Belmont, between him and horse biggest prize. Today, sunday, may 18, 2014. Ay, sunday, may 18th, 2014. From nbc news, this is today with lester holt and erica hill. Live from studio 1a in and welcome to today on a sunday morning. Im erica hill. And im 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 fatherinlaw 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 eightmonthold is like is California Chrome going to win this race . Thats how excited everybody was. At least your eightmonthold wasnt racing to the bar. [ laughter ] youve got to train them early. Im 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 were learning more about this third case. Its an illinois man who Health Officials say contracted it where from a business associate even though he has tested positive, he hasnt shown any signs of being sick. Heres more from our chief medical editor dr. Nancy schneiderman. An illinois man has tested positive for mers antibodies. Two other stateside cases of the middle east respiratory syndrome in indiana and florida have also been reported over the last month. About two years ago, persons having close contact with camel either in caring for the camels or in particular consuming camel products began to develop this infection. Reporter the virus now apparently spreading from human to human. The previous patient, a u. S. Resident who traveled from saudi arabia for business reportedly met with the latest illinois man on two separate occasions. Worldwide as of friday there have been 572 Laboratory Confirmed cases in 15 countries. 173 people have been died. We have to be very careful about just giving people this false sense of security, but at the same time right now we have to also state that the problem is largely limited to the middle east. Reporter at least 20 of patients are asystematic but most have developed severe acute respiratory illness with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. But all reported cases have had a link to countries in and near the arabian peninsula. The potential for mers to cause a larger threat is very clear. And also the possibility that Infection Control can play a substantial part in reducing that risk i think is also very clear. Reporter as of this morning, public Health Officials are continuing to investigate the spread of mers at home and abroad. And dr. Nancy in princeton, new jersey, this morning, good morning, nancy. Good morning, erica. The person in illinois showed no symptoms. That would seem somewhat concerning. Whats concerning is that we have now documented spread from one person to another. Its somewhat, i would say, encouraging that he hasnt had symptoms but it shows this is a virus that now can travel from one place to another just by people traveling internationally. Dubai is now the Worlds Largest airport so if you start to follow air travel from that airport around the globe and one person is carrying that virus out of the middle east, you start to see concentric circles of people who have been affected. So the real chase for the cdc now and other organizations like the World Health Organization is to track down everybody whos come into contact with someone whos tested positive. It does show in this country you can be exposed to the virus, get antibodies but not necessarily get ill. The question in illinois now is whether this person who has tested positive can go ahead and spread the virus to other people. So as theyre watching that and you just touched on this but the two men with the serious cases of mers in the u. S. Are recovering well from the virus. Is that encouraging . It is. I think this is going to be the kind of virus, at least right now, that has a high death rate in the middle east, but it may not be as infectious as Something Like influenza. You hay be able to transmit it but it just doesnt have the same kind of continuous spread. It may not be a smart virus that will keep mutating but thats what officials are looking for. Its a reminder that if you come down with Something Like fever, cough, chest pains, shortness of breath, things i can that look like influenza, remind you that were not in flu season anymore so if you traveled in or out of the middle east and someone has reported to your doctor so it can be tested appropriately and report that to the public Health Officials. Dr. Nancy, nice to have you with us this morning. Thank you. You bet. Now to the latest on the wildfires raging in southern california. Calmer winds and cooler temperatures are finally helping firefighters get the upper hand on the blazes that have scorched more than 25,000 acres near san diego. And there are serious concerns this morning about what could be a very dangerous fire season ahead. Joe fryer is in escondido, california, for us this morning. Joe, good morning. Reporter good morning, lester. As crews assess the damage, the number of homes lost continue to rise, temperatures are