good morning. deadly storm. a tornado rips through a small town leaving one dead and several others injured, this as the system makes its way east threatening more severe weather and even snow. missing abroad. an american college student in madrid vanishes without a trace and now a desperate search is under way. we'll speak exclusively tois mother, live. and up, up and away. a scene from a hit movie, a house takes flight powered by balloons. how one group of people brought the heart warming tale to life. how one group of people brought the heart warming tale to life. today, march 6th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good sunday morning, everyone. welcome to "today." i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. i know you didn't see that movie "up" but uncanny how the picture looked just like the movie. >> they got the house up to 10,000 feet. not quite sure how they got it down. >> was there a family inside? >> i don't think so. >> the weather would have helped those balloons go up. the storm is expected to dump snow and rain across the entire eastern seaboard today and already left destruction in its wake. >> down in the gulf region a massive tornado touched down and injured almost a dozen people and killed a young mother who was protecting her child. left hundreds of homes damaged and forced the evacuations of more than 1,000 people. more is on the way today. we'll tell you more about the tracking of the storm coming up. then, cracking a cold case. police think they finally solved the mystery of the east coast rapist. he's been on the loose for almost 14 years and the big break sounds like something

right out of "law & order." just ahead the story. a story that has been in the news a lot lately. bullying. we've all seen the tragic outcome of teens who have been the subject of bullying. but now "dateline" is asking the question, what would your kid do if they saw someone being bullied? it's a serious topic. our hidden cameras show parents as they learn and witness the truth about their own children. in our next half hour, driving without seeing. for those who are legally blind being able to drive is almost impossible. but now a new technology well on its way of offering the blind a new sense of freedom on the road. i had a chance to try it. as you see, i'm headed straight on the median there. a lot harder than you think it is. >> all about feedback. >> feeling and sensors and relying on other senses other than your sight. we're going to begin with the severe weather that spawned a deadly tornado in the small town of rayne, louisiana.

that's where the weather channel eric fisher is for us this morning. eric, good morning. >> good morning, lester. usually a time for celebration here in louisiana. mardi gras weekend makes what happened here yesterday all the more tragic. an ef-2 tornado and i can show you with winds of that speed can actually do. in this neighborhood here in rayne we had 60 homes destroyed by the strong winds and you can see the one off to the side here, the top half sheered off by that tornado. debris all across the road and we can look down the street here and taking some of the debris and hanging it in the trees and taking some limbs down and even some very large trees that have been here for a number of years just snapped like nothing. we did have 12 injuries reported when these winds rolled through just before 10:00 a.m. on saturday. this is a story that will just break your heart. a mother protecting her child when the winds ramped up she was

instinctively protecting her child and a tree came through their house and killed her. 21-year-old mother. a terrible story on mardi gras weekend. now i want to bring in the mayor of rayne who is joining us this morning to talk about the situation. mayor, thank you for joining us this morning. have you ever seen anything like this in rayne before? >> we experienced hurricanes but never the structural damage we had associated with this storm. >> what was it like here in town yesterday morning? >> total chaos. you want to make sure everyone was accounted for and safe and after that restoration of the community. >> are you hopeful we can get people back in their homes over the next couple days? >> absolutely. today we'll see a lot of progress with the electrical utility. which is the main reason we kind of evacuated this area. we had some gas leaks that caused us issues, too. all of that is under control and sending people back in. >> thanks for joining us this morning with the update. we do appreciate it. the storm system is headed off towards the east. severe weather from the carolinas down towards florida.

