good morning. moving forward. an emotional end to a trying week for the los angeles clippers. this down to the wire game seven a welcome distraction from the drama off the court as the team learns steps are now being taken to replace their owner. commencement concontroversy. condoleezza rice backing out as the graduation speaker at rutgers university just weeks before she was set to take the stage. why were so many students and faculty protesting the former secretary of state? cue the laughs. president obama dishing up jokes saturday night. >> i usually start these dinners with a few self-deprecating jokes. after my stellar 2013, what could i possibly talk about?

>> all the highlights from the annual meeting of hollywood's brightest stars and washington's elite. that intimate dinner for 2,600, affectionately known as the nerd prom. today, sunday, may 4th, 2014. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and erica hill. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm erica hill. >> i'm lester holt alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dryer. we didn't go to the dinner this year. i think we missed good, good lines. >> there were good laughs this year, i think. >> there were some good lines. i was judging highlights this morning. >> we're easy targets. the president took some good shots at us. also fellow politicians, congress. >> no one is safe in that room, i think. >> no. >> why is why none of us went. >> that and i had an awesome date with my son to play

basketball yesterday. >> joel mchale of "community" kind of walking the line, it sounds like, as he emceed the event for the night. >> dangerous job to do that. >> got to poke fun at the president and everyone else. it's hard. >> much more on the big night ahead. startling news. statistics about the effects bullying can have on our children. an important story parents want to hear coming up. royal watchers in memphis still hoping for a glimpse of princes william and harry. later, we've been talking about our weekend "today" biggest fans. we're kicking it off today. after spending time in the sun on water, jenna has learned what it's like to take to water skiing in stylish. >> that wasn't too stylish. she was very stylish. >> it looked fun. >> it was fun. and she's fantastic. >> she's here today, by the way. >> she is here today.

melanie. we're super excited to have her. it's going to be great. we do want to begin with today's top story, and that is the star studded scene in the nation's capital for the annual white house correspondents' dinner. kristen welker was there for it all. good morning. >> reporter: i was there, erica. along with about 2,000 other people. it was really a great event. this is a tradition that dates all the way back to 1920. it's a chance for d.c. journalists to rub elbows with their sources. and also with celebrities. but this year was different because it marked the 100th anniversary of the white house correspondents' association. a time honored washington tradition. oscar winner lupita nyong'o. julia lui dreyfudreyfus. >> it's an opportunity for media to meet hollywood. >> reporter: historically a chance for the commander in chief to give back some of the heat he's taken.

>> fox news, you'll miss me when i'm gone. it'll be hard to convince the american people that hillary was born in kenya. >> reporter: and a little self-deprecation as well. >> in 2008 my slogan was, yes, we can. in 2013 my slogan was, control alt delete. >> headliner nbc's joel mchale didn't spare anyone. but might have saved some of his most searing lines for new jersey governor chris christie. >> governor do you want bridge jokes or side jokes. i've got both. i could go half and half. i know you like a combo platter. >> reporter: there was a serious side to this night. the correspondents' association marking its centennial. celebrating an increasingly diverse group of journalists. and naming a new scholarship in name of the first african-american white house correspondent. the night largely went off without a hitch. with the exception of one technical glitch. >> the joke doesn't work without the slide.

oh, well. assume that it was funny. >> reporter: of course, the president commenting there, when a photo didn't load for his joke, now, some have criticized the dinner for being too celebrity focused. but it really is also a celebration of journalism every year. the association awards several journalists with distinguished honor awards for their work. and also scholarships for aspiring journalists. erica, back to you. >> all right. kristen welker at the white house this morning. thanks. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning. >> hey, lester, good morning. >> you've been to more than a couple of these things. the president really didn't bite his tongue yesterday. is there something liberating about being a second-term president attending that dinner? >> yeah. i think there is. but i think actually the more vulnerable you are, the bigger hit you can be. if you're really self-deprecating. most -- you know, it's a very tough room, but the room is always with the president. because, you know, you're hammering him. you're in the press all that time, republican or democrat.

