nbc's ayman mohyeldin was in the courtroom again today in pretoria. >> reporter: oscar pistorius on trial for murder and on public display, at times this week overcome with emotion, even gagging when forced to relive the night he shot and killed girlfriend reeva steenkamp. >> he always finishes well. >> reporter: his days as an olympic hero now a fading memory. as the prosecution paints a darker picture today with the testimony of former girlfriend samantha taylor. >> did you know the accused owned a gun? during your relationship? >> yes, my lady. >> how did you know? >> he kept it on him all the time, my lady. >> reporter: a picture of pistorius as trigger-happy, temperamental, prone to anger. >> oscar screamed at you? >> yes. >> one occasion or more? >> on more occasions, my lady. >> reporter: this is where oscar pistorius sits. yesterday, he broke down. he was visibly emotional. but today a different story. he sat very stoically, listening to an ex-girlfriend level some serious accusations against him. taylor said that pistorius once fired a gun through the sun roof of a car, angry aft

ayman mohyeldin, nbc news, preor the yarks south africa. >>> still ahead for us this evening, for theirst time a kennedy daughter speaks out about her high profile acquittal of driving while drugged. tonight her message what she calls a terrible mistake. >>> and later, hollywood's newest cinderella story. the incredible real life journey of a woman who had all the talk swirling around her today. >>> when a member of the kennedy family is caught up in a case of alleged wrong doing and is on the other side of the law, lots of things can happen and lots of judgments are made. most recently, a year and a half ago came the headline that the daughter of bobby kennedy and ethel k. had been in a traffic accident after driving under the influence of what we later learned was a sleeping pill. but the case went all the way to a trial, all the way to a verdict of not guilty. and now, kerry kennedy is talking about the lessons learned about our system. her story tonight from our national correspondent kate snow. >> reporter: on friday, her relief was visible, kerry kennedy, the 7th of robert kenne

ayman mohyeldin, nbc news, pretoria, south africa. >>> up next here, we go live to the red carpet to check in with al roker and kathie lee gifford to get their picks for tonight's top oscar prizes. >>> this is how it looked in los angeles a mere 24 hours ago, the red carpet area draped in plastic outside the kodak theater, site of tonight's academy awards. but a big sigh of relief tonight as the rain passed and things started to dry off today, just in time for the big show. covering it all for us, our "today" show colleagues al roker and kathie lee gifford. hey, guys. >> hey, lester. >> hello, lester. >> well, the good news is that -- well, you did get a little bit of a spritz. >> it spritzed just enough to ruin the hair but not my spirit. and it ruined al's. i'm just here to do his makeup. >> that's right. the good news, lester, it's over. the clouds have come out a little bit. we've finally seen an end to the rain just in time for all these stars to come down the red carpet. >> the best news is that i like al because you could never do this with somebody you despise. because this i

nbc's ayman mohyeldin was in the courtroom again today in pretoria. >> reporter: the heavy rain didn't slow oscar pistorius' dash into court. >> there's no mention about screaming. >> reporter: where today the defense challenged michelle burger, the neighbor who testified she heard screams and gunshots from the direction of pistorius' home. >> you heard that out of a closed toilet and a house 177 meters away. >> reporter: burger, who didn't want to testify on camera, was overwhelmed. >> the shots. >> reporter: it's been a very intense morning, with one of witnesses at least breaking down in cross-examination. she was wiping away tears while she was being questioned by the defense attorney. throughout the entire morning, oscar pistorius was very engaged, listening intently, taking notes and passing them on to his attorneys. at times he turned away as prosecutors build their case that he deliberately murdered his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. >> i've lost everything important to me. >> reporter: reeva's mother, on "today" this morning, never met pistorius, but she was in court yesterday h

