missing after appearing on "the people's court," showing the last footage of michelle parker taken by her family. on the road again. a busy day expected on the air and on the railways and roads as the long holiday weekend comes to an end, and the 42 million people who traveled for thanksgiving are headed home. today, november 27, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television welcome, everyone, to "today," on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. how was your thanksgiving weekend? >> it was good. went by really quickly. >> for the first time ever, i didn't overindulge, feeling good about myself. >> i can't say that for myself. >> i didn't think you could. >> some stories to tell.

three students jailed in cairo accused of throwing firebombs off a rooftop onto egyptian security forces. they are home, a judge ordering them released. we'll talk live with one of the students in a moment. plus, breaking news this morning on the presidential front. as the new hampshire union leader has announced their endorsement for the republican nomination. always a crucial boost in the nation's first primary state. who earned their nod, and what impact will it have on the race? an update on something you and i decided to tackle a couple years ago. we wanted to decide to learn a new skill or hobby. something many americans do. >> i was never very mussicaly inclined. my office is right next to lester's and he plays bass guitar all day long, and throw

osmos osmosis, picked up some skills. >> someone tweeted back to me, maybe i should sing italian while you accompany me on the guitar. >> i should do that. you should do that. are your skills up to bapar? >> i can't sing. >> other than that a great idea. >> coming up a lot later in the broadcast. we want to begin with the homecoming for the three american students detained in cairo this week. arrested last sunday. accused of throwing molotov cocktails off the roof during a protest near ta rear square. after a week of uncertainty in jail, they were released, back in the u.s. joining us now is derrik sweeney and his mother joy. thank you for joining us. >> good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> what's is like to be home? >> it's really wonderful. the world is beautiful. >> we mentioned, you have some stories to tell. there was a picture sent out. you are tallest on the right. one of the pictures has a bag of

supplies of molotov cocktails you were accused of using. what was going through your mind at the time? >> perhaps the scariest moment of my life. i wasn't sure if i would get to see america, my family, or loved ones again. i actually fainted right after that the only time i recall fainting in my life. i was very, very scared. >> as we noted, there were materials for bomb making or molotov cocktails. you were accused along with two other students of throwing these off the roof. were you on the rooftop at the time? >> no, that was one of the strangest things. i didn't know where that came from. we were never on a rooftop and never handled or dealt or threw molotov cocktails. >> were you participating in the protests? >> we were at the protests. we were there, we didn't even chant the slogans. we were there, but didn't understand most of it. we were there, but not really participating. >> at one point you end up in jail. before that, held in captivity

somewhere else. and i understand those are the most harrowing hours. tell us about the first several hours in captivity. >> the first hours, they -- well, they threatened to force feed us gasoline. they put our shirts up over our heads so we couldn't see where we were at all. they hit us in the face and the back of the neck a lot. we spent about seven hours in the fetal position with hands behind our backhand cuffed in the dark, and they were behind us with guns, saying if we moved at all they would shoot us and at that point, i -- i sort of -- i just recall that existence is love and everything is beautiful. it was very scary. >> are you telling that story, watching your mom joy. the look of worry comes across your face again. what was it like for those days, trying to find out the latest on derrik, his whereabouts, whether or not he would get out? >> oh, my goodness.

such an emotional roller coaster and to find out the story behind it, i mean i knew that the entire time i was praying, everybody i knew was praying. i got prayer messages from people, total strangers would stop me in the grocery store, i have been praying for your son's safe return. our prayers were answered and we're so grateful. >> derrik, have to assume you did some praying yourself. was there a point where you didn't think that things could go sideways in a hurry? >> there was a point that possibility seemed quite logically likely, though i never really allowed it to enter my thinking too much. >> listen, we're glad you are back together. a delayed thanksgiving meal. thank you for taking time to spend with us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> derrik and joy sweeney. now here is jen jenna. >> what a great spirit he has. today, an estimated 42.5 million people traveled away

from home for thanks giving are getting back to where they came from, which will make for a busy travel day on the roads and airports. mark potter live at miami international airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to up jenna. pretty quiet here today, but it's a it's expected to build here at miami international airport. today and tomorrow, expected to be heavy. good news, so far no delays have been reported around the country. at this airport specifically, 117,000 people are expected to travel today, a spokesman says that's about the same it was this time last year, the air transport association had predicted a 2% decline in air travel this year, but at a couple of airports we called last night in san francisco and atlanta, we were hearing about slight increases. throughout the country, planes said to be very full. jammed. people are urged to get to the airports early today so they can get through the check in and screening, along with everyone else, jenna.