and you see the president giving a little. i think that's always pretty winning. i thought the president was pretty good. he showed some signs he might be fatiguing of the entire event here by now. but he's still got in some good jokes. maybe tipped his hand as we'll talk about on "meet the press" with his views on 2016. >> i want to talk about it now. you're referring to the fact he made more references to hillary clinton in 2016 than he did his own vice president. what should we take from that? >> the fact that he's kind of ribbing biden about really taking on hillary. and like i think a lot of the political establishment referring to hillary as always a afete acompli. is the president going to endorse someone? >> joel mchale used to be a frequent guest on this program. love the guy. couldn't believe he took the job

of wanting to emcee this event. that's a no win proposition. >> no win proposition. he was pretty sharp in a few areas. some people thought he went over the line. especially the chris christie weight jokes and things like that. i did see chris christie later who understands that if they're talking about him, that he's in the game. that the republican side, he's still very much at the center of what could be happening moving forward. they were even posing for pictures. look, any of us have to be able to take a joke and take a shot at one of these dinners if you're going to make it through the night. >> off the topic of the dinner i do want to ask you about former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she has now dropped out of an appearance as a commecommenceme speaker at rutgers university. there was a controversy there about her role in the iraq war. it's years past but are you surprised at the level of concern there? >> sometimes it does surprise me there's otherwise progressive institutions take a stand that

they don't want to hear certain people's points of view. but i think that certainly on college campuses, it's still an issue that resonates. and the legacy of the war and some of those feelings have not abated. maybe they've even grown as the nsa spying has expanded and we learn more about this. all this results of the security state that came up after 9/11. major figures in the bush administration are still going to be subjected to that kind of protest. >> david, good to talk to you. we'll talk to you at the end of the protest. get a preview what's coming up on "meet the press." i think i covered some of your topics. forgive me. >> i'll get you back for that. >> lester, thanks. the los angeles clippers are celebrating their playoff victory this morning. they're trying to move past the scandal that's surrounding them. game seven against the golden state warriors, talk about a true nail biter. now as the team prepares for their next series they're also learning a new team ceo will soon be put in place. here's mike taibbi. >> reporter: even before the clippers took the floor for the

game that could end their season or extend it, their fans lamented their dilemma. to finally have a title contender to cheer for, but a team owner cheered by no one after he shamed himself into a lifetime ban. the super fan called clipper darrell spoke for many. >> it's crazy. when could you ever say clipper and championship in the same sentence? now we can. and he did this? come on. >> reporter: the league has begun the process of forcing donald sterling to sell the team. an owners committee voting unanimously to prepare charges for commissioner adam silver to serve on the 81-year-old billionaire. and during the game, news of another development. >> the nba announced today that it would appoint a ceo to oversee the team. >> reporter: sterling's wife shelley was at the game. she was quoted as saying she supports the appointment of a ceo but had no comment on the abc interview of her husband's alleged girlfriend, v. stiviano. who had recorded sterling's

racist comments. >> it hurts to see someone that you care about hurting. >> reporter: on the court, the clippers got it done in a game seven nail biter. knocking aside the golden state warriors, despite the added burden their owner created. >> we have that baggage with us for that series. now it's -- it's pretty much over. i mean, you know, it obviously still lingers but it's not quite the same. >> reporter: sterling gone as a presence at the arena or with the team he's owned for three decades, still hasn't said whether he's surrender or sue to try and hold on to the clippers. no matter, the team has moved on. for "today," mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. a check now at some of the other stories we're following on this sunday morning. >> jenna is here with that. >> hey, guys, good morning. new details today about the south korean ferry that sunk last month. documents show the ship exceeded its cargo limit on nearly every trip it made carrying cargo, especially on its final journey. this news comes as divers

recover two more bodies today. more than 240 people have been declared dead. 60 still missing. protesters around the globe are putting pressure on nigeria to step up its efforts in finding hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by a terror group. demonstrators gathered saturday at washington's lincoln memorial and here in new york they took over union square. more than 275 girls were kidnapped last month. officials say about 220 of them are still being held captive. we have more information about former secretary of state condoleezza rice's decision not to speak at a commencement ceremony in new jersey. rice had accepted an invitation to address graduates on may 18th. after protests from students and faculty over her role in the iraq war she backed out. she made the announcement on facebook saying the invitation had become a distraction for the university. rutgers was prepared to pay the former secretary $35,000. on an unrelated note, i am now available. an alarming study out today

reveals how kids being bullied in school may be taking matters into their own hands. dr. nancy snyderman explains. >> reporter: school shootings, a huge problem in this country. mental illness often to blame. but a new study released this morning shows that bullying can be just as big an issue. >> when children are bullied, they often develop tremendous amounts of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. they feel helpless and at some point they need to look around for help, or they want to do it themselves. i think it's at that point that they start to bring arms to school. >> reporter: researchers at the cohen children's medical center of new york found that an estimated 200,000 high school students who have been bullied bring weapons to school. and those who have been victimized in multiple ways are up to 31 times more likely to carry a knife or gun on the campus than those who have not been bullied at all. >> so it is not a safe environment if students know

