good morning. together again. for the first time since the presidential race, sarah palin campaigns for senator john mccain in arizona and some say she stole the show. a mother's grief. >> weot you and you ain't getting away. >> murder charges this morning in the killing of a 7-year-old girl who vanished while walking home from school. ♪ come fly with me ♪ let's fly ♪ let's fly away >> and sky's the limit for this grandmother thanks to this

generous olympian, "today" grandmother thanks to this generous olympian, "today" saturday, march 27, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday, i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy robach. and it really was a blast from the past to see john mccain and sarah palin together. apparently no bad blood after the election. >> i don't they have talked a lot in the last 17, 18 months. it was his rally but it was her show in many ways. sarah palin and john mccain campaigning like she was 2008 all over again. but this time john mccain faces a very tough re-election battle. so it was palin to the rescue or so mccain hoped. we're going to talk about the palin effect. and the sex scandal that is

shaking the catholic church. pope benedict is being asked questions about what he knew and when. also have you noticed the price of going to a movie lately? it's going up, in some cases it can now cost a family of four almost $100 including popcorn and drinks. we're also going to show you some scenes from a new movie that are absolutely priceless. the stars? you're looking at them. four adorable babies from four different countries. coming up we're going to tell you how this movie has become such a hit, two months before it hit theaters. it's all about the trailer. but before we goat all of that, let's talk about what happened in arizona overnight. john mccain and sarah palin

together again, lee cowan was there. >> reporter: it's been 16 months since they shared a campaign stage and some things never change. >> we're going to take it on on november 10 when we take control of the house and the senate. >> reporter: although the podium and the signs were john mccain's, it was sarah palin who stole the spotlight. >> arizona, do you love your freedom? >> reporter: she reveled in the opportunity to blast the administration. >> fidel castro likes obama care e but we don't like obama care, doesn't that kind of tell you something? >> reporter: and she drew cheers for class blasting the media. >> don't let a distraction like that get you off track. keep fighting hard. >> reporter: how the tables have turned since 2008? while mccain's voice remains a strong one on capitol hill, sarah palin's seems to echo almost everywhere else. the darling of the conservatives

and the unofficial ahead of the tea party movement, she has everything senator mccain needs, loyal conservative followers who hang on her every word. >> i wish she would have been running for president, myself. >> she has a very good way of connecting to the average person. >> reporter: sarah palin's conservative credentials were so valuable to the campaign she got as much time on stage as mccain did himself. >> reporter: an awkward repairing perhaps, but one that still draws a crowd. >> for more on the reyuan on of john mccain and sarah palin, we're joined by the host of "hardball" on msnbc, chris matthews. two years ago you saw these two on stage as sarah palin was being ridiculed as a drag on the ticket, unprepared and now she's the show-stopper for john mccain, what's happened to the

republican party. >> this is like that old movie "a star is born" where judy garland was the new star. i think this was a great example of how the republican party has moved to the right, sarah palin is a star of the right in a way that john mccain isn't and probably never was. she clearly is the ideological leader, a pure politician, john mccain's a man of substance, she's a man of i have to stay startlingly brilliant politics. >> mccain was admired because he had the ability to reach across the ail, janie hay word has criticized him for his bipartisan shi bipartisanship s that the new in now is to not be bipartisan? >> i think the tea partiers have so demonized the democratic

party that to do any business with them is almost corrupting, so i think mccain's work on immigration has really hurt him with that part right group. >> sarah palin, there was all right of snickering behind her back and in front of her back when she resigned in the alaska governorship, is she now the new star that people want on stage? >> the gold standard to the far right, the tea party people is to have nothing to do with government. the fact that she's not in government in a weird way makes her innocent of all the problems of our country. she's able to be a 100% critic. so i think this is probably a good position to be in, for anyone, to be just a critic. >> for now the defining issue seems to be health care, republicans are talking about repealing it. beyond the take from a practical sense, can it be done? >> well, we have all educated ourselves over the last year to the fact that you need 60 senators to be the filibuster.

you need 67 senators to beat a veto. there's no way they can actually repeal until they get the presidency back. so i think it's a war crime, but it's not practical. >> it's a lodge march, we keep talking about november like it's tomorrow tomorrow. it's a pretty long march to november. will democrats have to find another issue that will define the november elections? >> lester, you and i know things happen in late summer that we never predict. i think we're going to hear some real noise coming us of iraq, especially after the election in the last couple of days that's going to give this president an opportunity to lead or to get in real trouble. so i think there's a lot of things that are going to happen besides the economy, besides health care that will shape what the democrats do. they could easily hold on to the house and the senate if the president has an opportunity to lead in a matter of real national importance by november. things are going to happen, they always do.

>> chris, thanks for coming on this morning. now to the latest on the abuse scandal that has shaken the roman catholic church in europe. a number of people have come to the defense of the pope rejecting the claims that he may have covered up sexual abuse by priests. anne thompson is in rome. >> reporter: behind me at st. peters, vatican officials have dealing with yet another accusation of sexual abuse by priests this time in italy. last night in italian television three deaf men went on tv to say they were abused and they were a group of children who were abused by two dozen priests in a school for the deaf in verona. the three men refused to shake his hand saying they just

couldn't bring themselves to do it because what they want is justice, not words. the italian conference of bishops has put together a task for to put together evidence of pedophilia by priests in this country. meanwhile this ireland, cardinal shaun brady is under pressure from the vatican to step down because of the sex abuse scandal in that country. and here in rome, church officials have mounted a vigorous defense of pope benedict xvi against actations that as archbishop of munich transferred a priest after sex abuse charges. that priest was transferred to another diocese where he continued to abuse children. now peter alexander is

standing by with the other morning headlines, peter good morning. >> good morning to you, we begin in iraq today where the country's prime minister is challenging election results showing iraq's former prime minister edging out the current leader nouri al maliki. as those historic resulting were being announced, twin bombs went off near a restaurant about 50 miles north of baghdad. police say at least 57 people have died, more than 70 others were injured from the car and roadside bombs. the u.s. and russia have agreed to the first major nuclear arms treaty in nearly two decades. president obama and the russian president dmitry medvedev will reduce nuclear arsenals by nearly a third. the new agreement will replace the stark accord. the u.s. and russia have about

95% of the world's nuclear weapons. hopes are faye fading for 46 south korean marines after an explosion sunk their military ship on friday. despite initial fears of an attack, there is no indication north korea is to blame. officials say it is still unclear what caused that explosion. president obama's second choice for transportation security chief has pulled his name from consideration. retired army major general robert harding withdrew after questions over his background as a defense contractor. president obama's first choice to head the tsa withdrew in january. motors recalling about 5,000 vans, the 2010 chevrolet express and the 2010 salve van vannah v being recalled.

