy wonder. we catch up with the snowboarding sensation we first met during the vancouver olympics. well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow. [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's okay. i've played a pilot before. what'i'm a curious seeker. i am a chemistry aficionado. diphenhydramine. magnesium hydroxide. atheletes foot. yes. i'm a people pleaser. if elected, i promise flu shots for all. i am a walking medical dictionary. congratulations virginia. inflamed uvula. i'm virginia. i'm a target pharmacist and i'm here to answer your questions. it is the calm after the storm. 51 degrees outside. a bit windy. chuck's forecast just ahead. it's 8:26 right now on this sunday, april 17th. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. in the news for today, a coastal flood warning remains in effect for alexandria until 11:00 this morning. yesterday's heavy rains caused flooding in the streets of old town last night and forced several businesses along king street to close. this morning the water has receded. the cleanup is under way. prince george's county police have asked the media to withhold releasing the name of a man shot and killed by an officer. the man's mother called police when he was shooting his own gun off in a house in upper marlboro. investigators say police shot him when he tried to grab an officer's gun. family members say the man suffered from bipolar disorder. watch your speed op the fairfax county parkway. police and state troopers kicking off the 50 means 50 campaign. officers will use marked and unmarked cars to pull over cars going faster than 50 miles per hour. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with amazing innovation, driven by relentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪ let's check in with meteorologist chuck belfour a look at today's weather. >> sunshine is out. the winds are just start to go pick up some speed. going to be a very windy day. westerly breezes 20 to 30 miles per hour sustained. some places could have gusteds over 50 miles an hour.temperatug mostly in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees. 50 in quantico. 48 degrees in frederick, maryland. today. there is a wind advisory. highs in the upper 60s. tomorrow morning sunshine giving way to clouds. tomorrow's high 71. passing shower possible on tuesday and near 80 for wednesday with a chance of a thunderstorm wednesday afternoon. back over to you, kimberly, for what should be a very pleasant sunday. >> looking good. thank you, chuck. we are heading back to new york to join the "today" show. you can join us in about 30 minutes for a full hour of "news 4 today." we go from 9:00 to 10:00. and then don't forget "meet we're back on this sunday morning, april 17th, 2011. the rain is gone, the sun is coming out. it is a gorgeous time to come visit us here on the plaza. we thank this lovely crowd for spending the early part of the day with us. we'll say hello to everyone. i'm jenna wolfe along with lester holt. still to come, this is interesting talking about a woman's addiction to food. >> a woman's addiction to food and something that 15 million americans may suffer from. we're going to talk to the man involved in the intervention for this woman as the family staged an intervention. will it work? we're there to watch it all unfold. and we're less than two weeks from the big wedding. where do you think kate middleton is right now? >> she is not in our studio but, hark -- >> she is in our studio. this is america's kate middleton. what's in a name? a lot when you have that particular name and a lot of interesting things happen in your life. we'll find out from this young woman. >> she had the wave. >> she did have the wave. it's true. >> and then we have an update on a young snowboarder that we first told you about a couple months ago. we first met this little kid wes covering the winter olympics in vancouver. they call him the next shaun white. he's 5 years old and competing in the national championships. we'll check on wesley in our next half hour. >> remember the first story on him what a cutie. >> he could barely pronounce certain words but put a snowboard on him and he was doing things i couldn't imagine doing. >> looking forward to seeing where he is these days. a special guest joining us here on the plaza, actor bruce campbell, plays ex-navy seal -- >> former navy seal. never ex. >> good point. >> pooh his kasinto his charact. >> you have a new movie. >> it's a prequel, i had to lose weight and dye my hair. normally you would fill nm burbank but we went where it was set. >> no expense spared on this film. >> of course. >> if you haven't been a fan, can you still get into this? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. the prequel is a fully developed story written by matt nicks. and directed by jesse donovan. mr. fancy pants. >> who is in "burn notice." >> lots of women? >> lots of women, lots of beer. >> we'll find out how you got there. >> it's the last mission as an actual soldier. so it's a whole different side of the character. hopefully it will function like a regular action, seat of your pants, what's going to happen. >> i know you like doing leading men action stuff. >> i used to. now i got stuck being a character actor. i like the kascharacter stuff better. >> i think i'd go with him. >> great to have you here. we want to let folks know the fall of sam axe tonight at 9:00 on usa network. >> thank you for being here. enjoy the rest of your day.sa network. >> bruce, thanks so much for being here. enjoy the rest of your day. we're going to get another check of the weather now. a nice round of applause for bruce. janice huff. >> hi there. i had to come over here. whenever i see my name on a sign, i come over. ladies from south carolina, good morning. do you guys know the people from greenville down there? >> we met them today. >> there's folks down here from greenville, south carolina, as well. and we've got sabres, go sabres. all sorts of people visiting the "today" show as we continue our rolling spring break season. let's check on the weather this morning. we have sunshine here in the northeast finally after a very, very, very rainy day. yesterday. still a little rain across parts of northern new england, and still windy in parts of the northeast but sunny and dry, thank goodness, over most of the southern tier of states. just want to show everybody in the back down here who's been visiting today. thanks for coming down. that's what's going on around the nation. now here's your forecast. good sunday morning from the nation's capital. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees right now. we're looking for highs today up into the mid-60s with plenty of sunshine. might pick up a few passing clouds from time to time, but that's about it. sun goes down at 7:47 this evening. watch out for a lot of wind today. winds out of the west at 20 to 30 miles per hour. gusting to near 50 at times. mild tomorrow and showery weather for tuesday and and whenever we're not around, you can always check your weather online at weather.com. now here's lester. janice, thanks. from hoarders to drug addicts and now overeaters, tv shows about family and friends trying to intervene have become popular re reality tv. recently we went to an intervention for a young woman who has been struggling with her weight most of her life. at nearly 300 pounds, 23-year-old allison hertz knows she has a problem. >> i think i can be healthier and thinner. >> what she doesn't know is just like a drug addict or gambler she, too, is an addict, a food addict. >> my fear is her health. my fear has always been her health. >> she says she was always chunky and after a traumatic experience at 8 years old, fast food became her comfort. >> two cheeseburgers and fries, chicken nuggets. chinese i would eat, you know, a combination of stuff and it got out of hand. >> like a drug addict, my daughter was an alcoholic, if she was anorexic or bulimic, there's help for her. to me it's the same addiction. >> they sent me to weight loss camp, to duke university, i did gener jenny craig, weight watchers, all different diet programs. i had no willpower. after a while i gave up. i feel like, i don't know, if i was thinner, i would have more friends. >> brad is an addiction expert. the family believes he is their last hope. >> well, thanks for everybody making time to be here today. i know that not every day you sit down and have an intervention. we're going to have a conversation about what has happened up until this point and talk about some solutions. >> she wept for therapy, she went for nutritional counseling, she even went to weight loss camp two or three times as a child. >> my wife and i, as she says, the best we could, through the years trying to intervene with her problem but we didn't really want to let her know because we didn't want to hurt her feelings, knock her esteem down. >> we went to starbucks last night and she wanted to drink it in the car and she happened to see somebody that she knew in high school and she didn't want him to -- she didn't want him to see her. >> when i look at you i think 23 what this disease has already done to you. >> what are your fears for your daughter? >> diabetes, heart disease, and possibly something more drastic that that. >> death? >> exactly. not a long life. a very unhealthy life is a short life. >> the fact that she's 23 years old and she came to me and all she could really talk about was the lap band surgery, and i just really wasn't comfortable with that. >> i think if she put her mind to it, she could do it but it's tough. >> i know she wants to lose the weight, it's just -- we feel like we hit a roadblock. we've tried everything. >> this is our hope for you and this is the gift that we want to share with you and your family is an invitation to "today" to pack your bags and without negotiation or delay to go to shades of hope treatment center in texas for 42 days. will you accept that? >> yes. >> there's nobody who loves you more than i do in this world. this is your life. >> brad lamm now joins us. he's the creator and producer of the new reality show addicted to food and author of "just 10 pounds. "brad, great to see you. >> good morning. >> after the cameras stopped rolling i understand things changed. what happened? >> indeed. what happened is what happens a lot. when a family gets together and has a conversation on change and as the dad said, we don't want to bring it up because we don't want to embarrass her but in this case after the cameras left and after i left she pulled the plug. she didn't get on the plane and so the family sits back and says, oh, my god, we made it worse. or now she said, no, what do we do? in fact, this is the beginning of change for this family. it's taken a long time to get here. they've grown larger together. you've seen that allison isn't the only one struggling with food. she really is addicted to food and so that wasn't the end of the story. >> you're talking about they, as you're doing this, are you noting some family dynamics here that are sending up red flags? >> absolutely. when a family calls and wants to do an intervention, i do a family map. i learn what has happened with this family and do an invitational intervention so it's never a surprise. we get the people together and say, hey, we love you. we're going to sit down and talk about change. but, look, food addiction is real and it's killing millions of americans. >> let me ask about food addiction. you don't have to have alcohol. you have to eat. when you talk about addicted to food, explain to me. >> all of us have to eat. i agree, lester, but most people are not addicted to food and for so many people that don't struggle with food, they say why don't you just move away from the buffet? stop eating. slim down. get yourself together. in truth, a food addict has the cravings and the obsession, they're an emotional eater oftentimes. they don't have that off button that so many people have with food. look, more than 12 million are addicted to food and it's killing us. it's not just about willpower. it's actually a loss of control altogether. >> you've been down this road yourself in terms of food issues. >> i was bulimic and a compulsive over eater and a crystal meth addict. that's why i wrote my book to help people change and, in fact, most of the folks that are sitting at home today will wonder, you know, we tried every diet. we've tried every scheme and we don't think there's hope for me. >> back to allison, you did ultimately, i understand, get her to go to some type of treatment. >> indeed. tomorrow morning i will meet allison here in manhattan at a wonderful intensive outpatient treatment center called balance. eating disorder treatment center right here in manhattan. we will start a change plan for her. the whole family signed a recovery contract are where we're in it together to win it and we're going to work together for six months to help her break this pattern of behavior. >> we're glad she is getting help and appreciate you coming on and sharing the story. >> and my hope for folks at home is they can start change today, too. i set up something for all the viewers of the "today" show. just10challenge.com and get help from me it to break food addiction in your own life today. >> brad lamm, good to have you here. thanks very much. up next, we'll meet the 7-year-old girl invited to the royal wedding and will the real kate middleton please stand up. ♪ [ female announcer ] smooth. like you've never felt before. touch of smoothness body wash with new hydra iq provides moisture throughout the day with no greasy feel. now available in a variety of scents. nivea. touch and be touched. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious... aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help. that's the day you do something. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. is today your day? talk to your doctor... and go to cymbalta.com for a free 30-capsule trial offer. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. now to our countdown to the royal wedding, just 12 days away. this morning the big story isn't about the prince and his princess bride, it's about a very lucky young girl whose dream is about to come true. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. well, it's not just the rich and famous who are invited to the royal wedding. l they haven't forgotten the little people. a 7-year-old who dreams of being a princess. the expected guest list has kanye. the prince and princess made sure they weren't just delivered to mansions and castles. the bucklebury town. the shopkeepers over at peach's have known the middletons for years. >> we were talk iing to kate coming here. they sent an invite. getting my suit dry-cleaned. >> reporter: and sure enough the postman who is also invited delivered the good news. meet the suttons, kate and will haven't but this family is royally captivated. george is named after the king, along with sisters tabitha, camilla and elizabeth. her mom applied for special tickets for the disabled online. >> i thought nothing of it and lo and behold a couple weeks later we got an e-mail saying that we'd been selected to go and. we were absolutely thrilled. >> reporter: it's hard to believe all it takes is two paper tickets like these to get into the wedding of the century. 