at mass, pope francis once again returned to the theme of service, urging priests to value what he called the immense contribution of women to catholic communities. in front of independence hall, francis told the thousands gathered that in a world where some used religion as a reason for hatred and brutality, religions must unite in calling for peace and tolerance. >> my brothers and sisters -- >> reporter: this pope from argentina gave a shoutout to the nation's immigrants, especially hispanics, telling them not to be ashamed of their traditions, that they bring many gifts to their new nation. his day ended with a star-studded concert celebrating the family. but for all the words, it is francis' gestures that may resonate most. getting out of his fiat to bless

michael keating, who has cerebral palsy. >> >> bringing his mother to tears. and leading seminarians in singing happy birthday to his host here. now, this morning pope francis meets with the bishops, and then he goes to a local prison where he will minister to accused murderers murderers, rapists, and drug offenders. that's all part of his mission to reach out to the people on sheinelle? >> anne thompson, thank you. more about that, serving prisoners has been a cornerstone of the pope's ministry. you may remember, he washed the feet of inmates at a juvenile detention ceceer in rome and did so again back in april. >> and we want to actually bring in our nbc news vatican analyst bishop, good morning. >> good morning to you. >> this is the final day of a six-day trip, a long, packed, six-day trip for the pope here

in the u.s. he has one lung. he's 78 years old. he seems happy, but how is he holding up behind the scenes? >> well, simply unbelievable to watch him. i'm exhausted, and i'm just covering what he's doing. he seems to get stronger and stronger as the week goes on. i think he is someone that draws a lot of energy from the crowds. even though i think he's an introvert, most of his life he was known as a pretty retiring man, but something happened to him, i think, when he was elected pope. you see it now on xtraordinary display. i think he's holding up pretty well. >> you have said this pope understands that we all sin, and perhaps even more than other popes embraces our sins and our imperfections. he usually speaks very generally about that, but he got pretty specific last night, going off script and getting a laugh out of the crowd. i want to put on the screen what he said. delving into a topic not even i would dare delve into. families quarrel, he said, sometimes plates can fly and children give headaches.

i won't speak about mothers-in-law. what does that say about this pope? it got a huge choo eer from the crowd. >> he's so human. this is a very high compliment. he's a parish priest. when he speaks, he reminds me of a parish priest giving a morning mass homily at 7:00 to the people he knows very well. he's a very bright man, obviously, but he's not an academic the way john paul ii and benedict were. this is a man who knows how to speak to average people in a way that's provocative. he's got a real gift for the image. from the very beginning of his papacy, he has a gift for finding that memorable image, whether it's, you know, the smell of the sheep, we all remember that, and plates flying. it appeals to the imagination. he's a brilliant pastor. >> he's not a politician, of course, but when he speaks, people listen about global politics. specifically, a couple hot-button issues here in the u.s. a huge part of our 2016 presidential race, including global warming and immigration. what can we expect to hear from

him today? >> we'll hear, i think, to some degree more of the same. pope francis, like all the popes, speaks out of the catholic social teaching tradition, which famously goes beyond our left/right divisions. it all depends upon god finally. remember the line he used i think before congress a few days ago, that in prayer we are all equal. it's a great insight. we're not equal in any other way, whether in talent, beauty, strength, or opportunity. the one place we're all really equal is before god. so once you get that, then the whole catholic social teaching tradition comes into play. now we see why life should be respected at all stages of development. now we see why every person should be treated with dignity. take god out of the equation, and the thing begins to fall apart. i think that's the key to francis' teaching and what he witnesses to above all is the reality of god. once we get that, everything