they have to protect themselves. who's protecting them? >> reporter: a sobering warning about the wide ranging effects of bullying, which endanger all our children. for "today," dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. we have another recall from gm to tell you about this morning. it involves more than 50,000 suvs. the automaker says its 2014 models of the buick enclave, chevrolet traverse and gmc acadia may have a software problem that could cause the fuel gauge to read inaccurately. on the off chance you've watched no tv, you've read no newspapers and you have yet to logon to a single website, are you okay? also, the kentucky derby. synonymous with nothing else but hats too big for the planet. big kudos to california chrome. talk about a rags to riches story. his owners bred him with a total investment of $10,000. that's nothing in the world of horse races. now chrome, his trainer and his owners are laughing all the way

home with more than $1 million in prize money. and i'm sure more on the way. having said that, i felt like the little piggy laughed then i did the horsing. i knew i was going to get that from dylan. >> it was like the whole farm. lovely how you're including all the animals. >> listen. i am pro animal. to all of the animals on the farm. >> great. we go to dylan. >> it's wee, wee, wee all the way home. >> what did i say? >> laughed all the way home. making up phrases. we get it. it's all good. we've got rain in parts of the country. we've got a couple of showers in the northeast. we have some showers in the iowa area. we also have some showers in the northwest. the southern half of the country is dry today. that's the area where we could use some rain. a closer look at the rain in the northeast, some heavy pockets of downpours moving into west central parts of maine. on the flip side of that we're expecting about an inch of rain in the seattle area. you can see the yellows and oranges there indicating where we do have some of our heaviest downpours. elsewhere across the country we're talking about the heat. we've got hot, hot temperatures

down in parts of texas. and this is going to extend all the way up into the plain states. in fact, temperatures will be close to record highs. we could end up in the 90s today. 96 is t wedding. but in memphis this weekend, the bride and broom may have been overshadowed by two of their guests.

princes william and harry the reason for a big turnout outside of the polo club where the wedding for their close friend was held. kristen dahlgren is in memphis to tell us more about it. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, lester. we're now outside the memphis hunt & polo club where princes william and harry partied until about 1:00 a.m. last night. we're told prince harry was even twerking on the dance floor. guests tell us they seemed just like regular guys. and that everyone had a blast. th just after 5:00. dressed in their finest. and joined by royalty. princes william and harry came by motorcade. but tinted windows didn't discourage fans gathered outside, hoping to catch a glimpse. >> we were, like, that close. >> it was wonderful. wonderful. so great. >> reporter: from the air, william was spotted entering the exclusive club. he and harry both flying solo. kate at home with prince george

while harry just broke up with girlfriend cressida bonas. >> there's no doubt in my mind that he saw me blowing kisses. >> reporter: the princes are in memphis to watch good friend and london club owner guy pelli tie the knot. to american hotel heiress and memphis native lindsay wilson. the bride arrived in a vintage blue cadillac. >> so beautiful. >> she looked great. >> reporter: the ceremony was held outside. dinner and a reception under a huge white tent. but those who got a sneak peek inside say everything was impeccable. guests danced into the wee hours to the motown sounds of the jimmy church band. seen here in this clip from their website. >> did you talk to the princes? >> i talked to the prince. shook his hand. he was on the dance floor. i watched him spin off with my towel. i'm keeping the towel. >> reporter: making it a night to remember. even for those who couldn't go to the wedding. >> to be this close to prince harry, pretty much one of the best days of my life.

>> reporter: so it does not sound, though, like prince harry is going home with a new american love interest. but the royal watch is still on. there's a brunch later on this morning. and then the princes expected to fly out. keep in mind that prince william came in commercial. so if you're headed to the airport today, keep your eyes open. lester, imagine getting seated next to one of those guys. >> i don't know. for me? >> i would like it. >> you would like it. >> maybe you could pass that on to someone else if you get seated next to them. >> exactly. kristen dahlgren, thanks very much. coming up next on "today," graduation ceremony that brings new meaning to family affair. at's right after this. just take a closer look. it works how you want to work. with a fidelity investment professional... or managing your investments on your own. helping you find new ways to plan for retirement.