>> ayman mohyeldin live for us in pretoria. thank you, ayman. >>> is there new hope for hiv patients? doctors are expected to test drugs on infants born with the virus. this as scientists say they cleared hiv from a second baby in this country. we'll talk with the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases about this incredible news. >>> and here's a look at what's happening today on friday, march 7th. the first family going to florida. president obama will speak at a miami high school about expanding opportunities for the middle class. the family will spend the weekend in key largo. new jersey governor chris christie will join governor, georgia's governor, nathan deal, for an rga fundraiser tonight. governor deal is running for a second term. and tonight in texas, the south by southwest festival kicks off. organizers say the nine-day event could draw more than 70,000 people. tweet us, let us know what you're doing this weekend. amuse us. hungry for the best? it's eb. want to give your family the very

joining me live from pretoria ayman mohyeldin.e doctor was the first person in the house after the shooting. do we know if he heard the gunshot and ran into the home? or was he called by oscar? how did he get in the home? >> you're absolutely right tamron, this is what makes him such an important witness. first of all, he lives directly next to oscar's house. more importantly he has a clear view from his own balcony. that night according to dr. johan stipp he was awoken in the middle of the night as a result of three bangs he heard. that prompted him to the balcony. he heard cries for help. that rushed him to run downstairs and go into oscar's home. as you heard, he saw there inside that house on the ground her motionless body no pulse no sign of life, and oscar pleading for help. at one point one of the morse emotional scenes inside that courtroom was when he was describing oscar crying throughout the whole entire process, pleading praying to god that she does not die that night. at one point he even said that oscar was praying t

. >> joining me from pretoria is ayman mohyeldin. n, this incident that happened before reeva steenkamp was killed, what are attorneys or prosecutors trying to do with this witness or present with this witness? >> reporter: well, they are certainly trying to use the incident to highlight two very important developments. keep in mind that oscar pistorius, along with being charged for murder, is also being charged for an unlawful possession of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of ammunition. now their theory, according to at least some, is he was an individual who was around guns, had guns, used guns, so they are using this incident to show just a matter of weeks before he killed reeva steenkamp, he was involved in another shooting incident, this one also in a public place with a lot of people around, a lot of civilians. the intent from the prosecution is to interpret what happened that day as an example of how oscar pistorius involved in these shooting incidents could have been someone with a gun the night of killing

e ayman mohyeldin has been in the courtroom all week. >> reporter: good morning, lester. being called the trial of the century for a reason, really gripping south africa. all week long, we've heard the prosecution introduce witness after witness to try to make the case that oscar pistorius did not accidentally shoot and kill his girlfriend, but rather, shot her with the intent to kill her. on trial for murder, oscar pistorius's case is being watched all around the world, as the prosecution paints a grim picture of the one-time olympic hero. on friday, his ex-girlfriend, samantha taylor, was in court. >> did you know that he owned a gun during his relationship? >> yes, my lady. he kept it on him all the time, my lady. >> reporter: a picture of pistorius as trigger-happy, temperamental, prone to anger. >> you said that oscar screamed at you. >> yes. >> was it one occasion or more? >> on more occasions, my lady. >> reporter: an emotional pistorius was seen gagging at one point during testimony from neighbor, dr. johan stiff, who said he saw reeva had been mortally wounded, s

. >> ayman mohyeldin on the ground in ukraine. thanks as always, sir. >>> still ahead, what's the big deal over the new movie "noah"? i'm going to talk to president and ceo of the national religious broadcasters group and talk about the controversy over why you should or perhaps should not see the movie. >>> and a real life house of cards drama playing out right now in maryland. just wait until you hear what state lawmakers are threatening to do if the show's producers pack up and leave the state. ♪ [ laughs ] whoo! ♪ oh! nice! great! [ laughs ] a shot like that calls for a postgame celebration. [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat! hey kevin...still eating chalk for hearburn? yea. try alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heart burn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. alka-seltzer fruit chews. enjoy the relief! but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized

ayman mohyeldin is there. >> reporter: it's being called the trial of a century.cus. more than 2,000 journalists have applied for accreditation to cover the trial of oscar pistorius. it's drawing comparisons to another part star also accused of killing his lover, that of o.j. simpson. from national sports hero to criminal defendant, on monday, oscar pistorius will have his day in court. and the chance to explain can answer and central question. why did oscar pistorius fire four shots through his bathroom door, killing his beautiful model girlfriend reeva steenkamp? was it a tragic mistake as os daughter and his lawyers have maintained? or cold-blooded murder as his attorney for the national prosecuting authority told nbc's keith morrison. >> what everybody will be watching for is whether or not he can prove he ended to kill her. and you sound like you're pretty confidence. the prosecution has enough to be able to prove that isn't. >> we would not have charged if we didn't believe so. >> reporter: the prosecution believe there is a strong case with witnesses testim