>> bishop robert barron, we'll be looking for the black fiat on the streets of philadelphia today. thank you so much. >> thanks. to politics now. a busy week in washington with a possible leadership battle shaping up after house speaker john boehner's resignation. and hillary clinton struggling in the polls in the wake of an e-mail scandal that just won't go away. chuck todd is the moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning. it has been -- what a week. it's been amazing. >> in its simplest form, boehner quit to avoid a government shutdown. with his resignation, have we indeed averted a government shutdown? >> we've delayed i think a fight for a government shutdown for now. i don't think we're fully averted yet. what you're going to see is basically a three-month -- and we've been through this before, where congress will pass these things sort of short term at a time. there will be a short-term funding bill that will get us through the end of the year. republicans will have a new speaker in three months. then let's see where we go. i think some of the leadership, republican leadership, mitch

mcconnell and the incoming speaker, believe for the next three months they'll have time to calm conservatives down and explain to them, if you want to defund planned parenthood, focus your energy on the campaign trail because it's going to take a republican president to do that. >> will there be a succession fight? will representative kevin mccarthy of california be the next speaker of the house? >> look, i think he's the heavy favorite. you've got to remember, john boehner had a majority of support in this republican conference. kevin mccarthy is likely to have that same support. a majority of the republican conference is the quote/unquote establishment wing of the party. this conservative wing that is very upset at the tactics, they don't have enough votes to put their own speaker in. that said, i don't think mccarthy is going to get -- he's obviously going to have a challenge. he's not going to be able to go totally unopposed, but it would be hard for me to believe that he will get stopped. >> okay. let's turn to hillary clinton. you have her on as a guest this morning. a recent cnn primary poll showed

bernie sanders by 16 points. 46% to 30%. how are clinton's people reacting to this 16-point gap? >> you know, i think they've been trying to say, well, new hampshire, it's a neighboring state to vermont. we always expected bernie sanders to do well. i have to tell you, 16 points, they did not expect to be trailing by 16 points. they expected it to be competitive. by the way, the only democratic candidate who's paying for tv ads in new hampshire right now is hillary clinton. bernie sanders has yet to spend a dime on television and he's already up 16 points. this is a reminder that i think more than anything else, this e-mail business has really take an toll on clinton's candidacy so far. >> finally, what about vice president bbiden? what are your sources saying about the chances he gets in? >> the good news sing we're going to have our answer in the next week. i think we have one more week of this. everybody i've talked to says the vice president is well aware if he's going to do this or not. he needs to make this decision basically by the first week of october. guess what, look at the calendar. we're close to that. >> chuck, my friend, you have a

lot to talk about this morning. see you later this morning when both hillary clinton and carly fiorina join you on "meet the press." let's go to frances with the latest on the deadly shooting spree in southern california. >> two people are dead in the wake of a random shooting rampage. investigators in california say a man driving an suv began firing at cars. two drivers were shot and killed. three other people injured, including one who was beaten while parked at a local store. the suspect also began knocking on doors before he was taken into custody. officials say the man seemed to have no connection to the victims, and so far they have no clear motive for those attacks. the summer ends music festival in tempe, arizona, was a scene of chaos last night. concert goers rushed the stage, crushing others in their way. more than four dozen emergency vehicles raced to the venue. at least a dozen people were hurt, some with head injuries. in seattle, investigators

of a duck tour vehicle involved in a deadly crash. the national transportation safety board says it wants to know why the axle was sheered off and whether it happened before the collision. four people were killed and 50 others injured in the accident. in australia, a huge sink hole has opened up at a popular beach cam ground, swallowing entire cars and tents. look at this. witnesses said it sounded like thunder. a section as big as a football field began to collapse, leaving campers scrambling to get away. 140 people have been evacuated from that site. so far, no injuries. and finally, the global citizen festival wound up here in new york with huge celebrity studded performances. superstars like coldplay and ed sheeran thrilled thousands there in central park. some of the biggest cheers were for, as you can imagine, beyonce, who rocked the audience with her music and of course her

