receiving a heartt( transplant. he spent nearly two years on a undergoing the operation. we'll have the latest on santorum victory. rick santorum winsthe louisiana primary, solidifying his support in the deep south. hisr despite trailingxdfá mitt romne the delegate count. we'll take a look at what this means for the gop nomination. and the shooter's side. george d center of a racially charged killing ofñi an unarmed, black teen, has kept a low profile. we'llt( hear from his friend an zimmerman's legale1 adviser on s version of events.

today's sunday, march 25th, 2012. óy3e nbc-universal television )jjtpr" for by kmjsj welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> and i'mr still talking about the fall/ñ from theko trayvon martin shooting. >> tomorrow marksñi one month since thejf shooting of trayvon martin. since then, we have heard from his parents and supporters aboud their viewsçó of what happened that night in florida, but wee1d shooter, george zimmerman, until now. coming up, we're going to hua) from his friend and zimmerman's legal adviser, plus an eó;ruár+e interview from a woman whofálp witnessed some of thatmyq nigh events. then we're going to dip int( politics. president obama has some tough words forñr north korea and its plannedr launch. while visiting south korea, the presidenthgpr" bad behavior from north korea will not be e1

rewarded. we'll have more onlp the president's trip in just a few minutes. plus,q reunited. william and kate arexd on the slopes of the alps, spending a and lionelfá riche here to show that he's out with a new album that contains some of his greatest hitsq!iát(ááv @&h(lc& feel.htt(q >> many of his favorites, many a lot to get to this morning. but let's begin with the breaking news aboutq former vic president dick cheney.

his second cameuq years later followedt(ñr by ako quadruple emergency bypass in 1988. cheneyr attacks, including one in 2000 during the florida3w recount ar which he and george w. bush took office. his fifth heartq attack came in 2010. after that, doctors inrvalledñi special device known as a lap ventricle assist or clvan to ai his ailing heart, a device hei] later showe3 to jamie gengel. take whatever the doctors fá recommend, the latest thing, and i've been able toq@)r+e a full, normal, active a5life. >> and joining us nowfá isc nbc chief medical editor dr.çó nancá snyderman. >> hey, jenna. >> hi, nancy, good morning. how difficultw3 of an operations

this?ñiq we hear heart trans)$9q and it sounds so serious. >> technically, it's not difficult, sewing things in place. the hard part is the waitinkr list because there aren'0o enoh organs to go around and the special tissue type. this is not a donor who fits anybody. there is an elegant tissue typing. he was on the waiting listñi 20 months, average than thexd long person. >> the former vice president has had a history of cardiology trouble -- fivei] heart attacks quadruple surgery -- >> hisxd first was at 37. >> 37 years old. quadruple bypass, angioplasty. was this inevitable?t( >> he was born withr heart and he has been at the end stage cardiac failure.cí c1 they even had a device put in1 as we've been able to see, he went from thwó robust,

people who are inñr otherwise gi health. his overall survival rate should be ñi75% e$ the next five yea. he does havefá extraordinary bu option. >> all right, dr. nancy snyderman, thank you very much for your insight. >> youe1 bet you. now to the trayvon martint( )t(u-7l and new calls f justice for the slain teen. nbc's ron allen is live in stanford, florida. ron, good morning.e1r

thank you both for joining us. joe, let me start with you. you spoke to george zimmerman as recently as yesterday. how is he weathering the storm around him and how aware is he, if at all, of the things we just showed? >> i think george is just now becoming aware of how big this is. it was the first time i spoke to him yesterday since before the shooting, and through his family members, i learned that right after the shooting, he couldn't stop crying. he's at the point now where he's just now realizing not just how big this is for him but how big this is for the country, which is one reason why i'm sitting here now. >> craig, mr. zimmerman claims self-defense with police originally. you're standing by that defense

of him. what's the evidence of self-defense here? >> well, what i can reveal right now -- i mean, i don't want to litigate this case in the media. >> sure. >> i want to litigate it in court. but george zimmerman suffered a broken nose, an injury, a gash to the back of his head. there were grass stains on the back of his shirt. and he claims that trayvon martin struck him and he went down and he was acring e inacti self-defense. >> as you know, a number of neighbors heard things some saw things. tonight on "dateline nbc," we're going to hear from a neighbor who said through her open window she heard a whining sound, as of a young voice, then a gunshot. i want you to hear what she then sees and get your thoughts on it. here it is. >> we heard the gunshot, and someone ran. within seconds was out on the back porch. >> tell me your roommate -- >> my roommate. >> -- went out first. >> she went out first. she said she did not think it was a gunshot, maybe kids

