today is sunday, july 15th, 2012. today is sunday, july 15th, captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolf. how do you not feel bad for these guys? the whole town comes out, this party, it's like a parade, they're going up in the balloons and someone is like, you checked the weather. no, you checked the weather. >> i'm sure this seemed like a good idea at the time, but they get up and lo and behold there were thunderstorms. helium balloons lawn chairs. i would have gone with a lay-z-boy personally. >> or a 747. the nationwide drought, a bad situation. looks like it's going to get

worse. >> they're declared 1,000 counties in 26 states as natural disaster areas. the season's corn crop especially hard hit and there's little rain in the forecast. if you don't think it matters to you or it's not affecting you, you'll be certain to pay more when you go grocery shopping. then yet another deadly shark attack this weekend, it happened near a quiet beach. and when a good samaritan tried to help, he, too, was attacked. we're going to hear the latest from him and have the search for this massive shark. and hear from one couple who thinks less is more when it comes to their apartment. it's only 248 square feet and it comes complete with a kitchen, bathroom, den and bedroom. somehow they find a way to make it all work without killing each other. we'll get a tour, although that shouldn't take long. and then you've all probably tried photo booths where you pile in with a bunch of your friends. check tout scream.

o-tron. it will only take your picture if you scream and yell at the top of your lungs. let's hear it again, jen. i was just kidding. >> lester and i are going to give it a try. more so lester than me a little later on in the show. >> you have to make it a face, too, apparently. >> how do you scream without making a face? >> that's true. we're going to begin with the weather this morning, the nationwide weather. going to streams, historic rainfalls drenched the houston area this week. up to four feet of standing water is covering neighborhoods there and hundreds of homes are still without electricity. but rain is in short supply across most of the country. as nbc's janet shamblian tells us, you're going to pay the price. >> reporter: the worst drought to hit the nation in 25 years is claiming its first casually in the heartland, the corn crop. one-third of it is in trouble. on this illinois farm, corn that should be a foot long has grown only a few inches.

>> it's probably going to cost more in fuel than what you'll end up getting out of it. >> ranche erers are in trouble,. with no grass for cattle to graze on, they're having to buy food for their herd. >> just devastating. it looks like what i count the desert. >> reporter: but growth is coming from all this, in the form of higher prices at the grocery store. >> there's no question that higher corn prices will increase the grocery bills for most households. >> bernard is an economist who says we could see milk and cheese prices fall as much as 6%. beef could fall in the short-term because so much ranchers are selling cattle early. but they could rise as much as 10%. and it won't stop there. how long until the heat hits consumers? the trickle down won't be immediate. >> wouldn't surprise me if, say, six to 12 months from now 10% increase for most shoppers in terms of the basket of goods

they buy. >> reporter: with little drought relief in the forecast, cities like indianapolis are turning off fountains and enforcing mandatory watering bans. rising water temperatures have killed off fish and reservoirs have gone dry. there is water, but it's out of reach for those who need it most. texas has gone from last your's record drought to a deluge, storms dumping as much as 15 inches over the past few days. swinging from hell to high water as one observer artfully put it. for "today" janet shamblian, nbc news, houston. >> so the question becomes, is there any relief in sight? >> good morning to you, jenna and lester and good morning to you at home. unfortunately, there's no relief in sight. almost 61% of the u.s. is in drought and there it is for you in color from coast to coast, border to border. very hard to get away from it. and i was looking at our forecast over the next five days. there's not a lot of rain. you see this satellite and radar. basically, this is what it's

going to look like as we head throughout this entire workweek. and, lester, the most rain that i could find, up to 3 inches, say, from like that tennessee area up to the ohio/west virginia border. over the next five days, about 3 inches, that's it. >> all right, stephanie, thanks. we're going to get the rest of your national forecast in just a moment. time now for a check off this morning's other top stories. tom, good morning. >> good morning, everyone. members of a boston church are praying for the safe return of their pastor, kidnapped in egypt. rif rend michael was kidnapped friday along with a female member of the church and a tour guide. nine firefighters have been hurt battling a wildfire in northern california. a blaze 50 miles northeast of sacramento has burned almost 2,000 acres since wednesday and destroyed at least one home. 170 more are threatened. the governor is calling for reinforcements.

