to openhouse.com. thanks for stopping in. i'm libby langdon and we'll see you next week onn n good morning. going to extremes. parts of the southeast hit by record rainfall. more is on the way while out west a fast spreading wildfire destroys homes and forces residents to run for their lives. and it could get much, much worse. caught on tape. a man hitting his stepson with a belt during a game of catch. now he's facing felony charges of child abuse. this morning a video that's shocking people around the nation. and not your father's commencement speech. >> you're not special. you're not exceptional. >> but guess what? despite the harsh message, a lot of people are saying it's the best speech they've ever heard. today is sunday, june 10th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. we're talking about this weather again this morning. we've been dealing with extreme weather for months. it's showing no signs of letting up now. >> in the west, wildfires are raging, but in the southeast along the gulf of mexico, they have had nothing but rain. record amounts of rainfall, lots of flooding. we're going to go there live in just a moment. then we're going to take a look at politics. it's been a rough week for president obama, from saying the private sector is, quote, fine, to getting beat for the first time in a fund-raising race. mitt romney is picking up steam. what can he do to keep the momentum going? and can the president regain his mojo? we're going to get to all of that. and it's got to be the

shoes, very expensive shoes. folks who waited on line for days to get their hands on these. nikes zidesigned by rapper kany west. sounds crazy, but some people are spending thousands of dollars to get their hands on a pair of shoes. we'll tell you what all the buzz and hype is about. >> we went through that with the jordans, when the air jordans came out, that was all the hype as well. except michael jordan was a professional athlete. >> really, really good. we all love our technology. technology. you probably have some here too. yeah, all of it. technology. caffeine, technology. we can tweet. we can text. we can take photos in mere seconds. but what about when your gadgets fail you? they all do at some point. your gps sends you miles in the wrong direction or auto correct turns your messages to something much different than you intended. coming up, why technology can thrill and sometimes frustrate us all at the same time. >> love the auto correct. that's led to some pretty awkward moments. a lot to get to. but let's start with the

record rainfall in the east. it's causing millions of dollars in damage, and more rain is on the way. we want to get the latest from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: the widespread flooding was the result of torrential rain that fell all day and into the night. in mobile, alabama, raging waters washed out several roads and flooded dozens more. the sheriff's office urged residents to stay home except for emergencies. >> i got a couple of cows behind the barn. i was back there watching and make sure they wasn't floating away. >> in some cases, those emergencies actually involved rising floodwaters, threatening people's homes. >> i hope it doesn't get up any higher. >> meteorologists blame the heavy rain on a cold front from the north which stalled along the gulf coast. when a cold air pocket moved east, it pulled up moisture from the gulf of mexico, which fell from the sky at rates of more than two inches an hour. pensacola, florida, was also hit hard with more than a foot and a half of rain in some areas. dr. greg forbes of the weather channel. >> rainfall in this event was more than from hurricane opal back in 1995, and as of 4:00

p.m. saturday, it was the second rainiest day in pensacola history. >> reporter: rising water trapped some people in their homes, and escambia county declared a the state of emergency, opening a shelter for residents who had been urged to evacuate. as in alabama, roads were also impassable as businesses flooded and water seeped into a rescue mission. for coastal residents in alabama and florida, it's been a tough start to the weekend with hurricane intensity rains even with no hurricane in sight. for today, mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> the weather channel's mike sigh dell is in pensacola, florida, this morning, hit hard by heavy flooding. mike, how does it look there? >> reporter: it's looking better, jenna. this is the forest creek apartments. they were under water literally yesterday afternoon. more than 15 inches fell here, 200 units. most everybody was evacuated, and the power is out this morning. the water has receded, thus the term flash flooding. look how high the water is in the back of the parking lot

here. cars are still partially submerged, and the units have water in the first floor. there's a swamp back there, the jones swamp reserve. it's over its banks. it is receding since it hasn't rained for about 12 hours, but more rain is in the forecast. the record yesterday 13, 13, their wettest day in june. 7 out of 8 hours they had anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. the good news, this rain is moving into georgia. the worst drought in the country is in georgia. 30% of georgia is now in an extreme or exceptional drought. the bad news this morning, more rain in the forecast. jenna this morning, we keep a look out for the water moccasins, which are swimming in the water next to me. back to you. >> mike seidel, thank you very much. >> he kind of dropped the water moccasin theme. that's a nice way of saying deadly snake, right? >> only you, lester, would go to that extreme. >> let's get the rest of the morning's stories. cnbc's mandy drury is at the news desk. >> good morning, lester and jenna. good morning to you. the weather is only making

things worse as firefighters battle wind whipped wildfires in colorado and new mexico. the fire in northern colorado started saturday morning and has grown to 8,000 acres. it's already destroyed at least ten homes and other structures and forced dozens of evacuations. another fire in southern new mexico has grown to 10,000 acres. rebel fighters are bringing the battle to overthrow syria's president bashar al assad to his power base in damascus. we're monitoring the threatening crisis from cairo. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, man gi. this isn't the first time explosions have rocked the capital, but what makes today so significant, it is, as you mingsed, a direct challenge to president assad's grip on power in the seat of his power. u.n. observers out on patrol assessing the damage, only this time it's in the capital damascus. for the past few nights, residents here have been reporting the sound of heavy gun fights and explosions, the worst

in a 15-month uprising against the rule of president assad. the aftermath of the fighting in the capital suggests the rebels have become increasingly brazen in their attacks on government forces, including this assault on a power plant. damascus has largely been immune from the daily fire elsewhere in syria, like cities in homs province which have seen some of the government's most intense shelling of residential areas. while a u.n.-brokered peace plan unravels, civilians caught in the middle continue to pay the ultimate price. in the birth place of syria's uprising in dahra, 18 people, women and children, were killed over the weekend after this town was shelled by the syrian military. one of the criticisms of syria's opposition is it is often fragments without a clear leadership. today they're trying to overcome that. they have elected a new leader that hopes to bring all of syria's opposition under one

umbrella group to try to coordinate their struggle under the regime of president bashar al assad. >> thank you very much. former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky heads into his child abuse trial on monday. prosecutors have lined up eight alleged victims. they accuse sandusky of meeting the boys over a 15-year period through a charity he founded called the second mile. a california man has been arrested after a neighbor filmed him whipping his stepson with a belt. after the boy dropped the ball while they were playing catch in their backyard. anthony sanchez turned himself in to police and was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse after the neighbor put the video online and turned it over to authorities. former arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords made a rare appearance saturday night to campaign for the man she wants to succeed her in congress. giffords attended the event for democrat ron barber, her former aide. at the end of the night, she showed how much she's improved from the shooting that nearly took her life last year by

dancing on the stage with a large group of people. good to see. that's the news. now it's back to lester, jenna, and chris. >> mandy, thanks very much. >> the weather channel's chris warren is here with a check of the forecast. chris, good morning. >> good morning to both of you. unfortunately, a lot more rain is heading to the gulf coast. we had a dousing yesterday. take a look at the rainfall totals. the yellow and the green, widespread areas of two to three inches. but we zoom in here, and you're going to see some areas more than a foot of rain, more than we inc hshen pensacola, second ttesday on record there in pensacola. this is where the rain is falling right now, and once again, we're seeing this heavy rain come down in the gulf coast states. looks like flood watch, flood warnings for the areas here in green. this is the rain we're expecting over the next 24 hours. so today it is going to be another very wet day. that's att

