good morning. high and dry. drought conditions across most of the country. this morning the worst in a quarter century. even if you don't see it firsthand, you're going to feel it in your wallet. new clues? three months after fort bragg soldier vanished authorities question a registered sex offender who was with her for a third time. >> is and up, up, but not too far away. just hours into their launch here, party balloon flight, dangerous weather searches two daredevils to make a hard landing and their dreams of an interstate odyssey may have floated away on today, sunday, interstate odyssey may have floated away on today, sunday, july 15th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

from this is nubs this is "today" with lester holt and jenna wolf live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday. i'm lester holt. and i'm jenna wolf. the whole town comes out. parties, like a parade, they're going up into balloons. someone is like, you checked the weather? no, i checked the weather? >> they get up and, lo and behold, there were thunderstorms. helium balloons. i would have gone with a la-z-boy. >> or a 737. >> yeah. we're talking about the drought also. >> across the pond, getting ready for the olympics, nonstop rain. it's the exact opposite here. nationwide drought. a bad situation. looks like it will get even worse. >> they have declared 1,000 in 26 states as natural disaster area. the corn crop especially hard hit. there's little rain in the

forecast. if it's not affecting you, you'll be certain to pay more when you go grocery shopping. we'll have the story and the grim forecast coming up. a deadly shark attack. when a good samaritan tried to help he, too was almost attacked. we'll have the latest on the search for this massive white shark. and one couple who thinks less is more when it comes to their apartment. it's only 240 square feet. and it comes complete with a kitchen, bathroom, den, and bedroom. somehow they find a way to make it all work without killing each other. we'll get a tour. it shouldn't take long. >> here, this is 240 square feet, basically. and then you've all tried photo booths where you pile in with a bunch of your friends. check out the scream-o-tron. if you scream and yell at the top of your lungs. let's hear it again, jen.

>> ahh! >> i was just kidding. >> lester and i will give it a try. >> you have to make a face too, apparently. >> how do you scream without making a face? >> that's true. i can't wait. going to extremes. historic rainfall drenched the houston area. this week up to four feet of standing water is covering some neighborhoods there and hundreds of homes are still without electricity. but rain is in short supply across most of the country. and you're going to pay the price. the worst drought to hit the nation in 25 years is claiming its first casualty in the heartland, the corn crop. one-third of it is in trouble. on this illinois farm, corn that should be a foot long has grown only a few inches. >> it's going to cost more in fuel than what you'll end up getting out of it. >> ranches are in trouble too.

with no grass for cattle to graze on, they're having to buy food for their herd. >> devastating. it looks like the desert. >> but growth is coming in all of this in the form of higher prices in the grocery store. >> in doubt it will increase the grocery bills. >> an exist says we could see milk and cheese prices rise 6%. beef could fall in the short-term because so many ranchers are selling cattle early. they will eventually rise as much as 10%. and it won't stop there. it has impacted 75% of what's sold in the market. how long until the heat hits consumers? the trickle down won't be immediate? >> it wouldn't surprise if say 6 to 12 months now 10% increase for most shoppers in terms of the basket of goods they buy. >> with little drought relief, cities like indianapolis are turning off fountains and enforcing mandatory watering

bans. rising water temperatures have killed off fish and reservoirs have gone dry. there is water but it's out of reach for those who need it most. tax tax has gone from last year's record drought to a deluge. storms dumping as much as 15 inches. as one artfully put it, swinging from hell to high water. >> so the question becomes, is there any relief in sight? >> weather channel stephanie abrams is at the map with the fork. >> good morning to you, lester and jenna. no relief in sight. 61% of the u.s. is in drought. there it is in color from coast to coast, border po border. very hard to get away from it. and i was looking at our forecast the next five days. satellite and radar, basically this is what it's going look look like as we head throughout the workweek. the most rain i could find, up

to three inches from the tennessee area up to the ohio/watch watest virginia bord. time for a check of this morning's other top stories from tom at the news desk. hey, tom, good morning. >> good morning, everyone. members of a boston church are praying for the safe return of their pastor kidnapped in egypt. refuse vend michelle lewis was abducted along with a female member as a tour guide. he said he will let them go when his uncle is released from prison. a blaze 50 miles northeast of sacramento burned 2,000 acres since wednesday and destroyed at least one home. 170 more are threatened. the government is calling for reinforcements >> former penn state football coach joe paterno reportedly began talks to sweeten his

