good morning. historic vote after a marathon debate early this morning. the house passes a massive funding bill that keeps the government running but calls for some sweeping spending cuts. today some are praising the acts, and others call it draconi draconian. what could it mean for you? hijacked. four americans, including a couple sailing around the world, are reportedly seized by somali pirates in the indian ocean. we'll have the latest on the high seas abduction. and speaking out. the television reporter some viewers feared was suffering an on camera stroke. >> well, a very, very heavy --

we had a very -- >> this morning she's here live to tell us how she's doing. today, saturday, february 19th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. it happened just a short time ago while most americans were sleeping. >> you weren't up watching this? >> no, i was not. i'll admit it. >> after 90 hours of debate, the house approved drastic cuts in federal spending, $61 billion in cuts. that's must see tv. we're going to tell you what they have slashed and what happens now. an all nighter. and at the same time, we've been watching the state of wisconsin come to a virtual standstill. thousands of public workers and teachers have stormed the state capitol. they're lashing out at governor scott walker's plan for not only deep budget cuts but to take away the union's collective

bargaining rights. democratic lawmakers are refusing to vote on the state's budget and have left the state entirely. scott fitzgerald is the senate republican majority leader. he says the democrats are being juvenile for running away. we'll talk to him live in just a moment. plus we'll continue with our series on unexplained mysteries. this morning we'll take you to northern california and the search for the zodiac killer. he's the mysterious killer that left clues and symbols at the crime scene. this morning we'll talk to one of his surviving victims. then we switch gears and bripg you the real housewives. love them or hate them, some americans can't get enough of the ultimate drama queens. the series started with orange county and now premiering its newest city women, miami. we'll introduce you to the next set of housewives coming up. at least it will be nice to look at warm weather while you're looking at the housewives of miami, right? the early morning vote on capitol hill. the house approves a spending bill to keep the federal

government funded, but it comes with pretty drastic cuts. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house with the latest for us. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. after a week of all nighters, last night until 5:00 in the morning here in washington, p republicans, they think they have a mandate largely driven by the tea party conservatives. some 87 freshman members giving them the majority beginning in january. right away we see this bill. $61 billion, lester, not out of next year's budget, out of the budget we are in right now. democrats call the cuts draconian. all 187 democrats of the house voted against this measure. it would cut everything from foreign aid to education to enforcements for the president's financial regulatory overhaul. it would cut off funding for implementing the new health care law on down the line. this debate has raged. the speaker of the house john boehner says we have no choice. we are broke. with the government set to run out of money on a temporary measure, the latest treasure measure, on march 4th, people

are seriously talking about the possibility of a government shutdown because the two sides of the house and the senate, the president and the house, don't seem to agree on any of these cuts, lester. >> tell me about the senate. what is their version of the bill? what should we expect there? >> reporter: when you look at the clock, we're talking about two weeks, march 4th. the senate and the house are both going to be out of session next week for the presidents day recess, or district work period, as they call it in congress. they have one week to try to get together of the the senate is still obviously run by democrats. they're not going to agree to anything on the scale of what republicans in the house have sent their way, and there's a veto threat by the president over the house bill soch. so either they're going to have to come to an agreement to fund the government for a short period of time, or there's going to be another government shutdown. >> mike viqueira outside the white house. thanks. here's amy. a showdown between the governor and workers who have taken over the state capitol.

right now neither side shows signs of backing down. >> tell me what democracy looks like! >> reporter: at the wisconsin state capitol, thousands of students, teachers, and union members joined for a fourth straight day of mass protests. they're denouncing republican governor scott walker's plan to attack a $3.6 billion budget deficit. >> he's not thinking. he could sit down and rationally discuss this, but he's a chicken. >> we're not out here just for money and salary. it's for rights. >> reporter: the most controversial parts of walker's proposal would limit state workers' collective bargaining rights and increase how much they pay for their pensions and health insurance. it would exempt police, firefighters, and state troopers, groups that endorsed walker in last year's election, but got teachers and prison guards, who did not back him. >> people say i can't live with an 8% or 9% cut in take home pay. i think, my goodness, you should be happy to have a job. >> reporter: senate democrats who lost the majority last year are blocking a vote by fleeing

the state. they hope to force the governor to the bargaining table. senator jon ergenbach spoke on "the daily rundown." >> he's got to come up with a better idea to repair the budget. >> this may look and sound like a sports arena, but this is the rotunda of the wisconsin state capitol. tens of thousands of public workers have come here to make their voices here. >> no more vote! >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of teachers called in sick to join the protests. with so many here, at least 16 depicts districts across the state were closed. including milwaukee, the state's biggest. >> we got here, rang the doorbell, no answer. >> reporter: jim o'brien blamed the governor. >> we were kind of forced into this by our governor not allowing us to have a voice in the government. >> senator scott fitzgerald is the majority leader in the senate.

thank you for joining us. >> glad to be with you. >> have you had a chance to speak with your democratic counterparts recently? if so, where do things stand? >> i just had one brief conversation with the minority leader, senator miller, and for the most part it was about security concerns for the state senate. beyond that, there hasn't been much discussion at all. as a matter of fact, the senators had left the state and didn't show up on the floor over the last two days have been very, very difficult to get a hold of for anyone in the senate. >> let me ask you this. is it a slam dunk? if you get a quorum and get everybody there, is it a slam dunk that this bill passes, or could you have defections among republicans? >> no, the votes are there, lester. they've been there for some time. the piece of this that's still missing for some people is governor walker on tuesday is going to announce his full state budget, and there are deep, deep cuts in education and in shared revenue, which is the dollars we send to local levels of government. without the flexibility of the elimination of some of these

collective bargaining rights, there's no way that we can solve this in excess of $3.5 billion deficit. that's the piece that i think many people are missing right now. >> the way the governor is portraying this is strictly an economic matter. we don't have the dollars. we've got to come up with something to make that happen. but there are democrats, many on the left, saying this is a hidden agenda here. this is republicans trying to destroy unions who traditionally support democrats. what do you say? >> no, we're looking to empower the school boards and the county boards, and to some extent, state government, to be able to go to the table and have the flexibility to make these budgets work. with most of those budgets being as much as 75% just wages and benefits, there's not much to negotiate. and governor walker's been clear -- and i think many members of my caucus have been clear -- those different boards

knees that flexibility to make it work. >> those demonstrations have made what could have been a local story into a national story. certainly it's being watched in state houses across the country. is there any fear among republicans that you're handing democrats a major election issue nationwide here, to portray republicans as trying to cut the knees out from under unions? >> you know, in november when we took over both the senate and the assembly, also the executive branch in wisconsin, voters sent a clear message to us. they said, listen, fix this budget issue. that's what we want the republicans to do. and the more feathers you ruffle, the better off we'll be politically. so although that capitol is a powder keg right now, we're determined to make sure we live up to the promise we made to the voters in november. >> you haven't rufld all the feathers. under this budget proposal, police, firefighters, and state troopers would be exempt. why would they be immune to

these cuts and teachers and other state employees would not? >> governor walker told us his contingency plans that included police and fire needed to be in place so that he would be able to maintain public safety. he anticipated that this may be the way this whole thing breaks. i'm sure glad that he did do that at this point. so it's not something that all legislators are comfortable with, but it is something that has really been part of his major plan. >> the whole country is watching. senator scott fitzgerald, our thanks to you for spending time with us this morning. >> thanks, lester. >> all right. now ten minutes past the hour. here's amy. >> lester, thank you. now to the high seas. abduction of a group of americans. they were believed to have been hijacked by somali pirates in the indian ocean. we're following the latest developments from london. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. a distress signal was sent from the middle of the indian ocean