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test with the arrival of may, graduation season is officially in swing. talk about one proud family in montana where three members of the family received diplomas on saturday. not just the family's kids walking across the stage. their mom did, too. charles hadlock has their story. >> reporter: for heather monsel this day was 22 years in the making. she was 22 when son joshua and later daughter kelsey came along. >> it was one of those, i'll go back and get it some day before the kids get their pieces of paper. >> reporter: but life got in the way. so just 13 credits shy of an undergraduate degree in fine arts, heather put her college studies on hold to raise a

family with her husband, jeff. when their son joshua was already in college at montana state university in billings, and kelsey was getting set for her freshman year, heather decided it was time to finish what she started decades earlier. the timing worked out because kelsey graduated high school early and finished college in three years. making it possible for heather to graduate with a masters degree on the same day as both her children. dad couldn't be happier. >> the timing all coming together, it wasn't the plan by any means. it just worked out that way. >> reporter: the kids admit they were uneasy about having mom in the same college class. >> it was weird at first. but, i mean, it was easy to adapt. >> it was still good because she made sure i didn't fall behind. >> reporter: joshua and kelsey picked up their degrees saturday. mom got hers in fine arts and walked across the stage to get her masters in public relations. the start of a new chapter for three proud graduates. >> i just think both my kids are

so amazing. >> reporter: for "today," charles hadlock, nbc news. >> such a great story. still to come on a sunday edition of "today," moms turning a hobby into a way to support the entire family. but first these messages. what's that? you got mommy a mother's day present? from where? whoa. nice. oh, i totally agree... she is the best mommy ever. it's beautiful. the diamonds in rhythm collection at kay jewelers. a shimmering center diamond is always in motion, catching light from every angle. save up to 30% on diamonds in rhythm at kay, the number-one jewelry store in america. what's that? give daddy a great big kiss? ♪ every kiss begins with kay.♪ makes everything algood even better...ilk from the bowls of cereal you make... to all the delicious recipes you bake. because inside every carton is the goodness of blue diamond almonds. almond breeze. almondiciously good!

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good sunday morning to you. looking live at a picture from san francisco, and we see some clouds there in the distance. i'm kris sanchez along with rob mayeda, who has a look at a forecast that i think is still cooler. >> it is still fairly cool. we've got a lot of clouds out this morning, which is helping keep the temperatures up, at least for morning lows. 54 degrees right now in san jose. during the day, we'll see high clouds passing by and patches of low clouds near the coast and temperatures overall much like we saw yesterday in terms of the high temperatures. close to 70 in san jose. upper 60s around the peninsula. upper 60s for most of the north day. close to 70 in napa, and toward

the trivalley, numbers in the low 70s. as we head into the afternoon today, one thing to watch as we get into monday and tuesday, there will be a chance monday night into early tuesday of seeing at least a few showers. also the winds are going to pick up. gusty winds at times tomorrow night into tuesday, and a cool start to the week. those temperatures staying right where we are at least through tuesday afternoon. >> thank you very much. a somber morning for bay area sports fans after a season ending loss for the golden state warriors. the team came up short in a winner take all game seven against the clippers. the warriors gave a great effort against the clippers and it was a back and forth game down the stretch, but golden state could not make enough shots to overcome an emotional clippers team and crowd. l.a. now moves on to the second round after a 126-121 win over the warriors. new details this morning in the deadly freeway shooting on 580 in richmond. authorities have identified the victim as 31-year-old deonta

broussard of san francisco. the shooting happened just before 1:00 yesterday afternoon in the eastbound lanes of 580. witnesses reported seeing shots fired from a vehicle into the blue ford suv brushard was driving before it crashed. he died at the scene. richmond police are hoping winces will come forward to provide a suspect and vehicle description. the california highway patrol shut down the eastbound lanes of 580 for several hours while they collected evidence. more than 100 grand, that's what a marijuana party cost the city of san francisco last month. reports say at least 15,000 people attended the annual event, which celebrates pot smoking and pot culture. gatherers say they saw extra police this year. those officers cost $43,000. while extra transit staff, fare inspectors and parking officers cost $36,000. and then, of course, there was the clean-up. park workers collected 20,000

pounds of trash at a cost of $23,000. about a dozen people were arrested at that gathering. coming up at 7:00 on today in the bay, running into history. the long odds a horse from california overcame to win the greatest stage. and the strong ties the kentucky derby winner california chrome has to the bay area. that story and all the rest of the day's news coming up at 7:00. right now, here's a bit of the "today" show. you used to sleep like a champ. then boom, what happened? stress, fun, bad habits, kids, now what? let's build you a better bed that senses your movement, heartbeat, breathing. sensors working directly with the air chambers. it's the all-new sleep number x12 bed. it tracks your sleep and tells you here's a good, better and an awesome night. the difference? try adjusting up or down. you'll know cuz sleep iq™ tells you and all you have to do is sleep. only at a sleep number store, try the unprecedented sleep number x12 bed.

