national tragedy, an outpouring of sadness in poland this morning after its president and many top leaders were killed in a plane crash. now the investigation to find out what went wrong. adoption scandal. what we're learning about the american woman who sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to russia all by himself. today what they're saying here and there. and bringing down the house. the stored landmark that's about to be destroyed by an 11-year-old. an icon comes tumbling down. today's sunday, april 11, 2010.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolf. what an important day for the polish people. >> the start of the week of mourning for the president and others who died in the crash of the jetliner in russia. many are calling it the worst tragedy since world war ii. there's a sea of flowers outside the presidential palace and you can see thousands have shown up to pay their respects. we'll have the latest on the crash in just a minute. >> then we're going to have new information on the scandal involving that little boy who was sent back to russia by his adoptive mother in tennessee. there are reports that several families in russia have now expressed interest in adopting him. >> plus if there's a comeback

dog, she's ruby. some are calling her a bionic dog. her story of survival and recovery. it is a happy ending. we'll begin in europe with the day of mourning. today sirens rang as the country paused for two minutes of silence. while the bodies of the victims including that of the president began to arrive in poland from russia. tom asspell has the latest. >> reporter: the tuf layoff was carrying lech kaczynski, his wife and dozens of govern the officials including all of the armed forces and security forces. it turned for final approach into smolensk and clipped some trees and hit the ground before bursting into flames. all 97 people onboard were killed. president kaczynski and the delegation were on their way to a memorial ceremony for 20,000 polish army officers murdered by

soviet secret police during world war ii. the service went ahead with empty chairs for the polish officials. there was shock and grief. it is so terrible. >> it is a great tragedy for our whole country. >> reporter: flowers were laid outside government buildings and special masses were said throughout the country. the polish cabinet held an emergency meeting and declared a week of national mourning. president obama said the loss was devastating to poland, to the united states and to the world. russian president dmitri medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin lit candles of condolence near poland. putin left to smolensk to take charge of the investigation. russian officials say the air traffic controllers suggested kaczynski's flight divert to an alternative airport because of thick fog, but that the pilot

decided to land at smolensk anyway, a decision that wind out the top echelons of the political and military establishment. for today today," tom a spell, nbc news, london. >> now here's lester. president obama offered condolences and said poland's sloss devastateing to the united states and the world. david, good morning. good morning, lester. president kaczynski was a strong ally of the u.s. and poland had agreed, for example, to allow the installation of an american missile shield there. does anything change there immediately in the relationship between the u.s. and warsaw? >> i think not, lester. that is an area of cooperation that's really important to the united states right now and it will continue to be important, but i think there's enough continuity in the polish government thankfully that some of that area of cooperation can continue despite how tragic this is, not just for the country and

the loss of life, but to the top echelon to the military and the political establish chlt of the country. that will certainly cause turmoil. >> let me turn now to some of the domestic stories we've been watching. michael steel appeared at a big gathering of republicans yesterday and was pretty frank saying i've made some mistakes here referring to some of the financial questions regarding the rnc, but he also had the message, let's forget about me, let's deep our eye on the ball and defeat the democrats in the fall. does it get him past his troubles in one fell swoop? >> right now it does. because while he's unpopular, what you said is the most important thing and the party is focused on winning in november and that's how he'll be judged. the fund-raising piece is what's most important. if he is not raising enough money for the party that's where he will be seep as deficient and could have results in november and the party could make a decision, but there are other actors in the party like haley barbour where there's robust

fund-raising going where there is enough support po keep him where he is for now. this particular gathering is seen as a chance to get a feel for who may be the next republican presidential candidate. sarah pail ilin is always the prominent headliner. is there a hint as to who the republicans might be putting forward. >> there's so much attention on sarah palin and i don't think she's likely to e merge as a presidential contender. she's certainly a leader in the party and a leading voice when it comes to shaping ideas as are people like newt gingrich. what's interesting if you listen to people, she said we ought to be the party of no, and hell no in opposing obama's agenda and gingrich says we need to say yes to some things and need a on new contract with america. that's the point of tension in the party right now which is how do they mount this effective counter to the obama agenda starting this year and paving a way to the figure in 2012.

