erica edwards. >> lawyers want his conviction thrown out.y filed a motion in charlottesville, virginia. convicted in february of murdering his ex-girlfriend and fellow lacrosse player, at uva, yeardley love. his lawyers claim there were at least eight pretrial and trial errors including the fact of the judge giving the jury in their words improper instructions. they say hugley deserves a new trial. scheduled to be sentenced in august. >>> unusual twist. closed out a week of deliberations in the john edwards corruption trial. the judge cleared the courtroom to talk with lawyers about an issue with one jury member. it is not clear what that issue was. jurors are now the talk of this case. one woman in particular, an alternate juror drawn attention for repeatedly smiling and flicking her hair when looking at edwards. john end wards is accused of misusing campaign funds to hide his pregnant mistress. deliberations scheduled for tuesday. >>> a lively crowd turned out in fairfax county to watch the final debate between republican candidates for th

nbc's erica edwards has more. >> hey, buddy! >> reporter: a dog's affection is hard to miss.y wag their tails. some even overdo it with sloppy wet kisses. >> sweetest of sweetness. >> reporter: don't you ever wonder what's going on behind those puppy dog eyes? >> what we hope to figure out is what is a dog thinking? and more specifically, what are dogs thinking when they look at humans. >> reporter: this is not your typical dog house. to get the first look at an active dog brain, dr. greg burns at emory university spend months training two dogs to stay still in an mri machine. they used a simulator so the dog could get used to the small space and loud noises. the dogs were taught hand signals that indicated treat or no treat. >> what we're discovering is just how sensitive they are to hand signals, body language, and what parts of their brain are processing that. >> reporter: they found the reward center of the dog's brains lit up when their owners signaled treat. >> there may be benefits for service dogs, therapy dogs, military dogs to improve training and bonding with human

nbc's erica edwards reports. >> reporter: when the country has faced a health epidemic in the past, theio, we've been able to overcome it with vaccines. now to have a shot at tackling the obesity epidemic, the institute of medicine has identified a series of recommendations for all americans, starting with exercise. >> integrate physical activity, every day, in every way, for everybody. >> reporter: this includes an hour of daily exercise for kids in schools where gym class has dropped to once a week in many communities. also, nutrition education in schools and increased availability of healthy foods and drinks in cafeterias. >> but if these strategies are not reinforced elsewhere, or worse, undermined, then progress cannot be accelerated. >> reporter: the committee stresses, synergy. schools may be set up to fail if parents don't encourage exercise at home, or if kids don't have sidewalks or a safe place to play in their neighborhood. >> the opportunities for safe and affordable leisure time and recreational physical activity are less available in racial ethnic minority communities and

erica edwards has our story. >> reporter: america's scales continue to tip in the wrong direction. the prevalence of obesity is now predicted to reach 42% of adults by the year 2030. slightly lower than earlier projections, but still expected to add billions of dollars to health care costs. >> probably the best treatment is prevention. >> reporter: obesity experts say the best time for prevention is childhood. >> for many parents, a chubby baby or chubby toddler in their mind is a sign they are doing something well. >> reporter: new research found many mothers of overweight toddlers misjudge their child's body size assuming the kids are at healthy weight. 20% of mothers of healthy, average sized children wanted their kids to pout a few more pounds. this is a good time for pete yeahtritions to step in with a growth chart and ensure they are on the right track. >> pediatricians don't provide the reassurance, they may be trying to fatten their children up. >> reporter: overweight children are likely to be overweight teens and then overweight adults. >> it makes sense to focus on child

erica edwards, nbc news. >> i'm craving some guac right now. call in. >> let's go out for dinner. >> yes. >>> a mother and daughter separated for decades by a civil war are together again today. >> patience sweeney was 6 years old the last time she saw her mom. she was in the u.s. visiting her grandmother 24 years ago when civil war broke out in liberia. a second civil war followed. then immigration issues kept them apart until this week when they reunited at the airport in salt lake city. sweeney's mother also met her grandchildren for the first time. >> we were only supposed to stay a couple months and then return but the civil war started. >> it was painful, painful. i cried many many nights. >> the mother and daughter say as painful as the separation was both kept faith that they would see each other one day again. >>> comedian stephen colbert is adding his two cents about the upcoming presidential election. >> he appeared on the "today" show this morning and admitted he doesn't know much about politics but he says he thinks it will all com