know better sleep with sleep number. ♪ who's your biggest fan? it's me! >> i'm here celebrating my 70th birthday. >> it's my 60th! >> it's my sweet 16th. >> happy birthday, mom! i made it on the "today" show. >> three generations at the "today" show! >> we're back on a sunday morning. welcome to dance fever. dancing in that open this morning. >> now people know what we really do behind the scenes. >> it is another beautiful morning here in new york city. our crowd loving every second of it.

we're happy they're here. remember, if you're ever in the neighborhood, stop on by. 49th near fifth avenue. what's coming up? >> a dance party. >> besides that? >> we do have a lot coming up this morning. let's get you a quick look, though, at the morning's top headlines. condoleezza rice backing out as a commencement speaker at new jersey rutgers university because of protests there. the college has not said who will replace the former secretary of state. a new study shows the effect of bullying may be more serious than previously thought. researchers found an estimated 200,000 high school students who have been bullied bring weapons to school. the los angeles clippers proving not even a scandal can stop them from playing their best basketball. the clippers beating the golden state warriors saturday night in game seven of the first round playoffs. still to come in this half hour, she was held captive for a decade. now michelle knight is telling us what it was like inside that house of horrors and what those first moments of freedom felt like. then, moms have found a new community online in the form of thousands of blog posts who

share their stories. for some, those blogs are now making them big bucks. we'll explain how. also ahead, our weekend "today's" biggest fan series kicks off. i went first. my amazing fan, melanie, who taught me how to slalom ski. you're not seeing it with the pictures you're seeing now. we had a great time. we kicked things off really great. he's a wonderful burst of spirit who's going to come flying through the studio in a second. >> she taught you a thing or two, right? >> there are 10 million things i don't know. i don't know how it came out i know everything. there are a thing or two i could learn. she definitely taught one of them. we do begin this half hour with an update for you on a very inspirational young woman. we first introduced you to rachelle friedman chapman a few years ago after an accident at her bachelor et party left her

paralyzed. in the time since she vowed to not let this slow her down. we'll speak to rachelle and her husband chris for an update in a few moments. are first an update on her story. >> reporter: a doctor's visit that isn't about an old injury. this time, a new beginning. using ivf and a surrogate, rachel and her husband, chris, are hoping to expand her family. >> i think we're okay. >> something that may have seemed impossible just four years ago. rachel was a bride to be with her best friend wearing her favorite color, purple, all ready for her bachelorette party. but just hours later, things took a terrible turn. after a night of partying, rachel was playfully pushed into a pool. >> as soon as i hit the water i felt my body just kind of stiffen up. i went numb. i kind of heard a crack in my neck. >> reporter: an innocent gesture that caused a c-6 spinal cord injury and the loss of feeling

rachel's collarbone. >> it was an accident. a freak accident. it could have happened to anyone. >> reporter: for that reason, rachel has never revealed the name of the girl who pushed her. and in her new book "the promise" none of the girls from that night ever will. protecting her has always been too important, she writes. her feelings too important. the situation too fragile and fraught with potential pain. i, rachel, take you chris. >> following a stay in the icu and three months in the hospital, just over a year later, rachel finally got married. >> mr. and mrs. rachel and chris chapman! >> reporter: a ceremony and honeymoon followed by "today" viewers as they became a family. a family they're now hoping to grow. >> he wants a fishing buddy. i said, girls fish. >> rachel friedman chapman and chris chapman are in the studio with us. nice to have you both with us. >> thank you. >> you're taking this next step. very exciting.