>> set the table for us now in terms of what to expect as president obama considers a replacement for justice stevens on the supreme court. the fact that democrats no longer have the bulletproof majority in the senate. how does that change the kind of person the president will be looking for? >> well, look, was there a lot of sound and fury related to justice sotomayor and she was still confirmed handily. i think the president will number pretty good shape in ter terms of who he puts forward. the nature of the confirmation fight that's ahead. the importance of the election of scott brown in massachusetts. a filibuster is possible, is it really something that republicans want to do? this is an election year, both the bases of the parties will get revved up by all of this, but i think the question of what sort of battle the president wants will be a factor, probably a bigger factor is how the president wants to affect the court going forward. these are important nominations. >> david gregory, thank you very much. >> we want to head to the news

desk and jeff ross is with the other headlines. >> lefter and jenna, good morning, everyone. we begin in west virginia, where they're retrieving the bodies of the miners. funerals were held for the miners that died in tragedy. a team of federal investigators will arrive at the scene tomorrow. police in oklahoma are looking for three people this morning in connection with a gun fight in the middle of a crowded mall. when it was all over one person was dead and several others injured. police say it's unclear if the teenager killed was involved in the shooting or just an innocent bystander. rescuers in washington have found a missing hiker alive. he was buried under an avalanche in granite mountain for four hours. the man called for help on his cell phone. doctors say he'll be okay. the reality tv producer suspected in his wife's murder in cancun could face charges later today. mexico's attorney general says a decision on whether to file

charges could come at any moment. bruce behresford-redmond has been ordered to stay in the country in the meantime. his wife monica was found dead in a sewer near a hotel where they were staying. we have sad news from the world of entertainment. actress dixie carter has died. she had a long career on broadway and on of it ff and most of us know her as the quick-witted southern belle as julia sugarbaker on "designing women "the. dixie carter was 70 years old. a texas icon came roaring down. texas stadium is gone after a spectacular implosion. thousands of pieces of dynamite went off in sequence and all went well as you can see in these pictures just a couple of minutes ago. this was the home of the cowboy for 38 seasons. you've probably seen the new stadium, it's gorgeous. thousands came out to watch the spectacle. who doesn't love a good implosion, especially when it's not our careers. now back to lester, jenna and

janice. >> you know someone's going -- my keys. darn it! oh, well. thanks, jeff. janice huff is here with a check of the weather. >> good morning to both of you and everyone here. looking at the weather on the west coast first of all because there's a big storm moving in and it's bringing coastal rain and heavy rain for coastal oregon. you might see mud slides and that's a possibility around los angeles and then the higher elevations acros across the >> good sunday morning. i'm meteorologist justin dra brick. eeb a better day today with temperatures in the 70s. we're above average once again. so 70 to 76 for our afternoon highs. plenty of sunshine through most of the day. high clouds start to move in late in the afternoon into the evening hours. the front will come through early tomorrow morning bringing some clouds. but we should be dry and a cooler shot of air builds in for

midweek with highs in the your e a sprinkle later today. 07s down to the gulf coast in new orleans and 80 in tampa. now here's lester. >> janice, thanks. there are new developments in the case of the 7-year-old russian boy who was adopted by a woman in tennessee and then put on a plane and returned to russia last week. nbc's ron allen had has been following the story from shelbyville, tennessee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester, yes. we've been spending time here and the folks who live in this community say it's a place where everybody knows just about everybody else, but the hanson family are a bit of a mystery. even their neighbors say they don't know much about them and people around here cannot believe what the family did to a 7-year-old boy. >> the hanson family compound remained shut tight. easter decorations still up. tory hanson, the adoptive mother has not been seen here since word spread she sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to

