captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. former vice president dick -che rec aei heart transz plant. he spent nearly two years on a transplant list before undergoing the operation. the latest on cheney's surgery and his road to recovery. santorum victory. rick san m wins the lisiana primary solidifying his support in the deep south. his campaign has a renewed spark, despite trailing mitt romney in the delegate count. we'll look at what this means for the gop nomination. and the shooter's side. george zimmerman. the man at the center of killing a teen, we'll hear from his

friend and zimmerman's legal adviser on his version of events. on this sunday, march 25th, events. on this sunday, march 25th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe and we're still talking about the fallout on the trayvon martin shooting. >> tomorrow marks the one month since the shooting and we heard from his parents and supporters in their views on what happened that night but we haven't heard much from the shooter, george zimmerman, until now. plus an exclusive interview from a woman who witnessed some of that night's events. then we'll dip into politics. president obama has some tough words for north korea and its planned long-range rocket launch

while visiting south korea the president said bad behavior from north korea will not be rewarded. more on the president's tip in just a few minutes. plus, reunited. william and kate are on the slopes of the alps spending a romantic weekend together after being apart for weeks. a live report from london. and lionel richie, one of our favorites on the show. he's out with a new album that contain some of his hottest hits with a country feel. seem to be a popular thing. lots of guys dip into country now. >> i was able to sit down with him and discover what it was like to visit many of his hits. lots to get to. but, the breaking news about former vice president dick cheney. the 71-year-old is recovering at a virginia hospital after having a heart transplant. he was on the transplant list for more than 20 months. recently moving to the top. his office said cheney had the transplant surgery saturday in falls church, virginia, and

released a statement saying in part, "although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this life-saving gift." mr. cheney had his first heart attack at 37. his second heart attack came six years later followed by an emergency quadruple bypass in 1988. cheney suffered two more heart attacks, including one in 2000 during the florida recount, during which he and george w. bush took office. his fifth heart attack came in 2010 after that doctors installed a special device known as a left ventrical assist to aid his ailing heart. a device he later showed. >> you deal with it. you take whatever the doctors recommend, the latest step and i've been able to live a full, normal, active life. >> and joining us now is nbc chief medical editor dr. nancy sniderman. good morning.

so, put this into perspective for us. how difficult an operation is this. we hear heart transplant and it sounds so serious. >> technically it is not so difficult sewing things in place the hard part is the waiting list because there aren't enough organs to go around. this is not one of the things where you find a donor and it fits everybody. very elegant tissue typing. he was on the waiting list for 20 months, which is longer than the average person. >> five heart attacks, quadruple -- >> his first heart attack at 37. >> quadruple bypass, angioplasty, was this inevitable. >> he was born with a diseased heart and struggled with it and the last few years he has been in end stage cardiac failure. as we have been able to see, he went from that robust, sort of round faced energetic person to someone who over the last couple of years has been really gaunt. he has spoken to that. he has been winded just walking

across the room, that's classic for the fact that his heart just didn't have a lot of mileage left on it. >> so, he gets this new heart per se. is there any way to tell what his prognosis is? >> increasingly it's better. 70% of heart transplants go to men because men have more heart disease than women and they're diagnosed more often. he is at the upper limits of age when you look at who is going to get it. usually it's 70 and lower, but exceptions made for people who are in otherwise good health. his overall survival rate should be 70 to 75% for the next five years. he does have extraordinary doctors and extraordinary will to live and we expect him to do well. but this really was his only option. >> all right dr. nancy snyderman, thanks for your insight. now to it rayvon martin investigation. ron allen is live in sanford, florida.

ron, good morning. >> good morning to you, lester. still a lot of energy, passion and outrage here and we expect the daily protests to continue here and across the country today. we also expect to hear a lot from the pulpits of black churches about the demand for justice for trayvom man martin his family today. reverend al sharpton is on his way to be with the family tomorrow. we also understand the martin family intends to file a civil lawsuit probably targeting the homeowner's association that ran the crime watch program that george zimmerman was on patrol for on the night in question. now, we also understand that there's a lot of concern here about vigil ante justice. there's a small group calling themselves the new black panthers who put out a $10,000 bounty or reward for anyone who can find george zimmerman. it's a small group but police are very concerned. you'll recall that a couple days ago a man was arrested here for e-mailing death threats to the chief of police. meanwhile, george zimmerman