this entire performance. i mean, that woman, you just watch her whether you were there or watching at home, just >> phenomenal. >> and it went on for much longer than i was expecting her to perform. >> sheinelle really got into the spirit last night. we all got an e-mail from sheinelle during the performance. there she is. yesterday. she hit the stage early. i think it was because she cared about me. she wanted to get me over the hump. >> i woke up like this, dylan. >> what's happening with the weather? >> rainy areas today, spaeshlg especially across the gulf coast and into the mid-atlantic where we've been dealing with these areas of low pressure for quite some time. we have this one still off the coast of the carolinas. we have this one now starting to move into the gulf of mexico. that is going to strengthen and produce a lot of rain, especially near houston into new orleans. this tropical-like moisture will continue to stream in. we could see as much as about 3

to 5 inches of rain. with that onshore flow, some beach erosion and minor coastal flooding possible as well. that's a look at the weather across the country. window. we're in for a really nice day in the tristate area today. plenty of sunshine. nice light breeze out of the northeast. temperatures topping off at about 73 degrees here in central park. as far as what we can expect over the next seven days, well, take a look. changes in the forecast. rain potentially rolling in beginning tomorrow afternoon. tuesday we could see some more. then we cool down and we clear on out. that's a quick look at your forecast. forecast. >> thank you very much. dylan, thank you very much. is an apocalypse on the horizon? how is that for a question this morning? tonight you will see a rare lunar event. the super blood moon combined with a lunar eclipse. it has some people preparing for the end of the world as we know it. here's nbc's kristen dahlgren.

moon eclipse is a chance to see a rare and beautiful celestial phenomenon. >> we have a combinati raon of a super moon and a lunar eclipse. >> reporter: for some, it's a sign of something much more. an impending apocalypse, the end of the world as we know it. >> i've seen people come in and leave with a trailer full of food in the last week or two. >> reporter: at emergency essentials in utah, sales both in store and on the internet have been brisk. anything from a 72-hour kit -- >> enough food for however many people you're preparing for, enough water. >> reporter: -- to essentials for months or even years of solo survival. >> thousand-piece first-aid kits, work gloves and masks and boot covers. >> reporter: the fears heightened by recent events like earthquakes and economic unrest, as well as books like the one written by mormon church member julie roe predicting doomsday. the fear so widespread that the

issue a statement, telling its 15 million followers to prepare for life's ups and downs but not panic about an imminent end of the world. >> i still think it's a relatively small minority of members of the church who are attracted to this idea. >> reporter: perhaps just the latest in a series of judgment day predictions. there was december 21st, 2012, the so-called end of the mayan calendar. >> i'm very scared of the end of the world. >> eternal life -- >> reporter: and the rapture in 2011. >> may 21 will be the day of judgment. >> reporter: so far the dates have come and gone. as for the blood moon, scientists say we won't see another one for another 18 years. perhaps long after we've survived a few more doomsdays. for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, new york. >> so what is causing this? dylan has been drawing us very primitive drawings on the back of her paper. what is happening? how do we see it? >> it's mostly happening -- well, it's extra special because the moon is passing close to the

earth, so it's one of those super moons that's usually about 14% larger. then it's going to turn red. then it's going to, you know, kind of go behind the earth's shadow. there's a lot of things going on. i just want to point out, the western half of the country, the great lakes, you are good to see it. new england is good to see it. down in the gulf coast and southeast, i think you might miss it. it's really unfortunate because it won't happen until 2033. that's the next time it happens. >> that's not fair. >> i know. >> all right. thanks, dylan. we said it's rare. thank you very much. up next on "today," an otter with an inhaler. the unique way one sea creaturer is coping with the smoke from those western wildfires, right after this. your body was made for better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability

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. 100% real milk. no discomfort. >> back on> a sunday morning with an unusual victim in those massive wildfires raging out west. the seattle aquarium says a sea otter has developed asthma from all of the smoke in the air. >> and the aquarium is taking a very different approach to help her breathe again. >> reporter: she slips into the water with ease. she loves to float on her back. and she's happiest when nibbling on some shrimp. >> as you can imagine, a young sea otter is very curious and pretty feisty. >> reporter: but now the trick is trying to make mishka the sea otter have fun using an asthma inhaler inhaler. >> any time she touches this, we give her a piece of food. >> reporter: as you could imagine, it's tough when you put something so close to her

breathe in instead of bite. >> breathe. good. that a girl. >> reporter: it's the first diagnosis of its kind, and it was difficult to detect. >> as a sea otter, she can't tell me, i'm having trouble breathing. >> reporter: but in late august after heavy smoke from nearby fires burning in washington filled the air, mishka had stopped eating. >> she had what we call an asthma attack. >> reporter: her doctors say she feels mishka's pain. she used an inhaler as a child and hated it. but so far the treatment is working. her appetite is back. >> i hope the kids can see mishkainhaler and see it's not that bad. >> oh, that's a nice perspective. >> it is a cute otter inhaler. it's a bad condition, but cute to have one. up next, remember that dress that took the internet by storm? >> the blue, the black, the gold

>> well, we have another mind-bending photo. is this little girl jumping into the pool r, , or is she already under water? . it starts to work... ...in just 30 minutes. in fact, nothing works faster. so blow away nasal congestion, fast, with claritin-d. lowe's presents "how to save energy" wow, insulating the house made our heating bill really small. how small? tiny! now get 20% off select roll insulation at lowe's. we are back now with a photo that's buzzing around facebook. it's all over the internet and driving people crazy. frances is in the orange room with more. tell us about it. >> remember the first time we were all being driven crazy by this photo? gold or white, blue or black? remember that one? we got a few version of that.

it is this photo. look closely here. is this little girl jumping into the pool or is she already under water? study it closely. take a look. >> i think she's under water. >> no, no. her hair is dry. >> her face looks like she's under water. >> good debate, everybody. >> those are just the bubbles from the splash. >> take a look at this, guys. see, look closely. her hair is dry. exactly the points you guys were making. if you look closely, you can actually see the water droplets there. so take a look. those look like they could be a splash, but water droplets. so i'm kind of -- first sheinelle and i were saying, under water, but look. >> i'm sticking to it. >> i'm changing my opinion now. it now looks like she's under water. still to come, dylan slips into a bathing suit and heads to times square. you'll find out why.

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good morning. it's 9:26. 60 degrees as we take a live look outside on this sunday morning. i'm gus rosendale. the historic visit of pope francis to this country ends today in philadelphia. right now i want to look at st. martin's chapel. pope francis addressing his bishops who have been attending the world meeting of families. later today they will celebrate mass with what may be the largest crowd he's seen yet on his american tour. here in new york, how about them mets? for the first time in nine years, there will be postseason baseball in flushing. >> he struck him out! tears of joy for the 2015 new york mets. >> the mets clinch their first division title since 2006 on the road in cincinnati. familia struck out jay bruce to steal a 10-2 win over the reds. then it was time to break out

the bubbly in the visitor's clubhouse. long-suffering fans, they're celebrating too. let's look at the weather now. today, mostly sunny with a high in the 70s. tonight, cloudy with temperatures in the 60s. those 70s continuing throughout the week. the most we're going to see in the lows, about the mid-50s. not too bad. stay tuned for more of "weekend today." pat battle and i will see you at

what a performance by a 14-year-old singer last night in philadelphia at a festival headlined by pope francis. while singing for the pope is great, the teen seemed just as excited to meet the star of the wahlberg.

