life-threatening storms. tornadoes hid oklahoma overnight and what forecasters say is just a start of what is going toe a vie lenl and dangerous weather weekend. what can we expect and where will the storms likely hit? we're tracking it all live. we'll have the latest. secret service scandal. a dozen secret service personnel protecting the president in colombia have been sent home amid misconduct. why were these officers relieved of their duties? we're live with the details. engaged, after seven years and six kids, brad pitt finally

pops the question to angelina jolie. we'll look at the ring on her finger and find out when they say i do. today's saturday, april 14, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television group morn good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy rohbock. damaging tornadoes could hit the central part of the country today. this is only the second time in u.s. history that noaa, the weather folks, have issued a high weather warning 24 hours in advance. that's how certain we are. we're tracking the storm. we'll get a live report in oklahoma in a minute. it's a sad weekend in new hampshire. a small town is remembering a beloved police chief killed in the line of duty just days

before he was to retire. as murders are down across the u.s., police killings are up. we're going to look at what's behind this vie legislate trend. and then we're going to switch gears and talk about kevin costner. he's been talkinger a sequel to the 1992 film birthdayguaodygua. he says he's working on a sequel with another icon who died too soon. we'll reveal who it is coming up. if you thought the royal wedding was big, just wait. brad pitt and angelina jolie are finally engaged. we'll tell you why it took so long for them to move toward tying the knot. we want to begin with the severe weather. the national weather service issued an unusually strong warning. the weather channel's eric fisher is in oklahoma city for us this morning. eric, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, lester. good morning, everybody. here in more man, oklahoma, yesterday was a very busy day in what's going to be an incredibly day toward the start of the weekend. the storm prediction center, they actually had to seek shelter themselves. this apartment complex especially hard hit. some of the siding taken right off the side of the building. some of the trees were sheared off. some of this was caught on tape yesterday. university of oklahoma had to take shelter for a time. it listed as it crossed eun vergts and touched back down. and in a town of 100,000, to walk away with injuries are characterized as bumps and bruises, we're seeing that as great news to kick off the weekend. the bottom line is we had the storms. they're rumbling off to the northeast part of the state right now. but this afternoon and evening, this is where our focus is, the potential of long track

dangerous violent tornados anywhere from iowa, nebraska, and southward to north texas. if you have a plan in place, make sure your family knows where to go in the event of a warning and how to get one of those tornado warnings because you're not going to have much time to get to shelter later on this afternoon. it's also prom season and in the wichita area saturday night, many school districts have been changing the location of their prom to include places that have safe houses and fema storm shelters just in case one of these storms come through. some great proactive action from the school boards. >> thanks. for more on the path of these storms, we turn to bill karins. bill? >> good morning to you, lester. the job of myself and all meteorologists is to get the word out. we want to prevent fatalities from these tornados. dwoemt want anyone surprised. so if you family lives in areas of nebraska, kansas, oklahoma, those are the areas most at risk for the tornadoes. so even if you have family

members that live in those areas, make sure they know t possibilities this afternoon and evening of large tornados going through their towns. now, not everyone is going to get hit, of course, but there is that possibility. as far as acy veer storm setup, it's a classic setup for april. a lot of mstowure heading toward, and the storm that was in california heading out will be heading out into the plains. already this morning we have a tornado watch, potential of strong storms from tulsa joplin. but the main show will begin in kansas and nebraska early this afternoon and down toward oklahoma city late this afternoon, lester. we do expect large tornados, and they'll be moving fast. there will not be a lot of time for people to seek shelter. it will be very, very dangerous this afternoon. back to you. >> and we expect folks across the country to be monitoring the weather. we'll check back in with you for a local forecast. now to an embarrassment overseas. a dozen secret personnel

accompanying president obama have been sent home after allegations of personal misconduct.ng nbc's christown welker is in colombia. good morning, kristen. >> good morning to you. it's confirmed that numerous personnel were sent home before president obama arrived here yesterday amid allegations of misconduct. there are reports that as many as 12 officials were sent home and one may have been soliciting a prostitute, but at this point in time, the secret service won't confirm those allegation. however, a senior administration official does confirm that the officials who were sent home were part of the uniformed division. those are the officials who are typically charged with manning entrances and not a part of the president's private detail. nonetheless, the president takes these allegations very seriously. that's why the officials were sent home. they're replaced with other officials here. they have launched an internal

investigation. and the secret service of president obama's security was never compromised in any way. nonetheless it's unwelcome news for your the secret service which prides itself on protecting the president and unwelcome news for the president who is here for this summit of the americas to talk about things like trade and immigration and also, of course, in the middle of a tough re-election battle otown home front. >> and, kristen, apparently there were explosions there last night. what is the latest? >> reporter: that's absolutely right. well, according to local officials, we're being told there were at least three explosions here last night. at least one in bogota near the embassy and one near car ta hay ga about 20 miles away from the summit site. at this point, we're told they were low-level intensity explosions. the ones here were in a remote area. the good news here this morning, amy, is that there are no

injuries reported and no major damage, but local authorities are, of course, investigating these small explosions that occurred last night, the u.s. embassy and the white house paying close attention. >> kristen welker, thanks for that. now here's lester. >> thanks. about 70,000 gun enthusiasts are in st. louis this weekend for the annual meeting. it comes at a time when guns and gun rights have resurfaced as part of the american political conversation. here's nbc's michael isikoff. >> reporter: at its annual convention in st. louis this weekend, the nra stands its ground and flexes its political muscle while top republicans express support for the rights of gun owners. >> and i will protect the second amendment rights of the american people. >> far fewer women would be raped, far fewer children would be killed, far fewer towns would be destroyed if people

everywhere on the planet had the right to bear arms. >> reporter: under its leadership of wain lapierre, the nra plans to spend a record $40 million to defeat barack obama. >> when the sun goes down on election day, barack obama will have us to thank for his defeat. >> reporter: the nra's other top priorities, expanding stand your ground laws already in place in more than 20 states and a national law that would allow gun owners with conceal kari permits in any state to take their weapons anywhere in the country. but the nra's foes are pushing back, citing george zimmerman's unarmed shooting of trayvon martin as evidence of how dangerous these laws can be. >> let's call that by its real name. vigilanteism. >> what's the advantage of buying this gun? >> more rounds, lighter weight

and bigger caliber bullet. >> reporter: zimmerman had a permit for a 9 millimeter like this one and argues his shootings with under self-defense. here at the nra convention, member says the courts will decide the facts in the zimmerman case, but that won't stop their push to expand the rights of gun owners. >> they dug their heels in for this right to kari, for this right to protect ourselves and the right to second amendment, and i don't think that's changed because of the emotion of one or two cases very for "today," michael isikoff, nbc news, st. louis, missouri. john harwood is cnbc's chief correspondent. john, go john, good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> watching him speak to the nra convention, where, by the way, he only mentioned the word "gun" once, i wonder if they're varning away.

