to many of us south africa as he was the soundtrack of our lives.t was the first who opposition to apartheid. he was a mystery. then we found out he committed suicide, and a lot of people have different versions of the story. i thought it would make a good story. there is nothing on the record to tell us who he was or where he was from, so we started to look at the lyrics. we found him. >> he was doing the work nobody else wanted to do he was a lot of things but not materialistic. >> the next day he says, i have got to go on tour, and we said, why is absent -- why is that? >> congratulations in advance. when i saw this story i was blown away. i know some of the real-life characters. i have known them for years. some of the personalities you feature in this documentary, but what i came to know of the story, my first reaction was how a story in this rich could be hidden for so long. it is one of those stories that is right in front of our eyes, but it takes a guy from sweden to bring all of this together, so when you discovered this, how amazed were y

us off in bethesda, maryland. thanks. >>> olympic track star oscar pistorius is due back in court tomorrow after spending nearly a week now in a jail in south africa, accused of murdering his girlfriend on valentine's day. tonight we're getting new details on what police may have found inside the pistorius' home. nbc's michelle kosinski with us from pretoria, south africa. good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. oscar pistorius only months ago made olympic history. this career had him set to race on four continents in the next few months. now his agent has cancelled everything. nike says it will no longer use him in ads. he is here in jail, preparing to face prosecutors in court tomorrow. oscar pistorius, brought to jail on valentine's day, the day his girlfriend was shot to death seen in these exclusive pictures, covering his face with his jacket. since then, visits from his family, agent, friends and lawyers. tomorrow he will be back in court for a bond hearing the same day as reeva steenkamp's funeral. >> just taking things one day at a time. and we'll get through tomorrow to remember my sister and all the goodness that she stood for. >> you fall

nbc's michelle kosinski with us from pretoria, south africa. good evening. >> hi, brian, oscar pistorius months ago made olympic history. this career had him set to race on four continents in the next few months. nike says it will no longer use him in ads. he is here in jail, preparing to face prosecutors in court tomorrow. oscar pistorius, brought to jail on valentine's day, the day his girlfriend was shot to death seen in these exclusive pictures, covering his face with his jacket. since then, visits from his family, agent, friends and lawyers. tomorrow he will be back in court for a bond hearing the same day as reeva steenkamp's funeral. >> just taking things one day at a time. and we'll get through tomorrow to remember my sister and all the goodness that she stood for. >> you fall in love with being in love with love. it's just one love everywhere. >> reporter: for many here, it has been chilling to see her in life, in her new reality show that aired this weekend. >> the way that you go out and make your exit is so important. you either made

south africa. it contributes to the gdp of south africa so it's an important industrial sector of south africa and why not we use a product of the fruits of the soil to south africa, africa in the world. >> were there people in the family concerned about using the mandela name on any sort of thing versus as you know right, the mandela name to some degree is really about an ideal in a way. >> i think there will always be concern. what my father has always said to us, if you use the name for commercial or charitable or political, use it with a lot of integrity and responsibility. what we are trying to do as the house of mandela is continue our legacy of the house of mandela to promote the values that my father also emphasizes very strongly that he was made by the customs, by the traditions, by the values of his ancestors, they shaped him and he always tells us we should always remember who we are and remember those values, so we believe, because this is the fruits, the mandelas where they come from are agricultural people, they farmed so there's good synergy between what we are doing and the mandela fam itself. >>

nbc's michelle kosinski has been following can the case for us in south africa. hello, michelle. >> reporter: hi, lester. this police station where pistorius is held is where he will have to check in twice a week, probably starting tomorrow. so far, he has not once left his uncle's house. he is not the only one under scrutiny, his brother faces a homicide charge. oscar pistorius, since his release on bail has remained indoors, out of the public eye, in the comfort of family at his uncle's home. in this case, it has read more like an unlikely crime novel. he was charged with premeditated murder in the shooting of his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp at his house valentine's day early morning, claiming he thought she was an intruder. then the chief investigator on the case was charged with attempted mired from a work-related shooting. removed from the case. now, pistorius' older brother, carl is also charged, with culpable homicide, the equivalent of negligent homicide in the u.s., from a car accident six years ago in which a woman on a bicycle died. he was accuse