the voice of an angel. but then he whispered in my ear that he loved the movie "ted." i told him that was not appropriate for a boy of his age. holy father, please forgive me. >> maybe the pope has seen it too, although i suspect now. we are back on a sunday morning, september 27th, 2015. we have a great crowd out here on the plaza this morning. >> on this chilly morning. >> yeah, it's a little chilly, but it's sort of nice outside. feels very crisp and fall like. >> very fall like. >> weather in just a moment. >> but first, let's take a look at what's making headlines this morning. pope francis wrapping up his six-day tour of the u.s., visiting prisoners in philadelphia this morning before holding sunday mass outdoors. a million or more people are expected to attend. he returns to the vatican tonight. and we are just hours away

expected to light up the sky tonight. the rare celestial event has some fearing the apocalypse is near. the fear so widespread, the mormon church has actually issued a statement telling its 15 million followers not to panic. and they don't call her queen b fornology nothing. beyonce stole the show last night in central park. she welcomed michelle obama to the stage to highlight her campaign focusing on education for girlym but we want to begin this half hour with a shocking death of a star quarterback injured during a high school football game in new jersey. >> the tragedy has left a community stunned, especially for those who were at the game and saw him give a thumbs up before walking off the field. frances has more. >> this is so heartbreaking for this community. this is small town america, friday night football is huge. as one new jersey community struggles in this belief, it's a story becoming all too familiar for young football players

an overwhelming sense of grief hangs over warren hills regional high school. >> it's a small community and a small high school and he was very well liked. hed was just a great kid. >> students, friends, parents, and teachers mourning the sudden loss of one of their own, evan murray. the 17-year-old quarterback took a hit in the backfield during a home game in central new jersey friday night. at first, he seemed all right, walking off the field with the help of his coaches. but when he reached the sideline, evan collapsed and was taken away by ambulance. it wasn't until after the game when the players learned evan had died. medical examiners are investigating the cause of his death and have not said if it was related to football. this incident on the heels of two other tragic deaths this month alone. 16-year-old ben hamm of oklahoma and tyrell cameron of louisiana

both died after on-field injuries. friends and family say evan was an excellent student, a stand-out three-sport athlete. his baseball coach clearly shaken. >> evan was a great leader. he was a class-act kid. he, was always there for all his teammates. i don't really know what else to say. we loved the kid. >> a go fund me page started for evan's family has raised nearly $30,000. new jersey governor chris christie and the new york jets twsheeted condolences. a steady streara of mourners have sh 4aring their grief, leaving flowers and heartbreaking remembrances at a makeshift memorial. >> it's just so sad. it's very sad. >> and next week is homecoming. evan was supposed to be escorted on to the field by his parents as a member of the homecoming court. so tough now, ut eveny ore so next week. >> awful story. frances, thank you. let's go to dylan now. she's outside with a final check of the weather. >> good morning. we've been talking about that

blood moon. i wanted to point out that tonight the best time to see it is around 10:45 p.m. eastern time. out west, you'll have a very good chance of seeing it because skies will be clear. in fact, it's been so sunny and dry out in that area, temperatures have been breaking records. we're once again going to top out above 100 degrees in the southwest. along the gulf coast, heavier rain is starting to move in, especially through houston into new orleans. that's where we could see up to about 2 to 3 inches of rain in some of those tropical downpours. tomorrow that area of low pressure continues to bring the rain into the gulf coast area, extending down into florida. finally the mid-atlantic will begin to dry out. still a spotty shower possible. we'll hang on to a couple clouds. temperatures should be in the 70s. we're also looking at a cold front bringing some storms possible to the northern plains. that's a look at the weather across the country. now here's a peek out your window. we're in for a really nice day in the tristate area today. plenty of sunshine. a nice light breeze out of the northeast. temperatures topping off at

about 73 degrees here in central park. as far as what we ' expect over the next seven days, well, take a look. changes in the forecast. some rain potentially rolling in beginning tomorrow afternoon. tuesday we could see more. then we cool down and clear on out. that's a quick look at your forecast. apparently it's your 60th birthday. we want everyone to know about it. you're surrounded by your family here? >> yes, i am. very thkful. >> i hope you have a fun time this weekend. enjoy. >> thank you. >> guys? >> thank you, dylan. up next, our sunday stories. from the budding 8-year-old journalist who runs her small town's monthly newspaper -- >> to a familiar face suiting up with the u.s. synchronized swim team. you got to see this. in times square, by the way. >> and the pope delivers. harry smith on a holy father who's inspiring even the nonbelievers. it's all right after these mengssages. sa it

