good morning. show of force. the pentagon orders an aircraft carrier and twoers court ships into the persian gulf as president obama awaits the possibility of air strikes against raging insurgents in iraq. raising the question how close the u.s. is to military action. we're at the front lines with the latest. a hero's tribute. john meese, summa cum laude. >> the seattle student who stopped a gunman after a deadly shooting spree recognized at his college graduation with two standing owe vaugss. this morning an emotional tribute and honor in his name. and this morning we're live as a military dad surprises his kids with an early return from afghanistan on this father's

day, today, sunday, june 15th, 2014. from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and erica hill live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. it's, of course, happy father's day. happy father's day to our dad here in the studio. lester holt >> thank you very much, erica hill and thanks and happy father's day to my father who is also lester, by the way. >> makes it easy. >> dylan dreyer and ron mott here and nice to have you here and that's because -- >> jenna is down in baltimore where she is getting in an early morning workout. she's there with the ravens today as part of our shine a light series running the stairs so the rest of us don't have to. she's going to be hanging out. >> not true. >> with some of the players from the team, the city's mayor is also there, a bunch of fans, all

there as part of our shine a light series so we're looking forward to checking in with her a little bit later. >> i'm feeling her exercise vibe. >> feeling, it too, burke the calories. >> actually winded watching that. >> we've got a lot coming up today. let's get right to our top story, the u.s. ramping up its military presence in the persian gulf as insurgents send iraq into turmoil. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in erbil, iraq following all the developments this this morning. what's happening. >> reporter: good morning, lester, yesterday there were big concerns in this country that baghdad could fool perhaps imminently, that militants would march in the city and collapse the government. now they are somewhat less concerned about this. the iraqi army has finally mobilized. now there are worries we could be entering not so much a phase where baghdad collapses but a long sectarian fight. one step closer to military involvement in iraq again. the defense department directed

u.s. warships to the wulf, including the "uss george h.w. bush." a milt spokesman says the ships give president obama additional flexibility should military options be required to protect american lives and interests in iraq. but perhaps they won't be needed because for the first time the iraqi army is fighting back against islamic radicals and anti-government insurgents, launching air strikes and then distributing the footage. the iraqi government is trying to build morale among its troops who until now have been surrendering to the radicals from an al qaeda offshoot, but it's not only the iraqi government now taking a stand. in baghdad and all across southern iraq shiite militias have responded to a call to arms by their clerics to fight to the death. it's unclear if the ragtag al qaeda offshoot that swept from

syria through western iraq with amazing speed can threaten to topple baghdad anymore. but the islamic radicals aren't fighting alone. they have been joined by sunni tribesmen and former members of saddam hussein's regime. they are all sunnis, it's an alliance of convenience against the u.s.-backed shiite government which has kept sunnis from power. the iraqi government has asked washington for help. if the u.s. gets involved in this fight now, it's helping to save an ally to top a terrorist group's advance and diving back into a sectarian war. if the united states decides to intervene militarily, it would also be forming a somewhat odd alliance. it would lining up with malaki and also with bashar assad and also with iran, all of them fighting against the same militant groups. it would be a change of policy, to say the least, for the united

states. >> thanks. with more, here's eric. >> lester, thank you. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press" and joins us this morning from washington. good morning, david. >> good morning, erica. >> richard just set up what could be a very odd alliance potentially, and this has a lot of americans scratching their heads as well, the thought that the u.s. and iran could be working together on something here. how would that play out? >> well, i think it's a potential that the united states government could say to iran, look, we both have a common enemy here in al qaeda. destabilizing iraq, both want iraq to stay hole. malaki is your guy, iran. what are you going to do to help and work in common cause here? mean, the problem is that's a very tough potential ally to work with given what they are doing in syria to ferment some of the violence there as well, so you've got a difficult potential alliance but iran may have kind of the biggest stake here and may be the most powerful figure in iraq right now. >> this is a tough time for the president, we have to point out,