playing and something hit the sign, you know, something had happened. and i was out within seconds after her, i was outside. and we both saw him straddling the body, basically, a foot on both sides of trayvon's body, and his hands pressed on his back. >> and she goes on to say that trayvon was face down. was that consistent with what george zimmerman has described to you? >> well, again, that's going to be something that's going to come out in litigation. i think there were efforts made to render aid to trayvon after the incident. >> what kind of details has he offered to you? >> well, he has offered details, again, that you know, can't really be discussed, which is one reason why he isn't speaking. i mean, he's been told not to say anything. one of the weird things for me about this case is that living in florida, i've seen historically police release

information when they have an arrest, when they've made an arrest, and which eventually leads to the trial being tried in the media. casey anthony, a perfect example, because of all the information we had before the trial. this is different, because the sanford police department is trying to make sure they did everything right, and i think that's why you saw them pass it on to the state's attorney general, who passed it on to another state's attorney, and now that's why we have this grand jury hearing. sanford has a history of racism. i've reported on stories similar to this in where white males killed a black teen. so, they have to go -- they're trying to do everything they can to prevent what has happened. >> we keep coming back to the fact, though, that trayvon didn't do anything. he went to the store. for whatever reason, he was singled out as suspicious. do we know what brought the two of them together? we hear that witness testimony as someone heard something and came up. but do we know what brought them together in an altercation?

>> that's the thing. no one knows what actually started the altercation. we know that george was working as a neighborhood watch captain in a neighborhood that had had a rash of criminal activity and burglaries. we know george saw someone walking around that he did not recognize and called 911. >> why did he get out of the car? >> we don't know. >> none of this would have happened if he didn't get out of the car. >> well, and if what george claims is true, none of this would have happened if trayvon just said, i'm staying with my parents. >> craig, let me ask you. you just saw it in that report, the new black panther party has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of mr. zimmerman. that has to concern you. are you concerned about his safety, given the emotion surrounding all of this? >> yeah, i've been concerned about his safety for quite some time. there's been a document out that's got his photo on it that shows that says "wanted dead or alive," and it's got his picture

right there on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. based on that document, it's always been my opinion that he's in danger from someone for the whole time. and i think to not take that seriously would be a mistake. and i think he's been advised by law enforcement and by me to keep a low profile until, you know, things get something resolved, because i believe his life is in danger. >> but he is in a place that law enforcement can find him and speak to him? >> yes. i'm able to make contact with him and law enforcement is as well. >> have you seen him in person? >> i have not seen him in person. >> and you are acting as his legal adviser, meaning, will you represent him in any criminal matters? >> yes, once the case is filed. right now, there's no case for me to enter a notice of appearance to be the attorney of record because there's not a case yet. but when there is one, i will be entering in those appearances. >> gentlemen, we appreciate your time. thanks for coming on and offering another side of this story. i do appreciate it. craig sauder and joe oliver. now here's jenna. >> lester, thank you. we're going to switch gears and turn to politics now and another victory for rick

santorum in the latest gop primary. meanwhile, president obama is in south carolina while his signature health care law finally gets its day before the supreme court. here to break it all down is david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning. >> hey, jenna, how are you? >> so, the president is in south korea, there for a nuclear security summit, and he's had choice words of warning for north korea and iran. for iran, on the topic of their potential to build a nuclear bomb. he said, "there's a window of time to solve this diplomatically, but that window is closing." what does the president have to do before this proverbial window closes? >> well, he's got to try to ramp up sanctions, galvanize the international community to do that, to further cripple the iranian regime economically. even that proposition is controversial and not everybody believes that that can be done. he has israel as an ally out there who is concerned about its own existence because of the threat of a nuclear program by iran. so, this is about ratcheting up

pressure on iran, cutting off the idea of talking to them diplomatically, but ratcheting up enough pressure to try to change behavior. and in effect, it's the same thing with north korea as well. as they get closer on having productive conversations with jim jong-il's son, now there's questions about whether they're going to take those provocative steps and launch a long-range missile. so, the diplomacy here is about ratcheting up pressure. >> all right, let's switch gears and turn to politics. rick santorum, as expected, won louisiana's primary. wasn't a huge win. it didn't put a huge dent into mitt romney's delegate lead, but does it give him a meaningful momentum moving forward? >> wins matter, and that's how santorum is arguing it. he's got to go to wisconsin and do something he hasn't done before, and that's play outside of his base. he's got to get beyond evangelical christians, very conservative members of the republican party, and begin to mount the kind of challenge against romney that says to not just the romney campaign, but to

