would be a good idea for me to become friends with weekend "nightly news" and "dateline" anchor lester holt laughter ] so, we went out with a film crew and spent the day together. so, now, let's see what happens when a late night talk show host hangs out with a serious journalist in a piece we're calling -- forced friendship with seth and lester. [ laughter and applause ] ♪ >> seth: hey, everybody, i'm so excited. i'm about to meet lester for the first time right outside of his office. >> all right, president obama. thank you very much for the interview, sir. we -- i look forward to it, too. i'll see you then. take care. bye-bye. ♪ are you lost or something? >> seth: no. i'm seth meyers. remember, nbc asked us to hang out? they want us to be friends. [ sighing ] [ laughter ] >> all right, let's go. let's go, funny boy. [ laughter ] ♪ so, this is, uh -- this is where you tape your prank show and put skits on youtube. >> seth: well, no. this is the -- set for my new talk show. >> it looks like you decided not to wear your bozo makeup, clown man. [ laughter ] i'm going to address the camera no

i'm lester holt. sitting in tonight for brian. as president obama dangled the threat of tough o'er action against russia, the crisis in ukraine took a dangerous and deadly new turn today on the ground and in the air. as ukrainian forces in the east launch a major counter offensive against pro russian insurgents who then shot down two ukrainian helicopters. but the conflict has spread to southern ukraine. a country increasingly divided against itself, coming closer to the brink. we get more from our british partner itn. >> the term civil war should not be used lightly, but tonight, ukraine appears to be perilously close. >> the southern port city of odes odessa, a city split between those loyal to russia and those to ukraine. the two sides fought in the city center and the result was a bloodbath. more than 30 known to have died, and it is likely to have been more. unlike the east of ukraine, pro russians cannot dominate here. normal ukrainians, young women, middle aged mothers, joined in on the fight. the police were nowhere to be

i'm erica hill. >> and i'm lester holt. if you have a ticket to the belmont stakes you are sitting pretty because we may get a triple crown. >> you said your father-in-law got tickets? >> he fought four tickets right before the race just in case and it actually worked? >> it was so much fun to watch yesterday. it was exciting. >> my kids and i went into the bar area of the restaurant. >> my eight-month-old is like "is california chrome going to win this race?" that's how excited everybody was. >> at least your eight-month-old wasn't racing to the bar. [ laughter ] >> you've got to train them early. i'm just impressed that harper knows house to say california chrome. >> she enunciated it perfectly. she knew. >>> we begin with our top story which is the new concern about the point of the spread of the mers virus here in the u.s. and we're learning more about this third case. it's an illinois man who health officials say contracted it where from a business associate even though he has tested positive, he hasn't shown any signs

i'm lester holt reporting from new york.l see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow night. >>> sunday, are questions about hillary clinton's health? >>> it's one of san francisco's most famous events. people are getting ready for bay to breakers. we will show you the change coming for this year's run. >>> the latest on the fires as more people head back home. >>> out of jail but not out of the woods just yet. we will tell you more about the legal drama following a former supervisor from the south bay. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> good evening. i'm diane dwyer. >> and i'm terry mcsweeney. only in san francisco may be the best way to describe tomorrow's bay to breakers race. the city is getting prepared for anything and runners better be prepared for changes along the route. it starts at the bay and finishes at breakers. monty francis live with the details. >> reporter: runners will not be allowed to stop here at alamo square. you can see there are fences surrounding most of the park to keep run

i'm lester holt sitting in for brian who remains on assignment one more night. he hasn't spoken publicly about it in over three weeks, but today amid a highly charged political environment, president obama responded with outrage to the growing scandal at va hospitals, calling allegations of misconduct that left seriously ill veterans waiting for care dishonorable and promising those found guilty will be held accountable. the president spoke after meeting with the va secretary and a day after the va inspector general's office acknowledged that the number of hospitals under investigation has expanded to 26. our political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd starts us off here tonight with more. chuck? >> reporter: good evening, lester. amid the growing political pressure over allegations involving falsifications of patient wait times at va medical centers, the president displayed annoyance and frustration as he finally addressed the scandal, but for many, his words of outrage were not enough. >> today, i want every veteran to know, we are going