lester, back to you. >> eric fisher, thank you very much. we'll turn to mike bettes now with details. good morning. >> lester, good morning. maybe not as potent as what we saw yesterday along the gulf coast. heavy rain from florida all the way up towards maine. look at the flood watches that extend from new england through the carolinas and the deep south. heavy rain and water coming out is going to be an issue. in behind our cold front, much colder. check this out, a snow threat today with winter storm warnings in effect. places like syracuse could be looking at a foot of snow. it's changed from a cold rain to sleet and eventually snow. winter storm warnings extend through the evening for heavy accumulation late in the season. minutes, mike, thank you very much. >> we'll talk to you in a few minutes, mike, thank you very much. a battle looms in congress and president obama has positive numbers over the jobs over the

weekend. david gregory is here. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> he gets some good numbers. the unemployment rate is down from 9% to 8.9%. some republicans, including john boehner, says these numbers aren't falling fast enough. who is winning the spin war here? >> it will take some time. the economic recovery is happening and it's going in the right direction and more private sector involvement in that. but it is happening slowly and the hole is so big. so, there's a long way to go and, therefore, you'll have this back and forth that still goes on. the issue is, is the present doing what he can to get out of the way of a private sector-led comeback. that's the argument that he wants to make. >> i asked you this question a couple weeks ago and i'm asking you the same question here. four years ago eight republicans that already announced their run for president. this time this year, there aren't any. is that because republicans

right now don't find barack obama beatable? when do you think they might announce their names? if so, who is the frontrunner here? >> a couple, i think romney is a frontrunner. a more established republican, i think that puts romney in a good position as well as having the ability to raise money and really wage this fight. but he's got problems in the grassroots and he has a very divided republican party because of the tea party influence and, oh, by the way, he passed health care reform in massachusetts as governor there, which is a real albatross around his neck and become a real issue in the primary. the tea party divisions are part of why you see candidates hanging back. i also don't think that they see a compelling reason to try to jump in the fray now and face all the scrutiny and watch how these big budget battles play themselves out on capitol hill to get a sense of where things are moving. >> one of the other potential gop candidates is mike huckabee who has been in the news recently and made comments about

natalie portman's pregnancy out of wedlock and president obama being born in kenya. are these the comments he needs to be making right now if he's even thinking about running for office being at the white house? >> it's strange behavior, frankly. some strange choices that he's making. and i don't think helpful to him. but they also reflect this fact, that there's going to be a different track of the republican primary of who gets that popular republican vote and who gets that tea party vote and in some ways he's appealing to those impulses by taking on social conservative issues and also, you know, wading into the waters of some of these areas against obama. >> all right, david gregory, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. time to get a check of the morning's other headlines. for those we turn to richard i, >> good morning, lester. good morning, jenna as well, and good morning to all of you. we'll start in libya where the battles between rebels and pro-qadhafi forces are intensifying east of tripoli as they fight for control there. nbc's richard engel is live in

tripoli with more on that. good morning, richard. >> good morning, richard. witnesses tell us that the rebels have been controlling and are continuing to hold the town that's aboutç 400 miles to the east of tripoli. they have been making some resistance as they try to drive towards the libyan capital itself. here in tripoli the government remains in control, and it's engaged in a very bold propaganda campaign. the government is telling people to go out on the streets of tripoli, to fire guns in the air, and celebrate because the government says it has taken back a series of rebel-held towns and even encircled the city of benghazi. people in tripoli are being told to celebrate victories that aren't taking place. >> nbc's richard engel live in libya. thank you so much. now to the u.s. contractor in cuba that has ended. 61-year-old alan gross faces 20

years in jail on charges that he tried to undermine cuba's communications. the maryland man was found guilty, but the state department says it's waiting for a verdict, and it hopes he will be released there. two recalls to tell you about. unilever is recalling skippy peanut butter, reduced fat cream xwri and reduced fat super chunk because of possible salmonella contaminations and mixed nuts are being recalled for possible e. coli contamination. seven cases are illnesses are possibly lirjed to nuts from defranco and sons last year. as the media rant continues, sheen's corner debuted last night on-line. the first webisode. there were rough spots. sheen admitting he was out of material at one point. he called his show a random disorganized experiment that he may air weekly or even daily. then, finally, the idea behind animated film "up." it gets tested. you don't need 3-d glasses for this. just take a look. a team of scientists, engineers,