>> reporter: i don't think they're vanishing, lester, but the more mitt romney can turn his attention toward barack obama instead of fighting against rick santorum, the better off he's going to be. this is going to be a very closely contested election with the president. the two sides are going to mix. the speech by mitt romney at the nra saying that barack obama would remake the supreme court to the detriment of conservatives and gun owners as part of that effort. >> he went on to say the president had been waging an assault on freedom. the administration reminds us the president supports the second amendment. is that the particular line that mitt romney plans to go on? >> reporter: absolutely. some of the victory speeches has been making argument that barack obama is standing against freedom and i fridn fringing on

rights of business owners. at the ended of the george bush administration. so this is how the two sides are going to tee up their arguments. >> obviously we're still in primary season and thus mitt romney and his folks wouldn't admit it but there has to be a potential vp pick along the way. what did they learn about mccain or palin. >> reporter: first of all you have to pick somebody who unquestionably is ready to take place on day one. mitt romney doesn't want a repeat where they were questioning why did mccain put sarah palin on the ticket. he also has the need of reassuring conservatives, that he's not going to veer too far to the center but not scaring people in the middle, especially

suburban women. that's why rick santorum is an extremely unlikely dhois be on mitt romney's ticket. but he's going to look to somebody conservative enough for the right but not too much to the left. we head to the news desk with lynn berry. >> good morning and good morning to all of you at home. well, there's more to judge in the murder case of neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman may have a conflict of interest. judge jessica wreck side ler informed them that her husband works with his attorney. we're going have more on this in our next hour. in oklahoma, prosecutors have decided to file murder and hate crime charges against the two men arrested in a shooting spree in tulsa over easter weekend. the men are white. their five victims are black. three were killed. now to north korea were tens

of thousands of military and civilians attended a ceremony today after the much failed hyped rocket launch. now with more from richard engel live for us in pyongyang. good morning, richard. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. first off, south korea ships are searching for parts of the rocket. on the ground here, the celebrations are continuing unaffected by the failed launch. today tens of thousands of top military officers gathered in a soccer stadium. they were shouting loyalty and applauding the leadership of kim junk unw jung un. that is the tone here. despite the rocket's failure, this country is doubling down on

its patriotism and personality. tomorrow we are expected to see a parade in the streets involved hundreds of thousands of people and likely also a military display, tanks and potentially more rockets paraded through the streets. lynn? >> all right, richard. thanks so much. the city by the bay broke some weather record this week. san francisco was pounded by a line of thunderstorms that brought record rainfall and more than 750 lightning strikes. like at that. the photographer phil mcgrew captured the amazing time lapsed photo as lightning struck all four towers of the bay bridge. lightning also hit planes entered los angeles. joan rivers was on the plane. she tweetsed everything was fine and benjamin franklin was an idiot. it is official. brad pitts and angelina are

engaged to be married. the come brangelina. we're going to have more on this in the next hour right here on "today." that's the news. now back to lester and amy. you know, you guys, seven years. i don't know. i think it's kind of rushing it a bit. >> take your time. get to know each other. >> i'm happy they're going get a little more publicity. >> after six kids, he was like, wife material. >> lynn berry, thank you. >> talk about the national forecast. >> it's been well advertised. the muddle of the country. classic tornado outbreak set up. the east coast and west coast, you look fine. thankfully this is a one-day outbreak. it's not going to keep its energy and punch. areas like kansas city, you'll get storms tonight. in most of the country we'll see a pretty decent sunday. today's risk, oklahoma city, wichita to

good morning from the nbc bay area weather center. i'm anthony slaughter. testifies are in the upper 40s to near 50. we are watching a few sprinkles in the south bay hills near santa clara. otherwise we are looking at dry conditions. we are back with the next seven days remaining dry. 64 inland. 58 at the coast. warmer tomorrow with a great start by monday. >> and that's your saturday forecast. amy? >> bill, thank you. police in washington state are looking for a man now known as the facebook fugitive. some of his friends are asking him to surrender after he appeared to brag about his escape on line. here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: he's on the run, but apparently not off social media. >> he's just a kid that got tired of being told what to do. >> reporter: a week and a half

ago, police say nicholas didn't report to his community corrections office, in violation of a court order in march on a domestic violence case, and when cops saw him on the street, he took off. the 26-year-old has a long rap sheet. according to the port angeles police department, convictions include domestic violence, burglary, and threat of a firearm and he's also accused of assaulting his girlfriend last month. >> i think he should be true to himself but get this nonsense behind him. >> reporter: his first day on the lam, he posted on his wall, cops all over you. the next day, nicholas respond, aye, got away, thanks, bro. >> it's become a game. it's about ha, ha, ha, catch me if you can. >> you're going to get caught. >> reporter: unlike the film, his life is anything but glamorous. still the facebook fugitive is

the talk of port angeles, 65 miles northwest of seattle. some of the town's residents are urging him to turn himself in. i don't think your kids would want to see dad behind bars any longer. >> reporter: some are taunting, run as long as you cuz. make it worth it. >> being a fugitive is a temporary condition and it's got a demoney issuing return. >> reporter: it's not a matter if he'll be caught or when. that i won't reveal whether they're trying to track him through his cell phone or facebook page it's ridiculous. it's gotten completely out of hand. >> reporter: his friends just hope his next status update includes finding a lawyer. tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the titanic sinking, and for those who survived, the trauma of that night would last a lifetime and

for generations to come. nbc's jim maceda met up with an american couple with a deep sense of it. >> reporter: it took years of marriage before the couple stumbled upon a bond. >> we realized we both had relatives on the titanic. >> reporter: bob had settled with his family after graduation. and her great, great grandmother was also in first. both survived when more than 1,500 perished and both left accounts of hair owing hours in the freezing north atlantic after the collision wf the titanic and an iceberg three times their size. from their house in portugal, they shared those stories for the first time. >> the shock of the water took the breath out of my lungs. >> reporter: he had jumped from the titanic before it sank.

>> down and down i went in all directions. swimming as hard as i could, hopefully getting away from the ship. >> reporter: he returned to this overturned life boat. >> we fought our way to the darkness. i rode for an hour straight. >> come on, girls, row. >> reporter: her take-charge attitude inspired this scene, "a night to remember." . both made it to safety but another ordeal began. bucknell became withdrawn and never sailed again. he became a successful banker but could never escape survivor 's guilt and at age 50, he took his life. kate and bob prefer to focus on something that when looking back would have never happened. it's their greatest joy in life,

their three children. lucy and jack both accomplished musicians and son bobby, a professional pianist. they plan to tell their story no more. for "today," jim macedmaceda, n news, portugal. still to come, they remember a popular police chief days before his retirement. but first this is "today" on nbc.

pull on those gardening gloves. grab the nearest spade. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advise to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot lay down a new look, with earthgro mulch, now three bags for just $10. still to come here on "today," it's official. we're going to have more on brad pitt and angelina jolie's engagement. plus kevin costner talks about the sequel to the

"bodyguard. "first these messages and your local news. ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i?