former penn state football coach joe paterno reportedly began talks to sweeten his retirement contract at the same time he testified before a grand jury in the jerry sandusky sex abuse case. the amended contract, worth $5.5 million will stand, but the halo over paterno's head is gone from a mural at penn state. artist michael pelato removed it after reports that paterno and others buried the allegations against sandusky. thunderstorms brought an early end to a strange trip out west. an oregon gas station owner and a rocky adventurer took off saturday in tandem lawn chairs bound for montana, but hail and snow forced them to land just 30 miles into their flight. and finally, stars bruce springsteen and paul mccartney were silenced after defying a noise occur phi in london. sur paul joined the boss on stage at the end of the concert at the high rock calling in hyde park, but they found their

microphones cut off before they could address their crowd. springsteen, known for his performances, long performances, had exceeded the curfew by half an hour. that's the news. now back to lester, jenna and stephanie. he might be "the boss" here, but overseas, i guess not. >> just another working stiff. thanks very much. >> can you imagine? cut, cut. springsteen? i don't care. too long. the weather channel's stephanie abrams is back upstairs with a check of the national forecast. >> hey there. we talked about how dry it was going to be and this heat is not helping because it evaporates any moisture that we have in the ground. look how hot it is again. we've been talking about this for weeks and it's not going to stop. still, look at this. we're talking triple digit readings into the plains. chicago in the 90s. minneapolis in the 90s. st. louis, heat advisories are still povertied in this area. the same old song and dance, south dakota over towards lake michigan. for the rest of you today, it looks like it's going to be and around san jose this morning, a blanket of low clouds

to start things off. temperature inland will warm up nicely. we'll see as we go hour by hour, approaching the 70s and 80s inland but cool and misty at times and the coast as we wrap up the day today. today is one of the warmer days we'll see to start the work week. we'll get the winds kicking in tomorrow. temperature climb back up to the 80s and 90s as we approach next weekend. >> lester, back to you. let's turn now to the race for the white house where president obama and mittomney are trading some tough talk and the president certainly isn't offering the apology romney asked for. nbc's mike very caviquera is at the white house. >> and the president is at the white house today after spending yesterday staying on the offensive ignoring complaints from mitt romney and his call that the president back off his attacks on bain. >> despite a driving rain

outside richmond, supporters turned out to hear a drenched president obama renew his attack on romney's record at bain capital. >> i don't want to pie your near in outsourcing. i want some in sourcing. i want to bring companies back. >> this after romney condemned the attack necessary an interview with nbc news and called for an apology from the president. >> i think the kinds of attacks are beneath the dignity of the presidency. >> but there was no let up. the obama campaign upped the stakes, attacking romney in a new ad. ♪ oh beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ for amber waves of grain ♪ for purple mountains majesty ♪ >> romney did not campaign in public, spending time at his lakeside home in new hampshire after a week long barrage from democrats over his personal finances, including overseas bank accounts. >> he not only koontd be confirmed as a cabinet secretary, he couldn't be confirmed as dog catches.

as dog catcher, you'd at least want to look at his income tax returns. >> romney says he has no control over his investments. they're in a blind trust. and he refused to release tax returns beyond the two he's already made public. >> i've put out the two we're going to put out, once we've put out this year. >> robert bentley told the associated press, quote, if you have things to hide, maybe you're doing things wrong. after the comments went viral, bentley quickly backtracked. for mr. obama, it was a second straight day campaigning in virginia. a key swing state that many believe could determine the winner in november. this as the republican governor returned fire against the president. >> and on that record there's hope and change and uplifting language that we heard in 2008 has now turned into a campaign this year of division and misrepresentation. >> reporter: and, lester, the campaign pace only picks up from

