good morning. the case against casey. after a week of emotional testimony, the casey anthony murder trial prosecutors present new forensic evidence discovered in the trunk of her car which they say points to murder. terrifying ride. a gust of wind throws an inflatable children's slide into the air with kids still on it. at least a dozen people injured as horrified parents rush to the scene. and prom night. banned from the prom and given a reprieve. a romantic given a suspension heads to the dance. how did it go? we'll show you "today," sunday,

june 5, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. and if these-to-don't have the best prom ever after everything they've been through, then maybe it wasn't even -- >> we recorded every moment. the father told our crew to have her back home at 11:00 and him as well. we'll tell you more about their -- cute couple, aren't they? >> i had a hard enough time putting hair and makeup on. imagine having cameras follow you the whole time. a lot of news to get to. a big development in the fight against breast cancer. there's a new study out this morning that is providing hope for millions of women in the high-risk, post menopausal time in life. it's about a drug that prevents breast cancer apparently without the serious side effects of previous drugs. we'll tell you more about that just ahead.

plus, it's been about a month since they got married. and while they've been out of the spotlight on their honeymoon and settling into married life, newlyweds prince william and princess catherine are slowly stepping back into the public eye, getting a handle on their owe pigs royal duties and stepping out in style. what are they up to? a live report from london in a bit. later, we've heard so much about the devastation caused by tornadoes all across the country this spring. mason, the dog, was sucked out of his house when one of the twisters destroyed his home. his family thought he was dead. i'm sure you know where i'm going with this. weeks later when they returned to pick through the rubble they found mason waiting in what was left of their front porch. it's an amazing story of loyalty and survival. he had a couple of broken legs. this is a really wonderful story. >> unbelievable story. it gives you the chills just to hear about. then, also, it's a story of a boy and his balloon -- we're not talking about about that balloon boy.

this one is different. he is an actual balloon pilot. he floated into the record books as the youngest person ever to fly one solo. his parents, believe it or not, well, they fly hot air balloons as well. it's a family affair. he landed safely. we'll have his story coming up. but first it has been a hot weekend in many parts of the country with temperatures getting close to even topping 100 today. nbc's janet shamlian has more. >> reporter: you can point to just about any place on the map and find questionable weather from torrential rains out west, floods up north and in much of the country temperatures like it is already mid august. and keep in mind we are still two weeks away from the official start of summer. it's way too early for this. across the country a late spring heat wave. records set and broken from st. louis to baltimore. even in the always steamy lone star state, man and his best

friends looking for ways to beat the heat. in chicago a half marathon was stopped mid race due to the heat. at least one person died. >> temperatures right now feel more like the middle of july rather than the beginning of june so, yes, this is a little too early for some of this heat especially for those of us who don't want to turn up the ac quite so soon. >> reporter: tinderbox conditions in arizona are fueling wildfires burning near the new mexican border. more than 2,000 people have been told they're in the danger zone and have evacuated their homes. >> the fire is burning pretty fast and pretty large and, what is it, 200,000 acres already and moving. so it's a big fire. >> reporter: in parts of north and south dakota the swollen missouri river is flooding neighborhoods faster than they can fill sandbags. the flow of water from heavy rain and melting snow is also targeting iowa and missouri.

and in the san francisco area they're bracing for torrential rain over the next few days that could shatter a record set in 1884. over in kansas flash floods have already taken their toll. now the ugly job of cleaning it all up. >> my floor is covered still with about a quarter inch of water and mud. it's really slick. >> reporter: temperatures here in southeast texas will hit the triple digits today but the real surprise may be that there are thunderstorms in the forecast, something drought stricken southeast texas has not seen in many months. lester? >> janet shamlian, thank you. janice huff has a check of where the heat is heading and how long we can expect to last. good morning. the heat across the southern states, especially texas, is not going anywhere anytime soon. another record high yesterday in houston at 98 degrees. today will be the 15th consecutive day of temperatures above 90. and as janet mentioned, it's not officially summer yet and the rainfall, of course, is below normal by almost 11 inches

there. they could use a few thunderstorms here and there to cool them off and brip the rainfall levels up a bit but not much change in the heat. the temperatures 90s to above 100 will continue from the southwest into the southeast and the central plains. now back to you. . >> janice, thanks. john edwards indicted on charges that he misused his campaign funds to hide his extramarital affair. now that he is on the defense some others are aiming their criticism at the government for bringing this case to trial. nbc senior investigative correspondent lisa myers has more. >> reporter: in the state which launched john edwards' once promising political career, banner headlines and condemnation. >> in public opinion, he's lost, and i think rightfully so because what he did did was wrong. >> he doesn't seem to comprehend right from wrong. >> reporter: edwards spent the day out of sight with his children at the family estate. a friend of his wife, elizabeth, who died six months ago of breast cancer, told nbc that

despite john's betrayal, nobody wanted him to face criminal charges. she said elizabeth's friends worry about the impact on the children. emma claire and jack. and hope the case never comes to trial t. centers on almost a million dollars secretly provided by two wealthy donors and use odd to keep edwards' mistress, rielle hunter, and later their child, hidden away in lavish homes and on private jets while he ran for president. the government argues that even thoep the payments did not go to edwards' campaign, they amounted to unlawful campaign contributions meant to keep his candidacy viable. edwards' lawyers say the money was a gift from friends to help hide the affair from elizabeth. the indictment has triggered unusual criticism of the justice department, even among those usually pleased to see a politician prosecuted. >> i think that john edwards is a lousy human being, but i think

this is a really lousy and flimsy criminal case. >> reporter: a "washington post" editorial said it is troubling that the justice department would choose to devote its scarce resources to pursuing this questionable case. >> i did not break the law and i never, ever thought i was breaking the law. >> reporter: for this to be a criminal violation, prosecutors also must show edwards knew he was breaking the law. >> i think this is going to be a tough case for the government to prove. i by no means think it's a slam dunk. >> reporter: still, some experts think this case is critical to cracking down on campaign abu s abuses. >> what the government says is there has to be a line. john edwards cross that had line. we believe it's criminal behavior and that's why we saw an indictment. >> reporter: for "today," lisa myers, nbc news, washington. and once again here's lester. jenna, thanks. it was a shaky week for the economy with the disappointing jobs report, rising unemployment and worries that a true recovery

is still far off. what dots it mean for the president? with insight on that and a growing field of republican challengers is mark halperin. >> good morning, lester. >> what does this mean for the president? by now folks looking for a true recovery and it's not happening. >> he gets to figure out what he wants to talk about. the election is not so far away but in the meantime he has to govern, govern a country unhappy with the economy and that he's going to run into the wind because the job situation is going to be grim a while longer. >> he likes his team but is there a plan forthcoming? >> he is frustrated. every day practically he says to them, what can we do in washington to create jobs? there's a real debate about just cutting the deficit cut jobs or if if we cut the deficit and spending would that hurt jobs because you take a lot of money out of the economy. it's not clear the president can do anything about it. the republicans, though, have the onus on them to come forward

with some ideas. the president's ideas are still a little bit up in the air. he has to work with republicans in congress. it's republican presidential candidates who will drive a lot of the debate. >> republicans are saying, hold on. let's can cut some government spending. puts them at real odds with the president. john boehner and the president apparently scheduled a golf date for i think the weekend after next. could something really come of that? >> maybe, long overdue. a lot of the fights are about politics and policy but there's a third "p," personality. if the president can't learn to work with john boehner, anything that gets through washington will have to have the approval of both those guys. boehner controls the house. the president has his veto pen. they're not the best of buddies. the they're not going to star in a film together as the speaker of the house and the next door neighbor president. they are not good friends, but they have to develop the kind of relationship tip o'neill and ronald reagan had when tip o'neill was democratic speaker of the house and ronald reagan was republican president. they could sit down and appreciate each other.