>> that's your weather. now here's lester. >> chris, thanks. if you thought the horse race at the belmont was tight, the battle for the white house might be even closer. president obama had a tough week while mitt romney seems to be picking up steam. what does each of them need to do to get a leg up? let's turn to msnbc's melissa harris-perry and mark halpern, senior political analyst for "time" magazine and msnbc. melissa, let's start with you. by most accounts, last week was not a good one for the president. one of the reasons, the recall election in wisconsin going to

the gop incumbent. although a lot of those people who voted for the gop incumbent are also obama supporters. then the romney camp out earns the obama camp by $15 million last month. how significant are those two events? >> i think the wisconsin event is much less significant for the president than it is for the issue of organized labor, than it is for wisconsinites. the president made a calculated decision not to jump into that race. he made a decision not to ever appear on behalf of tom barrett. he did not send dnc resources there. and when you look at sort of the language of wisconsin voters, their decision to return their incumbent -- rather to not recall scott walker, does seem to be as much a set of issues around local politics rather than a referendum on the president. obviously, the big question for him was this fund-raising edge by mitt romney. i still think that's more an artifact of the primaries finally being over. mitt romney is now finally the guy, and so folks know where on the right to put their resources. >> mark, to the extent that

wisconsin fires up republican voters, does it potentially create more excitement around romney, which he desperately needs? >> we often do too much sports and politics metaphors, but i think in this case, you watch the heat-celtics game last night, you think about it. what succeeds in politics? what succeeds in sports? two things, confidence and momentum. the president is not out of it by any means. i still think he's the favorite. but he right now lacks in his operation, in his team, the confidence and the momentum that they have in the romney campaign. i think you see that in the fund-raising. you see that in what happened to wisconsin. every week one side has momentum and more confidence. they're better off as we head towards november. snapshot of the last week is really bad for the president's campaign, but you're going to see a lot of changes. >> i pick up, though, on that metaphor, particularly in last night's game as we were talking about during the break. part of what could also be good for somebody who's out ahead is a little bit of a loss. if you think that your candidate

has it all wrapped up, then you don't send him the checks. one of the first things the obama campaign did in response to being out fund raised this month was to send out the e-mail saying, we got beat. we're not a lock on this. we're going to need your support, voters. >> man, i wish i'd saw the game last night. i didn't watch the game. but quickly, let me ask you about the president's remark that the private sector is fine. republicans pounced on it. did he make a bigger deal of it, though, when he tried to walk it back. >> he had to try to walk it back because in the twitter age in which we live, you leave something like that out there, it's going to go on forever. i hate the way our politics works when something like that becomes a dominant story. i hate when it becomes a dominant story for democrats and for republicans. it's what this election should be about. but the case that anything about the economy that either of these candidates say is going to be amplified because the economy has to be the central issue in the race. the president has to talk about the future, so does mitt romney. this stuff about gas and things will get a lot of attention, but it shouldn't.

>> mark halpern, melissa harris-perry, thanks for joining us. you can catch the melissa harris-perry at 10:00 eastern on msnbc every saturday and sunday. you have work to do. up next,h love/noha tech.lt . 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life. no. you quit? i'm trying nicoderm cq. [ male announcer ] nicoderm cq, the patch with 24-hour smart control technology, lets you celebrate a little win every time you say no to a cigarette. nicoderm cq. quit one day at a time. every time you say no to a cigarette.

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you know like when your gps sends you off in the wrong direction or when your text mess an ages are auto corrected. sometimes it can drive you to tears. it's a high def, hi-fi, wild wi-fi world. what happens when all this crazy technology takes the occasional day off? >> every time i type in xoxo, it comes up as socks. >> take autocorrect for example. >> i was texting my friend, and i said, you're my best friend in the whole wide world. but what came through in the text was you're my best friend in the whole wife worried. >> so i'm typing my friend's name on the phone, and it came out as hammocks. >> oftentimes, it sure does get it wrong. >> it turned sec into sex. >> so outrageous there's even a damn you, autocorrect website,

which gets plenty of laughs. >> you get a text from your dad, and it says this. "your mom and i are going to divorce next month." and the person says, what, why? call me, please. then i wrote disney, and this phone changed it. we're going to disney. >> we've become so tetherred to technology that we're relying on it nonstop. >> then there's gps. >> please proceed to the highlighted route. >> the remedy for directionally challenged. gone are the days of the map, it's a gps generation now. but sometimes your gps can run off course. >> next stop left and then left turn. >> she doesn't know what she's talking about. it's difficult when you've got kids in the back, you're trying to hear what the woman is saying. she doesn't repeat it, and then you miss the turn, and the kids are talking. and then we end up late. it's a little bit stressful. won't be taking that route again. >> and how about siri? >> are you angry with me, siri?

>> i can't answer that. >> she's that helpful guide with a rather unpredictable disposition. how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? >> don't you have anything better to do? >> what about those magnetic hotel key swipe cards? >> i'm sitting there at the door waiting for that green light to go off. >> sure they're convenient, but have you ever noticed that they're always getting demagnetized and you're always getting locked out? >> they tell you, don't put it in your wallet, right? where else are you going to put it? i mean, it's shaped like a credit card. of course i'm going to put it in my wallet. completely infuriating. >> do you ever have trouble deciphering those characters designed to ensure online security? >> really? >> make it simple. >> typing in those odd combination of letters and numbers just to prove you're human. talk about hard to decipher. n-t-e-r-i-t-n? start over. -i-i-z.

nope. >> let's face it, in the great te techie race, faster may not always be better. oh, how are you doing? listen, i just did this. i wrote -- i wanted to write to a friend of mine. i said, isn't the gps thing so annoying? it wrote, isn't the gps anton some kind of twine. so it happens. what did you do? >> i was going to tell you it's a good story, but it's much easier to say it. we're back after this. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger,

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we're back on a sunday morning, june 10th, 2012, on what's shaping up to be a rather beautiful day here in new york city. i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. still to come, a murder mystery more than three decades in the making. >> it happened in the small town of popler, montana. a high school valedictorian was beaten to death, and neighbors say he did it. now witnesses say someone else was guilty. we'll hear from the man who says he was forced to confess. then talking to your doctor. we're going to tell you how to make the most of your checkup. dr. nancy snyderman stops by with some advice from the time of day you should book your appointment to what questions you should ask. then what's the most you've

ever paid for a pair of sneakers? >> i once paid $103. i'll never forget. >> nothing compared to this story. online auction bids for new sneakers designed by kanye west range from $1,000 to $90,000. we'll take a look. >> i thought you said $90,000. >> i actually did say $90,000. >> okay then. puts my $103 to shame. >> that was my point. >> thank you. first we're going to get a check of the weather from weather channel's chris warren, who's out on our plaza this morning. hey, chris. >> good morning to you, jenna. we're out with some friendly people today. what's your name? >> libby. >> where are you from? >> virginia. >> thanks for stopping by today. it is going to be a wet day once again in the south. too much rain, but it's not enough rain that we're seeing throughout parts of the west. the southwest still dealing with those fires, and unfortunately, conditions will remain dry and a very, very hot. we're going to have the wind as well. very bad fire conditions. also, a slight risk for very strong storms from the central