especially when it comes to foreign policy. a great deal of criticism over a lot of decisions have been made and where the iraq decision could be taken. colonel jack jacobs says this shouldn't have come as a surprise. should have been plans in price at this point. is the administration playing catchup or is had caution aary? >> what you're hearing from the administration is this is iraq's problem, malaki is the shiite prime minister, did a lot to alienate sunnis. the mere fact that sunnis in iraq are so desperate and disenchanted they would hook up with the terrorist outfit tells you something about what's going on inside of iraq. it's his problem to fix, i think is the prevailing view. the question is what role can the united states play to do two things, put pressure on him to do the right thing and to protect u.s. interests which are significant. it's not just all the sacrifice that america has gone through in iraq. it's preventing a terror state from developing that goes from beyond iraq and into syria that could threaten the united

states. it's a very real concern for the united states right now. >> david, good to have you with us. we'll check in with you again for a closer look on what you have on "meet the press" today. lester. >> a bittersweet graduation ceremony at seattle pacific university on saturday, site of that failed shooting earlier this month. for graduates it was a moment to reflect on their achievements, to remember their lost classmate and to honor the hero who stopped the shooter. excited graduates, proud parents and pomp and circumstance, but for seattle pacific university's class of 2014, it's been a difficult road since a fatal shooting on campus just ten days ago. >> we've all really come together, and it's really a special, special thing. >> on their gowns ribbons to remember 19-year-old paul lee who lost his life in the attack. two others were hurt. >> just the support from everybody else and someone being strong for another person and their friend and their family. that i think has overtaken, you know, the somber tone.

>> and then -- >> john meese, summa cum laude. >> a standing ovation for john meese, the reluctant hero who police say helped stop the gunman, pepper spraying and tackling him as he paused to reload. meese graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, and the university's president announced an engineering scholarship in his honor. >> i am so grateful and very moved by mr. meese and his courage and his actions. >> an emotional day, bringing together a close-knit university. >> been such a blessing to be surrounded by such an incredible community. >> special honor for a guy who stood up and did what he had to do. >> really nice to see. want to get a look at some of the morning's other top stories and ron mott is following those while jenna is down in baltimore with shine a line. nice to have you with us. >> happy to be here. good morning, everyone. new pictures out of ukraine today as russia and ukraine each accuses the other of escalating the violence there. russia claims ukraine did nothing to stop the destructive

protests at its embassy in kiev saturday. the protests came hours after ukranian military transport was shot down and 49 people aboard were killed. ukraine blames pro-russian separatists for the disaster and declares today a day of mourning. israel today accused hamas militants of kidnapping three teenagers in the west bank. israeli forces rounded up 80 palestinians overnight. the teens, one of them holds an american citizenship, disappeared thursday night. army sergeant bowe bergdahl is undergoing medical treatment in texas as the military says a two-star general will lead the investigation into his disappearance. the army did not name the officer who wants to find out how and why bergdahl left his base in afghanistan back in 2009. philadelphia commuter trains are back up and running this morning after president obama got involved in a transit strike there. pennsylvania governor tom corbett asked the president to step in when 400 workers walked off the job friday demanding higher pay. now an emergency board will mediate the conflict between the union and the transportation

authority. whooping cough has reached epidemic proportions in california, and the disease is up 24% across the country. whooping cough is highly contagious and can be very severe in young children and infants. officials are asking people to get vaccinated. finally this morning a costco in northern virginia would be to be seen and be seen and pick up 100 box ezra taft benson of macaroni and choose. hillary clinton was there signing copies of her book when supreme court justice sonia sotomayor. the two hugged. she said the meeting wasn't planned but she was out shopping. >> out getting her 100 boxes of mac and cheese. ron, thanks. >> and dylan is here with the first check of the forecast. >> craving 100 boxes of mac and cheese. looking at a pretty nice father's day but yesterday very strong storms in colorado, kansas and areas like nebraska where we had some very strong storms. take a look at this video from

stockton, kansas, north central kansas and a storm chaser spotted this tornado starting to develop out that way. we saw some nasty storms. in fact, we did have a lot of storm reports. ten reported tornadoes, and we also had several reports of large hail all in this area. eastern colorado, into nebraska and kansas. 103 hail reports. 178 wind reports. that's your strong gusty winds that cause some of that damage, so today we are still looking at some stronger storms moving into iowa and areas like missouri. they are weakening a bit. no severe weather right now. cloud-to-ground lightning and heavy downpours. in red in northern texas up in the american and southwestern parts of michigan that's where we could see stronger storms a and right now we're seeing 40s and 50s outside, today's highs will be running cooler