drivers are being told to stop driving those vans and to contact chevrolet directly. earth hour as it's called begins tonight at 8:30 wherever you are. this is video from earth hour last year. the world wildlife fund is encouraging everybody to turn off their lights for that hour. the empire state building and san francisco's golden gate bridge among other landmarks will go dark tonight. lastly, one utah great, great grant mother took the plunge. check this out, with the support of her family and inspired by her neighbor, u.s. olympian and schedu schedule ten racer fulfilled a lifelong dream, it lasted seven minutes and she loved every second of it. she has been battling terminal cancer, she's all right outlived doctor's projectations. vie says her greatest accomplishment is her family. she has three children, ten

grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and seven great great grandchildren. she also has one heck of a story to tell all of them. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with a check of your forecast. >> what happened to my warm spring weather? you're going to blame me for that, right? >> good morning. we are in the 30's. here is a look at

now to the economy, the government is projecting 8 million or more foreclosures over the next five years so the obama administration has just announced some new measures to help those in trouble. cnbc senior economics reporter steve liesman is here to explain what this all means. good morning, steve. >> good morning, amy. >> let's talk about what the basics of this plan is and more importantly how the government's going to pay for it. >> last one first, they have already allotted some money from the infamous t.a.r.p. money. the three elements of the plan are this, they're going to try to help unemployed people, if you're unemployed three to six months, you get some forbearance on your mortgage. finally this program where the government can help -- lenders can go into a government finance program for people who are under water. >> and you mentioned anger and

there has been some angry reactions to this plan because it offers help to homeowners who have jobs still who are still making their payment, but as you mentioned, owe more on their house than it's worth. >> the blogosphere is on fire over there. many people are why are we helping those people who were basically irresponsible? i think the response right there is we have reached the point where homeowners who took responsible lending, 80% value, the 20% equity right there, and home prices fell by 20%, you start getting those people under water. so what this is designed to do is help as many as 12 million people who could be under water in their mortgages. >> we know this is an economic move on one hand but is this also a political move? >> there's politics on so many dimensions. there are so many people who are are affected by this.

second president obama has gotten a whole lot of heat from the left, not helping out individual homeowners after help ought the banks. i don't know if the obama administration can take another leg down in the economy which is feared if we get another spiral down in housing prices. >> this administration has made several attempts to try and ease the foreclosure crisis. do experts think this is going to help? >> what famous person said that america always gets its right after exhausting all other alternatives? essentially what they have done is revamped an existing $76 billion program. there's a lot of bureaucracy in figuring out who qualifies and who doesn't. he may be best known for a mind reading police officer on the nbc show "heros" but

offcamera, he's known as dad. greg joins us to shine light on this disorder and tell us about this weekend's walk for epilepsy. >> we're getting the band back together. >> i was going to mention, the first time you and i got to know each other, i sat in with your celebrity band from tv, i didn't realize that all of your proceeds go to epilepsy. >> we have got james denton on guitar, now we have got scott grimes from "e.r." every one of us has a charity and mine is epilepsy and jake when he was 7, he started having staring spells and seizures. most people don't know seizures can take many different forms, it can be a tick, a seizure or a big seizure where someone can be on the ground shaking.

back then it was scary, and we didn't know what we know today, to get to a specialist in epilepsy. >> you were in washington this week talking to members of congress, trying to drum up support, i know your goal is let's not get down to one or two seizures a day, you want medication that will eliminate them. >> here's the problem, jake is a difficult to treat case, he's a normal kid, he's totally normal except when he has a seizure. our two other boys, when they get sick and there's a flu in our house, jake's body's reaction is to have seizures. why can't my child have a cold? no, when you're dealing with epilepsy or seizures and you have one a month, that's not acceptable. there are great organizations out there, even if you don't have anything to do with epilepsy, know what to do if you

see someone have a seize your, get to a specialist. >> four seasons of the show, you finished up earlier this year and you're waiting to find out if the show's going to be picked up next season. >> we're kind of in the bubble, but our show does so well on tv, on dvd. it's the most downloaded show, illegally in the world. >> a badge of honor these days in a weird way. >> yeah, we have a great following and nbc has great pilots coming out. i happen to know a few of them that are coming that are great. it's going to be a really great year for nbc. and i'm hoping that "heroes" can fit in. >> you're behind a very popular ap. >> my wife and i got frustrated with -- not that we're crazy coupon people, but i created yowza, on your iphone or your

blackberry, it know where is you are and it brings up all the coupons around you. i don't have enough free time. i have to fill up my free time. >> i know it's a good cause and you have become a very forceful cause. >> thanks very much. and now here's amy. now here's something that led to a lot of discussion in our newsroom and maybe you've noticed. the cost of going to the movies has been going way up. nbc's ron allen tells us why. >> placed down gently. >> reporter: the reviews are in. audiences love the new teal about a boy named pickup and his unlikely friend the dragon. but they hate the price of admission in some big theater chains. the ticket price is up several dollars all because of 3-d. >> this is one of the largest

year of price increases in recent history. >> reporter: in big cities like new york t premium prices mean it can cost a family of four$10. that's including popcorn and soda. >> that's too much money to see a movie. >> reporter: you can blame "avatar." then "alice in wonderland" shattered more box office records. you probably have not heard about the price hikes, the theaters have been doing it quietly, no announcements, they know it's dangerous territory. they're watching audiences to see if the new prices get a thumbs-up or a thumbs down. >> i will come if someone else pays for me. >> we have got to make a stand,

one day somebody's got to say enough. >> reporter: the big theater owners say it's the high cost of new and emerging formats like 3-d now reaching the box office. and they say they'll charge less for matinees or during the middle of the week. some critics don't buy that. >> even though we're coming out of a recession, this is some people's vacation. >> reporter: hollywood isn't hurting, audience numbers are soaring. more high-priced big films will soon hit the big screen and hit your wallet harder as well. for "today" ron allen nbc news, new york. >> $100 to go to the movies for a family of four. >> i have a family of seven sometimes, and you know how much that costs us? >> that's a family vacation. i don't think it's so much prices but the availability of the online demand. >> $4 and you're right on your

own couch with your own popcorn. >> you'll be able to do that on your tv soon whi

still to come on "today" things you might not have realized about the census, and why it has some people confused, even annoyed. plus the life of four adorable babies, we'll meet the stars of this film. >> good morning. here is a look at our top stories.

budget talks continue. the biggest reduction would come from animal control and school based health centers. recreation departments would take the biggest hit. the mayor is proposing layoffs in shutting down 29 recreation centers in the city. the interim director says it could be detrimental. >> we would have to cut facilities and opportunities for young people to be engaged and that could result that they could be involved in risky activities and behavior's. with the way that we have come up with the cut, we hope that people will travel to the places that they need to travel to. >> the budget is not a done deal yet. the mayor is set to propose new ways to raise revenue.

the university student is behind bars after being charged with robbing two students. his way into a university -- two men that forced his way into a university dorm room and attacked and robbed students. police will not say how they identified him as a suspect. officials are still trying to figure out what caused a train howard county line. eight train cars derailed patapsco valley state park philadelphia. material.