plains to the northern plains, and we're going to see, again, very heavy rain after more than a foot of rain throughout parts of the gulf coast yesterday. we could see some areas up to eight inches again. and then for tomorrow, that rain is going to move up into places like south carolina, north carolina, into the appalachians. chance for storms once again will be mainly in southern plains. it remains hot in the southwest. and in the northeast, not looking too bad. >> and remember you can always

get your weather 24 hours a day on weather.com. lester? >> chris, thanks. now to a murder case. authorities close the book on it years ago, but many in a small town say the real killers have escaped punishment for more than three decades. all the while, a man who says he's innocent has been behind bars for the crime. we'll talk to him in a moment. first, here's "dateline's" keith morrison. >> reporter: way out west under the high hampton sky that covers montana's prairie, the small town of poplar stands alone because of what happened here back in 1979 and the whispers on the wind ever since. it was back then high school k valedictorian kim nice was found beaten to death outside of town. hard news for kim's father and the rest of her family. >> i was upstairs with my mom. he said something terrible's really happened. he said kimmy's dead.

>> reporter: the nice family had left town by the time a neighbor barry beach, four years later, confessed to the killing. despite claims that his confession had been coerced by detectives, his mother bonnie could only watch as a judge sent barry to prison for life. >> do you remember that moment? >> something a person would never forget. >> reporter: but as the decades passed, barry beach never stopped fighting to clear his name. >> i'll never give up until i walk out. the truth is there, and the truth is that i did not kill kim nice. >> reporter: funny thing was those whispers never stopped, that the real killers were girls, kim's classmates, middle aged women by now, who were never charged and denied any role in the murder. >> i was not there. i had no participation in it. >> reporter: but beach's defense team never gave up, and in 2011 a judge held the hearing and

heard the stories of witnesses, including this woman, who said she actually heard the murder all those years ago. >> i could hear all these girls hollering and saying, get her. get the bitch. this other girl was saying, don't, please. >> reporter: and when it was over, barry beach was freed pending a new trial. >> justice for kim nice is not going to be served until the whole truth is discovered. the preparation for a new trial gives me more of an opportunity to discover that truth. >> reporter: are you a little worried about it? >> no. my god didn't put me where i'm sitting at right now to let me down. >> keith morrison, barry beach, and his mother bonnie are in billings, montana. good morning to both of you.

thanks for coming on. >> good morning. >> barry, you are out of prison for now, but you are not a free man. tell me what makes you think that another trial would have a different outcome. >> well, there are several reasons that a new trial is going to have a different outcome. first of them, not just the witnesses who have come forward and the courage that they've shown, but my legal team has a definite plan to approach the only piece of evidence against me, which is the confession. >> let's talk about that confession because that's when a jury is obviously going to focus on. you said you did it, and that's a pretty strong claim. how do you get around that? >> well, there were some definitive facts about the confession and the study of false confessions not only in the united states of america now but around the world. there are professors such as bob molls out of south australia. there's richard leo out of the university of berkeley in california. richard out of ohio state

university and others. >> you maintain this was a coerced confession? >> yes, sir. >> bobby -- >> these experts have now -- >> go ahead, please. >> these experts have now identified key factors to discontingent widi di distinguish a false confession from a true one. >> bonnie, after all these years, did you ever lose hope your son might be exonerated? >> no. i believed it from the beginning, and i had made a vow to barry that i would work on it until he either was free or until i died. >> and how was bobbi gone through all this? i'm sorry. how has barry gone through all this? >> i'm sure it's been as hard for him as it has been for me, but when you have faith that the

freedom will be at the end of the road, you manage to get through it. >> barry, let me ask you. you grew up, and you went to school with kim nice. what would you say to her family right now? they think there was closure. they think there was justice in this case, and now everything's back under the microscope again. >> well, the first thing i would have to say is a deep and sincere apology to them for the false confession that has led to all these years, which is them believing in a lie, that they knew who committed the crime. but second of all, at this point in the state, in the game, there is another trial pending. i'm still charged with the crime, and it's at that second trial that me and my legal team are committed to each other to seek justice for kim nice and that i hope, when everything is said and done in this case and in this situation, they will have that closure they've been seeking. >> all right. we'll have to end the conversation there. we'll all be watching this

outcome expectantly. barry beach and bobbi clincher, thank you for coming on this morning. it was good to talk to you both. >> thank you, lester holt. >> thank you. >> we want to let folks know "whit p "whispers in a small town" airs tonight on a special two hour "dateline" at 7:00/6:00 central. up next,t p nlainexgou next checkup. we'll tell you the best time of day to see your doctor. ♪ ♪ ♪ and we dream up ♪ all the best stuff ♪ and we can make it up ♪ cause we were made for each other ♪ ♪ for always ♪ oh oh ♪ for always what makes me feel truly decadent? [announcer:] new revlon colorstay whipped crème makeup.

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this morning on today's health, how to talk to your doctor. a revealing new study shows that many people feel too intimidated to ask certain questions when they're face to face with their doctors, something that could have disastrous health consequences. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning. thanks for being with us. let's start with the obvious one. why? why are people fearful or intimidated about talking to their doctors? >> i think it's because we assume the person in the white coat knows so much more than we do. it's true they may know more medicine, but no one knows your body like you do, and this inability to make it a true partnership crosses race, gender, and socioeconomic lines. >> you talk about having a good relationship with your doctor. is that important? does it matter whether you like your doctor? >> you don't have to like the person. i think you have to respect the person. sometimes i send patients to people, look, not a great personality. you can come back to me and talk about the basics, but this is the smartest person in his or her field. so there has to be a mutual

respect. that means sharing information, having frank conversations, and frankly, sometimes pushing back. >> number one, you say bring a list of questions and concerns. why is that important? >> we spend more time preparing to go to the grocery store than we do our own doctor. think about what do i want out of my 15 minutes? what are my goals? what are my questions? think of every medication you're on, including over the counter, write it on a piece of paper. if you have a recent problem, write out the history, make a copy, leave it with your doctor. >> next you say create a health timeline. what kind of information are we talking about? >> it really means i have a cough. for a month or three years? once you say three years, your doctor thinks seriously. at 4:00 in the afternoon, you're going to bring this to me. think about the timeline. what makes it better? what makes it worse? what are the stresses in your life? if you really are drinking too much or if you're smoking or there are other triggers that may be causing a problem, fess up. your doctor can only treat you if he or she knows the truth. >> be on time.