than what we saw yesterday. out by santa cruz, 72 degrees, 63 with some morning police around monterrey and the rest of the bay area during the afternoon. mid 60s around 6 r san francisco. we'll see temps closer to 80 by livermore for the afternoon. day forecast. erica. >> all right, dylan, thank. world cup excitement is building this morning, team usa prepared to take on an old rival in ghana tomorrow. on saturday two former world cup champs came head-to-head. italian striker mario balotelli poured home his teamed's second goal and ivory coast scored two second half goals in over a minute and a half to score a 2-1 win over japan and talk about a big upset in the next match. costa rica stunning uruguay, winning 3-1. so there's plenty of interest for soccer here at home, but when you ask americans who they

are actually rooting for in the world cup, you may be a little surprised as nbc's joe fryar discovered. >> reporter: across the globe world cup loyalty that's nearly religious and in america -- >> i'm a big croatian fan. >> let's try that again. >> reporter: in america. >> brazil. >> reporter: okay. is anyone here actually rooting for the red, white and blue? >> usa, but i really like spain so i'd be happy if spain wins. >> reporter: close enough. in all seriousness team usa does have plenty of fans. >> usa! usa! >> reporter: but they are not exactly this year's odds-on favorite. even their own koch, jurgen klinsmann, told the "new york times" we cannot win this world cup because we are not at that level yet. >> i can't agree with that. come on. going usa >> reporter: americans are playing in a very tough group that includes germany, portugal and monday's opponent ghana, the

team that knocked u.s. out of the past two world cups. >> i know in america we like to think yes, we can do everything, but we would basically need seven miracles on ice to win the world cup. >> reporter: a reference to u.s. hockey's win over the soviet union in 1980 proving miracles do happen in sports. >> i think that germany, portugal and ghana should be scared. >> i think the u.s. will have a good little push. >> i think they can surprise some people. >> you gotta believe. >> reporter: done garber is the commissioner of the major league soccer, the professional league in america and canada that continues to surge in popularity. >> america is a soccer nation, but that soccer nation really rises around the world cup. >> reporter: he has faith this world cup will lurene more americans to soccer and to the u.s. team, and that would be an excellent goal. >> gooooal! >> reporter: for today, joe fryar, nbc news, los angeles.

>> we've got dylan over in the orange room with the insight into who you really holding form. i'd yell goal but can't hold note for that long. the world cup is supposes to get the most mengsz on social media than any other sporting event. are americans even potion the question. we posed the question on today.com and got a lot of responses on facebook. who are americans rooting for? holly on facebook, the boston red sox. i'm with you but got the wrong sport. and angela said the one that kicks the ball, and amazing to see only 35% of americans are rooting for team usa. we've got the rest of you who wrote into our survey rooting for all sorts of different places, brazil, italy, germany, with no rhyme or reason. we're trying to figure out why are you not rooting for usa and write into #orangeroom and tell us who you are rooting for and

why you are rooting for. guys, who are you rooting for? >> team usa. >> i love -- here in new york i love it recognizes our huge immigrant population and it's fun to see people rooting for the different countries. i get into the spirit. i don't -- i know that's a copout. >> i think it's really about the map. if you go and watch some of the matches, certainly rivalries, england and argentina that have a history so you align yourself to which ever one you're closer to. >> team usa totally. >> now to the almost royal visit happening right now in this country. a lot of people rooting just for this. kate middleton's sister pippa, remember her, is on a charity bike ride from california to maryland. kristen dahlgren has the latest on that one for us. >> reporter: this isn't just about appearances. pippa's team will be going 3,000 miles meaning she will be on the bike three hours a day for the next week and a half. a lot of people along the route will be hoping to catch a glimpse. >> reporter: she's the woman who

