good morning. deadly twister. exclusive video of one of the powerful tornadoes that plowed through indiana at 175 miles per hour. this as a 2-year-old girl is found alone in a field. the only survivor in her family. a young symbol of hope against a backdrop of destruction and despair. murder mystery. a handyman is arrested in connection with the death of a wealthy detroit woman. but while he's confessed to having a role in the crime, he says he did not work alone. and i sincerely apologize. the surprising show of remorse, radio host rush limbaugh

apologizes for his remarks against a georgetown law student. what may have brought about his change of heart? we'll get some insight today, march 4, 2012. good morning and welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt in henriville, indiana. >> and i'm jenna wolfe along with carl in studio 1-a. 37 people are confirmed dead, 20 in kentucky, 12 in indiana and 3 in ohio. >> national weather services the four twisters to hit kentucky were the worst in the region in 24 years. henryvil

henryville, indiana, an ef-4, staying on the ground for more than 50 miles. >> in one sign amid the hope and destruction a 2-year-old girl named angel was found alive but badly hurt. however, the rest of her family did not survive. we'll have her story coming up. lester, you've been in indiana for more than 24 hours. how is the community there coming together? >> reporter: they're cleaning up. we woke up to the sound of chain saws here as the sun came up this morning. people will be going to a special church service, a damaged church a bit later on this morning. when i came here, trying to wrap my mind around what i was seeing was difficult. it's hard to comprehend sometime what you're seeing. it took me a while, as the sun came up this morning, to realize, jenna, that's a metal mobile home trailer wrapped around that tree, giving you an idea of the force of the winds. you mentioned that ef-4 tornado on the ground for some 52 miles. in fact, there was a second tornado, a smaller one, that came through here and kind of

completed the destruction you see around me. we talk about buildings and houses demolished and obliterated. this is what i mean. i'm walking through the foundation of someone's home, or at least where that home once stood. the water heaters right down there. and up here is the front porch that now leads not to a house but to destruction. this damage, of course, has been seen in other places up and down where that line of storms hit. another hard hit town is nearby marysville, indiana, nine miles east of here. tom costello is there for us this morning. tom, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you. this is what an ef-4 storm looks like up close and personal. 175-mile-an-hour winds. there is simply nothing left. remind me of the photos and images we saw out of japan after the tsunami last year. take a look at this. this is a semitruck that has been picked up and tossed into a massive tree. the trees have been uprooted. every single branch has been

stripped. the homes here have been reduced -- if they're standing at all, they're not habitable but most have been reduced to pieces of wood. we have stories of children laying on the ground, mothers laying on top of children to protect them. fathers on top of mothers. i think there's really only word for all of this. it is quite simply awful. there is little left of marysville, indiana. while no one died here, this tiny country town of 1200 people has been nearly wiped away. meanwhile, a nearby chelsea, the jackson and cleper families are feeling the storm in an all-too personal way. >> i can't even begin to tell you how i feel about that. that poor baby. he was only 4. >> reporter: terry and carol jackson died when their home was torn apart. also dead, their 4-year-old great-grandson, ripped from the arms of her mother. she's now in the hospital.

survivors' personal image capture the moment the storm tore through. >> looked more like it was rolling instead of spinning. but it was wide. >> reporter: the tornado tore this family home from it's foundation, dropping it 100 yards away. on the road into henryville, indiana, trees and homes are been stripped or destroyed. lives up-ended. more than a dozen people died in southern indiana. across this area, the growl of chain saws has replaced the tornado's roar. indiana's governor described the damage as incomprehensible. >> all the things mere mortals can do isn't enough. >> reporter: a story of a 2-year-old girl found alone in a field. >> we put arm bands on everything on the children just to identify them. and found out pretty quickly that nobody came with this little girl. >> reporter: late saturday, word the child's parents, her brother and sister, were all killed. she remains in critical condition in louisville. in kentucky, at least 20 people

had been killed, 300 injured. >> it chokes you up. you don't know where your family is. it chokes you. >> reporter: four were killed in west liberty alone. the town still reeling from another deadly storm that hit just 48 hours earlier. this church was over 100 years old. now a jumbled pile of lumber. >> holy cow! oh, my gosh! >> reporter: across america's midsection, more than 100 tornados on friday, from the gulf states to the great lakes. in ohio, where three people died, there was barely enough time to take cover. >> we all went into the bathroom and all closed the door and peeked out the window and we started seeing trees come out of the ground. >> reporter: one person also dead in alabama, the town of harvest, flattened. they haven't even rebuilt from a tornado that hit less than ten months ago. >> we just got in in january, moved back into the house. getting ready to move that mobile home. it picked it up, turned it around and slammed it into the house. >> reporter: heavy damage as well in north carolina, where crews are now working to restore power.