>> i'm a big stickler for being on time. i recognize that doctors are sometimes late. i believe, when you show up on time, it shows respect to the other person. when i practiced medicine, if i were more than 15 minutes late, i apologized or i gave a reason why. but i tell patients also, if you have a tight timeline, ask for the first appointment in the morning or the first appointment right after lunch because that's the reset for the day. remember, if you're going to an ob/gyn or a surgeon, there are emergencies. doctors do get called out. and if you are waiting, just go to the front desk and say, can you please tell me what's going on and then reschedule if you need to. >> this is a very big one. and it seems like an obvious one. tell the truth. your doctor can see right through you sometimes. >> we think, if we tell the truth, our doctor won't like us. then if our doctor doesn't like us, he or she won't take good care of us. nothing could be further from the truth. i spent my life as a cancer surgeon. what gives you cancer? cigarettes. people always tell me, i've

quit. i can tell two ways to sunday if someone's still smoking. don't try to outsmart me. just tell me the truth. if you don't think you can tell your doctor the truth, maybe you're not going to the right doctor. >> finally you say challenge your doctor. if you want to get a divorce from your doctor, get a divorce. >> people get divorced all the time. why shouldn't you be able to divorce your physician? but plan ahead. is it just because it's not a great relationship, or am i not doing something i should be doing? remember these records that the doctor holds are yours. if you think you're not in a good relationship, ask to have all of your records. >> thank you. next time we're going to talk about deciphering your handwriting. doctor's handwriting. >> i have good handwriting. >> that's what they all say. dr. nancy snyderman, as always, thank you so much. ♪ pop goes the world ♪ it goes something like this ♪ everybody here is a friend of mine ♪ ♪ everybody, tell me, have you heard? ♪ [ female announcer ] pop in a whole new kind of clean with new tide pods... a powerful three-in-one detergent

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this morning an extraordinary book from the pulitzer prize winning journalist and author of ""fridy night lights," buzz bissinger. it's called "father's day," and it's about his son, a twin, zach, who was born with brain damage. here's the story. >> i love my son deeply, but i do not feel i know him, nor do i think i ever will. when's your next big outing? >> reporter: buzz bissinger's 28-year-old son zach was born with trace brain damage and has an iq of 70, but he is also a savant, and there are things he can do that are simply extraordinary. if i give you some dates, can you tell me what day of the week they were? can you try? >> yes. >> reporter: may 1st, 2000. >> may 1st, 2000, monday.

>> reporter: right. august 20th, 2011. >> saturday. >> reporter: right. can you explain at all to people how you know that? >> i just know. >> reporter: zach also will never forget a birthday. >> lorenzo's not in today. >> because it's his birthday. >> i don't remember. >> reporter: or a meeting. >> it was the 24th of july to the 26th. >> cleveland? >> reporter: and he is a walking encyclopedia of streets and maps. >> it's a 12-minute walk from suburban over to work. >> exactly 12 minutes. >> reporter: but in his new book "father's day," bissinger also gives a brutally honest account what it's been like watching his twin sons grow up side by side. in 1983 zach and his twin brother jerry were born premature, just three minutes apart. the two are very close, and in many ways typical brothers.

>> do you remember some of our games? >> yes. >> get under the blankets and then say you had too much blanket. >> yay. >> reporter: but as bissinger writes, their lives have been a world apart. today jerry is getting his ph.d.. >> is that paper or plastic? >> reporter: zach bags groceries at shop-rite and delivers mail at the philadelphia enquirer and daily news. >> so it's always like looking at mirrors, one of which is unblemished and one of which is cracked. >> reporter: while the rest of the family came to terms with zach's disabilities, bissinger admits he struggled to accept his son. >> i had loved zach to death, but i also say in the book -- and i don't say it proudly -- this is never the child i envisioned, and it was not the child that i wanted. >> reporter: you wanted him to be normal? >> i did not want him to be normal. i mean, i wanted him to play baseball.

i wanted him to go to harvard. parents want things from their kids. >> reporter: so buzz suggested they take a road trip across the country. he hoped they would bond. zach was much less enthusiastic. you don't seem very excited. no, no, no, i'm very excited. how will we get there? we'll rent a car, and we'll drive. hey, dad, i have an idea. maybe we can fly. >> reporter: you trapped him in a car for two weeks, and you took him across the united states. >> right. so now everyone thinks i'm probably the worst parent in the history of parenthood. >> reporter: there were funny moments and rocky moments. patience is not buzz's strong suit. you get lost a lot. >> i do get lost a lot. >> reporter: and he bails you out? >> right. >> reporter: over and over. and over again. >> that's one of the great benefits of having a human gps. >> reporter: there were also painful revelations. buzz recorded their conversation. >> do you know what brain damage

is? >> no. >> what do you think it is? >> when your brain isn't right. >> do you know your brain is not a little right? >> yeah. >> you hear your child say, my brain isn't right, it crushes you. >> reporter: zach's mom, buzz's first wife, debra nussbaum, says it's part of parenting. >> bye, guys. all of us sometimes have to discuss with our children things that are painful. i think he's too hard on himself in the book. buzz is a wonderful father. he's a wonderful father. >> i came away realizing he is the man i admire most in my life. >> reporter: in the end, the trip succeeded beyond buzz's wild expectations. >> he is not the child i wanted, but he is no longer a child anyway. he is a man, the most fearless i have ever known.

restoring the faith of a father in all i can be. >> reporter: and we gave zach the last word. your dad says he learned a lot about you on this trip. did you learn anything new about him? >> no. >> reporter: so, zach, if your dad says to you that he wanted to do another road trip, would you go? >> maybe. >> really? that's sweet of you. can we drive? >> i get to drive. >> wait a minute. you said you didn't like the car. >> we'll be back after these messages.

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imagine paying $90,000 for a pair of sneakers. that's what someone supposedly paid for a pair of kicks designed by rapper kanye west. it's the latest in the overpriced casual footwear market. we'll get more from nbc's mike taye by. ♪ >> reporter: here's the product, something nike calls the air yeezy too designed by rapper, and fok, friend of kardashian, kanye west. the sneakers are set to sell for $240 but were preselling on ebay and other sites for as much as $90,000. ♪ >> reporter: in case you're interested, these limited edition kicks -- that's the gimmick in these uber market sneakers -- come in platinum or black and feature anaconda textured leather and glow in the dark soles. and there are people interested, so much so they've skipped work

or school or whatever for days to buy at the regular price at this weekend's debut. from new york -- >> i've been out here for like a week and two days. >> been out here for about four days. >> a week and a half almost. >> reporter: to san francisco. >> we've been here since monday at 1:00. been here. it's been cold every night. you got to deal with a whole bunch of crazy people, but it's well worth it. i'd be willing to wait another week. >> reporter: there have been long waiting lines and stratospheric price tags, even small riots over other limited edition sneaks. the re-released classic air jordans, the marty mcfly shoes from back to the future. but these reptilian inspired with hieroglyphic numbers, the rapper inspired by kardashian, who just gave him a $3 million sports car as a birthday gift, have stretched the bounds of

logic. though if you're unemployed, underemployed, or just normally employed, you already knew that. $90,000 for those? really? for "today," mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >> you think the guy that bid on them or the woman that bid on them is going to be actually wearing those sneakers? we're going to see them in like a kick boxing class wearing the $90,000 kicks? >> and not a person who's going to be waiting outside, obviously. >> no. >> getting the head of the line with a big bid. >> anyway. a little curveball today for some parts of the country. we're on for two hours today. do we get overtime? >> i'm hoping we do. >> while for others, we need to say good-bye. if you're leaving us now, have a great day. if not, still ahead, we get better. >> do you promise? >> i promise. we'll hear from one heroic teenager who risked his life to save his neighbor from a fire. plus more on the shocking video showing a man whipping his stepson in the backyard.

