destin, florida. a pleasant morning. clouds off in the distance, and those clouds, well, that's karen. it is now a tropical depression, and here's all that cloud cover that we were looking at from destin, florida. but you don't see a center of circulation. it's really fallen apart here and the reason being, there's been a lot of dry air and upper level winds that have torn this thing apart. so here's a look right now, 100 miles southwest of morgan city, louisiana. the winds only at 30 miles per hour. so it's definitely falling apart and continues to do so. here it is. we have had those upper level winds, dry air, which obviously isn't good for the development of a tropical system. it is going to move eastbound, but stay weak and we are going to see some rainfall out of this, perhaps around 2 inches around the mobile bay area. but overall, it's not going to be too bad, lester. >> all right, stephanie. we will get the forecast from the rest of the country from you in a few minutes. here in new york city, surprising new information emerging this morning in the beating that captured national attention, including who was on the scene after a driving was

beaten after getting a confrontation with bikers and ran over one of them. stephanie gosk is at the scene with more this morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. we have been talking to people in this neighborhood and they tell us these motorcycle crews are here all of the time, creating a menace. they jump the curbs, go through red lights, but that's nothing compared to what they saw on this street corner last sunday. it is possibly the most dramatic moment in a video that has now been viewed by millions. a biker takes off his helmet, rushes alex lind's suv and smashes the driver side window with lind's wife and 1-year-old daughter also in the car. that motorcyclist has been charged on multiple counts, including gang assault and criminal mischief. and late saturday night, another biker, robert sims, was arraigned in criminal court. the nypd itself is coming under scrutiny. senior law enforcement officials tell nbc news that one off-duty

undercover cop was on the scene when lind was beaten in front of his family. police sources say the officer did not want to blow his cover, so he did nothing to help. but internal affairs will investigate why it took until wednesday for him to come forward. and as many as five off-duty officers may have taken part in the unauthorized bike rally last sunday, as well. serg sergio consuerga was there when the suv came to a stop and said one of the bikers went for his wife. >> with his two hands, real hard, wuling her out. >> reporter: the crowd stopped the bikers from hurting the mother and her baby, but lind was still under attack. >> the man was knocked down, he was on the floor. he was getting beat up with the -- >> reporter: smacking his head with the helmet? >> yes, many times. >> reporter: he jumped in between lind and the bikers. >> i felt like they wanted to kill this family. >> reporter: saturday, police

released the photo of a third suspect who they are looking to question about the incident, and continue to pore over video taken bye-bye standers, even if some may turn out to be cops themselves. that motorcyclist is in the hospital. he may be paralyzed for life. his family and lawyers say when he gets better, he's going to consider a lawsuit. they say he was just going in there to help when he was run over by lind's suv. >> stephanie gosk this morning. down in washington, that government shutdown has now dragged into its sixth day, and congress and president obama seem no closer to a solution. kristen welker has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning to you. there were a few bright spots this weekend. defense secretary chuck hagel said he'll be calling back to work more than 300,000 civilian defense employees furloughed, start back up again tomorrow. the house unanimously approved a bill to restore back pay to all

furloughed workers. but the government shutdown continues. painful for americans and politically paralys for lawmakers. with the government shutdown set to enter its second week, there is no end in sight to the finger-pointing. >> speaker boehner has made a decision that he's going to hold out to see if he can get additional concessions from us. >> if the president has an ax to grind with the opposing party, why he would want to put the american people in the middle of that and force the pain on them. >> reporter: now, the dysfunction is taking a political toll. a recent poll shows 44% of americans blame the republicans, and 35% blame the president and democrats. >> parks, our reserve members. >> reporter: and there are cracks in the gop strategy with the tea party faction insisting any bill delay the president's health care law. >> the democrats want government by crisis. they want shutdowns.