here. the president is going to spend four of the next five days away from the white house either campaigning in swing states or raising cash and as for mitt romney, he has some stuff early in the week in louisiana and pennsylvania. lester. >> mike viquera, thanks. david is moderator of "meet the press." governor bentley says he was taken out of context. nonetheless, is there growing concern from republicans who want romney to get through this and move on? >> the drum beat for transparency. and it's amp my phied because of how wealthy romney is and because of his investments over time with overseas accounts, swiss bank accounts, cayman island accounts, etcetera. right now, he's sticking to his position about how he's going to release these records. he's made an issue of releasing tax returns in his previous campaigns, as well, even against senator kennedy when he was running for the senate back in the 90s.

so both sides get out of this game about full transparency and i don't think it's going to go away. >> right now, romney has released his previous returns and they highlight those tax havens. but yet if he releases more, it could result in more ads that the president can use. >> there's no question about it. so he has to develop that counterpunch here to deal with all the revelations, if that's what they would be at this point, about his wealth and how he's handled his finances. and that's just a reality that he faces. i think there is genuine concern in the romney campaign that to go beyond what he's done is an invitation for more opposition attacks against him. there is precedent. you look at his own father and how many years of tax returns he released. all of that will be used against romney. a lot of this becomes a distraction. if you're the oh bam comma campaign, you want to keep the subject right here. what obama is trying to do is

tear down the alternative. really make this a choice and say, this is not a guy who is fit to be an alternative to end mr. obama aet's presidency. >> i know you'll be drilling do know down of more on this on "meet the press." who are your guests this morning? >> we'll talk to ed gill lesspy, dick durbin and jon kyl. >> thanks. here is jenna. today, authorities in australia are searching for a huge shark, probably a great white that killed a surfer on saturday. the shark was pleased to be at least 13 feet long. duncan golistani has the details. >> reporter: searchers are still looking today on the west coast of australia for the remains of a surfer and the shark that attacked him. ben linden was in the water around 200 yards off the beach when it's believed he was mauled by a shark similar to this one. i witness tried to help but was

almost attacked himself. >> i raced to grab the body and the shark game at me on the jet ski and tried to knock me off. came back to the body, the shark took it and there was just blood everywhere and -- nothing i could do. >> reporter: it is the fifth fatal shark attack in western australia in less than a year, a huge increase, but nobody knows why. recently, there have been dramatic encounters with sharks in the u.s., too. this clip has become an internet sensation. a woman in south carolina was pulling in a fish, only for a big shark to jump out of the water and grabit. >> oh, my gosh! >> oh [ bleep ]. oh [ bleep ]. >> reporter: and in massachusetts this month, several sharks were seen in the water off cape cod, the large number of seals believes to be drawing them in. sharks prefer seals to humans and attacks are very rare. >> the worldwide data, the amount of shark attacks on humans is quite small. as opposed to other things that

could affect us, like being struck by lightning. >> reporter: that doesn't stop us fearing these predators, not when you get this close and know what they're capable of. duncan golistoni, nbc news, london. still ahead, we're going tie a big turn. you think your house is cramped? wait until you meet a couple whose house is so small you literally have to see this to believe it. l you literally have to see it to believe it. summer is here. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful, efficient c250 sport sedan with an agility control sport-tuned suspension. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. ♪ the mercedes-benz summer event ends july 31st. ♪

well, if you live in a city like new york and you're looking for a place to live you think location, location, location. but also price, price, price. >> you think? in order to get some of that prime real estate people have to sacrifice a little something called space. >> new york. the city of bright lights and beautiful skylines. a place where the right price can get you a roomy palace fit for a king. but not everyone here is livin large. i caught with erin and her fiancee. they live in an apartment in brooklyn that just might give you claustrophobia. >> how many square feet is this apartment? >> 240. >> just how small is that? let's see. kitchen. >> miniature cans. >> the dining room. >> this is the stairs to our bedroom. >> this is the bedroom. this is all of it?