still making great progress, but thanks to a threeyear drought the fire danger this season is not going away any time soon. The air attack is not over above camp pendleton. Nbc news road along as a sea knight helicopter dropped water on the stubborn flames still burning here. The pilot lives in this area, so the mission is personal. Let me get back to the town thats let me be part of their community. Theyve taken care of me, i want to be able to contribute back by taking care of them. Reporter the skies are looking much better than they did just a few days ago when flames tore through the region threatening thousands of homes. At least 60 houses and condos did not make it. Losing the house, but at the same time youre thinking my familys with me, everybodys safe and all my friends are out and thats what matters. Reporter a dozen fires have burned through 27,000 parched acres north of san diego this past week in whats likely a destructive prelude. This is the First Time Since weve been doing the Drought Monitor where we have 100 of california in drought. Reporter its not just california. In wichita falls, texas, absolutely no Outdoor Watering is allowed and car washes are only open five days a week. Everybody knows its easier. Everybodys concerned that were going to run out of water by the end of this year. Reporter a newly released report reveals the federal government expects to spend 1. 8 billion fighting fires this season. Thats at least 470 million more than whats available. Expecting the worst, california hired 300 additional firefighters just days before the san diego fires. Its made a huge difference because it allows us to have the extra hands on deck and put the fires out. Reporter most of those evacuated have now been allowed to return. The cocos fire, which appears to have caused most of the damage, is now 80 contained. The slope that it will be totally out very soon. Lester . Joe fryer, thank you. New details surrounding the controversy of the firing of the executive editor of the New York Times, jill aprogram son. The papers publisher is speaking out explaining why he let her go and he claims sexism has nothing to do with it. We have this report from Wake Forest University in winstonsalem north carolina. Good morning. Reporter good morning. Yes, shes going to address some 4,800 graduates at Wake Forest University. This will be her first public appearance since that controversial and abrupt firing that sent shock waves through the media world. What really reignited longstanding debate across this country about whether Women Leaders are held to a different standard than men. We have not heard from abramson yet but as you point out, the publisher of the paper has tried to make his case even clearer by releasing a statement saying in part i heard repeatedly from newsroom colleagues, women and men, about a series of issues including arbitrary decision making, a failure to consult and bring colleagues with, inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues. Sulzberger dismissed this had anything do with a pay dispute saying her latest pay package was 10 more than her predecessor and, according to sulzberg sulzberger, abramson had been advised before she needed to change her management approach. From abramsons side we have tried to contact her but no report from her yet. But her daughter is releasing a picture of her mother, you can see it, her mother is in boxing gloves with the hashtag pushing. She posted this on instagram just last week. Meanwhile, back here at wake forest, some 500 miles from where the New York Times is published, preparations are under way for the Graduation Ceremony on monday. And the universitys president saying i cannot think of a better message for the class of 2014 than that of resilience. And we wait to hear what Jill Abramson will have to say to these 4,800 graduates, erica. 50 of them are women, 50 of them are men. And plenty of people who arent at the graduation will be listening as well. Thank you. David gregory is moderator of meet the press. Good morning to you. Good morning, lester. Throng that New York Times statement, it seems they got a little bit behind. Has that allowed the story to take off more than they expected . Its all very unfortunate. It has taken off. I think the times is on the defensive. Its getting buffeted around by outside folks who were saying what the narrative was here and what the issues were at play so the times felt it was necessary to come out and made very clear not only about the pay issue has been raised here but to be more specific about what it is that was the basis for Jill Abramson getting fired so these things can get ugly. Especially when they get public and thats happened here. We are already seeing signs that 2016 can be rough and tumable in the race for president. Karl rove came under fire for suggesting Hillary Clinton and the concussion she suffered in 2012 