this is harry reid's shutdown, because he thinks it benefits democrats politically. >> reporter: but a growing number of republican moderates are calling for their party to open up the government with no strings attached, arguing the health care law is a nonstarter with democrats. >> there are a lot of things we want to do in government. but there is one thing you must do and that is fund the government. >> reporter: on saturday, the first member of the tea party defected, representative dennis ross, telling bloomberg news, we need to move on. political analysts warn the effect on republicans could last well beyond this impasse. >> i think it's something that can hurt them in primaries, can make it tougher for them to have a singular message against democrats come fall 2014. of. >> reporter: but there are also perils for president obama, who insists he won't negotiate right now. >> i think even some democrats think the line he won't negotiate is one he won't stay with much longer. >> reporter: according to recent polls, president obama has seen some of his lowest approval ratings in two years. it's possible we won't see any progress until the next big

fiscal deadline. that is october 17th when the nation reaches its debt limit and runs out of money to pay its bills. lester. >> all right, kristen, thank you. savannah guthrie is filling in for david gregory as moderator of "meet the press." good morning. good to see you down there. >> good morning to you. >> we keep saying, savannah, the two sides don't really have anything, an agreement right now, but i keep thinking, surely they have an exit strategy in the back of their mind and just waiting to pull the trigger. am i being naive? >> you're not being naive. i think you're being optimistic. and would that be the case? but i have to tell you, being on the phone with people in both parties this weekend, it is clear to me, there is no resolution on the horizon. there is no deal being talked about in the back rooms. this seems to be something where we're in it for the long haul. the government remaining closed. and now, lester, we have this other looming deadline that kristen just mentioned, october 17th, the debt ceiling has to be raised. otherwise, the u.s. could go into default, something that most economists who look at it

say would be calamitous for the economy. so the stakes are actually getting higher. and at the moment, there is no solution in sight. >> and the other head-scratcher here, what happened to majority rules? we're talking maybe 30 to 40 republican headliners holding this up. speaker boehner has the votes, if he wants to go forward, doesn't he? >> oh, he does. i mean, if he would right now put a clean budget resolution on the floor of the house, there would be enough moderate republicans and then democrats, they would probably get to the 218 votes they need. but the fact of the matter is, boehner is not going to do that right now and have to do the same thing two weeks later on the debt ceiling. so the republican strategy right now seems to be, merge those two issues together and then if boehner and the republicans so oh take a tough vote, they can do it at the same time. but they want some kind of concession from the white house. and this is where president obama is getting on riskier territory. his position has been, i'm not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling, and i'm not going to negotiate on reopening the government. and how long can that last?

it's really a case of who blinks first. >> all right. tell us what's coming up this morning on "meet the press," savannah. >> treasury secretary jack lew will talk about the consequences to the economy from the shutdown and also a potential default. and then we'll talk to senator rand paul, somebody who early on said he doesn't want the government shutdown, but, of course, what is the most vocal opponents of the president's health care plan. and we'll also talk about those two terror operations in africa over the night, talk about that with mike looider. >> we'll see you in a bit. thanks, much. >> thanks, lester. a zoo employee in oklahoma is lucky to be alive today after a tiger attacked her when she stuck her arm in its cage. kerry sanders is at the zoo with an update this morning. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, erica. that zoo keeper here indeed is lucky to be alive. the tiger that attacked her wasp in a cage like this one here. that tiger has now been removed and is in quarantine. this is what they believe

happened here. the zoo owner says the zookeeper reached through the fencing here like this and when the tiger came in, she tried to pull her arm back, the jacket or maybe a glove got caught and that is when the tiger attacked. the gw exotic animal park has more than 100 tigers across its 46 acres. a private zoo with so many tigers and lions, not all have names. this is a snapshot of tiger number 7, the 14-year-old, 450-pound male tiger that attacked the big cat supervisor, a woman in her 20s. she was attacked, says the zoo owner, when she reached into the cage with her left arm. >> i feel bad that this has happened. and right now my only concern is that the doctors saved her arm and she'll be able to keep her arm. >> reporter: why did the tiger attack? one theory here is could be the smell of goose down from the