[ male announcer ] want great taste? 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? good saturday morning, everyone. thank you very much for joining us this morning. i'm robert llamas in this morning. we are looking at the golden gate bridge. >> it is going to be very nice. we are looking at a very nice weekend. it was very nice for easter sunday. this weekend another nice weekend shaping one temperatures not too bad. 44 in santa rosa. 48 in san francisco. san jose at 50 degrees this morning. we are looking at clouds that will continue to make their way out of the region. just a few high, thin clouds in

the leftover aftermath. we had strong thunderstorms roll through thursday and friday. dry weather on tap really for the next seven days. garvin, we are back to 64. inland today, 58. and dry weather the next seven days. >> we haven't seen a seven-day like that in a while. thank you, anthony. holding on to hope, this weekend volunteers will head out once again to look for missing teen sierra lamar. so far police have spent more than 9,000 hours and following up on 1400 leads. yesterday sheriff deputies looked in the uvas reservoir searching for any sign of the 15-year-old. so far divers have not found anything related to the case. a salmonella outbreak linked to yellow-fin tuna has been connected to a cupertino company. moon marine corporation known as mmi is now issuing a voluntary recall of nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen raw fish. the fda says the outbreak has sickened more than 100 people in

20 states. none, however, in california. the yellow fin is not sold to individual customers but to grocery stores and restaurants used to make dishes like sushi. the fish is labeled as nakaochi scrape aa or aaa. hope i did okay on that one. many that got sick said it was after eating spicety tuna sushi. the fda says to take precautions when eating raw seafood and when in doubt, don't eat it. here's a contest you could be interested in if you love to read in san francisco county. the public library is giving a bookworm to have a book mobile come to them. just look at six photos and guess the locations where the bookmobile is visiting. log on to www.sfpl.org. the contest ends this coming monday. coming up on "today in the bay," spring gardening.

we'll help make your garden picture-per tech. plus, a perfect day on the field. we'll have giants home opener highlights. see you then.

we're back on this saturday morning, april 14, 2012. it is shaping up to be a beautiful spring day here in new york city. we want to thank all of these fine folks for spending part of their weekend with us, and we're going to happily head outside to say hi in just a few minutes to enjoy their good company and the weather. back inside studio 1a, i'm amy robach alongside lester holt. coming up in this half hour after seven years and six kids, brad pitt and angelina jolie are engaged. >> they have been surrounded by constant rumors that the two are close to getting married and on

friday they got a little closer when they broke the news. who designed the ring, is the date set, and what do their kids say? we're going to answer those questions coming up. and then we're going to have the latest on the trayvon martin case. a bond hearing is set for next week but many are asking whether george zimmerman can get a fair trial and does the judge assigned to the case have a conflict of interest? we'll answer those questions coming up. celebrity chef cookware from pots to pans to knives, it seems every chef has their own line of different gadgets. how well do they perform in your kitch kitchen, we're going to finding out which ones work best. we begin this hour in new hampshire. a small town is remembered a beloved police chief killed in the line of duty just days before he was to retire. nbc's michelle franzen is in greenland, new hampshire, with details on that. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. residents in this small town are leaning on one another and also coming together to remember police chief michael maloney who

was just days away from retiring when he was shot and killed. experts say his death is part of a disturbing trend around the country with officers' shooting deaths on the rise. flowers line the walkway at the town center where greenland, new hampshire, police chief, michael maloney headed the force for 12 years. the 48-year-old was gunned down thursday night in the town he was sworn to protect, trying to serve a search warrant during a drug raid. four other officers were wounded. >> everybody was stunned, and they felt that they just couldn't believe this was happening in our little state. >> reporter: across the country in modesto, california, sheriff's deputy robert paris was shot and killed, serving an eviction notice at an apartment complex that was later set abla ablaze. the suspected shooter refused to come out. experts say the killing of these police officers are part of a worrying trend. 72 officers were killed last

year, making it the third straight year that police deaths increased. up 75% from 2008. >> budget cuts across the board have decimated law enforcement agencies. we've cut training, equipment, manpower and technology. all of that puts officers at grave risk. >> reporter: other law enforcement officials believe that's what's called preventive policing, more street stops of potential suspects and moving police into more crime-ridden areas has also put more police at risk. but back in greenland relatives and colleagues aren't thinking about that. >> i told my grandchildren last night that the one thing that they could feel that their father died doing what he loved most, protecting other people. >> reporter: colleagues and relatives of maloney who were once organizing a retirement party are now faced with

planning his funeral. also, the police department has set up a memorial fund for his family. amy? >> michelle franzen, thank you. it is time now for another check of the weather from bill karins. bill, good morning to you. >> well, good morning to you, amy. south dakota represented behind me. that's one of the spots that will see some nasty weather this weekend. we've been talking about the risk of the really bad storms. it's really from southern south dakota southward. lincoln, hastings, kearny. that's as we go throughout the afternoon hours. and later we'll watch through oklahoma city. sunday doesn't look quite as bad. in houston, a slight chance of tornados but the big tornado outbreak once again is late this afternoon into the evening. hopefull good morning from the nbc bay area weather center this morning. we are looking at skies clearing across the area. in fact, it will be a beautiful area today. we have a few sprinkles near

gilroy, otherwise everyone else is seeing mostly cloudy conditions. 50 in san jose. gilroy at 48. you'll notice the seven the day forecast enjoys dry weather for the next seven. a warmer day tomorrow with a great start by monday, holding on to the 60s and the 70s this upcoming workweek. >> and, of course, with all the bad weather expected the afternoon and evening in the middle of the country, if you have outdpoor plans, stay tuned to weather.com for all the weather updates. back to you. in 1992 the movie "bodyguard" launched whitney houston's film career. now the producer kevin costner wants to do a sequel with another mega star. lynn berry has more. >> the premise to the sequel is similar to the original. like whitney houston, the whom who would star was an icon in her own right. she was known as the people's

princess. and in the year leading up to her tragic death, she apparently had dreams of becoming a princess to hollywood. that's what she told kevin costner. >> diana and i had been talking about doing "bodyguard 2." i told her i would take care of her just the same way. >> reporter: the actor launched whitney houston's film career in the original. in the movie kofts never plays a former secret service agent hired to guard a pop star from a stalker. the role of protector on the big screen carried over into real life. earlier this year he delivered a heart-felt eulogy at whitney houston's funeral. whitney, if you could hear me now, i would tell you you weren't just good enough. you were great. talks with the princess came at a time when she was trying to reinvent herself after her ugly divorce to prince charles.

>> a lot of people looked at princess grace. she was a famous actress who married royalty. it would have been shocking if princess diana did the reverse but, hey, crazier things had happened. >> reporter: costner said he and diana discussed doing things that would reflect her life. she was interested and costner said diana also had other questions. >> she asked me, will there be a kissing scene, and i said, yeah. >> reporter: a possible role of a lifetime for a princess who seemingly had it all. >> how convenient for mr. costn costner, right? many of you may be asking why he didn't mention this years ago. he said it's not his style to jump in front of the camera when someone dies. he says he likes to be careful before he starts talking. lester? >> lynn, thank you very much. author j.k. rowling leaves harry potter behind.