7-year-old hermione has her outfit picked out for the big day. >> she dresses up as princesses, she plays with princess dolls all the time, tiaras and jewelry and whatever and she reckons one day she will meet an actual prince. >> reporter: she, with the rest of the world, will enjoy this real-life fairy tale. jenna? >> atia, thank you so much. we all know kate middleton is a princess bride but did you know she also sells bicycles and spends her time teaching spin classes in massachusetts? >> we are talking about the other kate middleton sharing the same name as the queen-to-be and our kate middleton joins us. great to see you. this has been quite a ride you've been on. this started when we first heard kate middleton as a potential member of the royal family and your phone starts ringing. >> the phone started ringing after a thup article came out about having the same name as prince william's fiancee, and my co-worker started playing around with it a little bit, oh, she's not here yet. she's having tea with the queen. >> so reporters are beginning to call? >> yes. >> and then you're getting facebook messages as well? >> i'm getting a lot of facebook messages. facebook actually deactivated my account which was kind of disappointing because i am actually older than the kate middleton in england and been around longer and thought i should keep my account. >> what's it like now? you walked through grocery stores, you see your name in magazines, you hear your name all over tv reports. do you like it? is it annoying? where do you stand with all of this? >> it's pretty funny, and people around me have always called me a princess anyway so i guess it's fitting. >> this goes back even before the engagement. the first time you heard, you were applying for a job. >> that's right. i was applying for a job and i got a call back and the person said, well, i didn't know you were dating prince william. and i said, well, what are you talking about? i didn't know i was dating prince william either. i googled your name and found that you, in fact, are dating prince william. >> he didn't say, you got the job. he said, so you're dating prince william. are you dating someone named will because that would be interesting? >> no, i'm not. >> are you looking for a prince? >> i am look iing for a prince t not william. >> but not that william. >> kate middleton, it's great to have you on. are you going to be watching the wedding, by the way? >> what time is the wedding? >> the coverage will start at 4:00 a.m. so that can't inconvenience you. >> i'll be dreaming of the wedding. >> she's honest. >> dvr it. >> exactly. >> kate middleton -- the real kate middleton. >> exactly. >> thank you so much. up next, we're talking about the new shaun white. we catch up with the young snowboarder we first met during the vancouver olympics. with the rising price of fuel, guess which way shipping costs are going? the u.s postal service has no fuel surcharges. combine that with low online pricing... and your shipping costs... ..could head in a whole new direction. it's time to rethink your shipping. [ male announcer ] build your better breakfast with all the flavors you choose. try an irresistible steak, egg & cheese, with toasty tomato or chipotle southwest sauce on tasty flatbread. only at subway! ♪ don't suffer waiting for your pills to kick in. add alaway. for fast eye itch relief that works in minutes and lasts up to 12 hours. only alaway comes from bausch & lomb. for fast eye itch relief, add alaway. now during last year's vancouver olympics we first met 3-year-old wes muresan, a little pint-sized snowboarder. some called him the next shaun white. we decided to check up on him. and as you'll soon see, he may be a little guy in size but wherever he goes, he seems to be the biggest thing on the slopes. we first met wesley muresan during the vancouver olympics at the ripe age of 3. a snowboard iing phenom, shreddg the slopes in his hometown of dubuque, iowa, and leaving yours truly in the dust. you go. i'll meet you there. i'm good. as it turns out there is breckenridge, colorado. that's where we caught up with him this week, or at least tried to catch up. ♪ i want to fly away keep in mind wes just turned 5 years old yesterday and when we say he's taken off since last we saw him, we're not just talking about his jumps. >> wesley has gotten a lot of help, a lot of sponsors. at the end of january he qualified for nationals which was pretty exciting and he was the youngest competitor they've ever had. >> let's hear it for wesley. >> did you like nationals, bu y buddy? >> yeah. >> yeah? what was your favorite part? >> doing the half pipe. >> add to that his own website and more than 2,600 fans on facebook, not bad for a kid who just like last year still has a little trouble pronouncing his ses. and still gets the occasional piggyback ride if he misses a jump. >> does anybody else want a turn? >> to think, it all almost got derailed on the first day of ski season this past november. >> he went out on his second run, went off a giant kicker and broke his forearm in two places. it hurt, didn't it? what do you think? >> yeah. >> did it hurt? yeah. however, i believe i was more upset than he was because as the paramedics were wheeling him into the e.r., he looked at me and said, mom, next time i'm going to land that jump. >> of course super wesley heels in time for his colorado whirlwind and has even caught the attention of pro snowboarders like steve fisher, a two-time x-games gold medalist who happened to live here in breckenridge and joined wes for a couple of runs. >> wes being 4 years old and where he's at is just, i mean, absolutely mind blowing. provided he keeps with it and is focused and mostly just having fun, the sky is the limit for this guy. >> ask wes what's next for him and he keeps it simple. >> fun, do competitions like half pipe and rails. >> who knows what the future holds but right now he loves snowboarding and so i want to try to help him as much as i can to do what he likes to do. >> what else can you do with a kid who's just learning to fly? ♪ just fly >> he may just be a few years old but he looks the part, he sounds the part, he's totally laid back. i know most 5-year-olds don't have a lot of issues. he's like, yeah, i nailed the half pipe. no big deal. >> i think i broke two legs and an arm just watching that. >> his mom is going to have a long, long stretch now of worrying about him if he's doing this well at that age. it was a lot of fun hanging out with him. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today. it's time to check back with david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." coming up, is the government getting serious about reducing america's debt or is the president's prescription just the first shot in next year's race for the white house? the budget war, jobs, the looming debt ceiling deadline, all topic for my lead guest, tim geithner. our political roundtable coming up this morning on "meet the press." all right, david. we'll see you soon. >> and that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. janice, thank you so much. >> i didn't say anything. >> and, lester, thanks for your time today. you brought your "a" game and we appreciate it. >> i will bring it in tonight. see you then. so long, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com very scary. very scary. i've never been in nothing like this. >> utter devastation as dozens of tornadoes tear across parts of the south and mid-atlantic, killing more than 40 people and leaving hundreds of others homeless. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm kimberly suiters. aaron gilchrist is off today. it is sunday, april 17th. we were spared from the brunt of the storm, but the image of destruction in our area and to the south of us are still astounding. take a look at the scene in montgomery county. powerful winds toppled trees sending them right onto and sometimes into homes. the severe weather hit some of d.c.'s most popular tourist
MontanaUnited-statesAlexandriaAl-iskandariyahEgyptVancouverBritish-columbiaCanadaChinaManhattanNew-yorkWashington good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. we want to get right to that deadly tornado outbreak that began in the midwest and has now ravaged north carolina and virginia with dozens killed in seven states since thursday. >> we know it's spring, it's tornado season, but i can't recall seeing anything like this in quite a while. an eyewitness called it a hell of a storm, an understatement as the pictures show total devastation from the twisters. 24 people have been killed in north carolina. another four in virginia. you look at this past wednesday, a total of 45 lives lost in seven states and what they are calling these super cells going through. we have complete coverage of the storm's path and devastation. we'll begin with kristen dahlgren live in raleigh, north carolina, are for us. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, lester. while we were standing here getting ready we noticed this hill is actually smoking now so we have a call into the fire department. just take a look at this. this isn't the driveway. this is actually the garage of this home. this is where the door was so that shows you just how far this house moved and how powerful these storms were. they came fast, furious and without warning. >> tornado right on the ground in front of me. >> reporter: the violent rash of tornadoes and flash floods tearing off roofs, toppling trees and pushing the three-day death toll to over three dozen. >> very scary. very scary. i've never been in nothing like th this. >> reporter: by saturday afternoon lewis, north carolina, was directly in the bull's eye. more than 60 twisters reported across the state as the ferocious storm system started in oklahoma thursday, barrels east with unforgettable fury. governor beverly purdue declared a state of emergency after fatalities in at least four of the state's counties. >> we are beginning to recover from what we believe is the most widespread tornadoes we've seen since the mid-'80s. >> reporter: at least 24 will dead in north carolina and the toll could rise again as searchers probe through shattered homes and businesses. this is all that's left of a lowe's home improvement store in sanford, north carolina. the front of the massive building flattened in the middle of a busy saturday. incredibly no one was injured. catastrophe prevented by employees who pushed customers to the back of the store after seeing what they described as a wall of churning debris baring down. while in south carolina this church collapsed with six people inside and all walked away. their church torn to pieces but this morning their faith stronger than ever. now there are thousands who are without power this morning. the red cross has opened up shelters for those who have been displaced from their homes. lester, this is the worst spring storm to hit north carolina in more than two decades. >> kristen dahlgren for us, thanks. as we said, the deadliest storm of the year so far. the weather channel's mike bettis is in raleigh. mike, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you, when you take a look at the devastation it's hard to believe there were people in this neighborhood that actually survived, luckily for this home this used to be a two-story home it's collapsed and the family was not home at the time it was lifted from its foundation and into the backyard. there's debris strewn all over the front yard from this home. other homes that are across the street in the neighborhood. one thing very interesting about this home that's been pretty much completely destroyed is if you look in the driveway, there's a vehicle right there nearly untouched. this family had to have been home at the time and got their vehicles, they don't have a basement so it's good to know they weren't home at the time. we know now 105 tornado reports across the carolinas yesterday at least 24 people have lost their lives. damage like this indicative of ef-2 ef-3 damage. they tell us it's the worst tornado they've seen. they've gone through multiple tornadoes in the raleigh area over the past couple of years. >> mike bettes, thanks very much. let's take a look at this tornado outbreak. this all started thursday and has moved its way east and even north. let's go to janice huff. dare i ask could we see more? >> not today, lester. the severe outbreak has died down for today. what's left of the storm has been producing some heavy rain across northern new england but yesterday and last night the heavy rain extended from new york city all the way down the coastline. you can see where that line developed across north carolina, virginia with some severe storms that produce add tornado. that's all offshore now. we still have residual warnings for flooding and for wind across parts of the northeast, from new england all the way down to washington, d.c. we have flood warnings and high-wind warnings that includes areas around new york city, pittsburgh, syracuse. the weather is dry now and the sun is out in new york city and parts of the northeast. however, there could be another severe weather outbreak coming up by wednesday. we'll be tracking that for you. jenna, back to you. all right, janice, thanks. we're going to switch gears and head to politics thousand with president obama gearing up for the next budget battle with republicans. he gets an earful from two possible white house candidates, donald trump and sarah palin. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" joins us this morning. >> how are you? >> we haven't had a gop candidate to talk about about yet and now a couple names floating out there. i guess the flashiest at this point would be donald trump. he was the headline speaker at a tea party event in boca where he talked recently that he's going to make an announcement about whether he'll run or not in june. in the meantime, he's really racking up a lot of support. a poll shows donald trump as the favorite among other republican potential candidates so i guess the question would be how electable is donald trump at this point? >> i don't think he's being viewed very seriously at this point, but he is making some headway in the polls as you point out. he has name recognition, he has money, and he's talking in a way that is attention seeking and attention grabbing. whether he's talking about the president's birth certificate which is a settled issue or talking about him being the worst president in the united states. so he's going to reach some of those extremists who don't like the president and will be able to grab some of that attention. i think that puts him in a separate category than a mitt romney who is also getting closer to getting in the race, who is being taken more seriously within the white house as the republican front-runner. >> i want to ask you about mitt romney but first let me throw sarah palin's name out there. she is also making the rounds. she was at a tea party rally in wisconsin on saturday. any word yet on what her potential presidential plans might be? >> you know, jenna, a couple of things. one, she seems to be fading a little bit both in terms of her popularity and her relevancy. again, she can also make a headline and she can get plenty of attention. she has that grassroots support. but you see it even in that poll that she's falling down a little bit. she is still not doing the kinds of things you would expect if she was positioning herself for an actual run. a lot of work that you're doing in the grassroots, a lot of favorites that you're doling out that you can call back during the course of a campaign, fund-raising and all the rest. you have these two tracks. who are the people who are equipped for the long haul of a primary process and those like a sarah palin who will -- whose voice will be heard, whose impact will be felt because she can garner that kind of attention. >> you look at number two and three on the poll we just put up, that graphic, mitt romney and mike huckabee, how do they wage a successful campaign while still at the same time competing with other gop members, with tea party candidates? >> well, there's always going to be two tracks here. you're going to have what you might call a front-runner track, a management track within the republican field. a mitt romney, a tim pawlenty. hawk huckabee may not get in in the end. does he back somebody like haley barbour but you'll have those two finalists, in effect, who go into a crowded field and will get the closest scrutiny and romney is poxing himself to be able to draw this out and to win kind of through somewhat a default as he goes deeper and deep earp in the primary process. >> david gregory, thanks for your insights. >> thanks. melissa francis has the top stories for us. good morning. good morning, jenna and lester. good morning, everyone. we begin in miami where another air traffic controller fell asleep on the be job. nbc's michelle franzen has more. >> reporter: another air traffic controller asleep on the job. this time during the midnight shift saturday at the miami air route traffic control center. and now the federal aviation administration is planning to make changes to air traffic controllers' work schedules to combat fatigue. >> the fatigue we're seeing in the control tower is the result of too few qualified controllers in the nation that can fill in so they're working double shifts, four and five nights in a row. >> reporter: the reports started coming in late last month when two passenger planes landed on their own at washington's reagan national after a controller fell asleep. then a string of more reports of sleeping controllers in knoxville, lubbock, then outside seattle. in miami there were is 12 controllers on duty at the time and the controller who fell asleep did not miss any calls from pilots. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. overseas now to japan where the tokyo power company has released new pictures showing the enormous damage to the fukushima daiichi plant. the company says it could now take six to nine months to bring the crisis under control. this as secretary of state hillary clinton is visiting with japanese officials in a show of support. pope benedict celebrating palm sunday mass a day after his birthday. a crowd packed the square and the start of the christian holy week. and finally a new commercial puts the comedic spin on what the royal wedding might look like. t-mobile unveiled this with actors portraying prince william and kate middle ton dancing their way down the aisle. queen elizabeth, prince philip, charles and ka mcamilla also da down the aisle as well. the cardinal there could use a few dance lessons. he has everything but the overbite, i think. that's the news. back to you. >> you have a good shot of it looking exactly like that. >> how do you know they won't do that? >> you're absolutely right. janice is back with a check of the weather. >> hi, good morning. it's a lot quieter today across most of the country in terms of the weather after such a devastating last two or three days with severe weather. however, there will be a small outbreak of thunderstorms across the northern and high plains and the central rockies today around salt lake city and parts of wyoming, into montana. there will be some thunderstorms on the north side of that, snowing across the northern rockies, rain in the pacific nortin >> good morning, everyone. it is going to be a windy day, but we don't expect precipitation. our forecast may gust over 40 miles per hour. northern new england. now here is jenna. >> janice, thanks. authorities in tennessee continue their search for 20-year-old holly bobo, a college student abducted from outside her home. good morning, tom. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is the church holly attended since she was a little girl and services will be dedicated to her and her family. it's been five days and still no sign of her. sunday may be considered a sign of rest but there's no time to stop. back into the brush for a fifth day search parties will sweep for any trace of holly bobo. >> the county has pulled together. we just are hoping, believing for something good. >> reporter: tim is part of the army of volunteers looking for holly and wants her family to know this. >> we've got your back. we're going to find her. that's what we do. we just want them to know we are out here. we're for them. we're going to be out here until we fall. >> reporter: authorities say a man dressed in camouflage kidnapped holly outside her home as she was leaving for nursing school. several of holly's belongings have been recovered including her lunch box. one volunteer says it it was found near this creek. >> we've also getting a tremendous amount of leads from all over the country, throughout the united states. >> reporter: there is no person of interest at this time. holly's brother, who called 911 after witnessing part of the abduction, has been ruled out at a suspect. so has holly's boyfriend. >> we're continuing to ask people to call in, give us information on this case because we want to bring holly back. >> reporter: with each day the search for holly is expanding. john, a marine reserve from cincinnati, came to help a family he doesn't even know. >> this girl is out there somewhere and she doesn't have her family. she is all alone. so we really want to try to bring her back to her family. >> reporter: and the service here starts in a little over an hour. once they're done praying, jenna, they'll put their boots back on and head into the woods. >> it tranh, what's the mindset about how this investigation is goi going? >> reporter: you ask anyone and they say they're hopeful. we did ask the question to the investigators whether this is still a rescue operation or a recovery operation and they said bluntly this is a rescue operation still. >> all right. thank you so much. up next on "today," nicolas cage arrested in new orleans. we'll tell you what happened right after this. 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"nominated for two academy awards he nabbed a best actor for a suicidal alcoholic in "leaving las vegas." >> i think you know i'm serious. >> reporter: but his latest film "drive angry" flopped. >> i am going to get her back. >> reporter: grossing just $10 million at a time when he needs the money more than ever. last year the actor revealed he owes the irs approximately $14 million in back taxes, just one of many problems for a star who has certainly seen brighter days. >> nicolas cage has had money troubles, legal troubles now, and a lot of perm troubsonal tr and it's piling up and is very bad for him. >> reporter: cage's first case is may 21st. for "today," mara, schiavo. the dog tried to get cage released from jail. kate middleton joins us live in the studio. really. yeah, there's a twist. but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there. but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then my company partnered with unitedhealthcare. they provided onsite screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping. 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[ male announcer ] take the scott naturals 4-week test drive. if we all did it we'd save over 2 million trees. start your test drive at scottbrand.com. still to come, fighting a food addiction. will this woman seek help? find out as her family stages an intervention. plus, boy wonder. we catch up with the snowboarding sensation we first met during the vancouver olympics. well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... 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[ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's okay. i've played a pilot before. >> good morning. i'm sarah caldwell. it is 8:25. here is a look at our top stories this morning. yesterday's storm brought high winds and rain that created flooding in low-lying areas. at this hour, b.g.e. crews are working to restore power to just under 5,000 customers after storms left them in the dark. so far about 32,000 people have had power restored. >> baltimore city police are searching for the gunman that shot and killed a man in east baltimore. police responded to the 500 block of north decker avenue around 3:40 after morning. the victim later died at shock trauma. no word on a possible motive. >> baltimore county police have charged a 16-year-old boy in the murder of keon dobbs. it happened on march 22nd. police got into a fight and the shooting broke out. dobbs returned home and died. >> the oldest passenger train station in a major city has been opened as a museum. >> and speaking of the mayor, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake will be our "q & a" guest in the next hour. if you have a question for her, send them in. e-mail questions to sundayquestions@ www.wbaltv.com. >> welcome back, everyone. things will settle down today after the storms. it will still be windy. we may see wind gusts over 30 miles per hour later on this afternoon, but mostly sunny skies. a few clouds hanging around. high temperatures around average for this time of year. sunset average. winds will diminish and be breezy coming out of the west-northwest. mostly clear skies will drop back into the 40's. during the day tomorrow and especially on tuesday there will be a front that will stall to the south of baltimore. i'm going to put a slight chance for rain showers in the forecast for monday because of that. only a 30% chance, though, and that will be mostly in the afternoon. high temperature aabout 57. same chance for tuesday. a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms. we jump into the upper 70's on wednesday. a better chance for storms there . dry weather thursday and friday. there could be more rain coming into the beginning of the holiday weekend. >> thank you, tony. "11 news sunday morning" starts in 25 minutes. we're back on this sunday morning, april 17th, 2011. the rain is gone, the sun is coming out. it is a gorgeous time to come visit us here on the plaza. we thank this lovely crowd for spending the early part of the day with us. we'll say hello to everyone. i'm jenna wolfe along with lester holt. still to come, this is interesting talking about a woman's addiction to food. >> a woman's addiction to food and something that 15 million americans may suffer from. we're going to talk to the man involved in the intervention for this woman as the family staged an intervention. will it work? we're there to watch it all unfold. and we're less than two weeks from the big wedding. where do you think kate middleton is right now? >> she is not in our studio but, hark -- >> she is in our studio. this is america's kate middleton. what's in a name? a lot when you have that particular name and a lot of interesting things happen in your life. we'll find out from this young woman. >> she had the wave. >> she did have the wave. it's true. >> and then we have an update on a young snowboarder that we first told you about a couple months ago. we first met this little kid wes covering the winter olympics in vancouver. they call him the next shaun white. he's 5 years old and competing in the national championships. we'll check on wesley in our next half hour. >> remember the first story on him what a cutie. >> he could barely pronounce certain words but put a snowboard on him and he was doing things i couldn't imagine doing. >> looking forward to seeing where he is these days. a special guest joining us here on the plaza, actor bruce campbell, plays ex-navy seal -- >> former navy seal. never ex. >> good point. >> pooh his kasinto his charact. >> you have a new movie. >> it's a prequel, i had to lose weight and dye my hair. normally you would fill nm burbank but we went where it was set. >> no expense spared on this film. >> of course. >> if you haven't been a fan, can you still get into this? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. the prequel is a fully developed story written by matt nicks. and directed by jesse donovan. mr. fancy pants. >> who is in "burn notice." >> lots of women? >> lots of women, lots of beer. >> we'll find out how you got there. >> it's the last mission as an actual soldier. so it's a whole different side of the character. hopefully it will function like a regular action, seat of your pants, what's going to happen. >> i know you like doing leading men action stuff. >> i used to. now i got stuck being a character actor. i like the kascharacter stuff better. >> i think i'd go with him. >> great to have you here. we want to let folks know the fall of sam axe tonight at 9:00 on usa network. >> thank you for being here. enjoy the rest of your day. we're going to get another check of the weather. a nice round of applause for bruce. janice? i had to come over here. whenever i see my name on a sign, i come over. my ladies from south carolina, good morning. do you know the people from greenville? >> we met them. >> there are some folks down here from greenville, south carolina as well and then we have sabres, go sabres, all sorts of people visiting the tod "today" show and we continue our spring break season. we have sunshine in the northeast finally after a very, very, very rainy day yesterday. still a little bit of rain across parts of northern new england. still windy in parts of the east. nice and sunny and dry, thank goodness, over most of the southern tier of states. i want to show everybody in the background here who have been visiting "today." thanks for coming down. >> good morning, everyone. it is going to be a windy day, but we don't expect precipitation. our forecast may gust over 40 miles per hour. 87 in miami. 84 in tampa. and whenever we're not around, you can always check your weather online at weather.com. now here's lester. janice, thanks. from hoarders to drug addicts and now overeaters, tv shows about family and friends trying to intervene have become popular re reality tv. recently we went to an intervention for a young woman who has been struggling with her weight most of her life. at nearly 300 pounds, 23-year-old allison hertz knows she has a problem. >> i think i can be healthier and thinner. >> what she doesn't know is just like a drug addict or gambler she, too, is an addict, a food addict. >> my fear is her health. my fear has always been her health. >> she says she was always chunky and after a traumatic experience at 8 years old, fast food became her comfort. >> two cheeseburgers and fries, chicken nuggets. chinese i would eat, you know, a combination of stuff and it got out of hand. >> like a drug addict, my daughter was an alcoholic, if she was anorexic or bulimic, there's help for her. to me it's the same addiction. >> they sent me to weight loss camp, to duke university, i did gener jenny craig, weight watchers, all different diet programs. i had no willpower. after a while i gave up. i feel like, i don't know, if i was thinner, i would have more friends. >> brad is an addiction expert. the family believes he is their last hope. >> well, thanks for everybody making time to be here today. i know that not every day you sit down and have an intervention. we're going to have a conversation about what has happened up until this point and talk about some solutions. >> she wept for therapy, she went for nutritional counseling, she even went to weight loss camp two or three times as a child. >> my wife and i, as she says, the best we could, through the years trying to intervene with her problem but we didn't really want to let her know because we didn't want to hurt her feelings, knock her esteem down. >> we went to starbucks last night and she wanted to drink it in the car and she happened to see somebody that she knew in high school and she didn't want him to -- she didn't want him to see her. >> when i look at you i think 23 what this disease has already done to you. >> what are your fears for your daughter? >> diabetes, heart disease, and possibly something more drastic that that. >> death? >> exactly. not a long life. a very unhealthy life is a short life. >> the fact that she's 23 years old and she came to me and all she could really talk about was the lap band surgery, and i just really wasn't comfortable with that. >> i think if she put her mind to it, she could do it but it's tough. >> i know she wants to lose the weight, it's just -- we feel like we hit a roadblock. we've tried everything. >> this is our hope for you and this is the gift that we want to share with you and your family is an invitation to "today" to pack your bags and without negotiation or delay to go to shades of hope treatment center in texas for 42 days. will you accept that? >> yes. >> there's nobody who loves you more than i do in this world. this is your life. >> brad lamm now joins us. he's the creator and producer of the new reality show addicted to food and author of "just 10 pounds. "brad, great to see you. >> good morning. >> after the cameras stopped rolling i understand things changed. what happened? >> indeed. what happened is what happens a lot. when a family gets together and has a conversation on change and as the dad said, we don't want to bring it up because we don't want to embarrass her but in this case after the cameras left and after i left she pulled the plug. she didn't get on the plane and so the family sits back and says, oh, my god, we made it worse. or now she said, no, what do we do? in fact, this is the beginning of change for