as a third of the country spent the day trying to recover from a day of devastation and heartbreak. back live in marysville, indiana. i asked my photographer to give you a very wide shot because just take a look at the landscape. these are people's lives. they are completely gone. everything, every earthly possession they had, gone. thank goodness that in this particular town, nobody died. but as you can see, there quite simply nothing left anywhere you look. we can tell you that the police and the national guard are here, trying to make sure there isn't any looting going on. fema on the ground, national guard on the ground, and president obama has been in charge with the governor offering assistance. back to you. >> tom costello, thanks. as if to emphasize the early tornado season, a light snow now falling here in henryville. back to jenna in new york. >> thank you.

now let's go to the city of west liberty, kentucky. four people were killed in one much the storm's hardest hit areas. weather channel's mike bettis is there with the story. how bad is it on the ground there? >> reporter: well, it truly is a devastating blow for this city. you can just see everything has been reduced to rubble here. this is a very sturdy brick and mortar structure. and you can't even tell what it once was, but this has been a hard-hit community. 20 people have died in the bluegrass state. we can tell you in this particular county and in west liberty, the death toll has risen to six now. it's been a very difficult blow for this town. it's been on lockdown since the tornado struck. this was an ef-3 tornado, winds of 140 miles an hour, and imagine a mile-wide tornado bearing down on this town of just 2,000 people. when we talked to the mayor yesterday, he was visibly shaken, could barely bring himself to describe what happened here in his town. not one single building here in this downtown district has gone untouched.

municipal building has been hit, fire station, police station has been hit. they're very cripple pd there's no power. power generators running and light stands. it is a very long road to recovery. it will take quite some time. when you're the county seat of this particular county and you've been wiped out, as you can imagine, jenna, it's going to be a very long road to recovery. the governor has promised assistance, declared a state of emergency but the death toll has risen overnight and now kentucky, the hardest hit state with 20 fatalities total. >> mike, thank you very much. let's get a check on the morning's other top stories and we turn to tom at the news desk. >> the u.s. consulate in krakow confirms one american is dead in a head-on collision of two passenger trains in southern poland. the trains collided early today after they somehow wound up on the same track, killing at least 16 people and injuring nearly 60. the unidentified american had been living in krakow. after a flood of complaints

and sponsor boycott, rush limbaugh apologized for his controversial comments in the debate about birth control. the story from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: rush limbaugh's verbal attack of georgetown law school student -- >> it means you're a slut, right? a prostitute? >> reporter: for speaking in support of government mandated contraception coverage. >> if we are going to pay for your contraceptives and, thus, pay for to you have sex, we want something for it. and i'll tell you what it is. we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch. >> reporter: those attacks created the expected headline-grabbing controversy. and now an unexpected apology. in a statement late saturday afternoon, the controversial radio host wrote, i chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. i did not mean a personal attack on ms. fluke. the apology came after sponsors legal zoom, quicken loan, sleep

train and sleep number pulled their ads from limbaugh's show. president obama called fluke to express his support. >> he expressed his concern for me and his disapproval of this type of discourse. >> reporter: in his apology, limbaugh makes clear he does not agree with fluke on the issue of contraception coverage, but he does admit that his choice of words was not the best. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. now to russia where opposition leaders and election monitors report widespread violations in elections today that are expected to return vladimir putin to the presidency. the violations could continue the wave of protests against government corruption that began in december. that's the news. . now back to jenna, carl and janice. >> thank you very much. >> janice is here with a check of the weather. >> good morning. we'll check and see what's left of all that severe weather. that storm system that moved us through those areas, the ohio and tennessee river valleys produced some severe weather this morning around orlando, but no tornadoes. still quite a bit of rain left

