sometimes too much. lenny walker is lending his voice for a powerful reminder of the tragedy it can bring. he is speaking out for the first time about the loss of his aunt and uncle killed by a drunk driver hours after leaving the super bowl in new orleans. he invited them to watch him play so he can't help, but feel partly responsible. >> it still hurts. sometimes it feels like it's my fault, but there was nothing i could do about it. >> it hits everybody from the janitor to folks like delaney walker and it is true one second your slief turned upside down. >> i keep push this and keep pushing it. it hit me down in the heart and i'll always do it. i don't want to see something like that happen to anybody else. >> walker helped to raise money for m.a.d.d., mothers against drunk driving by signing autographs and taking pictures with fans last night at izy's steak and chops at san carlos.

walker who played for the 49ers for seven years recently signed with the tennessee titans. his commitment to mothers against drunk driving will continue wherever he is. chp drivers were reminding drivers that they along with local law enforcement agencies across the bay area are cracking down on drunk drivers throughout this holiday weekend. >> new details this morning at a deadly crash at a raceway north of sacramento. investigators are still on the scene at marysville raceway park trying to figure out what happened. the announcer said 17-year-old driver chase johnson of petaluma was doing warm-up laps an hour before last night's race when he lost control of the car going around a turn. he was going 90 miles an hour. that car flew into the pit area killing a 68-year-old man and a boy who were apparently part of the pit team. >> it's devastating and you come out to have a good time and fun

especially in the pits, but you never know what's going on happen because it's racing. racing can be dangerous. >> the driver was not injured. the race is part of california's sprint car civil war series and was canceled after the crash. it was the opening day of the season. it was a long day for the family of sierra lamar and emotional. they were surrounded by an overwhelming crowd of family and friends and supporters who showed up to mark the one year since the teenager disappeared from morgan hill. the morning started with a balloon release. >> two, three. sierra! >> hundreds of people showed up at the search center named in her honor in morgan hill to release red and white balloons into the skies in morgan hill and as you might have seen on the screen there, each balloon had a message attached and then the volunteers as they do every saturday set out on another search at a nearby reservoir,

but still no sign of sierra. >> some nights i sleep good. some nights i don't sleep hardly at all. >> do you see her in your dreams? >> yeah. i've had many of those. yeah. wake up crying. >> when i see her i'm going to hold her in my arms and just never let go. >> emotional day ended with a fund-raiser in fremont where sierra was born and raised. the man accused of kidnapping and murdering sierra lamar has still not entered a plea nine months after his arrest. they found garcia torres's dna on lamar's clothing found near her home and her dna in his car. legal experts say a long delay is not unusual in a case like this with an active investigation and no body. garcia torres has also been charged with trying to kidnap three other women separately in 2009. the district attorney says garcia torres is scheduled to enter a plea on april 4th.

this morning two employees at the popular music venue continues the recovery after they were shot during a robbery. the ashkenaz, two men came in demanding cash and at one point shot the employees, both of them and they're both expected to be okay. another employee says ashkenaz may have been targeted because of an increase in events to celebrate the non-profit's 40th anniversary. >> as more people have been coming into the space they see the money and we're pretty casual here because we're community run. we don't -- no one feels a sense of needing to police anybody too much. maybe people who come they just see there's a lot of people and they just think it's a club like any other place. >> the suspect, there is one of them behind bars. the other suspect has not been caught. >> this morning more than 300

weapons are off the streets after a gun buyback convention in fremont and it didn't cost taxpayers a single cent. this buyback for people in fremont, newark and union city took in six assault rifles and more than 300 handguns and rifles. people were given anywhere from $100 to $300 for each weapon. the money to pay for them all came from a private donor. >> the majority of the funds was provided by a family and they were motivated in part by just their overall interest in the well-being of the community and also by virtue of the fact that they had a relationship with the family who lost their son to gun violence. >> all weapons had to be in working order. officers checked whether they have been used in a crime and then they will be destroyed. similar buybacks have been going on around the bay area in response to the shooting in newtown, connecticut. still ahead on "today in the bay" a suspicious fire charged

part of the warehouse in the south bay. the latest on the investigation there coming up and also how a community is mourning and coming together to honor the life of a pregnant lacrosse coach killed in a horrific bus crash.