russia. >> just treating a child like a dog. >> angela said she saw the hansons come and go the past few years, but they never spoke to her and she never saw the boy. a boy who rarely left the compound, not even to attend school. in russia today reports indicate the young boy remains in a hospital. he's seeing a psychologist. numerous russian families outraged by what happened have offered to adopt him. on russian tv, he said hanson did not feed him and often pulled him by the hair. as it has threatened to do. working on new safeguards. leaving perhaps several thousand families and orphans in diplomatic limbo. >> over the last 15 years, over 50,000 russian children have been adopted into american families. 50,000, and the vast majority of those children are in loving, stable situations. >> reporter: back here in tennessee, authorities begin investigating what many adoption

experts say could be a case of child abuse. >> hanson and the mother have been quoted as saying the boy was violent when he wanted things like toys. he attacked an aunt over a homework dispute and threatened to burn down the house with the family in it. families need to think carefully before adopting. >> kids who have come from foster care and come from orphanages often need some help. we have to provide that help. we can't just say oh, the parent should just love the kid and everything will be okay. >> hanson's neighbors like the folks at the this and that store say their biggest concern is the little boy they rarely saw. >> it's bothersome. it's sad. i'm glad he's okay. >> reporter: local authorities here say they're not pressing hanson to come forward as of yet because she's not been accused of any specific crime. lefter? >> up next on "today," he's only a freshman in college, but you

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politics for most 19-year-olds might mean a political science class or stint as a volunteer, romain robert quinn is a veteran politician. for a year he served on the city council in wisconsin, population 8300 or so, but that waun enough for this 19-year-old so he ran for mayor and won. he defeated the uncompany bent by 129 votes. he'll be sworn in nine days from now as wisconsin's youngest mayor and he joins us this morning in an exclusive interview. mr. mayor elect, congratulations good morning. >> hi. good morning. mr. mayor, let me ask you this. you're 19 years old and still at that age when people ask you what do you want to be when you grow up? how does it feel to soon be a leader of a city? >> really good. i'm really excited. >> this was a fairly close race,

as we said, 121 votes was the separation factor here. are you surprised age wasn't more of an issue on this one? >> i think that was the biggest issue, but a race should be about the issues and not about a person's age and we had to deal with that and we were lucky enough to be elected. >> you were on city council for a year and all of a sudden you decide this isn't challenging enough? i think i want to be mayor? is that how you came to that decision? >> no, i thought i could better steer the city's direction from the mayor's post instead of city council. >> now you go home and tell your family, hey, guys, over thanksgiving dinner, i think i want to run for mayor. what do your friends and family members say to you? do they believe you? >> most of them didn't believe me when i wanted to run for city council. they think it's cool and especially my friends and my family was excited for me and really encouraged me and it was

them that kept me going throughout the whole campaign. >> so you're a freshman in college right now. you're soon going to be the mayor. any idea how you are going balance both jobs? >> yeah. i've been asked that many times. our mayor's position isn't considered full time and there's no set office hours or anything that i have to be at, but you know, it's a challenge that i'm ready for. i know i'll have to make sacrifices in my personal life, but it's the job i'm ready to do. >> sacrifices in your personal life, like when you won you couldn't cink and party to celebrate. what did you do to celebrate, then? and i mention you couldn't drink because you're only 19. >> that's correct. >> i'm sorry. go ahead. how did you celebrate? >> we had a garage open and family and friends and different supporters coming in and out all night. so it was a good time. >> mr. mayor, what is first on your agenda? >> well, i have many things on

my to-do list. we ran on many issues from replacing our current city administrator to reviewing our sidewalk policy, how we're going to handle the dnr's mandate for us to do a better job on storm water control and retention. there are a nice lists to do. >> my list at 19 was meet some nice friends who i could potentially share a dorm. mr. mayor elect, we thank you so much for joining us. good luck and we hope to speak to you in the coming weeks and months. >> thanks for having me. >>. still to come, another politician or a parody of one returns to "saturday night live." first, these messages. mmm. ♪ [ female announcer ] oscar mayer deli fresh meats. sliced, packed and sealed at the peak of freshness,

