super soaker, flash flooding in the south, homes swaum pd. there is more rain in the forecast as wicked winds, damaging hail and the threat of tornadoes lurk for millions of people in the nation's midsection today. could your weekend be a washout? dylan is tracking it all. sacked. michael sam is cut by the st. louis rams. what's next for the player who captivated so many. and safe at home. one of the stars of the little league world series team that made it all the way to the championships finally getting a roof over his head this morning after months of being homeless. all thanks to one man's generosity.

and welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm erica hill. >> i'm lester holt with jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer who sa , said said, ringers off. we have four people here and -- anybody expecting a call? >> if they are, one of us will get it. >> as long as it vibrates, we'll show they called. >> the ringer is off. >> i like that. >> thank you. >> what do we have coming up? >> nascar legend tony stewart will be back competing today in the driver's seat after three weeks hiatus after he struck and killed fellow driver kevin ward jr. we're live in georgia at the atlanta motor speedway for a

look at what fans have to say about his return. >> we introduce you d you to charlotte and talk about the medical breakthrough that helped in the reconstruction of her face after a terrible accident. with two years of surgery behind her, we're checking in with charlotte and we have a neat surprise for her as well. >> looking forward to that. the morning's top story, the severe weather expected to batter the central plains and the midwest today. keeping you busy today, dylan. >> as we say good-bye to summertime, it is certainly not the weekend you hoped for. we saw extremely heavy rain in parts of louisiana yesterday, up to 10 inches of rain in lake charles, louisiana. flash flood watches are still in effect. it is called like a 20 to 25-year event. that means it happens about every 20 to 25 years and we certainly saw it yesterday. we have flooding through people's homes. we have the water and the just completely saturating the ground. this water unfortunately has nowhere to go. and more rain is in the forecast

today. you can see some scattered showers down through louisiana. we have some pockets of heavier rain moving up into kentucky and into ohio and even into pennsylvania. but it is back through the midwest, and into the plains, where we're going to see our strongest storms today. we are looking at a slight risk of severe storms from minnesota, right down to kansas including parts of eastern and south dakota, eastern nebraska, most of iowa, right in through here where we have a chance of have tornadoes developing, especially later this afternoon, and into the evening. we also have a slight risk of sto stronger storms from new england to d.c. this won't be for tornadoes but the large hail and also the damaging wind gusts. all out ahead of this frontal system. it is really hot and humid ahead of it. we're looking at the ripe conditions to produce torrential downpours and also some of those possible tornadoes, especially into iowa as we go into late this evening and overnight. wanted to show you on labor day, we're looking at the chance of severe storms to shift a little further to the east.

so it is not just the fact that we're going to see flooding rains, but just the wind and the hail and also we could see a tornado outbreak. >> tough combination. thanks. >> we'll get the rest of your national forecast at the moment. u.s. military forces carried out air strikes and dropped humanitarian aid in one iraqi town today, helping break a six-week siege by isis fighters. this comes as president obama still deciding whether to carry out air strikes in syria. and andrea mitchell is nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, filling in as moderator of "meet the press." good morning. great to see you. >> good morning. good to see you, lester. >> the president was cautious in his words about whether to go forward in syria at the same time you've got defense secretary hagel talking about this imminent threat of isis, that what we have seen is beyond anything that we have seen. great britain raising the terror level, saying highly likely for an attack. is there some kind of disconnect going on here? >> i think there is a disconnect, particularly in the

president's own national security cabinet. that was one of the messages that he was deliberately sending when he said we don't have a strategy yet for isis. he was trying to cool down the more hawkish memories of his own national security team. but in doing so, he perhaps in inadvertently gave ammunition to his critics saying he's being too cautious and not confronting this threat quickly enough aone of those critics is dianne feinstein who i interview on "meet the press." >> let's play a little bit of that interview and then we'll continue. here it is. >> i think i've learned one thing about this president, and that is he's very cautious. maybe in this instance too cautious. this is a group of people who are extraordinarily dangerous. and they'll kill with abandon. >> turn that around now, andrea. almost exactly a year ago the president was ready to go in against the assad government,