other republicans, that he is a real threat to have his own route to the nomination. i think people are beginning to think that all he can do is block romney from the nomination, but even there, you've seen a closing of ranks around romney this week that i thought was significant. >> all right, david gregory. david, thank you so much. >> thanks, jenna. >> now let's get more of the morning headlines from darlene rodriguez at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, lester, good morning, jenna. good morning, everyone. there is new information today on army staff sergeant robert bales' alleged killing spree in afghanistan. nbc's john yang is at ft. leavenworth, kansas, where bales is being held. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, darlene. government prosecutors now believe that bales carried out this attack in two waves, that after a first attack, he went back to his base and then snuck out again to continue the shooting spree. meanwhile, in afghanistan, the military has begun paying compensation to the families of the victims, about $50,000 to each of the family of the dead.

a military official tells nbc news that sum is meant to reflect the extraordinarily devastating nature of what happened. darlene? >> nbc's john yang, thank you very much. monday on "today," staff sergeant bales' wife karilyn, will speak out for the first time since charges have been brought against her husband in an exclusive interview with matt lauer. and cubans are preparing for monday's arrival of pope benedict xvi. nbc's kerry sanders is in santiago, cuba. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: well, good morning, darlene. even before the pope arrives here, he's making news with some harsh criticism of the political system here. since 1959, this country has had a communist/socialist government, but talking to reporters on his plane, pope benedict xvi says it is evident that marxist ideology, as it was conceived, no longer responds to reality. that's some blunt comments from the pontiff. the pope, who will be holding

mass here on monday, went on to say that cuba needs to find new models with patience in a constructive way. now, in this country of 11 million, where religion was once outlawed by fidel castro, the church has been making quiet inroads into people's lives as well as improving the relationship with the government. the u.s., of course, has an embargo against cuba, one that's been in place for more than five decades, meaning it's difficult for americans to travel here, but there are american pilgrims who have made their way here, and they believe there will be, perhaps, improved relations building on the pope's visit here 14 years ago. >> kerry sanders, thank you. a youtube video of an apache attack helicopter crashing at a u.s. outpost in afghanistan has gone viral. online speculation is that the pilot was showing off last month, rather than conducting legitimate training maneuvers. the video's largely been placed

because nobody has been injured, but aircraft crashes are the single largest cause of crashes in afghanistan. the final four is set. ohio beat syracuse and louisville used a late run to overcome florida on saturday. the rest of the final four will be decided today when north carolina faces kansas and baylor challenges number one kentucky. college hoops always exciting. that's the news. now back to lester, jenna and janice. >> darlene, you said ohio. you meant ohio state. right now, matt lauer's jumping out of his chair -- >> did i say ohio? that's the second time i've done that to him. >> what's the big deal? >> darlene, thank you so much. janice is here. she's got a check of the weather. hey, janice. >> good morning. good morning. a little dreary here in the northeast and a lot cooler than it has been. and on the west coast, you're getting more storms. the pattern is set up once again where you're getting storm after storm after storm. rain and mountain snow from southern california all the way

to oregon, so be on the lookout for messy weather over the next 24 hours. that's what's g >> good morning. once again, we are waking up to a lot of clouds. some fog, especially along the eastern shore. now here's lester. >> janice, thanks. welcome to new nutritionpossible.com... from centrum. its unique assessment tool... helps you find the multivitamin and supplements... that are right for you. so visit nutritionpossible.com. better nutrition... is within reach. centrum. nutrition possible.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. baltimore county police are investigating a stabbing. it happened shortly after 9:00 last night at the gas station in the 5100 block of madison avenue. a man was stabbed while standing at the gas pump. he was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. there are no word on a suspect or motive. a house collapsed after flames consumed more than half of the building. the fire happened early saturday morning in baltimore and the six of the block of baker's street.

the house was taken and no one was hurt. there is no word how it started. early voting kicked off yesterday and analysts are predicting a strong turnout. right now, you can vote at any of the 36 early voting places across the state. it was a foggy day yesterday. there were people coming and all they knew -- all day long. they knew -- all day long. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in the people and communities who call baltimore home. from funding to help a local business expand their operations... to financing for an organization which provides affordable housing for artists... and partnering with a local hospital to help expand patient care. because the more we do in baltimore, the more we help make opportunity possible.