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last night tina fey was back playing sarah palin on "saturday night live." she announced the creation of a new network, the sarah palin network compared with tea party, wheel of fortune and a parody of the press. >> do you hate gotcha journalism? well get red for hey, journalists, i gotcha where i re-edit my interviews with journalists to make them look like the they were the ones that were woefully unprepared. >> so katie, what newspapers do you read? >> it's so good. it's just so, so good. >> we haven't seen her do that since the elections. it's funny how we're back in the building and i get to watch the whole show tonight. i can't stay up late.

>> more to talk about this morning. still to come, going into the final round of the masters, tiger had some choice words out on the course. we'll tell you why. plus, we'll meet one lucky dog overcoming the odds after a terrible accident, but first these messages. but nasonex relief may i say... bee-utiful! prescription nasonex is proven to help relieve indoor and outdoor nasal allergy symptoms like congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneezing. (announcer) side effects were generally mild and included headache. viral infection, sore throat, nosebleeds and coughing. ask your doctor about symptom relief with nasonex. and save up to $15 off your refills. go to nasonex.com for details, terms and conditions.

>> 8:26 now on a beautiful sunday morning. the washington monument there in the distance as we prepare for another very gorgeous spring day. take a look at our forecast in a couple minutes. i'm aaron gilchrist. it is sunday, april 11, 2010. >> a student says she was attacked at georgetown university. it happened at the copley residence hall on friday night. the woman told police she was walking from her room down to the basement when a stranger put one hand over her mouth and the other over her shirt. we've learned the identity of a woman who died in prince george's county.

cynthia deshawn aaron died at the hop. police were called to a shooting in the parking lot of andrews restaurant in suitland, early yesterday morning. today is the final day of the cherry blossom festival. this is a look at the japanese street festival from yesterday. today runners are taking their mark in the 10 k run and 5 k walk. the festival celebrates the cherry trees which were a gift from japan in 1912. in a moment, justin will join us here's to the believers. the risk-takers. the visionaries. the entrepreneurs... who put it all on the line to build and run their own businesses. at at&t, we know something about that. our company started out in a small lab, with not much more than a dream. and today, we know it's small businesses that can create the jobs america needs. that's why at&t is investing billions to upgrade and build out our wired and wireless networks.

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>> all right. we are talking about another great day today. temperatures going to be back up into the 70s. so again, much better than yesterday. if you liked saturday's weather, you're going to love today. lots of sunshine outside right now. we'll be dealing with temperatures back into the mid-70s in the warm spots. 10 degrees above average in most locations. plenty of warmth from the southwest winds coming in 10 to 15 miles per hour. a very nice afternoon. however, things do come to a change a little bit as we head towards tonight. clouds will start to thicken up through the late afternoon hours and move in here early monday morning as the next front moves through. the temperatures behind the front fall back to the low 60s for tuesday under partly cloudy skies. by wednesday, temperatures start to warm up to near average in the mid 60s. >> thank you very much, justin.

coming up on "news4 today" at 9:00, today the shut down begins for the president's nuclear summit that starts tomorrow. we're live with everything you need to avoid getting stuck we're back on this sunday morning, april 11, 2010. outside on the plaza i'm jenna wolfe. a beautiful spring morning in new york city, and a very engaged crowd with us this morning. we thank them for joining us and still to come this sunday morning, we are going to the dogs. >> we are. we have -- actually about seven or eight dalmatians. look at these guys. we'll tell you their story and why they're here. >> yes. >> and one. look, if i stand next to them you won't even know the difference. >> look, guys, it's your mama. >> sorry. that went crazy.