first wowed crowds watching the royal wedding, her figure-hugging white dress almost stealing the spot liggett from her sister, the future korean. now pippa middleton is lending some star power to a good cause and a long race across america. middleton and her brother james are part of a team pedaling coast to coast to raise money for the michael matthews foundation named after the youngest brit to ever summit evrest. matthews died on the descent back in 1999. the charity now provides education for children who don't have access to schools. >> ocean side, california, are you ready? >> reporter: the race across america left oceanside, california saturday, teams taking on a grueling trek from the pacific ocean clear across to the atlantic. they will end in annapolis, maryland, a course that crosses 12 states and climbs 170,000 feet. >> it's about challenge, about

reaching out, and seeing how far we can push the envelope and how much we can challenge ourselves. >> challenge is nothing new to pippa. she once did a ski endushs race but the bar is high. remember harry's trek to the south pole? >> all in all mission success. >> reporter: pippa is learning fast, being tough doesn't hurt if you're going to fit in with the family. this race happens every year and not everyone finishes so a big challenge ahead. pippa's team will be biking in shifts, but she will be spending a lot of time on that bike for the next few days. guys? >> plenty of people will be looking out for her, too. kristen, thanks. coming up, a look back at some pretty surprising week of coming up, a look back at some pretty surprising week of first you get hit by psoriasis. and now you get hit again. this time by joint pain. it's a double whammy. it could psoriatic arthritis a chronic inflammatory disease

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♪ you're amazing, just the way you are. ♪ don't miss all the latest amazing stories right at your fingertips. people love people. it's been quite a week at "today." highlighting amazing fathers as part of our special series "modern dads. request ". >> helping to honor their hard work and dedication to their families with some pretty unforgettable surprises. here's a look. >> i'd like to have the merrick brothers. >> on monday it was a tearful family reunion for this father of six who hasn't had all children in one room in more than a decade. >> when's the last time all of you were together like this in. >> a long time. >> you've been out of country for a little while, haven't been home yet. >> on tuesday "today" shocked

this deserving dad who was welcomed six kids into his home and his heart. why don't you yell daddy's home. >> are you kidding me. >> who is the surprised one? >> who is that? >> wednesday was all hugs and smiles when this military father got to hold his twins for the very first time. >> they love him. >> we can all tell them it's still very hard for you. >> thursday's surprise went to a widower learning to take on the roles of dad and mom. >> enjoy breakfast daley in a special father/daughter dinner at the resort the beautiful suncadia in kleeland, washington. >> on friday a grandfather who loves to sing found out with b this once in a lifetime opportunity. >> you are actually going to go to philadelphia. >> wow. >> and you are going to sing the

national anthem. >> and on saturday his dream came true. ♪ and the home of the brave >> of course it's father's day today so we're not done yet. more surprises to come this morning including one devoted dad you'll meet who after taking care of his wife and daughters as they battled breast cancer is in pursuit of all things awesome, amazing, and that's epic, bro, we've forgotten just how good good is. good is setting a personal best before going for a world record. good is swinging to get on base before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it and do some experiments. ♪ so start your day off good with a coffee that's good cup after cup. maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop

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r r and a good sunday morning to kick off your sunday. a live picture there of the golden gate bridge, not surrounded in fog, you can actually see it. it's sunday june 15, father's day. let's have a look at your sunday forecast. >> a nice forecast shaping up this morning, a few areas of low clouds, not around the golden gate bridge, but you're seeing it around the east bay. it should be a cool game-time forecast, 1:05, we got the a's.

76 today in san jose, down about 10 degrees from yesterday, san francisco seeing highs today in the mid 60s with upper 70s to near 80 around napa. the temperatures cooling off a little bit more as we head into monday as well. >> hard to ask for anything better than that for father's day. happy resolution to a parent's horrifying experience. a little girlwantered away from her camp site. the family was visiting in town from new mexico. ada roth child was reunited with her parents after a search of more than 20 hours. temperatures dipped into the 40s. finally yesterday morning, two cyclists familiar with the area spotted her near a trail calling out for her mom. that sighting 2 1/2 miles from