>> scary and exciting. >> a little overwhelming. it was really interesting to me to learn that one of the first things you asked the emts when they came that night of the accident, rachel, was whether or not you would be able to have children. >> yes. i always wanted to be a mother. as soon as the accident happened, i don't know. it was the first question in my mind. i looked at the emt, and i asked, will i be able to have kids? and they said yes. and so i physically can actually hold a child. it's not the paralysis but i'm on a lot of medication that would make it difficult. >> that would make it difficult for you to go through the pregnancy. so you're going the surrogacy route. you put this out there and got a great surprise with someone that stepped forward. >> we did. we had a college friend that stepped forward. she had already been looking into surrogacy. she wanted to help us start a family if that was an opportunity available. >> it's amazing. it wouldn't be possible without her. surrogacy is astronomically expensive.

it's krads crazy. even with her doing it for free the fee with lawyers is crazy. for her to step forward and make it easier for us is amazing. >> that's one part of the puzzle. is there -- at this point is there a timeline for you guys? >> we're hoping to do everything and get it started and hopefully she'll be pregnant in august with our future kid. >> wow. this is really all coming up so quickly. your book that's out, "the promise," you know, you talk as we mentioned in the piece about what happened that night. and that you'll never say who pushed you. >> right. >> that's a pretty strong bond you have now. >> yeah. i mean, i love her. and it would just be -- to me, it's not even that amazing that i won't say her name. to me, it's just a human thing to not -- you know, you just don't do that to somebody. even if i didn't know her, i would never do that. i would never put someone out there in front of the media to be judged or anything like that. what happened was an accident. she's really important to me. >> you've become a great role model for a lot of people. you play -- you are no joke. you play wheelchair rugby. >> i try. >> and you have some great

posts. both on the roughi"huffington p and on your own website. sort of educating all of us, i think, on what it means to be paralyzed. >> yeah. >> in some way. how important is it to you to have that voice? >> it's awesome to have that voice. there's so many misconceptions out there about people in wheelchairs and people with disabilities. a lot of people, my story came out about me wanting to do this and be a mom. they don't think i can be a mother. i'm not physically able to take care of a kid. people underestimate my abilities or anyone's ability who has a disability. i think we'll be able to do it. i think we'll be really awesome parents. >> well, you've got a great partner on your side and we're excited for the next bit of news coming from the chap mans. thank you for coming in this morning. >> thank you so much. out to dylan on the plaza who's got a final check of your weather on this sunday morning. >> good morning, erica. we are looking at a lot of pink shirts here. the sass masters. what are the sass masters? >> we're a girls group from boston. >> having a good time in new york? very fun. we've got the whole crew here. a lot of people from boston on

the plaza this morning celebrating lots of birthdays, too. we are looking at pretty decent weather kind of, especially temperaturewise. through the middle of the country we're going to see our warmest temps. close to record breaking high temperatures, getting well into the 90s. northern half of the country in the 50s and 60s. unsettled with spotty showers in the northeast back through the midwest and also through the pacific northwest. seattle could end up with a couple inches of rain out of this system. we are looking at the chance of the warm temperatures to stick around for a little while in the middle of the country. that

and that is your latest forecast. lester? >> dylan, thanks. now to the incredible story of survival from one of the women held captive for a decade in cleveland. michele knight, amanda berry and gina dejesus were found inside ariel castro's home after being prisoners there for years. michele is speaking out about those horrifying years in a new book called "finding me." she sat down with savannah guthrie to talk about life inside castro's house and the moment she was freed. >> i think one of the most remarkable things about you is you are a survivor. with a capital "s." what do you think it is inside you that gives you that strength? >> sometimes in life, you have a dark past that makes you who you are. but it doesn't define who you are. it just makes you stronger. >> reporter: that incredible strength helped michelle knight survive more than ten years of

captivity and relentless abuse inside ariel castro's home. using a model of the house, michelle described for us how castro forced her down to the basement when he first took her. >> and he drags me down, drags me down these stairs like that. my head is, like, hitting the stairs. and then drags me this way. and -- >> reporter: how did he drag you? by your feet? >> yeah. >> reporter: months later michelle was brought upstairs into a house that looked more like a fortress. there were locks and chains everywhere. but michelle says castro also used mind games to keep the girls inside. sometimes he would test you guys? >> yes. he would. >> reporter: what would he do? >> he would leave the door open. he'll leave us in one room. and he'll be in another room. and he'll just, like, peep in

every so often. to make sure that we're not running out that door. >> reporter: michelle had been in the house for nearly 4,000 days when fellow kidnapping victim, amanda berry, finally broke free. >> help me. i'm amanda berry. >> reporter: police officers rushed into the house to rescue michelle and gina dejesus. >> and then they was like, police. police. >> she started just charging at me. she jumped on to me. she had her arms around my neck. >> she then jumped up into my arms. >> and i told her, don't let me go. don't let me go. >> i said, honey, i'm not going to let you go. >> we found them. we found them. >> i was like, gina, gina. you won't believe this. we're going home. >> you can see much more of savannah's interview with michelle knight tonight on "dateline" at 8:00/7:00 central. up next, from writing a blog to running a successful business, we'll tell you how some moms are making big bucks for sharing their stories. that's right after these messages.