>> there are a ton of issues there. >> okay, that was bad. we also have the story of another dog they're calling ruby, the bionic dog because of what ruby has gone through, surviving a terrible accident, made an incredible comeback and we'll meet her and her owner in just a few minutes. >> and then we'll head down to august national where tiger woods is playing. i'm sure you heard about that this week. he's making a comeback and in contention to win the masters today and we'll have the very latest with the tiger. you heard the expression where's the beef in the answer sat 30 rockefeller plaza. the country's top meat cutters are getting ready for the texas meat cutting challenge is being held on the ice rink and we'll tell you why as we head over there to try our own hand at cutting the perfect steak. make sure we brought the sauce. steak sauce. >> yes. she stars as coretta deville for $101 dalmatians."

good to see you. >> these little guys after the show closer they'll be looking for homes, right? >> yes. looking for homes and there are many ways that people can get in touch and find out about taking them home. there's a wonderful organization, www.got spots.com and our sponsor also of our show purina dog chow is providing a year's worth of free dog food to any of the families that would take these sweet pups home. >> they were all rescued in the first place, right? >> we have 15 dogs and the majority of them were coming from rescue programs and they -- they are very sweet and very professional showbiz pup, but they're also looking for very good homes and families. >> what's it like working with them? >> it's torturous for me because i love them so much and playing this evil, scary villain, so when i have the wigs and the fur they sometimes look at me like,

i think you're our friend. >> right, guys, with the same kind of attitude they think i'm their friend as well. >> they're so sweet and it makes for a wonderful energy backstage because they love being there and they're great with the kids and the kids love watching them. >> i'm sure they'll find homes. if maybe they'll walk out with me. >> sharon, thanks very much. >> thanks for having us. >> and thanks for the handlers as well. >> we'll get another check of the weather right now. jan sis tanneding by. janice, good morning. >> we have richmond, virginia, hi, girls. >> what brings you to new york? >> we're here with our dance team, team xxl, minds in motion and we're visiting the national dance institute and rosy's broadway kids. >> did you have fun? >> it was awesome. >> where ate rest of the ballet, though? >> they're sleeping. >> of course. thanks for being here. let's check on the weather and see what's going on.

let's move across here and a look at the nation. we have a big storm system coming in on the west coast, snow, mountain snow above 7,000 feet in the sierra, you could be looking at a couple of feet of snow and rain in the lower elevations from northern california, down toward los angeles and even down toward pacific northwest. i hear singing in the background. they sound inincredible. >> good sunday morning. on meteorologist justin drabick. another great way to spend a day outdoors. temperatures soaring back moot 70s. plenty of sunshine. nice finish to the weekend. winds will be out of the southwest coming in at 10 to 15 miles per hour. clouds start to move in tonight into early monday morning as the next cold front comes through. it should come through dry. after that front passes we'll be talking about temperature its back in the low to mid 60s by the middle of the upcoming minneapolis and the pacific northwest cool in the 50s and 60s and rain in the california

coast and snow in the higher elevations. and where are you guys from? >> vermont. >> welcome to "the today show." >> all right. you can also get your weather any time when we're not here by logging on to weather.com. here's jenna. >> janice, thank you. it all comes down to today, tiger woods is going to the masters championship as he heads into the final round of augusta national. kerry has been keeping an eye on things down there. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: tiger woods had said he would moderate his behavior and tone things down both on and off the golf course and then there was the 6th hole yesterday where he used language not normally associated with this genteel sport and oh, yeah, it was on tv live, no delay. it's as if tiger woods were never involved in a scandal as if his alleged dozen plus extra marital affairs never happened. less than seven and a half weeks ago the 34-year-old had said he

would take an indefinite leave from golf. >> i do plan to return to golf one day. i just don't know when that day will be. >> reporter: now he's at the masters and tiger woods' damaged reputation and all is quieting critics who assumed the distractions would ruin his golf game. golf fan attending the masters say they're mostly over the scandal and tired, they say, of the details and instead anxious to watch tiger play golf. so what do you think of him now? >> same thing i thought before. i think he's the greatest golfer in the world. >> i felt like he would do well, top ten. tiger top ten, no brainer. >> reporter: and while the competition is not over, sports writers here say they already see that classic american tale emerging. the comeback story. >> this is a country that's all about second chances. we've seen it in sports. we've seen it in politics and now we're seeing it in golf with tiger woods.