over in parts of the eastern seaboard but that should clear out. it's snowing in henryville and louisville this morning, that will taper off tonight and looks like the temperatures will warm up for the clean-up and clear . t and guide sunday morning to you. we're seeing mostly clear skies and chilly temperatures, at least in some of our inland valleys around the north bay. can you see 30s there. santa rosa and napa, nevada and san francisco not too bad. around 50 degrees right now. not much wind. we will see the sea breeze pick up a little bit later on. not many clouds around the bay area. high pressure giving us at least one more pretty warm day. 70s for most of the inland spots. turning cooler tomorrow with showers monday night into early tuesday. >> now here's carl. >> janice, thanks. we're just two days away from super tuesday when 424 delegates will be up for grabs in eleven states. perhaps none more important than ohio. a new nbc-marist poll out this

morning is providing more insight on what voters in the battleground state are thinking. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." >> good morning. >> let's recap the caucuses in washington state. mitt romney comes out on top. what kind of boost does that give him going into super tuesday? >> you know the momentum of win after win after win. what he hasn't done in the race so far is build on victory. he had michigan and arizona this past week, he goes in to super tuesday with a string of victories. he wants to not just be the front-runner, i think he wants to really solidify himself as the presumptive nominee. that's the opportunity tuesday represents. >> we all know ohio is the big prize, 63 delegates. you're going to unveil some new poll numbers this morning that takes a look at what gop voters in that state feel, in this case, about whether or not they're satisfied with the field. right? >> yeah, that's right. and there's still a high level of dissatisfaction if you look at the numbers. with the field. and that's something that mitt romney has got to deal with. 46% saying they'd like to see somebody else run. i don't think that's going to happen at this point.

so, mitt romney's got to find a way to translate that sentiment into some ability to have the party coalesce around him. by the way, a victory in ohio could help him do that. if he can say, i won ohio, i won florida, two big battlegrounds in the fall, that could help that cause. >> we know electability is a key thing in the campaign, and gop voters in ohio have strong feelings about that topic, too. >> they do. and, again, electability still reps with romney. joe klein makes a point in "time" magazine this week that i think is important. the electability argument has to be driven by a series of proposals that really give some meat to that claim. not just saying i'm the one who can beat obama. because there are primary voters who believe that's the case about romney, but they still don't -- they don't love him. so you have an enthusiasm gap that becomes a problem. particularly with some of these social issues now, overshadowing the campaign. a lot of democratic voters feeling more energized and desiring to get out and vote against republicans. >> let's switch gears just a

little bit, talk about rush limbaugh's apology for those controversial comments about sandra fluke and the contraception controversy. what's behind the apology, do you think? and is it too little, too late? >> well, he was losing advertisers, for one thing. i'm sure in a presidential race he was feeling the heat of the fact that this was something of a gift to the democrats, who are already making the case that republicans are overreaching on osh issues. look, limbaugh is a very influential voice in the republican grassroots party. right? as a voice on the right. and whenever he gets to a point where he might overshadow presidential candidates, you hear from mitt romney. mitt romney doesn't want to have this conversation about contraception. he wants to be talking about the economy. so i think that there's pressure in terms of these candidates not wanting to talk about it. >> what's coming up on "meet the press"? >> our big super tuesday preview. we've got newt gingrich, eric cantor, the house majority leader who will wade into the race for the first time. debbie wasserman schultz with a view from the democratic party. and even some, as you've been alluding to, more of our poll

numbers in the key battlegrounds for super tuesday. >> all right, david, thank you. david gregory. once again here's jenna. >> all right, carl, thanks. now to the murder mystery of a wealthy detroit woman. police have arrested a handyman who rused to work for the family, but as nbc's lilia luciano reports there are still more questions than answers. >> reporter: joseph guest enters the courthouse in wayne county, michigan, thinking he's attending a custody hearing. in fact deputies are waiting to arrest him for murder. >> you're under arrest. >> reporter: police found jane bashara's body in a detroit alley on january 25th. the marketing executive and mother of two had been severely beaten and strangled. two days later police named bob bashara her husband of 27 years a person of interest. he has denied any involvement in her death. >> about a year ago we did go to a marriage counselor, sort through some things. and we -- we -- we love each