over the chemical weapons and attack there. what has transpired in the interim? >> in the interim, congress has not taken up the challenge. he managed to get rid of the chemical weapons with an agreement ironically enough with vladimir putin. this is a foreign policy success that the administration is pointing to. but the fact is that he did withdraw sort of that threat, that military threat, even after asaad in syria crossed a red line, and now a year later again showing real caution in his comments. and there is a disconnect, not only within the cabinet, but also with the allies. we saw how strong david cameron was. i think everyone agrees that the military options against isis is very complex. and that perhaps there does need to be more time, more of a strategy. so he's going to send john kerry and chuck hagel to the middle east after a nato meeting next week and try to rally the

allies. but we're going to be talking about whether or not the president has signaled weakness and whether there needs to be more show of leadership here in the united states. >> andrea, thanks very much. we'll check back with you more on what's coming up on "meet the press" later. superstar tony stewart will be back on the track today competing for first time since he struck and killed driver kevin ward jr. earlier this month. gabe gutierrez has more. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: erica, good morning. almost 100,000 people are expected here later today. many of them will be eager to welcome one of nascar's biggest stars back to the track after an emotional three weeks. this morning, tony stewart is preparing for one of the biggest races of his career, he was all business saturday during practice laps. >> you know, i can only imagine what he's going through with the ward family. but he's a driver. he needs to do what he wants to do. and we're just glad he's back. >> reporter: all weekend here at

atlanta motor speedway, stewart has been the center of attention. on friday, speaking publicly for the first time. >> this is a sadness and a pain that i hope no one ever has to experience in their life. >> tony stewart just hit that guy. >> reporter: since he struck and killed fellow driver kevin ward jr. at a dirt track in upstate new york earlier this month. the horrifying collision caught on camera and posted on youtube. the sheriff says that crash investigation will take at least another two weeks. >> that was a total accident. i mean, it is very obvious. i don't think tony would hurt a fly. >> reporter: stewart's team says he sent flowers and a card to ward's relatives and would like to meet them at a appropriate time but the family has not commented on stewart's return to racing. >> everybody in nascar industry and legal experts are expecting there will be some sort of civil action and settlement. >> reporter: corporate sponsors are watching how stewart handles the adversitadversity. bass pro shops said it was proud to stand by him.

nascar is the second most watched sport on television behind the nfl. bobby and sherry gordon drove ten hours to catch a glimpse of stewart. they're not alone. >> i think it is the best thing he can do, get back out there on the racetrack. it is what he needs. >> reporter: stewart would need to win one of the next two races to have a shot at the championship. he came in 12th during friday's qualifying laps. tonight's race is scheduled to begin at 7:30 eastern. erica? >> gabe, thanks. gabe gutierrez this morning. michael sam, first openly gay player drafted by an nfl team, is waiting to see what is next for him today after he was cut. >> a lot of people are watching the clock yesterday, the rams had until 4:00 to trim the roster down, down from 75 to 53. making the decision to let the defensive end go in just the final hours. michael sam brought his a game during the st. louis rams four

preseason games. but his 11 tackles and three sacks weren't enough for the franchise who passed on him before the official start of the season this week. >> it was a football decision back in may to draft mike. and once again, i mean, it has been all about football. >> reporter: rams coach jeff fisher adding -- >> i will tell you this, i was pulling for mike. >> reporter: the rams ultimately deciding that sam wasn't their best option, at a position where the team is already suited with talent. >> from the start, it would be difficult to prove that to the rams because they have such good defensive ends, would be tough for michael sam to get on the field. he'll get a hard look from other 4-3 defensive units that might need help in that position. >> reporter: earlier this week, sam was confident about his chances saying -- >> i'll sleep really well tonight and i'm very confident i'll be on the team on -- the rams or any other team in the nfl. >> reporter: and late saturday, in response to the news, sam tweeted, i want to thank the entire rams organization and the city of st. louis for giving me

this tremendous opportunity and allowing me to show i can play at this level. i look forward to continuing to build on the progress i made here toward a long and successful career. and while sam was just one of hundreds of players released yesterday, his openly gay sexuality made him the most talked about. >> in the end, the coaches and the scouts are going to judge him on can he help you win football games on sundays. >> reporter: now a free agent, sam will pass through waivers giving the other 31 nfl teams an opportunity to add him to their rosters. >> yes, sam could end up on another team's roster as early as today. so what if that does not happen well? the rams could sign them to their practice squad, their ten-man practice squad, so at some point, if somebody gets hurt on the roster, they could call him up. so eventually he will officially be the first openly gay player to play in the nfl, just has to wait a little longer. >> t.j., thanks very much. time for a look at the rest of the morning's top stories. >> jenna is following those for us. >> good morning. european leaders overnight