>> good morning. the sunshine is out. there is a storm system out to the west. we are in good shape right now. this storm will move in during the day tomorrow. the storm yesterday brought in some colder air. we have chillier than normal temperatures. some suburban temperatures around 20 degrees. the high temperature around 50 degrees. if you can station dissension, and you will be ok. more cloud with the storm approaching. a chance for some rain. temperatures stay cool for the first part of the week.

by the end of the week, near 70 degrees. >> another update in 25 minutes. we are back on this saturday morning, this 20th day of march 2010, we have an excited enthusiastic crowds waving their hands to friends and family at home. we thank them for joining us on this quite chilly morning here in new york. back inside studio 1a i'm amy robach along with lester holt. coming up a scam that every grandparent foods needs to know about. >> if your grandchild called with an emergency asking for money, most of you would help.

but what if it's not your grandchild on the other end of the line. and are you stumped by the sen tus form? the census promising ten questions in ten minutes, but sometimes that's not the case. there's some questions that have people baffled. >> i haven't received mine. everybody i know has received one but me so i'm not going to be counted. "babies" the movie has become a hit on the web. it chronicles the lives of four of the newest residents around the world. their journey from first breath to first step. this is a whole lot of cute. >> you can't stop watching, even though i have seen some of this same exact footage every single day. you can't stop watching, it's so cute. >> and it gives a different cultural perspective. switching gears here, on

friday, florida police charged garard mitchell harrell with the premeditated murder of 7-year-old summer thompson. the little girl you may have seen disappeared walking home from school. >> reporter: 24-year-old jared mitchell harrell, already in jail accused of trafficking and child pornography is now charged with the murder of 7-year-old summer thompson, she was abducted as she walked home from school, her body dumped just over the florida line in a georgia landfill. summ summer's mother -- >> i stood here a little over 15 days ago and said -- i will not sleep until my child is found, i hope they get you and i hope they make you pay. i would like to take this opportunity to say to jerald harrell, we got you and you ain't getting away.

>> reporter: it wasn't long after summer's murder last october that they began to investigate harrell as a person of interest. harrell had lived just a fife-minute walk from summer's home. but his former roommate say they kicked him out of their apartment two months before she was abducted and killed. authorities say harrell left behind a computer that deputies seized when his roommates reported that his hard drive was allegedly filled with pornography. but it wasn't the tipoff that had investigators believing he could be a murder. eight weeks later summer was killed. >> had we been able to look into the future, we would have prevented this crime. that's our job to prevent things from happening, but i don't think things could have been done differently. >> reporter: police won't reveal what evidence surfaced to bring these charges now, but they do say they have defendant's admissions and dna that make this a solid case and justice

for summer thompson. >> he's just a monster and he got out that day. >> reporter: for "today" nbc's kerrey sanders. >> where the investigation goes from here is msnbc analyst ais clint van zandt. two months before his arrest his roommates found child pornography on his computer and it's hard to wonder what's going through those investigators minds now thinking to themselves, gosh, could we have prevented this? >> yeah, you know that's a good question, for all of us hindsight is 20/20 and i think those investigates that beating themselves up. the reality is that pornographic websites unfortunately are some of the more popular websites in this country and there are a lot of people downloading and viewing pornography, in this

case allegedly child pornography dealing with little girls was eventually found. but authorities say no rush was put on the computer analysis so it was two months later. had it been two months before, had he been arrested, i think that's what the authorities have to consider, maybe he could have been in jail. >> and the sheriff says he believes this case was a random crime, meaning this was a crime of opportunity and not necessarily a premeditated crime. what do we now know about what might have happened to summer on that walk home? >> i think what might challenge that view is he had been kicked out of his house which was only a block from the victim's house two months before, his roommates threw him out because they thought he stole an ipod. so he had to come back into that neighborhood. he had foreknowledge of children walking back and forth every day, just like summer and her brothers and sisters would. but in this case, he had to come back and he had to be there when the kids were walking and on

this day summer rather than ahead of the other children, out of sight and out of mind of the other children. we know that she was murdered, she was suffocated and her body thrown in a dumpster. there was some element of preplanning it would appear because he happened to be at the neighborhood, unfortunately, wrong place and wrong time for this little girl. >> and yet, clint, this is interesting, there's been no evidence found so far that links this man to other violent crime. his family says they don't believe he's capable of violence like this, so what would then turn this man into someone who perhaps looked at child pornography into a murderer? >> for hundreds of thousands of people who look at pornography, that's as far as they go, they just view it but for many it's a acting out of fantasy. now he saw the opportunity to actually act that out and summer may well have become his victim.

>> and real quickly, clint, i know that this story sends chills down the spine of any parent who has school aged kids coming home on the bus. what advice do you have for them? because this happened in a moment. >> you need to talk to your children, you need to have a very open understanding, you need to role play with the children. you can go to our website livesecure.org and you can find every registered predator in the country. what i would suggest people do, search your address, search your neighborhood and know what other potential predators are out there, at least be forearmed with that information and hug your kids every day. >> thank you, clint, so much. and now for a check of the weather with bill karins who's out on the plaza. >> you step outside here and you're in the wind tunnel, and it is cold in so many areas of the east. be prepared to grab that paper this morning. we have single digits as far

north and northern maine, so this is very much a reminder of what winter was like, i don't want to see this again until november. we will be sunny in the middle of the country, slight risk of >> good morning. we are starting the morning off with chilly temperatures. the storm out west will not be in until tomorrow. here is the sev all right, you are the most bundled up person in the plaza, you're from the south somewhere,

right. >> ohio. >> all right, west. and you're from? >> mcguff fi. >> welcome, if you want to get your hour by hour forecast, go to weather.com. still ahead on "today" it's the movie that has so many of us saying, aww. four babies from their first breath to first steps. if the 2010 census form has you asking questions, stay tuned, we have got some answers, but stay tuned, for these messages. in an environmentally conscious way, while saving you hundreds of dollars on your water heating energy bill. introducing the geospring water heater from ge with advanced hybrid technology. heating the water in your home any other way is just going to seem primitive. ♪

the bright, fresh scent of orange blossom. beautiful moments are born in the shower. a unique sensation in body wash. touch of happiness moisturizing body wash from nivea. touch and be touched. let's take a look at the stats. mini has more than double the fiber and whole grain... making him a great contender in this bout... against mid-morning hunger. honey nut cheerios is coming in a little short. you've got more whole grain in your little finger! let's get ready for breakfaaaaaaaaaast! ( ding, cheering, ringing ) keeping you full and focused with more than double the fiber and whole grain... in every tasty bite -- frrrrrrosted mini-wheeeeats! didn't know i had it in me.

chances are you've already opened your mailbox and found a census form waiting. the constitution requires a count of all u.s. residents every ten years. but this year there are a couple of questions that have some people stumped. ed o'keefe writes the federal blog. he put the ten questions in ten minutes promise to the test. >> i have my trusty egg timer here. are you of spanish, latino or spanish origin. question number two, that would be the missus, does this person stay somewhere else? only when upset with her husband. that's not an option. i filled out the form, it took exactly five minutes. >> could have cooked an egg in that time. good to see you, thanks to your wife for being the camera person on that. it was pretty simple to get it done.

