moment, but first, nbc's john yang is in bloomington this morning with the latest. john, food morning. >> reporter: good morning. they're still in the information gathering stage in their investigation into what happened to lauren on her way back to her apartment building here. and her parents are issuing a direct challenge to anyone who knows the answer to that, to come forward. from lauren spierer's anguished mother -- >> what are you wait for? what are you waiting for? >> reporter: a desperate personal plea to anyone who could lead her and her husband to their daughter. >> what you know might help us, it might be the key today that's going to make the difference. >> reporter: the spierer's plea came as bloomington police  enhanced security camera video showing at least one car near where lauren was last seen about 4:30 the morning of june 3rd. >> this is not to be identified as a suspect vehicle or a vehicle of interest or anything at this point. i don't want us to make that leap. this is something that has caught our attention. >> reporter: on the ground and

nbc's john yang reports. >> reporter: in minot, a furious effort to reinforce the last lines of defense around the city's critical infrastructure. >> this is our war zone here. and this is where we continue to fight. >> reporter: so far the levees are holding at the water filtration plant, but officials have ordered already weary residents to boil their drinking water in case the supply is contaminated. >> until there is a significant reduction in the water level, we all have to remain vigilant. >> reporter: the souris river crested in minot about two feet lower than forecast, but still shattered a record set in the 1880s. the historic flooding across the region is due to heavy spring rains and record snow pack. nearby the missouri river reached new highs and areas downstream continue to be threatened. this week, saint joseph, missouri, a city of more than 75,000 people, could see the worst flooding since the 1990s. in nebraska, a temporary barrier protecting a nuclear power plant along the missouri river deflated. officials said the plant was not affected. in minot, 4,000 homes and bus

that's where nbc's john yang starts us off tonight. good evening, john. >> reporter: good evening, lester. the city is holding its breath. the army corps of engineers are standing by in case any of these levees fail. the advance of this water may have been swift but the retreat is going to be agonizingly slow. this water isn't going anywhere any time soon. in minot today, the furious effort to reinforce the last lines of defense around the city's critical infrastructure. >> this is our war zone here. and this is where we continue the fight. >> reporter: so far the levees are holding at the water filtration plant. but officials have ordered already weary residents to boil their drinking water in case the supply is contaminated. >> until there's a significant reduction in the water level, we all have to remain vigilant. >> reporter: the souris river crested in minot about two feetó lower than forecast, but still shattered a record set in the 1880s. the historic flooding across the region is due to heavy spring rains and record snowpack. n

john yang, in minot tonight. john, thanks. >>> big news out of chicago today, former illinois governor rob blagojevich convicted this afternoon of 17 out of 20 corruption charges against him. most of the charges related to his attempts to benefit from choosing a replacement for president obama in the u.s. senate, in effect trying to sell a senate seat. jurors said fbi wiretaps of his phone conversations were the key here. and as he met with reporters after the verdict today, blagojevich told them he was trying to learn his lesson about talking too much. >> i frankly am stunned. there's not much left to say, other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and then try to sort things out. >> jurors added they wanted the verdict to send a message to public servants about the line between deal making and corruption. blagojevich will become the fourth illinois governor in recent memory to go to jail. his predecessor george ryan is still in federal prison, also for corrupti

>> john yang in chicago for us tonight. thanks, as always. >>> when we come back here tonight, the extraordinary coming together in joplin, where all creatures, great and small, are pitching in to rebuild. >>> and later, all they need now is a job, but they sure got a great send-off. tonight, our tribute to the class of 2011. >>> it's now been nine days since that tornado of historic strength hit joplin, missouri. and in addition to the hundreds of buildings and schools that were wiped out and the town hospital, we now know some 8,000 dwellings, homes and apartments, were also damaged or destroyed. that means a lot of folks tonight are still looking for a home. nbc's ron allen is in joplin again for us tonight. >> reporter: after a sixth and final search of these decimated neighborhoods, officials say their rescue efforts will cease. the death toll has settled around 140. one huge challenge survivors now face? putting roofs back over their heads. >> it's so hard. i mean, we're just trying to get through the physical and emo

nbc's john yang shows us how a romantic move backfired a month ago and led to a national campaign to let the two go to their school's prom. >> let's rock 'n roll! >> reporter: for james tate and sonali rodriguez, this is the prom night that almost wasn't. it all began when tate used foot-high cardboard letters to spell out his invitation on shelton high school itself. he says he thought it was a cool thing to do. the school head master thought it was a major infraction and banned him from the prom. >> has it all been positive, the reaction towards you? >> yeah, everyone has been really nice about it. >> reporter: it made national headlines and triggered a website and facebook campaign. tate even got support from a u.s. senator. >> the punishment has to fit the crime. >> reporter: finally, it was all too much for the head master. >> i never thought that such a decision would lead to international notoriety. >> reporter: after the usual struggle with even a pretied bow tie -- >> mother, can i get some help? >> reporter: and armed with a bouquet of flowers and a corsage, tate was off to

