good morning. shocking arrest. the suspect in custody in the grisly stabbing of an 8-year-old girl in a california home. police say her 12-year-old brother is to plam. -- blame. ice invasion. stunning images of a wall of ice plows ashore right into homes i minnesota. how much of the upper midwest is feeling the big chill today. and happy mother's day. one inspiring military wife and mom who has faced challenge after challenge gets the surprise of a lifetime. but it's a secret. so if you know her, don't spill the beans. today, sunday, may 12th, 2013. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and welcome to "today" on this sunday morning, i'm erica hill. >> and i'm lester holt. we were showing you the enthusiastic friends of that special mom. first of all, happy mother's day to you, and to you, the first time. >> thank you. do i get one? >> yes, you absolutely do. >> yes. >> a grandmother? >> grandmother's day? >> and to my mother june, my wife carol, my mother-in-law. >> my mom cheryl, my grandmother, the family feud. and then i have my cousin laura and jen and there's -- >> i mean, the list goes on. >> in the meantime, we're out of time. thanks for being here. >> enjoy your mother's day. anyway, if you're a mother, happy mother's day to you. if you're flying today, on mother's day -- >> good luck. >> -- expect long lines if you're going through atlanta's

jackson-hartfield. you went through there earlier? >> i did. no delays, but that won't be the case this week. >> world's busiest. long lines are becoming quite common. we'll tell you why officials are saying it's happening and why it could happen all around the country. and we'll check in with prince harry, making a cross-country trip across the u.s., wowing the crowd, turning on the charm. it's another day in the life of a prince. >> good to be the prince. >> good to be the prince. he's showing his support today for wounded veterans at the warrior games. >> and we'll introduce to you a 20-year-old looking to set a record by flying around the world. and he couldn't do it without a little help from his mom. >> love that. we want to begin with the awful story in northern california. 12-year-old boy arrested in the stabbing death of his little sister, and jenna wolfe has more on that. jenna, good morning. >> good morning, lester and erica. good morning, everyone. authorities have been searching for weeks to solve the grisly killing. now, the boy is the one charged with the crime.

it was a killing that had a california community on edge. an 8-year-old girl named leila fowler stabbed 20 times inside her home. but on saturday, the sheriff announced a stunning arrest. >> at 5:10 p.m., detectives arrested leila's 12-year-old brother at the valley springs substation and charged -- on the charge of homicide. >> reporter: the crowd gasping as the announcement was made. investigators say leila's brother originally told deputies he found an intruder in their home, and then discovered his sister bleeding to death. people who know her brother were stunned. >> i did not want to believe it. i didn't -- you kind of thought so, but it's not something you want to believe. >> reporter: investigators aren't saying what finally led them to arrest the boy, or if there was a motive. some classmates say he was close to leila, and they never saw a hint of a problem between the two.

>> i went to his place, he went next door to talk to his sister and give her a hug. >> reporter: after neighbors and residents were warned day after day to be on the lookout for a mysterious intruder, sheriffs said residents should be able to sleep a little easier. the children's parents were away from home when this all happe d happened. in the meantime, the local sheriff says this remains an active investigation. lester? >> all right, jenna, we'll check back with you for the rest of the headlines. meantime, in cleveland, residents are trying to come together this morning and find a way to help in the horrific kidnapping case. ron allen has more on that and what new challenges may lie ahead for one of the victims. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, lester. yes, area churches and houses of worship have been asked to take up a special collection this morning for the four survivors and their families. one of the many ways the community is trying to support them, especially michelle knight, who for many reasons, received the least attention during this entire ordeal.