>> yes. this is it. >> down we go to the den and the bathroom. >> normally when we're getting ready in the morning one person max in here. >> cozy quarters. but it has to be super cheap, right? >> $1,500 is actually a lot for this space. >> it seems like a lot to pay per square foot. but for the comfort that we have here actually we feel like it's worth it. >> organized, clutter free and perfectly polished these guys make it look easy. >> do you have any survival tips for anybody else that's downsizeng. >> my favorite test is to think carefully about your storage space some and they say thinking outside the box inside this box is key. the dining room doubles as an office. the couch as storage. the dresser as an enter stainment center. >> let's take this conversation into another room, shall we? >> sure. so, how many people can you fit in this place? with a wedding right around the

corner, one question remains, where are they going to put all those gifts in for "today", nbc news, brooklyn. >> what's 240 square feet look like? we outlined it here on the plaza. >> i know you think it looks big. i'm going around the apartment now. >> i could whisper and you would be able the hear. >> what's the smallest apartment you ever lived? ? >> 550, 600. >> i had a series of studio apartments in my 20s. i think i was in one this size. imagine putting furniture in. >> yeah. and i was alone. two people would be tough. you could get on each other's nerves. my hats off to them. a. a photo booth like none other. you have to scream before it takes a picture. boy, i hope she got her picture. nice, leslie.

florida's natural orange juice taste so uniquely fresh and delicious? is it the rich florida soil? or the perfect blend of sunshine, rain, and temperature? maybe it's the fact that florida's natural oranges are never imported. they're raised right here in florida, and passed with care from our hands to yours. 100% pure. 100% florida. florida's natural. gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh! and then the baby bear said, "i want 50% more cash in my bed!" phhht! 50% more cash is good ri... what's that. ♪ you can spell. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? ha ha. ♪

still to come on "today", the search for kelly bordeaux. three months since the young fort bragg soldier disappeared. her family remains hopeful she'll return. and part super hero, part super natural. comic-con. but first the messages. es in wa. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security

at earnedasay.org.

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what's the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles aren't interesting? the lexus ct hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. the lexus ct hybrid. kids,the constitution our is that forefathers wrote? great? our unified belief in the american dream? yes! those are some of the great things i was thinking of. celebrate america with the tour of america. only at denny's.

thanks for join me this morning along with meteorologist rob, with a forecast that looks the same as yesterday, but a little warmer. >> we relived winter. >> it wasn't that bad. >> if you're going to head out to the ballpark it will be on the cool side. temperature running in the 60s as the game goes on, first pitch just after 1:00. turning windy as we go through the after. you'll see the temperatures outside right now. 50s outside. yes, the sea breeze is out there, helping to keep a lot of

clouds well inland this morning. we've had patchy low clouds into livermore. satellite radar view shows we should not see any chances of thunder showers around here or the sierra. looks like a lot of that activity is heading off to the east. you'll see 80s popping inland but tomorrow it will get gusty and cool again. kind of like we saw on friday. the wind picked up, temperatures cooled off, this awaits us on monday and we'll turn warmer. >> gusty, you say. thanks, rob. tomorrow will mark four months since sierra lamar disappeared from morgan hill. this weekend volunteers with the class kid foundation held an event to help parents get their children photographed and fingerprinted. organizers say the information could be useful to police if a child is ever kidnapped or disappears. more than 100 families took advantage of the opportunity yesterday. both lamar's father and klass

say the fingerprints and foet photographs are a way to get kids and parent talking about prevention. >> everybody thinks they're immune, but my daughter wasn't immune. ed smart's daughter was not immune. steve and marlene's daughter was not immune. >> it could happen. you pray it doesn't, but it could happen. i never thought i'd be in this position. >> 21-year-old antonio garcia torres is charged with killing and kidnapped sierra, though her body has not been found. he has not entered a plea and expected back in court at the end of this month. crews are battling a wildfire burning northeast of sacramento threatening 170 homes. people living near colfax remain under evacuation orders. the flames destroyed homes and several outbuildings yesterday. the fire has burned three square miles and only 20% contained.