retirement contract at the same time he testified in the jerry sandusky sex abuse case. the amended contract worth $5.5 million will stand. but the halo is gone from a mural at penn state. it was removed after records that they buried allegations against sandusky. thunderstorms brought an early end to a strange trip out west. an oregon gas station owner and iraqi adventurer took off saturday in tandem lawn chairs secured from helium balloons bound for montana storms forced them to land 30 miles into their flight. finally, bruce springsteen and paul mccartney on the stage at the end of the concert at the hard rock in hyde park. they found their microphones cut off before they could address the crowd. springsteen exceeded the curfew by half an hour.

that's the news. now back to lester, jenna and stephanie. he might be the boss here but over seas, i guess not. >> just another working stiff. tom, thanks very much. >> cut, cut. springsteen? i don't care. cut. stephanie has a check of the forecast. hey, stephanie. >> hey there. this heat is not were helping because it evaporates any moisture that we have on the ground. look how hot it is again. we've been talking about this for weeks. and it's not going to stop. still look at this. triple digit readings into the plains. chicago in the 90s. minneapolis in the 9plains. minneapolis in the 90s. heat advisories are still posted in the area. south dakota over towards lake michigan and for the rest of you today it looks like it will be pretty comfortable overall. though showers along the east coast. here's a look at what's happening you side your door. >> good morning. i'm chuck bell. we have a mostly cloudy sky

overhead. temperatures upper 70s to near 80s. cumberland, maryland, the cool spot at 70. there you can see a few sprinkles in northern and western maryland. a few sprinkle chances this morning and a risk for some thunderstorms around later this aftern lester, back to you. >> all right, stephanie, thanks. let's turn to the race for the white house where president obama and mitt romney are trading talks. nbc's mike viqueira is at the white house. >> good morning to you, lester. the president is back at the white house after staying on the offensive ignoring complaints from mitt romney and his call that the president back off on bain. despite a driving rain outside richmond, supporters turned out to hear a drenched president obama renew his attack on mitt romney's record at bain capital.

>> i don't want a pioneer in outsourcing. i want some insource. >> this after he condemned talks in an interview with nbc news and called for an apology from the president. >> i think the attacks are beneath the dig any of the presidency. >> but there was no letup. he upped the stakes, attacking romney in a new ad. ♪ oh, beautiful for spacious skies ♪ >> romney did not campaign in public, spending time in his lake side home in new hampshire after a week-long barrage over his personal finances, including overseas bank accounts. >> he not only couldn't be confirmed as a cabinet he couldn't be confirmed as dog catcher. at least you want to look at his income tax returns. >> he said he has no control over his investments. they're a blind trust.

and he refused to release tax returns beyond the two he already made public mr. >> i put as much as as i'm going to put out. >> one republican appeared to break ranks. bentley said, if you have things to hide, then maybe you're doing things wrong. after the comments went viral, bentley quickly backtracked in a statement asserting he was taken out of context. for mr. obama, it was a second straight day campaigning in virginia. >> is that good or bad? >> that's a good one. >> a key swing state that approximately believe could determine the winner in november. this as the republican governor returned fire against the president. >> all that record of hope and change and uplifting language we heard in 2008 has turned into a campaign of division and misrepresentation. >> lester, the campaign pace only picks up from here. the president is going to spend four of the next five days away from the white house either campaigning in swing states or

raising cash. as for mitt romney he has stops early in the week in louisiana and pennsylvania >> david gregory is moderator of "meet the press". >> good morning, lester. >> he said he was taken out of context. nonetheless, is there growing concern around republicans for romney to get through this somehow and move on? >> well, this becomes a distraction. the drum beat for transparency to be an open book when it comes to your finances is amplified because of how weighty romney is and because of the complexity of his investments over time with overseas accounts, swiss bank accounts and cayman island accounts, et cetera. right now he's stick to go his position about how he is going to release these records. he's made an issue of releasing tax returns in his previous campaigns as well. even against senator kennedy when he was running for the senate back in the '90s. both sides get at this game and politics about full transparency. i don't think it's going to go away. >> right now he seems between a

rock and a hard place. he highlights tax havens and those sorts of things. yet if he releases more it could result in more ads that the president could use. >> well, there's no question about it. he's got to develop the counterpunch to deal with all the revelations because that's what they would be and how he has handled his finances. and that's just a reality that he faces. i think there's genuine concern in the romney campaign that to go beyond what he's done is an invitation for more opposition attacks against him. there is precedent. you look at his own father and how many years of tax returns he released. as an example, all of that will be used against romney. as i say, a lot of this becomes a distraction. because if you're the obama campaign you want to keep the subject right here. because what obama is trying to do is tear down the alternative. really make this a choice and say this is not a guy fit to be an alternative to end mr.