other. >> reporter: one week after jane's death this man, joe gentd who worked as a handyman confessed to the murder. police say the 48-year-old who prosecutors have labeled mentally disabled claimed bashara hired him to kill his wife in exchange for $2,000 and his old cadillac. he was let go but arrested a month later. but the search for a killer has shed light on what some call bob bashara's double life. he denied multiple accounts that he had a mistress. and a woman who asked nbc to conceal her identity told our detroit affiliate said bashara invited her to a secret dungeon filled with s&m props. >> there was equipment like saint andrew's cross, a post, a big web. >> reporter: bashara denies the allegations of an a&m lifestyle but wouldn't elaborate. >> i have ply children to worry about. >> reporter: though he's not a

suspect he may have some tough questions to address. for "today," lilia luciano, nbc news. up next on "today," prince harry, boogies down in belize. the details right after this. acos urne ihilpifhedent my early stages of cancer and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life, matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn, and i'm a cancer survivor. [ mimi ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ erica ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses, it would just make such a complete picture of why i'm sitting here today. ♪ [ herb ] from the moment we walked in the front door, just to see me -- not as a cancer patient, but as a person that had been helped by their work,

i was just blown away. life's been good to me. i feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world. ♪ prince harry is touring parts of the caribbean to celebrate his grandmother's 60th anniversary as queen. and at each stop he's learning why people are wild about harry. here's nbc's chapman bell. >> reporter: touch down in belize to a formal welcome. representing his grandmother the queen for her diamond jubilee. after a speech to the people of belize -- >> when it became clear that i was to represent my grandmother in belize, my heart leapt, for a good reason. >> reporter: and the naming of a street in the queen's honor. >> queen elizabeth ii boulevard. >> reporter: it wasn't long before things became a little less formal as the prince joined a traditional street party. >> the street party, he rather

broke with royal protocol and danced with very pretty ladies, and ate food and drank beer. it's not your typical royal walkabout but that's harry all over. he likes to have fun. >> reporter: warming to the belizean people, they had heard harry likes to have a good time. he did not disappoint on his first solo royal tour. >> it's a great start to the four for harry. it's been very colorful. he's been labeled the party prince because he's really got into the belizean spirit here. >> reporter: after a night of festivities the third in line to the throne visited an ancient mayan temple. climbing to the top for a breathtaking view. amid more celebrations for his visit. before christening a canoe for the queen with local beer. belize is just the first stop on prince harry's tour of caribbean commonwealth realms, where the queen is head of state. he will also visit the bahamas, and jamaica to celebrate her 60 years on the throne. if belize sets the tone for the remaining countries, the fun-loving prince's debut is bound to be hailed a great

success. for "today," chapman bell, nbc news, belize. >> and the prince continues his tour. and today he's enjoying the sand and surf in the bahamas. still to come, lindsay lohan. she hosted "snl" last night as she tries to make a comeback. we'll look at how she did. i'm here because he hangs here. because you don't see this everyday. (child) because we read the books. (man) and watched the movies. and now we're living it. because i can fly with harry. follow me! because now i can turn my brother back into a human being. (narrator) from unforgettable adventures, to the wizarding world of harry potter, only at universal orlando resort. have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares

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good morning to you. looking live at a very blue start to the transamerica building and date in san francisco. check out some flags. you can see it flipping away. i'm glad to be inside with this hair. kris sanchez along with meteorologist rob mayeda. pony tail day in san francisco. >> offshore wind, and by this afternoon i think it will switch back the other way. i think we'll see the sea breeze pick up later on, but right now it's 50 in san francisco. you can see the temperatures in the inland valley. wind-protected spots at the dry air. 30s and low 40s. not much wind down at sea level

except in some of the hilltops in marin county and gusts around 25 miles per hour this morning. we're cloud-free again. high pressure holding on for ai another day which will boost our temperatures around lunchtime. already some or70s around the santa clara valley. tri-valley, i think that's the warm spot. out by pleasanton, probably some mid to upper 70s. otherwise low to mid-70s and the warmest places around the bay area. enjoy it while it lasts. we'll see cooling. cooler wednesday and tuesday and showers monday night into very early tuesday, not impacting the tuesday morning commute and temperatures rebounding for the second half of the week. >> an historic first. israel's president will visit the bay area. shimon peres arrives today and will tour san francisco and the valley all the way through thursday. the aim of his visit to target high-tech industry leaders including at google and facebook. this is the first time that a sitting president of israel has

