that was kerry sanders reporting. it's 9:05. back to al for a check of the weather. >> first of all, for today we have a lot of warmth to talk about from chicago to the northeast all the way down to the south. temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above normal. looking at a high of 57 in both albany and cleveland. 70 in st. louis. 78 in wichita falls. the jet stream has been up to the north almost all winter. so it's been a la nina weather pattern keeping things warm and a lack of snow. land temperatures warm up. so we are talking about december 2011 to february 2012, that's the meteorological winter. it looks like it will be the warmest on record. we'll have official word of that later today or tomorrow morning. >> good morning. high pressure on the east coast. we expect mostly sunny skies. nice and mild this afternoon. >>> time now for today's money 911. that's where we answer some of your biggest financial questions. we have a great panel of experts this morning. jean chatzky is the author of "money 911." farnoosh torabi is host of f

nbc's kerry sanders is in santiago, cuba. ter: well, good morning, darlene. even before the pope arrives here, he's making news with some harsh criticism of the political system here. since 1959, this country has had a communist/socialist government, but talking to reporters on his plane, pope benedict xvi says it is evident that marxist ideology, as it was conceived, no longer responds to reality. that's some blunt comments from the pontiff. the pope, who will be holding mass here on monday, went on to say that cuba needs to find new models with patience in a constructive way. now, in this country of 11 million, where religion was once outlawed by fidel castro, the church has been making quiet inroads into people's lives as well as improving the relationship with the government. the u.s., of course, has an embargo against cuba, one that's been in place for more than five decades, meaning it's difficult for americans to travel here, but there are american pilgrims who have made their way here, and they believe there will be, p

kerry sanders, nbc news, king stone, jamaica. >> and he can dance in them, too.rince harry visited the bahamas and belize earlier this month. he is scheduled to be down in brazil later this week. i don't think brazil's big enough for him. >> doubt it. >>> a photo controversy may have cost the teacher in santa monica his job and many students are devastated. the trouble began in december, shortly after the photography class at santa monica high school put on a photo exhibit. one of the images showed a student's bare back. it was taken by her classmate, karina ramirez. there were no complaints at the time but when some of her other feets showed up on a school computer showing more nudity, her photography teacher, alan barnes, was fired. >> karina is one of my best friends. and a lot of her friends stopped talking to her. she made a silly mistake she definitely thought i won't tell mr. barnes, he won't get in any trouble and her favorite teacher, our favorite teacher, has been fired. >> the principal hasn't offered any public comment but he release an e-mail saying

desman ag desde managua kerry sanders para "enfoque" telemundo. >>> para ver este segmento vaya a telemundo.coms. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (mÚsica) ♪ >>> continuando con "enfoque" desde washington d.c. el chapo de sinz laloa es uno d los artistas y cantante mÁs querido y admirado por nuestra comunidad. y bueno uno lo ve mucho hablando de su mÚsica y su arte. pero recientemente en los Ángeles, me sentÉ con el chapo para hablar en lo que estÁ su corazÓn la necesidad de una reforma migratoria y nuestra gente. chapo gracias por estar con nosotros. >>> no hombre un placer >>> primero que todo, tus triunfos siguen extraordinarios y es por el cariÑo que te netie la gente y el talento >>> sÍ me siento una persona afortunada tener el cariÑo de la gente y es algo sagrado >>> cuÉntame ¿cuÁles son para ti los momentos que disfrutas de la vida y carrera y los momentos que dices esto hay que hacerlo para continuar triunfando? >>> disfruto cada momento de mi vida, aunque muchas ocasiones la vida consigo te trae sorpresas para desubicarte, pero creo que repito mi carrera es toda mi pasiÓn, la mÚsica es mi mundo, mi vida, ent

in santiago, cuba, kerry sanders, nbc news. >>> meanwhile, the life of a maryland man jailed in cuba hopes the pope's visit will help free her husband. we'll have more on that coming up live on news 4 at 5:30. >>> some medical experts are coming to the defense of former vice president dick cheney who is recovering from heart transplant surry in virginia. cheney underwent the procedure on saturday at inova fairfax hospital in falls church. some are questioning if he got special treatment getting a donor heart considering his age. cheney is 71. however, doctors say under current rules medical need is the top criteria for a transplant not the patient's age. and one doctor said the fact that cheney received the transplant after having five heart attacks and a number of heart procedures over the years shows he did not get any favors. >>> a strong odor coming from a suitcase sent four tsa workers to the hospital in boston today. workers found the suitcase in a bag room at logan airport around 8:00 this morning. it turns out the passenger had packed away some rodent repellent that was letti