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all of us here at nbc news, good night. >>> nbc bay area news begins with breaking news. >>> good evening, everyone. >> a press conference just wrapped up at travis air force base near fairfield following the crash of a plane at an air show at the base. here's what we know right now. a pilot was killed when his plane crashed during the air show. >> thousands were there and 85,000 were there yesterday. the rest of the show today was canceled. people were told to leave. the pilot is 77-year-old eddie andrini of half moon bay. he was inverted, meaning flying upside down 350 feet off the ground when the plane crashed. >> he was performing a

i'm lester holt reporting from new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night. >>> governor brown sounding the alarm on fire danger across california. he's warning of a long and dangerous season. we're going to show you how local fire departments are re e preparing. >>> plus, gunshots in the south bay. who police are looking for tonight. >>> and mnow police are saying dozens arrested at the beta breaker race. we're live with the sights and sounds after tens of thousands filled the streets. >>> good evening, earn. i'm terry mcsweeny. >> and i'm diane dwyer. well, fire departments are

i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. i tell people it's the miracle of facebook. >> oh, my god. >> the murder happened in seconds. >> coming straight for me and with a gun leveled. >> the truth took decades. >> i said you know what? give me a lie detector test. >> i never believed it, never. >> did someone have it all wrong? or are innocent men in prison for a murder they didn't commit? >> did you ever imagine you would cause a debate? >> not in a million years. >> together they uncovered an almost unbelievable truth. >> it all made sense. none of us knew what happened that night. this all made sense. >> somebody seen it. somebody knew. >> now they just had to get someone to believe them. >> oh, my god, oh, my god, we're winning. oh, my god, we're losing. >> this was it. >> this was it and the next move was his. >> as a band of friends sets out on a journey to find justice, they first need to find out what happened the night old man bob was murdered. >> people always assume that the people ranning down the driveway shot

i'm lester holt.ining us. >>> next on "meet the press," republican attempts to take down hk a hillary clinton are in full swing. will republicans stop at nothing to keep her from running in 2016? i'll be joined by reince priebus, the chair of the republican national committee, and claire mccaskill, democratic senator from missouri who has already endorsed clinton for president. >>> plus, the high profile firing that has rekindled a national conversation about women, power, and leadership. as the debate rages over the dismissal of "new york times" editor jill abramson we'll ask are women in power positions held to a different standard than men. and new york shriver, carolyn ryan, and carly fiorina, former ceo of hewlett-packard are here to share their views. >>> and the growing scandal of the va. is the government failing to give american veterans the care they were

. >> i'm lester holt, and this is dateline. here's dennis murphy. >> winter comes early and stays late in far western new york. the farmlands near cha tau what lake. and in this place of frozen stillness, the place of hottest passions and jealousy came to call. and 1700 residents are still shaking at the shock of it all. joe is the long-time sheriff. >> my 35 years in law enforcement. can you ever remember a homicide in climber? never. >> it began quite simply. the new superintendent in school went missing in 2012. keith reid, 51 years old, was a long-time educator who landed in the sweet spot of his professional career. >> parents and family members, do you believe in our graduates? >> the up until then principal had applied for the position with his big brother urging him on. >> this school called climer. i don't know whether i should apply there, i said apply. i knew what he wanted. and once he was there, it was over. >> you might think a close-nit community like clie mer would be stand offish. but parents and students quick

. >> i'm lester holt. and this is dateline. here's dennis murphy. >> the images are fud eon the old home video of the wedding reception but everyone remembers vividly. the bride in white, the groom in the goofy beast costume, kind of a strange way to begin a marriage some gists murmured, beauty and the beast. but then, it was a union that would end strangely. the last dance still more than ten years away at that point. lisa, the bride, had no idea what was in store for the two of them. she had a 50,000 watt smile. >> you can't fake a smile like that. that was just her. >> lisa had been a single mom when show joined her sister for a rare girls night out. there in the crowd, a big guy, a body guard slipped her his business card before lisa's party called it a night. in the car going home, lisa pulled out the business card and showed it to her sister christine. >> it said jean-claude van damme look alike. i said you're not going to call that guy are you? >> she not only called him but was soon dating him. it turned out to be scott