>> reporter: so tiger's standings this morning? he's tied for third, he's eight under par and clearly in contention for a fifth green jacket. jenna? >> kerry sanders, thank you. up next, a good dog with a harrowing story. how ruby made a remarkable comeback. that's right after these messages. [ female announcer ] grass stains, believe it or not,

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indoors and outdoors. ♪ now he can run wild... with the rest of the pack. with children's zyrtec®, he can love the air®. and now try children's zyrtec® perfect measure®. a premeasured spoon. just twist squeeze and go™. this morning an incredible tale of survival. to what lengths would you any to save your dog? well, for a dog named ruby it was a life and death situation after a terrible accident. in a moment we'll meet her, but first nbc's tom aspell has ruby's remarkable story. >> reporter: 3-year-old ruby, an english hunting dog with plenty of energy. her owner vanessa gillespie says she is sweet with a lot of spunk. >> she is a high maintenance dog, but there is not a bad bone in that dog's body. she's lucky to have any bones at

all. in january she was hit by a car. >> she was taken to a local vet where i was informed that she had broken both of her front legs and her sternum, and i was advised as a result of that that she sdown. >> reporter: ruby's injuries were horrific, one of her rear legs was badly las rated and her lungs were bleeding, not givin up, vanessa rushed her dog to a veterinary college at cambridge university. >> we definitely knew it would take a long time and several surgeries to treat these injuries. >> reporter: it took nearly 40 medical personnel more than eight weeks and two major operations to put ruby back together again. >> we put here one metal plate on her lateral aspect and fixed that with several screws. >> reporter: total cost? nearly $20,000 on man's best friend. >> we would always do what we could to save a beloved member of our family. >> reporter: today ruby runs and jumps with barely a limp.

a bionic dog thanks to loving attention and a lot of persistence. tom asmell, nbc london. >> joining us this morning is ruby along with her owner vanessa gillespie. thanks so much for joining us. >> good morning. >> give us an update on how ruby is these days. how's she doing? >> ruby is doing brilliantly. she's been home for a few weeks now and every day she improves. she's able to run around a little bit now. she's probably getting a bit ahead of herself, but she's, yeah, she's very much on the mend. >> take me back to that tuesday. i know you were out of town and had left ruby with a friend. you called to check on her and got the news. when you got to the vet what was the vet telling you about her condition? >> well, the vet -- the vet that i initially saw was a local vet and they were very concerned about the fact that she had two broken front legs. they weren't sure the extent of

any other injuries and they were suggesting that we put her down. >> i'm looking at the list of injuries. multiple broken limbs, a dislocated knee, fractured sternum and internal bleeding. what was your reaction when you got news from the doctor that ruby could perhaps recover? >> well, you can imagine, if anybody gives you any hope in that sort of circumstance e you cling to it. we absolutely adore her so we were willing to do whatever we could to make sure that that was a possibility, but, of course, we were always taking the veterinary advice as to what was best for the dog. >> know it was an incredible outlay of money, 11,000 pounds something like $17,000. you had insurance and nonetheless, all of this was risky. two surgeries including one that was nine hours.

there was a point when it dawned on you that ruby was going to make it? >> we realized ruby was going to make it after her first surgery. about 24 hours after her first surgery she started to really turn a corner and you could see her becoming more responsive, and it was really when she first tried to wag her tail that she knew that things had -- had gone in a positive direction. >> she looks great. you two are lucky to have each other, vanessa gillespie along with rube pep thanks for spending time with us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. thank you. >> now here's jenna. this morning on "today's consumer," the brave new world of shopping, whether in a store or online, new technology could change the way you make your next purchase from groceries to clothe, the latest trend is not about what you buy, it's about how you shop and joining us right now is regina lewis who has very good information about