we'll go live to south africa where michigan cosmetic has been inside the courtroom and will give us a sense of pistorius's state of mind today. >> we have seen it all including snow on mountain tops including hamilton and mount diablo. >> and people are pelted with hail. you can see the video from san jose's willow glen neighborhood. that looks rough out there. >> it was really coming down. >> the question is will the winter weather continue today? christina? >> all the rain left a mark. look at this. 85% of average in san francisco. 85 in san jose. 81% of the average rainfall. that means we can eliminate at least for now the dirty d-word drought. 40 in san jose. you are going to have to work through after math out there. we had gusty winds. cold enough for all the damp roadways to freeze. especially where we have metal. you want to watch out for the potential for black ice this morning. 60 dpgz for the high. we'll take you live to tahoe coming up in the next report. first a look at your drive. let's see if you are dealing with the after math of yesterday's storm. mike? >> if you ar

. >> robyn curnow reporting for us from south africa. many questions. right to mickey sherman. author of "how can you defend those people" a criminal defense attorney for people like michael skakel. nice to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> if we can talk about the big developments in this case, reports of testosterone. that is now some kind of herbal remedy according to defense attorneys. number two the position of the toilet which is relevant because testimony on how the door was shot through. if you were going to hit the toilet, would you have to shoot at an angle and aim essentially at the toilet. and number three, have you past bad acts. i guess if you were a lawyer would you call them. the prosecutor talking about the background of oscar pistorius. walk me through. let's start with number one. the test tost are oosterone. which may not be testosterone. >> this is not lance armstrong this is a severely disabled person, even if he is an athlete. >> how about the angle of the shot into the bathroom? this is relevant. what the prosecutor is describing is that if you wer

nbc chapman bell joins us live from south africa. chapman, good morning. what's happening in court today? >> reporter: good morning, mara. well, yesterday was a not so great day for oscar pistorius in court. today doesn't seem to be going well for him either. yesterday, the prosecution claimed that it was a premeditated murder. and the magistrate at this point is going along with this claim. now, today on the stand, they've had the lead investigator giving evidence, saying why he agrees with the prosecution that this is in fact a premeditated crime. they're really focusing on how the shots were fired through the bathroom door. striking reeva steenkamp and killing her. and this is essential, really, to their claim that it was premeditated. that he walked with a purpose to fire the bullets through the door killing miss steenkamp. also, in addition to all of this, they as decided they want to add additional charges. those of unlicensed firearm ammunition found in the home. so this is not striking up so great. they are taking a break, however, because his lawy

bazi kanani, live for us right there in south africa. thank you for that. >>> we're going to move on, now, to syria. one of the most dangerous hot spots on the planet. after two years of bloody conflict there, a u.n. panel says the government and those rebels should both be charged with war crimes. >> abc's terry moran made the harrowing journey to the frontier of the battle, the capital, damascus. >> reporter: the road from beirut to damascus. we drove into syria along this heavily guarded route, checkpoint after checkpoint after checkpoint. it is now a lifeline, as damascus, the stronghold of the government of president bashar assad, becomes a city under siege. it is a dirty war, in a crucial country. just look at the map. the chaos engulfing syria threatens to spill over into iraq on one side, israel and lebanon on the other. a nightmare scenario for the u.s. the united nations now estimates that 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting. though, no one really knows. damascus is quiet. some light traffic. no one really walking ar

south african model reeva steenkamp. >> oscar pistorius will remain in jail until his bail hearing next tuesday. nbc's michelle kosinski was inside the courtroom this morning and joins us from south africa where new details. good morning to you, michelle. this is not a story that i think anyone anticipated we would be covering. >> reporter: absolutely. such a strange, terribly emotional scene this morning. this is a man the world is used to seeing with his head held high making olympic history. today at his first appearance he sobbed openly. buried his face in his hands as that charge of murder was read against him and prosecutors are calling this premeditated. you know that his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, was found shot in his home early valentine's day morning. police say she was shot four time in the head and body by a .9 millimeter pistol registered to pistorius. his agent just released a statement saying they dispute this alleged murder in the strongest terms and the that pistorius sent his deepest sympathies to reeva's family. in prior interviews pistorius talked about how he liked security. he has loaded guns around. he would hear a noise, grab his gun and go investigate. police