remains in hiding and has an attorney speaking for him and we understand he is cooperating with investigators who know where to find him and some of his friends and supporters are beginning to speak out for him, as well, all saying that zimmerman is not a racist and he was acting in self-defense the night he shot and killed trayvon martin. >> joe oliver is zimmerman's friends. thanks to both of you for joining us this morning. joe, you spoke with george zimmerman as recently as yesterday. how is he weathering this storm around him and how aware is he of all these things we just showed? >> jgeorge is just becoming awae of how big this is. and through his family members i learned that right after the shooting he couldn't stop crying. he's at the point now where he's just now realizing not just how big this is for him, but how big this is for the country, which is one reason why i'm sitting here now. >> craig, mr. zimmerman claims

self-defense with police originally. you're standing by that defense of him. what's the evidence of self-defense here? >> well, what i can reveal right now, i don't want to litigate this case in the media, i want to litigate it in court. george zimmerman suffered a broken nose and an injury to the back of the head and grass stains on the back of his shirt. he claims that trayvon martin struck him and he was acting in self-defense. >> some neighbors saw things and tonight on "dateline" nbc we'll hear from a neighbor who said through her open window she was hearing a whining sound of a young voice and then a gunshot. i want to let you hear what she then sees and get your thoughts. here it is. >> we heard the gunshot and someone ran within seconds was out on the back porch. >> your roommate went out first. >> my roommate.

she did not believe it was a gunsh gunshot. she thought it was maybe kids playing in a scooter and had hit the sign or, you know, something had happened and i was out within seconds after her. i was outside and we both saw him straddling the body basically, a foot on both sides of trayvon's body and his hands pressed on his back. >> trayvon was face down. is that consistent with what george zimmerman described to you? >> well, again, that's going to be something that is going to come out in litigation. i think there were efforts made to render aid to trayvon after the incident. >> what kind of details has he offered to you? >> well, he has offered details, again, that can't really be discussed, which is one reason why he isn't speaking. he has been told not to say anything. one of the weird things for me about this case is that living in florida i've seen

historically police release information when they have an arrest, when they've made an arrest and which, eventually, leads to the trial being tried in the media. casey anthony, a perfect example because of all the information we had before the trial. this is different because the sanford police department is trying to make sure they did everything right. i think that's why you saw them pass it on to the state's attorney general, who passed it on to another state's attorney and now that's why we have this grand jury hearing. sanford has a history of racism. i've reported on stories similar to this in where white males killed a black teen. so, they have to go, they're trying to do everything they can to prevail what has happened. >> we keep coming back to the fact, though, that trayvon didn't do anything. he went to the store, for whatever reason he was singled out as suspicious. do we know what brought the two of them together? we hear that witness testimony

of someone heard something came out. do we know what brought them together in an altercation? >> that's the thing. no one knows what actually started the altercation. we know that george was working as a neighborhood watch captain in a neighborhood that had had a rash of criminal activity and burglaries and we know that george saw someone walking around that he did not recognize and called 911. >> why did he get out of the car? >> we don't know. >> none of this would have happened if he didn't get out of the car. >> if what george claims is true, none of this would have happened if trayvon just said, i'm staying with my parents. >> craig, let me ask you. you just saw in that report the new black panther party has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of mr. zimmerman that has to concern you. are you concerned about his safety given the emotion surrounding all this? >> yeah, i've been concerned about his safety for quite some time. there has been a document out that's got his photo on it that

shows wanted dead or alive and it's got his picture right there on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. always been my opinion that he has been a danger from someone for the whole time. i think to not take that seriously is a mistake and he's been advised by law enforcement and by me to keep a low profile because i believe his life is in danger. >> he is in a place where law enforcement can find him and speak to him? >> i'm able to make contact with him and law enforcement is, as well. >> have you seen him in person? >> i have not seen him in person. >> you were acting him as his legal adviser. >> right now there is no case for me to enter to be the attorney of record because there's not a case yet. but when there is one, i will be entering a notice of appearance. >> gentlemen, we appreciate your time. thanks for coming on and offering another side of the story. we do appreciate it. and now here's jenna.