nbc's john yang reports from chicago. >> reporter: college student scarlet harris and jennifer white have been friends since s scarlet harris and jennifer white have been friends since scarlet harris and jennifer white have been friends since s scarlet harris and jennifer white have been friends since seventh grade. now they're sharing another experience, searching for a summer job and coming up empty. >> i have come to the point where i have applied for housekeeping positions because i'm so desperate for a job. >> reporter: white feels special pressure, her mom's out of work after back surgery. >> i guess i can't be too picky, i feel like i'm taking too much from her, you know? she's a single parent so i feel like it would be really important for me to have a job. >> reporter: summer jobs teach basic job skills and responsibility. in big cities there's another consideration. >> if teens who have time on their hands and are just hanging around, there's that risk of increased violence. >> reporter: disappearing federal stimulus dollars are being cut off the nation. 36% fewer spots tha

for "today," john yang, nbc news, new york. >> that's got to be frightening for the kids. >> a lot of accidents. 6,000. that's -- >> unbelievable number. >> there is more to come on news 4 at 4:00, steve jobs comes out of his medical leave to make a major apple announcement. >> i told you, step back! >> plus a teacher's fist flies at a student, the fal@@@@@@ú@@@ >> the latest offering from apple is the new icloud. >> that's right. apple ceo steve jobs explained that the icloud is not a device. it's a new way of managing digital media. the cloud will allow users to store content and the cloud will then push that content to any other device with internet access. jobs says the new offering underscores a major shift taking place in the tech world. >> we're going to demote the pc and the mac to just being a devise. just like an iphone, an ipad, an ipod touch, and we're going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life into the cloud because all these new devices have communications built into them. they can all talk to the cloud whenever they want. >> wow! >> the basic icloud

nbc's john yang has a look at that case and what they caught on tape.we'll show you. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: it was a terrifying sight caught on cell phone video. three inflated bounce houses, or moon walks, picked up by the wind at a long island soccer tournament and tossed into the air with kids playing inside. >> where's my daughter? >> i couldn't believe it, it's like something out of a movie, kids being knocked over and kids lying everywhere. >> reporter: lara waiting to go in when she got tangled in a rope that was supposed to anchor houses. she had rope burns on her neck. >> a rope got caught on my neck and drag immediate over. >> reporter: one bounce house kartz wheeled along the ground. >> everyone ran over and jumped on top of them, probably 100 people, each one holing it down. >> i tried to grab on to it and it knocked me down. >> reporter: police say 13 people were taken to hospitals, with minor injuries. it's not the first time something like this has happened. in the tucson, arizona area, three separate incidents since february alone.

for "today," john yang, nbc news, new york. >> and it was the weekend of sequels and preqeuls. "x of my men" took the first spot, "hang over2" and kung fu panda 2. >> did anybody see "hang over2"? >> i did. it's way owe the top offensive. >> yeah. >> that's a good segue. >> i'm not sure what kind of thumbs up. >> mr. roker with a check of the weather. >> i like way over the top. let's check it out for you. first of all, we do have that heat to talk about. talk about over the top. 92 degrees today in minneapolis. 97, 101 in phoenix -- in houston, i should say. factor in the humidity, feels like 103 in houston. 102, kansas city. 92, minneapolis. this heat will continue its march eastward. tomorrow you'll see 90s in washington, d.c., atlanta, also parts of florida. and then on wednesday we get up into the mid-90s here in new york city, chicago, back to 100s back to the southwest and west >> nice quiet start to the work week. in little bit of fog of burning off as we head through the morning. mostly sunny. high temperature of around 82. >>> and that's your latest weather. natalie?

nbc's john yang has the details for us. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: it was a terrifying sight caught phone video. three inflated bounce houses or moon walks picked up by the wind at a long island soccer tournament and tossed into the air with kids playing inside. >> stay here. >> where's my daughter? >> i couldn't believe, it was like something out of a movie. kids were being knocked over and they were just kids lying everywhere. >> reporter: lara was waiting in line to go in when she got tangled in a rope that was supposed to anchor the houses. she had rope burns on her neck. >> the rope got caught on my neck and it dragged me over. >> reporter: one bounce house cartwheeled along the ground. >> everyone ran over and jumped up on top of it, probably 100 people on each one holding it down. >> i tried to grab on to it and it just knocked me down. >> reporter: police said 13 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. it is not the first time something like this has happened. the tucson, arizona, area, three separate incidents since february alone. the most recent caught on cell