>> it was pretty easy. they're only sending a form with ten questions in the past. some have had many more questions, but this time in response to criticisms that it's taking too long and too confusing, they said, hey, ten questions in ten minutes. the basic idea of the census, every ten years they have to do this count, what happens to those numbers. >> basically it goes back to the census bureau and they figure out how many people live in the united states, doesn't matter what your citizenship status is, and then they ask questions regarding your age and gender. >> these are numbers that are used in real applications in the way we live? >> for federal funding, to track things like the civil rights and the voting rights act. lots of different reasons. >> there's been a lot of conversations about race, and it's not surprising in a country that likes to talk about race a lot. you can select more than one ethnicity. >> this is basically a multiple choice test with no right or wrong answer.

i said i was of hispanic origin but i'm white. >> hispanic, latin or spanish origin. what if you're not from what we consider a latin country? >> if not just leaf that blank. >> it's not the only choice to represent a black person. why do they put that in there? it's acceptable at one point and no locker. >> it says black, african-american or negro, the reason that it's designed that way, because in the past so many people were writing in the word negro and still many older african-americans do. it's likely it won't be on there in ten years because of the firestorm it's created. but there's a lot of other people who donwant to write in other racial or ethnic groups. >> i have a son who's leaving

for college, he said don't fill me out in your census, is that right or wrong, do i put him or not. >> in april the census bureau is going to be visiting college dorms, nursing homes and prisons. >> the opportunity for scams and ripoffs seem to ripe here for those looking to take advantage of this particular point. what should people be on the lookout for. >> bottom line, the only thing you fill out is that ten-question form that's delivered in the mail. if you get an e-mail, delete it. if you get a phone call, hang up. >> but the people with the census bureau-- >> they'll have an id and they'll only ask you the questions that are on the census

form. one word, babies. th surprise ! and i was thinking, how could i miss something so big ? taxes can be complicated. so doing taxes alone isn't for everyone. choose the pros who have completed over a half billion returns already. you don't know what you don't know, and that's why you go to h&r block. h&r block. get it right. rheumatoid arthritis going? they're discovering the first self-injectable ra medicine you take just once a month. it's simponi™, and taken with methotrexate, it helps relieve the pain, stiffness, and swelling of ra with one dose a month. visit 4simponi.com to see if you qualify for a full year of cost support. simponi™ can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious and sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, cancer in children and adults, heart failure, nervous system disorders, liver or blood problems, and allergic reactions.

before starting simponi™, your doctor should test you for tb and assess your risk of infections, including fungal infections and hepatitis b. ask your doctor if you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, or develop symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start simponi™ if you have an infection. [ female announcer ] ask your rheumatologist about simponi™. just one dose, once a month. has focused on making the best-tasting... sour cream for over four generations. it's made with farm-fresh cream that's 100% natural. no preservatives. and no added hormones. ♪ do-do a dollop of daisy let's wind 'em with precision.

open our throttle to even more selection. and turn that savings swagger up full tilt. ♪ so when the time comes to bust open a can of doing... we've got all the tools for all the things we need to make 'em happen. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get miracle gro garden soil for flowers and vegetables for just $3.97. everybody loves babies and now a new documentary that doesn't hit theaters until mother's day is taking the web by storm. "babies the movie" follows four babies from around the world captures the earliest stages of life right on film. it's the movie trailer that's making hearts melt. "babies" a new documentaries

follows the lives of four different babies from four disht parts of the world. >> mother's day is basically about the perfect day this could come out. >> the movie won't hit theaters until may, but the trailer has already attracted hundreds of thousands of internet viewers from around the world. just under three minutes of pure pleasure and quite possibly the theater movie of the year. >> we need a movie like this one where we can just if nothing else zone in, queue in only something that's innocent and that allows us to just feel good for a change. >> it's got the makings of a smash hit and the four little babies of the film are about to become big stars when they make their debut. one from japan and mongolia and another one from san francisco. cameras captured the tender moments of the first year, bonding with mom and dad, the marvels of transportation and technology and the simple act of

bathing, scenes from everyday life as the babies explore their new and different worlds. >> what you're going to see play out in this film is both the specific differences in the babies and also what is universally the same about those four babies. >> but it's the similarities that make the movie so special. the sweetness when a sibling shares and the pain when they don't. and who hasn't felt a little weary from time to time. ordinary scenes from the beginning of life that audiences already find almost impossible to resist. awww.

still to come on "today" a warning for generous grandparents, the new scam that will have you shaking with rage. and then up, up and away.

he managed to achieve images of the earth for a mere $500. we're going to meet this space cowboy live, but first these messages. with finish it, you can take your balance and decide your monthly payment... or how many months you wanto take to p it off. the faster you pay it off, the more you'll save... and the more progress you'll see every month on your plan. chase what matters i have my blueprint. do you? start your plan today. chase.com/blueprint. love to see kids' spirits shine. superstar and mom, martina mcbride and sunnyd shine on

sunny taste. sunny spirit. sunny d. brings out the best in kids. shine on sunny d find martina's "shine" cd in stores now. some washed mirrors with soap. others, dove. ( water running, gasp ) soap leaves soap scum. you can't see it on your skin, but you can see it here. dove is different. skin is soft, smooth, soap-scum free.

>> good morning. here is a look at our top stories.

>> 15 people have been indicted after 30 different locations were rated -- raided. the indictment reveals little about the scheme. it involves the trafficking of stolen goods. the arrest follows a one-year investigation. >> and in 2008, a man and others brought an armored vehicle at a -- rob with an armored vehicle -- robbed an armored vehicle at ahe acted as

a lookout according to testimony. yesterday. bp solar has announced the plants and eliminating more thanall eligible employees will consent -- continued to receive full pay for three months as low as a severance package and other help. the annual cherry blossom festival is about to kick optionit will be held between today through april 11. the original gift of the cherry tree from the city of tokyo. this'll be the official start with family day in the opening ceremonies. ceremonies.

and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. at giant, we know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of real deal savings and weekly specials. like perdue boneless chicken breasts, buy one, get one free; and strawberries, one-pound carton, 3 for $5. this week only. it makes me feel good because we're saving money, and that works for me. only with your giant card.