issued an ultimatum to russia, one week to pull back russian troops from ukraine or face new sanctions. russian president vladimir putin reacted this morning saying moscow cannot stand aside when people are being shot at in ukraine, but denies nato assertions that 1,000 of russia's troops have crossed into ukraine. a new volcanic eruption in iceland caused the country to issue its highest aviation warning. authorities warn that a code red warning means there is potential for the volcano to spew ash into flight paths. an eruption in the same volcano system four years ago led to a six-day closure of european air space. rescuers are still feverishly working to save at least four people and four miners trapped in nicaragua. a they now have been underground for 72 hours. they said they first felt despair after thursday's collapse in a gold and silver mine and then pure joy as the miners digging from the inside were reached by rescuers digging from the outside. the coast guard is searching

for the wreckage of a small plane today that triggered a security alert before crashing into the atlantic. the plane took off from wisconsin saturday headed for virginia. when it entered restricted air space, over washington, d.c., fighter jets were scrambled. the jet pilot said the person at the controls appeared to be unconscious and they followed the plane until it crashed at sea in virginia. it may be first weekend of college football, but receivers around the country have to go a long way to top this catch. collect it out. jordan heading for the sideline. the pass is tipped. watch it. he makes an unbelievable behind the back catch. his coach says he's never seen anything like this. oh, by the way, cornhuskers won the game handily over florida. did you see it? did you see it? watch it. here it is. and there is the catch. and finally this morning, if you're an expecting mom and i know a few, among the many

things you worry about, if you are a worrier, is where you'll be when it is time. near a hospital, near a cab to take you to a hospital, near someone who owns a cab who knows where the hospital is? mark potter introduces us to one illinois couple whose delivery situation included none of the above. >> reporter: maybe mary margaret came into the world on friday to join three brother and a sister already here, she made quite an entrance. it began around midknignight wh her mother felt strong contractions that went away. >> came on with a vengeance. >> reporter: fearing they may not make it to the hospital, she and her husband dan headed for their minivan. >> he gets in the car, i don't know. just don't push. >> reporter: racing down the highway, it wasn't long before they had to pull over. >> i called 911 right away. and then i went over to the passenger door and opened it just to get a little bit of light because it is still dark out and at that point it was

very obvious i was going to deliver a child on the shoulder of the road. >> reporter: luckily he's a captain in the fire department and was trained in childbirth, but never tested. >> you don't think about anything other than don't drop the baby. >> reporter: the roadway birth of his own child took only about two minutes. fellow firefighters were impressed. >> pretty cool move, and did a great job. everybody here is pretty proud of him. >> reporter: but for the lynches, this is it. >> we're done. we went out with a bang with her. >> reporter: their fifth child, the one who just couldn't wait. for "today," mark potter, nbc news. >> i'm making sure steph's watching, just on the off chance. >> are you watching that? because you need to know. send. >> i think we're all good now. i feel safe. >> now that we have that part of it down, manybe a check of the weather. >> a busy day today for the last unofficial weekend of summer. we have got a lot going on.

we have scattered showers and storms from northern new england to southern texas with an area across the mid-atlantic where we could end up with large hail and damaging wind gusts. it is this hour baarea back thre midwest where we could see isolated tornadoes break out late this afternoon and into the this evening. good morning everyone. i'm meteorologist ted florendo. humidity is back and so is the threat of showers and thunderstorms. hot and humid today. thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening hours. temperatures are going in the upper 80s. it's going to feel like the 90s for the day today. still storms for labor day, hot for tuesday. we start to cool off a little. still in the upper 80s and warm towards the end of the week. have a great morning everyone. and that's your latest forecast. >> thank you very much. up next on "today," a hometown hero without an actual place to call home. we'll have the story of a little league champ from chicago whose

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buy three johnson & johnson first aid products and get a free bag. if you're like most of us, you're probably captivated by chicago's jackie robinson west little league team. they made it to the finals of the little league world series but it is one of the stories of a player off the field that is really grabbing headlines this morning. kristen dahlgren has more on that. >> good morning, erica. jackie robinson west may have been the hometown favorites, but one player didn't have a home. it sounds like every little boy's dream, help win the u.s. title in the little league world series. be welcomed home to chicago like a hero. >> and they are not just chicago's team, they are america's number one team. >> reporter: even honored on field at the white sox game.