might have led to a traumatic brain injury. Clearly she knows that if she decides to run its not going to be easy. But is this a bit of a shot over the bow get ready . Get ready and maybe get out before you get in. Republicans are trying to figure out their way forward. They have an excellent opportunity here after two terms of one party in the white house, historically the other party has a pretty good shot. Theyre trying to figure out who their nominee could be, what the qualities are that they want in their nominee. And i think what was striking about what rove did and it seemed very calculated was to say not only be this will personal but well raise these questions about what youre hiding, what youre not telling us. That will be the nature of the attack on Hillary Clinton. A lot of playback to the 90s and a lot of play it forward based on her time as secretary of state as well. David, well come back to you in a little bit and find out whats coming up to meet the press. Lets look at the rest of the mornings headli looinheadline. Russian cargo planes carrying food, generators and rescue boats landed in serbia today. Tens of thousands of homes are without electricity there and in neighboring bosnia. President obama has tapped jewel han K Julian Castro to take over as secretary of housing and urban development. Hes considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and theres speculation he could be a Vice President ial pick in 2016. A dramatic scene in portland at the american heart Associations Annual heart and stroke walk. A man taking part in the event suffered a heart attack. Emergency crews had a heart time getting to him but other walkers, including a cardiologist and emt started performing cpr. The man is recovering at a local hospital. Kraft foods is recalling more than a million cases of cottage cheese products because they were stored improperly and they might make people sick. They include knudsen, breakstone, simply kraft and daily chef. The products have code dates from may 9 to july 23. For more information, go to nbc news. Com. And for more indepth look at another recall weve been following here, tune into cnbc tonight for the hourlong documentary failure to recall investigating gm. Youll hear from victims like that young driver. I was driving to work and the car just lost power, it was like it just shut off. There was no power steering, i couldnt accelerate, there was no brakes. The documentary airs tonight at 10 00 on cnbc. And reason 508 why its a good thing dinosaurs no longer exist. A team of scientists in argentina discovered the remains of the largest species of dinosaur to the debate. What to the what was that they said when they found it. Experts say the new species is estimated to have been 80 tons and weigh the equivalent of more than 14 african elephants and the length about as long as two semi trucks. Big. Bi big. Good reason theyre not around. You missed the whole story but thats cool, dylan. Thats cool. Maybe in local weather you can give her a recap. I will. You guys take it away. Ill tell these guys. Sorry about that, jenna, thats all my fault. Just a little bit. We are talking about cold temperatures to start off your sunday morning in parts of ohio and western pennsylvania and west virginia. We have an area of high pressure, clear skies, calm winds, radiational cooling has caused temperatures to drop. We are looking at frost advisories to stay in effect through the morning so any plants that might be out on your porch might not survive. We are looking at temp temperatures in the 30s and 40s. 45 in pittsburgh, but we should warm at least into the 60s and lower 70s. A little warmer than it was yesterday. Nice weather up and down the east coast except for showers in northern maine and also spotty showers, maybe an isolated thunderstorm, across the southeast and up into montana we could see isolated stronger and thats your latest forecast. Dylan, thanks. Now to that thrilling victory for California Chrome who won the preakness on saturday. The thoroughbred is now just one run away from grabbing horse racings elusive triple crown. Jennas been following that. Such a fun race to watch, right . So exciting. So California Chrome came into the preakness as the overwhelming favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby. Didnt run a great Kentucky Derby, still won, but he comes to preakness and he proved when it comes to the biggest race, hes right on the money. Theyre off in the preakness and California Chrome had a great start. Reporter all eyes on number 3, California Chrome. At the start of the second leg of racings triple crown, the preakness. The Kentucky Derby winner carrying the hopes and dreams of all those whod like to see a horse make history in the sports three biggest races. His jockey, victor espinoza, settled California Chrome near the front of the pack at the start on the outside right where