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morning with just a great story and a lesson perhaps fpom an 8-year-old girl who proves you're never too young to find your passion. >> about a year ago she decided to start a monthly newspaper in her small town. when we caught up with her, we discoveredeshe's got quite the nose for news. 8-year-old hildy is persiste-cnt, confident, a little spunky, and not afraid to knock on your door to get tte story. they say, oh, here's this cuteit little kid. do you think they treat you seriously? how do they react? >> sometimes they treat me seriously. someeimethey don't. usually what works for me, if i treat myself seriously, other people will treat me seriously too. >> wise beyond her years, hildy is one of four sisters. before her family moved to the small town in pennsylvania, her dad was a reporter for "the new york deice news." >> i went with my dad a lot when

like to cover crime with him and stuff. indga kinl of decided that was what i wanted to do, so i started making a family paper that i wrote with my hand. >> she said very earnestly, you know, my hand's hurting. she'd make like 20 copies of the fa humily paper and try to sell them for a dime each. she's like, i'm not getting anywhere with this. i want to do a real newspaper. >>ry so they made a deal. she can cover the town of about 5,000 people. she does all the writing and takes all the pictures, and u he'll print it out for her. >> a lot of people don't know this community. they're just picturing this ro8-year-old on a bike chasing sirens. >> we're clearly the most irresponsible parents ever. she has a cell phone with her. she loves it. i don't want to really get in the way of her passion. xl>> i was wondering if you knew anything about the sign over there. >> no, i didn't know about it. >> people know each other. people know hildy here. >> i was wondering if i could ask you a fewaquestions about the broken sign. >> it's an ongoing investigation.

>> thank you. bye. >> you're welcome. see ya. >> where do you get the ideas from? >> i either go to the >>olic station. >> take this exclusive story, r amd.e, about a dog who scared off an intruder. hildy heard there was a break-in. >> i had to go to the police station, ask for the address, and they said sorry, we can't give it out to the press. >> so she got on her bike, riding all over town, knocking on doors, until she found them. it took two weeks. >> when you knocked on that door and you realized you finally had the light house -- >> yeah. >> -- and then ttey agreed to talk to you, what didtelt feel like? >> felt really refreshing, really -- felt really good. >> the orange street news is now up to 60 subscribers. >> pretty good. you happy with it? >> even the mayor quickly learned about hildy. >> the broken sign on the corner of orange street. >> to see the community from a younu pe

whate.hey perceive as news, i think, is pretty unique in the sense that we have an 8-year-old, you know, putting a paper together to start with. it makes her very special. >> she has this natural curiosity inside of her. that cuurosity, i don't think that you learn it. i thinkou're either born with it or you're not. >> you can often find hildy working hard, either over lunch at the local cafe, or in her home office, laying out her stories for the next issue. so with this homeless guy, didr u just walk up to him and tell him you wanted to do a story on anymore him? >> i just sati,whi, i'm hildy from the orange street news, is it okay if i ask you a few questions? >> isn't she adorable? we wondered if she's doing so much at age 8 what she wants to do in the future. she said she wants to publish her own paper, bigger than "the new york daily news," and she wants to write a book. right now she balances the paper

and playing with her barbies. >> i'm in love withcthis girl. i love when the officer says, thatis is an ongoing investigation. >> and she doesn't want to do what she calls the fluff pieces. she wants to do the crime and the hard news. >> best of luck to her. now to frances in the orange room. she's with today's plaza fan of the day. >> hey, guys. this is lee watching from or ndo, florida, who often comes to new york, but to y you maflde it extra special by coming here, right? >> i did. mu tell us about it. all you're asking for to make your day is -- >> a selfie with dylan and sheinelle. >> dylan, come over here. his day is only half made. dylan already took a selfie. >> here we go. we'll tweet it. i wasn't invited. now your day is made >> it is. thank you. >> all right, lee. thank you for visiting us. appreciate it. still to come, dylan makes a flash in times square with the