on friday. what we know now is that four americans have been taken captive when the yacht they were sailing in was hijacked 270 miles after the somali coastline. it was identified as the "sb quest." the 58-foot yacht was sailing to india from oman. it's owned by retired couple jean and scott adam. they've been sailing around the world since 2002. they're on a eight or ten-year voyage. it tracks the places they've been, information about where they're visiting. it's also been reported the couple have taken on two new crew members since last year. those others may be the others that were captured. in terms of where the yacht is now, it's reportedly headed towards somali, and the u.n. mission has called for the immediate release of those hostages. >> thanks for the latest on that story. now back to lester. >> amy, thanks. this morning the unrest in the middle east continues to spread. some of the most violent clashes are taking place in bahrain,

home to the navy's, the u.s. navy's fifth fleet. it is in that small gulf nation where security forces released a barrage of bullets on demonstrators. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is live for us. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. they're trying to deescalate the situation of the the crown prince is calling for dialogue and calm. this morning the army pulled its heavy vehicles out of the center of the city. still riot police are on the streets as are some demonstrators. but this follows a crackdown yesterday when a funeral procession marched to the center of the city and was confronted by soldiers and police. dozens were injured, as we saw at the main hospital. the staff appear overwhelmed. many of the injured struggle to breathe from inhaling tear gas. others have contusions from rubber bullets to the head and body. now almost every bed is full.

the injured tell us, when the security forces began to fire in the square, some protesters dropped to their knees, opened their shirts, and dared the army and police to shoot, but they did shoot. >> i can't believe what is happening here? >> reporter: you can't believe what's happening here? >> no, i cannot believe. >> reporter: the injured say they will continue to protest, more determined now than ever. >> he's saying it was a funeral demonstration. they were even carrying the flag of bahrain, and as they approached pearl square, they were confronted by security forces. this man was hit by rubber bullets, inhaled tear gas, and there are many cases like him. an ambulance driver insists he saw a protester hit by live ammunition. >> the gunshot, one in his chest, one in his leg. >> reporter: this was live bullingts as far as you know? >> yes. >> reporter: at least 50 people

are injured, and 60 are reported missing since the unrest began here this week. a woman searches the hospital beds for a relative, but she never finds him. today the crown prince of bahrain appealed on television for dialogue and calm. but bahrain is taking a hard line against the demonstrators. protesters say they will not enter into that dialogue as long as the security services here continue to crack down on the protesters. >> richard, you look at the success the protesters had in egypt where the army did not attack. here you see an army that was enforcing -- was going against the protesters might that limit the spread of this to other gulf states? >> reporter: well, now we're seeing the army pull back, and it is that spread, why i think we're seeing such a hard line. this is not north africa. there are deep economic concerns here. other kingdoms like kuwait and saudi arabia do not want this --

and tunisia spread into the gulf, which has traditionally been a close ally and a major oil producing region, obviously. >> richard engel for us. thanks very much. >> jeff ross en is at the news desk with other headlines. >> good morning, everyone. we're going to begin this morning in the middle east where protesters in yemen and libya are trying to topple their governments following egypt's lead. this as protesters in egypt take to the streets demanding their new leaders work faster. nbc's ron allen live for us in cairo this morning. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, jeff. yes, yesterday we had one of the biggest protests here. yet hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of protesters, celebrating and protesting in tahrir square once again, demanding more freedoms that they want to come more quickly. late last night the military leaders here push back a bit, issuing an order, a tough order that bans strikes and protests at labor sites around the country. workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions

across the country, paralyzing things a bit. things here remain peaceful, however. that is not the case across the region. in libya, for example, there's been a huge crackdown. human rights groups now estimate 84 people have been killed there. the internet was shut down this morning. so only a few grainy images are getting out, cell phone images, as moammar gadhafi pushes back hard against his toughest challenge in some four decades of power. jeff, back to you. >> ron allen in cairo. ron, thanks. the woman who tried to blackmail college basketball coach rick patino is going to prison for seven years. 50-year-old karen cipher was convicted in august of trying to extort millions of dollars from the university of louisville coach by threatening to go public about a sexual encounter. scary moments friday night aboard two jet blue airplanes. flights from tampa and baltimore were both struck by lightning. the tampa pilots actually reported smelling smoke in the cockp cockpit. both flights were headed to boston and landed safely. no one was injured.

finally, there is no one quite like basketball star kobe bryant, we know that. but madam tussauds wax museum think this is pretty close. this cost a whopping $300,000. the unveiling kicks off the nba's all-star weekend in los angeles. little known fact, lester has one of those. he keeps it around here. you could talk to him for an hour when he doesn't feel like talking to you. >> little known fact, i find that creepy. >> you need to change the tattoos. >> mine or his? no tattoos. bill karins has our first check of the weather. >> i won't go there either. let's talk aut this. the winds of change are coming into the east. our sprnggli f is over with. we've got a storm on the west coast. if everyone enjoyed those warm temperatures, it's pretty much done with. heavy rain in san diego, it continues this morning pushing up, even into las vegas. windy conditions in the east. it's going to get colder as the

day goes on. really strong gusts, up to 60 miles per hour, from d.c. to baltimore all the way through philadelphia, even new york city, will be extremely windy later on today. all this is going to go to the middle of the country, and unfortunately, we've got a snowstorm to talk about from minneapolis through the great what an interesting morning of weather we have got around the bay area. we have got cold temperatures out there, obviously 30s and 40u li tside. the other thing that's really interesting is the fact that the hill tops are wte across most of the bay area this morning. we're seeing snow levels as low as,5 100 feet to 2,000 feet over in the east bay, including the berkeley hills over to the tri-valley hill tops as well. we're going to see temperatures in the 30s, 40s and 50s from the north bay to the south bay. thank you. after months of coasting on low prices, the cost of gas at the pump is sky rocketing.

consider this. the current national average is $3.16 for a gallon of regular as compared to a year ago when it was just $2.61. that's a difference of 55 cents. so why the jump? and will it go even higher? sharon everson is cnbc's personal finance correspondent. sharon, good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> we heard those numbers. in california we're at $3.50 a gallon. that's the average. are we going to see any relief, or is it going to get worse? we always hear the warmer months typically mean higher prices. >> the warmer months means more people driving, and that means greater demand. with what we're seeing right now in the price of gasoline, wholesale level, and the price of oil continuing to rise, we're likely going to see much higher gas prices going into memorial day. many of the analysts i'm talking to say $3.75 a gallon is the national average. we're already seeing folks in northern california paying $4 a gallon. there are going to be people paying that much going into the summer months. >> so gas is high. that's not the end of the story. food price, retail, clothing, all those prices going up.

what is that going to do to consumer spending, which obviously has been so important fueling the economy? >> it's definitely going to crimp the economy. we've seen the economy's growth is slow. we are recovering but very slowly. this is something that's really going to start to impact consumers right where it hurts, when they're filling up the gas tank, trying to buy a new pair of jeans, trying to feed their family. it's starting to hurt already. we know it's going to get worse. >> we know a lot of this comes from the middle east. so much unrest in the middle east right now. with that in mind, is it that big of a surprise we're seeing gas prices rise? >> it shouldn't be. really our gas prices are based on the global oil price. that continues to rise. many analysts expect that to continue. we are going to see much higher prices at the gas pump. >> you mentioned it almost at $4 a gallon. i remember a few years ago where people really stopped driving because they couldn't afford gas prices. could we be headed to that same point once again?

>> if you don't have a job and you're trying to get a job and you can't afford to fill your tank, you're going to have to stop driving. you're going to have to take public transportation, but those prices are escalating as well. that's the problem. when we start to see very high prices as we did a few years ago, it certainly starts to crimp demand, and that seats into the recovery we're trying to go through right now. it's really cyclical, and it could present a big problem. >> we mentioned summer prices. we tend to see gas go higher. memorial day weekend, is that when we start to see things trend upwards? >> that's when we start to see the peak. some saying as high as $4 a gallon for the national average. some say at least $3.75 a gallon is what folks look forward to by memorial day. >> maybe people have the vacations once again. sharon everson, thanks so much. we appreciate it. still to come, money and murder at the fountain blew hotel. ♪ [ female announcer ] starbucks via is planted the same...