he wanted to be. For California Chrome, hes in a perfect spot. It was tight for much of the race but when the pack hit the final turn, California Chrome turned on that extra gear and left his competitors in the dust. California chrome comes into the final furlong with a twoleg lead and on the outside trying to catch him, California Chrome reaching for the wire, another 16th on the outside. Cant get him. California has won the preakness California Chromes owners in tears, but the celebration wont last too long. The prep begins for the Belmont Stakes just three weeks away. For those of you keeping score at home, there has not been a triple crown winner since 1978. Since then, 12 horses have won the kentucky and preakness but failed to come out victorious at the belmont. By the way, in a sport where owners spend millions on their horses, California Chromes owners bred their colt for 10,000. Thats it. You can see California Chrome go for the triple crown in the Belmont Stakes on nbc on june 7. It will be one of those all eyes on this kind of race. Very exciting. I love watching the slow motion shots. I dont know anything about horses but the slow motion shots when you see the muscles on those horses. They are just beautiful animals. Magnificent is the word that comes to mind. That and we should all go to the belmont. Im just putting in a plug. We work weekends. I can get hats. I could probably get you drinks so with hats and drinks we should have a great time. Listen, we bring the charm, you bring the drinks and the hats. Good, well see you there. Up next, a hilarious Season Finale of saturday night live, including what really happened in that elevator between jayz and solange right after this. Nigh soof our new bushs bakednk beans video game . I think im getting the hang of it. Okay, now pick up the specially cured bacon hit it with the brown sugar now roll that beautiful bean footage yes bushs baked beans are slowcooked according to our secret family recipe for a big flavor. High score you get to put your name on the wall of fame whoa game over. Aww, youre no fun. Enjoy bushs baked beans. Still made from our secret family recipe. Just take a closer look. It works how you want to work. With a Fidelity Investment professional. Or managing your investments on your own. Helping you find new ways to plan for retirement. And save on taxes where you can. So you can invest in the life that you want today. Tap into the full power of your fidelity greenline. Call or come in today for a free oneonone review. Saturday night live ended its 39th season last night with with as many laughs you would expect from the a Season Finale. One of the biggest acts came from an opening sketch, making fun of one of the larger Celebrity News items this week. This was the jayz, Solange Beyonce elevator opportunity. If you havent seen it, it was hilarious. Take a look. As god is my witness, i would never do anything to hurt you. Okay. You know what, and to prove it we have an exclusive look at the video, this time with the audio completely. It shows a completely different story. Look. Man, what a great party. I know. Yup oh, my god. Theres a spider on you . What . Get it i got it. Oh, great job. I love you, solange. I love you, too. Former cast member came on a few seconds later as beyonce. It was hosted byd sandberg marking his first time as host since he left saturday night live. He took on nicolas cage. And he was full of other surprises with snl alum. They all took part in the same sketch. Now that the season is over, we want to know who would you like to see host next season . Let us know using orangeroom. Im sure you will come up with good ideas. Funny stuff. A campaign for lester holt. Yeah. Because i dont have time in my schedule. A man i wanted to call my biggest fan. He serves this country proudly and turns to his music to help him through his toughest times. We. Youre looking live at the bay bridge toll plaza. Thanks for joining us. Im kris sanchez along with rob mayeda. San jose looking nice. We have clouds out there this morning. Looking over downtown san jose, 57 degrees and mostly 50s outside, including around San Francisco. We have patches of low clouds pumped in by the onshore winds and high clouds over the bay area system. This is part of a weather system that come tuesday may bring us showers but at the end of the weekend is bringing us high clouds and it will insure our temperatures will stay fairly cool, add least cooler than last week. 73 today in san jose. Upper 60s and low sfepts around the puneneninsula and san franc with the bay to breaker, breezy conditions. Temperatures in the 60s for that, and the giants game at 1 05, temperatures in the mid60s, and for the north bay and trivalley, warmest temperatures, mid to upper 70s. Inland toward pleasanton. Speaking of San Franciscos iconic bay to breakers race, its drawing 10tens of thousand of runners and