this is what we thought president obama's presidency would be like, he would would learn to get along. this golf game is long overdue. it could be a magical moment. it could be a nothing. >> i have to ask you, you were up in new hampshire this week. mitt romney formally announced his run for presidency. why haven't republicans embraced him in a bigger way, the republican establishment? >> he supported a health law in massachusetts like obama care does. it's to stop barack obama, stop him from getting a second term. make mo mistake romney is a weak front-runner but he's the front-runner, and a lot of the establishment is for him. i think as the field clarifies, a lot of the establishment people who have stayed on the fence will go to mitt romney. the question is, can someone else step forward and knock him off his perch? >> thank you for being here. time to get a check of the morning's other headlines.

for that over to thomas roberts with our headlines. thomas, good morning. good morning to you. thousands are celebrating news that the president there ali abdullah salah has left the country. the longtime leader is now in saudi arabia getting medical treatment after surviving an assassination attempt at the presidential palace. intelligence officials in pakistan say one of the most wanted leaders of al qaeda may have been killed by u.s. missile strikes on saturday. ilyas kashmiri is described as the operations chief in pakistan and a possible success or to tht of by bin laden. kashmiri was wanted in connection with the 2008 mass can kerr in mumbai that killed 160 people. back here at home a horrifying scene. take a look at this. a scene in suburban new york after an inflatable play slide with children on top went flying into the air. it was part of a children's soccer it festival when a big

gust of wind blew the three inflatables up into the air. several people on the ground were knocked over. 13 were taken to area hospitals but, fortunately, most of the injuries are minor. 30 years ago today the centers for disease control reported five cases of a rare kind of pneumonia which later became known as aids. the five cases were in los angeles reported on june 5th, 1981. since then more than 30 million people have been infected worldwide with more than a million and a half caseses here in the u.s. and for the first time since 1997, tiger woods has fallen out of the top ten world golf ranking. he is now number 12 in the official world golf ranking list that was published last month and if he doesn't compete in the u.s. open later this month because of an injury, his ranking could drop even lower. finally the story of the miracle on the hudson continues. the u.s. airways jet without its wings and without the tail was placed on a giant flatbed truck in new jersey on saturday heading for an aviation museum in north carolina. two years ago after takeoff from

laguardia, the airbus hit a flock of geese damaging both engines, forcing an emergency landing on the hudson river and, as we all know, the rest is history. that is the news for now. we'll send it back over to lester, jenna and janice. as you know, 155 people all walked away without much of a scratch from that. really a miracle. >> imagine if you'd been living under a rock the last couple of years, driving down the expressway. thomas, thanks. >> thank you very much. and there it is. janice is back with another check of the weather. >> good morning again. we all talked about the heat earlier. that is a big problem for the southern states and also today a problem will be the risk of severe thunderstorms through the carolinas, virginia, into the tennessee and ohio river valleys and parts of the mid-mississippi river valley, too. watch out in st. louis, lexington, thunderstorms at risk there and they could be severe. on the west coast, big storms swirling off the coast of san francisco like a winter storm and is bringing rain to parts of

northern and sevcentral califor today. unusual for june. meanwhile, in the northeast temperatures now here's jenna. >> janice, thanks. now to the royals, prince william and princess kate, la e largely out of the spotlight in the month since their fairy tale wedding, settling into their 0 official duties as the duke and duchess of cambridge and they're doing it in skil. keir simmons has more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning,

jenna. it's fascinating. you've seen the royal family this weekend at their most traditional and their most relaxed. prince william took part in a rehearsal for trooping the color. they are showing it self at its best for the queen's official birthday that dates back to the 17th century. it's so important that everything is perfect at the event next saturday, even the royals take time to practice. then william rushed off to joined catherine and the rest of the royals at the races. that's the first time we've seen the royal family together since the wedding. catherine inspiring memories of that day wearing a bold cream colored jacket and skirt, her wedding ring proudly on display. the queen's horse was racing. she was set to be so tense she had to stay inside and watch the race on television. carlton house came in third. they had fun together, out together as a slightly extended family. >> hey, keir, there's news out

about william and kate's new london home. any idea where they may be living? >> reporter: that's right. this is amazing. the couple decided to make their london residence kensington palace where princess diana lived for many years. they're only being given a small apartment. it's said they would like a larger london home so they can start a family of their own but they can't find anywhere suitable. it's a problem many people living in london face with the price of property so expensive. i never imagined kate and william would be having to deal with something like this. that said, they said they wanted to be an ordinary couple and this is an ordinary problem that so many young couples have. >> all right, keir simmons, somehow i feel like they'll find a roof over their heads, one that they like. we appreciate it. thank you very much. >> talking about their starter place, kensington palace. >> it was a studio. it was crazy. up next on "today," preventing breast cancer. an effective new option for millions of women at high risk. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry !

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there is new hope for women considered at high risk for developing breast cancer. a new study shows a drug originally used to treat recurrence has been shown to prevent breast cancer in the first place. a major study of the drug involved more than 4,500 women who had a history. dr. beth dupree is the director at the holy redeemer hospital in pennsylvania. doctor, good morning. thank you for being with us. break this down. what's the big headline to come out of this and how significant is this in the fight against breast cancer? >> the first thing women have to understand is estrogen acts as fuel to a fire. if you have cells that are beginning to smolder and you dump gasoline on them, they may progress and become cancer. there's a medicine called aromasin that blocks that conversion from the precursors

to estrogen so you're stopping the production of the fuel, so it's like dousing a fire. in all women, we need to decrease 0 our body fat, we need to exercise, to get rid of those that can become estrogen in our bodies but this particular medication blocks that so well in post menopausal women that the risk can be decreased by % 65%. >> that's a big number, more than half. this is a big development in cancer research, is it not? >> this is a big development because this particular drug i have used for years in my patients with cancer and they're very compliant with it. if you have a medication for prevention, patients won't take it because of the side effects, it's not going to do any good for prevention because they're going to stop taking the medicine. the fact we have years of experience with this medicine treating patients with cancer and we know that they're going to take the drug, it's a big plus for women thinking about it for prevention. >> you mentioned side effects. the unlike other drugs this one actually doesn't have a lot of serious side effects, correct? >> correct.

a lot of women worry about what tamoxafin causes and hot flashes and other issues which are very tolerable but in the class of drugs endometrial cancer and clots were the big factors that patients didn't want to accept. >> you mentioned postmenopausal women does this have any effect on premenopausal women? >> premenopausal women cannot take this because it can stimulate their estrogen and ovaries to hyper stimulate. so the ovaries can form eggs. the ovaries cannot be shut down by the aromasin. we cannot the use it when they have functioning ovaries. >> if you are at high risk for breast cancer, you like this drug? >> absolutely. talk to your doctor, figure out what your risk factors are. if you carry the breast cancer gene, if you have a family history, if you've had a biopsy

with atypical results, talk to your doctor seriously about this medication as an option for you. >> dr. dupree, thank you very much. and thank you for wearing the same dangerous. >> i got the memo. >> i'm sure you it did. really appreciate your time and insights. still to come on "today," accused of sexual assault and under 24 hour surveillance dominique strauss-kahn heads back to court tomorrow. the latest in this case.