i'm lester holt.- previously grimm... - mom, dad, this is my fiancee, rosalee. - [growls] [both snarl] - a fuchsbau. are you out of your mind? - you think my grandma's dress fits? - absolutely. - i can't be your best man. it's just too dangerous. and what if one of them woged, saw that i'm a grimm? - you wear sunglasses. there you go. problem solved. - why don't you tell me how the royals got a federal agent to work for them. - you're a dead man, and you don't even know it. [grunts] you wouldn't mind if i took care of renard, would you? - i don't mind at all. - where is she? where's my daughter? - i had no choice. - i can't live without my baby. - there is one thing i'd like you to do first. - anything. - you remember how the grimm took your powers away? - yes. - it's time to return the favor. - by the power vested in me by the great state of oregon,

with lester holt and erica hill. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm erica hill along with mike bet is in for dylan. nice to have you with us. we're going to talk more spelling bee. i went on wednesday, saw some of the action before the finals and spent time with the kids and boy, did we get lucky. we hung out with one of the co-champions. and it also -- coincidentally. we got lucky. >> spell coincidentally. >> i couldn't spell at all. i thought i was good until i went up against these kids. they are way smarter than adult i met. >> look forward to that. >> we'll have that. >> in the meantime. >> in the meantime we begin with the top stories. the future of the los angeles clippers. that huge lawsuit filed by owner donald sterling could it now get in the way of a record deal reached by his wife to sell that team to the former ceo of microsoft. miguel almaguer has a look. >> reporter: the team set to be sold this morning donald sterling is suing the nba for more than $1 billion. the clippe

i'm lester holt.g us. >>> some hidden messages, maybe some political insight on 2016 from president obama on washington's big night of the year, the correspondents' dinner. >> what a year, huh? i usually start these dinners with a few self-deprecating jokes. after my stellar 2013, what could i possibly talk about? >> we'll have some political talk and comic review this morning and a surprise guest will join our round table. grammy award winner, innovator and social activist will.i.am will be here. plus, the conversation continues about racism and sports after the controversy surrounding donald sterling, i'll speak exclusively with a former nba call star who played a big role in the punishment, sacramento mayor kevin

i'm lester holt. we meet amazing and courageous people all the time on "dateline." michelle knight is one of the bravest. almost exactly one year ago tonight she and two other women took on a monster and won. here's savannah guthrie. >> on the broadcast tonight, the daring escape for three young women missing for a decade. >> amanda berry, gina dejesus and michelle knight found, held captive in a home within miles from where they were last seen. the news shocked the world. >> you can truly believe that miracles really do happen. >> three young women breaking free from a boarded up house in cleveland after a decade in captivity. >> amanda berry, i've been missing for ten years, i'm here, i'm free now. >> investigators who spent years searching for the girls were stunned. >> i just -- my mouth dropped open. >> the most amazing case ever. >> against all odds, the young women have survived. >> i've been in this business for over 40 years, i've seen a lot of heroes in my life. but these girls top it off. >

i'm lester holt. thanks for joi >>> good monday morning. coming up on "early today," violent storms with over a foot of snow and tornadoes and massive damage across several states. more severe weather is in store for today. >>> mea culpa. donald sterling begs for forgiveness as his estranged wife begs to keep the l.a. clippers. >>> ukraine vote. sovereignty is erwhelmingly favored, but how will russia's putin respond. >>> plus, barbara walters on "saturday night live." incredible images of twins born holding hands. and the washington monument finally opens today after earthquake repair. it is monday, may 12th. "early today" starts right now. >>> well, hello, everybody. thank you for joining us on this monday. i'm betty nguyen. we want to begin with severe weather across country. mu multiple tornados have been reported from nebraska to iowa and the threat does continue. there is serious damage reported in several towns in nebraska. and harrowing stories emerging from the wreckage. >> the winds really picked up. as i looked kind of south towa

i'm brian williams, lester holt will be here with you this weekend.hope to see you right back here on monday night. and in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night. >>> nbc bay area news beginning with breaking news. >>> that breaking news is in santa clara county where firefighters are battling a brush fire. >> i'm raj mathai. this video just in to the newsroom from this fire west of gilroy and morgan hill. this is on the border of santa cruz and santa clara county. crews have this under control, about 7 acres have burned. containment at about 75%. no homes down there in this rugged terrain, but there is some kind of greenhouse. that greenhouse, though, saved from the flames. >>> well, it's not one anybody wants to see, fires like the one you just saw. a firebug is taunting firefighters with a string of suspicious fires in not just one but two bay area cities. novato has seen suspicious fires and walnut creek has seen suspicious fires. firefighters are looking at how and where those fires broke out in both of those cities. mark, not one b