visited the bay area. several lawmakers plan to seek a state audit of san jose pensions obligations. the idea is get an independent neutral evaluation of san jose's pension costs coming after an nbc bay area investigation found an inaccurate estimate was used in some negotiations with unions. at various time the mayors and others said san jose's retirement obligation in 2015 could reach $650 million. the state committee plans to meet wednesday to decide whether to approve that request for that audit. in the sierra skiers and snowboarders are enjoying an extra four feet of snow, but that may not be enough to help the economy there. this is expected to be one of the busiest weekends of the season for tahoe ski resorts, but it's been one of the bleakest snow seasons on record which means business has been slow, and now many people are talking about ways to help boost industry there. in south lake tahoe there's talk of expanding entertainment and

gambling options to entice people regardless of whether the snow falls. a north lake tahoe group is considering a plan to bring in more tech workers from the bay area to relocate and telecommute. now there's an idea. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," the latest on the fire fights in san francisco and in san jose overnight, plus a-list celebrities join the fight for gay marriage. we'll show you where you can see their play. that and all the day's news coming up for you right here at 7:00. [grunting] (sir can-a-lot) whoa! hello, madame. sir can-a-lot. crusader of flavor. i wanted to make your mac 'n cheese more delicious by adding glorious spam!

(woman) that does sound good. glorious. (ancr) break the monotony. for more fun ideas visit spam.com. we're back on sunday morning, march 4th, 2012. we've got a really nice, excited crowd joining us on the plaza. our thanks to them for coming out. spending part of their morning with us. outside on the plaza i'm jenna wolfe alongside carl quintanilla. lester is in henryville, indiana. thank you so much for joining us. coming up in this half hour, a really nice story. a young girl's story from tragedy to triumph. a teen critically injured in a drunk driving accident makes an incredible recovery. we're going to show you how she now has turned that around to

inspire others. >> it's a great story. also on a much lighter note, lindsay lohan last night hosting "snl." her big return to studio 8h. did she pull it off? and take a look at this. it's a sloth. >> that's a sloth. >> it's a little slow but it's adorable. we're going to show you some south american animals, including a bird called the spoonbill. >> but the sloth even eats slow. the sloth is like oh, fine, when i get a chance i'll eat some of your food. >> that's coming up. >> appropriately named. first we're going to head back to henryville, indiana, where lester is standing by. hey, lester. >> hey, jenna. you know, since we were on the air yesterday morning the death toll has risen significantly. now 37 across the area. here in indiana, and neighboring kentucky, they took the worst of it here. we're at henryville. i want to show you the cruel randomness of these kind of tornadoes. over there we've got a house still standing and next to it a trailer demolished. here's a house standing. by the way, there was a woman

apparently in this house during the tornado, sitting in the bathroom with her pet. she walked out unscathed. you can see the condition of her house. mostly, though, the buildings and homes around here have been demolished. two tornadoes came through, an ef-4, second high up on the scale. about 175-mile-per-hour winds. on the ground, 50 some odd miles. and a second, smaller one came through. that bigger one was captured by this young man, 21-year-old danny o'shea. you shot some on your cell phone. >> right. ipad touch. >> we can show some of that here. we're going to get you to talk about it. you were in the basement. had taken shelter, during the storm. you see it coming and you're capturing this. first of all what were you thinking? >> i was in the basement. i felt pretty safe in the basement window. i seen the tornado coming. i did not realize it was going to be that severe. right here you can see at the end of the scene the trash can hits the window pretty hard. >> you're obviously you should be out of the way of the window here. but what attracted you to keep shooting? >> well, i had already seen the -- seen it coming on the one

side of the house, i just had to keep rolling. i had my camera out. i wanted to see. >> i'm not sure where you were -- we're looking at the center of town. is that where it's coming through? >> yeah, it's coming right down the other side. >> so you realize you're watching it destroy your town. >> yes. i seen it pick up the debris right there. >> well, incredible video. thanks for sharing with us. we're going to ask you to step out here and bring in sergeant jerry gooden of the indiana state police. sergeant, thanks for joining us. i want to get a quick update from you -- i'm sorry you're? >> danny rodman clark county sheriff. >> thank you very much. >> i want to get a sense of the search, are you done searching all this area? >> right now we're pretty confident that we've located everyone that we think was in the area. we don't have any missing people we're not actively searching for anybody. we've actually stopped our rescue mode and turning now to a cleanup mode and security mode. we're trying to make sure that what is left here for these folks can still be here when they come in. >> we mention this storm, the tornado was on the ground for