for jaheim benton, life off the feel was far are from a storybook. >> it's been hard, but i tell my babies, keep your head up. >> reporter: this past year has been a real struggle for his family. his mom devona had hours cut at her home care job. the family lost their home. they stayed apart with friends and relatives. all while jaheim's little league team was on its incredible run. >> get out there and play ball, despite him knowing that we lost our home, he got out there and still played ball. he didn't give up. >> reporter: jackie robinson west was crowned best team in the country. making headlines, and legions of fans. so when local chicago businessman spencer leak heard about jaheim's struggles, he stepped in. >> superstar and homeless doesn't mix. we have to do something about that. jaheim is going to have a home. >> reporter: leak and sons

funeral home donated rent for his family for the next year. >> your son and his whole team is an inspiration to all of chicago. >> reporter: the story of a generous businessman and a brave little boy continuing to inspire. the leak family has a history of helping others in the community. spencer leak says he hopes his act does inspire others to help their neighbors in need. >> great story. kristen dahlgren, thank you so much. still to come on a sunday edition of "today," is honesty really the best policy when it comes to running a business? a little social

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good morning. i'm rosemary connors. it's just a few minutes before 8:30 before you head out. let's get a check of the forecast from ted florendo. foggy out there. >> we've got the clouds and hazy weather we're seeing out side. look how low the clouds are. we are dry at this hour. current temperatures now mid-70s a warm start to our morning. going to feel like 90s, humid and hot with late day showers and storms. today atlantic city showboat casino is shutting down after 27 years leaving hundreds without a job. the casino will close the doors at 4:00 this afternoon. cesars entertainment which owns showboat is still looking for potential buyers. atlantic city is taking more hits. rebel hotel closes tomorrow. the casino shuts down the next day. september 16th, trump plaza will

close. the made in america festival is back for day two. here's a live look if you can see it. you can sort of see it. this is temperature main stage in front of ben franklin parkway. the music gets going in a few hours. tonight's headliner is kings of leon. dozens of others will also perform including congo. for a full list and traffic detours, go to nbc10.com. i'm rosemary connors. ted and i will see you back here at 9:00. have a good one. this is garthen leslie, a regular guy who invented aros. a very smart air conditioner that learns your habits to save you money. this is ben kaufman, the ceo of quirky. he's rubbing garthen's regular-guy feet because garthen is far more important than ben. at quirky, real people invent all of our products. ben just runs the company.

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. we're back on this sunday morning, august 31st, 2014. and a smiling crowd out on the plaza this morning, marking the unofficial end of summer. we will go outside a bit later and say hello to everyone. >> make it much easier. >> we have a lot coming up. first, let's walk you through the headlines. severe weather is making its way across the central plains and upper midwest today. flash flood warnings are in effect and tornadoes are possible. >> tens of thousands of fans are expected to turn out at atlanta motor speedway today for the return of nascar's tony stewart.

it is his first competition since striking and killing driver kevin ward jr. earlier this month. a volcano in iceland erupted again this morning, happened in roughly the same place as the eruption on friday. a no fly order is in effect in the region. still to come, you may remember charlotte ponsi, a 12-year-old girl whose life was forever changed when she lost an ear in an accident. doctors were able to grow a new ear for her under the skin of her wrist, really phenomenal story. we'll check in with her and her remarkable transformation. imagine this, you walk into a store, grab what you want, head to the counter and there is nobody there. you walk out, you leave money? it is happening in stores across the country. can you really run a business based on the honor system? we'll find out. and a little later, it is a grade school sport making a big comeback with adults. we'll tell you why kick ball is growing in popularity. >> you brought your sneakers? >> we did. >> what does that mean for erica? >> we brought our sneakers.