[ chanting michelle ] they marched for michelle knight because they see her as the forgotten one. amanda berry with her daughter and gina dejesus returned home to joyous reunion with family and friends. but knight left the hospital with no fanfare for a secret location. >> we just want to let michelle know that, you know, she may have been forgotten but as a community we'll never forget herment. >> reporter: knight, now 32, was the first of three women to be abducted. a single mother who authorities say they could not confirm was actually missing at the time. her disappearance never a huge news story, like berry or dejesus. then and now, for reasons that are unclear, relatives say knight is estranged from her family. meanwhile, the community struggles forward. workers busy sealing the house prosecutors called a torture chamber, and erecting a high fence around it. officials say there are credible threats of arson. >> for now, we'll do what we

need to to protect that property, particularly as i suspect for evidentiary purposes. >> reporter: the curious and the concerned come from miles to see where the unimaginable happened. >> i would imagine they'd tear it down and -- i mean, who would want to live in a place like that after all the tragedy and everything that went on in there? >> reporter: the house also a focal point for activists. >> know your neighbors! know 'em! >> reporter: imploring everyone to never let anything like this happen again. and to remember all four survivors. >> for michelle! [ cheers ] >> reporter: knight lost custody of a young son many years ago, before all this happened. her supporters are saying that they'll try to help her get the son back if that's what she wants. meanwhile, we're also learning knight has been in touch with gina dejesus and perhaps amanda berry as well, the only people know who know what they've been threw. lester? >> all right, ron allen, thank you very much. if you are set to fly home

after maybe visiting your mom for mother's day this weekend, you may want to give yourself a little extra time. officials at the world's busiest airport, the one in atlanta, are warning of major delays at their security checkpoints, and blame it on staffing cuts due to the good-ole sequester. as gabe gutierrez, that might have a ripple effect. >> reporter: today, delta air lines is warning atlanta customers of potential security checkpoint delays. >> please keep moving across. >> reporter: after lines snaked through the airport on friday. wait times over an hour. >> we came past baggage claim and saw a line there and were curious what's going on. >> i guess it's because of the sequester, but i've never come to board a flight and had to be in the lobby and wait literally, start my line there before i can get to check-in. >> reporter: hartfield-jackson is the world's busiest airport with 45,000 domestic passengers on an average day. on friday, the start of mother's day weekend, there were 55,000.

there are normally 22 security checkpoint lanes at the airport, but on friday, airport officials say only 13 were open. and they're blaming the staffing shortage on the sequester. congress recently eliminated the cutbacks to the faa's air traffic controllers. >> charlie bravo -- >> reporter: but cuts to the tsa are still in effect prompting overtime freezing. the tsa says it's working to adjust its staffing models in atlanta, but could the delays soon extend elsewhere? >> we will start to see it happen at other airports -- jfk, chicago, dulles, los angeles -- so i think this is the beginning. >> reporter: not what sharida willis wants to hear. >> i missed my flight, so i have to get a connecting flight. >> reporter: officials are urging here and other travelers here to arrive at least 90

minutes before their flight. for "today," gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. meantime, the white house is under fire this morning in the wake of those leaked e-mails about the benghazi talking points. the attack in libya, and the irs apologizing for inappropriately singling out some conservative groups like the tea party for extra scrutiny. is it the dreaded second-term curse? let's bring in david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> taken together on the surface, you can see how these two instances can be viewed by some as political in one case benghazi, avoiding a 9/11 terror attack, the idea it might have been a terror attack, and then perhaps the irs politically motivated to give a hard time to the president's opponents. which of these is the bigger obstacle for the administration right now? >> i just think it's -- part of it is just the atmosphere in washington at the time when the president's trying to get immigration done. he'd like to get a budget deal. both of those are facing headwinds. the benghazi issue is something

that has been under the surface for sometime, and then above surface, and now it's reallysur kind of taken the administration by storm, and, you know, they're more defensive about it now, and republicans are keeping up the fight. there's a lot of questions. there's also a lot of partisanship that is definitely part of the brew right now, and it doesn't seem to be dying down. >> republicans are keeping up the pressure. especially in the benghazi attack, and those talking points. is part of this firing a shot across the bow of hillary clinton as she ponder az run for the white house in 2016? >> there's no question about it. rand paul, the senator from kentucky, who is in iowa, with designs to run for the presidency himself, called the secretary guilty of dereliction of duty and said she shouldn't qualify for higher office. republicans want to make benghazi hillary clinton's achilles heel. there's no doubt about it. you saw a lot about it in these hearings as well on capitol