>> lester, thank you. we're going to switch gears and turn to politics now and another victory for rick santorum in the latest gop primary. meanwhile president obama is in south korea while his signature health care gets its day. here to break it down is david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." >> how are you? >> the president is in south korea and there for nuke nuclear security summit and had some words for north korea and iran. iran their potential to build a nuclear bomb and he said "there is a window of time to solve this diplomatically, but that window is closing. what does the president have to do before this proverbial window closes? >> he has to try to wrap up sanctions and galvanize the internation al community to do that and cripple the regime and even that proposition is controversial and not everybody believes that can be done. he has israel as ally out there and concerned about its own

existence because of a threat of a nuclear program by iran. so, this is about ratcheting up pressure on iran. cutting off the idea of talking to them diplomatically, but ratcheting up enough of the behavior. in effect, the same thing that north korea, as well, as they get closer to having productive conversations kim jong-il's son now, there's questions about whether they're going to take these provocative steps. so, the diplomacy is ratcheting up pressure. >> rick santorum as expected won louisiana's primary. not a huge win, did not put a huge win into mitt romney's delegate lead. does it give him momentum going forward? >> wins matter and that's how santorum is arguing it. he has to go to wisconsin and do something he hasn't done before and that's play outside of his base. he has got to get beyond evangelical christians and members of the republican party

and begin to mount the case against romney that says not just to the romney campaigns but whether to republicans that he is a real threat to have his own root to the nomination. i think people are beginning to think that all he can do is block romney from the nomination, but even there you see a closing of ranks around romney this week which i thought was significant. >> david gregory, thank you so much. >> thanks, jenna. now, let's get more of the morning headlines and darlene rodriguez at the news desk for us. good morning. >> good morning, lester. good morning, jenna. good morning, everyone. new information on staff sergeant robert bales alleged killing spree in afghanistan. good morning, john. >> good morning, darlene. government prosecutors now believe that bales carried out two waves that after a first attack he went back to his base and then snuck out, again, to continue the shooting spree. meanwhile, in afghanistan, the military has begun paying

compensation to the families of the victims. about $50,000 to each of the family of the dead and the military official tells nbc news that sum is meant to expect the extraordinarily devastating nature of what happened. darlene? >> nbc's john yang, thank you very much. cubans monday on "today" staff sergeant bales' wife, karilyn will speak out since charges were brought against her husband. monday's arrival of pope benedict xvi. kerry sanders is in santiago, cuba. good morning. >> good morning, darlene. even before the pope arrives here, he is making news with harsh criticism of the political system here. since 1959, this country has had a communist socialist government. but talking to reporters on his plane, pope benedict xvi says it is evident that ideology as it was conceived no longer responds

to reality. that's some blunt comments from the pontiff. the pope who will be holding mass here on monday went on to say that cuba needs to find new models with patience in a constructive way. now, in this country of 11 million where religion was outlawed by fidel castro, the church has been making quiet end roads into people's lives, as well as improving the relationship with the government. the u.s., of course, has an embargo against cuba, one that has been in place for more than five decades. meaning it is difficult for americans to travel here. but, there are american pilgrims who have made their way here and they believe there will be, perhaps, improved relations building on the visit by the pope here 14 years ago. darlene. >> kerry sanders, thank you. and a youtube video of an apache attack helicopter crashing at a u.s. outpost in afghanistan has gone viral. online speculation is that the pilot was showing off last month

rather than conducting legitimate training maneuvers. the video was played for laughs because miraculously no one was injured but airplane crashes are the single largest cause of death for u.s. forces in afghanistan. the men's basketball final four is set. ohio beat syracuse and louisville used a late run to overcome florida on saturday. the rest of the final four will be decided today when north carolina faces kansas and baylor challenges number one kentucky. college hoops always exciting. that's the news, now back to lester, jenna and janice. >> right now matt lauer is jumping out of chair saying, did someone say ohio? >> the second time i've done that to him. >> darlene, thank you so much. janice is here and she has a check of the weather. >> good morning. little dreary here in the northeast and a lot cooler than it has been and on the west coast, you're getting more storms. the pattern is set up, once

again, where you're getting storm after storm after storm. rain and mountain snow from southern california all the way to oregon. so, be on the look out for messy weather over the now here's your local forecast. and here's a look at the radar the last few hours. we had a good rinse cycle overnight. the snow around mt. hamilton. what you'll see during the asp is more moisture crossing the coast, with some daytime heating, firing up more showers off and on during the day, even a chance of some thundershowers, especially from about noon to 5:00. tomorrow looks dry, as we head into monday, tuesday, breezy, more rain dropping out of the north bay, and rain for the middle part of the week. >> cu icanha j tnke, s.s le er. >> janice, thanks. welcome to new nutritionpossible.com... from centrum. its unique assessment tool... helps you find the multivitamin and supplements... that are right for you. so visit nutritionpossible.com. better nutrition... is within reach. centrum. nutrition possible.