spectators. The 7 1 2 mile race is now a tradition more than 100 years old, but this year, there are noticeable changes to the race. Lets start with the closing of alamos square, which has long been a popular place for participants to stop in the race. After years of complaints about public intoxication, trash, and people urinating everywhere, the city will no longer grant access to the southern part of the park. Instead, the perimeter is lined with portapotties. Theres a nudity ban that is not in effect for bay to breakers. Also this year, San Francisco police say theyre increasing the number of officers patrolling the race by 20 . New this morning, San Jose Police are asking for the Publics Health this morning in finding a man who wandered away from his assisted living home yesterday afternoon. 52yearold joseph left that care facility in the 500 black of clanton drive around 4 00 yesterday afternoon. He has the mental capacity of a 10yearold and is considered at risk because of his need for daily medication. He was last seen wearing a red shirt, gray sweatpoints and a brown baseball hat. A south bay politician is out of jail but still not out of trouble. Last year, George Shirakawa pled guilty to several charges. A person connected with the case said he was released from Alameda County jail after serving seven months and a day of a oneyear term for perjury and misuse of public and campaign funds. Now the focus is on a separate criminal case against him. He was indicted on false impersonation. Coming up at 7 00 on today in the bay, encouraging young ladies to have an interest in science and math. A great interview with a remarkable young woman coming up at 7 00. [ barks ] whoo mmm oh, yeah [ whistling ] [ male announcer ] discover your new orleans. Start exploring at followyournola. Com. [ woman ] and i love new orleans shake it up baby ive been watching the today show since im a little girl. This is wonderful good morning to all our grandchildren. In wheaton, illinois. And ours in bloomington, illinois. Look at me, mom congratulations, stephanie good morning, oklahoma we are back on a sunday morning, may 18, 2014. What a fun crowd on our plaza. We appreciate them taking time to stop by and see us. This is a pretty fun crowd sitting here with me on the desk as well. We are a good crowd. We like to dance. We have a good old time. For more, look at jennas instagram account. We are good dancers. And we have a lot more coming up. And thank you. [ laughter ] and youre welcome. We do want to quickly get you caught up on the mornings top headlines. A third person has tested positive for the potentially deadly mers virus here in the united states. Its the first time researchers have been able to document that it was actually spread from person to person here in the united states. Meantime, calmer weather is helping firefighters gain the upper hand on those wildfires near san diego. As many evacuees who left at the height of the fires are finally heading back home. And California Chrome one step closer to the triple crown after winning the preakness on saturday. He will track for the triple crown at the belmont in three weeks. Still to come in this half hour, weve really enjoyed spending time with our biggest fans these last several weeks. This morning ill introduce you to casey who loves music and uses it to get through very hard times in his life. He answered the call for someone who wanted to jam with me and we did just that. Well share our session and maybe try a little live performance. And how often have you been in a new town and thought i wish where somebody could tell me where the best restaurant or store was all of the above. So . We have the man otohelp. Mario armstrong says he has the perfect app for you. Hell show us an easy way to tapp into your social network for great tips to what is all around you. Am i going to have to cue you guys . Dylan, you go now. Later the biggest jeopardy money winner ever is here. Well talk to brad rutter who recently won the battle of the decades on jeopardy and then hes putting us to the test with some today show trivia. No pressure and i think pronunciation is part of winning, right . It is. And if you only knew, our names are blazing on the prompter. It says lester right now. So this would be your read . Exactly. So let us begin this half hour with a growing trend. Celebrities coming back to the stage and screen after their deaths. Tonight the Billboard Music awards is promising a historymaking performance from Michael Jackson. Kristen dalghren is here with more. Kristen, good morning. Reporter good morning, lester. Believe it or not the king of pop will be back on stage singing something from before his untimely death. Five years after his death, Michael Jackson can still sell. His new al bem xscape is vying for the top spot on the charts and later today moojackson hims will be back on stage sort of. Producers