hill. singling out hillary clinton as secretary of state for blame in all of this. >> who is coming up this morning. >> darrell issa talking about where he intends to take this investigation next. >> all right. david gregory, see you then. thanks very much. overnight a tense two-day hostage standoff came to an end. jenna is back with that and a look at the day's other top story wrshz. >> good morning, lester and erica. police say the three children who were being held at gunpoint are safe and the man responsible is in custody. the stapdoff ended early this morning after 36 hours of negotiations between police and the armed man who barricaded himself inside a two-story house. syria is saying it is not responsible for deadly car bombings in turkey. more than 40 people died deadly car bombings in turkey. turkey blamed the assad government in what appears to be escalating tensions between the two since turkey supports the rebels. they're holding nine people in connection with the bombings.

you guys remember o.j. simpson. you feel like you haven't seen him in while? well, fret not, he will be seen outside of prison for the first time in four years. simpson will be in a las vegas courtroom monday asking for a new trial. he's serving a nine-year sentence for a robbery involving sports memorabilia back in 2008. chrysler is recalling nearly 500,000 jeeps worldwide. the problem is that the transmission can shift itself into neutral. bad transmission! jeep commanders made between 2006 and 2010, grand cherokees built between '05 and 2010 need to be checked. chrysler reports 26 accidents and two injuries related to the defects. in boston, heather abbott threw out the first pitch for last night's red sox game. heather lost her leg in the marathon bombings last month. today, she says, hey, this is the hand i've been dealt, and now she's just focusing on her recovery. and finally, i present to you reasons why some people don't ski.

bad cold. not enough snow. six months pregnant. that's mine. and 100 years old. el elsa bailey doesn't subscribe to that. she celebrated her 100th birthday, yep, on skis. she's been skiing for 75 years! she started her day jumping on the trampoline. i mentioned she's 100, right? >> wow. >> then she hit the slopes with an entourage, clearly. elsa believes in positive thinking and says, quote, i do things my way. on behalf of us here at "today" show, let us say happy mother's day. great to see you kicking and screaming. >> i want to be elsa. >> yeah, don't we all? i want to be skiing at 40. >> congratulations to her. dylan is here. we showed you in the open the river of ice. >> yes, we have some video -- first, erica, i need to point out your wonderful fashion statement. >> oh, thank you. i'm very proud of this. my son westin, who's here working in the studio, made this. westin, thanks, buddy.

>> aww! >> he did good work in mrs. cheven's class. >> yes, you got him up early. >> yes, he wanted to see everybody. >> anyway, back to the ice on the lake. in minnesota, we are seeing just -- look at this incredible video. the waves were so high, but out in the middle of the lake where it's melted, the waves were able to push all of that ice that's near the shoreline on shore. and it just creates all across the ground. it destroys bushes, and even went through some people's homes. it sounded like broken glass. there you see it, just actually breaking the glass in those homes on the shores of milax in minnesota. a very interesting situation there, as the lake is trying to molt. speaking of melting, on the opposite of that, more cold weather. temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below normal. and then out west, we're looking at 10 to 20 degrees above normal. don't worry, some of the warmer air will push eastward.