four times through the bathroom door at the home of olmpian oscar pistorius (pih-store'-ee-us) in south africa, last week. an official tells c-n-n she was alive after she was shot and was carried downstairs by pistorius. a local newspaper reports a blood-stained cricket bat also was found the athlete later told police he thought she was an intruder. prosecutors say they will upgrade charges to premeditated murder. a new report reveals disturbing details about the background of the gunman in the connecticut school shootings. "the hartford courant" reports linda lanza struggled to raise her son, adam. who was diagnosed with asperger's syndrome. he also had difficulty coping with loud noises, bright lights, confusion and change. school officials say she suddenly took adam out of high school during his sophomore year and allowed him to attend college. he later dropped out.spending hours alone playing violent video games. that's also when nancy exposed adam to guns. bonding with both of her sons during target shooting. charged with assault for hitting the 19 month old on a flight from indianapolis

emma murder is following the case for us in pretoria, south africa. >> reporter: the defense team for oscar pistorius went on the attack today, cross-examining the lead detective investigating the fatal shooting of reeva steenkamp. detective hilton botha first testified the police had a witness that heard nonstop talking like shouting at the pistorius house late on the night of the shooting. under the defense questioning he had to admit the witness was 600 yards away. the prosecution's trying to prove the couple quarreled, that reevaed any the bathroom and that pistorius shot her four times through the door. botha also testified that the bullets fired were angled down and fired from a distance of about five feet. but, when pressed, he said he wasn't a forensic expert and couldn't be sure. and he admitted the defense investigators had found a bullet slug still embedded in the toilet that the police had missed. the police said they'd found syringes and testosterone in pistorius's bedroom. the defense countered it was a herbal remedy. prosecutors had to admit they didn't know what it was

nick robertson is live in johannesburg, south africa, for us. what is the reaction of the people in south africa? this man was a hero. are they happy or disappointed that he was released on bail? >> reporter: he was a hero for them. and so many people here, in fact almost everyone, has followed this whether it's on twitter, step by step what's happening in the courtroom. the television headlines, local news, newspaper banner headlines. it's been there in people's faces. they've been following the bail hearings. but now there's a decision, it does seem people are divided over the outcome. >> i think it's fair. i think the man is not -- we don't know if he's guilty or not. and to trial him now it's not really fair, and i think they've set the right conditions for the bail. >> it's shocking to think that despite of all the evidence that have mounted up against him, he still managed to get bail, you know? it ae it's -- i guess a reflection of our judicial system after all. >> reporter: well, his family says they're pleased to have him home. they know

emma hurd is following the case for us in pretoria, south africa. >> reporter: oscar pistorius told the court he was deeply in love with his girlfriend and never intended to kill her. his words read out by his lawyer. his family sobbed in the packed courtroom and pistorius one of the world's most famous athletes broke down in tears. according to an affidavit, pistorius said he had woken in the night convinces there was an intruder in the bathroom. he grabbed his gun and fired through the bathroom door thinking that reeva steenkamp was in their bed. when he realized she wasn't he said it filled him with horror and fear. but the prosecution argues that his tore use knew steenkamp was hiding in the bathroom after an argument and that he put on his artificial legs, walked 20 feet from the bedroom before opening fire. the prosecution won the first round in court today. oscar pistorius will be charged with premeditated murder. the defense must show that there are exceptional circumstances to convince the judge to allow him out on bail. his lawyers argued over the manner of her death. reeva st

tonight from south africa, mary carrillo gives us an unprecedented look at reeva steenkamp, his girlfriend, from the people who knew her best. >> she would never come to you with a problem. it was always you to her with the problem. >> was there anyone in your family that oscar meant to do this to reeva? >> also tonight, the chinese computer hackers reaching into american computers and it's feared american society. tonight for the first time one insider relives the attack that hit his company. >> do you remember your reaction? >> my eyes bulged. yeah. this is really bad. >>> also tonight, did the u.s. marine corps abandon a group of marines and military family members after they developed a rare and surprising disease? dr. nancy snyderman investigates a controversy. >> when is the leadership of the marine corps going to stand up and say we made a mistake? >>> also tonight, kate snow goes inside the fight to save the pandas including some of the very youngest. >> you are too cute. look at you. >> their ircystability is beyond dispute, so what is it about the effort to protect them that make