looking live at a beautiful sunrise over san jose. it will be a nice mild day in case you didn't get all your chores done or want to celebrate st. patrick's day. >> a two-alarm warehouse fire in san jose may have been set on purpose. the fire started out at about 11:00 yesterday morning. a neighbor first reported the fire at the western roofing supply building near lincoln avenue. >> there were no injuries. there were no residents inside at the time. it was an unoccupied building and no firefighters were injured. >> the fire, though, spread from a shed to the main building and the mercury news is reporting that a woman may have been

living in the shed. coming up on "today in the bay," the debate over capital punishment across the country is once again heating up, but can we expect another change in california. nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston joins us next. >> a quick live view of san francisco. you can see mostly clear. we're watching increasing high clouds out of a chance of rain in the seven-day forecast and we'll look at that when we come right back.

just four months after the presidential election we have results of the first straw poll from the 2016 republican presidential contest. believe it or not, the poll was taken at cpac, the conservative political action conference near washington. kentucky senator rand paul came out on top of 25% of the vote. he was then followed by florida

senator marco rubio with 23%. the gop is wrestling with how it will recast itself to connect with voters. >> the face of the republican party needs to be the face of every american and we need to be the party of inclusion and acceptance. >> we don't need a new idea. the idea is called america and it still works. >> donald trump, jeb bush, mitt romney and paul ryan all spoke at the conference, but new jersey governor chris christie who with applauded president obama for his response to hurricane sandy right before the election was notably not invited. nbc bay area political analyst larry gerston talks about capital punishment. first, we want to ask you about the results and the non-invitation list. >> you don't want to disthese things because the last four times the republican nominee came in first or second on the cpac vote. >> you can tell this far ahead? >> i'm just saying, that includes mitt romney from this last time around.

so don't run away with too many conclusions, but at the same time there is some significance here and i think it's an eye-opener for people who were looking to see the direction of the republican party. >> to be fair, this is the conservative part of the party, the most conservative of the republicans, but does it matter that chris christie was so popular and not invited? >> clearly a statement was made there and that is we -- we, the cpac organization think you just don't fit in. you're an outliar. whether christie represents the more mainstream section of the party may not be important if the conservative element is as successful as it seems to be right now. >> the reason we want to talk about capital punishment now is maryland is about to become the 18th state to end capital punishment, but the practice still a lined 32 states. can woe expect any change in california? i know we've been on hold for a while. capital punishment is on the books in california after a long

court-supervised execution process that has given the state the green light to commence execution. that said, more than 700 prisoners are on the condemned list. they're going nowhere except dying by natural death. no one has been executed since 2006, i believe, because of the late appeal processes and no executions are expected for at least three years. >> not just the appeals process, but also the lack of the drugs that they use for the executions as well. >> the court-supervised overhauled this process. >> are we seeing a change also in public opinion here in california? it's been on hold for other reasons, but in that time have people change howed they feel? >> this is a dynamic state, california. we're seeing changes with capital punishment ands along with other thing, gay rights and stuff like that. last november the voters

narrowly turned down an appeal, 52% to 48%. that close vote marked a change in public opinion as recently as 2004 because then a field poll showed californians supported capital punishment by an overwhelming 68% to 31% margin. so you look at 52-48 and at 68-31 oh, my goodness there seems to be some kind of evolution in the process. >> before it was a philosophical issue or religious issue and now it seems that people say we are spending this much money and getting nowhere so just chuck the system. >> you hit the nail on the head and people used to have capital punishment and you pay the price with your life. now people are reconsidering the idea because, this is costing a lot of money. just the effort to execute costs about $200 million a year and there have been no results from that effort. so you look at that and say my

goodness, we could have bought an awful lot of state service wes that kind of money and then there's the changing composition of this state. we all know california's dynamic and that had ethnic diversity and california are more sensitive to capital punishment because it's been applied to people of color and you put those things together and yeah, we see some things going. >> so what can we expect? >> the convergence of the cost and demography, they tell us something. california may replace capital punishment with life sentences without parole. not necessarily tomorrow, but you can expect this to be on the ballot for the next two years. >> so the reason larry is on earlier is because he's delivering a check. you raised a bunch of money. >> try to cash that puppy. >> it's a 1-1 foundation and we raised $13,000. we're taking this money back to special needs kids in atlantic