temperatures around the bay area this morning. 40s and 50s outside. still fápatchy,çó low clouds an stronger sea breeze reaching into fair feel. southwest wins at 18 and it's ì& to cool us off a little bit today. more so arne thei] inner bay. inland, south of san jose and we'll still see upper 80s to near 90.ñixd 83 in san jose, upper çó60s, inland areas cooling down tomorrow and cooler temperatures for the middle part of the week. that's your latest forecast. >> all right, dylan, thanks. you might have heard of prince harry. to some, he's like prince charming. making his way across the country in the u.s. today. today, the combat helicopter pilot is showing his support for wounded veterans. ben fogel is in colorado springs this morning with more on the prince's trip. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. well, prince harry's on the second stop of his u.s. tour.

here in colorado, the prince is soldiering on to bring more attention to a cause close to his heart. here he's especially known as captain wales. it is his main reason for being in the usa -- the warrior games. a competition for injured soldiers the focus of the prince's trip. >> i think this particular competition he wanted to highlight, because he's heard about it, and he said we have to make the schedule work. >> reporter: those serious about this cause, prince harry didn't leave his sense of humor about. when speaking about his willingness to participate when he heard about the games last year. >> a year ago, i was in washington on the ambassador's lawn and planting a tree. >> reporter: and he was prince charming to misty. he gave you a gift? >> two. >> reporter: the prince opened the games, welcoming the teams from the u.s. forces and britain, along with paraolympian

and former naval officer bradley snyder and missy franklin, who celebrated her 18th birthday the night before. an event with the prince. prince harry wish you a birthday? >> he did. it was incredible. >> reporter: later, the prince hit the court for a game of volleyball and a game of chase. the three-time gold medal winner from beach volleyball. bringing the british team to a victory over the u.s. in sitting volleyball. well, today, prince harry will be taking in a cycling event at the warrior games before handing out medals and touring the air force academy where i am now. he will continue east for new york, new jersey and connecticut. erica? >> you can better believe there are people waiting for him in those parts as well. thanks. up next, the 20-year-old trying to soar into the record books gets much-needed help from his mom. like you're growing old

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how's this for an overachiever? a 24-year-old from california has set his sights on becoming the youngest person to fly solo around the world. and as duncan reports, on mother's day, it's only appropriate he's doing it with some big help from his mom. >> reporter: jack is hoping to soar into the record books. the youngest person to fly all around the world on his own. nine days into the adventure, he landed in london right on time. >> good afternoon! [ applause ] >> reporter: jack, who's 20 years old, set off from california hoping to break the record held by a 22-year-old. so far, his journey has taken him north to canada, iceland,

and now great britain. he'll land in 16 more cities across europe, the middle east, asia, and russia before he once again reaches the u.s. it's long been a dream for jack, who started flying gliders at the age of 13 and quickly set his sights high. >> i think it's been ambition for about four years now. around the age of 17 is when i learned about the record. and i thought to myself i'd really like to try to achieve something like this. >> reporter: with such determination comes organization. at each stop, checking his bags often, making sure nothing is left behind. it's a lesson jack learned the hard way when he got to canada he realized his passport was still on a photo copier back home in fresno. >> customs officer -- >> reporter: mom came to the rescue. >> i set off around the world without one of the most important documents i needed -- my passport. >> reporter: you will never, ever forget your passport. >> hopefully, not. >> reporter: the next stop for this young adventurer, italy,

just so long as he remembers that passport. for "today," duncan golestani, nbc news, london. >> world travelled passport necessary. still to come, the mother of two, a military wife, and breast cancer survivor. we'll give her a mother's day surprise she'll never forget. first, these messages. e commitm. excuse me. would you mind moving your enormous phone? you mean the enormously awesome galaxy? ping! search "one trick pony." [ all gasp ] aren't you a little young to have an iphone? [ all gasp ] whee! [ indistinct shouting ] you think if they knew about the nokia lumia they'd stop fighting all the time? i don't know. i think they kind of like fighting. come on! ♪ [ male announcer ] the windows phone nokia lumia 920. engadget's readers choice smartphone of the year. ♪ to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime.