. >> reporter: i'm john yang in chicago, where a new report says business activity in the midwest grew much less than expected in may. companies are reporting a significant slowdown in new orders. one small bright spot. unemployment is falling faster here than the rest of the country. still, not fast enough for people looking for a job. >> everyone is looking for a job everyone wants to job. and i'm one of them. i love working. >> reporter: i'm tom yamas in northern las vegas, an area some people consider to be the buckle of the foreclosure belt. in neighborhoods like this, more than 80% of the people owe more on the mortgages than the houses are worth. >> the bills have gotten so insurmountable, it's hard to bring them down and pay a huge mortgage at the same time. it's really becoming a hardship. >> reporter: across the country, 2.25 million homes are in foreclosure with another 1.8 million mortgages 90 days past due. >> i'm janet shamlian at the walmart in houston where sales are dropping off at the end of each month. the ceo said the shoppers are just running out of money. >> the t

john yang is in bloomington, indiana, with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. this is lauren's apartment building where she was headed when she was last seen friday morning. it's also become the center of the search for her. they have been searching for 20-year-old indiana university student lauren spear around the clock since she was reported missing. her parents rob and charlene are frantic. >> there is only one focus and that's finding lauren. >> i'm just praying that we find her and i can't let myself go to a place other than being hopeful and positive. >> reporter: spear, a fashion student, had just completed her sophomore year, but she was staying to take a summer class before heading home to new york for an internship. friends describe spear as a petite woman with an infectious smile. >> every time i see her i have the biggest smile. she gives that to everyone. >> reporter: she was last seen around 4:30 friday morning. she'd been to a bar with an outside sand area and was barefoot. at her apartment compl

nbc's john yang has the story. >> oh, my god!fying sight caught on cell phone video. three inflated bounce houses, or moon walks, picked up by the wind at a long island soccer tournament and tossed through the air with kids playing inside. >> stay here, girls. stay >> kids were being knocked over here. stay here. >> where is my daughter? and they were just kids lying everywhere. >> reporter: lara ratigan was waiting in line to go in when she got tangled in a rope anchoring the houses. one cartwheeled along the ground. >> everyone ran over, jumped on top of them. >> reporter: police said 13 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. it's not the first time something like this has happened. in the tucson, arizona, area, three separate incidents since february alone. the most recent caught on cell phone video. parents and teachers evacuated the bounce house before wind whipped it around a light pole. six kids were slightly injured by debris. in february at a birthday party, two sisters were in a wind-blown bounce house. >>

for "today," john yang, nbc news, new york. >> and it was the weekend of sequels and preqeuls.spot, "hang over2" and kung fu panda 2. >> did anybody see "hang over2" top spot, "hangover 2" was second place. >> anybody seen "hangover part 2". >> i did. >> funny? >> it's funny, but it's way over the top offensive. >> that's a good segue. >> i'm not sure what kind of thumbs up. >> mr. roker, check of the weather. >> i like way over the top. okay, let's check it out for you. first of all, we do have that heat to talk about. talk about over the top. 92 degrees today in minneapolis, 97 in tulsa, 101 in phoenix. in houston, i should say. factor in the humidity and it feels like 103 in houston, 102 kansas city, 96 in minneapolis and this heat is just going to continue its march eastward. tomorrow you'll see 90s in washington, d.c., atlanta, also parts of florida and then on wednesday we get up into the mid-90s here in new york city, chicago, back to the 100s back through the southwest and west texas. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the

john yang has that story. >>> oh, my god. >> reporter: it was a terrifying sight caught on cell phone video. three inflated bounce houses or moonwalks picked up by the wind at a long island soccer tourism and tossed into the air with kids playing inside. >> stay here. >> where's my daughter? >> i couldn't believe it. it was like something out of a movie. kids were knocked over. there were kids everywhere. >> reporter: lara radigan was waiting in line when she got a rope caught on her neck. >> a rope got caught on my neck and dragged me over. >> reporter: one cartwheeled on the grounds. >> everyone jumped on top. probably 100 on each one holding it down. >> i tried to grab on, and it knocked me down. >> reporter: police said 13 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. it's not the first time something like this has happened. in the tucson, arizona, area, three separate incidents since february alone. the most recent caught on cell phone video. parents and teachers evacuated the bounce house before wind whipped it around a light pole. six kids were slightly injured by debris.