plan to use a 3d hologram of the deceased singer performing his new song slave to the rhythm. Its not the First Time Technology has brought a beloved performer back. In 2012, a hologram of ropper tupac shakur took the stage with snoop dogg at coachella. More than 15 years after his death. An image of elvis appeared on American Idol with celine dion. And last week cher talked to tamron hall about performing duets with her late exhusband sonny. So i thought, you know, wherever he is, hes going to be watching this and thinking yes, finally. Reporter advertisers are cashing in on the technology, too, from Audrey Hepburn hawking chocolate to Charlize Theron in an ad with screen legends like marilyn monroe. We keep them alive in more sophisticated ways and it makes more money for the estate of these brands of people who have been dead for a long time. Reporter of course, some due it the lowtech way. Hi, el zblis how are you doing . Reporter like this dutch beer commercial featuring aging celebrity impersonators. In an industry where image is everything, superstardom and life, it means big bucks, even when youre gone. In 2013, Michael Jackson topped for forbes list of dead celebrities meaning tonight is likely not the last weve seen of the king of pop. Of course it can backfire. Remember the Orville Redenbacher commercial . There are there can also be lawsuits but its a trend were likely to see more of. Put me in the creepy category. Just saying. Lets head outside the the plaza, final check of the wetter from dylan. Hey, dylan. Good morning, guys, were saying congratulations to stephanie. Where is she right now . Stephanie is at work. She graduated from fordham university. And shes working so this works out fantastic. Wonderful, congratulations, stephanie. We are looking for some decent weather across the country. We have spotty showers up across montana and into the northwest and also down across parts of mississippi and alabama and into atlanta. We could see some isolated stronger storms but it doesnt look like they should be all that severe, just hail and maybe some wind gusts, then on monday a few showers up across minnesota and into wisconsin and iowa but elsewhere run of the mill thunderstorms. Nothing going on for and as weve been telling you all week, Universal Studios themed resorts are coming up with a new attraction, the Wizarding World of harry potter. Is opening this summer and were giving 25 winners the chance to check it out. Youll be able to follow in harry potters footsteps to travel on the hogwarts express and step inside the goblinrun bank. The price includes a trip for four, passes to all three parks and Hotel Accommodations at the brand new cab that bay beach resort. The moment you have been waiting for. Al has the final clue. Reporter whats the name of the Wizarding Bank that harry, hermoine and ron break in to to steal the hufflepuff cup . Do you know . Go to our web site to enter and see all the official rules. Lester . Up next, our tech expert Mario Armstrong with a new way to ask all of your friends for advice on just about anything right after these messages. Here you go. Dinges for everyone when i get hangry anything within arms reach could be part of my number 20. Hm, this is potpourri. Mmmm. The new amex everyday credit card, with no annual fee. Its not food. Make 20 or more purchases in a Monthly Billing period, and earn 20 more rewards. And a coat. Its membership that rewards you for the things you already buy, everyday. Whats your 20 . [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. Tylenol® provides strong pain relief while being gentle on your stomach. But for everything we do, we know you do so much more. Tylenol®. On marios top 3, a new way to ask your nearest and dearest, for advice on anything. And how to take your Party Outside this summer with the latest bluetooth speakers. Mario armstrong is going to show us how to do all of this. He is trying frantically to get on wifi because its not working. Its not working. For the first thing we are talking about you dont need wifi for it. What you need is just some sort of network connection. If youre in a new city and youre looking for the best bagel around. Thats right. You have yelp, google. This is google meets yelp, encyclopedia brown. Its all three put together. This is jelly. This app was created by one of the cofounders of twitter. I was using the app recently. Because i was going on my first camping trip. I was asking which mosquito repellant i should buy. A bunch of people were answering my question. This connects to people on social media and friends of friends that can answer the quick questions you have. Who sees your answers in it only stays in that little group of friends and friends of friends or does it go public . It can go public depending on your settings. The way i have set it up, i want as many people as possible to answer my questions. Yeah. And