soof our new bush's bakednk beans video game? i think i'm getting the hang of it. okay, now pick up the specially cured bacon! hit it with the brown sugar! now roll that beautiful bean footage! yes! bush's baked beans are slow-cooked according to our secret family recipe for a big flavor. high score! you get to put your name on the wall of fame! whoa! game over . . . aww, you're no fun. enjoy bush's baked beans. still made from our secret family recipe. hey! have an awesome vacation thank you so much! you're so sweet. yummy! key lime pie at 90 calories. it is so good for not giving in. (thunder rumbling) (thunderclap) (bellowing fire) (steaming and chugging)

(thunderclap) (cheering) (rollercoaster rumbling) the world you've been waiting for is here. the wizarding world of harry potter, featuring the all new diagon alley and the hogwarts express. (thunderclap) come and live it. universal orlando resort. this this morning on "today's moms" we are talking about bloggers. it turns out 1 in 3 bloggers are mothers.

and as women share their tales of motherhood and just what it takes to raise their family, companies are taking note in a six figure way. here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: when moms get together, the advice start flying. >> feel free to enjoy it. >> reporter: put a mom and a computer with a good idea for a club, and suddenly there's a full cyber support group. >> i think they're all looking for a common ground with somebody. somebody to share the craziness of raising children. >> reporter: blogger jessica shyba's unforgettable photos of her son bo and his puppy theo rocketed her to fame. the images went viral. soon there'll be a book. shyba spoke at this year's moms 2.0. >> this incredible group of socially conscious and connected peers -- >> reporter: a conference for mothers who blog. like kayla amy. her readership took off when she

chronicled daughter scarlett's struggle to survive at birth. >> i really believe strongly in being vulnerable with other people. i think that's just part of our community, is wanting to connect to other people. >> reporter: the internet allows us to do that in a whole new way. >> it does. >> reporter: companies like dove have quickly realized the power of these women as marketers. >> the blogging community are -- they're consumers. for us getting their input and feedback on dove products is an unbelievably valuable piece of information. >> reporter: getting paid to blog about a product means a hobby can turn into a livelyhood. kayla says she will only promote products she likes herself out of respect for her readers. >> i don't want to ever mislead them or take advantage of the fact that, you know, they take time out of their day to visit me. >> reporter: the mom 2.0 conference is a mix of the commercial and the civic minded. kayla supports her local neonatal icu. jessica donates money to the

spca where she rescued theo. >> it feels really good to be able to anchor yourself to something that will provide something bigger and better than just, you know, yourself or your immediate family. >> reporter: these moms are mastering the blogesphere. creating a powerful way to help themselves and each other. for "today," stephanie gosk, nbc news, atlanta. still to come on "today," jenna's water skiing adventure with her biggest fan. could melanie her biggest fan be a competitor with our jenna? we're going to find out. first these messages. a competitor with our jenna? a competitor with our jenna? we're going to find out. first these messages. we're going to find out. ...a commercial for womenwelry preonly.... this is levian chocolate diamond jewelry. levian, masters of jewelry design for centuries... ...is the only company on earth to make jewelry with chocolate diamonds. and jared is the only place where you'll find... ...such an amazing levian selection. with styles you won't find anywhere else.

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♪

[ barks ] whoo! mmm! ♪ ♪ oh, yeah [ whistling ] [ male announcer ] discover your new orleans. start exploring at followyournola.com. [ woman ] and i love new orleans! we're back on a sunday morning with the kickoff to our "today's biggest fan" series. we're so touched when we hear from all of you. we had a hard time narrowing it down to one for each of us. >> it's really tough. this morning we start with one woman who really stood out for jenna. >> okay. so this right here is the lovely melanie. we're going to talk to her in just a minute. first i want to show you our amazing day water skiing down in sunny ft. lauderdale. >> my name is melanie glover.

i'm from frisco, texas. i did water skiing for about 30 years. just being out on the lake and having family time is just some of the happiest days. jenna has a great spirit. she inspires me just because she's always so confident and so adventuresome. she would seem to really love the sport. >> i ski on two skis. i am not ashamed to admit that i was never taught to slalom ski. it's such an honor for me to even be around someone passionate about the sport. >> i cannot believe i'm here. >> i'm super excited. let's do this. let's go meet melanie. here we go. >> oh, my gosh! >> are you the right melanie? >> yes. >> how are you? i'm the right jenna. come on in! let's go water skiing. yay! >> i cannot believe this. >> how are you? ♪ >> she's a little water skiing show-off, isn't she? with the gloves.