still to come on "today," one 9-year-old boy's hot air balloon into the record books. >> plus, why sunscreen might not be enough to keep you safe.

and we're back on this sunday morning, june 5th, 2011. it's june already. nice crowd on the plaza on a mild morning. we're going to head out in a bit to say hello. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. the latest in the casey anthony murder trial. >> a lot of folks talking about it. saturday prosecution experts provided technical forensic evidence, proof, they argue, 2-year-old caylee's body was in the trunk of her mother's car. what was the proof and what was the jury's reaction? we'll tell you more about that coming up. then, on a lighter note, summer is here. that means people are hitting the parks and beaches to soak up the sun. but while we're always told to wear sunscreen, sunscreen,

sunscreen, only one-third of adults actually use it regularly and more than 3. 1/2 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosis this had year. coming up new information about sun exposure including why even getting just a little bit of color could be a bad thing. plus, a young boy takes flight in a balloon. not that balloon boy. this can kid is a real balloon pilot. his parents and grandparents are all hot air pilots. he became the youngest person ever to fly one solo. imagine the anxiety his parents may have felt. he landed safely. this time around we don't think anyone is looking to get a re reality tv show. >> my mom makes me e-mail when i leave work to go home. let me know you got home okay. imagine if i got sent up in a hot air balloon? first, the sexual assault case against dominique strauss-kahn who will be back in court tomorrow to enter a plea. thomas roberts has the latest. good morning to you. three weeks ago his arrest made headlines around the world.

dsk was charged with sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a maid in a luxury hotel. since then use been kept under surveillance in a posh townhouse in new york and tomorrow will be back in a manhattan city courtroom. the first time we saw dominique strauss-kahn face a judge he appeared shell-shocked, the accused rapist haggard and unshaven at his arraignment. tomorrow expect to see the former head of the imf looking much more refined and rested. that's because he's been spending his days out on bail here inside a 6,800-square-foot townhouse, far from a jail cell. his 24-hour confinement includes a home theater and a spa steam bath. he's living in the lap of luxury and while he's not talking legal experts say his lawyers may be ready to drop a bombshell on monday. >> i think the defense is going to try to say in open court what it can't say in the media, and it's going to let the world know what dsk's defense is going to be. >> reporter: we know what the prosecution contends, that the man widely considered to be a

front-runner for the french presidency unleashed an attack against a maid in a luxurious new york hotel in midtown manhattan last month. he allegedly assaulted her as she entered his room demanding she perform a sexual act before the housekeeper was able to escape. there may be dna evidence linking him to the crime but in the end it may come down not to science but to who the jury believes. >> the challenges for the prosecution in this case are the same challenges for the prosecution in any rape case. it's a he said/she said case. there's only two people who really know what happened in that room. >> reporter: was it attempted rape or is one of the most powerful men in the world the real victim? the answers could become much more clear tomorrow. so the price for dsk to live in a luxury home as he awaits trial is being paid for by his third wife, a wealthy french it tv journalist.

she was born in the u.s., however. >> with more insight is nbc news analyst lisa filan. what do we expect? >> well, he's going to be to court and enter the a not guilty plea. what i think will happen tomorrow is his defense is going to try to give the world some idea of what his defense strategy is. they've been under a gag order. they haven't been able to speak. >> do his lawyers have to present or have they been waiting to do this? >> they don't have to at all. it's an opportunity to give something out to the public without leaking it ahead of time to the media. >> do we have any idea what it might be, what their defense could be? >> he originally started with conspiracy. it was a setup. i call that the sarkozy defense. and then he went with alibi. i wasn't there. and now i think he's heading to consent. whatever you've got on me and i don't know exactly what it is, but whatever it is, she wanted it, too. >> he's saying he was at lunch with his daughter at the time. that he called the hotel to say that he forgot his cell phone

and was heading to the airport, that he was open about his whereabouts. >> as if to establish because he was at lunch with his daughter he couldn't have been doing what he was alleged to have done. now he's saying it was consent. that inconsistency is troublesome to me. >> let's talk about the prosecution's case. he willingly submitted to dna samples, evidence collected at the scene. what will prosecutors now need to prove? >> they are trying to find some physical evidence that would corroborate her claim like bodily flew thadz could only happen in a situation like that like semen and saliva. >> i want to to talk about his history n. 2002 he was accused of another sexual assault and another woman who says who hasn't been cornered by dominique strauss-kahn? how much is his past history going to be brought into this case? >> it's not really going to come into play at trial unless he testifies, puts his character in evidence and what's called prior bad act evidence would come in. but if he doesn't testify, i don't know how that could come in unless the state is able to show for sure that this is what

we call pattern evidence, pattern misconduct. if it there's a pattern, a robbery is done with somebody wearing a white mask and white glove, that's clear pattern evidence. they can't show that, i don't think it will come in. >> he pleads not guilty, we're going to trial, how long can this play out? how long will this take? >> i don't think you'll see a trial before a year. >> a year? >> a year. >> and where does he remain in the meantime? >> in that terrible, terrible place that is just such a prison for him. >> i wish i could remain in that terrible, terrible place. susan filan, i appreciate your time. thank you so much. now a check of the weather from janice huff on the plaza. good morning. good morning. we have fans from st. louis that are here. my old stopping ground, channel 5. that's where i used to work. and then we have some people down here. hi, everybody. good morning. mother/daughter fun in new york city. are you having fun? >> we are. >> that's good to hear. let's check the weather and see

what's happening. we have the heat wave sizzling across the southern states into the plains. the temperatures in the 90s and above. the heat indid decks in parts of tennessee will be well above 100 today and heat advisories are in effect. tomorrow still sizzling across the south into the central plains. looks like a slight risk of severe storms across the northern plains, the northern rockies into montana and the dakotas tomorrow. it's mild in the northeast tomorrow. warm across the mid-atlantic states and still hot the over florida. meanwhile, over california it's pretty cool, too. well, they made this stupid sign to get on tv and it worked but it's not so stupid after all, is it? >> no, it's not. very cunning on my part. >> i'lsay i is.

and when we're not here you can always check your weather anytime by logging on to weather.com. now back to jenna and lester. all right, janice, thanks. still to come, one 9-year-old's remarkable solo flight. just don't call him balloon boy. but first, the heat is on. what you should know about sun safety as you head outdoors right after these messages.