the command post. ada was not hurt. a man is behind bars after police say he exposed himself to two girls. police say just before 5:00 yesterday evening, the man came up and flashed the girl several times. one of them told her father who after hearing what happened started following the manage. police quickly joined the pursuit and arrested the man for indecent exposure and annoying juveniles. celebrating the life of the best selling novel rest, hundreds people are -- maya angelo. angelo asked that herr memorial service be held at glide memorial service in san francisco. angelo was a member of that church. the service will be held at 1:00. it's free and open to the

public. but note that several streets around the church will be closed off. coming up on "today in the bay," we'll take you to the watch peter where people say they hope this year's tournament can grow the sport here at home. that and all of your top stories coming up here at 7:00. in the meantime, let's return you to the "today" show. we'll see you soon. dog's fleas and ticks is staring you right in the face. nexgard, from the makers of frontline® plus. it's the only soft, beef-flavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. vets recommend it. and dogs, well, they're begging for it. nexgard is for dogs only. and hasn't been evaluated for use in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs. reported side effects include vomiting, dry flaky skin, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. recommended by vets. loved by dogs.

from the makers of frontline plus. it's my 9th birthday, lock at me, dad. >> three generations celebrating here by going to the "today" show. >> happy father's day. i miss you. >> my dad told me never to give up. >> my dad told me to be funny. >> happy father's day. >> happy father's day, dad. even though i stood on the "today" show. >> we're back here on this sunday morning, juan 15, 2014. happy father's day to all the dads out there. beautiful crowd here in rockefeller plaza. looking forward to seeing them as well. >> looking forward to meeting them. a lot in this half hour. this morning owes top headlines. a show of force, the u.s. ramping up its military presence

amidst the escalating crisis in iraq, ordering in an aircraft carrier and two guide d missile cruise errs and a two-star general has been appointed to investigate how and why army sergeant bowe bergdahl left avg resulting in his capture and emotional graduation ceremony resulting in two standing ovations who stopped a gunman who opened fire at seattle university earlier this month. big father's day surprises. a military dad deployed in iraq for nine months comes home early and his kids have no idea. we'll have them all here to see their reaction. also ahead this morning, more dad excitement. >> yes. >> a dad who was by the side of his wife and two daughters as they battled breast cancer gets a father's day to remember. wait until you see the big surprises in store. >> love a big surprise around here. but first jenna is in baltimore which is why ron is helping us out.

we partnered with the city of baltimore to shine a light this year on health and fitness. jenna is at the home. ravens with some of the team and a great group of fans. good morning, jenna. already been very busy. we've been watching you. >> hey, guys, good morning. we are here at the stadium. it's a beautiful sunday morning. we're so excited to be here. hey, guys, how are you. >> say hi. >> there we go. >> we've got -- the ravens have been so gracious with us. let me make sure i can get into the camera. let us come play in the stadium, not football but today we'll do something athletic. am i here in any point. on a quest to make baltimore a little bit more healthy. yay. and i don't want to hurt you, and in so doing we decided we're going to run steps so we're the coolest steps in baltimore right here at beautiful m & t bank

stadium with the ravens. can you go do this at home. find a flight of steps. we're going to try to run 10,000 steps. by the way, who is holding me up here. jacoby. jacoby jones is holding me up. you find a flight of steps at home. can you do this. we're going to do this as well. we obviously have the help of the ravens and baltimore's mayor is here, all-star cast, we'll talk to them in a bit. thanks to the ravens and the ymca for bringing people out. wow, we're going to get stretched. we'll do pull-ups and push-ups. >> wonder if jacoby can hold up jenna and run up the stairs. we'll check in later. >> as countless dads wait up this day to home-cooked breakfasts and homemade cards and hugs from their kids we certainly don't want to forget the military dads deployed abroad spending the day away from their families. >> one dad spent the past nine months in afghanistan as part of his seventh and final deployment

before he retires later this year so he's been away for a long time. probably never get used to those deployments though. 10-year-old cole and 5-year-old kate are anxiously awaiting their dad's return home. the two boys have no idea that the two boys landed in san diego just hours ago. >> and that's where he is now up at camp pendleton about to make this one memorable father's day. we're going to let this play out here for a moment. take a look live. >> baseball stars, huh? >> daddy! >> how are you, little man? >> dad, daddy. >> what are you guys up to, huh? >> ow. >> what are you up to? >> not much. >> did you know i was coming home. >> i missed you. i missed you guys so much. >> i missed you. >> i missed you.