and pilots use 300 colored helium balloons to lift that house over the skies of southern california. that house, by the way, was 16 by 16, 10,000 feet. the video from national geographic's upcoming series "how hard can it be?" lester, jen, and mike, 16 by 16, that's like a three bedroom apartment here in manhattan. >> true. >> with 14 bathrooms. >> mike is back with a check of the forecast. hey, mike. >> very sloppy in the east. a lot calm ner the center of the country. that's good news in the west. that is a look at your weather here's a look athe rain around the bay area this morning, san francisco, pockets of moderate rain around castro valley, heading to dublinnd pleasantton. moderate rain from san jose to the santa cruz mountains and scattered rain showers across the north bay. expect a muggy day today. we'll have highs in the upper 50s to near 60s. temperatures cooling a little

bit tonight. we will see the winds picking up, trying out some for monday, and then warmer for the middle part of the week. and that's a look at your weather. fwou here's jen. >> mike, thank you. now to connecticut where people believe -- police believe, they've captured an elusive predator who terrorized women on the east coast since 1997. richard louie is back with more details. >>ç the arrest brought relief police announced formal charges against the connecticut man taken into custody. 39-year-old aaron thomas, the man accused of being the east coast rapist, has been released from a connecticut hospital after trying to hang himself in his new haven jail cell on saturday. it comes a day after police arrested thomas after a tip linked him to 17 rapes and sexual assaults beginning in 1997. >> over at the apartments over there where he raped her at. >> reporter: most of the attacks were in the washington d.c. area, and then spread into new england. the suspect became known as the

east coast rapist. after 14 years of scouring crime scenes, police had little evidence. the victims' accounts led to these sketches and reports he had a low voice and chipped tooth. in that time a six inch knife was the only object police were able to recover. hungry for new leads, authorities one week ago set up electronic billboards in seven states up and down interstate 95 directing people to a website that resulted in tens of thousands of tips. one of which pointed to aaron thomas. police tracked their suspect to a connecticut courthouse where he was facing unrelated charges, and during his lunch break when thomas tossed a cigarette butt, detectives got the break they've been waiting for. it was right out of the scene from "law & order." >> you don't smoke? >> no, i do. >> thank you. >> the lab pulled his dna off of the cigarette. >> in this case analyzing the saliva on the cigarette butt

took only a day. >> dna was collected and subsequently matched by the connecticut state forensic sciences lab, confirming that thomas was the east coast rapist. >> that's when we all learned that we had these connecting cases through dna. >> thomas is being held on $1 million bail and expected to undergo a psych evaluation. he faces multiple charges, including rape and sexual assault and is due in court on monday. as a news conference on saturday, new haven police said although information developed quickly here over the last week, investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case. back to you, jenna. >> richard, thank you. up next on "today" what do kids really do when faced with a bully? our hidden cameras show parents the truth about how their children react. that's right after this. uth how uth how right after this. ay at . 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.

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even suicide. you may have talked to your kids about it, but are they getting the message. kate snow went to find out. >> as parents we all like to think my kid would never bully, my kid would never stand by and do nothing if a kid was being bullied. but one in three middle school and high school kids have been bullied at school. our kids are seeing it. have you ever wondered if we have taught them what to do when we are not in the room? we rented a school gym nasium and invited a group of teens to show us their sport swagger. they think it's for an nba news story about boys and athletics. they don't know the gym is rigged with hidden cameras or that we've hired two actors to play the bullies. >> you're running like a girl. >> reporter: the target is also an actor who appears to have no athletic ability. >> like a little sissy girl. >> reporter: to these teens it

will seem like our target is subjected to bullying. will anyone come to his defense? >> my name is brennan. >> i'm daniel. i'm 14 and i love track and field. >> reporter: i'm with their parents secretly watching them on hidden cameras. they all hope their kids will step in. the bullies waste no time targeting dylan. and cheering on the real bully. >> yeah. >> perfect right there. so far our bystanders are having mixed reaction. >> what is wrong with you? pick it up a notch. pick it up! >> he's so unhappy, he's so uncomfortable. >> reporter: but then this boy, elijah, speaks up. >> he just said, he's fine. he just caught it, he's good. he's supporting the victim. >> reporter: now that elijah has spoken up, listen to the other real boys. >> positive energy. come on, guys, let's keep them