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still to come on "today," sinister ministries. we continue the hunt for the zodiac killer. plus meet the real housewives. first mee thagss.

good saturday morning to you, waking up in san jose, this is the view outside your window, but it's going to be very different as the sun comes. thank you for joining us this morning, and you say that by the time the sun comes up, we're going to see snow. >> you can see what's going on over our shoulder, we have got some snow showers this morning. the time lapse shows you that across the east bay hills, alci this morning. those hills, half of them, the upper half are white thishi

moing and you can see those rescteatd frowtes erom san francisco over to oakland, near danville.s we do have senow on the ground above 2,000 feet. notice we're not seeing widespread rain like we saw yesterday. today the story will be scattered showers and the air obviously cold enough to drop some snow near 2,000 feet or locally low enough. as we head towards lunchtime, chilly showers, and look at our high temperatures, if you want to call them high and not lows. tomorrow looks to be the dryer half of the morning forecast. and then cold, patchy frost or some ice could be an issue. >> we are still following a developing story at this hour, terror on the high seas for a california couple taken hostage by -- delivering bible --

pirates sea jacked their vessel 240 nautical miles off the coast of amman. their last communication was india, oraccording to the coupls blog, they were heading to -- >> it's a ransom case, and i don't know how they're going to get out of it. very, very scary. >> in those waters, you're not that well protected. so i'm a little surprised that they would even put themselves in that position. >> this morning the white house is accepting possible responses to the hijacking which happened two days after a somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the 2009 hijack of the mersing alabama.

the 67-year-old artist was found brutally stabbed in his apartment on fen 11. he is being held in a marin county jail on an unrelated charge. he is expected to return to san francisco within a week to face murder charges. we have those stories and more coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay." and what you really want to know, more about the weather forecast for the weekend and on into the week. we'll see you in a half hour.

we're back on a saturday we're back on a saturday morning, february 19th, 2011. it's presidents day weekend. we want to thank the fine folks outside on the plaza, big group of them, for spending part of their holiday weekend with us. we're going to head outside to say hi in just a moment. but back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach with lester holt. coming up in this half hour, this is the truth. they are the drama queens of tv. >> that's what makes them so popular. we're talking about the real housewives. they are more popular than ever. and now the hit franchise is heading south to miami. whether crying, fighting, or partying, millions are tuning in. what makes them so watchable? we'll tell you. they could be house husbands sitting by the remote controls,

nobody wants to watch that. >> boring, exactly. plus she is the los angeles reporter who made news across the country when her speech became garbled during a live post-grammy report. some speculated she suffered a stroke, but this morning doctors have revealed it's something called a complex migraine. what about the reporter? serene branson is now opening up about the incident, and she'll join us live in just a moment. and we continue with unexplained mysteries. we explore one of the most chilling mysteries of our time, the zodiac killer. the killing started in 1969 in northern california. he lift cryptic messages and mocked police searching for him. we'll talk about why people are still obsessed with the crime. >> a couple of movies have been made about it. i can't get enough of it. >> it is the ultimate cold case. many compare it to jack the ripper in england. first a true crime tale of

glamour, money, and murder. a black widow that has gripped miami beach. at the center is the woman accused of killing the heir of one of the most famous hotels in the world. that's just the beginning. >> reporter: she used to be an exotic dancer and wife to millionaire ben novak jr. but today 54-year-old narcy novak is in jail awaiting trial. she left her husband bound and beaten to death in a hotel room. >> narcy novak allegedly went so far as to provide the attackers with a pillow to place over her husband's face. >> reporter: just three months prior to ben novak's murder, his 87-year-old mother, nancy, seen here in this photo with her husband and frank sinatra, was found dead in her home lying in a pool of blood. at the time, authorities classified her death as accidental. after further examination, the medical examiner labeled it a homicide. during a recent court hearing, prosecutors indicate they'll

bring additional charges against narcy novak. from the beginning, prosecutors have described novak as a black widow, willing to eliminate anyone standing between her and her husband's inheritance. >> a woman who was intent on eliminating her husband and taking his family fortune for her own. >> reporter: that fortune worth an estimated $8 million is connected to the luxurious fontainebleau hotel in miami, which the family founded and once owned. now two of its heirs are dead. narcy novak has pled guilty in the death of her husband. nobs nbs nbc news. >> narcy novak's next court date is scheduled for april 8. let's get a check of the weather. bill karins is out on the plaza. bill, good morning. >> good morning, lester. an amazing number of people out here. these are all performers. over 700 people. we will go around here. they're going to be performing at carnegie hall tonight. there's a choir and a band and a lot of chaperones that came along with them too. good luck in all your performances.

everyone from all around the country. pretty cool stuff. let's talk about the forecast. temperatures getting colder in many areas of the country. right here in new york. as we go throughout sunday, this is where the storm breaks out right through the northern portion of the country. minneapolis, milwaukee, green bay, you'll be shoveling. detroit looks like a wintry mess. as that storm spreads to the east for presidents day, i know a lot of kids are out of school anyway. maybe they can play in the snow in upstate new york and portions of new england. the mild weather holds on in the southeast while another storm system will arrive on the west coast. we can say good-bye to our beautiful weather as once again we're in the heart of winter, and it's going to turn in a hurry. that's a look at the na and you're looking live at some scattered showers across highway 17here wree' seeing snow at 7,000 .feetrefe lots of white hill tops across the east bay out to the tri valley this morning. we'll see scattered showers and cool temperature this is morning. a high of 48. 45 for a high, sunny sunny

breaks heading to the afternoon. other than a hill top shower or two. sunday is looking dry, then a few more showers dropping down the coast heading towards monday. which one of the two of you is more trouble? who's more trouble? are you more trouble? no? your brother more trouble? yeah. don't talk now. i'm sure they can get themselves in trouble. if you want your hour by hour forecast, you can get that at weather.com. amy and lester? >> nobody's owning up out there. thanks very much. coming up, unexplained mysteries. inside the masked madman known as the zodiac killer. plus real drama. partygoers, back stabbers, and more. why the real housewives are such a big hit. but first these messages. hey buddy, wattaya lookin' a-oooh.

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it all started back in 2003 with "the real housewives of orange county." eight years later, and the real housewives franchise has become a huge success for bravo. nbc's jeff rossen joins us with more on this. good morning, jeff. >> good morning once again, amy. the list is long, right? orange county, new york, atlanta, new jersey, d.c., beverly hills, and now miami. the original real housewives, believe it or not, was created as a one and done, one season only. this morning an inside look at the series and what's next. flipping tables in new jersey. pulling wigs in atlanta. >> get your hands off of me! >> reporter: don't let the private jets, oversized homes,

or high fashion fool you. drama is the real star on the real housewives. >> you are a piece of garbage. >> here you have these very attractive people who are living in this very wealthy lifestyle, and people are very curious to see how the other side lives. and then you have this drama going on, which is very exciting. >> you're evil. >> you're evil. >> reporter: that formula turning cameras on to 40-something wealthy women with strong personalities. >> enough, enough. >> reporter: has been a winning mix for bravo. the franchise that began small in orange county has ballooned into six wild spin-offs. >> i think people still talk about the housewives because there's always a new season and there's always a new iteration, or they add new characters. >> reporter: the latest installments in atlanta and beverly hills have delivered the highest ratings yet. >> help me. >> reporter: viewers tuning in to see wedding jitters. >> i've only been engaged three times. >> reporter: and musical