i'm erica hill. >> i'm lester holt alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. i want to say happy mother's day to you two, my wife, my mom, all the mothers out there. >> happy first mother's day to you. >> thank you very much. >> very exciting. you've had a couple. any advice? >> take full advantage of people wanting you to take a break. >> you are wearing a gift from -- >> yes. my older son weston made this for me last year. this year he made me this beautiful bracelet. and another pin which you'll see later. so thank you. >> very nice. we've got a big day planned for moms. >> we do. we have quite a morning out on our plaza. pampering. you're seeing it happening right now. so we've got manis, massages. we even have a brunch planned for moms joining us on the plaza a little bit later. a big celebration to come. >>> before we get to that we do have serious news to start off with. that nasty weather system that could spawn a number of strong tornadoes later today. kansas and missouri got hit on saturday when at least 14 tornadoes touched down. luckily there are n

i'm lester holt in for brian who will be back tomorrow. for all of us at nbc news, good night. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> my vision was just a white circle like this, and i could barely it stay awake. >> it's a bite that would change his life forever. right now at 6:00, a south bay man in a south bay county warning the return of a potentially devastating virus. good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm rauj mathai. spraying to prevent west nile virus will begin later their week. >> reporter: good evening, raj. a three-mile area along the san jose/campbell border will be sprayed starting thursday night at about 11:00 as the west nile virus makes its earliest appearance the south bay has ever seen. >> adult mosquitoes right here. >> reporter: inside the vector control offices, they've tested the mosquitoes, along with the birds, and they say west nile virus is back. >> very intense virus activity, the kind we never thought we'd see again. >> reporter: but the spraying starts thursday night in this thr

i'm lester holt.ttack was pretty violent. - no! - somebody had a really big knife and a really bad temper. - looks like a black knight with blood on it. [both grunting] - she's a grimm. - you've heard that before. - it doesn't mean anything. - so theresa's staying for dinner? - nobody calls me theresa. - uh-huh, so what do they call you? - they call me trubel. - trubel-- that's an interesting name. - trubel might have to be staying with us for a little while. she needs to lay low. - this have to do with a case? - little more than that. - and by little more, you mean... - she's a grimm. - she's a... - yeah. sounded just as weird to me too. - [chuckles] you're a grimm, but-- - she just found out.

i'm erica hill. >> i'm lester holt alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dryer. we didn't go to the dinner this year. i think we missed good, good lines. >> there were good laughs this year, i think. >> there were some good lines. i was judging highlights this morning. >> we're easy targets. the president took some good shots at us. also fellow politicians, congress. >> no one is safe in that room, i think. >> no. >> why is why none of us went. >> that and i had an awesome date with my son to play basketball yesterday. >> joel mchale of "community" kind of walking the line, it sounds like, as he emceed the event for the night. >> dangerous job to do that. >> got to poke fun at the president and everyone else. it's hard. >> much more on the big night ahead. >>> startling news. statistics about the effects bullying can have on our children. an important story parents want to hear coming up. >>> royal watchers in memphis still hoping for a glimpse of princes william and harry. >>> later, we've been talking about our weekend "today" biggest fans. we're kicking it off

i'm lester holt reporting from new york.or all of us here at nbc news, good night. ♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! he has a phaser! it's not a phaser! it's my phone! he can use his voice to control the tv. you can use your woice? my voice. your woice. my voice. "vuh," voice. his voice. your woice? look. watch sci-fi. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. ♪ . >>> good evening and thanks for joining us. >> we are following new developments near uc santa barbara, where authorities are investigating the deadly rampage in isla vista. kim has the latest. >> reporter: two of the victims from san jose and another one from fremont. the uc santa barbara students were all found dead with stab wounds. the victims are chen yuan hong and george chen from san jose and 20-year-old