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this morning on "the truth about" sun safety, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the united states and one in five will develop it at some point in their lifetimes. these days protecting ourselves from the sun is no longer as simple as putting on some sunscreen. so here with some new rules for sun safety is dermatologist dr. janine downing. good to have you here. >> good 0 to be here. >> that's an astounding figure, one out of five. >> very frightening. >> people don't realize it. >> they don't think it's going to be them. >> right to some of the new rules then. we'll talk about the power of spf. the higher spf doesn't necess y necessarily mean higher protection. >> that's exactly right. the reason that i say that is because the higher spf, that's eat, but people are putting it on too thinly. you need a shot glass full of s pf for your face, your neck, your ears and the backs of your hands and people put it on too thinly. if you put on an spf of 100 but you put it on very, very thin,

it's not going to protect you. let's go through spfs for a second, lester. an spf of 15 gives you 93.5% protection. and then it levels out around 45 where it's 96.7%. >> but it's not day long protection. this is where i make the mistake. i put it on -- >> it's not. >> six, seven hours later, it's still good. >> it's not day long. every two hours it needs to be reapplied if you're in the northeast corridor. closer to the equator every hour. >> there's a waterproof version of sunscreen. how does that work and what does that offer us? >> the water resistant and waterproof versions like the aveeno and neutrogena are great because you can spray it right on wet skin and they adhere better so you get better coverage but you still have to reapply them. if you're in the pool, when you get out you reapply. >> the places we should be putting on it, our face, neck, some of the exposed areas, what

are we missing? >> we're missing the shoulders, the ears, the tops of our feet. >> you see skin cancers in all these places? >> exactly. and these slide on faster. my patients like these because those you can put on and then put makeup on. a lot of men will wear them. >> you say put them on and makeup on but there are a lot of makeups out there with sun block, are they not good enough? >> you put makeup on thinner in some arp yaz and thicker in other areas. >> back to the issue of not having enough of it on. you suggest the sun block on -- >> first and then makeup on after. >> and let's talk about more than sunscreen that people need. do we need other lines of defense against the sun? >> we absolutely do. so thickly woven clothes are great. something called sun guard that you can wash uv protection into. there's uv skin, columbia sun wear, apps that remind you and all kinds of things out there. >> you hear about the uv index,

we tune that out. that's important information. >> if you're skiing, the sun reflects 80% off the snow. seafoam, 25% reflection. the things that we didn't know. >> people have talked a lot about lately that we need the sun. vitamin "d" is important. we hear about americans have vitamin "d" deficiency. how do we reck on sil that? >> let's stick a fork right in that rule because it's over. 3.5 million new cases of skin cancer each year. we don't need to go out into the sun to get vitamin d, we can take it orally, use a prescription supplement. i take a prescription medication, a multivitamin, and that boosts my vitamin d level. americans are not nutritionally depleted. we're kind of on the heavy side of things. >> socially everyone likes a good tan. is there such a thing as a good, healthy tan? >> over 1 million people are in tanning salons every day. it's like a $6 billion a year

industry and your first exposure in youth to tanning beds increases your chances by 75%. >> so tanning bed or the real sun no difference? >> there's no such thing as a good tan. >> a bottle or being sprayed on. >> and tanning beds have 13 times higher so they are worse for you. >> you see the word safe, take it with a grain of salt. >> yes. >> thanks very much for coming on. appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> now here is jenna. >> i think i broke every one of those rules. lester, thanks. kids do the darndest things, sailing solo around the world and now one 9-year-old floated into the record books by becoming the youngest person to pilot a hot air balloon all by himself. >> reporter: in the sport of hot air ballooning they say you need three things, experience, a clear understanding of weather, and guts. things you don't typically find in 9-year-olds. but bobby bradley isn't your

typical kid. this weekend he became the youngest person 0 to pilot a hot air balloon solo. bobby hit 600 feet in the air over new mexico. >> it was amazing. it was the best feeling ever. >> reporter: it's an unofficial record because they had to build a special ultra light balloon, pilots have to be at least 16. >> i know i did it. either way at 9 i solo'd a hot air balloon and i don't think anyone younger has done it. >> reporter: experts say it's not so much the physical aspect of a 9-year-old trying to handle a gondola like this one, it's the mental aspect that's difficult. he had to be ready for any type of emergency like a sudden change in wind pattern, a vertical collision, even a fire. bobby's parents say he has nearly 30 hours of flight time so you can call him experienced, just don't call him balloon boy. >> 1,400 feet off the ground. >> reporter: that title remains with falcon heene, the colorado -year-old whose parents admittedly misled police into thinking falcon was inside this out-of-control flying saucer.

this time around there's no funny business. bobby bradley has flying in his blood. he comes from a long line of famous ballooners. bobby's jacket comes from his grandfather, a decorated pilot. bobby's grandmother helped sew his balloon and bobby's parents are among the most experienced and respected people in the sport. bobby's father, troy, piloted the first balloon that flew from north america to africa. >> i solo'd when i was 14 and that's usually the youngest most people would solo. he got it in five years younger than most would do it. it's incredible. >> reporter: bobby's parents had him practice 50 takeoffs and landings before going solo. doctors say good parenting means setting good parameters. >> you run the risk of a child saying, hey, i want to try that. at the end of the day, guess who you're dealing with? children who have the judgment and insight of a 9, 10, or 12-year-old. >> reporter: bobby joins other young adventurers. 13-year-old jordan romero, the youngest to climb mt. everest.

jessica watt the son, the youngest to sail solo around the world. big dreams with real dangers but untethered possibilities. for "today," nbc news, california. >> i love that the parental parameters were you need to land that 50 times before we let you go up. >> the landing is the it tough part. they tumble over. >> would you ever do it by yourself? >> piloting one? no. i like going up. i prefer the pilot have a little gray around the temple. >> as opposed to being, say, 9. still ahead, a side of pope benedict xvi than you have seen. matt lauer takes a glimpse into the daily life of the holy father.

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back in 2005 when 78-year-old joseph became the oldest elected pope since 1730 he took the name pope benedict xvi, devoting himself to prayer, medication and the task of expanding and strengthening a church of more than a billion catholics worldwide. this week matt lauer traveled to

rome, had the chance to meet pope benedict and got a rare and remarkable look at a day in his life. >> reporter: he is the public face of the faith of over a billion people. from his home in vatican city, pope benedict xvi shapes the catholic mission in the 21st century. the pope's day begins in prayer. daily mass is a fundamental ritual in the catholic church and is practiced in the pope's surprisingly modern chapel. despite shepherding millions across the globe, the pope's daily congregation is made up of just his closest staff member, aides, cooks, and keepers of his apartments. having served as a parish priest for less than a year, pope benedict's career was given to the intellectual pursuits of academia. he's authored over 30 books.

in the morning he reads, prepares sermons and tends to the abundant work of his leadership. the quiet nature of his day is regularly broken. by public duty. vatican city consists of just over 108 acres. some of those covered by gardens that supply the pope's kitchen. though for centuries, tradition dictated that the pope eat alone, benedict is occasionally joined by a guest and he always dines with his personal secretaries. having grown up in the mountain villages of bavaria, the holy father is a walker, a rooftop stroll through his sanctuary is later followed by a walk three the vatican gardens, an opportunity for exercise and the rosary. from the privacy of his living quarters, he travels by somewhat

modern convenience to the formal rooms of the apostolic palace. here surrounded by the art of his faith, benedict meets with the dignitaries, both spiritual and political. like many of us, the pope ends his day with the push of a button, a nightly italian news program fills the hour from 8:00 until 9:00 before the pope retires to his rooms. it's an ordinary moment in the life of an extraordinary man, one whose quiet devotion has delivered him to the forefront of a passionate movement. moving, in the past, and with its eyes on the future. also get a free flight. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime.