city who have been disrupted by the hurricane and good for them and good for the foundation. >> we'll endorse that one for you. >> rob mayeda has a look at the forecast. do you believe that check? huge. >> excellent cause, too, and i hope larry is ready for upper 30s with rain on the east coast and maybe appreciating our weather more as we look at morning temperatures outside and some haez there looking over san jose and thanks to the clear skies this morning it's running cooler than yesterday. we have 42 degrees in livermore and 49 in san francisco, winds somewhat onshore around novato and a southwest breeze into napa and in concord, and with the sunshine even though we'll get a sunnier start to the morning and cooler air aloft, and we should see those numbers, mainly 60s to low 70s and one of the changes will be increasing high clouds

and clouds lowering in elevation as we go through the day tomorrow and mid and high-level clouds still mild as fairly muggy air sweeps into the bay area heading into monday night and by tuesday is when the rain should start up and it should last very briefly over the next couple of days and things should clear out in the second half of the week. mostly clear skies and not too much in the way of low clouds and the clouds that we are seeing you have a fringe of a weather system as they make their impact. to finish up for the weekend, not so bad. just partly cloudy skies and after sunset and now you're starting to see the clouds picking up and we'll see more clouds. jumping to tuesday, we're going see spotty areas of rain going through as we go into the afternoon and steadily as we go into tuesday night and wednesday morning and that's when the moderate rain should drop in and the biggest impact should be into sundown and skies clear and warm up again for the second half of the week.

60s back toward the inner bay and low 70s at least for one more day and over toward san francisco we should see highs in the 60s and for the afternoon. steadily increasing clouds especially by the time we head into monday and then you see it tuesday into wednesday, rain at times and then our temperatures will drop back into the low 60s for the middle part of the week for thursday and friday, high pressure quickly building back which means the warmest days of the week coming up as we head into next weekend which will be the first official weekend of spring which starts toward the middle part of the week. >> i am hoping it will knock down some of it. >> this is good news. at least for a couple of days you'll get relief. >> thank goodness, because it would be nice to breathe again. >> thanks, rob. still ahead on "today in the bay," he could change the world. we'll see what makes this teen so special in today's "bay area proud."

there are a lot of smart students in our high schools so it's hard to single one out for praise, but there is one very special senior in san jose who wants to change the world as soon as he graduates. "today in the bay's" garvin thomas shows us why he's making the bay area proud. >> for those of you in a funk about the state of science education in america these days, this scene should boost your spirits, at least a little bit. thousands of bay area students lined up this week outside san jose's mchenry convention center eager to show what they know in the synopsis science fair competition. yet even here, among so many future stars of science, some shine more brightly than others. >> in order to investigate the structures and energies -- >> like nikhil buduma. >> this is the energy in terms of the molecular orbitals.

>> in the most simplified of terms, nikhil examines certain particles. >> we saw a multitude of structures. >> what is most impressive about this display of interstellar knowledge is that astro physics isn't even his best subject. >> it's not my comfort zone and i'm more at home in the biomedical sciences. >> he is a senior at bellarmine prep. what a senior year it has been for the president of his school's science and technology club. >> the score needed to get to the semifinals with 25. >> in the preliminary round of a national biology competition nikhil scored highest in the country among the 7,000 participants. nikhil has also qualified for a national competition in chemistry as well as the state championship for debate, but perhaps his proudest accomplishment so far was being captain of the first bellarmine

team ever to qualify for the national science bowl championship. >> it is the opportunity, and i don't do the quizzes just to do the quizzes and the tests just to do the tests and the competition is4ç an opportunito network with with other individuals who are also interested in science. >> despite all of this nikhil remains pretty well rounded. he plays guitar for fun and isn't a bad painter, either. >> the basic idea was to provide structures for the structures of these atoms. >> still, science is nikhil's passion and his future. >> the excitement that comes out of trying to find something new, trying to figure something out is really what i'm looking for. it's what gets me really excited and really interested. >> garvin thomas, today in the bay. >> let's hope that excitement is contagio contagious. still ahead on "today in the bay," the pope makes his first sunday blessing in a packed st. peter's square, but it's what he did that has people reacting this morning.