if you have the skill or expertise, you can answer other peoples questions and get thanks for that. I found myself of this hole of being in jelly for an hour because i was answering a lot of peoples questions. They were like, oh, youre Mario Armstrong. I can answer your questions for you. Youre building it up. And i think we might be talking bluetooth speakers. New ones are coming out. Everything is always changing for the summer. These are mini jam boxes. Super lightweight. Right . Cant you feel this . Just drop it into your purse real easily. I could easily drop this in my purse. The difference with these is these two can connect in stereo. So when you are playing music from your phone. We can have them across the room. You can have them across the room or really close you can do exactly that. And more than one person can connect to them and actually change the audio thats playing from them. Which could be good or bad depending on what point you are during the night with multiple deejays. How does it sound . Theyre tiny. They sound incredible. You are getting a durable speaker that is smart. And it does sound great. The other one, good battery life. The other one i like is the deck. The good thing about this, its very durable. Indoor and outdoor mode. Real quickly, you have a new website to keep washington in check. Countable. Us. It is basically cliffnotes for legislation. You can find out what your representatives are voting on you pull up the app and you can see what you want to yea, nay, or skip on. Your representatives see how you feel. They get an email message from the app. You dont have to read the entire bill. They tell you what it really means. The pros and cons in english. It is cliffnotes for legislation. Im going to book mark that one. Always good to have you here, with or without wifi. I have wifi. I dont know why this didnt work. Just ahead, lester jamming with his biggest fan. But first these messages. Body language can tell you all sorts of things. Like someone is having a stroke. Know the sudden signs. Learn f. A. S. T. Face drooping arm weakness speech difficulty time to call 911 and get them to a hospital immediately. Learn the body language and spot a stroke f. A. S. T. Meow or woof . Exactly the way you want it. Until boom, its bedtime your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. Enter the sleep number bed, designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. Hes the softy. His sleep number setting is 35. Youre the rock, at 60. And snoring . Sleep numbers even got an adjustment for that. You can only find sleep number at a sleep number store. And right now all beds are on sale. Yep, all beds, starting at just 649. 99. Know better sleep with sleep number. We are back on a sunday morning with weekends todays biggest fan. We had a terrific afternoon together out in illinois. This is casey, very talented, very nice guy. Were foggy to talk to you in just a minute live. But first i want to share our story with everyone and a look at our day. Take a look. My name is casey lord. 26 years old. My wife and i moved up to lincoln and i started at Lincoln Christian university as a worship major. It is music, performance degree, with god at the center. Music is an escape, a bandaid for whatever is going wrong in the day. Its the best medicine somebody can have next to laughter. I came to this program after fouryear stint in the u. S. Army. I was deployed for one year in iraq. It was a pivotal time for me not just musically but as a person spiritually. It was a very dark year for me. I struggled with a lot of stuff and saw people hurt and other soldiers lose their lives. That was a hard time for me. I had a rough day on a convey, i could come back and pick up my guitar and play. I have really been looking forward to meeting casey. He sounds like a bright, young guy. He is turning that passion into his livelihood. Im a little afraid. I heard in some of his clips that he is better than me. Lester holt, i saw him in his 10th anniversary on the today show. My jaw dropped. And i said i could never play like him. Hes phenomenal. He claims hes not a professional. I think hes lying. Yeah, its exciting. Im excited. Lets just figure it out. I think were going to be a good match musically. Hey casey. Good to meet you. Good to meet you as well. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. What do you want to play . Theres always how great. You sent some clips. Yeah. And there was a song on there. Sazio. I love. Did you write that . Yeah. It was a thing, just for the girl. 90 of the good songs are written about a woman. Its like a guy likes a girl and he writes a song to win her. Its the peacock effect. You heard her. Thats right. I got the girl. Youre the one i want, youre the one i need youre the one i want, youre the one i need say you love me please guys, thanks very much. What a blast it was. A pleasure. Thanks so much. Were also available for parties, small weddings, barmitzvahs. Ill leave my card. Tell people the truth of what happened. My flights getting there were horribly late. I got stuck in chicago for hours. We had about 25 minutes. We literally sat down and said what do you want to play in lets do it. It sounded like you had been playing together for hours. Good musical chemistry you guys had. And we had the military connection. You were in the army. 101st airborne. My mom im sorry. My dads father actually served in the 101st in world war ii. My moms dad served at pearl harbor. And i played with 101st in afghanistan. We were sharing that story. We are waiting. You guys have the guitar. We are going to go to a break. I fly away was the one we played in g. Do it. Oh, i fly away, old glory, i fly away everybody, now. When i day, hallelujah by and by, i fly away oh, i fly away, old glory, i fly away that is good. When i fly away, hallelujah, i fly away take it lester. Fly away take it lester. So say hello to ocean spray 100 juice. And goodbye to added sugar. I thought we werent adding any sugar. Oh. Okay, nobody use these cranberries over here. Turn to roc® retinol correxion®. One week, fine lines appear to fade. One month, deep wrinkles look smoother. After one year, skin looks ageless. High performance skincare™ only from roc®. [ male announcer ] hurry in for memorial day savings. Get this charbroil commercial gas grill for just 249 at lowes. If youve been watching jeopardy the last few months, you have seen a lot of familiar contestants. The popular game show brought back its best and brightest for the battle of the decades. Only one can win. That was brad. He beat out ken jennings for the 1 million prize. The win lets him hold on to the record for the most money ever on jeopardy. Brad, good morning. Great to have you here. Looks like i won for the goofiest face ever on television. Was that the fact that youre up to 3. 4 million or i beat ken jennings . A little bit of both. The way the final jeopardy shook out, ken had to get it wrong for me to win. I didnt anticipate that. You had initially planned with this new 1 million prize you were going to buy a pore. Alex trebek said absolutely not. He sandbagged me originally. I was no way that the guy before me said i was going to second my five kids to college. And im like im going to buy a pore. He did forbid me. So i will buy an army sherman surplus tank. How would you like to play host for a little today show trivia with us as contestants. I would love it. The category is today in history. Its a pun. Its not really about may 18th. Its about the show today. We have buzzers. We have bells. Budget bells. Ill trying to figure out which one of you rings in first. If thats what youre trying to figure out, we took care of that. Question one, starting as a freelance producer, her voice was initially kept off air. Barbara walters who is barbara walters. Thats correct. You have been here 35 years. I wasnt here then. Number two. Are we ready . The father created today, and the daughter, was this actress who went on to fight erica . Were looking for the name of the daughter, right . Right. Sigourney weaver. Absolutely correct. Wasnt Jennifer Garner in there . No . This is especially for you, dylan. A look outside our window years ago may have shown this former president strolling by on his morning walk. And you can all ring in. I was going to say al roker. But its a president. Reagan . Its not roosevelt. I actually didnt know this one. Harry truman. Oh, lester what is who is . Thank you. Really great having you here. A lot of fun. Once again, with the host of meet the the press, who is david gregory. Thank you. Thanks so much, erica. Good morning. Gop attempts to take down Hillary Clinton politically after an attack from karl rove, will they try to keep her from running in 2016. The firing of jill abromson and the growing scandal at the v. A. Is the government failing to give veterans the care they were promised . Its all coming up on meet the press. It for us on this sunday morning. The only show with school bells. Ill see you tonight for nbc nightly news. Have a great day, everyone. Nightly news. Have a great day, everyone. Thanks for watching. Good morning. Im kris sanchez. Coming up, tens of thousands of people starting to line the streets of San Francisco as one of the bay areas biggest events gets set to go this morning. Well tell you what you need to know if youre heading to bay to breakers or want to steer clear. Plus, a disgraced south bay politician is out of jail but still not out of trouble. The legal problems still ahead for the former Santa Clara County supervisor. The crowd goes wild as a california pony does it again to put himself on the verge of history. What people in the bay area are saying about this cinderella story. This is today in the bay. Good morning to you. Looking live at a very pretty pi