obama's presidency. >> i know you will drill more on "meet the press". >> we talk to ed gillespie, senior adviser to mitt romney and we'll talk taxes with dick durbin from the senate. >> thanks. >> thanks, lester. >> now here's jenna. lester, thank you. today authorities in australia are searching for a huge shark, probably a great white that killed a surfer on saturday. he was believed to be at least 13 feet along. duncan has details. searchers are still looking today on the west coast of australia for the remains of a surfer and the shark that attacked him. ben linden was in the water 200 yards off the beach when it was believed he was mauled by a great white. >> i raced to grab the body and the shark came at me on a jet ski and tried to knock me off.

the shark took the body and there was just blood everywhere. there was nothing i could do. >> a fatal shark attack in australia in less than a year. a huge increase but nobody knows why. recently there have been dramatic encounters with sharks in the u.s. too. this clip has become an internet sensation. a woman in south carolina was pulling in a fish form or a big shark to jump out of the water and grab it. >> oh! >> and in massachusetts this month, several great white sharks were seen off cape cod. the large number of seals believed to be drawing them in. they prefer seals to humans and attacks are rare. >> the amount of shark attacks on human is quite small as opposed to other things that could affect us like being struck by lightning. >> that doesn't stop the fear of

these predators, not when you get this close and know what they're capable of. nbc news, london. still ahead, we're going to take a big turn. you think your house is cramped? wait until you meet a couple who lives in an apartment so small you literally have to see it to believe it. summer is here. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful, efficient c250 sport sedan with an agility control sport-tuned suspension. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. ♪ the mercedes-benz summer event ends july 31st. ♪

well, if you live in a city like new york and you're looking for a place to live you think

location, location, location. but also price, price, price. >> you think? in order to get some of that prime real estate people have to sacrifice a little something called space. >> new york. the city of bright lights and beautiful skylines. a place where the right price can get you a roomy palace fit for a king. but not everyone here is livin large. i caught with erin and her fiancee. they live in an apartment in brooklyn that just might give you claustrophobia. >> how many square feet is this apartment? >> 240. >> just how small is that? let's see. kitchen. >> miniature cans. >> the dining room. >> this is the stairs to our bedroom. >> this is the bedroom. this is all of it? >> yes. this is it. >> down we go to the den and the bathroom. >> normally when we're getting ready in the morning one person

max in here. >> cozy quarters. but it has to be super cheap, right? >> $1,500 is actually a lot for this space. >> it seems like a lot to pay per square foot. but for the comfort that we have here actually we feel like it's worth it. >> organized, clutter free and perfectly polished these guys make it look easy. >> do you have any survival tips for anybody else that's downsizeng. >> my favorite test is to think carefully about your storage space some and they say thinking outside the box inside this box is key. the dining room doubles as an office. the couch as storage. the dresser as an enter stainment center. >> let's take this conversation into another room, shall we? >> sure. so, how many people can you fit in this place? with a wedding right around the corner, one question remains, where are they going to put all those gifts in for "today", nbc

news, brooklyn. >> what's 240 square feet look like? we outlined it here on the plaza. >> i know you think it looks big. i'm going around the apartment now. >> i could whisper and you would be able the hear. >> what's the smallest apartment you ever lived? ? >> 550, 600. >> i had a series of studio apartments in my 20s. i think i was in one this size. imagine putting furniture in. >> yeah. and i was alone. two people would be tough. you could get on each other's nerves. my hats off to them. a. a photo booth like none other. you have to scream before it takes a picture. boy, i hope she got her picture. nice, leslie. florida's natural orange juice taste so uniquely fresh and delicious? is it the rich florida soil?