this family. it's taken a long time to get here. they've grown larger together. you've seen that allison isn't the only one struggling with food. she really is addicted to food and so that wasn't the end of the story. >> you're talking about they, as you're doing this, are you noting some family dynamics here that are sending up red flags? >> absolutely. when a family calls and wants to do an intervention, i do a family map. i learn what has happened with this family and do an invitational intervention so it's never a surprise. we get the people together and say, hey, we love you. we're going to sit down and talk about change. but, look, food addiction is real and it's killing millions of americans. >> let me ask about food addiction. you don't have to have alcohol. you have to eat. when you talk about addicted to food, explain to me. >> all of us have to eat. i agree, lester, but most people are not addicted to food and for so many people that don't struggle with food, they say why don't you just move away from the buffet? stop eating. slim down. get yourself together. in truth, a food addict has the cravings and the obsession, they're an emotional eater oftentimes. they don't have that off button that so many people have with food. look, more than 12 million are addicted to food and it's killing us. it's not just about willpower. it's actually a loss of control altogether. >> you've been down this road yourself in terms of food issues. >> i was bulimic and a compulsive over eater and a crystal meth addict. that's why i wrote my book to help people change and, in fact, most of the folks that are sitting at home today will wonder, you know, we tried every diet. we've tried every scheme and we don't think there's hope for me. >> back to allison, you did ultimately, i understand, get her to go to some type of treatment. >> indeed. tomorrow morning i will meet allison here in manhattan at a wonderful intensive outpatient treatment center called balance. eating disorder treatment center right here in manhattan. we will start a change plan for her. the whole family signed a recovery contract are where we're in it together to win it and we're going to work together for six months to help her break this pattern of behavior. >> we're glad she is getting help and appreciate you coming on and sharing the story. >> and my hope for folks at home is they can start change today, too. i set up something for all the viewers of the "today" show. just10challenge.com and get help from me it to break food addiction in your own life today. >> brad lamm, good to have you here. thanks very much. up next, we'll meet the 7-year-old girl invited to the royal wedding and will the real kate middleton please stand up. ♪ [ female announcer ] smooth. like you've never felt before. touch of smoothness body wash with new hydra iq provides moisture throughout the day with no greasy feel. now available in a variety of scents. nivea. touch and be touched. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious... aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help. that's the day you do something. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. is today your day? talk to your doctor... and go to cymbalta.com for a free 30-capsule trial offer. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. now to our countdown to the royal wedding, just 12 days away. this morning the big story isn't about the prince and his princess bride, it's about a very lucky young girl whose dream is about to come true. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. well, it's not just the rich and famous who are invited to the royal wedding. l they haven't forgotten the little people. a 7-year-old who dreams of being a princess. the expected guest list has kanye. the prince and princess made sure they weren't just delivered to mansions and castles. the bucklebury town. the shopkeepers over at peach's have known the middletons for years. >> we were talk iing to kate coming here. they sent an invite. getting my suit dry-cleaned. >> reporter: and sure enough the postman who is also invited delivered the good news. meet the suttons, kate and will haven't but this family is royally captivated. george is named after the king, along with sisters tabitha, camilla and elizabeth. her mom applied for special tickets for the disabled online. >> i thought nothing of it and lo and behold a couple weeks later we got an e-mail saying that we'd been selected to go and. we were absolutely thrilled. >> reporter: it's hard to believe all it takes is two paper tickets like these to get into the wedding of the century. 7-year-old hermione has her outfit picked out for the big day. >> she dresses up as princesses, she plays with princess dolls all the time, tiaras and jewelry and whatever and she reckons one day she will meet an actual prince. >> reporter: she, with the rest of the world, will enjoy this real-life fairy tale. jenna? >> atia, thank you so much. we all know kate middleton is a princess bride but did you know she also sells bicycles and spends her time teaching spin classes in massachusetts? >> we are talking about the other kate middleton sharing the same name as the queen-to-be and our kate middleton joins us. great to see you. this has been quite a ride you've been on. this started when we first heard kate middleton as a potential member of the royal family and your phone starts ringing. >> the phone started ringing after a thup article came out about having the same name as prince william's fiancee, and my co-worker started playing around with it a little bit, oh, she's not here yet. she's having tea with the queen. >> so reporters are beginning to call? >> yes. >> and then you're getting facebook messages as well? >> i'm getting a lot of facebook messages. facebook actually deactivated my account which was kind of disappointing because i am actually older than the kate middleton in england and been around longer and thought i should keep my account. >> what's it like now? you walked through grocery stores, you see your name in magazines, you hear your name all over tv reports. do you like it? is it annoying? where do you stand with all of this? >> it's pretty funny, and people around me have always called me a princess anyway so i guess it's fitting. >> this goes back even before the engagement. the first time you heard, you were applying for a job. >> that's right. i was applying for a job and i got a call back and the person said, well, i didn't know you were dating prince william. and i said, well, what are you talking about? i didn't know i was dating prince william either. i googled your name and found that you, in fact, are dating prince william. >> he didn't say, you got the job. he said, so you're dating prince william. are you dating someone named will because that would be interesting? >> no, i'm not. >> are you looking for a prince? >> i am look iing for a prince t not william. >> but not that william. >> kate middleton, it's great to have you on. are you going to be watching the wedding, by the way? >> what time is the wedding? >> the coverage will start at 4:00 a.m. so that can't inconvenience you. >> i'll be dreaming of the wedding. >> she's honest. >> dvr it. >> exactly. >> kate middleton -- the real kate middleton. >> exactly. >> thank you so much. up next, we're talking about the new shaun white. we catch up with the young snowboarder we first met during the vancouver olympics. with the rising price of fuel, guess which way shipping costs are going? the u.s postal service has no fuel surcharges. combine that with low online pricing... and your shipping costs... ..could head in a whole new direction. it's time to rethink your shipping. 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MontanaUnited-statesVancouverBritish-columbiaCanadaChinaManhattanNew-yorkWashingtonDistrict-of-columbiaPrince-williamNew-brunswick good morning, everyone. you are looking at the government shutdown clock up on times square. it could be less than 17 hours away, from a government shutdown. and if they do not reach a deal, cynthia, there are all kinds of consequences. the washington monument, just one of many national monuments and parks that will close if there's no deal. and that's just the beginning. right now, we're fighting three wars. troops will not get paid during this. but members of congress will. and that will cause a lot of outrage if it comes to pass. we'll have the latest on where things stand and what it means for you in a moment. donald trump also making headlines for taking aim at the president. trump says he's gearing up for a presidential run. why he's getting so much traction right now. >> and drawing a lot of fire as well. the vice president's daughter shot out at him on facebook overnight. john berman will have details on that. we have a stunning twist in a murder mystery this morning. the wife of a hotel heir is facing new charges of killing her husband's mother, as well. the motive is money. >> the motive is so often money. when we've got big news from our parent company this morning. disney, creating kind of magical headline, so to speak. a new magic kingdom announced in a very special place. >> you might be able to guess where it is. we'll have the details in a bit. right now, let's get to the potential government shutdown. with jake tapper at the white house. when the president came out from meeting with negotiators last night, he said he wasn't wildly optimistic. but those staff negotiators did keep working through the night to try to narrow the differences. >> reporter: that's right, george. it appears as of now we are headed for a government shutdown. right now, separating the two sides are roughly $6.5 billion in new cuts. that's minuscule compared to the size of the overall budget. and, of course, republicans keep pushing this rider, this provision, banning all federal funding to planned parenthood. after meeting with house speaker john boehner and other congressional leaders, the president said they were close to a deal but not there yet. >> there's still a few issues that are outstanding. they're difficult issues. they're important to both sides. and so, i'm not yet prepared to express wild optimism. >> reporter: so, what would a shutdown mean? starting tonight at midnight, the paychecks of 1.6 million active-duty troops. even those in harm's way, will start being delayed. >> a lot of these young troops live pretty much paycheck to paycheck. >> reporter: what that means is sergeant casey walker, a father of three, back at ft. campbell from afghanistan. >> it means pretty much not getting bills paid that need to be paid. gas, of course, to get to and from work. >> reporter: the shutdown will impact americans from sea to shining sea. one of the first impacts, tomorrow's annual cherry blossom festival in washington, d.c. >> it would be very sad if they closed down the cherry blossom festival. >> it would stink, you know, it makes me hate the government. >> reporter: come monday, more serious issues. no new federal housing loans. small business loans. no regular mine safety inspections. most veteran benefits customer support services would be suspended. construction could be delayed with the epa not able to process permits. remember that financial crisis that almost brought down the economy? routine oversight of financial markets would stop. and certain fbi initiatives would be on hiatus. >> initiatives like child pornography or cyber or other arenas, particularly on the criminal side will suffer and have to be put on hold. >> reporter: george, negotiators broke at about 3:00 in the morning to talk about -- from their negotiations. president obama said last night he wanted an answer from speaker boehner and senate majority leader reid by this morning. so, we should know in a few hours whether this is really going to happen. >> right. a congressional aide told me they expect to call the president around 10:00, 10:30 this morning. i want to debt into some more details about what this government shutdown means. starting at midnight tonight, the 800,000 federal workers who are going to be furloughed have to shut off their blackberries. they're not allowed to make calls on government cell phones. they're not allowed to send e-mails from that moment on. if they do, that is actually a crime. so that's going to have to stop starting tonight. going into the weekend, as we said, national parks and monuments close. this is a big impact here. national park officials estimate that about 1.5 million people visit national parks every week. immediate impact for those people as well. and for the federal workers, the average federal worker makes about $1,400 a week. the ones who are not essential will not be receiving that right away. that's going to have a huge economic impact. the total impact there for the 800,000 federal employees, $1.1 billion coming out of the economy. even if it's made up later, that's going to be a real hit. now, we want to go back to jon karl on capitol hill, about where things stand. i'm having a little wit of trouble with this, jon. jake talked a little about the negotiators that worked until 3:00 a.m. coming out of the meetings, democrats and republicans couldn't agree on what the disagreement was. >> reporter: absolutely. and they both sounded pessimistic. democrats say the differences over the amount of the cuts have been resolved. but i talked to a republican on the house side saying they have not been resolved. they're still $6.5 billion apart. and they have disagreements on policy. so, at this point, it looks like they will call the president at 10:30 this morning. but the news will not be good. >> news will not be good. and a big question there is whether house speaker, john boehner, who told me time and time again, he doesn't want a shutdown. but can he sell the deal to his conference? >> reporter: on that, they actually say they're optimistic. if they can get a deal, if they can get the spending cuts up near that $40 billion amount, they can get some resolution on the policy, they will be able to pass it in the house. but, george, they're not there yet. >> jon, we have a couple of seconds left. this is so hard to read. but what does your gut tell you? where is this going? is the government going to shut down? >> reporter: my gut is we'll have a last-minute deal. but i wouldn't put a lot of money on that. >> i'm with you on that one. let's go back to cynthia. >> wow. another political story making news this morning, donald trump's growing poll numbers on a list of possible presidential contenders. since he first appeared on "gma" last month, he's been taking to the air waves to question president obama's birth certificate. what's he up to? john berman is here with some answers. john? >> cynthia, donald trump knows how to make people watch. but many people now, including republicans, are now wondering, are they watching a serious candidate or a circus act? does he really believe that president obama wasn't born in america? or is he just selling his favorite product, trump? in just a few, short weeks, donald trump's stance on where president obama was born has evolved. from this -- >> the reason i have a little doubt, just a little, just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him. >> reporter: to this -- >> i want him to show his birth certificate. >> reporter: to this -- >> i'm saying it's a real possibility. much greater than i thought two or three weeks ago, then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics and beyond politics. >> reporter: in the same three weeks, trump's poll numbers have gone from this to this, nearly doubling in less than a month. also increasing in his perpetual publicity grab? ratings for "celebrity apprentice," up every week since he started the birther rant. while it may boost his visibility now, some analysts say it is bad long-term strategy, not to mention bad information. >> everybody knows that donald trump is entertaining. but you cannot become president of the united states on being a good entertainer. the birther issue trivializes him. it marginalizes him. it damages his brand. >> reporter: indeed, several nonpartisan watchdog groups say this certificate definitively proves he was born in hawaii in august of 1961. there were birth announcements in local papers. statements from officials in hawaii. and that's been more than enough for john mccain, mitt romney, sarah palin and most prominent republicans. >> for republicans to even be bringing it up, i think it's a waste of energy and time. >> reporter: the white house isn't talking about trump. but vice president joe biden's daughter, ashley, went after him in a missive on facebook last night saying, he makes me ill. this discussion is just so insulting. and boycott "apprentice." despite most of the facts out there, trump claims he's so concerned about where the president was born, he has investigators on the ground in hawaii. cynthia? >> john, in a word, is he running? or is he not? >> he's running for something, whether it's president or ratings. i don't think we really know. >> george? >> the last time he was on, i expressed a great deal of skepticism about his run. he called me immediately after the show and said, i'm going to prove you wrong. i said if you prove me wrong, come here and talk about it. >> there you go. >> we'll see if he comes. >> there you go. now, to japan, where there's no relief from the crisis. the strongest aftershock yet, a 7.1 quake that knocked out power for many in hard-hit northern japan. even led to a tsunami warning yesterday. neal karlinsky joins us from tokyo. neal, you were right in the middle of it. >> reporter: george, we were rocking back and forth for a good, solid five minutes during this one. i was on the phone with colleagues in new york at the time. they could hear my building creaking and groaning under the strain of this quake. for people in japan, it's one more problem they don't need. right away, it was clear this wasn't just another aftershock. buildings swayed violently for minutes. you can see a power station exploding in the distance. 