with more on what man's best friend might really be thinking, here's nbc's erica edwards. >> reporterg's affection is hard to miss. they wag their tails, some even over do it with sloppy, wet kisses. >> sweetest of sweetness. >> reporter: but don't you ever wonder what's going on behind those puppy dog eyes? >> what we hope to figure out is what is a dog thinking. and more specifically, what are dogs thinking when they look at humans. >> reporter: this isn't your typical dog house. to get the first look at an active dog brain, dr. greg burns at emory university spent months training two dogs to stay still in an mri machine. they used a simulator. the dogs were taught hand signals that indicated treat or no treat. >> what we're discovering is just how sensitive they are to hand signals, body language. and what parts of their brain are processing that. >> they found the reward center of the dog's brains lit up when their owner signaled treat. >> there may be benefits in terms of service dogs, military dogs, therapy dogs to improve training and improve bonding with humans. >> you are so

erica edwards, nbc news. >>> high winds are helping fuel a wildfire in arizona. the flames are now inching toward the historic mining town of crown king. it means several homes and businesses there would be at risk in the town and surrounding areas have been under an evacuation order since sunday when the fire started. the flames have consumed more than 2,000 acres and destroyed at least two homes. now to our weather here. >> change is in the air folks. >> hot. >> it feels like summer. >> it's hot out there. >> guess who is at nats park. doug, how we looking? >> it is a beautiful afternoon. it's going to be a great night for a game as well. why am i at nats park? dan hellie obviously not here today. he is under the weather not feeling well. so he is not going to be able to do sports. they asked me to do both sports and weather throughout the afternoon here so that is what we'll be doing here. no. it's not -- fine. but today i will tell you this. a great night to get out and about especially for you in the military. it's complimentary tickets available for militar

erica edwards, nbc news. >>> tomorrow marks one year since one of the deadliest tornadoes in u.s. struck joplin, missouri. as we mentioned earlier president obama is on his way to that region to deliver the commencement speech to joplin high school tonight. the tornado struck shortly after a graduation ceremony last year may 22nd and leveled joplin high. the twister killed 161 people, hundreds more were injured. thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed including six schools in that region. the ground in mineral, virginia was shaken last night for all the right reasons. country music star alan jackson playing to a crowd of 6,000. it was a benefit concert, music for mineral. the aftershock of hope. all of mineral's nearly 500 residents got to attend for free. additional tickets helped raise more than $150,000. it's going to help rebuild the county schools after they were damaged during that earthquake in our region last august. >> doug joins us now and lots of cloud cover today. we should get used to this rain, huh? >> we should. today was the drizzle and the showers. tomorro

erica edwards has our report. >> reporter: these are the final images of trayvon martin.urity camera video just minutes before the confrontation that would end his life. police documents detail a range of evidence from the scene, eyewitness accounts, george zimmerman's gun, and these photos of zimmerman taken by police just hours after the incident. >> that's what the family wants. all the evidence out so it can be vetted and looked at carefully. >> reporter: witnesses say the two men were in a vicious scuffle that night but who the aggressor was is unclear. >> you saw two people? >> two people. >> and they were, were they both on the ground? >> no. one was on top of the other. i don't know which one. >> okay. >> this recording of someone crying out for help has even parents divided over its source. trayvon's mother says it is her son's voice. when asked by police his father said no. but zimmerman's father claims it's his son's voice on the tape. >> that is absolutely positively george zimmerman. >> police do say the death of the team could have been avoided if zimmerman

erica edwards, nbc news. >>> when news4 continues, kanye and kim out on a date. ♪ it is a little bitny ♪ this feeling inside >> nothing funny about it, the feeling inside sent elton john to the hospital. >> inside story behind successful line of fashions. >> check out this dog. he's not just along for the ride. [ mosquitoes buzzing ] ♪ [ female announcer ] repel mosquitoes without spraying your skin. try off! clip-on repellant. in minutes, its fan surrounds you, head to toe with effective odorless protection. whether it's at a game, enjoying family, or just relaxing, repel mosquitoes away without a spray. off! clip-on. keeps bugs off. sc johnson. a family company. >>> rapper kanyou can'kanye wes hand in hand with his girlfriend kim kardashian for the debut of "cruel summer." academy award winning actor adrian brody stopped by one of the after-parties. heidi klum from "project runway" showed up. she knows how to work the red carpet. paris hilton wouldn't miss the party. ♪ >>> "idol" has a new winner. music superstar in the hospital and legal woes for two actors. >> we have a new "amer