>> kerry sanders, to be continued. thanks so much.is matt. >>> dramatic testimony of a man accused of carrying out a home invasion of a millionaire. we have in connecticut with details on this. good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning. the testimony in this case has been chilling and is about to be in the hands of the jury. three men broke into the house of ann bass, tied her up and demanded money. she's reliving the nightmare again, telling her story from the witness stand. she's a philanthropist and patron of the arts. she's well known in exclusive social circles. the 70-year-old socialite is speaking in open court about the night she says she was tied up and held hostage for hours. on trial, emanuel. he one worked for bass as a butler but was fired in 2006 after he crashed one of her cars. bass testified about the night of april 15, 2007. she was inside her country home on a sprawling estate in kent, connecticut. bass said, i heard war cries, very terrifying sounds and saw three men wearing black clothes storming up the steps.

>> all right, kerry sanders this morning. y, thank you. >>> now let's get a check of the weather from al, who is this morning is in clearwater, florida. >> "today's weather" is brought to you by the makers of zantac, a new look for heartburn relief. >> and good morning, everybody. as you see, the sunrise here in clearwater, florida. what a beautiful morning we've got. we are here at the u.s. coast guard air station clearwater. it is the largest and busiest air station in the coast guard's system. 550 active members here. we're in front of one of their c-130s. this is a search plane. they take this thing out and it can stay out up to -- on average ten hours searching for folks. record has been 14 hours. we're here because we're going to be doing a series with the coast guard, coast guard, florida, follow-up to our successful series coast guard alaska on the weather channel. let's show you the unbelievable temperatures that are going on through the midwest. they're more like florida temperatures than what we would see in the mid

nbc's kerry sanders has details on this story. kerry, good morning. >> well, good morning, hoda.ttorneys say they plan to file a petition in court here next week. the goal, to allow her time away from a state mental facility so she can attend a nearby church. that church is where she wants to go is significant, because she claimed it was god who told her to kill her children in the first place. eleven years ago, andrea yates, the mother of five -- >> we have a new addition -- >> reporter: -- waited for her husband to leave their houston home for work. then she told court psychiatrists she followed through on a plan she'd repeatedly rehearsed in her mind. one by one she began to drown her children in the bathtub. the youngest only 6 months old. the oldest, 7. after they were all dead, andrea yates dialed 911. >> what is your name? >> andrea yates. >> what's the problem? >> i just need them to come. >> reporter: now, andrea yates' lawyer says he will petition the court to grant a weekly therapeutic pass so she can atend church. >> andrea has a very deep, spiritual side to her, and

>> kerry sanders, thank you so much.nah guthrie is "today" legal correspondent and star jones is a veteran legal commentator. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the criminal case. john goodman had double the legal alcohol limit. he left the scene. he admitted he was driving. given the evidence what does roy black have to do to defend against the prosecution? >> black is behind the 8 ball. the prosecutor knows what she's doing. she's done it more than 50, 60 times. however the first theory is the first responders. when the defendant left the scene of the accident and then came back and returned, ems didn't find the victim initially. they did not find him in the water until after the tow truck came. so the concept could be that he did not, in fact, cause the death of the victim. that's going to be one theory. the second theory is when was he actually drunk? because there was so much time in between when he left the scene, left the bar, had been drinking in public and then returned, there was alcohol in this barn where he

>> all right, kerry sanders in santiago, cuba. thank you, kerry.at's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." >> good morning. coming up tonight, diabetes is one of the biggest public health epidemics in this country, but could there be a breakthrough toward a potential cure? we have to report a discovery that could be a life saver for millions of people. we'll have that for you tonight on "nightly news." natalie, for now, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. a fantastic journey has made "titanic" director james cameron a top search term on google and a trending topic on twitter. he's become the first person to dive solo in a mini sub to the earth's lowest point, the bottom of the seven mile deep mariana trench. cameron tweeted just arived at the ocean's deepest point. hitting bottom never felt so good. he spent several hours down there collecting samples, and of course shooting 3-d footage. >>> last night's return of "mad men" is say top google search and the t

kerry sanders is in santiago, cuba, the first stop of the visit. kerry?s the first time in more than a decade that a pope has visited cuba, despite the tropical breezes here, it could be a frosty reception because of what the pope had to say about this form of government here. pope benedict xvi on his plane told reporters, it is evident that marxist ideology as it was conceived no longer responds to reality. setting the stage literally, and among cubens, especially those who remember pope john paul ii's visit here 14 years ago, there's a rock star excitement in anticipation of today's mass. how do you feel? >> real proud. proud to participate. >> reporter: it's exciting? >> yeah, of course. >> reporter: fidel castro once promised all 11 million cubens their communist government would take care of them, cradle to grave. but today, it's the catholic church that helps feed the elderly. political expression is still censored. but the government at times here tolerates opposition groups like the so-called whim in white. some americas traveling to see the pope