a verdict expected any moment and now we know what it is. a i hadly publicized rape case involving two football players in ohio and what their sentence and whether or not they were found guilty. we'll be right back.

waking up in foster city, a very pretty start. we see some clouds, but not like we saw yesterday. temperatures like yesterday. happy st. patrick's day. i'm kris sanchez along with rob mayeda who has a little bit of green in his tie. >> you wear the color. >> you are safely in green. everyone here is wearing their green this morning. >> the radar is not green. >> we have 40s around the bay area and chilly, gray skies dropping our temperatures down more and as we go through the day as we see hour by hour, just passing high clouds through the afternoon and by the evening the

clouds are starting to chicken on up leading into changes. today's highs not too bad and upper 60s and low 70s and you can see the east bay and trivalley locations. however, a large-scale view of the eastern pacific shows you the source of the high clouds are starting to see there is the storm system we're watching as we head back into the workweek and how long the rain chances will stick around in the full forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> you in this morning more than 100,000 people crowded into st. peter's square today to witness pope francis' first sunday blessing. pope francis addressed the crowd for 15 minutes making off-the-cuff remarks about god's power to forgive. today's the last scheduled public appearance for the pontiff before his installation on tuesday. but staying true to his seemingly informal style, the pope made an impromptu appearance before the blessing.

greetings from the faithful. they celebrated mass inside the church. more outrage and protests in india after another high-profile rape. this time, aye the victim a swiss tourist. the woman and her husband were in a bicycle trip when they stopped to camp in a forest. both of them were beaten and the woman was gang raped. police are questioning several men in connection with that attack. both victims have been released from the hospital. in december, huge protests erupted across india when a woman was so brutally raped on a city bus in new delhi that she died from her injuries. >> breaking news out of ohio now, two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl now have been found guilty by an ohio judge. here's a live look inside the courtroom where the verdict was handed down just moments ago. this verdict came after four days of trial proceedings which included emotional testimony from the victim. she says 17-year-old trent mays

and malik richmond raped her after she blacked out from drinking at a party. disturbing photos and videos of the night in question then circulated on the web. both teenagers could now be held in a juvenile jail until they turn 21 and then they would be released. and in pennsylvania, a memorial will be held tonight for the pregnant coach killed in a bus crash yesterday. that bus which was carrying 23 women's lacrosse players and three coaches from the university of seton hill veered off the turnpike for some reason, crashed through a guardrail and then slammed into a tree. the bus driver and the team's head coach who you see here was pregnant. she died at the crash scene. three others were seriously hurt. investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the bus driver to veer off the road. >> new video this morning of a burning apartment buildings and homes near myrtle beach, south carolina. the fire destroyed at least 26

structures so far and has not been put out. several police and firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation. witnesses say the blaze started off as a brushfire yesterday and then spread very quickly. an investigation on the cause is under way. in colorado firefighters continue to battle a wildfire just north of denver. the blaze which has charred 1,000 acres is now 45% contained. there are no injuries or damage to buildings. investigators don't know how it started. and happening right now the cardinal -- the carnival legend cruise ship is back in port in florida after suffering problems with its propulsion systems. company officials say repairs are now under way and the liner will soon resume its voyage. several carnival ships have recently experienced trouble while out to sea. passengers onboard the carnival

triumph were left without power and working toilets for five days. new details this morning on deadly crash on the raceway north of sacramento. this morning investigators are still on the scene at marysville raceway park trying to figure out what caused that crash. the announcer of the event says 17-year-old chase johnson of petta luma was doing warm-up laps when he lost control of the car going around the turnabout 90 miles an hour. the car flew into the pit area killing a 68-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy. >> it's devastating. you come out to have a good time and fun and especially people in the pits but you never know what's going to happen because it's racing. so racing can be dangerous. >> the driver was not injured. the race is part of california's sprint car civil war series and it was canceled after that crash. it was opening day of the season. the st. patrick's day weekend the fight against drunk driving is gaining star power. former 49ers' tight end delaney