this. regina, thanks for being with us. okay, so we have new, innovative ways and the first thing we hear about is coupons and coupons isn't new, online coupons aren't new, but you say there are direct to card. >> the card being the grocery store loyalty card that 81% of us already have in our wallet, including men. >> you go to -- >> ooh! men! >> you go to shortcuts.com and register the card and you plug in the number and at that point, and i know we have b roll of this, you can start adding coupons to the card. it will electronically transfer them, hence the card. just hand them, no change in behavior and gives you the savings of being a good customer plus the savings. a small list, i saved $5 on a big list you can easily save $12 every time you go grocery shopping.

piece of cake. >> really easy. the internet is a great place to find comparison shopping and now there's a more convenient way to do the research. >> it's always taking time. the down side is then i'm surfing. i'm surfing. so now you've got to comparison shop because on average it can save you 35%. get invisible hand.com. while you're shopping at top of your screen, it will say guess what? simultaneously we found that same item for less on average, $15 with no time cost. >> piece of cake. i love it. you can always use your -- oh, hi, joe. how are you? you can also use your phone to comparison shop. >> everybody's had this feeling and you're in the store and you have the item in your hand and you say i wonder if i have the item online. on your smartphone which is smarter than you think, you can, simply type in the universal

product code, that's the eight to 12 digit number below the bar code. >> type that right into the phone. >> it's more precise and you'll get results fasty. this is the showstopper. you can scan the bar code. you can scan the -- >> no, right into your iphone? >> get out! >> boom, it gives you the results. it's called red laser.com. >> the coupon automatically. it gives you a list of check it out. >> it gives you a list. on this little makeup. $8 to $14. it's the reason it's one of the top ten apps. saves you a fortune. >> another thing is the deal with sales. it's one thing to know when a sale is happening, but it's another to know exactly when it's happening so you don't miss it. >> here's the big trend on that. one exclusive sale and two

something called flash sales, meaning they start at a certain time and end at a certain time or until everything sells out. guilt, gilt, we're talking high-end sample sales and invitation only. so you've got to be invited and for everyone watching, if you want to be a member you can expect to get in within the week. the sales start at 12 noon every day. 48% of the sales are within the first hour. that's how hot the items are. >> the other issue is this idea of buying something today and then its any on sale tomorrow and then all of a sudden you're, like, what do i do? so what is out there right now to protect us from that? >> particularly on big ticket items. >> travel, right? >> 45% of them will experience some sort of price drop, but you have to know. it used to be you pull the trigger and think, that's it. game over. not necessarily. most airlines have a guaranteed airfare policy, you just have to know the price dropped. so yapta, your personal

assistant, say a $400 ticket drops to $27 5shgs even after a $75 change fee, that's $50. you might get it in the form of a voucher, but you still got it. if you're traveling with a family of four that's $200. it's worth always tracking your itinerary even after you bought it. regi regina, lewis, thanks for being with us. >> we'll take part in a competition, an interesting one where the stakes are rather high. get it? steaks? first, these messages.

have you tried honey bunches of oats yet? every spoonful is a little different. mmm. they got three kinds of flakes. this is delicious. it's the perfect combination of sweet and crispy. i love it. this is so good. this is great. the magic's in the mix.

some of the best meat cutters will be here vying for the texas roadhouse meat cutting champion and a $20,000 grand prize. eric is here to tell us about the competition and the art of cutting the perfect steak. eric, good morning. it's great to see you. good morning. >> before we talk about any of this, tell me why we're doing this on an ice skating rifrpg. >> we're doing it on an ice skating rink because it mimics what we do in the stores. the environment they cut in is 60 degrees or colder. they're in that environment so we try to mimic this by being on the ice and being as cool as we can possibly be. >> the competition has been going on for nine years and it starts out with several hundred meat cutters and whit teledown to the big finale. today there are seven guys that will be cutting here for the championship, for that $20,000 prize. >> i don't want to hurt anybody's feelings including my armadillo friend here, i don't really think about the cutting of the meat. when they serve me a steak, i