goi going. >> reporter: so, in the end, elijah took the lead and it made a difference, just as his mother hoped. >> how does that feel? >> i'm happy, i'm proud. >> reporter: now, i go in, but i don't tell them what's going on. at least not right away. how is it going in here? >> it's great. great fun. great team work, everything. let's see how long they stick to that story. i will tell you something these three boys are actors and you've been on hidden cameras and we have been watching you with your parents. >> oh, i didn't know that. >> reporter: does it say something when i say, how was the team work? >> yeah. >> reporter: they're actually friends. >> why would you do that to another person? i thought it was wrong. >> reporter: we ran these scenarios with different groups and afterward every kid did tell us they felt uncomfortable. they knew what was happening was wrong but they didn't know what to do.

elijah was one of the true examples of standing up to the bullies, but that wasn't always the case. >> let me ask you about dylan, the actor playing the victim in this case. he's playing a part, but how did he feel being subjected? >> he is a great actor and he is gay in real life and he had been tormented as a teenager and he tells us about it and when one kid would say something like i elijah did, he felt it inside. >> what is the take away here? >> the take away is bystanders do matter. being neutral and just standing there, even adults, if you see something happening and you just sort of ignore it. being neutral is condoning what is happening. the other thing that came out for me, you have to talk to your kids frequently about this stuff. watch the show with them tonight. >> looks like a good program. kate, thank you. you can see the "dateline" special right here on 7:00, 6:00 central. an american exchange student

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still to come, the search for austin bice. >> first, these messages.

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good morning to you. take a live look at the golden gate bridge. what a difference a day makes. it is wet out there and rainy to start this day, even if 24 hours ago we were all clear. i'm kris sanchez with meteorologist rob mayeda with the weekend forecast that -- should we expect it to stay like this? >> certainly for the morning. we have the rain coming down, and it is muggy outside. >> it is muggy. why are you looking at my hair? >> the volume, the moisture in the air. it's muggy out there. we have mid-50s to start off your morning and you'll notice th eiaspecinlly in especially around san francisco, heading

over to san le an troe, right around dub palestinian, pleasanton, rain around san jose and up and down the santa cruz mountains. you can see the areas of rain and rain obviously around the north bay. we have some tropical moisture aiming in on the bay area. i think we're going to have a rainy and oh, yes, humid start to the morning. by noon, scattered showers, then late today the showers slowly start to shut down. keep the umbrella for the afternoon, as well. highs, upper 50s to low 60s. now, tonight, we're going the clear out. we'll see some breezy conditions. drier for tomorrow. chance of showers on tuesday. then things warm up nicely heading towards the middle part of the week. >> warm i can do. humid, not so much. thank you very much, rob. speaking of humidity, check this out. a geyser of water pouring under the streets of san francisco after a driver plowed his car into a fire hydrant. the san francisco fire department says it happened just a few minutes before 1:00 this morning on first street. that's near the transbay terminal.

there is a lot of water on the roadway. witnesses say the hydrant spouted water for more than an hour. the driver of the car was questioned by police. it is unclear if alcohol played a role in this crash. one person is dead, at least one other person has serious inries after several cars crash on the major east bay roads. the california highway patrol reports that five or six cars crashed on vasco road just south of kamino diablo friday night. witnesses say it was raining at the time and the roadway was wet. the northbound lanes of vasco road were shut down overnight while officers investigated. those lanes are now open again. this morning another arrest in a growing investigation linking east bay police officers to a drug ring. investigators say we should expect more arrests in police departments throughout the bay area. 47-year-old danville police officer steven tanabi faces drug and weapons charges. investigators say he was

involved in a drug ring with another officer and a private investigator. they are accused of selling confiscated drugs from their department and filing false dui reports and other charges as well. sources the tell the chronicle that as many as four other bay area police departments are also investigating. coming up at 7:00 this morning on "today in the bay," the governor gears up for a fight in the state budget battle. and our political analyst, larry gerston, is pulling no punches. san francisco's singing waiter finally hits a high note after an epic showdown with the city. those stories and more coming up.