jacket she was wearing. despite the tiger now tasting human flesh, zoo owner says he will aggressively defend any suggestions the tiger now needs to be put down. >> you want to use the word "attacked", "mauled", the tiger was in his cage. and she stuck her arm in the cage. so it was an accident. but if the tiger was just being a tiger. >> reporter: since 1990, the humane society has documented more than 300 big cat incidents in the united states. often the cause, just as is now believed to be the case in oklahoma, human error. experts say those who work around big cats often drop their guard. >> people have a bad misconception. they tend to associate these animals as some type of domestic pet, some type of companion. they're not companions. these are wild animals. >> reporter: in 2006, the animal

rights group, peta, accused the zoo here of mistreating the animals. but the federal government and the state investigated and found no mistreatment. in fact, the zoo here says that they accept animals, rescue animals, being mistreated elsewhere. erica? >> all right, kerry sanders for us this morning, thanks. we want to get caught up with some other headlines overnight from craig melvin. >> lester, good morning. erica, good morning to you, as well. fierce winds are feeding a brush fire in southern california. flames broke out in the area of camp pendelton. that forced hundreds of people to evacuate a housing area and base hospital. fire officials say about 1,000 acres have burned so far. there are no reports of injuries. power outages and impassable roads are plaguing south dakota this morning. 20 to 30 inches of snow smothered areas in and around rapid city. meanwhile, in the city of lead, about three-and-a-half feet of snow fell there, more than 25,000 customers lost power in

the black hills area. officials were even recruiting snowmobiles to rescue stranded drivers in their cars overnight. and the olympic torch is in russia this morning, lit in athens seven days ago. and today a jet carrying the flame landed in moscow. the torch now heads to moscow's red square where the russian president will launch a record-breaking relay. it will travel through more than 80 russian regions before arriving in sochi february 7th. and prince harry charmed crowds in australia this weekend. he celebrated the australian navy fleet in sydney. he met with the families of fallen soldiers in perth. the trip marked the prince's first official visit to australia, but it's not the only reason he's making headlines this morning. a london newspaper reports that prince harry is now set to marry his girlfriend. the paper says she has finally overcome her fears about marrying into the royal family. >> i have those fears too.

that's why i said, you know what, i'm just going to stay with my people. >> pack your bags, book your tickets, we may be going back to london. >> hey, hey, another royal wedding. >> i'm still trying to process. i can't bring a calculator on an airplane, but you can bring a lit torch. >> well, in russia, it's okay. >> different situation. you can smoke on those planes too, so now we're really in trouble. >> all right. stephanie abrams is back with a look at the rest of the national forecast. >> hey, guys. good morning to you again at home. and we have this big front that is crossing the entire united states. a slight risk for some severe weather in ohio is also picking up karen and will eventually make it along the east coast. now let's have a look at what's happening outside your door. >> good morning. some of you waking up to some fog, otherwise we'll see partly cloudy skies throughout this sufpblet it's another warm one.

highs in thal 80's. heavy rain tomorrow afternoonth. coming up next, should washington's nfl team change its name? president obama weighs in after this. ♪ as your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust along the way, refocus as careers change and kids head off to college, and revisit your investments as retirement gets closer. wherever you are today, fidelity's guidance can help you fine-tune your personal economy. start today with a free one-on-one review of your retirement plan. when your allergies start,

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the washington redskins have come under a lot of heat recently from those who say the name of this nfl team is offensive to native americans. >> on saturday, president obama weighed into the controversy when he was asked about it. craig is in the orange room with more this morning. craig? >> erica, lester, president obama was asked this question in an interview with the associated press. he was asked whether washington should change the name of their football team. here's a snippet of what the president said. >> i've got to say, if i were the owner of the team, and i knew that there was a name of my team, even if it had a storied history that was offending a sizeable group of people, i would think -- i'd think about changing it. but, you know, i don't want to detract from the wonderful redskins fans that are here. they love their team and rightly so. >> so we put the question to you. we went to today.com, survey