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still to come on "today," no instruments? no problem. >> yeah, we don't need no stinkin' instruments. an a cappella group is here performing live on the plaza. ♪

[ telephone rings ] how's the camping trip? well, the kids had fun, but i think i slept on a rock. ♪ the best part of wakin' up what are you doing? having coffee. ohh. ♪ is folgers in your cup that's why i eat belvita at breakfast. it's made with delicious ingredients, then carefully-baked to release steady energy that lasts. we're golfing now, buddy! i got it! belvita. steady energy. all morning long.

good morning to you.çó looking live at a postcard kind franciscojf -- of the bay bridg ine1 san francisco. it is a beautiful start to the day all arne the bay. thanks so much for joining us. q- along withe1ok meteorologist rob mayeda. that say pretty picture. it'sfá pretty nice for happy mother's day. >> thank you. >>xdw3 we have a stronger seaok breeze. southwest winds at 18ñi miles p hour and as we go through the day it is still going to be (t&háhp &hc&nd from solano county and notice san jose southward, you'll see mid to upper 80s and close to 90s and 1 sonol for thec afternoon ask ou temperatures area. running cool

and the sea breeze will peckfá for inland areas, @-half for the week ahead. nd >> thank you very much, rob. >> we begin with a developing story outt( of cofp, calaveras with an arresj@pá is more shocking than the stabbing death.xd two weeks qafter, the police arrested her 12-year-old brother. he found his sister bleedinge1 inside.lp investigators say she wasp, ujuu$an 20 times. tan into custody yesterday. >> detectives arrested her br valley springs substationq and charged -- chargedñi him r homicide. >> i didn't want to believe it -- i -- i -- you kind of thought so, but it's nott( something you want to believe. >> the killing set off a massiv door-to-door man hunt fo3( suspect fitting the description

that &h% boyñi gave to police. investigators didn't say what finally led them to arrest the inveyt%=91ñçó authorities laila's home to see if one of them matches her wounds. so far, there is no motive in her murder. the 12-year-old boy cannot be tried asok an7ooq adult. concession workers at at&t park could soon go on strike. the union of 800 cashiers, cooks and vendors approved a strike auv('rization with with y3n int favor ofçó walking off the job need be. thexd workers will not immediaty ìá& business as usual for today's gamelp against the braves.r instead they'll wait to see how management firm respond to the vote. workers sayfá they've been witht a contract for ñiyears. benefits for part-time workers (ñi stability are key center plate calls the voteçó unfortunate. coming up at w37:00 oni]fá toda the bay, will the race go on as

planned. >> we have a group of peoplejf want to win and so they push the limitsçó with regard to th!d bo. being raisedt( following the deh of an o,xapg#u sailor. will he or won't he play? that's the question on everyt(t warriors' fansi] minds. we'll hearxd about what seth cuy has to say about returning to the court in just a few hours. day's top news coming up at 7:00. right now, xdhere's more of the "today" show.

♪ ♪ happy mother's day it's your special day ♪ ♪ happy mother's day >> that's the acclaimed a cappella group with a special song for mother's day. we have a nice group of folks on the plaza to celebrate with us. nice having you here, guys. happy mother's day to all of the moms out there watching. i'm lester holt alongside erica hill and jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. happy mother's day to you. >> thank you. >> and the god-mothers. >> is there something you want to tell us? no? still to come, we'll meet an incredible military mom. >> we're all looking forward to this story. she's so inspiring. dealt with a number of

challenges. her husband is now serving his third tour in afghanistan. and so, we wanted to introduce you to her. she's a breast cancer survivor, and in her spare time, she built a home for a wounded warrior. her friends and family are helping us pull off a mother's day surprise we think she's probably not likely to forget. we can't say too much, because she can hear us. we'll have more on that. first -- >> there's a little more. ten incredibly good-looking guys are on our plaza singing for us on mother's day. >> you walked into that one. >> literally. they will perform a new song "under the influence." we're so glad you guys are here. first, dylan has another check of the weather. >> it's turning into a gorgeous mother's day. >> yes. >> it rained a little earlier this morning, but now we're seeing improvements. i couldn't help but notice this umbrella. you don't need it anymore. we can say hello to everyone.