sgrirchlgts we're back here sunday morning, the 6th day of march already, 2011. a bit of a wet morning here in new york city, but it's a wonderful crowd coming out here and spending part of their morning with us. we thank you all so very much. outside on the plaza along side lester holt, i'm jenna wolf, and still to come in this half çho, we're asking where is austin? >> he is an american college student doing his semester abroad study in spain. he went to a nightclub recently, and that was the last he has been seen. his father, his friends looking for him in madrid. you saw his mother there. we're going to speak to her live in california to get the latest on the search for her son. >> also, we are redefining this

morning the term maternity leave. most people when they have a baby, they take off a couple of months, maybe even a couple of weeks, but can you imagine returning to your job 15 hours after having a baby? one texas woman did by choice. we're going to find out why. the baby was well dressed. >> we've all heard when we took driving lessons, keep your hands on the wheel, watch where you're driving. >> you have an amazing story that's going to allow blind people to drive. >> not like you can make out shapes and signs, but legal lie blind. driving without being able to see anything at all. it's this mading technology. you really have to see it to believe it, but it's based on sensors. you are using your different senses. not sight. it's actually proven to work. >> you gave it a try, right? >> i failed miserably, but i did give it a try. what's interesting, i already know how to drive, and i still did so poorly on it. you have to reteach yourself how for use this new technology.

>> fascinating. looking forward to that. looking forward to another check of the weather. we know what it's doing out here. >> we have to prove to the audience it's raining. >> you know better. don't ever mess with a woman's hair, right? >> look, they're trying to jam, like, 12 girls underneath the smallest umbrella ever. all right. a foot of snow potentially coming to syracuse, by the way. maybe a snow day for you tomorrow. let's show you what's happening today. we have a cold front. bringing in heavy rain. p sdm include syracuse and albany. big-time snow across the central and northern california. tomorrow a much better day across the country. a lot of sunshine. staying cool in the midwest. tha and the forecast where we are in the bay area includes some rain and muggy conditions. mid-50s for the morning. you can see the rain all through castro valley, danville, st.

mary's and moraga,an house, scattered showers across the san jose mountains and scattered areas of rain across the north bay. he'll continue to have rain at times for the morning. probably less in the way of rain heading towards tonight and things will turn breezy, clearing for your monday, maybe early morning showers on tuesday, then we clear out for the middle part of the week. >> don't forget, can you always check your forecast on weather.com 24-7. now here's lester. >> all right, mike. thanks. s an expansive search is underway for an american student studying abroad in spain who has gone missing and not seen since friday. nbc's pierce simmons reports. >> reporter: missing, the poster says. austin bias disappeared noern a week ago. his family desperate for news. the san diego student was in spain as part of an exchange program. his father has flown to the country to help the search near the madrid nightclub where his son was last seen in the early hours of the morning. >> i just want to say thank you

for all being here. it's hard for me to talk about it, but thank you. >> my dad is always doing this, and i always wanted to -- i like driving, so i like coming out here and it's fun. >> the 22-year-old here at home a year ago helping out as a driver in a charity effort, left america to look for more experiences. he was writing a blog about his adventures. it talks about school and life in spain. it should be a fun night, he says. that was the evening he vanished. >> the friends decided to go into the discotheque. it was a little late. he decided to go back home, and he decided that he was going to walk home. that was the last time that he was seen heading north. >> he had been drinking and was on his own. he had been in spain for just a few months. he was very calm, very socialable, one of his new spanish friends said. >> translator: no one even with good clues or bad clues. >> reporter: thousands have joined a facebook page as part of the effort to find him and a europe-wide police alert has