question right there on the home page. if a sports team name offends a group of people, should it be changed and an overwhelming number of folks who responded said no. 75% said no, 25% said yes. the conversation continued on twitter. becky saying, absolutely not. this idea of offending people has gotten out of hand. lighten up, people. and christie also chimed in, saying it's more than a group of people. it's a nation of people. the conversation will undoubtedly continue on social media, as well, lester and erica. >> and continuing else where, too, because the team's attorney responded to the president, including a recent poll from the associated press showing nine out of ten native americans don't think the name should be changed. >> definitely not the last we have heard of that conversation. still to come this morning, miley cyrus taking center stage once again, this time on "saturday night live." and we'll take a look at how it all went in our entertainment wrap-up. but first, these messages.

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still to come on "today," a question that comes up from time to time. are police any closer to solving the disappearance of madeleine mccann. this morning, new hope for her parents. pl [ female announcer ] your first breath, your first grasp, your first smile... we were there. your first roll, your first friend, we were there too. and swaddlers blanket-like softness, that you've loved since day one, is now available through size 5, for many more firsts to come. ♪ wishing you love, sleep & play. pampers.

>> good morning, everyone, i'm lisa robinson, it's 8:26 here's a look at our top stories. friends and admirers were on hand to cheer for erika brannock as she learned to walk again using a prosthetic. she was injured in the boston

marathon bombing. brannock took the memorable steps in front of her students at davenport preschool in towson where she worked as a teacher. >> it's been a lot of rehab and hard work in getting stronger so that i can get to that point where it's comfortable. >> parents of brannock's students also used yesterday's event to raise money for the preschool teacher. >> funeral services were held for angel chiwengo, the woman killed. she was killed when two spts trying to escape police crashed into the jeep she was riding in. her family says they are heart broken by the loss and what they are calling a lack of communication with city officials. both suspects were also killed in the crash and the chiwengo family is now calling for an outside entity to complete an investigation into that incident. baltimore county police are investigating a shooting in

parkville. officers were called to darlington drive shortly before 7:30 last night for reports of a shooting. police say they found a man suffering from a single gunshot wound. he was contain to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. so far no word on a suspect or motive.

>> good morning. welcome back. we are looking ahead to another very warm day. a front basically up to our north. this was a warm front. it's now stationary producing showers in pennsylvania and new

york. the cold front will be coming through tomorrow bringing temperatures down for the rest of the seven-day. but for today, starting off with a bit of fog and partly cloudy skies. highs in the upper 80's. winds tickling up out of the south later this afternoon. by tomorrow especially in the afternoon we watch for heavy rain along the cold front tapinger off tuesday morning then a drop in temperatures. highs only near 70 wednesday and beyond. >> thanks ava and thank you for joining us. 11 news sunday morning starts in 25 minutes. ♪ >> i'm molly, celebrating my 14th birthday with the "today" show. >> happy birthday, molly! >> hi, i'm susan! >> and i'm brian. and we have come all the way from rodgersville, tennessee to see lester and erica! >> we're celebrating our 13th

anniversary with the "today" show! >> we love the "today" show! and we are back on a sunday morning. it's the 6th day of october, 2013. a great crowd here. celebrating sunday morning. not sure what they're celebrating, but let's do it, everybody. thanks for stopping by. if you're ever in the neighborhood, come by at 49th. >> the more the merrier. i'm here, lester holt, along with erica hill. as we have mentioned, we have talked time and time again about madeleine mccann, a little girl who disappeared on a family vacation in portugal. new developments that may be giving her family more hope. also this morning, he is loud, espnateded and he is a huge success. whether you love him or hate him, one thing is for sure, bill o'reilly is never boring. i caught up with him, and we'll share some of the conversation as he talks about not only his