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more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. the number one brand of paint just got better. starting at $23.98. this morning on "today's" consumer, celebrity branded cookware. consumer correspondent jan is lieberman is here to dish. good morning, janice. >> good morning. do you like that? >> yeah. >> from department stores to big box stores scan the kitchen aisle and you're sure to see lots of familiar face, tv chefs who come into your living room now want a spot on your stovetop. >> see how easy it is to cook italian? >> oh, yeah, they're going to be good. delish. >> you know them from their tv shows. >> bam. >> now the celebrity chefs have found a new way to cash in on their culinary fame, but will

their products sizzle or fizzle? we gathered a group of friends who love to cook. >> my kids are starving when they get home from school so, when they come home, i pretty much have a full dinner ready for them. >> reporter: and picked up celebrity for them to try. first up, emeril's cast iron skillet. she cracks an egg and tries to mirror what's on the package. >> let's try. >> we'll see. >> they're good. >> they're good. >> the one i have at home, i can't even lift up. this one was much lighter other than not heating up as quickly. >> jamie scores the skillet an eight on a score of 1 to 10. our next pick, this skillet. side one, the sear pad. she has three kids.

>> you can grip it underneath. >> two batches of pancakes later? >> easy to flip. >> the pan lost points with michelle because she said the pan heated unevenly. >> i would give it a six. >> reporter: judith tried the flip side, grilling a salmon fillet. >> she liked the professional grill and it cooked all over the way. >> there's grease all over the stovetop and it didn't leave the beautiful rims and the skin was kind of sticky. >> reporter: she gave it a five. she loves her knives. would ray chal's hands cut it? >> i was surprised.

with all the oil, still able to have a grip. >> reporter: deborah gaves the knives a perfect ten. in the end in our very unscientific home cooked trial, em really's $25 skillet rated an eight. mario's skillet rated 5 1/2 and rachael ray scored a perfect ten with her knife set priced at 50 bucks. >> batali's manufacturing partner said this, uneven distribution of heat and the sticking of sa man may have been skaused by the heat level being too high. cast iron does not require the same high heat level as overs require. keep in mind it's not an official test, june one person's view and opinion. all our volunteers, amy said, they would try a celebrity cookware product. >> because you go into any store now and you see all of these different names. what makes their products any

different other than the name? >> well, they do have an input and they know what they like to cook with and what problems that occur. so rachael ray has that special handle and em really has an ergonomic thumb rest on the handles. >> they're prettier too. they have brighter colors. >> oranges and greens. beautiful. you know what? read the reviews and like any other cook ware, do thor er. >> janice lieberman, as always, thank you. coming up, what c readers expect? we'll take a look after these messages. rt. it's my mission to make sure they all get the best treatment possible. petarmor flea and tick protection has the same #1 vet-recommended active ingredient as frontline® top spot and it's just as safe and effective against fleas and ticks. but costs about half as much. i use petarmor on my pets and these guys, they get the best. petarmor flea and tick protection. the same protection as frontline top spot at about half the cost. to help a pet in need visit aspca.org/petarmor.

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world, jmt k. recalling, author of the "harry potter" sears is turning in a different way, publishing for grown-ups. >> reporter: those magical "harry potter" books flew off shelves around the world, nearly a million copes from america to afghanistan. the movie, the phenomenon, made single mom j.k. rowling who was once on welfare, the first billionaire author. >> i read them all, yeah, i loved them. >> reporter: well, now, sorry kids and wizard wannabes. this next one is not for you. in september j.k. will publish her debut novel for adults called "the casual vacancy." the novel is set in a fictional little englishtown where everything looks real pretty, but all is not as it seems.

a town at war, her publisher describes, individuals at war, technologicalliers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbandens, called slightly comic and quite surprising. no, no wizards or dragons or slobber worms. just regular people. so what is it about little englishtowns -- that they're all at war. those parrish towns, little busy buzz. they're completely at war. >> reporter: are there things lurking behind corners and seething between cracks? >> yeah, there would be. >> reporter: hmm. >> j.k. rowels is the biggest publishing property. publishing her first adult novel is big, big news. >> reporter: critics are wondering if people will embrace j.k. without harry. many call her, one word, "great."

for "today," michelle kosinski, nbc news, london. >> that's a lot of pressure. >> i was going to say. that's tough. when you have this series that you had that was so phenomenal and so beloved. is it ever going to rise to that same level? >> i'm kind of rest on your laurels. >> i was good enough then, see you later. out in september, by the way. >> that's right. we're back in a moment. first this is "today" on nbc. when i take a picture of this check, it goes straight to the bank. oh. oh look the lion is out! no mommy no! don't worry honey, it only works on checks. deposit checks from your smartphone with chase quickdeposit. just snap a picture, hit send and done. take a step forward and chase what matters.

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still to come on "today," high-risk alert. tornados hit oklahoma and ferocious and more powerful storms expected throughout much of the midwest today p we'. we're live from oklahoma there. a houston woman stands by her husband even though she's tried to have him killed three times. but first these messages. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet,

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good morning, everyone. thank you for being with us. a live look at san jose this morning. the beginning of what promises to be a nice weekend weatherwise. don't take my word for it, anthony slaughter is here with your weekend forecast. >> we had a beautiful weekend last weekend. we are going to get the same thing this weekend. starting off on a dry note across the bay area with a few sprinkles in the south bay. otherwise, things are looking to clear out. 42 in napa and 43 in fairfield. oakland, 49. and we are close to 70 today. 60 at the coast. warmer at 70 inland.

we hang onto the 60s and 70s with dry weather all the way into the workweek. plenty of opportunity to get out to enjoy the beautiful springtime weather. thank you very much. parts of famously lib rap san francisco will be going conservative this afternoon for a short time. bay area tea party groups will be holding a tax day event. it's protesting high taxes in the sour economy in the direction they believe the country is heading. tax day will be head at san francisco's justin herman plaza beginning this afternoon at 1:00. filmmaker woody allen is eyeing san francisco at the setting as his next fill. he made the revelation yesterday while previewing the newest movie "to roam with love." an italian reporter asked him about rumors of filming in copenhagen. he said the next movie is mostly set in san francisco but will share screen time with his

hometown of new york. setting foot in the south bay park for the first time. the late regional cunningham park is allowing leashed dogs on the ground starting today. city leaders and local owners will be attending the ceremony today. people nearby have been lobbying the city to change the ordinance there. here's a contest you might be be interested in if you love to read and live in san francisco county. the city's public library is giving one lucky bookworm to have a bookmobile come to them. just look at six photos and guess the location where the bookmobile is visiting. log on to www.sfpl.org. for more information, the contest ends this sunday. an outbreak from yellow-fin tuna has been linked to mmi. they are issuing a voluntary recall of nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen raw fish. the fda as the outbreak has

sickened 100 people in 20 states, none in california. the yellow fin is not sold to individual customer bs uh to grocery stores and restaurants used to make sushi dishes. the fish is labeled at nakaoc hirks i scrape aa or aaa. many said they got sick after eating spicy tuna sushi. take precautions when ating raw seafood. coming up on "today in the bay," a freak accident with a log killing a little girl on a bay area beach. how it happened and the warnings for beach goers this weekend. we'll see you back here in a half hour.