the boy's grandfather says we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

good morning. extreme weather. parts of florida and alabama hit by record rainfall with more on the way, while out west a fast-spreading wildfire destroys homes and forces residents to run for their lives. it could get much worse. we'll have a live report. caught on camera. a man hitting his stepson with a belt during a game of catch. now he's facing felony charges of child abuse. this morning the boy's grandfather speaks out for the first time live. and not your father's commencement speech. >> you're not special. you're not exceptional. >> but guess what? despite the harsh message, a lot of people are saying it's the

best speech they've ever heard. today, sunday, june 10th, 2012. good morning again. i'm lester holt with jenna wolfe. we're super sized on this special sunday morning. >> for some of you it's hour two of "today." for those of you just joining us, forget what we just said and welcome. we've got a lot to get to just ahead, including jerry sandusky's trial. >> after months of headline grabbing allegations, the former penn state assistant coach will be in court as opening statements get under way tomorrow morning. could there be a plea deal? we're going to get the latest on the case just ahead. then what would you do if you saw a fast-moving wildfire approaching your house? this 15-year-old sprang into action.

he jumped on his atv to warn his neighbors. he's going to join us to talk about his bravery. then we're going to look at a new consumer trend. some top retailers are replacing salespeople with technology like ipads and smartphones to handle your customer service needs. first we're going to get more of this morning's top stories from cnbc's mandy drury over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. record amounts of rain dropped on the central gulf coast on saturday causing what could be millions of dollars of flood damage in pensacola alone. the weather channel's mike seidel is there. good morning, mike. >> reporter: good morning, mandy. once again, the thunderstorms have returned to pensacola. yesterday a very unlucky 13.13 inches of rain, making it their second wettest day ever on record. take you back to yesterday. the rain came fast and furious at the rate of sometimes more than four inches per hour when you measured the rainfall, as much fell in 15 or 20 minutes, flooding out streets, shutting down roadways, and causing the

apartments here, where i am, to be evacuated on the southwest side of pensacola. behind me, you can see how high the water remains. now, it has come down quite a bit since yesterday because it has stopped raining for about 12 hours. we just got a good downpour with the thunder and lightning. in the back, you can see cars still partially submerged. farther back here, there's a creek overflowing its banks, and all this water is running into the creek. more rain in the forecast. flad watches continue. but the good news all around is this rain is heading towards the southeast in georgia, which has the worst drought in the nation right now. some good news. here the bad news continues as the rain continues to fall this morning. mandy? >> you've got to find a silver lining. mike seidel, thank you very much. wildfires racing across parts of the west today in northern colorado. firefighters are battling an 8,000-acre blaze that destroyed at least ten homes and other structures northwest of ft. collins. and in southern new mexico, flames have scorched 10,000 acres. a young woman has died after falling 400 feet in the grand

canyon of the yellowstone national park. the national park service says the 18-year-old was on her first day as a park concession worker. she was hiking with friends near inspiration point when a loose rock promontory gave way under her. and finally, team usa is going green. nike is outfitting the u.s. olympic team with environmentally friendly uniforms for the london olympics. for example, the basketball uniform is made out of 22 recycled bottles, and the basketball shoes are embedded with sensors that let players know how high they jump. all this innovation will be available to the everyday athlete by the time the olympics begin next month. got to get your hands on those. that is the news for now. back to lester, jenna, and chris. >> all right, mandy. thanks. >> also, there are shoelaces to go with it. >> good idea. >> with everything else. the weather channel's chris warren is here with a check of the forecast. hey, chris, good morning. >> good morning to both of you. a couple of areas we really need to watch throughout the day.

where we saw mike seidel, still going to see inches of rain once again along the gulf coast. also expecting to see storms firing up here in the northern plains. some strong storms. the main threat with this will be potentially large hail and damaging winds. this is the area. parts of north central oklahoma all the way up to minnesota. and we can see that the threat for that will last throughout much of the day. looks like not too bad of a day in the northeast. temperatures will be in the 70s. go a little farther south in d.c., and it is going to be hot. that's at.

>> that's your weather. now here's lester. >> chris, thanks. anger on capitol hill is mounting today as the investigation into recent laeea of classified information heats up. the big question, was anyone in the administration responsible, and if so, did they do it for political reasons? nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker is live at the white house to tell us more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. intelligence officials say it can be incredibly difficult to determine the source of a leak still in this case, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding answers. attorney general eric holder participated in commencement ceremonies at a washington, d.c. area charter school on saturday, less than 24 hours after announcing the appointment of two top prosecutors to lead an investigation into who leaked classified information about cyber attacks on iran and drone strikes on suspected terrorists. >> i think what you're going to see is the congress is going to

really oversee this matter to the point that they're going to demand a lot of the documents. i think they're going to demand a lot of the testimony that the u.s. attorney finds. >> reporter: but some members of congress say holder's actions fall short. republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham are calling for a special prosecutor who would be independent from the justice department. >> these leaks have to stop. >> reporter: last tuesday senator mccain accused the obama administration of orchestrating the leaks for political gain. >> the only conceivable motive for such damaging and compromising leaks of classified information is that it makes the president look good. >> reporter: a claim the president firmly denied. >> the notion that my white house would purposely release classified national security information is offensive. >> reporter: this isn't the first leak to make headlines. the bush administration came under fire when the identity of cia operative valerie plame

wilson was publicized. in that instance, only one person was charged with lying to the fbi, but no one was ever charged with leaking the classified information. intelligence officials say cracking down on a person who leaks secrets can be tough, in part because dozens of people have access to classified information. >> i've seen information leaked for political purposes, for personal purposes, for revenge. >> reporter: michael mcconnell serves as the director of national intelligence under george w. bush and says leaks can undermine national security. >> it was troubling to me that there were leaks, and they're known leaks, but we were never successful in getting an indictment. >> reporter: mcconnell also says the obama administration has been aggressive about investigating leaks. lawmakers in both parties are calling for congressional hearings on the matter, and they're also calling for stiffer legislation to try to prevent leaks from happening. lester? >> kiristen welker at the white house this morning, thank you. now here's jenna. >> lester, thanks.

he was a football icon, and now he's a defendant accused of horrific crimes. tomorrow penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky will be in the courtroom as opening statements begin in his child sexual abuse trial. nbc national correspondent michael isikoff has a preview. >> reporter: jerry sandusky seemed confident as he showed up for court last week to help his lawyers pick a jury for his trial on more than 50 counts of child sex abuse. sandusky played an active role, even overruling his lawyer, who wanted to strike one potential juror because she had ties to a crucial witness. i think she would be fair, he said. after only two days, judge john cleland picked the panel of seven women and five men, eight of whom have ties to penn state, where sandusky was once a local icon, deputy to the late legendary coach joe paterno. that could cut two ways, says jerry fisher, a longtime penn state sports broadcaster, who once served on the board of second mile, the charity that

sandusky founded to help troubled kids. >> i think there's a lot of people that are very upset with jerry sandusky because he has brought on this whole situation for penn state, giving it a bad name. but i think it only takes one juror who was a penn stater that could remember the glory days of jerry sandusky. >> reporter: prosecutors have lined up eight alleged victims who are expected to take the stand and describe how they were groomed by sandusky, in some cases taken to penn state football games and given multiple gifts like computers and nike running shoes. after winning their trust, some alleged, sandusky subjected them to repeated acts of sexual abuse. first up, a young man known as victim four, who is expected to describe how sandusky abused him more than 50 times while he was a minor, gave him money to buy marijuana, and wrote him, what one source described as bizarre letters. another key witness, victim one, who sources say received notes from sandusky saying, "i love you."