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still to come on "today" we'll tell you what happened yesterday in court in the casey anthony trial. the foe can cuss of the testimony on a hair found in the trunk of casey's car which prosecutors say came from a body. plus, meet man's best friend, the loyal dog who found his way back home on broken legs.

welcome back to "today" on a sunday morning, june 5th, 2011. the official first day of summer still over two weeks away. i hate to say it feels like spring here because a lot of parts of the country it feels like the middle of summer. they're feeling the heat in a big, big way. our thanks to everyone who has come out to spend part of their day with us outside on the plaza. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. because they're allowed cameras in the courtroom, we've all been watching the casey anthony trial, sort of unravel day after day. really into it. >> they had testimony on saturday, as you know. after weeks of testimony from the parents, tapes of their jailhouse conversations with her saturday, the forensic evidence

was the focus including hair found in the trunk of casey's car. is the prosecution using this hair as proof casey anthony committed murder? we'll find out the significance of the evidence coming up. and then tornadoes have caused so much damage to so many states this year, it's really unbelievable when a great, feelgood story comes out of it and we have one that we're talking about. this little guy is named mason. a lot of people call him tornado dog. back in april a tornado leveled his house in alabama and actually sucked him right out of the garage. his family thought he was dead. well, he wasn't. we're going to meet mason the tornado dog and find out how he was able to survive this incredible ordeal. is he absolutely adorable? >> look at that face. >> still coming up. >> a great face. >> so cute. remember james tate, the high schooler who got banned from going to his prom because he asked his date to go to the dance by taping huge letters to the side of the school? after getting a lot of support online, making a lot of headlines, the school let him go after all and last night was the

big night. normally it's parents with the cameras but we were there to capture every moment. looks like they had a great time, looking sharp in his tux. we'll show you how the big prom night went. first, a check of the headlines with thomas roberts who is inside the news desk. good morning. hi, everyone. we begin with news that one of the most wanted leaders of al qaeda may have been killed by u.s. missile strikes. alyas kashmiri is described as the military operations chief in pakistan, also a pack successor to that of osama bin laden. u.s. officials have not confirmed the death. kashmiri was wanted in connection with the 2008 massacre in mumbai that killed 160 people. in yemen thousands are celebrating news that their president has left the country. people were seen dancing in the streets today after hearing that president sali abdullah saleh ws now in saudi arabia getting medical treatment. the longtime leader was reportedly injured in an assassination attempt at the presidential palace. firefighters in arizona are struggling to contain two of the largest wildfires in that state's history. the fires in eastern and

southern arizona have burned more than 350 square miles of brush, timber and land and a few summer cabins as well. and a number of small towns and camping areas are threatened by this. evacuations are currently under way. new developments 0 to talk about this morning in the fight against breast cancer. a new study suggesting that the drug aromasin could cut the risk of developing breast cancer by more than half in high-risk, post menopausal women. the drug does not have the side effects that come with other cancer preventing drugs. the study can be found in the "new england journal of medicine." some horrifying moments in a suburban soccer event. take a look at this, the scene as three inflatable bounce housing were picked up and tossed in the wind in oceanside. children were inside when these inflatables were airborne, about 12 feet. 13 people were injured and taken to area hospitals but, remarkably, all were just minor injuries. scary to look at, though. finally, history made at the french open. li na beat defending champion

schiavone to win the final. the victory makes her the first chinese player to win a grand slam championship and later today the men's final features five-time champ ion open rafael nadal against roger federer. that title match starts at 9:00 a.m. eastern time right here on nbc. that's a check of the news. we'll head back outside with jenna who is on the plaza. i was practicing francesca schiavone. >> can you say it backwards? >> four times but not backwards. >> it will be great. thank you. another check of the weather with janice huff. a lot of really great signs down here. we have we love new york city, second mother/daughter trip. are you having fun? >> yeah. >> where are you from? >> cincinnati. >> cincinnati. >> and then where are you from? >> leesburg, virginia. >> and you have a picture of your doggie here. look at sabre. that's so cute. this is a great sign. and look out, the mainers take

manhattan. nice to see you guys. thanks for coming. let's check on the forecast and see what's happening across the country. the heat is the big story today. lots of it across the southern states and temperatures will once again reach above the 95-degree mark in most spots, the heat index well above 100. thunderstorms could produce large hail, damaging winds and flash floods from charlotte to nashville to st. louis today so be on the lookout. keep an eye to the sky and make sure

and now here's lester. janice, thanks. testimony continued saturday in the murder trial of casey anthony after a week of revealing jailhouse tapes and emotional testimony from casey's parents. yesterday it was about forensic evidence. here's nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: every morning the curious line up outside the orange county courthouse in orlando. there are about 50 seats for the public to watch casey anthony's murder trial. >> i worked with the fbi for over 15 years. >> reporter: during saturday's hearing -- prosecution experts presented highly technical forensic evidence arguing caylee's 2-year-old dead body was in the trunk of her mother's car. a single strand of hair left there, prosecutors say, that was caylee's. their experts claim it fell from a corpse not a live child. >> this is consistent. >> reporter: 2-year-old caylee

died june 16th, 2008, but her mother, casey, didn't tell anyone for 31 days and then prosecutors say fabricate add story that caylee had been abducted and when deputies found casey's car they said it had the smell of death. the forensics follows a week of highly emotional evidence including casey's father, mother, and brother all testifying for the prosecution. >> good morning, beautiful. i love you. >> hi. >> reporter: despite defense objections, jurors listened to five hours of videotaped jailhouse visits. casey, along with everyone else in the court watched tape after tape. here she is talking with her parents. >> can someone let me -- come on! >> casey, hold on, sweetheart. settle down. >> nobody's letting me speak. you want me to talk -- >> all right. i'll listen to you. >> give me three seconds to say something. i'm not in control over any of this.

i don't know what the hell is going on. i don't know what's going on. my entire life has been taken from me. >> reporter: while casey was not asked if she murdered her daughter, what has become her defense that caylee accidentally drowned, was discussed. >> someone just said that caylee was dead this morning, that she drowned in the pool. that's the news story out there. >> surprise, surprise. >> reporter: prosecutors say they have about two more weeks of evidence to present before the defense can begin to tell its version of what they say really happened to caylee marie anthony. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, orlando. >> beth karas is a correspondent for "in session" on trutv. great to see you. the last clip almost dismissed the idea that caylee drowned in the pool. that's the defense, isn't it? >> that is the defense. and her reaction was so quick, surprise, surprise, it was so dismissive of that theory of

drowning that one has to wonder if it's not made up now. >> i want to talk about the scientific evidence because yesterday was a big day in terms of the forensic evidence. concentrating on the single hair that the researcher said could only come from a dead person. defense didn't even want that testimony in. >> no. and the defense did a good job cross-examining this expert. you see, it's not conclusive that it's absolutely caylee's hair. it's consistent with caylee and not casey because casey had color treated hair but root banding is what it's called, that appears when there's decomposition that falls out of a deadhead, is not necessarily indicative only of somebody having been dead. hair can fall out of the head that doesn't have banding and you're already dead because there were 12 hairs. 11 didn't have it. one did. but this is a little piece for the prosecution. because they will say that, coupled with the odor in the trunk of decomposition that many say is unique and they're familiar with it and other evidence they're going to

present, will demonstrate that caylee informs that drunk. >> given the fact there's so much evidence what it smelled like, what was found in it, why wouldn't the defense stipulate, yeah, she was in the car because, remember, we told you she drowned and there was panic over what to do? >> that's a good quo. they're absolutely denying she was in the trunk but don't given an explanation where she went after little dead caylee is dripping wet in her grand father's arms. if grandpa, george, had keys to the car, they could have taken that angle saying he put the body in there unbeknownst to casey. she thought she hit a dead animal. that's what she tells a girlfriend. they have taken the position the body was never in the car. the odor evidence that's coming up is new science and so this is going to be the first time it's introduced in a courtroom in the united states. there's a lot for the defense to work with. it's pretty powerful. >> has it been decided whether the smell evidence will come into testimony? >> the judge is letting it in if