south africans and left many in the town worried for their safety. >> they can do it to anyone of us. we need to be respected. >> south africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. >> are we an angry nation? is it the societal issues or the upbringing? when you look at, you find that the upbringing of a boy child and girl child is different. we need to infuse at a young age that ways need turn -- boys need to respect girls. >> this is where security guards found her, in like in india, where there is a huge public outcry. sexual offenses in south africa often go unnoticed. but her rape and murder has people talking, saying that this sort of thing has to stop. al jazeera, south africa. >> the case has sparked outrage across south africa. the sheer number of cases means that many rapes often go unreported. one in four south african women or girls is raped, with an attack taking place every four minutes. there are more than 60,000 rapes reported every year in a country of 50 million people. the real figure is much higher. joining me now vast get from johannesburg, the chief executive of the antirape group

quote, laughter from friends of pistorius as botha claims miss tore use would risk fleeing south africa despite his celebrity. botha was one of the first responders to the scene when pistorius's girlfriend was shot. the officer considers him a flight risk, arguing he should not be freed on bond. this is what made his friends laugh. one can only assume because they don't think miss tore use would run from authorities. the headlines came from a prosecution witness who says this person heard a woman screaming at the home and then gunshots and then more screaming the morning she was killed. according to an investigator that witness was about 600 meters away when they heard all that. that's almost a half mile. the hear aing today lasted about six hours. once again pistorius was said to be p sobbing uncontrollably. at times his shoulders shakinging. when he left the courthouse our nbc news team said he seemed composed. the bail hearing will resume tomorrow. talk of testosterone found inside the miss tore use home. i'll get to that in my next report. >> this morning the coroner's office is wor

us. south africa is much more v violent than the united states, and even though it is 1/6 of the size, andthe united states with 40. the murder rate is 6.5 times greater murder rate than that of the united states. >>> it may be more difficult and more dangerous the fly in and out of many american cities. the transportation secretary says that control towers may close at more than 100 smaller airports across the nation in all of those cities that you will see scrolling behind me. it is part of the new warning by the obama administration about the impact of those forced budget cuts. they go into effect in one week. one week. unless congress steps in. let's bring in our national political correspondent jim acosta over at the white house with the latest. jim? >> wolf, the secretary of transportation used the word calamity to describe how these automatic spending cuts will create air travel chaos across the country, and another example of how the president is ratcheting up pressure on congress to win this budget battle. >> reporter: sitting down with the japanese prime minister, president obama

nbc's michelle kosinski is in pretoria, south africa for us again tonight. >> reporter: oscar pistorius arriving in court today, inside no hiding from photographers. today the chief police investigator challenged pistorius' account. of what happened the morning reeva steenkamp was killed. he said pistorius would have had to walk 23 feet from the bedroom, go inside the bathroom and fire four times into a small, enclosed toilet room from five feet away. believing a dangerous intruder was inside. the investigator said pistorius would have been wearing his prosthetic legs, because the bullets were shot high into the door with a downward trajectory. but pistorius stated he was not wearing his prosthetics which is why he said he felt so vulnerable. police also say they have witnesses, a neighbor who said she heard what sounded like fighting for an hour from pistorius' home and then gunfire. another neighbor says he heard shots, looked outside, saw lights on inside the home, heard a woman scream two or three times and then another few shots. pistorius' uncle addressed the allegations. >> they'

greg palkot with the news live in johannesburg, south africa for us. that and the detective already testified in pistorius before bail hearing. >> he was on the stand getting the over from the presiding judge this time. we were in the courtroom as well and i caught up with him on the sidelines of the proceedings and asked him what he thought of his testimony on wednesday when so clearly botched the presentation. his reply, so-so. an understatement. then i asked him about the attempted murder charges from the incident a few years back. he told me he thought the charges had been dropped. now, along with the replacement, police late on thursday said the probe into the oscar pistorius shooting would have national priority. it will take a lot to get by all of the damage done to this case this week, shep. >> shepard: how you is the blade runner taking all of this? >> in the courtroom today his head was bowed for just about the entire proceedings. four or five hours. at one point i saw him crying. he might be heartened by some indications we are getting. lega