the defense strategy, hammer away at the credibility of the victims by suggesting they have conspired with each other in hopes of profiting. for months, private investigators for sandusky have been digging into the victims' pasts and looking for financial motives. >> that's all the accuser and his family are talking about, what they're going to do with all the money they're going to get. >> reporter: however the trial turns out, people in this community say the entire sandusky saga has taken its toll. >> it's disbelief. to this day, when you read the charges and think about the things that he allegedly has done, it's absolutely mind boggling. >> reporter: for "today," michael isikoff, nbc news, be belefonte, pennsylvania. >> beth karas, thank you for being with us. there's rumor of a possible plea deal at this point. could that possibly happen? >> anything's possible. a plea can happen at any point until the jury reaches a verdict, theoretically. but i would think the prosecution would be hard pressed to offer him anything

unless it's at least one count for each one of these accusers, and there are ten of them. that would be a lot for him to plead to. >> we heard in michael's report that many of the selected jurors have ties to penn state. does that help the defense, or does that help the prosecution? >> it probably helps the prosecution more, but as we just heard, it might help the defense also if there are some jurors who remember the glory days and aren't going to hold it against him and maybe will find issues with these now young men and their recollection of things. however, i think in the end it probably helps the prosecution more. >> do you see it breaking down between men and women on the jury, either one way or another? >> not really. there are seven women, five men, in the deliberating 12 jurors right now. there are alternates. we don't know if one will be replaced. there are men and women who have children. i don't really see it benefitting necessarily one way or the other, but one would think that women might be a little more pro prosecution but not necessarily. >> we only have eyewitness

accounts really for the prosecution to rely on as evidence. how much harder does it make their job to prove their case? >> listen, there are ten accusers, but only eight of them are expected to testify because the two people referred to as victims two and eight, they don't know the identity of these young men. they will be proven through mike mcqueary for victim two, and then through another witness who was nearby and saw something. those are kind of circumstantial cases. if this were that alone, two or eight alone, it might be difficult, but there's strength in numbers. these other eight who are going to say the same thing over and over, the same pattern of grooming and of what they claim happened to them, will tend to corroborate all the others. >> beth karas. beth, thank you so much. i appreciate your insight. once again, here's lester. >> jenna, thanks. go to most graduations, and you'll hear the commencement speaker talk about how each student is wonderful and unique. well, one high school graduating class in massachusetts got a

very different message, and a lot of people are applauding the speaker for saying it. here's nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: graduation season, a time of celebration and speeches, praising students for a job well done. >> you and your families have done to earn today's celebration. >> reporter: along with uplifting words of advice. >> surround yourself with people who are going to fill your cup until your cup runneth over. >> reporter: but this year, one boston area high school teacher has put a sobering spin on his commencement speech. >> none of you is special. you're not special. you're not exceptional. >> reporter: the brutal truth, david mccollough jr. says is backed up by tradition and fact. >> across the country, no fewer than 2.3 million seniors are graduating right now from more than 37,000 high schools. >> reporter: the wellesley high

school english teacher downplaying this rite of passage, he says, to prove a point. >> we have of late, we americans, to our detriment come to love accolades more than genuine achievement the the relevant life is an achievement. not something that falls into your lap because you're a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. >> reporter: his words were hailed online with comments calling it best commencement speech ever. and another calling him my new hero. a stand-out speech that in the end put a new twist on an old theme. >> dream big. work hard. think for yourself. love everything you love, everyone you love with all your might. >> reporter: for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> wonder how the class accepted that speech. >> nice sobering speech right there. up next on "today," a really special kid. he's a 15-year-old who risked his life to warn his neighbors about a fire. i have never encountered such a burning sensation...

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good morning to all of you. thanks so much for being with us. j.d., let me start with you. how are you feeling this morning? >> i'm very tired, but i'm feeling a lot better than i did a few days ago. >> i'm sure. let's take you back to a couple of days ago. you were just finishing mowing your lawn. you see smoke down the road. without hesitation, you jump on your atv, and you head towards what you thought was a fire. were you worried that you were risking your life in any way going there? >> i wasn't really worried about that at the time. all i was worried about was helping the neighbors, helping the people around my community. i wasn't really focused on myself. i was focused on getting them out safely because there was a huge fire and the wind was so bad i knew it was going to spread. so i wasn't focused on how bad that i could get hurt, i was focused on getting them out. >> i understand that on your way there, while you were close to it, your atv starts to

malfunction. you were getting dangerously close to the fire. you realized your skin was starting to burn. at that point, did you turn around, or what was going through your head at that point when you realized you were actually in danger? >> i was actually after i went up and warned neighbors and got information. i was on my way back down. i saw my dad at the bottom of the road, and i didn't want him to come up through the flames in his truck because i knew his truck could blow up or something like that. and i had a really quick decision to make, either go through the flames and risk getting burnt or stay up there and wait for the fire to come to me, which would be bad too. i knew the police officers down the road would need to know the information i found out. so i decided so go through the flames. i was going as fast as i could so i could get through it, but then the oxygen level for my atv

four-wheeler just died in the fire, and it started bogging down. and i was going probably about 15 miles an hour, and i looked to my right, and i see my skin just start to bubble up. it was just starting to burn. it was some of the worst pain i've ever had. but it was worth it because, if it could help save some lives. >> you did. >> i didn't want my dad to come up through it. so i just decided to go down. and risk it. >> mom and dad, let me turn to you real quick. was it more pride, or was it more fear letting j.d. head towards that fire but knowing he was doing it for a great cause? >> wow, i think j.d. just sprung into action. he saw smoke, and it was 911 and get to it because we have -- you know, live up in the trees and very dry this year in particular. and he just went for it. we were all scrambling to alert people and get shovels and head up the hill to see what we could do. so he just did what we all want

to do is just help when there's an emergency. >> he's definitely a hero in your town. j.d. and james and debra, we thank you so much. speedy recovery to you, j.d. thank you so much for being with us this morning. >> no problem. thank you for having me on. >> and we are back right after this. , i found new ways to tell people about saving money. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby, what would you do with all those savings? hire a better ventriloquist. your lips are moving. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. new venus & olay. olay moisture bars help lock in moisture... while five blades get venus close. revealing smooth and goddess skin begins. only from venus & olay.