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good morning to you. getting a bit of a break there at the golden gate bridge and around the bay area, but prepare for more rain. when? rob has the answer to that. thanks so much for joining us. rob, you say maybe later? >> yeah, during the day we'll see more hours coming in, many roadways had a nice rinse cycle. the rain came down pretty good. san jose picked up about 0.7 of an inch of rain. you can see temperatures in the 40s, the progression of the rain. widesuppress rain. notice what's happening on the

radar. the main band has pushed off the east, but behind it offshore, we have another batch of clouds, and daytime heating with the cool air on top, and that typically generates daytime showers or even the slight chance of some thundershowers. you can see it right there, 1:00 in the afternoon, you can see how things are kind of scattered. we may have some small hail. as we head toward sunset, things start to settle down. as we head into tomorrow northern, i think monday broadband a dry day. a bit of sun, showers, slight chance of afternoon showers, and more rain comes rolling in for tuesday. windy action too, that accept especially for the north bay. not the kind of weather that folks in morgan hill want, where search and rescue crews will be out looking for clues. the 15-year-old was seen more than a week ago. her mother says she left on her way to school and never came home.

they looked in brush and underpasses within a 12-mile radius of her mother's home. >> something we need to remember is nothing it willy sigh ciera leave her home. we can't confirm what she left home or what she was wearing. >> another candlelight vigil is set for tonight at 6:00 it is cross roads gym. a continued search for a bay area area man. joseph mchenry is a former marine. he was last seen at the beginning of march, when he told his family he was going on an overnight rock climbing trip. his car and backpack were found, but no one has heard from him since. at least 20 marines have joined the search for mchenry, say they live by that motto, leave no

marine behind. today the group will search near the sharp park golf course and maury point in pacifica. coming up at 7:00, a new woman coming forward so say the 123 serial killer attacked her. that and all the day's news coming up at 7:00, plus the rainy forecast and when it would stop. right now, back to the "today" show.

we're back on a sunday morning, march 25th, 2012. i can only imagine this is a spring break type of crowd today. a little cold here in new york. this crowd does not mind at all, representing loud and large. outside on the plaza, i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. >> look at this crowd today. >> fantastic. fantastic! what's up, guys? >> wow. i want to go on spring break. >> we talked about this. >> yeah. >> you would not fit in on spring break. >> i would be on this side screaming.

>> can you imagine this guy on spring break? your little swim trunks hanging with all the kids. >> all right. >> something that doesn't belong. >> fine. >> but we'll leave for spring break some time. >> if you've ever gone on a spring break, the newlyweds have hit the slopes for a getaway days after the future king returned from a six-week military assignment. we're going to get a live report from london on their whereabouts. then, earlier this week, kim kardashian had a little incident on the red carpet. someone threw flour at her. she is not letting the woman who flour bombed her off the hook. the long wait is over for fans of "mad men" they return with the debut of season five. what viewers can expect. they have been off the air so long, i need to go back and watch some of the episodes. i totally forgot where we are. >> i wore my mad men dress and coat today. did you pick up on that?

>> no. >> not even a little bit. this is fun, you had a chance to sit down with lionel richie who has actually gone back and remade some of his favorite hits, like "hello" and "endless love." and "dancing on the ceiling." now i guess he spent some time with country's biggest stars. >> country's biggest stars, and i've got to tell you, it works. this is a terrific album and it works. he's going to talk about it in our conversation and about returning to his southern roots. that's coming up. >> did you play with him at all? >> i did not, but i sang along. >> we are going to get another check of this windy weather here in new york. janice huff is standing by. hey, janice. >> yeah, we've got our coats back out. listen. the crowd is so good. it's a rolling spring break. we're going to get everybody in. let's show this part. boy, they're loud! and all these people here. and then there's all this crowd over here. and look at the people at the end in a second. first, let's do a little weather, show you what's going on. we in the northeast are a little