hit tv show -- >> i bet it was an interesting conversation. >> it was. interesting stuff. we'll share that. also coming up, miley cyrus pulled double duty last night on snl. she was not only a host, also the musical guest. and a new baby for 47-year-old actress halle berry. all that and more coming up in our entertainment round-up. >>. yes. howard dean's radio partner, rob robin quivers on her life and death battle with cancer. a big front continues to move eastbound. the question is, are we talking about autumn or are we talking about summer? because we are feeling the heat in front of this front. we have the southerly flow. so winds go from the south to the north. look at our temperatures there. virginia beach, 11 degrees above average. philadelphia, you are 13 degrees above average. so it is certainly going to be a warm one today. but that's not going to last long. why? you see that front right there, that's going to be your best friend. that's going to wash away all of

that heat here along the i-95 corridor. that's where it is today. tomorrow, it gets closer to the east coast. you can see, there are are the showers. anywhere from new england all the way down to florida. now here's a look at >> good morning. some of you waking up to some fog, otherwise we'll see partly cloudy skies throughout this sufpblet it's another warm one. highs in thal 80's. heavy rain tomorrow afternoon it's 5:00 somewhere, right, guys? always 5:00 somewhere. okay. so we are going to take you now to our top spot, and that is santa rosa, california. and the harvest fair in the backyard of our nbc affiliate in the bay area, nbc 11.

now, the world championship grape grape stomp, fun to watch. something always seems to happen with those. it's not only great stomping but also an annual fall celebration. also free wine tasting. yeah, we like that. and food pairing workshops taught by local celebrity chefs. if you're in the area, be sure to head out to wine country. lester, back to you. >> all right, stephanie, thanks. more than six years after she vanished while her family was on vacation, there is still hope today that madeleine mccann may be found alive. overnight, her parents expressed new opt oh minimum about the case. >> reporter: madeleine mccann was just 3 years old when she disappeared from her parents' vacation apartment in portugal in 2007. they have been fighting ever since, trying to find their little girl. this morning, the mccanns have released a new statement, saying they are greatly encouraged by new information coming to light. they say pieces of the jigsaw are now fitting together.

but what are those pieces? scotland yard detectives have revealed they're analyzing cell phone data from the portuguese resort where the mccans were staying. they're trying to track down as many of the people who were in the small town as possible. >> in essence, they know within a few minutes when she disappeared. if they can identify every cell phone that was used in that area, they may identify the person. >> reporter: madeline's parents will once again appear on a british crime show, alongside detectives, who will reveal some of the new information. in that statement just released, kate and jerry mccann also say, we are really hopeful that the fourth coming on crime watch will take us a step closer to finding madeline and bringing those responsible for her abduction to justice. this week, british tabloids are full of theories of what the new leads could be, from maddie interrupting burglars to a possible international pedophile ring. insiders of scotland yard

dismissed the report as speculation. british workers have identified more people they believe might be able to help with their investigation. there are now 41. the hope is one of them can help find a little girl who would now be 10 years old. for "today," duncan golastoni, nbc news, london. >> now here's erica. bill o'reilly is riding high these days, both on tv and as an author. is he the same guy, though, off-screen as he is on? the short answer? yes. >> caution. you are about to enter the no-spin zone. >> he's one of the country's most well-known tv personalities. outspoken. >> you people should be ashamed. >> you are lying! >> never one to shy away from debate. a formula that has made "the e o'reilly factor" the number one cable news show for more than 13 years. what do you think is that you

have that connects with millions of people every night? >> authenticity. i'm genuine. i'm not any different off-camera. you can ask the crew. i'm the same. i think it's rare on tv. >> o'reilly is also the author of 12 -- yes, 12, number-one best-sellers. his latest, "killing jesus." >> why jesus? >> well, i'm trying to bring into focus -- sharp focus the people that i feel have influenced america and the world in a very profound way. 80% of americans describe themselves as christians. how much do they know about him? >> o'reilly coauthored the book with martin dugard, the same man he partnered with for killing lincoln and killing kennedy. they say this isn't a religious or even theological book. it's a history book. the reviews are mixed. >> they review me, not the book. don't like me, so they'll say nasty things about the book. >> you give criticism, you take