nbc's michelle kosinski is in south africa again for us tonight. >> reporter: hi, lester. oscar pistorius' family today strongly refuted that this was murder, and tonight here a production company decided to air the first segment of a television show his girlfriend had starred in and was excited about. >> you fall in love with being in love with love. just one love everywhere. >> reporter: this is a first look at model reeva steenkamp's first television show. to say she was happy about it doesn't begin to describe it. yet now seems eerie to see and hear someone now gone who was only days ago savoring life. >> i don't have any regrets. i don't have any bitterness. i take home with me so many amazing memories and things that are in here and that are in here that i'll treasure forever. i think the way that you go out is not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and make your exit so important. if you've made an impact in a positive way or a negative way. >> she was like the mommy. she was our mommy always making sure everyone is okay and she was fun. >> repor

. >> if you could come to tell us what has the reaction in south africa been today? >> i think it has been largely positive. there have been some organizations that have expressed disappointment. they called on pistorius not to be released on bail on the basis that south africa has seen far too much violence against women and children and maybe it could send a stronger message were he not to be granted bail. they have expressed some disappointment. there is certainly a certain segment of south africa who consider pistorius to be guilty of murder. there's perhaps a far larger segment who believe he is culpable for an unlawful death. many still hold onto him as an icon, as a man who overcame so much adversity, but there was definitely a palpable sense of relief. >> philip, thank you very much. >> always a pleasure. >> in germany, the president has urged citizens to use the eurozone crisis as an opportunity to show unity and solidarity. the president delivered a speech friday calling on germans to think beyond the borders of their own country and to draw strength on the

south africa. we've got just a few seconds for our "end point" of the morning. start for usay is hero worship and that's what you have with oscar pistorius, we put this guy on a pedestal, he might not have been the best guy off the field but he was a guy who was very good at what he did and so we kind of ignored a lot of the early warning signs here and also on a personal note i want to wish my dad a happy birthday. >> oh, very sweet. the fact that he is a hero in south africa, will that play a role in what kind of a sentence, if any, he gets and what kind of bail, if any, he gets? >> i think we're ahead of the game when we talk about sentence. we're only at bail and -- >> says the defense attorney. carry on, counselor. >> thank you. but my takeaway from this is whatever kind of case it may be, when it involves criminal law in a prosecution, whether it's in south africa or the united states we can't lose sight of the most important principles, presumption of

joining me via skype from south africa is adam wakefield. thanks for being with us this evening.us what the latest is there. >> yes, judge. the latest is that as everybody i think around the world found out pistorius is now out on bill. he is staying at an undisclosed location. reports have him staying at his uncle arnold's residence. he supposedly wants to get in contact with the steenkamp family who is in mourning. the family said the only one that actually knows what happened is oscar. now, he waits for the next appearance in court to see where the drama takes us next. >> judge jeanine: adam, how unusual is it for someone charged with premeditated murder to be released on bail in south africa? >> it is quite unusual. it is pretty much the most serious offense you can be charged with is since we don't have the death penalty. for a schedule is six offense to be granted bail the burden of the proof lies upon the defense to prove exceptional circumstances so that the african can be given bail. there is murder and then it is easier to get bail. the fact that he was granted bail was

tonight from south africa, mary carrillo gives us an unprecedented look at reeva steenkamp, his girlfriend, from the people who knew her best. >> she would never come to you with a problem. it was always you to her with the problem. >> was there anyone in your family that oscar meant to do this to reeva? >> also tonight, the chinese computer hackers reaching into american computers and it's feared american society. tonight for the first time one insider relives the attack that hit his company. >> do you remember your reaction? >> my eyes bulged. yeah. this is really bad. >>> also tonight, did the u.s. marine corps abandon a group of marines and military family members after they developed a rare and surprising disease? dr. nancy snyderman investigates a controversy. >> when is the leadership of the marine corps going to stand up and say we made a mistake? >>> also tonight, kate snow goes inside the fight to save the pandas including some of the very youngest. >> you are too cute. look at you. >> their ircystability is beyond dispute, so what is it about the effort to protect them that make