over 50 miles. did it hit any other -- that particular tornado hit any other communities beside this one? >> absolutely. that's the thing about it. we've got about four or five county area here, about a 50 mile stretch of area, that's just like this. it's total devastation. we've spent the first two days obviously doing nothing but searching every single home, and a lot of it is rural area. it was hard to get to because of the trees and stuff that were down. but we've caught up with that and thank you we're pretty confident we've located everyone. obviously if someone calls in and thinks someone is still missing we're still actively -- >> i saw your dogs out yesterday. and looking around here. there wasn't a lot of police for people to take shelters. these were trailers here in many cases, no basements. >> and here's the sad thing about this is, we're talking to people and they're happy that they've got rubble left. because they say i'm happy i've got rubble left where my home was because down the road here just a little bit my neighbor's home is completely gone and we have no idea where the rubble is even at. where did it go to? all that's left is a sidewalk or a row of blocks.

>> things were blown 60 miles away. we're watching people come together and clearly everyone's taking care of each other. sergeant, thanks very much. thanks for much for coming by. we appreciate it. we have to note that this is the weather folks call this one right on the money. they saw this coming for several days and now we see of course what's left. janice huff, want to bring you in to this here. first of all, are we passed now this risk? >> you are lester. thank goodness the weather is going to clear up there for the next couple of days. such extreme devastation for not just that area but many communities across the ohio and tennessee river valleys. the weather improving. however it is spring and it's more likely to see this type of weather possible over the next several months, unfortunately. because this is the season now coming up when we see most tornadoes. right now, we're seeing some morning rain along the south atlantic coast. we had some strong thunderstorms around orlando this morning from the same weather system. but it weakened considerably once it got down into florida. and now it looks like it will clear out there. so light snow expected over the ohio valley tomorrow.

some nice people who came to visit today. where are you guys from? >> york, pennsylvania. >> oh, we practiced and you did it and right here we're seeing high pressure holding its ground, at least long enough today to keep the sea breeze at bay, until later on this afternoon and evening. we'll see the sea breeze pick up. mostly 70s and maybe mid to upper 70s around the tri-valley and cooling. sea breeze kicks back in later this evening, into tonight. temperatures cropping with some clouds spilling in for monday and then monday night, early tuesday, we think before the tuesday morning commute we'll see a few showers. breezy and much cooler tuesday, and then we rebound in the temperatures second half of the week. >> to get the latest forecast any time of the day logon to weather.com. now here's jenna. >> janice, thank you. now to an amazing survival story of a young girl nearly killed by a drunk driver. she's now inspiring others with her faith and her strength. it's the subject of a new book

called "miracle for jen." nbc's michelle franzen is here with her story. >> good morning, jenna. jen was just 15 years old at the time of the accident. and no one expected she would survive after suffering a major brain injury. but her family, and community, rallied around her, and described what happened in the weeks and months that followed as nothing short of a miracle. at the barrack home the simple act of having dinner together means everything. >> i believe that god has in a sense given us a second chance. >> reporter: that second chance came five years ago, when jen, her parents, linda and andy, and brother josh, were nearly killed by a drunk driver. >> his lights were off. he was running from the police, and we didn't see him coming. >> reporter: the day began celebrating josh's baseball tournament win. and jen's first choir concert. in a split second on the drive home, it would become their

worst day. the accident happened on this stretch of road less than a mile from the barrack's home. the family was told the driver was going nearly 80 miles an hour at the time, and no one remembers what happened next. >> all of a sudden i'm waking up, and my face is just up against this crushed glass windshield. >> reporter: the entire family sustained life-threatening injuries, and were rushed to four different hospitals. jen wasn't expected to make it through the night. >> jennifer had a traumatic brain injury and it was a global injury all through her brain. >> reporter: in the days, weeks and months when the barracks couldn't care for themselves, family and friends pitched in, using the power of prayer, they say, to cope. hold on to hope. and deal with the anger. >> that was my little girl. and here's what got me. jen did nothing to deserve it. >> reporter: doctors didn't expect jen to recover at all. she was in a coma for five weeks. and her mom says the time she did respond were not

encouraging. >> we'd see half an eye for a little bit. it wasn't like she just woke up and could talk to us. >> reporter: when jen finally emerged from the coma, loved ones say she was singing gospel songs, and reciting prayers as clear as she had before the accident. >> thank you for everything. >> reporter: defying the odds, and surprising everyone, including doctors. jen has learned to walk again. talk. and read. >> he has for us. >> that's really good. >> reporter: in the months before the accident, jen kept a spiritual journal, writing about wanting to be different, and wanting to make a difference. entries jen says she now embraces as someone who lives to tell her story. she and her mom lead and speak at prayer groups and jen's mom has written a book about their ordeal. >> i know i'm different. and i'm okay with that. >> reporter: back at home, dinner has spilled over into a card game.