like it or not. these are the unsung heroes, in your view. >> this is a lost art. lots of places don't cut their steaks anymore, and i'll teach you tips in doing that. >> got the knives and the gloves. >> what you want to do, i'll coach you here. you want to grab that knife. you want to stand right over the steak. you don't want to saw and you want to go through an even, cutting motion. >> thickness is the key. consistency in cook time we want to do an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half. you want to lock your wrist and go right down in two, long, swift motions. >> i'm sawing a bit. >> you are. it's your first time, we'll give you a break. that's a good-looking steak. >> that's yours, this is mine. >> there you go. >> will it make a difference in how it cooks as to how it's cut? >> absolutely. >> you do one.

>> you want to make sure you're standing right over the top of the steak and that's important. get right over the top of it and make sure you're standing up here and make sure you lock your wrist and you come down and you come through and a little tail piece there. the thickness in the gauge coming through, make sure that cook time will be exactly perfect. >> you have brought some of the experts and the big competition is later today. we have three of the best meat cutters in the country. these are three of our seven guys. you guys ready? it's not only speed and what? >> speed, quality and yield. the most important thing is quality. ready, set, go? ♪ ♪ >> give them a minute. >> we have a minute for them to cut and watch each of these guys is are definitely a cut above the rest. >> they're trimming it as well. >> yeah. trim some of that fat off. you can see these guys how the consistency they've got is

perfect every time. >> they take a lot of pride in this. >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. these guys are the heart and soul of our restaurants. >> i wish we had time to cook these because they look great. ♪ ♪ >> you have 30 seconds. >> we'll judge them when we come down. they're not only judged by thickness. they're also judged also by consistency and cut with the specifications we follow with just a great quality steak for our guest. >> absolutely. there will be a competition here at 2:00 and everyone is welcome to come down and watch. >> five, four, three, two, one. >> how did they do? >> they all look great. >> yeah. these guys are spectacular so they're doing a great job. >> okay. who would you judge as a winner? if this was a real competition? >> i don't know. i kind of like this stack in here. this guy is fancy as to how he puts them on the plate.

i can't say who is a winner, but this is my pick for presentation. >> personally will judge when they come off the grill. thanks for playing long. we'll look forward to this later today at rockefeller mraz. if you're in new york stop by and watch. we'll take a break and come back with much more after this. take the walker's. no trugreen. no thanks. trugreen treats every lawn special. they call it customized service. i call it my ticket to the cover of forbes. [ male announcer ] call 866-trugreen and get a customized plan for a healthy, green lawn, guaranteed. more green, means mo green. [ male announcer ] get a healthy, green lawn today. call trugreen. go greener. it was my idea. well, little things like that make a difference. for example... scott naturals. you get the high-quality performance you need... and just the right blend of recycled fibers. best of both worlds. i like that. yep, it's like having your cake--

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let's get a check on what's coming up on "meet the press." for that we head back to david gregory. >> a shake-up on the supreme court as justice john paul stevens announced his retirement friday. we'll speak exclusively to the ranking member of the senate judiciary committee, patrick leahy and jeff sessions. our conversation with secretary of state hillary clinton and

secretary of defense robert gates all coming up this morning on "meet the press." and that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. janice huff. i was surprised i wasn't involved in the meat cutting aspect. >> we did give you the meet the press part. >> see you later on "nbc nightly news." so long, everybody. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> a nation in mourning. poland is grieving after a horrific plane crash, the president along with the top military and church leaders all killed. what's next for a country suddenly in a leadership vacuum? >> it could be some of the worst traffic d.c. has ever seen. the nuclear summit is coming to town, and it will make things difficult on the roads and on the rails. welcome to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. kimberly is off today. it's suns april 11th, 2010. first the day's forecast. meteorologist justin drabick is standing in for chuck bell with the details. >> good in