been issued for the missing student. his dad said he will stay in spain for as long as it takes to find his son. a young man who left america for an adventure and whose family now just wants to know he is safe. for "today" pierce simmons, nbc news, london. >> joining us from southern california is austin's mother, pam bice. pam, good morning. thank you for being with us during this difficult time. >> good morning, lester. >> your husband, as we noted, is in madrid right now. what has he been able to do and to organize there so far? >> they have a lot of volunteers helping search for austin. a lot of kids from the university. a lot of people that live in madrid. they have organized groups and sections there looking for him. they're just searching. they haven't found any clues right as of yet. >> i think any of us that have sent our kids on this study abroad programs have a little bit of concern about them, you know, dealing in a new

environment, a foreign country. did you have these conversations with your son? >> yes, we did. we always told him to go with groups, which he most all the time has done that. he did like to walk. in madrid he felt he was safe. he could tell me thatç he walk home from a bar or restaurant. a lot of kids took the metro or -- but he chose to walk. >> and looking at the pictures -- >> he always -- >> i'm sorry. go ahead. >> we always -- he is just a really friendly young man, so if he met up with somebody, he would talk to them. >> i also -- looking at the pictures and the video clip we have there of austin, he looks like a pretty tall strapping guy. he looks like he played football. he looks like the kind of guy that would stand out if someone had seen him. >> you know, he is 6'5", 225.

all the pictures that we're showing right now he is clean-shaven, but he does have a beard, a full beard right now. i think he does stand out. he is tall here, but i heard that he is even ailts bit more taller over in madrid. >> how would you characterize the efforts of the madrid police so far in the investigation? >> you know, my husband feels they've done a great job. he is very satisfied. they have a lot of police force out there. they're working very, very hard. we just need to keep them out there and keep the volunteers out there looking for our son so we can bring him home. >> in this era and this world of social networking and getting this out, hopefully this will create more awareness. pam bice, we appreciate you spending time with us talking to us this morning. >> thank you. >> we're going to take a break. we'll be back with more after this these messages.

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amber branson is one tough basketball coach. shortly after coaching her high school team in a semifinal victory, branson gave birth to her daughter. it's what she did the next day that is even more impressive. here's janet shamlian. >> reporter: three big wins, but only two of them on the basketball court. even show she was nine months pregnant and due any moment, she took her team to the semifinals in abilene, texas. 100 miles from her home,

hospital and doctor. >> i had a few contractions in the morning and i didn't tell anyone and then friday during the game i was fine. >> reporter: but only for the first part of the do or die game. >> she called during the third quarter and said, i think i'm ready to have this baby. >> reporter: and a few hours after they won the game, she did. giving birth to daughter, leslie, 8 pounds, 7 ounces and she did it without drugs. >> i just started feeling contractions and from about 8:00 until she was born. it was pretty crazy and painful. >> reporter: it's what happened next that is the very deaf inition of true grit. 16 hours after giving birth, amber branson was back on the court with her team for the next game. contests that if they won would deliver them to the state semi-finals. >> during the game i was fine as long as i was standing. i think emotions and adrenaline and everything else kept me going for a while. >> reporter: that determination

did something special to her team. they were almost down and out. >> she pushes us to be tough and we want to be tough because she's tough. >> reporter: a coach delivering in more ways than one both on and off the court. for today, janet shamlian, nbc news, atlanta. >> i don't have kids, i can't even imagine. i have a cold and i take three weeks off. i can't even imagine. >> i have kids, but i've never been through labor, so i'm impressed. >> neither of us have any idea what we're talking about. still to come on "today," the new technology that allows the blind to drive. a great story. but first, these messages. ♪

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this morning it's not those healthy foods that really are not. he has a new book out called "eat this, not that no diet diet." great to see you. >> great to see you. >> like a lot of folks, i have been trying to clean up my eating. i see a lot of sugar and sodium and you call that healthy? >> that's what they're trying to do. americans are trying to eat healthier so more deceptive ways to fake you out and believing the stuff is healthy that you're eating. it sounds great and that's what the new book is all about. we put together these day-by-day new trishally perfect weight loss foods so you can eat all your favorite foods and lose a lot of belly fats. >> one i wrestled with trying to find a granola that is really healthy. >> good luck with that. this is the mountain medley from koshi and it will make you look like you swallowed an al.