4 million people were plunged into darkness. and at least two people were killed, one by the shock of it. but the greatest concern was for the fukushima nuclear reactors where seven workers were forced to evacuate. after midnight in japan, power company officials came out to reassure the public, saying, we don't recognize any new leaks so far. the radiation levels remain steady. for a battered japanese public, it was a frightening reminder. are you worried about the aftershocks and the nuclear reactor? the problem is so large, it's difficult to comprehend, she says. in fact, at two other facilities, the onagawa plant and the higashidori plant, the quake caused power outages that caused both on emergency generators to keep fuel rods safe. the fuel rods actually spilled on to the floor but were contained. experts monitoring the crisis are worried that strain has been put on the reactors. that are already overburdened. >> these reactors have been subjected to an enormous amount of stress. every shock adds to it. this was a particularly large shock. >> reporter: one bit of news from toyota, the automotive company this morning. they've been shut down since the quake nearly a month ago. today, they will resume partial production at all of their plants, in the coming weeks. it's a baby step. but they're trying to get on their feet here. cynthia? >> thank you, neal. changing speeds right now. how fast is too fast on the interstate? texas is looking at upping their speed limit to 85 miles per hour. and they -- if they do, texas highways would be the fastest posted speed limits in the country. yunji de nies went for a spin to see if that's safe. >> reporter: 85 miles per hour on the open road. sounds easy, even thrilling. but is it safe? >> the difference is the stopping distance. and i don't think it's realized until you get to the brake pedal and understand that you're not going to be able to stop. >> reporter: race car instructor, don harple, showed us how much distance you need to fully stop. at 65 miles per hour. 75. 85. and 90. oh, my gosh. >> so, that's 90 miles per hour. pretty exciting behind the wheel. >> reporter: not exciting if you're on the highway, though. >> not at all. the reaction time, the distance traveled, it's amazing how much footage you gobble up in a short amount of time. >> reporter: this is where we stopped at 65 miles per hour. if the speed limit is 85, chances are, a lot of drivers are going 90. at that speed, you need at least another 120 feet before you could come to a complete stop. still, some texans like the idea. >> one thing is, if i can get from point a to point b faster. >> people are speeding anyways. just make it legal. >> reporter: faster speed means more fatalities. nearly 11,000 americans die each year from speed-related crashes, accounting for a third of all accidents. >> the likelihood of survival is just extremely low if you crash at those speeds. >> reporter: and even if you're in control, do you really trust the rest of the road? >> if you're the first car in the situation, and i have time to do that, now, i've got to worry about someone coming to the back of me. >> reporter: and hitting really hard. >> very hard. >> reporter: for "good morning america," yunji de nies, abc news, brazelton, georgia. >> seems scary, george. >> boy, it sure does. we're going to turn to a story about how powerful an addiction gambling can be. one woman won $14 million at the slots. and then, lost it all back and then some. what she did next to feed her addiction landed her in prison. andrea canning is here with a closer look. after blowing all of the winnings, she stole from her own family? >> reporter: that's the allegation, george. police say jennifer dennison allegedly cleaned out her in-laws by forging checks and stealing social security income and life insurance policies. it doesn't seem possible. but police say this florida woman blew $14 million playing slot machines. an addiction so strong, the thrill of those magic triple 7s landed her behind bars. >> theoretically she could spend the next couple decades in prison. >> reporter: jennifer dennison had hit the jackpot, winning nearly $13 million at this tampa casino. but she quickly gambled the winnings away. and police say she drained her in-laws' life savings to fuel her addictions. >> miss dennison was the one who basically wiped out their accounts to the tune of over $500,000. >> reporter: jennifer's father-in-law, laverne, says she charmed them. >> she would visit us. bring a dozen doughnuts. she has one bad habit. >> reporter: it's a bad habit donna has fought hard to beat. >> i never, never would have thought that i could have won this kind of money. >> reporter: the mother of four says just one win of $27,000 at the slots was like a drug. >> we were the typical family. the beaver cleaver family. and then, all of a sudden, i was going to the casino more and more. you just chase after the losses. >> reporter: she lost thousands of dollars. and started stealing checks from a friend to cover her debts. >> i was tired of the lies. >> reporter: the gambling industry is increasingly going after women. online, so-called sexy slot machines are offering prizes like manhattan shopping sprees. or gamble with carrie bradshaw. casinos across the country feature "sex and the city" themed slots. >> their disposable income has moved up. they've also said this is how we're going to get them. >> reporter: and almost half of problem gamblers are women. brad lamm is the author of "how to help the one you love." >> typically the woman was the one serving the drink at the table. now, she's invited to sit down and play at the table. there's been a turn. that's why we're seeing a lot of the spike in gambling and addiction problems with women in the united states. >> reporter: police say jennifer dennison was able to steal from her in-laws because her husband had power of attorney over them. and he trusted her to run their finances. she would blow up to $250,000 in a day. >> that is just so hard to believe. andrea, thanks very much. now, to sam with the weather. >> happy friday. the day we have to get through before we get to the weekend. let's see what's offered up here. strong to severe storms rolling through the middle of the country. from st. louis to louisville, you're involved in this. during the day today. lexington, cincy. asheville towards atlanta. the giant area of storms is going to pop up. but we think these will be the strongest storms. the areas shaded in red that will probably involve some hail. check out the numbers. for dallas, it's about 15 degrees above normal today. but it's a lot of warmth across the country. i will merely mention that for l.a., starting in the 40s. barely getting into the 60s, is much colder than normal. >> folks in the northwest today will get a look at the sunshine. they haven't seen it in quite a while. cynthia? >> we always like sunshine. now, to a big announcement by our parent company, disney, breaking new ground overseas on a huge, new magical kingdom. juju chang has been following overnight the groundbreaking. it just happened a few hours ago in shanghai. >> the events were festive and colorful. but it's a complex deal that was launched this morning. ten, long years in the making. "the wall street journal" says it will likely end up being the largest direct foreign investment ever made in mainland china. it involves hotels, shops and at its core, a magic kingdom-style theme park. >> thank you. good morning. >> reporter: with the chinese greeting and mickey mouse and crew dressed in mandarin costumes, disney launched an ambitious new partnership in china this morning. the crowd ranged from the head of the chinese communist party to villagers lining the roads, cheering the earth movers breaking ground on the $3.7 billion theme park. >> china is one of the most dynamic markets in the world. most populous country in the world. shanghai, one of the most dynamic cities in the world. >> reporter: since revolutionizing the industry with disneyland in 1955, disney has gone global. from france, to japan. now, mainland china. >> disney was born in america but it's been a global company now for over half a century. disneyland china is going to be uniquely disney. there will be things familiar about it to people who visit our other parks around the world. but it will also be specific to china. >> reporter: like most international businesses, disney is eager to enter the $1.3 billion-strong chinese consumer market. it's a strategy that involves movie distribution, and disney branded schools. >> all of the businesses trying to get into china, none have been all that successful. if disney could get a 24-hour cable channel in china, that would be huge. >> reporter: speaking of huge, the shanghai disney castle is slated to be the biggest of all. disney ceo, bob iger, was asked what he wanted the chinese people to think when they first see it? >> we want them to say, wow. look at that big castle. >> it will be. and the mayor of shanghai says this morning that the disney theme park will help raise shanghai's international profile and make it a world famous tourist destination. >> well, i hope in five years when it opens, you'llen vit me back. it will be fun. "gma" will be there. you know it. >> it will be fun. coming up here, a murder mystery takes a stunning turn. the wife accused of murdering her millionaire husband may have also killed his mother. and imagine getting this close to one of the deadliest predators on the planet. we'll meet the shark men. for the last two years? nder wn well, it toured around europe, getting handling and steering lessons on those sporty european roads. it went back to school, got an advanced degree in technology. it's been working out -- more muscle and less fat. it's only been two years, but it's done more in two years than most cars do in a lifetime. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. [ male announcer ] our 16 fresh-picked oranges have a new home. tropicana pure premium now comes in a clear bottle so you can see how much goodness is squeezed inside. ♪ good morning tropicana. the world's best juice never looked better. >> terry: jury in the barry bonds perjury trial will begin dlishg when court reassumes this morning. jurors heard four and a half hours of heated closing arguments and must now consider three counts of perjury and one charge of obstruction of justice. he is accused of making false statements that he never knowingly used steroids. we'll break into programming as soon as the verdict comes down. let's get the latest on traffic. >> it's not what you would expect for friday. bay bridge toll plaza backed up because of an earlier accident. westbound 80 slow through the berkeley curve. westbound 580 from before you ge the to the maze. san mateo bridge san option. no trouble across the span but you'll find slow traffic in some spots such at south bay and cupertino. looking good through millbrae as you make your way up towards san francisco. >> when we come back, lisa argen takes a look at [ male announcer ] dandruff, meet micro-beads. any last wishes? new selsun blue deep cleansing micro-bead scrub goes to the source wiping out flakes before they flake. new selsun blue deep cleansing. in land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil, there are just three natural ingredients. sweet cream, canola oil and salt. discover land o' lakes spreadable butter with canola oil. after allegra-d, i can breathe. 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[ man ] after allegra- i have it all. >> morning, sunshine at the ballpark this morning and this afternoon. temperatures will still be cool in the upper 50s and breezy. not as windy as yesterday but cold this morning. 35 in napa. 44 in san francisco with mountain view in the mid 40s with a few stray showers this morning. they are continuing to sink south and call it partly cloudy. 60 in oakland, 59 in fremont and 8888888e warmer over the look at what these men are risking for their research, up close and personal with great white sharks. >> ooh, that music. >> that music. those sharks. and the research is testing the limits of how close they can get is coming right up. we're going to meet the "shark men." also ahead is the key to this murder mystery a deadly family feud? the wife under investigation for killing her husband and his mother. >> we'll have more on that. and the hours before a wedding can be frantic for any bride. we know that. but this morning, we talk to royal insiders about the frazzled hours before princess diana and sarah ferguson's weddings. we begin with the shocking, new twist of the murder of the hotel heir, ben novack jr. novack's wife, marcy, was charged with the crime. now, she's being amused of murdering her mother-in-law, too. matt gutman is in garms. >> reporter: this involves two murders, blackmail, jewel theft and a lot of interfamily nastiness. characters include a former stripper and the members of the fountainebleau, the playground to folks like the sinatras and the kennedys. is this wife and mother a cold-blooded killer? investigators believe she is. in april 2009, 87-year-old bernice novack was found dead. she was the glamorous former heiress to the fountainebleau, which was the hotel of the celebrities of the day. >> we knew that my aunt did not have a series of falls, as the medical examiner had vugted. my aunt was vibrant. >> reporter: three months later, another tragedy struck the family. novack's son, ben, was brutally murdered. now, investigators believe this was no coincidence. they believe his wife, nancy, is behind both killings. the motive? to snatch up the estate worth billions of dollars. >> a plan by a woman who was intent on eliminating her husband. >> reporter: on july 9th, 2009, investigators say narcy went to the hotel room, shared with her husband. they bludgeoned him with a dumbbell. she even gave them a pillow to cover the screams. >> she cut my cousin's eyes out. >> reporter: she tried to make it look like a robbery. and the next day stole $100,000 from the business. investigators say narcy tried to frame her own daughter for the killing. then, tried to have that witness killed. investigators claim that narcy had another hitman to do her dirty work. >> i want her to experience pain. i want her to experience everything that lockup in jail would give her. >> reporter: narcy will be arraigned today in new york. we spoke to her attorney who told us all of