ambitions. >> kim has one single, and she's acting like she's lady gaga. >> reporter: and on the west coast the end of a celebrity marriage and plenty of this. >> no, that's not who you are, camille. that's who you are pretending to be. >> reporter: these former no name housewives have new careers, book deals, recording contracts. co-hosting gigs, and even a spin-off series for the self-proclaimed skinny girl, bethany frankel. >> whatever they want to put their name on, there is a market for that. >> reporter: up next, miami, where the heat will match the cold cat fights. bet on that. >> get out of my face. >> looks like a normal morning here at studio 1a. the new season in miami kicks off tuesday night. by the way, for sports fans, the cast includes scottie pippen's wife. they have a real challenge ahead of them in miami. "the real housewives of atlanta" just had the highest rated show

in franchise history with just over 4 million viewers. >> jeff rossen, thank you. why are millions so hooked on these housewives? what does it say about us? maureen o'connor is a writer and inga writes for tv guide magazine. good morning to both of you. all right. so we're headed into -- this was only supposed to be a one season, one hit wonder. it took off like crazy. those of us who watched know why. maureen, some of the locations are into their third season, which is amazing considering what they were setting out to do. why is it getting all this buzz? why has it become so popular? >> if anything we've discovered through the personality driven shows is that flame really snowballs. with each season, these women become more famous. you can see them on twitter, read their books. you see them on their tv show. with each season, they become bigger stars.

>> we mentioned atlanta had the highest rated show, over 4 million users. these aren't the wealthiest among the women or the most outrageous in terms of how they live. they're actually fairly down to earth. i say that. the drama was pretty high on this one. what about the atlanta show made it such a breakout hit? >> with atlanta, it's sort of the perfect storm of they found these huge personalities. they brought them together, and they're extremely combustible. they have hilarious behavior and don't know how hilarious they're being, which viewers love. >> beverly hills, however, some of the wealthiest of any of the housewives we've seen. is that what makes their appeal what it is? >> i think so. when you see the beverly hills housewives, they're very hollywood. some grew up in show business. camille grammer was married to a a-list actor. >> is this real drama? >> they're very aware of their own images, especially the women in beverly hills. they understand the way show business looks, and they're very aware of how they look when they're on screen. >> camille grammer was very upset with the way she was

portrayed in all of this. editing has a lot to do with what we see at the end of the day, accord to go her. >> that's what you hear from the reality stars. after it starts airing, maybe they don't like the way they come across, so they blame it on editing. but the bottom line is they can't use something you don't give them in the first place. >> they know that. >> the cameras are rolling, and they've got microphones on. >> no one's holding a gun to your head saying, act like a lunatic. flip a table. >> it's funny you mentioned table flip. the new jersey infamous season with all the families out to dinner, huge fight, huge brawl. the table flipped. are we supposed to believe that this really happens this way? and then once you see something like that, do these other cities, do these other versions have to live up to this kind of drama? >> atlanta also had a physical confrontation when mimi attacked kim. there's a fine line when you want good drama, but things get a little too real when you start seeing violent confrontations. that's the same fine line that

mtv walks with jersey shore. how far can you push it before people start to recoil a little bit. >> perhaps the sad statement, they all have book deals, products, they're on the cover of magazines. it's working for them and for those of us who are watching. maureen and inga, thanks so much. we appreciate it. you can catch the premiere of "the real housewives of miami" this tuesday at 10:00 p.m. on bravo. coming up, the royal invitations are out. who's not going to the wedding of the year? the story after these messages.

this morning our series unexplained mysteries continues with the search for the zodiac killer. he terrorized the san francisco bay area for decades, preying on people and taunting the police. to this day, his identity remains unknown. he left lots of clues to his attacks, his symbol a circle and cross at the scenes of the crimes. his taunting letters and ciphers sent to the press, declaring himself the zodiac. and unwittingly, he left some survivors. >> he wanted us to lay down and

was going to tie our feet up, tie our feet to our hands, hog tie. >> bryan hartnell is one of just two victims of the zodiac killer who lived to tell their stories. >> he has a gun. >> he says the movie "zodiac" accurately portrayed the events of september 27th, 1969. hartnell and his friend cecilia shepherd were picnicking by a lake in napa county, california, when cecilia spotted a man watching them. he briefly disappeared behind a tree only to reappear in an executioner's hood. approaching them with a gun. >> i wasn't concerned because i was cooperating with him, and i expected that he would cooperate with me. >> and then after a calm exchange of words, brutally stabbing them with a knife. [ screaming ] >> it was just boom, boom, boom, boom, eight times. i mean, rage. >> the attacker then turned to cecilia. >> i remember, as soon as i kind

of got my wits about me and realized what was happening with her, i looked over there, but it was just too horrific a scene. i couldn't watch. >> we were offered a rare look at the killer's message found scrolled on the door of hartnell's car parked near the crime scene. it was the zodiac's third attack, and he wanted police to know it. in the preceding nine months, two other young couples had been targeted nearby. >> cecilia shepard, who did die, is the only victim that we know of that actually saw the zodiac close enough to describe him. before he put his hood on. >> police had a face to work with, but already they had the killer's words, a series of cipher messages and letters sent to the press, including the san francisco chronicle, where editorial cartoonist robert graysmith, author of "zodiac," soon became obsessed with the case. >> he had a way with language. it was a chilling effect. >> the killer described the first attack in detail.

>> brand name of ammo super-x, ten shots were fired. the boy was on his back with his feet to the car. the girl was on her right side, feet to the west. i want you to print this cipher on the front page of your paper. in this cipher is my identity. >> zodiac originally started out as the lovers lane killer, and usually at midnight on a weekend with a full moon and usually a holiday. >> but his next victim, a san francisco cab driver, broke the pattern as the letters and cryptograms kept coming. >> we broke a few. >> i like killing people because it is so much fun. it is more fun than killing wild game. there's still a lot of them we haven't solved. >> police linked the zodiac to at least seven victims, last confirmed case in 1969. but the taunting letters continued off and on until the mid-'70s. criminal profiler clint van zandt was with the fbi at the time of the attacks. >> zodiac played the supreme chess game. he played these mental

gymnastics against law enforcement, against the media, against the public. he challenged everybody out there. catch me if you can. >> along the way, police became suspicious of a man named arthur lee allen, but the evidence was weak, and victim bryan hartnell was skeptical. >> it just didn't seem to match his voice, his cadence. >> now more than 40 years later the original zodiac investigators are either long retired or dead as the trail grows colder. >> it was one of those things that both my late partner and i thought about for the rest of our life that we couldn't make it. simple as that. i still think about that. we couldn't make it. >> the zodiac killer may have moved on, but so too has one of his few surviving victims. >> i've not been in fear of my life that he's going to walk in the door and finish the job. i just haven't. maybe that's a defense

mechanism, but it's worked. >> so is he dead? is he in prison serving for an unrelated crime? nobody knows, and there are a lot of people who still puzzle about it. as you go on the internet, there are dozens of sites where people are obsessed. >> it's amazing how much he wanted to taunt police and then silence, then nothing. >> he even called them a few times. there were a lot of near misses with him. >> that's one of those we'll probably never know. >> you never know. yeah, you never know. >> glass half empty, half full. all right. >> we're back in a moment. first this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste y le. get started on the whole grain you're missing

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still to come on "today," she was implanted with the wrong embryo. this morning she and her husband are talking about the inconceivable mistake. that's ahead. plus the reporter who suddenly became incoherent on camera. she joins us live to tell us in her own words what happened. first, these mes s.