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who could forget matt and al with the u.s. synchronized swim team? >> i've tried to forget. >> that's at the olympic games in athens. >> we're counting down to rio now. now it turns out, breaking news, the team may have a new "today" show recruit. it's our own di lain dreier. >> there's a chance. i gave it my all. although, i haven't gotten the ll to go to rio yet. i'm lucky if i can float in the water. you can imagine how i was feeling when i was asked to learn a synchronized swim routine that would be performed in times square. yes, in a bathing suit. take a look. it might look easy on tv, but synchronized swimming, an olympic favorite, is about as hard as it gets. i agreed to learn how it's done first hand, complete with a performance in times square. my options, sink or swim. i have never done anything like this before. i've pretended in the pool maybe a time or two. i look like an octopus when i tread water.

i can't hold my breath for that long. anita al have a res and maria will represent the u.s. at the rio olympics next summer. for some reason, my lack of skill didn't scare them away. >> definitely keep your eyes open under water. you have to really be aware of where everybody is. >> i just say don't panic. >> you just get used to the breath holding. again, it's another thing we just practice every single day. >> and boy, do these ladies practice. uphawards of eight hours every day in the pool. and the workouts don't end there. >> we do land training and weights. we do ballet, gymnastics. >> long gone are the days of flower caps and simple graceful moves on the water that have always been an easy target. now it's arguably one of the biggest athletic challenges at the olympic games. i'm not training for rio, but i'm just as nervous. the only thing worse than being on tv in a bathing suit will be the synchronized routine i'm

about to try. first, to see how it's done. wow. i don't think i can do that. >> but don't worry. we're not going to make you do this one. we're going to do something a little easier for you. >> stefan, the head choreographer, had the difficult task of turning me into a synchronized swimmer by the morning. things started off great. that was my first move. very excited. but then took a different turn. can you guys just teach me how to tread water? >> stay under water and have dylan under water. >> the girls patiently guided me through every move. >> go back and forth. there you go. >> and miraculously, it started coming together. >> there we go. yeah!

>> one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. >> give me six months, and you qualify for the olympics. we're going to do great together. >> i think i was ready for times square. okay. i've been practicing all night, and what better place to debut my synchronized swimming routine than in the middle of times square. wish me luck. [ cheers and applause ] >> and in the blink of an eye, it was over. >> i can't believe i just performed with you guys. you're going to the olympics.

this is insane to me. you girls are so incredible. thank you. i think i messed up one move, but i got the back flip. i did that part right. >> yeah, you were good. >> my legs were kind of sagging down. i'm like the one trying to get over in the back flip. >> you nailed it. that was fun. >> i have the bug now. i wish there were classes in new york city. instead of a spin class, a synchronized swimming class. it's great exercise. >> their legs, they're so fit. >> yes. >> that was fantastic. >> and that swim suit. you'll be out at the beach with your "today" show swim suit. >> up next, sundays with harry and how the pope turned many americans into true believers this week. we're back after these messages. your body was made for better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms

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welcome back. this morning on sundays with harry, reflecting on the pope's historic visit to the u.s. >> his whirlwind tour captivated an audience well beyond the faithful with so many of us glued to the coverage, including our own harry smith. >> good morning, everybody. pope francis came to america at just the right moment. like an anecdote to the toxic tenor of our times. what does this guy have that we are missing? in a country that is becoming less christian, less faithful, if you will, the pope came to america and knocked it out, as the kids say. he had us at hello when he climbed into his tiny fuel-efficient car. the pope you see says climate change is real. >> translator: any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm to humanity. >> and while galileo's declaration the earth was not the center of the universe was met somewhat less warmly by the