the prosecution lays the proper foundation. we expect they will. >> three jailhouse videos between casey, her parents and brother show a complicated relationship. what do they tell us about what she knew about the whereabouts of her daughter? >> well, based on the defense opening statement when she's in jail, the jury has seen witness after witness talk about casey's behavior in that 31-day period where she doesn't report her daughter missing and doesn't have the care in the world, my daughter is with the nanny, she's partying, in a hot body contest. once she is busted she is, my main concern is finding my baby. that's all i care about. she knows she is being recorded. that tells the jury there is something going on here and she lied to her friends. she is lying now on tape is what the jury may very well believe. >> beth, let's talk about the credibility. the question of her guilt or innocence of the murder is still an open one but her credibility already is shot. are they going to actually put her on the stand at some point? >> i don't see how the defense

can prove their case without putting her on the stand. the statements made by jose baez in opening about caylee being held in her grandpa's arms, grandpa denied it. the george denied it. who else can testify to that? he promised that there would be etched of this introduced at the trial. it can't come in through anyone else because it's helpful to her, called self-serving statements, only they can come in through the defendants. she has to take the stand. >> they're going to play every one of those tapes. >> they're going to have a field day with her. a prosecutor's dream. they're going to say she lied to people. maybe they're a little bit ahead of schedule. the prosecution has two more weeks and the defense maybe a week, maybe a rebuttal and a penalty phase so another three, four, five weeks away. >> we appreciate you stopping by and giving us an update. >> my pleasure. >> up next on "today," sucked away from his home by a tornado, we'll meet the dog who crawled back weeks later with two broken legs.

if any more proof is needed dogs are indeed man's best friend, this may be it. it's a story about a 3-year-old terrier named mason and when a tornado destroyed his family's house and sucked him far away from them, nothing, not even a pair of broken legs, could keep him from finding his way back home. we're going to meet him in a moment but, first, nbc's thas hs

story. he was in poor shape. >> reporter: mason is a terrier mix. he's known to thousands as mason the tornado dog. >> his personality is just incredible. >> reporter: dr. william lamb has been treating mason for three weeks now. the dog suffered two broken legs when deadly tornadoes tore through birmingham, alabama, in april. >> while he was with his family he got sucked out of the house with most of the rest of the house. >> reporter: three weeks after the storm his own eers came bac to this neighborhood and assumed mason, like everything else, was gone. but some way, somehow on two broken legs he crawled back home and was waiting for them. >> it's the will to live. i would have been curled up waiting to die. >> reporter: 17 screws were inse inserted into mason's legs and he's expected to make a full recovery.

the tornadoes may have crippled the community but it certainly couldn't keep a good dog down. for "today," alabama. there's mason himself. good morning, guys. thanks for being with us. >> good morning. thanks for having us. >> phil, why don't i start with you since you speak more english. medically speaking how is mason doing? >> he's doing better than expected. dr. lamb, who you were just talking about, has done a fantastic job. his staff is doing the after care for mason and he's doing great. we couldn't expect anything better. >> so let's go back to this unbelievable reunion. here is this dog that gets sucked out of this house in a tornado, somehow weeks later managed to sort of find his way back home on two broken legs and is waiting there when the family returns. it's an unbelievable story. what kind of condition was this dog in when you finally saw him? >> well, yeah, after three weeks

of being gone, the family called us and we came to get him. his front legs were flopping, i'm sure you've seen pictures and video of that. he was as happy as he could be, though. he crawled over to everybody he met and just was so happy and so excited to see everybody that came to see him. >> will he be able to walk properly again? i understand he will make a full recovery but what about his walking and running? >> the prognosis is that he'll have no ill effects whatsoever from the breaks. >> he has those casts on now, like a human he has to go through physical therapy, i might imagine. how long a process is that going to be? >> the total time is about six to eight weeks so we're probably guessing it's going to be another four or five weeks before he's ready to go home. his family is anxious to see him. they came to see him on friday and the reports were that mason was as excited as he's been

through the whole ordeal. we're really excited the family will be able to take him back home. >> you've gotten so much support, outpouring of love from the public, from the media. he has a facebook page, mason has, which is quite unbelievable. >> he has more friends than i do. >> more than i do as well. are you surprised by this outpouring support of love for a dog? >> no. he's one of the most remarkable stories we've seen. i've been in animal control and i've been in animal rescue for a long time and for a dog to go through what he's gone through and to be as resilient and happy as he is is pretty awesome and we're proud to be a part of it. >> looking at mason's demeanor, he seems calm and comfortable. is he in any pain, on medication, or is this just his personality? >> he's pretty laid back. he's really playful around other dogs. scares him with the big purple

limbs he has but he's playful and happy. he's a laidback dog most of the time. >> it's a remarkable story and we thank you for sharing it with us. mason, thank you both. >> thank you. >> and we're back right after these messages. [ max ] i am beautiful. [ veterinarian ] your turn, max. [ max ] inside and out. and i'm not the only one who thinks so. right, doc? [ female announcer ] vets agree -- a healthy checkup starts inside. our breakthrough iams premium protection formula is developed with vets, with cutting-edge ingredients for the lifelong health of your pet. [ max ] what a surprise -- straight a's again. [ female announcer ] iams premium protection. our most advanced iams nutrition. ever. [ max ] oh, i'm not in your way, am i, doc? i [sighs] am an iams cat. but also a caring touch. you learn to get a feel for the trouble spots. to know its wants... its needs...its dreams.

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still to come on "today," where is michelle le? she went missing. her car has been found but not michelle. the latest coming up. and footloose, the high schooler once banned from his prom for this famous display finally gets his night at the dance. it always happens. i buy plants, i bring them home,

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we're back on this sunday morning, june 5th, 2011. a mild, june morning out here on the plaza. a nice crowd with us. we're going to thank them for spending part of the day, the beginning part, the best part of the day. i'm jenna wolfe along with lester holt and we have the privilege today of having a high schooler shadow us to see what the two best jobs in the world are. come say hi. so how is lester doing so far? >> really good. >> so then how is jenna doing so far? >> awesome. even better. >> awesome. even better. did you like that? is. >> we're setting your education back ten years by hanging with us. >> you may want to do this for a living, right? >> it's really awesome.

>> i love it. thank you so much. i really appreciate it. >> it's great to have her her. >> i would like a large coffee with skim milk. >> that's neat. anyway, we have got a lot more coming up in this half hour. we're going to talk about a missing nursing student in california. her name is michelle le, 26 years old, last seen more than a week ago when she stepped out of class at a hospital to get something from her car. she never came back. the car was found abandoned half a mile away. since then there's been no trace of her. coming up we'll talk to michelle's family and get the very latest on the case. and then we'll update you on a story we've been talking about the last couple of weeks, a lot of high schoolers are graduating. it's prom time. and remember james tate? he was the high school romantic who got banned from the prom for his bold display of basically asking his prom date on the side of the school. prom was last night. so how did tate plus date enjoy their night?