>> mark, tens of millions traveling on the roads. what can we expect from roadways? >> reporter: a busy travel day. 90% of travelers are heading home by car. aaa predicts 38 million people will be on the roads, traveling 50 miles or more. up 4% over last year. we don't actually know if that happened. won't know that for several months. after more surveys are done, but what -- what we do know is that as the day progresses, the traffic on the roads is expected to build. a lot of people out there. a lot of troopers. everyone urged to be careful out there. >> mark potter, thank you very much. once again, here is lester. >> a busy weekend in politics with unrest overseas in pakistan and egypt. announcement of a key endorsement in the race for president. here to take us through all, david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning.

>> chief among the president's concerns. 24 f 44 pakistanis killed by an errant nato attack. this is a big deal, given osama bin laden was killed on pakistani soil without their permission or knowledge. what's this mean for the white house right now? >> it's very difficult right now. because as you say, the relationship is already strained. some repercussion to the relationship. talk about closing various bases forb drones that fly over the tribal areas that target terrorists by the united states, terrorists that come into afghanistan, target american troops. not just a question of it being tense. there are likely to be further raids by the united states, by nato troops, into pakistan to deal with these safe havens that are operating there. again, where they target u.s. troops by coming over the border. so this is just going to underline that difficulty. >> second big foreign policy challenge, the arab spring. a challenge all along to measure

this fine line between dealing with the uprisings and democracy and freedom. if egypt right now, where the u.s. had really supported the uprising against mubarak, what happens now? as that agreement seems to be falling apart? >> well, again, the key to the u.s./egyptian relationship is the strong military-to-military ties. that becomes so important because of the institutional relationship that exists between the u.s. military and egyptian military to sort of keep order. but the political question is a separate matter and operating on a separate track. we as the united states want to encourage democratic reform. but this means institution building. it means trying to deal with a -- a new administration that may not necessarily be friendly to all u.s. interests and this is going to be a very much take it one step at a time kind of approach. much more difficult to manage as i think everybody understood, even after those first images in

ta re tahir square. >> a new hampshire newspaper is announcing it is endorsing newt gingrich. how important is this? >> it is important. in 2008, john mccain. a conservative newspaper, carries a lot of weight in new hampshire. this is very important for newt gingrich, trying to emerge as the alternative to mitt romney, the more conservative alternative. that is the problem for romney. his conservative credentials, and this his most important state. up in the polls in new hampshire, is romney, the governor of massachusetts, of course, this is his proving ground to really show he's on a march to win the nomination. >> david gregory, thank you very much. >> thank you, lester. time for a check of other headlines. for that we turn to wnbc's darlene rodriguez. good morning, everybody. we begin with the child sex abuse scandal that shocked the nation. nbc's jay gray live at penn state with the latest. good morning, jay. >> reporter: good morning,

darlene. another rough week at penn state. let's start with the details of students coming back. thousands will make their way back to state college today, coming back from thanksgiving break. a break for the students, but not necessarily for the controversy here. we also know that during that thanksgiving break, jerry sandusky seen on thursday, thanksgiving day, at one point with his wife dottie, a day after new accusations surfaced. two young boys currently under 18 years old, one of the accusers, according to sandusky's attorney, joe amendola, a member of sandusky's own family. he calls the allegations ridiculous and unfounded. and there are continued questions as the attorney general and a member of the penn state board of trustees, he didn't suggest that that group take a closer look at sandusky. and penn state played its final game. fans althou ss at a local sport

a lot to cheer about. they lost. they are eligible for a postseason bowl game. but some of the cities that host the bowls may not deliver ab invitation because of the scandal here. >> nbc's jay gray, thank you. police are trying to talk to the woman accused of attacking other shoppers with pepper spray. she surrendered friday night, but refusing to talk about the incident. at least 20 customers suffered minor injuries. and nasa's mission to mars is rocketing toward the red planet. the biggest and betty kwiptebes robot will look for signs of life on mars. despite a midnight deadline, few occupy l.a. protesters taking down hundreds of tents they put up in a park next to city hall so it can be cleaned.