>> good morning. we started the day out around 30 degrees. here is our view overlooking the city. we have sunny skies this morning. that is the good news. take a look at the hd doppler radar. to ever west, it is not so sunny. this storm will be moving in by the end of the day tomorrow. klaus earlier in the day. the -- clouds earlier in the day. rain will then edge in. here is a look at the seven-day forecast. a high of around 54 degrees. a cool start on sunday. a high of 56 degrees. more clouds. by the end of the day, a brain chance that will extend into monday. it will taper off tuesday. by the end of the week, in not

more sunshine. by friday, back near 70 degrees. >> thanks. we will see you back here in another update at 8:25. good morning. together again, for the first time since the presidential race, sarah palin and senator john mccain on the campaign trail together, but who was the headliner? the scandal. dark days for the roman catholic church.ben -- pope benedict's role in a scandal that leaves a legacy. and nothing will keep this 84-year-old great grandmother from jumping out of a plane, her

story of perseverance and determination. captions paid for by nbc-universal television swinging theme song, i kind of like it. welcome back to today, i'm lester holt. >> and i'm amy row bock. and it looks like it was sarah palin to the rescue. >> that's what john mccain is hoping, let's certainly needing her in an election that's closer than he would like. sarah palin trying to give senator john mccain a boost in his tough senate re-election campaign. how did palin play in arizona? did she upstage him on some levels? we're going to talk about that. there's this terrible scam out there involving grandparents. these scammers are actually impersonating the grandchildren, telling them they're in trouble and asking for money. and grandparents are actually

doing it because they think it's their grandchildren on the other end of the line. it's awful. >> i watched this story and i found myself getting madder and madder as i watched it. take a look at this, images that are out of this world. they're taken from an ordinary camera set up in a balloon to give us the kind of pictures that nasa spends millions to get. we're going to meet the hobbyist who did it, and it cost him, get this, just 500 bucks and a roll of duct tape. because duct tape can do anything. >> it can and he's out to prove it. but first, suddenly there they were again, senator john mccain and sarah palin, the former presidential candidate was hoping to get a lift as he faces the most difficult re-election campaign of his long senate career. norah o'donnell is in arizona with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, lester, it is day two of the john mccain-sarah palin reunion tour and mccain invited palin here to arizona to boost his

standing mooni ing among conser. palin is the darling of the conservatives. still it was a bit awkward seeing the two together. in fact it was the first time they have campaigned on stage together since the 2008 presidential race. and of course then, mccain was at the top of the ticket. well, wow, what a reversal of fortune, now it's clear that sarah palin is the main attraction. she also took the time to respond to critics who said that she has used inappropriate language urging supporters to "reload" and target democrats. yesterday she warned arizonans not to be distracted by this b.s. coming from the lame stream media about inciting violence. now after this rally with john mccain, sarah palin is headed to searchlight, nevada. that is the home of the senate majority leader harry reid. she is going to rally tea party supporters in hopes of defeating

the most powerful democrat in the u.s. senate. lester? >> nbc's norah o'donnell. now we'll go to peter alexander who has the other morning's headlines. we begin this morning with the growing abuse scandal at the vat tan. catholic leaders have come to the defense of pope benedict rejecting claims that he may have covered up sexual abuse by priests when he was a cardinal. anne thompson is in rome this morning with more. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter, the latest defense of pope benedict xvi comes from an unexpected person, the italian foreign minister, in an unexpected place, his facebook page. he writes that the attacks on the pope are, quote, scandalous and disgraceful.

questions arose about the transfer of a priest accused of sexual abuse. a letter outlining the fact that the priest, a known pedophile could be working with children again. peter? >> anne, is it possible the pope would ever consider resignation? >> no. it would be highly, highly, highly unlikely. he is not a politician. he is the leader of the catholic church. and that is something very, very different and he is appointed by or chosen by the cardinals. but what you are hearing increasingly here in rome from a leading newspaper in italy and from the leading catholic newspaper in the united states is they are asking the pope to make a full accounting of what he knew about these scandals and when he knew it. peter?

>> nbc's anne thompson today in rome. federal prosecutors have charged a chicago man for trying to provide money to al qaeda for explosives. the taxi driver originally from pakistan planned a bomb attack on an unspecified sports stadium in summer. ntsb investigators will return to the site of a horrific crash. it happened when a tractor trailer crossed a median and slammed head on into that family's van. two young children survived the crash. actor dennis hopper finally got his star on the hollywood walk of fame. the actor who's suffering from prostate cancer, you can see he's wearing bandages after a fall. dennis hopper is 73 years old. one utah great great grandmother took a record

breaking plunge with the support of her family and inspired by her neighbor. viola rendelles fulfilled this lifelong dream. 84 years old, shefls in the air for seven minutes. vie has been suffering from cancer. all right, nbcin karins is with a check of your forecast. >> these are all students from burlington, iowa here. they just traveled 21 hours on a bus, just arrived here at the plaza. 21 hours on a bus? >> yes, 21 hours. >> what was that like? >> it was horrible. got to sleep on really uncomfortable seats.

>> is it worth it? >> yes. >> you guys all look wonderful. you guys are going to be performing at the statue of liberty? >> yep. >> good luck and have fun in the big city. a little bit of rain out there in the middle of the country. some of that rain will head to iowa this afternoon. kansas city looking >> good morning. we are in the 30's. here is a look at

that's a look at your weekend forecast. amy? >> thank you, bill. this morning on "today" investigates a despicable scam that targets grandparents. it's true that most grandparents will do just about anything for their grandchildren and the crooks know this. and they've come up with a scam to pull at their heart strings. >> reporter: it was a desperate cry for help. >> hello? >> grand ma? >> yeah, michael? >> yeah. >> what's the matter. >> i didn't know who else to call. >> on the phone, beverly blum's grandson, michael, or so she thought. >> it just sounded like michael. >> so you thought it must be him? >> okay, what's the matter, honey, are you in some kind of trouble? >> yeah, i got pulled over and they had some stuff in the car, i didn't want to call anybody else, grandma.

>> now he was in jail and needed bail none. >> if my bail's not too high, grandma, will you help me? >> well, we're going to have to tell your dad, aren't we? >> grandma, i don't want dad to know i'm asking you guys to help, i feel so bad. >> i know you do, honey. >> i've got to pay the total of $743.49 and if you'll get a cashier's check. can you get that in the bank tonight. >> i'll go to the bank now and get it in the mail. when your grandson needs help, you help him. >> that's what grandparents are for. >> that's why i'm there, to help him. >> reporter: so you sent the money? >> i sent the money. >> but turns out that wasn't her grandsonon the phone. it was this man, a convicted con artist. >> reporter: believe it or not, the man accused of scamming beverly made the call from

prison where he pulled off the same scam on five other grandparents, all the calls caught on prison tape, including this one from 2001. >> hi, grandma. >> who's this? >> your favorite grand son? >> gary? >> yes. >> what's the matter, gary? >> they're preying on the most vulnerable and the most generous among us. >> the director of consumer protection at the federal trade commission. >> how big is this scam? >> we estimate there's probably 10,000 victims a year and the amount lost is probably over 100 million. >> reporter: officials say scammers have teams of accomplices searching for victims on facebook, searching through obituaries and birth announces, that publish grandchildren and grandparents names. >> the phone rings, it's alex,