chilly this morning. we had record highs all week, but now it's cool and a bit rainy in spots, especially across parts of new england. thunderstorms this morning across the mid-atlantic states, carolina coastline, also in parts of central florida. and on the west coast, it's a big old mess with rain and snow in the mountains. record high temperatures expected again today and tomorrow for parts of the rockies, the central and southern plains. that's what's going on around the nation. that will wake you up in the morning. as we watch the radar view. we had a lot of rain overnight. notice the trend temporarily drying out, but offshore there are more showers rotating in. with the bricks in the clouds and heating of the day, that will destabilize the atmosphere and may fire off a thundershower or two for the afternoon that may contain small hail. monday looks drive. rain moving out, turning breezy and rain bay areawide on wednesday with another break on thursday.

>> and now here's lester. >> janice, thanks. now to royal news. we're hearing reports this morning that william and kate are on vacation after six weeks apart. nbc's duncan golestani is in london with the latest. duncan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. you know, prince william really makes it tough for us, guys. he missed valentine's day because he was away in the falkland islands, so he makes it up for it with surprise ski trip. they are going to a posh resort in switzerland and the couple really have happy memories of the alps. back in 2006 that they were first photographed kissing on the slopes. despite that, skiing is popular with the royals because it does offer them a degree of aminity beneath all the goggles and glasses and hats. kate and william reunited on wednesday. she drove herself to his air force base in the middle of the night to be there when he got

back to britain, and they have a lot to catch up on in the six weeks that he's been away, she's really thrown herself into royal life. lester? >> duncan golestani. and we're hearing reports about a rekindling romance for prince harry. what do you know about that? >> yes. prince harry was seen with his ex-girlfriend, chelsy davy it was at an intimate dinner party at windsor castle for the princess' birthday, but it was harry and chelsea who spent much of the evening talking to each other. onlookers saying they looked very comfortable with one another. of course, they have been on again and off again over the last couple of years. perhaps they could be on again. lester. >> all right, duncan, thanks very much. now here's jenna. >> lester, thank you. a change of heart for reality tv star kim kardashian. she initially laughed it off when she was flour bombed last wook. nbc's darlene rodriguez is back with more on that. >> good morning, jenna. the whole flour bombing was caught on tape, and as you'll

see, kim kardashian isn't laughing anymore. about face. kim kardashian reportedly told tmz she now plans to press charges against the woman who threw a bag of flour on her at a charity event thursday night. it is a change from a day earlier when the reality tv star told tmz's harvey levin in a phone interview she would not file charges, even though she thought the person should be held accountable. >> whatever your beliefs are, if, you know, you're acting in a violent way and doing something that's illegal, that's not okay, and that's bullying. and i don't, you know, i don't promote that. >> reporter: the night started like many others for kardashian, walking the red carpet at a charity event and also promoting the launch of her new fragrance. as she talks to reporters, a woman comes up and tosses the white powder over her head and reportedly called her a fur hag. >> you fur hag! >> peta, people for the ethical

treatment of animals, says it was not behind the flour incident but told nbc news if kardashian "presses charges, at least people will be constantly reminded of her selfish, callous disregard for the cruel deaths that she causes by wearing fur." >> yeah, the incident is actually -- >> reporter: kardashian is the latest celebrity to be singled out. last month at the oscars, actor sacha baron cohen covered "e!" host ryan seacrest in fake ashes. and politicians have also had glitter thrown on them by protesters on the campaign trail. harmless pranks, but celebrity watchers say it also highlights a breach in security. >> let's say it wasn't pancake mix or it wasn't flour and it was a different sort of substance that they wanted to throw on these celebrities. these people, their lives are in great danger, and security definitely needs to be stepped up. >> well, it took a couple of days for the gravity of the situation to sink in, and kardashian now says she's increasing her security and taking new measures to guarantee