pope who believes in science. pope francis prefers rope lines to vips. squirms into selfies and talks about kids, a lot. he's a big shot who uses his power in a way that is deeply unsettling. his speech to congress was a sermon. the message, do more for those who have less. yep, there was pope francis preaching to a room full of politicians to follow the golden rule. >> do unto others as you will have them do unto you. >> only a person of remarkable humility can pull off something like this. it seems every time there was an open microphone, you could hear the pope say pray for me. >> don't forget to pray for me. >> pray for me. people who say this are not the

ones who pretend to have all the answers. the pope insists he visit ground zero. he's a man unafraid of opening his heart to the pain of others. meeting with the homeless, going to a prison. it's what jesus would do. many have found much to disagree with the pope, but it is difficult to argue with his moral authority. he came to an america divided by income and opportunity, by race and politics, and did not hesitate to say, you can do better. an appeal for us to be our better selves, right? >> it's amazing, the pope effect. and with the crowds and how many people had to wait in line for hours. no squabbles. everybody smiles and patient. >> and once he passes, you know why. everybody i've talked to, they say you can feel it. you almost feel his presence, even when you're just watching at home. >> by the way, this is a live picture of the pope right now in philadelphia. you can see he is being greeted with applause as he has everywhere he has been.

and we will continue our coverage through the day here on nbc news of pope francis in philadelphia. and a reminder to tune into "meet the press" this morning. chuck has hillary clinton and carly fiorina. >> that does it for us.

now on "today in new york," breaking news out of philadelphia, where pope francis has met with survivors of clergy sex abuse. he is promising accountability. good morning. welcome to "today in new york" on this sunday morning. i'm gus rosendale. >> i'm pat battle. we're glad you could join us for this newscast. raphael miranda has taken the

he's a little under the weather. but it's good weather to be under, so says dave price, who's in this morning. >> good morning to both of you and good morning at home. that trend continues through the day today. it's going to be gorgeous out there. a live radar sweep showing no precipitation. we've gotten actually a nice start to the day now. what can we expect as we head through the next several hours? let's go through it. we've actually seen the temperature begin to rise. we started out in the upper 50s. cool and refreshing this morning. partly sunny by the time we get to the noontime hour and 65 degrees. 73 should be the day's high. still very pleasant. a couple more clouds roll in toward the end of the day. overnight we cloud up and see big changes to the forecast as we head into the workweek. rain? well, it is indeed likely at the beginning of the week. we'll talk more about it in a hour by hour. you. >> okay, dave. thank you very much. pope francis is on the move at this hour after making some philadelphia.

something a lot of people had waited a long time to hear from the vatican. >> let's get an update on that breaking news with ray villeda live in philadelphia right now. >> reporter: good morning to you, gus and pat. the pope making some very harsh criticism of the church when he spoke with these sexual abuse victims. these words he said making national headlines. this was not on his public calendar. it was on his private calendar. what he said to these sex abuse victims, very strong. i want to read you in part what he said. i regret this profoundly. the crimes and sins of the sexual abuse to minors can't be kept a secret anymore. i commit to the zel alous oversight of the church to minors and i promise everyone responsible will be held accountable. now, the pope has left the bishops meeting he had at a chapel nearby and is now headed to a correctional facility, a large correctional facility in this area. he took off moments ago.

francis walk down the aisle of the altar at the chapel of st. martin in front of a group of bishops. he spoke about the importance of family. that's one of the main points he's brought up in philly. after that, he'll head to a large correctional fast. he's headed there right now. out here on ben franklinagerly awaiting pope francis. it's the same place where the celebration took place last night. it was a young boy who was booked last minute that won so many over. for many, the trip was worth the wait. >> he, to us s the vicor of chris. so, you know, for catholics all over the world, through apostolic succession, he holds the rein of our church. sheep. we're just excited. >> reporter: and again, the pope making national headlines after meeting with sex abuse victims. private schedule for a long