that's a good umbrella. we are going to see not many rain showers across the country. you can see the one on the east coast are exiting now. a little bit of wet weather in seattle and southern texas. but most areas will see a lot of sunshine for this mother's day. temperature-wise, it is cooling down across the northern plains and into the great lakes and out west. we are seeing our hottest temperatures with highs well into the 80s and 90s, although that nice, warm stretch out in seattle is going to come to an end today with the rain returning. we could see some severe storms in the pacific northwest tomorrow, and then the mild air will try to creep eastward as we head into monday. the bay bridge toll plaza shows us theñi sunshine under the blankest low xdclouds. temperatures upper 60s, 70s for oakland and 80s into san jose and perhaps still pretty warm inland when we get into thoi upper jfe180s, closer to liverm and fairfield.

tomorrow, inland areas @9'l layer deepens and it will kl off c latesek and partly cloudy skies >> all right, dylan, thanks. just ahead, a e messwonderful surprise for an incredible military wife and mother. that's after these messages. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] now's the time to perfect your outdoor space. get 2 rose or hanging baskets for $10 at lowe's today.

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we are celebrating mothers today, but we want to particularly celebrate one military mom who has an incredible story. >> yes, she is so inspiring, and has been to her entire community of family and friends, and we wanted to share her story with you. >> i love you, daddy. >> i love you more. >> reporter: it's the one call marilee and her kids look forward to every day. >> you tired? >> a little bit. it's almost midnight. >> reporter: marilee's husband, john, a major in the army, is in afghanistan. his third deployment in the 12 years they've been married. >> that 15 minutes with him on the phone is the only time i

breathe. the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of a day, i'm holding my breath, because i'm scared. >> reporter: a feeling that's all too familiar. just over two years ago, this family faced its biggest battle right here at home. >> sitting in the doctor's office, and, you know, he said basically -- it was, like, it's cancer. >> i remember being more shocked than anything. like, i didn't understand. >> reporter: at just 32 years old, she was diagnosed with advanced stage 3 breast cancer. >> i remember being so scared and just -- i mean, the first thought when you hear cancer is you're going to die. >> reporter: and top of mind, her two young children. jonah lee and ryan. >> they sent their father to war multiple times. why did they deserve this? my one thing i could give them was knowing that mom was always going to be there, and then now i wasn't sure i was going to be. >> reporter: as the months wore on, the chemotherapy weakened

her body and at times her spirit. >> i had to tell her she had two kids that needed her. and that i needed her. >> she became aware of how much support she had from people she didn't even know. >> reporter: that's because marilee is not only devoted military wife and mother, she's a dedicated volunteer. last summer, she helped build a house for a wounded warrior. today, she's part of a reading program that helps kids whose parents are deployed. she also teaches preschool. >> all of us here at the preschool went and helped her when she was doing her chemotherapy, cleaned her house for her. >> reporter: after eight rounds of chemo, 33 of radiation, and a bilateral mastectomy, marilee is now cancer-free. >> every time she turned around, somebody was doing nice for her, and so, she just decided she could kind of pay it forward by doing things for other people. [ cheers ] >> reporter: and we are really pleased to have marilee with us this morning, along with her

mom. happy mother's day to both of you. >> thank you. >> and your kids. how are you doing today, marilee? how is your health? >> i'm doing really well. things seem to be going well. they seem to think we have the cancer under control. >> great. >> jean, happy mother day to you. what's your message for what your daughter has been through? what's your mother's day message? >> don't ever give up. always be there for your daughter. just help her whole family. and just know that they're going to make it through. >> well, that's important advice. and we want to recognize all that you've been through. we have a little bit of a mother's day surprise for you. >> don't worry -- >> we weren't going to bring you all this way without -- a few years ago, you had a fire in your backyard. so it's been pretty bare until now. why doesn't we take a walk, first of all? we want to show you guys something here. >> we sent a special correspondent to your backyard when we brought you to new york. our good friend george olson, sent george to the rescue, actually in your backyard this