440 calories and the problem is granola has a lot of sugar and it has some fat and, in this case, the equivalent of going to bugg burger king and having this double ham and bacon croissant with cheese. have go lean cereal. you'll lose 300 calories by making that one smart swap. if you go from this granola to this go lean cereal you'll lose 30 pounds. >> same company offers a healthier option there. >> exactly. >> same story with popcorn. you have a popcorn here called natural -- >> orville redenbacher. it's a natural disaster. 30% of your saturated fat intake and 170 calories. so, this ends up being the saturated fat equivalent of these ten crispy chicken nuggets. get the orville redenbacher smart pop popcorn. you're getting half the calories

and getting more fiber and you're avoiding all that butter. >> this all goes back to label reading, doesn't it? >> it really does. you do have to wonder when it says smart what it says about the rest of the products out there. but it's definitely important to read the label. >> smoothies. i've been guilty of a smoothie after i workout thinking it's all good. >> you have to worry about this one from jamba juice. 560 calories and 39 spoonfuls of sugar in it. it ends up being the sugar equivalent of these 11 reese's peanut butter cups. liquid calories are absorbed by the body and takes you longer to feel full. when you're at jamba juice go for this strawberry whirl all fruit smoothie because you'll cut 180 calories and you'll get 190% of your vitamin c requirements. >> and salads. i think we all know that salads

are not always what they appear. not all salads are healthy. >> again, what's happening here, it's camouflaging, the leaves are camouflaging the salt and the fat. >> and this one is from applebees. >> 940 calories and it has 62 grams of fat. so, it ends up being the sodium equivalent of having all of these -- >> that whole bowl. >> that whole bowl of cheese curls. over a day's worth of sodium and half a day's worth of calories. you're much better off doing getting the steak. you go and get the peppercorn steak and all these sides and it's 390 calories. again, if you do this twice a week, you'r if you do this twice a week, you're going to end up losing 16 pounds this year by eating steak. >> baked potatoes and broccoli is less than this salad? >> exactly. that dressing is partly to blame. that's what -- >> thank you. you always open our eyes. thank you for being here. we appreciate it. now here's jenna. lester, thank you. back in 2004 the national federation of the blind challenged an american

university to design a vehicle that would allow a blind person to drive with the seam freedom as a sighted person. fast forward to today, and that dream has become a reality. now there's hope in sight.ç >> mike is about to ignore the first rule of driving -- keep your eyes on the road. legally blind since the age of 5, he is literally in the driver's seat. ♪ driver's seat >> we're changing the way society thinks about blind people. >> reporter: this made possible, thanks to cutting-edge technology designed by students at virginia tech university under the direction of drl dennis hong. >> not a vehicle that drives a blind person around, but a vehicle where the blind person can make active decisions and drive. >> reporter: it's called a research vehicle and it's benefitted with a series of sensors and cameras that basically see for the driver.

>> all that information is used together in a computing system back here. it takes that information, and we send it back up to the driver's seat. >> reporter: the driver's seat is equipped with a vibrating seat cushion. it's called a speed strip. >> when you lift your feet up, you feel the vibe rakes move up your legs. when you need to slow down, you feel the vibe rag arrest on your dmroouf. >> if you have your dmroov on your left glove, will you move towards that direction until the vibration stops. >> reporter: while it may sound simple enough, it's been five years in the making where are. >> did you go through a number of different options for how to communicate with the driver before you came up with the vibration? >> you could not imagine how many designs we had to go through. we have examined everything from temperature to vibrations and things like that, and it's actually not as simple as it seems. >> reporter: this vehicle was actually put to the test for real in january when mark made history at the daytona speedway, becoming the first blind person