kerry sanders has the story. >> john goodman's sedan.ley allegedly ran the stop sign and t-boned scott wilson. pushing wilson's car across the intersection and flipping upside down into the canal. in the early morning darkness as wilson's hyundai sank into the water two years ago, goodman is accuses of stumbling from the scene. phoning friends, a lawyer and then 54 minutes later, finally dialling 911. >> yes, i just got in a wreck, and my phone was dead and i'm -- where am i? >> in that 7:50 call to 911. >> is everybody okay or what happened? >> goodman asks the same question three times? >> is everybody okay? >> i'm not sure, sir. >> it's a powerful piece of evidence for prosecutors, because the victim in the car did not die in the accident. the medical examiner says scott wilson drowned. >> he was the most amazing person you could ever meet. >> i would like to know if there was any possibility that he could have jumped in and got him out. that's what i'm questioning in my heart. >> hours later at the hospital. detectives took these pic

kerry sanders is in kingston with details on this story. hey, kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, ann. at 27 years old, his royal highness known as prince henry of wales. that's officially his name. he's doing like most people do when they come to the islands. he's relaxing as much as a royal can do, but prince harry, as we call him, is a soldier. he's the unmarried one and now we can add one more description. he's among the fastest people on earth. the proof? right here in jamaica. >> set, go! >> reporter: prince harry, the royal versus jamaica's own usain bolt, the three-time olympic gold medal sprinter who many say is still the fastest man on earth. but in a head-to-head matchup, with a little regal deception, that all changed. prince marry won not one, but two races. stealing not only the finish line, but also bolt's signature pose. >> i'll get him back though. one day. >> reporter: it was especially great said usain to give the prince the victory considering what's afoot here. >> the island called for the queen to lose

i think that what the church does is speak to values. >> that was kerry sanders speaking from cuba.d leaders in south korea today as part of an international summit aimed at preventing nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. obama addressed the groups today. the president also issued a direct challenge to north korea. >> your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek. they have undermine it. it's of dignity, you are more isolated. instead of earning the respect of the world, you have been met with strong sanctions and condemnation. you can continue down the road you are on. but we know where that leads. it leads to more of the same. more broken dreams. more isolation. ever more distance between the people of north korea and the dignity and the opportunity that they deserve. >> tensions on the korean peninsula are high after the south threatened to shoot down a north korea rocket carrying a satellite. president obama also met today with outgoing russian president dmitry medvedev. they have disagreed on how to handle syria

the pentagon estimates 300,000 service men and women will retire this year alone, and kerry sanders explainsy they can believe in. >> reporter: 58 paratroopers climb on board a u.s. air force c-130. this night, at 800 feet, army captain heather ann bozeman is a jump master. responsible for each of their safety. life and death situations have been an everyday assignment since she joined the military at 19. with nine overseas deployments, including three tours in war-torn iraq, heather ann is retiring. i know that you bleed red, white and blue, so after 20 years, why retire? >> mainly because i'm a mom. that's the main reason. i don't want to deploy and leave my daughter. i really don't want to -- i don't want to be a country away from noelle. ever. >> reporter: this 42-year-old single mother, who adopted her daughter noelle from russia, is now about to begin a new life as a civilian. any trepidation? >> absolutely. i mean, thank you for the kind words. i'm scared. it's a fearful time in america. i see it on the news all the time. job rates. job rates. job rates. >> reporter: but defining what

introduced by me with several cosponsors, senators wyden, sanders,, senator mark udall from colorado, senator franken, senator coons, senator kerry, senator whitehouse, senator tom udall from my home state of new mexico. all of those individuals strongly support what we're trying to do in this legislation. i particularly want to thank the staff of the senate energy committee for the hard work they've put in to developing this proposal, particularly kevin rinehart. kevin rinehart who worked very hard on this proposal and got a lot of very useful input from many sectors and many individuals. this is a simple plan to modernize the power sector and guide it toward a future in which more and more of our electricity is generated with cleaner and cleaner energy. the purpose of the legislation is to make sure that, as we continue to grow and power our economy, we leverage the clean resources that we have available today and also provide a continuing incentive to develop the cheaper, cleaner technologies that will be needed in the future. we want to make sure that we drive continued diversity in our energy sources and allow every region o