>> it was awesome. >> it probably was awesome in air quotes. i'm sure it was. we'll get the latest on that. >> nothing wrong with a little dessert when you're out for dinner. would you eat 11 chocolate fudge pop tarts? that's how much fat is in some of the items on the dessert men up at your favorite restaurant chain. so coming up, dave zinczenko is back to show us the healthier alternatives to order up instead in "eat this and not that." >> sometimes i would rather k w know. it's easier to take in all those calories. plus, summer style is often about footwear. n't you hate it when that pair of shoes you're doing to buy make your feet want to die as well? >> yes. >> thanks, lester. 90% of women wear shoes they say are too painful at least some of the time. 90% of women wear those. well, hurt no more. we found some great summer footwear that lets you look good and feel good from flats to heels. we'll show you what's cute and what's comfy just ahead. >> but first, janice huff is standing by with our last check

of the weather. thanks, you guys. i have my good friend sharon from delaware. >> hi, yoshi. thanks. hi, where are you from? >> hughes top, texas. >> boston. >> boston again? and you ladies, where are you from? >> the finger lakes. >> all right. the and we're excited to be here, aren't we? great to have you down. let's check on the forecast and see what's going on. a big storm on the west coast. you don't see swirls like this in june off the coast of san francisco. it almost looks like a hurricane but it's not a tropical system. however, it is bringing a lot of rain to central and northern california with which is unusual for this time of year. that storm system is going to stay there. a high of 66 in san francisco today. 67 in l.a. there won't be sun in the southwest, though. in fex 105. and the heat will continue across the southern states for the next few days. 90s to 100 degrees from texas into parts of the gulf coast.

and now here is generjenna. janice, thanks. police in northern california are searching for a missing nursing student. 26-year-old michelle le disappeared last week after making clinical rounds at the hospital where she was interning. during her break she never returned to work. family and friends held a vigil on friday night hoping for her safe return. joining us now michelle's brother, michael, and cousin, christine. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. thank you for having us. >> michael, let me start by

asking you this, your sister was last seen over a week ago. she told some colleagues at work she was running out to her car. she never came back. her car was found a half mile from where she worked and it was locked. what do you think might have happened to her? >> i'm not sure. i want to believe that maybe she had an off day. >> sure. we don't know -- we don't know much about her. tell me a little bit about michelle. was this like her not to return to work? >> michelle was caring. as an older sister at times overprotective. at times overbearing for me as a little brother. ever since my mom passed away,

she has been like a mother figure to me. and so at times she is a bit overbearing but, i just wish that -- i just wish that i was able to tell her that i loved her more. >> sure. >> because she loved me so much and she conveyed that. >> i understand she became a nurse because your mom was a nurse as well. christine, let me ask you, you're her cousin, you are a close family. what was the last time you spoke to michelle and what was her demeanor like the last time you did? >> i spoke to her last thursday, the thursday actually the night before she disappeared, i spoke to her the day before. i just had moved up to the bay area this very past monday and she and i were going to get lunch on wednesday to catch up. she had been busy with nursing school so i was looking forward to catching up with her. we just touched base to talk about that. >> now i understand you guys just held your vigil. what is the latest, michael, on the investigation?

what are authorities telling you right now? >> honestly, they're not telling us much. they say they don't want to jeopardize the investigation. i understand that but it's just hard not knowing where she is or any new developments in the case. >> we should mention that the reward now is over $40,000 with any information. and, please, both of you accept our thoughts as you at this point your search for michelle. christine and michael le, thank you so, so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and if you have any more information on michelle le's whereabouts please call the hayward police department hotline at the number that's on the screen.

♪ i may be mud, but i have standards. mops? please. some of them have bacteria. ♪ and they try to pick me up?

ew. i'm really hard to get. uh! ♪ what about love?! [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can grow bacteria. swiffer wetjet's antibacterial solution eliminates 99.9% of bacteria that mops can spread around. i like your pad! [ male announcer ] swiffer cleans better than a mop or your money back. prom night is usually a big deal, the night for every teenager. one date got a lot of attention because it almost didn't happen. here's nbc's john yang to tell us more about the big night. >> reporter: this was a big night. you'll remember this story started with one of the most famous prom invitations in history and last night was the big night and "today" was along every step of the way. >> let's rock 'n' roll. >> reporter: for james tate and sonali rodrigues, this is the

night that almost department happen. he spelled out the invitation on the high school it self. he says he thought it was a cool thing to do. school headmaster thought it was a major infraction and banned him from the prom. >> has it all been positive, the reaction towards you. >> yeah. everyone has been really nice about it. >> reporter: it made national headlines and triggered a website and a facebook campaign. tate even got support from a u.s. senator. >> the punishment has to fit the crime. >> reporter: finally it was all too much for the headmaster. >> i never thought that such a decision would lead to international notoriety. >> reporter: after the usual struggle with even a pretied bow tie and armed with a bouquet of flowers and a corsage, tate was off to meet his date and other friends. there was the usual round of picture taking by proud parents.

and then off to the prom in a stretch limo donated by a local car service. not quite how they imagined this night going. >> i mean it's different after everything that happened. >> i can't wait for everything to calm down. >> reporter: that's a sentiment shared by the headmaster. >> and we're ready to move on. it's all behind us now. >> reporter: what does tate say he learned about himself through all of this? >> i'm awkward. my voice is kind of weird and that's about it. >> reporter: for now, like all seniors on prom night, it's a time to feel like they're in their own little fantasy world. >> never thought i'd be riding in a limo with a t v crew. i feel like puff daddy or something. >> reporter: in a few short hours it will be back to reality. >> we have to work on our bio project. >> reporter: cameras weren't allowed inside the prom but the report they were named co-prom king and queen.

>> was the headmaster there? >> was there, greeted them both with a handshake. >> great ending to that story. john, thanks very much. still to come on "today," what's your favorite dessert when you go to a restaurant chain? how about the carb equivalent of this, 13 eggo waffles. till all the books are read... man: and all the pens are put down... woman: and everything there is to learn is learned. man: till the heroes retire and the monsters return to their dens... woman: and all the plots are wrapped up. man: till that day... boy: by hook or by crook... girl: by book or by nook... woman: i will read. now?! [ female announcer ] crest whitestrips two hour express. in just two hours you can have a noticeably whiter smile that lasts for months. hi. hi. [ female announcer ] two hour whitestrips from crest.

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[ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. ♪ ♪ membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. summer style this season is all about what you wear on up feet, and most women will suffer with an uncomfortable parent of shoes as long as they look good in them. but, believe it or not, style and comfort can marry each other. here to show us how is editor in chief of "shop smart" magazine. good morning. thanks for being with us. why is the question, why will

women sacrifice comfort for the sake of what a shoe looks like? is. >> they want to look great and shoes are the anchor of any great outfit. let's admit it. >> we should understand there are certain types of pain that signal injury and not just discomfort. >> wearing super, superhigh heels can cause stress fractures not to mention hammer toes and all of that. a lot of women don't realize if you wear flip-flops all summer your feet could widen permanently. >> and then you won't even get them -- >> then you can't even wear your fall shoes anymore. >> a follow-up on that. so a lot of people are going to be wearing flip-flops anyway. what do you suggest instead? >> just don't wear them all the time. the same thing with really superhigh heeled shoes. just don't wear them every day. >> let's talk about some trends this summer. the kitten heel was one of the big ones. this looks like it would be more comfortable to walk around in. >> this is a wonderful foot friendly trend. they are only an inch or two high. that's a great thing to look for in a shoe.