welcome back to "today" on a saturday morning. it's the 14th day of april, 2012. beautiful, beautiful gorgeous spring morning. it's supposed to get to around 80 degrees. >> i'm not complaining. >> bill karins will be here to tell us about our weather and the dangerous weather coming to the midwest this weekend. outside on the plaza, lester holt along with amy robach. coming up, we'll talk about that severe weather. >> they're predicting dangerous storms across the midsection of this country. today,sirens have been

warning in oklahoma. we'll have a live report from oklahoma city coming up. we're going to take a closer look at the case against george zimmerman. a bond hearing is set for next week, but could the judge hearing his case have a conflict of interest? she has raised this possibility. we'll find out why she may have to recuse herself from the case. plus, a real-life murder for hire case. it sounds more like a soap opera. a houston lawyer accused of trying to kill his wife three times. why is she staying with him? we'll tell you the twist in this case. >> there definitely has to be a twist in that one. speaking of rings, brad pitt and angelina jolie are engaged. we'll have more on that, when they will tie the knot, how they will tie the knot, and everyone wants to see a closer look of the ring. >> e we've got it. lynn berry is at the news desk this morning. >> good morning, lester, amy. good morning, everyone j ee're beginning with a severe weather

alert. today could be a day of life-threatening storms. let's get more from eric fisher. he's live for us from oklahoma city. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. already a busy night last night in norman, oklahoma. you can see the bent sign and this backyard pretty banged up. 24th avenue is right here and literally the entire street is lined with these telephone poles and branches that were knocked down by the storm as it came through. the national weather service will likely get out here today and try to rate this storm before more storms fire this afternoon. about 5,000 people without power in greater oklahoma city this morning. and certainly we'll be tracking more as we head through the afternoon. really looking around, it's surprising only ten people injured by this particular tornado and those injuries were characterized as bumps and bruises. we're fortunate on that account. in the last couple of tornadic events, we have not had any tornadic fatalities.

we're making sure everyone gets their warnings. lynn? >> absolutely. an important message there. eric fisher, live for us in oklahoma city. now to the latest scandal. a dozen of security personnel sent to colombia for the president. they've been relieved of their duty. this is said to have happened before the president's arrival friday another. other personnel have since taken the place of those sent back to the united states. just spectacular video shows europe's highest active volcano erupting this week. mt. etna began erupting with a series of explosions. unreal. this is the third eruption in the past month, but so far italian authorities haven't issued any warnings of dangers to people who live nearby. finally the muppets. in their mission to attract more visitors. kermit the frog, miss piggy

joined mayor bloomberg. they're going to highlight family-friendly parks, restaurants and other attractions. for the sake of all of you i'm going to reserve my kermit the frog imitation. >> not easy being green, i know, lynn. we'll send it to bill for the weather. >> good morning, amy. we're going to talk about the weather. we have the threatening situation this afternoon it's going start early this afternoon in areas of nebraska. from wichita to oklahoma, the coverage probably won't be as great. we probably won't have as many tornados down there. that's why you're in the high risk of severe storms. we're very concerned as we go throughout the day, even into the evening hours. now s far as tomorrow goes, it doesn't look like the severe threat is going tonos be a bad. we're going to watch it.

the real event atarts late today into this evening. that's when we're going to expect the possibility of the large tornados. those could stay on the ground for a long period of time. those are the ones that end u good morning from the nbc bay area wther center this morning. we are looking at skies clearing across the bay area. in fact, we'll look at a bright eaweekend here across the north south and even the east bay. with we have few sprinkles this morning across gilroy and near san martin. 47 in santa cruz. livermore waking up to 46 degrees. close to 70 inland today. 60 at the coast. close to 70 again tomorrow and slightly warmer getting towards monday with a chance of rain tuesday evening. and this caught my attention this morning. your grand grandpa worked on the "today" show back in 1951 to '52. back then the hiring standards were about the same standards as they are today if you look at a picture of him. what's your name?

>> kalle. >> you were named after him, right? >> yeah. >> obviously very cute and interesting. a lot of guys around here very similar to that. back to you, lester. >> bill, thanks very much. now back to the trayvon martin case, george zimmerman is spending his third full day behind bars as a bond hearing is set for next week. nbc's ron allen has the latest. >> reporter: this week sanford leaders called for fairness and reconciliation as the second-degree murder case for george zimmerman moves forward. >> we want justice for trayvon and due process for mr. zimmerman. >> reporter: zimmerman has entered a plea of not guilty. in court papers, prosecutors say trayvon martin was profiled by george zimmerman, adding later zimmerman confronted martin and a struggle ensued. a case that has incited such passion that some legal analysts say will have to be moved from the area if it ever gets to trial. >> i don't think that a local jury can come into the case

without some preconceived notion about something, especially in seminole county. >> reporter: already there's a possible issue about ethics and fairness. judge jessica recksiedler disclosed at the hearing her husband, who's an attorney, spoke with a lawyer who is representing him, a lawyer who is now an analyst for cnn. zimmerman's current attorney mark oh mere ya spoke by speaker phone. the judge suggested omh mere ya file a motion if he thinks she should be removed from the case. it may well come down to zimmerman's claim that he acted in self-defense and whether prosecutors can prove otherwise. >> if george zimmerman takes the stand, this become as one-witness trial. if the jury believes him, he's going to walk. if they don't, he's going to be put away. >> reporter: all of this could

be months and months away. naltds say they predict there are be numerous legal battles. ron allen, nbc news. jane why traub is a criminal attorney. let me get your thoughts. is it a big deal? is it something zimmerman's lawyers will have to deal with? >> it is a big deal. i believe that the judge will reconsider over the weekend an after reviewing the florida judicial canon of ethics she'll realize a judge should disqualify themselves in which a judge's impartiality might be reasonably in question. it's the appearance of impropriety, the public's perception of what's going on. if it's too murky, doesn't pass the smell test, the integrity of the system is what's paramount

and that's what we must protect. >> let's talk about the future. there could be a bail hearing as soon as next friday. now keep in mind during this investigation, he was reachable by prosecutors and law enforcement. he didn't run off. does that work in his favor to get a low bail? >> well, it works in his favor to get bail, period. remember, in florida, a second-degree murder in florida is not bondable. he'll have to go through a hearing where the prosecutor will have a witness and her proof of evidence is great, in other words, the prosecution has a strong case. the judge could still consider in his or her discretion, exercise that discretion and give a bond. one is that he voluntarily surrender to authorities. >> do they have to worry about his safety? is that taken in consideration? safety outside of jail? >> i think that's for lawyers to consider. but, of course, that should be consideration for the court. that could easily be dealt with