nbc's john yang has the incredible video and more on potential dangers. >> oh, my god. >> it was a terrifyinghone video. three inflated bounce houses or moon walks picked up in a soccer tournament and tossed into the air with kids playing inside. >> stay here. >> i couldn't believe it. kids were being knocked over and there were kids lying everywhere. >> this girl was waiting in line to go in. she had rope burns on her neck. >> the hope got caught on my neck and dragged me over. >> one cartwheeled along the ground. >> one man jumped on top of them and people were trying to hold it down. >> for knocked me down. >> 13 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. it's not the first time something like this happened. in tucson, arizona, three separate incidences in february alone. the most recent caught on cell phone video. parents and teachers evacuated before wind whipped it around a light pole. six kissed were slightly injured. in february at a birthday party, two sisters were in a wind blown bounce house >> i closed my eyes and felt myself bumping and being tossed around. >> her sis

>> all right, john yang for news bloomington. john, thank you very much. lauren's parents, robert and charlene spierer, are with us exclusively. thank you for joining us. i know this is a very difficult time for you. >> thank you for having us, matt. >> robert, let me start with you. the thing that jumped out for to me in that press briefing yesterday is the police saying about this vehicle. don't jump to conclusions, we're not calling it a suspect vehicle of vehicle of interest but they do want to know more about it and perhaps enhance that video. have they told you why they're curious about it? >> well, it's a vehicle that was in the vicinity close to the time that lauren was last seen. but we don't know if it's -- if it's meaningful in terms of any connection to the case. but it's just another lead that's being pursued, one of many, that have to be analyzed by the police and put together to evaluate how we're going to find lauren. >> are you both being kept fully abreast of this investigation? do you think you're getting all the information? are the pol

here's nbc's john yang to tell us more about the big night. >> reporter: this was a big night.y started with one of the most famous prom invitations in history and last night was the big night and "today" was along every step of the way. >> let's rock 'n' roll. >> reporter: for james tate and sonali rodrigues, this is the night that almost department happen. he spelled out the invitation on the high school it self. he says he thought it was a cool thing to do. school headmaster thought it was a major infraction and banned him from the prom. >> has it all been positive, the reaction towards you. >> yeah. everyone has been really nice about it. >> reporter: it made national headlines and triggered a website and a facebook campaign. tate even got support from a u.s. senator. >> the punishment has to fit the crime. >> reporter: finally it was all too much for the headmaster. >> i never thought that such a decision would lead to international notoriety. >> reporter: after the usual struggle with even a pretied bow tie and armed with a bouquet of flowers and a corsage, tate was off t

nbc's john yang is in minot. >> reporter: good morning. only took a few days for this water to come surging into minot but the retreat is going to be agonizingly slow. this water isn't going anywhere anytime soon. this morning this city is holding its breath, hoping that efforts to reinforce the last lines of defense hold. >> this is our war zone here. and this is where we continue to fight. >> reporter: a key site, the city's water filtration plant. so far the levees are holding, but officials ordered residents to boil drinking water in case the supply is contaminated. >> until there is a significant reduction in the water level, we all have to remain vigilant. >> reporter: the souris river crested in minot sunday about two feet lower than forecast, but still shattered a record set in the 1880s. the historic flooding, fueled by heavy spring rains and a melting record snow pack, have submerged 4,000 houses and businesses and forced more than 11,000 people to flee their homes. but so far, only a few hundred are in the city's temporary shelt

. >> john yang, thanks. >>> still ahead, the graphic image of caylee anthony. a mistrial. we'll get the latest coming up. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ yawns ] [ magical chime ] ♪ [ people cheering ] [ girl ] whoo hoo! >>> just ahead, the appetizer that packs the same caloric punch as 43 bagel bite pizzas. well eel give you alternatives. >>> they step out in royal style to celebrate. >> good morning to you. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. this morning johannas mehserle is a free man after serving 11 months of a two-year sentence for the death of a man on a b.a.r.t. station platform. he ended up getting credit for time served. police are bracing for additional protests in oakland over the early release. mehserle was jailed immediately after an l.a. jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter last july. he said he meant to fire his taser and not his handgun in the shooting of the passenger oscar grant who was unarmed. hundreds of protesters rallied over the weekend. they were loud and boisterous but mostly peace until. grant's family says frustration over mehse

john yang has the details. >> lauren spear captured by her apartment building security camera just hoursearly two weeks ago. >> we will see who lauren is. she's a happy, smiling, beautiful young lady. >> investigators released surveillance photos of a pickup truck they are trying to track down. lauren spent hours before her disappearance in a three-block area. the truck is spotted on the same camera 10 minutes apart, seeming to circle a block between the friend's apartment building where lauren was seen and her apartment at about the same time she went missing. police want to talk to the driver. >> that person may have some direct responsibility for the event or that individual has information that could lead us in that direction. >> the vehicle is say late model white chevy pick up with writing or a logo on the side. heavy rain hampered search efforts wednesday, but did nothing to dampen her parents's determination. >> she is very dear to us and we love her very much. we want her back. >> nbc news, chicago. >> a little boy with the courage of a lion is the latest you tube sensation. one