>> it is going to be great. don't miss that. we begin this half hour with the story that has rocked one of the nation's most famous football teams, the university of southern california. one of the team's captains has been suspended for lying about an injury and now there are new questions about just what happened in the moments leading up to his accident. holly jackson has his story. >> reporter: as usc football players flooded the fields in their season opener, then celebrated a big win, the team did it all without its captain and star cornerback, josh shaw was suspended indefinitely this week after he admitted to lying about how he sprained his ankles. the usc coach says that development did not distract the rest of the team from the game. >> i maybe brought it up to him twice all week and they were -- it just wasn't going to be a focus of ours. >> reporter: earlier this week, shaw said he hurt both ankles when he leapt from a second floor balcony to save his nephew from drowning in the family pool. days later, he admitted he made

up the story and was wrong to not tell the truth, leaving many to wonder what really happened, including los angeles police. >> there has been an allegation made that there was possibly a domestic violence incident that occurred. >> reporter: sources familiar with the investigation tell nbc news on the night in question, shaw and his girlfriend argued heatedly for about 15 minutes at her apartment in downtown l.a. adding a lamp may have been thrown. police want shaw to answer more questions about that night. but shaw's high powered attorney who has represented stars like snoop dogg and rihanna said on friday his client has talked with police enough. >> the reality is there is no domestic violence. there is no crime whatsoever. >> reporter: how do you think this incident is affecting the team? >> i'm hopeful it doesn't affect them a whole lot. >> i don't know if he'll ever come back to the team. >> so sad that he pulled such an immature stunt. >> reporter: for a player used to delivering big hits, some fans say shaw's reputation is now taking one. for "today," holly jackson, nbc

news, los angeles. let's head outside to dylan on the plaza with a final check of the weather this sunday. >> i just saw one rain drop. did anybody else feel it? i guess there was more than one. a little humid in the northeast. we're looking at storms to start working their way in. it is going to be a very unsettled day in green. those are all the areas where we will see scattered showers and storms. not a washout, but the pop-up showers. in red, in the northeast, and also back across the plains and the upper midwest, that's where we're looking at the chance of stronger storms, hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes, especially going into iowa and eastern nebraska. now, tomorrow, we'll see that shift a little bit further to the east, that includes chicago, in red, also includes parts of western michigan, southeastern wisconsin, that's where we could see our strongest storms, not so much tornadoes tomorrow, but we could still have to deal with those damaging wind gusts and the flash flooding. we could end up with two to four inches of rain so the flooding

is going to be a major concern as well. good morning everyone. i'm meteorologist ted florendo. the humidity is back and so is the threat of showers and thunderstorms. hot and humid today. thunderstorms later in the afternoon. also the evening hours. temperatures going to upper 80s. going to feel like the 90s for the day today. still some storms for labor day. hot for tuesday. then we start to cool things off a little. we're still in the upper 80s and warm towards the end of the week. have a great morning everyone. >> and i want to give a quick happy anniversaries, your first anniversary and you've done the first anniversary 30 times. so happy 30th anniversary. lester? a happy update to a story we brought you last month about the 12-year-old who got a new ear thanks to some amazing work from her doctors. we should point out some of the pictures of her injuries you'll see are severe. and andrea canning is back with

an update. good morning. >> good morning, lester. charlotte has one of the most ama amazing attitudes about beauty. the last time we hung out, she told me about her dream to be a makeup artist. while she thought we were back to check on her progress, we were actually there to give her a big surprise. >> you're pretty just the way you are. >> reporter: wise words from 12-year-old charlotte ponsi. how do you hope people see you now? >> a normal kid. >> reporter: what makes you feel normal? >> having people not stare at me anymore. >> reporter: a month ago, we introduced you to charlotte who had been severely disfigured during a raccoon attack when she was just 3 months old. remarkably, dr. shiasi created a new ear for her, by taking cartilage from her rib, growing it under the skin on her arm and attaching it to her head. he also built her a new nose, cheek and mouth using her own skin. despite all she had to endure,

charlotte has big plans. do you still have dreams of becoming a makeup artist? >> yep. a beautician. >> reporter: you like to make people look good? is it -- >> and feel good. >> reporter: charlotte thought we were back to check up on how she's doing since getting her new ear, but we had something special planned. we have a surprise for you. derma blend cosmetics, designed to cover scars, flew out a makeup artist to give charlotte a makeover and teach her how to use makeup. how hard is charlotte's case? >> this is more of a severe case, but the great thing is that the product still covers the same. so whether it is a minor or a severe condition like charlotte's, we're still able to get great coverage. it helps people to get their confidence back. >> reporter: it was time for charlotte to see her new look. what do you think? >> i look like a little