to legally drive a vehicle in public without the assistance of a sighted person. >> a great drive. >> it's going to change the way people think about the possibilities for blind people. >> the goal here is not so much about building a car that will help blind people, but about getting blind people that -- the proper tools to be able to drive a car amongst other things? >> absolutely. the end goal is driving, but along that way, we're going on solve a lot of other technical nothing problems for blind people and others and those problems are important. this technology is going to impact education, employment. >> reporter: with that said, i asked mark to take me for a spin. here at virginia tech's smart road test course. >> we have done testing, in fact, on this specific road. we've been over 30 miles an hour. >> reporter: impressive, especially when you are lelying on technology and not your eyes. >> were you nervous the very first time you got behind the wheel? >> oh, sure, sure. like any driver, right? i have done it.

i interest ver acted with the interfaces.ç i have confidence now in myself and in the capabilities that we put forward with this technology. >> so how hard could it be to do this? even if you already know how to drive? >> we get very far yet? >> look where we are. oh, no. we almost hit a wall. >> thank you, emergency stop button. used three times by jesse in the back seat. after managing to only go about 50 yards and maxing out on the a whopping 4 miles an hour, i called it quits. >> i give you so much credit because before i got behind the wheel of the car, i thought it was all the technology and how the technology was, which it is, but i didn't give enough credit to the person actually driving the car. >> absolutely. that's why it's a good job because you took the challenge. it takes time to get past the psychological barrier. what am i not seeing? i have been to be able to see to do this. you build that confidence and the nonvisual skills and it's

the technique that is blind people use. very quickly you'll learn how to do it. >> that was hard. he is right. he calls it a psychological barrier, and that's what it is. to be in the car next to him and want being able to see, to get behind the wheel yourself and not be able to see, you have to rely on other senses. >> have they tried this now in traffic with other vehicles? >> no. and they're a long way off before they actually bring this into regular mainstream roadways and what not, but this is a huge giant step forward technologically speaking to really give the blind people the confidence to know that there is technology out there that maybe one day they might be able to -- >> you kept it on the pavement. >> i went 50 yards, baby. four miles an hour. up next, the prince of monaco talks about his passion and the olympics. after these messages. se messages. ♪

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prince albert of monaco is in florida where he's attending the open of the art of the olympians museum and gallery. the prince competed in five winter olympics as a member of monaco's bob sled team. as car a sanders reports, he came to the states to inspire athletes of all ages. >> reporter: prince albert ii of monaco tosses a discuss covered in paint, much the way the late four-time gold medalist al border did. the world's only museum dedicated to art by olympians is officially open. i think when most people think of you, americans stop and think, of course, about your mother, the american actor, grace kelly. they think about her storybook wedding. i'm not sure americans realize that you're a five-time olympic athlete in bobsled. what is it that now draws you to this art by olympians?

>> i think the values that they embrace. determination, excellence, are also those of any art form. >> reporter: here, there are paintings by figure skater and gold medalist peggy fleming and graphic design by gold medal jumper beman. he is engaged to marry an olympic swimmer. your lovely bride is not here, so i know it would be inappropriate it ask you questions about your pending royal wedding, but perhaps you can share some tips on that other royal wedding. >> they are holding their wedding much before we will have ours, but we will be looking very closely at how they're going to do it. >> reporter: royal weddings, maybe as grand this year as the olympics. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc

news, ft. myers, florida. we'll check back in with david gregory, see what's coming up on the show. >> good morning, jenna. one of the events sweeping the middle east for america's economic recovery. can the white house and republicans reach an agreement on spending? i'll be joined by william daley. then the head of the tea party caucus in the house, republican michele bachmann. busy program this morning on "meet the press." that will do it for us on this sunday morning. richard lui, mike bettes, thank you for being here. coming up tuesday on "today" do you wonder what matt does when meredith does an interview or what goes on in the green room? >> while they're on the air kathie lee and hoda will host a special show on our website showing you what happens behind the scenes here on "today." tune in and logon to today.com starting tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. >> could be fun. could be eye opening.

>> could be. it will be. i'll see you back here tonight for nbc "nightly news." until then, have a great day, everyone. so long.