>> you guys been being good? >> yeah. >> what are you guys up to? >> not much. >> you been playing baseball? >> yeah. >> you guys done with school? >> yeah. >> how did that go? >> good. >> good. >> we mentioned the sergeant was expected in two weeks so the kids knew he was coming home soon but certainly not today. a great moment. >> really was. >> and so special and kind of him to let us follow it and see it play out here live. we want to give them a moment to sort of collect themselves and get back together again as we wish a happy father's day to sergeant willenbacker and to all the men home and abroad and we'll check back in with them in a minute so-to-see what they think about that. >> what a tremendously sweet moment. as we dry our eyes let's head outside to the plaza for a final

check of the wet we are dylan. >> all trying to dry our eyes, too. all the fathers, happy father's day on the plaza and at home, a gorgeous day in the northeast and down in north carolina, too, and for all of you dads and all of you people in general watching down in north carolina for the u.s. open, 89 degrees, another hot one. can martin kaymer keep it going? we'll see. all down through the south and texas. western texas should be in the triple digits. match that in the southwest as we're seeing low clouds and misty skies around the hills at the oakland coliseum. our temperatures are going to be cooling down, mid 60s in san francisco. upper 70saround napa. the temperatures will continue a

cooling trend starting tomorrow. >> and that is your latest forecast. lester? >> we'll be back with more of okay buddy, what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... but apple cinnamon is my favorite too... and fruity... oh yeah, and frosted! okay, but...what's you're most favorite of all? hmm... the kind i have with you. me too.

aswhen i really needit's reto get stuff done,at home. i hide in the laundry room. no one ever goes in there. a lawyer that's a monkey? hahahaha. also, the dryer sheets reeeally help my writing. writing supplies. oh. number 7 of my 20. the new amex everyday credit card with no annual fee. thank you. make 20 or more purchases in a monthly billing period, and earn 20% more rewards. it's membership that rewards you for the things you already buy, everyday. what's your 20?

one of the first things we do as parents is hold our kids' hands when crossing the street. so think of the internet as the world's busiest street. get online with your children and pay attention to what they're clicking on. teach them to surf and post responsibly and encourage them to talk to you about what and who they encounter. they'll soon be old enough to navigate safely by themselves all because they had a dedicated crossing guard. the more you know. and that was a scene just a few minute ago when master

sergeant willenbacker surprised his sons out in san diego. they thought he was in afghanistan and wouldn't be home for a couple of years. but he along with the help of his ex-wife jody did a good one pulling one over on dad. great to have all of you with us and thank you for your service >> thank you, ma'am. >> great to be home. >> you probably played through this in your mind what this moment would be like surprising your kids. what was it like for you walking out there and seeing them? >> it was unbelievable. i mean, they have grown so much in the last nine months so just to see them after nine months was an unbelievable feeling. >> how did you manage to get out of afghanistan early and pull this off? >> through the help of the pa.o. office and your producer and we happened to get lucky and catch on a flight and i can get home to say hello to my sons on father's day. an amazing event and i won't forget it in my entire life.

>> cole, you're 10 years old and seen your father come and go. describe the moment when you saw your mother walk in moments ago. what was that like for you? >> it was kind of surprising because mom said that he wasn't coming home until the 18th and i was surprised when he came here because he's been away for nine months and i missed him. here he is. >> cade, for you, you're 5. gone through this a couple of times, not as much as your big brother. anything you were worried about. tough when your dad is gone. it's easier for you now that your dad is home for father's day? >> yes. >> what was the first thing you said to your dad? >> i love him. >> i bet that was music to your ears, huh. >> i like that marine cap you're wearing, my friend. >> let's turn to jody real quick. first, congratulations in your part in making this all happen

here. what's it like when he's away for the boys? how much contact are you able to have? >> it's really hard for the boys. they don't understand a lot of things, and at a young age you can't make them understand, but with him being gone we just make it the best we can, and i keep telling them every day that he loves them and he does get to call every once in a while and when he does they are just ecstatic. >> well, it's so great to see you all together. we all so enjoy watching the reunion and wish for the best, sergeant. thanks for your service and have a great father's day. >> thank you, sir. appreciate the opportunity for all of this. >> all right. we'll be back right after this. ♪ i'm gonna watch you shine, we'll be back right after this. life with crohn's diseasene, or ulcerative colitis is a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps come back?