with regard to an ankle monitor or a safe haven for the defendant. >> the prosecutor has not talked a lot about the specifics but there was an affidavit filed that basically said mr. zimmerman profiled trayvon martin. it doesn't say racial profiler by the way. that he was the aggressor and it was tray vob martvon mar on the was heard screaming in the 911 call. >> there are a lot of unnecessary details that are put in this probable cause affidavit that are very striking to a lawyer who routinely looks at these kind of documents. it tells me she basically puts everything forward. but it's almost in an argumentative way, lester. as a matter of fact, as you pointed out. he profiled him. there are words he used. that's what she should put in her affidavit. she's putting her asemgss and that in her affidavit. she should use the facts. >> by saying profile, he looked

at trayvon martin and decided he's suspicious for one reason or another. is she setting the stage here, that he's outside his car and intemds to do harm to martin? >> absolutely. she's laying out that ees he stalking trayvon martin. in fact, that be will -- >> the lawyer has not laid out the defense but we all believe "stand your ground" is going to be a part of it. to the extent that he gets out of his car and follow trayvon martin, does that take away your option of "stand your ground?" does that eliminate it. >> it does not eliminate the possibility of "stand your ground." it is a factor the court will consider in making the ultimate determination. but getting out of his car, i believe that george zimmerman will probably say he wasn't getting out of his car to watch and follow where martin was going so when the police arrived he could tell them and pinpoint

it. he's not going to say he got out of the car to stalk his prey. and therefore it doesn't make him the aggressor automatically. his position, i believe, will be he went up to tray vob and asked who he is and what he's doing here. at that point he's going to assert trayvon was the aggressor physically on him, so therefore he will claim he had a right to defend himself. >> jayne weintraub, thanks for joining us. up next, brad pitt finally popped the question to angelina jolie. we'll find out more and have a look at that rick right after these messages. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. [ female announcer ] this week only, save up to $11 on zyrtec® products.

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2005 while working on the film, "mr. and mrs. smith." soon that will be their title offjean as well. >> reporter: as far as hollywood couples are concerned they don't come bigger than brad pitt and angelina jolie and after seven years and six kids they've got one huge announcement. he popped the question and she said yes. here's the picture that sent the rumor mill into a frenzy. angelina at a museum, donning a massive rock on her finger. but in the past the couple had said they wouldn't marry until gay marriage is acceptable in the u.s. so when it's merged, people couldn't believe it. >> there were rumors, are they, could they get engaged, but it was the thing. it was never going to happen. brad actually admitted early

willer this year the kids had been pressuring them to get married and in fact brad's manager did confirm with us that the kids are very happy. with a diamond like that, angelina has got to be happy too. and the best parkts brad helped design it. this isn't the first engagement for either. at the time, brad was still married to jennifer aniston. once they split, brangelina was born. that's where angelina, she's no stranger to marriage either. she's been down the aisle twice before. >> three times is the charm for angelina jolie. i think she has definitely met the love of her life. >> reporter: the pair is calling their engagement, a promise for the future. >> you know, their children really want to see mom and dad get married, and i think this is the perfect first step. a first step that has left hollywood with one last question. when will they say "i do." for today, joel garguilo, nbc,

new york. >> suzanne writes for "people" magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> do we now how he popped the question? >> we know he asked her at home. they had a couple of hours to revel in the moment while they watted for the kids to get home from school. >> that's exciting. let's talk about the kids because everyone is pointing to them as the reason why they're finally deciding to tie the knot. is that true? >> it really seems to be the case. you know, brad and angie have both said in recent years as their kids get older, they're, quote, "putting on the heat" as brad says. at the end of "shrek," they see fiona marry shrek and they're asking, when are you going to marry daddy? >> speaking of the ring, we know brad collaborated with a jeweler for apparently an entire year. wow, that took a lot of thought and effort. what do we know about the ring

itself? >> he won't confirm the price or size but it's is the i mated to be between 10 and 18 karcarats. it's flawless. it was designed with angelina's hand in mind. >> now they haven't set a date yet. do we have any idea what time of year, what the thought is, how long the engagement will be, given how long the preengagement has been, it's anyone's guess. >> they have a lot of homes around the world tied to many different countries. it could be at their chateau in france, home in new orleans. no matter what, it will be spectacular. >> and i'm sure the children will be involved. >> absolutely. >> and finally we want to talk to you about another story because "people" has exclusively learned about ryan o'neal. he's apparently been diagnosed

with prostate cancer? >> he has. he's been very open and says luckily it's treatable and is taking the right sort of measures to get it under control. >> and what do we know about him going forward with his son, of course, obviously still in the wake of farrah's tragedy. how is he handling it? how is he coping with it all? >> that remains a complicated relationship, but what's amazing about the o'neals is their candidness about their rocky relationship and trying to get back on track. tumultuous relationships but we wish them all the best. >> we certainly do. thank you. we appreciate all of the details. we're back, but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ so, this is delicious okay... is this where we're at now, we don't care anymore? we just eat whatever tastes good? excuse me? [ man ] like these sweet honey clusters, they're awesome so no way they're good for you. but i guess that's okay right?

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still to come on "today," the plot thickens. a surprising twist in an already astonishing murder-for-hire case. why has the trial been delayed until the summer. we'll tell you coming .

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good morning, everyone. time is 6:26 on this saturday morning. you're looking at some clear skies. we are looking at some of the nicest weather coming up this weekend. i'm garvin thomas in for kris sanchez. we are looking at a beautiful weekend unfolding here. just a few clouds in the wake of a strong cold front that moved through this week. very strong thunderstorms thursday and friday. even a couple tornadoes this past week across central california. things are quiet for the time being. as garvin mentioned, clear skies. 44 in santa rosa. 44 in san francisco.

san jose waking up to 48 degrees. highs today will be closer to 70 across the south bay and the east bay is in the mid-60s. along the peninsula in san francisco, 60 for the day-time high. the three-day warming shows warming the next seven daysle. a chance for showers on tuesday and thursday otherwise we are dry for the next seven. take advantage and enjoy the nice spring warmth. quite the change across the bay area. spring finally got here. thank you very much. new this morning, a suspect is recovering after being shot by berkeley police during an overnight chase. the shooting happened near the intersection of 8th and delaware streets after 10:30 last night. police were chasing the suspect after he ran from a vehicle stop. she was later spotted at a nearby apartment. he ignored their commands to surrender and he opened fire on them. the suspect was shot and taken to the hospital where he's being treated for his injury. no officers were injured during the shooting. holding on to hope, this weekend volunteers will head out once again to look for missing teen sierra lamar.

so far police have spent more than 9,000 hours on the case and followed up on 1400 leads. yesterday sheriff's deputies looked for evidence at the uvas reservoir outside the area looking for any sign of the 15-year-old. so far divers have not found anything related to the case. a salmonella outbreak linked to tuna is linked to the cupertino company. mmi is issuing a voluntary recall of nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen raw fish. the fda says the outbreak has sickened more than 100 people in 20 states. none, however, in california. the yellow fin is not sold to individual customers but to grocery stores and restaurants used to make dishes like sushi. many who got sick said it was after eating spicy tuna sushi. the fda recommends people take precautions when eating raw seafood and if in doubt, don't eat it. here's a contest you might

be interested in if you like to read. the san francisco public library is giving a bookworm a chance to have a bookmobile come to them. all you have to do is look at six photos and guess the locations where the bookmobile is visiting. log on to www.sfpl.org for more information. the contest ends this monday. coming up this morning on "today in the bay," spring gardening. we'll help guide you through the process to make your garden picture-perfect. plus, a perfect day on the field. we'll have giants' home opener highlights coming up on "today in the bay" at 7:00 this morning. see you then. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity.