princess. they like it. >> reporter: do you feel beautiful, charlotte? >> yes. >> makes me feel teary. i love her a lot. >> reporter: when you first brought her home from the hospital, she was 5 months old, did you ever think she would look like this? >> no. no. our hope was she could just remove some of the scars. there is no way we could ever thought this was possible. she just wanted to feel pretty and feel special and i think she does. i think she can walk through a whole bunch of doors she never thought she could before. a lot of opportunities out there for her now. >> such a great kid and thank you to derma blend for stepping up to the plate for this little girl. charlotte received 200 pairs of earrings in the mail from complete strangers. and now she's finally able to wear them. she recently had another dream come true when the doctor

pierced her brand-new ear. she has one more thing on her bucket list. she wants to go to paris and see the eiffel tower. >> i love the look on her face. i look like a little princess, what a great moment. i assume it is by design, they made some of her features larger? >> they did. because the doctor wants her to really grow into her features. her face is still going to grow, and then once she's done growing, he can really sculpt and contour her nose and ear because it is a lot easier to go smaller than it is to try and go bigger. he did it on purpose. she's going to keep changing as she gets older and her scars are going to fade. this little girl is going to go on to live a normal life now. >> such a terrific story. thanks for updating us. we're back right after this. jake and i have been best friends for years.

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talk to your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or go online to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, natalie: what are you doing? willie: protecting my password. natalie: that's good. can i see? willie: no, it's a secret. natalie: i was just testing you. keep your password to yourself, and protect your online information. both: the more you know. welcome back on this sunday morning. we begin with a deep question for jenna. is honesty the best policy? >> is honesty the best policy, like the third best policy. i think working at it every day is best policy. honesty -- now that you have the kid, you have to tell them all the important things. i would like to think honesty is the best policy. i'll tell you what, stores across the country would like to think so too. the expression has been put to the test recently as more and

more businesses are implementing the honor system. instead of hiring staff to man the counter. are americans really trustwor y trustworthy? i went in search of the answers. there is a small coffee shop in a small town in north dakota where the coffee is self-serve, and so is the bill. >> you want something, you help yourself and you pay. >> reporter: with no one behind the counter, customers pay based on the good old-fashioned honor system. >> the business plan simply makes sense. it turns out people have been more generous. and we have been consistently 15% over asking price. >> reporter: honesty, instilled in us from childhood -- >> honest? >> honest. >> reporter: -- is often our first virtue learned. >> the truth is inside of us. >> reporter: and the backbone of our moral code. >> all i ask for is honesty. >> it is not a lie if you believe it. >> we had this little voice inside our head, that little angel on one shoulder telling us to do the right thing. >> reporter: the honor system isn't new to retail. farm stands across the country

have been using it for years. >> what is the case? i get that a lot, what is the catch? there is no catch. for us, it is a matter of convenience for us as well as our customers. >> reporter: circle s farms in tennessee never closes. the self-serve stand had an honor box set up for 12 years now. and for the most part, everyone pays. >> i know it sounds strange in today's modern world, we found that there is still a lot of good people out there. >> reporter: there is honesty and then there is honesty. this 90-year-old has been running a self-service stand for decades. she's all about the honor system. so when asked about her surveillance camera we found, her answer was quite telling. for the last several summers, honesty has been conducting its own experiment, setting up kiosks in all 50 states and washington, d.c. >> you look around, is anyone watching, what are other people doing what are people thinking of me. >> reporter: our camera crew staked out this new york city

stand for several hours. most people paid. some did not. >> just figure it was optional. >> i mean, it is the honor system so i said -- >> how honest of a society do you think we are? >> i think if you give people that choice that most people would definitely pay for that. >> i think it is a big world. there is a lot of dishonest people in the world. >> reporter: so we started asking around. what percentage of this country do you think paid for the iced tea? >> i say 60 yes, 40 not. >> 60%. >> reporter: turns out 95% of americans were honest this year, according to the company. so what does that mean? honesty is the best policy. >> you must have the best part of the store ary. tell everybody. >> we're doing a story about honesty and the beautiful irony is while we were shooting a story, someone came up and snagged one of our cameras at a

little kiosk. the irony. someone stole our camera at an honest -- we filed a police report. it is in the process of happening. but we couldn't even get over the fact that they stole our camera on the story about honesty. >> i'm sure the criminal will see it and bring it back. >> yeah, oh, that's what i'm going to do today, i'm going to bring the camera back. >> here, jenna, here you go. >> got to love it. >> we have dialen in tylan in t room with the plaza fan of the day. >> all you wanted to do was to be in the front row out on the plaza and now you're in the orange room. >> i am. >> here is your moment. take it away. >> when was the last time you played kickball? grade school maybe? coming up, we'll tell you why more and more adults are getting back into the game. but first, these messages!