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so, it's the night that "mad men" fans, myself included, have been waiting a long time for, the highly anticipated fifth season of the drama returns tonight after being off the air for 17 months. here's nbc's michelle franzen. ♪ >> reporter: the chain-smoking, cocktails and whiskey drinking, girdle-wearing cast of "mad men" is back. and devoted fans -- >> give me a moment, sir. i have some in the liquor room. >> reporter: -- couldn't be happier. >> this is one of the greatest shows on television. >> i'm so excited to see what happens. season five, i've been waiting for it for such a long time. >> reporter: it's been 17 months since advertising exec don draper and the cool series set in 1960s new york city has been on the air, a break that has only added to the show's cult following. >> i learned a long time ago to not get all my satisfaction from this job. >> it's set far enough in the past that it does feel

different, and yet, it's not too far in the past to where it feels old-timey or foreign in any way. >> reporter: the stars of the hit series are being coy about what the new season will bring following last season's cliffhanger. >> you don't say congratulations to the bride. you say best wishes. >> it's really interesting to see what happens with don draper, whether he's going to go ahead and get married, see what happens with jones and her baby and then betty who's very unhappy in her marriage. >> reporter: it follows a contract dispute between abc and series creator matt weiner. >> i fought to keep it on the air and did not want to be away, but it was out of my control. >> reporter: within his control, weaving the next story lines for the characters navigating life at the office and at home during the decade's cultural boiling point. >> it was a mistake. there's no need for that kind of talk. >> i hope people come back and i hope they see we made the effort to make the show as good as we possibly can. it's locked and loaded.

it's ready to roll out. i can't wait for people to see it. >> reporter: another central element to the show's success, the set, with an entire team dedicated to making sure the aesthetics of the era ring true. from the clothing and furniture right down to a candies vending machine, all the makings for a new season of drama. and all fans need to do is sit back and drink it all in. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. >> looking forward to it. and once again, here's lester. jenna, thanks. lionel ritchie's music is instantly recognizable, whether it's one of his popular dance songs, like "all night long" or his ballads like "endless love" or "easy." now audiences will be able to say hello again to many of his greatest hits, but this time, the songs have a country twist. ♪ >> everyone couldn't think of lionel going country. and i said, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong. my songs have always been country. i'm just showing up putting the face on it. i'm claiming my kids.

♪ oh, what a feeling, when we're dancing on the ceiling ♪ >> reporter: and so, the idea of rereaccording many of his greatest hits as duets with country music's biggest stars like rascal flatts, kenny rogers, willie nelson and shania twain, wasn't a stretch at all for lionel ritchie. ♪ my endless love >> we spoke at the so-called mother church of country music. how did you decide who you wanted to sing with, put on the album? >> i didn't realize that even though i had a wish list of people, we had two problems. number one, availability. that's kind of one great thing about country artists, they are not sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. they are working. >> working artists. >> they are working artists. ♪ you are the sun >> and secondly, i wanted to make it so that they loved the songs more so than me calling and saying would you sing it. >> reporter: and when it came time to actually record -- >> when you do a sinatra duet

album, you'll custom it around frank. when you do a tony bennett album, you're going to sound a little bit like tony. here comes lionel ritchie with his brainstorm of, you know what i want? i want when you leave this album, if you wanted to put this song on your show, it would fit your show. i love darius rucker. darius at his best. i said what are you going to sing in "stuck on you"? your part, that's all i know. >> it's going to be like that. >> it's going to be like that. so, i'm trying to figure out, what are the harmony parts to my song? >> that you've never song. >> that i've never song, because i'm now complimenting darius. ♪ packed up my troubles and i throw them all away ♪ >> on "hello" what was i thinking about when i let jennifer loose? that's the longest i've ever held hello in my entire life. ♪ hello

come on. so, it became an adventure for me, because now songs i've been doing my entire life now became brand new. ♪ oh, oh >> what's it take to make a hit? >> you have to find a phrase that everybody understands. "i love you truly," "all night long." i mean, in other words, it's not hard to remember, and more importantly, it's not how well i sing it, it's how well they can sing it. >> and that's the overall theme of all your music. >> that's all of it. in other words, don't get complicated. >> ritchie's new album is entitled "tuskegee," the alabama town where ritchie developed his love for music. >> there's an old expression in life that says most of the time in life, you can't go home. in my case, i can go home, because all of these songs that i'm celebrating were actually written in tuskegee, alabama. >> ritchie's southern roots stretched beyond alabama to here in nashville where his ancestors had a plantation and his