state fire leaders are concerned the fire could spread to a nearby community of 1500 people if it jumps the american river. nearly 2,000 firefighters are on the scene right now. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay" we have all the day's news plus, of course, that forecast you need to get your day started. and we have some fashion tips on how to dress for this whacky weather with the big different shall in temperature, all coming up for you. at 7:00. here's the "today" show. we'll see you in 30 minute.

we're back on a sunday morning, july 15th, 2012. our thanks to everyone out here on the plaza spending part of their morning with us. i'm jenna wolf alongside lester holt. i know it's going to be a really hot week. it's surprisingly okay right now. although the skies are kind of gray here. i'm crossing my fingers hoping it will last a little longer. we are going to go with it. coming up in this half hour, the search for the missing f. brag soldier. >> kelly bordeaux has been gone three months. there are new developments in the case. her family held a special

ceremony on saturday releasing butterflies to symbolize their hope for her safe return. we'll get an update on the investigation here in just a moment >> also ahead, it's a story nearly 50 years in the making. >> and it's a story of a man named booker wright. you've not heard of him in the history books but he is seen here in nbc news documentary. we'll look at how the bravery showed in that footage impacted two strangers who came together to find more about his story. and then on a much lighter note, we'll go inside comic-con. i didn't know that much about it until i started reading. it's not your father's comic book convention at all. from kids to real-life characters and characters from batman and twilight, it has a little bit for everyone. was that a canine? >> canine dude. >> i guess. absolutely. >> who hasn't had fun taking pictures in a photo booth? we have. and this morning we're going to turn up the volume. you have to see it and hear it

to believe it. >> ahh! >> these are all members of our staff who apparently have a lot of pinned up stuff. >> look at stephanie's reaction in the background. >> ahhh! >> you are so good. we took eight pictures there. it's for things like this where it forces some i volume to go way through the roof. >> you're not going to do that, are you? >> it's all lester holt. or maybe all stephanie abrams. >> you know what's funny about the screaming thing, this family to ohio came to new york city to do what? >> home alone tour. >> what did they do? >> we did the plaza hotel, central park. >> could you do that little screen mccauley caulk indid? remember he was like that with the screaming thing. let's see where we'll have beautiful weather today. across the country it looks like it will be dry in southern california. 71 there.

seattle is looking gorgeous too. as we head into tomorrow for our monday, not a whole lot changing. it's going to stay dry and it's going to stay and a look around this morning shows patchy low clouds. temperature later on this afternoon, 80s inland, look at the places warming up in orange. sea breeze kicks in and it's going to be a strong sea breeze getting into tomorrow. looks blustery, gusty winds near the hill tops. as we go through the rest of the week, temperature slowly start to warm up heading towards next weekend. and for your forecast 24 hours a day, all you have to do is logon to weather.com. jenna? stephanie, thanks. today the family of missing fort bragg soldier kelly bordeaux isn't giving up hope that she will come home alive.

a special ceremony was held on saturday to honor her. this as authorities say they want to learn more from the registered sex offender who was with her the night she disappeared. t a symbol of hope. as the family releases butterflies marking the three-month anniversary of her disappearance. the 23-year-old fort bragg soldier, army medic, disappeared in april after a night of drinking and karaoke at a fayetteville, north carolina bar. >> you never think this would happen to you. i mean, it's a terrible thing when it happens to other people. but you never think it would happen to you. and when it does it's just like the worst feeling you could possibly have. >> kelli's husband mike was in florida the night she went missing and is not a suspect. police have now questioned for a third time a registered sex offender seen with kelli that night. nicholas holbert worked at the bar, which has since closed and, told police he gave kelli a ride