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as summer wind downs, many after work sports leagues are also wrapping up their seasons. leagues that today go far beyond the company softball team. >> some of the fastest growing sports are playground games like

dodge ball and kickball. you may be wondering why you waited so long to get back in the game. kickball, it is the game most of us remember from elementary school and likely haven't played since. which makes this playground past time the perfect fit for an increasing number of adults. >> not a lot of pressure. so you can suck and it is okay. >> reporter: unlike other sports, which can get competitive and serious, like softball, on this diamond, you never have to worry that the pitcher played division one or even varsity kick ball. >> anybody can come out and play. you really have a sense of humor. >> reporter: translation, they'll take anyone. now it is official. now i have the shirt. the navy shirts belong to kick me and i'll sue. a team of co-workers playing kickball together for the first time this year. >> we are not the best in the league but we still have fun. >> reporter: good news for the latest addition, who is clearly

a little rusty. the games are quick. just seven innings. >> yes! >> reporter: these games are run by the nearly 50-year-old boston ski and social club. which has an activity for just about everyone. >> safe! >> reporter: but it is kickball that has seen some of the biggest growth in recent years. the world adult kickball association or waka has leagues in 35 states with 80 to 100,000 players nationwide every season. i understand this is the final inning actually doesn't happen on the field, but often down the street at a watering hole. >> this is a very social environment. they play hard on the field, then they go play hard at the bars. >> reporter: where on this night there seemed to be greater success for those in the navy blue shirts who finished the season 1-6. but for a perfect record in the all important fun column. >> cheers. >> reporter: kick me and i'll

sue is one of the boston teams. there are 13 leagues in boston. they had 250 players and now over 2,000. they're not part of waka but growing rapidly. they're looking at their winter sports options. so if you play next summer, i brought their ball back so we could play a little game. kick with the inside of your foot. >> okay. >> no sliding, no stealing. >> i want going to slide. >> we're in the outfield. >> wait, okay. >> okay. >> i'm ready. >> you know i'm running slowly. >> is that the fastest you've ever run? >> who is kicking next? >> this is exactly what i would wear also if i played kick ball.

>> straight from work, you know. >> you're out. it got caught. >> oh. >> you're out. because she caught it. >> i like the fact -- time for dylan? >> let's have dylan try it. we got a 12-year-old singing sensation. unlimited cash back.

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that is powerhouse singer jonathan, 12 years old, already stunning the judges on "america's got talent," into the semifinals now. before he heads back to school, though, it is back to the radio city stage and he's going to -- he's spending some time with us this morning. great to have you here. >> the crowd was happy with what they heard earlier. so everybody is back to school. your friends are back to school? >> yes. >> you have celebrity status. not so bad? >> no. >> better than homework? >> better than homework. >> what will you do if you win the million dollars? >> help my mom out, get two dogs and go crazy. >> how about $2,000. >> you have a game plan. all we want is to hear you sing.

so go for it ♪ to the star here in my eyes ♪ ♪ a melody that all will believe ♪ ♪ i'm more than words i'm not the voice you gave to me ♪ ♪ but now i got to find ♪ ♪ my own my own ♪ >> wow! >> so great.

thank you so much for coming in this morning. you can watch "america's got talent," tuesday and wednesday nights at 9:00, 8:00 central. >> great job, pal. love it. let's check in with andrea mitchell for are a look at what's coming up on "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning, lester and erica. coming up, the latest on the isis threat. i'll ask california senator dianne feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee, if president obama's comment shows weakness. plus, the revealing look at the new moderator of "meet the press," our own chuck todd from those who know him best. all that coming up next. >> andrea, we look forward to that. >> that will do it for us on a sunday morning. thank you for being with us. >> i'll see you back here for "nbc nightly news." until then, we'll play more kickball. thanks for watching.

the showboat casino and hotel in atlantic city has hours before it closes later today. we'll have a life report from the board walk on the showboat's last day in business. a teenager fighting for her life this morning. she was among five high school girls on their way to a charity soccer game when they were hurt in a crash. we'll explain how police say it happened. comfortable conditions from yesterday are gone. it is muggy throughout hooemper live look at the bridge. it is hazy. good morning this is nbc 10 news