walker is teaming up with mothers against drunk driving in hopes of preventing a tragedy. it is a tragedy that walker himself knows all too well. walker speaking publicly for the first time about the loss of his aunt and uncle after leaving the super bowl in new orleans. walker says he invited him to watch him play at the game, and can't help, but feel partly responsible. >> so it still hurt because sometimes i think it's my fault, but i have to realize it really wasn't anything i can do about it. >> drunk driving is nondiscriminate tore and it hits everyone from the janitor to folks like delaney walker and in one second your life is turned upside down. >> i'll push this and keep pushing it. it hit me down in the heart and i'm always doing it, and i don't want to see something like that happen to anybody else. >> walker raised money for m.a.d.d. by signing autographs and taking pictures at izy's

steak and chops in san carlos. he recently signed with the tennessee titans and his move is bittersweet, but his commitment to mothers against drunk driving will continue wherever he is. chp officers were at that event along with other law enforcement from around the area are cracking down on drunk drives throughout the holiday weekend. it was a long day for the family of missing morgan hill teenager sierra lamar, but it was an encouraging one as an overwhelming crowd of supporters showed up at the event for the girl. yesterday marked one year since sierra lamar disappeared while on her way to school. >> two, three, for sierra! >> hundreds of people showed up at the search center named in her honor to release balloons into the sky of morgan hill and each balloon had a message attached. then volunteers, as many of them

do every saturday gathered to go out on another search, this time on another reservoir that showed no signs of sierra. >> sometimes i sleep good. sometimes not at all. >> do you see her in your dreams? >> i've had many. i wake up crying. >> i'm going to hold her in my arms and just never let go. >> the emotional day ended with a fund-raiser in fremont where sierra lamar was born and raised. the man accused of kidn kidnapping and murdering sierra lamar has not entered plea charges after his arrest. they found his dna on lamar's clothing found near her home and her dna in his car. experts say a long delay is not unusual in a case like this with an active investigation and no body. garcia torres has also been charged with trying to kidnap three other women separately in 2009. the district attorney says

garcia torres is scheduled to enter a plea on april 4th. just into our newsroom a woman is behind bars this morning accused of beating up another woman and stealing her purse at a san jose light rail station. police arrested josette rios yesterday on the left hand side of your screen. police are searching for her brother, 21-year-old jonathan rios who you see on the right side. police say the victim and the two suspects got off the train at the race street station in february and rios allegedly punched and kicked the woman until she fell to the ground. police say rios' brother helped rip the woman's purse from her hands. >> we still have more ahead for you on "today in the bay." a homecoming of sorts as the world baseball finale hits the field at at&t park.

two san francisco giants will feel right at home for the next few days as the final round

of the world baseball classic kicks off today. a live look right now at at&t park, not live. this is a look from yesterday. tens of thousands of baseball fans from around the world are expected to flood the ballpark to watch puerto rico take on japan today at 6:00. angel pagan will be a fife rate for puerto rico. tomorrow the dominican republic will take on the netherlands and the netherlands' skeper better known around these parts as giants' hitting coach is also hurning home. the two winners will play for the title on tuesday. >> while the wbc is in san francisco and the giants continue to fine-tune in arizona and madison bum gartner on the hill for the orange and black yesterday, looking very sharp two hits in five innings of work and pablo sandoval has an rbi double and the reds come out on top 7-6. the giants take on the rockies

right here on nbc bay area today. first pitch set for 3:00 this afternoon. >> and the 49ers appear to have found their replacement for desean goldson. safety craig dall signed a three-year contract and joining the team from division rival st. louis. the 27-year-old notched his first 100-plus tackle season last year with the rams. welcome. >> now to the ice. the sharks in los angeles taking on the kings and the kings jumped out to an early lead and never looked back beating san jose 5-2. the sharks fall 12-9 and 6 on the season. still ahead on "today in the bay," history making here in the bay area why designers of this plane say it will be able to fly forever. no fill-ups needed.