morning, marilee. george, what do you have? >> happy mother's day, marilee! now, as soon as you and the family head up to new york, the team from harlem, texas, landscape and irrigation, they came into your backyard and have took over. we've got quite a surprise for you. are you ready, marilee? >> yes. >> are you excited? >> yes. >> three, two, one! take it away! >> oh, my goodness. [ cheers ] oh, my gosh! >> your friends, family, co-workers are here. one thing you and john talked about was a fire pit. we built you a fire pit. but we didn't stop there. we decided to give you a whole outdoor kitchen, complete with pergola, granite countertops, barstools, flat-screen tv. how about this for a grill, huh? >> oh, my goodness.

>> grill some chicken, some steak. no reason to bring the food back inside once you're done, because you have an outdoor dining room now! you and the family can sit out here, enjoy your meals, enjoy your backyard. all of this furniture provided by front gate. and when we got out here, it was just dead grass, broken-down swingset. not anymore, we have grass, we have flowers, trees, plants. when you come out your backdoor, there will be butterflies, and how about this for a water feature? three waterfalls. red, white, blue. star of texas in the middle. now, i know that you enjoy the trampoline, so that is still here. but for john, we also added a horseshoe pit. >> oh, gosh. >> none of this would have even been possible, marilee, without the herculean effort by these

guys. how did you pull this off? >> actually, time is of the essence in a project like this. so we had to hit the ground running, about an hour after marilee left, to catch her flight to dallas, to new york city, we came in, six trucks, six trailers, heavy equipment, plenty of our highly skilled laborers, our staff here came in about an hour. had the whole yard stripped. the foundation for the patio, the fountain, really pulled it off. proud of the team. >> this is unbelievable what you did. you make it sound easy. i know it wasn't that easy. >> no, it wasn't. we had careful planning, contingency plan, and four inches of rain in 48 hours, along with hail. and with everybody's help, staff, we're just so proud to be a part of this project, and happy we got it completed. >> long days, long night, rain, sleet. nothing could have stopped these guys. marilee, happy mother's day. you deserve this? you and the kids will love this. i do this all the time, but this

is unbelievable. >> good job. great. marilee, you're watching all of this. first of all, make sure you lock your back gate. >> yeah, yeah. >> what's your reaction to all of this? >> we're going to have a barbecue when we get home. everybody's invited. everybody come over. >> that's 5 million people you just invited. >> yeah, please, we'd love to have you. >> what do you guys think of the new backyard? >> good. >> i like it. >> you looking forward to spending time back there with your mom and dad at your home? >> yes. >> i like your trampoline. i know your dad john couldn't be here because he's in afghanistan, but we have him on skype right now. let's put john on from afghanistan. there he is. hey, john. what's your mother's day message to your family? >> well, one, i just want to say i didn't see it, but i heard them saying it. absolutely amazing. thank you. to my family, you know, hey, beautiful, i love you. happy mother's day.

i'm surprised -- i kind of knew some of that was going on, not all of it. but i just wanted to make sure you knew that you are absolutely amazing and a wonderful wife and mother. and every day we're together, i love you more and more. so i love you guys. and give your mom extra hugs and kisses today for me. >> i love you. >> i love you. >> major, thank you for being with us. thank you, sir, for your service. >> you have a beautiful family here. we're happy to have them here with us. >> thank you. >> all right. we're going to take a little bit of a break here. we've got a special musical performance on the plaza from straight no chaser in a moment. [ elizabeth ] i like to drink orange juice or have lemon in my water... eat tomato sauce on my spaghetti. the acidic levels in some foods can cause acid erosion.