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we're back on a sunday morning, june 10th, 2012, shaping up to be a beautiful day in new york city. our thanks to the wonderful folks spending part of their morning with us out on the plaza. you guys are the wonderful folks in case you didn't know who we were referring to. there you go. i'm jenna wolfe alongside lester holt. still to come, we're talking about a man who was caught on tape hitting his stepson. >> he's playing a game of catch. the neighbor shooting this across the fence, and it's because the boy's father now has been charged with felony child abuse because he takes the belt to him numerous times during this game. we're going to hear from that neighbor in a moment.

in an exclusive interview, the boy's grandfather joins us in just a few minutes. then we've got really good information and tips for consumers. if you're a shopper out there and you ever need help locating a product in a department store, there is probably an app for that. we're going to show you how retailers are using technology to handle customer service in an efficient and very cost effective way. then we're going to hear from dr. jill biden who stops by. the wife of the vice president has written a new book about military families. her own family served as the inspiration. looking forward to hearing from her. and i think i have the best job ever, but adam richman rivals even my job. he is on a mission to find the best sandwich in the united states. the best way to do that is to try almost every single one of them. we'll hear his quest coming up. >> french fries in that one sandwi sandwich. >> that was in pittsburgh. there's a sandwich shop in pittsburgh where they put french fries and squish it right on in. >> and the crowd reacts.

>> only one girl reacted over there. >> who doesn't want a french fry sandwich? >> and another check of the forecast. chris warren is standing by. and the sun is out in new york city, which means it's a nice day for a birthday, sweet 16. what's your name? >> brenna. >> happy birthday to you. what's your plan today? >> go to church. >> very good plan on a sunday. it is a nice day. it is going to be heating up for parts of the country. in fact, we're going to see some of these afternoonemperatures well into the 80s and 90s. in some cases, we're going to see these readings in parts of minnesota. will be as warm as it is in miami. so the temperatures well beyond the heat rising. and with some of that the heat, we're going to see storms going along with it throughout parts of the northern plains, down into the central plains. not looking too bad throughout parts of the west. still very hot in the southwest, and we're looking at a partly cloudy day in the northeast. unfortunately, it looks like a lot more rain on the way for parts of the gulf coast, where we just don't need it. very bad flooding going on no

>> remember for your weather 24 hours a day, you can always go to weather.com. here's lester. >> chris, thanks. a man in california is accused of beating his stepson during a game of catch. a neighbor caught the whole thing on his cell phone camera. we'll hear from the boy's grandfather in just a moment. first details on what happened from nbc's veronica dela cruz. >> reporter: when officer lopez looked out the window last

wednesday, you saw his neighbor anthony sanchez in the yard with his stepson, whipping the young boy with a belt during a game of catch. >> as it went on, i realized that what i was looking at was not just a parent disciplining their child. >> reporter: but the beating didn't stop. so oscar decided to get involved. >> that's enough! that's enough! me, yeah, me. you having a problem with the way i'm raising my kid? >> i'm having a problem with you [ bleep ] beating him because he won't catch the ball. >> the boy suffers from adhd. >> i'm a [ bleep ] father too. >> do you know how he acts? >> there's got to be a better way to treat him than trying to teach him to catch a ball like that. >> why don't you come over and teach ne? >> oscar was so outraged with the way the boy was being treated, he put the video on youtube. that caught the attention of the sheriff's department.

their investigation led sanchez to turn himself in on friday. he was booked on felony child abuse charges and posted $100,000 bail. >> it was his intention always, regardless of what the charges were, to turn himself in and make himself available to the judicial process for this matter. >> reporter: sanchez is said to be cooperating with the police. the district attorney will review the case before deciding what, if any, formal charges are appropriate. >> i think if anybody witnesses anything like this, you shouldn't stand by. if anything, i wish i'd called the authorities much sooner. >> reporter: for "today," veronica dela cruz, nbc news. >> ryan is anthony sanchez's attorney, and zach's grandfather. gentlemen, good morning. thanks for coming on. jerry, let me start with you. zach is actually in alabama. i know he and your daughter left for alabama on a previously planned trip the day after this video was shot. how is he doing? >> he's doing okay.

we keep him separated from hearing everything that's going on, he's okay. he's concerned, and the longer this goes on, he's concerned that he's going to be removed from -- his quote to me is from his mother and anthony. >> he was examined. he was not injured. >> right. he was examined. they met us at the airport when they flew in with our dhr and the birmingham police. they reviewed him. there were no bruises. there was one little mark, which he said he had incurred previously. zach and i have a tremendous bond. i love him with all my heart. i would let no one harm him. if i had any inclination that someone was harming him, i would not let them come close to him. >> you're defending anthony's actions in this case? >> absolutely. >> keep in mind, what we're showing here in this beating video, we've compressed the time line. this happened over seven minutes. is there any excuse, whether it was a dropped ball. is there any excuse for that kind of behavior?

>> first of all, lester, it wasn't about playing catch. people that know the history of -- like i say, i love zach with all my heart. he is a blessing in my life. anthony is in a difficult position. when zach -- when i talked to zach, zach said, well, papa had -- he calls them bad days. i call them episodes where he says mean things. so before the ball was -- i had to even recommend to anthony two days prior, throw the ball with him and catch some. >> you're suggesting that he was mouthing off? >> yes, he was. zach told me that. he said -- >> i said, zach, what was going on? he said, i was saying real mean things. and the reason i know that is because i've seen that. i've coached him in football. i've seen that behavior. >> i hear what you're saying, but i think a lot of folks look at that and go, even if he's mouthing off, does that justify taking a belt to him? >> i would say anthony had excessive spanking. he spanked him a little too

much, but anthony, again, is in a very difficult situation. he's trying to be a stepfather for a child that has some behavioral issues, a child that i love dearly, like i said, that's blessed my life. and on top of that, they're -- and this is all documented. zach and my daughter, they're going to behavioral counseling in california. the first thing that they try time-out. they try removing things. but it's documented in his church. it's documented at school. when the spanking discipline has worked. it's helped his behavior. >> let me turn to ryan. your client was a public official. he resigned, i understand, his position with the irrigation -- the water board. i don't know the exact title. i apologize. what is his legal jeopardy now or his legal status? >> well, under the charges that the sheriff's department has

recommended be brought against my client, he's facing up to six years in state prison. as someone who prosecuted cases like this and has defended a number of cases like this, i can only come to one conclusion, and that's mr. sanchez is being treated extraordinarily harshly because of his public position. this is a case that i would have expected to see misdemeanor charges filed at the most. he's cooperating at every stage, and we even set up this initial review by child protective services in alabama because we knew that it would show that there were no marks as a result of this spanking. >> you came forward on his behalf to authorities after the tape came out? >> after the tape came out, we initiated contact with the authorities, and we offered our help. and we let them know because dana and zach were en route to alabama at the time. law enforcement didn't know where they were. >> take a look at this video. is it hard to defend him when you look at this? keep in mind, there was no sound

recorded here. so we don't know what's being said. but if you're law enforcement and you're looking at this video, what would you do? >> and i understand the video is difficult to watch, and disciplining children is a personal choice. people set the bar for right and wrong, but the question here, was this a legal violation? california law is very clear that parents can spank and that it's not against the law to use something other than your hand to spank. and so the question is was this unreasonable or excessive under the circumstances? and the facts have to come out about those circumstances through the judicial process. >> and a lot more certainly on tape. again, we compressed that time line on the tape, just to be clear on that. thank you both so much for coming on and talking about this. we look forward twi a you ps it. th youwis it pesgr>>ses. thank>> you. ner, i'm a marathon in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"... yeah...

