nbc's stephanie gosk is with us tonight from there. stephanie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, the total sandy price tag for the state of new jersey is $37 billion. and a good chunk of that comes from here in mantoloking. the clean-up has just begun, let alone the rebuilding. mantoloking residents can finally come back home, but very few will be able to. only a handful returned today. more than half of the houses in this small beachside community were totally destroyed by sandy. what remains in some cases looks untouched. children's toys, sofas and beds with the sheets still tucked in. the storm cut mantoloking in two pieces. the ocean broke through to the bay. now the road is passable, but the recovery has only just begun. one of the biggest challenges they face is the removal of debris. not just what you see here on land, but also what's under water. 58 houses swept into this bay, more than 1,000 boats, and dozens of cars. in two weeks, they're going to begin the process of removing it all. their hope is to have

nbc's stephanie gosk went to texas and found one woman who believes that owning a gun saved her life.> reporter: everywhere erin goes now she says her gun is on her, after that terrifying night three weeks ago. >> i looked up and he was like this, pointing the gun straight at me and i'm just looking at the end of the gun. >> reporter: three men, one of them armed, broke into erin's house an hour outside of houston. she was alone with her 6-year-old son. out numbered and scared, the young mother had one thought. >> my gun, my gun, my gun. that was it. that was the only thing that was going to save me. >> reporter: erin tricked the intruders into her bedroom where she managed to grab her gun. >> i just turned and i shot. >> reporter: she shot one of them in the stomach. another wrestled her gun away, kneeing her in the eye, but all three fled. erin believes having a gun saved her life. erin did eventually call 911, but she wasn't able to until after the intruders had left. and a lot of women who believe they need guns for self-defense are concerned that help won't get there in time. >>

the story tonight from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: after the meteor smashed through the atmosphereattering windows in russia, and nerves around the world, it broke into pieces, meteorites. most landed near this frozen lake. the largest piece may still be under water. the search to find them is on. there are reports that residents are trying to sell the meteorites for as much as $10,000. a lot of money for a rock. but things from outer space can fetch a good price from collectors like dave gheesling. >> i would love to house a piece of this meteorite in my collection, and every collector on the planet would. no question about it. >> the famous peekskill meteor was auctioned off for more than $60,000, caught on camera before it took out the taillight of a chevy malibu. fascination in meteorites and fear has piqued since friday. over the weekend, two sightings in florida and northern california triggered a flood of anxious calls to authorities. even though those types of sightings are common. the new vigilance after the meteor in russia is a good thing, says former astronaut, ed lu. >

the story from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the unearthing of lost kings does not happen everyeven in england. >> richard iii, the last monarch of england, has been found. >> reporter: richard iii was dug up in an unlikely place. a parking lot in leicester. an ignoble and for the 15th century nobleman, but the bones don't lie. the right age, the spine twisted by the scoliosis the king suffered and with eight head wounds from the battlefield. the dna links to very distant living relatives of richard iii. the king who reigned for only two years but who was so cruel, shakespeare couldn't resist creating his own version. >> now he's the winter of our discontent. >> reporter: played by some great actors. >> my kingdom for a horse! >> reporter: in the play, richard iii kills his two nephews, and anyone else who gets in the way of the throne. >> if not to heaven, then hand-in-hand to hell. >> reporter: kevin spacey's richard iii drew packed crowds at brooklyn's academy of music. a pretty murderous, brutal guy. >> completely. and totally. and obviously a very colorful character for wil

stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >>> now to the attention surrounding the vatican. with the catholic church currently rocked by new scandal as the church's cardinals get ready to gather to elect the new pope, we learn today that the outgoing pope benedict will be called -- what he will be called after he is pope and what life will be like for him, because afr all, remember, an abdicating pope is all new territory for the catholic church. nbc's anne thompson remains at the vatican for us tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. they are already closing off the streets around st. peter's square in anticipation of the huge crowds for pope benedict's final audience tomorrow. the cardinals who will elect his successor have started to arrive, including controversial american cardinal roger mahoney, who is here despite calls for him to stay home because of his role in shielding sexually abusive priests in los angeles. these final days for benedict have been very difficult. he's seen a cardinal forced to resign, intense speculation over an internal inv

stephanie gosk, nbc news, breezy point, queens. >> that is our broadcast on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and of course, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> and good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. we're following that breaking news in forestville. this is a small city northwest of santa rosa. startling discovery, a triple homicide. the sonoma county sheriff's department was called to the home on rock station road after 3:00 this afternoon. our nbc chopper is on the scene and the investigators and deputies are on the scene down below where three men were found dead inside of a house. this is new video now just in to our newsroom. a sheriff's lieutenant says all the victims were shot to death. we don't yet know their identities or how they are related. we will continue to bring you updates on this case as we get them. >> now to another disturbing story, this one involving a teenaged girl apparently murdered. her naked body dumped in a fair field park. tonight we know who th

stephanie gosk, nbc news, orlando. >>> that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> and good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. new tonight at 6:00, can we do it and do we want to do it? could the bay area host the summer olympics in 2024? the mayors of san jose and san francisco received letters from the u.s. olympic committee asking if they would be interested in putting together a bid. the bay area recently failed in a previous olympic bid. david trujillo joins us at san jose state with the new details. damian? >> reporter: well, raj, marty malloy is only a few months removed from her bronze medal over at the olympic games. were you there for that. marty was excited to hear the bay area was in the picture for 2024. she still spends a lot of time on the dojo at san jose state, that is when she isn't representing her country across the globe. >> it has been a whirlwind. i guess nobody really let me know that it was go

stephanie gosk, nbc news, breezy point, queens. >> that is our broadcast on a tuesday night.u for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and of course we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. od night.

stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >>> that is our broadcast this monday night. week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. back here tomorrow evening.

stephanie gosk, nbc news, orlando. >> that's our broadcast on a wednesday night.for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

first, nbc's stephanie gosk has more on the controversy. good morning. >> good morning, savannah.cial must do is capture the audience's attention, funny, shocking or gross. go daddy goes for all three, drumming up controversy and this super bowl commercial starts to get some buzz. go daddy's commercial is called the perfect match. wink, wink. nudge, nudge. race car driver and spokeswoman danica patrick tees it up. >> there are two sides to go daddy, the sexy side, and the smart side that creates a killer website for your business, represented by walter. >> kind of funny and then, depending on your threshold, shocking. the extra who is everywhere, but who no one really knows. here is where it gets interesting. the full-length commercial goes in for a tight, leave no tongue to the imagination close-up. go daddy says this slightly tamer version will air on cbs during the super bowl. the internet company has made a marketing campaign out of commercial controversy. >> has go daddy gone too far this time? >> well -- >> some say the commercial is too hot for tv. >> how hot is too hot? >>

this guy thinks big. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much.n scientific poll, how many of us would go on voyage on the next titanic? >> i see where in the world. >> you make it to england, send us a postcard. >> it's amazing how much smaller this is going to be compared to the other ships that are out there right now. >> the size of a pontoon boat. >> lot more life jackets and lifeboats on board this one. >>> coming up, we've got a great story. a modern day treasure hunt. why one man decided to give away a vast fortune by burying it for you and others to find. >>> also ahead, new controversy this morning surrounding marissa mayer's decision to ban yahoo! employees from working >> announcer: "today in the bay" weather is sponsored by bank of the west. >>> coming up from here at the vatican, a look icastel ga [ male announcer ] these heads belong to those who can't put life on hold because of a migraine. so they trust excedrin migraine to relieve pain fast. plus sensitivity to light, sound, even nausea. no wonder it's #1 neurologist recommended.