from the stock market and the housing market to the

college basketball bracket, cnbc's tyler matheson has a look at what's coming up this week in business. >> spring officially arrives this week while on wall street the markets have already blossomed. the dow jones industrial average surged to new all-time highs for ten straight sessions over the past two weeks shooting up about 11% so far this year. meantime, the broader s&p 500 index edged closer to its own record high level. multi-year highs, just not all-time highs. spring time also the heart of the housing and home repair seasons and this week i think the latest readings on construction of new homes, home prices and new sales and home berld sentiment, that, too, should be higher. one of the big reasons housing is doing so well sfk, near record low interest rates and this week the federal reserve holds another two-day policy meeting on benchmark interest rates and no changes expected there for some time. this week at&t starts selling the new make or break

blackberry, one of its longtime clients and blackberry's clients has already ordered a million of the new devices and college basketball's march madness tournament kicks off this tuesday and look for a drop in productivity along with the cheering of one of those daytime games are being played later in the week. i'm tyler math son and get all of your business news on cnbc. >> on a side note, it's selection sunday for the march madness tournament and we'll get the updates on today in the bay. to a story you will only see on nbc bay area, the world of first solar-powered plane that can fly day or night without fuel. it's here in the bay area. here's business and tech reporter scott budman with an exclusive look. >> you're looking at the future of flight. no power needed except what the plane gathers from the son.

it's called solar impulse and it's being worked on here in the bay area. inside a giant hangar in moffity field preparing to launch itself into history. >> and inspired people to become pioneers and inspire people to explore and try new things and it's massive wingspan collects solar power which it then stores so it can fly by day or night. and re, a former venture capitalist is its pilot. >> that's very, very nice to fly when the air is gone and of course, it's more difficult to handle. >> it will be a while before it naff gets the globe, but it's on its way bringing technology and sunny skies to the aviation

industry. scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> looks strange, doesn't it. >> tourism dollars are pouring in to san francisco and more of them are coming and grand princess cruise ship for the inaugural voyage and it is the first time a ship is based in san francisco year round. the 2600 passenger ship is expected to inject $1 million into the economy and each time it comes to port and it will carry 1,000 passengers to hawaii, lavealaska, and this, o course, will be the best stop. runners will run across the bridge during the emerald across the bay 12k race. the race begins this morning at 8:30 from east fort baker in marin county ending in san francisco's aquatic park and it will not impact traffic on the golden gate bridge. >> and thousands of people showed up to watch san

francisco's annual st. patrick's day parade yesterday morning and i hope this year's grand marshall, after the parade, organizers held a festival at the civic center and there are st. patrick's day activities. nbc bay area continues in just a moment. fitness gurus are ditching marathons for a new kind of race. we'll show you what's driving hundreds of people to put their lives at risk in the name of fitness. here's the view right now looking over san francisco and as you can see it will be a gorgeous run across the golden gate bridge and hardly any clouds and there will be rain back into the picture and we'll show you when we come right back.

and good morning once again. here's a view of oakland. hazy skies to start. a much different picture than yesterday when we woke up to misty skies and low clouds. now the clouds have moved on

around the bay area this morning and without the clouds some places are waking up chillier in some areas including through the trivalley. 46, san jose and 49 san francisco and 47 in oakland and winds slightly onshore and just a trickle of a sea breeze raising fairfield to 7 miles per hour and that mayic up in the afternoon plus cooler air moving in and high clouds will probably see temperatures dropping off just a little bit today into tomorrow and the bigger changes arriving on today. increasing clouds will be the story if we jump back into the workweek and as we head around midday tuesday. satellite view shows us we'll have a sunset that will be full of high clouds and the upper level cirrus cloud s racing out ahead of the lower level clouds and that will bring us a chance of rain tuesday afternoon. so today we'll see passing high clouds at times and partly cloudy dies and mostly sunny by the afternoon and by the evening, now you see the clouds

starting to spill on in. monday will be fine in terms of the weather and no rain in the forecast. tuesday morning's commute is still fine and mostly cloudy skies and you're starting to see some of the areas of rain move on through into the tuesday evening commute and the more moderate to briefly heavy rain for parts of the north bay dropping in for tuesday night into early wednesday morning, but once this clears out as has been the case for most of the winter we'll see high pressure building in, clearing skies and warming temperatures for the second half of the week. today still low 70s inland and down toward gilroy in the trivalley. mid-70s and closer to the afternoon and 73 in pleasanton and 60s and 70s to wrap up your sunday afternoon and very nice day around san francisco and mid-60s around oakland. we'll see more clouds so the sun will be filtered out by those high clouds and eventually we'll see some of that rain at times tuesday into wednesday, just a