most don't intend to comply with the order, setting up a possible confrontation with police. vladimmir putin running for president again. he stepped down in 2008 after two presidential terms. today's nomination marks the official start of putin's campaign to seek re-election next march. a look ahead of "today," a quick roundup of stories to watch this week. a record crowd is expected to watch justin beeber and other celebrities light the rockefeller christmas tree on wednesday it will be shown right here on nbc. capital christmas tree arrives at the west front of the capitol grounds it will be lit on december 6th. slaup toured black dress worn by lady gaga expected to sell more than $10,000 at a rock and roll auction thursday in los angeles. that's the news. now back to lester, jenna, and scott. i see that dress on you, jenna. >> what is the big deal? my blazer is going for $14.99 at

t.j. max. i don't know what the big deal is about that dress when clearly you could have this for next to nothing. scott williams is here with a first check of the weather. a lot of folks headed back home after t and a good sunday morning. i'm storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. it is a bright and mild start to our sunday in the washington area. a beautiful day to be outside today. temperature already 52 in washington. 45 in montgomery. 39 in fairfax. 37 in manassas, leesburg. increasing mid and high-level cloudiness. south winds 10 to 20 miles per hour. clouds with rain chances back tomorrow. and that's your sunday forecast.

lester. >> scott, thanks. up next, black friday is on the books. now on to cyber monday. everything you need to know to find the best deals online. after this. - i'll be home soon. until then, i have my wingman helping me out. tommy? - i helped dad pick it out. - it's beautiful. - behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america. there are millions of reasons to give one, but the message is always the same: keep your heart open, and love will always find its way in. - i love you. - i love you too. [ female announcer ] new and improved swiffer dusters with dust lock adhesive can clean virtually every surface in your home. ♪ its thousands of fluffy fibers pick up dust here, there, pretty much everywhere. and swiffer dusters traps 3 times more dust than a feather duster.

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my name is aj curran. i'm the director of outerwear and accessories, and the holidays are made here at l.l.bean. retailers were seeing green on friday as consumers spent 11.4 billion, that's up over 6.6% over last year. deals keep coming as we head to cyber monday. here on getting the best of the web has to offer is tech contributor mario original strong. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> based on the craziness, it's no surprise that sales up 6% from last year. are you surprised by that? >> not surprised by that. we'll continue to see the up tick go up for cyber monday. a lot of people shopping online. and many people avoided all of the crowds and pepper spray and everything else, hey, i can do this in my pajamas today and tomorrow.

>> everybody is jumping on line. where do we go? >> go to cybermonday.com. the reason? they have a whole assortment of different objects and items you can pick up. everything from electronics to jewelry to accessories. >> in one consolidated place. >> in one consolidated place. 40% off home depot. technology like e-box and gaming consoles. jewelry, right there on the one site. >> called cyber monday. is it technically begin right on monday or can we get online before that? >> i guess it's cyber monday somewhere else already and american retailers said let's go ahead and start it on sunday. it's already started. if you are home thinking now, start shopping now. take advantage of the inventory available. >> besides that website, give us tips for shopping online. >> a couple things to be aware of. number one, look for the best deals. to do that, be prepared. don't just fall into the trap of shopping for shopping's sake.

look for things important to you. do comparison shopping online. understand what i'm looking for, and be aware of deals that look too good. see a tablet under 199, don't buy it run. >> some retailers like to bundle items and it makes it seemsavin and don't get fooled by that. >> in some instances you are only saving 10 bucks. don't get fooled. >> and scam artists, the moment is ripe to get you. what should you do. >> a very important point you are bringing up. make sure are you shopping at trustworthy websiteses. number two, use your credit card, not debit card. people are still using the debit card. you don't have the same protections and limitations. last but not least, make sure you are aware of whether search and buy https needs to be in the

address bar and be wary of deals that look too good. don't click on anything in the e-mails. >> mario armstrong, thank you so much. we appreciate your insight. we're back, right after this. stay with us. are not for decorating. dad. did you know it's 22 days, 11 hours and 2 minutes to christmas? [ mumbling ] ...enny days, 8 hours, 9 minutes... 18 days, 17 hours... [ mom ] let's go, young lady. [ female announcer ] they're for building excitement for christmas. 12 days, 18 hours... come on. it's no days! [ female announcer ] the hallmark countdown to christmas ornament. 5 hours and 59 minutes and 41... 40...39... 38...37...36... i can't breathe... so i can't sleep... and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed & turned... i even vaporized! and then i fought back: with drug-free breathe right advanced.

