robert bazell, nbc news, fukushima prefecture, japan. >>> coming up, the duchess of cambridge. how she has quickly become a royal favorite. >>> it was quite a weekend for the former kate middleton, now, of course, the duchess of cambridge. she has brought a new energy and charm to the house of windsor and people seem to be loving it in britain and beyond. nbc's chapman bell has been watching a royal star. >> reporter: princess catherine is settling into her new royal lifestyle. and the world is watching. yesterday's trooping the color, the annual parade marking the monarch's official birthday, this year her 85th. pomp and pageantry at its best. prince william barely recognizable in his bearskin hat, riding for his first time in the yearly event. alongside his father, prince charles, and the queen's carriage. but all eyes were on the newest addition to the royal family. crowds gathering for a glimpse of their future queen. later at a surprise appearance at her friend's wedding with her sister, pippa, she recycled the hat she wore for her royal duties earlier in the day and a dre

robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >>> we'll be back with our "making a difference" report right after this. >>> it's a well-documented, still growing problem. obesity among america's youngsters. tonight from washington, nbc's craig melvin reports on how one woman is tackling the problem and making a difference. >> reporter: for this group of seventh graders at the washington school for girls, getting down the precision and rhythm for their first step show is about more than just nailing a routine. >> all right, you guys ready? >> reporter: with every stomp, clap and chant there's the hope they'll start to reverse what's become a startling trend nationwide. >> good job, ladies. i like those smiles. >> reporter: the waistlines of america's children have been growing for decades. the centers for disease control says nearly 20% of kids between 6 and 11 are obese. >> i was like, okay. >> reporter: when she's not coaching dr. yalandra hancock of children's national medical center is a pediatrician at a clinic specializing in obese children. >> diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, problems

robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >>> we'll be back with our making a difference report right afterhis. too much... too little.. or i just forget. but look. this is doing fine. why? it's planted in miracle-gro moisture control potting mix. it holds 33% more water... than ordinary potting soil. releasing it as plants need it. not when i get around to it. and there's miracle-gro plant food mixed in. so you get miracle-gro results... i like that. [ female announcer ] miracle-gro moisture control potting mix. success starts with the soil. he needs some gellin'. yeahhhhhhh. gellin' is like having a teeny tiny foot masseuse in your shoe. you like ? nice ! dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles. outrageous comfort, all-day long. host: could switching to geico did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home? piggy: weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeeeee, weeeee weeeeeeee. mom: max. ...maxwell! piggy: yeah? mom: you're home. piggy: oh,cool, thanks mrs. a. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. a fiber that dissolves completely, is clearly different. benefiber. it's the easy way to get

robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >> and because a lot of people have a lot of questions on this topicbehalf of their kids, bob bazell will be taking questions tochbtd on our -- tonight on our facebook page, beginning at 7:00 eastern time. >>> and up next tonight, was it something we said? well, more accurately something that was not said during sports coverage this weekend that set a lot of people off. if congress really wants to balance the budget... ...they could stop spending our money on things like... ...a cotton institute in brazil... ...poetry at zoos... ...treadmills for shrimp... but instead of cutting waste... or closing tax loopholes... next month, congress could make a deal that cuts medicare... ...even social security. i guess it's easier to cut the benefits we earned... than to cut pickle technology. ♪ and today, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief right to the site of your tough pain. ♪ in fact, it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice

our chief science correspondent robert bazel covered the story when it happened initially.s gone back to japan tonight to see what has happened since. >> reporter: the damage, including three nuclear meltdowns, is far worse and more dangerous than anyone knew in the days after the accident. u.n. experts say the government should have been better prepared for the devastating tsunami. >> what you have to do is look at what is around your country. and design things to withstand those hazards for your country. >> reporter: the u.n. team said efforts to contain the accident have been exemplary. to try to control the heat from the melted fuel rods, workers are still pouring in thousands of gallons of water a day. for now, the highly radioactive liquid builds up in this barge. fire cannons spray a sticky blue resin to try to keep the radio active particles in place. experts agree the biggest raidation release occurred with the hydrogen explosions in the first few days. most gone out to see, but some severely contameinating a 40-mile area around the plant, perhaps for years. it has

our report from our chief science correspondent, robert bazell. >> reporter: avastin was approved to treat several other cancer when in 2008 the fda approved it for the treatment of breast cancer. but the approval had a condition. the manufacturer, genentech, was ordered to do more studies on the drug to make sure it was safe and effective. but those studies showed cause for serious concern. the benefits did not outweigh potentially dangerous risks including death. and the agency proposed last december to withdraw its approval for breast cancer. >> there is no evidence that avastin saves or extends lives. >> it's perplexing to think you might let women die -- >> reporter: at an emotional hearing today, demonstrators outside, and avastin and doctors and activists debated whether the drug should remain available for breast cancer. >> i owe the last seven and a half years to avastin. >> it gives us hope. we're counting on the fda to make the right decision. >> genentech is appealing the decision to pull the drug asking pore more time to study its effects. no question it will remain on t

robert bazell, nbc news, fukushima, japan. >>> and one more piece of fallout connected to the fukushima disaster rr switzerland's parliament today voted to phase out nuclear plant, gradually shutting their plan between now and 2024. germany is also going to close the rest of their plants by 2022. >>> in washington, the dow was down. off almost 22 points today. >>> when we come back, a fond farewell to a member of our family. mr. and mrs. nadimpalli... baba... what's the diffence between the fusion and other hybds? the look. yeah, it doesn't look like a box. we wanted a hybrid and we wanted... didn't want it to look like a hybrid. and ford hybrid was fantastic for that. what are your favorite uses for sync? movie listings for me. yeah, i do everything with it. who uses the navigion system the st between the two of you? caw caw! [ dictor ] what is that? that's a horrible crow. here are some things that i'll make as little portals. honestly, d love to do this for the rest of my lif so i've got to ke care of myeart. for me, cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] got something

our chief science correspondent robert bazell joins us live. good morning. >> good morning. this is a big battle today. a prominent group of spine surgeons is charging another group of spine surgeons wrote research papers that hid serious side effects of this drug. the drug is called infuse, and it is made by the medtronic corporation. according to the curremedtronic corporation. according to the current issue of the journal "spine surgery," the doctors writing the papers got payments from medtronic as high as $23.5 million and as little as a half million dollars. infuse is used during some spine surgery to make bone growth. side effects include male sterility, pain and death. a doctor at the university of wisconsin said that much of that money came from medtronic for patents on devices he developed, but it did not influence the papers he wrote or edits. other doctors say the same. medtronic says it told the fda about the side effects and warned them on the label. the doctors writing about this say it reveals how much money can be paid to doctors who write about certain drug