>> good morning. we are still waking up to a

couple of showers. along 95 as well. even more coming in from the west. a chance you may see a bit of wet weather. let's take a look at the current temperature is right now. it is 53 at the harbor pyridine 47 in part 10. it is into the mid and 50's along the eastern shore. forecastle we mostly in the 60's across the entire state, including 65 in the mountains and 64 ocean city. a chance for showers at any point this morning. then as we head into the afternoon, most of those showers pushed down to the south or the could be a rumble of thunder. seven-day forecast calling for temperatures to get back to normal. back to the 50's and 60's. along with cool conditions on wednesday. its backing to the 60's. back to you. >> to run for joining us. we're back in 25 minutes.

we will see you then. bad -- thank you for joining us.

>> good morning. once again, we are waking up to a lot of clouds. some fog, especially along the eastern shore.

>> they were spotted kissing on the slopes. despite that, skiing is popular with the royals because it does offer them a degree of aminity beneath all the goggles and glasses and hats. kate and william reunited on wednesday. she drove herself to his air force base in the middle of the night to be there when he got back to britain, and they have a lot to catch up on in the six weeks that he's been away, she's been throwing herself into royal life.

lester? >> duncan golestani. and we're hearing reports about a rekindling romance for prince harry. what do you know about that? >> yes. prince harry was seen with his ex-girlfriend, chelsy davy it was at an intimate dinner party at windsor castle for the princess's birthday, but it was harry and chelsea who spent much of the evening talking to each other. onlookers saying they looked very comfortable with one another. of course, they have been on again and off again over the last couple of years. perhaps they could be on again. lester. >> all right, duncan, thanks very much. now here's jenna. >> lester, thank you. a change of heart for reality tv star kim kardashian. she initially blasted off when she was flour-bombed last week. nbc's darlene rodriguez is back with more on that. >> good morning, jenna. the whole flour bombing was caught on tape, and as you'll see, kim kardashian isn't laughing anymore.

about face. kim kardashian reportedly told tmz she now plans to press charges against the woman who threw a bag of flour on her at a charity event thursday night. it is a change from a day earlier when the reality tv star told tmz's harvey levin in a phone interview she would not file charges, even though she thought the person should be held accountable. >> whatever your beliefs are, if, you know, you're acting in a violent way and doing something that's illegal, that's not okay, and that's bullying. and i don't, you know, i don't promote that. >> reporter: the night started like many others for kardashian, walking the red carpet at a charity event and also promoting the launch of her new fragrance. as she talks to reporters, a woman comes up and tosses the white powder over her head and reportedly called her a fur hag. >> you fur hag! >> peta, people for the ethical treatment of animals, says it was not behind the flour incident but told nbc news if kardashian "presses charges, at

least people will be constantly reminded of herselfish, callous disregard for the cruel deaths that she causes by wearing fur." >> yeah, the incident is actually -- >> reporter: kardashian is the latest celebrity to be singled out. last month at the oscars, actor sacha baron cohen covered "e!" host ryan seacrest in fake ashes. and politicians have also had glitter thrown on them by protesters on the campaign trail. harmless pranks, but celebrity watchers say it also highlights a breach in security. >> let's say it wasn't pancake mix or it wasn't flour and it was a different sort of substance that they wanted to throw on these celebrities. these people, their lives are in great danger, and security definitely needs to be stepped up. >> well, it took a couple of days for the gravity of the situation to sink in, and kardashian now says she's increasing her security and taking new measures to guarantee her safety. jenna. >> darlene, thank you so much. up next, it's the new season

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at kleenex.com. kleenex. softness worth sharing. but there are foods that i had no idea had so much acid in them. my dentist said that the acid in fruit, or fruit juice or fruit teas softens the enamel so that then it can potentially erode. once that enamel is gone, it's gone. my dentist recommended that i use pronamel to help harden that enamel so that it's not brushed away. pronamel protects your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. i don't have to cut out the things that i love in my diet. i can have the best of both worlds with pronamel. so, it's the night that "mad men" fans, myself included, have been waiting a long time for,