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still to come, the mystery of d.b. cooper, four decades since he literally vanished into thin air. we'll take a look at new leads. lester impresses in italy. i rock on stage. an update on the new hobbies we have taken up. first, these messages.

sunny and clear look at the white house this morning. this sunday, november 27th, 2011 rather. it's 8:26. topping our news today, fire crews are investigating a deadly house fire in prince george's county, griffin street near chilham, maryland. we'll have a live report coming up at 9:00 on news 4 today. all three american students are back in the states days after being arrested in egypt. they're accused of throwing fire bombs at security forces during the country's riots. georgetown student sweeney arrived in st. louis late last night. and gregory porter was reunited

with his family as well. another student, luke gates returned to indiana where he goes to school. chuck bell has a look at your sunday forecast afte

let's check with with chuck bell. >> plenty of sunshine on a sunday morning. a beautiful day to get outside and enjoy it. if you're out traveling around the area for today or flying back home or expecting people

from other places, quiet weather for our three airports here in the washington area. may still want to call ahead to make sure your flights are on time. temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s. so a nice, mild start. plenty of sunshine streaming through a thin beck of clouds outside this morning. mid and high level clouds on the increase. we will stay dry, breezy and mild. temperatures in the mid-6 0s at least for today. 60s again tomorrow. tomorrow, clouds will lead to a chance for rain showers late in the day. tuesday, looking like an ugly, rainy ♪ oh, i won't ask for much for christmas, i won't even wish for snow ♪ >> a sneak peek of a brand new music video from justin bieber. perhaps have you heard of the gentleman. if that gets you in the spirit, tune in wednesday night for the rest of it, when our own al

roquer and savannah guthrie host the lighting of the rockefeller christmas tree, christmas in rockefeller center, right here at 8:00 p.m. on nbc. >> tree looks great. lights not even on. we have a great crowd come out pretree lighting. sunday morning, november 27, 2011. lester holt and jenna wolfe. a lot to talk about new details in the disappearance much michelle parker. >> she's the young mother who went missing just hours after she appeared on "the people's court." exclusive new footage from her family. the last video ever taken of her with her young children. we'll show it to you in a couple of minutes. a couple of years ago, you and i took on the challenge of let's new something as adults. something hard. i chose to learn italian, and you chose to learn guitar. >> we decided to pick up a hobby later in life.

in the news anchoring gig doesn't work out this might be something i could do, minus the singing and some of the actual guitar playing, but you had a chance to go italy and speak italian amongs the in ainatives. >> yes, when i was cover rick the amanda knox trial, i ordered a cab and the cab really showed up. we had a lot of interesting responses. i asked folks to swetweet us wi what they are learning later in life. >> we actually do read them throughout the show, and if they are kosher, we retweet them and talk on the air. >> a couple of them, not so kosher. scott williams with another check of the weather. hey, scott. >> good morning, jenna and lester. unusual temperatures for this time year in the northeast. near record warmth again. 65 for a high in new york city. wet weather from the great lakes

to the gulf coast. some locations could pick 2 to 4 inches. unsettled in the pacific good sunday morning. i'm storm 4 meteorologist chuck bell. it is off to a bright and sunny start on your sunday morning across the nation's capital. a beautiful day today. filtered sunshine. we're off to a mild start. already 52 here in washington. 36 in frederick, maryland. everybody warming up into the 60s today. this will be our eighth day in a row with temperatures 60 degrees or higher. tomorrow should make 9. then turns cool and wet for tues