that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today. we're back on this saturday morning, april 14th, 2012. it is a beautiful morning here in new york city. we want to thank all of you who stopped by to say hello on this gorgeous spring weekend. outside on the plaza, i'm amy row back along are lester holt. coming up in this half hour, a new development in a fairly unbelievable murder-for-hire situation. >> it's about a houston lawyer who stands accused of masterminding three, three failed murder-for-hire plots on his own wife. the trite was set to begin on monday, but there's a new twist that could change everything. we're going to have details coming up. all right. and then real estate 911.

it's beautiful and it's spring and a lot of people are looking to put their homes on the market. from handling short sales to do business with family members, the one and only barbara corcoran is here to answer all of your pressing real estate questions. and if you want to have a beautiful garden this spring and summer but you don't have a spacious backyard, we'll show you how to make the best use of the space you have. it's called a vertical garden. we'll show you how to make it coming up. first, before all of that, let's get a check of the beautiful weather. not so beautiful in other places. bill karins out on the plaza. >> it's really nice, about as good as it gets for the east coast. west coast seeing improving weather. the problems in the middle of the country where we need everyone to know there's a high risk of severe storms. what that means is there's going to be a large area of possible tornadoes. not just your garden variety tornadoes but even the big powerful ones. we're watching windy and snowy conditions in the rockies in

areas like arizona and also lieu las vegas. by sunday it heads up into the northern plains with a lot of rain. slight chances of rain. in areas of arkansas, louisiana, today is the tornado day, especially this afternoon. not so much as we go from the nbc bay area weather center this morning, i'm anthony slaughter. we are looking at skies clearing arose the area as we continue to head through our day. lots of sunshine will grace us upon this saturday. 6 c 6:32 this morning and we are 48 degrees in san jose. san francisco, you'll be right at 60 degrees later this afternoon. your seven-day forecast does show warming back close to 70 tomorrow. 74 inland on monday with a chance of a north bay shower by tuesday. >> today in new york is very cold compared to what is in texas. >> very good. that's very good. you're going to be our future "today" show reporter. that was a good little tryout. what's your name? >> becca. >> becca. how long have you wanted to be a reporter?

>> a long time. >> a long time since you were this were little big. good luck. we'll see you in a couple years. back to you, amy. >>s in houston, a highly publicized case of a lawyer accused of masterminding three failed murder for higher threats on his wife has been postponed. nbc's janet shamlian explains. >> it's a story ma that i had headlines across the country. a prominent houston area attorney accused of having his long time mistress hire hit men to kill his wife not once but three times. in the last alleghenied attempt, yvonne stern was seriously injured. mechanic freddy ramiro ram to her rescue. >> she was on the phone holding her stomach and came in here saying help me, i need an ambulance. >> she survived being shot but her husband, jeffrey tern and his mistress michelle gaiser

were both charged with solicitation of capital murder. >> let me be perfectly clear, jeff stern is innocent of these charges. he had absolutely nothing to do with the vicious plot to kill yvonne. >> and 39-year-old gaiser was expected to testify she was just a go between for jeffrey stern and that he was the mastermind. now as stern was about to go on trial, documents turned over by the prosecution suggest gaiser may have been involved in another murder for hire plot. >> i can't comment on the specifics. but it's our duty to do a thorough investigation to try to reveal the truth. >> her attorneys deny the accusations saying if they had any merit or validity, charges would have been filed. jeffrey stern denies plotting to murder his wife but says he did have an affair with gaiser. yvonne stern filed for divorce and reconciled with her husband and now says she doesn't believe he was involved in trying to

kill her. >> she was really willing to forgive jeffrey and to move on because her children and herself she wantsed her family to stay together. >> in exchange for her testimony against one of the suspected gunmen. >> prosecutors agreed not to pursue a sentence longer than 25 years against michele. another twist in a bizarre case that has so many. >> and case i jordan is an attorney and a criminologist. good morning. >> good morning, amy. >> don't even know where to begin, it's such a crazy story. how about this with michele gaiser, the former mistress now being implicated in a separate murder for hire case. what does that do to this trial and and what fun then had come out later? >> it's going to leave us and the jury with a lot of second-guessing. if it is true that she was involved in another murder for hire plot long before the one on yvonne stern, the question is, is she really just one of the

psychologically off fatal attraction mistresses or is this something that jeffrey, her boss, boyfriend, discovered and hatched a plan to get rid of his wife by using her as a hapless pawn in the idea that if i can get rid of pawn, then i can be be with michele. >> does this boil down to a classic he said she said? court. >> it does indeed. what's lacking is direct evidence. yvonne has aid if you don't have a tape, e-mails, video or audio, problem that my husband got her to do this, then i'm not going to believe it. possibly the jury will think the same way. all we have is michele's word against jeff's that he is the mastermind behind the plot. why would she cop to up to 25 years in jail to turn evidence against him unless that was true? she should plead not guilty and take her chances. >> let's talk about yvonne stern. this woman was shot in the abdomen. there were three attempts on her life and she is now saying she

will testify in her husband's defense that he was not a part of this plot. how could she know that and how will the prosecution handle that? >> i think yvonne is the wildcard in this case. keep in mind she admitted he cheated on her. she says it was just a mid life crisis. the question before the jury if she testifies, is this woman so bamboozled so incull indicated by her husband's lies she thinks he's innocent? she has said he's so brit, a phenomenal smart man if he wanted me dead, i would be dead. how disingenuous is that? it's basically saying she believes he's capable of killing her. >> that didn't happen and he must not have been a part of it. what about the hit men? how do they play in all of this? >> in my mind as an attorney, i think that is the lynchpin to this case? who approached them? how much were they offered and where is the money trail? men don't shoot bullets into

people for no money. if they got paid, where did the money come from? does michele have the resources to pay a hit man tens of thousands of dollars. >> three different times. >> exactly or will that inevitably trace back to jeffrey stern? if there is no money trail, all bets are off but i think the money trail will solve this. >> can we assume that the prosecutor has that information and that will come out in trial because for them to have pressed charges, do i think their case would be based on michele gaiser's testimony? >> if that's all they have, it is going to be a crap shoot. you never know. some prosecutors hold their cards chose to the vest till the very end. the process of discovery reved she could be implicated. that doesn't mean it's true. >> casey jordan, thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> great to be here. coming up next from short sales to choosing a broker, we're answering your real estate questions but first these messages. [ woman ] when my asthma symptoms returned