the highly anticipated fifth season of the drama returns tonight after being off the air for 17 months. here's nbc's michelle franzen. ♪ >> reporter: the chain-smoking, cocktails and whiskey drinking, girdle-wearing cast of "mad men" is back. and devoted fans -- >> give me a moment, sir. i have some in the liquor room. >> reporter: -- couldn't be happier. >> this is one of the greatest shows on television. >> i'm so excited to see what happens. season five, i've been waiting for it for such a long time. >> reporter: it's been 17 months since advertising exec don draper and the cool series set in 1960s new york city has been on the air, a break that has only added to the show's cult following. >> i learned a long time ago to not get all my satisfaction from this job. >> it's set far enough in the past that it does feel different, and yet, it's not too far in the past to where it feels old-timey or foreign in

any way. >> reporter: the stars of the hit series are being coy about what the new season will bring following last season's cliffhanger. >> you don't say congratulations to the bride. you say best wishes. >> it's really interesting to see what happens with don draper, whether he's going to go ahead and get married, see what happens with jones and her baby and then betty who's very unhappy in her marriage. >> reporter: it follows a contract dispute between abc and series creator matt weiner. >> i fought to keep it on the air and did not want to be away, but it was out of my control. >> reporter: within his control, weaving the next story lines for the characters navigating life at the office and at home during the decade's cultural boiling point. >> it was a mistake. there's no need for that kind of talk. >> i hope people come back and i hope they see we made the effort to make the show as good as we possibly can. it's locked and loaded. it's ready to roll out. i can't wait for people to see it. >> reporter: another central element to the show's success,

the set, with an entire team dedicated to making sure the aesthetics of the era ring true. from the clothing and furniture right down to a candies vending machine, all the makings for a new season of drama. and all fans need to do is sit back and drink it all in. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. >> looking forward to it. and once again, here's lester. jenna, thanks. lionel ritchie's music is instantly recognizable, whether it's one of his popular dance songs, like "all night long" or his ballads like "endless love" or "easy." now audiences will be able to say hello again to many of his greatest hits, but this time, the songs have a country twist. ♪ >> everyone couldn't think of lionel going country. and i said, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong. my songs have always been country. i'm just showing up putting the face on it. i'm claiming my kids. ♪ oh, what a feeling, when we're dancing on the ceiling ♪ >> reporter: and so, the idea of

rereaccording many of his greatest hits as duets with country music's biggest stars like rascal flatts, kenny rogers, willie nelson and shania twain, wasn't a stretch at all for lionel ritchie. ♪ my endless love >> we spoke at the so-called mother church of country music. how did you decide who you wanted to sing with, put on the album? >> i didn't realize that even though i had a wish list of people, we had two problems. number one, availability. that's kind of one great thing about country artists, they are not sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. they are working. >> working artists. >> they are working artists. ♪ you are the sun >> and secondly, i wanted to make it so that they loved the songs more so than me calling and saying would you sing it. >> reporter: and when it came time to actually record -- >> when you do a sinatra duet

album, you'll custom it around frank. when you do a tony bennett album, you're going to sound a little bit like tony. here comes lionel ritchie with his brainstorm of, you know what i want? i want when you leave this album, if you wanted to put this song on your show, it would fit your show. i love darius rucker. darius at his best. i said what are you going to sing in "stuck on you"? your part, that's all i know. >> it's going to be like that. >> it's going to be like that. so, i'm trying to figure out, what are the harmony parts to my song? >> that you've never song. >> that i've never song, because i'm now complimenting darius. ♪ packed up my troubles and i throw them all away ♪ >> on "hello" what was i thinking about when i let jennifer loose? that's the longest i've ever held hello in my entire life. ♪ hello come on. so, it became an adventure for me, because now songs i've been

doing my entire life now became brand new. ♪ oh, oh >> what's it take to make a hit? >> you have to find a phrase that everybody understands. "i love you truly," "all night long." i mean, in other words, it's not hard to remember, and more importantly, it's not how well i sing it, it's how well they can sing it. >> and that's the overall theme of all your music. >> that's all of it. in other words, don't get complicated. >> ritchie's new album is entitled "tuskegee," the alabama town where ritchie developed his love for music. >> there's an old expression in life that says most of the time in life, you can't go home. in my case, i can go home, because all of these songs that i'm celebrating were actually written in tuskegee, alabama. >> ritchie's southern roots stretched beyond alabama to here in nashville where his ancestors had a plantation and his grandmother attended fisk university, majoring in music. that's where the music roots