everyday moments that are now extraordinary. >> i know it is still hard. we all struggle in different ways. but, i feel like it has also bonded us as a family. which i'm very thankful for that. >> jen still struggles with some memory problems, and doctors tell us her progress is slowly continuing. that hasn't held her back, though, jen is even taking a college course and looking forward, she says, to whatever the future holds. >> what a great story. thanks a lot, michelle franzen. up next, live from new york, it's lindsay lohan. did her attempt at a comeback work?esoessag.wehese messages. [ tom ] we invented the turbine business right here in schenectady. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world.

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wait. the alarm goes off if i leave the stage? i thought it was only if i left the studio. are you searching me? >> no. no. i'm -- i'm a lesbian now. >> been there, done that. >> you can do this. if for any reason you can't, john ham's on stand by as backup host. >> that was lindsay lohan on saturday night live. was she a hit or a miss? >> alicia carl global entertainment reporter for associated press and staff writer for "us weekly". >> erica, they're calling this her comeback. does it deserve that title? >> she had a few stumbles. she did a pretty decent job but it is in no way a comeback. this doesn't set the stage for all these roles to come through for her.

>> at 25, a comeback? >> what she's been through, in and out of jail, in and out of rehab, it's a comeback of sorts. she stumbled on some lines, she she was sober, made it there, that's good enough. >> let's move on to peter cook and christie brinkley. they got divorce aid couple years ago but it's still playing out in the court over money. i guess he's calling her names now. she still wants child support. what's going on here? >> it's been nasty from the start. he slept with an 18-year-old intern, that's why their marriage broke up. it's going back and forth. now she alleges he owes her back child support. he alleges, no, she owes him. he called her an egotistical nars cyst -- >> yeah. >> and to play it out in the public. >> no shame, they played it all out. >> i remember covering the trial. she brought her kids' art projects. you're like, what's going on? they have played it out in the public for a long, long time. >> one thing in public was

justin bieber's 18th birthday. not only is it a huge deal nationwide, but he goes on "ellen" and given a $100,000 car by his manager and mentor. >> justin bieber has made his managers usher and scooter millions of dollars. to them this is not a big deal. >> give me a subway pass and i'd be happy. >> he's legal, hello. he's legal. >> i don't know about that. >> he's giving back to charity on his birthday. he tweeted, donate to charity water. he's trying as well. >> what about this story beyonce has been breast-feeding in public. where do you fall on this? >> i think it's great. she can debunk all the rumors her belly was fake and doing what lots of mothers do. she's like every other mother out there. >> just like us. >> a billion dollars difference. >> yeah, except for that. >> it's a way to bond with your

baby. do it. >> big story, snooki, pregnant. was this expected? >> so expected. we've been hearing it for months. she talks about her boyfriend and also a smart career move. we can have a spin-off with snooki and her baby daddy. i'd watch that. >> the next thing we're talking about is ashton/demi. he went to visit her after she got out of rehab. is this, i feel bad, hope you're okay or a reconciliation? >> no, they're not reconciling. he's moved on, lots of pda, going on vacation to italy. demi was having a hard time. he knew it was important for her daughters to step in. >> speaking of pda, not quite there, but taylor swift and tim thibault spotted having dinner together on what might have been a date, might not have been a date. but the two of them together is kind of seductive, right? >> i hope this is true. all-american taylor swift,

unlucky in love, tebow, christian. pure, cute couple. >> she has a huge crush on him. he doesn't quite feel the same yet. >> in the off-chance we're talking ten years from now, they would have incredibly talented kids, right? >> yes. >> thank you for being here, as always. up next, we're headed to south america for a look at some of rare exotic animals. looking for a better place to put your cash?