criticism. how much of that do you let get to you? >> i used to let it get to me more than i do now. because it used to be more personal than it is now. but, you know, look. as you said, i dish it out, i've got to take it. and i do. >> o'reilly's tv staff is used to his style. he's quick and decisive. >> a little too squishy. i'm a commentator. if i have people writing my own commenta commentary, you know, there is something false about it. >> o'reilly celebrates 18 years at fox news this weekend. so what's next? what's on your -- >> retirement. >> when does that happen? you don't seem like the kind of guy slowing down any time soon. >> well, i work hard, but, you know, i'm not andy rooney, with all due respect to him. he was brilliant. i don't want to be working when i'm 90. >> that said, o'reilly isn't leaving the no-spin zone just yet. and clearly, there's still demand for his nightly takes. >> i'm most proud that we're honest. we don't stab anybody in the back. we stab them in the front. but not in the back.

you know? i mean, we're upfront here. and we've been that way since the very beginning. >> o'reilly told me, he's already working on that next book. he says it will focus on world war ii. but wouldn't get more specific than that. up next, controversial singer miley cyrus poking fun at herself on "saturday night live." we've got the latest in our entertainment roundup, right after this. or ulcerative colitiscrohn's die is a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps end our night before it even starts? what if i eat the wrong thing? what if? what if i suddenly have to go? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisadvocates.com to connect with a patient advocate from abbvie for one-to-one support and education.

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i know a lot of you saw me perform recently at the vmas. and in case anybody missed it, here is one of the more low-key moments. i got a lot of letters from angry mothers, turned-on fathers -- >> that's miley cyrus having a little fun on last night's "saturday night live." she tops our hollywood headlines, along with the new baby for hally berry, and george clooney and sandra bullock define gravity on the big screen. >> we're here to go through all of that. alicia, good morning. >> good morning. >> we start with miley cyrus. you stayed up late and watched the whole thing. >> sacrifice for the team. she did great. she was really good. she first of all did an acoustic performance we can't stop. sang her song "wrecking ball" wasn't over the top raunchy. she didn't address a lot of things like the sinead o'connor feud but addressed her vma performance and then got to it.

>> and what kind of impact could this potentially have on her reputation going forward? because she needed a little something. >> a very good impact. she first hosted snl in 2011. this reminds you that miley can act and sing and it's not all about showing your body parts. it's about talent she has. and people forget about that. >> a lot of online buzz about her performance last night, expectations about when it should be outrageous. let's go over to craig melvin. >> most folks out there on the internet expressed the same sentiment as alicia. this is one of our twitter clouds here and you can see some of the adjectives used to describe her performance last night, hilarious, amazing, twerk mentioned accident as well. conversation continued on twitter. would love to be twerking already, but every skit has implied or mentioned it. enough already. and denise chimed in saying who are we to judge. liked her before and still do. i think she is handling the criticism well. but, again, the overwhelming

response, pretty positive, lester, erica. >> and getting a lot of buzz, which is what being a celebrity is about. i want to talk movies. i saw this movie "gravity," george clooney and sandra bullock. the audience when i saw it applauded. i liked it a lot. saw it in 3-d. >> very good. they were interviewed early they are week and i said george, you guys have been friends so long. she's single, you're single. why is this not happening already? and he said, it's because they have been friends for 20 years. >> friend zone. they're in the friend zone. >> here's the thing, the bro zone. she dated one of his friends and he said it's a bro code. can't do that. but they're funny, hilarious. great chemistry. and this movie is getting oscar buzz. >> and why mess it up if you've got a good friendship. >> yeah, mess it up with romance? >> i'm not -- >> hold on a second. >> i'm happily married, he's gorgeous. but i'm just saying, if you've got a good friendship, sometimes it's not worth messing that up. >> should have a good friendship. i get it. >> exciting news and

congratulations in order for halle berry, a little boy now. >> we broke this story at e. she has a little boy and got married. they're both 47. halle has a 5-year-old daughter nala and has been praying for a sibling and this is a surprise and gift she got pregnant and has a little boy. >> exciting. >> very happy for her. thank you for coming by. >> my pleasure. >> erica, see "gravity." >> it's on my list. >> the glasses aren't as nerdy, the 3-d glasses, much more comfortable. just so you know. >> they're better. >> now you can watch e news weeknights at 7:00 eastern and pacific. no tweety glasses required. you can wear them if you want. up next, howard dean's right hand woman, robin quivers on her triumphant return to the studio after a cancer battle and why a healthy diet she believes saved her life. right after this. ♪