i'm brian williams, lester holt will be here with you this weekend. have a good weekend. good night. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> right now at 6:00, it's get away day, but take a look at this backup of the bay bridge. people heading into the city right now. no one seems to be getting anywhere quickly. good evening. thanks for joining us. >> jess and raj are off tonight. happening now, the memorial day weekend is here, and that means, as we've seen, crowded roads where the commute is at a crawl in many places. on the left is interstate 80 in emeryville. that's stop and go, mainly stop. and there's a highway closure near at&t park. gerard moncure has a preview of tonight's giants game and jeff ranieri has the forecast. jodi hernandez is in the heart of the gridlock. >> reporter: there's a lot of sitting around going on in the city tonight. take a look at this long line of traffic along sixth straight at brannen. this is where one of the entrances to southbound 280 has been closed. and you can see that folks are re-routing traffic. and with the giants game-set to st

lester holt joins us next with nightly news. >> see you at 6:00.ood night. # >>> on the broadcast tonight, were nfl players given powerful painkillers and lied to to get them back in the game? terror attack. more than 100 killed in a pair of bombing overseas. is the group that kidnapped all those girls to blame? new recalls. now a record number for genermo. millions more cars and trucks with potentially dangerous problems. and a food fight in the heart of dairy land that could forever change cheese as you know it. "nightly news" begins now.

underway tonight, a quick word about the past two evenings of unexplained absences with my thanks to lester holt for filling in. at the end of this broadcast, we'll show you why we are here in nashville tonight, but first, first, where we've been for the past two days. about 16 hours ago, i departed moscow, where moscow, where i traveled to interview edward snowden. he is widely referred to these days as the most wanted man in the world, the interview was months in the making and cloaked in the secrecy of his life as a fugitive living in exile overseas. our conversation went on for several hours and we're still going through it all and just starting the process of seeking comment from all those people and entities he discussed. we are going to air snowden's comments next week on the other side of the three-day memorial day weekend and in prime time on wednesday night at 10:00, 9:00 central, you'll be able to see him and hear him tell his story, including a lot we have not heard before and as you will see and hear, edward snowden has a lot more to say. >>> now, to dial back to our lead story toni

lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we hope to see you back here on monday night. in the meantime have a great weekend. good night. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> right now at 6:00, fremont police say you're looking at a thief helping herself to a package outside someone's front door in the middle of the day. city leaders have a pricey new way to catch her and others like her. >> the person who took that package likely doesn't live in fremont. that's why police want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new high-tech system to nab this suspect and others. we take a look at the crime fighting proposal. >> steve says he was shocked when he watched this video shot by his own surveillance camera outside his fremont house. it shows a woman carrying mail, she puts it down and picks up the package left on his doorstep. she calmly walks off with the box. >> i just felt violated that someone would actually come and take my things. >> reporter: it all happened around 3:45 yesterday afternoon. his next door neighbor was home at the time but didn't see the woma

nbc's lester holt is among those trying to land tonight in new york. he has reported to us the worst turbulence he's ever experienced. his flight has been, more than once now, diverted to an alternate airport along with several others. >>> in virginia today, a train carrying crude oil derailed, exploded near lynchburg. no injury reported, but it prompted concerns about the water supply down river. this very subject, the safety of trains carrying crude oil and other material has been a source of controversy after several high-profile accidents. the feds are in the process of tightening regulations. >>> fair warning, this next story has to do with the grizzly subject matter of violent crime and execution in this country, specifically the botched execution of a death row inmate last night in oklahoma is raising new questions this evening with the death penalty as states deal with a shortage of the drugs used to carry out capital punishment. we get our story tonight from justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: shortly after the state started pump

i'm lester holt. >> i'm kate snow alongside jenna wolfe and jenna drier. erica taking the morning off. >>> we want to get to our top story today. that deadly shooting near the campus of university of california near santa barbara. >> kristin dahlgren is following the developments >>> good morning. details are still trickling in. here is what we know so far. this is a community near the u.c. santa barbara campus where many students live. around 9:30 pacific, gunfire rang out from a suspected attacker driving a black bmw. according to police, it is unclear who the target or targets were. the shooter was near the college. they say no shots were ever fired on campus. at least seven were killed. the gunman is among them. the suspect had exchanged gunfire with sheriff dep it is but unclear if he was shot by dep it is or the wounds were self-inflicted. another seven people were injured. one is undergoing surgery for life-threatening injuries. the local sheriff spoke at a news conference a short time ago. >> this is still a very active investigation, as you can im