the 11 counts of conspiracy, blackmail against her, hold about as much weight as a traffic ticket. and the fbi thinks a little differently. they think they have a solid case. cynthia? we'll check that all out with our legal expert, dan abrams. dan, good morning. >> good morning, cynthia. >> this case has a little bit of everything. including a long relationship between husband and wife. >> and a volatile relationship. you have an incident back in 2002, where the husband actually filed a police report. called the police. turns out, he said that he was tied, bound, handcuffed to a chair, for more than 24 hours, beaten. men come into the house, that she has let in and take money out of the house. you ask, what happened? why didn't anything happen back in 2002? apparently what happened, is wife, who is now the accused, went to the police with all sorts of pictures. sexually compromising pictures, bondage photos, et cetera, suggesting this is what he was into. this was a sort of a game we had played. as a result, i think in an effort to avoid any shame, he decided not to pursue that particular case. but again, it involved another case where others were involved, others came in. she let them in. and in that case, he said that they had stolen money. >> so, does that kind of incident get into this court this time? >> it may. they certainly will make an effort, the prosecutor, to admit that. the defense will say it's irrelevant to show bad character. but i think because there was a police report, they probably can get that in. >> they have proved that she hired a hitman. is she as guilty as if she murdered him herself? >> absolutely. this is not like cases where someone had ordered a hit and stayed out of it. according to the police, she was there. she offered a pillowcase to muffle his screams, et cetera. this is not someone who was distanced from the situation, according to the authorities. even with that said, even if she had just ordered it, she could be just as culpable. >> according to authorities, it looks like she might have, if she is the killer, the hirer of the hitmen, she could have gotten away with it the first incident. >> they thought it was an accident. and then, months later, he is killed. they didn't have hard evidence. he dies and they say, wait a sec. there's no way this was totally coincidental. that's why this is a federal criminal conspiracy case. this is a criminal enterprise. they're saying this was a concerted effort to kill and get money. >> it's a fascinating one. we're going to other developing stories now. juju chang is at the newsdesk. juju? >> good morning, everyone. we begin with dramatic video from inside an elementary school in the midst of a rampage. a former student in brazil opened fire thursday, killing 12 children. we're learning more about the shooter, as we see the terrifying events unfold. here's mike marusarz. >> reporter: cameras in the hallway capture the horror. students running for their lives outside a classroom in a poor suburb of rio de janeiro. one shouldn't here, holding his bloody shoulder as he runs from class. others, you can see barely out in time. outside students pour from the school. bloodied and in shock. 24-year-old wellington day alvear ra, a former student, showed up at the school thursday morning. he said he was there to give a speech. security officers had no idea he was carrying two guns and a rambling suicide note. he walked into one classroom, then another, opening fire at random. shooting dozens of students. some at point-blank range in the head. 12 of them all under the age of 15 were killed. then, the shooter, described as a loner with no friends to speak of, turned the gun on himself. this firefighter says, it was a catastrophic scene. it was like in the united states when people go in and start shooting. these bullet holes in the wall, evidence of one man's anger and desperation. but over what exactly remains a mystery this morning. for "good morning america," mike marusarz, abc news. back in this country, after an intense debate, lawmakers in arizona had voted yes on a bill that would allow people on college campuses to carry guns. it's the second state to do so. however, guns would still be banned inside college buildings. two american journalists have been captured by government forces in libya. they work for "the atlantic" magazine. a top u.s. army general, meanwhile, says nato action in libya is leading to a stalemate. and it's unlikely rebels can topple gadhafi. finally, an "american idol" shocker, for real. drawing a course of boos from around the world. pia toscanna was voted off last night. the 22-year-old new yorker was praised as a front-runner. and the announcement left jennifer lopez, as you can see right there, on the verge of tears. the audience was booing. >> it's hard to get randy jackson angry. but he was really mad. everybody was. sam, what do you think? >> hey, dog. that's all i'm going to say. i don't know. i don't get a chance to watch late-night tv. it's just a think. george, cynthia, juju, happy friday. if you're driving the highways of southern california, you're probably not expecting to see anything that looks like sleet and hail. this is between south san francisco and sacramento. but that cold air is all the way in southern california today. fairfield, california, and a small tornado recorded. that's how strong the cold front has been. as the front has drifted south, we expect l.a. to start at about 47 degrees this morning. it is a high about 63, about 10 degrees warmer than in new york today. fresno, 39 degrees. san francisco, 43. that's where the start is. all that warm air from that part of the country has been squeezed to the east and the central part of the nation. memphis, 67. atlanta, 80 degrees. and i feel like new york city could be 70 by monday. here's our friday edition of the "gma morning menu." would you stick your hand into a shark's gill in the name of science? these guys will. and we'll show you. plus, the wedding secrets. news of what happened on the big day. but we're talking about diana's big day. and why there was so much stress over that dress right there. and would you cut your own hair to save money? apparently the answer is yes. and we're going to show you how many folks are doing it, right here on "gma." ♪ ♪ are you having any joy? ♪ what you getting out f living? 7 ♪ what good is what you've got ifyou're not having any joy? ♪ ♪ ♪ are you having any laughs? ♪ if other people do, so can you ♪, ♪ have a little joy [ female announcer ] how does your next week look? why not get away and book royal caribbean cruise at royalcaribbean.com today? choose a texas toast half-sandwich, like our classic turkey, piled high and tasty. pair with a delicious soup or house salad. served with seasoned fries, it's big flavor for just 6 bucks -- weekdays at chili's. you have a child with adhd. you're getting calls from his teacher he's impulsive in class. and his inattention makes focusing on homework tough. i know how it is because my son has adhd too. i didn't know all i could do to help manage his adhd. our doctor suggested a treatment plan with non-stimulant intuniv. 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[ male announcer ] ask the doctor twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. . great white sharks are the largest predators prowling our ocean. getting up close and studying them is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. but that doesn't stop a daring group of researchers. they're called "the shark men." we'll talk to two of them live in a minute. but first, here they are, in action. it's not your regular fishing trip. >> bait number one. >> reporter: these guys are catching and releasing great whites off the coast of california. >> holy [ bleep ]. >> my goodness. >> we got a shark bit. >> it's coming up. >> reporter: it's all in the name of research. >> we got it. >> yeah. >> reporter: captain brett, dr. domeier, and the team are the only ones to lift a great white out of the water and tag them. how do they do it? using this cradle system, the sharks are lifted out of the water, a technique that separates these guys to other researchers. it's key to their success. it makes the shark accessible and vulnerable. using cages, decoys, drills and guts, they tag the shark, all in the name of science. >> let him go. there he goes. joining us now are "shark men's" leaders, chris fischer and captain brett mcbride. thanks for coming. >> i never dreamed when i was 12 years old, i would be here. it's been an amazing journey. >> whose idea was this? most of us want to avoid sharks, not put our fingers in their gills. >> we were working with the scientific community, with other big fish, like great marlin. and one of those researchers was a researcher of great whites. and he asked us to help him and we did. >> you don't want to harm them. and what you are doing by taking them out of the ocean is dangerous to them, as well as you, right? >> it's dangerous. we do our best to limit any trauma to them. >> we focus on getting the people through it with ten fingers and toes. we have to track them to figure out where they go to look after them. >> what have you learned so far? >> we've been focusing on how they are vulnerable. where are they breeding? where are they giving birth? we can affect policy for their future. >> how dangerous is it, really? >> i think it's not as dangerous as it looks. our crew is very professional. we're methodical about each thing we do. if you don't have anything go too far awry, it's fairly safe. >> i know not all sharks are man eaters. but great whites are, right? >> they have been known to do that. probably mostly a mistake. i don't think you have to worry about getting bit by sharks. worry about getting struck by lightning. >> really? >> more dangerous to drive down the beach than to go for a swim. >> you don't feed them first? >> we use that to bring them in to get our hands on them for research. >> what do you want people who watch in series to come away with? >> we're trying to pour the ocean into people's homes. they have their own relationship with the ocean. they learn to love sharks. we want to demystify sharks. sharks are under attack worldwide. we need all the people we can looking after them. >> the whole idea that the shark's out to get you, we should get over that. >> yeah. >> having said it's safe, people have gotten injured. >> people get injured doing all kinds of stuff every day. >> uh-huh. i don't know. >> i think it's safe in the water. southern california, one of the things people are going to see here is covered up in juvenile and baby white sharks. we were catching sharks 400 yards off of malibu. the life cycle of the sharks in their teens and adolescent years. >> we'll all be watching. "shark men" premieres this sunday, april 10th on the national geographic channel. you can go to abcnews.com/gma to see amazing, close-up pictures on how the scientists capture and tag the great white shark. coming up, would you cut your own hair? coming up, would you cut your own hair? , dog: bacon? gotta get that bacon! smokey bacon, crispy bacon, tasty bacon! where is it? where is the bacon? tv newscaster: bacon popular, "story at 11. dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip!? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! i love bacon! i love you! i love bacon! i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time #like beggin' time! share the fun at beggintime.com where's the fire, arnie? [ laughing ] ♪ ♪ ahh. hello. 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[ male announcer ] our 16 fresh-picked oranges have a new home. tropicana pure premium now comes in a clear bottle so you can see how much goodness is squeezed inside. ♪ good morning tropicana. the world's best juice never looked better. i am taking a little test for dr. oz. i'm wearing around my chest right now, this stress meter that's going to stick with me all day long. it's under the shirt right there. be careful there. >> ooh. >> and we will reveal -- the stress level just shot right up. >> i want to see what it will be for precisely this hour. >> we'll get the results monday from dr. oz. coming up here, the inside look at princess diana's wedding. the moment that struck terror into her and all sorts of people as she walked up the aisle. . can't wait to upgrade? the coolest deals on the hottest appliances, are/ all at sears, all at the lowest prices of the season. sale ends saturday, at sears. you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! ♪ hurry in and load up on great savings during the petsmart # anniversarysae. this weekend only, save up to 50% on select items. and save $5 on all iams® cat food in 16 to 20 pound bags. only at petsmart. it can also lead to serious dental problems. 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[ male announcer ] new act total care dry mouth is alcohol-free and has fluoride to strengthen teeth. stronger teeth and dry mouth relief. they will play the home opener as the world champions and what is the weather going to be like. >> 44 right now. 32 in the north bay but the game sunshine, temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. winds will get breezy and warmer over the weekend. frances? >> "h" train number five running 12 minutes late. bay bridge toll plaza backed up to the maze because of an earlier crash and slow westbound on 580 approaching north livermore because of an accident blocking two of the lanes. >> thank you very much. the news [ female announcer ] we asked coffee lovers to come and try coffee-mate's new cafe collection flavors. then we asked them to show us how the taste inspired them. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] introducing new rich caramel macchiato. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] indulgent white chocolate caramel latte. ♪ oh, do it [ female announcer ] and creamy cafe latte. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] add your flavor... with coffee-mate, from nestle. ♪ give me heads with hair long, groovy hair ♪ crowd down in times square. and quite a daring experiment in our studio. you might wonder why denise chose that song this morning. three women are coming in this morning. they have volunteered to come in and cut their own hair, live here, in our studio. it's actually a new trend in these tough, economic times. a lot of people daring to cut their own hair. these people are going to do it on live television. we'll have all of the results coming up this hour. >> i volunteered to cut your hair. you said no. >> i ran away is what i did. >> coward. >> stress goes up again. >> there you go. a check of that monitor. just ahead in our royal wedding diary, the major stress over diana's dress. insiders who helped put together the wedding of princess diana spill about the frazzled morning before she walked down the aisle in that amazing dress. the advice they've got for kate middleton. >> that's coming up. also, kathleen turner is coming up. she has sizzled on the screen. romance in the jungle. war over the roses. now, she's on broadway. we'll talk to her. we begin with breaking news, affecting millions of americans. republicans and democrats are returning to negotiations in washington, going down to the wire to avoid a government shutdown at midnight. jonathan karl is on capitol hill for us. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, juju. it certainly is down to the wire. this morning, democrats and republicans that i have spoken to can't agree about what they disagree about. the democrats say they have some agreement but that the republicans are blocking over abortion. the republicans say, that's not true. time is running out. midnight tonight, the government shuts down unless they can get a deal. >> jonathan karl, with a long day and a long night ahead. thank you. social security is making a big change. and it has nothing to do with the possible government shutdown. the agency is going to stop mailing the annual statements that says what you will get when you retire. instead, they will post it online and save about $70 million. a possible breakthrough in the hunt for a serial killer here in new york. as we told you this week, three more bodies have been found along the beach in long island, bringing to eight the number of possible victims. now, police are reportedly looking closely at a potential suspect. and they're looking at links between this case and the murder of four prostitutes in new jersey in 2006. overseas, two deaths are now blamed on the strong aftershock in japan on thursday. the strongest since last month's disaster. officials say there is no extra damage at the fukushima nuclear plant. concern about radiation remains. and not just in japan. schools in south korea canceled classes because of concern that rain could contain radiation. experts insist there is no threat. the conflict in libya has pushed oil prices to new highs this morning. and drivers are feeling it, for sure. gas prices have risen another 12 cents in the last week to a national average of $3.73 per gallon. and finally, on this friday, colo, our favorite gorilla at the columbus zoo, is on a winning streak after predicting the final four and the winner of the ncaa championships. now, we've asked her to pick the winner of the masters tournament from the list of our four favorites. guess who she picked? tiger woods, after knocking over a box with his name on it. and eating the banana underneath. tiger is 6 shots behind the lead. who knew that tiger woods was the underdog? but we'll see if colo is right this weekend. right, sam? good morning to you. >> that's right, juju. good morning, guys. it's a pretty warm one at the masters. probably afternoon storms the first two rounds. and then, the third day will be really, really warm. we'll see if colo works with the whole tiger pick. i have to show you the crowd. this is something you won't believe. how many folks are out on the corner in times square this morning, just spending their morning with us, right here on "good morning america." we are filling this place with signs and folks and fun. all kinds of stuff. let's get to the boards. one or two things going on this morning we want to talk about. as you look outside in atlanta, this was interesting to us. and we sent out a tweet about it because on the radar, there's nothing showing up in atlanta yet. but look at that. it's kind of a low cloud, misty, foggy morning. if you keep the clouds, you might not get the stronger storms of the day, which could be a good thing for you. you are in the area where storms will develop today. the toughest storms from st. louis, in the red zone to north of atlanta. here's where it is over the weekend. this is the third time we've seen records kind of getting into this area for record flooding. this is the third year in a row. this is going to be a tough weekend with more rain moving into that zone. and a quick look at the big board. >> it is a giant crowd in times square. we'll be here throughout the next half hour. george? >> thank you, sam. in this morning's royal diary we take you behind the scenes of the big day with two people who have been there. bianna golodryga sat down with the dress designers for princess diana and sarah ferguson. >> reporter: don't think we didn't ask them if they were designing kate's dress. the designer and his or her team will also serve as kate middleton's confidant, security adviser, style guru. not to mention, both cheerleader and most critical eye. there's only two women in the world who know what that job is like. >> absolutely no instructions or protocol from the palace. we made it up as we went along, really. i think it would be nice if they trusted us that we would do the right thing. >> reporter: when diana spencer married prince charles, there was no template on how a wedding should look. she went to this woman to find out. together, they embarked down a road with many unexpected twists and turns. the first lesson learned, protect the dress. >> we were really careful about security. so much so, that we organized a big, metal safe to be delivered to the studio. it was so big, it wouldn't go through the front door. and we had to hoist it up through the windows. every night, we would lock the dress in there. and we had two security guards, jim and burt. and they had to guard it. >> reporter: lesson two, always have a plan "b." >> we would have gone for plan b. we had another dress on standby that was nearly ready, just in case. because there was no way we were going to let the identity of that dress come out before the big day. we had another dress. and we could have finished it in 24 hours, if we had to. >> reporter: lesson three, practice makes perfect. >> we did try and take care of any possible emergency. we made an overskirt because we thought wouldn't it be awful if diana was drinking a cup of coffee and it spilled down her dress. or smelling salts. we safety pinned everything. we double stitched to make sure it didn't come undone. all the time, i'm thinking, what if the zip breaks halfway through? terrible things. >> reporter: lesson four, make lemonade out of lemons. >> we got her in the carriage. everything seemed to fit very well. we didn't take into account her father is quite a large man. and the nerves of the day. and she's squished up in there hanging on to the tafeta. that was probably the worst moment for me. we saw her coming up the steps, you know, when she reached the very top bit, we noticed how creased the dress was. and i think my heart stopped. >> those are the designers. the young designers, david and elizabeth emanuel. very few people knew who they were. now they're world famous. >> looking back now, looking at the video footage, that bit, it reminds me of a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis. and it gives me goosebumps when i think about that image. and it's my favorite. >> this is her dress. >> reporter: five years after di's wedding, this designer vowed to learn from all of the trials emmanuel faced when she designed sarah ferguson's dress. but she learned lessons of her own. lesson five, be prepared to improvise. >> we had an amazing prerun at buckingham palace, literally, the night before. i had a terrible fright at the time. she looked amazing. she started walking from one end of the corridor to the other. and my heart was going ba-boom, ba-boom because the train veered off completely to one side. i thought, oh, my god. i only have a few hours left to sort this one out. then, we had a hurried, rushed call to westminster abbey. and they were up all night hoovering the carpet to make sure the pile was straight upright so the train would carry down the aisle and not digress one way or the other. >> reporter: carpenters had to be literally brought in. both designers are unanimous in their praise for the young woman who will someday be the next queen of england. and their top tip for kate? that's lesson number six, be true to yourself. >> she's going to go with who she feels comfortable with. and who can translate her dreams into reality. tinking thinking about what it's going to be like on the actual day, if it's anything like diana's, it's just going to be incredible. >> reporter: it doesn't stop there. aside from the dress myself, another question people are asking, is whether or not kate will wear something atop her head. will she follow in the footsteps of the last commoner-turned princess, sarah ferguson? sarah wore flowers, covering a tiara. she exited as a true princess. >> i love sitting between you guys as the piece is going on. dishing over all of it. >> really. yes. >> reporter: i think that the vote goes in sarah ferguson's favor over the two dresses. >> i think viewers should tweet. which dress do you like better? >> reporter: maybe she will have a backup dress, too. >> did you guys buy two dresses? >> reporter: are you kidding me? i had one dress. one dress only. >> should have gone to costco. >> reporter: i could have. that's a good idea. >> thanks very much. all of you at home be sure to tune in to our royal wedding special, starting at 4:00 a.m. eastern on april 29th. and we have something special coming up next week. >> very special next week. it's the reunion bonanza. the stars of two classic sitcoms, "welcome back kotter" and "the facts of life," dishing on what it was like behind the scenes. take a look. >> whatever happened to the stars of "welcome back kotter" and "facts of life"? starting monday, two of tv's greatest sitcoms. two great reunions. it's horshack and vinnie barbarino himself, john travolta. >> wow. >> and tootie, blair, jo, natalie. >> what about me? >> starting monday, their live tv reunions. only on "good morning america" on abc. >> that is going to be so much fun. and we have one other sneak peek right here. remember the great moment from "welcome back kotter"? that's our generation, bianna. you have "the facts of life." when he read his personal essay to the class. [ laughter ] >> what i want to be, by vinnie barbarino. i want to be a guy who never writes compositions. [ laughter ] the end. >> got to love that. >> vinnie barbarino. bianna, you're a "facts of life" person. you like tootie. >> she was my favorite character growing up. i can't wait to see those shows. >> they will all be here next week. we have "the facts of life" and "welcome back kotter." big reunions coming up. >> if you love the show, go to abcnews.com to submit your questions. what we should ask cast members. and coming up, the hair challenge. these women are going to cut their own hair live on national television. a surprise for you. [ rattling ] wanna see what's in it? yeah! whoagasp! whoagasp! whoagasp! you wanna make these? you put it in here? yeah, put it in there. ok, just press. i'm gonna give you some m&m's to put in there. ok! ready? and then you wanna take this... ...put it together. shake it. [ giggles ] are you making them for the easter bunny? no, you. ahhhhh. 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[ female announcer ] make the ultra switch. find cottonelle ultra codes for a chance to win ultra prizes. well, cutting costs is taking on a whole new meaning this morning in our studio. the latest trend in haircuts is do-it-yourself. more and more people are skipping the salon to save money. we'll kick off our cut against the clock with our three brave contestants live in a minute. but first, look at this. haircuts. that seemingly simple act of getting your hair washed and snipped can cost a pretty penny. how much do people pay for haircuts? >> 70 bucks. >> 100 bucks. >> between $150 and $200. >> reporter: the average price is $45. but in many salons, the prices are far higher. take arrojo in new york, where a trim can set you back $500. or frederic fekkai, where it can cost $750. some like former presidential candidate, john edwards, who spent $400 on a seemingly simple trim, can afford pricey cuts. but many can't. that's why amanda gabriel says a hot new trend is emerging. >> with the economy lagging and the prices of haircuts going up, people are cutting their own hair, instead of going to the salon. >> reporter: that's right, to trim their budgets, some people are picking up the scissors and cutting their own hair, unassisted. dozens of how-to videos demonstrating how to cut your own locks have sprung up on youtube. scoring hundreds of thousands of views. but the folks we talked to weren't so sure they would be willing to take hair cutting matters into their own hands. >> i don't think i would ever cut my hair on my own. maybe, like, bangs? >> me? no. too clumsy. i wouldn't get it right. it's not going to look good. okay. you thought the guys that dove with the sharks were brave. this morning, we have a professional here. who is going to help us. dave is here from alibi, the aptly-named salon down in sojo. you're going to help us. >> i'm going to guide the ladies through difficult process. >> i don't know if you're crazy or brave. maybe a little both. let me introduce them to you. first, we have macal, the full-time mother of a 4-year-old and 1-year-old boys. why here in why did you come? >> it's time management for me. and mother of two, small children, strapped for time trying to get to the salon. this is a quick fix. in between the salon visits. >> she looks pretty good already. how short are you going to go? >> just a trim. clean up the dead ends. nothing too crazy, no. >> and in the middle, danni mccue, who is the mother of twin baby girls. why are you here? >> a time saver. >> i like this. are you going to trim, too? >> everything a trim. you don't want to try to -- just follow what your hairdresser has done. they have a great shape. >> and michelle on the end. michelle? >> i'm here because i'm job hunting. and first impressions are important. and i'm also on a budget. >> what do you think? also a trim? >> also a trim. >> no layering. that's crazy. >> it takes years to get that. it's a subtle art form. people train for years. you are going to get completely overwhelmed and will end up back in the salon immediately. >> you have tips for those of you who want to do it at home. and you three brave women here on national television. what are the tips? >> first of all, getting the right tools. a good pair of hair shears. don't use paper or fabric. you have to use real hair scissors. >> they're very sharp. >> that's the key. that's going to create the good, sharp look. and smaller, five-inch or six-inch blade. bigger scissors, bigger mistakes. smaller ski eer scissors, small mistakes. >> what else? >> hair clips. these are inexpensive. but they break the hair down into workable pieces. make it easy to deal with by breaking it down to a small, clipped section. make it easy to deal with. >> anything else they need to know? >> yeah. you should start with very smooth, blownout hair like this. or we're going to work with danni here, wetting the hair down. you get rid of all of the crimps, everything you slept in. pony tail. all of that. you get nice, smooth hair to work with. >> should amateurs be doing this? >> that's why i'm saying less is more. if you get too ambitious, you'll end up back spending more money. in the salon. if you want to clean up, sharpen the look. >> and maybe extend the time between hair cuts. >> exactly. you don't have time to get in. a wedding, a job interview. and do it when you're calm. don't do it when you're stressed out. >> ladies, are you calm? i mean, i would think doing it on live television would be a very calm way to do it. >> i'm here to help. >> all right. to add to the pressure, you have precisely 26 minutes. we're going to put a clock on it. we're going to follow you as you go through it. 26 minutes. and remember, there is a backup plan. up next, kathleen turner joins us live. and ladies, 26 minutes. 