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♪ hey i heard you were a wild one ♪ >> this morning on "today's call of the wild" rare animals from the diverse lands of south america whose only goal in life is to visit studio 1a. >> that's right.

sea world and busch gardens animal ambassador julie scardina joins us this morning along with a few friends. >> good to see you guys. >> we're going to start with the sloth. >> one of the seven deadly sins right here. and mario here who is from busch gardens has been sleeping just about all morning. but they do sleep about 20 hours a day. so it's not all that unusual. but we're kind of trying to wake him up a little bit here. >> they sleep a lot because their metabolism is slow, right? >> that's exactly right. but a lot of people kind of say, well sloths are lazy. but it has nothing to do with laziness. it all has to do with survival. so here is an animal that doesn't move around too much, is not very fast, actually can't move on the ground very much at all. they can, believe it or not, swim better than they can walk on the ground. but if you can't run away from your predators, what do you need to do? you need to hide. so look at him sitting there. now if this tree were covered with leaves -- >> we can see you. >> i know what you're trying to do. we totally see you, mario. >> mario here.

have another -- have another green bean. >> so what do you feed an animal like that? >> you know, he doesn't get that much energy from his food. >> doesn't even want to eat. >> does he want us to chew it for him? he is important to the ecosystem. >> he is very important to the ecosystem. feel his hair. >> are you sure? >> the hair is specially designed to actually grow algae on it. and the algae not only helps in the camouflage in the forest but it actually provides an ecosystem on his back. so beatles and moths and all the things that also live in the rain forest with him can find a space to live. it creates more of a habitat for all the animals that live in the rain forest, as well. and of course, after he eats, a week later, only a week later, he defecates and then there's a whole bunch of good fertilizer for all the trees. >> sloth, you just take a little nap. >> he'll stay there.

>> next up we have the spoonbill. >> that's right. jenna, i'm going to have you catch your spoonbill. >> this is a bird. >> i want you to hold up your left arm. panini, come on, fly in. there you go. >> oh! nice. >> watch my dress. >> what are we getting? >> these are fish eaters or shrimp eaters basically. and you see how they use that bill. wow he gets down on that fish. brandon if we have any extra we can put that in there for panini, as well. >> tell me about the color of the bird. >> birds like flamingos and the spoonbill, here. you don't want the veggies probably. they get their coloration from a pigment called beta-carotene. it's the same thing that's found in carrots but it's also found in algae, shrimp and some of the other things that they'll eat. they're wetland birds so they basically have the longer legs so they can go in the shallow water. then they use that bill, you saw how he was feeding out of the bowl like that. >> like a spoon almost.

>> back and forth and then they pick up their fish, and it's very sensitive bill. he actually enjoys -- see how gentle it is? >> yes. >> really -- >> very graceful. not like he has any type of force with it, but he feels his food. >> let's finish before we go outside with something called a tegu? >> yes, this is a beautiful lizard from south america. >> nothing but beauties this morning. >> isn't he incredible? these guys have the forked tongue. >> can i touch? >> oh, yes, absolutely. now this is a female. just about full grown. the males will get about twice this size. and they're very jowly. so the females find that impressive. out in the wild you never want to walk up to any wild animals, of course. but these guys are fairly docile. some people have them as pets. but of course, know what you're getting into. these are a large lizard, and they can bite, obviously, potentially, and the last thing you want to do is release them into the wild if you can't take care of them anymore.

>> great stuff. >> hold on tight. just squeeze if you don't mind. julie scardina, thank you so much. >> our pleasure. >> so many wonderful friends visiting us. i am a pro baller. 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life. sometimes life can be, well, a little uncomfortable, but when it's hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, there's dulcolax stool softener. dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go... it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. and, just like toddlers, puppies need food made for them.

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honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? and that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. our thanks to carl quint tina, tom lamas and jan us huff. lester it's been a busy weekend filled with emotion as indiana and kentucky try to deal with this tragedy. >> it has been, jenna. you know, when you and i look at scenes like this we ask how could anybody possibly have come out of that alive? those folks who did come out,

they're asking themselves the same question. that brings a lot of emotional heavy baggage with it. but folks throughout the disaster zone are wrapping their arms around each other literally and figuratively in the cleanup, trying to heal the physical wounds and then the emotional ones will follow. on sundays we close with our "life illustrated" segment showing you the pictures taken by disaster survivors. i'll see you tonight on "nbc nightly news." ♪ ♪