hi, grandma, i've been in a car accident with a rental car, got into some trouble, i'm in jail. >> reporter: alex said he was in canada on a ski trip and needed $3,000. >> he said to me, please, please, don't call my mother and father. >> a lot of grandparents are watching this saying, come on, i know my grandchild's voice. >> it sounded like alex? who would know my grandson's name, who would know my name? >> as for most, never come forward, but these grandparents are stepping up so you're not next. >> i was sick, totally sick, violated. how could there be such rotten people out there that would do this to somebody. >> officials say this scam is hot right now because many kids are on spring break so it's believable they could be in trouble out of the country and the crook are capitalizing on it. >> so what can grandparents do

to avoid this scam. janice lieberman has some tips. janice, good morning. and we want to say before we get to the tips, this particular scam isn't a new one, it's just becoming popular all over again, correct? >> that's correct and it's international and it's very high-tech, and it's very hard to catch these guys, it's africa, it's can da and the u.s. it's almost impossible to get your money back or to find the crooks. >> once you've been had you're not getting your money back. i think most people would say i know my grandchild's voice. >> sometimes it sounds a little bit muffled on the phone if they're in mexico or in canada, so you say it could be there. ask the scammer or the caller something about your family that they wouldn't know, ask middle names, ask the parents name. you say why didn't you call your

own parents? because what kid isn't going to call their parents before they call their grandparents. >> you said ask the personal questions, but make sure that this is something that you wouldn't do, once you maybe aren't sure, you want to check with a relative even, go the distance and never wire money. >> and also ask them for a contact number, say i want to call you back, let me think about it, what hospital are you at, what jail? then call back and verify that this is true. don't assume that this is true. and assume that someone else in the family is going to know about this too. you're not the only contact person. >> we heard one of the grandparents say i believed the caller was my grandson because how would he know my name or his name? how are the scammers choosing their victims. >> this is so clever, you think how would anybody know, of course it's going to be legitimate, now with facebook and twitter and pictures being posted all over the place and

notes and personal thin, people can access that. people are very smart to do this, they'll look at social announcements and weddings and they find out who belongs to whom. it takes research to find out, but it's paying off. american grand parents were scammed out of 4.5 million dlrsz last year. obviously it works and catching the crooks is next to impossible and so is getting your money back. the ftc would like to know if you're getting a call like this. hang up, call back and make sure that it's real. plus coming up living together but not married, experts say it's never too early to get a prenup. these pictures are remarkable and just how they were taken sand how cheaply. it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off! when i put it on the heat really releases all the muscles and the tension that i have in my lower back.

[ spokesperson ] thermacare® delivers heat that penetrates deep, to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. you've got to try it, because once you try it you'll be hooked. [ spokesperson ] go to trythermacare.com for a $3 off coupon, and get up to 16 hours of pain relief... with thermacare®. into an incredibly strong, healthy cat.he has blossomed... his coat is incredibly shiny and soft and very thick. everybody thinks he's the most handsome cat they've ever seen. [ woman announcing ] purina one for indoor cats... unlocks the brilliance of nature... with a natural fiber blend that helps minimize hairballs... and maintain a healthy weight. [ laurie ] he's a character. he brings so much laughter into this household. and he's the best-lookin' cat there is. [ announcer ] it's amazing what one can do.

for about $500 robert harrison bought a camera on

ebay, a gps tracking device, a weather balloon and some duct tape. what he was able to do with those materials was priceless, hiss hobby is photo exploration and you're about to see the photos he was able to capture from the edge of space are just short of amazing. the photos you took from 22 miles up remind us of the things we have seen taken from satellites from nasa. you have got the materials with you, can you explain briefly how you're able to capture these pictures? >> basically the box consists of a box wrapped in duct table, we have a point and click camera from ebay for about $100, then there's a tracking device. this is a little microtrip there and a radio transmitter and this is how we can keep track of the

camera and find it again and get the pictures and video at the end of the flight. >> you knew at about 22 miles the balloon would pop and this thing would parachute down, how were you able to retrieve it? >> i'm chasing it around in the car so i know where this thing is, normally about two or three minutes after it's landed, i go and pick up the camera and download the images on to my lap top. >> are you pretty much at the mercy of where the winds carry this in terms of what images you will get. >> absolutely, very much at the mercy of the wind and also at the mercy of the wind where it ends up landing, sometimes i have to get it out of the trees, but most of the time it lands in a field. >> i was abit concerned about air traffic, airplanes in this balloon and camera flying around, did you contact civil authorities and aviation to get

permission? >> the civil aviation authority, you must have permission from them to do this and they give you a special license. this is not something you can just throw up in the air. >> give me your reaction when you uploaded those images and saw them for the first time. >> it was absolutely amazing. i thought i was going to get pictures like from an aircraft, but you see the curvature of the earth, the blackness of space and the thin blue line of the atmosphere that we live and breathe in. i never imagined for one moment that that's what i was going to see. i was absolutely stunneded. >> but this wasn't space exploration per se, this is just a hobby, correct? >> this is just a hobby, i'm a dad with three kids and i wanted to have a little go at doing something a little bit different. >> robert harrison, you have inspired us all, a great hobby, things for sharing the pictures with us. still ahead, 3-d in the

living room. it was only a matter of time. we're going to look at the tvs and the new glasses you might be boss: hey, those gecko ringtones you put on our website are wonderful. people love 'em! gecko: yeah, thank you sir. turned out nice. boss: got another one for you. anncr: at geico.com, it's easy to get a free rate quote, manage your policy, make payments or even file a claim! boss: now that's a ringtone. gecko: uh yeah...it's interesting.... certainly not the worst ringtone i've ever heard... ♪ ringtone lyrics: a-ringedy- ding-ding-dingy-dong, ringedy-dong-ding-ding... ♪

gecko (to himself): yeah, that might be the worst. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

still to come on "today," you're dating and living together, is it time to get a prenup? yes, before you get married. with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." and brian looked at me at eight years old and said, "promise me you'll quit." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment,

compared to 18% on sugar pill. it's proven to reduce the urge to smoke. seeing how chantix worked, i wasn't so afraid to try quitting again. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you're taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery.

chantix should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. >> good morning.

here is a look at our top stories. >> talk is shifting from budget cuts to possible tax increases. budget outline. it currently cousin to positions -- cut positions in the fire and police department. the university student is behind bars after being charged withhe was one of 10 men that forced university dorm room and and 15 area pawnbrokers have been indicted in a money-laundering scheme. federal prosecutors say it involved several law enforcement

officers at several locations. the arrest followed a one-year investigation. bp solar has announced the closing of its manufacturing plants and eliminating more than 300 jobs. all eligible employees will consent -- continued to receive full pay for three months as low as a severance package and other help. stay with u