i want to get right to nic robertson who's live outside the court house in south africa to walk us through some of the latest turn of events in this case. good morning, nic. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. well, the defense are putting their case just after a lunch recess, a very short lunch recess here. the defense saying that the prosecution hasn't even put forward enough evidence so far to determine that there should even be a murder charge, never mind premeditated murder. they say there's no eyewitne eyewitnesses, that this is a forensic case. the magistrate earlier in the proceedings called on the chief police investigator, the one with these attempted murder charges hanging over his head, called him into the courtroom and asked him if he was happy speaking in english and he said yes, he was happy in english but no mention whatsoever of those pending charges on him. the prosecution reading from a magazine today, a magazine in which pistorius is quoted as saying that he lived several months of the year in italy, which is where he trains. the prosecution saying that this, transfeher

>> you could go to south africa and make this argument. >> i would love to. >> great to get your perspective. thank you so much. now here's willie. >>> we understand it's unfair of us to be standinging here on south beach while a lot of you are snowed in. it's warm and sunny here in miami, but the middle of the country is being bombarded with snow. john yang is in chicago. good morning to you. >> reporter: i actually thought i was going to be on set with you guys this morning. i don't know what happened here. in chicago, we're getting a lull from the heaviest of snow as this storm, which pummeled the plains, is now moving east. across the midwest, it's shaping up to be another tough day to get from point a to point b. on the roads -- >> this is a terrible day for everybody. >> reporter: just take a look at what this minivan does to a traffic light in illinois. getting into the air is no easier. more flights are canceled and airports struggle to reopen. >> i first walked in, saw the line here and said this cannot be good. >> reporter: at nbc's kansas city affiliate, staying on the air is the challenge, as staff clears snow out of satellite dishes. across the region,

shock and disbelief not only in south africa but all over the world. give usidea of what is known so far. >> thank you. shock and disbelief throughout the country. there was comments from loved ones offering support to oscar people offering support to the model who died in the incident. what we know is that a 26-year- old man has been taken into police custody and the police are not able to name the suspect before he has appeared before court. we understand that should happen in the next 13 minutes. >> can you tell us -- the couple had known each other and were going out for a year or so together? were they a mainstay of the south africa socialite scene? >> they were a well-known couple. they have been for quite a long time prior to dating but officials, they have been dating since last november. she was happy with the relationship. she was happy about herthey plas for valentine's day. >> do we know the circumstances of the arrest? was there nobody else in the house? it was just he and a girlfriend? >> the police are saying that nobody else was at the house bu

south africa. how will this impact the case. dan is a criminal defense attorney and prosecutor and joins us with more insight. u for joining us. judge versus jury, back in 1969 south africa they did away with jury trials when they were under apartheid. will this benefit pistorius? >> it will be interesting to see. generally speaking the thing in the law you much rather as a defense lawyer have a jury. so generally speaking you want 12 people to make a decision and not a judge. this judge will have probably two advisors who will work with him to make a decision but ultimately that one individual judge to make the teirn decision in the high court. i think all in all that is going to play against mr. pistorius and his counsel. >> heather: why do you think that is case? >> judges tend to look at the evidence technically and in this case there will be issues evidence gathering and all those things. at the end of the day you have a fairly straightforward case with very good evidence for the prosecution. it's way too early to tell. we'll have to see what happens. mr. pistorius was granted bail, but ultimately i think

joining us live from south africa. thank you. just a fascinating case. >> just today. >> yeah. our weather, looks like you can put away the umbrella. we are in the dry weather pattern. look out the window right now. will this continue for your weekend? steve paulson is coming back. he will tell you what the latest computer models are showing. > a amazing footage cam toured of an injured bald eagle rescue. how he is doing now. . >> a pretty good drive. slow traffic but not a lot of major crashes. more about what's happening now straight ahead. . >>> this is a real ballot eagle. it's injured, got a broken leg after being hit by a car. these emergency crew members rescued it. it's since been treated by a vet and the vet said that the eagle is partly paralyzed but is stable now. >> a robbery case in sacramento that dates back to 1977 is now being investigated as a homicide. the man injured in that shooting walter johnson died this week from complications, 36 years after being wounded. the sacramento bee reports that johnson was attacked by three men on the way to his parent's house