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whatever happened to hope and change? now it seems he's just coming right out of the box with these old-fashioned, negative ads. by starting negative, by going extremely tough and extremely hard, looking conventional, and frankly running ads that are inaccurate. barack obama's campaign and allies will run more negative ads against this republican nominee in 2012 than have ever been run in the history of the world. whatever happened to hope and change? [ romney ] i'm mitt romney, and i approve this message.

still to come on "today", the search for kelly bordeaux. three months since the young fort bragg soldier disappeared. her family remains hopeful she'll return. and part super hero, part super natural. comic-con. but first these messages. es in . ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org.

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♪ is more or less mathematically challenged. less isn't more, it's less. and the only thing more than more is a lot more. which is exactly what i get at embassy suites. more space... more down time. more family time. more me time. more me me. more me time. because the more more i have, the more i have to have... more. [ female announcer ] more room. complimentary drinks. free breakfast. embassy suites. get more.

[ female announcer ] every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health care should be our own is troubled mitt romney supports overturning roe versus wade. romney backed a law that outlaws all abortion -- even in cases of rape and incest. and that's not all. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] for women, planned parenthood means life-saving cancer screenings and family-planning services. but, for mitt romney... planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. good morning. it's 8:26 on this sunday, july 15th, 2012. i'm richard jordan. topping your news for today, metro officials are looking into what caused another computer glitch the second in less than 24 hours.

the first incident happened yesterday afternoon when trains were stopped for about 45 minutes. because a computer system went down. then around 1:30 this morning, computer systems failed again, stopping trains for half an hour. metro has no explanation as to what caused the failures. and two people were shot at a spa at the nail and hair care spa last night on richards valley road. a man walked in and shot a woman who works there. he also shot a man that was with her, both are listed in critical condition. police say the shooting appears to be the result of a domestic dispute. we'll get a

a lot of people have already seen some rain this weekend. let's find out what today has in store. here's meteorologist chuck bell. >> good morning. plenty of clouds outside right now and as a result it stayed fairly mild overnight. generally temperatures in the middle and upper 70s right now. storm 4 radar shows a couple of sprinkles across northern and western maryland. showers to the south and west of leesburg out to warren and clark county in virginia. nothing more than a quick shower or sprinkle this morning, but with highs up into the low 90s for most of us in the metro area, a risk of showers and

thunderstorms are bubbling up later on this afternoon. more than enough to wash out a picnic or two. >> thanks. we have a full hour of news, weather and sports coming up at we're back on a sunday morning, july 15th, 2012. our thanks to everyone out here on the plaza spending part of their morning with us. i'm jenna wolf alongside lester holt. i know it's going to be a really hot week. it's surprisingly okay right now. although the skies are kind of gray here. i'm crossing my fingers hoping it will last a little longer. we are going to go with it. coming up in this half hour, the search for the missing f. brag soldier. >> kelly bordeaux has been gone three months. there are new developments in the case. her family held a special ceremony on saturday releasing butterflies to symbolize their hope for her safe return. we'll get an update on the investigation here in just a moment

>> also ahead, it's a story nearly 50 years in the making. >> and it's a story of a man named booker wright. you've not heard of him in the history books but he is seen here in nbc news documentary. we'll look at how the bravery showed in that footage impacted two strangers who came together to find more about his story. and then on a much lighter note, we'll go inside comic-con. i didn't know that much about it until i started reading. it's not your father's comic book convention at all. from kids to real-life characters and characters from batman and twilight, it has a little bit for everyone. was that a canine? >> canine dude. >> i guess. absolutely. >> who hasn't had fun taking pictures in a photo booth? we have. and this morning we're going to turn up the volume. you have to see it and hear it to believe it. >> ahh! >> these are all members of our staff who apparently have a lot

of pinned up stuff. >> look at stephanie's reaction in the background. >> ahhh! >> you are so good. we took eight pictures there. it's for things like this where it forces some i volume to go way through the roof. >> you're not going to do that, are you? >> it's all lester holt. or maybe all stephanie abrams. >> you know what's funny about the screaming thing, this family to ohio came to new york city to do what? >> home alone tour. >> what did they do? >> we did the plaza hotel, central park. >> could you do that little screen mccauley caulk did. >> can you do the whole macaulay culkin thing? so appropriate. beautiful family, thank you. it looks light it will be dry into southern california. 71 there. seattle is looking for jous too. as we head into tomorrow, not a whole lot changing.