to her apartment. he hasn't been called a suspect but remains in a county jail for failing to report his address to authorities. >> i believe that he has very valuable information as to where he's at. >> the detective says at the center of the investigation the text and calls kelli made after leaving the bar. >> i think they weigh heavily on the events of that night and how she felt about what was going on and who she was with. >> kelli bordeaux has not been forgotten here. even now volunteers gather almost every week to search another part of the community. >> the lack of evidence comes the hope that she hasn't been found deceased in that. there's still a chance. that makes it a lot easier. >> kelli believed butterflies were a sign of good, her sister told the crowd. with three months that passed it will take more than that to

bring this soldier home. and now here's lester. >> all right, jenna, thank. you won't read the became booker wright in any book about the 1960s civil rights movement. he was as a waiter working in a whites-only restaurant in rural mississippi. he never made any waves until an nbc news documentary team came to town. his act of bravery that followed would have gone forgotten if not for two unlikely people determined to honor his story. you're going to hear a deeply offensive word in this report, one you'll typically not hear on this network and one i personally don't take lightly but it's useful in this case to understand booker wright's pain and humiliation. >> the mississippi delta is nearly 2,000 miles from the hollywood hills where ray grew up and now works as a filmmaker. it's a lifetime away from the

phoenix neighborhood where yvette johnson is raising her boys. and yet a year ago these two strangers discovered they shared a unique bond. it was a bond rooted in a 1966 nbc news documentary about race realizes in mississippi. >> people in other sections of the country are fairly convinced that we are prejudiced against colored people. >> the unvarnished views expressed by white mississippians sounds shocking today. >> i feel that god had a preference in creating the races separate. >> the man behind the camera was ray's father. and the unlikely hero of that film was yvette's grandfather

booker wright. without warning, booker wright began speaking candidly and in language that viewers then and now might find offensive. >> some call me booker. some call me john. some call me jim. some call me anythinger. >> the very existence had been a little more than a rumor to yvette. >> my heart broke for her and he talked about that daily humiliation. >> could you recognize the jeopardy he was putting himself in? >> when i first saw it, no. >> but that was about to change. in a matter of weeks, yvette and ray were on their way to mississippi with a film crew in tow. both were about to have a ender view. >> finding booker's place tonight. i'll be online chatting live

with viewers on dateline's new social website called chatline. i hope you'll join me. inside one of the world's biggest pop culture conventions, comic-con is coming up. ♪ [ female announcer ] with depression, simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergi skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. simple pleasures shouldn't hurt. talk to your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help.

depression hurts. hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in little drops of milk chocolate. and cookies n creme. pure hershey's. requires daily sun protection. eucerin daily protection spf 15 body lotion is a long-lasting moisturizer and spf in one. it helps protect skin against everyday sun exposure. daily protection body lotion only from eucerin.

it began 42 years ago as a small comic book convention in san diego. now comic-con is an anything goes multimedia pop culture event attracting more than 130,000 fans from around the world. here's nbc's mike. comic-con is bigger than ever now. it's no longer a modest gathering of a few hundred geeks and nerds. it's now a serious source of really serious money. attracting more than 130,000 fans and entrepreneurs around the world. >> i actually look like this every day, no joke. >> we've been here every year. this is only the second time we camped out, though. >> and about the money, consider that comic-con is all about the kind of characters and storylines that powered seven of last year's top 10 movies and

this year's comic hero blockbuster "avengers" made $1.4 billion worldwide. the "twilight" phenomenon established a connection that's only grown stronger. >> at the movie studios started paying attention to this convention as a prime marketing opportunity for their big films. >> big films for the big screen. another hobbit, and the last installment of the "twilight" saga. and "game of thrones." comic-con, a g-rated family affair, appears to a growing portion of the worldwide cultural appetite. but that means that for the better part of a week surrounding the four-day convention the city's famous gas lamp district is packed. a running costume party that will help generate $160 million in revenue, much of it from fans who can't get enough of their other worldly heroes.