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when you're struggling with your mortgage, your home feels like a burden.

robin quivers is best known as howard dean's partners in crime on the radio. it's a position she has held for more than 30 years. >> after a 17-month absence from

the radio studio while she battled cancer, robin made her triumphant return this week. it was a day howard worried might never come. >> there was a time i really did think i was going to lose you permanently. and i'll tell you what, this is a pretty remarkable day. that you are here triumphant and cured. i mean, i never would have predicted this. >> robin describes her health struggles, past and present, in her new book, the vegucation of robin. >> i've got to change the name of the book. because -- it's the veg-cation of robin. >> sorry. you're here to correct us. >> it's okay. i have to tell everyone the name of the book. >> more reason to keep promoting it then. think of it that way. we just saw a clip of your first day back in the studio after seven months. you're feeling great. >> yeah. >> what an emotional day that must have been for you. >> well, we have had a lot of emotional days over this 17 months. it's not an easy thing to put your friends and loved ones

through, when you're going through something like this. they worry more about you than you worry about yourself. and they struggle more, because they feel helpless. and there's really nothing they can do but stand by. >> let's turn the clock back. it was spring of 2012. you just finished writing the book. >> yeah. >> doctors find this mass -- >> in my pelvis. >> turned out to be endometrial cancer and a very difficult road ahead. what was your attitude at that point? >> well, things happened so fast. from the diagnosis to surgery was about ten days. and in that ten days, there's lots of tests being done and you are finding out various things and maybe not much of anything at all. and you don't know what to think. and then when you go into surgery, they say just hope for a long surgery, because we really don't know how this is going to turn out. so -- >> comforting. >> yeah, so i was sort of in the middle of it all, and you know, howard and others were actually aware that it was such a serious and dire situation.

>> he really -- i mean, you two are very close, as we know. >> yeah. >> work together for more than 30 years. >> he really in many ways was your rock. >> oh, my goodness. the first person i called was howard after i got home and i needed a doctor, i was looking for a recommendation from beth, maybe. and he then said, "oh, my goodness, robin, what reing with going to do?" and he helped me put together my medical team. he was -- they were there after every appointment saying, what happened, what do we do next, what do we need now. and then at a certain point he just took over and said i'm getting you the best. you're going to have everything you need. and i just sat there for the first time in my life and let people take care of me. and he was the first among them. >> and it's not uncommon for people in the public light to live their illness as publicly. you kept it secret. and you were kind of calling into the show. >> well, i was on an isd line at home. they set up a special line for me so i could do the show from home. >> and you never explained why you weren't in the studio. >> not really.

because we do a comedy show and you don't want to be sitting there thinking is she going to be all right while trying to make you laugh. so we decided we don't know how the story is going to turn out. i want to get on the air for four hours every day. >> two days -- >> two-and-a-half three days. >> that long of a period. >> you have some sick leave coming to you. >> lester is going to make sure you get it. you credit a lot of what happened the way your body was able to handle this and fight it to the fact that you're a vegan. >> yes. i had a lot of problems before this. you know, right around the time of 9/11, i wasn't feeling very well at all. i didn't have a lot of strength or stamina or energy. all i did was work and sleep. and i thought, if i had been in that building that day, i wouldn't have been able to make it out on my own. and i thought, that's a terrible way to live. that's no way to go out in life. and so i went on this journey to

find out what was going on. and i eventually discovered how i felt had something to do with the way i was eating. and i eventually discovered the best way for me to eat was to be vegan. and all of those things that i was struggling with went away. i went from not being able to walk a block to running a marathon. so it was a wonderful transformation. >> right. >> and because i was so strong, i think it helped me through the surgery, the treatment, everything. >> and you read about all of that in the book. it's nice to have you with us this morning. glad to see you feeling so well. robin quivers, thanks. >> okay. >> we're back after these messages. >> we're back after these messages. ♪want to iour schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education.