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good saturday morning to you, take a live look at the golden gated bridge. hopefully you won't be too distracted out on the roadways by the weather. you might be distracted by some falling snow. >> good morning, alex a. temperatures over our shoulders this morning, upper 30s is the norm around the bay area this morning. 42, that's as warm as it gets. na, pa, 43 right now. now notice the radar, the time

lapse will show you pockets of snow showersere over someerf our hill tops. you can see a little rain ande snow mix across highway 14. there you see some snow in th hi s of livermore. we're not seeing widespread rain like yesterday, instead we're going to get these scattered showers, and maybe even a chance of a thundershower as well as we head into the afternoon. upper 40s in san jose, about the same story in the north bay today. of the two weekend days, this will be the day you'll need the umbrella longer. we should be mainly dry to wrap up the weekend and more showers and snow levels on into monday. developing news this morning, a california couple, now the hostages of somali pirates. gina and scott adams had been sailing their quest around the world for seven years,

delivering bibles to schools and churches until pirates sea jacked their yacht. their last location on the 1st of -- now this morning the white house is assessing possible responses to the sea jacking which happened two days after a somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the 2009 hijacking of the mersk alabama. the state wide average for a gallon of gas is $3.55. political unrest in the middle east along with state refineries operating below capacity have led to those high gas prices.

we checked gas buddy.com. in the east bay the costco in concord is charging $3.29, you can seat the cheapest gas in the south bay on the peninsula check out the trenton gas in redwood city, there it's 3.37. coming up this morning on "today in the bay," we will have more local news for you and of course extended weather forecasts that will impact how you plan your day. we'll be back in a half hour.

good morning. welcome back, everyone, to "today," february 13th, 2011. we had spring here. that was yesterday. now we have winter. there is more talk of snow and ice on the way. we're not going to put the shovels away just yet. >> it was so nice yesterday. >> it's not too bad out here. we've got a huge, huge crowd, though. fw beginning of a three-day weekend. a lot of school groups. we welcome everyone here. lester holt and amy robach out on the plaza. coming up, she's the reporter that many feared was having a stroke on the air. >> it was a scary moment seen by

millions of people. what exactly happened? doctors have a rather surprising answer. we'll tell you what they think it was, and we're also going to talk live to the reporter. her name is serene branson. she's here with us this morning. she called the incident terrifying and confusing. we'll hear from her in just a moment. also coming up, a story about a couple who used in vitro fertilization to have a child, but then came the shocking news for carolyn and sean savage that a fertility clinic had implanted the wrong embryo. the savages were left with the agonizing decision of whether to keep the child or give it to the biological parents. this morning they described the ordeal and the outcome. and the royal news many folks have been waiting for. they were all waiting for the invitation. they were sent out apparently already. lester, you may want to check your mail later today. >> i got an invitation from nbc news to cover the wedding, which is close. i'll be in the same city. >> london, woo hoo. >> anyway, a lot coming up. want to get to jeff rossen to start out the hour with the

latest news headlines. >> lester and amy, good morning to you. we begin with a hijacking at sea. somali pirates have overtaken a yacht with four hostages, all u.s. citizens. the yacht called the "quest" belongs to a california couple, jean and scott adam, who have been sailing around the world since 2004. they were on the indian ocean friday when the pirates attacked. this comes two days after another somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison for hijacking the "mersk alabama." the house worked into the wee hours this morning to approve a spending bill that comes with drastic cuts of more than $60 billion. nbc's mike viqueira live in front of the white house. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, jeff. this was driven by republican conserve tifrs puatives pushing republican leadership to make these cuts. $60 billion, not from next year's budget, this year's budget right now.

to school aid, heating and housing assistance for the poor, even money for implementing the president's brand new health care law all slashed in this spending bill, capping a week long debate until 5:00 in the morning this morning. the bill now moves to the senate, but the clock is ticking here, jeff. the government will run out of money on march 4th unless the house and the senate can come to an agreement. with the president threatening to veto what the house just passed, we're featuring either a government shutdown or another short term spending resolution to get the government moving for another few weeks until all sides can come to an agreement. jeff? >> mike viqueira at the white house. mike, thanks. the biggest rally yet is planned today at the state house in wisconsin to protest the governor's budget cuts that will strip state workers of most of their union rights. nbc's scott newell has more from madison. >> reporter: things are quiet now, but tens of thousands of protesters are expected to return to the square later today. up until now, the protesters have been opposing the governor's bill, but conservative groups who support that bill are expected to show up in the tens of thousands

today as well. so they brought in extra lauw enforcement to make sure everything is kept peaceful. in the meantime, the democratic senators who have stayed out of state and have prevented the bill from being voted on say they are prepared to do so for weeks unless they get concessions from the governor. jeff? >> scott newell in wisconsin for us. finally the story of anna nicole smith now on stage in london. the royal opera house playing the rags to riches saga of the former playboy playmate. if you wonder just how popular she was, believe it or not, the first six shows are already sold out. that's the news at four minutes past the hour. now back to amy outside on the plaza. >> all right, jeff. thanks so much. bill karins is out here with another check of your forecast. bill, let me guess, it's cold. >> i know, it's kind of cruel. so nice here yesterday. we got our roll tide alabama guy. and then right down here, we got our auburn girls with their national title. congratulations on that.

let's talk about this forecast out there. we do have a winter storm to talk about. unfortunately, spring's over with in the northern plains. winter storm warnings from pierre to minneapolis. green bay, milwaukee, and detroit, get ready for more winter weather. in some cases a lot of snow. some areas could get up to a foot. your spring here's a look at the last couple of hours, the weather around the b area, the widely scattered show snonoshw showers w times, as the air certainly cold enough for elevations above 2,000 feet and as skies lighten up this morning. today we'll see scattered showers, and even a slight chance of a thundershower for the afternoon. for tomorrow, things should be a little bit drier than a few coastal showers. lester? >> bill, thanks very much. it is the on camera moment

we can't stop talking about. like you, we wondered what happened. last sunday los angeles reporter serene branson was giving a live post-grammys report when she suddenly became incoherent and had trouble speaking. take a look. >> well, a very, very heavy -- we had a very -- let's go -- >> the disturbing video soon went viral and had many people speculating that she'd suffered a mild stroke. we're happy to say serene branson is fine and with us here in the studio. serene, it's great to see you. good morning. >> thank you. good morning, lester. >> what was the diagnosis? >> essentially, my doctors said this was migraine aura, a complex migraine. apparently, they're very rare, but people do suffer from them, and the characteristics mimic a stroke essentially. the numbness in the hand and the numbness in the cheek that i suffered, the pounding headache, the blurry vision, all before that live shot that you got. >> take me back. this was for the 11:00 news. it was coming on late that night because of the grammys. you're preparing for the live shot.