>> i feel like some sort of pride and the fact that i can represent this character. and i can love doing it. >> and most of it because this segment of the industry and its stars like kristen stewart, know this is now the big time. >> they're unique. they're not all vampires. >> interesting. just ahead, say cheese and make sure you say it loud. a photo machine that needs a little volume to get itself started. plus, five different delicious desserts made with peaches and blueberries. how to make them even if you don't cook or bake. but first these messages. try? trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc

and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

this morning on today's kitchen delicious desserts, cooking with fresh fruits, blueberries and peaches. chef annie cox to show us five quick and easy fruit-filled treats. welcome back. >> thank you. good to be here. five different desserts. they couldn't be easier. they're very, very flexible. we start with pie dough. open face tart. >> you said tart at the beginning. is it difficult? >> no. and the trick is you roll it out on parchment paper. you don't need a fancy pan. this is almond paste. i rolled that out between two pieces of parchment paper. you don't have to use the almond paste. this is one of the extra flexible additions. almond pace you can find in the baking section. we have it nice and open much then we have peaches and blueberries. you could use strawberries, blackberrys, apples, pears,

whatever is in season. it's all about flexibility. >> are you going to dress it up a bit? >> we're going to dress it up a little. add sugar. this is a little bit of corn starch. if the fruit is watery, more or less. use tapioca or flour. >> just to thicken it up a bit. >> this is vanilla extract. you could add almond or nothing. it's up to you. >> flexibility. >> it's all about flexibility. give that a nice stir. make sure everything is coated really easily. now, as you can see by the finished product i got up this morning and i did open heart surgery, taught a zumba class. but if you're in a little bit of a rush, look at that, just dump that right on top. looks like a mess. it's going to be okay. >> just fold up the edges. >> fold up the edges like that. it's okay if they're a bit on the ragged side because this is

forgiving and flexible. >> are you going to put a glaze over the top? >> we're going to put a little egg wash and sugar on the side. brush the sides and sprinkle sugar. that gives it this beautiful look. >> same filling. you have cobblers going on here. >> this is a slump. it's more of a cake batter top to it. over here we have a cobbler. you could put ginger, lavender, all kinds of different ingredients. this is a crisp. crunchy, crispy topping. >> if you don't want to heat up the kitchen if the summer. a lot of people don't. >> right here to the parkway. this is whipped cream cheese. -- whipped cream and marscipone cheese. a little bit of whipped cream on the bottom. right in the bottom. then some blueberries.

i'm going to help you out by crushing up some meringue here. and some peaches on there. >> i like where this is going. >> are these all peaches. >> they are white peaches. depending on where you live. nectarines. eat a peach. almond brothers. it wasn't that difficult. >> and you put a little granola. >> whatever you want. chocolate chip cookies. anything you want. >> looks great. thanks so much for coming on. >> always a pleasure. >> great to have you here. now nears jenna. photo booths have been a source of entertainment for years and years. one man put his own fun twist on the idea. photographer billy hunt designed the scream-o-tron 3000. the results will actually make you scream. hi, billy. how are you doing? >> good. >> what is this really? you're smiling, screaming or you're doing both?

>> i take pictures of a lot of people. most people are really bad at it. we try to hide some things that nobody can see. do all the strange stuff we learned when we were 6. and it doesn't really work. i was trying to figure out a way to break people out of that and do something a little different. >> so how does it work? they come into the booth and they just scream? >> yes. it's built out of an old boombox. when it hits that outer red light it takes a picture. >> so based on a certain decibel? >> yeah. >> where did you come up with this idea? >> maybe i had something to scream about. i don't know. i think i just wanted to see if i could break people out of like their shell when they're getting their picture taken. i think people think i'm trying to trick them. they're not sure if it's really real. >> speaking of breaking out of the shell, why don't you try,

lester? >> this is right up your alley. this microphone? >> go stand on that spot right there. love it. >> here we go. i don't really scream a lot, you know? ahh. >> that's not going to do it, lester. >> ahh. >> did that even go? you have to belt it. >> come on! >> ahhhh! >> there you go. >> nice. >> did you get the picture? >> who does it better, men or women? >> women are totally better. women and children can totally scream louder. i have to make it more sensitive for the guys. >> i am shocked you have not done this yet. >> all right. i will do it real quick. ready? >> all right. >> ahh. >> that is so not you. >> lackluster. >> ahhh. >> that might have gone once. but i think you've got more. >> i'm only doing this for television.