erica edwards reports on a new study just released. >> reporter: the number of u.s. teenagers at risk for heart attacks and stroke has risen dramatically over the past decade. >> it's very concerning. >> reporter: the centers for disease control led a study of more than 3,000 teens. she and her colleagues found the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes in teens increased from 9% in 1999 to 23% a decade later. and more than half of all over weight and obese teenagers had at least one other cardiovascular risk factor including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. dr. may says weight shouldn't be the only indicator of a looming problem. >> among those of normal weight about 37% had at least one or more cardiovascular disease risk factor. >> reporter: despite the grim statistics and the rise in diabetes the study found the prevalence of obesity in adolescence with a plateau. >> we think that may be why they're not seeing an increase in the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension as well as high and borderline ldl in children. >> reporter: experts say adolesc

erica edwards reports. >> reporter: the controversy is bubbling up in the big apple. new york city mayor mirek l bloomberg has proposed a ban on sodas and other sugar sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces. >> in a restaurant 16 ounces is the maximum they would be able to serve in one cup. >> reporter: to illustrate a typical can of soda is 12 ounces, an amount allowed under the proposed ban but the typical single serve bottle of soda is 20 ounces. more than what would be allowed to be served in restaurants, movie theaters, food trucks, animal park concession stands. grocery stores would be exempt. the proposal has left a bitter taste with some new yorkers. >> it's the people's choice to pick their sugar. i don't think anyone can ban that. >> mr. bloomberg, you know, do what you want for yourself but for the rest of us don't start legislating. what can you say? crazy. >> reporter: according to the new york city health department more than half of the city's adult residents are overweight or obese. it is a statistic mayor bloomberg and many obesity experts blame par

. >>> i'm erica hill. john edwards daughter could take the stand for his trial. >>> and california, the $15 billion budget muss. >>> i'm gayle king. could travlgt wars impact your summer plans? and when i see you at 10:00, joe torre, tom selleck, and jane lynch stopping before. >>> first as we do every morning we begin with your eye opener. the world in 90 seconds. >> we don't know all the details yet. it's going to be investigated. this is why we passed wall street reform. >> more fallout for jpmorgan after a financial fiasco. >>> ceo jamie dimon will be facing fire in tampa. >> jpmorgan closed down another 3% bringing the total bloodbath close to $19 billion. >>> now the governor is proposing lower pays, workers cut and even a tax hike. >> this is the way it is. if anybody has a better idea, aisle take it. >>> wildfires in arizona forcing an emergency evacuation. >>> john edwards' oldest daughter could be called to the stand in her father's trial as early as today. >>> former ceo rebeckah brooks will face charges in

to he gradually from edward alvarez high school. >>erica: mild conditions in terms of fog. as he stepped outside the door, you may notice a little bit of cloud cover. as we take a look at more current conditions, it looks like clear skies for most of the inland areas. she has to take a look at satellite and radar, a lot of the cloud cover is having the coastline. as we see were temperatures will go into the afternoon, mostly 70's into south bay. 78 in sunnyvale. over the next couple of days, patchy fog. still looks like there's is the warmest day of the week. >>justine: the dumbarton bridge has reopened. here's a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. >> i have a new tenant moving in tomorrow. she is going to be really upset. >>justine: here is a live look outside shonas what is happening along the embarcadero. we are following weather, traffic and big news headlines right after this. cook >>justine: in memorial day tradition in san francisco. this was the third annual alcatraz swim challenge. >>will: standing on the shore, alcatraz does not seem that far, but try swimming