brief cooldown there as we head into the middle part of the week, we'll see much-needed snow for the sierra about 6,000 feet and the raindrops will have pollen and if you have allergies like me, that is great news. more sunshine next weekend. >> i'll ramp up my allergy regimen. thanks, rob. working out for some people is like a chore, but for others being fit is an obsession. they are taking nart a unique race, challenging themselves in a survival of the fittest. maybe you've heard of them and nbc's kristin dahlgren shows us what it's all about. >> let's go! let's go! >> it used to be a marathon was the ultimate way to push your body to the limit. this is not your father's fitness. >> getting back to our roots, playing in the mud and being a kid again. >> are you ready? >> just outside phoenix,

arizona, thousands lined up and then dragged, climbed, crawled and fought their way to the finish of what's called a spartan race. one of the latest crazes in extreme fitness. >> you talk to people who have done marathon, triathlons and they've tried it all and they said this is the toughest thing i've ever done in my life. kobe has done more than 30 races. he quit his job to become a professional racer. >> the challenges can be intimidating. they challenge you on things you don't normally do, but it's not just about the physical. you need to be mentally tough to do this. >> so why do something so hard, something where you sign a waiver that literally says there is a real possibility you may die, why, says divorced mother of three ann reynolds, is this moment of accomplishment.

>> good job. >> a lot of camaraderie and a lot of adventure and something new around the corner. >> spartan race is just one of the options for americans who seem to be obsessed with pushing the athletic envelope. in a tough mudder, racers runq) through live wires to plunge into icy pools and he make, leet s.e.a.l. training and zombie races, yes, zombie races and a fear factor. >> and by the explosive growth of all of these, it's become crystal clear. for many, when it comes to working out, ordinary -- >> it feels great! >> just doesn't cut it anymore. >> kristin dahlgren, nbc news, phoenix. >> not in phoenix, but rob did his own spartan race and he looks like a fitness model.

>> it was so cold and quite chilly. doesn't that look like one? the next one is up in the bay area in august. maybe we should team up. >> well, i'd rather do that than do the zombie race. >> that was a little disturbing. >> this is no zombies, it's staying away from barbed wire. >> and i can see the crawling through the mud and the fire seems fun and the live wire and the ice water that's a little extreme. >> they do the tough obstacles and spartan is more physical. >> they sell out both of them. they're both popular. >> extremely popular. >> we'll get you out there. >> we'll get right on that. thanks so much for making us a part of the program and they're taking on the colorado rockies and you can watch of the action starting at 3:00 and the next news is at 6:00 and have a fantastic day and start getting ready for that spartan race.

new day for the catholic church, and new questions about the church's influence on american politics. we have perspective this morning on the journey ahead for pope francis, from cardinal francis george, the archbishop of chicago. what message did the cardinals mean to send with the selection of the first ever pope from latin america? a special discussion as well with our roundtable on how francis reforms the church? >> plus, the debt dual in washington. is there any rheoom for comprome and is the president right when he argues a balanced budget isn't a priority at the moment? the debate this morning. with us, republican w.h.i.p. of the house, kevin mccarthy and the top democrat on the house budget committee, chris van hollen of maryland. then the future of the gop and a senator's change of heart on gay marriage. is it the beginning of a

changing tide in the party? wisconsin's republican governor scott walker weighs in. and good sunday morning. a busy first weekend for the new pope, meeting the press yesterday for the first time. and this morning, an impromptu appearance near the vatican, greeting surprised visitors, and then moments ago, before a large crowd gathered in st. peter's square, he gave his first weekly blessing. and another first this morning, his first papal tweet. dear friends, he writes, i thank you from my heart and i ask you to continue to pray for me. joining us this morning from rome, cardinal francis george of chicago. your imminence, welcome to meet the press. >> thank you, david. good morbing. >>