>> reporter: cell phones and computers are coming together. the key is to start with the most familiar device. >> cell phones are everywhere. it's one global device. it crossed every socioeconomic status across the world. >> reporter: here is how the system called "know me" works. the volunteer teenager wears a portable monitor that sends information on her heart rate to a computer. if the volunteer is inactive, the researcher sets the kid on the cell phone with instructions to get moving. what should the message be? the scientists held group sessions with the kids to find the best wording. >> get off your butt. >> reporter: they are willing to accept those messages? >> apparently. >> reporter: she likes getting those messages. >> to be able to tell if i'm active or not active is pretty cool. >> reporter: that's not like your mom nagging you? >> no. it's different. >> reporter: the system is new. researchers have no results yet. they are already moving forward

adding a gps-like feature that detects too much time in fast food restaurants, all part of a new high tech attack on extra weight. robert bazell, nbc news, los angeles. and for more how to fight childhood obesity check our website nightly.msnbc.com. voting no on government spending. [ woman ] i had chronic muscle pain all over. and i was so tender to the touch -- but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, and then he recommended lyrica... fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i'm learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions

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tonight as part of our week-long series on the fleecing of america, how some members of congress say one thing publically then do just the opposite. our report from chief white house correspondent chuck todd. >> have all members voted? >> reporter: when congress voted to pass the $800 billion plus stimulus bill last year, almost all republicans voted against it. too much spending, they complained, too many

nonessential programs and so-called pork projects. >> this trillion dollar baby is loaded with pet programs. >> it puts too big a burden on future generations. >> reporter: some of the most vocal stimulus critics have become stimulus boosters, at least back home. >> congress should throw this greasy pile of pork into the grinder. >> reporter: his no-vote didn't stop him for lobbying from the money and taking credit for bringing some of that pork back home. here he is with a intercheck for $625,000, all stimulus money to spend on i am prochlts to one georgia city's downtown. he said it would be irresponsible if he didn't secure some of this money for his district. he was one of 113 members of congress who voted against the stimulus, then turned around and wrote the department of transportation asking for a piece of the pie. here is republican aaron shock. >> i urge a no vote.

>> reporter: months later he wrote these letters in support of more than $100 million of stimulus money for various illinois highway, rail and pork projects. >> my constituents, their children and grandchildren are going to be on the line to pay for it, they ought to see benefit from it. >> reporter: at least two who voted no supported stimulus money requests, but most of the anti-stimulus voters who changed their tune were republicans. political fodder for the president. >> they are trying to vote against their cake and eat it, too. >> reporter: some conservative republicans see a problem, too. >> when you couple letters like that with a vote no for the funding of the project you're supporting, that's where the hypocrisy begins. it's unfortunately the behavior has become accepted in washington, that you can vote no and take the dough. >> reporter: public money, public trust. the question of businesses usual in the nation's capital. chuck todd, nbc news, washington.

when we come back, remembering a man. hey, aren't you... supposed to be following that fidelity green line? well, yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be trying... oh, i left my 401(k) at my old job. and i left a jacket on the back of my door. but i think the line is talking about my 401(k). leave a 401(k) behind? roll it over with the company that's helping more people reach retirement than anyone else. when it comes to investing, never settle. fidelity investments. a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. take things as they come? ♪

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two performers who helped shape popular culture. first a man who had a lasting effect on the music we listen to starting back with e hit song in 1966. ♪ gibb me a ticket for an airplane ♪ >> "the letter" sung by the box tops. they had a hit with "cry like a baby." chilton never achieved superstardom but influenced a generation of musicians. they are credited for giving birth to power pop and alternative rock. alex chilton died this week. he was 59. and fess parker died today. for a time in the early days of television he was one of the biggest stars in the country and a hero to millions of young baby boomers with the portrayal of the davy crockett. our own lee cowan takes it from there. >> reporter: if you were a kid in the 1950s and 1960s, chances are your history of the american frontier was framed in part by fess parker.

his portrayal of davy crockett made coonskin cap as must-have. >> think of elvis, beatlemania. that was davie rocket. ♪ davy ♪ davy crockett ♪ king the of the wild frontier ♪ >> it was a thrill. it was beautiful. we shot it in the smoky mountains in the crockett country. >> reporter: that wasn't parker's only foray into the great american west. he played daniel boone, too. >> keep you alive. >> reporter: in fact, that was one of nbc's highest-rated shows of the day. born in texas in 1924, parker was known for his gentle presence on the screen. >> thing to do now is try and forget it. go and be a man. >> reporter: but also for his hospitality. >> truth is, i don't know

nothing at all about politics. >> reporter: he did know a little something about wine. he bought a 700 acre ranch in the hills above santa barbara and since then has been producing award-winning wines of all variety. his death today at age 85 comes on his wife's 84th birthday. they've been married 50 years. a man who played legends is being remembered as one himself from the golden age of television to his own golden years. lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. that's a great life. that's our broadcast for this thursday evening. in for brian williams, i'm anne curry. for all of us here at nbc news, thank you. good evening, i'm ann curry in for brian williams tonight. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

how do we know how how many town roads we need? the census helps us know exactly what we need, so everyone can get their fair share of funding. we can't move forward until you mail it back. 2010 census.