came from. >> that's where the music roots came from. all her classical piano playing and stuff was right here on this campus and she was up there with tuskegee. >> a homecoming of sorts for an icon who has come full circle. ♪ i'm easy >> and he's having the time of his life. ♪ i'm easy like sunday morning >> the joy of it now is i can walk out on stage and i start the song off and the crowd sings the rest of it. in other words, i get to go out on stage and almost enjoy karaoke. i'm trying my best now to take this opportunity in my life to stop and enjoy the moment. ♪ i'm easy like sunday morning, so easy ♪ >> i am not kidding you, this is a great album. willie nelson, jimmy buffett. i mean, it's just an incredible lineup. >> and he's so likable and so playful. and even after having been in the music industry and the opportunity to get so jaded, he's so open to new things, and i think that really came out when you spoke to him. >> we did the interview about

three weeks ago. i have been singing lionel ritchie songs constantly. "tuskegee" goes on sale tomorrow. watch lionel richie perform live tuesday here on "today." up next, putting u.s. veterans back to work. first, these messages. these me. aflac! ha! isn't major medical enough? huh! no! who's gonna help cover the holes in their plans? aflac! quack! like medical bills they don't pay for? aflac! or help pay the mortgage? quack! or child care? quack! aflaaac! and everyday expenses? huh?! blurlbrlblrlbr!!! [ thlurp! ] aflac! [ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh!

this morning, "hiring our heroes today." we're teaming up with the u.s. chamber of commerce to kick off a divisionwide series aimed at getting our veterans back into the workforce. >> about 2 million female veterans are expected to head back to work over the next five years as forces leave iraq and afghanistan. they've acquired skills while overkansas ciseas overseas, but that doesn't necessarily transform into a job

once they return home. here's rahehema ellis. >> dawn smith is used to action. >> hello, baby. >> reporter: the 35-year-old working mom spent eight years in the air force, handling logistics in iraq and afghanistan. with her military experience and two masters degrees in accounting, she was surprised to discover finding a job wasn't easy. >> even for people that have degrees and have the skills, it's a difficult economy and society that we live in right now. >> reporter: she found a job as a secretary for the irs, making just over $30,000 a year. her sister told her not to settle and kept her motivated. then, last summer, she passed away suddenly. >> she was the one that told me, dawn, you can continue to do things, keep doing, something will come about. >> reporter: that's when dawn discovered the business and professional women foundation and sandy smith, a career counselor by day who volunteers her time to mentor dawn, helping

her transition to civilian life. >> sometimes i'm a coach, sometimes i'm an advocate, sometimes i'm just helping them explore options and possibilities. >> reporter: the two have never met face to face but communicate weekly, discussing job opportunities, resumés or navigating the world outside the military lifestyle. >> well, a big issue is understanding what's transferrable to the civilian marketplace. and then the second big issue is becoming comfortable with marketing themselves to employers. >> reporter: it's the kind of support that dawn needs. >> it makes the difference to have someone in your corner the whole time. and she's told me that she would be there until i find a job that i need, and she's proven every day. >> and you believe her. >> yes, i definitely believe her. >> reporter: helping dawn with what will be her next call to duty. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news, greensboro, north carolina. >> a nationwide effort to get our veterans back to work will culminate on wednesday with job

fairs here in new york on the "uss intrepid" in ft. hood, texas and chicago, and there is a virtual job fair online, as there should be. >> and for more information, go to today.com/veterans. and we're back after these messages. messages. [ female announcer ] it's the lenscrafters semi-annual lens event. that's 50% off lenses, including bifocals, no-lines, even sunglasses made with your prescription. so hurry in. sale ends april 1st. lenscrafters.

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let's go back down to washington and check in with david gregory to find out what's coming up on "meet the press." david? >> hey, lester. good morning. questions about race in america resurfaced after the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. and joining me this morning, the president's top political adviser, david plouffe, on that and also the re-election campaign. then, a reality check on racial attitudes in this country. a special roundtable discussion. it's all coming up this morning.

>> see you soon, david. thanks. we're going to end this morning with our "today's life illustrated" segment, our peek into your family albums. spring has officially sprung, although it's little rainy here today, and you sent us some beautiful and inspiring photos to show. >> and next week, they say laughter is the best medicine. we're celebrating our favorite remedies, so send us snapshots of your loved ones cracking up and the photos that make you chuckle. submit them to today.com or the facebook page or via twitter and you might see them on today odd. >> that's it for us. we're done! >> we're done. see you back here on "nightly news." have a great day, everybody. >> bye-bye. ♪ it's a beautiful morning ♪

♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪

>> up next, reaction to our documentary. ava? >> temperatures have not moved much since sunrise. we will tell you how much