it will stay dry and it will stay hot for a big chunk of the country. now, here's a look at what's happening outside your door. >> i'm meteorologist chuck bell. we definitely need the rain around here, we are more than six inches behind in rainfall year to date. temperatures are in the middle to upper 70s already. high up near 90 degrees today. with a more than 50% chance of thunderstorms bubbling up later this around. back up into and for your forecast 24 hours a day, all you have to do is logon to weather.com. jenna? stephanie, thanks. today the family of missing fort bragg soldier kelly bordeaux isn't giving up hope that she will come home alive. a special ceremony was held on saturday to honor her. this as authorities say they want to learn more from the registered sex offender who was

with her the night she disappeared. t a symbol of hope. as the family releases butterflies marking the three-month anniversary of her disappearance. the 23-year-old fort bragg soldier, army medic, disappeared in april after a night of drinking and karaoke at a fayetteville, north carolina bar. >> you never think this would happen to you. i mean, it's a terrible thing when it happens to other people. but you never think it would happen to you. and when it does it's just like the worst feeling you could possibly have. >> kelli's husband mike was in florida the night she went missing and is not a suspect. police have now questioned for a third time a registered sex offender seen with kelli that night. nicholas holbert worked at the bar, which has since closed and, told police he gave kelli a ride to her apartment. he hasn't been called a suspect but remains in a county jail for failing to report his address to

authorities. >> i believe that he has very valuable information as to where he's at. >> the detective says at the center of the investigation the text and calls kelli made after leaving the bar. >> i think they weigh heavily on the events of that night and how she felt about what was going on and who she was with. >> kelli bordeaux has not been forgotten here. even now volunteers gather almost every week to search another part of the community. >> the lack of evidence comes the hope that she hasn't been found deceased in that. there's still a chance. that makes it a lot easier. >> kelli believed butterflies were a sign of good, her sister told the crowd. with three months that passed it will take more than that to bring this soldier home. and now here's lester. >> all right, jenna, thank.

you won't read the became booker wright in any book about the 1960s civil rights movement. he was as a waiter working in a whites-only restaurant in rural mississippi. he never made any waves until an nbc news documentary team came to town. his act of bravery that followed would have gone forgotten if not for two unlikely people determined to honor his story. you're going to hear a deeply offensive word in this report, one you'll typically not hear on this network and one i personally don't take lightly but it's useful in this case to understand booker wright's pain and humiliation. >> the mississippi delta is nearly 2,000 miles from the hollywood hills where ray grew up and now works as a filmmaker. it's a lifetime away from the phoenix neighborhood where yvette johnson is raising her boys. and yet a year ago these two

strangers discovered they shared a unique bond. it was a bond rooted in a 1966 nbc news documentary about race realizes in mississippi. >> people in other sections of the country are fairly convinced that we are prejudiced against colored people. >> the unvarnished views expressed by white mississippians sounds shocking today. >> i feel that god had a preference in creating the races separate. >> the man behind the camera was ray's father. and the unlikely hero of that film was yvette's grandfather booker wright. without warning, booker wright began speaking candidly and in language that viewers then and now might find offensive.

>> some call me booker. some call me john. some call me jim. some call me anythinger. >> the very existence had been a little more than a rumor to yvette. >> my heart broke for her and he talked about that daily humiliation. >> could you recognize the jeopardy he was putting himself in? >> when i first saw it, no. >> but that was about to change. in a matter of weeks, yvette and ray were on their way to mississippi with a film crew in tow. both were about to have a ender view. >> finding booker's place tonight. i'll be online chatting live with viewers on dateline's new social website called chatline. i hope you'll join me.

inside one of the world's biggest pop culture conventions, comic-con is coming up. ♪ [ female announcer ] with depression, simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores

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depression hurts. hershey's drops. a lot of hershey's happiness in little drops of milk chocolate. and cookies n creme. pure hershey's. requires daily sun protection. eucerin daily protection spf 15 body lotion is a long-lasting moisturizer and spf in one. it helps protect skin against everyday sun exposure. daily protection body lotion only from eucerin. it began 42 years ago as a small comic book convention in

san diego. now comic-con is an anything goes multimedia pop culture event attracting more than 130,000 fans from around the world. here's nbc's mike. comic-con is bigger than ever now. it's no longer a modest gathering of a few hundred geeks and nerds. it's now a serious source of really serious money. attracting more than 130,000 fans and entrepreneurs around the world. >> i actually look like this every day, no joke. >> we've been here every year. this is only the second time we camped out, though. >> and about the money, consider that comic-con is all about the kind of characters and storylines that powered seven of last year's top 10 movies and this year's comic hero blockbuster "avengers" made $1.4 billion worldwide.