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to make the children happy. >> like this movie "miracle on 34th street," most stores strive for good customer service. well, that was back then. and today people still want good customer service, but now it's literally in their own hands. going high tech. >> consumers of all ages are becoming much more comfortable with using tablets and smartphones in trying to learn more about the products they are either about to buy or have bought. >> reporter: looking for the perfect wedding dress can be stressful, but with the fancy fingerwork of the sales associate, the bride to be can find and order her dream dress without ever leaving the fitting room. armed with a tablet and smartphone with free wi-fi for all. the sales associates at nordstroms tried to make the shopping experience for their customers really easy. >> we have mobile registers now that allow us to service the

customer right where they are. we can look for inventory at all 117 of our stores. >> reporter: finding the right shoe was a walk in the park for this customer. what do you think of this new technology? >> very cool. he knew right away he had the shoe. >> reporter: no worries about losing a receipt. hers will come electronically. >> instead of the receipt, he said he could e-mail it to me, and that was good. >> reporter: according to a retail analyst, almost 30% of people who own smartphones or tablets actually use them to shop. >> stores today are finally recognizing they have to get into the future. it's going to replace word of mouth, by now word of tablet. >> reporter: need a makeover at macy's? the experience might be a little different in their cosmetics department. there you'll find the kiosk with an oversized tablet offering information of all of the brands so you don't have to feel pressured to buy from just one. if you've ever seen a qr code, don't be afraid to scan them for another level of shopping

experience. >> it will elongate and lengthen your frame. >> reporter: we tried the nordstroms app out on the hunt for a pair of shorts. tell me what this is about. >> i can use the bar code scanner, maybe see what other customers have said about it, if it comes in other washes. in this case, it just comes in the one wash. there's a review. customer loves these, says they're comfortable. it's at your fingertips. >> very cool stuff. not all qr codes can be trusted. those that appear in malls or in stores are more reliable. if you're not tech savvy, some stores offer incentives like discounts to encourage you to get it a try, which will get you running and trying. >> i will. i'm going to. i'm going to try that. as always, thank you so much, janice lieberman. and now here's lester. dr. jill biden is one busy woman. she's a military mom, teacher, and a wife of the vice president of the united states, and now she's out with a new book. it's about military families, inspired by her son beau, who

was deployed to iraq, and his daughter natalie. her book, "don't forget, god bless our troops." first we're going to talk about something really important. big wedding this past week. >> our daughter ashley got married to howard klein in philadelphia. it was a magical moment. >> you had it at your mom? >> at our home. >> and i heard the oven conked out on you at an inopportune moment. we've talked that you have really dedicated much of your service as the second lady to helping military lafamilies, an an extension of that is this book that was written for kids. >> it was written for kids. i wrote the book to sort of educate americans about what the military family experience is like because, you know, only 1% of our americans are serving in these wars, and there are so many americans who really don't know anybody in the military or know what the experience is like. so hopefully, this will educate

adults as well as children, and then hopefully inspire them to say, you know what, what could we do for military families? >> and your granddaughter natalie kind of inspired this. >> exactly. i saw what my grandchildren went through during that year. i wrote about universal experiences, like losing the first tooth or building a snowman or the different things that children go through, that all children go through, but through the eyes of natalie, who goes through all these major things in her life but her daddy's away. >> and you captured some of those moments in some of the illustrations. we see her talking to her father over the internet. >> over skype, yes. >> and the thing that a lot of kids have to do on a regular basis. did natalie offer some input into the book? >> this is natalie's book. i interviewed her just like you're interviewing me now, and he with talked about it. i had my questions written out. so this is her book. these are things that actually happened in her life, and this is her true story.

>> at one point we see in there natalie's at school. the teacher holds up a picture of the soldiers. is that something you would like to see other teachers really do? >> that's what i do see teachers doing. that meant so much to natalie and so much to us as her grandparents. but that's what, as a teacher, that's what i'm hoping all teachers will do, find who are the military kids in their classrooms and do something for them. do something special. and i was just in a school in virginia where they celebrated all the military children who were in that school, and it was so great for the kids. so as a teacher, as a mom and a grand mom, offering, trying to offer suggestions of what people can do whether you're a neighbor, whether you're a teacher, whether you're someone in the community, whether it's somebody in your church. >> and i know, when we last talked, part of your mission is to get folks like us to recognize these families and some of the needs they have and step forward and volunteer. are you finding it's becoming

harder now? the u.s. is now out of iraq. people just don't talk about afghanistan. it's almost as if on some level it's forgotten. is this becoming harder to get your message out? >> you know, i think that's one of the things that michelle obama and i have tried to do through our joining forces initiative is create an awareness of what military families are going through and for other americans to see how resilient these families are. we're working hard every day to get that message out to people. and i put in the back of the book, i have the back flap of what people can do. they can always go to joiningforces.gov if they want to get involved and commit to an act of kindness for a military family. >> we appreciate you coming by to talk more about it. the book is "don't forget, god bless our troops." dr. jill biden, a pleehave you . thanks t souere. thanks so much for stopping by. off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943.

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fans may know adam richmond as the guy on the travel channel who gets paid to eat massive amounts of food. he's back on the air waves with a new show that has a bit of a different flavor. >> reporter: adam richmond just might have the best job on the planet. he gets paid to scour the states and eat his way across america. >> i really am a kid in a candy store. you walk into a room, and you're the people's champion, and they're chanting your name >> adam! >> he's awesome. >> reporter: richmond ate his way to fame on the travel channel show "man versus food," where he took on super sized eating challenges.

from downing 72 ounces of steak, an eight-pound burrito, and 422 alabama oysters. >> the fact is we all can't dunk like lebron. we all can't drive like jeff gordon. but we all can eat, and at points we can all eat a lot. >> reporter: richmond says his competitive eating days are long gone, now he's on a quest to find the best thing since sliced bread on sliced bread. that is chronicle led on his new show, adam richmond's "best sandwich in america." the >> the reason i wanted to do a show on the best sandwich in america, every culture has a sandwich, and everyone from the richest to the poorest knows what a sandwich is. >> reporter: he'll travel around the country tasting what each region has to offer. the top contenders will go head to head in a sandwich showdown. but only one will claim the coveted title at season's end. i caught up with richmond in philly, a family run place whose

pork sandwich picked up top honors. how does he determine what constitutes the best? >> we developed an acronym called the bite scale, b-i-t-e, bread, initiative, and eating experience. >> reporter: how do you find the places you protile? >> i do a lot of digging. yelp is very effective, college message boards. >> reporter: the place is glad to have him. >> every place that's been on the show gets 60% to 90% more business. >> reporter: with eating a major part of the job description, you would think richmond would be packing on the pounds. well, think again. >> i'm very pleased to say that through season one of "man versus food," through the end of the season, i'm still wearing the same waist size. >> reporter: not an easy feat since he's been on the road since february. >> it's a grind. but by that same token, that's the adventure. >> reporter: an adventure that's taken him on gut busting challenges and now down a new

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that's going to do it for us on a sunday morning. mandy drury and chris warren, thank you so much. next weekend is father's day. start shopping right this second. >> i'll see you tonight for "nbc nightly news." until then, so long, everybody. have a great day. if you're in new york, enjoy the parade.