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you've got to make every second count. banking designed for the way you live your life. so you can welcome your family home for the first time. chase. so you can. back now with our series modern dads and this morning we

wanted to introduce you to richard wells, a father and grandfather who has been an inspiration to everyone around him, especially his family. >> his wife and daughter battled cancer. sadly richard's wife eva did lose her battle but here with his two daughters, kathy and margie and great to have you all with us. >> good morning, happy father's day. >> real been there for your family. you guys have struggled with cancer over a lot of years. what advice might you have for other families going through this same disease? >> the main thing i guess is to listen, listen to what people are saying and find out what things can be done. for instance, housekeeping, preparing meals, budgets, stuff like that. take that away from people going through the treatment so they can concentrate on getting well. >> we know you've done that in every instance for your family. today is father's day and we

have to admit that there's a little bit of a ruse going on and unbeknownst to your daughters, they both wrote in to us here at the "today" show and both wanted to honor you with a very special father's day surprise. first, we want to take a look at what both your daughters had to say about you. >> about eight years ago my mom and i had breast cancer at the same time. my father took care of both of us by taking us to appointments, making us meals and holding hands during chemotherapy. would i not have made it through cancer throughout his love and support. unfortunately my mother did lose her battle with cancer about two years ago but dad was by her side through every day of the 20 years she fought cancer. my parents were high school sweetheart. they have been together forever so it was a big loss. now my sister has breast cancer, too, and there is dad. >> my father has been with me at each of my chemo sessions holding my hand, getting me blankets, tears silently sliding down his face. he has sat by me as i've

recovered from my recent surgery, holding my hand and saying no more pain, enough. i love him. my father is quiet, reserved and very kind. he is the sweetest and most loving man i have ever known. he is painfully shy yet loves people and loves to hear their stories. he likes to make things happen, but he wants to remain behind the scenes. he truly is a selfless giving dad who deserves a special thank you. >> when people learn about what my mom, sister have been through for cancer they are always amazed. they say things like strong and brave and what they don't realize is that the bravest and strongest of all of us is my dad. >> beautiful letters. richard, they sent those in separately unbeknownst to each other. what do you think? >> fantastic. i thought i was coming to try out for a program but that's all right. >> don't worry. we've got a few things in store for you. we know you're a big lester holt

fan and big fan of "dateline" and "today" show and you're also a big message of bill o'reilly, another network but we pulled some strong. >> i heard you've been a long time fan of "the factor" and read all my books, very flattered and impressed and what's even more impressive is what you've done for your late wife and your daughters as they battle cancer. i can only meant what it's meant for your girls to have their dad by their side every step of the way. as a treat i would like to invite you to the set of "the o'reilly factor" this monday and look forward to meeting you and your daughters. >> i hope you don't have plans monday night. you available? >> i think we'll work it. >> just around the corner. >> kathy said you're a big baseball fan. >> i am. >> we're going to hook you up as well. put out some calls and folks will deliver kind of a special

surprise, a special baseball-themed surprise. >> oh, here they are. mr. and mrs. met. >> here they come. >> mr. and mrs. met are here because they were kind enough to get you ticket for today's game against the padres. >> and not just tickets, we should point out, but your daughters said you would love to get on the field, you've got a couple of field passes to get you on the field before the game. >> oh, nice. >> margie and kathy, weigh in very quickly on all of this about your father. >> we're just so excited. he has done so much for us to have a chance for us to give something back to him that we couldn't do ourselves so we're really thankful that you all took a chance to do this for us. >> your letters were really both beautiful, and how wild that you both wrote in without knowing that the other one did. >> he's that amazing and both

knew that so we just wanted to, like she said, honor him and do something really special and i have to give a little shout-out to my daughter. she's the one who says she watches bill o'reilly all the time. >> like to thank bill for his generosity and the mets. >> you're leaving right from here. >> i think we have a car waiting for you so enjoy happy father's day. >> pleasure to have you here. >> and best to all of you, really, really mean it. >> and we'll back with more. more jenna. actually we're going to check in with jenna in baltimore. ready for the big 10,000-step climb. that's right after these messages. [ male announcer ] if your kitchen could study you, what would it learn? what improvements would it make? at ge, you've inspired us to reimagine the kitchen. with innovations like the first dishwasher featuring 102 spray jets. the kitchen is now thinking --