the "twilight" phenomenon established a connection that's only grown stronger. >> at the movie studios started paying attention to this convention as a prime marketing opportunity for their big films. >> big films for the big screen. another hobbit, and the last installment of the "twilight" saga. and "game of thrones." comic-con, a g-rated family affair, appears to a growing portion of the worldwide cultural appetite. but that means that for the better part of a week surrounding the four-day convention the city's famous gas lamp district is packed. a running costume party that will help generate $160 million in revenue, much of it from fans who can't get enough of their other worldly heroes. >> i feel like some sort of pride and the fact that i can represent this character. and i can love doing it. >> and most of it because this

segment of the industry and its stars like kristen stewart, know this is now the big time. >> they're unique. they're not all vampires. >> interesting. just ahead, say cheese and make sure you say it loud. a photo machine that needs a little volume to get itself started. plus, five different delicious desserts made with peaches and blueberries. how to make them even if you don't cook or bake. but first these messages. try? trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

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this morning on today's kitchen delicious desserts, cooking with fresh fruits, blueberries and peaches.

chef annie cox to show us five quick and easy fruit-filled treats. welcome back. >> thank you. good to be here. five different desserts. they couldn't be easier. they're very, very flexible. we start with pie dough. open face tart. >> you said tart at the beginning. is it difficult? >> no. and the trick is you roll it out on parchment paper. you don't need a fancy pan. this is almond paste. i rolled that out between two pieces of parchment paper. you don't have to use the almond paste. this is one of the extra flexible additions. almond pace you can find in the baking section. we have it nice and open much then we have peaches and blueberries. you could use strawberries, blackberrys, apples, pears, whatever is in season. it's all about flexibility. >> are you going to dress it up

a bit? >> we're going to dress it up a little. add sugar. this is a little bit of corn starch. if the fruit is watery, more or less. use tapioca or flour. >> just to thicken it up a bit. >> this is vanilla extract. you could add almond or nothing. it's up to you. >> flexibility. >> it's all about flexibility. give that a nice stir. make sure everything is coated really easily. now, as you can see by the finished product i got up this morning and i did open heart surgery, taught a zumba class. but if you're in a little bit of a rush, look at that, just dump that right on top. looks like a mess. it's going to be okay. >> just fold up the edges. >> fold up the edges like that. it's okay if they're a bit on the ragged side because this is forgiving and flexible. >> are you going to put a glaze over the top? >> we're going to put a little egg wash and sugar on the side. brush the sides and sprinkle

sugar. that gives it this beautiful look. >> same filling. you have cobblers going on here. >> this is a slump. it's more of a cake batter top to it. over here we have a cobbler. you could put ginger, lavender, all kinds of different ingredients. this is a crisp. crunchy, crispy topping. >> if you don't want to heat up the kitchen if the summer. a lot of people don't. >> right here to the parkway. this is whipped cream cheese. -- whipped cream and marscipone cheese. a little bit of whipped cream on the bottom. right in the bottom. then some blueberries. i'm going to help you out by crushing up some meringue here.

and some peaches on there. >> i like where this is going. >> are these all peaches. >> they are white peaches. depending on where you live. nectarines. eat a peach. almond brothers. it wasn't that difficult. >> and you put a little granola. >> whatever you want. chocolate chip cookies. anything you want. >> looks great. thanks so much for coming on. >> always a pleasure. >> great to have you here. now nears jenna. photo booths have been a source of entertainment for years and years. one man put his own fun twist on the idea. photographer billy hunt designed the scream-o-tron 3000. the results will actually make you scream. hi, billy. how are you doing? >> good. >> what is this really? you're smiling, screaming or you're doing both? >> i take pictures of a lot of people. most people are really bad at it. we try to hide some things that nobody can see.