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and a big week for us here

at nbc. education nation, our initiative, gets into full swing here in new york. you know, there are 60 million americans age 55 and older. and so we start off this week talking about a program and a school that's showing older folks, it's never too late to go back to class. here's rehema ellis. >> see what she is doing. >> reporter: she is 69 years old and retired. but four days a week, phyllis pricer goes back to school to teach young children. >> here, baby cake. >> reporter: pricer is part of the senior corps foster grandparent program in washington, d.c. >> we experienced a great deal, and we can teach others. >> reporter: she is one of a group of 30,000 volunteers age 55 and older who mentor more than 100,000 children a year nationwide. and the instruction goes beyond the abcs of colors and construction paper. does grandma help you learn how to be nice to each other? >> yeah. >> yes? >> reporter: 104-year-old

virginia mcforest is a foster grandparent too. and she says it's not just academic. kids need to learn social graces in school, as well. you're also teaching them respect. >> yes. you've got to do that sometime in education. ♪ old mcdonald >> reporter: research shows this style of teaching is also having a big impact on test scores. >> the data tells us that children who are touched by foster grandparents have a higher education achievement level. >> reporter: in fact, one study administered by the corporation for national and community service show that 92% of mentored children in southern kentucky improved their math and reading comprehension in a single year. and it's not just the kids who benefit. older americans who volunteer report lower levels of depression. increased brain activity and lower mortality rates.

and it's true for 59-year-old tony woods, a retired construction worker. >> sure, i know something, but i'm the one that's learning from them. >> it gives me a feeling of a generation. it's sometimes hard to explain. ♪ >> reporter: children and grandparents moving together that learning never gets old. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news, washington. >> that's a great program. that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. thanks for being with us. >> guest ext on 11 news our d our q&a and a boston marathon bombing survivor erika brannock with her first steps.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning sh and welcome to 11 news sunday morning i'm jennifer franciotti. >> and i'm lisa robinson. our top stories in a moment but first let's take a look outside with meteorologist ava marie. >> it's a little murky out there. we stepped out during the break and look at our hair now. it's almost like a summer morning with the high humidity. foggy as well. some of that fog may be produceing a little bit of mist. that's going to clear out throughout day and you should see sunshine and the temperatures will warm up. you can see the muhammedty at 93%. that humidity will be with us through the afternoon. all this will change as a cold front comes in tomorrow. it will spark some heavy rains and then lower temperatures.

stay tuned for details. >> new this morning a maryland state trooper is in serious condition after being hit by a car. trooper jacqueline klein was hit while backing up another trooper on a traffic stop around 1:00 a.m. this morning. a preliminary investigation gates trooper klein was struck by the right front of a nissan and sustained head injuries and a broken arm. the driver of the nissan did remain at the scene and that the time no charges have been filed. >> an emotional and inspirational day. >> in us to an all caught on camera exclusively by 11 news. erika brannock, a survivor of the boston marathon bombings took her first steps literally before our cameras. we have more. >> standing tall saturday erika brannock had a defining moment she never expected. >> there you go. [applause]

>> brannock's admirers cheered on as brannock publicly learns how to walk again using a prosthetic. >> they have been waiting on it as long as i have. >> she was injured in the boston marathon bombing and her wounds were so severe doctors had to amputate part of her left leg. after fighting hard, brannock has found a reason to smile. >> it's been a lot of rehab and hard work and getting stronger so i can get to that point where it's comfortable. >> as if the walking part weren't enough. >> bye nancy. bye quinn. >> she took the memorable steps before her students where she works as a teacher. the children have followed her recovery closely and her parents have, too. they created a fund for her right after the bombling. >> we didn't know what the road ahead was going to be but we knew it was going