it's sunday. we have to talk about the football weather. the pittsburgh steelers taking on the kansas city chiefs at arrowhead stadium. look for clear and cold conditions for tailgating as well as the game. temperatures in the low 30s. and it will still be breezy as well. bundle up. catch the game right here tonight on nbc. that's a look at your forecast. jenna, back to up. >> scott, thank you very much. the search for missing florida mom michelle parker continues today. now her family has shared exclusive never before seen videos of her hoping for a break in the case. lila luciano has the story. >> reporter: in the video, we see michelle parker amusing her toddler twins. >> want to feel it? squish it? >> reporter: preparing for halloween, weeks before her disappearance. michelle's family says the 33-year-old was working two jobs and attending beauty school so she could buy a house for

herself and three kids. >> any help, eyes and ears. >> reporter: orlando police continue the search with the help of family, friends and volunteers. >> we're pounding the pavement, still searching, not giving up. >> reporter: ten days since the popular bartender disappeared. hours after an appearance on "the people's court," arguing over an engagement ring. >> dale smith. >> he gets vindictive, he's a mean person when he has been drinking. >> reporter: smith is the last person to see michelle when he dropped off the twins. the two have a violent history, but he's not a suspect. nbc news tried to reach dale smith for comment, but received no response. >> this is a missing persons case, but highly unusual. circumstance involved, the television show, relationship with her ex-boyfriend. a high probability that something suspicious had to have happened to this woman. >> reporter: the last anyone ever heard from michelle was a

one-word text message from her cell phone. it said waterford, a neighborhood in orlando. something unusual since michelle's text messages tend to be longer and filled with icons, as seen in this, her last text conversation with her sister. and her family released a voice mail she left her dad the day before her disappearance. >> hey, dad, this is michelle. call me when have you lunch or a break. i love you, bye. >> reporter: and photos of a necklace she was wearing. new clues and a $50,000 reward for her safe return, they hope to have some questions answered soon. for today, lilia luciano, nbc news, orlando. s.w.a.t. teams teargassed a home where dale smith lives. they are searching for "a piece of the puzzle" on where they might find her. it remains an unsolved hijacking on the fbi's books. on the 40th anniversary of his

disappearance, dozens of amateur sleuths have made it their personal crusade to find out what happened to d.b. cooper. >> could have landed anywhere in there. see the kind of terrain he to come down? >> jerry thomas has been hunting for cooper 25 years, deep in the woods in washington state. >> you get a general idea in here what he has to negotiate. >> the army veteran believes the thick, rugged terrain could have played a role in the hijacker's fate. >> bottom line, not experienced enough or prepared for the terrain in which he jumped in. >> thomas doesn't think cooper survived. >> very good reasons to believe he lived, because we've never found a body in 40 years. >> i feel he -- he very much survived it. >> over the years, dozens who have tried to crack the case and now on the 40th anniversary, these amateur sleuths are comparing notes. >> if he's out there, no way he

can't come to this event. >> on saturday, jeffrey gray, author of "skyjack" held the first ever cooper s erer sympos portland. >> all because a guy passed a note that said, miss, i have a bomb. i'd like you to sit by me. >> reporter: the hijacker took over the flight from portland to seattle. his demand? $200,000 and a means to escape. >> four parachutes, two backups, two primaries. >> reporter: his demands met, the hijacker, who bought the ticket under dan cooper, freed passengers and instructed the flight to take off and fly south. the entire crew was in the cockpit. he the cabin to himself. at one point, they get a warning light to tell them that the rear exit had been opened. cooper walks down these stairs,

opens up the lower ramp, jumps out of the airplane and into history. >> reporter: he jumped into a cold rainy night into the washington/oregon border. not until some of this money was found eight years later was there any sign of cooper. since 1971, there have been thousands of tips from those claiming to be or know where d.b. cooper is. another made public on saturday. >> well, we believe we know who d.b. cooper is. a friend we met back in 1977. i flew for a whole year before she told us she used to be a man. >> new theories continue to emerge about the case. reports resurfaced indicating cooper may have been canadian and got the idea from a comic book. >> dan cooper is a character in a comic book. >> reporter: this man has been investigating the lead and the possibility that he had access

to a rare metal. traces of titanium on a rare neck tie. >> he probably had a military history, worked in the titanium industry. >> reporter: as far as motive, cooper's own words are most telling. >> one fortunate things i found in the files deals direct well this motive. it's right here. it's not because i have a grudge against your airline. it's just because i have a grudge. dan cooper likely was extreme loner, depressed, i believe suicidal. >> reporter: ralph himlesbach, one of the first fbi agents assigned to the case, believes it's highly unlikely he survived the jump. >> he jumped out of an airline going almost 10,000 feet, with the air temperature outside the plane 7 degrees below zero. i think of him as being just another sleazy rotten criminal.