you're memorizing what you're going to say. were you beginning to feel anything unusual at that point? >> i had a 5:00 lag shot, 6:00 lag shot, went off without a hitch. writing the story for the broadcast later, i was working on a fashion piece. around 10:00 i started to look at my notes, and i couldn't focus on the letters on the page. my vision was getting very blurry. i was getting kind of a blur in the middle of my vision. >> were you saying i'm having a headache? was that the thought? >> i thought, you've worked a long day. it's the grammys. you've been here for 12 hours. >> but you've got a ten second intro. you can wing it, no problem. >> exactly. you've got a headache. power through. >> tell me what's happening. we're watching what's happening from our end. what's going through your mind as the words aren't coming out? the words up here aren't coming out here. >> as soon as the anchor tossed to me, i knew something was terribly wrong. i wanted to say lady antebellum had swept the grammys, and it wasn't there. i described it to my mother. it's almost as if i'm watching myself in a movie, this isn't

right. something is going wrong that i can't fix. started to panic a little bit, and that probably exacerbated the problem because i started to panic because i knew the words weren't coming out. >> mercyfully they go to the tape. what happened after that? >> immediately after the live shot, i dropped the microphone and started to collapse. my field producer and three photographers rushed around me, sat me down, gave me some water. my right cheek went numb. my right hand goes numb. paramedics on the way. >> you're not thinking stroke at this point? people look at this and think she's having a stroke. >> at that point, i was in a haze. i was concerned, i was embarrassed, i was scared. i wasn't thinking stroke. >> i understand you were at the hospital getting a series of tests, and they came up with this migraine. >> i saw some of the best neurologists in the world, but the neurologist did an mri, did a test to make sure i didn't have a hole in my heart. they determined it was a complex

migraine. >> could this happen again? >> he said it's not likely this could be a recurring problem. you could have three or four in your lifetime. my mother had three or four. >> same thing? >> same thing. it's hereditary. >> you never made this connection? >> no. obviously, i was a young child. i didn't remember. the only difference is hers was not on live television. >> listen, you get to this business, and you understand how tape goes on and on and on. we have all seen that tape a million times now. when did you first see it? >> thursday. monday, tuesday, wednesday, i was so concerned about getting my test done, figuring out what was going on with my health. i purposely avoided the internet. first self-proclaimed news junkie, it's very strange. i didn't watch television or listen to the radio. what was going on tuesday when i got the diagnosis. confident what it was. went back to work. not on the air yet but watched the tape. i decided it was time. >> now, i know you've been blown away at the reaction you've had

to this. not only those of us who looked at it and were shocked and horrified, but people have really reached out to you, haven't they? >> the support has been overwhelming from viewers obviously in the southern california area, people who saw this across the country. canada, new zealand, france. people who have e-mailed me coming out of the woodwork just said we're so concerned about you. we're so glad to hear you're okay. and people who said i've suffered from migraines for years. i've had episodes just like this. i want you to know you're not alone. >> and you had a long day. it happens sometimes in our business. you work long days. are you going to have to cut back at all? >> i don't think so. the doctor said it was probably a perfect storm. i had been on a nasal decongestant that week. i had eaten a little bit differently. i was probably overstressed and overworked that week. the doctors just said probably the perfect storm coming together. obviously, i know, if those symptoms come on again, i would recognize them immediately. >> listen, it's your health. we know it's a private thing. we thank you for coming out and

talking publicly about it. frankly, i'd never heard of a migraine triggering this kind of reaction. we're glad you're better. it's really, really great to see you. still to come on "today," the revealing new details about kate middleton coming up. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease

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the countdown to the royal wedding, only 69 days away. this morning we're getting word that the invitations are in the mail. we have the details. >> reporter: it's crunch time for william and kate. with just over two months left, royal courtiers are stepping up a gear. the invitations have just gone out, a snub to sarah ferguson, she's not been invited. next week their first and only official public engagement before the big day. a trip to the remote isle where the prince is based with the royal air force. a day later, a college reunion at st. andrews university, where they first met. the wedding planners are also working flat out. >> i do think she's got plenty of help. everyone is bending over backwards to assist her.

>> reporter: their honeymoon will include a trip to canada, best man younger brother harry. the bridesmaids have been chosen. what will she wear? speculation has gone into overdrive. what we do know is the dress that first caught william's eye is being auctioned at around $15,000. now it's just the dress for the big day she needs to worry about. the wedding season has well and truly kicked off. if kate is short of an idea or two, this show is the place for her to be this weekend. the national wedding show in london is a one-stop shop for any bride to be. >> my advice would be to go with something like vivian westwood who's got a conventional british touch but sort of quirky. or invest in a younger designer who can really give her a fashion forward look. >> reporter: every wedding a bride wants is a wedding fit for a princess. kate being the one in point. >> i might look and see what

hair and makeup she comes out with and make some changes. >> reporter: the pressure on every bride is enormous. for kate middleton, multiply it a thousand fold. >> nbc news correspondent robert jobson is the author of the new book, "william and kate the love story." the big news, sarah ferguson not invited. her daughters are. is this a surprise? >> it's a little bit, but after the big debacle over the royals for sale, that was obviously a problem when she sort of betrayed prince andrew. what's happened is the queen and prince philip really don't want her there. i think william is bound to that. >> that will fade fast because everyone is talking about all the details. we know that william and kate will be on a royal overseas tour in canada in june. why is this significant? >> it's significant because canada, of course, the queen is the queen of canada. william and kate will one day be the king and queen of canada. it's safe ground for them. there's a lot of support for the

monarchy. this is a testing ground before the big one when it comes to america. >> everyone wants to know more about kate. in your book, you say she is not a shy aristocrat, nor is she an innocent girl. how would you describe kate? >> i think she's a very modern woman. she's traditional in that respect. she wants to be a wife and mother, but she's not a shrinking violet. when they said he was lucky to be going out with her, she turned around and said, well, he's actually pretty lucky to be going out with me. >> you write that william has the heart and grace of his mother, princess diana. in marrying kate, showing that the monarchy is modern. talk about the similarities between william and his mother. >> i think there's a lot of similarities. i've watched him at close quarters. when he's with people, he has a natural grace, a natural noblity about him. he's just at ease. when people forget to call him prince william or your royal highness, he doesn't mind. he touches them on the shoulder, that's cool, that's fine. >> the reason why so many people are drawn to the story, this is

truly a happy time for the monarchy, and it's been 14 years since princess diana died, and there's been a sadness about the family since then. do you think this will allow the family to move on from that tragedy in a way? >> it will allow all of us to move on from that. the diana story, the funeral was the biggest story in living memory. at the end of the day, diana can really be laid to rest with a happy story. william is her legacy, and at least he's found happiness. >> we'll all be asking about the heir, the baby, there will always be something to talk about with these two. still ahead, inconceivable. the couple at the center of an embryo mixup shares their story. i have fallen in love with making bird houses. caw caw! [ director ]what is that? that's a horrible cr. here are some things that i'll make as little portals. honestly, i'd love to do this for the rest of my life so i've got to take care of my heart. for me, cheerios is a good place to start.

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a live look at san francisco this morning, maybe a little bit of break for san francisco, lots of rain, lotts of cools temperatures all about the bay area. i'm kris sanchez. >> we're used to the green, we're not used to seeing white on the radar, a few spots arod the bay area this morning, hill tops all white around the aay area, as the skies continue the lighten up for your saturday morning. the santa cruzai mntouns we're

seeing snow over nt2,000 fe.et again for. elevations pretty close to 2,000 feet. today we'll see some sun, some scattered showers and again a chance of some isolated thunder as well. pretty unstable air around the bay area today, we'll see highs in the upper 40s to low 50s and if you're going to make any weekend plans, i think tomorrow will be the drier half of the weekend. we'll see maybe a hill top shower here or there, but today is the day we'll see some scattered showers, maybe some small hail, a chance of afternoon thunder and then monday some showers along the coast and then the other concern will be the patchy ice and frost we'll see here over the next few mornings. >> another developing story that we're following this morning, a california couple taken hostage by somali pirates in the arraabn sea. they have been sailing around the world delivering bibles to

churches and schools until pirates hijacked their yacht. the quest's last location on the first of february was near india. according to the couple's blog they were heading to amman from there. >> this is really a ransom case and i don't know how they're going to get out of it. very, very scary. >> in those waters, you're not that well protected. so i'm a little surprised that they would even put themselves in that position. >> this morning the white house is assessing possible responses to the hijacking which happened two days after a somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the 2009 hijacking of the mersk alabama. the price of gas continues to spike state wide, the average is 3.50, but of course we pay higher prices here in california and it is the highest level ever in february. in some parts of the state, the price has already surpassed $4 a

gallon. political unrest along with state refineries operating below capacity have led to that spike. to help you out, we checked out gas buddy.com for the lowest prices throughout the bay area, in concord you can find gas 3.36 is the price you can pay. and 3.37 in try son. coming up this morning on "today in the bay," we will have all of the day's top stories for you, plus that extended weather forecast, that might help you figure out what you're going to do today.

we're back o we're back on this saturday morning, february 19th, 2011. we had a slice of spring yesterday. temperatures here were in the 60s. today, alas, the return of winter. that won't keep another great crowd from joining us outside on the plaza. i'm amy robach along with lester holt. a shout out to my old high school, my aunt and uncle, everybody's here for the theater group. >> can we have a shout out for the picture? >> that's a little embarrassing. thanks for being subtle about it. >> mine is on the other side? no, apparently not.

