yes. >> reporter: jill rappaport, nbc news. >> my sassy girl! >>> that's n"nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. see you tomorrow morning on "today" then right back here tomorrow evening. have a great night. . >>> good evening, everyone. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and i'm diane dwyer. the deadline to sign up for health care under the president's plan is this monday, and the rush is on here in california as well as the rest of the country. today people lined up to get one-on-one help at several locations in the bay area. nbc bay area's kimberly terry is in the newsroom with more on the impending deadline. hello, kimberly. >> hello, diane. people have until 1:00 p.m. on monday to sign up for the california plan under the california health care act. if you do miss the deadline to apply, you have to pay a penalty. today hundreds waited in line to speak to certified enrollment counselors and insurance agents who were helping people get started. applications will be time stamped and people will have until 11:59 p.m

. >> reporter: jill rappaport, nbc news. >>> that is our broadcast for tonight, i'm lester holt, i'llnight. >> gwynneth conscious uncoupling from her husband. hi everybody. welcome to "access hollywood". this is the weekend edition.

jill rappaport got back from the global pet expo in orlando.o fly you down there. we are lucky you are here to share the goodies with you. >> actually i drove with ruby. >> oh, you drove with ruby? >> yes. it was just announced that americans spent a record $56 billion on their pets last year. it's no surprise that the biggest pet trade show in the world was packed. and my ruby gave it a paw's up. it's the tenth annual global pet expo. oh, she's so excited. featuring everything your pet could ever want, need or dream of. this event is the super bowl of pet trade shows. 6,000 visitors from 100 countries, nearly 3,000 booths spanning 13 football fields. >> like a wow factor when you walk in here. >> reporter: miles of aisles, catering to every creature imaginable. a smorgasbord of food and fashion. >> the turtleneck is all the rage. >> work it. >> reporter: along with the latest in tech and toys. a few of which sent my ruby into a tailspin. check this out, ruby, and he's very quiet. there were, of course, plenty of costumes. look, a hot dog for t

. >> and our animal advocate, jill rappaport, has more on why this continues to happen. good morning. >> this syndrome is so upsetting. it's unbelievable. despite the fact that most of these animals are healthy, beautiful, loving pets, a majority of them will get euthanized simply because they're black. they are sweet, loveable, and often unwanted. >> if you're a black dog and you come to our shelter, your chances of getting adopted is pretty poor. unfortunately. >> reporter: this growing plight is called black dog syndrome. >> black dog syndrome is simply where black dogs get overlooked, and they're euthanized at a much higher rate. >> reporter: from coast to coast, shelters are overrun with animals like these, even puppies who are just discarded because of the color of their fur. all because of what shelters claim are unwarranted misconceptions. >> there are some old wiv's tales that black dogs are mean, and i think one of the biggest problems is they don't photograph well unless you have the right lighting and good photography equipment, so their pictures don't stand o