>> reporter: regardless of what you believe, 40 years later, these cooper sleuths are determined to solve the mystery. >> becoming part of the story is what you have to do in order to solve the case. >> it is a great american mystery. it's like the x-prize. when you throw out a challenge to the public, the public will pick it up and do a good job of trying to solve it. >> i have a feeling they will try to solve it. i went out there a couple of years ago, a wooded area. who knows? some money was found on the beach. he ended up there somewhere. >> mystery continues. always time to learn something new. jenna and i with an update of the new skills we picked up. >> lester learned to stand and sit, i love it. >> there's more to it than that. ♪

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[ man ] we've been in the business over the course of four centuries. [ woman ] it was a family business back then, and it still feels like a family business now. the only people who knew about us were those in new england, that moment that we got our first web order... ♪ ...we could tell we were on the verge of something magical. all of a sudden it just felt like things were changing. we can use this to advertise to bakers everywhere. [ man ] browns summit, north carolina. crescent city, california. we had a package go to kathmandu once. the web has been the reason this entire section of the warehouse exists today. we were becoming more than this little flour company in vermont.

[ woman ] we're all going after one common goal, which is to spread the joy of baking throughout the whole world. ♪ ♪ ♪ this morning on "today's real estate" great deals in america's top football cities. in some areas of the country, let's face it. football reigns supreme. today, barbara corcoran has the best football cities and the deal you can get there. >> good morning, lester. >> we don't think people will up and move about people could get a good deal in football cities. >> i don't know. i know people that would do that. >> let's start with the green bay packers.

the average house, $122,000. lambeau field. >> and you will get a really nice house. the homes are quite charming, and unlike many of the community, the homes have actually gone up in price 12% in the last year. that's something to be bragging about beyond the football team. the house that i'm going to show you here is $109,900. gives you a good sense of what you will get if you move there. classic home with a large yard and beautiful gardens, enclosed front parch with a big deck. >> $109,000. oxford, mississippi, home of the ole miss rebels. the grove, big football town. what do you get there? >> in that particular town, you pay for a typical house around $250,000. this one close to it. people in mississippi seem to love brick houses, keep building them, keep buying them. $249,000. spi spike and span.

rustic wood shutters, sits on six acres of land and taxes are cheap. >> dallas, texas. average cost of a home in dallas is $87,000. didn't realize this. >> the reason, people picture rich people in dallas with giant mansions and this house i'm picking out is really a typical house that the average joe really buys there. it is a house that was built in 1955. doesn't have any outstanding charm. a brick facade. brown trim and comes in at only $69 a foot. >> my goodness. hard to find a bargain like that anywhere else in the country. >> pay twice that for garage space in new york city. think about that. >> pittsburgh, another great football town. home of the steelers. football actually saved pittsburgh some say, during the 1970s when steel mills were starting to close. what can a fan expect to close. >> you won't pay that much. a little more than the last town. medium price in pittsburgh,

running about $220,000 and prices holding firm. for $249,000, get this classic brick colonial built in 1934 on a whole acre of rolling green lawn. it looks like a rich guy's house, but only $249,000. >> top five with eugene, oregon, with the university of oregon ducks. a really gate seasreat season. a lot of people don't think of it as a big football town. why eugene? >> "animal house" was filmed there, but still one of the best places to raise a family. a big fenced lot. people genuinely nice. four bedrooms, three baths, and $192,000. >> i passed through there a couple of times. genuinely nice town.

are you a football fan? >> i am. i won't tell you for who. >> back after this. ♪ hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in a little drop of chocolate. pure hershey's.