>> i've seen people wearing these all over the place but do they give you much support? >> most don't have much support so, again, these are like flip-flops. don't wear them every day. but it's good not to wear -- to vary high and low. a general advice is for an everyday shoe stay under 2 and a half and a half inches for the most part. >> then there's the wedge, which is basically like wearing a flat but you're high up. >> these are very foot friendly shoes, believe it or not, because the angle of your foot is not as severe so there's less pressure on up foot. >> so it's a good call. >> as long as you don't wear them too high because you could fall off and break your ankle. >> it would happen to me. a lot of shoe companies are pairing up with nike to have co comfortable soles. is that what we have? >> these are great shoes. as we age, get into your 40s and 50s, the pads of your feet thin out so a lot of shoe manufacturers are now coming out with really stylish, comfortable

shoes and most have cushy padding. >> it's about time. >> and they're stylish. worth checking out. >> i want to ask you about these, these are popular and we see these everywhere. are they good for you? it's like wearing foot socks but a little bit more durability to them. >> you're supposed to get a more natural stride from these because they mimic a natural foot walking but, you know, they also apparently are supposed to reduce foot injuries but for the first couple of weeks when you wear them it takes time to get used to them. you're using different muscles in your feet and legs so you might have soreness and pain when you first wear them. >> and you also need thick skin because you'll be called names when you wear these. i like them. you did an experiment. tell me about the three black pumps. >> we took three black pumps, different price points, $30, $70 and almost $100 and we actually had women walk around in them to

check for comfort and style and then we cut them in half, yes, to give them to an expert to assess them for construction. >> 9 west, minolas and what are these? >> target. >> and what were the results after women wore these different price points? >> the $30 shoe, you do get what you paid for, man made materials. the women said they were the least comfortable and least stylish. on the high end for almost $600, you are getting much better construction and beautiful materials. all leather sole but the most comfortable was the 9 west. regardless of price most of the women who tested the shoes 0 out said that's the one they would buy because it was the most comfortable. so the bottom line is spending more doesn't get you a more comfortable shoe. >> that is best takeaway. lisa freeman, thank you so much. appreciate your shoo-in sight. and now, once again, here is lester. jenna, thanks. this morning on "eat the this not that" that oh, so tempting

dessert menu may look delicious but what's hiding in some of your sweets in your favorite restaurants? here to show us is dave zinczenko, editor in chief of "men's health" magazine. good morning. >> great to be here, lester. >> dessert, we always say we can't have dessert if we want to be healthy. you'll show us some rough desserts and good alternatives. >> the number one predictor of being overweight is being on a diet. that's the worst thing you can do. that's why we created eat this, not that to show you how to lose 30 pounds by the end of the summer by indulging wisely and that includes eating dessert. >> our chain restaurants have high-calorie desserts. we'll start off with applebee's and the chocolate chip sundae. >> this would be sundae, bloody awful sundae. most would choose between a cookie and a sundae n. this case it's a collision of the two. it's 1,600 calories and three days' worth of saturated fat. that would be the saturated fat

equivalent of these 15 cream cheese filled original bagelfuls so don't do that. here at applebee's a hot sundae shooter. it's 380 calories so you will lose 1,200 calories with this smart swap, the equivalent of losing one pound every three days. >> you could split this between many people. >> even if you split it between two friends each person is still getting a full meal's worth of calories and a full day's worth of saturated fat. >> okay. let's walk down to our next example from olive garden, fried bread. need say no more. >> this is basically a fried doughnut treat that you dip in this chocolate sauce but it is not a skinny-dip. what you are talking about here is over 1,100 calories. this would be the carb equivalent of these 13 eggo

buttermilk waffles. so that's nearly a box and a ha half. you will save 900 calories, talking about 270 calories every four days with a swap like that you'll be losing a pound. >> ruby tuesday's has the italian cream cake. >> it's a cake catastrophe. if your server recommends this, sue for malpractice. 990 calories. it has 56 grams of fat and it's the fat equivalent of these 11 chocolate fudge pop-tarts. if you're at ruby tuesday's go with the red velvet cupcake. you can have your cupcake and lose weight, too, save 700 calories. >> i think i would anyway. i like that better. and lastly, our next example comes from red lobster and it looks like the first one we had.

>> this is a volcano of lard. it's 1,100 calories. it is a manhole cover of a cookie. i would call it cookie monster but that would be a disservice to the actual cookie monster. it is the calorie equivalent of these 11 serves of cookie crisp cereal. okay? it's 11 bowls. you're better off getting the key lime pie, save 500 calories. once again, that is a pound a week. >> that's a big savings. >> or what you can do is order a big scoop of ice cream with hot fudge and it's 170 calories. >> none of these are tough compromises. they're all good alternatives. >> incredible indulgences. >> dave zinczenko, always good to have you on. enjoy the rest of your weekend. we'll be back in a moment. look, every day we're using more and more energy.

the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

here's the thing, if you ever wondered how much work goes into making one bottle of wine, i had a chance to go behind the scenes out at napa valley and find out we've come a long way from the days of good old-fashioned grape stomping. i had gotten a lesson in how to taste wine before, swirl, sniff, sip, yummy. but i'm still a wine novice. so having been assigned to find out how they make it, i needed one more bit of advice from my mentor, "food & wine" man zen's ray. what can i say to sound smart? >> when i was in burgundy last -- >> and with that nugget, i was

off to napa. thanks for having us here. >> well, welcome. >> yeah, so i was in burgundy the other day -- this is a family vineyard. some of their wines have been named best in the world and savored by world leaders. >> queen elizabeth came over here and president reagan had a very big state affair dinner for her and served the chardonnay. >> it's lovely. >> john rule is the director of wine making here and literally has a masters in growing grapes, more than a winemaker john has to be part weather man. part gardener and exterminator. >> the flowers look pretty but they're great to attract beneficial insects. we rely on birds for natural pest control. >> we visited in the spring before the grapes had sprouted. now they're growing over the m

summer and after they're picked and crushed in the fall, the work continues. okay, john, this looks fnothing like a winery. >> we're looking at the level of sugar and the level of acidity in the wine. >> and then how to affect the flavor of the wine. big steel tanks keep certain crisp and fruity. barrels give others that oakiness you hear about. >> taste at your own risk. >> a weekly stir can add some depth. >> these solids have a creaminess to them and that's what we're trying to get into the wine itself. >> so what was a chardonnay now looks like this. the all this analyzing and stirring, when do you actually get to drink the -- oh, my gosh. john, honestly, are you trying to kill me? so this is the blending part. a few times a week the staff blind taste tests wine from different barrels in orchard.

they'll sniff, taste, debate. and unless they want to make some bad decisions by noon they'll spit. i feel like barbarians. and finally the ones they like get mixed together to eventually make up the winery's official bottle of chardonnay. lovely. when i go to a restaurant after now that i know everything they have been through, i'm going to finish every glass of wine. good tasting. can i be honest with you . >> sure. >> i was drunk. drunk. >> you're supposed to spit. >> spit. i did not spit. >> okay. >> that's going to do it for us. i'm not drunk now so i have that going for me. that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. thomas, janice, thank you for being with us. >> i thought that explained everything. i'll see you tonight on nbc "nightly news."ew ♪

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