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[ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 and talk to chuck about ttd# 1-800-345-2550 rolling over that old 401k. the jury in the barry bonds perjury trial will begin deliberations this morning. jurors heard four and a half hours of closing arguments yesterday. they must now consider three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction. he is accused of making false statements that he knowingly received steroids. >> a driver face d.u.i. charges after a car struck a chp officer in san jose earlier this morning. the officer was helping the driver of a stranded pickup truck where the car veered into him and broke his leg. there were problems related issues. let's check in with frances and check on the commute. >> hot spot is still the bay bridge because of an earlier injury accident. traffic is still backed up to the maze. if you are headed to the giants game. you may want to consider bart or mass transit. "h" train is 13 minutes late. >> and >> terry: bright and sunny and warm up a little bit today. winds will kick up and temperatures will be below the average today. and at&t park, mid and upper 50s with northwest winds 20-30 miles an hour. mid-60s tomorrow. upper 60s on sunday. ♪ and moms walk on sunshine the minute he shows up. emeril, every mother's day, for 12 years, he surprises one lucky mom. one year it was a dad. and last year, the grandmother in eerie, pennsylvania, ran away. if you know somebody share your story. and this is a terrific tradition, cynthia. >> it is. wouldn't you like breakfast in bed? >> not at 3:00 in the morning. the kids are asleep. they've been chopping away for a while now. they have 17 minutes left to go. they are working on their hair. i want to know how they do the back. that's tricky. we will check in with our three women doing their own hair cut. it could be a good or bad hair day. we'll find out in a minute. also, two extraordinary women to talk to this morning. kathleen turner on broadway. she is lighting up times square. we're going to talk to her live in a couple minutes. and our revealing conversation with vicki kennedy. what she says about her famous husband's legacy and how she is moving on. first, we go to sam. >> we have our "just one thing" this morning in times square. and our "just one thing" is being smart with your organic dollar. and wendy gordon of the national resources council joins us. we know with organic you get less pesticides. scientists say kids at 5 and under are getting about eight pesticides a day in their diet because of this. there's some foods that we need to buy organic with and spend the extra money because it's 40% to 50% more and some foods we don't need to. take us through with your knowledge where we should spend to buy organic? >> the reason we want to choose those things organic or not organic, is pesticides get inside some foods. you want to know where it is and where it's not. over here, we have seasonal fruits and vegetables that are nonorganic. but they have thick skin, like this avocado. >> if you're washing the pesticides in or you're peeling it off. >> sweet peas. seasonal. you want to buy u.s. asparagus grows really early. >> they don't get a chance to get pesticides on it. >> exactly. and the cabbage and grapefruit. >> thick skin or very early. these you never have to worry about because you're peeling the skin off these. avocados, onions, corn. >> all year long, low pesticides. you can buy these, conventionally grown, and they're going to save you money. >> we need to know. berries, berries, berries. everything berry, like a blueberry, i buy organic. is that okay? >> you should definitely buy those organic. also carrots and celery, which you feed your kids every day. >> you're eating on those. >> and here's a red pepper. red pepper, buy organic. they're high in pesticides if you buy the conventional variety. >> you can get this on our website, abcnews.com/gma. by the way, that "just one thing" was brought to you by starbucks. a quick look at our big board. we'll show you what's going on today across the country into the weekend. we think the line of severe storms on your weekend fly-by will kick up in the middle of the country and swing east by monday. and there's a brand-new system that works into wendy gordon, spending your smart organic dollars. thank you very much. cynthia? we have with us one of the leading ladies of screen and stage. legendary leading lady, kathleen turner. she's done thriller. she's done romance. she's done comedies. and she's on broadway in a new play. but first, take a little snapshot look at her amazing career. >> my temperature runs a couple of degrees higher, around 100. i don't mind. >> reporter: she sizzled in "body heat." she swept us away in "romancing the stone." >> where am i going? >> reporter: and she made revenge downright rollicking in "the war of the roses." now, after captivating audiences for more than 30 years with her sultry voice -- >> i'm not bad, i'm just drawn that way. >> reporter: and unexpected characters, like this appearance on "friends." >> hello, all. >> hi, dad. >> reporter: kathleen turner is about to surprise us again. the two-time tony nominee is returning to the broadway stage to play a tough-talking -- >> i hurt. a lot. >> reporter: no-nonsense nun. that is right. kathleen turner is playing sister jamison connelly in a new play called "high." she joins us here live. good morning. >> good morning. she's not your typical nun. she is -- i would describe her, shortly, as a foul-mouthed recovering alcoholic nun. >> if you want the nun next door, go next door. if you want a new nun, go to kathleen turner. you have defined sexiness, hot, with your voice, with your essence, with your brain for many generations. i think a whole generation of men and women, you were it. how does that feel? >> i was thinking. i got an e-mail the other day. congratulations. it's the 30th anniversary of "body heat." and part of me went, oh. there was a little heart drop there. on the other hand, i thought, how glorious that i've been working for 30 years. you know? >> it was hard to keep up with you. but i went out with a guy that was obsessed with "body heat." i was a mere shadow. let's take a look at some of the fun things you've done before we get serious about the play. some of the stunts, which you did yourself. >> i love them. i loved doing them. i did the mudslide five times. >> let's look at the mudslide, since you mentioned it. was that fun? >> yes. the cleanup was difficult after. you know? >> did you really do it five times? >> yes. and trying to get all of the mud out of my ears and nose. that was not fun. >> that was not chocolate. and what about the chandelier from "war of the roses" swinging across on that. >> that is a funny story. i wasn't supposed to do that. i had a wonderful stunt woman. and for some reason, she froze. i said, i'll give it a go, thinking i will loosen her up. i hit the spring board, sailed through the air and thought, i guess i'm doing it. >> there it is. let's watch. that's real? i mean, you're really doing that? >> yeah. >> what's underneath you, by the way? >> on that shot, it was a huge, inflatable thing. if you fell, you landed on this immense cushion kind of thing. air cushion. when the camera was underneath. when they put the camera on top, there was nothing underneath. you could see the floor. we weren't wild about those shots. >> wow. i take it you never did fall. >> obviously not. >> here you are. let's talk about the play. it is about addiction. you know something about that personally a bit. >> i went through a period when i abused alcohol. i have rheumatoid arthritis. and anyone who has had something like that knows there is an immense amount of pain involved in this sort of thing. and you know, i foolishly and shortsidedly was self-medicating to an extreme. figured that one out, thank goodness. but in the meantime, did a lot of research on the whole field because it's very frightening. but i feel as though i've been tremendously naive because this play is about a young man, played by evan jonigkeit, which is an extraordinary actor. first time in new york. who is a crystal methamphetamin methamphetamines addict. my other co-star, this drug and so many like them, have destroyed so many lives, that i find it -- i don't know. i'm wondering if it isn't some huge, dirty national secret that we haven't really addressed. >> well, go to the play and check it out. there is some, shall we say, nudity in the play. >> yes. >> not you this time. >> i'm too old for that stuff. no, no. yes, i am, darling. yes, i am. been there. done that. yes. no, this is my young co-star, evan jonigkeit. >> who is buck naked, very close to you. how is that? >> i must confess i think it must be harder on men than women. there must be a certain level of anxiety that we don't really have. if you know what i mean. >> thank you so much. the voice -- we have 30 seconds left. >> all right. i want to say something. i want to say that, like many, many, many women, like most, i would say women in america, i'm really heart sick right now. the republican party holding the government of united states of america hostage, for defunding planned parenthood, which essentially means that millions of women in this country will not receive basic health care. and it just makes me sick. >> there's so much more to talk about. will you come back and talk to us again. >> yes, i will. up next, vicki kennedy on life without ted. and the major family moment she's looking forward to. ♪ [ male announcer ] if you're ready to get more from your tv service than comcast can give, now's a great time to switch to at&t u-verse tv. make the switch! 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[ female announcer ] at&t u-verse: tv like you've never seen before. they called ted kennedy the lion of the senate. and for 40 years, that's where the younger brother of jack and bobby kennedy carved out an extraordinary career that left a lasting mark on america. today, his widow, victorivictorl break ground on the kennedy institute for the senate. and she spoke with claire shipman about how she is living with loss. >> reporter: they go everywhere with vicki kennedy, cappie and sonny. cappie, a new addition to the family. he is also first dog bo's littermate. providing some comfort to her in her new life. >> so much joy. he brings me a lot of joy. >> reporter: on the eve of the ground breaking of the edward m. kennedy institute in boston, she's looking forward to another measure of joy. >> working on this institute is fantastic because it is something that was so important to him. but it was also important to me. it's something he and i did together. >> reporter: the institute's mission? teaching the nuts and bolts of the u.s. senate. >> we're going to have desks. and at the touch of a finger, you'll know everything about the senator who sat at that desk. >> reporter: he was obviously so critical as a politician and a leader in our country. he was also a leader of the kennedy family for so many decades. and the glue that held that family -- that huge family together. how is the family coping with that big, gaping hole? >> i think it's been hard for all of us. he had those big shoulders that all of us leaned on. it's been a huge adjustment, in all honesty, for all of us. those are shoes that nobody can fill. you know, we lost eunice and teddy within two weeks of each other. we just lost sarge shriver in the last couple months. so, there's a generation that is missing. we feel that loss very acutely. >> reporter: a poignant family reunion is approaching. ted kennedy's son, patrick, is getting married. >> everybody is very excited about that. >> reporter: have you met her? >> absolutely. she is the loveliest young woman. so, we're really, really excited about that. >> reporter: what are the moments, now, that are the hardest for you? still? >> you know, the usual ones that i think anybody who has gone through a loss of a loved one. the big occasions. and sometimes, even the quiet ones. i just think that i was the luckiest -- am the luckiest woman on the planet. >> reporter: why? >> because i met the love of my life. and he made me so happy. i feel like i was the lucky one. we were so happy. >> reporter: the two of you discussed a number of times, the possibility of you, at some point, running for his senate seat. >> i think discussed is too strong of a word. no. i want to do work that teddy did. i want to advance those causes. i don't want his job. >> reporter: and what would the senate lion made have today's shutdown threats? >> one of the things that my husband did so well, is he was able to work well with both sides of the aisle. and that he was able to understand -- he did understand that you always had to compromise. >> the hope rises again. and the dream lives on. >> he was so much about perseverance. keep moving forward. keep talking to people. sure, there will be storms along the way. but if you keep a true compass and if you persevere, you'll get there. i believe that. >> what a great story. thank you, claire. coming up here, the three women here in our studio, racing to finish those do-it. yourself hair cuts. navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process, no matter how intricate. and that's good news, whether you're trying to sell or hoping to buy. because the only sign you really want to see is "sold." nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. to come and try coffee-mate's new cafe collection flavors. then we asked them to show us how the taste inspired them. new rich caramel macchiato. one of three new ways to add your flavor. with coffee-mate, from nestle. what does that say? mr. clean with febreze freshness? oh, boy. mr. thinks-he-has-it-all, comes in here... yeah, not only does he clean great, this mr. clean has freshness that lasts up to two times longer. (sniffing) what a show off. he-he's like a guy that's, like, a good actor, but then he's also a musician... yeah... and then he does some modelling on the side. can't believe this guy. (scoff) get freshness that lasts up to two times longer with mr. clean with febreze freshness. and now there are two exotic new scents, hawaiian aloha and new zealand springs scent. okay. it's the moment of truth for our hair stylists. what do you think, mr. pro? >> i'm surprised, actually. >> i'm surprised. it looks good. >> it really does. and not changed that much. they followed what their hairdresser did. she looks clean. looks more precise. and not changed so much. >> how do you feel? >> i feel great. it was much easier than i thought it was going to be. >> you saved yourself a lot of money and time. >> i did. >> the split ends are gone. >> it focuses the hair cut that was already there. >> are you happy? >> i'm very happy. >> would you do it without the safety net here? >> i would. >> and, danni, what do you think? your hair's harder because it has a little curl to it, right? >> exactly. and she has layers. so, its can throw you off. but she did really well. >> how do you feel about it? >> it was fun. i feel great. i feel cleaned up. >> would you do it at home? >> i would. but it helped having dave around. >> you can call me. >> and what do you think? >> it was a lot less scarier than i thought it was going to be. >> also, the ends look really clean. how did she do? are the ends even? >> they are very even. she did the best. i think she's ready for a job now. >> really? >> the back's hard to do, right? >> very hard. >> look how well she did. bravo. >> thank you. >> secrets of the trade. >> little secrets of the trade. would you do it at home? >> definitely. >> it was a success. our experiment worked. amazing. so, let us know what you think. would you do your own hair? go to abcnews.com to vote on who did the best job. and tell us what you think about all this. ethan allen introduces at extraordinary savings. presenting five signature lifestyles: romance vintage modern elegance and explorer. five visions of american style inspired by you. find your signature lifestyle at a design center today. come in now. sale ends april 30. before we go this morning, we always say times square is our backyard. and it really is. they put a forest in our backyard. the good folks from avveno put all of these trees out in times square this morning. so, the gwendolyn blan day-care center, you got a chance to see the trees this morning. did you see them all? >> yeah. >> were they like huge trees? >> yeah. >> and you have on your cards -- you're on tv there. on your cards, they're going to let them plant some tree seeds there. are you going to plant the tree when you go home? >> yeah. >> and everybody here got a card where you can plant some trees. trees are not only beautiful. and all of these trees that are here, will go to the five boroughs of new york. but they also scrub the air. >> smell this one. it smells fantastic. >> smells like christmas, doesn't it? >> the more trees you can plant, it's 2,000 tons of pollutants can get scrubbed out by a good set of trees. we're working on getting those things done. you guys did a great job this morning. >> yeah. >> ready to have a good weekend? >> yeah. >> we'll see you guys. bye-bye. 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[ male announcer ] new act total care dry mouth is alcohol-free and has fluoride to strengthen teeth. stronger teeth and dry mouth relief. it will be another new experience for the san francisco giants and their fans this afternoon. they will play the home opener as defending world champions. how will the weather be for the important day? let's talk with lisa argen. >> cold and unstable air sinking south of us. we'll see mainly sunshine and breezy winds. mid and upper 50s. we will warmup over the weekend. >> good morning. it's been slow all morning at the bay bridge toll plaza. you may want to consider bart. traffic is still backed up to the maze. san mateo bridge may b
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