>> a nice morning this morning. plenty of sunshine. it is a nice bright day out

there. it is a little bit cooler. try to stay in the sunshine today. tamara, a different story. clouds will be approaching -- tomorrow, a different story. cloud will be approaching. rain will be moving in by the end of the day tomorrow. temperature's only around 50 degrees for the high. tomorrow morning, it will be around the 30 degree range for the lows. we will pick up more clouds and rain shower activity later on in the day. a high of 53 degrees. the rain pulls out of the area tuesday morning. then we get into the 60's and into the 70 degree area by the end of the week. it looks like a dry forecast. >> thanks for joining us. we will see you back here in about 25 minutes.

and we're back on this saturday morning, march 27, 2010, within an enthusiastic crowd enjoying, dare i say, spring break? it feels like winter break there in new york city. we thank them for spending their morning with us outside on the plaza. i'm amy robach outside with lester holt. you deserve a shoutout for standing out here in this cold. coming up, we're going to talk about these new sweetheart deals. they're prenups for dating couples. >> from 1990 to 2007 the number of unmarried couples living

together shot up about 88%. a lot of unmarried couples are drafting these prenups which dictate everything from who takes out the garbage to who gets the dog and the xbox. the important stuff. and according to the almanac, it's spring, i guess. so we're going to be talking about spring fashions even though we're all donned in winter wear right now. we'll start with telling you what too pack and what to start looking to buy for the new trends of spring and which ones you should save your money on and which ones you should splurge on for this season and the seasons to come. >> and if you have money left over, you may want to splurge on the new 3-d television sets. you've got to wear special glasses for each one. we're going to take a look at them and see if they're wovrtd the money. our crew guys are going to check

it out. let's take a look at the weather with bill karins, bill, it's almost april. >> i warned you guys, you didn't believe me when i told you how cold it is out here. i mean it is bad. these people out here are so nice and they have been here all day long. i like your sign, your sign says daddy said i might not be on tv, but look at me, i love you daddy. where is your daddy at this morning? >> he's in colorado, he stayed home while he and my stepmom went on vacation. >> don't forget all the students from robbinsville high school. let's look at our forecast as we go through the next two days. today we're seeing some troublesome weather in the middle of the country, rain and strong storms. sunny and nice across must of the east coast, but cold and chilly. the northwest, we get a little rainy and stormy as we head into your sunday, so try to get stuff done today and it looks like a slight risk of severe storms

>> good morning. we are starting the morning off with chilly temperatures. the storm out west will not be in until tomorrow. here is the sev that's your weather from the chilly plaza. amy? ♪ she got the gold mine ♪ i got the shaft bill, thank you this morning on "today's" relationship, sweetheart deals, since the number of unmarried couples living together shot up 88% from

1990, it's not surprising that cohabitation agreements have become a huge trend. sheila and john have been happily dating for seven months. yet the couple already has an exit strategy. just in case. >> our dating prenup started out as a cocktail napkin at a bar. >> yeah. >> we were talking about the end game. like what if she dumps me and breaks my heart. >> reporter: their dating contract includes rules about post breakup communication like texting and facebook etiquette. >> social media is such a huge part of dating now that if we break up, we both agree that we will unfollow and defriend each other, but we won't force any of our friends to do that. >> i'm going to block you on facebook too. >> reporter: sheila and john are signing agreements that are preprenups. >> there is an explosive trend

to doing pre-prenups. they enable people to get to the nitty grit any of they relationship. >> reporter: these relationship contracts can cover everything from property to debts to even penalties for cheating as well as emotional attachments. ♪ i think i love you. >> reporter: for marion and a.j their biggest what if concern was for their best friend bailey so they decided to draft a custody agreement. >> we're both attached to the dog, she's my dog but she loves him equally. but my first right is to stay with her for extended periods. >> more unwed couples are cohabitating now than ever before. >> one of the ways they're trying to figure out how to make sense of marriage like nonmarijuana commitments. >> only time will tell whether

couples like john and sarah have the ties that bind. but they take comfort in knowing they have a contract in place just in case things go south. >> people say that's not romantic, breakups aren't romantic either. it's about navigating this modern age of dating really. >> and joining us now with more insight is dan abrams, nbc's chief legal analyst and dana abraham, columnist and contributor. my favorite frayed is commitment without commitment. perhaps even folks who are moving in together? >> now look, i'm sure there are a lot of lawyers out there who are saying, oh, these are necessary, you have to get this. the bottom line is i don't want people running out and asking their lawyers we need one of these. there are going to be special cases where they're probably a good idea. for example someone who is paying for someone else's

graduate school. one person is going to walk away with a degree, the other than person is going to walk away with debt. in some cases you don't need to go to a lawyer, you can just write an agreement between 2 two of you that says i agree to x, you agree to y, but i would say err on the side of not going to a lawyer. >> what go you say about couples who are going to great lengths but not willing to commit in another way. shouldn't they be thinking maybe something's wrong if we can't commit. >> i think you need to assess your kmtment if you don't think you would ever be married to someone, i don't think you should be paying for their graduate school. don't investigative in that person for the long haul if you're not going to commit to them for the long haul. get into the relationship first, see if there's a commitment and a certain kind of love, then if there is, then you go into a

prenup. >> if you're going to bring your own furniture, don't worry about it, you're going to be able to get that furniture back, if you develop assets together as you live together. there could be real numbers there, just depends on how much you're talking about. >> what advise would you give to unmarried couples who would consider getting this pre-prenup. you mentioned you don't necessarily have to go to a lawyer, whaelts do you have to get? >> first of all do your own research. again, i would like to keep people out of lawyer's offices on this. do some of your own research. if there's a big financial investment, discuss it early on, i don't mean early on in the relationship, i mean early on in the financial investment. the last thing is if one person is sort of investing far more financially, then you can think about having a more structured arrangement. but i think that, again, you can try to do it between yourselves unless you're talking about big numbers. >> what advice would you give for couples who are considering

this as well. >> if they're really trying to protect their finances or trying to protect their hearts. some people are going into this for the wrong reason. it's kind of silly. now you're getting off into mine nush that, is this something that you're g doing a knee jerk because you have been hurt in the past and you don't have anything major that you're trying to protect, but you're trying to protect true assets. >> let's say you put in a contract that says you guarantee sex twice a week as part of the agreement. and i guarantee x amount of money, that's called prostitution, that's not legal. okay? you can't do that kind of -- >> why do you want to be in a relationship that you have to force somebody to have sex with you by contract? >> one thing i'm not is a relationship therapist. >> do you recommend getting a reup in or not. >> no some cases it can be a good idea. the couple in the piece who put it so on the napkin, bravo to

them, but i think they're having more fun than anything else. >> wait for the marriage if you have something big go on. all right,ing up next, 3-d television is coming to an electronic store near you, but first we're going to find out if they're worth the money. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix. protection that helps save lives. people with stomach ulcers or other conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, may affect how plavix works. tell your doctor all the medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke.