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♪ we have the a cappella group, very popular, doing a lot of great singing, especially like this group, straight no chaser. they had graduated when one of the performances went viral. that was in 2006. the rest, as they say, is history. >> and charlie and the group are here. guys, nice to have you here. looking forward to hearing you sing in a moment. you guys have a new album out, and you're doing duets with people like jason moraz. and who else? >> stevie wonder, dolly parton. >> how did you decide --

>> whoever would say yes. we got incredibly blessed with all of the great artists. we have eight great acts and another nine of our songs that we're proud of, very great. >> you're not just pairing up with all of the big names. they were beating down your door, it wasn't the other way around. you have a movie in the works? >> there are talks and ideas. we are hopefully positive about it. you know, who knows? we didn't think this would happen. >> a cappella seems to be taking off. is it my imagination? >> it seems like it. and there are these other groups that we support and they support us, because it really is a small community, and we just -- we just want more people to hear this kind of music and change their minds about what they think a cappella is as to opposed to what we do. >> we think you can do some of that this morning maybe. >> what will you sing for us? >> we're going to see a jason

moraz song, "we won't give up." and we want to say happy mother's day to all of our mothers. happy mother's day, mom. >> straight no chaser. >> thanks, guys. ♪ when i look into your eyes ♪ it's like watching the night sky ♪ ♪ or a beautiful sunrise and so much they hold ♪ ♪ and just like the old stars i see you've come so far ♪ ♪ to be like who you are well how is your soul ♪ ♪ well, i won't give up

on us ♪ ♪ even if the skies get rough i've given you all my love ♪ ♪ still lookin' up still living in your space ♪ ♪ to do some navigating i'll be here patiently waiting ♪ ♪ see what you fine waiting to see what you fine ♪ ♪ even the stars, they burst some fall down to the earth ♪ ♪ we've got a lot to learn and god knows we're worth it ♪ ♪ no, i won't give up i won't give up ♪

♪ i don't want to be the one that walks away ♪ ♪ so easily to make the difference i can make ♪ ♪ i won't give up they do a lot to teach us ♪ ♪ to use the tools we got yeah, we got a lot at stake ♪ ♪ i won't give up ♪ ♪ ♪ i won't give up on us even if the skies get rough ♪ ♪ i'm giving you all of my love i'm still looking up ♪

♪ still looking up still looking up ♪ ♪ i won't give up on us god knows i'm tough enough ♪ ♪ i am tough we've got a lot to learn ♪ ♪ and god knows we're worth it well, i won't give up on us ♪ ♪ even if the skies get rough i'm giving you all of my love ♪ ♪ i'm still looking up >> that is straight no chaser. we'll be back with more. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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♪ back on this sunday morning. we are here with marilee and her kids, her mom ginger. you were at ft. hood military spouse of the year. pretty amazing woman. you're still letting it sink in that you had your backyard redone.

you want to take another look at it? >> oh, my gosh. >> i think the party is still going on in your backyard. >> yeah, i know. >> wait until we show up. >> lester wants to try out the trampoline. >> i hope this has been a very special mother's day for you. >> wonderful. amazing. >> hope john comes home safe and sound very soon. >> thank you very much. >> that's going to do it for us on a sunday. what great day. we're not going to close before we get one more song from straight no chaser. guys, thanks for being here. "signed, sealed, delivered." ♪ ♪

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in the bay." shocking news out ofxdfá calave county. arrest this morning in connection with thejf brutal stabbing death of his 8-year-old sister. v he looked at me and touched me and said how do you want to better your grade? >> a shaken up student tells her story to our investigativefá un. her professor admits he crossed the line, but the university has done nothing to keep him out of >> and warriors fans wakingxd u with one question on their minds thisxdw3 morning. will star point guard seth curry be frerd game four after reinjuring the tricky ankle. we hear from the man himself. "today in the