edwards took the stand. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica and charlie.g the testimony of one of those former campaign staffers that we saw what is one of the most dramatic moments in this trial to date. it's a moment that shows why wednesday proved to be an emotional day for both john edwards and his daughter. kate edwards attends court each day but left in tears yesterday, just as testimony began about an incident involving her late mother, elizabeth edward. former campaign staffer christina reynolds was on the stand, talking about an argument between john edwards and his wife at a raleigh airport in october 2007. an "enquirer" article about edwards' affair had been published the day before. reynolds said she watched as distraught elizabeth edwards stormed off and collapsed down into a ball in the parking lot. she testified elizabeth was very upset, telling john edwards something to the effect of, you don't see me anymore. then in front of others, she stood off her shirt and her bra. hearing that testimony, john edwards looked down and appeared emotiona

erica hill. the john edwards trial offered dramatic and emotional testimony.the law. >> we still do not know if the former senator, presidential candidate will take the stand. erin moriarty has been covering the trial and joins us now. everybody who's watching and taking attention hopes he takes the stand and that rye yeielle r takes the stand. >> on rielle hunter, i'm going out on a limb, i don't think she'll take the tand. you take a look at the tone the defense will take today. as charlie said, it will be all about the law. any kind of benefit she could bring to this by defending john edwards, i think the jurors are pfather of her child.e's the he's supporting her. so, i think they may even question her credibility. i would say absolutely not. i would be shocked if they took the stand. >> and he? >> this is so tough. we talk about this -- you know, the normal -- very few defendants take the stand but last thursday when the prosecution put that 20-minute video, the interview that originally aired on abc -- >> which he denied, denied, deny. >> right. even tho

begin in the case of john edwards. >> the jury will not hear from the former senator and democratic presidential candidate himself. an >> reporter: good morning, charlie and erica, and to our viewers out west. john edwards' defense team took just three days to present its case and then rested yesterday without calling edwards, his mistress rielle hunter or even his daughter to the stand. john edwards hasn't spoken in public since october and the trial was no exception. he chose not to appear as a witness. it's a decision former federal prosecutor kieran shanahan says his attorneys will have to address in today's closing arguments. >> the jurors will be told not to hold that against them but he told the jury in opening argument that he wasn't afraid of the truth and wanted the truth to come out. they'll have to figure out how to deal with that issue. >> reporter: his attorneys instead chose to focus on trying to convince the jury that the former presidential hopeful did not violate campaign finance laws. they called witnesses like friend john moylan who said edwards was surprised when learned about substantial checks written by wealthy donor rachel bunny mellon.

erica and charlie. that's correct. john edwards' defense team took just three days to make its case and then rested yesterday & without calling edwards, his former mistress, rielle hunter, or even his daughter kate to the stand. now the former senator's fate will soon be in the jury's hands. john edwards hasn't spoken in public since october and the trial was no exception. he chose not to appear as a witness. it's a decision former federal prosecutor kieran shanahan says his defense attorneys will have to address in closing arguments. >> the jurors will be told not to hold that against them but he told the jury through his lawyers he wasn't afraid of the truth and he wanted the truth to come out. so, they're going to have to figure out how to deal with that issue. >> reporter: his attorneys instead chose to focus to convince the jury the former presidential hopeful did not violate campaign finance laws. they called witnesses like friend john moylan who testified edwards was as surprised to hear it as i was when learning about subst

erica hill. we'll tell you why cate edwards fled the courtroom at her father's trial. >>> the nfl community is stunned after junior seau commits suicide. james brown from cbs sports will be here. when i see you at 8:00, a very vealing look at a young barack obama. >> first very look at today's eye opener, your world in 90 seconds. >> conflicting accounts this hour about why a blind chinese activity chen guangcheng left the american embassy in beijing. >> a dissident dilemma turns into a diplomatic disaster. >> this is a man who is in fear for his life. >> chen now says he's been let down by the u.s. and is begging for leave china on secretary of state clinton's plane. >> china that protects the rights of all its citizens will be a stronger and more prosperous nation. >> the case is being investigated as a suicide. >> 12-time pro bowl linebacker junior seau put a gun to his chest and pulled the trigger. >> did that violence lead to brain damage that led to suicide. >> please take me. take me. >> today i'm suspending the campaign. >> gingrich could not bring himself to endorse mitt romney. >> he says he