working where we do, we often get the chance to try and do things we are personally interested. two years ago, we got an assignment, go out and try something new. >> lester tapped into his love italy and i chaneled my inner rock star, as you will see, we've come a very long way. >> some set their sights on climbing a mountain. others learn to fly. but the urge to learn and try our hands at something new seems to be sending a lot of people

back to the classroom. >> personal enrichment classes have grown much more than professional development courses. >> for me, a sudden desire to learn a second language. a couple of years ago, i settled italian. [ speaking foreign language ] >> first thought was arabic. but who doesn't love italy? [ speaking foreign language ] >> i thought guitar players were cool and it didn't seem that hard when i was a gid. you pick up a guitar like this. >> researchers found playing a musical instrument regularly shapes the powe ee eer and stref the brain and makes you smarter. but it's also humbling. >> terrible. >> success doesn't come from pushing you harder.

it comes from more patience, when i have little of. >> how do you think patience italian? [ speaking foreign language ] >> patience is key. ask my friend italian journalist maureen carmenotti, who tutors me. >> we jump from the chair just to learn the rhythm of the word. >> it's more difficult than i thought. you read enough italian menus, you think you speak the language or know a lot of the words, but there is a lot of verbs can be difficult, the conjugation. [ speaking foreign language ] >> wow! yes! >> as lester gets better and better at its tallian, one thing keeping me motivated? competition. lester is like bonjourno this

and that. >> what i love about jenna, when i give her an assignment, whether i see her the next day or a week from now, she will have it. > [ speaking foreign language ] >> i was in perugia covering the amanda knox case, and i was challenged to use my italian. when i was able to speak, understand the response, i was like wow, this really works. >> ever the intrepid journalist, of course lester used his new found talent to cover news. i, on the other hand? i'm not above trying to impress rock stars. >> this sounds really familiar. yay! >> and i'm not above trying to get another assignment italy. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> i don't think i'm ever going to be fluent. i love studying the language. the musical sound of the language. it's fun. >> and while i wait for rob thomas to call me for a show, never going to happen, my guitar instructor is crazy enough to have me join his band, white collar crime, for the occasional new york city gig. a sense of fulfillment, even though i'm older and busy, we can learn something new no matter how old we are. >> as a musician, can i say something? you have the attitude. playing guitar is 70% attitude. >> can i say something too? i can speak italian too now. that wasn't so bad. >> it helps that i learned the proper syllables. >> we should thank our

instructors, matt king and white collar crime. >> and maureen carmenotti. >> it's been a long two years, but i love to pick up a guitar and play. >> we'll have to play together someday. >> on the show. summer concert series, i can see it now. >> right? all of four people will come and watch us. >> we'll be right back. - oooh. - jared presents beautiful natural levian chocolate diamonds and chocolate south sea pearls. levian is the only company on earth to make jewelry with chocolate diamonds. levian: the leading family in jewelry, from ancient royalty to today's red carpet. you will only find these styles at jared. levian chocolate diamonds: they're anything but vanilla. that's why he went to jared. i heard it came from space. they have greasy messes in space? [ laughs ] well, not anymore, obviously. look how it cleans. just stop. [ male announcer ] mr. clean magic eraser kitchen scrubber.

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time to check in with david gregory to see what's coming up on "meet the press." >> another capitoal fairur fail congress. senator chuck schumer and our roundtable, coming up on "meet the press." >> that does it for us on this sunday morning. darlene rodriguez, who speaks italian, we just figured out. [ speaking foreign language ] next week, the five biggest mistakes shoppers make during the holiday season. >> one-on-one with legendary

director gary marcshall. have a great day, everyone. good morning and welcome to news 4 today. i'm chris gordon. >> and i'm elaine reyes. it's sunday, november 27th. we begin with breaking news in prince george's county, maryland. a child has died and two adults are in the hospital after a

house fire near chilham. it started 3:45 on griffen street. derrick, what can you tell us? >> reporter: investigators are now working on this house. it is 2411 griffen street. you can see what remains now. at 3:45 this morning prince george's county firefighters got a call of a house fire. this neighborhood is bordered by riggs, route 410 east west highway. they got a call for a house fire here. and also it became clear early in the event that people were trapped inside the house. we do understand one of the victims was able to get out but others were not, including the 6-year-old child who died. mark, when firefighters got here it was clear they were going going to have quite