>> you would never do this in real life. >> yeah. >> dig deep. >> ahhhh! >> yea! >> we're going to take a quick break and take a look at how these pictures developed, although i probably don't want to see them. we'll come back, billy, right after this and check it all out. ! bacon?! bacon! smokey bacon, meaty bacon, tasty bacon! bacon? ohh, la, la... oh, i say, is that bacon?! oh, good heavens! bacon! bacon! bacon! bacon! who wants a beggin' strip? meee! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum, yum, yum... it's bacon!!! mmm i love you, i love bacon. i love you. i love bacon. i love you. beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time. and check out beggin' thick cut. i'm gonna need a bigger mouth! requires daily sun protection. eucerin daily protection spf 15 body lotion is a long-lasting moisturizer and spf in one. it helps protect skin against everyday sun exposure.

daily protection body lotion only from eucerin. daily protection body lotion abracadabra. ♪ hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces.

but i like having a lot more a lot more than having a lot less. and the more more i have, the more i like having more. and that's exactly what i get at embassy suites. more post-meeting celebrations, more complimentary drinks, more for my money... mmm, more bar snacks... ♪ more olives. definitely. i want so much more it's more more than a mortal man can handle. now that's more like it. [ female announcer ] complimentary drinks. free breakfast. more room. embassy suites. get more. all right. time for the -- shall we call them shredded slults? although they could be funny. let's start with lester. no, let's start with me. a lot comes out of that little mouth over there. >> you look great. what are you talking about? >> great st a strong word. let's see. where is lester's? >> well, i guess they didn't have it.

that's okay. but, you know, we do have a picture of actually the two of us got some screaming practice earlier this week. we were on the shoot for another story. >> so i was screaming in bliss, i was so happy. and lester, can you make out what he's saying? >> what you don't know is jenna was controlling the speed of the coaster we were on. and i was basically saying brake, brake, brake, brake, brake, and i thought lester was saying great, great, great, great. >> we'll show you more about that other adventure in the weeks to come. but thank you. >> thank you. >> great having you on. i want to let you know that coming up this week on "today" elton john, one of rock's most flamboyant characters sits down for a candid interview. elton john talks about his life as a father, his drug use especially during the beginning of the aids epidemic. >> during the early days of the aids epidemic, you were this rock star. and yet you write that you were not living a life practicing safe sex. >> no. >> weren't you afraid?

>> you know what? when you take a drug and you take a drink and you mix those two together, you think you're invincible. >> you didn't wake up some mornings thinking, what did i just do? there is an epidemic, a disease out there. >> i couldn't remember. i came out of this hiv negative. >> there but for the grace of god. >> yes. i was the luckiest person in the world. >> you can see more of that interview tuesday here on "today." >> and we are going to leave you this morning with this week's installment of life illustrated. last week, we asked you to send your best shots of the national parks, the natural wonders and our thanks to you with coming through with a couple of beautiful stunners. >> that's going to do it for us on "today." i'll see you back here for nbc nightly news. until then, have a great day, everyone. until then, have a great day, everyone. so long. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

coming on "day in the bay" a pennen sue la is shot. details. we'll show you the bay area restaurant in the middle of it all. plussings by backups on the bay bridge. the cause of those delays that lasted more than an hour. what sparked that traffic nightmare. and the wildfire north of sacramento continues to burn this morning. the latest on containment efforts and evacuation orders. this is "today in the bay."