>> they forgot you. sorry about that. coming up here on "today," we're going to be talking about a story that made headlines across the country. >> it's about a couple, dan and carolyn savage who tried using in vitro fertilization. because of a clerical mistake, they implanted the wrong embryo and she carried the baby to term. what happened once the baby was born? we will get the final answer. >> it's a sad story, but they are handling it with such grace so it's an important story to tell. also, we should mention it's a holiday weekend. if you're not headed away on vacation this weekend, we hope you head to the mall. presidents day deals are running rampant from cars to gadgets and everything in between. where will you find the best deals? we're going to tell you coming up. and then a special treat for everyone this morning. the u.s. figure skater and silver medalist emily hughes is going to hit the ice for a performance. here she is warming up. we'll see her performance coming up shortly. >> we have a lot to get to this half hour. before we get to all that, let's get another check of the weather with bill karins right over there.

>> i was really hoping for the high school photo. >> i'm so glad they opted against that. >> this is the segment where we'll embarrass boyfriends. your name is? >> allison. >> and your sign says? >> i love you, perry boo. >> and who do you love? >> peter. >> do you have a little nickname for him? >> no. >> let's talk about this forecast this weekend. winter returns for the northern part of this country. and we are watching a snowstorm break out in the northern plains. going to be a significant snow too. some portions of northern iowa, southern portions of wisconsin here's a pretty view outside, the bay area this morning, as you can see, san jose off in the distance, you've got some snow capped hills there, and we're still seeing scattered showers crossing the santa cruz mountains,nd you can see for elevations above 1,500 feet to 2,000 feet this

morning we will see some snow mixed with showers. we will have a slight chance of afternoon thundershowers, cool temperatures, upper 40s to low 50s. tomorrow looks to be the drier half of your weekend forecast. a little longer. pretty stormy still in southern california. of course, we want to say happy birthday, patty. that's wonderful. you're looking wonderful. i don't know if you're a hockey fan, patty. sunday, big day of hockey on nbc. hockey day in america, noon till 6:00 here on nbc. and you can go over to versus from 6:00 to 9:00. nbc sports is going to be celebrating hockey. stoebs from the classic winter past of the four nhl games. you can see "hockey day in america" tomorrow at noon right here. and the heritage classic, montreal canadiens against the calgary flames in calgary, where it's going to be freezing cold, at 6:00 p.m. on versus. amy, back to you. >> bill, thanks. like many couples, carolyn and sean savage turned to in vitro fertilization to conceive a baby. the procedure was a success. what happened next tested their faith.

it was something nobody would ever have expected and left them with a choice that was impossible to imagine. sean and carolyn savage had success with in vitro fertilization. their daughter mary kate, who joined brothers ryan and drew in 2008, had been conceived that way. in 2009, when the savages went in for another round of ivf, luck would not be on their side. >> the doctor called, really bad news. you're pregnant. they transferred the wrong embryos. >> it was just a stunning, stunning moment. >> and in that moment, a looming question. >> i'm pregnant. there's a baby growing in me. it's somebody else's. what are we going to do? >> the savages decided they would continue with the pregnancy and give the child to biological parents paul and shannon morrell, who were patients at the same clinic. >> we knew that we had somebody's very, very wanted child, and i just couldn't see doing -- taking that away from

another mother. >> there was just one thing they wanted. >> we want a moment to say hello and good-bye. >> so when logan savage morrell was born on september 24th, 2009, that moment, just like so many others, came and went but not easily. >> carolyn and sean savage have written a book about their journey. it's called "inconceivable, a medical mistake, the baby we couldn't keep and our choice to deliver the ultimate gift." good morning to both of you. >> good morning, amy. >> i know that writing this book had to involve reliving what you had just struggled through. i'm sure still dealing with, even at this point. why write this book? >> the primary for me is i just want a permanent record of what we went through, the decisions that we made, and that logan is extremely loved. his life is purposeful. he was never a mistake and never a burden to us. we love him very much.

and someday, it's my hope that, when his parents think he's ready or when he decides he's ready, that he'll read it and know that we loved him more than anything. >> and as we went through the journey, we ran into so many challenges along the way, challenges with us in our marriage at times, challenges just with dealing with a very complex problem. and we really thought that, at the end of the day, we have something to share. i think they can draw a lot from the book because we tried to leave everything there that they'll be able to draw from. we think we'll be able to help folks that are having challenges even within their marriage, how to work through it and get to a better place. >> carolyn, i saw you, i think just a few weeks before you delivered logan. you were worried then about what your relationship would be like with him, what would evolve? what has happened? have you been able to see him? what's your relationship like? >> yeah, we saw him when he was 3 months old. we talk about that in the book. and we also saw him when he was 7 months old, and the morrells have been extremely generous. they send us pictures and e-mail

updates. every time we get a little update about him or a little 20-second video clip, those are thrilling moments. and we're hopeful that we'll be able to see him in the future as well. we would very much like to be able to watch him grow up. >> you wrote a letter to logan in this book, and, carolyn, you say in it, sometimes i feel guilty for thinking of you so much. i have always understood the reason you are not being raised in our family. the hard part is that logic has never translated to my heart. your head knows why. your heart doesn't. do you struggle with that daily? >> i think so. i think it's getting easier with time. but i think one of the important takeaways from this is that there is a maternal bond that occurs in a pregnancy. i did not go into that fertility clinic that day to become a gestational carrier. i have tremendous respect for women who do become gestational carriers. since it wasn't my decision, i wasn't able to detach the way

that someone who had emotionally discerned that decision ahead of time would be able to. however, we do know that he's in great hands, and we take a lot of solace in that. >> and we found our faith. we love life. and we have unconditional love for him. >> you have three children back at home. >> we do, yes. >> how have they handled all of this? because it's easier perhaps for adults to kind of get it into their head what happened. how do you explain it to them? >> one of the things that we wrote about and revisited in the process of telling our story was the difficult moments that we had. weakness, frustration. we did have some irrational moments that were tough in our marriage. what we did do is try to shelter our kids from that as best as possible. this is no way this hasn't impacted them, and so we've tried the routines, the home dynamic very, very normal. >> because they knew mommy was pregnant? >> of course. we had to tell them. >> kids lead off of how their parents handle a trauma, a tough situation. instead of going to a corner and crawling away, you know, we

embraced every day. we tried to keep their schedules as normal as possible, and we tried to make it a teachable moment for the children. >> i've been impressed by the two of you from the moment i met you, while you were going through it and before you faced your hardest time. it's certainly a lesson for all of us that we can handle just about everything. >> we're inviting people to our website, it's inconceivable book.com and inviting people to shhere tdiir uic ff share their difficult stories. we want to all get to a higher ground. >> carolyn and sean savage, thanks so much. we appreciate your time this morning. best of luck. >> thanks, amy. we appreciate it. >> we'll be back after this. thermacare worked all day. you feel the heat. and it relaxes and unlocks the muscle. you've got to try it. [ man ] thermacare, more effective for back pain than the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the medicine in tylenol. go to thermacare.com today for a $3 off coupon. thermacare. no pills. no pain. just relief.

if you skip this latte and opt for the smaller low-fat one, you'll cut about 12 grams of fat. then take alli with it to help boost your weight loss. so for every 2 pounds you work to lose, alli can help you lose 1 more. alli. how healthy works. alli can help you lose 1 more. the best device for everything you love to read editors' choice. best dedicated ereader. magazines look spectacular. fantastic device. touch the future of reading at barnes and noble. nookcolor. this morning on today's whip, presidents day sales. from now until monday, you'll be promised with ads that promise great prices and super saving. >> whether it's cars, electronics, or everything in between, we have important information you need to know before spending even a cent. >> we want to begin with the best retail deals around. here with help is msnbc financial analyst vera gibbons.