the gloves. i didn't even know people wear gloves. >> a skiing fashion statement, jenna. >> i thought it would be better to have the person worst go first. clearly they want me to get schooled completely. so that's why melanie is getting ready to go in the water. ♪ >> yeah, melanie! the show is about to begin. and i have to follow melanie. who did a superb job. so don't laugh too hard. ♪ ♪

>> in an unprecedented event, i will be double teamed. >> i got up. that is so cool! >> awesome. >> it was pretty amazing. >> it was exactly how i remember. i haven't water skied in a while. it was having a great time. with a great friend. out on the water on a beautiful day. i let my curls down. it was absolutely -- >> it was perfect. absolutely the perfect day. >> yes.

>> we really had a good time. we're going to be friends. no joke. we are actually -- we're going to be friends moving forward now. >> absolutely. >> it's so great. two observations. the hair. >> yes. >> and the car. >> rent a car, rent the hair. worked out perfectly for us. >> rented hair? >> it's all rented hair. >> what was the experience like for you? >> it's just amazing. i mean, this whole thing has been like a dream. just to get to hang out with jenna. and she's absolutely an awesome personality. so much fun. the whole day was a blast. >> is she what you thought she would be like? >> her personality and her spirit is so much fun to be around. it's just a pleasure. >> i think we do have the same personality in theory. that's why it must have been such a fun day. >> it was absolutely like hanging out with a friend. i feel like it was perfect. >> it was instantaneous. she got in the car. we drove. 25 minute drive. we were friends instantaneously. chatted the whole time.

got in the water, chatted, chatted. >> you water skied before, right? >> i water skied all my life on two skis. here comes melanie. a water ski instructor at one point. she said we are getting up on one ski. she made it happen. >> she made it easy. >> much easier on land, i found out. >> we gave you the tour around the studio. we're really glad you came down. >> this has just been an amazing experience. such a treasure. >> we kicked it off the perfect way. you were an absolutely wonderful, wonderful sport about it. thank you for being our first "weekend today" fan. >> amazing experience. >> thank you for being a part of our family now. >> you are. come in. >> one little bunch. we're back in a moment. first these messages. neil lane designs for hollywood's biggest stars. let's have a look. who's it for? it's for becky. she must be important. oh, she is. now, he designs... for the star in your life. becky, will you marry me? yes. neil lane bridal.

uniquely beautiful, hand-crafted rings from hollywood's master of vintage glamour. at kay jewelers - the number one jewelry store in america every woman should feel like a star. ♪ every kiss begins with kay♪ hi. what did you do thin mints flavor coffee-mate? it's only one of the most delicious girl scout cookie flavors ever. i changed the printer ink. try coffee-mate girl scout cookie flavors. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover. can your makeup remover do that? in front of our house again. it's a free country dad. our house. our spot. those are the rules. ok who wants sweet rolls? i do! me too! are those king's hawaiian rolls?

thanks, carol! people go pupule for the sweet, fluffy deliciousness of king's hawaiian. find us in the deli or in-store bakery. is levy using our clippers?

we'll check in once again were david gregory for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press." >> we're going to have all the details from the white house correspondents' dinner. some political talk and what we may have learned about 2016 from the all the humor. plus, racism in sports and society. i'll speak with sacramento major kevin johnson. after the botched execution in oklahoma, the death penalty debate. governor rick perry here to talk about that and other things. all coming up this morning on "meet the press." >> before we go we want to invite all the moms down on the plaza for a special mother's day celebration next sunday. >> we're really excited for this one. we're going to pick a few of you out in the crowd moms for a soul pampering experience on mother's day. manis, pedies, massages. we got you covered. >> i love this. >> we're going to -- >> that's next sunday morning.

that's going to do it for us on

good morning. i'm kris sanchez. coming up on today in the bay, all eyes on a horse from california. the bay area's big winner at the kentucky derby. >> also a big bill after a pot party in golden gate park. how much it will cost taxpayers to clean it up. >> and a cool day to get yardwork done. there are showers in the forecast. rob will tell you when. this is today in the bay. and we're looking live from our camera in emeryville over at the city by the bay. a little cloud cover this morning. that was like pulling a blanket over and keeping the warm air in. thanks for joining us