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open house, navigating can be tricky whether you this morning on "today's" open house, navigating can be tricky whether you're looking for your first home or facing foreclosure. s and "today's" this morning you sent us your questions and "today's" contributing real estate barbara corcoran. i've had a lot of questions about short sales. explain what it is. >> it's simply an agreement between the homeowner and the lending institution, typically a bank, that you can sell your home for less than the worth of the mortgage. so in essence, the bank takes a loss. >> makes you very popular in your neighborhood no doubt. >> no one likes you in the

neighborhood. it lowers the value but it's better than a foreclosure sign. >> the first question is molly smith. she writes my husband and i bought our home five years ago. we're upside down in our loan and we have good credit. are there any options beside as -- besides a short sale? >> definitely. you can have the option of modifying your loan if you approach your leonard and ask if they'll extend the term, lower your monthly payment. you could foreclose on the home, which is a terrible thing for most people and usually the means of last resort, or you could simply hang on and hope that the real estate market turns around. i have to say that the entire market went up for the first time last month and so that might not be such a bad option if things keep going the way they are. >> maybe a light at the end of the tunnel. if you're a buyer looking at a shorter sale home, is there room for negotiation? >> always. a lot of people feel intimidated. the bank has set the price and you can't put in a low bid. you certainly can. they're going to say yes, no, or give a counteroffer and they're going to do it fast.

here's another question. chelsea m. writes we bought our house two years ago. our neighbors just put their house on the market, listing it for a lot more than we paid for ours. we have done many modifications and planned on making it a rental property eventually. should we sell the home early or hold onto it as an income property? >> oh, my gosh. chelsea should definitely stick with her plan. just because the guy next door is asking a lot for the house, it means nothing. it doesn't mean they sold it for a lot. she should watch and see what he sold it for and then decide what the best course of action is. there's a world of difference between asking price and sales price. all right. our next question comes from the plaza. i believe chris is standing by outside. he has a question for you. chris. >> hi, barbara. we're military members and we relocate our families quite often. just because of timing and circumstance and times past we've been enticed to buy sight unseen and if there are tips for doing so. >> you're a brave guy. the essential thing and people

rarely do and it takes a lot of currently is to get the home inspected. you can tell a crack in a foundation, which costs a lot of money, leaking oil tank, something wrong with the roof. you can see if you like the rooms, et cetera but you can't tell what the dramatic things wrong with the house are. so you can hire an inspection. it usually costs only about $600. this is a topic that a lot of people can relate to. it's about mixing business with family. debbie lind said from ohio asks -- we're selling our house on a land contract to our daughter and new son-in-law. anything to watch out for so this doesn't ruin our family relationship? bet there are a lot of things to look out for. >> first off, chances are it's going to ruin your family relationship. rarely do these deals ever wiped up in a good place. if you can possibly afford to give the home to your children, it's a much better bet because it comes with no strings attached. do not give them a mortgage because if they're not going to pay their mortgage, you're not going to evict them. and lastly be careful of the price you set on the house because if it's lower than the market value, uncle sam is going to come after you for a gift tax and you're going to be paying more than you ever expected to pay in the end.

the broker is a hot topic of discussion, particularly if your home has been on the market for a while and there haven't been many or fewer offers. rosemary asks we have an older home that has been on and off the market for five years with the same broker. it is marketed as a teardown because it needs major updates. should we lower the price or look for a new broker? >> five years is a heck of a long time. it's hard for a broker to be excited for five years in a row. it's like a note on a refrigerator. what you should really be doing is inviting three local brokers in with a fresh eye and ask them what the house is worth. chances are it's overpriced because even the wrong broker will sell something at the right price. five years, you need to make a switch. up next, gardening in small spaces. we'll show you great design idea for any size yard. but first this is "today" on nbc. nbc. [ man ] did we get anything good?

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fiber one. pull on those gardening gloves. grab the nearest spade. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advise to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot lay down a new look, with earthgro mulch, now three bags for just $10.

♪ it's spring again i can hear the birds sing again ♪ this morning on "spring today," a different kind of garden, one you can hang like a picture. nbc's sara haines found a way to decorate with the smallest of spaces with wall flowers, literally. >> so, mike, we took a week off and let the weather get a little warmer. >> we're much nicer today. >> we're onto a new project. what are you going to teach me today? >> today we're going to build a vertical garden. let's say you're a person who's downsized, you're in a townhouse. it's a way to decorate in a vertical space. >> where do we start? >> we start here with all of these pieces.

it's easier than it looks. the first step is to take all of these pieces and combine them to make the box that's actually going to house the soil and the flowers. we've got the specific dimens n dimensions of all the things you need at homedepot.com/gardencenter. >> am i going to burn your hand? >> you're a crazy woman. >> look. i built a box. >> let's pick up the pace. >> are you ready? >> yeah. >> let's do it. whoo! voila. >> amazing. see, i told you. it's easy. >> even you can do it. >> even you can do it. >> we drilled holes in the top. so we put our irrigation pipes in. this is where the water is going to get to the flowers. we built some holes into the pvc pipe. we put plastic in it so it makes it waterproof. >> so we're almost to the flowers. >> yes, we're almost to the

flowers. >> fill that up. >> like anywhere? >> yes. well, in the box preferably. we want to add weed block fabric and latticework. this is going to keep the soil in place. this is going to keep everything in place. so when you lift this up, none of the flowers are going to end up on your deck. >> spread it out. >> something's not right here. i wonder what it is. it's upside-down. oh, no. [ laughter ] >> how does that feel? >> i did it all by myself. >> from this angle, you can see the screw, can't you? >> i totally missed. so now it's time for the flowers. >> yes, but you've got to make a slight hole in the fabric in order to put the flowers in. sarah, good news.

>> flowers, yay. >> the best flowers for this are really shorter flowers because if they're long, this is going to be on the wall, and they'll tend to droop a little bit. and you don't want that. >> so when we fill this all in, we can hang it up. >> actually you don't want to do that. you want to leave it horizontal for three weeks so it has time to grow. this is a completed one. that has been sitting for three weeks. >> i love this. this is beautiful. so now the only thing we have to do is make this garden vertical. ♪ >> that was a dramatic finish. all right. we're back after these messages. let's play indoors this weekend. all we need is a couple of gallons of our hardest-working paint... ...from the get-it-done place that gives us more top-rated brands than anywhere else... ...at prices that won't shake up our budget. let's make a one-wall statement...

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there's a happy group right there. that's going to do it for us on this saturday morning. i want to thank bill karins for joining us. tomorrow's tallest dog. >> 7'3". it's ridiculous. i'll see you tonight for "nbc nightly news." until then, everyone, thanks for wahing. have a great saturday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

good morning. i'm garvin thomas. coming up, intense moments in the east bay during a police chase and shooting. we'll have details. plus, a freak accident turns a family vacation into tragedy. a little girl killed near the waterline. the warning for parents and beach goers this weekend. and another search for sierra starts in an hour. what's ahead for today's crews and how you can get involved. plus, giants' fans counting down the hours until they pour into aten&t park for a match against e pigh pirates. we'll have the home-opener highlights.

good saturday morning to you. wow, what a beautiful shot this morning out over mccovey cove, at&t park. the giants'