>> nice to see you. >> we had the mistaken impression it was winter around here. it was 60 but went back to winter. last chance to get winter clothes. >> heavily discounted, coats, gloves, scarfs. the clearance racks, stuff is going quickly. this is an area where you could save 70% to 75%. >> this is huge savings. if you need something for rest of winter, even next winter. close to the end of february, everyone's favorite new year's resolution, exercise more. you may need a little boost. you say we're in luck. >> everyone makes a resolution to lose weight, get fit. now's the time when they look to extend that moment, particularly with bathing suit season right around the corner. they look to invest in exercise equipment. sears, for example, has some very good deals on things like ellipticals, treadmills. you're talking about $220 off on the low end up to $1,000 off. overall on exercise equipment, good time to buy. you're saving anywhere from 35% to 50%. >> one item i had not thought of it floor coverings. why is this a good time to get a deal? >> holidays, people look to spruce the home up.

tree's long gone. carpeting, sofas. macy's has the big presidents day sale. good time to buy a mattress, sealy, simmons, serta sets off. and some sweeten the deal by throwing in free installation, free delivery. >> what about the mundane stuff, socks and underwear, stuff you need? >> all the boring stuff. basics, even t-shirts, socks, intimate apparel, that's heavily discounted this time of year. they incentivize these items to draw traffic. look at saving 40% to 70% off on the basics. >> what about things that aren't the best time to buy? >> the prices on technology have been falling on everything from kindles to blu-ray players, all of that type of thing. and cars. gas prices are up. you can imagine that things like suvs and gas guzzlers will be heavily incentivized if you wait. >> nice to have you on. thanks very much. >> we're talking cars now,

lester. thank you. now to the big presidents day sales, the push from car dealers. is this the time of year to get a new set of wheels? joining us now is "popular mechanics" auto editor larry wheeler. good morning. so presidents day falls at the same time car dealers are trying to push their new spring lines. why else is this the time of year to see good sales? >> usually there's a lot of sales at the end of the year, the previous year, and people don't want to go out and buy when it's cold months. presidents day, they're off. they've got time, and dealers and car manufacturers push this time to sell cars. >> last year we were told to stay away from preowned vehicles because the prices weren't as good because simply weren't turning in their vehicles. is that the same this year? >> absolutely, it's the same. in fact, used car prices are actually going a little bit higher. so while that means you probably want to buy a new car, the nice thing is your trade-in is going to be worth a little bit more. >> how can we find the dealerships in our area that have the best deals? when you go online, it's a little overwhelming.

>> you've kind of got to go old school and just get the newspapers. if you look in the back, they'll have an awed 0 section. you'll see which cars are for sale and which is the best deals. what we tell people is get a bunch of newspapers from your area, check all the dealers in the region, and then find the best one and go to it. >> now the hard part. you go to the dealership. what advice, what should you bring with you? how do you make sure you're not, you know, being had? >> sure. >> i always walk away thinking, i could have gotten it lower. >> it's tough. they have more information than you, but you can arm yourself with as much information as you can get. that's really important to do. go on the internet, get the newspapers, and get as much of the price information as you can. if you also can know which kind of car you want, what features you want before you walk in, that helps. i also tell folks, ask your friends. if they have a similar car, did you have a good experience at the dealer? was there a good salesperson? if there was, go see that person. hopefully, you'll have a great experience. >> larry, thanks so much. now let's head back to lester. >> amy thanks. finally from tablets to

smart phones and beyond, retailers are pitching plenty of gadgets this presidents day weekend. will it mean a better deal for you? pc magazine editor lance joins us. they spend a lot of bucks on electronics around christmastime. what's happening now? >> thinker suffering from technology buying fatigue. i think manufacturers know that too. they're not rolling out tremendous, a wide variety of technology gadget sales. we're all just learning to use the stuff we bought. >> i need you to help me crack the code of keeping up to date. manufacturers that come up with a brand new, like this is the best one you ever, and then i buy it, and then three months later the better one comes along. is there a secret to this? >> you start to learn the cadence of certain manufacturers they do roll out updates at certain times of the year. some are doing it throughout. summer time, for example, is when apple may release the next iphone. if this were may or something, i might say wait, but you cannot wait forever on technology

because it's constantly changing. as soon as you bring home technology, the value starts to fall. so buy now, enjoy now, and stop worrying. >> it's going to be a short time on top. >> it's always a short time. it just passed. >> what retailers are specifically hosting big events this weekend? >> so hp and dell. hp's got like 50% off a wide variety of products from its direct store. dell has 30% off products. the reason some manufacturers are doing this, the latest chips have come out, and they like to move out the older ones. the previous jeb generation stuff so you can get good deals. go directly to the sites and look around and start to find some of them. >> this weekend gives us extra time to look for sales, compare prices, make our retail decisions. what's the smartest way to use that time for the big results? >> you've got to really be, first of all, compare. the whole point of online is that you can see prices from all these different retailers at once and find the best price for you and really just make the purchase right there.

also, look for coupons. this is a great new phenomenon. logic buy, tech bargains, retail me not, these sites, before you make the purchase, you may find deals that will be like a coupon or free shipping. so find the product, go to those sites, then use the coupon code and go there. also, shop in bulk. when you go to someone like amazon, the great thing is they sell a lot of different things. buy it all there because you'll save on shipping and may save on some costs. also, receipts. this is kind of a good rule for anywhere, but online especially. when you shop, print out your receipts and save them. if the price goes down within 30 days, you may be able to get some money back. it's also good record keeping. >> that's huge here. lance, thanks very much for being here. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> next time bring some toys or gadgets. i'm not allowed to do these things without playing with something. up next, skating star emily hughes. [ alarm clock buzzing, indistinct conversations ]

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this morning on today at the rink, emily hughes. emily is joining a bunch of her friends later today on nbc on river dance on ice. emily hughes joins us from morning. thank you for being with us >> thank you for having me. >> tell us about river dance on ice. what's the show like? it's hard to imagine. i've seen it on stage, but not on ice. >> it's really cool. the first year they're doing river dance on ice. it's an international tour with international skaters, and it's a great show. >> how do you combine the choreography of what we see on stage here out on the ice? >> it's pretty cool they complement each other. we have interaction with the dancers. we're skating around, and we're watching them in awe and they're watching us. it was a cool show. >> you've built it up. we can't wait to see you skate. emily hughes, thanks very much. while we get ready for your performance, we want to remind you to watch river dance on ice today at 4:00 p.m. right here on nbc. now here's emily hughes.

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and that's going to do it for us on this saturday on "today." tomorrow on "today," a tv crew takes on the story of amanda knox. >> we will see you then. i will see you later on tonight on nbc nightly news. until then, so long, everybody. thanks for watching.

coming up next on "today in the bay," taken hostage. somali pirates capture a couple in the arabian sea. and more on the contra costa county narcotics officer facing charges. plus the big story of the day, wind, rain, very low snow levels making terrible travel in the bay area. "today in the ba in the bay" be just a few minutes.

good morning to you, here's a live look of downtown san jose. thank you for joining us on this stormy and wintry saturday