do all the strange stuff we learned when we were 6. and it doesn't really work. i was trying to figure out a way to break people out of that and do something a little different. >> so how does it work? they come into the booth and they just scream? >> yes. it's built out of an old boombox. when it hits that outer red light it takes a picture. >> so based on a certain decibel? >> yeah. >> where did you come up with this idea? >> maybe i had something to scream about. i don't know. i think i just wanted to see if i could break people out of like their shell when they're getting their picture taken. i think people think i'm trying to trick them. they're not sure if it's really real. >> speaking of breaking out of the shell, why don't you try, lester? >> this is right up your alley. this microphone? >> go stand on that spot right

there. love it. >> here we go. i don't really scream a lot, you know? ahh. >> that's not going to do it, lester. >> ahh. >> did that even go? you have to belt it. >> come on! >> ahhhh! >> there you go. >> nice. >> did you get the picture? >> who does it better, men or women? >> women are totally better. women and children can totally scream louder. i have to make it more sensitive for the guys. >> i am shocked you have not done this yet. >> all right. i will do it real quick. ready? >> all right. >> ahh. >> that is so not you. >> lackluster. >> ahhh. >> that might have gone once. but i think you've got more. >> i'm only doing this for television. >> you would never do this in real life. >> yeah. >> dig deep. >> ahhhh!

>> yea! >> we're going to take a quick break and take a look at how these pictures developed, although i probably don't want to see them. we'll come back, billy, right after this and check it all out. ! bacon?! bacon! smokey bacon, meaty bacon, tasty bacon! bacon? ohh, la, la... oh, i say, is that bacon?! oh, good heavens! bacon! bacon! bacon! bacon! who wants a beggin' strip? meee! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum, yum, yum... it's bacon!!! mmm i love you, i love bacon. i love you. i love bacon. i love you. beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time. and check out beggin' thick cut. i'm gonna need a bigger mouth! requires daily sun protection. eucerin daily protection spf 15 body lotion is a long-lasting moisturizer and spf in one. it helps protect skin against everyday sun exposure. daily protection body lotion only from eucerin.

daily protection body lotion abracadabra. ♪ hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces. whatever happened to hope and change? now it seems he's just coming right out of the box with these old-fashioned, negative ads. by starting negative, by going extremely tough and extremely hard, looking conventional, and frankly running ads that are inaccurate. barack obama's campaign and allies

will run more negative ads against this republican nominee in 2012 than have ever been run in the history of the world. whatever happened to hope and change? [ romney ] i'm mitt romney, and i approve this message. all right. time for the dreaded results. let's see how they all came out. no, let's start with me. a lot comes out of that little mouth over there. >> you look great. >> great is say strong word. where is lester's? >> well, i guess they didn't have it. that's okay. but we do have a picture of the two of us got some screaming practice earlier this week. we were on a shoot for another

story. there it is. >> i was scream anything bliss i was so happy. lester, can you make out what he's saying? >> what you don't know is jenna is controlling the speed of this coaster we were on. and i was basically saying brake, brake, brake. >> and i thought he was saying, great, great, great. he was not that happy. that is brilliant. >> we'll show you more about that other adventure in weeks to come. great to have you on. this week on "today", elton john sits town for a candid interview with matt lauer. elton talks about his life as a father, drug use especially during the beginning of the aids epidemic. you were this rock star. yet you write that you were not living a life practicing safe sex. >> no. >> weren't you afraid? >> you know what, when you take a drug and you take a drink and you mix toes two together you think you're invincible.

>> you didn't wake up some mornings thinking, what did i just do? there's an epidemic, a december out there. >> i couldn't remember. i came iv negative. >> but for the grace of god. >> i was the luckiest person in the world. >> you can see more of that interview tuesday on "today". >> and we will leave you with this week of life's illustrated. national parks, national wonders and our thanks to you for coming through with a couple of beautiful stunners. >> that's going to do it for us on "today". i'll see you tonight on "nbc nightly news". until then, have a great day, everyone. until then, have a great day, everyone. so long. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

it happened again overnight. but why? for the second time in less than 24 hours this weekend the system shut down stops metro trains. >> and a bizarre armed robbery that ended with one man dead after he was run over by a car. several gunmen are now on the run. good morning. i'm richard jordan. >> i'm angie goff. now, that armed robbery came in the middle of a busy and violent night in our region. >> we also had another metro computer glitch that left passengers stuck at stations overnight. a live report on that. we'll get to all of it. but first, your forecast. >> meteorologist chuck bell has