grandmother attended fisk university, majoring in music. that's where the music roots came from. >> that's where the music roots came from. all her classical piano playing and stuff was right here on this campus and she was up there with tuskegee. >> a homecoming of sorts for an icon who has come full circle. ♪ i'm easy >> and he's having the time of his life. ♪ i'm easy like sunday morning >> the joy of it now is i can walk out on stage and i start the song off and the crowd sings the rest of it. in other words, i get to go out on stage and almost enjoy karaoke. i'm trying my best now to take this opportunity in my life to stop and enjoy the moment. ♪ i'm easy like sunday morning, so easy ♪ >> i am not kidding you, this is a great album. willie nelson, jimmy buffett. i mean, it's just an incredible lineup. >> and he's so likable and so playful. and even after having been in the music industry and the opportunity to get so jaded,

he's so open to new things, and i think that really came out when you spoke to him. >> we did the interview about three weeks ago. i have been singing lionel ritchie songs constantly. "tuskegee" goes on sale tomorrow. watch lionel richie perform live tuesday here on "today." upttingt, u putti u.s. veterans back to work. first, these messages. aflac! ha! isn't major medical enough? huh! no! who's gonna help cover the holes in their plans? aflac! quack! like medical bills they don't pay for? aflac! or help pay the mortgage? quack! or child care? quack! aflaaac! and everyday expenses? huh?! blurlbrlblrlbr!!! [ thlurp! ] aflac! [ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh!

this morning, "hiring our heroes today." we're teaming up with the u.s. chamber of commerce to kick off a divisionwide series aimed at getting our veterans back into the workforce. >> about 2 million female veterans are expected to head back to work over the next five years as forces leave iraq and afghanistan. they've acquired skills while

overkansas ciseas overseas, but that doesn't necessarily transform into a job once they return home. here's rahehema ellis. >> dawn smith is used to action. >> hello, baby. >> reporter: the 35-year-old working mom spent eight years in the air force, handling logistics in iraq and afghanistan. with her military experience and two masters degrees in accounting, she was surprised to discover finding a job wasn't easy. >> even for people that have degrees and have the skills, it's a difficult economy and society that we live in right now. >> reporter: she found a job as a secretary for the irs, making just over $30,000 a year. her sister told her not to settle and kept her motivated. then, last summer, she passed away suddenly. >> she was the one that told me, dawn, you can continue to do things, keep doing, something will come about. >> reporter: that's when dawn discovered the business and

professional women foundation and sandy smith, a career counselor by day who volunteers her time to mentor dawn, helping her transition to civilian life. >> sometimes i'm a coach, sometimes i'm an advocate, sometimes i'm just helping them explore options and possibilities. >> reporter: the two have never met face to face but communicate weekly, discussing job opportunities, resumés or navigating the world outside the military lifestyle. >> well, a big issue is understanding what's transferrable to the civilian marketplace. and then the second big issue is becoming comfortable with marketing themselves to employers. >> reporter: it's the kind of support that dawn needs. >> it makes the difference to have someone in your corner the whole time. and she's told me that she would be there until i find a job that i need, and she's proven every day. >> and you believe her. >> yes, i definitely believe her. >> reporter: helping dawn with what will be her next call to duty. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news, greensboro, north carolina.

>> a nationwide effort to get our veterans back to work will culminate on wednesday with job fairs here in new york on the "uss intrepid" in ft. hood, texas and chicago, and there is a virtual job fair online, as there should be. >> and for more information, go today.com/veterans. and we're back after these messages. [ female announcer ] it's the lenscrafters semi-annual lens event. that's 50% off lenses, including bifocals, no-lines, even sunglasses made with your prescription. so hurry in. sale ends april 1st.

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let's go back down to washington and check in with david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." david? >> hey, lester. good morning. questions about race in america resurfaced after the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. and joining me this morning, the president's top political adviser, david plouffe, on that and also the re-election campaign. then, a reality check on racial

attitudes in this country. a special roundtable discussion. it's all coming up this morning. >> see you soon, david. thanks. we're going to end this morning with our "today's life illustrated" segment, our peek into your family albums. spring has officially sprung, although it's little rainy here today, and you sent us some beautiful and inspiring photos to show. >> and next week, they say laughter is the best medicine. we're celebrating our favorite remedies, so send us snapshots of your loved ones cracking up and the photos that make you chuckle. submit them to today.com or the facebook page or via twitter and you might see them on today odd. >> that's it for us. we're done! >> we're done. see you back here on "nightly news." have a great day, everybody. >> bye-bye. ♪ it's a beautiful morning ♪

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