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hey! have you ever tried honey nut cheerios? love 'em. neat! now you on the other hand... you need some help. why? look atchya. what is that? you mean my honey wand? [ shouting ] [ splat ] come on. matter of fact. [ rustling ] shirt. shoes. shades. ah! wow! now that voice... my voice? [ auto-tuned ] what's wrong with my voice? yeah man, bee got swag! be happy! be healthy! that's gotta go too. ♪ hey! must be the honey! [ sparkle ] sweet.

this morning we continue to shine a light on health and fitness in the city of baltimlte which has also made a special commitment to fitness. the baltimore ravens have opened up the doors to us to thousands of friends and fans to conquer the steps at m & t stadium. it looks like you're having a good morning, jenna. >> hey, guys, so one thing you should know about the ravens, they are supremely competitive, and our last live shot jacoby jones lifted me up, and what do you think he said? wait, i've got to get my lift on, too, so without further adieu i'll let you give me a lift. show the muscles, whoa, fantastic. all right. we're good. now i'm going to send you to the front of the line and you're going to get ready to kick off

this race. first, let me ask jacoby a question. you've had fun with us. all i've heard you talk about, leaving withoutous, taking off the run. that's okay. >> they are really excited. >> you talk about fitness and about being healthy and joke around, fitness, healthy, jokes, fitness, healthy, jokes. this is important to you, right? >> got to stay in shape and keep your body going. it's summertime. summer time fine. >> right. and you want to get the city behind you. >> of course. >> everybody moving and everybody going to stay in shape. we'll help out fans. >> you've got supreme court cheerleading skills. i would like you to go over here and cheer your team on a little bit. >> about face. >> oh, wow. >> see that? >> mayor stephanie rollins blake is with me. mayor, first of all, thanks for letting us be here. >> thank you so much. exciting to have you in baltimore. >> part of the initiative to get

the city healthy and moving. tell us what else and why you guys are doing and letting us to crash your party here? >> trying to get rid of the health disparities n.baltimore there's some communities where the luv expectancy is 20 years than in other communities and that's unacceptable. working on things that will give us healthier communities and you shining the line. get healthy, know their doctor and know their fetness level and know we're in this all together and that's why it's great to have the ravens here. >> having a good time. find fun things to do. these quite convinced you, me and half the people here. all right. let's do it again. we're going to go for 10,000 steps. i'm going to go that out there. that's 50 times around the steps right here. can we do it? >> okay. >> we're going to go take a run. see you in about 700 calories, okay? >> all right. >> the mayor is like okay. >> go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

>> she is great, has made such a commitment to the city of baltimore and her families to get healthy so great to have her partnering with us. >> awesome. >> our big thanks to raven. >> as soon as we announced our plan to shine a light in baltimore the ravens reached out immediately to see how they could help on this journey with us. >> we do want to go to david gregory one more time to find out what's coming up on "the press." >> good morning, lester. iraq in crisis, the latestal on politics and policy. will baghdad fall? i'll talk to mitt romney and key voices from cap israel and the big politics of the week. we'll talk about eric cantor's loss as well coming up on "meet the press." >> thank you, david, very much and have a happy's father's day. >> happy father's day to everyone watching this morning and to jenna starting to run the stairs. there she goes. at ravens stadium in baltimore.

thanks for being with us. >>

good sunday morning, coming up next on "today in the bay," an intense search for a missing girl, ends with a warm embrace back in her father's arm. also remembering maya angelo, hundreds will gather at what the poet called her favorite church to celebrate herr live. this is "today in the bay." welcome on this father's day sunday, a live picture there of san francisco in what looks like a beautiful day to come. it is sunday june 15, father's day, thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. dad sh