erica and charlie. the question in this trial is whether edwards misused campaign funds in 2008.out the testimony we've been hearing a lot about the edwards' lives as well. yesterday his former press secretary gave voice to the concerns of another person, one unable to speak for herself here, elizabeth edwards. elizabeth edwards' close friend, former campaign spokeswoman cried on the witness stand as she described elizabeth's fears in her last days. she was concerned there won't be a man around to love her. >> everybody felt the pain miss edwards must have felt. they look over at the guy who caused that pain, john edwards, and i think that hurt any sympathy he might get from this jury. >> reporter: now deputy communications director for president obama, said elizabeth couldn't believe her husband fathered rielle hunter's baby. i would always respond, no, no, no, he is lying to you, she said. it was difficult to watch a person i cared about be completely consumed by this. palmieri also told jurors about a confrontation in a iowa hotel room in 2007. she testified elizabeth found ou

erica hill. for three weeks the prosecution of the john edwards' trial offered dramatic and emotional testimony and>> and we still do not know if the former senator and presidential candidate will take the stand. erin moriarty has been covering the trial and joins us now. erin, everybody i know who's watching and paying attention, hopes that he takes the stand and that rielle hunter takes the stand. my prediction is huh-uh. what are you think sflg. >> it's really interesting. on rielle hunter i am going to say she is not going to take the stand. it does not make any sense now. you take a look at the tone the defense is really going to start with today, as charlie said it's going to be all about the law. any kind of benefit that she could bring to this by defending john edwards, i think the jurors are going to say, well, she's the father of his child. he's supporting her. they may question her credibility. i would say absolutely not. i would be shocked if she took the stand. >> and he? >> this is so tough. we talk about this, you know, the normal, very few defendants take the stand, but last thursda

erica, back to. >> you anna werner, thank you. erin moriarty is also watching the edwards case.d morning. >> reporter: good morning. day 13 of this trial. >> so, what's the sum total of witnesses the defense is putting on the stand? >> reporter: well, i think wendy button in particular was one of the most important witnesses in recent days. she was actually listed not by name in the indictment. her testimony was listed. she's really the first person who could tell the jurors that john edwards admitted to her that, in fact, he did know his friend, fred baron, also his finance -- his campaign finance chairman, was supporting rielle hunter. so, that -- you know, that's so important in this case because when it comes to federal election law, ignorance of the law is an excuse. the prosecutors have to prove that john edwards knowingly and willfully violated the law. so, i think that's what these various aides, speech writers, but remember again, wendy button, he didn't tell her that until, i believe it was the sum of 2009, a year and a half after his campaign ended. he said he didn't

erica hill. hillary clinton jets to china in hopes of heading off a diplomatic disaster. >>> plus, an emotional day at the john edwards trial. >>> and i'm gayle king. when i see you at 8:00, move over mcdonald's. we'll see you at costco. >>> and we'll take you to the tony award nominations honoring the best of broadway. >>> as we do each morning we take a look at today's eye opener, your world in 90 seconds. >> there are others who say one thing and suggest doing something else, i'd go ahead and let them explain. >> a campaign controversy erupts on the anniversary of the osama bin laden raid. >> suggesting that maybe mitt romney wouldn't have had the guts. >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> mitt romney would have done the exact same thing osama bin laden did. you know, like with health care. the exact same thing. >>> security has been stepped up at airports around the world. additional air marshals have been shipped overseas. >>> al qaeda forces still have the intent to attack the united states. >>> well, get ready for mayday to remember. occupy wall street certainly wants to make it that way. they'r

erica hill. hillary clinton jets off to china in hopes of heading off a diplomatic disaster. plus an emotional day at the john edwards trial. >>> i'm gayle king. when i see you at 8:00, move over mcdonald's here comes costco. we'll take you to the tony award nominations this morning honoring the best of broadway. >> first as we do every morning, we begin with a look at today's eye opener. your world in 90 seconds. >> there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they would do something else, i would go ahead and let them explain. >> a campaign controversy erupts on the anniversary of the osama bin laden raid. >> obama web video suggesting that mitt romney wouldn't have had guts to order the raid. >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> mitt romney would have done what president obama did like he did with health care. the exact same. >> security has been stepped up at airports around the world. additional federal air marshals have been shifted overseas. >> german authorities dug up secret al qaeda documents that alabama plans to target cruise ships. >> al qaeda and associated forces still have

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