if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. hi, jay bush and duke here to introduce new bush's black bean fiesta....whoa... you can't tell everyone about new black bean fiesta. but it's perfectly cooked black beans, in a zesty "south of the border" chipotle sauce with red and green peppers, onion, and crisp corn. a bold new taste. i know. but i want people to think i'm a great cook. so hide. delicious! can i have your recipe? your secret is safe with me. hello... new bush's black bean fiesta. and try new texas ranchero, along with our other grillin' beans flavors. try the first great-tasting, zero-calorie... natural sweetener borne from the leaves of the stevia plant. truvía. honestly sweet. find it at your grocery store.

this morning on "today's" consumer 3-d televisions, 3-d movies have been making their mark in movies across the country, but now 3-d tvs can find a place in your living room, but are they worth it? consumer reports did the leg work and their electronics editor paul reynolds has the answer.

do you still have to wear geeky glasses to watch tv? >> you do have to wear geeky glasses and you need a new blu-ray television, you need a 3-d capable television. and what happens is the deep blu-ray player, where the special 3-d version of the movie sends basically two streams of images to the television set, one for your left eye, one for your right eye and you need the glasses to decode those things and what the glasses are doing and the reason the glasses are $150 or so, is because they're shutteri shuttering hundreds of times a second. >> if you're one of those people who have been to the 3-d movies and it makes you a bit nauseous,

could the 3-d set do that to you. >> some people do get headaches or nausea. >> the rule in consumer electronics is things start out high in cost, these aren't cheap right now, they're running about $2,500 you're going to shell out. another couple hundred buck for the dwlaszs. >> the whole set up is going to ka cost you $3,300 the new sets will be even cheaper than this and we think they're going do come down and could even be a pretty regular part of the features on tv sets eventually. >> let's take a look at and compare them. this is a pan sonic and that's a samsung. let me take a look here. did you guys find major differences between the two. >> we found some differences. basically they're both very good, the pan sonic, it takes a

moment for this to come on, one of the experiences is it's a little slower for the player to respond because there's more information on a 3-d disk. you can see there's a good 3-d effect here. >> people at home can't see that, but that ball is coming at me just as you would expect in a 3-d image. >> we found the effect was have been good, comparable to what you will see in the movie theaters. we did find a couple of differences between the sets. the samsung is a little less good at separating these left and right images so you get a little bit more ghosting on the samsung. not terrible, but a little bit more noticing on that. this is very crisp around the 3-d imimagines. >> i want to watch something other than 3-d, can you watch anything else on this tv? >> these are basically high-end televisions that add a 3-d images.

>> they're greet tf sets because they're basically high end the sets with great capabilities. >> are we seeing more movies in 3-d. >> we'll start to see some of the networks launch with 3-d consent, espn is having a 3-d channel network. and we're adding 3-d to the satellite providers. many more models coming with lower prices. >> up next, from denim to sequins, we'll tell you if you should save

this morning on save versus splurge, spring trends, 'tis the season for spring clothes to start hitting the stores so what should you splurge on and where should you put your money? good morning. we have several trends to get through and the funny thing is the first thing i read about, denim bags and i'm seeing it on the model and i really, really like it. >> this one is a splurge and denim leggings are, a lot of people are like denim leggings, it's sounds so weird, so '80s. this trend is amazing and this is like cry once, save later. you will get so much cost per wear out of these. these are page denims. >> they're stretchy so they're comfortable. >> they're comfortable, they're body conscious, so if you have a great pair of legs, this is a great way to show them off. >> you can wear a tune nick

tunic or a t-shirt. so this is a splurge, this is utilitarian chic. this is not a splurge, this is a save, how much do you think this dress cost? >> i would guess $150. >> $34.95. >> wow. >> this is from h and m.com. 34.95. the thing you want to do is you want to find a good fabric. silk fabrics like this can be very pricey, look for blends. this is a cotton silk blend and it's soft and stretchy. it really is very body conscious, a great silhouette. look to soften it up a little bit. it's a really easy way to save. >> flirty and feminine, is this

a splurge or a save? >> this is a splurge. >> you can wear it with leggings, you can wear it with tights, you can dress it up, you can dress it down. but the main reason it's a splurge is it's flirty and feminine. the lays is not going to rip or tear. its elevates the look and makes it very beautiful. >> the next trend is daytime e sequ sequins. is it a save or a splurge? >> $39.59 for this top here. this was causing some buzz around the studio.

people think you can only wear it at night. but i'm here to tell you you can wear it during the day, again, only $40, pair it with a pair of cargo pants here. the reason you can save, is it's in the softer fab bick. so look for smaller pieces, a tank top or a cardigan. >> stunning accessories, this is still a big, hot trend. >> yes, it is, metal accessories, things with metal in them are still very high. make sure they're not spiky. >> this is a save? >> this is a save. the reason these are a save, these are only $79 tharks're a save because you can get all of this studding on full leather. who's going to pay attention? but where leather does matter is our splurge here. >> this is a slouchy bag? >> this is $389 at sachs.com.

>> and the wedge sandals, this is a save? >> look for fake synthetic materials, faux wood, faux leather. our e signature technology lets you sign... your documents from home, at your convenience. we've helped over three-quarters of a million families... refinance or purchase their home. it's how we've done things at quicken loans for 25 years now. - that's why i love... - i love... i love being a home loan expert. ♪ the bright, fresh scent of orange blossom. beautiful moments are born in the shower. a unique sensation in body wash. touch of happiness moisturizing body wash from nivea. touch and be touched.

the usual? yes, please. anything else? ♪ when you're trying to be good, tempting treats can be wicked. no thanks, i'm good. new special k fruit crisps. with two crispy bars for 100 fruity calories... it's the delicious, new way to stay on track. now, being good's a cinch. with new special k fruit crisps.

that does it for us this saturday morning, our thanks to peter alexander and bill karins for joining us, coming up tomorrow on "today," why is a 13-year-old suing a college university? we're going to tell you. plus we're going to put a former airline pilot on for questions. i'll see you back h >> live, local, latebreaking. >> could morning i am deborah weiner.

>> i am lisa robinson. officials are still trying to figure out what caused a train to derail. csx train officials say that a train car ralph -- derail the around 1030 friday morning. authorities say the trend was calling scraps. we were also over the scene of a deadly fire in the block. the were fouled on -- the victim's body was found on old battle grove road. >> he was a nice guy. he was in the merchant marines. he liked messing around with his boat. he never caused any trouble. he was a nice guy. >> officials are still looking into the cause of the fire, but neighbors believe that came from a stroke on the first floor.

talk is increasing about tax increases. the mayor is proposing a budget that eliminates 900 positions. both the -- both the police commissioner and the fire department commissioners are worried. >> up next, answers to your pet questions. >> a man sues baltimore city police for more than $10 million. details are next. >> the maryland lottery joins us to tell you your best ticket choices. >> the son a shining right now. there is a storm to the west. the insta-weather-plus forecast

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. >> welcome. i am a lisa robinson. >> i am deborah weiner. and let's look outside with john collins. >> a nice morning. the sun site -- the sun is out. it is halfway there. we just got a call. 26 was followed in westminster. >> do not start planting yet. >> this kind of weather does