. >>> from nbc news headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news kwtsz with lester holt. >> policedidn't have to wonder what caused a gunman to kill six people and injure seven others near a california college campus last night. the answer was a click away on youtube in a chilling manifesto. the victims were gunned down by a drive-by killer on the streets of isla vista near the university of california santa barbara. the spree of terror stretched for blocks and finally ended with the gunman himself dead. tonight the family confirms the shooter is elliott roger, who made a lengthy youtube posting hours before the rampage and calmly laid out his plan for what he vowed would be a day of retribution. revenge, he said, against the women who rejected him. already questions are being asked about whether authorities could have headed off this horrible tragedy. we have two reports, beginning with mike taibbi on the jean for us. mike? >> reporter: hello, lester. the family of the suspect said they warned police about the youtube video before the shootings. what did happen ten minutes of carn

i'm lester holt. you think you get wild on the weekends? you're about to see some of the most incredible adventures ever caught on tape, like this first one we're going to show you, a high speed crash, but not on a highway, up in the air. >> it was very unfortunate. it was a chance in one in a billion, i think. >> we jumped four of us together. that's the whole idea. that's very difficult. we jumped out. we were flying. all four of us had our hands in the middle. we're all holding each other. as we let go and we were probably going straight down at about 140 miles per hour, when we broke off, two guys went to one side. me and another guy to another side. i had no idea where the other two guys were. so i started going towards my friend, the only one that i saw. i keep facing him so i'm turning. that's when i completely did a 180, and i kept drifting backwards. bam, it was just crazy. it crossed my mind that maybe i hit a plane. oh, my god, what is this? i couldn't breathe. i'm trying to be aware of the altitude, like is my parachute okay, di

i'm lester holt.apa haydn's all set with the cake, by the way. - and you have the playlist for the reception? - yep, that's done. and the place cards are ready. they just need to be picked up. - oh. i'll do that. - no, i got it. - wow. you're doing all that? - full-service maid of honor. - there'd be no wedding without juliette. - wait a minute, what about the groom? don't you need me? - oh, for certain things. - guys have it easy. all nick has to do is-- is not lose the ring and make a speech. - what ring? what speech? yeah, yeah, i got the ring. - and what about the toast? - it's getting there. - it better be there by saturday. - saturday. this saturday? nobody gets me. trubel, dinner! - yeah, no, we get you. trubel, come on! we're hungry! we wanna eat! - i'll get her. - no, you sit. i've got it.

i'm lester holt.nks for joining us. >>> coming up on "early today" this memorial day, california shooting, the gunman's parents contacted mental health professionals last month. he managed to convince the authorities that he wasn't a threat. a parent of one of the shooting victims speaks out. >> ion't care who you are, i don't care where you live, this can happen to you. >> honoring the troops, president obama's surprise visit and message to our soldiers and the rest of us about how long we'll be in afghanistan. plus, the boat that hit the whale forcing passengers overboard before it hit the rocks. a huge day in the world of sports. we've got you covered. and it is memorial day, a time to thank the men, women and families that keep our nation free. "early today"

i'm lester holt. >> and i'm erica hill, alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. we do want to get to today's top stories for you. that is the search this morning for the three people inside a hot air balloon that crashed in rural virginia. witnesses and police describe frantic moments when that balloon caught fire. luke russert is on the scene for us this morning. luke, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. virginia state police say three people are still unaccounted for after a tragic accident last night. a hot air balloon went up as part of the beginning of the three-day festival here. around 8:00 pm, the basket became separate from a balloon itself. this was a pilot's attempt to land. there were two explosions. eyewitnesses tell our local affiliate upon the second explosion, words heard from one eyewitness hearing one of the passengers in that basket saying oh, god i'm going to die. another eyewitness seeing a body actually fall to the ground. right now, we cannot confirm as the crash site has not been found of any of the bodies. there are two separa

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with lester holt and erica hill live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning and welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> and i'm erica hill alongside jenna wolfe, dylan dreyer and all eyes on the horses today. >> did i just say horse facing fans a moment ago? >> i think you might have said horse facing. >> i love horse faces. big fan. >> i often don't listen to the words coming out of my mouth but i thought i said horse facing. >> horse walks into a bar. why the long face? there we go. i'll be here all morning. >> anyway, we've got -- >> on that note, should we get to the top story of the day? >> let's get to the news of the day. >> let's do that. on a more serious note, nonstop efforts to get the upper hand on those southern california wildfires, firefighters continuing to attack them from the sky and also on the ground. today, a change in the weather should help them in that battle. joe friar is on the scene in san marcos, california. joe, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. firefighters st

>> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." here is dennis murphy with "secrets in seattle." >> seattle was raw after a week of relentless winter rain. a woman lost had been found in the tangle of the blackberries. a naked body. a small tattoo on the back. a necklace and signs of strangulation. the detectives sent to a patch of trees and boggy undergrowth near the seattle airport's runways guessed it was her. they would soon be proved correct. nine days to find her, the answer to where. another seven years still ahead to answer the questions of all homicides, who, and why. but we have to go back, before the crime scene photos and the medical examiners' findings, before she became those chilly words, "the victim." to find the dearly loved person named nici. nici pietz, wife and daughter, sister and friend. >> she seemed to be able to uplift people in ways that none of us knew how to do. >> she had a way to make you smile. she had a way to let you know that everything was going to be okay. >> gayle was her mother. >> nici was sun

>> narrator: i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." here's andrea canning with "the secrets of cottonwood creek." >> reporter: winding down a mountain in southwest colorado, waterfalls spill over granite and sunlight filters through aspens and evergreens. cottonwood creek -- an only-in-the-west sort of backdrop. these snapshots barely capture it, but who can resist trying? what a spot to preserve a memory. >> careful though. this is wilderness -- the dangerous kind. >> she's in the river. she fell and they can't find her. he thinks she's dead. >> reporter: the frigid currents here can take a life, and also, maybe, sweep away secrets. >> it was the perfect place to commit a murder where nobody would see you. >> if you go into it looking for trouble, you're going to find it. >> reporter: and up in those mountains, sometimes questions are left behind. >> i don't have an explanation for this. but certainly it does truly haunt me. >> reporter: the story begins with those pictures together. they form a couple -- husband and wife -- leslie an

i'm lester holt. on any given weekend night chances are someone you love, one of your kids maybe-s heading out for some fun. a few worries? sure. about drinking, driving, hookups. but the two young women in this story found a very different kind of trouble. for each the simple joys of a night out would lead to the most confounding and terrifying of mysteries. here's keith morrison. >> reporter: the woman in the icu was barely alive. her jaw shattered in a dozen pieces. a once beautiful face unrecognizable after the brutal beating, the rape, the fire, the fall, the massive nearly fatal stroke. someone thought she'd be dead now. someone who fled into the night. someone killing women. and this one deep in a coma at the threshold of death is their only chance to catch him before he does it again. what happened here was spawned in a very dark corner of the human condition. but a terrifying flaw that forces us to admit yes, virginia, there really is a bogey man. and against him were the only weapons they ha

here's lester holt. >> good day.looking to demonstrate unity in the face of russian-led aggression there. here they approach the podium. we should note this will be translated simultaneously. here's the president. >> good morning, everybody. it is always a great pleasure to welcome my friend, chancellor merkel, to the white house. germany is one of our strongest allies, and angela is one of my closest partners. with her indulgence, i want to start by making two brief comments. first, as president, my top priority is doing everything that we can to create more jobs and opportunity for hard-working families, for our economic strength is a source of strength in the world. this morning we learned that our business has created 273,000 new jobs last month. all told our businesses have now created 9.2 million new jobs over 50 consecutive months of job growth. the grit and determination of the american people are moving us forward, but we have to keep a relentless focus on job creation and creating more opportunities for wor

lester holt live tweeting, he said his plane was trying to land at laguardia, diverted to upstate newounding that on the west coast there was a major computer failure and it shut down lax and some other airports out there. so they had to hold planes. so it was a mess! >> my co-host on "morning joe," joe scarborough, is from pensacola. he sent along some pictures from his own neighborhood. he said even in hurricanes they'd never seen water. entire major highways are collapsing under the weight of the water. >> folks were stranded on i-10 for seven or eight hours overnight. it is calmed down now. but when you think about how we were all looking forward to the end of winter and the he beginning of spring -- not so much. >> one last punch. >> in toronto, mayor rob ford announced last night that he's taking a leave of absence to get help for substance abuse problems. in a statement he said, i have a problem with alcohol and the choices i have made while under the influence. i know i need professional help. i am now 100% committed to getting myself right. why now? the announcement came afte